Post by ajk on Sept 14, 2012 21:02:30 GMT -5
Deokman is really going to disregard her dead sister's last request? "Thinking about me got her killed," Deokman tells Yushin, and now I'm just supposed to forget that? "Any happiness I might have found is gone." It's a good point, actually. But at the moment both of them are too understandably traumatized by it all to even think clearly.
We see Cheonmyeong's casket being led through the capital. The local population lines the streets and pays their respects. They seem to be genuinely sad. They must have liked her.
A VERY tense moment as the queen, so shattered that she needs to be propped up as she walks, and her retinue turn a corner and encounter Mishil and her own retinue. Suddenly there's fire in Maya's eyes and she looks half ready to launch herself at Mishil's throat! Mishil tries to offer some consoling words, and seems to be sincere about them, and so does Sejong, but an infuriated queen screams at them, "DIE!" Jaws drop. "You'll die! You'll lose everything; have it ripped from you." The guilt will eat away at you, she shouts, "And you'll end up a living corpse. When you die, no one will hear you scream." (Okay, now that's straight from "Alien.") She's shrieking now and almost out of her mind. "Your name will disappear. It will be like you never existed!" And with that she passes out. All Mishil can do is stand there and take it.
Yushin and Deokman are back in the cave, before a small fire. Yushin says he agrees, about not being able to get past this, but says they should still heed her wishes. "I'm staying in Shilla," Deokman says with quiet determination. And what about her life being in danger? She doesn't care, and even has a wildly bold objective: "Shilla will be mine." Huh? What? Yushin looks at her like she's nuts. "A country where this kind of thing could happen deserves to be turned upside down." And I'll ruin Mishil if that's what it takes. Awfully big talk...Time passes, and as it does we see the two of them sitting and thinking quietly, first inside and then outside of the cave, and maybe healing a little inside as day turns to night. Eventually Yushin dozes off...and when he wakes up, Deokman isn't there. It's morning and she's decided to head for Seorabeol (and didn't even say good-bye? Rude). But she's not alone--look who's back! The weird guy. Weird as ever--but sensibly asks her why she's going there when she's in such danger with everybody looking for her. Deokman simply looks at him and asks, "You want to come along?" With his goofy grin he asks back, "What's the plan?"
Yushin runs out of the cave and looks around; no sign of Deokman. And he's worried because her bizarre words about taking over Shilla are echoing in his mind....
The weird guy laughs like only a weird guy can. She must have just told him what she told Yushin. She glares at him, serious as can be, and tells him, "If you're serious then meet me at the Kwanhun Inn in the capital. Either that or say goodbye now." And she marches right on past him. He shouts at her, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Which must be a very high bar to clear...but she ignores him.
So he heads back to his village. He encounters some villagers gossiping about the death of the princess and what may be happening in the palace. He can't resist himself; tells them he was there when Cheonmyeong died. They want to hear more and he eagerly jumps into the group...but who's that over there? Munno! Spots the gathering and orders Bidam to come with him.
They go to a quiet room where Munno is staying. Munno wants to know what happened to him. He reminds him, I helped you get that boat for those people who came to our village; what are you doing at the village market? He's skeptical that Bidam actually tried to help someone else, but Bidam assures him that he did, or at least tried to. "We're leaving the village," Munno tells him. "Get ready." Munno thinks back...to a sequence we haven't seen before; after he and Sohwa and the infant princess escape from Chilsuk in Episode 3. He tells Sohwa he's arranged for a boat to take her to Hangju (which I believe is far to the northwest, near the mouth of the Han River), and that a man named Kim Dolok who's in the local Shillan community will help her and the baby. Hands her a letter of introduction. "Stay there until I come for you," he instructs her. "This child is the future of Shilla," he says; "look after her." And as he does, a toddler-age boy toddles into the scene and pats the infant. Naahh...is it? Yes it is! "Bidam, isn't she a pretty little thing?"...his tone softening now, Munno encourages Bidam to tell him what happened and why he tried to help them. "Because I felt bad for them, I guess." Munno sees and hears a genuine concern in Bidam, who wants to help the Hwarang and the trainee and asks Munno's permission to. Munno shows almost a sense of pride at seeing Bidam maturing. Fine, Munno says; "I'll leave an encrypted message in Amho," he says; "Do what you can for them and join me later."
The funeral is over, we learn. (A shame we didn't get to see it!) Six Hwarang led by Alcheon are purposefully striding towards the royal palace...Alcheon is dressed in woman's makeup, which we learned in Episode 1 is a Hwarang symbolism reserved only for the most serious, dire of situations. Guards stop the six at the front steps. So they drop to their knees-- Goksaheun and Daepung are there (the two DFers we've seen more of lately), along with Alcheon's subordinate from before and two more of his subordinates. Alcheon shouts loudly in protest to the king that he must not let Cheonmyeong's death go uninvestigated and unpunished. Quickly this starts to draw a crowd.
The king is inside, watching over his unconscious wife. Yongchun tells him what's going on outside, Alcheon's demands and all. "And he's prepared to die?", Jinpyeong asks, suppressing his anger.
