#saguek | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rughydrangea · 4 months

Text

After 81 glorious episodes, I have finished Jumong. I started it in July, pretty soon after it appeared on Viki (now please add more old long sageuks pretty please Viki!), and have been watching fairly steadily since then, mostly with my mum when we're in the same place (my dad at a certain point started watching with her but only managed to stay awake through episodes starting in the 60s, meaning he had no idea who half the characters were...). And I have some thoughts!

--I loved it! It didn't get me in the gut like a QSD or a SFD or even The Legend, but it really kept up my interest across 81 episodes, with a great mixture of action, intrigue, melodrama, and silliness (there was the intentional silliness like my man Mo Pal Mo, but also stuff like the oracle being struck by lightning when she tried to curse Jumong, which made me howl with laughter). I really wish we still got sagueks like this--long, deliberate, with no interest in being cool or youthful, give or take a backflip (though the fact that I now get to start Goryeo-Khitan War really does make me happy and excited).

--I started watching kdramas seriously in 2014. At that time, I was familiar with Song Il Gook--but only because I couldn't avoid endless gifs of him and his patriotically-named triplets. I vaguely understood that he had been a big-deal actor, but his main dramas were older and less accessible (and when he did Jang Yeong Shil in 2016 it wasn't available to stream legally anywhere), so I had never seen him in anything until this. And now... I would very much like for him to come back to dramas! He is honestly incredible here: so charismatic, so compelling to watch, SO handsome, and most importantly he really nails the incredibly long journey Jumong goes on, from callow loser to impetuous guy figuring it out to determined general to gravitas-laden king. Every step of the way I was with him, and though the show boasts a huge cast, he really was the reason for the season; the show isn't called Jumong for nothing. There are two episodes he isn't in when everyone thinks Jumong is dead, and it's like a punch to the viewer's gut as well, you just can't imagine this world without him in it! And did I mention that he's handsome?

--Speaking of handsome, shoutout to the 3-year time-jump around episode 50 when all of a sudden it seemed like all the men of the show had spent the weeks leading up to that growing out their hair and all their manes of glory were flowing in the breeze. Your efforts did not go unappreciated, gentlemen! (Also 2006 lace-front wigs are rough to watch in HD!)

--Speaking of compelling journeys, even though this was the Jumong show (literally!) Soseono also really went through it, and Han Hye Jin made every stage of her transformation from bold, overconfident young woman to burdened mother and queen believable and interesting. And these parallel journeys of the leads really do provide the emotional heart of the show: as they grow up and make difficult decisions and go down paths they never anticipated (particularly their marriages to different people), on the one hand they are fulfilling their dreams and destinies, but on the other they are basically guaranteeing that the beautiful time of their youth, when they were in love and saw a whole life together unfolding before them, could never be recaptured. Even when Soseono and Jumong finally marry, it is out of duty and obligation--not that there isn't a part of them that still loves the other, but that part has been entirely subordinated to the other projects that they dedicated their lives to. Soseono leaving does make sense (though Biryu's rebellion was so dumb that it made it impossible for me to have sympathy for him), but it was genuinely sad to see both her and Jumong realize that the thing they lost all those years ago could never be returned, not even by 15 years of marriage.

--And speaking of marriage... I feel really bad for Yesoya, a character who basically exists to abnegate herself and also give Jumong a baby. But I found their relationship weirdly fascinating (and though sageuks like Jumong have a reputation for being stodgy, I do want to highlight that both leads in this drama marry people they explicitly don't romantically love and almost immediately get pregnant. Sexuality exists in stodgy sageuks! (also Jumong got very frisky with those tavern girls after Haemosoo died)). By the end, when Yesoya comes back, Jumong looks at her with such warmth, it's as though feeling really really guilty ended up making him actually fall in love with her.

--Shout out to the casting director, Yuri really did look like he was Jumong's son.

--Imagine my surprise and delight that there is an honest-to-God gay couple in this 81-long episode sageuk from 2006 that is obvious, unambiguous, and deeply deeply sweet. Though my inability to makes heads or tails of Bae Soo Bin as an actor continues. I have seen him be very good (as he is here)! I have seen him be VERY bad. Where is the truth?????

I guess that's it for now. Come back to us, Song Il Gook!

