Who could light the flame of rebellion?
"Even if you see something, act like you do not. Even if you hear something, act like you do not. And even if you want something, act like you do not."
— Prologue
Wolfgang Goldenleonard is everything you would least expect from a prince: fiery, street-smart, and completely and utterly disgusted with the royal lifestyle. Having spent years scraping by in the kingdom’s slums after the mur- ...uh, "untimely death" of his noblewoman mother, the one thing that would make being summoned to the palace worth it would be seeing His Majesty the King — a philandering, hedonistic tyrant of a ruler — fall from the throne.
Wolfgang’s strong sense of justice and thirst for revenge garners the attention of the reserved and enigmatic Shin Soohyuk, one of His Majesty’s many catamites, and his personal favorite out of a group simply referred to as the King’s Children. After being forced into the position shortly after his own father accepted the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Soohyuk has been searching for a chance at gaining back his freedom for far too long, but with no luck... until now, of course.
Sensing a kindred spirit in one another, the two soon find themselves striking a deal: Wolfgang will allow Soohyuk to educate him in the ways of politics and palace etiquette in order to gain enough public support to eventually overthrow his father, in exchange for releasing Soohyuk and company once he inherits the throne.
And so our tale begins…
King’s Maker (킹스메이커) is a Fantasy/BL Korean Webtoon that was first released in June 2017, written and illustrated by Haga and Kang Jiyoung respectively. Season 1 is currently hosted in its entirety on Lezhin Comics in Korean,
Japanese, and English,, and its Chinese translation is hosted on Kuaikan Manhua. On June 1st, 2019, Season 2 were released on Kakao Page under the title King's Maker: Triple Crown in South Korea, and on January 13th, 2020, was finally released in English on Tappytoon, where it updates weekly on Tuesdays. Season 1 also started publication on the French site Delitoon in January 2020.
This work contains examples of:
- The Alleged Steed: One such horse, Aaron, is introduced for Wolfgang to tame in Episode 9: bred from two of the finest steeds in the royal stables and remarkably intelligent (although it only ever comes into play at Wolfgang's expense) but horribly uncooperative and underfed. He turns out to be of the "secretly a Cool Horse" variety once he and Wolfgang get more used to each other.
- Ambition Is Evil: Inverted. It's the fact that Wolfgang has any ambition at all that allows him to gain public support so easily, in contrast to His Majesty, who openly admits that his motivations rarely go any deeper than Screw the Rules, I Have Money! right before the final battle of Season 1.
- Arc Villain: The king turns out to be this when Season 1 ends with him dying.
- Assassination Attempt: The central focus of a major arc beginning in Season 2, Episode 7.
- Bitch Slap: Soohyuk delivers one to Wolfgang in Episode 19, making it clear that he is not happy with the latter's outburst in front of his family.
- Chekhov's Skill: In Episode 7, Wolfgang has an altercation with two guards (one of whom turns out to be a captain, much to his chagrin) and responds by throwing a handful of dirt in their faces to try to make a quick getaway. Despite moving on to more "refined" fighting techniques once he's older, this eventually makes a comeback when he faces off with the King — albeit with blood instead of dirt.
- Comically Missing the Point: Upon first meeting Lord Sys in Episode 4, Soohyuk expects Wolfgang to be put off by his more... out-there mannerisms, and is quick to try to explain that all appearances aside, Sys is their best bet at getting through to the Duke of Ulysses. Wolfgang immediately cuts Soohyuk off to angrily point out that he and Sys are apparently already on a First-Name Basis with each other, while he's only just learned Soohyuk's full name.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Played for Drama. Soohyuk tells Wolfgang that Dandelion is unlikely to heed his warnings against visiting the King in private, but would probably listen to him given that Dandelion has a serious case of Big Brother Worship. Wolfgang refuses. Dandelion, with nobody left to deter him after the execution of his tutor Theo, makes a surprise visit to his father and ends up paying for it with his life in Episode 32.
- The Coup: This is ultimately what the rebellion culminates in, with most of its active participants being either servants of nobles or lower-ranking royal soldiers.
- Dance of Romance: Soohyuk and Wolfgang share a surprisingly straightforward one separate from the rest of the crowd in Episode 22. This is also when Soohyuk finally admits to himself that he's fallen for the latter, via Purple Prose.
- Decadent Court: Of a sort, anyway. Some are just as selfish and prideful as His Majesty himself, while others are simply cowardly, and would prefer to lull themselves into a false sense of security to cope with their ruler’s increasingly depraved demands than face the risks that come with fighting back.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Notable examples include Wolfgang's mother, Lady Christine, who first instilled the idea that the royal family of Goldenleonard is not who they say they are in Wolfgang, as well as the lesson that one must never kill senselessly, and Lord Sys' biological parents, a pair of apothecaries who, while notably more strict with their son, loved him enough to offer up their own lives in place of his when the king confronted them about a Child seeking shelter in their home.
