Platinum Fox

Yeo Ri and her grandmother are very different types of shamans. The grandmother assumed all spirits were evil and needed to be disposed of quickly without getting to know why they were still haunting the earth. Yeo Ri, on the other hand, is a pure, innocent, loving soul. She doesn't make judgements about people. She accepts them for who they are (except Gang Cheol and the Celestial General).

When she first starts to fight the Celestial General, she tries to fight like her grandmother because she presumes her grandmother was right in that the spirit is evil. When she finds out that it was the Colossal Shadow who killed her mother, she realizes that she needs to understand what is going on and the motivations behind all these killings. She always gives people and spirits the chance for redemption unlike the grandmother.

Actually, Bibi's character is crucial to the drama. His moonlit pearl is filled with all the rage and hate of the humans he has eaten. This is why Yeo Ri stops him from eating the "bad" officials. In appearance it looks like he is doing a good thing, but it is changing who he is as he is experiencing human emotions through these people. People who are filled with jealousy and hate. Gang Cheol, on the other hand, experiences human emotions through taking on a human body or literally becoming human. He experiences Yeo Ri and other's friendships and the most important emotion love. Love is the most powerful weapon out there. Bibi is Gang Cheol's foil. As Gang Cheol falls in love, Bibi becomes more jealous.

However, at the very end, Bibi gives his life and his moonlit pearl lights up (the manifestation of love). The Celestial General now has a moonlit pearl filled with jealousy and hatred, but it also has a sliver (glimmer) of love. If the Colossal Shadow had eaten Gang Cheol's moonlit pearl it would have died and it would never of had the chance of redemption.

Redemption is the foundation of the fantasy genre. Everyone in this drama has been awarded a chance at redemption, but not all of them have taken it: the grandfather, the blind shaman, the prince, etc. However, some have: the queen dowager, Bibi, Gang Cheol, and even Yeo Ri.

Happy drama watching!

Yes, she trained with the monk.

Actually, the 8 ft. creature is not invincible. There are two things that can bring it down love and understanding. The actual spirit of death can't kill it because death has no understanding of love and hate. The 8 ft. creature can absorb the moonlit pearl because it is made of mostly hate and rage. Remember there are two ways an imugi can ascend meditate for a 1000 years or eat "bad" people. Bibi understands human nature and human emotions through the people he eats. Gang Cheol understands humans because he is now in a human's body and is interacting with humans on a daily basis. The more Bibi eats, the more jealous he becomes of Gang Cheol and Yeo Ri to the point that he does something "stupid". Bibi's moonlit pearl's essence is that of hate and rage, with a glimmer of love. Bibi sacrificed himself for Gang Cheol and Yeo Ri. The Colossal Shadow is filled with hate and rage, but now there is a glimmer of love. It is said that love is more powerful than hate.

There are many patterns in this drama, and the writing is very clear and precise. What happened in the spiritual world is being played out in the human world. This drama is a morality play.

The plant is in Yongdam with Choi In Seon, the girl who was saved by Yeo Ri in the beginning and likes Yun Gap. Her father will be explaining to the king what happened 100 years ago.

Also, I loved your thoughts about marriage yoga. I figure in the end, love will be the most powerful weapon against the vengeful spirit.

It helps me understand what is going on when I can explain it to someone else. Here is a list of the characters and their equivalents. Spiritual world first, then human world.
1) Gang Cheol (wants to change things so he can ascend) = the present king (most powerful to deal with the masterminds) wants to go against customs, traditions, etc.
2) The Colossal Shadow (the decisions good and bad, customs, traditions, etc.) = the grandfather and other guy (the masterminds) They want things to stay the same.
3) The Celestial General = blind shaman and queen dowager the underlings
4)Bibi = grandmother (the sacrifices)
5) Gang Cheol=Yeo Ri both are spiritual as well as human. Both are able to mediate between the spiritual and human realms.

