Post by ajk on Jun 1, 2012 21:32:33 GMT -5
The other Hwarang look around at each other, completely confused. Why only Yushin, and none of the rest of them? Oh well, orders is orders.
Why me?, Yushin asks his father. Seohyeon doesn't know, but suspects Seolwon is planning something. "Don't let your guard down," he cautions his son. Yushin asks him to look in on his Hwarang.
The DFers try to understand why only Yushin. And nearby, other Hwarang grumble about being left out of the assault, and blame Yushin for it. Defending the camp along with the DFers, that's not what they had in mind. Some unkind names for the DFers grumbled amongst themselves, and they walk away.
Bojong is helping his father dress for battle. "For me," Seolwon comments, "honor and glory aren't as important as staying alive." (Which doesn't say much about his commitment to the cause, but we'll see about that eventually.) We must return and continue to serve Mishil, he says. You can't worry about anybody else getting injured, or worry about honoring your dead; "because in the end all that matters is who survives." Then we see Seolwon hand an envelope to Seokpum; it's to be delivered to Seohyeon four hours after their departure.
Yushin addresses the DFers before he leaves. More cautioning and advice, and they actually give him guff because they're tired of hearing the same cautions and advice from him by now. They know what to do. "Don't worry about us," they tell him. "You just go out there and fight well."
We see the army heading off to battle. Seolwon doesn't look very confident or energetic--not at all the vibe that a leader should be giving off, frankly. Nobody else looks very confident either. And off to the side, in the woods, we see two enemy scouts....
...who report back. We're in the Baekje camp, at a war council meeting. We meet Goo Pae, the Baekje general. The scouts report to him that the Shillans are moving to Sok Ham Fortress. Goo is confident and unafraid of the Shillans.
Yushin spots a Baekje scout in the woods and tells Seolwon. Seolwon has spotted him too, though, and wants nothing done about it. Huh? He says he's using number 33 of the 36 Strategems (see link)--the Ban Gan Gae tactic, a/k/a causing an enemy spy to report false movements.
Seohyeon receives Seolwon's envelope. He reads the contents...reads...and then reacts with surprise, or about as much surprise as he's likely to show.
Evening: The DFers are helping move the dead. Horrible open wounds. It's enough to make anybody sick, and for several of them it literally does. Other Hwarang come by and sass them for showing such squeamishness. San Tak and Hyeop Song (the two Mishil-allied Hwarang who caught Deokman in the tribute room in Ep8) talk big about the brutality of battle; they're trying to frighten the DFers, and they do frighten several. (Enough of this wimpiness stuff already. Sheesh.) But now here come orders for them: "All of you will gather in front of the general and form a line." What's this about?
Seohyeon is giving the news to his subordinates: They're to attack Amak Fortress (at modern-day Namwon). It will be a diversion to draw Baekje forces away from the main attack at Sok Ham. This is a tough assignment. They need to pass through a lower ground beneath which a brigade of Baekje archers is positioned. The Green Dragon and Rising Phoenix Hwarang corps are assigned to take out the archers. That includes the DFers.
The Hwarang get their orders; Archeon leads them out. Most of the DFers are scared and suddenly have to relieve their bladders. Deokman heads on without them, to her credit.
The next morning: We see the Hwarang hiding in thick grass...as a squad of the enemy's archers marches past them, complaining about being stuck here away from the action at Sok Ham. Suddenly several of the Hwarang jump out and attack--and in moments the squad lies dead, caught completely by surprise. The DFers are shocked by the reality of it all. All of the Hwarang emerge from the grass and head forward, wearing grass on their helmets and uniforms to camouflage them.
They crawl through tall grass, up a hill to where the archers are stationed. Now we can see the archers, as the Hwarang get closer, closer...but now one of the DFers, Shiyeol, spots a snake slithering towards him. Deokman tries to crawl over to him and help him--she has no fear of the things, as we've seen--but too late. It reaches his arm, and he screams and flinches, blowing their cover. The archers react and realize they're under attack, and in moments a rain of arrows is flying down upon the Hwarang. Fortunately they've got their metal shields, which do help a great deal, and now they charge forward. Several Hwarang are struck by arrows, but the rest reach the hilltop and now the battle is on. The archers, well, they're not so good with the swords, we can see that. And those big metal shields the Hwarang are wielding, they make surprisingly good offensive weapons if you can bonk your opponent on the head with one and get any kind of force behind it. The DFers, they mainly just stumble around in the chaos, that is, those who aren't hiding from it all. Deokman fends off a few sword blows with her shield and even gets in a head-bonk. Pretty soon the enemy is wiped out, and a horn signal is blown....
