The Great Seer Ep.25

To be honest, I don't know how much longer I can stick with this show. I might as well finish it since I've come so far TT_TT. Must persevere...

Episode 25

Really, the highlight of this episode has to be given to the heart-wrenching and touching moment between Lee In Im and Young Ji. I always felt that Lee In Im loved Young Ji so much but because he couldn't have her he acted otherwise. The moment he confesses that the reason he was so power hungry was because he could't have her and maybe if he became King he could finally do so, was too much.

She finally understands him and raises her hand to caress the side of his aged and tired face. The first time she probably has done so since the many years they were 'married.'

*insert fist in mouth and cry*

 

I see Ji Sang has also seen that blatantly obvious piece of bloodied cloth on the floor. I knew he had the decency to hide it and use that as a ways to 'turn' the situation around.

Tissues, please. I actually feel sorry for this man. And I kind of wish Young ji would have said "I'll accompany with you to your exile and live with you!" But, no. That would never happen...

He can finally hug her without being pushed aside *tears*

 The evil trio that's left, determined to get Lee In Im back and do more evil things! Unite!

 Say for example, putting a wedge in between Lee Sung Gye and the King's relationship by planting a fake slab that points to treason for Lee Sung Gye? Wonderful, Jung Geun. You're absolutely brilliant. *evil laugh* It's funny how they're trying to create a rift in between them but they're only starting that small flame that will ignite into an overthrow of a dynasty.

The Ming envoy daintily hops over for a visit and is all pleasant words at first. All the better for Jung Geun's crew to use this situation to create more misunderstandings between him and the crown.

But he drops a bomb on them and relays the message that the Ming intend to take over a part of the northern tip of Goryeo.

And to make matters even worse, after he says that he invites himself over for tea at Lee Sung Gye's place!

Face palm.

Lee Sung Gye's just like "No, you idiot, you're complicating the problem! Shut up!"

In his mind, I bet.

And now it's the E.P's turn to 'guide' the King into a hole by  making him ask Lee Sung Gye to claim Yo Dong and either show his allegiance or betrayal. Useless King with no mind of his own get's military advice from a Priestess,psh.

Oh wait, never mind, you're the son of that other useless King. No wonder.

And Choi Young agrees to the plan.

The guy who said he let Lee In Im handle things because he didn't want to get his hands bloody. Gosh, I hate this guy more and more. Luckily he's going to die soon.

Lee Sung Gye's going to die either way in the hands of Goryeo or Ming, what shall he do?

Ji Sang has the answer. He always does.

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The Great Seer Ep23&24

Episode 23

Time jump 10 years later!

An opportunity for the show to get back on track, and build up more on the actual plot.

So the Ming envoy is suspicious of King Gongmin's death so he takes a trip to Goryeo. On the surface it seems like the new King, a.k.a Ban Ya's son or King Woo does not take interest in politics at all, but he visits the Ming envoy at night to also share his suspicions on the King's death. But lo and behold, Lee In Im's goons who are specialized at eavesdropping/ following people, report the King's suspicious movements to him.

The Ming envoy is going to expose us, what shall we do?

Well, the only right thing to do: shut him up! 

By killing him of course. It's their solution to every problem. Literally.

 On the other side of the country, we see Ji Sang acting quite friendly with... a guard? Wait, isn't he still in jail? Yes, it seems like it is because he's in jail clothing...with other jail inmates who are having dinner at a inn.

Wha...? Since when was prison-time so chill and relaxed?

It's also such a coincidence that Ji Sang has been placed at the same place Lee Sung Gye is at. Wonder if Lee Sung Gye was behind it or was it really just pure coincidence.

 New character Bang Won (Lee Sung Gye's son from his first marriage). I also recognize him from "Padam Padam" as Jung Woo Sung's son! Happy that he's getting chances, because he's not a bad actor (and he looks good). Anyway, if you know history, he's involved in a power struggle for the throne later on with his other siblings...and it's pretty nasty just from reading about it. Won't delve much into that though...

And...here we are given a glimpse into his relationship with his step-mother (Lee Sung Gye's second wife). Not really amiable and quite hostile...and it seems she wants her own son to be better than him. As I said, the latter stuff about fight for the throne is just too complicated.

Ban Ya secretly has a meeting with her son at the Gibang and we see that she's actually secretly plotting to make her son a 'real' King by getting rid of Lee In Im. So she was just acting all along to wait for the right moment! And they're planning to trust Lee Sung Gye to expose Lee In Im and take him down, so they can step up rightfully on the throne.

