you can tell this was written by a woman. most sageuks treated becoming the king’s woman as the prize. but the red sleeve treats it as a funeral for a self.
san’s love was real, and it still wasn’t enough. he could have given her rank, protection, his whole heart and he still could not give her a life that was hers. that’s the part men often miss when they write “great love.” they think devotion cancels the cage but it doesn’t. the cage just gets gold bars but it’s still that, a cage.