[Drama 2018-2019] Empress Dignity / The Last Empress, 황후의 품격

[jjangnarafan]

ep.9-10 preview

 

 

[chubby^green^]

45 minutes ago, gm4queen said:

 

OMG dear!!~~~~ Are you all right..??!! But I was thinking that you were nowhere near the thread lately! I really hope you are all right now!!!   And WHAT?! Two weeks to finish download one ep. I can imagine your frustration!!!

it was a nitemare

although it rained yesterday, the temperature was still quite high

so sleeping was a tosture, felt like i fell asleep in a sauna

it took the whole morning and half afternoon for the technician to fix everything

and by 3 pm today i got the electricity back

it was one of those moment when you stop and appreciate things in life

 

the internet was slow and i was saving the laptop battery just in case of emergency

so i didnt come online during the blackout

miss this thread so much though

i was dying to know the update of the latest ep last night

 

yeh the internet is still horrible until now, urgh... given up on downloading for now

will do it later

 

anyway my cable tv decided not to record tle tonight, 

so i have to record the re run

so still cannot watch tle

i guess i will watch it tomorrow

hopefully

 

poor elijah, i hope those comments will want to make her work harder to show the others,

that's the con of playing antagonist in drama especially, i guess

while protagonist get cheered and supported

the bad guy always get blamed and scorned even in real life

though if you get hated then it does mean that you are doing bad right

especially in makjang drama where being bad means that you have to ridiculously and nonsense evil and wicked

though if i have the choice playing bad guy seems more fun than playing nice person

hahaha

at least you got to vent out all your anger and frustration into your character

while the good character would most almost usually have to be patient all the time and to get abuse all the time

although in drama i enjoy to hate and despise the bad guy and to support to good guy

i guess when you play the villain you have to expect people to wish for your downfall, though there are some that most of the time got carried away

just because someone play a b* in drama she is that kind in real life

same with actors who play the innocent type on screen, can be a total opposite off screen

hahaha

 

[Matilda_Anne]

you guys we need some wine to digest tonight’s ep lol. watch at your own risk hahahah

[Lmangla]

thanks to @triplem for getting me to check out the drama...

... this was me in the beginning of ep 1 .... then...  "these people are kind of strange?" .... to omo, what happened? ... that was ep 1! 

 

LOL, who wrote this drama? asked uncle google and started laughing when I saw the list of her works -- temptation of wife, temptation of angel, jang bori.... LOL, I know exactly what to expect and how ridiculously fun and over the top this ride will be.. like a roller coaster of utter lunacy and laughs.

 

off to watch the rest and catch up... but as I read the last few pages, so wang shik (or chubby bear as I thought of him) had a makeover and became lean bear (choi jin hyuk the sexy bodyguard).... diet, exercise okay but where did the growth spurt come from? isn't choi jin hyuk deliciously tall? guess, he started growing again in the mountains?

[0ly40]

clips ep 7-8

Spoiler

 

 

[gm4queen]

Well!

 

Just watched today's eps & I have nothing to say except, I really love the way how Choi Jin Hyuk rescued Jang Na Ra at the wedding!

 

And I really hope both Jang Na Ra & Choi Jin Hyuk pick decent dramas next time!! See you back then, guys!

 

[Lmangla]

kekeke.... @triplem ~ feel like I need to write a bit about my favourite genre - makjang!!! hahahaha.... so for folks who are new to this genre, put your thinking caps outside the door. this isn't a brain drama where you can dissect characters or look for logic. this is in the face lunacy where you can't look away because it is addictive but you can't stop laughing at how silly it is.

 

there is always a naive character who gets taken for a ride and then slowly, the person wakes up and finds out to their horror the snake pit they are in. there is always a greedy character who is driven to more and more extremes, driven by guilt but can't stop their greed. there is always a villain who enjoys being a villain. there is always a character who has been denied justice. then there is the politics and wrangling amidst the many character. each one wants something. nothing is for free...

