Faith episodes 1 and 2 - megapost

[dangermousie]

I am so obsessed, I have no words. I haven't yet watched the latest Gaksital, or the newly-started Arang, because I have been too busy fixating on this new awesome shiny. It's pretty much a pitch-perfect mix of heroic fantasy, humor, and cool characters.



I love Eun Soo, who is coping a lot better with this insanity that I would have - an armored man breaks into a medical conference, takes her hostage, makes her fix a man he just slashed to see her skills, and drags her into some insane place to stitch up a woman. She also gets kidnapped and held at knifepoint by thugs etc (who she does her best to fight). The fact that she is not constantly screaming is a testament to her guts. I also love how competent she is by the virtue of being a surgeon - all these warriors and political bigwigs, but none of them can do what she does, and she doesn't flinch at the sight of blood. And I loved it when Choi Young was trying to be a noble idiot and tell her to leave him to die, and she just yelled at him to shut up and that she will fix him and then he can live or die as he pleases. I also find it so realistic she refuses to believe she has time-traveled.

I think Kim Hee Sun and Lee Min Ho have oodles of chemistry and I love all the scenes between them. I love how he sneaks looks at her when she is operating, quietly impressed. I love how he crouches at her eye level when they talk, the way he picks her up and carries her around (and oh, that little amused grin). Even now, this early in their interactions, she sets him on edge, evokes a reaction nobody else can evoke in the deliberately phlegmatic general, who seems to spend his life controlling his feelings within an inch of their life - you can tell that he feels deeply but he doesn't allow it to show in any way. Just as he studiously disdains any attachments except for duty and honor - he lives and dies by his code of honor, even when that code makes him serve an unworthy (yet?) puppet king who abuses his loyalty (the scene where he tells the King that he has killed for the King, and the politicians lie for him, but the King has to be above all - chills. Chills. He wants to believe he serves someone worthy, so badly. I now wish there was a cross-over, where Choi Young rode under Dam Deok's banner).

Eun Soo seems to be a new and only chink in the armor. When the King ordered Choi Young to prevent Eun Soo from leaving (after CY gave her his word that she would be free after she treated the queen! And after he explained to the King that his word is his life. Psycho King, wtf, even his wife, the Yuan princess, understands that such an order means CY's death, either in defying the order or in dying to atone for the dishonor of the broken promise, but the King just doesn't think), it actually takes him a moment, even this early, to obey the royal order, to put away the sword he was threatening the guards with to protect her right to leave. He is this close to snapping and part of it is his word, but part of it is just her. And I love the self-loathing and shame in his eyes when he keeps her from leaving, when the portal closes and she is stuck there, with them. And then, when she runs at him with a sword, he lets her stab him through the abdomen, and actually pulls the sword in (!!!!) and when she whispers 'why?', he asks her if this will be enough to atone. OMFG. Though narratively, it's perfect - not only does it cement Choi Young as a man who wants to keep his word at the cost of his life, and the man who lives and dies by his honor, it's the only way to allow Eun Soo to move past hatred. Because let's face it - if a man dragged me away to some grungy past and then prevented me from leaving, breaking his promise (even if under duress), I'd hate him forever, even if he looked like Lee Min Ho. But with this, it's hard to hold on a grudge. The slate is wiped clean.

I do like that he is not just a 21-st century man in 15th century clothes - his swift, instinctive violence (remember his torturing the boat keeper for information? or when he slashed a guard to show where the queen's wound was?) is certainly in keeping with the times. I love that he can take out a battalion on alone, is focused and fierce and loyal and too literal. Or that he has a dry sense of humor, a detachment he wears like armor, and an almost suicidal devotion to honor and the right thing. I love that he has a rock-solid moral center.

