El cuento de Nokdu (2019)

This was actually really good there some moments that I really enjoyed. I liked how the story plot
unfolded and how the characters showed their emotions . I also liked the chemistry between
Dong Dong Joo and Jeon Nok Du Basically I like the entire show and wish there is a second season to this amazing drama. Oh and there were some moments that were really fun to watch and I think you would enjoy them as well as I did. Overall a great show to watch 10/10
recommendation.

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Great 1st half

The 1st and 2nd parts are not just different but not even the same genre.
I enjoyed the 1st half it was warm and light with serious and intense scenes in between to keep things interesting, it was really well balanced with really funny moments.

The 2nd part was a melodrama with the whole generic fights about the trône and hidden identity, it heavily relied on troops with some light scenes here and there. I found the constant angst overkill and ended up fast forwarding most scenes.
The chemistry and build up was still good and the only thing that kept me watching

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One of the most hilariously/serious drama that is in the Joseon Era!!!

You need to give it a shot, even if you don't know the actor or actress. The FL is a rising star and she probably will be one of the main female lead star in more dramas to come in a year or 2. ML is good, I really like his acting in this as he cross-dress as a female which rarely makes me laugh out loud as heck. The serious tone of the show is also on point, the plot is kinda cliche but still refreshing in a way. Don't give up on watching this just because you either hate one of the cast or don't know them. If you are like me, you will grow to love them. I like the female lead, watch almost all her dramas that shes in even if she is secondary characters. I am currently rewatching it after a few months. And it has a Happy ending which is kinda rare for a joseon drama!!!

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I started watching this drama because the plot piqued my interest – the crossdressing seemed interesting and what more it was a man crossdressing as a woman which is pretty uncommon for dramas. The plot with crossdressing lasted only for the first ten episode but I didn't mind since then it became even more interesting. The plot twist with the cook being the prince was totally epic and the intrigue in the place kept me at the edge of my seat for the rest of the drama.
I love how the tags here on MDL are showing the same attributes for the the ml and the fl as they were both really smart and strong.
Highly recommended!

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Historical love story

Personally, I do not follow the historical drama much, unless the story is worth following, but this drama really attracted me in an unusual way, as from the first episode you will feel that the drama is beautiful and it is so beautiful that this drama was not placed in the center of events, but rather it gave unexpected solutions with special events. .
The Tale of Nokdu was a wonderful historical. It sets up a great story early on that blossoms into an intense drama. The pacing was great throughout with humor to make me laugh, and then it upped the stakes with some serious plot developments surrounding Nok Du as well as his relationship with Dong Joo.

I enjoyed the story, the romance, the action, and the intrigue. All of these elements blended together nicely to make for an entertaining watch all the way through. My heart was left feeling so full!♡

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Intensely progressive and hilarious

Honestly, the gender bending gave me life. Nok Du was stunning as Widow Kim & Dong Joo was stunning as an assassin dude. There were an insane amount of cunning, intelligent, physically powerful women in this show, and they didnt treat the bigger women as incapable, slobby, and unloveable (which is SO typical in all media). Dont even get me started on the Master and his kid - Aeng Doo made me laugh my ass off with her little quips and big appetite. Loved Nok Du's brother & father - offering such important perspectives at crucial pivot points in Nok Du's development. And the villains, of course... Dong Joo coming in at the end to tell the nephew that she simply will never love him because putting in effort wouldnt be good enough? The King telling the nephew he will be lonely forever (when the nephew literally lost everyone and everything he cared about JUST to have that throne)??? I mean. WOW. & One of the first hetero OTPs I actually was invested in. I could go on and on about this I adored it so much! ?

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I wasn't interested in starting this show at all but coincidentally came across a clip of Jang Dongyoon dressed as a woman, and it was actually his beauty that drew me to this LOL. I never looked back since. I started with low expectations but was surprised by how much I came to love this drama.

Frankly, I thought the political drama aspect was sloppy, convenient when it needed to be, and difficult to engage with. It was a rollercoaster of uninteresting, then suddenly a little intriguing, but then ridiculous again. Instead, I enjoyed this drama solely as a comedy, and that was what kept me loving it through and through. The comedic elements were well done and shown through even some of its serious scenes. If anyone is losing interest, I would suggest trying to just accept it as the comedy that it is and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy it a whole lot more.

Needless to say, the acting is amazing. The actors suit their characters so well. I'm not crazy about the chemistry—or, dare I say it, lack thereof—but I think the actors embody their characters so well that I loved seeing them brought to life. I absolutely adore the main characters' relationship together, and you can actually see how they fall in love with each other instead of a sudden unexplained spark that you, as the viewer, just have to accept as true love.

All in all, a really lovely comedy. It was the drama I was most looking forward to watch every week from the few I was viewing at the same time. I HAD TO WATCH IT EVEN WHILE I WAS STUDYING, OKAY? I was pretty hooked. It might not seem like something you'd be interested in at first, but if you give a few episodes a chance and enjoy it for the comedy, I think you will find yourself falling in love with it too. It is an underrated and unexpected gem!

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A melting pot of fun, romance, friendship, drama, crazy bad guys and the cutest male lead ever.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Tale of Nokdu. It was an excellent drama which takes you on a journey showing Nokdu's quest for the truth about the dangers his family faces. It has comedy, romance, melodrama, political scheming, action, family and friendship all mixed together.

