Post by ajk on Mar 18, 2008 14:41:12 GMT -5
Choongnyeong (dressed as a commoner and in the restaurant with only his teacher Yi Su) grabs the man by the collar and demands to know what information he was trying to sell to the Japanese spy. From off to the side, Baron Ok Hwan appears and guesses that the man was trying to scam the spy and had no real information to offer. The man, identified as Yun Hwe, admits to that and leaves angrily. Ok and Choongnyeong acknowledge each other; Ok says "It's been a long time," and the prince agrees.
Ok Hwan returns home with Foreman Jeon and Muby; he knows that Yun has valuable Chinese and Japanese language skills and mulls over the possibility of hiring him (we're not told what for).
Outside the restaurant, a surprisingly sober Yun confronts the prince, tells him he was being stupid, and even slaps him. It turns out that he had spent the last three days trying to set up the spy to get him to talk about what he was up to. And Choongnyeong blew it all. The prince turns to Yi Su and more or less asks him not to rub it in.
Outside of Choongnyeong's quarters: Princess Shim paces nervously back and forth in front of her staff, not knowing where Choongnyeong is. Suddenly he hops over a wall. Apparently he often goes out among the public dressed as a commoner. She expresses relief that he's safe and reminds him that it's a big day, but he's a little annoyed: "Sometimes I feel more like your son than your husband." He goes inside and Shim's attendant asks her why she didn't tell him; it would put a smile on his face. (Tell him what? Maybe pregnancy?)
Ministers are meeting to discuss security for a big event. Among them is Min Muhwe, who apparently has military responsibility. (Is he related to the queen, as the earlier Mins were?)
We see Jeongjong, who is the abdicated king and Taejong's older brother. He's with his concubine; she shows him a beautiful buffalo-horn bow and tells him that she's switched suppliers of gifts and now is using Ok Hwan(!). The big event today is a gala hosted by Jeongjong, which includes a royal archery match among the princes.
King Taejong is dressing in his quarters with his attendants, mulling over the abdicated king's plans to give expensive bows to each of the princes. The king goes outside, where a royal procession awaits. He meets Queen Wongyeong and tells her that she doesn't look well. She stares daggers at him and says, "I have you to thank for that." She says she'll put on a phony smile for the event; "it's not the first time."
Gangryeongpo, a seaside village: The Japanese spy from the restaurant is on a bluff overlooking the port, studying a map and watching the loading and unloading of a ship and the movement of security forces.
Choongnyeong and Shim arrive at the crown prince's quarters and are greeted by the crown princess; Choongnyeong goes to see his brother, who is practicing his archery. Choongnyeong sees his brother looking at Jeongjong's concubine as she walks by; he reacts with concern to his apparent interest in her, but Yangnyeong says "she's a flower" and leaves him to follow her down a path. He catches up to her, and as she turns back he keeps blocking her steps, refusing to get out of her way. She tell him to "stop this childish behavior," but he says he wants an answer. He tries to make nice with her but she cautions, "I may be of humble birth but I serve your uncle." Yangnyeong shoots back, "You're frustrated with the ex-king who can't satisfy you. Come to my room tonight. I'll take very good care of you." (So apparently he's turned into a pig.) She tries to slap him, but he grabs her arm and says, "Now you owe me your life. I'm letting this slide because you're so pretty." And he smiles and walks back. Choongnyeong watched all of this with prince Hyoryeong, who had arrived and joined him; the two brothers confront Yangnyeong, unhappy about his behavior, but he fluffs them off. Then he spots the king's concubine Hyobin and tells his brothers, "That right there is the reason father can't fault me for what I do."
Hyobin has shown up to accompany her son, prince Kyoungyeong, to the archery match. The crown prince is not happy to see his half-brother and gives him a mouthful of disrespect. The three princes walk away, Choongnyeong a little hesitantly. Kyoungyeong angrily pounds his fist on a tree. His mother regretfully says, "It's my fault that I failed to kill off the crown prince and his brothers. If only I had done that, things would be so much easier for you." But he doesn't want to hear it; he's tired of her clinging to the dream of being queen. She slaps him and accuses him of being insensitive to her continuing “humiliation.” "I play to risk everything I've got to put you on the royal throne of Joseon. If I have to surrender my life to get you there, I will."
Induk Palace, the home of Jeongjong, the abdicated king: A beautiful scene in a courtyard for the royal archery match, with many attendants gathered. Yangnyeong, Choongnyeong and Hyoryeong bow before the king, queen and Jeongjong, and are presented with their new bows. But their younger brother prince Seongnyeong, who is with them, doesn't get one. He asks why not; they tell him that "Horn bows aren't right for you yet. You'll get one in time." The king thanks Jeongjong for his generosity; Jeongjong thanks the king in turn, saying that he has done much for him.
