Ngl, I was pretty bored and it was a push to finish this one. They failed to straddle the romance and action genre, by giving us the most lackluster of both. The cast was great! (Except for the ML who I find dull.)

However, while not living up to its potential, it would benefit future shows in the Palace genre to draw inspiration from its strengths; character complexity and somewhat unique storyline (while avoiding its pitfalls in execution, please).

A standout aspect is the portrayal of 'corrupt ministers' as more than stock villains. There was a lot of ambiguity in character morality, as individuals acted based on complex, personal motivations. I actually kind of felt bad for the bad guy in the end... Usually, I feel pretty bored with the greed-motivated plotting, so this was refreshing. I would love to see more shows do this!

For execution, it did feel a little "busy"... Rushing through a big cast of characters/big narrative arc can sometimes feel boring, despite a lot going on, because you don't get time to connect with the characters or develop investment in the current arc.

It might have felt more focused if they gave us some real fight scenes. They had the perfect set up for great fight scenes!!! A couple characters, like Hyeri's--since her dad was the "Tiger"-- and with the Prince's sword-fighting skills, could have been dedicated to great fighting scenes and it would have added a lot to show. Making Hyeri feel more like a badass lead... And making the cinematography more dynamic

What we got was *a lot* of "people chaotically running around clanking swords" scenes. For a show with a considerable emphasis on action, the lack of good fight scenes is a noticeable deficit. (There doesn't even have to be a ton of them, just make them well done!)

I also loved the unique premise (admittedly underpinned by some tired tropes), but I do wish they leaned into the unpredictable aspects more... There were some *really good* potential endings... But the ending we got felt confined by the need to circle back around to the MLs romance, which felt more like a plot device than a real romance. (I will comment the ending I wanted to see for others who have watched already.)

I gave the music a 5/10 because I didn't hate it, I just never noticed it.