First and foremost, if you're looking for something new and revolutionary, this drama is not for you. There is no reinventing the wheel here. It is chock full of tried-and-true tropes that pop up in many, many K-dramas. Amnesia? Check. Secret identities? Check. Villain out to destroy the leads? Check. Shared childhood between leads that haven't seen one another since said childhood? Check. Powerful/rich male lead falls for poor/lower class woman? Check. Childhood trauma that follows the leads into adulthood? Check. Dead parents? Check. Love triangles? Check. Second-lead syndrome? Check.

But just because it follows all the expected tropes doesn't mean this drama isn't worth the watch. The story focuses on (reluctant) Crown Prince Lee Yul (played by EXO's D.O., Do Kyung-Soo) and Yeon Hong-Shim (Nam Ji-Hyun), an assumed-dead noblewoman living in hiding in a rural village with her adoptive father. Being a victim of palace intrigue and backstabbing all his life, Lee Yul is mistrustful and cold to the world around him, even those closest to him. While he performs his duties as crown prince and excels in everything he does through hard work and effort, he loathes nearly everyone around him for their weakness, deceitfulness, and/or treachery. He's trapped in a loveless, arranged marriage with a woman he doesn't like and can't even touch or stand the touch of. With a father-in-law (Jo Sung-ha as Kim Cha-eon) who killed his mother and a wife (Han So-hee as Kim So-hye) pregnant with another man's baby, it's no surprise when Lee Yul becomes the target of a plot to eliminate him before he exposes the betrayals of those around him.

Hong-Shim, meanwhile, falls victim to a decree made by Lee Yul that demands all individuals of a marrying age find a partner to marry in the hopes that the weddings (and the resulting baby boom that is expected to follow a bunch of people getting married) brings rain to end the drought. Fiercely independent and self-sufficient in her own right, Hong-Shim tries to delay her inevitable pairing off by insisting she's engaged to a soldier from a neighboring village, Na Won-Deuk. Her lie can only take her so far though, and just when it seems like her life may be over for defying the Crown Prince's orders, her father discovers an injured amnesiac in the woods that he insists is his daughter's long lost betrothed. Little does anyone know that amnesiac is none other than Crown Prince Lee Yul after a botched assassination attempt.

The setup is obvious, but that's okay! There's nothing wrong with obvious or predictable. The true charm of this drama exists despite the predictability. Lee Yul/Na Won-Deuk is a man out of place in the rural village, struggling to cope with what feels "right" to him (fine goods, plentiful food, talking down to everyone, not getting his hands dirty, literally and figuratively) and what he's told he likes and does (manual labor, simple foods made of rather disgusting ingredients, a simple life). Hong-Shim is struggling with wrangling a loose-cannon of a husband while trying to survive in a world and system that has little to no regard for the lower class. She's left trying to clean up Won-Deuk's messes, while also trying to make life better for herself, her family, and her neighbors.

As a viewer, nothing can really compare to watching the two gradually win one another over. The pair set boundaries galore from the moment they were married, yet those barriers begin to lower as they find they might actually like or even love the person they are married to. Watching them come together and ultimately be torn apart is heartwarming and heartbreaking. Each struggles with who they are, who they want to be, and an immense amount of guilt and responsibility on their shoulders. You can't help but root for them to find their way through the dizzying maze they're trapped in by birthright, betrayal, and the actions of others.

While I've talked a lot about the leads, this drama wouldn't be half as good as it is without the supporting cast. Songjoo village is full of characters that will make you laugh and despair simultaneously. The characters in this series tend to be pretty black and white. The "good" characters are just that; they're loyal, loving, friendly, forgiving, and generous. The "bad" characters are greedy and heartless criminals with no qualms abusing their power and wealth while always on the search for even more power and wealth. There are very few gray characters in this series. For the most part, you're going to love or hate (in the way you're meant to) pretty much everyone you're introduced to. What makes that especially beneficial is there's not a lot of filler. Since you'll have pretty strong feelings about everyone, all scenes feel relevant and important to the overall plot, regardless of whether they're light or heavy.

The acting in this series is top notch. Everyone is believable in their roles, sometimes frustratingly so. This is the first time I've watched D.O. act and in the first few episodes I was a bit turned off by his performance which felt very clinical and mechanical and dry, but after a few episodes it became clear it wasn't bad acting and was instead Lee Yul's cold, detachedness. As Won-Deuk begins adjusting to Songjoo village and his place within it and opening himself up to others for the first time, a new side of Lee Yul/Won-Deuk begins peeking though, and that side is only expanded upon once he regains his memory and place within the palace. By the time the series comes to a close, the mechanical Lee Yul is gone, so if you start the series and have a similar experience of not connecting to/with Lee Yul... just keep going! D.O.'s performance actually ends up being one of the best parts of the series.

Personally, I'm not usually one for period dramas. I don't care for the class system, palace intrigue does little for me, there are a lot of formal roles/positions within the palace and society that I don't really understand or care to research, and the costuming can be as distracting as it is beautiful. Most of the period dramas I've started I've lasted an episode or so before I move on to something set in the modern era, but 100 Days a Prince easily hooked me.

The music wasn't anything especially memorable or noteworthy. The score was overall there as a background character, supportive and present, but not especially key or necessary to what was unfolding in front of it. I always love when the music is a character in and of itself within the drama, but this wasn't that. When I purchased the soundtrack after finishing the series, I was disappointed to find there were only a few singles released. "Erase It" by Gummy and "Cherry Blossom Love Song" by EXO's Chen are the highlights and worth a listen/purchase.

I will definitely rewatch 100 Days My Prince again in the future. It's not one I want to watch and rewatch back to back, I feel like it's one that needs to breathe a bit between viewings, but it definitely has rewatch potential. The characters are easy to grow fond of and the story is tried and true.

Overall, this was a really sweet drama with likeable leads that have tons of chemistry and charisma. Give it a try! You won't regret it.