This was such a disappointment. The first half was so fun even thought it was starting to get repetitive I still enjoyed the story, the second half was a snooze fest. I felt like after ep 36 it wasn't worth watching anymore and just skipped most scenes to reach the end. So many plot points were comically cliche and predictable (esp all the death and nonsensical character motivations). And the repetitive battle scenes omg. You could literally see the writing getting lazier and lazier. There was no need for that many battle scenes only to have the most anticlimactic ending. Which was so underwhelming, all that and they just have a 5 second fight with the main antagonist and for what?
Plus the leads took so long to get together that for me the chemistry had already fizzled out. There's always a balance I feel with slow burn romances, and if the writer misses the timing then theromance is lost. That's what I felt happened here. There was no longer any tension between the lead actors.
Despite the massive writing flaw, the actors did the best with what they had and the production was great. OST was forgettable. All in all, this was such a wasted opportunity for a great cast and production crew. I hope the leads get a chance to act together in a much better series in the future.
Yeah the HFX's father is pretty callous. But he does kind of redeem himself later on, just a little bit though.…
Yeah I have reached ep 36 and I am strugggggling to finish this. It lost all its charm for me and the leads took so long to get together that for me their chemistry and tension had all fizzled out. May as well have just been good friends with the way it played out. I am quite disappointed in how the second half has played out so far. Will finish it to finish it I suppose.
Wow, at ep 28 and I'm furious at this King. How can a father do this to his own son? I hope he has the worst ending or this drama's is going to drop from an 8 to 6 for me. I'm soooooo unimpressed with where the writer has taken this right now.
It doesn't even make sense, he knows eventually he has to appoint an heir, and ML has not only shown valor but also extreme intelligence and instead of praising him he is going to take away everything from him? Just because he is the son of the wife he was forced to marry? But he is still his son??? How in the world is this believable writing??
Also omg the romance is sooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwww.......I'm giving up on the main leads ever getting together properly (even though I know it happens).
Dropped at ep 10. Even though things are happening I can't seem to find this engaging at all. The actors seem good but their characters are bland as oats with only water. You can predict the story easily, which ok, happens in a lot of dramas, but you aren't even interested in the colour by numbers this is going to play out as. Essentially there's simply no tension. Its' a shame cause I was excited to chance upon this.
First half was really cute and funny. Bing Yan really acted so well as a bratty princess with a good heart. It's such a difficult balance but she did it so well. All the while I kept thinking - she really portrayed what a princess would have been like- spoiled, delicate but wilful. The rest of the cast was really good and omg the leads had chemistry through the roof.
Then the second half happened and I skipped so much of the pointless palace drama. The writer should have stuck to the lightheartedness of the first half - Like Romance of tiger and rose where it got serious but remained mostly lighthearted. There were too many conflicts going on in the second half that you were just....not interested in.
There were so many weird plot points and loopholes in the second half I was like....huh? And some of the villains in the first half (step mom/sis) just disappear in the second half? Did the writer just forget about them? It's like the political conflicts were written by a different person than the one writing the romance.
However this is still a delightful watch. I would still recommend. Just be prepared for normal palace nonsense in the second half.
Cute at first and then from ep 19 I just skipped to ep 30 because you could see where this was going (and the comments below confirmed it). I have to say the banter between the leads was so good in the beginning but by the time they got together the chemistry had fizzled out. The script no longer held any tension for them.
I wish the writer had stuck to a light hearted script because there were really so many hilarious moments in the first half. As usual Lu Si's comedic timing becomes better with every drama. She really has began mastering comedy as an art form. Unfortunately since the drama starts to get stagnant after ep 15/16 it's really not worth watching.
Oh also - I love that the FL had two MALE best friends who all shared a really sweet and platonic friendship. There should be more of these kind of relationships in dramas. Promote purely platonic relationships between opposite sexes!
Things they should have spent more time on in this drama:
- The identity of Ilwolseong. They could have done so much more with this whole character to make it more interesting. - This is one of the few dramas where I think the first kiss scene came too early. Or rather they didn't have anymore till the last episode which made the romance fall a bit flat. Not that you always need kiss scenes for romance but the leads didn't end up having much spark. That's also something I have noticed about Kim Yoo Jung. She's an excellent actress except when it comes to these scenes. - Done more with Ma Wang in the middle, he was dormant too much in the middle and that's where the criticism "they forgot the plot" of the series comes from.
Regardless I think overall this is still a drama you can watch without feeling like you wasted your life. I still enjoyed it!
Ok this is wayyyy better than the comments describe it to be. I thought this was going to be a hot mess a-la Doom at your Service but it's so much better than I thought. Yeah its a little draggy in the middle but not more so than most k-dramas and also it was still progressing the story arc (albeit slowly).
The biggest flaw in this drama is the endless flashbacks. They took the childhood sweetheart trope and beat it to death with the flashbacks. They could have spent all that screen time having the leads creating more romantic moments.
Also hats off to the antagonist Prince Hoo - everything from his expressions to the way he stands was so well crafted. You both despised him and pitied his descent into madness.
The acting, production, overall plot (a little cliche and no surprises) were really good.
Worth the watch - one of the few times I will say - don't listen to the comments and watch it.
This was surprisingly good. I really think Cdramas that are short format like this (when done well) are better than their normal 45-1hr episodes. They don't waste time with nonsense fillers and pointless arcs.
