Review: The Tale Of Nokdu

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show starts off fresh and cute with an emphasis on hilarious cross-dressing hijinks, but changes gears abruptly in its second half with an amped up focus on birth secrets and political machinations. Viewers set on a fizzy rom-com might be turned off by this.

On the upside, Show manages to retain its emotional core and heartfelt tone through to the end, and it’s not too hard to stay engaged with our main characters, even in the heavier stretches. And as a silver lining, the feel-good cute makes a comeback by Show’s end.

Jang Dong Yoon shines extra in the midst of a solid cast, and is break-out fantastic in his role as the titular Nokdu. His cross-dressing turn as a timid widow is so memorable, that it’s worth tuning in for his performance alone.

Show has its flaws, but is pretty solid, overall.

THE LONG VERDICT:

Even though The Tale of Nokdu turned out to be a more effortful watch than I’d hoped for, I still think it’s a worthwhile watch, if you can adjust your lens somewhat, and manage your expectations accordingly.

Like I mentioned above, Show doesn’t maintain its fun rom-com vibe all the way through its run.

By the second half of its run, there’s still a fairly nice amount of focus dedicated to the OTP, but Show’s zippy cheerful tone gives way to a much more serious, somber vibe that’s increasingly served up with bleakness and sadness on the side.

I think it helps if you just don’t think of Show as a rom-com, but more as a romance melodrama. This way, the cute fluff becomes bonus when it shows up, but doesn’t become an expectation. And hopefully, this will also help you avoid feeling disappointed, when The Cute takes a break.

One other thing that I think is helpful to keep in mind, is that Show doesn’t truly hit its stride until the episode 7-8 mark. This was the point when I could honestly say that I was enjoying my watch properly. So give Show a chance, if you dip a toe in, and don’t feel sold right away.

Ah, there’s one other thing that I think would be helpful to know. There are a number of logic stretches in this story world.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, in episode 1, Nokdu (Jang Dong Yoon) manages to trail the injured assassin from a deserted island all the way to Hanyang, which is ridiculous, because he’d have to have chased her on boat, at least for the first leg of the journey.

How could he have trailed her secretly, if he was in a boat, following her? That would’ve been super obvious, no?

[END SPOILER]

My advice is to just close one eye (sometimes both eyes), and just take the logic stretches in stride.

There’s no benefit to wrestling with Show’s logic stretches, because Show’s gonna keep on doing it, and your watch experience will be more enjoyable if you’re able to just go with the flow.

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album, in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review.

STUFF I LIKED

Jang Dong Yoon as Nokdu

Not gonna lie; it was Jang Dong Yoon’s turn as Nokdu that was my bright spot throughout my watch. When Show was fun, Nokdu made it all feel brighter and funner, and when Show started to feel heavy and serious, Nokdu made it worth my while to keep going.

Credit to writer-nim, and to Jang Dong Yoon for his delivery; Nokdu is just a very likable character that I wanted to root for and sympathize with and protect and console, all the way through to the end.

Nokdu is written to be such a loyal, earnest, sincere, genuine person, that it feels like the most natural thing in the world, to care about him and want good things for him. In terms of delivery, this is the literal best I’ve seen of Jang Dong Yoon.

To my eyes, he literally disappears into the character of Nokdu; I legit was not able to place Jang Dong Yoon as the person I saw in School 2017 and A Poem A Day. Very impressive indeed.

Jang Dong Yoon’s very convincing and very hilarious cross-dressing turn as a widow is a definite highlight of the show (how does he manage to be so convincing as both as a lady and as a man?), but my favorite Jang Dong Yoon scenes are actually of Nokdu’s more difficult moments.

The depth of emotion he brings out each time, really elevated him as an actor, in my eyes.

Here’s a collection of my thoughts and observations of Nokdu, and Jang Dong Yoon’s portrayal of him, during my watch.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E2. I find Show more amusing now that Nokdu is undercover as a woman in the widow village. His adopted feminine mannerisms make me giggle, especially when he’s acting all shy when receiving male attention. What a mind-bender that must be for him, lol.

E3-4. Nokdu struggling to keep it together as a widow, while living in the same room as Dong Joo (Kim So Hyun), is quite funny.

They reluctantly help each other out, and it was actually rather touching that Dong Joo, despite all her grumbling about helping him, would ask if she could address him as Unnie. Aw.

E5-6. Nokdu showing up to save Dong Joo, also shows us Nokdu’s fierce loyal streak.

He chooses to save Dong Joo instead of carrying out the assassination as promised to the assassin group, even though he knows that not carrying out the mission is going to jeopardize things with the assassins.

E9-10. Nokdu’s flagrant slapping spree when cornered at the palanquin is priceless; I love that he manages to stay in character and basically flummox all the men in attendance, into deference. Nokdu carried himself like a queen in this scene, and I loved it.

E9-10. Nokdu declaring that he loves Yool Moo (Kang Tae Oh), and then planting a kiss on him, in a desperate bid to keep his secret intact in the face of Dong Joo’s drunken truth bombs, is quite the scream.

The fallout is quite funny as well, with all the women super upset with Nokdu for laying hands on the most eligible man in their midst.

I find it sweet, though, that even though this was all triggered by Dong Joo drunkenly leaking bits of Nokdu’s secret, Nokdu doesn’t blame her for it at all.

Nothing he says, and nothing in his eyes or expression, indicates that he’s placing any blame on her for the awkward turn of events. He’s such a decent guy.

E15-16. It’s pretty moving to watch Nokdu fight to protect the widows’ village; it’s clear to see that he’s giving it everything that he’s got, almost like a man left with nothing to lose. In this moment, he doesn’t know whether Dong Joo is dead or alive, and the desperation shows.

It’s no wonder Ssook (Jo Soo Hyang) can’t hold his deception as Lady Kim against him, when the truth is quickly revealed in the aftermath.

E19-20. The moment that Nokdu realized with certainty, that he’d just come face-to-face with his mother (Park Min Jung), gave me actual chills.

What a mindboggling thing, to meet the Queen and see her face and the sadness in her eyes, and realize that this is the person who gave birth to you.

I’m really looking forward to this mother-son reunion, because I want the Queen to not be sad anymore.

E23-24. When Nokdu overhears the King (Jung Joon Ho) telling Yoon Jo (Lee Seung Joon) why he wants his son dead, and why his son shouldn’t have been born in the first place, his stricken, tearful expression, full of shock and hurt, is what makes the scene for me.

I don’t much care for the crazy king and his wild declarations, but it’s Nokdu’s deeply personal reaction that make me care.

E25-26. Jang Dong Yoon is fantastic at channeling Nokdu’s sadness, even as Nokdu has to keep on going, amid the heartache. This entire hour, it feels like Nokdu’s sadness and sorrow is written in his gaze.

Whatever he’s doing or saying, I can just see and feel his broken heart shining through. He just seems to exhausted and sad. It’s really well done, and I’m duly impressed.

E25-26. Nokdu’s decision to join forces with Yool Moo is a little surprising, as is his declaration that he will personally kill the king.

I don’t know if I believe him, because as heartbroken and hurt as Nokdu is, and as much as he wants to save Yoon Jo, I just can’t picture him being able to go through with killing his own father.

