The Matchmakers 혼례대첩 [2023]

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

OST 4 Bora - I'm Afraid Love Will Come Again

 

E12's Pre-release

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

Finally, Jung Woo knows Soon Deuk's identity. I swear, there were times I thought as smart as he is, and if he really wants to know, he could have known already.

 

@gilaswan At least half of this episode, I was wondering who the heck is Park Bok Ki. But I figured it had to be ex-Minister of Defence (the stupid Uncle of Soon Deuk). Haha! I agree it can get confusing, so I refer to AsianWiki for help at times.

 

This romance is so slow burn, hence often I dislike sageuk. From the hot kisses in DWY to this baby BOBO, I really am not used to it. Those who didn't watch DWY would think Rowoon cannot kiss! ☹️

 

Jung Woo and the princess' love story is quite sweet, too. It's a nice little twist in this aspect, which I didn't expect. He sure has a character that makes people easily misunderstood. I guess the truth that he did love/like the princess back make his lonely 8 years even sadder, huh?

 

I'm actually not happy with the story-telling and the progress of their romance, but I cannot complain about the cinematography. There are really some very beautiful scenes in here and camera angles.

source: R_WGIF

 

E13 Pre-release

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[gilaswan]

4 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

@gilaswan At least half of this episode, I was wondering who the heck is Park Bok Ki. But I figured it had to be ex-Minister of Defence (the stupid Uncle of Soon Deuk). Haha! I agree it can get confusing, so I refer to AsianWiki for help at times.

 

This romance is so slow burn, hence often I dislike sageuk. From the hot kisses in DWY to this baby BOBO, I really am not used to it. Those who didn't watch DWY would think Rowoon cannot kiss! ☹️

 

Jung Woo and the princess' love story is quite sweet, too. It's a nice little twist in this aspect, which I didn't expect. He sure has a character that makes people easily misunderstood. I guess the truth that he did love/like the princess back make his lonely 8 years even sadder, huh?

hahaha. Yes. There’s ZERO chemistry to speak of. And the kissing scene. What kiss? Might as well not have any. 

 

And the names. Aiyoh. I cannot figure out who is who. I just know that faction that Soon Deuk’s in laws belong to want to get rid of the current crown prince and will seemingly stop at nothing to do so. But is the ex-Defence Minister her uncle? I thought he was the mother-in-law’s dimwitted brother. (all the men are just so dim, actually). I actually wonder how mum-in-law will play her cards hence, now knowing that her husband killed his own son. 

 

And then the real Lady Yeoju - is she not the oldest son’s actual wife? Now I’m confused. I need to read Drama Beans recaps. 

 

I sure wasn’t expecting him to actually have loved the princess too, but I have to say, they picked the plainest looking actors to be the late husband and late princess… 

[mademoiselle]

4 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

hahaha. Yes. There’s ZERO chemistry to speak of. And the kissing scene. What kiss? Might as well not have any. 

 

And the names. Aiyoh. I cannot figure out who is who. I just know that faction that Soon Deuk’s in laws belong to want to get rid of the current crown prince and will seemingly stop at nothing to do so. But is the ex-Defence Minister her uncle? I thought he was the mother-in-law’s dimwitted brother. (all the men are just so dim, actually). I actually wonder how mum-in-law will play her cards hence, now knowing that her husband killed his own son. 

 

And then the real Lady Yeoju - is she not the oldest son’s actual wife? Now I’m confused. I need to read Drama Beans recaps. 

 

I sure wasn’t expecting him to actually have loved the princess too, but I have to say, they picked the plainest looking actors to be the late husband and late princess… 

The ex minister is her mother in law's brother. But in English I had to use Uncle coz I don't know what other ways to address him in English.

 

Left State Councillor killed his son and framed it on another man. Yeoju is this man's wife.

 

Ahahahaha, yes, I thought of the same too about their counterparts! 😂

[mademoiselle]

Behind the Scenes

 

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

Wrap Up Party

 

Spoiler

 

 

@gilaswan @Tofu You have to watch this, hahaha! So cute

 

[gilaswan]

@mademoiselle Who’s that little girl?

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, gilaswan said:

@mademoiselle Who’s that little girl?

Real Madam Yeoju's daughter

[Tofu]

@mademoiselle That's cute, but honestly, I was holding my breath praying that the plastic cutting knife didn't poke her in the eye or anything like that. This was a stressful video to watch at the beginning. 

