Post by ajk on Feb 28, 2008 14:42:48 GMT -5
This was a very complicated episode, particularly for a first episode. A whole lot of characters were introduced, some with little or no explanation, and the whole thing had a shadowy, mysterious feel about it. I've tried to get all of the names and events right, but it was tricky. So if anyone sees any errors, please do post corrections.
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(Note: The entire episode takes place during the course of one night.)
Nighttime in the palace complex: A large team of black-clad commandos infiltrates, stealthily climbing along the roofs of the buildings. They jump into the courtyards, knocking civilians aside and fighting off palace guards (although no one is being stabbed or killed). Soon, though, the tide turns as more guards arrive; some of the invaders are subdued in the courtyards. And as the rest run across a long bridge over a pool of water, they're suddenly pinned in the middle of the bridge by hundreds of arrows fired into the bridge's surface by palace guards. As the arrows cease we see Gang Sangin, chief of the palace guard, who reviews the scene with satisfaction. A voice shouts, "Mission accomplished!" and guards and commandos alike snap to attention. It was a drill.
Inside the palace, a gathering of retainers from Ming and Joseon is taking place; tension and arguing. The elderly prime minister Ha Ryun enters and good-naturedly tries to calm things down with small talk and an offer of ginseng tea. A conference is to begin the next day to discuss the possibility of the Crown Prince becoming son-in-law to the Ming emperor.
A group of royal attendants is in a courtyard; one of them goes to shut an open door to an audience hall and sees a body hanging from the ceiling inside. The body is identified as deputy Kim Byun of the palace guard. Was this a suicide? Possibly, but the hanging rope was quite long--unnecessarily long for a suicide. A very quick autopsy is performed and finds death by poisoning.
King Taejong is informed of Kim's death; he leaves his chambers and goes to see the body personally. He examines the body's hands, finds a distinguishing scar and confirms for himself that the man is indeed Kim. Overruling ministers and the head attendant who say that Kim defiled a royal place, the king instructs that the body be returned to Kim's family and given a decent funeral.
PM Ha and minister Hwang Hee discuss whether or not martial law should be declared in light of the murder. Security is supposed to be ironclad; if martial law is declared, they conclude, the Ming envoy may well flee on the eve of the negotiations.
Examining Kim's body, a message is found written on its back and covered over with beeswax to conceal it. This is a method used by Yuan spies to warn enemies. The message reads, "Can you protect the King in the making?" This triggers an immediate order to send guards to cover each of the three princes.
Crown Prince Yangnyeong (oldest prince) is found; he's outside practicing archery, annoyed by the commotion inside the palace. Other guards go to protect Prince Hyoryeong (second prince) and they locate him. But Prince Choongnyeong (third prince) is missing!
The ministers debate among themselves whether or not to declare martial law in light of the disappearance. Then they meet with the king; the king decides that martial law will not be declared, saying that Joseon's safety comes first and that he wants no disruption until the negotiation is finished.
The queen's chambers: The queen is NOT happy about the king's decision.
PM Ha, meeting alone with the king, says that the murder wasn't Ming's doing because the Ming emperor wouldn't have written such an easily decipherable message. He says that "there are too many (suspects) to pick from...countless enemies who covet your throne." Just then crown prince Yangnyeong barges in, angry about the lack of urgency to find Choongnyeong. The queen follows him in, and calmly asks that the room be cleared.
We see the queen on her knees before her husband. "Where is your dignity as the mother of this state?", he asks her. She answers, "My duty as a mother comes first. Place the city under martial law right now." But he tells her, "The military does not exist to protect a prince." The queen then challenges him: "Is it because he is not a child of the concubine you love?" "Ridiculous," he says; "My decision would be the same no matter which child is missing." Unconvinced and frustrated, she calls him "a beast with a human face." He responds, "Are you just finding that out?" and says that he gave up his humanity upon rising to the throne, and that she did her part "pushing and hounding me" in his rise.
Ministers Hwang Hee, Shim Oh, Min Mugu and Min Mujil are talking about the kindapping. Shim tells the Mins, "this has got to be worse for you, his blood relatives." Hwang says that an investigation must be started and also that "the culprit could be closer than we think." Hwang and Shim leave, and Mujil says "I don't like their attitude. It's as if they suspect us." Just then PM Ha walks up and says, "Can you blame them?"
