Post by ajk on Apr 8, 2008 14:45:05 GMT -5
A man dressed in prisoner's white is on standing on the roof of a building screaming, "Return good government! Return good government!" This is a satirical phrase, mocking the government's forceful suppression of the scholars' protest at the Hall of Great Peace, where the Ming envoy is staying. Soldiers arrive, along with prime minister Ha. The man is Gim Jongsuh, the government official from the office of the royal seal and one of the men who met with Yangnyeong at the secret Sambong group session in the gisaeng house in Ep10. (Apparently he was arrested during the protest suppression; that must be why he's wearing prisoner's white.) Gim starts speaking out against the action taken against the protesters and yells that "government is dead." Soldiers converge on the building (which must be a prison building) to get him off it.
King Taejong is informed about this, and seethes....
Another sit-in protest starts in front of the hall. The scholars who weren't arrested the first time are back, and more than 500 civilians are behind them bearing axes, shovels and other crude weapons.
The king is informed of these events, and is also told that the Bureau of Weaponry is joining the action....
Ministers Yi Jongmu and Yi Sookbun are frantically trying to calm down a large group of soldiers at the weapons bureau; the soldiers want to take their cannons and shoot the hall apart. The Yis tell them You can't do this; if you do then "we're all criminals of treason." They urge patience; the soldiers grumble but seem to calm down a bit.
The Ming envoy has been following all of this and finally says, It looks like we'll have to conquer Joseon before Japan. He decides that he's leaving now, and wants the protesters moved out of the way.
Hwang Hee and his deputies at the ministry of rites are working on writing a proposal to the envoy to keep him from leaving. But Hwang is informed of the envoy's imminent departure.
At the eunuchs' quarters, Jeon Ilji and other eunuchs are grabbed by guards to be taken away. Granny Cowsears (whom this scene makes clear has some sort of official motherly oversight role over the eunuchs) interrupts the seizures and wants to know what's going on. She's told that it has to do with spies working for Ming. She's not happy but steps aside and allows the guards to do their job. How could she allow this, other eunuchs ask her, but her response is, "Who would they suspect first but the eunuchs who have been to Ming?"
Baron Ok Hwan is informed by Foreman Jeon that Jeon Ilji (Foreman's nephew) has been arrested. Jeon says He's a smart kid, he'll be okay. Ok tells Jeon to send Muby to the hall, and orders that when the protest erupts, Muby go in and kill the envoy! It will enrage Ming and start the war that Ok wants (to bring down the government).
The king is at the archery ground, shooting arrows. Minister Hwang, frustrated by the king's lack of urgency, says "There is no time. If we fail to stop the envoy from leaving, surely there will be a war." But the king tells Hwang to leave him alone, and just keeps shooting. (We can see that he's not shooting well at all today.) Then, ex-king Jeongjong and his entourage arrive. Jeongjong tells his brother to release the crown prince. "A king must fear his people more than a superior state," and if you don't release him by tomorrow, I will kneel before the ancestral shrine and seek forgiveness. He leaves, and on the way out encounters queen Wongyeong. She thanks him for his effort on her son's behalf, but he says he didn't do it for the prince, he did it because it's in the best interests of Joseon and its people. He leaves, and she wonders, Why did he do this; he's always had a negative view of Yangnyeong.
Back home, Jeongjong is talking to prince Hyoryeong, who had asked him to step in on Yangnyeong's behalf. Now, though, he tells his uncle to be cautious and not to push his brother too hard. But thinking of two other brothers whom Taejong had attacked years ago, he tells Hyoryeong that "men utter the most useful words before they die."
Prince Kyoungnyeong goes to the royal shrine where Yangnyeong is being held. The king has told him to conduct the royal rites there. Yangnyeong tells his half-brother to go away, but Kyoungnyeong is under orders, so he tries to continue. As the attendants pass by, Yangnyeong lashes out and smashes some of the dishes for the rite to the ground. The attendants tell him he mustn't act like that, but he answers that it's better than letting a "bastard prince" do the rites.
The king makes a decision: he's going to the hall himself to calm the situation.
Choongnyeong is with Yun Hwe; he wants Yun to infiltrate the great hall and get information as a spy. How can I possibly get in there, Yun asks. But Choongnyeong has arranged a way.
