Reaction shot: Kingdom episode 4 (or: OHHHHHHHH NO.)

[spindizzy]

Well, I accidentally deleted my entire draft of this right about twenty minutes from the end of the episode, so that's how my day's going! I'm very clever and definitely capable of learning from my mistakes.

• Okay, when last we left our intrepid heroes: all the rich people had just sailed away in a boat that could have probably held everyone if they hadn't been so selfish, and everyone else has been left to die when the zombies attack.
• It's the people who just look resigned that are getting me.
• "Is there a ship for us too?" Deok-i asks, in what is a blatant manipulation on the part of the writers, but also look at the crowd not wanting to answer them.
• "What is that ship and who is on it?" "Military commanders and high officials of Dongnae. They all left on that ship. They didn't even clean up the bodies." YEONG-SIN HAS BEEN IN JAIL ALL DAY AND EVEN HE KNOWS ALL OF THE WAYS THAT YOU IDIOTS HAVE FUCKED UP.
• I wonder what that soldier did to warrant not getting a place on the last ship out.
• Okay, all of the ships DID burn down, which probably means that a flaming zombie got into them, or the fire spread from the docks out.
• I did just look it up, btw, and a Flaming Zombie IS in fact a cocktail.
• I kinda like that the Crown Prince's immediate response is "We must find a place for these people to hide before sunset." He knows they're in danger, and he's taking responsibility for them. This is the version of him that I like! Horribly sleep-deprived, probably traumatised, angry, and ready to help people!
• ... They took down the barracks fence to repair the ship. OF COURSE THEY DID. (Also, let's be real, it could barely cope with the weight of the living, let alone the dead.)
• Seo-bi is so smart, I love her.
• Also I really hope the fact that all of the defences on the hospital pointing in doesn't backfire.
• ... Did Yeong-sin rescue the guy in the plank? Or is he still in the prison? ... Like, as long as all of the doors are locked and he says against the far wall, that's a pretty safe place to be? But he might need food at some point.
• See? This is why I like the prince! They come up with a plan, and he makes sure it gets done!
• Deok-i spots the monsters! Imagine if they hadn't! Everyone would have casually bimbled along!
• ... Seriously, how many of them are under the rocks?!
• SUSPICIOUSLY QUICK SUNSET: ENGAGE.
• I do respect everyone for just picking up someone who can't run and hauling them away, or helping them onto wagons.
• Mu-yeong's priority is getting the Crown Prince out of there alive, and the Crown Prince's priority is getting everyone else out of there alive! lies on floor, feels intensely
• I have such feelings about everyone working together like this.
• Bless Yeong-sin, because he gets the kid he's carrying to Jiyulheon and then he GOES BACK. He could have stayed where it was safe, but he doesn't!
• And he remembers to tell them to check for corpses and lock the doors at sunset without making provisions for whether anyone else makes it back!
• Listen, I know that he is one of the three people directly responsible for the zombie apocalypse, but I am very fond of Yeong-sin and his determination to help people!
• Thank you Seo-bi for being sensible enough to tell people to get extra walls between them and the zombies.
• Oh no, the wagon got stuck! I hope the people who fell out are okay!
• Listen, I respect them all so much for refusing to leave.
• "I'm different! I'm different from those who abandoned these people and I'm different from the Haewon Cho Clan! I will never abandon these people!" LOOK AT HIM BEING THE NOBILITY HE WANTS TO SEE IN THE WORLD, I'M SO PROUD OF HIM! This is why his episode one and two characterisation surprises me – because when I think of him, this is the scene I think of.
• Oh, the way those things wake up is so creepy. So so creepy.
• HOW MANY OF YOU WERE UNDER THERE?!
• I respect the Unnamed Guard in this scene for staying with the cart and these people, but I am 100% certain that he's going to die because he's the only mobile character who isn't named.
• I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad it's Seo-bi keeping watch, because she's the only person I trust to not close the doors too early.
• ... Was that. Did they. Did they just knock one of the doors off its hinges.
• I was not prepared for the zombies to be ahead of them!
• RAMMING SPEED!
• Seriously, they just ran a zombie over with a cart, who says not all zombie killing tricks are transferable.
• Rest in peace Unnamed Guard. You were nice while you lasted.
• But seriously, Yeong-sin must be REALLY confident in his marksmanship if he WENT BACK for the gun!
• The first time I saw this scene I was like "Okay, guess we're assuming Unnamed Guard left his stuff in the wagon?" but it looks like it's all attached to the rifle. That's... Surprisingly efficient.
