Post by ajk on Oct 1, 2008 14:41:19 GMT -5
Stoneworkers are moving and chiseling the stones for the observatory's construction. Jang Youngsil is showing the blueprints to the king, who's come to visit the site. The building will be 31 feet high, 32 feet wide and 47 feet long. Then Yun Hwe shows up to tell Sejong that the Ming envoy has arrived. And, he says, we have a problem.
Gyeonghwe Pavillion, where the Ming delegation is staying: The envoy (not Huang Yan, a different guy) and Haishou are meeting with Byun Gaeryang. They've asked to tour the palace. It's an unconventional request for this kind of mission, and Byun is trying to deflect it, but Haishou presses: "Is Joseon trying to hide something from Ming?" If not, he says, then you have no reason to refuse. The problem, of course, is that they'll see the observatory under construction.
Back on the site, Youngsil tells the king that Haishou was always suspicious of him when he was in Ming. Sejong replies that the ministers will handle it and that he should worry only about the construction.
"Stop the envoys?" Hwang Hee tells Jo Malseng that it's the king's order; he must somehow stop the envoys from entering the palace. Jo looks concerned, like this will be a sticky problem. Hwang needles him--What's the matter; either you don't want to do it or you're not up to the task. Jo laughs; he's not sure which is less appealing. But, he says, "His majesty has shown me great mercy, so I should pay him back." Hwang tells Jo he's counting on him.
Jo leaves the room, and in the hall encounters Choi Manli and Gim Mun. Choi compliments Jo on his "insightful declaration" (in the previous episode) about no one being worthy to remove Jang Youngsil's robe. I was deeply moved, Choi says--"But you changed your mind too quickly." As in, suspiciously quickly. But Jo tells Choi, "Politics is about debating and compromising," and that's what happened. Then he turns to Gim. "Gim Mun, was it?" Gim bows. "Law and economics is your strong suit, I heard." Choi is impressed that Jo knows this; Jo tells him that "It's natural for a superior to take interest in his talented subordinates." What seems odd about this is that Jo and Gim are acting like they don't even know each other. Jo asks, "Do you enjoy being a scholar at the Hall of Worthies?" Gim says he does. "Good." Jo walks past them and pats Gim on the shoulder, but as he leaves he hangs onto the shoulder and quietly says, "Remember, my man: I'm keeping my eyes on you." Gim keeps his eyes down, and in fact has tried to avoid looking at Jo the whole time. Jo leaves; Gim is rattled but Choi can't understand why. So apparently no one knows about the connection between Jo and Gim, and they're both trying to keep it that way.
Sejong asks Hwang if Jo can be counted on. Hwang thinks so, but if not, "A secondary plan is in place, so don't be overly concerned." Hmmm....
Crown prince Hyang has come to see Youngsil at the site. "Are you scared the Ming envoys won't let you build this?", he asks. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll do anything I can to help." Then he pulls out a gift for Youngsil. It's a metal ruler, a very nice one. It has a brief inscription on the back; the boy composed it and even engraved it himself. And he made a duplicate ruler for himself, too. This is his way of apologizing, we learn. "You're a talented man and you deserve to wear the robe. But I let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry." And he is genuinely sorry, his head bowed. Youngsil tells him, "Please don't lower your head to this humble man." But the prince starts crying. "I'm sorry," he says, "I made a mistake." It's very touching--he's the crown prince but he has a little kid's good heart.
Princess Jeongso is feeling better, but not completely well. Her sister Jeongui comes by with dolls to play with, to cheer her up. But then Jeongso's nose starts to bleed. And apparently this isn't the first time. Then she passes out. Attendants run to summon help.
Sejong sees the royal physician hurrying to his daughter's quarters....
Jeongso awakens; her mother and escort Han are with her. "I'm sorry," she tells her mother; "I hate to make you worry." "Don't try to act all grown up," the queen says (she's thirteen, although she seems a bit younger). "You poor child." They hold hands and the queen tells her daughter to sleep and when she awakens she'll feel better. (But why do we get the feeling that's not the case?) Then Sejong walks in. "Leave us," Soheon tells him coldly. "There's nothing you can do here." She's not happy with him and the bitterness shows on her face. Then, amazingly, escort Han drops to her knees before Sejong. "I beg you to restore departed Lord Shim's good name, and release Lady Ahn from servitude...The physician says the princess' illness may be coming from the heart." Many years in the palace have hardened my heart, she says, but I have to ask this of you. It's a gutsy thing to do, but the queen doesn't want her doing it, for fear of her sleeping daughter hearing it: "Don't give this poor child false hopes with your talk."
