Post by ajk on Nov 7, 2021 3:30:30 GMT -5
You knew this one would be a biggie going into it. Gotta say it lived up to the expectations.
So that business about the wife badgering him into it, how about that it was real! I had faulted the writers for it but who’d have thought it really would have happened that way. Apologies to them...but it still doesn’t change the fact that we never got a satisfactory explanation of how WG came to change his mind and turn on Goongyae. A bunch of times we got glimpses into Goongyae’s mind and were able to follow how he was thinking about certain things. That’s what they should have done for WG.
For somebody who had to be badgered into this by his wife, he certainly had a well-thought-out idea of just how to position and assign all of those troops around the capital! Hmmm....
Jang Il redeemed himself for being wobbly in the previous episode. He was a stud in this one.
Goongyae is fleeing the palace... why the glimpse of Choi Ung in the upstairs room? That was so weird. Does anybody know what the point of it was supposed to be? And no reaction from Goongyae, after repeatedly asking for him....weird again. And then how did he get from one end of the palace complex to the other in time to open the door for WG?
(click for full size)
But that quibble aside, the invasion totally worked. You definitely felt the huge importance of the moment when WG climbed those stairs and finally turned around. Even in other good historicals these kinds of scenes can be anticlimactic or fall a little flat. Not this one, it was terrific.
WG: “I wish to thoroughly respect the law of the land.” So speaks the guy who just overthrew the government! HA! Okay we knew what he was trying to say, but it was unintentionally laugh-out-loud funny.
Well you just knew when you saw Jongkahn sitting there in white that it was a done deal already. It was a worthy final scene for him—certainly you’d expect nothing less from that actor, he always does good work and he did it here too.
WG: “This man is largely accountable for the deterioration of this kingdom and the deposed king. Behead him and display his crime to the world.” Huh? What about all of the good things that happened earlier on? And wouldn’t everyone agree that if anyone else should be held most responsible for the bad stuff, it would be Ahjitae? This was sort of interesting because it suggested (intentionally or not) that WG was making it personal because Jongkahn opposed him so much. Actually I liked it, because it showed that WG could be a vengeful s.o.b. just like everybody else back then and wasn’t some saintly icon.
“Why did I covet so much when I knew all is vanity in life?” I really liked the concluding scene. Obviously it didn’t happen this way (and any uncertainty about was erased when none of the Royal Guard troops protecting Goongyae had a bow and arrow to take a shot at WG. Seriously?). But it was so well done that I didn’t mind. A very appropriate way for Goongyae to go out. He took it like a man, accepted his fate and never flinched in the face of death.
“I could have killed you a long time ago, but I did not...because you are a worthier man than I am.” NO. That line never should have been included. The one brief moment of stink in an otherwise excellent conclusion. For one thing, Goongyae would never have said such a thing. He felt he was the freaking Maitreya! Who would be worthier than Maitreya. And more importantly, this was Goongyae’s moment and a cap-tipping to WG was totally out of place. Another one of those nudges to try to elevate WG into a virtuous hero.
“Sire, that drink might be poisoned!” Great catch by the writers, that’s exactly what everybody there would have thought and said.
So now after 60 percent of the show, we finally get what’s in the title. Let’s face it, WG hasn’t really been a wildly interesting character so far. This was The Goongyae Show and he was monster good all throughout. Not at all sure that The Wang Guhn Show can measure up to it. But we do have a lot of interesting angles and characters around him so hopefully the series can maintain its excellence.
■ Wang Guhn’s revolution...A revolution signifies destruction of existing power and creation of a new world. In the year 918, Wang Guhn launched a revolution at last. Historical records describe this time like this: “After plotting in secrecy, generals Hong Yu, Bae Hyunkyung, Shin Seungkyum and Bok Jikyum went to Taejo on the 52nd night of sexagenary cycle in June expressing their desire to serve him as their leader. He repeatedly declined until his wife, Madam Yu, brought out his armor and dressed him herself. Men were sent out on horseback crying out, “Lord Wang has raised the flag of righteousness!” Countless citizens rushed out in support, and over 10,000 waited for his arrival in advance at the palace sounding the drums. But the entire population of Chulwon was less than 10,000 at the time. Those who were sounding the drums were revolutionary army mobilized beforehand.
