This review may contain spoilers
So Expensive, So Sloppy
This was a big budget Disney show with big stars but everything about it was half-assed and sloppy. I finished it which says something because I'll drop shows like a hot rock if I'm not enjoying them but it was something I had on in the background while I did other things. For the amount of money that was spent on this, the lackluster execution is unforgivable. It felt like a gourmet recipe made at a Michelin-starred restaurant where the chef somehow forgot the salt.
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To be nice, I'll start with what I liked:
Gong Seung Yeon absolutely ate. She was beautiful, icy, elegant, disdainful, remorseful, heartbroken, brave and then happy in the end. Not only did she deliver a star-making performance, she was also the best styled person in the drama. Her hanbok were beautiful, she rocked a gorgeous gown in the ball scene and wore what looked like a perfectly tailored Dior suit in the last episode. Oh and I have to bring up her beautiful voice, which was pitched low for maximum effect.
Steve Noh delivered a wonderfully nuanced performance as the prime minister. His micro expressions were so good and on point, bringing the subtlety the ML couldn't. He also looked fine as hell in his Clark Kent fit. And he had a fantastically husky voice that matched GSY's. Too bad the writing for his character was atrocious. He deserved better and I hope he gets more chances to shine.
Lee Yeon and Yoo Soo Bin were great as the secretaries and brought a lot of humor and heart to their roles. I also loved how they styled Lee Yeon in suits and other takes on menswear even though it made her look very not-straight. I was meh on their romance but they were cute together in a best friends kind of way.
Lee Jae Won and Chae Seo An were adorable scene stealers as the brother and sister-in-law
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What I didn't like:
THE WRITING JESU CRISTO THIS WON A CONTEST? The screenwriter kept launching various plot threads but never resolving them. The unanswered questions include:
- Did I-An's brother choose to unalive himself by staying in the burning building on purpose?
- Who started the fire at the little king's birthday celebration?
- Who murdered I-An's mother?
- Who tampered with Hui Ju's brakes?
- Who killed the mechanic that tampered with Hui Ju's brakes?
- Who was the spy that Hui Ju's father placed in the palace?
- How did their marriage contract leak?
- What happened to the prime minister in the end?
- etc. etc.
The writing for the prime minister, the main villain, was atrocious. He was a career politician at the highest level yet we're supposed to believe that he was secretly in love with Hui Ju but never confessed (why?) and then turns into an attempted murderer just because she marries the prince.
The leads didn't have chemistry. Their scenes together felt like wet paper. Byeon Woo Seok had much more chemistry in his scenes with Gong Seung Yeon which made me see the lost opportunity to at least have an exciting lead couple in this drama.
The styling for IU was atrocious. She had obvious press-on nails in a color that can best be described as three day old corpse. And the fit on her clothes was completely off. More than once she had on a jacket that was too tight and pulled across the chest (on IU! She's tiny!). A commenter who sews pointed out that her knits looked like they were made from synthetic fibers and they were stretched out at the collar. Plus the colors and cuts were unsophisticated for a character who's supposed to be a fashionista influencer.
Byeon Woo Seok was terribly miscast in this. I really enjoyed him in Lovely Runner but he just can't pull off icy tsundere. At the end of the drama he morphs into a househusband who's a simp and suddenly his acting came alive. He needs to play to his strengths in the future.
Overall, this drama felt like a big cash grab where once they nailed down the concept and cast, they just didn't GAF about the execution. Do not recommend.
--------------
To be nice, I'll start with what I liked:
Gong Seung Yeon absolutely ate. She was beautiful, icy, elegant, disdainful, remorseful, heartbroken, brave and then happy in the end. Not only did she deliver a star-making performance, she was also the best styled person in the drama. Her hanbok were beautiful, she rocked a gorgeous gown in the ball scene and wore what looked like a perfectly tailored Dior suit in the last episode. Oh and I have to bring up her beautiful voice, which was pitched low for maximum effect.
Steve Noh delivered a wonderfully nuanced performance as the prime minister. His micro expressions were so good and on point, bringing the subtlety the ML couldn't. He also looked fine as hell in his Clark Kent fit. And he had a fantastically husky voice that matched GSY's. Too bad the writing for his character was atrocious. He deserved better and I hope he gets more chances to shine.
Lee Yeon and Yoo Soo Bin were great as the secretaries and brought a lot of humor and heart to their roles. I also loved how they styled Lee Yeon in suits and other takes on menswear even though it made her look very not-straight. I was meh on their romance but they were cute together in a best friends kind of way.
Lee Jae Won and Chae Seo An were adorable scene stealers as the brother and sister-in-law
--------------
What I didn't like:
THE WRITING JESU CRISTO THIS WON A CONTEST? The screenwriter kept launching various plot threads but never resolving them. The unanswered questions include:
- Did I-An's brother choose to unalive himself by staying in the burning building on purpose?
- Who started the fire at the little king's birthday celebration?
- Who murdered I-An's mother?
- Who tampered with Hui Ju's brakes?
- Who killed the mechanic that tampered with Hui Ju's brakes?
- Who was the spy that Hui Ju's father placed in the palace?
- How did their marriage contract leak?
- What happened to the prime minister in the end?
- etc. etc.
The writing for the prime minister, the main villain, was atrocious. He was a career politician at the highest level yet we're supposed to believe that he was secretly in love with Hui Ju but never confessed (why?) and then turns into an attempted murderer just because she marries the prince.
The leads didn't have chemistry. Their scenes together felt like wet paper. Byeon Woo Seok had much more chemistry in his scenes with Gong Seung Yeon which made me see the lost opportunity to at least have an exciting lead couple in this drama.
The styling for IU was atrocious. She had obvious press-on nails in a color that can best be described as three day old corpse. And the fit on her clothes was completely off. More than once she had on a jacket that was too tight and pulled across the chest (on IU! She's tiny!). A commenter who sews pointed out that her knits looked like they were made from synthetic fibers and they were stretched out at the collar. Plus the colors and cuts were unsophisticated for a character who's supposed to be a fashionista influencer.
Byeon Woo Seok was terribly miscast in this. I really enjoyed him in Lovely Runner but he just can't pull off icy tsundere. At the end of the drama he morphs into a househusband who's a simp and suddenly his acting came alive. He needs to play to his strengths in the future.
Overall, this drama felt like a big cash grab where once they nailed down the concept and cast, they just didn't GAF about the execution. Do not recommend.
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