The narrative of Overdo is not my cup of tea. Period.
However from interviews that Zhang Linghe has given in connection to Overdo, I have personally had an interesting glimpse at what goes on inside that clever handsome head of his & probably that of many of his likewise talented colleagues.
It results that Linghe is principally interested in exploring what to him are as yet unknown emotional states & getting a better understanding of the "human" heart .... he relishes the possibility of feeling strong emotion, good or bad, but very wisely in a fictional context!
For many creatives fame & fortune are actually accidental, never the prime life objective ☺️
In my very modest opinion, these fan "wars" indicate only one thing: the mental health state of thousands of people is precarious as their life prospects & conditions simply do not match what they have taught to believe they should be or in fact will ever be. Taking the existence of such a malaise in account can explain the behaviours of the netizens. Many need the support of mental health professionals first & foremost. The fines & other legal provisions only mask the real problem but do not bring about definite resolution as the root causes of the behaviours is generally left "untreated".
It is social & economical inequalities that generate these situations. The actors draw so much flake because they showcase life achievements (in both contemporary & fantastical context) that the viewers can never hope to attain. So what is left to do? Make a noise to get the attention of the world where usually one is invisible, dispensable, isolated.
This drama dealt with a very long list of important issues.
Esther Yu, I think, has had some real life personal experience of the downsides of being born physically "beautiful". By just "being" as in "existing", you run the risk of becoming the target of jealous members of both your own sex & the opposite one! Kudos to Esther for choosing a project which tackles such a contentious issue.
This drama is well worth the viewer's time as there is much to learn from how the various characters deal with their life setbacks. Life is often unfair. Tolerance & kindness of heart are too often abused of & the "abusers" do believe themselves to be the "superior" beings for doing so but what it should always be firmly remembered that right never becomes wrong however much it is "reframed" to seem so.
Another notable take away from this drama is the concept that the consequence of one's decisions & actions will be felt even when one has left this life ..... your legacy will matter sometimes in ways you could never have anticipated.
The problem is always to same one. When the project is based on or adapted on an existing IP, then expectations run deep & wild! Every viewer sees a project thru the filter of his own experiences, virtual & real, so what is lackluster for some, shines more than bright enough for others.
Thank you, when you say they are body shaming her they will say that she cant take criticism
In my part of the woods, criticism, for its own sake, is not a favoured past time or a dubious art form ... so shaming is recognised for what it is, an abuse. Criticism is exercised by persons who are qualified to do so & are clearly identifiable. Any lapses fall foul of various laws ... it is not a free for all situation. Watching a drama does not entitled anyone to denigrate others, whoever they might be.
Esther Yu is no longer the fresh pretty face who seems to be the a webtoon character come to life with her rosebud lips & breathy voice. What helped to win her fans 10 years ago, now actively works against her efforts to have her efforts assessed fairly. In decades of film watching, I came across a couple of actresses with similar breathy voices, one was Italian, the other British ... so Esther Y belongs to a very select club & definitely should be spared all too predictable onslaught of mindless criticism of her naturally high pitched girlish voice. The form of criticism is nothing more thana dose of distorted body shaming (but then again, body shaming is seen by too many as a valid "sport"form in Asia). Not so, in my part of the world ... abuse is recognising for what it is & not reframed as legit commentary.
What to say? MBC handled the flak from the criticism about the historical & story pruning faux pas the Korean way 🙄 Which is: just delete = now it never was. Simply imply people are obtuse = do they need to be spoon-feed a million details to join the dots?
This approach guarantees that no lessons are learned. Nor is blame shouldered by those who actually misstepped but simply (& conveniently) deflected elsewhere. Preferably onto the nearest "soft" target (here read: those who are visibly riding the crest of public acclaim).
This international fan is eternally grateful that despite the scare, sincere acknowledgement by the powers-that-be of the successes, South Korean creatives, actors, singers, in fact, anyone involved in the entertainment & creative arts sector, chose to bravely soldier on!
It is the greedy company paper pushers who should be eating humble pie & not the likes of IU & BWS. Happily, the meek & sincere do, in time, inherit the earth ☺️
While I completely agree with your take on the gender dynamics, I think you are misattributing all the criticism…
In my modest opinion, too many have taken cheap potshots at the two main actors without keeping in mind that neither of the two had a "free" hand as to the script content and/or the exact specifics of the storyline. These were in the hands (& the objective responsibility) of others (who conveniently are habitually well out of the public eye, unlike the actors).
