This drama tried to follow a political plot but it saddens me how much it failed in that aspect. I'll break down my likes and dislikes:

- Acting: the acting was both marvelous and sub par. You have a couple of veterans who, of course, pulled through. At the same time you have characters that didn't really convey what they were supposed to. I'll mention those who stood out:

The crowned prince: by far the best performance in this drama. His facial expressions were on point. He had this royal aura around him combined with confidence and consistency. It was like this role was tailored for him.  He only needs to work a little bit on his crying scenes because he looks like he's laughing instead of really crying.

Hong Ra On: the weakest acting came from her unfortunately. She lacked the heart to portray emotions. She was always looking down for no apparent reason. She didn't know how to convey what the character was supposed to be feeling. that's why most of the time her expressions were the same regardless of the situation.

The Queen: Marvelous acting on her part. Her evilness was palpable. I was even a little scared.

The rest were alright.

-Plot: This story needed work in both characterization and plot progression. You have a revolution that was only a revolution in name. Characters that spent their whole lives trying to spark a rise from the people but that plot point was converted into a plot device mid way. Nothing was done with it, It only served to put Ra On on her knees in front of the prince, with a sword on her neck so he could save her. I mean, what was even the point of Ra On's father's appearance? He was brushed aside fairly quickly after his introduction.

Ra On was a reactive character. She did nothing for the entirety of the series other than get captured by whoever and confuse the two love interests. She didn't feel like a main heroin at all. Her chemistry with the prince was questionable as well. At some points, I even felt bad for him because he was giving it all he got but she didn't have the same level of compromise. Also, I didn't understand her decisions. They didn't make one bit of sense.

Another thing to mention is that the politics here didn't make sense. How many times did the two ministers get caught red handed by the royal family and yet they were still there, unpunished?. Minister Kim also did some questionable things like killing a criminal that was being interrogated right before he was going to name the real culprits  and yet nothing was done. This was kind of frustrating.

-The cinematography, music and direction were average.

In average, I give this a 6.5/10. It could've been better if the female lead was someone with a more powerful acting.