Mirror of the Witch Episode 1

Solid start to a dark magic drama! (Keeping my legs crossed for a while.)

Oh, wow! My first dark magic historical drama! With wicked shamanesses and good bureau dudes! Ha-ha. Here's to hoping we'll get some good female shaman characters. (Let's not make the "witches" evil.)

This first episode does a great job of showing competent visuals of dark magic, and the plot. It stays in the now to show us what's happening and fills viewers in on the past by using dialogue. Anytime use of flashbacks can be avoided is a plus in my book. Not to mention how quick it was. I'm sure later on down the line we'll get the dirt between the Chief (AKA evil) Shaman, Hong Joo, and the ex head of the Ritual Bureau.

Yum Jung Ah is amazing as the chief shaman and villain. Her acting skills completely elevated this episode. Making it one of the most amazing first episodes I've seen in a while. It's to the point and it gets us emotionally involved. We know who everyone is, where they stand, and the games they are playing. Well done.

The magic is well done for TV budgeted affects. Sometimes simple, but it looked good and created the look to give the world magic. The evil ghost/shade was quite creepy. Maybe the strangely hilarious giggle/laugh it had was to make it not quite so scary? For me it added just the right kind of creep factor. That and I'll probably be crossing my closed for a while. Maybe make sure my hands and nails don't do anything creepy. (No really, dark magic takes a toll on the hands and nails!)

What a great start! It's been a while since I've been able to stick to a historical drama, and what can I say dark fantasy is just the right flavor. None of the official main characters come into play until the end, which is basically a preview for the next episode. So while this blew me away everything is still up in the air. Personally I'm a huge Kim Sae Ron fan and can't wait to see her come center stage the in the next episode.

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Moody and Intriguing

Like most Saeguks, Mirror of the Witch utilizes its pilot episode to build its background story. The careful direction quickly transfers you into a mystical land of witches, dark magic, and curses. Following the rule of 'show don't tell', the main characters' personalities and motives are explained through the immediacy of the situations they were put into and the kind of decisions they made. Decent acting, together with the atmospheric direction, swiftly and easily delivers the crux of the story.

In short, Mirror of the Witch's pilot promises all the elements of a good thrilling fantasy. We can only hope that it lives up to this promise.

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