Post by ajk on Mar 31, 2009 13:12:01 GMT -5
The king runs enthusiastically out of his villa, frantic eunuchs in his wake, and barges into Hunae's bedroom. Guess what--she's thee months pregnant! BUT, the physician tells her, the queen is malnourished and the fetus is weak. The king threatens the physician with death if anything happens to either of them (as usual, the physician’s life is on the line) Through it all, Hunae sits there silent and sullen. The king tries to apologize to her for being such a boor, and tells her, "I know you're upset, but please take care of yourself." It's his first pregnancy in ten years of trying, and he's so relieved at the chance to have an heir that he tolerates Hunae's disgust with him in good humor.
Wang Chi is informed of the pregnancy and that the princess is off-limits to visitors. He doesn't look pleased.
In the council hall: Groveling ministers offer their congratulations to the king. The king makes them squirm--Aren't you the same ones who wanted me to execute the empress a few days ago?--but then waves it off, telling them he's no better. (It was very funny.) They all say they're hoping for a boy. Then Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek tell the king they're happy for the news but even happier to see him here in the council hall, and will he please try to come here more regularly. Surprisingly pleasant, the king nods in agreement and says he'll try.
Hunjeong is nursing her sister back to health. She's amazed at how nice the king has been to her, but Hunae says "I hate that" because she can't tell when he's being sincere any more. But Hunjeong thinks that this is Hunae's chance to straighten him out after all like she had hoped to do.
Queens Hunsook and Hunui are miffed. Ten years with no kid from the king, and then one night with Hunae and bang! (Excuse the phrasing.) They even speculate snarkily that it's not the king's baby. Then the king comes in and tells him he wants them to move out of the empress' hall and into the consorts' hall. They can't believe he's serious, but he snaps, "Be quiet and do what you're told, you infertile women!" Ouch.
The Shillan group is meeting, concerned that if Hunae gives birth to a male heir, it will cut them out of the power picture. But Kim Shimun advises them to be calm, observing that the king doesn't seem to show as much favoritism to the Hwangju line as we feared he might.
Back to Wang Chi, who's absorbing the news of the pregnancy: "How did this happen?" (Dude, didn’t anybody ever explain it to you?) He fears his dream of assuming the throne is gone for good. But his master Choe Ryand presses him not to give up even if the baby is a male heir. This could mean Wang turning his back on his own sister, an idea that Wang reacts to with abhorrence, but Ryand challenges him: "You must fulfill you dream for the future of this land and its people!" Who's more important, "your clan or your country?"
Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek find the empress dowager praying in a shrine. She tells them she's praying for a male heir "as we all should."
A shattered Wang Chi is talking to his girlfriend Buyong; he tells her he probably can't make her a queen now. But she says she'll be his wife regardless of what he does--farmer, fisherman, whatever. He's touched and tells her he wants the throne "if only to make you happy." They hug. (Is she sincere or is she playing him?)
Wang Chi's wife is putting her baby to bed; the instructor Yi Sulhwa is with her. She says she envies Hunae for getting attention from her husband--something she doesn't get from Wang Chi. But she understands that he accepted her and her baby (who’s not his) into his life even though he didn't really love her.
Kim Wonsoong tells Foreman Jo of the need for more recruits. "We're buying a country. Spare no costs." Jo asks a legitimate question: Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just buy one influential figure than buying many "small fries"? But Kim says not: "Lofty men have lofty suspicions" and aren't trustworthy. Pay off the lower ranks and squeeze all of the information you can out of them. (Interesting perspective.)
The king goes to visit his wife; she's sleeping. He's smiling and content and even calm; a changed man. Later, she wakes up with a start, noticing him sitting sleepily on her bed. He tells her he's decided not to drink any more and stop skirt-chasing. And he tells her he'll talk to her about his state matters. That's an opening she's obviously been waiting for, and she pounces: What about Seo Hui's proposal on the Balhaean refugees? Should I accept it?, he asks her, and when she says yes, he says he will. She also wants him to attend the morning state meetings. Take it easy, he tells her, I haven't worked in years; you'll break me! But she starts ragging at him and he caves in. And talk to me like a lady, she says, not a kid. He smiles and agrees on that too; he's being genuinely patient and nice to her. He leaves, happy, but then outside has another one of those violent coughing fits and coughs up more blood.
The king is put to bed and lies shivering. The physician's diagnosis? A lung abscess, usually not a major problem but this one is very severe....The king gets big-eyed and wants the full story, and the terrified physician sputters, "I...can't...guarantee...." At that the king goes ballistic. But then tells him that he'll follow whatever treatment he recommends, no questions asked. He says he has to live, "to see my son's birth and to protect him until he can succeed to my throne." And not a word about the illness to anybody, under threat of death.
