Oh my God

[dangermousie]

So, I finally got time to watch Tree with Roots without interruptions (the only way I am going to watch it, because it deserves it), have finished the first two episodes, and all I can say is...oh my God, Song Joong Ki.

No, that's not true - there many other things I can say about it - how it is both fiercely smart and fiercely emotional, how the entire cast is blowing me away, how a drama about the creation of the alphabet might just be the most engrossing thing I've seen all year, how I love the cinematography and design.



But all of it pales in comparison with my feeling about Song Joong Ki's portrayal of young Sejong. You know, I never got the fuss about him - sure, he's good-looking (though not in my style, I like them less delicate-looking) and a competent actor, but so are most kdrama actors. I never got all the rabid fans. But after two episodes of TwDR I just want to join the rabidest of the rabid. Because, my God.

Whenever he is on screen, especially during his battles of will with his terrifying, ruthless father, I forget to breathe. The scene where his father came to show him the meaninglessness/true meaning of puzzles left me literally gasping and shaking.



And the scene in the woods where he saves young DolBok's Ddokbok's life by putting his own on the line, one-upping his father for the first time - I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I was certainly whimpering and crying. (That scene actually might be my favorite drama scene of the year - the way they confront each other about the meaning of power, the way Sejong stands his ground so this random slave boy won't be executed because this is the last straw and DolBok is not just a boy but a symbol of his powerlessness, the way he throws down his sword and tells his father he can only kill the kid if he kills him first because he, Sejong, is also a traitor for harboring a slave of a traitor, the way his father doesn't hesitate to put a sword to his son's neck and the look on Sejong's face - not surprised in the least but still something in him breaks, the way Sejong orders his bodyguard to kill the King's murderer (i.e. Sejong's father) the moment Sejong is dead, the aftermath with Sejong coming down from his defiance, his watching Dolbok blaming the king for all the deaths, his bitter comment that he wants Dolbok to live because it might be the last person he's able to save, etc).






Also, we get very little of them but is it odd that I ship them so ridiculously? I just find that the dynamic has so much potential - I want to bury myself in fic about them but...






In conclusion - this scene. Shivers. Shivers. Shivers.

Comments

[joonni.livejournal.com]

LOL. Welcome to the club.

I haven't watched this beyond episode 1 because I wanted to be able to give it my full attention. Planning on a marathon within the next few weeks. But seriously, in that first episode, I was just consumed by Song Joong Ki. I liked him just fine before this and thought he would steadily grow into a strong actor. But this drama sort of catapulted my expectations for him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, he is amazing - I am blown away.

[(Anonymous)]

"just want to join the rabidest of the rabid. Because, my God."
Welcome to the club. the more the merrier....next on our agenda is to make Korea give this guy a lead role...they better or I'm going down there to have some words

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know! It's driving me nuts he has never been a lead.

[(Anonymous)]

ummm.... its DolBok, no?..I think you may have misspelled it...lol I kept reading Ddokbok and imagining Ddukbokki in my head and now I'm hungry

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL, you are right. I guess I was too preoccupied with Sejong to pay attention?

And now I am hungry too :)

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

*points to icon* WELCOME TO THE YOUNG YI DO FANCLUB! *breaks out the pom poms*

SJK said he got so much grief for taking on this role (Chae Tae-Hyun, for instance, told him he was nuts). It was for only 4 eps. (though you'll see that there's a bit more, partly because he became so d@mn popular as the young Sejong), this was his first tv project since SKKS, he was getting lead offers elsewhere, he's already 26 (ie. clock's ticking for his military service), they thought it was a big step back for him. He sure proved everyone wrong.

And I'm certainly not the only lamenting that he can't/won't play the king in the Sun/Moon sageuk. No doubt the powers that be had him in mind too (everyone else did--he has both the looks and the acting chops for the role), but he's about to start his next film project, and even if his schedule allowed it, seems high unlikely he'd want to do three sageuks in a row.

Either way, all eyes are on him for his next drama role. As good as he was in SKKS, 'Do not impersonate the King. The former king is not the king. I'm the King of Joseon!' has become one of those legendary moments you saw magic happen. We saw what a formidable actor SJK is as his alter ego rose to the challenge.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love your icon!

