Thank you for completing this drama. Agree that it's better late than never. I had been following your recaps of this drama so I am happy to see this.
I am even more surprised that you placed this above Faith. I have not watched Faith save for a couple of episodes but I understand your love for the show and LMH.
About Bridal Mask, although it is true that Kangto have little chance of survival, it is more because of the time he and his people lived in and of course the fact that he is in the rebellion leadership. I do not think he will go for suicidal missions just because he has nothing to live for. I think when Boon Yi asked him to be strong and live, she wouldn't have meant living just for duty and nation. If you truly love someone beyond his being a hero or saviour of the nation, you would want him to live well, as a human being, capable of loving and being loved. If Kangto survive the fights and war, I am not sure how he will live but I think he will try to live well as what Boon Yi wished.
Oh, I don't think he will deliberately try to place himself in harm's way, but I do think that extra bit of motivation that comes from having someone to return to is gone, and in the situation he is in, any loss of edge is fatal. I am sure Boon Yi wanted him to be happy, but all he promised her was to live and be strong, which is just as well, as one can force oneself to continue be strong etc, but forcing happiness is pretty impossible, especially in the situation he is in.
I loved Faith (and LMH) to bits, but Gaksital is the superior drama in terms of production values and scope of story. In terms of my love for them, they are probably equal.
I can't let go of the thought that Kang To actually had to pick out a burial place, collect himself enough to actually start digging , drop Mok Dan in the cold hole and then shovel the dirt over her. All with his own hands =(
Yes, when I thought that I had watched that scene countless times, I just realised I missed out one thing. I only caught it when I saw dangermousie's screen caps. Kangto's hands are all cuts and bloodied, his fingernails too. These cannot be due to his fist fights with Shunji because they looked fine when he was proposing to Boon Yi. Perhaps, he clawed at the dirt to bury himself or to "unbury" her when he had moments of totally losing it? Perhaps he pounded his fists on the mount, admonishing himself for not killing shunji? Hating himself for not protecting her? I think his heart was totally chewed up and so are our insides.
This is so horrifying, especially since I can see it all happening. Oh my God. The mere fact that he just doesn't go insane and spend the remainder of his life banging his head on a wall over and over shows how strong he is. Everything except liberation has been taken from him...
TBH, Shunji's fate bothered me. For one thing, it's hard for me to believe he'd do it. He did have moments of sanity, yes. But the last few episodes showed he was so far gone into his monster personality that it doesn't gel together well. But I can (somewhat) accept it. They played the "I killed the woman I loved and there's nothing left for me card" (btw, I think Mok Dan's death was written mostly to get Shunji to this point and not to torture Kang To even more, which is why I had so much trouble accepting her fate, especially since it contradicts the message we were told in previous episodes). To my mind he didn't deserve to go that way anymore
( ... )
I think Mok Dan was killed in part to bring Shunji where he was, for dramatic heft/shock, and for Kang To's story. They clearly wanted this to be a tragedy but wanted KT alive as the symbol of the revolution so poor Mok Dan had to bite it
( ... )
I agree that Shunji's sudden ascent into sanity was shaky, but I actually find Shunji's whole character arc the weak link in the story. I thought PKW hit it out of the park as the sweet teacher and as (an occasionally conflicted) monster, but I never could buy his descent into evil and insanity entirely. I mean, I didn't think he was hiding goodness or anything, I mean character-wise it didn't make sense for him to suddenly turn into a torturer and war criminal. Yes, exactly! I'm the same. I found Shunji's character fascinating and PKW's portrayal excellent but I've always had trouble buying his downward spiral and the way he went from "I love Joseon people" & "Kang To is my best friend" to "I hate you all" in a flash. The potential to get there was there but it just wasn't handled properly. Once the character was there, I just rolled with it because it was fascinating to watch but the whole process of getting there was pretty shaky
( ... )
Thank you for recapping Gaksital and your awesome daebak screen caps. I have used a number of your screen caps in my posts on Soompi especially the one on Joo Won's facial anatomy. Really appreciate your HD screencaps. Pity you won't be going near his new drama, maybe just fish out your binoculars occasionally to view the "imminent" wreck.
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This drama totally wrecked my sanity. I am glad I waited because I seriously would have lost my voice from screaming if I watched it back way when.
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I am even more surprised that you placed this above Faith. I have not watched Faith save for a couple of episodes but I understand your love for the show and LMH.
About Bridal Mask, although it is true that Kangto have little chance of survival, it is more because of the time he and his people lived in and of course the fact that he is in the rebellion leadership. I do not think he will go for suicidal missions just because he has nothing to live for. I think when Boon Yi asked him to be strong and live, she wouldn't have meant living just for duty and nation. If you truly love someone beyond his being a hero or saviour of the nation, you would want him to live well, as a human being, capable of loving and being loved. If Kangto survive the fights and war, I am not sure how he will live but I think he will try to live well as what Boon Yi wished.
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I loved Faith (and LMH) to bits, but Gaksital is the superior drama in terms of production values and scope of story. In terms of my love for them, they are probably equal.
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Yes, exactly! I'm the same. I found Shunji's character fascinating and PKW's portrayal excellent but I've always had trouble buying his downward spiral and the way he went from "I love Joseon people" & "Kang To is my best friend" to "I hate you all" in a flash. The potential to get there was there but it just wasn't handled properly. Once the character was there, I just rolled with it because it was fascinating to watch but the whole process of getting there was pretty shaky ( ... )
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Yeah, sadly, Choi Kang Hee as a leading lady is a dealbreaker for me.
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