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Ruler: Master of the Mask
To start, I have to say that Ruler, had been one of the recent sageuk series that I’ve enjoyed very much. It’s been a while actually since I’ve been able to enjoy a sageuk series at least since Love in the Moonlight. But then again LitM don’t really focused too much on the politics and light enough to enjoy so that’s that. And LitM was pretty to look at so there’s another point.
Similarly, Ruler also was quite easy to watch as in... (I already mentioned this before actually) while there’s enough of the political plot going on, there’s also a bit of drama on the side and there’s a story about love and friendship and sometimes those things crossed towards the political confrontations and things happened. Yet to be honest, I’m fine with how all the story elements where pretty balanced and connect together while not leaning too much on the serious topics or focusing too much on romance till it pulled you away from the story. I can literally loop the whole series over and over again and I won’t feel drained over certain scenes that may dwell too much, too long on some despairing issues. Some people may disagree, but I like how the drama paced the story well. Like the plot don’t move too fast or too slow, and the story flow felt natural. I appreciate that a lot in any story. The two 30 minute episode per day/4 mini episodes per week format was also utilized well as each episodes tend to pause/end and just the right moment... was also something that I love very much. It doesn’t really feel like you’re watching the same amount of episodes per week even if you ARE watching the same amount of episodes per week.
Also frankly, this was what tend to slow me down whenever I watch sageuk series whenever a good series tend to be too serious and sometimes there weren’t any buffer scenes to lift your spirit back to keep watching. And half the time, when the tone of the series remained the same from start to finish or even during certain parts of the series...it gets too draining for me to continue to watch the show and leading to me to put down the show a bit and take a longer time to finish a story. This was what happened while I was watching Tree with Deep Root, Warrior Baek Dong Soo, and even the recent drama Queen for Seven Days. I especially hated whenever a sageuk story feature scheming ministers regardless if they’re on the good side or the bad side, in the end they’re still the same. Yet, in Ruler... even if there are corrupt officers etc doing things, the overall plot was not too despairing. Like there’s a balance when the Pyunsoo group win the battle and then Seon’s side winning/surviving, so you don’t really continuously feeling despair while watching the episodes. Because yes, when the villain side kept winning the battle and the good side kept losing the battle and the power balance was way off despite the main good guys were supposed to be the ‘hope’, you can’t really feel hopeful enough to keep watching the show for the plot to get better and it become a struggle to watch the next ep.
Another thing that I love about Ruler, is that the series really had a really great ost score. I particularly liked this certain track that tend to play whenever Seon had a decisive moment or during the next episode preview was showing. Cos you see, to me especially... ost played a huge role to convey the emotions of the story. And considering I tend to unconsciously hold my breath during intense scenes, whenever that track came out I always end up being able to breathe again. And whenever that track was played in series I always felt the feeling of hope inside my chest and it’s certainly a good feeling. Especially since Seon in this series was supposed to be a figure that represented hope.
This was exactly what I felt when Seon took the three poppy pills and the moment it’s shown that he survived and the ost track played and his body was shown to start reacting to counter the poison. OST really played important part in any series and at that moment the scene just screamed ‘Hope LIVES’ and I have to say that it’s a perfect collaboration between storytelling and music accompaniment.
Also the other vocal theme songs are also a pleasant thing. Like the songs DOES add a lot to the story whenever words were not enough to convey the full emotions of the scenes. Like track 3, the song that Hwang Chiyeol sang... which end up being the ending song throughout the series. That song really conveyed a lot about Seon, in which it was another reason why I love Seon so much (and it’s not just because Seungho played him). Like the song really portrayed Seon’s pain and struggle and it really fitted him and the series overall theme.
I really love Ruler’s OST.
When talking about the plot of Ruler, one would have certainly talk about its many characters... no? And to be honest, since I've read many opinions on what they think the series's story was about... I have to say the Ruler's story was not just about Seon, or some says it's Iseon, or Hwagun, or Gaeun or Daemok. The Ruler's story was actually as it is. It's the story about what it is to become a Ruler. But we'll get back to that last point later.
