100 Days My Prince (2018)

The Bottom Line: It's Entertaining

The beginning of this show instantly pulled me in, and I was really intrigued. It kind of slowed down for a bit, but the latter portion of this show really heated up and I enjoyed that a lot. To get the bad things out of the way first, this show has flaws. There are some plot oddities, definitely some cheesy acting, and clichés. Some parts were predictable, and I do not know if it was just me but some parts of the plot made me scratch my head and I had some questions. That aside, I did enjoy this show. I was rarely bored, and I was always excited to watch it. The costume design, set design, and the historical aspect of this show was really well done. For me, the love story was not amazing, but the Joseon politics were done very well. I was really invested in the plot surrounding what was going on with the King and his inner circle. I wish they showed more of that, that is one of my complaints, but that is because it was done so well. While some of the elements of this show seem familiar and not super original, the plot surrounding the royal family was very intricate and brought this show up to a higher level. Other praises for this show include good music (both background music and singing), and the villain of this show was truly evil, and that actor did a great job. At the end of the day, this was a fun show to watch. There were many serious moments, and very light moments, all of which were fun to watch. Also a lot of this show was just...cool. I do not know how to describe it more eloquently, but I was watching this and going "wow this is cool." If you are looking for a cool historical drama to sit back and relax to, and not overanalyze, then 100 Days My Prince will entertain you for sure.

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WORTHWATCHING!

What can I say about this masterpiece? I watched it last year and sometimes I still watch videos about it on Youtube. I loved the story, the acting, male and female lead and everything! I am so grateful to everyone here for giving this drama so high rating. I gave it a try because of this and I watched it very quickly! The story was so lovely, romantic, pure and I teared at some points but it was also very funny! AND THE MUSIC! I am still listening to the amazing background music daily. It was a GEM REALLY! The main characters had great chemistry. I absolutely loved watching them fall for each other day by day. If you are not sure if this drama is worthy of your time I totally syggest you watch a video about the drama on Youtube. I am very confident that if you are fan of this type of drama , you will love it too!

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Intrigue of palace politics and laughter in a single bowl

The character of Yul is a perfect cut for D.O., it's as if the role was written for him. The comical nature, the coldness, and the hidden tsundere are very typical of him. 100 days my prince impressed me with its plot, the intrigue it carries and the uniqueness it ensures. Korean dramas around palace politics are always intriguing in their own unique way but 100 days my prince stands out with a cast very strong in their craft and a storyline that is not found yet. Amnesia, love, angst, pangs of unrequited love, and loss are all tied up into the wild mix of raging wars of succession and power inside the walls of Hanyang.

Even then there are missed spots and one of them was Nam Ji Hyun as the female lead. For me, her acting didn't cut for the role and felt incredibly shallow. Han So Hee shined more than her even though the subtotal of her screentime is far less than the lead. The side characters of the show are an incredible cast, each giving justice to their characters. From Kim Seon Ho to Jo Sung Ha, from friends to follies, each brings forward a masterclass in living their characters and making them into breathing ones.

Filled with major laughter scenes with the arsenal of villagers, it does not feel too dark even though it is. 100 days my prince brings to you a fresh take on palace politics in a light mix filled with fun, frolic, romance, and much more.

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excelência de atuação

com grandes atores no elenco é de se esperar que seja um show de atuação e talento, e realmente, nisso o dorama não decepciona! porém, achei o ritmo lento em alguns momentos, sabe? algo morno e monótono, precisei parar de ver por algum tempinho antes de retomar.
a ost é incrível no geral, casa muito bem com o dorama, assim como a boa intenção da história, que não teve uma execução tão brilhante como eu gostaria...
um adendo ao doh kyungsoo, que ator impressionante! não é de se surpreender que muitas pessoas tenham se tornado fã do seu trabalho após esse dorama, ele é fabuloso!

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Great main story, not so good side plot

Not gonna lie, the main reason I watched the show was for Kyung Soo and So Hee, however, it was a fun, charming, and gracious ride.

I've watched a couple of dramas that had this historical plot somehow, but never one that was fully committed to it. I ended up enjoying it a lot, it was nice to see a representation of the old (but really old) days, even though I know it's impossible to get a 100% accurate portrayal of it.

Story: I enjoyed the main story and the first half of the side plot, but after a while, the second narrative going on became a little repetitive and confusing.
Acting: Amazing cast, all the emotions were portraited perfectly for each character.
Music: The mixture of old new sounds was a perfect addition to the show, it has a great OST.
Rewatch Value: I will watch it again, perhaps paying more attention this time to the second narrative than to the main story I may be able to understand why everything became so weird at some point.
Overall: Recommended for those who like classical stories dramas, but don't expect a lot of romance or fighting, it has both, but not in excess.

