Post by ajk on Jun 12, 2022 2:29:23 GMT -5
Once we got past the Choi Ung stuff, it was a very interesting episode. Lots of good writing.
The music in the beginning during the ride to Choi Ung’s house didn’t really fit. They should have stopped it early.
The Choi Ung story is missing an important element. We’re told that he was heavily criticized for his part in the arrangement to submit to Kyun-hwon, which is what pushed him to seek death. But we never saw or heard any of it. It was just indirectly mentioned. We needed to see it because without it Choi comes across as selfish and immature. In fact even WITH it he wouldn’t look very good—What, the brilliant scholar doesn’t have the skin to handle criticism?—but if he really did take a lot of heat for what happened then hearing some of it would have made Choi’s reaction to it more understandable.
WG to Choi Ung: “Is your honor important enough to trample mine? Do you care nothing about what happens to me?” Good for WG! He handled that very well. “I bowed before the king of Bekjae, now you must make him bow before me someday. That is your real duty.” He didn’t try sucking up to Choi or coddling him like he might have. Nice work.
Choi Ung: “Life is but a span. The size of a house matters nothing.” Well good for him. He’s never been my favorite character but I sure liked that. What the heck does anybody need an opulent house for.
The discussion that WG and Choi Ung had the following morning before WG left, that scene was green-screened! I wonder why? You can tell it wasn’t shot on location.
Choi Ung: “Kill the pawn of Shilla Jin Ho. Our compassionate emperor will not take action until this is resolved. It has to be done. The sooner the better.” Oh I don’t agree with that at all. It’s more than just Wang Shin that’s holding WG back, it’s the pact that the two kingdoms made. And this act of rampant disobedience would just be substituting one massive weight on WG’s heart for another. It’s interesting because what’s getting lost in all this is that WG is right—you might as well let Bekjae do the hard work of overpowering Shilla and then you can swoop in after they’ve extended themselves. But if you’re going to take action now, send Jin Ho back unharmed. What does it matter, he’s of no military value. And tell KH the deal is off because of Koryo’s alliance with Shilla. Then you at least have a chance that KH will do an honorable thing and send Wang Shin back unharmed. Well this has suddenly taken an ugly turn, hasn’t it….
The music in the beginning during the ride to Choi Ung’s house didn’t really fit. They should have stopped it early.
The Choi Ung story is missing an important element. We’re told that he was heavily criticized for his part in the arrangement to submit to Kyun-hwon, which is what pushed him to seek death. But we never saw or heard any of it. It was just indirectly mentioned. We needed to see it because without it Choi comes across as selfish and immature. In fact even WITH it he wouldn’t look very good—What, the brilliant scholar doesn’t have the skin to handle criticism?—but if he really did take a lot of heat for what happened then hearing some of it would have made Choi’s reaction to it more understandable.
WG to Choi Ung: “Is your honor important enough to trample mine? Do you care nothing about what happens to me?” Good for WG! He handled that very well. “I bowed before the king of Bekjae, now you must make him bow before me someday. That is your real duty.” He didn’t try sucking up to Choi or coddling him like he might have. Nice work.
Choi Ung: “Life is but a span. The size of a house matters nothing.” Well good for him. He’s never been my favorite character but I sure liked that. What the heck does anybody need an opulent house for.
The discussion that WG and Choi Ung had the following morning before WG left, that scene was green-screened! I wonder why? You can tell it wasn’t shot on location.
Choi Ung: “Kill the pawn of Shilla Jin Ho. Our compassionate emperor will not take action until this is resolved. It has to be done. The sooner the better.” Oh I don’t agree with that at all. It’s more than just Wang Shin that’s holding WG back, it’s the pact that the two kingdoms made. And this act of rampant disobedience would just be substituting one massive weight on WG’s heart for another. It’s interesting because what’s getting lost in all this is that WG is right—you might as well let Bekjae do the hard work of overpowering Shilla and then you can swoop in after they’ve extended themselves. But if you’re going to take action now, send Jin Ho back unharmed. What does it matter, he’s of no military value. And tell KH the deal is off because of Koryo’s alliance with Shilla. Then you at least have a chance that KH will do an honorable thing and send Wang Shin back unharmed. Well this has suddenly taken an ugly turn, hasn’t it….
