Definitely!

I agree with you about the predictibility... it is annoying. But it's CSJ, so I'm willing to cut the show some slack. I don't agree with you about Yum Moon being an evil murderer though. I see him very much as a pawn and a slave to his master. He has no autonomy at all. No freedom for friendships or love. I think he's very lonely. He only kills because he has no choice. He could never get away from Master Li. He's trapped... my heart aches for his character and the barrenness of the emotional vaccuum he lives in.

I'm also addicted to the series as well. My DVD player has been acting up so I have to use my husband's $1800 laptop to watch it. Boy does he get pissed when he catches me in the kitchen watching it when I'm cooking... He swears the steam, water or food products are going to ruin his laptop and he'll never forgive me. But I'm a junkie and I can't help myself!

Gotta watch. More CSJ please!!!

I just finished watching this and WOW!!! What a show! It's now one of my favorites! I don't remember crying so much since I watched Stairway to Heaven. Loved all the actors! Joong-dal and his sidekick were hysterical and so were Chief/Sir Makdong and his son Soon-jong

The final episode was HEART WRENCHING! I know a lot of historicals don't have happy endings because they are based on history, but this ending was worse than IYSS which I thought was heart wrenching. I feel so sad. One thing's for sure. It was very dangerous to be a king in those days!!

On a lighter note, I always looked forward to seeing what new hairstyle Madam Jami was going to have. Loved her hairdos! Too bad she didn't realize her Captain was in love with her.

Lots of hotties in this one!!

i watched episode 21 or 22 today (they all run together...) and was really moved by one of the scenes.

it was the scene after Jang-hwa pledges herself to be Yum Moon's woman if Yum Moon will release Jang Bogo from his imprisonment on the war front. Yum Moon tells Jang-hwa to go home. She won't leave. He tells her again to leave because he is going off to battle and it will be a distraction to him if she stays there on the battlefront and puts her life at risk. She says no, she will be waiting for him when he returns. Yum Moon goes into a very sad monologue about how a few years before he would have given anything to have heard her say that. He then recounts the story of how his mother died in childbirth with him. Then he talks about remembering the first moment that he saw her (Jung hwa) and how over the years his admiration of her grew. He says he would give up all his greedy pursuit of wealth and live in a hut just to be with her. etc...

During this scene we can see what a tender and loving person Yum Moon really is (which is what I have been saying all along.) We can also see his is a man of virtue. Despite his selfish desire to have her, his love for her preempts his desire to posses. Despite his "bargain" with her to possess her, he tries to send her away because her happiness is important to him. It is only because of the circumstances of his life that Yum Moon is a murder and theif. My heart really aches for him. ♥

This show really has some great writing.

And I TOTALLY agree about Madame Jami's hair. Her outfits too! She's so beautiful!

nolmac5 wrote:

I just finished watching this and WOW!!! What a show! It's now one of my favorites! I don't remember crying so much since I watched Stairway to Heaven. Loved all the actors! Joong-dal and his sidekick were hysterical and so were Chief/Sir Makdong and his son Soon-jong The final episode was HEART WRENCHING! I know a lot of historicals don't have happy endings because they are based on history, but this ending was worse than IYSS which I thought was heart wrenching. I feel so sad. One thing's for sure. It was very dangerous to be a king in those days!! On a lighter note, I always looked forward to seeing what new hairstyle Madam Jami was going to have. Loved her hairdos! Too bad she didn't realize her Captain was in love with her. Lots of hotties in this one!!

Joanmarie, I was so totally unprepared for the total massacre that I really was hysterical (and this kid doesn't cry very often). I remember calling Theresa and crying into the phone. EOTS remains my very favorite historical & the ending certainly the most jarring of any shows I have seen. Give me chills just thinking about it. I am really glad you watched it!

