I think Lee Jae Wook is stunning and also needs to choose better scripts. With Dear Hongrang, the Netflix effect made what could be great to be subpar but not because of the actors but the story itself.
So this drama brings about several camps of extreme haters. It's not great, it's just below average.
The Netflix series should have already made everyone lower their expectations. Like Dear Hongrang, what is gorgeous is the cinematagrophy, the colors and symbolism, the music/score (pansori), the actors especially Son Ye Jin (adult and young), JCW, Nana, Han Sun Hwa, and the costumes. What it lacks is dark scandal, betrayal, bets and wagers made over a lifetime of friendship/being cousins, cruelty, passion, and insanity/madness/obession (at least some). Instead the drama is shallow, barely tipping its toes in the water (literally and symbolically).
I felt immensly bad for Son Ye Jin's character (and also angry at her at times) and GOD what excellent micro expressions that showed how she had to basically stifle herself to be the perfect woman (daughter/wife but not herself as a human being). She is also so powerless to stop anything, her husband brings in a young plaything. The women hate her and gossip about her because she is so updstanding and virtous in reputation. She has such little power, that the only hold she has - her cousin (who gains fame because of her literary talents) is what she uses or misuses.
Bun Hui was also depicted excellently, showing both how the merchant class has different standards for women than the noble class even as the merchant class desperately tries to move on up to the noble class. She also is the only one to get her revenge and protect her daughter across multiple fronts.
The widow (Nana) is shown as just the grieving woman with no life or passion nor interests of her own outside of Catholicism (not fully explored and has so much potential, is it the story of the women martyrs, the better conditions?), flowers and ?. There are stories in the records of widows giving "miraculous" births of their dead husbands child after praying or going to monk etc so what the heck is this weak ass characterization (as in widows found ways to circumvent the harsh laws and societal expectations)? And who would fall in love with a person with no inner world, desires, who is so obedient and devoted (because of lack of experience) etc except for a creep? (My only other note is that this is a historical drama and Nana's eyebrows and lips, and the mouth open constantly, needed to be made less modern).
The symbolism (for example silkworms) was wasted because it had no deeper connections.
JCW acts so well but I have hated this character across every version because it is a classic and vile trope (a pure woman can save or change an evil/perverted/manipulative man). It's a trope sold to woman so that men who have been ran through can play out their Madonna/Whore complex. It's a trope sold to women that they can change a man instead of him having to be human in the first place. It's awful. The reason he puts his cousin on a pedestal is because he cannot have her. The reason he likes the widow is because she repeats out the lines the cousin wrote for him and the scenes and scenario. It's like he is permanently and prematurely stuck in the rejected mode and using that to excuse being toxic (he chose the widow as a target and endangered her). The lines "I made a wager over your chastity" are unpardonable and unreedeemable and I hope this trope dies. A woman's chastity is not a man's to define or control or corrupt or etc. His death, which we are supposed to feel sorry for (?) because various resaons idgaf about was not as tragic as what he did to the widow. More men impaling themselves on their own swords please. Such a low bar for men, it is really in hell. (also as a side note, I imagine that most of these "died young mysteriously after fucking so much" were actually STD deaths like syphillis).
In terms of the erotic content that people are going nuts over, JCW has done the second drama where he has random and pointless erotic scenes that seem to be for titillation rather than plot. I have nothing against the erotic, but here they were done poorly done. One has to ask what does this scene show or mean or depict? Bon Hui's scene at least showed that women have desires that contrast the societal expectations. Nana's scene (compared to her letter describing it) was boring. JCW's dreams and the scene with Bon Hui's daughter were like male porn fantasy. Some films and other media have done erotic scenes much better. I'm interested in women's scenes from a women's pov but not mid male gaze pornographic trash. Dissapointed in JCW.
Finally, the ending. A man did write this after all (the original and beyond). So the women have to be sad and shed tears over a dipshit. Umm nope. That's the male version. I will just imagine a Frozen-esque ending instead. (The women lived as happily as they could in that society without depending on or fantasizing about some mid guy and had access to some fun toys).
So I have no idea what the story really is BUT the chemistry between the ML/FL and the SML/SFL and their interactions are so so so so wonderful. Also side note: Most asshole thing to do one someone's birthday is to make them think you forgot to just swoop in at the end of the day. NO.
I remember the flashback to their wedding night. She flat out rejected him and was not very kind to him. I think…
The Zhao family is horrible (although so far the brother seems to be a teeny bit decent in trying to keep the father from beating her to death). We can apply modern ethics to historical dramas because the dramas already take great liberties in their depictions and often have a hero or heroine espousing democratic values in a time that had not such texts floating around. The dramas also don't depict most realities the urinals, the smell, the lack of makeup, the poor teeth during those times and the completely different beauty standards (thicker woman and man considered better and noble being thick being a thing). I mean a look at actual historical paintings from the era and the beauty depiction of men and women would be hysterical to us now. The ML and his family are also just terrible so far. Maybe it was because I saw Road to Splendor recently that the whole pro-nobility/empire stance is boring. And yes, we can apply modern standards because otherwise all these noble/royal/rich men will have the FL and also several concubines running around.