Thanks to the bts footage no one should doubt that the actors "span gold" from the ordinary polyester threads they were supplied with. None of the actors disappointed. The screen time of most of the senior actors was generally very "short". Yet all of them managed to create characters that linger in the mind. The younger cohort was just as diligent & effective. Others blotched the copybook not the actors.
IU or BWS were far from mistaken in taking on their parts in the Perfect Crown. This drama has all the hallmarks of a modern "classic" which will be re-watched, again & again, by successive audiences as the themes treated (even if imperfectly or superficially) are universal & will age well. Disney knows all there is to know about such content, it being a production company with an impressive track record of ground breaking films, the first successes dating way back to the 1930s!
How do we convince MyDramaList to pin this comments? 😭Because some haters come there just to babble nonsense…
🙏Your comments are also very spot on. Contrary to what some have written, the whole narrative of the Perfect Crown is far from shallow. If anything, it is chock-a-block with possible points of discussion. Best option is to take time to clarify the points which are more likely to be of useful interest to even the distracted viewers of the drama 😊
Whether you enjoy Perfect Crown or pick it to pieces to clearly prove that the scriptwriter lacks imagination or is just plain lazy & only rehashed a full handful of oft used tropes IMO can be reduced to this simple consideration: do you admire & feel happy in the company of a man with a strong "nurturing" instinct? Or is your idea of a "true" man, one who 24/7 functions on "let's squish & kill anyone in sight as only those who obey us blindly can be allowed to exist" mode? Do you misinterpret kindness as a sign of lack of masculinity?
It does not take too long to realise that at least three male characters come across as "soft" from the get go of the drama: the Grand Prince, Aide Choi, HuiJu's half brother Tae Ju. By the last episode, going down slightly different paths, all three are finally in their real comfort zone. Happily "nurturing" their chosen life's companion when she is not "too" occupied doing what she believes absolutely needs doing!
If you still believe that males should lead & females always follow or yield, then the narrative of the Perfect Crown will actively vex not merely annoy you. You will definitely not identify with the life vision of three very personable young men who refuse to engage in the "dominance" game which society for so long decreed is the default for the male sex regardless of what any particular male person instinctively feels it is right to do or be. A "caring" tendency was permissible if enhanced social status was also a bonus feature (hence why medical practitioners have never been treated as social misfits).
Personally speaking, I would hope that any brother of mine will, whatever path he has to follow to get there, will end up in the forward looking, hopeful frame of mind of our trio in episode 12: - the ex-Grand Prince is at last happy because he is freely able to make sure, to the best of his ability & resources, that his loved ones are well & serene; - Aide Choi can at last put his love for flowers & their artful arrangement to a satisfying "profitable" use; - and, Tae Ju who has stubbornly refused to toughen up & compete to win so as to prove that he is "adult", can drop all pretence & go into a mode till recently thought to be the "natural" preserve of women (devoted parenting of one's child) gleefully leaving all the "adult male" responsibilities in the hands of his tirelessly capable half sister who is more than happy to take on a new challenge; the bigger the better!
If your vision of life does not resonate with any of the above, then for you, the Perfect Crown is a non starter from the very first frame. The dissatisfaction is not due to a scrappy script, lack of chemistry or true relatable emotion or even the pesky loose ends (although everyone must admit that uncertainty is an unavoidable facet of life).
The internet is very democratic with few if any "filters" or gatekeepers. It lets everyone have his say whether one is perceptive, apt at unbiased analysis or inversely only comfortable with the familiar or actually only seeking the next shot of the usual "poison".
Disparaging the efforts & work of others because they do not echo your vision of all that should be never gets you very far .... there is, of course, always the option of writing your own "just right" film drama script, getting it produced (with a limitless budget & not too few episodes) & having the masterpiece eventually screened to the world on a top OTT platform ......
I will forever love this drama with my heart, but I do wish they had given it more episodes cause why are we on…
I concur with what you say. The number of episodes is simply too few to do justice to what the narrative reveals or hints at. What a pity the greed for a well padded profit margin won the day at MBC
The Grand Prince's plan to abolish the monarchy IMO has been festering for some time. Here we have a gentle, well intented person who has always wished to do the right things for all those around him, family or not; whose honest dreams & hopes have been stuffed out, one by one. A succession of fatal happenings hint that so many "bad luck" incidents might be "piloted" events.
