Post by ajk on Sept 28, 2012 22:07:25 GMT -5
All of these Bokya Gayans have sure jumped on board quickly. But Wolya told them "She rules our alliance!" and so there they all are kneeling before her.
That evening, as they stand by a large waterwheel, Yushin tells Deokman that he'll put aside his personal feelings and support her cause. "I choose you, but as my queen." Tells her he's content with being her pawn, but does have a request. "A leader always has to give hope," he tells her; "I'll ask that of you. I'll serve you as you walk alone on the dark path you've chosen." Deokman can't even speak, and tries to walk away as a tear falls down her face, but Yushin grabs her and hugs her. "So this is the end," Deokman thinks to herself. "Now I walk alone." (Visually this was a beautiful scene--torches and smoke in the darkness, and the waterwheel.)
Yushin is briefing Deokman, Alcheon and Bidam. About his giving the Bokya his family's land, and that Wolchun will be brought here shortly. Deokman tells him that they need to get the Gayans out of Dagil village before they all get slaughtered for lying about the Bokya location, and also need to tell Mishil that they have Wolchun (Why?).
Wolya and Seolji conclude that this woman Yushin is promoting as queen is most likely the infamous lost twin. "It won't be easy for her to make a claim to the throne," Seolji says. Wolya agrees and isn't sure about completely trusting Yushin just yet...but hey, they have land now! And that's good enough for them for the time being.
Later that evening, Yushin tells the Bokya soldiers that the Gayans need to evacuate Samnyang province. "Tonight we'll escort them to Amnyang." In Amnyang there's a man named Chunggang, he tells them, who will handle allocation of farmland to all of them. The soldiers leave. Wolya cautions Yushin that "A little land doesn't buy absolute loyalty." Yushin says he understands that but expects them to at least trust him. And what exactly does he want from them? Gayans have a long tradition of a civilian army, he reminds Wolya. He wants the refugees to train as soldiers while they work as farmers. "Warriors who work the land," Wolya says, the idea obviously intriguing to him. "Nothing wrong with that."
Deokman is sitting alone in a secure room. Seolji escorts Wolchun in. Wolchun's arms are bound but he looks none the worse for wear. Deokman is momentarily distracted; she recognizes Seolji as the Gayan refugee leader from when she was in Manno County. Seolji stares at her, and then it clicks: "Are you the boy who made it rain?!" Now he's smiling and looks almost amazed. "So YOU'RE the lost princess?" He's dumbfounded to the point of laughter. Briefly flashes back to his encounter with Deokman in Episode 6. Deokman is a little bit surprised to see him--remember, the camp was attacked by Hajong and Shillan soldiers as Deokman was leaving the area. But Seolji tells her that the Bokya came to their aid and drove off the Shillans (funny, we never heard any mention of that). He's like a different person for the moment; smiling and congenial. He leaves her so she can question Wolchun, laughing as he goes. "I swear, who'd have thought it?"
Mishil gets the news from Seolwon: the Gayans lied. "Teach them a lesson. We can't be made fools of." She says it like she's asking him to pick up bread from the market. "And bring me Wolchun. That above all else."
Deokman starts prodding Wolchun for the date of the solar eclipse. Can't pinpoint it, he says, with the information I have. And just like that, looky here, Deokman pulls out her Northern Wei almanac. Haven't seen that thing in quite a while. And she knows it will enable him to pinpoint the date. He's being very tight-lipped, though. "Why should I help you?" She tells him about his last prediction being used to drive the Gayans from their homes. "As a scientist and a man of Gaya (There's news to us), aren't you ashamed?" A tense exchange, as Wolchun divorces his work from the consequences of its use, and Deokman challenges him to do the right thing because, as she tells him, I'm different and I won't use it to kill people. But you're trying to ruin Mishil, aren't you? "Politicians are all the same," Wolchun says, and resents their use of scientists for their own ends. "So why should I help you?" Silence from Deokman. For the moment, at least, she's overmatched.
The next day, at the Samnyang refugee area: Not a Gayan in sight. The only thing left for Seolwon and his flunkies to find is a message on a banner: "Abbot Wolchun is mine - Deokman." And she's left the beads we had seen Wolchun wearing to prove it.
We see Wolchun in his locked room, now in daylight. He's thinking. Deokman has left the Northern Wei almanac with him, and we hear words from last night in Wolchun's mind: "You're the only one who can interpret the almanac. Tear it up, burn it, it's up to you." Hmmmm....
"He's a man of science," Deokman tells Bidam, who's wondering what Wolchun will do with the almanac. "Men like that can't help themselves. They're curious." Very astute, and very true...."He'll read it. And use it." Yeah, but for who?
"What's it mean. How does she know about Wolchun?" Mishil is examining the banner, and she's got that whiny, irritated voice that means trouble for somebody. "How did she get her hands on him?" Seolwon wonders why she seems to be in with the Bokya now. And then he presses a delicate issue, wanting to know why Wolchun is so important. Is he the secret behind the almanac and her predictions? Mishil fesses up--Yes, he is. He puts two and two together. "Then with the high priestess gone, we've got to have him."
