Critty

Plot wise, the story had great potential! The coup, K'Great changing the timeline (which, tell me, HOW ARE THERE NO REPERCUSSIONS!), the poor linking of the past with present-day, and the obvious comparison this show has with LUOAT due to the similar time period (LD being set in 1036, and LUOAT in 1038), and having aired just a couple months apart.
I wish they had stuck with just one or two prominent plot points, and explored those throughout the series instead of throwing the characters in different scenarios. At one point, the characters weren't causing the plot progression, bt rather, the plot was happening to them just because there were episodes to be filled in my opinion.

The finale was very choppy. The sudden odd pacing, juming from one scene to the next, the weird pre-credits ending, leading to us thinking there might be a 2nd season...

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the show alot, and infact, at the time of its airing, this was the only ongoing thai bl I was looking forward to every week, and anticipating what would happen next (futile though), but after a while I feel the writers didn't know what to do with so much they had set up. And that finale was just...
Like I mentioned earlier, the coup happening with Falcon, his love marriage with K'Marie (which I don't see happening as she has very different thinking and morals by the end of the show), then the murder attempt on Falcon as well. Did they ever actually resolve that? I don't remember anymore...
To top it off, Falcon is apparently working with the French to overthrow the govt as well. Then there is K'Siri, a renowned poet. His story also gets unfairly treated, with the writers killing him off in the penultimate ep. The issue is that we didn't get to sit with his death. Yeah we saw how everyone reacted, but there should have been more to it than just them being sad, and crying, and the king killing the ruler of the other province who killed him.

Then there's the matter of K'Great changing the history inexplicably by telling people what to do and what not to do w/o any repercussions which I hated.

But, as a love story it was nice. The yearning, the pining! Absolute peak! I have to say, I'd have loved to see more of the recent day timeline, or at least more of K'Reung and Dr. Wad/Dr. Rit and nurse Wayu. The fact that the second couple got together before the main couple, and even the servants being in a relationship sent me laughing like crazy! Really enjoyed that unexpected turn of events!

I wished that this show would have treated gay love as normal, cuz I remember a friend of mine had said that the laws on same-sex weren't there (or as strict, I'm not entirely certain since this was a couple years back) back in the 1670s . So no threat of prison, execution, or any of that. I had wished for it in LUOAT, and here as well, but alas...

Cinematography: Stunning!
Chemistry: Really good!
Costumes: Really good!
OST: Absolute bop!
Makeup and props: Wonderful!

Characters:
Past-
K'Gaew: A kind-hearted idiot who doesn't care about the consequences of spoiling the timeline, but lovable nonetheless
K'Dech: Good suspicious, but could have questioned K'Gaew straightup, even if he realised it wasn't his Gaew.
K'Reung: This man had me pining for his love!
K'Wad: A bit of a prik at the start, but you grow to love him! kinda...

Present-day-
Dr.'Great: one of the worst surgeons I have ever scene! Can never forget screaming at my screen in ep one for him to continue with the heart massage, instead of turning around, looking at his collegue, and declaring death!!!
Dr.'Rit: Same as K'Great. Some great docs they are!
Dr.Duncan: Didn't get to see much of him, but same critic of whatever we did see of him.
K'Wayu: Bro is a little bean! You go punish your man when he humiliates you due to his own fear!!!
Wish we'd gotten to see Rit/Wayu a whole lot more! I need their story! How did they start! what lead them to e/o! So much potential! And the chemistry muah! chef's kiss!

LUOAT did great with juggling the story b/w the present and the past, the side characters, and even the multiple romance plots going on, whereas this left a lot to be desired. I'm still not sure how to rate this actually cuz I did enjoy it while it aired, but when thinking back to the entire story progression, it fell down real fast, which is a real shame.

Honestly, with that ending before the credits rolled, I expected a 2nd season, but unfortunately (or fortunately lmao) that won't happen cuz they fixed that conundrum up real quick...