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Let me preface this by saying AOS will always be in my top 10 kdramas of all time. It truly made me feel so many things, happiness, but mostly anxiety and stress. I don't think I've ever been more obsessed with a kdrama, which is why I need to put all my feelings down so that I can move on from this show. I am well aware that writers/directors cannot satisfy everyone and there's a lot of factors that influence the final outcome of the drama. But I just wanted to talk about the good parts and the bad parts as well as what I selfishly wanted to see. This is going to be all over the place, tbh.

First of all, my love for these characters and actors/actresses is truly unhinged. This is the first time I've seen any of them in a drama and I'll probably follow all of their careers for the rest of my kdrama life.

I think Jung Somin (JSM) and Go Younjung (GYJ) both did amazingly. They were different characters (but also the same) that did great with what they had. Not gonna lie, I was very worried about GYJ before S2 aired (this being her first lead role, her being a rookie, that she had never done romance before this, trying to follow JSM, etc. etc.) but she truly exceeded my expectations. Lee Jaewook (LJW) is my boy and it's hard to believe that he's only 24 years old. Shin Seung-ho and Yoo Insoo will always be in my heart and they're so funny and goofy (in real life especially) and I love them. Hwang Minhyun wasn't my favourite character, but the interactions of all of the actors in real life just makes my heart so warm. They're so cute!

I always have strong feelings towards writers when it comes to any type of show and I tend to feel the most hate towards them. Like do they not have moderators that go "oh, this is shit and doesn't make sense, please revise"? It always feels sad when the story that they've developed for years and the characters that we hold so dearly don't reach their potential. But as I said before these are my own selfish feelings.

Fantasy/romance genre is my absolute favourite. The further from reality the better and romance (when done well) just feeds my soul like no other. Fortunately/unfortunately fantasy has a lot of potential for world building and story telling. So where the kdrama fell flat was the plot, pacing and world building.

This drama had 30 episodes and they had multiple filler episodes that could've been used to flesh out the magical world and the dominant families and how they came to be. I loved ukiedoekie and ukyeong (my fav, tbh), but they could've given some of the other actors more screentime to better the plot.

The questions I have are: was the plan always to have Go Younjung come back? Because season 2 makes you question whether they even wanted her there. What happened with Jung Somin? Why did she not even have cameos in season 2, when clearly she should have? If it was just scheduling issues, then I kind get it, but she made that insignificant cameo when they could've made her do young Jin Buyeon's role, because it doesn't make sense that the 10 year old was there. Was the budget less for S2 than S1? Could they not afford JSM for S2 so they had to rewrite stuff? I just feel like the show really lacked cohesion in S2 and it shows and I'm trying to come up with excuses as to why. I loved Naksu/JBY/CY and how GYJ portrayed her, but the storyline and how they went about her character makes me question everything.

I do not like how they under utilized the female characters in this show. Jin Cho Yeon was just there. It's crazy to me that she was part of the oh so great "four seasons", for what?

Jang Uk (JU) and Mudoek were portrayed very well by the respective actors, I think they were great. But I wonder whether in interviews and press stuff whether it was a PR thing to not have them interact or make you feel anything when they're together (because they knew that LJW would be endgame with GYJ) so that the fans wouldn't get even more attached to them. Or did they not really "like" each other that much outside of their work or maybe their age gap was too significant? I put "like" in quotations because from the BTS videos they were always professional and pleasant with each other. I was sad when NO ONE from the AOS cast showed up to JSMs movie premier and no one really posted about her when the show wrapped for S2, except Yoo Insoo, that sweetheart.

LJW and GYJ are a whole other story. Their chemistry was extremely apparent on screen and in real life. I think they're the cutest and you can clearly see how much they care for each other and respect each other. If they were trying to distract the viewers from the plot with kissing scenes and on screen chemistry then it kinda worked, but I see you.

