I don't typically enjoy Joseon dramas all that much because the villains tend to suck and painstakingly explain all their awful plans step by step as they plot along. There was quite little evil plotting here, while still delivering lots of drama, so this show was a very welcome surprise!

There were so many different plots happening in short and long arcs that I never got bored. There was a big mystery regarding a dethroned king, there was relationship drama, there were power struggles within the court and also the journey of a group of women trying to find their place and be acknowledged in a male-centric world. The show even took the time to give some backstory to a couple of the other historians, which could have been boring but wasn't because it ended up helping me better understand their actions and motivations.

The cast was huge, and everyone did a fantastic job. This was my first time seeing a drama with Shin Se Kyung and she was absolutely wonderful. And Cha Eun Woo as Prince Rin was just too precious for words. He was so earnest, sweet and pure. I liked the different power dynamic of having the female lead be the older, more confident one in the relationship and her male co-star be the innocent, unsure one. They were great together. And the Crown Prince and Historian Min deserve some recognition, too. Along with the other three female historians, the eunuch that always accompanied the Prince and Hae Ryung's maid.

A wonderful drama all around.