[Drama 2016] Moon Lovers ❤ Scarlet Heart Ryeo, 달의 연인-보보경심 려 \^0^/ Soompi Kdrama 2016 Winner

[moonlovertales]

9 minutes ago, MAROSA_JIN said:

 

http://tvcast.naver.com/v/1210992?spi_ref=m_tvcast_twitter

 

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Nam Joo Hyuk shares thoughts on 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' coming to an end

By yckim124 

 

 

Nam Joo Hyuk revealed his thoughts on his SBS drama 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' coming to an end soon!

 

On October 31, YG Entertainment shared the actor's final thoughts on his behalf with, "'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' was a production that was made with a great director, scriptwriter, actors, staff, and everyone. Those 6-months of living as Baek Ah was real happiness. There were difficulties because it was my first historical drama, but I always had fun with the brothers. Especially the scenes with all the princes. We played around a lot and became very close." 

Nam Joo Hyuk also shared a comment about watching drama whose filming was completed entirely beforehand. He said, "I missed the drama set a lot while watching the broadcast. I also became one of the viewers and shared the sorrow when I watched my brothers die one by one. It's going to be another drama that I will never forget. I hope there will be a time for us brothers to reunite soon."

 

The last episode of 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' will be airing November 1.

Allkpop

 

 

 

This show has a lot of faults but one of the things it did right is with the cast! Seriously, I have never seen a more tight-knit group of actors before!

They all seem to have a great bond with each other due to this show. It gives us fans so much joy to see them (the characters+actors) being together and happy at-least offscreen!

[sosooyah19]

Spoiler

 

40 minutes ago, butterflysaga said:

I don't even know why is he posted this vid instead of consoling us?

Joon Gi'ssi what we need is... your personal selfie-recording saying to us that everything will be fine.. then hugs us virtually. Is that too much to ask for!?

 

 

with flying opinions regarding POV of both HS and WS, this is to remind us how they love each other, and it will be til the end.. the regret that the characters might feel during the last episode cannot be compared with the love the characters have with each other.. even they have to go over again and go through pain, they will love........... onto 21 st century.. hahah

[paldia]

Is GJ actually smelling the letter HS wrote? 

[ceda209]

20 minutes ago, kdramawriter said:

It's not a single mistake. It's his entire attitude since he's become king. I've said in earlier posts already. Since she's become his woman, her world has become limited and her freedoms taken away. She did initially because she thought that being without him would be worse. As it turns out, being bound to someone who doesn't understand her is much worse. 

 

I beg to differ, but HS's world has been like that the minute she enter Goyreo.  Her position was way worse than before WS became king.  She was forced to married the king & almost killed herself.  She was framed, severely punished & almost executed.  Lady Oh died in her place.  Then she was demoted to a water maid for 2 years & endured extreme labor.  She was lifeless.  Her life became slighty happier when WS helped WM ascended to the throne.  Then HS's beloved Wook masterminded WM's death, Yo became king & HS partly responsible for Eun & DS's death.  HS ended up serving Yo while WS was away for 2 years.  So to say that her life has become limited & her freedom taken away after becoming WS's woman is a little harsh on WS's behalf.  

[Silvermaine]

7 minutes ago, kdramawriter said:

 

Sorry don't think so. GJ is definitely WS, but evolved to be much more ruthless. The moment when GJ told HS that she actually suggested a better torture for Wook (to be imprisoned in his home and to let his heart rot) for the rest of his life, his face turned totally evil. And that's when HS realized that GJ wasn't the person she fell in love with (WS). 

 

Gwangjong is Wang So and vice versa. His character development went from ruthless to learning how to love and then back to ruthless. In the end, he didn't change, his cruelty was just magnified. But all his actions were rationalized. Even if the end results weren't favorable, we all know he tried to think of better and lighter ways to deal with the problem (eg Letting Chae Ryung free, making a deal with Woo Hee, not taking Wook's life). In this regard, there was still the sympathetic Wang So somewhere in that Gwangjong facade, although it was just barely hanging on.

But you are right. That's not the person she fell in love with. The Wang So she fell in love with was the Wang So she created; the one who she taught how to love. She's never going to get him back, because he was pushed to the edge. If anything else, her death will cement the death of her Wang So and the ultimate rise of Gwangjong. 

[ilovecoffeeandbooks]

So who thinks GJ was getting that portrait done to hang in Wook's house. You know, "I'm ALWAYS watching you."

