This review may contain spoilers
I find it really hard to review this drama without giving any spoiler at all. I’ve tried my best but am afraid that it may contain minor spoilers. The reason I started this drama was because of my favorite actor Lee Seung Ki. I watched 'Myung Wol the Spy' and that alone was sufficient to make me turn away from similar plot-lines in the future. However, I have loved all the previous works of Lee Seung Ki and decided to put my confidence in his choice of dramas once again.
The story was very addictive and intense. It was not flawless though. There were a few sub-plots incorporated into the main story and a few characteristics attributed to some minor characters not with the purpose of making it richer rather with the purpose of making the main characters cooler which I couldn’t appreciate. I know it’s a drama but the reason we feel emotionally attached to the events and characters despite knowing it’s only a drama because the credibility of the story has attained a certain level. The writers are commendable for focusing on the international politics and issues but there were also times when I became a bit skeptical as to the drastic actions taken by some characters and events happening in some places.
Again, I also hate it when additional characters are inserted and significant ones are disposed of for the sole purpose of giving an emotional blow to the audience, which happened in this particular drama. One particular tragedy can be interpreted in favor of the writers but for me it was very much avoidable and thus unacceptable.
I loved the positive characters, all of them- Lee Jae Ha being the most favorite one of course. Although the soft-hearted and kind Kim Hang Ah, who gets in tears in every single episodes wasn’t very convincing for me as a soldier with special assassination training, I loved her nonetheless as a strong-willed North-Korean-soon-to-South-Korean-queen girl. Her contribution and support in the ‘journey to become the ideal king’ of Lee Jae Ha was certainly memorable. I didn’t care for the negative characters. I know I’m not supposed to either but Kim Bong Goo and his magic tricks were so surprisingly ridiculous that I couldn’t even hate him, let alone finding him scary. The only times I watched him seriously and attentively were at his confrontations with Jae Ha. Although his character was supposed to act as a huge stimulator in the main story, for me, he was the most insignificant one.
The cast didn't look very impressive to me at first. I was a bit worried about the age gap between the main leads and wondered how they would look together. However, the chemistry between Lee Seung Ki and Ha Ji Won was excellent. I have never been a fan of ‘hate-turned-love’ relationship in Kdramas but I enjoyed their sweet bickering here. The performance by the entire cast(again Lee Seung Ki being the most magnificent one for me)was outstanding.The Jae Ha-Jae Gang brotherly love, the Jae Ha- Eun Kyung cute bromance and the Queen-Hang Ah emotional bonding were epic.
The direction and editing of the drama were not very satisfying. There were moments very poorly executed and even an amateur like me could see that. It’s a drama and serious-life-altering moments are supposed and expected to be dramatic with the help of music and camera work…at least that’s how it goes for me.
My most favorite episode would be the very last one. Although the main character had to go through the pain of several separations, I never felt for them so much as I did in the last episode. The North-South reconciliation meeting (or should I say marriage meeting?! :P) was one of my most favorite moments in a drama.
Overall, I am glad that I watched this drama.
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This story is not like any other kdrama story. It's unique n reasonable. It's believable yet it's not real. How we all wish is could happen tho, peace between north n South Korea. Maybe one day they could love each other like how the main leads fought w their lives for each other. Story was fabulous. They bicker n fight each other but fall for each other. Gahhhh too amazing!! They go thru training, they hate each other, they were forced to marry each other n they truly love one another. They protect, save, love, pretend to not love, sacrifice!! They deserve to be together.
Need i say more, Lee seung gi n ha ji won are the most talented Korean actors out there. They are capable of making u laugh like a clown or bawl your eyes out like crazy!!
Ost always makes the drama more intense, lovely n FEELSSSSSSS!!!!!!
If you are reading this, that means you are wasting your time not watching this drama. That means u will regret it if you don't press play right now. Cuz I believe it's time to watch this drama!!
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The begining is slowwwwww, nothing interesting happen, the main guys are pathetic.
The girl is supposed to be military and she acting kawaii, only after 2 episode she cuddle with the guys , wtf is this story ?? come on ! she is supposed to be strong and intelligent military girl, not stupid and cute like that !
i have like her in secret garden, but i hate her in this drama
Oh wait, i forget, they are supposed to be in military area, and the main girl, just go out an evenin, to go to a party ? WTF ! that's not military camp, that's an holiday camp !!!
