Empress Ki (2013)

Surely a masterpiece you should watch if you like historical dramas.
It is one of the most complete drama I've watched so far.

The romance is nice, realistic and definitely convinced me.
The politic plots were interesting, got all my attention caught during the fifty one episodes.

The main actress honestly is behind the success of this drama. She is everything insipid. I found her strong. I found her weak. I found her loved and loveable. I found her cruel and nice. Ambitious. I found her very realistic.

Don't be afraid of the 51 episodes, the time you'll spend watching it worth it.

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Roller Coaster Ride

This drama for me is one hell of roller coaster ride. It seems different with every body that said that the last part of the dramas (last 11-12 episodes) is the most boring and dragging. But for me, it is the most intense and twist here and there. I usually said that this Drama has 3 stages : before enter the palace as concubine, concubine stage, and noble consort stage. Well I know that the first 2 stages we all have one enemy and we are all emotionally driven and we have that peak when El Temur and family dies. Some people perhaps cannot get out from that setting and feel that it is dragging, I gotta agree with that. But turns out the last 15 episodes is the one I rewatch, because it is more complicated and depict more reality about politics, hatred, despise, and full of angst in the palace.
It makes you doesn't want to sleep and I spend 3.5 days to finish without skipping it (of course it is because holiday :p)
Plot holes? Yes it do have, but I think the whole story overcome that and the subplot manage to build that whole plot.

Acting and cast, SUPERB!! From the villain that I want to slap them in the face and our main and supporting actors I see no flaw. Especially of course our empress Ki (Ha Ji Won). I think I need to give her heads up since I think no one can portray Empress Ki better with that development, from being a boy until being Empress. How she portray the Seung Nyang from the bottom status to the top status it is just wow! Action stunt, no questions! She is the best! And emotional ride that I can root for her. I know Seung Nyang in the last stage she is not the most favorite since she looks greedy and we don't actually what she wants. But for my self, I can connect to her. She just want to protect her son, but at the same time she still tried her best to bring goods for both Yuan and Goryo. But yeah, even the real world, we cannot get that perfect situation and I think it will be different "best" for everbody.

I'm rewatching some of the scene sometimes. But when I have time, I plan to rewatch the whole episodes.

Side note : I'm not King / Emperor side, definitely I'm Tal tal side. Sexy brain is more appealing that other sexiness :D The King is also smart but sometimes he is no clear headed like what Tal tal did.. If I'm Seung Nyang I will just love those three people.. Lol!

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When I first started watching Empress Ki, I never expected to actually finish it and I am (sort of) to this day surprised that I finished it. Not because it was bad or I thought it would be bad. It was mainly the size of it because to me 50 episodes are a lot of episodes and I just wasn’t sure if I could make it threw that but I liked the cast so I decided to give it a go and it just turned out so great.

The first 5 episodes of the drama had me hooked and suddenly I was just so far into it that I started to see myself actually finish it and here I am. This is therefore the longest drama that I have watched and funny enough the longest drama that I had watched before EK was the drama that introduced me to Ji Chang Wook (which was one of the main reasons for watching EK).

I know a lot of people were annoyed by the not-so-historically accurate plot and the costumes. I did read a bit up on Empress Ki before the drama and tried to do a bit of research here and there while it was airing but it sort of doesn't bother me that it wasn't historically accurate (I feel the same way about Reign as well) because I am mainly watching it for the historical setting not the historical accuracy.

I am very found of period or costume dramas and while I liked it when they are historicity accurate (if I know th history beforehand or when I read up on it) but I am mainly just there for the costumes and the period setting and all of that and to me Empress Ki delivered on that. The set and the costumes were gorgeous and just really well done.

The drama says in it’s description that it is a “historical” romance drama and while there is romance in the drama (like there is in most tv shows or dramas) I felt like a lot of the romantic stuff was sort of put on the back burner for some parts of the drama, which I didn’t mind that much.

