Largely on Jumong
Oh glee-est glee that ever lived. Not only is the first ep subs are out for Marry Me, but lainemma is going to be subbing The Outsiders 2 shortly and agreed to sub Coming Lies after her current roster is done. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I am going to have a Mike He and Dylan Kuo extravaganzas.
Now back to Jumong.
Isn’t this the cutest thing ever? It’s Top (l-r): Jumong, Sosuhno, Bottom (l-r): Haemosu, Yongpo, Daeso.
I am in the middle of ep 8 and lots of things happened (these things move fast): Jumong being stripped (only of his title, alas) and driven out of the palace, Jumong finding work with the local ganglord and saving Sosunho in the process. Jumong hiding in underground prison and living with Haemosu who undertakes to train him. Lots.
Jumong’s character arc continues to progress gradually but quickly and believably. He’s metamorphosed from weakling to a young man of grit who is still unsure on his feet at times, but someone I now like and respect. He is still not as awesome as his Daddy Haemosu, but he is at the stage where I can see Haemosu-surpassage in his future. Actually, this drama does something pretty rare for its character arc, IMO. There are two ways these stories of period heroes go: someone overcoming a horrible childhood through guts or someone growing up and transforming from spoiled brat. Damo goes for the former (and so will BYJ’s ‘Legend’ if the promos are accurate) and in a way, this is the more appealing pattern. Overcoming adversity etc etc. But Jumong goes for the latter and it’s a tricky thing to pull off but it manages. In large part thanks to the fact that it views him as a brat when he is a brat, and in large part because of Song Il-Gook.
I have to say that Song Il-Gook is amazing. Sure, he is gorgeous and charismatic, but that is not what I am talking about: ultimately, the actor playing Jumong has to be really good. Not only is the drama all about him, but there is this complicated character arc, and SIG is believable as a spoiled weakling, and through every step of the process of someone finding his spine and his ‘manhood’ (for lack of a better term) and (if the clips I’ve seen are representative) a full-fledged but still very human and understandable hero. He always comes across as real. And such expressive eyes! (e.g. the scene where he is hungry and looking at the food place. I felt a bit hungry myself just looking).
A lot of this drama, so far, has been about parents, hasn’t it? Good parents and bad ones, absent (in body or spirit) or present too much. Which makes sense, as this part of Jumong’s story is all about growing up.
On the positive side of the scale we have Lord Yuntabal and Sosuhno. While Sosuhno’s mother seems to have died a while back, the relationship between father and daughter is good: one of the best, healthiest relationships I’ve seen in a drama. Yuntabal, whose only child is Sosuhno, treats her as the son he never had but without making her be masculine or putting bizarre expectations to her. She is his heir and his child and her gender is not an issue. Her ability, which he nurtures, is. He trusts her, banters with her, is affectionate but not sloppy or indulgent. He deeply loves her (he was willing to kneel a ‘100 times’ to save her) but he is not over-protective.
Basically, it’s a great relationship. But then Sosuhno is a great daughter: clever, strong, quick. She does need to grow up (just as most of the main characters do). She is still learning. Currently she is a bit too impatient, too quick to jump to conclusions, too ready to ignore her lack of experience. But it will all come.
Then there is the other positive parental relationship: Lady Yuhwa and Jumong. Jumong is an initial disappointment to Yuhwa, but she loves him anyway, and is now molding him into a strong man. Their relationship is loving and close, but because it’s of the kind where she isn’t proud of him yet, and because they cling to each other with strength of those who have no one else, it’s not as balanced or good as Yuntabal and Sosuhno’s.
Jumong, unlike Sosuhno, is being expected to live to a weight of unfair expectations. True, he turns out to be Jumong, great hero blah blah, but he has only started on this path and to expect your child to live up to Haemosu’s fame can be seen as a bit unreasonable.