I just started watching this, as King Sejong has been a bit of a yawner, and I'm up to episode 8. Without reading too much on this thread so as not to ruin things for myself, you all seem to think EOTS was really good and worh watching? Although there has been plenty of excitement so far (one predicament after another for our hero), I must say the whole love story leaves me cold. For me the show comes to a screeching halt whenever the sentimental piano music starts and we see Goong Bok pining for Jun Hua or Yum Moon pining for her or Jung Hua piningfor Goong Bok. This instant love is harder for me to swallow than the instant love between DJY and Chulin.
On the plus side the production values are great, and I've never seen so many good-looking men with hair worthy of a shampoo commercial. I was disappointed when the actor who played the pirate/ninja in the first episodes was replaced after the time jump. However, his older self is also easy on the eyes. Goong Bok, though, really needs a trip to the hair salon. His buddy Yon has been through all the same perils as he, but his hair still looks terrific.
Side note: where do they keep finding these tall actors to be Choi Soo Jong's sidekicks? These two guys look even more like Mutt and Jeff than DJY and Gulsabiwu did. Yon has to be the tallest actor I've seen in any of these dramas (with the exception of the Tang giant in DJY). It just emphasizes the relative shortness of CSJ.
The women seen to date all look anemic and like they need a good square meal, although I kind of like Madam Jami's cool calculating mind.
I'm looking forward to this show getting better, to tide me over til King Sejong picks up.

190cm = 6 ft. 2.8 inches ... but he looks like a giant next to everyone else

Kim Heung-soo

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t233185.html  

mugwump wrote:

I just started watching this, as King Sejong has been a bit of a yawner, and I'm up to episode 8. Without reading too much on this thread so as not to ruin things for myself, you all seem to think EOTS was really good and worh watching? Although there has been plenty of excitement so far (one predicament after another for our hero), I must say the whole love story leaves me cold. For me the show comes to a screeching halt whenever the sentimental piano music starts and we see Goong Bok pining for Jun Hua or Yum Moon pining for her or Jung Hua piningfor Goong Bok. This instant love is harder for me to swallow than the instant love between DJY and Chulin.

I agree with you; I didn't get it, either. While Joy will consider this sacrilegious, we would hit the mute and fast-forward when one of the Goong Bok-Jung Hua long staring scenes would come along.

Quote:

The women seen to date all look anemic and like they need a good square meal, although I kind of like Madam Jami's cool calculating mind. I'm looking forward to this show getting better, to tide me over til King Sejong picks up.

Madam Jami was one of the greatest female characters I've seen in a historical! She damn near stole the show.

And, in response to your question about whether it's worth it - absolutely!

mugwump wrote:

The women seen to date all look anemic and like they need a good square meal.... I'm looking forward to this show getting better, to tide me over til King Sejong picks up.

Kim Ah Joong looks very healthy...Plus I watch "Entertainment Weekly", and saw some scenes from
Sejong about half way through...I wasn't upset at being spoiled...

Nancy wrote:

190cm = 6 ft. 2.8 inches ... but he looks like a giant next to everyone else...

That reminds me of a scene from "Bodyguard"....Little Na Young calls Kyung Tak a giant...

His response...

 


Maybe CSJ is a midget...

joygant ---> '' < --- Ducky

Thanks for the info and the encouragement. Maybe Goong Bok's hair will improve as his fortune improves.
Come to think of it, maybe what GKS needs is more good-looking men with well-conditioned hair.

Well I spent my summer vacation watching Emperor of the Sea. This show was terrific! So different from the other historical drams. The show had great scenery and costumes and locales. At only 51 episodes, this show flew! Not a single dull moment I especially liked the earlier part in Yangzhou that showed a completely different side to life than I was used to seeing - the merchant class. I think I would have been perfectly content to have the entire show focus on all the ins and outs and deal-making, but it gradually moved back to the pirate motif and then into political fighting. So it ended much more like the usual historical dramas. I also really liked most of the music.

