Rossie

Sorry, I'm only at ep 3 and I can already tell you that this has got a whole lot of unnecessary violence and crude behaviour that are there for no other reason than to add shock value. Unless there's going to be some sort of a take home message at the end or real justice for the victims, like in The Glory, it really isn't worth watching. If you like suffering for no reason, turn on the news.

Yay, twinsies! I applaud you for your good taste! 😁

YES! Coffee prince fans unite! 😆 I rewatched it not long ago, it never gets old!

I live for this! ♡♡+.ﾟ(￫ε￩*)ﾟ+.ﾟ

Boys Over Flowers

Thank you!
I was just about to comment the exact same, she was her best friend who was by her side for a longer time than he was. She lost someone she held dear as well and never got to mourn her loss. The way he took it out on Ko Mi Ja and her family is not justified at all. It's just what OP said, a reaction, a coping mechanism. Not a right one, not a justified one, but a coping mechanism nevertheless. And we're absolutely allowed to judge that.

I haven't watched Ji Chang Wook for a long while, I feel like he's had a long patch of pretentious dramas/roles. This, here, is exactly what I've been missing! That down to earth, genuine, boyish actor. I watched this for Shin Hye Sun but got reminded once again why I fell in love with JCW. And of course seeing him back with Kim Mi Kyung was just the cherry on top. Such a sweet, slow paced, heart warming drama!

Just a little heads up. This is about friendship, family and community. I wouldn't watch this for the romance.

You actually feel somewhat sorry for the King at the end of this drama. In reality, there was absolutely nothing sympathetic about Yeonsangun. He was absolute trash.

Kind of just did

MDL needs a downvote button, only fair.

I'm not kidding when I say this, but I heard the OST by Jambinai when it came out without ever having watched the drama itself. It had me in tears. The other day I was reminded of the song and took a listen to it. After so many years, it still has me in tears. Finally watching the drama now

EDIT: I don't know why I waited this long to watch this drama, maybe it was the fact that it's 30 episodes long-- but holy damn, it went fast! That's about how enjoyable this drama has been, I'm almost finished and I just don't want it to end!

The first part (pre-ep10) was a solid 10/10. Second part is a 2/10. Put them together and my rating for this would be a 6/10. Might still be a little generous, but credit where credit is due.

The plot was promising, unfortunately it didn't deliver in execution. It's as if they'd realized towards the second half of the drama that they'd been too ambitious with it and had to tone it down for whatever reason. The result is a half-assed pile of disappointing episodes that you sit through for the sheer commitment you had to the first half and for your love of JJS's phenomenal acting.

I'm not going to slam SSK (a lot), she's gorgeous to look at and I think she's been slammed enough, but I will say (and I could be wrong about it), that I did feel like the plot was written a bit around her and her limited range as an actress. It gave me the feeling that they deliberately chose not to go certain routes for the drama when that might have been the initial plan because of SSK not being able to carry it out, which I initially did think was genius cause she's not terrible per say, she's just not 'as good'.
So working around it, I thought, was a good idea, but instead it turned out extremely dull. Nothing happened, no shocking revelations, nothing we hadn't expected, no unexpected twists, nothing dynamic developing between her and the King (or anyone else). No interesting reactions, facial expressions. In the end, they scraped off the main role tag off her character and made her a supporting role to the King. Or that's how it felt to me. The interesting aspect in this story was the female baduk player, the strategic planner, but the role got sooo toned down it just ended up tasting bland like water.

To be honest, she's too pretty to go off unnoticed dressed as a man. Think that in itself is a bad plot hole. We're at ep 10 and no one's been suspecting her in the slightest. I thought the King knew but didn't let on to it, but nope.

YES! 🤣💯

Did you start it? He's phenomenal

I think you'd like Empress Ki. Only cons are it being long and a bit older. But a gem nevertheless and it definitely checks off on the visual lovemaking part. 😏

I don't think it was the pressure of rising to the throne. It was the sheer thought of her having betrayed him that drove him to the edge. Remember how much he stressed that there be no deceit between them. She was unaware of the false testimony given under her name at that point, so in her point of view, what he did must have looked like nothing but mere tyranny. So, classic drama misunderstanding trope.

That whole revenge "plan" was just a pretext to be with him again. I don't think she truly ever wanted to harm him. The age-old adage, when your head tells you one thing and your heart tells you another.

Those of us who've been watching Asian dramas for well over a decade will tell you, she's not a favorite among many. I know I hesitated watching this drama after seeing her in the cast but whoever decided to have her act alongside Jo Jung Suk knew what they were doing. No drama veteran would pass up on a saeguk with Jo Jung Suk in the lead.

Definitely! "attraction doesn't need to be sexual, it was clearly intellectual at first! two great baduk minds finding each other!"
That's what makes this so beautiful and pure! love traverses any border, any norm and exists beyond any physical form.