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This must have cost a fortune in fake blood!
The main characters were sliced and diced a dozen times each but survived and recovered every seemingly mortal wound until they were finally able to kill them in the last episode (spoiler).One can easily understand, since the very beginning, that this historical drama (set during the years of transition between the Goryeo and Joseon dynasty) is founded on fighting scenes. In fact, they had some legitimately cool shots of angry, pirouetting men with big swords and fancy headbands. Also, there is a strong undercurrent of honorable machismo throughout.
Fighting scenes enthusiasts will surely like this drama.
The first and the second strife of princes are true historical events here narrated with liberties and a very soft political commentary on absolute monarchy and power established on the bloody sacrifice of common people.
All of it is topped with a sprinkle of bromance here and there, a spray of father-son relationship (either problematic or prematurely truncated) and the required damsel in distress (available in a triad of queen, sister and kisaeng madame who once cross-dressed while rebelling against the king).
I hardly cared for any of the characters, so I can say the writing was not my cup of tea, although I greatly appreciated the fanservice in the first episode with the two hunks smiling and bathing together.
I also loved that my boo, Woo Do-hwan (We met for The king: eternal monarch and he really became my sole reason to keep watching that) smiled a lot and had beautiful, shiny, very manly long hair.
The last, but definitely not the least, honorable mention goes to Jang Hyuk who always slays. I love him!
His last scene is the coolest.
Female Empowerment Score 1/5
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sometimes boring illogical
I don't know if this is the directors' idea in terms of acting, but I didn't like it. Weak, and the actors know how to act, it's not the first time I've watched films with them, but in this drama Woo Do Hwan and Yang SeJong acted weakly... and there are inconsistencies in the script and a generally illogical script in places. ..Seo Hwi is kind of weak-willed like his sister, but okay there, SEO Yeon's providence can be attributed to fear and timidity.. Okay but, she had so many times the opportunity to escape like her brother Hwi, to save her, but for some reason he stubbornly continued to obey the rules
Like Nam Sun Ho, if he was such a friend, he could not have set up Hwi and Yeon or at least raised her from her father's estate after all.. after all, there was a place for her to stay, in Ihwaru, but no, the scriptwriter or director made a soapy illogical drama out of this.. and so it would have turned out to be a pretty good story.. and so only illogicalities and snot
I liked how Jang Hyuk played, he would have made a really excellent and fair king
Also the bromance between Lee Bon Won and SEO Hwi, it turned out well, they could have become good friends for better than Seo hwi and Nam Sun Ho..
They just made the hero Seo Hwi a little cowardly..you can understand his tragedy, but after that he just beat around the bush instead of taking and ending it.
Like Nam Sun Ho, he also hated his father so much that he couldn't get rid of him earlier..it's illogical or was it intended? Slightly cowardly, doubting heroes?..
Also the scene where SunHo allegedly regrets the death of Seo Yeon, like he loved her it turns out..yeah, but according to the script his love was somehow not visible..again they made him a stupid boy..or was it intended?
I can't say that this is bad acting, no, I've seen many in different films, they play great, rather it is an unsuccessful idea of the director in expressing emotions "so and so" as well as scenes where there is no logic..
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The story of this one is unforgivably dumb
Up to about the halfway point I really enjoyed watching this k-drama. Great actors and acting, good cinematography a decent script. But then the story really took a nosedive and I started loathing My Country for all the things that just did not make any sense, the gratuitous killing of main characters for the sole purpose of generating an emotional response, etc. At that point, given the opportunity, I would have strangled the writers of this drama. Rather than simply murdering the main villain which would not have been a problem and would have solved all problems, the protagonist's elaborate plot to get the villain into trouble involves stabbing himself, putting a couple of arrows into a collaborator, etc. This insane plan actually works out, ... for about a millisecond, before the villain is back in villain action. Not surprisingly, and for no apparent reason the hero dies at the end. Come on! I hope that this review contains enough spoilers to deter many of you from wasting your time on this k-drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Unpopular Opinion.This show is partially Hit and partially Miss.
Production,direction and cinematography in good levels.Nohing stunning.Good but basic. For a 2019 Drama i expected more.The Music Department failed, big time, to dress this Drama properly.