Princes Yangnyeong and Hyoryeong are sitting together, and Yangnyeong reflects: "The three of us were together that night..." ...Flashback to a battle scene during the Second Princes' Rebellion (conflict over the throne between King Taejo's sons Bangwon and Banggan, in which Bangwon triumphed and became king). The three young princes are taken hostage by Banggan's men, and witness a battle with murders right in front of them. Bangwon's men are victorious and rescue the boys are rescued by their father and the two Mins...Flashback ending, "...but tonight he is alone." Yangnyeong vows revenge if anything happens to his brother.
PM Ha confronts military ministers Min Mujil and Min Mugu, who are the queen's brothers; asks them point-blank if they killed Kim and took the prince. Mugu asks, "What would I have to gain by doing this?" Ha suggests that they could be sending the king a message: There have been two bloody rebellions for the throne, but the king has been negligent lately towards the queen's family who "swung their swords" for him, and now they're angry at him. They reply, "Don't even think of bringing the Min family into this," and tell him that he is just as much a suspect because he is "the one with the most to gain" since the worried king will trust only him and that the prince's safe return will increase Ha's authority. Ha tells them that such scheming thoughts make him distrust them even more.
Princess Shim is discussing the kidnapping with her father, minister Shim On. She hands him a paper that causes him to react with disturbed surprise. The paper is apparently a note from Choongnyeong saying that there is "someone I must meet" tonight.
Guards invade the home of the prince's teacher, Yi Su. Shim On enters and confronts Yi with the paper, saying that Yi is the only person whom the prince would readily venture out of the palace to see at night. It could only be him. Yi laughs and accuses Shim of disparaging the king for suggesting that "the king's mighty sword could not hold back an ordinary scholar."
The king asks Gang Sangin for his help in finding Choongnyeong. He expresses sympathy at the loss of Gang’s trusted subordinate; Gang deferentially replies that "the safety of the royal house comes before my personal feelings."
A blurry figure seen through a screen, talking to five men, two of whom are identified as Foreman Jeon and Muby. The other three men are given payment--"It's for the kill. Good job."--and they leave. The mystery man is pleased that "Yi Bangwon" now knows that the palace is vulnerable, and will soon know "how meaningless the royal robe is that he picked up and put on himself. This is just a start." We then see the man's face; he is not identified.
Two eunuchs, Jeon Ilji and Um Jachi, are talking. Um says he must leave the palace, despite orders that no one leave. He sneaks out and visits an old woman, Granny Cowsears, and says "If we don't bring Prince Choongnyeong back safely tonight, we're both dead meat!"
In a cave, the young prince and his eunuch Jang Won are held captive by a group of thugs. The prince is mocked and pushed around, but the thugs don't know exactly who he is, only that he's the son of someone significant.
Foreman Jeon gives money to the thug leader, tells him that the boy is a prince, and tells him to kill the prince immediately or he'll end up dead.
Gang Sangin visits a group of men who are gambling; they're former militia and they know him. Gang roughs one of them up and gets him to confess to knowing where the prince was taken. He and his troops rush out into the woods.
The prince and Yang Won are taken out into a field in the darkness to be executed, but just as the head thug lifts his sword, a thrown dagger knocks the sword aside and a battle ensues. The attackers cannot be seen clearly.
Yi Su is forcibly brought in before Hwang Hee and the dead body, is shown the written message, and told that it's undeniable proof of his involvement because the writing style is so rare that Yi is the only person who could have produced it. Hwang grabs Yi by the collar and says, "Confess. Who did you conspire the kidnapping with and what are you after?" Yi stares him down and says, "I’m not a fool who wastes precious ink on untruthful statements." Yi says, surprisingly, that he wouldn't have written the message because Choongnyeong "is not king material" and "does not have what it takes to be a sovereign."
The prince and Jang Won flee into the woods as the battle ensues. After running for a while, they believe they're safe in the darkness and stop to catch their breath. "I think we lost them," Jang Won says, breathing hard. "You don't have to be scared any more. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to protect you." This angers the young prince, who starts hitting the eunuch in frustration. "Who says I'm scared? I'm a prince! And you are my subject. It is the prince who protects his subjects and his people." (Brave talk from a little kid, but it certainly showed his character.) Suddenly the two find themselves surrounded by men who appear through the darkness. Foreman Jeon approaches them....
