[Drama Review] 'Hwarang' - Episode 2

AKP STAFF

Minho, Hyungsik, Lee Kwang Soo, V, Go Ara, V, Park Seo Joon

HWARANG -- EPISODE 2

Mak Moon and Moo Myung are cut down by the Commander of the Guard, Hyun Chu, for sneaking into the city. The king catches up with Hyun Chu and surveys his handiwork. Moo Myung spies the bracelet the king is wearing and swears revenge on the owner of that bracelet before he loses consciousness.

The healer Ji Gong finds the pair and mourns the loss of his son, Mak Moon. He gets Moo Myung back to his hut and heals him. We find out that Ji Gong is Ah Ro's father, and Mak Moon was her long lost brother, a casualty of their mother being forced out of the palace.

I don't care what they call it. It's a dance club, and it's hilariously out of place.

Hwa Gong is fast at work finding recruits as the Queen ordered. He posts a decree, which most of our future Hwarang laugh at. The officials in the capitol are beside themselves. Not all of them like the idea of the Hwarang. Hwa Gong hires Ah Ro to find these recruits. Moo Myung recovers and heads into the city. Spying the king, he goes after him and mistakenly finds Ah Ro in the same location, and is stunned to find his blade at her throat...��

This just took a dark turn. The official poster was a bunch of guys wearing foofy wigs and frolicking in a garden. I'd be annoyed, except I went in with zero expectations. So far it really seems like it's Moo Myung's party, with the other characters taking a backseat. It's fairly straightforward, though, putting most of its cards on the table. The nice thing is, it's entirely watchable.

"It's a death ray, and it will spell your doom if you try anything funny..."

I have to take issue with Moo Myung's character, though. He's got this social justice streak in him that I think would be out of character. Consider this: 1,500 years ago, life was nasty, brutish and short -- and so were people. Life sucked, but they bore it pretty much as they do now. I don't see many writings from the past bemoaning how unfair things were. It is unfair, I totally agree, but I think that's largely projecting our own ideas of fairness onto a character from long ago.

I like the rivalry between the different knights. This just helps cement their characters in our minds and hearts more and reinforces what we already knew. The writers really know how to give them lines to annoy one another with, and they play off their annoyance with a detached coolness that just makes the whole exchange even more awesome.

"What do you mean my fly's unzipped? This is a robe, dummy!"

I'm just waiting for the time when they actually become hwarang. They have this great chemistry already, and I can see semi-insulting nicknames and good-natured ribbing being the order of the day. They already have the name and the concept, introduced in this episode, to the queen's great delight. Now, the recruiting needs to happen. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

I'm pretty excited about this show, and possibly because it's not at all boring. They pack their events pretty close together. Maybe it's because there's a subtext of combat that runs through the whole thing, or maybe it's because of the sometimes epic feel combined with the comic relief. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm rather enjoying this, despite the anachronisms (like the club). I know. I guess you could say I'm clubbing you over the head with that.

"Don't worry. No one will see that zit on your chin now"

So tell me: what are your favorite parts of this drama? What parts don't you like? Are you jonesing on this, or is it a big train wreck for you? Leave me a comment and let me know.