a bittersweet conclusion to the series (spoilers):

What a phenomenal final arc, a great way to symmetircally end the series. Gogryo has been established and for 15 years governed by the King and Queen...until....well, the rest is spoilers. All I can say is I was really sad to see the ending, but I was impressed with the integrity of the Queen. I think this drama did a wonderful job at balancing portrayala of various characters. Because in wars and establishing nations and protecting a nation, there is no place for clear distinctions between bad and good. Everyone has their interests that they must protect. I liked the final arc because of reintroducing Yuri- in terms of father-son storyline, it was the perfect symmetrical conclusion. Jumong knew his father only briefly then had to deal with the loss of his son, I thought it was good for him to have him back...even if yuri doesn't deserve it, because he is a brat that I wouldn't trust. But then none of the princess were really likeable. I have nothing against yesoya, except she didn;t raise her son very well. And the son didin;t learn much. He is in stark contrast to Jumong- who ha started out as a bratty prince but then learned the bitterness of life the hard way. Yuri learned the bitterness of life but then became a prince. His reaction to his father in episoe 78 shows how different he is from Jumong. Jumong would have grabbed at every possible moment with his father with more maturity. I sympoathise with yuri partly, but partly his reaction is very immature.

The final episodes also saw the loss of the General of the Left-nooooo, I was really sad that one of those early companions had to go, but it also showed how deeply they were all connected. So sad. I was a bit upset that the Queen decided to go, but it is historically accurate, it seems. History seems to be a bit harsher on Jumong in this respect, however. This has been one epic drama, encompassing a long period of time, Jumong;s expansionist policies, camaraderie and loyalty of his friends and the great loyalty of the Queen.
However, one of the highloghts of the last episodes was the fact that Jumong and Yuri visited GeumWa. It was a sign of caring and I trully appreciated this- it showed that there is still lingering form of recognition at least between Jumong and geumWa

It was a great experience, Jumong, to root for the underdog that he was an to meet a legend. The script aapted the history pretty well and did not seem to exclude anything. Jumong is both a legend byt other sources say he hated sharing power- I sometimes had this impression too that he does not understand fully the concept of unity and acting as one body. He was commanding from the start. But he showed deep affection for those whose loyalty he gained.

I really enjoyed the series.

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