Well here comes some odd information. Deokman, Yushin, Alcheon and Bidam are talking. Bidam is asking questions about the twin prophecy, and we learn a few new things:
--Shilla's founder, Pak Hyeokgeose, inscribed the prophecy on a stone tablet before he died.
--The tablet was kept in a royal storage room for many years.
--When Shilla's King Silsung was overthrown by his son 200 years ago, he fled with that tablet
--In the process of fleeing, the tablet broke, and the only piece the king retained was the piece saying that the birth of twins would end the male line of Shillan rulers.
SO...there's at least one other piece of that tablet; maybe more. Which that might amend or alter the prophecy somehow. Would be great to find them, but it's been 200 years and no one knows where they are or if they even still exist. (Obviously this will be significant later on, but for now...) Deokman surprises her comrades by saying she's glad that all of those posters went up. I'd have put them up myself, she says, because they acknowledge my being a princess. "Send for the Dragon Guards," she tells the two Hwarang. "The time has come."
Misaeng isn't worried at all. Wolchun won't talk, he tells Mishil, and besides, without the Northern Wei almanac he can't help them anyway. And we can always find another way of getting what we want; we don't need the eclipse. Mishil agrees. "Get me Priestess Sulmae," she tells him. Who?
Hey look, it's Jukbang and Godo--they're hiding in a shed somewhere. Are they okay? They're hungry...but they're safe, as we realize when their fellow DFers Goksaheun and Daepung have come into the shed to check on them. And now here's Yushin. They're all happy and relieved to see each other. No time for catching up, though; Yushin has to take them somewhere.
Wolchun is sitting in front of the almanac, fidgeting and sour-faced. Deokman is there too, with a coy smile, apparently convinced he's dived into the almanac and crunched the numbers. Asks him again for the date of the solar eclipse. "My family served the Gaya royal house for generations," he tells her. "But when Dae Gaya fell, the king had my family slaughtered. I watched my father die" to keep Gaya's secrets from Shilla. And get this: the reason Wolchun didn't die as well, is because of Sadaham! Of all people, Sadaham. Deokman reacts visibly at a name we haven't heard in quite some time. "Mishil's been using me," Wolchun continues, "but I don't serve her. I'm paying my debt to Sadaham." Well this is a much, much, MUCH needed piece of information; it finally explains why Wolchun has been involved in all of this in the first place. Deokman observes, "And yet she uses you to hurt your own people." Wolchun fires back, rather coldly, "That's your problem, not mine." He glares at her. "You'd use me for your purposes too." Silence; he's got her again. He continues, "I didn't say that's bad; only that it's not reason enough for me to help you." Well, come on, Deokman, find out what he wants and give him a reason! "At my age I'm done with being used. Kill me if you must." She leaves him, stymied again...
...Just in time to see Yushin escorting Jukbang and Godo into the Bokya camp, with Goksaheun and Daepung. Another happy reunion. Alcheon the wet blanket insists that everyone bow before the princess, which sets off all kinds of bafflement about the news that Deokman is a girl and the king's daughter. Yushin confirms it, and in the next moment all four DFers are on their knees. Which makes Deokman terribly uncomfortable, but Alcheon reminds her, "Rules are rules" and she needs to get used to this. Whatever...Deokman has an urgent order for these Hwarang. "We need human bones and cat urine." Yes you do. She smiles: "As much as you can get, as fast as you can." Sounds like a party! They all look at her like she's taken leave of her senses.
Later, Jukbang and Godo tell a stunned Yushin about Deokman's mother, and how she vanished during their escape. Yushin orders them not to tell Deokman about any of it. At least not yet. This time, it does make sense. She has a lot to handle right now and the pressure is building.
Nighttime: This looks like one of the palace buildings. We see three masked, black-clad figures sneaking around. They put something onto the ground in front of the building and sneak away.
The next day: It's dead birds, that's what was left there. The king is looking at them and thinks it's some sort of bad omen. And it's starting to draw a crowd. And now here comes Hajong, telling the king something about the Great Hall....
The "Great Hall" building sign has fallen to the ground and broke into pieces. Yongchun is there and tells the king it's probably just a coincidence. (Surprisingly, nobody suggests it might just be vandals.) Then a woman near the king must have deliberately plummeted to the ground to commit suicide and it is indeed an ill omen for the royal house. "And a broken sign bodes ill for all of Shilla." Good grief, who is this ray of sunshine we're listening to? This must be Priestess Sulmae; she's dressed just like Seori was. Sejong reprimands her (Sincerely? I wonder) for such talk before the king. But it turns out, there are dead birds at the royal tombs too.
Yushin is reporting to Deokman, Alcheon and Bidam about these supposed omens and how they're upsetting everyone in Seorabeol. Alcheon assumes that Mishil was behind it all. Then Jukbang enters and tells Deokman he and his comrades managed to get what she asked for. "Well done," she tells him; "Now get me some birds." Live ones, as many as you can get. At that, Bidam's eyes light up; says he's the man for the job. "First we gotta get us some berry vines." Then Deokman tells Yushin, "Time you went home." (Awww, without any cat urine?)
