Empress Ki (2013)

This is such a good historical K-drama.

The thing about this drama is that the better it gets the sadder it becomes. It had amazing scenes for 2013 and I must say that the story was very good.

Things I didn't like-
There aren't many but still THE ENDING, ahh, I know that it did make sense but still why? I cried for days and felt nothing for other dramas for months.
And I am not a big fan of The King of goryoeo and Ki Seung Nyang but (spoiler)





the fact that as soon as they got together, they slept and had a f baby is crazy.


In the end you should really check this drama out.

Read More

Bow down to Her Majesty.

A motherless girl is about to go from being an escaped slave, to a gang leader, to a concubine, to the empress of Imperial China. And under her reign, her enemies will tremble before her.

I love this drama. It’s a masterpiece, and one of a few dramas I can truly say this about. From the breathtaking cinematography to the amazing script, everything about this incredible drama was perfectly done to make those 51 episodes run by way too quickly.

Ji Chang Wook’s character was the reason why I fell in love with this drama. This was what I knew, it’s what I believed, but as I sat down to write this review, I realised that it wasn’t the emperor, but rather the empress that made me fall in love with this drama, and so, I’ll focus on her for my review. Starting with her bravery.

Life threw lemons at this woman, and she not only made lemonade, she sowed the seeds and grew a whole damn lemon farm. As a little girl, when Seung-Nyang lost her mother while escaping from being offered as concubines, she didn’t give up. She fought for her right to remain alive in a country that didn’t seems to care much for her right to stay alive. And she did, because in the process, she became the leader of a surviving gang, and it was through it, that her destiny truly begun.

Empress Ki did not allow her pain and suffering define her. Throughout this drama, Ki went through a lot. From losing her mother, thinking she lost her child, losing her country, the love of her life, then losing her child just when she found him, and losing her second love. Seung-Nyang could have been a character that at some point would have just given up, but she didn’t, she fought through all these and more, and came out on top. I love how she handled her pain, as if to scream: no you don’t define me, no, I won’t let you win today.

I love how strong she was in every scene whenever she was faced with moments that will make everyone break down and cry or give up. One of these moment was when she found out about her dear son, but decided anyway to do whatever she could to get him to get away from the life she was forced to live. I was very angry at those scenes, after what both her and the crown prince decided to do after they found out that their son was alive. But, I understood her, it was the only way she could save him, and seeing her cover her pain to do the right thing, made me love her. Of course, the outcome of her decision, is another discussion for other time.

She made her enemies fear and remember her name: She never gave in to the court bullying her, she played her cards right, and showed them, through shear tactics that she’s a force to regaining with, and under her reign, they all learned to fear and respect her.

Romance:
When the relationship between the crowned prince and Seung-Nyang begun, I was super against it, because I wanted her to be with the scared little emperor who had no one in his corner. But I was grateful for it because it made the drama a lot more intense and which, to be honest, made it more interesting. Yes, I hated the triangle, but it was very entertaining and added to the plot. That being said, when it comes down to it:

The Emperor didn't win Empress Ki's heart, he earned it! As for Seung-Nyang, she didn’t win the king’s heart, she conquered it, and with it, his country. It wasn’t a moment, it wasn’t a favour, it wasn’t even in the way she saved him, it was a thousand moments that added up to one, to make Empress Ki return our dear emperor’s love. Poor guy. Yes, my favourite part of the romantic plot was how the emperor had to earned Ki’s love. I love how she never gave in, even when he tried everything and loved her with all his heart.

Did the slow burn annoyed me at some point? Very, very, but thinking about it now, I love how she never gave into him because of his position, and fought until her heart was ready to accept him, and she herself knew he finally deserved her love. This in itself made their love story one of the most romantic plot I'd seen in one of these dramas. Annoying as eff, but realistic and romantic nonetheless.

Other Characters.
Empress Ki is only but one of the characters I loved in this drama. Tal Tal was the next one and both of them added so much to this drama but as I said, I thought I'd focus on this brave woman instead, as it was because of her that this drama has now become one of my all time favourites, which I'll definitely be rewatching.

The side characters all played their parts well, and made sacrifices that left me broken, and respecting their characters more. The bad guys annoyed the heck out of me, as they should. Jesus I was this close to throwing my shoe at their friend turned traitor. Yeah, that guy. Getting stoned to death was merciful. However, I got where he was coming from, and him having depth as a character was one of the reason why this drama had some of the best character development out there.

Now Ta Hwan:
There is nothing wrong with being hopelessly in-love, but it’s a crime to be a desperate dumbass in love. Yes, Ji Chang Wook is a blessing sent from the heavens, and everything he does is GREAT by default. He’s so great if I were him, I’ll wake up every morning like: I'm so perfect it hurts.

