My participation in the Sageuk universe has been very limited lately due to a heavy workload. I have gleaned my updates from other bloggers and from what I am reading it does not seem like I am missing much.
However despite the discouraging tone adopted about these two dramas I still intend to take time to watch them once I am free and then I can form my own opinion. I must admit this quarter has not been great when it comes to Sageuks. Scholar who walks the night took the path of Joseon Gunman for me,started out strong and by the time it was halfway through I was reading the recaps on dramabeans.com rather than subject myself to the torture of watching it on a weekly basis. Like I said this has not been a good quarter for the sageuk genre from my perspective.
Someone somewhere has decided it is not worth it to add subtitles to Jing Bi Rok and as such I have not been able to finish watching it and if it is the same fiasco as Queen Insoo then I know that this is another good drama that I will never finish watching. The Ironic bit is that the sageuk that bores me to tears otherwise known as Hwajung is being subtitled faithfully every week, I swear the universe has no concept of fairness.
My eagerly anticipated wait for the Three Musketeers died a slow death as it was cancelled due to low ratings,I hate the fact that TV producers all over the world never consider their Internet viewership as a valid audience that they should work to retain.
Anyways all complaints aside the year is not over and the two dramas I intend to watch may just surprise me. Please feel free to share your reviews of 2015 dramas with me in the comments section,especially the two I intend to watch any new information will be welcome.
zaajushka 
I wish these planners would consider Internet and International viewership!! I’m like you, saguek dramas this year have been very lackluster. Yes, I’m disappointed that Jing Bi Rok hasn’t been finished so I will just contend with finally watching Hwajung and plan to watch The Merchant. I still have Shine and Go Crazy but that really isn’t my type so maybe one day….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to see that some one feels me on the issue,maybe we should get a petition going one of these days.
LikeLike
Gaekju has gotten really good after the long backstory intro was over. It doesn’t have a lot of trendy actors and the intro was slow so people got impatient. Once the actual story began it has gotten more and more thrilling. I am a Jang Hyuk fans but I can honestly say the drama is good not just because of him. The story is good, most characters already feel 3D by episode 6 (intro was 4Eps and to me those could’ve been summarized in 1) the story is interesting and the cast is very solid. Those other “Jang Hyuk fans” that have dropped it are probably not even sageuk fans. This drama is a real traditional sageuk and Ive noticed that usually international drama fans don’t go for these. But if you enjoy that kind of sageuk, you might like how carefully the PD depicts that world. It feels really authentic and to me that’s one of the appeals of historical dramas. In therms of production value Gaekju is far better made than SoGC btw. Regards.
LikeLike
Thanks for the feedback it is much appreciated. I know slow Intros drive people crazy so I can understand the hate some people were giving to the drama. I am now anticipating watching it with a little more enthusiasm because of your positive review. Again thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my hate? Wow I didn’t get to see a lot of hate but maybe I haven’t seen as many responses as you did. Honestly my feeling was the drama was being ignored by international fans but that was even before it started. The impression I got from some of the few friends who gave it a chance is that the PD style, was trying their patience because of the reason I mentioned, oldish style long scenes, etc but also the presentation feels sometimes a bit theatrical and there is yelling. It is much more overwhelming at first and I admit I myself was considering dropping it just because of the screaming. Superficially it looked like a bunch of sageuk ahjussis (all experienced sageuk solid actors btw) doing a lot of that admittely irritating sageuk voice. I was even highly annoyed with Bongsam at first, as a child and even when Jang Hyuk showed he started out inmature and extremely obnoxious. This was at the end of Ep4 and beginning of Ep5. I’m still not sure why he had to be introduced like that but fortunately he calmed down and became more reasonable during Ep5 and by Ep8 he is already a hero worth rooting for :p and like I said the drama itself became really dynamic so I totally went from hmm to huh? to woah over the course of 8 eps 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wrote an answer but it seems it didn’t go through 😦 Anyway I was saying Gaekju got really really good after the backstory was over. I can’t imagine hard core Jang Hyuk fans dropping it before he even showed up? (Im one but I also like sageuk) Unless its fans who simply don’t go for sageuk. But regardless of whether you like Jang Hyuk or not the drama itself is solid, and it becomes really dynamic and thrilling after the intro is over. So from 1 to 4 it was slow but from 5 to 8 it became addictive imo. Regards.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel you on many of your points raised!
Hwajung was one sageuk I dropped soon after the main characters grew up. I just lost my taste for the drama. More recently, I have started The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 and now that I’m done with episode 4, I’m looking forward to the grown up characters. I must say, it’s not for the ‘token’ sageuk or Jang Hyuk fans. Only dedicated types will want to stick past ep. 2!!
Not because the drama is bad. In fact, it’s well executed, to a fine point! It’s just not the everyday scenario. It’s really psychologically stimulating.
I am yet to really delve into Six Flying Dragons. I’m going to wait a few more episodes and then really indulge.
I know this year hasn’t been the best for the historical drama genre. Still, for nostalgia’s sake, I will always try a few episodes. Scholar Who Walks the Night, I plan to finish one day soon (I kept it aside after the first episode). I do support Lee Joon Gi, the main lead, and for that I fully intend to complete it soon!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I will wait for your first impressions on the Six Flying dragons before diving into it,i want to avoid disappointment this time around
LikeLike
@Drama Fan, I am sold. I am going to watch Gaekju. Thanks.
LikeLike