Sageuks should be at least this good. A perfect drama in every single aspect. I enjoyed every single moment. The ending was a bit confusing and sad but everything else was just brilliant. The blend of revenge and working for people was presented awesomely. I believe it would have been lame if it was only one of them. Family, friendship and love are what the drama is all about. It’s not only the biological family that matters. Human relationships and sympathy go beyond what they might seem like. When a person is required to sacrifice for the people they care about, people would surprise you in how differently they’d react. The drama shows how dangerous it is to believe wholly and unconditionally in an idea or a person. The moment you give your all to what you believe in, you don’t exist anymore. What’s a king? Who has the right to be a king? Is everyone sitting on a throne a king? How far would people go for their ambitions? How much would they stake for what they want? The drama presents scary examples. The acting is superb by everyone. There’s absolutely no one who didn’t give their all. After Lee Jun Ki of course, I was impressed by the supporting cast more than the other leads. Park Si Hoo has evidently improved so much after that. I actually liked Lee Jun Ki at the beginning of my Korean journey simply because he looked like Park Si Hoo –not the other way around- so when they played brothers here I was so glad. I applaud whoever cast them; they really look alike. Lee Jun Ki, as always, outperformed everyone else. How he’d change from the shallow, playful and careless Young to the shrewd, skilful and charismatic Iljimae was splendid. I loved his moments with his father and cried my heart out because of them. The main love story was the least touching of all stories for me. I loved everything else avidly. The production and music were complete. No complaints. A round of applause to the stylist. Iljimae’s outfit was the best. I don’t usually like extreme fighting scenes but here every scene of them impressed me. Perfectly done. I will definitely re-watch it one day. I might as well write an article on Iljimae whenever I have time.