The Tale of Nokdu

Absolutely fabulous costume K-drama! By far, the BEST this year 2019! Amazing narrative, wonderful cast and intriguing CG cinematic world building: really beautiful! Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun were fantastic in their performance together! Bravo! There just aren't enough adjectives to describe how delightfully entertaining this series was. Definitely, A MUST SEE! Brilliant!

I am usually on the fence when it comes to Sageuk or Historical Korean Dramas - they tend to either be very well done or they come off as cheap looking and over-dramatic. Thankfully, this show is the former.

Stunning cinematography, an interesting premise, solid writing, and fantastic acting make this an all rounder. The casting director should get a raise for casting Jang Dong-Yoon as Nokdu - the man dressing as a woman bit would never have worked if not for Dong-Yoon's unique look which enabled him to look really beautiful and convincing as a woman but equally as handsome as a man. Chemistry between the leads is great and this show has some really genuine romantic moments that had me swooning. All the characters are really well developed, from the side characters to the villains, making character actions and motivations even more convincing. The soundtrack was wonderful, never overplayed and really gorgeous at times.

Also I just have to say I loved that Nokdu actually had long hair for this role - its a small detail but it made a difference, as the hair buns on other actors are always so fake looking with the short hair in the back.

This show felt similar to "100 Days My Prince" except that this one was SO MUCH BETTER. This show delivered on both romance and a satisfying ending, unlike 100 Days which I am still so mad about!

Definitely give this show a watch, it has great action, romance, and wonderful acting!

What makes this Drama work so sensationally, is the male lead has an elegant and beautiful face, and a way of walking that he could play either a female or male role and in this case both at the same time during a Drama series. The acting in two different gender roles was very well done and hilarious. He pulled off the feminine nuances of a girl and then the Warrior masculinity of a man who is protecting his love, the wonderful Female Lead. Both ML and FL bounced off each other in a very romantic enchanting and funny way, with lots of passionate kisses thrown in.

Not to say that there is not lots of tragedy and politics and palace intrigue to keep you glued to the series. All the supporting actors were wonderful. Gosh I love Asian dramas (Aussie here)

Also special mention the child girl actress -she stole the show and also set up so many funny scenes!.

This drama is super funny right from the start and has an interesting plotline. The cast is superb and the characters are pretty great.

Then why the 7 stars? Well, it seemed like the writers forgot what they were doing by ep 11 and picked up everything on the last episode. I wish the last episodes were executed better because I really loved the cast and the story.

The male lead looks awesome either as a guy or a girl. He acts really good in both characters. I think he will be famous someday. He has a good chemistry with the female lead and they were generous with the kisses. The supporting actors were funny especially the little girl. Although the reason of the king killing his son is absurd, it made sense at the end when it was revealed and I realized that it must have been based on an historical fact about King Nangyeun. Overall I liked it but I wanted more soundtrack that will evoke emotions.