politics, love, destiny, patriotic ideals.
This drama got off to a cracking start, with fast action, witty dialogue and intriguing political machinations. Yang's story is immediately captivating and entertaining. The narrative continues at a very fast pace and it never gets boring.
At around the episode 39 mark the story started falling apart in my view, this is a show that has always had life and death scenarios at every turn and each conflict is quickly followed by another leaving no opportunity for reflection or satisfaction. I started to tire of this cycle and at times the show feels like it creates villains and conflict just for the sake of it with no real impact to the overall narrative.
I was especially disappointed with the lack of meaningful resolution to the love story (and it's product) of Yang and Wang Yoo, it felt as if the show was always trying to push the Tae Hwan / Yang loveline even though the very first episode tells us that she ends up with the Emperor, so what was the harm in fully exploring the separation of Yang and Wang Yoo? It was just very sloppily done and I for one was never convinced that Yang loved the Emperor, her relationship with him was a matter of survival and the best way of achieving her goals.
That being said, the acting in this was excellent by some and ok by others. Ji Chang Wook is very good at portraying the weak, childish and selfish Emperor Tae Hwan, whose character is shown to us in the first episode he actually never changed or improved; his portrayal of this character is so well done that even though I never warmed up to this character, I was moved at times by his suffering and his ultimate helplessness, being Emperor means everyone is always trying to use you for whatever they can get.
Wang Yoo portrayed by Joo Jin Mo is the direct foil to the character of the Emperor. Wang Yoo is everything the Emperor is not, brave, strong, selfless with clear political and patriotic ideals. Wang Yoo is a stoic character and he and Yang share the same ideals and aspirations.
I must give special mention to Wang Yoo's band of merry men especially Eunuch Bang, their loyalty to their King is so heartwarming.
Yeoncheol is another character that is portrayed very effectively, he is convincingly evil as is his daughter Tanashili.
Tal Tal also became a firm favourite of mine, I loved his calm assurance and his formidable intelligence.
The last quarter of this show certainly did not do justice to its first three quarters. It ended on a bit of a wimper, and I was especially outraged at the identity of the villain who was exposed in the last few episodes, this was definitely not a credible plot twist.
I was fully prepared to give this show 10 out of 10, but as the show progressed the score lowered because of the many plot holes and the failure to fully explore some emotional aspects of the relationships between characters, and it also seems that at some point the show was determined to kill off as many characters as possible, which in most cases was redundant.
Music is good and well employed.
Final score 8 out of 10.
Rewatched April 2025:
My previous sentiments still stand. However, I'm even more outraged at the villains, and two I have to mention are Yeon Byeong Su - there was absolutely no reason for him to have lived for so long and in fact his treacherous actions led to the majority of the heartache and chaos in the story. - also the emperor’s weakness was unforgivable, in the end he chose brutality over bravery, he was a coward to the end.
The show feels like it was being rewritten in the last episodes, characters' behaviours and motivations were not consistent with what they had been previously shown to be. Did all those people have to die? death was a cheap dramatic device the writers used to keep the momentum up, it's very lazy writing and they seem to have misplaced their brains in the last 12 episodes. I've downgraded the score to 6.5. The downhill slide of the show at the end is unnecessary and undid anything that was good about it. The first three quarters of the show were so good and the cast is amazing, also the set design and costumes - but it was ruined at the end. this could have easily been a 10 out of 10.
At around the episode 39 mark the story started falling apart in my view, this is a show that has always had life and death scenarios at every turn and each conflict is quickly followed by another leaving no opportunity for reflection or satisfaction. I started to tire of this cycle and at times the show feels like it creates villains and conflict just for the sake of it with no real impact to the overall narrative.
I was especially disappointed with the lack of meaningful resolution to the love story (and it's product) of Yang and Wang Yoo, it felt as if the show was always trying to push the Tae Hwan / Yang loveline even though the very first episode tells us that she ends up with the Emperor, so what was the harm in fully exploring the separation of Yang and Wang Yoo? It was just very sloppily done and I for one was never convinced that Yang loved the Emperor, her relationship with him was a matter of survival and the best way of achieving her goals.
That being said, the acting in this was excellent by some and ok by others. Ji Chang Wook is very good at portraying the weak, childish and selfish Emperor Tae Hwan, whose character is shown to us in the first episode he actually never changed or improved; his portrayal of this character is so well done that even though I never warmed up to this character, I was moved at times by his suffering and his ultimate helplessness, being Emperor means everyone is always trying to use you for whatever they can get.
Wang Yoo portrayed by Joo Jin Mo is the direct foil to the character of the Emperor. Wang Yoo is everything the Emperor is not, brave, strong, selfless with clear political and patriotic ideals. Wang Yoo is a stoic character and he and Yang share the same ideals and aspirations.
I must give special mention to Wang Yoo's band of merry men especially Eunuch Bang, their loyalty to their King is so heartwarming.
Yeoncheol is another character that is portrayed very effectively, he is convincingly evil as is his daughter Tanashili.
Tal Tal also became a firm favourite of mine, I loved his calm assurance and his formidable intelligence.
The last quarter of this show certainly did not do justice to its first three quarters. It ended on a bit of a wimper, and I was especially outraged at the identity of the villain who was exposed in the last few episodes, this was definitely not a credible plot twist.
I was fully prepared to give this show 10 out of 10, but as the show progressed the score lowered because of the many plot holes and the failure to fully explore some emotional aspects of the relationships between characters, and it also seems that at some point the show was determined to kill off as many characters as possible, which in most cases was redundant.
Music is good and well employed.
Final score 8 out of 10.
Rewatched April 2025:
My previous sentiments still stand. However, I'm even more outraged at the villains, and two I have to mention are Yeon Byeong Su - there was absolutely no reason for him to have lived for so long and in fact his treacherous actions led to the majority of the heartache and chaos in the story. - also the emperor’s weakness was unforgivable, in the end he chose brutality over bravery, he was a coward to the end.
The show feels like it was being rewritten in the last episodes, characters' behaviours and motivations were not consistent with what they had been previously shown to be. Did all those people have to die? death was a cheap dramatic device the writers used to keep the momentum up, it's very lazy writing and they seem to have misplaced their brains in the last 12 episodes. I've downgraded the score to 6.5. The downhill slide of the show at the end is unnecessary and undid anything that was good about it. The first three quarters of the show were so good and the cast is amazing, also the set design and costumes - but it was ruined at the end. this could have easily been a 10 out of 10.
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