This is the first historical K-drama I have ended up liking. Usually they just fail to garner my interest but had heard good reviews of this and I'm glad I watched it.

STORY: The story was nothing really complicated, even on the court politics side, but enough interesting to drive the drama. I still would have enjoyed if it had given me something more. I feel like it lost a bit of it's vision as it progressed. Hence, the 7.5.

ACTING: okay let me first get this out if the way, young crown prince and yeon-woo>>>>>>older king and shaman yeon-woo.
Now, everyone in the drama did a really good job. Have to give it to the young cast though, they had me invested and attached just 5 episodes in. Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Yoo Jung did such a fantastic job for such young actors at that time it was so so good and I absolutely wanna see them together in another drama now.
I warmed up to Kim Soo Hyun as story went by. He did an amazing job as well. Now for Hang Ga In, I'm not familiar with her other works but honestly her performance here just didn't hit for me. She felt flat, her dialogue delivery was bland, she couldn't continue on the charm that Kim Yoo Jung's portrayal of young Yeon-woo showed.
The side characters all played their part brilliantly, be it the brother of both Yeon woo and king or the guard or the eunuch, the chief shaman, seol or jan-sil, the grandmother, the previous king, everyone had an important part to carry. The villains were just meh to me. But yeah, they did a good job with casting.

OST was good but except one or two songs nothing that I would probably revisit but while watching the show it did it's job well.

Some moments that come to my mind looking back: when Yeon-woo and crown prince first met, him getting reading her apology letter and the plant, the festival scene when he snatched her away and then the talk that they had, when he rallied the scholars for the fair princess selection, him going to her house when she got sick and giving her that hair pin and them just softly talking and knowing the time was running out god that was so brilliantly portrayed and such good acting from the pair, oh also gotta mention jin-goo's acting when Yeon-woo was being sent out of palace and he was trying to get past his guards and just broke down crying and when she passed away and again he wept, my heart hurt for him that was some solid acting from him. Basically the first half was the best half of the drama.

Overall I really liked this drama. There was some sweet moments, some funny, some moments that broke my heart and I sobbed big time. I would sure like to re-watch parts of this drama, and they all gonna include the ones from the time of the younger them.