I truly loved this show. Perhaps it’s that I’m not tired of the tropes. Perhaps it was the beauty of the camera angles. Perhaps it’s that I sort of like “lawsuit-of-the-week.” It had an audience, and I was in it.

Lol I think they read last week's criticisms about the kiss.
Too bad they didn't take any hints about the writing whilst they were at it.

Look, it's over, (Thank God), I don't give a sh☠️t anymore. Woo Do Hwan Bean acquired ✓🙄🥲

You pointed out everything I felt about this ending @solstices. Considering the potential it had, it kind of took a rapid descent as the weeks went on
And beyond the character assassination of Hyul, killing off Eunsoo needlessly and whatever that fake death - time skip - shoddy reunion was, I'm also mad that they didn't really give Ji-sun an ending or anything really at the end there. They did but they didn't, idk ny boy deserves better 😭

It really did feel like a bit of a patchwork drama though. I feel like I watched multiple bits and pieces of something stitched together haphazardly especially in the second half, as you also pointed. Scathing maybe but it's only because I'm bitterly let down considering the high hopes I had in the first few weeks :(

Oh well, I guess I'll pack up my crumbs (the not awful kiss, WDHs face and voice, the comedy bits) and wait in hope that his next project will be a satisfying one (please)!

Thank you for all your wonderful recaps though! Reading your eloquent takes on what was good and where the failings of this drama are, have been the best part of this whole experience ❤️

Well said @solstices! Having started this drama with high hopes, it came crashing down. Even WDH being brilliant couldn't save it at the end. The reunion was so dissatisfying in ep16 as Yeon-joo's noble idiocy was truly idiotic (why did she even entertain the idea that he would be better off without her? Was she literally blind to how he reacted when people leave him???) and then it was all wrapped up without a blink. I needed Ji-sun and Eun-soo to become the ultimate power couple and I was robbed. They would have been divine - and it would have been deeply satisfying to see Ji-sun slowly let go of Yeon-joo and realise Eun-soo was where his heart had always been.

Disappointed with Bona's performance at the end - although, to be fair, that's partly because she had extremely little to work with - since I had high expectations after her success in 25-21. WDH needs to be paired with someone who can at least hold a candle to him... But the writer was the main culprit here, producing a drama that is quite forgettable. Sigh.

Welp ... that's over. Talk about squandering a promising beginning -- gradually and then all at once with the Eun-soo arc. That last episode felt like it was written by a committee tasked with providing fan service and wrapping up loose ends. They checked a lot of boxes, but not the ones I wanted checked. Noble idiocy? Yup. Light-speed redemption for Hyul? Yessir. Extra kisses to compensate for the one that got criticized? That too. Shots of the "justice team" that felt awkward considering one of them ordered the execution of the other's sister? Sigh. A three-year separation because the one-year trope is overdone? Anyway ...

I did love the first half of the show, so I'll choose to remember that and erase/rewrite the back half in my memory. Those early episodes were fun while they lasted.

i kind of agree abt this drama being 2 different ones spliced together while first half was the most perfect start for me and i absolutely loved it for all the reason you mentioned 2nd half came crashing down as if once on its peak this aeroplane was on autopilot and took a nose dive cause couldn't handle that anymore.
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i hated king for being so indifferent towards Eun Soo and how he used her to prove his capabilities as King... i detest him and worst king in kdramas for me.
That girl hadnt done anything deliberately and she could have been shown redeeming herself and living a life with Han soo but naah this show sacrificed her for such incompetent king.
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this weeks kiss was better like really better... i was so angry after last kiss and dint want to blast so waited patiently and it paid of... it was raally good and somewhat at WDHs calibre too.
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but all in all despite the flaws i enjoyed this drama and had so much fun during its first half.
ill surely rewatcj its first half whenever i would need some laghter therapy.
thanks for the weecap

First half was actually great, and the last half was terrible. I also can't believe what they did with the King character. He's the reason the sister is dead, and last episode just glosses over that and everyone is best friends, ewwwwww.

Thank you for all the recaps! I had skipped episode 13 and 14. They aired when I was travelling and then when I saw the wtf-ery that happened there, I skipped them and went straight to ep 15. I'm glad I did, since not having seen them made me enjoy more than I would have otherwise.

I think Councilor Yoo had it too easy with losing his mind. But since Han-soo seems okay with it, and I think for Ji-sun's sake, I won't be too bummed about that. Han-soo also seemed really chummy with the king who participated in pushing Eun Soo to suicide.

I'm satisfied enough with the romantic reunion. I think it helped that Han-soo didn't quite believe So-won was dead. I did think they weirdly glossed over the infertility stuff since it was the reason why So-won went away. I gave her some slack on ghosting him since it was Joseon times. I loved how she tugged on that gat string to hint she wanted to do something other than talk and Han-soo took off that kiss-obstructing hat. And that it took place on his ship.

