Post by ajk on May 9, 2008 11:17:26 GMT -5
There were transmission problems throughout the early part of this episode. Sound and picture both dropped out repeatedly. I've done the best I could with filling in the holes.
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Flashback: We see Chogungjang leaving the ex-king's palace. Then we see Choongnyeong having a conversation that leads him to believe that the consort is in danger. (Because of a dropout I didn't see who he was talking to.)
Baron Ok Hwan, Foreman Jeon and Muby are before a furious Choongnyeong. Is this how you've amassed your fortune?, the prince wants to know--through hired killings? Ok begs forgiveness; it was an "inexcusable crime," he says, but he had to follow the ex-king’s order. He asks how he can atone for it. The only way, Choongnyeong tells him, is to let Chogungjang live and to lie to the ex-king about it. "And you must take that secret to your graves." This is as angry as we've ever seen the prince.
Outside, Chogungjang sees the prince and thanks him for saving her life. You don't need to thank me, he says; "I only wanted to stop the cycle of bad karma." His men, he tells her rather dismissively, will find somewhere for her to stay.
Ok, at home talking to his men, says he’s actually thankful to Choongnyeong because "we would have lost a valuable card if we would have had to kill Chogungjang." But he's not comfortable with the idea that the prince now knows more about him.
Choongnyeong is talking to his eunuchs about Ok and his business. "Something about this trade group is off. They have too many muscle men. And more importantly...” Flashback to Ep1; the fight scene in the woods...Flashback ending, Choongnyeong observes that "They fought much too well to be ordinary guardsmen protecting a business. Why didn't I catch this before?" He realizes that he might need to find out more about them.
Minister Park goes into his office and finds a letter on his desk that was left there by someone who was sneaking around the building. (I thought it was Jeon Inji the eunuch, but I'm not 100 percent positive because he was in blue ministers’ garb.) He reads it and reacts with great surprise.
Chogungjang is alone in a bedroom. She radiates despair and hopelessness. She begins to tear up a quilt....
Princess Shim asks Choongnyeong about Chogungjang. "You just left her there?" He tells her, "She committed a lecherous sin. I don't want her in my house." This makes the princess mad; "She's better off dead. You're crueler than the crown prince." This is as angry as we've ever seen the princess.
Park shows Jo Malseng and Shim On the letter; it details Yangnyeong's affair with Chogungjang. This could present "a golden opportunity," he says. "The truth will be revealed when the girl is found."
Princess Shim and her attendants go to see Chogungjang and discover her hanging, attempting suicide. They free her and lie her down and, finding her still breathing, the princess calls for assistance. Later, seeing Choongnyeong, she again expresses her anger for his lack of attention to her.
Minister Park encounters prime minister Ha in a corridor; Eun criticizes Ha for proposing the great hunting ceremony; Ha fires back with impatience at a minister whom he says doesn't understand the importance of national defense.
A crowd of slave owners has amassed outside of the slavery office and is protesting loudly.
Ministers Park and Shim are before the king (partial dropout here). Taejong yells, "When are you going to stop blaming your problems on staffing?! I don't want to hear any excuses!" Get things back under control within a month, he orders. "Your capability to lead the policy will be seriously questioned otherwise." This is as angry as we've ever seen the king. (It must be contagious, whatever it is.)
Jo Malseng reports to the king that there are pubic protests against the hunting ceremony too. (Partial scene dropout here.)
Ok Hwan goes to Jeongjong and tells him that Chogungjang is dead. The ex-king pays Ok and tells him to lay low for a while. Outside the palace, as Ok leaves, two palace guardsmen are watching...
...and they report back to minister Park. Park puts the pieces together and mulls, "Is this our chance to destroy the crown prince and Ha Ryun once and for all?"
The crown prince is being taught at lesson, but he's distracted and closes his book. The king enters and tells him to get back to it...they discuss the location of the hunting event, which Yangnyeong doesn't like. He wants to change it. He says that they must find a location more similar to the guests' homelands and intimidate them with their display so that they're discouraged from trying to invade.
Ministers are meeting; appears to be the ministry of rites. Yun Hwe is furious about the hunting event's proposed change of location because thousands have already been put to forced labor and hundreds of families have lost their homes and farms. And now the event is to be moved? "Are you trying to kill the poor public?" Gim Hanlo argues that this is the king's order and accuses Yun of insubordination, but Yun nearly bites Gim's head off. "You call caring for the people insubordination? What kind of crap is that?" This is as...(yeah, you guessed it).
