The cinematography in this drama is spectacular. There are so many beautifully composed scenes. It's also interesting to have a story focussed on a wealthy guild and away from court intrigues. I've just finished episode 4 and now have a wiff of what's going down, but it's still unpredictable. Looks like this will be impossible for me not to binge.

I have started it and not even half way through ep 1 however I am already cringing at the half siblings ‘relationship’ (?)

So, I didn't realize this was coming out already or that it was a full drop. 11 episodes seem kinda odd but eh, if that's enough to tell the story, so be it.

Not even 2 minutes in and I'm just wondering why a boy is calling his sister "eonni". I don't even remember older sisters in sageuks so I don't know if that's the term typically used. I only know "Oppa" wasn't used, it's something else for older brother.

I'm always surprised to see opium featured in kdrama. Granted, this is only my second time seeing but I guess I have some disconnect cause I only know of Chinese people using it and the issues with England. I don't consider they would've traded it with other Asian countries.

Him: I don't remember anything from my childhood
Her: Tell all these things from our childhood!

I wonder how you cast for a character who is supposed to be deaf and mute. Are they supposed to have expressive eyes or look a certain way such as intimidating or non threatening? There's no signing being used so that's not a requirement.

And more about that character, I'm only on episode two and I find it very weird how he's supposed to be deaf yet he's shown being spoken to. No signing, no gestures, no notes. Everyone has their suspicions about Hongrang but no one wonders how the guy he's with is communicating. A look to the right means eat with us and a look left means keep standing?

I was actually thinking if Hongrang isn't the real guy, maybe the mute guy is.

This might not have the chemistry that we’re hoping for as LJW is not sensual even when he tries. Rowoon on the other hand, can bring it to women and men. But let’s hope.

Shout-out: Episode 5 is *scorching* hot.
Our OTP is just sitting in the forests at their childhood hide-out and then...it HAPPENED.
I was surprised it didn't start a forest fire 🔥

I don't know if it's a thing with how it's subbed or if there's something being lost in the translation but I find the things the characters say so weird.

Introduces a character as deaf yet he is clearly being spoken to, in front of others, and reacting based on what's said.

Hongrang claims to have lost his childhood memories and the skeptics are like "how could he possibly lose only his childhood memories?!" as if the guy wasn't a child. What other memories would he have lost?

Everytime she gets protective of him, I laugh haha. It's so cute haha

She can't climb a tree but instinctively tries to catch the 6ft guy jumping down from said tree.

She was gonna use a dagger to protect someone known as "soul reaper"

If there is more bickering to come, that would be nice haha

It's not funny but it's funny how 2 guys who aren't related to her, fell for her, while she just considers them brothers

And I'm so very confused how he started giving more romantic vibes *after* making her believe he really was Hongrang.

It's like the mother of all mixed signals haha

Episode 6 was the first time the mute guy is shown reading lips and episode 7 is emotional nonsense (in my opinion). So many people keep making choices based on emotion as if these aren't life & death stakes and they aren't just pawns to these people

I wonder if the actors ever got the ick or cringe when they had to read or perform "she thinks he's her little brother but she's starting to see him as a man" or "I can't breath without her; I can lose everything but I can't lose her" [even though she views him as a brother]

I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't really explained who the wannabe Saruman was. I thought it would be more significant who and what he actually was.

It's so serious and yet I can't take it seriously haha

The cinematography was really beautiful, the tons were a little bit too cold but the at least I could see what was happening during the night scenes.

For the story... I wished they established the past of the ML and the FL before to let us understand their story.

Except both of them, almost every other character was a villain at one moment... it made the story very dark and gloomy for 11 episodes.

For the actors, I didn't have issues with their acting but I didn't find them excellent neither. I think Jo Boa's sageuk scenes in DwY were more interesting.

This drama is a MESS. It starts off fine but then veers into shenanigans. It had too much plot and too many episodes. The fauxcest was fauxcesting and at weird times too. However the ending did make sense, so I guess there was that.

Wow, alot happened in episode 9. Am I the only one who was thinking she's gonna end up pregnant? I don't know how long they were there but that must've been the most peaceful period in their lives. I ended up feeling so bad for them.

There so much crazy sadism in this and I'm so confused how we got here. What even was that? Were those words and a mountainscape? Why was a gross sex scene the focal point? It's just all so weird and gross and sadistic. I was completely blindsided cause I was expecting something symbolizing the classic yin/yang imagery and instead it was that

I wish the series has stayed in its lane as a psychological thriller and Gothic mystery instead of diverging in the latter half into these plot distractions of guild wars, Snow Man sightings, secret societies and worse, some wannabe sadist/satanist indulging in ritual abuse.

The divergence lamentably became dilution of narrative tension and focus.

Ya know...fauxcest done well (and I qualify, done well) and the potential transgression of the incest taboo, has one of the greatest narrative potential for dramatic crisis and conflict (inter & intra) in any time, space, and verse.

