My Baek Dong Soo dilemma

[dangermousie]

So, I finished ep 5 and I have a dilemma.



I vastly prefer the guy on the right to the guy on the left. One issue. On the left, is our protagonist, Baek Dong Soo. On the right is our eventual antagonist and future ruthless killer Yeo Woon.



Yet, I am Team Dude On the Right.

The thing is, for one, while neither of these guys does it for me on a hormonal level (too young!), Yoo Seung Ho is a much better actor than Ji Chang Wook. Also, while I don't hate him, Dong Soo is very much not my character type - loud, immature but good-hearted and with a heroic destiny really is not my bag. Now, Yeo Woon has been cursed from birth to be a bloody assassin and thus was brought up in psycho fashion and just overall has an interesting character arc, being on the good guys' side for now.

While we are on heresies, this lady is awesome:



I want her with Dong Soo instead of him hooking up with noble lady:




It helps that I ship Noble Lady with Assassin.



This drama is making me go to uncanonical hell.

Btw, I am still having problems posting on LJ so I am trying to crosspost through dw. Hope it works.

Comments

[meganbmoore]

Well, while Dong Soo was eyeing Ji Sun, she was pretending he didn't exist and was busy ogling Yeo Un.

Honestly, after ep 6, if it does end up Ji Sun/Dong Soo (unless there's a secret Jin Joo/Yeo Un giant plot later-WHICH I WOULD TOTALLY GO FOR) I'll have to assume it was a late stage decision and they only adjusted a couple things early on.

Though, in terms of stardom...while the actress playing Ji Sun is good so far and could probably go a long way in sageuks, I think all she has to her credit is this and a movie, while Yoon So Yi is pretty well established. Similarly, of the two men, Yoo Seung Ho is the more popular (and has sageuk credit backing him up, even if it was as the younger versions of the leads). While I could buy that one of them would be on the losing end of a triangle, I can't really imagine them having BOTH on the losing end in the long run.

[dangermousie]

Yes, it seems majorly odd. Usually, in dramas, even if one character ends up being more fandom popular but still doesn't get the girl (see Emperor of the Sea), there is no question that the leading actor is better-known (this has changed now but during EotS, Song Il Gook was very much the lesser name). Not the case here.

I honestly have no idea where the shipping would go. if it wasn't for the ost mv and the chart, I'd assume that So Yi/Chang Wook's characters would be the final OTP for sure, whatever may happen with YSH and the Lady.

[meganbmoore]

Yeah, if it weren't for the marketting, there'd be nothing in the show itself to make us wonder.

TBH, I actually really do like the idea of Jin Joo/Yeo Un, particularly if Jin Joo is Ji and Gwang Taek's daughter (and I'll be REALLY surprised if there's any other parentage), because then you have Cheon's spiritual heir and the daughter of his frenemy and the woman they were both in love with. On the flipside, with her having the same parents, you have Gwang Taek and Dong Soo's father being BFF and the possible idea that they were "supposed" to be together if Ji had been able to go to China with Gwang Taek, and Gwang Taek hadn't been separated from Dong Soo. Also, frankly, every wuxia I can think of where 2 "swordbrothers" had kids of the opposite genders had the kids hooking up.

I may just like Jin Joo/everyone though.


I'm actually pretty sure that EotS was written with the idea of promoting Song Il Gook as a potential King of Sageuks? At the time, Choi Soo Jong basically ruled as the saegeuk dude, but he was already over 40 when it came out, and this was right after Dae Jang Geum and sageuks were shifting to being about somewhat younger people and casts, and more female centric. So while Choi Soo Jong was the lead (and fabulous and all) it was Song Il Gook who got the more "romantic" role designed to appeal more to the women sageuks were starting to try to bring in. It and Damo are pretty much why, I think, Song Il Gook and Leo Seo Jin seem to be "the" sageuk guys now. (Though Choi Soo Jung isn't exactly out of work.)

Speaking of Yoon So Yi and Leo Seo Jin, have you seen Shadowless Sword? They're the otp there. He's an exiled prince and she's a supercompetent and efficient swordswoman sent to bring him home.

[dangermousie]

Shadowless Sword is definitely going on my list!

Yes, I agree re: EotS as a big showcase for SIG but it still held to the 'better known actor gets the girl' which pretty much works all the time unless the other guy is Park Shi Hoo :P

My favorite character is Yeo Woon (you know me - his character is pretty much written to hit all of my fiction kinks. And objectively, it is the more interesting role that JCW's - I can see why Yoo Seung Ho picked it instead of Dong Soo's), with Jin Joo a close second (she reminds me a LOT of Sujini and Sujini is pretty much my fave kdrama heroine ever).

I can see Lady with either of the guys (though you know my preferences) but I try to imagine YW and JJ and I cannot picture it at all - doesn't mean it wouldn't work if they went that route, I just have no particular scenario in my head.

I could actually go for some femmeslash (they'd be pretty much every modern kdrama pairing ever, if Lady was a repressed chaebol dude) but that is obviously not happening.

[meganbmoore]

Yup, there's that (and while checking my ep 7 dl, they appeared to be off alone somewhere while Ji Sun and Yeo Un were at either the temple or Sado's place) and the Ji Sun/Yeo Un stuff that happens later. (Though, the best part of the Jin Joo/Dong Soo bickering is when Gwang Taek just randomly shows up and no one has any idea who the others are.)

My liking the idea of Jin Joo/Yeo Un is purely hypothetical, as we haven't seen them interact yet. (In fact, I think most of their interaction as kids was through the Dong Soo filter.)

My order of favorites so far is: Ji>Gwang Taek>Jin Joo>Yeo Un>Sado>Ji Sun

Sado is something of a surprise.

[dangermousie]

Heee. I approve of those developments.

My order (I am halfway through ep 6, I am sure will change shortly seeing what you told me about second half)

Yeo Un>Jin Joo>Gwang Taek>Sado>Ji Sun>Ji>Cheon>everyone else.

I've sort of slotted the main four in Legend slots (well, three out of four, Dong Soo and Dam Duk have zip in common). No idea why.

From what I know of him, conventional wisdom is Sado was a homicidal psycho so this is quite a surprise to me too.

[meganbmoore]

Actually, I looked into Sado a bit when I was watching 8 Days last year, and apparently there are various factions of historians who think it probable that a lot of the rampaging psycho may have been spread by political factions and he basically ended up a victim of that. (My guess, though, would be that while that makes sense, he had to be at least a little bit off for it to be bought.)

I can see the Legend slots for Jin Joo and Ji Sun, but not as much so for the guys.

Cheon falls in tha area for me of a character you find absolutely fascinating, but (after the events of ep 5) isn't really someone you can "like." Though, aside from that 3rd main assassin (I cackle every time Ji gives him her "stop talking to me, worm" look), I either like or am interested in pretty much everyone.

(Also, I suspect the show might agree re: Jin Joo/Ji Sun, given one scene. I really really want them to be friends and not hate each other because of Dong Soo.)


A word on Shadowless Sword: Lee Seo Jin's hair is particularly awful.

ETA

[dangermousie]

Also, am on ep 6 and DS and JJ just had their first meeting. On a battlefield. On opposite sides. While hurling insults. Are you telling me they are not the otp, drama? Seriously, I am usually so good with shippy radar but here is just...