Yangnyeong is meeting with the Confucian scholars, telling them he wants them to go to Liaodong and study its geography. All that for a hunting event?, they ask. "It's not for the hunting ceremony. It's for the conquest." He goes on: "I intend to build an elite fore of warriors who can infiltrate Liaodong and execute operations on command." The scholars’ trip will provide information to aid in this. Yi Su enters and tells him to stop manipulating the scholars. They argue.
On the main street of a village, soldiers are confiscating grains from the villagers and are beating those who resist. The scholars, walking home from their meeting with the crown prince, encounter the scene. They comment, "If a mere hunting ceremony is causing so much public suffering, what happens if there's a war?" They try to intervene and protect the villagers but end up getting beaten too.
The beaten-up scholars are again before the crown prince. They ask for his help in fixing the tyrannous situation, but the prince instead turns on the scholars. The people need to pay taxes for national defense, he says, and in a veiled threat against the scholars tells them that "Those who take national defense lightly can be charged with treason." But with the spring austerity season coming, the scholars argue, the people will starve if we confiscate their remaining grains. Yangnyeong reiterates the need for a strong defense. One scholar asks, "What's the point of having a strong state if all the people are dead?" But the prince tells them says not to concern themselves with these things; just be ready to go to Liaodong. He's absolutely determined to attack Ming. The scholars are bitterly disappointed.
Outside, the scholars meet Yi Su and the lead scholar tells him, "We used to have hope about changing the world, but now that hope is gone. Our studies all these years have been a complete waste of time." They walk away.
Chogungjang is being tended to by princess Shim. She awakens; she's embarrassed to be treated by the princess, and then says, "Why didn't you let me die. No one wants me alive anyway." But the princess comforts her and she changes her tune. "The truth is I wanted to live. If only someone would tell me that my life is worth living. But no one was there, and so I...." She cries in the princess' lap.
That evening, outside, Choongnyeong and the princess are talking. She apologizes to him for her harsh words that day, but he says he deserved it. "If one should save a life, then one should tend to it as well. But I didn't even consider. I had no intention of taking care of her." The princess expresses sympathy for the consort, saying that it can't be easy as a low-born woman in a precarious situation. I don't know much about running a state, she says, "but I wonder if showing sincere compassion to hurt and rejected souls like her could be a part of governing." This clearly makes an impression on the prince.
Minister Park is confronting Ok Hwan. He wants to know where Chogungjang is and threatens to shut down Ok's business if Ok doesn't cooperate. He was an auditor by trade, he tells Ok, and "I don't need more than half a day to dig up enough dirt to put you out of business."
Outside, Foreman Jeon tells Ok that now that Park knows of the consort's fate, the court will be in turmoil. "This is the perfect time for us to make a move." Ok nods.
Jo Malseng visits PM Ha, who's with Gim Hanlo and the Mins. He's invited in and sits down. Jo tells Ha that he's come to talk to him about the crown prince's affair. Ha is shocked that Jo knows; Gim (the crown princess' father) is shocked because he knew nothing about it; and the Mins just want it all kept quiet. Then Jo tells them that Chogungjang is in Choongnyeong's care. Uh-oh, that's it for us, says Gim, but Ha disagrees. "It's a setback. This is not over yet." Will you help us?, Ha asks Jo. If you do, "you'll become the crown prince's Zhang Liang." (Zhang was a Chinese imperial advisor; lived around 200 BC; famous for being a great strategist.) Jo leaves; they talk. Can we trust Jo; what if he's with Park Eun. "We must take care of this tonight," Ha says. "Or there will be no tomorrow for us."
The Mins are before the crown prince, urging him go to Choongnyeong and get Chogungjang back so that she can be killed. Yangnyeong comments sardonically about how "that kid's kid heart is giving a lot of people a headache," but he isn't worried: "I know Choongnyeong. He will never take the throne from me. Not because he can't but because he doesn't want to." The Mins aren't comfortable with his answer.
"I know nothing about this. So I'd like you to leave." Ministers Park and Shim are before Choongnyeong, asking about Chogungjang. The prince denies knowledge and becomes angry when the ministers mention the political advantage it presents. "I don't wish to speak to a man who will resort to dirty politics for the acquisition of power." But Yi Su, who's with them, chimes in: "Isn't dirty politics using untruthful information to undermine others? I wouldn't call revealing truth dirty politics." Choongnyeong turns to his teacher with surprise and asks him, I'm supposed to go along with this? Yi argues that it may be regretful for your brother, but it may be the best thing for the country's future. Choongnyeong asks with disbelief, "Why are you of all people urging me to do this?" Yi asks him, if you understood why, "would you make a bold decision?"
