The plot was painfully predictable, the romance did not grab the attention, most of the characters had nothing innovative going on for them and the villains never felt like a real threat. And yet, somehow... I love this drama. I could not explain why, but I was interested from the beginning till the end. Everything just worked well and made me anticipate the next episode.

One of the best parts of the drama for sure was the acting. Dare I say, this was the best Seo Jin Goo’s role. While I am sad we did not get more scenes with the mad king (boy he was an amazing character and interesting to watch), Jin Goo's emotional scenes as Ha Sun were just as captivating. The duality in his performance left me in awe. I also appreciate that we as viewers could easily see which character we were currently watching on the screen. They had distinguishing characteristics, so I was never left in confusion.

That said, the whole show was stolen by Haksan, the loyal Chief Royal Secretary. The most complex character in the drama, with an amazing development and true depth. The internal and external conflicts he had to face were heartbreaking and made me cry more than once. I always anticipated his scenes and wished there were more of them, even though he was already one of the main characters. Kim Sang Kyung truly aced the role.

The weakest parts of the drama were romance and the villains. While Queen So Woon might have been a loyal and nice person, there was not much to her character, except for being the support for Ha Sun.

It was interesting to watch the villains try to win, but from the get go it was obvious they had no chance in this fight. All of the battles were too weak and they lost too easily and quickly.

All things considered, somehow this drama worked perfectly and was a true enjoyment to watch. Would recommend watching it for sure and I'm extremely happy I decided to try it myself.