Red Sleeve (2021)

A bittersweet series

So many emotions were flowing after watching this series. Loved the wardrobe, scenery, the cast, the acting and the pacing. You get the typical drama in terms of palace rules and etc but what makes this one different is that the FL unlike most we’ve seen in historical dramas didn’t want any part of the palace haram. While other would pa she preferred freedom. What I liked most about this series was the ML acting the acting. It was amazing. ML definitely has some skills. Although the chemistry wasn’t magnified I believed that his acting made what chemistry existed wake up a bit.

What I disliked about the series has nothing to o with quality and everything to do with my genre preferences. I didn’t like that it was a bit sad. I also disliked the FL persistence to resist her own feelings so much. After a while I got annoying. This went on for 90% of the drama. We only got a few happy episodes near the en and then not so much.

I would say that is was a bittersweet series. It’s worth the watch but if you’re into a smiles and happy ever after proceed with caution.

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The ending ruined it for me

I literally stayed up until the next morning watching. It captivated me from the beginning. I wish she had become his concubine from the beginning, and she then the other concubines would be jealous because love trumps everything. But that was not what happened.

The King's grandfather irritated me because he never trusted his grandson's choices. He treated him like a child. This was before the dementia. After the dementia, it got worse. Finally he accepted that he couldn't rule.

I loved it. I believed in their love. I could feel the sexual tension each time they looked at each other or touched. It was beautiful until the last episode. What a letdown.

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Sama nie wiem co o tym sądzić...

Drama ma swoje plusy i minusy, oczywiście więcej plusów. Zacznę może od końca bo dawno nie oglądałam tak smutnego odcinka dramy, prawie przez całe dwie godziny płakałam, tyle tragedii w jednym odcinku.

Śmierć syna, przyjaciółki, depresja aż w końcu i śmierć głównej bohaterki. Mam tak ogromny dylemat, że nie wiem co począć.... kto w tej dramie bym bardziej tragiczną postacią? Król? Konkubina? Naprawdę nie mogę podjąć decyzji, ciężkie życie jako książę koronny zmaganie się przez dzieciństwo, nastolatctwo ze strachem o swoje własne życie, później jako król podjęcie trudnych decyzji, śmierć bliskich (przyjaciela), zmaganie z uczuciami i tęsknotą za ukochaną jak i w końcu żal, że ona nie kocha i później jej przedwczesna śmierć, której w ogóle nie rozumiem...jak to się stało?
Teraz patrząc na naszą damę dworu, jako dziecko straciła rodziców, została wysłana do pałacu aby służyć królowi, później jej tragiczna miłość, prześladowanie przez króla (dla mnie trochę ją za bardzo nękał, no ale to z miłości niby hahahah) jak i mszczenie się zazdrosnej konkubiny, aż w końcu wbrew jej woli zostanie konkubiną, aby żyć w samotności. Tak bardzo tragiczne losy obu bohaterów, chyba dawno już nie oglądałam...
Została niby otwarta furtka dla osób, które chcą wierzyć, że jednak to wszystko było tylko snem króla itd, ale jak dla mnie za dużo rzeczy przemawia za tym, że to była jego fantazja w momencie śmierci, albo ich ponowne spotkanie właśnie po jego śmierci. Jak dla mnie za dużo wydarzeń było, które mimo wszystko nie przemawiają do mnie, że to tylko mógł być jego sen. Na przykład w jego śnie nie powinny się pojawić - chodzi o wszystkie wątki poboczne jak np śmierć przyjaciółki głównej bohaterki, spotkanie staruszka, rozmowa z urzędnikiem itd... nie ma sensu reszty wymieniać. Zrozumiałe jest to jak najbardziej, iż obawiał się o życie ukochanej, bo chciał ją chronić, chciał mieć rodzinę, więc i śmierć jego syna też wyjaśniała by jeśli byłby to sen, tak samo jak śmierć brata królowej. Więc gdyby to był tylko sen to te zdarzenia mogły by być zawarte w tym śnie, ale wspomnienia które w nim były i inne sytuację temu zaprzeczają. Tak samo rozmowa z ukochaną pod sam koniec, że nie jest za późno, że może jeszcze wrócić odnosi się - moim zdaniem - do tego, że może jeszcze wrócić i żyć dalej, ale on wolał zostać z ukochaną. Szkoda tylko, że nie zostało pokazane jedno, a mianowicie pogrzeb konkubiny jak i to czy król miał więcej dzieci...