The human masterminds are planning a rebellion against the present king as they did against past king and are using the Celestial General to achieve this goal. Only it has backfired on them because the queen dowager's wicked son was killed. So now we need a new heir to the throne. The scholarly, innocent prince who has just come to the palace serves this purpose.

The Celestial General also seems to be planning a rebellion against the Colossal Shadow. Maybe the Celestial General is working with the spirits of Yun Gap and grandmother. Remember the grandmother died by fire.

These are just my thoughts. This whole drama is a morality play. I haven't watched 12 yet. I will tomorrow.

Thanks for reading this and all the discussions.

Yes, the Colossal Shadow and the Celestial General are two different spirits. The Colossal Shadow is all the spirits of the kings who have come before the present king. Whenever a person becomes king, the present king has the shadow of all the good and bad decisions of previous kings. One particular king, the present king's great-great grandfather must have done something so horrible. The Celestial General is the spirit who brings wondering spirits for the Colossal Shadow to feed upon for power (Yun Gap and the grandmother).

The story is playing out in two ways, the spiritual world reflects the human world. In the human world the grandfather of the king and the other guy who Yeo Ri stopped BiBi from eating is the equivalent of the Colossal Shadow (the mastermind). What we don't know is why the grandfather wants to rebel (it seems to be the slave issue). The blind shaman is the equivalent of the Celestial General, they are the underlings who do all the dirty work for the masterminds.

However, there seems to be a big difference in the mindset of the two underlings. The blind shaman is on board with dismantling the present king's reign. The Celestial General, on the other hand, seems to want redemption and is willing to take on a water spirit's essence in order to kill the Colossal Shadow. Remember the crown prince said the Celestial General is sad. Why is it sad? Why did it not kill the king and the crown prince, but only the wicked prince? In the past 13 years only certain members of the royal bloodline were killed. Why?

These are just my thoughts after episode 11. Episode 11 gave us an alternative ending, so that Gang Cheol doesn't have to die. Now, we also need to know why the monk gave Gang Cheol a tree.

Thank you for your thoughts on Baek Seom. I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree with you. Many viewers felt like it was Baek Seom who betrayed Suho and Si Eun, but it was actually the other way around. Remember what his dad has literally beat into him, stand up for yourself. Suho may have beat the bullies for him, but that is not what Baek Seom needed. He needed to physically do it himself. A good friend helps you, not do it for you.. Suho treats Baek Seom just like the rich treat their underlings. They are expendable.

Let me ask two questions. If Baek Seom would have been allowed to use the mic to beat up his bullies would we have had the end result we do? Also, why is Si Eun allowed to fight his own battles with weapons and not Baek Seom? Suho took away Baek Seom's physical weapon, but not his most powerful weapon, his money.

Thank you for the discussion. People want a villain in these dramas. For me, the villains are the parents, teachers, cops, and the boys themselves. All are complacent to the issue of bullying. Change the mindset and the environment will change.

Episode 11 was all about figuring out a way to save Gang Cheol from having to sacrifice his life to save Yeo Ri. Viewers have said that in the end, it will be that Gang Cheol will have to give his life to save Yeo Ri. In other words, use up the essence of his moonlit pearl. But now we have a fire spirit with a water spirit's moonlit pearl. What can "kill" the Colossal Shadow, the essence of the moonlit pearl. My theory is that the Celestial General will give its life and spirit to save everyone from the Colossal Shadow. Doing good deeds to make up for doing bad ones during its human life and the afterlife. Redemption is the backbone of the fantasy genre. What did the Celestial General do that it feels it needs to atone for its sins.

If BiBi hadn't been there, Gang Cheol would have died too soon.

Yes, I was wondering about that as well. Something tells me that all of this has been over a woman and her child. The child who saw Gang Cheol ascend was the son of that woman. Something tells me the great-great grandfather coveted his brother's wife and had a child by her. The child was placed in Yongdam away from the palace to protect him. The brother found out and had the son killed. This is why it is the royals' fault and not the Celestial General's fault. The Celestial General was trying to save the innocent child and was killed. jmo

That's the point of the whole drama. How many times in these dramas has an underling done something "wrong" and been killed for it? Like dropping and breaking a royal's cup. The underling says, "I deserve to die." Why just for breaking a cup? Why should the royal family be able to play god? jmo

Glad to see you back.

