The East Palace

When Complexity Becomes Clutter

I really wanted to love The East Palace. The first episode sold me on a fascinating premise: imagine John Constantine transplanted into the Joseon era. A protagonist who can confront spirits, travel to the underworld, and investigate supernatural mysteries inside a royal palace sounded like the perfect combination of political intrigue and horror.

Unfortunately, the series gradually mistakes complexity for accumulation.

Instead of developing the ideas it already introduced, the story keeps piling on more spirits, more shamans, more rituals, more hidden villains, and more supernatural revelations. But adding more elements doesn't automatically make a story deeper. It only makes it busier.

The biggest issue is that the supernatural world becomes vague, complicated, and cumulative.

The rules are never clearly established. Even by the end, I couldn't confidently explain what the female lead's actual gift was. Could she see spirits? Was she a shaman? A medium? Did she possess mystical knowledge? The series never clearly defines her abilities or their limitations, and when the protagonist's powers remain undefined, the world's internal logic suffers as well.

As more episodes passed, every new revelation felt less like meaningful world-building and more like another layer added on top of an already confusing mythology. By the time another family member turned out to have supernatural connections, my reaction wasn't surprise anymore—it was exhaustion.

This also hurts the mystery.

One of the greatest risks of combining palace intrigue with supernatural horror is that the audience must trust the narrative's internal logic. Here, that trust slowly disappears. Why spend time analyzing clues if the next episode can introduce another spirit, another ritual, or another hidden character to redirect the story? At that point, the mystery stops being an intellectual puzzle and becomes an act of faith.

The repetitive structure doesn't help either. Investigate a mystery, enter the underworld, fight with a sword, return, and repeat. Instead of expanding the supernatural possibilities, the series keeps relying on the same formula.

What disappointed me most wasn't the ending itself—it was the feeling that my investment of time wasn't rewarded. Eventually, I lost so much interest that I skipped ahead to the final episode simply to see how it ended. That's never a good sign.

The East Palace doesn't fail because it lacks imagination. It fails because it mistakes quantity for depth. A great story isn't measured by how many mysteries, villains, or supernatural entities it introduces, but by how well it develops and rewards the ones it already chose to tell.

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Too Chicken For Horror? You’ll Still Survive This Royal Bloodbath.

I went into this show blindly, and as someone who usually avoids the horror genre, I had zero expectations. However, this show absolutely shattered my bias—it was incredibly entertaining and engaging from start to finish. If you are hesitant to watch because you dislike horror, don’t be. It is not genuinely scary; the "fear factor" relies mostly on uncanny VFX and is highly comparable to Stranger Things. That said, if you are squeamish about gore, shock value, and heavy bloodshed, definitely watch it during the day!


What I appreciated most was the tight, direct storytelling. Despite a complex plot, the narrative left no room for confusion. Every twist and turn felt entirely natural. With a lean 8-episode run, the pacing was perfect—nothing felt dragged out, every subplot served a purpose, and the show actually answered the questions it raised. The plot twists were so brilliant that I audibly gasped multiple times.

The main characters were incredibly likeable. I especially loved how brave and competent the female lead was. In most dramas, the heroine tries to help but ends up being a nuisance; here, she was a genuine asset. The antagonists were plentiful and beautifully chaotic. Aside from the two leads, I hated practically everyone, which left me unsure of who to root for—and strangely, that made me love the show even more. It is refreshing to move away from typical, morally perfect heroes. In a royal setting, true innocence is impossible, and this show excels by avoiding the cliché of clear-cut villains and heroes.

Overall, this is an excellent, breezy watch regardless of your usual genre preferences. The cast did a phenomenal job, particularly the male lead, whose spiritual scenes and acting were completely out of this world. Give it a try and see for yourself

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Blood Makes Kings, Sins Make Ghosts

In a kingdom where the dead refuse to stay silent, Gu Cheon, a ghost slayer who walks between worlds, and Saeng Gang, a court lady cursed to hear the voices of restless spirits, are pulled into the East Palace, where something ancient and sinister has taken root. As buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the two find themselves trapped in a danse macabre of vengeful ghosts, royal conspiracies, and an evil lurking behind the throne. Some palaces are built on stone. This one is built on secrets.

