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Post by bird11 on Aug 23, 2014 18:35:19 GMT -5
Fiona and I decided to watch this drama -- anyone feel free to join us and comment when they like.... I just finished the second episode (sorry Fiona, just had to watch ep 2!) Promise to wait for you to catch up.... Here is a decription from the DramaFever site: Princess Se Ryung is the fearless and strong-willed daughter of Grand Prince Su Yang. Seung Yoo is a noble "old soul" who captures her heart. The only problem is that their fathers are powerful rivals, and both will stop at nothing to defeat the other and ascend the throne. Featuring breathtaking cinematography and gorgeous locations, The Princess's Man is a lush historical romance is widely loved, and will capture your heart. This epic Romeo and Juliet-style romance features Moon Chae Won (Shining Inheritance) and Park Shi Hoo (Iljimae) as the star-crossed lovers. As the description says: breathtaking cinematography and goregeous locationa, but also the soundtrack is really good. Won't comment further as I don't want to give anything away----just like to say, love the strong-willed Se Ryung.. nice to see a female in a "time period" drama that stands on her own two feet very well! (wow, just realized that I made it to "Wang" level.....nice to be moving up in the world-- well, at least in the k-drama world )
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Post by jewel on Aug 25, 2014 20:10:43 GMT -5
I finished watching "Family Honor" but am not finished with it. What I mean is I can't let go of the character Park Si Hoo plays. He plays a guy named Lee Kang Suk and I'm like in love with him. So, give me a few more days... I'm watching the drama over again - just Park Si Hoo scenes, hee hee.
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Post by jewel on Aug 27, 2014 22:12:30 GMT -5
Just watched episode 1 of "The Princess' Man." Wow, it was really good. I thought I was going to have hard time seeing Park Si Hoo as someone other than Lee Gang Suk but no, I got right into it. PSH is such a good actor. Already he is Gim Seung Yu to me, no problem! This may be one of those dramas I have to watch on the big screen instead of on my iPad. I actually wanna watched ep 1 over again on the big screen. (I think I will tomorrow.) Okay, first of all, I love the whole switching thing. (Like The Prisoner of Zenda, one of my favorite books. Oh and also The Prince and the Pauper.) I always find identity switching super-fun. (Also in "You're Beautiful" too!!) I really like Se Ryeong, she's cute and feisty. And I totally agree with her when she says she likes the wild flowers growing in the fields better than cultivated ones in formal gardens. But I agree with the Princess Gyeong Hye when she says she doesn't understand why Se Ryeong is so into wanting to ride a horse. I don't know yet if I like the princess. I like the the fact that Se Ryeong is so strong-willed and curious and feisty but I think they went a little overboard when they made her be all surprised and indignant when Gim Seung Yu lectures to her that a woman is a man's shadow. Ahm yeah, that should be a given and a way of life to all women back then. Where's the surprise??? The politics of marriage arrangements between various powerful families were very exciting. And the poor king pretending to be healthy in front of his brother Su Yang when he's really very sick was very moving. I really felt for the crown prince too. I loved the episode ending. Okay, if Gim Seung Yu would chase after me like that maybe I will change my mind about riding a horse. That was very exciting... and beautiful...
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Post by bird11 on Aug 27, 2014 23:02:51 GMT -5
So glad you got past ep 1 , I loved the ending sooo much I just had to watch ep 2 right away, I mean you knew nothing bad was going to happen to her, but the whole scene was great. With the right guy on a horse behind me, I would give the horse I was on a great big kick just to have him race after me and rescue me! I really like Se Ryeong-- even with this being set in historical times, she is still a women with her own mind and ideas. Even when she found out that she was set to marry GSY, she sets out to find out what kind of guy he is, instead of just accepting it or moping around about how unfair it was. I think they make a good match, a good balance of who's in charge of what. I also am on the fence about the Princess, at first I thought I would like her because she didn't want to sit around for her "classes", yet she seemed smart, not a pushover, but the way she is reacting with Se Ryeong and the switching, she is coming across more of a "lazy" princess -- almost like she is forcing Se Ryeong to do this because she is just to lazy to figure out a way to stop it-- you just know someone is going to find out sooner or later, so why doesn't she come up with another plan? There is enough of a story to be very interesting, but there aren't so many characters that it is hard to follow all of them.
