Love, Strategy, and Baduk: Unpacking The Magic of "Captivating The King"

It's my first time seeing Jo Jung-suk in an historical drama so you could say I saw this series mainly because of him and it's expected that I wasn't disappointed with his role in this one. I have loved his acting since I first saw him in "Oh My Ghost" where he was a romantic chef.

If I'm being very honest, I particularly love his kiss scenes and the chemistry he has with the female leads. It's almost like he has something deep with them off the camera. I thought it was just me fantasizing in "Oh My Ghost" until he did an even better one in this series I'm about to review.

"Captivating The King" is a 16 episode series released in the year 2024 starring Jo Jung-suk as a king's little brother who turned King through lies, Shin Sae-Kyeong as a noble lady who disguises as a man to enjoy baduk games around the town and Lee Sin-young as her former suitor.

The story tells of Yi In, the king's brother who returns from being a hostage under the Chinese emperor and becomes a threat to the king's throne. Regardless of the attempts to get rid of him, he eventually becomes the king after his brother's death. Having to face the hard reality of being a king, he severs all his past relationships and the most outstanding, is the one he had with a baduk game player, a lovable man he admires.

The story may obviously be based on politics and royalty but above that, it's about love, strategy (for revenge) and the game of baduk. Every part of the story played out perfectly by the cast. I'll say I had more fun watching how each game plays out and the few slow burn romance scenes.

Yi In, before he became king was so sweet and carefree, enjoying his time with a baduk player who he thought was a man that simply talks great about him in the midst of false allegations. Unaware of his true feelings or maybe rejecting the fact that he could be falling for a fellow man, he becomes a king who couldn't love his queen.

It's quite the surprise to watch villains being overpowered and even killed before they actually execute their plans against the protagonist, that aspect of the story gave this series a refreshing touch. And I can't say enough how satisfying it was to watch the king play the last villain until he met his death even in all of his unrepentant acts.

From the baduk game competition for a gidaereong (King's baduk mate) to playing baduk games with the king, Kang Hee-soo who has to hide her true identity while strategizing for a treason against the king, Yi In who she once trusted and fell in love with, both captivates each other in what I call a lovely slow burn romance.

The last scene in episode 8 where Yi In finds out that Kang Hee-soo is actually a lady and realized what he have had for her was real romantic feelings, that scene has become one of the unforgettable for me. It portrayed so much emotion of realization and acceptance as they pulled each other in for the long awaited kiss.