THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show starts off very strong, with an opening that’s both comedic yet well thought-out, and follows up soon after, with glorious food scenes, which quickly become one of Show’s big anchors.

Unfortunately, I feel that Show kind of forgets to develop the other big anchor in this type of story, and that is, a believably strong love connection between our OTP. As a result, our OTP is very pretty, but their loveline lacks oomph.

Add on what I feel is a misguided amount of time spent on a cooking competition, that could have been spent on developing the OTP connection, and I can’t help but feel that there are too many missed opportunities in the making of this show.

Not bad, but could have been great. 🥲

THE LONG VERDICT:

My friends, I’m coming to the realization that with dramas, you really just never know.

Sometimes, you end up underwhelmed by a show that you’d thought you would love, and sometimes, you end up loving a show you’d thought you would be indifferent towards.

And then sometimes, a show comes along where you can say both of those things – like this one. 😅

I hadn’t felt too excited about this show, based on its premise and trailers, but then, I was immediately smitten, upon Show’s opening minutes, in episode 1.

But then, just as I was getting really comfortable in enjoying my watch, Show shifted gears, and even though I did my best, I failed to truly get on board with the different focus and handling that I perceived.

Slowly but surely, my initial charmed feelings towards Show started to fade, sob.

What a rollercoaster of emotions I went through with this one, yes? 😅

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review.

Overall, I found the music to be very pleasant; exactly the kind of pleasant, melodious tracks that I would expect of a romance-centric story, complete with a power love ballad in the mix.

I have to confess, though, that none of the songs actually got under my skin during the course of my watch. I found the music pleasant and effective when employed in-story, but it didn’t have any special staying power, for me personally.

If I had to pick a favorite, I’d go with Track 6, Falling Night; I found the plaintive wistfulness of the song quite appealing. 🥲 Here it is on its own as well, in case you’d prefer to listen to it on repeat instead. Just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about stuff I liked on a more macro level, before I give the spotlight to selected characters and relationships, in a separate section. Finally, I spend some time talking about my thoughts on the penultimate and finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. It’s really all about the food

Be prepared for lots of glorious food on your screen, because this turns out to be Show’s preferred focus – sometimes over and above the advertised romance.

Knowing to expect that, helps.

2. The romance is restrained

Overall, I’d say that the romance in this is treated with a fair amount of restraint, both in the writing and the execution.

Like, yes, there’s a central romance, but again, it’s treated with restraint and it’s better to go adjust your expectations around that.

3. A manhwa lens is helpful

I do find that a cartoon lens is pretty handy, because it definitely helps to smooth over any rough edges, and just help any logic stretches or gaps land a little better.

STUFF I LIKED

When Show is easy to watch

Remember what I said earlier about having a stretch where I really enjoyed this show?Well, I’d say that this was true for most of the the first half of my watch.

I just really appreciated how easy to watch Show worked out to be.

Yes, the episodes were unfailingly about an hour and 20 minutes in length (that’s longgg!), but somehow, it felt pretty easy to get to the end of an episode, instead of effortful.

I was impressed by this, and actively looked forward to new episodes each week.

When Show feels well thought-out

Given that I’ve already hinted that I wasn’t too taken with Show’s overall handling, you might be surprised to see this section at all.

The thing is, though, I did feel that Show was well-handled, at least in its earlier episodes, and I wanted to give credit where it’s due.

So here, in this spoiler section, I give an early example of when I thought Show came across as confident and well thought-out.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. Show grabbed with its opening scene, which I thought was well-chosen and well-executed (Yoona’s comic timing is pretty great).

This opening scene effectively sets the tone for the episodes to come, and also, informs me of the end result of these first two episodes of hijinks – that Ji Yeong would end up being appointed Heon’s head chef, and that basically buoyed me through all of the goings-on leading up to this point.

Coz, not gonna lie, these episodes are on the long side of things. 😅

However, I find that I actually rather like that Show takes its time to let things happen, because, realistically, it would take a lonnngg minute for someone to wrap their brain around the idea that they’d just time-slipped 500 years and landed in the Joseon dynasty, and then it would take another lonnngg minute for them to actually accept it, y’know?

This is admittedly unlike other transmigration dramas that I’ve watched recently, like The First Night with the Duke (review here!) and A Dream within a Dream (review is coming!), where the female leads in both shows basically accept their arrival in a new world quite quickly and readily, all things considered.

So yes, if you’ve gotten used to how quickly the female leads in those shows got settled in their new worlds, then you might find that Ji Yeong taking 1.5 episodes to accept that she’s 500 years in the past (where each episode runs at about 1 hour 20 minutes) can feel like a long time.

However, like I said, I feel like Show handles it all very well, actually, and I like that it manages to make it all quite entertaining, while allowing Ji Yeong the time that she needs to come to terms with her new reality.

[END SPOILER]

When Show is funny

Given that k-humor is often hit or miss for me, I was very pleased to find myself feeling highly amused, and even laughing out loud, at points, in the earlier part of our story.

The fish-out-of-water hijinks of Ji Yeong arriving in Joseon times was particularly funny to me.

Credit to both our leads, for pulling off the comedy so well.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I am really quite amused that when Ji Yeong encounters Heon in all of his Joseon glory, she immediately assumes that he must be a cosplayer, and a very dedicated one, at that. 🤭

After that, I did get a kick out of the tables being turned, when Heon gets shot by an arrow, and Ji Yeong ends up saving him.

It’s honestly quite hilarious how she ties him up and drags him along like an unwilling pet – because he won’t stop trying to kill her.

