i must really salute the writers and casts of this drama. Ko Hyung Jung played the beautiful, intelligent adviser Mishil. i am blown away by her acting. she portrayed an air of authority, mystery and evil by simply arching her brows or a slight smile. no big emotional displays, just tat mona lisa smile. it leaves you guessing her thoughts and emotions. i think the most touching scene was when her abandoned son, bidam, first called her "mother" in ep 49(not too sure). you can see how touched and probably how long she waited for him to call her mother, they found out about their relationship about 4-5 eps earlier but never confirmed it with each other. once she found out that he was her son, perhaps she knew all along but pretended to protect him, she tried to get him out of harm's way and refused to allow others to harm him.
the other notable actress is Lee Yo Wan, who played Deokman. her constant mental battles with mishil, her devotion to her country and giving up a life with her lovers (first love kim yu shin, then bidam). she was truely beautiful in this drama. i am sure it was a very trying drama, having to film in all seasons and all sort of terrains. the love story between her two lovers was heartbreaking, giving them up to be married to her country. she was very beautiful in her princess and queen outfits. although i prefer the traditional korean handok in dramas like Dong Yi, both Lee and Ko were breathtaking in their respective outfits.
Kim Nam Gil, bidam, was one of my fave actor. initially just a bum who happened to be helpful, a little fool to lighten the mood, he eventually rose to become a key player. his parentage perhaps gave him a great insight to how to solve problems, ok some of his solutions are bit evil, but he gained the trust of Deokman and became her lover. this drama also gave kim nam gil the exposure that made him a star.
the last actor who i should mentioned is Jeon No Min, who played lord seolwon and mishil lover. he was a military man who was commander in chief. he was quiet and reserved, a rather emotional man who was happy to stand behind his woman and followed her every wishes. i think he was the only one who truely loved and understood mishil (in the drama). jeon no min had a similar character in family honor, it was tat drama that made an impression on me. in this drama, lord seolwon was calm and collected even when mishil ordered their son (bojong) on a suicide mission.
