Korean Drama 'Secret Royal Inspector' had an interesting plot prompt, but ended up following the old well traveled path.

The drama starts pretty strong, with the introduction of the characters, the main story, and the main mystery. The first case the Royal Inspector and his team take sets the foundation of their friendship and their dynamics as a team while presenting to the viewer what is yet to come. And yet, the story is pretty generic after that, with a bad guy who was neither intriguing nor original.

The romance was also a bit of a let down, as it had a messy pace, but, at least, it didn't overtake the story and played the role of filling the gaps. Unfortunately, the side romance and the trop of past love interest coming back to create drama was well used, probably a bit too much at times. At least the bromance was quite strong and refreshing.

The performances, finally, were pretty great for everyone, especially the leads, though the leading lady needs more screen time to improve her skills.

So, overall, 5.5 out of 10.