Mirror of the Witch

                                    

Episodes: 20

Synopsis: 
The Queen is unable to conceive a child and so she visits the shaman Hong Joo to help her conceive an heir. After using dark magic and sacrificing another woman's life, twins are born to the queen. But the children are cursed and the only solution was to have the boy's curse moved to the girl as well and then kill the girl as an infant. Hong Joo may have helped the queen but her ultimate goal was to bring down the royal family. The king realizing that sacrificing the princess may have dire consequences asks his loyal subject to save the princess. The princess, Seo Ri, is saved and is then raised by the father of Poong Yeon without ever knowing about her identity or of the curse. She was raised in seclusion (like Rapunzel) and always surrounded by talismans that protected her from the evil shaman. One day she goes out of the protective barriers and the curse becomes reactivated again which leads to Seo Ri's life being endangered and for her to learn the truth about herself and how to lift the curse. As more people get involved, the more lives are endangered or lost. As she tries to change her fate and lift the curse, she is helped by Heo Jun, Poong Yeon, and a couple of other people. 

Summary:

       This drama had a "The Moon Embraces the Sun" vibe but it was a whole lot darker and creepier. In the beginning, it felt like "The Moon Embraces the Sun" because there were shamans, a death, a curse, and a killing of a princess. However, this drama showed a lot of gruesome scenes such as finger nails breaking when the curse took hold and so forth. I actually liked the creepy vibe because it gave the drama more suspense. It was also very interesting to watch the good fighting against the evil and it was nice to see the little "protect the princess" squad form as the drama went on.

       The acting was fairly good throughout the drama in my opinion. All of the characters had their flaw, their own fears, and their own insecurities but many of them were able to be selfless enough to help others and work to lift the curse and help with the greater good. The antagonist was also very good at acting and you really start to hate her or be scared of her because of her psychopathic, manipulative ways. At the same time, the curse was also very creepy because it was literally a little dark cloud with a childish, cackling voice that enters the bodies of people in very weird places (LOL). 

         I feel like a lot of drama would never have happened if the Lord trusted his family with the truth and also telling the main character the truth as well. Because only few people knew of the curse and her princess identity, their ignorance as to what they should do and what they can't do caused a lot of drama throughout the show. I also loved how this drama showed the main character moving on and becoming stronger with those who truly support her by her side. It also showed people that struggled to let go of the past and refuse to see that people have to grow and change. It was an interesting contrast between the two "love" interests (even though I find it hard to see the brother--not related by blood to the princess--as a love interest). Not only did I enjoy a lot of the characters but I also loved the chemistry all the actors had when acting together. The romance was so innocent and carefree and the two main characters were so supportive of each other all the time. The drama was pretty enjoyable for me. The ending was also beautiful and so bittersweet. It gave me all the feels.