Unfortunately the interesting premise gets increasingly bogged down in predictable makjang plot twists, and the characters become more and more incomprehensible and poorly motivated as the romantic conflicts drag on and on without resolution. This kind of soapy romance could still have been enjoyable, however, IF the mangaka was able to properly portray the over the top emotions involved. This is the key factor that made me drop this series half way through the third arc- the characters just DO NOT EMOTE in a satisfactory way. The mangaka doesn't have a perfect grasp of how to convey motion and flow in general, and subtle facial expressions are definitely way beyond her. The experience was exactly like watching a high budget, beautifully costumed, beautifully produced historical fantasy drama cast entirely with wooden idol actors. Eventually it got so frustrating I just couldn't keep going.