In that sense, you could say that he brought that indignity on himself? 🤭

E3-4. I thought it was a funny touch, to have Ji Yeong and Gil Geum (Yoon Seo Ah) feel so exhausted by all the nonsense, that they would actually welcome going back to the prison cell, and even willingly put themselves back into those wooden harnesses. 🤭

[END SPOILER]

The glorious food scenes

For some personal context, food is a national obsession here in Singapore, so I’m more than partial to a bit of glorious food on my screen. 😋

Therefore, when I saw the food in this show was very lovingly and prettily portrayed. It felt like a feast for my eyes, even though my stomach could not partake. 🥲

I felt that Show was better at this in the earlier episodes than the later ones, because in the earlier episodes, there was a distinct effort to give us an insight into the science behind Ji Yeong’s improvisations, and why they work.

That was quite thrilling, even apart from how delicious the food looked.

Another part of my thrill came from seeing the tastebud implosions that her dishes bring about, in the people who taste it.

However, I will say that by the late stretch of our show, it felt more like Show was going through the motions, a little bit, and that was bit of a downer, in my watch experience.

The underdog quality to our story

Although this is not marketed as an underdog story, I did get some nice underdog lashings, particularly in the first half of our story.

[BROAD SPOILERS]

This was when Ji Yeong has the odds stacked against her, because everyone, including Heon, views her with suspicion.

I got a kick out of Heon marveling at every new flavor that he experiences with Ji Yeong’s cooking, and I also got a kick out of how the food taster, Heon’s senior court lady (Park Joon Myun), also experiences that tastebud implosion at every bite. 😁

Each time this happens, it feels like a little victory for Ji Yeong, y’know?

[END BROAD SPOILERS]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The treatment of Show’s internal magic

Show plays it a bit fast and loose, when it comes to the workings of the magic that allows for the time travel that happens in our story world.

[BROAD SPOILER]

Although we get an indication that it’s the Mangunrok that allows Ji Yeong to time slip to Joseon times, there’s no real explanation for it, and honestly, we don’t actually ever find out if the eclipse had anything to do with it, because the eclipse only happens once.

Now that I’ve finished my watch, I’d even go far as to say that Show leaves it all very ambiguous, when it comes to the mechanics of the time travel, in relation to the Mangunrok.

However, I’m not too fussed about it, which is why it’s in this neutral zone.

And, I must admit, I do rather love the idea that the Mangunrok is written by Heom himself, though the logical part of my brain would have actually liked this to have been a cyclical connection, where the Mangunrok that he writes, summons her to the past, where she tells him about the Mangunrok – which he then writes, etc.

Yes, that would give us a more poignant sort of ending, but there’s something about this cyclical setup that appeals to me. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Show’s treatment of the politics

To my eyes, Show’s treatment of the court politics feels rather inconsistent.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Sometimes, the politics doesn’t feel very serious at all, what with a legit cooking competition that is positioned to have serious political impact on the country, in episode 6. 😅

This treatment would naturally lead most viewers to adjust their expectations to accommodate politics that lands on the sillier side of things.

However, by the end stretch, the politics leads to an actual bloodbath, which is the opposite of what I would expect from “silly politics,” y’know?

[END SPOILER]

This, in itself, wasn’t a deal-breaker for me, so I’m happy to let it sit in the neutral zone.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The terribly garbled Mandarin

Listen. I wouldn’t normally hold it against a show, if badly spoken Mandarin is featured, because I completely understand that these are not native Mandarin speakers, and that the actors involved, put in a great deal of effort to deliver the lines.

HOWEVER. This show assaulted us, again and again – and AGAIN, with terribly spoken Mandarin, to the point where it became highly distracting and extremely painful to listen to.

In particular, Kim Hyung Mook’s delivery is very weirdly garbled, with diction that seems almost non-existent, and a speech cadence that sounds unnaturally slow.

The only positive thing I have to say about his delivery, is that the tones are accurate, about 75% of the time. 😅

I don’t blame Kim Hyung Mook for this, because it was not his decision for his character to speak so much Mandarin. In fact, I read that he worked incessantly over many weeks with a language coach, to do his best with the Mandarin lines.

But I do blame the production for not choosing to dub him (and most of the other Ming characters, to be honest), for the sake of a smoother, more comfortable watch experience for viewers.

The way Show chooses to spend its screen time

I have to confess that I am disappointed in the way Show spends its screen time, in its second half.

[BROAD SPOILERS]

In episode 6, the cooking competition with the Ming delegation is introduced, and it literally does not conclude until episode 9. 🤪

At this point, please take into account the amount of terribly garbled Mandarin that we’re subjected to, in the process. (Even non-Mandarin speakers in our Patreon community confessed to finding the Mandarin scenes difficult to sit through. 😅)

What’s worse, it turns out that the cooking competition actually has no bearing on the finale, so there was no real reason for the competition to be so long drawn-out.

At the same time, I also felt like writer-nim was pulling back on teasing out the OTP connection.

In Show’s second half, we get a lot less of the slow burn building of the OTP relationship, but by the time we get to the finale, suddenly, our OTP is very deeply in love, and their love is epic enough to basically break the space-time continuum.

It feels like such a missed opportunity, because Show could have taken so much of that screen time that had been given to the cooking competition, and used it to build up and strengthen our OTP relationship in meaningful ways, so that by the time we get to the finale, their love would feel believably deep and epic.

To be brutally honest, it almost feels like writer-nim got tired of teasing out the nuances of the OTP relationship, and decided to fill up screen time with the cooking competition instead – and then just hoped that no one would notice, when the OTP relationship suddenly quantum leaps into deeply epic territory, in our finale. 🙄

Not my favorite thing that writer-nim did, by far.

