Solo Dodo

I don't want to see any of that. And now that I've been spoiled, I won't.

The king does not display good leadership skills, IMO. His people need to know who is in charge, what the rules are, and whether the rules are going to be enforced.

He also fails as a visionary, which is perhaps the primary role of a king. He knows there is treachery but remains impotent to identify its source. And he fails to seize the opportunity to capitalize on a genius inventor with advanced weaponry which could protect his reign. This king deserves to fail. His failure is inevitable. He has no one to blame but himself.

Sure but it's painful and embarrassing to repeatedly watch him get walked upon and ignore multiple behavioral infractions of palace norms without any reprimands, let alone punishment. No wonder the villains are emboldened—the king is an enabler!

Prince Jesan should be wearing a chili flake face mask and not a single concubine or dowager got her wig slapped off, let alone put to torture. This King isn't much of a tyrant. I blame false advertising. The only person who has seriously been threatened by the king was the FL, in early episodes. You could say she tamed him, but what a paper tiger!

I cannot even imagine an open ending in this scenario.

Which came first, the old magic book or the King's composition? How does a time loop start when the macguffin already exists before it is created? How do you break out of a time loop that defies the very concept of time?

One episode each Sunday.

This is the plot of "I, Claudius". He had a stutter, so everyone assumed he was an idiot. His mother encouraged him to lean into this, and so he survived the Roman purges long enough to become emperor.

Yay!

It's reassuring how time travel is always safe, while teleportation usually ends with someone turned into a chicken nugget!

I hope so!

But the character ages are reversed. The king is approximately 400 years older than the chef.

Instead of easter eggs we get guest stars

Likeable characters 🙋🏻

PMY is doing a terrific job. She has demonstrated more range here than I have ever seen in her other performances. That said, I still find it difficult to empathize or identify with Yuni Rang, who is cold and uncaring (even when she does the "right thing"). I wish she had some crack in her sociopathy to make her likable. I just can't connect with the character even though I understand it is consistent with the source material, so 🤷🏻‍♂️.

This is indeed a possibility! It wasn’t too long ago that USA actor Kevin Spacey managed to come back after having been cancelled to being honored with a lifetime achievement award & standing ovation at Cannes.

Both the Ming envoy and the king share the rare gift of "god tongue" which discerns every flavor and texture. Neither can deceive the other when it comes to taste. And they both recognize this. All acts of partisan dishonesty are both transparent & reckless.

STATUS UPDATE: Still no offers. No casting calls. No guest roles. No reality TV appearances. No endorsements. No reissuing of series already filmed or resumption of series put on hiatus.

I liked the Joseon inventor, which is as rich an area for fun entertainment as the modern cooking in ancient times trope.

At 20x, I can complete an entire episode in ~3 minutes, which frees up time for studying. The only downside is I can't understand anything which happens—not at all. But they say the soul records everything we experience, so I'm just preparing for the time when I can rewatch at a normal pace, after I die. If heaven is as boring as they say, I'll be glad to have this in the memory bank. Hehe.

At least the Ming envoy's honest reaction to the incredible quality of the Joseon food is revealed. (Regardless of whether he declines or fails to suppress it, before resuming his petty partisanship.)

Also, I would prefer to see the opposing chefs taste every dish, as occurred with the first course. I really appreciate watching the competitors grow out of petty rivalry to express their respect, esteem, & praise each other.