There is a spoiler warning written in my comment a spoiler i mistakenly double tapped on the spoiler checkbox. I gave a spoiler warning before i explained my thoughts and feelings.
[warning: long ramblings ahead that drags on more than an amnesia plotline]
If you're like me, a lover of sageuks, then I would definitely recommend this show; the show is currently airing and while we are nowhere near finding out what's happening with all the court intrigue/hidden motivations/backstories, there's still a lot of meat to the story.
That isn't to say there isn't anything wrong with the story - i've never watched a sageuk, or any drama tbh, that didn't have it's problems.
[If you have not seen up to the latest episode as of August 18th, 2019, turn away lest you be faced with spoilers!]
Let's start this off with my main problem: Yi Rim.
At first, there seemed to be a lot going to his character; why was he an outcast? Why was he kept secret? Why was he despised by his father and sought comfort in writing romance novels? Why was he having those nightmares that were almost like premonitions? And then he started to dig into one of the palace's heavily guarded secret - Ho Dam (Or... Ho Ram? It's been a while since he's been mentioned so i completely forget his name.) It seemed that he had enough story to carry himself outside of the romance plotline just as Hae-ryung has. And then...
Nothing.
He's spent the past few episodes not so much as moping about Hae-ryung not spending time with him but... no, yeah, he's been moping about and pining after her and seems to have forgotten his plotlines. I mean, I get it - this is a romance drama but, like, they had SO much going for his character. Maybe they've decided to drop it to throw together a storyline to get the main couple together quicker and then pick his plotlines up abruptly afterwards, but I've gained a disinterest in Yi Rim as of now.
As with many, if not ALL sageuks, there is politics - however, I actually find myself invested in the politics with this drama. Sometimes it seems as if the writers don't know how to juggle all the story lines at the same time and things get dropped (such as ALL OF YI RIM'S STARTING STORYLINES) but the politics are actually very interesting to watch if not repetitive - crown prince wants to do good. ministers say no. crown prince says yes, king comes in and says no, crown prince frustrated, ministers sneer.
The side characters are probably my favourite - from all the scenes with the historians (both male and female like), to the crown prince and those that surround him and outside of the palace. I hate to admit that I'm actually more interested in the hinted relationship between the crown prince and sa hee (i'm just a sucker for forbidden palace romance but it'll be interesting to see where this goes as both are upright and noble people, especially sa hee). Historian Min is probably my favourite character so far - his backstory was very tragic and hard to watch, to see a once bright man who was deeply in love to turn into a man who seems to rarely, if never, smile - hopefully he escapes the sageuk trope of killing the second male lead (goo dong-mae, i miss you every day.)
Our titular character, Hae-ryung, is the typical strong independent sageuk female who don't need no man - she's happy to spend her life unmarried with her significantly (and suspiciously) older brother while surrounded by books and western trinkets. she's gives her opinion and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Shin Se-kyung has been (unfairly) thought of as being a bad actress and i've seen a lot of her works and i can safely say she has only been victim to bad writing.
She works well with every other actor and has good chemistry with all of them, but i don't truly believe the romance between her and Yi Rim - maybe it's because of the very way that Hae-Ryung's character has been written and portrayed - she's an independent woman who needs no man and possesses sharp wit and is intelligent beyond her years and I just... don't believe that she's falling for flowery, pretty, and much younger and inexperienced, Yi Rim.
It definitely feels like this romance is being portrayed as that of a young boy with a school boy crush on an older woman who, while touched by his feelings, is simply amusing him. I did like their earlier scenes but with Yi Rim not having much to do and not much to add, I do get tired of his scenes of moping about and find myself victim to the 10 second skip button on netflix.
It seems he's suffering the fate that many female leads suffer at one point but hopefully I'm proved wrong and the writers spin this on around or give Eun-woo more to work with as he is a good actor and is always improving, proving that he's more than just a pretty face to have on the screen. I definitely loved Yi Rim as a main lead as he was subverting the typical sageuk male lead - he had no experience in fighting, was not "manly" or strong or anything of the sort; he likes pretty things, keep his head down and just wanted to write romance novels and he was such a breath of fresh air in the beginning but now his character seems to be stuck in one place for the past few episodes and nothing much has changed.
There were many scenes that I enjoyed Eun-woo in, such as when he was caught by his father for writing, or when he saw the villagers doing a full bow before him for saving their lives and the closing shot on his face upon returning to the palace after being hit by his father. The early episodes proved that he can carry a scene and a presence on the screen, such as during his nightmares and when he was investigating Ho-Dam, and that he has the ability - now if only the writers would give him the chance to show off his acting chops!