Like most of you, I love him! I’ve been an obsessed and loyal stalker since forever. Therefore, I’ve made a vow, to never criticise anything he does. Which is why, I’ll never admit that, I fell asleep, like 10mins into into Healer, and I will die denying this truth before I tell anyone that I gave that Melting My Stuff? drama half episode and gave up, cuz, Ji Chang can do no wrong. Well, even if he does, I won’t talk about it. Just like I won’t talk about that ridiculous wig they put on Lee Min Ho in Boys Over Flowers. Yes, I will never criticize anything he does, but I’m a nitpicking SOB, and if I had to sit through 51 episodes of Empress Ki with the character he played constantly being a punchable son of a beach, you can bet your arse I’ll rant about it.

Ta Hwan as an emperor was hopelessly, useless. He was the epitome of collateral damage. Not only was he a dumbass, he was also a liability to everyone around him, and it bugged me to no end how utterly weak he was as an ruler! He was constantly being saved or being scared. Sometimes he was both at the same time, which was unfortunate.

I waited so many times for him to get off this royal arse and do something for himself... and I’m still waiting. There were moments where I thought his hopelessness was an act, but boy was I wrong! What made me what to slap him was how he was happy being emperor only by name. Ki offered to teach and help him take back his nation, and he whines about how vengeance was a big no-no and he wanted to run away with her to la la land.
Me:
“Dude, surely you wanna... like, hmm... I don’t know, take revenge on the people who:
• Forbid you from learning.
• Exiled you to another country.
• Tried to kill you like a gazillion time.
• Forced you to marry his evil daughter.
• Humiliated you in front of your servants.
• Made you a puppet, and stole your crown
• Oh, and killed your father.?”
Ta Hwan:
“Nope. I just wanna run away with Seung Nyang and chase rainbows and ride unicorns.“
Me: *Grabs my rubber chicken*

As a character, all he had going for him was that he loved Ki. Other than that, he was just there for people to plan their evil plans around. He never stood up for himself, he was useless, a drunk and a sad excuse for a ruler. While everyone was busy trying to keep him alive, he was busy being a jealous lovesick fool.

Yes, I felt for him. He’s my favourite character in Empress Ki, second only to Tal Tal. Because of the emperor, I hated Wang Yoo for no effing reason, but even so, I have to admit that he was so weak and useless as a character I wanted to slap him 99.9% of the time. The only time I didn’t want to slap him was when he up and died and made me cry buckets like: God, I want a donut. He changed a little towards the ending, but never really lived up to his potential, which was sad for an emperor who held two nations in the palm of his hand.

Anyway, I won't even mention that second lead, nope. Overall, I love this drama, of course there were things I wasn’t so keen on, but none of them outweighed my love for it. And at the end of the day, when all’s said and done, it's one of the best k-dramas out there, and I highly recommend it to everyone and their mama.

Read More

Who to choose Ta hwan or wang yu

If I were seung nyang, it will be very hard for me to choose. Ta hwan or hwang yu. I might want to just dissapear and not to choose at all. But if I will really have to choose, choosing Ta hwan will be my answer. I would take the risk of breaking my heart all over again of not choosing Wang yu. And in case I have to choose wang yu, I wish I'd never exist. Because I feel like I would die if I wont live with emperor ta hwan for the rest of my life. So I chose my LIFE.

- THIS kdrama is truly exceptional. It is the best historical movie I've ever watch aside from scaet heart ryeo that would also breaks your heart.

Cast deserve to win the vest of the best. Most especially hajiwon , ji chang wook and joo jin moo.

I am thankful I had the chance to watch it.

Read More

political turmoil/ romance/ action/ a bit of cross gender dressing/ lots of palace life/ death

I honestly don't know how I feel about this drama
it was all sorts of a rollarcoaster but to say that it affected me was the least of it, thats what makes a good drama anyways.
where do I even start...

the acting in this drama was absolutely amazing, no doubt about it. ji chang wok really outdid himself, his micro expressions were PERFECT. theres nothing for me to say about ha ji won cause she is out of this world. no one would be able to pull off a role that goes from male lower ranks to the highest female rank in the land all the while pulling off the perfect emotions for each of her scenes. everyone else from the actor who played Tal Tal, the king of goryeo and his right hand men, to the eunachs, and the evil characters showed exceptional acting.

this drama I would say is mostly political corruption/turmoil (45%), fighting scenes (10%), romance (30%), betrayal (10%), friendship/loyalty (5%). so there is nothing lighthearted about this drama. I would say this is one of the darker dramas even in terms of historical dramas.

the gem of this drama to me was (FML)sungnyang's intelligence and wit because without it, you would only feel pure fury. I kid you not, there are quite a few annoyances I had.

another thing, I ended up as a tal tal and nyang shipper so make due with that information how ever you please (although you may not know what im talking about)

it was humorous, HEARTBREAKING, annoying, irritating, infuriating, I gueessssssss you can say there were those cute moments, suspenseful, and overall though it may have been 51 episodes, it will go by quick if you're really invested, especially politically-wise

rewatch value: maybe some scenes but to rewatch every 50 episodes is a bit too much for me, but for recommendations I definitely agree if you want to see great acting, political turmoil, great comebacks and strategizing made by the fml, an EXTREMELY frustrating love triangle (I wish it was love scquare because TALTAL anyways), and lots and lots of plottwistqs (with barely any plot holes :))

Read More

This drama is long...but the pacing is on point and it doesn't drag(for the most part).