[mademoiselle]

3 hours ago, Tofu said:

@mademoiselle That's cute, but honestly, I was holding my breath praying that the plastic cutting knife didn't poke her in the eye or anything like that. This was a stressful video to watch at the beginning. 

Agreed! I was thinking the same.

[mademoiselle]

Three more episodes left, I still can't decide whether this is a good drama. The cinematography and camera angles are beautiful. Story-telling wise, the up's and down's of the happenings are kind of bland. I'm not particularly hyped over it, what is your thought, @gilaswan? I'm guessing you feel more or less the same.

 

Rowoon's performance is not as outright woah as compared to Destined With You. That's not to say his acting is bad or anything. He's even got a famous Critic's praise for it, so I don't doubt the acting. Sim Jung Woo just didn't give me the same effect or feels I got from his performances as Jang Shin Yu.

 

I thought it was a nice twist that Jung Woo also loved the Princess, and that his request to annul the marriage was because the Princess' dying wish is for him to assist the King. I feel throughout the drama, his intelligence hasn't quite put to maximum good use. Especially we're now at the latter stage, I see Jung Woo is doing something, but I have not seen the kind of sneaky political plotting from him. I thought it was what he did to ex-Minister of Defence was great in the earlier episodes. However, now, it seems he didn't quite flex his brain muscles.

 

The romance, maybe because they are both widow/widower, it is only on the superficial side and not outright scandalous, passionate affairs since both characters are well-mannered nobles.

 

The drama did have a refreshing take on having a female figure taking power into her own hands. True that I wanted to bring down the bad guys, including the mother-in-law, since they were plotting treason. But if she wasn't in the cahoot with them, and she killed her husband and brother to protect the family, I would have been OK with it. Why should one or two persons' wrong-doings in the family take down the whole household, right?

[gilaswan]

@mademoiselle Mmm… I had difficulty even getting past the first episode to get to this point now, so you know, the story set up wasn’t the most intriguing for me (as much as I am a fan of Rowoon’s acting now). So what’s not really working for me in this drama? 🧐

 

The chemistry. The leads have no chemistry. And the leads and their late spouses also have no chemistry. Their late spouses don’t have enough screen presence. Even if they are fleeting characters, they shoulda picked better actors cos their impact on both leads’ lives are supposedly big. I’m not convinced they were in love with their late spouses. It’s just their word I have to go by. I’m not even convinced they’re in love with each other. For sure the acting is there. But the missing chemie…

 

Then the many names. That was hard to track. After a while, I was like, “OK. I’ll take your word for it that they’re doing something treacherous enough to deserve death.” And that was that. Difficult to feel fully invested in the intrigues if they’re confusing to follow. 

 

I do feel Jungwoo is that bit of a book smart, self-absorbed personality. A bit of a bumbling idiot. Rowoon certainly brings that character across. Though after 8 years of repeated appeals… and if he were indeed so scholastically talented… would it have really taken 8 years before he became the king’s advisor as he is now? Wouldn’t the princess have told daddy dearest something about him while she was still alive? His sudden prominence in the King’s court as a private advisor also seems a tad unconvincing. Being book smart might not make him good enough to go up against Lady Park’s wit. 

[mademoiselle]

@gilaswan Jung Woo, by drama set-up (character description), is supposedly a genius. In a previous episode, we saw he excelled in music, art and medicine. Here's what I'm unsure of, which required to suspend our beliefs—was Show trying to tell us he would be able good in swimming and sword skills because he learnt it from the book. I wasn't able to confirm this for swimming, but I thought if he wasn't a genius at everything, he shouldn't even be able to hold the sword in his hand in actual combat. Without actual experience, Jung Woo wouldn't have been able to predict the opponent's force and I fully expected his sword to fly out of his hand, but it didn't. So now I'm not sure whether he's genius to the level where he's natural in everything. BUT, maybe I just give Jung Woo too much credit. Hahaha. Honestly, I am so ready to watch him get hurt, LOL.

