Post by ajk on Mar 27, 2020 2:23:35 GMT -5
Looks like zombies are invading a Japanese army camp. This is a “cold open” to the episode with no explanation, and on top of that, they’re running the footage backwards. No apparent point to this.
After the opening credits...It’s three years earlier, and Cho Hak-ju is trying to sell a skeptical Ahn Hyeon on using the Resurrection Plant to help fight the Japanese. Using it on sick civilians who die. Ahn considers doing a such thing immoral and doesn’t believe it will work anyway. But Cho has brought a zombie to surprise Ahn with, and after shocking him with its appearance asks him what other choice they have against the massive Japanese army that’s approaching.
An image of a devastated Sumang village (where we had seen Yeong-sin)...and then corpses being treated with the Resurrection Plant...and then the cold-open footage run properly this time...and now Lord Ahn is inspecting the Japanese camp the next day. Wow, every soldier has been wiped out. “I will not forget your sacrifices,” Ahn tells himself as he finds the decapitated bodies of zombie-fied civilians who did all this. “I promise you, they will not be in vain.”
And now we’re back to the stunning moment we left last time. “If you want to kill these undead monsters,” the prince shouts, “focus your attacks on the head.” Too late now but at least they know for next time. Then he has Seo-bi tell everyone exactly how the plant works and what happened. And how Cho Hak-ju tried to frame him for treason. “The Haewon Cho clan is guilty of mortal sin,” he tells them all. and their greed “is at the root of everything.” He turns to the army commander and asks, “Will you join this cause?”
Apparently he did, because now the two of them are trying to figure a way to send relief to the besieged people in Sangju.
And now a wild, dramatic military operation to get a wagon train through a countryside full of zombies. Covering cannon-fire, kite signaling, it’s a heck of an effort. And it works! Sangju gets the supplies they need and they’ll be okay for a while.
Seo-bi is treating Cho Hak-ju, who to our great surprise isn’t dead yet but his temperature is dropping steadily. And speaking of great surprise, why hasn’t he turned into a zombie? We don’t know and neither does Seo-bi, but she seems to be certain he won’t. Dan-i didn’t, she reminds Cho Beom-pal And she wants to try to save him, if only has a test case to see if she can figure out how to end the plague. For that she needs medicinal herbs. Beom-pal happens to be carrying something in his pocket, a piece of bark from a sappanwood tree. No that’s not going to help, it’s only good for certain gynecological conditions, obviously no use here. But wait a minute, what the heck is Beom-pal doing with gynecological medicine? He says he’s been getting it for the queen. Seo-bi is shocked and puzzled. “Did the queen use it recently?” Apparently so--last month, the month before, and now again. Something about this unnerves her.
Now what the heck is happening? Mu-yeong has taken the king’s palanquin, horse and all, and is fleeing into the countryside! Seo-bi and Cho Hak-ju are inside it and Beom-pal is riding alongside them.
Flashback to the day when Mu-yeong dropped his wife off at the pregnancy home we first saw her at (which has turned out to be the place in the queen’s village where the horrible murders were discovered). “You know your wife is in good hands,” an officer tells him, “and we are getting what we want.” I think this is the later-murdered dirtbag Cho Beom-il who’s talking to Mu-yeong...and as he talks it becomes clear that this isn’t Mu-yeong’s choice. The Cho clan has threatened his family’s safety unless Mu-yeong provides them with information on the prince. So now we know: Mu-yeong is the mole and has been betraying his boss the prince. But it’s against his will.
As soon as the prince finds out, he and Yeong-sin and a squad head out after them. They’re four hours behind but they’re on extremely fast horses.
Now we’re in the capital. The councilors can’t understand why there’s no news of childbirth after so many hours of the queen being in labor. And also can’t understand why Cho Hak-ju took the sick king with him to Mungyeong. Nearby, the defense minister is overseeing the interrogation of some of the queen’s attendants, and the investigation is continuing to make inroads. Ultimately it leads to more of those palanquins that were used to transport dead bodies. The queen’s ladies claim they were for wet nurses...but the Royal Commandery leader must investigate. He ends up having to go into the queen’s delivery chambers...where he does find women who appear to be waiting to be wet nurses...
