Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 4 of Season 2 of Kingdom, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Ju Ji-hoon as Crown Prince Yi Chang, Bae Doona as Seo-bi, Ryu Seung-ryong as Cho Hak ju, Kim Sang-ho as Mou Young, Kim Sung-kyu as Yeong shin, and Kim Hye-jun as the Queen Consort. We discuss:
We learn the story behind the beef pancakes and how the Crown Prince asked for Mu Yeong’s loyalty to the very end in return for allowing Mu Yeong to steal from the royal meals.
How the amazing Seo bi saves Cho Hak ju by figuring out that the zombies are afraid of water.
The meaning of the tolling of bells in Korean culture.
The Crown Prince makes it to Naeseonjae and saves Mu Yeong’s wife. Later, Young shin guides Seo bi to the Scholarly Institute to care for Mu Yeong’s wife.
Cho Hak ju visits his daughter, the Queen Consort, and asks Seo bi to check the Queen’s pulse. Seo bi confirms that the Queen did not deliver the baby boy in her arms.
Cho Hak ju says the Queen must die for her treachery against the Haewon Cho clan and the nation, but the Queen has other plans because she poisoned her father and he dies!
We learn that the Queen and Cheo Bom Il conspired to fake the Queen’s pregnancy when she miscarried. They vowed to keep the fake pregnancy a secret from their father.
Turns out the Queen is the scariest person in the palace!
The Queen throws Seo bi into the palace dungeon and tells her to keep studying the zombies.
The Crown Prince visits his uncle on Ganghwa Island and asks Young shin why he continues to be loyal to him, the Crown Prince.
We have a new K Drama element: when a character asks another character to stay with them. In this episode, the Crown Prince asks Mu Yeong to stay with him until the end, and the Queen asks Cho Beom Pal to stay with her and her baby boy.
The different types of palace guards, their training, and how they were picked.
We’re looking for suggestions for Season 10 of K Drama Chat!
References
Love listening to your podcast while working. May I suggest a
ReplyDeleteA Korean Odyssey (Hwayuki) on Viki for the next fantasy drama.
Hello, Balletchic! Thanks for your comment. Great recommendation, thank you!
DeleteI'm so glad you're enjoying the podcast! I haven't seen A Korean Odyssey but I'll have to check it out.
Delete* Let's start with SungHee's confession that you know who said that quote. Hmm. Is that SungHee's arc towards regaining her memory and credibility? lool.
ReplyDelete* I am with Joanna that there was a satisfaction in seeing the Queen taking down her father. I mean, he is a ruthless piece of trash. I would say it is extra satsfying that he realised that his own daughter killed him.
I think it is a point to ponder the level of her evilness. While she is certainly a despicable, and horrible person, you have to wonder if she would have turned out differently if she wasn't essentially sold to the king. A man probably old enough to be her grandfather considering how young people used to get married. I don't know. Maybe she would would have been just a regular entitled and selfish noble, but not a scheming murderer.
* Based on these historical K-dramas, the punishments in the Palace are extraordinarily severe. They don't seem to have a sense of scale. You get killed even for trivial offenses. And that killing of the whole family is really brutal. I don't think it is about bloodlines. I think it is much more to do with being sure that nobody will come after you later on. Also, as a severe deterent. I don't wish to go deep into politics, but this practice is still used by many police states (with political dissent). Not as severe as killing the entire family, but they get blacklisted, harassed, denied jobs, men routinely questioned or/and detained, and in some cases killed.
* Recommendations: Allegedly, there was a Roman Senator who always ended his speeches, regardless of the subject, by saying" Oh! and we should attack Carthage". Fast Forward more than 2200 years, and I will say at the end of each season "Oh! and you should review My Mister". I believe it is the best written Kdrama (and I am reading subtitles), and one of the best in any language. It is currently my all times favourite drama in any language. Joanna, i won't say what it is great! just ask SungHee :)
Before I give two more (trying to limit it to 3), I must be transparent and say that my suggestions are more likely to be liked by SungHee.
- Our Blues (2022) Star studded cast. Omnibus format. It is set largely in one community, but each few episodes focus on different characters. Apart from great writing and acting, it offers the possibility of discussing a very wide range of subjects. And, for Joanna, there is a romance :)
- Tell Me That You Love Me (2023): I am trying to highlight not a well known drama that I believe deserves more love. The unique thing about it is that the main character is deaf. Also it is romance between mature people. Hey, us oldies need to tell youngsters that we can still love even if we are not 20 something lol.
