[Drama 2019] Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, 신입사관 구해령

[cantbreathe]

Does anybody else sometimes think HR might be Mo Hwa and her ‘brother’’s daughter? There’s a big age gap between her and her brother, and Mo Hwa always seems to look really shocked when she sees HR. I dunno...

 

I just really want to know who she is!!!  I’m so impatient, haha. 

 

Also, I just want to say how much I love Min! He is the best. That is all. 

 

 

[shunnie]

I am loving the gender role reversal too! She’s the one leading the relationship and taking the initiatives. And Rim already looks like a housewife quietly supporting her husband’s career, bringing lunchbox to her workplace and taking care of her 

 

The kiss is so sweet, Hae Ryung always seems so touched and overwhelmed by his feelings for her and how much he’s willing to go for her.

 

Another highlight of the ep is Hae Ryung’s conversation with the king. Instead of blackmailing the king to do what she wants, she appeals to his heart instead by being honest & sincere. She’s already making changes, fighting for a better treatment of the historians and establishing a better relationship between the king and historians. Love it!

 

With 8 eps left, I wonder when they’ll start unveiling the Hodam story..

[morganian]

11 hours ago, shunnie said:

With 8 eps left, I wonder when they’ll start unveiling the Hodam story..

Did you see next week's preview? Looks like a Catholic Westerner is going to make an appearance. Possibly someone from a  country where there is no longer a monarchy. French? American? Definitely someone who has 'radical', non-Confuscian views on equality.

 

I am starting to really think Hodam refers to Adam. 

 

So glad that HR changed the king's mind and even intrigued him. Hopefully she can offer him more chances at redemption, which would make his character a little bit more nuanced. 

 

Also, Min is such a sweetie! Really going to be sad for him when HR and Dowan hook up in the end...

[kangminjae]

15 hours ago, shunnie said:

With 8 eps left, I wonder when they’ll start unveiling the Hodam story..

 

Normally in a kdrama, ep 12 is when things start to unravel plot-wise. Since this one has 20, but the backstory is sure to change the tone a lot, I think they need to start clueing Yi Rim and Haeryung into past events next week at the latest.

[RobinM]

It’s pretty obvious HR will become infatuated / enthralled by this westerner... She finally gets to hear about first hand the fascinating life she had only read about!   And Dowon will not like it one bit:)

[Rollito Deprimavera]

I was a bit sad when Hae Ryung said that she wouldn't bring Yi Rim with her to exile. It looked like she wanted to protect him and would be willing to leave him in order to not hurt him. Whatever happens in the end, I hope they don't play the noble idiocy card. Can't they end up together?

Whatever, I loved that they finally kissed. First attempt by Yi Rim was actually hotter than the real kiss, maybe because Hae Ryung was overflowing with feelings and it had to be so soft...I hope Yi Rim quickly learns how to kiss properly and we can see some swoon-worthy scenes

[cantbreathe]

I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with LR’s character development. LR should be quite a complex character:

 

- He’s gifted in literature - he wrote as Maehwa because he was compelled to write, he was heartbroken when the king made him stop. However, it seems like the Maehwa arc was only used as the meet cute, and just dispensed with. We don’t really see him as an accomplished writer, reader or intellect anymore. 

 

- He’s had a painfully lonely childhood. And occasionally - like when he told HR she could cry as much as she wanted to when she was at Noksodaeng (??) because nobody would hear her - you get a sense of it, but again, not much. 

 

Also, only one part in the first 12 episodes - where he goes to Pyongyang - has given him a real opportunity to be more than a two-dimensional character. There has been no character growth since then - and it almost seems like Pyongyang LR has been forgotten. 

 

That’s my problem with the writers though, and not CEW, who has played the gender role reversal very well. 

 

 

[Takingthehighroad]

So funny! The King having stomach problems & so many people standing around while he...What a riot! I can say this particular episode makes the King more human. And I am so glad that I come away from each episode smiling at something that happened. 

[shunnie]

5 hours ago, cantbreathe said:

I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with LR’s character development. LR should be quite a complex character:

 

 

I have to agree with you on this one, I also wish they’d expand his character more instead of just developing his romance with Hae Ryung. The scene with the king after he came back from the village was really good & intense so I thought it would be the turning point for his character, so I’m a bit disappointed there is no follow up to that in the next episode. 

The last 2 weeks were focusing on the historians more, which i still love, so I’m hoping his character development will take part in the later part of the drama since I think it will be closely related to the big reveal.

 

3 hours ago, Takingthehighroad said:

So funny! The King having stomach problems & so many people standing around while he...What a riot! I can say this particular episode makes the King more human. And I am so glad that I come away from each episode smiling at something that happened. 

 

I used to hate the king but they actually made me like him in ep 12, he’s so petty it’s hillarious!  I never thought his character would be used as a comic relief so I was pleasantly surprised.

[millicom]

The best scenes for me would be when Prince Dowon pointed out the faults of the king and the conversation between HR and the king.  

