There was a lot of buzz surrounding The Remarried Empress from the get-go. Based on the popular webtoon of the same name and featuring a star-studded cast who are lead stars in their own right, and the whole Western palace setting in a K-drama, it just looked like one of those projects with expectations so big that you wonder whether it can actually live up to the hype or end up being painfully cheesy. But just a couple of episodes in, it’s surprisingly addictive.
It’s a reminder of why dramas about cheating and infidelity can become such hits. We go through the familiar motions, beginning with the introduction of Queen Navier and King Sovieshu, played by Shin Min-ah and Ju Ji-hoon, respectively. The two have known each other their entire lives, but things take a turn when the king rescues a runaway slave named Rashta, played by Lee Se-young, and makes her his mistress. Witnessing the marriage crumble is already engaging and everyone’s no doubt waiting to see Navier get on with the divorce and dish out some comeuppance. Place all that into a fictional Eastern Empire, complete with lavish settings and a touch of fantasy, we’ve got ourselves quite a royal feast.
With a cast largely in their 30s and 40s, Shin Min-ah makes the perfect Navier, looking like an absolute goddess in her gowns. As for Ju Ji-hoon, whose career began 20 years ago as the prince in Princess Hours and who was literally the doctor you’d swoon over in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, he’s coming across as real sleazy here, perhaps owing to his role as a cheating scumbag. Lee Se-young, who has played heroines in many of her dramas, certainly shows us a different side as the gorgeous yet hateful villain. As for Lee Jong-suk, the first full glimpse we get of Prince Heinrey is him emerging from the water topless at the start of episode 3, and it’s certainly a grand entrance with netizens saying that the 37-year-old actor has returned to his peak visuals.