Sejong asks the apologetic royal physician why Jeongso is not getting any better. "I don't need apologies. Just go back and cure the child." It's just a common cold; what's the problem? But the physician tells him, "I don't believe this is a common cold....I believe it is a fatal blood disorder." Oh good heavens, what awful news. "You're wrong," Sejong mutters. "Your diagnosis is wrong. Examine her again. That can't be right." But the physician tells him that other top physicians have examined her and concur. Sejong explodes and flips over a table: "Do you wish to die?! I told you to examine her again. Don't talk back to me!" He storms outside, complaining to his eunuchs about the physician's incompetence. The eunuchs try to calm him; If this is the reality, they say, then you must accept it. But he wonders why heaven is punishing Jeongso, especially since he's the one whose inaction condemned Shim On and Lady Ahn. "If Jeongso should lose her life, I will be to blame." The king is crying from helplessness and frustration.
In the Hall of Worthies: Um Jachi has come; he's looking for Choi Manli. Choi isn't there; we find out he's accompanying Jo Malseng today. What the heck is Choi doing with Jo? And why did Jachi come looking for him?
Gim goes to Hwang, concerned that Choi is with Jo. So this was Hwang's idea. Gim, the hallway encounter with Jo ringing in his mind, tells Hwang, "He is deceiving us now. I know he is grinding his axe. He will strike me first with that axe, then you, then possibly the king." Hwang isn't concerned: So you think Choi is naive enough to be twisted by Jo? Trust him. That's why I had him accompany Jo today.
Jo and Choi are walking towards the Hall of Great Peace, to meet with the Ming envoy. Jo asks, "Am I under watch?" "Is there a reason I should be watching you?" "Joseon's own calendar science. I'm not sold on it." Then Choi surprises Jo: "That's good." Good? Yes, because you're offering an honest opposition when it's not a popular to do so. The answer impresses Jo. "You're an interesting fellow," he tells Choi. Then as they reach the hall, a Ming messenger runs into the front door.
The envoy is reading a scroll brought by the messenger. From his reaction, it's not good news. It's big trouble.
At the Ming Imperial Palace: Guards in formation are moving briskly to secure the buildings. We see Daion and Huang Yan; they manage to talk briefly. We learn that the emperor is returning home, but that he had just left on a crusade. Something has happened. Daion asks what; Huang knows what but can only tell her, "You'll find out in due time." He scurries on.
Back in Joseon: Haishou reads the scroll and his eyes widen. He and the envoy agree that they must cancel their schedule and return to Ming, but they must say nothing to Joseon about the reason why.
Ministers discuss this development, and the lack of reason given by the envoy for it. Jo says, "There are two possibilities. Either one of us handed over the secret...There is a rumor that some kind of deal was made with a Ming official to acquire the technology. Was it Haishou?" And he glares down to the end of the table, where Youngsil is sitting next to Choi Haesan. Then, an important and previously unseen flashback, to Youngsil and Yehjin in that darkened room in Ep58: Yehjin tells Youngsil he's willing to make a deal for the astronomical technology. Your father was Chinese, he says (which is news to us), "So that makes Ming your country as well. So you must serve Ming as you serve Joseon."...Flashback ending (that's all we're gonna get of it for now) Jang is silent. Jo presses hard for an answer, which causes Choi to get angry and deny any secret deal. But his anger seems awkward and forced, suspiciously so. It works, though, at least enough to get the discussion to move on. The other possibility, Jo says, is, well, we'll know if we start getting reports from the northern states.
That evening, we learn reports have indeed come in; Jurchen barbarians are rallying together. How did Jo know this was coming? Amazing. He doesn't answer, only says that "It looks like a war is going to be unavoidable."
