Post by ajk on Nov 13, 2009 13:36:16 GMT -5
(Note: Apologies for the length of this one, but there's a lot of raw information and transitional stuff in the episode. Plus, I'm trying to include more detail and dialogue in these final summaries for the sake of everyone who isn't watching the episodes.)
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Mokjong gasps and falls to his knees. Cheonchu pushes through the soldiers restraining her and runs to him, but the wound is apparently a fatal one and there's nothing she can do. "I thought...I was free at last...mother...Empress...I'm sorry...I didn't want to die like this...I wanted to be the good son and good husband...that I couldn't be before." And he falls into his crying mother's arms and dies. Eventually Cheonchu gets up and demands that Ahn Pae tell her why he did this. "We had no choice," Ahn insists, sticking to his lie: "this was general Gang Jo's order." She knows that's a load of nonsense, and Ahn knows she knows it too. "But if you want to survive," he tells her, "quietly follow us to Choongju." She has no intention of keeping quiet and dares him to strike her down. So he will! He winds up to do it, but Yi Hyunoon steps in and holds him back, and tells him, "The situation will get out of control if the dowager turns up dead, too." And Yi asks her more calmly to please cooperate with them--or else they'll be forced to kill the empress too. Yikes.
Mokjong's body has been brought back by the hut, where Sunjeong is waiting. She sees her dead husband and runs to him, begging him to wake up and crumbling into a panic. Attendant Yu angrily confronts Ahn, who insists Mokjong killed himself. And that's final. "Accept it as truth or you all die!"
Later, we see Mokjong being buried in a simple wooden box, in a small grave in a meadow. His coffin is laid to rest by the soldiers who came to kill him. Wow. As we see flashbacks of his life from past episodes, narration tells us that according to historical record:
--Minister of Personnel Kim Shimun is promoted to Vice Minister of Supreme Council
--Vice Minister of Personnel Choe Suk is promoted to Minister of Personnel
--Vice Minister of Rites Choe Wonshin is promoted to Minister of Rites
--Supreme Council Secretary Chae Choongsun is promoted to Minister of Finance
--Vice Minister of Finance Hwangbo Yui is promoted to Supreme Council Secretary
(Note: This is the group I've been referring to as the weasely ministers.)
--General Choi Sawui is promoted to Minister of Punishment
--General Tak Sajeong is promoted to Minister of Military
--Minister of Rites Gang Gamchan is demoted to Vice Minister of Rites
--Supreme Council Secretary Choe Hang is demoted to Scholar Official
--Minister of Punishment Dae Dosu is demoted to General
As for Gang Jo, he "has committed a grave crime, but in consideration of his previous merits, he will stripped of his rank and sentenced to house arrest." Jo's subordinates are also to be demoted. And last, the real punch in the gut: "I have decided to heed the ministers' counsel and reverse the sharecropping policy instated by Empress Dowager Cheonchu. And the bloated military will be gradually reduced in stages." It seems incredible that the new emperor is willing to make such wholesale change, even considering the difficult position that Kim Shimun put him in. And particularly at the expense of the people he's demoting. But it's official, like it or not.
In the jail: The cells are unlocked and everyone is released. Gang Jo, though, is taken away to house arrest. The others leave and immediately head across the palace complex to go to see the emperor. But Choe Wonshin, the new minister of rites, smugly informs them of their demotions. "It's what you get for being Cheonchu's pets." And he tells them they've been barred from private visits with the emperor. And with that, soldiers rudely usher them away. They don't go quietly; they scream protests in the direction of the council hall...
...and inside, the emperor hears them. His attendants Bakdol and Myeongil tell him that the men were taken away. Hyeonjong is visibly upset by all this; we can see that he doesn't support any of this business and it's not what he wanted to do. "I may be the emperor in name," he says to himself, "but there is nothing I can do." He recalls Jin Gwan counseling him that he'll need patience to grow as an emperor, and obviously this is one time where he's going to have to heed that lesson. "I'm sorry, minister Gang," he says to himself. "I'm sorry, master Choe. This is the only way I could protect you. But if I become powerful...when I become powerful...."
Back in the countryside, by Mokjong's grave: It's evening now. The soldiers need to escort Cheonchu's party to Choongju, and Yi Hyunoon wants everyone to get moving now. Cheonchu doesn't want to leave her son lying in such a shabby grave; Hyunoon tells her he'll arrange for him to be reburied later in a proper location. Sunjeong doesn't want to leave either: "I have nothing left to live for, so I will join my husband. I can't bear it anymore." Cheonchu doesn't want to hear that: "We have to live and bear witness to what happened here today." So pick yourself up and keep going.
