User Reviews

This only the second Asian costume drama, I managed to complete. The first being Kingdom of the winds, which I think surpasses this. Although this has some of the best characters I've seen in an Asian drama.

Top characters skylord. This character left the series too early. He is the most charismatic baddie, I have come across in a long time. He should have a series of his own, Moosa Baek Dong Soo. Vicous, pathetic, funny The queen. She looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but her heart is blacker than night.

Jin joo. She's feisty as hell, and more interesting than who i presume is the lead female Bubbling under Commander Hong, who is as cunning as hell, Ga Ok. She's probably the first character I liked, but found others more interesting as the show went on.

Kenzo-enigmatic Yes, all but one are baddies It's a while since I've seen Winds, but I think this series has more comedy. It has some great one liners such as one of the characters being referred to as a male gigolo, It also has a nice little joke. That doesn't outstay it's welcome concerning ears being pulled.

A major theme of the drama would seem to be redemption.

The most moving scene is where Jin Joo tells the pirate chief exactly how she feels about him.

The thing I'm not sure what to say without just writing. The actress playing Ga Ok plays the mother of a character who in real life is only 8 years younger than her. I think the acress playing the daughter is supposed to be playing young.

The most actorly scene, is where Skylord cries over the death of the woman he loved.

Another thing I liked was the grit shown by characters it might not have been expected of eg the son of Commander Hong, when confronted by Skylord.

My gripe. Although I' grateful for subs, it would nice if modern speech was not in it Best action scene. Where the two male leads take on a load of bad guys.

Warrior Baek Dong Soo is a historical Kdrama of 2 friends that take divergent paths. The storyline is presented in 2 layers, the adult storyline between rivals, Master Swordsman and Black Ninja Leader, and the young adult storyline between two childhood friends, Baek Dong Soo (becomes apprentice to the Master Swordsman) and Yeo Woon (becomes apprentice to the Black Ninja Leader). There is a heavy dose of political intrigue coveting the throne of the current king and eliminating the contenders for the throne.

What I liked about Warrior Baek Dong Soo: a) Adult storyline lead actors nailed it and drew me in immediately. The quiet and gentle Master Swordsman Gwang Taek versus the hard-drinking and hard-hearted Black Ninja Leader Chun was compelling throughout the entire series. b) Young adult storyline lead actors grew and eventually hooked me too. As the characters transitioned from child to adult, the power of their storyline increased. The friendship between Baek Dong Soo and Yeo Woon was real and betrayal at the divergent paths they took combined with yearning to eventually be friends again was palpable. c) Top notch fight scenes. Not every fight scene was excellent, but there was beautifully staged and directed fight scenes in this series. Baek Dong Soo's single sword and Yeo Woon's double swords flew many times in this series. Master Swordsman Gwang Taek's finesse and Black Ninja Leader Chun's direct fighting were striking.

What I did not like about Warrior Baek Dong Soo: a) Villains get away with murder (again and again) and had the upper hand the majority of the series. The balance of power should shift between the good and evil forces during the series, not stay squarely in the villain's domain. It makes our heroes weaker and less effective. b) Character reversals in the final episode. This series is 29 episodes and there was some continuity in character behavior until the final episode where 2 characters were written so their actions created an intolerable situation for one of our leads. This was difficult to swallow and reduced my opinion of the overall drama. They should have ended the series at episode 28 and I would have been satisfied not disappointed. c) The final episode epilogue was too long. Most kdramas epilogues are the briefest glimpse into the future and I crave more. Here the epilogue went on and on and on. I couldn't wait for the final episode to end.