this show IS blooming
I just finished watching the drama. I wanted to write a review because there are many negative ones, so I wanted to add a positive one.A very light-hearted Saguk that reminds you of the good old days. Great chemistry, comedy, action, and a bit of melo.
The drama IS good—the main story, plot, and development. There were no boring episodes at all.
I'd really like to mention the casting since no one has talked about it yet, if you're a veteran in the K-drama world you would know that all of the old actors in this drama are big-shot actors with long years of experience. The king, left counselor, right counselor, and prime minister. The friend of the female lead is a great actress who is widely recognized lately. I don't want to forget to mention PHS and how godly he is.
I loved the chemistry between the leads, they are so fun to watch and they had real appearance time in each episode. I hate it when side stories go on for episodes without focusing on the leads, which happens a lot in Saguk dramas, especially those with 20 episodes.
You can tell that the female lead was very nervous in the first episode since it's her first major role but her acting gets so much better going further.
Highly recommended if you're looking for a not-so-complicated historical drama with many funny and cute scenes.
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Expected more
The romance was close to none and I didn't feel any chemistry between the leads. None of the characters called out to me, nor did I find any of them charming.I started watching for HyungSik's face value, the main male actor, and kinda stayed for the intrigue. The resolution was however a bit disappointing.
The people who were persecuted in the past now killed and hurt a lot of innocent people. I especially don't understand why the queen was so set in making the Crown Prince's life hell, when he didn't have any fault in anything.
The female lead was supposedly a genius detective, but other than her revealing the hand - blood thing at the beginning, she didn't make any other discoveries all throughout the show. Even the coroner was the one who uncovered the twin secret.
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Full of hope; if you like sageuks and don't mind investing some time in a slower plot!
Wow! I did not expect to love this one as much as I did. It caught me by surprise, but I think this is going to be one of my top all-time dramas.If you haven't watched a lot of sageuks (or, if the only ones you've watched lean more towards fast-paced comedy like Mr. Queen or Forbidden Marriage) I would not recommend this to start with. It is a bit slower, and I think I have only recently grown to love the genre enough that I appreciate this about it. If I were going to pick one to compare it to, I would say Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung - it strikes me as less intense than a lot of traditional sageuks when it comes to the plot, but it also it may not be as "fun" as some of the more recent historical dramas have been.
The mystery plot (and detective teamwork) was actually really intriguing and made a lot of the political portions of the drama much more refreshing than they could have been. I especially enjoyed the first chunk of the drama that had almost a contained mystery plot for each episode, and then those pieces all slowly came together for the main storyline. That being said, there were some episodes where the discoveries were dragged out to such a degree, that it made it hard to continue to be in suspense. I think this drama's greatest flaw is just that they overextended the main plot, and did not give the main romance much time to grow. I think if they had leaned into the romance a bit more, it would have balanced out those slow portions of the mystery.
That being said, where this drama really shines is the main cast. Park Hyung-Sik was AMAZING in this drama. If you are a fan of his, this drama is worth watching just for his acting. His character leans a bit more restrained (which like, is pretty par for the course for a Crown Prince character) but PHS managed to communicate so much emotion just with his eyes and body language. Also, those fight scenes omg!
Jeon So-nee and her character were immaculate. She was incredibly vibrant on screen and just captivated me in every scene she was in. My only complaint is we didn't get enough of her character in action! She was clearly incredibly intelligent and skilled, and her detective work was some of my favorite scenes. I wanted more of it (like what we had in the first few episodes of the series). Also, again, those fight scenes omg!
PHS and JSN together were great. Their banter was great, their chemistry was great, I adored it all. I just wish there was more. As I said above, I think it would've filled the gaps a bit more. Like, in some of the later scenes, there was potential for an amazing reunion moment, but it wasn't there! I think because they were so great together, those moments where there was potential to take their chemistry (even slow-burn chemistry) to the next level, really stood out. Also, the whole detective team was great, and there was some amazing character development in this show (looking at you, Sergeant)!
The ending was optimistic and full of hope in a way you don't see in a lot of historical dramas. It left me teary-eyed, just thinking of how far they had all come.
If you like historical dramas and don't mind investing some time in slow (but largely intentional) pacing, I highly recommend it.