The next morning, regular state council meeting: Gamchan and Choe Hang are protesting vehemently because the emperor has just announced his intention to marry Lady Yunheung's daughter. This is another surprise; we had seen nothing to suggest he was ever considering the idea. An intense debate ensues, easily one of the best of series. Yunheung committed treason against the previous emperor, Gamchan reminds everyone, and her father Wonsoong was executed for treason too. The weasely ministers counter that because of Mokjong's failings, he deserved to be plotted against (?!) and even argue that those treasonous episodes are in the past and should be forgotten now. Gamchan can't believe it: "Unless the past is rectified, history will repeat itself!" But the weasels have a compelling argument on their side: Princess Jeong is also the daughter of King Sungjong, and "In retrospect his reign was the most peaceful and orderly of times." It's all very entertaining, but in the end none of it really matters. Hyeonjong announces, "I will marry Lady Yunheung's daughter, so do not discuss this again." And by the way, we also learn during the meeting that Mun Inui has been named Minister of Works. He's right there in the meeting standing across from Gamchan, who protests to the emperor, "this is a man who has made a career out of betraying his masters. He cannot be made a high minister of the Imperial Court." But Hyeonjong won't debate that with anybody either.
As if seeing Mun Inui in a high minister's robe wasn't jarring enough, the next sight is so unexpected, it doesn't immediately register. The new guy we're seeing wearing the general's armor? It's Jo Sun. That's right. He's now the chief general of the imperial guards. The new minister of military Tak Sajeong introduces him to Yu Bang (now demoted to a colonel), Choe Jil and Kim Hoon (now captains), and Jo forces all of them to acknowledge his authority. Then Ji Chaemun runs in; he's just come from the north with an urgent report (about Prince Hwangju being alive). Ji is looking for Gang Jo; he has no idea about all of the changes. Minister Tak tells him he's the one who gets the reports now.
Very next scene: Tak and Jo Sun have gone right to Lady Yunheung and told her the news. "Only General Jo and I heard the report," Tak says, "and I ordered him [Ji Chaemun] not to tell anyone else." Yunheung is glad to hear it; she wants the boy killed immediately. Tak and Jo don't understand why; he's no threat to them any more. "He's a son of a traitor," she tells them; "He must be eliminated." And she wants Jo Sun to see to it personally; she doesn't trust Yang Kyu or Kim Sukheung to get it done. (I agree with Tak and Jo; this seems stupid. Yunheung is being vindictive and she's smarter than that, as we've seen repeatedly.)
Nighttime, in the woods somewhere: Goryean troops are scouting a Jurchen village. The village where the young Prince Hwangju is.
In the Jurchen village, inside a home: We see Dokyun and Chief Mobula talking as Hwangju sleeps. Mobula explains that Sa Gamun's mother (Mobula's daughter) was a Jurchen, and his father was a Shillan. "It was a lost cause to begin with," he says of the whole Shilla-revival crusade. "That's why I said no when they wanted me to join them." Interesting. As they talk, Dokyun learns that Cheonchu has left the palace; the news has made it this far north, but she hadn't heard it yet and is shocked by it. And Mobula assures her that the boy, who he believes to be Dokyun's and Sa Gamun's son Ryang, will be safe with him. Then, suddenly, a soldier runs in with news that the village is under attack by Goryeans.
Yep, it's on, a full-scale hand-to-hand battle. Mobula and Dokyun go outside to look; Ha Gongjin spots her and orders a charge on the building. But dozens of archers show up out of nowhere; they're all around the building and they and start mowing down the Goryeans. It looks like the Goryeans will have to retreat; for now they're overmatched. Dokyun, carrying Hwangju, makes it to a horse and escapes, using her spring-knife gadget to kill a lone soldier who tries to stop her. (Sorry to say, but that gadget has drifted into the physical-impossibility category. It must be spring-loaded, which limits its power, and the knives it fires are very small for weapons, yet it kills soldiers instantly. It's become ridiculous.)
The next morning: "Gatekeeper!" Cheonchu's party and the soldiers have made it to Choongju Palace. Hyunoon knocks on the door and tells the gatekeeper who he's brought here. To our surprise, and undoubtedly to Cheonchu's immense relief, the gatekeeper steps out, kneels and bows deeply at Cheonchu's feet. "Allow me to bid humble greetings, your highness." His name is Kim Jonghyun; he's the steward here. He invites them in.
