Just another historical drama confirming, yet again, how much I don't like seeing 'Choi Soo Jong' in a historical setting. You would be dreaming if you thought the drama will utilize the 200-episodes runtime wisely. Expect a lot of useless scenes/chapters/arcs/stories/characters. I really wish they didn't waste too much time with the childhood period, the first +20 episodes were too much for an introduction. A quick introduction of max 2-3 episodes would have been way more than enough to establish what needed to be established.

When zooming out, the drama is split into 3 major parts. The first 1/3 consisted of the back story and the personal relationships. The second 1/3 consisted of forming the religion then turning it into a cult and watching madness ensues. The last 1/3 is was just generic wars and battles. The last 1/3 had a major tone shift and turned the drama into something different. It was a bit too disconnected to associate it with the first 2/3 after what had been already established. It should have been its own thing and the drama should have ended after the second 1/3. I feel for those who had to watch it serializing for 2 years, the shifts were too unpleasant as if they were jumping different shows.