Red Heart has beautiful cinematography, music, strong actors and hopefully tight story. Every episode felt like watching a movie and one can get easily immersed in the story.

There were a lot happening in the first two episodes. I am used to sagueks laying out the story slowly but in this case it smacked the audience right in the heart of the conflict.

I am happy to see Kang Hanna in a major lead role. Lee Joon is mesmerizing as the young King who will stop at nothing to get away from Jang Hyuk's character's influence. Jang Hyuk is very charismartic as the Left State Chancellor.

Throughout the episodes I am hyonotized by Lee Joon's deep voice. Has he always sounded that way or he made it deeper for the role.

This was a really strong and visually stunning premiere week. Apparently this is the director's first solo full length drama too.

I'm really impressed with Lee Joon. His Lee Tae has so many sides to him. My favorite scenes were the opening scene with Lee Tae and Gye Won, the scene with Lee Tae and his dying Queen and the meeting between Lee Tae and Yeon-hee. He went from desperate to sorrowfully menacing to charmingly manipulative.

In saving the country from a tyrant, Park Gye-won became quite the tyrant himself. I wonder what's up with his mysterious niece who he wants to be Queen? The fact that nobody has seen her makes me think he'll place Jung in the role to mess with Lee Tae.

I hope Lee Tae and Jung both manage to survive, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

This drama has so many different titles, but I prefer Bloody Heart.

this show is visually STUNNING

Especially Kang Han-na, of course :)

I had really high hopes for her show, and what little we saw of her this week lived up to expectations, but I was disappointed by the rest. Plot hasn't come together for me. Jang Hyuk just seems to be playing his recently-common "Grumpy Jang Hyuk" and I don't know whether to blame him or the director.

I'll go hide now.

Awesome premiere!!~ I got hooked by the story quickly, much thanks to Lee Joon leading the way. He's back in dramaland. I didn't know he had been gone a while. He had a stint in Bulgasal this year, but now he's in the protagonist role. So excited to see more of him. I've only seen him in two old works. He's already displayed a wide range of emotions here.

Not crazy about palace politics, but I'm looking forward to the mind and might battle between Lee Tae and Park Gye Won. Gye Won has amassed a lot of power and followers whereas Tae has one supporter/minion as far as I can see. I was even suspicious of Eunuch Jung before he was shown to be loyal...so far.

Kang Hanna's lovely character looks to be a strong one who will have a big wake-up call when she finds out the truth. I think she'll be just as clever as the others when she joins in on the palace politics.

Jang Hyuk... I'm a big fan of him. His good acting wasn't a surprise. Made me scoff at how he manipulates the king and crown prince when he's saying he's only giving "advice", not an order. Hoping his character will show some more emotions underneath the cold and calculating mask.

I was searching google so this is a true fictional sageuk right? Not adaptation based on true history like The red sleeves/ Seven days queen?
So there is still a little chance for happy ending? I just watched ep 1, from my knowledge from watching sageuk (lol) deposed queen for treason nevertheles, can't be together again with king? Unless she just becomes king's woman outside the palace or he is not king anymore? Love story between king and his hundred concubines is not my thing. I choose tragic melodramtic sad ending love story over that. Lol

Oh wow it is Jang Hyuk in a saguek! I am interested to see how Park GW is going against the King. And that mysterious niece of his, does she really exist?

Those first two episodes were visually stunning indeed. I hope this continues.

Jang Hyuk, good guy or bad guy, is always a treat to watch. He and the King are both moving their game pieces and contemplating their next moves. Who knows how this will end, but things are bound to get messy.

Honestly, watching this two episodes I'm left a little bit confused with the story and very very angry at the previous grossly incompetent King. A king who cannot flex the powers the throne gave him? Puppet or not I found it a low blow. His son should have been the one helped to the throne by Park GW.
If his Queen gave him a cause to fight against PGW and someway somehow PGW still had his way, even more way, then what would have happened if he had put himself in harm's way just to get back control of the court. He's incompetent and has an utter lack of will. It's depressing to watch.

Kang Hanna as usual is wowing in her performance. If You Jung is this capable with little information, what happens when she gets all the information she need lump by lump - A force to be reckoned with.

I usually don't feel much towards Sagueks puppeteers, but I feel so much anger at PGW. He's too powerful, untouchable. Which on one hand is an interesting thing because his downfall will be grand, had better be grand.

I've been waiting for Kang Han-na to play the female lead in a show like this ever since she appeared in Moon Lovers, so I was waiting for this drama with bated breath. Seeing the strong premier makes me so happy!

