Jumong XXV - XXVI

Jumong is back on in my life after a few days of absence and it got even better.

After Daeso made a deal with the Hyunto Governor, he returned to Puyo with the blacksmiths saying everyone that they were Josun immigrants he saved from Han, (only Prime Minister is in on the secret). The blacksmiths made very good swords noting the fact that they are not as good as Han swords but better than current Puyo swords. King was very pleased but Mopalmo (the manager of the iron chamber) is sad since the blacksmiths refuse to teach them the secret of making stronger swords.

Meanwhile Jumong travelled in the neighbouring Han territory and checked the conditions of immigrants out. He is very determined to continue his father's mission. And he told his comrades (Oi, Mari and Hyunpo) the facts about his birth.

In return to Puyo Jumong's mother told him that the reason she came to the palace after Jumong was born is to give him power in order to fufil his mission. She said that there is no one helping him now. Jumong had a meeting with the King and the King told him about Haemosu and his friendship with him. Jumong thanked him for looking after him and his mother but he also said he cannot forgive Daeso and Yuongpo for what they did. Meanwhile Daeso was also waiting to see the King but after Jumong left King refused to see Daeso. And he was furious.

Youngpo still thinks he is crown prince material and I kind of find him funny. He discussed with black market dealer what to do to win the competition now that Daeso is so far ahead with his new swords. Dochi (black market dealer) told him that everyone has a weakness and Daeo's is Jumong.

King held a meeting and made Jumong head of palace body guards. Apparently one of the most important positions in the palace. Jumong brought his comrades to the palace to include them in the bodyguard team and send the very unhappy Mopalmo to Keru to work on the secret of making steel swords. Sosunho took Mopalmo to Keru and soothed the Keru tribal chiefs who were disconcerted with Yontabal being away in Puyo for such a long time. Meanwhile Yontabal also made a deal with Hyunto governor about borrowing a blacksmith to learn how to make better swords. But as opposed to two faced Daeso who agreed to wed Governor's daughter in order to become the crown prince, Yontabal actually paid for this service of Han.

Meanwhile King had a meeting with Jumong and asked him not to hate Daeso and Youngpo since he, the King is the guilty one because he couldn't protect Haemosu as he should have.

The Queen and Court Minister (who is also Queen's brother) really want Daeso to officially become the Crown Prince. But Jumong mother talked to the King and explained that he sent Yeomiul away in order to reduce the shrine's authority but the new sorceress is on Queen's team along with Salchoo chief Mara (also Queen's brother) and court minister. So making Daeso crown prince (hereafter CP) now would be like giving them wings.

So when the court minister applied to the King to decide on the CP matter (with the support of the Prime Minister) but King said he will decide on this matter later.

At the end of the meeting, Daeso approached the King with tears in his eyes asking him what more has he to do in order to gain the King's trust. This is how Episode 26 ended.

Lastly, as a side note: there is the matter of prophecy made by the most talented shrine maid and Yeomiul's protege. She told Yunhwa that Jumong has to leave Puyo for good otherwise he'll die. Yunhwa pondered over this and told the only sorceress Yeomiul has trusted that Jumong will leave Puyo but not now, and asked the prophecy to remain secret. The sorceress agreed to keep it a secret but reminded her that the gods will is that Jumong must leave Puyo.
Also one thing to note, in one of the past episodes Yeomiul asked one of the sorceresses whether they can feel and energy bloking theirs and whether it is Jumong or not. The sorceress replied that yes, she can feel the energy but she is not sure whether it is Jumong, although it is obvious that Jumong is a special person.
Yunhwa

Jumong XXIV

Last night was not a very successful Jumong viewing since I kept falling asleep. Not because the episode was boring - anything but- I felt a little tired I guess.

Jumong took his loyal trio and went outside Puyo to see the world, meet people who knew his father (Haemosu) and find out more about the immigrants in order to complete his father's vision. Well he achieved those and the immigrants he met were in a pitiful condition running away from Han army.

Youngpo is pissed because no one takes him seriously despite the fact that he got rid of Yeomiul and Jumong. The ministers even applied to the King to end the competition now that Jumong is not in it anymore. But the King said the competition should go on.

