As someone who absolutely loves traditional folklore and a fan of the Gu Family Book, I was pumped for this drama to come out. Unfortunately, my high hopes were dashed over the progression of this drama.

The main plotline of this drama is promising with the modern day introduction showing a beautiful Lee Yeon with his red umbrella and his intense fight scene with a rogue fox. The colors are shot vibrantly, the story begins promisingly, and the cinematography, although somewhat cheesy at times, is well done. Entering stage left is the spunky and stubborn Ji Ah with her camera and sharp eyes to figure out mysteries. She captured my interest the moment she fell of the building to test Lee Yeon, and I thought that was it. Maybe my biggest mistake. Instead of character development, Ji Ah basically said take it back now ya'll, and her character disintegrated into a hopeless and clueless damsel in distress. The love story fell sadly short in this drama, the romance was flatter than a slippery banana peel, and I couldn't make myself care about these second-chance lovers. Since the majority of the screen time is devoted to the love-dovey couple, my interest faded in and out, and I felt the strong points in the drama were ignored.

However, it's not all bad. The secondary characters save the day. Specifically Ki Bum's character, who was the knight in shining armor to the bleak storyline that was unfolding before me. The revenge/redemption plot line between the two brothers kept me watching, and I honestly would have watched a sixteen episode series of just their adventures. His character is done an injustice by the end though, and it was the only moment in the drama where a felt something. Kim Bum did a great job being the villain and the devoted brother, and I am so happy it was something to keep me distracted from the rest of the bland chaos.

I feel there a plot holes in this drama as well, and so much missed potential it hurts. There were some twists that were meant to be interesting, but just came off as confusing. The sacrifice trope gets over milked too, and ended up losing any meaning by the end for the two leads. The acting isn't necessarily bad here, but I feel that there were some actors/scenes that were missing that certain spark that pulls me in. I can't say I felt much about this drama other than awe at Ki Bum's acting, and eternal frustration at the strange ending. The OST was really good though, and I love the dark ending song.

All in all, a drama with a lot of potential but one that missed its mark. There are cute moments, and I would watch just for the two brothers storyline. However, this is definitely not a groundbreaking drama.