[Drama Review] 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' - Episode 2

AKP STAFF

SCARLET HEART: RYEO -- EPISODE 2

That's no way to treat the better half of your OTP...

After saving her from an ignoble fate, Prince So shoves Hae Soo unceremoniously off his horse. She hits the palace where the princes are�but is embarrassed that she saw them bathing and hides. Hae Soo catches Prince Wang Eun spying on a girl getting dressed, and that's when this happens:

Seeing this made me laugh.

She pounds the perv soundly. Which prompts her adoptive mother to worry about her newfound wild nature. It makes sense. Women have never been treated with anything approaching respect really anywhere in the world at that time, and beating a prince isn't a good idea anyway. But it seems like she's more concerned about it than his brothers are? In trying to fix it, she makes things worse, and sees Prince So without his mask!

The ritual proceeds that night, with the royal court engaged in a mock battle that turns real when assassins enter the mix. Prince So dons the Crown Prince's costume to protect him, then heads off, pursuing the assassins when they flee. His plans are foiled by Hae Soo, who ends up a hostage, forcing Wook to kill the thug before Prince So can convince him to reveal who sent him. The 4th Prince threatens Hae Soo�but is stopped short by Wook's blade...

Here's a completely gratuitous pic of Baekhyun as Prince Wang Eun. Just because.

Now that is what I signed up for! I've been looking for an epic�and didn't quite get that when we started. The first episode was fun�but fell a bit short of what the hype was. The battle was totally what I was looking for, even though I expected it. And having Prince So disguised as Crown Prince Mu was the icing on top. They've done a good job setting So up as a bad-ass, but mostly it's been an info dump, his name hushed about in whispers. I'd definitely been wanting to see him in action.

I don't think the acting is all that bad, but I can say the chemistry is not really there. It's gonna spoil the shipping if we don't think they belong together! It is only the second episode, and they haven't had that many scenes together, so I'm not going to impart judgment just yet. I think they want things to go more naturally, rather than forcing the issue.

And I think the clash between the comedic elements and the more serious tone is what's causing the bad feelings about the acting. Baekhyun doesn't act like a prince, and I'm not sure they want him to. But the combination of the different tones makes it awkward. It's not as deftly handled as, say, in 'Orange Marmalade.' They need to strike a balance between light-hearted and dark. But as I said, it's only the second episode.

And yeah, despite some of the awkwardness, this is still shaping up to be awesome. If it keeps delivering the action like this, it should be absolutely epic.