littlepoodle

Are you me? I stopped watching around the same time, not dropping it but more like "eh, I'll watch this later". Which is weird, because I was completely obsessed with this drama in the earlier episodes. I even rewatched them while I was waiting for new eps to drop, and I never do that.

I do still intend to finish this when the episodes have all come out, but I'm a bit concerned about the amount of people saying romance isn't the focus. I haven't read the webnovel and I didn't follow the promo. But what I do know is that the first few episodes were a near-perfect beginning to a romcom with some bite to it. In fact, it was a great start to a romance *because* it wasn't ALL about romance. There is more to these characters individually, and the dynamic between their characters worked on multiple levels. That's how a good romance is made! It was neither insta-lust nor boring interpersonal drama, the characters had some real spark and a real conflict going on.

I find it honestly weird if this drama ISN'T about the romance, because the dynamic between the main characters has been THE most important and interesting element in the story, by far. Everything else is a side quest or background material. Or does anyone genuinely think there are other relationships in this drama that are more important or interesting? And what is that main relationship if it's not a romance? Would this story really be as interesting if it were about the magic of friendship? A drama is about people, it can't be just about cooking.

I felt like something in that character dynamic was lost when I (temporarily) dropped the drama. The best kind of romance transforms the initial spark into a depth of feeling, and to me it seemed that things suddenly became very surface level. But I really, really hope this ends up sticking the landing.

Well, the drama opened with a cooking competition, to establish that the FL feels at home in a highly competitive environment. It has been clear since day one that this show's premise (besides falling in love) is basically a cooking survival show where actual survival is at stake.

I haven't found it repetitive and boring at all, and I'm someone who finds cooking shows in general and the likes of Master Chef incredibly boring. I've felt the high stakes every time the FL is faced with yet another tough challenge. But to each their own.

One thing that surprises me is how insignificant Kang Mok-ju has been so far. The villains will of course scheme towards a big climax in the end, as I assume the King gets deposed as he's supposed to. But I expected Kang Mok-ju to pose more of a threat to the FL, and she's been mostly just... seething in impotent rage. And the King doesn't seem to care about her at all. She became a non-entity after the cooking contest.

Not that I'm complaining exactly. I think I may have watched too many Cdramas because I kind of expected a short period in the story where the ML is more inclined to believe the scheming SFL's lies against the FL, but then the FL is vindicated and he realizes who the honest one truly is. You know the drill.

Anyway, I hope the drama has some surprises hidden up its sleeve when it comes to Kang Mok-ju. I'm waiting for her to become a bit more interesting. From her backstory, I didn't think she would be such a two-dimensional secondary villain. Maybe she'll be something different? Fingers crossed.

It's so weird. Is this a continuation of some ancient fan war or something? I only know Yoona as an actress, not as an idol, and I've always found her very likeable and charming in a girl-next-door sort of way - even in dramas I didn't really care for. Well, a lot more beautiful than your average girl next door, but you know what I mean: I can buy her as an ordinary woman who just happens to be pretty. Perfect for a romcom.

And perfect for this drama, especially.

Yes! Jiyeong and Gilgeum are already one of my all-time favourite duos.

My theory is that the original history of Yeonhuigun (this is a fictional king after all) was indeed an accurate assessment of his reign. But I suspect what ends up happening here is that the FL helps him become a better person (I hate to say "she fixes him", but let's not kid ourselves, that's basically what it is) *and still* the events of history largely end up happening because of other forces. There are so many different groups conspiring against the king: it was a good example when both political factions were saying amongst themselves that they need to get rid of the gwinyeo. Then there's of course Prince Jesan, Kang Mokju and the unknown rebels who shot the king. Everyone has an agenda, and they're all steering the course of history towards the original ending.

So I think no matter what the FL and ML do, he will soon get deposed and murdered anyway. But I really hope that instead of dying, he simply escapes into the future, because his original timeline doesn't miss him anymore. His role in history is over after the events have played out. I'd like to think the drama doesn't linger on his talent for no reason. He doesn't just like good food; he has a real talent for analyzing it. So even if it's delusional, I'll continue to hope that he first reforms into a better person, then escapes into the future and gets a food-related job by Jiyeong's side.

Well, that's not a rare opinion at all. A lot of people don't care for red flag MLs. In this drama's defence though, it didn't exactly spring the red flags out of nowhere. The ML was clearly advertised as being a tyrant. In fact, I distinctly remember people complaining beforehand that Lee Chaemin isn't going to be convincing *enough* as a tyrant, lol. I guess he's now a bit too convincing.