The Mins are before the queen; they tell her that they have to take care of the problem tonight in order to protect the crown prince. They ask her, "Where would Choongnyeong go if he had to hide someone?"
The same night, at the Confucian academy: Scholars are drinking heavily and are burning books and scrolls. Minister Hwang shows up and sees the situation, and angrily orders the scholars to stop. Unfazed, Jeong Inji tells him, "We just burned all of our petitions to the king." Another scholar, Choi Manli, tells Hwang that they're all leaving the academy in the morning. "We studied our hearts out to become government officials so we could provide valuable service to the country. But this country has no hope. So we're going to give up this senseless struggle." To the side, Choongnyeong and Yi Su see the scene too. Yi has shown the prince this, tells him that it's the crown prince's fault and that he doesn't deserve to be king of Joseon.
Jo Malseng reports back to PM Ha that Choongnyeong is "wavering." (Note: This is an odd development. How does he know such a thing? Is this a setup?) Further evidence, the Mins say, that we must take care of this tonight.
Minister Hwang, returning from the academy, is suddenly surrounded by masked men who knock out his attendants and leave him standing alone. Two other masked men approach him and tell him that someone is waiting for him at Dumundong.
Min Muhyul tells a squad of black-clad men to go to prince Choongnyeong's cabin in Namsan. Noh Boon, Yangnyeong’s head attendant, is with them and will lead them there. The consort is there and must be killed tonight, he tells them.
The squad reaches the cabin. They charge into it and find...princess Shim! "Why would you break into a royal prince's cabin at this time of night?", she demands of Noh. "I'm sure you already know the reason," Noh says. Give us Chogungjang; it's for the prince's safety too. But the princess says she isn't here. Noh tells her that they'll search the house if they have to. Go ahead, the princess says. But if you don't find her, "I will have you hanged for your utter impiety." Noh recoils.
Noh reports to the Mins that they failed.
Chogungjang is snuck out of a palace building by a eunuch--just as consort Hyobin turns a corner and sees them leaving.
Later, the princess tells Choongnyeong that they got Chogungjang out safely. But she says, "I'm afraid it may not do much good...."
Choongnyeong is before the queen, who knows. "Turn the girl over to me. It is for your brother's safety and the stability of this state." No, he tells her, not if it will cost an innocent life. "I'm going to fight. If there is a force that is trying to throw this country into distress, I'm gong to fight it with all my heart. I will not hesitate to use every card I have to win." The queen is stunned.
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Flashback: We see Chogungjang leaving the ex-king's palace. Then we see Choongnyeong having a conversation that leads him to believe that the consort is in danger. (Because of a dropout I didn't see who he was talking to.)
Baron Ok Hwan, Foreman Jeon and Muby are before a furious Choongnyeong. Is this how you've amassed your fortune?, the prince wants to know--through hired killings? Ok begs forgiveness; it was an "inexcusable crime," he says, but he had to follow the ex-king’s order. He asks how he can atone for it. The only way, Choongnyeong tells him, is to let Chogungjang live and to lie to the ex-king about it. "And you must take that secret to your graves." This is as angry as we've ever seen the prince.
Outside, Chogungjang sees the prince and thanks him for saving her life. You don't need to thank me, he says; "I only wanted to stop the cycle of bad karma." His men, he tells her rather dismissively, will find somewhere for her to stay.
Ok, at home talking to his men, says he’s actually thankful to Choongnyeong because "we would have lost a valuable card if we would have had to kill Chogungjang." But he's not comfortable with the idea that the prince now knows more about him.
Choongnyeong is talking to his eunuchs about Ok and his business. "Something about this trade group is off. They have too many muscle men. And more importantly...” Flashback to Ep1; the fight scene in the woods...Flashback ending, Choongnyeong observes that "They fought much too well to be ordinary guardsmen protecting a business. Why didn't I catch this before?" He realizes that he might need to find out more about them.
Minister Park goes into his office and finds a letter on his desk that was left there by someone who was sneaking around the building. (I thought it was Jeon Inji the eunuch, but I'm not 100 percent positive because he was in blue ministers’ garb.) He reads it and reacts with great surprise.
Chogungjang is alone in a bedroom. She radiates despair and hopelessness. She begins to tear up a quilt....
Princess Shim asks Choongnyeong about Chogungjang. "You just left her there?" He tells her, "She committed a lecherous sin. I don't want her in my house." This makes the princess mad; "She's better off dead. You're crueler than the crown prince." This is as angry as we've ever seen the princess.
Park shows Jo Malseng and Shim On the letter; it details Yangnyeong's affair with Chogungjang. This could present "a golden opportunity," he says. "The truth will be revealed when the girl is found."