The Grand Prince has long come to the conclusion that the monarchy is a toxic system that self eliminates those not inclined to live according to the rule that only the "fittest" survive & the term "fittest" meaning: the most unscrupulous, manipulative, doubled faced, totally amoral individual.
Serving as Regent, the Grand Prince was shielding his nephew as best as he could from the intrigues of the entrapment both of them had been born into. HuiJu's forceful "intrusion" into what seemed to be the only life plan the Grand Prince could execute however changed the cards on the table for all the players of the "monarchy game". Some players did not welcome any upset of what was a very comfortable life indeed so the various "accidents" began!
Constitution monarchies function well, if the foundations are solid & free of intrigues. However the constitution monarchy our scriptwriter has presented us with is mired in centuries of festering intrigue. Various privileged factions apparently live contentedly under the "leadership" of a figurehead, a hereditary ruler, but what seems, is not always what is. Who truly leads? Who supports who? This is the world the Grand Prince is born into but within which he no longer wants to live. This, in essence, is the script of Perfect Crown.
The vital clue is in the title. The "Crown" is anything but perfect. All the comings & goings we are shown spell this out brutally clear. Our scriptwriter's monarchy is a parody of the structure & modi operandi of the chaebols with which this drama's home audience is more than a little familiar. Will our Grand Prince manage to break free from the "trappings" of the conglomerate he has been born into & successfully reinvent his & his nephew's pre-determined destiny of puppet figureheads?
Many of viewers of the Perfect Crown will by now have realised that the romance element of the narrative is secondary to the main one which posits whether it is possible to break free of a societal structure where privilege enslaves rather than empowers the person to live a life of purpose in harmony with others.
HuiJu already has monetary wealth at a level so many aspire to but cannot achieve but lacks an essential element that money cannot buy: the top grade social status granted to those born into the most elite of the multi generation conglomerates (the monarchy). The Grand Prince, who knows no other life except that "allowed" by the monarchy machinery, wants what even elite status does not necessarily guarantee: human connections where collaboration is honest, selfless, without ulterior motive and outcomes genuinely benefit all players without the need to trod others underfoot to achieve your objectives!
HuiJu & the Grand Prince are told repeatedly that their lives are "perfect" in the eyes of the world, yet both are "greedy" for an elusive element which they know they are missing (but are actually unsure what that element might actually be).
The Perfect Crown is not quite the fairytale rom-com so many eagerly anticipated watching. We get to see more veiled or coded political or social commentary than lovey dovey titbits.
All the actors have done a splendid job of conveying the scriptwriter's intended message in its various aspects. Contrary to the many harsh comments none of them are too stiff, expressionless or have failed to show real emotion. The very limited number of episodes means that all facts, argument, etc, have to be condensed. What would happen in real life with a timeline of days, weeks, months, years is shown in 10 minutes' intervals so even emotional expression has to dosed out in concentrated form!
Pity there are so many viewers who do not take the time required to decipher such "veiled" or coded messages & content. Having failed to get the anticipated quick fix, they have lashed out with eyes & ears closed at a cast of actors who have collectively worked their tails off to produce a polished entertainment piece of "thought provoking" (for the so inclined) fiction.
Instant coffee is nice but brewed carefully selected coffee beans even more so. Same goes for fiction, whatever the genre. It takes effort to favour the goodness 🧐
What I really cannot understand is why those who decide to not see the drama till the last episode, write to inform everyone on this blog. Scriptwriters can indeed take a convoluted route from start to finish with senseless detours thrown in for good measure. Then we have the sudden U-turns & the loose ends .... the blind ends! Where is it written that adult fiction is meant to be any more logically or predictable than true life will ever be? Enjoy watching if you are entertained by the content. If not, quietly move onto something else. The civilised minimum is to respect the efforts of the many involved in the production process even if the outcome, to you, seems inane. Can you personally do better, in the various capacities? This is where IMO the argument really stops.
