Post by ajk on Apr 22, 2009 12:59:22 GMT -5
"Did you come to make certain that my child is dead?" Hunae seems convinced that Lady Yunheung was behind the attack. Or is she? Either way, she won't let Yunheung take the boy back to the capital. Inside, we see the prince listening to this, looking understandably agitated. Back outside, Yunheung is dumbfounded: "You don't think I'm behind this?" Then the boy comes outside, which only makes things more tense. I don't know if it was you, Hunae answers, but I know it's wasn't the Jurchens. They argue about taking the prince back to the capital. Hunae won't allow it, and physically takes the boy by the hand and leads him inside. Inside, the boy starts to protest about the whole situation, and asks that he be allowed to see Yunheung. Hunae relents, goes outside and lets Yunheung in. Of course, Yunheung tells him he's coming back to the capital with her, but he won't go. "My mother was injured saving my life. I can't just leave." Throughout the scene, and as she finally mentions, the boy has been calling her "my lady" and Hunae "mother."
Seo Hui, Yi Jibaek and Gang Gamchan discuss the attack. Gamchan correctly sees through the whole they-were-Jurchens ploy, observing not only that Jurchens wouldn't have come so far dressed like Jurchens, but also that killing the heir to the Goryeo throne would instigate a war, and "Not even the Song Chinese or the Khitans would dare do such a thing." So who would do it, Seo and Yi wonder. Gamchan asks them, "Who is feeling threatened right now?" (This guy is real sharp, no doubt about it.)
Although the uniforms have been burned and the bodies buried, the Shillans are still worried about the king investigating the incident and the truth coming out. The group strains for ideas; then Kim Shimun offers, "Why don't we turn this around on them?" The king will be angry when he finds out the prince is in Hwangju with Hunae, so....
Yunheung assures Hunae that she had nothing to do with the attack, but Hunae won't give her the boy to return to the capital while there's any question about his safety. Then Hunae vents some steam about her long separation from her child. In response, Yunheung criticizes her for not doing her "womanly duties" and for being a bad influence. Hunae orders her to leave; Yunheung won't leave without the prince; so Hunae orders Gang Jo in to escort Yunheung out.
Yunheung enters her carriage; the prince comes outside, sees this and tries to run to her, shouting at Hunae that If you're going to treat her that way, I'm leaving too. But the boy is restrained as Yunheung's carriage is sent off. He gets mad at Hunae and says now he isn't sure he trusts her any more. Ouch.
Chiyang, Sa Gamun and Sa Illa discuss the situation. It's bad for them, they agree (not sure why). Sa Gamun suggests, Why don't we try to find the perpetrator ourselves? We can work with "our contacts in Gaeryong." (Whatever that means.) No, Chiyang says, we have to get our business set up here and we must stay focused. "Getting the trust of Hwangju is the single most important thing we can do for the great cause right now."
Nighttime: Gamchan is walking around outside and someone calls to him. It's Hunjeong! She's walked by herself all the way from Hwangju, and fortunately she made it. She looks awful, and Gamchan notices that her feet are all blistered, but she wants to see Prince Gyeongjuwon. She nearly collapses from weakness and heartsickness; he steadies her and takes her to the prince.
Alone together, the prince gently tells Hunjeong that she took a foolish risk. Hunjeong answers, "So don't leave me again." If only you hadn't left me when we first met, she says. "I lived in regret for the past ten years for letting you go. And it's been so painful..." He hugs her--"It was for me, too"--and as they both shed tears, "I told myself again and again that I have to stop feeling this way, but I just couldn't get you out of my mind."
Gang Jo is telling the young prince about the past, about Hunae's begging the king to let her see him when he was younger, about all of the pain and heartache she went through. "But you broke her heart today. You gave her a wound that will never heal." Gang is dumping a real guilt trip on the kid, and it hits him hard.