...and now he's been arrested and brought back in restraints to the council chamber. Can’t go barging into the queen’s delivery chambers. He took a risk and found nothing and it backfired on him. This is potentially an executable offense, too.
The queen gets the news and smirks. Turns out this was all a setup to trap the investigators and derail the investigation, at least long enough to buy some time. Well played, queenie.
Our little fleeing group of four has to stop. Cho’s condition has worsened and he needs to be taken inside somewhere and warmed up. They find an abandoned house and barn, and take Cho inside. Cho is left with Beom-pal...and suddenly he starts whispering something. Meanwhile, Mu-yeong is going through the house and barn, preparing to build a fire. Seo-bi asks him, when the prince would be catching up to them. “You said he would follow behind us shortly.” But she quickly smells a rat. Whatever is happening her, she tells him, “I implore you to reconsider,” she tells him. And then tells him more about that sappanwood plant. It grows only in Japan, she explains, and it’s only for treatment AFTER childbirth or miscarriage. “Women who are pregnant should not be using it at all.” So why is the queen taking it? Mu-yeong thinks back...and realizes that the place he left his wife at is full of pregnant women...including her. He turns to Cho, who’s lying on the floor. “What are you scheming with those women at Naeseonjae?” It looks like he’s about to get rough with Cho...but suddenly he takes an arrow shot! Soldiers have swarmed the place and have come to take Cho. Mu-yeong is battling soldiers left and right but there’s too much chaos and he can do nothing. Turns out, that whispering that Cho did, he was instructing Beom-pal on how to get help. And Beom-pal did. As everyone clears out and leaves (apparently including Seo-bi who is forced to go with them), Mu-yeong is blasted with arrows to his back—isn’t that brave. He staggers outside, and falls just as the prince shows up and finds him. He tells the prince about the pregnant women in Naeseonjae and that the queen is plotting something...”the nurse knows everything”...”My family is there.” With his last breath he apologizes: “I’m sorry...for failing to protect you to the end.” He dies in the prince’s arms.
All of the other pregnant women in Naeseonjae were sent home...but now we see a woman giving birth somewhere...it looks like in or near the queen’s palace. And now apparently we have a heathy baby boy.
After the opening credits...It’s three years earlier, and Cho Hak-ju is trying to sell a skeptical Ahn Hyeon on using the Resurrection Plant to help fight the Japanese. Using it on sick civilians who die. Ahn considers doing a such thing immoral and doesn’t believe it will work anyway. But Cho has brought a zombie to surprise Ahn with, and after shocking him with its appearance asks him what other choice they have against the massive Japanese army that’s approaching.
An image of a devastated Sumang village (where we had seen Yeong-sin)...and then corpses being treated with the Resurrection Plant...and then the cold-open footage run properly this time...and now Lord Ahn is inspecting the Japanese camp the next day. Wow, every soldier has been wiped out. “I will not forget your sacrifices,” Ahn tells himself as he finds the decapitated bodies of zombie-fied civilians who did all this. “I promise you, they will not be in vain.”
And now we’re back to the stunning moment we left last time. “If you want to kill these undead monsters,” the prince shouts, “focus your attacks on the head.” Too late now but at least they know for next time. Then he has Seo-bi tell everyone exactly how the plant works and what happened. And how Cho Hak-ju tried to frame him for treason. “The Haewon Cho clan is guilty of mortal sin,” he tells them all. and their greed “is at the root of everything.” He turns to the army commander and asks, “Will you join this cause?”
Apparently he did, because now the two of them are trying to figure a way to send relief to the besieged people in Sangju.
And now a wild, dramatic military operation to get a wagon train through a countryside full of zombies. Covering cannon-fire, kite signaling, it’s a heck of an effort. And it works! Sangju gets the supplies they need and they’ll be okay for a while.