W rzeczywistości opisałam tylko ostatni odcinek hahahah ale to było w tej dramie moim zdaniem najbardziej istotne jak i najbardziej chwytające za serce, to właśnie ostatni odcinek był najbardziej ciekawy i najbardziej przepełniony uczuciami. Polecam jak najbardziej wszystkim lubiącym dramy historyczne jak najbardziej na plus. Tyle, że jest to opowieść o tragicznej miłości, a nie pięknej i szczęśliwej.

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Not bad for watching ,good acting

Start with very lame behavior, scenes that have a very clear cause but they even wonder about it make me feel annoyed,,in the last 2 or 3 eps, make me feel heartbeaking and sadness,, full of emosional from the cast


How can the royal side not know that the secret chamber was made in Courtlady Cho's room? ,, and how can hongdongro not realize that it is very easy to be caught committing a crime in a place like that? Even though he thought the king would forgive him, but he shouldn't have done such a stupid thing





ENDING

In my opinion, the crew might want to end the story of the original history, but they want to give a different ending to this love story, and want to make a happy ending, the best way is to reverse the scene in that way...

What do you expect from a historical story from a true story? Moreover, the story of the 2 drama characters chosen does not have a very satisfying ending,,,


At first I thought it was a happy ending because they (the crew) would end the story (last eps) until the birth of their child, but in the last eps it went straight to 4 years later




Not very bad for watching,i dont like when they talking about the event that JUST mention in this drama because not all people watching know about that event even it's from real history,they should explain a little about that they want to talk about,,

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beautifully shot and acted but loses steam

This is beautifully shot and you can see how high quality the show is. The premise is interesting - it's based off real historical figures (I saw the memoir on my Goodreads). I was curious how this might have been dramatized and adapted. The real lady Ui-bin Seong was only known to history by her role to the king: her pregnancies, her children, her title as harem wife and her death. On the other hand, we have a full story of the king's life in childhood, politics, etc. The king's life is also very messed up and I wondered how they were going to zoom in to this one part of his life story and romanticize it.

However, the drama pleasantly surprised me by adding a feminist element. This is a story about love when it is complicated by power. It's about what love means to a man vs a woman.

As much as I enjoyed these themes, I found their back-and-forth "be my concubine / I love you" and "no I'm my own woman" to be quite tedious. The drama started out very strong and it is very well-acted (especially Lee Junho) but the increasing politics started boring me around episode 7/8. Had to drop this.

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It was just that good

This was so good that just when I thought that k-dramas stopped producing masterpieces after writers such as Park Hae-youn, Yoon Ji-ryeon and Lee Woo-jeong set the standard, I watched this and changed my mind. There are good dramas and great dramas. This surely falls in the latter category and now unfortunately the wait begins again, until I find another great drama that leaves me with this much awe. I think the last time I loved a historic drama so much was during Queen Seon Duk, when I was still a kid. The Kingdom series was also amazing and this is definitely in the same category of great cast, great writing, great direction.

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Hinter jedem starken Mann steckt eine starke Frau

Wow. Ich brauchte einen ganzen Tag, um erst einmal die Serie mental zu verarbeiten. Der tolle OST in der letzten Episode erklingt immer noch in meinen Ohren. Ist die Serie empfehlenswert? Ja! Für jeden? Defintiv nein! Dieses Drama ist eher an erwachsene Zuschauer gerichtet. Wem eine gewisse Reifheit fehlt, wird die Komplexität dieser Geschichte nicht begreifen.

