☠ I was a bit disappointed that the show veered from history at the beginning of 7 and had the reason for the King leaving the fortress and surrendering being do to with Jang Hyung being, as the Khan put it, a skilled arbiter and negotiating regarding the smallpox outbreak in regards to there being no repeat of Jingkang, and therefore making the current people in charge of Joseon look smarter and like having more cards in their hands than they actually were or did, and not what actually happened, which is that Dorgon capturing Ganghwa and the Second Son was the final straw that pushed them to surrender instead.
Oh and, the Second Son was actually captured, captured.
And therefore, also that they didn’t show us Injo kowtowing to the Qing Emperor, in complete humiliation.

But I understand that it was done that way to build up Jang Hyun’s character instead, as this hero who takes on many thankless tasks, seeking no reward himself, and going mainly unrecognised and unrewarded, whilst others who did less, or who did nothing, receive record and empty praise.
(I do think the show has done a good job of making his character seem plausibly real in this manner. That someone like him could well have existed, and gone unnoticed by history. Which we will undoubtedly get more of if the prologues were anything to go by.)

And I understand that the catharsis of this show is NOT in the direct political just deserts; the background politics in this is a support for the central story, and not the other way round. We are supposed to feel the indignation of it.

THEY GOT ME GOOD. When Gil-chae mistakenly thought the other dude was the one who had saved them, while poor Jang-hyun was lying in a ditch RIGHT THERE. Also everyone can get f—stuffed, I can’t believe they not only didn’t give two sh*ts about the ONE guy that did ALL the heavy lifting but had the freaking audacity to be like ‘do us another favour??’ 🤬

Also, I’m all in for the slow burn but I also wanted to bang my head against a wall because it PHYSICALLY HURT watching Jang-hyun’s face fall like someone had stepped on his heart (repeatedly) every time she decided to bury her head in the sand. BUT ALSO MY DUDE that was cruel what you said to her on the mountain top. She’s young, she doesn’t know all that much about Jang-hyun (or everything we know anyways) and what she heard isn’t all that great either, she’s been sheltered most of her life and it’s probably not easy accepting the fact that the guy you thought you were desperately in love with isn’t the one for you (and also is a TOOL).

Speaking of the tool: YEON-JUN, boy do I have some choice words for you. Jang-hyun said ‘straight FAX no printer’ in episode 7 and I was here for it because WHY would you bring that up at all NOW with Gil-chae sir?? Right before you propose to another girl? That’s shifty af to say the least. I do not like this man. And of course, he’s only a coward but selfish too! A 1+1 special. We love condemning loved ones - including your WIFE - to a life on the streets because you don’t have the GUTS to do one simple task despite writing poetry for 29382938 episodes on how much you love the king and blah blah blah serving the nation yada yada yada principles. PRINCIPLES my foot.

The rest of my notes are unreadable because they drowned and disintegrated in my tears (thanks episode 8). I will fIGHT someone if we get the world’s most agonising cliffhanger to finish part 1 next week. But we probably will. *gets on knees to pray to the heavens, 제발*

Since the other half of my 5-6 part comment, and OTP analyses is currently in Limbo (please release it soon 🙏), I'll get back to that, and post this first:

☠ Mildly Irritated Royal Kiss Analyst Files: ENTRY 10

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Total Length (from move in to move away/end cut): 39s
Cut Scenes: 14/15 (couldn’t decide which pull away cut to end on, there were 3… -_-)
Shots/Camera Angles: 9 (whyyyyy)
Possible No. of Takes Thpliced together: 3
Cuts to Time (cuts per second) Ratio: 1:2.7 😭

Hand placement/movement/positioning: He pulls her in to kiss by her face, but the scene cuts between his hand cupping her head and cupping her shoulder, and then the overhead shot his hand his on her back. 🙄 Just the cupping of the head would’ve been the ideal one.
Disappointing.
(no gat in the way though, Gat Haters, cos it conveniently fell off for you)

Lip Action: It was brief and they’re not THERE YET I’m fine with this being more chaste, and it makes it that much more painful.
Cheekbones/Jawline: not the best scene to show case either of their jawlines, but there’s a couple of scenes elsewhere where Eun Jin’s practically cuts open the screen. Also, NGM has impeccable bone structure, I’ve talked about this before (https://www.dramabeans.com/members/sicarius/activity/1286188/)
Hand structure: and he has GREAT hands we know
Atmosphere/ Context/ Story: See Above. The green, blue, and gold. Her baetssi daenggi, their hanboks, the barley, the sky and the sun. Sweet and sad and annoying all at the same time.
Song: It’s not any of their instrumental motifs, but it’s still nice, ofc. My favourite part of this song is the haegeum though.

