Oh hey I'm still alive.

[shirozora]

And here to spread some joy and cheer in the form of a (Korean) historical mystery drama.

--->Tree With Deep Roots, or Deep Rooted Tree if it's easier to hashtag.<---

Synopsis from MySoju.com: Based on Lee Jeong-myeong’s novel “Deep-rooted Tree”. Work that highlights the serial killings during the 7 days before the announcement of the Korean script. A series of murder occurred during the reign of King Sejong. As Kang Chae Yoon who is investigating these cases gets closer to the root of the truth, he finds himself embroiled in a massive conspiracy behind the serial killings which involves a group of genius who are willing to risked their lives towards their cause/goals and secret powers who will interfere with the course of his investigations.

• First of all, this is one of the most refreshing dramas I've seen in fucking years. It doesn't fall into the usual obnoxious tropes that make me quit watching dramas (or hate their existence in the first place). I actually care about the characters and their actions. It helps that this drama revolves around the development of the Korean script, which was a big fucking deal at the time - because, you know, until then we used the Chinese script and not only was that really difficult to learn/memorize (and therefore keep the majority of the population uneducated/illiterate) but it also made us subservient to the Chinese dynasties of the time.
  
• Whenever historical dramas introduce the characters we'll be following throughout the series they introduce the characters as children or very young adults. For some reason Korean dramas think that obnoxious obstinate brash foolhardy little fuckers make the most endearing young protagonists. And whatever douchebaggery they commit are framed as the right thing to do, which can get really fucking annoying. This one? Chae Yoon's actions as a child come back to bite him in the ass hard... and turn him into the vengeance-seeking palace guard/detective he is throughout the rest of the film. Young Chae Yoon's obnoxious but it's tempered by his disabled father and the circumstances leading up to his vengeance-seeking ways. Young Yido, who is the second king of Joseon (second "kingdom" after Goryo, and boy do I have things to say about the founding Goryo, too), is the puppet of his father, the former king and founder who's made it a habit of slaughtering everyone who poses at threat to his throne and legacy. This includes the Prime Minister, who's also Yido's father-in-law, and Chae Yoon's master. And when it comes to us Koreans we don't fuck around - if the lord of the house fucks up, everyone pays the price, including his slaves. And poor Yido, who'd been told all his life to do nothing and let his father take charge, finally fought back against his father's iron hand by saving Chae Yoon's life. Unfortunately he's the official king, and when a soldier tells Chae Yoon that the king is responsible for the death of his father Chae Yoon decides he's going to kill Yido. And Yido, after watching his father's rule, decides to not rule by fear and the sword, but by words and the law. This is why Yido, King Sejong, is Korea's favorite king.
  
• This is a mystery set around the development of a brand new alphabet. Martial arts, politics, philosophy, academics, they all mesh so seamlessly. What's not to love?
  
• Yido and Moohyul are so fucking married. Not in the obvious bromance sense, because Korean historical dramas like to be subtle and then go straight for the gut (and in contemporary dramas guys are always squabbling over the girl so fuck that shit), but oh my fucking god they are so married. It all started when Yido, in talking back to his father, said, "Remember what you said when you gave me Moohyul (my swordsman)?" Hellooooo, slash goggles! And apparently Yido's closest to Moohyul and entrusts him with most of his secrets, while Moohyul pulled his sword against the former king and all the men he commanded to protect Yido. Oh, and during the confrontation he had a pretty intense speech about following Yido's commands until death stops them both. In Korea that's to be admired and revered and shit. To me and my more 21st century Western sensibilities? They're married. They are so fucking married. Yido's the eccentric partner (and king) who likes to dress up in peasant clothes and help his servants fertilize the plants in the royal gardens, have people learn how to bark like a dog and sound exactly like musical instruments, and cusses heavily (the cussing bit is a big deal, and fucking hilarious). Moohyul's the straightlaced partner who's always watching Yido's back and keeping him in line. He's also the one who discovers that Chae Yoon and the Ddol Bok kid that Yido ordered him to save so many years ago are the one and the same, and that Chae Yoon waited all these years and slowly worked his way into the palace just to kill the king. And while we're on that subject...
  
• They don't fuck around with the drama. Everything's gorgeous and fast-paced and sensible. Moohyul suspected Chae Yoon of being the Ddol Bok kid when he noticed a scar on the guy's arm (dude is built, by the way) because apparently sword cuts have very distinct signatures. Then Moohyul saw Chae Yoon yell at a court lady in the exact same manner Ddol Bok did to the soldier who told him the king killed his father. And there were other things, too, but basically once Moohyul realized Chae Yoon's the kid who swore to kill the king he didn't try to hide it from Yido and quietly take care of things. He didn't even have his doubts about his realizations. He straight up went and told the king, "Chae Yoon's Ddol Bok, the child you had me save all those years ago." No unnecessarily extended drama! Even Mom, who watches way more drama than I do, found it refreshing. I'm just sad that this is such a deviance from the norm. It's good storytelling.
  
• I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT OH MY GOD.

So there you go. Watch the goddamn drama. It's got subtitles, and occasionally lolarious comments from the subbers. Also the background music tends to remind me of some crazy marriage of Inception OST and Daft Punk's TRON: Legacy OST. Really, what's not to love?

But seriously. They are so married.