So what is she now? Good or evil? (I'll stick with evil).

So Lee Sung Gye is supposed to bring Lee In Im down by exposing that he has killed the Ming envoy. Everyone thinks he knows where the body is buried, but he's just bluffing to lure the real killers to the body.

Jung Geun and his crew fall for it, and Lee Sung Gye thinks they have them this time! But...

To both of their surprise, the body is gone! Darn...

 

But it turns out the corpse has just moved from natural causes caused by the earth. At first I was like, how is that even possible? The body is stuck in a confined square. How can it move?

But it turns out it can. What a twist, I must say.

So it's a race for Ji Sang and Jung Geun to find the corpse based on each other's "Seer" skills. And of course Ji Sang with his natural gift is able to pin-point the location right away.

They do an autopsy on the body, confirm Lee In Im is behind it AND have evidence of Jung Geun's headband (back at that creepy scene where the body suddenly comes back alive and struggles with him).

"So, I'm not going to tell you I have evidence against you because I'm actually going to secretly report you to the Ming."

He says in his mind.

The crew arrive at the Ming border, but it seems like they're not too welcome...

Episode 24

The crew head off under the setting sun to the palace after leaving Bang Won as a hostage (as suggested by Ji Sang). Bang Won's of course just doing it to get some approval from his father, with the risk of getting killed though if they don't fulfill their promise on time.

Oh my. Here's the part that makes me go, "really now, is it just so coincidental that Jung Geun has conveniently forgotten his pass so he goes back and sees Ban Ya is up to something!?"

"How dare you betray me, I thought you were actually an okay woman!" (rephrased of course).

 The King is 'saved' from his own palace after a bit of fireworks were set off for a distraction. And what do we know, Jung Geun comes checking just on time to see his other 'loved' one with some guards...

Ouch. And another betrayal in the same day (?)

 "How dare you, Hae-In, use the same trick you used when we were little so that I could find you out?"

"I'm only doing what was set out for me to do." 

Her stare seems to say.

 Ji Sang and Lee Sung Gye have a fight over what the right thing to do was: leave Hae In or save the King. And out of character, Lee Sung Gye takes it to another level and has Ji Sang beaten? Extreme, much? The camera zooms in on a snitch dressed as a guard. Ohhhh, I see...

 All battered and bruised, Ji Sang makes his way to find Lee In Im and puts up a good show to make it seem he betrayed Lee Sung Gye for Hae In (and honestly, almost I was fooled!).

Lee In Im gets approval from his son that Ji Sang might be trustworthy this time, so he trusts his closest bodyguard Moo Young to head over and assassinate Lee Sung Gye.

 Now it really comes to the part where your heart is beating like a hammer, you know Lee Sung Gye won't die, but how will the events fold? Oh, so exciting!

The arrows positioned, but a hand shoots out to stop it. Oh yeah.

 

I can't believe Lee Sung Gye would attempt to even persuade Moo Young to join him when we all know how LOYAL Moo Young is to Lee In Im. Ah well, let's just send Ya Sook to battle him.

Moo Young does not get easily defeated. His name is Moo Young ("no shadow") for a reason! The fight's intense, and I actually think that Ya Sook might get hurt, but that wouldn't make sense when Lee Sung Gye's watching over and this guy is practically cornered.

Phew, luckily Ya Sook takes him down with some bloody gashes and for me, covering of my eyes.

 I'm okay with the blood. I just don't want to see a good person getting hurt.

And the Evil Priestess gets a vision that Lee In Im is in danger. But how, lady? Didn't you lose your powers when you gave birth? That's what Lee In Im wonders as well and shrugs her concerns off.
The God's are being a bit unfair here. Why give the E.P the ability to still see visions when she doesn't deserve it?

Having successfully persuaded Choi Young. They use his name to call forth Lee In Im to the palace and prepare for ambush.

Which on another note, Choi Young this lad. Why does he make me hate him so much when I thought he was supposed to be all 'gracious and courageous'? When the King tells him to fight Lee In Im, he's just like "he's doing a good job of handling the kingdom, let him be." LIKE seriously?

Will this really be the end of Lee In Im?

Dududun.....

....

Overall, things are picking up to a better pace and I find myself excited to watch and anticipate what's going to happen next. They're good at all the 'plots' and 'action' and that's what is keeping this drama going. The relationships and stuff... ehhhhh, not so much. 

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The Great Seer Ep.21&22

Episode 22

Slow for most of the times, but heightened anticipation arriving at the end (as always).

