This drama is surely going to sweep the awards. From acting, to set design to the music... everything is just top notch. The acting especially wow... Every one of the actors, including the extras showed out. I would say that this genre of dramas require the most of actors; the musical scenes where it is essentially a show within a show requires multi-layered performances that not anyone can pull off. And yet Kim Taeri, Shin Yeeeun and the rest of the cast have done it. Singing (with their REAL voices, might I add) dancing, and the commitment to learn the techniques of the traditional art form...I would be shocked if Kim Taeri does not get a Daesang for this. She absolutely deserves it.

This is one of the rare few dramas where I actually wanted MORE of. 12 eps is simply not enough to do tie up all the lose ends and it shows. The last episode was horribly rushed and left me with more questions than answers. I'm seeing calls for a season 2 but as much as I like this show, I'm not sure another is necessary. The ending, while less than desirable, does paint a historically accurate picture of Yeosong gukgeuk. Its popularity died down in the 1960s after the advent of film/tv. It seems like there was a revival after but it was short-lived (please correct if I'm wrong). Part of the reason was also due to the fact that it wasn't designated as a "National Intangible Culture Heritage" like pansori and changgeuk was, which probably led to the lack of funding and successors. I can't imagine what story a season 2 would tell. The overaching plot of the rise and fall of Yeosong gukgeuk has mostly been covered. The traditional 16 ep length would have been perfect though, and would have allowed more time for all the loose ends to be tied up.

This show is largely based on the webtoon of the same name, though with rather significant changes to the plot. I have not read the original webtoon, but a central character, Buyeong - Jeongnyeon's original love interest was removed. In the drama, it has been largely replaced by Jooran, though the GL elements have been toned down significantly. There is subtext hinting at their "more than friends" relationship but at the same time its not overt enough and there's still a degree of plausible deniability. To me, it also seems more like a one-sided love from Jooran. Jeongnyeon does not seem to reciprocate in a romantic way. The relationship between Okyeong and Hyerang is more overt with them literally pressing their foreheads together in ep 2(?) and in general being more touchy feely. However, if you're expecting more than that, you would be disappointed.

I was honestly thisss close to giving it a 10/10, but I really felt like the the last episode was a letdown. I'm personally NOT a fan of leaving unanswered questions, and did not like the fact that the director/scriptwriter decided to write out Okyeong and Jooran, giving them 0 scenes at the end while at the same time dropping the fact that Hyerang actually is a mother. The existence of her niece/daughter was inconsequential to the plot and was only brought up sporadically so I'm not sure what kind of point the director/scriptwriter was trying to highlight right at that last moment with this reveal. Whereas Jooran and Okyeong had huge parts to play in driving the plot forward but they basically drop off the face of the earth. Hell, even PATRICIA, Jeongnyeon's jazz singing teacher turned up to watch her, and Okygeong/Jooran didn't? I honestly couldn't fathom it. On a side note, I also didn't like how the whole Hyerang/accountant embezzling money plot was explained and wish they had gone down another route to explain Maeran's financial downfall instead.

With that being said, these are just somewhat minor grouses in the grand scheme of things. I haven't seen a drama so well thought out and beautifully acted in ages, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's interested in musicals, or learning more about traditional korean gukgeuk. and of course, fans of Kim Taeri should not miss this as well! On a side note, I do want to see Kim Taeri in another GL after the handmaiden, too bad they toned it down so much in this show...