shiku
Junior Addict
Posts: 159
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Post by shiku on Oct 15, 2012 12:42:53 GMT -5
I am currently stuck on ep34/35 so does it get better? Does Kim Jun change from his love struck ways and becomes the great man everyone touts?
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Post by excelsior on Nov 5, 2012 20:43:24 GMT -5
Are they ever gonna translate the last two episodes?
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Post by sageuk on Nov 6, 2012 2:06:32 GMT -5
Tell me about it. I really hope they didn't die this time
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Post by mugwump on Nov 6, 2012 20:48:08 GMT -5
What the heck, even without the final episodes, I'll contribute my 2-cents-review. The Good: Music - very atmospheric and tense Restrained acting - no screaming, snarling, and spitting in this one (well, except for the crazy guy, and he has an excuse), and almost no mugging Intelligent writing - there were a lot of really well constructed scenes like you'd expect to see in a theatrical drama. Especially in some of the early episodes. Well-drawn characters- (Boy I still don't have all the names down) - Choi Chun Hoon, Choi Wu, Choi Yang Baek, and the older brother of Choi Wu's son-in-law (the super-charged general). Risking-taking at the beginning - I've never seen a historical drama start with so much darkness and cruelty. However, they seem to have changed their minds, and gradually it became more toned down and like a typical drama. Who can blame them? Who wants to watch people being victimized week aftrer week? The Bad: The sadistic kitchen maid turned comic relief. Wol A - One-dimensional Poor Helpless Woman-as-Victim Song Yi's obsession with Kim Jun. I found it to be totally unbelievable. The Dull: Kim Jun - This guy had as much personality as a rubber band. Not saintly or goody-goody, just dull. Dull, dull, dull. Yang Baek was a lot more interesting and a lot more fun to watch. The Mongols - you'd think they could find a way to make at least one of them an interesting 3-dimensional villain, one we'd love to hate. Nope, didn't happen. The battles - these were dull compared to ones we've seen in other shows The overall plot (Yikes, I can already hear Truth gnashing his teeth )- it may be real history but the writers failed to make a good story out of it. In particular, the subplot about the Tripitaca Koreana was not integrated well into the rest of the story. (Yes, I know it's a national treasure; I mean no insult to it and I've been to the temple where it's housed). But it's story felt tacked-on. So overall, I rate this one as just "OK".
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Post by sageuk on Nov 6, 2012 22:39:49 GMT -5
In my opinion, Kim Jun starts to become alot more interesting when he becomes leader and his extreme anti-Mongol viewpoint clashes with and drives away those around him. I really wish more episodes were dedicated to that side of him.
And I like to say in regards to the battles, the gyeokgu matches in the beginning were friggin awesome. Nothing like a game of horseback soccer where players beat the living daylights out of each other. I enjoyed watching them in pain and scream in agony and listening to the sounds of bones breaking. After that, the show's fight scenes weren't as high quality, though I don't think its really a huge flaw.
You've been to the temple where it wsa housed? Wish I wwas there. I seriously want to feel those things
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Post by sageuk on Nov 7, 2012 17:00:09 GMT -5
Ah, the last episodes are finally up! Gonna go watch em now
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Post by MTR on Nov 7, 2012 19:42:06 GMT -5
I am only up to Ep 35 but i really like it and would put it among the best .
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Post by sageuk on Nov 7, 2012 23:24:58 GMT -5
So I have finally watched the finale. It was good. A little too much on the sentimental sidebut good.
I wonder how things would have went had they continued with Im Yon. Would he later shift towards a anti-Mongol stance like Kim Jun did? Kim Jun's line "You'll later understand" seems to indicate/foreshadow this.
Is it just me or do kdramas seem to enjoy shooting "glorious" dramatic deaths?
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Post by excelsior on Nov 8, 2012 15:02:47 GMT -5
It's a shame that the drama ended just as Kim Jun finally became interesting. At the end the Narrator said Jun ruled for ten years. All of that was compressed in three episodes. They could've squeezed some of the earlier story arcs and stretched at least 20 episodes out of his reign but I guess the writers don't decide how long a series is. A shame.
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Post by sageuk on Nov 8, 2012 16:22:04 GMT -5
^I kind of get the feeling the writers expected to have more episodes than what we got despite the not so high ratings. Also, most of the dramas the head writer worked on tended to be at least 100 episodes. Guess he had a hard time shaking it off
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Post by MTR on Nov 8, 2012 22:53:37 GMT -5
It should have continued with Im Yon and ended with the collapse of the rebellion being episodic like AOW was ,though similar mistake in that Kyung Dae Sun got less screen time ok he died young but the Archfiend got way to much by the time he was killed he was so annoying i was happy to see him go .
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Post by truth on Dec 31, 2012 18:43:18 GMT -5
I find it outrageous that nobody from this drama won any award at the MBC Drama Award.
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Post by sageuk on Dec 31, 2012 22:31:27 GMT -5
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Post by excelsior on Jan 1, 2013 1:05:05 GMT -5
The actors who played CCH, and CU should've gotten awards.
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Post by ajk on Jan 2, 2013 23:15:39 GMT -5
Thanks, sageuk--always appreciate your giving us a look at this stuff. Very impressive.
There was an article in one of the Chicago newspapers today about courtroom sketch artists being gradually being replaced by cameras, and it talked about how drawing is starting to become a lost art. I hope that doesn't happen, but it does seem like you do see fewer and fewer people doing it with all of the easy photo technology these days.
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