Red Sleeve (2021–2022) User Reviews

This is the way to write a Sageuk

[sareed1971 · 9/10 · 4 December 2021]

This historical drama ranks up there with the best. Although we're only halfway through the series, the quality of the writing, the production value and the amazing performances all point to continued success.

Casting is key. It can lift a sluggish story and it can elevate average writing. Lee Jun-ho as the Crown Prince and Lee See-Young as the court lady he loves and cherishes lead an exceptional group of seasoned actors and bright newish faces. Hong Deok-Ro played by Kang Hoon and Oh Dae-Hwan playing Kang Tae-Ho are perfectly cast as the Crown Prince's cold and calculating advisor and Head Guardsman respectively. Many familiar faces round out the superlative cast.

The physical attraction and sexual tension the Crown Prince and his Court Lady experience is written to perfection. She resists becoming his concubine because exercising her free will and thoughts (as freely as you could being a member of the court), is her fervent desire. Initially she rebuffs the Crown Prince explaining in no uncertain terms her feelings on the matter. As a Prince who is both demanding and somewhat arrogant this causes him to swiftly remind her that her future and her life, for that matter, rest solely in his hands. In many author's hands this relationship could come across blandly as is the rule in most kdramas. Here the writers walk a fine line conveying to the audience the reality of the times and the reality of the love blooming between the two leads. It is executed to perfection by Lee and Lee.

We can only hope the excellence of the production continues. I have every reason to believe it will and eagerly await the remaining 8 episodes.

This is a must-see for fans of quality Korean productions.

Beautiful Historic Drama Based on Actual Fact

[Geeta352 · 10/10 · 4 January 2022]

I love, love, love this drama. I rate it up there with Goblin and Eternal Love. It is a masterpiece and the cast is one of the best I've seen in a very long time. Everything about it is on point. The two talented leads set the pace and the supporting cast made it all credible. The storyline was accurate, the cinematography great, the writing is to be commended, the direction and production were good too.

It is an emotional story so you may find yourself in tears at some juncture, and laughing at other times. The ending is almost sacred. I found myself crying uncontrollably at the finale. All in all, Red Sleeves is everything you could possibly hope for in a well-written, acted and produced drama. Kudos to all. Please watch this drama. It's really worth it!

Highly recommended!

[lexafalcon · 10/10 · 28 November 2021]

Highly recommended historical drama! The plot is very interesting and unique from the past historical dramas I've watched, the chemistry of junho and Lee se young gets stronger in each episodes. I enjoyed watching and waiting for more romantic moments of the two. Hoping they will have a happy ending jebal!

Every episode makes me impatient to see the next...

[loeikat · 10/10 · 4 December 2021]

Since the end of "Grand Prince", I was missing those Korean historical dramas, in which emotions are on point, stories well written, and actors super good. There, you have something worth watching now...

A Definite Must See Korean Historical Drama!

[Audr3y · 10/10 · 28 November 2021]

2021 is the comeback year for actor Lee JunHo of 2PM who through this performance as Crown Prince Yi San proves Kpop singers are great actors too. His pain and love for his red-sleeved court lady Seong Deok Im played by beautiful talented actress Lee SeYoung shows his vulnerability and perserverance to become one of the best rulers of the Joseon Dynasty. I recommend this drama because the writing, acting, costuming and cinematography are as wonderful as a feature film!

Underrated masterpiece

[mgbnppi · 9/10 · 2 January 2022]

This drama deserves as much ratings as Scarlet Heart Ryeo . The acting and chemistry is amazing and each episode keeps you anticipating.

Love how they focused on the patriarchal society that existed in the time rather than focusing solely on the romance aspect. The characters are so well written that you find yourself sympathizing with some of the villains too.

Historical drama done right!!

[khaziansk · 10/10 · 29 November 2021]

This drama has everything a proper sageuk needs;

1. Acting skills & strong chemistry between Lee SeYoung & Lee JunHo 2. Cinematography 3. Music score & OST 4. Storyline 5. Teamwork.

One of the most captivating drama of 2021

[debjanibhattacharya-57638 · 10/10 · 27 November 2021]

Its very captivating.. Both male and female leads have strong characters... I skip historical dramas because of lengthy politics but this one is truely a gem.. Hope they will have a happy ending 💖

Solid Historical K-Drama

[tinkkytone · 10/10 · 29 November 2021]

I am absolutely loving the first six episodes. The chemistry between the main leads is potent, and there is a nice blend of humor and palace politics. I believe this is based on a true story, but I don't really care how accurate it is to history. I just love the story. The costumes beautiful and cinematography is quite lovely. Definitely recommend.

