A drama that is a must
I put off watching the wonderful drama for so long (following the great drama, Empress Ki, starring Ji Chang Wook that made me cry for many days) The Red Sleeve is the kind of drama that should not be missed mainly because it is based on real historical events. (It is impossible to escape from the tragic reality of that time) A drama with perfect casting, (the wonderful Lee Joon-Ho and Se Jung who conveyed in such a realistic way a range of emotions), superb acting. It's no surprise that the drama won so many awards. Personally, I recommend reading and watching historical dramas related to Prince Yi San to understand the mindset of the Red Sleeve.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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HEAVY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN
This is one of those classics that I never got around to watching when it first aired and after watching I realise it’s a classic for a reason. It’s perhaps the best romance k-drama I’ve ever seen. It has all the feels of the genre but the craftsmanship of the more serious k-drama offerings.I’m one to avoid sad endings typically as they are rarely done enough justice and are usually used for shock value or angst. I’ve seen few dramas with a sad ending that I thought were beautifully done or that left me feeling like that was the only possible outcome. Although the ending of The Red Sleeve made me cry buckets, I do think it was a well done ending and overall the drama was near immaculate in execution.
That said; so many scenes broke my heart. I’d never felt the weight of the crown of a king in a k-drama quite like I felt it in this one. The scene with the old king’s heart breaking explaining to the prince how much he loved him was so emotional because it was tinged with the feeling of suspicion, paranoia, betrayal and guilt he had for his own son that was heightened by his confused dementia state. What a performance! So much hurt, so much pain, so much regret, wrapped up in so much disappointment. The vulnerability he showed in that scene highlights how being the King comes with a toll. It foreshadow how the crown too will change the young prince.
This series was not at all what I expected and it is so much better for it. When his grandfather died and he begged him to come back, my heart broke. The complicated feelings he had for his grandfather amidst his turmoil of sadness was too much to bear. He was like a child again and in that one scene you could see how much his grandfather meant to him. Not the king but the man who was his father figure and the man who was also responsible for taking his own father away from him. Just wow.
Still, by far the crowing grace of this series was how it portrayed the struggles and powerlessness of the women of that period. They weren't afraid to show the harsh realities and to balance the romantic fantasy of the romance genre with the very real historical story.
Yes it’s true the FL lead a tragic life to say the least. Many decisions were made for her and she struggled to maintain autonomy of her own life. In many ways her outcome was a sad one but I’d also like to think that she lead a rich life. She found love and happiness and was lucky enough to experience true friendship. The bond between the four female friends was so wonderfully illustrated, it served as the second great love story in this drama. This may be Lee Se Young’s best role. She commanded the screen and gave the character so much life.
The story is perhaps too sweet to be bitter and too bitter to be sweet. It will have you smiling in the first half and bawling in the second half. It's really a well written and well acted piece of drama.
On a final note: Episode 17 was made just to rip your heart out. Some people only watch up until episode 16 and consider that the ending. Honestly, I understand why they would do that. It’s a very sad episode. However, I’m glad I watched the entire thing because it completes the story and I found some beauty in that tragic ending. This is another drama that will stay with me for a long time.
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TRULY enthralling
no matter how hard i resist, every couple of months i always find myself returning back to this drama. i cannot express in words how much i adore it. not only was i sitting on the edge of my seat every episode as their romance blossomed, but i also took away about an invaluable lesson about prioritizing love vs. oneself. the progression of the storyline was FANTASTIC and so well executed. from the characterization to soundtrack to acting to plot, each and every individual who contributed to this drama absolutely killed it. the red sleeve is truly the greatest sageuk and one of the most well-written kdramas of all time!Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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Bittersweet
It took me several days to be able to write this review. I kept starting and stopping, writing and rewriting, and even thinking I was finished and then deleting it all. This story is an incredible combination of beauty and tragedy, and is a love story that really makes you think about the high price that can come with power and how it affects evrything, even how you love. At one point Deok Im asks King Jeongjo if he had ever thought about what it would have been like had he been a commoner and she not a palace maid - and the thought was so alien to him that he could scarcely reply - for him this tragically lonely life was the norm. He was betrayed and lied to by his best friend, the woman he loved (and who loved him back) tried her best to not be with him to avoid losing her freedom, and he had to be wary even of family members. Not an easy or happy life, despite the power and comforts a king had. As their love story unfolded and finally came to it's eventual consummation I was ripped in half - the sweetness of their love is marred by how much she doesn't want all that comes with it - being tied to the palace and unable to leave for the rest of her life is the worst thing that could happen to such a free spirit. As she said goodbye to her younger self I bawled.I really appreciated how much of the lives of court ladies this drama portrayed. Seeing them having fun together, working together, being friends, and even the gossiping, scheming, and organizing into a cult gave them a lot more depth than is usually shown to the people who work in the palace.