------------------------------
(Note: The entire episode takes place during the course of one night.)
Nighttime in the palace complex: A large team of black-clad commandos infiltrates, stealthily climbing along the roofs of the buildings. They jump into the courtyards, knocking civilians aside and fighting off palace guards (although no one is being stabbed or killed). Soon, though, the tide turns as more guards arrive; some of the invaders are subdued in the courtyards. And as the rest run across a long bridge over a pool of water, they're suddenly pinned in the middle of the bridge by hundreds of arrows fired into the bridge's surface by palace guards. As the arrows cease we see Gang Sangin, chief of the palace guard, who reviews the scene with satisfaction. A voice shouts, "Mission accomplished!" and guards and commandos alike snap to attention. It was a drill.
Inside the palace, a gathering of retainers from Ming and Joseon is taking place; tension and arguing. The elderly prime minister Ha Ryun enters and good-naturedly tries to calm things down with small talk and an offer of ginseng tea. A conference is to begin the next day to discuss the possibility of the Crown Prince becoming son-in-law to the Ming emperor.
A group of royal attendants is in a courtyard; one of them goes to shut an open door to an audience hall and sees a body hanging from the ceiling inside. The body is identified as deputy Kim Byun of the palace guard. Was this a suicide? Possibly, but the hanging rope was quite long--unnecessarily long for a suicide. A very quick autopsy is performed and finds death by poisoning.
King Taejong is informed of Kim's death; he leaves his chambers and goes to see the body personally. He examines the body's hands, finds a distinguishing scar and confirms for himself that the man is indeed Kim. Overruling ministers and the head attendant who say that Kim defiled a royal place, the king instructs that the body be returned to Kim's family and given a decent funeral.
PM Ha and minister Hwang Hee discuss whether or not martial law should be declared in light of the murder. Security is supposed to be ironclad; if martial law is declared, they conclude, the Ming envoy may well flee on the eve of the negotiations.
Examining Kim's body, a message is found written on its back and covered over with beeswax to conceal it. This is a method used by Yuan spies to warn enemies. The message reads, "Can you protect the King in the making?" This triggers an immediate order to send guards to cover each of the three princes.
Crown Prince Yangnyeong (oldest prince) is found; he's outside practicing archery, annoyed by the commotion inside the palace. Other guards go to protect Prince Hyoryeong (second prince) and they locate him. But Prince Choongnyeong (third prince) is missing!
The ministers debate among themselves whether or not to declare martial law in light of the disappearance. Then they meet with the king; the king decides that martial law will not be declared, saying that Joseon's safety comes first and that he wants no disruption until the negotiation is finished.
The queen's chambers: The queen is NOT happy about the king's decision.
PM Ha, meeting alone with the king, says that the murder wasn't Ming's doing because the Ming emperor wouldn't have written such an easily decipherable message. He says that "there are too many (suspects) to pick from...countless enemies who covet your throne." Just then crown prince Yangnyeong barges in, angry about the lack of urgency to find Choongnyeong. The queen follows him in, and calmly asks that the room be cleared.
We see the queen on her knees before her husband. "Where is your dignity as the mother of this state?", he asks her. She answers, "My duty as a mother comes first. Place the city under martial law right now." But he tells her, "The military does not exist to protect a prince." The queen then challenges him: "Is it because he is not a child of the concubine you love?" "Ridiculous," he says; "My decision would be the same no matter which child is missing." Unconvinced and frustrated, she calls him "a beast with a human face." He responds, "Are you just finding that out?" and says that he gave up his humanity upon rising to the throne, and that she did her part "pushing and hounding me" in his rise.
Ministers Hwang Hee, Shim Oh, Min Mugu and Min Mujil are talking about the kindapping. Shim tells the Mins, "this has got to be worse for you, his blood relatives." Hwang says that an investigation must be started and also that "the culprit could be closer than we think." Hwang and Shim leave, and Mujil says "I don't like their attitude. It's as if they suspect us." Just then PM Ha walks up and says, "Can you blame them?"
