Post by ajk on Apr 16, 2008 14:32:32 GMT -5
Nighttime: The king is informed of the rebel attack and the envoy's disappearance, and tells the ministers they should be ashamed of themselves. "Incompetent fools!" Place the city under martial law, he orders. And, "I want every last surviving member of the Wang clan and their associates brought in and questioned."
Baron Ok Hwan and his associates pack up, burn documents and flee from his home.
The captured rebels are being tortured for information. Wang Ahn is asked by ministers where they took the envoy.
Minister Yi Sookbun and soldiers go into Ok's vacated home and find nothing--except a cloth with an eagle logo on it, apparently the rebel logo.
The king is told that Wang Ahn must have been the rebel leader. His answer: "Hogwash. Would you put your leader at the front line of a violent raid? Find their leader. He is holding the envoy."
Foreman Jeon tells Ok that he must send Muby into the palace to eliminate Wang Ahn, because if he talks, the whole organization will fall. Ok nods.
Wang tells minister Park and Han Younglo, who is with Park (and who is in the government's good graces for tipping off the attack) that he'll name the rebel leader if they'll spare his life. Park accepts. Muby has gotten into the courtyard somehow and leans forward to hear, as he clasps a dagger to throw. But Wang instead launches into a tirade against the "butcher" Yi Bangwon. "We have risen to deliver the people from oppression," he shouts. "My only regret is having failed to kill Yi Bangwon myself...The people's lament has reached the heavens!" Minister Park orders, "Shut him up at once!", but at that moment blood spurts from Wang's mouth and he dies, apparently from a delayed-acting poison. Han sums it up: "He is one savage, spiteful bastard."
The king is told of the death; he asks the ministers, So now what are you going to do to find the envoy. "Bring him back safely if you have to search the entire country." If we lose him, Taejong says, it's war.
Still nighttime: The envoy is untied and his gag and blindfold are removed, and he's brought before a dark shadowy figure. The figure steps forward...it's Choongnyeong! "Forgive me for this boorishness," he tells the envoy. "I was so very eager to reunite long-lost loved ones." Yun Hwe is there too, and a bunch of eunuchs who were the ones who seized the envoy. They've brought him to a tree. Choongnyeong says that it might look familiar to you...We see more of the flashback from E14 of the boy pushing the girl on the swing. This is the tree that held the swing. The flashback continues, with Choongnyeong sort of narrating/explaining: Once a boy made a swing here for his crippled little sister, who couldn't get a swing for herself anywhere else. But the boy, "who couldn't confine himself to a tiny village, left for China" and the sister was left behind. As he left, she gave him buckwheat crepes to take with him....Flashback ends; "Don't you miss her?", Choongnyeong asks Huang.
Still nighttime: Two women, one older and one younger, are talking. The older one is making buckwheat crepes. She opens up a paper she carries with her. It's the artist's drawing of Huang as a boy. "My brother will be here," she says. I know he's coming. Then the camera pans and we see Huang watching her from a distance, with Choongnyeong behind him. The woman turns and sees her brother. Slowly they realize who they are; they both tear up and grasp each other's hands, smiling and crying. Even the eunuchs with Choongnyeong are visibly moved by the reunion. (So the Ming envoy is Korean by birth.)
Park Eun is sitting in a room by himself. Jo Malseng enters and hands him a scroll; it's the king's order to apprehend the rebel leader. The order says that anyone who comes forward with information will be exonerated. (Note: I think the subtitle should have probably said "pardoned" instead of "exonerated.") Park wonders aloud if they're doing the right thing; Wang's eyes were "full of conviction" as he died. But Jo says, "It's easy to oppose. Making it work is difficult."
Ok Hwan, Foreman Jeon and Muby are in a remote seaside village. Ok asks what happened to the rebel armies; Jeon tells him they were given fake identification, so assumedly they got out okay. Ok walks away by himself to a seashore...Flashback once again of the Joseon descendants' massacre on the boat; this time we see that Wang Ahn jumped from the boat and escaped..."How can I continue to demand death from my peers?", Ok moans. He starts to cry and falls to his knees (startlingly emotional for such a cool customer). Muby, watching from behind him, starts to tear up as well.
The king is with the ministers, pacing back and forth in front of them. Jo Malseng enters with a message from the Hall of Great Peace. "They want to reopen the negotiation."
A short time later, the ministers meet. What happened to the envoy? "He says he went sightseeing." What does that mean? But as for the negotiation, prime minister Ha says, "Find a way to minimize the losses." We can't give them everything in this time of instability.
