Review: _Empress Ki:_ A sumptuous drama set in Korea and Yuan China

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Continuing on in my love affair with Korean television dramas -- known as K-dramas -- the most recent choice has been the story of Empress Ki, the tale of a Chinese empress of Korean origin. I had first heard of her when I watched another K-drama, The Great Doctor/Healer, where she is mentioned as the sister of one of the villains. But beyond that, I knew nothing about her. China in the fourteenth century is ruled by the Yuan dynasty. Unlike other Chinese emperors, the Yuan are of Mongol origin, and were founded by Kublai Khan, who had overcome the last Han dynasty, the Song. As with most Chinese dynasties, they keep their neighbours under control by demanding tribute, in terms of gold, horses, soldiers and slaves. One such kingdom is Koryo -- what is now North and South Korea. Among those sent are young men and women, the boys to become eunuchs and the women concubines. One such is Nyang and her mother, but along the way, an attempt to escape goes terribly wrong, with many of the captives being slain by the ruthless Tangquishi (Kim Jung-hyun), and Nyang's mother dying trying to protect her daughter. Nyang manages to escape, joining a gang, who operate by meddling with the Chinese who are plundering Koryo wholesale, and generally making trouble. Run by a ruthless gangster, Nyang becomes known as Seung-nyang, or The Jackal, disguising herself as a young man. She's also extremely good with archery and not too bad with a knife. But an encounter is going to change her life forever. Prince Togon (Ji Chang-wook), the elder brother of the Emperor of Yuan (China), has been sent to Koryo to keep him from any sort of political influence. He's illiterate, rather stupid, and not very likeable, but when Seung-nyang meets him, she's been ordered to protect him by her boss. The young idiot managed to escape an assassination attempt, and together the pair manage to forge a bond as they struggle towards safety. Unfortunately, all of this has drawn the attention of the Regent, El Temur (Jeon Gouk-hwan), who comes personally to Koryo with his pair of nasty sons to remind Togon just where he stands -- namely at the bottom of the heap. During all of this, someone else gets interesting in Seung-nyang -- Wang Yu (Joo Jin-moo), the current claimant as King of Koryo. He wants to free Koryo from the Yuan, but what with the Regent holding real power, and his country powerless to stop it, he finds himself just as much a pawn as Togon. Soon, Wang Yu, Seung-nyang, and Togon are heading back to Yuan with very uncertain futures. It doesn't take long for Seung-nyang to have her cover as a boy blown, and targeted by Tangqishi for rape. Wang Yu is a hostage, and Togon suddenly finds himself Emperor when his little brother dies. Wearing a crown isn't easy as Togon, now Emperor Huizong, discovers. El Temur keeps him as a puppet, only there to preside over meetings that El Temur orchestrates, and to apply the imperial seal as needed. To further the dominance, he marries his daughter, Tanasiri (Baek Jin-hee), who is just as cruel and devious as her father. In the meantime, Wang Yu and Seung-nyang's relationship deepens and they fall in love with each other. But romance is never easy when power is involved... Whew. This miniseries is quite a roller-coaster ride of battles, romance, revenge, plots, and palace intrigue. Clocking in at 51 episodes, this hardly slows the pace as each episode had a new twist or intrigue to add to the mix, and I found my attention riveted by this tale. Sure, it's a soap opera, and highly romanticised, but don't let that stop you. Even my partner, J, who doesn't care much for this sort of thing, was watching intently right along with me, and we cheered heroes and booed the villains as the story unfolded. I liked how the story was told -- while there were some flashbacks, the story unfolded in a linear way. But the characters were developed fully, with everyone having some good and bad to them, and -real reasons- for why they sought revenge. It could be to gain power, dispose of a rival, revenge parents, or simply greed. In any case, it works, and you really do start to find yourself wrapped up in the story. In addition to an intelligent plot, the costuming is sumptuous, and the sets magnificent. If you like martial arts, there's plenty of that as well. Be warned however, that there is some real violence and gore here, from plenty of swordplay, executions, and torture. While it doesn't get too graphic, it does get intense. There is little terms of sex, so parents shouldn't worry about that. At times, the translation got a bit odd -- I'm suspecting a voice to word system, and it does get unintentionally funny in spots. In Korean, with English and Chinese subtitles. Each episode comes in at about an hour in length, with four episodes per DVD, and twelve discs in all. I give this one a PG-13 rating, best for the older teens. Made by Munhwa Broadcasting Company, this was first shown in 2013-2014. Overall this gets five big stars from me, and it's well worth the effort to find. Rebecca Huston asserts her rights as the sole owner of this review.