Actually, what appears to be the stupidest thing, was actually the smartest thing. Now the fire spirit has the moonlit pearl of a water spirit. Isn't that what will "kill" the Colossal Shadow. Everyone has assumed that the Celestial General is something evil, but what if it is like Gang Cheol, something that has been trying to protect the "right" royal bloodline rather than kill it!

Kill two birds with one stone. If the spirit can get a moonlit pearl and drain the other imugi of his essence, then there is no one to stop him. The imugi's are the only thing strong enough (at present) to stop the Colossal Shadow and the Celestial General. That's what Yeo Ri figured out. This is why Yeo Ri asks if there is another way to make the spirits disappear. The monk doesn't know of one. The grandmother summoned a grim reaper and died herself. So what will "kill" the Colossal Shadow and the Celestial General. Love and understanding.

We still don't know what this spirit wants. All we know is that it hates a particular branch of the royal bloodline. The one the present king and the crown prince is in. The king wants to find out what happened 100 years ago when his great-great grandfather was king. Find out what happened and solve the problem.

Yes, me as well, but then when he started talking about finding a daycare and preschool, I thought what did you do Sang Yan?!

If you love political dramas watch Joy of Life Season 1 and 2. Season 3 is on the way. Also, try Who Rules the World (the female lead is in that one). Happy drama watching.

I disagree. The fire spirit is separate from the 8 ft. creature. My reasoning is the 8 ft. creature is represented by the crawling bugs that infest a human ( the crown prince, the king, and the queen dowager's son). Of the three humans it has infested, only one has died. The one who died was a horrible person. The fire spirit just uses fire. Grandmother died trying to put out a fire on the ceremonial table. Her death, for me, was purely accidental (even though the blind shaman was there). She was not infested with bugs.

One hundred years ago two people escaped the massacre of the village ( which I assume is Yongdam): the child who saw Gang Cheol and the person who saved the child. However, both must have been caught and were killed. Now, the blind shaman has both inhabiting his body. Which is why the one spirit says I am not the spirit you want, you want someone from the royal bloodline.

There are three concepts being played out here. One if a household breeds good deeds, then the household will be blessed with good deeds. If the household breeds discontent or evil, then the household will have nothing but misery. Two, any ruler has the shadow or decisions (both good and bad) of previous rulers hanging over his/her head. What one ruler does affects future generations. Three, people and spirits are not born bad, they are just made to do bad things by the circumstances in their lives.

The spirit that inhabited the crown prince was sad. Why? Is it being asked to do something it didn't want to do?

These are just my thoughts. Happy drama watching.

My guess is because the palcheogwi wants to make sure the right "spirit" gets the blame. This drama is about making the abstract concrete. Every king has the "shadow" or "spirit" of every king who has come before him. All the good and bad decisions of each preceding king has an effect upon the present king. Remember Yeo Ri says if people realized that what they do now affects future generations would they act differently? Gang Cheol, who is a 1000 year old dragon, knows what has happened in the last 1000 years, so it wouldn't take too much for him to remember what happened 100 years ago. It is why his character is an archivist.

Whatever happened a 100 years ago is still affecting the present palace. So this means Gang Cheol needs to remember what happened 100 years ago in order to understand what is happening in the present. It all has something to do with the grandpa of the king. We don't know why the grandpa is full of rage, so that BiBi would eat him. jmg

I understand. I'm the same way. If it doesn't suck me in on the first episode, then I'm done. Sometimes I do go back and try again when I am in a different frame of mind. Hope you find something. Happy drama watching.

Yes, I loved Sang Yan. I was always wondering what he was hiding!