The match begins. Choongnyeong takes the first shot; not a great shot. Hyoryeong's is a bit better. Yangnyeong goes next; bullseye. A few more poor-to-adequate shots; then Yangnyeong hits another bullseye. As Yangnyeong is shooting he keeps looking over at Jeongjong's concubine, and she finally relents and smiles a bit. Suddenly we look over and see that prince Kyoungyeong has also been shooting, and he has four bullseyes out of four! This gets some general murmuring. Jeongjong tells the king that Kyoungyeong is quite good and reminds him of the king at that age.
Night falls and fireworks are set off for the party. The fireworks are also watched by the commoners who can see them from the streets of Gangryeongpo village, which is not far from Induk palace. Jang Youngsil is dockside with a young woman identified as Daion; she seeing enjoys the fireworks and calls them "dancing ghosts," but Jang Youngsil disagrees and bookishly recites the ingredients of fireworks. The two have come to the village to get medicine for Daion's sick mother.
Gangryeongpo, in the middle of the village: Flaming arrows suddenly come screaming in by the hundreds, setting the village on fire and killing villagers. It's a Japanese invasion. (A regular army or pirates?)
Back at the party, minister Jo Malseng hurries over to the king and whispers urgently into his ear. The king reassures his sons and Jeongjong, and heads indoors with his ministers. Indoors they discuss the situation--twenty ships; could be up to two thousand invaders; the village is only eleven miles from the capital--and decide that Min Muhyul's forces are the best choice to call for assistance, since they’ll be the most effective in mobile warfare.
Jang Youngsil and Daion are on a boat and see the village burning; suddenly the boat is invaded. The invaders are killing everyone; they close in on Jang and Daion, but he grabs her and they jump overboard. He can't swim and is flailing about, but she helps him out and they move away from the boat.
Min Muhyul's forces arrive and begin absolutely annihilating the invaders; a real butt-kicking. But then the crown prince shows up, riding up and down the streets on horseback and taking on invaders himself. He gets off his horse and starts sword-fighting them, but soon he's surrounded by a bunch of them and is in a bad spot. Min Muhyul watches this and actually starts to walk away....
We see a series of flashbacks...First, the beginning of Ep5, with the crown prince wheeling around and accusing Min Mugu and Min Mujil, who are then carried away by guards. Min Muhyul is their brother and was there when it happened...Then we see Mugu and Mujil in white prisoner’s clothes, committing suicide by drinking poison; so that's what happened to them...Then we see the queen (sister to the Mins) advising an angry Muhyul against hasty revenge. First protect the family honor and then seize political control, and then you can get your revenge, she tells him....
Apparently with that advice now in his head, Min turns around and goes to helps Yangnyeong, and they fight their way out of the group of invaders. Min asks the prince why he showed up in such a dangerous situation. "If I want to be a strong king I have to make battlefields my playground." The enemy fleet retreats; the troops celebrate.
Jang and Daion are sitting on land. Why did he jump overboard if he can't swim, she asks? Because I knew that you could swim, he says. She sweetly says that he ought to at least thank her, but he blandly replies, "A servant's life is an asset. Protecting me is protecting an asset." So apparently he's a servant of her family. Then she says that she should really thank him: the medicinal herbs that she’s carrying are safe because he told her to wrap them in oiled paper to keep them dry. There's an odd dynamic between them; he's visibly uncomfortable talking to her in an anything other than a robotic, businesslike manner.
The next day: Yangnyeong and Min Muhyul go out to address the troops. They're Muhyul's troops, but he asks the prince to step forward and commend them. So he ascends the platform and speaks. "The general has put me on the spot here and asked me to commend you." (Laughter) "But I do not intend to commend you. You were just doing your duty...From this moment on, we are brothers. Foreign enemies will continue to invade our homeland. Won't you be with me until the day that Joseon becomes indomitable?!" The troops cheer wildly. He clearly knows how to motivate them.
Minister Jo Malseng is reporting to the king regarding casualties from repelling the invasion: twenty injuries; no fatalities. And the fire damage will be dealt with. The king reviews the written report and is pleased. But then Jo hesitantly tells him that the crown prince was there fighting in the battle. The king reacts angrily: "The crown prince playing soldier? How is this reckless man fit to be the future king?"