Yeah, Sejong wasn't sincere with the priestess; it's a setup. "Our plan is working perfectly," he tells Mishil and the cabal. "People are starting to get worried." And they've got something else cooking, too...we don't know exactly what, but they're waiting for a "big lie" to spread through the populace.
Yushin is back home, talking to his mother. Tells her that he bet the family's land on he and Deokman beating Mishil. "Pay us back by winning," Manmyeong says, unrattled and confident in him. Right now, Yushin's brought a letter for the queen...
...which Manmyeong takes to her. She reads it. "I'll do whatever it takes," she says, with a steely determination in her eyes and voice that's almost shocking.
Back with Deokman, Yushin confirms the queen's unconditional support. Deokman is sad about the lost relationship with her biological mom, and with her desert mom for that matter. But she snaps out of that and tells Yushin she's having trouble with Wolchun. And: "He scares me a little." Why? "He has an answer to everything I said." And she acknowledges that he's right about her wanting to use his knowledge just like Mishil did, to further her own selfish goals. Yushin offers the right advice: He may not be saying it, but he probably wants something. Figure out what he wants.
Back at Seorabeol, at one of the city wells: Yecch, what an awful mess. Somehow blood has come out of the well! "This is unique in our history," the priestess tells Yongchun. (She has to be in on this.) And Misaeng is there to stoke everyone's worry: "What does this evil omen mean?" And now citizens are starting to freak out, fearing all of these omens and begging for Mishil's help and protection. In moments they're on their knees begging Yongchun to deliver their message to Mishil, while off to the side Misaeng and the priestess exchange sly smiles.
Later, back at the palace, Misaeng tells the priestess, who obviously is just as much on their side as Seori was, that it was a simple matter of plugging up the well to make it back up, and adding safflower to dye the water red.
A full state council meeting: Lots of crime and discord in Shilla, the councilors report. Misaeng adds, "Only the Priestess of the Sacred Rites can comfort the masses now." And on cue, all of Mishil's people in the council beg for Mishil to help them. The king reluctantly grants the request. Mishil tells him she'll enter the royal shrine for seven days. "I will attempt to appease the heavens and ease the minds of the people." She's smiling like she knows it's baloney and knows that the king knows it's baloney too...which probably makes this all the more enjoyable for her.
Mishil's cabal is certain of what's next: Mishil will proclaim that heaven has chosen the next royal heir! Yikes.
Now we see Mishil in the shrine. The candles are lit; the incense is smoking; shrine attendants are around her; and she's going through all of the motions that we already know she doesn't even believe in. Concurrently, we see Deokman appealing again to Wolchun to help her, although no more effectively than before. And we see Yushin open and examine some sort of a document handed to him by his mother. At first glance it looks like a rubbing of some sort of inscribed stone; it has that sort of monochromatic shaded appearance to it.
Now, suddenly an excited Deokman tells Yushin, Alcheon and Wolya that Wolchun has confirmed the eclipse and told her its date! What changed his mind? We don't know. Nor do we know the date: "I'll keep that between me and Bidam." Wow, what a choice of confidant. Turns to Alcheon: "Are the birds ready? Tonight's the night." And Yushin adds something about "beans and the inscribed stone" being ready too. Huh? Beans, now that's come up once before....
Outside, Jukbang and Godo are goofing around. Seolji, looking much less grouchy at this point, is walking by and happens to spot them from a distance. He thinks for a moment, and then his smile vanishes. He stares at Jukbang...and then moves closer. "You look familiar to me...." and Jukbang's smile vanishes too. Seolji kneels right next to where Jukbang is sitting. "I'm sure we've met somewhere." Jukbang is hiding his face and denies knowing him, but Godo injudiciously pipes up and says he recognizes Seolji! (Remember, when Jukbang's name came up in the Gayan refugee camp in Episode 6, the Gayans became furious and called him a swindler.) Just then Deokman appears, which stops this from getting any worse. But maybe not. She knows Jukbang is a good forger and asks him to make a copy of a piece of paper that she hands to him. She leaves. "We should talk," Seolji tells Jukbang, trying to place the face...which sends Jukbang whining and scurrying away.
"It's up to you." Deokman has gone and found Bidam inside somewhere. What the heck is he doing? He's putting some sort of make-up or paint on his face; it looks like he's being made up to look like he has some sort of skin-deforming disease. Not pretty, to put it mildly. Deokman takes a brush and helps him. "You can do it, right? You won't be scared?" She should know that he's too weird to be scared. He's curious about this Mishil person, and Deokman cautions him, "Don't let her see inside you" because she's good at that. Then he asks her when the eclipse is....
Seorabeol, nighttime: What are all of those birds doing flying around Princess Cheonmyeong's pavilion? And they're not just flying around; they seem to be glowing in the moonlight. A bunch of royal attendants (nice to see Chosun again, apparently okay after losing her princess) stare and wonder what it means. The citizens see it too, and it's causing quite a hubbub in the streets. The DFers are looking at it as well: "We did it and STILL it's magical," Jukbang says with pride. The glowing sure does create an eerie visual effect. How? Something to do with the bones that Deokman wanted earlier. But we're not told the specifics. (Were the birds sprinkled with ground-up bone powder and coated with the cat urine?)
