Noctis

The East Palace is built on an irresistibly wicked, sinister premise and the actual experience of watching it fully delivers on that promise.. The teaser made it feel like a series perfectly tailored to my tastes and it turned out to be exactly that.. It's rare for anticipation to survive reality, it's even rarer for reality to surpass it..

This drama seems to have taken some obvious inspiration from Stranger Things.. It has its own version of the Upside Down, The Realm of Gwi.. And honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing.. It's basically their version of the Upside Down, just set in the Joseon era with hanboks instead of 80s aesthetics... The core idea is similar, a parallel dark dimension bleeding into the real world.. Thankfully they didn't just copy paste the aesthetic.. Instead they made it feel like it genuinely belongs to Korean folklore..

Storywise it's pretty much classic, nothing wildly original.. The whole idea that he has to die to enter the other realm?? That was intense.. The transitions between both the worlds are executed perfectly every time without losing its impact.. The story sort of gives us an idea on who the villains are early on itself but it never reveals all its cards.. As it progresses, it keeps peeling back one layer after another and with each reveal there is another story hiding underneath.. There were quite a few surprises, and a couple of them I genuinely didn't see coming..
Spoilers ahead.. I never expected the King's mother to be the one behind the deaths of the previous King's children and also the FL's mother.. She never felt like someone capable of something that horrific.. And then the Crown Prince being the actual spirit behind all the chaos?? He wasn't even on my suspect list because the story presents his death as a suicide.. I really liked how every reveal led to another instead of wrapping everything up at once..

Honestly, the visuals of this drama are utterly gorgeous.. The cinematography is just crazy good.. The atmosphere almost feels like a character of its own.. The aesthetics are absolutely stunning with some marvelous color grading.. And thanks to that the action and fight scenes in the other realm were absolutely brilliant to watch.. And I believe that to make a story like this come to life it needs a strong soundtrack and they absolutely nailed it here..

Now, the characters.. Nam Joo Hyuk was so good as Gu Cheon.. It's honestly sad that it took him three years to return to the screen but he definitely didn't disappoint.. Roh Yoon Seo also did a really good job as Saeng Gang.. There were a few scenes where she was just outstanding.. I was probably the most curious about Cho Seung Woo's character before I started the drama.. I kept wondering what made him choose this role.. But yeah, the man did what he does best and gave us a fantastic portrayal of King Ju Sang.. Was he the bad guy?? Or was he just a man who was pushed too far and ended up doing cruel things to protect what he believed mattered most??

Before this review turns into a novel of its own, I will just say this.. The East Palace is a captivating watch till the end.. It has some of the best visuals I have seen in a KDrama in a while.. I loved the chemistry between the two leads and their performances.. I just wished that they had pushed it a little further and made it a 10–12 episode season.. There's still more to explore and I would love to see more of this couple.. So, are the chances of another season high?? I honestly hope so..

P.S. Ggeomeoksali was a cute little scene stealer..