 

32 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

I do feel Jungwoo is that bit of a book smart, self-absorbed personality. A bit of a bumbling idiot. Rowoon certainly brings that character across. Though after 8 years of repeated appeals… and if he were indeed so scholastically talented… would it have really taken 8 years before he became the king’s advisor as he is now? Wouldn’t the princess have told daddy dearest something about him while she was still alive? His sudden prominence in the King’s court as a private advisor also seems a tad unconvincing. Being book smart might not make him good enough to go up against Lady Park’s wit. 

 

Do you mean when she's sick poisoned in bed, or before that? The Princess probably did not have the time to tell the King about him. Think she passed away quite quickly, in a day, if I'm not mistaken.

Edited December 15, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

Rowoon And Cho Yi Hyun Have An Unexpected Encounter Post-Breakup In “The Matchmakers”

 

KBS2’s “The Matchmakers” has unveiled new stills ahead of the upcoming episode!

 

“The Matchmakers” tells the story of the meeting between the young widower Shim Jung Woo (Rowoon) and young widow Jung Soon Deok (Cho Yi Hyun) as well as the struggle the two go through together to marry off Joseon era’s unmarried women and men who are considered older than the typical prime age range.

Spoilers

In the previous episode, Shim Jung Woo discovered that Jung Soon Deok was the daughter-in-law of Left State Councilor Jo (Lee Hae Young). In an effort to prevent Jung Soon Deok from being implicated in her in-laws’s treason case, Shim Jung Woo decided to end things with her by saying, “I do not love you anymore.”

 

 

The newly released stills capture Shim Jung Woo and Jung Soon Deok’s coincidental encounter following their one-sided breakup. Despite noticing Jung Soon Deok, Shim Jun Woo tries his best to ignore her and deliberately turns away, while Jung Soon Deok’s gaze trails his every step with sorrowful eyes.

 

Yet, as Jung Soon Deok speaks to Shim Jung Woo, a subtle smile graces their once somber faces. Will this moment be a fleeting happiness amid an impending sea of tears or the beginning of a renewed, fervent love?

 

 

The production team stated, “‘The Matchmakers’ is an ambitious project that breaks the traditional mold of conventional historical dramas. We hope the viewers will be captivated by the poignant emotions portrayed by Rowoon and Cho Yi Hyun in the remaining three episodes.”

The next episode of “The Matchmakers” airs on December 18 at 9:45 p.m. KST.

 

source

[mademoiselle]

New stills for E14-15

 

Spoiler

 

 

The highlight of episode 14 is the ending that somehow Soon Deuk and Jung Woo ended up being the bride and groom. Ye Jin had run away, so I'm thinking Soon Deuk took her place to hide the fact that there is a missing bride. Should I take it (or Jung Woo can argue later) that he and Soon Deuk got married—technically, this officiated their wedding and witness by the Sky!

 

Other than this, I didn't think there was anything very interesting in this episode. Just like that, Ha Na has been chosen as the Crown Princess. I thought that was too easy since we've seen so many other sageuk whereby choosing a Crown Princess is all about cheating and political play. I get that the Dongro fraction has fallen, but there are other fraction(s) too in the court.

 

Jung Woo had a moment of noble idiocy where he tried to push Soon Deuk away to protect her because he's scared Lady Park would harm her. I guess the worries are real, I don't doubt it, but I'd much rather we don't do another round of push and pull at such a latter stage.

 

Jung Woo finally got the King's approval to annul his marriage, which make me thought how does he maintain his financial when he's not allowed to work. Does being a Royal family means once per month he'll get pocket money/living expense from the King anyway? Is he allowed to use this money and do some business, or he's NOT allowed to do anything at all...? I suppose what I love about Jung Woo is even though he's been lonely for the last 8 years, he hasn't been wasting his life away. Some men could be visiting the gisaeng and drink all day & night, but Jung Woo filled up his time by learning more academic skills.

 

Lastly, Sam Soon and Soon Deuk's brother's interactions are quite cute.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[gilaswan]

@mademoiselle was wondering if you’d given up on the show. Hahaha…

 

I’m not sure if I like the direction the finale seems to be headed. Will Jungwoo and Soon Deuk end up the way of Romeo & Juliet with faked deaths so that they can live the lives of commoners? Then what of his talent to be able to serve the king and crown prince?

 

You’re right that nothing very interesting surfaced this week except for the fiasco of the weddings that the Chief Magistrate tried to foil. I’m glad that meant that the second sister got married to her true match, but what would that mean for Lady Park and the reputation of her family, even if this reputation was being built through her late husband’s estate still? This is like Survivor Joseon Edition - to outwit and outlast everyone.

