My Royal Nemesis

Eccentric Style of Time Travel Show, But Fell Out at The End

We have another time travel drama again! This time it was Shin Seo Ri, the FL, who travelled from Joseon era to the modern Korea. By reading the summary, I thought it was going to be a usual romcom or something like that. However, this show was executed in the unusual way. Everytime you see a situation that makes you think "oh, this is going to be another cliche", they snapped it out and brought something unique.

However this unique executions stopped in later episodes. They were too makjang-ish even for a fantasy show. The way Seo Ri casually time travelled back and forth in the last episode was peak makjang. This show is also a plot-hole fest. As someone time travelling from the past, adapting to the latest technology should be difficult. Normally a time traveller in a drama gets a sidekick who constantly gives a brief about their usual habit etc. However, Shin Seo Ri was totally alone. Yet she was able to use a smartphone (she even left it at home at the beginning), pick up some foreign words easily, and even understand medical diagnose from doctors. A lot of questionable storylines including: why Seo Ri's parents did suicide, why Mo Tae Hui suddenly changed her goal, why Choi Mun Do's assistant betrayed him, and what the heck was the extras actress trying to pull? The ending was underwhelming for Mun Do in both Joseon and present era, like after all these pains he didn't taste his own medicine.

The highlight of the show? It's obviously the casts performance. Lim Ji Yeon succesfully pulled a ruthless-emotionless (and old-fashioned) woman. All the casts here successfully increased your blood pressure in their own way. The ost for this show is really good.

Should you watch it? Yeah, it's quite refreshing. Especially if you want to see how a common cliche build ups got twisted in a unique way.

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may not be for those who dont like slapstick comedy!

There are many reasons to watch this kdrama:
1. Almost no side plots, it's just the main characters.
2. funny as hell if you love the slapstick comedy
3. FKING AMAZING CHEMISTRY AND ACTING
4. YEARNING AND ANGST
5. YEARNING 2X
5. desperate loserism
6. the villain isn't as strong to the plot imo.
7. You won't lose interest after the kiss 😝

This kdrama perfectly fits the rom-com genre, but it's also quite serious.
Like the female lead is written so well, she isn't a damsel in distress; she is independent, she is brave, yet she has her weak points as well, which makes her a strong character, which is quite rare for female leads in dramas.
And chai se ge is such a different character, even tho he is a ceo, he is rude, arrogant (actually), but he is so damn charismatic!
And he doesn't change after falling in love, speaking of. I LOVEEEEE that they bicker even after falling in love, which I have rarely seen in kdramas. I am a type of person who gives up on a drama after the couple kiss. This drama made me want to watch it till the end, which is a difficult task in rom-com dramas.
Overall, you should definitely watch it.
This kdrama is gonna be one of my favourite rom-coms 😝😝

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A Comedy of Misunderstandings, Self-Torture, and Second Chances

My Royal Nemesis is one of those dramas that is both genuinely funny and unapologetically melodramatic at the same time. The story unfolds across two timelines: one set in the Joseon era and the other in modern day, with the two narratives gradually intertwining. Without giving away spoilers, it is essentially a tale of two wounded souls whose past experiences have left them cynical, guarded, and deeply suspicious of the idea that anyone could love them unconditionally.

Much of the comedy comes from the spectacular misunderstandings between the leads. Se Gye is convinced that Seo Ri is secretly in love with him, while Seo Ri is equally convinced that Se Gye is some kind of unhinged fan. Instead of communicating like sensible adults, both spend an impressive amount of time imagining the worst, over analysing every interaction, and emotionally tormenting themselves. The communication gap between them is so large that it could probably squeeze in a mountain.

Despite the frustration this creates, it is also what makes the drama entertaining. The dry humour lands particularly well because neither character is naturally warm or trusting. They are people who have been hurt before, and watching them slowly navigate their feelings is both amusing and surprisingly touching.