Princes Yangnyeong and Hyoryeong are sitting together, and Yangnyeong reflects: "The three of us were together that night..." ...Flashback to a battle scene during the Second Princes' Rebellion (conflict over the throne between King Taejo's sons Bangwon and Banggan, in which Bangwon triumphed and became king). The three young princes are taken hostage by Banggan's men, and witness a battle with murders right in front of them. Bangwon's men are victorious and rescue the boys are rescued by their father and the two Mins...Flashback ending, "...but tonight he is alone." Yangnyeong vows revenge if anything happens to his brother.
PM Ha confronts military ministers Min Mujil and Min Mugu, who are the queen's brothers; asks them point-blank if they killed Kim and took the prince. Mugu asks, "What would I have to gain by doing this?" Ha suggests that they could be sending the king a message: There have been two bloody rebellions for the throne, but the king has been negligent lately towards the queen's family who "swung their swords" for him, and now they're angry at him. They reply, "Don't even think of bringing the Min family into this," and tell him that he is just as much a suspect because he is "the one with the most to gain" since the worried king will trust only him and that the prince's safe return will increase Ha's authority. Ha tells them that such scheming thoughts make him distrust them even more.
Princess Shim is discussing the kidnapping with her father, minister Shim On. She hands him a paper that causes him to react with disturbed surprise. The paper is apparently a note from Choongnyeong saying that there is "someone I must meet" tonight.
Guards invade the home of the prince's teacher, Yi Su. Shim On enters and confronts Yi with the paper, saying that Yi is the only person whom the prince would readily venture out of the palace to see at night. It could only be him. Yi laughs and accuses Shim of disparaging the king for suggesting that "the king's mighty sword could not hold back an ordinary scholar."
The king asks Gang Sangin for his help in finding Choongnyeong. He expresses sympathy at the loss of Gang’s trusted subordinate; Gang deferentially replies that "the safety of the royal house comes before my personal feelings."
A blurry figure seen through a screen, talking to five men, two of whom are identified as Foreman Jeon and Muby. The other three men are given payment--"It's for the kill. Good job."--and they leave. The mystery man is pleased that "Yi Bangwon" now knows that the palace is vulnerable, and will soon know "how meaningless the royal robe is that he picked up and put on himself. This is just a start." We then see the man's face; he is not identified.
Two eunuchs, Jeon Ilji and Um Jachi, are talking. Um says he must leave the palace, despite orders that no one leave. He sneaks out and visits an old woman, Granny Cowsears, and says "If we don't bring Prince Choongnyeong back safely tonight, we're both dead meat!"
In a cave, the young prince and his eunuch Jang Won are held captive by a group of thugs. The prince is mocked and pushed around, but the thugs don't know exactly who he is, only that he's the son of someone significant.
Foreman Jeon gives money to the thug leader, tells him that the boy is a prince, and tells him to kill the prince immediately or he'll end up dead.
Gang Sangin visits a group of men who are gambling; they're former militia and they know him. Gang roughs one of them up and gets him to confess to knowing where the prince was taken. He and his troops rush out into the woods.
The prince and Yang Won are taken out into a field in the darkness to be executed, but just as the head thug lifts his sword, a thrown dagger knocks the sword aside and a battle ensues. The attackers cannot be seen clearly.
Yi Su is forcibly brought in before Hwang Hee and the dead body, is shown the written message, and told that it's undeniable proof of his involvement because the writing style is so rare that Yi is the only person who could have produced it. Hwang grabs Yi by the collar and says, "Confess. Who did you conspire the kidnapping with and what are you after?" Yi stares him down and says, "I’m not a fool who wastes precious ink on untruthful statements." Yi says, surprisingly, that he wouldn't have written the message because Choongnyeong "is not king material" and "does not have what it takes to be a sovereign."
The prince and Jang Won flee into the woods as the battle ensues. After running for a while, they believe they're safe in the darkness and stop to catch their breath. "I think we lost them," Jang Won says, breathing hard. "You don't have to be scared any more. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to protect you." This angers the young prince, who starts hitting the eunuch in frustration. "Who says I'm scared? I'm a prince! And you are my subject. It is the prince who protects his subjects and his people." (Brave talk from a little kid, but it certainly showed his character.) Suddenly the two find themselves surrounded by men who appear through the darkness. Foreman Jeon approaches them....