To say that people are weird is an understatement! How can an unoriginal story?? where the main leads are said to show "no chemistry" & have been observed to either not "talk much" (this is BWS who acts mostly with his body, facial expression & eyes) or seeming like a 2D character (this is IU whose HuiJu is initially brash, totally self centered & pre occupied by her personal bottomline to the exclusion of everything & everyone else but evolves into someone who frets about the wellbeing of those affected by her actions & choices) get quite so many hot under the collar? The greater mystery is how such a "substandard" entertainment product is glueing quite so many to their screens weekend after weekend. There are after all no lack of alternatives airing 24/7. All the moaning & gritting of teeth simply does not add up. The compulsive haters should realise that you can fool a few some of the time but not everyone all the time .... rough diamonds are still diamonds even if some mistake them for second quality glass 🧐
Your analyzing the similarities between Grace Kelly and Huiju was well done—a nice walk down memory lane—and…
I am a 1959 baby myself & a Med native. My idea of romance was shaped by countless actors hailing from different eras & masters of what can only be termed diverse acting styles! So I admit to generally looking beyond the obvious. Over time my experience has been that the good memorable bits might take some time to turn up but when they do, the moment is invariably heart stopping & sticks in the mind to be remembered, again & again. That is true "chemistry".
So much prattle about non existent chemistry between the two main protagonists sounds very hollow when one sees the viewership numbers. Impressively "high" & compare very well with those of The Red Sleeve. Need more be said? So many cannot be wrong ☺️
The history of the "royals" of the Joseon Dynasty is bloody & cutthroat. The struggle for dominance at the head relentless. Instances of romance extremely rare! Anyone familiar with the Principality of Monaco, the Grimaldi family and its history in last 80 or so years? If you are, then the whole narrative of the Perfect Crown becomes much more "real" & plausible. Move away from the typical South Korean tropes (& expectations) & it becomes more clear why the international audiences have reacted so enthusiastically to the characters of HuiJu & the Grand Prince. HuiJu's character has features of American actress Grace Kelly who married the Prince Grimaldi of Monaco in 1956. The Grimaldi Prince had an impressive pedigree, a great deal of acumen but little in the way of disposable monetary wealth or political clout. Grace Kelly had good breeding, glamour to spare & could call in useful political & business connections. These are the prosaic elements of the Monaco saga which only dates back some odd 70 years, is still playing out today & seriously fired up the collective imagination in the 1950s & 60s. Right up, in fact, to Grace Kelly's premature death in a driving accident in 1982. The exact dynamics of the accident have never been publically made known but the Princess did have her teenage daughter with her at the time. Do any of these details sound familiar? So no, the narrative of the Perfect Crown is not too way out nor the chemistry between the main protagonists too weak. The history of Monaco over the last 70 years is testimony of the contrary. Side note: the late Prince Grimaldi had a great deal of cultured "presence" but not even 20% of our Grand Prince's "physical" charisma!
However from interviews that Zhang Linghe has given in connection to Overdo, I have personally had an interesting glimpse at what goes on inside that clever handsome head of his & probably that of many of his likewise talented colleagues.
It results that Linghe is principally interested in exploring what to him are as yet unknown emotional states & getting a better understanding of the "human" heart .... he relishes the possibility of feeling strong emotion, good or bad, but very wisely in a fictional context!
For many creatives fame & fortune are actually accidental, never the prime life objective ☺️
It is social & economical inequalities that generate these situations. The actors draw so much flake because they showcase life achievements (in both contemporary & fantastical context) that the viewers can never hope to attain. So what is left to do? Make a noise to get the attention of the world where usually one is invisible, dispensable, isolated.
Esther Yu, I think, has had some real life personal experience of the downsides of being born physically "beautiful". By just "being" as in "existing", you run the risk of becoming the target of jealous members of both your own sex & the opposite one! Kudos to Esther for choosing a project which tackles such a contentious issue.
This drama is well worth the viewer's time as there is much to learn from how the various characters deal with their life setbacks. Life is often unfair. Tolerance & kindness of heart are too often abused of & the "abusers" do believe themselves to be the "superior" beings for doing so but what it should always be firmly remembered that right never becomes wrong however much it is "reframed" to seem so.
Another notable take away from this drama is the concept that the consequence of one's decisions & actions will be felt even when one has left this life ..... your legacy will matter sometimes in ways you could never have anticipated.
Every viewer sees a project thru the filter of his own experiences, virtual & real, so what is lackluster for some, shines more than bright enough for others.
Which is: just delete = now it never was. Simply imply people are obtuse = do they need to be spoon-feed a million details to join the dots?
This approach guarantees that no lessons are learned. Nor is blame shouldered by those who actually misstepped but simply (& conveniently) deflected elsewhere. Preferably onto the nearest "soft" target (here read: those who are visibly riding the crest of public acclaim).
This international fan is eternally grateful that despite the scare, sincere acknowledgement by the powers-that-be of the successes, South Korean creatives, actors, singers, in fact, anyone involved in the entertainment & creative arts sector, chose to bravely soldier on!
