Post by ajk on Jun 8, 2014 13:00:13 GMT -5
Evening: Mongju watches as JD is returned to his cell. Then outside the jail he's confronted by Bangwon, who tells him he knew that Mongju sent assassins to kill his father. "I will repay you someday," Bangwon threatens. But Mongju dismissively tells him it's all over and he should just go back to being a Confucian scholar.
Jiran and Bangwon are frustrated, to say the least. We learn that JD and Jo Jun hold the civilian positions of left and right army commanders, respectively, and that now Mongju will appoint his own people to them and effectively gain control of the military. Bangwon thinks it's time to kill Mongju and asks Jiran for soldiers to do it, but Jiran refuses; says it's cowardly and that "your father would break your neck" for doing it.
Mongju tells the king that as soon as the four executions take place, he's going to impeach Seonggye!
We see Seonggye lying at home, still unconscious. His wife and Bangwon are taking turns tending to him.
We see JD is alone in his cell. He reflects on his journey with Seonggye, which we see in multiple flashbacks...and then to himself, asks Seonggye's forgiveness for the job being unfinished. And bows as though Seonggye were there, and cries tears of bitter disappointment.
Morning: Hey, Seonggye wakes up! Sort of; he's barely there but groaning and struggling to sit up and open his eyes...ohhh, then he fades out...but wait, he's coming back again...and the eyes are open. He looks like he has one monster headache, but soon he's sitting up and back in his usual seat in his living room...looking a little better.
Soldiers come to JD's cell and bind him for the execution. But then he's ordered untied. The execution is postponed. JD realizes that Seonggye must have awakened.
Now dozens of officials have shown up at Seonggye's house to pay their respects. Bae and Jiran glare at them and mutter about what weasels they all are. Finally Seonggye steps outside for his first breath of fresh air in a long time. He spots the officials standing there and gives them a dismissive glance. "I'm sure you're busy. Thank you for coming." Then announces that since the king repeatedly refused to accept his resignation, "it would be disloyal to continue insisting" so he's going to remain chancellor. And tells the officials they're to get his approval for everything they do. Seriously--"everything except your own breathing." He's still slow and weakened as he speaks, but there's no mistaking his seriousness. The officials don't dare even twitch at him.
Mongju and his allies learn that Seonggye ordered the executions postponed and has appealed for pardons. Mongju can see the writing on the wall, so he stands up and goes to the king...and tells the king he's going to Seonggye's house. ""To settle this matter." Even though his life may be at risk now. I will return with good news," he says, but really, who is he kidding....
Evening: Mongju sits down with Seonggye, who's looking more tired now and is very listless. Again he asks Mongju to make peace with JD. But Mongju refuses and says JD's execution is "a royal order. It can't be withdrawn." They argue, and eventually Mongju pulls out a dagger--symbolically--and puts it in the table between them. "Make a choice. Is it Sambong or me?" Weakly, Seonggye leans forward, reaches for the dagger...and brushes it off the table. "Poeun. This isn't right. Are you worried I'll enjoy wealth and trample on the people when I become king? Even if I become the king, I'm going to leave state affairs to you and Sambong!" He's not listless any more; his voice is rising and he's getting all worked up. "I will support whatever the two of you want to do and arrest anyone who gets in the way of it. By now he's screaming! "That's all I'm going to do. I believe the world will be much better than it is now. Is that such a punishable act?" He pushes the table aside, crawls forward and takes Mongju's hands in his own. "I'm begging you," he says desperately. "Do that with me." The three of us, " Let's create a nice world." But Mongju scowls and pulls his hands away and says he will never change his mind. And adds, "If you can't make a choice, I will help you decide. I will order Sambong's execution." Well now finally, finally, at long last, THAT seems to get Seonggye to realize the impossibility of reconciling the two. A tear falls from his eye and he tells Mongju to leave. Mongju hesitates...and Seonggye screams at the top of his lungs, "I told you to leave! I cut off my ties with you from this moment on!" Mongju walks out and Seonggye is left on the floor, sobbing.
