It's good. Really. Not amazing, when I look back at it, but it had some great moment like when the Historians boarded themselves in the office.

I'll say no, I don't think Cha Eun-Woo is a *bad* actor. He got too much hate for his role in this, and I think he's fine, especially as he's better here than in his previous work and only improves as an actor throughout the series. I think the people who are complaining are maybe just not that used to Joseon dramas and don't realise the weight of the characters words. (That being said, I'm all set to never see that man cry again, because gosh I saw him do it enough in this show.)
I especially feel like he's gotten a tough time because it's hard to remember what an *amazing* cast is surrounding him. Not a single person was bad in this, in my opinion. They were very strong actors and it was probably just difficult for him in a big role for something of this budget.

Anyway. Yeah. It's a Joseon drama. If you've watched one, you know. The evil dude in the red robe, a crown prince is hurt or killed, there's ninjas and poverty and bitchy court women and a grumpy elder. And a plethora of great, epic songs and misunderstandings and run ins between the characters. I appreciate that Hae Ryung kept her independence as a person whilst still dating Yi Rim, but the plot beyond that is a mess.

It felt like the first half of the show started off incredibly strong, and then by episode 13 or so, it crumbles at the mention of the Seoraewon plot. It's like the show *forgets* what made it so great as it goes on, and found myself bored towards the end and squinting at plot twists and character motives. Really? The characters went through ALL that, just for Yi Rim to go "nah, I'm good. Really. I'm still renouncing my title and going for a walk around the world". Why did no one ask Yi Rim what he thought until *after* they'd won?

Not to mention the glaring issues;
What was the point of the weird romantic tension between U-won and Hae Ryung?
Why did they make such a fuss about sneaking Jean out the palace when Hae Ryung used a hole in the wall that directly entered Nokseodong? For a smart person, why didn't she mention that?

There's more, but I'd be here a while, and they were just examples of what I didn't like it and why it constantly took me out of the immersion and stopped me getting back into the plots. (Especially since the final scene was just one big conversation for 10 minutes where everyone surprisingly listened to the prince nobody took seriously at first).

That being said, it had a great production value, and everything was done well with good music. (One complaint is how strong the overhead lights actually were and how they looked too fluorescent in some scenes so you could tell and it didn't look natural, and that dubbing over in some parts is overwhelming and the actors are too close to the mics, and even in some scenes, the dubbing is timed wrong so they don't match the actors' lips.

AND ALL THAT BEING SAID, it was still a great drama with a nice ending. It's not Scarlett Heart Ryeo or The Moon Embracing the Sun, but it never claimed to be them. It was just a nice drama that didn't leave you bawling your eyes out at it.