Seohyeon gets the news. "Prepare to attack," he orders. The signal drum beats.
Back with Seolwon's main army, a scout arrives on horseback with news. "The drum has sounded!" Seolwon turns, faces his army and orders, "Return to headquarters!" They do it, but confused faces are everywhere--including the face of the Baekje scout we see hiding in the grass. Obviously Seolwon hasn't told most of his officers about his deception plan (which is good, really, because their sincere confusion helps sell it).
The scout returns to Baekje camp and reports to Goo Pae, who tries to make sense of all of this. Now another scout arrives, with news of the archers' defeat and of 3,000 Shillans attacking Amak Fortress. They conclude that Amak must be the Shillans' real objective. It's distressing news, because losing Amak would cut their supply lines. Goo orders all available troops to Amak.
We see the attack on Amak. It's big and bloody, and the Hwarang are right there in the middle of it, pushing wheeled ladders and gate-busting weapons right up to the walls. Arrows, flaming projectiles, trebuchets, you name it. And the Baekjeans have some brutally effective rolling logs and sliding bamboo spear clusters that slide down the ladders and take out attackers as they try to climb up. Taking a fortress is tough enough, and this one looks extra-tough...but pretty soon the Shillans are scaling the walls and getting on top. Even some of the DFers! Good work by Shillan archers farther back providing support. A few of the DFers are fighting on the wall now...and here are Jukbang and Godo managing to stay alive and fight out of trouble. How about that. And as a Baekjean corners one of the more frightened DFers and raises his sword, suddenly a spear flies through the air and kills him. Who threw it? Deokman!! Really launched it, like a pro. It obviously was a reflex and she's stunned at what she's done--literally shaking now that she's had a moment to absorb the fact of her first kill. And in the next moment, she's the one saved; she was about to take a sword-blow herself as she stood there, but another DFer had her back. The fighting continues, and now more Shillans are up the walls and they seem to be getting the upper hand.
At Sok Ham fortress, the fort commander gets word of the Shillan attack on Amak. Thinking that Amak is their real objective because it "is the most vital location" for them, he orders 5000 of Sok Ham's troops to head to Amak and repel the attack.
Nighttime: Scouts report to Seolwon that 5000 Baekje troops have moved out of Sok Ham. He smiles. "Perfect."
"Victory! Victory!" Back at Amak, the Shillan leaders are exhorting their troops. Darned if they didn't actually take control of the gate! Probably not at all what Seolwon expected, but a great bonus for the Shillans. It wasn't without casualties, but they did it. Almost everybody is overjoyed. Deokman is an exception; she still looks traumatized from having to kill a man. The other is Kim Seohyeon. He appears completely unmoved, even as everybody else celebrates. Why?
At Sok Ham, two guards stare into the darkness, joking about how it's a good thing the Shillans didn't come here or we would have wiped them out. Laugh it up, tough guys, because what are all those torches we suddenly see out there. Shillans, suddenly right there running full speed at the walls. The first wave of flaming arrows flies into the fort, and Seolwon orders the first charge.
"Good men died because of you." Ten, to be exact, including Dalchun the DFer. Archeon has a sword to Shiyeol's neck. The other DFers are there too. "Your girly scream gave away our position" and forced a premature attack that cost needless lives. "Killing you will serve as an example for others," he says. Deokman, Jukbang and Godo step forward, kneel and beg for mercy for Shiyeol. And offer, "If we survive and return, then you can hand out your punishment." Which only makes him angrier and now he seem poised to kill all four of them. But just in time, Kim Seohyeon happens by. This is "a Hwarang matter," Archeon tells him, but Seohyeon finds that unacceptable. "How can there be a thing such as a 'Hwarang matter' in the middle of a war?" The boy is right, he says, gesturing to Deokman; deal with it if and when we return home safely. But for Shiyeol, some stark advice: "You have a chance to die with honor. Don't waste it."
Now Seohyeon is meeting with his subordinates. And now we know why he wasn't smiling earlier. Everybody figured that taking the gate was the assignment--to create the diversion and draw the Baekje troops away from Sok Ham. Nope. "As soon as daylight breaks," he announces, "we will attack the entire fortress." Gulp. Everybody wonders if that's really necessary. "I have no idea what his plans are," Seohyeon says of Seolwon, "only the orders we've been given." Any reinforcements coming? Nope. This can't be done with only the 3000 soldiers we have, they argue, and urge him to ignore the order. But Seohyeon won't do that, regardless of what he may think of it (as in, Seolwon is deliberately sending him on a suicide mission; there's the glum face).