Seven Seas, thank you for this great comment! Yes, Sung Hee always amazes with that she remembers and what she doesn't remember!
DeleteI'm so glad you and Tina also felt like the Queen deserved a bit of a cheering squad for taking down her father, after everything that was done for her! I'm channeling my inner Virginia Woolf here: imagine what the Queen Consort could have done if she had a room of her won and an opportunity to shine.
Thanks for your recommendations. We honestly haven't decided. It will probably be a game day decision in right before we record next Monday! Such great recommendations.
We're also wondering if we should review a new show so that our listeners can listen along with us and we can truly speculate and be surprised!
Sung Hee and I LOVED My Mister and thought hard about it for Season 9. I've seen Attorney Woo and loved it. Have not seen Our Blus and Tell Me That You Love Me. Too many great shows!
Thanks for listening!
Hello Seven Seas! It's great to have you as a regular correspondent here. Yet another person with whom to discuss and exchange ideas.
DeleteYes, you're right, it's pretty amazing how much I forget. I have laser sharp focus in the moment, then poof, it's gone. Also, I make sure I never watch ahead of the. episode we're currently reviewing, so I don't accidentally let any spoilers drop, and I really try to examine each episode with what we know so far. Forgetting what comes next really helps with that.
I totally agree with My Mister. We were so close to choosing that for Season 9. It will remain at the top of our list for sure.
Our Blues was great, but I also have not seen Tell Me That You Love Me. It does sound intriguing.
I really, really love how you guys interact with your audience—there's this kilig factor in being mentioned hahaha!
ReplyDeleteAbout the queen, I can't believe how much I cheered for her during her speech. I thought she had a good relationship with her dad, but from her speech, it seems like she endured years of verbal and emotional abuse. Well, credit where it's due: Hakju did train his daughter to be as cruel as him, if not more. However, I wonder what she’s planning to do as regent or even as the leader of her clan. She doesn’t seem like a natural leader or someone the elders would respect. It also feels like the only other person in power with a government position is Beom Pal.
Speaking of Beom Pal, it feels like he’s the only one truly looking out for Sobi. As someone on the prince’s side, the prince seems to forget about her, especially after they moved to another location following the morning attack. Maybe it’s because she’s such an independent girly and just does her own thing. I’m glad the crown prince didn’t doubt her, even after she helped Hakju get back to Hanyang.
Anyway, I’m really excited to see how you’ll wrap this up! I’m hoping you’ll discuss the movie Ashin right after, since it was a prequel to Kingdom. It feels like it's a standalone, but kinda explains Kingdom's ending 👀 This show should really have a season 3!
As for K-drama recommendations, are you looking for another saeguk or something 'modern'? For saeguk, I’d suggest Crown Clown (the series version of Masquerade). I watched it ages ago, but I remember liking it a lot, and that's why i watched Masquerade and compared the two - I'd say the series version is a bit better lol
For 'modern', I have two recommendations: Kill Me, Heal Me and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Kill Me, Heal Me has a lot of funny and romantic moments, a nice plot twist, and a satisfying ending. There’s plenty to talk about, especially since the main lead has 7 personalities 😄
For Extraordinary Attorney Woo - it's just too cute! As someone with limited knowledge about autism and neurodivergence, this show helped me understand the condition better. While Attorney Woo’s case is a rare instance of savant syndrome, it definitely highlights the common stereotyping of people with autism, especially when it comes to having a romantic partner.
I don’t think I’ve heard you talk about this show (or maybe I missed it), but please give it a consideration!
I like to second Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Park Eun-bin performance alone is worth the time.
DeleteIt also offers a wide range of topics since there are many cases. Not all of them are interesting, but some are very debate worthy.
Hi Seven Seas! You're right, there's a new case in almost every 2 episodes. some of the endings aren't ideal, but they are certainly realistic.
DeleteThere's lot of quotable quotes too!
Tina, thank you for your recommendations! Sung Hee just finished Kill Me, Heal Me and loved it. It's at the top of her list. I haven't seen it, but clearly, I need to.
DeleteThanks for the other recommendations. Loved Attorney Woo. And it's actually on our list to do The Crowned Clown and Masquerade in the same season!
