The drama suffered some problems during the early stages of production with the production team behind the movie, The Face Reader which is supposed to be the original version of the drama suing them for copyright issues so the drama got into some trouble and I initially thought that it will be cancelled but it manage to continue it's production and although it didn't receive rave reviews and great ratings, it did well and I really liked it.
I didn't watch Face Reader because I didn't find the story attractive despite having Lee Jong Suk in it, the drama afterwards claim that it is going to be completely different from the movie with only the same concept of having face reading as a theme. I don't know if it's similar or different to the movie in any way since I didn't watch it but I do like the face reading theme in the drama, some Koreans and Chinese are really superstitious, as a Chinese myself, I know of many people that believe in face reading so I find the concept alright since the drama revolves around the king's obsession with face reading. The main reason why I wanted to watch this show is because of the director, he directed Bridal Mask previously which still remains as one of my top favourite dramas of all time, I do sense a lot of similarities in term of the directing, visual which is a good thing but sadly, this drama even shared the same flaw as Bridal Mask. Something that made me love Bridal Mask so passionately is the characters, from the side characters to the main characters and I am happy to say that this drama have great characters too, true enough, it isn't anywhere near the level of Bridal Mask, I do love a few supporting characters more than the leading ones and overall the characters are memorable and great enough to make me love them.
THE CHARACTERS
Seo In Gook as Prince Gwang Hae
Gwang Hae is a obedient, kind, smart and noble prince that seemly have no greed and desire of wanting to be the king. He started off focusing on his love towards Ga Hee(Jo Yoon Hee) but as the story goes on, he learns the importance and the danger if there isn't a good king leading the country so he started wanting the place of being the king so that he can save his country and his love became a back story since he got married but he always kept Ga Hee somewhere deep in his heart. Gwang Hae is a great person since he never hated his father despite his father's jealousy towards him and he always put his country first, he also develops into a much stronger person as the story goes on.
Seo In Gook finally gets to headline a public network drama, he certainly has the talent for acting since his acting is always on point, whether he is a student, king, spy(MASTER SUN HAHA), his acting here was solid, he impressed me since he seems like he improved again after High School King Of Savvy (And he was already great there!). It's quite upsetting that the drama didn't do that well so his acting wasn't well recognised but I am sure everyone recognises him as a great actor since his performance in Reply Me 1997 that certainly caught the public's attention, SIG isn't my definition of handsome but whenever he acts, he is charming and manages to give out a great charisma on screen so it's always a blast to watch him act.
Jo Yoon Hee as Kim Ga Hee
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ga Hee, she is definitely one of my favourite female protagonist since I love how the she grows stronger throughout the drama, how she doesn't become love crazy but still love someone so sincerely deep in her heart and I love how she is always there to protect the one she love. Ga Hee is the daughter of a minister but she was partly responsible for her brother's death so due to guilt, she dresses as a guy. She met Prince Gwang Hae when she was young and he made a promise to marry her in the future (first love childhood crush drama), despite having to act as a guy, she still has a crush on him so she tries to just take little glimpse of him. She started off as a pretty weak character with her wish only being to able to become a women again but as the story goes on and she lost her family, she became a much stronger character, she became a kick-ass heroine that fight for what she thinks is right, she hates Gwang Hae due to a misunderstanding but still love him deep inside which cause her to have loads of conflicting feelings. In the drama, Gwang Hae is often the one that show his love for her but, honestly, Ga Hee love Gwang Hae more than he ever did, she is willing to sacrifice for him without expecting anything back while Gwang Hae seems more whiney than her. Kim Ga Hee is also loved by three man in the drama, Prince Gwang Hae (Seo In Guk), The King (Lee Sung Jae) and Kim Do Chi (Shin Sung Rok), it's unconvincing if a drama made a weak character get love from too many guys but Kim Ga Hee deserved all the love, she was a great character, she can be gentle like other women but at the same time, shoot arrows and fight like a guy.