These episodes were unexpected. He loves her so much he meets her every month. I was surprised she didn't know he was the King. I really liked it too. Lee Joon has such a delightfully beautiful voice, it is like enriched butter with a surprise underpinning. Jang Hyuk is fantastic as in this as well. Cheers to Kang Hanna for her first lead role. This will be an interesting ride. The set up is looking us in the face and telling us this will be depressing. I girded my loins so to speak and I am ready.

Very strong opening week. The music had me pausing the show and putting on my headphones to immerse better. They did a really good job with the music and the cinematography. Though the story is strong on its own. And Lee Joon's voice and acting is mesmerizing. Kang Hanna is great as always and so is Jang Hyuk. Totally digging how the female lead has enough agency on her and will probably remain a stronger character.

I loved it....my girl Kang Hanna has been ready for that lead role for years now. I loved everything. The cinematography is spectacular. The first meeting in that field of grass between young Lee Tae and Yoo Jung was stunning. Then the present day meeting in the midst of fireworks and then in the midst of flower field....gorgeous. The cinematography team deserves all the praise for making every frame a work of art. Lee Jun is excellent, he is quite the ruthless ruler himself when the matter is Palace Politics. Kang Hanna is perfect mix of pragmatic yet hopeful young women who is trying to survive a horrible tragedy and navigate perils of royal politics. I worry how she will react when she'll figure out Lee Tae is the Crown Prince and he is the reason she lost her entire family. I think Jang Hyuk's characters will allow her to enter palace as a concubine to keep the King in check. And once she figures out who the King is things would be complicated for her. Who would she love and who would she hate.

Sageuks always are so beautiful to watch! The places, the colors, the mise en scène, everything is beautiful.

I was happy to see second generation of Kpop reunion with Lee Joon from MBLAQ and Eun-Jung from T-Ara :p

I was happy to see Shin Eun-Soo as young Yoo Jung too, she was my favourite love story with Yoon Jong-Bin in Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.

It's nice to see Kang Ha-Na in a lead role! She deserves it.

I was more focused on the beauty than the story... politics in sageuk are so confusing for me u_u

to speak to the skills of south korea's plastic surgery/skin care regimens -- i'm amazed that Jang Hyuk looks 10 years younger than he did in Chuno, which was made in 2010!!!

This is a show I wanted to see but it is locked up by Disney. It is only available in "selected areas" on Disney+

I am mildly jealous of those of you who have access to any and all KDrama. Not yours truly. How long should I wait for this to be streamed in my region? Aigoo.

You all weren't kidding about the cinematography! My eyeballs were blown away by the aesthetics - truly felt like I was watching a movie. The tone/visuals reminds me a lot of My Country (another excellent sageuk starring Jang Hyuk) especially the FL's introduction which was very reminiscent of the opening sequence in My Country. Even if the plot falls apart later on, at least I can indulge in the visual beauty of it still!

Insofar as the plot goes, I'm a big fan of the decision to drop us in the middle of everything, rather than going from very, very start the way that historical pieces tend to. I struggle to pay attention to sageuk openings because they're largely set up, but in having the information revealed to us at a steady pace by going back and forth in time, I was actually more absorbed & invested in keeping track of the puzzle given to us.

I also appreciate that the leads have an established connection & history both as children and as adults. I love a good first meet-cute/meeting again as adults after a brief childhood interaction story, but it's refreshing to see a slight change of pace and have our adult leads already in a relationship of sorts (despite the FL not really knowing who the ML is). There’s more time now that can be devoted to the changing dynamics of that relationship rather than building it up in the first place.

Excited to see where next week takes us!

This drama is going to break my heart :(

It's exactly what I want in a sageuk: multi-layered story, excellent acting, stunning cinematography, romantic conflict, and a fast, addictive pace. But I also suspect it will end tragically. Still, I can't look away.

Stunning visuals, lovely colors, a sad palace, a lonely king desperate to gain power, manipulative Left State Councillor and top with a tragic love story, I am totally hooked up for this drama.

Lee Tae's varying shades is quite interesting to watch. On face value as King who is puppet to the vice premier to the shrewd King who stays awake silently plotting to gain his power and to the relaxed and happier version of himself in the presence of his first true love Jung ,Lee Joon is portraying such versatility with sheer brilliance.

I want Lee Tae to win against the Gye Won and I can fathom this is going to be very dirty, gritty and many sacrifices will be made paving the road for him to rise to his absolute power as the King. I have a feeling Jung will die at the end, so I am preparing my heart for that tragedy , but I will root for her and Lee Tae until the very end.