History Series / MrSunshine2018

** When Ae Shin was born in Japan in the 1880's, her parents use Mauser C96 pistols when they fend of the Japanese instead of era-appropriate guns like the Smith and Wesson Model 1871, Colt 1860 or SAA revolver, or British Bulldog revolver.
** the Japanese were guilty of this. while they used Arisaka Rifles during the series, they use Gewehr 88s during the 1880's flashback instead of the Mauser 1871. they also used Gatling guns when they attacked the Royal Military Academy in the late 1900's instead of Maxim machine guns which they used during the UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar.

* Foil

** [[TheStarscream Lee Wan-Ik]] is one of the powerful court officials but came from landowning middle-class family, which often resulted in the aristocracy's blocking the upward mobility that led him to [[StartOfDarkness align with Japan]].

** Slavery in Joseon was so institutionalized that slave hunters were hired to find escapees. Even after slavery was abolished and modernization appeared in Joseon, social and gender stratifications linger on.

* ShaggyDogStory: The story follows the rebels who first wanted government reform, and then resisted the Japanese colonization of Korea. See ForgoneConclusion.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: It may seem ridiculous to suggest that Eugene would be accepted to the Naval Academy, and commissioned into the Marines, given the prejudice against non-whites in the service at the time. But while Asian Americans in the military were certainly the exception, not the norm, but they have been documented as serving in the U.S. military at various times and places since the War of 1812. As early as 1860, foreign nationals from Japan and China attended U.S. military academies. So while there is no specific historical example, it is plausible that a smart young Korean could, with a wealthy and influential patron, get a commission at that time in history.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: There is no way Eugene would be accepted into military, let alone serve, as a Korean in a white-exclusive military institution.

* {{Foreshawdowing}}: The first English words Ae Sin learns are “gun,” “love,” and “sad ending.”

* {{Eagleland}}: As a collective, the nation is seen as rather boorish, having sent troops to Korea in pursuit of its colonial ambitions, and exploiting Joseon economically. The show also makes an effort to fairly represent that numerous nation-states of the time had similar imperial ambitions—particularly Japan and Russia.
** Major Moore is an excellent example of the dichotomy, with his cheery ignorance prompting him to ask dumb and often offensive questions (“Eugene, how do Joseon women see color with black eyes?”), but his inherent sense of fair play prompting him to help Joseon at great personal inconvenience and risk, in their hour of need.

* EvilChancellor: Gojong's regent is loyal, but fatally stubborn and arrogant. He exhorts the court to be hawkish and ignores the words of more [[OnlySaneMan realistic-minded bureaucrats]] who recognize that their "inferior barbarian" invaders have military and technological superiority. When their "defense" ended with [[CurbStompBattle massive casualties]], he condemns the surviving soldiers for "cowardice.” He withholds information from Hina about her mother’s whereabouts [[ManipulativeBastard in order to extort her cooperation for longer]].

* {{Eagleland}}: The United States in 1871 was portrayed as both types of the Eagleland trope. As a collective, the nation is seen as rather boorish, having sent troops to Korea in pursuit of its colonial ambitions, and exploiting Joseon economically. But individuals like Eugene and Major Moore are shown to be fundamentally good people, willing to go a long way to help many Koreans. This despite Eugene’s brutal childhood, and Moore’s duty to advance U.S. interests. The show also shows that numerous nation-states of the time had similar imperial ambitions—particularly Japan and Russia.

* EvilChancellor: Downplayed. Gojong's regent is moral, but fatally stubborn and arrogant. He exhorts the court to be hawkish and ignores the words of more [[OnlySaneMan realistic-minded bureaucrats]] who recognize that their "inferior barbarian" invaders have military and technological superiority. The Joseon military is busy with quelling unrest and has difficulty sparing soldiers for foreign defense. And when their "defense" ended with [[CurbStompBattle massive casualties]], he condemns the surviving soldiers for "cowardice," which directly results in Seung-goo and other prisoners joining the revolutionaries.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Ae Shin]] finally leads The Righteous Army in Manchuria, but at the cost of the lives of [[spoiler: Dong Mae, Hina/Yang Hwa, Hee Sung, and Eugene/Yoo Jin]], Joseon being conquered by Japan in 1910, and leaving her countrymen at home behind.

** Hee Sung is nice enough, but he’s a dilettante and a womanizer with no real ambition.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The series tends to portray the less-ideal part of Joseon Dynasty, especially before the arrival of foreign powers. One example is Dong Mae's DarkAndTroubledPast as a child of butcher family who were ostracized due to their "unclean" nature of their work. Another being Joseon's slavery that had been widespread to the point that slave hunters were hired to find escapees who would be brought to be executed for their crimes. Finally, Go Ae Shin had to deal with restrictions on the account as a noblewoman by her traditional grandfather who would have her stay at home rather than being informed about worldly matters, though this also may have to do with the fact that her parents were killed by Japanese soldiers for their activism. Even when slavery was abolished and modernization appeared in Joseon, many citizens still linger on social and gender stratification with a major example being Ae Shin's servant discouraging her from visiting a school meant for commoners.

