daydreaming
Canada
I originally picked up this drama for its time travel/historical tags and it was one of the first K-dramas I ever completed. A 9 is probably too high of a score because it definitely wasn't perfect but since I have an emotional tie to it, I always remembered it fondly. It also had tropes I really enjoyed such as the stoic one becoming soft for the sunshine (but feisty) one, great character development, found family dynamics, slow burn romances, hate to love relationships, nice ML and strong FL, among others.
This drama introduced me to both main leads and I thought they did well. I'd heard about Lee Min Ho before watching this (some good stuff and some eh...not so much) but this drama made me see what the hype about him was all about. I thought his acting was ok (for sure wasn't the worst I'd seen) but he was very charming so you couldn't help but fall in love with him and his little toothy grin. Kim Hee Sun did a good job portraying a strong/smart female lead who took no flak (most of the time) but was also realistically emotional given the situations she was in. I can see how some might have found her a bit annoying but I thought she was quirky and trying to do her best. I also liked the secondary couple (the king and the princess) a lot too. Their romance was adorable and I liked how it developed into a very supportive relationship. Overall, the characters made it enjoyable. I watched this drama ages ago but can still remember many of the scenes which is a testament to the story, their performances and chemistry (ps. I have the memory of a goldfish so if even I could remember them it's a win in my book).
However, I did find the later episodes very draggy and skipped through some of it. This drama was 24 episodes (each an hour long) which could have easily been made into 16. Some things felt a bit repetitive towards the end. I was also glad they included an epilogue or else I would have rated this a bit lower and not have enjoyed it as much. I don't usually re-watch dramas but I would recommend this to anyone looking for a historical fantasy to watch.
(Completed: 2016)
This drama introduced me to both main leads and I thought they did well. I'd heard about Lee Min Ho before watching this (some good stuff and some eh...not so much) but this drama made me see what the hype about him was all about. I thought his acting was ok (for sure wasn't the worst I'd seen) but he was very charming so you couldn't help but fall in love with him and his little toothy grin. Kim Hee Sun did a good job portraying a strong/smart female lead who took no flak (most of the time) but was also realistically emotional given the situations she was in. I can see how some might have found her a bit annoying but I thought she was quirky and trying to do her best. I also liked the secondary couple (the king and the princess) a lot too. Their romance was adorable and I liked how it developed into a very supportive relationship. Overall, the characters made it enjoyable. I watched this drama ages ago but can still remember many of the scenes which is a testament to the story, their performances and chemistry (ps. I have the memory of a goldfish so if even I could remember them it's a win in my book).
However, I did find the later episodes very draggy and skipped through some of it. This drama was 24 episodes (each an hour long) which could have easily been made into 16. Some things felt a bit repetitive towards the end. I was also glad they included an epilogue or else I would have rated this a bit lower and not have enjoyed it as much. I don't usually re-watch dramas but I would recommend this to anyone looking for a historical fantasy to watch.
(Completed: 2016)
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