Next morning: Priestess Sulmae to ask Misaeng about the birds. Wants to know how he did it. He saw it too--and he assumes that she did it! Now Seolwon comes in to tell Misaeng that there's a weird guy praying at the Najung Well (the one that spit up the blood earlier). Why weird? He's lighting incense without touching it. "It's got people talking spirits," Seolwon says with concern. "He's drawing a crowd." Misaeng laughs it off and thinks the guy is just some random nut. But Seolwon isn't laughing.
Weird guy is right! It's Bidam, with the paint job and wearing a mask. Making praying motions before the well. Several feet in front of him is a piece of paper in a sand-filled bowl. He raises his left hand towards it, while his right hand surreptitiously holds a crystal--most likely Deokman's crystal that she was given in Episode 3--which focuses sunlight on the paper. Poof! The paper burns. The dozens of villagers who surround him start to bow before him and call him "Mighty Spirit."
A state council meeting happens to be going on at the same time. Mishil enters; she's finished all of her rituals. An apprehensive Jinpyeong looks at her. "My lord, heaven has spoken." She smiles, and her flunkies in the council squirm with anticipation. "The will of heaven is..." But she's interrupted by the priestess, who runs in and shouts for the king's attention to warn him of "Something terrible, Sire." She can barely speak: "At the well...the sacred well...." Well what?
Bidam is playing this up like a real showman. Now he looks up and throws his arms into the air. Suddenly a half-dozen explosions blast out of the ground! And now what's this? Some sort of stone tablet is emerging out of the ground, just like the statue did in Episode 17. It almost looks like a gravestone, but there's a lot of writing on it. As the terrified villagers fall to their knees, heads to the ground, Bidam turns away and suppresses a giggle.
Mishil and her cabal: Misaeng is livid. "Up out of the courtyard, right under our noses!" He knows what's really going on; somebody else is playing his game, and doing it just as well as he does. Mishil wants to know what's written on the stone. Seolwon really does NOT want to tell her, but he does anyway: It's about that twins prophecy from 200 years ago--'The birth of twins ends the male line'--it's a continuation. Seolwon has brought a rubbing (Yeah, that's what we saw earlier, same sort of thing as now) so that Mishil can see it for herself:
As Seolwon reads it, we see the king reading another rubbing, and the queen and Manmyeong studying a different copy.
Mishil angrily crumples up the paper. "It's a hoax." Well of course it is. "Bring me this man from the well. He thinks he can trick the Priestess of the Sacred Rites? I'll have him drawn and quartered."
Back at the well--we get a quick glimpse of the stone tablet. And it looks very much like what could be a complementary piece to what we saw on the rubbing that Yushin had. Did Yushin's rubbing somehow come from the surviving portion of the tablet? Anyway, here goes Bidam again. "Hear me! Hyeokgeose, the founder of Shilla, has revealed his will." The citizens are eating this stuff up. But now here come Bojong and Seokpum with a bunch of Hwarang. "You stand accused of treason," Bojong calmly tells Bidam. The citizens don't like that at all, but they stop arguing real fast when the swords come out. Never mind, Bidam tells them; I'll go quietly. And he does.
Misaeng comes into the room where Mishil is; apparently he's been checking out the well scene. "Beans! He used our own trick against us. And in the very same place."
Uh-oh, they've brought Bidam into the torture yard. He looks around...and flashes back to his last conversation with Deokman, right after we left them. She hands him a piece of paper, and tells him, "There isn't going to be an eclipse." Doink! She explains herself. Mishil knows we have Wolchun, and must be dying to know the eclipse date. You must convince her that the eclipse will occur on that date." (By "that date" I suppose it's a date written on the paper)...We're bluffing, Deokman tells him. "If you fail, we won't be able to help you. You'll have to get out on your own."...Bidam smiles, calm and confident, as Mishil arrives. Smile notwithstanding, this could get very bad for Bidam.
Maya and Manmyeong are still studying their rubbing, as we saw earlier. Manmyeong reminds the queen that they had made a rubbing of the original inscribed stone for Deokman (obviously the subject of Yushin's letter to the queen)...and what they're looking at now, for the moment they assume that it's more of the prophecy that was lost when the stone shattered into pieces. They read the new text and speculate about its meaning, particularly that the stars represent the two princesses.
"How can this be?" Jinpyeong doesn't get it yet. "A tablet that was lost for 200 years just pops out of the ground?!" He and Seohyeon and Yongchun read their rubbing and similarly speculate...but now Maya and Manmyeong come in and join them. "It's Hyeokgeose's lost tablet," Seohyeon tells them, but Manmyeong flat-out answers, "It's not." The women have figured out what really is going on. We're sure Deokman made this, Maya tells him, because we made a rubbing for her of the surviving portion. The new inscription changes the existing inscription; it's no longer a curse, only a change. An ingenious idea, they agree...But as Jinpyeong points out, the new inscription calls for an eclipse. Will there be one?
Mishil sits down before the kneeling Bidam. The mask is removed, revealing Bidam's mangled-looking face. Grimaces all around, but Mishil only stares....