Ministers Hwang and Shim are on their way to the hall for the negotiation. The queen comes out and interrupts them. She asks what the offer to Ming is; Hwang apologizes but says he can't disclose it to her. Her face showing worry and concern, she asks him to protect the crown prince. "I'll do my best," he tells her somberly. "I'm counting on you," she replies. They leave her.
Yangnyeong is with his wife, drunk as a skunk and still drinking. The queen walks in on him and asks him why he didn't attend his royal lessons this morning. What's the point, he says, when I'm about to be taken to Ming. But she orders minister Byun, who's there with them, to call in the lecturers. "Must I take a whip to you to bring you to your senses? You must do your duty and conduct yourself properly as long as you are here." (Yow, she's tough.)
The negotiation reopens, with minister Hwang leading the Joseon side. He shows Huang the offer. "Five hundred war horses?", says the envoy with disdain. "They are the fastest we have," says Hwang. "The emperor will be very pleased." What about the crown prince? Hwang says We won't be sending him after all. "Hostages are acquired from enemies. Joseon and Ming are sister states." Then there's nothing more to discuss, the envoy says angrily, and gets up to leave. Hwang tries to calm him: "Please sit back down. You can end the meeting after you hear us out." So he does. Joseon, Hwang explains, plans to build a strong navy during the next three years, and build an artillery army, too. So you're going to attack Japan?, asks the envoy. No, we are a peaceful state, says Hwang; they're only to use if Japan invades (which they've been doing on small scales on a regular basis). "How long," asks the envoy, "until my emperor can see that you're really using all your resources to stop the Japanese?" Three years, Hwang tells him--in three years we will cut the Japanese raids by half. Huang considers this for a moment. Okay, he says. "I'll give you a chance." But there's a condition. You have to pick some beautiful women and send them to the emperor. This is "so that the two countries can be united by blood." The Joseon side fidgets and is uncomfortable with the request, but Hwang ultimately nods his head.
Flashback to the same morning: Choongnyeong has taken the envoy to a picturesque seaside location, presumably in the same village where his sister lives. Isn't this peaceful, the prince observes. "But if you insist on levying ten thousand horses and one hundred thousand soldiers...we will not have peace for a while. People will have to bear forced conscription." This will hurt the entire nation; your sister will be a victim too. "Are you threatening me?", Hwang asks rather softly, but Choongnyeong tells him, No, that's simply our reality. "The painful reality we will have to face in order to meet your requests." A brief silence. Then Huang says, I assume the king knows about me. (That is, knows about him being of Joseonese birth and not Chinese.) Choongnyeong answers, No, he doesn't; that would not be a good thing for you. The envoy is very surprised that the prince has kept the secret. "It sounds like you genuinely care about me." "You may have left this soil many years ago," Choongnyeong tells him, "but you are still Joseonese...and the royal house still has a duty to protect you."
Later that day, after the negotiation (or maybe the next day), on the long bridge: Choongnyeong is with the king. Don't you think you went a little far?, Taejong asks. The prince explains, If I had investigated in the open, everyone would have questioned my motives. The king considers this and nods in agreement. He then says, "Every service deserves a reward. Tell me what you want." The prince doesn't immediately ask for anything, but his father says, "I wouldn't feel comfortable if you didn't let me do something for you." "There is one small thing," Choongnyeong says.
Later, all of the eunuchs who helped Choongnyeong are given raises and promotions. In addition, Gim Jongsuh, the government official who was arrested with the scholars and left in jail, is freed.
Ministers Park and Shim encounter the freed Gim, back at work. Park gives him a talking-to and says that he didn't release him and wouldn't have done it. Gim asks, Then who released me?, and is stunned to hear that Choongnyeong asked the king for his release. Then, going into an office, Shim asks Park why the prince made such an issue about a low-ranking official. Park thinks that the prince might be thinking of the future and looking for people to support him.
Outside in the city, Choongnyeong is being carried on his carriage by eunuchs; it appears to be a routine stroll (or whatever you'd call it when a guy is hauled around on a platform). The prince is smiling, which annoys Um Jachi. You could live a comfortable life doing nothing, Jachi tells him; Why do you keep creating work for yourself? But the prince keeps smiling. Then Jachi says, We have to turn the carriage around and go to the marketplace....
Choongnyeong is with his wife; he's brought a bucket of apples from the marketplace. He says he's heard that pregnant women crave sour things sometimes (so I guess they're sour apples). You did this for me?, she asks, almost beaming. Well, no, he says, it was really Jachi's idea; he said we've been so busy that I've been neglecting you. Now disappointed and almost hurt, the princess says, I wish you weren't so honest all the time. I would rather you had lied to me and told me it was your idea!