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Slow burn, story twists just my thing
So many ppl think this story is boring and slow burn, too confusing and just stupid.I however disagree. I enjoy the slow burn and twists (although I saw many coming - not telling because I don't want to spoil it). Many great shows are too fast for my liking because they only had 16-20 episodes...I just hope they won't rush it in the end.
• Storyline gets 8/10 points from me. I like me a good crime, but: -1 because I would have liked for "Eunuch Go" to solve more crimes and get into a competion with Han Sung On and another -1 because I'd like to have more funny skits - but I get it...for the show to include these two points they'd have to make it a family drama 😆
• Acting gets 10/10. I'm just a huge Hyun Shik fan. I just enjoy watching him. Joen So Nee and Pyo Ye Jin are great actresses, I enjoy all scenes with them. The other 3 male characters have far too little appearances, but those too, I like. All other side characters are either very likable or in vilains cases - great to hate 😉 shows how amazing their acting skills are.
I would recommend this drama to anyone who likes slow burns and many twists. Others...watch it or don't - but don't say you haven't been warned or just wait till all episodes are out and binge.
Sooo. Let's wait for the next episode - I can hardly wait....sooo excited ❤️
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Tae-sun Lee Steals the Show!
I loved this show so much. The storyline, the twists, the chemistry between the characters -- everything was fabulous. The romance was there, the action was there, the drama was there, and it was beautifully done as a historic piece. However, the one person who stood out to me was Kim Myung-jin played by Tae-sun Lee. I genuinely loved it.I was conflicted, moved, and whereas some are not a fan of the historic dramas having women dressing up as men, I am a fan. It negates the need for a heavy presence of romance while still having it for the protagonists who either knowingly or unknowingly find themselves attracted to a somewhat androgynous character in men's clothing.
I will definitely rewatch it should the occasion arise in the future as it was worth watching once and will be worth watching in the future. :)
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Fighting against the injustices
The ML and FL endured endless struggles, carrying deep emotional scars while fighting through betrayal, loss, and manipulation. Every step of their journey was heavy with pain — yet, they never gave up. They faced powerful forces working against them, uncovered shocking secrets, and confronted the injustices that had shaped their lives. Through courage, persistence, and trust in each other, they finally managed to set things right and reclaim the happiness that was stolen from them.However, while the storyline delivered beautifully on character growth and emotional tension, the romantic development felt underwhelming. There were sparks here and there — lingering looks, quiet moments, subtle hints of longing — but they were fleeting, leaving viewers yearning for more. It wasn’t until the very last episode that we finally experienced the raw, genuine emotions between them, the kind that makes your heart ache and your chest tighten. When it came, it was powerful, emotional, and worth the wait — but I couldn’t help wishing the writers had given us more of those heartfelt moments earlier, letting us savor the depth of their love as it slowly bloomed.
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This review may contain spoilers
It lacked conviction
I'll start with what's more obvious for me, they're very incompetent for those who are praised to be the best detectives. The mystery solving part of the drama was very lacking and that's what annoyed me the most.A lot in this drama lacks conviction and commitment. Deciding to trust someone just because they're supposed to be your friend but had hidden important information from you doesn't seem very sensible for someone in the middle of an investigation. Even when things are blown out of proportion like FL's expulsion, the train of thought associated with everything around it doesn't make much sense.
I couldn’t finish it all, I just watched the last episode. The ending also lacks conviction. It feels like lukewarm water when you're trying to take a shower on a winter day. It's not satisfying
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A Mediocre Saegeuk Drama that does Mediocrity well.
I started watching Tangerines and decided to skip that and watch this instead because Tangerines made me ugly cry, and I didn't want that. Now while I picked this because it was a stupider and lighter watch, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Unlike many other kdramas that have crossdressing, here it didn't feel forced or outlandish. Jeon So-nee's voice, her stature, and her general body language made all of it look very believable. And I loved the dynamic between the two leads, it wasn't the most saccharine sweet, but it was solid camaraderie. What I didn't like, however, was how their pair came to be.This drama also got me into a PHS binge spree, and I ended up watching everything else that he's acted in. Personally, I feel that PHS fits this role with perfection, he's got a very Royal, Princely aura around him, couldn't picture anyone else in the role of a Seja Joha other than him.
