Missing Crown Prince (2024)

Only for hard core period drama lovers

The synopsis for this show is totally wrong. This is not a "romantic comedy" by any stretch of the imagination! Maybe for a few odd minutes in the first few episodes but the drama is dark - tragedy, double dealing, betrayal, treason, and court politics with a tinge of myster - all the elements of a wonderful sageuk.

More amazingly, the leads Suho, Hong Yeji and Kim Min Kyu deliver a performance far beyond their years. Yes they had a slow start at the beginning but around episode 7 or 8, they are starting to find their acting feet and got into their groove to deliver powerful performances.

The last four episodes were abit draggy - why was there a need to have 20 episodes when 16 would have sufficed? Those last 4 episodes seemed to go round in circles with no real further development - just to drag out the time. And yet the finale was a total mess because how it ended was unnecessary and illogical in that historical context. It seemed as if the writer suddenly realised he had to end at episode 20, and suddenly realised the drama was a 'romantic comedy' so hejust haphazardly concluded.

I seriously don't understand why the rating of this show is so low - in terms of plot twists and turns and certainly the acting of the young leads, this is in no way inferior to My Dearest - similarly, i don't understand why the rating of that show is so high. No one thought Ahn Eun Jin could carry the drama but she was fantastic. Similarly here too with the leads. And the story here is certainly far more intriguing than My Dearest which dwelled on the emotional toil of being a subservient country in wartimes rather than any real developmental plot. While this drama doesn't carry the same depth of emotion as My Dearest, the actors are giving it their darnest but the audiences are not giving them a chance to prove themselves.

Read More

The universe is cruel

I signed up for a romantic comedy, but got something else. I was handed an emotional drama instead. However, it made me love Missing Crown Prince more. What inspired me about this drama is the overview stating how "Missing Crown Prince" is a romantic comedy about a crown prince who was kidnapped by the family of the girl he's supposed to marry. While on the run for their lives, romance blossom between the two. What actually got me to watch this drama is my curiosity. I was curious about how the story is going to unfold, about whether it's going to be the usual plot. More importantly, I was curious about SUHO's acting. I love his songs, he sings so well, so when I knew he acted in an historical drama, I wanted to see if he's also an excellent actor as he is a singer. And sure enough, I got my answer. I was utterly impressed by his acting.

"Missing Crown Prince" focus on love, fate, and the struggle that lover's face during the Joseon Dynasty. I only witness the comedy in the first five episodes of the drama, the remaining 15 episodes were full of emotions and politics. That's what I love about this drama. In this story, I couldn't really hate the villains, "Queen Dowager and Choi Sang Rok," upon learning of their past. Yes, I did hate those two in the begining, but upon the revelation of their backstory, I couldn't hate them, although I didn't approve of how they went about with their love. Yes, they deserve punishment for their evil ways, but if we look at it in another light, Choi Sang Rok and the Queen Dowager were just two innocent people who fell in love and wanted to be together, they weren't asking for much, they only wanted to spend their days together. However, their dream was shattered because of a greedy king who happened to be the grandfather of the Crown Prince, "Lee Gon." Fate was cruel to these two, it brought them together, it separated them, it also allowed them to meet again. It's also the same fate, that made Lee Gon the grandson of the late king who orchestrated the separation of two lovers to meet Choi Myung Yoon, the daughter of Choi Sang Rok. It's also that darn fate that made two brothers, Lee Gon and Do Sung fall for the same woman. Isn't it funny? I mean, how fate plays a cruel trick. That said, I loved the politics that went on in this drama, it's intriguing. The emotions as I watched two lovers, Lee Gon and Choi Myung Yoon face many dangers, make difficult choices, and overcome the many adversities that came their way made me love this drama more. Without forgetting the relationship of Lee Gon and Do Sung, I loved their close relationship. Yeah, they had their misunderstandings, but those misunderstandings ended up making their brotherly bond much stronger than it ever was. The romance in "Missing Crown Prince" is slow burn, but it's well worth it. I love the chemistry of Suho and Hong Ye Ji.

Ending
After much scheming, the final battle ensues. Now, Lee Gon is King. We see Choi Sang Rok and the Queen Dowager allying with disloyal officials of the court to overthrow the king, while crowning Do Sung king. In the end, their own scheme were used against them. In other words, they lost terribly. As the daughter of a sinner, Myung Yoon is relegated to a servant, Lee Gon continues to reign as king. During his short time as king, before he abdicated his throne to his brother, he eradicated "guilt by association." And thus, Myung Yoon was reinstated back to her noble status. Some are mad at the ending, but I'm not. Why? It's because we all have that choice to make, Lee Gon only chose what's most important to him which is a Myung Yoon. Yes, he could have made Myung Yoon his queen, but I guess he chose a simpler life, a life free from politics, scheming, and loneliness. To some, power is much more important than anything, while few would choose happiness/love over and again. I guess Lee Gon is among those few. I loved how this drama ended, the villains were punished accordingly, Lee Gon and Myung Yoon after going through so much finally got to be together. Plus, we see their beautiful child. Also, we see Lee Gon's Father, Step mother, brother, Myung Yoon, and others having a great time. In my opinion, the ending couldn't be much better.

