Best sageuk in a while
Sageuks tend to be polarizing. there's a group of people who love them all, and another group who don't like them at all. I've found the quality to be variable - some are engaging, some are deadly dull (I hated History class when I was a student). If you are new to the genre, this is en excellent introduction: https://koreanhistoricaldramas.com/introduction-to-sageuks/ They come in all degrees of historical accuracy, and there's the occasional fiasco like Joseon Exorcist .
This was quite a nice thing to watch. It could have been a couple of episodes shorter, but it wasn't as draggy as some get. The acting was superb throughout - what a wonderful cast! Historically, it did not offend, although I'm no Korean historian. It suffered from the common problem of the impeccably tailored Joseon era, where everyone has manicures, flawless teeth, and new clothes. Pretty much no one dresses in rags. The only K-drama I have ever seen that was believable in this area was Chuno, where the teeth on the bandits were awful. It's amusing that modern dentistry looks so phony in a historical drama. And no matter what was happening - fights, being driven from their homes, etc, - their clothes never get dirty or torn.
I don't see any point in re-hashing the story - that's easily available everywhere. I just want to say I loved the excellent cast and fine acting. It was well-written, and the music was good, although it's seems that only the k-pop sounding songs make it to release. The closing songs in Ep. 18 and 20 were lovely in a more traditional sound, but they don't seem to be released. If you like historicals, this is a nice one.
This was quite a nice thing to watch. It could have been a couple of episodes shorter, but it wasn't as draggy as some get. The acting was superb throughout - what a wonderful cast! Historically, it did not offend, although I'm no Korean historian. It suffered from the common problem of the impeccably tailored Joseon era, where everyone has manicures, flawless teeth, and new clothes. Pretty much no one dresses in rags. The only K-drama I have ever seen that was believable in this area was Chuno, where the teeth on the bandits were awful. It's amusing that modern dentistry looks so phony in a historical drama. And no matter what was happening - fights, being driven from their homes, etc, - their clothes never get dirty or torn.
I don't see any point in re-hashing the story - that's easily available everywhere. I just want to say I loved the excellent cast and fine acting. It was well-written, and the music was good, although it's seems that only the k-pop sounding songs make it to release. The closing songs in Ep. 18 and 20 were lovely in a more traditional sound, but they don't seem to be released. If you like historicals, this is a nice one.
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