farewell to tree with deep roots
This is a long-overdue closing post. I've been delaying writing about my thoughts on the entirety of Tree with Deep Roots because there's so much I want to say about this drama, but I find myself at a loss when I sit and try to write my thoughts.
Tree is about King's Sejong's efforts to introduce and spread hangul, a writing system custom-made for Korean speech, among the populace, and the people involved in the project as well as those who are against it. It's about the struggles of childhood friends Chae-yoon and So-yi to overcome their personal tragedy and ensure such a thing will never happen again. It's about the scholars struggling to preserve ideals threatened by their own ruler.
And then there's Jeon Ki-joon, who I just hate sfm.
Imma go ahead and say this drama was pure AWESOME. I loved it. I liked Chuno well enough (and I have a renewed appreciation for it upon rewatching) and enjoyed The Princess's Man (despite that sad bunch of idiots prancing about calling themselves heroes), but Tree gave me everything I wanted: brilliant characters, uncontrived plotting, and some serious food for thought.
Tree is the first drama that showed me that a strong king can be a good person, that devoting yourself to a cause doesn't mean abandoning the people you love, that a final episode with so many deaths (including those of much-loved characters) can still be filled with hope. Tree has people who dreamed high and yet remained grounded by the dangers of those same dreams. It's inspiring and heartbreaking, and most importantly, it gives me reason to care about the big picture. This drama isn't just about Sejong getting what he wants, or So-yi and Chae-yoon getting together in heaven dammit. The conflicts go deep, and just about everybody has the chance to be in the right or in the wrong. This is a pretty gray world. I love that the Milbon as a whole, while elitist and stubborn when it comes to all things not Confucian, still remain civil and honorable. Between the Milbon and Sejong et al., the conflict is purely ideological. It's when Big Boss Jeong Ki-joon starts committing atrocities in the name of Confucius that the Milbon society breaks, and I develop some affection for the old timers who firmly protest against their Boss's actions despite agreeing with his goals. There's so much going on, so many people involved, and so many ideas shown. I salute the writer for stringing these together and managing to not be obscure. I am not Korean, let alone a royal, but the struggles and hopes of the characters in this show resonated with me.
I admit that Tree has its own share of flaws, which I noticed at the time and can only vaguely remember. Mostly logistics and stuff - I don't really care anymore. Perhaps I've watched (and will watch) better sageuks, but Tree with Deep Roots will always remain close to my heart simply because this is the first I truly, without any complaint whatsoever, loved.
Tree is about King's Sejong's efforts to introduce and spread hangul, a writing system custom-made for Korean speech, among the populace, and the people involved in the project as well as those who are against it. It's about the struggles of childhood friends Chae-yoon and So-yi to overcome their personal tragedy and ensure such a thing will never happen again. It's about the scholars struggling to preserve ideals threatened by their own ruler.
And then there's Jeon Ki-joon, who I just hate sfm.
Imma go ahead and say this drama was pure AWESOME. I loved it. I liked Chuno well enough (and I have a renewed appreciation for it upon rewatching) and enjoyed The Princess's Man (despite that sad bunch of idiots prancing about calling themselves heroes), but Tree gave me everything I wanted: brilliant characters, uncontrived plotting, and some serious food for thought.
Tree is the first drama that showed me that a strong king can be a good person, that devoting yourself to a cause doesn't mean abandoning the people you love, that a final episode with so many deaths (including those of much-loved characters) can still be filled with hope. Tree has people who dreamed high and yet remained grounded by the dangers of those same dreams. It's inspiring and heartbreaking, and most importantly, it gives me reason to care about the big picture. This drama isn't just about Sejong getting what he wants, or So-yi and Chae-yoon getting together in heaven dammit. The conflicts go deep, and just about everybody has the chance to be in the right or in the wrong. This is a pretty gray world. I love that the Milbon as a whole, while elitist and stubborn when it comes to all things not Confucian, still remain civil and honorable. Between the Milbon and Sejong et al., the conflict is purely ideological. It's when Big Boss Jeong Ki-joon starts committing atrocities in the name of Confucius that the Milbon society breaks, and I develop some affection for the old timers who firmly protest against their Boss's actions despite agreeing with his goals. There's so much going on, so many people involved, and so many ideas shown. I salute the writer for stringing these together and managing to not be obscure. I am not Korean, let alone a royal, but the struggles and hopes of the characters in this show resonated with me.
I admit that Tree has its own share of flaws, which I noticed at the time and can only vaguely remember. Mostly logistics and stuff - I don't really care anymore. Perhaps I've watched (and will watch) better sageuks, but Tree with Deep Roots will always remain close to my heart simply because this is the first I truly, without any complaint whatsoever, loved.