Mishil has heard about this too, and she and Seolwon and Sejong are plotting something already. Disperse the crowd and isolate Alcheon from the other Hwarang...and summon Eulje, Seohyeon, Yongchun and Hajong. Oh dear, what's this about?
Whatever, we see that those four have been summoned, and while Alcheon continues to shout from outside, the group is inside meeting with the king. I've been so grief-stricken, Mishil tells him, that I haven't acted yet. "But now a brave Hwarang has stepped forward to demand justice." Ah, so she's using this as spin material. Hajong can see what's coming and smirks to himself. "Grant me permission to uncover the truth of this matter." Now the king can't possibly be that dumb, can he? He looks at her, as Alcheon's protests continue from outside.
Elsewhere outside, Imjong encounters Seokpum, who challenges him about why he and Cheonmyeong were up in Iseo Province. It was to find the twin princess, wasn't it? Dukchung and Bakui are there (the two other elite Hwarang who we've seen recently and who are on Mishil's side) and this is entirely news to them--"The king had twins?" (Clearly this twin business is in danger of spinning out of control.) Bojong snidely asks Imjong if he was up there to kill the twin. Imjong can only stand there silently.
Back inside, now it's all starting to unfold and Mishil's playing it very shrewdly. She tells the king that she believes Seohyeon and Imjong went to Iseo under orders to kill Deokman. She smiles like the cat with the canary: "Isn't that so...Eulje?" Yikes! "Be careful what you say," Eulje fires back; first you cause that trouble in the Council and now you throw around idle speculation? Now the two factions throw insinuations back and forth at each other about who was where, when, and who knew what, when, while Jinpyeong sits there looking annoyed. Then Mishil asks for his command: "Shall I find the princess' killer?" I will, "But remember, it will come out that the princess was looking for her twin sister." Wow--damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Now, remember that the King was able to read between the lines and know that Eulje had given orders to kill Deokman, so he can certainly see how this all could come back and crash down on him...he thinks, and thinks, and then finally: "Cheonmyeong's death...was an accident." As visibly painful as it is for him, he has to let his own daughter's death go unpunished. Fine, Mishil says; "and we won't burden you with any more Council meetings regarding the twins." Wow. Obviously it's what he had to do to protect his rule and his wife, but wow.
Seolwon leaves the meeting to step outside and give the news to Alcheon, and to tell him to shut up now and go away or else. Alcheon is furious and starts shouting all the louder, and now the other five Hwarang join in too.
Later, Seolwon tells Mishil that he sent Daenambo with the envoy to bring Chunchu back (so I guess they sent an envoy). "And the other two?" Meaning, Misaeng and Seori. The dismay in her voice isn't hard to miss. Being detained, Seolwon tells her.
"Bottoms up." Mishil goes to see her brother, who's at the royal shrine. He's tied up. She puts a small bottle into his hands and removes the cork. Misaeng asks for compassion--You're really going to poison your baby brother? What a comeback: "I abandoned my own baby. What's one brother more or less?" Got you there, dude. "I won't stand for disobedience," she tells him, actually gleeful and smiling broadly--that smile you don't ever want to see on her. But the smile vanishes as soon as he tries to weasel out of it and blame it all on Seori. Now she's screaming mad at him. The astrological baloney he's repeating, we know she doesn't buy it. And she reminds him, "Do you know how much we lost when the princess died?" Misaeng can't argue...but suddenly remembers something: Wolchun the monk told him that a solar eclipse is coming. "Predict a solar eclipse and you can get anything you want." Don't know if that's true or not, but she's reacting like it is--solar eclipses are very rare and very difficult to predict and place accurately. Misaeng is convinced that Wolchun can nail this (or at least he's selling it to save his own neck) and Mishil is visibly intrigued by this new possibility. He tells her he needs her to help make this work, and "give me another chance and I'll never play the fool again." Not sure he was playing! But this just may have saved his neck. She stares at him....
"Why did you do it?" Now Mishil is confronting Seori, who isn't tied up but is sitting in the main prayer room. "You and I built Shilla into what it is" with your star-reading. Yes, Seori says..."But you've changed." And warns her, "Heaven can be quite fickle. The mandate of Heaven waits for no one." Which triggers something in Mishil's mind...Flashback to her last confrontation with Cheonmyeong in Episode 22, after the Council meeting, and Cheonmyeong saying the same two sentences to her, word for word...Now there's that smile on Mishil's face again. "Heaven revokes its mandate from those who don't fear it,' Seori warns. So, Mishil asks, you're saying I no longer have it? Seori looks right at her, with an earnestness that wipes the smile off her face and genuinely rattles her. "Please don't toy with the Heavens." Mishil composes herself, and now the smile is back. "You might want to reconsider your position," she answers, and places another little bottle full of joy on a table between them.
Looking utterly crushed and disillusioned, Alcheon goes off outside the capital by himself. He's just outside the city wall, in a wooded area--maybe near where the princess lies?--and kneels several times to show reverence. And then takes out a dagger. Good heavens, he holds it high in the air, ready to plunge into his own heart! But someone walks by and interrupts him....