[zi4r]

I'm not going to write about the disaster of Ep19, because I'd like to maintain whatever sanity I'm left with, until the end of this drama. But I need to write something, so this piece is about MLSHR story-arc as a whole.

Because I can deal with anger, frustration, grief & madness; what I can't withstand is the emptiness in my heart..... the cavernous hollow I am feeling deep in my chest..... the void where this drama has festered & eaten away, and the "nothingness" that it has left behind. It has slowly bled my soul dry throughout its run, and I had let it... because I had hopes that it would be worth it in the end, that it would mean something, anything!

If you have been reading my other posts, you'd have realized by now that I never really expected a "happy ending" as one would normally define it. All I ever needed from this drama is for its journey to matter --- all the hardships the characters we love has gone through, I needed there to be an endgame. Whatever the end may have been, whether "good" or "bad", I would have taken it, embraced it even, if it was a worthwhile journey.

But now I am left with absolutely nothing. A lot happened in the drama --- the character did things, they had things done to them, they suffered, they endured --- but none of those actions/developments/plot-movements gave us the catharsis we as the audience need (Or maybe I am generalizing it... so I should say "I, personally as a viewer, need") in a good story/drama. It is an impactful drama, don't get me wrong, but the "impact" is the "nothingness". The moral of the story, to me, have been: "There's no bigger meaning in life; There's no reward in trying; Things happen as they are destined to be."

And I feel betrayed, because I have rooted for each & every character, and yet they do not matter at all...... They didn't live in this story, they just exist. Things that happened in the drama have no bigger purpose to them, except to move the plot along...... and each of those events (GJ's rise to throne, WS-HS romance, WS-HS breakup) didn't deliver the kind of impact they were supposed to deliver.

Thus, it calls for a soul-searching exercise. I need (shall I say) a couple's therapy for me & the drama. I need to figure out where it all went wrong..... how my love for this story has turned so ugly & pointless. So here comes another long post........ probably the most disorganized one I've ever written, because my whole psyche is in disarray.

Sorry to dump this on you, Soompians, but I need my chingus to grieve with me. (And there won't be many pretty gifs in this piece, I'll only be using the old ones, because I have no patience to make anything new.)

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_______________________

 

MLSHR: A study in expectation (mis-)management

a.k.a My relationship with MLSHR: A plethora of disconnects & disappointments

Admittedly, my early interest in this drama came from pure LJG-related reasons --- I enjoy his acting so much that I have enjoyed/endured all of his works: the good & the bad & the mediocre. Normally, I wouldn't touch something called "Moon Lovers" with a 10-foot pole; I am too much of a hard-hearted b**** to withstand pure romance. Scarlet Heart C-version was a meaty enough romance for me to be invested in, but even watching that was not my decision. (A family-friend was in hospital from surgery and she loved the C-version, so we basically watched it together to avoid having to make awkward conversations.) But I was fascinated by the prospect of LJG portraying Nicky Wu's (another excellent actor) character. I have a continuing love-hate relationship with cross-culture remakes, so I thought why not give it a try.

I was not impressed by the casting, except for LJG & KHN. The earliest stills were also pretty disappointing & underwhelming to me. I was unhappy about the mask, because I feel it might be a distraction from the story-arc. There were signs that the K-Drama-esque touch that this remake would employ might override all the charms of the C-version. So my expectations were not high........ until......

The 6-minute preview & cosmopolitan-shoot came out. Suddenly, it doesn't feel like a remake anymore; it seemed fresh & new & original. LJG looked better than ever. (I know people were complaining about his skinniness, but I understood from the start how that would look amazing as a masked sageuk character & as a cunning King.) Sparks fly whenever LJG & IU were on screen. The high budget shows its worth in the beauty of the 6-minute preview. The preview (& the drama as a whole) is visually enticing -- each & every scene is a piece of art. The plot seems ripe with possibilities --- epic romance, tragedy, political intrigue, time-travel conundrum, and most importantly, the redemption of the scarred character Wang So. In spite of myself, I became excited by the prospect of this journey and enthralled by the charms it presented.

And that was the beginning of my foolhardy & masochistic relationship with this drama, and I'm suffering from it now. Because all my expectations were derailed. It was never what it advertised to be. And every time it disappointed me, I gathered my strength, made up excuses & came back for more. But no more now. Time for avoidance is over. It's time for me to deal with the issues directly, and admit that I've been a fool all along.

