Post by ajk on Sept 1, 2009 12:34:07 GMT -5
Mokjong is shivering; something's wrong with him. Undoubtedly it's his growing opium addiction, but he doesn't know that.
Cheonchu summons the empress and asks her if the emperor has been outside the palace recently. Sunjeong hesitates but then tells her he's been sneaking out every night since the lantern festival.
Cheonchu tells Gang Jo and Dae Dosu that Lady Yunheung and Xiao Zanli are to be arrested tonight. (Why not immediately?)
Evening: Mokjong gets up out of bed to go sneak out again. His wife begs him to think of his health and stay in, but he won't hear of it. And he says Don't tell my mother about this. He puts on the soldier clothes and goes outside, where Yi Hyunoon is waiting for him. They scale the palace walls, as usual--but this time, Gang Jo and his troops are watching. The two head for Yunheung's villa and are let in. Give me some of that tea, Mokjong demands. He goes inside and is shaking so bad he can barely lift the cup, but he downs the tea. And he tells Yunheung that he's going to reinstate Kim Shimun, as she had discussed with him a few days earlier. Yunheung looks terribly worried about his health, even though she's the one who's been serving him the tea. Presumably she's counting on the antidote that Zanli promised.
"Criminal of high treason, princess of Liao, come forth!" Soldiers have come into the front yard of Zanli's villa to arrest her. Hyeolmae and Su No try to put up a fight, but there are only two of them and they're quickly subdued. Then Zanli pulls out a dagger and is about to take her own life...but Dae Dosu fires an arrow and knocks the knife right out of her hand. Beautiful shot under big-time pressure. Easily the shot of the series. (Note: Thanks to member ducky for i.d.'ing the shooter. See his posted photo below.)
Outside Yunheung's villa, a terrified Hyunoon is surrounded by soldiers. Inside, Mokjong is sitting there, glassy-eyed and feeling no pain. He's taken forcibly back to the palace by soldiers--he refuses to go on his own--and Yunheung is arrested. She and Escort Jo are taken and put into a jail cell--right across from cell where the three Khitans are being held. Yunheung demands that Zanli provide the antidote so Mokjong's health can be restored, but Zanli only laughs and tells her there is no antidote. I lied, she says proudly, and I'm happy to die for my country for what I've done.
"An addictive potion? So that's what it was." Mokjong is getting berated by his mother, but he's blissfully unaffected by it. "It's no wonder I'm not bothered when you're yelling at me. This is great stuff!" Why did you go there in the first place, she asks him. He answers, "You frighten me, the palace is so huge, and I have no one to open up to." Why would you be lonely when you have a wife now? Because I'm impotent, he says, and she's miserable because of it. (Is that true, or is it just that he feels too sisterly towards Sunjeong? I thought it was the latter.) And it's all your fault for putting me on the throne. Now he's the one scolding her--but suddenly he lapses into a seizure.
Mun Inui informs Chiyang of what's happened. Maybe this will be good for us, Chiyang realizes; we won't have to overthrow Mokjong if he keeps acting so recklessly. What's the plan--replace him with Daeryang? No, he tells Sa Gamun, I've got it all figured out: Cheonchu will bear me a son, and then the country will be mine, bloodlessly. Simple as that(!).
Wonsoong finds out that his daughter was arrested. We have to save her, he tells his aides; time to break out the counterfeit money.
The royal physician tells Cheonchu that her son's addiction isn't all that severe since he's only taken the drug a few times. It's good news, of course, but Cheonchu is almost despairing, worried about her dream of a grand empire in light of the emperor's weaknesses.
Dokyun is smacking Sa Gamun around (he's not resisting) for using her and making her betray her country. He offers no excuses, and he's willing let her kill him. But I had to do it, he says, as she holds a sword to his throat; "My love for you was real...If we were going to be together, one of us had to forsake our country." Now strike, he says. Well, what can she do. She whiffs at him but can't bring herself to strike him. She drops the sword and runs away.
Evening in the torture yard (Why always torture in the evening? Are the rates cheaper?): Cheonchu is interrogating Zanli, who readily admits drugging Mokjong. Why? "To weaken Goryeo, of course." She smiles with smug satisfaction, proud of herself. Then Cheonchu asks her if Lady Yunheung knew about her "evil intentions."