At its core, The East Palace is a reminder that the past is never truly buried. Every hidden sin casts a longer shadow, every act of cruelty leaves a debt unpaid, and karma always finds its way home. As Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang unravel the palace's darkest secrets, they slowly realize that the most terrifying monsters are not always the spirits seeking revenge, but the people who gave them a reason to return in the first place.

The premise itself is not groundbreaking. It explores ideas that have appeared in other productions, and I even caught similarities to Stranger Things. Personally, I never saw that as a problem. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, The East Palace takes familiar concepts and dresses them in hanboks, palace intrigue, and Korean folklore, creating an atmosphere that feels distinct enough to stand on its own. One of the things I appreciated most was how accessible it is. The drama introduces different kinds of 귀 (gwi), explaining what each spirit is, how it comes to exist, the dangers it poses, and how it can be dealt with. Even if you know very little about Korean ghost folklore, the storytelling makes it easy to follow without feeling like a history lesson.

The Realm of Gwi was another fascinating addition. This blood red spirit world where vengeful ghosts dwell felt like a twisted mirror dimension, and I could not help but think of Stranger Things' Upside Down. The mechanics behind Gu Cheon's ghost slaying also made things more interesting. To fight spirits in the Realm of Gwi, he has to temporarily die first. Only after finishing his mission can he return to life, assuming nothing goes wrong. It is a simple concept, but it gives every journey into that realm a genuine sense of risk.

Gu Cheon left the biggest impression on me precisely because he is far from perfect. The drama never tries to paint him as an untouchable, effortlessly cool hero. Instead, he is afraid of dying, sarcastic, lazy, and constantly acts like he wants to avoid responsibility, even though he almost always ends up doing the right thing anyway. Those contradictions make him feel incredibly human and surprisingly relatable. Nam Joo Hyuk portrayed him with the right balance of emotional vulnerability and unintentional comedy. While he has proven many times that he can excel as the stoic, composed lead, I genuinely think these sarcastic, slightly lazy, and deeply human characters are where he shines the brightest. I watched this drama because of him, and I stayed because of him.

The only thing that oddly distracted me was how muscular he looked in hanbok. Don't get me wrong, the man has one of the finest oppa physiques out there and I fully appreciate it. Somehow, though, his modern, athletic build felt slightly out of place in traditional royal clothing. Maybe it is the tailoring, maybe it is just me. One thing I also kept wondering throughout the drama was whether Gu Cheon could actually fight in the real world. Inside the Realm of Gwi, he slices through spirits with confidence. Outside of it, he often looks like someone who would lose a fistfight against an ordinary person.

Saeng Gang turned out to be exactly the partner Gu Cheon needed. While he handles the supernatural threats, she investigates palace politics, buried truths, and generations of resentment. She is the one constantly putting scattered puzzle pieces together, especially when Gu Cheon's laziness threatens to derail the investigation. I appreciated that the drama never reduced her to a damsel waiting to be rescued or a female lead whose only role is to emotionally support the hero. She actively moves the story forward and even throws herself into danger to save Gu Cheon. Despite her courage and competence, the drama still allows her moments of vulnerability. Beneath everything, she remains a daughter longing for warmth and family. Roh Yoon Seo portrayed those different sides of Saeng Gang beautifully, and her expressions always felt natural for the character.

The Emperor ended up being one of the drama's most compelling characters. He constantly pulled me in different directions. At first, I thought he was simply another ruthless king who built his empire on blood. Then I saw moments that suggested he genuinely wanted to become a wise ruler. Then he massacred innocent sick people, and I immediately went back to seeing him as a monster. Then more secrets surfaced, revealing layers upon layers of guilt, regret, and impossible choices. He became neither hero nor villain, but someone permanently trapped in the grey space between the two. He loved his children, yet his love was shaped by the same violence that built his throne. Realizing that his son had followed the same bloody path broke him, leading him to make another horrifying decision because he believed there only needed to be one emperor stained by fratricide. Cho Seung Woo was phenomenal. I never once questioned his performance.

The supporting cast was equally dependable, although I do wish the Crown Prince had been explored much further. Kwak Dong Yeon is an actor who thrives when given a substantial character arc, whether he is playing someone kind or someone terrifying. Here, however, the drama barely scratches the surface. We only get fragments of his relationship with the Emperor before he becomes the primary akgwi. As the central evil spirit, he never quite felt intimidating enough. Instead of becoming a memorable final obstacle, he often came across like an NPC enemy waiting for the protagonist to defeat. I genuinely think the limited episode count worked against the character. Either he needed much more development, or the role should have gone to someone whose screen presence alone could create a stronger sense of menace.

