Post by ajk on Apr 12, 2013 23:39:16 GMT -5
"How could Yushin be in Baekje territory?" "Shouldn't he be in his place of exile?" "Did Lord Yushin defy your orders and escape?" Here come the questions from the councilors; what does the queen have to say? No other choice, really, so she fesses up. "It was a secret command that I gave him." THAT certainly sets them all buzzing--but it stops the questions.
"Daeya Fortress is in peril. They will face a major offensive." Yushin, sitting there bound with his wrists shackled, is telling Bidam this, but Bidam refuses to believe any real threat exists. Even when Yushin explains about the Baekje spy inside the fortress who will open the doors, Bidam tells him that "You should be more concerned about your own survival," since his actions could be interpreted as treasonous. But then Yeom Jong comes running in and whispers something into Bidam's ear. Doink! "Her Majesty's secret command?!"
Now word has gotten back to Bidam's cabal. They don't understand it or like it, and as Seolwon realizes, they can't charge Yushin with espionage based on this news. However, the news that Wolya and Seolji were seen with him, that must be treason, right? "Indeed it is," Seolwon says; Yushin shouldn't be anywhere near those two regardless of the reason.
Seohyeon is presenting a defense plan to the queen; it's all mapped out and ready to go. Chunchu tells her that Imjong has been sent to seek out the spy--they know his name is "Heuk" something, based on what Yushin found out. Where's Bidam, she asks.
He's still getting the details from Yushin--everything Yushin found out in the Baekje camp. Yushin is writing it all down. An attack within three days, that's the bottom line. Bidam looks at the paper. "Once again you excel. Were you still exiled, we would have never gained such crucial intelligence." And if it's true, he says, it will save the nation. Wow, that's big of him, isn't it? "But that is only if this all is the truth as you claim." Never mind. Bidam says he'll check into all this ASAP. For now, Yushin is still a prisoner. Bidam gets up and leaves...
...and outside sees Chunchu giving Imjong his orders, and handing him a scroll containing the queen's orders to the fortress lord.
The elite commanders have gathered and are being briefed by QSD and Seohyeon. If they can head off the initial charge, the Baekje army will be cut off with insufficient supplies. "Annihilate the Baekje army," the queen orders, "and protect Daeya Fortress."
Evening: Bidam goes to QSD and protests the notion of "a criminal sent to exile" being entrusted with such an important mission. She double-talks him like a real politician: "I entrusted it to whom I most trust." If Yushin is a criminal, she challenges him, what's wrong with having a criminal risk his life to atone for his wrongs? Got you there, dude. "Do you have that much trust in Yushin?" She fires back, "And do you have so little faith in him?" And even suggests that Bidam is distrusting her: "You think I am letting personal whims dictate how I judge Yushin?" But Bidam knows something she doesn't: that Yushin was with the separatist leaders. (Why hasn't he told her yet?) So he responds, rather boldly, "I will give you the answer at a later date." He's lucky she doesn't send him off for a whipping, frankly. He walks away, looking dissatisfied.
And now his cabal is pressing him to tell the queen about the separatists. "I am merely awaiting the right moment," he explains. Right now, the news would simply cancel out the priceless intelligence Yushin provided. "The timing must be right." As in, I'll tell her when it will hurt him the most. Dirtbag.
Nighttime: The separatist camp. Soldiers are training with new crossbows ("gwoljangno") and they're very effective. More accurate, more powerful, and with better range. Apparently the former state of Gaya had comparable or better crossbow technology; Seolji is ecstatic that "we have almost completely reclaimed" that technology.
Inside a room at the camp, Wolya is thinking to himself. He's troubled by his last confrontation with Yushin, in the cave in the previous episode. Yushin urging him to be concerned with the Gayans' welfare and the welfare of their descendants, rather than trying to rebuild a nation, it stuck in his head and made an impression. And how "our legacy shall last forever in the unified Three Kingdoms." Seolji enters, with good news about the crossbow test, but sees Wolya visibly distracted. And knows why. You need to forget about Yushin, he advises. "Seems like he was never destined to join forces with us." But Wolya has to ask him, "Is what we are fighting for truly the right thing?" Wow, a surprising question to hear from him. Seolji is stunned: "We had to endure this oppression for eighty years!" But we're no longer oppressed, Wolya counters; does it really matter that it's under Shilla? Seolji won't debate the point; instead he urges Wolya to maintain his resolve.
