I was really excited to watch this show because the plot seemed really fun and lighthearted. And the first few episodes were exactly that but it quickly changed to a more serious tone, which I didn't hate but made the transitions between the two atmospheres in the show a bit confusing.
The cast did a phenomenal job. The (serious) crying scenes weren't spot on for me but the rest was really well done. The actors fit their roles really well. I have to admit I liked the Queen a bit more in the first half of the show because I felt like the chef's personality was completely there, but then it wore down when she regained her memories. Nonetheless, Shin Hyesun was great at portraying this character: I truly believed she was a male stuck in a female body. The side characters were great as well and made me both laugh and tear up at multiple points.
The soundtrack was INCREDIBLE and couldn't have fit the show better.
Now, about the ending...
Everyone was fearing an ending like Scarlet Heart's but I would rather have that kind of tragic ending to this one, which isn't much less tragic. Less people died but the two main leads got one of the worst endings possible. You can try to prove me wrong but the king fell in love with the chef's personality, that happened to be in the Queen's body. In one of the episodes, he states the reasons for having fallen in love with the Queen and all of them had to do with her personality, the way it was after the chef took over her body. Just like Kim Byung In realised he couldn't love this Queen wholeheartedly because she wasn't Soyong anymore, you can't make me believe that the King could love the Queen wholeheartedly after the Jang Bong left the body. Not to be mean or unfair towards Soyong who had suffered so much in her life, but the chef was the person who attracted the King's attention and affection. He even says in the last episode that he feels like he lost something...and the Queen even treats him differently now! No one can convince me that he will feel the same deep love for Soyong, even if he seems to have accepted this... shell? of the Queen he loved. She wasn't there throughout the show, the chef was! Therefore, it was him whom the King loved! On top of that, Jang Bonghwan is back to the present days, which I'm not mad about. What upsets me is how dismissive his attitude was when he found out that the King had survived. I'm probably not explaining this very well but he seemed to be like "Oh okay, he survived and did well in life. That's good!". It was like the King was just a friend who the chef was rooting for or someone whom he had grown attached to. Not someone he had been deeply in love with (and had a child with!!!), and, once again, no one can change my mind that that was exactly the case. The relationship between the main leads was treated almost as a casual thing in the end after having riskd their lives for each other and had so many dramatic moments. I can't help but think their relationship and true feelings were dismissed in order to have a "happy ending". And that to me is much more tragic than Scarlet Heart, where the viewers were at least sure the main leads loved each other to death and that the whole story wasn't in vain. On the other hand, Mr Queen... I wish both main leads had either ended up together in the past or the present OR that they had suffered for being apart. I wish the suffering was shown, for me to feel satisfied and sure of the relationship they had developed throughout the show. Judge me. Or maybe had found an alternative solution? This ending was not only unsatisfying but, in a way, more tragic that Scarlet Heart's.
I know the writers went as far as they could go not to portray homosexuality but I wish they had crossed that line and just accepted the criticism from close-minded people. Had they done that, the show would have been unforgettable. Now it's just... another show? I gave it 9 stars because of the acting and the production but I'm so sad I might change it to 8.5 later. I appreciate the risk but the show ended up being quite meaningless.

P.S.: I'm sorry but I can't accept that Soyong's feelings were mixed with Jang Bong's personality and that's why he liked the King. They had a baby together, I can't accept it LOL. And even if the special episode shows that the King was already in love with Soyong before the chef took over but was holding himself back because of her family, that to me just sounds like an excuse, as it does not match the character development shown throughout the drama. If that is the case, then the King wouldn't have promised his brother he would kill the Queen if she was a traitor. He also wouldn't have tried to kill her. Nope, it's just an excuse from the producers that fits their narrative that "THIS ISNT A HOMOSEXUAL SHOW!!!" A pity.