Visually, The East Palace is gorgeous. The entire production has an artistic quality that constantly pulled me into its world. There were several moments where I found myself wondering how the writers and visual directors even came up with some of these ideas. That said, the visual effects are not flawless. Certain CGI shots were noticeably artificial, and the final battle relied so heavily on green screen that it unintentionally became more comical than exciting. Thankfully, the soundtrack helped maintain the atmosphere. One particular background track stood out so much that I actually tried searching for it after finishing the episode.

I also went into this drama with certain expectations because I heard the writer also wrote The Guest, which remains my favorite Korean horror drama. Unfortunately, despite all the ghosts and supernatural elements, The East Palace never actually scared me. Even as someone who scares quite easily, the jump scares barely landed, and most of the ghosts were more interesting than frightening. Ironically, my favorite supernatural creature was not scary at all. Ggeomeoksali completely stole every scene it appeared in. This tiny gwimae looked like a haunted little Labubu and instantly became my favorite character. If they ever release an official plushie, I will probably be first in line.

As the story approaches its conclusion, the drama reveals twists upon twists, uncovering generations of buried sins, painful truths, and karma finally demanding repayment. It was genuinely enjoyable to piece everything together, although I do wish those revelations had been given a little more room to breathe. The ending maintained a steady pace from beginning to end. It was neither anticlimactic nor the explosive climax I had imagined. Instead, it left me sitting there, quietly replaying everything in my head. The final moments provide enough answers to feel satisfying while leaving behind just enough lingering questions to keep the story alive after the credits roll.

In the end, The East Palace is an entertaining and surprisingly digestible supernatural sageuk. It may not redefine the genre or deliver unforgettable horror, but it succeeds in building an atmospheric world where ghosts, guilt, and palace politics intertwine naturally. It is immersive, visually striking, easy to follow, and anchored by characters who carry both the emotional weight and the mystery. Sometimes, that is more than enough. After all, the scariest ghosts are often the ones born from human hands.

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I feel like they didn't know where they were going, or maybe they did and I just got lost

I think the start of this was great. The idea feels different. While it does remind you of previous Netflix shows in the supernatural/horror realm, the idea is different enough to stand out on its own.

What I Liked/Enjoyed
🧸👻The Ggeomeoksali - Regardless of differing opinions on the story itself, I think we can all agree that the Ggeomeoksali was the MVP of this entire show. I saw someone refer to it as a Joseon labubu, and I laugh every time I remember that. I missed him when he disappeared in the latter episodes

🧸👻Gu Cheon as a character - I think most stories would portray someone with his backstory as brooding and depressed. I like that he wasn't that. While he clearly has his burdens to carry, he is actually quite funny. He's rude, dismissive, lazy, and complains about just about everything. He'll do what needs to be done, but you will sure as all heck hear him complaining about it throughout. His attitude brings in an unexpected comedy to this story

🧸👻Saeng Gang - While I do feel like the story could have used her and her abilities (both archery and shamanic powers) better, I feel like she was a decent female character. They didn't write her perfectly, but they didn't make her a constant liability to the ML. She could hold her own, and I love that.

I've seen some say that she was a bitch, I think that, like Gu Cheon, she had a chip on her shoulder. She was guarded and angry, all with good reason. Despite dressing like a court maid, she was also a noble and a princess. Given the time period, initially, she acted in the same way most noble ladies did towards commoners. She also obviously changes for the better later. We shouldn't ignore that

🧸👻The relationship btwn Saeng Gang and Gu Cheon - I quite enjoyed their banter, and they generally worked quite well together. The story did seem to subtly push a blooming romance between them, though. Not sure how I quite feel about that, but I'm leaning towards not being a fan of it. I enjoyed them quite a lot as reluctant to willing partners. The ending does hint at a possible 2nd season, so I'd have appreciated it if the (very subtle) romantic vibes had been left out of this one

🧸👻 - Cinematography - The drama is beautiful to look at. Especially when we're in the human realm. It's filmed beautifully. However, when we cross over to the shostly realm, things get a bit shaky. It's still generally well done, but the 'higher ghosts' with their tendrils looked rather off sometimes.