Crown Prince Lee Seon
Despite what I wrote earlier about the story not being mainly about Seon, Ruler is without a doubt Seon's story... mostly. Ruler started by introducing Pyunsoo group briefly, and how Lee Yung allied with the group to become king. But then the plot moved on to Seon's birth and his prophesy and then his poisoning, and later on how Daemok used his life to bargain to gain authority over water. The whole conflict in the series started from Seon, and at the end you see Seon take down the group and reclaim water for the people. If that doesn't scream at you saying that this series is Seon's story, I dont know what you were watching.
At the beginning of the story, Seon appeared to be like any other crown prince as you'd imagine and a bit more. Having lived for years wearing a mask, he kept trying to find out the truth of why he needed the mask. Seon's basically a sheltered child who just wanted to find out the secret that was related to him, and yet because of that... it lead to chain reactions to which he found out about the Pyunsoo group, lost his rightful place as a king as well as many of the people he held dear.
Throughout the series, Seon had grown a lot. From a naive prince who's yet fully aware of what his status as a crown prince means and that his actions held great consequences to his people, he became a young man who gradually learned how to gain the trust of his people (during his time as an assistant peddler until he became a chief) and then grew into someone who cared a lot about his subjects. After inevitably caused the death of some of his loyal subjects due to his recklessness, he became more careful in his action in order to not senselessly endanger his subjects. Seon grew from being a prince who was sheltered and clueless about the world, into a ruler who held deep concern about his people. The hardship he went through made him kind, and the loss of his birthright made him more appreciative of the importance of the title of a ruler. This series definitely focused around his life.
That aside, I have a fondness for Seon. From the brief hints of him having a slight bouts of mischievousness, we're also shown his innocence and his frustrations at not knowing why he needed to wear a mask at all times. We're also shown how human he was as he also had bouts where he felt hopeless. Like he cried in his greenhouse, his private space which also function as his sanctuary. Something I always wondered, if Seon prior to his escape from the shrine ever tried looking at his face. Considering the prior scene of him having to listen to some of the peasants wondering loudly about his supposed illness. That must've bothered him a lot, like Seon must've wondered if there's something wrong with his face and wondering if there's something that only other people could see. Having to bear with that for almost 17 years must have been hard. All these times he might have acted as if those things didn't bother him, but it must've hurt him a lot.
Of all the earlier scenes in Ruler, the one when he first step out into the crowd at the marketplace was the one that hit me hard. Like when he first walked in the place full of people he'd immediately covered his face, worrying what would people say if they saw his face. Like was it really hideous that warranted the use of the mask? He'd been so anxious about it... and then the old guy that bumped into him and saw his face didn't react much. And then there's those gisaengs (?) that kept sending glances at him, not really repulsed at his sight... did that mean he didn't look so bad? To Seon, that must have been a strange new experience.
Something about Seon's character is a bit refreshing to see. He's written as a young prince who had his own insecurities, due to his circumstances he was clueless about the world outside the palace, he also had times when he cried over things that he could not change. He also had his innocence, his naivete, while having a heroic personality he also had a very kind heart. Not saying that past shows had never had characters like Seon, but it was not often that sageuk series actually focused on prince characters having such traits. And not making such traits to be a weakness to the character. Like more often than not, you see prince characters being written to already had certain charisma in them, or having cleverness or already virtuous or almost perfect. Only recently you see dramas featuring royalties that aren't quite perfect. That they're also allowed to have moments of weaknesses. That's good... because even royalties are humans. They have feelings too.
Some people might think that Seon's character might be too idealistic (him being too kind at times, as well as heroic and overly virtuous) but I don't think that's a bad thing. He felt more relatable to be honest, and makes you want to root for him as he strive his best to reclaim the throne. Because half the times prince characters like him often ended up being beaten down and mocked due to their kindness and naivete which often end up with them becoming a weak king and being controlled by ministers, or them ending up throwing away their kindness to protect themselves, or being killed... and those trope tend to wear you down too often. So for having characters like Seon who actually succeeded to becoming a strong king and overcoming all obstacles yet still retaining their kind personalities and refusing to kill unless unavoidable, can actually be quite healing. Because seriously, sageuk series that featured royal families don't have to always end in a depressing note or having them inevitably having had to adapt to the cruel world and change. Or having the kind princes growing up into cold-hearted kings.