E25-26. The stunned look in Nokdu’s eyes, as he comes face to face with Dong Joo and her crossbow, speaks volumes.

There’s shock, but there’s also realization, and there’s also a deep sadness; in this moment, he understands how he and Dong Joo are standing on opposite sides of a divide.

She has no idea that he’s decided to help overthrow the king, but he knows. And the realization of the futility of their situation is so clear to see, in his eyes. Jang Dong Yoon is really killing it.

[END SPOILER]

Kim So Hyun as Dong Joo

Kim So Hyun is such an experienced actor, that I always expect her to be consistently solid, and she does not disappoint.

I can’t say that her outing as Dong Joo stands out from her other roles, because, to my eyes at least, this felt on par with other things I’ve seen her in, but not particularly elevated or special compared to everything else that she’s done.

What I can say, is that she makes Dong Joo likable and sympathetic as a character, despite Dong Joo’s reflex gruffness and stubborn streak. Over time, we see Dong Joo’s more vulnerable side come to the fore, and Kim So Hyun delivers it all capably.

I will talk more about Dong Joo in the next section, but for now, here are just a couple of quick observations I had about Dong Joo.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. Dong Joo has a fierce loyal streak. When she realizes that the gisaeng house’s very existence is under threat for protecting her, she grits her teeth and faces the enemy’s request head-on, even though it’s the last thing she wants to do.

And to think that in the moments that she has before the nasty lord comes back, she makes sure to thank Lady Cheon (Yoon Yoo Sun) for saving her and taking care of her all these years. That feels so loyal, and also, so honorable.

E7-8. We finally get some clarity in terms of Dong Joo’s backstory, and I can see why she might potentially want to kill the King. It looks like her family was killed as part of some kind of political coup, and she managed to survive only because she’d been left for dead.

Ack. What a horrible thing to happen to anyone, let alone a child. It’s no wonder Dong Joo is haunted by those events.

[END SPOILER]

Nokdu and Dong Joo together

I have to confess, when I first saw Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun together in episode 1, I wasn’t sure if they had good chemistry. Ha. Show proved me so wrong.

It turns out Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun are very cute together indeed, and there were even times when I thought I felt the air crackle between them.

I found the initial bickering between Nokdu and Dong Joo amusing and entertaining, but what makes this relationship work for me, is how Show makes sure to present these two with a lot of heart.

Through the good times and the bad, we are kept connected to Nokdu and Dong Joo’s feelings and any internal struggles they might have, independently, as well as in relation to each other.

As a result, the connection between Nokdu and Dong Joo feels organically grown and lived-in, and I felt able to root for their love, because I could believe in their love.

That’s a quality that is sometimes lacking in stories about young romance, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth that Show serves up, in this loveline.

I found it enjoyable and meaningful, following Nokdu and Dong Joo on their journey, as they grow closer, become more aware of their feelings for each other, and finally embrace their love.

Here’s a map of my reactions to this couple, as I followed them on their journey.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. Now that Dong Joo knows that Lady Kim isn’t actually a lady, I’m enjoying her interactions with Nokdu more.

There’s bickering and reluctant teamwork, and through that, a growing affection and companionship that feels honest, even though Nokdu lies about being at the village to wait for his lady love, ha.

E5-6. The way Dong Joo takes it upon herself to guard Nokdu at all times, to protect the other ladies from him, is quite amusing. And it gives rise to some forced proximity too, since this means that they end up spending large amounts of time together.

E5-6. The scene of Nokdu teaching Dong Joo to dance feels surreal and dreamlike, it’s so pretty, and his half undone female disguise adds a touch of dissonance to the scene too. But the sudden hyperawareness is pretty great, I have to admit. I didn’t quite want this scene to end.

Also, Nokdu allows more of his male persona to peek through now, when he’s alone with Dong Joo. And the way he looks at her in particular, gives hints of smolder, which definitely amps up the thrill of the watch.

E7-8. I had no idea that when Nokdu told Dong Joo that he was her mother, that he meant it as more than a joke.

I rather love that they are now living together as mother and daughter, and I love even more that they address each other as Mother and Daughter even when they’re alone, and even when Nokdu isn’t dressed as a woman.

It’s funny, dissonant, and also, really heartwarming. I just love that they’re taking those labels to heart, and forming a relationship, even when they don’t realize it.

E7-8. Credit to Nokdu for putting his life at risk to save Dong Joo, even though she’d kicked him out. Plus, I guess this is another example of Nokdu being able to see Dong Joo’s heart, beneath her harsh words.

In particular I enjoyed watching Nokdu and Dong Joo buying things at the marketplace for their new life together. Nokdu has really gotten to understand Dong Joo, and it shows.

When Dong Joo pauses fondly over some chicks but refuses to buy them because she’d grow attached to them, he goes back and buys them anyway, so that Dong Joo can raise the chicks like she really wants to.

I really appreciate that about Nokdu; he easily sees beyond the surface, when Dong Joo claims that she doesn’t want to do something, and reads her emotions instead.

E7-8. Because of Nokdu’s persistence, Dong Joo finally faces her memories head-on by getting on the swing.

She hadn’t wanted to at first, and I’m sure it had to do with the fear of being confronted by her memories and emotions, but once she took her first tentative swings, she really leaned into it.

Instead of staying seated, there’s this moment where I feel as if I can see her dig deep to bite the bullet, and she stands on the swing and embraces the wind in her face and the memories flooding her mind, even amid the tears running down her face.

It’s such a powerful moment, and I want to acknowledge both Nokdu and Dong Joo in this.

Nokdu, for being the perceptive catalyst who put Dong Joo’s needs first, and Dong Joo, for gathering the courage and strength to face her memories, and thus, take an important step towards setting herself free from the prison of her past trauma.

It’s also pretty great that they’re growing fond of each other, and getting jealous, but in complete denial about it.

Every time Nokdu makes an excuse about seeing “his lady” which so far has been code for going off on tasks and other missions that might or might not have to do with the Muweol Corps, Dong Joo’s gets a touch sullen and grumpy.

And when she’s convinced herself that she has a perfectly legitimate reason to go to Hanyang too, that has nothing at all to do with Nokdu, Dong Joo brightens up like the sun.

And when Nokdu sees Dong Joo at the abandoned house with Yool Moo, he gets all grumpy too, muttering to himself that she lied about coming to Hanyang to buy something from the forge, heh. It’s all very cute.

E7-8. The last scene, where Dong Joo and Nokdu scramble and scuffle in the palanquin, with Dong Joo adamantly working to undress Nokdu, who is horrified and resistant, is just gold. His wide-eyed silent ineffectual pleas are just the perfect foil to her furrowed-brow determined concentration.

The random Titanic parody is just bonus. I couldn’t help giggling out loud.

E9-10. Nokdu being all crestfallen and depressed when Dong Joo indicates that she couldn’t have been referring to him as the person she liked, is so cute-sad. Dong Joo’s affecting him a great deal, and he doesn’t even realize it yet. Aw.

E9-10. Aw. More evidence that Nokdu is observant of Dong Joo. Even though she claims not to be afraid of the dark, her behavior, and his memory of her having a bad dream while they were in prison together, makes him decide to defy the rules, and light candles set her mind at ease.

