Post by ajk on Jun 24, 2008 15:11:06 GMT -5
Two small tables are put in front of the Mins, and two bowls of poison are placed on the tables. The Mins are brought forward and forced to kneel at the tables. Muhyul looks at Yangnyeong and says, "There's only on thing I want to know. Did the king put you up to this?" "No," the prince answers, "it was my decision." A moment of silence; then Muhyul flips his table over and the bowl goes flying through the air. Then he gets up, grabs his brother's bowl, walks right up to Yangnyeong and pours its contents on the ground. "What do you want us to prove, when you won't believe our loyalty or innocence anyway?" And he reminds the prince of the blood oath that they all took to protect each other. Besides, he says, that land (the holdings they were secretly amassing) was going to be ours anyway. Yangnyeong doesn't see that as an excuse: "Bequeathal and embezzlement are different." But Muhyul continues, "We took what is rightfully ours. Who offers loyalty for nothing? The Min clan was there from the beginning doing all the dirty work. The entire three lower states would not have been too much to ask." All the while the ministers and officials are standing there listening to all of this. Yangnyeong accuses Muhyul: "You wanted to possess influence that could threaten the king." No, Muhyul answers, "it was survival. Because if we don't have any power, we could be killed like our older brothers." And then, "We're not going through with this suicide setup"; doing so would be an admission of guilt. You'll have to kill us yourself, he says, "and then you and your father will feel some sense of guilt and shame." Yangnyeong orders the Mins taken away. But as soldiers remove them, Muhyul tells the prince, "You're just like your father" and that starting your reign by killing us will set off violence that you won't be able to suppress.
Jo Malseng informs the king of the Mins' sentence: death by poisoning after banishment.
Hyobin and prince Kyoungnyeong, walking through the palace, see Yangnyeong. Kyoungnyeong goes to confront Yangnyeong. Yangnyeong tells him, If you had any decency, you'd have stayed away today because of what you did to my uncles. But Kyoungnyeong is trying to rile Yangnyeong. Your uncles are in this trouble, he says, "because you failed to protect them." And then takes a shot at the Mins anyway: "You should choose your men more carefully next time." Yangnyeong, boiling over, grabs him by the collar and shoves him against a wall. "Be prepared. You're going to die soon." Fine, Kyoungnyeong says, "I don't have much to lose. But you do."
The queen is unwell--physically sick from the stress of her brothers' predicament. Princes Hyoryeong and Seongnyeong are supporting her as she walks. Yangnyeong approaches her and bows. "Mother...I don't know what to say." I will call for you later, she tells him. "I am not ready." And she walks on, weakly.
Inside, Yangnyeong starts trashing furniture and breaking ceramics. He raises a vase above his head to smash it, but he turns and the king is standing there. Which brings him right back under control. "Let go of your rage," the king counsels, "but retain the painful lesson you learned today. Do not open your heart to your subjects in haste and do not fancy yourself their friend. It is not a luxury a king can afford. A king is a man who stands alone and endures the pain of solitude." We see Yangnyeong crying tears of frustration.
In an eerie reprise of Ep5, the two Mins are taken in a prisoner cart from the city. The queen comes out into the street and asks the guards to speak to her brothers so that she can say goodbye. Muhyul sees her and tells her, "You look so pale. You shouldn't have come in your condition." The queen is filled with guilt and shame. "This is the consequence of my foolish decisions. I should never have told you to be angry after losing our other two brothers the same way. The king is insurmountable. He is a vicious and cruel man without an ounce of warm blood. Why did I tell you to get angry?" "It's all in the past now," Muhwe tells her, to no avail. Don't forgive me, she begs them, an "awful sister who failed to protect her brothers." They tell her to take care of herself, but she's coming apart in front of them: "Don't forgive...Don't forgive...It's all my fault...It's all my fault...My brothers..." and as the wagon moves on, she falls to her knees in the street.
