Review: Empress Ki

I find myself watching historical dramas again. This time it's a Korean drama about Empress Ki, the last true empress of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty. Empress Ki was not Chinese, nor Mongolian. She was Korean.

One of the things I found interesting was that Chinese/ Mongolian Emperor Huizong, when he was still the crown prince, complained that Korean King Gongmin had men that would respect him and die for him. Yet, no one would follow Huizong. Ironically, his words would ring true. At the end when he died, all his men, even his eunuch betrayed him. It's strange how our words are more true that we can ever know.

As I write this, I find myself tearing up. Empress Ki lived while everyone around her died. Her beloved King Gongmin let Huizong kill him in order to let Ki live.

Another ironic thing is that Ki wanted to kill Huizong for causing her father's death and continuing the slave trade / tributes. At the end, she ends up saying that she loves him. She never killed him as she originally planned. Even though a majority of her suffering existed because of him.

One thing that bugs me in dramas is when the actors "don't age" even though there's a long time period that elapses. The only thing they do is have children play the young version of the actors but then when the characters become adults, they are the same throughout the whole drama.

The actress that plays Empress Ki is a good example of how your hairstyle can completely change the way that you look.

Empress Ki never really chose Huizong but rather made her choices based on allowing Gongmin to live and be able to become a king in a nation without the Mongols.

The epilogue makes me laugh because it shows the essence of the whole movie. For her whole adult life, Ki has always had to choose between Huizong and Gongmin. Not only the two men but also the two nations. She could never truly decide.

There was a part of me that goes, why not give up everything Ki? If you give everything up, Gongmin will follow and you two can live a happy life together. Forget the Regent and his family. Forget about the Empress Dowager. Unfortunately, neither could do that, their selfless behaviors prevented their happiness. They would die alone. Only Huizong had someone who was not really for him.

A minor thing, I'm amazed at how easily Ki adapted to being a woman despite growing up as a man to protect herself.  She was most innocent as a man.

This was a good drama. Please do watch this. You may need a box of tissues.