it took everything in me not to give a 10 to this.
I will take this space first and foremost to appreciate: SUHO THE ACTOR, SUHO THE IDOL and KIM JUN MYEON THE PERSON. What terrific job did the man do portraying the role of Crown Prince. Kim made it so alive for me that henceforth whoever plays the role of Lee Gun in another historical fiction, I'll be comparing the role playing and characterisation to Suho's portrayal. I'm in love- I have been in love with Suho and in love with his very existence- with how he blew life into his character. I give a standing applause to his acting, improvised, so perfected that I bawled my eyes out in every scene Lee Gun shed tears in. and someone hold me, hold me because I'm smitten with this wise, brains with beauty His Royal Highness Crown Prince (this is what people call sexy brains i suppose) and I swear this is not good for my heart. Adding to this was whenever and wherever His Highness walked, walked with a crowd following behind him, was so so damn hot. Conversely, SUHO the singer, the angelic singer that he is. OST "Love You More Gradually" is so close to my heart right now that it is not healthy how many times i stream it within a day. the OST itself wriggles, wrenches and soothes your heart. I LOVED EVERY ASPECT OF THIS. (Suho's voice did to my ears and heart what spring does to cherries.) i sincerely hope and wish for Kim Jun Myeon to take up more projects and try his hand at various different characters (i vouch for witty characters personally)
Lee Gun's dialogues that made me feel woman: 1. "You are someone I Indulge in." 2. "Your lips taste like honey." (*screaming*)

Moving forward, I'll take the liberty to explain the ending that everyone has been so unsatisfied about (the last 20-25 minutes to be precise). The Crown Prince after ascending the throne DID NOT ABANDON the throne, nor his subjects or people/country. He REMAINS His Majesty The King of Joseon. After the execution of the traitors and the subduing the rebellion, His Majesty rules and gets rid of all old conventional traditions, laws and policies, making new ones in its place. and he adopts a very very unconventional method to get his ideas approved through his courtiers and i dare quote it (not from the drama): "If you are not listening to continuous wailing of pleas from courtiers who are selfish and greedy for power, without proper back up and evidences and reasons for the pleas to be answered, then you do not have to give your corrupted opinions." He changes certain apparently important laws and replaces then with new improvised ones and continues to rule (for quite a number to months) before deciding to take a break. He leaves to be with his lover whom he hadn't seen for months and thus calls in his brother as a SUBSTITUTE for his absence. Reading between the lines, it can be seen that His Majesty Lee Gun might have returned to the palace after spending some time with his beloved and then going back again to her from time to time. Let's keep in mind that Myeong Yoon is a very independent and self reliant woman and thus is someone who wouldn't be confined to the walls of the palace. she would rather work in a self-established clinic than become someone's queen. and so Lee Gun's family was outside the palace he resided in. it is important to take note that everyone in the last scene from Gap Seok and Moo Beak to Prince Do Sung (apparently the King) address Lee Gun as His Majesty. So Do Sung being a royal and Lee Gun's own half brother substituted him whenever Lee Gun went of the palace to spend some time with his family. So the fact remains that Lee Gun is His Majesty the King, the ruler of the land and doesn't abandon his responsibilities or throne: he is in fact fulfilling all of his responsibilities both as the father of the country and the care taker of his family as a husband to Myeong Yoon and father to his children.

next would be how choi Sang rok and the queen dowager were forgiven. They were not. they paid for the sins they committed in the name of protecting their love. Sang Rok dies at the hands of the people he had gathered to lead the rebellion and doesn't get to experience the apparent happiness he would have had he been able to witness the fruit of his forbidden love, his unborn child. Also ironically, he hurt the daughter he tried to protect most in his attempt to safeguard his romantic rendezvous and ends up as the source of all of Myeong Yoon's miseries and the object of her hate. It was very humane of Myeong Yoon when she meet the dethroned Queen Dowager and said that it would take time for her to forgive her father and the Dowager. Lee Gun on the other hand, i dare say, executed his revenge on Sang Rok when he died begging to pardon the Queen Dowager at his feet and affirmed to all the crimes he had committed (we find Lee Gun not moving an inch when Sang Rok was pleading at his feet as he looked on with contempt. Had Sang Rok not been already stabbed in his heart, I'm sure Lee Gun would have beheaded him himself). However, Gun agrees to spare to the Queen Dowager only because she was pregnant with a child. But then again she was rightly punished for her acts too, which Gun was aware of of course, the Queen Dowager saw the person she cherished the most and for whom she committed so many misdeeds, die right in front of her eyes. Lee Gun's contempt for her was probably eased when she witnessed her lover breathing his last (Gun had said he would pay back the pain he and his family endured just the same, nothing more and nothing less.) Moreover, the queen Dowager died after giving birth and presumably without getting to love sufficiently the child/fruit of her love of years. The justice was rightly served.
(here i would take a detour and assume that Lee Gun ends up adopting the child of Soo Ryun and Sang Rok- hence in the last scene we find him with 2 kids- the younger one being his own and thus the former king showering the baby with love)

the whole series served just right in every aspect. the series was intriguing, fast paced, and kept the viewer hooked and contemplating what would come next. (binge watching as i did, i kept having dreams of what would happen next as i took mini breaks in between. i swear if my eyes had a mouth they would curse me with every profanity known to the world.)
i would add why i couldn't give a 10 to show. first, it was because they made Suho cry (even if it was just acting); second, being the witty and smart person Lee Gun was he didn't realise that Beak Goo as he named Myeong Yoon was actually Sang Rok's daughter a little faster. third, nowhere in the series did anyone tell or made Song Rok and Soo Ryun realise that their love was not wrong but what they did in the name of love was unforgiveable. However i would make a strong recommendation of this series for what it truly is, a masterpiece. from the actors to the plot twists that were provided and the osts that the drama literally gifts us, is elite. A MUST WATCH- when i say this is something that should NOT be missed, it actually should not be missed. i'm really surprised at the number of MDL watchers; i mean people be radical not everything that is not your typical romantic comedy is unworthy.