Yeok-jeok: baek-seong-eul hom-chin do-jeok

The name of this show should have been The Crybabies, because all they do is cry over every single little thing, especially the main character who spends the first 10 episodes balling his eyes out. The only thing I cried about was knowing what was going to happen to them before it ever happened. It was so predictable, sticking to the same old script where really evil and mean people with power does something horrible to the lowely peasants and their family or friends and so it goes back and forth with one getting the upper hand then the other while we set around waiting for the main character to finally come into his power and break bad on some noble asses and finally give them what they've had coming for 30 episodes.

It is entertaining enough but too often seems contrived. Acting is overall good but characters personalities and moods seem to change to fit the plot. The plot development never had me caring for any of the players, but having said that it is worth a watch even though there are many better dramas out there.

The drama started off promisingly but took a nosedive after a pivotal moment around episode 7 when the plot took an unfortunate turn with the very conveniently timed amnesia break. This narrative choice not only broke the momentum built up until that point but also shattered the drama's coherence. After this abrupt twist, the series struggled to regain its footing, and the attempts to recover its initial momentum proved futile, leading to a disjointed narrative and a noticeable decline in quality. While attempting to portray the struggles of the oppressed, the series fell into repetitive cycles, as expected. The romantic elements felt forced and superficial. Rather than enhancing the storyline, the romantic subplot felt out of place and failed to integrate seamlessly into the overarching plot. It felt like they had to give the lead a girl, any girl. Would have been better if his siblings occupied that gap instead of being wasted on the love interest. At least the drama didn't end like Hong Gil Dong (2008).

100% entertaining, with laughter, action, sadness, some romance... a bit of everything. The best historical korean drama in my books.

Let me start by saying, im not a big tv series watcher and especially anything more then 10-15 eposides i lose interest. But this was a good tv series and yes I would recommend it. All the characters were good and had a good storyline that's what kept my intrest to continue to watch. The only problem i had with it, was i have never watched a movie or tv series where so many men and especially the main character "CRY" so much, almost ever other eposide, it got to the point of being ridiculous. I mean i get it when he was young, then a teenager and a couple times as a adult, but at some point your a rebel leader you have to man up sooner later and he never did that was what was disappointing. And also half the time when things are going on, he standing around looking dumbfounded. Other then that, worth the watch.