Pros: cinematography, music, pacing, mostly great lawsuits/cases, cast chemistry, OTP chemistry, acting

Cons: lack of stickyness that makes you feel like you must tune in, the Eun Soo story (felt like they killed her unnecessarily just to maximize Han-soo's pain), So-won's character ending up being pretty boring in the second half.

Well I finished it.

Round of applause for all the beanies that made it through to the end. Thank You solstices for hanging in there and recapping it all.

Big sigh of relief that it's over.

The only good thing about the last two episodes were the scenes between Han-soo and Ji-sun, fantastic acting between the two.
I can't say the same for Yeon Joo, the actress continued to annoy me with her one dimensional acting. The romantic plot line was killed off a few episodes earlier with the horrendous kiss. Any pay off from them finally getting together and further kisses at the end were redundant as the damage was done. I didn't buy that her character was in love.
That the four characters could stand together near the end just didn't make sense at all. Yeon Joo was supposed to be in hiding because she was supposedly dead so how can she be standing next to her brother the King, it would be very obvious who she was?
After all the c.r.y.i.n.g and depths of despair the show put Han Soo through with his sister's storyline, are we supposed to believe he's happy to be anywhere near the king?
It baffles me how a show can start so well and then end up a complete schmozzle.
Thank goodness for Woo Do Hwan.

Thank you, @solstices, agree with you all the way.

I liked the bromance between Han-soo and Ji-sun while preparing the law book. Why didn't we get more of that instead of the other annoying arcs? I hoped they would give Ji-sun an arc beyond the second male trope. And as fellow beanies suggest a love line between him and Eun-soo would have been interesting to watch.

The end used troped I don't like. The villain is punished for a crime he didn't commit and he lost his mind right after.

Then they used the jump in time that doesn't really make sense neither. Why Yeon-Joo waited furing 3 years? It was more cruel than anything else.

The King at least apologize even if what he did made no sense... But 3 smart and good guys wrote the law book! I guess it was the ultime purpose of this drama.

The couple was cute. The second kiss scene way better than the first one (it wasn't difficult) but WDH posted a bed scene on insta and I'm still waiting for it!

At the end, the thing I like the most it was the fact they filmed a lot outside the Palace. The different places were beautiful.

WDH was great but even him could make this drama working even if the ingredients were there...

I might have slipped past me while I was watching, but what happened to Eun-soo's husband and family? Shouldn't they also be held accountable to what happened to her in the end? I'm really sorry for her.

I feel let down by the outcome.

I don’t see the purpose of Eun Soo. Her story was a non-factor and should have been excluded or handled differently.

I feel there wasn’t any justice for Eun Soo, and the major characters seem to forget about what happened to her in episode 14. Nobody fought for her. Not even her brother, Han Soo.

I feel a woman, Eun Soo, was severely punished by the law, and a man, Minister Woo, got a slap on the wrist.

I'm really not sure what to say about that final episode...it left me with my mouth open. Was the show trying to be clever by literally listing the questions I wanted clearing up and then saying not to worry about them? Seriously?
@solstices you covered the rest of my issues re the Hyul and Eun Su arcs. A disappointing end when it could have been so much better.

I really loved this show it made me laugh and cry. The characters were fleshed out and multi faceted. I am sad to see it end.

I don’t want to admit it but I actually felt pity for minister yu at the end. To see him lose his sanity ( like waving to the people in the street as he was being taken away) and become a shell, not even recognising his son, but seeming to live as he would have if he hadn’t become corrupted.

Solstices, thanks for the recap ! Actually, I did not watch this, I opted for the Secret Royal Loveshack .

This stood out though . “ feeling like I just watched two very different dramas spliced together “ .
Not sure why K dramas have such an issue bringing dramas to a close.
The second half all too often winds up feeling rushed or fumbled, when it started out wonderfully, the cast was capable, the imagery gorgeous, but the story goes wonky.

I wonder if it Is the writers or the PDs ?

Overall:
Pro: Woo Do-hwan. Terrific solo performance notwithstanding weak writing particularly in the second half.
Con: Among other things, Noble Idiocy until the end. Ugh!

Btw. In actual history our young king, Yi Hyul (King Seongjong 1469-1495) was succeeded by his son Yi Yung (King Yeonsangun 1495-1506) who was according to his entry in Wikipedia,
“ Often considered the worst tyrant in Joseon's history and perhaps all Korean history,”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeonsangun_of_Joseon

(Yi Yung was portrayed by Lee Dong-gun in KBS’s QUEEN FOR SEVEN DAYS (2017) (Viki US).

Just here to mark my completion. I wanted the bean. ]x

Liberal use of the fast forward button during the finale. The trope of the princess fake-dying and coming back later is always unbelievable.

Thanks for the recap!