Bloody Heart 붉은 단심 [2022]

[wink_]

throwback behind the scenes of Bloody Heart.

 

source:

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

On 6/16/2022 at 7:03 PM, Chocolate said:

YJ has also kept LT in the dark about her plans, and her conversations/agreement with PGW. So, I don't see why she should feel so aggrieved that the poisoning was all part of his plan and he didn't tell her. It was a good plan and so much is at stake. If she knew, she may not have been able to act so well or she may have tried to protect her people and this would have caused suspicions. Thus, I feel LT did the right thing. (Wait, is this the first time I am saying good things about him? Hahahaha.) If YJ cannot understand this, then so be it.

 

True. LT is doing this to survive and she should know it is either you "kill" or "be killed". Perhaps if her maid Ttonggum didn't die, she would not have seen this an "evil" scheme. And I think she's always had this "rose-tinted" sort of perception of who he was, so I suppose she must have been shocked that he is capable of such a cunning plan.  

 

From eps 14 I think if LT wanted to get rid of the QD he could . But of course he is purposely making PGW do the dirty job. The QD is PGW's person. Making him depose her is a "lesson" for PGW so to speak. And LT wanted to remain the "filial son" at least in the history books. 

 

New stills

 

[wink_]

 

10 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

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  . But of course he is purposely making PGW do the dirty job. The QD is PGW's person. Making him depose her is a "lesson" for PGW so to speak. And LT wanted to remain the "filial son" at least in the history books. 

 

New stills

 

 

 Jang Hyuk Ssi was cool in his action scenes and his sad emotions are believable. he got the charisma, great facial expression, deep gaze and his eyes speak volumes. those hanboks suit well on his body.   the focus of final episodes were more focused on the first vice premier Park Gye Won than Lee Tae. 

 @abs-oluteM .. ,  . at the same time, Lee Tae came to his senses and woke up so this brought a big surprise to the audience. 

 

[Tofu]

New Stills.

 

[abs-oluteM]

I just completed eps 15 and Lee Tae was miffed of course that JY formed an alliance with PGW to force his hand into reinstating her actual identity. It's sad that these two love birds continue to make arbitrary decisions in the name of protecting each other. LT , though as I mentioned long before is capable of being a tyrant king. Or perhaps I think he's come so far that he isn't going to let anyone or anything come in his way of securing his power. While he loves JY, it seems he would be willing of getting rid of her if she gets in his way too. At least that's what he said out of anger. Though seeing how he always has these sad puppy eyes around her and has risked so much for her, I don't think he will be able to actually harm her in anyway. 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Finale spoiler & recap. 

Previously, Lee Tae had Kang Soo emptying the palace (remove the officials)  to catch Choi Ga Yeon (Queen Dowager) , but faced a worst situation with Park Gye Won and Yoo Jung.

 

It started when Park Gye-won revealed Yoo-Jung's identity at a meeting of ministers. Moreover, it was a great shock to him when Yoo-jung said that it was planned by her and that she was trying to prevent him from becoming a tyrant.

 

To make matters worse, even the QD , who was on the verge of being  assassinated, came forward and forced  Lee Tae to a corner . Despite Lee Tae's anger telling her to stop, the QD  took out a silver knife and said, "Are the public servants going to harm me, or will they cause a rebellion and dethrone the disobedient King? Which one makes more sense? If I do self-harm, the cause will also increase, right?” she threatened Lee Tae.

 

Eunuch Jeong (played by Ha Do-kwon) pursued the QD to kill her, despite Lee Tae's opposition. In the midst of that, she said, 'Didn't I tell you, if even a drop of blood drips from my neck, will the King be safe? When I die, there will be a poster written in my blood stating what his majesty did. Now does the King want to save me from dying?  Could there be a stronger justification for rebellion than this? He became the child who killed his mother. Be sure to live in the hell I gave you with the blood and winds of rebellion and purge.” 

 

However, when Park Gye-won,  escaped from prison, threw himself to save the QD , and so her plans were thwarted. Park Gye-won said, “Your highness, please live. Even if life is humiliating and difficult, there will be days when I look at the flowers when they bloom, and another day when the snow falls in the middle of winter, and there will be days when I smile when I live like that.”

 

So PGW died from the arrows meant for the QD. Meanwhile Eunuch Jung left the palace because of PGW's death. 

 

Despite the death of his long-time enemy, Park Gye-won, Lee Tae felt a sense of disappointment rather than exhilaration. Lee Tae hugged Yoo Jung and burst into tears, saying, “The person to blame is now gone.

