ur comment on CH pitted against GD, i nodded humbly agreeing with you…

yup, lovely dramas, and lovely recaps. thanks so much JB

I’m so with Hong Gil Dong’s cause, even tho it’s from different era and different country, I felt his cause strike straight into my heart; like, once when he was ordered to be killed by his own father, oh the meta, on how your own family/lineage will see you according to the society’s lenses; then the 2nd time, when Enok stabbed him, as if to convey that the older generation’s sin won’t cease to bring bitterness and pain to the younger one, and then with the finale, how the so called monarchy/government/those 1% with the most power and money, screwed those defending the common people majorly, in order to save the minority high class group.

With that, I thanked the Hong sisters for writing a wonderful drama with so big a message conveyed, amidst the laughter, the pun, the wicked selection of actors/actresses. This is entertainment in its own class.

Thank you JB & GF as well for making me wanna watch this after your raves on Hong’s sisters fab dramas.
PS: that song by Park Wan Kyu seriously doesnlt help to stop the tears as well..

PPS: besides the bitterness on the 3 above, there;s also major positiveness i got from HGD of course.. people power will live forever as HGD has been immortal, so does the pureness of faith in humanity carried by Enok until the end of the battle. it outlived literal death

PPPS: okay, now i’m off to watch another Kang Ji-Hwan drama i’m swooned by him totally coz of HGD

I’m now taking that opening sequence as just a manifestation of his legend rather than anything that happened.

Great show, great acting…but I wanted a happy ending, it will take me some time to get over that.

And I feel so so so sad about Gil Dong Death, and my head can’t stop repeating the last conversation between Gil Dong and Enok when the arrows fall and landing everywhere:

Enok: “Gil Dong. [in English] ‘I love you.’”
Gil Dong: “I know.”
Enok: “You know what that means?”
Gil Dong: “Dummy. I love you. I love you… I love you…”

Because when the first time I saw Hong Gil Dong I thought it’s not too good and I am not fan of Kang Ji-Hwan, So Now, I just want to say:

Anne : ” Gil Dong ah, I love you”
Gil Dong: ” I know.”
Anne: ” You know?”
Gil Dong: I know, in the end you will love me….

Thank you JB, for the outstanding recaps.

The ending was epic. As it gave the message that death is not a bad thing if you die for your dreams..Kinda like Che-inspired.

It IS bitter that they die before they can enjoy their love.But then again their love is also beyond death.

..maybe…call me a dreamer. But I have to admit I would love to see Gil Dong to succeed against Chang Whe…
Although I know it would go against everything that this drama tried to give us.

kamsahamnida javabeans~

Man, this episode had me crying my eyes out. My sister saw me and just laughed.

I really like how Chang Hui and Gil Dong were pitted against each other: idealism versus pragmatism. One is needed for sanity of the soul, one is needed to keep a society of souls together.

I also like how CH and GD didn’t really like each other, but respected each other. It wasn’t this ridiculous hate that we see in some K-dramas.

This series was one of the better ones. It’s range of over-the-top dialogue and action scenes to the serious and poignant actually melded together better than I thought.

As a musician, the OST really hit it home for me. K-punk rock during fight scenes. F*** YA! Pardonnez moi! That Celtic (or whatever) song that played while the flaming arrows were bearing down upon them was beautiful.

Anywho, lovely drama, lovely recappers. Thank you for all your hard work!

your interpretation is wrong because in the opening sequence yi nok is robbing alongside with hwal bin dang ,thing that never actually happened in the series. Having said that, the opening is just a symbolic scene.
Look,I’m NOT bothered by the fact that that scene never caught up with the present, in fact i really like the ending of the series. But what DOES bother me is that after the opening sequence they said “a few years ago”. That’s cheating ,lack of professionalism and a cheap trick to make us hope till the end.

At least in iljimae (jun ki version), after the opening sequence they never said “a few years ago”, so at least we had the chance to expect it won’t be a real scene, but only a symbolic one.

This is the show that I’ve first caught JGS and oh what-a-man! It’s probably ‘love’ at first sight. Now, the ones who caught my eyes are always meant for great things.. hahaha…

So, of course I’m in the camp that gets a little wistful that he did not get the girl. But on other hand I’m not the kind to expect or predict how a show would end. I’ll just watch as how the creative team lay out a show and then I’ll just decide if I like the show as a whole. Still JGS not getting the girl simply heightens the oh-so-poor-thing element in me and root for him even more.

And now about the greatly discussed ending vs opening. There were lots of talk initially about whether the 2 leads died. Some thought they were spared because the viewer confused it with the opening scene. Came as a surprise for those comments because I thought it was clear all along. The show made it clear that Hong Gil Dong would live on as a legend. That he will live on and you’ll probably find him in our society. In short, he is a spirit. The spirit of change, the spirit of freedom, the spirit of democracy. And of course, these brought hope to the people in the lower caste and therefore the story of Hong Gil Dong is passed on through generations. Stories become exaggerated this way (try the game of passing a sentence to the person next to you and get the person to pass it on and so on for about 10 persons and see the outcome). In this drama, the first scene is showing the result of such a legend. Hong Gil Dong and gang have become mighty heroes as their story spread – instead of just a group of revolutionists, they are now revolutionists with super powers. That explains why they danced in modern song, could fly etc. They are now beyond reality not because they are still alive physically but in spirit and people’s hope. Neither do I think how they were in the legend is due to the writings of the rich girl. Afterall, many were aware of HGD and the group and stories are passed down a lot vocally especially in olden times (not many commoners read) so it’s not surprising to see how the group was legendarised.

I like the way the show opened. It was a good way of opening a story. Can’t say the ending is bad afterall that’s how the story goes. Enok was meant to love HGD right from the start, it’s already decided by the creative team when they first come up with the story. Even if Chang-Hyu killed himself for Enok she would not choose him (unless I’m her lol).