DON'T STOP
Eun Seom, Sa Ya, Ta Gon, Tanya, Taelha, You'll get blown away, with a set of more ruthless and ambitious characters, much deeper and intimate actors, there is no way you'd want to stop watching the show that might be the ultimate fantasy kdrama we have been waiting for all year and I'll give my reasons why.After learning earlier this year that I had to say goodbye to Song and hello to Joon Gi, I can't say that I was disappointed so I spent much of my time stalking Joon Gi's Instagram where I couldn't get enough of the teasers, first looks and small scenes, lemme cut the long story short.
The execution of this drama this time round is something that I found very interesting and I have loved every bit of it, as our characters have become more mature, they have become complicated as well but don't get me wrong the story won't be confusing because I love complicated characters.
There's much more to tell.
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Great casting for Lee Joongi
Personally, the drama really exceeded my expectations. I know some people dislike the styling as compared to Season 1, but honestly the Season 2 styling being more logical during that age. As much as I think SJK suit Saya more in terms of visual but Lee Joongi did better job as matured characters. In fact, at some point I think Lee Joongi's acting is more what I expected Eunseom/Saya to be after 8years. And Lee Joongi never disappoint when it comes to action scenes.The only cons of the drama so far, the filter they're using and casting SSK as Tanya. She's pretty, won't even doubt that but her acting really hard to watch. She did great in Run On but I guess as an actress, her acting capabilities are limited to only certain role.
P/s: Can I get Lee Joongi and Kim Okvin in action drama next? I would love to see it..
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The stupidest drama award of 2023 goes to … you guessed it right: Arsedal Dumbronicles
Character Consistency? Who. Logical Storytelling? Who. Emotion, heart and substance? Who.I feel so disappointed, that we have to get into it.
❌ Acting:
I have said it before and I’ll say it again- Lee Joon Gi and I vibe. I think he is a better actor than SJK, does killer action scenes, has a lot of range and knows how to play complex and dynamic characters. That said, he sucked absolute ass playing a dual role in this drama.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, the man acted more than some actors will in their entire careers. He made all the right faces, all the right moves and you could see how hard he was working. Yet, it was like he accidentally brought Moon Lovers’ script with him and played the Fourth Prince for 12 episodes straight and nobody said anything,
Because whatever LJG played was definitely NOT Eun Seom or Saya. He played his own characters that lacked the essence of the ones we saw in the previous three seasons. I mean sure he didn’t have much to work with because the writing of the season was absolute trash but still- his Eun Seom and Saya were the exact same people. There was no difference at all and it was just annoying to watch. They knew it too which was why they just yeeted Saya out of the script and called it a day.
Other than that, we had Shin Se Kyung, I don’t wanna talk much about her cause the thought of her acting makes me wanna stab myself with a chopstick. She’s one of the worst actresses alive and this writer duo keeps giving her strong female characters to play which she effectively dumbs down with a portrayal that mostly consists of her wide eyed and sputtering like a fish outta water. The rest of the actors were good but really, when the two main leads who are constantly stuffed in our faces are so meh, what’s the point?
❌ Writing:
This has to be some of the worst writing done by these usually awesome writers. It’s abnormally bad. The characterization completely goes to shit in this season. Saya, who was arguably the most loved character of the first three seasons, becomes as useless as a doormat and has major side character energy. They completely dumbed him down and made him act like a cowardly weasel who keeps running from his enemies. I was so so so frustrated because it was like they wanted to effectively break all of his fan following so they could champion Eun Seom and make him a convincing hero considering he was Beta as hell in the first three seasons.
Speaking of Eun Seom, they decided to shove him down our throats as this overpowered God who was one-note as fuck, could never lose, was suddenly Machiavelli in a wig, hardened and ruthless as Inaishingi- which as we all know is a complete 360 from what his character was supposed to be. I really came to dislike Eun Seom because I didn’t connect with him at all. They killed his emotions and stuffed him with one dimensional heroism which was boring to watch after a while. All the rest of the characters were on some spectrum of dumb to dumber and lacked basic sense.
