A Korean Odyssey Episode 19
Feb. 12th, 2024 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iaria+ I'm going to be honest but I'm disappointed and underwhelmed with how the main plot/final showdown finally played out. My biggest source of disgruntlement is with Seon-mi. The show posited that she was the only one who could defeat the Black Dragon and stop the end of the world, we've spent episodes showing an increase in her powers, we have her circumventing Oh-rong to face it on her own... and then she has General Winter take out Asanyeo, she gets stab by Dae-sung causing the dragon to fully awaken, Oh-rong fights the dragon and then she dies and Oh-rong goes back and defeats the dragon himself. ... okay. Honestly deeply frustrating turn of events. Even a little angry making. Like, why not have Seon-mi be a little competent and do her job as Samjang well and get to save the world? At the very least she could have gone down fighting! Making Oh-rong the hero who defeated the dragon on his own is annoying but having Seon-mi dying so quickly and pointlessly and without even getting to fight or affect things is infuriating, and the more I think of this the more it's bothering me! The writers really threw Seon-mi under the bus.
+ I liked that the Geumganggo seemed to be essential in the defeat of the Black Dragon, giving Oh-rong that needed burst of power. Possibly that was Seon-mi? Or Seon-mi and Oh-rong's love for each other?
+ Asanyeo vowed to be the evil spirit that everyone has been accusing her of being and then didn't really do anything significant so it felt like a missed opportunity.
+ Another missed opportunity was in not having a Seon-mi vs Asanyeo showdown. I am so disappointed by this! I think I could have maybe been okay with the rest if we'd had a showdown between the two priestesses first. (I want Asanyeo redemption but Seon-mi defeating her with her powers and bringing Bu-ja back via their connection would have been a great resolution too.)
+ Seon-mi learning what Oh-rong was planning and going over his head to circumvent him to face her fate on her own terms was great. I just wished she's actually learned something important for her mission on her trip to see the Great Egret that gave her an actual plan/direction in defeating the Black Dragon.
+ They really missed an amazing beat when they didn't have Seon-mi remove the Geumganggo as she was dying. Her telling Oh-rong she was glad now that he was wearing it was great but it should have been followed by her removing it. It would have been very symbolic, and after flirting with her removing it and not removing it for so very long her doing it at this moment to free Oh-rong and (in her eyes) prevent him from suffering from her death would have be really emotional. We, and he, knows that it doesn't work like that anymore but she doesn't because he hadn't told her. It being her last act before death would have been meaningful! Plus you could have had him put it back on when he went to face the Black Dragon as him symbolically showing that he doesn't actually want to be free of her.
+ I liked General Winter holding the gate against the Black Dragon. If he really is dead he died heroically which I appreciate.
+ Ma-wang urging Oh-rong to "come home" when it's over ♥
+ Ji-young standing steadfast in the face of Bo-ri offering to let Ma-wang be a deity while Ma-wang was tempted was amusing.
+ PK turning on Asanyeo in his rage (and sense of betrayal) makes sense and her reacting to the hurt it causes her by going 'fine! I'll be a evil spirit then!' did too. But I'm a little sad for her. I wanted a redemption.
+ For someone who revels in death Dae-sung was surprisingly freaked out by stabbing Seon-mi.
+ Poor Dragon Prince. I was not really expecting him to die since he's such a tertiary character in all the drama that's been playing out.
+ I liked that the Geumganggo seemed to be essential in the defeat of the Black Dragon, giving Oh-rong that needed burst of power. Possibly that was Seon-mi? Or Seon-mi and Oh-rong's love for each other?
+ Asanyeo vowed to be the evil spirit that everyone has been accusing her of being and then didn't really do anything significant so it felt like a missed opportunity.
+ Another missed opportunity was in not having a Seon-mi vs Asanyeo showdown. I am so disappointed by this! I think I could have maybe been okay with the rest if we'd had a showdown between the two priestesses first. (I want Asanyeo redemption but Seon-mi defeating her with her powers and bringing Bu-ja back via their connection would have been a great resolution too.)
+ Seon-mi learning what Oh-rong was planning and going over his head to circumvent him to face her fate on her own terms was great. I just wished she's actually learned something important for her mission on her trip to see the Great Egret that gave her an actual plan/direction in defeating the Black Dragon.
+ They really missed an amazing beat when they didn't have Seon-mi remove the Geumganggo as she was dying. Her telling Oh-rong she was glad now that he was wearing it was great but it should have been followed by her removing it. It would have been very symbolic, and after flirting with her removing it and not removing it for so very long her doing it at this moment to free Oh-rong and (in her eyes) prevent him from suffering from her death would have be really emotional. We, and he, knows that it doesn't work like that anymore but she doesn't because he hadn't told her. It being her last act before death would have been meaningful! Plus you could have had him put it back on when he went to face the Black Dragon as him symbolically showing that he doesn't actually want to be free of her.
+ I liked General Winter holding the gate against the Black Dragon. If he really is dead he died heroically which I appreciate.
+ Ma-wang urging Oh-rong to "come home" when it's over ♥
+ Ji-young standing steadfast in the face of Bo-ri offering to let Ma-wang be a deity while Ma-wang was tempted was amusing.
+ PK turning on Asanyeo in his rage (and sense of betrayal) makes sense and her reacting to the hurt it causes her by going 'fine! I'll be a evil spirit then!' did too. But I'm a little sad for her. I wanted a redemption.
+ For someone who revels in death Dae-sung was surprisingly freaked out by stabbing Seon-mi.
+ Poor Dragon Prince. I was not really expecting him to die since he's such a tertiary character in all the drama that's been playing out.