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Post by TheBo on Aug 28, 2014 9:31:55 GMT -5
Okay, so I saw Moon Chae-won was in PM, Googled to see what else she's been up to lately, and came across this: High School Graduation PhotosKind of cute, but they are using the word "shameless" incorrectly. Shameless means you have something you should be ashamed of, but are not. They are saying she doesn't have to be ashamed of these photos, not that she should be, so "shameless" shouldn't even be mentioned. Just sayin'. LOL... And they're right. It is nice to see a girl who hasn't tried to change everything on her face, and since she stated she wouldn't mind earlier (elementary school) photos being put out there, she probably didn't get any surgery before that either.
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Post by jewel on Aug 28, 2014 11:28:57 GMT -5
Omgosh, I totally see what you mean, Bo. You know, you'd think they'd take one more step and make sure they were using the correct word for something like this. It can't be that hard - or at least just have an English-speaking person look it over... Anyway, yes she is very cute. The only thing that bothers me about her is that once in a while she looks cross-eyed to me... Did you already see "The Princess' Man," Bo? If not, are you thinking of joining us??? Birdy, why do you ask if I "got past episode 1"?? You make it sound like you had doubts about it. Right now, I will watch anything with Park Si Hoo in it (unless he's a 2nd lead where he loses the girl - too sad for me to watch). Am so crushing on him!!!! I just couldn't let go of him as Lee Gang Suk in "Family Honor" cuz his character is just so amazing. But I can tell already I'm gonna love him as Gim Seung Yu too. Regarding the Princess Gyeong Hye: I don't know that I agree with you about her being lazy, I think she doesn't want to sit in on the lectures mainly because she's bored and sorta despises the teachers. These scholars profess to be righteous and moral and pious, yet they blush and tremble before female beauty. If they're truly what they profess to be they should be immune to it. Princess Gyeong Hye finds them hypocritical and she doesn't want to learn from teachers she can't respect. I think that's her main problem. The other is that while Gim Seung Yu is the teacher they can't switch unless Se Ryeong 'fesses up to Gim Seung Yu which she says she doesn't want to do. And they said also that when they're finished with the filial piety chapter the teacher will change anyway. So it does make sense to keep up the charade for a while longer. I would've continued onto episode 2 too last night, Birdy, but I really wanted to watch this drama on the big screen, that's why I stopped. Gonna have to bother Hubby for a while cuz I don't know how to hook up the iPad to the TV myself.
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Post by jewel on Aug 31, 2014 23:28:31 GMT -5
Episode 2: It was very good. I felt so sorry for Gim Seung Yu and Se Ryeong. There they are both thinking the other is their future spouse and allowing themselves to like each other. But that's not going to happen, it seems. Ohmgosh, so sad... Gim Seung Yu was so happy when he found out he was chosen prince consort. But would he be this happy if he knew who the real princess is?? Poor things, they're all just puppets to their fathers' power games. I did NOT like the way this episode ended at all. I screamed when GSY got shot by the arrow. Did not expect that! Wow, SR's father is pretty ruthless. Gosh, I hope this drama isn't going to end up being TOO sad...
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Post by jewel on Sept 1, 2014 19:45:42 GMT -5
Do the colors of the noblemen's robes signify anything?
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Post by bird11 on Sept 1, 2014 22:31:28 GMT -5
Finished ep 3 tonight, I feel so sorry for these guys, all the men plotting to get what they want, and Gim Jung Yu and Se Reyeoung won't get what they want -- each other! Two things that make this a great drama is 1) the music! love the opening song and the music is this episode was really good, even not knowing the lyrics, the emotions of the song was clear. 2) There are small things in the filming that shows so much feeling, like when Gim Seung got shot with the arrow, he could have just fallen to the ground, but they showed a close-up of his fingers, slipping from his grip with Se Reyeong-- just like their relationship is going to slip from their grasp due to all the plotting going on! Do you know who the person was that was killed at the Gisaeg's place? I agree with your description about the Princess and her teaching-- I knew "lazy" wasn't the word I wanted to type but couldn't think of anything else. I still don't think I like the way it was handled, we all have to do things we don't want to, as a Princess I would think there are many things we have to do that we don't want to The whole scholars "falling all over her beauty" was a bit hard to swallow, but it was needed I guess to get the story going. I still don't really like the Princess, her attitude just rubs me the wrong way and from the scene at the end of ep 2, looks like she is not going to be so nice in the future and not just because Se Reyeong is in love with "her" man! I saw you comment about the colors of the clothes and I asked a similar question once-- only about the beaded ropes hanging from their hats, differnt size beads on differnt hats-- and I think no one really knew for sure, but I would thing color would have to mean something.