A lot of the drama was just about Empress Ki /Seung Nyang revenge and quest for justice/power and the political aspect of things and while I did enjoy it a lot I think a lot of other people where annoyed by it or by Seung Nyang and her politics. I liked how the women of the drama were powerful and involved in the politics and I really enjoyed that aspect of the show.

I really didn’t expect to like the politics since they sometimes bore me in these dramas. Maybe Game of Thrones is making me like that sort of thing more. It has happened that I am watching a drama and as soon as the plot goes away from the main couple I lose interest but that didn’t happen here.

I feel it was most of all a character driven drama and not necessarily a otp driven drama. The main story is not how they got together but how Seung Nyang became Empress Ki. The story does go on for a long time though, so there are bound to be plotlines that were more fun than others.

Now that I look back my favourites were between episode 1-6 and episodes 24-37. Those were the plot-lines that I enjoyed the most and I felt like were best written. For the most part I felt like the story was fast paced and all in all decently written. It went a little thin in the end but overall I found it very entertaining.

Because it is so long and therefore you have plenty of room for a lot of things happening at once and a lot of different side plots and side characters you really could flesh out some of the characters. Some for the better and some for the worst and I think most of the characters went threw some sort of character journey, except for some of the bad guys which were just evil and bad just for the sake of the plot like El Temur and his lot.

Aside from Tanashiri which I always liked even if she wasn't the best character. I felt like I could sympathize with her but not her action. I understood why she felt why she had to do what she did, because she was the empress and she needed to secure her place in the palace because that was her only job in life but I didn’t really like how she handled everything but I found her amusing and I liked the actress who played her and I will be keeping an eye out for her in the future.

I liked how I could understand most of the time why people did what they did within the palace because you had to be hard and ruthless if you wanted to survive in the palace and I especially liked how the women where written and that they were just as powerful as the men.

Wang Yoo however was one of the good guys and he was suppose to be the main lead until the public (and most of the fandom I think) decided that they liked the emperor more and he was sort of swept aside and he didn’t get that much character development at all. He was just always very consistent and noble but just sort of there in my opinion and I just found it sort of plane.

I couldn't even get behind his love-line with Seung Nyang and I just sort of feel bad for Joo Jin Mo but their love-line felt so much like a duty thing and that she was always just his subject that I never got behind it.

In the beginning I also rabidly shipped Seung Nyang og Ta Hwan / The Emperor but that sort of went away later in the drama and while I liked them together for the most part of the drama my rabid shipping never returned. I mostly saw them as friends later on but I don’t doubt their love for each other. I just really liked their

Ta Hwan did go threw a lot of character development, which is why for the longest time he was my favorite character on the show. Untill he became a bit too possessive for my taste and it almost looked like the writers forgot all about his character development and just decided to toss it out of the window because they needed a bad guy.

I think the best character in the end was Tal Tal but he was amazing and he really started to bloom in the later half of the drama. Empress Ki is just a very character driven drama to me.

In the end the story was getting a little bit thin and a little bit wonky but I still enjoyed it for the most part and I sort of expected it to go a little bit like that just because of how long it was. I never felt like it dragged and I wasn’t really that annoyed by it or anything. It just felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with all these episodes and just started to add in some shock-value.

I don’t think it could have been ay longer than 51 episodes and 45 episodes or something would have served it just fine and made made the story just a bit more stronger and not at thin but I still enjoyed myself a lot while watching it. The last 10-15 episodes were not as good as the rest of the show.

The ending though didn’t bother me at all nor did I find it lame or anything. It was sort of what I had come to expect given how the story was going and how the story actually went (historically) so I was’t really mad about it. Empress Ki was such a roller-coaster ride and some parts were better then others and it did go a bit crazy in the end but I still enjoyed the drama a lot. It was entertaining and for the most part fun and easy to watch and I will miss it.

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Divine

Long story short, literally... This has the astounding 51 episode.

Each episode is fun to watch and has all the elements.

You know when watching period drama, it’s crucial to get hooked at 1st episode. And then to be able to maintain the excitement of the story from then untill ending, that’s just how great this drama is.

