This review may contain spoilers
i find the story somehow cute but i couldn't accept many thingssomehow i like and dislike and i felt the plot many times was shallow
first of all the character of the Female Lead didn't convince me at all
she was one of the top special forces so how come she is with that weak personality
the male lead i dislike what he did to the Female Lead for a long time with no need till he admitted he loved her
and i was fond more with the story of the second leads and i was so frustrated when they killed him
the story could be more deeper than that
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You could skip this one if you're not drawn by the synopsis - you're not missing much
Kings2Hearts has been on my Plan To Watch list for a while. I was intrigued to watch it because it was a highly recommended drama, especially for Descendants of the Sun lovers, which I am. I liked quite a few things about this drama such as the story being about North and South Korea having peaceful negotiations between each other and the royalty plot concept for the main characters.I initially dropped this drama after a couple episodes in and didn't come back to it for months because I found Ha Ji Won's character to be very inconsistent. But since dropping this drama, I ended up watching quite a few dramas with Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi and I was itching to see them in something else and kept coming back to this one. I pushed through the poor initial character writing of Ha Ji Won's character in the beginning of King2Hearts and found a pretty decent story with some nasty twists and a SUPER crazy (truly insane) villain.
Overall, I feel just so-so about this drama. I found certain things exceptionally enjoyable to watch, but I found other things uninteresting to me. Probably my favorite episode was when the Koreans are competing in the WOC competition - that was cool and pretty intense!
The romance between the 2 MC's was okay, but I wasn't swooning over them or anything. The side characters were also pretty decent and enjoyable to watch.
The only real negative to this drama I found was that it didn't *have* to be 20 episodes. I think they could have definitely shrunk down the plot to fit into 16 episodes and that would have removed a lot of the B.S. of the bad guys winning or plotting again and AGAIN. -.- I found it annoyingly redundant by the end (but the resolution was good, so I wasn't too annoyed anymore haha).
Something I'd also like to note - I've done a lot of research on North Korea and read a lot of defector testimonials/autobiographies out of my own interest and curiosity....the portrayal of North Korea is entirely unrealistic and romanticized in this drama, which is fine, since it's a piece of fiction, but it *was* something I noticed.
King2Hearts isn't a drama I would go out of my way to recommend and I won't be watching it again.... It just wasn't good enough to warrant that kind of admiration. It wasn't a waste of time and if you have a real hankering for Ha Ji Won or Lee Seung Gi, it'll definitely satisfy you.
The OST was well-placed, but nothing terribly remarkable.
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it's the best contemporary kdrama romance ive seen
its not slow
even episodes that you think are fillers relay some important detail which is crucial to the story
now for what i didn't like
some of the acting/scenes seemed forced and unrealistic
could be the writers fault
music couldve been better
but other than that its great, hence the overall 10
i've yet to see a contemporary romance top it
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But then it got more interesting and thrilling. And I'm glad I continued watching. It became one of my favorite dramas.
I totally loved how the characters slowly grows. It was so natural, realistic and understandable. Not like in some other dramas where some characters suddenly changed without a strong reason.
To help others in deciding whether to watch "King2Hearts" or not, I made a list of the topics of this drama and my rates for some of the topics.
40% - Work/Bussiness: being the king, Military, Political (9,5/10)
I've watched "Goong" ang "My Princess". There it was hard for me to understand the role of the royal family in the politics.
But in this drama I could feel how imortant they were for the country and how their relationship with other coutries are.
I'm really not into politics and military, but I could understand the political and military situations in this drama. It was really made understandable.
25% - Romance (8,5/10)
There aren't many romantic scenes in this drama. There's also no usual rivalry in the romances.
But through out the story and their work, the love between the characters was conveyed very well and you can totally tell how deep their love is.
And it's not only the romance between the two main leads that catches the attention of most viewers.
15% - Thriller (7,5/10)
The antagonist was great. His character made me to also hate him and sometimes to feel a little bit scared of his power.
