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Initially, it must be stated that the series is highly addictive. This proves to be a significant problem, especially in the final two episodes, but I will address that later. I will begin with the excellent casting. The actors in the series are phenomenal. They are irritating to the perfect degree, authentic, and talented. The filming locations are equally believable, and overall, it seems as though someone simply wandered around with a video camera, following the entirely authentic lives of a few individuals, creating a semi-documentary feel. It was excellent. I couldn't stop watching. I binged the entire series in one weekend and was even annoyed when I was interrupted by my family's dinner. I became addicted to the dialogues, the moments of sadness, and the laughter. I held my breath in anticipation of Dex and Emm to finally being together, and I longed to see them eating together at their bar table, with Jasmine, Dex's daughter.

In the Netflix review, there was a Guardian quote characterizing the series as a romantic comedy, and therein lies the crux of the issue. Even if there were a few comedic moments, they do not outweigh the tragedy that permeates the series from beginning to end. One does not build up such an intense romantic narrative only to veer towards such a tragic conclusion. And no, the fact that Dex has a wonderful daughter does not compensate for the death of everyone he truly loves and who pushes him to be a better person. It is terrible and awful.

The marketing in this case is completely mismatched to the product-not even close, and extremely disappointing.

A terrible and awful ending!

A sophisticated historical drama!

The plot was so original; the turns and the surprising, breath-taking, moments were very CAPTIVATING! The setting is so well known to every KDrama fan and yet, the screenwriter managed to create something so refreshing and magical ! The writer of this plot is a true geneious. She REALLY deserves kudos!

As for the actors - brilliant, wonderfully talented group of people. I genuinely felt as if someone "kicked" me into a time-tannel for a rare voyage in history.

I loved the leading couple! They are extraordinary, very impressive, actors. The king was a bit too emotional and kept bursting into tears but it seems he was well comforted and eventually got together with his love interest.

I also really liked the feminist message at the end - their partnership was beautiful and inspiring!

Great piece of TV art: )

I gave it a 6 because I couldn't stop watching, I kept pressing the forward button... The plot may be nice however, the back and forth technique using memories as a major trope was pretty tedious.

Also, the love affair could have been sweet, but two adults, 30 something years old, playing around as if they are still 14 seemed awkward and unreal. It's as if they signed an agreement never to act like real lovers. The two behaved liked two amused toddlers - preforming complicated operations on the one hand, and fooling around like teenagers, on the other hand.

Another disappointment was casting two grownups as themselves in high school. Although considering their beautiful physics this one may indeed be convincing.

All in all, nice vignette of Korean everyday life, not more.

I just love the enchanting world of kdramas! I am drawn in and I watch everything, all the time, every chance I get. The wonderful Hyun Bin is one of my weaknesses that I cannot quite decipher, perhaps like any other woman in the world. I came across this series following this gorgeous actor. I love his work, enjoy his acting skills and yet, this time I found myself facing a challenge! From the very first episode, it seemed to me that this series echoes the Egyptian movies from the 1970s; the weird outfits and the exaggerated acting, the clichéd plot, and, above all, the accumulation of tragedies unfolding there. There is no single hope in the hearts of the wretched characters that does not shatter mercilessly, it seems that the screenwriters were particularly creative in topics such as death and diseases, despair, and heartbreak. The last episode completely broke me, as even when I tried to cling to the Korean expertise to awaken the dead and heal the sick (there were enough Christian symbols of hope in this series to rely on), alas, no one was saved. The tragedy generated chaos led by the angel of death madly hovering above spared no one, let alone our leading characters. Transfering the poor, leading, young man to a snowy wilderness in Lapland, as a compensation, seems like another absurdity that not even his sweet character can fix.

I gave this series one star because of the great actors they chose, great people that were completely wasted. Pitty.