In front of the great hall, the scholars and citizens are screaming "Get that envoy out of here!" The situation is escalating, and the Ming soldiers in front of the hall are tensing up. "If he won't come out and face us, let's go in and get him out!" The shouting grows, and the citizens start to move on the building. Suddenly an announcement penetrates the chaos: "His majesty the king!" Instant silence. Everyone backs aside, clears a wide path, and drops to the ground. Soldiers rush ahead and line a path for the king's procession. The king steps out of his carriage and walks forward. Near the front of the hall he recognizes Jeong Inji, who's the student body president of the Confucian academy. "You're enduring frustration and grief on behalf of this incompetent king," he tells a kneeling Jeong. "Mental grief is more than enough. Don't let your body suffer." Then, bowls of food are produced and put before the surprised scholars...Flashback to the king and Choongnyeong talking; this is the rest of the scene at the end of Ep11, which we hadn't yet seen. "I am begging you to yield to the public, not the crown prince," Choongnyeong says. "Why do you think the people are so resentful and relate to the crown prince more than you?" It's because they feel that "no one cares about us. The king has forsaken us." The king bristles and glares at his son, but Choongnyeong urges, "You must show them what's in your heart." With the public's support, "there's no enemy that you can't defeat."...Flashback ending, blankets and warm clothes are being handed out to the citizens supporting the scholars. Taejong even goes over himself and puts a blanket over a little girl who's there with her father. In the front row of the kneeling citizens we spot Muby; as the king approaches, Muby starts to reach into his sleeve for a dagger. But Gang Sangin is scanning the crowd; Muby sees this and pushes the dagger back. The king leaves the crowd and walks towards the hall, Choongnyeong's words running through his head. From his facial expression he appears skeptical that what he’s just done will do any good.
Inside, speaking with the envoy, the king asks for time to calm his people. The envoy restates his demands: ten thousand horses and one hundred thousand soldiers. Will you provide them? The king answers, "I will do my best." And the crown prince to be taken back to Ming? He says he'll consider it. The king negotiates for two months' time; the envoy doesn’t like the idea of having to wait around for another two months, but the king offers to send over musicians and entertainment to help pass the time.
Yun Hwe, with Choongnyeong, says that the entire hall is just too big for him to monitor alone. He'll be disguised as a staffer, which will get him in, but where can he get enough help to cover the whole building?
The captive eunuchs are being searched. A vial is found on Jeon Ilji...Flashback to Foreman Jeon giving his nephew the vial. "If you're arrested; use this" and don't let your identity be exposed. Clearly it's suicide poison...Flashback ending, minister Shim asks Jeon what the vial is. Jeon says nothing, but Shim says that the royal physician will identify it.
The king leaves; he's bought the two months he wanted. Outside, the people start talking as they're kneeling, they're starting to change their minds and support the king. Minister Hwang asks the scholars to leave; one of the head scholars says they won't go until they get what they want. Hwang offers for now to release the arrested scholars. The head scholars start to talk....
Ok Hwan is informed that the resistance from the people and scholars is breaking down; he is NOT happy about it.
Imprisoned scholars and government officials are being released. Park Eun, who is there, recognizes Gim Jongsuh (the man screaming on the roof). Park won't let him go and leaves him in the jail cell by himself.
Yun tells Choongnyeong that as many as ten of the eunuchs have probably done work for Ming. How is this possible, Choongnyeong asks with amazement. Yun explains, "You can't rule an entire continent on strength alone." You've got to have other effective systems (like for gathering information).
The captive eunuchs are being tortured. Shim again asks Jeon Ilji what the potion in the vial is for. Jeon says it was to kill himself. Shim correctly guesses, "Kill yourself if your identity is revealed." But Jeon says, no, that's not it. I went to Ming willingly, he explains, and served in a foreign country and put up with their "crap." But then things weren't any better when we came home; we were always looked at with suspicion, as though we were spies. And he can't take it any more. At that moment, the king's attendant Noh Huibong shows up, and with unusual insistence presents an order to stop the investigation.
Ministers Hwang and Shim are talking. Hwang explains, "I had the eunuchs arrested not to find the spies but to isolate them. I didn't want our plans getting out again. This way we isolate the spies and win the envoy's good grace as well. Two birds with one stone." This was all the king's order. Who came up with such a good idea, Hwang wonders.
