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In short, this drama is absolutely a 10/10. I didn't even got bored on any episodes and all the characters are lovely. All the awards that this drama have won are worth it. You will love this drama and all it's characters. I would recommend you to watch this.
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The best historical drama ever!
The story for this drama blew me away. It's not your typical romcom saguk nor is it serious and depressing like Six Flying Dragons but it falls nicely in between the two. It takes you through every emotion imaginable. I've seen some people complain about the number of episodes, but in my opinion I think it would not have been as good had it been shorter, but that's coming from a lover of c drama.The acting is amazing, I would say that there wasn't one person I thought was mediocre.
The music is what brings the drama together and makes the scenes so spectacular! I love the whole album, especially Spring in Ikhwari.
I'm already desperate to watch it again even though I've just finished it!
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On surface level, it is a rather simple story of the lowest of the lowest overcoming their masters and ultimately the king with a typical "everyone is equal" sort of message.
But it's really about how each plot point is solved and overcome that's both intriguing and clever. The way that it captures the back stories of every single character really shows that everyone is really just a slave of the system.
The acting is superb on all accounts with my opinionated stand out performances being that of Kim Sang Jung and Yoon Gyun Sang. Without spoiling anything, their acting within the acting in the drama were the highlights for me, although this is partly due to their roles as well.
The music also really captures both the silly and quirky aspects of the drama, as well as the serious elements very well. Ahn Ye Eun's voice and music is absolutely made for historical dramas.
Not sure if I would watch it again (mainly because it is quite long, and does start to drag a little nearer to the end), but all in all this was a fantastic drama on all accounts.
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Long Live Noisy Hongs!
The series was written and acted perfectly, and it truly warms your heart. There are no dull moments as fighting scenes and character interactions are very enjoyable. The drama OSTs are excellent and will make you want to sing along. The leads have a cute love story and strong chemistry.The series is during the Yeonsangun regime, a known tyrant King of Joseon. In the series, Hong Gil Dong, a mighty child with immense strength and drive for justice, is born to his servant parents. Together with his Hong family, he fights against corruption and the evil ruler of Joseon. The series shows great power struggle between the Yangban (Noble) and Nobi (Slaves/Servants), which plays a huge part in the drama.
Overall, this drama is a must-watch for me. Personally, I was drawn because I am interested in Yeonsangun regime, which the drama reflected, in general sense. Though I think it's heavily fictionalized, the struggle of the people was real.
As I progressed towards the end, I can't help but wish that every country had it's own Hong Gil Dong, especially nowadays when corruption is rampant and people are greatly oppressed.
I have two favorite lines from this drama and I think will forever leave an impact on me.
First is something like this, "The blood flowing through my veins is warmer and more precious than that of any high-ranking official! Only those with bloods as warm and precious as mine can join this great fight. What kind of blood flows through your veins? Who among you will stand with me?!" It made me realize that not all those acting high and mighty are of noble heart. Sometimes those people who were deemed low and dirty are the one's who truly possesses a heart of a noble man.
Second is something like, "Why did you become such a lowly man, when you were born from such a mighty king?". It left a huge impact on me, knowing the great accomplishments that the previous kings before Yeonsangun had done.
If you want something that will fuel your drive for justice and see the people oppressed winning, then this drama is for you. Every feats reflects perseverance, courage, and strong drive for justice.
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This was really brilliant. I was so happy watching this, like you could feel everything the characters were going through. I really like the fact that it was based on the legend, I suppose the magically powers of Gil Dong were exaggerated (usually legends are exaggerated stories), but at the same time it was very realistic portrayed the entire show. How people were suffering, the price you pay to be a king, and how absolut power can be destructive for both sides, were so beautiful tightened with the portrayal of the characters(the acting was really good). Every scene was connected and this is something I really like, becouse in many dramas there are loose moments, but here everything had semnificance.
I don't usually watch historical kdrama, because it becomes stupid and unrealistic (from the point of history), but here you can say it was historically accurate in the case of how were treated the lower classes and how the absolute power of the king worked.
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Story: I liked how the story wasn't always serious. They put in some comedy as well to lighten up the mood. The Hong gang were just hilarious the majority of the time. The way that the story progressed was good. I didn't think that it went too slow. They made sure to cover all the characters they needed to cover in 30 episodes. The very beginning of the series makes you want to continue watching it so that you can find out what happens next. I liked that since I do need something like that to get me hooked. The story, in my opinion, gets 10/10.
Acting/Cast: I loved the casting choices in this drama. I recognized several of the actors from other dramas and they played their parts so well. Kim Ji Suk played the king so well. He was great at playing someone with the type of personality that the king has. Kim Sang Joong did a great job as Gil Dong's father and I just thought that he was perfect for that role. Chae Soo Bin did an excellent job as well. She is one of my favorites too so I was happily surprised when she appeared on my tablet all of a sudden. She was cast perfectly for that role. Acting/Cast gets 10/10.
