Post by ajk on Mar 30, 2019 13:48:39 GMT -5
Whew, a lot going on in this one. Birth, deaths, titles, awards, promotions, even a dethronement. I’ve listed it all in the character roster.
Let’s get this out of the way first: It’s pretty clear by now that Yeohwa does not in fact know that her baby is still alive. She showed no hint of anything otherwise through this whole episode, even in the scene at the dead baby’s grave. It would be a spectacular put-on by her to go this long without her or anything in the writing hinting that she knows otherwise; these shows just don’t work that way. Especially the way she talked about her new baby nephew at the end of the episode—promising her dead father that she would raise Wiryegung to prominence again and do it around the nephew. Plus (and this is sort of meta-thinking but whatever) you have to think that this is all being set up to be a huge bomb that will go off in a future episode, and maybe bring about some sort of reconciliation between the parents.
“What’s best for Baekje is for me to decide.” Darned right it is! Jin Seung’s insubordination and his self-righteous attitude about it were terrible. KG was real good in that scene but you half expected him to have Jin Seung dragged off and arrested, and that didn’t happen. Once again he lets a subordinate off way too easy.
“He gave us such a scare when he was born. I’m glad he is healthy.” Yeohwa is such a first-class person, even being so helpful with Annoying Girl’s baby. But she still lays it on the line and speaks the truth. And the argument between her and KG over the fate of her brothers, excellent stuff. Once again showing that she should be helping run the country. The way she completely nailed exactly what the Jin clan was thinking about dethroning her, she’s such a good analytical thinker.
And the council scene that followed was excellent as well. You just did not know what was going to happen. I suppose KG deserves credit for putting his personal feelings aside and doing what he thought was right for the country—which is a big change from when he used to drop everything for Yeohwa and take foolish risks.
“She lost her son in a fire set by an unknown cause.” Well maybe Jin Seung isn’t getting away with it after all, the way that Hae Geon was glaring at him like he knew. Glad to see that. And maybe we’re seeing some fresh hints of Hae still carrying a torch for Yeohwa, with his interest in the baby’s fate and with the way he was out there with her in that nighttime scene in the rain.
Speaking of rain, is it really safe to be twirling around in the rain and mud with a sword? They really let the king do that? And in darkness during a thunderstorm? Lots of bad things can happen.
Eul Mahul and Dandan settling in Mahan--it doesn’t seem like a prospective war zone is the wisest choice of location for a baby prince, but probably they didn’t have many options. Certainly they couldn’t have gone north with all of the hostilities in that direction. Anyway, all of a sudden they’ve become a good angle. They’re both interesting characters; we have reasons to like each of them; you want to see more of them. Kind of a compelling story, the two of them with possibly Baekje’s future in their hands.
“He gave land, but not soldiers. He didn’t even award tax rights.” Here’s the narrated text about it:
That was quite an ending—like Yeohwa is going to turn into KG’s rival. Wow, and she has the smarts to do it too.
p.s. Finally recognized that Mahan king. Kept thinking I had seen him before and it was driving me nuts. It’s the officer from IYSS who had the similar name as YSS. He was in GKS as well. Very distinctive face.
Let’s get this out of the way first: It’s pretty clear by now that Yeohwa does not in fact know that her baby is still alive. She showed no hint of anything otherwise through this whole episode, even in the scene at the dead baby’s grave. It would be a spectacular put-on by her to go this long without her or anything in the writing hinting that she knows otherwise; these shows just don’t work that way. Especially the way she talked about her new baby nephew at the end of the episode—promising her dead father that she would raise Wiryegung to prominence again and do it around the nephew. Plus (and this is sort of meta-thinking but whatever) you have to think that this is all being set up to be a huge bomb that will go off in a future episode, and maybe bring about some sort of reconciliation between the parents.
“What’s best for Baekje is for me to decide.” Darned right it is! Jin Seung’s insubordination and his self-righteous attitude about it were terrible. KG was real good in that scene but you half expected him to have Jin Seung dragged off and arrested, and that didn’t happen. Once again he lets a subordinate off way too easy.
“He gave us such a scare when he was born. I’m glad he is healthy.” Yeohwa is such a first-class person, even being so helpful with Annoying Girl’s baby. But she still lays it on the line and speaks the truth. And the argument between her and KG over the fate of her brothers, excellent stuff. Once again showing that she should be helping run the country. The way she completely nailed exactly what the Jin clan was thinking about dethroning her, she’s such a good analytical thinker.
And the council scene that followed was excellent as well. You just did not know what was going to happen. I suppose KG deserves credit for putting his personal feelings aside and doing what he thought was right for the country—which is a big change from when he used to drop everything for Yeohwa and take foolish risks.
“She lost her son in a fire set by an unknown cause.” Well maybe Jin Seung isn’t getting away with it after all, the way that Hae Geon was glaring at him like he knew. Glad to see that. And maybe we’re seeing some fresh hints of Hae still carrying a torch for Yeohwa, with his interest in the baby’s fate and with the way he was out there with her in that nighttime scene in the rain.
Speaking of rain, is it really safe to be twirling around in the rain and mud with a sword? They really let the king do that? And in darkness during a thunderstorm? Lots of bad things can happen.
Eul Mahul and Dandan settling in Mahan--it doesn’t seem like a prospective war zone is the wisest choice of location for a baby prince, but probably they didn’t have many options. Certainly they couldn’t have gone north with all of the hostilities in that direction. Anyway, all of a sudden they’ve become a good angle. They’re both interesting characters; we have reasons to like each of them; you want to see more of them. Kind of a compelling story, the two of them with possibly Baekje’s future in their hands.
“He gave land, but not soldiers. He didn’t even award tax rights.” Here’s the narrated text about it:
4 A.D. Baekje was still a union of the powers of the nobility. There was a need to eliminate such powers and strengthen the king’s powers. KG awarded land, but not soldiers or tax rights. It was his intention to establish centralized power. The natural result was resistance from the nobility.Anything in the historical record to support this? It’s hardly the first time we’ve seen such a thing in historicals but it wouldn’t be surprising if this is accurate for such an early time period where larger kingdoms were still coalescing.
That was quite an ending—like Yeohwa is going to turn into KG’s rival. Wow, and she has the smarts to do it too.
p.s. Finally recognized that Mahan king. Kept thinking I had seen him before and it was driving me nuts. It’s the officer from IYSS who had the similar name as YSS. He was in GKS as well. Very distinctive face.