This review may contain spoilers
Here we have it folks - Shopping King Louie Joseon Edition!
It pretty much was, you can't deny it. However, all jokes aside, I cannot deny that I immensely enjoyed watching this drama. Without a shadow of a doubt I looked forward to each episode which brightened my Monday and Tuesday evenings (which are pretty grim), as the whole drama was just sweet and oh so refreshing. I absolutely loved it. If you are wavering about this drama, please give it a go, it was amazing.I'll actually begin my review with the acting and cast. It was lovely to see Kyungsoo as a main male lead, he pulled off the role incredibly well and proved his acting ability. I loved whenever he would get triggered by things and go "Oh hO!!" lmao. D.O. is clearly an amazing actor and that goes without saying. Nam Ji Hyun was also good, but I have to say that it felt like Kyungsoo was the one who shone between the two of them and pretty much made the drama - but I suppose it was inevitable by the way in which the show had been written. Nam Ji Hyun has proven before that she can play some stronger women roles, like in Suspicious Partner, so I thought it was alright. Jo Sung Ha was brilliant as expected but what I really enjoyed were the characters in the village! God it was so sweet that I felt like I wanted to live there at times lmao. The second lead syndrome was there for me in this one - it wasn't too much because the guy pretty much knew he had no chance from the start and didn't really make a move (unless it was to tease the crown prince) but I actually enjoyed his character and thought he was an amazing friend to the main leads. Lastly, I want to address the I know the King was annoying to some but I actually greatly enjoyed him as a character. Yes, we are seeing weak kings crop up quite often when the drama circles around a Crown Prince main lead but I felt his character was a bit more lovable. There wasn't too much fault with any of the acting.
Okay, so, the story. We can all agree, as I said earlier, it was pretty much a Joseon version of Shopping King Louie, with the rich guy with amnesia, Nam Ji Hyun (lol bless her, always having to play these roles) finding her brother- I mean it is quite coincidental but hey I still love both. I actually enjoyed the story, I didn't really skip much and I am glad that they didn't add too much seriousness and conflict as it would take away how sweet this drama actually was, but not so little that we were sitting here thinking "ugh when is something actually going to happen". The only disappointment with the story, in my opinion, was towards the end. I definitely felt that the last episode was rushed and there was too much to do - start/end a war and also get the main leads together. Moreover, I was getting a little annoyed that Hong Shim was telling the Crown Prince that she didn't want to be with him! I think that they had been through enough shit together that they really deserved each other. I genuinely have no idea why the writers decided to make us go through that bs at the end when instead we could have got some more heartwarming scenes between the main leads to finish it all off.
Moo Young's death was expected on my part. The man literally had been shot by so many arrows through the series as well as so much pain that I was surprised they didn't kill him off sooner. I definitely did not want him to die in the slightest, I liked him a lot, but I think the fact he went through so much pain and then DIED - ugh it's so upsetting. This fact was so important to me I put it in its own paragraph lmao.
The music was lovely, it fitted the series well and familiar faces, or voices I should say, popped up on some of the tracks which was a treat. It was memorable at the time in which I watched the series and perhaps if I heard them again, but nothing really stuck in my mind. It was wonderful though. What was nice was that there wasn't music in many scenes which meant that the music never felt 'overplayed'.
I probably wouldn't rewatch this drama unless I was with one of my friends and trying to get them to watch it. That being said, I've only rewatched half of one series lol.
Overall, this drama was an absolute treat, I really enjoyed it and I do hope that you did too. Thank you for reading my review and I hope I didn't bore you too much.
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The acting was superb. From the small characters in Songjoo village to v.p Kim to the King himself. They made this drama what it is.
The plot itself for me it was an okayish story. Not that captivating. The story did not stimulate me or make me want or eager to find out more and neither did it trigger my curiosity. I was like okay okay okay the entire drama. There was never a cliff hanger that would get me to the edge of my seat or make me smile in the midst of my tears. There were no tears to begin with and no huge grin plastered on my face.
I tried reading the comments on discus to find out what the hype was all about.
In my opinion it was just fangirls fangirling on D.O that's all. His acting was superb so yeah it did deserve the fangirling.
In my opinion if you are considering watching this for the story then you will be disappointed. If you are considering watching this because you are a fan of EXO and D.O to be specific then yes you will be blown off your feet....that boy can act.
If you are looking to watch this because you are bored and you have nothing else to watch then...best advice look elesewhere.
These are my opinions you are free to agree or to disagree with me.
