Ouch... Twelve got only 10 cast members and its characters instead of 12?! WTF is this?

The 10 real cast members... but I don't know if the final 2 cast members will be added. Maybe because Twelve only had 10 stars then later adding 2 more stars instead, not 12 stars. Maybe I got confused and worried about the missing final 2 cast members/characters in this Kdrama. I hope there will be 2 more stars/characters to complete its eponymous/titular number need to be added soon.

With all the moping around and general depression in Episode 6 I forgot to note the very cute moment when our 2ML has been called to meet Su-bin- who is begging him to model for her YouTube channel. She lays on the total cuteness but he is not buying it. Purpose of this scene: This is how 2ML finds out that her brother Ji-won is jobless again and thus available to protect his little sister Yeong-ra. Longer term possible dramatic purpose: Seongjae has a deadline from his dad to get married- maybe we are getting a foreshadowing of a moment in say about a year from now when a beautiful young wife is laying the aegyo on her handsome hubby?

Yes I know I was not exactly being original in raising this issue, in fact, I first learned of it in early discussions of the show before the episodes, and @vienibenmio notes it above.

But it personally struck me again in these two episodes--which I have to stress, again, that I enjoyed because the tone of the show really is fantasy sageuk rom com, and it was done well. But, if I think about it, the specificity of historical references suggest a serious critique-- which then is undermined by the rom-com part, because Yoona's character is so resourceful and a her chef abilities are well portrayed, and the king-abuser is good-looking, and after all he was just doing the chaehong for revenge and not because of less kdrama-respectable motives of royal domination, lust and thinking of women as only sexual objects to be used for his pleasure, the way it totally was in real life.

You make a good point that if the theme is how appropriate views of female equality would have really shaken up the Joseon patriarchy, and altered the course of Joseon events, maybe the historical connections are necessary, and politics will be key to illustrating how modern views would have changed things for the better. But I still would have enjoyed the rom-com part more if there wasn't this nightmare historical background as a key part of the show.

I really enjoyed the primer episodes! Lots of good food shots too. I find it refreshing that this is one of the few FL who time travels not through water ( like parks marriage contract, mr queen, etc) but in an air plane!! I hope we continue to get a good story’ and good food!

Otherwise, I hope Gil-Geum will have a longer life than Baek-Yi in The Tale of Lady Ok... I wondered where I heard this accent with this face as the loyal servant.

"But since they did establish it on this real life connection"

So many Beanies have now raised this issue. Per @jess they did change the name of the king from the the real tyrant Yi Yung/Yeonsan-gun to the fictional Yi Heon/Yeonhui-gun for... whatever... reasons. But I also wonder if there's a twist somewhere here.

Ji-yeong wonders herself if she prevented the "Literary Revolt" (or something like that) by disrupting the chaehong and banishing the governor's daughter instead of bringing her to the palace. She also ominously foreshadows the tragic but deserving end of the tyrant and mentions it to the governor's son. I found it peculiar the script emphasized it, like almost it will play a major role in the future. Her foresight might be either a disruptive force indeed or a tool used by a variety of players to advance their goals. This time around I actually find the palace politics rather intriguing.

These 2 episodes were enjoyable, and I’ve always been something of a fan of Yoona’s somewhat blandly cheery but tougher-than-she-seems acting persona. Lee Chae Min is also quite good so far.

But still I’m of two minds about this one after the first couple of episodes.

On the one hand, I always have trouble with sageuks, because I just don’t like Joseon society as it really existed. Even in its fantasy version, where slaves are always loving and loyal, where eunuchs are played for laughs, where many daughters and wives are able to rebel and be independent, and concubines are all power brokers, or coquettes who actually enjoy enticing men, rather than the sexual slaves, I just have trouble getting by the oppressive nature of the social order. Because of my dislike of this historical era, the elaborate palace politics which all sageuks revolve around and which require the viewer to root for one faction, I personally find a little boring, but even more, I don’t care, since my attitude is a plague on all Joseon royal houses.

On the other hand—I know these sagueks are just fantasy fiction, and there’s no reason I have to worry about the social issues involved, and I can just go ahead and watch to see the spectacularly beautiful Honey Lee beat up a evil ministerial guards, or enjoy the romances between the modern college student who is dropped into the Taecyon regime, or between the water dragon in human form and the Joseon optometrist-shaman.