It is the greedy company paper pushers who should be eating humble pie & not the likes of IU & BWS. Happily, the meek & sincere do, in time, inherit the earth ☺️
Thanks to the bts footage no one should doubt that the actors "span gold" from the ordinary polyester threads they were supplied with. None of the actors disappointed. The screen time of most of the senior actors was generally very "short". Yet all of them managed to create characters that linger in the mind. The younger cohort was just as diligent & effective. Others blotched the copybook not the actors.
IU or BWS were far from mistaken in taking on their parts in the Perfect Crown. This drama has all the hallmarks of a modern "classic" which will be re-watched, again & again, by successive audiences as the themes treated (even if imperfectly or superficially) are universal & will age well. Disney knows all there is to know about such content, it being a production company with an impressive track record of ground breaking films, the first successes dating way back to the 1930s!
Do you misinterpret kindness as a sign of lack of masculinity?
It does not take too long to realise that at least three male characters come across as "soft" from the get go of the drama: the Grand Prince, Aide Choi, HuiJu's half brother Tae Ju. By the last episode, going down slightly different paths, all three are finally in their real comfort zone. Happily "nurturing" their chosen life's companion when she is not "too" occupied doing what she believes absolutely needs doing!
If you still believe that males should lead & females always follow or yield, then the narrative of the Perfect Crown will actively vex not merely annoy you. You will definitely not identify with the life vision of three very personable young men who refuse to engage in the "dominance" game which society for so long decreed is the default for the male sex regardless of what any particular male person instinctively feels it is right to do or be. A "caring" tendency was permissible if enhanced social status was also a bonus feature (hence why medical practitioners have never been treated as social misfits).
Personally speaking, I would hope that any brother of mine will, whatever path he has to follow to get there, will end up in the forward looking, hopeful frame of mind of our trio in episode 12:
- the ex-Grand Prince is at last happy because he is freely able to make sure, to the best of his ability & resources, that his loved ones are well & serene;
- Aide Choi can at last put his love for flowers & their artful arrangement to a satisfying "profitable" use;
- and, Tae Ju who has stubbornly refused to toughen up & compete to win so as to prove that he is "adult", can drop all pretence & go into a mode till recently thought to be the "natural" preserve of women (devoted parenting of one's child) gleefully leaving all the "adult male" responsibilities in the hands of his tirelessly capable half sister who is more than happy to take on a new challenge; the bigger the better!
If your vision of life does not resonate with any of the above, then for you, the Perfect Crown is a non starter from the very first frame. The dissatisfaction is not due to a scrappy script, lack of chemistry or true relatable emotion or even the pesky loose ends (although everyone must admit that uncertainty is an unavoidable facet of life).
The internet is very democratic with few if any "filters" or gatekeepers. It lets everyone have his say whether one is perceptive, apt at unbiased analysis or inversely only comfortable with the familiar or actually only seeking the next shot of the usual "poison".
Disparaging the efforts & work of others because they do not echo your vision of all that should be never gets you very far .... there is, of course, always the option of writing your own "just right" film drama script, getting it produced (with a limitless budget & not too few episodes) & having the masterpiece eventually screened to the world on a top OTT platform ......
The Grand Prince has long come to the conclusion that the monarchy is a toxic system that self eliminates those not inclined to live according to the rule that only the "fittest" survive & the term "fittest" meaning: the most unscrupulous, manipulative, doubled faced, totally amoral individual.
Serving as Regent, the Grand Prince was shielding his nephew as best as he could from the intrigues of the entrapment both of them had been born into. HuiJu's forceful "intrusion" into what seemed to be the only life plan the Grand Prince could execute however changed the cards on the table for all the players of the "monarchy game". Some players did not welcome any upset of what was a very comfortable life indeed so the various "accidents" began!
Constitution monarchies function well, if the foundations are solid & free of intrigues. However the constitution monarchy our scriptwriter has presented us with is mired in centuries of festering intrigue. Various privileged factions apparently live contentedly under the "leadership" of a figurehead, a hereditary ruler, but what seems, is not always what is. Who truly leads? Who supports who? This is the world the Grand Prince is born into but within which he no longer wants to live. This, in essence, is the script of Perfect Crown.
The vital clue is in the title. The "Crown" is anything but perfect. All the comings & goings we are shown spell this out brutally clear.
