ender1979

not meant to spoiler:
the novels arent really sci fi books.

its more like about society and the political atmosphere and so on.
its been a while since i read that (the books are from 2008) but its not really you know, that kind of sci fi such as star trek or even star wars.

anyway, glad you found the eps compelling!

i am waiting since all eps are aired, so that i can watch it in one batch!

as i said, you and the parts of the audience, that share your opinion , are well entitled to the think, the writers did a bad job.
first and foremost, its a fictional drama, not like some new law, or legislation or something that affects real people livelhood.
i am pretty sure though , there are plenty like me, (though other than you, i wouldnt not say , "the audience" coz thats like, saying opinions of some, are representing an entire WHOLE audience, which ainit true) who like the drama well enough.

for me, so what, if its the worst plot device ever? the world of dramas is really , really huge, not confined to korean dramas, if one is looking hard énough, LOL, there are surely much MUCH worse devices. (me speaking as an elderly person, who has been watching and suffering through German, British, American, Vietnamese , taiwanese , hongkong and italian / french dramas since childhood)

so you know, there is a phrase saying: its not the goal, but the journey that counts?
even if the entire middle part was a dream, well aint that dream has been executed BEAUTIFULLY ? BEATIFIC!

we all watch for different reasons, and we all are entitled for finding different tropes and kinks and plots enticing.

so, yeah, the ending didnt work for you and some parts auf the audience (btw even south china morning post newspaper agrees with you, not that i care what they say, reviews from mainstream is most of the time, worst thing ever) .

even if the ending might be bad, as you think, what does that have to do with the brilliance performance of the actor? in my opinion that does not diminish his prowress as an actor (or that of the grandfather) , bad script , bad directors but cutting, whatever, its not the fault of the actors. never is.
they are the ones probably with the least power or influence over the end product (but feel free to correct me, if its different in SK)

either way. thanks for your clarification or correction of my assumptions, why it didnt work for some of the audience. always nice to discover, what doesnt work or works for other, even though it doesnt influence my view.

Seriously!! really! great! thats next week!
thanks for the info!

since you seem to emphasize that "MDL most people hate Female leads" ..what or where are the other boards or websites or forums, where most people do not hate female leads?

are the other ones, english based, that are as large as MDL?

i have been rewatching that part in that ep 6 like 20x already, what a great moment, as you said!

i pretty much adore the unrealistic fairytale comic like CGI.

can you share, which are the dramas, which are supposed to have like superior CGI`?
i havent watch that much xianxia or wuxia dramas, so i dont have that much to compare .

you were pretty good and close with your theory!

i just came back to say, wow, the kind of negativity after the last ep was aired, did surprise me.

on the other hand, it shouldn't because if a novel or an anima is well liked, then any kind of real person adaption is going to be screwed. ( my prime example is C-Drama the untamed, I came late to the party, but from what I gathered later, wow, there was initially overwhelming hate against both the (now beloved and popular) stars Wang yibo and zhao zhan.

here, from what I read, its overwhelming the last episode.
i guess, everyone is entitled to their subjective opinion.

i never knew both the novel or any other adaptations than this drama, so I feel like , yes there were a few loose storylines, that I had preferred to have a conclusion, but overwhelmingly, for me with no prior knowledge , this drama is still perfect.
more or less, justice was served at the end, and there was no retcon, those who were dead, well, this ain't a fairytale, still were dead.
(ok, its a bit hilarious, that he main character got shot in the head, but still survives, but hey, that same trope was used in million other movies and dramas, so cannot fault on that, to use that kind of macgyver like miracle)

no unnecessary love and romantic drama triangles or whatever, and for me as a non Korean, it was riveting for all the stuff that covered those years both Korean politics, business and the interwoven connections to the real life stuff, like the 9/11 incident, and the involvement of IMF and so on.

it absolutely sparked my interest now, to look up more non-fiction books about both SK formative business and economic evolution the last 30 years.

I think the drama is superb, and i did watch it solely for the business and politics "history" lessons about south korea, but from what i have read during or after christmas, after the last ep was aired, i guess, most people were not angry because of lack of love stories or romance, but the last episode, and that the story was supposed to be changed from the original novel .

for me its still 10/10, my first SK drama, and i like all the actors.
the pacing and story telling was gripping, addictive and thrilling.

at this rate, with Cdramas and kdramas on this level, i might never be able to return to watching any kind of american shows ever again.

I love this drama! its like the complete opposite of the last one which made me crazy (love between fairy and devil) and I guess that's makes it so fun.
lots of action , wonderful fighting scenes , all characters are quirky fun (aside of being unearthly beautiful and pretty as usual ), in their own righteous way hilarious, and of course, a dash of the usual Nirvana in fire trope (some evil plotting, tons of hidden agendas, some good minister/brother/Lord being killed by an maybe evol or not emperor, lots of eunuchs and deities and princes vying for the throne)

and that not-monk, but heir to that weird outside of beili clan??
if monks were in real life that pretty, I am sure, I would spend any second weekend at the next nearby buddhist temple LOL.
(not that there are many Buddhist temple at all in Germany..)

the friendship of the three male characters / heros is also great.

female characters... hmm unsure, I doubt the story would pass any bechdel test, but alas. that will not change this century, whether Chinese or US entertainment industry, so complaining is useless.

well separately , i like both too.

but i think, whatever there is, is more like (martial) sibling kind of love.

even with the supposed love interest from the teenage years (the sick daughter from the general) i cannot see some DEEP long lost love, but more like, oh, we used to know each other, and there could have been maybe more such as love and marriage, but now, we are all more busy with more important political stuff, so love aint on the radar.
also, they are both on the verge of dying, and ill, so romance isnt that much high prio.

is the anima similar to the drama? do they follow the similar storyline?

cool, i was just planning to look up the OST, and here you are !
thanks a million!

thanks a million! right! goole translate! dummy me uses that so rarely, i completely forgot! thanks for pointing me in the right direction, at least now i know where to start to look further.

it doesnt matter if i have to wait for this until I fucking retire!
i will still want to watch this, based on the trailer!
the trailers are so gorgeous! the costumes !
i don't even understand why this cannot be released, the trailers are looking so damn Han-centric patriotic?
arent those communists in PRC so eager for all patriotic stuff?

Thanks for your and michirus help! i found them, now let me pray, that there will be subs till the last ep, for my aunt!

wow, truly vietnamese subs!!!!! cool thanks a million! i will wait for a couple of weeks once all eps are out, to go back and check, if it has been completely subbed till the last ep.
my aunt was disappointed a few times in the past, when she started some dramas with viet subs, and then suddenly , no more :(

asking for help:

does anyone here know, whether this drama has vietnamese subs? or know any forums, where I can ask, if it has vietnamese subs? I would like to show this to my aunt, but her mandarin is not so good, and she doesn't know English at all.

thanks!

(or maybe if someone knows if this already has a Vietnamese title, that would be great as well. )

does anyone here coincidentally might know, whether this show has vietnamese subs? or know any forums, where I can ask, if it has vietnamese subs? my aunt , despite bad reviews, would like to give it a try, but her mandarin is not so good, and she doesn't know english at all.

thanks!

(or maybe if someone knows if this already has a Vietnamese title, then maybe I could try and search for her).

wow, the rating is with 7 really poor (for a site like MDL, which usually gives in generally more likely 8 or higher). my aunt is a big fan of most judge bao dramas, no matter from which country they are coming (china, hongkong, taiwan), but the low rating makes me hesitant to recommend this to her...