I confess to finally succumbing to sageuk fatigue. Even someone like me who grew up on period dramas and love sageuks big and small (as long as its done right and stays good) is finally hitting that tipping point. It’s not necessarily caused by the double crap of Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love and Gu Family Book, though those are the most recent two sageuks I watched. It’s just been so many all happening at the same time that I need a bit of modern rom-com lightness to change it up some. I’m also making room for the new batch of sageuks to come along, namely Goddess of Fire Jeongi and Sword and Flower. I confess being more into the former because of the cast (Moon Geun Young! Kim Bum!), but the latter actually sounds more up my alley based on the story alone. Starring Uhm Tae Woong, Kim Ok Bin, Choi Min Soo, and Kim Young Chul, the drama has recently gotten a more poetic English title of The Blade and Petal, which actually sounds like a romance novel title if you ask me. Airing on KBS Wed-Thurs following The Fugitive of Joseon, the story centers around Moo Young, the daughter of King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo, who disguises herself as an assassin to infiltrate the usurpers camp led by Yeon Gaesomun, and there she falls in love with Yeon Choong, the son of her father’s killer.
Nice. Talk about some pretty big daddy issues looming for the both of them. Everyone has already pointed out that this sounds like a reverse The Princess’s Man in many ways, and indeed it does. The era is different since TPM was a Joseon period story while this one takes place in the earlier time period of Goguryeo. Expect lots and lots more fighting and intense battle scenes, especially as the two daddies engage in epic warfare for control of the country. I love Uhm Tae Woong but his last sageuk foray in Queen Seondeok was a massive dud. He was the first male lead and was so underwhelming both in character and performance that Kim Nam Gil‘s second male lead ended up with all the screentime in the latter half of the drama. I also thought Uhm Tae Woong didn’t look great in sageuk garb, but I might have to rethink my opinion because the first peek at the two leads for Sword and Flower are out and both look absolutely stunning. Kim Ok Bin especially blows me away with how beautiful and intense she looks. The chemistry is also crackling between them just in the poster filming alone. I also love how the drama is giving Uhm Tae Woong two looks, the well-groomed warrior and the mane of glory dark assassin. There are also a whole lotta swords and flowers in the poster filming alone. Oh Korea, always so obvious.
Hey….have you not given Mandate Of Heaven a try???? It’s getting positive reviews……
By the way….both look great….especially Kim Ok Bin 🙂
I actually find it ironic for people to find GFB and JOJ as crap yet love KF!! That’s just hilarious; because my goodness KF made no sense whatsoever to people who actually look for it throughout the show. Obviously each one to their own. Just pointing out that I found that funny.
But anyway, I don’t like any of the leads but I’m still in the mood for sageuks. Even after tons in the past few months. I like the conflict of the story and also a change in time periods. There have been way too many shows on the Joseon period. It’s time for a different one…
Hey Emil,
May i ask what KF stands for?
KF = King Flower? CMIIW
Gah, they look fabulous together!
All the dramas this year have been utter duds for me but I have a strong feeling that this one might buck the trend.
Sorry but he looks old and not good 🙁
Sageuk heroes are supposed to be stately, not swimming in puppy fat and aegyo.
oh you are getting me wrong. I like my manly sageuks heroes, but UTH wig is just bad and not well done.
But with his hair up he looks better.
@ liz, I see what you’re saying and I agree… my comment sounds pretty hostile so sorry if I offended you.
Back when I was a teenager I read a romance novel called The Flame and The Flower (and it was pretty hot stuff, for back then), but I agree that The Petal and The Blade sounds even more romance-ish. I tried to search for something similar on Amazon, but Amazon was so confused by my request it ended up giving me a How-to book for making Dresden Plate quilts. Go figure.
“I need a bit of modern rom-com lightness to change it up some”
===> How about giving All About My Romance another chance, @ Miss Koala?^^
Choi Min Soo. I’m in! WOOT!
Finally, Uhm Tae Woong gets a role where his gets to look manly instead of fuddy duddy. I was really rooting for him in Queen Seonduk but his performance/role was such a yawner. I hope he gets to bust out some martial arts moves and really impress the ladies. Fighting!!!
Oddly enough, the clue I got that this might be worth watching is that the villain (Yun Gaesomun) was handsomer than any of the good guys. And then, an even worse and handsomer villain (Yun Namsaeng) showed up later. Of course, by the time Yun Namsaeng showed up, my esthetic appreciation of Uhm Taewong as the hero, Yun Chung, had blossomed, so to speak. I like that his somewhat bedraggled everyman was shown with such psychological depth. How could I not fall in love with him?
I also like that the obligatory clown character, Chung’s sidekick in the early going, was more subdued and less one-dimensional than is typical.
As “Romeo and Juliet” remakes go, I like this one a lot