As the king walks down a hallway, Um Jachi runs ahead, prostrates himself in the king's path and begs him to stop and get some rest. He hasn't had a good night's sleep in months, and is weighted down by the possible war and by his daughter's health. "That's my cross to bear," Sejong says; this is what kings must do. "You've made your point, so clear the way." And he sidesteps Jachi and walks right along.
Sejong is meeting with several ministers to discuss the situation. Ming seems to be using the Jurchens to instigate trouble with Joseon, but why? Something huge must be brewing in Ming, something big enough to potentially bring down the imperial house. Jo tells Sejong he'll go to the northern front and meet with Dongbumchal, who's the #2 man in the Jurchen Odoli clan. Then Sejong orders prime minister Yu to assemble a diplomatic mission to Ming immediately.
Sejong has summoned Jo to meet with him privately. He offers him a new assistant: Yi Su! This is a weird development, to put it mildly. "Do you still doubt my loyalty?", Jo asks. Yi Su isn't a military man, he argues, but Sejong reminds him, Neither were you, but you've become a good one. "Guide Yi Su well so that he may grow to become a resourceful general like you."
Evening: Sejong goes to visit his daughter. She looks like she's sleeping, but she isn't. She wants to talk to him. "Would you help me so I can understand?", she asks. "You're not a bad person. I know you're not a bad person. Some even say you're the kindest person in the world. Why do you hate grandmother so much?" She speaks softly but deliberately. "Attendant Um says you're the loneliest person in the world. That you might even be lonelier than mother. So I don't want to make you feel bad either. I just want to understand why." He takes her hand. "It's my one and only wish, father. Please release grandmother." She starts to cry. "Please, father." "I'm sorry," he says; "I'm sorry that I can't think only about your tender-hearted wish. I'm so sorry that I'm not the kind of father who can." And now he's crying too. They hug each other.
Back at the palace, Sejong has summoned Yi Su for a farewell; Yi will be leaving with Jo for the border in the morning. It's a rather awkward conversation. Yi Su is sympathetic towards the king's problems but tells him, "Putting yourself through this agony is not the only option." Sejong asks him, "Are you urging me to restore my father-in-law's name? Then I can help my mother-in-law and comfort my dying daughter. But I am not oblivious to the bloody storm that will follow in the royal court."
Still evening: Outside of the princess' home, attendants are cooking medicinal materials for the princess, in several pots. Oddly, Yun Hwe is tending to one of the pots. He tells Yi Su, "devotion from three sources is required for the medicinal draught to work." (But it looks like he's the fourth pot! I don't get it.) I've even stopped drinking, he says; "maybe this will move heaven and turn him around." Now it's become about the king? This is all hard to follow, but then Yun tells Yi that he regrets not having tried harder to protect Shim On. "The whole world knows that he's not guilty, and now the king is suffering for it." Yi Su reminds him that it would throw the royal court into turmoil if Sejong pursues this. Then Yun gets to the heart of what's bothering him: "If you can't grant your own daughter a simple wish, then what's the point of being a king and what's the point of running a state?" He actually cries tears of frustration over it.
In the Hall of Worthies, Um Jachi has told the scholars about Jeongso's illness, and tells them that restoring Shim On might cure her. Choi Manli tells him, "The timing couldn't be worse. There is trouble at the border and the country may be in danger." Then, from outside the room: "That's why this is the perfect time." The scholars turn and stare at one of the closed doors. "It's rude to eavesdrop," Choi says. "Just come inside." It was Gim Mun; he enters. "I learned to eavesdrop from Minister of Military Jo Malseng." Then he confesses to them. "I've been Jo Malseng's informant since the day the Hall of Worthies came into existence." The scholars are stunned. "That's just the start."
Hyang comes running to summon his father.
Jeongui comes running to summon her mother.
Jeongso has taken a turn for the worse. The physician tells her parents she went unconscious after taking her medicine. But then as her mother holds her and calls her, she wakes up. "I got pretty far away, but I heard your voice calling." Her sister and brothers are with her, and even Hyobin and prince Kyoungnyeong have come to see her. "Father," she says weakly, "I want to sit up so I can see everyone." Sejong helps her sit up and holds on to her. She holds her father's hand and then takes her mother's. Then she joins her parents' hands together. "Don't let go this time. Mother, father is...father is a crybaby, too. I feel sorry for him. I can't remember. Have we ever had a day of fun and laughter together?" Then she fades out and slumps into her father's shoulder. And that's it. She dies.
