After the first few episodes of this show, I was all prepared to give it a 10 and name it one of the best Kdramas of all time, and then the writer apparently suffered from amnesia and forgot where the story was going, did some drugs, decided to pull a prank on the viewers, and just went bat crap crazy in general. But the awful writing and the equally awful addition of one of the worst villains ever, Yeon Nam Saeng (No Min Woo), aside, I still couldn't go any lower than 8 because this drama was just that beautiful to look at, and because I owe it to the main cast who were stellar (Uhm Tae Woong, Kim Ok Bin, Choi Min Soo and Kim Young Cheol). I've really never had such mixed emotions about a drama. Sword & Flower is just that gorgeous and well-acted. The directing always stayed strong even when the writing went to hell. The main actors acted the hell out of that terrible script when I'm sure even they knew it was garbage. This drama is just nuts. So, I guess all I can say is that if you are a visual person like me and you love beautiful and unique (avant garde) directing and cinematography, and are impressed by directing that pushes the boundaries and tells a story more visually than through dialog, then give Sword & Flower a try. You will at least be pleased enough through the visual elements that you will be able to (mostly) overlook the plot. And if you are impressed by good acting, especially with minimal dialog where most of it has to be done through facial expressions, you should also enjoy the main performances. (Just ignore No Min Woo and Park Soo Jin with all your might.) Or, better yet, just watch it without subtitles (after ep 8) then you won't know how bad the writing is. But don't turn down the sound, because the soundtrack is great and better yet is the use of silence.