clairiere@lj

Too tired/distracted/busy for LJ lately but nothing like a pretty cool teaser to revive you a little. I'd say my interest in Bridal Mask went from 6/10 to 7/10. Hope it does well, as it's another rare breed (period drama set in the colonial era), but I like to keep my expectations tempered with any production. Looks promising though.

*tears*

Ep. 19 yesterday ushered the ten-year time jump into the Mongol invasions, and today's episode felt like a tribute to those who fell defending the fort of Chul-Joo, part of the first line of defense in the northern regions. I don't claim to have any emotional attachment to these events, which took place in the early 13c, but tell a good story, you get caught up, and it resonates. I barely know anything about this period (all I recall is that eventually they were forced to move the capital from Gaeseong to the isle of Gang-Hwa, and when the Tripitaka Koreana were destroyed in a fire, they set out to re-create them--all 80,000+ wooden blocks--to invoke the spirit of Buddha in the fight against the Mongols), but clearly God of War is doing something right if these episodes encourage me to read up on these relatively anonymous people in the annals of history.

And this is par for the course, given the narrative strengths of the drama, but the writer's doing a clever job of using these events in the far-flung regions (and involving special guest stars who made such an impression, it's difficult not to care about the fate of their characters or rail at the helplessness in Gaeseong) to re-align some critical relationships and thrust forward some of the principal characters. The main beneficiary so far from the time-jump is Kim Yak-Seon, the late Choi Chung-Heon's trusty bodyguard, husband to Song-Yi and currently groomed to succeed Choi Woo:







It's as if they're unveiling a secret weapon because he's turned out to be a formidable character, providing some of the most jaw-dropping moments since the time-jump. Of course, you had to assume there was always much more to Kim Yak-Seon than meets the eye for the sole reason that both Choi Chung-Heon and Choi Woo chose him, knowing exactly what Song-Yi is like. But it's almost frightening how good he is, appearing to be the sharpest mind in Choi Woo's inner circle with a steeliness that even his father-in-law, and certainly his wife, underestimate. Problem is, the better he is as a character, the less Song-Yi's obsession with Kim Joon makes sense, but that's another post for another day... All that matters for now is that Kim Yak-Seon has finally emerged to claim his rightful place in this drama.

In episode 17, there's a brief sequence which unites the four main characters in the closing credits, and I thought it captured perfectly the devastation, the repercussions unleashed by a single event, though the way this drama's plotted, you could argue it all began the moment they laid eyes on each other. Or even further back, if like Kim Joon or Buddhists, you believe in past lives and karma... Either way, this segue has it all--love, friendship, grief, shock, anguish, obsession--everything that was laid out in this episode and the music mirrors what these characters are going through.



Btw, much as I like the latest song by way of SM (and for now, it does seem a better fit with GoW), there's just no comparison with the score. Song-Yi's flashback here is so much more effective than the one at the end of ep. 14 that made me cringe because of the inappropriate song. Yeah, I know it's pointless to harp on it, when they can't fight the system...

Very tough to choose, but my pick for the actor of the day is Park Sang-Min:



He's always done wonderfully with the little he was given, but this was his turn to shine and he did. He had such a difficult task in this episode, with the range of emotions he was asked to play, but he was magnificent.

Cannot wait for tomorrow!

Not much to say, except in picspam:



( orabeoni... )

I thought I'd have a better grip the second time, but I must be very, very attached to these characters that inhabit the world of GoW, because I cried even harder, esp. at the end. That's in large part due to the emotional build-up over the course of this episode that stirred and broke my heart again and again and again, culminating in the most incredible scene I think I've seen to-date in this drama.

Just yesterday (or was it the day before), I wrote that when GoW delivers, it DELIVERS because of all the work that goes into the characterizations and the plotting of the storylines. The remarkable thing is that this was just the set-up episode for the terrible tragedy tomorrow but we're already an emotional mess. I'll confess, I scoffed a little (to myself) when some fans on DCgall said they didn't think they could watch the eps. this weekend and would wait for the downloads so they could skip the hard parts. I thought I'd have no problem dealing with the angst because that's what I love about k-dramas (and many other works of fiction), I have no issue whatsoever with this storyline going forward, and I was actually anticipating the repercussions it was going to have on pretty much all the characters in GoW.

Well, these are all still true, and I really want the next episodes to do the storyline justice. (Nothing wrong with k-dramas stomping all over our hearts then putting us through the grinder.) But emotionally, I feel like I'm crawling on the floor, even if mentally, I'm grateful that it's already hitting us as hard as it should. And that was the gist of the reactions on DCgall today--many of us feeling very, very raw but all of us in awe of the episode, over how much these characters have found their ways into our hearts. Perhaps most importantly, this was an episode in which the women were front and center, and I just can't get over the quality of the writing for every one of them. (The acting wasn't as big a surprise, but just for the record, they were all amazing, esp. Kim Gyu-Ri who owned my heart throughout.) My knowledge of writer Lee Hwan-Kyung's work is pretty much limited to his masterpiece, Tears of the Dragon (chronicling the life of Taejong, ie, Sejong's formidable father), and while the few women in there were no pushovers, I wasn't sure he could write for them. Well, he can. And as of right now, I worship what he's done with Song-Yi.