I can never understand why Jo Yoon Hee is so underated, I often see hate messages to her online and I really can't understand why she is highly disliked. She is gorgeous (there was this scene where she had smoke eye makeup with high ponytail and she was carrying a arrow, she looked freaking bad-ass cool and gorgeous), she acts pretty well, she has great chemistry with her co-stars and she has a nice real life personality. I don't get the hate surrounding her but I really like her, she caught my attention when I first saw her in Nine but I never really liked her but I am definitely a fan of hers after her performance here.
Lee Sung Jae as King Seo Jo
King Seo Jo is the coward king that isn't exactly the definition of a bad king since he truly cares about his people and his land but he fear that his son will exceed him and do better than him thus become jealous. King Seo Jo isn't a great character but isn't a bad character either, he's crazy obsession with face reading makes him quite annoying (well, the drama does surround the theme of face reading).
Lee Sung Jae as always, performed solidly, nothing fantastic but good enough. (ps Lee Sung Jae previously played Seo In Guk's older brother in a family drama years before but now he is playing his father heh)
Shin Sung Rok as Kim Do Chi
Kim Do Chi is the head of a organization that aims to make everyone to be in a equal social position but secretly, he is a ambition man that aims to become the king himself. Kim Do Chi is cunning and smart with the talent of being able to read faces well, he saves Ga Hee when she was supposed to be dead due to the king's orders and he helped her become someone much stronger. He does love her but she only treats him like a older brother she respects and her saviour, he started off as a nice character but turn evil at the end. (Shin Sung Rok does have the face of evil hehe)
Shin Sung Rok is certainly on high demand after his role in YWCFTS, he did Trot Lovers, Lying Game and this back to back, although he was always the supporting actor, he did well and shine in his role. I found it quite creepy when he was the nice guy in Trot Lovers (HE STILL LOOKS EVIL) but he was cute as the nice guy haha, he was fantastic as the mysterious game host in Lying Game and he certainly did well here again.
Kim Kyu Ri as Kim Gwi In
In every historical drama there has to be a evil women so she's the evil one here. Kim Gwi In is a concubine of the king that aims to make one of his son the king so he hates Gwang Hae, she is cunning but at the same time not that evil. (I actually like her as a villain) I think it's a plus point that she doesn't over annoy me and I actually like her and her son at the end.
I've seen Kim Kyu Ri once in Cunning Single Lady, she looked evil and I've got no idea why (Maybe her eyes?). I think the role suits her and she did it well too.
STORY AND DIRECTING
Title: 왕의 얼굴 / Wang-ui Eolgool
Genre: Historical, drama, action, thriller, romance
Episodes: 23
Broadcast network: KBS2
Broadcast period: 2014-Nov-19 to 2015-Feb-05
Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 22:00
Original Soundtrack: The King's Face OST
This drama is the epic of Prince Gwang Hae who used face-reading skills as his weapon to overcome his destiny and become the king.
And there is a woman, beloved by both Gwang Hae and his father King Seon Jo, who denied himself to qualify for the throne.
Because Prince Gwang Hae was able to read others' faces, he succeeded to govern the Joseon Kingdom.
FROM DRAMAWIKI
I've seen great reviews about the drama but at the same time, I've seen bad reviews. I am on the positive side, I think the drama is great since it remained good throughout and as someone that doesn't usually enjoy sagueks, I love this. I think this is definitely worth the watch if you are a casual viewer that isn't super particular about everything (like c'mon dramas are just entertainment so why so serious?), I like the story (despite it's many flaws) and I enjoy the directing style of the drama. My Love for Ga Hee certainly made me enjoy the drama more but she really does deserve the love.
There are many negative feedbacks about the last episode but I love the last episode more than the others, maybe I am weird (I am a sadist) but I do like this kind of endings since it's more memorable and impactful and at the same time realistic.
One of the main flaws is that the love story was pretty weak in the beginning and I didn't like it but I manage to like their love line as the story goes on due to Ga Hee's courage and not Gwang Hae's whining.
