Post by ajk on Oct 25, 2021 23:38:07 GMT -5
This was one of the best episodes yet. A few little blips but otherwise it was terrific. Had to watch it a second time. It did a great job of building on the tension from previous episodes. Writing, acting, directing, the whole deal, even the music, all terrific.
Right off the bat, that was a heck of a lot of effort that went into showing us that military training exercise for just a brief amount of time.
Wow that Captain Yim is a fast reader! See how quickly he took in that long letter? Exactly 4.15 seconds. And then recited every little detail that was in it? Ugh. Somebody should have caught that; it was uncharacteristically sloppy.
There’s nothing about this online in English...not sure if the idea is that occasionally people in China long ago would write a legend or prophecy on a mirror and that this phony artifact tried to copy that practice, or if the mirror was used only here to try to emphasize the significance of the (false) prophecy. The Song Dynasty didn’t even begin until 42 years after where we are now (918 versus 960) so that doesn’t exactly clear it up either. Would be interesting to know, but not really important for us here so I’ll leave it.
Jongkahn, suddenly remembering: “Is today not the anniversary of Buddha’s birth?” Uhhh, dude, you’re a Buddhist monk. Isn’t that something you should be on top of?
Hyung-mi’s sense of calm in the face of execution was amazing. You read about people being brave and resolute in the face of death but this scene really brought that home
Goongyae: “This must be a divine manifestation. This is a timely discovery....” He’s not the least bit suspicious? Nobody else was suspicious of the thing either, and that surprised me. Not even any of the scholars—you’d expect at least one of them to insist on authenticating it before trying to interpret it and endorse it. Was it so unheard of back then for anybody to forge an artifact? Maybe but you kind of have to doubt it since even Dowe the monk knew how to apply chemicals to accomplish it. Even if it looked good, the timing of the thing showing up right when it did should have raised a few eyebrows, especially among the scholars who could read it and realized what it said. Maybe I’m just over-thinking it...but this generally has been a flaw in the story, how people don’t consider the possibility of enemy agents or governments trying to spread disinformation even after they’ve had it done to them.
Is Park Jiyoon in on this? How did he show up and get involved in this all of a sudden? Going to Goongyae with the artifact and pitching that merchant’s story about the weird old man...Was he simply happy that he was in on bringing Goongyae something that got a good response? Because it sort of looked like he was trying to hide a satisfied smirk, like he put one over on Goongyae. Maybe not, but either way it was a surprise to have him pop up of all people.
Well there they go again, trying to convince WG to support their overthrow. When will they learn....
Big credit to the writers--we actually heard scholar Kim go through the writing on the artifact and tell us in detail what it said. Presumably what we heard is what actually is written on the real thing. They could have written the scene with much less detail and it would have worked fine. Glad they didn’t.
This whole thing was great, the way Choi Ung detoured it away from trouble the moment he saw it, and how you could see Jongkahn realized he’d been undermined. Had to laugh! You didn’t expect Choi to be so actively savvy-political about it (but he’s seen what happens when his boss has insinuations about WG said to him, so you can hardly blame him). The only thing I didn’t understand here was, when Jongkahn reacted so strongly, and then started giving details of exactly what was written on the mirror, shouldn’t Choi have been startled and even frightened? Startled that Jongkahn knows the truth and frightened that he (Choi) could be exposed for lying if Jongkahn started a wider investigation. He didn’t even flinch or bat an eye. If I were the writers I’d have had Choi Ung leave the room first because this didn’t seem to make sense.
That stuff about crossing the Aprok RIver, in case anybody else wasn’t sure like I wasn’t, that’s the river that we know today as the Yalu, the border between North Korea and China.
And how about a couple of more great images:
The glares those two traded, that was brilliant stuff. Not a word but you knew just what was being conveyed and how important it was. I absolutely loved that.
Jongkahn: “There is nothing we can do now. Use force? That won’t endure.” You know what, give him big-time credit, because he could have taken Eunbu’s offer to send the royal guards to clean house. That was another good scene—we know this actor well from multiple other series and he did a great job here, Jongkahn realizing that he was out of options and the end was in sight.
Hwan Sungil: “We have fought countless battles together. If you think this is the right thing to do, then so do I.” Well gee that was surprisingly easy! Anybody else expect a lot more pushback from Hwan Sungil? Probably helped that they kept him in the dark until this last minute and then spilled it on him 4-on-1, but even then it was unexpected.
Jang Il: “I know the truth about the military training...Hasten the revolt, general.” Now this one wasn’t such a surprise because you sort of figured Jang would do the right thing when the moment arrived. Here was another actor playing the situation well.
Kyun-hwon: “Religion is one of those things a monarch must never touch.” Thank you sir.
“Brother, let us forget about the last inquisition. I care deeply about you and I never would have punished you. Think about it, Brother. Who do I have besides you? You are all I have...I will never forsake you. That inquisition was to stop others from harassing you once and for all.” This was fascinating because here we have Goongyae with the whole thing about to blow up on him, and this is not an insane person we’re seeing. He even said he hasn’t been drinking lately, how about that.
“What happened to us? What has time done to us? I resent the heavens. I resent the heavens, your majesty.” Choi Soo Jong did a great job here. You could totally feel how torn WG was and how the weight of it all was pressing in on him. Great scene by both actors, and the music was absolutely gorgeous. Almost a shame that the episode ended in the middle of it.
Right off the bat, that was a heck of a lot of effort that went into showing us that military training exercise for just a brief amount of time.
