[Drama 2013/2014] ♚ Empress Ki (기황후) ♚

[kanzcech]

I really feel sad for Ta Hwan,
He was a man full of insecurities, even in his last breath.
He was never once been happy over a day without worried about people around him who's hungry for power.
When he's weak, he can't do anything and can't even read.
Now he's stronger and wants to protect his beloved ones, he's been killed slowly and surely by Golta, his right hand man, his servant, his most trusted man.

Tragic. That's definitely how Ta Hwan lived and died.

Regarding TalTal, before we see the body, we can't be sure he's dead
>-

Regarding everyone goes to Korea to meet writers n PD-nim, make sure you guys bring lots of poisonous arrows, I feel like I want to shot arrows to their directions...

[Guest niknokdagu425]

oh my i dont think i can watch the whole episode.writers you sucks!!!!

[jeenee]

I think the last scene was done to compensate for the very disappointing ep 1 scene in ep 50. 
they need coherence, and somehow that beach scene was, i guess, they think the perfect fit. 

[haruhi17]

@tieuyeunu  thank you so much for your analysis of today's episode! it enlightened me a lot, & helped me to look at it objectively and made me feel a whole lot better.  Now i can sleep…goodnight, & thank you everyone for your posts & c you later after i read the eng translations from @pegster (thank you very *million times* much!!! for your hard work on that) or watch the episode with eng subs  

[Guest JezzaG]

HJW's weibo update

[puppet5akl]

TALTAL DIED? FOR WHAT? YOU'RE SERIOUS WRITERS-NIM?

[Guest larabn]

@tieuyeunu
Thanks for the ep analysis
although I need to watch the ep with subs to fully understand
I like how they made TH protect SN by himself now and make a plan to ensure SN and Ayu's safety before he died
it was a sweet move they did for TH, in which he died after doing this for SN and Ayu
I was sad and happy for him too when he heard SN I love you before he died

EP 50 and ep 51 are sad eps for me
for the death of WY and TH

That's all I can comment on without subs 

[jewel11]

Empress ki already ended. The ending of empress ki is really heartbreaking. I am sad but I am happy that Sn say I love you to Th before Th die. All the effort of Th was worth it because he win the heart of Sn. Having Sn in his side before he died and hear the words of Sn saying I love you was the greatest thing and knowing Sn & Ayu is safe from bad people. Th can rest in peace. Thank you to all recapers. Thank you to the whole cast of empress ki I enjoy watching it even it is heartbreaking. Remarkable k drama for me and highly recommended who loves drama. God bless everyone.

[Miky88]

tieuyeunu said: Now that I've calmed down from the crying...(and the knock my mum gave me for screaming out in pain when TT's death was announced at 12am on a weekday)

I've come to appreciate what this episode was trying to do.

1. It gave TH a chance to be the hero. TH was never the hero from the start, he was always the one being told what to do, being the figurehead but never the brains or brawls behind it. This time he was the one that came up with the plan, he was the one that spoke to TT before hand and organize the coup. He was at his end and he met it like a man, by choosing to save his family above everything else.

2. His method will cause his death and he knew/believes in Ki's sincerity towards him that he didn't want to tell her, simply because she would have stopped him from using himself as bait and instead will try to deal with it all herself. With his constant mistrust in her previously, to get to this point shows a huge leap, he's finally at the point where he trusts her 100%. Which was the biggest problem in their relationship before.

3. Knowing his plans and understanding his motives, Ki chooses to support him and remove herself from the situation. Unlike the war effort, when she knew it was wrong and feared for him and tried to shield him from this mistakes, like a mother hen, Ki finally lets go and allows TH to follow through with his plan because this was his last wish. Even though she's obviously pained by it, she's giving in to TH for the last time. She still cleans up the extras like YBS because TH doesn't know about them.

4. The death of TT. If we were given a dying scene I don't think I could have continued to watch. TT died a war to protect a country he had sacrifice everything to keep. He died an honorable death, one befitting a loyal subject of Yuan and a great warrior. There is no way Yuan would fall if TT didn't' fall first.

5. The beach scene. I read this as a representation of Yuan and Korea. Ki will always be caught in the middle, daughter of Korea by birth but daughter of Yuan by marriage, for Ki, there is no answer. She will never be in the right, anything she does will be deemed as wrong by one or the other.

Was this a satisfying ending? Yes. In a way, I was expecting this, but I wanted to see Ki walking away from the palace as the last image instead.

[Guest ravendark]

CherKell said: tessieroo said: So who's ready to fly to Korea with me and beat the crap outta the writer-team? 