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Post by jewel on Sept 2, 2014 0:09:40 GMT -5
Oopsies, you did watch episode 3. When I read what you said about how SuJu would feel about my changing their avatar, I totally panicked - and then went immediately to edit mode!!! So I didn't see this post till now. I'll resist reading your post until after I watch tomorrow.
Ohmgosh, am soooo tired... good night...
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Post by jewel on Sept 3, 2014 13:38:51 GMT -5
Episode 3: Ha! That's funny, Birdy, I was gonna ask you the same thing about the killings at the gisaeng house. I mean I think the two guys killed were the men who tried to kill Seung Yu but why they had to be killed I don't know. This episode was really REALLY good. I mean talk about these poor kids, at the mercy of their crazy fathers (well, I guess just one crazy father really). And now the friend too!! Now he's gonna be the fiancé to Se Ryeong?? Geez... I'm really enjoying this drama, no doubt about it, but still there are some things that bother me... 1) would a man really take who he thinks is the princess to a gisaeng house? I mean, isn't that the ONE place he should avoid taking her?? 2) how can a man who got shot in the back with an arrow be fine, like, the next day? 3) is it a smart move to take who he thinks is the princess around town, exposing her to all sundry eyes? I know, I know, I'm supposed to just go along with it... Alright, I will!! Yes, I agree with you about the princess. It does look like she's gonna come out nasty regarding Seung Yu. Did you remember how she assessed him when she (as a maid) brought him his tea in episode 2? She sure liked what she saw. But on the other hand, I do sorta feel bad for her too. She didn't ask the king for Seung Yu to be the prince consort. In fact, she asked him if he couldn't find someone else, I think. What I'm saying is she didn't go out of her way to steal Seung Yu from Se Ryeong. And also now she understands that to protect her brother the crown prince she has to marry Seung Yu. "Oh what tangled webs we weave!!!" Again, I loved the way it ended. And the music!!!! I couldn't agree with you more, Birdy!! The music is just fabulous!!! It really gets your heart pumping!! (Will talk about it over at the music thread!)
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Post by bird11 on Sept 4, 2014 22:40:15 GMT -5
Finished Ep4 tonight-- have a new respect for the Princesss and she actually tries to "save the day" Let me know when you have watched this episode and we can "talk" some more.... In response to things that bother you...... 1) I just assumed he took her to the gisaeng house because it was where he felt safest, most comfortable. Not a great decision, but where else could he have taken her? To his house, to where he was a teacher, to his friend's ect? 2) Yeah,you just gotta love those arrows in the back-- personally I just loved the way he snapped it off and just got up and ran... 3) Wouldn't you think the Princess and SeReyoung were just as guilty-- after all they were the ones that started the whole, "let's just wander around town"? Do you think it was partly their being naive, since they were never outside of the palace how would they really know what could possibly happen? After all, Doesn't everybody just love the King and everyone else in charge?!?!? It seems like the Princess or SeReyoung didn't know of any of the discord that is happening all around them.
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Post by jewel on Sept 6, 2014 13:18:47 GMT -5
Episode 4:
Again a very good episode. Enjoyed it very much.