This one, though, which fantasy-fictionalizes a monarch who is reputed to be one of the most horrible in Korean history, really crystallizes the sageuk conflict for me. If they hadn’t based it on a real king, then the “bad boy with mommy issues” take on his personality would have been easy to go along with, because, of course, they wouldn’t have even had to suggest that he was raping hundreds of women he commandeered for his sexual pleasure, or implied that he systematically dismembered the servants that displeased him.

But since they did establish it on this real life connection, are we supposed to root for this romance? Or be upset if the show follows history and shows him violently deposed and all his children poisoned? Or is there going to be a lesson that even a real life male sadist/rapist can be soothed by a beautiful woman cooking great food and otherwise satisfying all his sensual appetites? (Of course, I already know that the show will probably not have that the lesson.)

I’ll continue to watch this for now, all the while wondering why they decided it would be good to reference this particular real life tyrant, rather than just portray some entirely made up character whose reform would be believable. Does anyone know the answer as to why?

KYJ looks stunning!

After saying that I’d start Coroner’s Diary 2-ish weeks ago, I have indeed started it lol

I just needed to figure out what mental space I’m in and whether or not I wanted to start another costume drama (古裝) after what seems to be an entire summer of just watching costume dramas 😅 (Love of the Divine Tree, Legend of Zang Hai, Flourished Peony, In the Name of Blossom). As it seems, 2025 in itself seems to be the year of costume dramas—except for a rare few— so I might as well keep on going down this path now with Coroner’s Diary and see where this drama will take me

This looks like a fun turn for KYJ, I look forward to it.

This looks intense and I've liked most of the dramas Ro-woon has done so I'll definitely tune in if it makes it to Hulu. I love the FL, too. Story might be too dark (Chuno wasn't exactly uplifting) but we'll see. At the very least, it looks to be beautifully shot and edited.

The main leads getting together just before the credits roll is a bad habit that seems to be a fad. Let us hope it fades away soon.

Dear A: Why not just register?

Your point about how short the show has been simply underscores my point: Our stories are being truncated to fit into the ten episode format. The result is unneeded loose ends.

I want to add: I think that the ML (deep down) liked how the FL kept calling him out and treating him like a normal person. He's probably never experienced that before!

My wife and I loved VIVA LA VIDA. The actress received a Best Actress award for it at one of the major awards shows in China- and for very good reason.

I actually thought the paper was pretty good because it was basically fair and didn't hide from stating the facts (as known in 2020) including naming the parties involved. I really, really hope that XZ and WYB can put this behind them now, and also do what they can to put a damper on their more rabid fans. It doesn't need to be like this. They have enough resources to take legal action when things get out of control -- and frankly, as today's stories illustrate -- jump on this infringement of their privacy without delay.

This is why you read about performers from solid families whose parents are strongly against their youngsters going into the entertainment field. Everybody get tarnished.

Baffles me why any sane person would expect young men to lead celibate lives sans any experience with relationships -- a surefire way to future disaster. I mean, without any experience dating (or whatever it's called these days) how in the world are they supposed to find a compatible mate?

Goes without saying giving your in-laws credit cards is nuts. Lesson learned.

Very Well said indeed and I could not agree more about the importance of the friendship between BoA and Ji-hyuk. BoA needed to marry, and her lover had disappeared. That is why she chose to marry her friend who also now had a reason to marry- and was a perfect fit for her family business. The marriage of friends is the very best marriage and the two would in time have deeply loved each other. Ji-hyuk's father was way too narrow minded and should have seen the bigger picture- and given Ji-hyuk a hug.

BoA has also embarrassed her parents and no doubt angered her father who was delighted to have Ji-hyuk join his family and eventually run the company. He is already an old man (he was not young when BoA was born). BoA hurt her friend Ji-hyuk but she has also hurt herself and perhaps even her family.

Eun-oh was flat-out wrong to say the things she did- but maybe understandable from the pain of her recent rejection. I am going to cut her some slack on this one.

The source material is a webnovel called "Surviving as Yeonsan-gun's Chef", which is based on the real tyrant Yi Yung/Yeonsan-gun. In the drama they changed the king's name to the fictional Yi Heon/Yeonhui-gun. Maybe to avoid romanticizing a real tyrant?

The FL recognized him as the name given to the kings after their death.