I hope in the melee that the King and Secretary Park talk to Seok Jeong about his father pretending that he was dead and willingness to kill him for real. Even though as a viewer I know the Councillor has no fucks to give about his son, it was still shocking to see the father willing to let Jeong die like that. That scene was incredibly intense. You know it's a great show when you don't need the dialogue to understand what's going on.
This drama was bit of a slog to get through. The story could have been better told with shorter episodes. Much of the story felt repetitious.
Overall it is a good series showing how a marriage can and does fail because love on its own cannot sustain it.
Other random thoughts: - don't couples go to marriage counseling in Japan? - why did Michi keep falling down? Was it supposed to say something about her, i.e. physical & emotional clumsiness? inability to stand on her own two feet? - Michi & Yoichi had great chemistry. - no wonder Yoichi had ED with his wife: he didn't want children. Although I liked his character, his dishonesty about something so fundamental to Michi was even more divorce worthy than his one-off infidelity IMO. He pretty much tricked her into the marriage. - I was really indifferent to the plight of Makato & Kaede plus the actors had zero chemistry leading me to wonder what the characters ever saw in each other. Even their home lacked color & personality. - Kaede works for the worst-run business ever. Unless you're on-call to save lives, there's no need for non-stop phone calls about "emergencies", not in fashion magazines anyway. Get real. - Michi's co-worker (Hana?) is a great friend; we should all aspire to be like her for someone near & dear to us. - Mishima's serial attractions to unavailable men could be the topic for another series. She's a train wreck, bless her heart.
I honestly can't imagine a kiss scene between our main leads. I would blush to death. For the first time in my…
Yeah, I think my screen would combust. I usually shy away from romantic K-dramas because the leads generally have negative chemistry, but this show is a notable exception.
The site owners should put a big badge on the page when a show deals with sexually mature themes or allow users to completely hide/block 18+ programming. That way viewers who don't like dramas because of said content can keep it moving and not be annoying.
The King just wants to give up at the first sign of an obstacle. No wonder it's taken him 15 years to investigate his father's death. Where are his people? He should have a network of operatives & spies telling him everything that's going in the kingdom. He is too isolated.
At the moment, Seok has the upper hand on everyone (except his son). #Depravity
I don't understand Seok's willingness to have his son killed. It's not like he has a spare.
"The most important possession for a Korean family was the firstborn son, or jangja (장자). ... It was so important that no man could die without having a male heir. If they were unable to produce one, they had to adopt (from the same lineage)." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Joseon
Whatever happened to Yeo Hwa's uncle who arranged her marriage into the Seok family? He appeared once and hasn't even been mentioned once.
Jeong is much more pleasant than his sister and highly intelligent. Might he become an ally in the mission to bring down his father?
It's always the quiet ones you have to look out for. Park Su Ho is a goner. The only person who can stop him from being with Yeo Hwa is Yeo Hwa herself.
Baiting Kang is another in the list of Lady Oh's dumb moves. I'd be surprised if she lives to tell the tale of Lord Seok's treason & murder.
Speaking of Lord Seok, his dialogue with the King was so incredibly chilling. How the King managed to hold himself back from stabbing Seok in the chest is a miracle. Then Seok practically ran away in fear when the Queen Dowager offered him Lady Oh's tea. Despite his bravado with Lady Oh in eps. 8 and his lowkey threats to the King's face, Seok is getting desperate. He's going to get careless and bring himself down.
I love how masterful Secretary Park was in this episode. It made him look sexy. Plus he trusts Lady Cho's intelligence enough to not insult it. What a boss.
As for the romance, the gift giving was cute and all (it really was), but the way Yeo Hwa & Su Ho bonded over the idea of killing Kang was delightful. Shared murderous rage >>>>>> sweet treats. LOL
Every single detail of this series is absolutely brilliant.
The romance could have been cut completely and have a series about the line of women through the ages. That would have been fascinating. Still, it wasn't a terrible series and Ki Do Hoon looked especially fine in his suits.
This isn't a bad series, but the romance was unnecessary (the leads had no chemistry). Other than the FL and the ML's sidekick I thought the acting was outstanding. The actors really elevated what was just average writing. Still, it is more than watchable thanks to Woo Do Hwan and the villains. It can fill the gaps in between better shows.
Interesting comment!!!! However, something tells me Seok Jeong might not be as ‘devoted’ of a husband/partner…
It was the flashback that made me consider Seok Jeong as a suitor. He seemed quite serious about his love and very determined. He does act frivolous 15 years later but maybe it's just a facade or inconsistent characterization.
So Seok Jeong never found a way to get a letter to his mother at least once in 15 years?
Having said that, I actually think he could be a good match for Cho Yeo Hwa. He is just as unconventional as she is and would not mind her doing anything she wants although they seemingly don't share the same ideals.
Park Su Ho on the other hand is an over-protective stick in the mud. He didn't notice the light go out in Yeo Hwa's eyes when he told her to stay home and do nothing. Then asking himself, "What would she want me to do?" You don't snuff out the very thing that led you to fall in love with a person. So despite their obvious attraction & chemistry, I dunno if they're going to get off the ground. We shall see.
