"This series was written by a woman who intended to write the romance purely to create a "forbidden love" out of historical implications behind King's/Prince's position but remembered, last minute, it was still historical so they slapped together some cheap politics to create tension." - Me at the start of the drama.

I'm proud to say I was not wrong by the end of it. I do have some positive feedback to give so this isn't 100% negative. Just 90%.

I'll start off by saying I don't understand why this ended up being 20 episodes. It could have been concluded with the typical 16 episodes. HALF of the show didn't progress for it to deserve more. This is a classical example of bad writing. If it was shorter, the flaws of the drama would be less glaring.

My biggest problem with this series is the politics. If you are not a fan of politics, this drama is for you. However, out of all the historical dramas, this had to be the weakest power struggle I've seen in forever. The worse part? It ties in with the characters development/motives of our main lead because if the politics is weak then the character development is WEAK as well. And that's where our female lead come to play.

I'll admit that one of the best part of this drama is our female lead. She is charismatic, badass, emphatic and a woman with survival instincts. However, her potential is wasted on a writer who can't think beyond the romance. What's the point of making survival as her motives but do not take ANY MEASURES in ensuring she does? You can't seriously tell me hiding her identity is the powerful, woman empowerment development everyone deluded themselves into thinking? She does NOTHING except try to work hard within her limitations which makes no sense since she needs to create a path if she wants to survive. But instead she goes where the wind blows. Since she is a woman pretending to be a MAN (CROWN PRINCE) that means she will get married... how was she planning to keep her secret as a woman? She will eventually be pressured to give a "royal baby" but again, NO PLAN. She only tries to come up with something WHEN it happens. What about when she gets sick or gets hurt, does she have a trustworthy royal infirmary to help her? Nope, NO PLAN. Nothing. She kisses in public! Forgetting she is PRETENDING TO BE A MAN... again, no measures whatsoever. You can kiss in hiding... that would have been the MOST LOGICAL kiss scene... but NOPE. There was even another point I would mention that really shows BAD writing but that would be a manhwa spoiler so it won't be mentioned. She is one of those FL that start cool, promising, badass but then barely does anything after few episodes. You remember those dramas? This one is one of them.

She is a character that could be morally grey if the writer wishes her to be. The enemy are barely scheming against her. If anything, whatever they are scheming IN HER FAVOR from BOTH FRACTIONS. As I said, weak politics. I wonder if the writer realize the potential they had when they wrote this story. This could turn very dark or fluffy based on what direction the female lead could do if she took ACTUAL measures. It could also be a revenge story or self destruction story if the author realized that the female lead is a double edge sword that can use her identity for revenge. One of those "If I go down, you go down with me." It's such a shame she was a wasted potential.

I'll end this review with a positive note that this is for people who want fluff, romance, and the temporary misunderstanding/breakup before everything ends perfectly. People who enjoy rom-coms and want light hearted historical drama. Romance is positive aspect and this is really cute. If that's what you are coming here for, there is a high chance you will love this drama. It's sweet, diabetics and the chemistry is good. It's why people love it. I'm just disappointed they sacrificed the side plots for romance when they could have had BOTH.