The Crowned Clown

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Synopsis

​​During the Joseon era, Ha Sun is a young man belonging to a group of clowns. One day, he is taken to the palace and asked to take King Lee Hun’s place. Indeed, they have the exact same face and Lee Hun, who is a bit mad, is afraid of a possible assassination due to the current uprising.

​My Opinion (No Spoilers)

​An excellent historical drama! This drama is actually a remake of the 2012 movie “The Masquerade” with the excellent Lee Byun Hun. I have to say, I am very pleased with this remake that really properly emphasized all the steps expected in a palace intrigue. 

Plus, I have to salute Yeo Jin Goo and Lee Se Young’s acting in that drama; these 2 child actors really grew up and managed to deliver a very strong performance. Bonus, it was Yeo Jin Goo’s first drama out of 3 in 2019! (counting Absolute Boyfriend and Hotel Del Luna after).

Analysis

• What it takes to be a King
• The two-faced King
• The demonic throne
• The romance
• The ending

What it takes to be a King: Lee Hun (Yeo Jin Goo) has been prepared to be King since his early childhood; so we expect him to have been educated for the role. However, when we discover the character, he appears as a mad man, afraid of betrayal and uprising. The power struggle and the fight for the throne turned him into an almost schizophrenic man; willing to sacrifice anyone he considers a threat. 

Like in almost all historical dramas (also known as Sageuk), there is really a toxic relationship illustrated between the King and the throne; meaning that the pressure and the responsibilities that come with it, as well as the dangers, can easily make anyone mentally crumble. The pressure is so intense that it gets to Lee Hun’s mind. 

In order to protect himself physically and mentally, he doesn’t hesitate to ‘sacrifice’ one of his subjects Ha Sun (also played by Yeo Jin Goo), just because they share the same face. Therefore, when Ha Sun ascends as the fake King, he is struck by his King’s previous actions. First, Lee Hun prioritized himself over his subjects’ well-being obviously for selfish reasons. Second, he created a tense and cold atmosphere in the palace, especially towards the Queen Yoo So Woon (Lee Se Young). Third, he left aside all matters related to the state welfare to focus on his own protection. Fourth, he disappeared without a trace. 

Let’s say that when Ha Sun takes his place, he has a lot to do. A distinctive quality regarding Ha Sun is that he always takes the subjects of the country into consideration and makes their interests prevail over his; giving him the real mentality and stature of a King. It is interesting to see how a commoner, a simple clown can be closer to the subjects than the King who is supposed to protect them. This highlights the indecent gap in terms of wealth and well-being in monarchies in general: The higher class is unaware of peasants’ life struggles, but making money thanks to their hard efforts. The Crowned Clown represents a class struggle between the poor and the rich, demonstrating that even a commoner can be the head of state and do well. In a social and political context, I felt it was a premise of communism (even though it remains a clear monarchy in the drama, don’t get me wrong!), in which the leader comes from the people and the state is led by the them. 

The two-faced King: Yeo Jin Goo did an amazing job at embodying two different personalities. Lee Hun is definitely the most complex character of the drama. He has become mad because of the pressure around the throne and needs rest to get rid of this bad influence and get better. I felt a lot of empathy for him, because being king in his case is not a choice but rather an obligation; yet it didn’t prepare him for the mental pressure it comes with. This status takes the best out of him, even though he is not necessarily a bad person in the first place. For Lee Hun, getting away from the palace is a question of survival. It is in fact the only way to breath!

On the other side, Ha Sun is still innocent and pure, when he takes the King’s place. He has these ideals and principles that he is not willing to bend, which arouses suspicion around his real identity (as he is so different from Lee Hun). Yet, he still manages to hide his identity, protect the throne, better people’s lives and of course pursue his love story. Even though at some point, I thought the bad influence of the throne was starting to get to him, he managed to strongly push it away. 

The demonic throne: The throne in that drama is like a demonic presence that possesses even the best ones and turns them into crazy, greedy and power-thirsty monsters. 

The romance: The love story exclusively relies on the fact that the cold and mad Lee Hun switched places with the kind and warm Ha Sun; creating a possible compatibility with the unbending Queen. I literally fell in love with Lee Se Young’s character! She is dignified, majestic and charismatic. Moreover, she is unbending and can seem to be uptight and rigid, but she never betrays her beliefs. She is always on people’s side and hides her emotions away. She is also a very lonely, unhappy and sad person, which made me root for her couple with Ha Sun even more.

I could note that the Queen had never been confronted with a dilemma involving her own interest before, and she struggles between revealing Ha Sun’s identity and covering him because of her feelings at some point. 

Yet, she found her perfect match and it was impossible to criticize. The romance bloomed progressively throughout the drama, as we witness the emotional development of characters’ feelings in the midst of adversity in the cold and dangerous palace. 

The ending: The ending is just perfect, Ha Sun goes back to his normal life, after abdicating the throne for the perfect leader and the Queen reunites with her lover Ha Sun after leaving the palace. Lee Hun dies.  

In a nutshell, The Crowned Clown is an excellent drama, very suspenseful and intense, that will make you like every episode!

P.S.: The ending theme song “Storm Beat” with the tambourine, going crescendo at the end of each episode, is really incredible! Don’t forget to check the Serenades also, all the theme songs are worth it!

I’ll put the link here so you can listen: 

​P.S.2: Excellent cameos of Yoon Park and Jang Hyuk to notice also!