REVIEW: Hwarang (The Poet Warrior Youth)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis
*partially taken from Dramafever*
Also known as “The Beginning” and “Poet Warrior Youth,” Hwarang is based on a real-life group of elite young men that was formed in the 10th century Korean kingdom of Silla. Once considered just “flower boys,” the Hwarang’s legend has since grown and they are now considered heroes in popular culture. Hwarang debuted on December 19, 2016, and ran for 20 episodes with the finale airing on February 21, 2017. Park Seo Joon (She Was Pretty), Go Ah Ra (You Are All Surrounded) and Park Hyung Sik (Heirs, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) star in a drama about a legendary band of warriors that would define a dynasty. When a band of elite youth are selected by the queen to fight for justice and stop the nobles from conquering the throne, they soon realize that being a team of gorgeous poets isn’t all that easy.
Queen Mother Kim Ji Soo (Gangnam Blues actress Kim Ji Soo) has ruled Silla since the king passed away. She has kept her son away from the throne to keep him safe. The king-in-waiting, though, is impatient for the throne, just like all the nobles around him. To counter the nobles and their scheming ways, the queen creates an elite team to shake up their hierarchy. They're known by many names such as the elite youth, or the poet warriors. However, they are most affectionately known as "Hwarang" amongst the people.
Leading the Hwarang is Moo Myung (Park Seo Joon), a young man of lowly birth who rises to become a legendary warrior. He lives life like there is no tomorrow. Strong-headed like a dog and free-spirited like a bird, he will do anything to protect the woman he cares about.
Kim Ah Ro (Go Ah Ra) is a half-breed--a woman born of an aristocrat father and a peasant servant mother. She is cheerful and straightforward, and works many jobs to support her family. She is the physician of the Hwarang and the owner of Moo Myung’s heart.
Kim Sam Maek Jong (Park Hyung Sik) is the queen’s son, and heir to the throne. He has lived a lonely life, and not many consider him trustworthy. He goes into hiding to avoid assassination, but he is desperate for the throne. In his impatience, he secretly becomes a Hwarang warrior to eliminate the nobles making his quest for the throne difficult. As a warrior, he slowly gains strength and a sense of responsibility for his men, along with a new outlook on life after meeting Ah Ro.
Kim Soo Ho (SHINee’s Choi Min Ho) is another of the Hwarang. His flirty personality means he comes off as a playboy. Deep down, though, Soo Ho is a chivalrous character who is loyal to only one woman. He is a role model for the fellow young aristocrats.
Park Ban Ryu (Do Ji Han from Basketball) is a man of limitless ambition. Both his adoptive and biological father taught him one thing: power must be taken at all costs. He is as competitive and cold-blooded a man as the kingdom knows. Even his coldness, however, can give way to love.
Kim Yeo Wool (Jo Yoon Woo from Mask) puts the “gorgeous” into “gorgeous band of youth.” He is generally regarded as the most charming of the bunch, and loves to dress up even more than most women the group meets. He is mysterious, and has a sharp tongue. Of royal blood, Kim Yeo Wool has no interest in the throne.
Suk Han Sung (Kim Tae Hyung aka V from BTS) is the youngest Hwarang. Friendly, sociable and possessing a warm personality, Suk Han Sung just wants to get along with everyone. He bears the burden of being the last aristocrat of his family, and has his own grudge against the Silla royals.
Rambling
*Beware of spoilers*
I can't believe how much I loved this drama. I had been passing it over in my queue for so long, and now that I've finally gobbled it up, I'm upset I didn't get to it sooner. First off, I was happy to see my boy Park Hyung-sik in another drama. He played a really angsty, woe-is-me king (which had me rolling my eyes more than I wanted to), but at times he did exude that same confident charm that made me swoon in Strong Woman Do Bong Soo, so I'll forgive him.