The lead actress deserves special mention. When properly styled, she looks absolutely stunning—elegant, refined, and every inch the heroine. Yet she can just as easily transform into someone goofy, awkward, and downright silly. That versatility allows her to handle both the romantic and comedic aspects of the role with ease.

As for the lead actor... well, let us just say that somebody clearly spent a considerable amount of time in the gym preparing for this drama. His physique certainly does not go unnoticed. Fortunately, he also has enough comedic timing to make Se Gye's delusions and self-inflicted suffering entertaining rather than annoying.

Adding tension to both timelines is a villain who seems impossible to deal with. Whether in Joseon or in modern times, he is always lurking in the background, plotting his next move. He is the sort of character who is so cunning and such a talented actor that everyone around him struggles to see through his mask. Think of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde figure: outwardly charming, respectable, and trustworthy, but underneath lies someone calculating and dangerous. Just when you think the heroes have caught up with him, he is already three steps ahead. Much of the suspense comes from wondering what he will do next, because whenever he appears, trouble is never far behind.

The drama's greatest strength and weakness is that it fully embraces makjang storytelling. At times, the emotional reactions and conflicts become wildly exaggerated. Take the grandmother's refusal to accept compensation and give up her restaurant. Realistically speaking, she is already at an age where retirement might not be the worst idea. Yet the drama transforms the issue into a life-and-death struggle. Moments like these require viewers to suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the ride.

Overall, My Royal Nemesis is a charming mix of romance, comedy, reincarnation, misunderstandings, scheming villains, and melodrama. If you enjoy watching two stubborn, emotionally damaged people repeatedly misread each other's intentions while fate desperately tries to pull them together—and while a master manipulator continually threatens to derail everything—this drama delivers plenty of laughs, frustration, suspense, and heartwarming moments along the way.

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I don't where it went wrong

This drama started off really strong and had an interesting premise that kept me hooked in the beginning. Unfortunately, it gradually lost its charm as the story progressed.

My biggest issue was the lead couple. Their relationship became increasingly toxic, with the same misunderstandings and arguments happening over and over again. The male lead never seemed to fully trust the female lead, which made it difficult to root for their relationship. I also never felt much chemistry between them, so instead of feeling invested, I found myself getting frustrated whenever they were on screen.

The female lead's character was another disappointment for me. Her personality in the 21st century felt completely different from who she was in Joseon, almost as if they were two separate characters. The inconsistency made it hard to connect with her journey and character development.

The pacing was also frustrating. The villain was clearly behind almost everything from early on, yet the story waited until around episode 14 to finally expose him. Despite having enough reasons to suspect him, the characters kept allowing him to manipulate situations without taking meaningful action, which became increasingly unrealistic.

What started as a funny and entertaining drama slowly lost its humor and momentum. The male lead became exhausting to watch, the female lead was often over the top, and the romance never really clicked for me.

Ironically, this is one of the few dramas where I found the supporting cast far more interesting than the main couple. Their stories, personalities, and interactions were often more enjoyable and engaging than the romance the drama was trying so hard to sell.

Overall, the plot had a lot of potential and some genuinely good ideas, but the weak chemistry, repetitive conflicts, character inconsistencies, and delayed payoff made it a frustrating watch. The supporting cast ended up carrying much of the entertainment value for me.

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The Nemesis being the Non-Traditional FL worked well for this Comedic Love Story

Though I’d heard that this show was really good, I was reluctant to give it a try mainly due to the actress who is playing the FL. Great actress but I’ve mostly seen her in the role of villainess. Therefore, I didn’t know if I could buy into her being the gentle FL for whom I needed to root for.

