BTS MAKING #5

The casts and crews are still smiles and laughters whilst filming, indicating to us the working environment, albeit hectic, everyone is getting along and in good spirits. In this clip, we see more of them working hard behind the scenes to catch on with the filming.  Park Bo Gum  and  Kim Yoo Jung  are still flashing each other adorable smiles whenever they have scenes together;  Cha Soo Bin  and Yoo Jung are getting along well on set, and  An Se Ha , who plays Mr. Jung is cracking an ad-lib which I thought it should have made it into the actual aired episode.

This is an extremely short BTS, and not as interesting as previous?*shaking head at KBS*

EPISODE 11 PREVIEW

Seja: Ra On ah~

Seja needs to stop calling Ra On ‘Ra On-ah’ with so much love and affection, OMG. *So jealous* I might die from jealousy soon, and this blog will never see the end of the show. But  oooh , are we getting another kiss? I think another cute peck on the face is due before the angst kicks in.

King: Marry the Minister of Rites’ daughter.
Seja: I just don’t want this type of marriage.

Even though for Seja’s sake, I should be polite, but I have to let this out. I hate him, cowardice and useless king of the nation / a father of Yeongie. As a king, he too, had to marry women he does not love (hint: The Queen) and obtain (undeserving) power through them, and he very well knows he is unable to love Consort Park whole-heartedly for this very reason. How dare he make his son take the same path he took, which proven to be a failure. HATE YOU NOW, KING! I know he means well, but still, parents who force their will on their children is a big NO in my dictionary, regardless of whether he’s a king or what not.

Ra On: Don’t reject the royal marriage anymore.
Seja: I told you to stop talking about this.
Ra On: I just don’t want you fall into a crisis because of me.

I totally get her reason, but whilst he tries so hard to find a solution nullfying this royal marriage, and find a way for them to be together, it is a really pessimistic thing to say to say when he has so much responsibilities resting on his shoulder already. Be strong, you two.

Oh hell. Oh noes!

Yeah no, I don’t think I look forward to see the coming week’s episodes now. Angsty is definitely kicking in! No doubt I know Bo Gum and Yoo Jung can handle all the emotional scenes thrown at them, but my (ours) heart may not be strong enough to endure the consequences. Please please please do not send Ra On to Uigeumbu for torture, you evil queen. Technically she isn’t the most evil queen we have ever met in drama, but still, if the writers allow it, she will/can be, which is why I worry for Ra On.

Seja: Release the child now!
Minister: We should execute the sinner.
Seja: I don’t want to hear it!
Dasan: The person that child needs is not you.

The line that Dasan songsaeng said to Seja about ‘that child does not need you’ bothers me in the beginning; thinking that he is talking about Ra On. But after reading the text preview, I am inclinced to think Dasan is talking about the little girl and her father who got arrested in episode 10. Preview trailer is designed to trick us; I don’t want to fall into that trap.

Seja: I just want to keep the person I treasure beside me, but apologetic things keep happening.

Want a hug, Seja?  

GIBBERISH BLAB:

As some of you know, I am reading the Chinese translated novel as the volumes are made available for purchase. As far as I have got to in the book, the drama is showing huge differences to the novel’s. Sure the backbone and the backstory are there, but everything else is different. In a recent interview, the original writer pointed out that her Lee Yeong’s character is already matured in the book, whereas Seja in the drama is still growing and learning?this explains why I face difficulty merging Bo Gum’s face (and character) to the novel’s. It’s because they are 180° different. Hence when I read the book, the face my head use is the Seja from the illustrations, LOL.

The novel writer wrote Lee Yeong as the prince that truly existed in Joseon history, but wanted an alternate ending for Lee Yeong, since she begun this novel with the mind of ‘What if Crown Prince Hyomyeong did not die young?’ Thus, I was satisfied  from the clues in the illustrations  that Lee Yeong and Ra On had a happy ending with twins. I also thought Seja was already married to Ha Yeon before he met Ra On, so we cannot rectify that part, as it is history-bound. However, KBS was clear-cut about their drama being fictional. There was a shift in character relationships for the royal members, and change in names (Hanja). This can only mean they are giving themselves flexibility in story-telling.

I can confirm that the  happenings  and the way it is executed are very different between the drama and novel, which led to the conclusion that we will not have the same ending as the novel’s. To which I think is an excellent result, and may be a much more acceptable ending for the modernized viewers. Here’s the thing: If Jo Ha Yeon  is evil, I probably would not have cared Seja marries her and dumps her later. But she is not, so I don’t want her life ruined for a man that will never love her in return, even if she is adamant she does not mind, or even if both sides agree with the deal mutually. As a reader/viewer, I feel sad for Ha Yeon and will curse Seja for being the richard simmons. Even though novel Ha Yeon is correct that politically, novel Seja has no other choice; if today it isn’t her, it would be someone else and worse. However from a narrative view point, if drama Seja succumb to this marriage arrangement, it would contradict his character and all other too.

In my perfect world, my script for this drama is:

Seja earns  his  men with his own wisdom and capability rather than relying on another clan to give him power. First he joins hand with Baek Won Hoi’s Boss Eunuch, and then he rejects the royal marriage from having to finally persuade that useless father he has Ha Yeon and her clan’s support anyway without entering into a loveless marriage. Minister Jo looks like a father that would do anything for his daughter, LOL.

Yoon Sung is 100% good in drama, so he would assist Seja even though he will be conflicted. As for Ra On, I wonder if Dasan songsaengnim is ‘noble’ enough to adopt her, or maybe Mr. Jung’s family can adopt Ra On and in return, he gets to marry the princess! OMG, I am a genius!!!?