This drama, while marketed as a romance, focuses a lot more on Lee In and his struggle as a king to maintain control of his fragile power after stealing his nephew's birthright for good reason. Lee In (Jo Jung-suk) is a prince returned home after being kept as collateral by the Qing empire. He eventually weaves an intricate web that is years in the making, as he tries to rise above the corruption of the court. Kang Hee-Soo (Shin Se-kyung) is a noble lady dressing as a man in order to play baduk so that she can raise money for Joseon citizens who are kept as captives by the Qing empire so that they may return home. However, Lee In claimed the throne in a not-so-noble way and, indeterminately and feels guilt throughout. Lee In loves baduk. Hee-soo also loves baduk. A romance ensues.
The plot is nothing spectacular, or anything new, really. You have your king who is in a power struggle with the corrupt baddie, Principal Director. You got your extremely beautiful female lead who cannot pass for a man to save her life. You got the second male lead (Lee Shin Young) who ultimately never really acts on his feelings and eventually overcomes them. Sketchy Queen Dowager (veteran actress Jang Young Nam) who literally NEVER LEAVES HER ROOM AND STAYS SITTING IN THE SAME SPOT FOR ALL OF HER SCENES overacted to save her character. I loved the child actor playing the Crown Prince. He stole your heart whenever he was on scene. The co-stars were all very good and it was good to see some new faces as the "bad guys".
And the ending? Lazy, rushed, dragged, and oh-so-devoid of common sense! No big hug and kiss, no passion??? Love wins, the bad guys are dead, and all the good guys get to live.
In the few series I have seen Shin Sae Kyeong, I have never considered her a very good actress, but she is super pretty! Now, SSK was not really great, but was basically ruined by a very badly written character, and an equally badly written script. Half the time her eyes were misting, for no reason at all. Too much use of Visine? Also, having Jo Jung Suk as her co-star undermined her performance even more. He was the one that carried this show and he was the only thing that was worth it from beginning to end. I know SSK gets a lot of flack for her acting, but I realize she's just a bore. Her acting in Arthdal Chronicles 2 was exactly the same! Her expressions don't change. She needs to be a bit more physical. But, again, perhaps not her fault...
Jo Jung Suk is a phenomenal actor (Hospital Playlist) and he was the main powerhouse in this show. He was amazing as Lee In and was the main reason I sat through 16 episodes. While every other character was kept constrained to the roles this genre demands, JJS as the King was allowed to grow and show different sides to himself. He was not afraid to play dirty. He was not afraid to threaten and do what was necessary. He stole his nephew's throne for himself, he lied, murdered, and betrayed, he was the epitome of a somber character. The only reason the romance was even interesting was his passionate love for her. The interactions between them felt lacking, to say the least. Especially from Lee In's side because there's very little about HS as a person for him to love other than she played baduk and was also very beautiful. ONE intimate scene had some sexuality, but overall, lackluster and reminiscent of old-school Kdramas where the FL just stands there awkwardly frozen, eyes, lips closed. In truth, it was unbearable to watch.
Overall, Captivating the King kept me hooked but there were too many "mistakes" made by the writers. Like, not any of the men could tell she was a SHE and not a HE? It made them all look dumb! Music was interesting, with Japanese-sounding instruments. Costumes were underwhelming; no variations. Ending was a major disappointment.
The plot is nothing spectacular, or anything new, really. You have your king who is in a power struggle with the corrupt baddie, Principal Director. You got your extremely beautiful female lead who cannot pass for a man to save her life. You got the second male lead (Lee Shin Young) who ultimately never really acts on his feelings and eventually overcomes them. Sketchy Queen Dowager (veteran actress Jang Young Nam) who literally NEVER LEAVES HER ROOM AND STAYS SITTING IN THE SAME SPOT FOR ALL OF HER SCENES overacted to save her character. I loved the child actor playing the Crown Prince. He stole your heart whenever he was on scene. The co-stars were all very good and it was good to see some new faces as the "bad guys".
And the ending? Lazy, rushed, dragged, and oh-so-devoid of common sense! No big hug and kiss, no passion??? Love wins, the bad guys are dead, and all the good guys get to live.
In the few series I have seen Shin Sae Kyeong, I have never considered her a very good actress, but she is super pretty! Now, SSK was not really great, but was basically ruined by a very badly written character, and an equally badly written script. Half the time her eyes were misting, for no reason at all. Too much use of Visine? Also, having Jo Jung Suk as her co-star undermined her performance even more. He was the one that carried this show and he was the only thing that was worth it from beginning to end. I know SSK gets a lot of flack for her acting, but I realize she's just a bore. Her acting in Arthdal Chronicles 2 was exactly the same! Her expressions don't change. She needs to be a bit more physical. But, again, perhaps not her fault...
Jo Jung Suk is a phenomenal actor (Hospital Playlist) and he was the main powerhouse in this show. He was amazing as Lee In and was the main reason I sat through 16 episodes. While every other character was kept constrained to the roles this genre demands, JJS as the King was allowed to grow and show different sides to himself. He was not afraid to play dirty. He was not afraid to threaten and do what was necessary. He stole his nephew's throne for himself, he lied, murdered, and betrayed, he was the epitome of a somber character. The only reason the romance was even interesting was his passionate love for her. The interactions between them felt lacking, to say the least. Especially from Lee In's side because there's very little about HS as a person for him to love other than she played baduk and was also very beautiful. ONE intimate scene had some sexuality, but overall, lackluster and reminiscent of old-school Kdramas where the FL just stands there awkwardly frozen, eyes, lips closed. In truth, it was unbearable to watch.
Overall, Captivating the King kept me hooked but there were too many "mistakes" made by the writers. Like, not any of the men could tell she was a SHE and not a HE? It made them all look dumb! Music was interesting, with Japanese-sounding instruments. Costumes were underwhelming; no variations. Ending was a major disappointment.