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Love this K-drama
This drama is entertaining.I love the queen who would do everything to protect her remaining four sons, the Grand Princes, and her deceased Crown Prince's family following the death of her eldest son, the Crown Prince.
The main protaganist, the Queen, who was happily married to her king, never bothered her four sons so the boys were let to do their own things which affected their studies. When her eldest son fell ill, she sought out help from the previous deposed Queen who was deposed from her position following the death of her eldest son. She also learnt from the deposed Queen that the latter's remaining three sons were murdered by the killer.
From that moment onwards, the current Queen decided to train her sons to be eligible for the position of the Crown Prince in order to safeguard her family.
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Imagine the most predictably unpredictable main character. Yeah.
I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.
Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.
Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.
Which is just boring, in my opinion.
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Drop Everything and Watch This
You know when you binge-watch a drama and feel like absolute crap afterward. Well, this drama is a series worth binge-watching and will leave you feeling good. It is just so immersive. I was completely entrapped with the plot and characters. The Queen herself is just such a charismatic character. I am constantly rooting for her to out plot her rivals. While this is a more political/power struggle drama, there is a small plotline of a love story, which I loved so much. Honestly, I'm very glad that I watch this!Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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Cross dressing prince and his understanding mother
I typically enjoy historical dramas as I find them fascinating. I prefer the traditional ones where characters act and talk like they belong in that time period. I guess this one is called fusion drama (?) where it’s a mix of old and modern ways of doing things. I did enjoy the first couple of episodes because even though these historical shows are all about palace politics, I found this angle to be fresh and intriguing. The queen trying to save her own princes from certain death while trying to hide the crown prince’s seemingly incurable illness. This premise was fascinating and I loved Kim Hye Su’s performance as the queen.Well, that was until I watch the third episode where we find out one of the queen’s own sons is a cross dresser who likes to wear make up. The palace people find out about it including the queen grandmother who seems to have no love for these princes. I guess all that is certainly a possibility and the queen trying to hide the fact is also a possibility. What I have a hard time believing is that the queen not only empathized with the prince, she took the prince out of the palace in the middle of the night (without even trying to cover themselves) and took him to some guy who painted the prince dressed up as a woman? What? Wouldn’t this artist tell others? What was he told in the first place? Completely ridiculous. I don’t know where this is going but it’s completely out of the question in this time period. If you wan to insert your 2022 PC stuff, at least use the appropriate time period. I have no idea why they thought a plot line like this was even necessary but hopefully, they’ll move on from this arc.
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