Post by ajk on Jul 29, 2021 1:09:26 GMT -5
Sorry this one’s late—that Kingdom episode took a while to deal with.
Still having a hard time understanding how Goongyae’s condition works. Something frustrates or agitates him and then his heart starts to wobble—okay, that can be an anxiety/adrenyl panic sort of thing—but the stuff about screaming and losing his mind and throwing tantrums, is that somehow directly connected to the rest or is it from the wine? In the past few episodes and the beginning of this one we’ve seen him repeatedly be so very clear-headed and lucid and insightful. Somebody should be telling him to calm down and not let himself get triggered in the first place. He’s lucid enough to understand that.
Which sort of brings up the question of how much longer Goongyae is going to be with us. I mean, the series is named for somebody else, right? Not that I’m complaining; the series will take an enormous hit when we lose him. But it does seem sort of surprising that he’s still around and on the throne past the halfway point when there’s so much of WG’s life still to cover.
Something I just realized: In the previous episode the master healer guy said the 100th day when the medicine would be ready is an “inauspicious day.” Shouldn’t he have done the math on that BEFORE he started cooking the medicine? He could have delayed starting the process by a day or two. I wonder if this will become an issue.
Buyong: “Husband does not appear lighthearted lately.” Lately? HA! That was unintentionally funny. Yeah he’s usually such a laugh riot, isn’t he!
WG: “Don’t become engrossed in such matters. The truth reveals itself when a man is insincere and inculpable....I have not committed a crime. Why should I fear anything?” So he still hasn’t budged from this...at least not yet....but then later in the episode:
All of a sudden he looks completely different than we’ve seen him before—like finally things have clicked and he’s seeing the ugly reality. Don’t know if that’s the director of if it’s good work by Choi Soo Jong, but either way it was very well done.
I was surprised that Buyong told Suin about WG and Yunhwa being in love; figured she’d never speak of that to anyone. But it got Suin to reciprocate and that was huge. I totally forgot that Suin and her father were in the room when Sukchong met with WG. That was a great flashback moment, well done writers. And it also raises another interesting wrinkle: that other monk Huhwol was there too. And he’s not dead. Will he turn up at some point? And if he does, he's a straight shooter and may not hold his tongue for the sake of propriety or discretion or anything else.
WG: “How can you suggest going to Naju to a man who is responsible for the entire kingdom?” Ummm...Naju is part of the kingdom. Geez dude relax! If you’re busy right now then fine, don’t go. But even kings travel, certainly imperial guardians can too.
Lord Yu: “This is being blown out of proportion. They were betrothed, but the union was never realized, and they each married someone else. That is all. It is senseless to make this a big deal.” Loved that. Just the right words and tone.
Commander Jang: “We are here to withdraw the Scepter of Law.” WOW that was a surprise, a huge, huge surprise. Especially since this series doesn’t do surprises like this, not ever. They don’t just drop bombs like that with no foreshadowing or advance warning.
Goongyae: “I wish to free him from the distrustful eyes of the world. I will hold a public hearing as soon as light is shed up on the whole affair.” And you can buy that—that it’s how Goongyae sees the situation, at least for now. Again he’s far from being completely crazy here.
Doyoung: “At last His Majesty has begun to see husband as his rival.” NO. WRONG. Not that at all.
Oh Darin: “I would be suspicious as well if I were the emperor. He alone was kept in the dark about Wang Guhn’s engagement to his empress, and he learned that the highest monk of Maitreya Sect Buddhism has had a secret meeting with Guhn before his death. How could he not suspect him?” That was really well put...but it’s not in the sense of being a rival, just a selfish or misbehaving subordinate like Ahjitae was. Now if that business about Sukchong giving WG the ganja ever surfaces, well that could change Goongyae’s thinking in a heartbeat...but he’s not there now.
The evil laugh...from Choi Seung Woo? Seriously? OK so they needed something to end the episode with but come on, he’s the last character you’d expect to be doing the evil laugh. At least the last court official. Blecch. But the ending aside, things sure are getting interesting. These episodes are over before I realize it, they’re so tense and interesting, and you really aren’t sure how things are going to develop even if you do know that the lead character ultimately survives and prevails. The series is at a very high level right now, even by its own standard. Great stuff!