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Cliches Work

Wondeuk and Hongshim
There are several notable tropes that serve as the foundation of Wondeuk and Hongshim’s relationship, and 100 Days My Prince handled them in a way that makes the progress of romance between these two characters feel natural instead of relying on the audience’s expectations that they must fall in love because they’re the main leads of a K-drama.

For example, in typical Asian drama fashion, our leading man Wondeuk/Lee Yul grows up never forgetting his childhood love, Yoon Yiseo. But instead of him harboring some sort of linger obsession with a random girl he met who was nice to him once, as it often is the case in other dramas, he’s driven to look for her by the very real and understandable guilt from watching her entire family die by his father’s orders.

What follows is his amnesia, which not only does the job of providing the perfect foundation for a slew of comedy and miscommunication, but frees Lee Yul from the constraints that comes with being the Crown Prince, allowing him to become “Wondeuk” and fall in love with Hongshim while being, arguably, his truest self.

This drama puts in the work of making its main leads grow through shared experience and confrontation of not only each other, but themselves. And what comes out of a pretend marriage built on deceit, lies, and secrets is one of the sweetest, most honest romances you’ll ever find in Asian drama land—second only to Kkeutnyeo and Gudol (Hongshim’s best friend and her husband) of course.

Dissecting Kim Chaeon
Watching 100 Days My Prince early on, I thought Kim Chaeon was a lacking villain, created to play a role but with little reason to explain why he is the way he is. To tell the truth, I still kind of feel that way about him, even though he turns out to be a bit more complicated than I anticipated.

Kim Chaeon starts out as an enigma of an antagonist. You kind of don’t understand what he wants, so much so that I initially wondered if he was a red herring and the actual villains were the Queen and her family’s political faction.His actions comes off peculiar at first. He forces Lee Yul’s father to become king, but won’t allow him to keep his wife/Lee Yul’s mother as Queen. Okay? So he successfully replaces her, only to let the replacement queen and her family become the thorn in his side sixteen years later. But hey, that’s all right. His daughter is married to the Crown Prince. Except wait, he may or may not have masterminded the Crown Prince’s assassination…

Everything he does makes sense if you watch on and follow the threads closely. He wants to replace Lee Yul’s mother because she came from the former king’s family. Her replacement turns out to be more crafty than he anticipated, and he isn’t able to stop her family’s rise to power in time. His assassination of the Crown Prince, it turns out, is to protect his daughter’s crown princess position after she fell pregnant by someone who’s not her husband. So yes, his actions do line up to his overall motive—to be the true power behind the throne.

Except, at some point, the audience and multiple characters in the series have to start wondering why he didn’t just take the throne for himself all those years ago. Why stop short of absolute power? Instead of being king—and he could’ve been king—he chooses to be a puppeteer over and over.

Along that same illogical train of thought, in the face of accusations of treason, he colludes with a foreign force to bring down his country. And instead of loving his children and ensuring they live a happy life, he chooses to sacrifice his life and saves his family via the blank royal decree, except he’s doomed them to live out their days as prisoners and exiles.

We eventually get a glimpse into his inner psyche during his final conversation with his daughter where she tells him how much she hates being his child. He reveals that he had nothing growing up, that there’s an ever-growing desire inside him to not have to answer to anybody, and that nothing he does ever seems to fulfill it.

It’s only then we learn that this is a man who’s lived his entire life in survival mode, and who, despite all his cunning, doesn’t really understand himself or what he wants, which explains everything about this character to me. In universe, he’s a lost man living moment to moment, trying to stave the hunger he experienced as a child growing up in a dog-eat-dog world. On a story-level, he’s a one-dimensional villain whose only function is to be a hindrance to the protagonist, which he’s very effective at, even if it means his choices come off arbitrary and incoherent. Hey, this random line alluding to his tragic backstory should make enough sense to cover up the plot holes!

An Overly Upbeat Finale
Someone once said to me that you can tell how historically accurate a historical Asian drama is by how happy the ending is, and I agree. 100 Days My Prince, a drama of pure fiction, ended very happily.

For the people of Songjoo Village, life goes on for the better. Mr. Yeon clearly acquired some nicer clothes and renovated his house. Kkeutnyeo and Gudol are expecting their first baby while acting as warden to Kim Chaeon’s son, a job they’re collecting some nice cash on. Park Seondo is stripped of all his wealth and sentenced to eternal servitude under the new county magistrate, Park Bokeun. Even Machil manages to turn his life of loan sharking around.

