well okay...

Actually Mi rae is a rather relatable character. Single, struggling with work, not yet married...but if they wanted to do a slice of life, then I donlt like the time travel component here, it's trying to do too much without a very good effect. nonetheless, I guess some may actually like this story if only because it doesn't fall on standard heroine must love hero and we know what's going to happen. It;s not predictable like that. I'm still annoyed with ahjumma but I can also empathise with her...except she meddles too much and her lines when meddling are extra irritating. I also dislike Yong Hwa, he is the typical bratty chaebol. I like Kim shn though. And Mi Rae's brother is absolutely likeable, much like writer Bae.



But it;s becoming way too chaotic now and her meddling gets more and more annoying. I pity the girl who likes Se Jo and who knows he's the chaebol. I think the ahjumma is just drowining in self-pity because she, like Mi Rae, can;t see anything beyond the end of her own nose.

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pretty dynamic

It seems what Kim shin says in this episode is already hinting at an open ending.He says future is not set in stone.. It's a bit of a strange thing to say in the particular context that he says it though..but I guess the writer thought it would be justified since he's directing it at the Ahjumma. I think what's going to happen is that the writer takes this part and makes it the entire point of the drama, though the initial idea may have been different.



LDG is totally the lead, though. My intution tells me that the possible mess I am yet to witness in the future episodes resulted from the writer changing the story to accommodate all the Yong Hwa fever.... meh. My preference is for Lee Dong Gun but frankly I don't really care all that much. This episode was pretty dynamic though, there was progress and development and lots of things happening; can you really know the future. In your face, Ahjumma. I wish she'd stop being so confident,

I don't think you have all the answers and I don;t think you trying to change your future is right. Your hating LDG is probably a result of some completely stupid misunderstanding in the first place. However, I guess we can all sympathise with a desire to change the past even though it may be misconceived Live in a way not to have regrets. Well...if you communicate with people then some regrets can be avoided. LDG is clearly the superior lead....even if I still don;t care very much about eith him or present Mi-Rae. I want to see what happens to the older brother, though.

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The General is obsessed with seeing only just his die of things and causes lots of heartbreak

He really is very obsessed with his own ways. Had he been a king, he would have been a tyrant. But I still think deep down he cares for his son and his mother told the son that his father is a good man. So I am not going to evaluate the General until I see all of it. He has committed atrocities yes, but he has done so because he is so blinded by his way of doing things that he's a man who cannot see reason. Stubborn men like him should not be in power.



The new king has got what he wanted. The general played on his ambition. I feel sorry for the princess and for the young son of the General that they are caught up in the very wrong decisions of their elders. The king was clearly a peace-inclined person but the General thought he was weak and though the king had betrayed the nation.



It's politics that are driving the General, but I will not call him evil. The Princess is really sympathethic in this episode as she has to watch how her father and brother are treated after their death. Shame on the General. HJe knows no respect for his enemies. And while it may seem like he is using his son, I still believe the father cares for him. Otherwise he wouldn;t have left him under the care of his mother. I think he knew it would be best if the son stayed away from the palace.



But..as always..fate intervened.

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So I don't think the General would have made a good king...

As he is a man of action and a proponent, clearly, of the violent way of dealing with those who according to him threaten the stability of a kingdom. what he doesn't realise seemingly is that his ways are in reality what destabilizes a kingdom by sowing discord and hatred and leading to division. And the drama makes this point in a really heart-breaking way.



So we are explained some of the hys in this episode. This drama is doing an excellent job of portraying the consequences of the choices we make and of differences of opinion on politics that lead to conflict, treason and cause a lot more damage by causing pain to those who get caught up in this. Ths episode was really heart breaking and it showed that the General is a proponent of some very ruthless methods. It's sad really because somewhere deep inside he is a man who cared for his son enough to try and protect him. What an ending top this episode, very intense and it seems the Princess, who has just experienced so much tragedy, will really hate UTW character now.



It's sad, really, but the drama, again, doesn't pass judgments, it just shows us what happens when in political context opinions on how to handle politics differ and where it can lead. You just have to feel sorry for all thise who don;t want any of it and yet get caught up in it.



The General has given the Princess even more reason to hate him and his son. This is what sword leads to. Hatred and a desire for revenge. Love cannot win with all this.