Iseon/Lee Seon the fake King
First thing first, I'm gonna use this distinction to differentiate between the prince Lee Seon and the peasant Lee Seon. Also because 'Leeseon' look weird. Particularly because, I don't think Gaeun gave him that name to intend the Yi/Lee character to act as his surname. Else that would have to apply to the rest of the family, and I don't think one could easily or freely adapt a surname especially a low-born peasant. Also I think for the subjects, esp those that had surnames should have had registered their names so that they would have had some kind of identification tag on them that would prove their identity. So for a low-born peasant, it's highly unlikely they could claim the surname Lee just because someone gave the name to them. *shrugs*
Anyway, at the start, Iseon was introduced as this peasant boy who tagged along Gaeun. And also happen to work as a water carrier/guard for the water bureau. Unknowingly he met up with Seon, whose full name sounded similar to the name Gaeun gave him. At this point, he's already shown to somehow admired Gaeun more than just as a childhood friend. Then later on he found out who Seon really was and offered himself to be Seon's replacement for the Pyunsoo group initiation and that's when his life started to change drastically.
There's this opinion I read that believes that in truth, Ruler was actually about him, a peasant boy who ended up being made a false king who then fell to madness and tried to usurp the throne for real. But I don't agree. Yes, for being thrown into the chaos and being manipulated by Pyunsoo group, he did seemed to appear as the main character. But no, he's not. He's still a secondary character with regards to the main chara Seon. Despite that, he did have his own growth as compared to Seon. From an innocent peasant, to an unfortunate scapegoat being made a puppet king, being swayed by brief madness to want to claim the throne for himself, and then getting his own redemption.
To be honest, at the beginning, I considered Iseon to be a pitiable character. Having had his father being killed, then tortured just because he had wanted to offer his help to his first friend that just happened to be the crown prince and later on being forced to become a puppet king... Iseon definitely someone you can't help pitying. But then throughout the course of the story (esp after he knew that Seon survived) he started to change and actually wanted the throne for himself, and I can't for the life of me continued liking his character. Though yes, Iseon's change of heart was a prime example how power could corrupt people to the point one could be blind towards other things. And to be honest, as Iseon continued on his path of no return... I was not expecting his character to be able to redeem himself. And boy, was I glad to be wrong.
This is also another reason why I like that Seon's character from the start to the beginning remaining constant. Because of his forgiving nature and knowing that Iseon was not fully at fault and that regardless of the things he did and all the betrayals, that was what allowed a path for Iseon to redeem himself. Because not all villains started out being villains, and if it was possible for the villains to take a new path and become good again... why not give them another chance? Thus even if Iseon did die in the end, his character managed to reclaim his honour. And to think that this was L/Kim Myungsoo's first attempt at sageuk, he managed to do well in bringing Iseon character to life.
Yet, to be honest? I can't consider Iseon to be a strong antagonist in this drama. Because if you take out Daemok's influence, as well as other characters' influences that lead to Iseon having the illusion that he actually had some semblance of power throughout the series... Iseon had nothing to himself to actually be anything of substance. His character was the strongest at the beginning of the story when he offered to help Seon, as well as the moments near the end when he sacrificed himself to protect Gaeun. But in between that? He didn't really impressed me much. Well, during the time he's still bound as Daemok's puppet king, I have to say that it could not be helped. Yet the moment he start thinking he wanted to claim Gaeun as his own, that's when I lost faith in him. And Iseon went back and forth between earnestly trying to help Seon and shamelessly wanting to betray him is what annoyed me most. I mean, the only motivation in him that he had was to get Gaeun like some trophy, in which to be honest... was not really impressive. Also, to even think to want to be a king without realizing how grave the responsibilities he have to carry... not really impressive.
Han Gaeun & Kim Hwagun
I'm combining both of them since there's already a post on them that already covered enough of them so I don't think there's much left that I could add to it. To be honest, I don't think either of the two girls are lacking compared to each other.
