Post by ajk on Oct 12, 2012 21:53:22 GMT -5
Hey! All of you--stop looking at the sun before you fry your retinas! Dumbbells...Well, they do stop looking, but it's because there's something new to look at--Deokman standing there in that watchtower, stepping forward in plain view as the eclipse ends. And now Yushin and Alcheon step forward and flank her, which certainly adds legitimacy to the image, at least in the eyes of the citizens who go wild with excitement at the sight of the one who they think will "brighten Shilla's skies." Yushin and Alcheon loudly proclaim her as "the prophesied one" and "bringer of a new era," and the citizens are eating it all up. Wolya and Seolji are there too, and they're impressed by the impact this is all making. The queen is half ecstatic at seeing her daughter again and half overcome with relief that Mishil was foiled. Mishil, well, her mind is trying to absorb the bottom line: "She tricked me? ME!? The famous Mishil? She predicted the solar eclipse?" It so visibly upsets her, she can barely stand up out of her chair. Now, as was undoubtedly planned, Seolji, Jukbang, Wolya and Godo shout to the king for specific answers about the birth of twins and the lost princess. And now all 200 or so of the citizens present are shouting for the king to give him the full story. This is a tough spot, though; even now it won't be easy for the king to reveal everything without looking bad. But now what's this--where's Maya going? She leaves the royal box and walks along the catwalk that goes around a corner and connects to the watchtower. She climbs the stairs, takes Deokman's hand and leads her down to a stage in front of the citizens. She slowly scans over everyone present, and after what seems an eternity of silence, she tentatively starts to explain...
"On the night that the seven stars of the Big Dipper became eight, when Mizar split in two...my little Cheonmyeong was born." And then, shortly thereafter, "a second princess was born. At the time, we didn't know the complete prophecy, we were afraid. Afraid I'd lose my daughter," she says, her voice starting to break, "afraid I'd lose my throne; afraid I'd hurt the king." So they sent a maid away with Deokman, she explains, again because they didn't know the entire prophecy. She recalls losing her little sons, and recently her daughter...and now she's in tears, and who's gonna feel anything but sympathy for a mother weeping over the deaths of four of her children. Out of words, she falls to her knees, overcome with emotion. (And a very poignant image, just for a moment, of Cheonmyeong's attendant Sejong watching.) "The poor queen," we hear the citizens tell each other; "she's been through so much." Mishil is watching her with an expression that mirrors what we're thinking too: mostly sympathy for what she's had to deal with, but also a little bit of bemused admiration for shrewdly using the newly revealed "prophecy"--which Maya knows is complete bunk--to such great advantage here. Maya isn't faking--Deokman's appearance has unleashed too much pent-up emotion for her to be faking--but yeah, she's playing that bunk prophecy to her and Deokman's advantage and she knows it, and Mishil knows she knows it. Still, it's a brave thing she's doing, coming forward and spilling the whole story, and much wiser that she's the one to do it rather than the king. Up in the box, Hajong is frantic and begs his father and uncle to do something. But what can they possibly do? Sejong and Misaeng acknowledge it--they've lost this one, big-time.
Eventually Maya pulls herself together, not enough to stand up but enough to continue. "As queen I am the mother of the people of Shilla. I deserve to be punished for my deceit and cowardice." No faking about that; this is the self-inflicted burden she's carried for all these years. Unfairly carried, but carried nonetheless. "We must put things right," she tells the people. "Please fulfill the founder's prophecy. Brighten the skies with the Star of Mizar. Restore Deokman as princess!" More of the same mixture of undeniable misery and the shrewd use of the bunk prophecy--and it works. "Restore the princess!" "Give her the throne!" The people are all demanding it. "Set things right!" "Crown her princess!" Well, king, you gonna do something? He finally gets up and descends from the royal box to the stage. As everyone present falls to their knees, he raises his right hand for silence, and then speaks. "Forgive us. People of Shilla, please forgive our shortcomings. I admit I was wrong." He looks at Deokman. "And you, my daughter...forgive us." Well, the king's on one side of her and the queen's on the other, so she's in no position to argue. She offers each a hand, and as Maya stands up, Jinpyeong thrusts Deokman's left hand into the air: "Let it be known on Earth and in Heaven: Here is my daughter. Princess of Shilla! Princess Deokman!" Deokman looks shocked, like she's surprised it all actually worked...but it did, and the citizens going wild with approval are proof that it worked like a charm. Even Bidam, still tied to the tinder-pile, is shouting and giddy and trying to jump up and down. And in the middle of it all, Deokman takes a moment to deliver a message--turning, looking up, and shooting an icy glare directly at Mishil. Mishil being Mishil, the unspoken challenge visibly energizes her; her eyes blaze and she smiles with excitement as she stares back. Game on!
Seokpum, Dukchung and Bakui, still stunned by all this, are trying to figure out what to do with Sohwa. Wow, we've just about forgotten about her. What to do with her? Not sure; Seokpum says he'll check with Mishil.