Meanwhile Daeso wants to find out the secret of steel weapons to guarantee him to be Crown Prince so he agrees to marry Governor's daughter (GD) and he even meets her and she seems to be a real bitch.

Sosuhno and Yontabal are also in Hyunto to meet the Governor and buy the secret of steel sword making from the Minister who is visiting the area.

I got into some of the episode 25 and Jumong beat the Han Iron Army soldiers with his excellent sword skills and rescued the immigrants.

Tess of The D'urbervilles - End, Love and Longing in Bombay and Jumong Eps.XXI, XXII and XXIII

Tess of The D'urbervilles is a great novel and a good introduction to Thomas Hardy. But my fave of his is still Far From The Maddening Crowd - and Jude.

I have started reading Love and Longing in Bombay written by Vikram Chandra. I love this writer and his Sacred Games is a fave of mine although I like Red Earth and Pouring Rain too. Anyway the first story is really good, packs a punch and carries that certain VC flavour.

Meanwhile Jumong is going on full speed. I didn't watch the day before since it was my b-day and family stayed awake till after 23:00 at night.

And in these three episodes things really got interesting.

Stupid Youngpo hired assasins from Dochi to attack the shrine and kill Yeomiul (I will not call her sorceress now since she left the palace after surviving the attack and did a complete 180 degrees. Now she supports Jumong and is very very sorry for interpreting the signs wrong and harming Haemosu this way. She called the King a hypocrite and accused him of wanting Haemosu that because of his love for Yuhwa. Finally she pledged alliance to Yuhwa and more importantly to Jumong. She told the poor man everything and that Haemosu is his father not the King. She said not to trust Kumwa since he knew Daeso and Youngpo killed Haemosu but did nothing to punish them. Well she has a point of course and what she said it true but on the other hand I don't think Kumwa is that bad or dishonourable. He has his weaknesses for sure and any decent father would choose his son over his friend. But he definitely is a hypocrite.

Sosuhno turned Daesoo down very gently but firmly. He was so mad that I thought he was going to burst.

Youngpo also kidnapped Bouyong again and after getting rid of Yeomieul (she said she will suffer away for sometime because she needs to be punished for her sins but she made alliance with Yontabal before she went away) he has targeted Jumong.

Daesoo gets in touch with the Governor requesting the secret of making steel swords. The Governor said he will give it to him but on one condition. He has to marry Governor's daughter. He asked for some time before giving his answer.

While Jumong is trying to make sense of the mess his life has become - Daesoo, Youngpo and Queen are plotting against him although Youngpo didn't tell them any details on how he plans to get rid of Jumong.

So he calls Jumong and tells him to quit the competition or Bouyong is dead. He actually accepts and tells the King he wants out and that the eldest son should be the Crown Prince. Everyone is very suprised and our villains are so very happy. Although Daesoo suspects that there is another reason why Jumong has quit.

Sosuhno is more worried about Jumong loving Bouyong than his quitting of the competition. But as the 23rd episode ends Jumong visits Sosuhno tells him that he needs to go away for a while but he will always think of Sosuhno and offers the ring his mother gave him to her (Haemosu gave this ring to Yuhwa right before Jumong was consummated). Yuhwa told him to give it to the woman he loves so now we know and Sosuhno also knows (she was so full of emotion as she accepted it).

I can't wait to see what will happen now :)

Jumong Episodes XIX - XX

After watching 20 episodes I concur with the S.Koreans that Jumong is a very good show and entertains in every episode.

The title character is so appealing in every way and the villains are nicely presented with one stupid and overacting, one smart and deadly and the others doing all the evil things in the name of their country's well being.

Now Jumong is the hero and is given the tast of being King's Special Envoy and delivering a message to the Hyonto Governor. He of course excels at this being of the same mind with the King and showing the stupid Governor his place. Sad thing for Daeso is that this was the time he decided to visit the Governor himself to secure his support for him being the Crown Prince (he thought that he might be upset since now Puyo doesn't have the salt problem and hence Han will not be able to use this in their negotiations)

Daeso is also losing on Sosuhno front since she is so in love with Jumong. But she and her father asked for sometime in responding his proposal (he wants to marry Sosuhno). The Sosuhno went to Jumong and asked whether he will provide support if things get ugly once she turned Daeso down. Jumong said that he will never back down on his word. I wasn't quite sure whether that was a declaration of love since he mentioned his master's advice on protecting the woman he loves above all else.

