Empress Ki (2013)

politics, love, destiny, patriotic ideals.

This drama got off to a cracking start, with fast action, witty dialogue and intriguing political machinations. Yang's story is immediately captivating and entertaining. The narrative continues at a very fast pace and it never gets boring.
At around the episode 39 mark the story started falling apart in my view, this is a show that has always had life and death scenarios at every turn and each conflict is quickly followed by another leaving no opportunity for reflection or satisfaction. I started to tire of this cycle and at times the show feels like it creates villains and conflict just for the sake of it with no real impact to the overall narrative.
I was especially disappointed with the lack of meaningful resolution to the love story (and it's product) of Yang and Wang Yoo, it felt as if the show was always trying to push the Tae Hwan / Yang loveline even though the very first episode tells us that she ends up with the Emperor, so what was the harm in fully exploring the separation of Yang and Wang Yoo? It was just very sloppily done and I for one was never convinced that Yang loved the Emperor, her relationship with him was a matter of survival and the best way of achieving her goals.

That being said, the acting in this was excellent by some and ok by others. Ji Chang Wook is very good at portraying the weak, childish and selfish Emperor Tae Hwan, whose character is shown to us in the first episode he actually never changed or improved; his portrayal of this character is so well done that even though I never warmed up to this character, I was moved at times by his suffering and his ultimate helplessness, being Emperor means everyone is always trying to use you for whatever they can get.
Wang Yoo portrayed by Joo Jin Mo is the direct foil to the character of the Emperor. Wang Yoo is everything the Emperor is not, brave, strong, selfless with clear political and patriotic ideals. Wang Yoo is a stoic character and he and Yang share the same ideals and aspirations.
I must give special mention to Wang Yoo's band of merry men especially Eunuch Bang, their loyalty to their King is so heartwarming.
Yeoncheol is another character that is portrayed very effectively, he is convincingly evil as is his daughter Tanashili.
Tal Tal also became a firm favourite of mine, I loved his calm assurance and his formidable intelligence.

The last quarter of this show certainly did not do justice to its first three quarters. It ended on a bit of a wimper, and I was especially outraged at the identity of the villain who was exposed in the last few episodes, this was definitely not a credible plot twist.

I was fully prepared to give this show 10 out of 10, but as the show progressed the score lowered because of the many plot holes and the failure to fully explore some emotional aspects of the relationships between characters, and it also seems that at some point the show was determined to kill off as many characters as possible, which in most cases was redundant.

Music is good and well employed.

Final score 8 out of 10.

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By far one of the best sageuks!

This is by far one the best sageuks ever made! I was intimidated by its length at first, and I expected the story to drag, but I was very impressed with how tight the writing is and how well all narrative threads are developed and come together by the end.

The entire cast is phenomenal, but most importantly, this is a drama that avoids most clichees. Its female characters are not the typical wimpy, submissive women we often see in historical dramas. Yang (brialliantly played by Ji-Won) is self-sufficient and outshines almost every male character in the story! I was also pleasantly surprised by Chang Wook's versatility; he plays the weak-willed (but also possessive) emperor amazingly! And finally, Joo Jin-Mo was born to play the King of Goryeo!

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I love the two main leads... Ha Ji Won and Ji Chang Wook. Won did a lot of Martial Art throughout which is great, I'm a fan. Wook well, his smile is genuine and never looks fake even when he is playing a character. Although I didn't like him playing a weak character, he was very good at it. Great Acting! I love the costumes, the hair do's, the music... I cried a lot... very emotional at times. I'll just put that out there. 51 episodes for a KDrama is a lot but they had a lot to tell. Kim Ji Han. wow, a deep bass voice and looks very tall. Since I hated the ending, I didn't give it a 10 rating. Thank you to all who played and the visuals were great...

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Não assista pelo romance!