[END BROAD SPOILERS]

Annoying characters [SPOILER ALERT]

This is more of a minor thing, but given how much else about the show that I wasn’t super happy with by this point, this minor thing definitely helped to amp up my sense of discontent, with Show.

I basically found a number of characters really annoying, chief of whom are Ming cook Ya Fei Xiu, and Grand Prince Je San.

While watching the cooking competition, I wanted to smack Ya Fei Xiu so many times; Seung You, who plays her, does a really good Annoying Smirk.

On that note, I also wanted to mention, on a tangent, that the characterization around Ya Fei Xiu is very choppy and uneven.

One minute, she’s refusing to admit any wrongdoing, and then, in minutes, she’s apologizing to Ji Yeong, saying that she’s learned the proper attitude a cook should have, and with a tear in her eye, no less. 🙄

It honestly felt whiplashy to my eyes, but whatever, it’s not a huge deal, since she’s just a small supporting character. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just wish the writing didn’t come across as being so lazy.

I also had a deep desire to smack Grand Prince Je San (Choi Gwi Hwa), whenever he puts on his foolish act in order to avert suspicion.

Like when Heon confronts him about Ya Fei Xiu’s allegation, that he’d been the one to give her Ji Yeong’s gochugaru.

The nerve of him, to laugh it off, and act like he’d thrown it out because it was an unknown ingredient, and he’d only done it to protect the throne. OREALLY. 🙄

But fine. I will concede that this means that the actors did well, in making their characters to easy to hate. 😅

SPOTLIGHT ON SELECTED CHARACTERS / RELATIONSHIPS

Im Yoona as Ji Yeong

The thing that I think works most in Show’s favor, is Yoona’s comic timing.

She might not be the strongest actress out there, but she does have an easy sort of charm, and she’s also unafraid to lean into the comedy.

She takes a no-vanity sort of approach to the comedy – and yet, she still comes across as very charming, in my opinion.

I found it easy to like and root for Ji Yeong as a character, and it helped, that Show makes Ji Yeong out to be a kind, good-hearted person, at her core. 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I like that Ji Yeong’s got a good heart.

Despite Heon’s efforts to kill her, she doesn’t leave him for dead, and then, later on, she offers him food as well, even though he keeps refusing to eat it.

E3-4. I do think that it’s Ji Yeong’s earnest pleas for Heon to spare the cooks, that nudges the Grand Queen Dowager (Seo Yi Sook) to finally say something; my gut says that if not for Ji Yeong’s relentless pleas, the Grand Queen Dowager would’ve likely just walked away and let Heon do his bloodthirsty thing. 😅

Additionally, I definitely feel that the whole reason the Grand Queen Dowager would speak in such an honest and heartfelt manner, so openly, which is very unusual for a royal, all goes back to how deeply Ji Yeong had managed to touch her, with the recreation of that dish that the Grand Queen Dowager’s mother had last served her, before her entry into the palace.

And so, I would give Ji Yeong a good amount of credit, for the first mercy-driven act that we see from Heon. 🥲

After the competition, I definitely enjoyed seeing the two cooks make peace with Ji Yeong, and I do respect Ji Yeong for choosing to be good-humored and gracious about everything, even though she doesn’t have to.

She’s a good soul, isn’t she? 🥲

E5-6. I had to chuckle at Ji Yeong getting all drunk and doing a rap-cum-dance party while completely sloshed, in the royal kitchen.

Hahaha! Yoona’s comic timing is really great. 😂

[END SPOILER]

Lee Chae Min as Heon

I would agree with most viewers, that Lee Chae Min is the breakout star of this show.

To be honest, I’d had my fair share of doubts, when Lee Chae Min’s last-minute casting was first announced. I just hadn’t seen him in anything that could give me a sense of confidence that he’d be able to pull off this role.

I needn’t have worried, honestly.

I ended up enjoying Lee Chae Min very much in this – wayyy more than I’d originally expected.

Considering that he’d reportedly not had much time to prep for the role, plus the fact that this is his first sageuk, that’s extra impressive.

I love that he glowers better than I’d imagined him capable of, though the glower on him kinda gives off traces of Puppy as well, it’s just that this particular fierce puppy actually does have the power to order your death. 😅

Second, his comic timing isn’t too shabby either, and he makes for a pretty great foil for Yoona’s comedic delivery of Ji Yeong’s more outlandish moments.

Not only that, I found myself feeling pleasantly surprised and impressed, at Lee Chae Min’s delivery of some of Heon’s more difficult scenes.

Very nicely done overall, I’d say.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I feel like a lot of Heon’s acts of tyranny – like sending Governor Hong (Kim Kwi Seon) into exile, and later, throwing Ji Yeong’s bag off the cliff – are explainable.

Like the fact that he’s actually fixated on having these officials know what it’s like to be unable to save the one whom they love, the way he’d felt helpless to save his own mother.

As for the way he treats Ji Yeong, I feel like it’s mostly out of petty revenge, for the way she’d treated him all brusque and rude, when she hadn’t believed that he was the King.

I do think that that, and the fact that she has magic culinary hands, are the reasons he decides to take her back with him to the palace.

E3-4. I like the fact that Lee Chae Min’s playing Heon as being sardonic with lashings of mischief, rather than truly evil.

Which is helpful, considering that we are almost guaranteed to be on a journey to understand Heon better as a person, and come to see the reasons he’s come to have the reputation of being a tyrant.

