MASTERPIECE PAINFUL AND HISTORICALLY REALISTIC
PLOT: FL, a very beautiful girl, attracts the attention of every man in her village, except that of the man she loves, engaged to her best friend. A mysterious man arrives, the ML, a little jaded, but who is intrigued by the FL. Nevertheless, war comes (king besieged in his fortress) and barbarians invade the territory...PROS:
+ great actors: Namkoong Min as ML, accompanied by his 2 friends, and Ahn Eun Jin as FL.
+ the characters are complex, divided between their desires and their responsibilities, tossed around by events.
+ The OSTs are now on my playlist (I particularly like “With you” by Kai).
+ The production is excellent: credible and bloody war scenes ; the tensed, heavy atmosphere of these times of war is well rendered; the cinematography is exceptional.
+ The storyline is solid and the historical aspect seems respected. It is a period which has never or rarely (to my knowledge) been brought to the screen.
=> Don't miss this gem !! ╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯♡
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PLOT: La FL, une très belle fille, fait tourner toutes les têtes dans son village, sauf celle de celui qu'elle aime, fiancé à sa meilleure amie. Arrive un homme mystérieux, le ML, un peu blasé, mais qui est intrigué par la FL. Mais la guerre arrive (roi assiégé dans sa forteresse) et les barbares envahissent le territoire ...
PROS:
+ des acteurs géniaux : Namkoong Min en ML, accompagné de ses 2 potes, et Ahn Eun Jin en FL.
+ les personnages sont complexes, partagés entre leurs désirs et leurs responsabilités, ballotés par les évènements.
+ Les OST sont désormais sur ma playlist (j'aime particulièrement "With with you" de Kai).
+ La réalisation est excellente : des scènes de guerre crédibles et sanglantes : l'atmosphère lourde, pesante de ces temps de guerre est bien rendue; la cinématographie est exceptionnelle.
+ La storyline est solide et l'aspect historique semble respecté et c'est une période qui n'a jamais ou peu (à ma connaissance), été porté à l'écran.
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This review may contain spoilers
Slow start! Great cast, great setting.
I started this a couple times and dropped it, before I pushed through and watched the whole thing. This review will be for the first half of the show, and I will review the latter half separately. The initial setting features our female lead (Yoo Gil Chae) as a spoiled and shallow young woman growing up in her village community. Our male lead (Lee Jang Hyeon) is a flippant, mysterious and arrogant man who wanders in and falls in love with her.INITIAL PREMISE IS BORING BUT THEMATICALLY INTERESTING
The reason I attempted to watch this show multiple times and kept dropping it was because of the strangeness of this initial premise, combined with the un-likeabiliity of the female lead. I didn’t understand why the male lead would fall so deeply in love with her. I found her love for the other local guy in the village strange (he seems boring and annoying). I couldn’t really connect this childish and fairly innocent setting with the supposed seriousness and tragedy of the rest of the drama. I still feel like this beginning section is the least interesting to me overall.
However, I do think this initial bubbly village setting has its merits. The shallowness of all the village's petty disputes, Gil Chae’s concerns, and the major “love” triangles is thrown into sharp relief as soon as war looms over the drama. Suddenly this summery and naive setting is contrasted with genuine horrors (battlefield massacres of the untrained village men who are conscripted into service, attempted rape of a major female character by enemy soldiers, slaughter of the village elderly, starvation, torture, disease) in a way that is thematically really effective. You see the steeliness and pragmatism of Gil Chae begin to shine through, and you start to understand why Lee Jang Hyeon fell in love with her in the first place.
I found their divergent storylines during this war period very engaging. They are each facing the trails of living in a wartorn country in different ways according to their place in society. Gil Chae is becoming a protector for the group of women and elderly in her community, trying to figure out how to feed them and keep them alive but facing constant threats from enemy soldiers and a terrible economy. Lee Jang Hyeon is becoming a tool for the Korean resistance against the enemy, both as a soldier and spy undergoing horrors to scope out weaknesses among the invaders. I was surprised by how moving and compelling the depiction of historical strife was, and it makes the romance stronger as a backdrop against it.
ON YEARNING & MELODRAMATIC PLOTTING
Now, this is a melodrama. I do think that this drama requires us to put up with some real star-crossed lovers, wrong-place-wrong-time nonsense from the leads and the plotting. But the thing is, Namkoong Min (as Lee Jang Hyeon) is so good at yearning, heroics and quiet sorrow that I ate it up. Ahn Eun Jin (as Yoo Gil Chae) gets progressively better as the show goes on, and I found myself very moved by her performance. Yes, the characters are constantly separated by circumstances and then experience lots of quiet sorrow and lack of communication (just TELL him you LOVE him!!) but I genuinely think nobody is doing yearning like they are. It is rich and it is satisfying. I love the fact that despite all their mistakes, miscommunication and anger for each other, you really feel like they’d die for one another through it all.