That evening, as they stand by a large waterwheel, Yushin tells Deokman that he'll put aside his personal feelings and support her cause. "I choose you, but as my queen." Tells her he's content with being her pawn, but does have a request. "A leader always has to give hope," he tells her; "I'll ask that of you. I'll serve you as you walk alone on the dark path you've chosen." Deokman can't even speak, and tries to walk away as a tear falls down her face, but Yushin grabs her and hugs her. "So this is the end," Deokman thinks to herself. "Now I walk alone." (Visually this was a beautiful scene--torches and smoke in the darkness, and the waterwheel.)
Yushin is briefing Deokman, Alcheon and Bidam. About his giving the Bokya his family's land, and that Wolchun will be brought here shortly. Deokman tells him that they need to get the Gayans out of Dagil village before they all get slaughtered for lying about the Bokya location, and also need to tell Mishil that they have Wolchun (Why?).
Wolya and Seolji conclude that this woman Yushin is promoting as queen is most likely the infamous lost twin. "It won't be easy for her to make a claim to the throne," Seolji says. Wolya agrees and isn't sure about completely trusting Yushin just yet...but hey, they have land now! And that's good enough for them for the time being.
Later that evening, Yushin tells the Bokya soldiers that the Gayans need to evacuate Samnyang province. "Tonight we'll escort them to Amnyang." In Amnyang there's a man named Chunggang, he tells them, who will handle allocation of farmland to all of them. The soldiers leave. Wolya cautions Yushin that "A little land doesn't buy absolute loyalty." Yushin says he understands that but expects them to at least trust him. And what exactly does he want from them? Gayans have a long tradition of a civilian army, he reminds Wolya. He wants the refugees to train as soldiers while they work as farmers. "Warriors who work the land," Wolya says, the idea obviously intriguing to him. "Nothing wrong with that."
Deokman is sitting alone in a secure room. Seolji escorts Wolchun in. Wolchun's arms are bound but he looks none the worse for wear. Deokman is momentarily distracted; she recognizes Seolji as the Gayan refugee leader from when she was in Manno County. Seolji stares at her, and then it clicks: "Are you the boy who made it rain?!" Now he's smiling and looks almost amazed. "So YOU'RE the lost princess?" He's dumbfounded to the point of laughter. Briefly flashes back to his encounter with Deokman in Episode 6. Deokman is a little bit surprised to see him--remember, the camp was attacked by Hajong and Shillan soldiers as Deokman was leaving the area. But Seolji tells her that the Bokya came to their aid and drove off the Shillans (funny, we never heard any mention of that). He's like a different person for the moment; smiling and congenial. He leaves her so she can question Wolchun, laughing as he goes. "I swear, who'd have thought it?"
Mishil gets the news from Seolwon: the Gayans lied. "Teach them a lesson. We can't be made fools of." She says it like she's asking him to pick up bread from the market. "And bring me Wolchun. That above all else."
Deokman starts prodding Wolchun for the date of the solar eclipse. Can't pinpoint it, he says, with the information I have. And just like that, looky here, Deokman pulls out her Northern Wei almanac. Haven't seen that thing in quite a while. And she knows it will enable him to pinpoint the date. He's being very tight-lipped, though. "Why should I help you?" She tells him about his last prediction being used to drive the Gayans from their homes. "As a scientist and a man of Gaya (There's news to us), aren't you ashamed?" A tense exchange, as Wolchun divorces his work from the consequences of its use, and Deokman challenges him to do the right thing because, as she tells him, I'm different and I won't use it to kill people. But you're trying to ruin Mishil, aren't you? "Politicians are all the same," Wolchun says, and resents their use of scientists for their own ends. "So why should I help you?" Silence from Deokman. For the moment, at least, she's overmatched.
The next day, at the Samnyang refugee area: Not a Gayan in sight. The only thing left for Seolwon and his flunkies to find is a message on a banner: "Abbot Wolchun is mine - Deokman." And she's left the beads we had seen Wolchun wearing to prove it.
We see Wolchun in his locked room, now in daylight. He's thinking. Deokman has left the Northern Wei almanac with him, and we hear words from last night in Wolchun's mind: "You're the only one who can interpret the almanac. Tear it up, burn it, it's up to you." Hmmmm....
"He's a man of science," Deokman tells Bidam, who's wondering what Wolchun will do with the almanac. "Men like that can't help themselves. They're curious." Very astute, and very true...."He'll read it. And use it." Yeah, but for who?
"What's it mean. How does she know about Wolchun?" Mishil is examining the banner, and she's got that whiny, irritated voice that means trouble for somebody. "How did she get her hands on him?" Seolwon wonders why she seems to be in with the Bokya now. And then he presses a delicate issue, wanting to know why Wolchun is so important. Is he the secret behind the almanac and her predictions? Mishil fesses up--Yes, he is. He puts two and two together. "Then with the high priestess gone, we've got to have him."
Well here comes some odd information. Deokman, Yushin, Alcheon and Bidam are talking. Bidam is asking questions about the twin prophecy, and we learn a few new things:
--Shilla's founder, Pak Hyeokgeose, inscribed the prophecy on a stone tablet before he died.
--The tablet was kept in a royal storage room for many years.