At any rate, I do think that Heon is being mischievous – devilishly so, yes – when he has Ji Yeong dragged to prison; I am so sure that in his mind, this is payback for the way Ji Yeong had treated him with unthinkable indignity, when she’d been convinced he was a weird cosplayer.

I’m pretty sure that that’s why he has that whole ruse set up, where he has his personal jester (who’s clearly a lot more than just a jester) Gong Gil (Lee Joo Ahn), take Ji Yeong and Gil Geum on that pretend escape from prison.

He sure looks like he’s relishing the fact that he’s messing with Ji Yeong, doesn’t he, even as he warns her not to try running away again?

He’s totally like a cat toying with a mouse, especially with the way he orders for Gil Geum to be tortured because of Ji Yeong’s insolence.

Which tells me that he’s very shrewd, and understands what makes Ji Yeong tick, because it doesn’t take two seconds for Ji Yeong to promise to never try to run away, ever again.

But that also tells me that he very much wants Ji Yeong to be in his orbit; he doesn’t actually want to kill her, even though he’s threatened to do so, more times than I can count now. 😁

At this point, I think that while he’s intrigued by Ji Yeong, the most pressing reason he wants her in his orbit, is so that he can experience more tastebud implosions, as he tastes more of her cooking.

Which is why his condition for not killing her, is that she cook for him – immediately, heh.

E3-4. I honestly really like that when Heon hears that Consort Kang (Kang Han Na) had been behind everything, he doesn’t try to rationalize it or sugarcoat it in any way; he heads right over to her quarters, to confront her.

Given what we’re told – that Consort Kang is his favored concubine – I feel that this says a lot?

I think this shows that he probably already had existing trust issues with Consort Kang, to be able to believe immediately, that she would be behind all these schemes to get rid of Ji Yeong.

Plus, I also think this tells us just how much he values Ji Yeong, that he would fall out with his favored concubine over her.

But of course, there’s also the thing where I’m sure at least a chunk of it likely has to do with Consort Kang not trusting his decisions, and trying to undermine his commands.

Importantly, when he starts to have what appears to be a kind of hallucinatory fit, from Consort Kang poking at his deep emotional wounds, he refuses to allow her to calm him like she usually does (she reaches for something in her drawer, which I can only assume is some kind of calming herb?).

He would rather suffer through the effects of the fit, than allow Consort Kang the satisfaction of being the one to calm him from it.

I think that says a lot about him.

[END SPOILER]

Heon & Ji Yeong

Overall, I thought that Lee Chae Min and Yoona were decently well-matched, both in terms of visuals as well as screen presence.

I do think that there could have been more spark and electricity between them, but perhaps that was deliberately dialed down to suit the sageuk tone?

As you’d have probably gathered from my earlier comments, I did not love how Show treated the OTP relationship, in its second half.

I feel like so much more could have been done to tease out the connection between them, and deepen their relationship, to a point where I could believe that these two people had a Big, Fated Love that was just Meant To Be.

However, I did like what writer-nim gave us in Show’s first half, where I felt like the slow burn connection between our OTP was pretty nicely handled.

If only that could’ve held up, in Show’s second half, yes? 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I do love that Ji Yeong’s first dish in Joseon, is a fancy bibimbap with browned butter and decorated with flower petals.

She takes this much care, after such a rough day, when she must be so tired and hungry – and I’m convinced that she’s truly passionate about the art of food preparation. 🥲

And of course, I love that Heon’s eyes light up the minute he tastes that bibimbap – with this, you just know that he’s pretty much a goner, since this taste can only come from Ji Yeong’s cooking skills, yes? 😁

But also, there’s that thing, where there’s something about Ji Yeong’s food and the way she feeds it to him, that reminds him of his late mother.

Aw. He’s even more of a goner then, isn’t he? 🥲

Not that he’s anywhere close to accepting or admitting that, at this stage in our story, of course. 😁

E3-4. The more I watch Heon, the more I see that he’s making sure to protect Ji Yeong, even though he’s putting up such an angry-growly sort of front.

Like when the ministers insist that he sentence her to death for allegedly causing Governor Hong’s exile, he says (and I paraphrase), “Very well, I will give a command,” but then marches up to her, and brandishing his sword, appoints her Chief Royal Cook.

And then when that cooking competition happens, thanks again to Consort Kang’s manipulation, he immediately insists on fairness in the competition; that the other cooks also lose an arm, if they were to lose.

When he doubles down on the penalty, that Ji Yeong will lose both arms if she still loses, I’m pretty darn sure that he’s just finding a way to help her get that additional ingredient that she needs – and that he’s that willing to bet on her ability to triumph against the other cooks.

And of course, Ji Yeong wins the competition – huzzah! 😁

The way Heon takes relish in reminding everyone of the penalty that the other cooks must face, for losing, strikes me as more of him wanting to prove a point – that people shouldn’t try to mess with Ji Yeong – rather than him actually being bloodthirsty, and wanting them to lose their arms.

At least, that’s what I’d like to believe. 😅

E3-4. I can’t help noticing that once Heon identifies Ji Yeong from among the people in his chambers, and retains her to talk him through his royal meal, he calms down immediately.

He’s no longer thrashing about and being scary as he was before the dinner was served; he’s practically back to himself now – and she hasn’t even started talking about the food yet.

It seems to me that just having her presence within his reach, is enough to calm him; something which I’m sure has to do with how he’s associated her with his mother’s warmth and care.

One of the things I enjoy about these food encounters, is that when Heon asks Ji Yeong about the food, they always somehow end up conversing, which then strengthens their connection that little bit more.

Like when Ji Yeong mentions that her mother had passed away when she was little; that immediately strikes a chord with Heon, because he’d lost his mother too.