Hey, look--it's Sohwa! First time we've seen her in a while. And she's not looking real good. She's asleep at the moment, but she looks weak, and her wound is still showing fresh blood. A physician is treating her. "She was weak before being injured," he tells a and b. "I'll do what I can." Don't let her die, Dukchung and Bakui tell them, and Bakui smacks himself in the head, like What a dumb thing I did shooting her in the back at point-blank range. At least he's honest with himself.
Well they FINALLY got Bidam down off that tinder-pile, thank goodness. He's in a room with Yushin and Alcheon, laughing and jovial about how well Deokman's plan worked and how completely she fooled the three of them. "How'd she pull it over on US?!" Yeah, dude, you're three rocket scientists...Still, they all agree it was a great plan and completely outwitted Mishil.
Who's that person dressed like a princess? "My precious daughter." Maya is with Deokman, now wearing an opulent orange-and-yellow robe. What an odd sight, at first. "My precious princess. And such a lovely woman." Deokman just sits there, brooding and unresponsive...she thinks back to her conversation in Episode 23 with Cheonmyeong, about how they never got to be real sisters and do the things that sisters do with each other..."I'm not here to be a lovely woman," Deokman tells Maya, or to dress up fancy. I'm here to keep a promise I made to Cheonmyeong. Maya nods, like she understands without anything more needing to be said.
Now she goes to see the king, with that same brooding, morose expression on her face. (Maybe she and Yushin really were meant for each other!) To her credit, she bows humbly before her father before sitting. All he can think to say to her is, again, "I'm sorry." And then asks, "Do you resent me?" Without hesitation: "Yes, my lord." Which is what Jinpyeong expected to hear. "You're the king," she continues, now with some anger bubbling in her voice; "you did what you had to do. Even if it meant sacrificing your child to keep the throne." But it's not that you kept the throne, it's "that you didn't make it stronger." If you had, she tells him, Cheonmyeong wouldn't have died. She's being awfully presumptuous about some of this--she knows darned well how powerful and crafty Mishil is--but he knows he even indirectly condoned Deokman's possible death, so he can hardly dispute her resentment. But she tells him one thing: for Cheonmyeong's sake, "I'm going to destroy Mishil."
"You said there'd be no eclipse, and there was." Misaeng is unwisely stating the obvious in front of his sister. But her whole cabal is coming unglued over what's happened, and everyone wants to bring in troops and nobles and call in brute force and power to put a stop to everything. But Seolwon points out that it might well be seen as a coup attempt, and that would be the end of them all. Mishil calmly acknowledges the frustration they're all facing. But right now, she says, we have to prevent any defections from among our loyalists. She tells Sejong, to his surprise, to get Deokman crowned a princess as soon as possible, and "generously forgive the royal house on behalf of the nobles allied with us." But at the same time, get a concession from the king: the taxes that are split 60-40 between the royal house and the nobles, get that changed to 50-50. "We won't lose a one" if we put more money in their pockets, she says. And she wants Seolwon and Bojong to check with the military officers and the Hwarang leaders to feel out what the prevailing sentiments are among them. Help our allies with anything they need to keep them on our side, she instructs. It's enough to comfort everyone that they can at least keep things from getting any worse than they already are.
Well, getting Deokman crowned a princess isn't a done deal. Seohyeon and Yongchun have brought the king a big stack of petitions that have come into the royal house supporting the idea, but the king is sure that "Mishil's faction will fiercely oppose us." He says he'll do what it takes to get it pushed through, and for once he sounds determined to take whatever bold action is necessary. Then Sejong is announced; the king allows him in, and oh goody he's brought Misaeng and Hajong with him. Sejong proceeds to give the king an amazingly disrespectful mouthful about his "conspiring" with the queen to hide Deokman's birth and for forcing her to grow up outside the royal house. But then he says that not only does he not oppose her coronation, "I've already arranged for the ceremony to take place at noon on the 5th." Oh, really..."I moved quickly to take attention away from the queen," he says, but the nobles are still angry about all this. And then Misaeng and Hajong suggest, well, if you announce a tax cut for them at the coronation, "their loyalty to the throne and the princess will increase accordingly." The king is silent. Not angry, though (and the idea does have its political advantages to him, whatever its budgetary feasibility may be).
"They've decided to crown the princess tomorrow." Seolwon enters and gives the news to a surprisingly morose Mishil. She really does look almost shattered by what's happened, like there's not a lot of fight in her right now. Seolwon touches her on the arm and says he's sorry, and looks at her sympathetically. For what? "Little things like this can't stop me," she assures him, although she doesn't sound convincing at all, and besides, this is NOT a little thing. It's a touching scene as they sort of console each other without saying much.
Deokman is holding something. Is that the hair-comb ornament of Cheonmyeong's that she broke in two and threw into the stream after Cheonmyeong died (in Episode 24)? Then she or Yushin wisely fished out the pieces...Her mother enters to tell her she'll be crowned tomorrow, and Deokman actually smiles a little. But her mother's a lot happier about it than she is. Wonder why? Maya leaves, and yes, we can see that it's Cheonmyeong's ornament. Deokman says a little prayer to her sister. "Help me," she asks; "I'm still scared." Well, okay, that would explain her surliness.