--When Shilla's King Silsung was overthrown by his son 200 years ago, he fled with that tablet
--In the process of fleeing, the tablet broke, and the only piece the king retained was the piece saying that the birth of twins would end the male line of Shillan rulers.
SO...there's at least one other piece of that tablet; maybe more. Which that might amend or alter the prophecy somehow. Would be great to find them, but it's been 200 years and no one knows where they are or if they even still exist. (Obviously this will be significant later on, but for now...) Deokman surprises her comrades by saying she's glad that all of those posters went up. I'd have put them up myself, she says, because they acknowledge my being a princess. "Send for the Dragon Guards," she tells the two Hwarang. "The time has come."
Misaeng isn't worried at all. Wolchun won't talk, he tells Mishil, and besides, without the Northern Wei almanac he can't help them anyway. And we can always find another way of getting what we want; we don't need the eclipse. Mishil agrees. "Get me Priestess Sulmae," she tells him. Who?
Hey look, it's Jukbang and Godo--they're hiding in a shed somewhere. Are they okay? They're hungry...but they're safe, as we realize when their fellow DFers Goksaheun and Daepung have come into the shed to check on them. And now here's Yushin. They're all happy and relieved to see each other. No time for catching up, though; Yushin has to take them somewhere.
Wolchun is sitting in front of the almanac, fidgeting and sour-faced. Deokman is there too, with a coy smile, apparently convinced he's dived into the almanac and crunched the numbers. Asks him again for the date of the solar eclipse. "My family served the Gaya royal house for generations," he tells her. "But when Dae Gaya fell, the king had my family slaughtered. I watched my father die" to keep Gaya's secrets from Shilla. And get this: the reason Wolchun didn't die as well, is because of Sadaham! Of all people, Sadaham. Deokman reacts visibly at a name we haven't heard in quite some time. "Mishil's been using me," Wolchun continues, "but I don't serve her. I'm paying my debt to Sadaham." Well this is a much, much, MUCH needed piece of information; it finally explains why Wolchun has been involved in all of this in the first place. Deokman observes, "And yet she uses you to hurt your own people." Wolchun fires back, rather coldly, "That's your problem, not mine." He glares at her. "You'd use me for your purposes too." Silence; he's got her again. He continues, "I didn't say that's bad; only that it's not reason enough for me to help you." Well, come on, Deokman, find out what he wants and give him a reason! "At my age I'm done with being used. Kill me if you must." She leaves him, stymied again...
...Just in time to see Yushin escorting Jukbang and Godo into the Bokya camp, with Goksaheun and Daepung. Another happy reunion. Alcheon the wet blanket insists that everyone bow before the princess, which sets off all kinds of bafflement about the news that Deokman is a girl and the king's daughter. Yushin confirms it, and in the next moment all four DFers are on their knees. Which makes Deokman terribly uncomfortable, but Alcheon reminds her, "Rules are rules" and she needs to get used to this. Whatever...Deokman has an urgent order for these Hwarang. "We need human bones and cat urine." Yes you do. She smiles: "As much as you can get, as fast as you can." Sounds like a party! They all look at her like she's taken leave of her senses.
Later, Jukbang and Godo tell a stunned Yushin about Deokman's mother, and how she vanished during their escape. Yushin orders them not to tell Deokman about any of it. At least not yet. This time, it does make sense. She has a lot to handle right now and the pressure is building.
Nighttime: This looks like one of the palace buildings. We see three masked, black-clad figures sneaking around. They put something onto the ground in front of the building and sneak away.
The next day: It's dead birds, that's what was left there. The king is looking at them and thinks it's some sort of bad omen. And it's starting to draw a crowd. And now here comes Hajong, telling the king something about the Great Hall....
The "Great Hall" building sign has fallen to the ground and broke into pieces. Yongchun is there and tells the king it's probably just a coincidence. (Surprisingly, nobody suggests it might just be vandals.) Then a woman near the king must have deliberately plummeted to the ground to commit suicide and it is indeed an ill omen for the royal house. "And a broken sign bodes ill for all of Shilla." Good grief, who is this ray of sunshine we're listening to? This must be Priestess Sulmae; she's dressed just like Seori was. Sejong reprimands her (Sincerely? I wonder) for such talk before the king. But it turns out, there are dead birds at the royal tombs too.
Yushin is reporting to Deokman, Alcheon and Bidam about these supposed omens and how they're upsetting everyone in Seorabeol. Alcheon assumes that Mishil was behind it all. Then Jukbang enters and tells Deokman he and his comrades managed to get what she asked for. "Well done," she tells him; "Now get me some birds." Live ones, as many as you can get. At that, Bidam's eyes light up; says he's the man for the job. "First we gotta get us some berry vines." Then Deokman tells Yushin, "Time you went home." (Awww, without any cat urine?)
Yeah, Sejong wasn't sincere with the priestess; it's a setup. "Our plan is working perfectly," he tells Mishil and the cabal. "People are starting to get worried." And they've got something else cooking, too...we don't know exactly what, but they're waiting for a "big lie" to spread through the populace.
