Most of this episode wasnโt any more comfortable or enjoyable to watch as the previous one was. And now theyโve got the queen saying one dumb, obvious thing after another. That got very old very fast. But later in the episode we did get a few good scenes and it started to get back to more of what it does well.
click for full size How did those attendants know to scatter aside all in unison for the queen...approaching from behind them? Are they psychic? And besides, shouldn't all be facing her front door?
Queen on losing her attendants: โWhat did he say was the reason?โ Thereโs #1.
Queen: โIs he going to humiliate the queen for such a little thing?โ Are you kidding me? Heโs the king, you canโt stick your nose into his privacy like thatโitโs not a โlittle thing.โ Thereโs #2. (And now what about those poor attendantsโare they going to get paid? Did they just lose their jobs? Ugh.)
Min Jae: โForget it. Just get to the point.โ Loved that. But why would he hide behind a scholar? Yes the scholars are the ones to submit the petitions but it didnโt make Min look good that he refuses to own up to his being behind it.
โAs long as I am the queen, he will not give a harsh punishment.โ Do you not know your own husband? #3.
And now theyโre bickering about coming into the room or leaving the room, enough already! This is getting so tiring...But how about Ha Ryun standing up to Bangwonโs anger and correctly getting the ministers out of there. And then making sure they got away from hearing distance too.
Queen: โEven commoners bring concubines in secretly through the back door.โ Yeah because theyโre not, ummm, kings? #4. This is so disappointing.
Bangwon: โA kingโs duties include having many wives and heirs. Your father is a great scholar and yet you do not know that?โ There it isโthe writing has so twisted the story that Bangwon actually has the high ground in all this. And then when she gripes about how all of that is an artifact of โmen drunk on powerโ...well sheโs not wrong but itโs starting to feel like sheโs one of those time-travel characters in a time-travel drama.
โYou plan to bring in a new wife so that one day you can get rid of me for good. That way you will have no problem making her your new queen. Am I wrong?โ NO! You are not wrong, thatโs exactly right! And obvious! What are you not getting here? #5.
โI only wished to be your wife who could walk beside you.โ No, not โonlyโ that, you wanted to co-rule the country and that was never going to happen, and you should have known that. Or else at least you should have told him of your ambition before you invested so many years into his success. #6, because she fudged. But her lonely walk back to her palace, that was a good moment. The drone shot from above, and then her standing there silently clearly wrestling with her composure, both well done by the director. At least the director hasnโt checked outโthe series still looks good and is being staged well.
And then Bangwon tells his kids not to visit their mom, that was low. At that point he lost whatever standing he had in the argument and it became just an ugly fight between two jerks.
Ha Ryun to Min Jae: โHe is trying to discipline the Min clan. Do you not see that?โ And then spells it all outโperfectly. โYou must prove you have no greed for power.โ That was terrific. Except at the end, when Min Jae looks like heโs having a heart attack like none of this ever occurred to him. Heโs supposed to be a brilliant scholar but he couldnโt figure it out on his own?
Was curious about the attendants stirring rice in cold water with their hands. I donโt doubt that this was a real thingโitโs not the kind of thing they would make upโbut does anybody know why it was done that way?
The little sigh from Bangwon after he stops eating and they take his food away, that was terrificโshowing that thereโs still a decent human being in there. The guy playing Bangwon continues to impress.
Jiranโs kid: โI expected you to live in a proper house at least. You have land and slaves. Why are you living so poorly?โ Yeah that deserved an explanation a while ago.
Wait a minute...The queen hasnโt seen her kids in days, but she doesnโt realize that sheโs not allowed to see them? Meaning she never even tried? Thatโs clearly whatโs implied here by the way this was written...which now makes her look like a horrible, horrible person, so wrapped up on her own spoiled tantrum that sheโd even put her own kids out of her mind. I sort of doubt that this is what the writers intended, but this is the kind of trouble you get into when you mess with the story for the sake of juicing up the drama.
Banggwa: โWill you put your children through what we went through?โ For all of the overemphasis on too many scenes, here was one that needed a lot more. It changed everything and it was sort of a reminder moment for the viewers too...Oh yeah this is all a lot like what happened to Bangwon and his brothers, Banggwa has a great point. This was a wonderful moment.
โWhy are you crying? You were so strong.โ There right at the end, there was some of what we got in the first half of the series that made the two of them so interesting. They both looked and acted like the intelligent, complete human characters we got to know. This is what works; why do they keep burying it for the sake of juicing up the drama? Letโs please get past the two of them fighting or at least mix in a bunch of other things now. Please!