* EvilOldFolks: Hee Sung's grandfather is a major example as he almost killed Eugene as a [[SinsOfTheFather group-punishment for his parent's escape even if he was not informed about it]]. Furthermore, he sold off the land of a desperate farmer just to buy a watch for his grandson.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Realizing that Ae Shin loves Eugene, [[spoiler: Dong Mae (later Hee Sung)]] finally gives up on Ae Shin.

* LoveDodecahedron: Hoo, boy. Eugene loves Ae Shin and she loves him, but he was born as a slave and she was a noble. To complicate matters, Hee Sung is Ae Shin's Fiance, Dong Mae has feelings towards Ae Shin since they were kids, and Hina falls in love with Eugene, but after realizing that Eugene and Ae Shin are meant for each other, she falls again for Dong Mae. It still fails since Dong Mae has no interest towards her. Poor girl, she really wanted a hug.

* EvilChancellor: Though more towards stubborn and arrogant, Gojong's regent basically advise entire court to be more hawkish while ignoring the words of [[OnlySaneMan realistic-minded bureaucrats]] that their "inferior barbarian" invaders have superiority in military and technology. Also the fact that entire country's military is too busy with quelling unrest didn't help the matters of sparing additional soldiers for foreign defense. After their "defense" ended with massive casualties in a CurbStompBattle, he intends to condemn the surviving soldiers for "cowardice", which Seung-goo and other prisoners were disillusioned with their government after they were spared by an American commander and the news of the regent's words were shared.

* NeverLearnedToRead: DownplayedTrope, Eugene only know how to read and write in English but lack the same ability in Korean due to his upbringing as a slave. In fact, he only learned basic literacy in Korean later in the series.
* PairTheSpares: Subverted. [[spoiler:A more conventional story would have had Dong-mae and Kudo Hina live happily ever after. Instead, Hina confesses her unrequited love [[EveryoneDies shortly before both die]].]]

* AristocratsAreEvil: Although exceptions like [[ActionGirl Ae Shin]] and few other level-headed courtiers exists, the majority of Korean aristocrats generally ranged from callous, corrupt, backstabbing, and/or reactionary as the Joseon Dynasty came to a close.

** Eugene is noble and brave but his cruel experiences have made him pragmatic and cold. He clearly feels empathy but rarely puts it to use.
** Dong-mae is the most problematic to like: he’s unequivocally done some very bad things, but he frequently goes out of his way to help others, or avoid harming them. It’s not always clear if it’s his affection for Ae Sin that brings out his better nature, or if he’s fighting a naturally good nature in order to survive amongst bad people.

* {{Eagleland}}: The United States in 1871 was portrayed as both types of the Eagleland trope. As a collective, the nation is seen as rather boorish, having sent troops to Korea in pursuit of its colonial ambitions, and exploiting Joseon economically. But individuals like Eugene and Major Moore are shown to be fundamentally good people, willing to go a long way to help many Koreans. This despite Eugene’s brutal childhood, and Moore’s duty advance U.S. interests. The show also shows that numerous nation-states of the time had similar imperial ambitions—particularly Japan and Russia.

* PairTheSpares: Subverted. [[spoiler:A more conventional story would have had Dong-mae and Kudo Hina live happily ever after. Instead, Kudo Hina confesses her unrequited love [[EveryoneDies shortly before ‘’both’’ die]].]]

** Eugene is noble and brave but his cruel experiences have made him pragmatic and cold. He clearly feels empathy but rarely puts it to use.
** Dong-mae is the most problematic to like: he’s unequivocally done some very bad things, but he frequently goes out of his way to help others, or avoid harming them. It’s not always clear if it’s a case of NotAsEvilAsYouCouldHaveBeen, or if he’s fighting a naturally good nature in order to survive amongst bad people.

* {{Eagleland}}: The United States in 1871 was portrayed as a somewhat Boorish-leaning mixed example as it sent troops to Korea in its colonial ambitions and diplomatic connections after the Spanish-American War, but Eugene is a Beautiful example who help many Koreans despite his mixed opinions on Joseon Dynasty as it experienced its downfall. Though in fairness, every powerful nation states--especially Japan-- have [[NotSoDifferent similar goals towards imperial ambitions]].

** Lee Se-Hoon accidentally shot one of his servants when he tried to use a Japanese pistol while being attacked by a marksman.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Everyone in the show basically had its flaws and strengths. Eugene only felt loyalty to [[{{Eagleland}} the United States]] since he had a bad childhood as a child born to a family of slaves, but he is nonetheless willing to help Joseon if possible. Joseon Dynasty is defending their culture and independence but they suffered from general divide among the nobility (some influential aristocrats being pro-Japanese) and many commoners on the Righteous Army only had ties with them as an EnemyMine situation. While the series portrayed Imperial Japan as villainous, many characters ranged from generally kind people to sociopaths. In addition, many LesCollaborateurs characters--especially lower-ranking people like Dong-Mae--founded Japan as for a chance to advance their stations restricted by their home country.