Die Charaktere sind weder schwarz, noch weiß und lassen sich nicht so leicht in Schubladen stecken, wie es oft der Fall bei seichten Romance-Dramas ist. San ist nicht der unfehlbare Prinz Charming, der für seine Liebe alles stehen und liegen lässt und Deok Im auch nicht die perfekte Heldin, die stets die richtige Entscheidung trifft. Das gleiche gilt auch für die meisten anderen Charaktere, besonders die Königin und der König.

Auch um die Beweggründe und inneren Konflikte zu verstehen, muss man als Zuschauer sehr aufmerksam sein und die historische Kulisse stets berücksichtigen. San, der für heutige Standards als sehr besitzergreifend wirkt, wird nach dem damaligen Zeitgeist von Geburt an das Recht vermittelt, als Königssohn sich alles nehmen zu können. Und auf der anderen Seite haben wir einen Freigeist wie Deok Im, die mit ihrer ersten Liebe zusammen sein will, gleichzeitig sich aber selbst treu sein möchte. In dieser Serie empfindet man nicht nur Mitgefühl für Deok Im, sondern auch für San und auch für all die anderen am Hof lebenden, deren Leben irgendwie doch auf unterschiedliche Weise in Ketten liegt.

Besonders beeindruckend ist die knisternde Chemie zwischen San und Deok Im, die so so greifbar ist. Als Zuschauerin war ich oft nur am schmachten, herrlich! Ich war wirklich überrascht, als sich herausstellte, dass Lee Jun Ho eigentlich ein Idol ist. Seine Performance wurde zurecht mit Preisen ausgezeichnet. Trotz seines jugendlichen Aussehens können die ausdrucksstarken Augen und die tiefe Stimme überzeugend einen mächtigen Prinzen spielen. Aber auch Deok Im war toll- eine wirklich hübsche Schauspielerin, die nicht in das 0815-koreanische Schönheitsideal passt und ihre Rolle als loyale, mutige, selbstbewusste und überaus pfiffige Palastdienerin wunderbar spielt. Beide geben ein traumhaftes Paar ab!

Keine unnötigen Dramas wie Dreieckbeziehungen, Standardbösewichte oder kreischende weibliche Protagonisten, die um sich schlagen mit dem typischen Overacting, welches in Romcoms leider oft zu finden ist. Stattdessen kann die Serie die Waage zwischen Romanze, politische Intrigen und Machtkämpfe, Ernsthaftigkeit und erheiternder Humorszenen perfekt halten. Das Ende war zufriedenstellend, nimmt einen als Zuschauer aber auch mit. "The Red Sleeve" ist, wie man es so schön sagt, truly a gem.

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WOULD I COMEBACK HERE TO DECIDE AGAIN ABOUT THE REWATCH VALUE?

For now, I don't think it is worhy to watch since, I just finished watching it. Is it worth to watch? Yes since it is just 16 episode and focused on the story, but sadly, I didn't had the chance to fall in love with the character because for me it was fast paced. I love the plot, I actually love the ending. Beginning excites me, the middle gaved me hope, the ending was mixed but I am sur eit doesn't excite me. Yes the history must be done, still, it hurts to see those. The optimism of the 4 girls friendship is still there yet it brokes my heart, there are times I want characters to act in a certain way cause it frustrates me, but wait, I'm not a director or writer or something, I'm a person who should appreciate the story of what I'm watching. I'm okay, I can't say it is one of the best but we will see, we never know if we actually miss a story.

