Post by ajk on Jul 31, 2022 4:29:24 GMT -5
It’s amazing--almost every time I raise a question about something that seems iffy or hard to accept or inconsistent, there’s an answer already on the way. The thoroughness and consistency of the writing in this series, and the continuity, it’s remarkable.
KH: “It is not out of personal grudge that I spit on your face, make you pour my drink and lick the wine like a dog. It is retribution for Shilla’s destruction of old Bekjae. Old Bekjae’s last king King Uija was made to kneel before your Kim Choonchu. Su Dingfang of Ching whom you Shilla had conspired with was also in attendance. At the old age of seventy, King Uija held back his tears of blood and poured wine to your king on his knees. The prince of Shilla had spit on the face of our prince. You may have forgotten, but I, the founding king of Later Bekjae, did not! That is why I condemn you.”
And not only does this completely resolve the apparent inconsistency in KH’s behavior here, but it links back perfectly to something I had completely forgotten about: the beginning of episode 135, when KH was talking to a younger Geum-kang about King Uija. I didn’t transcribe what he said then, but when he mentioned Uija it rang a bell so I found the reference and watched the scene again and here it is. It really fits as a sort of narrated text:
And the way he spoke about it, the emotion and bitterness of how he felt, how intensely personal it was for him, it totally explains his actions here. Shame on me for not remembering.
And on top of all of this, it was a heck of an opening scene too. You really did not know what was going to happen, and you could feel all of the emotion from every side of it. And what made it really work was when the music stopped and the silence took over. Can you imagine what the producers of LBKT would have done to this scene? They’d have the drums pounding so hard they’d need relief drummers. Nearly five full minutes without a note of music and it totally worked. Also worked because of some excellent direction.
(click for full size)
“Lick the wine like a dog.” Never in my life have I seen a dog lick wine.
“General Yaesul, instruct the attendants to prepare a feast.” Um, it looked like you killed most of them! Surprised there were enough left to get the job done.
Bekjae General Sang Kwi to Bekjae General Shin Dok: “This is the longest stretch of ambuscade we have ever set up.” Now there’s a word that has never been anywhere in our entire forum before now. It means the act of concealment in preparation for an ambush.
(click for full size)
As smart a guy as Choi Seung Woo has proven to be, kind of surprising that he didn’t consider the chance that this might happen. It's the one thing that Koryo had their greatest success with against Bekjae.
Mrs. K-H: “Why can’t you be more like your father? His battles always succeed and yours always end in defeat.” Geez the gets it from mom too. You can’t help but feel sorry for the kid—yes he’s a dimwit but maybe try a little encouragement for once.
“The three kingdoms have in fact been unified by me, the emperor of Great Bekjae!” Well, not exactly, not yet…but it’s amazing what he’s accomplished so far.
“I am not a beast that would force a queen of a neighboring kingdom to share my bed. It is Shilla’s pride that I want to test. I want to know if Shilla has any pride left through its matriarch.”
“Oh dear…my jest was too severe.” Jest? After you killed all of those people? Why would you expect her to think it was a “jest”? Yecch. But at least he felt bad about it.
(click for full size)
Loved this. Full disclosure. And that's just what they did in this episode, address the consistency issue.
“Prepare to lure them into the ravine and cut off their retreat path.” This again? Does no one ever learn? I guess we’ll find out….
158 episodes into the story and they can still turn out something this good. What a series.
KH: “It is not out of personal grudge that I spit on your face, make you pour my drink and lick the wine like a dog. It is retribution for Shilla’s destruction of old Bekjae. Old Bekjae’s last king King Uija was made to kneel before your Kim Choonchu. Su Dingfang of Ching whom you Shilla had conspired with was also in attendance. At the old age of seventy, King Uija held back his tears of blood and poured wine to your king on his knees. The prince of Shilla had spit on the face of our prince. You may have forgotten, but I, the founding king of Later Bekjae, did not! That is why I condemn you.”