_______________________

 

Expected genre: Hurt/Comfort

What we got: Angst, and angst, and unrelenting angst, without any form of true healing

Spoiler

I must confess here that I am a shameless h/c genre wh***. I lovvvvvve it when a protagonist character (especially a strong male character) is going through physical or emotional torture. And when that tortured hero is as delicious in portraying pain as LJG, that's my definition of dramaland heaven. But to fulfill the criteria of hurt AND comfort, there is a need for a true healing touch & a true journey of rebuilding. And this is where this drama is a failure --- an utter irredeemable failure.

Everything was set up for a good h/c story. Wang So is the very definition of a tortured hero. The drama was unabashed in highlighting his pain to draw sympathy from the viewers and to blinker the fans against the flaws & weaknesses in his character...... and they did that very well! On the other hand, Hae Soo was the very definition of a maiden with healing hands --- an innocent girl with a giving spirit, with knowledge & skills of not just Goryeo era but of the future. And until Ep9 (rain ceremony), that story-arc was going along swimmingly. HS healed WS in every sense of the word; she even used makeup to do that, for goodness sake! So I thought here comes a delicious h/c story-arc that will fully satisfy my fetish.

Then, Ep11 broke HS. It was fine. The h/c dynamics have flipped. She was hurting, and he would heal her...... or so I thought. That would have been a good progression of the relationship, each being the strength & support of  the other in the times of hardship.

 

Yet that was not to be. Amidst their times apart & the time-skips, we never got to truly experience a "healing" journey. The problem is not just that it's not satisfying my h/c fetish.... The main issue is: that healing process is the core of their relationship (I will talk more about their relationship in the next section). So without that, all we got to see was HS becoming hardened & weakened at the same time (I didn't know that was possible, but this drama managed it!) without really feeling invested in those changes.

But that's not the end of the disaster. WS's healing process is not done by Ep9 either. His potential to be a great man was unleashed, and yet he was still an emotionally inept & fragile man. And from that point on, he never truly got the emotional support he needed from HS anymore. Worse still, throughout Mu's and Yo's reign, he kept on suffering. We got to see all the grief, all the hurt --- having to marry a kid, having to kneel before Yo, having to kill Eun, being separated from HS, the arrow wound --- but there was never the "comfort" part. Besides the 2-minute long crying on her shoulder after Yo's supposed death and the 70-second-long tending of arrow wound, HS didn't visibly provide him with any form of comforting.

 

You know what's the problem with that? Well, lemme list out the repercussions behind this choice of genre-mishandling:

• We, the audience, start to become numb about all the suffering WS has gone through. "WS is hurting" part of the narrative becomes repetitive & whiny & pointless. The sacrifices WS has made start to pale in terms of importance to the plot, because there were just too many and they seem to have come & gone, without true consequence or reward.
• We start to get frustrated at HS's character for being useless to WS in the grand scheme of things. Making her a weakened female lead who cannot provide for her man in any way (physically or emotionally), she became his shackles, rather than his support.
• When WS became GJ & all the pain started manifesting itself into his craving for revenge, some of us were unprepared for it. Or, if you're more like me, you're prepared for GJ to go a lot further in his bloodbath... and got really annoyed at the other characters' total disregard to his pain.

The worst part of it is: The pain will continue till the end. I really don't see any other way than WS/GJ to end up alone, depressed, angry & destructive; and for HS to be also alone & ill & dying. That would have been slightly more bearable if there were some instances of true healing for both of them. But as the drama has been relentless in its torture of both characters, we the audience are left just as raw & tortured as the characters.

_______________________

 

 

Expected story-arc: Romance

What we got: A one-sided, unrequited love that destroyed both the lover & the beloved

Spoiler

Okay, you're gonna hate me. But let me say this out loud: Wang So is NOT Hae Soo's true love. Her true love was WW. She never loved (and never had a chance to love) WS with the pureness of heart as she did to WW. Their relationship had been ripe with complications from the start. Her choice to become WS's is forever tinged with the necessity of it all.

Furthermore, by the time she even started considering WS as a romantic partner, HS has become just a broken shell of whom she used to be. The girl WS had fallen for --- the spunky, naive, brave, caring & giving girl --- doesn't exist anymore (especially towards WS. Since Ep13, she seems to be more generous & empathetic towards everyone else than towards WS). That in itself is problematic. Because we were rooting for OTP since from the start, and we used to take comfort in their lighthearted squabbling & the camaraderie they shared in the earlier episodes. But back then, there was WW who occupied HS's heart. By the time we managed to get rid of WW, HS is already a broken character. I don't know about you all, but I was so angry for the unfairness of it all. WS has tried so hard to protect this girl & earn her love... and once he got her, she was already broken in both body & spirit.

