"I also am not clear on why the FL knows him by a name that he doesn't recognize"

It was a legal taboo to pronounce King's personal name in Joseon, and the "historical name" was a posthumous title created only after his death. Still, I was confused. I wasn't sure if she referred to him by his personal name (which he should have known) or by his "historical name" (which he would not know.)

Perhaps, more knowledgeable Beanies can enlighten us?

Rather closely based, I think -- even parts like:
- He was upset about his mother having been deposed and executed.
- Forcing people out of their homes to make room for hunting
- Gathering women for his harem.
"Only the names have been changed to protect the (not-so) innocent"

So expect our king to be deposed and his gf (the Kang Han-na) character) to be executed.
His sons were killed off, but I don't expect the show to follow that particular detail. Oh, and he conveniently dies a couple months after the coup. Koreans didn't go for half-measures when cleaning up after hated tyrants.
-

Okay, you kind of sold me. As long as he's able to let go of having total rule and authority!

It was a fun start and I am looking forward to the next episodes. Though I am not sure about the romance. Let’s see how it goes.

But I was thinking almost the entire time, that Dude was shot in the chest with an arrow and was pretty much fine after a day. Of course he still had a pretty wrap around his nacked chest.

"the ML wouldn't fit in modern society"

Oh but I imagined it it a hundred times! Imagine a Simon Cowell - like tyrant-judge terrorizing the contestants of the food show competitions with his critiques?! He has an excellent pallet but a petty unapologetic nature. He'd be a star of TV cooking shows, lol!

Gosh, I enjoyed the first two episodes so much! Specifically:

- Couple's dynamic, a mixture of a (hilarious) push-pull and enemies to lovers, the leashes, the comeuppances, the glares, the fingers raised in gun and cracking tension is a story's main magic! (Ok, food too.) "I don't want her to die in peace!!" Lol! You, King, will be felled by something much bigger than the murderous revenge, I fear! And I'm looking forward to see that!

- Our Korean Scheherazade now clearly knows how to survive, cook the dishes that melts the King's senses. I really love this uncomplicated setup -- the episodes are marked with a dish du jour, and all I have to do is recline and enjoy the ride!

- Surprised at palace politics. Initially, I thought the villains were the Chief Secretary and his son, but it turned out, not so fast. The switcheroos and motives are surprising and interesting so far!

- The "fan fight" was adorable -- looking forward to exploring more of the friendship between the King and the Secretary's son!

- Enjoyed the creativity of dishes and even the information behind creating of each dish. I'm a foodie but I don't cook and hold no deep interest in food's preparation. In the context of this fictional story though, I became genuinely interested in temperature of oil and tenderness of meat and MSG and what not, and how they used it to humor and entertain us.

- This is Yoona's best role. She gave it all. I thought for a moment, her sidekick with heightened sense of smell would overshadow her (that actress is so good!) but they created quite an entertaining team.

- Even though I still think Park Sung-hoon would be a better, more mature, role for a tyrant-gourmet, I'm impressed with Lee Chae Min. I'm still cackling at his "ROOOOYAAAALLL FAAAVOOOR" face expression! At such a young age, he knows how to command a room as an actor.

- I liked that the Show sprinkles humor into the palace politics. It pokes fun at the "chief female villain", Kang Hanna, lol. The villains overall don't come across cartooney or exaggerated - there's a deeper level of conflicted emotions and calm strategy behind everyone's actions.

- The isekai aspect pleases me so far. The heroine uses her limited tools and knowledge with straightforward logic under the pressure and never backs down. I suspect the recipe book will be "re-created" once she becomes the Chief Palace Cook, and we already know who's going to write the epilogue's romantic passage, don't we? Siiiiighhh.

I was skeptical at first, but within the first 10 minutes or so I felt a very welcome sense of relief that after quite a long dry spell, here is a drama that is doing exactly what it's supposed to. You could say that this show doesn't break new ground and that's technically true but really, what show can do that at this point in time? For me, the point isn't to do something new, but to do what you promised to do and in this case, that's to make the most of the time traveling premise, keep things zipping along, inspire at least one genuine laugh per episode, and intrigue your audience as to the romantic possibilities without relying on arm grabs and trips and falls into each other's arms to get us there. For this show, it's definitely check, check, check, and check.