IN CONCLUSION
Worth my time. If you are a casual viewer like me, this would be a great drama. (did I mention that I actually like the chemistry between the two lead characters?)
Personal Ratings: 9-9.5/10
How much it deserves: 9/10
I didn't watch Face Reader because I didn't find the story attractive despite having Lee Jong Suk in it, the drama afterwards claim that it is going to be completely different from the movie with only the same concept of having face reading as a theme. I don't know if it's similar or different to the movie in any way since I didn't watch it but I do like the face reading theme in the drama, some Koreans and Chinese are really superstitious, as a Chinese myself, I know of many people that believe in face reading so I find the concept alright since the drama revolves around the king's obsession with face reading. The main reason why I wanted to watch this show is because of the director, he directed Bridal Mask previously which still remains as one of my top favourite dramas of all time, I do sense a lot of similarities in term of the directing, visual which is a good thing but sadly, this drama even shared the same flaw as Bridal Mask. Something that made me love Bridal Mask so passionately is the characters, from the side characters to the main characters and I am happy to say that this drama have great characters too, true enough, it isn't anywhere near the level of Bridal Mask, I do love a few supporting characters more than the leading ones and overall the characters are memorable and great enough to make me love them.
THE CHARACTERS
Seo In Gook as Prince Gwang Hae
Gwang Hae is a obedient, kind, smart and noble prince that seemly have no greed and desire of wanting to be the king. He started off focusing on his love towards Ga Hee(Jo Yoon Hee) but as the story goes on, he learns the importance and the danger if there isn't a good king leading the country so he started wanting the place of being the king so that he can save his country and his love became a back story since he got married but he always kept Ga Hee somewhere deep in his heart. Gwang Hae is a great person since he never hated his father despite his father's jealousy towards him and he always put his country first, he also develops into a much stronger person as the story goes on.
Seo In Gook finally gets to headline a public network drama, he certainly has the talent for acting since his acting is always on point, whether he is a student, king, spy(MASTER SUN HAHA), his acting here was solid, he impressed me since he seems like he improved again after High School King Of Savvy (And he was already great there!). It's quite upsetting that the drama didn't do that well so his acting wasn't well recognised but I am sure everyone recognises him as a great actor since his performance in Reply Me 1997 that certainly caught the public's attention, SIG isn't my definition of handsome but whenever he acts, he is charming and manages to give out a great charisma on screen so it's always a blast to watch him act.
Jo Yoon Hee as Kim Ga Hee
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ga Hee, she is definitely one of my favourite female protagonist since I love how the she grows stronger throughout the drama, how she doesn't become love crazy but still love someone so sincerely deep in her heart and I love how she is always there to protect the one she love. Ga Hee is the daughter of a minister but she was partly responsible for her brother's death so due to guilt, she dresses as a guy. She met Prince Gwang Hae when she was young and he made a promise to marry her in the future (first love childhood crush drama), despite having to act as a guy, she still has a crush on him so she tries to just take little glimpse of him. She started off as a pretty weak character with her wish only being to able to become a women again but as the story goes on and she lost her family, she became a much stronger character, she became a kick-ass heroine that fight for what she thinks is right, she hates Gwang Hae due to a misunderstanding but still love him deep inside which cause her to have loads of conflicting feelings. In the drama, Gwang Hae is often the one that show his love for her but, honestly, Ga Hee love Gwang Hae more than he ever did, she is willing to sacrifice for him without expecting anything back while Gwang Hae seems more whiney than her. Kim Ga Hee is also loved by three man in the drama, Prince Gwang Hae (Seo In Guk), The King (Lee Sung Jae) and Kim Do Chi (Shin Sung Rok), it's unconvincing if a drama made a weak character get love from too many guys but Kim Ga Hee deserved all the love, she was a great character, she can be gentle like other women but at the same time, shoot arrows and fight like a guy.
