"Prepare yourself to become the great royal consort." 'Perfect Crown' is showing rapid, flashy developments through dramatic incidents and accidents within the story.
The MBC Friday-Saturday drama Perfect Crown (writer Yoo Ji-won, directors Park Joon-hwa and Bae Hee-young, abbreviated as Perfect Crown), which began its first broadcast on the 10th, is making headlines day after day. It set a first-for-a-drama record by ranking first in pre-broadcast interest, and after lifting the veil it has been driving ratings with swift developments.
Although there is controversy over the lead actors' performances, there is no disagreement about the pacing of Perfect Crown. Critics say that dramatic developments serving to explain the fictional Republic of Korea as a 21st-century constitutional monarchy are playing an important role within the short 12-episode run. With that backdrop, we examined the first week's developments of Perfect Crown, which hit 7.8% on its first broadcast (Nielsen Korea nationwide households) and 9.5% on episode 2, quickly putting it in sight of the 10% viewership mark.
# king's birthday banquet fire, people more worried about IAAN grand prince than the young king
In Perfect Crown's first broadcast, the young king's birthday banquet was held as a grand national ceremony. But a fire broke out at the event. In the story, the previous king (played by Seong Jun) died in a fire three years earlier, and before that shadow had faded, the palace caught fire again. Coincidentally, at the birthday banquet before the accident, the regent and the current king's uncle, IAAN grand prince (played by Byeon Woo-seok), appeared wearing a cheolik instead of the ceremonial robe, drawing glares as a "bizarre act." The palace fell into chaos amid the disorderly atmosphere.
Eventually, queen dowager Yoon Ee-rang (played by Gong Seung-yeon) thundered at IAAN grand prince, "Are you trying to kill the country's king again?" and even slapped him. That raised curiosity about the past grievances between Yoon Ee-rang and IAAN grand prince. Attention also focused on IAAN grand prince's actions, who came to be called the "21st-century Prince Suyang."
# chaebol but commoner-born female lead, turns out she has senior-junior ties with the grand prince
The title role and female lead Sung Hee-joo is the head of Castle Beauty, the country's top conglomerate in the story. Though highly capable, she is disadvantaged by being born out of wedlock and is overshadowed within the family and group by her older brother Sung Tae-ju (played by Lee Jae Won), who is incompetent yet still gains precedence. She considered marriage into the royal family as a way to instantly overcome her status as a commoner, an illegitimate child and her merchant origins — to marry the widely beloved IAAN grand prince.
Moreover, IAAN grand prince and Sung Hee-joo share the bond of being alumni of the royal school. They once faced each other at an archery competition while in school, and during training the strong first impression and in the final match IAAN grand prince chose to lose to Sung Hee-joo deliberately, aware of his father the king. Both remember this, and IAAN grand prince addressed Sung Hee-joo as "junior" when they met at the birthday banquet, while Sung Hee-joo once presented a marriage proposal and showed an official badge she had kept after defeating him at the archery competition. That added curiosity to the development of Sung Hee-joo and IAAN grand prince's love story.
# Sung Hee-joo x IAAN grand prince midnight hotel rendezvous scandal
Meanwhile, the meeting between Sung Hee-joo and IAAN grand prince escalated into a hotel rendezvous scandal. Sung Hee-joo visited the hotel IAAN grand prince used while on leave to hide health problems caused by nightmares and helped by calling his personal physician, but the incident turned into a scandal. Furthermore, queen dowager Yoon Ee-rang, who had misunderstood IAAN grand prince — who had appeared at the event even during his leave to help the young king at his request — witnessed his meeting with Sung Hee-joo. The sight of IAAN grand prince disheveled on the hotel bed and Sung Hee-joo in comfortable clothing alone together sparked the dowager's misunderstanding.
Prime minister Min Jung-woo (played by Noh Sang Hyun) brushed it off as a simple happening with a laugh, but Yoon Ee-rang grew very wary of Sung Hee-joo while agonizing over arranging a marriage between IAAN grand prince and the person she wanted. The marriage project to elevate Sung Hee-joo's status spread into a nationwide scandal, adding momentum to the fast-paced developments.
In this way, Perfect Crown has shown unpredictable developments in just two episodes — how will it wrap up the story within the remaining 10 episodes? Viewers captivated by the swift pacing have shown increased interest.
[photo] Provided by MBC.
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