Six months later (presumably): Here comes baby. Lots of ministers and monks are standing attentively outside her building (that's a lot of pressure) and the king is pacing back and forth. Elsewhere, we see Wang Chi nervous too, and the empress dowager back in prayer. Hunae looks like she’s having a bit of a rough delivery, but finally...it's a boy!
A giddy king is holding his son; he decides to name him "Song." Hunae is actually smiling at him. He tells her, I'll grant you anything you want, he tells her. Anything? Okay, she says: "I miss my grandmother. Is that too much to ask?" His smile vanishes; he didn't see that one coming.
The empress dowager gets the news and praises Buddha. Wang Chi, in the middle of writing something, gets the news and gets so rattled that he glops a big smudge on the paper like Charlie Brown with the fountain pen.
We see Gang Gamchan with Gang Jo and his sister Hyangbi. Gamchan shares the news that the Balhae refugees are about to be released from their camp and will be given the northern lands to settle. Jo and Hyangbi are ecstatic and grateful to Gamchan, but Gamchan says It wasn't me, it was Seo Hui and Hunae who made it happen.
"Long live the emperor! Long live the imperial prince!" It's a big pep rally in the courtyard with everybody cheering the birth announcement. The king stands up and addresses everybody, first thanking them and then announcing an amnesty of prisoners to mark the occasion. "What's more, I will distribute..." he suddenly wobbles a bit..."distribute rice and wine...." and he collapses on the spot.
The empress dowager is at the palace and finally sees her granddaughters again, and holds her new great-grandson. And she praises Hunae for shaping up the king as much as she has. Then Escort Yun runs in and tells them of the king's collapse.
Go Hyun (the eunuch) tells the now-revived king that the official word has been released: the king collapsed from overwork and simply needs some rest. This pleases the king, who still wants his illness disclosed to no one. Then a concerned Hunae shows up, having left her bed to come and check on him. He pooh-poohs the whole thing: "My body isn't used to working so much!" She's a bit suspicious about whether that's the whole story, but he tells her not to worry, putting some gusto into it to sell her on it.
The empress dowager drops quite a bomb on Seo and Yi, suddenly speaking of the baby being "molded into kingly material" and telling them, "I will mold the infant prince myself." What about her grandson Prince Hwangjuwon (Wang Chi)?, they ask with shock. She says that he's worthy of the throne but has the wrong mentor. And somehow she correctly discerns that the king isn't long for this earth. "So I will have my vengeance through the prince imperial." Yikes. And on top of that, "Prince Hwangjuwon must be sacrificed." Double yikes. And as they walk away, we realize that Hwangjuwon has been listening from a distance and heard every word. Triple yikes.
Hunjeong is pining for Prince Gyeongjuwon again, even though she knows she can't ever see him again. We'll meet in the next lifetime, she says sadly.
Evening: Hwangjuwon goes to one of the Shillan group's meetings. We get a glimpse of someone following him as he does. Inside, he tells the group of a huge bomb: the king reportedly wants to abdicate! He asks them what he should do if he's offered the throne. An excited Kim Wonsoong wants him to accept humbly and grab the opportunity. But Choe Ryand and the others sense trouble. This sounds odd, they think, and the king is unpredictable. They counsel caution.
Gang Gamchan has been sent into a panic by his friend Prince Gyeongjuwon. "This is a trap. His majesty is testing you." Apparently the prince has just come back from seeing the king, who raised the abdication issue himself. Gang wonders why the king would abdicate when he just had a son? No, this is a ploy to get rid of those who could make trouble. "You'll end up dead unless you get yourself out of this completely!" He even wants them to leave the empress dowager's palace immediately. The prince says that he'll leave now, but wants Gamchan to wait for the empress dowager's return so that Gamchan can explain the situation to her personally.
Information has been collected for the king. Go Hyun reports to him that prince Gyeongjuwon was seen leaving the capital on his own, but that Hwangjuwon went to Choe Sum's house. Now the king starts talking paranoid again: Could grandmother have joined hands with the Shillans to steal the throne? Before he freaks out any further, Go offers a suggestion. He knows of someone who helped past emperors in times of crisis: Former astrologer/advisor Choe Jimong. (Oh no, not an astrologer.)
On a barren, rocky landscape, we see an old man meditating.
The king and Hunae are together, enjoying their son. Then he hugs her and tells her, "You must believe in me if no one else will." She says she does believe in him, and seems to mean it too. He actually sheds a tear.
Narration tells us that Choe Jimong was a child prodigy who gained fame for interpreting a dream of Emperor Wang Guhn's, a dream that he would unite the Three Kingdoms. He also forewarned Hyejong, the second Goryeo king, of an uprising. He was cherished by the first three kings, was banished by the fourth (Gwangjuwon) for eleven years for public drunkenness, and was reinstated by Gyeongjuwon. We see visual snippets that support the narration, ending with Jimong approaching the palace.
