Il Re e la Spia (2024)

Nice game Go

Nice game of Go. Good people pretend to be bad to fool bad guys trying to look good. No one trusts anyone, yet everyone is a victim of a scam. Everyone is smart, but he doesn't listen to his mind, but to his heart. I love this show so much.
The actors are great, the chemistry is good
The story is not new, but it is well thought out and logical and nice.
The political thread is not complicated, it balances the love thread well.
Perfect for melodrama. I think the ending is predictable, but the journey itself is so enjoyable that it doesn't need a big bang.
It was the best costume Korean drama of the last two years. I really liked the story. What I miss a bit is a more dramatic ending and a script for the main heroine. In general, female characters are very bipolar. It seems very much like the writer is a man and could not really identify with any of the women throughout the story. Nevertheless, I will definitely watch it once or twice. 10 for me.

Leggi di Più

This is a rich well written story with a wonder love match around the game of Go.

Captivating the King is a Period Korean Drama you definitely want to watch this year of 2024. I had fully written up ‘Captivating the King’, then I had to go back and toss that writeup. In this Korean Drama, the viewer gets a Korean Drama first. See if you can identity what happens in this drama, which in my 250 viewed Asian Dramas, I have not seen. I have seen this occurrence happen with a secondary leads, but not with the Main Male Lead. ‘Captivating the King’ is intelligently written with a polished plot-line. There is skilled acting by all of the drama actors too, in this stacked cast.

The Story

When Korea’s Joseon Dynasty became a tributary to the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1636, Joseon was told to cut ties with the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), who had been helping them for Centuries. While under the Ming Dynasty (Ming Dynasty reigned from 1368 to1644), the people of Joseon enjoyed more humane favors comparatively to being under the Qing. Now the once small nation of Qing has risen to great power, and the Qing Dynasty rules through retaliation and brutality.

The Qing Dynasty maintains strict order by holding captive in China Korean people of the Royal Courts. One such hostage from Korea is its Grand Prince Yi In. He is a very likable person when compared against his ever maddening brother, King Yi Sun of Joseon. After some time in captivity, Grand Prince Yi In finally is allowed to come home for a visit.

The Grand Prince loves the board game Baduk (Go), and Yi In is a great Baduk player, having honed his skills in China while being held in captivity. Upon his return to Korea, he meets a girl pretending to be a lad (Kang Mong Woo/Kang Hee Soo). She is a great Baduk player too and has an unbroken record of wins. However, game play is frowned upon for women, because of the male associations. Thus, she feels a need to hide her identity. The cutest love story emerges underneath this game of Baduk (Go), which channels around mystery and intrigue. Also there is much Court Intrigue in this drama. For likability, ‘Captivating the King’ is on the level of The Red Sleeve and My Dearest. It is a rich story which draws you right in.

Quote: “To wish for life when you love them and death when you hate them. Wishing them to live while wishing them to die. That is what it means to be captivated.” From The Captivated King.

Actors Corner

The stars of ‘Captivating the King’ are actress Shin Sae Kyeong (The Girl Who Sees Smells, Six Flying Dragons) and actor Jo Jung Suk (Hospital Playlist Series, The King: 2 Hearts), who is also an accomplished musical Theater performer. These are two powerhouse stars in Captivating the King. Both are at a level where the meatier dramas are offered to them. Both acting performances are at a stellar level in this drama. Shin Sae Kyeong and Jo Jung Suk are giving a master class of acting.

Leggi di Più

MA—STER—PIE—CE!!

???Rating: 9.7/10 ???
The story Quote: “To wish for life when you love them and death when you hate them. Wishing them to live while wishing them to die. That is what it means to be captivated.”



Preview:

The view shows Joseon during the Qing occupation. The Qing maintain strict order and rule with a strong hand, holding Korean hostages in their capital. One of them is Yi In (loyal to his brother (the king), the Grand Prince). After some time, the prince returns to his homeland, but no one welcomes him with open arms; he is treated as a spy and a traitor. He meets an unbeatable baduk player (which he himself likes to play).