E3-4. We get that tipsy kiss at the end of episode 4, when Ji Yeong brings snacks to a drunk Heon.

It strikes me as moment of vulnerability for Heon, where he’s reaching out to connect with someone with whom he feels he can trust, so I find that I don’t actually mind, that he leans in to kiss Ji Yeong.

Additionally, I reason that he’s moving in so slowly, that Ji Yeong had enough time to wriggle out of the way, but she opts not to.

Not that I think Ji Yeong actually likes Heon at this point, but I think that it’s giving her pause, to see Heon being so raw and vulnerable (kudos to Lee Chae Min, he did fantastic in this scene 🥲).

Perhaps she’s not hating the raw vulnerability, and that’s why she allows the kiss?

E5-6. In the wake of the kiss, Ji Yeong basically simmers continually with rising, offended anger, until she basically explodes, and it’s honestly quite funny, because Yoona’s comic timing is, like I’ve said before, pretty darn great. 😁

I love how Ji Yeong’s not at all intimidated by Heon, and keeps giving him these obvious side eyes, and not even bothering to hide her sarcasm, while serving him his royal meal.

I’m really quite amused that by this point, she’s got Heon wrapped around her little finger, in a manner of speaking, because it’s Heon who ends up looking intimidated, and commands that they be left alone, so that he can ask her about what had happened the night before. 😁

I know it’s not exactly inventive, but I just love the dynamic of Heon being all puzzled by Ji Yeong, and walking on eggshells around her. 🤭

Speaking of inventive, I thought I should mention that the way Show treats the burgeoning connection between Heon and Ji Yeong is also not anything new.

In fact, there’s a fairly liberal use of romantic tropes, but somehow, Show manages to make the tropes feel welcome, like it’s some kind of comfort food for my fangirl soul, instead of something that’s overused and tired.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I personally enjoyed every trope that Show employed these episodes, in service of nudging our OTP closer to each other – yes, including that dual fall at the end of episode 5. 😁

E5-6. I kinda love the idea that even though Heon’s all up in arms over the fact that the Ming envoy is up to something, he still has the wherewithal to ask Song Jae (Oh Eui Shik) about the situation with Ji Yeong. 🤭

And, even though Heon’s first instinct is to bluster that he shouldn’t have to think about a gift for a woman, particularly after having bestowed his favor on her, I rather like that he’s actually quite open to learning to do things differently – all in the hope of appeasing Ji Yeong. 😁

I also really like that Heon doesn’t seem to fight too much with himself, as he starts to realize that he sees Ji Yeong as much more than a cook.

Well, yes, he does refuse his royal meal for a while, but he gives in soon enough, and asks for his royal meal, while cognizant of the fact that he misses Ji Yeong. Aw.

E5-6. I also like that Heon’s now starting to have a really relaxed, happy, childlike response to the food that Ji Yeong serves him.

You can tell that he looks forward to the food, and is just leaning into the flavors and enjoying them. The joy and satisfaction that he leaks, while tasting her food, lands as trust, to my eyes. 🥲

Plus, he now proactively tells her that the food is delicious, and that’s a detail that I really like as well, because it feels like he’s letting down his guard and opening up to her.

I love that Ji Yeong takes satisfaction in all of this, and shows it, in the way she walks with a skip in her step, away from Heon’s quarters – and I love that he watches her skip away, and takes satisfaction in that too.

And then, when Consort Kang takes it upon herself to present Heon with that post-examination meal, I like that Heon basically has Ji Yeong’s back, and protects her when Consort Kang insinuates that Ji Yeong had disrespected her by preparing a meal anyway, despite her orders.

E5-6. Another component of the food experience that I look forward to, is seeing how Heon paints the dish into the Mangunrok, and writes down the things that he’s learned from Ji Yeong, in relation to the dish.

I love the idea that he’s extending his enjoyment of the dish, in this way (much like how I extend my drama enjoyment, by writing about it 😉).

And I must say, I was very much persuaded by the very pretty scene at the end of episode 5, where Heon meets Ji Yeong at the greenhouse.

Gosh, sooo many beautiful flowers, and the CGI butterflies just make everything that little bit more magical, as Heon offers her the use of the greenhouse, and gives her back her bag.

I do love that keen sense of hyper-awareness on both sides, as Ji Yeong realizes that Heon’s gone to all this trouble, to make sure that she’s no longer upset, and Heon realizes that he most definitely sees Ji Yeong as a woman.

Like I said earlier, I find that I am eating up the various tropes that Show serves up, from the way Heon and Ji Yeong fall into a heap in the middle of that beautiful greenhouse and end up within literal kissing distance, to the way he fusses over the scrape on her palm, afterwards.

It brings back all of those nostalgic squee-type feels from all my years of drama watching, and I’m just grinning happy grins over here, as I lap it all up. 😁🥲

E5-6. We have the whole “going to the market” beat in episode 6, which gives us more romance tropes, like the classic makeover, with Heon insisting that Ji Yeong put on a nice hanbok for their trip to the market.

And at the market, of course we have the trope where the male lead buys stuff for the female lead, specifically an item that she looks at, but walks away from. 😁

I do really enjoy the detail, that it’s not just Heon thinking of Ji Yeong and buying stuff for her; we also have Ji Yeong thinking of Heon and getting him that spray of irises, because irises help to soothe the mind. 🥲

It clearly says a great deal, that Heon would put aside royal decorum, and squat down to pick up the irises from the mud, together with Ji Yeong – because she wants to pick them up, and because she wants him to have them.

