I saw this drama pop up on my feed recently – First Night with the Duke. And I was like… what’s with that title, bro? Sounds like a Wattpad fantasy fever dream.
Anyway, because I’m a fan of Taecyeon (don’t judge me), I went ahead and subscribed to Viu just to watch him in this. Taecyeon’s acting is not super serious, kinda goofy, but in a naturally charming way. He’s fun to watch.
But sadly… I just couldn’t deal with the storyline.
So what’s the drama about?
It’s about a modern-day woman who suddenly gets transported into a romantic novel set in Joseon-era Korea. Classic time-slip. She ends up as a side character in the story and needs to figure out how to survive in that world. Of course, she somehow catches the attention of the main male lead, a mysterious, good-looking Duke. And just like that, boom, we’re stuck in a whirlwind of palace drama, love triangles, and every woman fighting for the same man.
Why I dropped it
Honestly, the premise was okay. Time travel + fantasy can be fun if done well. But the romance? Too fast, too forced. The main characters fell in love like it was nothing. Way too fairy-tale-like, and not in a charming way. Every other scene was “damsel in distress” and I absolutely cannot stand that trope. Why is the female lead always fainting or needing to be rescued?
Then we have the classic girl-vs-girl jealousy drama, like, again? We’re still doing that in 2025?
By episode 10, I was exhausted. The story wasn’t going anywhere, just looping the same drama over and over again. So I said nope and bailed.
If you’re into light fantasy romances with overly dramatic love stories and don’t mind cliché plots, you might actually enjoy this. But for me? Nah. I’ll just wait for Taecyeon’s next drama, hopefully with a better role and a storyline that actually respects the audience’s brain.