‘Bride Of The Water God’ Actor Nam Joo Hyuk Delivers Sub-Par Performance? Critics Slam Lee Sung Kyung’s Boyfriend’s Acting
"Bride of the Water God" marked tvN's latest foray in the romantic fantasy genre that featured an intriguing story about the water god Ha Baek and his destined human bride So Ah, as portrayed by Nam Joo Hyuk and Shin Se Kyung, respectively. Recently, the actor's performance in the drama's first two episodes captured the attention of critics.
Many Kdrama fans have been looking forward to "Bride of the Water God" given its storyline and star-studded cast. Despite achieving steady viewership ratings during its debut broadcast week, the said production gained mixed reactions from viewers. Some netizens highlighted Nam Joo Hyuk's acting and expressed disappointment over Lee Sung Kyung's boyfriend's performance, Korean news outlet Xports News reported.
Other netizens commented on a few plot similarities between "Bride of the Water God" and the tvN global hit "Goblin." Some critics even compared Nam Joo Hyuk and Gong Yoo's respective characters given their supernatural powers and sojourn into the mortal world.
However, a few reviews commented that while the two tvN dramas plot might be slightly similar, Nam Joo Hyuk and Gong Yoo's titular characters were different from each other. In "Bride of the Water God," Lee Sung Kyung's boyfriend's god character had zero understanding of the intricacies existing in the human world, while in "Goblin," the "Train to Busan" actor's immortal guardian character knew everything about the mortal realm.
Meanwhile, despite the mixed reviews and comments about the tvN fantasy series and Nam Joo Hyuk's acting, the drama still reached impressive viewership shares especially given its cable channel release. "Bride of the Water God" episodes 1 posted nationwide ratings of 3.7 percent with episode 2 at 3.2 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. In the Seoul metropolitan area, the two episodes registered ratings of 4 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
"Bride of the Water God" airs every Monday and Tuesday on tvN. Watch a clip from Episode 1 below: