My Dearest (2023)

epic, gripping and valuable.

if you're drawn to beautiful epic and orchestral music pieces this is one of the aspects where this show stands out and shines so brightly, I was moved since the very first scene, each piece simply brings out the deepest emotional element of the story and makes the it richer and more complex, this on its own made the show much more memorable, just as much as the cinematography, the composition of everything with the beautiful scenery and play with lighting gave a refined look to everything, there was so much attention to detail, it was very impressive.

For me the intricacies in the context of this story turned into a double edged sword at times, on one hand there were so many layers that made this piece truly interesting and worth studying, the historical nuances, developing the deeply unfair and harsh circumstances of the past, morals behind loyalty, power over love, honor over family and the people, even sacredness, chastity, marriage, inevitably pushes the audience to see how some things have changed drastically and some are still the same, to name a few, each of these became a critical part of the show, however at times it felt like piece by piece each story was moving at a confusing pace between push and pull that was not very balanced, with so many back stories so many characters with all kinds of different sub plots, turning the story a bit too dense, lacking some closure and with no seeming sense of relief in the horizon.

While I truly loved everyone's incredible job bringing each character to life, all the actors brought a top tier level performance (Hello Eunjin, you're a star!!) and had really nice chemistry, I have to mention Mr. Namkoong, the way he was able to command the scene without having his ego take over the dynamics between his counterparts and actually achieving the opposite, he injected a special kind of energy to his character, I'm looking forward to discover more of his works.

For me, the second half of the story was a bit tiring, and the ending didn't necessarily excite me but, I really believe this is worth watching and I will be recommending this.

Leia Mais

Beautiful historical love story

Beautiful production with near perfect casting. the chemistry between the main couple was electric, both characters well developed. The rest of the cast and their backstories could have been expanded on more rather than focusing on the historical aspects.

Only negative aspect is that it should have been 16 episodes long. The historical aspects didn’t add much value to the love story other than keeping them apart and bringing them back together. a few of the story arcs could have been left out and they were separated too many times, it became a bit irritating.

But overall, it’s definitely worth the watch.

Leia Mais

BEST HISTORICAL KDRAMA !!!!!!❤️❤️

After a long time a drama ,that is soothing as well as which could prick ones heart have got to watch ,the potrayal of lead characters is quite appreciatable and commendable , when they longed for each other we longed for them to be together more , even though there were episodes were the leads doesn't have scene together one doesn't feel to skip because each character had a worthy story to tell about .
Two characters who called themselves selfish but when the time came they forgot themselves and fought for others with all their might , The depiction of female lead is quite good neither a whining girl who is waiting for her prince nor a girl who can fight off ten men but simply a girl who is strong willed and believes in what she does , her characters growth from the beginning to the end is vast . Talking about lead male ,what to say when the actor emotes with his eyes even we shed our tears along with him , the character is too deep , a noble born man but do like to be known as man who brought noble title with money , tells he has no empathy for people but all he did was simply live for them , a hero who doesnt gives a motivational speak of patriotism but someone who simply speaks with his actions , his words not nurtured by many yet it was all him who had wise ideas and tried to colloborate with everyone , courage not in his words but in his veins , last but not the least that laugh with that "aigoo"! how can one forget it , the depth of his love for his Gil chaye makes one wonders what is it to love a person , even after knowing she was pregnant though she was decieving him with it he simply wanted her to be happy , he wants nothing but simply her happiness.
If someone ignored this masterpiece thinking they have no taste in historical drama they are simply fathoming a brilliantly written and acted drama , which could show you one of the finest lovestories of joseon era.....

Leia Mais

a perfect marriage of history & drama

This review is only for Part 1 (Ep 1-10)

Having grown up in North America, I know next to nothing of Chinese & Asian history. This K-period drama has sparked my curiosity about ancient China's profound economic, political, & cultural influence on Korean history. The show balances interwoven love triangles, set against the tumultuous backdrop of the 1637 Qing invasion by a transitioning China. Korea is caught in the crossfire between two Chinese dynasties, the declining Ming & rising Qing.

The central character is a young noblewoman, Yu Gil Chae, who lives in a college town filled with scholarly noble families. She, along with her peers, is concerned only with finding the right husband. Problem is, she loves her best friend's betrothed who doesn't return the affection. As the spectre of a devastating war looms, a mysterious nobleman, Lee Jang Hyun, comes into town to do business, who seems completely noncommital & almost contemptuous in both personal relationships as well as politics. He justifiably criticizes a weak and paranoid king. However, willingly or not, he becomes a key player in the fate of the townspeople, the country, & Gil Chae's destiny.