How sweet.

E9-10. Omomo. Shirtless, glistening, half-hesitant-half-forthright Nokdu, earnestly searching Dong Joo’s face, is quite melty, I must admit. The fact that he won’t take Dong Joo’s words at face value is quite melty too.

It’s not that he doesn’t take no for an answer; he’s observed that Dong Joo’s words and her behavior don’t match up, and he’s earnestly seeking the truth from her, while laying his heart out before her: “I don’t have a lady I like. I like you.”

The way he kneels before her and takes her face in his hands to kiss her, is also gentle and melty. Augh. I don’t know how Dong Joo could find it in herself to resist him, given that she likes him too.

E11-12. Discouraged-yet-determined, spurned, lovesick Nokdu is very endearing, I must say. When Dong Joo tells him that he’s mistaken and that she doesn’t like him, his disappointment and dejection is written so clearly in his gaze, and yet, he can’t bear to give up.

I’m in two minds about his rueful decision to remain clingy, in hopes that she will eventually like him back, because while I don’t like his attempts at being a dominating-romantic jerk, I find his clingy-ness quite sweet.

He’s like a little duckling doing everything he can not to be separated from his precious mama duck, hee. Plus, he cried when she rejected him. Poor baby.

Also, I like that Dong Joo puts Nokdu properly in his place when he tries to he-man his way into her heart.

Additionally, I also appreciate that she recognizes that his worst attempt – the insult-dishwashing – was not him, at all. She picks up right away, that he must’ve learned it from someone. She knows her boy well, heh.

E13-14. I like that Nokdu wants to be honest with Dong Joo, and so would rather not tell her anything at all, than lie to her. That’s sweet.

E13-14. The thing about Dong Joo not knowing Nokdu’s name is nicely handled. She realized she didn’t know it when she thought he was in danger, and he won’t tell her, so she asks it of Aeng Doo (Park Da Yeon) before she leaves for Hanyang.

And when her own life is in danger at the end of the episode, just as she’s about to pass out, she whispers his name, “Nokdu-ya.” Very meaningful, I thought.

E17-18. Nokdu and Dong Joo have a very comfortable, familiar, bickering sort of rapport, and that familiarity feels warm and easy. I can see why the King looks upon them with a trace of envy.

E17-18. Most of the time, I find Jang Dong Yoon simply cute and puppy-like as Nokdu, but whenever Nokdu and Dong Joo have an up-close-and-personal moment, there’s a sensual quality that surfaces, that makes it hard for me to look away.

When Dong Joo applies the bandage to Nokdu’s torso, his gaze doesn’t leave her for a second, as she leans in towards him, then away again, as she wraps the bandage around him, and honestly, that Look makes it seem like he’s two blinks away from closing the gap between them and kissing her, well, everywhere.

Cough. It’s all very heady and quite mesmerizing, I have to admit.

E19-20. I do like how forthright Nokdu is now, with his feelings towards Dong Joo.

He doesn’t attempt to hide it, and I like how he takes every chance to be closer to her, like how he holds her hand while walking her back, and then when she says it will only be till the end of the road, he pauses, and then remarks that he should walk slower.

This, even though she is quite consistent in shooting him down and rebuffing him. I like his simple persistence.

E19-20. Finally, Dong Joo admits through desperate tears, that she likes Nokdu. She’s frustrated and helpless about it, blaming Nokdu for making her want to live, but Nokdu just pulls her in for a kiss. His actions match his words; he really does want to live in the now, heh.

And I do rather love that Dong Joo pulls him in for another kiss, the moment he breaks their first kiss. She does like him a whole lot, hee.

E21-22. Despite this show’s darker storylines, I feel like the OTP relationship brings enough earnest youthfulness to the table, to help balance out the dark with its light.

E21-22. I can fully believe Nokdu and Dong Joo as a young couple in love for the first time, uncertain of new things like how to kiss or how to go on dates, but burning with emotion for each other.

Nokdu’s nervousness around his new lady love, and his uncertainty on where to take her on dates is all very relatable and understandable.

E21-22. I can totally imagine Nokdu wanting to sleep next to Dong Joo, even if it’ll keep him up all night from having her so nearby. The distant backhug is dutifully chaste, but when Dong Joo turns around to look at him and caress his cheek, Nokdu can’t pretend to be asleep anymore.

Declaring for the record, “You were the one who woke me up first,” he leans in to kiss her. Rawr.

E23-24. The scene where Dong Joo, realizing that she loves the son of the king, backhugs Nokdu and weeps, while he holds her hands as he cries, eyes swollen with tears, still reeling from the realization that his father wants him dead, is so full of emotion and pathos.

So heart-pinchingly good. I love that these two cleave to each other, in this moment of confusion and heartbreak.

[END SPOILER]

Special shout-outs:

Lee Seung Joon as Yoon Jo [SPOILERS]

I really liked Yoon Jo; he’s such a decent person, and such a good dad to Nokdu, even though Nokdu isn’t his biological son. I already thought he’d gone above and beyond, saving Nokdu and transplanting his own family to a deserted island, in order to keep Nokdu safe.

But beyond that, we see Yoon Jo literally protecting Nokdu with his life, and it’s so moving to behold. I loved the bond of closeness between Yoon Jo and Nokdu; this, to me, felt more like a true father-son relationship.

Go Gun Han as Yeon Geun [MINOR SPOILERS]

Yeon Geun’s pain is my entertainment, unfortunately. I feel bad, but it’s honestly very funny to see him so smitten over Lady Kim, completely unaware that Lady Kim is not actually a lady, hur.

It’s even funnier later, when Nokdu’s cover as Lady Kim is blown, that Yeon Geun’s still so torn up over Nokdu being his Lady Kim, and still so enamored of Nokdu’s good looks, even as a man.

Poor guy, but also, tee hee.

Yeon Geun still being so obsessed with Nokdu is quite hilarious, and his consternation at Dong Joo’s appearance as a rival for Nokdu’s attention is ridiculous but funny.

How sweet of him though, to take Nokdu and his ragtag group under his wing, and give them not only clothes, food and a place to stay, but his family name as well.

He’s such an earnest man who pours out his feelings so sincerely, that I was quite pleased with Yeon Geun’s eventual budding loveline with Virtuous Women Corps member Bok Neo (Hwang Mi Young). So cute.

Park Da Yeon as Aeng Doo

Park Da Yeon is quite brilliant as Aeng Doo, who really comes across as a little ol’ grandmother in a little girl’s body, with occasional flashes of fangirl, heh.

From the way that she acts, talks and chides our OTP for bickering over small things, Aeng Doo really was everyone’s tiny surrogate grandma.

I also was quite amused by tiny Aeng Doo’s voracious appetite and seemingly insatiable hunger. A fun little addition to our ragtag crew of characters.

The Virtuous Women Corps

Although they don’t enjoy very much screen time, I have a soft spot for the Virtuous Women Corps, played by Yoon Sa Bong, Hwang Mi Young and Yoon Geum Sun Ah.

I just loved their earnest, gung-ho attitude when it came to protecting the widows’ village, and it always tickled me, that one of them would often have a hapless victim of a man casually slung over her shoulder. So epic!

