Post by ajk on Apr 21, 2009 13:22:17 GMT -5
Hunae tells Gang Jo that she might accept the king's offer, suspend her support for the northern settlements and leave the northern territory. It's a choice, she explains, between that or my son. Gang isn't happy to hear this--the settlements are for his own people, after all--but he says he'll obey her order if he has to. Then, a visitor is announced. It's Escort Jo, Lady Yunheung's attendant, bearing a letter from Yunheung to Hunae. Yunheung's letter is an offer for Hunae to see her son. Yunheung will take him to Guibup Temple, an out-of-the-way location that apparently is nearby, when the king leaves the capital for his trip to the north. (Actually this is a point of confusion in the episode. The temple is later referred to as being in Gaeryong, which is nowhere near the northern territory, but time- and distance-wise the temple seems to be close to Myeongbok Palace in the north. Sloppy, sloppy.)
Kim Wonsoong tells Choe Sum that when Hunae and her son meet, "that's when we strike." Besides, he says, we can make this look like a Jurchen attack! We know the Jurchens have animosity towards Hunae, so we can kill both her and her son and frame the Jurchens for it.
Prince Gyeongjuwon has left Myeongbok Palace to go with Gang Gamchan to the capital. Hunjeong finds a letter he's left for her. "Your confession was too much for my heart to hold," he writes. "My heart, too, pounded like a young boy in love when I first saw you...Forgive me for my cowardice and trepidation that stops me from embracing our love...Your memories will be cherished in my dreams."
The king tells his ministers to work hard and behave themselves while he's on his trip north. Then we see him leaving.
Guibup Temple: Yunheung has brought the young prince Gaeryeong to see his mother. She tells the boy why they're here; he wasn't aware until now. The boy worries that if the king finds out he'll be furious. Then she subtly delivers the message that Just remember, I raised you and I'm your mother, not Hunae. Hunae shows up, runs to the boy and hugs him. He couldn't be more uncomfortable, put in this awkward situation with the two women. Yunheung says she'll leave the two of them alone for some quality time. Hunae is touched by the gesture. "It seems I've been wrong about you," she tells Yunheung. "Thank you for this."
But in the woods outside, bad guys are lurking.
Inside, the boy doesn't know want to do or say. "Do you feel awkward?", she asks. He nods (awkwardly!). She tells him a bit about his family and about this temple....
Here come the bad guys....
In a courtyard, mother and son are walking, when suddenly a knife whizzes by Hunae's head. More than two dozen masked attackers run in, dressed like Jurchens. Gang Jo hears the commotion and rushes out to defend the two, and some of the temple monks also emerge and start to fight with the attackers. Hunae even gets in on the fight too (defying the laws of physics repeatedly). The young prince runs for his life, is surrounded by four attackers outside of the temple grounds, but is saved when Hunae fights off all four of them and knocks them out (again ridiculously). But the boy has passed out in the middle of all this and was convulsing. Hunae tries to revive him but he won't awaken. What's wrong with him? Then Gang Jo comes running out; they need to get out of there NOW while the monks are fighting the attackers. Gang picks up the boy and he and Hunae run into the woods. While fleeing, Gang sees that Hunae has been hurt and is bleeding heavily (an injury that occurred in the courtyard, before she fought off the four attackers herself. Ugh). Then, hiding in the woods, Hunae and Gang see the attackers who are still alive apparently fleeing from the scene in a group.
Kim Wonsoong throws a vase in anger. Jo Du has reported the plot's failure. He tries to explain about the monks and about Hunae's bodyguard being "an incredible fighter," but Wonsoong wants none of it. Jo Sun, another of Kim's subordinates, tries to calm Kim, explaining that as long as the Jurchen facade wasn't exposed, no one will be the wiser. But Wonsoong is still freaking, realizing that this will create a huge ruckus in the palace.
Lady Yunheung is informed of the attack and that the prince and Hunae are missing.