The best character was undeniably still Taealha- the vicious, tigress of a queen and mother. She’s the only person interesting to watch. It’s funny to me how the villains had more heart and emotion than the good guys who were just robotically going from one battle to another with surface level feelings.
❌ Lore:
What lore, really? They just made up whatever they wanted to. The prophecy that was driving the whole shitshow came into being with the most underwhelming climax of all. They totally ditched it last minute and added new stuff that frankly, insulted the audience’s intelligence.
❌ Direction:
Let’s be honest, the direction wasn't great as well. The previous director jumped ship and without him they never landed on their feet again. I hated the editing and abrupt cutting in this one and the camera work for a production this big was just average. That’s not to say the cinematography and special effects weren’t good, cause they were - especially with the fight scenes, it is to say that as far as scenic shots are concerned, none of them were good enough to be memorable. They focused too much on the fight and gore to really give a shit about anything else. Also I can’t believe that they decided to put an English song and used it as OST for literally a historical show based on the early civilizations of Korea. Make that make sense.
Every time it dramatically started playing as one ancient warrior slashed another ancient warrior, I stopped taking this shit seriously.
✅ The Good Stuff?
Honestly, there wasn’t much. The hype action scenes were exciting, yes. The strategies and politics were slightly interesting but they dragged way too much. Taealha kicked ass as always and the instrumental was good. It was fun to watch the gorgeous and talented LJG do his thing even if he was completely out of character for the roles he was playing and I sincerely believe his talents got wasted on this script.
❌ Other than that, this was a waste of time. I get that there were a lot of hiccups, I get that the time was short with only 12 episodes and I get that there were new actors but honestly, if you know all of these things, then you should be focusing on a few important themes than just overstuffing the drama with plot lines and hype scenes with no real substance.
I think this is one of those very few shows that had such a big budget and a lead actor that I absolutely love with so many strong female characters and still ended up being a complete basket case.
100% Jeana Disapproved
#JusticeForSaya
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This review may contain spoilers
Disappointing
Things I did enjoy from Arthdal Season 2.- Yangcha getting more screen time. <3
- And seeing Forestella singing on the OST.
- Seeing briefly mentioned characters from season 1 come into season 2
Things I didn't care for in Arthdal Season 2.
From cinematography to outfits, makeup, and even the OST, season 2 feels like a fanmade spinoff of season 1.
- I am a massive fan of Lee Joon-Gi, but I don't feel he was the same "character" from season one. There was a lack of idealism that Eunseom kept with him, even after the brutal time as a slave called purple in season 1. Tanya was such a strong character in season one, a proactive character, and didn't mince her words. But season 2 is a more passive character that is quite stiff. I understand that Tanya and Eunseom are childhood friends, but I felt their romance lacked genuine chemistry.
Props to Taealha and Tagon, especially Taealha. While I did not care for her as a character, she was consistent, and you could understand her reasoning.
- The weird camera blur and distortion came off as cheesy and low quality to give the audience a "fantasy" feel. Perhaps because they had a lot less money and time with these sets... If you rewatch the first season after finishing season 2, you'll see how well the director would make cuts within scenes and pan the camera in flawless and natural ways to give more depth to the actors/actresses.
- The unique outfits from season 1 that made the different tribes and characters unique were gone, and everyone looked the same regarding clothing.
- Outside of "Chosen One" by Forstella, the soundtrack didn't fit the series' vibe.
- There were a lot of plot holes and too many unrealistic things happening that it became a very predictable plot. The way they killed off some of the characters felt uncalled for and necessary. Especially killing the narrator of season one so early on in season 2.
The ending was rushed beyond belief, and the build-up for bringing Karika back into the series was barely discussed. Season 2 should've been longer than 12 episodes with everything that they shoved into the last episode.
Thank you for listening to my rant.
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This review may contain spoilers
Dragged, plotholes and a downgrade from previous season.