What I liked:
I really enjoy revenge plots and this one serves up revenge with all utensils on deck! Like I mentioned, the pacing of this show was just right and there rarely are any fillers in this drama, it is completely plot focused. The cast was absolutely outstanding, and one of the main villains played by Jeon Gook Hwan, was extremely convincing in his role. Although he was evil, he had his reasons and it was difficult not to laugh at some of his parts. Ha Ji Won, our main leading female was also outstanding and her thirst for revenge was completely justifiable to a point. Her character development was interesting to watch, especially during the last arc of this drama. When I watched this the first time (years back...) Ji Chang Wook was my favorite character, because I love a crazy, possessive jealousy male and he played the part without fault in this, but after a second watch Ha Ji Won really took the cake here.

The music is also amazing and one of my favorite vocalist is on this ost (Junsu) so I was really spoiled here.
The costumes and set was amazing.

What I didn't like: Actually there isn't much I didn't like about this drama...the reason I did not rate this a 10 is because there was a slight struggle with the pacing when a character dies off, but it picked back up. Also ( there is a looooong, angst-like situation for our leading lady that took too long to get resolved in my opinion) but other than that...I would definitely recommend this drama. (I had to re-watch this on tubitv because my streaming sites no longer host this drama)

Read More

When a king fails to protect its people is tragic

Most of the reviews I have read regarding Empress Ki explicitly mentioned the number of episodes that this Korean drama has and how they tend to reconsider watching this show because of that. I must say, this isn’t an easy feat but worth watching nonetheless.

The story takes us on Empress Ki/Wild Dog’s journey from almost being sold as a slave or tribute, passed on to various countries/dynasties, and finally on the throne. Being a foreigner to South Korea, I need to catch up on the history of the dynasties to have a better understanding of the plot. Its history proved to be a compelling read.

King Wang Yoo of Goryeo(Joo Jin Mo) grew to respect Ki Seung Nyang (Ha Ji Won) through the moments that she taught him to wield his bow and arrow. Unknowest to him at first that Seung Nyang is a girl and not a thug boy. Unable to defend his people from General Councillor and because of famine and lack of support, King Wang Yoo was deposed and was brought to a place of no hope and disguised as a beggar. Meanwhile, Seung Nyang crossed paths with the Imperial King of the Yuan Dynasty at a very unexpected circumstance.

One of the highlights of this drama is the journey of Imperial King Ta Hwan (played by Ji Chang Wook) and how instrumental Seung Nyang to his journey as Yuan Emperor.

Kinship, betrayal, revenge, and triumph are the things to expect from their story. I must say, I had so much fun watching Ji Chang Wook portrayed his character here. I am not sure whether to laugh at him, pity him, and be angry towards the character he portrays. He displayed his acting chops on this drama.

Each of the kings and crowned princes have their reasons to protect what is theirs. It boils down to protecting their people.

Powerful Scene. When a king bows and kneel to someone of lower stature, that is difficult to muster for the deposed king of Goryeo.

Wang Yoo’s life is one hell of a roller coaster life! I have to say it’s rather tragic and sad life. But when you are a king, there is no greater failure when you can’t protect your people. Hence, he has the characteristic of a noble king.

After going through so much but still having the same ill-fated ending gives me frustrations and mixed feelings for both the characters and plot. But this didn’t stop me from finishing this drama. The secret to getting through all 51 episodes is to enjoy every scene and be in the moment as the story beautifully unfolds. Before you know it, you are watching the last episode.

Read More

Yes! it's long we all know that going in. Throught out the 51 episodes however I did not feel the urge to stop watching a single time.
It starts out as a simple light hearted goreyo drama that takes you on one of the sildest rides you might ever experience in that era. Through a Strong female protagonist none the less. We all know about the scene where the woman is about to get killed but the man swoops in? Well our heroine might have needed saving, but she was no amature with a bow, and in a dress no less!

I give this an 8 because while it kept me glued to my screen there were several unsatisfying story threads. Her first son was not capitalised on at all and it felt like it was left on the backburner too long to be relevant. Also her love interest, we are all rooting for #Chonah or #Peha was that all for nothing? If it was that easy to kill the king of goreyo why not do that the other 10 times you set out to kill him! some of these threads can get a little frustrating and as a personal touch I prefer my villans to be more humble in the face of defeat but all in all this drama and all it's 51 episodes are definitely worth the watch.

I highly recommend this for anyone who loves wild rides, strong female protagonists, Old Korea, Love triangles and gets nostalgic about Soap operas! I will be rewatching this in the future!

Read More

Will keep you interested to want more.

It is long but keeps you wanting to know more especially if a history buff like me. I love the direction and how the director took the actors further in their roles. The costumes were beautiful and I am always amazed about how the culture is respectful. I love how sets from other movies are used especially outside shoots. I don't know if they re real but having been used so many times that I wonder what stories those historical places could tell along with the drama. Doesn't make sense to you but being from Australia I find the culture fascinating and the respect shown even in this drama to all . Definitely worth the watch

Read More