Alcheon visits Yushin in his cell, and Yushin tells him about the separatists being where he was. Alcheon realizes it could be a big problem. But Yushin is more concerned with what's happening at Daeya.
We see Imjong galloping on his way to deliver the orders...
Seohyeon's army moves out...
"What!? There is no such man in Daeya Fortress?" Uh-oh. Imjong is back already and has given the news to QSD. Nobody named "Heuk" is there now. There was one guy, but he died months ago.
And now Bidam and the cabal find out; Yeom Jong got word of it somehow. Did Yushin lie? They certainly want to believe he did. And now they decide that this is a great time to spring the Yushin/separatist news on the queen.
Yushin gets the bad news from Geoksaheun and Yanggil, who went with Imjong. Nobody's taking the threat seriously now, they tell him, and the army will be withdrawing.
State council meeting: Now many of the councilors want Yushin punished big-time. Yongchun tries to argue it away as a mistake on Yushin's part...but now Bidam walks in, and milking it for all the drama he can, drops the bomb about Yushin being with the separatists. And now they're calling for Yushin's head! Insistently. QSD realizes that this is Bidam's weird evasiveness about Is-she-being-too-soft-on-Yushin.
So she takes Bidam into a meeting room. "Did you really find out only now about this?" He looks down. "How could I possibly lie to Your Majesty? I knew from the very start." That doesn't go over very well, no surprise. He explains he wanted to verify Yushin's information first, but she accuses him of ducking the truth. "Weren't you waiting for the right time to further force Yushin into a corner?" Heyyy, good for you queenie. "Yushin will never be able to abandon Gaya," he tells her; "Your only choice is abandoning Yushin."
A worried Manmyeong goes to see her son. He remains more concerned about the Daeya situation than his own possible execution. And he has no doubt that Daeya is in great danger.
The queen looks like she has a monster migraine. Chunchu comes to see her. "You cannot abandon Gaya this way." Huh? But it's the same old problem; she did everything she could to reach out and integrate them, but the separatist movement restarted anyway. So nothing more can be done, right? Right? Chunchu is sitting there smiling like he has a solution...spit it out already. I'm the answer, he says. What does that mean?
In his cell, Yushin is drawing on the floor! Playing hopscotch? No, he's trying to reconstruct the map he saw in the Baekje camp. Looks like he's doing a good job of it too. But he still can't seem to crack the "Heuk" mystery.
Alone on her balcony, QSD wonders, "Is what Chunchu said even feasible?" Now Bidam shows up. "How will you dispose of Yushin?" He actually says he'll "protect" Yushin and use his political influence to calm the opposition. "I shall at least spare Yushin's life," he says. What a strange offer. You have to wonder about it...and she already has. "Would our marriage be a suitable price to pay for that?" He reacts like whatever he was hoping to gain from this, it certainly wasn't that. She presses, "Isn't that what you wish for?" Trying to compose himself, he admits, Yes, I want that..."But I have no intention of haggling away my devotion." He's at least acting like her cynicism has stunned him. If you order me to do it, he says, I will, simply because it's your order. But she says she'll order no such thing. And dismisses him. (Why does she keep meeting him herself? She changed things so that he would have to report to Chunchu and Yongchun. What happened to that?)
So he goes to see Yushin, who's still scribbling away on the floor. "Are you aware that memorials asking for your head are spurting from every corner?" Bidam is frustrated at Yushin's caring less for his own life than with Daeya. He's sick of the whole thing, but Yushin warns him, "If Daeya Fortress collapses, you think that you would not be held responsible for not taking any precaution, despite knowing the situation?" Bidam waves that off...so Yushin plays an ace: "Bidam--how would your mother react?" Oooooh, good one. It sets Bidam screaming, but Yushin implores him to use his mother's insight into people: "Do you see any fear in my eyes? Do they look like the eyes of someone trying to deceive you?" He urges Bidam, "Look at the big picture."
Bidam leaves the building, thinking to himself. Knowing that Yushin isn't being deceitful. "And if what Yushin says truly happens..." Yeom Jong shows up and starts blabbering about Yushin's troubles, but Bidam cuts him off: "Bring me the list of men stationed in Daeya Fortress. And records of our entire investigation there." Yeom Jong, not believing Yushin's information, is surprised at the request, but goes to get the materials.