In the capital, the Kim clan is no more. Lee Yul reconciles with his father, who fixes his marriage with the Queen, who, as it turns out, isn’t looking to unseat the Crown Prince in favor of enthroning her own son as much as she wants to spend more time with her husband, who just wants to see his eldest son married before retiring with his wife to the countryside. Even Eunuch Yang returns to serve by Lee Yul’s side, now with the leverage that he once almost died because of Lee Yul to make his job easier.

The last twenty or so minutes of this drama is also the weakest, if only because there are no consequential conflicts driving the reconciliation between Lee Yul and Hongshim, now a noblewoman. Realistically, it’s probably a good thing that the couple took some time apart after defeating Kim Chaeon to settle into their new selves. Narratively, the separation serves no purpose and drags things out too long. Nevertheless, watching our main leads finally coming together for real with the support of their friends is immensely satisfying.

Oh, and I’m so happy that the Crown Princess is alive and well with her son.

Other Thoughts
1) Jung Jaeyoon strikes the perfect balance as a second male lead—not too great that he overshadows Lee Yul, not too awful that you dislike him. His face-blindness is an amazing use of plot device by this drama. Plus, his relationship with Ae Weol the gisaeng is a highlight for me

2) The complicated yet clearly real love between the Crown Princess and Mooyeon is fanfiction worthy material
3) The whole subplot with the Ming Dynasty envoy and his daughter feels out of place and serves too obvious of a contrast to 4) Lee Yul and Hongshim’s situation
5) Prince Seowon is an angel

Final Rating and Recommendations
100 Days My Prince is insanely bingeable and insanely good. The main romance is the perfect example of when a fictional relationship can be based on cliches but not be dictated by them. The ending is almost too upbeat and cheesy, but you honestly won’t mind it after the emotional rollercoaster that is this drama. The comedy is top-notch, with amazing costumes and a well-plotted story, not to mention its amazing cast: To fans of Exo-K’s D.O., this is a must-watch.

My Rating: 8.5/10

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Hooked me, bored me, lost me

The palace intrigue trope is the backbone of most sageuk and it is the focus of this show as well. Amnesia is another popular trope that is fairly timeless as far as plot device goes. Combine the two and we should have an engaging plot full of potentials, right? Well, sort of, but only if the writer-nim was up to the challenge. 
100 Days actually started well enough. The flashback was quite impactful but in their rush to set up the OTP's backstory and their fated love story, it gave away too much of the main characters' stories and motivations. With no change to the rationale over the intervening years, that removed a lot of the "intrigue" from the palace intrigues. This is not necessarily a lost cause because the plot switched up with the ML (a Crown Prince, no less) suffering an injury which brought on amnesia and he was a fish-out-of-water in a backwater village. This conveniently set up the fake marriage trope with the FL. Hey, when you already ticked two major trope boxes you might as well go for the trifecta!
The Show has a dash of romance, a hit of angst, a measure of intrigue and a sprinkle of comedy but nothing really dominated. It really felt like the Show is fishing for a genre but it swung from a sageuk to a rom-com then stretches of full-on melodrama and bits in between. None of the traits stuck though. This drama doesn't hit you with the feels but more like flick you with a wet hanky.
The writer-nim did try to make us ship the CP by using all the clichés in the playbook. In that sense, I have to give full credit to the FL (loved her in Suspicious Partners) as she did most of the heavy lifting here. The ML was handsome but he spent way too much time being stoic/poker faced/detached or feeling unease. That is a source of frustration at times as all you see is his stony countenance even though the script is clearing saying "you are in love" (is that the idol curse?). By the time he started to show some real emotions later in the show, the script dumped us straight into a long stretch of melodrama and he underwent a full face Botox treatment. This could have been a decent rom-com but the chemistry of the OTP was slow to develop and always felt a bit scripted which is a shame.
The Show wasn't bad and it was watchable but the writing has some issues. Old cliché power struggle plots were the only game in town and they were hardly original. Most characters were standard archetypes with little growth so an archvillain was just that. A petty local bully stayed petty. The found village/family setup was nice and sweet. The close knit set of villagers provided the thankless backbone of the show and some colour. Even the so-called machinations and scheming were fairly transparent and is oft given away by long expositions (even though the viewers are well aware of the plot by then). The odd revelations were more like confirmations and not surprise twists.
There was no doubt a HEA ending was mandated but the last couple of episodes were really awkwardly written (even by the Show's standard). After the longest set up regarding the ultimate showdown between the ML and the antagonist and how they were manoeuvring to outsmart each other. When it happened, it was a disappointing fizzer. It was poorly set up and poorly executed. Why did the ML charged into war still wearing his fancy court robes? There wasn't even any attempt to put on the simplest leather armour let alone anything befitting a royal personage. Speaking of THE war, it was more like a skirmish. It felt like an afterthought with minimal attention to details (did they run out of money?). To be honest, they could have skipped that completely and still achieve the same outcome. There was little narrative logic as the script rushed all the sub plot to conclusion and gifted everyone a happy ending. It was not so much "no questions asked" but more like "ask no questions and hear no lies".
I really felt sorry for the FL, she hasn't been in many dramas since Suspicious Partners and this is not a career highlight. She did her best but the drama let her down.
OST was serviceable but repetitive. Rewatch value is low. Not that many swoon worthy moments to relive.

