I’m still catching up to everybody here. Kingdom of the Winds has filled the void left by Queen Seonduk’s demise. I thought this was really well acted, and it was the characters that made this one for me.
Here follows the review of the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.
I really like this one, though I think it degenerated as it went on (so many of these shows do). I was hooked after episode 1 by King Yuri, I was even more hooked by the end of episode 2 by Prince Haemyung. By the end of episode 3 I knew Haemyung was a goner; it was just a question of how long he’d last. I think I would have enjoyed the show just as much if all 36 episodes had been devoted to him instead.
Besides these characters, what drew me was so many other likable good guys. Even the bad guys were interesting. And this show did not have a single annoying one-note character in the early going. The comic relief guys played an important role and were not just there for cheap laughs.
I loved seeing a royal family that was not dysfunctional (except for the queen) and really cared about one another (except for the queen). When was the last time you saw all the princes and princesses swinging their swords together for Dad?
Good assortment of good looking men, always a plus. And two really great female characters in Princess Seryi and Hye Ap, two Warrior Girls who managed to beat the odds and stay alive through the whole show.
I found the love triangle lukewarm at best, probably since we’ve seen it before. Yeon started off OK, but eventually turned into a weak pathetic-looking pawn. I got tired of seeing her get captured first by one side, rescued by the other, captured again…
I liked Dojin very much, and I’m glad he thawed at the end. I like the Sangga, I liked Muhyul’s buddies. Did anyone else think they kind of looked like musketeers in their spy uniforms? I liked the Daebo and the king’s body guard. I even liked Baegeuk.
I didn’t like King Daeso, but I thought the actor was really good. The Chief Retainer was just creepy. When I first saw him, I thought he looked like the actor who was Madam Jami’s captain, but he looked so faded and jaded in this one I had my doubts. But you all have confirmed that it was indeed him.
This show had a number of similar plot elements to Queen Seonduk and Ballad of Seodong. In all three shows the king is in conflict with his nobles, and pretty powerless against them. The nobles are, almost to a man, with any redeeming qualities. The main character is of royal birth but does not know it, and is befriended by the older royal sibling. They never have much time to bond before older sib dies tragically.
Since I had just finished watching Queen Seonduk, I kept thinking that the king needed a really good strategist to help him get the upper hand against the chiefs. Either Mishil or Deokman would have found a way to get them under control. Even a Mimosa would have been a help.
I was appalled that the chief bad guys were from Soseono’s tribe. Didn’t they all leave the country with her at the end of Jumong? She must be rolling over in her tomb.
What’s with this custom of being buried alive with the dead husband? They said Prince Dojeol’s wife was buried alive with him, and Hye Ap was supposed to be buried alive too. However, there was never any talk of burying the Queen with King Yuri when he died.
And why can’t the men keep their hair out of their eyes? For some reason the producers of these shows must think the men look hotter with their hair covering their faces. Would any real warrior or ninja want anything obstructing his sight when he’s doing battle? And what king attends formal occasions with stringy hair?
Overall, the plots held my interest, but I think they writers tried to cram in too much, by have the crisis dejeur, and never following up on their aftermath. For example, Muhyul kills the Xin delegation in one episode and that’s the last we hear of it. What about collecting taxes from the chiefs?
Best Acting Award goes to King Yuri. A touching portrayal of a man who loved his country and his children.
The Indiana Jones Award goes to Muhyul, for retrieving Jumong’s sword from the tomb and eluding all the traps. After he got out with the sword, I thought, now is someone going to ask him to go put it back? I’m glad we eventually found out what did happen to it.
The Continuity Award goes to Mother Nature. At the end of one episode Muhyul and his buddies were walking down a path at the palace, and in the beginning of the next episode it was the same scene, but this time the ground was covered with snow.
The As Bad as I Want to Be Award goes to King Daeso. Still conniving and arrogant, still jealous of Jumong. Still childless. I wonder how many years of marital hell he spent with Sulan?
The Fountain of Youth Award goes to Hye Ap. I’d sure like to know the secret of her skin care regimen, since she was already an adult when Haemyung brought baby Muhyul to her, and she looked exactly the same 20 years later.
The Johnny Depp Award goes to Balso for having the most beautiful cheekbones in northeast Asia. How did he get through 36 episodes without a girlfriend?