Ha JiWon, Ji Changwook and Joo Jinmo love triangle is steaming and vibrant.
They deliver it so well, and created the divine worlds of the royals. History drama at epic level.

I’ve watched this back in 2013 and anticipating each episode release with high enthusiasm. In result, they’re amazing and breathtaking.

Ha Jiwon is excellent in capturing all the emotion of a woman in a men’s world. Tormented between love and affection. This is what it was and actually happening. She’s affectionated with one man. At the same time, falls helplessly in love with another man. So interesting...

Ji Changwook’s character is adorable in here. Not captivating or handsomely gorgeous glamorously heroic. However he’ll definitely melts hearts. And sheds us tears of sympathy and heart wrenching ways. His evolution from being vulnerable to become fiercely strong, just amazing.

Joo Jinmoo has that King elements in him which lit up every time his scene is on. And that makes him the perfect ultimate rival. He will torn you mindfully, and left with all the doubting moments of weatheyor not the writer would plot twisted this historic based drama. Diligently, the writer stays in the line of history.

Rewatched value is a must but with a plan. Considering its 51 episode.
Everything from costume to music scores, settings and soundtracks was done well with perfection. So, if you are looking for politics in raw, intrigue, betrayal and hard wrenching love triangle. This is your treats.

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Stunning visuals!!

I have been putting off watching Korean dramas for the longest time as I prefer the flowy costumes of Chinese dramas and can also improve my Mandarin.

But after binging for a couple of months, I could no longer find any good Chinese dramas. Then I came across Empress Ki which was a Chinese story with Korean dialogue.

And I was blown! It was a real dramatic DRAMA with the usual share of plotting, back stabbing, betrayal, lost love and more. I found the story telling quite different from the Chinese palace dramas and the pacing was quicker. The opening scene created so many questions in my head.

It showed the female lead as an Empress-to-be then quickly cut away to when she was a child being dragged along with other women to be given to another country. With each episode that passed, I was kept on my toes wondering what would transpire that would make her the Empress and how she lost her first love.

Good to watch if you are into palace drama and politics.

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Warning: do not watch if you have any heart problems. This is one large roller-coaster ride.



Story (9.0):

This show... It will make you question everything and change your way of thinking throughout.

First you will laugh when the good guys laugh, and sneer or cry when the bad guys laugh, and then you will cry when a good person dies, and cheer when a bad person meets their fate. But then you will cry when a neutral character suddenly dies offscreen, and even worse, start to question the good players motives and think how unfair it is and start crying when a villain meets their untimely fate. You will cry when an evil turncoat can't have his happy ending, and then you will laugh and cry some more and wonder how the protagonist suddenly became this person, realize what happened along the way to make her this way, and wonder how you didn't see it all coming, and why, why, why... And then you will bite into a lime covered in sweet, sweet sugar and wonder: why did I even watch this! And so you will have to go back to Episode 1 from the 18:30 mark just to assure yourself you didn't waste 50 hours of your miserable life and when you watch it you realize exactly what has happened in all those hours between episode 1 and the final episode and you are shocked just by how much this was NOT a waste of your life and it hits you like a slap in the face how amazingly sweeping, agonizing, beautiful, unfair, and awesome this drama story all was. And you don't regret a thing, while laughing and crying.



TL;DR: The story is brutally honest and amazing and mostly believable besides the fact that at one point multiple archers can't hit two people stretched out literally a single jumps distance away, and you may tire of scared and shocked and crying and dying faces, but all the happy stuffed in between was too good to give up.



Acting/Cast (9.5):

I'll admit, I can sometimes get fed up with Ha Ji Won's shocked/unbelieving face that she always seems to make, but she is a great actress and I've seen her in many, many other things and can hardly discredit her at all. The Emperor (Ji Chang-Wook) himself was an amazing cast for a likable cowardly nincompoop turned possessive feral puppy, and Wang Yoo (Joo Jin Moo) was great throughout.

