With Each New Episode, The Mystery That Is Shangjue Gradually Unravels; For Instance, His Obsession With

With each new episode, the mystery that is Shangjue gradually unravels; for instance, his obsession with cleanliness or why he often compares himself to beasts (lions,...). He considers himself to be one - an impure and inhuman killer living in a dark cave.

Shangjue has spilled so much blood, he can't even stomach the idea of eating a dead animal because it reminds him of all the people he's killed. The lifetime of bloodshed damaged him to a point he doesn't see himself fully human anymore.

Even the smell of a single drop of blood makes him alert, the way he catches the scent is reminiscent of a predator noticing his prey.

Moreover, battles are bloody and dirty so Gong Shangjue tries to keep an outward cleanliness not to be reminded of past battles and that he considers himself unclean inside.

the gaze™

1.07 KING THE LAND (2023) dir.Im hyunwook

My Journey to You Ep. 11 visuals: Peering through paper doors

Something I love about historical (-esque) dramas is a director's ability to use architectural framing to represent character emotions and change. Episode 11 gave us some interesting character moments for the two main couples and each happened through paper doors.

This was one of the first episodes where I finally felt Gong Ziyu intentionally stepped into his leadership position as Sword Wielder by not giving in to his natural impulsivity and naivety. He's made aware of Yun Weishan's possible betrayal, and while he's clearly trying to give her an opportunity to explain herself and join him, he's also refreshingly cautious.

Him keeping the door closed is both a political and personal choice. Ziyu can't reasonably let her go without addressing the medical records, but he wants to reassure Weishan that he won't recreate the political cage he believes her to be trapped in. They both desire freedom and the soft life, but she needs to articulate what she's going through so that he can politically maneuver the situation.

Ultimately, she (literally) opens the door to that possibility—and (literally) steps into the light of her true feelings.

Now, returning to our favorite emotionally repressed and overly cocky couple...

(Side Note: I'm obsessed with this pool in the center of Gong Shangjue's chambers and really hope they make more use of it in future episodes. Think! Of! All! The! Metaphors! I'll take a suggestive shot of dipping her hand into those still waters for $400 dollars, Alex. Please, show, give me something to hold me over until the sexy bath scene from the trailer. Anything.)

Do I sense a disturbance in the Force or is Shangguan Qian actually starting to feel something other than blood-thirst? Of course, she's angry at having been bested by Weishan (and probably a bit wary of having to recalibrate her perception of the other assassin), and Lu Yuxiao is doing some lovely acting letting that jumble of emotions play out on her face. And then she turns her gaze to Shangjue. It's in that shot through the open door that we start seeing the stirring of something else. Whether it's guilt, concern, or just a healthy dose of empathy who knows but it's there.

What I appreciate about the architectural framing of the scene's last shot is that it works on multiple levels:

Shangjue's isolation and shame after obliterating his reputation with the clan's elders. This man wants to be the Sword Wielder because he truly believes he would be a more capable leader. Being seen as having to rely on petty tricks is incredibly humbling.

The depth of the shot through multiple doorways—barriers—makes it seem like Qian's master plan for Shangjue is even further from her grasp now that he is less secure in his plans to depose Gong Zuyi.

And yet...she is also seeing him through the door. Usually, the camera films Shangjue to look powerful: he's shot to look tall and untouchable, looking down from his horse or surrounded by regalia. But here, blocked in by these two doors, he's stripped of all of it. I could imagine Qian feels vulnerable seeing the man whom she has envisioned as larger than life since he rescued her years ago tucked away like this, and so I'm super excited to see if and how she attempts to cross this literal and metaphorical threshold to get closer to him to execute her mission.

I love his honesty. He does not lie and what a contrast to YWS coming from a place where your whole mission is to lie.

But then the scene continues and this, this, THIS is why I love Ziyu. Here he thinks that both his quasi-mother and the woman he loves - the two women he's closest to - have betrayed him in the worst way and his reaction is still gentleness and understanding why. He is hurt but he's not angry. He does not view it as their failing him - his ability to put himself into someone's place is really what sets him apart.

This has killed me - there is no "you betrayed me" or "how dare you" or anything but instead just genuine asking if he can provide it instead. Ziyu is unique in this story in not imposing his will or expectation but trying to meet people where they are; his parents were both different flavors of selfish (the attempts by the narrative to whitewash his dad are not working for me btw) but either innately or because of being treated as someone who doesn't matter, he took from it lack of expectation that he is owed, that what he wants should be important to others.

Oooooof!!!!

She asks for his trust and once again I both love the honesty - he does not answer - but also that he can still love when there is no trust. I wonder if loving both his parents who never put him first or really showed much care is something that led him to separate the two and process that you can love someone who may or may not feel the same, or be "worthy" of it even - love and expectation of mutuality, love and trust are two different things.

I love how intimately this is shot but also with the barrier with only their shadows because they cannot truly read each other's innermost selves and are rather in the dark.

Even with her supposed betrayal, he may not bear to see her, but he leaves the present there and when I saw what it is, I gasped. Her name means cloud and he gave it to her...

Once again, this is a man who hates the cold!

Also, this bit from the lyrics, since these are allusions to their names too, AAAA

And also, he was going to let her go...he thought she betrayed him for her freedom (and that it was something SJ promised) and his reaction was to give her that freedom instead.

I am genuinely fond of the fact that SJ's BDE ended up making her fall for him for real, but still not enough to give up her goals, and the same was true for him.

But they did both end up with a raging case of feelings and honestly, maybe someday. Life is long and their world is pretty small...

I relate to this so much! I too occasionally find myself wondering what the original reactions of classic stories were like.