Expected something better

[Mr_Avenger · 6/10 · 12 March 2022]

Reading all these positive reviews I was really expected something amazing. However it was mediocre for me. The whole story starts good but the progress goes slow with no reason. After the episode 10, I started feeling bored. Even if the main couple has a good chemistry , as the story goes by, I feeled something like deja vu in their dialogues and that was totally annoying. There were also some things that were so ridiculous , like for example the tatoo story.

There were , however, some funny and good moments too. The performance of every actor/actress were great. Moreover, the drama has some nice moral messages about friendship.

My heart breaks for two people that lived 300 years ago

[kinogems · 9/10 · 10 January 2022]

I have never cried so much over a drama,the fact that they were real people elevated the pain even more. There are so many interpretations about what was the purpose of this drama. I think it is actually about feminism. Duk Im was well aware of what it meant to be his. She valued her freedom and liberty greatly and even though she loved him,she always knew she would lose a piece of herself when she became his concubine. It is bittersweet from her perspective and always has been. While their love story is beautiful and heart aching in itself, for Duk Im loving him meant losing her freedom. So I don't understand when someone tries to say she didn't love him when infact her dying words were enough affirmation of how much she loved him and gave up for him. This drama portrayed her and all the supporting female characters so well. They were all imprisoned by something, and Duk Im's resistance and resilience is an aptitude of her strength and how women deserve to be loved and cherished by they are also their own beings.

Even San is imprisoned by his role,to be the king and was helpless because no matter what, their power imbalance would always be a hurdle. He Loved her so much but they would never truly be one until they didn't have their roles ,as Duk Im said. So the idea of them living happily eternally in the afterlife is beautiful.

I only took one star away because whoever said episode 17 is a "treat to the viewer" was obviously lying. It made me cry even more and was painfully heartbreaking even though it did provide necessary closure.

All in all, this is the best drama I have ever watched and it will be hard for Junho,Seyoung and future dramas to live up to this excellence.

Cringe as fu**

[naioofy-44963 · 7/10 · 24 January 2022]

Good drama good actors but the cringe scenes and the overreacting in everything ruined it.

I like Lee Se-young and Lee Jun-ho and so many actors that I like them in the drama they did really good thank you.

Every episode is the same. 17 hours of nothing

[Toncholina · 4/10 · 22 September 2023]

Where did all the 10 rating come from. Did we watch the same drama? Why are you hyping it?

I've seen many great historical kdramas and I must say,this one is not one of them by far.

I really wanted to like it because I enjoy stories that are based on real events. Even if not the whole true,after all,it is a TV show.

What is more to say when you're watching and you start to wonder if your screen is frozen. That's how excessively slow it is.

And not to mention how they obviously had no idea what to make of the show but they were determined to drag it into 17 episodes long nothingness..

Almost every episode is about nothing. They had nothing important and interesting going on the whole time. Imagine that you watch 1 hour and 10 minutes but nothing happens. And than next episode exactly the same. And the next one.

Comedy is non-existant. Romance is dull and uncovincing.

Great historical drama

[poepoek-18641 · 10/10 · 29 November 2021]

I started to watch this drama just out of curiosity because it's very famous currently but eventually, I fell in love with this drama because of beautiful cinematography and strong chemistry between the leads. Nice drama.

Emotionally truthful historical drama

[mjkarlin · 9/10 · 3 January 2022]

Playing on Viki, this is a superior Sageuk (Korean historical) drama. I already gave my thoughts about this show in my review of the much inferior The King's Affection (Netflix) but here they are in slightly expanded form.

The basic premise of The Red Sleeve is that Crown Prince Yi San, played by Lee Joon-ho, comes to know a palace maid (one of 700, we are told), Sung Deok-im, played by Lee Se-young, with whom he falls in love. The Crown Prince is the grandson of a domineering elderly King Yeongjo of Joseon, superbly played by Lee Deok-hwa, who is beginning to suffer from dementia. The King had caused the Crown Prince's homicidal father, who had gone mad, to be cruelly executed by being locked in a box for eight days (this is actually a matter of historical record). Nevertheless, the King and the Crown Prince remain close and when the King dies, the Crown Prince succeeds him.

Despite repeated entreaties, Deok-im rejects Yi San both as the Crown Prince and later when he becomes King. She has already experienced the confinement of being a palace lady and she does not wish for the even more confining life of a royal concubine, always at the King's beck and call, and knowing that a King, especially this King, will always put his duties as monarch first, even to the point of being unwilling to give to Deok-im's closest friend among the palace maids a reprieve from being executed for the crime of having a lover. (Adultery was a crime in South Korea, punishable by two years of imprisonment, until its Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 2015.) Her rejection comes despite having feelings for Yi San, feelings she repeatedly denies to him and occasionally to herself. In one exchange, as he is saying "You will always be mine", she is heard thinking "But you will never be mine." She maintains these thoughts with enormous and largely justifiable fortitude.