Next morning: We see images of Deokman being prepared for her coronation, and Mishil praying (to who? I thought she didn't believe) and then playing her musical glasses, something we saw her doing in Episode 2. The music is pretty (her faking is pretty awful, though) but suddenly she breaks a glass. And that stops her music...and then she proceeds to methodically smash every other glass in front of her, in the rawest display of emotion we've ever seen from her. Frustration, disappointment, just plain rage, all being hammered out on her crystal.
Yushin enters to tell Deokman it's showtime. Deokman's all dressed and ready to go, but darned if she doesn't look a little wobbly...Yushin notices her hands trembling and darned if he doesn't step up and say the right thing for once. "You beat Mishil and made it this far," he reminds her, so you have nothing to be scared about. And it looks like it helps her. Maybe there's hope for this guy yet....
Seolwon finds Mishil preparing herself for the coronation, smiling as she sits before a make-up mirror and talking of celebrating Deokman's first day as a princess...which strikes quite a contrast with the god-awful mess of smashed crystal on the floor right beside her! For a moment she's smiling at Seolwon like she's actually snapped and gone psycho. Seolwon stays remarkably calm and unreactive, saying nothing (undoubtedly the right choice here!).
Oh dear, and now as Deokman and her retinue head to the ceremony, they run right into Mishil and her retinue. Mishil forces herself to smile and congratulate Deokman on her coronation. "I couldn't have done it without you," Deokman answers snidely (and I have to say, completely inappropriately for the moment). I constantly carried your words and your advice with me, she explains, and that's what got me here today. Not sure exactly which words...but Mishil simply stands there silently, until Deokman starts to get a little twitchy. And her left hand is trembling a little again. Uh-oh, don't show fear...Mishil moves closer: "Are you still afraid of me?" And then grasps Deokman's hand in both of her own hands. Now Deokman's extra-twitchy. Finally she says flatly, "You're out of line." Again, too grating for the situation..."You dare to touch a member of the royal house?" Aw, come on, this is not the time or place to rub it in...But Mishil lets go, and Deokman heads forward, giving Mishil just the slightest shoulder-rub as she does. Boy, does Mishil ever look stung...she just stands there, now hearing shouts of "Long live Princess Deokman!" from nearby, and looking like she might actually cry.
But first Deokman meets with the elite Hwarang. Apparently she's got Cheonmyeong's gig now; Ho Jae presents her with a Hwarang flag and calls her their leader. Not surprisingly, some of them look much happier about this than others do. Then Deokman proclaims, "From now on all Hwarang will be treated equally" and will have to earn merit recognition through a tournament. This will raise the honor of the Hwarang as an institution, she says. (The implication is that some of them have gotten preferential treatment; there's a larger story here that we don't really know.) Then she names Alcheon her personal guard and the Rising Phoenix guards her own security detail. (Now, just a darned minute--shouldn't you award that honor by merit, through a tournament?! What did you JUST say? UGH!) Alcheon can barely suppress his elation, and again the predictable smiles and frowns from the various Hwarang.
Mishil is so angry, she storms back home (literally stomping her feet as she enters) and accidently cuts her hand on a piece of broken glass as she sits down. "Get me Wolchun immediately," she tells Seolwon in that shrill uh-oh-watch-out voice. Yushin and Alcheon must know where he is, she says, so follow them. Seolwon tries to tend to her hand, but she won't even let him touch her. We haven't seen her like this before, with the blind rage overriding her self-control, and it ain't pretty. "If you can't capture him," she instructs, with a manic look in her eyes, "kill him. I won't have him working with Deokman."
"Whoa, that's a pretty color!" Who else. Bidam has come into the Hwarang meeting room, where Deokman, Yushin and Alcheon are sitting. Looking around and being his usual goofy self, he compliments Deokman on her robe. Alcheon doesn't like his informality to a royal, but Deokman waves him off as Bidam tells her how impressed he is with her fooling him about the eclipse. (She's lucky he wasn't mad about it. No chicken in Shilla would be safe.) She apologizes for misleading him, and he's a little surprised to hear that from her. But he understands and doesn't care at all, as long as it worked out so well. He does want to know, however, how she managed to flip Wolchun. But she ducks the question. Escort Wolchun here to the palace, she tells the two Hwarang. "He'll have finished what I asked him to do by now." And tells Yushin to "send word to the Bokya." Careful, princess...not good to be contacting a rebel force on your first day! The Hwarang leave, and as Bidam starts to leave, he turns back and offers a stunningly astute piece of advice: "Now that you're royalty, don't pass out 'sorry' and 'thank you' too easily." Deokman smiles, and he leaves.
Yushin and Alcheon leave with several other of their Hwarang, including Jukbang and Godo, presumably to fetch Wolchun. And look, there are Bojong and Seokpum with several of their own Hwarang, tailing them.
"What are you suggesting?" "You wrested the divine right from Mishil. And now you want to surrender it?" "It can't be done!" Deokman has just dropped some sort of a bomb on her father and on Seohyeon and Yongchun.
"What is she thinking?" Now Maya gets the news, from Manmyeong. "Doesn't she know the trouble it will cause?" Manmyeong fears that Deokman may be too unfamiliar with the political ways of the capital.
