I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.

But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.

Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.

Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.

Which is just boring, in my opinion.