• LOOK AT HOW GOOD HE IS AT THIS.
• Listen, that look between Yeong-sin and Lee Chang felt Significant. Not in a "Here are your free slash goggles, enjoy the subtext" kinda way, but more in a "Man, I was totally being paid to kill you and blew my chance at having plausible deniability" kinda way.
• Did I explain my master theory? That Yeong-sin's actually working for the Haewon Cho clan or... Their political rivals, maybe? (maybe to assassinate Physician Lee, maybe to steal his ressurection plant recipe), and that's why he's there? And that's why he looks so surprised at himself for saving the Crown Prince.
• Oh thank fuck, they're replacing the door.
• They're so lucky that zombies are vulnerable to trip attempts.
• OH NO, MISFIRE.
• MU-YEONG YOU ARE A BADASS AND IF YOU DARE TRY TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF NOBLY WE WILL HAVE WORDS.
• The Crown Prince waited for him. Like, he didn't run until he was sure Mu-yeong was following. ;; I'm so convinced that something horrible is going to happen to Mu-yeong now.
• THEY REMEMBERED TO BARRICADE THE DOORS PROPERLY, THANK GOODNESS. Seriously, I was expecting the zombies to bash straight through the doors.
• Mu-yeong's only concern is that the Crown Prince is okay, and the Crown Prince's only concern is that everyone is protected. Waaaaaah!
• OH HI, isn't it a lovely night on your Definitely Not Cursed Ship where there are Definitely No Zombies! sits back to watch the drama
• I'm sure bringing zombies to the second-largest city in the country will go great. And those guards? DEFINITELY going to protect you.
• Seriously, they're juxtaposing the desperate flight with the sedentary boat ride on purpose and it's REALLY EFFECTIVE.
• Ominous knocking: starts in the hold Me: embodies that Judge Judy gif of her tapping her watch
• Stoic Grandma, I know that he's your son and you love him, but please consider that neither love nor nobility is going to stop him trying to eat you.
• Seriously, for the love of fuck, please don't open the box.
• And lo, it is as the prophecy foretold: the rich were indeed eaten.
• There are SO MANY ZOMBIES and SO MUCH BLOOD and auuuugh.
• LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE HANDPRINTS ON THE WALLS
• Did they repurpose some of the spikes off the roof?
• Oh no, there they are, that's fine, those are still the barricades from earlier.
• Suspiciously quick sunrise, thank goodness!
• Of course Mu-yeong and Yeong-sin are the ones brave enough to go and check whether the zombies have left.
• Look at all that hope! Look at the relief! Look at it!
• I'm so glad they put extra barricades up on the place where the children were hiding. Like, if all of the defenders had died, they'd have been screwed, but I'm glad they were comparitively safe from zombies.
• SEO-BI GOT A HUG!
• Bless the Crown Prince finding a quiet corner for his nervous breakdown.
• They must all be worn out – I imagine none of them have slept properly in at least two days.
• I recognise that Grandpa! He was on the wagon! The Crown Prince saved him in a very direct and literal manner!
• (Clock Yeong-sin at the back, casually NOT bowing.)
• Like... Does this feel to anyone else like the first time he's actually realised his own impact? Like, he has proof of his own beliefs and ability to lead, RIGHT THERE.
• Good luck finding food, mate, that's how this mess STARTED!
• Awww, Yeong-sin making a ball for the kids! And actually looking happy for a change!
• Bless them all, they're too cute.
• Mate, seriously, Seo-bi TOLD YOU they were so hungry they ate a literal actual corpse. COME ON.
• Ohhhhh no. And this is the man who jokes about annihilating people's families. CAN'T YOU JUST ADMIRE HOW HARD THEY MUST HAVE KICKED IT TO GET IT TO YOU FROM OVER THERE.
• Yeong-sin and Mu-yeong are both looking at this situation like "If you dare – if you fucking dare —" and my money is on them if the situation goes south.
• Look at how terrified Deok-i is! Look! And everyone is noticing!
• I'm gonna be honest, I prefer my gestures of kindness to not involve terrifying six year olds, but I'm so glad that he's helping people too!
• Seriously, he strikes me as the sort of person who will try to solve a problem the instant he knows what it is, but he doesn't always know what the problem is.
• I would be SO WORRIED about yelling about meat in this particular hospital, I'm just saying.
• Fog rolling in? I'm sure that's fine.
