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Synopsis: Won is a crown prince of Goryeo. He has a pretty appearance, but he also has a lust for conquest. He is best friends with Wang Rin who comes from a royal family and is his bodyguard. Beautiful Eun San appears in front of the two young men. She is the daughter of the richest man. The three become good friends, but things change after Wang Won and Wang Rin both fall in love with Eun San.
Cast: Im Siwan, Yoona, Hong Jong Hyun, Park Hwan Hee, Oh Min Suk
Director: Kim Sang Hyub
Writer: Song Ji Na
Network: MBC
Episodes: 40
Release Date: July 17 - September 19, 2017
Runtime: Mondays & Tuesdays 22:00 (35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day)
Watch Here: Viki Dramafire
Source: AsianWiki
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Date: 2017-08-10 01:18 am (UTC)It's good to see more of what I'm considering the real meat of Wan's character. His goofy, kind of jerkass personality he puts on with Rin and San always felt fairly hollow (I'm assuming purposefully) and it feels like now we're getting to see past it. The confrontation with his father in the aftermath of the breakup of San and Wang Jeon's engagement was heartwrenching (him in the background of his parents' confrontation wasn't too comfortable either). The public humiliation he suffers at the hand of his father made me livid. I mean, I've wanted to kill the King since basically episode one but now I want to slowly stab him to death with that nail thing the Queen wears on her finger.
Which, by the way, props to the Queen for all these lessons in how to intimidate and terrify lesser beings. I hope I get to use them someday. (Joking! Or am I?) That scene of her casually dropping vases or whatever while the King scolds her? Incredible! Amazing! I've never been happier. Though the thing with Dan was officially over the line, even for me who has not even batted an eye at every other fucked up thing this lady has done. I don't know why I love her so much, she is objectively awful, except that I...admire her anger? Because deep down, I too, am fucking pissed at the world. (And I would also do anything to protect perfect pumpkin baby Siwan.)
Anyway, I am excited for how this show is going and I hope we get Rin back quickly (which I never expected myself to say!).
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Date: 2017-08-10 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 01:46 pm (UTC)farscape iconnnnnnn
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Date: 2017-08-10 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 02:48 am (UTC)The King needs to go asap. He's the person I hate the most right now and his death would please me immensely.
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Date: 2017-08-10 02:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 04:01 pm (UTC)Won jumping in at Rin's behest, no questions asked was great. I had initially been a little wtf at him immediately deciding to leave Rin in prison even though logically it made sense since 1) Rin chose to take the blame for the things San was accused of, 2) he would have agreed with Won's choice, and 3) Rin wouldn't be treated badly in prison like a commoner would have but I still wish they'd have shown Won mulling it over for a minute. So yeah, this went a long way in establishing how invested Won is in Rin/their friendship.
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Date: 2017-08-10 02:20 am (UTC)I feel like the romance plot (while not as interesting as the politics to me) is actually starting to be believable some what. I don't see an epic love yet but there is something there now.
I felt so bad for so many people this week. San having to deal with the marriage stuff and then finding out the real identities of her two companions, Rin's sister being traumatized by the Queen and then having to try to adjust to the idea of possibly never seeing her family again, Rin doing his best to make sure everyone in his life is safe and happy, and Wan being humiliated by his in front of everyone.
The King is such a weak piece of shit. He's allowed himself to view his own son as a threat and as a result Wan will become a threat. The King has created the situation he's in currently. He's also so focused on the Queen, Wan, and the Emperor that he doesn't consider anyone else a threat. What King is this open with people?? A monarch should be shrewd of everyone without being cold but he is not balancing shit well at all.
I had so much to say after watching these episode but now that the post is here I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts together (it's a common occurrence with me). I'm just filled with rage towards the King right now. I don't want to absolve any of the other characters of their evil deeds or anything but it just became clear this week how much everything goes back to the King and how him not managing his personal affairs better has resulted in the current situation. He opened the door for people to come in and rearrange the monarchy in their own favor (I have have no idea if "rearrange the monarchy" even makes sense but I'm just gonna leave it lol).