Friction within Mishil's cabal, with Sejong and Hajong holding Seolwon responsible for screwing up their reveal-the-twins plan. Mishil enters and puts a stop to it. She's not even worried. "The truth about the twins will come out without us doing a thing." Really? She's certain that Deokman simply won't be able to resist coming back to Seorabeol on her own.
She's right. Look who interrupted Alcheon--it's Deokman. Not wearing the Hwarang uniform, just a plain outfit and a head scarf. (This could well be it for DeokMAN.) "Stand back," Alcheon warns her; "this has nothing to do with you." Deokman gives him some lip about her own family not acknowledging her and how she doesn't want disrespect from him too. Kind of unfocused, but it gets him to pull back the knife and stand up. "I'll survive to be crowned princess," she tells him, "and when I do, I'll be your leader." She glares at him. "So I need you alive." Alcheon is still haunted by self-imposed blame for failing to prevent Cheonmyeong's death, but she tells him to live with that and let the anger motivate him. "That's an order from the leader of the Hwarang," she says with absolute confidence. Come on...but he thinks about it and accepts it, and even kneels before her. Awfully fast mood swing for somebody who was about to kill himself...but then, he probably hasn't had time to come to terms with it all.
The king is staring at his still-unconscious wife, silently imploring her to get up. Eulje arrives with Yongchun, to encourage the king to keep his strength up and think about naming a successor. The grief the nation is feeling over Cheonmyeong's loss, "You can use that to have Chunchu crowned heir apparent." The king only glares. Eulje tries to continue, but the king cuts him off. "You are divested of title and rank." Doink! "Your name is stricken from the Register of Nobles." Eulje is surprisingly calm, like he isn't surprised by this. I don't doubt your loyalty, Jinpyeong tells him, or your motives. "I may even agree with what you did." Wow--so what's the problem? "But I can't stand the sight of you." Ah. "The queen is dying and the house is crumbling," he says (and we didn't know the queen was dying so there's a piece of news). Yongchun begs the king to forgive Eulje, but Eulje simply kneels and bows before his king, and silently leaves. Takes it like a man, give him credit for that. Maybe he thinks it will blow over--but now he's silently asking King Jinheung for forgiveness, for not protecting his legacy. So I guess he's serious. As he leaves, Jinpyeong watches him walk away...and then shortly later, now outside with his retinue, he staggers a little while walking, apparently overcome at the loss of his longtime confidant and advisor. He quickly rights himself....and then turns to see Alcheon standing there. Alcheon has brought him a letter.
He goes inside and reads it. It's from Deokman. His eyes widen....
Now Alcheon goes to seek audience with the queen. Her attendants tell him he can't right now, but he's awfully insistent....
Nighttime: Yushin has returned to the capital, looking for Deokman. He finds Alcheon. "She's up to something; I have to find her." Yeah, she sure is.
"Will you serve me?" Now THIS should be good. Deokman has met the weird guy at that inn she told him to go to. He's very nonchalant, of course. "Well, I wanna see what you can do." She haughtily reminds him to be respectful because she's a Shillan princess. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Really--what kind of an answer do you expect out of a weird guy? "Shilla..." he stares off into space..."not a whole lot." So you don't feel any fear, she says, is that it? Not even of a king? "I don't know what fear is--what's to feel?" Fine, she says; until I tell you otherwise, you can continue to address me informally. (Yeah, I'm sure he cares about that.) "And you're sure you won't be scared of anyone?" No problem there. But now Yushin barges in on them. Surprising them both, and leaving Deokman awfully silent for someone who's been flashing so much attitude.
He takes her outside and wants to know what she's up to. "You know I'm with you, life or death," he tells her. She won't talk...but he warns her that whatever she's doing, it isn't safe here in the capital. She won't leave, though, and tells him, "I'm not sure if I can stand to work with you or not." Now what the heck has gotten into her? "You'll never be able to touch my hair again. You'll never be able to call my name again." etc etc a we-can't-be-in-love thing, with teary eyes and all. So THAT'S what's gotten into her. (Funny, we haven't seen anything to suggest any evidence of that kind of romance.) And she walks away, leaving him standing there with the same miserable look on his face that so inspired the dying Cheonmyeong. What is it with this guy....
Next morning: Hey, the queen is up and about--great to see. In fact, she wants to go to the royal shrine and his headed there, retinue and all. The king finds her and wants her to go back to bed, but she won't. "I missed Cheonmyeong's funeral," she tells him. "I should perform a memorial service. I have to see that Cheonmyeong's soul enters Heaven." Well, what can he say to that. So he lets her go. She's being propped up lightly as she walks on, so obviously she really was seriously ill.
Maya arrives at the shrine, goes inside and asks for Seori. The lead attendant tells her that Seori "is taken ill." Fine, Maya says; I'll do the memorial service myself, with my attendants. So the attendants escort her into the main prayer room, and then leave her. That is, all but one of them, who kneels behind her. Kneeling and facing forward, Maya oddly asks, "Why have you come back?" Wait a minute, that attendant--it's Deokman! "I heard you're ill." The queen is being torn in so many directions and you can see it breaking her. "Deokman...my baby." Deokman tells her that she needs to "get into the lower level of the shrine that the princess found." What for? "There's something I need to know." Still facing forward, Maya is in tears. "Am I going to lose you too?"