Meanwhile the Queen is trying to overthrow the current Sorceress Yeomiul and replace her with one she knows will support Daeso in being Crown Prince. King gave his consent on whatever the Queen wants to do in that regard. Of course Yeomiul doesn't take this lying down and tried to struck an alliance with Yontabal. I don't know the outcome of it though.

Jumong's next step is to find a way to forge steel swords (the Puyo swords are weak weapons and in no way a match to Han's weapons). But the cunning black market dealer's aid found a weak spot in Jumong's trust circle. They tricked Oi into spying by keeping Bouyong under lock and key and pretending that they already sold her to a Han slave trader.
Jumong is looking into the matter but since Oi is madly in love with Bouyoung he just couldn't wait and agreed to be a syp and told about Jumong's intentions of developing steel swords to Youngpo and Deaso.

Youngpo really wants to be Crown Prince and like all the small minded petty people he is hatching plans in assisting Daeso in destroying Jumong and thinking of tricking Daeso and become Crown Prince himself. I would pity him if he was not that evil and stupid.

But Jumong finds out about Bouyong's imprisonment and rescues her and Oi seeing that Jumong really kept his word and such a vailant leader confesses everything and asked to be allowed to go away. I really liked Jumong's reaction here. He went down on his knees in front of Oi and apologised for dealing with the Bouyong issue this late. It takes a great man to do that and Oi and the rest of the trio are really impressed.

The black market dealer got upset after finding out that Bouyong is released and right guessed that Oi will not be their spy anymore but thought that Jumong will be angry with Oi after finding out what he did. So he decided not to tell the Princes about the recent developments. Yet another big mistake since the last scene of episode 20 showed Oi giving information to the princes and Jumong secretly watching them. Go Jumong!

Jumong - 9More Episodes (Spoilers galore!)

Jumong is consuming me with its goodness and I cried and cried and cried at the episode Haemosu died.

I plan on doing a three episode update but didn't even think of going next to a computer on weekend so here is a short version of what happened at 9 episodes further:

Kumwa and Yuhwa both grieved for Haemosu but poor Kumwa went beyond grief learing that Deasu is the one who killed Haemosu (of course he took 200 soldiers to help him since he is no way even near to Haemosu's level of martial arts). It seems that everyone gets away doing bad things and calling it "for Puyo". The Sorceress though is in a bad situation now since Kumwa can not forget the fact that she kept Haemosu as a prisoner for 20 years and never told anybody.
So he decided to seperate religion and state sort of and treats the Sorceress really bad.

After finding out that Haemosu taught Jumong martial arts Kumwa decided it is fate and thought of a way to make Jumong the Crown Prince (CP) without angering everyone.

He decided that three princes will compete for the title. Of course evil Daesu didn't like it and Youngpo didn't either. Jumong though understood the King and decided to look for something to help Puyo with outside the palace.

So he started to work for Yontabal.

Han is giving Puyo grief since they have the salt (apparently a very precious item that is much like money in the financial side of things) and threaten to stop the salt trade whenever they want to control Puyo.

Daeso went to solve the crisis but governor of Hyunto (representing The Han) refused to even see him. So the little shit actually took Haemosu's head and given it to him in exchange for re starting the salt trade. He is such a jerk and devoid of any morals what so ever (it is all "for Puyo" anyway).

Meanwhile Jumong is far sighted enough to realise that the salt problem has to be dealt by finding an alternate supply. And he does research after hearing her mother mention something she heard from his father (leader of the Haebek tribe).

This is again taking too long so after lots of things happen here is where we stand at the end of Episode 18

Jumong saves the day by finding a great salt source and man enough to give Sosuhno equal credit.

Sosuhno is head over heels in love with Jumong.

Deaso is shocked by Jumong's arrival and his accomplishment.