Character Most in Need of a Good Smack – the Queen. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for Yeojin to lose it and let her have it, but it never happened. Too much of a dutiful son.
The Broken Record Award goes to the queen for her single-minded obsession with making Yeojin king.
Most Missed Character – Prince Haemyung. He joins Cheungmyung and Aja in the pantheon of sacrificed royal sublings.
Most Entertaining Villain – the Sangga. He turned out not to be so bad after all.
Cutest couple – Seryi and Chamgun.
Most Annoying Character – the Queen’s brother. One-note and over the top.
The Big Puppy Dog Eyes Award goes to Yeon.
Dojin gets the award for acting self-restraint. He could easily have turned into another Li Haigu (well his face did do a little bit of twitching). He was an interesting and sympathetic character, without overshadowing Muhyul.
The Sleazeball Award goes to the Sangga’s servant who kept switching allegiance (I can’t remember his name, the guy who was Shin Hong in DJY). This actor is the epitome of dishonesty.
Most Creative Hair Style – Maro. I spent way too much time staring at his hair trying to figure out what kind of braids he had going.
The Reptile Award goes to Baegeuk. Eyes as cold and unblinking as a snake’s, and a ruthless mind. Truly menacing, and his acting was outstanding until he usurped the throne and started overdoing it. Hard to believe he was such a nice guy in Queen Seonduk.
The Teflon Award goes to all the characters who, at the whim of the writers, miraculously recovered from being shot with arrows or sliced and diced.
The Iron Man Award had many worthy candidates (see above). King Yuri gets the edge here (no pun intended) for stabbing himself in the heart, recovering with Yeon’s miraculous healing skills, and then getting gouged again in front of everyone by Baegeuk and managing to survive long to have a suitably protracted and touching death scene. Second place goes to his bodyguard who was cut down by Baegeuk when the king was taken hostage, but bounced back in the next episode.
The “What, You Fell for That Old Trick?” Award goes to Dojin for failing to realize that Hye Ap and Balso were just pretending to be dead. Didn’t he watch that episode in Jumong? Really, since the Black Shadows were experts in poison, he should have considered that possibility. But it’s a good thing he didn’t lop off their heads to be certain, isn’t it?
The Gratuitous Death Award goes to Maro. One of Muhyul’s buddies just had to die, right?
The “Rolls Eyes in Disbelief” Award #1 goes to the chariot episode. Dude, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that to stop a chariot, all you have to do is stop (i.e. shoot) the horses. (Sorry PETA).
The “Rolls Eyes in Disbelief” Award #2 goes to the king and queen for letting their teenage son have a teenage maid. Why does it come as such a surprise to the Queen that Yeojin and Yeonhwa have a crush on each other? And speaking of hormones…
The “Rolls Eyes in Disbelief “ Award #3 goes to Muhyul’s wedding and the aftermath. Didn’t anyone explain to this guy that part of being a prince means Daddy arranges a political marriage for you for the purpose of making more little princes? Didn’t anyone explain that a royal wife can be a king’s worst nightmare if she gets ticked off (just go ask Daeso)? Muhyul behaved like a kid throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted for his birthday. Come on, throw the poor woman a few crumbs. Would it hurt to at least smile? And he’s apparently so put out by all this that he refuses to get into bed with her, and leaves the palace in a snit to start a war (but still finds time to bed Yeon). This episode almost made me stop watching the show, it was just so ridiculous. And this leads to…
The Pixie Dust Award goes to Muhyul and Yeon, who prove again that all it takes is a kiss and a little Imperial Energy to make a baby.
The Wife from Hell Award goes to Princess Yiji. Too bad the writers decided to make her just another power-hungry evil Sulan clone. Good thing Muhyul eventually saw through her.
Silly Hat Award – no Silly Hats in this show. No Magic Hat of Invisibility either.
Sappy Music – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!! Emperor of the Sea, to my mind, had the worst sappy music, this show comes in second. Every time the piano started playing, the show came to a dead stop. Enough already!!!!!!!!!!
Overall, this show gets high marks for its array of lovable (not to mention good-looking) characters with good chemistry and decent story-telling, even with a forgettable love triangle.
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