There's Wolchun, finishing up his work on a scroll. Whatever it is, he's visibly proud of it.
Out in the woods: Jukbang needs to pee, so time for a quick break. He and Godo and one of the Rising Phoenix guards go off to the side to do their business...and suddenly are ambushed by Bojong's group and tied to a tree. Despite their loud screams....
...Yushin and Alcheon can't hear them. Geez, how far away did they go? Ugh. Yushin senses something's wrong, and he and Alcheon and the two remaining DFers head in their direction...and find them tied to the tree. "They're after Alcheon," Yushin says, realizing exactly what's happening. He and Alcheon charge ahead.
Yes they are after Wolchun, and they found him. Somehow they found the hut where he's staying out there in the woods, and Bojong puts a sword to his throat. He's taken out of the hut...
...and now they're already back at the capital. Yushin and Alcheon catch up, and now it's a brawl: the two of them against what look to be eight other Hwarang. Wait a minute, here come the guys we left behind, and now it's a fair fight. But Bojong and Seokpum aren't in it; they're hanging onto Wolchun and steal away in the commotion.
Yushin catches up to Bojong and Seokpum, who are getting ready to put Wolchun on a horse. Yushin draws his sword. Bojong draws his sword too, but then Seokpum (undoubtedly remembering how Yushin totally spanked them in Iseo Province in Episode 23) thinks better of this, and wisely puts his sword to Wolchun's throat and forces Yushin to drop his sword. But now Bojong slowly walks toward Yushin, sword in hand...so what else can Yushin do but pick his own sword up again. He does a nifty move around a tree, lunges forward and shatters Seokpum's sword...but now suddenly everybody has swords at each other's throats and they're arguing about whose orders should be followed. "You got lucky in Iseo," Bojong says; "Think you'll get lucky twice?" But it's no matter, because here come Alcheon and the rest of his group. "We'll find out who's lucky some other time," Yushin says matter-of-factly. Bojong has no choice but to sheath his sword, and Alcheon steps forward and takes custody of Wolchun. "Wherever you take him," a miffed Bojong warns, "we'll find him and kill him." (Have to admit, I figured Wolchun was dead meat.)
Deokman unrolls the scroll that Wolchun was working on. We get a glimpse of something that looks like a brick tower. "I'll build it," Deokman says to herself. "I promise." So it's not just a metaphorical wall; it's some sort of actual structure...Flashback to more of Deokman and Wolchun talking: Deokman promising she'll never exploit science again, and Wolchun telling her with a smile that he helped her because he believes in her...
Now Deokman has called a full state council meeting, "to make my first decree as princess." (Why isn't the king here?) Mishil sits down opposite her, looking like she's composed herself by now, and listens as Deokman drops a bomb: "From this day forward, there will no longer be a high priestess. And the science of astronomy will be shared with all people." Stunned and confused looks all around. And now look at this--Wolchun is escorted into the hall. But he's not wearing his monk robe; he's dressed in a red-and-yellow garment that looks, well, official. He steps forward and hands his scroll to Deokman, who unrolls and displays it. "On the grounds of the capital," Deokman says, "we will build an almanac for all the people." The stone tower-type structure will be known as the Chumsung Observatory, she declares, and Wolchun will direct its construction. Wolchun proceeds to cite various numbers involved in the tower's design and their symbolic significance, which obviously goes right over the heads of most of the councilors. "Using this," Deokman says, "anyone in Shilla can understand the stars." (Yeah, anybody who gets access. We'll see about that.) And never again, she adds, as she glares at Mishil for what must be the fifth or sixth time so far, "will anyone be able to exploit the science of astronomy to their own ends."
"You abdicate the divine rights of your office?" Now Deokman is alone with Mishil, who's almost laughing at what seems to her to be utterly naive foolishness. There are two types of people in a country, she says; "those who rule and those who are ruled." We're political rivals now, Mishil says, but we're on the same side as rulers. "You took my divine right. Don't give it up." But Deokman is undeterred: "I'm giving it to the people." She sounds confident, but as she listens to Mishil we hear her wonder to herself whether or not this is the right thing to do. "How do you plan to establish your authority? How will you rule the people?" Deokman hasn't thought this through. "Tell me. How will you rule?" Uh-oh, the shrill voice. But now Deokman has an answer. "With truth." Mishil nearly cracks up, but holds it to a smile: "Truth? What truth is that exactly? You're the new priestess of the sacred rites (Which is news to us!). What truth will you tell the people? 'I don't know a thing' or 'I have no magical powers'? That truth?" Again with the near-laughter. "Science explains the unexplainable," Deokman answers calmly, "and therein lies truth." You used science to create an illusion that you had heavenly powers. "People want the illusion," Mishil counters; "They want to believe that someone can make it rain and protect them from evil. You need that illusion to reign." "You're wrong," Deokman fires back; "People want hope." (As though the two are mutually exclusive, when in fact they often go hand in hand.) "Do you have any idea how terrifying the people and their mobs can be?" To herself Deokman thinks, "Terrifying? There's something even Mishil fears?" I'm not afraid of the people, Deokman insists; "Above all, they hope to lead better lives. Without illusions." Mishil doesn't agree that either. "They don't care WHY it rains," Mishil answers, or "WHAT makes an eclipse. They're glad to have someone do that for them. They are uneducated and stupid." "That's because they don't know any better." "True, they don't. And they don't want to." Deokman is at least sure that giving them almanac knowledge will help them understand the seasons better and know better when to plant. And that it will help them use the rain to grow their crops better. (Sorry but almanacs can't predict rainfall!) "That way the people will learn for themselves, one step at a time...Those who share my vision will create a new Shilla." A startling statement from Mishil: "Princess, I speak of illusion and you speak of hope. But this hope of yours, this dream of yours, is the cruelest illusion of all. Worse than anything I've ever done." And to herself, incredibly, Deokman sort of agrees: "True, she may be right. And yet...."
