neonkim's review:
For a 30-minute-per-day, wow. We were certainly put through a lot. The highlights of this week are: the Queen and the Vice-King's death, the disappearance of the Princess and her migration to the Philippines, Behati's evil schemes and the build-up of Jao, Mikay and Kiko's characters.
Anyway, what made things a little difficult for me was the use of language - at the beginning, some sort of reminder is read: the actors used Dzongkha but had been dubbed over with Filipino for "easy comprehension." This immediately shatters the overall setting and tone of the drama. Why? First, they reveal that Dzongkha is the national language of Bhutan which weakens the fictional setting of the Kingdom of Yangdon. Second, they dub the whole thing which simply comes off ridiculous, since dubbing is often employed in foreign dramas, which parodies usually poke fun at. It may be easier to understand, but it's definitely not effective. It's impractical, since viewers are completely aware that the actors are Filipino, speaking Dzongkha, dubbed in Filipino and mixed with weird-definitely-not-Bhutanese-English. It's a waste of utilities and must've cost precious time in post-production. This is like watching TV with your dog barking in the background. It's distracting and annoying.
The transitions are also too quick, which makes the scenes short-lived. I understand that time is flexible when it comes to dramas, but I'd like to think that it wouldn't hurt to let the viewers dwell on a scene for a while. This is probably one reason Filipino dramas aren't well-remembered. We know who hates who and the general picture why, but we don't remember the reasons how come. The little things aren't emphasized, but we are given the impression that these brief situations complete the bigger picture. Also, did I mention that I find their contextualization lacking? It just doesn't make sense that a certain character would be totally bitchy when she was just peachy earlier. Laziness would make you accept this fact without telling you why. A good, well-written drama wouldn't.
The whole thing is actually pretty easy in the eyes, with the colorful robes and the wonderful scenery of Bhutan, until bad CGI smacks you in the face. But only for a few frames, really. Nevertheless, they've done well with Bhutanese culture and even the subtle promotion of tourism here and there. I hear the government of Bhutan even let the production be shot in an actual palace. Wonder if it it cost them much?
Plot-wise, I could say that there are plenty of elements that are badly glued. Some situations don't make sense not only because of lack of context, but also because they're unrealistic. Overall, I'd give first week 3 stars out of 5. Quite disappointing for the pilot week, but enough material to continue watching. It is quite unique and fresh, as some viewers might say.
wellflower's review:
The first few episodes of the drama were supposed to be the foundation of the plot but I found the foundation shaky. I think because it lacks character building. In order for each character to struggle and/or be motivated by a certain cause (whether evil or good), you have to put them in the same situation over and over again. This way the struggle and/or motivation, although repetitive, become thematic and episodic. For example, we were given only the burning surrounding episode to let us know that the reason why Ashi Behati is so dedicated in having her revenge. We heard her cries for her father but we didn’t feel remorse. This is also the reason why I can’t seem to feel the revenge part. For me, Ashi Behati is just being immature. Like that little pesky brat child lurking around. This is also the same for the “supposed-to-be” assassin. At first he was like, “oh, I’m the bad guy. Be afraid of me.” Then all of a sudden he had a change of heart and decided not to kill anyone. See? Ridiculous. Taking into consideration that everybody’s human and he falls under the category of “everybody”, the point is he’s a hired assassin and without a catalyst to change his mind (like the baby crying or him being reminded of his own baby crying or whatsoever) a sudden change of heart and mind is impossible.
One of the things I hated was the disruptive effect of so many commercials in between the episodes. A friend even told me that the commercials are longer than the show itself which is quite true. To the super rich companies, thank you but I don’t think I’m that dim-witted to be reminded of what your shampoo does a thousand times. Please, just please. Bring us back to the DRAMA.
I’m also still not at ease with the code switching. English-Tagalog code switching is normal to us but it’s just too much if you put another element in the mix, which is Dzongkha. What’s even more frustrating is I don’t have any background on that language so it’s even harder to hear, understand the spoken language and read the translation all at the same time. It’s getting in the way of processing the drama and understanding what’s happening. It disrupts you all the way because the drama hasn’t decide whether it should use English, Tagalog and Dzongkha so they just put it all in, compromising the quality of storytelling and the drama itself. What’s funnier is people of Yangdon have this weird crossbreed of Italian, Filipino and what seems to be Japanese accent when speaking English. This show is so good in making language a laughingstock. My one and only suggestion, be consistent. Know what language you really want to use and stick with it. Don’t add another element that will give us more headaches. Your plot is enough.
To somehow lighten the load of the show though I'd say that Bhutan looks really nice in most of the background shots. The dresses also remind of those used in Mindanao, just like the dresses of Filipino noblewomen of Sultanato. They all look colorful and wonderful. I wonder, though, if the Bhutanese come from the same language family and culture as those of our prehispanic ancestors.
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