I wasn't going to talk about this scene first, the final scene today, but I think I need to get it out of the way so that I can unload the rest later. It's a little out of context, but sometimes, a scene is so good, it gets to you anyway, and I think this is one of them. All that needs to be said is that they've done a remarkable job of taking this character, this fiercely intelligent, proud, self-possessed, free-spirited and I dare say courageous lady to the point where she could open up and let herself be vulnerable (the translation's behind the cut):



( I want to be free... )

on the romantic relationships on this show is going to be written, because this episode (ep. 15) was just what I needed for everything to gel and there's no way I can't talk about it without talking about love. And I need to talk about it because nothing has happened yet, but I've already teared up three times, and tomorrow's going to be even worse. I thought I was ready to deal with it but this episode broke the dam in so many ways, so unexpectedly, I'm feeling very vulnerable right now and I'm really starting to dread tomorrow. So in case I'm, well, a basket case after ep. 16, I might as well write down something before.

More on that later, when I'm not feeling so raw and still in awe of the writing today. The acting and direction were top-notch but it's the writing that really got to me, I had no idea Lee Hwan-Kyung knew how to write about love so well. If this is just a preview of what's to come... he's going to shatter us tomorrow....

MisterX has just posted his 3rd review of God of War (all through the last episode), and it's a gem. Not that his previous reviews weren't enlightening and entertaining, but with 14 episodes and two story arcs tied up (and another in the works), this is a good time to assess the state of GoW and his review offers an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of this epic production. And it's all about the "the Art of Patience":

Patience, in this case, is not only something those in front and behind the camera exercised in dealing with their projects, but something they were once bold enough to expect from us. A noble form of respect for the viewer that used to be the dominating force behind everything (no matter how mainstream or not it might have been) this industry produced, and is now being treated as the equivalent of career suicide. [...]

Some might question [writer Lee Hwan-Kyung's] decision to devote eight episodes to the initial gyeokgu subplot, but once you look at the greater picture you realize how he used them to establish Kim Joon's character, both in the eyes of the audience and his fellow characters.

Another look at this second stretch of episodes, and yet another question emerges: considering how many events he'll have to portray, did Lee spend too much time on the farewell to Choi Chungheon, and the associated intrigues dealing with his two sons Woo and Hyang? Not if you see this arc as the building block of Choi Woo's character, both in our eyes and that of the protagonist - who is not merely relegated to sidekick status here, but instead exercises his influence as a proxy, further adding layers to his relationship with Choi Woo and his daughter Songyi. [...]

The same patience Choi [Chungheon] has showed in challenging his son to earn that virtual throne is what this marvelous drama has so far graced us with. It could probably have stuck to much simpler formulae and earned MBC significantly higher ratings, but the respect God of War is showing for its viewers and this genre's legacy is what truly makes it shine, even more than its masterful direction and fantastic ensemble cast. After all, good things come to those who wait.

I know I've quoted too much but I wanted all of that on my LJ. :) (And more actually, but I'm restraining myself.) And what he's getting at, the art of patience, is what becomes clearer as the drama moves forward. There are parts that drag (where you feel like tightening the screws, urging the writer to move a little faster), and exposition we could do without, but it doesn't meander nor lose its identity and direction over the course of the episodes, and those are fundamentals few dramas get right these days (and I don't mean just k-dramas). And when it delivers, it DELIVERS, even when production values suffer a little because of the filming schedule. That's going to be a bigger challenge with the Mongols looming ahead, but here's hoping that the solid foundations they've built will serve them well.

Right now, this k-drama fan is just happy to have misterX and HeadsNo2 supporting God of War and The Equator Man in the blogosphere.

PS. In case you haven't heard, HN2 is recapping TEM for dramabeans. As for misterX's GoW reviews,

• Pre-broadcast preview: http://dramatic.weebly.com/yeouido002.html


• Eps. 1-2 review: http://dramatic.weebly.com/war01.html


• Eps. 3-6 review: http://dramatic.weebly.com/war02.html


• Eps. 7-14 review: http://dramatic.weebly.com/war03.html

PPS. I'm behind with the replies, sorry about that, but saving it all for when I'm feeling more alert. :)

Holy mother of...

I don't want to swear but that's all that springs to mind. I had to pause for a moment towards the end because the tension was literally choking me and I needed to take a deep breath before the final plunge. What a glorious episode...