Later, Gang tells Hunae she really can't keep the prince here, because once the king finds out, "he will not be idle." Hunae still fears for her son’s safety, so Gang wisely suggests taking him to Seogyeong where the king is. He'll be safe there, he says, and that way you can tell the king what happened. And then he advises, Take the king's deal and leave the north so you can be with your son. What about Gang's people, the Balhae refugees? I believe we've made enough progress that they'll be okay now, he says.
Once again, Hyangbi is angry at her brother for his suggesting that she go to the Balhaeans while he stays with Hunae to serve her. I'm duty-bound to serve her, he says, but she fires back, "Is that the only reason?" What else could there be, we wonder. "My sister. How about my sister? You've forgotten all about my dead sister, haven't you? Just like you can't leave the lady, I can't leave you." And she storms away. What was that all about?
So Gang gets frustrated, goes out onto a frozen river, breaks open a hole in the ice with a stick and sticks his head in the cold water. (Honest, that's actually what he does.) Above, on a bridge, Hyangbi watches him (maybe hoping they share as little DNA as possible). Weird scene.
Seogyeong: It's morning, and the king has been up all night reading petitions submitted by northern citizens. He's shocked to find out what bad shape his northern people are in. Go Hyun wants him to nap, but it's time for his morning meeting. He goes to the meeting, which is attended by a selection of ministers whom we learn were chosen to come on the trip because of their political impartiality. And he asks them for honest advice: "feel free to speak your mind." Park Yangyu, Han Ingyeong and Han Ungong all offer supportive suggestions to not worry about the Shillan-descent officials or factional infighting, and to do what's necessary to offer the local people encouragement; they need it and they'll be touched and encouraged by it.
At Kim Wonsoong's complex: Lady Yunheung has come to see her father. She gets right to the point: "You are behind the attack at Guibup Temple, aren't you?" Kim tries to smile and charm his way out of it, but she presses: "Don't avoid the question. Why would you be so kind to the mother and son all of a sudden?" He puts on a real performance about how he just wanted to allay her fears and insecurities and arrange for the visit as soon as possible. "God knows I'm telling the truth." And she accepts it. But if you're lying, she says, "I will sever my ties with you." Because Prince Gaeryeong is my son.
Hunae and Gaeryeong are eating and talking. Turns out, the kid has never rode a horse, and has no interest in martial arts. Hunae offers to teach him and says it will be fun, but the boy is more worried about his promise to the king that he would never neglect his studies. So Jujeong takes him to the palace library. It's the same library where king studied as a boy--which makes quite an impression on the prince. While there he meets Chiyang, who saved his life with the acupuncture trick. Chiyang offers him a gift--his dagger. The boy doesn't like swords or daggers and shies away from the gift, but then with a flick of his wrist, Chiyang turns the dagger into a book! A neat bit of sleight of hand that impresses the boy (and yes, it was quite good). Chiyang tells him that books and daggers are not all that different; it's what you use them for that can make them "very different tools." (Whatever--sounded a bit silly, really.)
Escort Yun reminds Hunae that her sister is missing and Shouldn't we be looking for her? Hunae isn't all that worried about her and says she’ll be okay (which is hard to swallow since she had just encouraged Gyeongjuwon to leave the palace because her sister was so naive).
Back in the library, Chiyang tells the prince that he, too, was separated from his mom as an infant, too. Gaeryeong speaks admiringly of his mother’s strength, but Chiyang disagrees: "My prince, you're mother is not a strong woman, at least when it comes to you" because she took foolish risks and acted irrationally during the attack. Then Chiyang dumps his own batch of guilt on the boy for hurting his mother’s feelings, saying, “I'd jump into hell for the chance to see my mother again.”
Wonsoong is in a panic because of Yunheung's suspicion. Choe Sum tells him, We'll go to Seogyeong right now and see the king and turn this on Hunae before she can do anything.