 

and while folks think makjang is silly writing, it takes skill to write such madness that is utterly engaging! LOL. seriously! the twists and turns have to surprise viewers but at the same time, be believable in that world setting. and the actors have to be good at their craft. regardless of how over the top the story gets, they have to sell the madness by being grounded in that story reality and their characterization. makjang often has the most experienced actors and they know how to make the story feel lived in.

 

while makjang dramas are often over-the-top, the themes are usually engaging and deal with havoc playing emotions like betrayal, need for justice, greed, ambition, sadness. because the emotions are true, regardless of how silly the situations, we feel for these characters and we want them to have a happy ending. and the best part, makjang always delivers in that the bad guys are punished and the true folks are saved by their goodness.

 

so lets enjoy the ride of empress dignity.

[Guest]

Haha @Lmangla be prepared for a WILD ride ! Edit - appreciate your post above . Very eye opening for me .

——///—

omona! SRS fan service   ..I had to post this because it was the highlight trashy scene of the night . ( Have to use IG ... I’m unable to watch SBS vids on YT due to regional restrictions) Yu Ra ‘s power play & hold on the emperor continues but oh my She’s so daring to do It with him while oh Sunny’s just next to him separated by a mere partition .... ...

 

Hoho..will oh sunny catch them ?

Spoiler

 

Preview has CJH ‘s wonderful back muscles making an appearance 

——

i get that this drama is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. And I know it’s disappointing when your bias takes  on a role you don’t like . But I think if you can understand the need for them to take on a variety of roles to stay afloat in this very competitive industry, I think you’ll come to appreciate the risk they are taking . Also if you can see past the flaws of this drama & look at it purely for its entertainment value, you’ll be able to enjoy it  . This is me all the time watching this 

Spoiler

 

 Understand that the drama does intend to shock & push the boundaries of the viewers imagination. So let’s have fun on this crazy ride together.  

[Lmangla]

39 minutes ago, triplem said:

i get that this drama is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. And I know it’s disappointing when your bias takes  on a role you don’t like . But I think if you can understand the need for them to take on a variety of roles to stay afloat in this very competitive industry, I think you’ll come to appreciate the risk they are taking . Also if you can see past the flaws of this drama & look at it purely for its entertainment value, you’ll be able to enjoy it  . This is me all the time watching this 

kekeke... that is exactly the right gif... this is like watching avengers or thor or iron man. we can't expect some oscar boring seriousness. nope, there will be all sorts of building crashes, villains who want to rule the world, funny music and all sorts of crackling dialogues! ... by the way, I love avengers, thor and iron man! and think it is ridiculous that awards don't recognize action movies which are so entertaining. ....

 

and @triplem ~ not only the actors are stretching their skill set, they are also having fun! when makjang dramas are really engaging, the actors are usually ball of time filming and cracking up in between delivering their lines with seriousness.

so pass the popcorn and thank the PDs that they understand fan service!

[scarletlover1]

Oh, I see... So is that the reason he doesn't like Sunny? She reminds of his first love or whoever that woman is. Watched yesterday's episode... so YR just lets her child be hostage? Ok... I would definitely never let her near or see that child again. And the emperor is so clueless, YR is the real gold digger. She has him wrapped around her finger. I wouldn't be surprised if she was trying to get pregnant by him and the emperor actually winds up falling for Sunny later on.

[ktcjdrama]

5 hours ago, triplem said:

Hoho..will oh sunny catch them ?

The answer is obvious ... yeah, pass the popcorn. I can't wait for ep.5! I like that they keep that hot-temper of NWS still surfacing once in a while but we see that it is (barely) under control...

 

@Lmangla You define makjang dramas very well and clear. Obviously a pro ....

Some posters here had asked about what makjang is earlier.

