Post by ajk on Sept 10, 2017 1:43:10 GMT -5
A lot to deal with in this one. Some entertaining stuff, but also some disappointment.
The one big negative, maybe it was just me but the whole climax of the Tripitaka-burning storyline fell flat. It just never captured the pain the country must have felt from losing its treasure. The way it was written and presented, kind of went through the motions and nothing more. Surprisingly unemotional, even after it happened (scene after scene of happiness over Sartai's death with little or no sign of pain over the Tripitaka's loss). This is another thing that could have benefitted from more time in the countryside and more scenes with regular people in them. Plus there was one dumb thing after another:
--Putau: "The Koryo forces have no idea we've scouted out the terrain." Seriously? That wouldn't have occurred to them? And look at that, no it did not occur to them. That was awful. And they had no clue that the Mongols might split their forces? Ugh.
-- "Ambush!" With all of those flaming arrows burning brightly above them, they had no idea. What are they, blind?
--"We have our orders! Protect the Tripitaka, or die with it." That was ridiculous. KJs men were outnumbered, what, maybe ten to one? That was never going to accomplish anything.
--And that soldier Chon Ha's death, so contrived it was painful to watch. The attack stopped for a moment, those arrows flew directly into him, and then it stopped again so he could die dramatically. This isn't a series that stoops to that kind of silliness; what happened?
But in the middle of all that, wow the Mongol charge on the Koryo position, that scene was outstanding! Great camera work and stunt work, very intense stuff...and even something original with the Mongols using lassos to pull those barriers down. Didn't last all that long but it was wonderful.
The first narrative text:
KJ is on his knees, moaning and gasping for air and bleeding with multiple arrows stuck in him. Anshim: "Are you all right?" And people say there are no stupid questions. Good grief.
When KJ was barely conscious and delusional, it sure was a nice surprise to hear him muttering Wola's name. Not to beat this to death but it gave some hope that the whole Wola story wasn't pointless.
"Sartai's head is on the way here." What, is it rolling?
That Tijyu guy, the Mongol officer---he's a great piece of casting. Exactly what you envision one of those manic warriors would be like.
Hey, heads in boxes! Just keeps getting better and better. Too bad we never got a better look at them...but Choe U trash-talking to Sartai's head, that was darned funny.
The king to the monks who killed Sartai: "You've done a fine thing, greater than our entire army." No I don't think so. For once you have to agree with Dae Jipsung. Dae showed some discomfort with the two monks being promoted to general, and you kind of figured he'd be a little jealous of non-soldiers being given such accolades...but still, what they didn't wasn't any great military accomplishment. It was a stroke of luck and a fatal piece of (probably alcohol-fueled) bad judgment by Sartai.
But it was touching to see the two monks turn down those high promotions and be so happy with the lower ones they asked for instead.
The other narrative text:
A nice gesture by Choe U to emancipate him; very satisfying ending. Should have been done a long time ago but Choe has never been very attentive to that kind of thing. And what about Yangbaek and their men? They deserve it too. Maybe we'll get into that in the next episode when KJ gets this all dropped on him.
The one big negative, maybe it was just me but the whole climax of the Tripitaka-burning storyline fell flat. It just never captured the pain the country must have felt from losing its treasure. The way it was written and presented, kind of went through the motions and nothing more. Surprisingly unemotional, even after it happened (scene after scene of happiness over Sartai's death with little or no sign of pain over the Tripitaka's loss). This is another thing that could have benefitted from more time in the countryside and more scenes with regular people in them. Plus there was one dumb thing after another:
--Putau: "The Koryo forces have no idea we've scouted out the terrain." Seriously? That wouldn't have occurred to them? And look at that, no it did not occur to them. That was awful. And they had no clue that the Mongols might split their forces? Ugh.
-- "Ambush!" With all of those flaming arrows burning brightly above them, they had no idea. What are they, blind?
--"We have our orders! Protect the Tripitaka, or die with it." That was ridiculous. KJs men were outnumbered, what, maybe ten to one? That was never going to accomplish anything.
--And that soldier Chon Ha's death, so contrived it was painful to watch. The attack stopped for a moment, those arrows flew directly into him, and then it stopped again so he could die dramatically. This isn't a series that stoops to that kind of silliness; what happened?
But in the middle of all that, wow the Mongol charge on the Koryo position, that scene was outstanding! Great camera work and stunt work, very intense stuff...and even something original with the Mongols using lassos to pull those barriers down. Didn't last all that long but it was wonderful.
The first narrative text:
Puin Temple. This Taegu temple was one of the great Koryo places of worship, [and] along with Heungwang and with Kaegyeong's Kwibop, one of the locations that carved Tripitaka woodblocks. Later, it housed the Tripitaka itself after the scriptures left Heungwang. Historians refer to this as the First Korean Tripitaka. Begun in 1011 and finished in 1092, the Tripitaka was famous as the most complete Buddhist canon in Asia. And so the First Korean Tripitaka burned.Loved the heads on sticks! If those generals were fathers, now are they lollipops?
KJ is on his knees, moaning and gasping for air and bleeding with multiple arrows stuck in him. Anshim: "Are you all right?" And people say there are no stupid questions. Good grief.
When KJ was barely conscious and delusional, it sure was a nice surprise to hear him muttering Wola's name. Not to beat this to death but it gave some hope that the whole Wola story wasn't pointless.
"Sartai's head is on the way here." What, is it rolling?
That Tijyu guy, the Mongol officer---he's a great piece of casting. Exactly what you envision one of those manic warriors would be like.
Hey, heads in boxes! Just keeps getting better and better. Too bad we never got a better look at them...but Choe U trash-talking to Sartai's head, that was darned funny.
The king to the monks who killed Sartai: "You've done a fine thing, greater than our entire army." No I don't think so. For once you have to agree with Dae Jipsung. Dae showed some discomfort with the two monks being promoted to general, and you kind of figured he'd be a little jealous of non-soldiers being given such accolades...but still, what they didn't wasn't any great military accomplishment. It was a stroke of luck and a fatal piece of (probably alcohol-fueled) bad judgment by Sartai.
But it was touching to see the two monks turn down those high promotions and be so happy with the lower ones they asked for instead.
The other narrative text:
The Second Mongol Invasion. Koryo moved its capital to Kanghwa and was prepared to fight to the death. The people manned the mountain fortresses. The Mongols took this all too lightly. Because of this, Sartai was killed, and the Mongols were ultimately forced into retreat."He was hurt trying to save your holy word. He can't die. Spare him, Buddha." Strange but for the first time I felt a little sorry for Songi, being so badly wounded by the news of KJ's injuries. It was sort of pathetic that her life has been so empty to her. And I felt sorry for Yakson too, in that moment in the darkness where he saw Songi and knew what she was doing and why.
A nice gesture by Choe U to emancipate him; very satisfying ending. Should have been done a long time ago but Choe has never been very attentive to that kind of thing. And what about Yangbaek and their men? They deserve it too. Maybe we'll get into that in the next episode when KJ gets this all dropped on him.