In a conference room in the capital, some ministers debate Hunae's action in taking the prince to Hwangju. The Shillans want to make an issue out of it, of course; Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek understand why she did it and are more concerned about finding the perpetrators of the attack. And by the way, they all realize, where are the Minister of Finance (Wonsoong) and Minister of Punishment (Choe Sum)?
Afterwards, Gamchan tells Seo and Yi that he thinks Woonsong and Choe Sum went to see the king secretly. This whole affair is looking like the Shillans’ doing, they conclude, and that's why the two went north--to tell the king that Hunae staged it. Gamchan worries that when you throw Hunae's temper into all this, it could anger the king immensely. Gamchan encourages Seo and Yi to go north themselves and counter the Shillans. Then tells them, Ask the lady to send me one of her servants. They don't know what that means and neither do we.
A bit later, Gyeongjuwon and Hunjeong tell Gamchan that they want to get married. Gently, calmly, kindly, Gamchan offers, "Forgive me, but are you both out of your minds?" You're the late king's widow, he tells Hunjeong; "Don't you know what people will say about this?" But this will be a private wedding, they say. They just need one witness, and they ask him to do it. Please, they say, there's nobody else we can ask. He looks reluctant, but would he really turn them down?
The prince tells his mother that he's sorry if he hurt her feelings today. And he asks if he can stay a few more days. Hunae is moved to tears. (By now you can't help but feel a little sorry for the kid; he's a nice kid, stuck in a lousy situation, pulled in different directions and having guilt dumped on him from everywhere. Not the kind of life any little kid should have.)
Seogyeong, the next day: The king tells his ministers that in two days he's going to bring in some citizens, to listen to them and offer encouragement. Treat them well and comfort them when they're here, he instructs.
Sa Gamun goes into a building and meets with four men. We don't recognize the men. "I'm for it," says one; "This is a perfect opportunity." Sa Gamun reminds him, "But master has ordered us not to make any moves;" do we defy him? The consensus seems to be Yes, we do. Who are these guys?
Sa Illa runs thirty feet up a tree. (That’s right, she runs up the trunk. The tree isn’t quite vertical, but it’s a ridiculous image nonetheless. This comic-book stuff better not become a habit in the series.) She reaches into a bird’s nest, where a carrier pigeon is sitting, and retrieves a message. It's from Sa Gamun. She takes it to Chiyang and tells him, "I'm afraid he might be up to something." Chiyang reads the little paper. It's not good. "He has gone insane! No, he can't do this. No!"
Seo Hui, Yi Jibaek and Gang Gamchan discuss the attack. Gamchan correctly sees through the whole they-were-Jurchens ploy, observing not only that Jurchens wouldn't have come so far dressed like Jurchens, but also that killing the heir to the Goryeo throne would instigate a war, and "Not even the Song Chinese or the Khitans would dare do such a thing." So who would do it, Seo and Yi wonder. Gamchan asks them, "Who is feeling threatened right now?" (This guy is real sharp, no doubt about it.)
Although the uniforms have been burned and the bodies buried, the Shillans are still worried about the king investigating the incident and the truth coming out. The group strains for ideas; then Kim Shimun offers, "Why don't we turn this around on them?" The king will be angry when he finds out the prince is in Hwangju with Hunae, so....
Yunheung assures Hunae that she had nothing to do with the attack, but Hunae won't give her the boy to return to the capital while there's any question about his safety. Then Hunae vents some steam about her long separation from her child. In response, Yunheung criticizes her for not doing her "womanly duties" and for being a bad influence. Hunae orders her to leave; Yunheung won't leave without the prince; so Hunae orders Gang Jo in to escort Yunheung out.
Yunheung enters her carriage; the prince comes outside, sees this and tries to run to her, shouting at Hunae that If you're going to treat her that way, I'm leaving too. But the boy is restrained as Yunheung's carriage is sent off. He gets mad at Hunae and says now he isn't sure he trusts her any more. Ouch.
