This review may contain spoilers
Friends & Enemies at the same time
When I saw that the series consists of 29 episodes I was a little discouraged, but the dynamic rhythms pushed me forward and it was a pleasure. Even the opening soundtrack doesn't get boring after listening to it over and over again.The plot initially revolves around the search for the book of war and the killing of Prince Sado after which the theme shifts to the trade in fake ginseng and the killing of Crown Prince.
After the training of these boys, the small group of new warriors is divided into two: those who side with the prince and those who ally themselves with the assassins. Baek Dong Soo is part of the good guys while Yeon Woo turns his back on them and becomes a real bastard in charge of the assassins.
What did I appreciate?
- At the end of the fifth episode the young people become adults and therefore the actors change. Baek Dong Soo starts to be played by Ji Chang Wook and Yeon Woo by Yoo Seung Ho.
My congratulations on this change because all the new actors were very similar to the younger ones.
- I also liked the team of 3 guys who looked like the 3 Musketeers, while the leader of the assassins looked a lot like Jack Sparrow.
- interesting loves triangles
- Baek Dong Soo goes from an awkward child to a master of swordsmanship and martial arts.
Something I didn't like:
- First: The role of the sword master in this series is disappointing. I thought he will be the most tough character but he proved to be a useless person almost whole time. He stays aside and then mourns his dead friends, he's never there when you need him, he loses the baby then he goes away for 20 years (?)...
- the story goes that the real Prince Sado was not at all the kind person we see here (discordant).
- stupid King, believe everything, says the bastard and concedes everything (events, fights, archery,...), basically a puppet;
- Many warriors have been killed and there are always more and more. Where do they go to find them and recruit them?;
- Ga Ok gets pierced by an arrow and dies, "Jack Sparrow" gets pierced here and there and comes out alive? Nonsense;
- Bad 12th and 13th episodes (many good people died instead of bad guys) how nervous!
- I didn't understand why Yeon Woo wants to be the bad guy at all costs and fights against the people who helped him, even though he sometimes shows compassion and helps them. Being nervous, I admit that looking at how he acted I vented by calling him a "bastard". If the traitor had put his forces at the disposal of good, everyone would have been happy. He made a bad choice that he regrets.
-The Sword Master's daughter becomes a fighter?
-How nervous when they clashed with the bad guys and didn't kill them. In general, I never understood why they don't kill the boss first, instead of wasting strength fighting with the others and then letting the boss escape. Clear example with the son of the Minister of War? Cut off the snake's head.
-I felt sorry for how the story ended. The final "stab" from the third companion, I honestly didn't expect it. It may make sense but equally they could have found another ending.
-Cho Rip should also have been dead, given the blows inflicted on him.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the best historical Korean drama
Even though this drama is about 11 years old and 29 episodes long .. It dint make me feel bored even for a single episode !I am not a big fan of historical dramas .. came her just for my loyalty for JCW and damn he never fails to surprise me with his character portrayal... I was still lost in his charms ! HIs character has been build beautifully over ..since his birth to the next 24 years !! How a disabled child , changed his destiny and became joseon's best sword master !
Talking about YSH , I have seen him in other dramas and dint find him much impressive , but here he made me have second thoughts about him ! Even though I really dint understand why he chose the path of assassins and even after having multiple chances to return , dint get back to his friends (major plot hole).. but it still went in a flow !
I won't deny about that the story had plot holes ... but who cares , if u r ultimately enjoying it ! The major thing that turned me off was absence of strong female characters , motherly figures , developing romance and samini (all about girls)... I am not asking about full fledged romance , but how come most of them were alone without any wives and gfs... The pairing in the end was also a bit off ! I won't say that Samini dint act well , it was just a week character but was given a lot of importance .
The child actors were awesome ! the grand master , ga ok and sky lord trio had a great chemistry . I also really liked the elderlies HJG and Sa mo.... and the background score and OST were really awesome .. I am hooked on it !!
All in all this drama had a good impact on me ! few plot holes can always be forgotten , if u had a good time watching it !! Happy Watching
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I really wish someone was next to me while watching this drama and count how many times I sighed, rolled my eyes, slapped my forehead etc etc. WBDS is one of the most frustrating dramas I've ever seen. Honestly, I don't know how to explain how I feel about it, because I've never had such mixed fellings.