Somehow Gang Jo has found a horsecart and has brought mother and son to Myeongbok Palace. (We see the unnamed Suri again!) Yi Jujeong, whom we learn serves as palace physician, tells Hunae that the prince seems fine, which only causes Hunae to start shrieking about not understanding why won't he wake up. Chiyang is there and takes a look at the boy; he seems to recognize something and asks Jujeong for his acupuncture needles. He puts one in the boy's right temple...then one in the left temple...then a third in the center of the boy's scalp, as Jujeong gasps and shouts, "Are you insane? that's the Balhai point!" (Note: This is one of the most significant of the many acupuncture points. The more standard Romanization appears to be "Bai Hui" rather than Balhai.) Very slowly, the boy starts to comes around. He suffered from "great emotional trauma," Kim explains, but he'll be all right now. Hunae is understandably grateful.
Lady Yunheung informs the ministers of the attack, and tells them that royal guards are about to be dispatched to Hwangju. "I made a mistake," she confesses, and that's why this all happened. (She's owning up big-time; give her credit for it.) The ministers discuss whether or not to inform the king, and whether or not he should be asked to return home from his trip. The Shillans immediately pounce on this as an opportunity to scrap the trip, a trip they desperately didn't want him to take at all. But Yunheung slams her fist on the table! I asked for your help, she says, "and all you care about is your political tug of war!" I want you to rally the soldiers and hunt down those Jurchens. I alone will decide about informing the king, she says, "so just do your jobs." (Can I vote for her for governor?) Wonsoong postures loudly about getting those awful Jurchens.
Back at Myeongbok palace: Who were those attackers? Their clothes were Jurchen, but Chiyang isn't at all sure that they were Jurchen people. Jurchens may not be educated, he says, but "they're not stupid enough to travel all the way to [that temple] in Jurchen attire." Which is a great observation and beyond dispute. Jujeong suggests maybe Lady Yunheung is behind it; "She had no reason to be so kind" as to arrange the visit, he points out. Hunae dismisses it--she raised the boy herself, after all--but she's reminded that Yunheung never would have expected the boy to be installed as a prince and the likely heir to the throne! Hunae decides she's not sending the prince back home until she knows who's behind the attack. But this of course is going to anger the king if it's not resolved quickly.
Gang Jo tells his sister Hyangbi about he king's offer to Hunae and her possible departure. Sa Illa is eavesdropping. If she goes, Jo says, I will follow her because I made a pledge to die protecting her. But "you have to stay with our people. If I can't help them, you must." Hyangbi doesn't want to leave her brother and is very upset by the idea.
Sa Illa tells Chiyang and her brother Sa Gamun what she heard. So that's why Hunae has been so distracted lately. "If the lady leaves," Sa Gamun says, "all of our plans could go up in smoke." (What plans?) What about our other option, Sa Gamun asks Chiyang, but Chiyang agitatedly says It's too soon for that and don't even consider it (so it must be a drastic option, whatever it is).
Escort Yun shows Hunae a letter that she found. It's from Hunjeong--she's left the palace!
"Su," she writes, "I'm sorry, but I can't live without him." We see her stumbling through the woods alone, clearly unprepared for such a journey.
Alone, Chiyang reflects: "Is this an attainable cause? So much time has passed, and it's almost all forgotten. Is this really possible? Am I capable?"...Flashback to a young boy hiding from a sword battle, watching what appear to be his own people being massacred. It ends with soldiers holding a sword to a man's throat and demanding to know, "Where is the boy who carries his blood?" But the man only calls to Buddha, and is executed. Later, the boy emerges and cries over the man's body. This must be the massacre of Chiyang's family. Then we see a man on horseback enter the scene--a Jurchen chief. Later, in the woods, the boy shouts at the chief in frustration: "Who am I? Why did so many have to die because of me? Answer me. Who am I?"...Flashback ending, he repeats to himself, "Answer me. Who am I?"
The next day: Jujeong is gushing to Chiyang about his acupuncture skills. It was a Jurchen trick I learned, Chiyang says, and then tries hard to change the subject, asking about Hunae's health. Sa Illa shows up and Jujeong leaves, and Sa asks him, "What's really wrong with the prince?" Something more than Chiyang has let on, apparently.
