Disclaimer: I’m already disappointed in this drama and you will not like my opinion.
I really wanted to like this drama, especially because the first episode showed so much potential. Unfortunately, the writing is cringy and unintentionally absurd at times.
One of the examples is the pool scene. It’s 2025; who is jumping into a pool to save a **printed** report, and who even goes to pool to meet with their boss in the first place? This really breaks immersion because you start questioning and analyzing how moments like this are outdated and disconnected from how people actually behave.
The female lead also suffers from inconsistent characterization. In her first appearance, she’s natural and true to herself, someone strict when necessary but very grounded. Then, for some reason, the moment she encounters the male lead again, she suddenly shifts into an almost childlike “innocent” persona. Her reaction to him being “worried” feels so odd, considering she disappeared without notice after what was presented as a genuine date; of course, the least he could be is being worried. The worst is how easily she accepts the idea that he could ask her to resign over something that happened outside the workplace, something completely irrelevant to the job she got under false pretenses. If anything, the concern should be about her lying her way into the position, not a couple of kisses. It’s the kind of writing that makes it feel like the writers don’t know how to write women and secretly hate them.
The so-called revenge and experiment setup is another example. Why is she conducting a test alone, in the wild, in the middle of the night, with zero relevant training? Experiments are supposed to have proper controls and be done in a lab. If the intention was to portray a user-test scenario, the scene still makes no sense because the measurements and conditions are completely unrealistic.
Overall, the scenarios feel fake and forced; the chemistry never really lands. Dramas should be creative, but should definitely not be completely ridiculous and insult your intelligence.
Given how strong other romance dramas have been the last few years, this really fell short for me.
If your opinion differs from mine, feel free to share
Replying toGinarusdi•Nov 20, 2025•Liked Nov 21, 2025
Why does it say age gap (real life) when both actors are in their forties (4 years apart)?
MDL tags can be unreliable. I remember one recent drama where it took weeks of efforts for us (commenters) to remove a clearly erroneous tag which was confusing people. The tag said “Romance” even through it was NOT a romance drama and romance was just a tiny portion of the story.
But he's working on his plan. He's been gathering proof about the murders in the Gyesa years. He's been training…
Personally, I'm sick and tired if this "weak, powerless king/prince" trope in saeguks. It's been in every single one of them that I've watched. And the shady minister is almost always the villain. Their political squabbles is the least interesting part of this drama. We all know how it's gonna end. What's dumb here though, is that the king's family strangely enough has zero political allies/clans/factions supporting them. And the minister has so much power, he basically walks and talks about treason in the open. Then just fkn invent some sh*t again and kill all the royal family in a coup, and then sit on the throne yourself, ffs. You're all relatives anyway through clans' inbreeding. The commoners won't care any way who's ass is on the throne.
I swear, there was only one great saeguk with all-round great plot and even that one required throwing zombies in the mix to make it interesting. You know which one I'm talking about.
There’s really something wrong when people can shrug off a man forcing someone into marriage and gifting severed fingers but don’t hesitate to criticise a women for being “naive”.
I really wanted to like this drama, especially because the first episode showed so much potential. Unfortunately, the writing is cringy and unintentionally absurd at times.
One of the examples is the pool scene. It’s 2025; who is jumping into a pool to save a **printed** report, and who even goes to pool to meet with their boss in the first place? This really breaks immersion because you start questioning and analyzing how moments like this are outdated and disconnected from how people actually behave.
The female lead also suffers from inconsistent characterization. In her first appearance, she’s natural and true to herself, someone strict when necessary but very grounded. Then, for some reason, the moment she encounters the male lead again, she suddenly shifts into an almost childlike “innocent” persona. Her reaction to him being “worried” feels so odd, considering she disappeared without notice after what was presented as a genuine date; of course, the least he could be is being worried. The worst is how easily she accepts the idea that he could ask her to resign over something that happened outside the workplace, something completely irrelevant to the job she got under false pretenses. If anything, the concern should be about her lying her way into the position, not a couple of kisses. It’s the kind of writing that makes it feel like the writers don’t know how to write women and secretly hate them.
The so-called revenge and experiment setup is another example. Why is she conducting a test alone, in the wild, in the middle of the night, with zero relevant training? Experiments are supposed to have proper controls and be done in a lab. If the intention was to portray a user-test scenario, the scene still makes no sense because the measurements and conditions are completely unrealistic.
Overall, the scenarios feel fake and forced; the chemistry never really lands. Dramas should be creative, but should definitely not be completely ridiculous and insult your intelligence.
Given how strong other romance dramas have been the last few years, this really fell short for me.
If your opinion differs from mine, feel free to share
What's dumb here though, is that the king's family strangely enough has zero political allies/clans/factions supporting them. And the minister has so much power, he basically walks and talks about treason in the open. Then just fkn invent some sh*t again and kill all the royal family in a coup, and then sit on the throne yourself, ffs. You're all relatives anyway through clans' inbreeding. The commoners won't care any way who's ass is on the throne.
I swear, there was only one great saeguk with all-round great plot and even that one required throwing zombies in the mix to make it interesting. You know which one I'm talking about.