Opinion:

I have grown very fond of this series. I'm so sad that I've already finished it. I started watching it on the 3rd of February and waited impatiently every weekend thinking "Do I have to wait much longer?". Lots of twists and turns. The ending of probably every or most of the episodes was gripping to the point where I wished I had started watching it after all the episodes were published. I was hoping for a sad ending. I was hoping for a tragic, impossible love. I was hoping for an unhappy break-up. What I got was everything. The last episode showed their momentary carefreeness, for one day they were a couple, a real couple. "Remember, you are my gidaeryong."Admittedly the ending didn't have anything special about it, it was a bit tedious, a bit touching. I think there was a way not to bore the audience, if only they had made it a dramatic ending.... let's not focus on that , let's move on to the cast

Soundtracks. Here a huge round of applause in my opinion especially to TAEIL for "Wave". This chorus triggered all the emotions, a feeling that is hard to describe.

Jo Jung Suk, do I need to add anything here? In every feed where I mentioned something about "Captivating the King" there was a sentence admiring his acting, his glassy eyes, his whispers, his ear-splitting scream.... everything was extremely perfectly great! The character of King Joseon himself was great, admittedly he may have actually (at the beginning) been sitting on the baduk too much. You could see that power changes a person. He started as a loyal subject of his brother and lasted later as a king who nevertheless has to defend the "crown". Still, I think he ruled fairly enough, not including Mongwoo and her friends. I really liked how he wanted to defend Hee-Soo and kept her with him.

Shin Sae Kyeong, I really liked this actress in "Rookie Historian...", but here, something didn't play for me about her. I had the impression that sometimes her eyes were running away somewhere else? I don't know. I loved her moments of tenderness and her relationship with the king, but in my opinion, too many scenes where she cried were shown. It's not down to the actress anymore, but this concept, this revenge plan, was it literally killing the king? My expectations were much higher.

Kim Myungha, really wasn't a very necessary character. Maybe she was supposed to fill in some space, going from being an unimportant character to becoming a bit more important. The script did not give room for Lee Shin Young to show off. I didn't really grow close to this character, I didn't really feel his importance (although I especially liked how he aroused the king's jealousy at first).

Park Ye Young as Lady Dong, I wasn't expecting much from the court lady, I thought she would be a budget character to play 'background', but I was really surprised. What I remember most was the vein that popped out on her forehead, it made a big "wow" on me. After that, I only appreciated her more and more. Her trembling, her look, her eyes... I really enjoyed her acting, I'm hoping for more new series with her.

Choi Dae Hoon as the earlier Joseon king was a bit annoying in my opinion. Otherwise, I have nothing against him as a character, but the fact that he suddenly spurned, ignored his brother, worrying only about power, about the crown, even worried that she was his spy for Qing, I understand that no one can be trusted in the court, but it bothered me a bit.

Ha Seo Yoon as the queen spouse Oh. I liked her a lot. I don't know why, but I was happy to see her working with gidaeryong. It made me sad to see her so ill, so I think she played the role well. Plus her relationship with Prince Munseong, I really liked that she treated him like a son even though he wasn't one. Her request to establish the Prince as the heir to the throne, I cried as she slowly died.

Choi Ye Chan as Prince Munseong. CHILDREN CAN ACT SO WELL?! In my opinion, he conveyed emotions perfectly, I didn't feel he was an inexperienced actor. I would like to watch his progress, there is a bright future ahead of him.

Yang Kyung Won as Hyun Bo. Is his punishment really not a joke? Exile from the capital? Seriously? For contributing to the deaths of people, aiding in treason? I remembered his acting from "...Samdal-ri", so my expectations were equal to his skills. He didnt shine, he didnt disappoint.