Yushin is back home, talking to his mother. Tells her that he bet the family's land on he and Deokman beating Mishil. "Pay us back by winning," Manmyeong says, unrattled and confident in him. Right now, Yushin's brought a letter for the queen...
...which Manmyeong takes to her. She reads it. "I'll do whatever it takes," she says, with a steely determination in her eyes and voice that's almost shocking.
Back with Deokman, Yushin confirms the queen's unconditional support. Deokman is sad about the lost relationship with her biological mom, and with her desert mom for that matter. But she snaps out of that and tells Yushin she's having trouble with Wolchun. And: "He scares me a little." Why? "He has an answer to everything I said." And she acknowledges that he's right about her wanting to use his knowledge just like Mishil did, to further her own selfish goals. Yushin offers the right advice: He may not be saying it, but he probably wants something. Figure out what he wants.
Back at Seorabeol, at one of the city wells: Yecch, what an awful mess. Somehow blood has come out of the well! "This is unique in our history," the priestess tells Yongchun. (She has to be in on this.) And Misaeng is there to stoke everyone's worry: "What does this evil omen mean?" And now citizens are starting to freak out, fearing all of these omens and begging for Mishil's help and protection. In moments they're on their knees begging Yongchun to deliver their message to Mishil, while off to the side Misaeng and the priestess exchange sly smiles.
Later, back at the palace, Misaeng tells the priestess, who obviously is just as much on their side as Seori was, that it was a simple matter of plugging up the well to make it back up, and adding safflower to dye the water red.
A full state council meeting: Lots of crime and discord in Shilla, the councilors report. Misaeng adds, "Only the Priestess of the Sacred Rites can comfort the masses now." And on cue, all of Mishil's people in the council beg for Mishil to help them. The king reluctantly grants the request. Mishil tells him she'll enter the royal shrine for seven days. "I will attempt to appease the heavens and ease the minds of the people." She's smiling like she knows it's baloney and knows that the king knows it's baloney too...which probably makes this all the more enjoyable for her.
Mishil's cabal is certain of what's next: Mishil will proclaim that heaven has chosen the next royal heir! Yikes.
Now we see Mishil in the shrine. The candles are lit; the incense is smoking; shrine attendants are around her; and she's going through all of the motions that we already know she doesn't even believe in. Concurrently, we see Deokman appealing again to Wolchun to help her, although no more effectively than before. And we see Yushin open and examine some sort of a document handed to him by his mother. At first glance it looks like a rubbing of some sort of inscribed stone; it has that sort of monochromatic shaded appearance to it.
Now, suddenly an excited Deokman tells Yushin, Alcheon and Wolya that Wolchun has confirmed the eclipse and told her its date! What changed his mind? We don't know. Nor do we know the date: "I'll keep that between me and Bidam." Wow, what a choice of confidant. Turns to Alcheon: "Are the birds ready? Tonight's the night." And Yushin adds something about "beans and the inscribed stone" being ready too. Huh? Beans, now that's come up once before....
Outside, Jukbang and Godo are goofing around. Seolji, looking much less grouchy at this point, is walking by and happens to spot them from a distance. He thinks for a moment, and then his smile vanishes. He stares at Jukbang...and then moves closer. "You look familiar to me...." and Jukbang's smile vanishes too. Seolji kneels right next to where Jukbang is sitting. "I'm sure we've met somewhere." Jukbang is hiding his face and denies knowing him, but Godo injudiciously pipes up and says he recognizes Seolji! (Remember, when Jukbang's name came up in the Gayan refugee camp in Episode 6, the Gayans became furious and called him a swindler.) Just then Deokman appears, which stops this from getting any worse. But maybe not. She knows Jukbang is a good forger and asks him to make a copy of a piece of paper that she hands to him. She leaves. "We should talk," Seolji tells Jukbang, trying to place the face...which sends Jukbang whining and scurrying away.
"It's up to you." Deokman has gone and found Bidam inside somewhere. What the heck is he doing? He's putting some sort of make-up or paint on his face; it looks like he's being made up to look like he has some sort of skin-deforming disease. Not pretty, to put it mildly. Deokman takes a brush and helps him. "You can do it, right? You won't be scared?" She should know that he's too weird to be scared. He's curious about this Mishil person, and Deokman cautions him, "Don't let her see inside you" because she's good at that. Then he asks her when the eclipse is....
Seorabeol, nighttime: What are all of those birds doing flying around Princess Cheonmyeong's pavilion? And they're not just flying around; they seem to be glowing in the moonlight. A bunch of royal attendants (nice to see Chosun again, apparently okay after losing her princess) stare and wonder what it means. The citizens see it too, and it's causing quite a hubbub in the streets. The DFers are looking at it as well: "We did it and STILL it's magical," Jukbang says with pride. The glowing sure does create an eerie visual effect. How? Something to do with the bones that Deokman wanted earlier. But we're not told the specifics. (Were the birds sprinkled with ground-up bone powder and coated with the cat urine?)