Nighttime: Choongnyeong is in the courtyard, meeting with the eunuchs after the torture is stopped. He says he knows that many of them had been in secret contact with Ming. Then he says that he doesn't care about any individual's guilt or innocence, which raises eyebrows. He continues: "This is an apology. I'm apologizing to you right now for the king and the royal house. It's us who sent you to Ming, and it's us who made you citizens of a powerless nation who have no chance but to succumb to being spies. If it's all right with you, I'd like us to bury the hatchet and start over. The job I have for you is not an easy one. But I hope you'll approach it with enthusiasm. My guess is you want to live proudly as citizens of Joseon, not as spies. How about it?" Slowly the eunuchs start to look at each other and smile.
The king is with minister Jo Malseng. Don't I look pathetic, he says; "I'm a weak, powerless king who plays by a young prince's ideas." But Jo tells him, In the five years I have served you, you've never been as strong as you were today. "You're holding on to principles despite tremendous pressures from all sides...It doesn't matter where the idea comes from."
In the kitchen of the Great Hall of Peace, women are preparing food. Yun Hwe walks in and starts sampling every last little thing, and introduces himself as the new chef.
The king and queen are talking. The queen says that the best servants have been sent to the hall. The king says he's sorry to inconvenience her, but she says it's okay, she understands why it was done. But she's concerned about losing her son. The king points out that it would cripple the nation's economy to give Ming so many horses and soldiers. Would he trade the crown prince for a reduction on those demands? "You cannot do this," she says. "You know better than anyone." But Yangnyeong isn't the only prince who can succeed to the throne, he reminds her, and "Unfortunately kings are often forced to make decisions against their wishes."
Royal consort Hyobin and her son prince Kyoungnyeong are talking; they've heard about what the king said. The prince implores his mother not to get involved in it and not to push for him to succeed to the throne.
The queen is with her brothers the Mins: "I'm just going to have to find a way to protect the crown prince myself. See if you can find a way to contact the envoy in secret." Which startles her brothers.
Ok Hwan is talking: We must find a way to reignite the public's rage "before the regional lords reach the capital with their armies." He wonders to himself, "If the crown prince is killed...who would the people blame?"
One of those regional lords is Han Younglo, who is meeting with Wang Ahn; they're preparing to leave with their army. Wang goes to the armory, looks at Jang Youngsil's work--Jang was making swords--and is pleased, and tells Jang he's coming along to maintain the weapons. The next morning Daion asks him why he's doing this; run away instead. No, he says, I want your father's recognition; I want to change his mind so you can be my woman in a proper manner.
Nighttime at the ancestral shrine where Yangnyeong is being held. The prince is walking outside in a courtyard. From a distance, Muby is watching him. Muby raises his bow and fires an arrow at the prince! Yangnyeong hears the shot and turns around....
King Taejong is informed about this, and seethes....
Another sit-in protest starts in front of the hall. The scholars who weren't arrested the first time are back, and more than 500 civilians are behind them bearing axes, shovels and other crude weapons.
The king is informed of these events, and is also told that the Bureau of Weaponry is joining the action....
Ministers Yi Jongmu and Yi Sookbun are frantically trying to calm down a large group of soldiers at the weapons bureau; the soldiers want to take their cannons and shoot the hall apart. The Yis tell them You can't do this; if you do then "we're all criminals of treason." They urge patience; the soldiers grumble but seem to calm down a bit.
The Ming envoy has been following all of this and finally says, It looks like we'll have to conquer Joseon before Japan. He decides that he's leaving now, and wants the protesters moved out of the way.
Hwang Hee and his deputies at the ministry of rites are working on writing a proposal to the envoy to keep him from leaving. But Hwang is informed of the envoy's imminent departure.
At the eunuchs' quarters, Jeon Ilji and other eunuchs are grabbed by guards to be taken away. Granny Cowsears (whom this scene makes clear has some sort of official motherly oversight role over the eunuchs) interrupts the seizures and wants to know what's going on. She's told that it has to do with spies working for Ming. She's not happy but steps aside and allows the guards to do their job. How could she allow this, other eunuchs ask her, but her response is, "Who would they suspect first but the eunuchs who have been to Ming?"
Baron Ok Hwan is informed by Foreman Jeon that Jeon Ilji (Foreman's nephew) has been arrested. Jeon says He's a smart kid, he'll be okay. Ok tells Jeon to send Muby to the hall, and orders that when the protest erupts, Muby go in and kill the envoy! It will enrage Ming and start the war that Ok wants (to bring down the government).