WBDS started deadly slow. If you decide to watch it and you don't have the urge to drop it after the first thirty minutes of episode 1, then kudos to you. You have to be very patient, it takes time for the drama to pick up. The first five episodes are introduction and you'll be pleasured to see Yeo Jin Goo and Park Gun Tae.
What happens after that? A mess. Frankly, this drama was so badly written at times, but so beautifully at others. It has messy, boring plot, but at the same time - it's very emotional and heart-wrenching. Why was it messy? Because there were so many things happening and most importantly - so maaaany people dying. They were passing away like ants, wtf was going on? Yes, I know it's Joseon, but sill, the writer killed 60% of the characters. Is this is a spoiler? I don't think so, it's a historical show after all, you must know that at least one character will find their death. Listen to me, I'm warning you.
WBDS is a political drama and some scenes bored me to death. It was very hard to digest all these tiresome conversations and dialogues. Beware of the fact that at least 40% of the drama is politics and shits. I endured watching them until episode 13-14 (when the drama actually became more interesting) and then I made the skip button my best friend.
The drama has so many plotholes and ridiculous scenes. When I was reading reviews and comments about it, everyone was saying that if we start watching it, we should try out best to ignore these scenes. Well, I did it and it helped to one point, but some dumb actions were too obvious for me to play blind. I just laughed at them, but nevermind.
Despite all of these negative things, the drama has its charms. In the middle of this hot mess, there was something called bromance and it was perfect here. Tragically perfect and painfully beautiful. It will take days for me to say how much I loved Un and Dong Soo's iteractions. They were very cute as kids, but when they grew up and became rivals, the drama started being very enjoyable. The sloppy plot was still there, but they outshined it and made all these 29 episodes worthwile. I also really loved Chun and Gwang Taek's scenes. They were actually similar to Dong Soo and Un and the connection was great!
When it comes to characters, there are ones I really loved and ones I didn't care about. I loved Dong Soo, his stubbornness and his warm heart made him a great main character! Of course he was quite dumb at times (to the point I found him annoying), but I enjoyed watching his adventure of becoming a real warrior. Un was definitely the more interesting character as he wasn't a warrior, but an assassin. Man, he did so many bad things, but I couldn't hate him. Why? Because I knew that he had lost his path and it was very hard for him, too. I do not approve his actions at all, but I do understand him and I feel pity for him. Ah, Un-ah, why did you live like that? As for the girls, it's not a lie that I prefer Jin Joo. God, my poor girl, she suffered so much and she lost so many people who she loved. But she stayed strong. She stayed strong till the very end. She was an amazing heroine which I'll never forget. As for Ji Sun... meh. That's what I'm gonna say.
My favourite character was Gwang Taek and I've been loving him since the first episode. This man deserved everything but gained nothing.
The villians in this show were very typical for every historical drama. I wasn't afraid of them, they were just annoying dumbasses.
The acting was amazing! All actors delivered enchanting performances. The cast was very well chosen, even the child actors resembled the grown up versions of them, this doesn't happen often in dramaland.
WBDS was an enjoyable drama, sometimes boring, sometimes gripping and beautiful. Very slow at first and it remains quite slow till the end. Of course, the actions scenes make up for it. They were done very well.
Overall, do I recommend Warrior Baek Dong Soo? It depends. Are you ready to close your mind and open your heart? If the answer is yes, then feel free to watch it. It lacks well-written plot, but it delivers a lot of emotions and heartbreaking moments.
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Why I like it to write a cute ( !!! ) review........ :)
The facts I like most :-
1) Friendship :- one between baek dong soo - Yeo woon and another between their respective master - gwan tae gae and assasin Chun (choi min soo - i'm his fan ) Other people known them as enemy , but reality tells they are best friend , always care for each other.
2) Action - just amazing. How one handed swordmaster- gwan tae gae fight with a piece of wood, how yeo woon fight with 2 sword, Dong soo's 1 sword fighting Jin ju's archery skill. I swear you have to rewatch Woon 's martial art skill by rewinding.
