Right from the lettering it caught my eye. I was a little apprehensive but the tale starts with a gust & keeps you there. For the first time a boy had to be a girl to protect himself from the aggressive widows in the village. He is slim & has delicate features so he can pass as a lady. More proof is when a man falls for our’Lady Kim’!
In the lead are Jang Dong yoon & Kim so hyun. I had seen him in ‘If we were a season’ & here he looks so different. But when he dresses up as a noble man, he can be recognised. Kim so hyun is also in short hair later & in men’s garb earlier, looks different. She has matured & looks different from her look in ‘Moon embracing the sun’ & the other girl in the love triangle in ‘My sassy girl’.
Kang Tae-oh has a more challenging role here. He comes across as her childhood crush,then someone who wishes to marry her. He follows her ardently but she has no interest. Then when his identity is revealed as the King’s cousin & one who aspires most is the throne, his eyes say it all. Till that moment he is all sweet. Suddenly he is ordering people & using his sword freely!
In the show’Queen for 7 days’ the two brothers are constantly at war with each other. The sequence, significance of the inn at the border is the same in both the shows. The race to the throne, ganging up supporters, planning a rebellion is all the same. The prison sequence, the uncertainty is same. In “Nokdu..’ the King tries to kill his own son for the throne. In ‘Queen..’ elder brother wishes to kill his younger brother for the throne. There is a secret note in both the shows.
Jung Joon-ho as the king has a good screen presence. He excels in his role. Lee Seung as the father who raises Nokdu is a permanent feature in K dramas. He was in’ the descendents of the sun’ as Dr Song who with his antiques brings in a smile to the faces in the Med corp who need a light moment. His romance with his colleague was under rated but significant to their developing feelings. His main duty here is to protect the prince & reveal his identity at the appropriate time. It is not time yet.
Asian Entertainment 