To My Beloved Thief is a historical romantic comedy about a woman (Nam Ji Hyun) who unintentionally becomes a righteous thief that swaps souls with a prince (Moon Sang Min) who likes to help solve cases and has been pursuing her.
Nam Ji Hyun plays Hong Eun Jo who is the kindhearted daughter of a nobleman and a slave. By day, she is a doctor, but by night, she is a thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
Moon Sang Min is Yi Yeol who is a prince that enjoys solving cases in his free time, and that includes trying to track down that righteous thief, Hong Gil Dong. Then he meets Eun Jo and is quickly captivated by her.
Then we have Hong Min Ki as Im Jae I who is the second son of the Left State Councilor. He has a big secret that puts him at odds with Eun Jo and wants to cause her a lot of trouble.
Finally, there is Han So Eun as Sin Hae Rim. She is engaged to Jae I but eventually takes a liking to the prince and finds herself right in the middle of a lot of the action.
To My Beloved Thief was such a lovely drama! It really had it all with a well developed romance, friendship, complex family issues, lots of heart, and a helping of action. It engaged me right from the start, and I enjoyed it all the way through.
The drama is well written with a solid main story that ties in many subplots as well as important character journeys. It had great pacing too, and I was never bored.
It also has such lovely cinematography with so many beautiful scenic shots. The costumes are also gorgeous. It all worked together to create a nice world to spend time in.
The romance between Eun Jo and Yi Yeol was very nice. They start out a bit at odds, but a connection develops fairly quickly. The relationship then builds steadily from beginning to end in a subtle but very natural way. I loved that they actually talked to each other a lot and discussed plenty of important topics. They had to work together through many difficult issues, and I loved seeing how deeply they cared for each other.
Of course, this is a body swap drama. I was actually glad to see that the show took its time setting things up and laying out the stakes before the swap occurred. The body swap also doesn’t really drive the plot but more serves as developing the characters and deepening their relationships. I thought it was handled quite well.
We also get fleshed out stories for not only our main characters but for the supporting ones as well. This was so nice to see! I am so glad we had time to explore some of the complex issues that Jae I and his father were dealing with as well as touching upon issues involving Hae Rim, the King, and Eun Jo’s family. Several other characters’ stories connected to the plot were also woven in.
I know the trend in dramas these days is towards shorter episode counts, but I think To My Beloved Thief is a prime example of why having a higher episode count really helps to flesh out the characters and develop a world that feels lived in. It felt really good to just settle in and spend time in the well-developed world.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed To My Beloved Thief. It held my attention all the way through by delivering an engaging story, interesting characters and relationships, some action, and lots of heart. I had a really good time with this one, and it left we with such a nice feeling.
My Rating: 8/10
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