I just can't help but add that, I got to witness one of the best acting in the industry from the casts. Especially Suho, Hong Ye Ji, Myung Se Bin, Kim Min Kyu, and Kim Joo Heon. I didn't know Suho's acting could be this captivating, his acting really left an impression on me. I don't know about others, but this is definitely one of the best historical drama of the year. A double digit.
We also got lovely and emotional OST by Suho, making it an added bonus to the show.

Read More

This is very biased preference review btw

Seriously, I was a fan till the last episode come out. The ending, woah, really, I don't understand? Like the whole story I love, become the story I hate because of the 15 last minutes?

The whole story, that builds the character of an intelligent, cool, and wise crown prince, end up throwing his throne and responsibilities for a lover... So easily? After they bring this whole narrative about they can't be together tho? Like he just toss it to his brother and run away?? My cool dependable crown prince just run away like that? Just like that?? Elaborate pls?? Show me the struggle? The process?

I love the story but the ending... Just the ending... The ending is not cool. Too shortened.

Read More

Promising start, boring romance, lame ending

The entire drama felt like the writing team was either completely replaced in the second half or the writers decided to troll the audience. I was a fan up to about episode 12. The political intrigue was very engaging and the story was worth watching just for that. After the crown prince returned to the palace, the plot fell completely flat and the ending undid everything the main character accomplished.

The writers built up Lee Gon to be a calm, intelligent, responsible man who cared about the country. He spent the entire show fighting for what was rightfully his - the throne, just to voluntarily give it up for a woman he barely knew. This was so out of character for him because he was written as someone who was incredibly level-headed, especially in comparison to his brother, who kept throwing temper tantrums and crying all the time. Instead of creating a plot that made sense and writing a convincing love story, the writers threw their own characters under the bus to force feed us a happy ending.

I would have been alright by this decision if the romance was convincing. It wasn't. The actors looked stiff together and had very little chemistry. Barely any time was spent on building a meaningful romantic connection. A few days in the woods together wasn't enough for Lee Gon to abandon his responsibilities for a woman he didn't know all that well.

Overall, this was an incredibly underwhelming show that lost all charm in the second half. The romance was bland and the ending was terrible.

Read More

Not really about a Missing Crown Prince and not really his love story

I really enjoyed this drama, but there are many things that one has to overlook because it is not a perfect production. I wanted to give it a higher rating because there were parts that I really enjoyed and looked forward to each weekend. However, some elements made it less interesting.

The name – "Missing Crown Prince" – is not what the show is about! If the whole drama focused on that, it might have been better. In reality, the Missing Crown Prince story is only the first part of the drama. In fact, the Crown Prince and his love interest were not the main couple. The romance of the other couple was the entire driving force of the drama and the final scenes were their love testament.

It ultimately was an epic love story for Queen Dowager and Royal Physician and how their actions affected the people around them. Their story was compelling, their acting was engaging, and they were definitely not black-and-white characters. Our main leads had chemistry, but their love story felt secondary in this drama. Much of the second half of the drama focused on Queen Dowager/Royal Physician romance.

It felt like the writers were trying to tell the main leads' story in the first part, then the supporting couple's story, and finally wrap up with parallels and life lessons, but it was a little off.

I also enjoyed the relationship of the Royal Family. It is refreshing to see a drama with an Emperor who has a healthy family relationship. This gave us a wonderful second prince, who was probably my favorite character in the drama. When the Crown Prince was missing and the second prince was at the palace, I enjoyed all the shenanigans. The actor did a wonderful job in this role.

The ending was suitable and really the only plausible one if I accept my theory that the writers were trying to show the lessons learned from the other couple.

I will add - The music was lovely - Click Add to Playlist....

Read More

True Love and passion

The drama is fantastic and I enjoyed and love watching this drama, though there are certain parts which have a sad ends. It is somehow a great passionate love story. The main actor and main actress were superb in this drama, and all other actors and actresses were excellent in their role. It is difficult to find a great historical drama, but you did come across them once a while.
The story indicates passion and true love all the way , but with certain parts there are sad and happy moments. Thanks to the producer and screenwriter who made this drama so touching and really great all the way from 1-20.

Read More