That is what I came to watch. But they wasted it in the latter half.

p.s. petty rant: I am also really sore that ML died. Like, seriously? I waited 1 year+ to watch Hong Rang. OK - end of rant.

So, I had no expectations going into this and yet, I was not expecting a tragedy and sadism.

It's a weird cause the way it's shot makes it so nice and cool to look at so it leaves me with pleasant thoughts that I don't remember what I thought or felt about the actual content. Objectively, it's just sad (but I've cried more over other dramas so again, I don't know what that means for this).

It was cool seeing the two Jae Wooks sharing the screen together (after they both appeared in Death's Game).

The revenge felt fitting.

I'm confused how the merchant's wife didn't lose her house or status. Similarly, I was wondering how Jae Yi was able to have a house with all the children when her father was revealed to be shady. Is she still living where she grew up with the madam who hates her?

HUGE PLOT HOLE question: Beware, if you haven't finished seeing the entire series, stop reading now!!!!

Ok - here's my question: In episode 7, when the SML is finding out the true identity of ML, the story he is told is that as a boy, he was a slave, and the family that owned him beat him, and made him sit in mourning at a grave for three years, but he ran off (with his mute friend) after just one year. Then, the family tracked them both down, and just as they did, some "lady" (aka Sim's mistress) bought them. In the flashback sequence, the two boys don't seem unduly "tortured" or anything when she is buying them (time stamp 38:49 on episode &). Then, in the very next episode, when ML is telling his story directly to the FL, he says, "Then one day, I ran away. After living on the run, evading pursuit, I finally met him. The Snow Man. He dragged me someplace where I had to suffer things beyond my understanding." He makes no reference to the woman buying him and Ino from the original family. So.......when exactly did NL get kidnapped by the Snow Man? And when did the mistress buy them from the family? If the family had found the boys after being kidnapped by the Snow Man, the would have seen the torture marks upon re-capture, right? And then the family's son would have mentioned that incident to SML too, right? So, did the mistress buy them and then intentionally had them left them as bait to be kidnapped by the Snow Man to figure out who it was?? This is a pretty significant plot point, so it seems strange that these two stories don't add up.

And the whole death of the real Hongrang was SO anticlimatic and completely unrealistic as well. The nice loyal servant who seems sweet otherwise never in 12 years ever mentioned that she found him lying there bleeding? And if the shaman woman was the mastermind behind everything, why did she at that moment (without any premeditation or planning) think of disposing of Hongrang's body - and that too in a well on their property? What was she hoping to gain from this? Just hoping that they will assume the boy was kidnapped and be in agony? How does that fit in with her grand scheme of revenge on the family?? Seems a little weird for someone who was planning a long game of ruining the family (remember, she didn't seem to care about those who were tortured or kidnapped...she just wanted to break the strong bond between the prince and the Min/Shim family, it seemed). All this would have made for a very compelling story if they had actually spent time explaining more of the background on the mistress (after she escaped the stabbing) and what she went through, or even the shaman and her experiences at the hands of the Min family rather than a throw-away sentence at the last episode.

So much potential wasted......and poor Lee Jae-wook - can he get just a "normal' rom com for once, where he won't have to pretend to die (am talking about you, the show that shall not be named!!!) or...

I was not able to watch any of this drama until last night, and I'm only partway through the second episode, but for me at least, so far it is validating my excitement and anticipation. I love the cinematography and music, the intensity of the storyline, and the way the brother/sister bond is portrayed in the flashbacks. There's also a powerful depiction of grief that feels more emotionally resonant to me than in other sageuks with similar storylines.

The casting is uniformly excellent with Uhm Ji-won being a particular standout for me (she was so good in "Little Women" and brings the same type of frenetic energy here). I always find LJW to have a compelling presence, and in these early scenes I think his emotional stoicism serves the character well. Jung Ga-ram is also effective and although it took me a minute to place him, I recognize him from "Interest of Love" in which he played the same type of quiet, ambiguous character who seems destined to be unlucky in love.

As for the fauxcest vibes, I so far don't see an issue. The show is treading lightly and it helps that Jae-yi hardly ever falters in her assurance that this man is not her brother. At this point, too, there's not anything coming from his side, either. He seems mildly intrigued by her, but mostly annoyed that she might get in his way. And as for her other "brother," his longing is also not hitting me as that unexpected or titillating--it's just sad, really, because she so obviously doesn't share his feelings.

I can't wait to watch more.

Finished. Gorgeous, loved the score, fine acting, but... I had a lot of difficulty visually differentiating between the minions of the various factions, and knowing who was fighting whom in the frequent (and impressive) melees. The lack of clarity contributed to the overall feeling of confusion and dread, but I wouldn't call it a satisfying experience. This is a show that might benefit from a slow rewatch.