Overall, I am so far enjoying this drama very much and can't wait to see how they proceed with this story.
If you're like me, a lover of sageuks, then I would definitely recommend this show; the show is currently airing and while we are nowhere near finding out what's happening with all the court intrigue/hidden motivations/backstories, there's still a lot of meat to the story.
That isn't to say there isn't anything wrong with the story - i've never watched a sageuk, or any drama tbh, that didn't have it's problems.
[If you have not seen up to the latest episode as of August 18th, 2019, turn away lest you be faced with spoilers!]
Let's start this off with my main problem: Yi Rim.
At first, there seemed to be a lot going to his character; why was he an outcast? Why was he kept secret? Why was he despised by his father and sought comfort in writing romance novels? Why was he having those nightmares that were almost like premonitions? And then he started to dig into one of the palace's heavily guarded secret - Ho Dam (Or... Ho Ram? It's been a while since he's been mentioned so i completely forget his name.) It seemed that he had enough story to carry himself outside of the romance plotline just as Hae-ryung has. And then...
Nothing.
He's spent the past few episodes not so much as moping about Hae-ryung not spending time with him but... no, yeah, he's been moping about and pining after her and seems to have forgotten his plotlines. I mean, I get it - this is a romance drama but, like, they had SO much going for his character. Maybe they've decided to drop it to throw together a storyline to get the main couple together quicker and then pick his plotlines up abruptly afterwards, but I've gained a disinterest in Yi Rim as of now.
As with many, if not ALL sageuks, there is politics - however, I actually find myself invested in the politics with this drama. Sometimes it seems as if the writers don't know how to juggle all the story lines at the same time and things get dropped (such as ALL OF YI RIM'S STARTING STORYLINES) but the politics are actually very interesting to watch if not repetitive - crown prince wants to do good. ministers say no. crown prince says yes, king comes in and says no, crown prince frustrated, ministers sneer.
The side characters are probably my favourite - from all the scenes with the historians (both male and female like), to the crown prince and those that surround him and outside of the palace. I hate to admit that I'm actually more interested in the hinted relationship between the crown prince and sa hee (i'm just a sucker for forbidden palace romance but it'll be interesting to see where this goes as both are upright and noble people, especially sa hee). Historian Min is probably my favourite character so far - his backstory was very tragic and hard to watch, to see a once bright man who was deeply in love to turn into a man who seems to rarely, if never, smile - hopefully he escapes the sageuk trope of killing the second male lead (goo dong-mae, i miss you every day.)
Our titular character, Hae-ryung, is the typical strong independent sageuk female who don't need no man - she's happy to spend her life unmarried with her significantly (and suspiciously) older brother while surrounded by books and western trinkets. she's gives her opinion and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Shin Se-kyung has been (unfairly) thought of as being a bad actress and i've seen a lot of her works and i can safely say she has only been victim to bad writing.
She works well with every other actor and has good chemistry with all of them, but i don't truly believe the romance between her and Yi Rim - maybe it's because of the very way that Hae-Ryung's character has been written and portrayed - she's an independent woman who needs no man and possesses sharp wit and is intelligent beyond her years and I just... don't believe that she's falling for flowery, pretty, and much younger and inexperienced, Yi Rim.
It definitely feels like this romance is being portrayed as that of a young boy with a school boy crush on an older woman who, while touched by his feelings, is simply amusing him. I did like their earlier scenes but with Yi Rim not having much to do and not much to add, I do get tired of his scenes of moping about and find myself victim to the 10 second skip button on netflix.
It seems he's suffering the fate that many female leads suffer at one point but hopefully I'm proved wrong and the writers spin this on around or give Eun-woo more to work with as he is a good actor and is always improving, proving that he's more than just a pretty face to have on the screen. I definitely loved Yi Rim as a main lead as he was subverting the typical sageuk male lead - he had no experience in fighting, was not "manly" or strong or anything of the sort; he likes pretty things, keep his head down and just wanted to write romance novels and he was such a breath of fresh air in the beginning but now his character seems to be stuck in one place for the past few episodes and nothing much has changed.
There were many scenes that I enjoyed Eun-woo in, such as when he was caught by his father for writing, or when he saw the villagers doing a full bow before him for saving their lives and the closing shot on his face upon returning to the palace after being hit by his father. The early episodes proved that he can carry a scene and a presence on the screen, such as during his nightmares and when he was investigating Ho-Dam, and that he has the ability - now if only the writers would give him the chance to show off his acting chops!
Overall, I am so far enjoying this drama very much and can't wait to see how they proceed with this story.