The king is at the archery ground, shooting arrows. Minister Hwang, frustrated by the king's lack of urgency, says "There is no time. If we fail to stop the envoy from leaving, surely there will be a war." But the king tells Hwang to leave him alone, and just keeps shooting. (We can see that he's not shooting well at all today.) Then, ex-king Jeongjong and his entourage arrive. Jeongjong tells his brother to release the crown prince. "A king must fear his people more than a superior state," and if you don't release him by tomorrow, I will kneel before the ancestral shrine and seek forgiveness. He leaves, and on the way out encounters queen Wongyeong. She thanks him for his effort on her son's behalf, but he says he didn't do it for the prince, he did it because it's in the best interests of Joseon and its people. He leaves, and she wonders, Why did he do this; he's always had a negative view of Yangnyeong.
Back home, Jeongjong is talking to prince Hyoryeong, who had asked him to step in on Yangnyeong's behalf. Now, though, he tells his uncle to be cautious and not to push his brother too hard. But thinking of two other brothers whom Taejong had attacked years ago, he tells Hyoryeong that "men utter the most useful words before they die."
Prince Kyoungnyeong goes to the royal shrine where Yangnyeong is being held. The king has told him to conduct the royal rites there. Yangnyeong tells his half-brother to go away, but Kyoungnyeong is under orders, so he tries to continue. As the attendants pass by, Yangnyeong lashes out and smashes some of the dishes for the rite to the ground. The attendants tell him he mustn't act like that, but he answers that it's better than letting a "bastard prince" do the rites.
The king makes a decision: he's going to the hall himself to calm the situation.
Choongnyeong is with Yun Hwe; he wants Yun to infiltrate the great hall and get information as a spy. How can I possibly get in there, Yun asks. But Choongnyeong has arranged a way.
In front of the great hall, the scholars and citizens are screaming "Get that envoy out of here!" The situation is escalating, and the Ming soldiers in front of the hall are tensing up. "If he won't come out and face us, let's go in and get him out!" The shouting grows, and the citizens start to move on the building. Suddenly an announcement penetrates the chaos: "His majesty the king!" Instant silence. Everyone backs aside, clears a wide path, and drops to the ground. Soldiers rush ahead and line a path for the king's procession. The king steps out of his carriage and walks forward. Near the front of the hall he recognizes Jeong Inji, who's the student body president of the Confucian academy. "You're enduring frustration and grief on behalf of this incompetent king," he tells a kneeling Jeong. "Mental grief is more than enough. Don't let your body suffer." Then, bowls of food are produced and put before the surprised scholars...Flashback to the king and Choongnyeong talking; this is the rest of the scene at the end of Ep11, which we hadn't yet seen. "I am begging you to yield to the public, not the crown prince," Choongnyeong says. "Why do you think the people are so resentful and relate to the crown prince more than you?" It's because they feel that "no one cares about us. The king has forsaken us." The king bristles and glares at his son, but Choongnyeong urges, "You must show them what's in your heart." With the public's support, "there's no enemy that you can't defeat."...Flashback ending, blankets and warm clothes are being handed out to the citizens supporting the scholars. Taejong even goes over himself and puts a blanket over a little girl who's there with her father. In the front row of the kneeling citizens we spot Muby; as the king approaches, Muby starts to reach into his sleeve for a dagger. But Gang Sangin is scanning the crowd; Muby sees this and pushes the dagger back. The king leaves the crowd and walks towards the hall, Choongnyeong's words running through his head. From his facial expression he appears skeptical that what he’s just done will do any good.
Inside, speaking with the envoy, the king asks for time to calm his people. The envoy restates his demands: ten thousand horses and one hundred thousand soldiers. Will you provide them? The king answers, "I will do my best." And the crown prince to be taken back to Ming? He says he'll consider it. The king negotiates for two months' time; the envoy doesn’t like the idea of having to wait around for another two months, but the king offers to send over musicians and entertainment to help pass the time.
Yun Hwe, with Choongnyeong, says that the entire hall is just too big for him to monitor alone. He'll be disguised as a staffer, which will get him in, but where can he get enough help to cover the whole building?
The captive eunuchs are being searched. A vial is found on Jeon Ilji...Flashback to Foreman Jeon giving his nephew the vial. "If you're arrested; use this" and don't let your identity be exposed. Clearly it's suicide poison...Flashback ending, minister Shim asks Jeon what the vial is. Jeon says nothing, but Shim says that the royal physician will identify it.
