A thought on Conspiracy in the court / Chuno

[alexandral]

The subs for the episode 21 of "Chuno" are out!!!!! I have watched the episode yesterday, as well as a bit of "Conspiracy in the Court" . "Conspiracy in the Court" is catching up with me, it took me a while to get into the story (a bit too complex for 8 episodes) but now I am enjoying the drama immensely, especially the "Chuno" vibe I am getting from it. The protagonists seem to be so similar to the protagonists in "Chuno" , only Dae Gil (tragically broken and cynical) has changed his gender and became female assassin Na Young. And Sang Kyu is so much like a younger version of Tae Ha : idealistic and full of dimples. He even refuses to employ his weapon into killing people!!! So yay! I have got my Dae Gil + Tae Ha.

The cinematography is even better than in "Chuno". I have screencapped the scene that undoubtedly, as far as cinematography goes, is the best scene I have even seen in any drama or TV show (and may be in any film as well) : unsuccessful assassination attempt on the King's life. It is perfect: Sang Kyu shields the King from an attack by some disgruntled guy. Everything gives you complete feeling of reality: the scene starts very quickly, with the assassin appearing completely out of the blue and making his way to the throne in a matter of seconds, but as the scene progresses, the time slows down, to almost complete stop. All the government officials stand around like dummies, Sang Kyu is the only thing between the assassin and the King, but the King sits absolutely still, all the way through the scene. His nerves are made of steel. Just as it becomes clear that the assassination is not going to be successful, the palace guards appear from out of nowhere and literally make a kebab out of the assassin, and as if this was not enough, one of the ministers (who stood completely motionless just a minute ago) cuts the assassin's head off. Blood splatters everywhere like a red rain. Just as Sang Kyu is ready to pass out from his wound (he was sliced previously), the last thing he sees is the dead head of the assassin , very close. The head is crying.

It has been a while since I have seen something so brutally perfect:

Comments

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh. Shivers.

I gave up on CitC after 2 eps - just got confused as to who was who and what they were doing, plus heroine is a poisoner and also am shallow and male lead was not hot, but I am very tempted to restart now.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I was a bit so-so with the male lead at first, but he caught up with me. He is really cute, in a young Tae ha kind of way. I like the other guy more (who is also a bit of Tae ha - wants to change the world and ends up going to China), though, and his bodyguard.

It took me 3 full episodes to fully understand what is going on, I think this is the biggest minus of the drama - there is enough characters and plot for heavy 50-70 episodes there.

The main lady - I like her . She ends up healing Sang Kyu after the assassination (secretly), and then they meet and he gives her handkerchief back and she burns it (they were childhood sweethearts). I am weeping already and this is only the beginning of the episode 4.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's the poison thing I can't get over - for some reason poisoning is this visceral thing for me :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I can get this. In a big way, I am in it for the story /cinematography sake . I lurve the both guys but the OTP - I like ti but am not obsessed.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

That scene was gorgeous. And there are a few more to come. The way this thing was put together is... wonderful. I still get goosebumps just from remembering, ha.

Well, CitC is one of the most beautifully filmed things I've seen. I loved the complexity of the story but it's true, it'll take a while to get into the flow of it but when you do, it'll swipe you along and won't let go.

Oh, btw.... The King, he's kinda awesome (great acting too).

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

That scene was gorgeous. And there are a few more to come. The way this thing was put together is... wonderful. I still get goosebumps just from remembering, ha.

The scene where Na Young poisons the Dowager Queen Mother was really powerful too - it gave me goosebumps.

I think the story finally caught up with me (I had to re-watch some bits from the beginning to understand it better), so I am on a roll. :D

Oh, btw.... The King, he's kinda awesome (great acting too).

I like him a lot. The murdered minister of Personnel was very interesting as well.

[ginger001]

don't know if I'll check it out but it's surprised me to see that the King is the guy playing the prisoners guard in Swallow the Sun (which I'm very obsessed with right now!! I'm in episode 8 and can't leave it!)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

CitC is excellent, I really rec this if you liked "Chuno". The King guy - I have seen him in few dramas!!!

[intermezzo]

that scene was soo intense, I agree. I was so shocked when the King visited him and actually scolded him, WTH? Anyway, the assassination attempt scene was really really good.

As for the male lead, the character seemed a bit spineless to me, but I liked the actor. I was familiar with him from Who are you? and I was expecting him to deliver more in CitC, which he did, imho. Also? I heard him -the actor- singing and I was completely floored! So good. Ever since I realized he was a seasoned musical actor before he tried to become a kdrama actor increased my respect for him tenfold. ^^

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

The main character started a bit spineless to me too, but he caught up with me - he is a bit of a young Tae Ha (gentle and idealistic, but unbreakable inside) , and so is the other guy - together they make one full Tae Ha , sans the crazy combat skillz.

[intermezzo]

*g* That's one of the best description ever! :)

You know, I kind of love that in CitC "TH personality" is split into 2 characters. Don't get me wrong, I love TH, but sometimes he seems TOO perfect, you know? In CitC Sang Kyu and Man Ho seem more...IDK, layered in some ways? I mean, both are good/kind characters and both have many flaws. Again, not saying TH is flawless; for starters, he's stubborn as a mule, but in Chuno that's supposed to be a quality rather than a fault, right? I'm so conflicted about Chuno/CitC. On some days, I think CitC is much more developed/layered than Chuno and on other days, I think the opposite. Guess the director did an outstanding job on both projects.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Again, not saying TH is flawless; for starters, he's stubborn as a mule, but in Chuno that's supposed to be a quality rather than a fault, right?

I think this is supposed to be a fault, this and his constant harping for "the death in the blaze of glory", his pride issues, etc. etc. He did start a bit on too perfect side, though, and the character only caught up with me in later eps (episode 19 to be precise, or whatever episode he saved DG's life by throwing the sword in), when they gave him some bad qualities and character growth. His growth continues through the last 5 episodes and through the interaction with DG (and Jagkwi) he gets rid (or is on the way to get rid) of his shortcomings. And this is why I ended up liking TH much more than DG at the (whom I liked more at first), because I don't see this process in DG. They talk to each other, but where TH is changing DG keeps insisting on the same old thing : "The world is so baaaaaaaaaad!".

I lurve his character, much more than Sang Kyu, just purely because TH is more complex and also because TH's character undergoes the changing process (which is extremely neat, and the thing with DG not changing is also very neat, the screepwriter is amazing). I like Man Ho almost as much as I like TH , mostly because he didn't have many of TH's problems (pride, etc.) to start with. But the way Man Ho ends - it is like he gave up (gosh I hope you have already finished watching this and I am not spoiling). I don't like this.