Someone can explain me how people love this drama ? it's so pathetic, i really don't understand
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Stockholm syndrome in a nutshell
WARNING this review may contain very slight spoilers, so if you're like me and you don't want to know anything about the drama before watching it, please reconsider reading it.Watching this drama was truly a wild ride. For various reasons. For first five episodes I was questioning my life choices and wondering if it really is the drama recommended for me by a friend. For a moment there I was sure it was a cruel joke. Like twenty episodes of shaky cam kind of joke. Because getting through those first episodes was really difficult. I don’t know what happened there, who was to blame, but this drama really doesn’t start well. But for those who manage it, their patience will be rewarded. Kinda…
So first impressions. Camerawork is absolutely bizarre. And I’m not only talking about shaky on-hand camera. Using fish eye lenses and very weird angles in the most unexplainable scenes, it all adds up to very weird and sometimes hard to watch cinematography. Plus it makes the series look very outdated. Shaky cam may not be annoying all the time, but in a scene where two characters are running with cameras strapped to them and next on hand camera following them, I’ve honestly started feeling nauseous. The problem persist with the lighting, or lack thereof. We only have natural lightning, which really doesn't do it's job. Colours look very washed and a lot of unnecessary shadows appear. Sometimes it looks almost as those cheap para-documentary series.
Let’s talk about first impressions about the characters.
So we have couple of main characters. I’m not sure why does the trope of male lead being a total asshole at first even exist, but it does and needs to be talked about. I’ve seen it a couple of times already and male character making fun of female, being absolutely mean towards her of even openly ridicule her is just so bad. Why does it even exist when after scenes like that I never want leads to end up together? I understand character development reasons, I know that in couple of episodes those characters will fall in love with each other, but at this point it just seems so unrealistic, that even later on I had trouble coping with it. There are some things that just cannot be so early forgotten.
Villain in this series is absolutely exaggerated. Him and all his people is just such a weird bunch of characters that there’re mostly ridiculously funny rather than scary. It's really hard to treat seriously someone who's main character trait is eating chocolates in weird manner.
Overall characters sometimes seem so childish it just seem so unrealistic that their actions would be possible in the army.
So we get the main character, Lee Jae Ha, your average, everyday Korean prince. You know the type, right? I always assumed that being royalty means that from early childhood you’re being taught how to manage this life. Well I guess Jae Ha skipped some lessons, because his older brother was equally with me embarrassed with mostly all the things that he did. His greatest accomplishment in the early episodes was not being killed right away by the North Korean team and trust me, nobody would blame them. And I know that it was explained that he attended normal school to blen in with the plebs or something, but still it looks like the guy has no preservation instinct whatsoever.
Opposite him, we have Kim Hang Ah, lethal weapon of North Korean Army. Woman who can kill you with rolled newspaper or whatever there is. Her only weakness is that the moment she changes from her uniform, she becomes this annoying high school girl who only dreams of finding herself a boyfriend. I’m not kidding, the change was overwhelming and so comical that I just couldn’t believe it. At one point she’s this strong soldier and then she acts like a damsel in distress being absolutely childish. When she’s off duty she dresses and acts like a high schooler and it completely doesn’t fit her serious army demeanour.
One more thing about this character, or rather the actress portraying her. Ha Ji Won. I’ve already seen her in Secret Garden, and I don’t know what happened but here her acting in some moments was so off. Maybe it’s because of her North Korean accent. To be honest, I’ve heard genuine North Korean accent only couple of times, so I’m no expert, but for her it sounded so artificial that it was hard to watch some scenes. It looks more like she tried to make fun of the accent.
So after all of this, we finally get like eight episode and finally this drama can pass as watchable. I will try not to include any spoilers here, but beware. At this point we get some instant character development (like, you know, absolutely irresponsible child of a man suddenly decides that he can rule the country of something) and finally some minor intrigue (till this point the villain was mostly unintended comic relief). We’ve been served cliche amnesia and blackmail. But life seems back to normal and anthem is the biggest issue now. We discovered that casually listening to Flight of the Valkiries while chilling in the garden passes in Korea as something normal and news headline is absolutely valid piece of evidence in court. We’re being served harsh truth about life and some other weird ideas. Overall a lot is happening in this drama, but it’s mostly just a lot of minor events that barely influence anything since they’re rarely mentioned more than once.
Scenes related to politics and international relations were mostly ridiculous and thanks to English speaking actors exaggerated ad unintentionally comical.
And here’s a twist. After all that bickering, after pointing out all of those things and more, that I cannot write here, cause spoilers, I woke up one day and decided that I enjoyed this drama. I don’t know what kind of weird Stockholm syndrome that was, but at some point I’ve actually started liking the characters and the drama started to be even enjoyable. I still seen all those ridiculous motives, I still think that the villain here was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. But somehow after twentieth episode I decided that I’m going to miss this drama.
