Post by ajk on Sept 24, 2017 0:53:37 GMT -5
Still not a lot of history right now; this was another episode full of character stuff (although we met the Khan for the first time and got the third invasion in the works). But for the most part it was excellent. Some very well-written and well-acted scenes....
...starting with the opening. Put aside whatever feelings you may have about Songi (more on that below) and strictly on its own the scene was terrific. Songi: "I don't want to live this lie any more. I'm a person too. How long will you force me to sacrifice myself?" Father: "You're not here for yourself. You're here to serve others." Songi: "Why did you force me to marry Kim Yakson? To make him your heir? How has that worked out for you?" Every line was loaded. Great stuff. And it wasn't a simplistic argument, either; they were both right and they were both wrong too.
The second scene with Choe and KJ was also excellent. It's remarkable for a lead character in one of these historicals--we're past the halfway point and KJ is still a lower-ranking person who isn't at all the center of the story and is still sincere and decent and not the least bit ambitious or power-hungry. The series continues to tell a big story and not fixate on one person. Really enjoying that.
Kim Kyongson: "What kind of monks celebrate the day by drinking with floozies in broad daylight?" Geez, Kim, they're sitting right there in front of you. A little common decency please? Or maybe it was a mistranslation. And then killing all of the loser sons' followers? That seems awfully harsh, especially for a country so devastated. At least let them serve as slave labor.
Choe U: "It's just a cold." Ha! Like those Soviet Union leaders--the propaganda outlet would announce the leader had a cold and then presto, they're dead. Made me laugh.
"He's only sixteen." "Then he should be a general." Are you kidding me? What is Choe U thinking? Pardon me for being indelicate but his wife must be making him really, really happy, nudge nudge.
Yangbaek showed obvious disappointment that he wasn't given sole command of the slave brigade...and this was the first time you could actually accept the idea that he felt slighted. The previous times is wasn't believable but this time it was.
Gannan pushing a fortune teller, very disappointed in her! I wish just once one of these shows would show a fortune teller saying nothing accurate. "You see that? You truly are gifted." Blecch. Those people have never known nothing about nothing.
The narrated text, after we met the Khan:
"I'm getting divorced. So I can be with you." Okay here's the one thing in the episode that didn't sit right; in fact it floored me. The younger Songi had that attitude of bratty entitlement about her in how she saw and treated KJ and it sure didn't make her a likeable character at all. But as the years went by and she had to endure an unhappy marriage and had to suppress her true feelings, I mentioned more than once starting to feel some sympathy for her. Not completely, but partially. Made her a more interesting character and certainly less than completely disagreeable. But in this scene we're right back to the bratty entitlement! Why? She's been clinging to this delusion for so long and yet still she has no regard for KJ's feelings. "I hate this love too. I do...I hate myself for it." Yes clearly she does understand all of the trouble this is causing and how destructive it is. But it's still not enough to overcome her rich-daddy's-spoiled-little-girl, I'll-have-whatever-I-want attitude. Did the Korean audience see her more sympathetically? Is there a cultural difference here? I just don't get it. Why are they portraying her like this?
I will say, it was kind of cold for KJ to just dump those robes on the ground after she spent six months sewing them herself. At least hand them back and tell her to give them to someone else.
Oh well, the rest of the episode was good...and we've got another invasion coming so that should give us some relief from Songi. Plus Choe U is getting older and sicker so there's a big power struggle coming.
p.s. Throwing the pop music in at the end, boo hiss!
...starting with the opening. Put aside whatever feelings you may have about Songi (more on that below) and strictly on its own the scene was terrific. Songi: "I don't want to live this lie any more. I'm a person too. How long will you force me to sacrifice myself?" Father: "You're not here for yourself. You're here to serve others." Songi: "Why did you force me to marry Kim Yakson? To make him your heir? How has that worked out for you?" Every line was loaded. Great stuff. And it wasn't a simplistic argument, either; they were both right and they were both wrong too.
The second scene with Choe and KJ was also excellent. It's remarkable for a lead character in one of these historicals--we're past the halfway point and KJ is still a lower-ranking person who isn't at all the center of the story and is still sincere and decent and not the least bit ambitious or power-hungry. The series continues to tell a big story and not fixate on one person. Really enjoying that.
Kim Kyongson: "What kind of monks celebrate the day by drinking with floozies in broad daylight?" Geez, Kim, they're sitting right there in front of you. A little common decency please? Or maybe it was a mistranslation. And then killing all of the loser sons' followers? That seems awfully harsh, especially for a country so devastated. At least let them serve as slave labor.
Choe U: "It's just a cold." Ha! Like those Soviet Union leaders--the propaganda outlet would announce the leader had a cold and then presto, they're dead. Made me laugh.
"He's only sixteen." "Then he should be a general." Are you kidding me? What is Choe U thinking? Pardon me for being indelicate but his wife must be making him really, really happy, nudge nudge.
Yangbaek showed obvious disappointment that he wasn't given sole command of the slave brigade...and this was the first time you could actually accept the idea that he felt slighted. The previous times is wasn't believable but this time it was.
Gannan pushing a fortune teller, very disappointed in her! I wish just once one of these shows would show a fortune teller saying nothing accurate. "You see that? You truly are gifted." Blecch. Those people have never known nothing about nothing.
The narrated text, after we met the Khan:
And so it was. The Koryo capital moved to Kanghwa in the summer of 1232. Eastern Jin fell in June of the following year. Worse, six months later, Emperor Aizong committed suicide in 1234. The Mongols assumed control in the north, the Song in the south. Koryo was forced to face the Mongol threat alone.Finally Choe starts to get tough on Yakson, that was a heck of a scene too. As far as the arguing about remaking the Tripitaka, I was a little surprised that everybody talked about it as an all-or-nothing project. Yes a big effort would be difficult and expensive, but even a small-scale start is better than nothing, and it would give the people the hope that KJ talked about but without a big expense. Yes it would take longer but what's the rush? Clearly Koryo is in no condition to protect another finished product any time soon.
"I'm getting divorced. So I can be with you." Okay here's the one thing in the episode that didn't sit right; in fact it floored me. The younger Songi had that attitude of bratty entitlement about her in how she saw and treated KJ and it sure didn't make her a likeable character at all. But as the years went by and she had to endure an unhappy marriage and had to suppress her true feelings, I mentioned more than once starting to feel some sympathy for her. Not completely, but partially. Made her a more interesting character and certainly less than completely disagreeable. But in this scene we're right back to the bratty entitlement! Why? She's been clinging to this delusion for so long and yet still she has no regard for KJ's feelings. "I hate this love too. I do...I hate myself for it." Yes clearly she does understand all of the trouble this is causing and how destructive it is. But it's still not enough to overcome her rich-daddy's-spoiled-little-girl, I'll-have-whatever-I-want attitude. Did the Korean audience see her more sympathetically? Is there a cultural difference here? I just don't get it. Why are they portraying her like this?
I will say, it was kind of cold for KJ to just dump those robes on the ground after she spent six months sewing them herself. At least hand them back and tell her to give them to someone else.
Oh well, the rest of the episode was good...and we've got another invasion coming so that should give us some relief from Songi. Plus Choe U is getting older and sicker so there's a big power struggle coming.
p.s. Throwing the pop music in at the end, boo hiss!