The show was well paced with a very well developed plot centered around political intrigue. All the male characters were interesting, and, thankfully there weren't any convoluted plotlines and cliche tropes. My favorite relationships were between Ha Seon and the Chief Royal Secretary, Eunuch Jo, Guard Jang, and the villains. However, the show should've gone without the romance.

This was probably the first drama where I couldn't care less about the romance. It felt like an afterthought. Nothing against the actors. Everyone did a great job portraying their characters. Big props to Yeo Jin Goo being so young but already so talented. He did a fantastic job playing two completely different characters. However, the romance was lacking. Yeo Jin Goo next to Lee Se Young looked like a younger brother rather than a romantic partner. Their relationship was completely uninteresting and the chemistry was bland.

The ending was odd. Ha Seon was "killed" by a bunch of thugs who supposedly wanted to avenge the queen dowager, following by a two year time skip just for him to return and reunite with the queen. Why? That was a stupid writing choice that contributed nothing to the plot but dragged the final episode and killed off some cool side characters, making it all about the boring romance story between Ha Seon and So Woon, which wasn't that much of a plotline to start with. The bromance between Ha Seon and the chief royal secretary was way more interesting.

Overall, the show had a few crappy writing choices, but other than that it was good. The story was about friendship, duty, country. If you are watching it for romance, you will be disappointed. The show would've been exponentially better without it, the messy ending, and unnecessary deaths of some really cool characters.