Post by ajk on Jan 23, 2022 4:50:57 GMT -5
Well that sure went in the dumper in a big hurry. Wow. Was looking forward to how Lee Honnam’s attack played out and it really laid an egg.
First of all, how many arrows did those guys have? Geez it’s like they cornered the whole Asian arrow market and shot them all in a few minutes. On and on, firing and firing, too much. And then they show such complete incompetence with swords that they get absolutely slaughtered. I didn’t see them win a single one-on-one battle. Which maybe is not surprising because they weren’t the ones wearing armor...but still, yecch. And WG, the whole time he just looked frightened and speechless. Even when they were trash-talking at him he just looked around wide-eyed. Not what you want from your leader. It wasn’t awful but it was just a very disappointing ending to something that started out strong.
And it took them forever to get back to Jang Il who we saw felled by an arrow. Then when they finally get back to him, they’re still trying to pull the arrow out like it was Krazy Glued to his guts. What the heck.
“I had done terrible evil under the deposed emperor. But to die like this is a great honor.” By now I trust the series enough that Jang Il must really have died during this event. But the series didn’t do enough with him. He was absolutely critical to the success of WG’s overthrow and WG should have acknowledged his death. A very strong character and I sort of felt sad about how we lost him and nothing much was made of it.
So then they have the banquet for Ahjagae...
What the heck? Is the thing being catered by Burger King? What odd masks those were--have never seen anything like them in a historical before. Really the writers should come up with a way of explaining to us when something so unusual is shown. Such as Ahjagae asking what they are and WG telling him, so we learn too.
Kyun-hwon: “I feel proud for leaving my father and building this empire, although my father thinks that I left because I despised my stepmother.” Hmmm...that clarifies a lot.
“They are exactly alike. He and his father are indistinguishable!” She is a very sharp woman. Another character I wish we saw more of (although it’s understandable that we don’t).
“Dear father and mother: Please forgive me for leaving.” Well good for her. Good for her. Except she went into the mountains to become a monk? Why didn’t she go to Bekjae and be with her brother? Did she still feel enough of a sense of duty to her father to keep her from doing that? I wish this had been explored better—we always saw her as so sour-faced but apparently there was a deeper person there who we never really got to know. Instead we got too much silliness with Park Sulhee, and then when she left and broke his heart, apparently we were supposed to feel all sorry for Park but it was hard to do so because too much of the time he came off as a goofball. The whole thing was a weak point whenever it appeared in the storyline throughout the series...except the writers do deserve some credit here at the end of it (at least it seems to be the end of it) for not forcing it into the story that she ends up marrying Park. At least she got to choose her own destiny, which is more than you can say about most of the women in the series.
As usual, terrific narrated texts in the episode and excellent visuals to accompany them. For this final one they staged part of a big ceremony just to go with a narration.
Overall there was some frustrating stuff in this episode and it certainly wasn’t one of the stronger ones. But there’s reason for hope now. The stupid ginseng medicine story is done, and hopefully the Ahjagae story is mostly done too, and also the Sulhee/Daeju silliness. And from the final narration it sounds like we’re about to get into the heart of WG’s time as king. After 131 episodes it’s about time! Even as terrific a character as Goongyae was, it’s long overdue.
First of all, how many arrows did those guys have? Geez it’s like they cornered the whole Asian arrow market and shot them all in a few minutes. On and on, firing and firing, too much. And then they show such complete incompetence with swords that they get absolutely slaughtered. I didn’t see them win a single one-on-one battle. Which maybe is not surprising because they weren’t the ones wearing armor...but still, yecch. And WG, the whole time he just looked frightened and speechless. Even when they were trash-talking at him he just looked around wide-eyed. Not what you want from your leader. It wasn’t awful but it was just a very disappointing ending to something that started out strong.
And it took them forever to get back to Jang Il who we saw felled by an arrow. Then when they finally get back to him, they’re still trying to pull the arrow out like it was Krazy Glued to his guts. What the heck.
