Have you ever had someone take you by the hand, and seem completely confident of leading you to your destination? You feel safe and assured in following said person’s lead, and all your curious questions seem to be met with solid answers, to boot. Everything feels like it’s going Really Great.
…And then you know the feeling, when that all starts to unravel? Like, the answers you get for your questions slowly but surely start showing cracks, and then you realize that maybe said person doesn’t know the way so well after all, especially once you notice that you’ve sorta walked in a circle, several times?
Sigh. That pretty much sums up my experience with Mirror of the Witch, you guys.
For the record, there is no mirror, and there is also no witch. I have no idea why.
IT STARTED SO WELL
For the first 13 episodes, I really – like, really, really – enjoyed this show. It wasn’t perfect, sure, but there was so much good stuff that I considered this show a distinct cut above the rest of the dramas that I was watching at the time.
Here’s a quick list of all the stuff I loved in the first 13 episodes.
1. Show’s really pretty
Show is beautifully filmed, and the drama world it creates, is an interesting and very intriguing rendition of a dark Joseon world where mysticism and magic rule the day and monarchs are at their mercy. Everything is stylish and polished in its dark, brooding way, and the purplish filter used for much of this show gives everything a touch of the unreal. I literally sometimes paused, just to admire the pretty.
Really well done, I thought.
2. Show feels assured in its plotting and direction
It was admittedly a bit of a slow burn for my heart to get on board with this show, but I must admit that the plot moves pretty fast, and you really never know what to expect. I really liked not being able to guess where Show would take us next, and Show didn’t seem to shy away from completing an arc, and therefore push the boundaries of where the story could go.
It made other dramas feel simplistic in comparison, because this story has multiple acts (vs. the basic Opening, Middle and Closing acts of most dramas), and that made the watch experience quite twisty and exhilarating, coz you just really didn’t know where the story was going to go next.
Show raised more questions than it answered, but in the first 13 episodes at least, I felt like we were in good hands. Show would answer at least several of the questions that it raised, and that made me feel like we would get some solid answers to other as-yet-unanswered questions (that.. didn’t really happen, but we’ll talk more about that later).
3. Show’s handling of the OTP
I actually liked the way Show handled the OTP.
On paper, the age gap between Yoon Si Yoon and Kim Sae Ron is pretty big, but in the Joseon setting, it actually wasn’t much of a problem, particularly since things only take a turn for the romantic when Kim Sae Ron’s character Yeon Hee is in her twenties.
I thought Show setting the OTP up as soul mates who understood each other at a very fundamental, existential level was a very good call indeed. Another plus is, Show never rushed this OTP connection, and allowed our OTP the time and space to connect on a human level first and foremost, and I liked that a lot.
Both Kim Sae Ron and Yoon Si Yoon turn in solid performances, but I hafta say, to me, it’s Yoon Si Yoon who truly shines. He plays Joon with a depth and warmth that I felt worked really, really well. In several of the more difficult scenes, he legit gave me chills; his delivery was so arresting.
Together, their OTP chemistry was sweetly innocent and wholesomely earnest, and I consistently enjoyed our OTP’s shared scenes. Plus, who can deny the epic nature of their love, which endured even when pit against a Scary Deathly Curse?
4. Our villain’s powerful & interesting
Yum Jung Ah’s excellent as resident antagonist shaman Hong Joo, and I often found her more compelling and fascinating than our good guys.
I loved that she was so fierce and glowery, and that her personality – and her makeup – was strong, unlike many other female characters. Plus, she demonstrated quite a lot of smarts in her evil scheming, and that made her a proper force to be reckoned with.
Even when Show faltered in its later episodes, I consistently found Hong Joo to be a scene-stealer. Which, really, is No Small Deal, since I don’t often gravitate towards villains.
5. The OST
I will admit that I wasn’t really feeling the lighter moments that Show served up in the midst of all the magicky Drama, so I also didn’t much care for the boppy instrumentals that scored those scenes. On the other hand, I must say that there are some truly lovely tracks on the OST that regularly lifted my watch experience to the next level.
