Several attempts needed to not drop it

Finally completed. It was actually a mediocre drama. I needed several attempts to not drop it after watching the first couple episodes. It was hard to imagine the ML as a prince- he looks way too young with that baby face and too skinny. Fortunately he has a deep smooth voice which indicated that he was a grown-up in the drama and not a little boy... His and the FL's acting was decent and both were a good match although I didn't feel much chemistry. The kissing scenes were awkward.

The FL was a brave and intelligent young woman but her harsh voice is seriously hard to listen. It destroyed just every romantic mood. I wouldn't watch another drama with her as the main lead. Also the motives of the villain were confusing and not consistent, many steps seemed just like to fill the 16 episodes. Therefore the pace felt from the 9th episodes really off and the story got draggy. The timeline was also really messed up. The FL is apparently 28 ys old and ten years ago she was 18 ys old- so why was she still a little girl in the memories of the prince? The ten years gap was mentioned multiple times... not sure if the subtitles were just bad.

The good things: the comedy is fine, the OST is not outstanding but still nice and I enjoyed the life of the prince during his time in the village (though it was way too long). But the best cast was the brother (such pretty eyes!)- he played his role as an assassin very well and was the most interesting person, unfortunately he didn't got more screen time to know more about him and his past.

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Mixed feelings

I have mixed feelings for this drama. The beginning was good- I binge watched the first couple of episodes. The daily life between city and countryside was realistic and as someone who also has to commute (though I live in a city) and who is just like the FL an introvert I could relate to many things.

But around the 11th epsiode I started to skip many scenes, especially related to the siblings. The (poetic) dialogues got heavier, seemed to be forced, the order of the scenes didn't seem coherent and it was hard to follow. Also I couldn't stand the toxic behaviour of some characters. I made me mad how the brother treated his chummy friend. It was also such a disappointment that we didn't get more romantic scenes between FL and ML. I was rooting so much for them and when they finally kissed the camera immediately zoomed out. It was a huge let down... therefore the rating in Netflix doesn't make any sense (in my country it is from age 16, same like squid game).

Also the huge alcohol abuse was irritating. They were basically drinking all the time and even if you are just drinking daily an after work pint you can be considered as an alcoholic. There wasn't a big difference between Mr Gu and them. I know alcohol is rooted into Korean culture but it was shocking that the consequences of alcohol consumption were so much played down and not carefully painted.

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Crazy how many unlikeable characters can fit into a drama

I honestly don't know how many times I've tried to watch this drama and always dropped it around ep 2 or 3 because of the boring atmosphere, the slow pace, the unbearable and bossy FL and the weak and annoying ML. Didn't like both of them, especially since both were abusing their power as members of the police/special force unit so often. They were acting sometimes so reckless, know-it-all and stupid that it was hard to imagine that both went through a professional training and are actually civil servants who were bound by law. Later I learned that the male actor has a huge fan base. Well this explains the extreme high rating.

Now I tried to watch this drama again since I needed badly something to watch and this time I completed it. I guess for every drama you just need to be in the right mood.

It was overall a good drama, rated it with 7.5. If you love survival stuff and you are a zombie veteran like me you will also like this new approach on a zombie apocalypse. New that it doesn't focus so much on gore and explicit themes. Sometimes the pace was so slow that it felt like a slice of life drama. So not your typical action filled thriller. Unfortunately there were many plot holes, infuriating and unbelievable scenes (like when the stupid FL jumps into a truck full of zombies and doesn't get bitten at all?!), dumb descisions and dubious and weird motives (like the secret behind Andrew's identity was so disappointing and didn't fit all). And like always you would wonder why the villains were so slow and not killing the hero and heroine asap... The music also didn't fit always and the ending was so rushed and disappointing and with many unanswered questions. Wish they would have focused on Han Tae Seok instead of that cringey scene in the epilogue.

The acting was overall good, but weak from the FL (her facial expressions weren't really strong). The ML did a decent job especially in the last episode when he showed his more vulnerable side. Both didn't have much chemistry. The acting of the side characters, though many of them were really dumb, was excellent, especially the crazy house represent and the doctor. Overall a well done thriller with a couple of scary scenes (like the truck scene or when the FL was stuck in the bathroom) but many many unlikeable characters. Even the child was annoying.
Most likeable characters: the brother and the sister.
Well appreciated: no dumb drunken scene.

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Hinter jedem starken Mann steckt eine starke Frau

Wow. Ich brauchte einen ganzen Tag, um erst einmal die Serie mental zu verarbeiten. Der tolle OST in der letzten Episode erklingt immer noch in meinen Ohren. Ist die Serie empfehlenswert? Ja! Für jeden? Defintiv nein! Dieses Drama ist eher an erwachsene Zuschauer gerichtet. Wem eine gewisse Reifheit fehlt, wird die Komplexität dieser Geschichte nicht begreifen.

Die Charaktere sind weder schwarz, noch weiß und lassen sich nicht so leicht in Schubladen stecken, wie es oft der Fall bei seichten Romance-Dramas ist. San ist nicht der unfehlbare Prinz Charming, der für seine Liebe alles stehen und liegen lässt und Deok Im auch nicht die perfekte Heldin, die stets die richtige Entscheidung trifft. Das gleiche gilt auch für die meisten anderen Charaktere, besonders die Königin und der König.

Auch um die Beweggründe und inneren Konflikte zu verstehen, muss man als Zuschauer sehr aufmerksam sein und die historische Kulisse stets berücksichtigen. San, der für heutige Standards als sehr besitzergreifend wirkt, wird nach dem damaligen Zeitgeist von Geburt an das Recht vermittelt, als Königssohn sich alles nehmen zu können. Und auf der anderen Seite haben wir einen Freigeist wie Deok Im, die mit ihrer ersten Liebe zusammen sein will, gleichzeitig sich aber selbst treu sein möchte. In dieser Serie empfindet man nicht nur Mitgefühl für Deok Im, sondern auch für San und auch für all die anderen am Hof lebenden, deren Leben irgendwie doch auf unterschiedliche Weise in Ketten liegt.

Besonders beeindruckend ist die knisternde Chemie zwischen San und Deok Im, die so so greifbar ist. Als Zuschauerin war ich oft nur am schmachten, herrlich! Ich war wirklich überrascht, als sich herausstellte, dass Lee Jun Ho eigentlich ein Idol ist. Seine Performance wurde zurecht mit Preisen ausgezeichnet. Trotz seines jugendlichen Aussehens können die ausdrucksstarken Augen und die tiefe Stimme überzeugend einen mächtigen Prinzen spielen. Aber auch Deok Im war toll- eine wirklich hübsche Schauspielerin, die nicht in das 0815-koreanische Schönheitsideal passt und ihre Rolle als loyale, mutige, selbstbewusste und überaus pfiffige Palastdienerin wunderbar spielt. Beide geben ein traumhaftes Paar ab!

Keine unnötigen Dramas wie Dreieckbeziehungen, Standardbösewichte oder kreischende weibliche Protagonisten, die um sich schlagen mit dem typischen Overacting, welches in Romcoms leider oft zu finden ist. Stattdessen kann die Serie die Waage zwischen Romanze, politische Intrigen und Machtkämpfe, Ernsthaftigkeit und erheiternder Humorszenen perfekt halten. Das Ende war zufriedenstellend, nimmt einen als Zuschauer aber auch mit. "The Red Sleeve" ist, wie man es so schön sagt, truly a gem.

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