[AlexandraReid]

[The Last Empress] Eps 7 & 8 spoilers, Choi Jin Hyuk x Jang Na Ra x Shin Sung Rok

Ratings: 7.6% | 9.3%

 

 

 

Article: Naver 'The Last Empress' Shin Sung Rok appoints Choi Jin Hyuk as the royal family's bodyguard 

1. [+584,-13]
It leaves me speechless, but it's interesting. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

2. [+360,-12]
Min So Hee drew a mole and others couldn't recognize her after that [t/n: from drama 'Temptation of Wife']. At least it's more realistic this time. He changed himself after dieting. ㅋㅋㅋ

3. [+343,-21]
The same scriptwriter who wrote Temptation of Wife... It would be daebak if scriptwriter Kim Eun Sook writes a story about constitutional monarchy. 

4. [+243,-4]
I was wondering what this drama is about, but I was hooked. 

5. [+71,-1]
Please adjust the recommended age for this. It's embarrassing. 

6. [+53,-2]
It's interesting, but I hope they stop the erotic scenes. It's unpleasant and tiring to watch. 

7. [+50,-2]
Choi Jin Hyuk is so cool. I kept watching and watching, his cool acting skills, visuals, voice. They are great.

8. [+42,-0]
Remove scenes of Shin Sung Rok and Elijah having an affair. It's disgusting. The both of them are awkward together too. Do you really have to put those scenes in? 
 

Spoiler

 

Article: Naver 'The Last Empress' Jang Na Ra gets married... Lee Elijah counterattacks by seducing him 

1. [+787,-30]
Please adjust the recommended age to watch this. 

2. [+376,-12]
It's true.. This is interesting, but watching this with my family is a little.. The embarrassing scenes.. Guess I have to watch this alone. 

3. [+393,-41]
Jang Na Ra is so pretty, but Shin Sung Rok isn't even looking at her in the eye. Does that make sense... Jang Na Ra is really pretty. 

4. [+243,-22]
The drama is alive now that Choi Jin Hyuk appeared. He's the best when it comes to action and emotional acting~ His chemistry with Jang Na Ra is good too. 

5. [+139,-8]
Please make Jang Na Ra and Choi Jin Hyuk who are good in acting the centre of the story and delete scenes of Shin Sung Rok and Elijah having an affair. 

6. [+108,-2]
Lee Elijah's scenes are usually 19+ scenes. Both the scriptwriter and director are not getting to their senses yet. Do you like 19+ scenes so much, scriptwriter, director?

7. [+103,-3]
Am I the only one seeing Lee Tae Im in Lee Elijah? 

8. [+86,-2]
Please adjust the recommended age to watch this. Min Yoo Ra getting on the King is the same as portraying them having sex. 

9. [+97,-11]
As expected, Shin Eun Kyung's acting is good. I was able to get immersed in the show!!! 

 

cr

 

[chubby^green^]

53 minutes ago, AlexandraReid said:

3. [+393,-41]
Jang Na Ra is so pretty, but Shin Sung Rok isn't even looking at her in the eye. Does that make sense... Jang Na Ra is really pretty. 

i like this person

hahaha

 

ratings seems nice and good

it seems that this drama has sets in

kinda hard for them to reach the targeted ratings of 20% right?

but i am happy for them all

 

it would more eps of the bad guys getting the upper hands for now

and i can even imagine the whole suspense music going on as sunny was about to get the truth only to be thwarted on the last second a few more times too

lee hyuk and myr was 'doing' it in their bedroom aka kissing hahaha (of course myr would seduce lee hyuk in the bridal bedroom since she would establish her power and dominance on lee hyuk)

sunny was walking toward the room, music getting more serious, she was still in her bubby happy self

she reaches out to open the door.... the frame getting more intense... 

ops someone calls out to her and both the adulterer heard her from the room,

so when she finally walks in the room it was lee hyuk alone reading a newspaper looking all regal with myr nowhere to be found...

or even worse, those two are together as if they were working, with lee hyuk sitting down and myr attending to him, after all she is the secretary still

and sunny didnt even have the slightest suspicion of the situation and greeted myr cheerfully

hahaha

 

anyway does nws knows about myr and lee hyuk's affair already?

hmmm....

[ktcjdrama]

14 minutes ago, chubby^green^ said:

anyway does nws knows about myr and lee hyuk's affair already?

hmmm....