"They died because of me." Dalchun is realizing just how bad his mistake was. Jukbang tries to talk him past it. And Deokman, at least she isn't shaking from trauma any more, but she's still not in a good way, sitting there trying to process it all.
Jukbang and Godo are deserting! They've heard about the long-odds attack and want to run away to join the Baekje side. They're run off into a wooded area and start practicing a Baekje accent. (Lost on a non-Korean viewer; something about a lilt.)
Back with Seohyeon, the news doesn't get any better: 700 injured, 500 of whom can't fight any more, and remember those Baekje reinforcements are on their way. They can't understand why Seolwon would order such a thing. Seohyeon says nothing.
The Green Dragons and Rising Phoenix guards will lead the attack, he tells Archeon--tall orders for Hwarang. A big force will pour out of the fortress, and "you must take care of it." Archeon accepts the assignment, wondering only why they're not being supported by reinforcements.
The next morning: Sok Ham fortress. The Shillans are in! Whatever happened, it already happened and we didn't see it, but it must have been easy. Scouts report to Seolwon that Baekje troops evacuated the entire area, to a distance of more than 20 kilometers. And the Shillans lost only around 100 men. So the Amak diversion worked perfectly. Great strategy by Seolwon. Everyone is very satisfied, with good reason...except for Kim Yushin, who is with Seolwon but whose thoughts are understandably with his father. He pleads with Seolwon to send reinforcements to Amak. Seolwon smiles a care-free smile and simply says, "There will be none."
As Seohyeon's troops head towards the main part of Amak, bad news from a scout: Baekje troop movements have cut off their supply line. And now more bad news from another scout: 5000 Baekje cavalry from Amak are on their way to intercept them. Seohyeon keeps his cool (I love this guy) and rightly decides that a frontal engagement would be foolish. "Everyone retreat into the forest and set up camp."
We see the advancing Baekje cavalry. Uh-oh, it looks really big.
Yushin presses: "How can they take the fortress without reinforcements?" Seolwon laughs. "Who said anything about taking the fortress?" He quotes another of the 36 Strategems: "Make noise east; strike west." And it worked, exactly like he hoped. But the prospect of Seohyeon's forces being wiped out? Seolwon quotes a martial arts maxim: "Give up my skin in order to break the enemy's bone."
And now we're in the middle of a Shilla council meeting--and Mishil is using the exact same maxim. Councilors are asking urgently about sending reinforcements to Amak, but she responds, "Sending Kim Seohyeon to Amak was taking a cut to our skin." She answers calmly but can barely hide her glee at the prospect of Seohyeon's troops being wiped out. Lovely.
And back at Sok Ham, Seolwon says the exact same thing to Yushin. He does make the valid point that sending reinforcements to Amak would put Sok Ham in jeopardy again. Hard to argue with that, even if it does help his self-interest.
And as Mishil acknowledges in the council meeting, Seolwon had no real interest in Amak to begin with. Cheonmyeong is there; she asks her father to do something for Seohyeon and the Hwarang at Amak. The king sits there looking worried but powerless (I'm getting really tired of that; for goodness sake he's the bleeping king!). Sejong speaks up and starts to sell it as a done deal--they "will forever in Shilla history be remembered with honor for their bravery"--but Cheonmyeong cuts him off. "Bite your sycophant tongue!" She turns to his father, hoping for some small lifeline. Jinpyeong, to his credit, asks Mishil if Seohyeon shouldn't at least be ordered to retreat, given that the objective has been accomplished. "It's probably being done right now," she replies. Hmmmm...is it?
Yushin is on horseback, riding through the countryside. Alone. What's going on? Seolwon has indeed given the retreat order for Seohyeon's army. He's given it to Yushin, who alone is sent through Baekje-controlled territory to deliver it to his father. Alone? (And just one messenger? Shouldn't something this important be sent along multiple routes?)
