8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean Historical Romantic Comedy Drama with 16 approximately 60minute episodes.

I first provide a synopsis then a review.

Synopsis:
Marriage is a big deal in Joseon era Korea and, at the top of their game Ma Hoon, (Kim Min-jae) Young-soo (Choi Seung) and Do Joon (Byeon Woo-seok) are three handsome bachelor's who use their unusual charm, intelligence, and good looks to run the most successful marriage agency in the land. Things are going well for the trio until the groom is stolen and the bride jilted during the wedding of Lee Soo (Seo Ji-hoon), a blacksmith's son and Gae-ttong/Yoon Soo-yun (Gong Seung-yeon) whom Lee Soo has loved for many years. But things are not what they seem and Lee Soo was a hidden prince who was abducted to fulfill his destiny as the King of Joseon. The marriage agency feels like they have to make it right for heart broken Gae-ttong and vow to help her determine what happened to Lee Soo and get the marriage back on track. When Ma Hoon foils an assasination attempt on Gae-ttong it is clear things may not be as they seem. The matchmakers pull Gae-ttong into their circle to protect her until they can figure out what, exactly is going on. Lee Soo still has not given up on marrying the girl he loves and asks Ma Hoon to help him figure out how to marry the girl who is now below his social station. Love is a tricky business though and destiny may have other plans.

Review:
Overall I really liked this. The concept of these match making men was a unique twist. The fact that each had a unique back story was very interesting. I loved Gae-ttong as she was very spirited and a-typical. It was a very heart warming story of love and friendship and good overcoming evil. Great all the way around on the surface.

Spoiler alerts**I did not like the romance between one of the matchmakers and the snobby noble daughter. I never found a single thing redeeming about her character and could not fathom a reason, other than her hard to get nature, why he would like her. She looked down on basically every one and the only consistency in her character was snobbery. Every time those two were focused on I just couldn't wait for the story to move on.

I felt very sorry for Lee Soo. He never asked to become king and his love for Gae-ttong was complete. My daughters, who watched it with me, found it nearly unforgivable that the only time he forced his powers as king was to try to force a situation where he would marry her. I think that is a bit generational. I thought his persistence just showed the depth of his love for her. They thought it was stalker level I just thought he was steadfast. I knew he would come around and he did. Said she could marry whomever. But it was sad to me. He mentions that he is married to the nation. I would have loved for him to have a happy ending. I know that is not realistic but I don't watch dramas to have them match sad reality.

There was no real sense for how her life with her brother went after they reunited. Was he living with her? It showed them hanging out a time or two but not if they had any sort of deep connection beyond that. It seemed he understood who she was but there was no emotional moment where it was clear that he did. When Gae-ttong was in trouble for impersonating a noble, he seemed to actually know her and suppress it to protect her, but that was it. And the maid that seemed to have something going with him. I liked that she was protective but to envision she had romantic feelings for him was a bit of a stretch. He was so child like in his thoughts that it would be weird. So that could have been cute if it was just a strong friendship but the implied romance was a little strange.

After all the effort and Gae-ttong to become a noble lady I really wanted to see her keep it. Like the noble who allowed her to use his name would fully adopt her. I mean he complimented her and said he thought his daughter would have been like her but I thought that was a missed opportunity at a really compelling relationship and another heartwarming story. He defended her at just the right time. But I wanted a real relationship to develop between them. It seemed he needed a daughter and she definitely needed a father figure.

I was disappointed in the last episode like so many others were. I really was asking in the second to last episode how the heck were they going to tie up all the political intrigue. Some prince, who we never saw, was supposedly coming back and two friends, turned enemy (the two high nobles) suddenly unite to back stab the king. So that could have been a big thing but it was so rushed it was like wait, how did they go from hating each other and seeming to have different goals for the throne to being in alliance again? It was just strange. A cool plot twist would have been that Do Joon was the prince. Then the snobby noble lady would have had to reconsider her actions. And I wanted him to fully tell her off. He minorly chastised her one time but I wanted him to call her on it and not like her anymore. So she was the one who wanted him but he was so over her. Instead he still wants her, even after she basically told him she wasn't interested because he wasn't a noble and not just any noble but a member of the royal family. So I think him being the hidden prince would have been a great twist.

After all Gae-ttong and Ma-Hoon did for Lee Soo I would have thought he would have given them high positions. I mean who could you trust more than them? It was unclear who filled his "cabinet" after expunging the traitors and how he turned public opinion. They started but never really finished that tangent. What happened with the Queen regent?

In conclusion I think this is well worth the watch. Despite some of the minor plot failings the characters were compelling, the romance was cute, and there were lots of interesting social constructs explored. Don't expect a perfect story. There are, in my mind, some unfinished tangents, and some questions left unanswered. It does end happy which is important to me and most of the major plot elements are tied up.