Post by ajk on Oct 12, 2021 0:18:57 GMT -5
A whole lot to cover in this one!
Was a little tough to get back into the moment after that abrupt cutoff last time. This was one situation where they maybe should have repeated the final minute or two from the previous episode, just to emphasize the gravity of the moment when WG walked in. But we got back into it before long so no lasting harm.
The inquisition had its positives and negatives. I liked how they cut away a couple of times to give us breathers from the more intense parts of it. And there were two particular highlights. One was Kim Yeongcheol playing Goongyae, conveying how Goongyae was struggling with his determination to strictly enforce the law on one hand (“Why do laws exist? They exist to chastise the crimes!”) versus his obvious discomfort at having to do it (Goongyae never spoke of it but clearly we saw it in him as the reality of it hit him) and the strong voice of objection from his subjects which he apparently didn’t expect to hear. More than once he had to stop and compose himself and it was clear why, without a word being spoken. Terrific piece of acting, bravo sir.
The other thing was the bit with Choi Ung and the falling pencil. First of all, for anybody who remembers the coughing guy get executed in episode 80, this was a scary moment. Fortunately it fell on a covered surface and didn’t disturb Goongyae...but then Choi Ung getting up and stepping over to pick it up, he was in great danger that he may not even have realized. And I liked how WG heard the whispered advice and thought it through and acted on it without averting his gaze from Goongyae. And then the big surprise it caused—it even surprised Goongyae, more on that in a minute—that was terrific. Whoever thought of writing it all this way, great job.
WG: “The distress in her clan has caused her to commit a terrible error in confusion.” That was good also. WG definitely needed to say something and he chose the right thing to say, and it happens to be true—all of the trouble she got into with her words, it all came out of her grief.
On the other hand, a few things that detracted from the good stuff. First of all, did Goongyae learn nothing from Ahjitae’s inquisition? Letting Yunhwa talk was never going to be a good idea and he shouldn’t have allowed it. Maybe it’s customary to let the accused speak but nothing was customary about this. Of course it’s TV so it’s no surprise that she gave a dramatic statement, but it didn’t make sense that he’d let her go on like that in front of his subjects.
The kind voice to and fond treatment of WG...um no that was out of place. I said last time that she shouldn’t even be staring at him like she was, but this was even more inappropriate. The apology for putting him in this situation, that was entirely appropriate, but the rest was too much unspoken-longing-and-regret for the situation.
And then as they’re about to execute her, soldiers run in with that curtain! We see none of the execution and it all happens very quickly, and then the curtain is hustled away and we see her sitting there dead with no sign whatsoever of any physical trauma. Huh?!? What the heck? I tried to give the writers (or director or whoever it was) the benefit of the doubt on this...maybe they didn’t want it to be overly shocking or disturbing to the viewers, etc....but no this just didn’t work right, and not only because we’ve never seen anything like this done before and it looked strange... Goongyae ordered an extra-nasty death for her, and we should have seen more of it and it should have lasted longer, and the image of the dead empress should have been made uncomfortable to look at. This is a major turning point in the overall story and it should have been driven home harder. Admittedly it’s a tough call, how far do you go without making some viewers feel like you’ve gone too far...but this was way too far on the side of caution.
So at this point I’m confused about what Goongyae is thinking about WG. He accused WG of plotting with the empress...and proceeded to read WG’s mind and confirm his belief. But then when WG confessed, he was dumbfounded. “Have you? Have you really plotted against me?” with a look of complete surprise on his face. Then he told him, “Reflect on your mistakes and on the cause of the others’ envy and suspicion toward you.” Which he has advised him to do before and which suggests he thinks WG was set up by others. So which is it, I’m not sure. Then afterwards he first says “Wang Guhn was still loyal when I looked into his heart” but then “He admitted his crime, so I can do anything I want with him any time.” I was going to write more and try to sort this all out but couldn’t do it easily...let’s just say there are a lot of conflicting signals.
Oh and when Goongyae said “I shall look into your heart once more”...When was the first time? There wasn’t a first time, not that we saw. Oops.
How great is it for a series to openly admit exactly how much dramatic license they took and why they took it. Some other series, if they did this then half the series would have been narrated texts!
“We were wrong...His majesty is insane. He has exhibited lunacy.” If that’s Jongkahn’s assessment of all this, then what’s his solution? He’s still trying desperately to preserve the status quo. He’s told Eunbu that he thinks their lives are in jeopardy if Goongyae falls, and maybe they are...but now he absolutely has to start figuring out an exit strategy.
Shooting that scene and the other aftermath scenes at night during a thunderstorm was a terrific idea. It totally added to the feeling of misery and helplessness.
Hard to know what happens next...I’m just wondering if now the subject of the Ganja holy relic will finally come back up. Because it just doesn’t make sense that Goongyae wouldn’t be totally fixated on it, being such a huge symbol of Maitreya. This needs to happen.
Was a little tough to get back into the moment after that abrupt cutoff last time. This was one situation where they maybe should have repeated the final minute or two from the previous episode, just to emphasize the gravity of the moment when WG walked in. But we got back into it before long so no lasting harm.
