Welcome to my Empress Ki – Unspoiled Review.  During the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols ruled a large portion of Asia, including Goryeo (modern day Korea).  Empress Ki follows the story of one woman who was brought from Goryeo as a slave, and through perserverance and ingenuity, gains the love and trust of the emperor.  Fighting her way through the ranks, she dreams of becoming the foreign-born Empress of the Yuan dynasty.  

Ji Chang Wook as Emperor Toghan

Toghan is the oldest son of the Emperor, who has been passed over and sent into exile because his younger brother is still young enough to be controlled by the Prime Minister and Empress Dowager.  While in exile, he learns that his father is on his death bed and his younger brother is frail and ill.  So, he prepares to return and take his rightful place as the ruler.  Once he is home and enthroned, he faces many enemies.  From the Prime Minister who has already managed to divide the empire and gain the majority of the power to the Empress Dowager who seeks to quietly pull the strings of power in the back ground.  Toghan wants to shake off the people trying to steal his authority and become a great leader, but it will require a lot of work and growth on his part.  Yang is the only person who is willing to help him achieve these goals and he both loves and depends on her because of this.  In the end, his ability to become the Emperor who he want to be will require him to sacrifice everything, including his life.  

Toghan’s character is flawed from beginning to end.  During his time in exile he is naive and immature, which is pretty adorable, but not the traits of a future leader of an empire.  His naivety does give him a tendancy to be selfish in the way that children can be.  But as he becomes determined to become a great ruler, he steps into more mature role.  He is dedicated and driven to learn all the skills he will need.  This is truly the best version of him.  And as he gains confidence, his successes start to pile up.  But all power comes with a price.  For Toghan, his weaknesses and insecurites drive him to drink, which erodes his mental capacity and opens the door for his enemies to begin poisoning him.  Ji Chang Wook does a terrific job of showing each of these gradual shifts in his character.  There is nothing jarring or surprising.  Each shift makes sense to the audience and it’s easy to understand how and why he is reacting the way he is.  I’ve always been a Ji Chang Wook fan, but this rold made me appreciate him even more.  From the playful innocence to the tortured fear, he took us all along for the ride and made us both love and pity him.  

Kim Seo Hyung as Empress Dowager Hwang

In the beginning, the Empress Dowager seems to be on Toghon’s side, but it doesn’t take long for her to show her true colors.  She wants power and control in any way she can get it.  While the Prime Minister is alive, she lets him do the dirty work while she patiently stays in the background.  But she is working the whole time, placing her people near the Emperor and slowly gathering the authority she needs.  While the younger crown prince, Toghon’s brother, was her birth son, Toghon’s mother was actually a royal concubine.  Because of this, the Empress Dowager has no real love for Toghon himself;  only his power.  

♥ Visual Beauty

There is no denying that one of the best things about Empress Ki is how visually appealing it is.  The costumes are intricate and ornate, the scenary is sweeping, and the battle scenes are intense and suspenseful.  Especially taking into account that this drama was filmed 7 years ago, in 2013, it really accomplished something amazing in it’s cinematography.  The use of bold and bright colors also helped to capture your attention and bring life to each and every scene.  

♥Tal Tal

I had no idea what a fan favorite the character of Tal Tal is but I am definitely in agreement.  He is selfless in the way he helps his uncle, Bayan, and Yang.  He obviously loves Yang but keeps his feelings to himself and helps her achieve her dreams, even when they take her farther away from him.  He is smart and patient and certainly a joy to look at.  My favorite thing about his character was that he saw Yang as more than just a beautiful helper.  Her potential ran deeper than anyone else ever gave her credit for, but he saw all of it and trusted her judgement unswervingly.    

Unnecessarily Long

While I certainly was never bored watching Empress Ki, 51 episdodes is an awful lot.  And there was no shortage of character betrayals.  I think that the drama could have been shorter and cut out some of the more redundant plots.  It’s interesting that most current historicals follow the same 16 episode format that other genres do.  Maybe that was a lesson they have learned over time.  I just think the same story  could have been told in less time.  

Wait…Tal Tal is what??

Even if Tal Tal was not my favorite character, surely his death deserved more than a passing by the way.  If you weren’t paying attention, you might have actually missed it.  No fanfare, no brief scene to get a chance to say goodbye, just “oh yeah, he died in battle”.  At least he died as valiantly as he lived, and while we didn’t get a goodbye, at least Yang did.  I just would have liked a little more respect paid to his wonderful character.  

After 51 episodes, you might think they would reward us for sticking with them by giving us a happy ending, but that was not to be.  Empress Ki’s ending is as tragic as the rest of the drama.  Aside from the Empress and crown prince there really aren’t many left.  The Emperor kills Wang Yoo to protect Yang from the secret of their son.  Then he kills all the ministers who support the Empress Dowager in her efforts to crown a new Emperor.  The Empress Dowager is sentenced to the cold palace, but drinks poison before they can send her away.  And lastly, Toghan finally succombs to the massive amounts of poison he was fed by Golta and dies in Yang’s arms.  Even her mentor and confidant Tal Tal is killed in battle.  Yang has become the Empress but she is left all alone.