I’d say that this drama is like a pug. You know, this small, cross eyed, snoring dog. It’s a bit ugly, it’s somehow sad, but you still love it. It just grows on you.
And I want to explain the rating I'm going to give. 6.5/10 is for me hight for this drama. At first I was thinking about giving it 3, but second half of the series redeemed a bit the mistakes of poor writing and bad cinematography. This drama is not perfect, it's somehow good but only when it's not embarrassingly naive. Still, I'm glad that I made it to the end.
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This review may contain spoilers
This show is off-the-charts crazy, but in the best way
The King 2 Hearts is a dark comedy, filled with tension, humour and heart. Starting from the first episode, the show did exactly what it was supposed to do - kept my interest and made me invested in the characters and story. The writing was solid and the directing sharp. The story moved fast but was executed smartly. Overall, the setup about the North-South conflict was dramatic, but the tone was farce.To me, what sets this drama apart is how it was able to fluidly change the tone from deadly serious to laugh out loud hilarity. One generally knew what will happen, but there were all these twists and turns along the way that kept me beyond entertained. I cringed and I laughed, I cried and I rejoiced, and I felt my heart swell up with love or pride only to have it shatter into a million pieces.
The cinematography was realistically rich and the show effectively used different angles like the fish eye and bird’s eye views of conversations. It also transitioned nicely from past to present and present to past (like Jae Ha with the window in episode 1 and Hang Ah with the compact in a later episode).
I appreciate the time the show took to develop its characters and making them multi-faceted. Across the board, the acting was solid and the casting was perfect.
Ha Ji Won’s portrayal of Kim Hang Ah, the tough Special Ops North Korean agent provided a nice blend of deadly force and girly innocence. I love her tough “I can beat any man in combat persona” while being so earnest and pragmatic when it came to finding a husband. Her acting was so good, transitioning from ass-kicking to being all girly in a flash. Her micro-expressions were so well-done like her hardening stare as she took down someone. She was also relatable - her fan-girl reaction when she saw celebrities on the billboards is how I would react, especially at the thought of training with them. BTW, nice job, Show for the nods to her other dramas - Jo In Sung from “What Happened in Bali” and Hyun Bin from “Secret Garden”.
I also admire the range that Lee Seung Gi got to play as Lee Jae Ha, our entitled prince. Spanning everything from being petulant, mean, and cowardly, to the complete opposite, where Jae Ha showed immense depth, strength and honor. These moments of maturity were often hilariously conveyed as unexpected pockets of goodness couched in lots of bratty behavior but when push comes to shove, our male lead ultimately stepped up and protected what matters to him.
Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi were OTP gold! From reluctant teammates to friends to lovers, these two made a excellent romantic coupling. Their energy crackled and the show scored big by quickly scaling up the emotional tension between the OTP right off the bat in believable and meaningful ways. I was constantly at the edge of my seat, waiting for these two to either have a major showdown with punches thrown, or to make out madly. Either way, their chemistry was off the charts.
Ha Ji won proved her ability to bring out the sexy in her male co-stars. I thought that when I swooned over Yoon Kye Sang, her co-star in Chocolate, and now, who would have thought that Lee Seung Gi with his puppy look could look so manly next to her?! To give the male leads some credit, I am always so impressed by the actor who can alter my perception of his physicality - it's another level of skill entirely.
I enjoyed the hot-and-cold, push-and-pull between the OTP, especially when set against an international, political backdrop where their messages were conveyed through generals, kings and the press. Their banter tickled me immensely, both equally witty and idiotic and it was so refreshing to find a couple who actually possessed the chemistry to make their back-and-forth rapid dialogue sound so natural.
The drama also fleshed out the side characters very well, and this added much more depth to the story. I like that the North Korean characters were not presented as caricatures, and instead as relatable people with their own unique cultural background. It was fun seeing the comradery of the North Korean team, and having gruff Kang Seok become interested in SNSD added a funny touch. That said, I also like the through line of prejudice that the characters embodied. The show did a good job of pushing the envelope, using on-point comedic relief to lighten the serious premise. At times, the dialogue can be surprisingly offensive, but also honest. Even though the show was a fictional political farce, the feelings that were explored were real and interesting.
I just love that everyone’s family was so sweet on this show. Kim Hang Ah’s father was such a darling, a tough general who always trying to protect his daughter and doing what he thought she wanted. The way that the whole royal family interacted with each other was so cute and it was nice not having any family in-fighting for once. There was nobody out to steal the crown or trying to kill each other. The childish sibling interactions between Jae Kang, Jae Ha and Jae Shin were just so endearing.