The romance portion starts off light in tone, whereas the war is given a very stark & brutal picture. The barbarian coalition of Manchus, Mongols, & Chinese forces are literally blood thirsty. Interestingly, the Manchu language, which is now in danger of extinction, is preserved in this drama with the actors actually having had to learn & speak lines of it. For the first half, it seemed like this show would be a more serious war drama with a light romance on the side which didn't really seem to fit. There's the usual trope of the bad start relationship, & Gil Chae's devotion to her unrequited love interest got rather annoying.

However, in the 2nd half of Season 1, the war ends with the subjugation of the Joseon king, & the relationship between Gil Chae & Jang Hyun, as well as the rest of the characters, gets really interesting. The war divides Joseon into 2 types of people: those who place counry & duty above all else & those who don't. This is oversimplification but it's the basis of all the interpersonal conflicts. I liked Ahn Eun Jin's amazing portrayal of Gil Chae's growth from a naive girl into a self determined woman. I was completely sucked in watching the push & pull of Gil Chae & Jang Hyun's relationship as they try to figure out what they want from each other & for themselves. The emotional level is on par with The Red Sleeve. Gil Chae makes a gut wrenching but true-to-self decision at the end & this is the lead in to Season 2. Definitely must watch to the finish!

Leia Mais

CANT WAIT PART 2

I'm the type of person who doesn't really understand history but for this drama I can still enjoy it.
The acting of the cast makes me speechless again.
Each episode makes my heart scratched to pieces why are they acting but my heart hurts too, anyway I can't wait for part 2 and I also ask why not immediately air 20 episodes in one season why should it be divided into 2 parts ??? Its kinda annoying but that fine
Namkoong min and ahn eun jin make me sick!! Both great actress and actoor no wonder so many people at south korea talking about this drama because so worth it to watch

Leia Mais

Una triste historia de amor

El cast me hizo tenerle fe en este drama y no me equivoque; la escenografía y las escenas estaban muy bien hechas y la historia de amor de ellos en una plena guerra, pintaba un desenlace trágico.
Gil Chae fue mi personaje favorito, su impulso a sobrevivir y salvar a los suyos fue excepcional y la decisión que tomó al final demuestra el proceso de madurez que logró a través de las dificultades.
Era de esperar tantos malos entendidos entre ellos, él nunca le dio seguridad y certeza de sus verdaderos sentimientos y ella al estar llena de orgullo tampoco hizo mucho; espero por la segunda parte de esta historia pero por el salto del último capítulo no le doy la nota mas alta, porque senti que no cuadraba con la despedida de ellos dos, literal me pusieron a llorar cuando me botaron a una segunda chica en la siguiente escena, ese salto fue malo, lo hubieran dejado para la segunda parte del drama.

Leia Mais

A MUST WATCH

SUPER LONG REVIEW AHEAD!

I can't believe I just happened to scroll by the title "My Dearest" and because it reminded me of Supercell's song "My Dearest", I went on to google to search out of curiosity what's it about. For once, I've been grateful I let my curiosity get ahead of me or else I'd be missing a gem.

This is definitely a masterpiece portraying a combination of romance, drama, war and politics. The story took place in Joseon Dynasty and during the Qing Invasion. I am well aware I'm still confused to some of the war politics here, but there's a lot of references that you can take note of such as the "JingKang incident". It's thanks to Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong that I understood this reference. It goes way back to the Song Dynasty when Jin invaded the Song empire (thus the war between Jin And Song) and when the Jin army caught the Song Emperors, they humiliated them... Going back to the events in My Dearest, this is what the Joseon Emperor is fearful of when the Qing Army besieged them. Since the Qing army is composed of what they call 'barbarians' who cares more about money and raping women, the show managed to execute it in the entirety of season 1 with such thrill. It was also the perfect introduction to highlight the strengths of both the male and female lead. It left us in tenterhooks and anticipation of what will happen next, will they survive? The Season 1 set the bar so high that somehow, when things calmed down and gave way to more palace politics in Season 2, S2 pales in comparison. But what happens in S2 is still essential to wrap up the entire story, and it actually has much more tragedy than S1 so prepare your tissues. Tbh, I felt like crying on almost every episodes, that when we get cute moments, it almost felt surreal. That's just how heart-wrenching this show is. It gives us that feeling of receiving treats before getting beat up badly.

