MiyamotoMusashi

If that´s really the cast, pretty much holy shit.
Hope they put an interesting spin on it, and not just completely faithful remake.

So, finally watched this. It´s not as good as the rating suggests, definitely not being the 27th best drama of all times, but when it´s good, it is really good and emotional. Unfortunately, those instances are rare and far in-between.
It starts really well (drama had me captivated within the first two episodes, especially the ending of episode 2) and it managed to keep that momentum till episode 11-12. After that, you get the usual comically evil scheming played by completely over-the-top and quite frankly bad actors, it feels like this kind of acting for these kind of characters/roles has become the norm, so everyone follows it for some reason, despite it being completely unfitting of the setting and context.
Anyway, it picks up around episode 30 again and stays consistently good until the end narrative-wise. Nevertheless, that´s still 40% of the drama that is lackluster. There are some highlights in those episodes but mostly, nah...

Another qualm i have is, the subject matter is simply not handled maturely enough.
Lee Bang-Won is a highly controversial figure in history, one who did not scare away from being cruel to the utmost degree to consolidate the power of the king, but one who also established the country Jeong Do-Jeon envisioned with an iron fist and made the lives of the people better, but even more importantly, he basically prepared everything for his son to rise up and become Sejong the Great for his deeds, first and foremost because of the Hangul letters but much more.
Of course we will never know the inner world of such a figure, but here he was depicted as someone whose desire overwhelms him and that´s the only reason, without underlining (except for a short instance in which an exceptional king is mentioned) that it might have been necessary for a strong royal to do it like this and that the idealists, whether it´s Po Eun, Sam Bong and so forth, while having beautiful ideas and notions, ultimately would fail because of their idealistic approach, and that a realist like Bang Won was needed (for example removing the huge influence of Buddhism, which Jeong Do-Jeon was not remotely able to do). I think this was missing, and Bang Won´s change really bordered on insanity, greed and supposed turn to evil at some points, which also roots from Yoo Ah-In´s overacting and vague characterization (which is another critic point).

I went into this being a huge fan of Tree with Deep Roots, the loose sequel to this you can say, in which the subject matter was handled more maturely to be honest by the writers, and the two opposing sides laying down their philosophies and thoughts was what made it outstanding, besides the narrative itself.
Plus the acting was a lot better.

I would say 8/10 at best.

Nah, it´s still a wife, but simply not the official first ranked one like the Min girl/later Queen, so she would have been lower technically, but ultimately it would not have mattered since Boon was never interested in rising up herself. His queen was only interested in a marriage of convenience anyway, i mean there was a short instance in which she tried a bit more but when she saw Bang Won with Boon and how he behaved, she quickly gave that up and accepted that she will never get his heart and was ok with it, as long as he rises to the top.

They both loved each other, but it was not doomed from the beginning, but simply a result of how events unfolded, their decisions and how they changed.

Both made a conscious decision to follow the other part of their life (Boon being leader and leading the other peasants to a fulfilled life on their own land, Bang Won needing to lead the country with an iron fist) and for Bang Won, it was a consoling and comforting thought that Boon lived somewhere happily, basically profiting from the country that he is making.
Moo Hyul even asks him in the end why he let her go (i recently finished it, so still fresh in my mind) and he said he could not deny her what she wanted all her life and also what she needed to do.

Not really true since he could have taken her as a concubine and that would have been it, it was even mentioned in the drama itself. It was never about being noble and peasant per se, it was about what that represents, and also Bang Won´s need to imagine her far away living a happy life.

Designated Survivor and Life on Mars, both unique dramas in setting and execution. Otherwise there is no drama i would wholeheartedly recommend, obviously from the ones i watched on the list.

Yep, it has become such a usual thing that writers rely on it because it is easy, everyone knows the setup, you simply include it and have a third of a drama in.

I totally agree, mixing things up can lead to interesting things.
Heck, before tvn came so strong with its shows, the landscape looked a lot more monotonous in regards to dramas, so there is still a lot of potential.
A mix between jdramas and kdramas might be the ideal thing, since the former have a lot of creative and interesting setups, but sometimes the exexution is lacking and too episodic, and they can not do romance well.

Btw, i think a potential romantic relationship was hinted at in Chief Kim, but there was just so much more entertaining stuff to show, it had no place really.

It is a huge part of the culture, hence why it is always shown.
Whether it is the annoying boss dragging you after worj, university students having drinking games and so on, it kind if gets played off and seems more harmless than it actually is.

Korea is the country with the most alcohol consumption in the world, by far actually, even Russia has like half the amount per citizen, so it is huge.

