The evolution of San's love confession y'all and Deok Im's face every time♥︎
The Red Sleeve - an actual bittersweet historical romance retold as a novel and a drama.
I've a lot to say about this drama, really. However, after I watched the last two episodes, my mind went blank as much as how my heart felt empty. I'm still barely coping up but trying my best to, 'coz as a viewer, we have to move on and don't let the show hole consume us.
Before The Red Sleeve came, I was in a major Kdrama slump — none of the ongoing Kdramas sparked my interest. Nothing grew on me, even the highly-rated and highly-recommended Kdramas. My case is so bad that I turned to Cdramas for most of my 2021. But all thanks to my ultimate bias Wheein (MAMAMOO) for she introduced me to this gem. She sang one of the earlier OSTs of this drama and posted on her IG stories that she's watching it. I'm a bit curious, yet my heart was actually into supporting the drama she lent her voice to. I then decided to watch because of that very (shallow) reason. Best decision, because 7 episodes after, I fell. It was a hard fall.
Yes, I'm giving the story a perfect 10. Why? Because this went down in actual history. It's not like we can change it, or it'll be a good idea to majorly distort it. We just watch how the drama will retell that story to us. Of course, it was fictionalized for the drama's sake to cater to the audiences, but what are the chances for those things to happen in real life - being loved by a King to the point of waiting for your acceptance for 15 years even after rejecting him a couple of times, especially during that time? I cannot even imagine. I even read somewhere that rejecting the King at that time is a grave sin punishable by death. So knowing that the gist of the story actually happened, the journey of watching this drama became even more special to me. I got invested to the point of delving into the Korean historical accounts about King Jeongjo and Royal Noble Consort Seong Uibin. I watched the drama sympathizing on how the two must have felt in the past. I read the heartbreaking epitaph King Jeongjo wrote for Uibin while pondering what if she accepted him sooner. Becoming aware that all these possibly transpired in reality prepared my heart to accept whichever way the drama will end. But thankfully, the production team must've understood our woes and consoled us with a fairly sweet ending.
Don't even get me started with this one. The word excellent for me is an understatement. All of the casts brilliantly gave life to their characters as if they were their own. But for the sake of writing, I would like to specially mention our main leads Lee Junho and Lee Seyoung here. Junho has always been incredible to me ever since I watched him in Good Manager. I thought back then that it's a good decision that he transitioned into acting. That stays true up to this day. Had he never took this path, we won't be able to see how good of an actor he is. As for Lee Seyoung, honestly, this is the first time I properly watched a drama of hers. I remembered watching Hit The Top before, but dropped it halfway through 'coz I'm not feeling it. I never knew she's this kind of an actress. She's phenomenal! How come she gives the right emotion to every scene? She cries real tears at the perfect timing. Her eyes speak so much that you can easily discern what's on her character's mind, even without uttering a single word. I suddenly remembered Kim Go Eun. Her eye expressions are very good too. I guess this is the kind of acting prowess you'll earn after 20+ years of experience.
I know both Junho and Seyoung were not originally casted for their roles, and I apologize for saying this - I can't think of another San and Deok Im if not them. Their chemistry is just so awesome both on and off cam. They got me tensed while watching the actual drama scenes, but made me giggle a lot from watching their BTS (and I always make sure to watch their BTS because they are truly a comedic duo). Their acting is in sync once the camera rolls despite being playful behind the scenes. Their duality! No doubt, they deserved the Best Couple and Top Excellence awards they received from the 2021 MBC Drama Awards. Both of them deserve a Daesang too.
Why won't it be 10; this is what got me into this drama in the first place haha! But aside from the OST sang by Wheein, I also especially love Starlight Heart by BEN. The melody of that song makes my heart flutter everytime I listen to it. The other soundtracks are remarkable too and blended well with the scenes in the drama. They'll make you feel wrecked or in love as how you're supposed to be.
I gave this a 10 because I was drawn to rewatch the drama multiple times after I finished the last episode. But my rewatch is just limited to the funny and romantic ones. I choose to instill their happy moments in my memory instead of destroying myself over and over again from the angsty scenes you know ㅋㅋㅋ
I rarely rate a drama a 10, but what can I do? This is a perfect drama for me. I am aware that this feeling of longingness and attachment towards this drama will soon fade away. It will only take another good drama for me to let this go. Sooner or later, I'll get over the fact that this drama was once my favorite. But one thing's for sure - this drama is the kind I would highly suggest to my friends should they ask me for a sageuk recommendation. This drama will remain special in my heart. This drama will be remembered by me for a long time.
And oh by the way, I'm officially sending off this drama through this 2 FMVs I've made. Care to watch? 😊
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