If one looks at this as a historical, it follows the basic pattern for that genre; the lonely paranoid king, the birth secret, the "we can't be together for so and so reasons" and the desire for the crown.
But this drama actually dealt with those cliches really well. I could say it was the "model" way of dealing with it. for one, Dong Joo was actually used to her full potential as a female lead, she was stubborn, jaded and "too careful of attachments", but she was independent, she worked hard to hone her "fighting skills" and they actually USED those skills for the greater good of the plot! also she had a great balance of when to be "cold" vs "cute" during the development of the romance.
Nokdu, well what can I say about dear sweet Nokdu... for starters, he is now my num1 favorite male lead character ever! I love the "sweet" kind, but I don't think they are as widely written as the "Nice Male Lead" tag says they are :)
if one is not as sweet, cute, playful, and easily sulky as Nokdu then they are not the "nice" type..
I can go on and on about his characteristics, but I'll talk about Lady Kim instead ;p
SHE was the main point of this drama, "the wind that carried the plot?", I wish they used her more but seeing her again at the end really made my day (and the decision to give this a 10 easier ;p )
overall I think this great a "Newbie Friendly" drama one can suggest to friends that want to start kdramas, especially for historical genres that might seem too heavy for a newbie.
The ost was also full of amazing mood makers I need to listen to separately and add to my favorite ost list ;p
my rewatch values are either a 1 or 10, and though I might skip the heavy stuff here, I'd LOVE to watch my favorite couple Nokdu and Dongjoo!❤
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녹두전
This drama was actually pretty good, I finished it in three days. Somehow, I feel like they made it too long. Some things could have happened before the time it happened. It has a lot of sweet scenes, girl power (moowoldan are incredible), comedy, but also pretty mad scenes. I didn't cry watching it, but it also has some sad scenes. It was in my watch list for a long time and I decided to watch it because of Hwang In-Yeop. If you like historical dramas (even if it's fictional), I do recommend it. You should watch it at least once. It has an interesting plot and the cast is amazing.Was this review helpful to you?
The Two Sides of the Coin for the Tale of Nokdu
Gosh, this drama man. This Drama feels like it was written by 50 different writers who all wanted to bring the show in a different direction. As a result, it left me incredibly frustrated as I felt that the Highs of this Show were just SO freaking good and left me SO hooked I couldn't stop watching. On the inverse of that though, the lows of this show were just SO bad I had to take breaks from the show for days on end just to mentally push myself through the show. Additionally, I really enjoyed the OST as it proves you don't always need to spam the same catchy songs by popular artists and that Instrumental Music is just as powerful in an OST and the kpop artists super catchy songs. These Highs and Lows just felt like a coin flip during the show and I never knew which side of the coin I would be landing on, however, overall the highs make this a worthwhile show to watch and carry my rating, and the ending was personally enjoyable to me so all in all I have to give it a 7.5/10!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Tale Of Nokdu, behind its romantic-comedy premise, teaches a serious lesson about men’s penchant for power and thinking having it could bring all the things one’s heart’s desires. The drama clearly depicts a side to humanity that is innate yet abhorrent. It also shows that we are given the ability to make choices. Choices that would eventually define how we want to live our lives.Jang Dong Yoon challanged himself in his very first period drama role and greatly portrayed his character of a man disguising himself as a woman. Kim So Hyun, being the historical drama veteran that she is, shone in her role as well.The Tale of Nokdu, armed with the right balance of humor and mystique, is another historical romantic comedy drama that is a good addition to the watch list of sageuk enthusiasts.
I love that Jeon Nok Du was not a perfect hero. Sure he did fight well and knew how to outsmart his enemies, but the secret about his true identity made him vulnerable. His stubbornness caused much of the pain he felt. The father he knew and the one who raised him had been adamant for him not to know the truth because he knew it would hurt deeply. But as a human being, we always want to know, and I really can’t fault Nok Du for trying to find things out.So that's it.You can give it a try.
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The story was a bit strange, but they made it work and it was really funny. The performances were top notch from everyone in the cast, but especially the leading actor was extra funny and he was really good with the action scenes. The latter were plenty after the first half. The romance was cute too and it had a nice happy ending that worked nice for the love story and the political drama both. The twist about the king was pretty well presented and the built up towards the big revelation was quite entertaining. But the best part of this drama was the pace that kept everything interesting till the very ending.
So, eight out of ten.
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Interesting in the beginning, but soon looses traction
This show had plenty of potential but it just fell flat for me. The story is rather simple, but interesting enough, the problem is that the drama has too many episodes, in my opinion. The lack of twists and the simplicity of the premise ruin the pacing of the story because the writers had to stretch it out through 32 episodes, causing the actual important plot points to take too long to happen.At least if they had the romance developing in the background this show wouldn't feel boring, but that was not the case. The relationship simply consisted of Nok Du pining after the female lead, who was way too spiteful and egoistic to care for him, making Nok Du basically her doormat, it was just annoying.
I still see the potential of this show, so I can understand how some people enjoy it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but if you really want to see it, do it without very high expectations.
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It became my favourite kdrama. I just loved it.
I always wanted to watch this but I was hesitant. I am glad that I gave it a try and I was so satisfied with each and every aspect of this drama. It had a suitable ending and good actors. I took a long time to finish it because I watched it during my exams. This drama felt like a way out of all the stress for me:) Initially it was funny, then it got intense, every scene and twist seemed exciting and rational. The story line was so strong. It was about family, women empowerment, kingship, romance, comedy, curiosity and righteousness. According to me, this drama is so underrated, I know it has good rating but it deserves more. If you are thinking of watching it, go ahead. It is worth watching. Anyone will be hooked. I might be biased but it was just so fine :)Was this review helpful to you?
