JulesL

same here - I felt that ep 11 had a couple of developments but overall, the show is just determined to inclue all these filler dialogue and fake angst

Finally, in ep 11, they explained a little why the good guys can't do what seemed obvious to us. Still it was somewhat draggy...with what the FL knows now, why is she not doing more with the King? She can take away the leverage that she knows her evil father has.
I know most want to see them punished, but I actually wanted the Grand Inspector Choi's plan with the Queen to succeed, to add a more interesting twist to the story. Otherwise, it was the usual "let's kill the witness, let's keep tossing the King's life back and forth...blah blah blah..."
Oh did they cut a key romantic scene?

Ah I see, then the extra touches to feature old photographs and aged scenes were nicely done. I plan to catch up to today's episodes tonight. I know I am enjoying the show because the episodes seem so short!
This is only my second drama featuring the Qing Dynasty, the first one being Scarlet Heart. It's a different feel :D

I binged up to ep 8 last night and so far, am intrigued by the plot and the characters. The fight scenes are great and I usually don't like the John Woo's style of slow motion but it seems to fit here.

Wang Jia Luo just never gives up - he must have super healing powers! Mu Qing is so brilliant and reaches conclusions so easily, that I am like "...wait - did I miss something, how did he know that???".

Not too impressed with Zhou Bu Fan yet - I think he must have a hidden agenda despite seeming all docile and deferring to his senior clansmen. I also don't like the forbidden romance between Ms Huo and ZBF, mainly because I don't like how Ms. Huo is portraying herself, pining over ZBF.

Does anyone know if this drama is based on real history? I guess I could google it :D

Agree! The screenwriter definitely dropped some great references in the drama. I will enjoy your discussion post!

Okay, almost halfway through. Time for a good binge!

First episode was a little slow, didn't draw me in as quickly as the first two series but still interesting enough to keep watching for the moment.

I think the silliest part is that they keep saying they are going to run away in the end. So go ahead, why all this scheming and killing if you plan to leave anyway.

It’s light and you don’t have to think much. Hope you enjoy it!

It worked for that sequence of scenes but they did include more flashbacks for the other parts of the episode which may not have been necessary

Right? That was such an important detail and by hiding the real reason, her son was misunderstanding even more.

Yeah - there was quite a bit of flashback. Sometimes, I believe the director thinks the viewers have short attention spans and must be reminded of the plot.

True - I just hope that the Grand Prince DS will not get swept in all the power struggle. He made some concerning comments like The King and Queen never thought he was worthy to be crown prince...

I don’t get why the Queen will not reveal to the Grand Prince DS that his grandfather will likely kill the King once he becomes CP. It should be no surprise to DS that the Left Minister is one power hungry dude

This has been an enjoyable watch. I have not watched the other related series but it is easy to understand the linkages and relationships.
The lead couple is cute! Both actors can certainly improve in their facial expressions a sometimes when the FL cried, I cringed. Still they did a decent job and I like watching their relationship progressed. It is also great that both leads were capable in their own ways and the ML, despite his sweet face can fight. So can the FL. Yada was casted well - she pulled off the tomboy tough act but is really quite lovely. Mikey is a good match for her and they are adorable together.
The second couple was also sweet and it was nice to see the strong family bonds between the Juthathep siblings and their cousins.
What I dislike is how the FL just gave everything up each time for her mother. I know in many Thai dramas, there is a strong emphasis on filial piety towards parents but in this show, the mother was just too much. At first I didn't even want to see her get redemption in the last episode. I just want to see her finally punished for her ignorance and vileness.
However, the ending wrapped things well and i don’t even mind the mother having found her way. There was even a 3rd, 4th and 5th couples with their own sweet moments.
I am satisfied and it was worth the time watching this show. Now I look forward to catching up with the first drama in the series and following the 3rd one that is airing right after.

Other than Bok Dong Hee’s powers, the others are more like curses. Poor Ina - she probably had to deal with people’s meanness even if it is indirect. No wonder she shut herself away.

Ep 9 is frustrating for me because it turned cliche with the Grand Prince caving in. I am glad for the reveals but the scenes were too short and too few. So it was not that impactful. I like what happened to the Royal Physician at the end of the episode - I just don’t like that guy.
Ep 10 seems interesting with the tension rising and sneak peek of our couple finally acknowledging their feelings

Ok after ep 19, with the subplot that everyone hated resolved, the story picked up again and the ending was solid enough to pull the rating up for me. The fight scene was just ok though.
I still like this lead couple pairing and at least they are not shy about kisses 😊 if there is truly a season 2, let’s hope the story is better!

The ML is indeed annoying for the first few episodes and even now after 12 episodes, I am still leaning towards SML

Thank you! One of the sweet moments I have to look forward to! Now that the express package is out, I am going to binge through and hope that at least this couple will make the rest of the time spent watching worth it.