LOTS OF SPOILER AHEAD.

I have to preface all of this saying that I've really enjoyed this drama and I think that it really lives up to his reputation. I've just finished ep 21 and I feel like I've said goodbye to a group of close friends with whom I've been sharing years with.
Seeing these people go through thick and thin and witnessing their growth is really special and makes you feel really attached to both the main protagonists (especially our Gil Chae) and the rest of the cast.

But,

as much as I've loved part 1, I felt like part 2 could not live up to the first. I found it far less exciting and got really bored at some points with the king/politics/prisoners storyline in its second half, while I found the first episodes about Gil Chae being a prisoner more interesting.
Again every happy moment between the leads was always promptly follow by another separation.
I also didn't really like how the rest of the cast slowly faded on the back, in the last 2-3 episodes I don't really remember seeing Jong Jong, bang Du Ne, or even Eun Ae, if not for some brief glimpses. And I really missed the comradeship between the girls and their bond.

But what disappointed me the most was the last episode, for sure.
I didn't really get the flow of time, like we're supposed to believe that Ryang Eum has been locked in that psych ward for 23 years and he still locks 25 if not for the white hair. Also why and by whom was he imprisoned? The drama doesn't really explain that.
Gil Chae has lived we don't really know how many years believing that her husband is dead only to find out years later that he may still be alive, just because YJ decided casually to spill the beans like years after everything happened.
She then proceeds to find him after we don't really know how much time spent by knocking at every door in search of him. And when he finds him, he has lost his memory again except for the fact that he remembers that someone once described a house to him and I'm supposed to believe that he build an entire house on the mountains all by himself? I don't know....

I'm not saying I would have preferred him to be dead, because I was really happy at their well deserved reunion, but I found everything not really believable especially considering that he somehow escaped for the 6th time a sure death.

All in all, I think this is a really well round and complex drama, but after watching this and the red sleeve back to back I definitely need to take a break from all the angst and sadness.
Still would recommend it.