This drama is primarily exploring power and male friendships.
None of our MLs are married and each has been brought up in court where intrigue, betrayal and suspicion are rife.
The respective personalities of these kings and their loyal close friendships are displayed as concurrent stories that intertwine and entangle with lots of battles, fights and deaths along the way.
Ah Li is revered for his glamorous looks and lusted after by many yet his character is the one to watch. He is playing the long game and successfully manipulates remotely without revealing his final intentions - segue to Series 2 which I will put on my PTW list.

I hope the second series gets more funding to make some of the sets and props more acceptable.