1. I can’t help but think this whole mess we’re now in could have been avoided, had it not for the unexplained, unsupported and seemingly ridiculous hatred the Queen Dowager seems to have for Yu Ra. At first, I thought it was simply a matter of classism, but if Sunny is a valid candidate for Empress, why isn’t Yu Ra? They could have just married and there would have been no murders.
2. Why can’t I quit this show?
3. I can’t decide if the writer is trolling us and flipping the script on the classical K drama structure. In many ways, Sunny and Wang Sik have all the making of second leads: they’re reactive, generally a couple of steps behind the audience and are the main obstacles to what has, so far, been the show’s main romance. I still don’t know if I’m supposed to root for the Emperor and Yu Ra to defeat all odds and end up together or if Sunny and Wang Sik really are the people I should cheer on.
4. I find the characterization of Yu Ra problematic. The show telegraph that she’s a villain, and though, yes, she’s ambitious and manipulative, I haven’t seen her take any steps that wasn’t a direct counter move to somebody else trying to screw her over. Was she ever really engaged to Wang Sik? Because I never got that impression. It felt more like she was being pressured by the family who took her in to marry the son because she “owed” them for taking care of her and her child. Never was there any point where I thought she was in love with him. And I found Wang Sik’s mother’s reaction to Yu Ra’s announcement that she was leaving extremely disturbing. You don’t own her, ahjumma, and even though you may disagree with her decisions, it doesn’t give you the right to shame her for going after what she wants.
4. I love Choi Jin Hyuk, but I can’t find any love for Wang Sik. I understand his anger, I understand his pain, but I don’t understand why he does any of the things he does. Punching people because you’re sad is not an attractive trait, especially in a grown man and I find his rage too heightened to land. It never hits that emotional sympathetic spot within me, it just makes me feel for Yu Ra even more. Imagine being pressured to marry a man who destroys everything around him every time he’s irritated…
5. Why can’t I quit this show?
6. I can’t actually decide if this show is a satire of the genre, or if it takes itself so seriously that somehow folded back into a parody of what it’s trying to accomplish.
7. Jang Nara freaking rules. I love how intimidating she can be even though she’s so tiny and delicate.
8. Somebody please send Princess Sojin on a world tour, far, far away, so that I don’t have to watch her wiggle her fingers on camera anymore.
9. Why can’t I quit this show?
oh dear I’m just laughing/crying with you. I agree on all points – it doesn’t make any sense – which is why we are all hooked on the stupidity of this plot.
However I’m with you about Wang Shik. Is he friend or foe?
and why can’t I just stop watching this show like I did The Beauty Inside?
gawd knows…
I haven’t watched this week’s episodes but I want to respond, so bear with me.
1. Yu Ra is smart and calculating, and the Dowager Empress knows this. So she knows that if Yu Ra has her hooks in the Emperor, mama will lose control of him. Sunny appears stupid and naive, and the Emperor doesn’t like her, so she is no apparent threat to mom’s power.
2. Because it’s fun.
3.If this isn’t straight up brilliant satire of all that this both horrible and wonderful about kdrama, I will give up on dramas altogether.
4. Punching people because you’re sad is not an attractive trait Preach. There is no redemption arc for this character that will make me ever think he is a good romantic match for Sunny, or anyone for that matter. Dude needs therapy, and some prison time.
5. Because it’s awful in the best possible way.
6. See my answer to #3
7. I would not be opposed to a reveal that Jang Nara’s Sunny is actually a ninja serial killer. (possible spoiler?)
8. Perhaps she’ll fall down an elevator shaft at the mall?
9. Honestly, his Royal Hotness The Emperor, despite his weird mommy issues, unsettling affair, and possible mental illness, is pretty much why I’m hanging in there. The man looks good, and he has a cane. (have I mentioned my love for morally compromised characters?)
Totally off topic but now I realize why I miss the old park shin hye. That chubby cheek isn’t there anymore which made her all adorable. :'( Instead, now she looks haggard and all bony.
2
0
Modal title
Modal title
Modal title
Modal title
A verification email has been sent to your new email address.
Please click the link in that email to complete the email change process.
Modal title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit,
sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
silentbeluga
December 13, 2018 at 8:01 PM
I’m having a lot of feelings about The Last Empress. It’s exhausting.
silentbeluga
December 13, 2018 at 8:18 PM
1. I can’t help but think this whole mess we’re now in could have been avoided, had it not for the unexplained, unsupported and seemingly ridiculous hatred the Queen Dowager seems to have for Yu Ra. At first, I thought it was simply a matter of classism, but if Sunny is a valid candidate for Empress, why isn’t Yu Ra? They could have just married and there would have been no murders.