Seo-bi is treating Cho Hak-ju, who to our great surprise isn’t dead yet but his temperature is dropping steadily. And speaking of great surprise, why hasn’t he turned into a zombie? We don’t know and neither does Seo-bi, but she seems to be certain he won’t. Dan-i didn’t, she reminds Cho Beom-pal And she wants to try to save him, if only has a test case to see if she can figure out how to end the plague. For that she needs medicinal herbs. Beom-pal happens to be carrying something in his pocket, a piece of bark from a sappanwood tree. No that’s not going to help, it’s only good for certain gynecological conditions, obviously no use here. But wait a minute, what the heck is Beom-pal doing with gynecological medicine? He says he’s been getting it for the queen. Seo-bi is shocked and puzzled. “Did the queen use it recently?” Apparently so--last month, the month before, and now again. Something about this unnerves her.
Now what the heck is happening? Mu-yeong has taken the king’s palanquin, horse and all, and is fleeing into the countryside! Seo-bi and Cho Hak-ju are inside it and Beom-pal is riding alongside them.
Flashback to the day when Mu-yeong dropped his wife off at the pregnancy home we first saw her at (which has turned out to be the place in the queen’s village where the horrible murders were discovered). “You know your wife is in good hands,” an officer tells him, “and we are getting what we want.” I think this is the later-murdered dirtbag Cho Beom-il who’s talking to Mu-yeong...and as he talks it becomes clear that this isn’t Mu-yeong’s choice. The Cho clan has threatened his family’s safety unless Mu-yeong provides them with information on the prince. So now we know: Mu-yeong is the mole and has been betraying his boss the prince. But it’s against his will.
As soon as the prince finds out, he and Yeong-sin and a squad head out after them. They’re four hours behind but they’re on extremely fast horses.
Now we’re in the capital. The councilors can’t understand why there’s no news of childbirth after so many hours of the queen being in labor. And also can’t understand why Cho Hak-ju took the sick king with him to Mungyeong. Nearby, the defense minister is overseeing the interrogation of some of the queen’s attendants, and the investigation is continuing to make inroads. Ultimately it leads to more of those palanquins that were used to transport dead bodies. The queen’s ladies claim they were for wet nurses...but the Royal Commandery leader must investigate. He ends up having to go into the queen’s delivery chambers...where he does find women who appear to be waiting to be wet nurses...
...and now he's been arrested and brought back in restraints to the council chamber. Can’t go barging into the queen’s delivery chambers. He took a risk and found nothing and it backfired on him. This is potentially an executable offense, too.
The queen gets the news and smirks. Turns out this was all a setup to trap the investigators and derail the investigation, at least long enough to buy some time. Well played, queenie.
Our little fleeing group of four has to stop. Cho’s condition has worsened and he needs to be taken inside somewhere and warmed up. They find an abandoned house and barn, and take Cho inside. Cho is left with Beom-pal...and suddenly he starts whispering something. Meanwhile, Mu-yeong is going through the house and barn, preparing to build a fire. Seo-bi asks him, when the prince would be catching up to them. “You said he would follow behind us shortly.” But she quickly smells a rat. Whatever is happening her, she tells him, “I implore you to reconsider,” she tells him. And then tells him more about that sappanwood plant. It grows only in Japan, she explains, and it’s only for treatment AFTER childbirth or miscarriage. “Women who are pregnant should not be using it at all.” So why is the queen taking it? Mu-yeong thinks back...and realizes that the place he left his wife at is full of pregnant women...including her. He turns to Cho, who’s lying on the floor. “What are you scheming with those women at Naeseonjae?” It looks like he’s about to get rough with Cho...but suddenly he takes an arrow shot! Soldiers have swarmed the place and have come to take Cho. Mu-yeong is battling soldiers left and right but there’s too much chaos and he can do nothing. Turns out, that whispering that Cho did, he was instructing Beom-pal on how to get help. And Beom-pal did. As everyone clears out and leaves (apparently including Seo-bi who is forced to go with them), Mu-yeong is blasted with arrows to his back—isn’t that brave. He staggers outside, and falls just as the prince shows up and finds him. He tells the prince about the pregnant women in Naeseonjae and that the queen is plotting something...”the nurse knows everything”...”My family is there.” With his last breath he apologizes: “I’m sorry...for failing to protect you to the end.” He dies in the prince’s arms.
All of the other pregnant women in Naeseonjae were sent home...but now we see a woman giving birth somewhere...it looks like in or near the queen’s palace. And now apparently we have a heathy baby boy.