Songs and music was excellent but way too modern for a Historical Drama.Unfortunately a total misfit.Especially the theme over all the fighting scenes!!Watch just one of those scenes and you will understand what exactly iam talking about.That music carpet is the perfect match to a modern action movie or series.Totally out of place when you watch a swords fighting scene.Many times i found myself distracted by it and i was really annoyed.
One of the main reasons i started watching this was Yi Bang Won.And yes,these days this historical figure is my fixation so i want to watch anything related to him.
Jang Hyuk is such a charismatic and gifted actor,he managed to own his character without been consumed by his over written role.
His acting deserves a 10 but the overall is an 8 just because to me everyone's acting felt too much.Many times the main characters exaggerated.I don't blame the actrors but every role was over- dramatically written.And i guess the actors acted accordingly.Over the top.
I will not talk about the romance as this factor never gets my interest.Iam not interested but every drama has a bit of romance so i just have to suck it.During the romantic moments my attention was somewhere else.It is not heavy though.Is the kind of romance where after one kiss and a long time separation(which you have been in hell during this period)you still "love" and thinking of that one person.Oh well,this plotline never works for me.But i guess if you like it i can say the romance was cute and sweet.
I came here after watching Six Flying Dragons,Tree With Deep Roots and few movies about the same historical era and characters..So if you have watched those 2 Dramas you are familiar with the historical frame,events and people who changed the country.
I was excited to watch another Drama as i wanted to view any aspect of the History and wanted to take a bit of something from every movie or series.
Of course this is loosely based on history but mostly is fictional.But this was ok with me.
I was too spoiled by the above Dramas so i was expecting to watch well executed schemes, heavy politics,plans,plots,traps and intrigue.
The viewer here is just assuming all these.Everyone has his own agenda but we get to see only the results,the outcome, without knowing the previous steps taken or the procedure.I wanted to be a part of it.To make my brain think along with the protagonists,to scheme with them all the way.This detail took the fun out for me.
The same applies to the time jumps this drama has.Nothing is explained about what happened during those missing years,we don't get any hints and we just assume the leads became stronger,richer,smarter..whatever.No i want to experience all the changes and events and reasons why the heroes and the vilains became like that at the end.I want to see their progress,their interactions,a part of the life they had before you throw me back to..present.After all is a 16, over one hour each, episodes drama so you had plenty of time to expand the story further.
I thought the drama is all about ideals and dreams about a new better country.
Maybe iam too dumb but i never understood the main reason the 2 friends drifted apart.I mean the real reason they ended up enemies.
All the misunderstandings,the grudges,the decisions they made was just too childish to me.
The story has a bad revenge plot.Both main leads supposed to"fight" for their ideals ,which never were clear enough during the whole drama.They chose parts without any ground,led only by circumstances.And they both ended up hating and wanting revenge on the same person.But still were enemies!Of course although their friendship was in bad terms all the time,we clearly see it was too strong to break,and they dearly loved each other.But as others well said,all this was just a repetitve pattern which stressed and tired me so much.So the whole "friends to enemies"trope was lame,bad executed and unnecessary to me.And sadly this is the main core of the story and the reason failed to excite me,overall.
Also too many flashbacks.And i don't mean those which explains the current situation and events.I mean just the same scenes all over again and again played as a broken record inside characters heads.I fed up because didn't add anything to the plot.The definition of fillers!
For me literally everything ended at episode 12.It should.It didn't..How on earth you pierce one's body with a sharp sword,through and through and he is still alive?That was the final drop for me.I overlooked dozen of those scenes where heavily injured human beings stand up and walk after 5 minutes.Yes this drama has many unrealistic scenes.But this one..too much,way too much to take.Im sorry for the mild spoiler.
Also one of the revenge plots was one of the many unreasonable issues in this drama.Until that point revenge made-kinda-sense.After was just crap.The new plan was to take revenge on the person who killed the one you wanted to kill for years.The target of your own revenge.Instead of been thankful,you get mad.Well im sorry for my plain thinking here.You lose your integrity the moment the seed of revenge grows inside your heart.Is a mean to an end.That simple.Anyhow as i said everything went downhills really fast after the 12th episode.As if wasn't a hot mess already.
