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Story: I enjoyed the story very much. The main story focuses on the relationship between Baek Dong Soo and Yeo Woon, but the interesting thing about the story is that it is not just about these main characters. We get to learn the stories of the other characters as well and the way they develop keeps you interested in the Drama. The strongest points of the story is its beginning and ending, but the middle of this is also very important. It is however sometimes confusing, but the confusion fades away while watching. You must pay very much attention to the beginnning, because you will get lost if you don't remember it very well in the later episodes. The thing that made me love this drama the most is the bromance between Baek Dong Soo and Yeo Woon. It is displayed as a very strong relationship which can never be ended. Plus, it contains everything that one wants: Action, adventure, revenge, romance (not so much), drama, comedy (mainly in the first episodes) and betrayal. It did not make me feel bored at all.
Acting/cast: I found most of the characters interesting and well-played by their actors/actresses. My favourite characters are Yeo Woon and Chun. Yeo Woon's mysteriousness, coldness and generally his personality made me love his character instantly (you can add to that the fact that he is played by Yoo Seung Ho). I didn't really expect less from this man. Chun is just impressive in every way. From his appearance and his swordfighting skills to his personallity. Ji Chang Wook as Baek Dong Soo was also really impressive. In general I didn't find any flaw to the acting or the characvters except one of the female leads, Ji Sun played by Shin Hyun Bin. It was my first time watching her and she didn't impress me at all. She didn't express much emotion and it was like she had the same expression almost all the time. That's why I gave acting/characters a 9.
Music: The music is just awesome! The music for the fighting scenes was really nice. I liked how they blended tradition music with rock music. And since I like Rock I found it really interesting. The other songs such as the ballads were really nice too. I actually downloaded the whole ost and there are a few songs I didn't like so much. It also fit to almost every scene
Rewatch value: I don't really rewatch dramas, that's why I gave it a 5. It is a bit long too. But for everyone who likes rewatching them I think they would like to do so.
Overall: Baek Dong Soo is a great historical drama which contains everything, others in much amount and others in small amount. It will keep you interesing till the end. I would recomment it to everyone, wether they like historical drama or not.
Edited for some grammar mistakes.
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This is easily the best sageuk I've seen so far. I loved the story, the cast, the acting, the fight scenes, the character development, the music (which I cannot get out of my head), and of course our 2 leading men. I truly loved Choi Min Soo as Chun (the old Sky Lord) - and Jun Kwang Ryul did his usual impeccable job as Gwang Taek.
I just cannot get enough of Ji Chang Wook, however! He is fabulous in this, as is Yoo Seung Ho. The bromance between Dong Soo and Woon is the main thrust of the entire series and is done so well.
The direction (especially the fight scenes) and the cinematography compares favorably to films, the spectacular vistas shown are breathtaking.
Some other reviewers talked about the lead actress (Shin Hyun Bin playing Ji Sun) being too cool & emotionless - very true but it seemed to fit the character very well. It certainly didn't showcase any great acting skills, but since it fitted so well with how both our leads saw her, it did not distract me in any way. I much preferred the other 2 girls, much more animated and interesting. Still, no surprises that the aloof, silently suffering damsel in distress attracted both our warriors LOL
The story keeps one guessing, even if you know the actual history - which is always a plus in my book. Very interesting take on the whole Prince Sado episode.
All in all I highly recommend this drama!
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all I need to say that its my first time to feel urge to write a review for a drama. I wanted to write because in my opinion, this drama is really underrated. The very first thing you cannot forget about this drama is its osts. Really touching and catchy. After watching drama and listening countless of times its musics, I couldn't stop myself from tearing up whenever I hear them. Especially the ost that plays for the older generation, really addictive.
For the cast, nearly most of the my favourite actors were in it. Therefore I would be extra liked this drama. For acting, those actors didn't disappoint me as always.
However even though I'm really fond of bromance between YW and BDS, the story is more like mostly focused on the character of YW. BDS was like supporting character time to time. Only this aspect of story disappointed me little bit.
I do not want to give spoiler but I have much to say about ending. After my first watch I thought its unfair and stupid. I was really angry at writers. After my second watch, I thought that "altough I didnot like the ending it was unavoidable". After my third watch I was like "how it come to that I couldn't realize the melody of script until now? Its just awesome".
