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Post by ajk on Jan 28, 2024 13:58:02 GMT -5
...is up on Kocowa now with subs. Need to watch it within 24 hours to see it for free; after that it goes behind the paywall.
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Post by sageuk on Jan 28, 2024 14:13:28 GMT -5
The subs are arriving a lot quicker now.
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Post by ajk on Jan 28, 2024 16:26:18 GMT -5
Yes they sure are, much quicker turnaround. Really enjoyed this one. Definitely things are back on track. The initial mystery about what the Khitans weren’t saying, and how it gradually played out into what we learned, and then how Goryeo can possibly find out about it, very well laid out. Good work by the writers. Only three things in the episode I didn’t like… …One of which was the very beginning. Remember how the previous episode ended? “I have made it clear,” the Khitan emperor said, “that I will no longer accept any more envoys. Kill the envoy as soon as he arrives.” So what opens this episode? Kim Eunbu having a discussion with the emperor. Do the producers think we’re stupid? Apparently so! But Xiao Paiya explaining to his emperor afterwards why to keep Kim alive, another great piece of work by the guy playing Xiao. (click for full size) …and then the little wink and nod at the end, like Boss I got your back, great stuff. This guy is a star. (click for full size) And more good stuff, the discussion after the envoy’s visit. These scenes are consistently excellent. (click for full size) Yeah you’re five episodes too late! Who the heck was that angry woman in your clothes all this time? Sheesh! But apparently we have the real empress back. Hooray. And even after that, when she confesses she was kind to Lady Kim only because she has to be, the conflict in her soul that she opened up about, that’s what makes for terrific characters. “I cannot believe that the only way to win His Majesty’s heart is to look after the woman he favors.” You can totally accept the idea that a real empress may well have struggled exactly like this in a similar situation, even if it wasn’t exactly this way here. Bravo. Number 2 I didn’t like, here we go again with The Black Assassin, poking at the military guys. I wonder how true it was generally that the military both was excluded from important discussions and was as upset about it as Park Jin is trying to cause. I can believe there was resentment at the officials who fled the capital, but it's hard to believe that high generals would actually say that only the military should engage in diplomacy and diplomats should be left out of it. That seems like a huge stretch. “They want Goryeo to dispart!” And we have our first Word of the Day. Miriam-Webster says that it means to separate or divide, but flags it as an archaic word. I had never heard the word before. The subs have been darned good, have to say...anyway that’s the definition. Problem number 3: Kim Eunbu trying to make it to that horse. One, Kim isn’t even smart enough to take off his Goryeo envoy hat if he’s going to try to escape unseen. Come on. Two, he has every right to be anywhere he wants to be in that complex, nobody’s going to point to him and chase him. And besides, it’s not like that horse was parked in an easy getaway location—Kim never would have made it out of there anyway. Somebody didn’t think this through correctly at all, not even close. But the final scene with Lady Kim, actually filmed outside in the snow and you can see their breath. Always gets bonus points from me lol, good for them for going outside in the cold and getting it done. And not one fist-clench in the entire episode. How about that! So this was the best episode in a while. Big relief. Now I wonder if Ha Gongjin is going to show up on that horse?
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Post by truth on Jan 28, 2024 16:40:16 GMT -5
Number 2 I didn’t like, here we go again with The Black Assassin, poking at the military guys. I wonder how true it was generally that the military both was excluded from important discussions and was as upset about it as Park Jin is trying to cause. I can believe there was resentment at the officials who fled the capital, but it's hard to believe that high generals would actually say that only the military should engage in diplomacy and diplomats should be left out of it. That seems like a huge stretch. Saying only the military should engage in diplomacy is fiction, but it is true that Kim Hun, Choi Jil, and many of their military friends resented the scholar class. All of the pokings by Park Jin are also fiction since Park Jin himself is a fictional character. “They want Goryeo to dispart!” And we have our first Word of the Day. Miriam-Webster says that it means to separate or divide, but flags it as an archaic word. I had never heard the word before. The subs have been darned good, have to say...anyway that’s the definition. Maybe they wanted to use archaic word since this drama itself takes place 1000 years ago. Original Korean dialogue itself is using a bunch of archaic words that you would never see in a modern setting drama. Even the way speech is written is archaic. Problem number 3: Kim Eunbu trying to make it to that horse. One, Kim isn’t even smart enough to take off his Goryeo envoy hat if he’s going to try to escape unseen. Come on. Two, he has every right to be anywhere he wants to be in that complex, nobody’s going to point to him and chase him. And besides, it’s not like that horse was parked in an easy getaway location—Kim never would have made it out of there anyway. Somebody didn’t think this through correctly at all, not even close It should've been Ha Gongjin who got caught trying to flee on horse, not Kim Eunbu. Kim Eunbu was sent home without any trouble in real history, but was captured by the Jurchens on the way.
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Post by sageuk on Jan 28, 2024 19:04:16 GMT -5
Don’t know if this is a popular opinion but I enjoy Park Jin. It’s probably because of Lee Jaeyong’s performance though
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Post by ajk on Feb 3, 2024 0:33:30 GMT -5
The actor has done a good job in recent episodes, no question. The subtle way he's manipulating those guys, it totally works.
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