The Second Lead Syndrome strikes again.After Lee Bang Won,obviously my fave char,Nam Sun Ho was the second best thing to love.More Complex and deeper character,made the most rational and hard decisions compared to Seo Hwi,who behaved in the most childish way from episode 1 to 16.Sun Ho does everything in his power to protect Seo Hwi for so many years.Yes he chose the hard way,nevertheless he was only been appreciated at the very end..He is a great friend concealing his motives and let everyone think he just want to harm Seo Hwi.Well at some point to me ended to be the fool .At the end iam not really sure if both knew what they were fighting for.The screenwriter did a very poor job creating the characters.Its really a shame.
I couldn't feel for our main lead,couldn't root for him.He was one of the most annoying hero characters ever.He was too superficial,too melodramatic without any character development.Seo Hwi was never the right material to make a great leader.He was always the dog,barking and biting and chasing Prince's tail.Unfortunately Nam Jeon was all right about this.
For me there are not good and bad guys.It was one and the same.Just indifferent.And this makes a drama ..not good.
The main villain(as i can name more than one here.The "bad guy"'s role is confusing depending on which side you stand for)always keeps his position and power.Always is been excused by the(very weak and occasionally coward)King who turns a blind eye,supporting Nam Jeon,like a fool. The whole world is falling apart and the King is like "who dares to oppose me?"Nam Jeon always threatening to kill our protagonist.And vice versa of course.And the years are passing by and they keep throwing threats to each other and running into an endless loop.Too tiring,indeed.
I don't care about the morality of the characters.I rarely judge them and to be honest most of the time i do love those who live in the grey areas.What annoyed me the most was the lack of depth of Sun Ho's char.You named him your main lead so Mr Writer you had to work harder on building this char with many layers.How you expect to make a successful Drama wihout strong characters?You cannot count only on Prince,who lets be honest carried the whole drama on his back.
Epilogue:
I gave a perfect 10 to SFD.A well deserved 10.Here the 7 is the best i can give.For all the reasons explained.I cannot solely rate this drama based only on the 2 good characters in it,but only as a whole.And it failed me so the 7 ,which is my average rate, is what it gets from me.If in your watch list is SFD and TWDR,watch those 2 as you can easily skip this one.As i said i mostly started this because of the Prince Lee Bang Won.I finished it only because of Jang Hyuk's amazing performance.So if you are a fan of him is the only reason i can recommend this drama to you!
P.s.The two hottest men holding fans,always and forever be Lee Bang Won and Wen Ke Xing from Word of Honor!
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Definitely worth my time! The whole drama is an epitome of hardwork (which came from all the people behind the great drama) the cast did well. I couldn't ask for other actors or actresses to portray/play their parts. The visuals... ohmygod. The visuals are really great. It seems very real and authentic (to the point that you would dream of blood everywhere around you during your sleep haha jk). The OST and even the background music gives you the hype (especially during those confrontation scenes before the fight scenes, that eye to eye contact between the male leads haha).What caught my attention the most and instant realizations:
1. The romance or love story between Hwi and Hui-Jae was found at the beginning and ending (ONLY) so if you're expecting kilig or romance between these two, better stop or else you'll feel disappointed. Not the lovey-dovey thing.
2. Instead, look for the BROMANCE. damn. Both Hwi and Seon Ho nailed it. You'd never find a friendship like theirs in real life I guess. Imagine being stabbed by a friend and still choose to cherish him/her. Imagine being misunderstood, hated by them yet you know deep inside that what you did was really for them. Imagine having the same fate or ending with your friend. (Ooops ?? sorry)
3. The actor portraying Bang-won is the best! ??
4. Fast pacing especially from Episodes 12-16.
5. I'll never get tired of Yang Se-Jong ??
6. A lot happened in those 16 episodes!
7. I CANNOT BELIEVE WHY THIS IS UNDERRATED! I CANNOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE RATINGS ARE LOW. I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT WHY WAS THIS QUIET? WHY IS EVERYONE NOT MAKING NOISE ABOUT HWI'S AND SEON HEO'S BROMANCE! HAHAHA
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Bromance in 14 century
The greed of the powerful is insatiable. Amidst the political treachery and historical legends, the plot revolves around fictional characters who try to break their unbreakable bonds resulting in more bloodshed and mess. Each one is searching for recognition or revenge and all succumb in the end to emotion and loyalty. A wonderful drama which had me shipping all the male leads. When they look into each others eyes you can sense their bromance and camaraderie, but I just want them to hug and kiss and say saranhaeyo! This is the 1st time I am watching Yang Se Jong drama and I can’t wait to see more of his other works. He used his real long hair too and he looks so fine in this historical drama.Was this review helpful to you?
