I am a big fan of the sageuk (Korean historical drama) genre in general but this is one of my favorite dramas in the genre and, well, of all the Kdramas I have watched. I come back and rewatch it periodically, partly because I am a super fan of Yeo Jin-goo (who plays the dual roles of the king and Ha-seon the clown so adeptly), but also for lots of other reasons. The rest of the cast, the writing, the direction, the production, the soundtrack, everything is very nearly flawless. Except the ending which almost everyone seems to have some issues with.

One of the things that keeps me coming back is that the characters are so well-realized through a combination of writing and acting that knowing more about them gives certain lines and actions more significance on rewatching, so I always pick up on something I didn’t notice before.

Nobody in this drama is one-dimensional. Shin Chi-soo, the Left State Councillor, bears the scars of war, clawed his way to the top, and is just doing what he thinks he needs to do to protect himself, because he’s seen what happens to people without power. The Dowager Queen is doing the only thing she can to get justice for her little son’s unjust murder. The king Ha-seon doubles for and eventually replaces was despised by his own father from the day he was born for something that wasn’t his own fault, then used, manipulated, and addicted to drugs by people who should have been his most trusted advisors - how could he have kept his sanity or stayed a decent person in the face of that? And the Chief Royal Secretary, oh boy. Although Shin Chi-soo is a terrible person, he is absolutely right about the Chief Royal Secretary.

There’s also something uncomfortable inherent in these characters and motivations: the usual sageuk trope of setting everything right by clearing all the bad guys out of positions of power won’t work here. The environment of the palace is bad and corrupting not because there are bad people in it, but because it’s the nature of the palace and the incentives in it. People will lose their morals, lose their humanity, commit terrible acts, and perpetuate a cycle of violence and suffering that engulfs both people in positions of power and, unfortunately, the innocent people they have power over.

Yes, it’s depressing! But it’s not wrong. Hereditady aristocracy and monarchy are a terrible way to run a country.