Gosh, this is an intense and nerve-wracking drama – but worth it. It is exciting, maybe even restless, from the beginning to the end. The drama captivates you with intriguing characters, incredible acting performance and stunning cinematography. Yes, it is heavy, so you need to know for yourself if you’re ready for this blow of emotions.

The title already sets the tone for this story – a war of different beliefs of the meaning what is “my country”. Two childhood friends – willingly or unwillingly – are caught in the middle of it. Although the fight about the throne is somewhat prevalent, the story centers on the childhood friends and their different paths. It is set right from the start that they will eventually face each other as adversaries. You’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting whether these two will reconcile at some stage. It’s nice that the story overall follows a continuous path forward, without too many dragging side stories or unnecessary events. Yet, the leaps of time in the latter part of the drama came rather abrupt for me – it made me wonder what the main characters were doing all this time (especially Hwi and Hee-jae seemed further apart). On another note, it is interesting that they revived some scenes, for example Seon-ho waiting for Bang-won in the palace, and conversely Bang-won waiting for Seon-ho at a later point in time (“Is this a coincidence?” – “No, I was waiting for you.”). This gives an opportunity to reflect upon the course of events and how the characters have changed so far.

Regarding the ending: I kind of expected Hwi and Seon-ho to die at the end but I didn’t like the decisions leading to their deaths. Hwi has experienced it multiple times – his father killed himself honorably and yet his children were treated like they weren’t legitimate, Nam Jeon promised that Yeon would be safe if Hwi killed himself but he still gave the order to kill Yeon. Now, when it is evident that Bang-won has just broken his promise to Hwi because he sent his men after them, why try to seek out Bang-won which is your sure death, only to make a new promise with an uncertain outcome? After everything that has happened, is being at the mercy of those in power the lesson learned? Why not retreat and make a move out of strength later on, rather than a move out of desperation? I can understand that the writers wanted to bring it to an end and present us the grand finale. Hwi and Seon-ho die a martyr’s death and Bang-won is lonely and remorseful (though this remorse will probably fade away after some time). Surely, Bang-won manages to keep the final promise, otherwise the story wouldn’t be able to justify Hwi and Seon-ho’s death.
On the positive side, Hwi and Seon-ho don't die as enemies. Eventually, they are able to find each other and re-establish their friendship. I like the message Seon-ho gives in his final hour: that he was too greedy to change his status and the world around him that he harmed and neglected what was really important to him. Also, Hwi realizes that he was so blinded by revenge and drawn into Bang-wons struggle for power that he overlooked that his friend was alone in his darkest hours. Their friendship is the most precious relationship in the drama. Sadly, their reunion only lasts for a short time, I hoped that we could see a few more moments in which they would talk about everything that has happened, their feelings and thoughts. As this series is one huge bloodbath and political battleground, the human aspect would always come a bit short.

Regarding the characters, most of them are unique and have their own story to tell. I particularly like the ambiguous characters because they are the most interesting ones (especially Seon-ho and Bang-won). Depending on the perspective from which you look, the enemy will change, which makes the story multilayered. The boundaries between good and evil are generally blurred, only Nam Jeon appears as a clear evildoer because he has no bad conscience at all. He is the most difficult opponent because he is the father of one of the core characters, Seon-ho. Hence, Seon-ho can’t help but have mixed feelings about him (until Yeon dies), he hates his actions but it also feels good to get recognition from him and be accepted as his son.

Hwi is the clear hero of the story - he is caring, loyal, sincere and righteous. He suffers from injustice and has to endure the worst. From mere survival to avenging his sister and fighting for the “country of the abandoned”, he has come a long way. At some point, rage was eating away at him so that he would become emotionally numb, only Nam Jeon’s death could serve as salvation. Although he realized that he is only a tool for Bang-won, he still trusted him. This rendered a situation in which he and his friend had to die. Although it’s a good thing to have faith in people, it was still somewhat foolish, considering what he had to experience. Not sure what to finally think of him, seems like he is one of those too-good-for-this-world characters after all. Acting-wise, Hwi is played with devotion, you can feel his pain and desperation as well as his enormous willpower. Yang Se-jong portrays Hwi very naturally and with ease. His chemistry with Woo Do-hwan is undeniable – Hwi and Seon-ho’s bond always seems strong, whether they are together or apart.