"On the night that the seven stars of the Big Dipper became eight, when Mizar split in two...my little Cheonmyeong was born." And then, shortly thereafter, "a second princess was born. At the time, we didn't know the complete prophecy, we were afraid. Afraid I'd lose my daughter," she says, her voice starting to break, "afraid I'd lose my throne; afraid I'd hurt the king." So they sent a maid away with Deokman, she explains, again because they didn't know the entire prophecy. She recalls losing her little sons, and recently her daughter...and now she's in tears, and who's gonna feel anything but sympathy for a mother weeping over the deaths of four of her children. Out of words, she falls to her knees, overcome with emotion. (And a very poignant image, just for a moment, of Cheonmyeong's attendant Sejong watching.) "The poor queen," we hear the citizens tell each other; "she's been through so much." Mishil is watching her with an expression that mirrors what we're thinking too: mostly sympathy for what she's had to deal with, but also a little bit of bemused admiration for shrewdly using the newly revealed "prophecy"--which Maya knows is complete bunk--to such great advantage here. Maya isn't faking--Deokman's appearance has unleashed too much pent-up emotion for her to be faking--but yeah, she's playing that bunk prophecy to her and Deokman's advantage and she knows it, and Mishil knows she knows it. Still, it's a brave thing she's doing, coming forward and spilling the whole story, and much wiser that she's the one to do it rather than the king. Up in the box, Hajong is frantic and begs his father and uncle to do something. But what can they possibly do? Sejong and Misaeng acknowledge it--they've lost this one, big-time.
Eventually Maya pulls herself together, not enough to stand up but enough to continue. "As queen I am the mother of the people of Shilla. I deserve to be punished for my deceit and cowardice." No faking about that; this is the self-inflicted burden she's carried for all these years. Unfairly carried, but carried nonetheless. "We must put things right," she tells the people. "Please fulfill the founder's prophecy. Brighten the skies with the Star of Mizar. Restore Deokman as princess!" More of the same mixture of undeniable misery and the shrewd use of the bunk prophecy--and it works. "Restore the princess!" "Give her the throne!" The people are all demanding it. "Set things right!" "Crown her princess!" Well, king, you gonna do something? He finally gets up and descends from the royal box to the stage. As everyone present falls to their knees, he raises his right hand for silence, and then speaks. "Forgive us. People of Shilla, please forgive our shortcomings. I admit I was wrong." He looks at Deokman. "And you, my daughter...forgive us." Well, the king's on one side of her and the queen's on the other, so she's in no position to argue. She offers each a hand, and as Maya stands up, Jinpyeong thrusts Deokman's left hand into the air: "Let it be known on Earth and in Heaven: Here is my daughter. Princess of Shilla! Princess Deokman!" Deokman looks shocked, like she's surprised it all actually worked...but it did, and the citizens going wild with approval are proof that it worked like a charm. Even Bidam, still tied to the tinder-pile, is shouting and giddy and trying to jump up and down. And in the middle of it all, Deokman takes a moment to deliver a message--turning, looking up, and shooting an icy glare directly at Mishil. Mishil being Mishil, the unspoken challenge visibly energizes her; her eyes blaze and she smiles with excitement as she stares back. Game on!
Seokpum, Dukchung and Bakui, still stunned by all this, are trying to figure out what to do with Sohwa. Wow, we've just about forgotten about her. What to do with her? Not sure; Seokpum says he'll check with Mishil.
Hey, look--it's Sohwa! First time we've seen her in a while. And she's not looking real good. She's asleep at the moment, but she looks weak, and her wound is still showing fresh blood. A physician is treating her. "She was weak before being injured," he tells a and b. "I'll do what I can." Don't let her die, Dukchung and Bakui tell them, and Bakui smacks himself in the head, like What a dumb thing I did shooting her in the back at point-blank range. At least he's honest with himself.
Well they FINALLY got Bidam down off that tinder-pile, thank goodness. He's in a room with Yushin and Alcheon, laughing and jovial about how well Deokman's plan worked and how completely she fooled the three of them. "How'd she pull it over on US?!" Yeah, dude, you're three rocket scientists...Still, they all agree it was a great plan and completely outwitted Mishil.
