It took me several days to be able to write this review. I kept starting and stopping, writing and rewriting, and even thinking I was finished and then deleting it all. This story is an incredible combination of beauty and tragedy, and is a love story that really makes you think about the high price that can come with power and how it affects evrything, even how you love. At one point Deok Im asks King Jeongjo if he had ever thought about what it would have been like had he been a commoner and she not a palace maid - and the thought was so alien to him that he could scarcely reply - for him this tragically lonely life was the norm. He was betrayed and lied to by his best friend, the woman he loved (and who loved him back) tried her best to not be with him to avoid losing her freedom, and he had to be wary even of family members. Not an easy or happy life, despite the power and comforts a king had. As their love story unfolded and finally came to it's eventual consummation I was ripped in half - the sweetness of their love is marred by how much she doesn't want all that comes with it - being tied to the palace and unable to leave for the rest of her life is the worst thing that could happen to such a free spirit. As she said goodbye to her younger self I bawled.
I really appreciated how much of the lives of court ladies this drama portrayed. Seeing them having fun together, working together, being friends, and even the gossiping, scheming, and organizing into a cult gave them a lot more depth than is usually shown to the people who work in the palace.
The fact that this story is a fictionalized version of actual people and an actual love story makes it even more beautiful and heartbreaking to me.
This is definitely a drama worth watching, and a story that will linger in my mind.