kdrama: Warrior Baek Dong Soo eps 1-6

I have to wonder if kdramas are improving, or if my tastes are changing. (Or maybe it’s just my ability to attempt to watch things as they come out.) Until now, the only series I ever tried to follow as it came out was Chuno, and even that I ended up watching in chunks, and now I’m following 2 kdramas as they come out. (And am considering trying to follow The Princess’s Man and Lee Seo Jin’s new series, but 3 sageuks at once is probably beyond my abilities.)

Warrior Baek Dong Soo is a fusion sageuk centering around Prince Sado’s conspiracy. I believe the titular main character is also a historical figure, but I’m not sure. The main character, Dong Soo, is the son of a traitor who was executed shortly before Dong Soo’s birth, and his entire family was to be hunted down and executed too. (In Joseon Korea, they do not believe in leaving anyone behind who might want revenge.) As a result of his mother’s extreme methods in hiding him, Dong Soo was born with “bent” limbs that required him to spend his entire childhood literally living in a bamboo cage to straighten and strengthen his bones. As soon as he was out of the cage he and his rival/foster brother, Yeo Un (Who is actually a plant of the assassin’s guild) scampered off to join a secret camp devoted to training elite soldiers to serve Prince Sado.

This is the only series I’ve seen (and only series I’m aware of) that features Sado as a major character, as opposed to background drama for his son. (Sidenote: If you want a drama the explores the theories surrounding Sado’s death, track down 8 Days: Mystery of Jeong Jo Assassination. While also about Jeong Jo and not Sado, figuring out what really happened there is a key plot and the scenes about that are the best part, even if the resolution treaded a bit close to mansplainin’.) Of course, once we get to the part where his father has him locked in a rice chest and left outside to starve to death slowly over an eight day period, it’s going to be worse than usual because, you know, he’s an actual character you like here instead of a cameo with an awful fate. And this show is definitely going to go with the “Yeong Jo was convinced by a conspiracy of Sado’s enemies” route instead of “Sado went insane and started randomly killing and molesting people” one. Unless it’s a AU where he doesn’t die.

The series is very wuxia-like in its setup, and despite technically following the normal sageuk format, reminds me more of wuxia series than any other sageuk I’ve seen. Most sageuks really only have one central plot that other plots branch out of, and while it isn’t uncommon for the “older generation” of characters to be more interesting than the younger leads, they’re usually interesting in the context of the main plot. Here, like in wuxia, we have a number of plots that overlap (and a more ensemble feel as a result) and the stories of the older generation and flashbacks are largely the most interesting plot. Frankly, I could watch the backstory/childhood parts forever and ever. Or at least the full 24 episodes. My favorite part of the plot are the backstory (and upcoming drama) between the two main assassins, Cheon and Ji, and Gwang Taek, a friend of Dong Soo’s father. They are, apparently, the three best fighters in Joseon Korea and involved in a 20+ year triangle wherein Ji basically calls all the shots and the men respect her choices, even if they don’t like them. Gwang Taek, incidentally, is the kind of character who goes around taking on entire gangs of bandits and punk kids hit by a bout of hero worship using nothing but his identity tag as a weapon and is all “La! I am just a humble if slightly snarky medicine peddler with one hand, no need to pay attention to me!” and you are all “Dude, between losing your hand, getting rejected (to save you) by the love of your life and thinking your would-be foster son got eaten by wolves, you basically had the worst week ever and spent the last 20~ years dangling off a cliff doing one handed pullups while learning every form of fighting you can from warrior monks. After a brief stint as a bum. ‘Humble medicine peddler’ my behind.”  

My second favorite is the plotline of one of the heroines, Ji Sun, whose family is the guardian of a super secret book the assassins are after (and which is now tattooed onto her back with her father’s blood mixed in with the ink). Shockingly to all, Mr. I Am A Secret Undercover Assassin is falling for her. Incidentally, after watching ep 6, I realized that the other heroine, Jin Joo, is played by Yoon So Yi from Arahan and Shadowless Sword. No wonder my (already quite strong) fondness for her skyrocketed once the leads were grown up.

The creators, incidentally, are clearly fans of Chuno. The most obvious bit is how most of the music is tweaked versions of Chuno’s music (it’s especially noticeable in the fight scenes) and also that someone apparently went “my, Yoon Ji Min is quite good here as a beautiful and mysterious assassin. I think she should be in our show as a beautiful and mysterious assassin with a completely different personality.” As niche roles go, I can’t disapprove. I prefer her Chuno look, but that wouldn’t really suit Ji. It also has the intersecting but separate plot thing (though moreso) and a big romantic plot where you can’t really tell how it’ll turn out. (I’ll operate under the assumption that another similarity will be that that turns out the way I wanted it to all along.) Mind you, if you want to be another sageuk when you grow up, you could do far worse than Chuno.

( spoilers-mostly for this week's episodes )

kdrama: City Hunter eps 17-18

 

( spoilers call filler )