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This review may contain spoilers
It was overall a cute drama, but I can't say neither I loved it or I hated it, and I think this is worse, because it's ought to be forgotten (by me at least). I'm not an exo fan (please don't kill me xD) so it was a little more difficult to watch, because I didn't have the fangirl motivation here xDSomeone said is a shopping king Louis in joseon and...well that's where the problem lies. Everything, like every trope of this drama it's already seen and already done. The similarities with skl are many, but also with like every period drama I have seen. (Speaking of which: there is a saeguk not focused on the royal family? Or at least not only, like there's nothing else to write about that period??) There's no suspance, no really twists in the story or mysteries - we all knew that the assassin brother was the father of the queen's baby. Even the death of the evil vice minister was unsatisfying...well the whole plotting against the crown was too bland and boring.
Also! There was the "solution agency" which was an interesting thing, but they drop it pretty soon only to bring it back at the end just to feign ignorance about the fact they forgot about it lol
Ps. My extremely unpopular opinion: I had the second lead syndrome... I felt much more chemistry between Hong Shim and the magistrate...maybe because I liked more his characterization or to me he has better acting skills (not saying the ml sucked...I just preferred the sm) when he almost proposed at the end I hoped they would've take the "realism" route and have the prince marry a noblewoman (ugh bitter isn't it?) and let them become a couple.
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I am the farthest thing from a Do Kyung Soo fangirl, but I was extremely impressed with him as the young fish out of water Prince. He is matched with Nam Ji Hyun, who I liked in a few dramas already (Suspicious Partner & Shopping King Louie), but these two specifically had really great chemistry together. I loved their banter from the start, and I loved how strong willed and equally frustrating they both were at times. Every scene they had together was entertaining, and I often felt like I was watching a real couple not matter how unbelievable their circumstances. They also both handled comedic and tragic scenes extremely well. And I think that period dress suits them both quite well.
Actually, I pretty much loved the entire cast, even the ones who didn't have the strongest storylines. The town members were all great, and more than just comic relief. I was genuinely interested in their side stories as well. I love a great villain, and Jo Sung Ha was so good that I almost found myself rooting for him at times. Another thing I loved about the characters is that they weren't all good or bad. Moo Yeon is the perfect example of that, and it helps that Kim Jae Young is easy on the eyes (all black definitely suits him). The storyline is pretty simple but the characters were often complicated which kept me interested from beginning to end. I really can't think of any character that I thought was weak. Maybe a few were less memorable than others, but most were well played, and played well off of each other.
As for the story, I appreciated that it didn't become overly complicated, and that the political parts didn't drag or take away from the lighter feel of this drama. There were some sad moments, and some tragic parts of the story, but the majority of the story is a romcom with the kind of comedy that made me giggle more than lol. I also liked the way the story ended, which I obviosuly won't give away, but it made me feel like the story came full cirlce in a way that made sense. I could see myself watching the whole thing again and still enjoying it. It may not be on the top of my rewatch list, but it has more than enough charm to make me consider watching it all again.
Overall I would definitely recommend this to those who avoid sageuks because they are too serious, or those looking for a cute couple to root for against all odds. It may not have made it's way to my list of favorites, but now that it's over I feel very... uncomfortable. Am I the only one feeling uncomfortable? :)
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Starts out Strong, Ends with a Whimper
The strength of "100 Days My Prince" lies in how its story was set up (basically its first episode, which was very "War of the Arrows"). The child actors, Jung Ji-Hoon and Heo Jung-Eun really sell blooming friendship between Lee Yool and I-Seo to such a degree, I would've been content just watching an entire show about these kids. The dynamic between the usurped Princess and the unwilling Crown Prince makes for a fantastic foundation for a friends-to-lovers story. Or would've if the writers had chosen to go in any other direction besides the one they chose.The idea behind a boy being foisted into a position of royalty because of his opportunist father and a greedy Lord is, at first, interesting. The idea of an amnesic Prince learning to become a better person is also a great idea. But, the two ideas are at odds with each other. One lends itself to the story the writers were telling, the other is more befitting a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" kind've story like "Anastasia (1999)". Ultimately, it seemed to me that writers were torn on who Lee Yool was supposed to be.
Instead of playing the Crown Prince up as stone-faced, passive-aggressive non-actor who gets pushed out of the political intrigue plot for a romantic side-quest, we could've had a proactive Prince who sought to undermine his father's rule. The show doesn't do enough to explore or develop Lee Yool as an adult, wholly against his father's actions and suffering the consequences of them. His relationship with his father is just never explored beyond his resentment.
The show plays up the nastiness of Lee Yool as set up for a romance that's meant to realign him morally (the amnesia being his punishment, of sorts). The amnesia plot is wholly unnecessary when there's enough conflict between King and Prince, and Prince and Lord, that he needn't be removed from the royal palace setting at all.