The ending was a real downer, even though I knew Jang BoGo was going to die and I was anticipating other deaths (since we’d just seen plenty in DJY).

It’s time to present some awards, but these are not going to be as light-hearted as the ones I handed out for DJY, given the way the show ended.

The Most Gratuitous Death Award goes to Ha-Jin. Poor woman. If she had read the fine print in her contract, she’d know that a Warrior Girl in a Korean drama has about as bright a future as a man who beams down to a planet in a red shirt on Star Trek. A cheap shot on the part of the writers to wring tears from us. Her death served no purpose and did nothing to advance the story line.

The “Let’s Go For a Swim” Award goes to Yum Moon for jumping off a cliff not once, but twice. (Did he really have to take the poor horse with him?) Runners-up: Jang Bogo and Yon.

The “It’s Not Easy Being Kim” Award goes to the entire imperial family. I believe I counted 6 deaths/murders of kings/kings-to-be during the course of this series. I thought the royal deck was getting shuffled pretty rapidly during the last years of Age of Warriors, but this takes the cake. If this aspect of the show is historically accurate, it must have been a really turbulent time for Shilla.

The Best Dressed Award goes to Jang Bogo (sorry Jami), for his splendid robes in the later episodes. I spent as much time gazing at the fabric in his clothing as I did looking at his face. I’ve never seen such beautiful colors and patterns.

And speaking of fabric, the Laura Ashley Award goes to all the bedding. What beautiful sheets and pillow cases they had, all beautifully coordinated.

The Vogue Award goes to Madam Jami, for being avante garde before there was avante garde.

The Most Improved Hair Award goes to Jang Bogo. Thank goodness someone finally gave him a comb. That wig he was wearing in the early episodes was awwwful.

The Jabba the Hutt Look-alike Award goes to Yi Sa Do. I was watching him and trying to think which K drama I’d seen him in before, and then I realized who it was he reminded me of Really.

The Cutest Guy Award goes to Jung Hwa’s body guard. You have to love a guy who always wears such a beafic smile. Yon comes in second, but only because he didn’t look as good after he got the facial hair.

The “I Should Have Been in Fairy Tales” Award goes to Madam Jami. Wicked witch/stepmother/queen – you name it, she’d be a natural. Near the end when Jung Hwa got captured and Jami was walking toward her, it made me think of the Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy. It was kind of creepy. Jung Hwa didn’t throw water at her, but it was water that eventually did her in. (If I was going to commit suicide, I would not pick drowning).

The Humanitarian Award goes to Master Sul, who proved that it is possible to amass great wealth honestly and use the profits to do good and promote social justice. Further, he passed his convictions on to his daughter and fellow merchants, and in particular to Jang Bogo.

The Selfless Love Award goes to Chae Ryung for her willingness to love Jang Bogo silently without demanding anything in return. If her father hadn’t tried to marry her off to the scholar, she probably never would have revealed to anyone that she loved him (OK, Ha-Jin guessed and squealed to Yon). Her father raised her to be a shrewd and self-reliant business woman, but, like her father, she also had a big heart. Second place goes to Madam Jami’s captain.

The Most Complex Character Award goes to Yum Moon. What an opportunity for an actor! Pages and pages could be written about this guy. The writers did a good job in keeping us wondering if he had reformed or whether he would keep his grudge and kill Jang Bogo. This brings me to a major gripe about the writing - the actual killing itself. I was prepared for Yum Moon to kill Jang Bogo for jealousy or for revenge, but to prevent a war? When did Yum Moon suddenly become interested in the welfare of the country? Did he really believe that the fighting would stop if Jang Bogo was dead? As Kim Yang said, "How naive are you?" I had trouble understanding the whole intent here.

The Second Chance Award goes to Jung Hwa’s brother. What a pleasant surprise it was to see him smiling and relaxed when he decided to make a new life for himself in China. If Jang Bogo hadn’t persuaded him to stay in Chung Hae, he probably would have lived happily ever after.