But I'd also like to give special props to the Empress Danashiri (Baek Jin Hee) who perfectly portrays a perfectly justified "villain" who is completely understandable, easy to hate, and makes you pity her even in her downfall; also props to her brother Dang Ki Se (Kim Jung Hyun) and to Tal Tal. Frankly, I don't think there wasn't a good actor in this drama.



Music (8.5):

I'd love to give this music a higher rating because I thoroughly enjoyed the orchestral aspect of things and even some of the songs, but when you are at the very final episode in the very climax, the scene that LITERALLY finished off the drama, HOW DARE YOU make such a music change when I was expecting this one melody! I might exaggerate a little bit since it fit okay I guess, but I was supremely disappointed.



Rewatch Value (8.5):

Immediately after I finished episode 51, I went back and rewatched part of the first episode just to calm my racing heart. I've rewatched some of my favorite scenes since then, and while it's such a grand scope that it might not be easily rewatchable, it's not not rewatchable...



Overall (9.0):

Sweeping, romantic, utterly heartwarming and heartbreaking, actions that you can't stand and can't stand not to watch, if you enjoy historical dramas, then this is one that you can not pass up in good conscience. If you don't enjoy historical dramas or just can't do the 51 episodes, I don't blame you, but I'll say this (at the time of writing): it is the longest drama, almost by multiple of 2, that I've ever stuck with.

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As a Rom Com type of a girl... Try to watch this definitely a challenge... In my short review.. If you wanna see Nyang and Wangyu.. Happy ending watch until episode 20, if you wanna see her happy ending with Taigon emperor watch till episode 34, seriously after that is definitely emotional roller coaster.. This drama is so beautifully made...the actors are amazing.. JCW performance are amazing..he nailed it delivering emotions of such a young, selfish yet pure love while JMJ performance are just breath taking, Manly, protector, unconditional love... And the glare... Omg.. It will pierces your heart.. And HJW... From all her drama... This one is her best...

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Exhausting

I can’t really call this mini series entertainment. It will not leave you Joyful or at Peace. But it is an excellent character study and if one watches in Wisdom, then One can learn a lot from this series. First of all I have to say that the performances by all the characters were exemplary….there are no weak points except I would have rather seen someone like Ahn Nae Sung play Timur. But the standouts to me were Ji Chang Wook as Emperor Toghorn (Ta Hwan ) and Lee Moon Shik as Bang Shin Woo (The Goryean Emperor’s sidekick). Ji was beyond awesome. He conveys his character in such a way that you can always see elements of your own self at work. The insecurities, the rush to make judgements without adequate investigation….anger because we are fearful we will lose an integral part of ourselves. I am not one to cry, even in extreme challenges….but I cried in sadness at the last scene of the movie. So much time we waste in life in negativity.

Lee Moon Shik as Bang, was like a light in the darkness. His ability to express great Joy and sadness, was really touching…and his character will remain in my heart as a guide. A guide to always try to express great caring for all life.

It was exhausting to watch this series…..there are very few “happy times”. No one wins….everyone loses something. But I am better for watching it. I will rethink these scenarios many times…..trying to find my own Victory’s of enlightenment.

I give a secondary heads up to Kim Jin Mo’s characterization of Tal Tal. You watch with such great compassion the choices he has to make and wonder what we would have done in the same situation. His portrayal is often gut-wrenching and visceral. Will we be Honorable, no matter the cost?

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I'm going to be so fair in writing these reviews. To be honest, it's been a while since I watched this drama, and there have been a lot of dramas after it - but I still can't get over how good it was. The acting was superb, the melodies, music (especially Thorn Love - 4MEN) were to die for and Empress Ki (Ha Ji Won) was so empowering!

My favorite actor in this whole drama was Ji Chang Wook, who made a GREAT Emperor of Yuan. I especially loved the storyline and the chemistry between the main characters. Overall, one of my top 3 Korean dramas! Superb job on this drama Korea!

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