SIDEBAR ON NAMKOONG MIN AS LEE JANG HYEON
I have never seen a drama with this actor before, and this drama made me a hardcore fan. He plays the heroic, calculating, profoundly committed and heart-broken lead so well. He has gravitas and presence and feels believable as a mischievous and mysterious warrior. He is an older actor and I think you really need that level of experience to pull off this role. His eye acting is genuinely unparalleled. He doesn’t need to say much for you to really believe that he is in love with Gil Chae and also agonized by her. This guy has a PhD in yearning. I am now prepared to watch any drama that he is in.
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GIL CHAE IS HERE!!!
If you want to be attached to a drama then you need to watch this! I was looking for something that could change my life, some kdrama that would be one of my favorites since I couldn’t find anything new and My Dearest really showed its potential, it’s an incredible experience watching this. All the episodes had their own meaning, all of them changed the way we see every character and empathize with them. To be honest I even rethought my purpose as a woman because of Gil Chae’s development and how she was just a futile and immature girl who wanted a luxurious life with the man of her dreams and then turned into a woman who just wanted to survive (and she gave all she had to protect those she loved and to keep her head up even in times of despair). And then we have the Male lead who we thought was a jerk bc he didn’t wanted to live a married life and enjoyed flirting with other girls turned to be one of the greenest flags ever, a man who gave up all he believed to love the girl that showed him the sound of flowers. He fought a whole was he couldn’t care less to protect her from getting hurt, he was against all prejudice concerning women to make gil chae feel protected. This was definitely amazing and a 10/10 overall, people can’t miss on this no matter how slow or boring the first episodes seem to be. Everyone should know their story.Was this review helpful to you?
Tense fight or flight scenes to yearning romance
This brought me back to those historical kdramas I used to watch around 2016. Those ones that you get invested in the characters and story and it flows so well.I think it has an interesting angle on war during this era from perspectives of royalty, invaders, civilians, women, scholars, soldiers. It can get so tense on some episodes and I love it lol. The fight and flight scenes are gripping to watch in themselves (forget the romance for a second).
The ML is such a cool guy and he knows many things with an unclear backstory (I guess we will see in season 2). FL comes off a bit arrogant to begin with but when the war comes she really proves herself, I guess she just needs to mature in terms of love and romance. Either way they have great chemistry. I would definitely recommend this drama for the action and the romance and everything in between.
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A 10/10 drama .. Literally
This Drama is one of the best i’ve watched since years. Lately, everything is repeating it self almost. K dramas are becoming alike somehow and it feels like we’ve hit a wall and ran out of ideas . unlike how it used to be. This Drama is honestly a breath of fresh air.. itss different .. the production .. the quality.. the story.. the depth.. THE CASST… everything about this is just chef’s kiss . it is a sorrowful story that will not feel like it in the first couple of episodes i really like the development of characters.. the male lead was someone who is playful and never took anyone seriously.. but once the u progress through the episodes another side of him reveals by how much he cares about the female lead and how much he is ready to give for her. The female lead on the other hand, the spoiled girl.. goes through horrible unexpected experience and becomes a literal badass .. she also said she will never fall for the main lead at first but welp .. they all lied . honestly this show is great just watch itWas this review helpful to you?
Chasing Dreams, Facing War: A Love Story Forged
A sweeping romantic saga set against the backdrop of war, this drama captivates with charm, conflict, and character growth that defies first impressions.Flirtatious, pretty, and radiantly confident, Yoo Gil-Chae is the kind of noblewoman who turns heads—and stirs envy. Known in her hometown of Neunggun-ri as the “99-tailed fox,” she is adored by the local men and quietly resented by the women. Yet behind her coquettish façade lies a recurring dream: chasing a red thread across the land to a man whose face she cannot see. Convinced it is Nam Yeon-Jun—the scholarly gentleman she has long admired and the student of her father’s academy—Gil-Chae is certain her romantic future is with him.
Enter Lee Jang-Hyun, a dashing yet enigmatic merchant whose origins are shrouded in rumour. To some, he is a nobleman. To others, a charming rogue with a lover in every province. Charming and witty, he claims he has no interest in marriage—but his curiosity is piqued by the spirited Gil-Chae. Their flirtation is laced with tension, humour, and an undeniable attraction that neither is willing to admit.
What begins as a light-hearted romantic comedy quickly shifts tone when the Qing invasion plunges their world into chaos. As the war escalates, Gil-Chae is separated from her fleeing family—only to be saved, more than once, by the elusive Jang-Hyun. Yet one fateful secret he withholds becomes the seed of misunderstanding, leading to a wrong choice later.
