It’s my third time watching this show and it still gives me the same intense feelings I got after my first watch. One of my faves of all time.

First, the plot and writing was brilliant. One can easily discern how the writers thought hard and well about each part of the story, since unlike other dramas, I never found the need to skip any of the side characters. They were all equally playing their respective roles to the bigger story. Wow. The pace was also brilliant. Each episode gave you something and you’ll never really find the need to overlook anything. Totally binge worthy.

Acting. Ohmygoodness the acting. Lee Joon Gi and Kang Haneul were both so good in pulling off complex characters. You could feel their raw emotions and how they managed to pull off these unrealistic scenes, brilliant. IU was also equally good, but the two main princes were the main ones for me. Even the other princes were amazing, considering that some of them were acting for the first time for major roles.

Characters. Damn, never have I seen a drama bring two spectacular characters to life. So and wook, these two were the main dishes of this drama. Wook, especially got my attention. How the writers and Haneul were able to show an understandable shift from good to evil, wow. It was too amazing. Each of his actions were calculated well, and you can really understand his reasons behind everything. Probably one of my fictional characters of all time.

If there’s anything I didn’t like, they were the last two episodes. Despite how the writers were able to pull of complex character arcs, it was kind or frustrating to see Soo and So give up on each other for reasons that seemed petty. I believe there were deeper reasons that could only be explained through theories (such as soo leaving to save her child from the palace), but I wish they spared a few episodes to show these reasons so the whole drama could not have been spoiled. I mean, how can So, who gave way to Soo in so many instances (even to the point of forgiving her for her distrust that caused Eun’s death) and always understood Soo and even fought for her hard, suddenly become so immature about Soo’s past lover? I Just can’t comprehend.

Putting that aside, I still love this drama and it will always be at the top of my list. I love how it’s unconventional. It steered away from your typical rom com that’s too afraid to go for a tragic ending. This story may be a tragedy, but its execution is the complete opposite of a tragedy, pure genius.