In another room in the shrine, there's Seori sitting by herself. She's not ill--not yet--but she's holding the bottle of poison that Mishil gave her. And thinking about what she'll do. Suddenly she hears footsteps...but then silence. Wait, now an attendant enters, and lifts up her face. It's Deokman. Seori stands, amazed at Deokman's audacity--and Deokman puts a knife to her throat! Deokman looks around. "You use this secret place to deceive the people," she accuses. "To exploit their fears in the name of heaven. You don't deserve to be high priestess." Seori just stares at her, almost amused and clearly not rattled in the least. But as she does, suddenly her vision blurs, and in the next moment she sees Deokman wearing the Shillan crown! Just for a moment, but it's enough to wipe the smug off her face. "Who's using the Daemyung almanac?", Deokman demands. So that's what she wants...and it's a good want. Very wise. "Who's using it and where is he?" But Seori's mind is whirling, revisiting the whole exploding-star prophecy and realizing from her vision a moment ago that Deokman is the prophesied one. And it's hitting her very hard...Just then, the sound of footsteps! Uh-oh, whoever it is, it's someone who knows about this place and won't be friendly to Deokman, to say the least. She's trapped and they both know it. But Seori grabs her arm and tells her, "Hide behind the screen." What's this? "Quick!" Are you kidding? Well, what choice does Deokman have, so she does. And yikes, it's Mishil.
Mishil enters and sits. "This is your last chance. Will you do as I ask?" Staying remarkably composed--remarkably--Seori slowly turns and looks at her. "I have a last chance for you, too. Kill the lost twin the second you find her." This utterly confuses Deokman, listening behind the screen. "You have the power to do it...but it is not your destiny to become queen." Oh, that answer is not gonna go over well..."WHAT? You dare talk to me about MY destiny? You dare?" But Seori merely nods, calm and composed. She sighs and looks away. "I suppose the time of the Heavens is finally past." Looks back at Mishil. "But I don't think I care to witness it myself." And then reaches for the bottle, and downs the poison! Good heavens! "Now," Seori says weakly, blood starting to trickle from her mouth, "the only person who can help you is Abbott Wolchun at Hwaduk Temple. He's the only one who can interpret the almanac." Which Mishil already knows, of course, but she's not saying it for Mishil's benefit. With her last words she's telling Deokman. "Remember...Hwaduk Temple...Abbott Wolchun...." Plop. Dead. Misaeng happens to enter and runs to her aid, but no chance. "This is awful," Misaeng tells his sister, in a near-panic at the loss of their crucial ally. But Mishil merely stands up and leaves, looking completely unconcerned. Deokman, listening to all this behind the screen, can only shake her head.
Misaeng catches up to Mishil, who's completely unaffected by Seori's death and is more concerned about the upcoming solar eclipse. Take me to Wolchun, she tells her brother. They leave, and with the coast now clear Deokman slowly creeps out of her hiding place and leaves.
Yushin and Alcheon are walking up a capital street..and then suddenly scatter, in opposite directions! And in the next moment, six Hwarang turn a corner; they obviously were tailing the pair. But not anymore. They have to report back to an annoyed Bojong that they've lost them.
Hey, it's Three's Company again. Yushin, Deokman and the weird guy are all sitting in a cave somewhere; a small fire is going and illuminates the awkward looks between Deokman and Yushin. "We're going to Hwaduk Temple," Deokman tells Bidam. "We have to get someone."
Outside of Hwaduk Temple: What's this--a bunch of guys dressed in black have snuck up near the perimeter and are scouting it. "We attack tonight," their leader says. He's identified as Wolya; his apparent #2 is Seolji. "Our target is Wolchun." (Seolji, we've seen him before: in Episode 6, as the leader of the Gayan refugee camp where Deokman and Cheonmyeong ended up. So these guys must be Gayans.) Boy, Wolchun is going to have a full dance card tonight....
Inside, we see Wolchun. He's in the room where Sohwa, Jukbang and Godo are being kept. He's still trying to treat Sohwa, and apparently not having much luck. Meanwhile Jukbang and Godo are moaning at him about being handcuffed.
Wait--now it's Four's a Crowd. Alcheon is in the cave too. "We're taking Abbott Wolchun." That's how we take Mishil's power, Deokman says. "And then we destroy her." Even the weird guy seems sort of impressed at that. But Yushin is suspicious: "And then what? What are you really after?"...Flashback to the king reading the rest of Deokman's letter to him. None of you want me back, Deokman tells him, but I'm back anyway, and I'm a princess of Shilla....then more of her conversation with the queen in the shrine: "I plan to make it so I can live in Shilla. So I can be your daughter."...then more of her conversation with the weird guy back in the countryside, earlier: "I plan to make Shilla mine."...Yushin keeps pressing her, unsuccessfully. "What is your ultimate goal? What do you want?" Finally she spills it. "To rule." Shocked looks from the two Hwarang, and then the goofy grin from the weird guy that guarantees he'll have fun with this. Deokman hammers it home: "I'm going to be queen of Shilla. And I'll do it the same way Mishil did."
