[Drama Review] 'Scarlet Heart: Ryeo' - Episode 16

AKP STAFF

SCARLET HEART: RYEO -- EPISODE 16

At that moment, Choi considers including Beano� with So's meals...

The purge concludes, and no one will be the same again.

It almost seems like the producers of this episode said "Okay, let's listen to Eric" and wrote things the way I wanted and hoped for. It's a little coincidental that not one but two things were changed in this way, but maybe I'm just overthinking it.

The first was that they finally did time shifts correctly. So takes off, and Hae Soo waits for him. Artfully, they show the time changing from summer to fall to winter and back again. The CGI here is sweet and wonderful. Not only that, they tell you what year it is, helping us to orient ourselves immensely. I can't imagine what made them all of a sudden include this. It's almost like they listened to viewers and reviewers alike and re-edited things. That would explain why scenes that were supposed to be in the last episode ended up here.

"Lighten up, son. In everyone's life, a little reign must fall..."

The second thing is that they altered the events in Hae Soo's vision presaging Eun's death. We all know that So was the cause of it, and he appeared to laugh cruelly after he cut Eun and Soon Deok down. But the actual events shook this up a bit and gave intent to the action. Soon Deok was already dead, and Eun begged So to kill him so he could be with his recently killed wife. The laugh was more a rictus born from pain. It was a powerful scene, made all the more powerful by the different interpretation of his actions. The only question is this: what was the point of the vision?

Which brings me to my next point: how many have to die? It seems a needless thing. Once you get used to everyone dropping like flies, it seems less novel and more tiresome. It seems like they're trying too hard to be edgy, and it's descending into self-parody. I liked Eun and Soon Deok, and their deaths felt particularly pointless because they had just started to get along as a couple in love, and the show robbed us of more cute moments by killing them.

The backhug: a unisex maneuver

Speaking of self-parody, the musical thrones game is wearing thin. I realize they've got a story to tell, but the whole ascension thing is a bit boring, and the kings are all insane. It's a little hard to care since the kings don't spend more than a couple episodes on the throne and then BAM! New ruler! The most common theme in this drama is "three years pass, and there's a new monarch." And when they go nuts, they become even less sympathetic characters.

They did step up the romance between Hae Soo and Prince So, though I still wasn't completely happy with it. It seems like they always punctuate their love affair with something, whether it's fear or broken trust, and they are forever trying to put them at arm's length before they get the two together. And we got some genuinely adorable scenes. I just get tired of the on again-off again nature of their relationship. If they're supposed to be together, then get them there!

"Did you know my hand is about as big as your whole head?"

It's becoming more of a mess, particularly with this episode. It's like they're falling all over themselves to get to the end, and that leads to all sorts of the plot issues I mentioned. The edits lingered a bit long too, so I was not impressed with the pacing either. They need to introduce some new elements into the show and really shake things up. This episode needed a serious wedgie.

Note: If you're looking for episode 17, that's next week at the same time, assuming it's not preempted by the ball game.