One big problem I stepped on was the repetitiveness and slow progress of the story.
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Yam Jun is what I like most about this drama, because she is in a very thin line between hero and villain since she's the main character and she's playing the role of a villain but I caught myself cheering for her, wanting her to succed in her plans so badly. She isn't your regular kdrama hero... She's the exact opposite of it. In any other drama she would be considered a villain, but if you're like me you will be cheering for her for the most part.
The role played by Lee Duk Hwa was extraordinary. It was a beautiful thing when he was around children. King Injo has many beautiful relationships with other characters like Crown Prince So Hyun and his other children and grandchildren. Also, in his world he had a very very beautiful relationship with Yam Jun, despite all her manipulation and schemings. I think, for the most part, taking his perspective, it was a beautiful love.
There is a set of characters I love so much in this drama and that is the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. They have an amazing relationship despite being very different from each other. They make a very good team to go through hardships together in China. He becomes stronger with her and for him and her children she can get through it all. She's the strongest female I've ever seen in a kdrama so far. So Hyun is a gentle and thoughtful son to King Injo. He suffers so much in his life, trying to be the best son he can be to his father. The Crown Princess is the fearless female warrior always seaking to thrive and So Hyun is all heart. This couple seriously gave me the feels. I felt like they are, together with Injo, the only heros to cheer for.
The plot is all about scheming and ambition for the throne. It is a very political drama. Don't expect to see love and romance. Most characters would be considered 'evil' by most people I think... But I don't think exactly like that though. I think most of the characters feel very convincing... Not exactly bad or good... They feel almost human, I guess. It is indeed a very 'cruel' story for all characters so the plot is VERY dramatic (although I can say I never cried once but laughed quite a few times because this drama can be absurd sometimes and most of those times it is because of Yam Jun's way of thinking and scheming. She's just too much I guess lol). I've found the story unpredictable for the most part so I didn't get bored once. The storytelling still feels very fresh in the kdramaland imo. It is definitely not something you can easily find in another drama.
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If you’re looking for historical romance I would not suggest this one but if you’re into historical dramas and I do mean dramas lot plotting, murdering and scheming you may like this one. No fairy tale ending, no redemption (I.e bad guy turns good) nope.
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The circus
It's a villainess drama which we don't get to see a lot of. Knowing Kdrama, they generally give the same immature treatment for 99% of all villains ever. Even when we have a villain lead like this drama, they don't break the rule to have a better portrayal of a good villain character. Instead we get a silly dumbed down version of a baddie. You may as well add squeaky sound effects and air it on Sunday morning cartoons. To boil it down, you'll be watching 50-episodes of this king and concubine being clowns until they reach their demise because the drama ran out of episodes. I was hoping for a smart cunning play but we got a reckless uncalculated short-sighted arrogant one. Also, the drama had this habit of re-using the same evil tricks over and over instead of coming with something creative. Setting up the same traps is a case in point. On the bright side, Kim Hyun Joo was keeping the drama afloat.Was this review helpful to you?
