sankkoch

I saw all those scenes. Some were less memorable. Some I watched weeks ago. And I was thoroughly enjoying this drama.

My rant was triggered by a massive spoiler post (before the spoiler tag was checked) which ruined my ability to enjoy the remaining episodes. You like to read spoilers, I do not. This upset resulted in a host of "flaws" coming to mind, which hadn't previously bothered me.

I was also passive-aggressively pushing back against one particular commenter (we all know who) that sucks all the air out of the room by acting as the board hall monitor—a yapping dog who barks at anyone and everyone who doesn't give her the last word & kowtow to her superior opinions.

MDL sucks for popular shows. My mistake is visiting MDL during a series run. I'm sorry. Everyone please block me.

It starts out slow. Their meet-cute is—of course—when he first tastes her cooking. He has a decidedly non-fluffy flirting style—often threatening to torture and/or kill her, actually imprisoning her, almost chops off her arm, etc… But he likes her cooking, so it's mostly bluff. And all the near-death events gets her heart pumping. (Survival is the most potent aphrodisiac!) At one point he deliberately ingests poison, but it isn't like Romeo & Juliet. He takes the poison for his brother, not her. So the actual romance doesn't get heated until late in the episode count. No breakup unless and until someone teleports away to another reality and time.

I remember one when MQ served a burger named 'Mac-don-alds' where the syllables were descriptive Korean words which fit together to sell the joke. Oh, and her fried 'dragon-whisker potato' on a stick.

MQ had a brilliant, near-flawless script.

I really dislike being spoiled. Even though the comment is now edited with the spoiler tag, I'd already seen it. It's too much exposition in my head all at once ahead of time instead of seeing this unfold on screen, as portrayed by these wonderful actors. My mind starts to process this and dredges up past flaws which I hadn't paid much attention to until now. And these flaws add up in a way which interferes with my ability to uncritically sit back, watch, and enjoy.

I need to remember this rule: the more I like a drama, the more I need to stay away from MDL. Because spoilers inevitably happen—especially towards the end!

I think about MQ only when the chef names her dishes. This chef strictly adheres to the modern names, even when in a foreign language. MQ dish names featured word-play that added an extra layer of fun.

Oh hey. I just read some comments and also a couple of reviews and it appears I am not alone in my aversion to SSH. I don't know what to think about that. Casting agents seem to really like her.

I know it's rude of me to comment that I really have not enjoyed watching any of the FL actress' performances I've seen. But it's sad for me to drop a drama as soon as I see her on screen because it never occurred to me to check first or learn her name.

I respect she is very popular and has earned her positive reputation. I wouldn't try to convince anyone otherwise. But a drama with her in the main cast is a nonstarter for me. My loss.

His royal majesty is a fool because he ingested poison just to confirm whether it was poison. 😵

You are not. He is a terrible king and more of a fool than his clown jester. He allows his enemies (foreign & domestic) plenty of room to maneuver while learning nothing of their plans or intentions. He displays no leadership skills nor any interest towards self-improvement. He remains aloof and unperturbed by impending signs of revolution and/or invasion. He declines to make use of his genius war machine inventor (except to make cookery utensils.)

I expect the ML will abandon his crown and flee through a time portal to the future like a coward, rather than rise up to his duties to protect his people or confront his enemies.

OTOH, he likes to eat delicious foods. He has a terrific palate. So he has that going for him.

So many spoilers!
FL dies in unexplained mid-air plane crash & is tansported to an historic alternate-reality "Joseon Hell" via magic macguffin recipe book which doesn't exist. (Was she already in hell before the plane crash?)
Hijinks ensue. (Never ending cooking competitions)
Macguffin book sends her to a present-day alternate-reality (did her actions in past-alt-reality affect alt-history? It seems so. Is there any way to get back to her original reality? It seems no.)
King from alt-Joseon-hell also transported to present-day alt-reality (whether by magic macguffin recipe book or writer-nim's planned phlebotinum)
They find each other. (Is she still in hell or could this be heaven?)
Everyone eats & no one gets fat. The end. HE.

Scroll down, read the spoilers. Beware you may lose your enthusiasm, as I have. Sigh.

Same here.

I don't want to see any of that. And now that I've been spoiled, I won't.

The king does not display good leadership skills, IMO. His people need to know who is in charge, what the rules are, and whether the rules are going to be enforced.

He also fails as a visionary, which is perhaps the primary role of a king. He knows there is treachery but remains impotent to identify its source. And he fails to seize the opportunity to capitalize on a genius inventor with advanced weaponry which could protect his reign. This king deserves to fail. His failure is inevitable. He has no one to blame but himself.

Sure but it's painful and embarrassing to repeatedly watch him get walked upon and ignore multiple behavioral infractions of palace norms without any reprimands, let alone punishment. No wonder the villains are emboldened—the king is an enabler!

Prince Jesan should be wearing a chili flake face mask and not a single concubine or dowager got her wig slapped off, let alone put to torture. This King isn't much of a tyrant. I blame false advertising. The only person who has seriously been threatened by the king was the FL, in early episodes. You could say she tamed him, but what a paper tiger!

I cannot even imagine an open ending in this scenario.

Which came first, the old magic book or the King's composition? How does a time loop start when the macguffin already exists before it is created? How do you break out of a time loop that defies the very concept of time?

One episode each Sunday.

This is the plot of "I, Claudius". He had a stutter, so everyone assumed he was an idiot. His mother encouraged him to lean into this, and so he survived the Roman purges long enough to become emperor.

Yay!