How we appreciated the listeners who sent in their recommendations for Season 10 by sending us voice recordings, and sending us emails or messages.
How the Crown Prince showed himself to be a different kind of leader when he refused to sacrifice the soldiers to save himself.
The plan to lure the zombies to the lake by the rear garden is a risky one because the timing has to be just right. In the end, the Crown Prince pounds on the ice with his hands and then uses the zombie giant to finally break the ice.
The miracle that allowed the Crown Prince and a few of his men to be saved when they fell in the water.
The amazing Seo-bi, who manages to escape the main hall with the baby prince by using fire and her wits.
When the Crown Prince and his men open up the palace gates, the Head Scholar says the baby prince must be found and killed so there won’t be chaos in the country.
When the Crown Prince finds Seo-bi and the baby, Seo-bi assures him that the baby won’t turn into a monster. The prince makes the important decision to save the baby, name him the legitimate heir, and erase himself from the history books. We discuss WHEN and WHY the Crown Prince decides to do this.
The amazing cinematography during the battle at the lake and when the Crown Prince walks away from the throne.
In the future, we see that the country is freed from zombies once Spring comes, and the young king is being prepared by his wise teachers and guides.
The Joseon Dynasty annals, which are so detailed, and from which so many historical K Dramas draw inspiration from.
The Crown Prince, now just Lee Chang, along with Seo-bi and a few soldiers, continue to look for the origins of the resurrection plant. They come across the plant in other parts of the country, and then find zombies! Who is behind the continuing spread of this plague?
The ending of the show shows the mysterious figure of a woman and a worm snaking across the young king’s face.
The K Drama elements we saw in this episode, including crying, and protecting someone at personal cost to yourself.
The addition of two elements to our list: a water scene and asking someone to speak casually to you.
Mapping Kingdom to the stages of the Hero’s Journey framework. Turns out the show is quite true to the framework!
Our final thoughts about this amazing K Drama!
The decision-making process that went into the show that we will recap and analyze in Season 10 of K Drama Chat! (You have to listen to find out the show!).
Listeners, we want to know what you think of our choice for Season 10! Please comment on the blog at KDramaChat.com!
References
The best I can say for this episode is that it finally ended this zombie show! I did not find this ending particularly satisfying. I found the whole Crown Prince giving up the throne pretty unrealistic and kinda dumb. Not so much because I didn’t think he wouldn’t give up power, but because it didn’t seem like it would be that difficult to fake the death of the newborn fake prince. I’m sure it would not be difficult to come up with a random dead baby in Joseon Korea if they needed a dead body. And in what world is it better to have an infant as King as opposed to the guy who basically saved the entire country.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of things that didn’t quite add up, the fact that only the four main characters got saved by the freezing water seemed pretty unbelievable. Seems like every other person bitten by a zombie almost instantly turns into a zombie (unless they don’t for important plot reasons). Also, that ice seemed VERY thick compared to how cold (or not so cold) it appeared to be out. Also, and I think Sung-hee could speak to this - being submerged in freezing water like that seems like it could kill you pretty quickly. Or at least cause hypothermia. But these guys step right out like it was a day at the beach!
Joanna, I was thinking the same thing about the water scenes K Drama element! It is in so many K Dramas! There must be a giant water tank at a K Drama studio that gets a lot of use! Also, do you notice that these decorative ponds and lakes in the palace tend to be really deep?!
In conclusion, it will not surprise you to learn that this was NOT my favorite K Drama! Here’s what I liked and what I did not:
Liked:
1. The episodes were short! 😉
2. The Queen
3. The Queen’s abs
4. The Queen’s last outfit. It was fierce!
5. Seo-bi
Didn’t Like:
1. Zombies
2. No Romance
3. The Ending
4. Beom-pal
5. The total lack of beef pancakes!
Hi Malcom! I'm with you on things that didn't add up - some people not becoming zombies right away after being bitten & falling in a freezing water. I can't believe initially how my brain went looking for reason like how HakJu who was able to travel a couple of miles and never turned into one lol. I was thinking maybe you need to be bitten by zombie a couple of times to turn into the undead.
