Isn’t it wonderful when there are tons of dramas to choose from, and you can’t decide which one to start? Well, the Fangirls have one in particular we think you should drop everything so you can press the play button on episode one. Join us for a fast and furious rundown of why you need to binge watch this drama to catch up.
#5: You don’t understand the depth of Woo Do Hwan’s beauty.
Drama Geek: Photos can only convey so much, but put this man in elegant hanbok, slap a mane of glory on him, and he’s about the most divine creature you can behold. Okay, maybe I’m waxing a bit too poetic about his looks, but the great thing is that his character is also so wonderfully damaged. You want him to do the right thing at every turn, and yet he keeps stomping on our bromance loving hearts.
Kdrama Jen: I fell hard for this actor in Save Me. I predicted his future success after completing that drama. I was impressed in Mad Dog too. Then, he had a drama that wasn’t such a great choice. Now? Oh, he is in his glory! He plays this broken bad-boy with Daddy issues to perfection. I message my fellow fangirls after every episode with, “I just want him to be a better person!”
Kmuse: He has always been pretty but a mane of glory just adds that extra oomph that jumps him to stunning. I want to just pause the show anytime he comes on screen. Add in the amazing chemistry he has with Se Jong Yang. Is it wrong that I am impatiently waiting for talented people to make
#4 When is the last time you’ve seen a fan flipped with this much gusto?
Drama Geek: I am not always a fan of Jang Hyuk’s acting, but whatever the director is doing, it is totally working. He is just the right amount of fan wielding badass with a controlled amount of crazy. I am 100% into the bromance that will eventually form between his character Bang Won and Hwi.
Kdrama Jen: Jang Hyuk can sometimes overact and seem too intense for the rom-com world, but he is in his element in shows like this! I adored him in Tree With Deep Roots, and although I dislike his character right now, I adore his acting!!
Kmuse: I am easily swayed by the expert use of a fan and a sexy mane of glory. Is Bang Won (Jang Hyuk) utterly ruthless and reminds me of a crocodile who is about to pounce? Yes. But that doesn’t make me love his character any less. I’m letting my inner fangirl push my ethical self to the back and making banners declaring myself #TeamBangWon!
#3 Give me that OST, stat.
Drama Geek: The music is just sublime and not always your typical sageuk variety. I can’t find the songs I really love on YouTube yet, but I’m hoping they’ll be added soon. There’s one they play during battle scenes that has an Irish feel to it, then another when stuff is about to go down, that is like a ruffian anthem.
Kdrama Jen: I am a fan of the ruffian anthem. It means kick-butt fight scenes are coming and I just sit up and wait for the awesome!
Kmuse: The epic feel to this OST is off the charts. Ever fight scene, every romantic moment is scored to perfection and enhances my enjoyment of the drama.
#2 Hello our new favorite sageuk director.
Drama Geek: The battle and fight scenes alone are enough to make you cry. I have not seen this type of directing in a sageuk in a while, and I am beyond thrilled to get it with this story. So much pretty and BLOOD. Seriously, they always have blood on their faces.
Kdrama Jen: I am not the one who notices directing. Well, I notice I like something or don’t like something, but this director pulls me in and makes me appreciate the camera angles and way each scene is captured. I agree with Drama Geek! Every Sageuk should be like this one!
Kmuse: I want this director to do all the sagueks. He pulls scenes together like a master chef creating a banquet for a king. The swift move between various characters as the fight and the subtle facial tics when politicking is happening are top notch. Can I just say that nothing is going to compare to this level of quality? I’m officially ruined when it comes to future sageuks.
#1 BROMANCES Galore!
Drama Geek: The strength of the bromances in this is the only reason I’m overlooking the weak female lead character. Usually that makes me run very far away. Seon Ho and Hwi’s tragic story is ripping my heart out each week, but Hwi’s little band of friends, who have become his family, bring me back to life.
Kdrama Jen: The bromance potential here is real. I know I am headed for heartbreak, but I just can’t stop!!