STUFF THAT WAS OK

Kang Tae Oh as Yool Moo [SPOILERS]

When we first meet Yool Moo, he seems like quite the perfect gentleman, always being sweet to the ladies a the gisaeng house, and always bringing treats to Dong Joo.

His continued thoughtful gestures, despite Dong Joo’s unwelcoming response, made him appear patient and understanding.

So it was quite the surprise, when Show reveals in episodes 11-12, that Yool Moo is not only a prince, but a power-hungry, ruthless and possibly slightly unhinged one, at that.

For me, Yool Moo turning out to be a prince wasn’t as much of a surprise as Yool Moo turning out to be scheming, manipulative and cruel.

I hadn’t seen that coming. This reveal caused my brain to whirl from trying to process the sheer volume of interactions we’d seen involving sweet Yool Moo, and what this might mean, given his true nature.

It hadn’t seemed as terrible when sweet Yool Moo had discovered Nokdu’s secret, and promised to keep mum about it for Dong Joo’s sake.

But, now that we know Yool Moo doesn’t hesitate to kill for his own convenience, it all takes on a dark foreboding, which added a nice amount of dramatic tension.

I personally didn’t find it super believable that Yool Moo had such a cruel hidden underside to his charming flower boy facade, but I wasn’t opposed to Show dishing it out as a narrative twist. However, I do kind of wish Kang Tae Oh’s delivery had more layers.

He’s perfectly serviceable when Yool Moo is being either charming or chilling, but I would have liked to have seen some middle ground, where he displays these opposing facets at the same time. I thought that would have made him more interesting.

Jung Joon Ho as King Gwanghae

I ultimately did not end up liking King Gwanghae very much at all, as a character, but I do want to give credit to Jung Joon Ho for a delivery that felt quite pitch perfect, to my eyes.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Over the course of our story, we see King Gwanghae shift from kindly and warm, to more and more unstable and paranoid, and I felt that Jung Joon Ho portrayed the entire spectrum of King Gwanghae’s emotions very well.

Here are a handful of thoughts and observations I had around King Gwanghae, during my watch.

E17-18. Although I still find it farfetched that the King would be going out incognito so often, and keep running into Nokdu and Dong Joo at that, I appreciate the idea behind it: that outside of their contexts, where the King is just an ordinary man, and Dong Joo isn’t out to kill him, and Nokdu isn’t suspicious of him, they all get along just fine.

This is when they get to know one another as people, which will undoubtedly inform their views of one another, once the lens shifts into place and they actually know who they’ve been interacting with.

E19-20. I rather like the idea that underneath all the decoration and pomp, the King is shown to be a regular person just like anyone else.

I like that Dong Joo’s advice to him strikes a chord, and gives him the push that he needs, to make peace with his estranged Queen, whom he had distanced himself from. That was sweet.

E21-22. I’m beginning to get the idea that the king isn’t very stable, both mentally and emotionally. He doesn’t even realize it until some moments later, when he stabs Minister Heo (Kim Tae Woo).

And it doesn’t occur to him until some critical moments later, to call for a physician. It seems like he doesn’t quite have his wits about him, and perhaps isn’t very smart, to be deceived by the people around him.

Maybe that’s why his father didn’t want him to be the next king; because he was never fit to rule, to begin with?

We also finally find out why he was so determined to have his son killed; because he wanted to be king, and he didn’t want the shaman’s prediction to come true.

He’s right; it’s better that Nokdu never finds out what kind of person he is. He’s kindly only in passing, but when push comes to shove, he’s selfish, self-preserving, and kind of rotten, to the core.

Even after the regret of killing his best friend in a moment of anger, he chooses to abandon Minister Heo’s body, because, to him, Minister Heo had abandoned him first. Huh.

E23-24. King Gwanghae really seems very unstable. His attempt to kill Yoon Jo brings on hallucinations of Minister Heo, over and over, until he collapses. He does appear to be quite weak-minded. It’s no wonder his father didn’t want him to be king.

E27-28. The king’s reaction when he learns that his royal guard is actually the son he tried to kill years ago, is admittedly quite disappointing. Considering the bond that has grown between Nokdu and him, I had thought that perhaps he would feel something for the son that he had lost.

But if there was any regret or wistfulness in him, it was fleeting, because the king very quickly switched to anger and betrayal, and moved quickly to find and kill Nokdu, for his deception. Talk about heartless and paranoid. Sigh.

[END SPOILER]

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The political stuff

To be honest, I was not much into the political side of our story, even though it forms the entire foundation of our characters’ journeys.

In the beginning, I found the royal backstory quite confusing, because many of the specifics were not yet revealed to us. The royal backstory just felt like a necessary evil, there to give our characters something to focus on.

At this point, I found the amount of screen time given to this narrative arc acceptable, though I wasn’t truly interested in it.

In Show’s second half, though, as Show amped up the political stuff and gave more and more screen time to it, I found myself feeling less and less engaged, as a viewer.

There was a lot of time spent on scheming and plotting, and even though it was all relevant to our key characters, I found that I had to muster up the attention for it, while trying not to zone out too much.

Definitely not one of my favorite parts of this show.

A QUICK SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE [SPOILERS]

This.. was not one of my favorite penultimate episodes, to be honest.

We start off promisingly, with an emotional, heartfelt promise of forever between Dong Joo and Nokdu, with Dong Joo professing that she can’t live without him, and just wants to live with him always, never mind about their individual backgrounds, and Nokdu declaring that he can’t live without her too, and that yes, they will live together always.

Thereafter, though, it’s just one long battle within the palace, which I found tiring to watch. We do get small reprieves, like when Nokdu has an emotional reunion moment with his mother, and tearfully tells her that he absolutely doesn’t desire the throne.

And also, when Yoon Jo has a moment with Hwang Tae, after shielding him from being slashed by a sword, imploring him to be safe, even as he himself starts to go into shock from bleeding out.

Ah, and also, the Muweol Corps showing up to support Nokdu, and Ssook addressing Nokdu as Lady Kim was a nice highlight too.

Other than moments like these, though, it was just one long fight, which I eventually found myself zoning out from.

And by the end of the hour, just as my patience is wearing thin, the king appears, quickly and properly brainwashed by a wily Queen Dowager (Oh Ha Nee), who claims that Nokdu is the one planning the revolt.

And everyone else remains silent and is therefore complicit. Ugh. 

Hwang Tae speaks up but he doesn’t count because the king doesn’t believe him either, since he’s Nokdu’s brother.

And thus, we have a frustrating conversation between the king and Nokdu, where the king accuses Nokdu of plotting treason, while poor Nokdu bitterly agrees with him, because he recognizes that the king won’t believe anything he says anyway.

Headdesk. What a king. What a dad. Can Nokdu have a truly happy ending, ever, now that he knows that no matter what, his father wants him dead, and only believes the worst of him, despite having come to know him?

In the end, though, it’s a somewhat comforting silver lining that the Muweol Corps continues to defend Nokdu despite orders to drop their weapons, and Nokdu, injured and disheartened, is bundled away by Hwang Tae and Dong Joo.

Still, this was a mostly frustrating hour of drama to watch, which I hope Show will make up for, in its finale.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

In the end Show manages to end on a note that is sweet and solidly satisfying, with appropriate lashings of poignance – but not before wrapping up most of the political plotline.