Inside the palace complex: Cheonchu, Sunjeong, Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae are in a gazebo, with an older woman. This is Lady Choongju. She tells them all she's the granddaughter of empress dowager Shinmyeong, who was the third consort of emperor Taejo and the mother to the second and third emperors. (Note: This must be a mistake, because Hyejong (second emperor) was the son of Queen Janghwa, Taejo's second wife, and not Shinmyeong.) She also says that emperors Jeongjong (third emperor) and Gwangjong (fourth emperor) were her maternal uncles. (That one looks to be accurate.) She isn't receiving Cheonchu very kindly. "I'm aware of your disgraceful acts," she tells her. Choongju is told that Mokjong killed himself; Cheonchu can't tell her the truth because of Ahn and Yi hovering over them. "I must say you have some nerve coming here," Choongju says. Cheonchu is in no position to argue with her and has to just suck it up: "I have no excuse for what I've done. But the empress has been traumatized by these events, and in dire need of rest." Choongju isn't very warm to Sunjeong either, looking at her dismissively and saying, "She's just the wife of a fool who ruined the country and then killed himself." She tells Cheonchu she'll take them in because their grandmothers were close. "But you must practice prudence and self-restraint. Is that understood?" Yes, it's understood. So she tells Steward Kim to give Cheonchu and Sunjeong a room in the servants' quarters. Ouch. Kim is surprised and disturbed, but orders are orders. Cheonchu and Sunjeong are escorted away. Hyunoon remains behind because he has a letter to give to Choongju. It's from Lady Yunheung. Uh-oh. She opens it up and starts to read it.
Steward Kim takes Cheonchu and Sunjeong to their room and apologizes for the humble accommodations. "I have always supported your political decisions," he tells Cheonchu. So obviously she's found a friend, although not an influential one. Kim leaves, and just then Sunjeong passes out from weakness.
Goryeo royal palace: It's the wedding. A big, impressive-looking ceremony as Hyeonjong and Princess Jeong--now Empress Wonjeong--are married. Lady Yunheung is beaming, of course.
Evening, in the new empress's quarters: The queen is paid a visit by her mother. Yunheung is obviously happy, but confesses to her daughter how disappointed she was that she could never give her husband King Sungjong a male heir. If I had, she explains, I would have ended up as the regent and Cheonchu would never have attained power. "So if you don't want to follow in my footsteps, you must produce a male heir." (No pressure!) Wonjeong looks a bit flustered, but she says she'll try. Just then, the emperor's arrival is announced. So Yunheung goes outside...
...to greet him. Escort Jo, who's been snotty and annoying every time we've seen her, audaciously asks the emperor if Yunheung can move into the palace. "I don't believe that's customary," Hyeonjong answers, (clearly not enamored with the idea of the mother-in-law moving in!). Then he says rather indifferently, "Return home safely," and walks right by them without another word. This is strange, considering how warmly he greeted Yunheung when he first encountered her on the way to the palace. What gives?
Inside with his new bride, Hyeonjong is uncomfortable. How about some wine?, she suggests. No, "I was raised in a temple so I do not enjoy drinking." Then it gets interesting. Your mother, he says to her, seems to on very good terms with the ministers. "I will not hold Lady Yunheung's offenses during the previous reign against her. Whether it was my own will or not, I have already married you, and rehashing the past will benefit no one. But I will not be a puppet for those who try to manipulate me or for those who are behind them." I don't know much about those politics, she says, and then, "But I would like to take this head dress off..." (And she should, the thing is quite a contraption.) Implying she wants to take more than the headdress off. His reaction: "I was raised in a temple, and I am not used to being with a woman. I had no choice but to come here tonight, but I will be sleeping alone in my bedchambers starting tomorrow. Please go to bed first. I have much to contemplate, so I won't be going to bed." (Oooh, you smooth talker. A real way with the ladies!) Jeong never expected any of this and is speechless.
Gang Jo is at home under house arrest. He's drinking heavily again. Gamchan, Choe Hang and Dae Dosu come to visit him. They tell him of all the reversals and changes in the court. We even learn that Dae Dosu, while still a general, has no soldiers to command. "What has been happening is not the emperor's will, Gamchan says. "Men around him are coercing him with pressure and intimidation. And he doesn't have a single good man on his side." Gamchan then tells him to snap out of it, but Jo asks what good it would do. "It's over. It's over for Goryeo. And I've lost all hope and all desire. So I'll just drink my days away."
Choongju Palace: "Keep them locked up, my lady?" Lady Choongju tells steward Kim that everybody in Cheonchu's party, even the servants, are to be kept locked up. Like prisoners under house arrest.
Cheonchu is trying to get Sunjeong to eat, but Sunjeong won't. "I think I'd rather join his majesty than endure the scorn." Which irritates Cheonchu: "That again? I need you to be strong for me. Do you think you're the only one in pain?" Sunjeong suspects that her husband didn't kill himself--not when he was finally out of the palace and happy at last. Cheonchu confirms that he was murdered, and says she couldn't make trouble about it "because if I did, they would have killed you as well. How could I face the emperor in the next world if I had let them kill you as well?" This is awfully tough for Sunjeong to hear and she turns into a sobbing mess. But Cheonchu presses her: "Now open your mouth. You have to eat. We have to survive to avenge the emperor's death." And at that, she does start to eat a little.