Now it's Seolwon is visiting QSD on the balcony; apparently she summoned him. He tells her she looks anxious; she ignores that, and talks to him like she wants his advice as a military man and as someone whose insight she respects. He tells her it isn't Yushin she should be concerned about, it's Bidam. And how she's "inciting" him needlessly. "Give Bidam the reassurance he is looking for," Seolwon advises. "Don't you know all too well that he would repay you with unyielding loyalty?" Is this sincere advice, or simply self-interested posturing? Some of both, probably...but it's not really clear what he means, is it.
An after-hours informal gathering: Misaeng, Hajong, Bojong, Jujin, Sueulbu, and Ho Jae. All anti-Yushin to the point where they agree that, as Jujin puts it, "We must clearly dispose of him and restore public order." They know it's the queen's decision, but clearly they're going to ramp up the pressure on her to decide. But now Misaeng is wondering where Bidam is and why he hasn't been more visible in all this.
Bidam has been going over the Daeya Fortress register, and confirms no one named "Heuk." But he knows Yushin saw something real.
Next morning: The front yard of QSD's palace is filled to capacity. On one half, kneeling nobles and ministers calling out for Yushin's execution. On the other, kneeling soldiers calling out for clemency. That's not gonna help her headache, guys.
Yeah, she's sitting there inside, with Alcheon standing next to her, and the headache is back. And Jukbang showing up with the daily provincial reports doesn't help: "They all concern motions to execute Lord Yushin." Seeing her distress, he advises her very gently to spare Yushin's life. She asks him why. "If you strike Lord Yushin now," he says, and then hesitates..."What I say will likely betray my status, but, Your Majesty, it would only tarnish you. It will only damage you, in all sincerity." The advice is heartfelt and not driven by politics, and she knows that.
Alcheon goes to see Yushin and tells him what's going on out there. But again, Yushin is only concerned about Daeya. Alcheon sighs. "Do you really believe that Daeya Fortress will be conquered? Are you sure of it?" He knows Yushin's information wasn't a lie, but that "Heuk" stuff, "Are you sure that it was what you saw?" Yushin is sure about the Heuk, but he also says that "The rest was covered so I couldn't see it." Huh?! What is this now?
And he must have told Bidam the same thing, because Bidam and Yeom Jong are discussing the same thing. Suddenly they realize something: the character "Heuk" that Yushin saw might only be the first character in a compound. Scrambling through the register, they discover two names, Jeomyang and Geomil, that begin with the "Heuk" character. "One of these two must be the spy!" And look at this: Geomil, he's a soldier assigned to guard Daeya's northern gate.
Baekje camp: A carrier pigeon alights on Yoon Chung's arm. It brings a written message: "I will open the northern gates today. Geomil."
"We must deal with this ourselves." Bidam tells Yeom Jong to send Bojong to Daeya immediately. Is this to stop the spy but keep Yushin from being vindicated? Looks like it. Bad, bad Bidam.
Bojong assembles a squad of inspectors and they depart. Oh no, he's taking Santak the Annoying chief guard!
As night falls, we see them galloping towards Daeya.
But simultaneously, Yoon Chung is addressing his officers. Gyebaek is next to him. "Tonight, Mocheok will set their supplies on fire, and Geomil will open the gates. We shall subjugate Daeya Fortress, and reclaim the land which belonged to us during King Seong's reign. Daeya Fortress is merely the beginning. Our goal is to subjugate Shilla's capital, Seorabeol. Is that clear?" Perfectly, and received with wild enthusiasm.
Bidam is visiting QSD. She tells him what Seolwon told her, about him wanting reassurance and a sense of safety. It baffles him: "What is that supposed to mean?" She asks him flat-out: "Are you in love with me?" Silence. Answer it, she says. So he does. "If I may dare say so...I am." Then she asks, "And this country? Don't you love this country?" Apparently implying, if you love Shilla, you shouldn't love me.
We see the Shillan army headed home. A scout arrives, though, with information: the Baekje army is moving! And not in a good direction.
Yushin is frantic for news, to the point where he's annoying the guards outside his cell. They're tired of him and disregard him.
We see a hand reach towards a wooden gate and unbolt it...
...and in the next moment, outside the gate it's total chaos and the Baekjeans are attacking. Successfully!