Overall Ranking:
TRAGICALLY, this is HORRENDOUS as far as Technicalities of a Kiss go. And tragically I must say that, despite my deep love and appreciation for this show otherwise and so far. This might pain me the most. I wish there weren’t so many takes and cuts because it was very poignant and emotive OTHERWISE, and it’s exquisitely coloured and post produced, and the *quality* of each shot is excellent, but the story does the heavy lifting here to make up for calamitous editing choices.
1. There better be another kiss and 2. it better be better than this one.

Royal Kiss Analyst Files Archive

My God, these two are ANNOYING(but in the best way) please get it together. My goodness their stubbornness of the both of them and his first instinct being to runaway is not healthy. Sir, stay and fight. As for Gil Chae, good lord woman, it is okay to admit you like him, even though to be fair to her she did try but he got stuck on the shoes. Well, the show has done a good job of making sure they see each other each episode, so I look forward to that.

WowSQUEEEEEEEEEE!
I've watched both episodes twice as they were brilliant.
Surely this show is going to sweep up all the awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards next year.
The moments that were really exceptional and memorable for me were the scenes where both NKM and AEJ had no dialogue but so much was portrayed and emoted.
It was like watching a masterclass in acting.
All the actors are fabulous.
I can't believe the actor playing Ryang Eun is only 22. His poignant love and longing for Jang Hyun is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
Please show, don't make him do something bad.
So many lovely visual scenes but the standout would have to be Gil Chae in her stunning yellow/green hanbok with Jang hyun in the lime green field.
Absolutely stunning.
I really appreciate the effort that has gone on behind the scenes to find such wonderful, breathtaking locations, the staging/choreography of the fighting scenes, the glorious wardrobe (and makeup) ranging from the intense colours of the hanboks and sweet, pretty faces to the sweat covered, filthy, bloodied spectrum.
Also the top class effort of ripping out my heart and stomping all over it and grinding it into tiny little pieces.
Well done show, I applaud you

This show always gets me emotional and even the small bits that I have quibbles with get swept over with feelings. Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin do such amazing things with their expressions. The spectrum of misery and heartbreak sweeping over his face and the subtlety of sadness when he cupped her face and murmured that she was cruel/he hated her before he regained his equilibrium. And the expressions on her face when she finally sees his face in her dreams and when she realizes (thinks) he's dead were masterful. Also the kiss was beautiful, may we have more and hopefully with neither one dead at the end... Both of them said some stupid things to each other, but I think it felt realistic and their actual feelings were done very well.

The show didn't do a great job of showing why someone as dynamic and interesting as Gil Chae would keep being hung up over Yeon Joon even after everything she went through, but then she says he reminded her of the days she felt most beautiful and I was like, ok, I hear you. I found it frustrating that Jang Hyun didn't tell her he came for her and saved her on the island, but his face fell so hard when Bang Doo was talking about how Gil Chae made them go to Ganghwa Do and how they suffered for it, and I realized he couldn't say it because he felt so guilty that he'd underestimated the enemy and almost got her killed, so he couldn't say it. I still do think it could be a bit better, but at least it felt like the show tried to do reasonable explanations for two of the more egregious sticking points for me.

Yeon Joon...is still not great, but I did sort of understand it a bit, he's spent his whole life trying to be upright and now he wants to make sure the king is worthy of that devotion. Except the king is weak and a coward so now YJ has managed to get himself in jail and gotten Eun Ae miserable all over again.

I wish there was more open critique of the king and the ministers in the narrative rather than only subtle bits, the invaders can be shown as barbaric at the same time as the royalty's self-involvedness can be more openly reviled by the narrative.

I did absolutely love that YJ's words had no bearing on Gil Chae and Eun Ae's bond, the sisterhood is solid and Gil Chae made sure Eun Ae didn't keep thinking about the hateful, poisonous sexist tripe about chastity and give up her right to happiness.