Also, special shout-out to the chanty, cymbal-heavy score that came on every time Hong Joo worked her black magic. That’s some intense, eerie, otherworldly-sounding stuff alright. Kudos to the music PD for creating that sound and applying it so well. It literally made my skin crawl. Eek.
… AND THEN THE CRACKS STARTED SHOWING
So I’m not saying that the first 13 episodes are perfect; there were definitely things that didn’t sit completely well with me. But, the first 13 episodes were cohesive and solid enough, to make it easy to overlook those flaws.
Once we hit episode 14, however, it was a different story. Stuff started going markedly downhill for me, and I even got to a point where I wondered if it was time to drop this show.
Here’s a quick rundown of the key things that I found lacking in Show’s later stretch.
1. Show starts to cycle in place
Considering how much I loved Show’s brand of bold ballsy in its first 13 episodes, in pushing boundaries and finishing and starting new arcs, this slow-down from the episode 14 point onwards was extra disappointing.
Essentially, our story pretty much grinds to an almost-halt between episodes 14 and 19. The plot cycles in place, and it feels like Show is purposefully manufacturing Stuff to fill time before the finale. Our characters experience victories and setbacks, yes, but – and here’s the thing – none of it is real. The victories aren’t real victories, and setbacks aren’t real setbacks either; nobody really changes or dies or faces consequences – so that our characters are basically almost in the same place, in position for the finale events.
So slow and painful to watch, seriously.
2. Characters seem to be treated rather haphazardly
Pretty much from the get-go, the side characters in this show pop up and fade away in a pretty haphazard fashion. It’s less obvious in the first 13 episodes coz not only is Show moving in a much more satisfying manner, it was also easier to give Show the benefit of the doubt. After all, with so many more episodes to go, there was time for Show to bring characters back to the fore in meaningful ways, right?
…Except, Show didn’t.
Several of the side characters pop in and out of the story in what feels like rather random ways. I always expected Show to flesh out these characters more – towards something – but in the end, they ended up mostly feeling rather arbitrary. Heo Ok (Jo Dal Hwan), Joon’s bad-egg half-brother is one example, and Soon Deok (Min Do Hee) is another, although I do admit Soon Deok fared slightly better as a character.
And then there are the side characters that just completely disappear from the story, and never come back. The case of Joon’s bestie Dong Rae (Choi Sung Won) fading away from the plot is understandable, since Choi Sung Won had to bow out of the production after being diagnosed with acute leukemia (feel better soon, Choi Sung Won! Fighting!). However, there is no explanation for the disappearance of Heo Ok’s mother (Jun Mi Sun), or worse, Hyun Seo’s wife (Lee Sung Jae and Yoon Bok In respectively).
[SPOILER] In fact, the last we see of Hyun Seo’s wife, she’s waiting for him to return after his extended disappearance. Next thing we know, she’s gone (poof!) from the story, and Show seems to aggressively push the idea of Hyun Seo being deeply connected to Hong Joo instead. Seriously, his missing wife niggled at me every. single. time. Show put Hyun Seo and Hong Joo in close proximity and hinted at some kind of soul mate connection. It just felt so wrong. [END SPOILER]
3. There are no answers to some of the earlier questions
Because Show does provide some answers to several of the questions that it raised, I’d kept filing away unanswered questions in a mental “to be answered” folder. For the record, Show didn’t answer those filed away questions, and that unfortunately eroded my perception of Show’s level of thoughtfulness and smarts by quite a bit.
[SPOILERS]
Here’s a quick list of some of the questions that I would’ve liked answers to, but never got answers to.
E3. How does Poong Yeon (Kwak Shi Yang) know to go to the palace to look for Yeon Hee (Kim Sae Ron) after she disappeared?
E5. Who’s the Mystery Man who saved Yo Gwang (Lee Yi Kyung)? What’s all that with the blue talisman?