We see Cheonmyeong's casket being led through the capital. The local population lines the streets and pays their respects. They seem to be genuinely sad. They must have liked her.
A VERY tense moment as the queen, so shattered that she needs to be propped up as she walks, and her retinue turn a corner and encounter Mishil and her own retinue. Suddenly there's fire in Maya's eyes and she looks half ready to launch herself at Mishil's throat! Mishil tries to offer some consoling words, and seems to be sincere about them, and so does Sejong, but an infuriated queen screams at them, "DIE!" Jaws drop. "You'll die! You'll lose everything; have it ripped from you." The guilt will eat away at you, she shouts, "And you'll end up a living corpse. When you die, no one will hear you scream." (Okay, now that's straight from "Alien.") She's shrieking now and almost out of her mind. "Your name will disappear. It will be like you never existed!" And with that she passes out. All Mishil can do is stand there and take it.
Yushin and Deokman are back in the cave, before a small fire. Yushin says he agrees, about not being able to get past this, but says they should still heed her wishes. "I'm staying in Shilla," Deokman says with quiet determination. And what about her life being in danger? She doesn't care, and even has a wildly bold objective: "Shilla will be mine." Huh? What? Yushin looks at her like she's nuts. "A country where this kind of thing could happen deserves to be turned upside down." And I'll ruin Mishil if that's what it takes. Awfully big talk...Time passes, and as it does we see the two of them sitting and thinking quietly, first inside and then outside of the cave, and maybe healing a little inside as day turns to night. Eventually Yushin dozes off...and when he wakes up, Deokman isn't there. It's morning and she's decided to head for Seorabeol (and didn't even say good-bye? Rude). But she's not alone--look who's back! The weird guy. Weird as ever--but sensibly asks her why she's going there when she's in such danger with everybody looking for her. Deokman simply looks at him and asks, "You want to come along?" With his goofy grin he asks back, "What's the plan?"
Yushin runs out of the cave and looks around; no sign of Deokman. And he's worried because her bizarre words about taking over Shilla are echoing in his mind....
The weird guy laughs like only a weird guy can. She must have just told him what she told Yushin. She glares at him, serious as can be, and tells him, "If you're serious then meet me at the Kwanhun Inn in the capital. Either that or say goodbye now." And she marches right on past him. He shouts at her, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Which must be a very high bar to clear...but she ignores him.
So he heads back to his village. He encounters some villagers gossiping about the death of the princess and what may be happening in the palace. He can't resist himself; tells them he was there when Cheonmyeong died. They want to hear more and he eagerly jumps into the group...but who's that over there? Munno! Spots the gathering and orders Bidam to come with him.
They go to a quiet room where Munno is staying. Munno wants to know what happened to him. He reminds him, I helped you get that boat for those people who came to our village; what are you doing at the village market? He's skeptical that Bidam actually tried to help someone else, but Bidam assures him that he did, or at least tried to. "We're leaving the village," Munno tells him. "Get ready." Munno thinks back...to a sequence we haven't seen before; after he and Sohwa and the infant princess escape from Chilsuk in Episode 3. He tells Sohwa he's arranged for a boat to take her to Hangju (which I believe is far to the northwest, near the mouth of the Han River), and that a man named Kim Dolok who's in the local Shillan community will help her and the baby. Hands her a letter of introduction. "Stay there until I come for you," he instructs her. "This child is the future of Shilla," he says; "look after her." And as he does, a toddler-age boy toddles into the scene and pats the infant. Naahh...is it? Yes it is! "Bidam, isn't she a pretty little thing?"...his tone softening now, Munno encourages Bidam to tell him what happened and why he tried to help them. "Because I felt bad for them, I guess." Munno sees and hears a genuine concern in Bidam, who wants to help the Hwarang and the trainee and asks Munno's permission to. Munno shows almost a sense of pride at seeing Bidam maturing. Fine, Munno says; "I'll leave an encrypted message in Amho," he says; "Do what you can for them and join me later."
The funeral is over, we learn. (A shame we didn't get to see it!) Six Hwarang led by Alcheon are purposefully striding towards the royal palace...Alcheon is dressed in woman's makeup, which we learned in Episode 1 is a Hwarang symbolism reserved only for the most serious, dire of situations. Guards stop the six at the front steps. So they drop to their knees-- Goksaheun and Daepung are there (the two DFers we've seen more of lately), along with Alcheon's subordinate from before and two more of his subordinates. Alcheon shouts loudly in protest to the king that he must not let Cheonmyeong's death go uninvestigated and unpunished. Quickly this starts to draw a crowd.
The king is inside, watching over his unconscious wife. Yongchun tells him what's going on outside, Alcheon's demands and all. "And he's prepared to die?", Jinpyeong asks, suppressing his anger.
Mishil has heard about this too, and she and Seolwon and Sejong are plotting something already. Disperse the crowd and isolate Alcheon from the other Hwarang...and summon Eulje, Seohyeon, Yongchun and Hajong. Oh dear, what's this about?
