Post by ajk on May 11, 2019 14:54:38 GMT -5
Some very weird stuff going on in this one. A lot to sort through.
“Take him in as a stepson...I want you to be his mother.” Okay so this is why he spilled the beans and told her; at least they didn’t leave that question hanging. But what is he trying to accomplish with this? Is it supposed to be a consolation prize for her because he’s thinking of naming Seokkop crown prince like he probably was going to originally? That would make sense, but does he really think she would ever be even one percent okay with it? She was always so ugly and overbearing about trying to get her own son on the throne, and now to lose that prize after so many years of assuming it was hers? Hmmm.....
“Your precious prince thinks that servants are his parents. I’m sure it really hurts you. Even if your heart is ripped to pieces, endure it. It’s for the sake of Yeogeun and for the sake of Baekje.” Yeah and there it is back again, she’s having a screaming temper tantrum. I mean, you can understand her being angry over KG dumping this on her, but this can’t end well.
And meanwhile the idiot son she’s so worried about may have gotten himself captured, put his country in a mess and created an international crisis by chasing after Sa Gi to the point of foolishness. Let’s not forget that later on, please mister king.
Good scene in the council chambers discussing sending a rescue mission. Complicated issue and nicely written. Easily the best scene of the episode.
KG: “Tell them not to be rash and to stay put at the border.” Full credit right there. Tough call to have to make but it’s the right call. That’s what a good leader does.
Queen to KG: “Are you saying you’re all right with losing Yeogeun?” There it is again. Shame on her for saying such a thing.
Lady Rahae: “There are two princes from royal concubines, but they are babies.” Well there's quite a piece of information! So he does have other sons. But then why did the queen freak out earlier when KG first told her he had another son? It’s not like she could expect him to be monogamous anyway.
Jin Ai: “This isn’t about politics. This is about doing the right thing.” It’s a shame Yeogeun can’t see past the clan situation and be a little kinder to her because she really is a terrific person.
Here are those strange little round objects again, in the crown prince’s hands (click on photo for larger size):
What the heck are they? They look sort of like walnuts but sound like they’re made of wood.
So they set up the assault for Seokkop and those 50 soldiers to sacrifice their lives so that Yeogeun can get away...and Yeogeun just stands there and watches. Idiot. Actually though, KG is the idiot for approving sending the prince into what was about to turn into a war zone. But that ship sailed a long time ago when he himself started charging into war zones, didn’t it.
Gu Bu: “He is not the prince of Baekje.” Now hang on, how would he know that just from looking at Seokkop? You can’t just throw that out there and not explain it. Does he think Seokkop fights too well to be royalty? Maybe that’s it but give us the explanation. The writers have been very careful about this sort of thing, much more so than in a lot of other historicals, but here was a slip-up.
And Gu Bu orders Seokkop killed. It's like Generation Two of the same story we’ve already seen, when Yeogu fired the arrow that buzzed Sayu way back when. (And come to think of it Biryu replaced his idiot crown prince son, didn’t he....)
Sayu to his son, on the Baekje prince’s escape: “It’s your fault.” Why? Please explain.
Another weird scene: Why are the Goguryeans torturing Sa Gi? What was the point of this? And why did Sa refuse to say what he ultimately said? He says the stuff over and over about Yeogu killing his father, and then after hours of torture he suddenly starts talking about his bad marriage and about Yeogu wanting to strip the clans of power. Well why would he not tell them all of that up front? He has no reason to withhold any of it. Does he? Am I missing something here? Completely lost me.
One clever idea: the shrinking candle was very effective in showing the length of time Sa Gi was tortured.
A grieving Yeogeun: “His death was the result of my reckless decision to go after Sa Gi. I sacrificed soldiers too.” Yeah but he’s not too broken up over it to start kissing the Japanese girl. Blecch. Good grief.
UGH!! wait just a darned minute, how the heck did Seokkop get back safely across the border? Come on, you can’t just have him show up and not explain how he made it back, especially when the enemy prince had just personally ordered him killed right there on the battlefield the previous night. And it wasn't just him making it back; obviously somebody who knew who he was found him injured and knew where to take him. What's the deal there? Talk about needing an explanation, that was terrible!
“Could you kill Seokkop?” Aaaand there it is again. All of the animosity towards Seokkop when he was a baby, and the murder attempts...why does KG think things will be different just because time has passed? The same issues and rivalries will just resurface and resume.
Queen: “Giving him the title of general isn’t good enough. I would like to make him my stepson.” Well at that point I stopped trying to understand. Completely gave up. Okay, definitely give her credit for showing Seokkop respect for saving her husband’s life and her son’s life. In fact this is the first time in the entire series that I can remember her doing something so completely selfless. But this complete, overnight turnaround is an awfully tough sell. Another thing that’s going to need a very good explanation when the next episode starts.
So like I said, a weird episode and not so much in a good way. The series has bounced back from bumpy stretches before so hopefully it will happen again. It's just getting a little frustrating because the meat of the Goguryeo confrontation keeps getting put off and the number of episodes left keeps shrinking, and here we are spinning our wheels with prince stories.