And really the son of the general is an innocent man on the inside. It's really a shame but one does not choose the family one is born to. And it sometimes becomes a tragedy.

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Quite a few things here and yes the camerawork is well done now!

The Romeo and Juliet theme is gaining strength.Forget The princess Man if you want a genuinely more Shakspeare-like story. So our brave and love-struck UTW infiltrates the palace to protecxt the princess. He's such a torn person; his loyalties are double. The Crown Princes has the horse accidentd and is rendered unable to walk, so the Princess is chosen to be the Heir to the Throne. And ohh she is ready to kill her beloved because sche knows hios loyalties are divided but at the same time she can't force him to choose either. In the end, the current king wonders what makes a good king..and why is it that the loyal general was the one who betrayed. I JUST love this. The drama really doesn't pass judgments, doesn't moralise and tries to apply more than one perspective and be objective. Very good! And ohh our two your lovers are put against each other. It's their tragic destiny. she as the Crown princess is fated to kill his father. He as the General's son is fated to stop her.



Fate is such a cruel thing. And in these later episodes the camerawork is really justified and well done. I just love the juxtaposing shots wehen they think about their duties and about each other. Lovers who are fated to be enemies. What's next?







In thr meantime, the General and his son have another intense talk.

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Fate is so wrong, Yeon Chong is naive

I think UTW character is being too devoted and forsakes all other important things for an uncertain stake. How could he betray his own father? I understand the Princess is lovely and he is driven by a strong desire to protect her as she had helped him..that's the tragedy of it. But even so, should this take precedence over considering your own father? I hope the son will grow to understand his father a little batter.



The General breaks my heart. He's a man who cares deeply yet cannot say things because of the difficult situation he's in. It;s obvious he really wanted to avoid all the things that happened but his son had to meddle and caused everything his father wanted to avoid. He clearly had wanted to protect him and at the moment it's the son who berays his father and his father's rebellion plans. I do love the General.



The series still doesn;t pass judgments on any of the sides, it maintains impressive neutrality in depicting characters as entangled in a difficult entanglement of events and circumstances where each side has their own reasons for acting in a given way.



"Fate" in cerrtain circumstances is a really one's worst enemy, or rrather the way things develop could not be worse.

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Just what...Spoilers

Just what was this random "fiel dwork" in a wild flower field, huh? I liked that QE and XJ scene, but they again chose a bad location, it's the director's fault, no eye and no sense whatsoever. The interaction between them was however endearing and pointed to how satisfied and in love they are- actors really did well here, this pairing was really nice. I am very in love with the two of them and was left wanting to see more of them somehow.



I have a major gripe with yon qi-Benjamin and XYZ story was terminated. It is very objectionable all in all.

Moreover, the ending felt cut short and not complete at all, some things were missing here. I did like the beginning of this episode, however, with Bejamin drawing her again and with XYZ caring for him. I think they were in a hurry to wrap things up and these final few episodes were botched up all in all, quite aside from how the story, especially On qui and XYZ story was handled in the first place. I really did not care for them one bit. Benjamin's role in this story ended and he had to go. it was clear to me from the start that it would be so, Benjamin added emotion to the story but he is a foreigner and an outsider to that culture and he felt this way throughout the story, even though those who really cared for him treated him as one of their own. I really liked his relationship with Xiao Jian, they really were good friends and material for brothers.



I will miss Qing Er and Xiao Jian though.

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And you call this.... (Spoilers)

And you call this a wedding? Sure, the costumes were nice, but it seemed like all if it was just scraped together just to be done with it. I was unhappy. I really did not like how QE and XJ wedding was handled- they seem to have been only a background for the performance of Benjamin and XYZ. I was quite disappointed that after all the builds up and overdramatic scenes at times, this part of all parts was mishandled. Moreover, it really looked like a random pasture very neglignetly and quickly put together. The actors did a good job, though in rying tosomehow convey their understanding of each other. The song was a fitting tribute...but I wish it hadn;t been the only thing shown. These final episodes after so much drama are really unremarkable. However, on the other part of construction of QE and XJ characters was that a lot was left between the lines, but even so I yearned to see some wedding interaction with them, a hug at least, in the orginal version the wedding was handled better.