Empress Ki foi um dorama que achei que quando começasse certamente não iria completar por ter muitos episódios. Contudo, acabei terminando porque você não consegue parar, tem sempre muito acontecendo e sua curiosidade te leva a continuar. Mas reitero, quem começar a ver pelo romance pode se decepcionar, parece que você está sempre esperando por algo que não é entregue, além de não ter um casal concreto (mesmo com um deles sendo o "endgame", meu favorito aliás). Caso queira assistir uma história de uma mulher forte e inteligente, esse é um ótimo dorama, mas não crie expectativas românticas!

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This is such a good historical K-drama.

The thing about this drama is that the better it gets the sadder it becomes. It had amazing scenes for 2013 and I must say that the story was very good.

Things I didn't like-
There aren't many but still THE ENDING, ahh, I know that it did make sense but still why? I cried for days and felt nothing for other dramas for months.
And I am not a big fan of The King of goryoeo and Ki Seung Nyang but (spoiler)





the fact that as soon as they got together, they slept and had a f baby is crazy.


In the end you should really check this drama out.

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Bow down to Her Majesty.

A motherless girl is about to go from being an escaped slave, to a gang leader, to a concubine, to the empress of Imperial China. And under her reign, her enemies will tremble before her.

I love this drama. It’s a masterpiece, and one of a few dramas I can truly say this about. From the breathtaking cinematography to the amazing script, everything about this incredible drama was perfectly done to make those 51 episodes run by way too quickly.

Ji Chang Wook’s character was the reason why I fell in love with this drama. This was what I knew, it’s what I believed, but as I sat down to write this review, I realised that it wasn’t the emperor, but rather the empress that made me fall in love with this drama, and so, I’ll focus on her for my review. Starting with her bravery.

Life threw lemons at this woman, and she not only made lemonade, she sowed the seeds and grew a whole damn lemon farm. As a little girl, when Seung-Nyang lost her mother while escaping from being offered as concubines, she didn’t give up. She fought for her right to remain alive in a country that didn’t seems to care much for her right to stay alive. And she did, because in the process, she became the leader of a surviving gang, and it was through it, that her destiny truly begun.

Empress Ki did not allow her pain and suffering define her. Throughout this drama, Ki went through a lot. From losing her mother, thinking she lost her child, losing her country, the love of her life, then losing her child just when she found him, and losing her second love. Seung-Nyang could have been a character that at some point would have just given up, but she didn’t, she fought through all these and more, and came out on top. I love how she handled her pain, as if to scream: no you don’t define me, no, I won’t let you win today.

I love how strong she was in every scene whenever she was faced with moments that will make everyone break down and cry or give up. One of these moment was when she found out about her dear son, but decided anyway to do whatever she could to get him to get away from the life she was forced to live. I was very angry at those scenes, after what both her and the crown prince decided to do after they found out that their son was alive. But, I understood her, it was the only way she could save him, and seeing her cover her pain to do the right thing, made me love her. Of course, the outcome of her decision, is another discussion for other time.

She made her enemies fear and remember her name: She never gave in to the court bullying her, she played her cards right, and showed them, through shear tactics that she’s a force to regaining with, and under her reign, they all learned to fear and respect her.

Romance:
When the relationship between the crowned prince and Seung-Nyang begun, I was super against it, because I wanted her to be with the scared little emperor who had no one in his corner. But I was grateful for it because it made the drama a lot more intense and which, to be honest, made it more interesting. Yes, I hated the triangle, but it was very entertaining and added to the plot. That being said, when it comes down to it:

The Emperor didn't win Empress Ki's heart, he earned it! As for Seung-Nyang, she didn’t win the king’s heart, she conquered it, and with it, his country. It wasn’t a moment, it wasn’t a favour, it wasn’t even in the way she saved him, it was a thousand moments that added up to one, to make Empress Ki return our dear emperor’s love. Poor guy. Yes, my favourite part of the romantic plot was how the emperor had to earned Ki’s love. I love how she never gave in, even when he tried everything and loved her with all his heart.

