#excited for the new episode and how mok ha will do on stage

[lenteur]

random thoughts about castaway diva, episode (sau)six

(read more because i always get carried away lol and this post might contain spoilers)

now that i think about it, one thing is bothering me. Why is mr jung so obsessed with finding ki ho only? Didn't he mention there were four members in the family? So why is he so adamant on finding his son ki ho and not the other one? I'm confused. It's true that we didn't see the older in the first episodes so I'm wondering if the brother was already with the mother when ki ho was still in chunsam. It might have been mentioned the brother was already with the mother. I'm not sure.

The whole family wants to keep mr jung a secret and pretend nothing happened. Makes you wonder how far he (mr jung) went. No, I don't want to think about it. I just noticed how the mother is always limping. Mr Jung is a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad person.

I'm glad we finally got answers but I would be happier if mr jung was behind bars and the whole family can live in peace.

On another note, I am so happy to see president hwang keeping his promise and re-realeasing old ran joo albums. Let's cross fingers she'll reach the 20 million mark before the end of her contract.

I'm grateful that the show doesn't only focus on the ki ho story, they're also giving time for ran joo's story to develop. I just want this whole mess to be over and ran joo must win or else, i'll riot!!!

I've already talked about it but the little details are everything. You can see how rnj company treats ran joo and mok ha like they're less than them. They don't let them know about eun mo rae appearing on heyday again. The Heyday cast treating eun mo rae's manager with way more respect than mok ha. Everyone wants them to fail. It's unfair because there's an obvious power imbalance between ran joo and mok ha vs the rest of the company. Rnj (company) have a lot of connections. The CEO is literally a millionaire, even a billionaire (idk). And then you have ran joo who has been forgotten for her behavior and vocal nodule. The only person on her side is mok ha, a woman that has lived on a deserted island for fifteen years and has a hard time adjusting to the world. No wonder they have a difficult time reaching that goal.

Eun mo rae's manager is as evil and manipulative as lee seo jun. He's blackmailing mok ha into shutting up and agreeing with everything he asked for appearing in heyday again.

I feel for both ran joo and mo rae because lee seo jun is only going to be profiting from them until they're no longer 'young and fresh'. He only describes them as 'cash cows'. He doesn't hold the same value he used to when he was a nobody and ran joo chose him as her new ceo. Money changes people and lee seo jun is a great example of that.

I was worried eun mo rae would just be a filler character but no, the show is giving us the whole backstory behind her career. I am sorry that she knows she was the second choice. If Mok ha was at seoul station to meet with ran joo, then eun mo rae wouldn't be where she is now. She must have a lot of pent up frustration and anger. She idolized ran joo when she was younger but now that she knows ran joo doesn't like her (for many reasons), the image she had of her idol is now broken (like her heart).

There are so any character relations and that's what makes the show good imo. Eun mo rae and ran joo's rivalry is interesting to see.

At this point, I just want bo geol to tell mok ha he is in fact ki ho because this whole back and forth between being caring and all of a sudden distant is tiring me out.

I know he's protecting both himself and mok ha from his father because, once the truth is out, there's no guarantee the boar (mr jung) will leave them alone. Ki ho has tried time and time again to escape from his father but he would be back with him because he is his father. No matter how ab*sive mr jung was, police would bring ki ho back to him because they're related. That's why he changed his entire identity. The psychological damage mr jung has put on the whole family is unfathomable.

Talking about mr jung, here's my theory on why he's obsessed with finding ki ho. So, as we know they were a family of four until the father hit woo hak (forgot his old name) on the head with a chair. The mother didn't leave woo hak for even a second (which is understandable of course). So that left ki ho and mr jung. Ki ho was the only one in the family brave enough to stand up to mr jung. Ki ho's brother and the mom were trying to appease the tension by lying to the father or agreeing with what he was saying in fear of being hit. I think ki ho being the youngest, his patience wasn't as strong as his momand brother's. He was the one admitting to wanting to run away from him. He was the one who said he'd be happier without his dad here. Ki ho got tired and he exploded purely and simply. Mr Jung was so used to everyone being obedient that ki ho's outburst was the final straw. Mr Jung took ki ho with him to chunsam island and that's where the real nightmare started (he was already living it before but in chunsam it was like the ultimate level). Ki ho had no one with him, no one to help him forget for even a second what was going on at home. He was alone. Even when he and mok ha got closer, he didn't confide in her. He kept everything in himself, because he knew the moment he talked his father would find out and make him pay for it. Ki ho is so strong for surviving all of this. He helped mok ha escape from her father, but he couldn't escape from his. Mr Jung won't stop until he finds ki ho, because he's the key to finding the mom and the brother.

