Han Seok Kyu is an excellent actor who made me hate and love King Yeong Jo equally. Above the boring politics story line is a father/son relationship that was volatile. The conflicted thoughts and emotions Seok Kyu portrayed was palpable. Lee Je Hoon is unexpectedly good as Prince Sado. He was strong, conflicted, sad and did what he needed to do to realize a world for the citizens to the very end. I wonder if he was happy even once in his entire life. I believed him and that is a tribute to his acting. I love Kim Yoo Jung. She is a wonderful actress that only seems to get better as time goes on. They shouldn't have replaced her. The other actors are good too, but for me it was all about the father/son relationship.
The music is appropriate.
I will never rewatch this.
If you favorite genre is Seaguk, then you will certainly love this drama
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Story: Based on the true story of King Yeongju & Prince Sado - a powerful display of rulers who think differently - The king cherishes power and authority over humanity and the Prince desires equality for everyone - from children of traitors, slaves, concubines and commoners. We see him come head to head with his father countless times - and I'd cheer him on every time. If you read the history of these two (which I recommend you don't) then you'll know it will be a bittersweet end. But even so, even if I did cry a bucket of tears, the end still left me hopeful of a better future to come ;)
Cast: Prince Sado (Lee Je Hoon) the son of King Yeongju (Han Seok Kyu) a honest and righteous prince with enduring principals - if he believed something was wrong he wouldn't ignore it - He has my respect for that, when some people would cave - he never did, he stood his ground even if he had to suffer immensely for it - he earned trust of his "followers" and the viewers <3 Plus he is handsome to boot^^ His eyes would captivate me when he'd speak - and the emotions displayed there were magical <3 King Yeongju a political terror if I may say so - he didn't blink if he killed someone or did wrong things - he fought tooth and nail with his son throughout the entire drama - he'd make me really mad most all the time and sometimes his discussions early on drove me up the wall - but the actor really did well in displaying his love/hate for his son. Seo Ji Dam (Kim Yoo Jung) I liked her while she lasted for 13 episodes (the older version I could care less about so I won't even mention her) she was great when she was Sado's sidekick and helped him out. When she's "older" she's just kind of there... Lady Hye Gyeong (Park Eun Bin) I didn't like her when the drama started but as time passed she grew on me and I could see the love she had for Sado (even though her love for power would sometimes speak louder). Shin Heung Bok (Seo Jun Yeong) he had a guest role when the drama started but he became the reason Sado & his father came head to head with each other - even though his time was short - he left a deep impact. The rest of the cast did a splendid job in their roles too ;)
Music: "Erase and Erase" by The One (my favorite) & ??? by Block B
Re-watch Value: 8/10 It's very political but really draws you in - so I will re-watch this again someday - even if only to see Lee Je Hoon (Prince Sado)'s eyes <3 I LOVED his deep dark eyes - they pulled me in every time ;D
I highly recommend anyone who likes historical or political dramas to check this one out - you won't regret it ;)
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Secret Door depicts the conflict between a king and his son, each of them having his own conviction of what is right and what is wrong and how a nation should be ruled and led to the future. Based on true events the drama tells a neat and thrilling story, that most times weighs heavy but still works just fine thanks to some brilliant performances of the leads and their supporting figures. It's such a pleasure to see so many different characters develop and change in reasonable ways throughout the drama. To turn somebody's conviction into the opposite or a completely new path is not an easy task. Yet they managed to show just that with believable methods.
I bow my thanks to Lee Je Hoon and Han Seok Kyu, they were badass in this and without them the drama wouldn't have functioned properly and sent out the same sparks. Though it's simply impossible to wholly imagine the extent of their characters' burdens they had to carry along the way, those two actors did a magnificent job.
While I already saw Lee Je Hoon in Signal and thought he was great in there, only now I start to really appreciate his efforts thanks to Secret Door. I'm glad I got to know his true potential through this and I dare declare to have found another gem in the Korean industry that hasn't been fully acknowledged yet.
My only regret in this drama is Kim Yoo Jung. She was as great as all the others. All the more I am unsatisfied with her replacement for an older version of her character as well as how the significance of her role was scaled down.
I highly recommend this drama to everyone who doesn't mind political sageuks. It is worth the watch and certainly deserves more love.
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This review may contain spoilers
I appreciate and I didn't appreciate
This drama portrayed the beautiful rumors about cp sado which there was a controversial about, It was enlightening how they brought up sado in this story, he was reported as a criminal and for lunacy because he wants a better Joseon where equality reign among peoples and was trying his utmost to achieve that believe but ended up accused as a traitor and dead which was heartbreaking because of the nobles and the noron faction greed and love of power and superiority. They showed how weak yeongjo was to be controlled by this court and his throne was precarious and was always cajoling to balance the throne as so he was drenched by blood and always haranguing sado for his stubbornness of his futile dream but also they surfaced the fatherly love who tried to protect his son to the end and the son who refused to point a sword on his father neck even if he considers him as a political enemy.That was a good as a drama but it had too many went downs and I had expected more, some fictionality as a romance between seo ji dam and the cp sado which was only utterly shown before the time skip when the actress was KYJ who boosted a vivacity and a life to this character in contrast to the adult actress who was bold and her role was very restricted which I disliked. I don't want them to follow historical facts because park bing jae seo ji dam court lady name was his consort but at least they needed to keep the character alive somehow and not kill it off and make it hopeless. That why my rating was a 8.5 this the max I could give and It deserve lower also. Beside all that, they showed crown princess and her father as two caring people for the cp but they care truly for themselves in the court starting from when the father ask the king to execute the cp and the foolish naïve wife who exposed her husband plan for a better Joseon which was not containing traitors (if even they are treated like) and treachery and was misunderstood for his noble believes , thinking of her she was protecting him.
From what I watched from red sleeve, I think jeongjo ressemble to this father portrayed in this drama in too many ways that's why I believe this story is more accurate about cp sado and not the one written in lady hyeogyeong because if he had consorts beside her she will sure sue him and proclaim his lunacy and violent behavior as husband even if it make sense since yeonjgo as shown in this drama also was a strict father and king who always opposed his son thought and never praised him for his doings even after he solved critical issues that's why I waited for sado to go crazy in the late episodes and become a rampaging person like the other Joseon kings but since it didn't happen that was for the good of both hypothesis .
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Lee Je Hoon but at what cost?
The drama just didn't hit the spot for me. It had all these grand plans to dive deep into history and stir up political intrigue, but somehow, it lost its way in keeping things engaging. There were these bits here and there that had me hooked, they were pretty intriguing. But the storytelling was all over the place, and the characters barely had time to develop. That lack of consistency seriously put a damper on my enjoyment. I was left feeling like there was this untapped potential, they could've given us more depth and made everything gel together better. Anyway, the ending felt like it was missing some scenes before the credits; not smooth.Was this review helpful to you?
Great political story
First if you are not interested in politics the I advice you not to see this. Itks not the common drama with romance this is base on history what could have or must have happened. The hunger for power that destroys families, make enemies and the loyalty of those who fight for their ideals. The acting is like real life episodes i have seen thus it may be less dramatic for those seeing a lot of dramas that are more dramatized. As it is we always dont know what is right and what is wrong but one thing I agree on is everybody has the right to study and serve the country or be somebody. As the Prince has mentioned we did not choose to be born in the stituation we are in thus we have the right to choose our own path. His thought on not using the power to kill to remove his enemies is really a good example as a leader. If this Prince did exist I as well will be willing to die for him. Great story and well done in my opinion.Was this review helpful to you?
