Definitely a YES! for me at the moment!

What’s the show about? Basically, Crown Prince, Yul, suffers from amnesia after a planned assasination, and gets rescued by a clueless father who ropes him into marrying his adopted daughter, Hong Shim, so that Hong Shim wouldn’t be forced to be the 5th concubine of a nobleman. Yul and Hong Shim actually had a crush on each other when they were really young (or was it just on Crown Prince’s part?) but Yul’s father killed Hong Shim’s father in order to become king; Hong Shim and her brother are supposed to be dead but escaped and Yul spent his life looking for Hong Shim, hoping that she’s alive. Only when he found her, he doesn’t even remember his own identity, let alone who she is.

[Lots of spoilers ahead, but it probably wouldn’t matter in the long run since everything here is only up till Episode 6.] 

I’m really liking the show for a few reasons. I think TvN knows this is the kind of formula viewers dig which is kinda why I feel like innocent love! second lead! mystery! plot! save the prince! is thrown at me a little too intentionally and purposefully. Nonetheless, I’m grateful that the execution has turned out well, and yes, TvN just continue whatever you are doing.

In essence, the first six episodes thus far have been pretty decent. I have gripes with the characterisation and thus, perhaps, the plot, but everything else, including pacing and story-telling is up to mark.

Let me get my least favourite bit out of the way first – I definitely do not like how Won Deuk/Yul was portrayed in the first 4 episodes. I get it that he’s unused to village life, but I just felt so incredibly uncomfortable (ha ha) watching him get away with a 30 yang debt that he didn’t seem to regret. It’s that sense of unremorse which annoyed me and I knew I needed just one potent scene where Hong Shim really laid into him. Instead, all that we were given was repeated scenes of Hong Shim kinda nagging, kinda looking disappointed and Won Deuk just staring back with his big eyes. I’m so glad that these scenes are however, just to set stage for Won Deuk’s current and impending development, because Won Deuk is so adorable in the last two episodes. I guess the old Won Deuk has to be pretty infruriating for the new Won Deuk to appear even sweeter to Hong Shim and us. I get it, but ugh, I just wished it wasn’t as irritating. (It kind of reminded me of how annoyed we all were with Kang So Bong in the first 4 episodes of Are You Human Too, but ended really loving her.)

Other than that though, I quite like everything else. Plot-wise, I appreciate the little thoughts they planted here and there to try and make a coherent narrative. When Won Deuk started reading to the villages, the plot thereafter addressed a possible ‘plot-hole’ by telling us that when Won Deuk signed the contract, there was no words on it. He was basically duped into giving his handprint on a blank piece of paper. This makes so much sense, because Yul can read, so there’s no way he would have been that stupid to sign a piece of paper that spelled out a debt of 30 yang. (I know he said he was told to give a handprint right at the start, but the fact that it was a piece of blank paper wasn’t highlighted until Episode 6.)

I also liked it that the brother and sister recognised each other on the get-go. When they walked past each other the first time, my brain immediately went, Oh no, they aren’t going to meet till Episode 10. It was thus a pleasant surprise to see the script throwing that cliche out of the window 2 minutes later. That being said though, I guess the brother might not realise that Hong Shim married his ‘mortal enemy’ until Episode 10?

Also loving Kim Jae Young as Moo Yeon – the screen oozes a little more hotness when he steps into the frame.

Love-wise, I’m digging the main couple after Won Deuk wised up and became so adorable, what with him plucking dog-scented flowers, proudly reading to the villagers, protecting Hong Shim, “Your smile is making me feel extremely uncomfortable” and just being a good man in general.

Seeing how Won Deuk immediately rides the horse to save Hong Shim also brings all sorts of fangirling feels. I think both actors are perfectly casted for their role, although I feel like Nam Ji Hyun hasn’t really had a chance to perform yet, so I’m hoping there will be good scenes for her in the future.

The second male lead, Jung Je Yoon, is also an extremely strong contender. I adore the lantern scene where Je Yoon so earnestly told Hong Shim that he wrote her wish in huge letters while he wrote his in tiny words in the leftover space. I even replayed it twice! I just hope that Je Yoon wouldn’t have his heart broken too badly, or die. Also, since he is so smart, I would be happy to watch him be Yul’s aid towards getting rid of the Vice Premier. I’m also SO glad that the second female lead isn’t also going to be tied into a love triangle, and is instead one of the villians.

Speaking of villains, I like it that there are actually three camps (or more) – the Queen and her son, the Vice Premier and the Crown Princess, and Yul. It makes everything more interesting – this is one of the few times I’ve seen a Queen happy over a Crown Prince’s death but fears at the same time for her own safety.

Anyway, who do you guys hypothesise to be the Crown Princess’s baby’s father? Many think it’s Hong Shim’s brother’s…but I’m not so sure. I guess that would deliver maximum impact, but doesn’t really make sense to me in the long run. The Crown Princess doesn’t look like she remotely even thought about abortion, so if the Crown Prince dies, she will be majorly screwed once the baby bump grows noticeable. Therefore, it seems to me at the moment more likely that the baby could be Prince Seowon’s, since he is the next in line after Yul. In that way, the Crown Princess ensures that her baby would be the next Crown Prince, no matter who is on the throne. I’m okay if it turns out to be the brother’s, but the lack of planning there, if unaddressed, will be quite unsatisfactory. There’s no way Seowon would consummate the marriage not realising that the Crown Princess is already pregnant.

This is definitely a keeper for me, can’t wait to see more! (Also this is duh, but I suppose Yul will only get his memory back after 100 days…..? Or that he will resume to being a Crown Prince in 100 days….?)

<3thoughtsramble

You can watch 100 Days My Prince here on Viki!