"So that's what happened." Kyoungnyeong has come north to visit Choongnyeong, and has told him everything. And he asks, "Would you beat me up? That's why I came. I wouldn't feel so bad taking punishment from you." Now that everything has played out, he seems to be struggling with regret for what happened. "Even at the age of thirteen, you weren't like me."...Flashbacks to the Episodes 4 and 5; the young Choongnyeong refusing to squeal on Min Mugu and Min Mujil...Flashbacks ending, Kyoungnyeong wants to know, "How were you able to put the perpetrators' life above your own rage?" "Maybe it was possible because I was only thirteen," Choongnyeong speculates. Kyoungnyeong continues, trying to come to terms with his actions: "When you live in the shadows for twenty years like I have, you develop a need for retribution. I thought I'd feel great once I got even, but I don't feel so great." Choongnyeong says he's worried for the crown prince "since he is the one who was forced into the position to make decisions." (An interesting scene; almost like Kyoungnyeong is confessing his sins.)
"No, no, no,--Is that the only word you know?" A frustrated crown prince is telling the ministers that he wants the land ownership restriction dropped and land distributed to the men on a list he's prepared, with half of the proceeds to go to the state. Huh Jo boldly speaks up against the change, which provokes Yangnyeong into firing him from his position right then and there. (Thank you Mr. Trump.) "And if anyone else opposes, remove him as well." Prime minister Yu gingerly tries to remind the prince, "Those who seek to build their influence could abuse the law." Yangnyeong's disturbing response: "Your name is first on the list," so if you don't like it, build your influence and challenge me. And then to the group, "There are only two types of royal subjects: those who obey and those who defy. Those who obey are good and those who defy are villainous." So you better all obey. "You've seen what I do with villainous officials." He leaves, and an incredulous Huh asks, "What is this, a joke? How much longer do we have to cater to this child?" Outside Yangnyeong encounters a group of junior officials. Jeong Inji asks him, "Can't you be a little more open-minded?" Gim Jongsuh goes further and says, "Do you wish to become a tyrant? If you pay no counsel to your men, you will become a tyrant." That was too far. Yangnyeong orders him dismissed "for contempt against the crown prince." And he walks on. Hwang Hee runs him down and tells him to go back to the conference hall, cancel the land order and reinstate the men he fired. Yangnyeong won't hear of it: "I make the decisions, not you." But you must rescind your actions, Hwang insists, "because they are poor orders!" A frustrated Yangnyeong answers, "You never stand on my side. Can't you support me without asking any questions if only just once?" And he walks away.
Yi Su proposes to Yun Hwe that they take a trip to Gyeongsung. What would be the point, Yun asks, and shares with Yi a mixture of regret and frustration with both his own discouraged attitude and his disappointment at Choongnyeong's indifference.
A ball rolls up to Choongnyeong's feet. Choi Yundeok and a group of men ask him to throw it back to them, which he does. They're playing a game of Kyukgu. The other men are Jurchen--the barbarians on the other side of the border! The Joseon garrison commander playing games with the enemy? Choongnyeong tells Kyoungnyeong, "He's a dangerous man if I've ever seen one." So why don't you dislike him?, asks Kyoungnyeong. No answer; Choongnyeong just walks away.
Yi Chun wonders why he hasn't heard from the capital about his request to have Choi Yundeok replaced as commander. He's sent a secret report about it to Yangnyeong, a different report from the one Gang Sangin sent officially to minister of military Yi Sookbun.
The king and crown prince have an intense discussion about the land policy change, which the king has told his son to call off. "We cannot disorganize the land system," Taejong says. Yangnyeong tells him, "This has nothing to do with military affairs or foreign affairs" (in other words, it's in an area that you gave me power over). "The land system is at the foundation of this country," says the king. Yangnyeong replies that Joseon needs to gather additional tax revenues quickly. Why?, asks Taejong. "Leave the land laws alone and focus on routine affairs." Mockingly, Yangnyeong asks his father, what are "routine affairs"? "I must not be very smart. Would you tell me what they are?" Give me a list of them, he says, and "then I will become your obedient pawn and work like a horse. Well then, I will go back and wait, father." And he leaves. He's being a smartass.
An irritated Yangnyeong goes to the "vanguard headquarters," where Gu Jongsu and his brother Gu Jongji are waiting. Jongsu presents him with Yi Chun's report from the north. He had been holding it rather than present it during the Mins' inquiry for fear of Yangnyeong's military activities being discovered. But this angers the prince and he physically knocks Jongsu down. He reads the report and learns that Gang Sangin sent an official report to defense minister Yi Sookbun. And he becomes angry that Sookbun has kept the report from him. (Why? You're not supposed to be involved with military stuff, pal.)