 

Yet the dissatisfaction about the romance extends far beyond that. The portrayal of the romance is also a very big issue for me. Each of the so-called OTP romance scenes were riddled with unhealthy & festering issues. The problem started with the force-kiss scene... then the beach scene where he threatened to kill her lover... then the many times he tried to woo her/comfort her that she rejected out of her love for WW...

... then they kinda became a couple (I guess, I dunno, their romance during the timeskip during Mu's reign is just so strange and unsatisfying to me)...

... then the star-gazing, then the boat scene, then the shadow-puppet & bed scene (which I've talked about before, look in the spoiler tag) all of which are quite empty & meaningless in terms of relationship-development, because they are just WS's way of deflecting the underlying bigger issues & HS's way of letting him get away with it!

Spoiler

On 10/30/2016 at 8:07 PM, zi4r said:

I know all the viewers love the star-gazing scene, but there is a reason why I've never done gifs or waxed poetic about that scene. Because as much as my heart & my hormones call for that scene to enthrall me, my brain is so pissed at how their relationship is being portrayed --- the man going off to do his all-important work & then coming home to woo his woman with nonsensical & trivial stuff. I told myself not to dwell on it, because this might not be the true indication of their relationship dynamics throughout the whole time-skip of 2 years. After all, we didn't get to see any of their interactions during that time. And this is her birthday, so of course, he's supposed to be all lovey-dovey.

But then the boat scene came. What my heart calls it poetically as "a stolen moment of peace for WS"... and my brain calls it "one of the most cowardly & d**kish moments by WS". Rather than opting to have an adult discussion with HS about his impending marriage to a kid, he chose to be selfish (or "protect" her, maybe?) and have another lovey-dovey inconsequential moment with her.

Then the pattern continues. The shadow-puppet & bed scene. I know you all love it, so you are going to hate me for this..... but I'm pissed at him for choosing to ignore the many elephants in the room a.k.a Trust issues, Throne issues, Eun issue..... and treat her like a total airhead & yet again, choose to have a lets-play-happy-couple moment. Well, maybe he was thinking of confronting the issues later, after he has fully recovered from the arrow wound (even if Ji-mong didn't force the issue). But think about it: HS bared her soul, told him about her pain, declared her trust on him..... His response? Kiss her. Yes, it's romantic, but a very romantic deflection from the issues! Because he wants her to continue assuming, just for a little while more, that her protection is the only reason he has gone away (even though he did it as a strategy to angle for the throne as well). Yes, Wang So tries his very best to not outright lie to HS... but his lies-by-omission are hard to forgive by this point.

 

... then WS became GJ, and we got the head-on-the-lap bed scene which only highlights the trivial role HS now plays in his life, and then the masked outing which is another "escape from real problems" scene.

So all in all, none of the OTP romance scenes really provide any gravitas..... the gravitas that we know the show is capable of providing: e.g. in the make-up scene & "batman in the rain" scene (Sorry, that's what I've been calling it).

Spoiler

So in a sense, there have always been warning signs about this doomed romance. This couple can be good for one another, they can be the making of one another..... but only if their relationship stays as friends, comrades or protector&protected. Once the emotional investment of a romance comes into play, they seem to be a true destructive force against one another. Just look at it: WS's various brushes with death for HS & now being left as a shell-of-a-man after HS's leaving; HS's total loss of independence & individuality under WS's "protection" throughout the drama. This romance is truly toxic, and throughout Ep19, my only hope was that HS would leave the palace without totally destroying WS....... but of course, that did not happen. She was destructive to him until the very ugly end. F***!!! Why did I even root for them?!!! You utter fool!    

_______________________

 

 

Expected sub-plot: Political intrigue & Battle for the throne

What we got: Child-play level politics & Anti-climatic transfers of power

Spoiler

 

In this drama, WS is the only truly developed character. Everyone else just exists to bring shape and dimension to this one character. So almost all other people that are involved in the courtly intrigue are left one-dimensional. WW & YH get slightly better treatment in terms of character sketch; at least, there is some effort in making them almost human-like. But others, even the central characters like Queen Yoo & Wang Yo are just walking-talking humanoid shells to me --- their motivations are left unexplained; their actions are almost comical in their goodness or evilness.

