Choi Yu Jin fled to America after his slave parents were murdered. Due to the harsh treatment which he endured for being a slave in the Joseon period, Eugene feels no love or kinship towards Joseon. In America, he is known as Eugene Choi and has climbed his way up to be a distinguished figure by joining the American military. Several years later, he is stationed in Joseon during an American expedition. There he meets a noblewoman Ae Shin who by day seems to be a quiet lady but by night she's running across rooftops with her sniper rifle, secretly fighting for Joseon's independence. He falls for her but he isn't alone as she is also loved by her joyful quirky fiancee Hee Sung and a yakuza Dong Mae whose heart is a black box. Neither of them is really sure if the other is a friend or foe. This makes three relationships that look like they can never be: Ae Shin and Eugene, Ae Shin and Dong Mae, Ae Shin, and Hee Sung. This is not a love square but a love pentagram because there is also a mysterious hotel owner Kudo Hina who is also a fencing master. So there is lots of love but no one's really happy, yes it's very sad.

A few things that draw me into this drama are first, I know this is a show of quality and I'm gonna enjoy it. There is an artistic flavor to how every scene is set up and shots from the color grading to the music to the overall backdrop are very breathtaking. However, it's not glamorizing life, for every gorgeous breathtaking sunset there's a brutal portrayal of war and violence and death and these scenes are visually engrossing. Second, it was deeply rooted in real important history and also it is set in the early 1900s which doesn't feel that long ago, there was real political scheming in this drama that still left an impact on today's society.

The five leads came from multiple cultures but don’t really belong anywhere, their stories are so full of heart and their arcs are so noble. I think a lot of diaspora like me can relate to Eugene as a character who doesn't belong to either Joseon or America, he's in this gray area. He is a very nuanced character and he holds the whole drama together. Even though he's happy being accepted by the American, as the show progresses he becomes more and more interested in the Korean culture and he wants to find his roots. I just love that his one bullet was used with such wisdom and just such grand effect. Ae Shin is a very compelling character, I love Kim Tae Ri played this role with such unbelievable complexity and nuance that I want to watch her and everything that she does: she gets a lot across with simple looks and she also has an extremely royal noble way about her presence. Kudo Hina, the hotel owner is truly one of the best most complicated female characters and the script took her exactly where I wanted it to.

I absolutely loved the iconic Dong Mae with the double swords at his hip and his sweaty hair, open chest, and half ponytail. Simply Yoo Yeon Seok acting was amazing as the dark and tragic Dong Mae. Hee Sung is such a man with tremendous growth, he goes from this total privilege boy to a guy running an underground newspaper to spurn on the resistance and I was so proud of him at the end. I really loved when he realizes his fiancee is not going to be with him and he respects it, he still loves her but he is respectful. His character was so well written and played so amazingly by Byun Yo Han.

However, I didn't enjoy a significant chunk of my watching experience as the story goes on because this show is very heavy with political maneuvering. It's really taking 20 episodes' time to set up and I got bored but I keep watching for the main characters. Also, there are a lot of different languages being spoken there's Korean, Japanese and then there's American English with a very weird accent. I'm very sensitive to dislike English-spoken very weirdly in Korean dramas. It feels like they're trying to over-pronounce things correctly. These elements dominate the screen time and are really too dry to watch. It is so unfortunate because there are a lot of actions with gunfights and fist fights within each episode and when they do action, these scenes are so well-choreograph almost perfection! I wish there had been a bit more action and bromance moments.

This drama has a fantastic and unlikely bromance between Eugene, Dong Mae, and Hee Sung at its core. Whenever they were on screen together, they made me so happy because they blurted out humor and heart to the drama. I was not expecting these three weird trio were going to be so beloved and it was definitely the highlight of the drama for me. Without giving any spoilers, the finale is an absolute masterpiece, which is really impactful! I dropped my heart because it just gave such cathartic blows. It feels like I was being rewarded for all the time I sit through and overcome the frustrations I had in the first 20 episodes. Thus, my overall impression is actually really positive as time goes by. I'm glad I watched it and the way it impacted me when it's done makes me feel like I came out a better person. If I can divide my enjoyment value, I would give up 1-20 a 7 and ep 21 - 24 a 10.