Yi Sookbun and Yi Jongmu are overseeing nighttime military training. Yangnyeong arrives and asks Sookbun if he'll give him a training match. Yi accepts enthusiastically and asks that wooden swords be brought. No, the prince says; let's use the real thing. "Let's fight until one of us is dead." Then he threatens a shocked Sookbun: "If you do what you did when I'm on the throne, you'll stick your head out on the execution block." Where is the report, he asks. "Oh, that..." Yi looks away uncomfortably. Yangnyeong warns him, "I may not be the strongest, but I do have enough power to destroy you. This is your last chance. Dismiss Choi Yundeok immediately and back up Yi Chun." Yi leaves; Sookbun and Jongmu look at each other nervously.
Yangnyeong and Auri are on horseback riding along the lakeshore. They dismount, and Yangnyeong asks, "I want the truth. Who are you?" He's actually quite bothered and is intent on getting an answer. "What did you do before you met me? You ride much too well. Better than most men." Auri (who isn't about to tell him), asks him, What would it matter if I just lied? Then the prince suddenly softens. "I'm not interested in the truth. What's important is that you're here with me right now." Then, "Let's go to Liaodong when it becomes ours. You won't have to wait long. You'll be right beside me when we make a triumphant march into Liaodong." (UGH!) He walks to the water's edge, and she stares at him with an odd, uncertain look on her face...Flashback to Ep29, Ok Hwan telling her, "Remember us"....
We see Auri later, walking by herself. She reflects on Ok's words, but her thoughts suggest she's warming to the prince: "Please forgive me, sir. Without rage, I cannot remember you or our days past."
Cannons are firing at the Jurchens across the northern border. Yi Chun supervises. As the Jurchens attack, he yells, "Do not fall back. Attack!" A vicious battle ensues. Suddenly the Jurchens retreat. Gang Sangin and more Joseon troops arrive. Yi orders the troops to go after the Jurchens and finish them off, but at that moment Gang wheels Yi around and knocks him down with a vicious right to the jaw. "I ordered you not to install the cannons until we have a new commander!" Yi gets up (unaffected by the punch; some of that amazing Korean historical drama instant-recovery power!), produces the written order and announces that Choi Yundeok is dismissed from duty.
In the village, the wounded are being attended to. It's a terrible scene. Choongnyeong watches this, and we see his fist tighten(!) for the first time in a long, long while. Choi, still in uniform, is helping attend to the wounded--and doing a great job of it. Then Yi shows up and orders him to leave. "We have plenty of men to take care of the wounded. Turn in your uniform and leave the base before the end of the night."
Choongnyeong is walking; his two eunuchs are just behind him. Ogeun asks, "What's going to happen here now?" because, he says, Choi's departure will turn this into a war zone. Choongnyeong gets annoyed and leaves them. Jachi is upset with Ogeun for whining and annoying the prince; he also, having noticed the earlier fist-clench, seems to think that Choongnyeong will help solve the problem rather than run away: "It's only a matter of time before his old habits come back."
Choongnyeong is alone, thinking about Choi and reflecting on his hard work and unappreciated loyalty...
That evening, an arrow bearing a note is fired into the Joseonese camp. "Joseon has provoked us," the note says. "Now we will retaliate against the Joseonese army full force." Yi is unconcerned: "We will just wipe them out."
That night, Choi leaves the garrison. The villagers and soldiers are despondent and raising a terrible ruckus. Choi is utterly un-moved by it all. He tells his soldiers, "Stop crying, wimps. You'll never be able to fend off the barbarians being this soft!" Choi Haesan and Jang Youngsil are there; Yundeok stops and tells Choi, "I've been watching this fellow (Jang), and he's quite talented." He tells advises Jang to put some effort into making arrows instead of spending all of his time on cannons, because arrows are more effective against the barbarians. Then he mounts a horse and prepares to leave. His soldiers salute him, but the gesture of respect is valueless to Choi. "Cut the crap," he says. He tells them, "Keep yourselves alive." And he leaves.
