This review may contain spoilers
A Novice Shaman and her Imugi were the leads, but the King Stole the Show
This story begins with a novice shaman determined to save her friend, Gap, from an evil spirit, while trying to manage an imugi, the ML, Gang Cheol, who needs her to ascend to the heavens. All of this leads to the Royal palace where the king and his family are being haunted by the same evil spirit that consumed her friend. Only there’s more to this than a simple haunting. It is tied to a catastrophe that happened a century earlier involving the royal family.
The long and complicated road to the truth behind what caused this haunting is interesting and at times humorous. As are the minor ghosts we meet along the way and Gang Cheol’s brother who was an intriguing character that died too soon.
The writing for the most part was excellent. However, the last couple of episodes did drag. Also there were times when the leads were not terribly bright which contradicted their previously astute actions. Yeo-ri showed potential as a shaman early on but became completely useless for most of the series. Spending much of her time teary eyed and looking on in “horror” and utterly powerless as terrible incidents unfolded. The blind shaman, who was the main antagonist, was around way too dam long . Giving me flashbacks of Jin Mu from Alchemy of Souls. This guy would not die and when he finally did bite it, it was too easy. Though the leads got their HEA, I really didn’t care either way about their love story. They had passable chemistry but I wasn’t invested in their love and found I was most interested in the mystery surrounding the haunting. All that said, the King and the love he and the Queen shared stole the show. Whether he was being the benevolent King, a grieving father/husband, a supportive friend or being possessed by that vengeful spirit, Kim Ji-Hoon truly embodied the complex plight of his character and was fantastic in the role of King Lee Seong. I truly cared about him and his family and when was heartbroken when his Queen was senselessly killed. The other actors were good in their roles as well and overall chemistry between the cast was good. Though the show did struggle a bit at the end, overall it was an enjoyable show.
The long and complicated road to the truth behind what caused this haunting is interesting and at times humorous. As are the minor ghosts we meet along the way and Gang Cheol’s brother who was an intriguing character that died too soon.
The writing for the most part was excellent. However, the last couple of episodes did drag. Also there were times when the leads were not terribly bright which contradicted their previously astute actions. Yeo-ri showed potential as a shaman early on but became completely useless for most of the series. Spending much of her time teary eyed and looking on in “horror” and utterly powerless as terrible incidents unfolded. The blind shaman, who was the main antagonist, was around way too dam long . Giving me flashbacks of Jin Mu from Alchemy of Souls. This guy would not die and when he finally did bite it, it was too easy. Though the leads got their HEA, I really didn’t care either way about their love story. They had passable chemistry but I wasn’t invested in their love and found I was most interested in the mystery surrounding the haunting. All that said, the King and the love he and the Queen shared stole the show. Whether he was being the benevolent King, a grieving father/husband, a supportive friend or being possessed by that vengeful spirit, Kim Ji-Hoon truly embodied the complex plight of his character and was fantastic in the role of King Lee Seong. I truly cared about him and his family and when was heartbroken when his Queen was senselessly killed. The other actors were good in their roles as well and overall chemistry between the cast was good. Though the show did struggle a bit at the end, overall it was an enjoyable show.
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