I wanted to love this show so, so badly!

And I did love certain things about it — I agree that the cinematography, much of the acting, and parts of the story are wonderful. The instrumental parts of the soundtrack are perfectly made, like the tone of the intro song.

However, this show pushed my melodrama tolerance to the absolute limit. Not only that, but I felt it ruined every single poignantly emotional moment it set up. Despite an often glacial pace, it did not let us sit with any of the high or low points.

I also really disliked the master/servant dynamic for both main relationships. I hated that even once they were lovers, our main character still had to make the bed and fetch things for his love out of duty and not choice.

I am honestly angry because of the immense potential and positives of the show and confused about the extremely high ratings. I could write for 100 years about the particularities of this show and why I felt it fell short or didn't work for me... but, I'll simply leave you with these warnings. Caveat emptor!