SBS Friday-Saturday drama My Royal Nemesis rode an unstoppable upward trend and thoroughly captivated home viewers. Joseon villain Lim Ji-yeon and vicious chaebol Heo Nam-jun's "contract signing ending" sent viewers' heart rates soaring and broke its own highest ratings once again.
The third episode of SBS Friday-Saturday drama My Royal Nemesis (directed by Han Tae-seop, written by Kang Hyun-joo, produced by Studio S·Gil Pictures), which aired on the 15th at 9:50 p.m., rose to 5.8% nationwide, 5.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area, and a peak rating of 6.7%. The 20-49 demographic rating also reached a high of 2.3%, and critics praised that the script, direction and actors' performances formed a perfect trifecta, capturing both buzz and ratings. (Nielsen Korea)
In the episode, Shin Se-ri (Lim Ji-yeon) declared she would become an actor and carve out her own destiny, and Cha Se-gye (Heo Nam-jun), who began to unconsciously seep into Se-ri's life, shone with a comic yet heart-fluttering back-and-forth.
Se-ri used the world as a shield to avert crises, and after receiving cheers from people at the mart for her divinely performed queenly acting, she fully awakened to her dream of being an "actor." Meanwhile, chaebol Cha Se-gye showed a tsundere charm by surreptitiously buying her hanwoo to eat and, at Se-ri's offhand remark "the meat is burning, flip it," picked up the tongs without realizing it, hilariously being completely swept up by the momentum of Se-ri, the "Joseon villain."
Particularly when Se-gye focused all his attention after Se-ri's commercial contract hit a snag, he went through an intense denial phase saying, "Do I care about a woman like that?" which made viewers' smiles widen.
The highlight of episode 3 was undoubtedly Se-ri's satisfying fierce spirit and Se-gye's heart-fluttering rescue narrative. Facing top star Yoon Ji-hyo (Lee Se-hee), who tried to interfere with the advertising contract, Se-ri gave a fishy smile to Ji-hyo after being slapped on the cheek and delivered a retaliatory slap with a distinctive skill, creating a brutal and thrilling masterpiece reminiscent of palace intrigue.
At that moment, Cha Se-gye appeared like a savior in the chaotic scene, and seeing Se-ri's reddened cheek he said, "I'll introduce you properly. I'm Cha Se-gye of the new agency for Shin Se-ri, B.O.J. Entertainment," astonishing everyone with an unprecedented "tribute-scale" reversal by even establishing an entertainment company. The ending, in which the two firmly sealed the deal with a handprint while shouting "contract signed," delivered a fingertip-tingling dopamine of excitement and made viewers look forward to the romance to come.
The episode also intensified immersion by fully unveiling the past-life narrative of court attendant Kang Dan-sim (Lim Ji-yeon) and prince Yi-hyun (Heo Nam-jun) from 300 years ago. In the present, Choi Mun-do (Jang Seung-jo) schemed to use Se-ri to shake Se-gye, and that plot paralleled the past appearance of Crown Prince Yi-jae (Jang Seung-jo), creating taut tension. In particular, Se-gye's tears after seeing in a dream a court attendant with the exact same face as Dan-sim impressed the audience with the pair's bitter and deep fated connection.
Immediately after the broadcast, viewers poured out explosive feedback such as "The male lead's pursuit is obsessive but Se-ri is a limited pushover, it's the best," "The scale of the chaebol male lead setting up an entire entertainment company is insane," "Lim Ji-yeon's voice-switching acting feat is amazing," and "The past-life narrative makes my chest ache." [Photo] broadcast capture
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