L'Intrigante et le Roi (2024)

Lots of intrigue, little romance, terrible plot shortcomings

The story and the supporting characters are totally contradictory and illogical. The actors are excellent, but they can't make up for the shortcomings of the plot.
Political thriller, crime story, family drama, least of all romance and relationship development between the leads.

What bothers me about MDL is that you have to write at least 500 characters. I don't have that much to say, nor do I have that much time. I'm just writing this to get to 500 characters.

I also don't understand the negativity against FL. I like her a lot and think that she's a good actress, just like everyone else.

The inconclusive plot is really the weak point here.

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Great production, well-casted ML, disappointing script

final personal review:
wow, I must say I am disappointed beyond anticipation. great start, questionable middle and absolutely dull end. There are great visuals and production which makes so hard not to watch. But the screenwriters were either replaced of completely abandoned any effort somewhere around the end of the first half. The characters are unrelatable (that is the kindest way to put it) and the story absolutely holds no coherence whatsoever. Now to the actors, Jo Jung Suk is probably holding the thing somewhat together, the rest is doing also well considering the script they have to work with. But I am sorry to say this ,but the FL should've gone to somebody else. She has no connection with rhe camera - and thus the viewers ( I've noticed this about the actress in the Bride of Habaek deama as well unfortunately) , she seems to be washed out by anybody else in the picture with her, and she seems very weak even in scenes where the character shows strenght.
So for the actors I think kudos are due to jo Jung Suk and honestly even Mrs Jang Young -the maniac queen was quite concicing . As for the characters Captain Joo is still my favorite as well as the mature crown prince. Sleazy ex-fiance-wannabe made nice chatacter arc taht didn't feel too forced, so that was quite good.
Overall the first episodes set the expectations hight either for political side , romance or revenge drama. I feel like the final product delivered neither, I wouldn't mind the melow political finish had it been melow from the start , as they managed to rile everything up in th wforst half, the second fell quite short. As for the romance and revenge, it felt like there was none. The main couple became so boring I couldn't even bring myself to be curious about their ending together. Both love and revenge plot seemed to peak around episode 8-9 and after that it was diluted more and more.
My finalnconclusion is, that the drama should be renamed "Captivating scenery" instead, as the viauals are really the most captivating thing about rhis drama from viewers' perspective.

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Disappointing Finale

Though I enjoyed the show for what it was, and the ML is a personal favorite, and the acting of most of the other characters was top notch, I was a little bored at times with this dialogue heavy and slow-rolling series. There was so much reading of the subtitles only for them to not have actually said much to advance the story, that I just felt weary after each episode. I can't say much one way or the other about the FL. She just seemed stuck on one expression, and frankly looked way too feminine to be convincing as a man, no matter how hard I tried to suspend disbelief. If they are going to keep making shows about women convincingly dressing as a man in the Joseon era, they ought to try with someone taller than 5'4" and a little more body presence than the fraily built supermodel types they keep casting.

Episodes 14 and 15 were quite good, so I was expecting some good wrap up of the main "problem", but alas, they just wouldn't do it. The finale was either rushing you through time with narratives from side characters, or plodding through nonsensical scenes from the leads. It's absolutely unclear why she'd be avoiding him, the queen dowager's issues never get resolved, the maidservant clearly has a crush but we never see anything come of it, and the overarching dilemma never gets addressed at all - how will they reintroduce this person as a woman who the king wants as his queen. I mean, sure, the villains getting their due was interesting and all, but the woman dressed as a man issue was the main point of interest and I feel emotionally ripped off by them not properly tying that up.

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Not enough steam to last until the end

This drama starts off in a powerful way but by the middle of the 16 episodes, there is not enough meat to the story to sustain it until the end. The female lead's "revenge" story has nowhere to go because the audience already knows that the king is not the true villain of the story. Perhaps more importantly, the character lacks any real personality to make her scenes compelling to watch, much less make her romance with the delightfully complex male lead at all convincing.

The king (male lead), on the other hand, has a true story to tell in this drama. His journey from Grand Prince to exile in Qing and back to Joseon and ultimately the throne is thrilling, and Jo Jung-suk plays him with so much pathos and intensity. The show could have ultimately benefited from minimizing the romance and female lead's role and focused on the king with a shorter number of episodes. Alternatively, a more interesting romance or more complex political storyline could have justified the full 16 episodes.

I was hoping for more from this beautifully produced show, hoping for a really satisfying, dramatic sageuk. There are some really great moments throughout, but by the end, I was fast-forwarding more than actually watching. I feel as though an 8 is really generous from me - but some of the performances (including the younger child actors) are really terrific and lift up the show. Something to check out for those who love period/historical dramas, but it is no masterpiece.

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"Captivating"

I joined this site to voice my opinion about this drama. I can not believe the bad reviews it is getting. Captivating the King is the number one kdrama of 2024. Note: I am cynical and critical and not easy to please. I also do not speak Korean, so I give up watching (reading) quickly. However, with this Kdrama, I could not wait for the next episode to come out. I sat in front of the TV with expectations every Saturday and Sunday. One weekend, I was out of the country in a small village in Africa, and I went on the bus and used precious minutes to watch the episodes. I have not been this interested in a drama since Alcamy of the Souls Part 1.

I am also shocked that Queen of Tears is getting a rating of 8.9, and the male lead got Best Actor. For what crying? The best episodes of Queen of Tears were the last two. The others fell short. The emotional connection between the two did not come until the end—the last two episodes.

Captivating the King was, in one word, "Captivating". I only watch romance dramas, but Jo Jun-suk was so good it tempted me to watch him in the Hospital. Shin Se-kyung's performance was also spectacular. She exemplified humility as a woman of that day but was a mastermind. What a contrast to pull off innocence and intelligence. I also applaud or, shall I say, "bow" to the writers and the directors. In a romance, you must establish chemistry between the couple and the audience; this was done in the first episode. I also liked that they did not wait until the last five minutes to give you "meat" (a substantial interaction between the characters). They ensured that you had enjoyable substance throughout. The supporting cast was good. They not only one villain but two. The love of father and daughter, the sacrifice for King and country. It was a well put together and thought out.

My family can tell when I like a movie because I will watch it again as soon as it is over. I have watched this (read) 5 times already. I could go on and on, but I will stop here. For those who have not seen the movie, please do not listen to the bad reviews. Watch it for yourself. If you like "Something in the Rain," "Crash Landing on You," "Alchemy of the Souls," or "Business Proposals," you will love this.

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