Bangwon goes to JD in his cell with ink and paper and asks him to write a note to Seonggye to convince him to give up on Mongju. But JD won't do it. It's up to him, JD says; "This is your father's fight." "You started it," Bangwon fires back. But JD insists that killing Mongju would be a mistake because of the high esteem the public holds him in. Even if I die as a result, he says. "I will be a martyr for the cause. But I will not shed Poeun's blood." Bangwon can only shake his head in frustration.
Bangwon's home: His wife brings him an evening meal...and tells him he's being stubborn. "When you are sure about something, you take action. The fact that you are hesitating means that you aren't sure it's the solution." Hesitating, that is, in killing Mongju. The advice blindsides him and seems to shake up his thinking...
...so he sends his aide Jo to give Mongju a written invitation.
That evening: Mongju shows up and Bangwon's house for dinner. They sit down and Bangwon pours Mongju a drink...but Mongju dismissively tosses the invitation back in Bangwon's lap and asks him what he really wants. They argue--calmly--and throw nature metaphors back and forth, but in the end Mongju calls the whole situation "just plain treason" and refuses to consider Bangwon's pleas to "give in just once." He pulls out a piece of paper of his own, hands it to Bangwon and says it's for Seonggye. And then gets up and leaves, food and drink untouched.
Mongju heads home on a horse that's being led by a servant. But now the horse seems to sense trouble and won't go any farther. Mongju assumes the horse is just hungry and tired from a long day and says he'll walk home. Besides, a wake is being held nearby for someone he knew, so he says he'll stop there first. So he heads off by himself...but not alone, because Bangwon's aide Jo and four of his friends are watching.
As he walks, Mongju reflects on JD offering to compromise and just now LS begging him to compromise...and maybe just for a moment wonders if he made the right choice. But it matters no more, because now his five pursuers have surrounded him as he crosses a small bridge over a creek. Jo speaks up and relays a message from Bangwon. "He said it's for the cause and asked for your forgiveness." Mongju glares back, unafraid. "I knew his moment would come. He is a lowly scoundrel" and what you all are doing is unforgivable. But he does add, "Thank him for letting me die as a loyal servant of Goryeo." The five converge on him...and in a much-too-long sequence, kill him.
Seonggye wakes up after a long nap. Jiran rushes in. "We're in trouble." Brings the paper that Mongju gave Bangwon. It's a poem. "Even if I die a hundred times, even if I turn into dust, my love for my dear will not die." Seonggye can figure out what's happened, maybe not who did it but certainly what, and he slumps to the ground sobbing and screaming.
General Bae goes to the jail and gets JD released. At this time of night? Why? As Bae leads him to the assassination site, JD realizes that something must have happened to Mongju. He sees the body still lying there at the scene, rushes to it and freaks out as Bangwon looks on from a distance.
Narration briefly summarizes Mongju's life. Most of what it tells us, we've seen in the series. But we learn that he was the top scorer in all of his civil service exams; was called "the progenitor of Neo-Confucianism" by Lee Saek; helped improve relations with Ming; and helped secure the release of hundreds of citizens captured by Japanese pirates. And was killed in 1392 by assassins sent by Bangwon.
Jiran and Bangwon are frustrated, to say the least. We learn that JD and Jo Jun hold the civilian positions of left and right army commanders, respectively, and that now Mongju will appoint his own people to them and effectively gain control of the military. Bangwon thinks it's time to kill Mongju and asks Jiran for soldiers to do it, but Jiran refuses; says it's cowardly and that "your father would break your neck" for doing it.
Mongju tells the king that as soon as the four executions take place, he's going to impeach Seonggye!
We see Seonggye lying at home, still unconscious. His wife and Bangwon are taking turns tending to him.
