Post by ajk on Dec 8, 2019 14:56:32 GMT -5
Hey we’re already 10 percent through the series! That flew by. And so did this episode—yow-wee this was a good one. Some terrific acting and a darned good piece of writing.
“You phony monk!...You claim you’ve let go of everything, but seething rage burns deep inside you.” Well he certainly is interesting—it always shakes things up nicely to have a weird guy show up. But it’s annoying when someone is asked a question and they just sit there and stare back.
Wherever it was that they staged that scene on the fortress wall, when Goongyae and everyone else decides to make their move, what a beautiful image. That can’t have been inexpensive to shoot. One of the consistently strong points of the series so far, making the effort to give us beautiful scenes and images like that.
Here we go again with the telepathic monk...and now I guess WG is telepathic too. But why couldn’t WG “see” what was in the book? All of that stuff we’ve been hearing about how WG couldn’t read it, it sounded like the book was a spiritual guidebook for some sort of enlightenment. But from the passages we heard here, and from the narrated text a couple of episodes ago, the thing sounds and reads just like an ordinary textbook. As good as this series as been, this whole thing with WG and Dosun is really sticking out as the weak link.
“He is indeed a Maitreya of our time. Open the castle gate for them.” DOINK! Well how about that. From the way the old guy was talking to Goongyae, it seemed to hint that he had some sort of pull in Myungju, but wow how unusual is it to get a genuine shocker in a series like this, when he walks in and takes the big chair. That was fun.
And Won Hee—give that guy a promotion. Even if it wasn’t all his doing, has a messenger ever returned with better news? Ever? That was another good scene right there, the shock-turned-into-elation when everyone realized they were getting the fortress with no battle.
Two narrated texts. The first:
“Now take your seat. This place is yours.” (He won’t do it...) “It seems that even Goongyae who has transcended this world is not above manners.” One fun thing so far is trying to see inside Goongyae’s head--watching for signs that his growing power is changing him and tempting him to be more selfish and lose his vision. But here he shows pretty clearly that he’s still staying humble and seeking only a better world. This was another good scene, maybe the best one of the episode. The patience and the silence of it and his obvious discomfort as he stands there looking at that chair, beautifully done.
The second narrated text:
Yangil is another interesting character, and the guy playing him is doing it perfectly, outstanding job, let’s not forget to give him credit.
“It may be troubling for those two, but it is an interesting spectacle for us. Your majesty should weigh both sides and extract your gain.” Choi is certainly sounding like he was worth all that fuss to hire him. But a bit of a continuity error there, or at least a scene out of place: they’re talking about hearing that Goongyae has split from Yangil, but it isn’t until the next scene that we get any hint of such a thing starting to happen.
“Would you be led into a ditch by a blind fool when you know where he is headed?” “I bid you, master: Bokjikyum is my friend, but he could be your enemy. Slay him.” Now THERE’S an ending! Another very strong well-written scene. It’s so great to watch one of these shows and not have to point out so many obvious problems and just enjoy so much good work from everyone involved. Big thumbs up for the first ten percent.
“You phony monk!...You claim you’ve let go of everything, but seething rage burns deep inside you.” Well he certainly is interesting—it always shakes things up nicely to have a weird guy show up. But it’s annoying when someone is asked a question and they just sit there and stare back.
Wherever it was that they staged that scene on the fortress wall, when Goongyae and everyone else decides to make their move, what a beautiful image. That can’t have been inexpensive to shoot. One of the consistently strong points of the series so far, making the effort to give us beautiful scenes and images like that.
Here we go again with the telepathic monk...and now I guess WG is telepathic too. But why couldn’t WG “see” what was in the book? All of that stuff we’ve been hearing about how WG couldn’t read it, it sounded like the book was a spiritual guidebook for some sort of enlightenment. But from the passages we heard here, and from the narrated text a couple of episodes ago, the thing sounds and reads just like an ordinary textbook. As good as this series as been, this whole thing with WG and Dosun is really sticking out as the weak link.
“He is indeed a Maitreya of our time. Open the castle gate for them.” DOINK! Well how about that. From the way the old guy was talking to Goongyae, it seemed to hint that he had some sort of pull in Myungju, but wow how unusual is it to get a genuine shocker in a series like this, when he walks in and takes the big chair. That was fun.
And Won Hee—give that guy a promotion. Even if it wasn’t all his doing, has a messenger ever returned with better news? Ever? That was another good scene right there, the shock-turned-into-elation when everyone realized they were getting the fortress with no battle.
Two narrated texts. The first:
Huhwol...Descendant of Shilla’s royal family, he was the father of Kim Soonshik, the lord of Myungju. He and his son were direct descendants of Kim Juwon;, who ws sent to Myungju in the year 780 as a result of a defeated battle for the throne. Kim Juwon’s heirs had ruled Myungju for generations, but Huhwol turned over his power to his son and entered into a life of Buddhism. He was a man of foresight, hence he urges his son to surrender the castle without bloodshed.The only thing I wondered about, when they all made their victory procession to the fortress, they all seemed to take it on faith that the whole thing wasn’t a con and that they were being ste up for an ambush. But I suppose they did that for TV—I’ll bet they were a lot more cautious in real history.
“Now take your seat. This place is yours.” (He won’t do it...) “It seems that even Goongyae who has transcended this world is not above manners.” One fun thing so far is trying to see inside Goongyae’s head--watching for signs that his growing power is changing him and tempting him to be more selfish and lose his vision. But here he shows pretty clearly that he’s still staying humble and seeking only a better world. This was another good scene, maybe the best one of the episode. The patience and the silence of it and his obvious discomfort as he stands there looking at that chair, beautifully done.
The second narrated text:
According to the Chronicle of the Three Koreas, Goongyae was finally titled “General” when he entered Myungju. This signified his independence and autonomy. Remarkably, he had attained Myungju, one of the nine states of Shilla, all on his own without bloodshed. Revealing his magnanimity, he did not proclaim kingship, but allowed Kim Soonshik to maintain governmental control. In other words, he returned Myungju right back to its prior lord.That text was confusing because we’ve been hearing him called “General” for a while now.
Yangil is another interesting character, and the guy playing him is doing it perfectly, outstanding job, let’s not forget to give him credit.
“It may be troubling for those two, but it is an interesting spectacle for us. Your majesty should weigh both sides and extract your gain.” Choi is certainly sounding like he was worth all that fuss to hire him. But a bit of a continuity error there, or at least a scene out of place: they’re talking about hearing that Goongyae has split from Yangil, but it isn’t until the next scene that we get any hint of such a thing starting to happen.
“Would you be led into a ditch by a blind fool when you know where he is headed?” “I bid you, master: Bokjikyum is my friend, but he could be your enemy. Slay him.” Now THERE’S an ending! Another very strong well-written scene. It’s so great to watch one of these shows and not have to point out so many obvious problems and just enjoy so much good work from everyone involved. Big thumbs up for the first ten percent.