Rari
Cloud Drama
This review may contain spoilers
Badly written but made palatable by the incredibly talented cast
This drama was an adaptation of historical events ( with a sprinkling of fiction) so I expected a certain level of smooth story telling. From episode two however, I had already ascertained that the love story between Hwi and Hui Jae was superfluous to the story, it was improbable and hastily introduced as a fully fledged romance. Right up to the end I was never on board with this romance, it left me cold. Hui Jae was often the third wheel in the wonderful bromance between Hwi and Seon Ho and I often found myself asking "why is she even in this story?" Show tried to give her some substance with the Ihwaru angle but that fell flat, her interventions, especially in the beginning of the drama often backfired and hurt the people she was trying to protect. In my opinion Madame Seo was much more capable in the role of leader of Ihwaru.
The real romance that would have emotionally resonated with me at least would have been between Seon Ho and Yeon; now that would have been wonderfully conflicted, heartfelt and angsty; I feel the writers hinted at this in the beginning but dropped this thread as they were focussing on the political intrigue, It was a lost opportunity.
The bromance between Seon Ho and Hwi was the real OTP of this drama. The highs and lows of their relationship were very well written and exquisitely acted. This is the only relationship I cared about along with that of Hwi and his band of brothers.
The political aspects of this story were well written although in the final two episodes it felt as though the writers were brought up short by the way they had written Bang Won's character and hastily tried to retrace their steps, this created inconsistency and attempted to introduce previously unexplored aspects of his character at the last minute. In addition, the story of the death of Hwi's father was suddenly picked up again in the final two episodes in a very poorly executed plot twist.
Overall I didn't like the way the story was written; when I find myself rewriting a drama and thinking "they should have done this or they should have done that" then I'm already deducting points because the drama would have failed to grab my attention and immerse me in its world.
Did Show sufficiently illustrate each characters' definition of "what is my country?" Yes Show did this admirably.
The cast is what made this show entirely. Overall all the actors were very good from the main roles to the minor roles. Special mention however goes to Woo Do Hwan who shone so brightly in his role as Seon Ho, I was completely on board with his angst, his anger, his sadness, his loneliness, his fear, his love, his despair, his arrogance and every emotion in between, I loved him, hated him then loved him again - I will definitely be keeping an eye out for his dramas, he absolutely impressed me.
Jang Hyuk as Bang Won was phenomenal, in the earlier episodes he was all that kept me watching, he embodied the role so much that he managed to make me sympathise with an ultimately polarising and maybe not so likeable character.
Ahn Nae Sang absolutely killed it as Lord Nam, I hated him so much sometimes I would pause the show so I could rant and shout abuse at his latest antic; he is a very talented actor.
Hwi's band of brothers were all good actors I enjoyed all their scenes together.
Kim Yeong Cheol as Lee Sung Gye was good in his role although at times I felt the writing of his character was inconsistent especially when you compare the time periods before he became King and after, he mad a great General but a weak King.
Yang Se Jong as Hwi was rather disappointing in his performance, I found him wooden and one dimensional, perhaps this is because he's supposed to be a simple man without ambition? Even if that's the case he had ample opportunity as one of the main actors to show us some texture in his character portrayal, something which he failed to do in my opinion.
Finally Kim Seo Hyun as Hui Jae, was nondescript, the show would not have suffered if her character wasn't in it, I know this sounds harsh but look at it this way, Queen Seon Deok was in the drama for about six episodes but her performance was memorable, she made an impression while she was there, her acting was resonant.
The music is iffy, I didn't like the choice of music for this drama, especially the EDM sounding song and the modern rock one and the one that sounded like bagpipes, these songs created a disconnect between the story being told and the emotions that were being evoked. The songs themselves are not bad, I just don't think they fit well with the drama.
Rewatch value for me is a 4, there were no memorable moments or emotions I would like to revisit, it's definitely a watch once drama for me.
Overall I give this a 7 out of 10. The story was sufficiently intriguing that I'm now compelled to watch older dramas which depict this time period in history.
The real romance that would have emotionally resonated with me at least would have been between Seon Ho and Yeon; now that would have been wonderfully conflicted, heartfelt and angsty; I feel the writers hinted at this in the beginning but dropped this thread as they were focussing on the political intrigue, It was a lost opportunity.
The bromance between Seon Ho and Hwi was the real OTP of this drama. The highs and lows of their relationship were very well written and exquisitely acted. This is the only relationship I cared about along with that of Hwi and his band of brothers.
The political aspects of this story were well written although in the final two episodes it felt as though the writers were brought up short by the way they had written Bang Won's character and hastily tried to retrace their steps, this created inconsistency and attempted to introduce previously unexplored aspects of his character at the last minute. In addition, the story of the death of Hwi's father was suddenly picked up again in the final two episodes in a very poorly executed plot twist.
Overall I didn't like the way the story was written; when I find myself rewriting a drama and thinking "they should have done this or they should have done that" then I'm already deducting points because the drama would have failed to grab my attention and immerse me in its world.
Did Show sufficiently illustrate each characters' definition of "what is my country?" Yes Show did this admirably.
The cast is what made this show entirely. Overall all the actors were very good from the main roles to the minor roles. Special mention however goes to Woo Do Hwan who shone so brightly in his role as Seon Ho, I was completely on board with his angst, his anger, his sadness, his loneliness, his fear, his love, his despair, his arrogance and every emotion in between, I loved him, hated him then loved him again - I will definitely be keeping an eye out for his dramas, he absolutely impressed me.
Jang Hyuk as Bang Won was phenomenal, in the earlier episodes he was all that kept me watching, he embodied the role so much that he managed to make me sympathise with an ultimately polarising and maybe not so likeable character.
Ahn Nae Sang absolutely killed it as Lord Nam, I hated him so much sometimes I would pause the show so I could rant and shout abuse at his latest antic; he is a very talented actor.
Hwi's band of brothers were all good actors I enjoyed all their scenes together.
Kim Yeong Cheol as Lee Sung Gye was good in his role although at times I felt the writing of his character was inconsistent especially when you compare the time periods before he became King and after, he mad a great General but a weak King.
Yang Se Jong as Hwi was rather disappointing in his performance, I found him wooden and one dimensional, perhaps this is because he's supposed to be a simple man without ambition? Even if that's the case he had ample opportunity as one of the main actors to show us some texture in his character portrayal, something which he failed to do in my opinion.
Finally Kim Seo Hyun as Hui Jae, was nondescript, the show would not have suffered if her character wasn't in it, I know this sounds harsh but look at it this way, Queen Seon Deok was in the drama for about six episodes but her performance was memorable, she made an impression while she was there, her acting was resonant.
The music is iffy, I didn't like the choice of music for this drama, especially the EDM sounding song and the modern rock one and the one that sounded like bagpipes, these songs created a disconnect between the story being told and the emotions that were being evoked. The songs themselves are not bad, I just don't think they fit well with the drama.
Rewatch value for me is a 4, there were no memorable moments or emotions I would like to revisit, it's definitely a watch once drama for me.
Overall I give this a 7 out of 10. The story was sufficiently intriguing that I'm now compelled to watch older dramas which depict this time period in history.
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