So My Dearest ended the 2023 year strong for sageuks and now 2024 is off to a great start thanks to Knight Flower and also Captivating the King. The latter was more of a slow burn start and the ratings have only in the most recent episodes 9-10 nearly doubled from the premiere. The reviews are stellar for male lead Jo Jung Seok and the gorgeous poetic directing, but weak with the feedback on Shin Se Kyung and the script which reportedly has her doing stuff that doesn’t make sense from motivation or practical standpoint. It sucks that the female lead is more often then not given to doing dumbass things to keep the plot going and it doesn’t help here that Shin Se Kyung is actually doing okay but Jo Jung Seok is acting circles around her.