E5. Why does Joon’s arrow wound heal up as a talisman scar? And if that’s supposed to be Hyun Seo’s doing, how did he do it, and why did he choose Joon to be Yeon Hee’s talisman?
E6. Why does Yeon Hee have powers? She’s cursed; she’s not a witch.
E8. How does Yo Gwang know to find Joon in prison? Magic?
E14. Why does Poong Yeon need to see a ghost and panic from it, to induce his inherited power to create holy fire?
E15. How do the magics work against each other in order to cure the king (Lee Ji Hoon) of his thorny disease?
E20. Who’s the Mystery Man who gives Yo Gwang the Sacrifice Potion? Is he the same Mystery Man who saved Yo Gwang? Why does he have a copy of the Grimoire of Curses? How does he know all about Yeon Hee and Joon?
[END SPOILERS]
4. Logic gets weak and is sometimes absent
Given that Show doesn’t answer a good number of the questions it raises, it’s probably not a surprise that logic eventually takes a beating. Some of the logic breakdowns are bigger than others, but altogether, this also eroded my perception of Show’s smarts, and by quite a bit.
[SPOILERS]
Here’s a collection of logic breakdowns and other inconsistencies that I noticed in the show.
E11. The rules of the potions are not clear. Some of the elixirs have a limited time span of efficacy, and yet others seem to have more permanent effects.
E13. The logic behind Hyun Seo vacillating between being himself and being Hong Joo’s zombie isn’t clear. Hong Joo says that he should be unable to have any thought or action of his own volition, and yet, he has stretches of lucidity. Why?
E13. Since when did Joon become such a good fighter? We didn’t see this from him in earlier episodes, but lately he’s been prevailing against the Shaman Warriors and also against Red Cloak. That feels like an oversight.
E14. Hong Joo made it clear in earlier episodes that only Yeon Hee’s twin brother could kill her, and yet, she’d been trying to get Poong Yeon to kill Yeon Hee, long before Poong Yeon demonstrated that he had inherited the ability to create holy fire. That doesn’t make sense.
E16. Why isn’t Yeon Hee using her powers? She never lost them, and when agitated, she doesn’t even need to lift her hand in order to make people fly. Why doesn’t she use her powers to protect herself when she’s kidnapped to the shed? Even if she isn’t successful because the forces she’s up against are too strong or something, it would make sense for her to at least try. She was definitely agitated enough.
E19. Why is Yeon Hee able to walk right into the palace after the attempted burning, when there’s been no official “royal pardon”? There was no order from the king to stop the execution. He’d simply allowed Joon to rescue her. She’d had to flee. Which implies that the order to execute her is still in force. And yet, she can walk right back into the palace. What?
E19. Hyun Seo suddenly being good is really illogical. I get that he sucked the black magic from Poong Yeon and that’s why he’s now strengthened and alive and no longer Hong Joo’s zombie. But if Poong Yeon had been affected by the black magic and had been vacillating between good and evil, surely Hyun Seo, fully running on black magic, should be fully evil, even independent of Hong Joo?
[END SPOILERS]
5. Other weaknesses get magnified
Thanks to the unanswered questions and Show’s lapses in logic, its other weaknesses also got magnified at the same time, unfortunately.
Partly because I was getting impatient with the story, all the boppily-scored comic-relief scenes landed even less well for me than in the earlier episodes. I just didn’t find the lighter, supposedly funny scenes very organic to the main story, which was so serious and plodding in comparison.
Sometimes I also got confused about the timelines, coz some scenes are repeated in what appeared to be a random manner. [SPOILER] Like, Hong Joo asking for the last page of the Grimoire of Curses from Hyun Seo. That was shown at the end of E17, and then again, somewhere in the middle of E18. What’s that supposed to mean? That the whole first half of E18 was skipped over in order to give us that closing scene in E17? [END SPOILER]
I hate to say it, but I also found Poong Yeon increasingly annoying to watch. I acknowledge that Kwak Shi Yang approaches the role without vanity, but there’s something about his just-a-touch-slow delivery of his lines, the thickness of his voice, and the way he emotes, that comes together to make me feel like Poong Yeon is just a bit.. uh, mentally slow (sorry, Kwak Shi Yang!).
THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]
After six whole episodes of feeling bemused, confused and frustrated with Show, I have to admit that in spite of it all, Show managed to leave me with a sense of bittersweet poignance, with its ending.
That’s no small feat, considering how bored I was during the first half hour of the finale.
In the first half hour, I found everything pretty slow-moving, and the cutesy bits felt out of place to me. I mean, this was the finale, and there was the big question hanging over the story, of how Show would resolve the whole curse thing, and instead of diving into resolving it, Show was serving up everyday type scenes, of Joon and Yeon Hee making elixirs, and cutesy stuff like Soon Deok confessing her affection for Yo Gwang. It just felt really odd, to me. Also, I was rather distracted by Joon putting the flower crown on Yeon Hee’s head during their wedding ceremony. Uh. Isn’t that a modern, totally-not-Joseon sort of thing?
Yet, I did feel Joon’s inner sadness as he prepared for goodbye.
And, I actually liked the twist that Show chose, in having Yeon Hee be the one to make true love’s sacrifice. Yes, it does feel rather Disney-esque, in a way (Frozen, anybody?), but I’d much rather this, and have Yeon Hee take ownership of her curse, than have Joon sacrifice himself like we were set up to believe all series long.
Granted, I had issues with Hyun Seo’s decision to die with Hong Joo, since I’d always found it odd that Show set up their connection to be so deep, to the extent that they often felt like almost-lovers. Additionally, Hong Joo had consistently said that her life was tied to Yeon Hee’s, ie, with every candle successfully lit, Hong Joo died a little. In this case, it should stand to reason that when the final candle was lit, not only would the curse return to Hong Joo, she would die. The sudden need for holy fire didn’t make sense to me, and therefore seemed inserted purely to create a Dramatic Exit for Hyun Seo and Hong Joo.
On the other hand, I did like that Joon got to accomplish a life’s work that honored Yeon Hee, and that when that was finally done, he and Yeon Hee were reunited in a manner that beautifully echoed their first meeting, all those years ago.
That we got to see young Joon and Yeon Hee, finally face to face again, with so much unspoken emotion between them, made the finale, for me.
Of course, I grumble at Show a little, for not even giving us a reunion hug, or even showing our OTP in the same frame, but Show’s decision to let us see them reunite in what appears to be the afterlife, is (juust) enough for me, to smooth over this finale’s shortcomings.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
In the end, I can’t say that I’m not disappointed at the thought of the could’ve beens, since Show started out pretty great in my books. I badly wanted it to remain smart, bold and assured all the way through.
At the same time, given how disappointed I’d felt at Show’s final third, this finale – or at least, the last few minutes of the finale – made up for a lot. In my head, this could’ve been much worse; Show could’ve whimpered to a completely unsatisfying end instead. Eep.
Put in perspective, meandering for 6.5 episodes is not such a terrible thing after all, since Show managed to end on a touchingly satisfying note. At least I feel like hanging in there was worth it, y’know?
THE FINAL VERDICT:
Show starts strong, but seems to lose its way somewhat in the final stretch. Uneven overall, but still manages to end on a poignant note.
FINAL GRADE: B-
TEASER:
MV:
Hello! Just finished this kdrama and really really loved it because it’s one of the rare kdrama that has more weight on story instead of just pure romance drama. I have to agree that how some characters just disappear and having so many unanswered questions does kinda weight on my mind. But there are some of your questions that I think I could answer so I thought of sharing it with you! See if we can figure more of these unanswered questions out (because some movies like to do this too, they drop subtle hints and wants their audience to pick up the bits and pieces and figure it out themselves)
E5. Who’s the Mystery Man who saved Yo Gwang (Lee Yi Kyung)? What’s all that with the blue talisman?