10% - Action (7/10)
Action shouldn't be something to attract the viewers to watch this drama as it was not the focus of "King2Hearts".
Even so, the action scenes were well done and didn't look cheap.
4% - Family
6% - Others
There was very little comedy in this drama, mostly at the begining. As the story gets more serious, ofcourse the comedy became lesser.
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This review may contain spoilers
This show is off-the-charts crazy, but in the best way
The King 2 Hearts is a dark comedy, filled with tension, humour and heart. Starting from the first episode, the show did exactly what it was supposed to do - kept my interest and made me invested in the characters and story. The writing was solid and the directing sharp. The story moved fast but was executed smartly. Overall, the setup about the North-South conflict was dramatic, but the tone was farce.To me, what sets this drama apart is how it was able to fluidly change the tone from deadly serious to laugh out loud hilarity. One generally knew what will happen, but there were all these twists and turns along the way that kept me beyond entertained. I cringed and I laughed, I cried and I rejoiced, and I felt my heart swell up with love or pride only to have it shatter into a million pieces.
The cinematography was realistically rich and the show effectively used different angles like the fish eye and bird’s eye views of conversations. It also transitioned nicely from past to present and present to past (like Jae Ha with the window in episode 1 and Hang Ah with the compact in a later episode).
I appreciate the time the show took to develop its characters and making them multi-faceted. Across the board, the acting was solid and the casting was perfect.
Ha Ji Won’s portrayal of Kim Hang Ah, the tough Special Ops North Korean agent provided a nice blend of deadly force and girly innocence. I love her tough “I can beat any man in combat persona” while being so earnest and pragmatic when it came to finding a husband. Her acting was so good, transitioning from ass-kicking to being all girly in a flash. Her micro-expressions were so well-done like her hardening stare as she took down someone. She was also relatable - her fan-girl reaction when she saw celebrities on the billboards is how I would react, especially at the thought of training with them. BTW, nice job, Show for the nods to her other dramas - Jo In Sung from “What Happened in Bali” and Hyun Bin from “Secret Garden”.
I also admire the range that Lee Seung Gi got to play as Lee Jae Ha, our entitled prince. Spanning everything from being petulant, mean, and cowardly, to the complete opposite, where Jae Ha showed immense depth, strength and honor. These moments of maturity were often hilariously conveyed as unexpected pockets of goodness couched in lots of bratty behavior but when push comes to shove, our male lead ultimately stepped up and protected what matters to him.
Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi were OTP gold! From reluctant teammates to friends to lovers, these two made a excellent romantic coupling. Their energy crackled and the show scored big by quickly scaling up the emotional tension between the OTP right off the bat in believable and meaningful ways. I was constantly at the edge of my seat, waiting for these two to either have a major showdown with punches thrown, or to make out madly. Either way, their chemistry was off the charts.
Ha Ji won proved her ability to bring out the sexy in her male co-stars. I thought that when I swooned over Yoon Kye Sang, her co-star in Chocolate, and now, who would have thought that Lee Seung Gi with his puppy look could look so manly next to her?! To give the male leads some credit, I am always so impressed by the actor who can alter my perception of his physicality - it's another level of skill entirely.
I enjoyed the hot-and-cold, push-and-pull between the OTP, especially when set against an international, political backdrop where their messages were conveyed through generals, kings and the press. Their banter tickled me immensely, both equally witty and idiotic and it was so refreshing to find a couple who actually possessed the chemistry to make their back-and-forth rapid dialogue sound so natural.
The drama also fleshed out the side characters very well, and this added much more depth to the story. I like that the North Korean characters were not presented as caricatures, and instead as relatable people with their own unique cultural background. It was fun seeing the comradery of the North Korean team, and having gruff Kang Seok become interested in SNSD added a funny touch. That said, I also like the through line of prejudice that the characters embodied. The show did a good job of pushing the envelope, using on-point comedic relief to lighten the serious premise. At times, the dialogue can be surprisingly offensive, but also honest. Even though the show was a fictional political farce, the feelings that were explored were real and interesting.
