Thank you for this, Laica! We've been wanting for a place to discuss this drama and resorted to using the first posters article to do so.

I've been waiting for this drama since it got announced but to be honest, I did not expect much. That's why I'm positively surprised at how much I enjoy watching it. I've fallen for Haeryung as soon as she appeared on screen and been rooting for her right from the start. She's smart yet flawed, has so much to say and so much to learn. It's not hard to love her and feel for her plight.

I thought I've poured out all my thoughts on our discussion campsite so I can't believe that I've never talked about Jaegyeong. He's very interesting. Based on what we've seen of him, he seems like a supportive and loving brother. Him and Haeryung are close enough to talk about dreams and hopes to each other. He seems genuinely concerned for Haeryung but in a curious way. What happened to them? Where are their parents? Why is he affiliated with the bad guy? Is he not exactly the kind supportive brother we see him as? So many questions!

Anyway, one thing is for sure. I'll be watching! Hopefully this gets regularly recapped here. Thanks again, Laica!

Finally, I was waiting for someone to review Rookie. I am loving this show. Both leads are so different from other saguek dramas. Female is intelligent & strongheaded & male is innocent & kind hearted.

I am totally against ppl who are judging the male lead's acting. I think he is doing a fine job. He is playing a childlike character with same innocence & curiosity. In fact episode 8, at the end scene, I could see what he could do once his character becomes more wordly.

On the other hand, female lead is simply amazing. She has brain & she use it. I love her take on life as well & could relate & I love her bickering with ML.

Also, I am loving historian & crown prince. So, far so god.

PS- I am in love with male lead & his relationship ship with enunch & crown prince. And I love female lead & her relationship with her servant & brother..

Waiting for more recaps... Thanks

Shin Se-kyung is doing a fantastic job as Hae-ryung! I never liked saeguk characters this much just by watching them on a first-episode basis but Shin Se-kyung's sageuk magic worked well in this show! You guys should just watch this show to know how lovable Hae-ryung is because I can't list all her characteristics because all of it is likeable.

I also really like the female historians this show has given us! They all have their quirk and charms and seeing them work together feels empowering. Love the fact that they are not just side characters because they are their own characters.

Rim and Jin's brotherly love for each other are the rarest and the cutest! I rarely see royal puppies be cute and loving with each other but these two are just fantastic together! I hope they stay good friends and good brothers as this show progresses. Cha Eun-woo might be a bit green, but I am enjoying his portrayal of Rim so I hope he gets to improve his performance as the show progresses!

Overall, I am really liking the lighter tone of this show and I hope it stays that way. I also like that the romance is not that much highlighted in the first few episodes and that the show takes its time to showcase us our leads.

Blessed and highly favored to read this review. Rookie Historian is the perfect blend of societal issues and romcom for me, and it's making me love Shin Sekyung more than ever before. Not that I didn't love her before, but I think I let people's inexplicable hatred of her get in my now. Now I can unabashedly say she's doing a stellar job, and it doesn't hurt that Haeryung is a layered heroine who doesn't resort to simply being cheeky/cute/clumsy. She's strong-willed but not dangerously obstinate, she's kind but not a doormat, and she's brave but falls back on polite society rules when backed into a corner. I LOVE HER.

*Ahem* Anyway, Eunwoo's Prince Lee Rim is beyond adorable. He's slowly developing layers after being more comedic relief alongside his bestie the Eunuch, but your review actually dug more into him that I thought. His chemistry with Haeryung already has me giggling with glee, because enemies to friends to lovers is my jam. Also, th brotherly bond with Lee Jin is heartwarming, and rather different than the usual saeguks with their betrayal and bloodshed.

Speaking of Lee Jin, the entire supporting cast is filled with colorful characters who are all passionately striving for something and could lead their own drama. Long story short: I'm already obsessed!

My favourite thing about this drama is we're finally having an Upper class lady with uppity values but who's not a snob NOR a princess, as our heroine in a decent setup.
Too often we get rag-to-riches or rags-to-badass heroines in Sageuks, and posh ladies are always wicked.
Join the ranks with Jang-geum and Shin Chae-kyung, Hae-ryung (that rhymed!😝), you are a breath of fresh air.