This drama also made me reconsider my tastes about k-drama. I noticed that rather than rainbows butterflies and pinky feelings, I 'm more like a melodram and friendship drama type girl. It doesn't mean that I don't like light romances, I love them. But second type of them is leaving more deep impressions on me and Warrior Baek Dong Soo was the most influental of them.
My rewatcing value could be 10 too, but I have already watched it three times, therefore I should wait and miss this drama a bit more.
I've tried to not to give spoilers, but if I made this show ruined for you by giving comments related to the ending, I'm sincerely sorry for this. I couldn't stop my self. I hope you had enjoyed this drama or you will. Since I really enjoyed :)
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The story is good, though at times, (like after several major characters pass away) it seemed as if there isn't much for the plot to go on. Then new problems were created and the story goes along.
The transformation of Baek Dong Soo from a deformed kid to the stunning warrior is a long journey, and is shown through the course of the drama with realism and beauty.
The character of Yeo Woon, who is the other pillar of the drama, is equally strong and leaves an impression.
Among the characters, The Sky Lord and Sword Saint are very impressive. The female characters are very resourceful, and not clingy or weak.
The negative characters are highly selfish and evil. The main villain is very annoying with his typical "Villain"ish laugh.
The music is pretty good. I especially liked the music in the climax fight scene inside the palace.
The series does drag at times, when it focuses too long on melodramatic scenes, but it's an entertaining watch except for the way they choose to end it. My only suggestion would be to wind up with the second last episode for a good ending, because the last one leaves us disillusioned.
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-- Story --
Story is a strong point of this drama and it’s divided into 3 phases. In my opinion the “middle” phase was the weakest one, but it doesn’t mean it was bad… simple comparing to starting and ending it was “weaker” but itself it was very good story xD Writers did a good job and in the story you really see the progression of the story and character development.
Story is very good written and we are looking forward to next episode. I don't really liked some parts of the ending, but it may be due to my personal preferences.
-- Characters --
As I wrote before characters are very interesting (main chars and well as side characters) and you got attached to them very quickly. Story from the very beginning is focusing on both main characters - Dong Soo and Yeo Woon and the story of theirs loyalty and friendship is shown though whole drama. Both of them are developed wonderfully and they change with the story, so you really see them changing with the change of the cruel fate.
I'm tho disappointed in some of the side characters (like Ji Sun and Jin Joo - some both main female leads).
-- Actors --
Yes, I'm currently one of the fans of actor Yoo Seung Ho (discovered him thanks to this drama <3 ). At the time of making WBSD, Seung Ho was 17-18 years old, but he played perfectly one of the most ticket/hard character in this series - Yeo Woon. He wasn't only playing Yeo Woon, he become him. Considering young age of actor, he made awesome job.
Same goes to Ji Chang Wook, who played Baek Dong Soo. He was awesome as cheerful spirited "best in Joseon" swordmaster, who matured in time and took very heavy burden on his shoulders.
-- OST --
I absolutely love OST of this drama, even tho some tracks are used too often with certain scenes (for example fighting scenes), so every time you hear them you know exactly that will happen next. Nevertheless OST was awesome and build tension :)
-- Rewatch Value --
I was so in love with this drama, that I was re-watching previous episodes even before I've finished watching whole drama. Rewatch Value 10/10 - mostly for the fighting and/or Yeo Woon scenes <3
If you are looking for very good action packed drama about bromance, friendship, courage and sacrifice - Warrior Baek Dong Soo is perfect choice. Highly recommend it!
