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Starts out Strong, Ends with a Whimper
The strength of "100 Days My Prince" lies in how its story was set up (basically its first episode, which was very "War of the Arrows"). The child actors, Jung Ji-Hoon and Heo Jung-Eun really sell blooming friendship between Lee Yool and I-Seo to such a degree, I would've been content just watching an entire show about these kids. The dynamic between the usurped Princess and the unwilling Crown Prince makes for a fantastic foundation for a friends-to-lovers story. Or would've if the writers had chosen to go in any other direction besides the one they chose.The idea behind a boy being foisted into a position of royalty because of his opportunist father and a greedy Lord is, at first, interesting. The idea of an amnesic Prince learning to become a better person is also a great idea. But, the two ideas are at odds with each other. One lends itself to the story the writers were telling, the other is more befitting a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" kind've story like "Anastasia (1999)". Ultimately, it seemed to me that writers were torn on who Lee Yool was supposed to be.
Instead of playing the Crown Prince up as stone-faced, passive-aggressive non-actor who gets pushed out of the political intrigue plot for a romantic side-quest, we could've had a proactive Prince who sought to undermine his father's rule. The show doesn't do enough to explore or develop Lee Yool as an adult, wholly against his father's actions and suffering the consequences of them. His relationship with his father is just never explored beyond his resentment.
The show plays up the nastiness of Lee Yool as set up for a romance that's meant to realign him morally (the amnesia being his punishment, of sorts). The amnesia plot is wholly unnecessary when there's enough conflict between King and Prince, and Prince and Lord, that he needn't be removed from the royal palace setting at all.
The thing that kept me glued to this series from beginning to end was the relationship between the brother and sister, Yoon I-Seo (Hong Shim) and Yoon Seok-Ha (Mu-Yeon). That, and the barely explored relationship between the Kim So-Hye (the Crown Princess) and Mu-Yeon (the brother-turned-assassin). Basically, the hope that the show would delve more into their relationship instead of keeping their dynamics obscured in the margins.
I-Seo and Seok-Ha's promise to each other, the hope to be reunited, and the obstacles that kept them apart was a sixteen episode series unto itself. The Princess, unsatisfied and disinterested in her suffocating life as royalty, falling in love with Mu-Yeon, cliched as it is, at least had some spark to it when one considers her fraught relationship with her father (who threatens her life constantly). I can imagine if this series was just about the three of them, my opinion of "100 Days My Prince" might be much higher.
"100 Days My Prince" feels unfocused. There are so many characters (like the Queen, the second Prince, the Eunuch guy) that fall to the wayside, almost forgotten. Things that characters did at the beginning of the show (full on regicide!) are glossed over and dismissed like no biggie.
So much of it leans on the fish-out-of-water antics of the amnesiac Lee Yool, and placating Hong Shim, and the political intrigue" subplot that goes nowhere. The first only works if you like BOTH characters, and the second doesn't because the show barely develops the conflict between King and Lord.
By the time we reach the last six episodes, like most K-dramas, it's hard to even tell what the story's intentions are anymore (beyond the romantic plot) it becomes so aimless (the war subplot feels like it comes out of left-field). The Yoon sibling relationship, and forbidden love between the Crown Princess and Mu-Yeon gets lost in the dishwater of a muddled story.
Lee Yool is not an interesting character post-childhood. He's bland, and the mostly one-note performance of Do Kyung-Soo (rooted in machismo) makes the show a bore to watch toward the midpoint. The story's attempt to rehabilitate of his character just doesn't work for me overall.
Actress Nam Ji-Hyun does most of the heavy lifting that makes the relationship between Hong Shim and Lee Yool work even a little. She's got a great sense of comedic timing, and her more energetic performances with the supporting cast of villagers is fantastic.
Kyung-Soo's lack of presence just exposes how one-sided their on-screen dynamic often is. Their chemistry is weak, especially when compared to the dynamic Ji-Hyun has with Kim Seon-Ho (Jung Jae-Yoon, the face-blind governor) who plays her supporting love interest.
"100 Days My Prince" isn't without merit or its moments, but the execution of the story was lacking in lot of areas.
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Talk about chemistry!
D.O. and Nam Ji Hyun both did a wonderful job. Their parts were written so well. D.O., as the crown prince, had the hauteur that you'd expect from royalty. Even when his memories were gone, it was ingrained in him. Yet, there was a loneliness and vulnerability and you could feel his want of family. His facial expression was pretty flat through most of the show, but he has such expressive eyes. Nam Ji Huyn - how can a woman be so beautiful with no visible means of mascara on her eyelashes? Normally, makeup is used to enhance looks, but she doesn't need it. Her character was spunky, industrious and extremely likeable. To be honest, I've loved her in everything I've seen her in. Their chemistry together? Off the charts! I loved the scenes when they shared the screen. Everyone in the show did a good job, but I had to deduct points for two reasons. First, there were just too many evil guys in this drama and they all looked alike (that's my problem with period costumes). Evil men, evil women, evil groups, evil sub-groups. It left a sour taste in my mouth on the heels of the lovely romantic scenes. I had to deduct another point for the last episode and the tie-up of the relationship between the leads. She was strong throughout this show, and she always seemed to have a good sense of self. However, she suddenly did a 180 turn and pulled out the "I'm not worthy of your love" card. It didn't ring true, especially after the heart-wrenching scenes of each of them living separately. And her saying she'd marry that other man? Um, no. It felt to me like they pulled in a separate writer for the last episode and the flow was lost. There was a happy ending, but they waited until about the last five minutes to tie everything up. I was so disappointed after all the time I had invested in watching their relationship develop and unfold.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
The plot is ridiculously standard and the court intrigues half baked. There are no interesting themes or unexpected twists in characterization. I did enjoy the 'fish out of water' first half. It was a great illustration of how unattractive your standard cold arrogant lead is when he has no money or power. If you like 'rescuing' romantic scenes, and protectiveness/jealousy there are tons of them.