CHARACTERS

Now let's talk about Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin. Jang hyun (Namkoong Min) is a mysterious man who has no desire nor purpose. I felt Namkoong Min really did well in pulling of Jang Hyun's charm and enigma. He is wise when he speaks, but when he reserve his words, his eyes tells everything. He is an empty shell, satisfied being a bystander, and letting others enjoy than himself. But upon meeting Gil Chae, his eyes started having all sorts of emotions. Because he wants to prove to Gil Chae his worth, he decided to save people and the fire that died inside of him once again ignited. Jang Hyun is actually a compassionate man. In the series, I cannot count how many times he cried, and nothing was more manly than that of how NamKoong Min did so. And even though he cried a lot, there's still subtle differences. You can notice that there are only two times he really cried for real, one is because of Gil Chae, the second when he plead His Highness the Crown Prince to keep his promise to the captives. I fell in love with Jang Hyun's character so bad, that's no doubt.

The dynamic between the Namkoong and Eunjin is also just perfect.
Here's my take for the people hating on the FL. The FL is a strong headed woman. In a setting where women are usually suppressed and kept as housewives whose expected role is only to tend and serve their husbands, Gil Chae broke the norm and actually had done SO SO MUCH. She saved her friends during the invasion, she provided rice for the people of the General in exchange of their labor and she continues saving people and slaves to the point of being a slave herself. Those who are hating on her lacks empathy and may be bias to the Male lead. There's a point where I also almost got annoyed by her because why can't she just accept Jang Hyun? But later on, I understood. Perhaps Jang Hyun— with his overflowing display of affection— came on too strong. And Gil Chae, as someone who also has a strong personality, her instinct was to avoid Jang Hyun and suppress her feelings. She knew Jang Hyun always has a bigger purpose and role, always gone like a wind, he's bound to leave at anytime and she's bound to wait. Did y'all ever see an instance where she stopped him from going? Not once. Everytime, she wishes him well on his journey, even when Jang Hyun himself pleaded to Gil Chae to stop him, she did not. And that was so courageous of her, that even though it pains her to see Jang Hyun go everytime, she persevered and waited, even without assurance from Jang Hyun. How hard is a long distance communication in their period? It's not like they have cellphones to communicate whenever they liked. How excruciating was it to wait for news of your loved ones, for weeks, months and years? Yet Jang Hyun never wrote to her to update her. He's always on the go, and even though he promises to come back, it was always Gil Chae who has to bear the burden of WAITING. So it's unfair for everyone to say who suffers more, when clearly both Gil Chae and Jang Hyun suffers in their own both ways. It's unfair that Gil Chae has to be the bad person when she married another man, but who does not make bad decisions in their life? There's still that traditional thinking wherein it's okay for men are allowed to sleep to anyone, but if it's a woman who was touched by another man, it's such a big deal. Gil Chae may have married another man, but just like what Jang Hyun says to the Princess of Qing, "I can give you my body but not my heart", Gil Chae was the same. The whirlwind of events taught us that it doesn't matter who they were entangled on in their journey, what matters is that they FOUND THEIR WAY HOME TO EACH OTHER. Just like Gil Chae loved Jang Hyun despite knowing him only on surface level (Gil Chae only knows Jang Hyun is a merchant, and later on she knew he was a government slave. In those times, nobles are on a waaay different level from people who only bought titles, so even if Jang Hyun appears to be an aristocrat, some might just raise their eyebrows and not honor his title and still regard him as lowly slave. For you can change your title but not your origin. Gil Chae did not do any of this, and she still love Jang Hyun as he is. She never pried into his past, and just like that. Jang Hyun also did the same to her, he never cared what Gil Chae went through with the hands of the intruders, he just honor Gil Chae for what he had known her, a strong and amazing woman. Dare I say any more why they are perfect for each other, and that them ending up together did not do any injustice to the other, rather, what's greater injustice is that! If they didn't get the happy ending they deserve from each other's company.

I have never written a review for a romance drama before, but I just felt compelled to speak out for the characters here. My Dearest is definitely one of the historical kdramas that will stay in my memory forever. Highly recommended.

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"I had made up my mind to not believe in marriage. But if the only way to make a certain woman mine is through marriage, then I am willing to marry."

"Husband? No way. I will be your servant. My body is yours, my soul is yours, my heart is yours too" - Lee Jang Hyun

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Eun Ae: Do you think women should take their own lives when the foreign intruders grabbed their wrists?

Yeon Jun: A single drop of ink is enough to make a clean water dirty. Whether it's just their wrist, or something even worse, they have lost their chastity

?

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Gil Chae: What if I say a foreign intruder took advantage of me?