Still having a hard time understanding how Goongyae’s condition works. Something frustrates or agitates him and then his heart starts to wobble—okay, that can be an anxiety/adrenyl panic sort of thing—but the stuff about screaming and losing his mind and throwing tantrums, is that somehow directly connected to the rest or is it from the wine? In the past few episodes and the beginning of this one we’ve seen him repeatedly be so very clear-headed and lucid and insightful. Somebody should be telling him to calm down and not let himself get triggered in the first place. He’s lucid enough to understand that.
Which sort of brings up the question of how much longer Goongyae is going to be with us. I mean, the series is named for somebody else, right? Not that I’m complaining; the series will take an enormous hit when we lose him. But it does seem sort of surprising that he’s still around and on the throne past the halfway point when there’s so much of WG’s life still to cover.
Something I just realized: In the previous episode the master healer guy said the 100th day when the medicine would be ready is an “inauspicious day.” Shouldn’t he have done the math on that BEFORE he started cooking the medicine? He could have delayed starting the process by a day or two. I wonder if this will become an issue.
Buyong: “Husband does not appear lighthearted lately.” Lately? HA! That was unintentionally funny. Yeah he’s usually such a laugh riot, isn’t he!
WG: “Don’t become engrossed in such matters. The truth reveals itself when a man is insincere and inculpable....I have not committed a crime. Why should I fear anything?” So he still hasn’t budged from this...at least not yet....but then later in the episode:
All of a sudden he looks completely different than we’ve seen him before—like finally things have clicked and he’s seeing the ugly reality. Don’t know if that’s the director of if it’s good work by Choi Soo Jong, but either way it was very well done.
I was surprised that Buyong told Suin about WG and Yunhwa being in love; figured she’d never speak of that to anyone. But it got Suin to reciprocate and that was huge. I totally forgot that Suin and her father were in the room when Sukchong met with WG. That was a great flashback moment, well done writers. And it also raises another interesting wrinkle: that other monk Huhwol was there too. And he’s not dead. Will he turn up at some point? And if he does, he's a straight shooter and may not hold his tongue for the sake of propriety or discretion or anything else.
WG: “How can you suggest going to Naju to a man who is responsible for the entire kingdom?” Ummm...Naju is part of the kingdom. Geez dude relax! If you’re busy right now then fine, don’t go. But even kings travel, certainly imperial guardians can too.
Lord Yu: “This is being blown out of proportion. They were betrothed, but the union was never realized, and they each married someone else. That is all. It is senseless to make this a big deal.” Loved that. Just the right words and tone.
Commander Jang: “We are here to withdraw the Scepter of Law.” WOW that was a surprise, a huge, huge surprise. Especially since this series doesn’t do surprises like this, not ever. They don’t just drop bombs like that with no foreshadowing or advance warning.
Goongyae: “I wish to free him from the distrustful eyes of the world. I will hold a public hearing as soon as light is shed up on the whole affair.” And you can buy that—that it’s how Goongyae sees the situation, at least for now. Again he’s far from being completely crazy here.
Doyoung: “At last His Majesty has begun to see husband as his rival.” NO. WRONG. Not that at all.
Oh Darin: “I would be suspicious as well if I were the emperor. He alone was kept in the dark about Wang Guhn’s engagement to his empress, and he learned that the highest monk of Maitreya Sect Buddhism has had a secret meeting with Guhn before his death. How could he not suspect him?” That was really well put...but it’s not in the sense of being a rival, just a selfish or misbehaving subordinate like Ahjitae was. Now if that business about Sukchong giving WG the ganja ever surfaces, well that could change Goongyae’s thinking in a heartbeat...but he’s not there now.
The evil laugh...from Choi Seung Woo? Seriously? OK so they needed something to end the episode with but come on, he’s the last character you’d expect to be doing the evil laugh. At least the last court official. Blecch. But the ending aside, things sure are getting interesting. These episodes are over before I realize it, they’re so tense and interesting, and you really aren’t sure how things are going to develop even if you do know that the lead character ultimately survives and prevails. The series is at a very high level right now, even by its own standard. Great stuff!