Next morning: Priestess Sulmae to ask Misaeng about the birds. Wants to know how he did it. He saw it too--and he assumes that she did it! Now Seolwon comes in to tell Misaeng that there's a weird guy praying at the Najung Well (the one that spit up the blood earlier). Why weird? He's lighting incense without touching it. "It's got people talking spirits," Seolwon says with concern. "He's drawing a crowd." Misaeng laughs it off and thinks the guy is just some random nut. But Seolwon isn't laughing.
Weird guy is right! It's Bidam, with the paint job and wearing a mask. Making praying motions before the well. Several feet in front of him is a piece of paper in a sand-filled bowl. He raises his left hand towards it, while his right hand surreptitiously holds a crystal--most likely Deokman's crystal that she was given in Episode 3--which focuses sunlight on the paper. Poof! The paper burns. The dozens of villagers who surround him start to bow before him and call him "Mighty Spirit."
A state council meeting happens to be going on at the same time. Mishil enters; she's finished all of her rituals. An apprehensive Jinpyeong looks at her. "My lord, heaven has spoken." She smiles, and her flunkies in the council squirm with anticipation. "The will of heaven is..." But she's interrupted by the priestess, who runs in and shouts for the king's attention to warn him of "Something terrible, Sire." She can barely speak: "At the well...the sacred well...." Well what?
Bidam is playing this up like a real showman. Now he looks up and throws his arms into the air. Suddenly a half-dozen explosions blast out of the ground! And now what's this? Some sort of stone tablet is emerging out of the ground, just like the statue did in Episode 17. It almost looks like a gravestone, but there's a lot of writing on it. As the terrified villagers fall to their knees, heads to the ground, Bidam turns away and suppresses a giggle.
Mishil and her cabal: Misaeng is livid. "Up out of the courtyard, right under our noses!" He knows what's really going on; somebody else is playing his game, and doing it just as well as he does. Mishil wants to know what's written on the stone. Seolwon really does NOT want to tell her, but he does anyway: It's about that twins prophecy from 200 years ago--'The birth of twins ends the male line'--it's a continuation. Seolwon has brought a rubbing (Yeah, that's what we saw earlier, same sort of thing as now) so that Mishil can see it for herself:
A solar eclipse will herald the star of Alcor's return to heaven. The star of Mizar must shine. Then the skies of Shilla will be bright, and a new era will begin.(Quick aside: Alcor is a star located very close to Mizar. I've added a link in the information thread with more detail about the Mizar/Alcor star system for anyone interested.)
As Seolwon reads it, we see the king reading another rubbing, and the queen and Manmyeong studying a different copy.
Mishil angrily crumples up the paper. "It's a hoax." Well of course it is. "Bring me this man from the well. He thinks he can trick the Priestess of the Sacred Rites? I'll have him drawn and quartered."
Back at the well--we get a quick glimpse of the stone tablet. And it looks very much like what could be a complementary piece to what we saw on the rubbing that Yushin had. Did Yushin's rubbing somehow come from the surviving portion of the tablet? Anyway, here goes Bidam again. "Hear me! Hyeokgeose, the founder of Shilla, has revealed his will." The citizens are eating this stuff up. But now here come Bojong and Seokpum with a bunch of Hwarang. "You stand accused of treason," Bojong calmly tells Bidam. The citizens don't like that at all, but they stop arguing real fast when the swords come out. Never mind, Bidam tells them; I'll go quietly. And he does.
Misaeng comes into the room where Mishil is; apparently he's been checking out the well scene. "Beans! He used our own trick against us. And in the very same place."
Uh-oh, they've brought Bidam into the torture yard. He looks around...and flashes back to his last conversation with Deokman, right after we left them. She hands him a piece of paper, and tells him, "There isn't going to be an eclipse." Doink! She explains herself. Mishil knows we have Wolchun, and must be dying to know the eclipse date. You must convince her that the eclipse will occur on that date." (By "that date" I suppose it's a date written on the paper)...We're bluffing, Deokman tells him. "If you fail, we won't be able to help you. You'll have to get out on your own."...Bidam smiles, calm and confident, as Mishil arrives. Smile notwithstanding, this could get very bad for Bidam.
Maya and Manmyeong are still studying their rubbing, as we saw earlier. Manmyeong reminds the queen that they had made a rubbing of the original inscribed stone for Deokman (obviously the subject of Yushin's letter to the queen)...and what they're looking at now, for the moment they assume that it's more of the prophecy that was lost when the stone shattered into pieces. They read the new text and speculate about its meaning, particularly that the stars represent the two princesses.
"How can this be?" Jinpyeong doesn't get it yet. "A tablet that was lost for 200 years just pops out of the ground?!" He and Seohyeon and Yongchun read their rubbing and similarly speculate...but now Maya and Manmyeong come in and join them. "It's Hyeokgeose's lost tablet," Seohyeon tells them, but Manmyeong flat-out answers, "It's not." The women have figured out what really is going on. We're sure Deokman made this, Maya tells him, because we made a rubbing for her of the surviving portion. The new inscription changes the existing inscription; it's no longer a curse, only a change. An ingenious idea, they agree...But as Jinpyeong points out, the new inscription calls for an eclipse. Will there be one?
Mishil sits down before the kneeling Bidam. The mask is removed, revealing Bidam's mangled-looking face. Grimaces all around, but Mishil only stares....