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The Red Sleeve = Rollercoaster Ride

Reviews for dramas are often super lengthy so I'll keep this one really simple:
- emotionally traumatising
- outstanding writing/script
- some of the best acting I've seen in dramas
- the best sageuk drama (in my opinion)
- brilliant acting (extra points to Lee Jun-Ho! he shined throughout!)
- not for everyone (especially if you like fast [romance] storylines)
- beautiful cinematography
- amazing OST
- so much chemistry!
- based on a true story (google it), which explains some of the decisions made for this programme
- if I wasn't really picky it would've been a 10

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This drama owns my heart!
I wasn't expecting much when i started watching it. The plot sounded interesting and the based on a real story definitely was an added intriguing factor. But the love I have for Deok Im! That's how you write a female character, one with her own story arc and an active involvement in the story (not just the love story but the larger political mechanism of the show). I am sure some liberties were taken - as most shows do - but they all served to give us one of the best female characters in k-dramas (historical or otherwise). And then there is Yi San. I mean, Jun Ho is amazing in this role and his slow chemistry with Se Young makes the whole thing, like, 10 times better. I highly recommend it!!

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I’m not normally big on watching historical dramas but I’m so glad that I watched this one.

I planned to watch this show because I enjoyed Lee Jun Ho in all of the stuff that I had seen him in before and was looking for a new show to support. I’m not normally big on watching historical dramas but I’m so glad that I watched this one.

I’m not going to get into an in-depth description of what this show is about, you can read the blurb above, so I’m just going to jump into my thoughts on the show as a whole. From the casting, to the scenery, the dialogue, and the acting, I enjoyed every aspect of this show. I will say that there were a bit of a slow down in the middle but it didn’t last super long and I was heavily invested in what was going on so that didn’t bother me too much.

The main lead, Lee Jun Ho, did a tremendous job in bringing his character, Yi San to life. I felt his every emotion and though I spent a lot of time frustrated with how he treated the female lead in the beginning, I didn’t hate him because he’s the crown prince and of course, he’d act the way that he did. I cried a lot at different parts of this show and it was mostly with Lee Jun Ho’s delivery of different scenes. My heart hurt for him as he survived assassination attempt after attempt, on top of all of the shit that he had to survive with his abusive ass grandfather, the current King and all of the emotional baggage that came with the death of his father. There was a lot to unpack with his story alone, now add in the female lead, Sung Deok Im, played by Lee Se Young, and the story takes off even more.

I really enjoyed this show. The romance between Yi San and Deok Im was compelling as hell because he’s the Crown Prince and she’s a court maid assigned to work in his house. She’s strong, she’s smart, and though she finds herself falling in love with Yi San, she understands that becoming one of his concubines doesn’t lead to anywhere good for her. So there was struggle in all parts of her life, but also in Yi San’s life. Seeing the way that these two came together in love was a whole lotta, whole lotta. There was a lot of drama, there was a lot of hurt feelings, and worrying over each other so they really had to work for their happy ending and the way that this show came to an end was satisfying as hell.

Overall, this show had it all. A charming cast, a romance that you rooted for, and the backdrop of beautiful Korea that left you breathless. It was a beautiful drama from beginning to end and though there were parts of the show that dragged a bit for me, I still heavily messed with this show. Lee Se Young is a new to me actress but I enjoyed her portrayal of Deok Im, even when she frustrated me with her constant refusal to follow her heart but in the end, alls well that ends well and I was a happy camper. I hella recommend this drama if you’re in the mood for a good historical royal romance with a beautiful cast, setting, and romance. This hits all of those notes and more.

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BEST SAGEUK ROMANCE DRAMA YOU WILL EVER WATCH!

You may not believe me but in case I’m right you should go ahead and watch this drama and see how it compares to others.

If by 5 episodes in you believe me then carry on watching it till the end. It’s based on a true story so to avoid losing your sanity I’d suggest reading about the real historical story behind the the two main characters, it will save you a few tears. If you don’t want to cry then please don’t ever become attached to this drama, it’s for your own good. I promise.

They have some of the best chemistry I have EVER seen in screen in a K-Drama and I’ve seen over 200 dramas! And I still say that’s the case. I watched it and asked myself if they were married or dating or just incredible actors.

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