One of my favorites❣️

I liked it. It has its flaws (I always struggle with the women-pretending-to-be-men thing) but it’s a good drama.

Sageuk is my favorite genre but I had to force myself to finish this one, only because I was mesmerized by Lee Chae-min.
IMO they overdid the cooking competition and selected a historically treacherous king (there’s a movie about him actually called The Treacherous).
Too many things going on.

I’m taking my time with this one because I don’t want to miss a single detail.
There’s been talk about triggering, and I get that. It’s also a bit of a PSA about domestic violence, but the production quality and performances and storyline are top notch. And who doesn’t love a good revenge plot 😊

Don’t think I made it through the first episode.

Yes! Quality work like this doesn’t always get a lot of love from kdrama fans who are invested in cute, feel good romcoms, but the gritty realism achieved in this series is commendable.
It started slow and built to an on-the-edge-of-my-couch crescendo. Bravo.

They’re all steeped in palace intrigue and power struggles.
My favorite genre 😊

For film, you might try The Frozen Flower (2008). It’s no romcom, either.

It’s impossible to make a recommendation without knowing what you’ve watched, but if you enjoy sageuk and the Sopranos, I’ll go out on a limb…
The Queen Who Crowns
Captivating the King
Under the Queen’s Umbrella
Haechi
The Murky Stream

They are different. The jdrama is a little darker, but they are both good. Watch the kdrama first and then the Japanese version.

I’m enjoying it but I’m wary of the concealment/secrecy trope. If it starts to irritate me like Love Next Door, I won’t go back.