Chiyang, Sa Gamun and Sa Illa discuss the situation. It's bad for them, they agree (not sure why). Sa Gamun suggests, Why don't we try to find the perpetrator ourselves? We can work with "our contacts in Gaeryong." (Whatever that means.) No, Chiyang says, we have to get our business set up here and we must stay focused. "Getting the trust of Hwangju is the single most important thing we can do for the great cause right now."
Nighttime: Gamchan is walking around outside and someone calls to him. It's Hunjeong! She's walked by herself all the way from Hwangju, and fortunately she made it. She looks awful, and Gamchan notices that her feet are all blistered, but she wants to see Prince Gyeongjuwon. She nearly collapses from weakness and heartsickness; he steadies her and takes her to the prince.
Alone together, the prince gently tells Hunjeong that she took a foolish risk. Hunjeong answers, "So don't leave me again." If only you hadn't left me when we first met, she says. "I lived in regret for the past ten years for letting you go. And it's been so painful..." He hugs her--"It was for me, too"--and as they both shed tears, "I told myself again and again that I have to stop feeling this way, but I just couldn't get you out of my mind."
Gang Jo is telling the young prince about the past, about Hunae's begging the king to let her see him when he was younger, about all of the pain and heartache she went through. "But you broke her heart today. You gave her a wound that will never heal." Gang is dumping a real guilt trip on the kid, and it hits him hard.
Later, Gang tells Hunae she really can't keep the prince here, because once the king finds out, "he will not be idle." Hunae still fears for her son’s safety, so Gang wisely suggests taking him to Seogyeong where the king is. He'll be safe there, he says, and that way you can tell the king what happened. And then he advises, Take the king's deal and leave the north so you can be with your son. What about Gang's people, the Balhae refugees? I believe we've made enough progress that they'll be okay now, he says.
Once again, Hyangbi is angry at her brother for his suggesting that she go to the Balhaeans while he stays with Hunae to serve her. I'm duty-bound to serve her, he says, but she fires back, "Is that the only reason?" What else could there be, we wonder. "My sister. How about my sister? You've forgotten all about my dead sister, haven't you? Just like you can't leave the lady, I can't leave you." And she storms away. What was that all about?
So Gang gets frustrated, goes out onto a frozen river, breaks open a hole in the ice with a stick and sticks his head in the cold water. (Honest, that's actually what he does.) Above, on a bridge, Hyangbi watches him (maybe hoping they share as little DNA as possible). Weird scene.
Seogyeong: It's morning, and the king has been up all night reading petitions submitted by northern citizens. He's shocked to find out what bad shape his northern people are in. Go Hyun wants him to nap, but it's time for his morning meeting. He goes to the meeting, which is attended by a selection of ministers whom we learn were chosen to come on the trip because of their political impartiality. And he asks them for honest advice: "feel free to speak your mind." Park Yangyu, Han Ingyeong and Han Ungong all offer supportive suggestions to not worry about the Shillan-descent officials or factional infighting, and to do what's necessary to offer the local people encouragement; they need it and they'll be touched and encouraged by it.
At Kim Wonsoong's complex: Lady Yunheung has come to see her father. She gets right to the point: "You are behind the attack at Guibup Temple, aren't you?" Kim tries to smile and charm his way out of it, but she presses: "Don't avoid the question. Why would you be so kind to the mother and son all of a sudden?" He puts on a real performance about how he just wanted to allay her fears and insecurities and arrange for the visit as soon as possible. "God knows I'm telling the truth." And she accepts it. But if you're lying, she says, "I will sever my ties with you." Because Prince Gaeryeong is my son.