Cheonmyeong is now with her father, Councilor Eulje and Princess Manmyeong. To her great credit, Manmyeong understands and accepts that drawing forces from Sok Ham to reinforce her husband's army will endanger the newly retaken Sok Ham. Cheonmyeong sees it as a trick to sacrifice Seohyeon and Yushin and begs her father to send reinforcements, but Eulje, too, understands the larger reality. And he adds, "Seolwon, Sejong, and even Mishil faced similar situations" under King Jinheung and all three survived them (news to us; backstory here that we haven't gotten). The king agrees, and realizes that their surviving gave them honor and credibility. "That's why they are strong and vicious" now. So, he realizes, "We have to leave them to the fortunes of war." Poor Cheonmyeong is reliving the trauma of her husband's loss, but her father urges faith and hope.
Mishil is with her weasely brother Misaeng, who's exulting over both the victory and the impending destruction of Kim Seohyeon's forces. Mishil, for once, smiles and simply agrees with him: "There's nothing anyone can do to stop us." And we learn that the strategy wasn't Mishil's doing at all; it was entirely Seolwon's. She only realized it as it unfolded, because "Amak is harder to take and harder to keep" and not of much real practical use to Shilla. Her husband Sejong is there too (looking a little annoyed with the fawning over his wife's lover), and cautions that Sok Ham could still be attacked. But Mishil swats all doubt away: "It's over." And how is she so sure? Here's some news: she intends for Shilla to negotiate a peace treaty with Baekje. "On very favorable terms." Baekje's king is no fool, she says, and doesn't need or want a drawn-out war. "All that's left is the attack on Kim Seohyeon's retreating army," which she doesn't seem to be overly concerned about.
Suddenly we're in the woods with Seohyeon's army, in the middle of a raging sword-battle with the Baekje forces. The cavalry can't really bring their horses into these close quarters, so good strategy to go into the woods. But it's a wild scene nonetheless. We see Deokman managing to fend off an attacker, making sure to remember her training...but we see other DFers in their teal uniforms getting killed, and other troops on both sides getting killed too. Seohyeon isn't pleased with how it's going and orders a retreat further into the woods.
The sun setting, Yushin keeps galloping ahead. Still safe.
We see Deokman's Hwarang group of around thirty, the majority of them DFers. They're retreating, but now the ground is more open and the horsemen are after them. Ugh. (Not sure if this was a diversion to draw the horsemen away from the main Shillan forces.) And now here some Baekje troops from the other direction. They're surrounded. Completely. Archeon calls out, "We die with honor and meet in the next life!" Deokman, her mind frantically searching through all of Yushin's training exercises, suddenly remembers what they drilled for in a surround situation. She screams, "Circle formation!" Which we saw in the previous episode. Archeon is shocked to hear an order from someone else, but in the next moment the Hwarang are all circling up, shields outward just like we had seen most of them practicing it.
Yushin spots trouble: a Baekje army checkpoint, blocked by a fence-gate and patrolled by several guards. At a distance he stops...then double-loads his bow with two arrows and charges forward. He fires and takes out two of the guards, and manages to hurdle the gate and get away before the other guards can react. (Pretty lousy guarding, frankly.)
"Left attack!" Deokman has started barking out orders and the circle formation is moving just as Yushin had trained them. The shields absorb the enemy spear-blows and even ensnare the shields, which leaves openings for the Shillans to lash out with their swords. "Forward!" The circle expands and pushes back the enemy. "Circle up!" Now under attack again, they retreat back into formation. This is all happening in a muddy, mucky area like a sort of creek-bed, and it does seem to hamper the Baekjeans' efforts to attack the circle formation. But now it's a terrible, bloody battle, and even Deokman is snapped into action and starts swinging her sword fearlessly. But it doesn't last. She lunges and kills a Baekjean, and then lapses into a trauma-induced stupor and falls to the ground unconscious.
Yushin made it! Gives the retreat order to his father, who's amazed to see him. And gives the good news of the victory. Sound the retreat horns, Seohyeon orders. Yushin asks urgently, What about my Hwarang? At that moment two of them emerge from the woods. Just two. Daepoong and one other. "We used the circle formation," they offer, without explanation, "but there were too many of them." What happened to the others?, Yushin demands. "Without knowing whether or not they died, you didn't check the bodies to confirm? You just ran away?" It was Archeon's orders, they tell him, to retreat and rejoin the main army. "If they're alive, they will be here."
Now two more DFers stagger out of the woods, including a wounded Shiyeol. Who tells Yushin that Deokman is dead.
We see the battle scene. The scavenger birds are descending on dozens and dozens of bodies. Deokman is there, still laying in the muck, staring at a bird. (She's not hurt, that we can see; what's the problem?) Get away from me, she tells it; "I'm not dead yet."