Who's that person dressed like a princess? "My precious daughter." Maya is with Deokman, now wearing an opulent orange-and-yellow robe. What an odd sight, at first. "My precious princess. And such a lovely woman." Deokman just sits there, brooding and unresponsive...she thinks back to her conversation in Episode 23 with Cheonmyeong, about how they never got to be real sisters and do the things that sisters do with each other..."I'm not here to be a lovely woman," Deokman tells Maya, or to dress up fancy. I'm here to keep a promise I made to Cheonmyeong. Maya nods, like she understands without anything more needing to be said.
Now she goes to see the king, with that same brooding, morose expression on her face. (Maybe she and Yushin really were meant for each other!) To her credit, she bows humbly before her father before sitting. All he can think to say to her is, again, "I'm sorry." And then asks, "Do you resent me?" Without hesitation: "Yes, my lord." Which is what Jinpyeong expected to hear. "You're the king," she continues, now with some anger bubbling in her voice; "you did what you had to do. Even if it meant sacrificing your child to keep the throne." But it's not that you kept the throne, it's "that you didn't make it stronger." If you had, she tells him, Cheonmyeong wouldn't have died. She's being awfully presumptuous about some of this--she knows darned well how powerful and crafty Mishil is--but he knows he even indirectly condoned Deokman's possible death, so he can hardly dispute her resentment. But she tells him one thing: for Cheonmyeong's sake, "I'm going to destroy Mishil."
"You said there'd be no eclipse, and there was." Misaeng is unwisely stating the obvious in front of his sister. But her whole cabal is coming unglued over what's happened, and everyone wants to bring in troops and nobles and call in brute force and power to put a stop to everything. But Seolwon points out that it might well be seen as a coup attempt, and that would be the end of them all. Mishil calmly acknowledges the frustration they're all facing. But right now, she says, we have to prevent any defections from among our loyalists. She tells Sejong, to his surprise, to get Deokman crowned a princess as soon as possible, and "generously forgive the royal house on behalf of the nobles allied with us." But at the same time, get a concession from the king: the taxes that are split 60-40 between the royal house and the nobles, get that changed to 50-50. "We won't lose a one" if we put more money in their pockets, she says. And she wants Seolwon and Bojong to check with the military officers and the Hwarang leaders to feel out what the prevailing sentiments are among them. Help our allies with anything they need to keep them on our side, she instructs. It's enough to comfort everyone that they can at least keep things from getting any worse than they already are.
Well, getting Deokman crowned a princess isn't a done deal. Seohyeon and Yongchun have brought the king a big stack of petitions that have come into the royal house supporting the idea, but the king is sure that "Mishil's faction will fiercely oppose us." He says he'll do what it takes to get it pushed through, and for once he sounds determined to take whatever bold action is necessary. Then Sejong is announced; the king allows him in, and oh goody he's brought Misaeng and Hajong with him. Sejong proceeds to give the king an amazingly disrespectful mouthful about his "conspiring" with the queen to hide Deokman's birth and for forcing her to grow up outside the royal house. But then he says that not only does he not oppose her coronation, "I've already arranged for the ceremony to take place at noon on the 5th." Oh, really..."I moved quickly to take attention away from the queen," he says, but the nobles are still angry about all this. And then Misaeng and Hajong suggest, well, if you announce a tax cut for them at the coronation, "their loyalty to the throne and the princess will increase accordingly." The king is silent. Not angry, though (and the idea does have its political advantages to him, whatever its budgetary feasibility may be).
"They've decided to crown the princess tomorrow." Seolwon enters and gives the news to a surprisingly morose Mishil. She really does look almost shattered by what's happened, like there's not a lot of fight in her right now. Seolwon touches her on the arm and says he's sorry, and looks at her sympathetically. For what? "Little things like this can't stop me," she assures him, although she doesn't sound convincing at all, and besides, this is NOT a little thing. It's a touching scene as they sort of console each other without saying much.
Deokman is holding something. Is that the hair-comb ornament of Cheonmyeong's that she broke in two and threw into the stream after Cheonmyeong died (in Episode 24)? Then she or Yushin wisely fished out the pieces...Her mother enters to tell her she'll be crowned tomorrow, and Deokman actually smiles a little. But her mother's a lot happier about it than she is. Wonder why? Maya leaves, and yes, we can see that it's Cheonmyeong's ornament. Deokman says a little prayer to her sister. "Help me," she asks; "I'm still scared." Well, okay, that would explain her surliness.
Next morning: We see images of Deokman being prepared for her coronation, and Mishil praying (to who? I thought she didn't believe) and then playing her musical glasses, something we saw her doing in Episode 2. The music is pretty (her faking is pretty awful, though) but suddenly she breaks a glass. And that stops her music...and then she proceeds to methodically smash every other glass in front of her, in the rawest display of emotion we've ever seen from her. Frustration, disappointment, just plain rage, all being hammered out on her crystal.
Yushin enters to tell Deokman it's showtime. Deokman's all dressed and ready to go, but darned if she doesn't look a little wobbly...Yushin notices her hands trembling and darned if he doesn't step up and say the right thing for once. "You beat Mishil and made it this far," he reminds her, so you have nothing to be scared about. And it looks like it helps her. Maybe there's hope for this guy yet....