The next morning, Jang Youngsil goes to Choongnyeong about Choi. "Why won't you help him?" he asks. What does it matter, the prince answers; "he's already gone." But he isn't gone. At least, he hasn't gone far.
We see Choi in the woods with the village's women and children and elderly, doing a civil defense drill to get them all into hidden cellars for the feared Jurchen attack. Not only is he training them effectively, he's keeping the mood light and the villagers' sprits high and unafraid. It's another impressive job from him. He turns and sees Choongnyeong, who's watching. The prince is almost disgusted with him. "Don't you have any pride? Your country, your peers have forsaken you. No one cares! And now you're wasting time and making a fool of yourself!" This enrages Choi so much that he winds up and DECKS THE PRINCE! POW! And doesn't regret it. He glares down at Choongnyeong and snarls, "Why do I waste my time? Because men like you won't do what you're supposed to do. Are you satisfied?!"
Jo Malseng informs the king of the Mins' sentence: death by poisoning after banishment.
Hyobin and prince Kyoungnyeong, walking through the palace, see Yangnyeong. Kyoungnyeong goes to confront Yangnyeong. Yangnyeong tells him, If you had any decency, you'd have stayed away today because of what you did to my uncles. But Kyoungnyeong is trying to rile Yangnyeong. Your uncles are in this trouble, he says, "because you failed to protect them." And then takes a shot at the Mins anyway: "You should choose your men more carefully next time." Yangnyeong, boiling over, grabs him by the collar and shoves him against a wall. "Be prepared. You're going to die soon." Fine, Kyoungnyeong says, "I don't have much to lose. But you do."
The queen is unwell--physically sick from the stress of her brothers' predicament. Princes Hyoryeong and Seongnyeong are supporting her as she walks. Yangnyeong approaches her and bows. "Mother...I don't know what to say." I will call for you later, she tells him. "I am not ready." And she walks on, weakly.
Inside, Yangnyeong starts trashing furniture and breaking ceramics. He raises a vase above his head to smash it, but he turns and the king is standing there. Which brings him right back under control. "Let go of your rage," the king counsels, "but retain the painful lesson you learned today. Do not open your heart to your subjects in haste and do not fancy yourself their friend. It is not a luxury a king can afford. A king is a man who stands alone and endures the pain of solitude." We see Yangnyeong crying tears of frustration.
In an eerie reprise of Ep5, the two Mins are taken in a prisoner cart from the city. The queen comes out into the street and asks the guards to speak to her brothers so that she can say goodbye. Muhyul sees her and tells her, "You look so pale. You shouldn't have come in your condition." The queen is filled with guilt and shame. "This is the consequence of my foolish decisions. I should never have told you to be angry after losing our other two brothers the same way. The king is insurmountable. He is a vicious and cruel man without an ounce of warm blood. Why did I tell you to get angry?" "It's all in the past now," Muhwe tells her, to no avail. Don't forgive me, she begs them, an "awful sister who failed to protect her brothers." They tell her to take care of herself, but she's coming apart in front of them: "Don't forgive...Don't forgive...It's all my fault...It's all my fault...My brothers..." and as the wagon moves on, she falls to her knees in the street.
"So that's what happened." Kyoungnyeong has come north to visit Choongnyeong, and has told him everything. And he asks, "Would you beat me up? That's why I came. I wouldn't feel so bad taking punishment from you." Now that everything has played out, he seems to be struggling with regret for what happened. "Even at the age of thirteen, you weren't like me."...Flashbacks to the Episodes 4 and 5; the young Choongnyeong refusing to squeal on Min Mugu and Min Mujil...Flashbacks ending, Kyoungnyeong wants to know, "How were you able to put the perpetrators' life above your own rage?" "Maybe it was possible because I was only thirteen," Choongnyeong speculates. Kyoungnyeong continues, trying to come to terms with his actions: "When you live in the shadows for twenty years like I have, you develop a need for retribution. I thought I'd feel great once I got even, but I don't feel so great." Choongnyeong says he's worried for the crown prince "since he is the one who was forced into the position to make decisions." (An interesting scene; almost like Kyoungnyeong is confessing his sins.)