Nope, he still thinks MYR is an angel.

[nakatsubebe]

2 hours ago, chubby^green^ said:

ratings seems nice and good

it seems that this drama has sets in

kinda hard for them to reach the targeted ratings of 20% right?

but i am happy for them all

 

 

It still too early into the game. Had they not had a strong competition from TVN, they probably be in double digits by now. But the true ratings game will probably happen when both dramas are close to episode 10 or in the middle of the whole series. It will test which drama had their viewers hooked to them throughout and not leave after seeing the first few episodes. So, getting to 20% ratings is still doable. Actually, they shouldn't even be compared because the TVN drama starts at 21:30 while the dramas at MBC, SBS, and KBS starts at 22:00, and the platforms are different.

 

I know this might be off topic. But there was this scene with Jang Nara holding mandarin ducks on her first day in the palace. It reminded me of Fated to Love You and I thought this lady doesn't seem to get the love of her make belief soon-to-be-husbands on her wedding day. It's not only that they (Lee Gun and Lee Hyuk) did not love her but they actually hated her on her wedding day 

[Matilda_Anne]

i actually dont mind the makjang plots. it’s the overacting that i cant stand..i could not agree more about removing those dirty scenes.. it was inappropriate and awkward to see.. hopefully they can focus on oh sunny’s character development from now on. that girl is as clueless as i was during high school.. is it bad that i want her to change into a cruel person and kill everyone in the palace hahhaa.. that will be the biggest plot twist ever. 

[Lmangla]

4 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

 

@Lmangla You define makjang dramas very well and clear. Obviously a pro ....

Some posters here had asked about what makjang is earlier.

kekeke...have very ajummah tastes (maybe because I started watching kdramas with my mom) and so watch a lot of daily and weekend dramas. so am used to doses of makjang that range from mild to supreme chilly! hahahaha... find the tropes amusing and engaging -- you can leave your brains outside the door and just relax and laugh.

 

3 hours ago, chubby^green^ said:

ratings seems nice and good

it seems that this drama has sets in

kinda hard for them to reach the targeted ratings of 20% right?

but i am happy for them all

not necessarily; makjang dramas that are very engaging do tend to do very well in ratings. have seen the writer's previous successful works and these got ratings like 35% or more. so she knows how to write insane twists and turns and keep you guessing on how the story will proceed. also makjang dramas tend to appeal to ajummah crowd who are not going to be making comments in naver. these are quiet folks who just tune in. just based on the first few episodes, this is very addictive and so ratings may quietly rise but it may not have the buzz that appeals to younger viewers.

 

 

1 hour ago, Matilda_Anne said:

i actually dont mind the makjang plots. it’s the overacting that i cant stand..i could not agree more about removing those dirty scenes.. it was inappropriate and awkward to see.. hopefully they can focus on oh sunny’s character development from now on. that girl is as clueless as i was during high school.. is it bad that i want her to change into a cruel person and kill everyone in the palace hahhaa.. that will be the biggest plot twist ever. 

at least this is a shorter series which means she will wake up from her naivete early. in dailys, we have to wait for over 30-50 episodes before she woke up and came back all fiery to take her revenge.  so yea, we will either see lean bear or sunny or both together play all sorts of revenge games and all we will say is "pass the popcorn!" hahahah....

 

p.s -- tagging @sava2sava who might enjoy this!

 

[sonequeen01]

I really pity Sunny. Things would have been different if she was a gold digger, but she's not. She thinks what she has with Lee Hyuk is true love. The thing is that they don't even love each other like that. She's just a big fangirl and he's just using her. Seeing how close Woobin is to the emperor, he should soon enough know about the affair between Yura and Lee Hyuk. I just don't know what'd he do when he finds out. Will he tell Sunny or just stay quiet until he gets what he needs?

