I keep giving Joseon pieces a shot. It seems they are a right of passage or actors aren't taken seriously unless they have been in at least one. There isn't a single star I have come to like or follow that doesn't have one of these history tales on their resume. So, I keep watching these weird hatted (I mean why are they mesh, they neither protect from the rain or sun, why are we wearing them?) medieval stories that unfortunately tend to all be carbon copies of each other where everyone is vying for the throne.

I have asked in comments if there are any Joseon stories that do not deal with Kings, Princes, succession, and cementing power through Queens marriage, to deaf ears (Err Eyes). This seems to be the only reason to ever write one of these things. There is always at least one, sometimes warring, politicians that are part of the court which always somehow have more power than the kings themselves and are always evil. There more often than not is a son of one of these politicians who is morally ambiguous, who "hates" their corrupt evil father but likewise does nothing to stop their dastardly deeds even while knowing how awful they are, at least until we reach the climax. There is always a forbidden love. The list goes on and on.

Rookie Historian is no different. All of the plot points above are found here as well. The constant recycling and repackaging of Korea's Joseon entertainment is alive and well yet again. However, I will say this time round, the actual tag of comedy can be proudly proclaimed, as there are actually many funny bits throughout the entirety of its run. There are characters and stories that remain light, cute, and fun for almost the entire duration. Their is a soft happiness to the entire production and though the story always has to dig into tragedy and ultimately a large dramatic finish, this time round it refrains from becoming totally horrific.

This time the "fresh" take on the story is by angling from the view of Historians, those that walk and skulk silently in the rooms of the palace writing everything they see to create a written record and truthful history that no one is allowed to read, except other historians apparently. This angle is narrowed when it focuses on the sudden reintroduction of women historians who haven't been used in centuries. Their job is to follow the everyday lives of the royals in their bedrooms and homes instead of the political meetings and public events like the men historians. Thus, the story injects a fresh shot of female empowerment and equality.

Our lead actress Shin Se Kyung plays Goo Hae Ryung, a headstrong, forward thinking, noble woman, with a somewhat mysterious past. Se Kyun is strong in the role overall. She brings both softness and strength to the character, as well as beauty. However, the character seems to not hold the resilience and grit the story early on claims our heroine has. As the tale progresses she gives in to the pressures around her for a stint, especially when it comes to her love. She begins to be the whole tortured female with an empty face, tears behind closed doors, suffer in silence publicly female character that is so commonly written. While she will ultimately spring to action for the end, there will be a whole section of episodes where you will just roll your eyes at her and feel like she just gave up. I suppose the plot needed this to happen at the expense of her character.

Then there is our male lead Cha Eun Woo who plays Prince Do Won. No one can argue that Eun Woo isn't beautiful. He is. Maybe he is a great performer and singer, I do not follow Kpop. But, I can say he isn't sturdy or balanced yet as an actor. It isn't that he is straight bad as an actor, there are moments here where he pulls off some good work. When it is time to be cute, playful, flirtatious, and smitten he does well enough. It is endearing and fun to watch. Him and his female lead have a cute chemistry, not screen blazing, but good enough. Even in the end when things take a more serious turn and Eun Woo is asked to pull off some more dramatic and tearful moments, he actually comes to shine and be very strong here. However, all the rest of the time, while he is acting jealous, contemplative, arrogant, suspicious, mischievous, and the story is having him as a moving part between the power struggle of the others in play that he becomes awkward, stiff, unnatural, and well shows he is acting. His facial expressions are not varied, but a constant repeat. He looks constipated a lot, or just simply blank. His smiles seem disingenuous. The delivery is just simply off. It doesn't ruin the show, but it does show his weakness compared to everyone else on screen. He is the weakest link here.

Our other male lead Park Ki Woong as Prince Yi jin is the powerhouse. You enjoy him when he appears and are drawn into his wide smiles or unwavering stares. His manliness smoulders and his acting is intense and well delivered. While I was dismayed by the ultimate path this characters takes, getting there was a treat to watch and yes Ki Woong's turn here in this role has made me a fan. Park Ji Hyun also appears as our second female lead Song Sa Hee, and as always does a great job as a morally questionable character who does everything in her own interest. She is detached and a lonely wolf, a character that she should feel right at home in by this point.

Lee Ji Hoon is also a lead as Officer Min, the second in command of the Historians and the morally ambiguous son of the "big bad" I mentioned at the begging. He is the male version of Ji Hyun's Sa Hee here. Detached and stoic he holds steadfast to the rules and doctrine of the Historians to a fault, letting the rules of his work, that historians document but do not take part in nor change the outcome of events not matter how horrible, corrupt, or atrocious the events might be, excuse his inaction regarding his father and those around him he knows are perpetrated wrongs against the crown and Joseon itself. I found it hard to like his character, there is too much he allows to happen, too much he could have stopped or helped with and he just doesn't. He knows there are historians being spies, and he allows it. He documents his father controlling the crown and watches the secret meetings in his family home, and tells no one. He is at fault in the backstory of his wife that you will come to learn, again because of his father. The whole Korean idea that children accept their parents as monsters just because they are their parents is not something I stomach well, yet it is a prevailing plotline in a large swatch of Kdrama (Joseon or not). While of course he is also a noble character who at times goes-to-the-mat for others in the show and if rules are broken ( I found it weird what rules he would not allow to bend or break considering what other stuff he lets slide). He also starts to realize his faults and issues when faced with our female lead who refuses, most-of-the-time to sit idle. Thus, he is put on a redemptive arch.

When the story is playing with its characters it is a great watch. When the story is dealing with medical backstory, or the writing and censorship story line it is engrossing. When it brings up social issues, injustices, equal rights, and takes on the unwillingness for society to change or allow anything different to grow Rookie Historian shines. When it is playful and cute and letting our leads fall for each other it is heartwarming and charming. When it wants to be funny, for the most part (some parts do fall flat or become old and repetitive), it is.

But ultimately all this originality, interesting concepts and explorations, and light hearted enjoyment caves in to the prevailing King/Prince/Throne/Power Grab story that can be found in EVERY JOSEON TALE FROM HERE TO THE MOON. This repetitive, stale, boring, and paint-by-numbers plotting that has not a single moment of originality or surprise ends up the main focus for the end and everything else is trimmed away. Oh well.

I had more fun with this than the last 5 or so Joseon tales combined so it was a surprise for me. While I wish someone would just lay the succession storyline to rest, I wasn't dismayed to have sat through this as I was for other Joseon pieces that claim to be comedies like "Flower Crew" for example. Rookie Historian is ,for the most part, a wining fun watch.

7.5/B/3 3/4-Stars. Shows its flaws but remains strong, likely to be enjoyed.