I’m a sucker for all these details that indicate that Ji Yeong’s much more important to Heon than she realizes. 🥰

And of course, how about that beat, where Heon shows that he’s learned to interpret Ji Yeong’s hand signals muchhh better now, and increases the time frame for preparing ingredients for the cooking competition, from 3 days to 5 days.

I do love this idea that Heon’s open-minded and willing to learn. 😁

E7-8. It’s not at all surprising that Heon would insist on going with Ji Yeong on her trip out to seek out Jang Chun Saeng (Ko Chang Seok), as well as to gather ingredients, though it is a little amusing, that he mainly can’t stand to see Ji Yeong and Song Jae on such chummy terms, and is horrified at the thought that they might be mistaken for a married couple.

Ha. I do kinda love the petty jealousy.

What I like even more, though, is Heon’s instinct to protect Ji Yeong, when they encounter danger.

Every single time he believes them to be in danger, he unfailingly shields Ji Yeong, whether it’s against exploding rice puffs, or assassins out for Ji Yeong’s life.

Plus, Heon proves to be pretty great with a sword, and actually capably saves Ji Yeong from multiple assassins.

And then, there’s also how he puts his own outer garment around her shoulders, while she sleeps, so that she doesn’t catch cold. Aw.

Altogether quite appealing, I must say. 😁

[END SPOILER]

Ji Yeong and Gil Geum

I am very pleased that Show gives Ji Yeong a new friend in Gil Geum – who just happens to be played by Yoon Seo Ah, whom I enjoyed very well when she played Baek Yi, in The Tale of Lady Ok (review here!).

Yoon Seo Ah immediately makes Gil Geum likable, in her guileless, wide-eyed sort of way, and I found myself taking to her right away. 😁

I enjoyed this simple, pure, (almost) instant yet steadfast friendship between them, and would count this as a highlight of my watch. 🥰

Kang Han Na as Consort Kang

I’ve come to really enjoy Kang Han Na as an actress, so I was pretty stoked to see her as Consort Kang, at least at first.

I found it trippy to see Kang Han Na as Consort Kang, since the last time I’d seen her in a Joseon setting, in Bloody Heart (review here!), she’d been chosen to be Queen. 😁

That said, I do feel, with the benefit of hindsight, that Consort Kang is rather under-written, as a character.

She only really shows up when writer-nim needs her to scheme or glower in the direction of the OTP, and that feels like a big waste of Kang Han Na’s talents, honestly.

However, I will say that Kang Han Na delivers a quality performance nonetheless.

Even when I disliked Consort Kang as a character, I was cognizant of the fact that Kang Han Na was delivering her with thought and nuance.

Special shout-out:

Park Joon Myun as Heon’s senior court lady

I just had to give a shout-out to Heon’s senior court lady, who does the food tasting for him.

She barely has any lines, really, yet manages to convey a nice amount of meaning.

For example, just by her manner, I could feel that our senior court lady looked forward to the food tasting, and was totally on Ji Yeong’s side, and I love that. ❤️

Ko Chang Seok as Jang Chun Saeng [MINOR SPOILERS]

I just wanted to say that I did like our quirky inventor Jang Chun Saeng and his various creations, from rice puffer machine, to actual weaponry.

I found his brand of cheerful eccentricity quite cute, and perked up whenever he showed up in our story world.

Jo Jae Yoon as Tang Bai Long

I also wanted to give a shout-out to Jo Jae Yoon, who plays Ming cook Tang Bai Long.

[MINOR SPOILER]

After seeing Jo Jae Yoon play so many shady characters, I found it a refreshing change, to see him play a principled and passionate character, who’s willing to go against authority, if his conscience says so. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODES [SPOILERS]

E9-10. Y’know, while watching these episodes, it occurs to me that I can literally feel Show shifting gears, in preparation to take us into the finale.

Suddenly, it feels like things are turning more poignant and wistful, even as the palace machinations ramp up, and I’m not quite sure what kind of ending to expect, from our show.

Backing up to the top of these episodes, though, the first thing I wanted to say, is, THE COOKING COMPETITION IS FINALLY OVERRR.

Honestly, looking back at these episodes, I have to conclude that the cooking competition lands more as narrative filler than anything else.

While it was going on (and on.. and on..), I told myself to be patient, and wait and see if the cooking competition had any real bearing on the finale that Show wanted to give us.

Now that the cooking competition is finally over, it really doesn’t seem like the competition itself has any relevance to our upcoming finale, especially with Show changing gears after the competition.

My only conclusion is that writer-nim was just looking for an excuse to give us more glorious food shots, along with imploding tastebud fantasy sequences, and a cooking competition seemed like an easy answer. 😅

To be brutally blunt about this, I actually felt like some of the competition beats were kind of dumb. 😅

Like the way the Ming envoy (who’s still torturing us with his garbled Mandarin, this time including in voiceover! 🙉) cartoonishly gives the Joseon team a ridiculously low score, then makes contorted faces pretending that he hadn’t done anything wrong, when Heon gets mad about it.

I also thought Heon belatedly realizing that he’d been rash to bet Joseon’s future on a cooking competition, was also kind of dumb, because if Show was going to have him do this in service of more food scenes, then they should’ve just continued to pretend that it was really that momentous and important.

Don’t make Heon look like stupid by allowing him to apply actual normal logic all of a sudden, and realize that it was not a good idea to bet the nation’s future on the result of a cooking competition, because this means that Heon had literally been an idiot about this in the first place, y’know? 😅

I also thought that the whole thing about the Ming cook not being able to eat food ever since attaining a high level of competency was nonsense. How could he be alive, after what seems to be years of not eating?? 🙄

I confess that I found this beat, of Ji Yeong recreating the taste of home for this cook, rather hokey (sorry if you loved it 😅).

