Fumiko

Now there are a three of them 😂. Soon to be a quartett.

In her case I would absolutely search for a new partner very quickly.

The constant divorce threats are so annoying and undermine the second chance at love trope that was supposed to be Shou Hua’s story.

The only thing I will remember of this plotline are constant divorce threats. Normally Yang Xi would have to see her ending up with someone else with the way the story is written.

Kang Ning’s story was better so far.

Even with Fu Hui and her husband you get more used to them right now.

Hope they will move on to Hao De’s and Le Shan’s plotlines soon.

I agree with what many pointed out that it has many plotlines that I have seen before in regency era stories:

Mother invested in marriage game
Enemies to lovers (the main couple)
Second chance for love (the story of the oldest sister)
bratty characters (the youngest sister and her future match)

I assume that it will go the same route as Bridgerton with flawed characters growing into becoming part of one big family.

Since in history Balgi was killed by Gyesu (the youngest brother and warrior prince) and since not many sources exist about Pae Ui I have thought about that Pae Ui might be eliminated by the Queen as well. She might be involved indirectly with Balgi and directly with Pae Ui.

Yes Yeon Woo the fourth brother. It's interesting that he is put in the support cast and so far stands out far less than each of his siblings. This might perhaps still change in the second half when they explain why the Queen specifically chooses him.

Do you think that there will be a twist who the Queen marries or something?

Yeon Woo/Sansang is barely covered on the show and promo and very forgettable and half of the show is over.

The oldest brother was passed due to the former King preferring Nam Mu/Gogukcheon.

The third brother Balgi is the villain and gets screentime.

The fifth and youngest brother Gyesu was emphasized, he is loyal to Gogukcheon and seems to be likeable enough and is a warrior prince. He historically also defeats Balgi.

I wonder whether perhaps they only have her marry Sansang since she wants to keep being in charge since he seems the most colorless of the brothers. With Gyesu for example she would have a second Gogukcheon. They also don't have too many options for a twist with Sansang just being an ascension name for the brother who is successful since the third (Balgi) and first brother are both hostile.

I think that Gogucheon/Nam mu (Ji Changwook) and Prince Gyesu (Jeong Jae Kwang) as shown in the 4 minute trailer are the best and coolest looking of all these brothers. I love their warrior general king and warrior prince looks.

He is also shown dead in the teaser with his corpse lying in front of the Queen in a scene. The whole point is that Gogukcheon was a respected and competent King and his death leaves a power vacuum that the Queen has to fill.

I suspect that the sister character will either cast her lot with or marry Balgi since she is said to be angry that Woo always gets the chance to be Queen.

The MurasakixMichinaga plot is entirely fictional.
The court scenes however are actually pretty accurate regarding events (sources are Okagami, Murasaki's diary, Pillow Book, and Eiga Monogatari). However the court itself is far less glamorous, scandalous and much more tame than in reality.
The real Michinaga also had close connections to the warrior class which we haven't seen yet (maybe in part 2 they will cast some Minamoto and Taira).

In general I think that a drama set at Heian-era Heiankyo should be way less tame (far more affairs, scandals etc.).

That's why Korechika is one of the better characters since they are covering his historical scandals and adding a toxic court atmosphere.

A Michinaga Taiga would have the exact same character rooster and only little changes since it's a Fujiwara Taiga overall, that's true.

The only courtier whose looks I really like is Machida Keita as Fujiwara no Kinto. Kinto as the literature expert at court will mostly come into play later on when Murasaki is finally writing Genji (then he ends up reading it and nicknames her Murasaki after her own novel character).
I think most people are also ok with Miura Shohei as Fujiwara no Korechika and the young watchers might like the young actor playing the older Emperor Ichijo.

I liked the last episodes focusing on Michinaga's rivalry with his nephew Korechika. It was pretty close to actual accounts like Eiga Monogatari and Okagami and Pillow Book.

As for Sei Shonagon vs. Murasaki Shikibu the feud is not possible yet.
While Shonagon already serves Empress Teishi/Sadako it will still take some years until Michinaga's daughter Shoshi/Akiko is married to Ichijo as a rivalry empress. Since Murasaki will side with Shoshi by becoming Shoshi's Chinese teacher it will lead to Shonagon and her being on opposite sides.
Some historians also think that Shonagon likely wrote the Pillow Book since her Empress, Teishi, was on the losing side due to her brother Korechika falling from grace, her being eclipsed by Shoshi and dying too soon (thus people might have already started to forget about Teishi).

As for the real Genji:
The ones most often mentioned:
Ariwara no Narihira (often called a Proto-Genji due being a playboy poet). He is already dead way before Murasaki lived.

Minamoto no Takaakira is also often mentioned. Takaakira is not on the show only his daughter who is a wife of Michinaga.

Minamoto no Toru, also dead for a long time already.

Fujiwara no Korechika, brother of Empress Teishi and nephew of Michinaga, often said to have been a huge inspiration for Genji. He is the only Genji model that actually is on the show (played by Miura Shohei).

Emperor Ichijo's double marriage to Teishi and Shoshi is the model for Genji's double marriage to Murasaki and Onnasan no miya.

The series seems to insist that Michinaga is a Genji model as well as some websites but I have to agree with Liza Dalby (who wrote the novel Tale of Murasaki about Murasaki's life at court) that Michinaga has little in common with Genji.

The court scenes are interesting and this Taiga drama is largely carried by the support cast. Also Heian era is interesting since it is not often depicted and it features many characters that never had a movie depiction so far.

Unfortunately since Murasaki‘s story in real life only begins after her elderly husband quickly died and she already had her daughter, then she actually began to write Genji thus her story moves extremely slow. Her interactions with Fujiwara no Michinaga are very romcom like (in history there isn‘t much proof of a relationship between them).

This is actually rather a Fujiwara clan Taiga and mostly focused on Michinaga‘s machinations.

I am really curious about how Gogukcheon will be depicted on the show since he seems to have a way bigger role than Sansang.

With the news about Song Ha Yoon‘s alleged past of bullying there have been articles about Jeon Jong Seo‘s past around the same time now as well (though in contrast to Ha Yoon there seems to be far less confirmation).

I’m on episode 11 and it is moving on painfully slow. If this keeps going we won‘t see Murasaki writing Genji much even in part 2 of the Taiga.

Congrats on the main role in the 2026 Taiga dorama ☺️! Nakano Taiga will play Toyotomi Hidenaga (younger brother of Hideyoshi) who is often considered to have been Hideyoshi's brain and voice of reason.

Atsuhime is a very beloved Taiga drama that also partly takes place in Ooku.

Many older Taiga dramas are very good like Dokuganryu Masamune, Aoi Tokugawa Sandai, Taiheiki, Kusa Moeru, Hojo Tokimune, Mori Motonari, Hana no Ran etc.

From the newer Taiga Gunshi Kanbei and Taira no Kiyomori are the best. I also like Yoshitsune, Kirin ga Kuru and Dousuru Ieyasu.

From the Fuji TV Ooku series most of the older Ooku series are all worthy being watched.

The costumes and music are really good and it is still enjoyable as a Ooku series but I agree the writing is very shallow and slightly immature this time.