So far, my favorite k-drama of the year. As an avid fan of Kim Taeri, this is another refreshing role of Kim Taeri that moved me. But before I start talking about how much I love her as Na Heedo, I will talk some other aspects of the drama first.

I found the show a bit slow and draggy at certain places but nevertheless it really kept me expecting what’s next. Overall chemistry between the casts feels pretty good. The story is well built and balanced perfectly with comedy, romance and dramatic events. I’m not history nerd so I’m not sure if the props used in the drama are accurate to details but they really won that nostalgic factor for me, another point would be incorporating big cultural events that happened back then into the drama.

Now moving onto characters, most of them are created really well, I especially enjoyed the friendship between Na Heedo and Ko Yurim as much as I enjoyed the romance between Baek Yijin and Heedo. Kim Taeri’s portrayal of Na Heedo is very youthful and energetic, which takes audiences with her to witness the struggles and happiness Na Heedo went through in very lovely way. I cried and laughed a lot in most parts. My favorite was when Heedo and Ko Yurim had a dramatic fight at the press when she won her first gold, as an audience, I want to sympathize with heedo but later learning about yurim’s struggles, i couldn’t hate her either and in fact grows to sympathize with her. That kind of balance is achieved in 2521. Nam Joohyuk’s portrayal as Yijin was also quite good. I didn’t have much opinion on him before but this drama really proved that he can do well.

And finally, the ending. I don’t understand why people call this sad ending or bad ending, I think it’s realistic and achieves what the story wants to tell; youth also ends one day. I’m aware people think they kind of broke up really fast and their romance part was rushed, however the drama clearly foreshadows how the two aren’t meant to be since the very beginning. All in all, I love the portrayal of friendship and sportsmanship here. I think I won’t look at the fencers the same way again.