Seolwon finds Mishil preparing herself for the coronation, smiling as she sits before a make-up mirror and talking of celebrating Deokman's first day as a princess...which strikes quite a contrast with the god-awful mess of smashed crystal on the floor right beside her! For a moment she's smiling at Seolwon like she's actually snapped and gone psycho. Seolwon stays remarkably calm and unreactive, saying nothing (undoubtedly the right choice here!).
Oh dear, and now as Deokman and her retinue head to the ceremony, they run right into Mishil and her retinue. Mishil forces herself to smile and congratulate Deokman on her coronation. "I couldn't have done it without you," Deokman answers snidely (and I have to say, completely inappropriately for the moment). I constantly carried your words and your advice with me, she explains, and that's what got me here today. Not sure exactly which words...but Mishil simply stands there silently, until Deokman starts to get a little twitchy. And her left hand is trembling a little again. Uh-oh, don't show fear...Mishil moves closer: "Are you still afraid of me?" And then grasps Deokman's hand in both of her own hands. Now Deokman's extra-twitchy. Finally she says flatly, "You're out of line." Again, too grating for the situation..."You dare to touch a member of the royal house?" Aw, come on, this is not the time or place to rub it in...But Mishil lets go, and Deokman heads forward, giving Mishil just the slightest shoulder-rub as she does. Boy, does Mishil ever look stung...she just stands there, now hearing shouts of "Long live Princess Deokman!" from nearby, and looking like she might actually cry.
But first Deokman meets with the elite Hwarang. Apparently she's got Cheonmyeong's gig now; Ho Jae presents her with a Hwarang flag and calls her their leader. Not surprisingly, some of them look much happier about this than others do. Then Deokman proclaims, "From now on all Hwarang will be treated equally" and will have to earn merit recognition through a tournament. This will raise the honor of the Hwarang as an institution, she says. (The implication is that some of them have gotten preferential treatment; there's a larger story here that we don't really know.) Then she names Alcheon her personal guard and the Rising Phoenix guards her own security detail. (Now, just a darned minute--shouldn't you award that honor by merit, through a tournament?! What did you JUST say? UGH!) Alcheon can barely suppress his elation, and again the predictable smiles and frowns from the various Hwarang.
Mishil is so angry, she storms back home (literally stomping her feet as she enters) and accidently cuts her hand on a piece of broken glass as she sits down. "Get me Wolchun immediately," she tells Seolwon in that shrill uh-oh-watch-out voice. Yushin and Alcheon must know where he is, she says, so follow them. Seolwon tries to tend to her hand, but she won't even let him touch her. We haven't seen her like this before, with the blind rage overriding her self-control, and it ain't pretty. "If you can't capture him," she instructs, with a manic look in her eyes, "kill him. I won't have him working with Deokman."
"Whoa, that's a pretty color!" Who else. Bidam has come into the Hwarang meeting room, where Deokman, Yushin and Alcheon are sitting. Looking around and being his usual goofy self, he compliments Deokman on her robe. Alcheon doesn't like his informality to a royal, but Deokman waves him off as Bidam tells her how impressed he is with her fooling him about the eclipse. (She's lucky he wasn't mad about it. No chicken in Shilla would be safe.) She apologizes for misleading him, and he's a little surprised to hear that from her. But he understands and doesn't care at all, as long as it worked out so well. He does want to know, however, how she managed to flip Wolchun. But she ducks the question. Escort Wolchun here to the palace, she tells the two Hwarang. "He'll have finished what I asked him to do by now." And tells Yushin to "send word to the Bokya." Careful, princess...not good to be contacting a rebel force on your first day! The Hwarang leave, and as Bidam starts to leave, he turns back and offers a stunningly astute piece of advice: "Now that you're royalty, don't pass out 'sorry' and 'thank you' too easily." Deokman smiles, and he leaves.
Yushin and Alcheon leave with several other of their Hwarang, including Jukbang and Godo, presumably to fetch Wolchun. And look, there are Bojong and Seokpum with several of their own Hwarang, tailing them.
"What are you suggesting?" "You wrested the divine right from Mishil. And now you want to surrender it?" "It can't be done!" Deokman has just dropped some sort of a bomb on her father and on Seohyeon and Yongchun.
"What is she thinking?" Now Maya gets the news, from Manmyeong. "Doesn't she know the trouble it will cause?" Manmyeong fears that Deokman may be too unfamiliar with the political ways of the capital.
There's Wolchun, finishing up his work on a scroll. Whatever it is, he's visibly proud of it.
Out in the woods: Jukbang needs to pee, so time for a quick break. He and Godo and one of the Rising Phoenix guards go off to the side to do their business...and suddenly are ambushed by Bojong's group and tied to a tree. Despite their loud screams....
...Yushin and Alcheon can't hear them. Geez, how far away did they go? Ugh. Yushin senses something's wrong, and he and Alcheon and the two remaining DFers head in their direction...and find them tied to the tree. "They're after Alcheon," Yushin says, realizing exactly what's happening. He and Alcheon charge ahead.
Yes they are after Wolchun, and they found him. Somehow they found the hut where he's staying out there in the woods, and Bojong puts a sword to his throat. He's taken out of the hut...