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Now to the story. Loved it! I was slightly upset that my fave actor in this drama died. Yoo Seung Ho was the bestest! I loved him in "4th Period Murder Mystery". I loved the acting & thought that all the actors had great chemistry. I love the music b/c of the feeling it gives. I wish that they changed it up a little more, but it was still good. I have new fave actors b/c of this drama. I will watch this historical drama again over others 1. b/c it was short, & 2. b/c I love the actors. I believe that if u like historical dramas then u will like this 1. I actually cried when my fave actor died (which totally means a lot b/c I don't cry for ne reason). Watch it & enjoy!~)
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This review may contain spoilers
I don’t know how much crappy endings that I can take before I finally gave up Kdramas for good. I watched the drama knowing everything that’s going to happen just by watching the first few episodes. I know the destiny that awaits both Dong Soo and Yeo Un -- I can predict everything that’s going to happen to the very last scene that Yeo Un will (and need to) die in Dong Soo’s hand in the drama climax in the end. I was hoping that the scriptwriter will be creative and for once and give us a satisfactory and good ending but I know it’s only a wishful thinking for my part. I never imagine any drama can topped ‘The Legend’ disappointing ending but somehow this drama managed to do that.Overall, the drama has many potential to be an excellent drama. Eye-candy good looking actors, excellent fighting scenes, interesting & mysterious characters, good plot (my goodness, King Yi San & Crown Prince Sado story is in here too), great chemistry between the two male leads and beautiful sceneries and settings and outstanding soundtrack to accompany the drama. But unfortunately, bad script writing and predictable storyline totally ruined the drama great potential. The script somehow seemed to be written by a first-timer here -- the plots are uneven, many undeveloped storyline and ridicules at times. At one point, it being too ridicules and weak without any basis that it’s hard for me to even swallow the plots anymore. I feel the urge to quickly finish the series to take it out from my system once and for all. The many underdeveloped plots make me frustrated to no end -- I was hoping for Crown Prince Sado’s dream to be carrying out but it startled me when the writer just cut the story off when Dong Soo destroyed the map on Ji Sun’s back. What’s the point of Sado’s saying his dying wish if it will be left untouchable right until the end? I can list one by one of the disappointing plot developments for the drama but I guess it will leave a long rambling on how the story failed so much at being coherent.
But despite that, the drama is gifted with such many talented actors. Ji Chang Wook is super adorable as Baek Dong Soo. His love and hate relationship to his bestfriend; Yeo Un is a joy to watch. He is an idiot who is full of himself right until fate forced him to be out of his happy small world to protect the ones that he loves by becoming stronger. While Yoo Seung Ho as Yeo Un is the true gem in this drama -- yes, the boy is so pretty and it’s a privilege for us to see such a beautiful being graced our screen with his glorious gorgeous hair. His conflict of trying to embrace his destiny as an assassin and his desire to protect the one that he cared for is so heartbroken to watch. He is a silent hero is this drama – thus his cruel ending in the drama is so hard for me to take. Yoon So Yi as Jin Joo did an excellent job too. Her crying scenes are amazing and her miseries when her parents die is to look out for. Unfortunately, her love for Dong Soo is left undeveloped that it makes you left wondering what happened to the marriage proposal that happened during their childhood. And Shin Hyun Bin as Yoo Ji Sun is pretty disappointing to watch. Her screen time has reduced so much that she doesn’t seemed to be one of the leads here. Her existence is solely used as a tool of weakness to both of the main leads which I found utterly unacceptable. While the rest of the sub-actors did a good job for their roles. I particularly attracted to the amazing aura of the Sky Lord and Jun Kwang Ryul did a good job as the Sword Saint. And I on the other side very happy with Oh Man Suk’s brief appearance as the Crown Prince Sado. Although his time in the drama is brief, he made his character unforgettable and memorable.
What left me even furious with this drama other than bad scriptwriting is its poor & disappointing ending -- the unjustified death of Yeo Un. I know this is historical drama and somebody ought to die in the end and we can’t actually expect a happy ending but why it has to be as messed up as it is? We all know how much Yeo Un has to suffers and how lonely and miserable his life is. The guilt and longingness that he has towards the people that he hurts and his attempts to make everything right is just left unappreciated and unacknowledged. While everyone brags how wonderful and awesome is Dong Soo (which he truly is), Yeo Un is left in the dark – although in fact he is a better swordsman, martial artist, strategist, leader, mastermind and a friend. Without his clever strategy, Dong Soo will never be able to bring the Defense Minister down. The bad guys have always one step ahead in everything and trampled the good guys but with Yeo Un, he makes sure he is two steps ahead. And yet, all the secret good deeds that he done from the beginning either to keep his friends safe nor saving the day are left unknown to everybody right until the end. In reality, the good deeds that he done far exceeded the evil ones. But why he deserved such an unfair and unjustified death? There’s nothing heroic in Yeo Un’s death, it is just a sad and lonely death that he surely doesn’t deserved. And what makes it even sadder is that he died believing that he doesn’t deserve to live -- that his death will makes the world a better place even to his friends. And what’s more disappointing is how everyone seemed to carry on living happily after his death like nothing happen -- like he doesn’t matter at all. I just don’t understand how the ending can turn out like this. Defying fate supposed to be the main theme of the drama but why the production team decided to throw it out of the windows in the end without acceptable explanations? Are they really desperate to kill one of the characters to give an impact for the ending to make the drama more memorable?