I just love that everyone’s family was so sweet on this show. Kim Hang Ah’s father was such a darling, a tough general who always trying to protect his daughter and doing what he thought she wanted. The way that the whole royal family interacted with each other was so cute and it was nice not having any family in-fighting for once. There was nobody out to steal the crown or trying to kill each other. The childish sibling interactions between Jae Kang, Jae Ha and Jae Shin were just so endearing.
Jo Jung Suk really does have a swoony voice and he is a great actor. His Eun Shi Kyung was so humorless and straight-laced, and yet so earnestly adorable and attractive. What happened to him left me feeling gutted and crying.
If there was one thing I dislike about this drama, it was anything related to Kim Bong Gu, played by Yoon Jae Moon who did well. Bong Gu appeared to be interesting at first as an absurd arch villain, but he lost his scary factor after too many pointless scenes involving him. Less is always more and had the show focused more on legitimately creepy moments with Bong Gu, it would have been more effective.
I would also like to add that the OST for this was well-chosen and the tracks fit the scenes perfectly. Some pieces were suitably tense, and the use of instrumental pieces for the poignant moments heightened the mood for me.
In general, I truly recommend this show - it was pitch-perfect, with great episodes up to the end.
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Why I loved it and would recommend/think it's worth watching:
1. the male leads character does have an actual development ~.^
And while he's still jerk-ish around ep 5 and 6 you can start to see his doom, that is, development coming XD After that you'll come to love him more and more.
So for those who dislike him at the beginning, totally understandable, but you might be willing to give it another try until later episodes, because it is so worth it.
2. Strong female lead character - that is such a rare jewel in dramas. I can actually count the strong female leads on my fingers, which is sad. But King2Hearts does have it, so yay
3. No love triangles. For me this is a super big bonus because I hate triangles and not only did the drama not have it, the supporting cast couple was also truly great.
I want more dramas with main couples like this one - no wavering, they trust and stay true to each other. What more could a girl want, right?
4. The story was original and kept going nicely, wasn't dragging anywhere and neither was the ending rushed which is also a rarity, another yay
The plot did go a little (ok, maybe a lot?), well, a tad overboard with all the war stuff and who'd attack whom based on what. I truly doubt it'd be that easy in our time considering that the governments do realise the consequences it'd have for us all (...at least I sincerely hope they do)
5. The cast really did portray their characters very well. Liked the ones I'm supposed to like, hated the ones I'm supposed to hate. Brought tear in my eye when needed, made me happy and smiling when called for it. No one left me feeling like this character was lacking or this one was too much.
Except, the only bad thing I can say about casting are the foreigner characters. They (the characters), the acting and their English was awful. Asian dramas really need to start hiring better actors for their foreign characters. Nuff said.
6. Music. Nothing special, but was good. Beautiful even. I will look up two main themes that were played most of the time because they really were great.
Actually, except for some dramatic moments, when it called for those two themes (or is it one?), I didn't really notice it and neither was it needed. The plot and acting kept me captivated, so music really was more just of a background in this one except the few scenes where it added the emotional high, so it was very well done.
Overall I'd say that this drama was great and portrayed very nicely how not to give up and just talk. Communication is important and could solve so many problems.
King2Hearts had plenty of action, politics, drama and romance.
Re-watch value? I've already re-watched it and totally will later on in the future ^^
Thou I'll just skip the horrible foreign actor parts :D
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Music, story, acting (NO COMPLAIN)
I wish there was ait more of romance (well this is my personal thoughts because I like a lot the Shoujo genre of stories) but I think howthey developed the story was anyway good because if the putted to much of cheese sceneseother viewers may be they would find it a bit disturbing so to bring it to the likings of all the way it is is good
It's pretty much rare to see role's like the female badass character they almost on all series make only the male guyall cool etc bt here the female's role was really great
I remember watching the entire series in a 2 days marathon and I have rewatched it agan recently
I cant get over of this beautiful love,war story
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Original and meaningful at the same time, this drama could be divided into 4 parts.