I really like light and funny sageuks like that! Even if I know it will surely become more serious, I like the ton, the colours, the humour. I really loved Moonlight Drawn by Clouds.

My only issue for now it's I don't really care about the ML. He's cute and has nice relationships with his eunuch and his brother. But they kinda exagerated the suprise look with eyes wide open...

I'm more curious about the Crown Prince, I love Park Ki Woong in this role, and Min Woo Won whose father is the villain of the story.

Goo Hae Ryung is a nice character! She's smart and strong! She's pretty funny too. Poor Seo Young Joo who was rejected by her :p

I'm really rooting for this 4 women!

I enjoyed the brothers relationship so much in the first two episodes I dread to watch any further for fear they will end up on opposing sides due to misunderstandings or manipulation’s of others in court. Can they please remain besties till the end? Please no fight for the throne yadda yadda... even worse. Please no death like king 2 hearts. Omg omg.... why did I even think that. Ward off the evil eye 🧿

I knew I would check out this drama because of Shin Se-kyung. But I was nervous, because the writer is a rookie. After the first two weeks, my fears have been completely alleviated. This show is smart with fleshed out characters and relationships. *spoilers of episodes 3 & 4* I love the hijinks at the historical bureau and the trying-to-get-used-to-a-new-job storyline. It has the qualities of a whacky work place comedy with nice emotional moments. The directing is also great. Everything is gorgeous. The locations don't even look like sets, they look like real buildings and places. That does so much for me in terms of believability. I am so sticking with this show!

first thing first... Shin Se Kyung is on fire with her acting. just like you i found her bland, stiff, lifeless, cold in all her past dramas and i had no thought to watch this drama just cause she was in the cast.....BUT she blew me away with her on point acting. As GHR she is just perfect, be it arguing with her brother or having tussles with the younger girls in marriage school. and now am happy to find one more female actress to look forward too.

next I LOVE this drama for the fact that first time a female character in saeguk is shown as fierce character not with strength but with her intellect. she never takes a single bad argument without giving back double as response. Her question to her brother "isnt it possible to not get married but live a content life reading and drinking just like this". she is (am sure) every girl out there even in today's time who wants to live life on her and knows ways to do so, she just needs an affirmation from the people around to let her be.

Crown Prince and Politics... first time ever i am not bored by the palace politics cause everything is so well connected with the theme of the drama of Gender Disparity that i pay even more attention to all the politics.

am not looking forward to romance between leads as i am preparing my heart for upcoming SLS cause MWW has caught my eyes with those melo eyes everytime he looks ar GHR.

Lastly... am soooooooo happy to have this drama and so excited for future episodes.

thanks for this post.

Thank your for your glowing report on ROOKIE HISTORIAN GU HAE-RYUNG, @laica. I'm still in NOKDU FLOWER mode, and don't want to get out of it, quite frankly, as I gear up for a rewatch. However, I'm glad to know that the premise and execution of this fusion sageuk are done well, and that it is off to a flying start. I've been burned by enough shows in the genre (does MY SASSY [JOSEON] GIRL ring a bell?) that it wasn't initially on my radar. And I still have a festering wound from HIGH KICK! 2's ending, so I'm wary. I realize this is all very irrational, especially given Shin Se-kyung's performance in SIX FLYING DRAGONS. That said, I'm intrigued with your first impressions report, which has done its job. I'm willing to give it a go when I'm in the mood for lighter fare. I recently watched SUNGKYUNKWAN SCANDAL and loved it, so this should be up my alley. But I'll let it unfold more episodes before rushing in. ;-)

Am I the only one who DID NOT enjoy the first 2 eps but absolutely loved the next 2 episodes? XD😆😂

Like honestly if I had not gone back to it after being disappointed by the first two eps I would have not found out how wonderful the next 2 were. Now I can be assured that my Wed-Thurs will be fun again after the beloved WWW ending T^T🎉🎉

I only on Ep 2 so I had to avert my eyes to avoid spoilers.
Shin Se-kyung really surprised me, I haven’t seen her in much outside of TWDR. She’s bright and full of energy here, looking forward to catching up.