Shall I watch this while airing or wait till the whole series fully releases?
Part of the fun is the wait for the episodes, then the subtitles, then chatting & speculating with everyone in this giant watch party. I'm so glad I didn't wait.
The more I think about it, the more I believe Lady Oh is not as smart as she thinks she is. Instead of killing her husband and condemning herself to a life of widowhood, she could have found him a concubine to serve his needs. Then she could continue to move about freely, conspiring with Seok & Kang.
If he had to die at all it would have made more sense for a political rival or a rich merchant to kill him, i.e. Kang didn't get his shipping routes, so kill the Minister to place someone in office who would give him the rights he wanted.
ETA: Episode 8 confirms that Lady Oh is losing her marbles in her efforts to not be exiled. Step 1 was don't kill your husband. LOL She better pray that Su Ho can keep her alive long enough to bring down the Left State Councillor. That's her only hope for salvation now.
Did Councillor Seok and Lady Yoo fake their son's death to cover up for his elopement with the English lady? And they have been holding Yeo Hwa hostage as I suspected.
Considering the stakes I'm surprised that only the Finance Minister has died so far and that was due more to domestic violence. Seok & Kang must be getting soft in their old age.
Overall it is a good series showing how a marriage can and does fail because love on its own cannot sustain it.
Other random thoughts:
- don't couples go to marriage counseling in Japan?
- why did Michi keep falling down? Was it supposed to say something about her, i.e. physical & emotional clumsiness? inability to stand on her own two feet?
- Michi & Yoichi had great chemistry.
- no wonder Yoichi had ED with his wife: he didn't want children. Although I liked his character, his dishonesty about something so fundamental to Michi was even more divorce worthy than his one-off infidelity IMO. He pretty much tricked her into the marriage.
- I was really indifferent to the plight of Makato & Kaede plus the actors had zero chemistry leading me to wonder what the characters ever saw in each other. Even their home lacked color & personality.
- Kaede works for the worst-run business ever. Unless you're on-call to save lives, there's no need for non-stop phone calls about "emergencies", not in fashion magazines anyway. Get real.
- Michi's co-worker (Hana?) is a great friend; we should all aspire to be like her for someone near & dear to us.
- Mishima's serial attractions to unavailable men could be the topic for another series. She's a train wreck, bless her heart.
At the moment, Seok has the upper hand on everyone (except his son). #Depravity
I don't understand Seok's willingness to have his son killed. It's not like he has a spare.
"The most important possession for a Korean family was the firstborn son, or jangja (장자). ... It was so important that no man could die without having a male heir. If they were unable to produce one, they had to adopt (from the same lineage)." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Joseon
Whatever happened to Yeo Hwa's uncle who arranged her marriage into the Seok family? He appeared once and hasn't even been mentioned once.
Jeong is much more pleasant than his sister and highly intelligent. Might he become an ally in the mission to bring down his father?
Speaking of Lord Seok, his dialogue with the King was so incredibly chilling. How the King managed to hold himself back from stabbing Seok in the chest is a miracle. Then Seok practically ran away in fear when the Queen Dowager offered him Lady Oh's tea. Despite his bravado with Lady Oh in eps. 8 and his lowkey threats to the King's face, Seok is getting desperate. He's going to get careless and bring himself down.
I love how masterful Secretary Park was in this episode. It made him look sexy. Plus he trusts Lady Cho's intelligence enough to not insult it. What a boss.
As for the romance, the gift giving was cute and all (it really was), but the way Yeo Hwa & Su Ho bonded over the idea of killing Kang was delightful. Shared murderous rage >>>>>> sweet treats. LOL
Every single detail of this series is absolutely brilliant.
Still, it wasn't a terrible series and Ki Do Hoon looked especially fine in his suits.
Having said that, I actually think he could be a good match for Cho Yeo Hwa. He is just as unconventional as she is and would not mind her doing anything she wants although they seemingly don't share the same ideals.
Park Su Ho on the other hand is an over-protective stick in the mud. He didn't notice the light go out in Yeo Hwa's eyes when he told her to stay home and do nothing. Then asking himself, "What would she want me to do?" You don't snuff out the very thing that led you to fall in love with a person. So despite their obvious attraction & chemistry, I dunno if they're going to get off the ground. We shall see.
If he had to die at all it would have made more sense for a political rival or a rich merchant to kill him, i.e. Kang didn't get his shipping routes, so kill the Minister to place someone in office who would give him the rights he wanted.
ETA: Episode 8 confirms that Lady Oh is losing her marbles in her efforts to not be exiled. Step 1 was don't kill your husband. LOL She better pray that Su Ho can keep her alive long enough to bring down the Left State Councillor. That's her only hope for salvation now.
Did Councillor Seok and Lady Yoo fake their son's death to cover up for his elopement with the English lady? And they have been holding Yeo Hwa hostage as I suspected.
Considering the stakes I'm surprised that only the Finance Minister has died so far and that was due more to domestic violence. Seok & Kang must be getting soft in their old age.