What worked for me was that the series was a well-made mediocre series. It knew it wasn't out there to be the BEST KDRAMA of the year and the writers worked with what they had, didn't cast large expectations. So what you see is an earnest effort to make a decent saeguk mystery, which was good. This is the kind of drama you watch when you want to just chill and go with the flow of the story.
Overall it was an okay, decent watch. Liked the acting of everyone, the ending felt a little weird but not bad, very neatly tied everything in place.
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Blooming Love, Blooming Mysteries
Our Blooming Youth is definitely worth to watch! The cinematography, the vibes, and the Ost, everything is perfect! the romance isn't exaggerated which made me even more amazed at how good the story is. The lead actors have a great chemistry. Park Hyungsik is a brilliant versatile actor who can really capture his audience. 👌😍 OBY is a wonderful beautiful drama! Thumbs up to the whole team!👍💯🤩The chemistry between the lead pair is fabulous. Their romance is very beautiful and very deep. Two lost and wronged souls hold on to each other for redemption - such a beautiful plot. Friendship and trust being the underlying theme, no intimate scenes (very PG), but very subtle meaningful romance throughout. The hero has huge size trust issues and has been trianed to doubt everything to survive and protect himself. The heroine is a smart detective but she is also impulsive, and often acts first and thinks later.
Park Hyung Sik hits it out of the park with this one. Not only he looks every part the Prince (he is gorgeous in this role), but his dreamy, deep eyes are pools of despair, mischief, brilliance, haughtiness, wisdom, rage in turns, and they cloud with confused desire for a girl who is bethothed to his best friend (in a social contract of arranged marriage) and out of his bounds for all means and purpose. 'You must never know'....he tells her at one point, knows he will lose her if he makes one misstep. And yet he would do anything to keep her by his side.
Jeon So nee in a very competant performance - only has eyes for her Crown Prince, she does not even realize that she has started to exist for him, and will do anything to be always by his side, even if that means she will be have to be disguised as a Eunuch for her entire life. Their relationship is a tall climb, peppered by danger and distance that is way more than just physical.
The crime and mystery element is very well placed, the usual political intrigue present as usual (Josean court was known for this, so it would be surprising not to have it) and the loses and the wins by the Crown Prince are innovatively told. It has so much going for it.
The show deals with science, superstition, psycological warfare, social injustice, greed, revenge, all woven with a very cute romance as the backdrop. Most importantly, watch it for a feminist hero who breaks down walls for the badass woman in his life in a suffocating era where women were just mere objects raised to serve social contracts between families. He believes in her mental and physical abilities without any prejudice and treats her as an equal outside of their strict social hierarchy (watch them switch between best of friends to being master-servant in some truly hilarious scenes).
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Beware!! (in the nicest way possible XD)
The series started out really strong in the first 2 episodes and then somehow lost trajectory and progress in the middle ones so it was really boring and lame to watch. I watched it as it aired so at some point i forgot what the actual story/mystery was about. Other times i struggled to finish an entire episode in one sitting.Thank goodness the final episodes redeemed it. It could have easily been a 14-16 episode drama with a shorter duration of episodes.. So if you're planning to binge watch it, don't be annoyed that you may lose the enthusiasm you had when you first started.
Park Hyungsik's acting is the only reason i continued watching tbh and is the only thing I'd ask future watchers to look out for. The female character's acting is superficial and fails to evoke emotions. The princess, the young prince, and the 2nd male lead only get scenes when it's necessary and i would have liked to see them bond more with the female character and the crown prince.
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Mystery and Intrigue!! Love it!!
I am soooo enjoying this drama. I have read reviews from other sites who complain about the "actors not being suited for this drama" or the story is not good or FL is the wrong person to play the part or the production of the drama is terrible. I am loving all the main actors and I think they are managing their roles really well. It is hard today to imagine what they had to go through to prove innocence or guilt in those days. There was no DNA testing, no technological advancements, just old fashion logic and reasoning. We seem to have lost our logic/reasoning these days. It is a story that keeps me interested and wanting to know the true criminals. After working on computers all day, it's refreshing to have to use my brain to think and keep track of all the events happening.Was this review helpful to you?