 

Ban Ya's son is chosen as King with a majority vote. Grr, at Choi Young for 'betraying' Lee Sung Gye. I know, I know. He didn't have a choice and Lee In Im is probably the 'only' one to save Goryeo for now. But still, Choi Young up till now has been portrayed to be quite useless and submissive for the most of this show. What a great difference from "Faith".

I don't think the writers of this show's specialty is 'romance' because it's totally obvious in the way they handle the love-line of the characters. We start off with Ji Sang leaving Hae In behind and he's all like "Oh, something came up. We'll get married another time." And then jump to another scene where he back-hugs her after he's swiftly cleared things up. Then they somehow get married? Whaaa?

It's okay, though. I can make without the romance here. But I think it would've helped the show if it was more well-written. And they've totally wasted Kim So Yeon on her role here. I knew it was nothing big to begin with as her character description was "giving up everything for the man she loves" and "defying her fate as a queen" but other than that, her character isn't really interesting! But besides that, Kim So Yeon at least makes up for that. She's working well with such little she's given.

I see Jung Geun's evil genes are totally working when he's
in his parent's 'meeting room'. They're a killer
evil family.

I didn't like how Moo Hak suggested Lee Sung Gye to suck-up to Lee In Im. Escaping and avoiding would not be a solution as well, but forcing him to suddenly treat Lee In Im well by 'bribery' is just plain stupid. Lee In Im is not dumb. Why would someone who always opposed him, come up to him all of a suddenly and be all chummy?

I think Lee Sung Gye has still not broken from his 'old' personality. He still is rash and hot-headed and does not think things through. If you're up against someone like Lee In Im and his crew, you must play by their rules. But Lee Sung Gye isn't that type of person! Even when the trap's laid out in front of him and all seems too good to be true, he doesn't think and just jumps right into it!

Torture for the viewer, really. The whole time I was watching I'm like "Guys! It's a trap, don't fall for it!" "Ji Sang, you're smart, figure something's amiss!" "Noooooo!!!".

And I was holding to a bit of hope at the end that something would stop them from falling in the hole, but nope.

And might I add that Jung Geun is truly villainous in here. Like, I think he might even surpass his father in the future (in evil-ness). He has his goons working well for him (Ji Sang's dad included), he knows what people to use (Ban Ya as bait for Ji Sang) and he sets to accomplish his father's goal AND his goal (to kill Lee Sung Gye and Ji Sang). Like, he's brilliant! (in evil territory) 

Noooo, good right-hand man of Lee Sung Gye. You must not die!

Surrounded and trapped. Scre-ewed man, sigh. Lee Sung Gye must change his thinking now. He's up against a real smart and evil competitor.

Episode 22

A much more solid episode with lots and lots of action and increased heart-rate for the viewers.

So nervous! Team 1 is cornered for good and Lee Sung Gye is ready to save his men when Ji Sang tells him to shoot at his right hand man. Yes, thank god. They can escape (barely) Lee In Im's plan, but it'll have to come with a little sacrifice.

Luckily Right-Hand man escapes just in time and is helped by Hae-In. Yes! I knew she had some purpose! The funny scene was the confrontation between Lee In Im and Lee Sung Gye. BOTH of them know each other's intentions, but they cooly retort back with sarcastic replies like "Tighten security in case the traitors come back (Lee Sung Gye)" and "Thanks for your help, I'll surely remember this day (Lee In Im)." They were probably gritting their teeth to get by this conversation, haha.

 Ji Sang finds Ban Ya and is bewildered at why she's staying here with the evil people. "But they're powerful, they can help me." "You think I'd go become a farmer with you?" Oh Ban Ya. You still have not learnt your lesson, have you?

"You're going to be used and thrown away again." 

"Oh, but I don't care, I'll seduce the son of Lee In Im and make him my man so I can be powerful again."

*Shake head*

With the life of Lee Sung Gye's right-hand man on line, MOOHAK here says it's best to just cut away the 'sores', in other words abandon him. Really, Moohak? Aren't you supposed to be the great and wise one? Up till now all I've seen you do is drink, laugh and not give any good advice. How are you going to show your usefulness, huh?

Hae In is travelling around with the injured right-hand man looking for a place that will accept them.

They arrive at Lee Sung Gye's future in-laws place (yay!) and are directed away by future Mrs. Lee's brother or Kang shi's brother. Just when they plan to find another place, Kang Shi steps out and allows them to stay at her dwelling. She's bold and fearless when she says that she's only helping them because their 'leader' is the one to rebel against a kingdom, and so she accepts them.