I really liked the first season of Arthdal Chronicles, found it entertaining, the lore was interesting and it kept a very decent pace considering the length of its episodes.I had seen the change of actors and I was slightly skeptical just simply because I was not sure if the characters would be able to keep the consistency they had being different actors. This was partially true.
I like both Lee Joon Gi and Shin Sae Kyeong but after watching the season I'm still left like I'm not quite sure how I feel about them in the roles. For the most part I think Lee Joon Gi did a good job as Eunseom but I was not feeling it with Saya. This could be totally the fault of the writing though so I do not blame him for it entirely. Samely, I felt Shin Sae Kyeong did a good job for the most part but the character felt very unemotional and superficial compared to the characterization I remember from the first season, again, it might not be her fault, but it's how I felt it.
For the most part I think the worst downgrade in this season was the writing and plot in general. There were a few problems I found in the cinematography as well (like the weird blur at times) but I can give those a pass. The plot though, it was absolutely dragged to fill episodes to get to the minimum. Back and forth constantly to then a rushed ending that could have been gradually done in a couple or three episodes instead of condensed in one. There were very weird plotholes and bad execution. For example, there is that time when Tagon wounds Yangcha and Tanya has a mini conversation with him and I guess Tagon was waiting in the background looking at the watch and waiting for them to have their moment or something... That was not the only instance of something similar happening and it was very sloppy.
The plot was not as solid as the first season, I guess they couldn't keep Tagon in the grey area anymore because otherwise it wouldn't make of him the pure classic evil to be dethroned, but I thought it was cliché and overall generally boring. His relationship with Taealha was weird as well, one second they were going to kill each other and then they're ok the next, there was not enough insight into it to understand fully how they could be normal when two seconds prior she was going to stab him or something.
I think they had enough time to do a decent prologue instead of an open ended hint to a possible next season that who knows if it will happen. Also what happened with the prophecy that said about the three of them together? I was kind of confused really because the ending suggests something very different, and I was disappointed that they were taking Saya in that direction, repetitive? boring? cliché? I don't know, I liked the first season because it was a bit fresh but in this one they were falling into very repetitive stereotypes. Saya was a very interesting character but in this one I couldn't care less about him.
Then you have characters that appear suddenly at some point and it's like major reveal but you're like "what's the point of you being here now", like most of the momo tribe for example, ones save the day and die, the others appear only in the last episode.
I kind of wish also they had gone in a more mysticism way at some point, not so much what they did with the gods and Aramun and all that that got repetitive real quick, but I would have liked to see a lot more of the neanthals living in nature for example. I remember more of that and a lot more lore in the first season as well.
Apart from the couple of neanthals that I always liked to see, in this one I generally liked Yangcha and Nunbyeol as characters the most.
The acting was generally good, there were moments that were cool, characters that I liked, production was generally decent enough and I'm ultimately happy I could see this story to more or less an end.
I'll rewatch the first season at some point but I probably won't bother with this one.
It's watchable and if you have watched the first one and want to know how it continues then this is for you. If you haven't watched the first season I would avoid this one since it's a downgrade, writing is worse, it's slow and not much really happens when you strip it from their back and forth. Go watch the first one instead.
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Not bad
I feel sincerely that some points of the story ruin the whole picture.I had to choose whether to write with spoilers or not. The spoiler will be in the comment below. DON'T click it if you don't want to be spoiled.
I liked the first few episodes, we come back to a world we left..well for me it was last year. I like the starting point of the story. The re-introduction of characters and the world overall. The action scenes in the first episode were well-made. The story picks its pace, but the writing makes it so the pacing is broken quite fast and becomes inconsistent. It hurts the story, especially in the last 4 episodes.
What hurts the story even more is the introduction of new plot points, those points didn't have time to develop and were brushed over so shallowly that they make little to no importance to the story. I like that they tried to expand the world a little, although they failed at that point too. Also, everything feels smaller than in the first season, even after introducing a new unknown region, that region has no weight in the story.
