Post by ajk on Nov 18, 2017 17:59:36 GMT -5
This one was terrific. If not for a couple of minor problems and two incredibly bad intrusions of pop ballads at crucial moments, it might have been the best episode of the series. The writing was outstanding; so were the production and acting. Even little things like the flashback choices, those were very effective. The story is still not moving along at the pace it needs to be for us to get to the important stuff in KJ's life, but this episode was so good that it put those concerns aside.
"Whatever happens, we are both committed to the emperor and to Koryo's sovereignty." Very good opening scene. And it cleared up that confusion from the end of the previous episode. That was either a mistranslation or else a clumsy attempt to create a cliffhanger ending. Obviously KJ respects the throne and the emperor and this scene affirmed it.
"Kim Jun is the heart of the Guard Corps." Can't blame the emperor for reacting with surprise to that; I did too. If he's that influential now, it kind of came out of nowhere. Yeah he's risen in rank and in the respect of everyone around him, but a whole lot of people outrank him. Maybe it's possible though, with everyone seeing the trust that Choe has placed in him.
Songi sure changed her tune and hung Park Seungson out to dry all of a sudden. But it's clever how they wrote this. It isn't more scheming by Songi or anybody closing in on Park right at the moment; it's Songi being so stung by remorse that she doesn't care what happens in the end. A very understandable and human reaction. Plus Park did tell her that Yakson would probably only get a slap on the wrist--so her state of mind right now, most of it is his doing. Can't feel all that sorry for him.
"As if it's that easy?" Yeah, exactly. These guys trying to put Choe U on the throne without ever having talked to Choe about it...well...The series has proven itself trustworthy so I'll believe that this or something like this really happened...but they really were stupid to think it ever had a chance. And all of those meetings they had together, did they really think nobody would suspect something and watch them? No wonder Choe just sort of rolled his eyes when Songbi told him about it. Almost hard to take the whole thing seriously.
All of Songi's scenes were good. Some people found fault with the actress when this series first aired, didn't think she was all that capable...but whatever, she did a nice job in this episode. That fixed gaze she had, sort of staring at nothing in particular like she was finally seeing the bigger implications of what she had done, that worked well, and so did the calm matter-of-fact way she said everything, like this is the finality of it all and nothing she could say would change that. The only weak spot in any of her scenes was that Buddha statue rolling off its perch for no apparent reason at all. Okay, I get the symbolism but what were we supposed to think that was, an act of God? Blecch.
"Kim Jun, you're no better than a dog." Well where the heck did that come from? What reason does Park have to say any such thing? I didn't understand that at all.
"You know why I said you're no better than a dog?" Well there's some prompt service right there, thank you sir!
Wait, Gupil starts smacking Park with a stick and in three seconds there's blood coming out of his mouth? That wasn't good at all. And he died? Ugh! Okay so they don't want things get too morbid here for the sake of the viewers, fair enough...but come on, gotta do better than that.
"He was a fake." Yeah Choe's wife has good reason to be agitated; she was the one who sold her husband on that idiot fortune-teller in the first place. I hope this is addressed and I hope she has to face the fact that she screwed up, even with the best of intentions.
"Just bile from a known traitor, sir." Score one for Songbi-- well played. And then Choe: "I suspect I know why he was beaten to death under interrogation--to shut him up." The way he methodically put the pieces together himself...He's a sharp guy. And Jong Bo Suk did a nice job of acting there.
"They wanted you dead." Glad to hear Songi flat-out say this, because it was the core of the whole thing from the beginning. It got lost in all the chaos but this was the genesis of it. I hope it gets out because it's key to everyone understanding what really happened and why.
The sequence of KJ writing the report, ending up with Choe reading it and his hands shaking, that was beautifully done. Somebody really smart was writing this episode.
Choe to Park Songbi: "You're worse than he is. You should have killed him long ago! None of this would have happened if you did." Okay I LOVED that. Choe referencing all the way back to Episode 18, another one of those things that rewards a viewer for sticking with a series. And it definitely is something that Choe would say to Park at that moment in his anger.
Oh please no not the pop ballad! What a stick in the eye after 54 minutes of terrific stuff. KJ coming to visit Anshim for maybe the last time ever, a terribly sad and heartbreaking moment and it was poisoned. This is just like what I said before--it's like MBC doesn't want people to feel too unhappy so they stick in the pop stuff to take the edge off. Hey MBC, it doesn't work! Stop it!
And then at the end, they did it again. This was for the closing credits, no surprise, but with KJ just about to plunge a dagger into his heart? Even if you don't mind pop stuff in historicals, these moments they're using it in, it's completely wrong. Forgive me for harping about it over and over, but it's just that bad, over and over.
"He must pay. He stole his lord's woman." No he did not! He never stole her. He certainly deserves fault for not coming clean to Choe immediately about knowing Anshim before she became a concubine. But there's never been anything going on between them since she's come to the palace. Sure hope the truth comes out in the next episode.
