Post by ajk on Oct 4, 2021 1:39:02 GMT -5
So nobody died in this one like it seemed was coming. But only because the storyline was drawn out a little longer than expected. Seems unavoidable in the next one unless we get a surprising turn.
WG: “Please offer these men some food, wife.” That is exactly what I was hoping he’d do. Just a basic courtesy to the men who came to get him—it’s not their fault so treat them with some human decency. Notice how Doyoung didn’t want to do it? Good for WG. Seem to remember him doing this once before a while back. If they’re going to make a protagonist out of him—not crazy about that but that’s what they’re doing—this was a nice little touch in the writing to make him look good.
Hyungmi: “If fear for life holds him here, he is a weak man...You must go as a worthy man should.” That was a great twist, having the monk show up in the middle of the meeting. You wonder how many other meetings we’ve watched that would have turned out very differently if a monk were in them. He’s an interesting character—seems more down-to-earth and grounded than the other high monks we’ve been meeting.
The guy playing Commander Jang is doing a good job of giving just a hint that maybe Jang is thinking for himself just a little bit. Jang could be a pivotal character at a moment’s notice and he’d be dealing with a lot of conflicting thoughts.
The necklace. How cool was that--all the way back to episode 9! A long callback like that is always such a nice reward for sticking with a series and paying attention. Although it was kind of surprising that Yunhwa still held such fond memories as she looked at the necklace. You’d think she’d be a lot more irritated with WG than that.
Yu Geungdal: “My former caretaker has been lured into ruinous vice by an evil monk who works for Captain Yim.” Mentioned last time that I had a big problem with this just being tossed into the mix without proper explanation. Now it’s getting worse. Because if this is going to be presented to Goongyae as “evidence” against WG, wouldn’t you expect Eunbu or Jongkahn to want to question Yu Geungdal himself? They’re going to just rely on some random caretaker making the claim about the holy relic but they’re not going to try to corroborate it with anyone more reliable or important? Really? Blecch.
And then it got even weaker. Because then we’re told that the information has been given to Goongyae. Well you just know that Goongyae will be absolutely incredulous when he reads the report. This incredibly powerful relic, symbolizing Maitreya himself, and WG has been sitting on it all this time and keeping it secret? Of course his eyes will widen and he’ll gasp and go bonkers. But no. When we got to him he had just read the report and seemed to just take it in stride, like it was just another piece of information. No way! We should have seen him learn about this because his reaction would have emphasized how important this was. It seemed like maybe there was something edited out of the episode, didn’t it? The writing in this series has been so airtight, you hardly ever feel like something was missing or overlooked. But it certainly happened here.
The silence as the inquisition started was very effective. Occasionally the series puts a little too much music into important scenes. They got this one exactly right. All you heard was the wind. Well done on that, a big thumbs up...
...but a thumbs-down on WG’s entrance. He and Yunhwa shouldn’t have been staring at each other like that. The first long, plaintive stare was a big enough mistake, but then another one? And fter the king has told WG to go take his place? That was really awkward. Thumbs down for the director or writer who tossed it in there.
But it was a very good episode aside from these lesser issues. And what a place for a cliffhanger ending...no danger of anybody not wanting to catch the next episode.
WG: “Please offer these men some food, wife.” That is exactly what I was hoping he’d do. Just a basic courtesy to the men who came to get him—it’s not their fault so treat them with some human decency. Notice how Doyoung didn’t want to do it? Good for WG. Seem to remember him doing this once before a while back. If they’re going to make a protagonist out of him—not crazy about that but that’s what they’re doing—this was a nice little touch in the writing to make him look good.
Hyungmi: “If fear for life holds him here, he is a weak man...You must go as a worthy man should.” That was a great twist, having the monk show up in the middle of the meeting. You wonder how many other meetings we’ve watched that would have turned out very differently if a monk were in them. He’s an interesting character—seems more down-to-earth and grounded than the other high monks we’ve been meeting.
The guy playing Commander Jang is doing a good job of giving just a hint that maybe Jang is thinking for himself just a little bit. Jang could be a pivotal character at a moment’s notice and he’d be dealing with a lot of conflicting thoughts.
The necklace. How cool was that--all the way back to episode 9! A long callback like that is always such a nice reward for sticking with a series and paying attention. Although it was kind of surprising that Yunhwa still held such fond memories as she looked at the necklace. You’d think she’d be a lot more irritated with WG than that.
Yu Geungdal: “My former caretaker has been lured into ruinous vice by an evil monk who works for Captain Yim.” Mentioned last time that I had a big problem with this just being tossed into the mix without proper explanation. Now it’s getting worse. Because if this is going to be presented to Goongyae as “evidence” against WG, wouldn’t you expect Eunbu or Jongkahn to want to question Yu Geungdal himself? They’re going to just rely on some random caretaker making the claim about the holy relic but they’re not going to try to corroborate it with anyone more reliable or important? Really? Blecch.
And then it got even weaker. Because then we’re told that the information has been given to Goongyae. Well you just know that Goongyae will be absolutely incredulous when he reads the report. This incredibly powerful relic, symbolizing Maitreya himself, and WG has been sitting on it all this time and keeping it secret? Of course his eyes will widen and he’ll gasp and go bonkers. But no. When we got to him he had just read the report and seemed to just take it in stride, like it was just another piece of information. No way! We should have seen him learn about this because his reaction would have emphasized how important this was. It seemed like maybe there was something edited out of the episode, didn’t it? The writing in this series has been so airtight, you hardly ever feel like something was missing or overlooked. But it certainly happened here.
The silence as the inquisition started was very effective. Occasionally the series puts a little too much music into important scenes. They got this one exactly right. All you heard was the wind. Well done on that, a big thumbs up...
...but a thumbs-down on WG’s entrance. He and Yunhwa shouldn’t have been staring at each other like that. The first long, plaintive stare was a big enough mistake, but then another one? And fter the king has told WG to go take his place? That was really awkward. Thumbs down for the director or writer who tossed it in there.
But it was a very good episode aside from these lesser issues. And what a place for a cliffhanger ending...no danger of anybody not wanting to catch the next episode.