The male lead who played King Gwanggaeto was perfection as a strong, gallant, unbreakable King. He voice, his growl (almost primeval), even his size and the width of his shoulders were, at times, breath taking. He portrayed strength, frailty, weaknesses and confidence that was almost addicting. I have watched this long drama TWICE!!! Did I mention he was sexy AF??? This man gave me the feeling of a man who is a King and can lead a nation. Power is sexy lol, I admit. Only problem was, when I walked out the door into real life, I remembered that most men aren't like this character lol. How disappointing. Though the constant intrigue, suspense, repeated betrayals and, brain-numbing forgiveness is a bit much for me in series like these, I will probably watch it again down the road. The 2nd time I watched this, I did skip over some of the betrayal and intrigue. Maybe I'm not a good person, but I hate when these people who should be severally punished, according to those times/situations, get forgiven, especially more than once and they still don't change. Can we just get a justifiable beheading once in a while instead of a person committing blatant treason for the 5th time? Also, unlike most of this dramas, the female leads weren't too nauseating, I love these dramas, but often, I stop or skip parts because the females are so annoying, acting like spoiled 5 year olds, bratty, entitled, mean, sometimes cruel, bullies, unlovable princesses who are brainless. Watching a grown woman throw a temper tantrum, being selfish and inconsiderate and talking like a child in kindergarten is more than I can handle. Really, who are these women and who are the men who love them? How many times can a woman betray a man, try to kill him, spy on him, destroy his family/life before he says, "Maybe I picked the wrong one? Or, they are robotic, emotionless, cold, unrealistically virtuous who make me want to scream obscenities at the screen. They forgive EVERYONE, EVERY TIME!!! They don't get jealous, angry, raise their voice above a heavenly whisper. They barely cry if someone they love dies. They have the snow white syndrome. There is a thing about being too good. It's boring and non-human. " Sorry, forgive my rant.Luckily, there wasn't too much of that in this drama. The story wasn't totally derailed by the romance angle. And the romances didn't make me want to be single. And let me not forget the fight scenes. The way the King wielded that sword (smh).... If I could find this man in real life, I'd give up being a Lesbian lol. Okay, I will stop. But this drama, along with Emperor Wang Gun/Taejo Wang Geon, Jumong, Dae Ko Yeong, Emperor of the Sea amd 6 Flying Daggers, is one of my favorites.