Princess Shim and her attendants go to see Chogungjang and discover her hanging, attempting suicide. They free her and lie her down and, finding her still breathing, the princess calls for assistance. Later, seeing Choongnyeong, she again expresses her anger for his lack of attention to her.
Minister Park encounters prime minister Ha in a corridor; Eun criticizes Ha for proposing the great hunting ceremony; Ha fires back with impatience at a minister whom he says doesn't understand the importance of national defense.
A crowd of slave owners has amassed outside of the slavery office and is protesting loudly.
Ministers Park and Shim are before the king (partial dropout here). Taejong yells, "When are you going to stop blaming your problems on staffing?! I don't want to hear any excuses!" Get things back under control within a month, he orders. "Your capability to lead the policy will be seriously questioned otherwise." This is as angry as we've ever seen the king. (It must be contagious, whatever it is.)
Jo Malseng reports to the king that there are pubic protests against the hunting ceremony too. (Partial scene dropout here.)
Ok Hwan goes to Jeongjong and tells him that Chogungjang is dead. The ex-king pays Ok and tells him to lay low for a while. Outside the palace, as Ok leaves, two palace guardsmen are watching...
...and they report back to minister Park. Park puts the pieces together and mulls, "Is this our chance to destroy the crown prince and Ha Ryun once and for all?"
The crown prince is being taught at lesson, but he's distracted and closes his book. The king enters and tells him to get back to it...they discuss the location of the hunting event, which Yangnyeong doesn't like. He wants to change it. He says that they must find a location more similar to the guests' homelands and intimidate them with their display so that they're discouraged from trying to invade.
Ministers are meeting; appears to be the ministry of rites. Yun Hwe is furious about the hunting event's proposed change of location because thousands have already been put to forced labor and hundreds of families have lost their homes and farms. And now the event is to be moved? "Are you trying to kill the poor public?" Gim Hanlo argues that this is the king's order and accuses Yun of insubordination, but Yun nearly bites Gim's head off. "You call caring for the people insubordination? What kind of crap is that?" This is as...(yeah, you guessed it).
Yangnyeong is meeting with the Confucian scholars, telling them he wants them to go to Liaodong and study its geography. All that for a hunting event?, they ask. "It's not for the hunting ceremony. It's for the conquest." He goes on: "I intend to build an elite fore of warriors who can infiltrate Liaodong and execute operations on command." The scholars’ trip will provide information to aid in this. Yi Su enters and tells him to stop manipulating the scholars. They argue.
On the main street of a village, soldiers are confiscating grains from the villagers and are beating those who resist. The scholars, walking home from their meeting with the crown prince, encounter the scene. They comment, "If a mere hunting ceremony is causing so much public suffering, what happens if there's a war?" They try to intervene and protect the villagers but end up getting beaten too.
The beaten-up scholars are again before the crown prince. They ask for his help in fixing the tyrannous situation, but the prince instead turns on the scholars. The people need to pay taxes for national defense, he says, and in a veiled threat against the scholars tells them that "Those who take national defense lightly can be charged with treason." But with the spring austerity season coming, the scholars argue, the people will starve if we confiscate their remaining grains. Yangnyeong reiterates the need for a strong defense. One scholar asks, "What's the point of having a strong state if all the people are dead?" But the prince tells them says not to concern themselves with these things; just be ready to go to Liaodong. He's absolutely determined to attack Ming. The scholars are bitterly disappointed.
Outside, the scholars meet Yi Su and the lead scholar tells him, "We used to have hope about changing the world, but now that hope is gone. Our studies all these years have been a complete waste of time." They walk away.
Chogungjang is being tended to by princess Shim. She awakens; she's embarrassed to be treated by the princess, and then says, "Why didn't you let me die. No one wants me alive anyway." But the princess comforts her and she changes her tune. "The truth is I wanted to live. If only someone would tell me that my life is worth living. But no one was there, and so I...." She cries in the princess' lap.
That evening, outside, Choongnyeong and the princess are talking. She apologizes to him for her harsh words that day, but he says he deserved it. "If one should save a life, then one should tend to it as well. But I didn't even consider. I had no intention of taking care of her." The princess expresses sympathy for the consort, saying that it can't be easy as a low-born woman in a precarious situation. I don't know much about running a state, she says, "but I wonder if showing sincere compassion to hurt and rejected souls like her could be a part of governing." This clearly makes an impression on the prince.
Minister Park is confronting Ok Hwan. He wants to know where Chogungjang is and threatens to shut down Ok's business if Ok doesn't cooperate. He was an auditor by trade, he tells Ok, and "I don't need more than half a day to dig up enough dirt to put you out of business."