We see General Jo Sun on horseback, heading north and accompanied by subordinates. Next we see him meeting with Yang Kyu and Kim Sukheung, angry because their troops were unable to capture Dokyun or Prince Hwangju. He chews them out: "This is an outrage! You've let a criminal of high treason get away because you couldn't defeat a mob of barbarians?" Yang has to respond to him: "It is true that they failed the mission, but defeat is at times unavoidable depending on the strength of the enemy." Jo doesn't want to listen to reason, though. And he takes pleasure in informing Yang and Kim that they've been demoted. Yang Kyu is now a duty officer of the Ministry of Punishments, and Kim Sukheung is now a colonel. "This is not a reflection of your job performance," he explains; "It is the new emperor's intent to trim down a bloated military." The now-former generals remind him about the threat of Khitan invasion, but Jo angrily calls it "an invasion that's never going to happen" and is only concerned about capturing Cheonchu's son.
Liao imperial palace: Dokyun arrives on the horse! Wow, gutsy of her to head back to the homeland she was pressured into betraying. Su No happens to be at the gate. Dokyun demands to see the prime minister.
Emperor Shengzong and Prime Minister Han are at Empress Dowager Chengtian's bedside. Chengtian looks and sounds extremely weak (which is weird because her skin is perfect! Gotta love TV). They discuss Dokyun's report that Cheonchu has left power. (So obviously Dokyun did get to see Han.) Chengtian reflects, "She and I must have a karmic connection for her to have left her position of power when I am about to leave this life...I had felt a special bond with her for having been through so much of the same ups and downs in life." Her son begs her not to talk like that, but "No, I am at my end. Ever-changing are the hands of power, and no flower can stay in bloom for..." Now she's coughing and a bit of blood is coming up (the universal sign of severe illness in these shows, of course). She shouldn't be talking, but she tells her son, "Follow Prime Minister's guidance when I'm gone. Cast off your ambition to conquer Goryeo. Do you understand?" Awkward silence. "Answer me, Emperor." "Yes, mother. I will." And then she says to Han, "My life was worth living because I had you. You were the best man I ever met in every way. You brought prosperity to the empire and joy to my life. You brought me joy as well. Please guide the emperor well. I'm sorry I could not be with you to the end." Now she's weakening and drifting away. "The wind...I miss the wind of the open prairie...We've come such a long way...." and with that, she fades out and dies.
We see generals and officials outside in the palace yard, kneeling and weeping. Narration tells us,
Liao state council meeting: "Goryeo's Empress Dowager Cheonchu has finally left her position of power. This is a sign from Heaven," Shengzong proclaims. "We will attack Goryeo with full force once the mourning comes to an end, so get ready." Prime Minister Han begs him to remember his mother's last words, but Shengzong shushes him: "This is the chance I have been waiting for!" Han presses, asking him to at least wait three years until inevitable weakness appears in the Goryean military, but Shengzong has heard such talk from him before and angrily tells him to shut his mouth. But Han won't, so Shengzong orders him hauled away for medical treatment because he's apparently becoming hard of hearing (which is pretty funny for a sour-looking emperor). As Han is dragged away he begs Shengzong to wait even one year: "There could be a cataclysmic change in that time, your majesty!" But once Han is gone from the room, Shengzong grumbles, "I am the one who will bring about the cataclysmic change. Prime Minister will never join us here again. Does anyone else object?" After that, who's going to object?
Back at the Goryeo military camp: Jo Sun is pacing back and forth, angry at Yang Kyu that there's no word of success yet from what apparently is another attempt to capture Dokyun and Prince Hwangju. Yang explains that they're going up against the strongest of all the eastern Jurchen tribes, and on their own land, but Jo dismisses that as excuses. "And you call yourselves the best of Goryeo? You are incompetent!" But then Kim Sukheung runs in with some news: A massive Khitan military force is headed in this direction. How big? "The report said they covered the field as far as the eyes can see."
We see the army. Yep, it's a whopper. Shengzong himself is in the middle of it, riding in a carriage in armor. He did say previously that he was going to command the invasion personally.
We see Jo Sun galloping on horseback into the Goryeo palace with the news.
State council meeting: "Is this true? The Khitan have invaded our borders?" The emperor has gotten the word. The idiot ministers stand there speechless, their jaws dropped and mouths open. And yes, it's true; the army is in Liaodong territory already and it's 400,000 strong.
Outside Gang Jo's house: Yu Bang is trying to get in to see Jo; guards refuse him admittance. But Jo comes outside and Yu tells him the Khitans are coming. "It's a huge army, ten times the size of the invading force we fought twenty years ago." Suddenly we see fire in Jo's eyes: "At last...At last they're here!"