Mokjong has come to visit Yunheung in jail. She confesses to him that she did try to addict him. Escort Jo tries to tell him the whole story, about the antidote and that they had no intention of harming him in the end, but Yunheung shushes her. "I won't make excuses," she says. "Give me death." Just become a strong and benevolent king and free yourself from your mother's control. At that he laughs maniacally; this is all too much and is breaking him. Then soldiers enter, ordered to take Yunheung to the inquiry. Which they do....
...and she's brought in and bound to a torture chair. Cheonchu demands to know if she conspired with Zanli. Yes, she says fearlessly. "But it was to get the Emperor to break free of you and rule the country on his own." Glaring at Cheonchu, Yunheung is calm and her voice is unwavering. "The emperor is almost twenty years old. And he is a married adult. Why does he need his mother to be a regent?" They start to argue about the proper role of women in running the state, and then Cheonchu orders everybody else tortured "until Lady Yunheung shows remorse." This is very silly, but it's done: all of the other captives are tortured while Yunheung sits and listens to it.
Ministers are discussing Yunheung's treason. And what the Khitans might think about Zanli being tortured. Then word arrives for Gang Gamchan that Seo Hui's condition is critical and that Seo is asking for him.
The torture continues, with Yunheung sitting there listening to it. And then they get out the branding irons. That's enough for her. "Torture me instead. Kill me!" Hunae is only too happy to oblige: "Torture the treacherous woman!" Lots of hesitation among the soldiers; nobody wants to do this. But eventually a branding iron is brought forth..."Stop!" Mokjong arrives. "My imprudence is the cause of all this," he tells his mother. "Please forgive them." She won't listen...so he drops to his knees in front of her(!!), begging for mercy for the woman who raised him. Show her mercy and "I will never act against your wishes again." That's a rough offer for him to have to make, but what else can he do (and give him credit for making it). At that moment Cheonchu is informed about Seo Hui.
Seo Hui is dying. He's worried about the country, he tells Gamchan. He's confident that Cheonchu will hold off the Khitans, but what happens after that? "If the Emperor continues on this skewed path...", he wonders, not finishing the sentence. He tells Gamchan, "If you see no hope in the emperor, despite all the efforts, give up on him and bring Prince Daeryang forward." Gamchan is astounded at the statement but isn't about to argue with him about it. Seo's breathing grows increasingly labored and he gasps for air as he tries to speak to Gamchan. "I'm sorry to leave such a heavy burden on you and...thank you." Thank you and good night; Seo is dead.
Narration reviews Seo's accomplishments and tells us that he died of natural causes in July 998, at age 57. He received high honors posthumously and his family was rewarded financially.
The royal physician reports to Cheonchu that Mokjong has made it through--no more addiction symptoms.
We see several scenes of bribe money being handed around to ministers. LOTS of money. Wonsoong's counterfeit money.
Nighttime: Mokjong is dreaming about the dancer he saw in the public square the night of the festival. He's alone and the dancer is dancing in front of him. Then his mother appears and unmasks the dancer; it's Yunheung! And then she slashes Yunheung with a sword, killing her on the spot. He wakes up shaking. (Yow-wee. Paging doctor Freud!) He realizes he's terrified of his mother. "She will end up killing me as well," he tells Sunjeong beside him. "I know it. She'll kill me for the throne." Outside, Cheonchu is listening to him as he talks. (What the heck is she doing there? Standing there silently with her entire retinue, outside of the emperor's bedroom? This makes no sense.) "My mother is a heartless, tearless woman," he tells the empress, and you'll die too if you stay with me.
Next day, at the state council meeting: How to punish the traitors? Gamchan speaks up first, asking Cheonchu to take the emperor's feelings into consideration and spare Yunheung. One after another, ministers speak to support Gamchan on this (and undoubtedly to score brownie points with the emperor on a substantively meaningless issue). Very well, Cheonchu says after listening to them; I'll release her. But Xiao Zanli and Yi Hyunoon will be put to death. Then Mokjong, silent until now, speaks up. He has a request.