It’s the same unknown guy at the very last episode that holds the book with the tree symbol and gave the sacrifice potion. He only appears at very crucial parts of the story so I am guessing he is one of those ‘observers’ that only watches but do not interfere. Yo Gwang’s survival is one of the key to the end of the curse so that’s probably why he saved him. I got a feeling he is probably the one who saved the princess from the lake as well when she is drowning (since Yo Gwang is still half dead at that time, impossible for him to so quickly heal, get up and found the princess drowning). I also got a feeling that’s how everyone is always conveniently knowing where to go at times, it could be this guy helping out from the shadows. But hey just my guess 😀 Could just be the director being lazy and throwing out plot convenience everywhere. (same answer to E20)
E5. Why does Joon’s arrow wound heal up as a talisman scar? And if that’s supposed to be Hyun Seo’s doing, how did he do it, and why did he choose Joon to be Yeon Hee’s talisman?
Once again I think it’s the mystery man who is at work. The piece with the tree talisman could be from the broken shield they used before but the tree on the shield was HUGE while this little broken piece had the entire tree on it so it could be totally different and was left there on purpose for Joon to find. My guess is that because he took an arrow for the princess so that sacrificial act causes whatever spell on that piece to activate and healed his scar and at the same time make him the protector of the cursed princess, thus becoming the human talisman.
E6. Why does Yeon Hee have powers? She’s cursed; she’s not a witch.
The curse itself was from her real mother after all, and her real mother had those powers. The babies would not have been cursed if it wasn’t for their real mother’s anguish and hate at her final moments. When she was screaming those words at Hong Joo and later telling the queen about what is going to happen to her babies. it’s not that she was reading the future, she was actually cursing them for doing that to her and her family. Like what Hong Joo said, this girl is special and powerful (and thus a perfect sacrifice).
E8. How does Yo Gwang know to find Joon in prison? Magic?
He once used his talisman to find the source of a curse, and also to disguise so… finding Joon shouldn’t be too hard I guess?
E14. Why does Poong Yeon need to see a ghost and panic from it, to induce his inherited power to create holy fire?
He already has the power, Hong Joo is just trying to scare him so he would go into frantic defense mode and usually it’s during those time our hidden powers would kick start (alas for us normies it’s just adrenaline rush)
E15. How do the magics work against each other in order to cure the king (Lee Ji Hoon) of his thorny disease?
Black magic only works when you have darkness in your heart, so for the king it’s his fears and frustrations bottled up, too scared to let people know. So they got him to share his feelings, to release his fears out in the open, and that emotional release broke the spell.
E11. The rules of the potions are not clear. Some of the elixirs have a limited time span of efficacy, and yet others seem to have more permanent effects.
Since the potions are from the book of curses, they are specially designed to help people achieve what they sincerely wished for and each successful ‘help’ lights a candle. The effects of the potion ends when the wish is achieved and it’s effect no longer needed. For beauty, if Joon’s friend can’t stay beautiful, her wish is not achieved so that potion is probably permanent. Joon’s potion for knowledge though, it was an accident and it didn’t light any candles so that’s another question that needs answers. For ghost, after he saw his mother and his heart’s yearning has been sated, the effect is no longer wished for so it disappears, which is similar for the other potions.
E13. The logic behind Hyun Seo vacillating between being himself and being Hong Joo’s zombie isn’t clear. Hong Joo says that he should be unable to have any thought or action of his own volition, and yet, he has stretches of lucidity. Why?
When there is a will there is a way they say. Watching many movies, drama and anime teaches you this LOL. People breaking out of their bonds or spells or even encasement out of sheer willpower, love, or just the strong emotion of wanting to protect someone. In this case it’s his love for his daughter and knowing that they’re all in huge trouble if he doesn’t fight it.
E13. Since when did Joon become such a good fighter? We didn’t see this from him in earlier episodes, but lately he’s been prevailing against the Shaman Warriors and also against Red Cloak. That feels like an oversight.