I love the way the heroine problem solves and is focused not only on her own survival, but also learning from the women around her. The connection between the characters therefore feels more natural and I really like the big sister/little sister vibe between Gil-Geum and Ji-Young. I also liked the set-up for the rivalry between the FL and Mok-Ju who had an intriguing backstory of her own. Yes, the King is technically at the center of their conflict, but it's not about affection or desire; it's about two women calculating to survive.

As for the romance, I like that right now it's very hard for me to imagine these two falling believably in love and I was very glad there weren't any forced swoony moments yet. The King is a tyrant and a bit of a buffoon, too, so there's no reason for Jin-Young to feel anything other than annoyance or fear. I did wonder why the writers didn't just create a fictional king; I also am not clear on why the FL knows him by a name that he doesn't recognize--can someone explain that?

The cooking lesson moments are fun and include just enough chemistry and biology to feel satisfying, while the visuals are truly mouthwatering.

But overall, I am so happy to have a show I'm actually looking forward to watching! Sadly, that hasn't happened on the kdrama front since "Tangerines" and "Unwritten Seoul."

All true. Then again, Seo In-guk already had the maroon mop, so all we need to do is turn back time ...

They made three albums about it - basically it's love yourself and be your own best friend. Which is pretty radical for a confucian society, and now I have to put the brakes on before I gush too much/ even more about BTS 😅

I actually think Lee Chae-min works better because the ML comes across as more bratty and confused than evil. But, yeah, the age difference between those two actors was very apparent and jarring in that scene!

Well said!!!! Thanks!

@amnesiayawns

Mort was a very skinny boy, if I remember correctly. And younger than Seo In Guk.
Red haired too. It would have to be adapted, obviously :)

I'm reading up about the real person and, yikes. Maybe he's loosely based?

I'm so excited about this drama! I think Lee Chae-min is doing a great job as ML/tyrant/king, but he struck me as looking too young, especially since there were flashbacks of him sparring with his bestie the Royal Secretary when they were children. The grown secretary looks decades older than the king, so it was a bit jarring. This led me down a google rabbit hole and I found out that Park Sung-hoon was to play the role originally. I hope that my disappointment about this last minute switch doesn't color my thoughts about Lee Chae-min's performance.

I love how competent and mature the FL is. SO refreshing. Her love of food is beautiful and, as I said elsewhere, I ship her with getting to live out of her dream of being a chef more than anything. My husband also watched with me and seemed to enjoy himself, which is rare with kdramas these days.

I'm not against the romance, but it feels weird. Imagine going back in time and falling in love with, like, Mussolini or something. The ML's hurting a lot of people and mommy issues alone do not make up for that. I also just found out that he's a real historical figure, which makes this even weirder for me. Plus I don't see any way they can end up together in a satisfying manner (like, I don't want the FL to stay in the Joseon era, and the ML wouldn't fit in modern society), and the book message suggests that they don't, too. Btw, I gotta admit, despite my reservations about the romance, that book message made me swoon.

Also as I said elsewhere, I am quite confused by the palace relationships and politics.

Oof, I don't like that

I loved the first episode! This is my kind of fun drama with romance? thrown in along with food to make my mouth water. Its fun and Yoon-ah is spot on with the humor!

It baffles me sometimes and gets to cheesy yet here I am still watching. The scenery and travel is its selling point.

Love the butter gochujang bibimbap! I actually started salivating and had a sudden craving for bibimbap whilst watching

I hope they showcase a dish per episode! #foodporngalore
says the gal who's still salty about Tastefully Yours

p.s. Question: isn't said tyrant in this drama the historical Yeosanggun, no? I got a bit thrown off cos they called him Lee Yi Heon but Yeonsanggun's personal name is Yi Yung