zeroldman

The FL was only interested in a man if he could best her in baduk, which means she values men who are competent strategists. If the ML did right by the FL, but lost his crown I think she would have seen him as a poor strategist. We have 12 episodes left, so we will find out if the ML was an honorable man who made the right strategic move in order to win the game, or just another opportunist who was corrupted by power.

If the ML is not an honorable man, then this was just his selfish attempt to gain the crown, and it worked because he was able to coerce the king's servant to collude in his lie. If the ML is an honorable man, as we were led to believe in the first 3 episodes, then he lied so that he could attain the throne in order to save the kingdom from tyranny. If he had honored the king's dying wish, the prince royal would have ascended the throne, and this child king would have been exploited by the corrupt leaders who were under him

I think you might be on to something here...

I will share my theory, but I'm curious what you all think about why the ML lied about his brother's dying wish?

Yoo Hyun Bo came before the new king and his one request was that the baduk gambler be punished. Even if the ML didn't like him, he was compelled to honor his request because his act of betrayal was pivotal in attaining the crown.

I hope they can pull it off. I like the misdirection, setting it up as a standard love story then turning it on its head with the political upheaval. Did ML have no choice but to turn his back on the FL to save his crown? Could be a fun watch. They screw these up all the time, but I'm intrigued so far. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!

what made you decide to drop it at episode 4?

Disagree! Respectfully of course, but this is way better than I thought it would be. There is a good chance they will screw this all up by the end, but this could be really good.

brutal, but you're probably right. She's basically admitting that she doesn't know what love is, or sex either for that matter. It was a transaction, just like all the others. Run SS, Run!!

His feelings were strong enough to move on, but he was too cowardly to act on them. Her feelings were not strong enough, but she enjoyed being pursued so she would always give him just enough hope to not give up.

Alright, I'm starting to like this show more after talking this out. It feels good when someone has feelings for you, even when you don't feel the same. This makes it hard to shut people down hard when you're kind of enjoying being pursued. It's a bit cruel, but understandable.

this makes much more sense

what did you mean when you wrote "So they just recognized that what they did was to use love for interest"?

"no more to give and no more to receive" wtf does that mean? Also, why does she still hold on to him hesitating before going to the restaurant? what does that even matter?

you have chosen wisely!

I wish this finale would have been called '2 cowards get hit by a bus' just to put us all out of our misery!

please explain how the book is better than the series? I'll read it if there's an english translation.

What time do they drop new episodes?

haha, this made me laugh really hard!

I'll reserve final judgment until I see the last episode, but you probably made the right choice. This show had a promising beginning and a dismal ending, but it could have been really good. If anyone has read the book, I'm very curious how they compare?