Outside, Foreman Jeon tells Ok that now that Park knows of the consort's fate, the court will be in turmoil. "This is the perfect time for us to make a move." Ok nods.
Jo Malseng visits PM Ha, who's with Gim Hanlo and the Mins. He's invited in and sits down. Jo tells Ha that he's come to talk to him about the crown prince's affair. Ha is shocked that Jo knows; Gim (the crown princess' father) is shocked because he knew nothing about it; and the Mins just want it all kept quiet. Then Jo tells them that Chogungjang is in Choongnyeong's care. Uh-oh, that's it for us, says Gim, but Ha disagrees. "It's a setback. This is not over yet." Will you help us?, Ha asks Jo. If you do, "you'll become the crown prince's Zhang Liang." (Zhang was a Chinese imperial advisor; lived around 200 BC; famous for being a great strategist.) Jo leaves; they talk. Can we trust Jo; what if he's with Park Eun. "We must take care of this tonight," Ha says. "Or there will be no tomorrow for us."
The Mins are before the crown prince, urging him go to Choongnyeong and get Chogungjang back so that she can be killed. Yangnyeong comments sardonically about how "that kid's kid heart is giving a lot of people a headache," but he isn't worried: "I know Choongnyeong. He will never take the throne from me. Not because he can't but because he doesn't want to." The Mins aren't comfortable with his answer.
"I know nothing about this. So I'd like you to leave." Ministers Park and Shim are before Choongnyeong, asking about Chogungjang. The prince denies knowledge and becomes angry when the ministers mention the political advantage it presents. "I don't wish to speak to a man who will resort to dirty politics for the acquisition of power." But Yi Su, who's with them, chimes in: "Isn't dirty politics using untruthful information to undermine others? I wouldn't call revealing truth dirty politics." Choongnyeong turns to his teacher with surprise and asks him, I'm supposed to go along with this? Yi argues that it may be regretful for your brother, but it may be the best thing for the country's future. Choongnyeong asks with disbelief, "Why are you of all people urging me to do this?" Yi asks him, if you understood why, "would you make a bold decision?"
The Mins are before the queen; they tell her that they have to take care of the problem tonight in order to protect the crown prince. They ask her, "Where would Choongnyeong go if he had to hide someone?"
The same night, at the Confucian academy: Scholars are drinking heavily and are burning books and scrolls. Minister Hwang shows up and sees the situation, and angrily orders the scholars to stop. Unfazed, Jeong Inji tells him, "We just burned all of our petitions to the king." Another scholar, Choi Manli, tells Hwang that they're all leaving the academy in the morning. "We studied our hearts out to become government officials so we could provide valuable service to the country. But this country has no hope. So we're going to give up this senseless struggle." To the side, Choongnyeong and Yi Su see the scene too. Yi has shown the prince this, tells him that it's the crown prince's fault and that he doesn't deserve to be king of Joseon.
Jo Malseng reports back to PM Ha that Choongnyeong is "wavering." (Note: This is an odd development. How does he know such a thing? Is this a setup?) Further evidence, the Mins say, that we must take care of this tonight.
Minister Hwang, returning from the academy, is suddenly surrounded by masked men who knock out his attendants and leave him standing alone. Two other masked men approach him and tell him that someone is waiting for him at Dumundong.
Min Muhyul tells a squad of black-clad men to go to prince Choongnyeong's cabin in Namsan. Noh Boon, Yangnyeong’s head attendant, is with them and will lead them there. The consort is there and must be killed tonight, he tells them.
The squad reaches the cabin. They charge into it and find...princess Shim! "Why would you break into a royal prince's cabin at this time of night?", she demands of Noh. "I'm sure you already know the reason," Noh says. Give us Chogungjang; it's for the prince's safety too. But the princess says she isn't here. Noh tells her that they'll search the house if they have to. Go ahead, the princess says. But if you don't find her, "I will have you hanged for your utter impiety." Noh recoils.
Noh reports to the Mins that they failed.
Chogungjang is snuck out of a palace building by a eunuch--just as consort Hyobin turns a corner and sees them leaving.
Later, the princess tells Choongnyeong that they got Chogungjang out safely. But she says, "I'm afraid it may not do much good...."
Choongnyeong is before the queen, who knows. "Turn the girl over to me. It is for your brother's safety and the stability of this state." No, he tells her, not if it will cost an innocent life. "I'm going to fight. If there is a force that is trying to throw this country into distress, I'm gong to fight it with all my heart. I will not hesitate to use every card I have to win." The queen is stunned.