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Mokjong gasps and falls to his knees. Cheonchu pushes through the soldiers restraining her and runs to him, but the wound is apparently a fatal one and there's nothing she can do. "I thought...I was free at last...mother...Empress...I'm sorry...I didn't want to die like this...I wanted to be the good son and good husband...that I couldn't be before." And he falls into his crying mother's arms and dies. Eventually Cheonchu gets up and demands that Ahn Pae tell her why he did this. "We had no choice," Ahn insists, sticking to his lie: "this was general Gang Jo's order." She knows that's a load of nonsense, and Ahn knows she knows it too. "But if you want to survive," he tells her, "quietly follow us to Choongju." She has no intention of keeping quiet and dares him to strike her down. So he will! He winds up to do it, but Yi Hyunoon steps in and holds him back, and tells him, "The situation will get out of control if the dowager turns up dead, too." And Yi asks her more calmly to please cooperate with them--or else they'll be forced to kill the empress too. Yikes.
Mokjong's body has been brought back by the hut, where Sunjeong is waiting. She sees her dead husband and runs to him, begging him to wake up and crumbling into a panic. Attendant Yu angrily confronts Ahn, who insists Mokjong killed himself. And that's final. "Accept it as truth or you all die!"
Later, we see Mokjong being buried in a simple wooden box, in a small grave in a meadow. His coffin is laid to rest by the soldiers who came to kill him. Wow. As we see flashbacks of his life from past episodes, narration tells us that according to historical record:
...he was calm and strong-minded and possessed the qualities of a ruler as a child. But as a king, he took no interest in state affairs. He was murdered while indulging in archery, horseback riding, wine and dissipation. It is recorded that he treated flattery as part of his daily life and suffered a grave consequence. Ahn Pae killed him, buried him in a makeshift coffin made out of a door and reported that he stabbed himself in the neck and took his own life. Mokjong was 30 years old and his reign lasted 12 years.Council hall: A state council meeting, and Emperor Hyeonjong is reading a proclamation. It's a doozy:
--Minister of Personnel Kim Shimun is promoted to Vice Minister of Supreme Council
--Vice Minister of Personnel Choe Suk is promoted to Minister of Personnel
--Vice Minister of Rites Choe Wonshin is promoted to Minister of Rites
--Supreme Council Secretary Chae Choongsun is promoted to Minister of Finance
--Vice Minister of Finance Hwangbo Yui is promoted to Supreme Council Secretary
(Note: This is the group I've been referring to as the weasely ministers.)
--General Choi Sawui is promoted to Minister of Punishment
--General Tak Sajeong is promoted to Minister of Military
--Minister of Rites Gang Gamchan is demoted to Vice Minister of Rites
--Supreme Council Secretary Choe Hang is demoted to Scholar Official
--Minister of Punishment Dae Dosu is demoted to General
As for Gang Jo, he "has committed a grave crime, but in consideration of his previous merits, he will stripped of his rank and sentenced to house arrest." Jo's subordinates are also to be demoted. And last, the real punch in the gut: "I have decided to heed the ministers' counsel and reverse the sharecropping policy instated by Empress Dowager Cheonchu. And the bloated military will be gradually reduced in stages." It seems incredible that the new emperor is willing to make such wholesale change, even considering the difficult position that Kim Shimun put him in. And particularly at the expense of the people he's demoting. But it's official, like it or not.
In the jail: The cells are unlocked and everyone is released. Gang Jo, though, is taken away to house arrest. The others leave and immediately head across the palace complex to go to see the emperor. But Choe Wonshin, the new minister of rites, smugly informs them of their demotions. "It's what you get for being Cheonchu's pets." And he tells them they've been barred from private visits with the emperor. And with that, soldiers rudely usher them away. They don't go quietly; they scream protests in the direction of the council hall...
...and inside, the emperor hears them. His attendants Bakdol and Myeongil tell him that the men were taken away. Hyeonjong is visibly upset by all this; we can see that he doesn't support any of this business and it's not what he wanted to do. "I may be the emperor in name," he says to himself, "but there is nothing I can do." He recalls Jin Gwan counseling him that he'll need patience to grow as an emperor, and obviously this is one time where he's going to have to heed that lesson. "I'm sorry, minister Gang," he says to himself. "I'm sorry, master Choe. This is the only way I could protect you. But if I become powerful...when I become powerful...."
Back in the countryside, by Mokjong's grave: It's evening now. The soldiers need to escort Cheonchu's party to Choongju, and Yi Hyunoon wants everyone to get moving now. Cheonchu doesn't want to leave her son lying in such a shabby grave; Hyunoon tells her he'll arrange for him to be reburied later in a proper location. Sunjeong doesn't want to leave either: "I have nothing left to live for, so I will join my husband. I can't bear it anymore." Cheonchu doesn't want to hear that: "We have to live and bear witness to what happened here today." So pick yourself up and keep going.
