6
1
This review may contain spoilers
The plot has lost the plot
I'm torn about this drama. On the one hand, it has an engaging story, and the FL is a revelation for me. However, the show is a mess.
It is not as if there is no through-line. This is more like a tram network and I'm constantly thinking, did I miss something? Are we still in Kansas . . I mean Seoul.
I have a laundry list of such observations. I won't bore you with them all. A few are doing my head in.
For instance, the Joseon part of the show is quite inconsistent. Most of the time, the FL appears as a young (late teen?) court lady aka maid. Yet in other scenes, she was referred to as a high-ranking concubine and even the Queen. I know forbidden love is plot du jour for many sageuk dramas, but one thing we all learn is a lowly uneducated maid don't get elevated to Queenship without exceptional circumstances. In this case, I saw none.
Ditto, the soul swapped FL. She does have this haughty quality, and I love her archaic ways. She knows a lot about the Joseon court, and she is supposed to know Chinese medicine as well. Once again, this is not in the job description of a lowly maid. In the present, she is clever and SUPER adaptable. She can use a mobile phone and other mod cons within days of crash landing in the middle of a film set. There is a disconnect between the court lady FL and the one arriving in modern day Seoul. 🤔
Ditto, several characters are used as plot devices. Such as the shaman lady which is just air dropped into the plot to give the writer-nim a convenient out. There is no backstory. Is she a demi-god?
My biggest issue is with the soul of the modern FL. She is meant to be a c-grade actress playing random small roles on drama sets. She was a famous child star once, but a family tragedy torpedoed her promising career. The show did give us a bit of her backstory, but it is hyper fixated on one event. Then nothing. Why is this woman the chosen one.
To this day, I'm still not sure what happened to her soul. Did it get wiped? Does she get transported to Joseon? Does the FL have two sets of memories and two personalities now?
It feels sloppy to me. I enjoyed this show when it is firing. Not so much when it's trying to sell me a Schrödinger's cat.
This brings me back to my original point. I love the FL's acting. She steals many scenes and her antics is the heart of this show. The ML did fine. His role is a bit uneven as he flips between the past and the present. He is suitably stoic and handsome.
They certainly have chemistry and the skinship felt nice and natural. Especially towards the end when they were quite playful with each other. This is a nice change from the one-and-done staged kiss with fireworks.
The rest of the cast are filled with familiar faces. Most of their roles are straight out of central casting. They fulfilled their contractual obligations.
Then the ending happened. Ye gods, they must have exhausted their budget on rainbow effect and unicorn hire. It is sweetness overload and should come with health warning.
Our leads certainly deserved their HEA ending and I can't complain. My problem is how it is delivered. We are treated to a parade of scenes where people either receive their brickbat or bouquet. There is little preamble or character development.
Oh, there is one final sting in that tail. The FL visits the antagonist in jail and did the typical farewell speech. She then told him he could have broken the cycle of suffering that trapped the three of them. The problem is the antagonist has no memory of his past life so he is just being a ruthless heir-in-waiting. He would have to be a nice guy right from the start. Why would he do that?
If I'm honest, I'm not sure what she is talking about either. I don't remember any 300yo curse. Our writer-nim loves those throwaway lines and subplots. That's fine on a neat and tidy storyboard. Much more complicated when RL intrudes. It is hard to be immersed when you question everything. It is a curse.
In the end, I must temper my expectations. It went from a refreshing and promising romance to a messy guilty pleasure.
Even now, half of me wants to bottle our leads happiness and sell them online. The other half is hugging my therapy teddy while rocking back and fore mumbling "Ask no questions. Ask no . .".
Inner peace. INNER PEACE.
It is not as if there is no through-line. This is more like a tram network and I'm constantly thinking, did I miss something? Are we still in Kansas . . I mean Seoul.
I have a laundry list of such observations. I won't bore you with them all. A few are doing my head in.
For instance, the Joseon part of the show is quite inconsistent. Most of the time, the FL appears as a young (late teen?) court lady aka maid. Yet in other scenes, she was referred to as a high-ranking concubine and even the Queen. I know forbidden love is plot du jour for many sageuk dramas, but one thing we all learn is a lowly uneducated maid don't get elevated to Queenship without exceptional circumstances. In this case, I saw none.
Ditto, the soul swapped FL. She does have this haughty quality, and I love her archaic ways. She knows a lot about the Joseon court, and she is supposed to know Chinese medicine as well. Once again, this is not in the job description of a lowly maid. In the present, she is clever and SUPER adaptable. She can use a mobile phone and other mod cons within days of crash landing in the middle of a film set. There is a disconnect between the court lady FL and the one arriving in modern day Seoul. 🤔
Ditto, several characters are used as plot devices. Such as the shaman lady which is just air dropped into the plot to give the writer-nim a convenient out. There is no backstory. Is she a demi-god?
My biggest issue is with the soul of the modern FL. She is meant to be a c-grade actress playing random small roles on drama sets. She was a famous child star once, but a family tragedy torpedoed her promising career. The show did give us a bit of her backstory, but it is hyper fixated on one event. Then nothing. Why is this woman the chosen one.
To this day, I'm still not sure what happened to her soul. Did it get wiped? Does she get transported to Joseon? Does the FL have two sets of memories and two personalities now?
It feels sloppy to me. I enjoyed this show when it is firing. Not so much when it's trying to sell me a Schrödinger's cat.
This brings me back to my original point. I love the FL's acting. She steals many scenes and her antics is the heart of this show. The ML did fine. His role is a bit uneven as he flips between the past and the present. He is suitably stoic and handsome.
They certainly have chemistry and the skinship felt nice and natural. Especially towards the end when they were quite playful with each other. This is a nice change from the one-and-done staged kiss with fireworks.
The rest of the cast are filled with familiar faces. Most of their roles are straight out of central casting. They fulfilled their contractual obligations.
Then the ending happened. Ye gods, they must have exhausted their budget on rainbow effect and unicorn hire. It is sweetness overload and should come with health warning.
Our leads certainly deserved their HEA ending and I can't complain. My problem is how it is delivered. We are treated to a parade of scenes where people either receive their brickbat or bouquet. There is little preamble or character development.
Oh, there is one final sting in that tail. The FL visits the antagonist in jail and did the typical farewell speech. She then told him he could have broken the cycle of suffering that trapped the three of them. The problem is the antagonist has no memory of his past life so he is just being a ruthless heir-in-waiting. He would have to be a nice guy right from the start. Why would he do that?
If I'm honest, I'm not sure what she is talking about either. I don't remember any 300yo curse. Our writer-nim loves those throwaway lines and subplots. That's fine on a neat and tidy storyboard. Much more complicated when RL intrudes. It is hard to be immersed when you question everything. It is a curse.
In the end, I must temper my expectations. It went from a refreshing and promising romance to a messy guilty pleasure.
Even now, half of me wants to bottle our leads happiness and sell them online. The other half is hugging my therapy teddy while rocking back and fore mumbling "Ask no questions. Ask no . .".
Inner peace. INNER PEACE.
Was this review helpful to you?
