Aramintai

You forgot to add that there was last minute dumb plot twist that resulted in year long LDR. Could have spent that precious time on the scenes you've mentioned, scenes that indeed were expected to happen by the audience. And ending was very rushed, no way around it. So it pissed many ppl off.

Great production and acting. However I was a bit disappointed with some dumb and outlandish plot decisions at the end. I get that this is makjang fantasy, but it's based on real history with real historical figures, laws and customs, so at least some measure of historical accuracy would have been great to see. The most jarring throughout the series were frequent lack of proper entourage and guards following the king and queen at every step, especially outside the palace.
Also, I didn't like the ending because the king fell in love with erratically behaving guy in the body of the queen, not with the queen proper. It was shown that the queen had some leftover mannerisms and recollection of the time her body was occupied by a guy, but in the end she was mostly her old self. I feel like their relationship will deteriorate with time. Maybe it would have been better to leave the guy's soul inside her body, they became practically merged anyway and accepting of their situation by the end. But I guess it would have exacerbated already rising homosexual (sorta?) relationship questions with the audience, which SK still seems to be not ready for.
A very solid show overall, but my favorite fantasy historical drama with plotting schemers is still Kingdom.

I think ppl mainly claim it's similar because it has old Chinese looking clothing (which Koreans copied through centuries among many other things), it's fantasy and it has swordmaster(s). Maybe it's gonna be a Korean spin on wuxia genre, but judging by the trailers it looks more like a parody and probably not gonna involve any heroic adventures or epic sword battles. To me it looks like a historical fantasy comedy. Just because it's Asian, doesn't automatically mean it's gonna be wuxia.

Looks very interesting, can't wait. That it's a fantasy with magic in a fictional country is a bonus too - anything goes, no need to follow history.

Yea, TOP is so over the top - so ridiculously powerful, morally bankrupt, evil and has a counter plan for anything that it's very annoying to watch. I got really pissed off after about 6 episodes and started fast forwarding to the end. I've little patience for makjang bullshit lately and this show is really taking it too far. Did writers want us to cheer the bad guys here or smth? Because it sure looked like it.
And I wasn't feeling any chemistry between ML and FL, they should have stayed friends. Also, the usage of that popular but dumb trope "imma gonna go live abroad for a while just because" is as annoying as last minute LDR, another minus for me.

I disagree with you about Crazy Love - ML actor was really great in his role there and relationship there was definitely not as forced as in ABP. Full 16 episodes had plenty of time to show subtle hints here and there about leads starting to have feelings for each other even when they were at each other's throats. ABP feels very rushed and in your face in comparison. And ML wasn't supposed to be young there - his character was 34 years old (35 by Korean age), a more fitting age for portraying an experienced CEO, than some kid who inherited the position.
But I agree about Ahn Hyo Seop not being good. Inexperience as an actor it is then. I think he was cast mainly for his pretty face and somewhat similar appearance to CEO ML in What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?

Yea, I agree about ML not really fitting the role. Wasn't feeling him as a proper CEO of a big company. Yea, the actor is pretty looking, but he doesn't have that charisma he's alluded to have as a character here. If you want an example of a proper CEO with intimidating presence - ML in Crazy Love.
And I agree about him and FL being awkward with each other, especially in romantic scenes. Maybe it's because for like 8 out of 12 episodes FL wasn't having any romantic feelings towards him, being busy either running away/lying/trying to please his whims and totally not getting what he wanted from her later until it was spelled out for her. Then she was like, yeah, whatever, what's not to like, let's do it. Or maybe it's because of their inexperience as actors, or smth.
The second couple felt more natural, but even there second ML didn't have much presence either, but it was more because of his boring and timid character.

No, it has a happy one.

It's a popular classic archetype since fairy tales - mean and lonely ML, who preferably has a sad backstory, is tamed by kind and loving FL. If you don't like it you should have steered away after reading a synopsis - rom-coms about a CEO and his subordinate in general are always about this.

That second sentence is kinda false. There was a year long LDR out of nowhere in the last episode. And misunderstandings and lying is the glue of the plot - the masquerade in the first half, FL not getting what ML wants from her for a couple of episodes after that, second couple's frequent misunderstandings, fooling grandpa and FL's parents almost until the very end.