THIS. IKR. I know practice makes perfect but I am sure the shaman warriors practice more than he does! He started as a wuss! But let’s just assume that in that 5 years of working under his brother he received training as a guard. /:
E14. Hong Joo made it clear in earlier episodes that only Yeon Hee’s twin brother could kill her, and yet, she’d been trying to get Poong Yeon to kill Yeon Hee, long before Poong Yeon demonstrated that he had inherited the ability to create holy fire. That doesn’t make sense.
I don’t know if it has something to do with ‘she can only be killed by her elder brother’ and he is kinda her elder brother as well LOL. Also it could be because he is still his father’s son, and thus holy people are stronger against curses and black magic. She’s desperate after all, might as well try right?
E16. Why isn’t Yeon Hee using her powers? She never lost them, and when agitated, she doesn’t even need to lift her hand in order to make people fly. Why doesn’t she use her powers to protect herself when she’s kidnapped to the shed? Even if she isn’t successful because the forces she’s up against are too strong or something, it would make sense for her to at least try. She was definitely agitated enough.
If you noticed, when she is captured they always put a talisman on her, that’s to stop her from using her powers. And I’ve noticed that her powers wanes when she is in a not so confident state. But yes a few times she was cornered she did not use her powers and I’m like WOMEN USE ITTTT. Oh, also she’s pretty sensitive about hurting others and letting people see her true self so….
E19. Why is Yeon Hee able to walk right into the palace after the attempted burning, when there’s been no official “royal pardon”? There was no order from the king to stop the execution. He’d simply allowed Joon to rescue her. She’d had to flee. Which implies that the order to execute her is still in force. And yet, she can walk right back into the palace. What?
We can only deduct here that there was no time to shoot a scene of the king telling his men to not lay a finger on her. I mean the signs in the sky was pretty obvious shytz gonna happen if she is killed, also what happened to the queen right after… OH YEA WHO PUT THT BLACK MAGIC URN IN THE QUEEN’S ROOM ANYWAYS? That pretty much destroyed Hong Joo’s plan to show that the princess is guilty of the curse, plus she won’t get anything from killing the baby anyways. ????
E19. Hyun Seo suddenly being good is really illogical. I get that he sucked the black magic from Poong Yeon and that’s why he’s now strengthened and alive and no longer Hong Joo’s zombie. But if Poong Yeon had been affected by the black magic and had been vacillating between good and evil, surely Hyun Seo, fully running on black magic, should be fully evil, even independent of Hong Joo?
In this case it doesn’t make one evil, it just makes one fragile and easier to be controlled, since the black magic manifests from one’s weakness. Also it only hurts like crap when you try to fight against it. Which is why Hong Joo always tell them to stop fighting against it so they will feel better. This is the black magic used to keep one alive and control though. There is the other one that makes use of one’s hatred and greed to hurt someone else (the curse, the baby transferring, the king’s thorns, etc)
We can pretty much deduct that black magic works on any negative emotions, so you can use different type of negative emotions to create different kind of black magic effects. weakness and fear to control, hatred to hurt, longing and greed to give life etc
Also yeah the timelines jump once in a while, it’s used in story telling to give more hidden information of what actually happened at that time. It does get confusing I know, need to pay attention and make mental notes. But it’s kinda fun at times when they do that so it makes me go OOOHHHH SO THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED. It’s worst in movies where timelines get shuffled on purpose to confuse you because they want you to figure it out yourself lol
For the holy fire ending thing, the curse would return to Hong Joo, but it may stay with her body even after death, it may just remain in this world and may post as a threat and there will be no one else who can control if Hong Joo dies. Plus as you can see she is in much pain but not dead yet, what if she was able to transfer it somewhere again? So he wanted it purified while he is still alive, he wanted her to take it with her after death, and being almost lovers (she was young and in love with him, he cared for her a lot but probably already had a wife at that time so.. forbidden love anyone? Explains why he is so cold to his wife 😀 )
GOSH WROTE SO MUCH I’M SO SORRY! But no one around me watched it so it was fun being able to share some thoughts about it somewhere TwT Thank you for writing this yaw! Now I can go cry at one corner due to the bittersweet ending.