DeleteAbout them and the lake - i'm leaning towards possibility of shock and adrenaline reaction, but that lake with hundreds of worms was really disgusting. It was almost as disgusting than a S1E1 Yeong Shin's kitchen iykyk
I hope you get your beef pancakes soon - either in real life or in Kdrama. They say it's in Hospital Playlist & Because This Is My First Life hahaha
Hey Malcolm, thanks so much for sticking with us through this season! I hope you're happy with our choice of show for Season 10!
DeleteYes, I agree, it was a stretch for the four of them to have survived the zombie plague, but hey, maybe their blood is special. You have to suspend belief in many of these shows, haha.
And you're right about those water scenes. I actually watched a Behind the Scenes video from Mr. Queen. The water scenes were shot in a pool and it wasn't that deep. That's the power of moviemaking!
I'm starting my prep for Season 10! Can't wait!
Thank you for the nice wrap up season 9, Joana and Sunghee!
ReplyDeleteI rewatched the last couple of episodes last week and I feel like there's actually a couple of scenes was removed. I have a memory of the bathroom guy actually exiting the dump hole crawling or was this a Mandela effect? He became one of the king's eunuchs lol I wonder how he tells the story of how he survived.
About scars - I'm trying to count who are the ones who cut and didn't cut their hands during the roof run, and I know Lee Chang did not. Probably that's the thing about royalties. I always wonder if a queen will be 'allowed' to have caesarian section if that is an accessible option for them haha.
As someone who loved Kingdom and zombie genre, I agree that Ashin was *that* gory, not because of zombies, but what was done to her, her dad, and her family/community - she became crazier than the Queen. I was hoping you will review to spoil why and how the plague started, but you are right, it's a stand alone and can be watched with or without watching Kingdom. Also, you guys made me feel Kingdom was not that gory, tbh. If I haven't seen the series myself, i'd think it was tame enough.
I agree with your new elements! Looking forward to seeing the list. I don't know if you have this already, but walking on the streets as a duo. Beom Pal and SeoBi at the market during the parade of prisoners comes to mind on this one.
About season 10 - I was literally holding on my mouse when you were doing the rundown of shows. SO GLAD YOU ARE DOING *insert title. listen to know the title*. So excited for this one!
See you again next week!!
Hey Tina! Thanks for your great comments!
DeleteI totally missed that the eunuch watching over the boy king was the eunuch from the bathroom scene! Wow! Awesome!
As for scars, I don't think they had c sections during the Joseon dynasty. If a woman needed a c section, she just died, unfortunately.
I will watch Ashin of the North and comment on it in the future. I want to know the origin story of this pesky plant. But I trusted Sung Hee when she said it's really gory. I think we've had enough for for a few months!
I will publish our K Drama Elements list in the next couple of days. Please comment.
And I'm so glad that you are happy with our choice for Season 10! There is so much to that show and I positively adore Shin Hye Sun! Thanks for listening!
Hi Joanna! Please do watch Ashin once you are ready - you may also want to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally for *those* scenes. There's at least 3 scenes there that ready made my jaw drop in disgust/hate/gore-ness of the situation.
DeleteI am really excited for Friday's episode!
I absolutely loved the Cinematography of the night attack of the zombies at the lake, and the Queen joining in. Probably the scene I remember most from the series.
ReplyDeleteI think the series wrapped up reasonably well, but as Joanna mentioned, American shows always leave something so they can go back for it. I haven't watched Ashin, and I will not watch S3 even they make one.
I have now reached the point of having visceral hatred to these short open ended series. You start a show and you don't know whether it will end in a year or 10. And it could be cancelled anytime and you won't get even a conclusion.
I stopped watching American shows, unless it is a limited series or something of an extreme interest to me (I also have quota of 3 shows), or there is a declared finite number of seasons based on a source material (eg. Pachinko plan was 4 seasons from start and there is a book)
Kdrama biggest trump card is their one season format (I know there are exceptions, but most are 1 season only), and I hope they largely remain so.
I won't be watching Squid Game forthcoming seasons despite loving the original and consider it one of the best korean dramas.
I will not watch Extraordinary Attorney Woo S2 either, eventhough, I think this one can have natural progression.
Finding new Kdrama elements remind me of scientists finding new stars :)
As for Season 10. Well, I have a mixed feelings. I have seen the show and thought it was decent enough, but didn't like it that much. That said, it has very interesting themes, so I think talking about it might be more enjoyable than watching it (to me at least). Mind you, it made me cry in some scenes. We will talk more about them when we get to them.