2. Why can’t I quit this show?
3. I can’t decide if the writer is trolling us and flipping the script on the classical K drama structure. In many ways, Sunny and Wang Sik have all the making of second leads: they’re reactive, generally a couple of steps behind the audience and are the main obstacles to what has, so far, been the show’s main romance. I still don’t know if I’m supposed to root for the Emperor and Yu Ra to defeat all odds and end up together or if Sunny and Wang Sik really are the people I should cheer on.
4. I find the characterization of Yu Ra problematic. The show telegraph that she’s a villain, and though, yes, she’s ambitious and manipulative, I haven’t seen her take any steps that wasn’t a direct counter move to somebody else trying to screw her over. Was she ever really engaged to Wang Sik? Because I never got that impression. It felt more like she was being pressured by the family who took her in to marry the son because she “owed” them for taking care of her and her child. Never was there any point where I thought she was in love with him. And I found Wang Sik’s mother’s reaction to Yu Ra’s announcement that she was leaving extremely disturbing. You don’t own her, ahjumma, and even though you may disagree with her decisions, it doesn’t give you the right to shame her for going after what she wants.
4. I love Choi Jin Hyuk, but I can’t find any love for Wang Sik. I understand his anger, I understand his pain, but I don’t understand why he does any of the things he does. Punching people because you’re sad is not an attractive trait, especially in a grown man and I find his rage too heightened to land. It never hits that emotional sympathetic spot within me, it just makes me feel for Yu Ra even more. Imagine being pressured to marry a man who destroys everything around him every time he’s irritated…
5. Why can’t I quit this show?
6. I can’t actually decide if this show is a satire of the genre, or if it takes itself so seriously that somehow folded back into a parody of what it’s trying to accomplish.
7. Jang Nara freaking rules. I love how intimidating she can be even though she’s so tiny and delicate.
8. Somebody please send Princess Sojin on a world tour, far, far away, so that I don’t have to watch her wiggle her fingers on camera anymore.
9. Why can’t I quit this show?
stpauligurl
December 13, 2018 at 8:36 PM
oh dear I’m just laughing/crying with you. I agree on all points – it doesn’t make any sense – which is why we are all hooked on the stupidity of this plot.
However I’m with you about Wang Shik. Is he friend or foe?
and why can’t I just stop watching this show like I did The Beauty Inside?
gawd knows…
silentbeluga
December 13, 2018 at 8:38 PM
But is it truly stupid? Or is it a brilliant piece of parody/meta-commentary on TV tropes? I DON’T KNOW!!!!
blnmom
December 13, 2018 at 8:46 PM
LOL #2, 5, 9 are what all of Korea are asking themselves.
silentbeluga
December 13, 2018 at 8:55 PM
I know, right? Like, WHAT IS HAPPENING with this show? What is this collective madness we all seemed to have agreed to participate in?
egads aka Dame Maggie
December 13, 2018 at 9:30 PM
I haven’t watched this week’s episodes but I want to respond, so bear with me.
1. Yu Ra is smart and calculating, and the Dowager Empress knows this. So she knows that if Yu Ra has her hooks in the Emperor, mama will lose control of him. Sunny appears stupid and naive, and the Emperor doesn’t like her, so she is no apparent threat to mom’s power.
2. Because it’s fun.
3.If this isn’t straight up brilliant satire of all that this both horrible and wonderful about kdrama, I will give up on dramas altogether.
4. Punching people because you’re sad is not an attractive trait Preach. There is no redemption arc for this character that will make me ever think he is a good romantic match for Sunny, or anyone for that matter. Dude needs therapy, and some prison time.
5. Because it’s awful in the best possible way.
6. See my answer to #3
7. I would not be opposed to a reveal that Jang Nara’s Sunny is actually a ninja serial killer. (possible spoiler?)
8. Perhaps she’ll fall down an elevator shaft at the mall?
9. Honestly, his Royal Hotness The Emperor, despite his weird mommy issues, unsettling affair, and possible mental illness, is pretty much why I’m hanging in there. The man looks good, and he has a cane. (have I mentioned my love for morally compromised characters?)
silentbeluga
December 14, 2018 at 9:27 AM
Hahahahahahaha! I just cracked up at my desk. You made my day @egads!
fay17
December 13, 2018 at 10:55 PM
Totally off topic but now I realize why I miss the old park shin hye. That chubby cheek isn’t there anymore which made her all adorable. :'( Instead, now she looks haggard and all bony.