A thoroughly complete story
This is quite a surprise! I had only read the synopsis which talked about the about the cross-dressing part (no spoilers here) and thought maybe it would be a run-of-the-mill, light hearted story..it was on my to-watch list for months and months..... to my surprise this is a very well written, crafted and executed complete story. No ends left dangling as such.It starts off with a focused scope on a small family, that you think, okay this is just about them...and then before you know it, the story begins to expand. It expands itself so quietly and cunningly that before you know it, you are immersed into a whole universe. I love that it isn't just not only black and white. The way it went from talking about just 3 people living their lives and the story takes a step back and makes you realise the that they are a very important cog that makes this world go around. The characters progress satisfactorily, each has their own backdrop, told succinctly. Each character gets the screen time to share their story on stage, their hows and whys are shared clearly and you feel for everyone of them, laugh and shed tears with them, get angry at them...wonderful acting by everyone, the senior actors expressions in their eyes, the youthful charm of the young leads and how their characters develop as they face the unfolding secrets in their lives . The way the ending of the dram is picturised, you are left with the thought that somewhere, somehow their lives are still continuing on.
Rewatch value: for sure! Not the whole thing but some beautiful and heart touching moments of family relationships, of friendships. It is hilarious how a ML can be so "pretty"
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The Tale of No-can-do
Initially, it stood out by highlighting a predominantly female perspective of resilient women thriving independently, offering a glimpse into a world of contentment among a backdrop of mostly antagonistic male characters. However, the typical romantic entanglement, took a central role in a heartbeat as it featured two inexplicably infatuated men competing for the affection of a seemingly unremarkable woman, creating an appalling surreal cycle of rejection and groveling. This toxic dynamic became overwhelming and off putting, tainting the entire drama. The drama stumbled when merging this with a weary political subplot that ended up being unnecessarily cluttered. On another note, the cross-dressing gimmick at the beginning was nothing but a waste of time and a blatant cash grab. At the very least, it should have served as an element to help the characters bond but it didn't. That only started to happen after the identity reveal, not before.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun together have proven to be a dynamistic pairing. They both have "wow-factor" beauty and together they are simply a GORGEOUS couple. The push and pull dynamic between the characters of Jang Dong Yoon (Nok Du) and Kim So Hyun (Dong Ju) ranks among some of the best seen in romantic K-Dramas. I enjoyed immensely the constant "love bickering" between the two leads, the secrets that they kept from each other, the outright denials of affection for each other and then the sad eyes and hurt hearts as a result of their denials. I loved the code language that they would speak to each other that revealed what they really felt for each other which was always in direct contradiction to their spoken denials of any affection for each other. I loved the blushing that occurred whenever they would touch each other and the sweet things done for each other in the name of safety and protection. The slow and methodical build to a red-hot burning desire for love and intimacy between Nok Du and Dong Ju was well done by the writers. The first 18 episodes concentrated heavily on the relationship of the leading couple so that the audience would understand both the temperature and the chemistry between the two leads. With certainty, the emotional bond that Nok Du and Dong Ju had was tested in the second half of the drama. The strain put on the relationship in the second half of the series served to assess if their love would survive the threat of permanent separation from each other due to selfish choices and misguided ambitions. The audience's investment in the couple would make the second half of the drama a very intense and emotional experience for anyone who was cheering this couple on. As the second half of the drama unfolded, the back-stories of Nok Du and Dong Ju were fully revealed. Their fully revealed histories brought them into a direct head-on collision with each other. Now they would have to decide if their initial plans were more important than their love for each other.In the end, Nok Du and Dong Ju made a decision that the love that they had for each other was more important than exacting revenge. The ending was profound in its way of proclaiming a message not often heard in K-Dramas and that is the unjust and the evil ones just might go unpunished in this lifetime but do not be greedy for things that are not necessary for true happiness. If you have escaped to your paradise and have love & family all around you, you have the supreme possession in life.
Much acclaim and praise should be given to the excellent writing of Hye Jin Yang (original webcomic author of "Nokjujeon") and the writing of Im Ye Jin, and Baek So Yeon (adaptation-to-drama writers). And a bow of honor to all the actors who executed the script to perfection.
At just 20 years old, Kim So Hyun gave a signature performance which served HallyU notice regarding who she is now as a young adult actress and all the great things that are yet to come from her career. Congratulations Kim So Hyun!!! Jang Dong Yoon delivered a diverse and masterful performance. How many male actors can say that they displayed both bravery and daintiness in the same drama....lol....???. Dong Yoon was comedic, fearless, compassionate, manly, womanly, and a serious lover sometimes all in the same episode. I see why his female audience will love him to the end----he can act and he has killer looks.
Finally, the cherry on top of this great story was the performance of Park Da Yeon. She just turned 8 years old and she played the character Aengdoo. Aengdoo was a treat to watch; she was like a shot of your favorite syrup in your best hot or cold latte drink of choice. Her "man-crushing" on Nok Du and Cha Yool-Moo was terribly cute, her refereeing the many love-spats of Nok Du and Dong Ju was hilarious, and finally her extreme love for food gave me great delight every time she chow'd down, slurped, grinned, gulped, and burped her way to delectable gratification; it was sheer joy for me to watch her being in "7th heaven" in these moments. Aengdoo was the quintessence of what the Story of Nokdu was all about. This great love story was punctuated by the bright spirit of Aengdoo and her consistent demonstration of pure love, joy, loyalty, and great happiness of spirit. The Tale of Nokdu is more than worthy of the high praise and the high ratings that it has and will continue to receive.
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