Eleison

Can't figure out who's who in UTQU? Maybe this will help!

This is not a review (suffice it to say this is my favorite sageuk of all time), but an attempt to help viewers not get scared off by this very large Royal Family with an endless number of concubines and princes. I want to help you know who's who!

Even with all my exposure to Kdramas and sageuks, I was hopelessly lost and confused in Episodes 1 and 2 because there were so many characters to navigate! I kept having to pause the episode to decipher who everyone was and how they were related to each other (even despite all the helpful descriptive labels provided at the beginning for each character you meet).

So, here's a CHEAT SHEET that might help you keep everyone straight. The following is a description of important titles and names of prominent characters in the drama and their significance and importance in the court/royal family:

***Don't worry, there are NO SPOILERS below, but if you want to figure everything out on your own, don't read any further.***

The Queen is the King's "head" wife and the concubines/consorts (the king has about 10 of them!) are his other wives with a lesser status than the Queen.

The Queen has five sons with the King (from oldest to youngest): the Crown Prince (the word "Crown" designates that he will be the next king) (the perfect son), Grand Prince Seongnam (the mysterious wild child), Grand Prince Gyeseong (gentle and kind), Grand Prince Muan (sweet and charming but obsessed with girls), and Grand Prince Ilyeong (into math and astronomy and "still just a kid").

Any other princes without "Grand" in front of their title are sons the king had with one of his concubines (aka Prince Ui Seong (actually the oldest of all the king's sons, even older than the Crown Prince, and a BAD EGG), Prince Bogeom (the most intellectually promising of the brothers after the Crown Prince), Prince Simso (good-hearted but struggles to measure up), etc.). There are more princes, but these are the only ones featured heavily.

The "Grand Heir" refers to the son of the Crown Prince (he's about 4 or 5 years old in this), who is next in the line of succession to inherit the throne. He will become Crown Prince when his father (the current Crown Prince) becomes king, and is technically 3rd in line for the throne.

The oldest son of the King and Queen is traditionally chosen as the Crown Prince, and is given preference over the concubines' sons in the line of succession (which is why Prince Ui Seong, despite being the oldest son of the king, is not the Crown Prince since he's only the son of a concubine).

The "Queen Dowager" refers to the mother of the current King, though interestingly, she was just one of the previous king's concubines... so, how did the current king rise to the throne despite being the son of a concubine?

I will let you figure out the rest. :)

I hope this was helpful!

NOTE for those who haven't seen many sageuks (aka historical Kdramas): I will add something here about costumes in case it helps:

The "hanbok" is the name for the traditional Korean attire worn by men and women alike. The style of each is different, but they're referred to by the same name.The King always wears a bright red hanbok, with a gold circle embroidered on his chest, as well as gold circular patches on his shoulders. The Queen will have the gold patches on her torso and shoulders, like the king, but her hanbok will be different colors. The Crown Prince traditionally wears a dark blue hanbok with silver circles embroidered on his chest and shoulders.

If a character has a top-knot (a bun on the top of their head), then it's a guy. Sometimes it's hard to tell because the guys look so beautiful and they could pass for a girl, but this drama has no cross-dressing, so it's always going to be a guy. Guys with beards and dark red, purple or green hanboks with a square embroidery pattern on their chest with a square belt that protrudes out in front of their waist as well as hats that look like they have wings coming off the sides (I think they're called a samo) are going to be the princes' tutors and/or ministers who hold power in court and advise the King.

Maidens (unmarried women) have their hair slicked back into a braid that rests tightly against their neck. Married women (so, the Queen and concubines) have their hair slicked back into a bun that sits at the base of their neck. Most of the time in this drama if you see a woman with her hair in a bun and a bright, gaudy hanbok of various colors with fabric that covers her hands resting at waist-level, you're looking at a concubine or the Queen (though her hanboks are usually darker, deeper colors and less gaudy). If she's old and stern, haha, it's the Queen Dowager.

Lire davantage

We Can Never Go Back To How Things Were

The "Reply" dramas are weirdly edgier than most dramas in random ways (Reply 1997 turned me off for this reason and honestly it's just not as good, though the Busan accents were fun to hear, and they're not featured in Kdramas much)), but despite that, Reply 1988 in particular really delivers.

