The Last Empress

Synopsis:

The story happens in a constitutional monarchy form of government in South Korea where the figure head is an Emperor and the leader is a Prime Minister in the modern times. Oh Sunny is jovial lady whose dream is to be a singer and entertainer. Her father owns a small chicken restaurant and her sister works in the Imperial Mall. Life for her is difficult because her father is a gambler, so, she tries her very best to cover her father’s debt. As fate have it, she became a useful alibi to cover up murder that turned out of her becoming the wife of Emperor Lee Hyuk. She was so ecstatic of the fortune that befall her as she’s been a fan of the Emperor for a long time. She didn’t question the luck she was given until it was too late to realize that she’s just a pawn on a cruel game for power and greed in the palace.

Characters:

Jang Na Ra as Oh Sunny
Choi Jin Hyuk as Na Wang Shik | Chun Woo Bin
Tae Hang Ho as Na Wang Shik
Shin Sung Rok as Lee Hyuk
Lee Elliya as Min Yoo Ra
Shin Eun Kyung as Empress Dowager Kang
Oh Seung Yoon as Lee Yoon | Vincent Lee
Yoon So Yi as Seo Kang Hee
Oh Ah Rin as Ah Ri
Park Won Sook as Grand Empress Dowager Jo
Lee Hee Jin as Princess So Jin
Shin Go Eun as Empress So Hyun | Byun Hyun Jin
Yoon Da Hoon as Oh Geum Mo
Stephanie Lee as Oh Hello
Kim Myung Soo as Byun Baek Ho
Yoon Joo Man as Ma Pil Joo
Hwang Young Hee as Baek Do Hee
Oh Han Kyul as Na Dong Shik
Kim Yoon Ji as Hyun Joo
Lee Soo Ryun as Team Leader Choi
Park Chan Min as News Anchor
Yoon Jong Hoon as Terrorist
Go Se Won as the Prime Minister
Park Gyu Ri as suicidal woman
Song Jae Hee as Father of Lee Hyuk and Lee
Jo Dong Hyuk as Detective

My Review:

I don’t generally like Jang Na Ra as an actress because most of the k-dramas I watched with her in it as the lead I find her acting too cutesy or pretentious. However, most of the stories of her k-dramas have good stories to tell, thus, I still get entertained watching them. I was planning to skip “The Last Empress” but I keep reading in comments on blogs that the story is great and it is even rating so high in South Korea. I don’t believe much on the latter but I got curious if the feedbacks are really true. I’m glad I checked it out because not only that Jang Na Ra here is good and finally acting the way she should be in portraying her character but the story started really well for me to let it pass. I was captured from the very first episode and as it progresses up to more than half of its total series.

So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?

(1) I’m finally glad that Jang Na Ra is showing her talent as an actress. She has portrayed her character really well without feeling any pretence of being “goody two shoes”. She has spunk and finally getting matured in the manner she handles her character.

(2) Lee Elliya as Min Yoo Ra and Shin Sung Rok as Lee Hyuk show more than a 2 dimensional villain. The story provided them a back story that gave a glimpse of who they are and the reason why they became the way they are.

(3) I find the story exceptional and how it was told in the beginning till more than midway. Every episode is exciting to watch and I can’t wait for the next episode how it will unfold. I did look forward on how it will end before it got disappointing.

(4) Choi Jin Hyuk as Na Wang Shik or Chun Woo Bin gave exceptional portrayal of his character. However, the writing towards the end didn’t give justice to his role as the leading man.

(5) I like that Shin Eun Kyung as Empress Dowager Kang remain true to her colours until the end. Her character didn’t change to appease the audience. She didn’t become regretful for all the evil things she had done. She remained a sociopath till the end which is good because it gave a realistic view of people like that who really do not feel any remorse for their crimes.

What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?

“The Last Empress” started strong and the story moved in a very interesting and exciting pace, unfortunately, similar to “Where Stars Land”, the story in the last few episodes instead of exploding like a bomb in thrill became a dud. It was kinda disappointing because I have such high hopes with this k-drama but in the end like the last k-dramas with big named actors, it also failed to rise above my expectations.

(1) According to the news, this k-drama was unnecessarily extended several times that in the end Choi Jin Hyuk as Na Wang Shik or Chun Woo Bin wasn’t able to appear in the last 4 episodes due to conflict of his schedule. Just like “Where Stars Land”, where the leading man is not seen on the ending even if the production made it plausible on the screen, this totally damaged the story along with the viewing pleasure of the audience. Na Wang Shik is such an integral character that the manner he was send off from the story became just a bleep that his character’s entire journey became such a waste especially when the production could have actually provided a better send off while Choi Jin Hyuk was still available to film even if his character’s fate remains the same.

(2) Shin Sung Rok as Lee Hyuk has done justice to his character, however, due to probably changes done on the script that arose from extending the length of the k-drama, his character became weird on the later parts. His character’s abrupt 360 degrees change of feeling towards Oh Sunny, his awkward childishness and the sudden birth of a conscience didn’t hold true to who he truly is. Although, it was slightly salvaged by his back story giving a certain credence to his change of heart, the twist still didn’t hold too much water on my end.

(3) The methods used on the attempt to murder certain characters don’t reflect the realistic outcome. Some are still able to live and more so, quickly recovers with not much serious or permanent injury.

Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes, it is still entertaining majority of its episodes

My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 3/5 Stars

OST:

01. What Would It Be – Jang Duk Chul
02. Not Over – Gaho
03. If I Convey My Heart – Kei
04. Deep Voice – Park Ji-Min
05. For Only One Day – Seo Ji-An
06. Open Ending – Giryeon

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