I binge watched this series so I wasn't really affected as much from the drama behind the drama. Regardless, you will be affected. This drama had a rocky road. but first let me mention what I liked about it. Our lead actress plays a badass female warrior. I'm surprised this role really suited her and she played it well. Not only did Kim So Hyun play the female lead, she had a dual role in which she played the former queen as well. This part, I felt she was a bit weaker in her acting, but she still did a decent job. It can get confusing differentiating the two characters when they go back and forth in the timeline. There were also some really great guest/supporting roles in this drama. The action choreography was pretty good. I also loved some of the scenic shots in this drama. Production wise, it was great.

Now for the elephant in the room...the lead actor changed after 6 episodes. Some people were upset about it and could not adjust to the change. For this reason, I highly suggest taking a break after episode 6 instead of watching episodes 6 and 7 back to back. The editing gets a bit sloppy around this point because they had to go back and refilm scenes with the new actor. The story's focus moves away from the male lead and onto the princess. Just think of it as the drama's slump period. So now the audience is forced to experience two different actors with two different character interpretations. It's very hard not to compare the two. I personally liked Na In Woo's interpretation better as the character is supposed to be a country bumpkin and soft. The princess's nickname for On Dal is "deer" and it seemed to me like Na In Woo had more doe like eyes. This innocence is of key importance in later episodes. Anyways, I have to give Na In Woo props cuz he came in and took on a role he had very little time to prepare for and got so much hate for it because he replaced the predecessor.

As for the story, there was a lot going on and maybe the drama tried to tackle too much at once? Not only do you have the internal palace drama and corruption, you have neighboring country threats, as well a bunch of people with their own side stories trying to get revenge. I wouldn't say the story dragged since there was a lot going on, but 20 episodes felt like a lot and it could've been shortened down to 16. At times the script felt a bit weak when it came to dialogue and flat supporting characters. Overall, not an absolute mess like I thought it would be. If you give the drama a chance, it does get better in the second half. It's a decent drama. I can't say for sure it was worth my time though.