Phenomenal Yeo Jin Goo

Wow! The Crowned Clown knocked off Kingdom to become my favourite sageuk drama. The combination of a well written story, strong cast, excellent directing, beautiful cinematography, stirring background music and all the attention to details produced MAGIC.

The director brought out the best in all the important characters. Best performances I've ever seen in Lee Se Young (Queen Yoo So Soon), Kwan Had Hyo (Shin Chi Soo - baddest of the lot) and Jang Hwang (Eunuch Jo). I've not watched Kim Sang Kyung (Chief Royal Secretary) before, but will go searching for his previous works soon. Yeo Jin Goo (Clown Ha Seon and King Lee Hun) takes the cake though with his phenomenal acting that was so nuanced and note perfect. From the flickers in his expressions to how he used his postures, he was completely mesmerising.

There's romance to keep the romcom girl in me happy. But my favourite relationships were the ones between Ha Seon and Chief Royal Secretary, as well as between Ha Seon and Eunuch Jo. It was such a pleasure to watch their bonds evolve and strengthen.

The overall story is far from unique, but how well the story was told and the layers in all the main characters made it a truly enjoyable journey.

Highly recommended watch.

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Watched this drama in 2021, and it didn't live up to the mostly-glowing reviews. Probably due to the fact that there had been other stronger dramas in similar genres since "Bad Guys" aired in 2014. Think "Flower of Evil" and "Stranger".

The writing had plot holes, and tried too hard with being clever with metaphors; it got a bit too much towards the last few episodes. The pacing was a bit draggy at times, for an action drama. The overall acting from the cast was rather flat. They were either brooding or angry/shouting. Such a shame that Park Hae Jin wasn't given a meatier role.

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Thoughtful drama on dilemmas of parenting

I watched this drama because of the director's brilliant work in The First Half of My Life and The Rise of the Phoenixes. As per Shen Yan's previous works, Modern Marriage also featured characters who are nuanced, flawed and very real.

The drama highlights the struggles faced by parents juggling work and raising young children. Main couple decided that Mum would stay home to care for their daughter. She rejoined the workforce when her child started preschool. Her daily stresses between school runs, childcare, career demands and house work are all so relatable. Her step by step achievements and growth alongside with her husband made me cheer for them. My initial frustration with their lack of communication eventually melted away.

Three other couples with different arrangements give insights into universal issues faced by parents everywhere.

The setting is also quite interesting. The world of venture capitalists is not familiar territory for many of us.

Acting was pretty solid all around, though not in the same league as the actors on The First Half of My Life.

A thoughtful drama that was a good break from the mediocre romcoms that I've been watching lately. Haha.

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There are already plenty of well written reviews of this show. Just wanted to add that some of the comical scenes were so fresh that I couldn't help chuckling even well after the episodes were over.

My favourite LOL segment: when 20yo Ma Jin Joo and her 2 girlfriends tried to walk down a steep slope in high, high heels. The 2 girls carefully "surfed" down, whilst our over-confident heroine started off well but couldn't stop going down. I could just picture myself doing the same stupid thing. Of course if I had the gorgeous Jung Nam Gil to catch me, I'd do it again in a flash!

I truly enjoyed this well-written drama, with its strong cast. The beyond-the-happily-ever-after look into marriage, followed by the journey of falling back in love was beautifully crafted. Loved, loved, loved Kim Mi Kyung as Mum, and her chemistry with her daughter. She shone brightly with her warm and beautiful aura. Jang Na Ra was the best I have ever seen her. Son He Jun was pretty good, just a bit unconvincing in the truly sad parts. Jang Ki Yong made my eyes happy :)

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