Arang and the Magistrate (2012)

Unique twist on historical romance

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2012 South Korean period romance also known as "The Tale of A-Rang". It has 20, 60 minute, episodes.

Kim Eun-oh (Lee Joon-gi) is not interested in being a Magistrate when he comes to Miryang, a town besieged by ghosts. Eun-oh is tricked by a high spirited virgin ghost, Arang (Shin Min-ah), into becoming the Magistrate and winds up agreeing to help resolve the mystery of her death. Much to his annoyance, as he does not like helping people, particularly ghosts and, most particularly this ghost, Eun-oh discovers something about Arang that compels him to do just that - help her.

Refusing, at first, to call her Arang (which means virgin ghost) Eun-oh instead nicknames her Amnesia/Memory Loss. They quickly determine that Joo-wal, a handsome nobleman, and possibly Arang/Lee Seo-rim's fiance, had something to do with her disappearance. As they search for answers, along the way, they must also avoid A-Rang being captured by the Grim Reapers.

Things in Miryang may be way more horrifying than they seem and the Gods themselves, The Jade Emperor, The King of the Heaven (Yoo Seung-Ho) and Yeom-ra, The King of the Underworld (Park Jun-gy) are watching as events unfold.

I liked the unique angle where she was a ghost and he was someone who could see ghostws. The beginning was a lot of fun because she was a tough and mischievous spirit. The Magistrate was cold and uncaring to start then underwent a high degree of character development that unearthed the gentle caring person he was inside. The evil people in this, the Fairy, and Lord Choi, you wanted to see things turn and go bad for them. The love stories between Arang and the Magistrate and their friends the Shaman and his "slave" were very cute and heartwarming.

Spoiler Alert ** What I did not like was the ending. You knew from quite a long way before the end that she would have to go to Heaven or Hell and would have to leave him. The Jade Emperor made it clear, when he turned her from a ghost back into a human, that her time was limited to three moons. I thought perhaps the Jade Emperor would be so pleased with Arang and the Magistrate for ridding the world of the evil that he would make an exception and allow her to stay alive. I wanted her to be able to live out her life with the Magistrate. Especially since he did not start as a good Magistrate, he was only doing it because of the trick, but then, as his love for Arang started to thaw his character and reveal his true nature, he became something the people really needed. I wanted to see him continue in the role of Magistrate after Arang finally admitted her feelings for him. It took a long while for Arang and the Magistrate to come together as she foolishly was concerned about him loving her and then having to leave him. She thought that it would be more painful that way than for her to reject him. I also hoped the young master was not involved in the murders as much I hoped it would turn out the evil fairy was controlling him. In the end he had done those things for her promise to make him wealthy (he had been a starving child) and just had her wipe his memory so he would not suffer the guilt. When she stopped wiping the memories (to punish him for not doing as she wanted) he had such guilt that he committed suicide and became a Reaper. I wanted to feel sorry for him, and I still did a little, but I could not condone what he had done and the reasons why he did it enough to want to see things go well for him. The Evil Fairy had loved a man and they both died (did not catch how) and when they reincarnated they were brother and sister. They also became immortal incarnations that lived in the heavens, a Reaper and a Fairy. She though wanted to return to being a human and wound up being cast out and having young women killed to steal their energy and possessing the bodies of some in return for favors. I think it was supposed to be a tragedy that painted the evil fairy in a more sympathetic light - but it never made me feel that way. It made for a sad and somewhat creepy (she still had feelings for her "brother") side story. The Magistrate, in the end, went to hell in Arang's place sacrificing himself, before she could stop him, so she could go to Heaven. And this is what I really did not like. Watching the whole story and seeing how the villagers had come to love and rely on the Magistrate, it made me sad that he essentially died in their eyes. The Magistrate also earned the respect and had a touching relationship with his father and you knew, for him, his son died. Arang and the Magistrate's love story continued when they were reincarnated and, as small children, it shows them playing together and her giving him a hard time because he does not remember being the Magistrate or her and she remembers everything. It flashes forward and shows them as young adults and she is still giving him a hard time for not remembering, they are obviously in love, and he basically says why does it matter. However, as much as they pointed out that Arang and the young girl, who died in the place of her love, the young master, were not the same person, the two reincarnated "Magistrate" and "Arang" did not seem like the same people and it felt like they never got to live out their love story. I know reincarnation includes beliefs that people who are close in life may come back to be close but the relationships may be different like a father may come back as a son, etc. I am not a fan of the reincarnation angle for love stories as when individuals reincarnate they may have elements of the previous life - but they are essentially different people. So it is very good and I would highly recommend but would say do not expect too much from the ending.

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