What makes web dramas
somewhat disorienting compared to the television ones is that they tend
to be really, really fast. I mean this in very literal terms. By the
second episode "Prince of Prince" has stopped even trying to slowly draw
out its characters and simply resorts to dossier profiles. Which
strangely enough works out all right.
These are uncomplicated people
working in the fast-paced world of video games. Job time is work time,
not play time, even if there's plenty of spare moments for the
characters to have short, indignant arguments.
I kind of want to be mad at "Prince of Prince" for being so exciting.
That no doubt sounds like a very strange criticism. Maybe it's just
because I'm used to long-format dramas where this kind of action is
supposed to be a reward. And yet here at any moment there could be jokes
about cosplay or video games or gay hiring practices and by the time
I've even figured out what's actually happened the episode's already
over. What is this, hit-and-run style storytelling?
Well yes as a matter of fact.
These episodes are all under ten minutes
long so there's not time for much else. And I get the distinct feeling
that the appeal here is at least partially just a function of the
actors, who appear to a tad unhinged. They're performing less like a
deliberate story and more like an elaborate practical joke where
everybody knows what's going on except for Si-hyeon (played by Choi
Jong-hun).
Overall it would probably be accurate to characterize "Prince of Prince"
as being an elaborate in-joke. The drama is based on a webtoon. And not
even a complete webtoon. It's still ongoing. And the drama itself
constantly reminds us about this by transitioning the real-life actors
into the webtoon versions of themselves, as if we needed more further
reminders of how utterly bizarre and weird the story is.
Seriously, look at these drawings out of context and you'd think "Prince
of Prince" was some sort of gay historical time travel psychological
thriller. I know full well that this drama is just a rapid-fire Internet
comedy with cartoonish editing and yet the gay historical time travel
psychological thriller theory at times feels somehow more plausible.
Plot summary? Who has time for plot summary? This is a regular drama
with five times as many cliffhangers and the tone is exactly as crazy as
it sounds.
Review by William Schwartz
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