I am conflicted about Empress Ki because for the first 30-ish episodes or so, it was so perfectly enthralling- to the point where I would say it was in the top 2 dramas I have watched. Actually even after watching tons more dramas since, it remains in my top 3 for dramas that grabbed hold of my heart and never let go. I actually felt physical pangs in my heart while watching this drama. It's a perfect mix of romance, wonderful characters, strong smart female lead, great martial arts action scenes, exciting fast-paced plot, beautiful cinematography, beautiful actors, makeup and costumes, great acting. I fell so in love with the story and characters within the first few episodes that the characters stayed in my mind throughout the day. The King and Nyang were so brave and noble and bad ass. And the Emperor character was so vulnerable and childlike. Despite his major character flaws, I rooted for him grow up and and be strong. The love triangle was so perfectly set up to be heartbreaking. The emperor's love for Nyang was so unwavering and pure. If you are worried about the length of the drama, that is not a problem. It goes by so fast, because each episode has so much plot going on and you just have to keep watching the next episode and the next to see what happens. After the first 20 minutes the plot was well underway. It didn't take the first 3 hours or so like many other dramas to get going. I was thoroughly hooked after 20 minutes. Having said all that, Empress Ki is heartbreakingly flawed. I don't have a problem with tragedy if it all makes sense. But the plot went crazy during the last third of the drama. I felt cheated because we were led to care for these characters in the first 30 episodes and in the last part we are just tortured by having to watch bad things happen to them over and over and over again. Character and relationship development came to a halt. Nyang's feelings and motives become ambiguous because we don't get to see her with the King or the Emperor anymore. She is just dealing with all the plot twists for most of the last part of the drama. Alliances keep shifting and the plot turns become almost repetitive. How many times can we see a character being tortured before it loses emotional resonance? The drama is no longer character driven at this point - but the characters we have fallen love with are now at the mercy of plot twists and evil characters. The over-arching revenge storyline felt rushed and anti-climactic. That was supposed to be the main conflict of the entire drama and it is treated as just another plot turn. The thing I hate most is that the main characters aren't given enough screen time together to keep up with the relationships that were developed so well in the first half. The scenes where they are actually together and interacting are really sparse in the last part of the story. The actions of even the most beloved characters were frustrating and hard to swallow. But still I Ioved the characters so much by this time I had to see it through. After watching it to the end, I feel like I have been strapped down in the imperial palace's torture chamber for the last several episodes and feel pummeled and depressed. Reading all the other reviews I see that not everyone feels the same way about the last part of this drama, so there is a good chance you will really love Empress Ki if you like melodramatic action historical drama. It definitely will grab you in one way or other. For me, knowing how let down I was by the second half, would I prefer to have never met these characters or started this drama to begin with? Well, I think I would probably go back and do it again. That's how much I loved Empress Ki despite it's major flaws. But I think I need a romantic comedy now to give my heart a break.