Enjoyed the five leads very much, especially the two Mr. Parks. Seo Joon appears to be a born leader, who while very modest and an introvert, acts with complete abandon in his roles. I watch because he's an actor able to ‘become’ whomever he portrays. After the first few moments, Seo Joon is forgotten and only the character in the story remains. He has spoken of his "plain face" several times and, as a portrait artist, I agree, yet his personality always reveals the inner man to light the outer with that sensational smile, which is transforming. He might not be noticed on the street if he were not famous, yet having found this outlet, he is unforgettable and, naturally, he’s well-loved by those with whom he knows via his work and by his fans worldwide. As a whole individual, he is irresistible. Unfortunately, this is always a two-sided coin in the world today with adoration sometimes being as questionable in extreme alone with those whose fantasies are not normal.

I thought that Park Hyung Shik was excellent as the multilayered Emperor in Waiting; he demonstrated a restraint at times when we could feel his fury at being turned out as a child with only one individual to support him. No matter how devoted, kind, or brave his Aide-de-Camp, he had loss everything from stability to a mother's love and protection, with her apparent care going to politics. Even when he visits on occasion, she is more enemy than even a distant relative. Hyung Shik gives us a complete range of a Crown Prince with excellent genes who is constantly on a tight rope in a forbidden and forbidding landscape. I felt Sam Maek’s quiet despair in couple scenes with Seo Joon that were each a bit heart rendering: (1) when he asks Sun Woo Rang what he will do when the Emperor is found, to which the cold gaze and freezing response is that he will kill ruler asap because the Emperor ordered his best friend’s death; and (2) as he watched Soo Woo “become the ‘King’” with full, very-believable, personal power during their visit to the neighboring country. It was as if his interior structure of bravado crumbled, yet we only see it in his eyes and the smallest change of expression.

Evidently, Seo Joon and Hyung Shik are close friends, but during this series there is no sense of their real-life situation. Within the series - before, during, and after their time at the Hwarang Academy, the competition between the two characters is normal intense (whether positive or negative) and their initial sword fight through the barn with revolving doors was fierce. I found them equally able to become the warrior one would expect in that time.