The thing that's telling me ki ho and his father living on chunsam island happened after the chair incident is because when the father saw ki ho saved money to try and escape he said something along the lines of "Did you find her (the mom)? Is that why you saved all that money?" He wouldn't have said it if chunsam happened before seoul. Or maybe my brain is too tired and confusing a thing for another.

If the two previous points didn't make any sense to you, it's normal. When I'm trying to explain something that's deep and complex, I have a hard time finding the right words and writing coherent sentences. Sorry for that ehe.

Mok ha confronting eun mo rae was a sweet sweet moment. Both rivals finally meeting and mok ha not backing out. I'm proud of her. When nobody is on her side, mok ha proves she can take care of things on her own.

Bo geol being subtle about his way of helping mok ha is doing things to my heart 💓

this was a good episode, i'll give it a 8.75/10

[supaliaxpress]

Ruler (Master of the Mask) Review Episodes 1 - 4: I am this country’s Crown Prince

Despite my huge disliking for the 30 minute short episodes (honestly, the first four episodes could have been consolidated into two episodes lol)… the first four episodes were good enough to spark my interest. What was surprisingly shocking was how the first episode focused SO MUCH on hiding the crown prince’s face, to only be discovered by the end of the first episode…. well… not a secret anymore. >.> Anyways…. I’m a little behind on schedule for this drama since I started a little late… opps… oh well… I’ll try to catch up since we’re already on episodes 9 and 10 this week!!! o.o I guess time to binge watch.

Episode 1 and 2 were basically a shit ton of information jammed packed into 30 minutes to provide the following: 1) the backstory to explain the evil organization Pyeonsoo-hwe, 2) describe how the current king was an idiot to allow this organization to control him, and 3) set the stage for how the Crown Prince will constantly be in grave danger. We learn that the King is controlled by the evil organization through poisonous flowers, and the only way to survive is to continue the consumption of the poison. Shortly after the Crown Prince was born, Dae Mok (head of the Pyeonsoo-hwe) requested of the King for control of Joseon’s water. This can be symbolic in two ways: 1) Pyeonsoo-hwe wants to control Joseon’s water because water is the sustenance of life thus controlling the country, and 2) the Crown Prince’s horoscope was that of water, therefore, Pyeonsoo-hwe wants to control the next King of the country. 

Seriously though guys…. I’m not surprised he’s a bad guy in this drama LMAO

For the first time in the King’s life, he decided to stand up against the organization… only to have his son poisoned. The King had to give up the country’s water in order to save his son, which miraculously allowed the baby Crown Prince to become immune to poison (obviously this will play a HUGE role later on). The King ordered to have his son’s face hidden to protect him. Hiding his identity will give the King the upper hand to “switch” his son between a substitute. Whoever sees the Crown Prince’s face is killed. Finally, the entrance of the grown up Crown Prince showed us how he has been sheltered all his life and he doesn’t understand why he has to hide his face; therefore, he wants to know the reasoning behind his mask. What I don’t understand is why would the King NOT tell his son his plans… but instead he sheltered his son despite wanting him to become “A TRUE KING?” Go figure.

It was interesting how the second lead female actress was introduced first before the main lead. The introduction of Hwa-Goon showcased her as a strong and independent woman looking out for her own interests. What was even more shocking was how all the hype surrounding the Crown Prince’s mask/hidden identity was quickly stripped away, when Hwa-Goon discovered his identity as the Crown Prince by sneaking into his secret place (she even managed to mark him too, OMFG). Hwa-Goon got off easily with the help of the Queen; however, what was interesting was how Hwa-Goon hid the truth of seeing the Crown Prince’s face from her grandfather. Basically, Hwa-Goon fell in love at first sight with the Crown Price and this will be her motive, for the next few episodes, for her “rebellious behavior” against her family. 

To put it short, episodes 2-3 were basically the Crown Prince disobeying his father and escaping outside, without his mask, to seek Professor Woo Bo to answer his questions regarding his mask/illness (Remember, Woo Bo was the professor who knew about poison). He was really adorable as he experienced amazing things walking through the market place for the first time without his mask, but then the poor baby had to witness the cruelty of the world - the suffering of the poor and sickly and the evil doing of the Pyeonsoo-hwe. The Crown Prince’s innocence (and foolishness) would lead him to meeting Lee Sun and Han Ga-Eun, as he tried to give water to a sick child. Instead, he witnessed how people fought over water that was controlled by the Pyeonsoo-hwe. He was even shot by an arrow because he was holding the stick… smdh. Luckily, the witty Ga-Eun saved him from his chasers and our naive Crown Prince fell-in-love-at-first-sight with Ga-Eun’s bravery and beauty!!! >.< (I love it when the guy falls head over heels in love with the girl first, lmao) 

