Post by ajk on May 10, 2023 17:26:25 GMT -5
Sorry this one is late.
Well...most of it wasn’t bad. The production quality was excellent all the way through. But we already got one full episode showing Kyun-hwon’s escape. It was surprising to get more of it for most of a second episode, with so much left unresolved and so little time left. And then some of the rest of it was a set up to force that big dramatic confrontation on the water, which very possibly was the most contrived, forced scene of the entire series.
(click for full size)
Give the guy credit, he owned up right away. He’s been a terrific addition to the story.
Looked like they green-screened the scene with KH in the fishing boat. I guess their budget wasn’t limitless after all. Not the first time they’ve done it…actually it didn’t look too bad at all, certainly can’t complain about the quality.
Wow Neunghwan sure diagnosed the escape plan remarkably well. And they said he was too old? Some solid brainwork right there.
(click for full size)
We see this all the time and I always wonder the same thing: How long do the officers expect their soldiers to keep up with them on foot when they’re out front on galloping horses? Were all of the soldiers trained to be distance runners? I mean, it makes for a nice visual sequence for a few seconds but it’s always hard to buy, that they all could keep the formation going without the soldiers gasping for breath and collapsing within a minute or two.
Where did KH’s escorts find all of those horses in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere? We needed some explanation there, it was just too convenient.
Surprised that Madame Kobe and her escort got up on those horses and rode all night like it was nothing. Kind of doubt that they’re toughened-up riders to be able to make that trip and not end up totally beaten up and injured and drained of energy. But hey, it’s TV.
More relevantly, kind of surprised that Park Young-kyu’s men were going to just return home like nothing happened. Seems like they’d be wanted men and in great danger. Maybe they think they can just lay low for a while and eventually there won’t be any interest in finding the collaborators? Maybe.
KH’s departure on the boat was a good scene. The respect that Oh Darin and everyone else showed to him—he’s still the founder of their enemy state—and then the banner that was unfurled, it meant a lot to KH. Just that little nod of recognition, nicely done.
KH on Oh Darin: “I met him here fifty years ago when I was a military officer.” Continuity error there. We saw them first meet in episode 23. KH had already declared himself a king and was setting up for his confrontation with Yangil. They met on a road as he was touring his territory, not at the Naju harbor. They did get the time right--at this point we're in the year 936, and episode 23 would have been roughly 890, so for KH to say fifty years, that's close enough to be accurate. But the rest of it, no. Rare that the series is less than 100 percent accurate on something like this.
Now about that whole sequence with two fleets confronting each other...It made me cringe. So obviously staged and phony. Within a few minutes the Bekjae fleet went from being barely visible to being within shouting distance. Seriously? Were the Koryo boats stuck in ice? What gives? And then not one single soldier follows his commander’s orders and fires an arrow? Not one? Okay maybe there was still a lot of loyalty to KH among the soldiers, but we also had been told very clearly how widespread the opposition was to Shin-guhm being passed over. And then the boats all bumping into each other, and everybody just sort of stood there stunned and let it play out…UGH. Is there something written in actual history about the Bekjae soldiers refusing to go after KH? This series has certainly earned our trust enough to suspect that there is…but it wasn’t necessary to turn that into something so melodramatic. Yecch.
Shin-guhm: “No, this is no one else’s fault but mine. There will be no more finger-pointing.” That’s darned good of him, good leaders take full responsibility exactly like that. He certainly has changed some. Now is he going to command a final battle? With two episodes left?
If I’m WG, I’m already making plans to have KH declared the first emperor of the unified three kingdoms. He won’t have any real power since he’s in Koryo surrounded by WG’s court, and he’s so old that he’d probably want to just retire soon enough anyway so the whole thing would be almost totally symbolic. But for the short term it would be a massive PR coup. It might put an end to any further conflict immediately. Well whatever he does, he'd better hurry. I'd hate for a series this good to end with so much left to address.
Well...most of it wasn’t bad. The production quality was excellent all the way through. But we already got one full episode showing Kyun-hwon’s escape. It was surprising to get more of it for most of a second episode, with so much left unresolved and so little time left. And then some of the rest of it was a set up to force that big dramatic confrontation on the water, which very possibly was the most contrived, forced scene of the entire series.
(click for full size)
Give the guy credit, he owned up right away. He’s been a terrific addition to the story.
Looked like they green-screened the scene with KH in the fishing boat. I guess their budget wasn’t limitless after all. Not the first time they’ve done it…actually it didn’t look too bad at all, certainly can’t complain about the quality.
Wow Neunghwan sure diagnosed the escape plan remarkably well. And they said he was too old? Some solid brainwork right there.
(click for full size)
We see this all the time and I always wonder the same thing: How long do the officers expect their soldiers to keep up with them on foot when they’re out front on galloping horses? Were all of the soldiers trained to be distance runners? I mean, it makes for a nice visual sequence for a few seconds but it’s always hard to buy, that they all could keep the formation going without the soldiers gasping for breath and collapsing within a minute or two.
Where did KH’s escorts find all of those horses in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere? We needed some explanation there, it was just too convenient.
Surprised that Madame Kobe and her escort got up on those horses and rode all night like it was nothing. Kind of doubt that they’re toughened-up riders to be able to make that trip and not end up totally beaten up and injured and drained of energy. But hey, it’s TV.
More relevantly, kind of surprised that Park Young-kyu’s men were going to just return home like nothing happened. Seems like they’d be wanted men and in great danger. Maybe they think they can just lay low for a while and eventually there won’t be any interest in finding the collaborators? Maybe.
KH’s departure on the boat was a good scene. The respect that Oh Darin and everyone else showed to him—he’s still the founder of their enemy state—and then the banner that was unfurled, it meant a lot to KH. Just that little nod of recognition, nicely done.
KH on Oh Darin: “I met him here fifty years ago when I was a military officer.” Continuity error there. We saw them first meet in episode 23. KH had already declared himself a king and was setting up for his confrontation with Yangil. They met on a road as he was touring his territory, not at the Naju harbor. They did get the time right--at this point we're in the year 936, and episode 23 would have been roughly 890, so for KH to say fifty years, that's close enough to be accurate. But the rest of it, no. Rare that the series is less than 100 percent accurate on something like this.
Now about that whole sequence with two fleets confronting each other...It made me cringe. So obviously staged and phony. Within a few minutes the Bekjae fleet went from being barely visible to being within shouting distance. Seriously? Were the Koryo boats stuck in ice? What gives? And then not one single soldier follows his commander’s orders and fires an arrow? Not one? Okay maybe there was still a lot of loyalty to KH among the soldiers, but we also had been told very clearly how widespread the opposition was to Shin-guhm being passed over. And then the boats all bumping into each other, and everybody just sort of stood there stunned and let it play out…UGH. Is there something written in actual history about the Bekjae soldiers refusing to go after KH? This series has certainly earned our trust enough to suspect that there is…but it wasn’t necessary to turn that into something so melodramatic. Yecch.
Shin-guhm: “No, this is no one else’s fault but mine. There will be no more finger-pointing.” That’s darned good of him, good leaders take full responsibility exactly like that. He certainly has changed some. Now is he going to command a final battle? With two episodes left?
If I’m WG, I’m already making plans to have KH declared the first emperor of the unified three kingdoms. He won’t have any real power since he’s in Koryo surrounded by WG’s court, and he’s so old that he’d probably want to just retire soon enough anyway so the whole thing would be almost totally symbolic. But for the short term it would be a massive PR coup. It might put an end to any further conflict immediately. Well whatever he does, he'd better hurry. I'd hate for a series this good to end with so much left to address.