For a political intrigue to truly blossom, we need light & shade in characters. And since the massive cast & too-short run of the drama doesn't allow for true character developments, the political intrigue part of the sub-plot is doomed from the start. Each event in history/plot is made as an episodic problem, introduced quickly & resolved just as quickly (e.g. rain ceremony, various coups, rebellion of Baekje in Ep19). So except for the WS poisoning & mercury poisoning, each event has very little impact on the main story-arc. Thus, we are not invested in the politics of this drama at all.

That would have been fine if the drama manages to make an impact in the main transfer-of-power plot-points. But look at this:

• Taejo died almost peacefully. HS limps around to save the nation. Then the battle scene with gorgeous sword fight. Then, Mu is King.

My disappointment? It was too short; Mu arrived quickly and there was no bloody battle.

But this one is not all bad. At least, we got to see WW's political mind in how he betrayed Yo. And we got to see HS at least doing something. And we got the nice conversation between WS & HS in the throne room.

• Mu died. One little moment of badassery from WS. Threatened with HS, he stopped fighting. Then, Yo is King.

My disappointment? Mu drowned in thigh-deep water. Well, I know his veins were pumped full of mercury by then, but the editing of the drowning scene was s*** so I didn't feel the impact of his death. Then, again, fight scene was too short.

But this one is very good in one particular sense: tortured WS. His inner struggle was beautiful to see... so that salvaged the scene quite a bit.

• Yo died. There was supposed to be a coup, which becomes not-a-coup. Then, WS/GJ is King.

Most anti-climatic ascent to throne of all times for me. I was expecting some interesting planning for the coup; we didn't get it. I was expecting some bloody battle; we didn't get it. I was expecting at least some confrontation between WS and Yo; we didn't get it. In almost a blink of an eye, the coup AND the coronation were over. WTH?!!!

The problem with making the power-transfers anti-climatic is that it cheapens WS's struggles. After all the pain while under the reign of other Kings, he became King almost instantly without so much as a how-do-you-do. So we are left in the state of blah, rather then feel the satisfaction that he's now King.

_______________________

 

 

Expected plot-device: Modern woman

What we got: A shell of a character who doesn't belong to the future or the past

Hae Soo. A character that disappointed me at every turn. I've written a long rant about her: here. And another more well-thought-out piece about other female characters: here.

My relationship with the character: Loved it till Ep13 although even that was tinged with annoyance because of her foolhardy illogical streak. From Ep14 onwards, rather than becoming smarter, she has lost her innocent charms yet remains illogical as ever. The character seems hell-bent on providing WS with endless complications & drama, while adding very little to his life & well-being in the grand scheme of things.

 

But here, let me focus on the one particular dilemma about this character. Here is a modern woman, transported to Goryeo era. One would expect her modern skills & sensibilities to be instrumental in her character, and thus, in the plot. But other than make-up, her modernness doesn't add to the plot in any way, good or bad.

She seemed to have settled in that era without much of a fuss. Other than a few hilarious mishaps & the emoji, she has hidden her modernness so well. And despite her annoyance at the failings of Goryeo era (totally patriarchal culture, treatment of servants, the disparity between high & low-borns etc), she doesn't seem to be all that bothered by it all. And after being broken in Ep11, she seems to have contented herself in the existence as a court-lady doing menial labour.

This problematic character trajectory is more glaring in her relationship with WS. Yes, WS is the protector --- her minder and almost a parent-like figure to her. But the seemingly total lack of interest from her when it comes to his burdens & his job is quite jarring, for a woman of modern era. He treats her like he would a kid: "Do as I say; it's for your own protection." And she seems to just let him. Yes, there are times when her modern sensibilities reared its head... but sadly, they are all in the most immaterial way and only adds to the audience's annoyance. Like hiding Jung in her room & threatening WS by harming herself. That was a very modern-female move: She was pissed at her boyfriend, so she caused a fuss. But as I've said before in my ranty piece, it just came across as childish & immaterial.

Spoiler

 

But this is not another "I hate HS" rant. This rant is more about the missed opportunities; and about how the plot-summary has misled me and many others like me.

In the main story-arc, the plot basically uses only two things about her modernness: makeup & visions. But in all other ways, they hobbled this modern character by breaking her spirit halfway through the show and never letting recover it. That means they missed out on making true use of a female character that has the potential to be strong-willed & capable. Watching HS pains me almost physically... because she could have been so much more.  The plot summary of the drama:

Quote

"21st century woman is transported back in time to Goryeo Dynasty. (...) Rivalry and politics ensue among the princes, in a fight for the throne, as Hae Soo finds herself unwittingly caught between it all."

.... makes us assume that she would play a more active role in this fight for the throne. Yet we now have to contend with this shell of a character whose only meaning of existence in this universe is to be WS's love.