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Date: 2017-08-10 03:08 am (UTC)Everything you said about the King. Yes. Not only is he a prick, he's a fucking stupid prick. The only excuse for why he believes everything that comes out of Song In's mouth is that he's really just looking for excuses to be shitty to Won and he should fuck off with that. That's only slightly stupider than making an enemy out of his wife who is both awesome and, frankly, a babe. She could have been such a good ally if he hadn't basically ruined her by making her life hell for the past however many decades. She would legit kill for you.
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Date: 2017-08-10 03:33 am (UTC)The only excuse for why he believes everything that comes out of Song In's mouth is that he's really just looking for excuses to be shitty to Won and he should fuck off with that. That's only slightly stupider than making an enemy out of his wife who is both awesome and, frankly, a babe.
Yep, exactly. The King hears what he wants to and sees what he wants to. Instead of seeing what an asset his wife is he sees some sort of burden he's been saddled with . Instead of seeing a great successor and son he sees an usurper.
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Date: 2017-08-10 04:17 am (UTC)Except for her son apparently. The Queen taking to her sickbed after the King humiliates Won (such a kdrama move) was kind of hilarious until she started on about how Won hates her and then it was genuinely really sad. Like it must be infuriating to be her. Not only is her husband a twat but her son is hated by basically the entire country, has the world's largest target on his back, and barely seems to care so of course she has to take that mantle on too even though it puts her at cross purposes with him half the time. I am glad to see that she is aware he is unhappy though cos it's not always clear she can see outside of her ambitions for him enough to know. Her saying she was gonna bring him So Hwa would've been really sweet if it wasn't a whole other realm of problematic.
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Date: 2017-08-10 05:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-10 03:32 am (UTC)Watching Rin beat the shit out of his brother was really satisfying and I hope it happens again. He has a really punchable face and I've wanted to punch him since he was on the worst intern on Misaeng.
The comments on tumblr/dramafire have sort of been driving me crazy. They are almost entirely about the romance shit and everyone lamenting that they're gonna be sad when, in typical kdrama fashion, the second lead doesn't get the girl. I'm really only mad because if this turns out to be a typical romance kdrama, I'm gonna be fucking pissed so please don't. And I've seen more than one person complain that Siwan doesn't look princely enough in his robes/that he looks out of place and I'm pretty sure he's supposed to? That's basically his entire character, the heir to the throne that no one (save his mom) wants. Also lol at the idea of tall, stately, and handsome being considered princely when royal families were routinely inbred in order to keep power within the family.
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Date: 2017-08-10 03:50 am (UTC)I literally said "What?! What?! What?!" out loud when I read this. Like the commenters focusing on the romance where typical but this threw me for a loop lol.
I think he gorgeous in the show. I mean the sleeves look a bit weird at times but I thought that was just the style~ of the time period the show is supposed to take place in.
Also lol at the idea of tall, stately, and handsome being considered princely when royal families were routinely inbred in order to keep power within the family.
This made me think of the Habsburgs :(
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Date: 2017-08-10 04:32 am (UTC)My brain legit went all the way back to Tutankhamun.
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Date: 2017-08-10 05:40 am (UTC)That stoic self sacarficing stuff is apart of the character.
Also how the hell can they know he'll pull off those gigantic sleeves any better than Siwan? They've never seen him in those costumes. If they find Jong Hyun more attractive they should just say so instead of making it about clothes he's never worn.
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Date: 2017-08-10 03:10 pm (UTC)Truly. Like if you think Siwan looks like a kid throwing a fit when he gets upset, HJH's gonna look like a manchild (Moon Lovers flashback!). I don't see how that's better (and I don't think he has the acting chops besides). Everyone just leave my short beautiful baby alone, dammit!