...and now they're already back at the capital. Yushin and Alcheon catch up, and now it's a brawl: the two of them against what look to be eight other Hwarang. Wait a minute, here come the guys we left behind, and now it's a fair fight. But Bojong and Seokpum aren't in it; they're hanging onto Wolchun and steal away in the commotion.
Yushin catches up to Bojong and Seokpum, who are getting ready to put Wolchun on a horse. Yushin draws his sword. Bojong draws his sword too, but then Seokpum (undoubtedly remembering how Yushin totally spanked them in Iseo Province in Episode 23) thinks better of this, and wisely puts his sword to Wolchun's throat and forces Yushin to drop his sword. But now Bojong slowly walks toward Yushin, sword in hand...so what else can Yushin do but pick his own sword up again. He does a nifty move around a tree, lunges forward and shatters Seokpum's sword...but now suddenly everybody has swords at each other's throats and they're arguing about whose orders should be followed. "You got lucky in Iseo," Bojong says; "Think you'll get lucky twice?" But it's no matter, because here come Alcheon and the rest of his group. "We'll find out who's lucky some other time," Yushin says matter-of-factly. Bojong has no choice but to sheath his sword, and Alcheon steps forward and takes custody of Wolchun. "Wherever you take him," a miffed Bojong warns, "we'll find him and kill him." (Have to admit, I figured Wolchun was dead meat.)
Deokman unrolls the scroll that Wolchun was working on. We get a glimpse of something that looks like a brick tower. "I'll build it," Deokman says to herself. "I promise." So it's not just a metaphorical wall; it's some sort of actual structure...Flashback to more of Deokman and Wolchun talking: Deokman promising she'll never exploit science again, and Wolchun telling her with a smile that he helped her because he believes in her...
Now Deokman has called a full state council meeting, "to make my first decree as princess." (Why isn't the king here?) Mishil sits down opposite her, looking like she's composed herself by now, and listens as Deokman drops a bomb: "From this day forward, there will no longer be a high priestess. And the science of astronomy will be shared with all people." Stunned and confused looks all around. And now look at this--Wolchun is escorted into the hall. But he's not wearing his monk robe; he's dressed in a red-and-yellow garment that looks, well, official. He steps forward and hands his scroll to Deokman, who unrolls and displays it. "On the grounds of the capital," Deokman says, "we will build an almanac for all the people." The stone tower-type structure will be known as the Chumsung Observatory, she declares, and Wolchun will direct its construction. Wolchun proceeds to cite various numbers involved in the tower's design and their symbolic significance, which obviously goes right over the heads of most of the councilors. "Using this," Deokman says, "anyone in Shilla can understand the stars." (Yeah, anybody who gets access. We'll see about that.) And never again, she adds, as she glares at Mishil for what must be the fifth or sixth time so far, "will anyone be able to exploit the science of astronomy to their own ends."
"You abdicate the divine rights of your office?" Now Deokman is alone with Mishil, who's almost laughing at what seems to her to be utterly naive foolishness. There are two types of people in a country, she says; "those who rule and those who are ruled." We're political rivals now, Mishil says, but we're on the same side as rulers. "You took my divine right. Don't give it up." But Deokman is undeterred: "I'm giving it to the people." She sounds confident, but as she listens to Mishil we hear her wonder to herself whether or not this is the right thing to do. "How do you plan to establish your authority? How will you rule the people?" Deokman hasn't thought this through. "Tell me. How will you rule?" Uh-oh, the shrill voice. But now Deokman has an answer. "With truth." Mishil nearly cracks up, but holds it to a smile: "Truth? What truth is that exactly? You're the new priestess of the sacred rites (Which is news to us!). What truth will you tell the people? 'I don't know a thing' or 'I have no magical powers'? That truth?" Again with the near-laughter. "Science explains the unexplainable," Deokman answers calmly, "and therein lies truth." You used science to create an illusion that you had heavenly powers. "People want the illusion," Mishil counters; "They want to believe that someone can make it rain and protect them from evil. You need that illusion to reign." "You're wrong," Deokman fires back; "People want hope." (As though the two are mutually exclusive, when in fact they often go hand in hand.) "Do you have any idea how terrifying the people and their mobs can be?" To herself Deokman thinks, "Terrifying? There's something even Mishil fears?" I'm not afraid of the people, Deokman insists; "Above all, they hope to lead better lives. Without illusions." Mishil doesn't agree that either. "They don't care WHY it rains," Mishil answers, or "WHAT makes an eclipse. They're glad to have someone do that for them. They are uneducated and stupid." "That's because they don't know any better." "True, they don't. And they don't want to." Deokman is at least sure that giving them almanac knowledge will help them understand the seasons better and know better when to plant. And that it will help them use the rain to grow their crops better. (Sorry but almanacs can't predict rainfall!) "That way the people will learn for themselves, one step at a time...Those who share my vision will create a new Shilla." A startling statement from Mishil: "Princess, I speak of illusion and you speak of hope. But this hope of yours, this dream of yours, is the cruelest illusion of all. Worse than anything I've ever done." And to herself, incredibly, Deokman sort of agrees: "True, she may be right. And yet...."