The king leaves; he's bought the two months he wanted. Outside, the people start talking as they're kneeling, they're starting to change their minds and support the king. Minister Hwang asks the scholars to leave; one of the head scholars says they won't go until they get what they want. Hwang offers for now to release the arrested scholars. The head scholars start to talk....
Ok Hwan is informed that the resistance from the people and scholars is breaking down; he is NOT happy about it.
Imprisoned scholars and government officials are being released. Park Eun, who is there, recognizes Gim Jongsuh (the man screaming on the roof). Park won't let him go and leaves him in the jail cell by himself.
Yun tells Choongnyeong that as many as ten of the eunuchs have probably done work for Ming. How is this possible, Choongnyeong asks with amazement. Yun explains, "You can't rule an entire continent on strength alone." You've got to have other effective systems (like for gathering information).
The captive eunuchs are being tortured. Shim again asks Jeon Ilji what the potion in the vial is for. Jeon says it was to kill himself. Shim correctly guesses, "Kill yourself if your identity is revealed." But Jeon says, no, that's not it. I went to Ming willingly, he explains, and served in a foreign country and put up with their "crap." But then things weren't any better when we came home; we were always looked at with suspicion, as though we were spies. And he can't take it any more. At that moment, the king's attendant Noh Huibong shows up, and with unusual insistence presents an order to stop the investigation.
Ministers Hwang and Shim are talking. Hwang explains, "I had the eunuchs arrested not to find the spies but to isolate them. I didn't want our plans getting out again. This way we isolate the spies and win the envoy's good grace as well. Two birds with one stone." This was all the king's order. Who came up with such a good idea, Hwang wonders.
Nighttime: Choongnyeong is in the courtyard, meeting with the eunuchs after the torture is stopped. He says he knows that many of them had been in secret contact with Ming. Then he says that he doesn't care about any individual's guilt or innocence, which raises eyebrows. He continues: "This is an apology. I'm apologizing to you right now for the king and the royal house. It's us who sent you to Ming, and it's us who made you citizens of a powerless nation who have no chance but to succumb to being spies. If it's all right with you, I'd like us to bury the hatchet and start over. The job I have for you is not an easy one. But I hope you'll approach it with enthusiasm. My guess is you want to live proudly as citizens of Joseon, not as spies. How about it?" Slowly the eunuchs start to look at each other and smile.
The king is with minister Jo Malseng. Don't I look pathetic, he says; "I'm a weak, powerless king who plays by a young prince's ideas." But Jo tells him, In the five years I have served you, you've never been as strong as you were today. "You're holding on to principles despite tremendous pressures from all sides...It doesn't matter where the idea comes from."
In the kitchen of the Great Hall of Peace, women are preparing food. Yun Hwe walks in and starts sampling every last little thing, and introduces himself as the new chef.
The king and queen are talking. The queen says that the best servants have been sent to the hall. The king says he's sorry to inconvenience her, but she says it's okay, she understands why it was done. But she's concerned about losing her son. The king points out that it would cripple the nation's economy to give Ming so many horses and soldiers. Would he trade the crown prince for a reduction on those demands? "You cannot do this," she says. "You know better than anyone." But Yangnyeong isn't the only prince who can succeed to the throne, he reminds her, and "Unfortunately kings are often forced to make decisions against their wishes."
Royal consort Hyobin and her son prince Kyoungnyeong are talking; they've heard about what the king said. The prince implores his mother not to get involved in it and not to push for him to succeed to the throne.
The queen is with her brothers the Mins: "I'm just going to have to find a way to protect the crown prince myself. See if you can find a way to contact the envoy in secret." Which startles her brothers.
Ok Hwan is talking: We must find a way to reignite the public's rage "before the regional lords reach the capital with their armies." He wonders to himself, "If the crown prince is killed...who would the people blame?"
One of those regional lords is Han Younglo, who is meeting with Wang Ahn; they're preparing to leave with their army. Wang goes to the armory, looks at Jang Youngsil's work--Jang was making swords--and is pleased, and tells Jang he's coming along to maintain the weapons. The next morning Daion asks him why he's doing this; run away instead. No, he says, I want your father's recognition; I want to change his mind so you can be my woman in a proper manner.
Nighttime at the ancestral shrine where Yangnyeong is being held. The prince is walking outside in a courtyard. From a distance, Muby is watching him. Muby raises his bow and fires an arrow at the prince! Yangnyeong hears the shot and turns around....