Jang Hyun: Then I should give you a hug, for it must have been painful.


?

Here's a clear differences in perspective of a scholar who has never experienced dirt and is bound by traditional thinking vs a man who crawled himself out of dirt and experienced all kinds of cruelties.

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Leia Mais

This was my first bingewatching. I loved it!

Absolutely one of the best I've ever seen! And I've seen a lot of them. It was so compelling from the beginning to the end that I had to keep busy until the morning. For me, the first time I just couldn't stop. I love history and how exactly that was in reality, I can't judge, but I found the implementation very realistic. The actors were just great. The main characters play so authentic, the newcomers (Crownprice and Ryang-eum) were also impressive.There are so many history dramas, but this is definitely one of the best with gripping fighting scenes and authentic locations. I've suffered so much, I've hoped for it, I've rejoiced. Clearly for me, a drama that touched me deeply and I hope you will love it, too.

Leia Mais

Good Enough

Korean Drama " My Dearest " is part one of the historical melodrama, following the lives of two tragic lovers that fate and their own mistakes keep them apart.

The drama starts off seemingly like every other historical romance, with some light moments, some comical sketches, and two leads that seem to be constantly fighting and loathing each other, even though, underneath it, there is an undeniable tension brewing. Soon, however, things take another turn. War breaks out and the characters come face to face with its ruthless reality. Hereafter, the story goes deeper and deeper into darker waters, with the drama hitting its pick towards the ending, when the characters have gone through a huge character development, and their stories coming together. The ending, even though its just the end of the first half, was just what the story needed to fully embrace the melodrama.

Moreover, the performances were masterful, by everyone in the cast, but especially the two main leads, whose chemistry was deliciously enjoyable.

So, overall, nine and a half out of ten.

Leia Mais

Different from anything I've watched before

I think I may have said this before in another review but my all-time favourite Korean drama genre is historical. I'm a huge fan of Korean dramas of any kind but there's something about historical dramas. This one was different in the best way possible!

First of all, the story. It is basically about the war between Joseon and the Qing dynasty. There are many bloody and ruthless scenes which give authenticity to the plot. There are some sad moments too. The war is presented so realistically! Of course, you have the love story: even though you might not see the chemistry between the leads, as episodes pass, everything is natural. Unfortunately, the ending was really sad to me but I'm getting high hopes since there's season 2.

Acting was very good, to be honest, Nam Goong Min is so good in everything I've seen him play. The other actors did a great job too!

Pretty OST. Hoping for a happy ending although I quite doubt it.

Leia Mais

It's a good thing there's a Season 2 ...

Season 1 ending where it did would have really made me angry, so I'm glad there was a Season 2 ready to go right away. I haven't finished S2 yet, but Season 1 was terrific. The prickly relationship between the two main characters is funny, infuriating, sad, and beautiful ... engaging at every turn.

But the story is so much more than that. It's historically engaging, and emotive, too.
Images you can't unsee make you think about the incredibly difficult lives of Korea's ancestors.

It is an honest, well told story I will probably watch again in the future.

Highly recommended. Namkoong Min is incredible. Just superb in this role.
Choi Moo Sung also brings a moving character to the story.

I hope Season 2 ends well. In any case, I will not regret having watched it.

Leia Mais

Great drama

This has got to be one of my favorite historical dramas.

The story started out resembling Gone with the Wind. FL is a beautiful and spoiled noble woman who has a slew of young men pining after her and who loves attention, and who happens to idolize her childhood friend. ML is a mysterious older man who doesn't put up with her shenanigans and tells her how it is. Everyone enjoys a carefree life until the war breaks out. This is where the drama starts to get really interesting. FL is forced to flee her home and survive against the enemy onslaught and we get to find out that there is more to ML than we originally thought. The drama does a great job switching gears to a more serious and intense tone showing what people, especially women, had to do to survive and the absolute gender disparity between the sexes. On top of that, FL is forced to undergo some very intense character development and transitioned from a spoiled young brat to a serious, dependable, empathetic young woman with a strong sense of responsibility.

The first part is not so much about romance, but survival and building a bond. ML and FL did not spend very much time together, but the few moments together were very meaningful where he had to save her life allowing her to see him differently in a more positive way. Moreover, he didn't allow her to be spoiled with him and made her think, making their dynamic completely different from her relationship with other men around her.

The message here is that a person cannot be stuck in perpetual childhood and will eventually have to grow up either by virtue of life's circumstances or if they want to be taken seriously, as Jang Hyun told Gil Chae.

Leia Mais