I found the secondary romance much more intriguing and the brother's storyline much more compelling than the other plot points.
The acting is mediocre, the music is fine, the action scenes are fairly thrilling so maybe there is a vague rewatch potential.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes: 7
I enjoyed the point made over and over that wealthy and powerful people without their wealth and power are fairly useless. I did NOT enjoy the theme of the second half of 'heavy is the head that wears the crown.' The villagers are bumbling up until the end, and the female lead is in constant need of rescuing all the way through. There is no subversion of power.
Character Growth: 3
Despite losses of memory, and drastic changes of scene. The characters remain basically exactly the same.
Complex Women/Relationships Between Women: 3
There is a female friendship, but it's almost fully about discussing men or the lack thereof. The female lead is 'plucky' in the way they usually are.
Production Values: 8
Costumes, sets, are all above average, and the action scenes are excellent for a K drama.
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Can I just say this is the first drama of Kyungsoo that I watched and I can say that he's a really really good actor. He nailed it.
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The story had a lot of potential from the first episode. I love how i never watch historical dramas but when i rarely do,i always choose good ones. There have been plenty of Korean historical dramas that felt really drawn out and just plain boring, but this one was really balanced,it had the right amount of laughter,romance,mystery and sadness. Also,the scenery was stunning.
The negative part of this drama was that the ending could've been a bit better, but that's nothing new with kdramas. I just felt that there were too many things that were left hanging. I wouldn't have mind 10 more minutes. Neverthless I wanna congratule the cast on getting the 14.4% for the finale and being in top 4 highest rated cable drama. I think they never expected this to be so big. I even read that this drama was a low budget one. The plot and acting were so great that they made it look like a big project so I guess I understand why people(and me included) wanted more and expected more from the ending.
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I started this drama only for the sake of D.O. because I love his acting (and singing), and having read reviews I already expected that this would not be an amazing story. Of course there are cliches and tropes, and there were some things I found problematic regarding the plot and story, but I was surprised I didn't drop this midway and ended up actually liking a few things about it. WHAT I LOVED:
A major plus point is naturally D.O.'s acting skills; his facial expressions, his voice, his gestures are all on point. He really became the character, and portrayed in the true spirit the amnesiac prince who is lousy and dumb at many things, tries to maintain an imperious carriage, but is kind-hearted on the inside. I also loved the costumes, the setting, the cinematography; it was all really well-done. The love-story itself is immensely adorable, and if you're going to watch this drama, watch it for the cute scenes between the main couple and for the sake of the masterpiece that is Do Kyungsoo. The humor is well-balanced, not too over the top, and well-placed. I found myself chuckling and smiling a goofy smile many times. The village life, the side-characters like Kim Soo Ji (crown princess's brother), Kkeut Nyeo and her husband, town officials, and others really brought the drama to life with their wholesomeness. I also felt bad for the crown princess, who was forced into a marriage she had no heart in, was the butt of her father's political intrigues and was essentially a prisoner in her own house.
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:
Major Plot-holes and weaknesses in story:
It really bothered me that Kim Cha Eon (Crown Prince's father-in-law) kept insisting that he had no son, yet we've got Kim Soo Ji wandering around claiming that he is Cha Eon's son. WHAT?? That's something no one can overlook. And you're telling me, Seok Hwan/Moo Yeon worked under the man who killed his father and threatens to kill his sister, for ten years, and didn't once try to find a way out of this deal?? And that he fell in love with this man's daughter, the crown princess, and even got her pregnant? And Kim Cha Eon didn't figure this out till much later?? I'm sorry but I just couldn't believe in absurdity like this. I also find it silly that both Moo Yeon and Yi Suh kept visiting the bridge on 15th of every month (okay maybe Moo Yeon didn't go there often) but they never once met up. Yi Yul had two sets of memories to retrieve, I found that bothersome. Jae Yoon rescued his eunuch after the latter's throat was slit, and didn't tell Yi Yul about it till much later. There are arrows flying everywhere, and too many flashbacks. Yi Suh seemed to have no purpose in life except to wait for her brother, and neither she nor her brother seemed to want to take revenge or at least seek some sort of justice. Yi Suh's adoptive father was really problematic; I found him really uncomfortable (heh). He should've realized that the man he was rescuing had a wound from an arrow, which would mean he was either a runaway convict or perhaps had been caught in some battle and it should've been a red flag. He also wanted to keep lying to Won Deuk/Yi Yul and Yi Suh. Jae Yoon's connection with the gisaeng was also weird. That was such a weird, unnecessary and random plot move that I don't even know what to say about it, except I wish they'd left it out.