I do think jang Hyun became a bit overpowered by the narrative, so having him get swept up in someone else outsmarting him for once is a good way to make him have to work back to the top, I am intrigued to see how the story manages it. I am not looking forward to the long gap we're going to have after next week :(

These two episodes just hit all the beats for me. I think I screamed internally when Gil-chae just missed seeing Jang-hyun, and the soldier who sent her and her friends off as human shields got all the credit for saving them.

Also, Jang-hyun telling off Yeon-joon was all kinds of awesome. I do like that we got a little more insight into Yeon-joon during his late night soliloquy to Eun-ae. He desperately wants to be seen as a man of honor, more than he actually wants to be one.

I continue to love the relationship between Gil-chae and Eun-ae. I don't want anything to ruin it, it must be preserved at all costs! I was so proud of Gil-chae when she encouraged Eun-ae to accept Yeon-joon.

My heart is owned, however by the two main leads, another back-and-forth. They're their own worst enemies sometimes, so I'm so glad that Gil-chae finally knows her heart. Now she just needs to know that Jang-hyun is alive!

I posted info on Jinkang incident and the history of Sino-Korean relations on my wall.

Is it too early to say just give Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin all the awards? Their scenes together were heartbreaking in the best way. I found myself watching them several times just to revel in the acting and the micro-expressions that passed across Jang-hyun's and Gil-chae's faces (after the first time having to read the subtitles).

As much as it's painful to see them wound each other so effectively with their words, it does make sense given what we've learned about their characters. Turned cynical by the tragic circumstances of his past, Jang-hyun never imagined a great love being part of his future. Sure, he could charm the flower shoes off other women, but I don't think he has ever wanted to do that with Gil-chae. It would cheapen any reciprocal feelings she developed for him. Instead he keeps showing her his worst and basically daring her to love him in spite of it. (Which of course will end up being a million times more meaningful when it finally happens.)

And I think Gil-chae will come to see that Jang-hyun's regard for her -- which is rooted in far more than being the prettiest girl in the village -- is ultimately more fulfilling than whatever wishy-washy crumbs of affection Yeon-jun would send her way. Here's a man who recognizes her depth of character and strength in a way no one else has. She just has to finish growing out of her old, pre-war persona and embracing the survivor she is.

I felt a wide range of emotions while watching ep7:
* Happy - seeing Jang Hyun and Gil Chae reunite even if they are bickering because that's just how they flirt.
* Frustration - I want to yell at Jang Hyun "That is not a confession, you ass". And just both of them in general since they are not confident with their own feelings for the other.
* Annoyance - Yeon Jun is a spineless fool. I am annoyed with his righteous talk when he could've just walked away from GC and say nothing. He is already engaged no need to lead GC on.
* Sad - Ryang Eum was friendzoned and I felt bad to see his heartbroken face.
* Anger - at the people commended by that spineless King/court. The people that saved them got no recognition for their efforts, particularly Jang Hyun who is bedridden at the time. The court is celebrating they still got their position and their necks intact even if they lost their dignity.

As for ep8: still feel sadness and hurt from our leads.

My heart broke for Jang Hyun. He was truly hurt by Gil Chae's words.

Ahn Eun Jin really shined in ep8 for me. She was great in showing the rollercoaster of emotions she feels whenever she thinks of, confronts, and especially the ending scene when she was devastated at the thought of losing him. Bravo!

This better be the last time Gil Chae longs for Yeon Joon. Can't believe she was still hanging onto him. Tired of seeing him and his blandness. He really irked me when during his 'drunken' state, he slipped up and gave her a glimmer of hope. He stopped himself, but he should have done better. His only good scene was when he spoke out in front of the king (even though it got his butt in trouble lol).

Jang Hyun's sad, sad eyes. We saw them too often. T_T

In the end, Gil Chae finally accepted her feelings and regretted her actions. Oh, their separation kills me.

I should have known their first kiss scene would be a chaste one. The setting in the fields was absolutely stunning and Jang Hyun's lines were heartbreaking. I can't wait for their next kiss(es) to be explosive. That probably won't happen until the second half. /sighs/

whilst Gil-chae stumbles over the best way to phrase, “my prophetic dream sequences say we ought to make out.” Somehow, this emerges as, “Buy me a new pair of shoes.”

😂😂😂 They're gonna have to give us some good scenes to balance out all the misery.