I also like what we've seen of the dynamic of the king and queen (Team Queen), the characters are all complex. So far, the only one I truly hate is the King's chief minister, who seems to take great pleasure in giving an order that he knows would break Choi Young's honor, who does his best to kill CY when the latter is wounded so they won't have to tarry and wait and try to heal him. Die, scum! Oddly, I like the baddies so far - the flute-playing guy and the head honcho are both hot and I am shallow.

Some caps:

Choi Young seeing Eun Soo lecturing.








Watching her on a monitor.





Kidnapping her to come with him (after verifying she can do surgery by making her fix a similar injury).












































Promising her that once she fixes the queen, he will bring her back even if it means his life.











Here for the pretty.











Telling the King that his (CY) word is his life and he promised ES they will let her go, so they must let her go. And also quietly burning about what a king should be. I hope this King becomes worthy of the devotion of his life.








Hot bad guys...














He rescues her from the kidnappers and tells her the queen woke up so he is going to take her back to the portal. And picks her up. OMG.
























































At the portal, the Chief Minister shows up and tells him she can't go, she has to stay.

















Even after being told that this is a royal order, he doesn't lower his sword right away. But ultimately he is put between duty and honor, an untenable choice, and with eyes full of self-hatred (he really does look broken), he goes and drags her away from the portal. And then the portal closes, gone forever. And she is left scrabbling, and the look in his eyes!






























































And she really loses it, and comes at him screaming, with a sword. Which he could easily avoid (and she knows and everyone knows), but instead he steps into its path. And she runs him through and they stare at each other and then he pulls the sword in deeper. As atonement to her for breaking his word to her. OMFG!!!! A man who is willing to die because he broke his word to you is...a keeper? Ummm? (Also, what is it with LMH dramas and propensity for wounds inflicted by the OTP?)















































The King and the Queen. I love that the King appears shocked that Choi Young is now dying as the outcome of his breaking his word. Psycho King seems to have done it as some sort of insecurity-driven test and is shocked that CY meant it when he said his word was his life. Queen spells it for him in small words.








Meanwhile, chief minister tries to kill the barely-alive CY to speed their travel (!!! WTF!). Luckily, Eun Soo tells him to fuck off and transports him for surgery. She also yells at CY to shut up when he tries to be a martyr. Go, girl! (I love CY's deadpan humor, which seems to be present no matter what - when she is asking him if he's awake/conscious, he mumbles that with her talking at him, how can he be otherwise).



























































Here for the pretty. Did I mention he fights with a fan. A fan!






This is pretty much every fantasy novel, wuxia, and romance novel I ever wanted, wrapped in one.

You get a prize for slogging through this!

Comments

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

The fact that she is not constantly screaming is a testament to her guts. I also love how competent she is by the virtue of being a surgeon - all these warriors and political bigwigs, but none of them can do what she does, and she doesn't flinch at the sight of blood. And I loved it when Choi Young was trying to be a noble idiot and tell her to leave him to die, and she just yelled at him to shut up and that she will fix him and then he can live or die as he pleases. I also find it so realistic she refuses to believe she has time-traveled.

Yes! ES has guts. I'm so glad she's not the stereotypical 'sweet and clumsy woman' that seems to be the thing. I'm so happy that she is mature, has guts, and is realistic. I love that she didn't get over the time-travel quickly.

I agree that KHS and LMH have a lot of great chemistry between them. Their scenes are some of my favorites. I love the way he sneaks little peeks at her and smiles to himself as he watches her work.


I love how he crouches at her eye level when they talk, the way he picks her up and carries her around (and oh, that little amused grin).

Yes! Height differences are one of my favorites.


who seems to spend his life controlling his feelings within an inch of their life - you can tell that he feels deeply but he doesn't allow it to show in any way.

I wonder if he has to control his emotions because of the energy? When they were looking for ES, it seemed like he wanted to release some energy, but held back. If he has to control his emotions in order to control his power. . .that could lead to some cool stuff.


As for the rest: I haven't decided how I feel about the bad guys. The King is weak, and I'm really hoping this show will also be about his growth. The Queen is amazing and I dig her. I want to punch the minister in the face. The other guards are cool enough, and I look forward to seeing more of them - love their loyalty to CY.

