Tone Deaf
If Joseon had actually survived and PROGRESSED into a constitutional monarchy, it would realistically look closer to modern monarchies today: symbolic power, streamlined nobility, and institutions shaped by industrialization, capitalism, and globalization.
But what we’re getting feels like straight-up Joseon dropped into the present day.
Historically, aristocracies don’t stay intact like that. Most lose power, titles, or go broke and end up marrying into wealth just to survive (dollar princess). Here though? The hierarchy is completely untouched by time. You still have 양반 functioning like a fixed class, which makes no sense in a modern system where positions tied to governance aren’t supposed to be permanent or hereditary like that. So that comes off as a major plot hole.
With no sense of transition, no adaptation, no progression on how the monarchy arrives to be at this point, just a copy-paste of then Joseon into the modern era font, the whole world building feels underdeveloped.
Then you pile on stuff like:
- A chaebol casually talking about ruining a celebrity over a contract
- A public holiday for a prince’s birthday
- General public fangirling over royals, complete with lightsticks and banners
- Massive royal estates funded by taxpayers
The story fails to make me sympathize with these ultra-privileged characters dealing with personal angst. At this point, it really stops me from feeling mindlessly entertained and just comes off as tone-deaf and entitled.
For now, I'll give it 5/10, as more episodes drop, I will change it for better or worse.
But what we’re getting feels like straight-up Joseon dropped into the present day.
Historically, aristocracies don’t stay intact like that. Most lose power, titles, or go broke and end up marrying into wealth just to survive (dollar princess). Here though? The hierarchy is completely untouched by time. You still have 양반 functioning like a fixed class, which makes no sense in a modern system where positions tied to governance aren’t supposed to be permanent or hereditary like that. So that comes off as a major plot hole.
With no sense of transition, no adaptation, no progression on how the monarchy arrives to be at this point, just a copy-paste of then Joseon into the modern era font, the whole world building feels underdeveloped.
Then you pile on stuff like:
- A chaebol casually talking about ruining a celebrity over a contract
- A public holiday for a prince’s birthday
- General public fangirling over royals, complete with lightsticks and banners
- Massive royal estates funded by taxpayers
The story fails to make me sympathize with these ultra-privileged characters dealing with personal angst. At this point, it really stops me from feeling mindlessly entertained and just comes off as tone-deaf and entitled.
For now, I'll give it 5/10, as more episodes drop, I will change it for better or worse.
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