The thing that kept me glued to this series from beginning to end was the relationship between the brother and sister, Yoon I-Seo (Hong Shim) and Yoon Seok-Ha (Mu-Yeon). That, and the barely explored relationship between the Kim So-Hye (the Crown Princess) and Mu-Yeon (the brother-turned-assassin). Basically, the hope that the show would delve more into their relationship instead of keeping their dynamics obscured in the margins.
I-Seo and Seok-Ha's promise to each other, the hope to be reunited, and the obstacles that kept them apart was a sixteen episode series unto itself. The Princess, unsatisfied and disinterested in her suffocating life as royalty, falling in love with Mu-Yeon, cliched as it is, at least had some spark to it when one considers her fraught relationship with her father (who threatens her life constantly). I can imagine if this series was just about the three of them, my opinion of "100 Days My Prince" might be much higher.
"100 Days My Prince" feels unfocused. There are so many characters (like the Queen, the second Prince, the Eunuch guy) that fall to the wayside, almost forgotten. Things that characters did at the beginning of the show (full on regicide!) are glossed over and dismissed like no biggie.
So much of it leans on the fish-out-of-water antics of the amnesiac Lee Yool, and placating Hong Shim, and the political intrigue" subplot that goes nowhere. The first only works if you like BOTH characters, and the second doesn't because the show barely develops the conflict between King and Lord.
By the time we reach the last six episodes, like most K-dramas, it's hard to even tell what the story's intentions are anymore (beyond the romantic plot) it becomes so aimless (the war subplot feels like it comes out of left-field). The Yoon sibling relationship, and forbidden love between the Crown Princess and Mu-Yeon gets lost in the dishwater of a muddled story.
Lee Yool is not an interesting character post-childhood. He's bland, and the mostly one-note performance of Do Kyung-Soo (rooted in machismo) makes the show a bore to watch toward the midpoint. The story's attempt to rehabilitate of his character just doesn't work for me overall.
Actress Nam Ji-Hyun does most of the heavy lifting that makes the relationship between Hong Shim and Lee Yool work even a little. She's got a great sense of comedic timing, and her more energetic performances with the supporting cast of villagers is fantastic.
Kyung-Soo's lack of presence just exposes how one-sided their on-screen dynamic often is. Their chemistry is weak, especially when compared to the dynamic Ji-Hyun has with Kim Seon-Ho (Jung Jae-Yoon, the face-blind governor) who plays her supporting love interest.
"100 Days My Prince" isn't without merit or its moments, but the execution of the story was lacking in lot of areas.
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The plot is ridiculously standard and the court intrigues half baked. There are no interesting themes or unexpected twists in characterization. I did enjoy the 'fish out of water' first half. It was a great illustration of how unattractive your standard cold arrogant lead is when he has no money or power. If you like 'rescuing' romantic scenes, and protectiveness/jealousy there are tons of them.
I found the secondary romance much more intriguing and the brother's storyline much more compelling than the other plot points.
The acting is mediocre, the music is fine, the action scenes are fairly thrilling so maybe there is a vague rewatch potential.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes: 7
I enjoyed the point made over and over that wealthy and powerful people without their wealth and power are fairly useless. I did NOT enjoy the theme of the second half of 'heavy is the head that wears the crown.' The villagers are bumbling up until the end, and the female lead is in constant need of rescuing all the way through. There is no subversion of power.
Character Growth: 3
Despite losses of memory, and drastic changes of scene. The characters remain basically exactly the same.
Complex Women/Relationships Between Women: 3
There is a female friendship, but it's almost fully about discussing men or the lack thereof. The female lead is 'plucky' in the way they usually are.
Production Values: 8
Costumes, sets, are all above average, and the action scenes are excellent for a K drama.
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Can I just say this is the first drama of Kyungsoo that I watched and I can say that he's a really really good actor. He nailed it.
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The story had a lot of potential from the first episode. I love how i never watch historical dramas but when i rarely do,i always choose good ones. There have been plenty of Korean historical dramas that felt really drawn out and just plain boring, but this one was really balanced,it had the right amount of laughter,romance,mystery and sadness. Also,the scenery was stunning.
The negative part of this drama was that the ending could've been a bit better, but that's nothing new with kdramas. I just felt that there were too many things that were left hanging. I wouldn't have mind 10 more minutes. Neverthless I wanna congratule the cast on getting the 14.4% for the finale and being in top 4 highest rated cable drama. I think they never expected this to be so big. I even read that this drama was a low budget one. The plot and acting were so great that they made it look like a big project so I guess I understand why people(and me included) wanted more and expected more from the ending.
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