Yi San is also admirably portrayed by Lee Joon-ho and by the writing of his character. As much as he loves Deok-im, he is never truly able to put her first, imprisoned by his sense of duty to his family and his obligations to his entire people. The scene where their three-year old son having just died of smallpox, the King reminds Deok-im that he is father to the whole nation is just heart rending, all the more so because of its being faithful to his character.

The two go through many adventures and intrigues before they finally unite for what turns out to be a tragically brief period (again, this is a matter of historical record). The new King eventually becomes known as King Jeongjeo the Great - it is said that Deok-im, later known as Royal Consort Uibin Seong, was the only one of his wives he ever truly loved.

Compared with The King's Affection, this story is in every possible way better told, better written (by Jung Hae-ri), more emotionally truthful, more genuinely exciting in its realization. Although there are a couple of sword fights (far fewer than in The King's Affection), they are never central to the story. Lee Se-young admirably portrays the physical and moral courage of her character and the chemistry between her and Lee Joon-ho smolders like a barely suppressed fire. The love affair takes a long time to resolve but does so with minimal unneeded repetition. In the meantime, the devious maneuverings, particularly by Yi San's Machiavellian best friend Hong Deok-ro (Kang Hoon), the conspiracies, and the outright treacheries of other palace denizens that take place both upstairs and downstairs, so to speak, keep the pot boiling nicely. The ending, sad as it is, feels uplifting. The plot doesn't drag and the 17 episodes never feel stretched.

Just go for it

[tirthajadhav · 10/10 · 2 December 2021]

Don't hesitate,just gooo forr it you gonna love this drama,the chemistry between actor n actress is amazing and the plot is also very different it will make you to binge watch this drama,i really don't like historical drama but this one deserves a solid 10.

Highly recommended

[ghizlanhamli-52695 · 10/10 · 3 December 2021]

I'm totally addicted to this drama , everything is great . Junho is a great actor since the first time I saw him when he first started he's great and he portrayed his character very well in this drama , Lee Se-young i watched her multiple times and I love her sarcastic and funny persona is this drama she's great as well .

Their chemistry, the cast is perfect I could not have asked for a better drama .

Highly recommended for people who are looking for a drama that reminds them why they started to watch kdrama in the first place .

One of the best I have ever seen 10/10

[knjigtiptop · 10/10 · 5 December 2021]

This drama is amazing. Actors did the great job, chemistry between them is astonishing, storyline is great, this is one of the rare dramas that keeps me yearning for more. I cant wait for the next episode.

I am so into this like never before.

Another 10+ Kdramas! Don't miss it!

[vicknair-66656 · 10/10 · 2 January 2022]

Okay, since the Covid lockdown I've become addicted to Kdramas (they're SO well done!), especially the historical dramas. Korea has such a long and colourful history to draw from. From Mr. Sunshine (my first) to The Red Sleeve (just finished) there has been drama after drama of superb quality. The Red Sleeve goes in there at the top of the list with Mr. Sunshine and Chicago Typewriter as one of the best! Everything about The Red Sleeve is so well done - the script, sets, music and of course, the actors. Don't miss it!

Groaning ever louder I persisted to the end - 17 hours

[laogui-04449 · 6/10 · 3 May 2023]

Dreadfully slow and laboured. Over 17 hours of closeups of eyes nose lips perfect skin, flashing to guess what? Eyes nose mouth and perfect skin, from male to female, female to male. I cannot guess what percentage of camerawork focussed on closeup faces of the two lead characters, and earlier on the malevolent princess with the calculating hostile eyes (I'm sure I have seen her in an identical role earlier, also with hostile gleaming eyes). It took 14 hours for the first kiss, how did I endure so long?

Now it does have redeeming features, the sets and costumes and portrayal of cultural situation, a dominant theme of lowly court maids, of slaves and disdain for life by the privileged. Camerawork and production also of high quality, as was the acting, but surely it could have been done in at most 8 hours.

Music must have paid bonuses to the string section of the orchestra, violins aplenty, and cellos for the serious and ominous stuff.

Two episodes were missing English subtitles in the version I watched, by the way, 11 and 12 I think, but I waded through with some Portuguese, and it resumed with English in 13.

Some events remained unresolved, unexplained - the imprisonment of the maids for example, but there were others.

One particular scene made me particularly agitated and impatient, it just dragged on and on and on. The questioning of Hong and his pardoning for what was unquestionably a crime meriting severance of the head. Feeble.

I resent him.

[elsamirre · 9/10 · 26 September 2022]

Looks like everything good has already been said about this drama. It's very well crafted, the story is beautiful and enticing, it's fun (but it will break your heart several times), you can choose whatever ending you like.