[sarashina-nikki.livejournal.com]

lovelovelovelovelove!

I've seen a lot of criticism around the net for the female lead, but I love her so far. And I agree they have great chemistry!

And I think the age difference doesn't really show. He's so world-weary and LMH is acting with this great sense of gravitas so that he seems much older, and KHS is bringing this humor and vulnerability to her character so that she seems much younger. I think this is going to be a great OTP. :)

[shadowkeeper.livejournal.com]

Ugh. So much love for this drama. EunSoo is pretty fantastic, and I love how she has such strength of character which really showed while she was taking care of Choi Yoon at the end of ep2.
On a note of her reaction to time travel, I don't think anyone's told her where she was. Everyone from CY's time think she's from heaven and they keep referring to her as such. No one's told her to year, or even what town or country she's traveled to. Since no one's offered her any sort of explanation on where she ended up, impossible or not, she settled on 'weird film set she doesn't know how she ended up on' and stuck with it.

Choi Yoon in the present day is something I feel like they did in n interesting way. He never adapts to any of it. It isn't BoongDo (from Queen Inhyun) figuring out modern clothes and blending in in a couple hours while keeping himself from reacting to any new marvel. True Yoon's only in 2012 for a couple hours, but other than the riot shield, it's like there's nothing in modern times that he finds remotely familiar. Just crossing the street is a test. And he comes across a monk with an mp3 player and a cell phone. If the drama ever has Yoon go back to 2012, I can't see him taking it as well as BoongDo.

Also, I love Choi Yoon's soldiers. Their first meeting seemed like it wasn't too great, and the age thing would bother them of course, but they've obviously gotten loyal over the years, and the 2nd in command finding a way to wheedle out of the minister's orders by saying he'd been ordered by Heaven's doctor to keep pressure on the wound was a relief.
But the minister and the king seem like terrible horrible people. The minister is horrible enough, but I lost any possible respect I could have had for the king when he told the queen she had to ask permission before uttering a word or taking a step. And the bad guys are aiming to kill the wrong person in targeting to queen. Who is pretty fierce even while sitting there with a sliced neck.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *going to search for the episodes rn!*

The subs are out yet?

[(Anonymous)]

What is the prize? I personally want a time portal to travel into ancient time to meet our hero, Choi Young. I love everything about his character...so cool and calm.

[usisblog.livejournal.com]

Haha, seems I totally see ES different. For me she is a whiny damsel in distress who can sew wounds nicely. I liked her in the last minutes in EP2. Hopefully she would grow a backbone now. She should learn from the princess (aka queen).

[algelic.livejournal.com]

I actually had to brace myself before opening this post. I know how you get when you're THIS enthusiastic. And WHOAH did you just put over 100 caps in this post?! XD

I'm actually kind of sad because I really really really wanted to love this drama but somehow I don't. I'm really hoping the next episodes will change my mind.

That fan-as-a-weapon thing reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi. There was that one character who waved his fan and flames would appear.

I really hope they don't try to make the heroine too pretty. By which I mean: after about a month of being there (in the past), I hope her hair isn't still perfectly styled and her makeup nicely done. That would be super distracting for me as a viewer.

[algelic.livejournal.com]

Also, I would really like it if Phillip Lee (the hot doctor) got more scenes. And a love interest. Hmmmm... maybe he could have a scandalous affair with the Queen and somehow the cowardly King would be killed by the enemies.

[cleobulle.livejournal.com]

I liked it more than I thought. But I'm a bit bummed the cinematography isn't as lush as some Chinese productions because this larger than life story warranted it. It could have been the Asian Lord of the Rings.

I ended up liking Arang more but was pleasantly surprised by Faith, mainly because of Lee Min Ho's character. He'll carry the drama on his shoulders.

