autumn carrot

I don't really have a lot of nice things to say about this show but I also didn't hate it. This is a very simple show. It's not here to challenge you or inspire great emotions in viewers. It's a comfort show. The type where you have to turn your brain off and let the romantic tropes sweep you off your feet in a classic waltz scene or a kiss in a rose garden. This show is a challenge to the romantic affectionado's ability to locate as many romantic conventions as possible. But the turning off your brain part is imperative! Because if you think too hard...this show is a nightmare! but we're not going to do that! I'm actually turning my brain off for this! This is about watching a hot man do his hot man thing, gorgeous gowns, royal parties, perfect date settings, and just nice colors and castles! I'm not even being sarcastic! This is one of those shows that will make you smile after a hard day. It's just feel good! but That's it!

It follows an unconventional Cinderella story in which the Cinderella isn't poor or mistreated but instead she is a rich and ambitious CEO whose biggest hardship in life is a lack of legitimate status. On the other hand, the prince charming isn't a real prince at all. He's the grand prince and the uncle to the king; hated and sidelined by the royal family but loved (I'm assuming for his unearthly good looks) by the people who must all want to get with him (same, public, same!). And their romance? It's not a romantic at all! It's a contractual marriage that will presumably benefit them both. She gets her much wanted status and he gets...I don't know, an excuse to piss the dowager queen off?! I forgot. But it doesn't matter anyway, because this is not really to his benefit. He clearly has a massive crush on this vain, brash, and cold-hearted woman since they were schoolmates in high school! So he's in it for real! And that's about as far as the romance in this story goes.

Very simple premise. And most importantly the show doesn't rock the boat by doing anything new or unconventional. The prince is extremely handsome and gallant and he's just...so swoon-worthy! And the show knows it! Most of this show is beauty shots of him walking around or sitting around while wearing the most gorgeous outfits with perfect lighting, a devil-may-care smile, and a smoldering gaze that pierces straight through the camera to reach the equally mesmerized female lead and viewers alike. His main personality is being vaguely melancholic due to his grief and hardships, and "protect the female lead at all costs" vibes. He can be petty or irritable. But only in that vaguely inoffensive way that pretty people are so you forgive him all his faults. Because he has none! He is perfect! Shut up!
Our female lead gets ALL the personality. Selfish, vain, ambitious, obsessed with power, and cold. She is set up to be hated and I bet all her high school classmates were crying when they found out *she* landed the most eligible man in Korea (side note: This is alternative Korea so BTS don't exist, I guess...). And yet...She's IU! She's adorable! And while she gets these temper tantrum moments, mostly she's just...nice to people! If anything, she's hard only on herself. Even the sibling she seems to hate is not really hated by her. They're like unhappy co-conspirators! Antagonistic towards each other until some common enemy shows up. So you can't really hate her! She's not actively doing anything. Her biggest crime are those cringe aegyo poses but we can't really get mad at anyone in Korea for that because no one will be left!
So you see, these are very easy to deal with characters! In a very palatable and easy to digest plot! With nice locations and cinematography and yeah...it's just that.
Every sweet and swoon-worthy romantic kdrama trope shows up here. The couple are trapped in this never-ending cycle of perfect date set ups. Every interaction is another chapter in a perfectly crafted romance novel. Even the drama that comes their way is simply another chance for him to play the knight in shining armor or for her to sweep in and piss off his enemies! Perfect harmony on paper.
But then...is it actually romantic?! It's kind of meta. Everything is the perfect romantic set up...because it is a set up! They're crafting this fake romance narrative for the cameras and the public. And as a viewer, you get swept up in their constructed reality too! You swoon and sigh when you know they're faking it. Are they also falling in love along the way? Yeah, they are but that's almost happening in spite of the plot. Things in this relationship are moving too fast and too slow at the same time. They're already kissing and that's somehow a moment of emotional revelation for them when they can barely hold a conversation with the other. This was rushed and under developed. You're only telling yourself this is romantic because they're performing every romance trope like a checklist!
I had the weirdest emptiness feeling while watching this. I would smile goofily as they delivered another perfect romantic moment and the next I would feel so...cold. Like seeing a picture of fire and remembering warmth but not actually feeling warm!
This was such a nothing sandwich with every filling stuffed inside it!
Was it good? No. Was it bad? No. It just sort of...was. But while you watch it, you enjoy it. And then it's over and I'm like...that's it?!
The last two episodes, the show suddenly grows a spine and develops an opinion but it works to the detriment of our romance which becomes very dry and compulsory as a result. The last episode too is just a crash course through sponsorships and the cliche happy-couple tropes. Everything is neatly wrapped with a bow and finished off.
I can't say I disliked this. I liked it. But it was also embarrassing to watch something that so blatantly plays into tested and assured romantic traps. So I didn't love it. I just sat through it.
The acting was good? Though...I don't think you're supposed to care about that while watching Byeon Woo Seok here. Like I started to question if he could ever act or if I just hallucinated that amazing personality from Lovely Runner. Like...what was he even doing before this?! I don't remember! I just know he looks nice when he wears lowcut V neck silk shirts! Ad his hair stands nice and his skin glows! And his lips are definitely kissable AS F!
...Anyway, I'm not even talking about anything beside the male lead's good looks and IU kinda being there too because that's all I took away from this show. But everyone else was operating exactly as you would expect too. Yes, the second leads are evil. There's a child who is cute and also cried a lot. The assistants are loyal and funny and devoted as always while the parents are disapproving. Family dynamics need mending, and the media is a bunch of evil vultures, as always. This is an alternative world. The world of kdrama where everything is exactly as you expect it to be. And that's nice. But also a bit weird?
Maybe, I'm just not used to not being stressed, I don't know. Maybe peace and fluff just feel alienating to me because everything else has always had a struggle and this was a little too smooth sailing? I don't know!
Do I recommend it? Yes! Go watch this for 13 hours and relax and enjoy the eye candy! It's fun and light like a fluffy pancake. All sweetness and air.