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Acting
ALRIGHT LIKE WTF!!! This acting is JUST GREATT! the story is so beautiful its not my favorite all time drama but its my favorite for best acting. Not at least one person was bad at acting even the guest roles were good. the acting look so real and ill tell you this they are PROOSS!!! LIKE WOOWWWWWWWWWW! the story is amazing to! I highly recommend you watch Six Flying dragons first and then this drama, Since i watch SIx flying dragons before i watched this i know everything thats going around. SIx flying dragon is about finding the joseon dysnasty with some of the same charectors, while this drama is the warrior life. Really great drama!Was this review helpful to you?
What a ride!
This drama is based on historical facts, so i was not totally new to the story (aka six flying dragons..).But the acting guys!! That is mainly what makes me rate this drama this high, considering that i would not rewatch it (usually the higher i rate a drama the higher is the rewatch value).
The bromance was epic, but morever JANG HYUK acting, he was really born to be an actor, sooo talented. I hated his character but i could never deny how much CHARISMA he brought to this controversial character.
This drama was Great, the ending was also realistic. Let's all have a meaningful and good life, is being powerful that important ? In actual facts Yi Bang Won died at 54, was it really worth it?
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Could be better
A lot of good acting and costumes in this drama, The fight scenes were well done (although they never seemed to die no matter how many times stabbed or cut or cut with a sword. Good scenes of romance between the lead, the actress is ever so beautiful.Spoiler:
Poorly written script, two friends fighting each other ok fine. But if your sister is held hostage instead of illogically putting yourself in danger rescue here and run away or at least hie her. would have made the story more believable.
Next it takes 8 1/2 episodes to explain the relationship between the inn owner and the beautiful lead actress. What's the purpose of the secrecy. How does lead actress end up with the future queen? When the sister gets killed, she runs into the path of the killers, most people would run away, Then the bodyguard stands and watches her getting attacks and does nothing while here brother struggles to save her. Could have been more realistic in most scenes and in the plot of the show and it would have been a better watch.
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Dramas of this quality are not common. The story balances exceptionally well the personal struggles of each character and the politics at play. The pacing is perfect. Although it deals with heavy content, My Country is a character driven drama that is full of raw emotion. It’s because behind the dark politics, it tells a simple story, the story of the absolute and heartbreaking friendship of two young men. And it does it in such a meaningful way. The series also displays some of the greatest action scenes ever seen on the small screen - the one-take action battle scene of episode 3 is legendary, to name just one of them.
My Country is a masterpiece.
Among those great characters, Seo Hwi shines brightly as a fascinating hero. He is an introvert person, but a flamboyant warrior. He's sad, but warm. He's a kind and sweet man, but he can kill without hesitation to protect his loved ones. Because his best friend Nam Seon Ho betrays him in the beginning of the story, he loses everything. Then, his journey becomes more and more painful, so painful that he almost loses himself along the way. Despite that, Hwi stays loyal to his friends. Always.
At the same time, Hwi's way of capturing the ambiguous prince Lee Bang Won’s attention is also riveting throughout the drama. In fact, the more we know Hwi, the more we understand why Nam Seon Ho and Lee Bang Won are so passionate about him.
Yang Se Jong created such a beautiful hero. No other young actor could have brought such depth to Seo Hwi. He expresses in such a detailed way the multiple layers of his character. He can act extremely soft as well as incredibly intense, and all the nuances between those extremes. His fierce and desperate acting is extraordinary in the two episodes when he rushes for his sister and confronts his enemy Nam Jeon! On top of that, he is also majestic in action scenes.
During the drama, Yang Se Jong is the actor who manages the best to make us feel the weight of the years, hence the weight of the suffering. Hwi at the end looks so much older compared to the beginning. He still looks strong, but so vulnerable at the same time. It's very rare to encounter a young actor capable of showing this kind of deep transformation.
As Hwi, Yang Se Jong captivated me with his every breath and move. He delivered an extremely touching and powerful performance.
