"the palace is a dazzling prison"

There aren't enough words to describe how utterly beautiful and wonderful and heart wrenching this drama is. It makes you laugh and cry in the span of minutes. This is undoubtedly the best drama I have watched of 2021, and by far the best sageuk drama I have watched ever.
The acting in my opinion was perfect. Lee Seyoung and lee Junho outdid themselves here they absolutely nailed their roles I cannot imagine anyone else playing Deokim and San as well as they did. Their chemistry and scenes together were so great that you wished for more as soon as they leave the screen.
The characters were all developed and understandable. Deokim loved San, but she also loved her freedom and her life. San loved Deokim and wanted her to be happy, but he also wanted to keep the one woman he had ever loved by his side. Even Deokro wasn't a complete monster, he had his humanity when losing some of the most important people in his life. They all had their own reasons and interests which clashed with others. Everyone was understandable in some way.

The messages given about women's struggles in this period of time is very clear and strong, but they aren't shoved in your face. You feel for the main character and your heart breaks seeing everything that she had to let go of. The last episode, if it doesn't leave you crying your eyes out, will stick with you for a while. I have never cried so much watching an episode than I did with episode 17.

Prepare yourself for a lot of pain if watching this.

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binged it in 2 days

I was a bit hesitant about watching it since it is an older drama and the oldest kdrama I've watched is Boys Over Flowers which I found to be quite average but Coffee Prince truly did exceed my expectations. I binged it in 2 days because I was that obsessed with it, and I barely binge, but I genuinely could not get enough.

I'll start on what I disliked before I go on my huge rant about how much I love this. The second couple wasn't very appealing. Their loveline was just so messy, getting mad at each other for basically cheating but then doing it themselves and all that. I didn't particularly care about their problems and ended up watching their scenes at 2x at one point. When I rewatch this (and I definitely will), I'm gonna straight up skip their scenes entirely because they felt like such a drag. Another subplot I didn't like was the FL's mother's loveline. The mother isn't very likeable so again I didn't care about her romance with that one uncle. It just felt like a filler.

Now onto what I liked, which is the main couple. Their chemistry was absolutely everything, I could watch a whole other season of them just existing and bickering together no plot needed. It's crazy how well they fitted onscreen, the casting director did an amazing job. I was especially impressed by Yoon Eunhye who plays Go Eunchan. She was so natural playing a tomboy, it did not seem forced at all. The character herself didn't feel like she was forcing her personality to act more like a boy, she was just being herself and everyone else saw it in a male light. Even though it isn't completely believable for us as viewers, I can see how the characters saw Eunchan as a boy, from her appearance and behavior. Gong Yoo's Hankyul, although annoying at times, wasn't the typical arrogant emotionless rich snob that a lot of male leads end up being and I'm so glad for that.

I really enjoyed their love story develop too. Eunchan had to hide her identity/gender because she needed the money and at one point it did become too scary to reveal the truth. A lot of people are like "she could have told him sooner and saved all that trouble" but she got close to Hankyul fast and didn't want to risk losing him, so she kept lying. In times like this it does feel easier to lie, especially something so big that could make them hate you forever. Also I personally LOVED the angst. It was just so good, them getting feelings and trying to avoid each other, making the other person confused.. too good. I understand this isn't for everyone but yeah the angsty scenes happen a decent amount and each time I was yelling at my screen because I loved it that much. The high tension and passionate confessions? Amazing. Couldn't get enough of it. I think we deserved one more episode of them just being a happy cute couple though.

The 'princes'/coworkers were really fun too. I didn't like how easily they let slip the truth about Eunchan's gender to each other considering it was her secret, but other than that they were my second favorite part about this drama. They all have their own individual personalities but when they're together it's a very entertaining mix. They all care about each other. Lee Eon's (rip) character, Minyeop, was my personal favorite. He's so dumb but so sweet you can't help but like him. I loved how he kept looking out for Eunchan and tried to protect her as best as he could.

Overall, this was an amazing drama. I can't stop thinking about it, especially the main couple. Can't wait to rewatch this in a year or two.

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tears everywhere

I honestly don't think I've ever cried this much watching a drama before, I was quite literally sobbing while the credits rolled in, and I don't cry easily while watching movies/shows. This is a beautiful drama about two soulmates who loved each other so much but could not have much time together :(

The actors absolutely nailed their roles. Fandy, who played K, showed an incredible performance of a sick man whose heart was constantly in turmoil. Gingle, who played Cream, also did amazingly and you could see the pain in her eyes so well. Kudos to the other lead actors, their emotional scenes were so realistic and moving. Wang Po-han and An Yi-Chi's story with An Ke-Le was also so beautiful.

The last 3-4 episodes had me in constant tears and just when you think you know the whole story, there's another twist which just makes everything more painful.

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loved it

mdl users are giving this drama a lot of bad reviews but for me this was one of the best dramas ive ever watched.
yes, the thriller part of the story is messy and can get quite confusing, it definitely could have been formatted or blended in better with the romance side. but i viewed it as something that kept you on your toes while still enjoying watching the leads fall in love.
the two lead actors did an amazing job in this drama, and their characters' loveline was so cute. their romance was just so beautiful, and both characters helped each other heal. seo hyunjin's acting was on another level.

also none of the side characters bothered me, because usually in every kdrama there's 1 or 2 side characters that i dont like. in this one, each had their own story so i was never annoyed when a character appeared on screen. almost each character learns new ways to heal and deal with their obstacles.

many have said here that this drama was mediocre. but for me, i loved almost every second of it. i loved the interactions between characters, i love the small lessons you learn. i loved watching the healing of these damaged people.

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