Love triangles, definitely. If they fit a story, or is even the main point of a drama, i am not really bothered, but if it is tacked on as cheap source of drama for a show that does not really fit, it becomes annoying. Just recently went on a reply marathon, meaning 88,94,97, and each of them have in my eyes unnecessary triangles, there are a lot in a possible relationship that can be used as source of drama, not only a third person.

Not to forget his lack of morals, backbone and sense of both dignity and decency. You dont go after a girl you confessed to, got rejected by and likes and is in a relationship with someone else, just because you can not get over it. I had zero empathy for the second lead, it is as bad as the big brother in 1997.

All are good to be honest, just wanted to explain why i think they made Taek more obscure in the beginning as a reaction to the main criticism of 1994, but not gonna say anything until you watched it.
In my opinion, 1997 was the funniest, while 88 was the most emotionally touching, but the opinions vary significantly. Some really love 97, but did not like 88, some think 88 is by far the best, some like 94, some hate it.

Btw, there was a lot of stuff they could have shown regarding the two, how they got married/proposed, how they confessed to the parents and so forth. I agree, i was a bit disappointed how little they actually showed in the end.

Yes thats how i see it. She and her girlfriends were always talking about relationships, and were excited to fall in love, but it was never anout the person they were supposed to fall in love, just about the idea of falling in love and having a relationship. Thats why she basically clung onto anyone who showed like or love for her, but once it was someone who she actually had romantic feelings for, she got scared and pulled back.

Have you seen 1994? If so, i think i can explain why the writer did that.

I think she saw the difference between her immature, meaningless crushes on SSW and KJH and somethinf actually serious and meaningful regarding Taek, meaning if they did not work out, they could never be just friends again. With the other two, she went through a phase and got over it and never was a problem or issue again, witb Taek it would have been different.

Yeag i agree, her relationship issurs were a big part of the story but then she finally got him amd they hardly showed them together.

Not really, Taek was always shown to behave differently around her, he smiled much more, got clingy and so on. And as he said, he liked her since he was a child. Its simply because both the camera and the people around him did not focus on him trying to understand him, they just saw him as someone to protect who is only interested in Go but sucks at everything else.
Why SDS likes him, well you can guess or analyze it but it is not something rational, and taking care of somebody can also lead to different feelings, i am the same to a certain extent.
Anyway, KJH had a shitty fate which is why i hate the writer pushing these love triangles with every reply series, there is enough possible development and drama in a romantic relationship without a third person.

Would not work as a drinking game, since you could not get through one episode before vomiting.

Watched it for the second time after my exam week, my initial opinion still holds true.
It´s an amazing series in regards to the atmosphere, the characters and their interaction, the melancholy, the nostalgia (even though you might not relate to 1988 South Korea) and especially with emotional scenes between the families, and i am not a particularly emotional person but those scenes got me almost every time. Especially towards the ending...
But just like with all Reply series, and also with the second one, a particular problem are the romance storylines (which are questionable) but also the sheer length. It might be better if you had watched it weekly instead of binging it but yeah, nearly 35 hours for a slice of life might be bit much, it´s pretty much double the length of the first Reply series, 1997.
Plus i really liked the older characters and their struggles, their interactions (Sung Dong-Il and Lee Il-Hwa deliver as usual, but the other older character really do not lack anything compared to them, each character has their own charm.)
The youth character on the other hand, not as likeable as the first two series. Sun-Woo has no personality and the actor fits that well since he plays it stoic, Dong Ryong seems like a cheap copy of Bang Sung Jae from the first series, the usual clown basically, Bora was annoying except the end, and so forth.
I gave/give it a 9.0-9.5/10, simply because the sheer talent of the old characters/actors, the producation value, the dialogues and so forth, but it´s definitely not perfect.

PS: And holy shit, they overdid the sheep thing. It´s way too much.

I watched 18, or at least completed.

That´s not really true. Taek was missing from the first two episodes mostly, but then had as much, if not more exposure but he did not meddle as much since that was not his personality.
I agree that the character deserved better but see above regarding that, apparently the story is inspired by real people, and the real JH did not suffer a good fate.
Regarding Taek and DS, there was a short but crucial scene somewhere around episode 14 or 15 iirc. Deok Sun was so enamoured with the idea of her first love, she basically clung to anyone of the boys who might like her. Sun Woo seemed to like somebody from their house, it had to be her, hence she suddenly was interested in him. Her friends said the same thing again for Jung Hwan, so she tried to pursue that but in that said episode, her friend tells her, it´s not about who might like you but how you feel, and after that for her there was only Taek or people outside of their group, Jung Hwan was over.
The relationship with Taek is unique in that sense, i do not disagree, but they had their own dynamic which worked for them.
Anyway, these series are not noteworthy for their romance anyway, so it´s not that bad.