To My Beloved Thief

Upon further reflection...

When I finished this, I was satisfied. Just satisfied. It was alright. The body swap thing wasn't cloying and overbearing, the chemistry was there, even the side characters that had the potential to be annoying were okay. The humour from the villagers was fine, and the 2FL wasn't a challenge.

But the more I think about it, and look back, this was actually deeply satisfying in the way the story was told and concluded. Usually, when it comes to the body swap thing, I have very little patience but somehow, the way this was done, I found myself just seamlessly falling into the story with the swaps. I was expecting her being the prince to have a greater impact on the palace because of her medical background, and when that didn't happen, I was a little disappointed, but by the end it made more sense.

When it is revealed in the end that the body swap was a mischievous god attempting to help Yeol fulfill his childhood wish of wanting to save the person who saved him, I felt a sense of completion. It wasn't the underlying theory or shadow hanging over the plot, it was just another quirky reveal. It explained why they swapped without invalidating any of the story that came before.

I was also initially angry that they didn't just execute the bad guy. But when you think about it, neither of the leads ever lept into taking lives. They always believed in the ability of people to change and in the idea that if you give someone a chance to reflect, they'll eventually see the error of their ways. It seems wildly naive, but in today's dire world, I think it's a sentiment that's desperately needed. I have come to appreciate the fact that they stayed true to themselves in the end.

Finally, the end. I was glad that she saved herself and Yeol in the final confrontation, and I was also so happy that they didn't get married while he was the king. His logic made sense and it restored stability to the kingdom while he did what needed to be done until he could hand over. Of course, that means they would've had to wait for years before they could finally be together, but we'll just overlook that part.

Ultimately, I'm not changing my initial rating (8/10), but I'm leaving this review because after sitting with it for a few more hours, I realise I really appreciate this drama for what it is, and I will definitely miss tuning in every week.

P/S: the supporting villagers and 2FL were all very charming and adorable to watch too. 2FL having a mini bi-crashout over the body swaps was so funny! 😂

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I'm confused, don't let yourselves get confused too.

I watched the series from beginning to end, but initially I had hoped it would be a good series, but unfortunately that hope disappeared over time. I watched it by fast-forwarding and rewinding, feeling bored.

The story was fragmented. It lacked coherence. Is it a Hong Gil Dong drama? A revenge drama? A king's overthrow? A love story? A soul-swapping drama? Or is it the famous Korean noble, slave, concubine equation? What is it? The subject matter was fragmented. There should be coordination and unity between the fragments. This didn't happen. No event was explored in depth; it was treated abstractly and simply. Therefore, I can't place the story anywhere.

There's a minister. This minister has seized complete power by lulling the king to sleep with incense, slowly poisoning him, making decisions as he pleases, and enforcing them. He has puppets. He has everyone bound. But there's no tightness in his control. It just goes on as it is. No one objects, no one fights against it. Nothing happens. It's like, "Go ahead, my servant," and he just goes along with it.

But there's a clever girl, a concubine's daughter, neither noble nor not, somewhere in between. This girl is a caregiver for the minister's father. Then, he tells her he's marrying her to his son, but he marries her to his own father.There's such a strange twist. The girl is intelligent and is on her way to becoming a doctor. As luck would have it, the minister's son is also a doctor and the head of the police force. However, he's hardly a doctor; he's a daddy's boy, dim-witted, and a errand boy, killing when ordered. That's the kind of person he is. In the end, he dies too.
Our girl is a doctor and also a Gil Dong who helps the poor. She's good at archery; she hits her target.
Our prince is the king's brother. The king is constantly sedated, so he thinks he's ill. He believes so too. But after meeting the girl, he realizes this isn't the case. Because he mingles with the people, he learns about certain things, and he figures out that she's Gil Dong. Also, this treacherous minister has a son who is handsome and holds a position in charge of the police. She's also the daughter of a concubine. He resents her for this reason. He tells her, "What are you doing here? Go sit at home. You're the daughter of a concubine. What does this have to do with you?" He belittles her, but also belittles himself, and doesn't want her to join his family. He knows she'll be married to his grandfather, and the girl knows it too, but she doesn't speak up for her family's sake because it affects her father.

Ultimately, this Gil Dong girl and our prince fall in love. They solve the problems one by one. However, they can't get married. The boy is noble, the girl is a slave. Even this prince becomes king in place of his brother. They still can't get married because he can only be a concubine, not his wife. Therefore, in the end, their bond is revealed by a ribbon. They experience a spiritual exchange. It's believed this began when the girl saved the prince from drowning when he was about to drown at the age of 7-8. This is revealed at the end of the story. The prince abdicates the throne and marries the girl. Happy ending. This is my simplified explanation. Of course, the series is more complex. Those who like this type of thing can watch it as a lighthearted read. However, the actors are good. At first, I didn't see any chemistry. Because the male actors are young, and the female actor is older. The age difference is obvious. But you get used to it over time while watching. I found the actors successful. The men are young and handsome. They will be very good actors in the future. They show their potential. Their physiques are also very good. But I especially liked Ha Seok Jin, who played the King. He really improved in episode 15. He was excellent. He's become my candidate for Best Supporting Actor this year.

It's a drama you can watch without expecting too much.

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