One of the reasons there were such high expectations for TEM was because the writer's Women in the Sun (which is like TEM's female antecedent) went from 7% to 27% in the ratings in 20 episodes. I just read episode 5 finally landed TEM in the double digits (10.2% AGB Nielsen), not only narrowing the gap with The King (13.5%) and Rooftop Prince (11.2%) but also possibly wooing away their viewers because it was the only one to rise in the ratings while they both fell.

Wed-Thurs has become a very competitive race.

Apparently we can't have too many of those, because Lee Min-Ho's set to star in one of them, opposite Kim Hee-Sun. (His agency just confirmed the recent rumors.) Titled Shin-Eui (신의), it's from the PD/writer team behind Eye of Dawn, Sandglass and The Legend, who for whatever reason couldn't get this production to take off for years even though Kim Hee-Sun was attached to it (selling it as her comeback project).

I don't know what the Chinese characters are for 신의, could be 信義 which would mean 'faith' but I have a feeling 의 stands for 醫 ('medicine') here, given that it's the story of a modern female doctor traveling in time to the late Goryeo era, post-Mongol invasion. Lee Min-Ho will play Choi Young, the famed general who distinguished himself in many battles but failed to squash Yi Seonggye's coup d'état and was later executed, though at the time Choi meets this doctor, he's supposedly just part of the royal guard and I'm not sure how much of his life will be depicted in the drama. Probably just his younger years since he lived into his 70s and the last decades are all about the fall of Goryeo/rise of Joseon, which doesn't sound like the focus of this project.

I'm rather skeptical about this--for one thing, Kim Jong-Hak's and Song Ji-Na's works after Sandglass have been very uneven, and I also can't muster much enthusiasm for any of the upcoming time-traveling fusion sageuks (I keep wondering what's the point of calling one of them Queen Inhyeon's Man if the story has no bearing on the real-life Queen Inhyeon)--but I'll try to keep an open mind. Surprise me, is what I say.

* Wow, Kim Ha-Eun can act. So does Joo Hyun, who took his final bow in this episode, but that's no surprise. Kim Ha-Eun, who didn't quite distinguish herself as the lead in the cult drama Conspiracy in the Court, is. A bigger surprise, given that her role in God of War appeared to be nothing more than comic relief initially. But more on that later.

* I finally understand what Choi Chung-Heon wanted all along, the answer to the lingering question I had from the beginning: if he wants his elder son to succeed him, why isn't he helping him more actively? What he meant when he said (in ep. 3) a tiger raises his cubs by pushing them down the cliff. (Forcing his son, in the same episode, to humiliate himself in front of his brother and their entire subordinates, ) He wanted, needed his Woo to prove himself, plain and simple. It was a dangerous gamble which could very well have resulted in the opposite outcome, but if Choi Woo could do it, proving that he was smarter, bolder and much more resolved and determined than his brother, no one would dare question him nor challenge him as the next leader, least of all his brother. And even though it was a foretold conclusion, there were enough twists and turns to keep us in suspense. Ep. 13 was fun (in large part thanks to ), ep. 14 was thrilling.

And without taking anything away from the fantastic cast of GoW, much of the credit has to go to this man:



who brought the larger-than-life Choi Chung-Heon, well, to life. I found myself getting emotional over his final scenes, his hearty laughter... If Kim Joon is the soul of this drama, in Joo Hyun's hands, Choi Chung-Heon was the spine, and this new chapter means some uncertain times and big shoes to fill.

* Speaking of Kim Joon, he had little to do in the last two eps. (case in point, two supporting characters got the ending freeze frames in eps. 13 & 14, which would never happen on most dramas), but no one was fretting GoW was going awry or getting off the track. It's not just that the focus was on the power struggles and it'd have been ludicrous for him at this point to play a bigger part as if he were a general. It's also symbolic of the ensemble effort of this production, in which everyone has an important part to play and sometimes must step up to the plate when the storylines demand it. And if any one of them had floundered in the last eps., we'd have noticed. That we didn't and instead kept gushing about the actors (I wasn't the only one drawing up a list of favorites, and my list wasn't even complete!) is a sign that TPTB can rely on the cast to continue with their efforts to build this show brick-by-brick. (Also means the new actors who'll continue to join the show as the storylines move forward had better be good.)

* But lest we forget who's the lead, there were some subtle touches in ep. 14. In the preview for ep. 14, I was wondering what/whom Kim Joon was looking at:

( behind the cut )

* Much to be said on the affairs of the heart on this show, but that deserves a separate post (and an entire map for clarity), though I'm not sure why I keep postponing it.

* My one and only complaint: I wish they'd stop using Kyu Hyun's song in the drama. I don't mind it in the ending credits, and I liked it the first few times, but it's getting obvious it's not a good fit with the scenes. GoW has a beautiful, gorgeous score (from the same talented team behind PD Kim Jin-Min's Time Between Dog and Wolf, La Dolce Vita and Shin Don), USE IT.