Gyeonghwe Pavillion, where the Ming delegation is staying: The envoy (not Huang Yan, a different guy) and Haishou are meeting with Byun Gaeryang. They've asked to tour the palace. It's an unconventional request for this kind of mission, and Byun is trying to deflect it, but Haishou presses: "Is Joseon trying to hide something from Ming?" If not, he says, then you have no reason to refuse. The problem, of course, is that they'll see the observatory under construction.
Back on the site, Youngsil tells the king that Haishou was always suspicious of him when he was in Ming. Sejong replies that the ministers will handle it and that he should worry only about the construction.
"Stop the envoys?" Hwang Hee tells Jo Malseng that it's the king's order; he must somehow stop the envoys from entering the palace. Jo looks concerned, like this will be a sticky problem. Hwang needles him--What's the matter; either you don't want to do it or you're not up to the task. Jo laughs; he's not sure which is less appealing. But, he says, "His majesty has shown me great mercy, so I should pay him back." Hwang tells Jo he's counting on him.
Jo leaves the room, and in the hall encounters Choi Manli and Gim Mun. Choi compliments Jo on his "insightful declaration" (in the previous episode) about no one being worthy to remove Jang Youngsil's robe. I was deeply moved, Choi says--"But you changed your mind too quickly." As in, suspiciously quickly. But Jo tells Choi, "Politics is about debating and compromising," and that's what happened. Then he turns to Gim. "Gim Mun, was it?" Gim bows. "Law and economics is your strong suit, I heard." Choi is impressed that Jo knows this; Jo tells him that "It's natural for a superior to take interest in his talented subordinates." What seems odd about this is that Jo and Gim are acting like they don't even know each other. Jo asks, "Do you enjoy being a scholar at the Hall of Worthies?" Gim says he does. "Good." Jo walks past them and pats Gim on the shoulder, but as he leaves he hangs onto the shoulder and quietly says, "Remember, my man: I'm keeping my eyes on you." Gim keeps his eyes down, and in fact has tried to avoid looking at Jo the whole time. Jo leaves; Gim is rattled but Choi can't understand why. So apparently no one knows about the connection between Jo and Gim, and they're both trying to keep it that way.
Sejong asks Hwang if Jo can be counted on. Hwang thinks so, but if not, "A secondary plan is in place, so don't be overly concerned." Hmmm....
Crown prince Hyang has come to see Youngsil at the site. "Are you scared the Ming envoys won't let you build this?", he asks. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll do anything I can to help." Then he pulls out a gift for Youngsil. It's a metal ruler, a very nice one. It has a brief inscription on the back; the boy composed it and even engraved it himself. And he made a duplicate ruler for himself, too. This is his way of apologizing, we learn. "You're a talented man and you deserve to wear the robe. But I let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry." And he is genuinely sorry, his head bowed. Youngsil tells him, "Please don't lower your head to this humble man." But the prince starts crying. "I'm sorry," he says, "I made a mistake." It's very touching--he's the crown prince but he has a little kid's good heart.
Princess Jeongso is feeling better, but not completely well. Her sister Jeongui comes by with dolls to play with, to cheer her up. But then Jeongso's nose starts to bleed. And apparently this isn't the first time. Then she passes out. Attendants run to summon help.
Sejong sees the royal physician hurrying to his daughter's quarters....
Jeongso awakens; her mother and escort Han are with her. "I'm sorry," she tells her mother; "I hate to make you worry." "Don't try to act all grown up," the queen says (she's thirteen, although she seems a bit younger). "You poor child." They hold hands and the queen tells her daughter to sleep and when she awakens she'll feel better. (But why do we get the feeling that's not the case?) Then Sejong walks in. "Leave us," Soheon tells him coldly. "There's nothing you can do here." She's not happy with him and the bitterness shows on her face. Then, amazingly, escort Han drops to her knees before Sejong. "I beg you to restore departed Lord Shim's good name, and release Lady Ahn from servitude...The physician says the princess' illness may be coming from the heart." Many years in the palace have hardened my heart, she says, but I have to ask this of you. It's a gutsy thing to do, but the queen doesn't want her doing it, for fear of her sleeping daughter hearing it: "Don't give this poor child false hopes with your talk."
