It's been awhile since I've watched such a ridiculous historical kdrama. I was completely fooled by the pretty poster and the good-looking cast, but ''The Emperor'' was nothing but a disappointment.

(NOTE: Lee Sun#1 - Yoo Seung Ho, Lee Sun#2 - L)

Actually, the main idea of the writer is quite fascinating. The first episodes were very fast paced and it seemed as if the plot was going nowhere. Then, an unexpected turn of the events made me quite curious which is the reason why I stayed till the end. I made quite a big mistake, didn't I? Even though the idea is very good, it was completely ruined by bad writing. The drama was full of plotholes and bullshit. I finished it but I still don't get why the Crown Prince had to wear a mask. So noone could kill him? As if they don't know that the person behind the mask is the prince. Yeah, bullshit. The plot was predictable, we knew who the villian is since the first episode which made the drama boring with zero mystery. The ending was ridiculous though, I couldn't help but laugh.
The romance was more or less useless, the love triangle too. And how exactly did Ga Eun and Lee Sun#1 fall in love with each other? Lee Sun#1 just looked at her face once and he was ready to die for her. Okay, nevermind. There was zero chemistry between the leads and I just didn't want them to be together.

Lee Sun#1 was quite a dumb main lead. He was there to be out hero, but he lacked charisma. He wasn't convincing. His actions were stupid most of the time. He just kept running after Ga Eun (who is no better than him at all) as if he didn't have more important things to do.
Our second lead - Lee Sun #2 was definitely my favourite character. I loved him from the beginning and I think if the drama focused more on his story I would have liked it more.
Hwa Gun was better than Ga Eun - she was stronger and smarter, but of course, she was just thrown away.
The side characters were more enjoyable to watch, especially Gon, Chung Woon and Woo Bo.

The acting was mediocre. Yoo Seung Ho, my dear, what happened to you? Did you find your character so uninteresting that you almost lost your acting skills? I hope you'll choose your roles more wisely in the future. Kim Myung Soo stoled the show for me.

Rewatching this? No, thanks. I'm sure that there are a lot of better dramas that are waiting for me.
Don't waste your time, trust me. Go and watch something else.