noor1234

K-drama Red Sleeve Cuff is a classic, and is mostly from the POV of maids who work within palace walls.

Me neither. But it also shows how these 16 yo girls were conditioned to think a guy is be all and end all of life, & that their life doesn't begin until they get married in a 'well-matched' household. This tantrum-throwing girl is shown as a seamstress/clothes shop owner kind of person later on - in trailer - so my guess is after some scandal with Zheng (when their true colors are revealed), she will move on to doing something useful with her life than crying over a man or misfortune. For Ep.15 trailer, it's obvious that a match has come for her, & she thinks the 'Marquis' is old - because she already is pining for Zheng now - & the other cousin-sister (the quiet, observant one) will take that offer of marriage, IMV.

My guess right now is that the 2 siblings want revenge from Lin family for some past wrong. First Zheng 'saved' ML, earned merit, took advantage of kindness to install his scheming 'brainy' sister. These 2 aren't looking for 'good marriages' - they want to ruin ML & his immature sister & bring disrepute to Lin family. IMO.

It's NOT the same thing - ML is still 'eligible' even though he has had 2 betrothals, a marriage & divorce in SIX short years. He can still get 'untouched' women! He may be jobless / suspended but his mother still wants an advantageous marriage for him a year after dust settles on Zhao divorce & doesn't want him to end up with a low-status concubine (Du) who doesn't benefit THEM! Girls have it bad. FL's family would've found it hard to explain why Lins broke off the engagement before any kingly trouble. And same is the case with Lin girls. They are just 16 yo, but their ENTIRE future is being decided by things beyond their control, talent and beauty at such a young age that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Women's 'character' is the yardstick by which family's get embarrassed, not men's.

👍 but let's see where it goes.

True. The BGM in this drama, the strings & the drums, is so menacing & unsettling. I expect danger even when people are shown gardening or eating!

Oh, I didn't think of that! Great point!

In the start credits scene right before the title, one of the 3 women walking behind an obviously 'lady/well-to-do/married' FL is the kitchen maid, the gardening maid & Yuchan. All are wearing nice clothes. So my guess is, she survives.

It showed he's used to their squabbles. Plus, he knew dad & uncle wouldn't solve a thing, & viewers are shown he's the 'head' only dependable male in Lin household.

Ep.11-12: I'm thoroughly enjoying the bad luck ML has with women...... but it's obvious now that he's the only responsible male adult in Lin family who has to take care of everything & everyone's future.

I really like the sisterhood of FL with fellow maids - she even asked ML's mother about sharing her gold piece with the others & the reward for the maid-friend who was with her. Who would've thought of others except her?

The scene where her adoptive parents are telling neighbors to be quiet so that she can sleep was very touching. And of course her entire scene with them. FL's strategy for gaining freedom is well-thought-out: doing something so beneficial to Lins that ML's mother accepts to release her family from contract. Maybe her status will change not because of ML but rather some higher-up getting pleased with some work / help? I don't want Lins to be her benefactors.

Yes. And I will add that as 16-yo girl, she did what her mom & elders decided for her - so when she was betrothed to this guy, her duty was to be excited over this prospect of marriage & to 'care' about him - hence, she wrote that prayer note for him in first scene of Ep.1 in carriage. If you look at the 2 Lin girls for whom eligible guys were rounded up for marriage in Ep.11, one of them is made to be excited over Zheng just by looking at his shadowy appearance through a balcony!!! And she thinks she'll be happy with him.

These high society girls were never prepared for real life, they were just supposed to obey & accept & be happy with a guy behind a curtain or frame. A good match was simply someone who was good for family's advancement. And if something happened to the match, the girl's life would be ruined!

ML has had 2 betrothals & looks like is going to get snared in third one too, but his reputation is intact! He is still eligible!

Thank you, that's very well-explained. Thanks for giving context to the women's suicide decision, etc. - made things clearer.

@peachblossomgoddess, how could she run away?!!!! The 'husband' & her own dad would be honor-bound to hunt her down - even if they didn't want to!!! Her grandpa is king's fave, she cannot dishonor / lower his position by eloping & creating a scandal for court! I believe she was saving money to give to either her own family or his to allow her to leave this marriage and not return home. A clean break (built on monetary fraud & infidelity, etc.) from both households. Because if she wanted to run away, she would've done it already when ML was away on battle (there is only grandpa & those idiotic Lin women at home).

What I'm saying is that wife had a lot of privilege & time for 6 years, it was unrealistic to show her still carrying on with high-interest loans & affair & brutal maid punishments AFTER the arrival of ML back in house - an ML / husband she rejected & continued to insult even on arrival in front of her maids! She knew he didn't like her at this point! M-i-L was sending 'bed warming' maids, so that wife could raise a kid born from some maid! So wife knew things were changing after ML's arrival. And as a woman not holed up in house all day long, she went out, she visited the shops, I'm sure she met people other than that lover/cousin, she knew about the world, even if she wasn't educated - but she is shown as being ignorant, foolish, blind, hasty & insecure and not seizing any opportunity to make another life for herself, to get out of Lins house. ML even told her he'd divorce her if she said so, why didn't she say yes? She could've gone to capital after divorce without going back to Zhaos.

I don't like women turned into victims when such women obviously had OPTIONS, more options than many men - certainly wife had more options than even ML!!!!!