Outside, Choongnyeong and Hyoryeong are talking, concerned about their brother's action and their father's anger; they step outside the palace gate and see Yangnyeong on horseback, leading the victorious troops up the main road, with cheering civilians at the roadside. Yangnyeong approaches his brothers; they stare at each other...
Ok Hwan returns home with Foreman Jeon and Muby; he knows that Yun has valuable Chinese and Japanese language skills and mulls over the possibility of hiring him (we're not told what for).
Outside the restaurant, a surprisingly sober Yun confronts the prince, tells him he was being stupid, and even slaps him. It turns out that he had spent the last three days trying to set up the spy to get him to talk about what he was up to. And Choongnyeong blew it all. The prince turns to Yi Su and more or less asks him not to rub it in.
Outside of Choongnyeong's quarters: Princess Shim paces nervously back and forth in front of her staff, not knowing where Choongnyeong is. Suddenly he hops over a wall. Apparently he often goes out among the public dressed as a commoner. She expresses relief that he's safe and reminds him that it's a big day, but he's a little annoyed: "Sometimes I feel more like your son than your husband." He goes inside and Shim's attendant asks her why she didn't tell him; it would put a smile on his face. (Tell him what? Maybe pregnancy?)
Ministers are meeting to discuss security for a big event. Among them is Min Muhwe, who apparently has military responsibility. (Is he related to the queen, as the earlier Mins were?)
We see Jeongjong, who is the abdicated king and Taejong's older brother. He's with his concubine; she shows him a beautiful buffalo-horn bow and tells him that she's switched suppliers of gifts and now is using Ok Hwan(!). The big event today is a gala hosted by Jeongjong, which includes a royal archery match among the princes.
King Taejong is dressing in his quarters with his attendants, mulling over the abdicated king's plans to give expensive bows to each of the princes. The king goes outside, where a royal procession awaits. He meets Queen Wongyeong and tells her that she doesn't look well. She stares daggers at him and says, "I have you to thank for that." She says she'll put on a phony smile for the event; "it's not the first time."
Gangryeongpo, a seaside village: The Japanese spy from the restaurant is on a bluff overlooking the port, studying a map and watching the loading and unloading of a ship and the movement of security forces.
Choongnyeong and Shim arrive at the crown prince's quarters and are greeted by the crown princess; Choongnyeong goes to see his brother, who is practicing his archery. Choongnyeong sees his brother looking at Jeongjong's concubine as she walks by; he reacts with concern to his apparent interest in her, but Yangnyeong says "she's a flower" and leaves him to follow her down a path. He catches up to her, and as she turns back he keeps blocking her steps, refusing to get out of her way. She tell him to "stop this childish behavior," but he says he wants an answer. He tries to make nice with her but she cautions, "I may be of humble birth but I serve your uncle." Yangnyeong shoots back, "You're frustrated with the ex-king who can't satisfy you. Come to my room tonight. I'll take very good care of you." (So apparently he's turned into a pig.) She tries to slap him, but he grabs her arm and says, "Now you owe me your life. I'm letting this slide because you're so pretty." And he smiles and walks back. Choongnyeong watched all of this with prince Hyoryeong, who had arrived and joined him; the two brothers confront Yangnyeong, unhappy about his behavior, but he fluffs them off. Then he spots the king's concubine Hyobin and tells his brothers, "That right there is the reason father can't fault me for what I do."
Hyobin has shown up to accompany her son, prince Kyoungyeong, to the archery match. The crown prince is not happy to see his half-brother and gives him a mouthful of disrespect. The three princes walk away, Choongnyeong a little hesitantly. Kyoungyeong angrily pounds his fist on a tree. His mother regretfully says, "It's my fault that I failed to kill off the crown prince and his brothers. If only I had done that, things would be so much easier for you." But he doesn't want to hear it; he's tired of her clinging to the dream of being queen. She slaps him and accuses him of being insensitive to her continuing “humiliation.” "I play to risk everything I've got to put you on the royal throne of Joseon. If I have to surrender my life to get you there, I will."
Induk Palace, the home of Jeongjong, the abdicated king: A beautiful scene in a courtyard for the royal archery match, with many attendants gathered. Yangnyeong, Choongnyeong and Hyoryeong bow before the king, queen and Jeongjong, and are presented with their new bows. But their younger brother prince Seongnyeong, who is with them, doesn't get one. He asks why not; they tell him that "Horn bows aren't right for you yet. You'll get one in time." The king thanks Jeongjong for his generosity; Jeongjong thanks the king in turn, saying that he has done much for him.
