ltspada
Arthdal Chronicles Part 2: The Sky Turning Inside Out, Rising Land
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by ltspada
This review may contain spoilers
Legends are realized and good prevails
9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean fictional historical fantasy drama with 12;71-83 minute episodes
First I provide a Unique Synopsis then Review
Synopsis
The second season is a return to the fictional historical kindgdom of Arthdal. While the general timeframe is bronze age, they are dabbling in Iron and Steel so it is on the cusp of those major developments. The story picks up about 8 years after Tagon (Jang Dong Gun) dissolved the union and forms a nation that is ruled by a monarchy. Tagon (Jang Dong Gun) is ruling as king and his wife Taealha (Kim Ok Bin) is the queen and they now have a young son Prince Arok (Shin Seo Woo). All is not well though in the Kingdom of Arthdal as many feel it is a reign of cruelty so rebellion and strife are occurring across the land. Tanya has now settled into her role as the high Priestess and still mostly does Tagon and Taealha’s bidding although there are early hints that she may have other plans. In this early time for the Kingdom there is already hints of a plot developing between Tanya (Shin Sae Kyeong) , Lord Saya (Lee Joon Gi) and Mu Baek (Park Hae Joon). Both Tagon and Taealha seem to have their secrets from each other and are planning ways to secure their power independent from each other. Eunsom (Lee Joon Gi) has united the tribes that are not part of the kingdom and has been warring with Tagon’s forces. The sword (Eunsom), the bell (Tanya) and the mirror (Saya) have all settled into their destinated roles and it is building toward a union possibly and some fateful outcome. This season continues the stories and we see how the destinies of the three play out.
Review
If you liked the first season then this second season will not disappoint. It is more of the characters we all loved, some of them all grown up. If there hadn’t been a 2nd season already out I am not sure I would have enjoyed the first season as well as it didn’t end in such a way they could have just stopped there. But I was fortunate both seasons were already out at the time I was watching them. It s a transportive experience. You really feel like you are spending time in Arthdal or hanging out with Eunsom. When the 2nd season ended I felt like I was missing someone or something. To me that is the sign of all good “take me away” type series. I love so much about this it is hard to know where to start. If you like action the sword and martial art battles are amazing. Like fictional peoples and even new species? All of the tribes in this are fictional although you might find elements that remind you of what you know if this past people or that. But the water people? Maybe Avatar vibes would be closest to that tribe. One of my favorite themes is good versus evil and also where those lines blur a bit. It’s a power struggle some purely for power and some to have the power to protect the people. And there is a romantic element to it although that is not forefront.
I highly recommend this wonderful series and will definitely watch it again in the future. It ends happy depending on which characters you are attached to. And it is tied up just enough to resolve all the major plot points while still leaving an opening for additional season(s).
Spoiler
It is hard to adjust to Eunsom/Saya and Tanya being played by different actors. They did an outstanding job portraying the characters but still every actor brings their own unique aspect to the character, which ever so slightly changes the impression and made it seem like a different person. I struggled the most in the first half of the season but, by the second half, I was used to the new renditions and was able to accept them somewhat as aged versions of the characters I grew attached to in season 1. It would have been better to have the continuity of the same characters but it is a credit to the actors that they were able to carry it off enough that most would be able to accept the changes. Lee Joon Gi, if anything, played Lord Saya even better than Song Joon Ki. But I thought Song Joon Ki was better at portraying Eunsom. For Tanya I thought having Kim Ji Won played the innocent more tribal Tanya very well but the transition to the more somber and powerful Tanya played by Shin Se kyung made sense as she had matured significantly and sort of come into her own.
You have Saya who wants Arthdal and the Queen who also wants Arthdal so there is plenty of material for a 3rd season. I am not sure if they do a 3rd season if I will watch it. I like where the 2nd season ended on a happy note and I like the way Tanya and Ensom are ruling Arthdal and all the people of the former Union. So it really depends the trajectory of subsequent seasons. If it is going to send their world into another evil battle, and I would see harm come to Eunsom and/or Tanya, I am not sure I would want to go there. So, it is nice the 2nd season concluded well enough I can make that decision without dropping the story.
