Strong women, conflicted men - Princess Ja Myung Go
I've been catching up with the period epic romance Princess Ja Myung Go (the only kdrama I am currently following) and am through ep 8. Oh, I love it so very much! Watching 50 eps will be no hardship. Even if all our protagonists (La Hee, Hodong, Ja Myung herself) are only children so far I am not bored at all - I am fascinated by all the politics and double-crossing, from the scrupleless and shrewd mother of La Hee to King Muhyul - Hodong's ruthless father who keeps the Queen (who is not Hodong's mom) at arms' length so as not to have dynastic competition for the position of his heir. So very good. So far my favorite character is kid!Hodong - I decided he had that spot when he challenged his stepmom to a duel and almost killed her and then verbally eviscerated her. Whoa - as ruthless as his father and he is only what - ten, eleven? Though I suppose learning your Mother is (a) not your Mother and (b) trying to kill you will toughen anybody up in time.
We haven't seen much of La Hee or Ja Myung yet because they are fairly small but I love that Ja Myung and her protector boy (the son of the servant who was sent with her when they were ditched) are living with a troupe of acrobats and performers. I think the love polygon is going to go like this: La Hee -> Hodong <-> Ja Myung <- Protector Boy.
I love how ruthless and strong the women are, so far, more than equal to the men - whether it's Hodong's stepmother, a fearsome woman by any account but who is presented as understandable despite trying to kill a child who thought of her as his mother (her mounting frustration of not having children of her own, her prospective loss of power and status, her isolation are all viewed sympathetically. Sure, she is not nice, but you can see why she is that way) or a very traditional woman that is Ja Myung's mother, who is still not a weakling in the least...
So very good. I found an official MV for this series. Check it out!
ETA: Bwahahahaha, kid!Hodong and kid!LaHee met, and he was being an arrogant jerk so she attacked him with a sword (!!!!) Heeee. And he tells her what he hates the most are women using swords which makes me LOL in anticipatory glee because he is going to fall for Ja Myung the superb swordswoman. LOLOLOL.
We haven't seen much of La Hee or Ja Myung yet because they are fairly small but I love that Ja Myung and her protector boy (the son of the servant who was sent with her when they were ditched) are living with a troupe of acrobats and performers. I think the love polygon is going to go like this: La Hee -> Hodong <-> Ja Myung <- Protector Boy.
I love how ruthless and strong the women are, so far, more than equal to the men - whether it's Hodong's stepmother, a fearsome woman by any account but who is presented as understandable despite trying to kill a child who thought of her as his mother (her mounting frustration of not having children of her own, her prospective loss of power and status, her isolation are all viewed sympathetically. Sure, she is not nice, but you can see why she is that way) or a very traditional woman that is Ja Myung's mother, who is still not a weakling in the least...
So very good. I found an official MV for this series. Check it out!
Click to viewETA: Bwahahahaha, kid!Hodong and kid!LaHee met, and he was being an arrogant jerk so she attacked him with a sword (!!!!) Heeee. And he tells her what he hates the most are women using swords which makes me LOL in anticipatory glee because he is going to fall for Ja Myung the superb swordswoman. LOLOLOL.