Overall, this show was phenomenal. It will make you laugh and cry. It's also totally rewatchable. This series gets 10/10 in my book.
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Rebel is a show centered on relationships and families (real and makeshift) that happens to also have a lot of action and humor, which makes it unusual in sageukland. Besides, the romantic OTP communicates and has a trusting relationship with none of the usual secrets and lies and noble idiocy.
It also features a lot of interesting cultural manifestations, such as dances, traditional music and a funeral (also a wedding, but it is low-key). The OST is so good that it stands on its own.
Finally, female characters are interesting and have agency, which is always refreshing.
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The Folk Hero that Flipped the Throne
Set during the chaotic reign of the tyrant Joseon King Yeonsangun, it tells the story of Hong Gil Dong, a Mighty Child whose strength became his father’s motivation to become a free man, raised motherless by his thug kingpin father, but found himself thrown into the path of revolution after his father’s downfall and later became the keyrole in dethroning the Joseon monarch along with his father’s brother-in-arms.Coming from Six Flying Dragons, i actually look forward to see more of Yoon Kyunsang who played the warrior Moo Hyul in SFD. Now i get to see him as a main lead, which stoked me even more.
This show depicts the struggle of the vast difference between classes in Joseon era that eventually sparked an uprising of the people against the King’s and his nobleman’s tyranny. The story is fine in the first quarter with Ah Mogee’s arc, ML’s father. How he tricked his way out of servitude, took his revenge and built his empire of korean mafia gang while raising 3 kids. It was exciting and Ah Mogee himself was written to be very intelligent and cunning. I mean i came here to see Gil Dong and yet got so engrossed in his father’s character instead. Then came the downfall, which was meant to be Gil Dong’s rise from the ashes.
Now as much as I look forward to see ML in action, this second quarter of the arc was actually quite boring after they managed to counter Prince Choongwon. This arc of ML’s taking the rein off his dad’s hands doing their thug business that he never approved of when he was younger was really mundane and this is the part where i was not so eager on pressing the next episode button. I understood that they wanted to show how his life changed from being the drifting underworld thug to folk hero, it’s just the way it’s written is really too draggy and exhausting to watch. Honestly during this part, Ga Ryung is the character that i look forward to watching. I liked her character very much, she was so patient and extremely accomodating despite Gil Dong being oblivious about her feelings throughout the years. Yes years! Gosh that slow-witted giant. Anyway, the screenwriting is rather draggy during the middle part, probably because they wanted to fill up those duration to cover the whole tenure of Yeonsangun’s reign since the timeline of this story started from just before the dethroned queen’s death to Yeonsangun’s downfall. I commend the historical accuracy despite the story’s focus on fictional characters.
The pace only picks up again after Ep18 where Gil Dong and his gang finally does what the plot summary said he did, stealing from the rich to help the poor, becoming the robin hood folk hero that people adored. I love how fast pace the last 10 episodes were. One thing I almost know for sure, when it comes to revenge Kdrama rarely disappoints, unlike cdrama. I am thoroughly satisfied with the ending of the key villains here, the kind of satisfaction that was lost in the messy plot of cdrama Road to Splendour which i just finished right before this one. Although plot-wise, I question Gil Hyeon’s priorities when he spread the death of Gil Dong and yet spent no effort to find Ga Ryung to explain. I mean, as a brother-in-law arent you supposed to at least get worried if Ga Ryung would opt for suicide? They didnt even show him looking for her, like for real? No one cared for Ga Ryung at all in those months after Gil Dong’s escape, it’s so sad for her.
The action part is rather disappointing for me though, cuz I expected something close to Six Flying Dragon’s Moo Hyul or even Lee Bangji kind of action. They weren’t, in fact they are far far far far from that. Despite Gil Dong being boasted to be a superhuman mighty child that comes very rarely in every century, the action scenes were really poorly done and looked cartoonish. Gil Dong, even for a thug, never bothered to learn proper martial art and when he fights it’s really just brute force and chaotic streetfight, and the worse part is he almost always pass out after every powerburst. So it kinda got boring. And to make it even more of a trope, they just had to throw another rare mighty child into the villain mix so as to balance the strength 😆🤣🙄 it’s lame. Reminds me a lot of Uncanny Counter where they just had to throw in some uncanny demons that possess the same rare unpredictable power as the ML just to spice things up and create a challenge for the heroes team. All those talk about how rare and how special out of this world these characters were supposed to be gets dialed down when they throw in another villain character of the same exact rarity into the mix. My point is, these writers shouldnt label the ML characters as superhero, one of a kind kind of character if you plan to balance him out with another villain character with the same or almost same capability. Just make him a hero without those labeling, it really dampens the specialty of the ML that you boast of when you create a villain of the exact copy, really.