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Wow! You’re right, that was quite a lot – I can tell that you’ve invested a lot of thoughts and emotions in this drama! 😀 Thanks for taking the time to offer explanations for all the bits that I questioned. To be honest, it’s been too long since I watched the show, so I’m not as fully able to appreciate the details of the show now. But, I’m hopeful that your explanations will help other readers! 🙂
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I finally found someone who has the same thought as mine! ^_^ You watched the drama quite attentively! ^_^
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Pingback: Year In Review: 2016 | The Fangirl Verdict
Ahhhh Kwak Si-Yang !!! I’m not really a fan of this kind of KDrama (historical??) lol… but will definitely include this on my list as the review seems good to be ignored. Can’t wait for weekend! Urgh! 😀
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Sorry this reply is so late, Rizz! Did you check out Mirror in the end? I.. hesitate to recommend it to you as a Kwak Si Yang fan, since I don’t think this show did him too many favors 😛 On the whole, the show’s not too bad though. 😁
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Great review! Echoes what I feel about the drama. I loved the earlier episodes then the drama just plateaus…sigh
Maybe it was me conscious of the real-life age gap but I didn’t feel the romantic connection between Yoon Si Yoon and Kim Sae Ron. I love Kim Sae Ron and was never a fan of YSY. I couldn’t bring myself to watch Flower Boy Next Door because I’m a Kim Ji Hoon fangerl and I wanted to avoid Second Lead Shipping (floozy reason I know) so I never got caught in the YSY fever. Although he was good in Mirror, I’m not a fangerl yet but I’m willing to give him a chance heh. There’s always room in my big heart…
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Ah! Woot that we feel similarly about the drama, boo that the drama actually plateaued, heh. 😁 I didn’t feel the romantic connection super strongly, but because Joon and Yeon Hee had connected at a fundamental, existential sort of level, I felt that they understood each other in a solid way. Also, given that this was a sageuk and romance in most sageuks tend to be of the restrained variety, I decided to use that lens on this OTP and that worked out pretty well for me. I wasn’t blown away by their romance, but it did work for me in a reasonably satisfying way. 😊
Lol. I agree, a fangirl’s heart is big and roomy, and there’s ALWAYS room for one (or 5) more! 😉 I liked but didn’t love FBND, and I’ve also seen YSY in Baker King. I personally feel that this is his best performance that I’ve seen to date. I really liked the warmth and depth that he gave Joon. Maybe if the OTP had brought more feels you might’ve felt a bit of fever for YSY? I haven’t seen Me Too, Flower but I hear that he delivered a legit sizzling kiss in that one! 😁
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You took the words right out of my mouth. I agree totally with your review most especially about the weak end episodes, the odd comedy placement, and the forgotten characters. I think that the production value actually elevated this drama, but I respect the build up of the early episodes. I didn’t even mind that the leads spend very little time together…very little….for the first 6 hours of this drama. I expect that in 50 plus dramas but not in a 20 episode drama. I think this drama should have been 16 episodes and perhaps narrowed the scope of the story he or she wanted to tell. Oh yeah, and as you say figure out how your mystical world works because your audience wants their questions answered.
I am happy that I have finally finished a YSY drama as I haven’t made it through two of his others ones though I always seem to like him. He is a gem in this, and I look forward to his next drama.