Why me?, Yushin asks his father. Seohyeon doesn't know, but suspects Seolwon is planning something. "Don't let your guard down," he cautions his son. Yushin asks him to look in on his Hwarang.
The DFers try to understand why only Yushin. And nearby, other Hwarang grumble about being left out of the assault, and blame Yushin for it. Defending the camp along with the DFers, that's not what they had in mind. Some unkind names for the DFers grumbled amongst themselves, and they walk away.
Bojong is helping his father dress for battle. "For me," Seolwon comments, "honor and glory aren't as important as staying alive." (Which doesn't say much about his commitment to the cause, but we'll see about that eventually.) We must return and continue to serve Mishil, he says. You can't worry about anybody else getting injured, or worry about honoring your dead; "because in the end all that matters is who survives." Then we see Seolwon hand an envelope to Seokpum; it's to be delivered to Seohyeon four hours after their departure.
Yushin addresses the DFers before he leaves. More cautioning and advice, and they actually give him guff because they're tired of hearing the same cautions and advice from him by now. They know what to do. "Don't worry about us," they tell him. "You just go out there and fight well."
We see the army heading off to battle. Seolwon doesn't look very confident or energetic--not at all the vibe that a leader should be giving off, frankly. Nobody else looks very confident either. And off to the side, in the woods, we see two enemy scouts....
...who report back. We're in the Baekje camp, at a war council meeting. We meet Goo Pae, the Baekje general. The scouts report to him that the Shillans are moving to Sok Ham Fortress. Goo is confident and unafraid of the Shillans.
Yushin spots a Baekje scout in the woods and tells Seolwon. Seolwon has spotted him too, though, and wants nothing done about it. Huh? He says he's using number 33 of the 36 Strategems (see link)--the Ban Gan Gae tactic, a/k/a causing an enemy spy to report false movements.
Seohyeon receives Seolwon's envelope. He reads the contents...reads...and then reacts with surprise, or about as much surprise as he's likely to show.
Evening: The DFers are helping move the dead. Horrible open wounds. It's enough to make anybody sick, and for several of them it literally does. Other Hwarang come by and sass them for showing such squeamishness. San Tak and Hyeop Song (the two Mishil-allied Hwarang who caught Deokman in the tribute room in Ep8) talk big about the brutality of battle; they're trying to frighten the DFers, and they do frighten several. (Enough of this wimpiness stuff already. Sheesh.) But now here come orders for them: "All of you will gather in front of the general and form a line." What's this about?
Seohyeon is giving the news to his subordinates: They're to attack Amak Fortress (at modern-day Namwon). It will be a diversion to draw Baekje forces away from the main attack at Sok Ham. This is a tough assignment. They need to pass through a lower ground beneath which a brigade of Baekje archers is positioned. The Green Dragon and Rising Phoenix Hwarang corps are assigned to take out the archers. That includes the DFers.
The Hwarang get their orders; Archeon leads them out. Most of the DFers are scared and suddenly have to relieve their bladders. Deokman heads on without them, to her credit.
The next morning: We see the Hwarang hiding in thick grass...as a squad of the enemy's archers marches past them, complaining about being stuck here away from the action at Sok Ham. Suddenly several of the Hwarang jump out and attack--and in moments the squad lies dead, caught completely by surprise. The DFers are shocked by the reality of it all. All of the Hwarang emerge from the grass and head forward, wearing grass on their helmets and uniforms to camouflage them.
They crawl through tall grass, up a hill to where the archers are stationed. Now we can see the archers, as the Hwarang get closer, closer...but now one of the DFers, Shiyeol, spots a snake slithering towards him. Deokman tries to crawl over to him and help him--she has no fear of the things, as we've seen--but too late. It reaches his arm, and he screams and flinches, blowing their cover. The archers react and realize they're under attack, and in moments a rain of arrows is flying down upon the Hwarang. Fortunately they've got their metal shields, which do help a great deal, and now they charge forward. Several Hwarang are struck by arrows, but the rest reach the hilltop and now the battle is on. The archers, well, they're not so good with the swords, we can see that. And those big metal shields the Hwarang are wielding, they make surprisingly good offensive weapons if you can bonk your opponent on the head with one and get any kind of force behind it. The DFers, they mainly just stumble around in the chaos, that is, those who aren't hiding from it all. Deokman fends off a few sword blows with her shield and even gets in a head-bonk. Pretty soon the enemy is wiped out, and a horn signal is blown....