But it is in these moments that the characters reveal their true selves. The frivolous prove strong. The self-righteous collapse. Gil-Chae, once dismissed as a spoiled beauty, emerges as a fierce leader. And Jang-Hyun, who vowed never to fight or love, becomes a wartime strategist and a man transformed.
The emotional weight of the story lies in how love is tested under pressure. Misguided acts of protection, lies told “for your own good,” and the tragic consequences of miscommunication play out in heart-wrenching ways.
Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-Jin, playing the lead couple, absolutely light up the screen—their chemistry crackles with intensity, tenderness, and everything in between. Every glance, every silence between them is charged with unspoken emotion. The supporting cast is just as compelling: the idealistic scholar, the gracious best friend, the bitter rival, and the quietly tormented closeted lover—all portrayed with surprising depth and complexity. And yes, it must be said—Namkoong Min is not only magnetic in presence but also irresistibly handsome. Total eye candy, no doubt about it.
And the music? Sublime. Especially the haunting track sung by Ryang Eum—it lingers long after the credits roll.
What keeps you watching is not just the scale of history or the suspense of battle, but the burning question: Will Gil-Chae and Jang-Hyun find their way back to each other?
This drama is beautifully layered, emotionally rich, and packed with surprises. I give it a strong recommendation—and a high rating.
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For me the romance was the best I've seen in a while, it was a painful and yet breathtaking experience where you feel completely immersed in their love for each other and the soundtrack matches all the scenes and moods. My dearest is just unforgettable ❤️
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This drama has mastered how to pull out every one of your emotions
This show is painful to watch. It is so real and heartbreaking and makes me constantly recall how truly callous and inhumane humans truly are; be it then or even now. This show drags all the nasty parts out and shows them exactly as they are. Its realistic and heartbreaking and shows human emotions and human viciousness in a way that makes me ache. The director has mastered how to pull your emotions out of you as a viewer and I went through a slew of them as I watched this. Anger, disgust, annoyance, sympathy. This is the kind of show that you feel your way through and will leave a lasting impression.For me, I can not say I found this enjoyable or entertaining to watch, it's depiction of real life struggles and brutality left me feeling raw and utterly devastated. But it is so heart achingly beautiful that I could not stop myself from watching it. The acting in this from every person is superb. I can not think of any flaw in the way that this show was written, executed, acted, or shot. There are several scenes that are stunningly beautiful. The characters are all thought out, flawed, and experience true character growth. Even the way the production showed the change in color from pastels in the beginning during happy times to the greys and browns during and after war just added to how expertly composed this show is.
-Gil Chae: for me she was truly an unlikable character for the majority of this season and I found myself so frustrated with her specifically in regards to her almost ridiculous adoration and chase of Yeon Jun. Her actions are spurted forward in her pursuit of the man she could not get. She is a spoiled nobleman's daughter that says and does whatever she wants because she is beautiful and noble. But then war breaks out and you start to see her change. She is still ridiculous in her chase of Yeon Jun but she proves herself to be a survivor and a protector. Her character development is the type I want to see in all shows. The kind that is gradual and realistic. She changes as her world around her changes and the circumstances she is put through changes her.
-Yeon Jun: I never at any point like this character. He is weak but believes he is strong. Is selfish but thinks he is honorable. But in how much I hate him, I also know how very real his portrayal is of the men of that time. He stubbornly sticks to his 'loyalty' and 'honor' for himself, never putting anyone or anything over his own agenda.
-Jang Hyun: he is mysterious and seemingly acts out of his own personal interest at every turn. He is a bit of a cad but loyal to those dearest to him with a soft heart and strong mind. A business man that is cunning enough to end up in important circles but chooses to use that power for the powerless. He does find an obstacle in Gil Chae and I think that is part of his interest in her, very like how she is so adamant about someone she can not get as well. But his actions speak far louder than any others in this drama. He is willing to sacrifice himself in exchange for her but will not go down easily.
In terms of the political progression of this story it does flow in a coherent way. You understand the movements, the predicaments, and some of the choices. I personally do not love a politically heavy drama but I was so drawn to Jang Hyun that I kept watching.
If you are looking for a drama that will make you feel something, not matter the emotion then you will find it here. Most o the time you will not enjoy what the characters are going through or the choices they make and you will feel frustrated. The point being that it will make you feel. Out of so many dramas that I have seen there are few that pull out this level of emotions from its viewers.