3) OSTs of the drama - are just mind blowing, you can't stop singing while playing.
4) FAV moments I rewatch :
- Gwan tae - Ji's sword-fighting
-Gan tae gae- Chun's fighting
- Chun's death scene with Jin ju (I see his true smile 1st time)
- Dong soo-Woon 's FIELD walking (ep- 28)
- Woon's death (most heartbreaking scene in kdrama history 4 me)
- Dong soo- Jin ju's Bandage moment (best romantic moment to me )
The facts I dislike most -
- Yang cho rip's cowardness , I hate dialouges he told to Woon in last ep, (hope he also died in drama)
- romance between dong soo- jin su ( jin su look like plastic,no expression - hate her)
-Woon's unrequited love for jin su ( cause eye-pain to me)
-Dong soo's blind eye to Jin Ju's love
- one of the villains come again & again to screen when I thought AHH he died, how come he every time escape death ( forget his name)
I like Yoo Seung Hoo , so I watch it . Though I cried alot for him . but it worths watching how my little crush acts, and takes places in every viewer's heart . That's our Yoo-Hoo :) :) love you forever.
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Not good
This is when the genre lost its direction and was going through a transitional period trying to figure out how to be modern. This drama went through a similar downhill pace as Gye Baek (2011) which both were airing at the same time in July 2011. They also both shared similar problems except this one was edger, cringer and worse.Was this review helpful to you?
Before I started watching this series I noticed its lower rating and couldn’t help but wonder why. Now that I have watched the series I can see why one would not be a big fan of the storyline. I’m not really one of those people, but I would agree that there were occasional plot holes and other parts that needed more explaining here and there. I found though if you can learn to overlook these brief moments, the show itself is actually quite wonderful. No drama is ever perfect and I think Warrior Baek Dong Soo is a good example of that. I have to confess though, when I first started this drama, I felt so completely overwhelmed by all the information they were trying to explain to me within the first 3 minutes, that I almost considered dropping the series entirely. I’m so glad I didn’t though, or I would have missed out on my current #1 favorite Kdrama.
Story
This drama touches a lot on the idea of fate and destiny, which the two male leads struggled with over the course of the series. One was destined for greatness and the other to bring death and suffering. The two eventually cross paths and slowly become the unlikeliest of friends, forming an unbreakable bond with one another. As the show progresses they unfortunately grow apart again but just can't bear to let each other go, knowing they would always rely on and protect each other till the end.
I loved how Warrior Baek Dong Soo focused more on the bromance/friendship between Yeo Woon and Dong Soo rather than just the usual romance. I realize this is more personal, but at times Dong Soo and Yeo Woon’s relationship reminds me of my relationship with my best friend. When I was going through a really rough time in the past year she never gave up on me and tried to pull me out of the darkness I was trapped in. It felt as if I was drowning in an open ocean with waves crashing on top of me and someone constantly trying to grab me and pull me back onto the boat. Despite my efforts to push her away, since I believed it was better for her not to be around me, she continued to stay by me and would never miss an opportunity to let me know she was there for me. I think this is also why Warrior Baek Dong Soo has such a place in my heart, since I could really relate to it.
Please keep in mind though, if you are thinking of not watching this series because you believe there is no romance and just bromance, that is not true! This is not a BL and as the tags/genre list at the top already tell you, there will be some romance. To be honest I was sort of dreading this part since I came from watching multiple BL shows and movies, but I found later on that I wouldn’t really mind if Dong Soo and Jin Joo ever ended up together. Like the world wouldn’t end. I have to say though, in the beginning I didn’t really like Jin Joo, but as she got older I found her to be so amazing (but I’m still rooting for Dong Soo x Yeo Woon). I believe even without the romance, I would still have enjoyed the series just the same, even a bit more. At times it felt as if the writers had to put in the romance just because they had to, or else they believed they would lose viewers. In the past people told me they would rather not watch a series if there is no romance in it. I find that to be a bit crazy to be honest since I feel Warrior Baek Dong Soo didn't need any romance to be good at all.
