Empress Ki

Continuing with the 17th episode I could move ahead because of the lead pair. Ha Ji -won is my favourite from ‘Secret Garden’ & Ji Chang -wook from ‘Suspicious Partner’. After the Chinese drama “Goodbye My Princess” I found many parallels with this show. Ki or Ha Ji-won is a Korean & is to be taken with her mother & other ladies as ‘Tribute woman’ to the capital in China.

But she escapes & her dying mother makes her promise to find her father. She then starts dressing up as a male. She meets with the king, Wang Yoo, who is mesmerised by her skill with the baby arrows. Much later she discovers his identity. In ‘Goodbye Princess’ in the opening scenes the princess is planning to elope with her master. He is skilled in Martial arts. As in this show his fascination for her remains.

“Empress Ki” begins with her becoming the empress. Then the story starts with the flashback. It is too detailed & the characters are fleshed out well. The emperor gets saved due to Ki & the Korean King. But as he starts developing feelings for her his manner changes. From his very docile to getting more & more confident!

In the “Princess..” he had killed her grandfather & here due to the emperor her father gets killed. The tears shed by Ji Chang wook on realising this breaks your heart. In the “Princess..” she is already married to the fifth prince who later becomes the crown prince. She tries to kill him with a dagger but is unsuccessful.

The ninth princess travels to central china & over the deserts. Here Ki travels to the Chinese capital across the desert & away from the advances of the son of the Grand councillor.

The present empress, mother to the emperor, has a pivotal role in both the shows. The triangle also is the same. Like the master, here the king has proposed to leave & go back to their home.At a point I started imagining that both the actors also resemble each other! Gu Jian as her master & Joo Jin-mo as the Korean king Wang Yoo.

The relationship between the Korean & Chinese empires is much intertwined & influencing each other. The thick silk & embroidered costumes, paying respect to the elders, the palaces, huge courtyards, the hierarchy within… so much similar.

I really enjoy watching period dramas. So it is a feast for me. I keep on searching for good dramas with good known cast & then my day is made.