Emotional Engaging Brilliant
I watched the movie (Masquerade (2012)) one week ago and i liked the story,so i decided to start the series too. I have seenYeo Jin Goo in Beyond evil,liked his performance there and i wanted to see him in something different.
Music:Was on spot at every crucial scene,delivering all the right emotions.
Cast: All actors well chosen for their roles.
Acting: I will repeat myself and i dont care.Every time i write a review in a Kdrama i will always say that the majority of the Korean actors are too talended.After watching tons of series and movies from all over the world, i strongly believe Koreans belong to the very elite.Period.Same applies here.Outstanding performances from everyone.
Story:Interesting,engaging,heartbreaking.Full of hope.Full of despair.Shows how power can corrupt one and inspire another.
Long episodes but the pace is good and the story keeps going.You find yourself looking forward for the next episode without even realizing it!
Until episode 10 the drama was a solid 9.It was a marathon i enjoyed to run.But the last 6 episodes..Oh Gosh!What a ride!A sprint that left me breathless and dried but so satisfied.And the 9 became easily a 10!
The romance-fortunately for my taste-wasnt too heavy.Only in the later episodes was more intense,but the whole time supported the story perfectly.For those who really enjoys long and romantic scenes and the story revolves only around romance might be a bit disappointing.For me was the perfect dose.
Characters: Brilliant,powerful,well written characters with depth,with emotions,with strenghts and weaknesses.You feel their pain and their struggles.You put yourself in their shoes.You seek their revenge and their justice as it was yours!You can even justify the villains's actions,their evil shelves driven by power and money.Every character was substantial and had its importance for the story.Yeo Jin's char.I think this character,this dual role, gave him the opportunity to unfold his talent.This series surely enriched his Cv.
The madness in his eyes as the evil king.The kindness on his face as the good clown!Same face,two different persons,two opposite personalities.Yeo Jin Goo really nailed it!As the clown who had to take king's place he had to make many sacrifices,but walking down this dark and hard path he never lost himself .And that is what i loved the most about this char.He remained pure, he used the unexpected power he got for good.He had a vision and although he was a "fake" king he didnt want his people to suffer!All the way through he made the right choices.Many were hard and even cruel but all were for the best.
But it will be unfair not to praise Kim Sang Kyung as the Chief Royal Secretery(for his acting and his character as well)
He was the one who brought the clown to the palace.He saw the good inside him and felt there might be hope to achieve his dreams for a better nation through the kind-hearted fake king.For me this was the most interesting char and the pilar of the whole story.Eunuch Jo.Another outstanding character,same as Officer Jang.The definition of supportive roles.Without those 2 chars the story would't be complete.I havent mentioned the queen so far not because i forgot about her but because this role was more supportive than main.Her char was the weakest among all.It was the same typical queen role as in every historical Kdrama.No spine,no fire,no dynamic at all.Id love to see her been more energetic and take more decisions and support the king in a more powerful way.
Rewatch value:I gave a 5 because there are too many good Kdramas outthere waiting to be discovered and i only have 1 life and 24hrs per day!
I hope when you decide to watch this to enjoy it as much as i did!
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Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Well Done, except for the end
I assume that you have already watched the whole series, and this review is meant to discuss one problem of this overall very good show. So if you are looking for a thorough review of the different aspects of this show. This is not it. I mainly want to discuss one thing, namely, the the plot design of the very last episode. So let me explain my major issue with the show, and proceed to offer short comments on other aspects of it.The major issue has to do with the overall themes of the show. It is worth saying again that this is an overall very good show. The majority of the plots are nicely laid out, and delivered to the audience in a digestable pace. This is not a show where the plots get so complicated that you need to re-watch in order to understand some of the intricacies. This is not to say that the plot is very straightforward and banal either. Both the premise of the show (namely, the a clown all of a sudden becomes a king) and the overall story progress are interesting and not cliché. The major conflict through the whole series, namely, the political and power fight within the court, is complex, multifarious yet well-articulated such that the show never gets boring (for me).
Spoiler alert again:
The major problem I had with this show then is where the show should end (I know, pretty technical and even pitty). The time distribution of the last episode is wrong. Given that the major conflict is the political fight, the show should end shortly after where that major plot is finished. While there are other themes and plotlines, such as the romance between the King and the Queen (roughly), the main theme is not romance, at least not so for the 15 episodes of the show. However, at the very end of the last episode, the director spent 20 minutes of the episode on romance, which has nothing to do with the political fight (because it is already finished at this point). It is also not very good romance: 20 minutes about how the King and the Queen are not able to find each other has "tears" value, but feels highly unnecessary. This last bit of the show, therefore, negatively impacted the overall coherence of the show because that bit, which is used to conclude the whole show, makes the whole show look like a romance when it is not. If someone only watches the last episode, s/he would have wrongly thought that romance is a major theme of the show. If s/he gets hooked by the last episode and decides to watch what happens before the last episode, s/he would be disappointed. It is as if the last episode is a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup. If someone likes the chicken noodle soup and wants more of it, s/he would be disappointed because the first 15 episodes are not chicken noodle soup, but stir-fried chicken and noodle with a bit of sauce. This is my major complaint of the last episode: still nice on its own, but not a good episode for concluding the show.
A minor complaint is the sound track, esp. the use of Schubert's ständchen, which is the theme song for (most if not )all romantic interactions. The melancholy of the song just doesn't fit well with some of the sweet interactions.
Actors are good! This is my first time watching the female lead Lee Se Young, and she catches my attention.
Much more can be said about the show, but I don't have much more interesting to add on top of all the reviews. So let this be it.
Thanks for reading.
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It's much darker than anticipated...
I have enjoyed the actress for the female MC in other dramas, so I decided to give this one a shot. After watching the first 2 (ridiculously long and violent) episodes, I decided this drama isn't for me. This drama is going down a dark path that I simply don't care to take. If you are someone who enjoyed Hwarang or Love in the Moonlight or Splash Splash Love for their lighter historical romance and politics, this drama is NOT for you in my opinion. Even Moon Lovers was better than this (still tragic, but overall better balanced and executed).Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
There is a scene in the second episode where the Queen is walking and I swear the music they are play is from the drama Summer Scent or Spring Waltz which are two of my favorite dramas.
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First episode and i am hooked lets see until the end
I couldn’t get over mr queen, tried several but it didnt interest me i stop at second episodes . Really miss mr queen , already rewatched it twice. I cam across this title and The first episode is very intriguing and interesting , the lead actor has superb acting skills . Its another side of him since hotel del luna . A more serious role and he nailed it. You can really feel that there are two different people with one face for ep 1 . Superb storyline even though its a giveaway with the plot summary . How its executed is the difference from those films with the same plot .Lets see until the end , for now , i am giving it a 10 .Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