I also think that it’s really reckless of Hong Gil Dong and his gang that they never really keep tabs of their enemies. They never monitor what Prince Chung Won is up to when he made a comeback, they never keep track of Cham Bong’s wife even though she has been their bane each time a plot against them thickens, and they also never monitor Teacher Song even when they knew he is closely related to the King and ringleader of Sugwidon movement. So many of their stumbleblocks wouldve materialized quite differently and outmaneouvred more cleverly had they been a wee bit perceptive of what their enemies are up to.
However I totally love the songs. Reminds me of Jewel in the Palace and Six Flying Dragons. Saeguk isnt my go-to genre for kdrama, despite cdrama’s period and wuxia being my favourite, so when i saw good saeguk shows they kinda stick on my mind a lot. And 8 rating from me for saeguk genre is already high compared to what I rated of other saeguk titles.
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Just not my cup of tea
Despite all the good reviews about this drama, I couldn't continue the drama from Ep 11 onwards, it felt really draggy and boring, I started to use my phone often watching the show as I was bored so I also missed out alot of scenes. I watched this at first for Jung Dabin, but she didn't even come out yet HAHAHA but then Kyunsang and Soobin was in it so it was okay. The start was little draggy but was quite interesting, then it slowed down and I didn't know what was happening. I think it would really be a great drama if I appreciated the show but I couldn't continue anymore.Was this review helpful to you?
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The sound track is beautiful. That's about it.
I havent rage quit like this in a while.This is one of those shows where the writing genuinely breaks my heart because it just ruins the whole damn show.
This had serious potential to be a great epic saga vigilante justice on a tyrannical king, and instead it dragged out a personal revenge quest, and when we finally get to the heart of the story at the half way mark, it turns out our hero, isn't really that special, because the plot calls for him to get beaten up and humiliated badly and they didnt know how to do that.
What was the actual point?
We spend the first 8 episodes, trudging through the father's story, which is a series all by it's self and I find it understandable as it does impact the characters later and sets a foundation of morals and beliefs. Gil-Dong suffers at the mercy of his masters and is traumatized into hiding his strength. That's very valid. Then when the big moment comes for the family to be separated, and walks their own arcs, Gil-Dong loses his memories so that he can waste time having an off screen romance. Hmmm. Meanwhile his father is tortured until he's crippled and believed dead. His sister is seen locked in a shack briefly, and his brother stumbles upon a dead scholar, so he takes his identity. Believing his family to be dead, he enters the palace.
Ok. Think I would have liked to have seen more of what was actually happening to the siblings and other characters rather than wasting time forcing a romance and giving us crumbs. We spend 8 episodes building up a relationship with these characters and when tragedy finally hits, we're left watching Gil-Dong randomly falling in love with 2nd FL. Where they lovers? Because they kissed once and that was all we saw. That's when the writers remembered the other characters. So back we go to find everyone. When everyone is reunited, the brother passing the scholar's exam, and the sister lost to the wind, we get back on track for a revenge arc. Now, this one I didn't mind so much, because the comeuppance for the Prince in charge is very satisfying and I did find the court hilarious to watch as Gil-Dong uses the old 'complete idiot' trick. I did rewatch that scene a few times. It was hilarious and the actor did a good job there.
But once that's said and done, we immediately go back to wading through transitions and trying to force another romance on the ML because he can't just be dedicated to his cause, which ironically, is getting the king on his side. He hates the injustice of the poor and vulnerable and the abuse of the nobles and he wants the King, of all people, to help him out? The King who is already beginning his mental downward spiral and was told that he's squandering money. That King?
Anyway, we have to watch some childish waif following him around and basically forcing herself into a relationship with him. She was nice to his father so I guess that's enough for him to fall in love. She adds very little to the plot other than to be another silly damsel to cause problems later.
By this point, I googled the spoilers because I couldn't take anymore, and discovered that a side character, called Mori also has the super human strength that Gil-Dong has. The special divine powers that was repeatedly chanted into us as the audience that he must hide to protect his family. The special powers I had been waiting to be unleashed like Hulk Smash because there was no reason to hide them anymore. The one born every thousand years. Nah. We're going to force some drama by giving those special abilities to a character we know little about, so that he can throw the hero around a bit. He's also a martial artist too so boom, the writers have got them someone to bring Gil-Dong to his knees and have as all feeling tense over a ML who has only gotten revenge on a prince so far. That's it. He has done nothing to make the people love him other than be his father's son. I was expecting him to be doing a lot more to 'steal the people'. Hell. His father has done more than him. And we are half way.
At this point, I can't finish it. I don't have the heart too. Pun intended.
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