Is not a Romance, is Sci-Fi. Can't be watched while looking at your phone.

TL:DR
If sci fi, parallel universes, time traveling shenanigans, a touch of magic, a nerd mathematician/prince hero with a white horse and a hot bodyguard/BFF are your jam, dive in.

Frankly I didn't understand the criticism this drama got, then it clicked: people have wrong assumption about it,thinking is a fantasy romance, while is pure Science Fiction with a romantic storyline.

It starts slowly because it needs to build two separate worlds, introducing all the characters, etc. Must be said i found the Kingdom of Corea (KoC) scenes, characters and plotlines better executed, the Republic of Korea (RoK) parts in the first 3/4 episodes are boring.

There are obvious editing mistakes in the first half, that contribute to the initial confusion. The crime investigation seem pointless, because the show didn't made immediately clear the connection between the first dead body in RoK and the doppelganger in KoC. Same must be said about the crime unit characters, with Kang Shin Jae being a complete waste of screentime, especially all his solo scenes, disconnected from the main plot.

It was also very hard for me to like Jung Tae Eul character, not Kim Go Eun fault, who did well in the dual role. Is just I hate when "strong female character" means acting like a man. She was excessively rude, a borderline jerk. That's not being strong, that's being an a**hole, is hard to empathize with her.

I liked Lee Gon a lot more. A well adjusted orphan. A just, loved ruler. A dork, a genius mathematician. A earnest man. Even when he said cheesy things like "this face is my present for you". I wasn't his fan before, so Lee Min Ho surprised me. One example: the king pain over the uncle death and the consequent rage scenes were amazing, he did an outstanding and intense performance there.

Kudos to Woo Do Hawn, he was a real scene stealer throughout all the 16 episodes. It was a bit underused in the middle, but got his shiny moment in the finale., I'm also his fan now.

Episodes 11-12 are still my favorite. The 2 hours worked almost like a solo movie.
The rescue scene with the cavalry charge and the king slaying his enemies? Perfect. From the way it was shot, edited, the score, all so well done, I didn't expected such quality in KDrama.

Cinematography, scene composition and framing: top notch. 18 hours visual fest. Sadly the editing from episode 1 to 10 is not on the same level. So many missed opportunity to leave visual clues to the audience. There is an obvious shift in quality in the second half.

The songs are great. The score is so good, I'm going to listen the various themes on repeat. Gravity, the King and The War is Over are my favorite.

All in all, recommended with a caveat: I don't agree to those who say you need to be extra intelligent to understand this drama, but you do need to pay attention to details all the time.

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watch the first 9 episodes, skip to the finale

this drama can be easily cut in two half. the first half is actually about the over 30s male and female leads friendship, their jobs, dating among pressure to settle, and the male lead trauma (the complete story is revealed and resolved in ep9, and choi siwon gives such a heartbreaking performance in it, that's why I recommend to watch up to that point).
the dialogues are fresh and interesting, there are some really funny scenes, and the story is coherent. there are also some very mature innuendos you don't usually see in kdrama.

by the end of this first half segment the useless reality show is introduced and the writer forgot the main leads, to focus on many unnecessary "real scenes" from the dating show, introducing 8 new characters, and wasting everyone time.

even worst, the writer made her Female lead so inept and unlikeable that I started wondering how the Leads friendship could be ever mended.. only to have them suddenly confess, after not sharing a single significant scene for almost 4 episodes, turning the male lead into a pathetic yes man, whatever she decided he was ok with it, from being accused of being a murderer, being harassed on and off line, taking the blame for the female lead ineptitude at doing her job, etc.

both Lee Dahee and Choi Siwon evidently got tired/frustrated as much as the viewers because the amazing chemistry they have in the first half (and in every promo or behind the scenes video) was lost by the time the couple got together.

it has the worst and most annoying and pathetic second female lead ever.

I've listened to the whole OST and the instrumental tracks have a nostalgic feel to it I love it, despite not remembering many of those , so they were either unnoticeable or didn't fit the mood of the scenes, a part from the scene where the ML runs while all his regrets for not acting upon his feeling for the FL are shown in a nice montage. the track is titled JaeHoon's Heart Fluttering and adds so much emotion to that perfect scene.
there are also some nice jezzy-ish tracks and the "male pole female pole" is really sexy.

my vote is 8,5 for the first half and 5 for the second half.

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Stellar casting, meh drama

In the end, the casting saved the show from. An otherwise patronising show.
I'm so tired of school bullying scenes, I skipped that episode entirely.
The first half was more balanced, then it abruptly be one a crime show.
Kim Ji Hoon gets typecast as the villain too much, and his "crazy eyes routine" are not effective anymore, expecially when border parody, like in this instance.
You could tell Kim Jae Wook and Park So Dam were having a lot of fun in their part.
Oh Jung-se gets the most screen time so we get to empathise a bit more with him.
What it left in the end is the crazy moto chase and the serial killers duel.

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