Haechi (2019)

The main male lead was great... But, the female lead was just out right painful to watch! The love story was a complete utter disaster! Total fail! She looked like she was going to hurl when they had a kissing scene.
It could have been a good drama, but she ruined it for me completely...

If you don't mind watching a train wreck of a love story and dreaming of pulling out your eyeballs...sure give it a try.

The main male lead was the only reason I stuck with it.

Hopefully kdramas can think about better casting. And make the love stories more believable.

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This is a great drama. But i recommend that before watching it, know their parents' past. Therefore I recommend watching dong yi. Haechi is like the continuation of Dong yi. Because it will be a little bit confusing if you know nothing about the water maid, jang hui bin, and more. But all in all the acting is great, the story line too.

Go ara's acting really improved a lot. And this drama is good for those who likes strong female leads and not so much romance.

I love how clueless is go ara about il woo's feeling towards her. They are taking it slowly which is great.

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I came to this series off the back of watching Jung Il Woo in Nightwatchman's Journal and his performance here was definitely one of the highlights of the show, transitioning well from the seemingly thoughtless prince of the first few episodes into gathering a group of like-minded individuals around him solely by sheer force of character. However, I have to say his performance was a little overshadowed by the scenery chewing of Jung Moon Sung as the repulsive Prince Milpung, which was a complete turnaround from the previous series I'd seen him in (Prison Playbook), to the point where I had to check it was the same actor.

Overall, the series looks great and pretty much maintains pace all the way through, though the writers seemed to run out of ideas for what to do with Go Ah Ra's character towards the end and the ending itself kind of fizzled out. Having said that, there were some tremendous set-piece scenes and although I had a rough idea how it was all going to play out, there were a few twists and turns I didn't anticipate. There are a couple of actors whose other work I will definitely be checking out now (Park Hoon being one of them).

One thing that disappointed me was a particular scene where everyone makes fun of Kwon Yool's character in a way that was more than a little homophobic. That seemed completely out of place given the character development up to that point and stuck out as a bit of a glaring 'no homo' moment, especially given the close relationships being fostered within the show itself by the male characters towards one another.

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Unfortunate letdown

The drama had so much potential, but never managed to break through. The pacing was inconsistent for its elongated cool-down periods and its redundant flimsy 24 episodes. One moment you're going at a steady pace and the next, you're like, "Come on, let's get moving!". These long breaks in between didn't even serve a meaningful purpose like to develop the characters or build up for what's next. It should've been cut down to 10-12 episodes while cutting off the nonsense and focusing on the politics. The story slowed down and became less interesting in the 2nd half when the prince went into the palace. On another note, Go Ah Ra, she didn't fit her role at all, too fragile and soft looking. Strangely, her character (Yeo Ji) got demoted to a guest character in the 2nd half, little to no contribution or screen time. If I have to take a guess, the character didn't really fit the narrative to begin with, so it was hard to keep her around in the 2nd half, which also explains the attempted romance, the writers were desperate.

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I have read many surveys of whether they should continue watching Haechi or not. I understand the dilema. When I watched Haechi, the first episode wasn't so catchy. However, I got hooked by the character of Park Hoon (Dal Moon) and Kwon Yul (Bak Mun Su). I want to know what will happen to them in the end, especially Dal Moon, he is so mysterious that though I knew a bit which side he will be, his acting made me doubt my thoughts.

Though uninteresting at first, things became interesting the more I watch it. This is a very heart warming drama. It is also insightful. I love how this drama was able to touch hearts. The scene that I can't forget is when Jung Il Woo (Yi Geum) spoke in public and touched the hearts of those commoners. I loved how the camera showed the reactions of the commoners and the guard - that scene gave me a goosebumps.

I like how things ended even for the villain. They have portrayed that even he's a villain, he uas his own struggles.

I don't like dramas that will make me really cry, but if I'll be learning a lot, then I'll give it a shot, so I find Haechi really worth watching.

So, let's go back to the question if whether you should drop or continue. My answer is (with all honesty) continue IF you're not watching any other drama and just looking or waiting for dramas that you will really like. Haechi is not as great as the others but still worth watching and finishing. If you're watching great dramas currently, just keep it in your watchlist, and watch it in case you run out of dramas.

