Post by ajk on Jan 1, 2018 14:04:15 GMT -5
Not much history in this one, real or otherwise; it was pretty much all about the Choe Hang character. The actor playing him did a good job. Especially in those scenes with the women, those were tense and almost scary.
It did all leave me wondering whether or not they're going a little too far with how they're portraying CH. He hasn't done one piece of actual work yet, or at least we haven't seen him do anything. I know he isn't well regarded by historians, but so far he's been a total lazy bum as overlord and mostly unable to control his viler impulses as a person, and it seems maybe a little over the top.
"No more of this 'illegitimate' stuff!" You wondered if Park Songbi would get hauled away and executed on the spot. There's definitely an opportunity to make CH a very good character as overlord. His inner conflicts could be real interesting to watch if they choose to take things in that direction and not just make him a monster.
The narrated text in this one:
Jung Ho Keun was good again in this one with all of the weasely sucking up. And we even saw something kind of new for one of his characters; CH's behavior was getting so bad that we saw some shock in his (Jung's character's) face, like What have I created? I wonder if he might actually pull back on the weasel behavior now.
"Act like an overlord. You should be ashamed." Wow, give Mrs. Dae the employee of the month award for chewing CH out like that! But you just know she'll pay for it down the road.
"What of the three bonds and five moral rules?" Had no idea what that was about; turns out it's a fundamental part of Confucianism:
As much as I don't like the hearing-people's-thoughts gimmick, it did help when they used it on Yangbaek at that moment. We definitely needed to know what he was thinking, although it still would have been better to find another way.
"A true retainer will prevent his lord from stepping into the mud." "Stop telling me what to do. I command the overlord's personal guards." Another good angle developing here--how far should unquestioning obedience go, especially when it endangers the leader. And it sure was a surprise to hear Yangbaek talk to KJ like that.
Chu Suk: "Public opinion is what matters." Well then it sure would be nice to see a little of the public now and then, wouldn't it! Ugh.
This next episode is probably going to be very difficult to watch, considering how CH has behaved so far. Going to get really ugly. But everything continues to be very well written and produced so hooray for that.
It did all leave me wondering whether or not they're going a little too far with how they're portraying CH. He hasn't done one piece of actual work yet, or at least we haven't seen him do anything. I know he isn't well regarded by historians, but so far he's been a total lazy bum as overlord and mostly unable to control his viler impulses as a person, and it seems maybe a little over the top.
"No more of this 'illegitimate' stuff!" You wondered if Park Songbi would get hauled away and executed on the spot. There's definitely an opportunity to make CH a very good character as overlord. His inner conflicts could be real interesting to watch if they choose to take things in that direction and not just make him a monster.
The narrated text in this one:
Sungchonbu. A walled city on the mainland across from Kanghwa Island. A pavillion was built to house the frequent Mongol delegations in hopes of staving off an invasion. However, Koryo's attempt to pass of the Duke of Yongnyong as a prince, and its refusal to move the capital from Kanghwa, ultimately led to a fourth invasion. But Koryo had a brief respite when Guyuk Khan died a year earlier in 1248."He's been dead a few days now. That's long enough. We can honor him by taking good care of Koryo. I won't be a better son by wearing white forever. Am I wrong?" Really he's not wrong but trying to just erase centuries of tradition in one instant, you'd think KJ would have talked him away from even trying that.
Jung Ho Keun was good again in this one with all of the weasely sucking up. And we even saw something kind of new for one of his characters; CH's behavior was getting so bad that we saw some shock in his (Jung's character's) face, like What have I created? I wonder if he might actually pull back on the weasel behavior now.
"Act like an overlord. You should be ashamed." Wow, give Mrs. Dae the employee of the month award for chewing CH out like that! But you just know she'll pay for it down the road.
"What of the three bonds and five moral rules?" Had no idea what that was about; turns out it's a fundamental part of Confucianism:
As much as I don't like the hearing-people's-thoughts gimmick, it did help when they used it on Yangbaek at that moment. We definitely needed to know what he was thinking, although it still would have been better to find another way.
"A true retainer will prevent his lord from stepping into the mud." "Stop telling me what to do. I command the overlord's personal guards." Another good angle developing here--how far should unquestioning obedience go, especially when it endangers the leader. And it sure was a surprise to hear Yangbaek talk to KJ like that.
Chu Suk: "Public opinion is what matters." Well then it sure would be nice to see a little of the public now and then, wouldn't it! Ugh.
This next episode is probably going to be very difficult to watch, considering how CH has behaved so far. Going to get really ugly. But everything continues to be very well written and produced so hooray for that.