The music: to be honest, I can't even hum it, even after watching the last episode a minute ago. The music is forgettable. I don't remember feeling strong emotions from the music alone. Except for only one of the episodes, the music is lacking in supporting the scene.
The acting did pull on some heartstrings on a few occasions. Overall I think the acting was good during most of the scenes. It's the opposite of the music. The acting was great except for a few scenes.
For 12 episodes x 90 minutes, nothing much happened and too many new things were introduced.
I don't think I will rewatch this season. For me, they miss big time on building the climax of the story. That last episode left me with a blank face and a ''whatever'' in my head. ''Whatever it's over now''
Note; it's no bad and I am glad I watched it. I also don't care that they changed the actors, it did not influence my rating.
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Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 Review: A Riveting Continuation with New Dynamics
Title: **Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 Review: A Riveting Continuation with New Dynamics**After a four-year wait, Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 plunges us back into the diverse world of Arthdal, carrying the narrative forward with an 8-year time skip. Tagon, now a formidable king ruling through fear, orchestrates a war against rival tribes, particularly the Ago tribe, with Saya (played by Lee Joon-Gi) as the commander on the frontlines. Meanwhile, Eunseom, considered the reincarnation of Inaishingi, leads the unified Ago clan with newfound cunning and tactical prowess.
Tanya, accompanied by the beloved Mubaek, strives to garner support to fulfill the prophecy of the Sword Bell and Mirror. The second season unfolds the intensifying war between Ago and Arthdal, delivering nail-biting moments, improved action sequences, and an overall faster-paced drama compared to its predecessor.
**Main Actors:**
- *Eunseom/Saya (Lee Joon-Gi)*: Lee Joon-Gi seamlessly takes on the role of the main character, demonstrating brilliant acting and executing action sequences with finesse. The transition from Song Joong-ki's Eunseom is remarkably smooth.
- *Tagon (Jang Dong-Gun)*: Jang Dong-Gun reprises his role as Tagon with the same finesse that characterized his performance in Season 1.
- *Tanya (Shin Se-Kyung)*: Shin Se-Kyung steps into the shoes of Tanya, previously played by Kim Ji-Won. While it may take a moment to adjust, Shin Se-Kyung delivers a commendable performance after the initial episodes.
- *Taealha (Kim Ok-Bin)*: Kim Ok-Bin continues to portray the elegant yet deadly Taealha, earning both love and hatred from the audience through her superb acting.
**Support Actors:**
Season 2 witnesses changes in several supporting roles, including Chaeen Nunbyeol, Ipsaeng, Badoru, Miroosol, Tachukan, and Yeonbal. While this shift may cause initial confusion, familiarity is established after a few episodes. Fans may miss the presence of Xabara from the Momo clan.
**Direction:**
Under the direction of Kim Kwang-sik, Season 2 adapts to the challenge of concluding the vast storyline in just 12 episodes, a departure from the initially planned three seasons of 18 episodes each. Despite the time constraints, the director effectively connects story points, and the action sequences are notably impressive.
**Overall:**
Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 is a compelling mix of elements that keeps viewers on the edge in every episode. The series is worth watching, and despite the cast changes, fans are encouraged to approach it with an open mind. The 12-episode season successfully wraps up the story, delivering an enjoyable experience for both returning and new viewers.
**Conclusion:**
Enjoy the thrilling continuation of Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 – a captivating journey into a world of politics, warfare, and intricate relationships.
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The change of cast doesn't ruin this AMAZING DRAMA!
I'm writing this review for everyone that doesn't feel like watching this because the cast changed.I was also upset, when I found out the main leads would be replaced (actually they didn't want to come back, the director did everything he could) but since Lee Joon GI was cast, I gave the drama one more chance and IT DID NOT DISSAPOINT.
Most of the actors from S1 are gone, but the new ones actually studied the characters and imitate the same mannerisms and keep the same energy, which is good. Also, they added names, every time they showed up till the end of the season, so people won't be confuse who are they.
