This review may contain spoilers
This is one of many dramas that starting beautifully and end up badly, i was loving it till about 14 eps, then it goes repetitive and boring,it's about a girl who dream to be a ceramist but in her time no woman allowed to become one, so here we have a lot of struggling with some birth secret, a prince charming and some skillful childhood brother involved, well, nothing new, but with a lot of talented actors i expect more from this drama,the plot freeze at some point and trust me it's going nowhere, the characters have no development at all till the last ep, the relationships are worse, can u believe when ur childhood brother confess to you as a man and u never have the same feeling with him, the next day there will be no awkward moment?? they made it like nothing happen which i can't accept,
there are too many holes in this drama, first, jeongi's character, from a girl who knew nothing about making a ceramic suddenly being able to make the best one??
second, the prince, he was so brave and responsible as a child, but when he grew up all he can do is checking his father's mood, rather than think about his people he just focus on how to please him, and how can he always get fooled by his scheming brother?? first time, well, he's not prepared, second, he get caught off guard, third time?? he never learn huh?,
all the other characters are no help, no improvement in their character either,
this drama annoyed me so much, so i won't recommend it if you don't have time, but if you have so much time to spend you can watch it, it's all ur choice..
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Story: As stated in the synopsis, the story revolves around Jung Yi, based on real life Baek Pa Seon, a fiery young woman who's life revolves around love ceramics, and getting herself into trouble, one way or another. Aside from a few slow episodes involving a lot of things about ceramics (which I personally liked as an artist) and a less than full-filling ending, the story unfolded with much anticipation and excitement.
Acting: Maybe I'm biased because I came into the drama to see more of Moon Geun Young because I adored her in Painter of The Wind, but I found myself loving the range of emotions that came across in all of the actors. I hadn't seen a drama with Kim Bum before but now I've started Padam Padam to see more of him. I may look into a drama with Lee Sang Yoon as well for his charming smile, but I digress. The supporting cast in many ways, were well beyond my expectations: expressing emotional qualities ranging from cold and detached to battered and desperate. I was most impressed Seo Hyun Jin as she portrait such a range of emotions in character and as an actress that her character Shim Hwa Ryung gave me chills.
Music: I enjoyed the music well enough, although I would have liked the vocal versions to be incorporated more often, and maybe a wider verity of songs in the soundtrack. It was generally appropriately timed for mood, but it didn't quite move me like the soundtrack of Painter of The Wind (can you tell I like that drama?).
Rewatch Value: I'm not one for rewatching dramas. But if a friend wanted to watch it with me, I'd at least watch a few episodes with them to get them into it.
Overall: 9/10 Not disappointing as a whole, and would most definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical dramas, art, or non-traditional gender roles. I just happen to like all three!
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story/plot line: I absolutely loved the plot, it was excellent and I didn't feel like the writer lost interest. It was all beautifully organized and over all brilliantly touching.
characters/ actors: Ok the acting in this was superb. You really felt the emotions each character was feeling and they had some of the best crying scenes I've ever seen in a drama. The crying was so realistic and heartbreaking it made me cry. I really enjoyed that the main characters had ambition and willpower and that there was really no clear line about who was good or bad. There were times where you pitied and felt bad for the enemies and to me, that's realistic. No body is completely bad. Except maybe for her 'friend' in this. She was just evil. I've seen a lot of dramas where the main lead is hungry for revenge and sets out to destroy those who did them wrong but after watching this, it was refreshing because FINALLY we have a female lead who knows how to take revenge. After watching her exact her vengeance I was like 'and that ladies and gentlemen is how its done.' I wanted to see a little more romance in it but I loved and hated how they ended it. It was beautifully sad and realistic but at the same time infuriating to the point where I wanted to rip my eyeballs out. If you are a stoic person and don't cry through the whole series, be prepared for the last 3 episodes because I never once stopped crying through them.
music: everyone knows music makes the drama (that and the sexy lead actors of course haha) but while I still love and think the music Jewel in the Palace is unbeatable, this drama came pretty close. The person who did the music was never confused about what music was good for what scene and the music was so beautifully done it made every scene that much intense.
overall, i'd say watch this drama. You'll kind of hate yourself for watching because once again those last 3 episodes were killer but you won't regret it.
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I really enjoyed this drama, I was pulled into the story as soon as I re-watched episode 1 and I could barely keep my attention away the few days that followed ^^ This drama never got draggy or boring in any way to me - it had good pacing and even flowed with some real history events - like the Imjin war they introduced toward the last 2 episodes & hinted at in previous episodes. A lot of people commented saying how disappointed they were in this drama, whether it be acting, story, or writing - but I loved it - every aspect of it! And it even made me itch to want to make some ceramics myself lol The romance was beautifully written in both aspects Tae Do & Gwanghae's love for Jung Yi <3 I loved both of these guys - of course I shipped her with Gwanghae - but I was never against Tae Do. A drama where I can love both my leading men ^_^ It ended how I expected it would. I cried during episodes 30 & 32 :"( It has a realistic ending, which is rather sad and slightly depressing but in it's own way still romantic.
Lee Sang Yoon as Gwanghae did a great job! I thoroughly enjoyed his role, the way he admired and loved Jung made my heart beat fast ^^ Kim Bum as Tae Do won my heart as Jung's Orabeoni, he staked his life and entire existence on protecting her <3 Moon Geun Young as Jung Yi was very well played, started out as a girl who was raised with ceramics teaching but didn't care for it until later and when she started to learn she went all the way. Imhae was funny in the beginning and I laughed a lot during his scenes but later when he started to be more cruel - I just disliked him. I also really liked Il Nam & his pals who always hung around Jung ^^ They were such a kick! :P
Music: I'm especially fond of Bobby Kim's song 'Forever You' and Park Ji Min's song 'I Love You' <3
I will probably re-watch this drama again sometime in the future ^^ and I'd recommend it.