Like I used to recall this discourse on tumblr on how they think that Gaeun was not a good counterpart to Seon compared to Hwagun and how she contributed less compared to Hwagun and I disagree. And yes, this is a shipping argument. People argued that Hwagun made better pair to Seon and she's more resilient compared to Gaeun and she should be the one by Seon's side. And half of the reason was because people like Hwagun better (despite she being Daemok's granddaughter)
Honestly I wonder if people had forgotten that as much as Hwagun does aid Seon a lot in his battles, she had been responsible to quite a few incidents that had caused Seon grief. It was because of her trying to get Seon who had slipped out of the palace that she ended up starting the chain events that lead to Iseon's father being captured for stealing water, led to Seon revealing his presence, sparked the plot that end up forcing Seon to have to sacrifice a loyal subject; in which it added to Pyeonsu group being able to kill the king and queen and took control of the kingdom. Heck, even Hwagun herself had admitted that it was her greed that inevitably hurting her loved one. As how she had witnessed Seon cry over the death of an eunuch who had served him for so long.
That said, people argued that Gaeun did little for Seon aside from being a damsel in distress. But people forgot that for the Crown Prince who had lost so many people dear to him, Gaeun was soothing presence and a strong anchor that gave him strength to continue fighting. Losing her would've caused Seon enough heartache that he'll probably would end up becoming another Daemok.
Yet, that doesn't mean that Hwagun wasn't an important person to Seon. Like I used to see people say Seon was an ungrateful person for disregarding all of the things Hwagun had done for him. Especially after he found out who she really is. But something that people tend to not notice was that, afterwards... Seon did still care about Hwagun as a good friend.
Like when Hwagun begged him to take her as his person (in order to save himself) he was aware of Hwagun's true loyalty. Only reason that he still refuse her was because he didn't want to save himself at the expense of Hwagun's happiness. And while Hwagun wouldn't have minded that, Seon most likely would. And prove that Seon did consider Hwagun his friend again was the fact that he hadn't minded Hwagun being by his side afterwards (despite how much earlier he told Hwagun not to see him again after finding out that Daemok was her grandfather.) If that wasn't convincing enough, you can just look at how Seon didn't push Hwagun away when she hugged him (and kissed him goodbye later)
And Seon did worry about her safety during his escape and told her that he will (expect) to see her again. Seriously had he known that Hwagun planned to die to protect him he probably would have gone back to save her instead. So there shouldn't be any doubt that Hwagun was as important to Seon as Gaeun is. If that wasn't so, Seon wouldn't have renewed his resolve to reclaim his throne.
To start, I have to say that Ruler, had been one of the recent sageuk series that I’ve enjoyed very much. It’s been a while actually since I’ve been able to enjoy a sageuk series at least since Love in the Moonlight. But then again LitM don’t really focused too much on the politics and light enough to enjoy so that’s that. And LitM was pretty to look at so there’s another point.
Similarly, Ruler also was quite easy to watch as in... (I already mentioned this before actually) while there’s enough of the political plot going on, there’s also a bit of drama on the side and there’s a story about love and friendship and sometimes those things crossed towards the political confrontations and things happened. Yet to be honest, I’m fine with how all the story elements where pretty balanced and connect together while not leaning too much on the serious topics or focusing too much on romance till it pulled you away from the story. I can literally loop the whole series over and over again and I won’t feel drained over certain scenes that may dwell too much, too long on some despairing issues. Some people may disagree, but I like how the drama paced the story well. Like the plot don’t move too fast or too slow, and the story flow felt natural. I appreciate that a lot in any story. The two 30 minute episode per day/4 mini episodes per week format was also utilized well as each episodes tend to pause/end and just the right moment... was also something that I love very much. It doesn’t really feel like you’re watching the same amount of episodes per week even if you ARE watching the same amount of episodes per week.
Also frankly, this was what tend to slow me down whenever I watch sageuk series whenever a good series tend to be too serious and sometimes there weren’t any buffer scenes to lift your spirit back to keep watching. And half the time, when the tone of the series remained the same from start to finish or even during certain parts of the series...it gets too draining for me to continue to watch the show and leading to me to put down the show a bit and take a longer time to finish a story. This was what happened while I was watching Tree with Deep Root, Warrior Baek Dong Soo, and even the recent drama Queen for Seven Days. I especially hated whenever a sageuk story feature scheming ministers regardless if they’re on the good side or the bad side, in the end they’re still the same. Yet, in Ruler... even if there are corrupt officers etc doing things, the overall plot was not too despairing. Like there’s a balance when the Pyunsoo group win the battle and then Seon’s side winning/surviving, so you don’t really continuously feeling despair while watching the episodes. Because yes, when the villain side kept winning the battle and the good side kept losing the battle and the power balance was way off despite the main good guys were supposed to be the ‘hope’, you can’t really feel hopeful enough to keep watching the show for the plot to get better and it become a struggle to watch the next ep.
