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All seems cheery and peaceful in a small Joseon village circa the early 1600s. The series starts off much like “Gone With the Wind.” Scarlett O’Hara is a spoiled, selfish young woman who is addicted to the attention of young men, and she’s in love with a man who is already in love with someone else. Enter Rhett Butler, the man who is a bit of a philanthropist and an opportunist who is immediately captivated by Scarlett, despite her insecurities and immature behavior.

Yoo Gil Chae is very much like Scarlett, and Lee Jang Hyeon shares many aspects that parallel Rhett. Their initial meetings are met with tension and resistance, as Lee Jang Hyeon has no intention of ever getting married, which is just fine with Gil Chae since she’s in love with Nam Yeon Jun, the one man she can’t have because he’s in love with Kyung Eun Ae. Sound familiar? To anyone who’s seen “Gone With the Wind,” it won’t be hard to connect the dots.

Even the setting of “Gone with the Wind,” during the American Civil War, shares similarities when the Q’ing, with help from the Mongols, decide to invade Joseon, thus throwing the small country into strife and turmoil, as the struggle to survive becomes paramount, and it is here that the story really begins to create its own identity.

Gil Chae is a young noblewoman who quickly learns that she can’t rely on anyone but herself if she wants to survive. She quickly realizes that throwing her “noble status” in the faces of her enemies is pointless. Little does she realize that, despite her constant rejections, Lee Jang Hyeon is already smitten by her and the sound of flowers.

Lee Jang Hyeon, on the outside, seems like a slick opportunist who could care less about what’s going on around him. He has no love or respect for the king of Joseon, or anyone who believes that they should follow a monarch, no matter what their own situation or beliefs may be. He’s a master of taking any tenuous situation and making a profit. He also has tremendous charisma that people immediately seem taken to, even the Q’ing, who find out just how valuable his talents are.

However, there is much more to Lee Jang Hyeon than meets the eye. While he may seem to be colluding with the Q’ing, he’s doing all he can to help the simple people of Joseon to survive and, hopefully, and eventually return home.

The Khan, who is the ruling member of the Q’ing in Shenyang, creates unrest when he demands that the Crown Prince be sent to Shenyang to act as a liaison between Shenyang and Joseon. However, the longer the Crown Prince remains in Shenyang, the more suspicious and paranoid the king of Joseon becomes. Initially, the Crown Prince is much like his father until Lee Jang Hyeon directly challenges him to use his status to help save the people, and soon the Crown Prince becomes the only member of the Joseon monarchy that he begins to respect because instead of demanding that the people serve him, the Crown Prince finally begins to realize his obligations to his people, especially when he sees everything that Lee Jang Hyeon is doing for them.

Gil Chae is hardly left unscathed as she begins to finally live and stand on her own two feet. She inspires the poor farmers and even gets into blacksmithing in order to create much-needed brass bowls to help boost the failing economy. Gil Chae and Lee Jang Hyeon’s meetings are short and initially met with much friction and even some open hostility, despite Lee Jang Hyeon professing his feelings for her.

Just as it seems that the “ice princess” is beginning to melt, Gil Chae resists Lee Jang Hyeon’s affections, even though she has no clue just how much he’s an integral part of helping the captive people of Joseon who are being held prisoner in Shenyang. She chooses Officer Gu to marry instead.

This is a series that hardly gives you time to rest or even breathe as new dangers seem to spring up like wildflowers. Gil Chae finds herself kidnapped and sent to Shenyang to be sold as a slave. It’s almost sheer luck that Lee Jang Hyeon happens upon her as she’s being auctioned off on the selling block. Gil Chae learns that her husband came looking for her, but upon hearing that she’d been violated by the Q’ing, he gives up and heads home. This finally opens the doors for our star-crossed couple to finally profess their love for each other.

Once again, before they can truly bask in each other, we learn that the king of Joseon has become even more paranoid and vile. Believing that his own son is conspiring to dethrone him and that the Joseon captives in Shenyang are a part of an army being raised by his son, the vicious, diabolical king orders the captives to be killed. Even as Lee Jang Hyeon secures their release from the Q’ing, he finds himself caught in the king’s sadistic plot.

Just when you thought there was a possible way out, the Crown Prince and his wife are poisoned to death, and all remaining captives are also rounded up and killed. It’s ironic that throughout the series, the Mongols and Q’ing are referred to as “barbarians,” and yet, by the end of the series, you may be asking yourself, “Who are the true barbarians?” What happens when a country turns its back on its own people? Perhaps we learn very quickly who the real barbarians are. The Q'ing seem bad, but we quickly learn that Joseon is far worse!

There is also a twisted and sick idea that Joseon women, even if touched by barbarians, are somehow violated and are expected to kill themselves. It’s a demented notion, obviously thought up by small-minded old men. When Kyung Eun Ae’s husband finds out that a barbarian grabbed her shoulder in a vain attempt to rape her, he’s horrified that she didn’t take the noble path of suicide. It’s amazing how often throughout history, ignorant and delusional men decided that they could market their women’s chastity like measuring the value of gold.

This is an epic series of love, adventure, turmoil, loss, and the measure of loyalty. When a country or regime does the unthinkable, it’s the duty of its citizens to rise up. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little, temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Too often, the cowards cower to authority rather than doing the right thing, and that’s what we see here, which is rampant throughout history.

Lee Jang Hyeon represents true nobility and that doing the right thing is often unpopular. It takes a while for his companions, and even Gil Chae to fully understand and realize what he’s doing. He rarely asks for any credit. He’s loyal to the people of Joseon, and he’s loyal to Gil Chae. Both are unwavering, which is what makes his character so compelling.

Brace yourself for the last episode, and you might want to keep a box of tissues handy! We find that true love and true loyalty always bring their own rewards, even when circumstances to the contrary appear to exist.

Performances are incredible, but it’s Namkoong Min’s Lee Jang Hyeon that truly inspires and captivates. He seems shallow, a bit arrogant, and indifferent, but we learn quickly that these are nothing more than masks that he wears to hide the man that he truly is.

Do yourself a favor. Sit, watch, and listen to the sound of flowers, and just let it all soak in to your heart and soul. You won’t be sorry.