The queen refuses to leave with Nokdu, in order to guarantee his safety, but she promises that they will meet again. Sniffle. In the meantime, Master Hwang bundles everyone into a boat, before going in search of Nokdu and Dong Joo.

As Master Hwang and Dong Joo work together to carry an unconscious Nokdu to a waiting boat, Yool Moo and his men catch up, and so Dong Joo sends Master Hwang ahead with Nokdu, while she basically sacrifices herself and her freedom, by agreeing to go with Yool Moo, if he will accept that Nokdu is dead.

And so, Nokdu’s death is faked and King Gwanghae officially stops trying to hunt down his son.

Some time later, an all-recovered Nokdu rescues Dong Joo from Yool Moo’s residence, and Yool Moo, finally realizing the truth of Dong Joo’s words, that sincerity cannot be forced, opts to let them go.

..Which is how we get to see Dong Joo and Nokdu living together on the island with their ragtag found family.

Nokdu prides himself of being an honorary member of the Muweol Corps, and continues to rescue widows while dressed as Lady Kim, heh.

Yoon Jo, Hwang Tae, the Virtuous Women Corps, and Yeon Geun make up the rest of the gang, and it’s bickering, teasing and warmth all-around, as Nokdu and Dong Joo prepare for their wedding.

Dong Joo nags at Nokdu for always spending too much money, but he protests that he wants to give her everything, including everything that she’s lost. Aw. Sweet boy.

The actual wedding is thrown into disarray by stray gusts of strong wind, and everyone is bemused at first, but eventually breaks into peals of laughter.

Nonetheless, Nokdu and Dong Joo manage to have a meaningful private moment on their own, exchanging flower rings and solemnly swearing to be with each other through the good times and the bad. Sweetness.

Nokdu thoughtfully sends his mother a secret letter, informing her of the joyous news. Aw. How comforting, that he’s found a way to communicate with Mom.

Nine years later, Yool Moo leads another revolt, and is successful this time. He informs King Gwanghae that he, too, was born on 19 November, and so the shaman’s prophecy is coming true, through him.

Huh. Ok then. I appreciate the thought, writer-nim, but honestly, I can’t say I care too much about this twist, this late – mostly because I’ve long stopped caring about the political side of this story.

King Gwanghae, with realization and regret in his eyes, asks Yool Moo to let the Queen leave secretly, and Yool Moo agrees. Yool Moo then takes his seat on the throne, remembering King Gwanghae’s words to him, that he will be lonely, and will continue to be lonely.

I suppose he was going to be lonely anyway, given the circumstances, so he’s making the best of it by being lonely on the throne?

Yoon Jo receives a letter with the news that the Queen is on her way to the island, and – this is one of my favorite moments of the finale – he and Nokdu have a moment of mourning for King Gwanghae.

Nokdu isn’t sure if he wants to cry, and Yoon Jo pulls him close, telling him that it’s ok to cry or not cry, and to just follow his heart, and he will as well, and the two of them then mourn in their own ways, while in the comfort of their shared embrace. What a meaningful, poignant moment.

Finally, we see Nokdu and Dong Joo waiting on the beach in anticipation of his mother’s arrival, and I’m so pleased to be able to see Mom’s expression of wonderment and joy, as she catches sight of her son and daughter-in-law, in the distance.

I can foresee this newly expanded family continue to live, and laugh, and love together, for a long, long time, in the warmth and simplicity of their little island.

And of course, I can also imagine Nokdu and Dong Joo continuing to be just as bickery and loving with each other as well, well into their old age.

Now that’s an ending that I can definitely get behind. ❤️

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Show loses some of its spark in its second half, but manages to be heartfelt all the way through.

FINAL GRADE: B

TEASER:

MV:

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Su San
Su San
7 months ago

Excellent review, KFG! Here for the “afterglow” in April 2023. I watched this to have more Jang Dong Yoon on my screen, in between weekly episodes of Oasis.

I totally agree with your review and rating. I felt the presentation of the political plot throughout was poorly organized. In order to understand the plot, I kept searching for recaps and coming back to your review. It seemed as if the shaman prediction and the background of Nokdu’s father & friends was cso important, yet it was very confusing. Since it was key to the political plot, it should have been revealed and/or reinforced to the viewers earlier. Lots of handsome actors made up for my frustration: Jang Dong-Yoon, Kang Tae-Oh, Jung Jun-ho, Lee Seung-Joon, Hwang In-Youp.

The cuteness in the first few episodes was a little contrived, but SO MUCH FUN! I was so happy when it returned in the last episode. And of course, Gummy’s theme song is magical.

Natalia
Natalia
3 years ago

Great review, as always.
I watched the Tale of Nokdu with my husband and we both pretty much liked it, but different parts of it. I loved the first part and got a little bit tired by the second (what a change of tone that was!). He thought the first part was kind of silly, but loved the dramatic change. So, we were both happy.
We were unanimous in our appreciation of Jang Dong Yoon, especially as Lady Kim (how beautiful), the OTP, and we just loved the OST.
Also, most actors were pretty good.
One last thing: should I worry that I found the King to be pretty hot?

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Natalia

Oh! That’s quite cute, how this show worked for both you and your hubs, but in different ways! 😆 That’s certainly one way of meeting each other in the middle! 😉 Jang Dong Yoon is so fantastic in this, I agree – and so beautiful as Lady Kim. How dissonant and startling, to see him shirtless while still wearing his Lady Kim hair and makeup, coz I find it so easy to forget that he’s actually a he! 🤩

As for the king, Jung Joon Ho is a good looking man, so it’s perfectly understandable that you found him appealing. 😉 Perhaps you’d be interested in seeing him in SKY Castle? It’s not a romance and can lean dark, but it’s excellently done, and the entire cast is great. The ending was a bit weak but I thought it was an excellent show overall. And Jung Joon Ho is part of that ensemble cast. 🙂

beez
3 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

I found him most attractive in Iris.

Natalia
Natalia
3 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

Thanks for the tip! I’ll add Sky Castle to our watch list, under the “serious” category. We actually have the “fun” category, the “serious” category and the “you’re watching this alone” category. We usually alternate between “serious” and “fun”, although I must say The tale of Nokdu tricked us. The “you’re watching this alone ” category is full of shows my husband avoids, such as highschool/college shows or crossdressing shows (Nokdu strangely enough made the cut).
I’ll let you know what I think of Sky Castle!

ChamaraSL
ChamaraSL
3 years ago

I admit , you are the best. I am completely surprised to see this much of detailed well stretched review over K-drama let alone each episode. character base, episode progression , your own ideologies and with such a perfect ways of abstracts…!!! love every bit of these reviews. keep up the good work. today you got a new fan.

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  ChamaraSL

Hi there Chamara, welcome to the blog! 😀 I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the reviews. 🙂 Just a fair warning that some reviews are more detailed than others, and the older reviews tend to be especially brief. I’ve evolved, over the years. 😉 I hope you’ll enjoy this space, nonetheless! <3

auliasc
3 years ago

Can we all agree on how amazing Jang Dong Yoon portrayed his characters? Be it Lady Kim or Nokdu, they both swayed me hard. Like, how come you are swoonworthy as a man AND a man disguised as a woman?