I did find some amusement in Jang Chun Saeng’s grand entrance, where he flies one of his own inventions right into palace grounds. The was pretty fun, as was the beat where he looks up at Heon and cheerily acknowledges him in his red dragon robes.

Mostly, though, I was just pleased to have the cooking competition wrapped up, and the Ming representatives sent on their way.

The envoy being put in his place by the Grand Queen Dowager was helpful, and I’m glad that the possibility of Ji Yeong being taken as a tribute woman wasn’t given more screen time.

Thinking back on how much time this cooking competition took up, and how little it matters in the grand scheme of our story, I really would have much preferred if writer-nim had swapped out the competition for more meaningful time between Heon and Ji Yeong.

Because, the thing is, Show’s starting to ramp up the loveline in episode 10, and with how little time we’ve spent focusing on teasing out the connection between Heon and Ji Yeong, it all does feel a little sudden, to my eyes.

Rather than being able to completely understand how deeply he cares for her, and how she’s starting to realize that she cares about him too, I find myself reaching for the idea that they have to, because they are our OTP, and they just do. 😅

I seriously think that would have been a much more productive use of the cooking competition screen time.

But anyway.

I rationalize that the crisis that Heon and Ji Yeong then go through, with Ji Yeong being accused of poisoning Grand Prince Jinmyeong (Kim Kang Yoon), and getting tortured and thrown behind bars, acts like a pressure cooker and speeds up the entire process, just like the pressure cooker that Ji Yeong uses had sped up the tenderization and cooking of the ogolgye. 😁

I do have to sell it to myself, and I do have to squint a bit in order to buy what I’m selling myself, but I’m rationalizing that this life-or-death situation brings out the depth of Ji Yeong’s and Heon’s feelings for each other.

The way Ji Yeong puts Heon first, in pleading with him to refrain from violence, and instead, find a way to prove her innocence, and the way Heon looks like he’s literally willing to throw everything away, if it means saving Ji Yeong’s life, do speak of deeper feelings than we’ve seen thus far.

You could say that this is the thing that levels up the intensity of their connection, yes?

That said, when Ji Yeong gets those 3 days to prove her innocence, I did feel quite antsy and impatient, while she leisurely and smilingly accompanies Heon during his afternoon meal.

I just couldn’t help but feel like they didn’t have the time to waste on being sweet, because time was of the essence, and they needed to clear Ji Yeong’s name as soon as possible. 😅

But maybe that’s just me. If you didn’t feel the same time pressure, maybe you might have enjoyed the sweet moments more.

That said, I do appreciate that we can see Heon visibly settle into a more relaxed, grounded sort of state, once he has Ji Yeong back by his side; I do like the idea, that she has that effect on him. 🥲

I also like that they work together to investigate the mysterious poisoning; I like the idea of them putting their efforts together as partners, rather than, say, Heon telling Ji Yeong to just leave it to him, as some other male leads might do.

Yay for Gil Geum’s amazing sense of smell, which eventually clues them in to the real cause behind Grand Prince Jinmyeong’s poisoning, which then leads to them being able to identify the antidote that would cure him.

It is admittedly a little predictable by now, that Ji Yeong would have the insight as to why Jinmyeong’s having a seizure in response to the antidote, but I’m willing to roll with that, because that’s such a big part of our premise.

That said, I did feel quite perplexed that so much time was wasted, while Jinmyeong was seizing.

First, there’s how the Queen Dowager (Shin Eun Jung) keeps refusing to feed Jinmyeong both the antidote and the special nourishing broth that Jin Yeong makes for him.

After she’d relented and fed him the antidote, and after it had been emphasized to her that Ji Yeong’s food was not the reason Jinmyeong had bene poisoned, it just feels frustrating to have her then backpedal and refuse to feed him the broth, because she doesn’t trust Jin Yeong.

And then, there’s how Heon spends time describing the taste of the broth and the effects on his body, before urging the Queen Dowager to feed it to Jinmyeong.

It all just felt like a lot of time was wasted, while Jinmyeong’s lying there, barely conscious? 😅

I guess I’m more willing to sacrifice the focus on food in service of logic in our story than writer-nim is, so if you’re more in tune with writer-nim than I seem to be, this might not have been an issue for you. 😅

Elsewhere, Gong Gil gets closure about his sister’s death, which turns out to have been ordered by Consort Kang, because Sis had apparently had the audacity to try to win Heon’s favor.

And, we also see Consort Kang tearfully kill Chu Wol (Kim Chae Hyun), her trusty murderous court lady, in order to silence her.

This totally gave me Money Flower vibes (if ya know, ya know 😉 – but also, review here!), and I do think that Kang Han Na delivered the scene well, coz I was convinced that Consort Kang genuinely believed, in her twisted mind, that she was doing the right thing, even while she shed tears in killing Chu Wol.

Meanwhile, we finally get some formal movement on the OTP front, as Ji Yeong, believing that Heon might have found the Mangunrok, is confronted by her wistfulness at the idea of leaving Joseon to go back to her own world, and as Heon finally makes a proper love confession, sorta.

At least, he tells her that he doesn’t want her to leave, and asks her to be his companion – and then gives her a ring as a token of his sincerity, before kissing her.

And unlike the first time, this time, he’s sober, and Ji Yeong’s willing, which makes the kiss quite sweet. 🥲

Clearly, though, our OTP will encounter more challenges and complications in our finale episodes, because, as we see, Grand Prince Je San has prepared a sly surprise for Heon, in the form of his maternal grandmother (Ye Soo Jung), who holds evidence that’s related to Heon’s late mother.