Seon-ho is sharp-witted, determined and audacious. Similar to Hwi, he has to carry a heavy emotional burden at young age (his mother’s and half-brother’s death and not being officially accepted into the family). He is ambitious and wants to grow his power to change his status and that of others suffering from the same discrimination of being a love child. When Seong-gye receives the information that his father Nam Jeon bribed the examiner, Seon-ho has to make a decision: Turning your back on your family and the prospects that come with it or turning your back on your friend. Due to his aspiration, he chooses to become complicit in his father’s crimes and sends Hwi off to military service. After Hwi’s return, even though Seon-ho wants to protect Hwi and his sister, he still makes use of them for his own purposes. Yeon’s death is a major turning point which irreparably damages his relationship to his father. It’s also an incident from which he cannot recover as it destroyed the only pure thing in his life. Being left alone in his crisis, he becomes even more cold and ruthless in his actions. He comes to understand the selfishness of those who have power and that to them, others are just pawns who can be used and readily discarded (his father serves as the best example). With his father’s death, his world is shattered into pieces, with nothing left but self-doubt and resignation. Due to the humiliation by Bang-won, Seon-ho prepares for a desperate last battle. When Hwi reaches out to him and includes him into his world, he is willing to follow Hwi wherever it will lead him, even death. Although he has always felt that his place is alongside Hwi and Yeon, he has suppressed it the whole time. He has finally come to this realization and is able to change his path. Sun-ho is probably the most tragic character who also undergoes the largest character development. Woo Do-hwan is amazing in portraying this torn and lonesome character. This is truly a role in which he can shine. No matter what kind of emotion and its gradation – subtle or pronounced – he nails it all. Moreover, he is able to show off a dark vibe that captivates the viewer.

Hee-jae is an intelligent and courageous girl who shares a similar sense of righteousness like Hwi. However, her actions don’t always seem so intelligent, most strikingly is her letter in the second episode which leads to the informational leak of Nam Jeon’s bribe and eventually to a disastrous outcome. Furthermore, she tells the queen that Ihwaru doesn’t take sides but she readily sides with Bang-won to pursue her personal revenge goals. Although she marks those actions as “in private”, it still affects those working at Ihwaru. It seems that she actually wasn’t ready for the responsibility given to her. Her desire for revenge also makes the story appear bloodier than is good, I think it would have been better if she acted as a counterpole (probably the writers wanted to make her look “strong”). Maybe because of this pervasive thirst for revenge, the relationship between her and Hwi seems rather like a military alliance than a love relationship. Both of them would follow their own goals and occasionally help each other. Due to a connection that leads to the past (Hwi’s father protecting her of assassins), Hee-jae is convinced right from the start that Hwi is the love of her life (the love triangle dies early, but at least they didn’t make Sun-ho pursue her unreasonably). Yet, I felt that there wasn’t a large enough emotional foundation for that and even in the course of the series I couldn’t really see this relationship growing. Compared to Yeon and Seon-ho’s relationship with Hwi, her relationship with him was rather weak. In the end, her character could only watch from the sidelines as she wasn’t able to attain the influence she maybe wanted to have both in politics and in her relationship to Hwi. Regarding the acting, I think it was adequate given the limitations of her role.

Bang-won’s character is strong-minded, ambitious and wary, and he has his principles he abides to. Similar to Seon-ho, he has an ambivalent relationship with his father. His father uses him to kill his opponents and pave the way to the crown, yet his father doesn’t acknowledge his efforts and reward him the way he thinks he deserves. Instead, his father brushes him off and treats him as one of his subjects who have to serve him contently. Slowly, Bang-won comes to the bitter realization that he is not only unable to attain the fatherly affection he longs for but that he is also not part of his father’s vision of the future kingdom. Driven by political survival and his aspiration to gain his “rightful place”, he decides to go against the king and his allies. Due to his vision of the “country of the abandoned” and his sympathetic manner, he is able to win Hwi over to his side and puts him under his protection. When he realizes that he cannot fully control Hwi, he is willing to discard and even kill him. In the end, he proves to be ruthless and to fight solely for his own ambition to become king. It didn’t surprise me that he was responsible for Hwi's father's death (even though he might have been a bit too young at that time to scheme it?) as he was a potential adversary of his father, yet it did surprise me that he didn’t trust Hwi anymore and readily abandoned him despite what was connecting them. Jang Hyuk does a brilliant job in portraying Bang-won. He displays Bang-won’s merciless and playful sides extremely well and his charisma makes you root for him in the drama.

Regarding the cinematography, it is stunning and you can see the effort put into it. From the happy moments to the desperation of war, everything was shot very well. Surely, the amount of blood being spilt and the fast recovery from stabbing wounds was kind of unrealistic, but you’re willing to accept it for drama purposes. The music was ok and generally suited the drama well. Interestingly, one song is in German, its melody is very sad but the words sound so weird that it is irritating (even though I’m German myself I had to look up the lyrics to understand what she was singing).

That was one long review, but sometimes you need to write it down to be able to process it ;)