this historical drama bases its title on 'captivation', a kind of love/hate dellusional state... it sounds amazing, but did it hold the bar???

without spoilers, the show definitely start with a BANG !

At least the first half is definitely worth it for the unmatched quality: the plot, dialogue, characters, concept, the pace! loved it all!

SPECIAL MENTION: the ML truly held the bar from A to Z till the last minute of the show. HIS PERFORMANCE puts him in the top actors in my view! it's also my first time seeing a show of his!

now for the things i liked less:
-the show looses pace & same quality after the first half, petty plotting takes over unfortunately...

- the FL performance was underwhelming. mainly her passion & strongheadness. In her defense, she had a multilayed character as she would disguise as a man to play baduk. the gender disguise trope has been done in other historical dramas, and many people compared the starring difference in performance. I think the production did not help the FL in solidifying her character ( ratio of women vs man disguise scenes) and historical context to show the limitations of women in the social sphere that pushes her 'stronghead' character... in other scenes, we had to assume her passion for justice or her emotions as it was not clearly vehicled in her performance. i like this actress a lot, but ubfortunately it was a stark contrast with the main actor performance...

- many unecessary dialogue scenes between ministers that can be a little boring.

-LOVESTORY: if you were expecting a passionate love story, this will not fall under your expectations! while it wasn't a bad thing per say, just know the lovestory part starts as an intellectual love and soulful more than emotional as the main characters are portrayed as geniuses that expect the same from their ideal partner.

All in all, i think this show is worth STARTING for a great captivation of the ML, and the amazing lines/plots of baduk geniuses ( ML & FL) where they may be planning 2-3 steps ahead of everyone.

REWATCH value: since i watched it as it was airing, i'd often rewatch a few scenes from previous episodes because the writers carefully put clues & hints in trivial things which i enjoy a lot! it's stimulating!