1. The chemistry of the actor and the actress was phenomenal. Junho brought the intensity and intimacy that was needed to uphold the king part of his character as well as the lover aspect of the character. Seyoung was perfect in her portrayal of strength and will as well as the conflict of being love while striving for freedom. At the same time, I was slightly disappointed in the lack of explanation for why she became consort when she struggled so much before with the idea.

2. The only flaw in the story is Duk Im’s lack of logical reasoning. There wasn’t a big moment of realization that caused her to really embrace being a consort. Even after that decision, I felt that she blamed Jeongjo for her own decisions. However I can totally overlook these slight details in the seyoung character because her scenes were so stable and enjoyable (especially joyful scenes). The overall story made a lot of sense and I liked the decision to not include the Queen and other characters because the drama was (sadly) only 16 episodes. It would have to bring depth to all the characters so perfectly with so many characters.

3. There is enough humor in between the intensity of the scenes for it to be funny but also keep the plot moving. Humor successfully dodged all tropes and cliches which is very impressive. The cinematography was gorgeous and the camera angles were to die for. The visuals, needless to say, was wonderful.

Overall, I appreciate the parallels this drama had to the original story and applaud it for portraying the characters so close to the historical figures. The acting, humor, sad scenes, were out of this world. The story moved fast and there were no filler moments. It has high rewatch value. You will not regret watching this drama.