This drama does maintain the romantic tropes that are present in the majority of dramas, but it doesn't use romance as the only means of progressing the plot and developing the characters. I really enjoyed the political intrigue aspect of the drama and how the cunning plans of our villainess fell into place and affected our heroes. However, this drama really did suffer from a major pacing problem that led to the story falling flat somewhere in the middle and becoming rather vapid and repetitive. It really did not need to be 24 episodes and could have done with being 20, or even 18, episodes long. The writer was clearly trying to stretch the content of an 18 episode long drama into 24 episodes. All of the speed bumps that occurred in the main couples relationship really did not need to happen. The ending, though, was nicely done and did manage to tie up and solve the major problems of the drama (even if some plot holes failed to be addressed). The acting was decent, I guess. Our main couple weren't bad for young actors, but Song Ji Hyo and the second male lead were pretty terrible in their roles. Their screen presence was often forgettable due to their stilted and stoic mannerisms which were present even when they weren't needed. The Royal Family and the actors who play Yoon Eun Hye's parents are where the good acting chops lie. Nevertheless, nothing was overly unbearable (except Song Ji Hyo's performance which was just so...wooden). Despite its flaws, I would probably rewatch this drama because the first 12 episodes are absolutely gold and Goong is blessed by a brilliant soundtrack (sans the one melodramatic song that absolutely got on my nerves).