I'll admit, the first 1/3 of this drama was SO slow and boring for me (the episodes are up to an hour and a half!! Too long 😭). I kept thinking, "What on earth makes everyone love this?" It took me forever to start caring about the characters (the main female lead was too ditzy and flighty for me at first) and acclimate to the weird goat bleats that characterize the comedic moments, but slowly the characters grew on me as I watched them grow (the comaradarie of the main 5 friends was so heartwarming!). At some point, around Episode 5, I became hooked. It does have such a nostalgic quality to it, and the last 15 minutes or so gave one of the biggest gut punches I've ever felt at the end of a drama. I never weep watching Kdramas (maybe once in a blue moon I'll shed a tear), but at the end of this drama, I was sobbing.

This drama doesn't try to say the past was better or that we should or would want to return to it, but at the same time it breaks your heart to see what was lost (and can never be had again) once time moves forward. It just makes you ache with sadness when it's over.

If I could describe this drama in one word, it would be "nostalgia." As Deok Sun says as she narrates the ending voiceover, we can never really "go back"; we can return and "come home" but what happened in the past can never be replicated or experienced in the same way again, and that makes us ache and pine for it when the memories are good and sweet. I think it's particularly true when we think back on a good childhood. A childhood filled with family, a strong community of friends and neighbors, and safe places to fail and mess up. We must grow up and learn from those mistakes so we can leave Neverland behind and embrace adulthood and the future with boldness.

Highly recommend!

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Calibrate Your Expectations

If you don't like fluffy rom-coms with mild fantasy/sci-fi elements which sometimes lean into staple rom-com (for some, cringey or cheesy) humor, and prefer dramas with super tight writing that is plot-focused rather than character-driven, then you will probably find the gushing on this thread misplaced.

Do yourself a favor and reset your expectations so you don't come out the other side thinking, "That was overrated/overhyped." A lot of people like this kind of drama, hence the gushing. You may not be one of them, but that doesn't make everyone who loves this "wrong" or "a teenage fangirl."

This drama is not an artistic "masterpiece," but it is a very fun drama with strong chemistry between the leads that leans heavily into the concept of fate and true love with a dash of that old-timey romantic Kdrama nostalgia.

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A Mixed Bag (Of Mostly Good?)

I had mixed feelings after finishing this drama, but overall my feelings leaned more heavily on the "I really enjoyed this" end of things.

To be precise, there were arcs, moments, and scenes I LOVED while others made my eyebrows go up.

I never would have thought I'd say a drama from 2018 felt like it had "not aged well" in every way, but it seems to be true of this drama.

THINGS I LOVED:

1. Ning Que - I love watching characters grow (I'm a sucker for it, actually), and Ning Que has some big growth moments in this drama (and boy, is it needed!). I know a lot of people had some issues with him and Sang Sang going more romantic at the end (and I can see why; it's parts of their story that, as I said above, haven't aged well), but apart from a few gripes I have (I'll talk more about them below 😅), Ning Que choosing Sang Sang over Mo Shan Shan actually ended up being one of my favorite arcs (to my surprise!). I loved that he had to learn what it meant to truly value Sang Sang as a person, not as a pet, possession, plaything, servant, little sister, buddy or any of the other things he at some point "thought" of her as in his dense jerkness. And not just any person, but THE person he loves, values and depends on most. It was Ning Que's close friend, Chen PiPi (more about him below, too!), who helped rip the veil from Ning Que's eyes and who forced him to see how deeply precious Sang Sang was to him and to take responsibility for that realization. It wasn't until Ning Que owned up to this reality did he finally embrace Sang Sang for who she was (and he then had to learn to TREAT her like that instead of taking her for granted!). I actually thought the romance was not the central component of Ning Que's realization, but more the naturally inevitable maturation of their deep bond as they grew from comrades as children into an adult man and woman. And the way NQ humanized after this epiphany was actually really lovely - I mean, you have to see others as human before you can be one yourself! It was also great getting to watch him grow with his cultivating; he truly was like a cockroach, never letting anything phase him for long without bouncing back almost immediately. 😅 The guy certainly had resilience! Arthur Chen was obviously pretty new to acting when he filmed this, but he still worked for me. He was completely convincing as the young, cheeky, brazen, immature, arrogant, brilliant, loyal imp that is Ning Que.

2. The Score - Wow, Roc Chen's music was glorious and perfect! He captured so many moods and set the tone for all the various scenes throughout the drama, reflective scenes and epic fighting sequences alike (my favorite BGM was "Longqing (Theme-Sad)").The track from the OST that I liked best was the one by Tan Wei Wei that would always play when he was with Fu Zi's disciples (but the best version was sung by the male singer--Spotify only has the Wei Wei version and all the titles are in Mandarin so I have no idea what they are! 😅).