Buyong (this girl used to be a shrine maid but got kicked out because Jumong hit on her and they were locked at a store room by mistake - this is the early, player Jumong). She is now a slave of a bad black market dealer and Jumong asked him to release her, he told he'd need 10.000 coins for her and her two younger siblings for their freedom. Jumong is trying to make some money to save her. He treats her very kindly but I doubt that it is love on his part. Sosuhno is jelaous of her though.

Yuongpo is pathetic in his evil attempts and this actor has a way of contorting his face when he is really evil, I find this really funny.

The Sorceress is desperate to get the shrine involved in political decision making process but Kumwa is having none of it.

Sayong, this hermaphrodite tactitian employed by Yontabal is an interesting character. I like him very much.

Wootae, Yontabal's bodyguard has feelings for Sosuhno but whether they are romantic or brotherly is not clear at this point.

Yontabal got Kumwa's permission to produce swords in Keru (by offering salt at a crucial time). Smart fellow, this Yontabal).

Looking forward to:

Jumong getting deserved recognition for his efforts.
Daeso's reaction of Jumong success.
How Sosuhno will turn Daeso down (she sort of implied that Daeso's feelings were reciprocated and took the jewels he gifted her).

Of course I have not forgotten Tess of the D'urbervilles and loving more and more with each page.

Jumong (Eps.I -IX) and Tess of The D'urbervilles

I expected some of the dvds I purchased in India to not work but I have tried Wanted - didn't work and then gave Dus Kahaniyaan a try and it didn't work either. Seriously what is wrong with the Indian dvd manufacturers? Even the pirated goods are better than these... Anyway after that I have Chandni Chowk to China a try and it worked brilliantly but I fell asleep before the intermission - not that the film is bad, in fact I liked it better than I thought I would. But I just lost some heart after the first two films didn't work. I suspect Dus Kahaniyan will not work at the computer either since that is a rather large blot on the disc.

Then my Jumong dvds have arrived! All the four volumes in their nicely packaged, quality glory.
I have watched the first three episodes when they came out in the Goong dvd but it was some time ago so I re watched them and got into the story.
Now these series are 80 episodes and after watching 9 of those I'm really into the story. It develops at a leisurely pace with flashbacks even at this early stage. The actors are all good and Song Il Gook is really handsome with those cheekbones and lovely full lips. His performance is decent too. The leading lady is acted by Han Hye Jin and she is ok I suppose these series are all about Jumong. And I plan on telling all about it here because I like reading this sort of stuff and hope to enjoy writing about it as well.

What happened so far is that we get to watch two episodes before Jumong becomes 20 years old all of a sudden with a "20 Years Later" note on screen.

Haemosu is a descendant of Ancien Josun which was invaded by the Hans many years ago and now divided into tribes and small kingdoms. Haemosu's dream is to unite all these and invade the land back. Hans treat their guys and immigrants bad and do not hesitate to kill them etc.

Haemosu is not only an excellent warrior, he is a very charismatic leader as well. The crown prince of Puyo Kumwa is his best friend and totally believes his cause and helps him out to achieve it.
One of the lead characters is Lady Yuhwa to whom Kumwa fell for at first sight but she is not interested (mostly due to the fact that Kumwa is already married and has a baby son). Yuhwa is the daughter of the chief of one of the tribes.
Of course she meets Haemosu, in fact, she saves her when he was badly wounded and hunted like an animal by Han troups who understandably want to get rid of him.
After Yuhwa saves him they start to like eachother but Heamosu being the righteous hero he is decides to leave to save her and her tribe from danger. Alas as soon as he left Han soldiers attack the tribe and kill them all - leaving only Yuhwa alive to be publicly executed as an example.
Yuhwa is saved by Kumwa and brought to the palace - of course his wife Won doesn't like it since it is obvious that her husband is in love with Yuhwa.
Meanwhile Haemosu hears about all these from another tribe chief he met on the road and he decides to join them to the city where Yuhwa will be executed. The Chief, Yontabal is also one of the main characters of the drama. His wife is pregnant and when they were attacked by some robbers Haemosu saves everyone with his amazing fight skills. So Yontabal, who is a clever man, changes his original decision to sell him of to the Han authorities (yeah he figured out that this migrant is Haemosu very early on) since he saved his wife, his daughter and his business.
Haemosu and Kumwa are united and Kumwa also unites him and Yuhwa since he values Haemosu above anything else in his life, his life included. So he convinces his father, the King to help Haemosu to form a united front against Han. And everyone is willing to come together since Haemosu is that kind of guy.