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a bittersweet conclusion to the series (spoilers):

What a phenomenal final arc, a great way to symmetircally end the series. Gogryo has been established and for 15 years governed by the King and Queen...until....well, the rest is spoilers. All I can say is I was really sad to see the ending, but I was impressed with the integrity of the Queen. I think this drama did a wonderful job at balancing portrayala of various characters. Because in wars and establishing nations and protecting a nation, there is no place for clear distinctions between bad and good. Everyone has their interests that they must protect. I liked the final arc because of reintroducing Yuri- in terms of father-son storyline, it was the perfect symmetrical conclusion. Jumong knew his father only briefly then had to deal with the loss of his son, I thought it was good for him to have him back...even if yuri doesn't deserve it, because he is a brat that I wouldn't trust. But then none of the princess were really likeable. I have nothing against yesoya, except she didn;t raise her son very well. And the son didin;t learn much. He is in stark contrast to Jumong- who ha started out as a bratty prince but then learned the bitterness of life the hard way. Yuri learned the bitterness of life but then became a prince. His reaction to his father in episoe 78 shows how different he is from Jumong. Jumong would have grabbed at every possible moment with his father with more maturity. I sympoathise with yuri partly, but partly his reaction is very immature.



The final episodes also saw the loss of the General of the Left-nooooo, I was really sad that one of those early companions had to go, but it also showed how deeply they were all connected. So sad. I was a bit upset that the Queen decided to go, but it is historically accurate, it seems. History seems to be a bit harsher on Jumong in this respect, however. This has been one epic drama, encompassing a long period of time, Jumong;s expansionist policies, camaraderie and loyalty of his friends and the great loyalty of the Queen.

However, one of the highloghts of the last episodes was the fact that Jumong and Yuri visited GeumWa. It was a sign of caring and I trully appreciated this- it showed that there is still lingering form of recognition at least between Jumong and geumWa



It was a great experience, Jumong, to root for the underdog that he was an to meet a legend. The script aapted the history pretty well and did not seem to exclude anything. Jumong is both a legend byt other sources say he hated sharing power- I sometimes had this impression too that he does not understand fully the concept of unity and acting as one body. He was commanding from the start. But he showed deep affection for those whose loyalty he gained.



I really enjoyed the series.

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A new nation springs (spoilers)

This episode closes another arc and leads into the final, arc of the story. There has been so much progresssion. I am surprised at how easily all these companions of Jumong's are now falling into their offices. What began as a camraderies and friendship has now been transformed. And of course marriage was the only solution to the problem of ruling. The two of them are both so great together, both wise and strong. they should have never separated in the first place but destiny wouldn't let them be together, it's rather sad. It has caused conflict of power between the Jol Bon people who were always from the same origin as the cieftains and the Da Mul army which they felt is the "straner" here, but this conflict was beautifully reolved- this is for the best. And, as Seo So No;s father says, "thius is the only solution we have for now". It;s difficult for the two of them, given what they shared and lost in the past and destiny is very cruel by playing wth them in this way. As long as they stay married, things sould be fine.



However,, Yesoya has appeared o the horizon, which will be an emotional blow for Jumong most likely. I cannot blame her- she is a good person, and she tried to be supportive in her own way. But what about Yuri? Knowing his own story from the first arc of this drama, Jumong is really devastated at having lost his son. So what's to happen?

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the foundations (spoilers)

Jumong shows what "reckless wisdom" means in this episode. However,- his reckless wisdom proves to be the best solution as probably the most obtuse chieftain has been won and NOW finally the foundations for a new nation are laid. There is a sense of union here in one particular scene and it;s very beautiful. This is a beginning, for expansion will no doubt continue. And there is something very PHYSICAL that signifies this new begionning for a new nation. However, because there are two people and two factions, dispute starts to arise as to who should rule the people...and this is a seed of conflict which will likely I suspect have an impact in later episodes,



SoSoNo and Jumong make for a brilliant pairing- they are both

wise and strong and it is logical that they should become the King and Queen. They should have been together in the first place but destiny keeps them apart. Even though they have an understanding and are both equals in wisdom. But Jumong is married and with a child. This I suspect is the thing that will complicate matters in the near future...can union survive this? Or will the new nation be plagued from the very start by disputes. What will Jumong do? BuYeo still has some surprises in store and of course they hold some vital cards for jumong himself. They are growing desperate to prevent prophecies from happening, especially because Jumong has been as successful as the propehies have foretold. Fear is often a driving force of politics. But it is worse when personal matters and politics inevitably mix as in this drama.