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Date: 2017-08-10 01:15 pm (UTC)Won's only light points in his entire life have been Rin and now San, and per his voiceover, Rin's starting to deceive him and San's now on the other side of a growing chasm, only he doesn't realize it yet. I almost want to watch the rest of the show peeping through my fingers. It's like, if the show takes him dark -- and does it well -- that'll be awesome and tragic and sad. (But they could bungle the journey and piss me off.) On the other hand, I can see the show trying to keep him a good guy and letting him Learn Life Lessons, so that he makes noble sacrifices or something yet remains forever alone, and that'll be awesome and tragic and sad, too. (I loved that we got San's POV line that Wan's smile was always tinged with sadness, even before the terrible tea party. She perceived that much about him.)
It annoys the hell out of me when I see commenters rag on Won -- in my opinion he and his mother are the most fascinating and complex characters in the show. It annoys me even more when I see commenters focusing on the shipping and the SLS while ignoring the politics. Yes, it's called The King Loves and is a romance story, but in my opinion, HJH is a terribly wooden actor and makes me feel next to nothing for Rin. I know he's supposed to be careful with his emotions, as opposed to Won who Siwan can be a bit flashier with, but I've seen secret second lead longing done better. If I didn't already know this was supposed to be a love triangle because of Kdrama tropes and the marketing, Rin's feelings for San would have been a surprise.
I'd like to see maybe more flashbacks to Won and Rin as childhood friends. There have been a few long comments over at Soompi about how their relationship, whether as friends or prince/subject, hasn't actually been established that well. I agree and would like to see more of their history to properly ground this love triangle in an angsty context. And also to better understand Rin's conflict about staying loyal to Won when his family and others are telling him he should be loyal to Goryeo.
I honestly don't have that much to say about San. I liked her a lot when her main focus was finding her mother's killer and we saw glimpses of her issues (all the drinking, crying in her sleep). But that plotline seems to have fallen by the wayside with the marriage stuff and now, I guess, the activation of the love triangle for real. I hope she doesn't get reduced to a prize where "X gets the girl" is the only thing that matters about her.
By the way, this is my first sageuk! I was iffy about the start which seemed sort of shallow and cotton candy-ish, but these last episodes were such an entertaining ride. I'm intrigued by the time period and the Goryeo/Yuan dynamic and am considering Empress Ki. But, gulp, 51 episodes!
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Date: 2017-08-10 02:55 pm (UTC)I think I mentioned this in a post one or two episodes back but I really don't feel like any of the relationships have been established particularly well except the Queen and King's (Jang Young Nam has done so well with the Queen, I am truly living for her in this). Won and Rin's friendship, Won and Rin falling in love with San, Song In's relationship with the King, I don't feel like any of that was fleshed out well enough. For the life of me, I do not know why Song In has the ear of the King. We've seen him do nothing but be a fairly obvious snake (didn't the guards discover the dead witnesses when they caught San, after Song In had already told the King there were dead witnesses or did they already know the witnesses were dead and just left them there in the hope that maybe their killer would come back to...spend some more time with her corpses? like wtf). I would have liked to see a point where Song In was actually helpful to the King to give some basis for their relationship or is it legitimately all just the King likes having someone around to shitalk/plot against his son because he is truly that much of an asshole?
You're right, San was definitely more interesting when she was trying to get revenge for her mother. That has a potential to get so messy (in the good way). I really hope they return to that plotline and I'll be pretty disappointed if they don't. I'm really waiting for the other shoe to drop on Rin's silence about his brother's involvement. Not only is he betraying Won in this, he's now betraying San too. On a rational level, it's understandable that he wouldn't want to betray his brother (especially since I'm sure the consequences will rain down on the rest of his family too) but it's not really working on an emotional one since his brother, so far, has done nothing but be an irredeemable prick and I've never gotten an inkling that Rin and him have any sort of brotherly relationship.
The only other sageuks I've watched were Moon Lovers (garbage! hot, steaming garbage!) and Arang and the Magistrate which was very fun but more like watching a Korean version of Hercules/Xena than something properly historical. I've heard good things about Six Flying Dragons but that's also got 50 episodes.