But still, so far, Yuhwa is Jumong’s closest bond. I love the scene where he is being driven out of the palace and he comes to bid her good-bye and he is wet eyed but not crying, but she won’t see him and she thinks it’s because she needs him to be driven to the edge of his rope so he’d ‘grow’ (talk about tough love) but I think it’s because she knows she’ll break down otherwise.
And then there is Kumwa. His relationship with Jumong is…not wonderful. Jumong is in awe of him, but there is no closeness there. Kumwa’s memories of Haemosu, his guilt for failure etc etc keep them from forming a real bond. And, more importantly, he kicks Jumong out of the palace, and it’s true that it’s to toughen him up, to make him ready for the world (heck, he sends an unseen bodyguard to protect him) but Jumong doesn’t know it, and to Jumong, already cast adrift in a strange world where his half brothers are trying to kill him, this must be a complete but not unbelievable blow, made all the worse for that (his despairing ‘father? Father? Father?’ as he is being driven out is rather heartbreaking).
Then there is Won, the mother of Daeso and Yongpo, Kumwa’s real sons. She is close to her children, but she is too close: it’s the anxious, overcompnsatory closeness. She has brought them to be poisoned and petty minded. But in a way, that is Kumwa’s fault too. She does it because she senses the lack of love he feels for them. And they sense it too.
And of course, last but not least, Haemosu. Absent yet very present in spirit, he informs the whole relationship of Kumwa and Yuhwa with Jumong: their guilt, longing, hopes, are all reflected in their treatment of Jumong. And of course, now, unknowingly, Haemosu will give his son the greatest gift ever. After causing his birth, he is going to teach him how to keep the life he’s given him: how to defend himself, how to hold his own and be a great fighter. Haemosu will, in effect, give him his future twice.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Jumong growing up immensely by that point. It’s not just his grit and fighting skill. It’s his spirit. I am thinking of his wholehearted apology to shrine maid into whom he runs again, in his asking her to help him find work (without pride), in his fighting in the night raid, in his freeing Sosuhno (who is so taken by this odd man, even though she doesn’t consciously realize it yet). A word about Sosuhno. I think Sosuhno is not just Jumong’s rescuer in the literal sense. I think she is his emotional rescuer, too: she is the one who gets him to fight first, she is the one who awakens his pride in the beginning. More importantly, she is someone who can show him normal bonds and relationships (not his poisoned family, not even the love of his mother, but something new, out in the world). It is rescuing her that shows his progress: he unties her and gets her to escape, even while being beaten unconscious and at the risk of his life (btw, SIG spends huge chunks of this eps bruised and bloody and wounded and looking’ good), not wanting anything in return, not even in gratitude for her earlier rescue, but just because he is transforming into that kind of man
And it’s the way he interacts with Haemosu which seals the deal. He doesn’t know who the man is (he is hiding in that prison after a complicated series of events), but he is polite, respectful, unintrusive, shares his food etc. Basically, Jumong is, and always has been, a good person, a fair person, and the spoiledness was a thin veneer rubbing off quickly.
Oh yeah, Haemosu. Still owns me so much. When he overhears the prison chief tell Haemosu’s story to other guards, and hears the mention of a child…his face! Or when he hears about Yuhwa. *dies* And when he tells Jumong that it’s his fault the rebel army was caught etc etc. His determined quiet politeness, his gentleness, contained but in no way defeated? OMG. He is a secondary character, he is much too old for me, but I don’t care. I am in love.
I really really hope Jumong finds out that Haemosu is his father, Currently, it’s one of the three scenes I am looking forward to most (the other two are Yuhwa and Haemosu reuniting, and Sosuhno finding out Jumong is, indeed, a prince).
You know another thing I love? This drama allows even the bad guys to be complex. Daeso wants to kill Jumong, his baby brother. But he is also a good fighter, intelligent, would make a pretty decent ruler, and he likes Sosuhno for her feisty spirit (she seems to bring the best out in everyone).
What else? I love the way it’s filmed. I am thinking especially of the swimming camera when Sosuhno conducts her night raid, of the fluid fights, of the colorful pomp, of everything.