So that business about the wife badgering him into it, how about that it was real! I had faulted the writers for it but who’d have thought it really would have happened that way. Apologies to them...but it still doesn’t change the fact that we never got a satisfactory explanation of how WG came to change his mind and turn on Goongyae. A bunch of times we got glimpses into Goongyae’s mind and were able to follow how he was thinking about certain things. That’s what they should have done for WG.
For somebody who had to be badgered into this by his wife, he certainly had a well-thought-out idea of just how to position and assign all of those troops around the capital! Hmmm....
Jang Il redeemed himself for being wobbly in the previous episode. He was a stud in this one.
Goongyae is fleeing the palace... why the glimpse of Choi Ung in the upstairs room? That was so weird. Does anybody know what the point of it was supposed to be? And no reaction from Goongyae, after repeatedly asking for him....weird again. And then how did he get from one end of the palace complex to the other in time to open the door for WG?
(click for full size)
But that quibble aside, the invasion totally worked. You definitely felt the huge importance of the moment when WG climbed those stairs and finally turned around. Even in other good historicals these kinds of scenes can be anticlimactic or fall a little flat. Not this one, it was terrific.
WG: “I wish to thoroughly respect the law of the land.” So speaks the guy who just overthrew the government! HA! Okay we knew what he was trying to say, but it was unintentionally laugh-out-loud funny.
Well you just knew when you saw Jongkahn sitting there in white that it was a done deal already. It was a worthy final scene for him—certainly you’d expect nothing less from that actor, he always does good work and he did it here too.
WG: “This man is largely accountable for the deterioration of this kingdom and the deposed king. Behead him and display his crime to the world.” Huh? What about all of the good things that happened earlier on? And wouldn’t everyone agree that if anyone else should be held most responsible for the bad stuff, it would be Ahjitae? This was sort of interesting because it suggested (intentionally or not) that WG was making it personal because Jongkahn opposed him so much. Actually I liked it, because it showed that WG could be a vengeful s.o.b. just like everybody else back then and wasn’t some saintly icon.
■ Jongkahn...He was the first to be executed after Wang Guhn came to power. Judging by the record that he came from a monk’s background, it is speculated that he was Goongyae’s main intellectual support; hence this drama depicts him as Goongyae’s adviser. It is presumed that Goongyae’s regime was controlled by ideas of Jongkahn and strength of Eunbu’s Royal Guards.
“Why did I covet so much when I knew all is vanity in life?” I really liked the concluding scene. Obviously it didn’t happen this way (and any uncertainty about was erased when none of the Royal Guard troops protecting Goongyae had a bow and arrow to take a shot at WG. Seriously?). But it was so well done that I didn’t mind. A very appropriate way for Goongyae to go out. He took it like a man, accepted his fate and never flinched in the face of death.
“I could have killed you a long time ago, but I did not...because you are a worthier man than I am.” NO. That line never should have been included. The one brief moment of stink in an otherwise excellent conclusion. For one thing, Goongyae would never have said such a thing. He felt he was the freaking Maitreya! Who would be worthier than Maitreya. And more importantly, this was Goongyae’s moment and a cap-tipping to WG was totally out of place. Another one of those nudges to try to elevate WG into a virtuous hero.
“Sire, that drink might be poisoned!” Great catch by the writers, that’s exactly what everybody there would have thought and said.
■ Goongyae...Born a prince of Shilla, he fell victim to a power struggle in the royal house, losing his eye and roaming vagrantly before winning the hearts of the people and rising to the throne. He first named his kingdom Koryo, respecting the nobles of old Koguryo who had provided his foundation, but soon changed the name to Majin, then to Taebong. He asserted autonomous unification, refusing to turn to foreign alliance for help, and cherished the dream of northward expansion. But he grew despotic over time and ruled with unmitigated tyranny. Calling himself Maitreya Buddha, he used an unprecedented method of oppression called Maitreya Mind-Reading Law, which led to his tragic end. Chronicles of Koryo writes that he was beaten to death the day after the overthrow by a group of citizens who caught him stealing barley from a field, but it is hard to believe a man of such existence could die such a death. Keeping in mind that history is written by the victor, this story is dramatized by the imagination of the writer. So the record of one hero who took the world by storm closes its chapter here, and a new chapter of history begins.
So now after 60 percent of the show, we finally get what’s in the title. Let’s face it, WG hasn’t really been a wildly interesting character so far. This was The Goongyae Show and he was monster good all throughout. Not at all sure that The Wang Guhn Show can measure up to it. But we do have a lot of interesting angles and characters around him so hopefully the series can maintain its excellence.