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Woot! Hi5, Kat!! I’m SO glad that we’re on the same page about this drama! Especially about the odd comedy placement. I was beginning to wonder if I simply lacked a sense of humor about this show, since I rarely found any of the comic scenes actually amusing. 😅 I completely agree that the high production values and the thoughtful direction lifted this drama. It felt particularly assured and rich in its earlier episodes. It would’ve probably been an overall better show if it HAD been shorter. 16 or maybe even 14 episodes, maybe. And YES, writer-nim should’ve totally had the mysticism figured out, before writing stuff into our story. OMG I was so disappointed to realize that there never were any answers to those questions! 😆
YSY was absolutely wonderful in this, I must agree. I’ve seen some of his earlier dramas, and I honestly think this is his best work yet. So much depth and gravitas, and a more powerful screen presence too. He’s grown so much; I’m looking forward to see what projects he chooses next too!
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great review per usual:)
yup, the show definitely showed its’ cracks in the latter part, wahhhhh… I luv the world-building, production set in general, especially the dwelling place of YH (cave). The lighting although mostly dark was good. Fell in luv w/ YSY, watched 2D1N for him!
Kdrama should have a sign, buyer beware, great in the beginning (most of the set-ups are really good, hence I get easily hooked), good in the middle, middling at end. Here’s the thing (this might apply to you also, not sure) once I start to watch something I want to know how it ends, hoping it gets better again, hahahhahaaa… this happen quite too often these days, that’s why I luv reading your reviews. THANK YOU!
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Thanks for enjoying this review, bugs_bunny!! And yes, it’s always great to know that we’re not alone in feeling how we feel about our dramas. I feel that most often if I’ve watched a number of underwhelming dramas in succession or at the same time. Then I start to wonder if it’s me or the dramas that’s the problem 😅 Thankfully not all kdramas do that start-strong-end-weak sort of thing.. There still ARE good dramas out there, and that gives me hope, always. Otherwise, the thought of all my dramas ending weak would be too much to bear. 😂
I completely agree that the world-building and the general handling of the production was very well done. I found the early episodes particularly atmospheric and immersive. It’s really too bad that Show lost its grip in the last third. But at least it ended on a pretty touching note, so there’s that! 😊
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I feel the same way you did about this drama from beginning to end, so I’ll just post one that I truly enjoy but you did not specifically mentioned.
Episode 2 was a memorable episode for me. Joon going into the forest looking for that kite. Mystical forest full of fog and unable to see sunlight beyond those tall trees. Joon trying not to be scaredof anything. But then that tiger comes charging in on Joon. He runs as fast as he could through a hall of tall trees away from the tiger. … I love the way it was filmed. The whole scene was just gorgeous. From the lighting, to the camera movement, to music, and the special effects of creating that tiger, everything worked flawlessly with this scene. This was the starting point of my love for this drama.
Drama aside, I was at the peak of my obsession with Yoon Si Yoon during this drama’s airing. I was watching his three other shows during this time (Baker King, 2D1N, and Flower Boy Next Door). I find his quick rise to stardom and its effects on him so fascinating. I mean everyone seemed to know him still as Kim Tak Gu. That is a huge responsibility to carry for a young man, but he has handled it with grace and humility. He seemed to enjoying that ride while working hard to get out of it. Kudos to him! And I look forward to seeing more of what he can achieve.
As all the others that have come before, this was a wonderful review. I am glad to be reminded of what this drama did so well, and why I could not rate this drama higher. Thanks very much.
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Aw, thanks for enjoying this review, drawde!! It’s so cool that we feel so similarly about this show! 😄 I do remember that scene in E2 that you described.. it was very atmospheric and quite beautiful, I agree. That’s one of the things I liked most about Show’s earlier episodes.. everything was presented in such a polished, surreal sort of manner. ❤
I watched Baker King and FBND, and I must say, YSY’s grown so much as an actor since his Kim Tak Gu days! I mean, he was solid in Baker King, but it’s really here in MOTW that I feel that he’s delivering with a gravitas and depth that I hadn’t noticed before. I definitely look forward to seeing more of him on my screen. I didn’t watch him in 1N2D, but I did watch him in Barefoot Friends, and he struck me as very down-to-earth, earnest and humble. It’s so cool that he’s grown so much as an actor, after coming back from the military. 😍
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