And I hate the double standard and contradictions that seemed to always plague Korean historical dramas. Why good guys always die while the bad guys seemed to have many lives? Why Ji Sun managed to defy her destiny while Yeo Un who tried the hardest to defy them left with a lonely and sad death? Why Hwang Jin Gi, who lives most of his life as an assassins and bandit can be forgiven easily while Yeo Un who has spent more time saving people secretly than killing them doesn’t being given the same chance? Why Dong Soo successfully protects everyone while Yeo Un who is dear to him died by his hand? Why bad guys being given the chance to redemp for their sins and died meaningful deaths while the good guys always died broken hearted with unfulfilled dreams? I swear the storyline for all k-dramas are so predictable that it seemed all the scriptwriters graduated from the same school with the same underlying themes and concepts. The pattern for all the stories is too familiar with each other -- with the same formula with no creativity. It’s just utterly disappointing.
In the end, the drama left me irritated and annoyed. Ridicules and unreasonable ending the drama has to offer makes me wonder what’s the point in everything that happened when the character who deserve happy ending the most die feeling sad and unwanted while everyone move on with their lives like his existence and contributions (NOBODY even know all the contributions that he did in saving their lives or the day) seemed doesn’t matter at all. The ending could be grand and unforgettable but it settled with a questionable ending that everybody in the end left wondering why the writer bothers to tell a story when he/she wanted to end it like it did. What’s the point of pointing out how martial arts is too save people when it is so contradict with the end when Cho Rip betrayed his friend and Dong Soo used martial art to end Yeo Un’s life…
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This review may contain spoilers
A real-life legend who created a martial arts guild in Joseon Dynasty. His group that defends the King is fighting against a mysterious organization of assassins who plot to kill the King... We got all wonderful friendships, bromance, brotherhood and painful rivalry. A lot of sword fights between enemies and comrades who has just silently sitting next to each other. The acting were so moving and beautiful! All the kid actors enchanted me in less than 4 episodes and I wanted to see their journeys. Also their teen actors, all of them portrayed their characters very well and distinct. It has a stunning choreography and epic OST. The politics are quite confusing and complicated, but I ignored it and focused on the characters and their bonds, it works!
Despite my strong praises, there are shortcomings which actually bothered me throughout, plot is quite messy with a lot of unrealistic twists, with long drags in the middle. (SPOILER!) At a point I lost interest when there’s a twist that really diminish the relevance of the leads, and this infuriated me, why they end up to be so unimportant to the story? So I wasn’t enjoying watching the last quarter episodes and finish it just for the goodwill for the characters, as I really loved them in the beginning of the drama.
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The story of this drama was very well developed and everything was spaced out very evenly. You would think that because this drama is so long with 29 episodes that the story would drag out, but no. Never once was I bored, and as soon as one storyline ended a transition was carried out smoothly and the next storyline took off without a hitch. The great thing about this drama is that each character gets his/her own little story. Every one of them have depth, which is why the entire series is so heart-wrenching. If you're wary of watching this because of the episode count, don't worry its entirely worth it. The first couple of episodes may be slow because it's a backstory, but I promise you'll get hooked as soon as the actual story starts.