Oh, also? That adviser to Yuntabal is gorgeous. And apparently further on one part of canon slash couple.
Now back to Jumong.
Isn’t this the cutest thing ever? It’s Top (l-r): Jumong, Sosuhno, Bottom (l-r): Haemosu, Yongpo, Daeso.
I am in the middle of ep 8 and lots of things happened (these things move fast): Jumong being stripped (only of his title, alas) and driven out of the palace, Jumong finding work with the local ganglord and saving Sosunho in the process. Jumong hiding in underground prison and living with Haemosu who undertakes to train him. Lots.
Jumong’s character arc continues to progress gradually but quickly and believably. He’s metamorphosed from weakling to a young man of grit who is still unsure on his feet at times, but someone I now like and respect. He is still not as awesome as his Daddy Haemosu, but he is at the stage where I can see Haemosu-surpassage in his future. Actually, this drama does something pretty rare for its character arc, IMO. There are two ways these stories of period heroes go: someone overcoming a horrible childhood through guts or someone growing up and transforming from spoiled brat. Damo goes for the former (and so will BYJ’s ‘Legend’ if the promos are accurate) and in a way, this is the more appealing pattern. Overcoming adversity etc etc. But Jumong goes for the latter and it’s a tricky thing to pull off but it manages. In large part thanks to the fact that it views him as a brat when he is a brat, and in large part because of Song Il-Gook.
I have to say that Song Il-Gook is amazing. Sure, he is gorgeous and charismatic, but that is not what I am talking about: ultimately, the actor playing Jumong has to be really good. Not only is the drama all about him, but there is this complicated character arc, and SIG is believable as a spoiled weakling, and through every step of the process of someone finding his spine and his ‘manhood’ (for lack of a better term) and (if the clips I’ve seen are representative) a full-fledged but still very human and understandable hero. He always comes across as real. And such expressive eyes! (e.g. the scene where he is hungry and looking at the food place. I felt a bit hungry myself just looking).
A lot of this drama, so far, has been about parents, hasn’t it? Good parents and bad ones, absent (in body or spirit) or present too much. Which makes sense, as this part of Jumong’s story is all about growing up.
On the positive side of the scale we have Lord Yuntabal and Sosuhno. While Sosuhno’s mother seems to have died a while back, the relationship between father and daughter is good: one of the best, healthiest relationships I’ve seen in a drama. Yuntabal, whose only child is Sosuhno, treats her as the son he never had but without making her be masculine or putting bizarre expectations to her. She is his heir and his child and her gender is not an issue. Her ability, which he nurtures, is. He trusts her, banters with her, is affectionate but not sloppy or indulgent. He deeply loves her (he was willing to kneel a ‘100 times’ to save her) but he is not over-protective.
Basically, it’s a great relationship. But then Sosuhno is a great daughter: clever, strong, quick. She does need to grow up (just as most of the main characters do). She is still learning. Currently she is a bit too impatient, too quick to jump to conclusions, too ready to ignore her lack of experience. But it will all come.
Then there is the other positive parental relationship: Lady Yuhwa and Jumong. Jumong is an initial disappointment to Yuhwa, but she loves him anyway, and is now molding him into a strong man. Their relationship is loving and close, but because it’s of the kind where she isn’t proud of him yet, and because they cling to each other with strength of those who have no one else, it’s not as balanced or good as Yuntabal and Sosuhno’s.
Jumong, unlike Sosuhno, is being expected to live to a weight of unfair expectations. True, he turns out to be Jumong, great hero blah blah, but he has only started on this path and to expect your child to live up to Haemosu’s fame can be seen as a bit unreasonable.
But still, so far, Yuhwa is Jumong’s closest bond. I love the scene where he is being driven out of the palace and he comes to bid her good-bye and he is wet eyed but not crying, but she won’t see him and she thinks it’s because she needs him to be driven to the edge of his rope so he’d ‘grow’ (talk about tough love) but I think it’s because she knows she’ll break down otherwise.