_______________________

 

 

Expected theme: Justice

What we got: A world that brought unfairness at every turn, and the "justice" it delivers is a bitter pill to swallow

I've talked about my need for an-eye-for-an-eye justice. And given how the plot has gone on until Ep16, I feel that it's not too much to ask. Innocents have suffered; evil has prospered. We the audience have been made to endure that cruel plot for 16 whole episodes. Now that GJ is King, of course we expect some delicious payback. But what did we get?

• YH is queen. As I've said before, her actions & motivations are actually quite justified & understandable, but the drama chose to paint her as a total b****. Then, made us watch her crowned queen & live with the knowledge that her kid will be heir to the throne.
• Yoo dead. This one was good. Well, what happened to her is not enough for all the evils she has done, but the delivery by LJG saved the day for this scene. I am satisfied.
• CR dead. It was an ugly ugly scene. But the problem? She is the least deserving of punishment among the "evil" people in this drama.
• Won still lives, and apparently quite happily.
• Jung is apparently a hero. Not an "evil" character per se, but always a thorn in my backside & always a source of annoyance to the plot. He doesn't deserve any happy ending, and yet he's getting one.
• Taejo dead. Died quite peacefully. He is a bad father, but WS didn't even get a proper apology out of him. And WS gave him a dignified & reverent send-off.
• Yo dead. Died in madness, but other than a few visions here & there, we didn't get to see him suffer. And WS didn't truly get to confront him.

Now, let me tackle my major problem: Wang Wook.

I wanted his frying to come from something worthy of frying. The dead falcon makes me want to drown myself in Damiwon bath. WTH??? I understand that they probably cannot unearth the WS-poisoning story, so eye-for-an-eye justice is not really possible. But can't you give us a bit more satisfying crime for the punishment?

And what's the punishment? Erm....... Kneeling? Him sitting alone in a room, looking pale? That's it?

I understand that it's childish to expect justice always prevails. But this is a drama; you can disappoint the audience just so much before we all say f***-it and give up on the whole drama.

_______________________

 

 

Expected moral of the story: Redemption

What we got: A making & a breaking of a character so intertwined that we became uninvested in both the making & the breaking

Wang So. Tortured & dark character that is supposed to be a phoenix that rises from the ashes. A story of redemption. Technically, this did happen. But it all happened in the most unsatisfying way imaginable. So it has just left us with emptiness.

Hae Soo. A nobody in modern era that is supposed to matter in Goryeo era. A story of redemption. Technically, this did happen. But it happened in the way that she is both the maker & the destroyer of the King of Goryeo. So it has just left us with raw pain.

There is a purpose to Hae Soo's travel to the past... It is to make WS/GJ King. If done well, even through heartbreaks & tragedy, this can be a truly worthwhile story. Their journey together should have mattered to us enough that we can go through the eventual heartbreak their separation will bring. But what did we get? Her time in Goryeo has broken her beyond any prospect of healing. And is there an upside to that?

Well, you might say, all that suffering she went through is instrumental in making GJ King.

My response would be: So what?

Yes, he's a King now, but also a shell of a person just like her. There seems to be no true reward in this journey, only pain & suffering.

There's one other way of looking at all this though: Maybe, Hae Soo's entrance into Wang So's life makes him King. But to make him a truly great monarch, she has to leave him. That's their destiny.

Do I find comfort in that thought? Hell no. But I guess it's better than "blah" & "WTF" that I'm keenly feeling right now.

_______________________________________

 

Okay, usually I write some nice & eloquent conclusion here. But today, I dunno what to write. I have basically given up on this drama. I'm gonna keep episodes 1-13 with me for my comfort. And ep18 for the enjoyment of my evil side. But the story as a whole, I don't care anymore.

I will still watch the finale episode tonight. Only because, given I have taken a break from work & have agreed to let my husband some "bachelor" time, I frankly have nothing to do for today & tomorrow.

Life just sucks.

Edited November 23, 2016 by zi4r
grammar & formatting

[antiherofans]

5 minutes ago, Gabi Bros said:

Just in case we all end up dead after episode 20  (hopefully not)… I want to thank all of you and say that I don't regret the time spent in this thread. =) I have my issues with the writing sometimes but I don't regret watching the drama because I got to know the lovely cast and we have spent good moments here and survived many hardships together. I entered this thread around page 30 (almost 6 months ago). I was running away of the prejudice and negativism of other sites.  We were few at that time and we slowly tried to build a good community. I am happy that we succeeded in that. We don't always agree but we have always respected each other's opinions as well as the actors and that's beautiful. We will go back to our real life (that's a good thing) but hope we can meet in the future. 

