Post by ajk on Jan 28, 2018 4:07:50 GMT -5
WOW.
This was very simply one of the best episodes of any historical I’ve ever seen.
Some of the previous ones were sort of uneven and I wondered if the series was headed downhill. This one, once we got past KJ uncharacteristically losing his temper and striking a subordinate, didn’t care for that, well the rest of it from start to finish was utterly riveting. All of it was done at the highest level—acting, writing, production. So was the soundtrack; added exactly the right feeling, ominous and despairing. Plus you really weren’t sure what was going to happen, which ratcheted up the tension. And the big confrontation scene between KJ and Choe Hang, it was phenomenal. Was a little surprising how it ended…not sure what KJ’s endgame is now, since he didn’t do what it looked like he would do…but Choe U’s order to him wasn’t to kill Manjun if Manjun failed or misbehaved; Choe told him to “take over” and that wouldn’t have been possible if KJ killed him. So now we wait and see what KJ’s next move will be.
CH’s character, remember early on how the one-dimensional nut-job stuff was getting hard to take real fast…well this time you could totally see the intensity of what he was struggling with inside, back and forth. The actor did a fantastic job with it. He’s turned out to be a great casting choice for that role.
And speaking of Choe U’s order…That important scene in episode 43 with Choe U telling KJ “If the time comes that he doesn’t do as you tell him…take over.”…This series has handled flashbacks very well—choosing the right scenes, flashing back at the right times, and not overdoing it like some series have done—and you just knew we’d see that scene again. And there it was. They picked the perfect time to do it, too.
“And you just watch? He dies or you die, you must choose for the good of Koryo!” Even Mrs. Dae was excellent in this one. In previous episodes her character was a little over the top at times, but that’s exactly what was needed in this one. The way she chewed out KJ, you couldn’t argue with anything she said, she nailed it perfectly…and then the defiant way she faced her death sentence, it was a perfect complement to the tension between KJ and CH. I’ll even forgive the production crew for Mrs. Dae smashing a pitcher full of poisoned wine and no wine spilling out. (But really, guys, that’s a pretty obvious oops. Yes it would make a bit of a mess but sometimes you have to make the mess.) “Who is he to order my death? We have laws in Koryo. What about due process?!” Great stuff.
We also started to get back into the Mongol invasion story, which was good to see. The negotiation scenes, they didn’t exactly make the Koryo side look good...but they’re being historically honest about that, bravo.
Park Songbi: “To the overlord, hatred is reason enough. The whole world is to blame.” Great observation from a smart character; I wish we’d hear more from him. He’s sort of faded into the background lately.
Yi Jangyong: “Do you think it’s still possible to save that animal? I want to help you kill him.” And we even got an excellent cliffhanger at the end. Can’t wait to see what they cook up to try to solve this mess.
I just can’t say enough about how good this episode was. Some series do a good job of telling historical stories and some are good character dramas, but you don’t often get both. This episode was more of the former than the latter but both were done wonderfully. Put this one in the vault; it’s a treasure.
This was very simply one of the best episodes of any historical I’ve ever seen.
Some of the previous ones were sort of uneven and I wondered if the series was headed downhill. This one, once we got past KJ uncharacteristically losing his temper and striking a subordinate, didn’t care for that, well the rest of it from start to finish was utterly riveting. All of it was done at the highest level—acting, writing, production. So was the soundtrack; added exactly the right feeling, ominous and despairing. Plus you really weren’t sure what was going to happen, which ratcheted up the tension. And the big confrontation scene between KJ and Choe Hang, it was phenomenal. Was a little surprising how it ended…not sure what KJ’s endgame is now, since he didn’t do what it looked like he would do…but Choe U’s order to him wasn’t to kill Manjun if Manjun failed or misbehaved; Choe told him to “take over” and that wouldn’t have been possible if KJ killed him. So now we wait and see what KJ’s next move will be.
CH’s character, remember early on how the one-dimensional nut-job stuff was getting hard to take real fast…well this time you could totally see the intensity of what he was struggling with inside, back and forth. The actor did a fantastic job with it. He’s turned out to be a great casting choice for that role.
And speaking of Choe U’s order…That important scene in episode 43 with Choe U telling KJ “If the time comes that he doesn’t do as you tell him…take over.”…This series has handled flashbacks very well—choosing the right scenes, flashing back at the right times, and not overdoing it like some series have done—and you just knew we’d see that scene again. And there it was. They picked the perfect time to do it, too.
“And you just watch? He dies or you die, you must choose for the good of Koryo!” Even Mrs. Dae was excellent in this one. In previous episodes her character was a little over the top at times, but that’s exactly what was needed in this one. The way she chewed out KJ, you couldn’t argue with anything she said, she nailed it perfectly…and then the defiant way she faced her death sentence, it was a perfect complement to the tension between KJ and CH. I’ll even forgive the production crew for Mrs. Dae smashing a pitcher full of poisoned wine and no wine spilling out. (But really, guys, that’s a pretty obvious oops. Yes it would make a bit of a mess but sometimes you have to make the mess.) “Who is he to order my death? We have laws in Koryo. What about due process?!” Great stuff.
We also started to get back into the Mongol invasion story, which was good to see. The negotiation scenes, they didn’t exactly make the Koryo side look good...but they’re being historically honest about that, bravo.
Park Songbi: “To the overlord, hatred is reason enough. The whole world is to blame.” Great observation from a smart character; I wish we’d hear more from him. He’s sort of faded into the background lately.
Yi Jangyong: “Do you think it’s still possible to save that animal? I want to help you kill him.” And we even got an excellent cliffhanger at the end. Can’t wait to see what they cook up to try to solve this mess.
I just can’t say enough about how good this episode was. Some series do a good job of telling historical stories and some are good character dramas, but you don’t often get both. This episode was more of the former than the latter but both were done wonderfully. Put this one in the vault; it’s a treasure.