And then there is Kumwa. His relationship with Jumong is…not wonderful. Jumong is in awe of him, but there is no closeness there. Kumwa’s memories of Haemosu, his guilt for failure etc etc keep them from forming a real bond. And, more importantly, he kicks Jumong out of the palace, and it’s true that it’s to toughen him up, to make him ready for the world (heck, he sends an unseen bodyguard to protect him) but Jumong doesn’t know it, and to Jumong, already cast adrift in a strange world where his half brothers are trying to kill him, this must be a complete but not unbelievable blow, made all the worse for that (his despairing ‘father? Father? Father?’ as he is being driven out is rather heartbreaking).
Then there is Won, the mother of Daeso and Yongpo, Kumwa’s real sons. She is close to her children, but she is too close: it’s the anxious, overcompnsatory closeness. She has brought them to be poisoned and petty minded. But in a way, that is Kumwa’s fault too. She does it because she senses the lack of love he feels for them. And they sense it too.
And of course, last but not least, Haemosu. Absent yet very present in spirit, he informs the whole relationship of Kumwa and Yuhwa with Jumong: their guilt, longing, hopes, are all reflected in their treatment of Jumong. And of course, now, unknowingly, Haemosu will give his son the greatest gift ever. After causing his birth, he is going to teach him how to keep the life he’s given him: how to defend himself, how to hold his own and be a great fighter. Haemosu will, in effect, give him his future twice.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Jumong growing up immensely by that point. It’s not just his grit and fighting skill. It’s his spirit. I am thinking of his wholehearted apology to shrine maid into whom he runs again, in his asking her to help him find work (without pride), in his fighting in the night raid, in his freeing Sosuhno (who is so taken by this odd man, even though she doesn’t consciously realize it yet). A word about Sosuhno. I think Sosuhno is not just Jumong’s rescuer in the literal sense. I think she is his emotional rescuer, too: she is the one who gets him to fight first, she is the one who awakens his pride in the beginning. More importantly, she is someone who can show him normal bonds and relationships (not his poisoned family, not even the love of his mother, but something new, out in the world). It is rescuing her that shows his progress: he unties her and gets her to escape, even while being beaten unconscious and at the risk of his life (btw, SIG spends huge chunks of this eps bruised and bloody and wounded and looking’ good), not wanting anything in return, not even in gratitude for her earlier rescue, but just because he is transforming into that kind of man
And it’s the way he interacts with Haemosu which seals the deal. He doesn’t know who the man is (he is hiding in that prison after a complicated series of events), but he is polite, respectful, unintrusive, shares his food etc. Basically, Jumong is, and always has been, a good person, a fair person, and the spoiledness was a thin veneer rubbing off quickly.
Oh yeah, Haemosu. Still owns me so much. When he overhears the prison chief tell Haemosu’s story to other guards, and hears the mention of a child…his face! Or when he hears about Yuhwa. *dies* And when he tells Jumong that it’s his fault the rebel army was caught etc etc. His determined quiet politeness, his gentleness, contained but in no way defeated? OMG. He is a secondary character, he is much too old for me, but I don’t care. I am in love.
I really really hope Jumong finds out that Haemosu is his father, Currently, it’s one of the three scenes I am looking forward to most (the other two are Yuhwa and Haemosu reuniting, and Sosuhno finding out Jumong is, indeed, a prince).
You know another thing I love? This drama allows even the bad guys to be complex. Daeso wants to kill Jumong, his baby brother. But he is also a good fighter, intelligent, would make a pretty decent ruler, and he likes Sosuhno for her feisty spirit (she seems to bring the best out in everyone).
What else? I love the way it’s filmed. I am thinking especially of the swimming camera when Sosuhno conducts her night raid, of the fluid fights, of the colorful pomp, of everything.
Oh, also? That adviser to Yuntabal is gorgeous. And apparently further on one part of canon slash couple.