And not only does this completely resolve the apparent inconsistency in KH’s behavior here, but it links back perfectly to something I had completely forgotten about: the beginning of episode 135, when KH was talking to a younger Geum-kang about King Uija. I didn’t transcribe what he said then, but when he mentioned Uija it rang a bell so I found the reference and watched the scene again and here it is. It really fits as a sort of narrated text:
■ (spoken by Kyun-hwon) King Uija was a good king. But by the time he took the throne, the kingdom was already in irreparable turmoil. It is he who shocked Shilla by taking Daeya Fort from them. But in the end he failed. It is because he did not have the unified support of his people and his subjects. So the kingdom fell….Tang-Shilla invasion force of 13,000 led by Su Ting-fang and Kim Inmun destroyed our Bekjae and took King Uija prisoner to Tang. Our king was made to kneel before the barbarians of Tang and Shilla, and was subjected to all kinds of scorn…King Uija, his sons, 93 ministers and 12,270 of our people were taken prisoner to Tang and made slaves or left to die on the streets! You mustn’t forget this atrocity, Geum-kang.
And the way he spoke about it, the emotion and bitterness of how he felt, how intensely personal it was for him, it totally explains his actions here. Shame on me for not remembering.
And on top of all of this, it was a heck of an opening scene too. You really did not know what was going to happen, and you could feel all of the emotion from every side of it. And what made it really work was when the music stopped and the silence took over. Can you imagine what the producers of LBKT would have done to this scene? They’d have the drums pounding so hard they’d need relief drummers. Nearly five full minutes without a note of music and it totally worked. Also worked because of some excellent direction.
(click for full size)
“Lick the wine like a dog.” Never in my life have I seen a dog lick wine.
“General Yaesul, instruct the attendants to prepare a feast.” Um, it looked like you killed most of them! Surprised there were enough left to get the job done.
Bekjae General Sang Kwi to Bekjae General Shin Dok: “This is the longest stretch of ambuscade we have ever set up.” Now there’s a word that has never been anywhere in our entire forum before now. It means the act of concealment in preparation for an ambush.
(click for full size)
■ Koryo’s amphibious invasion of the south coast: In 927 AD, the same year Bekjae invaded Shilla’s capital Surabul, Koryo launches its second attack on the south coast since the invasion of Naju 18 years earlier. Koryo’s naval forces would once again prevail and would acquire four harbors including Mt. Junyi and Mt. Dol. This was Koryo’s second attack of Bekjae by sea and evidence that their naval force was far more advanced.Some terrific sea battle footage accompanied that narration.
As smart a guy as Choi Seung Woo has proven to be, kind of surprising that he didn’t consider the chance that this might happen. It's the one thing that Koryo had their greatest success with against Bekjae.
Mrs. K-H: “Why can’t you be more like your father? His battles always succeed and yours always end in defeat.” Geez the gets it from mom too. You can’t help but feel sorry for the kid—yes he’s a dimwit but maybe try a little encouragement for once.
“The three kingdoms have in fact been unified by me, the emperor of Great Bekjae!” Well, not exactly, not yet…but it’s amazing what he’s accomplished so far.
■ King Kyungsoon was the son of Kim Hyojong, one of Shilla’s Flower Knights, who defended Daeya Fort in earlier years. Recognizing Hyojong’s exceptional courage and valor, Queen Jinsung rewarded him with grain and property, and allowed him to marry her niece. Hyojong would serve as Chief Minister, then as Imperial Guardian, and his son Kim Bu was raised to the throne by Kyun-hwon of Bekjae. But once Kyun-hwon returns, Kim Bu would sever ties with Bekjae and stand with Koryo to eventually hand over the entire kingdom. His role in history was tragic from the beginning to the end.
“I am not a beast that would force a queen of a neighboring kingdom to share my bed. It is Shilla’s pride that I want to test. I want to know if Shilla has any pride left through its matriarch.”
“Oh dear…my jest was too severe.” Jest? After you killed all of those people? Why would you expect her to think it was a “jest”? Yecch. But at least he felt bad about it.
(click for full size)
■ Historians are puzzled by numerous records that assert that Kyun-hwon had violated King Kyungae’s queen, as such act is inconsistent with Kyun-hwon’s character observed through other records. This drama has chosen not to depict Kyun-hwon, one of its principal characters, in such a disparaging manner in belief that a man of his greatness would not disgrace his descendants for one woman.
Loved this. Full disclosure. And that's just what they did in this episode, address the consistency issue.
“Prepare to lure them into the ravine and cut off their retreat path.” This again? Does no one ever learn? I guess we’ll find out….
158 episodes into the story and they can still turn out something this good. What a series.