Part 1 - Training camp and teamwork: how to create a team with 2 groups of people who apparently don't share any similarity.
Part 2 - Marriage or not marriage?: A very great part as heartwrenching as heartwarming
Part 3 - Club M & betrayal: The drama goes dark & more political, like really. This is by far the cruelest villains I've seen.
Part 4 - Resolution?: It gets a bit draggy there with events that should have never happened. (Baby Boring Guy forever)
Acting/cast
Lee Seung Gi is incredible. He starts arrogant and snob as many of his other roles but becomes so mature and strong from ep.8. He fits the role perfectly and I can't imagine anyone else as Lee Jae Ha.
Ha Ji Won is queen. She learnt the North Korean dialect and intonation. She's cute, naive but also strong and badass.
Jo Jung Suk is soooo underrated, loved him from the minute he appeared. Eun Shi Kyung is the perfect blend of innocence and responsibility. The perfect friend: LOVED HIM.
Lee Yoon Ji is also perfect, I wished they could focus a bit more on Jae Shin & Shi Kyung relationship.
Overall, the characters seem strong and impenetrable but show so many weaknesses and fragility. It's a good insight in the life of royal personalities whose image must be strong for people to feel safe but in the end, they are only humans too.
Music
I liked it but won't be remembered.
Rewatch value
Definitely yes.
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama manages to earn the name "drama", there's a lot of dramatic tension in this. I enjoyed the way the show mixed elements of a fairytale romance, military war games, political power struggles, arms dealers and the actual threat of an outright war. This expert mingling of plot lines kept the show very entertaining as there was never a shortage of storyline. The love story is well developed as the two leads are a couple for the majority of the drama, their angst and separations always had a political cause not personal, this was a shift from the usual plot devices in romantic dramas. I didn't detect any noble idiocy in this drama, the two leads thought out every problem and made well informed decisions.SPOILER ALERT: What I particularly didn't like about the plot was the killing of Eun shi gyeong, was it necessary to kill him? I found his death particularly annoying because it didn't actually result in the definitive capture of the villain, his death felt pointless and a waste of a good character especially after show developed a love line with shi gyeong and the princess, had this romance been fully realised, it would have nicely rounded off the bromance between the king and shi gyeong; this bromance was so well depicted only to have it cut short with his death. END SPOILER
Overall this drama is about the making of a good king and this story was well told. Lee Jae Ha started off as a bratty, irresponsible, playboy prince, and ended up a strong, resolute and mature king, I liked that he retained his sense of fun to the end.
The casting and acting was spot on (except for the foreign English speaking actors, these were horrendous and had too many lines in my opinion ), there were no weak links in the central cast. I absolutely disliked Ha Ji Won in Secret Garden (to the point that I vowed never to watch her again), but I loved her in this role, she embodied Kim Hang Ah's badass toughness and soft femininity perfectly.
This was my first time watching Lee Seung Gi, he was very good and damn near stole the show, but not quite in my opinion because of Ha Ji Won, Jo Jung Suk, the queen dowager and Hang Ah's dad. The acting is superb in this drama.
The music is ok, I liked the ballad but was not a fan of the dramatic orchestral music as I found it a bit overdramatic; the story was engaging enough to not focus on the music.
The cinematography is fantastic though, this is one beautifully shot drama.
I'm not a great rewatches, but I'll give this an 8 rewatch value, I've rarely seen a drama as polished as this one.