Bojong's squad arrives at the outskirts of Daeya--to find the entire fortress on fire! What else can they do but head home ASAP.
"Should there be royal nuptials between you and me..." What!? Why is the queen even addressing this?! She continues, "...it would not be to save Yushin's life, nor is it fruit of any lingering devotion, but it is merely because I need you by my side." But then she accuses him of trying to engineer the whole thing simply as a power grab. "How could you behave in such a childish manner?" Ouch. It makes him think back to his last moments with Mishil...her telling him his devotion to Deokman is "a most innocent dream"...and then to an earlier time with her, in Episode 42, when she told him how she dislikes "men clinging onto women out of mere devotion"...Flashbacks ending, the queen tells him, "All my love must be devoted to this nation." She's already explained this to him, but he won't give up. "If all you love is this country, I will become what you love. For you already represent this country in my heart. My devotion for you and this country are not different to me." Does he really think he's going to get anywhere with this? Well certainly not now, because here comes Yeom Jong running in with the big news about Daeya. Now he'd just better hope she doesn't find out about this last stunt he tried to pull off.
Geoksaheun tells Yushin, who looks stunned. (Of course he isn't, but he looks like it. Weird.)
"Lord Yushin's intelligence was right!", Yeom Jong tells the queen. "A Baekje spy named Geomil opened the gates." And the fortress supplies were set on fire too. That was the signal to the Baekjeans to proceed, we learn. Fortunately Seohyeon's army was still nearby and is trying to stop them, but it's not going well.
No it's not. We're back at Daeya and the Baekjeans have brought some SERIOUS weaponry. The big stuff, for attacking fortified gates and walls. The Shillans managed to get to Daeya first and get around and inside the place, but they're getting slaughtered. And the perimeter defenses are crumbling. And now arrows are absolutely pouring into the fortress, with the attackers getting nearer and nearer the walls. This is a total massacre. As the enemy closes in, the hand-to-hand stuff starts up, and here the Shillans are having much more success. But now the fortress gate is pounded open with a huge battering ram, and the blitzkrieg is on.
Is that Seon Yul, the former elite Hwarang? Yes it is; (We may have been seen before and I didn't recognize him, but) he's a military officer now. Whatever...he's not a happy officer at the moment. He and Wang Yun, both wounded, have made it back to Seorabeol and are reporting at a state council meeting. "The defense line at the Bisa Plains has fallen!" Which is bad...why? Because, as Chunchu jumps in and tells the queen, if they know to take a certain route through Iseo County and other places, "it will only take one day to reach the capital." Yes, that would be bad. And on top of that, the Baekjeans now have reinforcements. Wang Yun calls them "unstoppable." Yongchun steps forward and reminds her that Yushin was right after all, so....But he gets no further because Bidam's entrance interrupts him. Bidam reminds the queen that "The undefeated Yushin Army" is still in the capital. Which sets off a discussion about how to deploy it with its leader imprisoned. So who will lead them? Bidam? No, he's not suggesting that. But he does have someone in mind. Someone "with remarkable strategy and peerless experience on the battlefield." Seolwon! Good suggestion, at least in the sense that he's credible and more than qualified. Oh, and look, Seolwon is there in the hallway waiting for his cue. In full battle armor. He walks in and kneels before the queen. "Your Majesty, may you grant command to this old man of arms. If I fail to rescue this nation and honor your repute, your humble servant Seolwon shall not make his return."
Apparently she okayed it, because now Godo, Daepoong, Geoksaheun and Yanggil have come to see Yushin and are complaining bitterly about it. But Yushin urges them to follow Seolwon and tells them they're needed because they know the Baekje troops well from their experience at Amak. It's not what they wanted to hear from him--their hung heads make that clear--but they say they will. Yushin says Seolwon will need them very much, and adds, "Lord Seolwon is a remarkable warrior, but not only has he aged, his lack of recent experience on the battlefield concerns me." Wow, that's interesting. Baekje has changed since he fought them, Yushin says, and he needs you to help him understand that.
Bidam brings a rolled-up map to the queen. It's a national defense plan that Seolwon drafted. She unrolls it and looks at it, but she can barely concentrate on it and we see her hands shaking. Bidam gently reminds her what she said about having him at her side. And possibly choosing someone for the sake of the country. (Which isn't what she meant, is it now.) "And so it will happen," he surprises her by saying. "I will save this nation, and you, your people and everything you cherish." She looks at him and tells him, "Whomever saves this nation will be fully entitled to gain it." The meaning isn't obvious, but it seems to suggest that if he succeeds, she'll marry him.