 

 

So everyone's on a heated chase to find the wounded Jin Ran. With the bad guys literally behind a millimeter away from the good guys. It was so intense to watch. First we're shown Ji Sang's method of tracking them down. With the help of comedic father they secure the location. On the other hand, the evil guys are just lucky when some passerby reports to them seeing a wounded guy and young girl heading towards some place.

Next, they have to pinpoint their exact location. Ji Sang arrives at the Kang's place, and with his "great seer" abilities is able to tell the daughter of the household will rise over the son. Jung Geun is not bad himself as he looks at the tombstones of the people in the area to pinpoint the location. However even though he can do that, he's just tripping on luck when it comes to truly finding them. They go to Lord Kang's place demanding him to give the traitor but Kang's like "I would never do that. But some young man asked the same thing and asked if I had a sister."

*Palm face* Why, do the evil goons always get things easy here?

No! The Evil Crew make it just in time to corner them creating a tense moment when they demand handover over of the 'fugitive'. But yes! Lee Sung Gye appears right on time to save his man.  "He just got hurt while hunting. I'm here to pick him up."

I know this was an intense moment, but everyone in their heads were probably like "gosh, that's such a lame excuse."

So everyone draws their swords prepared to fight, but future wife of Lee Sung Gye eases a bit of the tension by telling the two to settle it inside over some tea. Yes, I think that will help.

Okay. So I'm prepared for some long heated conversation between these two but...

First Lee Sung Gye admits that he wants to kill Lee In Im. "You want to fight, let's fight then? Who do you think will win?" "I'm a general, I've fought many battles, we'll only end up both wounded and at loss."

"So how about this. You stay here to rule the country, I'll go to the borders to fight the bandits." 

Sounds good, let's head out.

So after intense plans and chases to kill Lee Sung Gye, Lee In Im backs down? Now, I guess this is the best decision for both of them now, because Lee Sung Gye will 'temporarily' no longer be a threat to him now. But I don't think Lee In Im is stupid to think that he's going to stay away for long. He just wants him out of the picture so he can rule the kingdom for now. He's failed too much times to kill him, but since both of them are backing down, it's all good.

Brrrrr, it must have been reeeeal cold in that room because all I could concentrate on where the billowing pillars of cold air Jung Geun and Hyo Myung were breathing out. Aw, they could've at least of had a heater in that room.

 

Jung Geun unintentionally kills Hyo Myong! What a douchebag. Now he plans to escape leaving the injured Hyo Myong, when Ji Sang comes running in and saves him. He hides around the corner just in time to hear some juicy news that Hyo Myong admits killing Ji Sang's father. He tells Ji Sang to take good care of Hae In and dies in his arms.

And now the really angering part comes. Jung Geun jumps out and has the audacity to push all blame on Ji Sang, all with a straight face right in front of Hyo Myong, who he just killed minutes ago. Like, for real? You're so evil! Good acting skills there. I see you've learnt well from your parents.

 Oh, Jung Geun-ah. You wouldn't let such a good chance of framing Ji Sang would you?

And everything goes down-hill for the just-married lovers right here.

 Jung Geun holding on to that bit of juicy info tells Hae In that Ji Sung killed her father for revenge. Poor Hae In is just utterly lost right now. That's what you do when you can't get the girl you want. You ruin her life.

Er, and Jung Geun returns home and chooses to come conveniently go into Ban Ya's room? I know they're trying to set it up so Ban Ya can get Jung Geun on her side, but realistic-wise, this was just so out of it.

And um, he's all shaken up from killing Hae In's father and framing Ji Sang and lying to Hae-In so he falls into Ban Ya's arms. Oh wait, isn't he all used to the above stuff? He does it all the time!

Ji Sang gets taken away while Hae In comes to see him to confirm that her father killed his father (as conveniently told by Jung Geun). She thinks he was using her all along just to get revenge and leaves him screaming and flailing telling her it is not so. It really isn't! 

But she just leaves.

Ah, I knew these two could not have such a smooth sailing relationship. But if we keep on getting misunderstandings  I wonder if they'll only resolve it at the end of the show.

We'll be back soon.

When the time's right.

.....

So intense episode there, setting up for another time jump with more new characters to appear later on. Excited, because we're nearing the actual part of the plot where Lee Sung Gye overthrows Goryeo to make way for his Joseon. Took us 22 episodes, but we're nearly there, at least. 

I don't have much hope for Ji Sang and Hae In's relationship right now because everything to do with relationships is just so messy. In fact, I don't care about love-lines for this show. I'm pretty content with the real storyline and that is how Lee Sung Gye will overturn and create a new era. Epic-ness. 

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