"No, no, no,--Is that the only word you know?" A frustrated crown prince is telling the ministers that he wants the land ownership restriction dropped and land distributed to the men on a list he's prepared, with half of the proceeds to go to the state. Huh Jo boldly speaks up against the change, which provokes Yangnyeong into firing him from his position right then and there. (Thank you Mr. Trump.) "And if anyone else opposes, remove him as well." Prime minister Yu gingerly tries to remind the prince, "Those who seek to build their influence could abuse the law." Yangnyeong's disturbing response: "Your name is first on the list," so if you don't like it, build your influence and challenge me. And then to the group, "There are only two types of royal subjects: those who obey and those who defy. Those who obey are good and those who defy are villainous." So you better all obey. "You've seen what I do with villainous officials." He leaves, and an incredulous Huh asks, "What is this, a joke? How much longer do we have to cater to this child?" Outside Yangnyeong encounters a group of junior officials. Jeong Inji asks him, "Can't you be a little more open-minded?" Gim Jongsuh goes further and says, "Do you wish to become a tyrant? If you pay no counsel to your men, you will become a tyrant." That was too far. Yangnyeong orders him dismissed "for contempt against the crown prince." And he walks on. Hwang Hee runs him down and tells him to go back to the conference hall, cancel the land order and reinstate the men he fired. Yangnyeong won't hear of it: "I make the decisions, not you." But you must rescind your actions, Hwang insists, "because they are poor orders!" A frustrated Yangnyeong answers, "You never stand on my side. Can't you support me without asking any questions if only just once?" And he walks away.
Yi Su proposes to Yun Hwe that they take a trip to Gyeongsung. What would be the point, Yun asks, and shares with Yi a mixture of regret and frustration with both his own discouraged attitude and his disappointment at Choongnyeong's indifference.
A ball rolls up to Choongnyeong's feet. Choi Yundeok and a group of men ask him to throw it back to them, which he does. They're playing a game of Kyukgu. The other men are Jurchen--the barbarians on the other side of the border! The Joseon garrison commander playing games with the enemy? Choongnyeong tells Kyoungnyeong, "He's a dangerous man if I've ever seen one." So why don't you dislike him?, asks Kyoungnyeong. No answer; Choongnyeong just walks away.
Yi Chun wonders why he hasn't heard from the capital about his request to have Choi Yundeok replaced as commander. He's sent a secret report about it to Yangnyeong, a different report from the one Gang Sangin sent officially to minister of military Yi Sookbun.
The king and crown prince have an intense discussion about the land policy change, which the king has told his son to call off. "We cannot disorganize the land system," Taejong says. Yangnyeong tells him, "This has nothing to do with military affairs or foreign affairs" (in other words, it's in an area that you gave me power over). "The land system is at the foundation of this country," says the king. Yangnyeong replies that Joseon needs to gather additional tax revenues quickly. Why?, asks Taejong. "Leave the land laws alone and focus on routine affairs." Mockingly, Yangnyeong asks his father, what are "routine affairs"? "I must not be very smart. Would you tell me what they are?" Give me a list of them, he says, and "then I will become your obedient pawn and work like a horse. Well then, I will go back and wait, father." And he leaves. He's being a smartass.
An irritated Yangnyeong goes to the "vanguard headquarters," where Gu Jongsu and his brother Gu Jongji are waiting. Jongsu presents him with Yi Chun's report from the north. He had been holding it rather than present it during the Mins' inquiry for fear of Yangnyeong's military activities being discovered. But this angers the prince and he physically knocks Jongsu down. He reads the report and learns that Gang Sangin sent an official report to defense minister Yi Sookbun. And he becomes angry that Sookbun has kept the report from him. (Why? You're not supposed to be involved with military stuff, pal.)
Yi Sookbun and Yi Jongmu are overseeing nighttime military training. Yangnyeong arrives and asks Sookbun if he'll give him a training match. Yi accepts enthusiastically and asks that wooden swords be brought. No, the prince says; let's use the real thing. "Let's fight until one of us is dead." Then he threatens a shocked Sookbun: "If you do what you did when I'm on the throne, you'll stick your head out on the execution block." Where is the report, he asks. "Oh, that..." Yi looks away uncomfortably. Yangnyeong warns him, "I may not be the strongest, but I do have enough power to destroy you. This is your last chance. Dismiss Choi Yundeok immediately and back up Yi Chun." Yi leaves; Sookbun and Jongmu look at each other nervously.