Acting/Cast
I’m pretty sure that everyone has heard about Ji Chang Wook and Yoo Seung-ho by now, but I found it was really nice to see the both of them when they were young and before they were super famous (Yoo Seung-ho at 18 and Ji Chang Wook at 24). I literally live for Yoo Seung-ho in historical dramas and I think I have developed a little crush on him now due to his amazing acting as Yeo Woon. I mean, have you seen Un? The female leads were also really incredible as well, I really loved both Yoon So Yi and Shin Hyun Bin's acting. Yoon So Yi just fit Jin Joo's role perfectly in my mind and Shin Hyun Bin always looked so poised and composed which was truly amazing to see. In all honesty, I really didn’t like Shin Hyun Bin’s character. I don’t know what it was about Yoo Ji Sun, I just didn’t like her at all until really later on (last episode really). The supporting cast also did an amazing job and I thought everything was well acted. I’m sure the acting is lacking some elements, since of course there will always be things to improve on, but I think the actors did the best they could with what they had and I really enjoyed every second of it.
Music
I really did love the music in Warrior Baek Dong Soo and I found it was quite fitting for the drama overall. Goyeo sung by Shin Sung Woo was such a beautiful song and I swear anytime that song would play I would be in literal tears. I have even downloaded the OST on Spotify since I loved it so much. I would rate the music in this drama as an 10 personally, since I really did enjoy hearing it in the drama and just can't get the songs out of my head. It's actually really good music to study to as well.
Re-watch
I definitely will rewatch this drama since it is one of my favorites, but it is lower than 10 for me since it really made me feel a roller coaster of emotions. What really set me back and made the series earn a 9.5 in plot to me, was due to the ending. I really broke down when I watched it for the first time since I truly felt that the characters deserved so much more. There was just so much happening in the last three episodes I just wasn’t ready. I don’t want to spoil anything but I can only warn you to grab your tissue box and prepare yourself. Please don't let this stop you from watching the drama though! Despite all that has happened in Warrior Baek Dong Soo, I still really enjoyed it for what it was, a more friendship centered drama which I found to be different and refreshing. I really hope you give this series a try and love it as much as I did. It is truly such a great drama!
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This drama is all about the characters and their relationships, how the grow as a human being and so on. The real heart of it all is Yeo Woon and Baek Dong Soo’s friendship (or more depending how you read into it).Their relationship is the core of the drama and what makes it quite addiction to watch I must say. There is a lot of bromance, a whole lot of angst, some pretty people in pretty period clothes and some fun action and sword fighting scenes. There are some cutting of limbs and blood so maybe it isn’t for people who don’t like that or find that triggering but I honestly didn’t find it so bad. If anything I found it a bit too over the top and comical at times.
The angst is a blessing and a cure, as it can be a bit frustrating and repetitive, but the way Yoo Seung Ho does it is so good and even if you don’t agree with Yeo Woon or what he is doing or saying (no one is destined to be evil my boy) you can totally empathies with it, but I also think it’s because Yoo Seung Ho did such a good job with the character. He made the drama what it was! He is the angst in this drama and this drama is very heavy on the angst.
And I think that’s the case for a lot of the characters in the story, it’s the actors that make you like them, not the writing, which doesn’t do that good of a job (especially for the minor characters and the main female lead) to draw these characters out or give them consistent motivations. Some of them were as interesting as a dry brick wall, especially if the actor playing that characters wasn’t up to par.
There is a nice contrast and parallels between Dong Soo and Yeo Woon, and you can also see similar things in their relationship with each of their mentors, the Sky Lord and the Sword Saint. And it that aspect, and the angst, I think the writing did do a good job, while it severely lacked in others. I find it hard to comment on the political maneuvering and the intrigue, because this is an edited version of an old review I did back in the day and back then I did not really care or pay attention to these things as I did now. But it never really stood out to me, in my memory, for being super fun or that interesting to watch.
But I also don’t think it tried super hard with that. I think it was just suppose to be a fun action drama, with some lovable characters, and you just need to sprinkle in some politics for some extra tension in the story. It’s there but it’s never super heavy ether. And it sort of succeeded at that. It was just fun, for the most part; Angsty, but entertaining.