Jo Jung Suk really does have a swoony voice and he is a great actor. His Eun Shi Kyung was so humorless and straight-laced, and yet so earnestly adorable and attractive. What happened to him left me feeling gutted and crying.
If there was one thing I dislike about this drama, it was anything related to Kim Bong Gu, played by Yoon Jae Moon who did well. Bong Gu appeared to be interesting at first as an absurd arch villain, but he lost his scary factor after too many pointless scenes involving him. Less is always more and had the show focused more on legitimately creepy moments with Bong Gu, it would have been more effective.
I would also like to add that the OST for this was well-chosen and the tracks fit the scenes perfectly. Some pieces were suitably tense, and the use of instrumental pieces for the poignant moments heightened the mood for me.
In general, I truly recommend this show - it was pitch-perfect, with great episodes up to the end.
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Some say that they don’t get the chemistry between the leads but it wouldn’t have worked if Hang Ah was always shown with stars in her eyes and rainbows coming out of her ears (and other places) Jae Ha had a wonderful rotation of his character that was never stuck in one place. On his first side he’s an ass. Then it turned, he was a coward, and again he changed to a man learning hard truths and finally became who he was meant to be. In the end I think this was the best written male character in a leadership role. (I do admit that I’ve watched Seung Gi’s roles in random order this being my third and I already know this is my favorite of his. Looking forward to Vagabond)
Before I watched this I was a fan of Jong Suk from Oh My Ghost but this was my favorite. And even though I saw his character taking that path, I enjoyed watching this serious character unlike the funny and awkward chef.
I was glad Jae Shin’s character had her hardships. If she went through this story unscathed the ending wouldn’t have been worth it. Even though she was only a side character, Jae Shin helped the audience understand the desperation of a family and friends who have no clue how to help a situation none of them have ever faced. Hang Ah’s compassion and hard love helped move the others to keep her going.
Bravo to the writers and cast. I will be looking for more of their work.
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This review may contain spoilers
totally lives up to other reviews
im not big on political conflicts bc they all seem either the same/repeatative/or predictable to me (like sibling rivalry, greedy old men in the same gov trying to overstep their boundaries, evil mother trying to get her son power, etc etc) but this was refreshingly different. just watch and you'll see *wink*each storyline and character was intricate. the side characters had their own charm & added to the drama in their own way. the character development was ASTRONOMICAL. I didn't even realize when but I started rooting for the ML even though I didn't like him much in the first couple of episodes. the writers made their characters perfectly, none were black and white (except maybe one but I just think he's really psychotic, like an actual mental issue or smth). they were really human and it just made me love the story oh so much more, even if they did make me angry in the moment.
the story really makes you question yourself, thinking one thing but doubt creeps in from another.
the chemistry was *chef's kiss* perfect. Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi had a love story so palpitating. and I love me a supportive family, like it was unexpectedly beautiful and touching. the second lead couple DESERVES A WHOLE STORY OF THEIR OWN I CANT *TEARS*
im also not big on listening to the ost but if a rlly good song is playing and I somehow hear it while watching the drama, then I'll start paying attention to the bg songs (*ahem* taeyeon is part of the ost lineup)
the only thing I hated was/were the evil character(s) but thats their job so I gueeeessssss it was a success in a way AND I hated the *spoiler* deaths but I guess thats the way life is
ANYWAYS, 1000/10 would rewatch. the tropes were so refreshing to the eyes and every moment was enjoyable. from South Korean prince and a North Korean ace soldier. a guard and a princess. a nation vs a conglomerate. us vs Korea. dad vs son. brother vs. brother. enemies to lovers. etc the list just goes on. I didn't skip a single scene like how I usually would do lately so that was a really good feeling. <3
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Don’t miss this amazing piece of cinema
I cannot express how amazing this series is. From beginning to end there is laughter, action, drama and all around boldness and sweetness. I have watched this series at least three times already and it never fails to amaze me. Honestly after watching it for the third time I saw things that I might’ve missed the first two times around but it was just that good and worth the watch.What I love most about this series is that it surrounds royalty in a more modern time. Usually when you see anything about Kings and Queens, it’s all historical but this one is more current and upbeat and truthfully more connected to events that we see today. The acting was absolutely amazing and I must admit that this male lead would look good even if he was wearing a trash bag. He’s acting skills continue to be top notch and I absolutely cannot forget a female lead. We all know her and the quality of her work but she shines even brighter in this. The supporting cast were just as good. The second female lead in the series I had to see that literally brought tears to my eyes. I’m sure if you watch it the same will happen to you as well. Overall I feel that this series embodies family, commitment, love, loyalty and unity. All of which are shown at its finest quality.