What I Didn't Like/Found Confusing/Could've Been Done Better

👻🧸The King should've been on the poster - This is less of a drama problem and more of a marketing problem (read lie). The majority of this story is not even about Gu Cheon. It's about the king, then his daughter (Seang Gang), and then Gu Cheon. I went into the plot expecting the story to be about a ghost slayer and the lady who could hear ghosts.

I expected the story to revolve around them. Their partnership as they worked to set the palace free from whatever malevolent force was plaguing it. Instead, the story largely revolves around the king. While I understand what the marketing team was trying to do, with this being Nam Joo Hyuk's 1st role since the military, the expectations were so not what I found on the ground.

👻🧸 The plot felt like it was trying to do too much, and it couldn't figure out how to tie it all together nicely. To make everything blend and work well together.

What starts as a supernatural drama suddenly reveals hidden layers of class issues, political machinations, succession battles, and wells of lies. If done well, all this could have come together cohesively to make a beautiful, intriguing, and deeply disturbing story. In fact, right before the story of the most favoured concubine concluded, I found myself immersed in the utter horribleness of palace life - regardless of status.

However, as the story unfolds, because the forces behind all these evil deeds are largely one-dimensional or do not have enough depth, the story falls flat. Every reveal is surprising, but it doesn't linger enough to make you feel or mean something. They tell you something, then quickly move on to the next thing.
They disregard it or bury it; thus, when they eventually try to tie things up in the end, it all feels a little meh

👻🧸The story doesn't use its villains well enough
a. 🤴🏻The emperor is there to be prideful, insecure(?), angry, dismissive, and a barrier to what needs to be done. He spends so much time being frustrating for unknown reasons that when the truth behind his actions is revealed, I find that I no longer care. When they try to give him a little depth, make him human, and perhaps make him more understandable to the audience, I no longer care to see it.

He is also very inconsistent as a character. It's like they didn't know whether to make him pure evil or make him nuanced. He spends most of the story bulldozing people, murdering, and generally being evil. Then they decide he's a loving father and a good king. Then he's evil again

A good example is perhaps the situation with the random pesitlence villagers: He comes across them, gets them some help, and even changes his plans to go back to the palace and set preventative measures. Then he almost dies. After being saved and waking up 1st thing he does is to send soldiers to obliterate the village. I miss the logic as to why this happened. Was a scene cut or something? Or was the plot just using this incident to find a way to make the crown prince more powerful? A way to make him an akgwi?

b.👸🏻The Queen Dowager - She was a great villain, but they used her up too soon and cast her aside. Then she comes back with a crooked face (a stroke maybe), and she never regains the presence that she had in the beginning 4 episodes. Her greed for the throne also seemed rather shallow. All this drama and evil deeds were driven by the fact that someone who she considered a 'mudblood' dared sit on the throne. 1st world problems, my guy. 1st world problems (only this time it's nobles' problems?)

c.👵🏻Saeng Gang's grandmother - Now she was a true surprise villain. But again, rather than the story using her well enough, we find out about her atrocious actions and never see her again. As I said above, the story loves to give you a surprise reveal. A jumpscare, if you may, about how horrible and evilactual humans beings can be - worse than even the spirits they feared -and then does nothing about it. In the end, she simply scurries off into the night. Very anticlimactic

d. 👴🏻 Price Iksang - Used well enough, he could have been another great villain. However, he only pops in when the plot needs him to and largely hides behind a shaman whose origins and story the audience knows nothing about.

👻🧸Missing Logic - the Princess
I mentioned the lack of logic and inconsistency with the king's character. Another character who sometimes evades logic is the princess. She comes to the palace hating her father, then midway through, she wants to save him. My question is, why? It doesn't seem to be for the sake of the country, at least in my opinion.

The girl never really thought about the realm like that. Aside from that one incident in the village, the commoners were never on her mind. So why did she suddenly change her tune? Because she remembered the emperor patting her head once when she was a kid? Based on all the anger she was carrying, that seems like too light a reason for her to care about keeping him alive

👻🧸I never found the story scary - Netflix advertises this as scary and horror. I was neither scared nor did I find elements in the plot horrifying. The only part I felt came close to what was advertised was in the final episode, where the ghost prince yanked off an arm and ate it. But they didn't even show that in full, so..., impact not felt.