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Date: 2017-08-10 07:35 pm (UTC)It's a shame that the very thing that made me excited about this drama -- Won going dark -- is potentially off-putting to people who can't separate the character from the actor. Like, it takes SKILL to pull off an arc like that. There's a reason Siwan was hired in the role and I think he's been doing very well with it. I couldn't believe one of the Dramabeans recappers was so surprised last week about Won beating the prison guard. Besides the fact that we saw Won unleashing his temper during sword training in a previous ep, I think there have been several moments of expressive acting which showed Won's not just some joking flirt but has dark, angry, and possessive traits. But I guess that would require paying attention to the lead character or something...
That said, YES to Rin's culpability in hiding his brother's involvement in San's mother's death. This is his dark secret and I don't think the show has done enough to make that an issue for viewers. Instead I mostly see comments about how he's "so self-sacrificing" and pure and ofc better for San than Won. Yet he's hiding this from the two people he loves, who he knows feel intensely guilty about what went down. I agree that we can't expect him to reveal the secret for practical reasons, but a little more angst about the dilemma would not go amiss.
I don't know what Song In's deal is either. I was surprise to be reminded in this latest run of eps that he's only the son of the Assistant Royal Secretary (or whatever the title is). What position does he himself hold that allows him to give the King counsel and advice? Also, does he truly care about Goryeo resisting Yuan, or does he only want to wield power via the people who do truly care (e.g. snake assassin and, I guess, Rin's family)?
I'm loving Jang Young Nam also! I've only seen her in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, and she was fine there, but I think she's a total scene stealer in TKL. I want the Queen to have everything her scheming heart desires. And I'd love for the show to actually take her and Won to Mongolia to explore more of that side of his nature, and to see them interacting with Kublai Khan.
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Date: 2017-08-10 11:06 pm (UTC)My reaction to Won beating the guard was legit just 'Yes, we're going there! We're gonna do it!' The enthusiasm with which I am reacting to every hint that this show will indeed take the dark path is frankly kind of sad but I have been let down before. That said, they've given ample hints that Won is a darker character than he's letting on to the point that it seems like it'd be weird if it wasn't leading anywhere. I wonder if Rin is gonna get that treatment at all. Twice now, once with Song In and before with snake tattoo assassin guy, it seems like the rebels have given him pause. I wish the writers could flesh the rebellion out more too. I know Goryeo has real, legitimate issues with Yuan (like the whole tribute thing) but so far they (and the King) are largely just coming across as power hungry/racist (istg if they don't stop calling Won a mongrel).
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Date: 2017-08-11 03:32 am (UTC)I'd expected that The Merciless going to Cannes would give Siwan some exposure in those kinds of circles, at least, although again there would be little overlap with romance dramaland. Is it already out online somewhere in raw form?? I was still wondering how to find out about US theater release. What about One-Line? I also haven't seen any good subs for A Melody to Remember/Thoughts of Oppa and it's been what, a year?
I really hope Rin gets more conflict and darkness in upcoming eps, because he's being portrayed so shallowly right now that it's no wonder so many viewers are hopping easily onto his ship. He appears, on the surface, to be the perfect and self-sacrificing second lead. But if the show depicted him with any real depth or explored his flaws more obviously, maybe it would make people think more critically about all of the characters. But who knows. Someone at Soompi just did a great write-up on all of Rin's lies, looking at the results of his dishonesty regardless of his good intentions (here) and yet still, within a few replies, someone hadn't bothered to read and had forgotten all about Jeon and San's mother.
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Date: 2017-08-11 05:46 am (UTC)I've been sitting on top of an unsubbed download of The Merciless for like a month (or two?) now. It's making me so sad. I suppose at some point I'll break down and watch it even if I can't find subs but I'd really rather know what they're saying. I saw someone say they watched One Line but that it had shitty subs, A Melody to Remember is up on US netflix though.
The show has shown him being dishonest but it hasn't really made a point of it so I think people tend to forget it/not realize it pretty easily. Plus it seems like a lot of viewers came here for HJH and are thus predisposed to like his character. But like, boy howdy, San's not gonna be happy when she finds out he almost let her marry the dude who killed her mom.
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Date: 2017-08-10 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2017-08-10 05:26 pm (UTC)Things have really gotten interesting starting with the frame the crown prince with arrows plot to the present.