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  auliasc

Tee hee, yes, I do agree that Jang Dong Yoon did extraordinarily well as Nokdu. I’m noticing him like never before, thanks to this show! 😀

BE
BE
3 years ago

I have to say, I enjoyed this more than My Country, which I saw during the same time frame. Two very different kinds of sageuk, it’s true, so I would have to acknowledge this is pretty much apples to oranges, but what I mean is that Tale of Nokdu for me was more successful at achieving its desired effect than My Country was. Now there is no actor in this that is in Jang Hyuk’s category, but one could say that about any show that does not have him in a featured role, but all and the cast in Nokdu was for me much more effective as a whole. I loved the widows, particularly Yoon Sa Bong and Hwang Mi Young and thought as support they were funny and varied throughout, as broadly as the above pair played their roles, the wonderfully close to the vest, Jo Soo Yang, as the leader of the assasins, played hers. I would like to see her given a dynamic and primary lead role in a sageuk. The supporting male characters from the island, particularly Lee Moon Shik, the father of Hwang En Do and chief body guard for Nokdu’s family provided warmth, humor, and inspiring courage, not to mention who could not love a father with a daughter like that. Park Da Yeon as that girl was terrific, perfect for serious comedy throughout. If one sees very much a Shakespearean kind of comedy in this, Park Da Yeon was the perfect “fool,” serving as a foil to the comedy’s more serious goings on. And a real shout out to Lee Seung Jun, as Nokdu’s step father, a fine actor, also great as the last Josean king in Mr. Sunshine, an actor I find it hard to believe as he has the requistite good looks with his ability to emote a profoundly sincere passion to be a lead himself in a worthy series.

I also thought Jung Joon Ho was terrific as the moody, tortured, by turns good and evil king right to the end when he lays the heavy is the head that wears the crown line to Yoo Mool as he is being confronted by usurpation and death. One of the ways in which this show reminds me of Shakespearean in comedy is that within the comedy lies a tragic subplot. Even thought the tragedy seems to be brought to a foreshortened conclusion, because Jung Joon Ho delivers in his final scene, it allows the tragedy to remain secondary to the comedy and its happy ever after silliness at the end. It is, in the end, Nokdu and Dong Joo’s comedic love story. Indeed, the other recent sageuk that might be compared to this would be Rookie Historian, and even though Shin Se Kyung (in Rookie) is a vastly superior actor to Kim So Hun, the silly ending at the end of Nokdu is vastly more satisfying and easy to go along with than the ribbons and bows, devil take the hindmost conclusion of Rookie Historian.
I will say this about Kim So Hun. These kinds of dramas are always lead by cutsie pie female leads that often lack enough dimension, as if their fetching faces were enough to communicate this is why the male lead loves her. Kim So Hun’s character has depth to her and development over time, and she makes the twists and turns of her romance with Nokdu very believable.
But above all this was Jang Dong Joo’s vehicle, and his star turn, displaying incredible range, which you have detailed quite well in your review. He had a bit role in Mr. Sunshine, which might have been played by any budding young good looking actor, but I can think of only one Korean actor, Jang Don Gun when he was younger, who could have pulled this off.

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  BE

Hi there BE, thanks for sharing your insights about Nokdu. 🙂 I love the Shakespeare analogy; it makes a lot of sense! And yes, Park Da Yeon indeed made a perfect “fool” in this analogy! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 And yes, I do agree that Kim So Hyun is a much stronger young female lead than we tend to get, in these types of youthy love stories. I’ve come to think of her as a very solid actress who consistently delivers excellent work, and yet, Jang Dong Yoon absolutely stole the show as our titular Nokdu. Just, so good, and I’m so pleased that he had this opportunity to show us just what he’s capable of! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for his future projects now! 😉

deliaerre
deliaerre
4 years ago

Dear kfangurl I am three years behind your reviews: I’m looking at Moonlight drawn by Clouds and I’m totally in love with the acting, the grace and the beauty of Park Bo Gum. Your reviews have now become an important part of the show as they are accurate, exciting and profound. Fortunately, I have just seen The Tale of Nordku and was able to finally appreciate the vision of the drama and your review. I have seen the scene of Nokdu teaching Dong Joo to dance several times: it really looks like such a surreal dream and is played with such naturalness by Jang Dong Yoon, something that can only be seen really in a k-drama … I am very grateful to you for everything you write in your blog!

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  deliaerre

Aw, thank you for your sweet encouragement, deliaerre! <3 I'm so happy to know that you enjoy the reviews, and that you've even made the reviews a part of your drama viewing process! Thank you! 🥰😘

Yes, I love that scene of Jang Dong Yoon dancing! It's so beautiful and surreal, and the juxtaposition of his grace and elegant features and women's clothing, with his bare manly chest, just makes it all the most spellbinding. Very lovely, I agree. <3

streusalkuchen
4 years ago

Can you review Hotel Del Luna? I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  streusalkuchen

Hi there streusalkuchen, I’m currently about halfway through Hotel Del Luna, so a review should be coming up in the foreseeable future. You can look out for it! 🙂

streusalkuchen
4 years ago

Will you review Hotel Del Luna, please? I can’t wait to hear what you think about it.

Snow Flower
Snow Flower
4 years ago

I just finished it and loved every minute of it. I thought the political intrigue and the romance were integrated much better compared to Rookie Historian. I found the sudden dark turn surprising, but not jarring. I do appreciate political intrigue in my dramas, and this one was done well. The darker vibe made the ending shine even brighter. Now I want to go and ride the swing…

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Snow Flower

Ah, I’m glad you enjoyed this one too, Snow Flower! 2019 really turned out to be a good sageuk year for you! 😀 Yes, the dark turn wasn’t that unexpected, given that this is a sageuk that has to do with hidden prince. Once things have anything to do with the court, it tends to turn dark. At least, that’s what my sageuk viewing has taught me so far! 😆 And yes, I do agree that the political stuff was meshed with the romance better here than in Rookie Historian. Overall, I’d say Nokdu was very solid, overall. 🙂

Usi
Usi
4 years ago

Well…I wanted to leave that out but I just put in on my watchlist for sewing days. It sounds fun without beeing too heavy on the script side. And KSH always is a cutie.

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Usi

Yes, this one is a lot of fun in the first half, which I think you’d enjoy, Usi. 🙂 Just be prepared for things to become more serious in Show’s second half, is all! 😉

Skylilies
Skylilies
4 years ago

Also sorry to spam, but re: Yul-moo being born on November 19, that was actually hinted at in a previous episode when Dong-joo is eating seaweed soup (birthday miyeokguk) on what turns out to be Nokdu’s birthday, as he informs us. It’s not for her birthday, and the hint seems small in the moment (this is episode 4 or 5) but I did appreciate that it was there because that birthday doesn’t just get dumped on us out of the blue. At least this was better plotted than Moonlight Drawn by Clouds!