The fact that this story is a fictionalized version of actual people and an actual love story makes it even more beautiful and heartbreaking to me.
This is definitely a drama worth watching, and a story that will linger in my mind.
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The last scene of the last episode confused me
All the episodes were good except the last one . I was waiting for their love story to start and from wher it started bit was the second last episodes . If this is real based story then I will complained to God ,why he punished him this way ,since childhood he did good , whatever he had done he did for humans then why his end was painful. If it is a fiction . Then not happy with the story because end is sad .Now I was confused to see the end , was she dead or it was his dream or in second episode it had shown that he had was sleeping on her lap and suddenly wake up and had shown he had seen a bad dream but he didn't tell about the dream but at the end same scene they had shown that he suddenly woke up and he had a bad dream in which she died so what is this it was a dream ,or his dream had come true and she died . This confused me alot.
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A bittersweet series
So many emotions were flowing after watching this series. Loved the wardrobe, scenery, the cast, the acting and the pacing. You get the typical drama in terms of palace rules and etc but what makes this one different is that the FL unlike most we’ve seen in historical dramas didn’t want any part of the palace haram. While other would pa she preferred freedom. What I liked most about this series was the ML acting the acting. It was amazing. ML definitely has some skills. Although the chemistry wasn’t magnified I believed that his acting made what chemistry existed wake up a bit.What I disliked about the series has nothing to o with quality and everything to do with my genre preferences. I didn’t like that it was a bit sad. I also disliked the FL persistence to resist her own feelings so much. After a while I got annoying. This went on for 90% of the drama. We only got a few happy episodes near the en and then not so much.
I would say that is was a bittersweet series. It’s worth the watch but if you’re into a smiles and happy ever after proceed with caution.
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A Gem
Passed by this series on a number of occasions because yes, I did judge it based on its cover page/summary and assumed it was another palace drama with the typical romance story between a poor woman and the prince/king. However based on another reviewer's comment on the uniqueness to their story, I took a chance and wasn't disappointed.Although the plot does seem to follow the usual servant girl turned concubine, the evolution of their romance is not as glorified as with some other historical dramas. It progresses more realistically in terms of how helpless women were at those times, without the option of having a choice when men decided to turn their attention towards you. While some women fantasize about social climbing and reaching a certain status, many don't realize what they are sacrificing in return.
I absolutely loved the FL and ML actors here as they did a fantastic job with both their subtleties and command of the screen. There are multiple complex webs of relationships with equally complex characters which really makes the series feel full. The pacing of the story was done really well with very little plot lag. Also while fictional, it does nod towards historical facts with respect to Royal Noble Consort Ui and Jeongjo of Joseon for that extra something special.
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The ending ruined it for me
I literally stayed up until the next morning watching. It captivated me from the beginning. I wish she had become his concubine from the beginning, and she then the other concubines would be jealous because love trumps everything. But that was not what happened.The King's grandfather irritated me because he never trusted his grandson's choices. He treated him like a child. This was before the dementia. After the dementia, it got worse. Finally he accepted that he couldn't rule.
I loved it. I believed in their love. I could feel the sexual tension each time they looked at each other or touched. It was beautiful until the last episode. What a letdown.
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Sama nie wiem co o tym sądzić...
Drama ma swoje plusy i minusy, oczywiście więcej plusów. Zacznę może od końca bo dawno nie oglądałam tak smutnego odcinka dramy, prawie przez całe dwie godziny płakałam, tyle tragedii w jednym odcinku.Śmierć syna, przyjaciółki, depresja aż w końcu i śmierć głównej bohaterki. Mam tak ogromny dylemat, że nie wiem co począć.... kto w tej dramie bym bardziej tragiczną postacią? Król? Konkubina? Naprawdę nie mogę podjąć decyzji, ciężkie życie jako książę koronny zmaganie się przez dzieciństwo, nastolatctwo ze strachem o swoje własne życie, później jako król podjęcie trudnych decyzji, śmierć bliskich (przyjaciela), zmaganie z uczuciami i tęsknotą za ukochaną jak i w końcu żal, że ona nie kocha i później jej przedwczesna śmierć, której w ogóle nie rozumiem...jak to się stało?
Teraz patrząc na naszą damę dworu, jako dziecko straciła rodziców, została wysłana do pałacu aby służyć królowi, później jej tragiczna miłość, prześladowanie przez króla (dla mnie trochę ją za bardzo nękał, no ale to z miłości niby hahahah) jak i mszczenie się zazdrosnej konkubiny, aż w końcu wbrew jej woli zostanie konkubiną, aby żyć w samotności. Tak bardzo tragiczne losy obu bohaterów, chyba dawno już nie oglądałam...
