Actor The Remarried Empress star Lee Jong-suk is driving the global box-office craze of the Disney+ original series with his fluent and nuanced acting as a ‘romance-fantasy native speaker.’
βThe Remarried Empressβ (provided by Walt Disney Company Korea, produced by Studio N, directed by Jo Soo-won, written by Yeo Ji-na and Hyun Choong-yeol) is a romance-fantasy grand epic where Navier (Shin Min-ah), the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire, receives notice of divorce from Emperor Sovieshu (Joo Ji-hoon), who fell for the runaway slave Rashta (Eun-young Lee), and demands approval for her remarriage to Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk), the prince of the Western Kingdom. In the drama, Lee Jong-suk perfectly portrays Heinrey, who brings both the excitement of a sweet younger man and a comforting presence in himself, establishing himself as an ‘reassuring prince’ who brings solace to Navier and viewers alike.
Episodes 5 and 6, released on the 11th, maximized immersion as Heinrey’s thrilling counterattack and affectionate pure devotion intersected. Before Heinrey, who had announced he would find his ‘destiny’ pen pal with whom he had been exchanging handwritten letters, Rashta appeared disguised as the real one after stealing the contents of the letters. Heinrey, who had already become ‘Queen’ and communicated directly with Navier, pretended to fall for Rashta’s lies to blow up the scale, and then exposed all the truth at the New Year’s dinner, branding Rashta as a liar in high society. It was a thrilling ‘reverse cider’ that instantly repaid the price of impersonating his Queen.
Afterward, Heinrey began a full-fledged straightforward advance toward Navier. Although he expressed his feelings that he wanted to become friends outside of letters, he showed a pure side of himself, sniffling in heartbreak when his birthday appointment was canceled due to Sovieshu’s proposal. Also, even when the imperial family was in an uproar over Rashta’s pregnancy news, he was the only one who looked after Navier’s wounds first and offered quiet comfort. It was a scene where he became the only safe haven where Navier could breathe inside the suffocating imperial family.
The charm of such a character was completed by Lee Jong-suk’s delicate pacing, moving back and forth between thrill, sadness, and comfort. In front of Navier, he rejoiced purely and guarded her side with worried eyes, while when dealing with Rashta, he showed off a relaxed charisma, twisting his tone with a smiling face. In particular, he digested the formal lines unique to romance-fantasy, which could be unfamiliar, with a leisurely breath-paced ‘Heinrey style of speaking,’ drawing rave reviews from viewers such as ‘He really looks like a prince’ and ‘He’s a younger man, but he overflows with royal dignity.’
The work’s global performance is also overwhelming. According to Disney+, βThe Remarried Empressβ set the record for the most-viewed local original content globally in history based on the first three days after release, continuing its popularity by ranking first in Korean content release performance in over 90 markets, including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Brazil.