Seohyeon gets the news. "Prepare to attack," he orders. The signal drum beats.
Back with Seolwon's main army, a scout arrives on horseback with news. "The drum has sounded!" Seolwon turns, faces his army and orders, "Return to headquarters!" They do it, but confused faces are everywhere--including the face of the Baekje scout we see hiding in the grass. Obviously Seolwon hasn't told most of his officers about his deception plan (which is good, really, because their sincere confusion helps sell it).
The scout returns to Baekje camp and reports to Goo Pae, who tries to make sense of all of this. Now another scout arrives, with news of the archers' defeat and of 3,000 Shillans attacking Amak Fortress. They conclude that Amak must be the Shillans' real objective. It's distressing news, because losing Amak would cut their supply lines. Goo orders all available troops to Amak.
We see the attack on Amak. It's big and bloody, and the Hwarang are right there in the middle of it, pushing wheeled ladders and gate-busting weapons right up to the walls. Arrows, flaming projectiles, trebuchets, you name it. And the Baekjeans have some brutally effective rolling logs and sliding bamboo spear clusters that slide down the ladders and take out attackers as they try to climb up. Taking a fortress is tough enough, and this one looks extra-tough...but pretty soon the Shillans are scaling the walls and getting on top. Even some of the DFers! Good work by Shillan archers farther back providing support. A few of the DFers are fighting on the wall now...and here are Jukbang and Godo managing to stay alive and fight out of trouble. How about that. And as a Baekjean corners one of the more frightened DFers and raises his sword, suddenly a spear flies through the air and kills him. Who threw it? Deokman!! Really launched it, like a pro. It obviously was a reflex and she's stunned at what she's done--literally shaking now that she's had a moment to absorb the fact of her first kill. And in the next moment, she's the one saved; she was about to take a sword-blow herself as she stood there, but another DFer had her back. The fighting continues, and now more Shillans are up the walls and they seem to be getting the upper hand.
At Sok Ham fortress, the fort commander gets word of the Shillan attack on Amak. Thinking that Amak is their real objective because it "is the most vital location" for them, he orders 5000 of Sok Ham's troops to head to Amak and repel the attack.
Nighttime: Scouts report to Seolwon that 5000 Baekje troops have moved out of Sok Ham. He smiles. "Perfect."
"Victory! Victory!" Back at Amak, the Shillan leaders are exhorting their troops. Darned if they didn't actually take control of the gate! Probably not at all what Seolwon expected, but a great bonus for the Shillans. It wasn't without casualties, but they did it. Almost everybody is overjoyed. Deokman is an exception; she still looks traumatized from having to kill a man. The other is Kim Seohyeon. He appears completely unmoved, even as everybody else celebrates. Why?
At Sok Ham, two guards stare into the darkness, joking about how it's a good thing the Shillans didn't come here or we would have wiped them out. Laugh it up, tough guys, because what are all those torches we suddenly see out there. Shillans, suddenly right there running full speed at the walls. The first wave of flaming arrows flies into the fort, and Seolwon orders the first charge.
"Good men died because of you." Ten, to be exact, including Dalchun the DFer. Archeon has a sword to Shiyeol's neck. The other DFers are there too. "Your girly scream gave away our position" and forced a premature attack that cost needless lives. "Killing you will serve as an example for others," he says. Deokman, Jukbang and Godo step forward, kneel and beg for mercy for Shiyeol. And offer, "If we survive and return, then you can hand out your punishment." Which only makes him angrier and now he seem poised to kill all four of them. But just in time, Kim Seohyeon happens by. This is "a Hwarang matter," Archeon tells him, but Seohyeon finds that unacceptable. "How can there be a thing such as a 'Hwarang matter' in the middle of a war?" The boy is right, he says, gesturing to Deokman; deal with it if and when we return home safely. But for Shiyeol, some stark advice: "You have a chance to die with honor. Don't waste it."
Now Seohyeon is meeting with his subordinates. And now we know why he wasn't smiling earlier. Everybody figured that taking the gate was the assignment--to create the diversion and draw the Baekje troops away from Sok Ham. Nope. "As soon as daylight breaks," he announces, "we will attack the entire fortress." Gulp. Everybody wonders if that's really necessary. "I have no idea what his plans are," Seohyeon says of Seolwon, "only the orders we've been given." Any reinforcements coming? Nope. This can't be done with only the 3000 soldiers we have, they argue, and urge him to ignore the order. But Seohyeon won't do that, regardless of what he may think of it (as in, Seolwon is deliberately sending him on a suicide mission; there's the glum face).