#jumong #kdrama #my commentary #my year in review list is going to be late again because i spent all of my break watching jumong lol

3 notes · View notes

kalena-henden · 2 years

Text

It’s time for the mid-year tv report and there is soooo much to say. In March, I officially had my one-year anniversary of starting kdramas and shortly thereafter completed my 50th show. I’m still in love with the variety of stories and the one-and-done format. It’s just so refreshing. Though I’m still making time for a few American shows.

finished or caught up with:

The Silent Sea - Sadly even a great cast and gorgeous production quality couldn’t save this slow-as-molasses, logic-free clunker that tried to pull together a hodgepodge of sci-fi stories that have been done much better elsewhere.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo - A cute story of female weightlifter trying to find a balance between training hard and finding a boyfriend. Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk are great in this!

Outer Banks - Yes, I finally caught up with the Pogue adventures! Can someone just let them have the treasure they keep finding?

Naked Fireman - Lee Joon Hyuk carries this little miniseries as a fireman who poses partially nude for an artist and ends up falling for her while getting tangled up in a crime. It so ridiculous but I love how cute he is when he’s in love.

Sweet Magnolias - I enjoyed this second season of small town Southern life.

365: Repeat the Year - Lee Joon Hyuk and Nam Ji Hyun lead this time-travel, mystery, crime thriller about a group of strangers who try to change their fate. Definitely kept me interested until the end. I know this is not technically a romance but I still shipped the leads.

Young Lady and a Gentleman - My first 52-episode kdrama definitely leaned into all the soap opera tropes for better and for worse. But in the end, the villains were chastened and the happy couple got their wedding day.

Kingdom - If this was one of your first kdramas, I can see how you would like it. But I’ve seen better sagueks, political thrillers, and horror kdramas, without the cardinal sin of a completely open ending begging for another season like western dramas. I like the prince and Bae Doona’s character but otherwise I was bored.

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers - While this story is still brutal, I love how the writers show the motivations behind all the characters actions both good and bad. I really understood them and was moved by their growth as flawed people. Everything here felt like it needed to happen. I’ve only seen the Korean version prior but that one had me mystified at their actions that I felt like were happening solely for plot reasons that didn’t even make sense. I really loved this Thai version the best.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One - Heedo and Yijin took me on an emotional rollercoaster that I felt along every step of the way. The extensive adlibbing of Kim Tae Ri and Nam Joo Hyuk as well as the excellent directing made the lackluster writing seem better than it was. The story faltered towards the end as it was trying to shoehorn itself into the tiny box the writer wrote themselves into. As I’ve written before, I am okay that the leads didn’t end up together but I am absolutely livid with the non-sensical way things went down and the horrible life philosophy about adult life sucking compared with glorious nostalgia for college life. I’m here to tell you kiddos, life is WAY BETTER after college. It colored the whole show for me; revealing the writer’s weaknesses throughout the entire story. I’m not sure I will ever be able to rewatch this.

Forecasting Love and Weather - What started off as a bold and interesting show about the love lives of weather casters quickly devolved in a melodramatic slog.

Business Proposal - This is my romcom dream show!!! I LOVE IT. Alot of Korean humor is not for me but this 100% hit my funny bone. I love the characters and over-the-top romantic tropes done right. Taemu and Sunghoon are the perfect workaholic bros who fall head over heels for bold, fun-loving women. I’m also really happy that both Hari and Youngseo were given agency to take charge of their lives. The couples’ chemistry was fire!!! This is now tied for my favorite kdrama. I do agree that the ending was slightly rushed but at only 12 episodes that tends to happen. A small change that I think could have made a big difference is how they handled the one-year time jump because the way they did it felt like a gut punch. Instead, short time hops like a week later Taemu and Hari are gushing about who misses whom more on a video call, a month later Youngseo presents her business plan to Sunghoon, six months later Hari video chats with the Chairman as he gets treatment, then one year later Taemu looks distracted on a video chat with Hari as he secretly plans to leave early to surprise her. A quick sequence like that would have made it feel more organic and been able to show how much their love and devotion had grown within a few minutes of screen time. Anyway, still LOVED IT!

Bridgerton - Enemies to lovers greatness is upon us. While I still don’t think Anthony and Kate got enough screen time together, they were absolutely dynamic when they did share the screen. I’ve already rewatched this season twice.

Soundtrack No. 1 - I will follow Park Hyung Shik anywhere. This man does heart eyes like no other. This was just an okay friends to lovers romance but he knows how to pine.

Descendants of the Sun - I’m always here for more Song Joong Ki. He’s great as a fun, cocky Special Ops captain who frequently goes on secret international missions and falls for a doctor who ends up temporally working where he’s stationed. Song Joong Ki shines with his warmth, humor and badass skills as he protects others and tries to woo the woman he loves. Unfortunately, the doctor rejects him over and over which becomes repetitive. I can only take so much will they or won’t they. So I found myself more invested in the second couple who are in a forbidden love due to her military father disapproving of two military officers dating.

