The East Palace is a South Korean fantasy horror that has some amazing art, but also some very sloppy writing.
I went in expecting melodrama, and as far as Korean series go, it wasn't too over the top. Set in an imagined Joeseon dynasty, the story is about a king who is being tormented by spirits. In fact, most of his family have been killed by the Spirit of the Lake, or have they?
In comes a slayer, Gu-cheon, who, once he kills himself, can travel to the spirit world where he does battle with various baddies. These are the reason you watch this show. They are superb to look at, feature some very interesting creature designs, and a stunning colour palette. It's just a pity that the world he returns to is so daft.
Rinse and repeat
I say that because they story seems to go in circles. Joining our reluctant, and overly and completely unnecessarily rude Gu-cheon, is Saeng-gang. A character who looks like she as created using AI. No, really. I had to actually check.
She's his guide in the East Palace, because she has ties to it I won't soil here. She too is quite a rude character and is irritated that she has to guide a bumbling idiot. I mean, he's powerful sure, in the spirit world, but he is still a total ass.
The show is eight episodes long, but it feels longer because the writing of each episode seems to have forgotten what happened in the one before. You have revelations repeating themselves over and over again, which is tiresome!
If you like Korean series, you might like this. It's fun at times, and the underworld scenes are amazing.
You can find out more about the show in the video below.
All the series and all the movies couldn't put society back together again.