My Country is a really entertaining watch for sure despite my average ratings. It’s knee smacking screen play , emotionally appealing and very easy on the eyes even with all the gore and blood .

I appreciated the entertaining first episode as first episodes for saeguks are notoriously known for being doze fests. I also liked how character driven this action piece was even with all the swords and blood. The friendship and military intrigues spiced with intense villainy were really nice to watch and kept me anticipating the next episodes. In fact -The first five episodes were all perfect with killer quotes that really set the mood for the show to be thought provoking and hinting at a profound watch but alas....

I advise those contemplating watching My Country to read up or at least brush up on the history of Goryeo and the transition period into the Joseon Dynasty . If you don’t - you may be a deer in the headlights especially post episode 5. ( watching Six Flying Dragons May help ) They throw around historical incidents like cheap candy with no context or reverance . I actually resented that aspect quite strongly . One point gone .

Furthermore- the insertion of romantic currency was weak , unimaginative and pointless. Romance does a lot to bring dimensions to not only characters but the story as whole.Unfortunately this was done poorly and ended up taking away from an already dynamic screenplay. There was a lot of romance story lines picked like a love triangle but poof! Drooped! Did Sun Ho like Yeon ? Who did Chi Do date? Where was Bang Won’s wife whom in history was quite instrumental? Etc. Two points now gone .

The portrayal of historical contributive factors to Joseon Dynasty became highly problematic in the end . For example- Gibangs were important as information safe houses and were quite instrumental in the founding of the Joseon nation . And this sense was achieved in some aspects but only for it be diluted into a personal dating service for a character was just nauseating . Three points gone .

The acting for the most part was the shows crowning moment . Jang Hyuk was spectacular with his fan and top knot although I think he was wasted . Ahn Nae Sung was just brilliantly horrible as the villain and Woo Do Hwan really acted his butt off ! I really hope he gets some award for his performance because he was VERY VERY GOOD. The Orange Marmalde girl was just marmalade boring with her dry toast love interest in Yang Se Jong who should stick to modeling . Other than those two - everyone was excellent!

As for the music - I really didn’t like it all. I get they made this drama for a younger audience and so on and so forth but EDM in a Goryeo fight scene was just whack . The songs are personally forgettable. 4 points gone.

Costumes were really good though . Apltly portrayed the times and military conquests. One always had to be battle ready and their clothes really showed this urgency.

OVERALL- this was a good show to watch live and I am glad I did watch it live because binge watching would not have softened the blows of the flaws. The plot resolution was slightly bad and the insertion of the plot twist in the last two episodes was very blindsiding to the viewer in a not so good way . It’s an entertaining watch though but should not be a first watch for a saeguk or a Goryeo - Joseon dynasty .