But it's not a romantic, "yearning for my true love" kiss. It's an "I'm attracted to you and I can't help it" kiss - something that will nudge them towards emotional turmoil, not the climax of turmoil. He's out of his mind drunk and acting on instinct, and she realizes she's attracted to this stupid sexy jerk too. Then in the next episode he doesn't remember anything, and she's outraged because it feels like being ghosted by a blind date. They'll think about what happened and come one step closer to understanding their feelings.

They've already had conversations that revealed they would be on the same wavelength if the circumstances weren't so crappy. Now they'll also realize they find each other sexy. Actually falling in love will come later.

I have a secret wish that Consort Kang will eventually realize Ji-yeong isn't her enemy, but that might be too much to hope for, lol.

Is the king being drugged or poisoned? I noticed that Kang Mok-ju has been using some kind of a pouch to soothe him. I suspect that's how she originally got close to him - he was already being drugged, and she was "magically" the only one who could make him feel better... because she had the antidote. We already know Prince Jesan basically planted her as the king's favourite.

I guess that would also be an easy way to sanitize the king's character, if his worst temper tantrums were caused by being drugged and he's not really that violent.

Well... it's like the characters are based on real people, but the drama is simultaneously distancing itself from them. Like, imagine a romcom set in what looks exactly like the Tudor era with characters called King Hondry and Unna Billen, lmao. Everybody knows who those people are referring to, but at the same time, are they really Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, or are they entirely new characters?

I'm curious to know what Koreans think about this show. Obviously the name changes and other distancing effects are done to avoid getting called out for messing with history.

Well, there's also Kang Han Na in a similar role! But apart from that, and the ML being an historical figure with a scary reputation, I don't see the two stories as similar at all. This is a romcom through and through.

Fictional, alternative version of a real king. All the names have been changed, etc. But there are enough similarities that you can tell who it's inspired by.

(I meant SFLs, but the same does apply to SMLs as well)

I think she's only jealous of power and influence because she has her own (revenge?) agenda. She clearly doesn't have any feelings for the ML, as she didn't even care whether he was dead or alive after he was shot.

(Which I must say is a nice change for me. I find lovesick and pathologically jealous SMLs extremely stressful to watch, especially in Cdrama. I'm kind of hoping she eventually realises the FL isn't her enemy, but perhaps that's too much to ask, lol.)

And put their shackles back on like it's just routine at this point 😭

But at 25, she was beautiful and on top of the world. Now at 50, she finds herself "Kdrama ugly", confused in a strange new world, penniless, looked down upon, every encounter making clear she's at the very bottom of the food chain. Her last memory is an accident that almost killed her, and she's forgotten an entire history where she was victimized somehow. I think the whole point of the story (besides solving the mystery) is going to be her getting her confidence back at 50.

I had problems with the loud humour of the first two episodes, but I honestly never saw it as a problem that the FL is awkward, apologetic, feeling downtrodden and on the verge of a nervous breakdown when she wakes up at 50. To me, it made a lot of sense.

I suppose if you only focus on the concept, both are "modern chef travels back in time". But I agree, the storylines seem completely different.

If you think about it, there are relatively few modern skills that could be used in the past as easily and effectively as cooking. For a storyline like this, what else could she have been to make such an impression on the king? Maybe an artist or something. But cooking works a lot better.

The thing is, you can have great fashion sense but dress yourself in frumpy garbage because you don't want to get noticed or because you've given up on trying to look good. People tend to wear lots of layers when they're trying to make themselves invisible.

This is exactly how I feel! Romance and especially romcom are essentially a bit formulaic, so you'd think it would be easier to make them satisfying - just lean into the formula and focus on character development - but no. Finding one that grabs you in this way is so, so rare.

I think one part of that "spark" here is letting your outrageous premise play out, and not just be an interesting concept to grab people's attention in ads. In fact, I originally wasn't interested in this premise at all, as it sounded too much like Mr Queen to my liking. But the central conflict between the main characters in this drama seems irresolvable to start with, and that gives it the "drive".

The romcom structure is so predictable that the unpredictability needs to come somewhere else. The king really does come across as dangerous and unpredictable (albeit dangerously charming). The FL really is living in an extreme version of a grand prix contest - win or die. The edges haven't been softened yet, and that makes it addictive IMO.