The next morning, regular state council meeting: Gamchan and Choe Hang are protesting vehemently because the emperor has just announced his intention to marry Lady Yunheung's daughter. This is another surprise; we had seen nothing to suggest he was ever considering the idea. An intense debate ensues, easily one of the best of series. Yunheung committed treason against the previous emperor, Gamchan reminds everyone, and her father Wonsoong was executed for treason too. The weasely ministers counter that because of Mokjong's failings, he deserved to be plotted against (?!) and even argue that those treasonous episodes are in the past and should be forgotten now. Gamchan can't believe it: "Unless the past is rectified, history will repeat itself!" But the weasels have a compelling argument on their side: Princess Jeong is also the daughter of King Sungjong, and "In retrospect his reign was the most peaceful and orderly of times." It's all very entertaining, but in the end none of it really matters. Hyeonjong announces, "I will marry Lady Yunheung's daughter, so do not discuss this again." And by the way, we also learn during the meeting that Mun Inui has been named Minister of Works. He's right there in the meeting standing across from Gamchan, who protests to the emperor, "this is a man who has made a career out of betraying his masters. He cannot be made a high minister of the Imperial Court." But Hyeonjong won't debate that with anybody either.
As if seeing Mun Inui in a high minister's robe wasn't jarring enough, the next sight is so unexpected, it doesn't immediately register. The new guy we're seeing wearing the general's armor? It's Jo Sun. That's right. He's now the chief general of the imperial guards. The new minister of military Tak Sajeong introduces him to Yu Bang (now demoted to a colonel), Choe Jil and Kim Hoon (now captains), and Jo forces all of them to acknowledge his authority. Then Ji Chaemun runs in; he's just come from the north with an urgent report (about Prince Hwangju being alive). Ji is looking for Gang Jo; he has no idea about all of the changes. Minister Tak tells him he's the one who gets the reports now.
Very next scene: Tak and Jo Sun have gone right to Lady Yunheung and told her the news. "Only General Jo and I heard the report," Tak says, "and I ordered him [Ji Chaemun] not to tell anyone else." Yunheung is glad to hear it; she wants the boy killed immediately. Tak and Jo don't understand why; he's no threat to them any more. "He's a son of a traitor," she tells them; "He must be eliminated." And she wants Jo Sun to see to it personally; she doesn't trust Yang Kyu or Kim Sukheung to get it done. (I agree with Tak and Jo; this seems stupid. Yunheung is being vindictive and she's smarter than that, as we've seen repeatedly.)
Nighttime, in the woods somewhere: Goryean troops are scouting a Jurchen village. The village where the young Prince Hwangju is.
In the Jurchen village, inside a home: We see Dokyun and Chief Mobula talking as Hwangju sleeps. Mobula explains that Sa Gamun's mother (Mobula's daughter) was a Jurchen, and his father was a Shillan. "It was a lost cause to begin with," he says of the whole Shilla-revival crusade. "That's why I said no when they wanted me to join them." Interesting. As they talk, Dokyun learns that Cheonchu has left the palace; the news has made it this far north, but she hadn't heard it yet and is shocked by it. And Mobula assures her that the boy, who he believes to be Dokyun's and Sa Gamun's son Ryang, will be safe with him. Then, suddenly, a soldier runs in with news that the village is under attack by Goryeans.
Yep, it's on, a full-scale hand-to-hand battle. Mobula and Dokyun go outside to look; Ha Gongjin spots her and orders a charge on the building. But dozens of archers show up out of nowhere; they're all around the building and they and start mowing down the Goryeans. It looks like the Goryeans will have to retreat; for now they're overmatched. Dokyun, carrying Hwangju, makes it to a horse and escapes, using her spring-knife gadget to kill a lone soldier who tries to stop her. (Sorry to say, but that gadget has drifted into the physical-impossibility category. It must be spring-loaded, which limits its power, and the knives it fires are very small for weapons, yet it kills soldiers instantly. It's become ridiculous.)
The next morning: "Gatekeeper!" Cheonchu's party and the soldiers have made it to Choongju Palace. Hyunoon knocks on the door and tells the gatekeeper who he's brought here. To our surprise, and undoubtedly to Cheonchu's immense relief, the gatekeeper steps out, kneels and bows deeply at Cheonchu's feet. "Allow me to bid humble greetings, your highness." His name is Kim Jonghyun; he's the steward here. He invites them in.