Kmuse: Hwi is a bromance magnet. Not only does he have an epically tragic relationship with our mane of glory hottie, but he has his battle weary brotherhood backing him up in every scheme. Add the fact that Hwi and Bang Won are shooting bromantic sparks anytime they share a screen and you have the perfect bromantic storm going on.
Bonus:
Drama Geek: I added this section to include the plot. It is actually one of the strongest facets of the show. We know what eventually happens to Bang Won and the other historically accurate characters, but with our two main leads, it’s all a guessing game. How did their lives contribute to the formation of Joseon, and what side of history did they end up on? Will they even live to see the new age they helped create? The opening set up was fantastic in raising all of these questions, and now we just need to watch it all unfold.
Kdrama Jen: The writing is fantastic!
Kmuse: I love how all the various characters are remaining relevant and totally badass. Can’t wait for the next episode!
Until the next tragic bromance, we remain –
The Fangirls
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
My favorite sageuk of all time is Warrior Baek Dong Soo (yeah, JCW – but others) with the most glorious bromance – and the fact that the ‘lead’ actress was a cardboard cutout didn’t phase me.
I certainly don’t see the females in this being very weak at all, certainly not our main one.
I’m just fascinated with this show – so amazingly hypnotic!
I don’t see her character as a weak person, just that her storyline is weaker than the three main men in the drama. I agree. This show is hypnotic.
Agreed, I find her fine in this drama; I appreciate her steadiness and intelligence. Not nerve-wracking annoying like the lead female in Flower Crew…
I dropped Flower Crew because I couldn’t handle the lead girl character. I am fine with the female lead in My Country, and I do enjoy her character.
Flower Crew is fantasy history and is adorable LOL It’s totally different from this.
I am also enjoying Flower Crew. I think the female lead needed to tone it down a bit, but now that she feels more settled, I am enjoying her too.
I normally can’t stick out a saguek (which is weird because I like Chinese historicals), but I’m loving this one. I’ve been trying to think about why, and I have come up with the following:
1. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things: there are no stupidly loyal servants who for some fairly flimsy backstory–or no reason at all–will do things with total disregard for their own life or moral compass.
2. The reasons for doing things are more complex than wanting to be king, or personal revenge: Yes, there’s a bunch of people who want to be king, and there’s lots of revenge. But it happens in a context where the former regime was no longer working. The things that people want to take revenge for are connected to the social context and the structures of power in ways that make “I will become king/overthrow the king/take power and get revenge and fix things” a reasonable reaction.
3. The tension between the characters’ agency and the significant constraints that society imposes are front and centre in the story. Sometimes I feel like sagueks tend to present us with good people who are slowly ground down and crushed by an inevitable force of society. This story has that element, but it shows each character moving in the ways that they can and leveraging what power they have to bring about their own goals. There are no passive characters among our mains, second leads, and even our named extras, from the Queen to the band of army buddies.
This is what makes it so compelling to watch people do things we don’t agree with… and so hard to just lump them into “antagonist” or “villain” type categories. Bang Won is ruthless, but he’s also pretty clear-eyed about his father’s ruthlessness. It’s not necessarily unbelievable that he wants power for himself because he thinks he will be better for the people.
Likewise, although I agree with kdramajen that I want Seon-Ho to make better choices, it wasn’t really until about episode 7 that I felt like he chose to turn away from his friends. Before that, I felt like he was making choices as someone who really understood how little power he had, and wanted to gain more power in order to protect the ones he loves. It’s not till around 6 or 7 where his choices in the pursuit of power really start to come into conflict. Before, sending Hwi to the military and taking his sister hostage were both equivalent to saving them: he used the only paths open to him to save them while trying to gain enough power to actually protect them. But eventually, these things come into conflict and we’re seeing him choose power over loved ones.
4. Women exist! As independent whole persons that affect the world, not just as objects that motivate men! Seriously, I love how central women are to the plot. The female lead might not be getting much story time, but this plot wouldn’t exist without the many women characters that are acting, like the men, with their own agency and goals. They get less screen time, but great respect from both writer and director.
5. Also all the reasons you guys listed 😀