Whatever, we see that those four have been summoned, and while Alcheon continues to shout from outside, the group is inside meeting with the king. I've been so grief-stricken, Mishil tells him, that I haven't acted yet. "But now a brave Hwarang has stepped forward to demand justice." Ah, so she's using this as spin material. Hajong can see what's coming and smirks to himself. "Grant me permission to uncover the truth of this matter." Now the king can't possibly be that dumb, can he? He looks at her, as Alcheon's protests continue from outside.
Elsewhere outside, Imjong encounters Seokpum, who challenges him about why he and Cheonmyeong were up in Iseo Province. It was to find the twin princess, wasn't it? Dukchung and Bakui are there (the two other elite Hwarang who we've seen recently and who are on Mishil's side) and this is entirely news to them--"The king had twins?" (Clearly this twin business is in danger of spinning out of control.) Bojong snidely asks Imjong if he was up there to kill the twin. Imjong can only stand there silently.
Back inside, now it's all starting to unfold and Mishil's playing it very shrewdly. She tells the king that she believes Seohyeon and Imjong went to Iseo under orders to kill Deokman. She smiles like the cat with the canary: "Isn't that so...Eulje?" Yikes! "Be careful what you say," Eulje fires back; first you cause that trouble in the Council and now you throw around idle speculation? Now the two factions throw insinuations back and forth at each other about who was where, when, and who knew what, when, while Jinpyeong sits there looking annoyed. Then Mishil asks for his command: "Shall I find the princess' killer?" I will, "But remember, it will come out that the princess was looking for her twin sister." Wow--damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Now, remember that the King was able to read between the lines and know that Eulje had given orders to kill Deokman, so he can certainly see how this all could come back and crash down on him...he thinks, and thinks, and then finally: "Cheonmyeong's death...was an accident." As visibly painful as it is for him, he has to let his own daughter's death go unpunished. Fine, Mishil says; "and we won't burden you with any more Council meetings regarding the twins." Wow. Obviously it's what he had to do to protect his rule and his wife, but wow.
Seolwon leaves the meeting to step outside and give the news to Alcheon, and to tell him to shut up now and go away or else. Alcheon is furious and starts shouting all the louder, and now the other five Hwarang join in too.
Later, Seolwon tells Mishil that he sent Daenambo with the envoy to bring Chunchu back (so I guess they sent an envoy). "And the other two?" Meaning, Misaeng and Seori. The dismay in her voice isn't hard to miss. Being detained, Seolwon tells her.
"Bottoms up." Mishil goes to see her brother, who's at the royal shrine. He's tied up. She puts a small bottle into his hands and removes the cork. Misaeng asks for compassion--You're really going to poison your baby brother? What a comeback: "I abandoned my own baby. What's one brother more or less?" Got you there, dude. "I won't stand for disobedience," she tells him, actually gleeful and smiling broadly--that smile you don't ever want to see on her. But the smile vanishes as soon as he tries to weasel out of it and blame it all on Seori. Now she's screaming mad at him. The astrological baloney he's repeating, we know she doesn't buy it. And she reminds him, "Do you know how much we lost when the princess died?" Misaeng can't argue...but suddenly remembers something: Wolchun the monk told him that a solar eclipse is coming. "Predict a solar eclipse and you can get anything you want." Don't know if that's true or not, but she's reacting like it is--solar eclipses are very rare and very difficult to predict and place accurately. Misaeng is convinced that Wolchun can nail this (or at least he's selling it to save his own neck) and Mishil is visibly intrigued by this new possibility. He tells her he needs her to help make this work, and "give me another chance and I'll never play the fool again." Not sure he was playing! But this just may have saved his neck. She stares at him....
"Why did you do it?" Now Mishil is confronting Seori, who isn't tied up but is sitting in the main prayer room. "You and I built Shilla into what it is" with your star-reading. Yes, Seori says..."But you've changed." And warns her, "Heaven can be quite fickle. The mandate of Heaven waits for no one." Which triggers something in Mishil's mind...Flashback to her last confrontation with Cheonmyeong in Episode 22, after the Council meeting, and Cheonmyeong saying the same two sentences to her, word for word...Now there's that smile on Mishil's face again. "Heaven revokes its mandate from those who don't fear it,' Seori warns. So, Mishil asks, you're saying I no longer have it? Seori looks right at her, with an earnestness that wipes the smile off her face and genuinely rattles her. "Please don't toy with the Heavens." Mishil composes herself, and now the smile is back. "You might want to reconsider your position," she answers, and places another little bottle full of joy on a table between them.
Looking utterly crushed and disillusioned, Alcheon goes off outside the capital by himself. He's just outside the city wall, in a wooded area--maybe near where the princess lies?--and kneels several times to show reverence. And then takes out a dagger. Good heavens, he holds it high in the air, ready to plunge into his own heart! But someone walks by and interrupts him....
Friction within Mishil's cabal, with Sejong and Hajong holding Seolwon responsible for screwing up their reveal-the-twins plan. Mishil enters and puts a stop to it. She's not even worried. "The truth about the twins will come out without us doing a thing." Really? She's certain that Deokman simply won't be able to resist coming back to Seorabeol on her own.