Inside the palace complex: Cheonchu, Sunjeong, Yi Hyunoon and Ahn Pae are in a gazebo, with an older woman. This is Lady Choongju. She tells them all she's the granddaughter of empress dowager Shinmyeong, who was the third consort of emperor Taejo and the mother to the second and third emperors. (Note: This must be a mistake, because Hyejong (second emperor) was the son of Queen Janghwa, Taejo's second wife, and not Shinmyeong.) She also says that emperors Jeongjong (third emperor) and Gwangjong (fourth emperor) were her maternal uncles. (That one looks to be accurate.) She isn't receiving Cheonchu very kindly. "I'm aware of your disgraceful acts," she tells her. Choongju is told that Mokjong killed himself; Cheonchu can't tell her the truth because of Ahn and Yi hovering over them. "I must say you have some nerve coming here," Choongju says. Cheonchu is in no position to argue with her and has to just suck it up: "I have no excuse for what I've done. But the empress has been traumatized by these events, and in dire need of rest." Choongju isn't very warm to Sunjeong either, looking at her dismissively and saying, "She's just the wife of a fool who ruined the country and then killed himself." She tells Cheonchu she'll take them in because their grandmothers were close. "But you must practice prudence and self-restraint. Is that understood?" Yes, it's understood. So she tells Steward Kim to give Cheonchu and Sunjeong a room in the servants' quarters. Ouch. Kim is surprised and disturbed, but orders are orders. Cheonchu and Sunjeong are escorted away. Hyunoon remains behind because he has a letter to give to Choongju. It's from Lady Yunheung. Uh-oh. She opens it up and starts to read it.
Steward Kim takes Cheonchu and Sunjeong to their room and apologizes for the humble accommodations. "I have always supported your political decisions," he tells Cheonchu. So obviously she's found a friend, although not an influential one. Kim leaves, and just then Sunjeong passes out from weakness.
Goryeo royal palace: It's the wedding. A big, impressive-looking ceremony as Hyeonjong and Princess Jeong--now Empress Wonjeong--are married. Lady Yunheung is beaming, of course.
Evening, in the new empress's quarters: The queen is paid a visit by her mother. Yunheung is obviously happy, but confesses to her daughter how disappointed she was that she could never give her husband King Sungjong a male heir. If I had, she explains, I would have ended up as the regent and Cheonchu would never have attained power. "So if you don't want to follow in my footsteps, you must produce a male heir." (No pressure!) Wonjeong looks a bit flustered, but she says she'll try. Just then, the emperor's arrival is announced. So Yunheung goes outside...
...to greet him. Escort Jo, who's been snotty and annoying every time we've seen her, audaciously asks the emperor if Yunheung can move into the palace. "I don't believe that's customary," Hyeonjong answers, (clearly not enamored with the idea of the mother-in-law moving in!). Then he says rather indifferently, "Return home safely," and walks right by them without another word. This is strange, considering how warmly he greeted Yunheung when he first encountered her on the way to the palace. What gives?
Inside with his new bride, Hyeonjong is uncomfortable. How about some wine?, she suggests. No, "I was raised in a temple so I do not enjoy drinking." Then it gets interesting. Your mother, he says to her, seems to on very good terms with the ministers. "I will not hold Lady Yunheung's offenses during the previous reign against her. Whether it was my own will or not, I have already married you, and rehashing the past will benefit no one. But I will not be a puppet for those who try to manipulate me or for those who are behind them." I don't know much about those politics, she says, and then, "But I would like to take this head dress off..." (And she should, the thing is quite a contraption.) Implying she wants to take more than the headdress off. His reaction: "I was raised in a temple, and I am not used to being with a woman. I had no choice but to come here tonight, but I will be sleeping alone in my bedchambers starting tomorrow. Please go to bed first. I have much to contemplate, so I won't be going to bed." (Oooh, you smooth talker. A real way with the ladies!) Jeong never expected any of this and is speechless.
Gang Jo is at home under house arrest. He's drinking heavily again. Gamchan, Choe Hang and Dae Dosu come to visit him. They tell him of all the reversals and changes in the court. We even learn that Dae Dosu, while still a general, has no soldiers to command. "What has been happening is not the emperor's will, Gamchan says. "Men around him are coercing him with pressure and intimidation. And he doesn't have a single good man on his side." Gamchan then tells him to snap out of it, but Jo asks what good it would do. "It's over. It's over for Goryeo. And I've lost all hope and all desire. So I'll just drink my days away."
Choongju Palace: "Keep them locked up, my lady?" Lady Choongju tells steward Kim that everybody in Cheonchu's party, even the servants, are to be kept locked up. Like prisoners under house arrest.
Cheonchu is trying to get Sunjeong to eat, but Sunjeong won't. "I think I'd rather join his majesty than endure the scorn." Which irritates Cheonchu: "That again? I need you to be strong for me. Do you think you're the only one in pain?" Sunjeong suspects that her husband didn't kill himself--not when he was finally out of the palace and happy at last. Cheonchu confirms that he was murdered, and says she couldn't make trouble about it "because if I did, they would have killed you as well. How could I face the emperor in the next world if I had let them kill you as well?" This is awfully tough for Sunjeong to hear and she turns into a sobbing mess. But Cheonchu presses her: "Now open your mouth. You have to eat. We have to survive to avenge the emperor's death." And at that, she does start to eat a little.
