It is a full week for me, what with the season finale of Revenge and the wrap up of Rooftop Prince. That always leaves me in a quandary as I wonder, "What will I watch next?" So I'm trying out some different flavors and see what catches, what doesn't.
Okay, seriously, the first battle scene is nothing but a rip-off of the movie Gladiator. There is a difference between homage and almost shot for shot stealing. Does Ridley Scott know about this? We see the Baekje general Gyebaek in full battle armor daydreaming in a field of flowers. (Remember Maximus and his field of wheat?) He's recalled back to the task at hand which is a face off with the army of Silla. Geez, even the majestic music is Gladiator-esque. I expect to see Russell Crowe to show up any second. (I used to have a 'thang' for Russell back in the day.)
A soldier rides up to Gyebaek to report that the army of Silla, led by Kim Yushin, is on its way. (This is so odd to be against Silla and Kim Yushin as it was the legendary Queen Seondeok that started my Korean drama/Kim Nam Gil addiction. But I digress.) The Baekje are outnumbered ten to one, but they have the advantage of barrels of explosives and being the stars of this show. I don't know who this guy is playing Kim Yushin, but anybody can do a better job than that piece of wood, Uhm Tae Woong. There's the sky filling with arrows, barrels exploding, horses being abused, masses of humanity clashing against one another, the sun disappearing in one shot and appearing in the next, then Gyebaek unleashes hell and rides in with his cavalry. Roma Victa!
Kim Yushin calls for a retreat of his forces. Everyone falls silent so Gyebaek can yell a challenge to Yushin, chastising the Silla general for having to get Chinese troops to fight Baekje, which will fight in the fields and fight in the hills, we will never surrender!
Korean Drama Laws rules that we go back in time to when Gyebaek is a huge watermelon in his mama's belly. His mama is really annoying and whiny, but I'll be generous and lay that on the pregnancy hormones' fault. We're introduced to his dad, Mu Jin, whose eyebrows and well-trimmed beard make me think he should be playing Mephistopheles instead. Mu Jin's job is to guard the royal family and lately he doesn't feel he can do an adequate job until he gets a special sword from the armory. The blacksmith directs Mu Jin to find what he needs at that pretty waterfall that's used in just about every Korean historical drama. And there's Excalibur! Or at least the Korean version of it. Thank goodness no one walking by said, "Hey, someone left a sword out here at this pretty waterfall. I should take it home with me," before Mu Jin showed up.
As Mu Jin is riding home that night he's attacked by ninja assassins. He easily subdues them with the power of his eyebrows. More ninjas are fighting to get to the queen and young prince Uija. Mu Jin leaps into battle and tests out Excalibur on several bodies. After they're all dead, Mu Jin sees that the ninjas have the tattoo of the Purists. These are people who don't want the mudblood prince on the throne because his mother is from Silla.
As Mu Jin is escorting the royal family to safety we get a glimpse of Sa Taek Bi, the king's second wife. (Good Lord, it's Oh Yun Soo from that beautiful mess, Bad Guy. I didn't recognize her at all.) She's obviously evil. I mean, look at her eyebrows. I know, I'm obsessed with the eyebrows in this drama, but they all have a personality of their own.
We get a quick glimpse of the Hideout of Many Doors where Kwi Un, leader of the Purists, sits under a spot light. (He's another actor from Queen Seondeok that I've noticed littering this production.) You know that old saying, "Don't kill the messenger"? Well, Kwi Un doesn't believe in that. You bring bad news, you get the tiki statues blowing poison darts at you.
The King wants to name his son, Uija, as crown prince and heir to the throne. The ministers aren't too keen on the idea while the military leaders are all for it. The King orders his prime minister to be stripped of his titles and tells a general to take the disgraced man out to exile. Just at that moment Sa Taek Bi/Mishil-lite walks in and basically countermands that order. Caught between a rock and a hard place the general scurries away. Well, now we know who wears the pants in this kingdom. We also learn that the prime minister is Mishil-lite's father. She has a young son, Prince Kyoki, who enjoys stabbing rabbits.
The king is feeling the weightlessness of his balls and is taking it out on his bodyguards. Thankfully Mu Jin arrives and is able to defuse the king with a slow-mo sword fight. Later that night over dinner the king decides it would be safer for his wife and son if he didn't make Uija the crown prince. Suddenly Mu Jin's ninja-senses start tingling. Someone's up on the roof! However, the king won't let him take action. The king knows there's someone up there but he wants them to overhear his plans.
Sure enough the conversation is related to Mishil-lite but she's not completely buying it. She still wants to get rid of "that Silla tramp and her brat" and sends orders to Kwi Un. (What is up with that hair, Kwi???) Later a note is passed to Mu Jin that Taek Bi wants to meet him in a secluded place. During their tete-a-tete she makes reference to their past relationship. A-ha! I had a feeling these two had a past. Their eyebrows were meant for each other. The episode ends with Taek Bi declaring Mu Jin is the only man she has ever loved. What kind of cliffhanger is that? Boo hiss boo.
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