Well turns out the FL was anything but gentle. Lol. In fact she was just short of the antithesis of the typical FL. Loud, flamboyant (personality), confrontational and fearless. Loved it! And the ML wasn’t far behind. He was the typical moody ML but also extremely arrogant, unpleasant (to start) and generally dismissive. But again, it worked. The love story between him and the FL was fun and funny. They had good chemistry and I enjoyed the fact that their personalities were so different from what you normally see from OTPs. I also enjoyed the fact that once the ML realized he cared about the FL he was all in. Even when she’d push him away for her own valid reasons he would not give up but would still remain respectful of her wishes.

Though the love story was well written, I really enjoyed how they tied their story in the present to the past, some of the side stories weren’t as strong. The corporate infighting could’ve been written better. The story with the cousin/brother was okay, but I felt it wrapped up too quickly and a lot of his evil deeds were not addressed nor was his story fully fleshed out. How and why the FL ended up in the present and past and how she was able to co-exist in both places was explained but didn’t make sense. However, this is not new for reincarnation, time travel series, it’s rare they can make that part of the story make sense. Also, as the series progressed, especially once it got to the final 3-4 episodes, some stories were either abandoned or just used to fill time while others became repetitive.

Despite some of the storyline and pacing issues, overall, this series had good writing and acting and was enjoyable.

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Really good drama, just a few shortcomings

I've seen a lot of reviews that are critizizing this drama for having a lot of plot holes and that the ending kinda doesn't make sense. And tbh I kinda agree with them. some parts of the plot made no sense to me, especially the plot line of the girl that stalks seo-ri, like why did she even hate her when she was nice in the beginning? Seo ri was supposed to move because the stalker vandalized her house, but she never does?
As for the ending and the overall plot, what I didn't understand is why seo ri is punished? also we didn't find out that she was being punished until the very last eps. All we got the whole time was that she's had a miserable life in jeoson and in the modern world. if it was something along the lines of her trying to break the cycle of her misery it would have made sense.

Besides that, this is a great drama. love the chemistry between our leads, and they're soooo cute together. I love the way their love for each other grows deeper as we watch. Also, one of things I want to mention is the fact that they don't torture us with the misunderstandings followed by break up and then getting back together again after a lot of lamentation 😂 especially when it came to se gye's family trying to use seo ri against him for their own advantage. When he finds out that Mun do was in contact with her he doesn't take it at face value and leave her, but demands why she didn't tell him earlier. I love that!

overall a lovely drama 🥰

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worth the watch

I wasn’t expecting much from this drama cos we’ve all seen this trope and very rarely is it done well. but this drama actually pulls it off!

I fully enjoyed every episode and only felt like the plot was dragging a smidge in episode 13. The FL and ML we amazing. I was so drawn in by the FL in the beginning. she executed such cringey situations in a way that seemed more like character progression rather than a forced awkward situation the writers want us to think is funny. idk if that makes sense but idk how to explain it really.
then the ML is all over the place but he nails his part too! all the cheesy shit he says I actually found endearing.
The plot is predictable but I didn’t mind while watching. and I loved that we weren’t swamped down by a bunch of filler side romances. only one side character romance and it only really gets anytime at the very end of the drama.
Is this a must see? not really… but it was def an enjoyable experience

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They could have done better

I honestly was looking forward to this drama, but it left me disappointed.
Heo Nam Jun's acting was excellent. I just didn't like that Lim Ji Yeon was speaking with a Joseon accent for the entire duration, even though she learned the technology and everything; otherwise, her acting was good as well.
The story just did them dirty. They could have finished it in 10 episodes, and a lot of things would have made sense then; I don't know why they had to drag it for 14 episodes. That's what ruined the whole plot.
Too many plot holes, things ignored, details missed out, the same scenario repeated in different scenes, and the drag was awful. I feel like towards the end, they just came up with random scenes to fill the number of episodes. Honestly, a waste of talent and time for the cast. Some scenes were so long for no good reason. And even though it is a fantasy drama, they just did not care about things that they should care about and put effort into making the drama make more sense.
Sad that this didn't meet the expectations of a lot of people. I feel bad for the cast as well. The writers should have done a better job.