Została niby otwarta furtka dla osób, które chcą wierzyć, że jednak to wszystko było tylko snem króla itd, ale jak dla mnie za dużo rzeczy przemawia za tym, że to była jego fantazja w momencie śmierci, albo ich ponowne spotkanie właśnie po jego śmierci. Jak dla mnie za dużo wydarzeń było, które mimo wszystko nie przemawiają do mnie, że to tylko mógł być jego sen. Na przykład w jego śnie nie powinny się pojawić - chodzi o wszystkie wątki poboczne jak np śmierć przyjaciółki głównej bohaterki, spotkanie staruszka, rozmowa z urzędnikiem itd... nie ma sensu reszty wymieniać. Zrozumiałe jest to jak najbardziej, iż obawiał się o życie ukochanej, bo chciał ją chronić, chciał mieć rodzinę, więc i śmierć jego syna też wyjaśniała by jeśli byłby to sen, tak samo jak śmierć brata królowej. Więc gdyby to był tylko sen to te zdarzenia mogły by być zawarte w tym śnie, ale wspomnienia które w nim były i inne sytuację temu zaprzeczają. Tak samo rozmowa z ukochaną pod sam koniec, że nie jest za późno, że może jeszcze wrócić odnosi się - moim zdaniem - do tego, że może jeszcze wrócić i żyć dalej, ale on wolał zostać z ukochaną. Szkoda tylko, że nie zostało pokazane jedno, a mianowicie pogrzeb konkubiny jak i to czy król miał więcej dzieci...
W rzeczywistości opisałam tylko ostatni odcinek hahahah ale to było w tej dramie moim zdaniem najbardziej istotne jak i najbardziej chwytające za serce, to właśnie ostatni odcinek był najbardziej ciekawy i najbardziej przepełniony uczuciami. Polecam jak najbardziej wszystkim lubiącym dramy historyczne jak najbardziej na plus. Tyle, że jest to opowieść o tragicznej miłości, a nie pięknej i szczęśliwej.
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Not bad for watching ,good acting
Start with very lame behavior, scenes that have a very clear cause but they even wonder about it make me feel annoyed,,in the last 2 or 3 eps, make me feel heartbeaking and sadness,, full of emosional from the castHow can the royal side not know that the secret chamber was made in Courtlady Cho's room? ,, and how can hongdongro not realize that it is very easy to be caught committing a crime in a place like that? Even though he thought the king would forgive him, but he shouldn't have done such a stupid thing
ENDING
In my opinion, the crew might want to end the story of the original history, but they want to give a different ending to this love story, and want to make a happy ending, the best way is to reverse the scene in that way...
What do you expect from a historical story from a true story? Moreover, the story of the 2 drama characters chosen does not have a very satisfying ending,,,
At first I thought it was a happy ending because they (the crew) would end the story (last eps) until the birth of their child, but in the last eps it went straight to 4 years later
Not very bad for watching,i dont like when they talking about the event that JUST mention in this drama because not all people watching know about that event even it's from real history,they should explain a little about that they want to talk about,,
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beautifully shot and acted but loses steam
This is beautifully shot and you can see how high quality the show is. The premise is interesting - it's based off real historical figures (I saw the memoir on my Goodreads). I was curious how this might have been dramatized and adapted. The real lady Ui-bin Seong was only known to history by her role to the king: her pregnancies, her children, her title as harem wife and her death. On the other hand, we have a full story of the king's life in childhood, politics, etc. The king's life is also very messed up and I wondered how they were going to zoom in to this one part of his life story and romanticize it.However, the drama pleasantly surprised me by adding a feminist element. This is a story about love when it is complicated by power. It's about what love means to a man vs a woman.
As much as I enjoyed these themes, I found their back-and-forth "be my concubine / I love you" and "no I'm my own woman" to be quite tedious. The drama started out very strong and it is very well-acted (especially Lee Junho) but the increasing politics started boring me around episode 7/8. Had to drop this.
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It was just that good
This was so good that just when I thought that k-dramas stopped producing masterpieces after writers such as Park Hae-youn, Yoon Ji-ryeon and Lee Woo-jeong set the standard, I watched this and changed my mind. There are good dramas and great dramas. This surely falls in the latter category and now unfortunately the wait begins again, until I find another great drama that leaves me with this much awe. I think the last time I loved a historic drama so much was during Queen Seon Duk, when I was still a kid. The Kingdom series was also amazing and this is definitely in the same category of great cast, great writing, great direction.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
