dorama: Damo: eps 1-2

Well, I finally got to sit down with Damo, and am very happy.  It starts off with a wuxia style fight, which actually had me a touch leery(love wuxia, but 14 hours of wobbly swords, flying, and weapon destroying sleeves?  Uhm...no thanks...)  Until I noticed the combatants actually looked like they'd been fighting for thier lives...blood, sweat, dirt, heavy breathing, et cetera.  The fighting is a more reserved form of wuxia...largely limited to improbable leaps, and is very well done.  This is the best shot/choreogrphed dorama I've seen so far(though from what I hear, the korean ones are better in that regard in general, and this one is better than most) and I can't help wishing Musashi had been shot like it(not that I have problems with how Musashi was shot, watching this just makes me really what it COULD have been...)

First, a reminder of how prettypretty it is

And, the drama wiki entry(if you skipped the link) for a breakdown:  http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Damo 

Well, the official description makes it sound similar to "House of Flying Daggers"  but it looks like it's mostly superficial resemblance.  While the main plot with the investifation of the counterfeiters is going strong, these 2 episodes are largely devoted to establishingthe relationship between Hwangbo Yoon, a 17th century police commander, and Jang Chae-Ok, a girl who's been his servant since childhood, and also serves as an assistant to the police force...apparently her role as something of a junior officer, or at least a female attached to the police, who does things like examine female bodies in a murder or attack, because men can't.

The official description makes it sound like he sends her out undercover and like it's set up for her to fall for Jang Sung-Baek, a rebel leader(actually, I'm laying odds on his being Che-Ok's brother, who Hwangbo Yoon has apparently been trying to find for her, or something)  but it doesn't seem to be the case at all.  Chae-Ok is the daughter of a man who was accused of being a traitor.  He sent Chae-Ok(who was seven at the time) and her brother away so they'd escape, but they were separated almost immediately.  She was turned into a servant and sent to Hwangbo Yoon's father as a servant.  The father is a court official of some sort, and Hwangbo Yoon was the son of his mistress.  As a result, he can't apply to public service, and is ridiculed by other students, not only because of his standing, but also because he's smarter and better educated than them, but his illegitimacy won't allow him to move very far up in the world.

He's immediately drawn to Chae-Ok(in as purely platonic way...they're 12/13 and 7 at the time, after all) and she's made his personal servant.  When his father sends him away to train with a master(who's a hermit) she goes with him, and they grow up there.  Hwangbo Yoon becomes a master swordsman there, and Chae-Ok is his only available sparring partner, resulting in her becoming almost as good.  When his father judges him as being ready to take a place in the worlf, Hwangbo Yoon takes her with him, despite his father's warnings not to let her distract him from him work(notes that, at this time, Hwangbo Yoon views Chae-Ok along the lines of a cherished sister)

So far it's extremely good, though the fact that the episodes are each slightly longer than an hour was a bit odd at first(but I'm not complaining.  Also, the music is amazing.

( a few more ramblings, mostly relationship stuff )

crossposted to dorama_chat

dorama: Damo: eps 1-2

Well, I finally got to sit down with Damo, and am very happy.  It starts off with a wuxia style fight, which actually had me a touch leery(love wuxia, but 14 hours of wobbly swords, flying, and weapon destroying sleeves?  Uhm...no thanks...)  Until I noticed the combatants actually looked like they'd been fighting for thier lives...blood, sweat, dirt, heavy breathing, et cetera.  The fighting is a more reserved form of wuxia...largely limited to improbable leaps, and is very well done.  This is the best shot/choreogrphed dorama I've seen so far(though from what I hear, the korean ones are better in that regard in general, and this one is better than most) and I can't help wishing Musashi had been shot like it(not that I have problems with how Musashi was shot, watching this just makes me really what it COULD have been...)

First, a reminder of how prettypretty it is

And, the drama wiki entry(if you skipped the link) for a breakdown:  http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Damo 

Well, the official description makes it sound similar to "House of Flying Daggers"  but it looks like it's mostly superficial resemblance.  While the main plot with the investifation of the counterfeiters is going strong, these 2 episodes are largely devoted to establishingthe relationship between Hwangbo Yoon, a 17th century police commander, and Jang Chae-Ok, a girl who's been his servant since childhood, and also serves as an assistant to the police force...apparently her role as something of a junior officer, or at least a female attached to the police, who does things like examine female bodies in a murder or attack, because men can't.

The official description makes it sound like he sends her out undercover and like it's set up for her to fall for Jang Sung-Baek, a rebel leader(actually, I'm laying odds on his being Che-Ok's brother, who Hwangbo Yoon has apparently been trying to find for her, or something)  but it doesn't seem to be the case at all.  Chae-Ok is the daughter of a man who was accused of being a traitor.  He sent Chae-Ok(who was seven at the time) and her brother away so they'd escape, but they were separated almost immediately.  She was turned into a servant and sent to Hwangbo Yoon's father as a servant.  The father is a court official of some sort, and Hwangbo Yoon was the son of his mistress.  As a result, he can't apply to public service, and is ridiculed by other students, not only because of his standing, but also because he's smarter and better educated than them, but his illegitimacy won't allow him to move very far up in the world.

He's immediately drawn to Chae-Ok(in as purely platonic way...they're 12/13 and 7 at the time, after all) and she's made his personal servant.  When his father sends him away to train with a master(who's a hermit) she goes with him, and they grow up there.  Hwangbo Yoon becomes a master swordsman there, and Chae-Ok is his only available sparring partner, resulting in her becoming almost as good.  When his father judges him as being ready to take a place in the worlf, Hwangbo Yoon takes her with him, despite his father's warnings not to let her distract him from him work(notes that, at this time, Hwangbo Yoon views Chae-Ok along the lines of a cherished sister)

So far it's extremely good, though the fact that the episodes are each slightly longer than an hour was a bit odd at first(but I'm not complaining.  Also, the music is amazing.

( a few more ramblings, mostly relationship stuff )

crossposted to dorama_chat