This review may contain spoilers
Rewatch value = 0
I'll start by saying that I've been struggling to watch dramas lately. After failing to get past episode 2 of several shows, I picked up The Perfect Crown and actually finished it. It is far from perfect, yet it's entertaining enough to keep you watching until the end. Unfortunately, in my case, I absolutely hated the conclusion. Here are the most memorable things about this drama:
The most toxic love triangle ever: Everyone could see that Prime Minister Min was eventually going to "act up" as he realised the FL was falling for the ML. However, going as far as plotting to murder the ML—who was supposed to be his friend—was far beyond what I expected. Personally, I found it too outrageous that someone who initially seemed like a decent person could turn into such a monster. He became so loathsome that we didn't even get to see what happened to him after he was arrested. The FL didn't even bother speaking to him, and he was given absolutely no chance at redemption.
The worst side-character romance ever: I want everyone reading this to know that I have nothing against lesbians, and I actually think they are underrepresented in entertainment worldwide. When we were introduced to the FL's assistant, I found her refreshing because she felt different, and I genuinely liked her character. However, the writers decided to portray her as a tomboy who eventually falls in love with the ML's assistant. It felt incredibly forced. A woman like that, in real life, considering the way she behaved and spoke, would probably be a lesbian.
Mysterious deaths that nobody cared about: The ML's father, mother, and brother all died. We only get hints that his brother was murdered, yet no justice is ever served and the case is never investigated. Honestly, I thought it was obvious that someone had been preying on the royal family because that much tragedy happening repeatedly cannot simply be a coincidence. But nobody seemed to care—not even the ML—and we never get any closure.
The contract leak: The story made a huge deal out of this, dedicating a large portion of the plot to it, when it could have been easily dismissed as fake and the matter closed. Especially considering the FL's intelligence, it felt surreal that she didn't know how to handle such an obvious situation.
The controversy: I know most international viewers probably won't care about this, but I believe the audience deserved a beautiful fantasy in which the monarchy still existed. The King: Eternal Monarch managed to do exactly that, and nobody complained. The problem here is that the production benefited from the appeal of its royal premise, yet ended up portraying the Crown as little more than a vassal institution. There was very little beauty or dignity in it, despite viewers clearly wanting to imagine a modern Korean monarchy. Saying they joined the project late isn't a good enough excuse. They all should have known better; that's their job.
The ending: I usually dislike endings, but this one I hated with all my heart. We're constantly told that the ML is adored by the nation, yet that very same nation votes to remove him and abolish the monarchy. It felt nasty, anticlimactic, and left me wondering why I had watched the entire drama. If the writers wanted to abolish the monarchy, the ML didn't need to go through everything just to become king in the first place—there were plenty of other ways to tell that story. As others have pointed out, abolishing the monarchy also doesn't eliminate inequality. Wealth, political power, and countless other systems of privilege would still remain.
Overall, it left me with a really bad aftertaste.
It's an okay drama, but it could have been so much better. It had many strong points, and it even made me laugh at times. It's a real pity that the writers couldn't fully capitalise on all the good ingredients they had.
The most toxic love triangle ever: Everyone could see that Prime Minister Min was eventually going to "act up" as he realised the FL was falling for the ML. However, going as far as plotting to murder the ML—who was supposed to be his friend—was far beyond what I expected. Personally, I found it too outrageous that someone who initially seemed like a decent person could turn into such a monster. He became so loathsome that we didn't even get to see what happened to him after he was arrested. The FL didn't even bother speaking to him, and he was given absolutely no chance at redemption.
The worst side-character romance ever: I want everyone reading this to know that I have nothing against lesbians, and I actually think they are underrepresented in entertainment worldwide. When we were introduced to the FL's assistant, I found her refreshing because she felt different, and I genuinely liked her character. However, the writers decided to portray her as a tomboy who eventually falls in love with the ML's assistant. It felt incredibly forced. A woman like that, in real life, considering the way she behaved and spoke, would probably be a lesbian.
Mysterious deaths that nobody cared about: The ML's father, mother, and brother all died. We only get hints that his brother was murdered, yet no justice is ever served and the case is never investigated. Honestly, I thought it was obvious that someone had been preying on the royal family because that much tragedy happening repeatedly cannot simply be a coincidence. But nobody seemed to care—not even the ML—and we never get any closure.
The contract leak: The story made a huge deal out of this, dedicating a large portion of the plot to it, when it could have been easily dismissed as fake and the matter closed. Especially considering the FL's intelligence, it felt surreal that she didn't know how to handle such an obvious situation.
The controversy: I know most international viewers probably won't care about this, but I believe the audience deserved a beautiful fantasy in which the monarchy still existed. The King: Eternal Monarch managed to do exactly that, and nobody complained. The problem here is that the production benefited from the appeal of its royal premise, yet ended up portraying the Crown as little more than a vassal institution. There was very little beauty or dignity in it, despite viewers clearly wanting to imagine a modern Korean monarchy. Saying they joined the project late isn't a good enough excuse. They all should have known better; that's their job.
The ending: I usually dislike endings, but this one I hated with all my heart. We're constantly told that the ML is adored by the nation, yet that very same nation votes to remove him and abolish the monarchy. It felt nasty, anticlimactic, and left me wondering why I had watched the entire drama. If the writers wanted to abolish the monarchy, the ML didn't need to go through everything just to become king in the first place—there were plenty of other ways to tell that story. As others have pointed out, abolishing the monarchy also doesn't eliminate inequality. Wealth, political power, and countless other systems of privilege would still remain.
Overall, it left me with a really bad aftertaste.
It's an okay drama, but it could have been so much better. It had many strong points, and it even made me laugh at times. It's a real pity that the writers couldn't fully capitalise on all the good ingredients they had.
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