Hunae and Gaeryeong are eating and talking. Turns out, the kid has never rode a horse, and has no interest in martial arts. Hunae offers to teach him and says it will be fun, but the boy is more worried about his promise to the king that he would never neglect his studies. So Jujeong takes him to the palace library. It's the same library where king studied as a boy--which makes quite an impression on the prince. While there he meets Chiyang, who saved his life with the acupuncture trick. Chiyang offers him a gift--his dagger. The boy doesn't like swords or daggers and shies away from the gift, but then with a flick of his wrist, Chiyang turns the dagger into a book! A neat bit of sleight of hand that impresses the boy (and yes, it was quite good). Chiyang tells him that books and daggers are not all that different; it's what you use them for that can make them "very different tools." (Whatever--sounded a bit silly, really.)
Escort Yun reminds Hunae that her sister is missing and Shouldn't we be looking for her? Hunae isn't all that worried about her and says she’ll be okay (which is hard to swallow since she had just encouraged Gyeongjuwon to leave the palace because her sister was so naive).
Back in the library, Chiyang tells the prince that he, too, was separated from his mom as an infant, too. Gaeryeong speaks admiringly of his mother’s strength, but Chiyang disagrees: "My prince, you're mother is not a strong woman, at least when it comes to you" because she took foolish risks and acted irrationally during the attack. Then Chiyang dumps his own batch of guilt on the boy for hurting his mother’s feelings, saying, “I'd jump into hell for the chance to see my mother again.”
Wonsoong is in a panic because of Yunheung's suspicion. Choe Sum tells him, We'll go to Seogyeong right now and see the king and turn this on Hunae before she can do anything.
In a conference room in the capital, some ministers debate Hunae's action in taking the prince to Hwangju. The Shillans want to make an issue out of it, of course; Seo Hui and Yi Jibaek understand why she did it and are more concerned about finding the perpetrators of the attack. And by the way, they all realize, where are the Minister of Finance (Wonsoong) and Minister of Punishment (Choe Sum)?
Afterwards, Gamchan tells Seo and Yi that he thinks Woonsong and Choe Sum went to see the king secretly. This whole affair is looking like the Shillans’ doing, they conclude, and that's why the two went north--to tell the king that Hunae staged it. Gamchan worries that when you throw Hunae's temper into all this, it could anger the king immensely. Gamchan encourages Seo and Yi to go north themselves and counter the Shillans. Then tells them, Ask the lady to send me one of her servants. They don't know what that means and neither do we.
A bit later, Gyeongjuwon and Hunjeong tell Gamchan that they want to get married. Gently, calmly, kindly, Gamchan offers, "Forgive me, but are you both out of your minds?" You're the late king's widow, he tells Hunjeong; "Don't you know what people will say about this?" But this will be a private wedding, they say. They just need one witness, and they ask him to do it. Please, they say, there's nobody else we can ask. He looks reluctant, but would he really turn them down?
The prince tells his mother that he's sorry if he hurt her feelings today. And he asks if he can stay a few more days. Hunae is moved to tears. (By now you can't help but feel a little sorry for the kid; he's a nice kid, stuck in a lousy situation, pulled in different directions and having guilt dumped on him from everywhere. Not the kind of life any little kid should have.)
Seogyeong, the next day: The king tells his ministers that in two days he's going to bring in some citizens, to listen to them and offer encouragement. Treat them well and comfort them when they're here, he instructs.
Sa Gamun goes into a building and meets with four men. We don't recognize the men. "I'm for it," says one; "This is a perfect opportunity." Sa Gamun reminds him, "But master has ordered us not to make any moves;" do we defy him? The consensus seems to be Yes, we do. Who are these guys?
Sa Illa runs thirty feet up a tree. (That’s right, she runs up the trunk. The tree isn’t quite vertical, but it’s a ridiculous image nonetheless. This comic-book stuff better not become a habit in the series.) She reaches into a bird’s nest, where a carrier pigeon is sitting, and retrieves a message. It's from Sa Gamun. She takes it to Chiyang and tells him, "I'm afraid he might be up to something." Chiyang reads the little paper. It's not good. "He has gone insane! No, he can't do this. No!"