Zanli is tied to posts in a courtyard. Hyeolmae and Su No are there but are told they'll be spared, "so go back to Liao and tell them how your princess died." Then the order is given, and as Zanli shouts her loyalty to Liao, dozens of archers fire on her and fill her full of arrows. (I'm sorry, but this was pointless and stupid. Killing her is only going to anger the Khitans. Just as easy to send her back home and be done with her. What is the point? Bad writing.) Then we see Yi Hyunoon, who's also being held there and has watched all this. Now it's his turn. It's Kim Hoon wielding the sword, and he raises it over Hyunoon...and at the very, very last instant, Gang Jo enters the yard and commands a halt; a stay order has just arrived. That was about as close as you can get.
Yunheung and Escort Jo are released. Wonsoong and his aides take them in. Yunheung wants revenge more than ever, but her spirit is weak and she has no power at all now. Don't worry, her father says; we'll get our chance: "Our time will come again." He seems completely confident of that, no doubt thanks the bribe money he's been dishing out.
Evening: Cheonchu confesses to Chiyang her worries about the country's future, the court's opinion of their relationship, and how her own son feels about her. You still have me, he tells her; I understand what you're doing and I'll be with you no matter what. And he hugs her.
"What!? Xiao Zanli is dead?" Hyeolmae and Su No are back in Liao and are before empress dowager Xiao and her son. Then Yelu Dilie enters with still more bad news: they've learned that Goryeo sent an envoy to Song China and that a possible alliance was discussed. Xiao flies off the handle momentarily, to the emperor's great delight--"Yes, Mother! We must wipe out the Goryeans right now!"--but she knows that Liao is in no position to mount any sort of attack. She has other intentions. "I'm not planning to attack Goryeo. I just want to see that wench again. I want to see if she can be this audacious to my face." Hmmm...
Goryeo state meeting: Cheonchu gets word that Xiao wants to meet her. Just north of the Yalu River, in Khitan territory. And if she doesn't show, Khitan troops will cross into Goryeo. Intense discussion among the ministers about what to do. Cheonchu decides she'll go.
We see the two large royal caravans approaching the border territory from opposite directions.
Cheonchu summons the empress and asks her if the emperor has been outside the palace recently. Sunjeong hesitates but then tells her he's been sneaking out every night since the lantern festival.
Cheonchu tells Gang Jo and Dae Dosu that Lady Yunheung and Xiao Zanli are to be arrested tonight. (Why not immediately?)
Evening: Mokjong gets up out of bed to go sneak out again. His wife begs him to think of his health and stay in, but he won't hear of it. And he says Don't tell my mother about this. He puts on the soldier clothes and goes outside, where Yi Hyunoon is waiting for him. They scale the palace walls, as usual--but this time, Gang Jo and his troops are watching. The two head for Yunheung's villa and are let in. Give me some of that tea, Mokjong demands. He goes inside and is shaking so bad he can barely lift the cup, but he downs the tea. And he tells Yunheung that he's going to reinstate Kim Shimun, as she had discussed with him a few days earlier. Yunheung looks terribly worried about his health, even though she's the one who's been serving him the tea. Presumably she's counting on the antidote that Zanli promised.
"Criminal of high treason, princess of Liao, come forth!" Soldiers have come into the front yard of Zanli's villa to arrest her. Hyeolmae and Su No try to put up a fight, but there are only two of them and they're quickly subdued. Then Zanli pulls out a dagger and is about to take her own life...but Dae Dosu fires an arrow and knocks the knife right out of her hand. Beautiful shot under big-time pressure. Easily the shot of the series. (Note: Thanks to member ducky for i.d.'ing the shooter. See his posted photo below.)
Outside Yunheung's villa, a terrified Hyunoon is surrounded by soldiers. Inside, Mokjong is sitting there, glassy-eyed and feeling no pain. He's taken forcibly back to the palace by soldiers--he refuses to go on his own--and Yunheung is arrested. She and Escort Jo are taken and put into a jail cell--right across from cell where the three Khitans are being held. Yunheung demands that Zanli provide the antidote so Mokjong's health can be restored, but Zanli only laughs and tells her there is no antidote. I lied, she says proudly, and I'm happy to die for my country for what I've done.
