Just finished, and I have to say it's one of my favourites from the last few months. Strong 9/10. The writing is great, the directing, cinematography and art department really aced this. Beautifully shot scenes, great costumes, sets and visuals. The characters are written so well and they're so quirky. Comedy was spot on. I love it. This is also one of the very few dramas I've watched where the second couple are as interesting as the first. This drama completely sucked me in, I've been up till 4 am the last two nights lol. Usually, I struggle with focus and often play on my phone at the same time, but not this drama.
In terms of what made it a 9 and not a 10... It seems they may have had the drama cut from 40 episodes, which meant the ending was a little rushed, but I'm glad they put that post-credits scene on the last episode, that really gave the ending that special something. Ideally though we needed those extra 2 episodes because some important scenes were cut, and it's noticeable. Speaking of endings, I would have liked for our second couple to get their HE.
The third almost couple however added nothing to the show. The silly disciple brother, Shuang Jiang, really was the worst writing in the show. Mei Si was very silly, but in a charming and hilarious way. Shuang Jiang was just silly in a mildly irritating way. Totally empty eyes.
In terms of our main leads... Xu Kai plays a very quiet, thoughtful ML, but he often took the backseat in the first half of the drama, which I think was a shame. Although he acted exceptionally well in certain parts, at other times, he was stiff and his reactions were off. Tian Xiwei on the other hand did a very good job and showed a fair bit of range and depth. These two were not afraid of really going for it in terms of the passionate scenes and it was hot 🥵🥵🥵 Rare to see two actors where both can kiss well. For me their sexual chemistry was stronger than their romantic chemistry though.
I loved the Demon market and all the various demon costumes. I also loved the characters in the palace. I think there was a missed opportunity to bring these two worlds together. I would have liked seeing more people entering the Demon Market and more interaction, which could have been very funny and dramatic, especially if the Emperor, Empress and princess ended up down there. Regarding the princess's love story, I think they should either have cast a younger actor or a more mature looking princess. I also would have liked to see a different outcome for them.
Overall very strong drama, can recommend to anyone looking for an entertaining watch!
Having just finished this, I understand why it's got such a low rating. Although the story flows well, and there are some funny moments, the writing, acting and production are extremely amateurish and the leads have no chemistry. It feels like a student production.
It is a copy-paste from Mr. Queen and the Great Doctor dramas, but still good. It is silly and stupid to keep…
The writing is not as good as Mr Queen. What Mr Queen did so well was fuse outrageous LOL comedy with an intense historical melodrama.
The first few episodes of this drama really got the comedy right and it was looking really promising, but now it's underwhelming. Unfortunately, the "serious" backstory is also not that interesting.
if they don't knew about chillies then what were they using in that era for spice and it's taste in foods????
Portuguese and British traders had a huge impact on cuisines around the world transporting and trading ingredients all over. Chilli is one of them. Before the introduction of chilli, there was black pepper, but it was a very rare commodity in the East only avaliable to royals and nobles and had to be imported.
Thank you for saying this. I concur. The food and the competitions are fillers, it creates exciting episodes,…
For me the cooking should be highlighted more. I want to see more of the cooking process but done well. But the scheming concubine and rebels is just so predictable and cliche.
At ep6 and the food reactions are getting more and more cringe.And the whole story is getting kinda absurd. What…
For me the comedy has gone down the drain. The first two episodes were really good and made me howl with laughter, but the last two episodes, the writing has gone down the route of cheesy cliches and they're not doing them particularly well either. I was hoping for a worthy successor of Mister Queen, but it seems like we're just getting another run of the mill drama.
1 
In terms of what made it a 9 and not a 10... It seems they may have had the drama cut from 40 episodes, which meant the ending was a little rushed, but I'm glad they put that post-credits scene on the last episode, that really gave the ending that special something. Ideally though we needed those extra 2 episodes because some important scenes were cut, and it's noticeable. Speaking of endings, I would have liked for our second couple to get their HE.
The third almost couple however added nothing to the show. The silly disciple brother, Shuang Jiang, really was the worst writing in the show. Mei Si was very silly, but in a charming and hilarious way. Shuang Jiang was just silly in a mildly irritating way. Totally empty eyes.
In terms of our main leads... Xu Kai plays a very quiet, thoughtful ML, but he often took the backseat in the first half of the drama, which I think was a shame. Although he acted exceptionally well in certain parts, at other times, he was stiff and his reactions were off. Tian Xiwei on the other hand did a very good job and showed a fair bit of range and depth. These two were not afraid of really going for it in terms of the passionate scenes and it was hot 🥵🥵🥵 Rare to see two actors where both can kiss well. For me their sexual chemistry was stronger than their romantic chemistry though.
I loved the Demon market and all the various demon costumes. I also loved the characters in the palace. I think there was a missed opportunity to bring these two worlds together. I would have liked seeing more people entering the Demon Market and more interaction, which could have been very funny and dramatic, especially if the Emperor, Empress and princess ended up down there. Regarding the princess's love story, I think they should either have cast a younger actor or a more mature looking princess. I also would have liked to see a different outcome for them.
Overall very strong drama, can recommend to anyone looking for an entertaining watch!
The first few episodes of this drama really got the comedy right and it was looking really promising, but now it's underwhelming. Unfortunately, the "serious" backstory is also not that interesting.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kings_of_Joseon#/media/File%3AKing_Sejong_the_Great_-_Government_Standard_Portrait.jpg