This review may contain spoilers
Insane Face Card Royal Romance That’s Not Quite Hitting Its Mark
Perfect Crown was undoubtedly a highly anticipated drama backed by an incredibly talented cast, yet despite doing so many individual elements well, it ultimately feels like it missed that special something for me despite me mostly enjoying it as I watched.
That being said, don’t assume immediately that it’s bad. By all means, it’s not. If anything watch it for Byeon Woo-seok serving us his insane face card. All his previous modeling experience is very much needed here because he does a lot of fashion style walking along various palace corridors and grounds.
Let’s get to it now.
Set in an alternate-universe constitutional monarchy, the story follows a illegitimate prominent chaebol heiress and a prince who enter into a high-stakes contract marriage. For romance lovers this is a very clever and interesting premise supported by a decent script. On the surface, this has a lot of potential to be very good since royal romance in contemporary setting is not something we get a lot. And it does start out really well.
But is we continue watching you keep on waiting for something to happen and it’s not quite getting anywhere. While the top-notch cinematography and production design create a beautiful aesthetic, the romance itself leaves some room for improvement.
Seong Hui-ju and Grand Prince I-an certainly showcase their professional dedication, but writers really did 5hem dirty because they are rarely placed in the kind of uniquely engaging, chaotic situations that define classic K-dramas. It’s there, but it’s just not enough. Because it was distributed through Disney, the final product feels overly scrubbed and specifically prepared for a Western audience, completely missing out on much-needed comedic relief and other over the top situations couples usually get into in these romantic dramas.
Furthermore, our couple occasionally looked a bit too "plastic" in terms of visuals. While both are very capable actors, there were crucial scenes—with the exception of the final episode—where their facial expressions felt restrained when the emotional stakes demanded much more. Byeon Woo-seok, who was absolutely spectacular in Lovely Runner, felt unusually stiff in a lot of scenes, first leaving it unclear whether this was a strict directorial choice for a rigid prince or a limitation of the performance itself. Or the actual performance itself. But after watching the final episode, I think this was the direction the producers were going for to actually showcase the restrictions that were posed on our prince by the weight of the titlel. I think because he didn’t break through his limitations even once through the first 11 episodes to actually let us know that he was in fact human, it made me think that the acting was somewhat lacking, which I know is usually not the case because I’ve seen Byeon Woo-seok in few other dramas and he does well outside of being just a great fit for a romantic role.
The pacing also suffers heavily in the latter half. The drama starts strong and builds great momentum, but the narrative drags considerably after the divorce decision, lacking any truly exciting moments to carry the final episodes. Everything that’s happening makes total sense, but for some reason, it still feels draggy. I don’t know if it’s the way some of the scenes are shot where they add extra few seconds here and there without the music or the actual lack of exciting events both leads are involved. All of a sudden, other characters are starting to get extra screen time while we actually want for our lead couple to do things together. The second half of the last episode redeems the pacing a little bit, but it’s just not enough.
As far as romance goes, it is good. Not fire hot but still very satisfying. IU and Byeon Woo-seok have great on screen chemistry. The intimate moments feel very natural, but I just wish they would actually had more interesting on screen interactions. There are too many wasted opportunities for them to make the romance even better and more exciting. In some scenes, the relationship feels platonic, even after they confess their feelings.
On a side note, I find it extremely funny that 10 years ago both IU and Byeon Woo-seok were in Scarlet Heart whereas she played a lead role (she was pretty famous already back then) and he had a tiny role of her ex-boyfriend and literally less than a minute of screen time in the entire show. UI’s character ended up with some other prince then. In Perfect Crown, she is the one who is trying to marry a prince Byeon Woo-seok plays. Made me laugh a little. But he deserves all the acknowledgment he’s getting right now because he has been in the industry for a long time and he’s been working very hard.
The real highlights of the show belong to the phenomenal supporting cast. Gong Seung-yeon delivers a standout, stellar performance as the Queen Dowager, masterfully portraying a morally gray woman forced into a dark corner by her circumstances. She has a compelling character arc. And you hate her at the beginning of the show, but you start to understand her a lot better in the last three episodes. Equally impressive is Noh Sang-hyun as Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo; his transition from a dependable good guy into a calculated antagonist over the course of the show was brilliant, offering a transformation you absolutely would not have guessed from the start.
Lastly, Perfect Crown requires a massive suspension of belief to enjoy—such as overlooking the absurdity of a palace fire where not a single firefighter attempts to save an actual prince. Or husband and wife calling each other “your highness” even in private when no one is watching them. They could just use their real names. Otherwise it just removes the feel of intimacy between them. Or the fact that a nine-year-old child king has to actually perform official duties, despite having a regent.
If you can ignore basic common sense and turn off your brain, this serves as a decent "guilty pleasure" gateway drama for casual romance fans or devoted followers of the main actors. It’s certainly worth checking out and easily clears the bar compared to some far worse, unwatchable streaming originals, but seasoned K-drama veterans looking for over-the-top, classic storytelling may find it somewhat lacking.