"An addictive potion? So that's what it was." Mokjong is getting berated by his mother, but he's blissfully unaffected by it. "It's no wonder I'm not bothered when you're yelling at me. This is great stuff!" Why did you go there in the first place, she asks him. He answers, "You frighten me, the palace is so huge, and I have no one to open up to." Why would you be lonely when you have a wife now? Because I'm impotent, he says, and she's miserable because of it. (Is that true, or is it just that he feels too sisterly towards Sunjeong? I thought it was the latter.) And it's all your fault for putting me on the throne. Now he's the one scolding her--but suddenly he lapses into a seizure.
Mun Inui informs Chiyang of what's happened. Maybe this will be good for us, Chiyang realizes; we won't have to overthrow Mokjong if he keeps acting so recklessly. What's the plan--replace him with Daeryang? No, he tells Sa Gamun, I've got it all figured out: Cheonchu will bear me a son, and then the country will be mine, bloodlessly. Simple as that(!).
Wonsoong finds out that his daughter was arrested. We have to save her, he tells his aides; time to break out the counterfeit money.
The royal physician tells Cheonchu that her son's addiction isn't all that severe since he's only taken the drug a few times. It's good news, of course, but Cheonchu is almost despairing, worried about her dream of a grand empire in light of the emperor's weaknesses.
Dokyun is smacking Sa Gamun around (he's not resisting) for using her and making her betray her country. He offers no excuses, and he's willing let her kill him. But I had to do it, he says, as she holds a sword to his throat; "My love for you was real...If we were going to be together, one of us had to forsake our country." Now strike, he says. Well, what can she do. She whiffs at him but can't bring herself to strike him. She drops the sword and runs away.
Evening in the torture yard (Why always torture in the evening? Are the rates cheaper?): Cheonchu is interrogating Zanli, who readily admits drugging Mokjong. Why? "To weaken Goryeo, of course." She smiles with smug satisfaction, proud of herself. Then Cheonchu asks her if Lady Yunheung knew about her "evil intentions."
Mokjong has come to visit Yunheung in jail. She confesses to him that she did try to addict him. Escort Jo tries to tell him the whole story, about the antidote and that they had no intention of harming him in the end, but Yunheung shushes her. "I won't make excuses," she says. "Give me death." Just become a strong and benevolent king and free yourself from your mother's control. At that he laughs maniacally; this is all too much and is breaking him. Then soldiers enter, ordered to take Yunheung to the inquiry. Which they do....
...and she's brought in and bound to a torture chair. Cheonchu demands to know if she conspired with Zanli. Yes, she says fearlessly. "But it was to get the Emperor to break free of you and rule the country on his own." Glaring at Cheonchu, Yunheung is calm and her voice is unwavering. "The emperor is almost twenty years old. And he is a married adult. Why does he need his mother to be a regent?" They start to argue about the proper role of women in running the state, and then Cheonchu orders everybody else tortured "until Lady Yunheung shows remorse." This is very silly, but it's done: all of the other captives are tortured while Yunheung sits and listens to it.
Ministers are discussing Yunheung's treason. And what the Khitans might think about Zanli being tortured. Then word arrives for Gang Gamchan that Seo Hui's condition is critical and that Seo is asking for him.
The torture continues, with Yunheung sitting there listening to it. And then they get out the branding irons. That's enough for her. "Torture me instead. Kill me!" Hunae is only too happy to oblige: "Torture the treacherous woman!" Lots of hesitation among the soldiers; nobody wants to do this. But eventually a branding iron is brought forth..."Stop!" Mokjong arrives. "My imprudence is the cause of all this," he tells his mother. "Please forgive them." She won't listen...so he drops to his knees in front of her(!!), begging for mercy for the woman who raised him. Show her mercy and "I will never act against your wishes again." That's a rough offer for him to have to make, but what else can he do (and give him credit for making it). At that moment Cheonchu is informed about Seo Hui.
