AuzuLa

Jang Hyuk has unreal screen presence. The dude just steals the scene every time, in every drama he appears in. Can't wait for his relationship with Seo Hwi. I really hope they eventually develop a real friendship rather than becoming enemies or just trying to use each other.

Chinese dramas are quite good imo. They're usually a hit or miss kinda thing tho. You either love them or hate them. Personally I love historical chinese dramas. There's just something cool about beautiful costumes and ridiculous martial arts to me. But some people find the episode count too high. Just try some popular ones with high ratings. I'd recommend Nirvana in Fire. It was seriously good throughout.

Haven't enjoyed watching something as much as this in a long time.

Mi Hol and Sa Ron are the ones I viewed as 'villains'. But I guess I used the wrong term, villains was just a word I used to refer to the opponents of Eun Som. And what I meant was these people keep winning over him and he keeps getting captured and bullied until about the last 2 episodes where all of a sudden he goes from possibly being Aramun Haesulla to Inaishingi.
And sure he has grown but not much. As for him no longer being impulsive or looking down on himself, I'd argue he never did either of those things to begin with. At the start he was smart and didn't act impulsively on things and still doesn't tbh. As for looking down on himself, he never really did until like 1/2 episodes where his friend suddenly goes crazy and the men who captured him pretty much making him submit.
Again with calling him naive I guess I choose the wrong word. It'd change that for stupid. After seeing all the shit he did, he still made many decisions, especially like middle of the season, which should have lead to his death. Whether he wants to believe in the 'good' in people isn't the point. It was the last episode where he again starts playing the game and being smart but for me that was a little late.
Keep in mind my thoughts from thinking this may only be 18 episodes long overall. Most korean dramas don't have/rely on a second season to complete the first one. We don't fully know if this will have another season and if it does, how many more? Just one? If this was a western show eg. Game of thrones, I'd know there are many more seasons to come so there is so much that can change in the upcoming seasons.
Anyway all this is just my opinion and I'm very specific in my taste of things I enjoy so I tend to be very biased. I'm not a professional critic so I may be wrong but it's just how I felt after watching the season.

I think some would very clearly we viewed as villains. But Tagon is good and bad I guess. Eun Som so far is very clearly the "good" guy. But yeah I agree most characters are as you described. That wasn't the point I was trying to make though, I just want development in Eun Som's character/view of the world. So much shit happened to him but it seemed he didn't change one bit.

Fair enough. I saw on your profile you plan to watch Story of Ming Lan. If you haven't already, make sure to watch that at some point. Both of the leads are about as likeable as someone can get. It's a long watch but hella worth it.

This could have been so good and still could become that if the next seasons are good. It had a really high production value which lead to it being beautiful cinematically. And on top of that the acting was incredible.
But they've spent more time developing the villains than Eun Som. I love good villains getting screen time and even winning if it's done in the right way. A good show like this requires a good villain to propel the story. But ,arguably the protagonist of this drama, Eun Som hasn't had much development. He's shown to be a igutu/monster who's meant to be incredibly strong. In the beginning he's fighting against many Arthdal soldiers/Tagon and doesn't get his ass kicked. He's strong, smart, cunning and adaptable. In a scene, he's shown to enjoy what he's doing. Playing the game, learning incredibly quickly and outsmarting others. But then he just starts getting kicked around by random no names repeatedly. He's suddenly weak, gullible and naive. Despite being through "hell", he doesn't change his personality/mindset. I would have expected him to become stronger, more ruthless and less forgiving. Possibly learn how to fight and become someone only a strong fighter like Tagon could take on. This wouldn't make him a bad person. Like even in the last episode at points he doesn't know what to do or what's going on.
This drama was intense and had many twists to keep it interesting but it could have been so much more imo. I really hope there is more development next season.

If you have watched the original version and loved it then Matt's acting in this drama should be no problem for you. Jun Ji Yyun, who played the female lead in the korean version, played the role of the female lead perfectly and in my opinion she over-acted/acted in a unrealistic manor but that is literally the personality of the female lead in this drama. Jun Ji Hyun definitely did the best portrayal of the female lead but that isn't to say Matt is terrible. Matt is doing a good job so far.
And as for the scandal, there's so much that the public probably doesn't know and life is just overall complicated. It's nothing to dislike/judge someone over. It's not like she's a murderer/child predator, now that would make her a shitty person. People just like to talk shit and gossip over anything (this last part wasn't directed at you btw, just expressing my thoughts on the subject).

Quite a while ago I watched the korean version which I loved. Recently I watched the Filipino version out of curiosity and it was ok. But after watching 2 episodes of thai version, I've gotta say Nadech is by far the best male lead out of all the versions. I normally don't pay close attention to acting as long as it's not terrible but Nadech, to me, conveys the actions/emotions in a particular situation in the most believable way. Like his expressions are subtle and restrained when needed, where as I feel the actors from the other versions were too emotionless or exaggerated/over acted in certain situations. I don't know how to put it but his acting is just really believable/real so far.

What cartoon? I'm seeing everyone here talking about a cartoon but I've just finished episode 18 on netflix and it ended there. Could you link me it please?

The first episode of this drama was one of the most engaging openers I've seen in a while. Completely had me hooked. It was intense, emotional and hella entertaining. It clearly had a high production value so the scenery was beautiful and it's action packed. Can't wait for the next episodes.

Watched it all and I have no idea how I feel about this drama. I guess it can be viewed very differently by different people. Sometimes I felt it was light and enjoyable. Other times it felt just wrong and unrealistic. Idk. A lot of the times Risa just looked like she was feeling uncomfortable so it's hard for me to watch and feel comfortable lol. Either way this drama wasn't good or bad for me. It was just something to watch.

Yh. I only care about Eun Som tbh but he doesn't really get as much screen time as I'd expected/hoped he would.

A little bit yes but not to the point where it's completely stupid or cringe. I don't know why but I struggle to watch series with a lot of childish and embarrassing moments. I get second hand embarrassment/cringe and I just find myself pausing at those moments. I just find it hard to watch lol

Yh I get that could be frustrating for someone looking forward to the drama but it's still a stupid thing to do. People like that make the ratings meaningless.

I've watched 47 episodes so far and I feel like the story has barely moved forward in any meaningful way. The story literally feels like it's gone nowhere. I don't know how the last 13 episodes could possibly wrap this up in a way that its satisfying and complete.

What kind of degenerate gives a 1/10 rating before a single episode has aired.

"Am I the only one uncomfortable?" No matter how many times he says this it still gets me every time.

Omg his cry broke my heart... He's trying so hard to be strong and stop himself from crying but the tears just kept falling. You could feel his pain :(

Don't be impatient and drop this too quickly. The can see how some people would find the female lead to be annoying and unlikable at the beginning. But that really does change at around 5 episodes in. The chemistry between the main leads was great and their scenes together were extremely cute.
But I do feel this is only for people who like the romance genre. The rest of the plot is lacking and has many flaws.