Acting: This is the first drama I've watched with Nam Ji Hyun, and her acting left much to be desired. Her facial expressions are very limited, she didn't seem flustered when she should've, she often stared blankly back at Yi Yul when he would express his desire to stay with her or marry her. Compared to D.O's acting, she paled.
Characters: Most side-characters have little or no backstory and seem mere cardboard cutouts; I wanted to know more about Kim Soo Ji because he seemed like a very interesting guy. I also wanted at least once flashback to explain how the crown princess and Moo Yeon developed affection over the years. Theirs was such a strange love story that I felt nothing toward it. There was no chemistry and no backstory to prop it up. It felt so hollow I can't even begin to talk of it. That loan shark guy in the village was also very strange; is he a good guy or a bad guy? make up your mind.
In short, don't watch it for the story, just watch it for a light cute romance and for admiring D.O's acting.
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The story of this drama is pretty good, but not great. What I love from this drama is they made this with good touch of comedy, a lot different with others saeguk drama I have watched. It is a romcom on first 9/10 episodes, then turned to be saeguk-melodrama type, and I don't know why I like the way they shifted the story like this. But honestly, the idea of Crown Prince loving an accused traitor's daughter is really lame and boring. It is even more common to find this type of story than Cinderella kind of story. This is why I don't watch saeguk drama much. Overall, the story is good, especially the love story, and they don't focus that much on kingdom's thingy.
Acting 9.3/10
Nam Ji Hyun never disappoints me everytime she shows up. Her acting is really great. I expected her to do this great job anyway so nothing to be suprized for. But, what suprized me is DO's acting has stands out. His gaze was something else, it felt weird at first but it became deeper later on, and what I mean is deeper in a good way. The chemistry between the two is also great. It convinces me that Won Deuk and Hong Shim fall in love to each other.
Ost 7.8/10
None is memorable for me. They didn't overuse it though, so it fits the story pretty well.
Rewatch Value 7.1/10
I might watch it again in the future, but I don't invest my emotion to it, so maybe only for seeing some of the scenes there.
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Beautifully shot basic story.
A perfect historical drama for a novice, who never saw any. It combines all the most popular, but also cliche plot lines, without being too gruesome and heavy with tragic stories. We have smart and moral Crown Prince, pushover king, evil ministers, sus Queen and "queen to be", childhood connection and sweet romance with just enough love triangle to keep it going.That said, for someone who saw a fair share of period dramas, this was just not enough. The plot was amazingly predictable, the political schemes were underdeveloped in favor of romance, which was a pain of itself. The whole middle part was barely anything more than Won Deuk and Hong Shim being awkwardly cute with each other.
The show being so focused on romance was the biggest problem for me, since I felt close to no chemistry between the leads. I'm not the biggest fan of Nam Ji Hyun, and this show just made me more sure why. While she is a good actress, and her delivery is great, I feel like she never had a good chemistry with her co-actors up till now. Not once watching her drama I was interested in romance, because I never felt the sparks on the screen.
Acting wise, the whole cast did an amazing job. Do Kyung Soo's role was not the most challenging, but his performance was great. The highlight of the show were his scenes with Kim Seon Ho. If the show focused more on them working together to discover the ploy of the bad guys, and develop the political background a bit more, this would be a fun watch. Make the plot happening in the village a lot shorter, come back to the palace quicker and truly dive into the conspiracy part - that would save the drama.
I also wished we saw more of Moo Yeon. His character had the most depth behind his actions and sacrifices, and it's a shame it was not used to its full potential. His connection to all the characters made me curious about his future and the choices he will make. I wanted to know more about how he deals with the situation he is in, and what will be the end result of it.
One thing that the show aced was scenography and cinematography. Truly stunning views and scenes, that made me take screenshots all the time.
Soundtrack wise, I do not remember one song from it. They were fitting for the situation, but not memorable.
Overall, there are plenty of better historical shows both in terms of romance and political schemes. I have watched the whole second part in 1.5x speed, since the show was directed in an extremely "slow" way. Everything seemed slow: the shots, dialogues, action... 1.5x speed truly did not feel that fast. It's a shame, since the cast was outstanding in many ways, but the predictable and not well balanced writing made the drama average at best.
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Good show, ending could've been a bit better
Good show. The actors did a good job portraying their characters. It had serious moments but also had a lot of enjoyable comedic breaks. Some of the editing/scenes were weird. The scene would be in the village but then they would cut to the palace for a short scene and then cut back to the village but it seemed out of places and unnecessary. That happened a couple of times. Some nice twists. The ending could've been better for me. It felt like a rushed ending. The antagonist was taken care of too fast. It was a good basic kdrama.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