The Love-Triangle-That-Wasn’t Award goes to Jang BoGo-Jung Hwa-Yum Moon. I’m sorry, I suppose this was supposed to be a great love story where we really feel for the characters, but it just didn’t work for me. There was really no rivalry between Yum Moon and Jang Bo Go for Jung Hwa, as Yum Moon accepted almost from the start, that Jung Hwa would always love Jang Bo Go and not him. And any sympathy I may have started to have for Jung Hwa and Jang Bo Go went out the window when she refused to marry him for no good reason. There was, literally, nothing keeping them apart, so why should I feel any sympathy because they weren’t together? Even at the end when Jang Bo Go asked her “Why did you refuse me?” she just turned away and left him. I just Don’t Get It.

The Most Unnecessary Character Award goes to Joong Dal and his hanger-on. Such a waste of screen time. Not Comic, not Relief. Second place goes to Jang Bogo’s other pal and his father, although they do get some brownie points for having good hearts and helping the Good Guys.

The Slime Ball Award goes to Kim Yang.

The Most Over-used Line – “We must have a plan”.

The Most Over-used Scene Shot – Madam Jami sitting in her room sipping tea (or whatever) out of an exquisite little cup. Ranks right up there with a room full of soldiers sitting around a table and someone rushing in yelling “Jangoooon!”

The Jinx Award goes to Yon and Ha-Jin. As soon as Yon opened his mouth and said “After the war is over, I’m going to marry Ha-Jin and have a big family” I knew their relationship was doomed. When Ha-Jin announced she was pregnant and begged for the chance to provide security for Just One More event, I knew she was the one who was a goner.

The Scene I’m Glad They Did Not Do: The Blood Brother ritual – before Yon’s wedding, he and Jang BoGo were drinking and getting all misty-eyed about their friendship. I was expecting them to whip out their knives and start slicing open their hands. Fortunately they restrained themselves. It's yucky enough that they were drinking mare’s milk and blood when they were at the horse ranch.

The Scene That Made Me Misty-eyed – After Ha-Jin’s death when Jon came back to Shilla with the orphans, and told her she could stop worrying about him and rest in peace.

What Set My Teeth On Edge – the sappy piano / violin/ music/ vocals in every scene where Yum Moon, Jang Bo Go, and Jung Jwa were sighing over one another.

Best Gem of a Scene – When Jang BoGo and Yon were buried up to their necks in the sand and Master Jo swung his sword down between them. Jang Bo Go just gave him a look, “Was that supposed to be scary?”

The Superman Award goes to all the ninjas who are able to leap tall buildings and walls with a single bound and somersault.

The Saddest Face Award goes to Madam Jami’s captain.

The Most Disturbing Death Award goes to Chae Ryung. Couldn’t Yum Moon have arrived a minute earlier and saved her as well as Jung Hwa? What a pitiless ending. And considering that Jung Hwa’s the one who caused so much pain for Jang BoGo, I find it a bit ironic that she’s the one who survived to raise the child. Runner up goes to Jung Hwa’s body guard, just because he always seemed so invincible.

Loose ends and unanswered questions:
Jung hwa escaped from Chung Hae during the fighting. How did she come to have Jang Bo Gos ashes in the last scene?
What happened next in real history? Did the child king live to adulthood, or did Kim Yang overthrow him? What happened to Chung Hae? Some voice over narration would have been helpful.
What happened to the other children? When the women were escaping, they had the baby, but the daughter was not with them. What happened to her? What happened to Yon’s children?
How did Madam Jami become the person she was? It would have been great to get some back-story on her and “Kyo-ee”.
Did Master Jo get through the blockade and survive? What happened to the pal’s (can never remember his name or father’s) wife and children?

That oughta do it.