And let's hope we start to move on in the storyline in the next episode too. As good as this one was, there are only 17 left. Way, way past time to move forward to more important things.
p.s. Songi: "They pushed me and pulled me to suit themselves....All I wanted was the love of one man." For now just saving this quote here to file it away for the series wrap-up thread.
"Whatever happens, we are both committed to the emperor and to Koryo's sovereignty." Very good opening scene. And it cleared up that confusion from the end of the previous episode. That was either a mistranslation or else a clumsy attempt to create a cliffhanger ending. Obviously KJ respects the throne and the emperor and this scene affirmed it.
"Kim Jun is the heart of the Guard Corps." Can't blame the emperor for reacting with surprise to that; I did too. If he's that influential now, it kind of came out of nowhere. Yeah he's risen in rank and in the respect of everyone around him, but a whole lot of people outrank him. Maybe it's possible though, with everyone seeing the trust that Choe has placed in him.
Songi sure changed her tune and hung Park Seungson out to dry all of a sudden. But it's clever how they wrote this. It isn't more scheming by Songi or anybody closing in on Park right at the moment; it's Songi being so stung by remorse that she doesn't care what happens in the end. A very understandable and human reaction. Plus Park did tell her that Yakson would probably only get a slap on the wrist--so her state of mind right now, most of it is his doing. Can't feel all that sorry for him.
"As if it's that easy?" Yeah, exactly. These guys trying to put Choe U on the throne without ever having talked to Choe about it...well...The series has proven itself trustworthy so I'll believe that this or something like this really happened...but they really were stupid to think it ever had a chance. And all of those meetings they had together, did they really think nobody would suspect something and watch them? No wonder Choe just sort of rolled his eyes when Songbi told him about it. Almost hard to take the whole thing seriously.
All of Songi's scenes were good. Some people found fault with the actress when this series first aired, didn't think she was all that capable...but whatever, she did a nice job in this episode. That fixed gaze she had, sort of staring at nothing in particular like she was finally seeing the bigger implications of what she had done, that worked well, and so did the calm matter-of-fact way she said everything, like this is the finality of it all and nothing she could say would change that. The only weak spot in any of her scenes was that Buddha statue rolling off its perch for no apparent reason at all. Okay, I get the symbolism but what were we supposed to think that was, an act of God? Blecch.
"Kim Jun, you're no better than a dog." Well where the heck did that come from? What reason does Park have to say any such thing? I didn't understand that at all.
"You know why I said you're no better than a dog?" Well there's some prompt service right there, thank you sir!
Wait, Gupil starts smacking Park with a stick and in three seconds there's blood coming out of his mouth? That wasn't good at all. And he died? Ugh! Okay so they don't want things get too morbid here for the sake of the viewers, fair enough...but come on, gotta do better than that.
"He was a fake." Yeah Choe's wife has good reason to be agitated; she was the one who sold her husband on that idiot fortune-teller in the first place. I hope this is addressed and I hope she has to face the fact that she screwed up, even with the best of intentions.
"Just bile from a known traitor, sir." Score one for Songbi-- well played. And then Choe: "I suspect I know why he was beaten to death under interrogation--to shut him up." The way he methodically put the pieces together himself...He's a sharp guy. And Jong Bo Suk did a nice job of acting there.
"They wanted you dead." Glad to hear Songi flat-out say this, because it was the core of the whole thing from the beginning. It got lost in all the chaos but this was the genesis of it. I hope it gets out because it's key to everyone understanding what really happened and why.
The sequence of KJ writing the report, ending up with Choe reading it and his hands shaking, that was beautifully done. Somebody really smart was writing this episode.
Choe to Park Songbi: "You're worse than he is. You should have killed him long ago! None of this would have happened if you did." Okay I LOVED that. Choe referencing all the way back to Episode 18, another one of those things that rewards a viewer for sticking with a series. And it definitely is something that Choe would say to Park at that moment in his anger.
Oh please no not the pop ballad! What a stick in the eye after 54 minutes of terrific stuff. KJ coming to visit Anshim for maybe the last time ever, a terribly sad and heartbreaking moment and it was poisoned. This is just like what I said before--it's like MBC doesn't want people to feel too unhappy so they stick in the pop stuff to take the edge off. Hey MBC, it doesn't work! Stop it!
And then at the end, they did it again. This was for the closing credits, no surprise, but with KJ just about to plunge a dagger into his heart? Even if you don't mind pop stuff in historicals, these moments they're using it in, it's completely wrong. Forgive me for harping about it over and over, but it's just that bad, over and over.
"He must pay. He stole his lord's woman." No he did not! He never stole her. He certainly deserves fault for not coming clean to Choe immediately about knowing Anshim before she became a concubine. But there's never been anything going on between them since she's come to the palace. Sure hope the truth comes out in the next episode.
And let's hope we start to move on in the storyline in the next episode too. As good as this one was, there are only 17 left. Way, way past time to move forward to more important things.
p.s. Songi: "They pushed me and pulled me to suit themselves....All I wanted was the love of one man." For now just saving this quote here to file it away for the series wrap-up thread.