Did the slow burn annoyed me at some point? Very, very, but thinking about it now, I love how she never gave into him because of his position, and fought until her heart was ready to accept him, and she herself knew he finally deserved her love. This in itself made their love story one of the most romantic plot I'd seen in one of these dramas. Annoying as eff, but realistic and romantic nonetheless.

Other Characters.
Empress Ki is only but one of the characters I loved in this drama. Tal Tal was the next one and both of them added so much to this drama but as I said, I thought I'd focus on this brave woman instead, as it was because of her that this drama has now become one of my all time favourites, which I'll definitely be rewatching.

The side characters all played their parts well, and made sacrifices that left me broken, and respecting their characters more. The bad guys annoyed the heck out of me, as they should. Jesus I was this close to throwing my shoe at their friend turned traitor. Yeah, that guy. Getting stoned to death was merciful. However, I got where he was coming from, and him having depth as a character was one of the reason why this drama had some of the best character development out there.

Now Ta Hwan:
There is nothing wrong with being hopelessly in-love, but it’s a crime to be a desperate dumbass in love. Yes, Ji Chang Wook is a blessing sent from the heavens, and everything he does is GREAT by default. He’s so great if I were him, I’ll wake up every morning like: I'm so perfect it hurts.

Like most of you, I love him! I’ve been an obsessed and loyal stalker since forever. Therefore, I’ve made a vow, to never criticise anything he does. Which is why, I’ll never admit that, I fell asleep, like 10mins into into Healer, and I will die denying this truth before I tell anyone that I gave that Melting My Stuff? drama half episode and gave up, cuz, Ji Chang can do no wrong. Well, even if he does, I won’t talk about it. Just like I won’t talk about that ridiculous wig they put on Lee Min Ho in Boys Over Flowers. Yes, I will never criticize anything he does, but I’m a nitpicking SOB, and if I had to sit through 51 episodes of Empress Ki with the character he played constantly being a punchable son of a beach, you can bet your arse I’ll rant about it.

Ta Hwan as an emperor was hopelessly, useless. He was the epitome of collateral damage. Not only was he a dumbass, he was also a liability to everyone around him, and it bugged me to no end how utterly weak he was as an ruler! He was constantly being saved or being scared. Sometimes he was both at the same time, which was unfortunate.

I waited so many times for him to get off this royal arse and do something for himself... and I’m still waiting. There were moments where I thought his hopelessness was an act, but boy was I wrong! What made me what to slap him was how he was happy being emperor only by name. Ki offered to teach and help him take back his nation, and he whines about how vengeance was a big no-no and he wanted to run away with her to la la land.
Me:
“Dude, surely you wanna... like, hmm... I don’t know, take revenge on the people who:
• Forbid you from learning.
• Exiled you to another country.
• Tried to kill you like a gazillion time.
• Forced you to marry his evil daughter.
• Humiliated you in front of your servants.
• Made you a puppet, and stole your crown
• Oh, and killed your father.?”
Ta Hwan:
“Nope. I just wanna run away with Seung Nyang and chase rainbows and ride unicorns.“
Me: *Grabs my rubber chicken*

As a character, all he had going for him was that he loved Ki. Other than that, he was just there for people to plan their evil plans around. He never stood up for himself, he was useless, a drunk and a sad excuse for a ruler. While everyone was busy trying to keep him alive, he was busy being a jealous lovesick fool.

Yes, I felt for him. He’s my favourite character in Empress Ki, second only to Tal Tal. Because of the emperor, I hated Wang Yoo for no effing reason, but even so, I have to admit that he was so weak and useless as a character I wanted to slap him 99.9% of the time. The only time I didn’t want to slap him was when he up and died and made me cry buckets like: God, I want a donut. He changed a little towards the ending, but never really lived up to his potential, which was sad for an emperor who held two nations in the palm of his hand.

Anyway, I won't even mention that second lead, nope. Overall, I love this drama, of course there were things I wasn’t so keen on, but none of them outweighed my love for it. And at the end of the day, when all’s said and done, it's one of the best k-dramas out there, and I highly recommend it to everyone and their mama.