🧸👻Final Thoughts👻🧸
I feel like storytelling let down this project. The idea was truly great. The greed, lies, and selfishness of humans being bigger and worse than the actual supernatural is pretty great. Unfortunately, the idea is not well supported. Not by the characters nor by the logic of some of the happenings. Had the people working on this taken the time to flesh out their characters, the villains especially, and all the ties that bound them, I think we could have gotten a story that matched the hype of this drama, the actors, and the quality of production.

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Is it good? Yes, but 8 episodes weren't enough to make it work.

Decent script without the typical romance, but the hype around the ugly Cookie Monster proves people always need something cute because the story isn't important!

The story:

I don't want to delve deep into this because it really isn't that complicated. Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang have to save the King and the palace from ghosts, but later you find out the ghosts are not as scary as real people. This is how I can describe the plot without any spoilers.

The story itself isn't anything special that you've never seen before. There are multiple things I didn't like. For example, I'm all for open endings and not punishing villains. If they want to make another season, I'm okay with this, but without that, you're just left hanging there waiting for an explanation. Even if you want an open ending, some questions still have to be answered.
Some parts actually surprised me, and that's not an easy thing to do.

The romance:

If you want your typical romcom, you better not hit "Play" because this isn't a romance story. The two main characters obviously care for each other and go above and beyond for each other, that's all you're going to see. The chemistry between the actors is good enough to carry the whole drama.

The acting:

Nam Joo Hyuk was good, but he wasn't outstanding. I watched multiple dramas with him, but his acting always feels similar. The only difference is the role itself. To be fair, this melodramatic, sad boy image suits him. His fight scenes were good, and I liked the banter with Saeng Gang. They balanced each other out well.

As for Roh Yoon Seo, she's still a rookie, but she was still the most outstanding part of the drama. Not only as a character but as an actor as well. Obviously the senior actors were great, but as a lead actress, she carried the drama. I know many people criticized her acting, but I'm not surprised. Kdrama fans and people in general don't know much about acting, and most of them only focus on the romance. Her acting didn't get better over time, her character just got more interesting and developed, that's all. That's why she did a great job, and this is how acting works.

The OST:

We need to talk about this, because it's rare when a Kdrama only has an original score without any songs, but one of the best parts of the drama was the score! It's top-tier!

The visuals:

In the world of AI slop, where people are too lazy to create something new and interesting, "The East Palace" was a nice surprise because you can tell it was normal VFX because it was obvious when the visuals weren't always high quality, like in the first episode, for example. You can tell what part was real and what's VFX but still looked good most of the time. Even with some minor visual flaws, it was never bad enough to care about it for a second.

The directing and the cinematography were also great. The action scenes didn't feel jarring or too much. Maybe that one last fight scene in the finale was too anime-like, but I didn't mind it at all. I've seen much worse.

Overall:

This drama is definitely worth your time, but as I said above, we need more to complete the story properly. I feel like the journey just began.

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The East Palace Is Basically Stranger Things Meets Kingdom

The East Palace felt like Stranger Things and Sweet Home meeting Kingdom. It blends the eerie supernatural mystery and creature horror of the former with the engaging palace drama of the latter, creating quite unique and thrilling experience. While the first half felt a bit underwhelming despite its fast pacing, the second half completely transformed the drama into perfectly gripping, edge of your seat thriller.

Funnily, it wasnt the ghosts or supernatural creatures that scared me the most, it was the humans, especially the royal family, who would stop at nothing for power and the throne. They didnt even spare their own flesh and blood. Even after causing so much destruction, their greed never stopped. Despite facing the consequences of their actions, they kept going until the very end and even then they never changed. They remained completely consistent with their characters, which i found to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the drama.

Also another favorite aspects of the drama was its world building. It established two parallel worlds, one inhabited by humans and the other by ghosts, spirits, supernatural creatures and powerful beings known as the Realm of Gwi. I really loved this concept. The two worlds mirrored each other while remaining completely separate. Ghosts and spirits existed and operated within the Realm of Gwi and the protagonists had to enter that realm themselves in order to confront and eliminate them. The concept was executed really well. The Realm of Gwi gave me strong Stranger Things and Sweet Home vibes, while the palace politics, royal conspiracies and historical setting reminded me of Kingdom. The drama really felt like a perfect fusion of both.

