I watched the movie (Masquerade (2012)) one week ago and i liked the story,so i decided to start the series too. I have seen
Yeo Jin Goo in Beyond evil,liked his performance there and i wanted to see him in something different.

Music:Was on spot at every crucial scene,delivering all the right emotions.

Cast: All actors well chosen for their roles.
Acting: I will repeat myself and i dont care.Every time i write a review in a Kdrama i will always say that the majority of the Korean actors are too talended.After watching tons of series and movies from all over the world, i strongly believe Koreans belong to the very elite.Period.Same applies here.Outstanding performances from everyone.
Story:Interesting,engaging,heartbreaking.Full of hope.Full of despair.Shows how power can corrupt one and inspire another.
Long episodes but the pace is good and the story keeps going.You find yourself looking forward for the next episode without even realizing it!
Until episode 10 the drama was a solid 9.It was a marathon i enjoyed to run.But the last 6 episodes..Oh Gosh!What a ride!A sprint that left me breathless and dried but so satisfied.And the 9 became easily a 10!
The romance-fortunately for my taste-wasnt too heavy.Only in the later episodes was more intense,but the whole time supported the story perfectly.For those who really enjoys long and romantic scenes and the story revolves only around romance might be a bit disappointing.For me was the perfect dose.

Characters: Brilliant,powerful,well written characters with depth,with emotions,with strenghts and weaknesses.You feel their pain and their struggles.You put yourself in their shoes.You seek their revenge and their justice as it was yours!You can even justify the villains's actions,their evil shelves driven by power and money.Every character was substantial and had its importance for the story.Yeo Jin's char.I think this character,this dual role, gave him the opportunity to unfold his talent.This series surely enriched his Cv.
The madness in his eyes as the evil king.The kindness on his face as the good clown!Same face,two different persons,two opposite personalities.Yeo Jin Goo really nailed it!As the clown who had to take king's place he had to make many sacrifices,but walking down this dark and hard path he never lost himself .And that is what i loved the most about this char.He remained pure, he used the unexpected power he got for good.He had a vision and although he was a "fake" king he didnt want his people to suffer!All the way through he made the right choices.Many were hard and even cruel but all were for the best.
But it will be unfair not to praise Kim Sang Kyung as the Chief Royal Secretery(for his acting and his character as well)
He was the one who brought the clown to the palace.He saw the good inside him and felt there might be hope to achieve his dreams for a better nation through the kind-hearted fake king.For me this was the most interesting char and the pilar of the whole story.Eunuch Jo.Another outstanding character,same as Officer Jang.The definition of supportive roles.Without those 2 chars the story would't be complete.I havent mentioned the queen so far not because i forgot about her but because this role was more supportive than main.Her char was the weakest among all.It was the same typical queen role as in every historical Kdrama.No spine,no fire,no dynamic at all.Id love to see her been more energetic and take more decisions and support the king in a more powerful way.
Rewatch value:I gave a 5 because there are too many good Kdramas outthere waiting to be discovered and i only have 1 life and 24hrs per day!
I hope when you decide to watch this to enjoy it as much as i did!