Loki - I love Tom Hiddleston returning as Loki. Unfortunately, this really felt like the Sylvie/TVA show and Loki was just along for the ride. I still love our Loki and his variants but I’m not totally sure about the show.

Law School - I mostly watched for Kim Bum and the hype around this show from last year. The way it plays out is pretty laughable. I could barely contain myself with how overdramatic and heavy handed the storytelling was. It was so dun-dun-dun here is the murderer... no wait here is the murderer... nope nope this other person is totally... nevermind this different person is really the murderer... uh well maybe everyone is a murderer cause they all have ...reasons. lol What did end up keeping me interested is the relationships between law students which they developed nicely. Still wish Han Joonhwi and Kang Sol-A would have gotten together. He spent the entire show pining after her for what. I didn’t even need them to do anything overtly romantic. I just needed them to be officially dating.

Tomorrow - A ragtag team of grim reapers are tasked with trying to prevent suicides to save people from severing their fate from the ones they love and live out their lives. Based on a webtoon, this show is more about bringing awareness the issues that contribute to suicide and help you feel compassion for those who are driven to it as the solutions presented are about listening to and guiding potential victims towards choosing life using supernatural means. This show can be hard to watch at times. I did cry twice which is unusual for me. But it’s also funny, heart warming, and hopeful. Rowoon is great as a human in a coma who temporally joins the team to shorten his time asleep. Rival team leaders Ryeon and Joong Gil have a chemistry and history that will keep you wanting more.

Extraordinary You - Kim Hye Yoon and Rowoon star in a drama about a teenage girl who discovers she’s a pathetic side-character in a comic book and tries to change her fate with the help of an extra who may be the wild card she needs to shake up the writer’s story. It starts out strong making fun of tropey storytelling but when if falls into the trap of ‘everything is fated, we can’t fight it’ becomes a melodrama that wallows in its misery. Sadly, it becomes exactly what it accuses the writer of the comic book of, a shallow underdeveloped story.

Going to You at a Speed of 493km (Love All Play) - I’ve been following Chae Jong Hyeop’s career for about a year. He plays Taejun who needs love since he’s been overlooked his whole life because his family worships his older more talented sister. In steps equally love-starved Taeyang, who brings passion into his life first for their shared love of badminton and then as his girlfriend who’s hiding a secret that could tear them apart. There are so many fun romantic moments and the couples in this are so sweet. Unfortunately, in the second half, there is heavy melodrama that brings this show to its knees. It dragged out the misery too long but it ends well.

Sh**ting Stars - A satire on the entertainment industry, this show is about the agencies working to cleaning up the messes (sh**) around the stars whom they represent. The first few episodes are a little unwieldy with a large ensemble cast to introduce. However, this is one of those rare shows that gets better with every episode and does a great job at developing all of the characters. One of the ways the writers do that is by setting up a certain perspective on someone, then revealing the truth later, changing your whole view on that person. They also do alot of meta commentary on showbiz to make fun of certain behaviors and expectations, including quite a few cameos from kdramaland stars. This show also knows how to do romance right and gives you five (yes, FIVE) endgame couples so you’re sure to have someone to root for. Definitely recommend.

currently watching:

Abyss - I’m determined to finish this show but it drags so much. I only have 4 episodes left at this point. Let’s see if I make it.

Ted Lasso - I got stuck on the Beard bottle episode. I finally got through it but haven’t been motivated to finish second season yet.

The Uncanny Counter - Cho Byeong Kyu and Kim Se Jeong star in this supernatural action drama about a team of demon hunters who get embroiled in a fight against corporate and political corruption while trying to vanquish evil spirits. I’m enjoying so far.

Star Trek: Picard - As a big fan of Star Trek (TOS through Enterprise), I’m not 100% how I feel about this most recent incarnation. S1 had a decent story but characterization was rushed and the overall vibe was dystopian which is the anti-thesis of what Trek is about. Trek has always been about people having evolved to be able to deal with things in a less barbaric way because the future is hopeful. That doesn’t mean there aren’t problems but the way they tackle those problems is supposed to be more mature. Anyway, I’m enjoying the show for what is but in the back of my mind I keep feeling like this is not Trek. I’m only a few episodes into S2.

#business proposal #bridgerton #mbc tomorrow #shooting stars #tomorrow #sh**ting stars #f4 thailand #kalena watches tv #kalena watches kdramas #kalenapost #kdrama

23 notes · View notes