In this - the fight scenes are good, the story is interesting, the actors are good (could be better but still good) and the chemistry is amazing between the leads. And this probably the few dramas that got the balance between equality in the leads. Neither is weaker/dumber/useless than the other. Even in some dramas with strong female leads often the male protagonist will be some weakling but here both are on equal footing and that was so refreshing to see.
Totally worth the watch and all of it is on YouTube! Highly recommend!
The secret bio dad story was so pointless- why did they even add that? It only really made things complicated for the second cp and also a bit ...ick? And then it feels like everything is quickly happening in the last 3 eps after what feels like 15 eps of nothing much filler scenes.
This was cute, better than the comments make it out to be. However it really helps going in knowing the memory loss arc is ridiculously long and it's more comedic than it is serious. I'm grateful I had read through the spoilers before going in to watch this - it really helps you appreciate this kind of drama where you would otherwise be disappointed.
The actors did a great job although the FL was written heavily has a mary-sue which made her character quite boring. In contrast her sister was more fun and was more compelling as character (in the beginning at least). ML was great but they dragged out the memory loss so long his role also became a little meh. It should have been wrapped up in 24 eps (the last 2 eps don't even count).
That being said, it cute, the main leads have great chemistry in the first half (it gets a little bland cause of how dragged out it becomes) but a good in between dramas - drama. OST and production was really good. 7/10.
Also a bit fantastical how pretty much everyone got a happy ending regardless of what they did. I know that the whole "forgiveness" thing was big in this drama but they really were pushing the envelope on this. Not everyone who does bad to you deserves forgiveness and a lot of characters crossed the line (segi and ma manager). They didn't just affect the main leads they nearly cost other innocent people their jobs. Not sure if forgive and forget was such a great message for them.
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Plus the leads took so long to get together that for me the chemistry had already fizzled out. There's always a balance I feel with slow burn romances, and if the writer misses the timing then theromance is lost. That's what I felt happened here. There was no longer any tension between the lead actors.
Despite the massive writing flaw, the actors did the best with what they had and the production was great. OST was forgettable. All in all, this was such a wasted opportunity for a great cast and production crew. I hope the leads get a chance to act together in a much better series in the future.
It doesn't even make sense, he knows eventually he has to appoint an heir, and ML has not only shown valor but also extreme intelligence and instead of praising him he is going to take away everything from him? Just because he is the son of the wife he was forced to marry? But he is still his son??? How in the world is this believable writing??
Also omg the romance is sooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwww.......I'm giving up on the main leads ever getting together properly (even though I know it happens).
Then the second half happened and I skipped so much of the pointless palace drama. The writer should have stuck to the lightheartedness of the first half - Like Romance of tiger and rose where it got serious but remained mostly lighthearted. There were too many conflicts going on in the second half that you were just....not interested in.
There were so many weird plot points and loopholes in the second half I was like....huh? And some of the villains in the first half (step mom/sis) just disappear in the second half? Did the writer just forget about them? It's like the political conflicts were written by a different person than the one writing the romance.
However this is still a delightful watch. I would still recommend. Just be prepared for normal palace nonsense in the second half.
I wish the writer had stuck to a light hearted script because there were really so many hilarious moments in the first half. As usual Lu Si's comedic timing becomes better with every drama. She really has began mastering comedy as an art form. Unfortunately since the drama starts to get stagnant after ep 15/16 it's really not worth watching.
- The identity of Ilwolseong. They could have done so much more with this whole character to make it more interesting.
- This is one of the few dramas where I think the first kiss scene came too early. Or rather they didn't have anymore till the last episode which made the romance fall a bit flat. Not that you always need kiss scenes for romance but the leads didn't end up having much spark. That's also something I have noticed about Kim Yoo Jung. She's an excellent actress except when it comes to these scenes.
- Done more with Ma Wang in the middle, he was dormant too much in the middle and that's where the criticism "they forgot the plot" of the series comes from.
Regardless I think overall this is still a drama you can watch without feeling like you wasted your life. I still enjoyed it!
The biggest flaw in this drama is the endless flashbacks. They took the childhood sweetheart trope and beat it to death with the flashbacks. They could have spent all that screen time having the leads creating more romantic moments.
Also hats off to the antagonist Prince Hoo - everything from his expressions to the way he stands was so well crafted. You both despised him and pitied his descent into madness.
The acting, production, overall plot (a little cliche and no surprises) were really good.
Worth the watch - one of the few times I will say - don't listen to the comments and watch it.
In this - the fight scenes are good, the story is interesting, the actors are good (could be better but still good) and the chemistry is amazing between the leads. And this probably the few dramas that got the balance between equality in the leads. Neither is weaker/dumber/useless than the other. Even in some dramas with strong female leads often the male protagonist will be some weakling but here both are on equal footing and that was so refreshing to see.
Totally worth the watch and all of it is on YouTube! Highly recommend!
The actors did a great job although the FL was written heavily has a mary-sue which made her character quite boring. In contrast her sister was more fun and was more compelling as character (in the beginning at least). ML was great but they dragged out the memory loss so long his role also became a little meh. It should have been wrapped up in 24 eps (the last 2 eps don't even count).
That being said, it cute, the main leads have great chemistry in the first half (it gets a little bland cause of how dragged out it becomes) but a good in between dramas - drama. OST and production was really good. 7/10.