This is one of those fusion sageuks that has very intentionally made the past contemporary. That's somewhat disappointing to me, since one of the main things I like about pre-Joseon sageuks is that they tend to be more epic. You don’t just get court politics, you get wars and diplomacy. This drama really isn't something that can be taken seriously, even though it occasionally tries. However, considering that hwarang literally means "flower boys," and they were young noble men, often noted for their beauty, who studied the arts (including music and dance), presenting the hwarang as 6th century idols is actually rather clever. Though this drama failed on many counts, I think this is one of the more successful updates of a historical setting, and I actually enjoyed some of the very contemporary-sounding pop soundtrack, which is not something I would usually like paired with a historical drama. The whole “let’s change Silla so it appeals to modern egalitarian sensibilities,” not to mention some blatant contradictions of historical facts, was rather irritating to me, but this is hardly the only drama guilty of that.

Unlike most people, I didn't watch this for the cast and actually didn't know any of the actors before this drama. The supporting cast of flower boys is better than you might expect. All their performances are reasonably solid, though definitely more in the wheelhouse of youth drama, rather than sageuk (which is fine for the tone of this drama). On the flip side, I felt like Go Ara was just constantly pulling faces, usually grumpy ones. Either that or crying. I think Park Seo Joon is more suited to romantic comedies than to sageuk. To be fair, his character doesn't give him much to work with, but Park Hyung Sik is really the only one among the young cast who really shines as a sageuk actor. Though not quite on par with top tier sageuk performances, his commanding presence is a definite standout in an otherwise very fluffy, contemporary-seeming cast. I'd like to see him in another, more serious historical drama at some point. I probably would have dropped this show if Park Hyung Sik hadn't made me so invested in his character.

The biggest miss of this drama (aside from everything related to Go Ara’s character, that definitely ranks higher) may have been going for a boring political plot, rather than mysterious meetings with old men on mountain tops and incarnations of the Maitreya Buddha. Where are my monks!? There’s a lot of legendary material about the hwarang they could have pulled from to make a very unique drama, but instead they went with a watered down version of the typical sageuk power struggle. I’m all for the political intrigue if it’s done well, but the writing in this drama is just so bad. Plot holes aside, some of the storylines are just laughable. Like I really could go on a rant about all the ridiculous things in this show, but I don't want to include spoilers. Moreover, this drama often didn't seem to know what is was going for. Coming-of-age story about brotherhood? Serious political sageuk? Romantic comedy? Angsty love triangle? Fluffy flower boy drama? As a result it didn't quite succeed with any of them, except for maybe the flower boy fluff. Given the ineptitude of the writing, it's actually probably better that they stayed away from the mystical hwarang legends, so someone else can make that drama at a later date. It has so much potential as a subject matter.

On to Go Ara's character ... this drama would probably be improved by cutting Ah Ro out entirely, or at least relegating her to a minor role. There's really no reason a drama about a group of young men needs a female lead, and it's not as if she had any real importance the story. I get that they wanted to add in a romance, but the main couple was just SO bland. The paring with Ji Dwi/Sammaekjong/Jinheung was marginally better, but only because Park Hyung Sik really sold his character. I actually kinda wish they had just gone for the incestuous pairing between him and his half-sister. Though her character wasn't really much better than Ah Ro, I think Park Hyung Sik and Seo Ye Ji had potential for a lot of chemistry, because the few scenes they had together were some of the show's highlights.

As for the bromance between the two male leads ... so much potential, but ultimately disappointing. I think they were supposed to be friends and rivals, while also acting as character foils of each other that represented different forms of leadership. But the love triangle is so bland that you just don't care, and it's hard to buy into their political rivalry, especially since there's no real ideological opposition between them. I’m also pretty sure Sammaekjong should have been the lead. Not that every story focusing on a ruler’s rise to power has to make him the protagonist (I never complained in Faith), but not doing so is a risk. Sun Woo has little substance or development as a character and just isn’t interesting enough to overshadow the king, who had far more compelling character conflicts. Moreover, because the writer goes through so much effort to make Sun Woo the lead, despite the story actually being about Sammaekjong, there are multiple points where the natural progression of Sammaekjong's character seems to be halted or sent backwards just so that Sun Woo could play the central role. Thus, despite being the best character in the show, his arc doesn't quite live up to it's potential either.

The most successful aspect of this drama were the minor characters' side stories and relationships. Unlike many dramas where the supporting cast feels like filler, it definitely would have been worth giving them more focus and development. If all the time spent on the boring love triangle was redirected to the other hwarang characters, this would have been a better drama.

The OST songs are fun and catchy, though not terribly unique or memorable. They really might be more of a 7.0, but I decided to bump the music score up to an 8.0 on account of some of the instrumental music, particularly Sammaekjong's epic background music (very similar to The Royal Gambler soundtrack, but Oh Joon Sung did both).

Overall, I did actually enjoy this drama (though I went in not expecting more than fun and flower boys, which it does deliver). That being said, I spent most of the time I was watching this thinking of all the ways it could have been better. Every once in a while, there was something, either in the minor characters or Sammaekjong glowering down at his mother from his throne, that made me think, “wow this actually could have been good, if only …”

It can be enjoyable if you take it for what it is, don’t hope for too much depth, and just go along with the fun. Then every once and a while you’ll be thrilled when you get a hint of something pretty cool, rather than disappointed by all the missed opportunities and ridiculous plotting. If you’re looking for a serious historical drama, definitely give this one a pass.