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Who to choose Ta hwan or wang yu

If I were seung nyang, it will be very hard for me to choose. Ta hwan or hwang yu. I might want to just dissapear and not to choose at all. But if I will really have to choose, choosing Ta hwan will be my answer. I would take the risk of breaking my heart all over again of not choosing Wang yu. And in case I have to choose wang yu, I wish I'd never exist. Because I feel like I would die if I wont live with emperor ta hwan for the rest of my life. So I chose my LIFE.

- THIS kdrama is truly exceptional. It is the best historical movie I've ever watch aside from scaet heart ryeo that would also breaks your heart.

Cast deserve to win the vest of the best. Most especially hajiwon , ji chang wook and joo jin moo.

I am thankful I had the chance to watch it.

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political turmoil/ romance/ action/ a bit of cross gender dressing/ lots of palace life/ death

I honestly don't know how I feel about this drama
it was all sorts of a rollarcoaster but to say that it affected me was the least of it, thats what makes a good drama anyways.
where do I even start...

the acting in this drama was absolutely amazing, no doubt about it. ji chang wok really outdid himself, his micro expressions were PERFECT. theres nothing for me to say about ha ji won cause she is out of this world. no one would be able to pull off a role that goes from male lower ranks to the highest female rank in the land all the while pulling off the perfect emotions for each of her scenes. everyone else from the actor who played Tal Tal, the king of goryeo and his right hand men, to the eunachs, and the evil characters showed exceptional acting.

this drama I would say is mostly political corruption/turmoil (45%), fighting scenes (10%), romance (30%), betrayal (10%), friendship/loyalty (5%). so there is nothing lighthearted about this drama. I would say this is one of the darker dramas even in terms of historical dramas.

the gem of this drama to me was (FML)sungnyang's intelligence and wit because without it, you would only feel pure fury. I kid you not, there are quite a few annoyances I had.

another thing, I ended up as a tal tal and nyang shipper so make due with that information how ever you please (although you may not know what im talking about)

it was humorous, HEARTBREAKING, annoying, irritating, infuriating, I gueessssssss you can say there were those cute moments, suspenseful, and overall though it may have been 51 episodes, it will go by quick if you're really invested, especially politically-wise

rewatch value: maybe some scenes but to rewatch every 50 episodes is a bit too much for me, but for recommendations I definitely agree if you want to see great acting, political turmoil, great comebacks and strategizing made by the fml, an EXTREMELY frustrating love triangle (I wish it was love scquare because TALTAL anyways), and lots and lots of plottwistqs (with barely any plot holes :))

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This drama is long...but the pacing is on point and it doesn't drag(for the most part).

What I liked:
I really enjoy revenge plots and this one serves up revenge with all utensils on deck! Like I mentioned, the pacing of this show was just right and there rarely are any fillers in this drama, it is completely plot focused. The cast was absolutely outstanding, and one of the main villains played by Jeon Gook Hwan, was extremely convincing in his role. Although he was evil, he had his reasons and it was difficult not to laugh at some of his parts. Ha Ji Won, our main leading female was also outstanding and her thirst for revenge was completely justifiable to a point. Her character development was interesting to watch, especially during the last arc of this drama. When I watched this the first time (years back...) Ji Chang Wook was my favorite character, because I love a crazy, possessive jealousy male and he played the part without fault in this, but after a second watch Ha Ji Won really took the cake here.

The music is also amazing and one of my favorite vocalist is on this ost (Junsu) so I was really spoiled here.
The costumes and set was amazing.

What I didn't like: Actually there isn't much I didn't like about this drama...the reason I did not rate this a 10 is because there was a slight struggle with the pacing when a character dies off, but it picked back up. Also ( there is a looooong, angst-like situation for our leading lady that took too long to get resolved in my opinion) but other than that...I would definitely recommend this drama. (I had to re-watch this on tubitv because my streaming sites no longer host this drama)

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