Sejong asks the apologetic royal physician why Jeongso is not getting any better. "I don't need apologies. Just go back and cure the child." It's just a common cold; what's the problem? But the physician tells him, "I don't believe this is a common cold....I believe it is a fatal blood disorder." Oh good heavens, what awful news. "You're wrong," Sejong mutters. "Your diagnosis is wrong. Examine her again. That can't be right." But the physician tells him that other top physicians have examined her and concur. Sejong explodes and flips over a table: "Do you wish to die?! I told you to examine her again. Don't talk back to me!" He storms outside, complaining to his eunuchs about the physician's incompetence. The eunuchs try to calm him; If this is the reality, they say, then you must accept it. But he wonders why heaven is punishing Jeongso, especially since he's the one whose inaction condemned Shim On and Lady Ahn. "If Jeongso should lose her life, I will be to blame." The king is crying from helplessness and frustration.
In the Hall of Worthies: Um Jachi has come; he's looking for Choi Manli. Choi isn't there; we find out he's accompanying Jo Malseng today. What the heck is Choi doing with Jo? And why did Jachi come looking for him?
Gim goes to Hwang, concerned that Choi is with Jo. So this was Hwang's idea. Gim, the hallway encounter with Jo ringing in his mind, tells Hwang, "He is deceiving us now. I know he is grinding his axe. He will strike me first with that axe, then you, then possibly the king." Hwang isn't concerned: So you think Choi is naive enough to be twisted by Jo? Trust him. That's why I had him accompany Jo today.
Jo and Choi are walking towards the Hall of Great Peace, to meet with the Ming envoy. Jo asks, "Am I under watch?" "Is there a reason I should be watching you?" "Joseon's own calendar science. I'm not sold on it." Then Choi surprises Jo: "That's good." Good? Yes, because you're offering an honest opposition when it's not a popular to do so. The answer impresses Jo. "You're an interesting fellow," he tells Choi. Then as they reach the hall, a Ming messenger runs into the front door.
The envoy is reading a scroll brought by the messenger. From his reaction, it's not good news. It's big trouble.
At the Ming Imperial Palace: Guards in formation are moving briskly to secure the buildings. We see Daion and Huang Yan; they manage to talk briefly. We learn that the emperor is returning home, but that he had just left on a crusade. Something has happened. Daion asks what; Huang knows what but can only tell her, "You'll find out in due time." He scurries on.
Back in Joseon: Haishou reads the scroll and his eyes widen. He and the envoy agree that they must cancel their schedule and return to Ming, but they must say nothing to Joseon about the reason why.
Ministers discuss this development, and the lack of reason given by the envoy for it. Jo says, "There are two possibilities. Either one of us handed over the secret...There is a rumor that some kind of deal was made with a Ming official to acquire the technology. Was it Haishou?" And he glares down to the end of the table, where Youngsil is sitting next to Choi Haesan. Then, an important and previously unseen flashback, to Youngsil and Yehjin in that darkened room in Ep58: Yehjin tells Youngsil he's willing to make a deal for the astronomical technology. Your father was Chinese, he says (which is news to us), "So that makes Ming your country as well. So you must serve Ming as you serve Joseon."...Flashback ending (that's all we're gonna get of it for now) Jang is silent. Jo presses hard for an answer, which causes Choi to get angry and deny any secret deal. But his anger seems awkward and forced, suspiciously so. It works, though, at least enough to get the discussion to move on. The other possibility, Jo says, is, well, we'll know if we start getting reports from the northern states.
That evening, we learn reports have indeed come in; Jurchen barbarians are rallying together. How did Jo know this was coming? Amazing. He doesn't answer, only says that "It looks like a war is going to be unavoidable."
As the king walks down a hallway, Um Jachi runs ahead, prostrates himself in the king's path and begs him to stop and get some rest. He hasn't had a good night's sleep in months, and is weighted down by the possible war and by his daughter's health. "That's my cross to bear," Sejong says; this is what kings must do. "You've made your point, so clear the way." And he sidesteps Jachi and walks right along.