✅️ twists and turns
✅️ the ending of each episode keeps you in suspense
✅️ OST ("Wave")
✅️ Jo Jung Suk is 10/10, his voice, acting, looks, slay queen ??
✅️ Park Ye Young's acting, her trembling, her eyes.... everything is so perfect..
✅️ Queen Oh & Prince Munseong's relationship

❌️ Mongwoo's weak revenge
❌️ Kim myung-ha is a bit useless

+ I would have preferred that, after this three-year hiatus, King pretended he didn't know she was a woman in order to protect her, or that he knew her plan at all and let her carry it out because he loves her (someone wrote this under my feed and I very much agree).

Writing this made me feel like a film critic, this is the first time I'm writing an opinion... a bit lacking in order and composition, chaotically written.. but i hope someone ever reads this at least to some extent ??

Leggi di Più

A well known tale in a new envelope

It is the story of the Grand Prince who has been held captivated by the Qing dynasty. HE wants to learn about their war tactics and defeat them. But,.....
The opening episode is a wholesome. The director successfully traversed from the Joseon to Qing dynasty. The subtle difference in terms of culture, belief and work has been captivated. The Prince returns with a happy heart to his Kingdom only to be stopped at the door by guard. Here begins the the quest where the throne rightfully goes to Grand Prince and the incapable prince needs to step down. Like other historical dramas, it is also tells the tale of blood thirsty kins aiming for the crown. The capable Grand Prince needs to stay put and the incapable King wants to hold the throne even if at the cost of his beloved brother. The spare heir is benevolent and like always the crown keeper is the curse.

In the process of delivering historical stories, one of the key aspect is to malign the King. This is becoming so typical of the period pieces. A conniving Queen and the puppet King screams while carving path for Grand Heir to the throne.
The intriguing point of this historical drama fiction is the plot. Its fighting over the crown but the unusual suspense will keep you hooked. Helmed by Nam Gook, the male and female lead of the story is bound by play of Baduk. That Glorious game which made audience hooked last year with its subtlety. This time, the surprise is no miss. Hee Soo is determined to take down Lee In but her heart betrays her every minute. Lee Shin Young, whom you have seen as the dignified North Korean soldier in Crash landing on You is back as Myung Ha. He successfully triggers audience sentiment for him as the lone survivor of traitor father, who wants to teach the King lesson. His chemistry with Shin Se Kyung is soft and spicy, just essential for the gruesome plot.
Cho Nam guk, the man behind Good Detective leaves a taste of mystery throughout the story as character finds themselves developing with the story. Till the end, you don't know what is waiting for you....

Leggi di Più

SSK defence squad

Writing this "review" mainly to defend Shin Sae Kyeong because wow, girl cannot catch a break from y'all.

One thing I hate in the kdrama fandom is when women get all the criticism when it's so obvious that the writers and directors should get most of the blame. Now I am not saying that SSK is the best actress in the world but she tried and she did in my opinion well for with what she was given. Her character could've been so much more complex and interesting had they written her to be more on par with the ML's character. His brother dies and he becomes king and therefore heartless and in my opinion she should've been just as heartless, but god forbid women have any other emotion than sadness and love. The revenge part just was not as emphasized as it should've been and the love story was too meh to be entertaining. In any case, it is not SSK's fault she got a poorly written character. Had they wanted her character to be different they should've written her differently or directed her differently. SSK did justice to a character she got and y'all need to tone it down with the hate.

Lastly, I hated the fact that her best friend dies, basically because of the ML and the love story continues... How am I supposed to root for them if I despise him from the very beginning??????? "Oh but he's the king he had no other choice" WRONG, he had many choices and was even begged to pick another one. And how was the FL not angrier about this??? Give me the pen I swear I can fix this mess.

Leggi di Più

A Captivating Premise—but will it stick the landing?

Hello everyone :) This is my review for the ongoing k-drama Captivating the King. As always, all opinions are my own and no hate to any actors!