Another thing that I love about Ruler, is that the series really had a really great ost score. I particularly liked this certain track that tend to play whenever Seon had a decisive moment or during the next episode preview was showing. Cos you see, to me especially... ost played a huge role to convey the emotions of the story. And considering I tend to unconsciously hold my breath during intense scenes, whenever that track came out I always end up being able to breathe again. And whenever that track was played in series I always felt the feeling of hope inside my chest and it’s certainly a good feeling. Especially since Seon in this series was supposed to be a figure that represented hope.
This was exactly what I felt when Seon took the three poppy pills and the moment it’s shown that he survived and the ost track played and his body was shown to start reacting to counter the poison. OST really played important part in any series and at that moment the scene just screamed ‘Hope LIVES’ and I have to say that it’s a perfect collaboration between storytelling and music accompaniment.
Also the other vocal theme songs are also a pleasant thing. Like the songs DOES add a lot to the story whenever words were not enough to convey the full emotions of the scenes. Like track 3, the song that Hwang Chiyeol sang... which end up being the ending song throughout the series. That song really conveyed a lot about Seon, in which it was another reason why I love Seon so much (and it’s not just because Seungho played him). Like the song really portrayed Seon’s pain and struggle and it really fitted him and the series overall theme.
I really love Ruler’s OST.
When talking about the plot of Ruler, one would have certainly talk about its many characters... no? And to be honest, since I've read many opinions on what they think the series's story was about... I have to say the Ruler's story was not just about Seon, or some says it's Iseon, or Hwagun, or Gaeun or Daemok. The Ruler's story was actually as it is. It's the story about what it is to become a Ruler. But we'll get back to that last point later.
Crown Prince Lee Seon
Despite what I wrote earlier about the story not being mainly about Seon, Ruler is without a doubt Seon's story... mostly. Ruler started by introducing Pyunsoo group briefly, and how Lee Yung allied with the group to become king. But then the plot moved on to Seon's birth and his prophesy and then his poisoning, and later on how Daemok used his life to bargain to gain authority over water. The whole conflict in the series started from Seon, and at the end you see Seon take down the group and reclaim water for the people. If that doesn't scream at you saying that this series is Seon's story, I dont know what you were watching.
At the beginning of the story, Seon appeared to be like any other crown prince as you'd imagine and a bit more. Having lived for years wearing a mask, he kept trying to find out the truth of why he needed the mask. Seon's basically a sheltered child who just wanted to find out the secret that was related to him, and yet because of that... it lead to chain reactions to which he found out about the Pyunsoo group, lost his rightful place as a king as well as many of the people he held dear.
Throughout the series, Seon had grown a lot. From a naive prince who's yet fully aware of what his status as a crown prince means and that his actions held great consequences to his people, he became a young man who gradually learned how to gain the trust of his people (during his time as an assistant peddler until he became a chief) and then grew into someone who cared a lot about his subjects. After inevitably caused the death of some of his loyal subjects due to his recklessness, he became more careful in his action in order to not senselessly endanger his subjects. Seon grew from being a prince who was sheltered and clueless about the world, into a ruler who held deep concern about his people. The hardship he went through made him kind, and the loss of his birthright made him more appreciative of the importance of the title of a ruler. This series definitely focused around his life.
That aside, I have a fondness for Seon. From the brief hints of him having a slight bouts of mischievousness, we're also shown his innocence and his frustrations at not knowing why he needed to wear a mask at all times. We're also shown how human he was as he also had bouts where he felt hopeless. Like he cried in his greenhouse, his private space which also function as his sanctuary. Something I always wondered, if Seon prior to his escape from the shrine ever tried looking at his face. Considering the prior scene of him having to listen to some of the peasants wondering loudly about his supposed illness. That must've bothered him a lot, like Seon must've wondered if there's something wrong with his face and wondering if there's something that only other people could see. Having to bear with that for almost 17 years must have been hard. All these times he might have acted as if those things didn't bother him, but it must've hurt him a lot.