The story did start to drag a bit towards the end, and it did that classic kdrama thing (which isn’t as much of a thing anymore) where it got extended and the writers just had to find new angst and new things to fill in that hole that was created, which didn’t help it at all. It might have made the finale the way it became, which I will say has left some scars, so I don’t go into spoilers. Did I eat upp all that angst and all the drama and tears and whatnot that the writer did through at me though? well yes… I did. I just wanted to see more of Yeo Woon and Baek Dong Soo.
Yet, despite some flaws in the writing I can’t help but note how incredibly hooked I was watching this, how much fun I had and how many emotions I felt while watching this show. It made me the Yoo Seung Ho fangirl that I am today. I will always give Warrior Baek Dong Soo credit for that and for just taking me on a journey that I never got tired of the whole way through. It was also the start of my love and interest in sageuk dramas. It’s such a starting point for me. And I think it might be a good starting point for other people. Because it’s not super complex or super deep, and it’s mainly just about the friendship between these two dudes, and I don’t think it was trying to be anything other than that in the end.
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But there are of course many good points here like cinematography, stunning locations, and the music, it just set the moods and it blended well with the scenes.
This I will still highly recommend if you are into sageuk and action drama and if you are a huge fan of JichangWook (which yours truly is!) and Yeo Seoung Ho.
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Pleasantly surprised
When I started to watch This I was looking for ABL/Bromance like the Untamed And some one recommended this series to me even though It was not exactly what I was looking for once I started I could not stop all the Action scenes were done beautifully and the Acting simply Amazing I have to say the scenes with the two male leads were my Favorite there chemistry was everything my favorite character by far is Woon I found the father /Son relationship between Baek Dong Soo and Hook Sa Mo one of my favorite relationships in the seriesWas this review helpful to you?
I watched this because of Yoo sheung Ho, and though he wasn't the lead Role, he actually nailed it.. I liked his character more than Dong soo.. But in this series you'll get to love the second lead, than the actual lead.
Overall, Great series. I hope to see more of YSH and JCW together..
For me the story revolved on Sky Lord and Sword Saint. who later on become Dong Soo and Eu Woon.
This story is soo heart breaking. Specially in the end part. I don't know what's gotten into the writer's minds but there are other ways to end this story that killing Eun Woo which disgusted almost all of the viewers.
More power! This series is so unforgettable for me.
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SML is great and best thing in this drama
This isn't deep complex drama, story isn't bad but not so high level. it's one more tale about warriors and friendship.Star of the show is SML (name of the show is real mistake, because ML and SML are equals as characters/screen time), he and bromance story are main reasons to complete watching drama. Yoo Seung Ho was great and I don't think anyone could not love him. His character is anti hero and really does bad things but is so complex, good played, emotional (though cold as ice) and charismatic (as visually and as a character) viewer develops very strong second male syndrome (though this time it's not problem, I mean drama doesn't treats SML badly as in many dramas, so you can enjoy watching him without being angry on writers).
I started watching for Ji Chang Wook and though I tend to have second male syndrome, this time I really wanted not to have it and like mainly ML, but it's really difficult here. Ji Chang Wooks character is good, hilarious in first part, strong in second part, but he totally goes to shadow next to Yoo Seung Ho (SML). it's really amazing how this guy with most kind eyes and not so masculine body structure can play cold badass mysterious warrior/killer... he plays so believable, even fight scenes - his fighting skills look more perfect then Ji Chang Wooks (K2/Hiller), and till the end you (I know, I was) are sure he would win.
Many characters and story lines are poor and unbelievable. Worst is SFL (or is she FL?) Ji Sun (Shin Hyun Bin), I've never seen so bad acting and so bad character, she is just stone, she is just there, doing nothing, feeling nothing. only time when she kind of was alive/acted(?) and had chemistry was in the beginning and I thought until the end it would develop, but romantic parts (every romance) was most unlogical and unbelievable things in this drama (though it wasn't so important to care).
P.S. Main Lead has that "kindness" and "being right" thing, as many protogonist heroes, when it becomes just being stupid, but overall he isn't bad character and annoying, has his likeble/loveble/cute things too.
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