Review of episodes 3+4

Oh my god I'm so in love with this; or more precisely, with Cha Seung Won. God bless Cha Seung Won. May he live forever and ever and keep acting for eternity. He's done all kinds of roles and only needed to be a king! And what a king! The most charismatic and conflicted king out there. You can't possibly hate those pleading and melancholic eyes!



In the two episodes, CSW eyes haunted me. I found myself actually crying when his eyes filled and he looked so miserable and so lonely. The loneliness evolving him is so intolerable. He can neither scream it out nor are the people he cares about standing by his side. He has been doing everything to have Haneum Lee Deok Hyung -the prime minister- by his side but eventually and because of people moving in the background he loses him. That look of supplication and despair as Gwanghae tells Haneum that he really wanted him to go together and achieve their dreams broke my heart; literally.



You can evidently see his inner conflict and pain. He really cares about his younger sister. He wants to keep his promise to her. He's still haunted by Imhae's death and he hates hurting his family. You can see all this. And at the same time, you can see the scarred child who's still suffering because he was born the child of a concubine. He has great ambitions and dreams: ''My Joseon will be different'', so he has to ''sacrifice'' things. No matter how hard he tries to avoid some dreadful sacrifices, he finds them inevitable -thanks to the bitch and asshole behind the scenes. Excuse my French!-.



His father and the politicians of the country turned him into an insecure king; one who is not able to improve his country and the lives of his people because of opposition and his fear of his so much younger brother; the true blood. ''There's no such thing as a little child in court.''



He could finally bring the Uniform Tax Law into life but then he had to face all the opposition of moving the capital. No one even cared to hear his argument. They objected simply because it was Gwanghae. And they didn't trust Gwanghae; they didn't want him. His weaponry inventions and experiments to build a stable and strong defence line shows how much he cares about Joseon. At the same time, he has to conduct them all in secret. He knew better.



What's killing me the most is his black attire. Damn it! Tell him NOT to wear that. I keep missing the conversation. His passionate defence of his dreams and thoughts is so heart throbbing. And if I can invent a new expression, I would say, his voice is on fire and I'm caught in the flames.



Then comes Jeong Myung. The child actress is giving us so much to anticipate once Lee Yeon Hee is on screen. The princess is free-spirited, strong, kind, trusting and articulate. Her care for her younger brother reveals so much of her loving character. She rejects her defined role as a woman and a princess and is eager to explore the world. But still, her family comes first. When she goes out in the world, her expectations scatter and she starts noticing the ugly side of the world. Then epiphany hits her and another side to her loving brother; Gwanghae, is revealed to her.



Between her fears and her disbelief, the 13-year old princess finds herself having to take some crucial and life twisting decisions. Fate, omens and prophesies are emphasised here especially when it comes to Jeong Myung. Is she really an ominous child and does her fate affect the country?! What about Haneum's words that a person is stronger than their fate?! Can she change her fate?



Speaking of Haneum, god bless whoever cast the man. With all the typical actors acting the same roles in every sageuk, having Lee Sung Min acting the benevolent, bold, loyal and wise Lee Deok Hyung is a relief. I love how he always speaks his mind and never cowers in front of Gwanghae. I wished he'd stay on Gwanghae's side. No matter how evil he might turn out to be, I'm always on Gwanghae's side. I bet you know the reason.



How influential is the court ladies' role? Kim Yeo Jin acting Gae Shi is one pleasant surprise. She's an interesting character; strong, shrewd, manipulative and governing. She's responsible for all the behind-scenes plots to give Gwanghae the ultimate power -oblivious as he is of many-. Behind the scenes is her playground. She decides and moves Yi Cheom who moves others. Her loyalty is dangerous. How far would she go to serve the one person who recognised her and treated her as a human being? Seeing how far she's gone already!



Speaking of everyone's favourite; Yi Cheom played by Jung Woong In (just kidding don't kill me). His hatefulness can still disgust me; strangely. I should have gotten used to it by now. How much of his actions come from his pure loyalty and how much is his selfish desire?! Let's wait and see.



The drama is called Splendid Politics and it's all about it. There are some questions that have been tackled in the two episodes and I'm sure more to come. How much of politicians decisions is selfish caprice and how much is true concern and care about the people of their country? What exactly is loyalty? And what on earth is treachery? How much of the history given to us is accurate and how much had been manipulated?



The child actors are doing awesomely preparing us for the gorgeous adults and telling us much about their personalities. Can't wait.



Two things I don't like much, first is the typical cast and second thing is rushing the events. I mean I know they want to bring the adult cast to screen quickly but this is a 50-episode drama. They could've presented more of Gwanghae's first years as a king!



Jeong Myung's last words and dragging Yeong Chang outside the palace left me so curious. I'm not reading or watching anything about the era or any of the historical characters before I finish the drama. I'm not biased or anything.

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Not for one minute, not even for one second…

Not for one minute, not even for one second did I like ot understand Han Yeo Reum in Discovery of Love. Her actions and attitude in the two relationships are all twisted. She only cares about her own feelings and only looks through her blurry lens. I don't understand why such two great guys would like her but let's say there are some unique people there, this is not it. I can understand breaking up because your partner is busy; I've been there. But at the same time, not supporting your partner on their way to success is wrong. What's worse is not telling them why you're upset. She always wanted them to guess, analyze and understand her feelings while she justs takes a pop at them.