Jimong meets the king and agrees to give him his protection just like he protected the king's predecessors. This pleases the king, who then puts a question to him: "Will my son the Prince Imperial rise to the throne?" To our surprise, Jimong stands silent and fidgeting. Instantly the king goes wild: "Why do you hesitate? Speak! Will my son rise to the throne!?"
Wang Chi is informed of the pregnancy and that the princess is off-limits to visitors. He doesn't look pleased.
In the council hall: Groveling ministers offer their congratulations to the king. The king makes them squirm--Aren't you the same ones who wanted me to execute the empress a few days ago?--but then waves it off, telling them he's no better. (It was very funny.) They all say they're hoping for a boy. Then Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek tell the king they're happy for the news but even happier to see him here in the council hall, and will he please try to come here more regularly. Surprisingly pleasant, the king nods in agreement and says he'll try.
Hunjeong is nursing her sister back to health. She's amazed at how nice the king has been to her, but Hunae says "I hate that" because she can't tell when he's being sincere any more. But Hunjeong thinks that this is Hunae's chance to straighten him out after all like she had hoped to do.
Queens Hunsook and Hunui are miffed. Ten years with no kid from the king, and then one night with Hunae and bang! (Excuse the phrasing.) They even speculate snarkily that it's not the king's baby. Then the king comes in and tells him he wants them to move out of the empress' hall and into the consorts' hall. They can't believe he's serious, but he snaps, "Be quiet and do what you're told, you infertile women!" Ouch.
The Shillan group is meeting, concerned that if Hunae gives birth to a male heir, it will cut them out of the power picture. But Kim Shimun advises them to be calm, observing that the king doesn't seem to show as much favoritism to the Hwangju line as we feared he might.
Back to Wang Chi, who's absorbing the news of the pregnancy: "How did this happen?" (Dude, didn’t anybody ever explain it to you?) He fears his dream of assuming the throne is gone for good. But his master Choe Ryand presses him not to give up even if the baby is a male heir. This could mean Wang turning his back on his own sister, an idea that Wang reacts to with abhorrence, but Ryand challenges him: "You must fulfill you dream for the future of this land and its people!" Who's more important, "your clan or your country?"
Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek find the empress dowager praying in a shrine. She tells them she's praying for a male heir "as we all should."
A shattered Wang Chi is talking to his girlfriend Buyong; he tells her he probably can't make her a queen now. But she says she'll be his wife regardless of what he does--farmer, fisherman, whatever. He's touched and tells her he wants the throne "if only to make you happy." They hug. (Is she sincere or is she playing him?)
Wang Chi's wife is putting her baby to bed; the instructor Yi Sulhwa is with her. She says she envies Hunae for getting attention from her husband--something she doesn't get from Wang Chi. But she understands that he accepted her and her baby (who’s not his) into his life even though he didn't really love her.
Kim Wonsoong tells Foreman Jo of the need for more recruits. "We're buying a country. Spare no costs." Jo asks a legitimate question: Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just buy one influential figure than buying many "small fries"? But Kim says not: "Lofty men have lofty suspicions" and aren't trustworthy. Pay off the lower ranks and squeeze all of the information you can out of them. (Interesting perspective.)
The king goes to visit his wife; she's sleeping. He's smiling and content and even calm; a changed man. Later, she wakes up with a start, noticing him sitting sleepily on her bed. He tells her he's decided not to drink any more and stop skirt-chasing. And he tells her he'll talk to her about his state matters. That's an opening she's obviously been waiting for, and she pounces: What about Seo Hui's proposal on the Balhaean refugees? Should I accept it?, he asks her, and when she says yes, he says he will. She also wants him to attend the morning state meetings. Take it easy, he tells her, I haven't worked in years; you'll break me! But she starts ragging at him and he caves in. And talk to me like a lady, she says, not a kid. He smiles and agrees on that too; he's being genuinely patient and nice to her. He leaves, happy, but then outside has another one of those violent coughing fits and coughs up more blood.
The king is put to bed and lies shivering. The physician's diagnosis? A lung abscess, usually not a major problem but this one is very severe....The king gets big-eyed and wants the full story, and the terrified physician sputters, "I...can't...guarantee...." At that the king goes ballistic. But then tells him that he'll follow whatever treatment he recommends, no questions asked. He says he has to live, "to see my son's birth and to protect him until he can succeed to my throne." And not a word about the illness to anybody, under threat of death.
Six months later (presumably): Here comes baby. Lots of ministers and monks are standing attentively outside her building (that's a lot of pressure) and the king is pacing back and forth. Elsewhere, we see Wang Chi nervous too, and the empress dowager back in prayer. Hunae looks like she’s having a bit of a rough delivery, but finally...it's a boy!
