This drama started out SO strong. The fake marriage trope is common but this was such a thrilling twist on it with Hee-joo's voice being a secret and the kidnapper — I was on the edge of my seat for most of episodes.

I still enjoyed this overall, but in hindsight it leaves some more things to be desired. A lot of the side characters are underutilized, particularly Heejoo's sister I-na and the second ship, Yu-ri and Sang-woo. Yu-ri being a reporter ends up not really accounting to anything, and I-na's return also doesn't do much. Instead, the main leads are put through the ringer, with the female lead being put in danger over and over again. The tension is there but it does get repetitive.

I also really have to talk the last episode. It was just...bad. (And yes, I know it's in the novel, but I'm reviewing this based on drama only.) The last minute ghosting/separation is a trope that I've long-hated in kdramas, and this drama took it to another level by making this last arc just utterly random, in an active warzone in another country. It not only feels completely out of place, but there's just not enough time for all of this to happen, when I would've preferred that they just leave time for the characters to just talk to each other, and for more character relationships to be wrapped up. Hee-joo's relationship development with her mother is interesting but so rushed. Overall, the ending just doesn't quite hit; I find it hard to believe that the ML and his assistant would be able to get new government jobs after everything they've done and been in the public eye for. It wraps things up nicely but feels lazy.

Ultimately, this was still a pretty good watch, but the last episode hiccup is quite a big one.