 

I love the makjang from this writer. This is just as crazy as her other dramas. Let's hope our female lead and male lead end up together this time because I remembered in this writer's last 2 dramas, the romance got dropped halfway and the leads remained as "friends" in the end because this writer wanted to give her villains 95% of the screen time. I get skeptical about people who take this writer's lead roles because they risk losing their screen time in the second half of the drama. Kim Soon Ok, you were able to land big names like Jang Nara and Choi Jin Hyuk in your drama so please don't screw them over and please don't make their characters useless. If this happens I'm just gonna say "I knew it."

 

 

And I don't mind the "erotic" scenes. They are hot. 

[nakatsubebe]

1 hour ago, Matilda_Anne said:

i actually dont mind the makjang plots. it’s the overacting that i cant stand..i could not agree more about removing those dirty scenes.. it was inappropriate and awkward to see.. hopefully they can focus on oh sunny’s character development from now on. that girl is as clueless as i was during high school.. is it bad that i want her to change into a cruel person and kill everyone in the palace hahhaa.. that will be the biggest plot twist ever. 

 

While watching last night's episode, I really want her to do that  just kill every cruel person we know in the palace. Some pointers I got from that episode. The grand empress dowager said the empress is no ordinary girl. I like how some of their lines point out what's gonna happen in the future. Like how she will be a different empress and how often characters say the line "we'll see". I hope Chun Woo bin/Na Wang Shik will take the advise not to trust anyone because really, everyone has a hidden agenda. He is already in a lot of pain and anger with his mom being killed unjustly but once he finds out that her girlfriend (who he also wants to protect) is actually involved, I don't know how much he can handle. How can you actually kill or exact vengeance to someone you actually had loved and protected?

For Oh Sunny, I don't think discovering her husband's infidelity alone will develop her character. She needs to suffer as much pain like Na Wang Shik, perhaps through the hands of her mother in law, her husband, and Min Yura. And Min Yura is like a cockroach, even how many times she is stepped on, she is still alive and kicking. I like how our makjang writers plays with her villains. It's like the villains can't live a normal evil life, they also have other villains who torments them.

[nakatsubebe]

50 minutes ago, Lmangla said:

kekeke...have very ajummah tastes (maybe because I started watching kdramas with my mom) and so watch a lot of daily and weekend dramas. so am used to doses of makjang that range from mild to supreme chilly! hahahaha... find the tropes amusing and engaging -- you can leave your brains outside the door and just relax and laugh.

 

at least this is a shorter series which means she will wake up from her naivete early. in dailys, we have to wait for over 30-50 episodes before she woke up and came back all fiery to take her revenge.  so yea, we will either see lean bear or sunny or both together play all sorts of revenge games and all we will say is "pass the popcorn!" hahahah....

 

 

@Lmangla you are our makjang teacher! thank you for your pointers.  True! this type of drama is the dramas that ahjummas love. I saw this one tweet saying 'my mom is watching it and I'm forcibly watching it'  

 I'm surprised that the writer did a "mini-series" because she might be used to 50 episode daily/weekend dramas. This, I think, is only her 2nd miniseries. So 24 episodes is actually short for her (others comment that 24 is too long because mini-series nowadays run for 16) but with the juiciness of Kim Soon-ok's dramas, 24 episodes should be fast and packed 

 

43 minutes ago, sonequeen01 said:

 

I love the makjang from this writer. This is just as crazy as her other dramas. Let's hope our female lead and male lead end up together this time because I remembered in this writer's last 2 dramas, the romance got dropped halfway and the leads remained as "friends" in the end because this writer wanted to give her villains 95% of the screen time. I get skeptical about people who take this writer's lead roles because they risk losing their screen time in the second half of the drama. Kim Soon Ok, you were able to land big names like Jang Nara and Choi Jin Hyuk in your drama so please don't screw them over and please don't make their characters useless. If this happens I'm just gonna say "I knew it."

 

I agree. I hope she wouldn't turn this drama to Jang bori is here or unni is alive. I want the leads to shine more than the villains. I want it more like Temptation of Wife where the lead still shined after all what happened. And it is the writer's most iconic drama so I hope she went back to that rather than really focusing on her villains throughout the drama.