• Awww, bless Mu-yeong looking proud of him!
• Listen, I'm not saying that Yeong-sin is suspicious of soup, I'm just saying that every time we see him with a meat soup, he never actually eats any.
• And there we go! Lord Ahn Hyeon did indeed come up later!
• I would like to update my theory to "Yeong-sin is secretly working for/attempting to assassinate Lord Ahn Hyeon."
• He doesn't even ASK if he can be their guide, he just SAYS that he will be, and Mu-yeong is having NONE OF IT.
• Like, honestly, Mu-yeong is not WRONG about any of it, but I LIKE Yeong-sin and would like him to be legit!
• (Yes I know that he is a sometime cannibal who started the zombie apocalypse, I KNOW.)
• IT IS TOO EARLY FOR ZOMBIES.
• COME ON, DON'T DO THIS TO ME.
• EVERYONE PLEASE GO AND TAKE COVER, OH MY GOD.
• The confusion on everyone's face like "Crown Prince Lee Chang? This Lee Chang? No, can't be, they must have made a mistake."
• Oh no, Roof Guard, you are definitely going to die!
• Bless that Grandpa. He was in the cart that the Crown Prince went back for, and he just seems to have become official spokesperson for the group. (Although "This must be a mistake. You should go and talk to them," strikes me as a naive hope.)
• ... Did... Did Cho Hak-ju murder Strangely Synchronised Guard for bringing back the head?! Holy shit.
• ... You know, considering that everything Cho Hak-ju has done up to now has been done with absolute precise calm? I'm a little scared of what he might do now that he's angry.
• Nope, Roof Guard is definitely dead.
• They're just BLIND FIRING into the hospital! They have no idea who or what is in there and they're just setting it on fire anyway!
• I am so mad. These people survived zombie hell, and now they're being killed by the people who're supposed to protect them. AUGH.
• And the Crown Prince is apparently so stunned that Mu-yeong is having to LITERALLY DRAG HIM OUT OF THERE.
• I was right! Deok-i lived EXACTLY long enough that we can recognise their body!
• "If we are to survive, you must step up!" And the worst part is, Yeong-sin isn't even WRONG.
• You can SEE the prince pulling himself together, that is so good.
• Oh no, they broke through! I guess not everyone has to go over the wall.
• GOOD WORK YEONG-SIN! Although I'm pretty sure that you have until they figure out there's only one person with a gun for this to start going badly.
• You brought a gun squad?! How many people and weapons did you need to take down two men?!
• SURE IS CONVENIENT THAT THIS FOG ROLLED IN SO YOU CAN'T SEE.
• ... Oh shit they figured it out.
• Also I would not want to be marching into a situation where I couldn't see and I'm relying on luck, numbers, and my opponent's reload speed to keep me alive. I'M JUST SAYING.
• I love it when there are whistles or drums used for giving instructions, it makes me happy. I know shit-all about them, but they make me happy!
• Sir. Sir. Your gun is still manually loaded with gunpowder charges. Do you maybe – not want to aim directly over an open flame? Maybe?
• Mu-yeong just looming out of the fog to commit a murder delights me.
• Also the BEST part of using instruments to communicate? Your opponents can bait you wherever the hell they want you!
• I am so worried for Yeong-sin, because there's only one of him, and I think he's their only trained fighter, and all he's got is a knife he kept in his SLEEVE, so this could go — SEO-BI, HOLY SHIT YOU'RE AMAZING.
• Seriously, she just snuck out of the fog to clock a man with a shovel, I love her? And Yeong-sin just squirrel-tackling a guy!
• ... Look, they murdered people together, I'm contractually obliged to ship it.
• Throwing knives! He is so competent and mysterious!
• Okay, so everyone is sneaking off to Yangsan, which I assume is the next city big enough to take them in. Got it. At the very least, the zombies will have to run further to catch them.
• Is Seo-bi pulling the – oh. Oh no.
• She's laying Deok-i out properly, this is so sad.
• Oh wow, I was honestly expecting that the Crown Prince was going to get left behind.
• I love the casual panning past corpses to show where Mu-yeong's been.
• MU-YEONG IS A TREASURE. A BRAVE, DEVOTED TREASURE.
• And the Crown Prince recognised him enough by sound to stop Yeong-sin shooting him. I love everyone in this bar.
• (... Also I assume that Yeong-sin looted every rifleman they had, ngl.)
