Normally I'm scared to dive into dramas that are longer than 20 episodes because so many things can change throughout the show in terms of relationships because believe It or not I like stability in shows I watch but I know I can't have that in kdramas. But this show has truly proven me wrong and prevailed. This drama is a story about the life of Hong Gil Dong from when he was a child to when he turned into an adult and it shows the people around him. I truly loved the cast and there were so many characters in this show and I only truly didn't like 1 character to be honest and that was Nok Su.

I'll be honest I came to this show for a breath of fresh air and Chae Soo Bin but I did not know I would end up falling in love with Yoon Kyung Sang (Hong Gil Dongs actor)

The amount of character development we see Gil Dong go through is amazing. We see him in his adolescent years to where is a clueless boy of the world and wants to become a trader who travels Joseon. Then we see him when he has grown up to see that he has achieved his dream of traveling around Joseon as a peddler, but here he is still immature and doesn't know about the world. He falls in love with Nok Su but ends up getting left by her but to his surprise, Ga Ryeong waited for him to return, and there on he falls in love with Ga Ryeong to end up marrying. When he finally starts getting involved with world politics he starts to see people for what they really are. After his father, A-Mo-Gae died everyone didn't know what to do and who to follow but they all ended up following Gil Dong after realising his strength and his growth. We see Gil Dong be at the highest of highs to be thrown to the lowest of lows to the point he is below the lowest he could be but he fights through all that to prevail and show prowess as a leader to the people of Joseon and showed that even if you're born as the son of a slave you can still rise up. When he gives his big speech when he is fighting Mo Ri, he even gains the hearts of nobles which just shows how much influence he has over people. At times I wished he had a backbone but after finishing the show I realised when he didn't fight back it was only more gratifying to see him win battles due to his character development.

Chae Soo Bin played Ga Ryeon flawlessly in my opinion, I truly do love her as an actress. She played a character in which at first just follows Gil Dong but she eventually gains the strength to fight for Gil Dong thinking he was dead and even dared to harm the king. She wasn't just simply that damsel in distress character you would expect her to be but she actually had her own time to shine. When she was tied to a pole and said to Gil Dong if he quits just for her, she will hate him forever and even took an arrow to the chest in which she didn't die from because she fought against it.

The romance between Gil Dong and Ga Ryeong was just perfect, It literally took them 16 episodes to get together and that is the length of a normal kdrama which just shows how much development they both must've gone through to get to that point. Their romance was slow but satisfying, When they married it was just so adorable that Ga Ryeong married the man that she has loved ever since they first met which was around 5-10 years prior to them getting married.

There is always an MVP character for me which cant be out of the two main leads and that was Mo-Ri for me. He was a character in which Gil Dong had to face time and time again due to his persistence and even though he was an enemy you can't help but just enjoy his character. When he finally gains his strength back from which it seems she got it back after thinking about Ga Ryeong in which it was weird that he liked her but in the end, it served as a plotline for him. His and Gil Dong's relationship was weird as they both let each other live multiple times and they even like the same girl. The only thing which was weird is that they don't explain why he had the strength of a mighty child-like Gil Dong in which was connected to that shaman, but I guess it added to the rivalry between the two.

There were many characters throughout the drama which I genuinely enjoyed watching on screen; they range from Gil Hyeon and Eo Ri Ni who were Gil Dong's siblings and I loved both of their character arcs, the whole Hong family crew were just amazing to watch as they supported Gil Dong beside him throughout the show even after A-Mo-Gae died in which just shows their loyalty. Even the King's character was fun to watch as he was actually a good king at first but his hatred for those who belittled his mother made him do evil acts and his mind deteriorated while fighting Gil Dong.

The OST in this drama was just simply amazing. The OST 'If Spring Comes' was one of the best ones, whenever this song came on your knew nothing bad was going to happen and you could simply enjoy the song and the scene it accompanied. Then the OST 'Spring of Ikhwari' was like the song in which rallied everyone in this song and was just a feel-good song. The song 'Call it Love' in which I didn't know it was sung by Chae Soo Bin was just amazing as well as it came on whenever Gil Dong and Soo Bin were having their moments together.

I am honestly so glad we got a good ending for 'Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People' The scenes that they showed at the start to where Gil Dong shot Ga Ryeong gave us the idea that she died but she actually lived and they ended up having two children. I'll admit I was having a hard time finding a good drama to watch recently as I dropped like 3+ shows in a row so I came to a historical show and it just gave me the reason why I watch kdramas.

Overall this show is just amazing and inspiring to watch. Gil Dong goes from being an immature child to a leader who is revered by the people of Joseon. If you're looking for a drama in which has an inspiring main lead who goes through many obstacles, If you want a drama with an amazing cast and also want a bit of romance then I recommend this in a heartbeat, and don't be disheartened by the length of 30 episodes as it will not disappoint you.