This is a lovely story ultimately about fated love that overcomes all obstacles. The plot moves a bit slowly at times, but this feels more like a reflection of the times than a defect. This film really seemed to make a serious attempt at portraying the mood of the era and how various interpersonal behavior and ways of speaking among people of different ranks, etc. would work in that time (even came across despite my not speaking Korean). As with any Joseon Era plot set in the palace and involving the king, it is full of intrigue, plots and counterplots, but the story also contains a spiritual and magical element that makes it very poetic. My one issue was the adult female lead. After such a gorgeous and charismatic child actor, the adult lead seemed somewhat plain and ordinary, which was jarring. I also think her acting did not match that of the others actors. She had a heavy burden to carry, in that she presumably motivated the undying and passionate love of two men, but was unable to pull it off. Instead one was left having to male a leap of faith on this. Perhaps because of this the chemistry seemed somewhat lacking. Due in part to plot line as well as time period, this show is very light touch on physical shows of affection (especially in all those clothes), adding an extra challenge to pull it off based on more subtle movement and facial expression. Male lead did a creditable job but female lead was lacking, even in the physical moments. Otherwise really good performances all around, many interesting characters with their own fully fleshed out backstories and character development, and the gripping plot made it well worth watching.

Note to a few reviewers who thought ending didn’t make sense: remember the fable at the beginning about two suns and two moons, even referred to by shaman later in show to illustrate how applied specifically to the actual story and characters.