Although I enjoy watching the prince being so innocent and bright, I prefer  the serious scenes (how he handled the small pox issue, confrontations with the king) because it shows his resolute character.  This is the same character that he shares with our female lead.

I specially liked how she was able to communicate her thoughts to the king in a way that is sincere and non-judgemental. It doesn’t come off as fake or full of “BS” which was why I think she was able to reach the king and made him respect her.  As an audience, it made me rethink that the king is not as vicious as I initially thought.

I appreciate this drama as being light but deep in the writing of its characters.  I am invested in not just the main characters but also with the secondary characters like historian Min and the prince regent.

I do hope for more opportunities for Prince Dowon to showcase his intelligence and insights on what’s going on in the palace.  I hope for more character development for him before the drama ends.

[kangminjae]

23 hours ago, cantbreathe said:

I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with LR’s character development. LR should be quite a complex character:

 

That’s my problem with the writers though, and not CEW, who has played the gender role reversal very well. 

 

I especially agree with your first two points, which I think the show should expand on further. I think we're seeing more of his desire for learning and his confidence spring up in the lessons with the king this week, even if it's filtered through Haeryung. But I hope his writing and his childhood become relevant to the story once the backstory actually comes to light.

 

I love that the show took a few episodes to deepen their supporting characters, and I can't deny that kdramas usually relegate the female lead to nothing but romance after the halfway point - so in that sense it's kind of a delicious reversal in its own right. But it could only help the story to develop Yi Rim beyond what he's already shown. More moments like the ones in episode 5 and 8, please.

[shunnie]

I don't think these videos from The Swoon have been shared before. I love that they seem to have good rapport with each other.

Watching these actually makes me want to see them together in a drama with modern setting too 

 

 

 

 

 

[Carmarie]

I loved reading your comments and insights about the last two episodes.  The last two episodes, while LOL funny,  were important to the theme of the drama; the historians.  I was happy they took a stand when HR was jailed for trying to preform her job; the the underlying story was very important and I think set the stage for the reminder of the drama.  The historians have a critical job.  Their job is to record historical events accurately and truthfully, and the king must not interfere with their ability to do so.    The same as today, truthful reporting should not be blocked/interfered with by monarchies, prime ministers, presidents, or dictators.  I loved the way the scholars came to stand with the historians in pleading with the king.  But most of all, I loved how the writer wrote HR's and the king's interactions, they were very comical.  We get to see a shrewd king, who recognized how cunning HR was in appealing to his pride of country, and not begging or pleading for him to do the right thing.  

 

So far I am enjoying this drama. 

[morningdew]

The after kiss effect

 

Mohwa realised who haeryung really is

 

[morningdew]

Preview ep.27-28 in slower speed..

 

[rocher22]

I like the scenes between YJ  and SH, eventhough they are rare.

Of course, if she's honest.

Yi Jin looks somehow sad and vulnerable when he is with her.

He isnt crossing the boundary, but the way hi is looking at her...beautiful.

I liked that he gave her that ribbon. 

[OksanaSiytra]

Oh please please please just dont say that Prince and HR is brother and sister!!!!

Please nooooooooooo........

[lsylvia]

Hey guys.

 

Just dropped by and saw the comment above, and wanted to clarify that HR is NOT YR's sister.

 

HR is the daughter of the doctor who used to lead Seoraewon, a place of learning Western (or foreign) things. I think the old king (YR's father) was very open-minded and accepting of such things, and that's why the present king and SC rose up in rebellion against him, Korea being a very conservative country at the time and such goings-on being frowned upon. When the old king was killed, so were HR's father and the Western doctor and probably most of the people in Seoraewon (except Jae Gyeong, who probably betrayed them to save HR because she's his teacher's daughter, and Mohwa). I believe the why and how of the death of the old king and HR's father and the coup will be made more clear later, along with the clarification of who HR and YR are.

 

So, in a word, HR's father and YR's father were friends, and not related at all.

 

PS. Wasn't the preview mind-blowing? It looks like next week's episodes are going to be really really interesting.

[selen4ever]

Preview for next week:

 

[kangminjae]

This week's episodes were great! 

 

Loved Rim stepping up to the plate, not only helping to hide Jean-Baptiste but also confessing when he heard so many lives were at stake. Officer Seong was super surprising. His faith was moving, and his choice to use the sachaek as a weapon was wild. Crown Prince AND Queen Dowager both put a stop to the King with some power moves, even though they both had hidden "protect Prince Dowon" motives. 

 

Mohwa's flashbacks were beautiful and bittersweet, making me very interested in how Haeryung's childhood will factor into everything. I agree with @lsylvia that Haeryung's dad and Rim's dad were friends, and that the old king was killed for being too "Western" or progressive, hence the King saying Dowon couldn't get rid of his roots. I'm impressed by how political this show has become in a way that's relevant to today, as opposed to simply scheming for a throne because it's shiny.

 

Next up: Rim and Haeryung's fledgling romance tested already, plus the Temptation of Song Sahui! I cannot wait.