Story: 8/10
The story of this show is fairly generic for historical k-dramas—a high-ranking ML who is a nobleman or a member of the royal family—and a FL who hides being female for a purpose. From this description alone, I'm sure you can think of a few other k-dramas with the same premise. However, one thing that sets this k-drama apart from others in this generic description is it makes unusual decisions using the same algorithm. I'll outline how in a few ways:

#1) The ML in this show is not a squeaky-clean gentleman, he makes decisions that sway the FL and the audience against him, and then earns us back. His intentions and his mind are hard to read, and yet he's simultaenously very earnest-looking and charmismatic, making even the watcher wonder if it's right to root for him or not.

#2) The writers in this show are not afraid to kill off characters that aren't needed, which adds mystery to the plot as there isn't just one "big" villian throughout but multiple questionable characters that make us suspicious and then earn our trust back—the ML included.

#3) There aren't 100% clear lines of loyalty. Many of the characters cross and double-cross one another, using one another for their own purposes. I feel that this adds a lot of depth to the story, as in other historical shows, there's often the "good guys" side and the "bad guys" side.

For the above reasons, this show has been a lot of fun to watch so far. This being said, I will admit I have a few issues with the storyline as well, which is why I only gave it an 8/10 instead of a 10. These issues include:

#1) The FL in this show is admittedly less well written than the ML, which disappoints me for multiple reasons. Firstly, she's meant to be his equal, someone that gives him a run for his money (hence, the struggle of who gets captivated). We also don't get as many complex emotions from the FL's character as we do the ML's, as she almost always does what a viewer would consider to be "the right choice". I feel like the writers could have made her more of a grey-area character like the ML, and I think it would've made their already-incredible chemistry and forbidden love that much hotter.

#2) This show is very heavy on the politics and very light on the love. I understand why it's like that for plot purposes, but it's my own opinion that this show could've used more romance even if it was angsty. This being said, there are SOME scenes in which the intimacy just through simple touches and intense eye contact that made my heart flutter too, and since this show isn't over yet, I wouldn't say it's bad enough to be a dealbreaker even if you like romance dramas more.

Acting/Cast: 8.5/10
This is the first drama of Jo Jung Suk's that I've seen (although I am watching Hospital Playlist for the first time simultaenously haha) and I must say that I am blown away by his acting. His micro-expressions are incredible, the intensity of his eyes, and the way he says his lines with passion is really something. He really brings the ML's complex character to life in a refreshing way.

As for Shin Sae Kyeong, I have seen her previously in the Bride of the Water God and I was disappointed then and I am disappointed now. Now, I will admit that the writers did not give her as much to work with for her character as they did for Jo Jung Suk's character. Still, I feel that her expressions are exactly the same in every scene, give or take some tears. I do like the way she delivers her lines and the intensity in her eyes, but her flat expression takes away from her hard work. Initially, I wasn't too bothered by her expressions but as the show continues I am finding it harder to watch, especially since there's less romance than I expected and more political scenes where the FL must hold her own. Although I am disappointed, I mean no hate to Shin Sae Kyeong, and I am sure I will watch her future shows if they have an interesting plot like this too.

As for the supporting characters, I feel like they all did an exceptional job. Everyone, from the King's right hand man, to the royal family members, to the FL's allies, the Court Maids, and even the child actors did a wonderful job. The Grand Prince is a bit choppy in his acting, but he's still starting out so I won't criticize him too much.

Music: 8/10
I'm not a big OST person, but I felt this OST has been nice to listen to. 8/10.

Rewatch Value: 8/10
Since this show is still going on, it's a bit hard to guess the rewatch value since I haven't seen the ending. But I have enjoyed each episode and how it keeps me on my toes as well as the chemistry between the ML and FL, so I think I would rewatch this show.