What a coincidence, I was in the middle of Rain Or Shine when I suddenly decided to watch this and kept thinking ( Wow, the male leads look SO MUCH alike XD). Lee Jun-Ho. His performance here is way better though.

Lee Se-Yong is not my favourite actress when it comes to visuals. I still grew fond of her. I ended up thinking she was really pretty. This says plenty about how good her performance was.

I have to complain about just one thing. The hugs and kisses. They were dull. I could tell there was a camera. Where is the passion? I know this can be explained by the fact that the maid was afraid of giving her heart, and the king thought he was the only one in love. Still.

I wrote that I resented the king. I did resent him through the last episodes and I watched the last one with clenched teeth. Fear not, no spoiler. Someone wrote that they wanted Duk ImHa to say that she loved the king. How else could she say it? After saving his life countless times? After giving him everything, her life, herself, more than herself. She kept giving, and he (who loudly and repeatedly said that he loved her) kept taking, sometimes by force, without ever, EVER sacrificing anything. How many times did he look down on her? On her friends? He meant to free slaves, but to very end, he considered court ladies lowly creatures. How many times did he make DIH cry when a single word or gesture would have meant plenty? Just because he was the king. Even when nobody was around, he was arrogant, full of himself, obnoxious, enraged maybe, frustrated that he couldn't afford a maid's heart... His guard advised him to show his weaknesses, but he was too proud to do so. He didn't deserve to hear that she loved him. He didn't even deserve to be loved by her. She was right to never completely surrender. He would have walked all over her. As I see it, he actually did. The romantic (sad? Happy?) ending does not change that.

Having said that, it does take a well-made drama to make you hate a character this much... Got me there.

The Red Death

[Park_Min · 3/10 · 23 December 2023]

Some soundtracks were brilliant and went hard while other ones were pure rehashed garbage picked up from your local free-licensed store. However, the drama itself suffered from being painfully long-winded, with excessive and unnecessary long shots that reflected negatively on the cinematography. Especially when the chemistry was average at best. Plot-wise, it fell into the trap of being extremely formulaic, treading familiar ground seen in many dramas with the girl/prince trope. It didn't dare to try anything new or to spin its own twist. The male lead made the whole experience significantly uncomfortable and challenging, his personality didn't exude any attractive qualities in the slightest; in fact, I found his behavior to be quite repulsive, appalling and off-putting, catered exclusively to the fan-fic obsessed mindset, which may explains its ratings.

Could have been perfect.

[dkbgfcwt · 9/10 · 10 July 2023]

Lee Junho's performance was exceptional. He just keeps getting better with each role. However, the FL's role, whether by design or not, was inconsistent and left unanswered questions as to her motivations. The first half of the series, she was an interesting character, one you could understand being attractive to the ML, but later when her attitude changes, and she grow cold and unapproachable, the reason given just doesn't seem enough. His love sours and turns into obsession and he struggles with his choices. But she doesn't and that seems unrealistic. That said, I have rewatched this and will do so again I'm sure. But that's because of Junho's stellar performance.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 9/10 · 18 January 2022]

Korean Historical Drama "The Red Sleeve" is a drama that chronographs the stories two dominant characters.

First of all, the story doesn't overdo it with the romance. It doesn't add any unnecessary love triangle, doesn't alter the historical aspect of the drama to feat the romance's needs, it doesn't get boring or has cheesy tropes. It is a sensitive, subtle, often chaotic, love story that helps to have the two characters move forward and prompts their actions when it is needed.

That is evident by Deok Im's (the female lead) way of thinking. She is an independent woman who loves her freedom and fears that the prince's love will alter her life and her own self as well. She is afraid to lose who she is, and, as she puts it "The prince's life is precious, but my life more precious (to me)". All these, along with her aloof personality, strong energy, reckless behavior, fearless actions, and clever thinking, set her apart from the rest of the silly female characters that lose their own footing when they fell in love with the male lead.

The rest of the characters were delightful as well. Strong and often tragic, they were all great elements to a masterfully created puzzle. The performances were all great as well, and all the actors and actresses had interesting dynamics that worked to the drama's advantage.

As for the cinematography, it was brilliant and feated the drama perfectly. The first part was lighter, with brighter color and many funny scenes. The second part, on the other hand, was darker, with dimmer lights, murkier color palettes and more dramatic events that focused more on the political aspect of the story. The final part, however, was the weaker. It was hasty and didn't present the story as smoothly as it should, though the ending was fitting the mood of the drama.

So, overall, 9 out of 10.

Think twice, life is not guaranteed

[onelovek · 10/10 · 6 January 2022]

One of the best endings to a perfect TV show. This show was perfect. True friendship, true love, and loyalty. This will make you think twice of the times we take for granted and mistakes we have made. Think twice as life is not guaranteed. Cherish the ones we love. Enjoy this great show.