If you like the idea of monarchy in a contemporary setting and wanted to watch a better K drama with this setting, I highly recommend to check out The King: Eternal Monarch with Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun. It’s a by far better watch with fantasy elements that gets hate for no reason. This was one of my first K-dramas with fantasy elements and I still think it’s a much better story.
That being said, don’t assume immediately that it’s bad. By all means, it’s not. If anything watch it for Byeon Woo-seok serving us his insane face card. All his previous modeling experience is very much needed here because he does a lot of fashion style walking along various palace corridors and grounds.
Let’s get to it now.
Set in an alternate-universe constitutional monarchy, the story follows a illegitimate prominent chaebol heiress and a prince who enter into a high-stakes contract marriage. For romance lovers this is a very clever and interesting premise supported by a decent script. On the surface, this has a lot of potential to be very good since royal romance in contemporary setting is not something we get a lot. And it does start out really well.
But is we continue watching you keep on waiting for something to happen and it’s not quite getting anywhere. While the top-notch cinematography and production design create a beautiful aesthetic, the romance itself leaves some room for improvement.
Seong Hui-ju and Grand Prince I-an certainly showcase their professional dedication, but writers really did 5hem dirty because they are rarely placed in the kind of uniquely engaging, chaotic situations that define classic K-dramas. It’s there, but it’s just not enough. Because it was distributed through Disney, the final product feels overly scrubbed and specifically prepared for a Western audience, completely missing out on much-needed comedic relief and other over the top situations couples usually get into in these romantic dramas.
Furthermore, our couple occasionally looked a bit too "plastic" in terms of visuals. While both are very capable actors, there were crucial scenes—with the exception of the final episode—where their facial expressions felt restrained when the emotional stakes demanded much more. Byeon Woo-seok, who was absolutely spectacular in Lovely Runner, felt unusually stiff in a lot of scenes, first leaving it unclear whether this was a strict directorial choice for a rigid prince or a limitation of the performance itself. Or the actual performance itself. But after watching the final episode, I think this was the direction the producers were going for to actually showcase the restrictions that were posed on our prince by the weight of the titlel. I think because he didn’t break through his limitations even once through the first 11 episodes to actually let us know that he was in fact human, it made me think that the acting was somewhat lacking, which I know is usually not the case because I’ve seen Byeon Woo-seok in few other dramas and he does well outside of being just a great fit for a romantic role.
The pacing also suffers heavily in the latter half. The drama starts strong and builds great momentum, but the narrative drags considerably after the divorce decision, lacking any truly exciting moments to carry the final episodes. Everything that’s happening makes total sense, but for some reason, it still feels draggy. I don’t know if it’s the way some of the scenes are shot where they add extra few seconds here and there without the music or the actual lack of exciting events both leads are involved. All of a sudden, other characters are starting to get extra screen time while we actually want for our lead couple to do things together. The second half of the last episode redeems the pacing a little bit, but it’s just not enough.
As far as romance goes, it is good. Not fire hot but still very satisfying. IU and Byeon Woo-seok have great on screen chemistry. The intimate moments feel very natural, but I just wish they would actually had more interesting on screen interactions. There are too many wasted opportunities for them to make the romance even better and more exciting. In some scenes, the relationship feels platonic, even after they confess their feelings.
On a side note, I find it extremely funny that 10 years ago both IU and Byeon Woo-seok were in Scarlet Heart whereas she played a lead role (she was pretty famous already back then) and he had a tiny role of her ex-boyfriend and literally less than a minute of screen time in the entire show. UI’s character ended up with some other prince then. In Perfect Crown, she is the one who is trying to marry a prince Byeon Woo-seok plays. Made me laugh a little. But he deserves all the acknowledgment he’s getting right now because he has been in the industry for a long time and he’s been working very hard.
The real highlights of the show belong to the phenomenal supporting cast. Gong Seung-yeon delivers a standout, stellar performance as the Queen Dowager, masterfully portraying a morally gray woman forced into a dark corner by her circumstances. She has a compelling character arc. And you hate her at the beginning of the show, but you start to understand her a lot better in the last three episodes. Equally impressive is Noh Sang-hyun as Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo; his transition from a dependable good guy into a calculated antagonist over the course of the show was brilliant, offering a transformation you absolutely would not have guessed from the start.
Lastly, Perfect Crown requires a massive suspension of belief to enjoy—such as overlooking the absurdity of a palace fire where not a single firefighter attempts to save an actual prince. Or husband and wife calling each other “your highness” even in private when no one is watching them. They could just use their real names. Otherwise it just removes the feel of intimacy between them. Or the fact that a nine-year-old child king has to actually perform official duties, despite having a regent.
If you can ignore basic common sense and turn off your brain, this serves as a decent "guilty pleasure" gateway drama for casual romance fans or devoted followers of the main actors. It’s certainly worth checking out and easily clears the bar compared to some far worse, unwatchable streaming originals, but seasoned K-drama veterans looking for over-the-top, classic storytelling may find it somewhat lacking.
If you like the idea of monarchy in a contemporary setting and wanted to watch a better K drama with this setting, I highly recommend to check out The King: Eternal Monarch with Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun. It’s a by far better watch with fantasy elements that gets hate for no reason. This was one of my first K-dramas with fantasy elements and I still think it’s a much better story.
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