Han Younglo's home: Daion confronts her father. Where's Youngsil, she angrily demands to know. Actually we see him just outside the walls of the yard, brandishing a knife (apparently to kill Han out of vengeance). Daion continues letting her father have it. Finally he fires back. "I did it to keep a promise to your mother." She was "worried that our clan could crumble and you'd life a life of scorn, because you married the wrong man." That's why I'm trying to become more powerful, he tells her emotionally. "So that my only child could live a decent life." And he walks off. Outside the wall, Jang listens to the whole thing. He drops the knife and walks away.
Minister Byun walks into an office, and finds Yun writing. What are you doing, he wants to know, messing around with a document that's to be given to Ming? Turns out, Yun was rewriting it because he found mistakes. Byun goes to see Hwang and complains about Yun being back. Hwang tells him, "He's the star of this negotiation, so he deserves to get his job back." But Byun says, "He's a drunkard who never shows up to work on time." Hwang answers that he's even angrier about it that Byun is. After all, how can we not be angry at him, after we worked for forty days on the negotiation and he solves the whole thing using "tricks."
Leaving the ministry, Yun finds Choongnyeong and Yi Su waiting for him. Even Yun's wife is there, much happier than in E11 when she threw him out of the house for being a drunkard. She's prepared food as a thank-you gift for the prince, so they all sit down for a meal. The prince presents Yun with a gift; it's an expensive pen. He jokingly wonders how many bottles of wine he can trade it for, and pretends to run off, but then says he'd never do that with "a gift from my pals." Choongnyeong tells Yun that he hopes to see him do important service with that pen for a long time.
The next day: A dance performance is taking place at a big ceremony in the envoy's honor. Everyone is present. The king tells Huang he's holding the event "to thank you for your wise decision." Huang responds, "There is someone else you should thank for that." Huang smiles; he shows none of his previous arrogance or bluster. He continues, "By the way, your highness, even if I had taken your heir apparent to Ming as a hostage, I don't believe you would have had to worry about the future of Joseon. You have a competent prince who can replace the heir apparent." The comment unsettles everyone present, particularly the princes. Ministers start to murmur, and everyone looks around at each other--that is, except for Choongnyeong, who looks like he wants to disappear.
Baron Ok Hwan and his associates pack up, burn documents and flee from his home.
The captured rebels are being tortured for information. Wang Ahn is asked by ministers where they took the envoy.
Minister Yi Sookbun and soldiers go into Ok's vacated home and find nothing--except a cloth with an eagle logo on it, apparently the rebel logo.
The king is told that Wang Ahn must have been the rebel leader. His answer: "Hogwash. Would you put your leader at the front line of a violent raid? Find their leader. He is holding the envoy."
Foreman Jeon tells Ok that he must send Muby into the palace to eliminate Wang Ahn, because if he talks, the whole organization will fall. Ok nods.
Wang tells minister Park and Han Younglo, who is with Park (and who is in the government's good graces for tipping off the attack) that he'll name the rebel leader if they'll spare his life. Park accepts. Muby has gotten into the courtyard somehow and leans forward to hear, as he clasps a dagger to throw. But Wang instead launches into a tirade against the "butcher" Yi Bangwon. "We have risen to deliver the people from oppression," he shouts. "My only regret is having failed to kill Yi Bangwon myself...The people's lament has reached the heavens!" Minister Park orders, "Shut him up at once!", but at that moment blood spurts from Wang's mouth and he dies, apparently from a delayed-acting poison. Han sums it up: "He is one savage, spiteful bastard."
The king is told of the death; he asks the ministers, So now what are you going to do to find the envoy. "Bring him back safely if you have to search the entire country." If we lose him, Taejong says, it's war.
Still nighttime: The envoy is untied and his gag and blindfold are removed, and he's brought before a dark shadowy figure. The figure steps forward...it's Choongnyeong! "Forgive me for this boorishness," he tells the envoy. "I was so very eager to reunite long-lost loved ones." Yun Hwe is there too, and a bunch of eunuchs who were the ones who seized the envoy. They've brought him to a tree. Choongnyeong says that it might look familiar to you...We see more of the flashback from E14 of the boy pushing the girl on the swing. This is the tree that held the swing. The flashback continues, with Choongnyeong sort of narrating/explaining: Once a boy made a swing here for his crippled little sister, who couldn't get a swing for herself anywhere else. But the boy, "who couldn't confine himself to a tiny village, left for China" and the sister was left behind. As he left, she gave him buckwheat crepes to take with him....Flashback ends; "Don't you miss her?", Choongnyeong asks Huang.