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I really luv the whole historical concept of this drama i was educated abt another important aspect of Korea in another entertaining way.
Cant say much abt the music for it didnt reach out too me.
I really wanted to see more of the war when Japan invade and th see battles, but they RUSHED >: the ending like there was no tomorrow. Because of that now all i can talk abt is the crapy ending :'(
The story line was very good
The acting was good nothing to cry home about.
rewatch is ok not too long, not boring, entertaining
All in all a pretty good drama.....except for the ENDING!
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The drama is probably too long for the most people. I also don't like watching such long dramas but I am really happy that I gave it a chance. It definitely deserves a 10! I cried watching every episode. People who like cute romance with kisses won't get that in this drama, but romance showed with words is plenty in it :D There are dramas faaaar worse than this one but are better rated. That's what makes me really really sad! :(
I rated the rewatch value low because it is a long drama and it is too sad to watch it a second time. I liked the first third more than the rest.
Hopefully some people will give this drama a chance and see the real beauty of this drama, maybe some will also get life lessons from this show :)
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Drama with a unique historical subject that I loved, but not without some frustrations.
What mainly attracted me to watching Jung Yi was the subject of creating ceramics and pottery. The series is very detailed and creative about each part of the making process, and being able to observe the craft like this was a rare opportunity that I really appreciated. I loved both the way drama dealt with these scenes and being able to watch them closely.[STORY] The downside comes with the surrounding stories not directly focused on the making of ceramics and/or the main characters. The premise as a whole is really attractive as well, but when it comes to the development it shows that there are many episodes that must be filled somehow. Some storylines in particular are repeated very similarly and often, which really slows down the pace and made a contrast between boring episodes and exciting ones. Most scenes about the naming of the Prince Heir are all pretty much the same and hence tiring, and the princes framing each other or the protagonist getting into trouble (by herself or by someone else) and seeking to take the blame afterwards are situations which occur countless times.
[CAST] Another obstacle I found was the change of cast after the first few episodes. The young actors for the main three were doing very well and I had got fond of them (especially, I think Jin Ji Hee—young Jung Yi—is fantastic as a fiery and strong-willed girl), and it took me a long time to get accustomed to the new ones which I didn't like as much. Partly, this was also due to the characters' personalities feeling "weakened" after they grow up (not few episodes pass until they recover their former selves) and because the whole tone of the story suffers from this. As I first saw it, Goddess of Fire went from its strongest and most beautiful episodes (around 3 and 4) to goofy comedy situations that dragged on inconsequentially.
I got through that I was rewarded with the characters' evolution once again (even if from scratch), several good scenes between them and getting to appreciate the new acting, as well as the ceramic and pottery making becoming more complex and interesting according to the growth of the protagonist's skills.
Therefore the most frustrating of all was seeing how the characters and story I had grown to like twice over end up after the chaotic last episodes. Near the end there are many events I thought unnecessary or didn't understand why they had to happen that way, but once I finished the series I realised that there was a certain conclusion set for the drama and every other plotline is pushed and rushed into it unfulfillingly. Besides delivering puzzling last minutes, it's unfortunate to have the disappointingly abrupt ending as the last seen since it overshadows other far more memorable and heartwarming moments from the series.
[RE-WATCH VALUE] These three issues are the reasons I wouldn't think of going through the entire drama again, however there was a lot it offered in its first viewing and became very good company for long watching sessions. For the remaining category, [MUSIC], I only have to say that, although I found some modern tracks unfitting initially, they became less noticeable, and most importantly there were a couple of pieces of music I always liked to hear and accompanied key scenes excellently.
[OVERALL], it took some determination to continue watching at first, and I always suspected from the drama's tone and pace that the ending wouldn't be to my liking, but along the way there was more than enough good content to not regret at all having watched it whole. It offered the almost two different worlds of the characters' youth (impulsive, refreshing and carefree), and their more mature and complex relationships later as they develop trust and acknowledgement of one another.
Goddess of Fire has all the attractiveness of a historical drama while it is unreservedly dedicated to the art of ceramics in the Joseon era, and regardless of how it worked in the details to me that's an excellent combination.
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A broken pot
This drama didn't deserve to be longer than 10-12 episodes at best for the amount of material it had to offer. Quickly enough, they deviated from pottery making in favor of typical bland drama antics. Pottery making was its selling point but we barely got a slight tiny glimpse of that field. They kept all details and technicalities to minimum, how do they expect the viewer to care? I guess having a love square is more important to them. Looking at the cast it seemed promising but it turned out to be quite disappointing. Nonetheless, did we really need that awful nasty 17-years timeskip before the end credits? Massive yikes!!Was this review helpful to you?
I did not care much for the early episodes with the young characters, though I do understand that these episodes were important so that you can understand the history of the characters.
Story
The story is different compared to the other dramas I've watched, though that doesn't mean there aren't moments that have that dramatic flourish of being almost completely unrealistic. However, in the 10 episodes I've watched, there actually hasn't been as much progress as I would have hoped being this far into the series.
Acting/Cast
Kim Bum, oh my goodness he is perfectly cast for this. The moment he makes his appearance as the older Tae Do you will swoon. Moon Geun Young as Yoo Jung Yi is also very good as she does translate the characteristics of the younger version of herself fluidly.
Music
I really haven't paid much attention to the music and so far the OST doesn't have a song I would want as part of my music collection.
Rewatch Value
This is a long series. I probably wouldn't rewatch it for a long time for this simple fact. Though Kim Bum would bring me back for sure.
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