Post by ajk on Aug 30, 2022 0:06:45 GMT -5
Not a lot to say about this one; it was mostly just aftermath stuff and tying up loose ends. Wow a lot of narrated text—the most of any episode so far. And some great scenic images to go with it.
What happened to the guy who found WG in the woods and gave him food? Where did he go? I thought he was escorting WG back to safety, but there’s WG back alone hiding in the woods looking all scared again. I figured the guy would have stayed with WG and ended up being brought back to Koryo and given a hero’s reward.
WG: “My error has cost the lives of ten thousand soldiers.” Well THAT took long enough.
That battlefield had an absurdly high concentration of one army’s bodies in one place…unless Bekjae stacked them there, which I guess is possible. But can you imagine the stench? Yecch. One thing I did wonder about was all of the weapons still laying there. Wouldn’t the Bekjae army have taken those for themselves? Maybe not, it was mostly spears and maybe they had plenty.
“There may be another way to identify him. General Shin had told us about a birthmark of seven stars of the Big Dipper on his left ankle.” Yeah I vaguely remember some sort of reference to something like this coming up in a scene where Shin and other generals were having an evening drink together. But for once I can't put my finger on the episode number. Maybe I can find it later.
The new Shilla king is an interesting guy. Those two traitorous officials, they were the reason he’s sitting on the throne and he had no reason to fear them, but he did the right thing anyway. Not everyone on a throne would do that. Good for him.
…and during the narration they took us on a little video tour of the present-day site. Really liked that! Not only was it interesting to see how some of those places are acknowledged today, but the overview shots of the region, you can definitely understand how somebody with good knowledge of the area could get an enemy army into serious trouble. It’s not like a simple mountain with a peak and slopes all around, it had all of those long steep ridges and you can see how an army could get pinned in a difficult situation if they didn’t know the terrain well. Great stuff.
(click for full size)
(click for full size)
Some more nice tourism-style footage of the present area, and we see Shin’s grave, a great touch to show how this history survives even today. The temple, I guess that must have been built later because at the time it still would have been in disputed territory.
One thing I will say about this one, it probably scored Choi Soo Jong a lot of points with a lot of viewers. He had a lot of emoting to do, to show all of WG’s regret and misery, and he did it well—it was convincing.
But WG bleeped up big-time and we’re 81 percent through the series and he’s lost 10,000 soldiers and Kyun-hwon is THE MAN. It’s hard to see how this thing could possibly turn decisively in WG’s favor, unless KH and Choi Seung Woo both suddenly drop dead. But we know it does turn in his favor…sure hope the series sustains its high quality to the end because it should continue to be a great story going forward.
What happened to the guy who found WG in the woods and gave him food? Where did he go? I thought he was escorting WG back to safety, but there’s WG back alone hiding in the woods looking all scared again. I figured the guy would have stayed with WG and ended up being brought back to Koryo and given a hero’s reward.
WG: “My error has cost the lives of ten thousand soldiers.” Well THAT took long enough.
That battlefield had an absurdly high concentration of one army’s bodies in one place…unless Bekjae stacked them there, which I guess is possible. But can you imagine the stench? Yecch. One thing I did wonder about was all of the weapons still laying there. Wouldn’t the Bekjae army have taken those for themselves? Maybe not, it was mostly spears and maybe they had plenty.
“There may be another way to identify him. General Shin had told us about a birthmark of seven stars of the Big Dipper on his left ankle.” Yeah I vaguely remember some sort of reference to something like this coming up in a scene where Shin and other generals were having an evening drink together. But for once I can't put my finger on the episode number. Maybe I can find it later.
The new Shilla king is an interesting guy. Those two traitorous officials, they were the reason he’s sitting on the throne and he had no reason to fear them, but he did the right thing anyway. Not everyone on a throne would do that. Good for him.