 

 

I do hope we get out of this drama alive . But I just want to say thank you for welcoming me to this thread. Same as you, I also running away of the prejudice and negativism of other sites. I really enjoy this drama even tho sometimes it drives me mad (or cry like crazy) and happy I can share my obsession with people who really care. I do hope we can enjoy and discuss another great drama in the future .

Right now, I want to enjoy the last episode of my beautiful Wang So . I am gonna cry like crazy tonight.

 

[penforella]

Did anyone here watch Palace? It’s another C adaptation of BBJX. If I remember correctly the OTP change to 8^th prince but in the end somehow he time travel to the future.

See how desperate I am for a glimmer of happy ending there.

[virsvirs]

 

Spoiler

 

It's heartbreaking but I really can't blame either one of them </3

CHINGUS, WE DESERVE A LEGIT HAPPY ENDING WITH CLOSURE AND SOME KIND OF ASSURANCE THAT OUR PRECIOUS SOSOO WILL LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER

[enigmaticangel]

Can we all talk about this one particular scene in that preview that make me hard to move on from the preview..

 

 

This is face of the man who was loathed by everyone in Goryeo, the face which was even hated by the person to whom it belongs .The mark on the face distanced everyone around him, made him crave for love , the mark - which started everything..

I don't know know why but this particular scene depicts PUREST FORM OF LOVE ever!

Even at MOST DIFFICULT TIME ALL SHE THINKS ABOUT IS "THAT" FACE  of the man whom everyone abandoned except her..!

Remember Eun's Birthday..everyone turned their face from seeing the scar, Yo even made fun of it, even his strongest supporter Beak Ah turned  away but it was only HER who accepted him even at his MOST VULNERABLE STATE EVER!! 

This scene tells about the HS's craving to see THAT face , The person who supported her like a pillar of strength , who drank poison for her and what not?!

She accepted him for who he WAS and still love THAT vulnerable man who WAS,IS and WILL ALWAYS BE everything for HER!!

 

YES She misses him so damn much..She miss the most vulnerable yet so brave Wang So ..omg!!

[Aramyas]

5 minutes ago, paldia said:

Is GJ actually smelling the letter HS wrote? 

Not sure, the preview's scene was pretty fast.

But I wouldn't doubt that he did inhale the scent of the letter.  When you have ultimately lost someone dear to you, it makes you desperate to find any traces of them. Be it scent, sound, touch, taste or visual. 

[sosooyah19]

6 minutes ago, ilovecoffeeandbooks said:

So who thinks GJ was getting that portrait done to hang in Wook's house. You know, "I'm ALWAYS watching you."

hahaha,,, that would be pure torture aside from house arrest... haha

Spoiler

1 minute ago, enigmaticangel said:

Can we all talk about this one particular scene in that preview that make me hard to move on from the preview..

 

 

This is face of the man who was loathed by everyone in Goryeo, the face which was even hated by the person to whom it belongs .The mark on the face distanced everyone around him, made him crave for love , the mark - which started everything..

I don't know know why but this particular scene depicts PUREST FORM OF LOVE ever!

Even at MOST DIFFICULT TIME ALL SHE THINKS ABOUT IS "THAT" FACE  of the man whom everyone abandoned except her..!

Remember Eun's Birthday..everyone turned their face from seeing the scar, Yo even made fun of it, even his strongest supporter Beak Ah turned  away but it was only HER who accepted him even at his MOST VULNERABLE STATE EVER!! 

This scene tells about the HS's craving to see THAT face , The person who supported her like a pillar of strength , who drank poison for her and what not?!

She accepted him for who he WAS and still love THAT vulnerable man who WAS,IS and WILL ALWAYS BE everything for HER!!

 

YES She misses him so damn much..She miss the most vulnerable yet so brave Wang So ..omg!!

and it was painted in a stone.... hmmm im getting the idea that she'll see it on the 21st century...

she missed the masked WS. and not the King... omo...

[kdramawriter]

1 minute ago, ceda209 said:

 

I beg to differ, but HS's world has been like that the minute she enter Goyreo.  Her position was way worse than before WS became king.  She was forced to married the king & almost killed herself.  She was framed, severely punished & almost executed.  Lady Oh died in her place.  Then she was demoted to a water maid for 2 years & endured extreme labor.  She was lifeless.  Her life became slighty happier when WS helped WM ascended to the throne.  Then HS's beloved Wooked masterminded WM's death, Yo became king & HS partly responsible for Eun & DS's death.  HS ended up serving Yo while WS was away for 2 years.  So to say that her life has become limited & her freedom taken away after becoming WS's woman is a little harsh on WS's behalf.  