I remember the flashback to their wedding night. She flat out rejected him and was not very kind to him. I think…
I mean ML's family basically threw FL's family under the bus causing all their deaths, and dumped her like that. So neither Zhao\Li Meng's character or FL had no reason to even think well of him. At least she was faithful to her (shitty) lover. Li Meng character had no choice in having a lover and wanting to stay with him but being forced to marry a random guy. Also her backstory is that her official mother had a pretty concubine have her and then got rid of the concubine and used her as a pawn. So she didn't want to have a kid in that environment and was trying to save up money to run away . Anyway, ML let's Ji'Er family suffer because of her and is acting all noble but is just as cold and terrible. I feel so much sympathy for Li Meng, all the nobles sacrifice and harm servants (FL tells story about the old madame beating a servant to death) but only women bear the brunt of consquences and unfair rules. I wish she could have happily lived with her lover and ML take concubines or etc.
Li Meng as always steals the show, I don't want to feel bad for her but I do! I also HATE the ML so much. Yes, her family used her as a pawn to get to him but why does he treat her so poorly? He could hav teamed up with her. I feel like these dramas are so invested in pitting the women against each other without examining the role of the men in putting them in that position.
Korean dramas in every plotline : DNA testing, genetic testing, FORENSICS. IN this drama DNA testing doesn't exist (nor does blood type, etc). What a great cast (minus the ML) of actors wasted on what could have been great but ended up being insane.
K-Drama 
The Netflix series should have already made everyone lower their expectations. Like Dear Hongrang, what is gorgeous is the cinematagrophy, the colors and symbolism, the music/score (pansori), the actors especially Son Ye Jin (adult and young), JCW, Nana, Han Sun Hwa, and the costumes. What it lacks is dark scandal, betrayal, bets and wagers made over a lifetime of friendship/being cousins, cruelty, passion, and insanity/madness/obession (at least some). Instead the drama is shallow, barely tipping its toes in the water (literally and symbolically).
I felt immensly bad for Son Ye Jin's character (and also angry at her at times) and GOD what excellent micro expressions that showed how she had to basically stifle herself to be the perfect woman (daughter/wife but not herself as a human being). She is also so powerless to stop anything, her husband brings in a young plaything. The women hate her and gossip about her because she is so updstanding and virtous in reputation. She has such little power, that the only hold she has - her cousin (who gains fame because of her literary talents) is what she uses or misuses.
Bun Hui was also depicted excellently, showing both how the merchant class has different standards for women than the noble class even as the merchant class desperately tries to move on up to the noble class. She also is the only one to get her revenge and protect her daughter across multiple fronts.
The widow (Nana) is shown as just the grieving woman with no life or passion nor interests of her own outside of Catholicism (not fully explored and has so much potential, is it the story of the women martyrs, the better conditions?), flowers and ?. There are stories in the records of widows giving "miraculous" births of their dead husbands child after praying or going to monk etc so what the heck is this weak ass characterization (as in widows found ways to circumvent the harsh laws and societal expectations)? And who would fall in love with a person with no inner world, desires, who is so obedient and devoted (because of lack of experience) etc except for a creep? (My only other note is that this is a historical drama and Nana's eyebrows and lips, and the mouth open constantly, needed to be made less modern).
The symbolism (for example silkworms) was wasted because it had no deeper connections.
JCW acts so well but I have hated this character across every version because it is a classic and vile trope (a pure woman can save or change an evil/perverted/manipulative man). It's a trope sold to woman so that men who have been ran through can play out their Madonna/Whore complex. It's a trope sold to women that they can change a man instead of him having to be human in the first place. It's awful. The reason he puts his cousin on a pedestal is because he cannot have her. The reason he likes the widow is because she repeats out the lines the cousin wrote for him and the scenes and scenario. It's like he is permanently and prematurely stuck in the rejected mode and using that to excuse being toxic (he chose the widow as a target and endangered her). The lines "I made a wager over your chastity" are unpardonable and unreedeemable and I hope this trope dies. A woman's chastity is not a man's to define or control or corrupt or etc. His death, which we are supposed to feel sorry for (?) because various resaons idgaf about was not as tragic as what he did to the widow. More men impaling themselves on their own swords please. Such a low bar for men, it is really in hell. (also as a side note, I imagine that most of these "died young mysteriously after fucking so much" were actually STD deaths like syphillis).
In terms of the erotic content that people are going nuts over, JCW has done the second drama where he has random and pointless erotic scenes that seem to be for titillation rather than plot. I have nothing against the erotic, but here they were done poorly done. One has to ask what does this scene show or mean or depict? Bon Hui's scene at least showed that women have desires that contrast the societal expectations. Nana's scene (compared to her letter describing it) was boring. JCW's dreams and the scene with Bon Hui's daughter were like male porn fantasy. Some films and other media have done erotic scenes much better. I'm interested in women's scenes from a women's pov but not mid male gaze pornographic trash. Dissapointed in JCW.
Finally, the ending. A man did write this after all (the original and beyond). So the women have to be sad and shed tears over a dipshit. Umm nope. That's the male version. I will just imagine a Frozen-esque ending instead. (The women lived as happily as they could in that society without depending on or fantasizing about some mid guy and had access to some fun toys).
Also side note: Most asshole thing to do one someone's birthday is to make them think you forgot to just swoop in at the end of the day. NO.
And yes, we can apply modern standards because otherwise all these noble/royal/rich men will have the FL and also several concubines running around.