Of all the earlier scenes in Ruler, the one when he first step out into the crowd at the marketplace was the one that hit me hard. Like when he first walked in the place full of people he'd immediately covered his face, worrying what would people say if they saw his face. Like was it really hideous that warranted the use of the mask? He'd been so anxious about it... and then the old guy that bumped into him and saw his face didn't react much. And then there's those gisaengs (?) that kept sending glances at him, not really repulsed at his sight... did that mean he didn't look so bad? To Seon, that must have been a strange new experience.
Something about Seon's character is a bit refreshing to see. He's written as a young prince who had his own insecurities, due to his circumstances he was clueless about the world outside the palace, he also had times when he cried over things that he could not change. He also had his innocence, his naivete, while having a heroic personality he also had a very kind heart. Not saying that past shows had never had characters like Seon, but it was not often that sageuk series actually focused on prince characters having such traits. And not making such traits to be a weakness to the character. Like more often than not, you see prince characters being written to already had certain charisma in them, or having cleverness or already virtuous or almost perfect. Only recently you see dramas featuring royalties that aren't quite perfect. That they're also allowed to have moments of weaknesses. That's good... because even royalties are humans. They have feelings too.
Some people might think that Seon's character might be too idealistic (him being too kind at times, as well as heroic and overly virtuous) but I don't think that's a bad thing. He felt more relatable to be honest, and makes you want to root for him as he strive his best to reclaim the throne. Because half the times prince characters like him often ended up being beaten down and mocked due to their kindness and naivete which often end up with them becoming a weak king and being controlled by ministers, or them ending up throwing away their kindness to protect themselves, or being killed... and those trope tend to wear you down too often. So for having characters like Seon who actually succeeded to becoming a strong king and overcoming all obstacles yet still retaining their kind personalities and refusing to kill unless unavoidable, can actually be quite healing. Because seriously, sageuk series that featured royal families don't have to always end in a depressing note or having them inevitably having had to adapt to the cruel world and change. Or having the kind princes growing up into cold-hearted kings.
Iseon/Lee Seon the fake King
First thing first, I'm gonna use this distinction to differentiate between the prince Lee Seon and the peasant Lee Seon. Also because 'Leeseon' look weird. Particularly because, I don't think Gaeun gave him that name to intend the Yi/Lee character to act as his surname. Else that would have to apply to the rest of the family, and I don't think one could easily or freely adapt a surname especially a low-born peasant. Also I think for the subjects, esp those that had surnames should have had registered their names so that they would have had some kind of identification tag on them that would prove their identity. So for a low-born peasant, it's highly unlikely they could claim the surname Lee just because someone gave the name to them. *shrugs*
Anyway, at the start, Iseon was introduced as this peasant boy who tagged along Gaeun. And also happen to work as a water carrier/guard for the water bureau. Unknowingly he met up with Seon, whose full name sounded similar to the name Gaeun gave him. At this point, he's already shown to somehow admired Gaeun more than just as a childhood friend. Then later on he found out who Seon really was and offered himself to be Seon's replacement for the Pyunsoo group initiation and that's when his life started to change drastically.
There's this opinion I read that believes that in truth, Ruler was actually about him, a peasant boy who ended up being made a false king who then fell to madness and tried to usurp the throne for real. But I don't agree. Yes, for being thrown into the chaos and being manipulated by Pyunsoo group, he did seemed to appear as the main character. But no, he's not. He's still a secondary character with regards to the main chara Seon. Despite that, he did have his own growth as compared to Seon. From an innocent peasant, to an unfortunate scapegoat being made a puppet king, being swayed by brief madness to want to claim the throne for himself, and then getting his own redemption.
To be honest, at the beginning, I considered Iseon to be a pitiable character. Having had his father being killed, then tortured just because he had wanted to offer his help to his first friend that just happened to be the crown prince and later on being forced to become a puppet king... Iseon definitely someone you can't help pitying. But then throughout the course of the story (esp after he knew that Seon survived) he started to change and actually wanted the throne for himself, and I can't for the life of me continued liking his character. Though yes, Iseon's change of heart was a prime example how power could corrupt people to the point one could be blind towards other things. And to be honest, as Iseon continued on his path of no return... I was not expecting his character to be able to redeem himself. And boy, was I glad to be wrong.
