What an incredibly moving and well executed show. With a lot of asian period pieces you run into issues of over complicated stories and dull moments, but I found that to not be the case at all for The Princess's Man. The story was engaging and the romance endearing throughout.
Highlights:
- The relationships between characters. The main leads had amazing chemistry, but I would say that the epic bromances were sometimes even more engaging and moving. The secondary romance was incredibly moving and also very well done.
- Story. In too many dramas main characters are kept apart or tension is created for stupid reasons. This was probably the first drama I've seen in a long time where most of the secrecy, revenge, and anger are all rooted in pretty valid logic.
- A Kang played by little Yoo Bin. She might be the cutest child in the entire world.
Some low points:
- Song Jong Ho. I really liked him in Reply 1997 but he just did not do it for me as Myun. I don't believe he had enough range to play the arguably most tormented character in the show. Based on his actions, you're actually supposed to feel a lot of sympathy for his position, but he just seemed to be operating robotically throughout.
- Melodrama amped up to 10 at the end. As the stakes got increasingly raised throughout the show, the amount of tears from our beloved characters similarly experienced exponential increases. I understand the reason for the tears, but towards the end every interaction seemed to be weepy, sobby, and angsty. Not a huge gripe but I would have preferred a few more call backs from the characters to the good old times, when life for them wasn't such a bloody, miserable, hot mess.
In summary, this was probably my favorite show so far in the saeguk genre due to it's strong story and performances. I am looking forward to rewatching it again in the near future!
Was this review helpful to you?