Not too bad, but episode count could have been way shorter. The plot started to drag in the latter half. Also, I'm not a fan of this type of FL - dumb, always gets into trouble, but cute. But I guess some men like ML do like this type, it raises their protective instincts or smth. Also, wtf was that last episode about? FL was freeloading for a whole year (!) on a sofa in her rival's apartment, bickering with ML about the smallest things. Their relationship already looked like it was going downhill because of exacerbation of her stupidity and fickleness in later half of the show, but the last episode didn't make sense whatsoever. With where it was going I actually thought ML'd finally lose it and dump her dumb ass in the end, but no, he has the patience of a saint.

I must have been watching different k-dramas then, I've seen ppl there calling each other by professions and surnames all the time. Especially if it's a boss and subordinate type of relationship, like here. But again, I agree about dropping it when in close relationship. Still, also not uncommon if continued, seen it as well.

And yea, actors not dating is a thing too. They are viewed as the same type of product as idols. And if there is a rare marriage then it's expected that an actress will soon retire. And seldom any return after having kids and such. I guess that's why this show doesn't have that ending - FL has no plans of retiring.
In this show ML's friend even commented that ML was a big thief and public enemy for dating FL, and referenced irl Kim Tae-hee actress who got married to another actor and retired, which greatly upset the fans.
Personally, as far as I've seen, being an SK entertainment industry celebrity is a very tough and shitty job when you think about it. Those poor naive teens basically go through a factory grinder working their asses off as trainees, very few become successful, and even then they always have to be mindful of their behaviour and are under constant watch as a public figure. Any mistake and they get critiqued to oblivion, or even cancelled. Not everyone can endure living like that. So this is one of the reasons I like FL in this show - she doesn't give up.

There's at least a couple of CEO+subordinate k-dramas every year. If rom-com is your genre ABP will indeed feel like a collection of cliche tropes. Can't argue about the production though, latest k-dramas are very well shot indeed.

Started strong and smart (even though the story is beaten to death), but turned into a dumb circus mess by the end - the writers didn't know how to end it properly it seems. If you want something more intelligent and coherent better watch Stranger or Vincenzo.

Tbh, there's nothing much like this on Netflix (or anywhere really) right now from the western countries, so it's very fresh for its western audiences. For k-drama veterans it may indeed look overrated and full of k-drama cliches.
I wish Netflix would pay for more k-drama shows and buy the rights to show more of them, so that more people can watch them legally in good quality and without f*cking sponsor PPLs in your face in every episode.

Can't argue about opinions about the plot, to each their own.

However, it wasn't strange how they were calling each other. You can see it often in k-dramas. In SK honorifics are used differently than in the west, it's something like in Japan. It's expected for people there to use honorifics, because it's polite and especially if someone is older than you and/or has a more respectable profession/social status. There is no equivalent for it in the west, so they've translated it simply to their surnames. But FL was actually calling him lawyer-nim (affix -nim being the highest form of honorifics), and ML was calling her by her full name with affix -ssi (used by politely talking to equals). It was totally in the norm. In more intimate situations I'd agree that they could have dropped the honorifics, but ML was too polite for his own good and he even explained why he can't call FL less formally (but most likely was raised that way, I've an irl European friend who's also annoying like that too). Also, it's a common trope in k-dramas (in Japanese dramas and anime as well) - FL and ML get used to calling each other formally and just can't switch it off even after they become involved romantically.
As for FL calling her manager oppa - it was explained he was working with her for more than 10 years, so he's like her older brother. And oppa basically is translated as older brother. It's also a cheesy way to call your boyfriend if he's older, hence there was a jealous misunderstanding in the show.

Also, about SK celebrities, especially young idols, never dating anyone because their management companies are keeping watch over them like mother hens/vice squad is all true irl - they're a product for the specific audiences presented as innocent and unobtainable, hence that scene in the last episode where her management company's CEO got really mad when she told him that she was dating. As for ML, it was made obvious that he's a workaholic nerd with no time for women.

It's a k-drama. And full of k-drama cliches at that. MLs are dumb like that in k-dramas at times, especially if it's a rom-com. I've seen even dumber. Just enjoy it for what it is :)

He never had an amnesia, he was pretending to lure the villains out. But he reveals it first time to the audience at the end of episode 4.

Looks like ML watched quite a number himself, lol. I recall him using the same phrase in episode 6 when he was brutally roasting jealous spouse of his ex-boss in the department store.

This really needs a season 2. Is there enough content from the webtoon for it?