Lucusia

It starts off great - the plot, the romance, and the intrigues unfold at a measured pace. Everything makes sense, even if the drama is a bit over-the-top -but that’s just the nature of the genre and the conventions at play. Just as I was getting hooked- and feeling glad that the lead actors were finally being given a chance to actually "act" rather than just look good (though, naturally, they both look fantastic) - the writer suddenly started shoehorning in these cheap, tawdry scenes, clearly included solely to manufacture more tragedy.
It left a really bad taste in my mouth. I don’t have an issue with intense or dark scenes, but the way the secondary couple was treated felt incredibly crude and hackneyed. Instead of feeling sympathy for the characters, I just felt annoyed by such clumsy, heavy-handed writing. I gave up at episode 17. Maybe I’ll come back to it someday - skipping over the poorly written, shoddy parts—but I need the bad taste to fade first.