"Daeya Fortress is in peril. They will face a major offensive." Yushin, sitting there bound with his wrists shackled, is telling Bidam this, but Bidam refuses to believe any real threat exists. Even when Yushin explains about the Baekje spy inside the fortress who will open the doors, Bidam tells him that "You should be more concerned about your own survival," since his actions could be interpreted as treasonous. But then Yeom Jong comes running in and whispers something into Bidam's ear. Doink! "Her Majesty's secret command?!"
Now word has gotten back to Bidam's cabal. They don't understand it or like it, and as Seolwon realizes, they can't charge Yushin with espionage based on this news. However, the news that Wolya and Seolji were seen with him, that must be treason, right? "Indeed it is," Seolwon says; Yushin shouldn't be anywhere near those two regardless of the reason.
Seohyeon is presenting a defense plan to the queen; it's all mapped out and ready to go. Chunchu tells her that Imjong has been sent to seek out the spy--they know his name is "Heuk" something, based on what Yushin found out. Where's Bidam, she asks.
He's still getting the details from Yushin--everything Yushin found out in the Baekje camp. Yushin is writing it all down. An attack within three days, that's the bottom line. Bidam looks at the paper. "Once again you excel. Were you still exiled, we would have never gained such crucial intelligence." And if it's true, he says, it will save the nation. Wow, that's big of him, isn't it? "But that is only if this all is the truth as you claim." Never mind. Bidam says he'll check into all this ASAP. For now, Yushin is still a prisoner. Bidam gets up and leaves...
...and outside sees Chunchu giving Imjong his orders, and handing him a scroll containing the queen's orders to the fortress lord.
The elite commanders have gathered and are being briefed by QSD and Seohyeon. If they can head off the initial charge, the Baekje army will be cut off with insufficient supplies. "Annihilate the Baekje army," the queen orders, "and protect Daeya Fortress."
Evening: Bidam goes to QSD and protests the notion of "a criminal sent to exile" being entrusted with such an important mission. She double-talks him like a real politician: "I entrusted it to whom I most trust." If Yushin is a criminal, she challenges him, what's wrong with having a criminal risk his life to atone for his wrongs? Got you there, dude. "Do you have that much trust in Yushin?" She fires back, "And do you have so little faith in him?" And even suggests that Bidam is distrusting her: "You think I am letting personal whims dictate how I judge Yushin?" But Bidam knows something she doesn't: that Yushin was with the separatist leaders. (Why hasn't he told her yet?) So he responds, rather boldly, "I will give you the answer at a later date." He's lucky she doesn't send him off for a whipping, frankly. He walks away, looking dissatisfied.
And now his cabal is pressing him to tell the queen about the separatists. "I am merely awaiting the right moment," he explains. Right now, the news would simply cancel out the priceless intelligence Yushin provided. "The timing must be right." As in, I'll tell her when it will hurt him the most. Dirtbag.
Nighttime: The separatist camp. Soldiers are training with new crossbows ("gwoljangno") and they're very effective. More accurate, more powerful, and with better range. Apparently the former state of Gaya had comparable or better crossbow technology; Seolji is ecstatic that "we have almost completely reclaimed" that technology.
Inside a room at the camp, Wolya is thinking to himself. He's troubled by his last confrontation with Yushin, in the cave in the previous episode. Yushin urging him to be concerned with the Gayans' welfare and the welfare of their descendants, rather than trying to rebuild a nation, it stuck in his head and made an impression. And how "our legacy shall last forever in the unified Three Kingdoms." Seolji enters, with good news about the crossbow test, but sees Wolya visibly distracted. And knows why. You need to forget about Yushin, he advises. "Seems like he was never destined to join forces with us." But Wolya has to ask him, "Is what we are fighting for truly the right thing?" Wow, a surprising question to hear from him. Seolji is stunned: "We had to endure this oppression for eighty years!" But we're no longer oppressed, Wolya counters; does it really matter that it's under Shilla? Seolji won't debate the point; instead he urges Wolya to maintain his resolve.
Alcheon visits Yushin in his cell, and Yushin tells him about the separatists being where he was. Alcheon realizes it could be a big problem. But Yushin is more concerned with what's happening at Daeya.