Okay, I understand all 3 points, thanks for giving clarity, even though ML's cancellation of betrothal was not the betrayal, it was not informing this family that king is coming after them. But I'm still against drama's idea to portray women as weak - maids are weak because they are bonded slaves, poor & dependent.

Rich women, whether literate or illiterate have a LOT of agency. And ALL of this privilege enjoyed by rich influential household women in this drama, is because of the men of their family - whether they are corrupt or not - ML's grandpa, dad & ML'S own army career funds the lifestyle & status of the women of this family. Zhao men are providers of status to the 'illiterate' women of their family. These women are just sitting pretty being mean to maids, when men are the ones with the REAL pressures of their jobs. Both families can afford a train of maids because of the men's jobs & roles. All that the women do in these families, is fight between themselves for small power & ego trips.

M-i-L treated ML's wife's maid as a product not a human being just to teach wife a lesson about who is really in control. What's the difference between her and ML's wife? There's no difference. They are both cruel, nasty, arrogant women using the privilege given by men's status to use it against each other.

I have a problem when dramas show women as good & meek & weak inspite of enjoying privilege & status they didn't work for, then pretending they don't have ANY rights even though they are extremely privileged. We are supposed to think that Lin household is better than Zhao household because Lin women are educated. So what? Lins are as cruel & arrogant & self-serving as Zhaos. Education cannot mask exploitation of people for their own ends. And all of it can be taken away from the family IF king has a problem with the men of the family! So who has it worse? Men or women?

Whatever Shens may or may not have done, Lins should've been more honorable. They should've sent a message for old times' sake / brotherly relations - the marriage was also happening to strengthen their alliance. Right now, they just look as cold-hearted & self-serving as Zhaos (even though they are 'literate' & Zhaos are 'illiterate'), the only difference between them is that Zhaos will bite the dust by the end of this drama, while Lins will again survive (even though Lin elders are corrupt - they even pimped out their son twice for advancement!). What this drama is showing is that rich prestigious families use each other for advancement & dump when going gets rough without another thought - but one family will act morally superior only because FL ends up in it, who will save & protect it.

But he was verrryyyyy happy at his wedding till he heard the no from newly wedded wife!

And how would he have arranged her elopement? ML is supposed to do what is beneficial for HIS family, not anyone else's - that much is clear from Ep.1 - that Lins are self-serving. This guy has bene betrothed twice to influential families & both times he has extracted himself before his family gets the blame. Plus, his wife rejected him 6 years ago & ridicules him whenever she sees him, so of course there is no love lost between them. Third, Zhaos are more important courtiers than Lins (Zhao grandpa is king's right hand man), if ML wants a divorce he has to give a veryyyyyyyyy good reason - and he has none. And his wife hasn't asked for a divorce either. So the only option left is to expose the affair, in a way that Zhaos are the ones to handle their own daughter, her lover, the maids, etc. while ML comes away with the deed of divorce.

ML is not the villain. And his wife was not a weakling like this show wants us to believe, to feel sorry for her. She had more privilege than most women dream of, she had her own money, her own household, and a husband who would've divorced her if she had asked for it. She could've gone and lived in the capital with her grandpa. She probably was waiting to collect a lot of money to give to Lins as compensation for divorce, but she should've acted as soon as ML came back. Or become more discreet. Instead she continued to see the lover, continued to give high-interest loans & continued to be cruel to maids. Of course, it all crumbled.

Btw, we are not watching Key to the Phoenix Heart where ML gladly enters fake marriages to save women & gladly divorces them so that they can pursue whatever they want!

Hi, that theory is not possible for the simple reason that ML's wife is informed by maids that her cousin/lover came to the birthday venue with his mom, got agitated & is roaming on property / hiding, and no one can find him. So of course he came as a man. Wife panics that a drunk cousin may be say or do something crazy in front of his inlaws/ guests, etc. Hence, the hunting expedition to find him. Trust me, IF he had shown up as a woman, a) no one would've recognized him, b) he already would've been a laughing stock of the crowd, c) he would've successfully scandalized the Zhaos over female disguise, than any secret lover business. Hence, ruining ML's plan to find them red-handed.

The guard was dressed as a woman to assimilate and not stand out in an area where ladies were present - because he was surveilling women (wife & her maids) and he had come to talk to FL - I don't think maids can talk to guys, so he had to look like a lady maid to talk to her.

Yup. I thought so too. I did not like Shens. or Lins. or Zhaos.

I disagree. Young FL was crying over wedding sweets, because Lin family was living and enjoying their life, while her life & that of her family got ruined, without any notice or consideration from Lins. She was betrothed at 16 to some guy by her elders, it wasn't like they knew each other or were in love. She was crying over the fact that it was so easy for this guy to have a wedding when technically she had just died by suicide, alongwith her family a few days ago.

She looks stoic when around his 'happy mom & son' routine, because this family got to live, and enjoy, without showing her family any courtesy. Remember, right after the letter of breaking off engagement came, the soldiers came to arrest the family. So Lins knew Shens were in trouble & extracted themselves.

She did check him out when she was first saw him in his wife's chambers seated at the table (when maids were introduced to wife), but her goal is to get out of servitude & provide for her adoptive parents. She doesn't think about this guy or his life, other than when HER life is in danger, or that of her maid-friends.