■ Wang Guhn’s greatest defeat…Battle of Mt. Gong Eastwater was the most harrowing battle in the history of the Later Three Kingdoms, which resulted in the death of 10,000 Koryo troops. Mt. Gong is surrounded by modern-day Daegu, Yongchun, Goonwei and Kasan. With Biro Peak as the axis, its ridgeline extends 10 miles east and west. It was originally called Mt. Gong, or Mt. Eastwater, but it is renamed Mt. Pal-Gong (Eight Merit) for the eight merit subjects who died in this battle. Traces of this famous battle still remain in the region in the form of geographical titles. Mt. Wang, the hill where Wang Guhn hid himself and escaped; One Man Rock, the spot in Yumbul Temple where Wang Guhn had encountered a monk; Lower and Upper Dissolution Hill, the two battlefields where Wang Guhn was defeated; The Creek of Death, where they say the water was completely covered with arrows; Village of Lost King, where a wood gatherer helped Wang Guhn without knowing his identity; Warrior Hill; Hidden Temple; and other still-existing names paint a clear picture of this battle. Wang Guhn was thoroughly defeated. Meanwhile, on his return to the capital, victorious Kyun-hwon cut off the path of Koryo’s pursuit by burning all of the grain fields in Sung-ju and ordered a counteroffensive on Koryo’s naval force that had landed in the south coast.
…and during the narration they took us on a little video tour of the present-day site. Really liked that! Not only was it interesting to see how some of those places are acknowledged today, but the overview shots of the region, you can definitely understand how somebody with good knowledge of the area could get an enemy army into serious trouble. It’s not like a simple mountain with a peak and slopes all around, it had all of those long steep ridges and you can see how an army could get pinned in a difficult situation if they didn’t know the terrain well. Great stuff.
(click for full size)
■ Lord Kim Soonshik of Myungju…He’s been portrayed in number of important parts of this historical drama. He had played a critical role in Goongyae’s founding of Koryo. Unlike his father Huhwal who supported Wang Guhn, he had shunned Wang Guhn after Wang Guhn’s revolution. Past attempts by Huhwal to assuage their relationship had failed, but Kim was pledging his loyalty to Wang Guhn at last. To the disheartened king, this was an unexpected gift. Kim held considerable influence at the time. Hence Wang Guhn expressed his gratitude by bestowing him the royal surname of Wang.
■ Upon returning from Mt. Gong, Wang Guhn fought back his grief and rage and declared his will to fight again. He bestowed a posthumous title of “Valiant Warrior” to Shin Seungkyum, and buried him at the site that was chosen for Wang Guhn’s own burial in modern-day Choonchun. Shin’s brother and his son were granted government positions, and the Temple of Enlightenment of Wonder was built where Shin had perished. In addition, he was honored with a posthumous position entitled “Blue Tiger Guard of Founding Country, Superior Regional Defender and Royal Protector.” Kim Lak was also given the title “Valiant Warrior”, and later “Highest Merit Subject of Unification of the Three Kingdoms” was added to his name. It is said that a figure in his likeness was made out of dry grass and was placed among the line of subjects at each memorial service. Chun Yigap was named “Loyal Gentle Warrior” and his brother Chun Uigap was titled “Loyal Passionate Warrior”. And later they were each granted posthumous positions of “First Minister and Magistrate” and “Prime Secretary of Military and Civil Affairs.”
(click for full size)
Some more nice tourism-style footage of the present area, and we see Shin’s grave, a great touch to show how this history survives even today. The temple, I guess that must have been built later because at the time it still would have been in disputed territory.
One thing I will say about this one, it probably scored Choi Soo Jong a lot of points with a lot of viewers. He had a lot of emoting to do, to show all of WG’s regret and misery, and he did it well—it was convincing.
But WG bleeped up big-time and we’re 81 percent through the series and he’s lost 10,000 soldiers and Kyun-hwon is THE MAN. It’s hard to see how this thing could possibly turn decisively in WG’s favor, unless KH and Choi Seung Woo both suddenly drop dead. But we know it does turn in his favor…sure hope the series sustains its high quality to the end because it should continue to be a great story going forward.
