stargirl23
This review may contain spoilers
I was sorely disappointed with this drama. The story was unfulfilled with weak romance and unexplored character development.
The story was lacking because the political intrigue wasn't properly covered, leading to a few plot holes large enough for me to put my foot in. The enemies were your typical 2D villains who practically rubbed their hands together with glee as they once again attempt to separate the main leads for no clear reason. The actors were all attractive, but that was where the enjoyment ends for me. The king was a lovesick puppy with the typical trope of having met the female lead once when they were little and falling in love. He doggedly chases her around during the queen selection and for some reason, she falls in love with him even though he does nothing other than insist she is the dead queen for literally half of the show.
Next, there was no character development. I appreciate getting a smarter than usual female lead but that is where it ends. She grew up on the streets but she acts like a high bred noblewoman from episode one, which made no sense. First, she wanted revenge on the king, and then within the span of 1 or 2 episodes, she is in love with him. The romance was just too forced, I actually shipped her more with the evil second lead.
Carrying on about the second lead, I wasn't expecting anything too spectacular but they really dropped the ball with him. Do Sang Woo did what he could with the mediocre script and instructions he was given. He played the playful yet scheming prince perfectly, and it would have been amazing if he hadn't been so head over heels in love with the female lead just from meeting a few times. If they had built up their relationship more, his complete 180 into a psycho obsessive dude in the last episodes would have made more sense and added extra spice to the show. Instead, we got another random dude in love with the female lead for no reason.
There was a little magic added in for some razzle-dazzle but ultimately doesn't do much for the plot except conveniently help the king save our female lead time and time again.
Music was memorable, but after a while, the opera-like voices began to wear me down because it was dramatic and the show felt like a snoozefest for me. Think Game of Thrones soundtrack used for a run-of-the-mill historical show.
The end was rushed, and I don't want to spoil it but anyone with half a brain cell would understand that the ending was impossible and a plot hole. They just wanted a happy ending so bad they thought no one would remember the previous episode.
Overall, if the writers had fleshed out the relationships in this show as much as they established the sisterhood among the nice girls in the queen selection this would have been a good show. Alas, trying to shove it all into 16 episodes was a mistake. Why does Jin Se Yeon keep appearing in mediocre historical dramas?
The story was lacking because the political intrigue wasn't properly covered, leading to a few plot holes large enough for me to put my foot in. The enemies were your typical 2D villains who practically rubbed their hands together with glee as they once again attempt to separate the main leads for no clear reason. The actors were all attractive, but that was where the enjoyment ends for me. The king was a lovesick puppy with the typical trope of having met the female lead once when they were little and falling in love. He doggedly chases her around during the queen selection and for some reason, she falls in love with him even though he does nothing other than insist she is the dead queen for literally half of the show.
Next, there was no character development. I appreciate getting a smarter than usual female lead but that is where it ends. She grew up on the streets but she acts like a high bred noblewoman from episode one, which made no sense. First, she wanted revenge on the king, and then within the span of 1 or 2 episodes, she is in love with him. The romance was just too forced, I actually shipped her more with the evil second lead.
Carrying on about the second lead, I wasn't expecting anything too spectacular but they really dropped the ball with him. Do Sang Woo did what he could with the mediocre script and instructions he was given. He played the playful yet scheming prince perfectly, and it would have been amazing if he hadn't been so head over heels in love with the female lead just from meeting a few times. If they had built up their relationship more, his complete 180 into a psycho obsessive dude in the last episodes would have made more sense and added extra spice to the show. Instead, we got another random dude in love with the female lead for no reason.
There was a little magic added in for some razzle-dazzle but ultimately doesn't do much for the plot except conveniently help the king save our female lead time and time again.
Music was memorable, but after a while, the opera-like voices began to wear me down because it was dramatic and the show felt like a snoozefest for me. Think Game of Thrones soundtrack used for a run-of-the-mill historical show.
The end was rushed, and I don't want to spoil it but anyone with half a brain cell would understand that the ending was impossible and a plot hole. They just wanted a happy ending so bad they thought no one would remember the previous episode.
Overall, if the writers had fleshed out the relationships in this show as much as they established the sisterhood among the nice girls in the queen selection this would have been a good show. Alas, trying to shove it all into 16 episodes was a mistake. Why does Jin Se Yeon keep appearing in mediocre historical dramas?
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