I have many thoughts about this drama. First the good: it is one of the most atmospheric and beautiful ones I've seen in a while, on par with the quality of Sword and Flower in its cinematic-like portrayal. The framework of certain scenes was just breathtaking. (Changing the aspect ratio at the end as well — just… outstanding). Also, it was very good at building up historical events, like the heart-wrenching fight of the Joseon people, the dread of being colonized by Japan, etc. The latter especially, every time a scene was characterizing that, the camera work paired with the ominous music portrayed the doom-and-gloom perfectly, enough to send chills down your spine. Its action scenes were a work of art as well, with the fast-paced sword work and quickness of biting bullets. When the drama focused on action, it was a joy to watch. If this had been the majority of the drama, I would’ve given it a higher score for sure.

Another praise I want to give the drama is its realistic sets and costumes. I loved the mix of traditional and modern clothes, the slow-yet-rapid advancement of technology, etc. It really felt like we were given a glimpse of living in those “turbulent times,” as Ae-shin says at the beginning.

Which leads me to second, the cons. The elements of this drama that made me not rush to watch it, that always had me on the verge of feeling utterly unabsorbed and frustrated at times. The pace is just too slow at times; there are one too many longing looks between the two leads and lingering goodbye scenes. While it could be argued that the pace of the drama matches its tone and atmosphere, that it builds slowly because it’s reflecting how historical events slowly build up with tension until they explode, there’s a balance that unfortunately was mostly not reached. It leaned too heavily into following the slow precession of the hour hand instead of the quick ticking of the second hand on a clock (throwback to Hui-Seong). Those slow scenes lost the tension that is essential for a drama like this. I was reluctantly uninterested in many character-to-character moments when those should’ve been the spine of the plot. Instead, it was the political backdrop and those types of events that held the story together rather than the original story-beats of the drama itself.

Finally, that leads me to the characters. I liked them overall, but I never fell in love with any of them. They had good character arcs (for the most part. Looking at you, Gu Dong-Mae, the man with a million lives) and the actors played them excellently, But there was just something missing, like a disconnect between the characters, their motivations, and the overall story. The characters felt more like an afterthought, a throwaway the director can rely on when they need the story to go forward, but couldn’t use a historical event yet, so they have the characters muse and muddle about in the same problems they’ve had since the beginning. I guess I felt like they weren’t fleshed out enough and didn’t feel like they were an essential enough part of the story, which seems weird because they are the main characters, and they’re /in/ every scene. They just didn’t feel… real enough? I don’t know. My favorites were Hina Kudo, Go Sa-Hong, and Kyle Moore. The other four were lost in their convoluted love-square and unrelenting, stubborn pursuit of a single passion, with the exception of Hui-Seong, who weaved in and out of the story seemingly uselessly until the very end. I liked his final resolution, at least.

I’ll leave it at that. Obviously I had a lot to say, so this drama is memorable in that way. I think it’s overall worth watching, but I would recommend it to people who are most plot-focused than character-driven, and even then to expect some meandering scenes. It was well-acted and brilliantly shot, and it does have many redeeming factors (those last three episodes even got a few tears out of me, which is rare). It’s a decent drama, it just has some outstanding flaws that unfortunately keep it from reaching its best potential.