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Highly recommended!

This is one of my all-time favorite Korean dramas.

Korean dramas rarely have a fake royal family or dynasty and I appreciate that this one did (at least I think this was a made up one). I feel this gives a bit more freedom to the plot when you're not bound by an actual person's story.

This was just a good, all round watch. The male lead did a good job of portraying someone who was struggling with his identity and slowly falling in love with his wife. The female lead was smart, brave, and funny (though not sure how she would have liked life as the queen with all its endless restrictions...). They were just cute together. I love the supporting characters, especially the FL's best friend and best friend's husband. I also liked her adoptive father a lot, they clearly had a good relationship.

The evil lead made me furious, which meant he was written and portrayed well. I understood the Crown Princess' plight--she had not wanted a loveless marriage, but that is what she got (though how she was ever alone long enough to get pregnant, I have no idea). The reason for taking off 0.5 points is that they killed off Yoon Seok Hwan. Yes he was an assassin, but only because that is the deal he had made to keep his sister alive. He loved his baby's mother and they should have gotten a happy ending, too. And we need more historical dramas with Kim Jae Young please! Especially of him shooting arrows and sword fighting. Lots and lots.

I got SMLS, of course, but I almost always do. It was not too horrible since I also liked the ML, but the SML was just so sweet. I wish they had found him a nice girl by the end...(though I'm not sure about the gisaeng?)

I highly recommend this one, its right up there with Moon Embracing the Sun for me.

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A great drama, not just for EXO fans

I went into this show already knowing that Kyungsoo is an amazing actor, based on previous works. But I understand that a 16 episode drama is different from a movie.

The main character with memory loss is nothing new, nor does this drama take it somewhere surprising. The cast was wonderfully picked. I can’t say anything bad about any of the actors. In special I’d highlight, besides Kyungsoo, Kim Seon Ho and Nam Ji Hyun.

I do feel like the story drags a bit around the halfway point, since it’s still to early for the prince to come back, but the show doesn’t exactly know what to do with the village plot. The "villains" work well in this show, specially in the palace.

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Should have been shorter..

100 days isn’t exactly a kdrama with great depth, however it manages to be entertaining. The acting makes up for what the storyline lacks. Perhaps my biggest problem with the plot is the unnecessary dragging. This could have easily been a 12 episode drama.
The show actually starts off well- it manages to be funny without being over the top. After that, the focus starts shifting to political affairs and becomes somewhat melodramatic, with the main couple not talking to each other for a lengthy time. This is all resolved in the final episode, which - in my opinion - was slightly disappointing.

I am having mixed feelings, because despite this, I did enjoy the acting. I don’t think it was necessarily out of the world, but it felt suitable for the kind of drama 100 days my prince is. I think that it might even be worth rewatching, but I think I would skip through many unnecessary scenes.

Overall, you might enjoy this if historical dramas are your cup of tea, or if you’re a big fan of Kyungsoo. 100 Days My Prince didn’t amuse me, but I did feel all sort of emotions while watching it, which, I feel, should be the end goal of any series.

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Like a Sweet Folks Tale Adaptation

The whole show has the feeling of a lovely folks tale adaptation, like a story you heard many times as a child that you grew fond of. "The Never Smiling Prince" and what happened to him. It was nice to watch and sometimes even had a fairytale feeling to it. It's very low on "drama", even though it has its sad moments, and a few scenes that were very well cut and done by the actors.

Overall it is a sweet show with some very great tracks on the soundtrack (for that alone its worth it in my books), that is enjoyable to watch without getting too deep into the feelings.

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