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Wasted a great cast on such nonsense

Don't bother wasting your time.

I regret believing all the online hype. It is easily the most disappointing series in years with terrible writing, directing, editing.

After the one-third mark, random things just happen without explanation. They keep setting up new plots, then forget about them, leaving more questions than answers with no satisfying pay off. So the whole thing feels very disjointed. Like a series of comedy sketches than a consistent drama from beginning to end.

Neither souls ends up with the Prince they fell in love with, yet expect the audience to believe in untrue love. Weirdest take on a romcom ever.

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Did we ask for too much?

From episode 1 to middle of episode 10, this drama is absolutely perfection. I loved a strong heroine which is kind of new of kdrama, at least less shown. I loved how KDS is full of life and determination. I admired her tenacity. On the other hand, CSG is just a perfection version of Male lead written by females. He is supposed to be ruthless but soon we saw how he became a looser for KD. KDS is baddiest of all baddies and CSG is the most looser MLs of all MLs. Lim Ji Yeon and Heo Nam Jun have the best chemistry as bickering couples. I really enjoyed all of their scenes. My other favourite characters are Yoon Jihyo, Baek Gwang Nam and Mo Tae Hee.
Now the spoilers section:
Things I love:
1. Obviously the chemistry between the leads. Even their BTS can be watched for multiple times. The drama is very generous about the screentime the lead characters got. I can list at least 100 scenes. Their dialogues are also silly and goofy.
2. Female characters. I loved the character development of two SFLs, Yoon Jihyo and Mo Tae hee. Both characters irritated me a lot but both are also endearing. Even with minimal screentime, their characters still shone. Also the actresses did great job.
Things I dislike:
1.From middle of episode 10 to middle of 14. The dram just lost its charm. The scene between FL and ML just felt like fillers.
2. The restaurent subplot. The grandma is so old that she can't run the restaurent at all. So why not sell it or let others take care of it? I loved the grandma from the beginning but soon her scenes just became skip worthy or I felt bored. Also they could've reduce the screentime for this character.
3. The villains. CMD is just the dumbest villain in kdrama history I guess. He is just desperate. Like every single bad thing is done by him but still it takes 14 episodes to arrest him. The police are also dumb like him. Also CSG's family is also full of dumb characters. CSG's grandpa knows CMD's true colors but what does he do to save CSG? Nothing. Just agitates CMD to make him go crazier. Also the aunts are there for absolutely nothing. Even if there are removed from the drama, nothing is changed.
4. THE BODY SWAP/REINCARNATION STORYLINE:
Well, CSG is a reincarnation of Yi Hyeon so why not make SSR also reincarnation of KDS. In episode 13, it is revealed that KDS IS NOT KDS, She is actually the OG SSR whose soul got swaped with KDS when they were 12 years old. SSR was a great actress and after the swap she lost her acting ability. Also she is the OG Granddaughter that grandma needs. Like seriously !!! OG KDS or Fake SSR lived in 21st century from 12 years old which means she spent 18 years with grandma. She struggled in both Joseon and 21st century, still tried her level best. Now OG SSR gets to bid grandma farewell but what about the granddaughter who spent even a longer time? Also I kinda belive writers didn't make it simple reincarnation story as they didn't want to leave Yi Hyeon alone in the joseon era. But he loved OG SSR/KDS. Also KDS got might be just 2 minutes in the entire drama. She was mostly forgotten by the writers. KDS just seemed like a forgotten character or audience need to imagine on their own. Personally I think KDS and SSR were reincarnation of each other which is explained from the similar way of like. KDS was sold as a slave. SSR was almost killed by her parents. Both are very determined. Both loved grandma dearly. Both of them tried their best to cope with all the difficulties. In last episode Yi Hyeon and KDS are on a run. Poor girl never had her life easy. Eventually Yi Hyeon and KDS may fall in love. At least we know that CSG's preference. But KDS deserved more screentime.

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