3. The martial arts - I had this recommended to me as a drama with second-to-none action sequences, and it did not disappoint. Beautiful, stunning--even breathtaking at points. It didn't let the supernatural elements overpower the actual hand-to-hand combat, either (nor was the supernatural, CGI element used as a way to cover up sloppy choreography), which grounded the fighting immensely. Truly amazing in this respect, and all the actors/stunt doubles really, REALLY sold it.

4. The Two-Story Building Crew of Tang Academy - Oh my gosh, I adored all these characters (but particularly Chen Pi Pi--he was a true friend to NQ despite all the bluffing and fake grumbling! He was adorable, and my only gripe was not about his character, but about how many comments about his weight they wrote into the script 🙄🤨😖). The way they really became like big brothers and sisters to NQ was so sweet, wholesome, and heartwarming. I loved the montages of NQ learning from them and bantering with them (particularly in Episode 51--one of my favorite episodes, for sure!), and their sweet, nonjudgemental, quiet empowering of him. NQ finally found his family, and watching him thrive under their love and guidance was just lovely! They were the only characters in the drama where I felt like I could root for all of them and their decisions (Mo Shan Shan and Chao Xiaosu were the other two lovable characters, and Yan Se (sort of; as a mentor at least)).

Which leads me to...

THINGS I DISLIKED:

1. Ning Que - 😂 I know, he made both lists! Sometimes I wanted to grab the guy and shake him--narcissistic, self-obsessed, oblivious jerk that he could be! Goodness gracious. The way he sometimes treated Sang Sang was truly terrible and inexcusable--like, duuuude! C'mon! Have a heart? And he was so obsessed with revenge, no matter the cost (even being willing to "leave" Sang Sang who supported him regardless), and all his panting for other pretty women while Sang Sang looked on--ack, I didn't dig that AT ALL. He just sometimes gave massive, conceited jerk vibes. He drove me nuts because I couldn't always root for him. 😅 The only thing that softened my bristles over his treatment of Sang Sang was the way his jabs and put downs would just roll off Sang Sang's back like she wore impenetrable armor against his meanness. My interpretation of this was that Sang Sang could separate the way Ning Que treated her from the way he actually felt about her (which is why she ran away when he tried to bring Shan Shan home--she had to show him his own heart, because it was time for him to face it and no longer avoid the elephant in the room 😅; this dynamic couldn't exist in real life, but they made it work for me here). Sang Sang knew more than anyone how important she was to Ning Que, and that allowed her to put up with a lot of immaturity and mistakes from Ning Que. So, at times it can almost feel like Sang Sang is Ning Que's doormat, but that's very much not the case on closer inspection.

2. Right and Wrong portrayed as... Unclear 🤷‍♀️ - I'm not up on Yin Yang and the Eastern view of good and evil (and I don't know if this drama has anything realistic about that view that it's drawing from and accurately portraying in this drama), but what I saw in this drama was a muddled, slippery moral standard. Outside of Fu Zi's gang and a few other choice characters, it was really hard to know how I was supposed to think and feel about some characters and their choices (certain sects and cultivation arts, too, were cloudy) because there wasn't much of a moral compass on what was acceptable or unacceptable behavior or choices, and I found that disappointing and at times maddening. I know some might call it nuance and subtlety, I see it as sloppy and muddled because I don't think it was navigated in a subtle way at all. There was no established standard of right and wrong, so it made so many events ambiguous, and made the actions of some characters feel arbitrarily "good" because they did not exist within a moral context. So many of the cultivator's standards seemed purely arbitrary and based on what their master said was "okay," and I didn't like that. Mentors and Elders should be respected, but that doesn't mean they always have a corner on the market of Wisdom and should be trusted above all else to always know what can and should be done. (For instance, at one point, NQ's first teacher, Yan Se, says about NQ, "I don't care about his faults, crimes or the mistakes he made in the past, I will defend him against anyone because he is my student." 🤔 Oh? Just because he's your student, he can do no wrong? He should always be defended and trusted? I didn't agree with that; mentors are also meant to critique and hold their students accountable, because their students aren't perfect!). I also found almost everything about Xiling (moral standards or otherwise) confusing. 😅

So, to sum up, Ning Que's secret to success is not something from within HIM, it ended up being due to the people who loved, supported, and fought for him (i.e. Sang Sang, Yan Se, Fu Zi, Chen Pi Pi, his 3rd Senior Sister (and Fu Zi's other disciples), Zuo Er, Mo Shan Shan, Ye Hong Yu). And if he had one virtue, it's that he's fiercely loyal.