Finally the remaining lead cast were introduced in episodes 3 and 4, Han Ga-Eun and the other Lee Sun (Crown Prince’s name is also Lee Sun). Han Ga-Eun is a beautiful young lady who is very knowledgeable and kind to the commoners, despite her higher status as the daughter of an official. As for Lee Sun, he is the son of a poor butcher, but he is very smart and wants to study literature. Both were disciples of Professor Woo Bo and they lead the Crown Prince to meet the professor. However, Woo Bo didn’t answer the Prince’s question about his mask right away. Instead he gave him a riddle to solve about the drought and the water associated with Pyeonsoo-hwe. As he sought the answer to Woo Bo’s riddle, the Prince became closer to Ga-Eun and Lee Sun, while experiencing new things such as forming relationships (friends), unlike when he was kept away in the palace. Unfortunately for the Prince, everyone was searching for him… both his father and the evil organization. The King sent Chung-Woon, the son of his Guard and the Prince’s closest friend, to find his son (I feel so bad for Chung-Woon…. the freaking Prince made his job so fuckin difficult). 

As the Prince experienced the hardships of the people, his resolve to protect them strengthened - especially when Lee Sun’s father was imprisoned for stealing water to save his wife who was in labor. After Ga-Eun’s father tried to save Lee Sun’s father, the Crown Prince saved Lee Sun’s father from execution (tbh, he was totally badass and I was fangirling the whole time). However, this was all apart of Hwa-Goon’s plan to find the Prince after she revealed to her grandfather that the Crown Prince had escaped. Finally, the Crown Prince figured out the riddle with the help of the soldier Park Moo Ha and ordered him and Ga-Eun’s father to investigate Yangsucheong. Despite the Crown Prince’s intervention, Lee Sun’s father was still murdered even after the Prince stepped in to stop his father’s execution - thus leading to the Prince to reveal his real identity to Lee Sun… “I am this country’s Crown Prince.” I believe these were the most powerful words in the first four episodes as the Crown Prince has never revealed his identity to anyone… even his own friend. It’s very special that Lee Sun was the first person which implies that Lee Sun will play a very important role in the drama with the Crown Prince. The Prince vowed to Lee Sun that he will avenge his father’s death, and that Lee Sun should keep his jade pendant as proof of that promise. But, as they were about to leave, the sneaky bastards from Pyeonsoo-hwe surrounded them…. thus the ending of episode 4. 

Tbh, I love how this guy just casually shows up everywhere on the roof. 

So what do I think? Well for starters, I think the cast is very “promising” due to their liveliness and attractiveness (the boys and girls are definitely eye-candy lol). But I have to say, I’m not entirely impressed so far with the acting… but then again I’ve only watched the first 4 episodes >.> 

I will say that I am greatly impressed by L’s performance as the commoner Lee Sun. I really felt his struggles as a butcher’s son who wants to pursue his dreams, but the cruel society doesn’t help the poor at all, therefore he conforms to what he can only scavenge. We can definitely see the parallel between the commoner Lee Sun and the Crown Prince Lee Sun. Obviously both guys like our adorable Ga-Eun, but the difference between the two guys is that Lee Sun is hesitant while the Crown Prince just dives right in with no shame (I mean… he’s the Crown Prince after all). 

A perfect example would be the fireflies scene… Lee Sun stares at her from afar but can’t look her in the eyes, while the Crown Prince is helplessly staring right at her (sighs… I already know where this love triangle is heading towards). I especially felt his deep sadness and pain when he saw his father’s body hung from the tree (and what was worse was that he was just finally confessing to his father that he will work even harder than before T.T). NO ONE… I REPEAT… NO ONE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO WITNESS SUCH A TERRIBLE SIGHT!! Despite being a genius, even geniuses go on a rampage when their vision is blinded by rage… we can’t blame the guy for wanting to kill those a**holes after the Crown Prince saved his father…

So far, Kim So Hyun’s character hasn’t really done anything lol other than being really cute ^^ … but it’s only been 4 episodes with 30 minutes of content >.> I’m sure much more has happened in the next few episodes. I have to say that Yoon So Hee is doing a pretty good job of acting Hwa Goon cause I hate her guts for being the cause of Lee Sun’s father’s death… (I laughed a little bit too hard when the Crown Prince walked right past her to Ga-Eun and she was so excited too, lol)

Overall, I believe this drama has great potential to be an amazing historical drama… as well as… it has great potential to flop too if things go out of hand. The plot is a bit messy and the Crown Prince is just too naive for his own good at the moment, but the gist of the story is that the current King is pretty much useless against the organization, so our Crown Prince will have to grow up soon to become a wise ruler.