HAECHI
❤❤❤❤❤

#haechi
#jungilwoo
#kdrama
#kdramahookedbylady28
#worthwatchingkdrama

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My thoughts/ reviews for first 8 episodes of Haechi (no worries, there are no spoilers)
-of course, my main reason in watching this is because of my love for il woo✌ but seriously for me, all kdramas are good, and I watch all genre even this sageuk thing, and Jung Il Woo, the moment I watched him in 49 days, he already proved that he is a versatile actor, he never fails my expectation thats why I really love him until now. I love his role in Haechi, he is a charismatic, strong, and intelligent prince, which he perfectly acted and based on the first episodes, the story is good, i love the characters, the conflicts, solving mysteries and I didnt get bored. I know its too early to judge this kdrama but Im hoping it will maintain the excitement and good storyline. All the best for Haechi team esp. Jung Il Woo, Im happy that you are back w/ a kdrama that will showcase again your superb acting skills like you did in Return of Iljimae, 49 days, Golden Rainbow, and Nightwatchmans Journal ☺

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Magnifico affresco, recitato benissimo

Haechi è una perla che non sapevo di perdermi. Non è per chi preferisce grandi storie d’amore e svolgimenti veloci con combattimenti iper coreografati. Chi, invece, ama un buon intrigo politico, superbamente recitato, troverà qui pane per i suoi denti. L'importante è non richiedere una gran storia d'amore, perché qui non c'è. Togliamoci subito il sassolino dalla scarpa: la coppia principe/damo non decolla, e non solo perché la protagonista, Go Ara, sì è infortunata durante le riprese ed è passata dall'essere un'ardita combattente ad una statica dama di corte. Il fatto è che di questa pseudo storia d'amore non si sentiva il bisogno e dà l'impressione di essere un ripensamento posticcio, messo lì per accontentare coloro che se non vedono due sdolcinatezze non ritengono di aver visto un drama. La seconda coppia, che si sviluppa fra gli antagonisti, formata dal principe Milpoong ed una avventuriera, non riesce a catturare il cuore a causa della malvagità dei protagonisti. Povero il Re dei pitocchi che è innamorato di questa donna, assolutamente indegna del suo amore.
Ciononostante, ho dato il massimo dei voti perché a queste escursioni romantiche viene fortunatamente dedicato poco schermo e tutto il resto è riuscito ad incollarmi alla sedia meglio dell’attak.
Le vicende che si raccontano, pur se probabilmente molto romanzate, sono quelle del principe Yeoning, che diverrà nel 1724 uno dei più grandi re del suo paese. Si narra quindi la lotta del giovane principe, avversato da tutti perché la madre era plebea, per conquistare il trono prima, e mantenerlo ed effettuare le necessarie riforme poi, e della contemporanea lotta contro lo psicopatico principe Milpoong.
L'attore che interpreta il protagonista, Jung Il Woo, ha saputo veramente rendere al meglio un personaggio tormentato, di altissimi ideali, ma troppo spesso schernito e osteggiato da una nobiltà chiusa nelle proprie arretrate convinzioni, più dedita a mantenere lo status quo che a pensare al bene del paese.
Ciononostante, la palma d'oro va a Jung Moon Sung, interprete del folle principe Milpoong, che per questa sua prova ha vinto anche un premio. La vena di sadica follia, le manie di grandezza, la determinazione, la paura, l’insicurezza e anche l'amore, cosa non è riuscito a trasmettere! L'abbiamo odiato tutti, nonostante in certi momenti non si sia potuto fare a meno di provare pietà per lui.
La povera Go Ara, come detto prima, si è infortunata durante le riprese e ha visto il suo personaggio declassato da guerriera a damigella… e di sicuro non ci ha guadagnato nel cambio. Ho avuto l’impressione che la sua interpretazione fosse migliore nelle scene movimentate, piuttosto che in quelle statiche.
Rimarchevoli anche le interpretazioni di Kwon Yool e Park Hoon, ma in realtà tutto il cast ha recitato ben sopra il minimo edittale. Al netto delle immancabili forzature, sicuramente imposte dalla regia, e comunque recitate al meglio, il comparto recitazione è promosso in generale col massimo dei voti.
Molti personaggi, complice la lunghezza del drama, vengono abbondantemente sviscerati e assistiamo a crescite e cambiamenti importanti. Il re riesce alla fine a conquistarsi rispetto e appoggio anche dagli avversari politici, e non può che essere vero, perché altrimenti non sarebbe restato sul trono per 52 anni. Anche questo è motivo di grande soddisfazione nella visione del drama.
E che dire di ambientazioni e costumi? E’ una serie ad alto budget, e si vede. Il cast è numeroso, anche le scene di combattimento sono ben popolate, ma i costumi sono bellissimi, una vera gioia per gli occhi! Ottimi anche il comparto trucco e parrucco e la sapiente cinematografia, insomma, una festa visiva molto appagante.
Contribuisce all’ottima riuscita anche il commento sonoro, forte di alcune canzoni commoventi e, soprattutto, di diversi pezzi strumentali che ben sottolineano i vari momenti topici, e ce ne sono tanti!
In definitiva, un drama molto ben realizzato, che sarà maggiormente apprezzato da chi non comincia a dire che si annoia al decimo minuto del primo episodio: non è una serie per tutti, ma solo per chi apprezza l’intrigo intelligente, la costruzione lenta e sicura, il crescere di rapporti e amicizie.

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