This one took my by surprise. I wanted something lighter to watch, so I gave it a try, but I didn't think I'd like it much. Now I look forward to it each week. The plot is way more well-thought out than I had anticipated; it's not just fluffy rom-com fare in sageuk dressing. I loved Hae-ryung from the start, and the first week was cute. But it's the second week's episodes that really solidified my interest. The female historians' story line, as well as the Crown Prince's, give the show more emotional resonance and depth. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

So nice that you're recapping this, Laica! I had no expectations about this drama, but I loved it from the get go. I find Hae Ryung so relatable and interesting, she still needs to learn a lot about life and is having some humbling experiences. But she's smart and doesn't see the need to hide it, which I find so refreshing.
Hae Ryung is the heart of the show, but the princes are also interesting. Lee Rim is so naive, but thinking how isolated and protected he has grown up, it makes sense. The crown prince has to be the 1st one I see in kdramas who's not conspiring to kill his siblings, haha!
I'm glad that this show seems to be in capable hands, the writing, acting and production values are good so far. The cinematography is beautiful...but with all those colorful hanboks and pretty faces it shouldn't be too difficult to deliver 😁

I've only watched episodes 1 and 2, so I didn't read the recap yet. Nor am I reading any of the comments. (I save the show for Monday when I do laundry and fold clothes. It is how I watched Mr. Sunshine, too.) But so far I am loving this drama. I am a sucker for historical dramas. I know some people don't like them, but my first Korean drama was Jewel of the Palace. And Queen Senduk was my second. Loved them both.

Thanks for this review. I've been on kdrama hiatus since Haechi ended, and found my way back to dramaland with RHGHR. I've been anxious of this drama because I'm a fan of EunWoo as an idol since MIIGB. I like him as DoKyungsuk, but wary of him tackling sageuk. He is still new into acting and sageuk is not an easy genre to handle.

But I put my faith into the director's hands, who gave me Solomon's Perjuru, and SSK's experience with Tree With Deep Roots and Six Flying Dragons. I prayed that they will guide EunWoo well.

The first week of airing put me into edge. Eunwoo's inexperience showed, but I found the plot starting solidly. SSK delivered what I expected of her.

The 2nd week is another story. The increase in ratings shows how the the narrative is picking a lot of interest from the viewers. Eunwoo is still a working progress, but the plot is driving me to read more about Prince Dowan/LeeRim.

Even as a fusion-sageuk, I hope this drama will not veer away from the solid narrative it started, and instead give us more meaty plotlines and arcs.

Thank you @laica for writing this recap. Hope you will continue to provide us this venue to talk about RHGHR

I was intrigued by the female rookie historian angle and thought at least it would be easy on the eye with all the beautiful hanboks.

So far I’m really enjoying the whole thing. There’s been a nice balance between the plot lines and I’m looking forward to things getting more complicated.

Ok I've got to ask this. So I read this in an article, but apparently there were netizens that were bashing Cha Eun Woo for his overacting and reactions. Does anyone else agree?

And let me point out here, PLEASE be nice in this comment thread!!

The stranger who sutured up the survivor at the house printing The Story of Ho Dam... looks like a new character, or did I miss something? According to the reports, he used a foreign medical technique ... that can’t be a big pool of candidates?

I picked this drama again after dropping it after first episode tempted by all the fan posts, and I like how the story develops, the 4 rookie historians are cute and sassy (and is there some history between the noble daughter and Crown Prince?), I hope the story focus on them the most, I don't usually like fusion sageuk, but I like world setting for this one so far and all actors are very capable, SSK is truly made for historical drama, shame that CEW acting is still god-awful,I decided to FF his scenes as much as possible.

I wasn't really in a mood for sageuk, so thanks @mary for the recommendation!

Shin Se-kyung is marvelous in this role! Sageuk really suits here, well, I've only seen her in sageuks so I don't know how she is in modern world. This is my first time watching Cha Eun-woo so I'm yet sure what to make of his acting.