She's right. Look who interrupted Alcheon--it's Deokman. Not wearing the Hwarang uniform, just a plain outfit and a head scarf. (This could well be it for DeokMAN.) "Stand back," Alcheon warns her; "this has nothing to do with you." Deokman gives him some lip about her own family not acknowledging her and how she doesn't want disrespect from him too. Kind of unfocused, but it gets him to pull back the knife and stand up. "I'll survive to be crowned princess," she tells him, "and when I do, I'll be your leader." She glares at him. "So I need you alive." Alcheon is still haunted by self-imposed blame for failing to prevent Cheonmyeong's death, but she tells him to live with that and let the anger motivate him. "That's an order from the leader of the Hwarang," she says with absolute confidence. Come on...but he thinks about it and accepts it, and even kneels before her. Awfully fast mood swing for somebody who was about to kill himself...but then, he probably hasn't had time to come to terms with it all.
The king is staring at his still-unconscious wife, silently imploring her to get up. Eulje arrives with Yongchun, to encourage the king to keep his strength up and think about naming a successor. The grief the nation is feeling over Cheonmyeong's loss, "You can use that to have Chunchu crowned heir apparent." The king only glares. Eulje tries to continue, but the king cuts him off. "You are divested of title and rank." Doink! "Your name is stricken from the Register of Nobles." Eulje is surprisingly calm, like he isn't surprised by this. I don't doubt your loyalty, Jinpyeong tells him, or your motives. "I may even agree with what you did." Wow--so what's the problem? "But I can't stand the sight of you." Ah. "The queen is dying and the house is crumbling," he says (and we didn't know the queen was dying so there's a piece of news). Yongchun begs the king to forgive Eulje, but Eulje simply kneels and bows before his king, and silently leaves. Takes it like a man, give him credit for that. Maybe he thinks it will blow over--but now he's silently asking King Jinheung for forgiveness, for not protecting his legacy. So I guess he's serious. As he leaves, Jinpyeong watches him walk away...and then shortly later, now outside with his retinue, he staggers a little while walking, apparently overcome at the loss of his longtime confidant and advisor. He quickly rights himself....and then turns to see Alcheon standing there. Alcheon has brought him a letter.
He goes inside and reads it. It's from Deokman. His eyes widen....
Now Alcheon goes to seek audience with the queen. Her attendants tell him he can't right now, but he's awfully insistent....
Nighttime: Yushin has returned to the capital, looking for Deokman. He finds Alcheon. "She's up to something; I have to find her." Yeah, she sure is.
"Will you serve me?" Now THIS should be good. Deokman has met the weird guy at that inn she told him to go to. He's very nonchalant, of course. "Well, I wanna see what you can do." She haughtily reminds him to be respectful because she's a Shillan princess. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Really--what kind of an answer do you expect out of a weird guy? "Shilla..." he stares off into space..."not a whole lot." So you don't feel any fear, she says, is that it? Not even of a king? "I don't know what fear is--what's to feel?" Fine, she says; until I tell you otherwise, you can continue to address me informally. (Yeah, I'm sure he cares about that.) "And you're sure you won't be scared of anyone?" No problem there. But now Yushin barges in on them. Surprising them both, and leaving Deokman awfully silent for someone who's been flashing so much attitude.
He takes her outside and wants to know what she's up to. "You know I'm with you, life or death," he tells her. She won't talk...but he warns her that whatever she's doing, it isn't safe here in the capital. She won't leave, though, and tells him, "I'm not sure if I can stand to work with you or not." Now what the heck has gotten into her? "You'll never be able to touch my hair again. You'll never be able to call my name again." etc etc a we-can't-be-in-love thing, with teary eyes and all. So THAT'S what's gotten into her. (Funny, we haven't seen anything to suggest any evidence of that kind of romance.) And she walks away, leaving him standing there with the same miserable look on his face that so inspired the dying Cheonmyeong. What is it with this guy....
Next morning: Hey, the queen is up and about--great to see. In fact, she wants to go to the royal shrine and his headed there, retinue and all. The king finds her and wants her to go back to bed, but she won't. "I missed Cheonmyeong's funeral," she tells him. "I should perform a memorial service. I have to see that Cheonmyeong's soul enters Heaven." Well, what can he say to that. So he lets her go. She's being propped up lightly as she walks on, so obviously she really was seriously ill.
Maya arrives at the shrine, goes inside and asks for Seori. The lead attendant tells her that Seori "is taken ill." Fine, Maya says; I'll do the memorial service myself, with my attendants. So the attendants escort her into the main prayer room, and then leave her. That is, all but one of them, who kneels behind her. Kneeling and facing forward, Maya oddly asks, "Why have you come back?" Wait a minute, that attendant--it's Deokman! "I heard you're ill." The queen is being torn in so many directions and you can see it breaking her. "Deokman...my baby." Deokman tells her that she needs to "get into the lower level of the shrine that the princess found." What for? "There's something I need to know." Still facing forward, Maya is in tears. "Am I going to lose you too?"