Seo Hui is dying. He's worried about the country, he tells Gamchan. He's confident that Cheonchu will hold off the Khitans, but what happens after that? "If the Emperor continues on this skewed path...", he wonders, not finishing the sentence. He tells Gamchan, "If you see no hope in the emperor, despite all the efforts, give up on him and bring Prince Daeryang forward." Gamchan is astounded at the statement but isn't about to argue with him about it. Seo's breathing grows increasingly labored and he gasps for air as he tries to speak to Gamchan. "I'm sorry to leave such a heavy burden on you and...thank you." Thank you and good night; Seo is dead.
Narration reviews Seo's accomplishments and tells us that he died of natural causes in July 998, at age 57. He received high honors posthumously and his family was rewarded financially.
The royal physician reports to Cheonchu that Mokjong has made it through--no more addiction symptoms.
We see several scenes of bribe money being handed around to ministers. LOTS of money. Wonsoong's counterfeit money.
Nighttime: Mokjong is dreaming about the dancer he saw in the public square the night of the festival. He's alone and the dancer is dancing in front of him. Then his mother appears and unmasks the dancer; it's Yunheung! And then she slashes Yunheung with a sword, killing her on the spot. He wakes up shaking. (Yow-wee. Paging doctor Freud!) He realizes he's terrified of his mother. "She will end up killing me as well," he tells Sunjeong beside him. "I know it. She'll kill me for the throne." Outside, Cheonchu is listening to him as he talks. (What the heck is she doing there? Standing there silently with her entire retinue, outside of the emperor's bedroom? This makes no sense.) "My mother is a heartless, tearless woman," he tells the empress, and you'll die too if you stay with me.
Next day, at the state council meeting: How to punish the traitors? Gamchan speaks up first, asking Cheonchu to take the emperor's feelings into consideration and spare Yunheung. One after another, ministers speak to support Gamchan on this (and undoubtedly to score brownie points with the emperor on a substantively meaningless issue). Very well, Cheonchu says after listening to them; I'll release her. But Xiao Zanli and Yi Hyunoon will be put to death. Then Mokjong, silent until now, speaks up. He has a request.
Zanli is tied to posts in a courtyard. Hyeolmae and Su No are there but are told they'll be spared, "so go back to Liao and tell them how your princess died." Then the order is given, and as Zanli shouts her loyalty to Liao, dozens of archers fire on her and fill her full of arrows. (I'm sorry, but this was pointless and stupid. Killing her is only going to anger the Khitans. Just as easy to send her back home and be done with her. What is the point? Bad writing.) Then we see Yi Hyunoon, who's also being held there and has watched all this. Now it's his turn. It's Kim Hoon wielding the sword, and he raises it over Hyunoon...and at the very, very last instant, Gang Jo enters the yard and commands a halt; a stay order has just arrived. That was about as close as you can get.
Yunheung and Escort Jo are released. Wonsoong and his aides take them in. Yunheung wants revenge more than ever, but her spirit is weak and she has no power at all now. Don't worry, her father says; we'll get our chance: "Our time will come again." He seems completely confident of that, no doubt thanks the bribe money he's been dishing out.
Evening: Cheonchu confesses to Chiyang her worries about the country's future, the court's opinion of their relationship, and how her own son feels about her. You still have me, he tells her; I understand what you're doing and I'll be with you no matter what. And he hugs her.
"What!? Xiao Zanli is dead?" Hyeolmae and Su No are back in Liao and are before empress dowager Xiao and her son. Then Yelu Dilie enters with still more bad news: they've learned that Goryeo sent an envoy to Song China and that a possible alliance was discussed. Xiao flies off the handle momentarily, to the emperor's great delight--"Yes, Mother! We must wipe out the Goryeans right now!"--but she knows that Liao is in no position to mount any sort of attack. She has other intentions. "I'm not planning to attack Goryeo. I just want to see that wench again. I want to see if she can be this audacious to my face." Hmmm...
Goryeo state meeting: Cheonchu gets word that Xiao wants to meet her. Just north of the Yalu River, in Khitan territory. And if she doesn't show, Khitan troops will cross into Goryeo. Intense discussion among the ministers about what to do. Cheonchu decides she'll go.
We see the two large royal caravans approaching the border territory from opposite directions.