I have high high high hopes for SJK. The thing that impresses me the most is that I've seen him in three things so far - Will It Snow on Christmas (in a small role), SKKS and now this, and not only is he improving tremendously with each project, the roles have nothing in common - he has huge versatility.

It's true, I didn't think about it, but this role is way 'beneath' him - this is the kind of thing you do when you are unknown or maybe 17 yrs old and looking for breaks. But the way he took it and stole the drama from everyone else is unbelievable.

Now, more than ever, I am tearing my hair about Sun/Moon. But even if he doesn't do that, I hope he won't give up sageuks and get a lead in one in the future - I think doing an amazing job in a sageuk is a real proof of chops - they are, imo, the best acting showcases in dramaworld, most of the time.

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

Forgot to say this last night, but I can't stop staring at your screencaps. Nothing I haven't seen before (over and over again), but he's just.so.riveting, just draws you in. There's a fantastic fan MV btw, capturing SJK in eps. 1-2 and appropriately titled My Way.

the roles have nothing in common - he has huge versatility.

He's incredibly versatile in TwDR too. It might have been a limited engagement, but what they gave him is an actor's wet dream, and lucky for us, he had the chops to fulfill it. Not going to spoil the rest of his appearance too much, but I could see him play a much darker, edgier role, though he's more likely to find such roles in films than in k-dramas. But some of his scenes in TwDR had his fans dreaming of seeing him as a psychopath, and that should be a clue about the extremes he's been asked to play in TwDR.

I hope he won't give up sageuks and get a lead in one in the future - I think doing an amazing job in a sageuk is a real proof of chops - they are, imo, the best acting showcases in dramaworld, most of the time.

Absolutely, and it's not as if he's shutting the door on sageuks. He wasn't keen on one as a follow-up to SKKS, but the scripts and the role for TwDR were so good, he couldn't imagine not doing it. He's just trying to avoid being typecast as the go-to-guy for sageuks. Not many twenty-somethings can be relied upon to do a good job, so he's often the first name that comes to mind. But he says he's trying to find out what his limits are as an actor and what he can do in his 20s that he couldn't later on in his 30s and thereafter. He's been acting for only 3 years, and with his military service just around the corner, it'd be easy for him to be tempted into rushing things, whether it's establishing himself as a lead actor or squeezing in as many projects as possible to make his mark before he leaves. But for all his ambitions (and he has a very strong competitive streak--tell him he can't do something and he'll find a way to do it), he seems to know the virtue of biding his time. He loves film noirs, he loved Kim Myung-Min in White Tower (says he watched it 10 times), but he knows he has neither the maturity nor the experience for something like that yet, and reading up on him, you get the impression of an intelligent actor building his career block by block.

Reason #192 I can't wait for his next film project, due to start very soon. It's the story of a boy/young man raised by wolves, set in the 1960-70s, falling in love with a girl played by Park Bo-Young, and challenge 1) he has virtually no lines, and challenge 2) he has to build his body. Not necessarily six-pack abs, but wiry enough you could believe he could fend himself in the wilderness. And I love the idea of SJK getting in touch with his inner beast. For all his delicate looks, there's not an effete bone in his personality, and I like that he's getting a chance to project that masculinity physically.

Apologies for the lengthy reply, but he's my find of the year (went a long way towards making up for my disappointment with another series, non-Korean) and I'm thrilled you can share the excitement now.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love the lengthy replies, no worries.

Wow, his next movie sounds fascinating - a sort of real-life Mowgli.

All that info about him is fascinating, thank you!

I love how he can appear fragile one moment and terrifying the next. It's quite a feat to pull off.

[sanaenam.livejournal.com]

OMG, you're a walking Song Joong Ki encyclopedia, but an especially thoughtful one! You could be his PR agent in the English-speaking world. His next project sounds very intriguing, and I look forward how he'll embody his role.

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

Well, if he needs my services, I won't say no. :) But he's done a gazillion interviews for his latest film with Han Ye-Seul (partly why he's shouldered most of the PR) and in each interview, he was asked about TwDR, so it was easy to read up on him. Conflicting reports about his next role--unclear whether it's 'raised by wolves' or he's a werewolf, and the tentative title ('Wolf Boy') doesn't help. But it has echoes of Edwards Scissorhands (film apparently begins with an old woman narrating a story), so I'm quite intrigued.

