This drama portrayed the beautiful rumors about cp sado which there was a controversial about, It was enlightening how they brought up sado in this story, he was reported as a criminal and for lunacy because he wants a better Joseon where equality reign among peoples and was trying his utmost to achieve that believe but ended up accused as a traitor and dead which was heartbreaking because of the nobles and the noron faction greed and love of power and superiority. They showed how weak yeongjo was to be controlled by this court and his throne was precarious and was always cajoling to balance the throne as so he was drenched by blood and always haranguing sado for his stubbornness of his futile dream but also they surfaced the fatherly love who tried to protect his son to the end and the son who refused to point a sword on his father neck even if he considers him as a political enemy.
That was a good as a drama but it had too many went downs and I had expected more, some fictionality as a romance between seo ji dam and the cp sado which was only utterly shown before the time skip when the actress was KYJ who boosted a vivacity and a life to this character in contrast to the adult actress who was bold and her role was very restricted which I disliked. I don't want them to follow historical facts because park bing jae seo ji dam court lady name was his consort but at least they needed to keep the character alive somehow and not kill it off and make it hopeless. That why my rating was a 8.5 this the max I could give and It deserve lower also. Beside all that, they showed crown princess and her father as two caring people for the cp but they care truly for themselves in the court starting from when the father ask the king to execute the cp and the foolish naïve wife who exposed her husband plan for a better Joseon which was not containing traitors (if even they are treated like) and treachery and was misunderstood for his noble believes , thinking of her she was protecting him.
From what I watched from red sleeve, I think jeongjo ressemble to this father portrayed in this drama in too many ways that's why I believe this story is more accurate about cp sado and not the one written in lady hyeogyeong because if he had consorts beside her she will sure sue him and proclaim his lunacy and violent behavior as husband even if it make sense since yeonjgo as shown in this drama also was a strict father and king who always opposed his son thought and never praised him for his doings even after he solved critical issues that's why I waited for sado to go crazy in the late episodes and become a rampaging person like the other Joseon kings but since it didn't happen that was for the good of both hypothesis .