Meari21

Kinda like Reset which also stars Bai Jingting and is also available on Netflix.

I just stumbled upon “spoilers” online. Not sure if they’re real but it seems like she changed the past and stopped the purge. Those responsible were punished. I guess my prediction was wrong. 😅

That’s usual for K-dramas though. I used to complain about the length of their dramas that they’re almost movie-length. 😆

The writing is flawed, I admit that. To me, this is more like a live action adaptation of an anime that doesn't take itself too seriously so I can suspend my disbelief and carry on. If I nitpick, it'll just drive me crazy. lol But I don't think the characterization is off. I would've thought that they messed up the characterization if the king all of sudden flew into a rage in the middle of the series with no preceding scenes that depict his tendency to act nonsensically. From the start, he is portrayed as a smart but aggressive king with serious mommy issues. He can be highly illogical and unreasonable when he's emotional to the point that he loses self-control. Consort Kang needed to calm him down with a powder-form sedative (most likely opium) and that was why she was his favorite. Later, it was Cook Yeon's cooking that made him less temperamental and that's one of the reasons why he fell in love with her. But when the Chinese envoy threatened to take her away, he almost started a war and was admonished by his grandmother for his carelessness. When she was imprisoned, he almost killed his stepmother until she brought him back to his senses. That's just who he is.

Yes, he can. Real people are complex and not logical. Not everything they do or think
make sense. I have a friend who can’t stand watching anything pornographic because it grosses her out. But she loves to read smut. It doesn’t make sense to me but it makes sense to her because that’s her nature. There are people who can eat raw beef but can’t eat raw fish and not because of the fishy smell. People don’t add up into a perfect equation. There are plenty of plot holes and suspend-your-disbelief stuff in this drama but not when it comes to the characterization imho. The king’s volatility is his flaw. If he were so perfectly calculating, they would have a hard time manipulating him into launching a bloody war.

But that's the thing, he's not consistent. He has a very volatile personality. He's not emotionally and psychologically stable. When he's thinking straight, yes he can strategize. But when he's not, he's like a rabid animal, a bomb waiting to explode. He has psychopathic tendencies. It was pretty clear to me in the beginning that he can be unreasonable, childish, and petty. He threw terrible tantrums, refusing to eat, threatening to kill people, and throwing things like a child. A truly calculating strategist would be calm in these situations. He has a wild temper that even he can't control.

Childish and immature doesn't equate to being dumb. He's not dumb, but he can be naive and fooled. If he were truly calculating, he wouldn't have trusted anyone and would be privy to everyone's secrets instead of taking some things at face value. He also has the tendency to lose his cool and do things without thinking like headbutting the Chinese envoy and throwing a tantrum in front of Consort Kang like a 5-year-old. Just because someone shows signs of intelligence doesn't mean they can't be deceived and controlled. Also, he has the protection of the Hans, his grandmother's family, and his loyal officials who do his every bidding. People are also scared of him because of his psychopatic tendencies. He has survived that long because of many factors not because of his wits alone.

Wow, you're telling me to shut up when I'm giving my opinion. That's rude of you, don't you think? That was not the purpose of her traveling back in time because I don't think she will change history. The original webtoon ends with her not changing anything because she wasn't meant to. The trip was for her and her own character growth, and to meet the love of her life.

He is not calculating and careful, though. He's childish and easily manipulated. That is why Prince Jesan has gotten away being the idiotic relative and Consort Kang, who is the daughter of a slave, was strategically placed to become his consort and keep tabs on him. He knows there's a traitor but he doesn't know who because practically everyone wants him dethroned and his only allies are the Hans whom he alienated with the poisoning of the young prince. Cook Yeon didn't understand the message of the Ming chef as he spoke in riddles. Would you have understood it? She only knows there are people out usurp the king's throne and that the purge will happen, making the king the worst tyrant who ever ruled Joseon. She's also not the type to bow down to anyone. She, after all, became one of the youngest self-made Michelin star chef. She's prideful and pride makes people do stupid things.