But I have to say that there were some frustrating moments for me. This is all relating to Seung Yu taking Se Ryeong to the gisaeng house. First of all, did he not know that taking the princess to a house of ill-repute is punishable by death? But not just that, shouldn't he, as her future husband, have been extremely vigilant of her reputation? Birdy, you say he felt that the gisaeng house was the safest place for him to take her. He may have felt that but my question is WHY did he feel that? Is he an idiot? Even a regluar upperclass woman would not enter a place like that without fear of losing her good reputation but for a PRINCESS to go there??? And then what was the reason for it? - because there was a rip in her skirt. Really? So it's better to send her back to the palace dressed in a see-through gisaeng outfit?? I understand now after seeing episode 4 that they had to have her at the gisaeng house for the plot to work but I think they could've done something that made more sense to get her there.
And response to your rebuttal to my #3: I am not questioning the princess and Se Ryeong's actions. though they never "just wandered around town" as you suggested. The princess was inside her well-protected litter the whole time and just glimpsed out once in a while. However, I AM questioning Seung Yu's judgement. He should've known better as a scholar and a teacher of the palace. The princess' face is considered almost holy, that's why even the teachers are not supposed to look at her, therefore the screen between them during lectures. And yet Seung Yu suggests they walk around town and then even allows her to enter the swing contest?!?! Where a whole crowd is just staring at her??
Now am I suggesting that the drama should've done away with the walking tour or the swinging? No of course not, but they should've done it so that we felt the two characters knew they were doing something highly inappropriate. (Although to be fair, Seung Yu did put up some fight with the swing contest.) I still loved the scenes but it was hard for me to swallow it all and distracted me from REALLY enjoying everything.
Okay, back to episode 4. I felt very very sorry for Seung Yu when he found out who the real princess was. He looked so devastated. (Park Si Hoo is SUCH a good actor - when he frowns I feel so sad!). And then when he got arrested, I was like oh you, I knew it!! I was really mad at him for having been so stupid in episode 3!! Yes, I agree with you, Birdy, about the princess "doing the right thing" but I still find her so unappealing!! Something about her face repulses me, and now she's acting all mean to Se Ryeong I dislike her even more.
The ending was very exciting. When the grand prince Su Yang comes into the cell and sees his daughter, I was scared for Se Ryeong. But I have to admit the prevailing feeling was that of glee - cause I knew the rotten Su Yang was gonna get what he deserves - he was gonna suffer through his daughter. His trap caught Seung Yu but it caught Se Ryeong too!!
On to episode 5...
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Post by bird11 on Sept 6, 2014 13:51:20 GMT -5
You are so good at making your points that I feel so lost-- you are right Seung Yu was soo stupid to take the "princess" out into the public, but since she is a princess don't you have to do what she says?!?! But I agree that this was stupid and the whole swing scene was crazy-- but I think it was a way to show Seung Yu that this women was someone who had a mind of her own, was able to think for herself, to do what she wanted and not just a pawn like so many others in this drama.... The whole giaseng house thing was a bit too much, but it looks like a place he went to on a regular basis so if it was so risky to be there why would he go there (just the thought of the giasengs seeing Seug Yu with another female to me would be a reason for trouble to happen-- he seems well liked there! ) or is it just risky for another female, especially the princess to be there? It works with the storyline so we just have to accept it......I just think it was a way for the writers to really express the way the whole political thing was-- people are so protectd, so closed minded, yet Seung Yu was seeing a princess that was willing to think out of the box, to risk herself-- because that was what she did when she had the screen lifted for the other teachers, right? A female, a princess, that is willing to expose herself, to enter a swing contest-- what a way to mess up the politics! It is almost so far fetched that I have a hard time imagining something like that ever happning! I have to agree with you that Park Si Hoo is doing an awesome job-- his facial expressions are perfect! He looked so utterly sad when he realized that he really did not know the princess! I still can't make up my mnd about the Princess, she seems so cruel yet did try to save Seung Yu --- she doesn't really show her expressions on her face like Seung Yu, so to me it is hard to tell what she is up to. The ending, I think I gasped out loud-- almost scared to watch the next episode!!!!
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Post by jewel on Sept 6, 2014 14:25:22 GMT -5
I have so much fun discussing dramas with you, Birdy - oftentimes your comments/observations make me see things in ways I never would on my own. I think historical writers have a very hard job because they have to make their main characters behave historically correct but at the same time modern enough to have them connect with the modern viewers. Overall, I think "The Princess' Man" is very well done. And I know what you mean - I get scared what the next episode will bring...
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