Naksu, Naksu, Naksu. That opening fight scene was the biggest clickbait I've ever seen in my entire life. I loooooove physically strong female leads that can fight with the boys and hold their own physically. Please see that I'm saying physically, because obviously emotionally or mentally strong is inferred. So to say I was sad that we never truly got to see that again is an understatement. In S2 I get why they ended it how they ended it, but if Naksu/Cho Yeong (CY) was never going to use her mage powers they could've fleshed out the priestess powers to make the ending more satisfying. (See earlier note about budget or them making JU look the strongest at the expense of the female character.)

I would've like to see JU and CY seeing each other when they found out that they could be together forever. Even if it was just them looking at each other from a far. (I just know that their micrexpressions would've slapped) I wish we got more interactions with all of the actors together. I wish that the final scene was them hunting a relic in Daeho and all the village people in awe of the power couple and seeing the faces of their friends and family knowing that they're home. That would've been cute. If they made half of season 2 about them hunting relics, I would've been so happy. I hate that they never cleared Naksu's name. Does the main cast know that she's Naksu or are they still lying to people? That's something that should've been cleared up. I also feel sad about Danggu and Mudoek's relationship that never got closure, because they were besties in S1. I would've also like to see more of Cho Yeon and Naksu's relationship, it was eluded to in one of the episodes that Cho Yeon is aware that Jin Buyeon is Naksu and she still treated her like her sister, which I found very endearing. So I would've like to see them being chosen sisters instead of just blood sisters. I quite like how they never bother to mention to JU that GYJs face is Naksu's original face, like they don't compare the two and JU immediately accepts it because he loves her soul. Cute.

I feel like they didn't let Naksu/CY deal with her trauma. That chick has been through a lot a lot. Like a lot. And they were just like "vibes, she continues". Why, when they gave JU time to heal from his trauma? Yes, in the end it was her choice to give up her sword and not train, but why couldn't they show us her healing process and how she decided that?

This brings me to the pacing of the show. S1 also had shit pacing, let's be honest, but S2 was worse because they could've had so much plot filled episodes and they still decided to give filler episodes. Season 1 kept on opening so many doors that they never closed and that continued on to S2. They dragged that amnesia plot and then the last 2 episodes were rushed. They very much showed the conflicting sides of JU in S2. They showed his reluctance to feel anything towards JBY and him pushing her away (I found him to be really mean at some points) and then his inability to see her suffer and caring for her from a distance. But to drag this out was also unnecessary, he was still mean to her up until ep 7.

That doctor chick was so fucking annoying. She literally had no point in S2 (or S1 really) except to be exceptionally annoying (please see earlier note about how female characters were underutilized and sidelined).

Anyways, regardless of budget and politics the storyline of AOS could've been much better, but I will always be grateful to the Hong sisters for giving me these characters and showing me these actors/actresses.

May 2023 bring in all the good kdramas and HEAs, because 2022 was a bit much. (A part of me hopes that GYJs new action kdrama "moving" is fucking amazing just so that the Hong sisters regret never giving her another action scene.)

WORDING GO YOUNJUNG

Regarding an average kingdom, most people would already know it. They have a territory that foreigners cannot seize easily. Not just anyone can also enter the kingdom, only the important people of the kingdom can enter it. Maybe if there is someone who has a lower degree, that person is stuck with a problem that makes them call the king's person.

A woman dressed neatly with a bag containing a hot child and her arrow stepped her long legs into a forest. The woman was not assigned to practice archery, she was already very adept at shooting a bow with a precise target. Her boots made a squeaky sound from a rattle hanging on the side of the shoe. The twinkling eyes were directed to one point, the woman saw a rabbit who was silent looking at the grass. Didn't know that the rabbit would be shot by a beautiful human with a bow.

A woman named Go Younjung is forcing her will to do all things as she pleases. She is a princess, but like an ordinary human being, she just doesn't want to be restrained by the king as her father. Every day she always practised archery with someone who was not identified by kingdom insiders. She was taught how to shoot properly and correctly so as not to shoot when there was an enemy or prey within her range of vision. She practised away from her father's kingdom because she didn't want anyone else to know who taught her. Because not just anyone can enter the kingdom of the father.

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