Sejong is meeting with several ministers to discuss the situation. Ming seems to be using the Jurchens to instigate trouble with Joseon, but why? Something huge must be brewing in Ming, something big enough to potentially bring down the imperial house. Jo tells Sejong he'll go to the northern front and meet with Dongbumchal, who's the #2 man in the Jurchen Odoli clan. Then Sejong orders prime minister Yu to assemble a diplomatic mission to Ming immediately.
Sejong has summoned Jo to meet with him privately. He offers him a new assistant: Yi Su! This is a weird development, to put it mildly. "Do you still doubt my loyalty?", Jo asks. Yi Su isn't a military man, he argues, but Sejong reminds him, Neither were you, but you've become a good one. "Guide Yi Su well so that he may grow to become a resourceful general like you."
Evening: Sejong goes to visit his daughter. She looks like she's sleeping, but she isn't. She wants to talk to him. "Would you help me so I can understand?", she asks. "You're not a bad person. I know you're not a bad person. Some even say you're the kindest person in the world. Why do you hate grandmother so much?" She speaks softly but deliberately. "Attendant Um says you're the loneliest person in the world. That you might even be lonelier than mother. So I don't want to make you feel bad either. I just want to understand why." He takes her hand. "It's my one and only wish, father. Please release grandmother." She starts to cry. "Please, father." "I'm sorry," he says; "I'm sorry that I can't think only about your tender-hearted wish. I'm so sorry that I'm not the kind of father who can." And now he's crying too. They hug each other.
Back at the palace, Sejong has summoned Yi Su for a farewell; Yi will be leaving with Jo for the border in the morning. It's a rather awkward conversation. Yi Su is sympathetic towards the king's problems but tells him, "Putting yourself through this agony is not the only option." Sejong asks him, "Are you urging me to restore my father-in-law's name? Then I can help my mother-in-law and comfort my dying daughter. But I am not oblivious to the bloody storm that will follow in the royal court."
Still evening: Outside of the princess' home, attendants are cooking medicinal materials for the princess, in several pots. Oddly, Yun Hwe is tending to one of the pots. He tells Yi Su, "devotion from three sources is required for the medicinal draught to work." (But it looks like he's the fourth pot! I don't get it.) I've even stopped drinking, he says; "maybe this will move heaven and turn him around." Now it's become about the king? This is all hard to follow, but then Yun tells Yi that he regrets not having tried harder to protect Shim On. "The whole world knows that he's not guilty, and now the king is suffering for it." Yi Su reminds him that it would throw the royal court into turmoil if Sejong pursues this. Then Yun gets to the heart of what's bothering him: "If you can't grant your own daughter a simple wish, then what's the point of being a king and what's the point of running a state?" He actually cries tears of frustration over it.
In the Hall of Worthies, Um Jachi has told the scholars about Jeongso's illness, and tells them that restoring Shim On might cure her. Choi Manli tells him, "The timing couldn't be worse. There is trouble at the border and the country may be in danger." Then, from outside the room: "That's why this is the perfect time." The scholars turn and stare at one of the closed doors. "It's rude to eavesdrop," Choi says. "Just come inside." It was Gim Mun; he enters. "I learned to eavesdrop from Minister of Military Jo Malseng." Then he confesses to them. "I've been Jo Malseng's informant since the day the Hall of Worthies came into existence." The scholars are stunned. "That's just the start."
Hyang comes running to summon his father.
Jeongui comes running to summon her mother.
Jeongso has taken a turn for the worse. The physician tells her parents she went unconscious after taking her medicine. But then as her mother holds her and calls her, she wakes up. "I got pretty far away, but I heard your voice calling." Her sister and brothers are with her, and even Hyobin and prince Kyoungnyeong have come to see her. "Father," she says weakly, "I want to sit up so I can see everyone." Sejong helps her sit up and holds on to her. She holds her father's hand and then takes her mother's. Then she joins her parents' hands together. "Don't let go this time. Mother, father is...father is a crybaby, too. I feel sorry for him. I can't remember. Have we ever had a day of fun and laughter together?" Then she fades out and slumps into her father's shoulder. And that's it. She dies.