When the Red Sleeve premiered in November 2021, I wasn't stoked about seeing it. My bias was based on the fact that my brain was super loaded with so many historical dramas and I was an ardent fan of some ongoing series.
Seeing clips of this series on Tiktok was the sign I needed to start the series and I was hooked from the get-go.
The Red Sleeve tells the story of a young king in the Joseon era who would rather put his country first than love the woman of his dreams and a young court maid who doesn't want to be shackled by love but rather be free to protect the life she had chosen.
The series stars Lee Jun-ho as Yi-san and eventually King Jeongjo and Lee Se-young as Seong Deok-im who eventually became Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong. These two had to overcome both personal challenges and foes within the royal court to triumph at the end of the day.
What's remarkable about this story is that it's based on the reality of 2 people who actually lived. The real story is so sad, painful yet beautiful and the writer of the Red Sleeve was able to infuse these into the script.
If you are looking for a great Korean series to start, I recommend you see this for the following reasons;
- Excellent Scripting:
As an ardent Korean series lover, I can categorically say that 2021 was the year of not so great series. I am basing this on the quality of the scripts. Many projects were aired either based on the popularity of the actors or their visuals and not even based on the most important part of every project; the script.
The Red Sleeve was written by Jung Hae-ri and as a screenwriter myself, I am in awe of her and her style of writing. She created a beautiful world and sucked us all in with the witty dialogue, the slow burn romance and the humanization of the characters. I could empathize with the leads and could understand why each took certain decisions.
For a series that was based on the lives of individuals who actually existed, the writer let us have a glimpse into the world of these individuals and she did so beautifully.
- Excellent Acting
Over the years, you can attest to the fact that sometimes, one actor or a few actors carry on their shoulders the responsibility to make the series a success. This pressure most times translates to them going over and beyond to make viewers see the series but this isn't enough to keep viewers coming back each week to see the series.
In The Red Sleeve, all actors gave their all to make the series a success. The elocution, delivery of the lines and dialogue were all executed flawlessly. This made me flow better with the story and further see the bigger picture the writer and director wanted us to see.
- The Cinematography
If I'm to name important things I look out for in a movie or series, it would be in this order; the script, cinematography, directing and then sound. The cinematographer did an excellent job in conveying the tone of the script visually.
Based on the stories, I was expecting the drama to be dark and full of sadness but the reverse was the case. All I could see were two souls who wanted to be together but so many factors kept pulling them away. What could these be? Will they eventually end up together or have a happy ending? You can watch this on Viki to find out!
- The Blinding Chemistry
There's no greater pain than having great chemistry and a sad story. We were rewarded with tender love scenes, passionate love scenes and scenes that gave off a dom/sub vibe. The almost kisses, the declarations of love from the heart and so many scenes that will you mushy.
Conclusion
Yi-san and Deok-mi taught me a lot that I will be implementing in my life this year.
These two taught me not to always use my heart to make life-altering decisions because times and seasons change. Whatever decision you make now, will you be able to live with yourself after making it? Whomever you are dimming your light for or selling yourself short for, will they appreciate you doing that in a couple of years to come?
One has to learn to constantly love themselves and be content with being alone sometimes. In solitude, we discover our strengths and weaknesses.
Will you be seeing this series this week? What other series have you started seeing that you can recommend? I look forward to sharing my thoughts on other series I see this year.