A giddy king is holding his son; he decides to name him "Song." Hunae is actually smiling at him. He tells her, I'll grant you anything you want, he tells her. Anything? Okay, she says: "I miss my grandmother. Is that too much to ask?" His smile vanishes; he didn't see that one coming.
The empress dowager gets the news and praises Buddha. Wang Chi, in the middle of writing something, gets the news and gets so rattled that he glops a big smudge on the paper like Charlie Brown with the fountain pen.
We see Gang Gamchan with Gang Jo and his sister Hyangbi. Gamchan shares the news that the Balhae refugees are about to be released from their camp and will be given the northern lands to settle. Jo and Hyangbi are ecstatic and grateful to Gamchan, but Gamchan says It wasn't me, it was Seo Hui and Hunae who made it happen.
"Long live the emperor! Long live the imperial prince!" It's a big pep rally in the courtyard with everybody cheering the birth announcement. The king stands up and addresses everybody, first thanking them and then announcing an amnesty of prisoners to mark the occasion. "What's more, I will distribute..." he suddenly wobbles a bit..."distribute rice and wine...." and he collapses on the spot.
The empress dowager is at the palace and finally sees her granddaughters again, and holds her new great-grandson. And she praises Hunae for shaping up the king as much as she has. Then Escort Yun runs in and tells them of the king's collapse.
Go Hyun (the eunuch) tells the now-revived king that the official word has been released: the king collapsed from overwork and simply needs some rest. This pleases the king, who still wants his illness disclosed to no one. Then a concerned Hunae shows up, having left her bed to come and check on him. He pooh-poohs the whole thing: "My body isn't used to working so much!" She's a bit suspicious about whether that's the whole story, but he tells her not to worry, putting some gusto into it to sell her on it.
The empress dowager drops quite a bomb on Seo and Yi, suddenly speaking of the baby being "molded into kingly material" and telling them, "I will mold the infant prince myself." What about her grandson Prince Hwangjuwon (Wang Chi)?, they ask with shock. She says that he's worthy of the throne but has the wrong mentor. And somehow she correctly discerns that the king isn't long for this earth. "So I will have my vengeance through the prince imperial." Yikes. And on top of that, "Prince Hwangjuwon must be sacrificed." Double yikes. And as they walk away, we realize that Hwangjuwon has been listening from a distance and heard every word. Triple yikes.
Hunjeong is pining for Prince Gyeongjuwon again, even though she knows she can't ever see him again. We'll meet in the next lifetime, she says sadly.
Evening: Hwangjuwon goes to one of the Shillan group's meetings. We get a glimpse of someone following him as he does. Inside, he tells the group of a huge bomb: the king reportedly wants to abdicate! He asks them what he should do if he's offered the throne. An excited Kim Wonsoong wants him to accept humbly and grab the opportunity. But Choe Ryand and the others sense trouble. This sounds odd, they think, and the king is unpredictable. They counsel caution.
Gang Gamchan has been sent into a panic by his friend Prince Gyeongjuwon. "This is a trap. His majesty is testing you." Apparently the prince has just come back from seeing the king, who raised the abdication issue himself. Gang wonders why the king would abdicate when he just had a son? No, this is a ploy to get rid of those who could make trouble. "You'll end up dead unless you get yourself out of this completely!" He even wants them to leave the empress dowager's palace immediately. The prince says that he'll leave now, but wants Gamchan to wait for the empress dowager's return so that Gamchan can explain the situation to her personally.
Information has been collected for the king. Go Hyun reports to him that prince Gyeongjuwon was seen leaving the capital on his own, but that Hwangjuwon went to Choe Sum's house. Now the king starts talking paranoid again: Could grandmother have joined hands with the Shillans to steal the throne? Before he freaks out any further, Go offers a suggestion. He knows of someone who helped past emperors in times of crisis: Former astrologer/advisor Choe Jimong. (Oh no, not an astrologer.)
On a barren, rocky landscape, we see an old man meditating.
The king and Hunae are together, enjoying their son. Then he hugs her and tells her, "You must believe in me if no one else will." She says she does believe in him, and seems to mean it too. He actually sheds a tear.
Narration tells us that Choe Jimong was a child prodigy who gained fame for interpreting a dream of Emperor Wang Guhn's, a dream that he would unite the Three Kingdoms. He also forewarned Hyejong, the second Goryeo king, of an uprising. He was cherished by the first three kings, was banished by the fourth (Gwangjuwon) for eleven years for public drunkenness, and was reinstated by Gyeongjuwon. We see visual snippets that support the narration, ending with Jimong approaching the palace.
Jimong meets the king and agrees to give him his protection just like he protected the king's predecessors. This pleases the king, who then puts a question to him: "Will my son the Prince Imperial rise to the throne?" To our surprise, Jimong stands silent and fidgeting. Instantly the king goes wild: "Why do you hesitate? Speak! Will my son rise to the throne!?"