Post by ajk on Jan 26, 2023 3:43:06 GMT -5
Sorry this one is late, more health issues in the family. Watching these episodes has been a welcome break from it.
Park Young-kyu: “Forgive me your majesty, we have no choice.” Big-time credit to this guy, taking change and even telling his king he’ll have to endure a rough ride to get to safety. That’s the kind of general you want on your side. Grab the reins and get it done, even if it means standing up to the boss.
Have to point out that when the royal carriage wiped out, we didn’t see the horse get up from it. Not that it didn’t—it was nighttime and we didn’t need to see any more there anyway—but after the LBKT controversy it’s hard not to look at those stunts differently. Hope that horse was okay.
Shin-guhm: “This is the most hopeless battle. Why did we come all the way here, and why are we letting our men die?” Seriously? You were the one pushing for it, dude.
Some good stuff in the battle, but the end of it dragged on too long…and the barrage of flaming arrows at the end felt phony and staged. Where were all of those archers the rest of the time? And Jonghoon gets shot with an arrow and falls off his horse...you assumed he was a goner...but then they find him and bring him to WG and he acts like he’s perfectly fine. That was uncharacteristically sloppy production.
But some redemption when they brought WG Choi Pil’s head, how could you not love that!
(click for full size)
A shame the face was turned away.
Yang-guhm: “We have been beaten by the weather, not the enemy.” Yeah, that continues to be one of the consistent aspects of the later story, how many lives were thrown away by rash or foolish decisions on both sides. Nobody is coming out of this looking well, no matter who wins in the end.
Took a long time to repair that wagon, didn’t it? Maybe legitimately so, but they should have expanded on it a bit to justify the time it took. And was I the only one surprised that that the pursuit simply stopped when KH crossed the border? Why wouldn’t Yi Chi simply keep going? It’s a war! If you can reach across the border and snatch the enemy king, why wouldn’t you? Maybe there was a good reason for it—something like there was a fortress nearby and it would have been too dangerous to continue the pursuit. But if there was a reason, we needed to hear it.
But those two quibbles aside, the writers do deserve credit here for making this one interesting in spite of our having seen these flights to safety multiple times before. You really did wonder if Kyun-hwon was going to get out of this one or if the enemy might capture him. The series is more than 90 percent finished so either was entirely possible at this point.
As much as I like these narrated texts, here it’s a stretch to pull out the God-is-on-their-side business. The defeat was all because of stupid decisions by the Bekjae king and prince. Hard to argue that God gets "credit" for that.
Maybe a translation bobble there, I don’t think the 3rd Rank men could be “unspecified” if it’s a list of names and we know how many there are. Anyway I was surprised to hear so many unfamiliar names among the names we know well. I wonder what those others did that to make them as important as the ones we know.
Gee those guys were having a lot of fun at the banquet…considering the cups were empty. UGH.
KH: “I am nearly seventy years old. Yet I thought I still had it. Now I can’t deny it. I’m old.” And here comes the big reveal! Finally, after all this waiting, all of the decades of his hedging and waffling, finally we get the decision! Everyone’s in the room…the silence is deafening….
"Let us give it more time." Wow. Guess again. That was a big surprise. Even after his long overdue first slap in the face to show him his mortality, even now he won’t pull the trigger either way. I don’t think his boils will kill him, but we only have seventeen episodes left! Something’s going to have to give pretty soon now.
Final word is a compliment to Choi Soo Jong. He’s become much more believable as a king over the last twenty episodes or so. Still not going to gush over him but he’s much better in the role now.
Park Young-kyu: “Forgive me your majesty, we have no choice.” Big-time credit to this guy, taking change and even telling his king he’ll have to endure a rough ride to get to safety. That’s the kind of general you want on your side. Grab the reins and get it done, even if it means standing up to the boss.
Have to point out that when the royal carriage wiped out, we didn’t see the horse get up from it. Not that it didn’t—it was nighttime and we didn’t need to see any more there anyway—but after the LBKT controversy it’s hard not to look at those stunts differently. Hope that horse was okay.
Shin-guhm: “This is the most hopeless battle. Why did we come all the way here, and why are we letting our men die?” Seriously? You were the one pushing for it, dude.
Some good stuff in the battle, but the end of it dragged on too long…and the barrage of flaming arrows at the end felt phony and staged. Where were all of those archers the rest of the time? And Jonghoon gets shot with an arrow and falls off his horse...you assumed he was a goner...but then they find him and bring him to WG and he acts like he’s perfectly fine. That was uncharacteristically sloppy production.