This is also another reason why I like that Seon's character from the start to the beginning remaining constant. Because of his forgiving nature and knowing that Iseon was not fully at fault and that regardless of the things he did and all the betrayals, that was what allowed a path for Iseon to redeem himself. Because not all villains started out being villains, and if it was possible for the villains to take a new path and become good again... why not give them another chance? Thus even if Iseon did die in the end, his character managed to reclaim his honour. And to think that this was L/Kim Myungsoo's first attempt at sageuk, he managed to do well in bringing Iseon character to life.
Yet, to be honest? I can't consider Iseon to be a strong antagonist in this drama. Because if you take out Daemok's influence, as well as other characters' influences that lead to Iseon having the illusion that he actually had some semblance of power throughout the series... Iseon had nothing to himself to actually be anything of substance. His character was the strongest at the beginning of the story when he offered to help Seon, as well as the moments near the end when he sacrificed himself to protect Gaeun. But in between that? He didn't really impressed me much. Well, during the time he's still bound as Daemok's puppet king, I have to say that it could not be helped. Yet the moment he start thinking he wanted to claim Gaeun as his own, that's when I lost faith in him. And Iseon went back and forth between earnestly trying to help Seon and shamelessly wanting to betray him is what annoyed me most. I mean, the only motivation in him that he had was to get Gaeun like some trophy, in which to be honest... was not really impressive. Also, to even think to want to be a king without realizing how grave the responsibilities he have to carry... not really impressive.
Han Gaeun & Kim Hwagun
I'm combining both of them since there's already a post on them that already covered enough of them so I don't think there's much left that I could add to it. To be honest, I don't think either of the two girls are lacking compared to each other.
Like I used to recall this discourse on tumblr on how they think that Gaeun was not a good counterpart to Seon compared to Hwagun and how she contributed less compared to Hwagun and I disagree. And yes, this is a shipping argument. People argued that Hwagun made better pair to Seon and she's more resilient compared to Gaeun and she should be the one by Seon's side. And half of the reason was because people like Hwagun better (despite she being Daemok's granddaughter)
Honestly I wonder if people had forgotten that as much as Hwagun does aid Seon a lot in his battles, she had been responsible to quite a few incidents that had caused Seon grief. It was because of her trying to get Seon who had slipped out of the palace that she ended up starting the chain events that lead to Iseon's father being captured for stealing water, led to Seon revealing his presence, sparked the plot that end up forcing Seon to have to sacrifice a loyal subject; in which it added to Pyeonsu group being able to kill the king and queen and took control of the kingdom. Heck, even Hwagun herself had admitted that it was her greed that inevitably hurting her loved one. As how she had witnessed Seon cry over the death of an eunuch who had served him for so long.
That said, people argued that Gaeun did little for Seon aside from being a damsel in distress. But people forgot that for the Crown Prince who had lost so many people dear to him, Gaeun was soothing presence and a strong anchor that gave him strength to continue fighting. Losing her would've caused Seon enough heartache that he'll probably would end up becoming another Daemok.
Yet, that doesn't mean that Hwagun wasn't an important person to Seon. Like I used to see people say Seon was an ungrateful person for disregarding all of the things Hwagun had done for him. Especially after he found out who she really is. But something that people tend to not notice was that, afterwards... Seon did still care about Hwagun as a good friend.
Like when Hwagun begged him to take her as his person (in order to save himself) he was aware of Hwagun's true loyalty. Only reason that he still refuse her was because he didn't want to save himself at the expense of Hwagun's happiness. And while Hwagun wouldn't have minded that, Seon most likely would. And prove that Seon did consider Hwagun his friend again was the fact that he hadn't minded Hwagun being by his side afterwards (despite how much earlier he told Hwagun not to see him again after finding out that Daemok was her grandfather.) If that wasn't convincing enough, you can just look at how Seon didn't push Hwagun away when she hugged him (and kissed him goodbye later)
And Seon did worry about her safety during his escape and told her that he will (expect) to see her again. Seriously had he known that Hwagun planned to die to protect him he probably would have gone back to save her instead. So there shouldn't be any doubt that Hwagun was as important to Seon as Gaeun is. If that wasn't so, Seon wouldn't have renewed his resolve to reclaim his throne.
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