Swoon!!! I absolutely adore Red Sleeve so far. I’m watching Kings Affection as well, which is also good, but RS is hitting it out of the ballpark. The acting and directing and plot are amazing. There isn’t, so far, a ton of royal court political drama, which is a welcome change from KA. And… it just gives me happy feels all day. Can’t wait for the next ep tomorrow. 🥰

Finally, at last, The Red Sleeve Cuff drama hangout is here! Thank you, @missvictrix for did a wonderful job by creating this drama hangout.

Omg. Thank you for this virtual hang out. My heart has been bursting at the seams after every beautiful episode each week, and I have been longing for a space dedicated to RS.

I have nothing to say except I love love love every single character. All characters are all nuanced and besides the bratty princess everyone is love love love. They all fight for what they believe is the best. But San, please fix your behavior in ep 8 today. Thank you. Because I love you.

The feels! I've put aside all Saturday shows and sagueks for this. Went down the rabbit hole researching history bits. Quite authentic love story. Still some way to go; hope it retains its awesomeness!

One of the commenters made a very good point about the inequality of bargaining power between Doekim and Yisan. She is at his mercy and this is enormously problematic. Junho is an exceptional actor but Yisan’s behaviour in episode 7 was an exercise in entitled and gendered behaviour. Grabbing her neck was an absolute nadir of the episode as it was non-consensual and clearly was not welcomed by Doekim at that point in the story. Being a bloody Royal concubine would be a poisoned chalice as the RL Doekim experienced it.

Sic,
We are still doing weekly hangouts at your wall, right?

Ehhhhh~! Yay!
Although we have this now, for which I am grateful indeed, thank you @missvictrix, if people would still like me to do my Weekly Hang Outs by episode on the Wall, let me know.
They might be a bit obsolete, but they might not, so.

I haven't watched 7+8 yet so I have nothing new to comment on yet!

My interested Episode 7 details:
--

I try to go down the river
But she's dimly in the middle of the river
She's dimly in the middle of the river

For me, I loved this poem.
-- purple flowers bloom for the first time since Yi San's father died (I cried this most beautiful dramatic background music!)
-- someone said that need a recruit for the senior 4th rank in charge of the royal infirmary
-- pumpkin taffy
-- green paper boat
-- "valuable mandarin (orange?) hardly harvested in the royal greenhouse" and later Yi San ate it
-- another archery event
-- dementia
-- burning useless books including Tale of Kwak and Jang
-- perfume pouch

Omg we finally got one. I always have so much to talk about after every episode. This hangout is a delight to have. Thank you, @missvictrix!

I actually just finished episode 7. And as pretty as Sam’s green hanbok was, his behaviour sure wasn’t. Love his character and Junho can do no wrong but….

*sarcasm mode on* Gee, I wonder why Deok-im keeps rejecting him. What a mystery!

But in all seriousness, the power dynamic between the two is a big problem, and I think this is the first episode that properly demonstrates that gap. Sure, she’s been his servant all this time but we finally see just how much Deok-im is at the mercy of San’s whims. Dude, she said no! Leave her alone and for fuck’s sake, don’t choke her!

*deep sigh* why are men like this?

Yayyy its here! What will i do after today's episode! Lee Se Young was so good in ep 7, she shines more in the serious scenes. Usually I'm short of words, the episodes are just so well done. Though yes, San may have been a let down last episode.

Thank you @missvictrix I think all the beanies were waiting forever this one! I have watched too many sagueks this year but there's only ONE Junho, aka my true love. But I let my emotions from other sagueks carry over, like I kept worrying YiSan and DeokIm will get caught like in TKA, or that Junhos eyes will turn green (or red) like in RKL, etc. but overall, just a lot of swooning, laughing and pinning in general. The show transition from
light hearted comedic to serious life and death very quickly. I can't remember who said this (wasn't me) but whenever the old king laugh, I got nervous bc I never knew if he's going to take off his glasses or wheel out a rice chest *gasp*

Yay! Loving this one a lot. Junho is just too good. And Lee Se young is just perfection as her character as well. I’m less concerned about power imbalance in Joseon times, and it’ll be interesting how Sam grows from entitled crown prince to benevolent king, loving and not just lusting over Deok-Im. She will be his equal and he will take her counsel as such, eventually.

Thank you @missvictrix for putting up a thread as requested beanies.

Things I liked about Ep.7
* Wol Hye's fight. It was cool to see a lower order woman stabing all the men with a hair pin. This also makes the story a lot more intersting because the drama is utilising every single character to their best.

* The head court lady being open about her intentions with Deok Im. Antagonists or grey characters pulling in the masses through a sense of belonging is much stronger than one fuelled by a personal revenge or for greater good.

*Hong Ro nonchalantly waking up the king, Crown Prince's bodygaurd's simple mindedness and The Crown Prince causually throwing the mandarin inside his sleeve. The comic scenes seamlessly flows the drama rather than standing out from the serious tone.

* The king having his own arc to play rather than being a crutch for Crown prince's ascent to the throne, even though it is the story of CP and Deok Im. The king's dementia is going to bring a whole lot of other powers to the forefront.

* Deok Im asking the CP to "allow" her to refuse his wishes when he gave her the mandarin. This scene even before the ending of Ep.7, clearly shows at she is at the mercy of the Crown Prince, so I wasn't bothered by the imbalance of power. I am waiting to see how the drama is going to show her succumb to power without undoing her principle's of freewill.

I think, I am enjoying this Sageuk because it has a very compelling story telling with a touch of moderism. Deok Im and her friends roasting sweet potatoes near the CP's place protrayed that the palace was not a luxury prison but lower level people in the palace do have freedom to enjoy the things they like, as far as they aren't in the line of vision of the royals.

One question to other beanies, I thought Hong Ro was Deok Im's brother because when he spoke to the West Wing Minister, the minister reminded him of saving his family. Why is he poor and his family needed saving?

Beanies, I have a question...
What is the significance/meaning of Deok Im's tattoo?

1. If there's a character that I dislike more than a villian, is the one that doesn't shows it's true colors. Like can I trust you or not, dude, just tell me and don't make me anxious for no reason.
And that's how I feel about Gyeomsaseo and the King.

Well, the king... I don't even know if he can enter in any regular moral standar. This man is probably the most wishy washy King I've seen. I mean, most of the time if a king acts like this is because he's a drunk or has some trauma or ptsd, or something. Otherwise, a king is consistent. But this king... what the heck is wrong with him? One minute he makes me laugh then he makes me mad.

Gyeomsaseo is just suspicious as hell. I don't know what's his deal, his side, his feelings or intentions. I know nothing about him just that his obssesed with the CP, but why? what does it mean?

I hope episode 7 will help me understand a little bit more these two characters.

2. I remember a Flower of Evil interview where Jang Hee Jin said all her characters are evil or pitiful and that she wanted to change that pattern. She just did! I love the Queen! she's graceful, strong and smart. I hope there's no plot twist where she ends up being the worst, we already have two evil women (the Princess H and the Court Lady boss).

Ps. I love Deok Im friends. Deok Im's already one of my favorite FLs this year. I love this show.