[Drama Review] 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' - Episode 15

AKP STAFF

Baekhyun, Seohyun, IU, Lee Jun Ki, Z.HERA

SCARLET HEART: RYEO -- EPISODE 16

Queen Sinmyeongsunseong just loves what you've done with the place

We finally see Hae Soo being more proactive. I've written before about how she was kind of pulled along by events, even when she was appointed by the king as his adviser. Even as the head of the Damiwon, she just seemed distant and not really involved. But here she finally takes a stand and doesn't let her friends be indiscriminately slaughtered by King Yo's paranoid prince purge. Again, she's a modern woman, and it's refreshing when she acts like it.

Soon Deok and Eun have got to be the cutest characters in the series, and they were given rather larger roles here. I've always been a fan of Baekhyun's portrayal of the young Prince, and finally, he and Z.HERA�get something meaty and meaningful. They at last relate to each other as a couple, and his playful side comes out. This series consistently dials back the romance, so I was hoping those two could make it work. Ironically, that may be their last performance before being cut down.

Now repeat the sacred words after me, Wook: "oh wha t'jer kiam..."

Which brings us to my annoyance: there is one scene in the trailer left on the cutting room floor, at least in my version. About 28 seconds in, we get a glimpse of what might have happened to Eun and Soon Deok. It's tragic, but it seems an essential part of the story, and we're left to wonder what happened. Did they both escape? Maybe one or the other? We don't know. That vexed me. I'd not only like to know, but I'm pretty sure the guards would have gotten a run for their money where Soon Deok is concerned.

I'm trying to figure out what Woo Hee's role is. I know there's a romance going on between her and Baek Ah -- at least I'm pretty sure, given the weird sidestepping this drama does when it comes to love affairs, but I can't figure out where she fits. In Goryeo, I would think a would-be assassin would be put to death, but she's just sent back to the gyobang. She seems more an excuse to put another idol in the show than anything. I'm hoping the deal she made with King Yo gives her more relevance.

"I'll win this round of hide and go seek! They'll never find me here!"

I liked the use of flashbacks in this episode. They seem to do that pretty well, probably because there are no children in the cast. Seeing kids is a signal that character development is going to take place. The characters Mini-So, Mini-Choi, and Mini-Soon Deok are cute, and you get more of an idea of their hopes and dreams and where they came from. We finally find out why Astronomer Choi grieved so heavily at Moo's death -- they grew up together as friends.

This show seems to get more exasperating as time goes on, and this episode ended up as a shadow of what it could have been, and that's a shame. It's not terrible, in fact, it's fun to watch, but as I've pointed out there's tons of little pet peeves that really stop the episode from being epic. I don't know, maybe I think too much, but my enjoyment is impacted by all these little things that hit me while I watch, anything that breaks immersion is a bad thing. Until next time!