A 2018 action drama which unfolds the story of Oh Sunny,a musical actress who marries the Emperor of the Korean Empire. It has more action than Moon Lovers,within the walls of the palace.Betrayal,murder…it starts off with a skeleton unearthed in the present time & then takes us in the palace.I had seen Jang Na ra in,’You are my Destiny ‘& remembered her smile.On the posters she is shown wearing a necklace of big blue sapphires.Along with the Emperor who I didn’t know.That is Shin Sung-rok at his best,handsome ,arrogant,charming…The show also has Na ra’s friend from ‘You are my Destiny’,Choi Jin-hyuk, who is the imperial guard here. Daniel Pitt , her friend in the earlier drama,’You are my destiny’
The Emperor & his assistant are in a relationship but he marries Sunny to save his face. Oh Sunny has been his fan of years & agrees to marry,she enters the palace & all pretences come off.In the first 5-6 episodes, the Emperor is at his best,for fans to wait for Sunny & the guard to fall in love seems a long wait. Then we are on a roller coaster ride. So many people & their appearance & disappearance becomes a little tiring.
All Three in the lead got awards for their roles. But at the end of the show you remember only the Emperor,in spite of his wrong doings he makes his presence felt on the screen.Lee Elijah as Min Yu-ra is hateful, she manages to do her work well.Suddenly the script has very little for her to do & her appearance again is not so happening, I wondered if the script changed with the TRP. The Emperor remains supreme whether he is in the frame or not.( I plan to see more of his dramas now.)
Eun Kyung Shin is impressive as the Dowager Empress & has too much footage. She looks nice in western outfits too. I have this thing for Hanbok & suddenly changing into jeans was difficult to digest. Oh Seung Yoon as the crown prince has work till his entry as Vincent Lee …the mysterious writer. He gets overshadowed by the Emperor in every frame.Shin Sung -rok has this effect on people.
Yoon So-yi manages to make you hate her.She is good.Park Won-sook as the Grand Empress is grand. She reminds of the loving grandmother you have or dream of having. She welcomes Oh Sunny to her family with open arms & enjoys her company. She has a small but significant role.The little princess, Oh Ah-rin is so cute. She is intelligent & on occasions excels herself. Without appearing over smart she exudes the right kind of confidence & daring. Her dialogues have been written very well.
Princess So-jin falling for the chief of guards..Cheon bin..calling him ‘My Bin’ is endearing. Her extravagant gestures & clothing becomes her.In her way she manages to make her scenes funny.Stephanie Lee as younger sister of Oh Sunny is a mis cast. She is taller & wellbuilt than Jang Na ra & I felt was under utilised. The script has very little for her to do.She appears in the palace & confesses her love for the crown prince. The crown prince is injured,Oh Sunny is taking care of him. She is the Empress & loving by nature,has access to everything in the palace,has the Emperor falling for her. Ok but where did Hello disappear ? She should have been next to the prince,such gaps in the script are glaring.
Due to his sins the Emperor had to die in the end,but his mother shooting him was just too much. With or without the bandages she should ‘ve recognised him! Oh Sunny has reached the scene ,Why doesn’t she shout? She came with the father of the late Empress, So hyeon ( so sweet, wished she had more screen time) Mr Byeon.. why does he appear late when his help was needed? Many loose threads make it not so perfect drama. My expectations were high.
Historical drama with a murder mystery should have a fast pace & sharp editing which this drama lacks. I remember ‘Kile ka Rahasya’ a TV drama when TV wasn’t even this developed had generated a mystery & carried it successfully till the end.The story needs to be written well. The effect is lost if it is a half hearted attempt. ‘ Ratris Khel chale’ had good TRP, but the end was very disappointing because the wrap up wasn’t clean. A neat end is expected in such a situation.
Taking up another good drama . So, happy viewing till then.
Asian Entertainment 