Iljimae (2008)

A really good sageuk for what it's worth

Glad i gave this a chance. Lee Joon Gi's phenomenal fighting scenes in this reminds me of Warrior Baek Dong Soo that i have just finished recently, but his acrobatic moves here is probably a notch higher because he's so agile and fast like a ninja, and the way he moves around and makes use of spaces in ep. 18 fighting scenes kinda gives me some Jackie Chan vibe. So so good!

The story is well done for the most part. I really liked the twist at the end about the main culprit of it all, it has similar energy to main villain's plot twist in City Hunter, Time Between Dog and Wolf, and Cruel City. But the ending proved that Yong was the most un-ruthless revengeful person i have ever known, he turned his back from his enemies because he just can't bring himself to killing people, and ended up being sliced because his enemies are ruthless. In that sense it really made us question whether taking revenge is really worth all the pain and sufferings. But perhaps it's something that can't be helped too since regaining his memory proved to be too painful a price for him to bear.

If I have to explain my score, then it's due to some plot holes that makes the viewing experience not as smooth.

First, in the first half, often times the drama gives confusing flashbacks or snapshots between stage-i Iljimae who was already an expert burglar to someone who's still novice about stealing and breaking into noble's houses with tight security. Not once in the duration of the first half were we ever exposed to Yong's upbringing whether he was passed down the skills properly by his father who is a retired petty thief so to have to connect the dots by ourselves was quite a jump.

Second, it wasn't very obvious for how long stage-ii Iljimae trained with the Monk Master to sharpen his sword fighting skills. We could see that he became very fast and very advanced in the later fighting scenes with Ja Dol/Shi Hoo, so that part was quite a mess. It's unlike in Warrior Baek Dong Soo which made it clear that the ML trained for a solid 3 years with his swords master in the mountains which was more reasonable.

I don't really have any problems with the romance. The chemistry feels very muted and considering her parents, it was always meant to be forbidden love so I was able to enjoy it for what it was, and for how short-lived it is. Quite sad that Bong Soon is hinted to abandon her adopted father who she found out he was the one who killed her family, and because of that she also stayed away from Yong because he's remained close to his Monk Master.

Aside from all the support characters that i found really elevated this drama, Lee Joon Gi's phenomenal action scenes are making me contemplate to watch all of his sageuks, even the non-recommended ones LOL because I really do enjoy them. The man's talent is no joke.

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Iljimae: The illegitimate Thief

Aside from the obvious writing problems, the story itself felt like it was dragging its feet endlessly. Everything became tiring and dull after episode 4. The male lead was on a life mission to become more and more pathetic with each passing episode. Romance? A pale imitation. There was no spark, no cosmic alignment of hearts, just a void where chemistry should have ignited. And then, to compound matters, they slapped in a love square (pentagon?) that was infested with poorly written love interests between any and every one of them. The ending was a weak attempt at redemption. It rushed to tie up loose ends but ended up creating even more problems, leaving major gaps to what could have been a very simple wrap up.

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The adventures of Robin Hood Iljimae while he sets out to avenge his father's death is portrayed in this drama. He robs noble family houses not only for money but also to find the sword that killed his father.

I watched this drama for Lee joonki. Iljimae played by Lee joonki is awesome. Shi woo, Eun chae, yeppun danee, seo dol, ajik gang - all those supported Iljimae did their parts well. Byun sjik's funny moments especially while criticizing his daughter being leader of beggar sect(lol) - enjoyed it very well.

Loved the ending song in the last episode.

Will Iljimae be able to find his remaining family members who went into hiding after his father's death? Will he be able to find his father's murderer? Watch the drama to find out.

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Do I Recommend? Yes
Will you hate me for it? Yes
Will you regret watching the show? Yes

The show is not a masterpiece. At times it lacks some excitement that was promised. It's dull for half of the episodes of the show. When it does pick up it feels rushed since it doesn't truly pick up until the last few episodes. It has a lot of boring political stuff that has nothing to do with the plot or isn't important enough. Many of the storylines aren't relevant.
Although most of the time it is boring, you just can't stop watching because of some of the characters. Especially the adoptive father. Episode 14 can go to hell for making me cry like a little girl. Some episodes will make you angry or really sad or just plain depressed. Honestly, I don't regret watching iljimae but that ending did all of us who dedicated our time to watch it, dirty. No one truly had a happy ending. Just a somewhat okay ending for all involved. It felt rushed.
All in all, I don't regret watching it and I truly do recommend it but you will hate yourself and me when you finish it.
It's worth it though.

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A Joseon Robin Hood

I love a good vigilante story so this one was never going to be an exception. However, the entire show is like one weekend long, automatic writing session after a vivid dream that was used as the script and never corrected. Go into the show in the same way a child would watch their favourite super hero shows.