"They died because of me." Dalchun is realizing just how bad his mistake was. Jukbang tries to talk him past it. And Deokman, at least she isn't shaking from trauma any more, but she's still not in a good way, sitting there trying to process it all.
Jukbang and Godo are deserting! They've heard about the long-odds attack and want to run away to join the Baekje side. They're run off into a wooded area and start practicing a Baekje accent. (Lost on a non-Korean viewer; something about a lilt.)
Back with Seohyeon, the news doesn't get any better: 700 injured, 500 of whom can't fight any more, and remember those Baekje reinforcements are on their way. They can't understand why Seolwon would order such a thing. Seohyeon says nothing.
The Green Dragons and Rising Phoenix guards will lead the attack, he tells Archeon--tall orders for Hwarang. A big force will pour out of the fortress, and "you must take care of it." Archeon accepts the assignment, wondering only why they're not being supported by reinforcements.
The next morning: Sok Ham fortress. The Shillans are in! Whatever happened, it already happened and we didn't see it, but it must have been easy. Scouts report to Seolwon that Baekje troops evacuated the entire area, to a distance of more than 20 kilometers. And the Shillans lost only around 100 men. So the Amak diversion worked perfectly. Great strategy by Seolwon. Everyone is very satisfied, with good reason...except for Kim Yushin, who is with Seolwon but whose thoughts are understandably with his father. He pleads with Seolwon to send reinforcements to Amak. Seolwon smiles a care-free smile and simply says, "There will be none."
As Seohyeon's troops head towards the main part of Amak, bad news from a scout: Baekje troop movements have cut off their supply line. And now more bad news from another scout: 5000 Baekje cavalry from Amak are on their way to intercept them. Seohyeon keeps his cool (I love this guy) and rightly decides that a frontal engagement would be foolish. "Everyone retreat into the forest and set up camp."
We see the advancing Baekje cavalry. Uh-oh, it looks really big.
Yushin presses: "How can they take the fortress without reinforcements?" Seolwon laughs. "Who said anything about taking the fortress?" He quotes another of the 36 Strategems: "Make noise east; strike west." And it worked, exactly like he hoped. But the prospect of Seohyeon's forces being wiped out? Seolwon quotes a martial arts maxim: "Give up my skin in order to break the enemy's bone."
And now we're in the middle of a Shilla council meeting--and Mishil is using the exact same maxim. Councilors are asking urgently about sending reinforcements to Amak, but she responds, "Sending Kim Seohyeon to Amak was taking a cut to our skin." She answers calmly but can barely hide her glee at the prospect of Seohyeon's troops being wiped out. Lovely.
And back at Sok Ham, Seolwon says the exact same thing to Yushin. He does make the valid point that sending reinforcements to Amak would put Sok Ham in jeopardy again. Hard to argue with that, even if it does help his self-interest.
And as Mishil acknowledges in the council meeting, Seolwon had no real interest in Amak to begin with. Cheonmyeong is there; she asks her father to do something for Seohyeon and the Hwarang at Amak. The king sits there looking worried but powerless (I'm getting really tired of that; for goodness sake he's the bleeping king!). Sejong speaks up and starts to sell it as a done deal--they "will forever in Shilla history be remembered with honor for their bravery"--but Cheonmyeong cuts him off. "Bite your sycophant tongue!" She turns to his father, hoping for some small lifeline. Jinpyeong, to his credit, asks Mishil if Seohyeon shouldn't at least be ordered to retreat, given that the objective has been accomplished. "It's probably being done right now," she replies. Hmmmm...is it?
Yushin is on horseback, riding through the countryside. Alone. What's going on? Seolwon has indeed given the retreat order for Seohyeon's army. He's given it to Yushin, who alone is sent through Baekje-controlled territory to deliver it to his father. Alone? (And just one messenger? Shouldn't something this important be sent along multiple routes?)