I have to confess that I feel like the past few episodes have been a rather uneven ride, but I am admittedly still very curious to see what Show has up its sleeve, as it takes us to the finish line.

Fingers crossed that Show sticks the landing – and may our ending be a happy one!

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

E11-12. Now that I’ve finished watching the finale episodes of our foodie show, the biggest thought on my brain is really, “Wow, this is very kdrama.” 😅

The next biggest thought on my brain, is, “Y’know, I would have enjoyed this a lot more, if Show had spent more time and effort teasing out the OTP relationship.”

This honestly reminds me of the thing with The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract (review here!), where the OTP relationship is supposed to be epic enough to basically move heaven and earth, but not enough time is spent establishing that – which makes the ending land on the hollow side of things, because when it tries to lean into the epic, the epic isn’t truly there.

This isn’t as bad, thankfully, but essentially, I feel like the same dynamic is at play for me, where I understand what Show is going for, but because my watch experience hasn’t drawn me into the strength of the love of our OTP, it all lands on the more hollow side of things.

I did my best to just take it on good faith, that they just are that in love with each other, but that approach gave me limited success.

Aside from this very key, fundamental issue, I do appreciate what Show was going for with this ending, in principle.

I’ve always liked the way some dramas suggest alternative truths hidden between the pages of history (see 2013’s Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love – review here!, and 2011’s The Princess’s Man – review here!).

And so, I enjoy the creative thought behind the idea that this particular king, known to be a tyrant in history, might not have been a tyrant after all.

In order to maintain history, I understand the reason why we had to have a bloodbath in these finale episodes.

(However, I do take issue with how some of our favorite supporting characters are killed off so needlessly – like the Head Eunuch! And Heon’s senior court lady! 😫😫 Show could’ve kept them alive and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the ending, yes? 😭)

One scene that I did appreciate, in these finale episodes, is Heon’s response to the reveal, that the Grand Queen Dowager had been behind the order for his late mother’s execution.

I thought Lee Chae Min did an excellent job of this scene, which had Heon going through waves of emotions, and barely hanging onto his self-control and sanity.

Big props to Lee Chae Min; I do think that this scene establishes that he has more acting chops than I’d originally thought. 🥲

Also on the topic of this scene, I did absolutely go, “Huh??,” at the beat where Ji Yeong hands that piece of chocolate to Heon’s maternal grandmother, and the chocolate brings her back to her senses, thus allowing her to announce the late deposed queen’s last words.

I kid you not; I literally paused the episode to google why the chocolate would bring back her back to lucidity, but I could find no answers.

Show presents it as a gamble, but seriously, there has to be some kind of basis for Ji Yeong to decide that the chocolate was worth a gamble? Coz, why not something else besides chocolate, right?

I thought this beat in particular was very weak.

Another beat that I felt was weak – but which I was willing to roll with, because it’s sooo kdrama 🤭 – is the one where Ji Yeong picks up Heon’s journal, and realizes that the Mangunrok that she’s been searching for, had been written by Heon himself.

It’s honestly ridiculously funny that she would have this extended moment of discovery and shock – she’s literally standing there, flipping through all the pages of the Mangunrok – while Heon’s busy fighting off Je San and his men, and she’s just loosed herself from being bound, as Je San’s hostage.

But, because other kdramas have done similar ridiculous things where they extend certain moments into eternity (like in the ending of 2012’s Moon Embracing the Sun – review here!), I’m willing to just shrug this one off.

As for the ending where Heon time slips to the future, to look for Ji Yeong, I like the idea, but am less enthused about the execution.

I’m willing to buy the idea that Heon had somehow managed to find his way to the future using that single page of the Mangunrok, and I’m willing to look past the fact that Show doesn’t bother to clue us in on how that works.

I get the concept that Show’s going for, with many things in our finale echoing early beats in our story, like Song Jae (now Steven) criticizes Ji Yeong’s food, and is interrupted by Heon.

HOWEVER.

Does Show seriously expect me to believe that Heon would wait for an unspecified period of time, where he learned at least enough about the modern world, to acquire a suit, before seeking out Ji Yeong??

That doesn’t make character sense, does it?

Given how deeply Heon is portrayed to love Ji Yeong, I would think that he would seek her out right away, upon arriving in 2025?

Ok, fine, it would take him some time to actually locate her, and perhaps in the meantime, he’d figured out how to acquire modern clothing – but then surely he’d be a lot less calm and collected when actually seeing her again??

Ok, ok. Maayyybe Heon’s just putting on a calm and collected front, in order to appear cool in front of Ji Yeong..?

See how I’m grasping at straws here, to make it make sense?

This is where I feel like writer-nim chose the coolness of echoing earlier scenes, over character consistency, and I’m personally in the camp that doesn’t prefer that.

At the very least, Show could’ve given us a glimpse into Heon’s inner journey, even if it had to be in an epilogue?

And so, even though I like the idea of Heon finally making good on his promise to make bibimbap for Ji Yeong, and I like getting to see Heon and Ji Yeong happily together again, I’m still left with a vague niggling feeling of dissatisfaction, as I reach the finale.

I liked this drama, overall, but it feels like a wasted opportunity, because, with the right tweaks to the writing, I could have unreservedly loved it instead. 🥲

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Has more potential that it cares to utilize, but is, overall, reasonably enjoyable.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is Would You Marry Me [Korea].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on Would You Marry Me here!

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Shin’s Project [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Legend of the Female General [China]

VIP (US$15): +Would You Marry Me [Korea]