Still nighttime: Two women, one older and one younger, are talking. The older one is making buckwheat crepes. She opens up a paper she carries with her. It's the artist's drawing of Huang as a boy. "My brother will be here," she says. I know he's coming. Then the camera pans and we see Huang watching her from a distance, with Choongnyeong behind him. The woman turns and sees her brother. Slowly they realize who they are; they both tear up and grasp each other's hands, smiling and crying. Even the eunuchs with Choongnyeong are visibly moved by the reunion. (So the Ming envoy is Korean by birth.)
Park Eun is sitting in a room by himself. Jo Malseng enters and hands him a scroll; it's the king's order to apprehend the rebel leader. The order says that anyone who comes forward with information will be exonerated. (Note: I think the subtitle should have probably said "pardoned" instead of "exonerated.") Park wonders aloud if they're doing the right thing; Wang's eyes were "full of conviction" as he died. But Jo says, "It's easy to oppose. Making it work is difficult."
Ok Hwan, Foreman Jeon and Muby are in a remote seaside village. Ok asks what happened to the rebel armies; Jeon tells him they were given fake identification, so assumedly they got out okay. Ok walks away by himself to a seashore...Flashback once again of the Joseon descendants' massacre on the boat; this time we see that Wang Ahn jumped from the boat and escaped..."How can I continue to demand death from my peers?", Ok moans. He starts to cry and falls to his knees (startlingly emotional for such a cool customer). Muby, watching from behind him, starts to tear up as well.
The king is with the ministers, pacing back and forth in front of them. Jo Malseng enters with a message from the Hall of Great Peace. "They want to reopen the negotiation."
A short time later, the ministers meet. What happened to the envoy? "He says he went sightseeing." What does that mean? But as for the negotiation, prime minister Ha says, "Find a way to minimize the losses." We can't give them everything in this time of instability.
Ministers Hwang and Shim are on their way to the hall for the negotiation. The queen comes out and interrupts them. She asks what the offer to Ming is; Hwang apologizes but says he can't disclose it to her. Her face showing worry and concern, she asks him to protect the crown prince. "I'll do my best," he tells her somberly. "I'm counting on you," she replies. They leave her.
Yangnyeong is with his wife, drunk as a skunk and still drinking. The queen walks in on him and asks him why he didn't attend his royal lessons this morning. What's the point, he says, when I'm about to be taken to Ming. But she orders minister Byun, who's there with them, to call in the lecturers. "Must I take a whip to you to bring you to your senses? You must do your duty and conduct yourself properly as long as you are here." (Yow, she's tough.)
The negotiation reopens, with minister Hwang leading the Joseon side. He shows Huang the offer. "Five hundred war horses?", says the envoy with disdain. "They are the fastest we have," says Hwang. "The emperor will be very pleased." What about the crown prince? Hwang says We won't be sending him after all. "Hostages are acquired from enemies. Joseon and Ming are sister states." Then there's nothing more to discuss, the envoy says angrily, and gets up to leave. Hwang tries to calm him: "Please sit back down. You can end the meeting after you hear us out." So he does. Joseon, Hwang explains, plans to build a strong navy during the next three years, and build an artillery army, too. So you're going to attack Japan?, asks the envoy. No, we are a peaceful state, says Hwang; they're only to use if Japan invades (which they've been doing on small scales on a regular basis). "How long," asks the envoy, "until my emperor can see that you're really using all your resources to stop the Japanese?" Three years, Hwang tells him--in three years we will cut the Japanese raids by half. Huang considers this for a moment. Okay, he says. "I'll give you a chance." But there's a condition. You have to pick some beautiful women and send them to the emperor. This is "so that the two countries can be united by blood." The Joseon side fidgets and is uncomfortable with the request, but Hwang ultimately nods his head.
Flashback to the same morning: Choongnyeong has taken the envoy to a picturesque seaside location, presumably in the same village where his sister lives. Isn't this peaceful, the prince observes. "But if you insist on levying ten thousand horses and one hundred thousand soldiers...we will not have peace for a while. People will have to bear forced conscription." This will hurt the entire nation; your sister will be a victim too. "Are you threatening me?", Hwang asks rather softly, but Choongnyeong tells him, No, that's simply our reality. "The painful reality we will have to face in order to meet your requests." A brief silence. Then Huang says, I assume the king knows about me. (That is, knows about him being of Joseonese birth and not Chinese.) Choongnyeong answers, No, he doesn't; that would not be a good thing for you. The envoy is very surprised that the prince has kept the secret. "It sounds like you genuinely care about me." "You may have left this soil many years ago," Choongnyeong tells him, "but you are still Joseonese...and the royal house still has a duty to protect you."