But some redemption when they brought WG Choi Pil’s head, how could you not love that!
(click for full size)
A shame the face was turned away.
Yang-guhm: “We have been beaten by the weather, not the enemy.” Yeah, that continues to be one of the consistent aspects of the later story, how many lives were thrown away by rash or foolish decisions on both sides. Nobody is coming out of this looking well, no matter who wins in the end.
Took a long time to repair that wagon, didn’t it? Maybe legitimately so, but they should have expanded on it a bit to justify the time it took. And was I the only one surprised that that the pursuit simply stopped when KH crossed the border? Why wouldn’t Yi Chi simply keep going? It’s a war! If you can reach across the border and snatch the enemy king, why wouldn’t you? Maybe there was a good reason for it—something like there was a fortress nearby and it would have been too dangerous to continue the pursuit. But if there was a reason, we needed to hear it.
But those two quibbles aside, the writers do deserve credit here for making this one interesting in spite of our having seen these flights to safety multiple times before. You really did wonder if Kyun-hwon was going to get out of this one or if the enemy might capture him. The series is more than 90 percent finished so either was entirely possible at this point.
■ Unju Battle in the year 934 was the last battle for Kyun-hwon and it ended in defeat. This second upset after Gochang battle would mark the beginning of Later Bekjae’s fall. Resulting in 3,000 casualties out of 5,000 soldiers that was deployed, Unju Battle was a crushing defeat for Bekjae. Conversely, Unju Battle gave Wang Guhn a decisive led in the contention for unification of the Three Kingdoms. With Gochang and Unju in possession of Koryo, Bekjae had lost its capacity for northward expansion. Not only that, but some outer perimeter forts surrendered to Koryo in the wake of the battle. Stalemate was broken at last and God was on Wang Guhn’s side.
As much as I like these narrated texts, here it’s a stretch to pull out the God-is-on-their-side business. The defeat was all because of stupid decisions by the Bekjae king and prince. Hard to argue that God gets "credit" for that.
■ Thereafter Yi Chi would assume the name of Yi Do. To be bestowed a name by the emperor was a high honor, and this attests to how highly Wang Guhn valued his service. His descendants would begin to regard Jun-eui as their native soil and would go on to produce a number of notable subjects in the Unified Koryo era.
■ Merit Subject Register and Merit Subject Hall: Wang Guhn reviewed and re-compiled the list of his merit subjects. Recorded under “Merit Subject of Founding Kingdom – 1st Rank” are Hong Yu, Bae Hun-kyung, Shin Seungkyum and Bok Jikyum; under 2nd rank are Kyun-kwon, Kyun Neungshik, Kyun Shin, Yum Sang, Kim Lak, Yun Ju, and Ma Ran; and under 3rd Rank are over 2000 unspecified men. Yi Do is named under the ranks of “Merit Subjects of Unified Three Kingdoms.” This record lists Choi Ung, Hong Yu, Bae Hyun-kyung, Shin Seungkyum, and Bok Jikyum in 1st rank; and Yu Geumpil, Kim Sunpyung, Jang Gil, Yu Chadal, Yi Do, Ham Kyum, Kim Sungoong, Hong Kyu, Wang Heesul, Kim Wonsul, Yoon Shindal and Park Yoon Ung in 2nd rank. Variations and extensiveness of these lists suggest that wide range of support and comparable rewards were required for Wang Guhn to lead a successful administration.
Maybe a translation bobble there, I don’t think the 3rd Rank men could be “unspecified” if it’s a list of names and we know how many there are. Anyway I was surprised to hear so many unfamiliar names among the names we know well. I wonder what those others did that to make them as important as the ones we know.
Gee those guys were having a lot of fun at the banquet…considering the cups were empty. UGH.
KH: “I am nearly seventy years old. Yet I thought I still had it. Now I can’t deny it. I’m old.” And here comes the big reveal! Finally, after all this waiting, all of the decades of his hedging and waffling, finally we get the decision! Everyone’s in the room…the silence is deafening….
"Let us give it more time." Wow. Guess again. That was a big surprise. Even after his long overdue first slap in the face to show him his mortality, even now he won’t pull the trigger either way. I don’t think his boils will kill him, but we only have seventeen episodes left! Something’s going to have to give pretty soon now.
Final word is a compliment to Choi Soo Jong. He’s become much more believable as a king over the last twenty episodes or so. Still not going to gush over him but he’s much better in the role now.