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Music, story, acting (NO COMPLAIN)
I wish there was ait more of romance (well this is my personal thoughts because I like a lot the Shoujo genre of stories) but I think howthey developed the story was anyway good because if the putted to much of cheese sceneseother viewers may be they would find it a bit disturbing so to bring it to the likings of all the way it is is good
It's pretty much rare to see role's like the female badass character they almost on all series make only the male guyall cool etc bt here the female's role was really great
I remember watching the entire series in a 2 days marathon and I have rewatched it agan recently
I cant get over of this beautiful love,war story
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Thrilling plot (not over the top)
The plot of this was fantastic. It was riveting with good twists and turns without becoming ridiculous like so many fast-paced, thriller-type kdramas. Toward the end, I started thinking that the show was going on for 2-3 episodes too long, but I liked where they took the plot in the end. What keeps me from rating this 5/5 stars is the women in this show. Hang Ah was great when she was being a soldier, but as soon as she was dressed in civilian clothes, she became the most annoying, chipper, 1950s housewife. I found the princess character annoying too. Thankfully, the male characters made up for the women, and I loved the plot.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama manages to earn the name "drama", there's a lot of dramatic tension in this. I enjoyed the way the show mixed elements of a fairytale romance, military war games, political power struggles, arms dealers and the actual threat of an outright war. This expert mingling of plot lines kept the show very entertaining as there was never a shortage of storyline. The love story is well developed as the two leads are a couple for the majority of the drama, their angst and separations always had a political cause not personal, this was a shift from the usual plot devices in romantic dramas. I didn't detect any noble idiocy in this drama, the two leads thought out every problem and made well informed decisions.SPOILER ALERT: What I particularly didn't like about the plot was the killing of Eun shi gyeong, was it necessary to kill him? I found his death particularly annoying because it didn't actually result in the definitive capture of the villain, his death felt pointless and a waste of a good character especially after show developed a love line with shi gyeong and the princess, had this romance been fully realised, it would have nicely rounded off the bromance between the king and shi gyeong; this bromance was so well depicted only to have it cut short with his death. END SPOILER
Overall this drama is about the making of a good king and this story was well told. Lee Jae Ha started off as a bratty, irresponsible, playboy prince, and ended up a strong, resolute and mature king, I liked that he retained his sense of fun to the end.
The casting and acting was spot on (except for the foreign English speaking actors, these were horrendous and had too many lines in my opinion ), there were no weak links in the central cast. I absolutely disliked Ha Ji Won in Secret Garden (to the point that I vowed never to watch her again), but I loved her in this role, she embodied Kim Hang Ah's badass toughness and soft femininity perfectly.
This was my first time watching Lee Seung Gi, he was very good and damn near stole the show, but not quite in my opinion because of Ha Ji Won, Jo Jung Suk, the queen dowager and Hang Ah's dad. The acting is superb in this drama.
The music is ok, I liked the ballad but was not a fan of the dramatic orchestral music as I found it a bit overdramatic; the story was engaging enough to not focus on the music.
The cinematography is fantastic though, this is one beautifully shot drama.
I'm not a great rewatches, but I'll give this an 8 rewatch value, I've rarely seen a drama as polished as this one.
My overall score is 9.5
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This review may contain spoilers
Remember that dramas do not have to be realistic nor historically accurate. This is not a romcom so be prepared for some suspense and a light spy thriller. It has been awhile since I've watched this drama. I originally watched it because I liked the idea of a modern Korean monarchy and I had watch "Princess Hours" years ago and recently rewatched it too. This is the drama that i was introduced to Jo Jung Suk and there was something about him that I couldn't get enough of. His character was serious, empathetic, and lovable. I had also seen Ha Ji Won in "Secret Garden" and loved her strong female character. This drama continued her portrayal of a strong, intelligent, and emotional female character. She was basically a badass, she was fighting bad guys in a short shirt and boots and then later pulling out a sniper rifle in a skirt with an injured arm and leg. It was great to see her character being the strong and decisive one instead of relying on the lead male character. That doesn't mean the lead male was wimpy, you could see the growth progression of the character as the series went on and by the end he had started to become a strong leader. I really wanted the guard and princess story to evolve and have a happy ending but I understand why it ended the way it did, lets just say I was crying with her. As an American I did a little chuckling at the portrayal of Americans, it's not far from reality though. Watch this drama and the great acting that is in it you will enjoy the ups and downs that it gives you. Will John Mayer get justice or won't he? Was this review helpful to you?