Both protagonists find themselves trapped by the big bads of the series and are left with no choice but to fight these supernatural beings to survive. What i also liked was that almost every major character outside of the protagonists existed in morally grey territory or was outright evil. Whether it was the King, the Queen Dowager, the King's biological mother, the Crown Prince or the other royals, nearly all of them were consumed by power to the point where they wouldnt even spare members of their own family.

Cho Seung Woo's character was particularly fascinating. He was the King of the nation yet completely rotten to the core. However, there were moments when he displayed genuine human emotions, making him a surprisingly layered and interesting character.

The drama also didnt limit itself to traditional ghosts. It introduced several unique supernatural creatures and i found them quite interesting. I especially loved the little Labubu like creature that constantly clung to the ML and saved his life in several critical moments. It was both cute and hilarious.

The production quality absolutely deserves special praise. The cinematography, camera work, direction, visual effects and overall atmosphere were all fantastic. Many scenes set inside the Realm of Gwi and throughout the palace were visually stunning. The eerie lighting, haunting environments and beautifully composed shots made both worlds feel immersive and unforgettable.

The acting was another major strength. The exorcism sequences, horror moments, emotional confrontations and action scenes were all very well performed. Several scenes actually gave me goosebumps because of how convincing both the performances and direction were.

If I had to criticize one aspect, it would be the first half. It wasnt bad by any means but compared to the second half, it felt relatively tame. The lighter comedic moments early on slightly reduced the tension and made it harder to fully invest in the story. However, once the second half began, the tone became much darker and more intense. The drama started delivering one plot twist after another. Although a few twists were predictable, the execution, pacing and presentation made them consistently exciting and entertaining.

The ending was satisfying. Both protagonists got a happy ending and most of the villains were punished for their crimes. The King, however, was spared. Initially, i expected him to die but keeping him alive actually made sense within the story. Removing him from the throne would have created political instability since there wasnt a suitable successor. Instead, his punishment was arguably even worse. The final scene reveals that the countless vengeful spirits would continue haunting him for the rest of his life, forcing him to live with the consequences of everything he had done.

Overall, The East Palace absolutely lived up to my expectations and didnt disappoint me at all. While the first half was somewhat dull, the action packed second half more than made up for it with its engaging narrative, thrilling plot twists and satisfying payoff.

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The only way to take this show is to see it as a long teaser.

This show was an interesting one. I finished it, so it was not that bad.
The actors... very good
The characters ... the shells were great but that's all I was given
Chemistry/romance ... none and that includes familial connections
OST ... good
Story line ... was interesting enough to finish
Choreography/fight scenes ... hmmm If a show does not have the ability to create great fight scenes but they want their show to have great fight scenes, they just shake and throw the camera around so much, no one can actually see what is happening ... stop it!

I liked the fantasy element, even though the graphics were lacking in some places, it was nice in others. It is the only reason I continued to watch it.

As I said before, the connections were strange. The ML and FLs connection seemed very forced, and they had no chemistry. The story was about saving evil people and having a bunch of innocent people die ... that's a new one for me. Left me with no satisfaction.

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Intense but meaningless in the end

Joseon-ish supernatural horror. Royal family and palace are terrorized by spirits and given what all's gone on there, it's no wonder. The King brings in a ghost hunter and pairs him up with his daughter who has been ostracized because she can hear spirits, but the King figures she can be of help in this instance. Meanwhile, a rival nobleman hires a shaman to rile up any vengeful spirits that might be around, thereby improving his own chances of grabbing power for his family.

Our ghost hunter goes to and from the spirit world of Gwi, which is a lurid, chaotic mess where it's hard to see what's going on, whereas the "real world" scenes are beautifully and crisply shot. Unfortunately, we spend an inordinate amount of time in Gwi in indistinct, if intense, combat between ghost hunter and spirits.

Throughout, this drama tries very hard to be something--but what? Important? Meaningful? Unfortunately, it just swirls and roils, intensely, forcefully, and sometimes beautifully, but in the end goes nowhere. Except for the ghost hunter and the princess, there's not a sympathetic character to be found or anything to be learned. The evil shaman's rituals were impressive, though. I liked those.

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