Oh, dear. The characters. I'm warning you, this is going to be a reaally long paragraph. First of all, let me start off with Yeo Woon. Freaking Yeo Woon. Woon is just so....Agh seriously. Woon is by far the most pitiful character I've ever come across. His fate was to walk a lonely path, and he walked on the path alone until the end. He's someone who's essentially a prodigy. He has amazing martial arts skills, and he has friends and people he can rely on. But he was raised to be an assassin. He has to betray his friends. He likes someone but her heart is taken by his best friend. And yet still he walked that path alone. To be an assassin is to bear someone else's pain. Woon bears so much pain by himself, but in the end no one was there to help him carry his burden. In the end he was the most selfless person out of all of them, but no one knew that except for us pitiful viewers. His character is just so so so sad. He never let himself have happiness. Always blinded by that stupid fate of his. I cry for him, but he's not even real. That's just how pitiful he is. Anyone that watches this will not only pity him, but also love him too. He's supposed to be a bad guy, but we all love him anyway. He just has this cool aura of badass. Not to mention he's played by Yoo. Seung. Ho. Like dayum boi he can really pull off long hair, I'm sure gonna miss it. Then again, both the child actor and the adult actor can pull off Woon's swaggy long hair. I would get into the other characters, but then I would be writing a novel. But seriously, if you're still hesitant, watch the drama for Yeo Woon. You definitely will not regret it. And then of course, are the first generation characters. Honestly Ga-ok, Gwang-taek, and Chun are pretty much Dong-soo, Ji-sun, and Woon. They had a heart breaking story, and I really appreciated the fact that their storyline was actually physically in the drama. They're not just random characters who are just THERE. They have their own story, their own flash backs, and their own plot twists. I also really liked most of the female roles in this drama. They were all independent and stood up for themselves. Sure, they had damsel in distress moments but even if they needed to be rescued they were brave despite the circumstances. I love a good strong female role, so this was very satisfying. The only complaint I have about this is Ji Sun. While I appreciate the fact that she can shoot a bow well and that she's a strong independent woman, she's just so bland. Her face is always the same, sometimes I even think that maybe the episode had stopped playing or something. Her voice also never changes. It's the same with everyone she talks to. No emotion put into it, no nothing. Not to mention she had no chemistry with Ji Chang Wook whatsoever. But yeah, that's all. Yeo Woon. Did I mention Yeo Woon?
I really enjoyed the music. They were paired perfectly with scenes, and thanks to the music during some sad scenes I would burst out sobbing, it was just so sad. During happy scenes, I would laugh and smile along with the characters. And the fight scenes. Oh, the fight scenes. Literally they looked so genuinely epic it made me want to learn martial arts. Except of course, in modern day swords are completely useless against guns. Still, swords may be useless, but there's a reason they call it martial ARTS. Swordsmanship really is an art. It's beautiful, graceful, and deadly. Getting off topic here, but yes I will definitely be downloading some songs. (*cough* Wild by Park Eun Tae *cough*)
Overall, this drama was a beautiful drama. Tragic, but beautiful. I really hated the ending though, so much that I wanted to cry. It's not so much that the ending was a bad one, it was just one that I personally did not like because it was so heartbreaking. I understand though, that it was needed. I got closure. But I sobbed my heart out in that last episode. For a cast of characters that aren't even real. Ha. But that's just what dramas do to us, huh? Anyway, please please watch this drama. I swear you won't regret it. Yeo Woonnie, Fighting!
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This drama focuses not on romance, but more heavily on politics with plenty of action scenes thrown in there for good measure. The action scenes were very well done and I found myself thrilled most of the time, my eyes absolutely glued to the screen. The music matched each moment perfectly and the soundtrack is one that will certainly stick with me for a long time to come.
If Warrior Baek Dong Soo had perhaps been a few episodes shorter, maybe it would have become a masterpiece. But unfortunately it wasn't, and although I was completely in love with this sageuk, I found myself struggling through the last few episodes and there was that small tinge of relief when it finally finished. Because of this, I feel like the rewatch value would be ridiculously low here - I definitely don't see myself having the attention span to go through this again. The memories of the drama are positive ones though.
The acting was brilliant. It's safe to say the reason I chose this drama in the first place was because of Yoo Seung Ho and Ji Chang Wook and I certainly wasn't disappointed. They fit the roles splendidly, and Choi Min Soo played an even more amazing character that simply blew me away.
I laughed, I cried, and I don't regret watching it. Overall I'd say it was a very good watch, I just wish the excitement from the beginning could have made it all the way to the end.
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