Our scriptwriter's monarchy is a parody of the structure & modi operandi of the chaebols with which this drama's home audience is more than a little familiar. Will our Grand Prince manage to break free from the "trappings" of the conglomerate he has been born into & successfully reinvent his & his nephew's pre-determined destiny of puppet figureheads?
Many of viewers of the Perfect Crown will by now have realised that the romance element of the narrative is secondary to the main one which posits whether it is possible to break free of a societal structure where privilege enslaves rather than empowers the person to live a life of purpose in harmony with others.
HuiJu already has monetary wealth at a level so many aspire to but cannot achieve but lacks an essential element that money cannot buy: the top grade social status granted to those born into the most elite of the multi generation conglomerates (the monarchy). The Grand Prince, who knows no other life except that "allowed" by the monarchy machinery, wants what even elite status does not necessarily guarantee: human connections where collaboration is honest, selfless, without ulterior motive and outcomes genuinely benefit all players without the need to trod others underfoot to achieve your objectives!
HuiJu & the Grand Prince are told repeatedly that their lives are "perfect" in the eyes of the world, yet both are "greedy" for an elusive element which they know they are missing (but are actually unsure what that element might actually be).
The Perfect Crown is not quite the fairytale rom-com so many eagerly anticipated watching. We get to see more veiled or coded political or social commentary than lovey dovey titbits.
All the actors have done a splendid job of conveying the scriptwriter's intended message in its various aspects. Contrary to the many harsh comments none of them are too stiff, expressionless or have failed to show real emotion. The very limited number of episodes means that all facts, argument, etc, have to be condensed. What would happen in real life with a timeline of days, weeks, months, years is shown in 10 minutes' intervals so even emotional expression has to dosed out in concentrated form!
Pity there are so many viewers who do not take the time required to decipher such "veiled" or coded messages & content. Having failed to get the anticipated quick fix, they have lashed out with eyes & ears closed at a cast of actors who have collectively worked their tails off to produce a polished entertainment piece of "thought provoking" (for the so inclined) fiction.
Instant coffee is nice but brewed carefully selected coffee beans even more so. Same goes for fiction, whatever the genre. It takes effort to favour the goodness 🧐
Enjoy watching if you are entertained by the content. If not, quietly move onto something else. The civilised minimum is to respect the efforts of the many involved in the production process even if the outcome, to you, seems inane. Can you personally do better, in the various capacities? This is where IMO the argument really stops.
How can an unoriginal story?? where the main leads are said to show "no chemistry" & have been observed to either not "talk much" (this is BWS who acts mostly with his body, facial expression & eyes) or seeming like a 2D character (this is IU whose HuiJu is initially brash, totally self centered & pre occupied by her personal bottomline to the exclusion of everything & everyone else but evolves into someone who frets about the wellbeing of those affected by her actions & choices) get quite so many hot under the collar? The greater mystery is how such a "substandard" entertainment product is glueing quite so many to their screens weekend after weekend. There are after all no lack of alternatives airing 24/7.
All the moaning & gritting of teeth simply does not add up. The compulsive haters should realise that you can fool a few some of the time but not everyone all the time .... rough diamonds are still diamonds even if some mistake them for second quality glass 🧐
Anyone familiar with the Principality of Monaco, the Grimaldi family and its history in last 80 or so years? If you are, then the whole narrative of the Perfect Crown becomes much more "real" & plausible.
Move away from the typical South Korean tropes (& expectations) & it becomes more clear why the international audiences have reacted so enthusiastically to the characters of HuiJu & the Grand Prince. HuiJu's character has features of American actress Grace Kelly who married the Prince Grimaldi of Monaco in 1956.
The Grimaldi Prince had an impressive pedigree, a great deal of acumen but little in the way of disposable monetary wealth or political clout. Grace Kelly had good breeding, glamour to spare & could call in useful political & business connections. These are the prosaic elements of the Monaco saga which only dates back some odd 70 years, is still playing out today & seriously fired up the collective imagination in the 1950s & 60s. Right up, in fact, to Grace Kelly's premature death in a driving accident in 1982. The exact dynamics of the accident have never been publically made known but the Princess did have her teenage daughter with her at the time. Do any of these details sound familiar?
So no, the narrative of the Perfect Crown is not too way out nor the chemistry between the main protagonists too weak. The history of Monaco over the last 70 years is testimony of the contrary.
Side note: the late Prince Grimaldi had a great deal of cultured "presence" but not even 20% of our Grand Prince's "physical" charisma!