“The Tale of Lady Ok” tells the story of Goo Deok Yi (Lim Ji Yeon)'s (Lim Ji Yeon) journey to success, a runaway slave posing as Lady Ok Tae Young.
After its premiere on the evening of November 30, the work received many positive responses. In the most recent episode, “The Legend of Mrs. Ok” achieved its highest viewership rating since its premiere at 8.5%, according to Nielsen Korea.
Along with that, the drama and Lim Ji Yeon also beat “When the Phone Rings” and Yoo Yeon Seok to top the weekly drama and actor rankings, according to Good Data Corporation.
Ten Asia assessed that this achievement was not too surprising as Lim Ji Yeon had a brilliant performance. Her acting in the stages of being a slave, becoming a young lady and becoming a rich daughter-in-law brought about differences, emotions but also humor.
Along with that, the plot is interesting and develops quickly. In just 4 episodes, the film tells the story of the female lead's transformation from slave to noble, her quick marriage to Sung Yoon Gyeom (Choo Young Woo) and the collapse of her husband's family.
However, the fast pace of "The Legend of Mrs. Ok" seems to be counterproductive when the controversial scene of Yoon Gyeom revealing that he does not want to get married, cannot be close to women but wants to use the wedding with Deok Yi to hide his secret.
In fact, the appearance of LGBTQ+ characters is not too unfamiliar to the audience, however, the content and dialogue of the film create a feeling of inconsistency and suddenness.
Especially when in previous episodes, Yoon Gyeom showed special concern for the female lead through lines like: "You are the woman I like the most", or "I can't bear to think about you with another man"...
On the other hand, Yoon Gyeom's revelation as the leader of Aesimdan - a place that specializes in rescuing and guiding ethnic minority children, teaching them martial arts, or the way he confessed his secret to his father were also criticized as not being suitable for the character's personality.
Although Sung Yoon Gyeom is only a supporting character, the lack of coherence in the script and the constant forced situations are the reasons why the film “The Legend of Mrs. Ok” has been criticized. However, Korean newspapers still hope that the film will do well in the content in the remaining 12 episodes, thereby regaining the audience’s sympathy and recording many new rating achievements.