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Episodes 5+6 Reviews

As the mastermind gets revealed, Gwanghae and his right arm Gae Shi-who thinks and acts on his behalf- realise that they've been puppets for some mysterious person all along. But they went too far to stop.



Conniving Gae Shi apprehends the fact that Gwanghae is too soft to harm his own family so she stops consulting him and starts acting on her own. After she decodes all the data she collected and concludes that the true bloodline mentioned in the prophecy is not Yeong Chang but Cheongmyung, Gae Shi decides to kill both. Gwanghae gets aggrieved at the supposed death of both and at the epiphany of being used by someone ridiculing him and his power. While in Japan, Cheong Myung is only saved from death to become a slave.



And since you watched the two episodes let's get to what's between the lines and what happened to my poor heart.



Gwanghae is still struggling between being a human and being a king. When Gae Shi asked him to choose between the two, I myself was struck dumb -no need to try to guess how he felt. It was written all over his face.- So finally it hit Gwanghae, the opposite of a king is a human. You simply cannot be both.



Gwanghae's love for his sister is sincere and real. Gae Shi knows that that's why she ''killed'' Cheong Myung behind Gwanghae's back. Outraged as he is, he cannot kill Gae Shi, because deep down in his heart of hearts he knows that Gae Shi alone can hear that distant voice of his heart; the petrified voice. Gae Shi alone can hear, interpret and act upon that voice. Gwanghae can keep pretending it has nothing to do with him and let guilt ease his pain a bit. After all, blaming ourselves for what seemingly is others' fault always makes us feel better. As deep as Gwanghae's affection for Cheong Myung is, it cannot compete with the king inside of him. I'm sorry to say this, but I believe the king will beat the human eventually.



Still, evil as his retainers might be and dark as his thoughts might prove, Gwanghae IS misunderstood. No body, absolutely no body, ever tries to understand or justify his actions. They don't even care to confirm them. Even his own retainers, they all believed it was by his order that the princes were killed. Being a king is a curse yes. But it isn't simply because he's the king. It's because he's Gwanghae, the ever misunderstood Gwanghae.



And why do I suddenly remember Ralph Waldo Emerson's words; 'to be great is to be misunderstood.'?



Agitated Gwanghae is a work of art. The fire in his eyes, his trembling upper lip and nostrils when he's berserk but trying to hold his anger in and his tears which rip my heart to shreds; all portray a lonely, misjudged and used man.



P.S He's the hottest horse rider ever!



Cheong Myung...



I can see a strong and fearless heroine coming our way. For a girl of 13 to witness all these events; to hear that she's ominous and would bring death to the world, to hear and see her older brother -whom she has always loved, respected and trusted- turn into another person and to be abandoned then face death and slavery will definitely mould her character in a tough way; especially if we add having to live as a boy.



Cheong Myung's fate is only ominous because she's a girl. Because she's a girl she shouldn't have such power to rule. Because she's a girl having the fate of a king, Cheong Myung is ominous. Because she's a girl, she shouldn't be strong.



I mean, dammit. Damn this worthless world. Damn it!



Queen Dowager is so pitiful here. She's not stupid. On the contrary she has considerable political acumen. But she's a mother, and a mother can't make reasonable decisions when her children are in danger. Now that she's deprived of both, I'm really eager to see how she'll act.



Young Joo Won (Yoon Chang Young) is doing a great job paving the way to the adult Seo Kang Joon (I love SKJ but I wished it was Han Joo Wan instead). Anyhow, Joo Won is apparently that true noble with a sensible heart and a sound mind. My only complaint is that I cannot take anymore of Yoon Chang Young's crying and anger fits. Those who watched Mama; Nothing to Fear would understand why.



In the two episodes, the power of prophecies is again emphasized. No matter how good a person's actions are, if a prophecy is against them, they lose. Bah! Humans are really absurd. Why do they always fall for what's not there?!



At the same time, the concept of human will being stronger than Heaven's will is also brought up. And I wonder -Mishil reminiscence- who will win in the end?!



'Tomorrow is a better day and therefore I won't be defeated', how long can this thought motivate us to move forward?! How long can that far tomorrow enchant us to chase it?! How long can these abstract words drug us to survive?!







Now that the mastermind is finally revealed which is a bit shocking to me and would be heartbreaking (he's In Woo's father), I'll anticipate how will Kang Soo Jun (Jo Sung Ha) manipulate Gwanghae and for how long?!



Who dares to stand in Gwanghae's way?! Especially when he's acted by Cha Seung Won?!!!

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God I cried buckets.. I always vow not to watch melo again but I end up watching them. I still can't understand, accept or sympathise with Moon Tae Joo. Because of one person the lives of so many people got ruined and he's going around begging for sympathy. Geu Roo who's finally grown up is breaking my heart. When he broke down crying at the airport I felt my heart tearing apart. The friendship between Seung Hee and Ji Eun is so holy I can't.. Though I can't see it coming I still hope for a miraculous ending like Scent of a Woman. I normally don't like the and-they-lived-happily-ever-after endings especially in melodramas but I really can't see her dying. Many people here deserve another chance to live.

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