But Puyo as a kingdom wants power for itself and Prime Minister and the Sorceress have no trouble convincing Kumwa's father, the King, to betray Haemosu. So Haemosu is captured and blinded by Han soldiers and Yuhwa is pregnant with Haemosu's baby. Kumwa saves Haemosu from execution but when escaping Haemosu is shot by arrows and falls into a river.

Thinking that he is dead Yuhwa is devastated but Kumwa offers to take her as a concubine and raise the child as his. Yuhwa doesn't accept this offer out of love and loyalty to Haemosu but Prime Minister and the Sorceress order a general to assasinate Yuhwa and the baby since the Sorceress believes that Jumong can be a danger to Puyo (she sees a vision of a three legged crow).

The General before killing Yuhwa and the baby tells her that The King betrayed Haemosu and just as he was going to slash them he is struck by lightning (no kidding!) but before that Yuhwa asks him if Kumwa was in on this plan and the general says no.

Yuhwa then decides to go the palace as a concubine and agrees to raise Jumong as a prince of Puyo.

Jumong turns out to be player with a kind heart with no interest in martial arts at all. But his elder half brothers, the idiotic Youngpo and the smart and dangerous Daeso try to kill him during a journey to see some sacred bow (Jumong ends up breaking that bow). But they couldn't succeed since Sosuhno saves him. Sosuhno is daughter of Yontabal, and she was born during the attack saved by Haemosu.

Anyway, Yuhwa asks Jumong to learn martial arts and be the crown prince since she has a mission for him to achieve (Haemosu's vision and also a bit of a revenge I suppose).

Ok this is taking too long so yadda yadda yadda and

Now Jumong is together with Haemosu (he was being held by the Sorceress in a secret prison for 20 years) he is teaching him martial arts.
Sosuhno is interested in Jumong and this interest grows after he saved him from a villain.
Daesu is also interested in Sosuhno and Sosuhno is also a bit of interested in him.

At the end of episode 9, during a beautiful sunset, Jumong finally tells Haemosu who his father (he thinks he is son of Kumwa) is and that the brothers who want to kill him are the other two princes of Puyo. Imagine Haemosu's shock.


Apart from Jumong, I'm very very much into Tess of The D'urbervilles. Thomas Hardy is such a great writer.

TV

I have just watched TV all day and I think I'm finally getting my fill.

Life In A Metro and You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Life in a Metro (2007) Directed and written by Anurag Bassu, dialogues by Sanjeev Dutta.
It was an OK film, nothing really special though. I liked one of the stories and one of them was heavily "inspired" by The Apartment.

You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008) Directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow.
I saw that on TV and re watched it. I've found it just as funny the second time.

Smart People (and TV which is not very smart of me)

Smart People (2008) Directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier
It was ok, one of those U.S human dramas about intelligent people. I was not bored since I actually enjoy most of those.

I have taken a couple of days off and my family is on a trip to Spain so I have the TV all to myself. Usually I don't watch that much but now I'm definitely indulging on it. Watching everything from Nigella to Project Runway and giving Tess of The D'urbervilles a rest.

Thank You - End, The Great Gatsby-End, Tess of the D'urbervilles

I'm starting to get lazy. This happens everytime I try to keep a diary of sorts.

Anyway, I have finished Thank You and it was good to the last drop!

I have also finished The Great Gatsby and as far as I'm concerned it deserves every praise it gets.

I have not seen any films yet. Started Aitraaz but the disc gave up on my somewhere near the half of the film. Not particularly sad about it but I would have finished it if it worked I suppose.

I have started to re read Tess of the D'urbervilles, it is not a wonder I'm enjoying it since Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite writers.

Thank You

Thank You is still going great with some logical plot points (along with the 'only in a drama' moments that I love). Poor little heroine is going through really rough times... The scenes I love best are when people do unexpected good things. Brings tears to my eyes.

Meanwhile The Great Gatsby is a great novel indeed. I guess I had to be more mature to really appreciate it and I'm, fully.