Secret Royal Inspector & Joy
As soon as I saw the main actors, I was in. 100%.
I want to start by talking about Joy (Kim Hye-Yoon), since she really feels like the heart of this story. Joy is such a game changing character! Set in the Joseon era, Joy is a woman looking to get a divorce! That is something I haven't come across in my historical dramas so far. Her MIL treats her like crap and her husband is honestly not great. He's not the worst human being, but he just sucks. So she wants her freedom.
The person who ends up helping her through all the bureaucracy is Ra Yi-Eon (Ok Taecyeon). He just happens to be an undercover secret royal inspector sniffing out corruption across the provinces with his two servants Yook Chil (Min Jin-Woong) and Goo Pal (Park Kang Sub).
After sorting out her divorce business (as well as some other dark things) Joy agrees to sort of tag along with Yi-Eon while he continues his business. She is joined by two women, Hwang Bo Ri (Chae Won-Bin), a shaman who looks just like her close friend who was murdered, and Ra Kwang Soon (Lee Sang-Hee) a super smart servant. I think she was a servant. There was a lot going on.
The main villains of this story are the Chief State Councilor and his two sons, the legitimate Do Soo (Choi Tae-Hwan) and the illigitimate Tae Seo (Lee Jae Kyoon). There a whole plot with the very handsome and kind prince, who is Yi-Eon's close hyung getting poisoned and shocker it was a political thing and the king was involved. Okay, I'm going to be honest, I wasn't totally following the plot 100% because I had to wait between episodes and I had so many dramas happening at once.
The main thing is the performances were great. Tae Seo is a character I felt a lot of sympathy for, even though he was a villain. He just really wanted to be loved and accepted like his brother was. Instead he was used and abused by his family. For a more light-hearted show in general, it got a little dark. I also found the relationship between Do Soo and their father to be one I don't see often. As I've said, they are the villains, but Do Soo is pretty much insane and the thing that sets them apart is that their father really does genuinely love and care for him. I mean, he spoils him WAY too much and it's weird, but he is tender and sweet with his son who (he thinks) is the legitimate one. Jokes on you buddy, you suck.
Yi-Eon's character was great. He was very smart and capable, but honestly just enjoyed cooking and wanted to open a dumpling restaurant more than worry about affairs of the state. His relationship with his grandmother was very sweet and adorable. But not as cute as his relationship with Joy! I really liked how from the beginning, he wasn't out to save Joy or to control her in any way. He honestly saw a human being who needed help that he could provide, so he gave her the resources to let her help herself. He isn't interested in getting married, and even when he and Joy become romantically involved, that isn't something that changes right away. Joy and her friends travel with the group, but they have their own home and their own careers that they focus on more than whatever the boys are doing. There was some cute romances, but I was glad the characters didn't have to compromise themselves or their dreams. There was a lot more focus on doing what makes you happy while trying to avoid the societal traps set for women in particular. There is a lot of stuff with Joy and her mother that really drive a lot of these points home.
There was a whole lot of chaos going on (as you can probably tell from this disorganized review) and there were a lot of laughs, but there was also a lot of heart to this story. Overall, it was a very enjoyable ride and I loved and enjoyed the whole cast immensely! Seriously, this was a huge cast. There was even some disguises and other shenanigans. Very fun!
Comments
Post a Comment