Personally, I really enjoyed this despite it's obvious flaws. The biggest one being the end. They seemed to have little to wrap it up with, so even though it is an ending, it feels like an unsatisfying one as you are left to write your own. It's the type of ending that leaves the door wide open for a season 2, which, since this is from 2008, is clear it never happened.

The plot overall, is the story behind the man, including the ending. Young Geom is shown to be a very treasured son of an honourable nobleman and is a very quick and intelligent thinker. One night his father is killed and framed for treason, while a young Geom is locked in a cabinet. He sees the mark on the killers blade and it is this that his later revenge plot centers around. Who is the owner of this sword? After a horrifying ordeal watching his father's corpse publicly mutilated and forced to deny his own mother to save his life, he is taken in, unbeknownst to him, by his father's secret lover and her thief husband.

Its understandable that a young child would suffer memory loss after what he had endured and young Geom grows up to be Yong, a carefree and arrogant rogue who is frequently bullied at school.
Yong at first, isn't a very likeable character as he's depicted as lazy and thoughtless. And yet when we see him nearly killed by his bullies and then again by an assassin, we are left wanting to root for him as he somehow manages to escape and survive.

If the invisibly cloak in the first scene wasn't enough to tell me that we need to suspend a lot of belief in this show, Yong's miraculous ability to survive impossible situations will. Many times I found myself throughout the show thinking, 'now, the human body doesn't work like that' or ' how the heck did he manage that in a short time'.

When Yong slowly, and painfully, becomes Iljimae, the show becomes more fun as long you've continued to keep your brain off. I had whiplash from the amount of twists and turns that are frequent and dare I say even over used. It was like the writer was doing everything they could to hurt your feelings. Even something so simple as turning around, so Yong misses seeing his biological mother multiple times.

It's this frequent onslaught of frustrating moments that for me is what ruined the ending the most. For me, since they used the opening scene as the ending, and that 3 characters were sitting around the table, I take that as Yong having survived and the young brother at the end, basically telling us what happened. From that we can conclude that Yong is in hiding and visits his friends and family but we never see Yong properly reunite with his mother. Poor Bong Soon has been left to wonder alone probably believing that he is dead. Eun Chae may also be feeling that he as died as well. Did the King clear the Lee family of their charges? We see that he never stepped down from the throne, so why did it take 4 years for Yong to come back?

This is where I feel the 'the story behind the legend' feeling. As though this was all a lead up to an even greater plot, the legend of Iljimae it's self, and we are just simply left to write our own stories afterwards.

Iljimae, much like Robin Hood and other figures of folklore like him, becomes something of a ghost that keeps the wicked scared and the vulnerable heard.

The King is seen to have clearly lost his mind, wandering paranoid and scared that Iljimae will come for him.
The last scene is of Iljimae sitting on the garden wall by the tree, glaring at the camera, like a reminder that he will seek justice and he will come for you. I am actually ok with this kind of ending. It is inline with the triumph of folklore, that the legend goes on. It's just simply lacking the emotional fulfillment of having certain scenes missing, after all the abuse we took throughout the series.

I had no issue with the music but there was one scene that left me genuinely wondering what the director was thinking. During an emotional moment between Yong and Eun Chae, the background music is of two violins playing out of sync with each other. I get the symbolism but it was very, very hard to listen to and ultimately distracted from the scene that was meant to be painful and emotional.

Yong himself is the 'jerk with a heart of gold' character and becomes more loveable when he begins to mature. It is his adoptive father who is the real hero of the show. A man forced into stealing by corrupted officials, who treasures his two adopted sons heartwarmingly, and his willing to do literally anything to keep them alive and happy.

I had no issue with the romance part of it but it is a very brief subject. An almost touched on romance that if it had been developed further, would have been a very beautiful Robin and Marion love story that I could imagine for myself at the end. Perhaps Iljimae and Eun Chae could meet each other again at the blossom tree?

It's just one of those scripts that really feels like a first draft and that can lead a lot of viewers to feel disappointed.

Despite all of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this series, I couldn't stop watching, and I had a great time admiring a baby faced Lee Joon Gi and his mid-00s hairstyle.

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The Martial Arts EXCELLENT!

I have been trying to view this drama series for a couple of months and was finally able to watch it. I can tell you right now that visual effects with Martial Arts are very well done. We all know that Li Joon Gi is already a Martial Artist! I swear his moves with the kicks are totally awesome. I'm still not crazy about the women's wardrobe for that era in Korea. I love their wedding costumes. The storyline was great because of the happy ending. The romance chemistry was mediocre. The music I really liked. I will give you my finale when I see the last episode. I still gave this a 10 rating. It made me cry, laugh, and smile.

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