★★★★★
The 2019 Korean drama starring Jung Il-Woo
as Yi Geum/ Yeoning, Go A-Ra as Cheon Yeo-Ji, Kwon Yul as Park Moon-Su, Park
Hoon as Dal-Mun, Lee Geung-Young as Min Jin-Won, and Jung Moon-Sung as Yi Tan
Milpoong. Directed by Lee Yong-Suk and written by Kim Yi-Young.
Brief summary: A young prince, a damo, a
civil-service exam failure, and a street beggar all dream of a better country,
one that they might contribute to. Their dreams get dashed to pieces when
conniving and scheming hearts do whatever it takes to maintain control of the
throne and the country. But these wanna-be haechi aren’t ready to give up! Not
when there’s even the smallest chance for justice. Although the Prince Yi Geum
may need convincing to join their small forces, the passion of these determined
have-nots might warm up his frozen heart.
The highlights of this drama were undoubtedly
the characters and their relationships, the dialogue, and the overall
historical rendering.
One of our favorite characters in the
entire drama was Maseonnomi, “born 1699, a limping leg.” His character presence
is brief, but we remember him throughout the drama for the person he becomes to
Yeoning. When the haechis’ tactics
fail, Maseonnomi does the only thing he can think to do, even as a simple
forgotten nobody. He submits all he has of his identity to petition in Yeoning’s
behalf. He starts a trend that grows to the point citizens start submitting
rocks with their names written thereon to support his humble petition. Not only
would the story stop without him, but Maseonnomi moves our hearts in ways we
did not expect.
Lee Gwang-Jwa is also a fascinating figure.
As Deputy Minister or Taxation, he asks Milpoong “Are you really curious why
his highness was chosen and not you? For no other reason than that the choices
he made were different from yours. Whoever it is, what makes up a human being’s
presence is the result of all the choices he has made.” He makes it clear that
he is not someone who will make assumptions about anyone, but will let choices
define character. Later in episode 35, Lee Gwang-Jwa is the one to set Yi Geum
straight—“So why do you even blame yourself with those lies?” He tells him to
shut up and stand tall because he deserves it. “Then choose, your highness,” he
continues, “to keep the qualifications of a king or to lose them.”
But the character that surprises us the
most (the one with the most character development in my personal opinion), is
none other than Min Jin-Heon. He’s not really the bad guy, but as we watch him
learn and change we realize that he really just wanted to do his best job for
the people he was set to lead. “The haechi
exists because it is impossible to judge good and evil…” he says, but we all
come to realize that politics should be about making steady progress while
believing in that “dream of impossibility.”
The lines in this drama are all pretty
impeccable, but there were just a few that stood out the most. One of them: “If
two people share the same will and walk the same road, they’re brothers.” Park
Moon-Su says this right after he meets Yi Geum, the prickly prince. Moon-Su’s
colleagues mock him for his enthusiasm, but Moon-Su maintains that there doesn’t
need to be anything keeping him from calling the prince a “brother.” According
to Moon-Su’s philosophy, there may be more family members around us than we expect,
and there’s nothing that says strangers need to stay strangers, or that
friendliness has no place. Maybe it’s because Moon-Su believes this that he’s
the brightest, almost happiest character in the cast.
“There is no such thing as disallowed love
in this world.” (Ep. 23)
“You have a big inferiority complex,” (Ep.
29, Dal-Mun to Milpoong). No kidding! Finally, someone said it!
“Come to your senses. Who’s ruining whom?
You ruined your own future. Your choice and your crime did.” (Ep. 30, Park
Moon-Su)
“Perhaps a life wihout regrets… isn’t that
the more terrifying and frightening?” (Ep. 47)
Throughout this historical drama, there are
two concepts that define the drama for all that it is. First, the haechi. The haechi is the mythical creature that judges right and wrong. Its
meaning is spread to our main characters who do everything in their power to
mete out justice and right the wrong. Min Jin-Heon might suggest the the haechi creature exists solely because
humans cannot effectively judge right and wrong. The band of misfits puts his
idea to the test. But by the end of the drama, the question still stands to the
audience: Can people really judge good and evil?
The second concept is the idea of “king
material.” It is the object of Milpoong’s fixation and he is constantly driven
to prove himself qualified for the throne. Yeoning’s purpose as the main
character is to show us through the drama what “king material” really looks
like, but he questions himself all the time and doubts himself. When asking
Yeo-Ji about it, she tells him that “king material” is characterized by
questioning yourself at every move, consistently checking your priorities and
their worth. This comes to define Yeoning’s reign as he realizes that the
throne is hardly the prize, but the tool he should be using to improve himself
and his people. But who is to say what makes a person ‘king material,” anyway?
When the drama caps off the emotional
rollercoaster that finally rolls to a stop in episodes 47 and 48, and we see
the eventual defeat of our antagonist, Milpoong comes forward on his own. Even
though we see him scared and he knows what is waiting for him, he still shows
up at the palace to die of his own volition. He finally figures out some sliver
of what honor is. Yeoning tells him as they meet for the final time “The hard
choice… If you could have made that in the first place, perhaps the throne
would have been yours.”
This historical drama lacks nothing as a
sageuk. It’s beautiful, full of so much emotion that I almost could choose what
to write about. Even if the romantic development is quite the slow-burner, the
artistry and brilliance of the show has to be acknowledged. 5/5 stars!
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