#ArthdalChroniclesSeason2
#TheSwordofAramun
#JangDongGun
#LeeJoonGi
#ShinSaeKyeong
#KimOkBin
#ShinSeoWoo
#ShinSeKyung
#ParkHaeJoon
First I provide a Unique Synopsis then Review
Synopsis
The second season is a return to the fictional historical kindgdom of Arthdal. While the general timeframe is bronze age, they are dabbling in Iron and Steel so it is on the cusp of those major developments. The story picks up about 8 years after Tagon (Jang Dong Gun) dissolved the union and forms a nation that is ruled by a monarchy. Tagon (Jang Dong Gun) is ruling as king and his wife Taealha (Kim Ok Bin) is the queen and they now have a young son Prince Arok (Shin Seo Woo). All is not well though in the Kingdom of Arthdal as many feel it is a reign of cruelty so rebellion and strife are occurring across the land. Tanya has now settled into her role as the high Priestess and still mostly does Tagon and Taealha’s bidding although there are early hints that she may have other plans. In this early time for the Kingdom there is already hints of a plot developing between Tanya (Shin Sae Kyeong) , Lord Saya (Lee Joon Gi) and Mu Baek (Park Hae Joon). Both Tagon and Taealha seem to have their secrets from each other and are planning ways to secure their power independent from each other. Eunsom (Lee Joon Gi) has united the tribes that are not part of the kingdom and has been warring with Tagon’s forces. The sword (Eunsom), the bell (Tanya) and the mirror (Saya) have all settled into their destinated roles and it is building toward a union possibly and some fateful outcome. This season continues the stories and we see how the destinies of the three play out.
Review
If you liked the first season then this second season will not disappoint. It is more of the characters we all loved, some of them all grown up. If there hadn’t been a 2nd season already out I am not sure I would have enjoyed the first season as well as it didn’t end in such a way they could have just stopped there. But I was fortunate both seasons were already out at the time I was watching them. It s a transportive experience. You really feel like you are spending time in Arthdal or hanging out with Eunsom. When the 2nd season ended I felt like I was missing someone or something. To me that is the sign of all good “take me away” type series. I love so much about this it is hard to know where to start. If you like action the sword and martial art battles are amazing. Like fictional peoples and even new species? All of the tribes in this are fictional although you might find elements that remind you of what you know if this past people or that. But the water people? Maybe Avatar vibes would be closest to that tribe. One of my favorite themes is good versus evil and also where those lines blur a bit. It’s a power struggle some purely for power and some to have the power to protect the people. And there is a romantic element to it although that is not forefront.
I highly recommend this wonderful series and will definitely watch it again in the future. It ends happy depending on which characters you are attached to. And it is tied up just enough to resolve all the major plot points while still leaving an opening for additional season(s).
Spoiler
It is hard to adjust to Eunsom/Saya and Tanya being played by different actors. They did an outstanding job portraying the characters but still every actor brings their own unique aspect to the character, which ever so slightly changes the impression and made it seem like a different person. I struggled the most in the first half of the season but, by the second half, I was used to the new renditions and was able to accept them somewhat as aged versions of the characters I grew attached to in season 1. It would have been better to have the continuity of the same characters but it is a credit to the actors that they were able to carry it off enough that most would be able to accept the changes. Lee Joon Gi, if anything, played Lord Saya even better than Song Joon Ki. But I thought Song Joon Ki was better at portraying Eunsom. For Tanya I thought having Kim Ji Won played the innocent more tribal Tanya very well but the transition to the more somber and powerful Tanya played by Shin Se kyung made sense as she had matured significantly and sort of come into her own.
You have Saya who wants Arthdal and the Queen who also wants Arthdal so there is plenty of material for a 3rd season. I am not sure if they do a 3rd season if I will watch it. I like where the 2nd season ended on a happy note and I like the way Tanya and Ensom are ruling Arthdal and all the people of the former Union. So it really depends the trajectory of subsequent seasons. If it is going to send their world into another evil battle, and I would see harm come to Eunsom and/or Tanya, I am not sure I would want to go there. So, it is nice the 2nd season concluded well enough I can make that decision without dropping the story.
#ArthdalChroniclesSeason2
#TheSwordofAramun
#JangDongGun
#LeeJoonGi
#ShinSaeKyeong
#KimOkBin
#ShinSeoWoo
#ShinSeKyung
#ParkHaeJoon
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