I can never understand why Jo Yoon Hee is so underated, I often see hate messages to her online and I really can't understand why she is highly disliked. She is gorgeous (there was this scene where she had smoke eye makeup with high ponytail and she was carrying a arrow, she looked freaking bad-ass cool and gorgeous), she acts pretty well, she has great chemistry with her co-stars and she has a nice real life personality. I don't get the hate surrounding her but I really like her, she caught my attention when I first saw her in Nine but I never really liked her but I am definitely a fan of hers after her performance here.
Lee Sung Jae as King Seo Jo
King Seo Jo is the coward king that isn't exactly the definition of a bad king since he truly cares about his people and his land but he fear that his son will exceed him and do better than him thus become jealous. King Seo Jo isn't a great character but isn't a bad character either, he's crazy obsession with face reading makes him quite annoying (well, the drama does surround the theme of face reading).
Lee Sung Jae as always, performed solidly, nothing fantastic but good enough. (ps Lee Sung Jae previously played Seo In Guk's older brother in a family drama years before but now he is playing his father heh)
Shin Sung Rok as Kim Do Chi
Kim Do Chi is the head of a organization that aims to make everyone to be in a equal social position but secretly, he is a ambition man that aims to become the king himself. Kim Do Chi is cunning and smart with the talent of being able to read faces well, he saves Ga Hee when she was supposed to be dead due to the king's orders and he helped her become someone much stronger. He does love her but she only treats him like a older brother she respects and her saviour, he started off as a nice character but turn evil at the end. (Shin Sung Rok does have the face of evil hehe)
Shin Sung Rok is certainly on high demand after his role in YWCFTS, he did Trot Lovers, Lying Game and this back to back, although he was always the supporting actor, he did well and shine in his role. I found it quite creepy when he was the nice guy in Trot Lovers (HE STILL LOOKS EVIL) but he was cute as the nice guy haha, he was fantastic as the mysterious game host in Lying Game and he certainly did well here again.
Kim Kyu Ri as Kim Gwi In
In every historical drama there has to be a evil women so she's the evil one here. Kim Gwi In is a concubine of the king that aims to make one of his son the king so he hates Gwang Hae, she is cunning but at the same time not that evil. (I actually like her as a villain) I think it's a plus point that she doesn't over annoy me and I actually like her and her son at the end.
I've seen Kim Kyu Ri once in Cunning Single Lady, she looked evil and I've got no idea why (Maybe her eyes?). I think the role suits her and she did it well too.
STORY AND DIRECTING
Synopsis
Born as a concubine's child, Gwang Hae was proclaimed as an heir to the throne. Gwang Hae suffered from the threats of dethronement and assassination for 16 years because of his background.This drama is the epic of Prince Gwang Hae who used face-reading skills as his weapon to overcome his destiny and become the king.
And there is a woman, beloved by both Gwang Hae and his father King Seon Jo, who denied himself to qualify for the throne.
Because Prince Gwang Hae was able to read others' faces, he succeeded to govern the Joseon Kingdom.
FROM DRAMAWIKI
I've seen great reviews about the drama but at the same time, I've seen bad reviews. I am on the positive side, I think the drama is great since it remained good throughout and as someone that doesn't usually enjoy sagueks, I love this. I think this is definitely worth the watch if you are a casual viewer that isn't super particular about everything (like c'mon dramas are just entertainment so why so serious?), I like the story (despite it's many flaws) and I enjoy the directing style of the drama. My Love for Ga Hee certainly made me enjoy the drama more but she really does deserve the love.
There are many negative feedbacks about the last episode but I love the last episode more than the others, maybe I am weird (I am a sadist) but I do like this kind of endings since it's more memorable and impactful and at the same time realistic.
One of the main flaws is that the love story was pretty weak in the beginning and I didn't like it but I manage to like their love line as the story goes on due to Ga Hee's courage and not Gwang Hae's whining.
IN CONCLUSION
Worth my time. If you are a casual viewer like me, this would be a great drama. (did I mention that I actually like the chemistry between the two lead characters?)
Personal Ratings: 9-9.5/10
How much it deserves: 9/10
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