Post by ajk on May 3, 2020 12:27:29 GMT -5
Hmmmm.
EWG has set a high bar for itself and you have high expectations with every episode. This one, for most series there would be nothing wrong with it, but in this series it didn’t sit right.
First of all, and yes I was wrong, they sure didn’t do very much with Mihyang’s death. I had expected her to become significant and important in some unanticipated way, but in the end the big payoff was that Goongyae got drunk and finally decided to boink his hot wife. Seriously? That’s it? This was a fairly significant character and they totally squandered her death.
And the way it was presented, yecch. Boarding up the entire building, instead of just confining her to her room? Then the fire burned suspiciously quickly and it looked like even parts of the front yard were on fire just to make it look more like a big fire. And those guys with the water buckets were embarrassing. Overdone for TV. And then bringing her kid into the story just minutes after she dies a horrible death brought about by desperately wanting to see her kid...there was no value in that at all. It seemed almost cruel.
Goongyae: “I knew her life wouldn’t last. Too many wanted her dead.” Gee it’s too bad you’re not in a position of authority so you could protect her. Ugh. And there were no consequences—nobody was dismissed or punished or even scolded. Eunbu stepped up and said he was in charge of things, well then he’s the one responsible for the situation that killed her. Goongyae just sort of shrugged his shoulders. All the time in this series people are held accountable for things they didn’t do, but here it’s just the opposite. That didn’t sit well either.
Then the next day Goongyae says he now realizes the significance of human emotions...as he imposes himself on his wife the day after her best friend was killed. So grief doesn’t count? And what was the deal with that momentary hallucination when he sees Mihyang in front of him instead of Yunhwa? As though he wanted Mihyang instead? That was a final dose of weirdness. So it just didn’t seem like the writers accomplished anything much here, and the whole thing was unsatisfying.
At least Mihyang gets to be buried in her home town, that would have made her happy.
Yunhwa: “You were severe. Was it so wrong for a mother to seek her child?” Good for her.
Yunhwa: “Was it truly the advisor who ordered her memorial service? That is hard to believe.” Yeah that sure was surprising. He was genuinely sorry for her death and ordered the memorial and mourning period for sincere reasons other than just trying to cover his own butt (although that was part of it). But that was all. Not even a hint of relief or satisfaction that she was finally gone. Sure I wanted her dead, he said, but it was only business, nothing personal. Considering that he and Eunbu sent soldiers to strangle her right there in the palace, the lack of reaction was almost disorienting. I mean, he took the high road and good for him for that, but it was like all of that earlier stuff never even happened.
I liked that they showed Bok Jikyum right away after her death. He’ll have a lot to say about it.
Kyun-hwon deciding to retreat: “Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse—now an outbreak of infectious disease!” And now he’s going to practice so-Shilla distancing. Ba-dum bum.
Hey Park Sulhee could help them. He could give them some anty bodies!
(Sorry, I’ll stop.) So he decides to withdraw and then tells Neunghwan and Choi Seung Woo to make peace, and Choi has to say he was equally responsible for the failure even though he’s the one person who told everybody it would fail. Bad deal for Choi...but at least everybody knows he was right.
“It’s a shame that your father did not notice such a wonderful bride for you when you two lived so closely, is it not?” Good grief stop it already. If you’re going to reveal the secret and blow it up into an issue, then do it when the time is right, but stop poking at it beforehand. It doesn’t need all of the reminders; we know and we remember. Sheesh.
So you know you’re watching an excellent series when you get an episode like this one that isn’t really all that bad but it falls flat.
EWG has set a high bar for itself and you have high expectations with every episode. This one, for most series there would be nothing wrong with it, but in this series it didn’t sit right.
First of all, and yes I was wrong, they sure didn’t do very much with Mihyang’s death. I had expected her to become significant and important in some unanticipated way, but in the end the big payoff was that Goongyae got drunk and finally decided to boink his hot wife. Seriously? That’s it? This was a fairly significant character and they totally squandered her death.
And the way it was presented, yecch. Boarding up the entire building, instead of just confining her to her room? Then the fire burned suspiciously quickly and it looked like even parts of the front yard were on fire just to make it look more like a big fire. And those guys with the water buckets were embarrassing. Overdone for TV. And then bringing her kid into the story just minutes after she dies a horrible death brought about by desperately wanting to see her kid...there was no value in that at all. It seemed almost cruel.
Goongyae: “I knew her life wouldn’t last. Too many wanted her dead.” Gee it’s too bad you’re not in a position of authority so you could protect her. Ugh. And there were no consequences—nobody was dismissed or punished or even scolded. Eunbu stepped up and said he was in charge of things, well then he’s the one responsible for the situation that killed her. Goongyae just sort of shrugged his shoulders. All the time in this series people are held accountable for things they didn’t do, but here it’s just the opposite. That didn’t sit well either.
Then the next day Goongyae says he now realizes the significance of human emotions...as he imposes himself on his wife the day after her best friend was killed. So grief doesn’t count? And what was the deal with that momentary hallucination when he sees Mihyang in front of him instead of Yunhwa? As though he wanted Mihyang instead? That was a final dose of weirdness. So it just didn’t seem like the writers accomplished anything much here, and the whole thing was unsatisfying.
At least Mihyang gets to be buried in her home town, that would have made her happy.
Yunhwa: “You were severe. Was it so wrong for a mother to seek her child?” Good for her.
Yunhwa: “Was it truly the advisor who ordered her memorial service? That is hard to believe.” Yeah that sure was surprising. He was genuinely sorry for her death and ordered the memorial and mourning period for sincere reasons other than just trying to cover his own butt (although that was part of it). But that was all. Not even a hint of relief or satisfaction that she was finally gone. Sure I wanted her dead, he said, but it was only business, nothing personal. Considering that he and Eunbu sent soldiers to strangle her right there in the palace, the lack of reaction was almost disorienting. I mean, he took the high road and good for him for that, but it was like all of that earlier stuff never even happened.
I liked that they showed Bok Jikyum right away after her death. He’ll have a lot to say about it.
Park Sulhee’s eating habits must have been as peculiar as his appearance. His biography contained in the Chronicles of Koryo describes his appetite like this: “He was a meat lover who ate anything from toads to ants.”Well that was disgusting, watching him eat that snake. But I’d like to see him eat some ants--you wonder how he pulls that off.
Kyun-hwon deciding to retreat: “Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse—now an outbreak of infectious disease!” And now he’s going to practice so-Shilla distancing. Ba-dum bum.
Hey Park Sulhee could help them. He could give them some anty bodies!
(Sorry, I’ll stop.) So he decides to withdraw and then tells Neunghwan and Choi Seung Woo to make peace, and Choi has to say he was equally responsible for the failure even though he’s the one person who told everybody it would fail. Bad deal for Choi...but at least everybody knows he was right.
At Daeya Fort, Kyun-hwon had his very first taste of defeat. He would later attempt to conquer Daeya Fort again only to end in yet another defeat. It was only at the age of 60 that he finally succeeded in conquering Daeya Fort. The pride of Shilla was tenacious and enduring. Goongyae was arriving at Naryung County about this time.Spoilers! Boo, hiss. Not necessary at all to insert this narration now.
“It’s a shame that your father did not notice such a wonderful bride for you when you two lived so closely, is it not?” Good grief stop it already. If you’re going to reveal the secret and blow it up into an issue, then do it when the time is right, but stop poking at it beforehand. It doesn’t need all of the reminders; we know and we remember. Sheesh.
So you know you’re watching an excellent series when you get an episode like this one that isn’t really all that bad but it falls flat.