History is written by the winners and they're the heroes in their stories, while the losers are often portrayed as evil. Do you know every little detail of your own country's history? Can we be sure that our so-called heroes were not terrible humans? Maybe they fought for their countries valiantly but they were womanizers who beat their wives. I doubt she knew the intricacies of court politics and what really went down before the purge happened. Remember that history is basically a summary of what really transpired. This tale explores what might've happened. What if the king was not really a tyrant and the incarnation of the devil himself, but a misunderstood and troubled man who was manipulated into doing these terrible things? The written history only tells the story of a tyrant so evil that he caused the deaths of countless people. What led to his decision to do so was not specified but only speculated so we don't really know if he was manipulated into doing these deeds or not. As far as she knows, Consort Kang was not working under the Grand Prince and the Prince was actually deemed as an idiot not a master of schemes and treachery as he is portrayed in this drama. So how could she know they were behind everything? She suspects the Consort (and so does the King) but they have no proof, and nobody knows about the Prince's betrayal yet.

That's how things usually end for stories like this. If she stays, she'll die or risk changing history and suffer the consequences of that change. If he goes with her to the present, it'll also mess up the timeline. Usually, when characters go back in time or go to the future, there's a lesson they have to learn and once they've learned it, they go back to their own time. But the possibility of reincarnation is still there and fated lovers will always meet again.

With only 2 episodes left? I doubt it. According to webtoon readers, it ends without her changing anything. And she meets his modern version in a cooking competition. It ends with their meeting. It’s an open ending. It’s up to the readers to imagine what happens next. I’m guessing they’ll follow that too.

I'm guessing there will be no resolution to all the political turmoil as she can't change what had already happened in the past. She'll probably go back to the future just when all hell breaks loose and she finds out what happened through history books. The king will inevitably become a tyrant, people will die, and he will go down in history as the worst ruler of Joseon. But she'll probably meet his modern-day counterpart in the present and that's where the drama ends.

Many K-dramas and C-dramas actually use skin smoothening filters or effects. This is especially obvious with older leading actors who are showing more wrinkles. K-netizens tend to be overly critical when they see their favorite actors showing clear signs of aging so they use these filters to help hide any skin flaws. I can see a little bit of filter on Yoona but not on the others. She’s younger anyway so she probably doesn’t need it. But I notice the filters are more pronounced with older actresses who are in their 40’s like Song Hye Kyo and Shin Min Ah. Not that they look old, it’s just that Korean netizens can be brutal when criticizing celebrities’ looks so they most likely just do it to avoid these reactions.

This made me laugh out loud! 🤣 🤣🤣

This is surprisingly good! I wasn't able to watch this while it was airing but I'm kinda glad I waited until all the episodes were out, otherwise I would've been too impatient for the next episode. I'm a sucker for detective stories and they did the CSI-esque stuff really well. In fact, it might as well be the ancient CSI. I didn't think this pairing would work (I am sort of biased because I really liked Ruipeng with Bai Lu), but it totally does! I ended up liking Li Landi more than I thought I would.

Agreed! I don't speak the language although I'm part Chinese and studied it casually as a kid so I can understand a little, but I can still tell they did a poor job at enunciating the words and using proper tone. It drives me nuts whenever I hear them use simple expressions and they sound like an AI imitating human speech! Just watching C-dramas can educate you on how to say those lines correctly. Whoever their language coach is (if they actually hired one), they are not very good at their jobs. lol The actors could've tried harder and done a little research. The one playing the Director sounds the worst! The female cook is really awful too, she speaks in a kind of sing-song manner that annoys me to no end. lol

Also, it’s a reminder that he is now 25 years old, which makes him 10 years younger than Yoona, not 11 as someone on this page vehemently claimed. Sorry, can’t help it. 🤣

It’s not extraordinary though. But something doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be enjoyable. I think people are just entertained because it’s a refreshing change from the usual K-drama fare these days. It’s not overly serious and it’s not afraid to be downright ridiculous. 😁

Yes, this is a food drama first, rom-com second. The political intrigue is the icing on the cake. It's also meant to showcase the ingenuity of the fusion dishes she creates using French cooking techniques and Korean ingredients. The drama works because it explores the rich history of Korean cuisine and how it has evolved over the years, so it's appealing to both local and international audience. Its lighthearted tone makes it an easy watch despite the politics involved. And you've got interesting main characters that are basically the epitome of the saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach". It makes for great entertainment, just good old escapist fun.