The inquisition had its positives and negatives. I liked how they cut away a couple of times to give us breathers from the more intense parts of it. And there were two particular highlights. One was Kim Yeongcheol playing Goongyae, conveying how Goongyae was struggling with his determination to strictly enforce the law on one hand (“Why do laws exist? They exist to chastise the crimes!”) versus his obvious discomfort at having to do it (Goongyae never spoke of it but clearly we saw it in him as the reality of it hit him) and the strong voice of objection from his subjects which he apparently didn’t expect to hear. More than once he had to stop and compose himself and it was clear why, without a word being spoken. Terrific piece of acting, bravo sir.
The other thing was the bit with Choi Ung and the falling pencil. First of all, for anybody who remembers the coughing guy get executed in episode 80, this was a scary moment. Fortunately it fell on a covered surface and didn’t disturb Goongyae...but then Choi Ung getting up and stepping over to pick it up, he was in great danger that he may not even have realized. And I liked how WG heard the whispered advice and thought it through and acted on it without averting his gaze from Goongyae. And then the big surprise it caused—it even surprised Goongyae, more on that in a minute—that was terrific. Whoever thought of writing it all this way, great job.
WG: “The distress in her clan has caused her to commit a terrible error in confusion.” That was good also. WG definitely needed to say something and he chose the right thing to say, and it happens to be true—all of the trouble she got into with her words, it all came out of her grief.
On the other hand, a few things that detracted from the good stuff. First of all, did Goongyae learn nothing from Ahjitae’s inquisition? Letting Yunhwa talk was never going to be a good idea and he shouldn’t have allowed it. Maybe it’s customary to let the accused speak but nothing was customary about this. Of course it’s TV so it’s no surprise that she gave a dramatic statement, but it didn’t make sense that he’d let her go on like that in front of his subjects.
The kind voice to and fond treatment of WG...um no that was out of place. I said last time that she shouldn’t even be staring at him like she was, but this was even more inappropriate. The apology for putting him in this situation, that was entirely appropriate, but the rest was too much unspoken-longing-and-regret for the situation.
And then as they’re about to execute her, soldiers run in with that curtain! We see none of the execution and it all happens very quickly, and then the curtain is hustled away and we see her sitting there dead with no sign whatsoever of any physical trauma. Huh?!? What the heck? I tried to give the writers (or director or whoever it was) the benefit of the doubt on this...maybe they didn’t want it to be overly shocking or disturbing to the viewers, etc....but no this just didn’t work right, and not only because we’ve never seen anything like this done before and it looked strange... Goongyae ordered an extra-nasty death for her, and we should have seen more of it and it should have lasted longer, and the image of the dead empress should have been made uncomfortable to look at. This is a major turning point in the overall story and it should have been driven home harder. Admittedly it’s a tough call, how far do you go without making some viewers feel like you’ve gone too far...but this was way too far on the side of caution.
So at this point I’m confused about what Goongyae is thinking about WG. He accused WG of plotting with the empress...and proceeded to read WG’s mind and confirm his belief. But then when WG confessed, he was dumbfounded. “Have you? Have you really plotted against me?” with a look of complete surprise on his face. Then he told him, “Reflect on your mistakes and on the cause of the others’ envy and suspicion toward you.” Which he has advised him to do before and which suggests he thinks WG was set up by others. So which is it, I’m not sure. Then afterwards he first says “Wang Guhn was still loyal when I looked into his heart” but then “He admitted his crime, so I can do anything I want with him any time.” I was going to write more and try to sort this all out but couldn’t do it easily...let’s just say there are a lot of conflicting signals.
Oh and when Goongyae said “I shall look into your heart once more”...When was the first time? There wasn’t a first time, not that we saw. Oops.
■ Yunhwa--it is a fictitious name. The historical records only indicate her last name as Kang. She was born in Shinchun, located adjacent to Wang Guhn’s birthplace Song-ak in the region of Paesuh. Her actual death occurred in the year 915, but it is depicted at this time for dramatic purposes. The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms describes the events surrounding her death like this: “As Empress Kang remonstrated King Goongyae’s wrongdoings, the king turned to her in loathing and accused her of adultery. At the empress’s denial, the king said, ‘I have seen it all with my divine power,’ and killed her with a hot iron club. And the injury spread to the two sons as well.” But some historians believe Empress Kang was killed in a political battle against Goongyae’s autocracy backed by the nobles of Paesuh. The love story between Empress Kang and Wang Guhn is dramatized based on a short folk legend in Chulwon.
How great is it for a series to openly admit exactly how much dramatic license they took and why they took it. Some other series, if they did this then half the series would have been narrated texts!
“We were wrong...His majesty is insane. He has exhibited lunacy.” If that’s Jongkahn’s assessment of all this, then what’s his solution? He’s still trying desperately to preserve the status quo. He’s told Eunbu that he thinks their lives are in jeopardy if Goongyae falls, and maybe they are...but now he absolutely has to start figuring out an exit strategy.
Shooting that scene and the other aftermath scenes at night during a thunderstorm was a terrific idea. It totally added to the feeling of misery and helplessness.
Hard to know what happens next...I’m just wondering if now the subject of the Ganja holy relic will finally come back up. Because it just doesn’t make sense that Goongyae wouldn’t be totally fixated on it, being such a huge symbol of Maitreya. This needs to happen.