And that's all for my review! Thanks for reading :)

Leggi di Più

I was captivated by the story

Captivating the King has a great story to tell. It talks about the history of the dynasty on their generation, about the dirty politics on whose gonna ascend the throne. It maybe boring because it's too serious but you will be hooked to its story itself they have on point view of the things being tackle.
Jo Jung Suk is back in his craft he really owns this drama, he did an amazing job in portraying the king. It really suits him well. He is really a good actor.
Shin Se Kyung also did great, one thing that bothers me is that she's too beautiful to be a man hehehe...
I can say that ita a great casting, all the cast did an amazing job. This series really captivate me, it has a great narrative.

Leggi di Più

Me gusto mas de lo que lei en las criticas

Quiero reconocer que empece a ver la solo por Jo Jung Suk, ya que lo considero muy buen actor y realmente cumplió mis expectativas, su capacidad actoral es maravillosa. Se kKyung la habiía visto en otros dramas y me habia gustado, considero que ella no actuó mal para el papel que le toco hacer, de verdad.
La historia esta muy bien contada, lo digo porque en general me pierdo con tantas complicaciones y maldades cuando se trata de las cortes de esa época. Y aquií lo entendí todo muy rápido.
Tampoco entiendo tanta critica a esta serie, pero hubo un momento en que me di cuenta, que el personaje de ella, de verdad es muy flojo. Si profundizamos a entender las motivaciones de su historia, no tienen mucho sentido, decía una cosa y hacia otra, no influencio en mucho, por eso su personaje no esta bien armado, no es culpa de la actriz. Y esta claro que uno empatiza mas cuando tenemos una líder fuerte, aqui no es el caso. aunque en el fondo era bastante lógico que las mujeres no tengan mucha opinión en esas épocas. También me di cuenta que el maquillaje de ella siempre era perfecto, rostro impecable para CAUTIVAR, eso también me pareció exagerado ya que esta disfrazada de hombre.
En general la disfrute, me trague todos los capítulos en pocos días. Y si no soportan las historias con injusticias, con malvados que siempre logran salvarse, no la vean.

Leggi di Più

It's a captivating drama, boasting stunning costumes, cinematography, and a stellar cast.

Great dramatic series. All the actors are superb, and the ? King Jo Jung-Suk...OMG, his performance is powerful, captivating, emotional, and intense as well as sensitive. I don't know what the top actors award is in S. Korea--Jo Jung Suk-- gives an Oscar-worthy performance???
I think I have a crush ❤️ Shin Se-Kyung, is beautiful as well as, moving in her role. I have seen her in many k-dramas and enjoy her acting. Honestly hate to see the series come to and end! Well done! I keep replaying previous series and scenes!It's a captivating drama, boasting stunning costumes, cinematography, and a stellar cast.

Leggi di Più

A Giant Game of Go

I very much enjoyed this - I had just finished My Dearest a couple of weeks ago and this overlaps in time with Captivating the King starting with the end of the Qing invasion and the prince being sent to Shenyen, followed by the gradual collapse into some insanity of the reigning king (they each take a slightly different lean on this aspect though). Translator Jung is also present in character as well (different actor of course and with different motivations compared to My Dearest). If you've watched one, watch the other, it's interesting seeing the common bits as well as the different takes on things.

The standout for me is the male lead - this is the first time i've seen Jo Jung Sook in an entirely 100% serious role, all of his others have allowed him to bring his brilliant light heartedness and comedic sense but there is nothing comedic about this role as he starts as the prince and progresses to being the King it's all serious all the way.

I enjoyed the interplay between the characters, the scheming going back and forth, and the strategies that the two leads were employing even independently of each other. It's like watching a pair of grand masters at work. The writing here was exceptional I felt.

I was absolutely hooked on this from start to finish - binged the entire thing in fairly short order.

Shin Se Kyung is someone I always enjoy watching and I thought she delivered well in this, does seem like she's a marmite attraction to many viewers but for me, I thought she was great.

As the bad guys start to get taken down there are definitely a number of "punch the sky" "yess!" moments to be had, especially with the big-bad :)

Well worth the watch in my view!

Leggi di Più