We see General Jo Sun on horseback, heading north and accompanied by subordinates. Next we see him meeting with Yang Kyu and Kim Sukheung, angry because their troops were unable to capture Dokyun or Prince Hwangju. He chews them out: "This is an outrage! You've let a criminal of high treason get away because you couldn't defeat a mob of barbarians?" Yang has to respond to him: "It is true that they failed the mission, but defeat is at times unavoidable depending on the strength of the enemy." Jo doesn't want to listen to reason, though. And he takes pleasure in informing Yang and Kim that they've been demoted. Yang Kyu is now a duty officer of the Ministry of Punishments, and Kim Sukheung is now a colonel. "This is not a reflection of your job performance," he explains; "It is the new emperor's intent to trim down a bloated military." The now-former generals remind him about the threat of Khitan invasion, but Jo angrily calls it "an invasion that's never going to happen" and is only concerned about capturing Cheonchu's son.
Liao imperial palace: Dokyun arrives on the horse! Wow, gutsy of her to head back to the homeland she was pressured into betraying. Su No happens to be at the gate. Dokyun demands to see the prime minister.
Emperor Shengzong and Prime Minister Han are at Empress Dowager Chengtian's bedside. Chengtian looks and sounds extremely weak (which is weird because her skin is perfect! Gotta love TV). They discuss Dokyun's report that Cheonchu has left power. (So obviously Dokyun did get to see Han.) Chengtian reflects, "She and I must have a karmic connection for her to have left her position of power when I am about to leave this life...I had felt a special bond with her for having been through so much of the same ups and downs in life." Her son begs her not to talk like that, but "No, I am at my end. Ever-changing are the hands of power, and no flower can stay in bloom for..." Now she's coughing and a bit of blood is coming up (the universal sign of severe illness in these shows, of course). She shouldn't be talking, but she tells her son, "Follow Prime Minister's guidance when I'm gone. Cast off your ambition to conquer Goryeo. Do you understand?" Awkward silence. "Answer me, Emperor." "Yes, mother. I will." And then she says to Han, "My life was worth living because I had you. You were the best man I ever met in every way. You brought prosperity to the empire and joy to my life. You brought me joy as well. Please guide the emperor well. I'm sorry I could not be with you to the end." Now she's weakening and drifting away. "The wind...I miss the wind of the open prairie...We've come such a long way...." and with that, she fades out and dies.
We see generals and officials outside in the palace yard, kneeling and weeping. Narration tells us,
The Empress Dowager of Liao died on the same year Mokjong was killed and Empress Dowager Cheonchu fell from power. Having been a regent for her grown son for 27 years, she is considered the most successful woman in all of East Asian history. But her death would unleash Shengzong's repressed ambition to conquer Goryeo.We see Shengzong come outside and look over the mourners. He shows a hint of a sinister smile.
Liao state council meeting: "Goryeo's Empress Dowager Cheonchu has finally left her position of power. This is a sign from Heaven," Shengzong proclaims. "We will attack Goryeo with full force once the mourning comes to an end, so get ready." Prime Minister Han begs him to remember his mother's last words, but Shengzong shushes him: "This is the chance I have been waiting for!" Han presses, asking him to at least wait three years until inevitable weakness appears in the Goryean military, but Shengzong has heard such talk from him before and angrily tells him to shut his mouth. But Han won't, so Shengzong orders him hauled away for medical treatment because he's apparently becoming hard of hearing (which is pretty funny for a sour-looking emperor). As Han is dragged away he begs Shengzong to wait even one year: "There could be a cataclysmic change in that time, your majesty!" But once Han is gone from the room, Shengzong grumbles, "I am the one who will bring about the cataclysmic change. Prime Minister will never join us here again. Does anyone else object?" After that, who's going to object?
Back at the Goryeo military camp: Jo Sun is pacing back and forth, angry at Yang Kyu that there's no word of success yet from what apparently is another attempt to capture Dokyun and Prince Hwangju. Yang explains that they're going up against the strongest of all the eastern Jurchen tribes, and on their own land, but Jo dismisses that as excuses. "And you call yourselves the best of Goryeo? You are incompetent!" But then Kim Sukheung runs in with some news: A massive Khitan military force is headed in this direction. How big? "The report said they covered the field as far as the eyes can see."
We see the army. Yep, it's a whopper. Shengzong himself is in the middle of it, riding in a carriage in armor. He did say previously that he was going to command the invasion personally.
We see Jo Sun galloping on horseback into the Goryeo palace with the news.
State council meeting: "Is this true? The Khitan have invaded our borders?" The emperor has gotten the word. The idiot ministers stand there speechless, their jaws dropped and mouths open. And yes, it's true; the army is in Liaodong territory already and it's 400,000 strong.
Outside Gang Jo's house: Yu Bang is trying to get in to see Jo; guards refuse him admittance. But Jo comes outside and Yu tells him the Khitans are coming. "It's a huge army, ten times the size of the invading force we fought twenty years ago." Suddenly we see fire in Jo's eyes: "At last...At last they're here!"