We see Imjong galloping on his way to deliver the orders...
Seohyeon's army moves out...
"What!? There is no such man in Daeya Fortress?" Uh-oh. Imjong is back already and has given the news to QSD. Nobody named "Heuk" is there now. There was one guy, but he died months ago.
And now Bidam and the cabal find out; Yeom Jong got word of it somehow. Did Yushin lie? They certainly want to believe he did. And now they decide that this is a great time to spring the Yushin/separatist news on the queen.
Yushin gets the bad news from Geoksaheun and Yanggil, who went with Imjong. Nobody's taking the threat seriously now, they tell him, and the army will be withdrawing.
State council meeting: Now many of the councilors want Yushin punished big-time. Yongchun tries to argue it away as a mistake on Yushin's part...but now Bidam walks in, and milking it for all the drama he can, drops the bomb about Yushin being with the separatists. And now they're calling for Yushin's head! Insistently. QSD realizes that this is Bidam's weird evasiveness about Is-she-being-too-soft-on-Yushin.
So she takes Bidam into a meeting room. "Did you really find out only now about this?" He looks down. "How could I possibly lie to Your Majesty? I knew from the very start." That doesn't go over very well, no surprise. He explains he wanted to verify Yushin's information first, but she accuses him of ducking the truth. "Weren't you waiting for the right time to further force Yushin into a corner?" Heyyy, good for you queenie. "Yushin will never be able to abandon Gaya," he tells her; "Your only choice is abandoning Yushin."
A worried Manmyeong goes to see her son. He remains more concerned about the Daeya situation than his own possible execution. And he has no doubt that Daeya is in great danger.
The queen looks like she has a monster migraine. Chunchu comes to see her. "You cannot abandon Gaya this way." Huh? But it's the same old problem; she did everything she could to reach out and integrate them, but the separatist movement restarted anyway. So nothing more can be done, right? Right? Chunchu is sitting there smiling like he has a solution...spit it out already. I'm the answer, he says. What does that mean?
In his cell, Yushin is drawing on the floor! Playing hopscotch? No, he's trying to reconstruct the map he saw in the Baekje camp. Looks like he's doing a good job of it too. But he still can't seem to crack the "Heuk" mystery.
Alone on her balcony, QSD wonders, "Is what Chunchu said even feasible?" Now Bidam shows up. "How will you dispose of Yushin?" He actually says he'll "protect" Yushin and use his political influence to calm the opposition. "I shall at least spare Yushin's life," he says. What a strange offer. You have to wonder about it...and she already has. "Would our marriage be a suitable price to pay for that?" He reacts like whatever he was hoping to gain from this, it certainly wasn't that. She presses, "Isn't that what you wish for?" Trying to compose himself, he admits, Yes, I want that..."But I have no intention of haggling away my devotion." He's at least acting like her cynicism has stunned him. If you order me to do it, he says, I will, simply because it's your order. But she says she'll order no such thing. And dismisses him. (Why does she keep meeting him herself? She changed things so that he would have to report to Chunchu and Yongchun. What happened to that?)
So he goes to see Yushin, who's still scribbling away on the floor. "Are you aware that memorials asking for your head are spurting from every corner?" Bidam is frustrated at Yushin's caring less for his own life than with Daeya. He's sick of the whole thing, but Yushin warns him, "If Daeya Fortress collapses, you think that you would not be held responsible for not taking any precaution, despite knowing the situation?" Bidam waves that off...so Yushin plays an ace: "Bidam--how would your mother react?" Oooooh, good one. It sets Bidam screaming, but Yushin implores him to use his mother's insight into people: "Do you see any fear in my eyes? Do they look like the eyes of someone trying to deceive you?" He urges Bidam, "Look at the big picture."
Bidam leaves the building, thinking to himself. Knowing that Yushin isn't being deceitful. "And if what Yushin says truly happens..." Yeom Jong shows up and starts blabbering about Yushin's troubles, but Bidam cuts him off: "Bring me the list of men stationed in Daeya Fortress. And records of our entire investigation there." Yeom Jong, not believing Yushin's information, is surprised at the request, but goes to get the materials.
