Post by ajk on Jul 27, 2019 23:00:58 GMT -5
Well this looks like it’ll be great fun. First episode was darned good. Threw us right into the middle of a very interesting story, and it looks like they put some serious money into it. Off to an excellent start. Visually it’s not hi-def widescreen and we’ve all gotten a little spoiled by that, but if the rest of the series is this good then who cares.
Great to hear our familiar narrator’s voice. Here’s the opening narrated text:
Hey there’s Kim Joo Young! Yaaaaay! He’s in everything and I wondered if we’d find him in this one. Here he is in the first episode already. But I have a hard time believing that’s an authentically colored military uniform for the time...
...and his uniform wasn’t the only one. That’s the one negative thing that kept distracting me in the episode. Many of those uniforms, it all looks like somebody at KBS got a volume deal on metallic hues at the spray paint store. Yeah they look striking on TV, especially with the pre-HD recording technology, but some of those colors are completely out of place.
Actually there was one other minor negative—that shrieky whoosh sound that was added when swords were drown or arrows were flying. This could get very annoying very quickly. Such a big production budget and they can’t get two decent sound effects? Yecch.
But if those are the biggest complaints then things look very promising. Lots of good stuff, starting with that panoramic shot of the Chulwon battle and the excellent battle scene, wow that was impressive. You don’t see much of that these days, a battle scene re-enacted on such a large scale.
Loving the music score too...but geez if it keeps up like that the poor tympani player won’t have any arms left after 200 episodes.
“You’ve killed an envoy! You’ll regret it!” Yeah that was a terrible thing to do. And stupid too, to fire up an opponent who’s stronger than you are. And he’s a general? Way too hot-headed to be a good leader. No surprise the castle got overrun.
“Friend or foe, human lives are equally precious. We will decide on the battle when the envoy returns.” What an interesting character this Goongyae person is. You see him in the opening credits with the one eye and you immediately think “bad guy”...and he says things like “I will die for you, and I will lead you to eternal paradise” and you figure it’s just a matter of time until he shows he’s a total apocalyptic nut job. But then you hear the narrated text that ended the episode...
Aw come on! We’re getting 200 episodes of Choi Soo Jong but they kill off Kim Joo Young’s character in the very first episode? Boo hiss! BOOOO!!! HISSSS!!! That totally, utterly blows.
But we move on from that huge mistake and hope for the best. Definitely a promising start.
Great to hear our familiar narrator’s voice. Here’s the opening narrated text:
Tangun Era 3229, A.D. 896, Kingdom of Shilla. On the tenth year summer of Queen Jinsong’s reign, Goongyae and his mighty troops verged upon Chulwon Castle waving a Salvation Army flag. 230 years had passed since Kim Chunchu united the three kingdoms. At this time Shilla was on a rapid path to downfall. Bloody battles among the royals for the throne [were] endless, and drought, disease and increasing tax[es] caused chaos and uprising of the people. The provincial leaders turned their backs against the powerless central government, and threatened the kingdom with their increasing autonomous powers. The stage was set for many heroes to emerge and give rise to the short-lived Multi-Dominion Era. At this time, our hero Wang Guhn was living in silence in Song-ak. But in the old Baekje region, a commander named Kyun-hwon had emerged and proclaimed himself the king, and in the old Koguryo region, Monk Goongyae had mobilized an army and took possession of Myungju, and made his way to Chulwon. Now a significant portion of old Koguryo was out of Shilla’s control and under Goongyae’s rule. This was an ominous sign. Yet another era of the Three Kingdoms was beginning.The narration and the montage of scenes that accompanied it were top-notch. Told us everything we needed to know to get up to speed without confusing us, and the visuals fit perfectly. This is how you start a series. Don’t think we’ve seen a better one of these to start any series we’ve watched here.
Hey there’s Kim Joo Young! Yaaaaay! He’s in everything and I wondered if we’d find him in this one. Here he is in the first episode already. But I have a hard time believing that’s an authentically colored military uniform for the time...
...and his uniform wasn’t the only one. That’s the one negative thing that kept distracting me in the episode. Many of those uniforms, it all looks like somebody at KBS got a volume deal on metallic hues at the spray paint store. Yeah they look striking on TV, especially with the pre-HD recording technology, but some of those colors are completely out of place.
Actually there was one other minor negative—that shrieky whoosh sound that was added when swords were drown or arrows were flying. This could get very annoying very quickly. Such a big production budget and they can’t get two decent sound effects? Yecch.
But if those are the biggest complaints then things look very promising. Lots of good stuff, starting with that panoramic shot of the Chulwon battle and the excellent battle scene, wow that was impressive. You don’t see much of that these days, a battle scene re-enacted on such a large scale.
Loving the music score too...but geez if it keeps up like that the poor tympani player won’t have any arms left after 200 episodes.
“You’ve killed an envoy! You’ll regret it!” Yeah that was a terrible thing to do. And stupid too, to fire up an opponent who’s stronger than you are. And he’s a general? Way too hot-headed to be a good leader. No surprise the castle got overrun.
“Friend or foe, human lives are equally precious. We will decide on the battle when the envoy returns.” What an interesting character this Goongyae person is. You see him in the opening credits with the one eye and you immediately think “bad guy”...and he says things like “I will die for you, and I will lead you to eternal paradise” and you figure it’s just a matter of time until he shows he’s a total apocalyptic nut job. But then you hear the narrated text that ended the episode...
Goongyae—he conquered Chulwon and proclaimed himself the king. This was the second overthrow after Kyun-hwon defeated Baekje. [The] Chronicle of Three Kingdoms writes about Goongyae in this early period like this: “Goongyae shared pain, discomfort, victory and satisfaction with his soldiers on the battlefield. He wasn’t reckless in taking from the enemy, but was fair and diplomatic in his dealings with them. Many feared and loved him for that reason, and honored him as the Great General.” It is evident that Goongyae was an exceptional leader who had the power to capture the hearts of his men. And he will soon face the hero of this epic drama, Wang Guhn....and obviously this is no one-dimensional baddie. Although the two narrated references to Wang Guhn as the “hero,” well I hope they don’t make him one-dimensional either.
Aw come on! We’re getting 200 episodes of Choi Soo Jong but they kill off Kim Joo Young’s character in the very first episode? Boo hiss! BOOOO!!! HISSSS!!! That totally, utterly blows.
But we move on from that huge mistake and hope for the best. Definitely a promising start.