Later that day, after the negotiation (or maybe the next day), on the long bridge: Choongnyeong is with the king. Don't you think you went a little far?, Taejong asks. The prince explains, If I had investigated in the open, everyone would have questioned my motives. The king considers this and nods in agreement. He then says, "Every service deserves a reward. Tell me what you want." The prince doesn't immediately ask for anything, but his father says, "I wouldn't feel comfortable if you didn't let me do something for you." "There is one small thing," Choongnyeong says.
Later, all of the eunuchs who helped Choongnyeong are given raises and promotions. In addition, Gim Jongsuh, the government official who was arrested with the scholars and left in jail, is freed.
Ministers Park and Shim encounter the freed Gim, back at work. Park gives him a talking-to and says that he didn't release him and wouldn't have done it. Gim asks, Then who released me?, and is stunned to hear that Choongnyeong asked the king for his release. Then, going into an office, Shim asks Park why the prince made such an issue about a low-ranking official. Park thinks that the prince might be thinking of the future and looking for people to support him.
Outside in the city, Choongnyeong is being carried on his carriage by eunuchs; it appears to be a routine stroll (or whatever you'd call it when a guy is hauled around on a platform). The prince is smiling, which annoys Um Jachi. You could live a comfortable life doing nothing, Jachi tells him; Why do you keep creating work for yourself? But the prince keeps smiling. Then Jachi says, We have to turn the carriage around and go to the marketplace....
Choongnyeong is with his wife; he's brought a bucket of apples from the marketplace. He says he's heard that pregnant women crave sour things sometimes (so I guess they're sour apples). You did this for me?, she asks, almost beaming. Well, no, he says, it was really Jachi's idea; he said we've been so busy that I've been neglecting you. Now disappointed and almost hurt, the princess says, I wish you weren't so honest all the time. I would rather you had lied to me and told me it was your idea!
Han Younglo's home: Daion confronts her father. Where's Youngsil, she angrily demands to know. Actually we see him just outside the walls of the yard, brandishing a knife (apparently to kill Han out of vengeance). Daion continues letting her father have it. Finally he fires back. "I did it to keep a promise to your mother." She was "worried that our clan could crumble and you'd life a life of scorn, because you married the wrong man." That's why I'm trying to become more powerful, he tells her emotionally. "So that my only child could live a decent life." And he walks off. Outside the wall, Jang listens to the whole thing. He drops the knife and walks away.
Minister Byun walks into an office, and finds Yun writing. What are you doing, he wants to know, messing around with a document that's to be given to Ming? Turns out, Yun was rewriting it because he found mistakes. Byun goes to see Hwang and complains about Yun being back. Hwang tells him, "He's the star of this negotiation, so he deserves to get his job back." But Byun says, "He's a drunkard who never shows up to work on time." Hwang answers that he's even angrier about it that Byun is. After all, how can we not be angry at him, after we worked for forty days on the negotiation and he solves the whole thing using "tricks."
Leaving the ministry, Yun finds Choongnyeong and Yi Su waiting for him. Even Yun's wife is there, much happier than in E11 when she threw him out of the house for being a drunkard. She's prepared food as a thank-you gift for the prince, so they all sit down for a meal. The prince presents Yun with a gift; it's an expensive pen. He jokingly wonders how many bottles of wine he can trade it for, and pretends to run off, but then says he'd never do that with "a gift from my pals." Choongnyeong tells Yun that he hopes to see him do important service with that pen for a long time.
The next day: A dance performance is taking place at a big ceremony in the envoy's honor. Everyone is present. The king tells Huang he's holding the event "to thank you for your wise decision." Huang responds, "There is someone else you should thank for that." Huang smiles; he shows none of his previous arrogance or bluster. He continues, "By the way, your highness, even if I had taken your heir apparent to Ming as a hostage, I don't believe you would have had to worry about the future of Joseon. You have a competent prince who can replace the heir apparent." The comment unsettles everyone present, particularly the princes. Ministers start to murmur, and everyone looks around at each other--that is, except for Choongnyeong, who looks like he wants to disappear.