1
WHAT EVEN WAS THIS?
Fun first act, trainwreck second act, saved only by the pretty people.
You know what’s worse than a bad drama? A drama that could have been fun but decided to trip over its own feet halfway through. The First Night with the Duke started off like a cheeky, isekai-flavored romcom with a modern girl stirring up Joseon life (cocktail bombs! bold flirting! brains and sass!). And then… it forgot all that and wandered off into fifteen other genres.
By the end, I honestly didn’t know what I was watching. Romcom? Political sageuk? Magical fantasy? Tragedy with evil kings and sad childhood backstories? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t cohesive.
Taecyeon did what Taecyeon does best: looked great in hanbok, swung a sword like he meant it, and oozed just enough charm to make you forget the script was falling apart. The female lead? She started strong as modern, clever, unbothered by all the prim-and-proper nonsense. But the second half turned her into a crying, rescue-me prop. Where did my bold heroine go? Did she swap souls with some other boring court lady when I wasn’t looking?
Let’s talk about that plot. The three brothers? Wasted. The second male lead? Might as well have been written out, only to reappear in the last five minutes like, “Surprise! I exist!” Eun-ae’s arc? Nonsensical, she did terrible things and got a happy ending anyway, no redemption needed, apparently. And don’t even get me started on the “OG” heroine slipping into modern life like she’s been shopping at Zara her whole existence. Computers, short skirts, and WiFi? No problem, she’s basically Gen Z now!
And then, twelve kids. TWELVE. KIDS. Look, I know it was meant to be “haha, cute, happy ending,” but all I could think was, “Girl, blink twice if you need help.”
If this show had leaned into being a silly, self-aware fusion sageuk, I would have rolled with it. If it had gone full romcom? Fun. But it wanted to do everything and ended up doing nothing. No theme, no proper character growth, no payoff for the chaos it created. It was like watching someone throw darts at three different boards and hitting none.
Watch it for the leads if you’re curious, or for Taecyeon looking devastatingly good with a sword. But don’t expect sense, consistency, or a satisfying ending. By episode 11, I was hate-watching just to see how much wilder it could get.
You know what’s worse than a bad drama? A drama that could have been fun but decided to trip over its own feet halfway through. The First Night with the Duke started off like a cheeky, isekai-flavored romcom with a modern girl stirring up Joseon life (cocktail bombs! bold flirting! brains and sass!). And then… it forgot all that and wandered off into fifteen other genres.
By the end, I honestly didn’t know what I was watching. Romcom? Political sageuk? Magical fantasy? Tragedy with evil kings and sad childhood backstories? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t cohesive.
Taecyeon did what Taecyeon does best: looked great in hanbok, swung a sword like he meant it, and oozed just enough charm to make you forget the script was falling apart. The female lead? She started strong as modern, clever, unbothered by all the prim-and-proper nonsense. But the second half turned her into a crying, rescue-me prop. Where did my bold heroine go? Did she swap souls with some other boring court lady when I wasn’t looking?
Let’s talk about that plot. The three brothers? Wasted. The second male lead? Might as well have been written out, only to reappear in the last five minutes like, “Surprise! I exist!” Eun-ae’s arc? Nonsensical, she did terrible things and got a happy ending anyway, no redemption needed, apparently. And don’t even get me started on the “OG” heroine slipping into modern life like she’s been shopping at Zara her whole existence. Computers, short skirts, and WiFi? No problem, she’s basically Gen Z now!
And then, twelve kids. TWELVE. KIDS. Look, I know it was meant to be “haha, cute, happy ending,” but all I could think was, “Girl, blink twice if you need help.”
If this show had leaned into being a silly, self-aware fusion sageuk, I would have rolled with it. If it had gone full romcom? Fun. But it wanted to do everything and ended up doing nothing. No theme, no proper character growth, no payoff for the chaos it created. It was like watching someone throw darts at three different boards and hitting none.
Watch it for the leads if you’re curious, or for Taecyeon looking devastatingly good with a sword. But don’t expect sense, consistency, or a satisfying ending. By episode 11, I was hate-watching just to see how much wilder it could get.
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