As usual, in sageuk world, these officials really boil my blood and I just want to punch my screen! I wonder what Officer Min and Crown Prince will do once they will know the truth about their fathers. And what role will Oraboni have or is he currently part of the distributor of the books?

Rooting for the awesome four historian ladies! I felt proud when they passed the exams and whenever they stood up against the Officers (Apprentice Heo *clap clap clap*).

Looks like there's a romance coming between the Crown Prince and Suhi (Sahee)!

I’m thrilled to find out the beanies’ review on Rookie!!!!!! I really enjoy this drama. It banlanced the comedy, mystery and romance very well. Will you write recaps or review for later episodes? Episode 7 and 8 are especially hilarious.

I don't like that when they try portray Hae Ryung as "intelectual" who is above such a "low brow" entertainemnt as romance novels, her criticism of such novels is never about novel itself but very ad personam, this whole scene of her making fun of him being eunuch was not cute, drama writers, not cute at all.

Thank you for your wonderful recap!!
I have always been waiting for this drama since I heard about it and I'm glad that your review has definitely made many more follow this drama!!
CEW was the main reason I waited for this drama and even I thought his acting still needs improvement!! And he actually improved by next episodes itself!! Though the first week was a little slow, the second week was definitely better and at the end I became so curious for next episodes already!!
Like many have already said it, I'm absolutely loving the FL character!! She's very strong FL and I hope she remains so till the end. Apart from this I liked many new setup in this historical drama!! Hope it becomes even more better and doesn't disappoint us much!!

Thanks for this review that echoes my thoughts on this drama so far. I have decided to check it out this weekend, because I have been missing sageuks in gl, but especially fusion sageuks that aren't that "serious". I binge-watched the first 4 episodes this past weekend and I hardly can wait for the next couple of episodes. I love the heroine! I like to call myself a feminist, and while watching this, especially the part where she was taking bridal lessons and she was told she should not be pretentious about her knowledge, I felt so emotional because, though that was Joseon, at least some hundred yrd ago, I feel like women, especially in my part of the World, are still held down and given those types of messages: "you can be this but not not too much, you can do that but not too much, so that you don't disturb men's ego, so you'll be liked". It saddens me. But, seeing Hae Ryung standing her ground for what she knows and believes in gives me hope.

Yay! I heard from @mary this was recap coming! I LOVE ❤️ this show after the first few episodes. The heroine has me hooked and the supporting male leads are just there to support her journey. This show is about Hye-ryung and her only and I hope that doesn’t change. She’s like Nancy Drew to me, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to solve the mystery!

I won’t lie, I went into this show with low expectations (in lieu of Shin Se-kyung’s previous performances and my bias against some idol actors), it was something I picked up to pass the time. Boy was I in for a ‘royal’ surprise! Not only did Shin Se-kyung perform brilliantly in her role as the noble lady who won’t fit the mold, she had good chemistry with other actors. Her conversations with the Princes and her colleagues her done so well. I found myself also crying at her frustrations at the end of Episode 10. Cha Eun-woo also did well in his role as the blissfully ignorant prince locked up in his ivory tower. Of course Park Ki-woong never disappoints. I was honestly surprised at the direction the drama took, I was expecting a light and fluffy drama based on the teasers I saw, but this show did a good job in showing the struggles of being female at the time, being an official at the time, and being a female-official. This show is unique and I love it!

Well, to be honest "the sorrows of young werther" IS high-minded literature, there is countless secondary literature written about it and I, for instance, had to read it in school.
So there definitely is a distinction between that book and romance novels meant to be swooned over (for the record, I do like both :))

Gosh Cha Eunwoo is such a ridiculous flower boy.
Has anyone who's been to South Korea visited the factory he came out of? Can you do tours of the assembly line? See the moulds they use? How do they get them to all look the same?

All jokes aside, this was an enjoyable start to the show. Good female lead, adorable male lead, fresh sageuk setup. I'm very glad I didn't start this when Tale of Nokdu was on because I would have found it pale in comparison (gosh I loved the first half of Tale of Nokdu). But so far I'm enjoying the show a lot.