The match begins. Choongnyeong takes the first shot; not a great shot. Hyoryeong's is a bit better. Yangnyeong goes next; bullseye. A few more poor-to-adequate shots; then Yangnyeong hits another bullseye. As Yangnyeong is shooting he keeps looking over at Jeongjong's concubine, and she finally relents and smiles a bit. Suddenly we look over and see that prince Kyoungyeong has also been shooting, and he has four bullseyes out of four! This gets some general murmuring. Jeongjong tells the king that Kyoungyeong is quite good and reminds him of the king at that age.
Night falls and fireworks are set off for the party. The fireworks are also watched by the commoners who can see them from the streets of Gangryeongpo village, which is not far from Induk palace. Jang Youngsil is dockside with a young woman identified as Daion; she seeing enjoys the fireworks and calls them "dancing ghosts," but Jang Youngsil disagrees and bookishly recites the ingredients of fireworks. The two have come to the village to get medicine for Daion's sick mother.
Gangryeongpo, in the middle of the village: Flaming arrows suddenly come screaming in by the hundreds, setting the village on fire and killing villagers. It's a Japanese invasion. (A regular army or pirates?)
Back at the party, minister Jo Malseng hurries over to the king and whispers urgently into his ear. The king reassures his sons and Jeongjong, and heads indoors with his ministers. Indoors they discuss the situation--twenty ships; could be up to two thousand invaders; the village is only eleven miles from the capital--and decide that Min Muhyul's forces are the best choice to call for assistance, since they’ll be the most effective in mobile warfare.
Jang Youngsil and Daion are on a boat and see the village burning; suddenly the boat is invaded. The invaders are killing everyone; they close in on Jang and Daion, but he grabs her and they jump overboard. He can't swim and is flailing about, but she helps him out and they move away from the boat.
Min Muhyul's forces arrive and begin absolutely annihilating the invaders; a real butt-kicking. But then the crown prince shows up, riding up and down the streets on horseback and taking on invaders himself. He gets off his horse and starts sword-fighting them, but soon he's surrounded by a bunch of them and is in a bad spot. Min Muhyul watches this and actually starts to walk away....
We see a series of flashbacks...First, the beginning of Ep5, with the crown prince wheeling around and accusing Min Mugu and Min Mujil, who are then carried away by guards. Min Muhyul is their brother and was there when it happened...Then we see Mugu and Mujil in white prisoner’s clothes, committing suicide by drinking poison; so that's what happened to them...Then we see the queen (sister to the Mins) advising an angry Muhyul against hasty revenge. First protect the family honor and then seize political control, and then you can get your revenge, she tells him....
Apparently with that advice now in his head, Min turns around and goes to helps Yangnyeong, and they fight their way out of the group of invaders. Min asks the prince why he showed up in such a dangerous situation. "If I want to be a strong king I have to make battlefields my playground." The enemy fleet retreats; the troops celebrate.
Jang and Daion are sitting on land. Why did he jump overboard if he can't swim, she asks? Because I knew that you could swim, he says. She sweetly says that he ought to at least thank her, but he blandly replies, "A servant's life is an asset. Protecting me is protecting an asset." So apparently he's a servant of her family. Then she says that she should really thank him: the medicinal herbs that she’s carrying are safe because he told her to wrap them in oiled paper to keep them dry. There's an odd dynamic between them; he's visibly uncomfortable talking to her in an anything other than a robotic, businesslike manner.
The next day: Yangnyeong and Min Muhyul go out to address the troops. They're Muhyul's troops, but he asks the prince to step forward and commend them. So he ascends the platform and speaks. "The general has put me on the spot here and asked me to commend you." (Laughter) "But I do not intend to commend you. You were just doing your duty...From this moment on, we are brothers. Foreign enemies will continue to invade our homeland. Won't you be with me until the day that Joseon becomes indomitable?!" The troops cheer wildly. He clearly knows how to motivate them.
Minister Jo Malseng is reporting to the king regarding casualties from repelling the invasion: twenty injuries; no fatalities. And the fire damage will be dealt with. The king reviews the written report and is pleased. But then Jo hesitantly tells him that the crown prince was there fighting in the battle. The king reacts angrily: "The crown prince playing soldier? How is this reckless man fit to be the future king?"
Outside, Choongnyeong and Hyoryeong are talking, concerned about their brother's action and their father's anger; they step outside the palace gate and see Yangnyeong on horseback, leading the victorious troops up the main road, with cheering civilians at the roadside. Yangnyeong approaches his brothers; they stare at each other...