Preview for Empress Ki Episode 19 as it’s Preempted this Week for MBC Year End Programs

The downside is that this week has no new episodes of Empress Ki as both days are preempted for year end shows on MBC while tn the upside is that the leads will be attending the MBC Drama Awards which means nice network recognition acting awards are forthcoming. An added bonus is we get to see the leads Ha Ji Won, Joo Jin Mo, and Ji Chang Wook all decked out in black tie attire which will be a nice change of scenery after two months of sageuk attire. I confess to losing steam with EK but not to the degree I’m fully bored and ready to drop it. It’s more like there isn’t an impetus to rush out and watch each new episode the way I felt earlier on. It has nothing to do with how the ships are developing since it clear still that Seung Nyang and Wang Yoo like each other but aren’t trying to be together due to the situation, while Ta Hwan remains off to the side seething with jealousy and frustration. The problem with this current state of affairs is a sense of statis – nothing substantive is happening with just a lot of tugging and pulling but no definitive movement to head down one road or another. If Seung Nyang and Wang Yoo love each other but cannot be, then freaking let them love each other with sparks and clothes flying for now until the time comes when they give each other up for the greater good.

If Ta Hwan is going to marry Seung Nyang eventually, let him do something productive with his position rather than spend the majority of his waking hours thinking about Seung Nyang in one capacity or another. I’ve been bitching about Ta Hwan’s character development for episodes now and the complaint still holds because he still hasn’t changed one whit. But that might change with the preview for episode 19 that shows a potential for him to turn to the dark side. If not fully dark at least contemplating it and that is all good with me. The worst decision is indecision and the lamest choice is not making a choice. Seung Nyang and Wang Yoo are awesome enough already, fully-formed characters who have been through fire and ice by the time we meet them at the start of the drama. Their growth is incremental and forged through a grit already present so I watch for what they do and not necessarily wondering if they will do something the way Ta Hwan requires infinite patience to sit through his scenes. Great acting but frustrating as all hell of a character. I hope the week off helps the cast rejuvenate and settle into for the long haul as the drama is slated to air until Spring of 2014. The cast will have to endure many more weeks of Winter and judging from the just release cute BTS shots of everyone bundling down for the current freezing temperatures makes me appreciate their hard work and giggling over how cute everyone looks.

Preview for Empress Ki episode 19:

Ta Hwan wants Wang Yoo to put Seung Nyang down but Wang Yoo refuses and says Seung Nyang isn’t a court lady anymore. Wang Yoo talks with Yeon Chul and his sons and Dangkise seems to be poisoned. Ta Hwan wants to find out what Yeon Chul and Wang Yoo are discussing and wants to kill both of them. Seung Nyang says that she wants to return to the Seung Nyang she was before and help Wang Yoo.