But how can we have a HEA? Like you said, having CY in 2012 wouldn't fit with his character. Best option would be for the heroine to stay in the past but it would be a weird character's arc. The fortune teller in episode one didn't seem to imply she'll stay in the past. It sounded like she'd return to the present after a year or so.

And it's not looking good for Arang either with the heroine being a ghost and already dead.

Even Bridal Mask has higher chances of ending well for our main couple and that's saying something!

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I loved Arang and I like what we've seen so far of Faith. But there is a vibe about it, I'm not sure what, that has me worried it's going to fall apart into a blazing mess. Maybe the odd timing of the endings, missing what could be good cliff-hangers? I don't know. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[spunspider.livejournal.com]

Also, what is it with LMH dramas and propensity for wounds inflicted by the OTP?

i shrieked! nana shooting yoonsung was probably the biggest jawdrop a drama has ever given me. i think i wish more female leads would near-fatally wound their otps, except that it never seems to happen to the dime a dozen dickbag.

i love eunsoo too, except that i do think she's fairly whiny but find it adorble and hilarious. she's been kidnapped by a gorgeous murdering honourable weirdo and being forced to save people's lives, why the hell wouldn't she whine? i loved her conversation with the king - "he's even weirder", lmfao. actually funniest line ever goes to "dude, don't play with the stuff from heaven", hahahaha i'm going to remember that one. :3 augh, he is so gorgeous though. i've got a running litany of gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous running through my head throughout the whole thing.

[scanky-chops.livejournal.com]

Lol I finally managed to find somewhere to watch the two episodes without having to go through the stupid proxy and I loved it. Well, apart from the sucky way they kept ending the episodes. The endings kind of felt like they had finished episodes of 45 minutes and then realised it had to last an hour so they tagged on bits at the end, especially with the second episode. I felt it should have ended with Choi Young getting stabbed. Is that just me though? Idk.

Other than that, I really quite enjoyed the mix of history, sci-fi and adventure going on. Those are the kind of books I like reading so it's a good translation onscreen. Plus I got through both seasons of JIN and Faith does have a similar feeling to it, the subtle comedy with the crazy moments of history. Speaking of JIN, I suppose Faith could go down the same route that it did sort of ending-wise without having Choi Young go to the future (like you've pointed out, he could never function in the future because he's such a historical being) or Eun Soo stay in the past. There's also the point that the mystic guy said she'd spend a year away/back in the past. So... We can pretty much guess she'll definitely be coming back to the future (and why do I get the feeling that this Hwata guy mentioned in the beginning could turn up again?) but whether that sticks idk.

Lee Min Ho is just gorgeous. Half of my my time (maybe more) was just spent looking at his face lol. There's something about him that remind me of Kimura but I'm not if it's in the facial features or just his personality. This also makes me wonder if/when Kimura will do a Taiga drama because I KNOW that would be killer amazing if he did. Choi Young's world weariness did age his character up and being shallow did bring down Eun Soo's age for me so I'm totally ok with that pairing lol. If/when she saves him he is basically going to spend the rest of the drama making sure she stays alive to repay her twice-fold 'cos you KNOW he will.

I'll shut up now 'cos I can feel I'm getting to ramble on and on lol.

[smothered-pith.livejournal.com]

Hah I might have only time enough to put one drama on my plate and since I watched bits and pieces of this one first it's going to win out. I think I'd enjoy Arang too but I need to put that on my watchlist.

Anywho, as a medstudent and a huge fan of kick ass heroines, I totally love love love KHS's Eun Soo. I think she's got so much sass for someone that's just watched pople get slashed left and right. I don't particularly need to watch her throw out medical jargon, I just want to watch her order around all these big burly men all day.
I love her chemistry with LMH too. I mean I already love everything about LMH but I'm glad I can get behind his OTP partner too :)

I'm curious if this really does mean she's stuck in the past for good or if there's any way to reopen the portal. Also why does the portal lead CY to 2012 if they're after the "heavenly healer"?