So, the true hero of this drama is actually Friendship.

Friendship is the heart and soul of this story; it turns an average (even at times, problematic), coming-of-age revenge story (with some EPIC fighting) into a sweeping, poignant, and heartfelt story about a nobody finding his place among the great and glorious, all because of those who empowered him.

Lire davantage

An Urban Fairytale with a REALLY Cool ML

Enjoyed it very much! Though the ending was a little bittersweet for me.

I think my favorite parts were what Yeon did after the Hell of Knives (or whatever it was called, something like that) and when he went into the Darkness to save a certain beloved character.

I loved that there was no, "I can't be with you!" due to noble idiocy for more than an episode. Ah, so refreshing! And when Ji Ah said she was willing to give up her memory of Yeon to save him, I thought, "Oh no, not that. No amnesia trope, please!" Thank goodness the fortune-teller didn't take her up on that.

The kings of the underworld are horrible, and the rules of this world are cruel and terrible. The afterlife rulers of Korean drama folklore are rigid killjoys who make the stupidest rules imaginable. 😂

They didn't quite address the problematic actions of Ki Yu Ri and Lee Rang to my expectations; they did some pretty awful things but seemed to get a pass as the story progressed because they are gumihos and they're expected to be largely indifferent to human life (then what happened to Shin Gu? He was the sweetest gumiho ever! Was he just a gumiho anomaly?). Definitely cheapened the value of the lives that were lost, in a way I wasn't a huge fan of (also with the plague in the last few episodes), so, few gripes, but enjoyable overall!

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Cozy, With Sisterhood Galore

This was lovely. A cozy, warm hug with many endearing characters (particularly the female characters, as this is a slice of life, female empowerment story). Some of the issues and characters are dealt with in a more nuanced manner than others, but the main couple is delightful and watching their growth into love is heartwarming and sweet.

It's definitely a bit on the nose with some stuff, and leans a bit on the side of caricaturing many of the male characters, which is an unfortunate pitfall of many female empowerment stories, but it's trying to make a point through exaggeration, so it didn't bother me too much since this is clearly a fictional world and overemphasizing tropes and cliches for the sake of drawing out a contrast and provoking thought.

I thought the middle was a bit slower than the beginning and end, despite all of it being a solid watch, with an absolutely gorgeous score (beautiful BGMs!). If you get to Episode 12 and want to end it because you're worried about where things are headed, rest assured: everything is resolved satisfyingly for our leads sans a love triangle.

Enjoy the gentle pace and this warm story of friendship, love and the importance of extending human dignity to everyone.

(And make sure to watch the Intro all the way through at least once; it captures the mood of this charming series).

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Not even Gray, just Cloudy Murk

It seems I'm going to break the momentum here from the many comments praising this drama. Admittedly, I should have done more research before starting it. Just in case anyone is going to start this due to the gushing comments, here are some things you might consider first...

I've decided I don't enjoy shows/movies that clearly set you up to root for villains (instead, the villain in this drama (portrayed as an anti-hero) drove me bonkers, and I couldn't stand how they kept trying to make them sympathetic; there is no way one human working alone can wisely, objectively and accurately determine who is worthy of death *shudder*). I also did not find any of the characters very likable (even Santa was just alright). I like to have someone to root for when I watch things, and no one surfaced for me in this drama. I have no idea how I finished it! Maybe I was curious to see if it would get better? (It didn't.)

If an indie, dark comedy movie that wanted to play with your mind in artsy, satirical ways was a drama, this would be it (and like some indie content, tries to appear "profound" and "poignant" when it really isn't). I don't usually mind nuanced or layered protagonists or villains who operate believably in the gray, but I draw the line at the cloudy murk these characters operated in. I also felt like it focused more on mood, vibe and aesthetic than plot and character development.

Also, Signal is on the "recommended" list, but please know it's a completely different vibe. If you loved that, you won't necessarily love this. The Devil Judge in some ways feels more reminiscent of this drama in tone and vibe (and flip flop the somewhat queer bromance in that for the sismance in this), but I still liked that better than this because TDJ made more sense, was less disjointed, did a better job fleshing out characters and showing you why you should root for them and had several, genuinely likeable characters.

To conclude, this one takes the cake for being my least favorite drama of all time (as of now). NOT my cup of tea.

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