I really don't care if I'm being harsh on WS because half of fandom seems to be forever apologizing for him. The simple fact is that when she became his woman, she had to obey his decrees because he is not longer a prince, he is a king. There is a complete disruption of their power dynamic; they are no longer equals. He cannot/will not share information with her under the guise of protection. This is all part of patriarchy; which informs us that Daddy is taking care of us so we shouldn't worry our pretty little heads about it. Even though HS agreed to be in the palace to be close to Wang So, this arrangement does not work for her for long.

She says to WH: "I feel like a doll waiting for its master to come home." <-- this is already pointing to the vast differences in their relationship. She no longer has control. He has all the control. She has no purpose. He's the reason for her living. Again, this is simply not enough for any person, to solely exist for another person's comfort? She might have promised him comfort, but she had no idea that he was evolving so quickly into the ruthless GJ. 

Lemme hammer in these three things he said to her again that are distinct parts of the patriarchy: 

1. You cannot see anyone without my permission - He says this to her when Queen Yoo summons her. 

2. You should not try to get to know everything - He says this to her on their cute writing date

3. You should have children - Also on the cute writing date

You can argue that the first is for her protection, but it also EASILY leads into a situation where she's held hostage in the palace (which is pretty much true for her already since he won't let her go. Again, kinda of the definition of a hostage situation).

No 2 is WS being patriarchal - deciding what HS gets to know so that she doesn't get any ideas about leaving him (also under the guise of protection).

No 3 - Having children would ultimately cement their relationship, HS would be bound to him forever. 

These are all forms of control. That you choose to see it as protection is your own bag. 

 

 

[kiinn]

53 minutes ago, kdramawriter said:

Sorry don't think so. GJ is definitely WS, but evolved to be much more ruthless. The moment when GJ told HS that she actually suggested a better torture for Wook (to be imprisoned in his home and to let his heart rot) for the rest of his life, his face turned totally evil. And that's when HS realized that GJ wasn't the person she fell in love with (WS). 

 

From my view, So remains the same. He has been ruthless from the beginning. He was also smiling like that when he wiped out those monks. It was HS who then finally came to realise this enormous weight of So dark side. She has been trying to justify all So's action up until now, but only when she saw So's capable of dismissing every single soul including the ones that she cared about, CR/Jung/Wook, she realised how cruel he could be. I believe Lee Ji Eun is more than capable to deliver this, I am disappointed I feel her parts were not properly captured/portrayed, while everything had been perfect for me since ep.1

 

Anyway on a lighter note, we should be grateful for the baseball fiasco, shouldn't we  I couldn't bear if I had to wait 7 days for this to end. There, I could rest my mind in peace tomorrow.  I have to admit this is one brilliant show, my heart is screwed and my brain is wrecked. But good job, Scarlet Heart.

[WeunXK]

 

[pwnkl]

Is Wook really favored that much by the writer? I mean you know.. aside from YH, Queen Hwangbo and WS ofc Won.. only Baek Ah came to know his sinister deeds even before Baek Ah tried to defend him shitty right? and now just look how Baek Ah resent him  I just really can't accept the fact that he's walking away with a hero cape on. And what? The guts to say "Think only of the future?" Is tomorrow that's full of longing with the love of your life a future worth looking forward to? Who played a huge part to that? mind answering me "HERO"? What's more enraging is he still a coward until the end, dude got no balls to spill everything and forget forgiveness, but feel sorry? woaaa just woaah 

As much as I hate the idea of WS consummating YH, I did wish that YH will screw him off. It could've been a complete pleasure when she stabbed her brother at the back but you know she still cares for Wook  so I can't believe I'm gonna say this but I adore Won for throwing him off the bus without any sort of guilty conscience or emotions. That's the way to deal a snake.

I won't come clean with this.. I hate Wook to pluto and back.

[hobeverly1212]

 

[kiinn]

13 minutes ago, ilovecoffeeandbooks said:

So who thinks GJ was getting that portrait done to hang in Wook's house. You know, "I'm ALWAYS watching you."

LOLLL!!!! 

[Guest maniac-moon]

I want stab my self

Damn writer.you are serial killer.i hate you

For godsake why our OTP are so miserable