Now it's Seolwon is visiting QSD on the balcony; apparently she summoned him. He tells her she looks anxious; she ignores that, and talks to him like she wants his advice as a military man and as someone whose insight she respects. He tells her it isn't Yushin she should be concerned about, it's Bidam. And how she's "inciting" him needlessly. "Give Bidam the reassurance he is looking for," Seolwon advises. "Don't you know all too well that he would repay you with unyielding loyalty?" Is this sincere advice, or simply self-interested posturing? Some of both, probably...but it's not really clear what he means, is it.
An after-hours informal gathering: Misaeng, Hajong, Bojong, Jujin, Sueulbu, and Ho Jae. All anti-Yushin to the point where they agree that, as Jujin puts it, "We must clearly dispose of him and restore public order." They know it's the queen's decision, but clearly they're going to ramp up the pressure on her to decide. But now Misaeng is wondering where Bidam is and why he hasn't been more visible in all this.
Bidam has been going over the Daeya Fortress register, and confirms no one named "Heuk." But he knows Yushin saw something real.
Next morning: The front yard of QSD's palace is filled to capacity. On one half, kneeling nobles and ministers calling out for Yushin's execution. On the other, kneeling soldiers calling out for clemency. That's not gonna help her headache, guys.
Yeah, she's sitting there inside, with Alcheon standing next to her, and the headache is back. And Jukbang showing up with the daily provincial reports doesn't help: "They all concern motions to execute Lord Yushin." Seeing her distress, he advises her very gently to spare Yushin's life. She asks him why. "If you strike Lord Yushin now," he says, and then hesitates..."What I say will likely betray my status, but, Your Majesty, it would only tarnish you. It will only damage you, in all sincerity." The advice is heartfelt and not driven by politics, and she knows that.
Alcheon goes to see Yushin and tells him what's going on out there. But again, Yushin is only concerned about Daeya. Alcheon sighs. "Do you really believe that Daeya Fortress will be conquered? Are you sure of it?" He knows Yushin's information wasn't a lie, but that "Heuk" stuff, "Are you sure that it was what you saw?" Yushin is sure about the Heuk, but he also says that "The rest was covered so I couldn't see it." Huh?! What is this now?
And he must have told Bidam the same thing, because Bidam and Yeom Jong are discussing the same thing. Suddenly they realize something: the character "Heuk" that Yushin saw might only be the first character in a compound. Scrambling through the register, they discover two names, Jeomyang and Geomil, that begin with the "Heuk" character. "One of these two must be the spy!" And look at this: Geomil, he's a soldier assigned to guard Daeya's northern gate.
Baekje camp: A carrier pigeon alights on Yoon Chung's arm. It brings a written message: "I will open the northern gates today. Geomil."
"We must deal with this ourselves." Bidam tells Yeom Jong to send Bojong to Daeya immediately. Is this to stop the spy but keep Yushin from being vindicated? Looks like it. Bad, bad Bidam.
Bojong assembles a squad of inspectors and they depart. Oh no, he's taking Santak the Annoying chief guard!
As night falls, we see them galloping towards Daeya.
But simultaneously, Yoon Chung is addressing his officers. Gyebaek is next to him. "Tonight, Mocheok will set their supplies on fire, and Geomil will open the gates. We shall subjugate Daeya Fortress, and reclaim the land which belonged to us during King Seong's reign. Daeya Fortress is merely the beginning. Our goal is to subjugate Shilla's capital, Seorabeol. Is that clear?" Perfectly, and received with wild enthusiasm.
Bidam is visiting QSD. She tells him what Seolwon told her, about him wanting reassurance and a sense of safety. It baffles him: "What is that supposed to mean?" She asks him flat-out: "Are you in love with me?" Silence. Answer it, she says. So he does. "If I may dare say so...I am." Then she asks, "And this country? Don't you love this country?" Apparently implying, if you love Shilla, you shouldn't love me.
We see the Shillan army headed home. A scout arrives, though, with information: the Baekje army is moving! And not in a good direction.
Yushin is frantic for news, to the point where he's annoying the guards outside his cell. They're tired of him and disregard him.
We see a hand reach towards a wooden gate and unbolt it...
...and in the next moment, outside the gate it's total chaos and the Baekjeans are attacking. Successfully!
Bojong's squad arrives at the outskirts of Daeya--to find the entire fortress on fire! What else can they do but head home ASAP.