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Skylilies

That’s true, Show did hint at the November 19 thing. I do remember that. I guess I felt like it was such a late point in the story when Show revealed it, that given the situation, it hardly even mattered anymore. 😅

Skylilies
Skylilies
4 years ago

Also, Jang Dong Yoon is AMAZING at generating that swoony romantic chemistry with his leading ladies, but it only works when they give something back in return – like with Chae Soo Bin in If We Were A Season, Park Se Wan in Dance Sport Girls, even Lee Yubi in A Poem A Day and now Kim So Hyun here….but it wasn’t quite there with Seol In Ah in School 2017 (bizarrely, it was there with Kim Se Jung….. in a preview that didn’t actually make it into episode 4 of that drama! Makes me wonder how things would have gone if that was the pairing the writers chose 🤔🤔).

I heard he auditioned for the role, but I would like to think his previous work with the writer (If We Were A Season) and experience of cross-dressing in female clothes for Dance Sports Girls, had some role in his getting picked. He’s perfect as Nokdu, and Kim So-hyun is honestly even better than usual when she has a script AND costar that can pull their own weight and don’t need her to do all the work. I thought Dong-joo was a great role for her, it makes great use of her natural gravitas (unusual in an actress this young) AND allows her that adorable playfulness that suits her age. Not many roles balance out both aspects this well, and it’s to her credit that she can pull off both.

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Skylilies

Yes, I do have to agree that Kim So Hyun manages to possess both gravitas AND playfulness, which is a rare combination indeed. She’s one of my favorite young actresses, and I do enjoy her versatility! 🙂

Skylilies
Skylilies
4 years ago

I’m glad you liked this one, kfangirl – it was a solid A+ for me, I tend to see sageuks as dramas that WILL go dark somewhere no matter how light and fluffy they start out (never seen a sageuk romcom that didn’t have death threats and plotting) so I wasn’t completely wrongfooted by the change in tone/felt like there was still a decent balance of cute and fresh with the angst. Plus at least the political plot ended with some sort of historical accuracy and was more character-driven than these sageuk treason plots usually are.

You’re also not wrong about Jang Dong Yoon and Kim So Hyun together, the air between them is positively electric at the end of episode 3, and multiple times after. You said KSH was as she usually is in this drama, but I actually think her game is elevated because this is the first drama she’s been lead in, where I actually felt that sexual tension/chemistry between her and her costar, and that ups the appeal significantly. I’ve been a fan of hers for years but this is the first time I’ve felt that crackle, as you put it – good as her acting is, that aspect was often missing or downplayed in her previous dramas *coughRuler/RadioRomancecough* (might also be something to do with having matured into being ok with it – I noticed she had very believable chemistry with both her Love Alarm male leads as well). It’s definitely not missing here!

I also appreciate that while this drama is not reinventing the wheel, it does subvert a lot of the usual tropes – a hero who is just a nice person with a heart of gold, the heroine being the tsundere out of the two (it’s usually the guy), a second male lead who is designed to cause the opposite of second lead syndrome, and even the crossdressing being done by the guy this time (though they both crossdress at different points lol).

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  Skylilies

Glad you loved this one as much as you did, Skylilies! 😀 You have a point, sageuks do tend to go dark at some point, more often than not, in their latter halves. So it’s no surprise that Nokdu also takes a serious turn in its second half. I guess I put it out there, just because I’d heard of viewers who were blindsided by Show’s shift in tone. I always feel like if we can manage our expectations, we have a better chance of enjoying the show, so putting it out there was my way of helping more folks enjoy Nokdu, in a way. 🙂

Yes, I do agree that Kim So Hyun’s romantic chemistry here with Jang Dong Yoon is the best I’ve seen between her and a male co-star, to date. I dropped Radio Romance myself, but from what I saw, I didn’t feel much in the way of romantic chemistry between her and Doo Joon. So yes, that’s definitely a step up! 🙂

seankfletcher
4 years ago

I’m still laughing at some of your comments kfangurl 😂😂😂. I thoroughly enjoyed Nokdu, although with the last couple of episodes I just went with it and then delighted in the final moments re the former queen on the boat – which I would have liked to have seen extended a fraction.

Nokdu, like many of our Kdramas, certainly had some of those what I call ‘I Dream of Jeanie moments’ where if you shake your head and blink your eyes the storyline somehow magically moves to a spot without a clear explanation.

Dame Holly is spot on with comments around the Shakespearean element. I found myself at times going where have I seen that type of scene before and then the penny dropped. I did think the show was effective re getting the viewer to almost like the King and then bam: he let his inner demons take over.

For me the weakest part of the show was Yool Moo. In the early episodes I found myself thinking he has to be the bad guy. So, I wasn’t surprised when he turned quicker than Dracula on a hot summers night 🧛‍♂️ The one moment I did like regarding Yool Moo, although it was very sad, was when he lost control over the wiping out of the Widows Village: it was a hard lesson to learn ie be careful what you wish for.

As for our main couple. Yes, a big tick and those moments of self realisation regarding how they felt about one another were something else. Show was a good watch and yes, nice people do come out on top 😜, even if they have to live on an island far away from the “madding crowd” (I never really liked Thomas Hardy’s novels, but his poetry wasn’t too bad).

kfangurl
3 years ago
Reply to  seankfletcher

Glad you enjoyed Nokdu too, Sean! 😀 I so agree, a little more of the former queen on the boat would have been perfect. Maybe a scene of her arriving and finally standing face to face with her son – that would’ve made me very happy, I think!

Lol at your “I dream of Jeanie” analogy, that’s so funny, and yet, so true! 😂😂 Kdramas do that sometimes, and for me as a viewer, I’m alternately annoyed and amused by it. 😆

Props to you for guessing that Yool Moo was the bad guy! It didn’t even occur to me, so I was suitably stunned when Show did the reveal. Thereafter though, I found Yool Moo less interesting than at the point of the reveal. But yes, that lesson that he learned at the Widows’ Village was a sad one indeed. However, it seems that it didn’t leave a very deep impression on him, since he pretty much continued in his scheming, killing ways. Of course, if he’d learned it well, we might not have this story, so there’s that. 🤔😆

Y
Y
4 years ago

I’m compelled to leave a comment as I agree with everything you’ve said in this review wholeheartedly! Drama is a B in my objective mind but a definite A to my heart as it pulled me out of kdrama doldrums after a long x! My last addictive watch was WLFKBJ with similar cute bickering and swoonworthy OTP chemistry!

kfangurl
4 years ago
Reply to  Y

Aw, hi5 Y! 😀 How cool that we feel so similarly about this show! And yes, any drama that manages to pull you out of a drama rut deserves a special spot in your heart, for sure. 😉 I loved Weightlifting Fairy as well, more than this show, in fact. Just so endearing and sweet. 😍

beezrtp
4 years ago

I suffered through the last half of this one but seeing one of The Virtuous Woman carrying Nokdu princess style (and his facial expression) made it all worth it.😄

kfangurl
4 years ago
Reply to  beezrtp

Ahahaha! Yes, that moments was pretty priceless, I have to agree! 😆😆 I loved the Virtuous Women Corps, they were awesome. 😍

Dame Holly (@Lee_Tennant)

Show me a sageuk that doesn’t get caught up in palace intrigue nonsense in its back half and I’ll show you my perfect sageuk.

This is one of those dramas that caused me to write a lot of words, especially in the first half, because I loved the whole Shakespearean farce tragi-comedy feel of it. I also loved what it was doing with its female characters and with the unabashed gender bending nature of it. Sageuks and its treatment of gender roles is one of the things that really turn me off them and this was gleefully messing with that.