[Guest aurelie]

God this drama was amazing ! I would like to thank the recapers for their amazing job TH was great until the end : the last scene was so sad and Beautiful. We all knew TH and SN was end game and I'm so glad she confessed her love before it's too late. TEAM TANYANG FOREVERRRRRR

[SongMira]

Yes,Finnaly!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maracarrero]

Can I praise JCW's death scene?  His quiet acknowledgement of Nyangie's love declaration, by simply nodding his head, makes me cry over and over again.  It does not seem she would be aware of his gesture due to their positions, but we the viewers were privy to his reaction and his last breath.  Kudos to JCW & HJW for a well enacted scene and for taking EK out on a high note.  Long live dongsaeng-noona romance!

[Guest Lyly1430292245]

I'm so upset.
People, let's reunite and have a group hug. Let's give me a lot of jokes to help me survive this pain. I've cried a river already. 
Seung Nyang ends up alone all my herself. How come the writers are so cruel????? I mean, it's a drama I know but it's like basically they tell to everyone of us in the face: everyone has to die, and you will eventually. As if life wasn't hard enough!!!!! 
Maybe I need Golta's drugs to overcome this pain.
Paeha!!!!! ((((

[Guest lorac]

Haven't watched episode 51 or read and posts beyond learning that the emperor dies... all I can say is good! I'm still pissed off with episode 50. Sure, give a man back his country and crown then kill him... nothing noble about that.

[Miky88]

Lyly said: I'm so upset.
People, let's reunite and have a group hug. Let's give me a lot of jokes to help me survive this pain. I've cried a river already. 
Seung Nyang ends up alone all my herself. How come the writers are so cruel????? I mean, it's a drama I know but it's like basically they tell to everyone of us in the face: everyone has to die, and you will eventually. As if life wasn't hard enough!!!!! 
Maybe I need Golta's drugs to overcome this pain.
Paeha!!!!! ((((

[SamShop Watch]

thanks to @ravendark @pegster @miky88 @ohoheli @cherkell @tieuyeunu and @larabn for doing the recaps.After read all your recaps and see my self the clip that @cherkell post, i sob controlably and hardly breath coz my nose is fill with water (
I don't know how to express my self about the ending it's mix of happy and sad coz at last TH knows she love him back. The deathbed scene is too sad for SN. She's loosing the man she love and leaving alone. I cry when i read the recaps abut TH death but still as a woman, i more pitty for SN for all his lost. Even his big brother that she barely known and TT master. 

Though i bit dissapointed the ending with SN alone, but in the other way, i can't choose what better ending except this with TH condition in the last 2 episode and yuan did have to fall, thats why the writer also killed master TT. I agree with the last scene where SN have to pick the one she rode the horse with. for me, it's also the moment she choose TH over WY. She say, she'll burden him, so he should ride by his self and walk to TH.

As the show end, i can imagine how the crew of EK maybe feel glad that they finished filming and the same time they have to bid their goodbye for each other like us all in this thread. Most of us bein' together about 6 monts through the ship war and argument.
I will be miss this thread 

[Bambiina]

So everyone die? .. Good Job writer ..... WELL DONE .. clap clap clap ... Well Done .... 
I regret .. my 46 precious hours .... they didn't spare anyone  .. not even TT ..
just crap!!! 

[Guest havetostudy]

What made the ending scene even sadder, was how TH was crying when he said that he loved SN. 
But I think what enforces the fact that the TH/SN couple are the endgame, is that after TH dies, the drama stops - the tale of "Empress Ki" comes to an end. 

[tieuyeunu]

@Milky88 Therein lies the problem of the in between. A choice has to be made some time down the track, one cannot straddle two boats at the same time for long, one day the boats will take different paths and we must pull back and stand on one boat.

Ki has been trying to be both Yuan and Korea even when those around her have been telling her it is impossible.

When she brought in Korean food and clothes to the palace or made Korean people high officials, they said she was betraying Yuan. Even though she is still taking care of the kingdom and its people, she is trying to weld the two together, which 'loyalist' would deem as betrayal.

So finally when she faced Korea as a threat to Yuan, she had to choose to attack to protect Yuan, therefore she betrayed Korea.

The imagery of the beach scene shows that very dilemma, only in horse form. Like you can't straddle two boats, you can't ride two horses.

If you ride one horse and hold on to the other to pull along. That is like Yuan being the powerful country that forces Korea to submit to his ruling.

One day the horse will try to break free and the rider will have to decide to let go (release Korean to do their own stuff and deal with the backlash later), jump on (betray Yuan and take hold of Korea) or kill that horse (destroy Korea so it can never be a threat to Yuan).

It's the age old concept of war. It would have been great if Ki was allowed to explore this issue more.