“Take him in as a stepson...I want you to be his mother.” Okay so this is why he spilled the beans and told her; at least they didn’t leave that question hanging. But what is he trying to accomplish with this? Is it supposed to be a consolation prize for her because he’s thinking of naming Seokkop crown prince like he probably was going to originally? That would make sense, but does he really think she would ever be even one percent okay with it? She was always so ugly and overbearing about trying to get her own son on the throne, and now to lose that prize after so many years of assuming it was hers? Hmmm.....
“Your precious prince thinks that servants are his parents. I’m sure it really hurts you. Even if your heart is ripped to pieces, endure it. It’s for the sake of Yeogeun and for the sake of Baekje.” Yeah and there it is back again, she’s having a screaming temper tantrum. I mean, you can understand her being angry over KG dumping this on her, but this can’t end well.
And meanwhile the idiot son she’s so worried about may have gotten himself captured, put his country in a mess and created an international crisis by chasing after Sa Gi to the point of foolishness. Let’s not forget that later on, please mister king.
Good scene in the council chambers discussing sending a rescue mission. Complicated issue and nicely written. Easily the best scene of the episode.
KG: “Tell them not to be rash and to stay put at the border.” Full credit right there. Tough call to have to make but it’s the right call. That’s what a good leader does.
Queen to KG: “Are you saying you’re all right with losing Yeogeun?” There it is again. Shame on her for saying such a thing.
Lady Rahae: “There are two princes from royal concubines, but they are babies.” Well there's quite a piece of information! So he does have other sons. But then why did the queen freak out earlier when KG first told her he had another son? It’s not like she could expect him to be monogamous anyway.
Jin Ai: “This isn’t about politics. This is about doing the right thing.” It’s a shame Yeogeun can’t see past the clan situation and be a little kinder to her because she really is a terrific person.
Here are those strange little round objects again, in the crown prince’s hands (click on photo for larger size):
What the heck are they? They look sort of like walnuts but sound like they’re made of wood.
So they set up the assault for Seokkop and those 50 soldiers to sacrifice their lives so that Yeogeun can get away...and Yeogeun just stands there and watches. Idiot. Actually though, KG is the idiot for approving sending the prince into what was about to turn into a war zone. But that ship sailed a long time ago when he himself started charging into war zones, didn’t it.
Gu Bu: “He is not the prince of Baekje.” Now hang on, how would he know that just from looking at Seokkop? You can’t just throw that out there and not explain it. Does he think Seokkop fights too well to be royalty? Maybe that’s it but give us the explanation. The writers have been very careful about this sort of thing, much more so than in a lot of other historicals, but here was a slip-up.
And Gu Bu orders Seokkop killed. It's like Generation Two of the same story we’ve already seen, when Yeogu fired the arrow that buzzed Sayu way back when. (And come to think of it Biryu replaced his idiot crown prince son, didn’t he....)
Sayu to his son, on the Baekje prince’s escape: “It’s your fault.” Why? Please explain.
Another weird scene: Why are the Goguryeans torturing Sa Gi? What was the point of this? And why did Sa refuse to say what he ultimately said? He says the stuff over and over about Yeogu killing his father, and then after hours of torture he suddenly starts talking about his bad marriage and about Yeogu wanting to strip the clans of power. Well why would he not tell them all of that up front? He has no reason to withhold any of it. Does he? Am I missing something here? Completely lost me.
One clever idea: the shrinking candle was very effective in showing the length of time Sa Gi was tortured.
A grieving Yeogeun: “His death was the result of my reckless decision to go after Sa Gi. I sacrificed soldiers too.” Yeah but he’s not too broken up over it to start kissing the Japanese girl. Blecch. Good grief.
UGH!! wait just a darned minute, how the heck did Seokkop get back safely across the border? Come on, you can’t just have him show up and not explain how he made it back, especially when the enemy prince had just personally ordered him killed right there on the battlefield the previous night. And it wasn't just him making it back; obviously somebody who knew who he was found him injured and knew where to take him. What's the deal there? Talk about needing an explanation, that was terrible!
“Could you kill Seokkop?” Aaaand there it is again. All of the animosity towards Seokkop when he was a baby, and the murder attempts...why does KG think things will be different just because time has passed? The same issues and rivalries will just resurface and resume.
Queen: “Giving him the title of general isn’t good enough. I would like to make him my stepson.” Well at that point I stopped trying to understand. Completely gave up. Okay, definitely give her credit for showing Seokkop respect for saving her husband’s life and her son’s life. In fact this is the first time in the entire series that I can remember her doing something so completely selfless. But this complete, overnight turnaround is an awfully tough sell. Another thing that’s going to need a very good explanation when the next episode starts.
So like I said, a weird episode and not so much in a good way. The series has bounced back from bumpy stretches before so hopefully it will happen again. It's just getting a little frustrating because the meat of the Goguryeo confrontation keeps getting put off and the number of episodes left keeps shrinking, and here we are spinning our wheels with prince stories.