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A farewell (spoilers)

The arc, in which Jumong is still struggling with his destiny now comes to a close. With the last two episodes- 54 and 55, he has made his decision. The final or semi-final arc begins with this episode. Jumong had to made a tough decision in the last episode...and he chose ...



loyalty to his cause, which ended quite dramatically. In a way, this midle arc was really brilliant, because Jumong was struggling trying to gather his alliances to establish at least a base of future operations. Not all of them have been made yet, but this episode marks a clear separation from the past. Jumong ang GeumWa say farewell and it's a really powerful moment, one I will not spoil how it happens. It was really touching. This episode als marks a time lapse. But there is a reaso why I like time lapses- Jumon is no longer a young boy, his beard has grown, he is now a man experienced in battle, strategy and a road-weary man on a mission. The three years that pass by between this episode and episode 56 show that nothing eventful happens during those three years and he contonues to fulfill his mission along with an increasing number of allies. In the meantime, Yeohwa and Yesoya remain in BuYeo, which is in a way a very strategic decision, a preventive measure. And power and influences are always shifting at the royal court. So now cut off from BuYeo, Jumong has made another step by establishing himself more fimrly on the path of destiny.

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Rookie is achieving the heights thanks to Geum Wa's continous favour! (spoilers)

He's still at the height of success.





So Jumong returns to the palace after having found his sense of self and he is given a position by the King. You know, I really have moment when I ask just what is Geum Wa. Selfish coward and hypocrite or a man who trully wishes to care fo jumong as the son of his friend. or maybe he just does it for YooHwa, because he loves her. For this reason, he keeps eluding the brackets and doesn;t let himself be labelled. He's just as perceptive and clever. He knows when he can make a move. I think his position is quiute precarious too, in a way, even though I have a suspoicion that the reason he jadn;t trained Jumong as a child was because he was resentful of Hae Mo Su's power and I found that frustrating, given than in the initial episodes he probably alo had a deep desire for his friend to die. And yet, he tries to give Jumong opportunities and in this episode during his heart to heart with Jumong, his words sway me to think that he is genuine and honest in his concerns for Jumong...as much as he afford to be. or maybe he is just trying to silence Jumong by sucking up to him. or maybe he really is trying to offer him a possibility of fulfilling his destiny as Hae Mo Su's son. I am really in double minds about Geum Wa. However, as a king, his stiuation due to changing influences in court is always changing. a master can quite easily turn into a slave. And Yoo Hwa is really perceptive in this matter. Winds of change are about to blow. The Crown prince issue has been taking him too long too decide. He is alreay overstretching his authority.



On his side, Jumong, who in this episode now brings his three friends to the palace, is really clever in the way he is gradually building up a circle of trusted people who will follow him to the ends of the earth because he shows his people that his actions are governed by genuine interest and concern for them. The way of Hae Mo Su and his son is to be more forgiving and understanding. i think it points to the genuine strength of character of these two heroes.



For Jumong this is too much success and I am expecting to see a downards spiral soon. An anyway, I dare say his destiny lies elswhere rather than in this kingdom. BuYeo belings to someone else. He is of a different blood. Nothign can change that and so Destiny awaits.

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A son seeks a way to reconnect with his father and his legacy (spoilers)

I loved this episode. No one is going to tell Jumong the truth about his lovely father, so he goes out to try and get closer to him and his ideas...not only to capture closeness he is missing but also to regain a sense of his self and affirm his goals. He is accompanied by his three musketters and in that we see the formation of foundations for things to come.



My heart keeps breaking as I feel for Jumong's loss even more and it immediately makes me want to rage on Geum wa for his selfishness...even though Geum Wa is in a precarious position and has to be careful, his action at the start of the drama were driven by ulterior motives, while Hae Mo Sul was s selfless. Gosh, my heart is really breaking for this father and son, who are one an yet never had a chance to be together. My heart both break and warms at this, really Hae Mo Su has left a strong imprint on me but what he was Jumong starts to emulate now and will outgrow...while eclaiming all that had been taken from his because of selfish desires and fear.



And so Jumong affirms his mission and goals and gains foundation and thus breaks free from the lies that had bounded him up to know. He is no longer the prince but has finally returne to his true origins. The final scene was very nice. Cinematography in here is simply lovely.

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