Wow that Captain Yim is a fast reader! See how quickly he took in that long letter? Exactly 4.15 seconds. And then recited every little detail that was in it? Ugh. Somebody should have caught that; it was uncharacteristically sloppy.
■ Gokyung Prophecy: It is a cryptic writing found inside an old mirror that prophesizes Wang Guhn’s enthronement. Written in secret language, it is comprised of 11 verses and 145 words. Gokyung means “an ancient mirror.” At this time in China, legends not recorded in official documents were passed down by word of mouth. These were mostly about Taoist hermits, spiritual masters, mythical powers and prophecies. During the Song Dynasty, these legends would be compiled in a book titled “Chronicles of Ancient Mirror” which leads to speculation that ancient mirror represents prophecies and superstition.
There’s nothing about this online in English...not sure if the idea is that occasionally people in China long ago would write a legend or prophecy on a mirror and that this phony artifact tried to copy that practice, or if the mirror was used only here to try to emphasize the significance of the (false) prophecy. The Song Dynasty didn’t even begin until 42 years after where we are now (918 versus 960) so that doesn’t exactly clear it up either. Would be interesting to know, but not really important for us here so I’ll leave it.
Jongkahn, suddenly remembering: “Is today not the anniversary of Buddha’s birth?” Uhhh, dude, you’re a Buddhist monk. Isn’t that something you should be on top of?
Hyung-mi’s sense of calm in the face of execution was amazing. You read about people being brave and resolute in the face of death but this scene really brought that home
Goongyae: “This must be a divine manifestation. This is a timely discovery....” He’s not the least bit suspicious? Nobody else was suspicious of the thing either, and that surprised me. Not even any of the scholars—you’d expect at least one of them to insist on authenticating it before trying to interpret it and endorse it. Was it so unheard of back then for anybody to forge an artifact? Maybe but you kind of have to doubt it since even Dowe the monk knew how to apply chemicals to accomplish it. Even if it looked good, the timing of the thing showing up right when it did should have raised a few eyebrows, especially among the scholars who could read it and realized what it said. Maybe I’m just over-thinking it...but this generally has been a flaw in the story, how people don’t consider the possibility of enemy agents or governments trying to spread disinformation even after they’ve had it done to them.
Is Park Jiyoon in on this? How did he show up and get involved in this all of a sudden? Going to Goongyae with the artifact and pitching that merchant’s story about the weird old man...Was he simply happy that he was in on bringing Goongyae something that got a good response? Because it sort of looked like he was trying to hide a satisfied smirk, like he put one over on Goongyae. Maybe not, but either way it was a surprise to have him pop up of all people.
Well there they go again, trying to convince WG to support their overthrow. When will they learn....
Big credit to the writers--we actually heard scholar Kim go through the writing on the artifact and tell us in detail what it said. Presumably what we heard is what actually is written on the real thing. They could have written the scene with much less detail and it would have worked fine. Glad they didn’t.
This whole thing was great, the way Choi Ung detoured it away from trouble the moment he saw it, and how you could see Jongkahn realized he’d been undermined. Had to laugh! You didn’t expect Choi to be so actively savvy-political about it (but he’s seen what happens when his boss has insinuations about WG said to him, so you can hardly blame him). The only thing I didn’t understand here was, when Jongkahn reacted so strongly, and then started giving details of exactly what was written on the mirror, shouldn’t Choi have been startled and even frightened? Startled that Jongkahn knows the truth and frightened that he (Choi) could be exposed for lying if Jongkahn started a wider investigation. He didn’t even flinch or bat an eye. If I were the writers I’d have had Choi Ung leave the room first because this didn’t seem to make sense.
That stuff about crossing the Aprok RIver, in case anybody else wasn’t sure like I wasn’t, that’s the river that we know today as the Yalu, the border between North Korea and China.
And how about a couple of more great images:
The glares those two traded, that was brilliant stuff. Not a word but you knew just what was being conveyed and how important it was. I absolutely loved that.
Jongkahn: “There is nothing we can do now. Use force? That won’t endure.” You know what, give him big-time credit, because he could have taken Eunbu’s offer to send the royal guards to clean house. That was another good scene—we know this actor well from multiple other series and he did a great job here, Jongkahn realizing that he was out of options and the end was in sight.
Hwan Sungil: “We have fought countless battles together. If you think this is the right thing to do, then so do I.” Well gee that was surprisingly easy! Anybody else expect a lot more pushback from Hwan Sungil? Probably helped that they kept him in the dark until this last minute and then spilled it on him 4-on-1, but even then it was unexpected.
Jang Il: “I know the truth about the military training...Hasten the revolt, general.” Now this one wasn’t such a surprise because you sort of figured Jang would do the right thing when the moment arrived. Here was another actor playing the situation well.
Kyun-hwon: “Religion is one of those things a monarch must never touch.” Thank you sir.
“Brother, let us forget about the last inquisition. I care deeply about you and I never would have punished you. Think about it, Brother. Who do I have besides you? You are all I have...I will never forsake you. That inquisition was to stop others from harassing you once and for all.” This was fascinating because here we have Goongyae with the whole thing about to blow up on him, and this is not an insane person we’re seeing. He even said he hasn’t been drinking lately, how about that.
“What happened to us? What has time done to us? I resent the heavens. I resent the heavens, your majesty.” Choi Soo Jong did a great job here. You could totally feel how torn WG was and how the weight of it all was pressing in on him. Great scene by both actors, and the music was absolutely gorgeous. Almost a shame that the episode ended in the middle of it.