Post by ajk on Jan 12, 2017 21:28:10 GMT -5
Some parts of this episode were actually pretty good. Other parts of it were ridiculous.
This war storyline, it was great to get into it because it at least loosely follows the events of the real JB, stepping in to support Kim Woo-jing and remove the illegitimate king. They've kind of rushed into the war story, and that's too bad because there's a lot that can be written and presented about it--all kinds of opportunities for good backstory and background and we really didn't get any of that But at least the storyline is interesting right now. Plot-wise this was a very satisfying episode...
...that is, up until the end scenes. The whole sequence with the military supply shipment was like something a middle school would do. Seriously. We're told how absolutely crucial it is to protect the supply line from Chunghae for the sake of JB's entire army. Then we see the supply convoy--maybe a dozen porters on foot, one wagon of hay bales, a few lightly armed men, and Lady Jung-hwa leading it (?!?). Of course it's television and these scenes cost money, but a scene like that, it's better to not show it at all rather than show it so inadequately. And then when we see the wrecked convoy later, all of the supplies are all still there! UUUUGGGHHH. The whole point of the attack was to break the supply line--the supplies would have been seized or destroyed by the enemy. Just leaving the supplies there for JB to pick up, it accomplishes nothing! The whole sequence was just awful, no excuse for it.
And now we have a silly damsel-in-distress cliffhanger with Jung-hwa. All Madam Jami needs now is an evil laugh and a mustache to twirl.
And now the pirate/mass murderer/major criminal is a major general? Not to keep harping on this, but trying to bridge the same character over from pirate to insider, it absolutely does not work.
"Why would the king take his own life?" As usual, Master Jo with the sensible question. And I was kind of surprised that Neung-chang would just quietly accept an order to arrange for the king's murder. Always thought of him as a little more than just a do-what-I'm-told goon. Guess I was wrong.
Why is the wanna-be king leading his army, right out front where any sniper's arrow can kill him? You see this a lot in these historicals and it drives me nuts.
Hmm, JB's army camp looks suspiciously like Yi Sa-do's rebel army camp in China.
"He's not bad." That was awfully funny, the deadpan from Kim Yang. Of course that was as much as he was willing to concede but it was funny.
"Get them!" Ugh, not that again.
And did Joong-dal really think those maybe twenty guys of his would defeat all of those armed troops? Well he's an idiot so maybe he did.
That was quite a moment, when YM let Madam Jami go. Didn't expect it but it certainly was honorable of him in a weird way.
Pretty sorry excuse for a fake slap there at the end.
It really is a shame that so many important things are going to be crammed into the final four episodes, considering that so much time was dawdled away in the first half of the series. But at least the final four episodes should be interesting and lively. Fingers crossed.
This war storyline, it was great to get into it because it at least loosely follows the events of the real JB, stepping in to support Kim Woo-jing and remove the illegitimate king. They've kind of rushed into the war story, and that's too bad because there's a lot that can be written and presented about it--all kinds of opportunities for good backstory and background and we really didn't get any of that But at least the storyline is interesting right now. Plot-wise this was a very satisfying episode...
...that is, up until the end scenes. The whole sequence with the military supply shipment was like something a middle school would do. Seriously. We're told how absolutely crucial it is to protect the supply line from Chunghae for the sake of JB's entire army. Then we see the supply convoy--maybe a dozen porters on foot, one wagon of hay bales, a few lightly armed men, and Lady Jung-hwa leading it (?!?). Of course it's television and these scenes cost money, but a scene like that, it's better to not show it at all rather than show it so inadequately. And then when we see the wrecked convoy later, all of the supplies are all still there! UUUUGGGHHH. The whole point of the attack was to break the supply line--the supplies would have been seized or destroyed by the enemy. Just leaving the supplies there for JB to pick up, it accomplishes nothing! The whole sequence was just awful, no excuse for it.
And now we have a silly damsel-in-distress cliffhanger with Jung-hwa. All Madam Jami needs now is an evil laugh and a mustache to twirl.
And now the pirate/mass murderer/major criminal is a major general? Not to keep harping on this, but trying to bridge the same character over from pirate to insider, it absolutely does not work.
"Why would the king take his own life?" As usual, Master Jo with the sensible question. And I was kind of surprised that Neung-chang would just quietly accept an order to arrange for the king's murder. Always thought of him as a little more than just a do-what-I'm-told goon. Guess I was wrong.
Why is the wanna-be king leading his army, right out front where any sniper's arrow can kill him? You see this a lot in these historicals and it drives me nuts.
Hmm, JB's army camp looks suspiciously like Yi Sa-do's rebel army camp in China.
"He's not bad." That was awfully funny, the deadpan from Kim Yang. Of course that was as much as he was willing to concede but it was funny.
"Get them!" Ugh, not that again.
And did Joong-dal really think those maybe twenty guys of his would defeat all of those armed troops? Well he's an idiot so maybe he did.
That was quite a moment, when YM let Madam Jami go. Didn't expect it but it certainly was honorable of him in a weird way.
Pretty sorry excuse for a fake slap there at the end.
It really is a shame that so many important things are going to be crammed into the final four episodes, considering that so much time was dawdled away in the first half of the series. But at least the final four episodes should be interesting and lively. Fingers crossed.