My overall score is 9.5
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This review may contain spoilers
Remember that dramas do not have to be realistic nor historically accurate. This is not a romcom so be prepared for some suspense and a light spy thriller. It has been awhile since I've watched this drama. I originally watched it because I liked the idea of a modern Korean monarchy and I had watch "Princess Hours" years ago and recently rewatched it too. This is the drama that i was introduced to Jo Jung Suk and there was something about him that I couldn't get enough of. His character was serious, empathetic, and lovable. I had also seen Ha Ji Won in "Secret Garden" and loved her strong female character. This drama continued her portrayal of a strong, intelligent, and emotional female character. She was basically a badass, she was fighting bad guys in a short shirt and boots and then later pulling out a sniper rifle in a skirt with an injured arm and leg. It was great to see her character being the strong and decisive one instead of relying on the lead male character. That doesn't mean the lead male was wimpy, you could see the growth progression of the character as the series went on and by the end he had started to become a strong leader. I really wanted the guard and princess story to evolve and have a happy ending but I understand why it ended the way it did, lets just say I was crying with her. As an American I did a little chuckling at the portrayal of Americans, it's not far from reality though. Watch this drama and the great acting that is in it you will enjoy the ups and downs that it gives you. Will John Mayer get justice or won't he? Was this review helpful to you?
Hang Ah
“That means your military background includes training others for death by explosives.”
I'm sorry, by Ha Ji Won's acting...what the heck is she doing? Her baby voice is so argh.
No one does a rough woman like a Korean.
“It's been a long time since I assassinated using explosives.”
Hang Ah has the most perfect bad guy calm threatening tone that sends chills up your spine.
I love that she's a badass but can skip around in heels too. Talk about #useyourand. I love that she's girly.
I like that the men are rooting for Kim to take her place among them and she's the one that doesn't want to do it. She's not ambitious in the army and her comrades are wanting to push her forward.
I thought her mother in law would hate her for a long time, but she gets used to her pretty quick. The family's loyalty to her despite circumstances was awesome to see.
Hang Ah is not particularly fierce on the emotional front, but her rationale is pretty good. She's calm about her love and she has some common sense.
My favourite parts were when she was up against Jae Ha's enemy. She really knew how to handle herself.
“Don't misunderstand. I'm not alive now by luck. It's because I haven't chosen to die yet.”
Jae Ha
He's laidback and audacious, just like he is as a kid. The epitome of the younger brother king who wants to just fool around and leave the responsibility to the older brother. Oh my gosh, I usually hate brats like this guy but Lee Seung Gi is so comical he just pulls it off so hilariously.
Jae Ha is reckless but he's also terrified of Hang Ah.
I was really surprised to see how kind he was when Hang Ah was down. “Who was it? Who made our leader cry?”
“Jae Ha, a man calling himself cute at your age is pathetic.”
“But I am cute!”
Jae Ha's serious tone is brilliant. He smiles very casually but his intensity has so much personality. When he gets fierce in his calm way over Hang Ah, I really enjoyed it. His expression when he's trying to get a point across is compelling.
Romance
“You're afraid I'm going to jump you? I'm too scared to do that to a special forces agent.”
Jae Ha is really good at the little gestures. You gotta love that in a guy.
I couldn't see the pair of them working out until Jae Ha smiled at her and then I was sold that they should be together forever hahaha.
Once again, there's a great usage of showing intimacy without showing intimacy.
After the halfway mark the relationship takes on an interesting turn. It was nice to see the side of Jae Ha that wants to make it up to Hang Ah.
Eun Shi Kyung
He is the kind of character that the show will do cruel things to to show how manly and disciplined he is. Also, it is really awesome that a soldier has perfect pitch #useyourand.
It was interesting to see how hard he is when it comes to romance. Despite his obliging personality on his professional level he is really quite a hard nut to crack. Or maybe it's just his insecurities.
“I may be amusing to you now, but you'll grow tired of me.”
“I'm not that impulsive.”
“Don't toy around with me.”
Jae Shin
This actress is always so much fun. I loved seeing how brave she became.
Mother in law
She's great. Really great.
There's an Australian in this show hahahaha.
Soundtrack
I think I might like this rock and roll soundtrack
Strings tension track ooh yeah
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