- Fan Disservice: The idea of a naked Soohyuk sounds appealing enough, especially from Wolfgang's point of view. The idea of a naked Soohyuk who's only about 14 and has been forced to stand out in the cold for so long that the soles of his feet are cracked and bleeding, however, is significantly less so.
- Go-Go Enslavement: Subverted. The King's Children do have a uniform, but it's rather modest and seems to have been fashioned after those of clergymen, with the most recognizable piece even being a black capelet. Regardless of modesty, however, it still serves as a symbol of oppression throughout the story.
- Gold-Colored Superiority: Averted. The King's second-tier soldiers wear full suits of real gold armor to indicate their status, but this comes back to bite them in the coup beginning in Episode 34, seeing as gold is only one of the softest metals out there, making it ill-suited for practical armor.
- Held Gaze: Happens often, especially in the early days of Season 1. Somewhat justified in Wolfgang and Soohyuk's case, since going any further than longing stares would likely (and at one point, does) end poorly.
- Hotter and Sexier: Played straight and taken up to eleven in the mature release of Season 2. Scenes are redrawn with Soohyuk and/or Wolfgang wearing far less clothing whenever they're intimate with one another, and the two have an explicit sex scene that wasn't in the original release.
- Hypocrite: The nobility of Goldenleonard is more than happy to turn a blind eye to the King's wrongdoings as long as they can continue to live in luxury, at least until it starts to affect them — first when Soohyuk, a Minister's son, is taken to become one of the King's Children, and then when Dandelion is killed several years later.
- I Am Spartacus: Subverted. When the King's men begin executing anyone named Wolfgang in order to weed the real one out at the beginning of Season 1, the real Wolfgang offers himself up right away in order to prevent any more deaths.
- Kingmaker Scenario: Wth Soohyuk being the weaker third party who aligns himself with Wolfgang in order to make him strong enough to take down the king.
- Mood Whiplash: In Episode 3, Soohyuk, after helping Wolfgang dress himself in accordance to his newfound role as prince, is caught off-guard once he gets a full view of the final product, and in a momeont of uncharacteristic fondness, finds himself finally giving Wolfgang his name. This, of course, doesn't stop him from pointing out that fully decked out royal garb is highly impractical for everyday use, and that Wolfgang will have to change into something simpler. Again.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When advised in Episode 31 to warn Dandelion face-to-face against visiting their father in the Chamber of Bloom, where the King goes to meet with his catamites, Wolfgang refuses, pointing out that it would only draw more suspicion to both of them. He and Soohyuk compromise by coming up with a new plan to cause a flood in the ministers' meeting hall and have them relocate to the hall where the Chamber of Bloom is located; Wolfgang, in the meantime, was to stay hidden and come to collect a likely-traumatized Dandelion after he leaves the Chamber of Bloom - and the ministers, being in the same hall to bear witness to this, would only have been left to assume the worst, giving them all the more reason to oppose the King's rule despite any possible repercussions. The court is indeed horrified... at Dandelion having fallen to his death from the window of the Chamber of Bloom.
- Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome: Wolfgang and Soohyuk appear to have finally hooked up for real after the ending of Season 1. Romance-wise, it should be smooth sailing from there, right? Except that achieving Official Couple status doesn't automatically absolve all of one's lingering trauma, nor does it indicate that they'll be able to understand each other's wants and needs without needing to actually communicate. On top of that, they've both come into positions of power at a time when tensions are at an all-time high and a second attempt at a coup could be lurking just around the corner...
- Parents as People: Soohyuk's father. He first moved to Goldenleonard after being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, likely hoping to secure an easier life for his family in a country that he had only ever heard good things about... only to be forced to work for an almost cartoonishly evil tyrant and have his son forced into sexual slavery. He's rarely ever seen in the same room as Soohyuk, but whenever he manages to visit him (which probably isn't very often to begin with,) he's clearly worried about his wellbeing - even moreso when it turns out that Soohyuk may have ended up bedridden due to illness after the events of Episode 25.
- Playing Sick: In Episode 26, Soohyuk is revealed to have been doing this for years as part of his Wounded Gazelle Gambit. Thanks to Lord Sys' assistance, it's convincing to the point where almost everyone is convinced that he's become bedridden for good.