I was so impressed with Jang Dong Yoon in Just Dance where he was a delightful metrosexual little darling and I don’t doubt it’s that performance that led to him being cast in this role. He has such an amazing ability to be both gentle and feminine while still being about eight feet of sex and it’s a great little bundle to watch on screen.

I really loved these characters and I loved how this ended and I loved, maybe, eight to ten episodes of this show. But as the back half unfolded I was left with the impression that the whole thing… did not make a lot of sense. I liked how you put it around the show retaining its emotional core. It definitely did. The characters and our emotional attachment to them are what got me through the sageuk nonsense when I would have usually dropped the show at that point. In fact, sageuks doing this are why I’ve only finished about three of them.

Also, did I mention that this plotine overall made no sense?

The tonal shift in the last half hour was jarring and it only reminded me of just how far the show had strayed from where it had been. It’s a damn shame because the first half of this show had to be some of the most enjoyable television I’ve ever seen come out of Korea. I just wish the writers had been able to maintain the sheer… glee.. of the first half through the back half.

kfangurl
4 years ago

About that tonal shift in the last half hour, Dame Holly.. you got me thinking, and what I’ve unpacked in my head is this: as a general rule, the show was cutest when our characters were furthest from the palace, both in terms of physical distance and emotional involvement. They were physically far away from the palace in the widows’ village, which is where a lot of cuteness takes place. And then as they drew closer to the palace, both physically and in terms of personal involvement, the farther away the cute felt. So I think I didn’t feel the same jarring effect of the switch at the end, because in my head, there was switch in location, AND there was a cutting off of involvement with all the palace stuff. This, to my mind, naturally meant that there was now nothing to prevent the cute from manifesting. Which is all a longwinded way of saying that I felt it was an effective demonstration of what a different world the palace was, to the world that our characters eventually got to live their happy ever after in. Framed that way, I was quite happy to accept the tonal shift at the end. 🙂

And YES, Jang Dong Yoon is amazingly sweet, feminine, masculine and sensuous, all at the same time. I’m still amazed! 😍

Skylilies
Skylilies
4 years ago

Honestly, sageuks as a genre ARE a bit Shakespearean in their presentation and storytelling. They’re roughly contemporary to Shakespeare too, or close enough most of the time!

Timescout
4 years ago

Another review! You are on a roll.^^

I wish there had been some inkling of Drama’s sudden turn to something darker before I started watching, so I might have avoided the whole thing. Now I just hated the shift and dropped Drama then and there as it wasn’t what I signed up for. Sageuks with the more traditional bent aren’t really my thing anymore and I haven’t liked any of those I’ve tried in the past few years. Somehow Chinese period dramas seem to agree with me way more these days (currently loving the beginnings of Joy of Life. 😀 ).

My take from Nokdu is to keep tabs on what Jang Dong Yoon is going to do in the future. 😉

kfangurl
4 years ago
Reply to  Timescout

Tee hee! I AM on a roll – at least for now. 😅 My next target is to finish watching My Country (5 more eps!) and post a review, by the weekend. Let’s see if I manage to do it!

I get what you mean about sageuks with a traditional bent having similar elements.. I actually started My Country not too long after starting Nokdu, and I legit found myself confused on a regular basis. Like, wait, is this the gisaeng house where the madam is supportive, or is it the one where she’s threatening..? And also, wait, is this the show where his dad taught him swordsmanship? Ah, no, this is the one where Master Hwang taught him how to fight. 😂😂 BUT. I never got confused about which show had Jang Hyuk in it, so there’s that! 😆😍

I’ve heard some positive things about Joy of Life.. but I am wary coz C-dramas are still so long, and I’m still watching The Longest Day in Chang’an. I’ll wait for your update further down the road, to see if it manages to be worthwhile, all the way through. 😉

YES, I’m definitely curious to see what else Jang Dong Yoon does, going forward. I used to think he was just ok, but Nokdu showed me that he’s capable of a whole lot more, which is a very good thing indeed. 🙂

Timescout
4 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

Lately I’ve been looking back at the sageuks I’ve watched and The Legend is actually the only one I’ve truly loved.

Timescout
4 years ago
Reply to  Timescout

Dang, hit ‘send’ accidentally again. 😅 To continue…

Sungkynkwan Scandal came pretty close though. Besides those two there has been only couple of others I’ve liked a lot. The rest, well… mostly in the ‘dropped’ pile.

I’ve been somewhat following My Country through recaps and must say eyerolling has exponentially increased as the drama advanced. 😉

Joy of Life has been more humorous than I anticipated based on the novel. Which has made all the schieming much more fun. I hope they’ll keep at least some of that going forward. The novel is long as a famine year, so the drama is going to have 3 seasons. No idea if all of it is already in the can.

BE
BE
4 years ago
Reply to  Timescout

Although the philosophical and political aspects of the very good sageuks are not to everyone’s taste, I think Deep Rooted Tree is pretty darn spectacular…if you can get into that sort of thing at all. It is not humorous, but it is the only Jang Hyuk vehicle I have ever seen wherein another actor, Han Suk-Kyu in this case, could scene after scene stand toe to toe with Jang Hyuk and dominate.
I also love Chuno, Jang Hyuk’s greatest role, though it is long, flawed, and unlike every sageuk I have watched in that it is not primarily about the royal court, and plays out more like a Korean western.
Finally, although it is endless, Six Flying Dragons, is simply spectacular, with many bravura performances. However, it is endless, and even though I really like it, I can only watch it in doses before taking a vacation from it for awhile and watch other shows, Korean, American, European.

beezrtp
4 years ago
Reply to  BE

@BE you’ve named what are my “classics”. And while I agree SFD is long, I’ll never forget feeling panicked during its last two weeks – “Oh no! It’s ending soon. What will I do?!” Because I knew it would be a long while before something comparable and as epic came along.

Simeon
4 years ago
Reply to  Timescout

I love Chinese period dramas and have been on a look out for one. Joy Of Life looks interesting might give it a try

BE
BE
4 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

I will await your final verdict to respond to My Country, but insofar as your confusion went, I personally cannot imagine how anyone not simultaneously watching Six Flying Dragons has a clue about the lay of the political landscape in My Country. There is also what seemed to me to be one significant time anomaly regarding the execution of Hwi’s father. But it is true on one hand that Jang Hyuk is so good one can just about forget everything else, even if scenes like the one in which he goes at Yi Seong-Gyi about the guilt he feels for the assassination of Poeun on the bridge, the catalytic moment before the founding of the Josean Dynasty are largely wasted because the audience has no idea what it is he is talking about.
I am watching Nodku through a limited viewing on Viki, meaning several episodes remain locked to me, and while the production values are nowhere in the category of My Country, and there is no one on earth like Jang Hyuk, I find the actual story here not only considerably easier to follow, but more entertaining than the endlessly somber My Country. The presence of women, especially in secondary roles, with real personalities is just one among many ways I find it so. And I like political intrigues, so so what of the well used fairy tale send up of the prophesied child being sent off to his death but allowed to get away and showing up later. It is a tried and true formula. I will comment more when I have finished the series.