Yangnyeong and Auri are on horseback riding along the lakeshore. They dismount, and Yangnyeong asks, "I want the truth. Who are you?" He's actually quite bothered and is intent on getting an answer. "What did you do before you met me? You ride much too well. Better than most men." Auri (who isn't about to tell him), asks him, What would it matter if I just lied? Then the prince suddenly softens. "I'm not interested in the truth. What's important is that you're here with me right now." Then, "Let's go to Liaodong when it becomes ours. You won't have to wait long. You'll be right beside me when we make a triumphant march into Liaodong." (UGH!) He walks to the water's edge, and she stares at him with an odd, uncertain look on her face...Flashback to Ep29, Ok Hwan telling her, "Remember us"....
We see Auri later, walking by herself. She reflects on Ok's words, but her thoughts suggest she's warming to the prince: "Please forgive me, sir. Without rage, I cannot remember you or our days past."
Cannons are firing at the Jurchens across the northern border. Yi Chun supervises. As the Jurchens attack, he yells, "Do not fall back. Attack!" A vicious battle ensues. Suddenly the Jurchens retreat. Gang Sangin and more Joseon troops arrive. Yi orders the troops to go after the Jurchens and finish them off, but at that moment Gang wheels Yi around and knocks him down with a vicious right to the jaw. "I ordered you not to install the cannons until we have a new commander!" Yi gets up (unaffected by the punch; some of that amazing Korean historical drama instant-recovery power!), produces the written order and announces that Choi Yundeok is dismissed from duty.
In the village, the wounded are being attended to. It's a terrible scene. Choongnyeong watches this, and we see his fist tighten(!) for the first time in a long, long while. Choi, still in uniform, is helping attend to the wounded--and doing a great job of it. Then Yi shows up and orders him to leave. "We have plenty of men to take care of the wounded. Turn in your uniform and leave the base before the end of the night."
Choongnyeong is walking; his two eunuchs are just behind him. Ogeun asks, "What's going to happen here now?" because, he says, Choi's departure will turn this into a war zone. Choongnyeong gets annoyed and leaves them. Jachi is upset with Ogeun for whining and annoying the prince; he also, having noticed the earlier fist-clench, seems to think that Choongnyeong will help solve the problem rather than run away: "It's only a matter of time before his old habits come back."
Choongnyeong is alone, thinking about Choi and reflecting on his hard work and unappreciated loyalty...
That evening, an arrow bearing a note is fired into the Joseonese camp. "Joseon has provoked us," the note says. "Now we will retaliate against the Joseonese army full force." Yi is unconcerned: "We will just wipe them out."
That night, Choi leaves the garrison. The villagers and soldiers are despondent and raising a terrible ruckus. Choi is utterly un-moved by it all. He tells his soldiers, "Stop crying, wimps. You'll never be able to fend off the barbarians being this soft!" Choi Haesan and Jang Youngsil are there; Yundeok stops and tells Choi, "I've been watching this fellow (Jang), and he's quite talented." He tells advises Jang to put some effort into making arrows instead of spending all of his time on cannons, because arrows are more effective against the barbarians. Then he mounts a horse and prepares to leave. His soldiers salute him, but the gesture of respect is valueless to Choi. "Cut the crap," he says. He tells them, "Keep yourselves alive." And he leaves.
The next morning, Jang Youngsil goes to Choongnyeong about Choi. "Why won't you help him?" he asks. What does it matter, the prince answers; "he's already gone." But he isn't gone. At least, he hasn't gone far.
We see Choi in the woods with the village's women and children and elderly, doing a civil defense drill to get them all into hidden cellars for the feared Jurchen attack. Not only is he training them effectively, he's keeping the mood light and the villagers' sprits high and unafraid. It's another impressive job from him. He turns and sees Choongnyeong, who's watching. The prince is almost disgusted with him. "Don't you have any pride? Your country, your peers have forsaken you. No one cares! And now you're wasting time and making a fool of yourself!" This enrages Choi so much that he winds up and DECKS THE PRINCE! POW! And doesn't regret it. He glares down at Choongnyeong and snarls, "Why do I waste my time? Because men like you won't do what you're supposed to do. Are you satisfied?!"