The young prince awakens, finding his mother sleeping by his bedside. He recalls the traumatic events of the attack, reaches for his mother and awakens her. Hunae is thrilled to see him better; he asks about her shoulder and asks where he is. You're in Myeongbok Palace, she says; "this is where you come from." He asks about the attackers; Don't worry, she reassures him, I'll protect you. Then from outside, a visitor from Gaeryong is announced. Hunae goes outside and Lady Yunheung is standing there. She asks about the boy's welfare, but Hunae only stands silently and stares daggers into her.
Kim Wonsoong tells Choe Sum that when Hunae and her son meet, "that's when we strike." Besides, he says, we can make this look like a Jurchen attack! We know the Jurchens have animosity towards Hunae, so we can kill both her and her son and frame the Jurchens for it.
Prince Gyeongjuwon has left Myeongbok Palace to go with Gang Gamchan to the capital. Hunjeong finds a letter he's left for her. "Your confession was too much for my heart to hold," he writes. "My heart, too, pounded like a young boy in love when I first saw you...Forgive me for my cowardice and trepidation that stops me from embracing our love...Your memories will be cherished in my dreams."
The king tells his ministers to work hard and behave themselves while he's on his trip north. Then we see him leaving.
Guibup Temple: Yunheung has brought the young prince Gaeryeong to see his mother. She tells the boy why they're here; he wasn't aware until now. The boy worries that if the king finds out he'll be furious. Then she subtly delivers the message that Just remember, I raised you and I'm your mother, not Hunae. Hunae shows up, runs to the boy and hugs him. He couldn't be more uncomfortable, put in this awkward situation with the two women. Yunheung says she'll leave the two of them alone for some quality time. Hunae is touched by the gesture. "It seems I've been wrong about you," she tells Yunheung. "Thank you for this."
But in the woods outside, bad guys are lurking.
Inside, the boy doesn't know want to do or say. "Do you feel awkward?", she asks. He nods (awkwardly!). She tells him a bit about his family and about this temple....
Here come the bad guys....
In a courtyard, mother and son are walking, when suddenly a knife whizzes by Hunae's head. More than two dozen masked attackers run in, dressed like Jurchens. Gang Jo hears the commotion and rushes out to defend the two, and some of the temple monks also emerge and start to fight with the attackers. Hunae even gets in on the fight too (defying the laws of physics repeatedly). The young prince runs for his life, is surrounded by four attackers outside of the temple grounds, but is saved when Hunae fights off all four of them and knocks them out (again ridiculously). But the boy has passed out in the middle of all this and was convulsing. Hunae tries to revive him but he won't awaken. What's wrong with him? Then Gang Jo comes running out; they need to get out of there NOW while the monks are fighting the attackers. Gang picks up the boy and he and Hunae run into the woods. While fleeing, Gang sees that Hunae has been hurt and is bleeding heavily (an injury that occurred in the courtyard, before she fought off the four attackers herself. Ugh). Then, hiding in the woods, Hunae and Gang see the attackers who are still alive apparently fleeing from the scene in a group.
Kim Wonsoong throws a vase in anger. Jo Du has reported the plot's failure. He tries to explain about the monks and about Hunae's bodyguard being "an incredible fighter," but Wonsoong wants none of it. Jo Sun, another of Kim's subordinates, tries to calm Kim, explaining that as long as the Jurchen facade wasn't exposed, no one will be the wiser. But Wonsoong is still freaking, realizing that this will create a huge ruckus in the palace.
Lady Yunheung is informed of the attack and that the prince and Hunae are missing.
Somehow Gang Jo has found a horsecart and has brought mother and son to Myeongbok Palace. (We see the unnamed Suri again!) Yi Jujeong, whom we learn serves as palace physician, tells Hunae that the prince seems fine, which only causes Hunae to start shrieking about not understanding why won't he wake up. Chiyang is there and takes a look at the boy; he seems to recognize something and asks Jujeong for his acupuncture needles. He puts one in the boy's right temple...then one in the left temple...then a third in the center of the boy's scalp, as Jujeong gasps and shouts, "Are you insane? that's the Balhai point!" (Note: This is one of the most significant of the many acupuncture points. The more standard Romanization appears to be "Bai Hui" rather than Balhai.) Very slowly, the boy starts to comes around. He suffered from "great emotional trauma," Kim explains, but he'll be all right now. Hunae is understandably grateful.
