Lee Jun Ki has been a huge jokester on the set of Korean Bu Bu Jing Xin, taking levity when the drama has been mostly intense and bloody. The most recent picture from his SNS shows his Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart: Ryeo 4th Prince character looming with a smile over the bodies of his poor deceased younger brother and sister-in-law. Singers Baekhyun and Z.Hera play 10th Prince and his cute loving wifey, and together they exited stage right in this past week’s episode when they tried to leave the crazy palace behind and got shot up by their crazy 3th brother turned mentally deranged new King. I actually liked their performances in this drama along with their characters, it was the lightness needed in a sea of melodrama, and even if they didn’t quite fit traditional sageuk roles and acting for this particular fusion sageuk.
Aww Koala. You big Lee Jun Ki and BBJX fan. It’s always a delight reading posts about LJK and my current drama cracks. I never feel that Baekhyun is that bad but 10th Prince was quite annoying when he stole so many screentime from LJK. But he did excelled in the death scene and am glad that he exited the drama with such standout performance.
Don’t get how anyone could Baekhyun’s acting was bad, particularly in his death scene. The guy had me tearing up. If anything, he improved my opinion of 10th Prince who I just found annoying in the original.
Also, Lee Jun Ki’s Instagram is a blessing to all MLSHR fans! Only bright spot in this very dark and heartbreaking drama!
I think Baek Hyun did what was asked just fine. The 10th was never supposed to have gravitas and is just fluff in the original too and not particularly well acted there either.
He did do a very nice job with the death scene (with some great coaching from his sunbae according to the BTS video).
And, yes, Lee Joon-gi is such a blessing to his fans. I have watched Kdramas 5 years but was never a total fangirl (fanwoman) until MLSHR and 99.9% of that is due to LJG. His BTS antics, social media presence, and of course his amazing performance make it such a pleasure to follow MLSHR despite its many, many flaws. It really is the ultimate example of a drama that I know is not objectively that good but I enjoy it immensely nevertheless. How good is it? 5.5 How much do I like watching it? 11!
Thanks for so many LJG posts lately, Ockoala! He is my ultimate crush!
BaekHyun didn’t deserve the crap he got early on in this drama. The problem is so many people didn’t see the original C-Drama and don’t realize that the character is an immature goofball in that one as well (or at least in the early days). Oh well, he got a great death scene and did very well in it.
I find this show to be k-drama crack, and I’m not gonna justify in the normal…”I know it is flawed, but I like it” manner. Nope, done with that. I don’t do it on any other dramas I like, and they have their issues as well.
The one thing that has shocked me is how many comments I’m seeing via social media and posted on Dramafever of viewers who had NEVER heard of Lee Joon Gi before SH. I mean I’m only three years in to my k-drama viewing addiction, and I’ve watched just about everything he’s done and that’s without him being a huge bias of mine though those days might be over. HA! His performance as Wang So is probably one of the best in his career imo.
I love everything you just said! You are awesome!
I guess the reason of him not being heard of is because of his acting projects not really appealing to general public and overseas audiences in particular but very challenging for him as an actor. That’s the trait of Lee Jun Ki that I love. His selection of projects is very interesting and he is not one who play safe. TBDAW, Two Weeks, Joseon Gunman are not the kind of genre that is popular and it’s safe to say that MLSHR is his first project which is more towards pleasing the audiences instead of the art itself and that is why he is becoming very popular these days. Romance centric dramas and forming one half of much loved OTP normally command audiences attention and if you view LJK’s profile, he seldom did romance and always portraying a hero struggling over his own agency and course(a struggling father in Two Weeks for example).
But I am glad that he is getting massive attention especially among international audiences these days. He is superb in Scarlet Heart, giving away the best performance I have seen in his career so far. And he is also one of the genuine K-celebs out there, who truly appreciate his fans. When he posted a fanmade video on IG, everyone went wild. You don’t normally see other actors connecting with their fans the way LJK did. He is such a darling as well as a brilliant actor.
With all due respect, the 10th in C-version that I saw was never as childish as this version. He had his goal and he had chosen which side he’d support. Yes, he was naive at times but not Baekhyun’s level of a childish mess completed with awkward acting. I won’t comment on the content of this article other than the fact that this is solely the writers opinion based on the preference the writer has. But his character died well and that is partly because Z. Hera elevated their scenes to more meaningful, she did 80% of the work and added that sweet emotional feel to it for both of them in the later episodes when they were going to die. Baekhyun found a partner he could follow but I would not praise his acting. The kid has to learn a lot if he actually wants acting as a side career.
I’ll just agree to disagree on C-Drama 10th prince though I was specifically speaking of his scenes early in the C-Drama. The part of the death scene I was speaking of was actually with BaekHyun and LJG…the “a gift only you can give me”. Z. Hera was dead in the dirt at that point so can we at least give him a pat on the back for that scene!?
Of course he has a lot to learn… he’s a newbie and not necessarily a natural.
@Alexa I never really thought about it, but you are right in that he doesn’t do the big romances. Two Weeks is probably one of my favorite dramas because they dared to have the absolute bare minimum of romance which I find works well if you want a really fast moving action drama. I think he stated before SH was released he was doing a contemporary next and it sounded like perhaps he was going for a melo which is my least favorite genre…but, heck, I’ll give it a go if he’s in it.
LEE JUN KI. His name alone gets me all swooning. He is such a great sunbae and you can see how his hoobaes adore him in those BTS.
I actually think Baekhyun performed decently as 10th. I was one of the many that annoyed by him, not for his performance but the character itself because in the first half, we got less screentime of LJK. Yes, I have watched the C-version and I know 4th has smaller role in the beginning but LJK was so magnetic that I could not help but demand more of his presence which led me to vent my frustration on 10th for taking away his screentime.
The death scene was so well acted by Baekhyun, that it was so heartbreaking and I could not even believe that I actually cried over 10th’s departure. Z.Hera also did an outstanding job and I am pleased that their performances touched the viewers’ hearts. That’s the testaments of good performances to me.
There’s nothing I can say about LJK other than he is freaking brilliant and super gorgeous. He is without a doubt the main draw for Scarlet Heart. Aside that his character is the magnetic force, it’s his smashing good look and powerful acting that gets us glued. Love him since TBDAW and loving him even much more now.
On a side note, I hope he would be considered for that new drama by Park Hye Ryun. We are all dying to see him in modern drama though I will take him in anything, even if another saeguk.
Oh, wow. For LJG to get the next Park Hae Ryun drama would be magical. My current favorite writer + my all time favorite actor. That said, I don’t think he fits the role. I cannot see him playing an engineer. That might be a bit weird. But maybe he could prove me wrong. I’m sure he would, actually. He is very hot right now, so I’m sure that dramas will be clamoring for him.
Frankly, I’d like to see him do more films too. Maybe some really meaty dark roles.
he did say he was a workaholic so I am hoping we won’t be waiting too long for him to sign a new project. I personally want to see him in a Rom-com maybe with Song hye kyo or another a list mature actress.
wait what ?? but Baekhyun acting was bad.
I couldnt even feel sad for his dying scene… even thought I liked his wife a lot…