ETA.

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

That scene actually might be my favorite drama scene of the year - the way they confront each other about the meaning of power

Just to offer some additional incentive with your viewing-- there's an amazingly powerful parallel scene in ep. 14. And it's just as long, lasting well over 10 min. I love that they trust the viewers to hang in there with such elaborately executed scenes, though they're so riveting, you don't even notice the length.

Re: ETA.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, can't wait. And I love the dramas that do dialogues well.

[timescout.livejournal.com]

Heh, you just about mirrored my reaction to these episodes. I swear I almost forgot to breathe at some point. I've always liked the boy but this was something else, he really has improved in leaps and bounds. I'm looking forward to what his next drama might be.

The cast overall is very good in TwDR and the older Sejong is quite grand in his own way.

I've been hoarding episodes so I've got 15-18 to watch sometime this week. :) Now I'm just praying all the Drama Gods for the quality to stay this good till the end.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am hoarding the whole thing so far for the day I have off for an epic marathon.

[sanaenam.livejournal.com]

It's a total crack drama, with amazing cliff hangers. I can probably count two episodes with less intense cliff hangers, but the reprieve was much needed at both times.

I envy you. The quality hasn't let up, even though it's been live shooting for a while now. If anything, it keeps outdoing itself. I'm sort of sad that the drama won't see 50% ratings, as there had been for Sandglass and some others. The drama is absolutely worth all the buzz and respect it's getting.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

This year has been so good sageuk-wise. First The Princess' Man and now this. Plus Gyebaek which was solid.

[sanaenam.livejournal.com]

So you'd recommend Gyebaek? I haven't heard much about it, but I very much dig Lee Seo Jin.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes. I mean, I am only a few eps so it can start sucking or something but it's solid, traditional sageuk fare.

[sanaenam.livejournal.com]

Will you post once you're done? it'll be so helpful if you can. I just can't commit to a 30+ episode-long thing without knowing there'll be pay off.

Also, Episode 20 of TWDR, still going super strong.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am saving TWDR for my day off :)

And will do, though with my backlog, I'll probably finish Gyebaek by 2013.

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Actually as far as I know a big chunk of song joong ki's fans are related to his long stint on a korean variety show...was it running man? it was a variety show and he was apparently very charming and funny. plus he does have a very delicate pretty look that alot of kdrama actors dont have. so maybe that helps too. young girls love girly looking boys! lol. (I kind of like them too tho XD)
Personally I'm a song joong ki fan ever since sungkyunkwan scandal. so i cant wait for that rom com movie he's in coming online. he'd be the cutest romantic lead ever <3

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't go for girly, so lookwise he's still not my thing. But after Tree, I don't even care.

[estel-913.livejournal.com]

Song Joong-ki is definitely spaz-worthy. Unfortunately, he's only in four episodes, but there's no way he could have played older Sejong. Honestly, I stopped watching Tree after he left. I still read the recaps on Dramabeans, but sageuks have never really been my cup of tea to begin with. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing SJK in another one - but who am I kidding I'd watch him in anything.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

See, I love sageuks (hands down my fave genre) so to have such an electric performance in one is such a bonus.

Tree With Deep Roots ep. 19

[pingback-bot.livejournal.com]

User clairiere referenced to your post from Tree With Deep Roots ep. 19 (http://clairiere.livejournal.com/32569.html) saying: [...] know the writers' faith in the viewers is being repaid with high ratings. * From 's induction post [...]

[kainee.livejournal.com]

This is one of the sageuks I've been impatiently waiting to finish airing enough so I can mainline it and then go "aaaaaagh!" as my body collapses because I just tried to marathon a saguek within 48 hours. Ah, that's my idea of a weekend.

Yes, instead of hangovers from drunkenness, I believe in overdoses from too much story.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yessss, I am not the only person who does this. I remember being horribly sick at home with major fever and mainlining Legend in two days. I thought I was going to pass out but it was worth it.