Lady Yunheung informs the ministers of the attack, and tells them that royal guards are about to be dispatched to Hwangju. "I made a mistake," she confesses, and that's why this all happened. (She's owning up big-time; give her credit for it.) The ministers discuss whether or not to inform the king, and whether or not he should be asked to return home from his trip. The Shillans immediately pounce on this as an opportunity to scrap the trip, a trip they desperately didn't want him to take at all. But Yunheung slams her fist on the table! I asked for your help, she says, "and all you care about is your political tug of war!" I want you to rally the soldiers and hunt down those Jurchens. I alone will decide about informing the king, she says, "so just do your jobs." (Can I vote for her for governor?) Wonsoong postures loudly about getting those awful Jurchens.
Back at Myeongbok palace: Who were those attackers? Their clothes were Jurchen, but Chiyang isn't at all sure that they were Jurchen people. Jurchens may not be educated, he says, but "they're not stupid enough to travel all the way to [that temple] in Jurchen attire." Which is a great observation and beyond dispute. Jujeong suggests maybe Lady Yunheung is behind it; "She had no reason to be so kind" as to arrange the visit, he points out. Hunae dismisses it--she raised the boy herself, after all--but she's reminded that Yunheung never would have expected the boy to be installed as a prince and the likely heir to the throne! Hunae decides she's not sending the prince back home until she knows who's behind the attack. But this of course is going to anger the king if it's not resolved quickly.
Gang Jo tells his sister Hyangbi about he king's offer to Hunae and her possible departure. Sa Illa is eavesdropping. If she goes, Jo says, I will follow her because I made a pledge to die protecting her. But "you have to stay with our people. If I can't help them, you must." Hyangbi doesn't want to leave her brother and is very upset by the idea.
Sa Illa tells Chiyang and her brother Sa Gamun what she heard. So that's why Hunae has been so distracted lately. "If the lady leaves," Sa Gamun says, "all of our plans could go up in smoke." (What plans?) What about our other option, Sa Gamun asks Chiyang, but Chiyang agitatedly says It's too soon for that and don't even consider it (so it must be a drastic option, whatever it is).
Escort Yun shows Hunae a letter that she found. It's from Hunjeong--she's left the palace!
"Su," she writes, "I'm sorry, but I can't live without him." We see her stumbling through the woods alone, clearly unprepared for such a journey.
Alone, Chiyang reflects: "Is this an attainable cause? So much time has passed, and it's almost all forgotten. Is this really possible? Am I capable?"...Flashback to a young boy hiding from a sword battle, watching what appear to be his own people being massacred. It ends with soldiers holding a sword to a man's throat and demanding to know, "Where is the boy who carries his blood?" But the man only calls to Buddha, and is executed. Later, the boy emerges and cries over the man's body. This must be the massacre of Chiyang's family. Then we see a man on horseback enter the scene--a Jurchen chief. Later, in the woods, the boy shouts at the chief in frustration: "Who am I? Why did so many have to die because of me? Answer me. Who am I?"...Flashback ending, he repeats to himself, "Answer me. Who am I?"
The next day: Jujeong is gushing to Chiyang about his acupuncture skills. It was a Jurchen trick I learned, Chiyang says, and then tries hard to change the subject, asking about Hunae's health. Sa Illa shows up and Jujeong leaves, and Sa asks him, "What's really wrong with the prince?" Something more than Chiyang has let on, apparently.
The young prince awakens, finding his mother sleeping by his bedside. He recalls the traumatic events of the attack, reaches for his mother and awakens her. Hunae is thrilled to see him better; he asks about her shoulder and asks where he is. You're in Myeongbok Palace, she says; "this is where you come from." He asks about the attackers; Don't worry, she reassures him, I'll protect you. Then from outside, a visitor from Gaeryong is announced. Hunae goes outside and Lady Yunheung is standing there. She asks about the boy's welfare, but Hunae only stands silently and stares daggers into her.