T.S.Johnson

You're missing my point.

You can't have multiple major plot points in a short drama. It's a comcom - but what the romance drives is what I'm talking about.

Being in a contract marriage is a story by itself. Falling in love. Hiding the contract. Worrying about the reveal and the fall out is a story...by...itself.

You don't need the undercurrent of "Is he gonna take the Crown" and "Multiple mysterious deaths/hits on royal lives" as well.

Now you can have the romance - and the the romance fuels the take the Crown story.

You can have the romance and it's and it's a mysterious deaths as someone is out for the Crown story.

You can have a good ol'fashion love triangle where the PM and Crown Prince were truly in play for the lady's heart.

But what you can't do - in 12 episodes - is all of that b/c NONE of it gets to breathe and the ending seems rushed.

Shredder. Incinerator. They could have just burned it with some damn candles.

I HATE when scripts have people who you have told me are smart and at the top of their game do dumb stuff.

I stopped watching a whole series, b/c they had the "master" criminal take off his gloves and touch some glass in the MIDDLE OF A ROBBERY. Like he quite literally took off his gloves.

That's how I feel about this. Just dumb.

I'm gonna assume the PM did it...only b/c they seem to want to give him a villein arc...but not too villainy. And this is a good way to do it. And since they want to embrace all the tropes...well...

Yeah. I thought of that too, but that level of stupid irked me so I just decided not to make it one of my options. lol

Also, this is why if you're gonna do a 12 episode K-Drama you've got to simplify the story drastically. The pacing was good until now. Now there's too much going on and too much left to resolve.

You can't even let the poisoning and the investigation breathe b/c we're on to something else. If it was gonna be just about the contract marriage then that's the story. If it's about him aiming for the Crown - then that's the story. Hits on his life...that's a story. Her power struggle for Castle Group? Story.

Can some of these intersect...sure, but there has to be ONE MAIN focus. ONE. Or else you're rushing from on thing to another and everything feels rushed and unresolved.

It doesn't work in this story b/c the contract marriage didn't feel like the primary theme...the marriage as a tool to move his play for the Crown forward, was the overarching theme here (ideally). If you want it to be about the contract...you have to have them marry earlier, fall in love, be a real couple and THEN have it exposed b/c that's the priority.

The show has to be about that and not this under current of other things. Does this "scandal" last an episode? Two? Are we doing the whole "I don't want power anymore I just want to live the simple life as a commoner" bit? What? Four episodes. FOUR.

And verbal contracts are a thing. So...in a series that seemed to be about not just their love story BUT his attempt at the Crown...dropping in a dumb "Oh Nos the contract we stupidly wrote down is found" plot point detracts from everything else, let's focus on the bigger issue.

And...it's dumb plot point when it happens...HOWEVER this series only has 12 episodes, so it's REALLY dumb to drop this in there when there is so much else to resolve. It's okay to deviate from the norm is the norm is dumb.

I'm going to assume they didn't get into the safe - b/c that would be ridiculous and puts the King's will in play. So, she had it at some point. It was sitting on his bedside table at some point.

We think the spy was responsible for the poison, but did she go to the PM about the contract? Did the PM secretly leak it. Please don't use this as a way to "humble" the lead FL. Having her make any dumb decisions or alliances is gonna irk me.

I'm annoyed.

DO NOT like that plot point.

It's just dumb and silly.

There was literally no reason to write that contract to begin with and with four episodes left there are too many things to resolve for this silly side quest to occur.

Are we gonna get information on who is responsible for the attacks? Is he gonna make a play for the Crown? The progression of their relationship?

SMH

- Top emotional choices: Jin Mu or Huiju's dad
- Distant Distant Distant Third (but highly unlikely): Queen Mother or Prime Minister
- Likely choice but doesn't move the needle much as far as emotion but does so from a story perspective: The Spy in Grand Prince's home

Yeah, I think that's a poor misreading of things. He knows who Queen Mother's spy is...and do you not remember their initial confrontation? Politicians, business leaders, and the people love I-AN.

Do you think that happened by accident? Do you not think he has enough clout with everyone that if he pulled the trigger he wouldn't have support?

C'mon.

Why do you think she's been so adamant to get him married to someone of his choosing. She recognizes the leverage he has.

Alright re-watched the wedding sequence and yeah , possibly the wine b/c the moment I mentioned where she looks a little out of it happens after they had drank the wine. Poisoned wine tho is so lame. And so K-drama. lol

Agree. But I think with I-AN he needed some wind at his back. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's the most beloved Royal. I think he's spent the years since his brother's death building that up, building up alliances so he could comfortably make his move.

I think the wine is too simple and easily detectable. There's a moment before that where she looks a bit out of it - I'm gonna watch again - but I do think she may have been poisoned earlier perhaps...something slow acting, they mention built up toxicity in the previews. I do hope they aren't as obvious as the poison wine. SMH

Eh...for it's genre? I think it's pretty great actually. Best in awhile. Better than Business Proposal not *quite* as good as What's Wrong with Secretary Kim.

On another note I am enjoying watching Queen Mother watch the Prime Minister slowly explode. Her little mean girl/all knowing smirks. Yeah. She's enjoying that show and I'm enjoying her enjoying the show. lol

I'm very curious about that as well. Also don't think it was at the wedding. Think it's in her garment...which makes sense. Something harder to detect and not fast acting, builds up over time...so say since she tried on the gown 'til wearing it on the wedding day.

Running theory on Twitter:

They spy is responsible for the poisoning and that's why she looked so guilty throughout the episode.

Yeah. That what I was thinking. But they focused on it so much when the Prince confronted him about ol'girl that I was like...is it just a bracelet? A rosary but gifted by Huiju?