• "Won't you chase them?" "There's no need, I know where they're going." WHY DO YOU HAVE A NOTE WITH THEIR DESTINATION ON IT. WHO GAVE YOU THAT. IT HAS TO BE EITHER MU-YEONG OR YEONG-SIN AND I DON'T WANT IT TO BE EITHER OF THEM.
• When he said "Report it," did you actually mean "Turn around and yell"? Because that's my style of reporting and I'm led to believe it's not supposed to be.
• Why does it matter to the scholars that the signal fires have been lit? Or is this more politics?
• Oh hey, I remember you, you got your faced smushed into a table. I don't think that trying to see the king is going to go well for you.
• Everyone trailing after the Most Legit Scholar like "Nooooope, nope, you can't do that!"
• ... Can you actually draw swords on the ministers? Because that seems Dangerous.
• "Let us go see His Majesty together." ... My dudes, you are all gonna get et.
• Suspiciously quick nightfall strikes again!
• And the Queen has spotted this problem, and is having none of it!
• I find it interesting that the request is "Please withdraw your command," rather than anything else.
• ... Oh, oh this is not going to go well for her, because she is trying to set herself against her father and she is not going to win.
• And he undercuts her simply by saying "Please step aside." Wow.
• (I can't remember who I saw saying that the power was never in being on the throne, it was in having your children on the throne, but that sounds right to be honest.)
• Oh, oh she is actively defying him. Oh this is going to end so terribly for her.
• "The sun will set soon" is so ominous. Oh no.
• "I think his majesty is asleep." "His majesty will wake up soon." ... Ohhhhhhh no.
• "You have not seen him in a while. You should see him up close." YOU ARE ALL GOING TO BE EATEN ALIVE OH MY GOD.
• Raise the – NO. DO NOT. THAT IS NOT SAFE.
• Yep, that sunset is SO suspiciously quick.
• "Do you know why the signal fire had ben lit from the south?"
• HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS – I guess he must have interrogated that guard before he stabbed him, because I don't think you can logically extrapolate from the king what is happening in Dongnae.
• That court lady is so shook up, bless her. She knows what's coming. ... Also the king has probably been dead for long that he's started to REEK.
• And the queen has waited. Oh that last shot of her before the doors close is so good.
• "Please be healthy and live a long life," they say to a man who's been dead for weeks.
• That shot of them slowly looking up to see the King snarling at them is also effective.
• Those chains do NOT long strong enough to hold him back, but they're working, I guess???
• "Is this why Court Ladies' corpses are carried out daily?" SERIOUSLY MY DUDE STOP FEEDING YOUR STAFF TO THE KING, YOU'RE GOING TO RUN OUT. IT'S NOT LIKE HE CAN TELL WHAT HE'S EATING.
• "If he lost his mind to an illness and craves human flesh, is he still the king? If he is not the King, who is he?" ... I'm gonna be honest, I never expected him to turn this into a philosophy lesson.
• "Is this why you lured the Crown Prince and scholars and schemed rebellion? To steal the king's throne?" Ohhhhhh no.
• OH. OH NO. Oh he has the Document of Treason. Oh no, this is so bad for everyone. WHY DID YOU MAKE A DOCUMENT OF TREASON.
• Legit Scholar is going to get beheaded and he does not deserve that. ;;
• You traitorous fucking SNAKE, throwing him to the wolves like that.
• That moment of calm is honestly creepier than the snarling and straining.
• And Cho Hak-ju just bowing and leaving like this is all perfectly normal. ;;
• Oh no, is that the Crown Prince's servants behind him?
• (Legit Scholar's name was Kim Sun, and oh no, oh this is going to end so badly for him. He looks so lost, so dazed!)
• "You should have discussed it with me if you planned something like this." Mate, I think you are VASTLY overestimating your importance to him right now, in that I'm pretty sure that your only value is in being a walking uterus.
• Listen, this woman has GUTS telling her Mastermind Father that she is the mother of the nation.
• OH. Oh she didn't know what was in the box. She didn't know what her father had planned. Oh this is so bad for her.
• "Don't dare to stop me ever again. I did not put you where you are now so that you can get in my way."
• I remember seeing some speculation as to how much the Queen is complicit in what's going on, and I think the latter half of the series does make it clear that even if she is not part of her father's plans, she does specifically have her OWN plans. That apparently involve giving birth to the heir to the throne.
• (I DON'T THINK HER DAD KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER SCHEMES AND THIS IS SO, SO DANGEROUS.)

(Kingdom master post) (Reaction shot master post)