In another room in the shrine, there's Seori sitting by herself. She's not ill--not yet--but she's holding the bottle of poison that Mishil gave her. And thinking about what she'll do. Suddenly she hears footsteps...but then silence. Wait, now an attendant enters, and lifts up her face. It's Deokman. Seori stands, amazed at Deokman's audacity--and Deokman puts a knife to her throat! Deokman looks around. "You use this secret place to deceive the people," she accuses. "To exploit their fears in the name of heaven. You don't deserve to be high priestess." Seori just stares at her, almost amused and clearly not rattled in the least. But as she does, suddenly her vision blurs, and in the next moment she sees Deokman wearing the Shillan crown! Just for a moment, but it's enough to wipe the smug off her face. "Who's using the Daemyung almanac?", Deokman demands. So that's what she wants...and it's a good want. Very wise. "Who's using it and where is he?" But Seori's mind is whirling, revisiting the whole exploding-star prophecy and realizing from her vision a moment ago that Deokman is the prophesied one. And it's hitting her very hard...Just then, the sound of footsteps! Uh-oh, whoever it is, it's someone who knows about this place and won't be friendly to Deokman, to say the least. She's trapped and they both know it. But Seori grabs her arm and tells her, "Hide behind the screen." What's this? "Quick!" Are you kidding? Well, what choice does Deokman have, so she does. And yikes, it's Mishil.
Mishil enters and sits. "This is your last chance. Will you do as I ask?" Staying remarkably composed--remarkably--Seori slowly turns and looks at her. "I have a last chance for you, too. Kill the lost twin the second you find her." This utterly confuses Deokman, listening behind the screen. "You have the power to do it...but it is not your destiny to become queen." Oh, that answer is not gonna go over well..."WHAT? You dare talk to me about MY destiny? You dare?" But Seori merely nods, calm and composed. She sighs and looks away. "I suppose the time of the Heavens is finally past." Looks back at Mishil. "But I don't think I care to witness it myself." And then reaches for the bottle, and downs the poison! Good heavens! "Now," Seori says weakly, blood starting to trickle from her mouth, "the only person who can help you is Abbott Wolchun at Hwaduk Temple. He's the only one who can interpret the almanac." Which Mishil already knows, of course, but she's not saying it for Mishil's benefit. With her last words she's telling Deokman. "Remember...Hwaduk Temple...Abbott Wolchun...." Plop. Dead. Misaeng happens to enter and runs to her aid, but no chance. "This is awful," Misaeng tells his sister, in a near-panic at the loss of their crucial ally. But Mishil merely stands up and leaves, looking completely unconcerned. Deokman, listening to all this behind the screen, can only shake her head.
Misaeng catches up to Mishil, who's completely unaffected by Seori's death and is more concerned about the upcoming solar eclipse. Take me to Wolchun, she tells her brother. They leave, and with the coast now clear Deokman slowly creeps out of her hiding place and leaves.
Yushin and Alcheon are walking up a capital street..and then suddenly scatter, in opposite directions! And in the next moment, six Hwarang turn a corner; they obviously were tailing the pair. But not anymore. They have to report back to an annoyed Bojong that they've lost them.
Hey, it's Three's Company again. Yushin, Deokman and the weird guy are all sitting in a cave somewhere; a small fire is going and illuminates the awkward looks between Deokman and Yushin. "We're going to Hwaduk Temple," Deokman tells Bidam. "We have to get someone."
Outside of Hwaduk Temple: What's this--a bunch of guys dressed in black have snuck up near the perimeter and are scouting it. "We attack tonight," their leader says. He's identified as Wolya; his apparent #2 is Seolji. "Our target is Wolchun." (Seolji, we've seen him before: in Episode 6, as the leader of the Gayan refugee camp where Deokman and Cheonmyeong ended up. So these guys must be Gayans.) Boy, Wolchun is going to have a full dance card tonight....
Inside, we see Wolchun. He's in the room where Sohwa, Jukbang and Godo are being kept. He's still trying to treat Sohwa, and apparently not having much luck. Meanwhile Jukbang and Godo are moaning at him about being handcuffed.
Wait--now it's Four's a Crowd. Alcheon is in the cave too. "We're taking Abbott Wolchun." That's how we take Mishil's power, Deokman says. "And then we destroy her." Even the weird guy seems sort of impressed at that. But Yushin is suspicious: "And then what? What are you really after?"...Flashback to the king reading the rest of Deokman's letter to him. None of you want me back, Deokman tells him, but I'm back anyway, and I'm a princess of Shilla....then more of her conversation with the queen in the shrine: "I plan to make it so I can live in Shilla. So I can be your daughter."...then more of her conversation with the weird guy back in the countryside, earlier: "I plan to make Shilla mine."...Yushin keeps pressing her, unsuccessfully. "What is your ultimate goal? What do you want?" Finally she spills it. "To rule." Shocked looks from the two Hwarang, and then the goofy grin from the weird guy that guarantees he'll have fun with this. Deokman hammers it home: "I'm going to be queen of Shilla. And I'll do it the same way Mishil did."