 

Lee Tae said to QD, who was in despair, "I will dethrone you. It will be a long and tedious fight. However, it would be better than having  posters  stating that a child killed his mother circulating  around the eight provinces. So let's go together. The hell you made is that you have to prove that the king is fulfilling his filial piety, so live. In this palace alone, you will enjoy your lonely life. 

 

Meanwhile, while Yoo-jeong gave birth to her first son safely that day, Lee Tae encouraged Yoo-jeong by saying, "You've been through a lot."

 

“You are the only refuge I fully believe in. My lover, My queen ,” he said with his deepest heart. 'Red Single Heart' ended with a picturesque wedding between Lee Tae and Yoo Jung.

 

[abs-oluteM]

Since this is Lee Joon's first historical, I think he did pretty good

 

[Chocolate]

Didn't expect it, but I cried when Park Gye Won died. He had his reasons for the actions he took but he was steadfast and he did it with no regrets. That is admirable. He loves the Queen Dowager, to a certain extent. In his dying moments, he said he should have let her live a simple life and be happy, but at the end, he told her to continue living as QD knowing how she would suffer. So the nation still came first. And in large part, he took the arrows for that too.

 

Source

 

Minister Cho is, I think, a casualty of the power struggle. His journey was not his plan - from LT enticing his daughter to be his consort so that he had no choice to side with LT instead of PGW, to following the orders of the QD when she was Regent - he was a follower. He did not seek power and if not for LT's plan, he would likely have been contented to remain an average minister and not sent into exile.

 

Source

LT's rejection of Minister Cho's offer to be a very loyal subject (thus following orders blindly and not point out errors of his ways) and overcoming objections to make Yoo Jung his Queen, makes it more likely that he will try to be a good King. A person who questions whether he will be a tyrant is at least aware and may be more mindful of the steps he takes.

 

Source

 

[40somethingahjumma]

This is one of those rare dramas where the second half of the drama is superior to the first. (This is not to say that the early episodes are mediocre). It takes a while for it to build its momentum but once the engine is kicks into gear, everything just falls into place. The ending is surprisingly good and apt on some level -- something you can't really say about far too many dramas -- and it doesn't feel at all rushed. It's a well-made, well-written character-driven story from the first to the last. 

 

Having now seen the finale and thought about things, I think leaving the Queen Dowager and Consort Cho alive make a lot of sense in light of what the show is about -- checks and balances, putting restraints against tyranny. Laws, conventions, customs and traditions exist for a reason. Whatever we think about our ancestors and their religious traditions, there's no doubting that there's nothing new under the sun. Our forebears, many wiser and smarter than we are have thought about these things long before we came along. It will be a headache trying to depose the QD legally and dealing with Consort Cho but sometimes having some real opposition/rivalry is good for the mind and the soul. That phrase "it will be the easiest way" is repeated for obvious reason. In the short-term it might be expedient to give these a women a boot. Goodness only knows they deserve it but the lesson here is that taking shortcuts in solving problems can lead to other problems which might end up being a lot worse. It's not even the law of unintended consequences because these people know exactly what the consequences are.

 

All governments need opposition even if it seems like a petty waste of time at times. Even if it means things get delayed.

 

Park Gye-won is a bit of a heroic figure for me in that he's such a calm almost benevolent elder statesman presence all throughout. Mostly it's because he was patriotic and a man of genuine conviction. Country really did come first for him. He remained uncertain about Lee Tae until the end but he was assured that with Yoo Jeong as Queen beside him to provide the necessary restraints, he could gradually relinquish his role in the court. Lee Tae certainly had all the tendencies towards tyranny, some of it probably fostered by Park Gye-won's actions during his father's reign. He wasn't just about protecting him and his woman. The man was out for revenge.

 

No one's perfect in this and no one can perfectly calculate everything which is why the world's a mess right now. Of course there are always those who benefit from chaos. The only problem I had with Lee Tae's scheme against the QD is that so many decent officials died to bring about its fruition. I don't entirely think this is on Lee Tae though because people make their own choices about where they make their stances. 

 

I liked the idea of Yoo Jeong regaining her identity as a way of curbing the king's more extreme tendencies. She saw more objectively that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Even if she loved Lee Tae, she wasn't going to let him abuse his royal authority. The buck stops with him. The life and death of the country is on his shoulders. So he needs to heed good advice even when he doesn't like hearing it.

 

In many ways I think this show did a much convincing job grounding the role of women in the palace than *cough*a certain more popular sageuk that came out last year. *cough*

 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by 40somethingahjumma