Yang Se Jong also has great chemistry Woo Do Hwan, Jang Hyuk and Ahn Nae Sang, who are all good. I like Seon Ho, even if he is a more cliched character - his whining scenes in the last part of the drama felt a bit unnecessary, but Seon Ho has his moments. From the leads to the supporting cast, everyone acts very well. Im Gyo Jin and Ji Seung Hyun especially are really compelling as Hwi’s close friends. Director Kim Jin Won is of course to thank for this overall perfection.
Well, I can't wait to watch My Country again. In the meantime, I will keep listening to the gorgeous OST over and over.
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Scintillating watch albeit weak plot resolution
My Country is a really entertaining watch for sure despite my average ratings. It’s knee smacking screen play , emotionally appealing and very easy on the eyes even with all the gore and blood .I appreciated the entertaining first episode as first episodes for saeguks are notoriously known for being doze fests. I also liked how character driven this action piece was even with all the swords and blood. The friendship and military intrigues spiced with intense villainy were really nice to watch and kept me anticipating the next episodes. In fact -The first five episodes were all perfect with killer quotes that really set the mood for the show to be thought provoking and hinting at a profound watch but alas....
I advise those contemplating watching My Country to read up or at least brush up on the history of Goryeo and the transition period into the Joseon Dynasty . If you don’t - you may be a deer in the headlights especially post episode 5. ( watching Six Flying Dragons May help ) They throw around historical incidents like cheap candy with no context or reverance . I actually resented that aspect quite strongly . One point gone .
Furthermore- the insertion of romantic currency was weak , unimaginative and pointless. Romance does a lot to bring dimensions to not only characters but the story as whole.Unfortunately this was done poorly and ended up taking away from an already dynamic screenplay. There was a lot of romance story lines picked like a love triangle but poof! Drooped! Did Sun Ho like Yeon ? Who did Chi Do date? Where was Bang Won’s wife whom in history was quite instrumental? Etc. Two points now gone .
The portrayal of historical contributive factors to Joseon Dynasty became highly problematic in the end . For example- Gibangs were important as information safe houses and were quite instrumental in the founding of the Joseon nation . And this sense was achieved in some aspects but only for it be diluted into a personal dating service for a character was just nauseating . Three points gone .
The acting for the most part was the shows crowning moment . Jang Hyuk was spectacular with his fan and top knot although I think he was wasted . Ahn Nae Sung was just brilliantly horrible as the villain and Woo Do Hwan really acted his butt off ! I really hope he gets some award for his performance because he was VERY VERY GOOD. The Orange Marmalde girl was just marmalade boring with her dry toast love interest in Yang Se Jong who should stick to modeling . Other than those two - everyone was excellent!
As for the music - I really didn’t like it all. I get they made this drama for a younger audience and so on and so forth but EDM in a Goryeo fight scene was just whack . The songs are personally forgettable. 4 points gone.
Costumes were really good though . Apltly portrayed the times and military conquests. One always had to be battle ready and their clothes really showed this urgency.
OVERALL- this was a good show to watch live and I am glad I did watch it live because binge watching would not have softened the blows of the flaws. The plot resolution was slightly bad and the insertion of the plot twist in the last two episodes was very blindsiding to the viewer in a not so good way . It’s an entertaining watch though but should not be a first watch for a saeguk or a Goryeo - Joseon dynasty .
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Within the first few minutes of the intro I knew this drama was going to be good with massive potential but the drama did not meet my expectations. The intro was a very strong start to this drama. The cinematography was amazing and the fight scenes were carefully planned out. Although this is a 'bromance' drama the 'bromance' was a bit lackluster in my opinion. The friends - enemies was way too quick so I didn't warm up to the 'bromance' or the characters yet throughout majority of the drama. The only character I thought was written well was Lee Bang Won (Jang Hyuk). I think Jang Hyuk - an experienced actor played a big part in his character being the most interesting on screen. The romance was very subtle of course since the main focus of the drama is the relationship between the lead guys but the romance was so subtle it wasn't needed. I like romance but if its going to be almost never there that whats the point in adding it to the drama?. I decided to give it an 8 cause believe it deserves a high score but I wanted to be emotionally invested in the characters. So many people were touched watching this drama but I wasn't. The lead actors have amazing potential I look forward to their future projects.
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