The storyline is still solid, the Taelha and Tagon character's don't lose their shine. Saya, Tanya and Eunseom have their character development too.
Keep watching.
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Hands down, the BEST season of Arthdal Chronicles!!
This is the second drama that got a 10/10 from me for the year 2023 so far. (The first one being Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938)This season is totally different from the other three seasons, from different actors to, a much more developed background setting, directing etc. The storyline is also more powerful and engaging and keeps you on your toes until the end. This season starts 10 years after the end of 3rd season and talks about how Eun Seom, Saya and Tanya, the sword, the mirror and the bell worked together to capture Arthdal from the tyrannical Tagon.
And if you are worried about the change of actors in this season, trust me Lee Joon Gi and Shin Sae Kyeong, playing the roles of Eun Seom/Saya and Tanya were AMAZING!! They were the perfect Eun Seom/Saya and Tanya that Arthdal could ever get!!
For kdrama lovers who haven't watched the previous season, it would be very difficult to directly watch this season because everything that happens in this season is one way or the other connected to previous seasons. So I would recommend watching the previous seasons before watching this. Although the only drawback would be, in my opinion, the previous 3 seasons of Arthdal Chronicles were relatively boring and frustrating.
The OST was perfect.
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Absolute must watch
Season 2 improves upon season 1. It's action packed as well as intelligent. Stellar performances by returning cast members as well as some great new additions. Lee Joon Gi does justice upon his roles and was an amazing replacement for Song Joong Gi. Don't let your prejudices keep you from watching this amazing season and miss out on the truly incredible performances by the leads. I will have to shout it from the rooftops, but Lee Joon Gi truly was breathtaking as the older and hardened Eunseom and Saya.Was this review helpful to you?
Brilliant
What makes this series so great are 4 things:+ intriguing plot that takes its time to build up, but never disappoints
+ moral questions and dilemma that make you think about society, civilization, politics and life in general
+ very well written characters that stay true to themselves until the very end
+ incredible acting and commitment from everyone involved
Season 2 was faster paced than season 1. I was constantly on the edge of my seat. They didn't waste their time to tell this epic tale. Hopefully we will get a season 3.
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This review may contain spoilers
THE MOST DISAPPOINTING SEQUEL IN THE HISTORY OF ALL SEQUELS
I have A LOT of grievances with this drama. I was invested in the story and worldbuilding that happened in the previous season, and I was genuinely interested to see what will happen with the trio in this season. But apart from the initial animation that gives a recap of the previous season, it just goes downhill from there on. I understand that there might be budget constraints and shitty set pieces and all of that, but a good story??? A tighter plot? How could the makers skip on those things by giving the excuse of low budget? It was just shit okay, and the viewer did not deserve their patience to be tolerated at this level after giving some 80-odd minutes of their time for each episode. I understand the last season needed to have these long episodes, because they packed a shit ton of stuff in each episode, and because there was so much worldbuilding to do, the long episodes made sense and weren't boring. But this was just torturous to watch, even on 2x speed. Just sad and bad and annoying AF.First, let's get the acting out of the way. S1 had Song Joong Ki as the ML, and he played both Saaya and Eunseom so well that I could totally believe that they were two different individuals. I'm not saying that Lee Joon Ki is a bad actor or that he can't act or anything. It's just that the transition from the 20-year-old Benetbeot brothers to the older, more mature brothers never felt believable. I blame the shitty writing for this. And then there was Kim Ji Won as Tanya in s1 who was replaced by Shin Sae Kyung. I try really hard to like her, but she's not meant for roles like these, where the actor needs to appear strong. Its just so meh. She was able to portray the kind, softhearted religious leader very nicely (thanks to her features), but that was pretty much all to it. Behind the soft exterior also lies a shrewd politician and that aspect of her character was completely LOST because the actress could just not make it believable. The stars of this season were Tagon and Taealha, HANDS DOWN. From being a revered hero to becoming a Macbeth-ian character to regaining his shrewd and clever self just to protect everything that he built from scratch... Brilliantly played by Jang Dong-gun. And then there was Taealha... she was my favourite character in the whole series, from a fierce warrior to protector to a conniving leader, calm under pressure... she played her part with perfection. There was never a dull moment in watching her. The rest of the characters were just meh; they were as good as cardboard cutouts, so no complaints to the actors who played them. They had nothing to begin with; what else would they do with such shitty characterisation anyway. Speaking of shitty characters, WTF WAS KARAT EVEN? Why was he there? Just because you need to bring the Momo Tribe reference does not mean you introduce the most random character who has no job but to insult people and bring some form of comic relief. It was not even comic. Just shit. Even the Neanthal people were shit.
