FlyingCrab

One of the best contract marriage dramas

I remember the days when I first discovered K-dramas, and how hooked I would get on them. I'd be buried under blankets on a Saturday morning, sipping my coffee and definitely not getting to any of my daily responsibilities til about 4 pm. But over time, as I started encountering repeated tropes and plotlines or chemistry that fell flat, I've settled into a rhythm of always having a drama going that I watch every few days or so but typically take a while to finish, but every so often one just takes me back to the golden era of 2016 dramas and I eat it up in less than a week.
Perfect Crown was one of those. Honestly, what carried it for me was their relationship. I was swooning at every scene, and the slowburn contract marriage "oh we don't actually like each other... okay maybe I do a little bit... okay I want this to be real now" pacing was just soooo goooood. Their chemistry was also fantastic.
My only criticism is the plot surrounding them of the politics and world-building of the constitutional monarchy had some holes and left me with questions. There's not a lot of sideplot development to bolster the drama as this is 12 episodes instead of 16, so they really focus on the main plot of the relationship. Contrast that to a drama like Crash Landing On You where you don't just see their development, you also see stories like the wiretap guy and his relationship to the ML and all the musical thread of the piano through the whole show. It had 16 episodes to bring all that together. This drama didn't have that depth in the plot, but the relationship did, and oh man was it good.
And, I am not a fan of the "have to hurt you to protect you" trope. But the other tropes are done well.
If you're looking for a gripping thriller political drama, this is probably not for you. But if you want a romcom that absolutely nails the tropes and chemistry between the two leads, this is the one. I watched it in about four days and if I can drag my fellow drama friends into it, I would watch it again tomorrow.

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Mostly Fun... But Oh That Ending

Full disclosure, I mostly watched this drama for Taec-yeon and I am also now reviewing this months after having finished so some details will be lost--
I enjoyed watching this drama for the most part (until about two-thirds in) so that's what saves the score from being lower. The cohabitation trope, the classic fantasy immortal man looking for his girl, the historical elements and mystery of the flashbacks slowly coming together, the SML and his mystery disease-- chef's kiss. FL being different than the average Kdrama girl and actually kinda liking SML. Mystery girl with the matching face. It had some unique elements that made me enjoy it beyond Taec-yeon's acting (and face).

Honestly, I don't remember the OST. It didn't end up on my playlists, so I guess it was probably average.

SOME SPOILERS COMING

I watched it as it was being released, and waited each week for the next episode. At some point, that excitement faded. The intrigue started getting clouded by annoyances: the SML becoming kinda obsessive, the side characters being useless and ruining things, the weird cat guy who was just kinda there to be mystical and weird and then ALL OF A SUDDEN drops this very important lore he failed to mention before, the cheesy vampire antagonist, and honestly just the whole "I want love that makes my heart beat" message felt shallow. Like that could've been a joke because ML is such a goofy romantic, and instead it's legit serious sometimes but it feels corny. Cool FL starts to catch the corniness too, but I suppose that's what happens when Taec-yeon catches you.
Also that one side character's hair...

SPOILER WARNING

And then two thirds in you get a prediction of how things will end and I'm thinking "well this hasn't been the most unique drama ever, it's been full of tropes, so nah not happening they'll do the classic everybody lives except maybe a side character" and then it does happen. It's predictable in the worst way. The whole tone is just depressing after the revelation is dropped and then you just ride that wave thru a bunch of annoying "not telling you so I won't hurt you" tropes until the end. If you're gonna try to be a different Kdrama than the rest, be consistent. It just made his sacrifice feel like a noble idiot moment, she has no choice in it. Instead of character growth and them truly enjoying each other thru real communication (I know it's a Kdrama but still) it just feels like another grand gesture from him but this one goes horribly wrong. Questions left unanswered in other elements of the plot too. Ugh. Such a disappointment.

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Too Slow

Pros: I liked that we get an imperfect FL and ML. I like that this drama doesn’t play into too many tropes, you see believable characters. The acting was great, the cinematography was great. Which is why this drama was an odd one for me, because on paper it seems so well done and high quality. And the ending scene was adorable. I love that it's a different type of revenge story, emphasizing forgiveness. And when the leads do (rarely) actually have conversations, I love seeing them be real and vulnerable with each other. But!

Cons: it was just so slow. The amount of long slo-mo staring and the unnecessary dragging of certain plot elements didn’t end in a satisfactory way to me at all. They go camping after all this buildup and we barely get any scenes or dialogue from it. I almost stopped watching after her family shamed her for being with him, it just felt so over the top and then they go on that hike after things are resolved but still break up? And the family is so cruel to her about it but then they just are like "actually it's fine you have my blessing" as if they control her. It lost me, and it dragged on too long. I also had 0 interest in his ex's plotline. I felt like there was so much potential for her to be this person who can break his shell open but their dynamic just felt odd to me, not a ton of chemistry. He starts falling for her while she's so mean to him, and I get that he's drawn to it because his ex was nice to his face but awful behind his back, but it didn’t land on me well. And then when she is nicer, it's painfully awkward and they barely talk.
So even though there were so many quality aspects of this drama, the plot was such a letdown to me. Those qualities only work if they're carried well.

I'm usually pretty positive with my reviews of a drama but this one lost me. I was surprised to see it recommended so highly.

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