this was the freaking bomb!! freaking roller coaster seeing each turn and twist this story took - loved it!!
i so get Hwa-Yun she didn't want any of it, and she is the one that survived, pretty awesome. love strong female characters, and as much as the men r dangerous and manipulate, u just don't f*ck with women. pretty bad-ass.

period pieces r intriguing as is, but the complexity and how freaking hard everyone had it just adds that extra bit of kick to any story. add the love story and how that ended, sprinkle in unrequited love and on and on with everyone adding their own personal agenda to the plot, and how can u not love it?!?

...and anyone going on about "boo hoo why did she have to kill King Seong Won, cause he was really infatuated/in-love/lust with her. and she could've lived happily ever after..." - be dreaming. given the court-politics and backstabbing going on, sooner rather than later she and more importantly her son, would lose their lives. the fact that the King wanted/loved her didn't mean sh*t - she was still his sister-in-law and with no real power. pretty sure he couldn't make her his queen, one which he already had...
and unlike his mother, who may have started her plot with the objective of securing the crown and safety for her son, once she poisoned her, Step-son the reigning King - she got power hungry.
what Hwa-yun did was so she could survive and safeguarded her son, guess that's why she has a terrified look on her face at the end, cause now that she achieved monetary safety... wtf now is waiting around the corner - was what the look on her face "said".

phenomenal acting, and story - wholeheartedly recommend.