Second, the story. What story? Where story? The makers just ignored that a fantasy series as this requires a legit story to back it up. Without a story, a fantasy drama is just stupid. And guess which drama falls into the same pitfall? This one, of course! The first episode... the very first episode of the series, and you get to see an Eunseom who is FLYING from a horse to kill enemies. WHY WHY WHYYYYY. This is not the Eunseom that we knew. Yes, it was all scripted that this character is meant for great things in the future and he's going to be the Numero Uno and what not, but FLYING? FROM A HORSE? NO. STOP. And it just goes downhill from there. There's no plot twist, no political intrigue, no nothing. The ML and FL were winning from ep.1, and that was such a letdown, that as an audience, I was rooting for Tagon and Taealha more. They had more motivation to retain their kingdom than Eunseom ever did. We never get to know why Eunseom wanted to capture Arthdal, except that its Tagon's kingdom that's why. I mean, how does this make him any different than Tagon? And while the idea of Tanya's motivation to group the common subjects together to protest against the King was interesting, the way she did it was just shit. Didn't work for me at all.
Third, the music. WHO PUTS ENGLISH SONGS IN A FANTASY DRAMA SET BETWEEN THE BRONZE AND IRON AGES? WHY? Every time the BGM started playing (which was whenever Enuseom did any flying on screen), it literally hurt my ears. I skipped scenes because of the BGM; that bad it was.
Fourth, cinematography. Shit cinematography. I hated the yellowy, sepia toned look of the series. Arthdal means civilisation, so less trees, so more sepia tone. What the... why even.
Last but not least, let's talk about Saaya here. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? The story starts 8 years after Tagon becomes King of Arthdal, and the next thing we know is that Saaya is in cohorts with Tanya and Mubaek and they're all scheming to get rid of the king. How? Why? The last time we knew, Saaya swore himself to be faithful to the King. And now this. And then he's the blandest doormat there could ever exist, who's just yes-manning to every plan that Tanya makes. Saaya was a guy who could think. Where did his brains disappear in this season? I get it, that he's in an identity crisis and that he can't figure out his path and all of that heroic tribulations, but treat him better? He's either running away or getting saved. Like stop already. And then whatever happened to the curse that Tanya put on Saaya in the first couple of episodes in s1? Those details are lost and forgotten. Instead of building a mystery around the whole Neanthal lore, they just IGNORE it. So frustrating. I loved his character in s1, and SJK looked ABSOLUTELY ETHEREAL playing him, but here's LJK playing him, and while he does a good job in his own way, there's just so much lacking. It felt like the only characters who have matured in the series were Tagon and Taealha, and the 3 Children of the Prophecy were just overgrown kids who were just playing Barbie doll roles of their favorite kind.
After all of this rant, I will still go back to watch s3, if there ever appears one (the ending of s2 totally hinted a sequel coming up), because I AM INVESTED IN THIS WORLD. But a sincere request to the makers: please don't ruin our viewing experience just because of your laziness and shoddy writing. The characters of Arthdal deserve more love and care than just copy-pasting the most obvious "Avengers"-like superhero tropes available in pop culture. Please give us a better ending to this saga.
If you're a story buff like me for whom not knowing what happens next is fatal, then watch this season. But frit your teeth and be prepared for some major heartbreaks on the way.
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