Synopsis
Actress Sunny Oh, Dang Na Ra, gets the chance of a lifetime when the emperor, Shin Jung Rok, displays romantic interest in her. However, trouble begins with the start her wedding day when she is almost killed but save by a handsome new bodyguard, Choi Jin Hyuk. From that day forward everything goes topsy turvey and Sunny's life is completely changed.
Review
Hello dear reader! I hope this Holiday season sees you well and happy. I promise I really will keep this one short, but as concise as possible. There is a plethora of good dramas that came out and I am so late to the game. So, I will make this review as short as I can without sacrificing the content.
On my sticky notes I gave this series an 80% on storytelling and a 4/5 on direction. To be honest The Last Empress would be a lot less on my ratings. The show started of slow to begin with then as it now picks up I'm afraid that it keeps coming around with the same problem. I need something to change in the story for me to keep going. I know that the show has gotten great ratings within the past few weeks and this is mainly a personal opinion. I am so tired of Oh Sunny being three steps behind Yu Ra and the emperor. It is so frustrating to watch. I need the revenge and some serious ass whooping given to the emperor and Yu Ra from Sunny and Wang Shik. Seriously, the writer is missing a huge opportunity to make Sunny and Wang Shik join forces and finally beat the evil fornicators.
The acting is phenomenal in this series, especially for Choi Jin Hyuk. This is a completely different character than what I've seen him do before. It is vastly different than his other drama, Devilish Joy, that just came out this summer. The character of Wang Shik/ Chun Woo Bin is so dark and mysterious. It is always an enigma of what he will do. You know he empathizes with Sunny, yet he does whatever the emperor asks of him. He's like a loose canon and I have no clue what he is going to do next. I really sorta wish he would just get on with his revenge already and take Sunny under his wing. However, we'll see if that happens. The next few episodes look promising. He sees how much the empress is abused both emotionally and physically. Why not just help her out Bra? I mean she trusts you. . . or trusted.
The characters of the emperor and Min Yu Ra are really grating on my last nerve. The emperor is more like an overgrown petulant child complete with violent temper tantrums. He is easily manipulated and I need him to stop thinking with his with his little head because there is a common denominator as to why his marriages ended badly with his last wife and Sunny. Don't get me wrong he is evil as all get out, but a great deal of his evil deeds are driven from one person in particular.
This brings me to Min YuRa the manipulative and conniving. . . well there is no better word for this but, bitch. I mean the woman just needs her comeuppance already. She has caused so much harm and problems to everyones life that is around her. I seriously just want to jump into the stupid TV and pull her hair like Sunny did (She deserved a whole lot more than a hair grab, but I'll take it.). Hopefully now that my cub has turned into a lioness she'll give the wicked witch Min YuRa a nice smack down.
The directing is good, although the editing is a little choppy. The scenes don't run quite as smooth as they could. I know it is probably done for a purpose but it looks weird in my opinion. The show is engaging but it is going to frustrate you to no end. As you can tell it is frustrating me. Anyway, that is my take on this series. Let me know what you guys think in the comments below. The series is available on Viki.com and Kocowa.com both are free sites but you'll have to wait couple weeks before the new episodes are available to you. I find that Kocowa is a little faster with uploading english subtitles than Viki, but both are good sites. Goodbye and until next time, dear reader.
Update: Hello, dear reader! Now that the series is close to an end I would like to update my review. I think the best way to describe my feelings for The Last Empress would be annoying but captivating. You can almost divide this show into two different parts, somewhat like a season. The second half of this has taken an interesting (not really in a good way) and almost a complete 180 in change. Some of the characters remain on the same path as the first half, but the biggest difference is in the emperor. Honestly, I don't agree with this new identity of the emperor and I wouldn't call it development. It seems as if one writer wrote the first half and another wrote the second half completely disregarding what happened before. This reminds me of Smallville after it's original writers left and new writers came in. It was almost a completely different show and it deviated from where the original writers were going. Then ultimately finding its way to the original end. Hopefully the writer goes back to her original synopsis and stops whatever she is trying to do with the new development in the emperor. I don't mind a walk through the desert, but don't try and trick me and redeem a devil to a pawn. Anyway, that is my opinion. Please comment below and tell me what you think!
I couldn't agree with you more. I keep saying, "this is it. I'm done." Yet I keep coming back. I don't understand what this pull is. I do have to say that it has gotten so much better than how it began.
I have a love hate relationship with the Last Empress. After the end of each weeks’ episodes I say to myself “that is it - no more”, then I find myself watching it the following week. I’m not even sure how it is going to sustain itself for the number of episodes listed!
Jang Na Ra as Sunny is starting to shine now, thank goodness. It was almost a waste of her talents initially. Wang Shik is good - both versions. As for the Emperor and Yu Ra, yes let them meet the white truck of death together already. I really like the young princess and strangely enough her princess mother. As for the real mother - it is a…