Grand Prince 대군 - 사랑을 그리다 Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The 2018 Korean drama, starring Yoon Shi-Yoon as Lee Hwi/Eun-Sung, Jin Se-Yeon as Sung Ja-Hyun, Joo Sang-Wook as Lee Kang/Jin-Yang, Son Ji-Hyun as Roo Shi-Gae, and Bang Jae-Ho as Park Gi-Teuk. Also known as “Grand Prince: Drawing Love.”



Brief summary: The two brothers Lee Kang and Lee Hwi have always seemed to be at odds since they were young while their eldest brother has always been in line for the throne. When they grow up and Hwi meets a girl, however, Kang starts to admire her too (as well as the throne). Kang makes plans with his uncle to do away with Hwi, but it isn’t going to be easy fighting against Hwi’s tenacity.



A fun historical drama! The beginning and the end have more to do with drawing, so the title fits it perfectly. I’m a big fan of Yoon Shi-Yoon an really liked watching him in this one.



That said, however, there are a few reasons why I couldn’t give this one five stars.




1. Hwi is just too perfect. He really is the perfect protagonist. This is not really a bad thing, but there’s nothing he needs to develop as a character because there’s nothing he can improve in himself from episode one. He fits the iconic protagonist from the Hero’s Journey set-up like a glove. I would have liked to see him have flaws or weaknesses and overcome those flaws or weaknesses through his experiences in the drama.



2. The lead female Ja-Hyun had my attention from the beginning because of her modernistic character, but she seemed to lose that spunk halfway through the drama. Roo Shi Gae became the favored female character thereafter.



3. I was lead to really hope for Gi-Teuk and Roo Shi Gae. Ha ha. Joke was totally on me.



By the way, kids. The kpop idol meets a fatal demise in this one, too. I’ll leave you to figure out which character that is.



But there were also things I kind of liked:



I liked watching Jin Yang’s personal struggle, I guess. He’s a little understandable, but at the same time a bit ignorant. He plays the role of the antagonist, but we can see it in his character that he doesn’t really want to. He’s just surrounded by people who want to push him into that spot (yes, I’m totally referring to the evil uncle and that shrew of a wife).



I came to really like Roo Shi Gae and Gi-Teuk. They were both cute in their own little ways. I totally shipped them.




The ending wasn’t bad, but gave a lot of attention to the happily ever after. The OST choice for the final scene was a bit interesting too...



Anyways, it was a good one although not one of the best historical dramas I’ve seen. 4/5 stars!