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We written story and good drama
It is good dramaFl:- given her best
Ml :- given his best
Ambience:- up to the timeline
What I find odd:-
In episode three at starting the invaders ( qing Dynasty warriors) Armor is waving in wing like cloths, that type of Armor had steel plating inside and even if steel plating were absent the harden leather doesn't flap in wind , editor shoul have spotted this little things
Everything else is all right What I find odd:-
In episode three at starting the invaders ( qing Dynasty warriors) Armor is waving in wing like cloths, that type of Armor had steel plating inside and even if steel plating were absent the harden leather doesn't flap in wind , editor shoul have spotted this little things
Everything else is all right
Ending look to commercial ( abrupt change in personality of both main character hence I reduced overall rating from 10 to 7.5
Word filler( to make 500 words)
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good
Iam purely watching only forNAM GOONG MIN
As usual NAM GOONG MIN the way of speech acting style is ultimate
Slightly disappointed script dialog writers they didn't use [ Ahn Eun Jin ] her potential acting fully
Why [ Lee Chung Ah ] making her gest roles or negative roles in many dramas
Making cinematography is rich in class
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This review may contain spoilers
Don't be fooled by the reviews. Its sooooo boring. Let me explain why...
This has to be the most overrated drama. The story is good enough but so confused. Too much happens I the first 5 episodes then it just falls flat. The dialogues are so drawn out.... I want ......( 3 minutes pause......) to leave. Every dialogue was just a few words followed by the longest pause known to man. I watched it at1.5x and still no hope. Also I forwarded through alot of the second part and if I'm being honest most of the final episodes. I can't even tell you what happened to the barbarians because I honestly don't care.Also that love story of constant pushing each other away.... Just No. It only works once for a good story the rest is tiring. Again if I'm being honest I cant tell you what happened to the main characters at the end and again, I don't care.
Amnesia!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaarghhhhhhhhh. I almost broke my phone at that point. It doesn't work anywhere. It didn't work for boys over flowers and it's never worked for any other drama so...No just No.
I liked parts of the FL and parts of the ML. not all but they tried. I blame the director. He must have been there after ever scene shouting .... Cut!!!!! Talk more slower!!!!! Hehe
Finally the editing made no sense. They must have made some mistake in the final editing because the scenes were just jumping forward and back without any logic. That was very frustrating!
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Not all that
Overall I’d rate this drama 6.5/10 .
If you’re not really a big fan of political dramas, you’d rate it even lower but I’m trying to be fair .
I appreciate the work everyone put into making this drama . From the cast to the crew . Well done 👍🏾
Personally I don’t think the drama deserves to win best drama or the actor should win best actor . There truly wasn’t any scene that he was in that I genuinely felt touched .
Funny enough I felt more affection towards the crown prince than anybody else in the drama .
This drama is a one time drama . It’s not something that you watch and then you reminisce and you miss the characters . I’m yet to understand why the TikTok community and others swear by this drama . Perhaps if I followed it weekly like them, I might have shared the same feelings and comradeship .
Personally I think Kim soo Hyun should’ve won that best actor role . He showed more diverse emotions in queen of tears than this actor did in my dearest but that might just be my personal preference.
Most of the political stuff was boring and sounded like I was attending a history class .
Surprisingly I didn’t find the fl to be annoying . Her actions were quite rational and thoughtful. It did feel a tiny bit frustrating to see the push and pull in their love life but if you’re a trained historical cdrama member , you’d see that they were just playing 😂💀.
No serious misunderstandings or whatever .
This drama is the type that after a while, you won’t remember what happened. It’d just be one of the many dramas you’ve seen .
Would I recommend this drama to others ? I’m not sure . Except they say they’re looking for historical drama recommendations.
The first 3 episodes were quite boring but the drama truly picked up from episode 4 . The cliff hangers at the end would always want you to download the next episode. You’re better off dropping the drama in the middle of an episode than waiting for it to finish .
I actually binged watched 1-14 before sleeping around 8am to continue by 7pm . It was that engaging . But if you ask me what I can truly remember from all the episodes, it’s quite hazy.
The entire plot is Joseon getting invaded by foreigners, the foreigners taking the crown prince and others as slaves/ captives . The ml falling in love and creating some bitter/sad love triangles.
The delusional and sick king and conniving concubine .
The palace story was nothing new . Usual fight for the throne and fear of rebellion.
Character I hated : that good for nothing self righteous scholar🙂
Thoughts on the main couple: I take back what I said about the ml being very old . He’s quite mature looking but he honestly just looks his age and he has a nice smile . I’d say he’s quite manly and you’d like him if that’s your spec .
The fl is okay too . She’s pretty .
They have nice chemistry . There were some scenes that I was like to love is nice sha but that’s it .
Completing this drama felt like I completed an assignment that I’ve been postponing for a long time.
As kdrama lovers , do you have to watch this drama?
Honestly speaking ? No
It doesn’t add or remove anything from your life . It doesn’t change your views on anything either . I think it’s okay to let it go and don’t be pressured by others to watch it or feel like you’re missing out on something so amazing because you’re not .
Time to finally end this lengthy review .
If you made it this far, Great job 😗
See you in my next review or not…
Hahahaha
Annyeong chingus!
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