The misunderstood prince

Just finished watching this drama today. I must say I'm quite surprised to see all the hate directed towards the prince by the viewers. I expected a wicked man after reading all the reviews but all I saw was a young man of twenty whose mother had been killed when he was born, who was brought up by the empress to be used as a pawn in her power games, who was used by his brother in the war against the empire's arch enemy so that he became the villain/hero of the piece depending on which way one viewed the episode, who had the misfortune to fall in love with the beloved granddaughter of the said enemy, who was hated by the girl he loved because he had killed her grandfather, who fell into the river of oblivion trying to save her, who lost his memory and had people he trusted lie to him and keep him in the dark, and above all, who fell in love with the same girl all over again having no memory of having loved her before.
Though the general tendency of the viewer is to love and sympathise with the princess, it is the prince's life that is truly tragic. She slowly recovers her memory - that is her tragedy. But he doesn't recover his - that is his tragedy. He succeeds so well in concealing his love for the princess and covertly protecting her from the machinations of the court and the threats from the inner court, that viewers are tempted to think of him as an arrogant and vile man.
I would have loved this story to have ended with some well-deserved happiness for the two of them, but it was not to be. But it was heartwarming that he kept his love for her alive in his heart, never married again, lived to be a good emperor and abdicated his throne to his nephew when the time came. The writer of this drama had never meant to show the prince in a poor light ; I wonder why the viewers did.

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I came to this with much apprehension as I had thought that the first season was brilliant and I couldn't imagine that a second season could match it in quality. But I  am so glad that I watched it for if it is not as brilliant as the first, it definitely is more beautiful. I was invested more emotionally into this.
The best thing here was the family, the love, trust and loyalty which gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling. The emperor and Tisheng , the father and his sons, Pingzhang and his wife - there were such heartwarming scenes between them.
And then the battle plans, the brilliant strategy, and the sword play were all stunning. I liked the fact that though there were a series of plots instead of a single one, the action flowed seamlessly from one plot to the next. And towards the end, the canvas grows broader and the scope widens before the story draws to a conclusion. The various threads are tied up satisfactorily and the end is as it should be.
I would unhesitatingly recommend this to everyone who loves period drama

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There are many aspects to this drama but what struck me most are the many faces of love portrayed here. There is the mother who wills her son to run away and live, the mother who chases her son away because she doesn't want hom to suffer a life like hers, an aristocratic grandfather who allows his beloved granddaughter to learn gunnery and attend a western school so that she will be better equipped to face the new world, a slave soldier who loves a noblewoman with a love so warm and protective though he knows he can never have her, a Japanese samurai heading a violent gang, obsessed with a love for her born out of a single act of kindness and an aristocrat, born to wealth, having known no hardship at all, frivolous, lighthearted, till he learns of the terrible things his family did.
Everyone of the five main characters touched my heart in different ways. The acting was on point. The humour was delightful especially as the relationship of the three men moved to a different level of empathy and understanding. The scenes in which Ae Shin learns English and Eugene learns Korean were delicious!
And most beautiful of all was the love story of the American Joseon soldier who didn't belong anywhere and the plucky young Go Ae Shin who fought to protect her motherland. He loved her but he hated Joseon and yet he helped her in every way he could. This is the best love story I have ever watched in a kdrama and I find myself going back to their scenes together again and again.

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This drama has squeezed my heart out of shape. It shocked, horrified, stunned and melted my heart by turn. It was heart-wrenching at times and shocking at other times. It is meant to show a dystopian Korea of the future but succeeds in showing the actual reality in many countries. The nexus between politics, judiciary and industry is exposed in all its rawness. The protagonist of the drama metes out justice in his own way but it is not always commendable. Sometimes you feel your heart stop at the methods he employs but you never doubt that he is on the side of justice.....wild justice, you could call it.
The acting is beyond perfect. Watching Ji Sung play the role of Judge Kang Yo Han, I had my heart in my throat most of the time. This actor gets better as the years go by and he always chooses to play unusual and powerful roles. After watching him, you cannot imagine anyone else in this role. The other actors do not disappoint either. But I would specially like to mention the one who played the President. He was such a repugnant character and his rabble rousing tactics were so reminiscent of certain politicians in history and at present.
The music enhanced the play and I would encourage anyone who enjoys a serious issue-based story, to watch this one.

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