In Captivating the King (Netflix), A Korean romantic historical drama, a prince forced into exile due to conquest returns to the royal court of the Joseon dynasty where he grew up, only to find it in the midst of total chaos. Who will succeed the king? Some say that he; others… don’t. And what about Joseon’s current fight against the invasion of the Qing dynasty? Captivating the King It also sets up the potential for romance between the prince and a mysterious woman who is both nobility and spy: a master of the ancient board game Baduk (Go), she gathers and makes her own moves toward retribution while disguising herself in public. as a male player.
CAPTIVING THE KING: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: Korea, 1636. The titles inform us that two months have passed since the invasion of the peninsula by the Qing dynasty, which demands tribute from the Joseon ruler and the breaking of its alliance with the competing Ming dynasty. The Grand Prince of Joseon, Jinhan (Jo Jung-suk), overlooks the bloody consequences of another fruitless battle with tears in his eyes.
The essence: Jinhan is frustrated when he and his troops are ordered to return to the palace, because it means that those who died in this last confrontation did so in vain. King Yi Seon (Choi Dae-hoon), his older brother, has capitulated to the Qing. But since Yi Seon still has no heir, the invaders demand that Jinhan accompany them to Shenyang as a political hostage. The Qing say that if anything happens to the king, they will install Jinhan on the throne.
The king is in a bad mood about sending Jinhan away. And his mother, the dowager queen (Jang Young-nam), is angry with the king. Without a male heir and with Jinhan in exile, his influence over the line of succession to the throne is in doubt. But Jinhan himself vows to learn everything he can from the Qing: by understanding how they became so powerful, there might still be a way forward for Joseon.
In Shenyang, Jinhan plays Baduk a lot with Qing royalty. And back home, a Royal Prince is born. But finally, when Jinhan’s release and return are finally negotiated, he finds himself faced with a Joseon court that has become angry and insular. The king is ill, apparently about to die. Factions within the aristocracy compete for power. And Jinhan is variously seen as a usurper, a Qing spy, or simply along the way.
Banished from court by a sick and paranoid brother king who now sees him as a threat, Jinhan encounters a master Baduk gambler whose skill at separating challengers from their money has become the stuff of local legend. However, no one knows his name, which makes more sense when we learn that the player is actually Kang Hee-soo (Shin Se-kyung), the daughter of a royal advisor who disguises herself as a man to win Baduk matches. and surreptitiously use the loot to pay ransoms for Qing captives. Hee-soo is familiar with Jinhan’s Baduk brilliance. But their chance meeting upsets everyone’s elaborate plans in unpredictable ways.
What shows will it remind you of? the limited series Under the queen’s umbrella It also returns to the court intrigues of the Joseon dynasty, exploring a queen’s attempts to place her favorite son on the throne. AND alchemy of souls twists layers of fantasy and swordplay in a setting not unlike 17th century Korea.
Our opinion: It takes most of its first two episodes to Captivating the King really fit into place. It needs to establish the geopolitical landscape in which it operates, present the various actors with competing succession plans and the groups of loyalists each of them controls. Obviously, you have to keep track of the royalty, but also their multitude of advisors, counselors and teachers, each of them seeking their own place in the court of whoever is the next king of Joseon. So many nobles dressed in tall black stir hats, pulling at their wispy beards and conversing in cryptic, metaphor-soaked parallel conversations. But once we meet the players, it’s tempting to look deeper, especially once Grand Prince Jinhan returns from exile and begins his encounters with Hee-soo. It will probably take a bit of suspension of disbelief to buy Shin Se-kyung dressed up as player Kang Mong-woo, because she looks exactly like a beautiful woman wearing a hanbok and stir with her long hair tied up in a tight bun. But when Hee-soo is in costume, it’s fun to watch Shin play the role of a boastful player who puts aggressive male rivals in their place with lines like “I love winning, but I can’t hold on.” with boredom.”
It seems that there is also more about Jinhan that he has revealed so far. Outwardly, he is the picture of benevolence towards commoners and is sensitive to the point of tears. But from the beginning, he senses the thugs a rival puts on his tail and fakes the appearance of a carefree, debauched drunk to hide in plain sight. His plans to re-enter the highest levels of the royal court are still unclear, but it is likely that he learned more while living with the Qing than simply how to defeat the rival dynasty at Baduk. He combines these interesting characters with sumptuous costumes and plenty of palace intrigue, and there will be plenty to keep us staring as Captivating the King releases its 16 epic episodes.
Sex and skin: None. Even visits to courtesans’ homes are described with respect for decorum and some hesitant suggestions. For example, a client is asked to express her desire by reciting poetry.
Parting Shot: With the delicate strains of Shin Ji Hoon’s pop ballad “Daydreaming,” we get a glimpse of what Captivating the King has in the store. Jinhan and Hee-soo play Baduk as they stare into each other’s eyes (which counts as flirting in these parts) and within the royal court, ongoing struggles for control.
sleeping star: In an aristocracy where raw emotions are rarely shown, Jang Young-nam really gets the chance to let her anger and ambition burn as the dowager queen, especially when she demands information about court movements from her subordinates and royal observers.
Most pilot line: “His Majesty’s symptoms are getting worse every day, but he won’t let us talk about the appointment of the Crown Prince. That’s what worries me the most. If he passes away suddenly, what do we do then?
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. Captivating the King combines a dynasty of royals and their hangers-on trying to seize the throne with beautifully decorated costumes and smaller, more personal mysteries, like the journey of Joseon’s top Baduk player as she wraps her motives in a man’s false identity.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.