You make a VERY good point about Seo bi. She is ignored and used just like the Queen! I gotta discuss with Sung Hee! And you're right, only Cho Beom Pal seems to care about her well being. You cast Cho Beom Pal in a new light for me!
Thanks for listening!
Hi Joanna! You are most welcome! It really lights me up to hear u guys laugh, so I would really want to have you dissect a funny series lol
DeleteAbout Seo Bi & Beom Pal - 2 more episodes and you may fall in love with him :D
The Evil Queen is a feminist icon, and I am here for it! She is officially my favorite character. I honestly don’t really care how the Prince plans to save the country. The Queen has taken a sledge hammer to patriarchy and she doesn’t give a f***!
ReplyDeleteI literally laughed out loud to when Cho Hak-ju said to his daughter “you were born wicked and cunning.” Gee, I wonder where she got that from?! To quote one of the greatest PSAs of all time “I learned from you Dad!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtHpojUiYYc
Frankly, I was a bit surprised Cho Hak-ju wasn’t on board with his daughter’s fake prince scheme. I thought he was in it for the power by any means necessary. He had no qualms about falsely accusing the rightful heir to the throne of treason and attempting to kill him and hundreds (thousands) of innocent soldiers and their families, but the fake prince plan was bridge too far?! Good riddance to him! Very satisfying to see the Queen take him out!
And the Crown Prince’s exiled uncle is ANOTHER cast member from Love Next Door! (Jung So-min’s father ) That’s two! Fingers crossed we get to see Jung Ha-in and Jung So-min in the last two episodes!!! If Jung So-min was a zombie, I’m not sure I would even run away!
Not gonnna lie, I was bit offended to hear the Queen describe His Majesty as over 50 and unlikey to be able to produce another heir! Horror of horrors. Seemed like the bigger issue with him was not so much the King's age but the fact that he was, well…. a ZOMBIE! Although, in fairness, I’m over 50 and my day-to-day life seems pretty zombie like…
These zombies can’t even dip their toe in a puddle? Again, why aren’t these people retreating to an island or at least building a moat?! Were moats only a thing in Western castles!? Honestly, Seo-bi is the only one who remotely has a clue as to deal with these zombies. Although I don’t know if I would have gone along with the Prince’s plan to meet up with Cho Hak-ju AND the Queen. How is that going to end well for Seo-bi?! Especially, once she tells Cho Hak-ju that the Queen didn’t give birth in front of the Queen! In what scenario does that work out for Seo-bi?! And as far as the whole reading the pulse thing. I don’t buy it. I’m no doctor like Sung-hee, but these pulse reading Joeson doctors seem only one step removed from shamans.
This has got to be the first episode that Joanna did not mention the cinematography! Frankly, I was expecting multiple podcasts discussing the influence of the great Korean cinematographers. Whether it be Chung-hoon Chung’s Grand Prix award at Cannes in 2003 for Oldboy and his use of different films stocks, Lee Mo-gae’s approach in aiming to erase the camera for the audience, or Kim Jee-yong’s Hollywood approach to cinematography where he controls all the lighting responsibilities. I was fully waiting for Joanna to hold forth on this topic. I guess we have two more episodes. But that scene at the beginning of the episode set in the birch forest in the snow with all the characters in black was perfection.
Finally, what’s this I hear Joanna is watching J-Dramas now?! Instead of finishing Something in the Rain as I was promised! You think you know a person…. Guess I will go drown my sorrows with some beef pancakes.
"If Jung So-min was a zombie, I’m not sure I would even run away! "
DeleteMalcolm..I will fight you to be bitten first lol
Btw..have you seen "Because this is my first life"? I think that is her best series.
Malcolm, you are right that the scene in the birch forest was gorgeous! I should have mentioned it!
DeleteI had to laugh at your comment about the pulse readings. How on earth do you diagnose gonnorhea from a pulse? How is the pulse of someone with gonorrhea different from the pulse of someone with syphilis?
And don't worry, my detour into watching J Dramas was fleeting. I'm back to watching K Dramas. I'm actually watching several at once because of my trip. Now that I'm back home, I don't have as much time.
And finally, I hear you about the 50 comment! Heck, my brother is in his 50s and his wife just had a baby!
Joanna, I'm not upset you are watching a J Drama. I'm upset you are watching a J Drama instead of Something in the Rain as promised!!! ;-) I actually watched Beyond Goodbye and loved it. If it were a K Drama it might even crack my top ten!
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