Cheonmyeong is now with her father, Councilor Eulje and Princess Manmyeong. To her great credit, Manmyeong understands and accepts that drawing forces from Sok Ham to reinforce her husband's army will endanger the newly retaken Sok Ham. Cheonmyeong sees it as a trick to sacrifice Seohyeon and Yushin and begs her father to send reinforcements, but Eulje, too, understands the larger reality. And he adds, "Seolwon, Sejong, and even Mishil faced similar situations" under King Jinheung and all three survived them (news to us; backstory here that we haven't gotten). The king agrees, and realizes that their surviving gave them honor and credibility. "That's why they are strong and vicious" now. So, he realizes, "We have to leave them to the fortunes of war." Poor Cheonmyeong is reliving the trauma of her husband's loss, but her father urges faith and hope.
Mishil is with her weasely brother Misaeng, who's exulting over both the victory and the impending destruction of Kim Seohyeon's forces. Mishil, for once, smiles and simply agrees with him: "There's nothing anyone can do to stop us." And we learn that the strategy wasn't Mishil's doing at all; it was entirely Seolwon's. She only realized it as it unfolded, because "Amak is harder to take and harder to keep" and not of much real practical use to Shilla. Her husband Sejong is there too (looking a little annoyed with the fawning over his wife's lover), and cautions that Sok Ham could still be attacked. But Mishil swats all doubt away: "It's over." And how is she so sure? Here's some news: she intends for Shilla to negotiate a peace treaty with Baekje. "On very favorable terms." Baekje's king is no fool, she says, and doesn't need or want a drawn-out war. "All that's left is the attack on Kim Seohyeon's retreating army," which she doesn't seem to be overly concerned about.
Suddenly we're in the woods with Seohyeon's army, in the middle of a raging sword-battle with the Baekje forces. The cavalry can't really bring their horses into these close quarters, so good strategy to go into the woods. But it's a wild scene nonetheless. We see Deokman managing to fend off an attacker, making sure to remember her training...but we see other DFers in their teal uniforms getting killed, and other troops on both sides getting killed too. Seohyeon isn't pleased with how it's going and orders a retreat further into the woods.
The sun setting, Yushin keeps galloping ahead. Still safe.
We see Deokman's Hwarang group of around thirty, the majority of them DFers. They're retreating, but now the ground is more open and the horsemen are after them. Ugh. (Not sure if this was a diversion to draw the horsemen away from the main Shillan forces.) And now here some Baekje troops from the other direction. They're surrounded. Completely. Archeon calls out, "We die with honor and meet in the next life!" Deokman, her mind frantically searching through all of Yushin's training exercises, suddenly remembers what they drilled for in a surround situation. She screams, "Circle formation!" Which we saw in the previous episode. Archeon is shocked to hear an order from someone else, but in the next moment the Hwarang are all circling up, shields outward just like we had seen most of them practicing it.
Yushin spots trouble: a Baekje army checkpoint, blocked by a fence-gate and patrolled by several guards. At a distance he stops...then double-loads his bow with two arrows and charges forward. He fires and takes out two of the guards, and manages to hurdle the gate and get away before the other guards can react. (Pretty lousy guarding, frankly.)
"Left attack!" Deokman has started barking out orders and the circle formation is moving just as Yushin had trained them. The shields absorb the enemy spear-blows and even ensnare the shields, which leaves openings for the Shillans to lash out with their swords. "Forward!" The circle expands and pushes back the enemy. "Circle up!" Now under attack again, they retreat back into formation. This is all happening in a muddy, mucky area like a sort of creek-bed, and it does seem to hamper the Baekjeans' efforts to attack the circle formation. But now it's a terrible, bloody battle, and even Deokman is snapped into action and starts swinging her sword fearlessly. But it doesn't last. She lunges and kills a Baekjean, and then lapses into a trauma-induced stupor and falls to the ground unconscious.
Yushin made it! Gives the retreat order to his father, who's amazed to see him. And gives the good news of the victory. Sound the retreat horns, Seohyeon orders. Yushin asks urgently, What about my Hwarang? At that moment two of them emerge from the woods. Just two. Daepoong and one other. "We used the circle formation," they offer, without explanation, "but there were too many of them." What happened to the others?, Yushin demands. "Without knowing whether or not they died, you didn't check the bodies to confirm? You just ran away?" It was Archeon's orders, they tell him, to retreat and rejoin the main army. "If they're alive, they will be here."
Now two more DFers stagger out of the woods, including a wounded Shiyeol. Who tells Yushin that Deokman is dead.
We see the battle scene. The scavenger birds are descending on dozens and dozens of bodies. Deokman is there, still laying in the muck, staring at a bird. (She's not hurt, that we can see; what's the problem?) Get away from me, she tells it; "I'm not dead yet."