Post by ajk on Nov 13, 2022 2:36:05 GMT -5
“You mean they set him up? What is this country coming to?” PERFECT intro. Hearing it from the villagers, that tells us so much about how the whole situation is being viewed and what people know. You figured to get the typical scene of the convicted important person being taken away to exile, but this was an excellent one and served a valuable purpose.
Well this presents a problem because it’s not exactly what was portrayed. We never really saw anything to give the impression that Yu was being favored by WG to any unreasonable extent beyond what he earned legitimately. Did we? Or have I misread this. If we had seen it to that extent, it would make what’s happening here a lot more sensible and justifiable. They’ve shown WG do some not-entirely-wise things as king so protecting his image isn’t the issue here. I wonder why they haven’t shown Yu getting more of the favoritism that he apparently did get.
It also made me a little unhappy because we got plenty of Yu early on in the series, and this suggests that he may not have been involved with WG as early on as we saw here, and that all of the early stuff was probably 100% fiction. Would have been better to know that at the time, but I guess they at least get credit for coming clean eventually.
Wang Shikryum: “His majesty not only granted our request but eagerly imposed harsher punishment then lectured us about the law. He exaggerated the crime and made it a bigger deal than it is.” And then they figured it out. It was sort of a clunky scene, like teenagers playing Hardy Boys mystery.
WG: “I intend to invite a few guests for a drink.” Liked that--you can guess what’s coming and already are looking forward to it.
Choi Ung: “I needed to turn his majesty’s attention away from his one favored subject and comfort the other hard-working subjects who were feeling neglected.” Then he says “Those who brought charges should be bewildered.” But they’re not! They figured it out, we saw that. And why would you want to bewilder them if you’re trying to comfort them. Some of this is very strange. Not saying it’s wrong, I just don’t follow it. Yu gets over-punished to send a message...but it turns out it’s not really an over-punishment; he’s just being sent up the road a ways and he’s going to be working for the army anyways...and everyone can see this and figure it out...so what kind of a message is this really sending?
Choi: “It’s quite simple. This was done to prevent future factional strife and power struggles among the subjects, at the expense of General Yu’s brief inconvenience.” Well maybe just the fact that Yu got sent away for a while, maybe that’s enough to get a helpful message across. Like I said, not saying it’s wrong, just not entirely clear that it’s right.
Yu: “I may have been exiled, but I have also been ordered to inspect the defense situation of this vulnerable region...This is not my place of exile, but a new strategic hamlet.” So it’s hard to call this an exile at all. On paper maybe, but really he’s just on assignment.
Then we jump to Bekjae and get the one real mistake in the episode. We get a comment from Madame Kobe about how there have been “a few years without war.” So apparently there’s a time jump here. But there’s no apparent time jump in Koryo; they’re still talking about Yu’s exile like it just happened.
Choi Seung Woo: “Fine. I will create an opportunity for him.” Wow there’s another solid tease for what’s coming. What can Choi possibly do to give Shin-guhm any glimmer of hope?
(click for full size)
“Let us take our time and discuss that over a drink tonight.” Yeah they know they’re in deep doo-doo. The squirming was great fun to watch. Of course the cups will be empty!
Choi, clearly having a heart attack. “It’s just a cold.”’ What is this, the Soviet Union?
Overall another very good episode. And fair mention, the guy playing Park Sulhee did some of his best work in this one.
(click for full size)
So did Choi Soo Jung for that matter—WG is now just the guy in the big chair looking stern and laying the smackdown, which Choi does well.
■ Yu Geumpil--His name begins to stand out about a decade into Wang Guhn’s reign with records of his merits clearly outnumbering the other royal subjects. He impressed the king by using his influence in the north to dominate Jurchen and Malgal tribes, and it was no surprise that his peers were jealous of his merits. Now Wang Guhn was condemning this loyal subject to exile. But the place of exile Wang Guhn chose was Gok Island, which appears to have been closely located to the capital. By giving Yu punishment that appeared harsh on the surface, Wang Guhn was cautioning the other subjects who were abusing their growing power.
Well this presents a problem because it’s not exactly what was portrayed. We never really saw anything to give the impression that Yu was being favored by WG to any unreasonable extent beyond what he earned legitimately. Did we? Or have I misread this. If we had seen it to that extent, it would make what’s happening here a lot more sensible and justifiable. They’ve shown WG do some not-entirely-wise things as king so protecting his image isn’t the issue here. I wonder why they haven’t shown Yu getting more of the favoritism that he apparently did get.
It also made me a little unhappy because we got plenty of Yu early on in the series, and this suggests that he may not have been involved with WG as early on as we saw here, and that all of the early stuff was probably 100% fiction. Would have been better to know that at the time, but I guess they at least get credit for coming clean eventually.
Wang Shikryum: “His majesty not only granted our request but eagerly imposed harsher punishment then lectured us about the law. He exaggerated the crime and made it a bigger deal than it is.” And then they figured it out. It was sort of a clunky scene, like teenagers playing Hardy Boys mystery.
WG: “I intend to invite a few guests for a drink.” Liked that--you can guess what’s coming and already are looking forward to it.
Choi Ung: “I needed to turn his majesty’s attention away from his one favored subject and comfort the other hard-working subjects who were feeling neglected.” Then he says “Those who brought charges should be bewildered.” But they’re not! They figured it out, we saw that. And why would you want to bewilder them if you’re trying to comfort them. Some of this is very strange. Not saying it’s wrong, I just don’t follow it. Yu gets over-punished to send a message...but it turns out it’s not really an over-punishment; he’s just being sent up the road a ways and he’s going to be working for the army anyways...and everyone can see this and figure it out...so what kind of a message is this really sending?
Choi: “It’s quite simple. This was done to prevent future factional strife and power struggles among the subjects, at the expense of General Yu’s brief inconvenience.” Well maybe just the fact that Yu got sent away for a while, maybe that’s enough to get a helpful message across. Like I said, not saying it’s wrong, just not entirely clear that it’s right.
Yu: “I may have been exiled, but I have also been ordered to inspect the defense situation of this vulnerable region...This is not my place of exile, but a new strategic hamlet.” So it’s hard to call this an exile at all. On paper maybe, but really he’s just on assignment.
Then we jump to Bekjae and get the one real mistake in the episode. We get a comment from Madame Kobe about how there have been “a few years without war.” So apparently there’s a time jump here. But there’s no apparent time jump in Koryo; they’re still talking about Yu’s exile like it just happened.
Choi Seung Woo: “Fine. I will create an opportunity for him.” Wow there’s another solid tease for what’s coming. What can Choi possibly do to give Shin-guhm any glimmer of hope?
(click for full size)
“Let us take our time and discuss that over a drink tonight.” Yeah they know they’re in deep doo-doo. The squirming was great fun to watch. Of course the cups will be empty!
Choi, clearly having a heart attack. “It’s just a cold.”’ What is this, the Soviet Union?
Overall another very good episode. And fair mention, the guy playing Park Sulhee did some of his best work in this one.
(click for full size)
So did Choi Soo Jung for that matter—WG is now just the guy in the big chair looking stern and laying the smackdown, which Choi does well.