I will say that I didn't know how much I missed Park Seo-joon in dramas. (OMG, what a babe.) He caught my attention in She Was Pretty, but the premise of that drama was problematic, so I guess he never stuck with me. But boy did Seo-joon shine in Hwarang. He was everything: serious, conflicted, aloof, mad, mad as hell, anguished, and ~in love~
Speaking of ~love~, I drew the line whenever his character played out that tired scenario of "I ignored you because I couldn't stand to see you. I felt guilty and it hurt me to see you, so I literally ran the other way when you came along." What? This is the love of your life and you'd do anything to protect her, so let's create some misunderstandings and keep each other miserable.
::sigh::
But, what K-drama doesn't have some nonsense to make our lovers sniffle and hug it out when they get over it? Nevertheless, I couldn't help but root for them and want them to have a happy ending (which they did, thank God!).
OK, I laughed out loud when I first saw Choi Min-ho's character. Wow. He looked absolutely ridiculous anytime he wore those dangling earrings, but hey, they're not called "flower boys" for nothing. I have to say that his acting has improved A LOT since I last saw him in To the Beautiful You. I quickly got behind his character; he was very likable and showed a lot of range.
Let's talk about Park Ban-ryu. That character was so terrible at the beginning, I was shocked that they paired him with Soo-ho's sister. Does the guy that helps his family plot treason get the girl? Why, yes, he does. One thing I never quite understood was his relationship to his fathers—the adoptive one and the biological one. How did that happen and why was everyone OK with it? It was never fully explained, but damn, what the hell?
One complaint about our lovers: WHY did Ban-ryu and Soo-ho's sister get better kiss scenes than our main couple?? Not for nothing, but I didn't stick through this for Moo-myung and Aro to tight-lip it. #sorrynotsorry
Kim Tae Hyung (aka V from BTS) delivered so much aegyo, it was too much at times. His character was really happy-go-lucky, generally unimportant but at times compelling. I liked that he was a lover, not a fighter. Interesting dynamic with the fireball grandfather abusing his older half-brother to motivate him to be better at combat. So cruel. I was half paying attention when his sudden death assaulted me. THAT woke me up. His death was actually so well done and dismal. It made sense to me later; his character really had nowhere to go, he didn't change much throughout, and since he couldn't fight at all, he wouldn't be much use later. What a sacrifice.
The most amazing scene was the fight scene between Moo-myung and that rival country's crown prince. From the moment Moo-myung stepped forward and claimed he was the king to the last second he was mean-muggin' that sorry-ass crown prince, he was mesmerizing and kingly. He commanded the room, and he looked ridiculously cool doing it. I was glued to the screen when they were bare-knuckling it in front of everyone. So much was at stake (Aro's life, mostly), but despite being the underdog, Moo-myung came out on top. It's this entire segment that made me think they would really make him the king. But alas, our long-suffering Sam Maek Jong still took home the crown.
On that note, I would say the drama lagged when we had any interaction between Sam Maek Jong and his mother, the ~queen~. I thought every conversation they had was redundant. She never gave him a chance to shine, never prepped or trained him for the throne and then constantly belittled him for not "being ready," never encouraged him, and generally made herself out to be a stubborn, selfish bitch who coveted the throne for herself. I never believed her for a second that she was setting everything up for Sam Maek Jong's entry to the throne; she was always super shady and defiant.
What threw me for a loop was that our episode 20 finale saw our vicious queen...redeemed? I'm still really confused about that because I spent 19 episodes hating her just like the rest of our characters. Why does she get our pity now? She spent all that time (10 years) killing innocents, suppressing her son's rightful claim to the throne, burning bridges, and attempting to kill every friend and ally her son has. What the fuck? I didn't agree with her making peace with her son or her getting any time to try to make amends with Aro's dad. That ship has long sailed, bishh. At least she died.
Last but not least, I need to hand it to all the guys in Hwarang for giving us some serious bromance. I guess taking group showers was enough to bring them together for better or for worse.
All in all, it was a fun ride, and one that I wouldn't mind seeing again (a difficult feat for a K-drama to accomplish for me). Highly recommend!
Did you see Hwarang? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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