And the match between the crown prince and Hana. I know it’s Joseon, but seriously? A match between a 14yo and 25yo? Doesn’t the knetz population have anything to say about it?

 

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, gilaswan said:

@mademoiselle was wondering if you’d given up on the show. Hahaha…

 

I’m not sure if I like the direction the finale seems to be headed. Will Jungwoo and Soon Deuk end up the way of Romeo & Juliet with faked deaths so that they can live the lives of commoners? Then what of his talent to be able to serve the king and crown prince?

 

You’re right that nothing very interesting surfaced this week except for the fiasco of the weddings that the Chief Magistrate tried to foil. I’m glad that meant that the second sister got married to her true match, but what would that mean for Lady Park and the reputation of her family, even if this reputation was being built through her late husband’s estate still? This is like Survivor Joseon Edition - to outwit and outlast everyone.

And the match between the crown prince and Hana. I know it’s Joseon, but seriously? A match between a 14yo and 25yo? Doesn’t the knetz population have anything to say about it?

Hahaha. I am still here, and I'm so close to the end, I want to know the ending. I think for sageuk character played, I probably would say I prefer Sim Jung Woo over Jung Ji Woon. Ji Woon was great at the beginning and then faded to become nothing but weak and a reversed damsel in distress in the latter stage. There is more consistency in Sim Jung Woo here.

 

And I've bad news, Rowoon's next drama is going to be sageuk too. 😫😭 It's not formally confirmed, but I think 98% the news is true. It has been reported twice now.

 

I am not sure what Knetzens think of the age gap. I think the modernised thinking and western culture we are from will think this is grossed. However, there have been records in Chinese history for male kids to marry older females. I don't doubt Korean be any different. As for Ha Na, I don't think she likes/loves the Crown Prince. I think she sees it as a duty to serve him as the future King - to help the country. My initial thought is, who in their right mind would let their daughter enter the palace? She's going to be lonely, and he's going to grow into a man who has many wives. Ew.

[mademoiselle]

Behind the Scenes

 

[mademoiselle]

I really like the scene where Jung Woo confronted Lady Park how the princess died and told her she was the one who killed her own son. I thought that was very well-played. That would be something I'd love seeing from Rowoon. That tension and emotion. And from the BTS, how it was presented was suggested by the actress playing Lady Park.

 

I don't believe Jung Woo will really be poisoned, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see next week!

 

Behind the Scenes Stills

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

The Matchmakers Photo Essay

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by mademoiselle

[gilaswan]

@mademoiselleAs expected, what a lousy cop out ending. I was fast forwarding through most of it. Meh.

[mademoiselle]

Behind the scenes

 

A rather lacklustre drama overall. I appreciated the cinematography, but the lack of thrills or ups and downs makes the drama a bit too bland and unmemorable.

 

My second-biggest gripe of this finale episode is, or the whole of the story, is the lack of use of Jung Woo's supposedly genius intelligent. The first biggest is if the King hadn't spared Jung Woo, he really would have died from the poison. What is the point, then? I would have preferred he fights to the end—argue for his case. Even though he loves Soon Deuk, he was framed, that is still the truth!

 

Anyway, the one-and-only scene I liked from this finale is when they meet again. There was some nice performance there, which moved me a little. The scenery on the top of the pagoda was also beautiful, though it would be nice not to end it with you-stare-at-me-I-stare-at-you. I'm really not asking for a passionate kiss, but a decent kiss would still be awesome.

 

I thought the depiction of the Crown Prince and Ha Na was pretty apt. It also gives adequate explanation to the audiences that their relationship is not of a woman or man, but of respect and the minds. They enjoy intellectual exchange. LOL.

 

@gilaswan I've started re-watching Destined With You 😆 because this one really doesn't satisfy me when it comes to Rowoon's acting. Jang Shin Yu still rocks my world. I really hope his next character is a better one.

[mademoiselle]

The scene I liked from episode 16. Rowoon made sure he conveys the emotions seriously through his eyes.

Missing Soon Deuk...

Seeing Soon Deuk, but thinking it's just another one of his dreams

She grabs his hand and put it on her face, and he just looks even sadder that the dream seems so real...

 

Spoiler

 

source