I binged this over the weekend, starting from a Friday night. And dude, why didn't I watch this drama earlier, back in 2019?!?!?! I had no idea. Oh wait, I know. It's because I wasn't watching too many Korean dramas back then, yet. I just didn't have the time to. Anyway, I just had to write something about this, because several episodes of this drama actually made me bawl like a baby.

I love this drama for its non-cloying romance, the natural progression of their love, and that they never once bring up their age difference, with the main female character being a whole 6 years older than the main male character. If you are looking to the couple making out deeply and having hot and heavy physical contact, you should give up on this drama and watch some Hollywood series instead, where people go to bed with each other after something like two episodes. This drama definitely won't be something you like. But, it's exactly what I love. I love that they don't need to express their love and longing for each other by constantly touching each other all over. The amount of moments they shared in the drama is just right for me.

The main female character, Goo Hae Ryung, is the eponymous heroine of the drama. She's straightforward, funny, always the initiator, and a girl whose knowledge about history, astronomy and science is far ahead of her time in that era. If she were real, she would have no doubt made significant contributions to mankind and left a mark in history. The main male character, Prince Dowon Yi Rim, introduced as the younger son of the king (he's later revealed to be the eldest and only son of the previous king), fell in love at first sight with her, but he was offended that she didn't think much of his skills as a romance novelist, nor was she impressed with the romance genre overall. Yi Rim is a sweet, soft-hearted guy, and yes, he's completely a romantic, which explained his affinity with writing romance, and yet nine out of ten times, it was Hae Ryung who stole kisses from him.

Shin Sae Kyeong was splendid in her role. To be honest, I've tried to get into many of her dramas before but the storylines were so horrible that I always ended up dropping those dramas. But, I've always been interested in watching her on screen, so I kept trying to find dramas with her in it whenever I could. I'm so glad I found this drama and managed to complete it. Every so often it's really not the fault of the actors or actresses that were signed up for a drama or film, but the characters that they were given to play and the story script that was written. She was perfect for the role of Goo Hae Ryung. I just love watching her antics and her character's chemistry with the prince. She's had some cute unforgettable scenes - like when she was watching guys at the waterfall, making finger heart gentures at them lmao, and when she's had her day off and lying on the floor with all her limbs out like a five-pointed star. She's so pretty, cute, smart, and special, no wonder the prince fell hard and fast for her!

I've never seen Cha Eun Woo on screen before this drama. Like many idol-actors before him, he didn't start out with acting as his forte, so comparing him to acting veterans in the show especially Sae Kyeong, who has been acting since she was a child, is unfair. Like Sae Kyeong for her role Hae Ryung, I think Eun Woo is perfect for the role of Prince Yi Rim. An intelligent boy with the gift of literature, he's a prince who wasn't allowed to study politics or even history, so his only outlet was in romance fiction. Eun Woo played the innocent and childish role pretty well, and he was also convincing in scenes that required him to express his pained and desperate love for Hae Ryung. All in all, he's actually a rather decent actor! He has plenty of room to grow.

That being said, I'm not sold on the premise that historians record every single activity of the royal family inside the palace, including private family disputes. It just seems ridiculous. Also, they claimed a historian is required to be present at all times when they were dispatched to record the princes' activities, but there had been times when the Crown Prince and Prince Dowon were completely alone in the daytime with no historians near them. I'm sure the show was just taking liberties with the writing to enable plot progression, but I just can't imagine the power historians actually held over the king in this show, and there had been many times when such a thing has happened. First the strike at the Office of Official Decrees, then it was the push for re-investigating the case of Seoraewon twenty years ago at the king's birthday banquet. Why do such things always transpire at the king's birthday banquets? Lmao I mean I'm just reminded of Nirvana in Fire, man. I mean I'm ok with the useless kings having their birthdays trashed, and I guess it's the easiest way to get yourself heard - or killed.

There were plenty of other characters to love in this drama, from the prince's caretaker, Eunuch Heo to the Crown Prince, even the Crown Princess - I actually hoped they could work things out and stay married - but that didn't happen, and I feel it's an outrage because what a waste of 10-15 years of a woman's life! The Crown Princess did not deserve that. The historians' office, was of course, filled with sexist and chauvinist pigs who couldn't accept women into the folds of the profession at first, and we had to see how hard the girls had to work to prove themselves. It was hard to watch and it's even harder to believe that this situation actually still exist today. I relate 100%.

The romance in this drama was actually balanced enough and right enough for me. When the prince was attacked during his traveling to the tomb of the previous king, he fell off his horse with arrows coming in all directions at him. Our heroine, desperate to get to her man, braved the arrows with a stool as a shield and went to his side, bringing him to safety before he was shot anyway - while protecting her! His beloved. Holy crap, I cried so much during this scene. I was a mess. UGH. Also, I love that during the time the prince was placed under house arrest, and was in danger of being assassinated any second, Hae Ryung came and saved him - they ran hand in hand with her leading the way out of the palace. I just love this so much. And in the morning after they slept together, it was the prince who sent her off to work, instead of the other way round. It's just such a lovely reverse in roles but it's not extreme, because they complement each other just right.

If anyone out there is anything like me, this drama would be a good watch. If you're nothing like me, then this drama would just be a disappointment.