Two of my favorite actors in one drama? Count me in!
That's what I thought when I saw the cast list with Woo Do Hwan and Yang Se Jong on it and I wasn't disappointed.
Having seen them in Mad Dog and Duel before and knew they are talented and aspiring actors.
I was happy though to see that all of the cast were doing a perfect job. I was drawn into this drama instantly.
My review probably won't do this great drama justice but I want to try nonetheless.

The synopsis tells everything you need to know at the beginning. The best friends Seo Hwi and Nam Sun Ho both strive for a "better" country. Each with different dreams and values as they struggle with their current perspective of life.
But wanting to make a change in the governance of the country means you'll get in the middle of power struggles and will have to bear the consequences...
The story itself is full with said power struggles so you'll get to see a war in the first few episodes and more fights later on throughout the drama and in the middle of them, our male leads.
War, Power Struggle and Tragedy, you'll see it all.
Actually none of them could be considered my favorite thing to watch. Quite the opposite.
Which is probably why I took a break after the half of the drama as it got pretty intense and a bit too much for me even though I loved it, I craved for something more lighthearted in between.
But when I picked it up again I finished it in a couple of days and binge watched it. There is romance in this drama, actually more than one pairing (no love triangle) and I adored each one of them. It shows beautifully that even amidst war there is this flower called "Hope" blooming.

The cast is awesome and their acting superb. I came for Woo Do Hwan and Yang Se Jong and stayed for all of them.
I cheered for couples, enjoyed the playful banter between friends and comrades and watched with curiosity the dialogues between those who fought for power.
Specially Kim Seol Hyun was a joy to watch. She's playing a smart and strong female that grow in the progress of the story. I loved the scenes with her. Also the supporting characters. I grew fond of quite a lot which makes it hard to say goodbye to this drama. I'll be back for a rewatch for sure!

The music is a gem for the ears. The first time I heard the melodies I fell for it and got the OST for my playlist.
It fits the drama perfectly but can also be listened to on its own. There are calm tunes and epic ones, you'll have to check it out.

The rewatch value for me is high. I enjoyed the emotions this drama showed, the cast, the acting, the story and how the characters developed. I'm not claiming it's perfect as tastes differ, but I really love it and can only advise you to give it a go when you consider watching it.

I have a thing or two against impervious plot armors that goes to the extremes and this drama was structured around that. The way these characters shrugged off serious injuries and strong poisons without a hitch was just plain comical circus performance. It made the whole series lose its credibility and left this sour taste lingering in your mouth. The characters transformation and development marred the story with crazy inconsistencies and illogical character arcs for the sake of forced progression. Everything went downhill after episode 4, it relied on these outlandish situations that made it way too hard to remain invested. It strained our ability to suspend disbelief way too often to be forgiven. One of the action soundtracks was straight up just a Eurobeat soundtrack, really odd and unfitting choice. Kinda ruined some action scenes. On the bright side, we had Jang Hyuk and some nice action scenes.