Why I'm Loving Grand Prince (and why I'm not going to pretend it's perfect)

I'm excited right now. Really excited. Having only seen less than half of the show, I probably shouldn't be making any judgments about Grand Prince just yet... But I can't help it! It's been a really long time since I was this excited about a sageuk. The interesting part is that it isn't even phenomenal. It might even be pretty run-of-the-mill. But I love it, and I don't care. I'm going to run though why Grand Prince is totally worth your time, but also what it lacks.

The title refers to both Prince Lee Hwi, our main character, and Lee Kang, his older brother, who are involved in a power struggle. As their oldest brother, the King,  becomes ill and desperate to secure a successor, we follow Lee Hwi on a simpler quest to enjoy life and find a wife. He meets Sung Ja-hyun, the unpredictable and wild daughter of a noble, and the two fall madly in love. But Kang is determined to rob his brothers of everything they have. 

Anyone who has seen Flower Boy Next Door can't deny that Yoon Shi-yoon is becoming one of the best young actors that the drama scene today has to offer. I use Flower Boy Next Door as an example because Enrique was a complex character that Yoon Shi-yoon portrayed deftly - bubbly and endearing most of the time, it was difficult to tell how much of him was genuine and what was a facade. It wouldn't have been the same if he were played by anyone else. Although that was unmistakably his best character, his ability to emote has become even better over time. Thus, choosing a tragic prince torn away from the woman he loves was a skillful career move. I was confused about why he picked this drama at first, but then his tears punched me in the gut half way through the first episode, and I understood.

  This is arguably Grand Prince's biggest bragging point. Jin Se-yeon, on the other hand, may suit her character visually and in spirit, but cannot emote anywhere near as well as Yoon Shi-yoon. It was evident in their reunion scene, where she looked upset, and he looked like his heart was about to burst. I'm convince of his undying love, but less so of hers. It puts a weight on their romance, unquestionably, but I still can't help but feel for the young lovers torn apart.
  I'm particularly enjoying our villain Joo Sang-wook - I was promised another epic destructive love triangle with Grand Prince, and although it seems so on the surface, this drama is nothing like that. Rather, Lee Kang had a viscous complex in which feels victimized and discriminated against by his mother. It drove a void in his heart, and he feels compelled to take everything his younger brother has. The same applies to his beautiful love - Kang is envious, and believes Sung Ja-hyun is capable of filling the hole. I'm massively curious about how he'll end up. If we're betting, I'll go with: bitter and alone.

  The show really shines in it's melodramatic moments - hence, I think the drama's biggest shortcoming thus far has been it's cold open. Many shows use thus approach to introduce the characters and induce investment in their issues. Seven Day Queen, a drama that Grand Prince has received countless comparisons to, did just that. The problem I have was that it was too engaging. I'm now interested in characters I won't meet for a while. I felt a little resentful, because the couple reunited was what I wanted to see, not how that couple came to be. Besides that, so many interesting things happened in the present, like Hwi's emotional return to the palace after three years. Therefore, going back in time actually took me out of the experience.

  Grand Prince is laughable with its logic - no sane girl of that period would talk back to royalty (and live), or run off to a war zone dressed as a man - but it's unbelievably entertaining. When Yoon Shi-Yoon gets to show off his tears again, I'm sure I'll be crying too, but for now I'm just going to enjoy it, flaws and all.