“I had done terrible evil under the deposed emperor. But to die like this is a great honor.” By now I trust the series enough that Jang Il must really have died during this event. But the series didn’t do enough with him. He was absolutely critical to the success of WG’s overthrow and WG should have acknowledged his death. A very strong character and I sort of felt sad about how we lost him and nothing much was made of it.
■ Surrender of Ungju...Ungju effortlessly became territory of Bekjae after Lee Honnam deserted his post and went to Chulwon. Upon surrender of Ungju, over ten neighboring villages passed into the possession of Bekjae as well. And so, while greater profit was achieved by capitulation of Ahjagae, Wang Guhn had also suffered a significant loss. These were the times when betrayal by reason of self-interest was not uncommon.
So then they have the banquet for Ahjagae...
(click for full size)
What the heck? Is the thing being catered by Burger King? What odd masks those were--have never seen anything like them in a historical before. Really the writers should come up with a way of explaining to us when something so unusual is shown. Such as Ahjagae asking what they are and WG telling him, so we learn too.
Kyun-hwon: “I feel proud for leaving my father and building this empire, although my father thinks that I left because I despised my stepmother.” Hmmm...that clarifies a lot.
■ Kyun-hwon had three sons by his legitimate wife named Shin-guhm, Yang-guhm, and Yong-guhm. Geum-kang, a son born of a royal concubine, is the one Kyun-hwon favored most, and he would later attempt to bequeath [Geum-kang] his throne. The names of the empress and the concubine, and the birth details of Kyun-hwon’s sons are unclear, as many historical records of Bekjae were lost when Bekjae fell. However, traces exist that show Kyun-hwon’s tough-love approach in raising his children. They were often sent out to combat and ordered to serve duties in the outposts. This manner of parenting was in line with Kyun-hwon’s masculine character.
“They are exactly alike. He and his father are indistinguishable!” She is a very sharp woman. Another character I wish we saw more of (although it’s understandable that we don’t).
■ Kyun-hwon’s younger sister Daeju-dogeum...A short excerpt in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms describes her like this: “Kyun-hwon was the eldest between Ahjagae and his two wives. Kyun-hwon’s younger brothers were Neungyae, Yongae, Bogae, and Sogae, and they were all exceptional generals. They also had a daughter named Daeju-dogeum, and she, too, was a general.” This tells us that Ahjagae’s daughter Daeju was a woman of uncommon leadership and martial arts.
“Dear father and mother: Please forgive me for leaving.” Well good for her. Good for her. Except she went into the mountains to become a monk? Why didn’t she go to Bekjae and be with her brother? Did she still feel enough of a sense of duty to her father to keep her from doing that? I wish this had been explored better—we always saw her as so sour-faced but apparently there was a deeper person there who we never really got to know. Instead we got too much silliness with Park Sulhee, and then when she left and broke his heart, apparently we were supposed to feel all sorry for Park but it was hard to do so because too much of the time he came off as a goofball. The whole thing was a weak point whenever it appeared in the storyline throughout the series...except the writers do deserve some credit here at the end of it (at least it seems to be the end of it) for not forcing it into the story that she ends up marrying Park. At least she got to choose her own destiny, which is more than you can say about most of the women in the series.
■ Eight Gate Mass...Prior to leaving Chulwon, Wang Guhn held this prayer ceremony to console the spirit of the dead, comfort his citizens, and pray for the future of the kingdom. This was in November of 918, the year of Wang Guhn’s revolution. Eight Gate Mass would become an annual event for the next 500 years of Koryo’s existence. Anyhow, Wang Guhn overcomes challenges of his beginning, and begins to map out the kingdom’s future. This was a ceremony that would mark the start of Wang Guhn’s era.
As usual, terrific narrated texts in the episode and excellent visuals to accompany them. For this final one they staged part of a big ceremony just to go with a narration.
Overall there was some frustrating stuff in this episode and it certainly wasn’t one of the stronger ones. But there’s reason for hope now. The stupid ginseng medicine story is done, and hopefully the Ahjagae story is mostly done too, and also the Sulhee/Daeju silliness. And from the final narration it sounds like we’re about to get into the heart of WG’s time as king. After 131 episodes it’s about time! Even as terrific a character as Goongyae was, it’s long overdue.