In the opening week of Captivating The King, Grand Prince Jinhan hopes his cherished kingdom will be liberated from foreign domination. Still, he has to tackle political struggles in Joseon.
He also meets an interesting baduk player who is disguised as a man to earn money that she can use to pay for the ransom of the tributes from Joseon.
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Opening Week Rating:
Captivating The King Opening Week Story
Things were not looking good in the kingdom of Joseon as the Qing Empire silenced its attempt to defeat the emerging great empire. Joseon continues to send tributes and the Qing emperor also demands the throne successor, Grand Prince Jinhan to be held hostage in Shenyang, the capital of Qing Empire.
Yi Sun, the Joseon King and Grand Prince Jinhan’s brother agonizingly let go of his dear brother and blames himself for being a useless king.
Fortunately, Grand Prince Jinhan’s prowess in baduk came in handy as he became Prince Rui, Qing Emperor’s favorite son’s playmate. His close relationship made life easier for him and helped ease Qing empire’s restrictions in Joseon.
Finally, he was able to return to Joseon. But what awaits him is a cold brother who has become wary of his younger brother’s capabilities. Grand Prince Jinhan is also labeled to be Prince Rui’s spy.
With his situation, he was advised by his mentor Left State Minister Kang to lie low. The minister also receives an alliance offer in exchange for a marriage for his daughter.
“I love to win. But I can’t stand boredom.”
In one of Grand Prince Jinhan’s laying low activities, he stumbles on a group of people watching a game of baduk. Disguising as a man, Kang Hee-soo (Shin Se Kyung) is the daughter of Chief State Councilor Kang. She plays baduk to earn money to help Joseon’s poor and suffering people.
Rescued by Grand Prince Jin-han, the two develop a connection. Hee-soo was also granted a wish by the grand prince after winning a baduk game. She asked to be called Mong-woo since she cannot reveal her real identity. They also promised to meet for another match when there’s another drizzle.
As the political divide heightens and so does King Yi Sun’s health condition. Grand Prince Jinhan was asked to meet some ministers who wanted to commit their support to him as the king. Previously vouching his support for his brother, Jin-han dismissed their proposal right away.
Meanwhile, Kim Myung Ha (Lee Sin Young) harbors admiration for Hee-soo and is being pushed by one of the factions as a groom to Chief State Councilor Kang. When he tags along with his friend who has been searching for the famous baduk player, he sees Hee-soo in disguise.
Hee-soo obliges to a new baduk challenger, but when a drizzle suddenly drops, she forfeits the game to go to the gisaeng house. Feeling dejected not seeing Grand Prince Jin-han, her mood gets better when she sees him approaching.
Both promising not to go easy on each other, they agree to sit down for another round of baduk. But Myung-ha appears and hints at knowing Hee-soo who appears worried that her identity will be revealed.
Captivating The King Opening Week Musings
Without a doubt, we can expect immersive portrayals in the main leads of this new historical series. But so far, prepare a lot of patience as the pace of the narrative can be quite languid.
Introducing the key characters and conflict to be tackled, the series hopefully is just on a slow start but will pick up the intensity along the way. After all, viewers already got a sampler of the discord happening between the political factions amid the kingdom’s concern with the Qing empire.
Honestly, there’s really nothing match that happened in the opening week. But we can foresee romance blossoming between the lead pair while playing baduk. Along with that, anticipate a love triangle that could resort to betrayal and heartbreak.
Can Grand Prince Jinhan defy his fate and protect the kingdom he cherishes in Captivating The King? The series is streaming on Netflix every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix!
Photos: tvN Drama