Nokdu, played by Jang Dong Yoon, is a charming protagonist throughout the series. JDY's marvellous performance deserves all the praise. When cross-dressing as Lady Kim, he was funny without being disrespectful. Lady Kim was resourceful and strong, not based on a display of weakness. Nokdu himself remains ever manly and powerful and possesses all the masculine qualities from a leading man like his willingness and ability to protect people he loves, effortless leadership qualities and distinctive traits that let him rise through the ranks. Eventually, all of his decisions and actions seem to be the most sensible ones. The hero is smart and decisive as we would like him to be, picking what's good for himself and those around him. I think he is one of my favourite protagonists in a kdrama ever. A+ for Nokdu and JDY.

Crossdressing is used as a tool for Nokdu to live in a village full of women. There are no attempts at making fun of using feminine stereotypes as comic relief. It only comes into use halfway before the story moves to another setting and Nokdu is outed as a man. No matter how pretty he was, I didn't find Nokdu believable as a woman because he is effin ripped and such a manly man, there is just no hiding it. But I happily put my brain away to enjoy the hilarity.

What I absolutely loved was the people around Nokdu, how their relationships played out and what a fun time they had. The women in this show are diverse and powerful- the widows, the kisaengs and those working for an organisation of assassins working towards a better future.

The romance is well-paced and forms an important part of the show but is not the prime focus. The build-up was cute and well-paced, considering that both of them were on a difficult path of their own. I liked how the leads handled their relationship, no noble idiocy here. They have a clear understanding that both of them want to spend their lives together, and either of them alone is not a good idea. I feel like the FL wasn't given a significant role in the drama, which is fine, its called The Tale of Nokdu after all. Kim So Hyun is ever talented and I was happy to root for her as Dong Joo.

I need to talk about the two wonderful villains in this show. A Mad King (played by Jung Joon Ho) and the ruthless Prince (played by Kang Tae Ho). These two were so good! I loved the characters themselves as villains and the two actors were just phenomenal. I hope to see them again in other dramas cause they were just so amazing. Also, why are the bad guys so hot omg.

(Spoiler)
Ending: Its a happy and satisfying ending, thank you writer-nim!
(End spoiler)

Overall, I highly recommend this show if you want to watch something with a little bit of everything well mashed together.

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A Good Introduction to Historical Dramas!

As you can see from the title, this was my first historical drama ever and I loved it. Therefore, I think it's a very good introduction to historical dramas and totally worth the watch :)

Story: This drama started off as light and funny and I think it continued that way till the second half of it. I enjoyed the cross-dressing plot a lot and it was just super entertaining to watch. I have to say that the whole vibe of the drama has suddenly changed in the second half of it. It became more intense, dark and there wasn't as much comedy. However, it was still super nice to watch, and eventually, I couldn't stop watching it.

Cast/Characters: The cast was excellent and so was the acting! The actors and actresses did their job perfectly :) The FL Dong-Ju and the ML Nok-du were absolutely perfect together and had great chemistry. I've known the actress Kim So Hyun from Love Alarm so I guess that was also a reason why I was curious to see The Tale of Nokdu.

Music: I loved the OST in this drama! They were beautiful and for each scene, you had a perfectly fitting soundtrack! The producers did an amazing job!

All in all, I can totally recommend this drama! It's super enjoyable to watch and you also get amazing, beautiful scenery, lots of fight scenes, lots of action and a sweet romance. The drama will make you laugh, cry and feel all types of emotions basically XD It's totally worth your time, and as I said, it's a really nice introduction to historicals. :)

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One of my favorites

This drama has quickly become one of my favorites. I never wrote a review before for any drama that I watched, but I felt compelled to give The Tale of Nokdu a review for how outstanding I thought it was.

First, and most importantly, the show was well cast. I had seen dramas with the leads So Hyun and Dong Yoon before and I loved them in those dramas, but this one really shows how great their acting is. The great plot really highlighted their potential and gave them room to broadcast their range. The tone shifted from comedic to tragic to romantic on a dime and it was so well done and felt so natural. And SHK and DYJ have great chemistry (and the bts footage is adorable as well) and I hope to see them together in another drama soon. The supporting characters were also superb and they didn't feel like scene fillers that were just there to drag out the time. They had purpose and engaging stories. Some people might disagree with me, but I thought little Aeng Do was a scene stealer. I was also very invested in Dan Oh and Yool Mu and I hope to see the actors thrive because they did a wonderful job.

I loved how the story didn't lag, there was always something to build up the plot and every scene had a purpose, even if it was just a little romantic moment to show the chemistry and why the main leads should end up together, or a political scene that showed what the underlying tension between characters suggested. A lot of dramas struggle to keep the momentum of the plot going but The Tale of Nokdu didn't. It was engaging from start to finish.

This show has gone to my list of shows that I could watch many times without getting bored of it. I highly recommend it.

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Atmospheric Excellence

This drama pretty much knocked everything out the park. The OST and BGMs were fantastic setting the atmosphere right everytime, the acting was great - the suttle attempts at humor were actually funny. And in comparison to most dramas in this genre there was no use of fictional/fantasy based creatures/ powers (gumiho,demons etc).

The story structure was wonderful you'll grow to love the characters and hurt, when they hurt. The emotion displayed in acting was fantastic. Would highly recommend if you are into this genre.

However, just stay unbiased i would like to add this drama is historically inaccurate - and one of the characters (dong joo) had a fringe in the joseon era which is a bit strange but fitted into the plot etc

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