I don't know how you remember so much...I'm only up to #37, and you reminded me of some good parts...

mugwump wrote:

It’s time to present some awards, but these are not going to be as light-hearted as the ones I handed out for DJY, given the way the show ended.

mugwump wrote:

The Most Gratuitous Death Award goes to Ha-Jin. Poor woman. If she had read the fine print in her contract, she’d know that a Warrior Girl in a Korean drama has about as bright a future as a man who beams down to a planet in a red shirt on Star Trek.

R.I.P... Kim Ah Joong...But she did get resurrected to do battle w/ Nara...(red shirt on ST...Good One)...

mugwump wrote:

The Best Dressed Award goes to Jang Bogo (sorry Jami), for his splendid robes in the later episodes. I spent as much time gazing at the fabric in his clothing as I did looking at his face. I’ve never seen such beautiful colors and patterns.

Right when I read this, I looked up and he had on a green paisley "Hugh Hefner" type robe....

Quote:

The Vogue Award goes to Madam Jami, for being avante garde before there was avante garde.

Where I'm at, she just came out w/ her beret hair hat... And she's wooing master Lee "The Pirate" again...
But what's up w/ the eye lashes drawn onto her face??? Every time she blinks, they are just hanging out up there...

Quote:

The Most Improved Hair Award goes to Jang Bogo. Thank goodness someone finally gave him a comb.

And a beard trimmer...

Quote:

The Humanitarian Award goes to Master Sul, who proved that it is possible to amass great wealth honestly and use the profits to do good and promote social justice. Further, he passed his convictions on to his daughter and fellow merchants, and in particular to Jang Bogo.

I think Bogo taught him that, not the other way around...

Quote:

The Most Complex Character Award goes to Yum Moon.

If you watch "Bodyguard"...He went through the same thing...Rich to poor...Rebuild yourself...Still don't get the girl...


So I hear everyone is going to die...(At least the heroes)... A Kdrama w/o loose ends...

Sorry if I've spoiled you. Still...

Wait til you see Madam Jami do her fan dance...

I could not keep a straight face.

Mugs, I really enjoyed your awards! Karma to you!
I watched this a couple of years ago, and this was a great trip down memory lane!
My favorite characters were Madam Jami and Yum Moon, and YM was clearly the character with the most depth. But yes, Madam Jami's back story would make a great KD!

mugwump wrote:

Sorry if I've spoiled you. Still... Wait til you see Madam Jami do her fan dance... I could not keep a straight face.

I wouldn't be in the spoiler thread if I had a problem w/ it.. ..

I can't wait for the fan dance...Is she nekkid??? EWWWW

mugwump,

i'm a little more than half-way through this series, and insofar as what i have seen that you referenced, i agree with you 100%. both your gripes and compliments are spot-on. i especially agree with the following:

Quote:

The Love-Triangle-That-Wasn’t Award. And any sympathy I may have started to have for Jung Hwa and Jang Bo Go went out the window when she refused to marry him for no good reason. There was, literally, nothing keeping them apart, so why should I feel any sympathy because they weren’t together? Even at the end when Jang Bo Go asked her “Why did you refuse me?” she just turned away and left him. I just Don’t Get It.

her justification about not being with him because she is a "jinx" is such a crock.

Quote:

The Most Unnecessary Character Award goes to Joong Dal and his hanger-on. Such a waste of screen time. Not Comic, not Relief. Second place goes to Jang Bogo’s other pal and his father

joong dal was such a scum bag, wasn't funny, and annoyed me every time he appeared on screen. what the heck!

Regarding the fan dance, she is not nekkid, but from the way the men were hyperventilating, you'd think she was.

I just, JUST finished watching EOTS a few minutes ago. I'm too torn up to reflect on the series. I was doing laundry as the final scenes of the last episode rolled along, weeping. My husband walked by, took one look at me weeping by the washer, the DVD player, and just laughed at me. But come on! The final two episode were just SOOOOOOOOO heart-rending. The writers didn't give us a chance to catch our breath before they were killing someone else off!