"Should there be royal nuptials between you and me..." What!? Why is the queen even addressing this?! She continues, "...it would not be to save Yushin's life, nor is it fruit of any lingering devotion, but it is merely because I need you by my side." But then she accuses him of trying to engineer the whole thing simply as a power grab. "How could you behave in such a childish manner?" Ouch. It makes him think back to his last moments with Mishil...her telling him his devotion to Deokman is "a most innocent dream"...and then to an earlier time with her, in Episode 42, when she told him how she dislikes "men clinging onto women out of mere devotion"...Flashbacks ending, the queen tells him, "All my love must be devoted to this nation." She's already explained this to him, but he won't give up. "If all you love is this country, I will become what you love. For you already represent this country in my heart. My devotion for you and this country are not different to me." Does he really think he's going to get anywhere with this? Well certainly not now, because here comes Yeom Jong running in with the big news about Daeya. Now he'd just better hope she doesn't find out about this last stunt he tried to pull off.
Geoksaheun tells Yushin, who looks stunned. (Of course he isn't, but he looks like it. Weird.)
"Lord Yushin's intelligence was right!", Yeom Jong tells the queen. "A Baekje spy named Geomil opened the gates." And the fortress supplies were set on fire too. That was the signal to the Baekjeans to proceed, we learn. Fortunately Seohyeon's army was still nearby and is trying to stop them, but it's not going well.
No it's not. We're back at Daeya and the Baekjeans have brought some SERIOUS weaponry. The big stuff, for attacking fortified gates and walls. The Shillans managed to get to Daeya first and get around and inside the place, but they're getting slaughtered. And the perimeter defenses are crumbling. And now arrows are absolutely pouring into the fortress, with the attackers getting nearer and nearer the walls. This is a total massacre. As the enemy closes in, the hand-to-hand stuff starts up, and here the Shillans are having much more success. But now the fortress gate is pounded open with a huge battering ram, and the blitzkrieg is on.
Is that Seon Yul, the former elite Hwarang? Yes it is; (We may have been seen before and I didn't recognize him, but) he's a military officer now. Whatever...he's not a happy officer at the moment. He and Wang Yun, both wounded, have made it back to Seorabeol and are reporting at a state council meeting. "The defense line at the Bisa Plains has fallen!" Which is bad...why? Because, as Chunchu jumps in and tells the queen, if they know to take a certain route through Iseo County and other places, "it will only take one day to reach the capital." Yes, that would be bad. And on top of that, the Baekjeans now have reinforcements. Wang Yun calls them "unstoppable." Yongchun steps forward and reminds her that Yushin was right after all, so....But he gets no further because Bidam's entrance interrupts him. Bidam reminds the queen that "The undefeated Yushin Army" is still in the capital. Which sets off a discussion about how to deploy it with its leader imprisoned. So who will lead them? Bidam? No, he's not suggesting that. But he does have someone in mind. Someone "with remarkable strategy and peerless experience on the battlefield." Seolwon! Good suggestion, at least in the sense that he's credible and more than qualified. Oh, and look, Seolwon is there in the hallway waiting for his cue. In full battle armor. He walks in and kneels before the queen. "Your Majesty, may you grant command to this old man of arms. If I fail to rescue this nation and honor your repute, your humble servant Seolwon shall not make his return."
Apparently she okayed it, because now Godo, Daepoong, Geoksaheun and Yanggil have come to see Yushin and are complaining bitterly about it. But Yushin urges them to follow Seolwon and tells them they're needed because they know the Baekje troops well from their experience at Amak. It's not what they wanted to hear from him--their hung heads make that clear--but they say they will. Yushin says Seolwon will need them very much, and adds, "Lord Seolwon is a remarkable warrior, but not only has he aged, his lack of recent experience on the battlefield concerns me." Wow, that's interesting. Baekje has changed since he fought them, Yushin says, and he needs you to help him understand that.
Bidam brings a rolled-up map to the queen. It's a national defense plan that Seolwon drafted. She unrolls it and looks at it, but she can barely concentrate on it and we see her hands shaking. Bidam gently reminds her what she said about having him at her side. And possibly choosing someone for the sake of the country. (Which isn't what she meant, is it now.) "And so it will happen," he surprises her by saying. "I will save this nation, and you, your people and everything you cherish." She looks at him and tells him, "Whomever saves this nation will be fully entitled to gain it." The meaning isn't obvious, but it seems to suggest that if he succeeds, she'll marry him.