I very much enjoyed this - I had just finished My Dearest a couple of weeks ago and this overlaps in time with Captivating the King starting with the end of the Qing invasion and the prince being sent to Shenyen, followed by the gradual collapse into some insanity of the reigning king (they each take a slightly different lean on this aspect though). Translator Jung is also present in character as well (different actor of course and with different motivations compared to My Dearest). If you've watched one, watch the other, it's interesting seeing the common bits as well as the different takes on things.

The standout for me is the male lead - this is the first time i've seen Jo Jung Sook in an entirely 100% serious role, all of his others have allowed him to bring his brilliant light heartedness and comedic sense but there is nothing comedic about this role as he starts as the prince and progresses to being the King it's all serious all the way.

I enjoyed the interplay between the characters, the scheming going back and forth, and the strategies that the two leads were employing even independently of each other. It's like watching a pair of grand masters at work. The writing here was exceptional I felt.

I was absolutely hooked on this from start to finish - binged the entire thing in fairly short order.

Shin Se Kyung is someone I always enjoy watching and I thought she delivered well in this, does seem like she's a marmite attraction to many viewers but for me, I thought she was great.

As the bad guys start to get taken down there are definitely a number of "punch the sky" "yess!" moments to be had, especially with the big-bad :)

Well worth the watch in my view!