Actor Lee Jong-suk is driving the global hit surge of the Disney+ original series “The Remarried Empress” with polished acting befitting a native speaker of romance-fantasy language.
“The Remarried Empress” (provided by The Walt Disney Company Korea, produced by Studio N, directed by Jo Su-won, written by Yeo Ji-na and Hyun Choong-yeol) is a romance-fantasy epic in which Navier (Shin Mina), the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire, is notified of divorce by Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Jihoon) after he falls for the runaway slave Rasta (Lee Seyoung), and the story follows the upheaval after she demands approval to remarry Prince Heinley (Lee Jong-suk) of the Western Kingdom. In the series, Lee Jong-suk fully embodies Heinley, delivering not only the thrill of a tender, younger man but also a reassuring presence whose very existence comforts others, making him a “reassuring prince” who consoles both Navier and viewers.
Episodes 5 and 6, released on the 11th, maximized immersion by alternating Heinley’s satisfying comeback with his tender devotion. After declaring he would find the pen pal he had exchanged handwritten letters with, Heinley confronted a Rasta who, having stolen the letter, pretended to be the real correspondent. Heinley, who had already become the “Queen” and been communicating directly with Navier, feigned gullibility at Rasta’s lie to widen the trap, then exposed the whole truth at the New Year banquet, branding Rasta a liar in high society. It was a thrilling “twist-cider” moment that repaid at once the offense of impersonating his queen.
After that, Heinley began to pursue Navier in earnest. He offered to be friends beyond the letters, but when their birthday plans were canceled because of Sovieshu’s proposal, he showed a pure side, sniffling through his hurt. When news of Rasta’s pregnancy shook the court, he quietly checked Navier’s wounds first and offered subdued comfort. In the stifling royal household, he became the only shelter where Navier could breathe.
That charm of the character was completed by Lee Jong-suk’s nuanced control of tempo, moving between exhilaration, disappointment and consolation. In Navier’s presence, he stayed by her with genuinely happy, worried eyes; against Rasta, he used a mischievous charisma, pausing with a smile and changing his tone. He especially handled the romance-fantasy genre’s formal lines with an unhurried, relaxed “Heinley diction,” prompting viewers to rave, “He really looks like a prince,” and “He’s younger, but he has a prince’s dignity.”
The series’ global performance is also overwhelming. According to Disney+, “The Remarried Empress” set the record for the most views among Disney+ local original contents worldwide in the first three days after release, and it has continued its popularity by ranking No. 1 for Korean content in more than 90 markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Brazil.
[Photo] “The Remarried Empress” broadcast screen capture, provided by Ace Factory
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