- Puppet State: The vassal nation of Depennia. So much so that their public image of the royal family of Goldenleonard is on par with that of gods, thanks to their highly fictionalized accounts of their deeds being written in the style of classical myths or fairytales. In Season 1, this aspect of Depennia is best exemplified through Dandelion, an idealistic young boy who's spent most of his life there due to illness.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The narrative doesn’t hesitate to point out the King’s other flaws as a ruler, namely that he’s neglectful of his actual duties and leaves close to all of them to his staff, appears more concerned with ensuring his own survival and pleasure over that of his subjects, is hedonistic to the extreme, never seems to actually have a reason for doing any of this aside from Screw the Rules, I Have Money!, and so on and so forth… but his affinity for underage partners, whether they’re willing or not, is brought up the most often.
- Scenery Dissonance: Dandelion's death, portrayed in graphic, bloody detail, takes place on a bright and sunny afternoon.
- Sexual Karma: The King desires nothing more than to satisfy his depraved desires for underage sexual partners, which establishes him as a monster and serial molester who everyone wants dead. In contrast, Wolfgang and Soohyuk are trying to make Goldenleonard a better place by overthrowing the tyrannical monarch. The two wish to become physically and emotionally close, but cannot because Soohyuk is the King's favorite catamite. Once the King is dealt with and Soohyuk gains his freedom, he and Wolfgang become more romantically involved, culminating in the couple having consensual and passionate sex in the mature version.
- Silent Scenery Panel: Whenever there's a major shift in location, expect to see a wide shot of said location's lovingly rendered architecture before any of the actual characters.
- Shameful Strip: Soohyuk is forced into this, combined with Come to Gawk, in Episode 25, as punishment for giving himself to someone other than the king. This also occurs during a harsh winter, putting him at risk of falling ill, just to kick it up a notch.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Wolfgang is dead set on ripping the King's throat out from day one, but of course, there's no way a 13-year-old boy is going to be able to overpower a grown man, especially with no allies or advanced stealth skills. He ends up having to spend years training in any and every field that would help him build upon his strengths or gain more supporters.
- Soohyuk is reluctant to engage in his and Wolfgang's romantic trysts due to the psychological and sexual abuse he endured from the King. While Wolfgang's love is much healthier and he refuses to cross the line against Shin's consent, his partner is still scarred from the humiliation he endured isn't as receptive towards his affections, even when the two become more sexually intimate.
- Royalty Super Power: The Goldenleonard line has one in the form of "The Golden Blessing," which, in addition to access to magic, gives the bearer the incredibly convenient ability to cleanse themselves of almost any poison. It's possible to tell if one has the blessing if they have golden blonde hair and Supernatural Gold Eyes. There is, however, a catch. According to legend, the Golden Blessing was bestowed upon the first King of Goldenleonard with a set of as-of-yet unknown conditions. If the current bearer fails to meet these conditions, they lose the power of the blessing. There's also no guarantee that the bearer will still be able to use magic at all if, say, the country's natural supply starts running dry.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: The King's wine is poisoned by an unknown assailant (later revealed to have been Theo) in Episode 21, but survives after taking a night off to recover thanks to the Golden Blessing's poison-cleansing ability. Wolfgang himself ends up on the receiving end of this trope in Season 2.
- Throwing Out the Script: Shortly after being brought to the palace and accepting Soohyuk's offer to work together, Wolfgang is sent to the Duchy of Ulysses (with Soohyuk in tow) to find some way to negotiate with the Duke — which turns out to be in the form of a speech to the duchy's residents, who do not possess a favorable view of the royal family for obvious reasons, to tide them over while they wait. A street urchin burns the script as a form of sabotage, and Wolfgang ends up having to improvise. While the crowd doesn't exactly come to trust him right away, they are at least interested enough to stick around for the whole thing.
- Time Skip: Two in total for Season 1; the first time skip occurs after Episode 14, and spans roughly 1 or 2 years. The second makes it so that Episode 26 takes place another good few years after Episode 25; while the exact number is unclear, enough time has passed so that the leads are at least just entering adulthood.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Soohyuk turns out to have been carrying one out during most of, if not the entire post-Episode 25 Time Skip. Although it isn't really to manipulate others so much as it is to drive suspicion away from himself as an active participant in Wolfgang's rebellion.
- You Killed My Mother: Wolfgang's initial reason for wanting the King dead, before he becomes aware of his many, many other failings.
- Younger Than They Look: Wolfgang and Soohyuk are only about 13 or 14 at the beginning of Season 1, yet they act like and regularly carry out duties expected of older teenagers or even adults. Although considering their circumstances, it might actually be a case of them more or less being forced to “grow up” early.