It is strange with Shin Hye Sun. I think she is one of the best Korean actresses. Her range is amazing. I bet if she was American all the world would be talking about her now.
Yet, I never fully liked her series, with the major exception of Mr Queen. SYIM19L, Angel's last mission, and Still 17. I was lukewarm towards all of them despite admiring her acting. And Welcome to Samdalri couldn't even finish and dropped after 5 or 6 episodes.
But, your choice is the best of these 4 mentioned shows, so there is that :).
...finally, I have seen her in "Oh! My Ghost!" as well. She was supporting character, but that was the first time I saw her, and I didn't know her at the time, but she really caught my eyes.
Thank you for your work, and looking forward to next podcast.
Seven Seas, thank you for your comments!
DeleteI stopped watching Grey's Anatomy after Season 10. I think they're at Season 22, or something like that. Wow, I guess!
Of the two of us, I loved SYIM19L, I loved the show more so I hope that in this season, I convince all of you of how rich and interesting this show is. I'm finishing up my notes for episode 10.1 and already, I'm overwhelmed by how much there is to talk about!
We agree on one thing, for sure: Shin Hye sun is an amazing actress! Thanks for listening!
Thank you Kdrama Chat for another great season! It was my first time watching the drama one episode at a time and then listening to the podcast in real time and I loved it. I look forward to doing it again with season 10. Although See you in my 19th Life was not my top choice, it was one I knew I would enjoy rewatching and I had many questions throughout my first time watching it, so it’s a great one to dive into with you and I’m looking forward to it. The cast is so amazing. I totally fell inlove with the second couple and wish we had more of their storyline. The sister is so sweet and smart and really lovable. I have a feeling I’ll be crying a lot more watching season 10, than I did for Kingdom haha.
ReplyDeleteThe end of season 2 for Kingdom was not what I expected, but it was a great watch and yes that cinematography is amazing ! I did actually cry a bit when I saw the prince’s mother as a court lady….oh the heartbreak of not being with your child, although I understand it’s better this way and being close than leaving the castle and never seeing your child at all. The plot twist with the time moving forward and the other zombies popping up was unexpected and cool! If there is a season 3, that would be neat and I would watch it, but I don’t think I have it in me to watch Ashin of the North, especially after Sung Hee’s description, but would love to hear your thoughts about it if you do Joanna!
Going back to the hero’s journey steps and tying them into Kingdom’s storyline was great. It added some depth to the crown prince’s character arc for sure! I will admit I was looking forward to a good fight between the vilain and the crown prince, but I wasn’t disappointed with having the queen kill her father. That was such a gutsy move, she was like the godfather cleaning house. I both loved and despised her so much in this series!!!
Thanks again ladies. I truly did not expect to enjoy Kingdom as much as I did. I am however very excited to move on to a show with romance! 🥰
Béatrice Lyne, thank you for your comments! I'm so glad that you enjoyed Kingdom with us! I loved Kingdom from the beginning, but who knew there was so much to this show? So much to talk about!
DeleteSpeaking of which, I think there will be a LOT to talk about with See You In My 19th Life. I can't wait. Will you rewatch one episode at a time as well? And what are you watching now?
I'm excited about a show with romance. I missed the romance in Season 9!
I will definitely let you know if I watch Ashin of the North. Maybe over the holiday break! Or one of my upcoming plane rides! Thank you for listening!
Yes, I will rewatch See You in my 19th Life one episode at a time for the podcast’s releases. It will be fun and Ryan hasn’t watched it (although he’s heard me talk about it haha). I actually just finished a kdrama called The Story of Park’s Contract Marriage and I loved it! The characters were very what I call « attachants » », engaging and lovable. It has Lee Se Young from the Red Sleeve and a younger male actor as the lead that I didn’t recognize, but he was good. I recommend it for anyone who loves a time travelling romance, strong women and of course some comedy. 😄
DeleteThank you for doing Kingdom, Joanna and Sunghee. As this is one of ‘favorite” kdramas, I’m happy it was discussed and explained more. There were plot lines I missed in my earlier watch, but now the entire series makes sense.
ReplyDelete