We see JD is alone in his cell. He reflects on his journey with Seonggye, which we see in multiple flashbacks...and then to himself, asks Seonggye's forgiveness for the job being unfinished. And bows as though Seonggye were there, and cries tears of bitter disappointment.
Morning: Hey, Seonggye wakes up! Sort of; he's barely there but groaning and struggling to sit up and open his eyes...ohhh, then he fades out...but wait, he's coming back again...and the eyes are open. He looks like he has one monster headache, but soon he's sitting up and back in his usual seat in his living room...looking a little better.
Soldiers come to JD's cell and bind him for the execution. But then he's ordered untied. The execution is postponed. JD realizes that Seonggye must have awakened.
Now dozens of officials have shown up at Seonggye's house to pay their respects. Bae and Jiran glare at them and mutter about what weasels they all are. Finally Seonggye steps outside for his first breath of fresh air in a long time. He spots the officials standing there and gives them a dismissive glance. "I'm sure you're busy. Thank you for coming." Then announces that since the king repeatedly refused to accept his resignation, "it would be disloyal to continue insisting" so he's going to remain chancellor. And tells the officials they're to get his approval for everything they do. Seriously--"everything except your own breathing." He's still slow and weakened as he speaks, but there's no mistaking his seriousness. The officials don't dare even twitch at him.
Mongju and his allies learn that Seonggye ordered the executions postponed and has appealed for pardons. Mongju can see the writing on the wall, so he stands up and goes to the king...and tells the king he's going to Seonggye's house. ""To settle this matter." Even though his life may be at risk now. I will return with good news," he says, but really, who is he kidding....
Evening: Mongju sits down with Seonggye, who's looking more tired now and is very listless. Again he asks Mongju to make peace with JD. But Mongju refuses and says JD's execution is "a royal order. It can't be withdrawn." They argue, and eventually Mongju pulls out a dagger--symbolically--and puts it in the table between them. "Make a choice. Is it Sambong or me?" Weakly, Seonggye leans forward, reaches for the dagger...and brushes it off the table. "Poeun. This isn't right. Are you worried I'll enjoy wealth and trample on the people when I become king? Even if I become the king, I'm going to leave state affairs to you and Sambong!" He's not listless any more; his voice is rising and he's getting all worked up. "I will support whatever the two of you want to do and arrest anyone who gets in the way of it. By now he's screaming! "That's all I'm going to do. I believe the world will be much better than it is now. Is that such a punishable act?" He pushes the table aside, crawls forward and takes Mongju's hands in his own. "I'm begging you," he says desperately. "Do that with me." The three of us, " Let's create a nice world." But Mongju scowls and pulls his hands away and says he will never change his mind. And adds, "If you can't make a choice, I will help you decide. I will order Sambong's execution." Well now finally, finally, at long last, THAT seems to get Seonggye to realize the impossibility of reconciling the two. A tear falls from his eye and he tells Mongju to leave. Mongju hesitates...and Seonggye screams at the top of his lungs, "I told you to leave! I cut off my ties with you from this moment on!" Mongju walks out and Seonggye is left on the floor, sobbing.
Bangwon goes to JD in his cell with ink and paper and asks him to write a note to Seonggye to convince him to give up on Mongju. But JD won't do it. It's up to him, JD says; "This is your father's fight." "You started it," Bangwon fires back. But JD insists that killing Mongju would be a mistake because of the high esteem the public holds him in. Even if I die as a result, he says. "I will be a martyr for the cause. But I will not shed Poeun's blood." Bangwon can only shake his head in frustration.
Bangwon's home: His wife brings him an evening meal...and tells him he's being stubborn. "When you are sure about something, you take action. The fact that you are hesitating means that you aren't sure it's the solution." Hesitating, that is, in killing Mongju. The advice blindsides him and seems to shake up his thinking...
...so he sends his aide Jo to give Mongju a written invitation.
That evening: Mongju shows up and Bangwon's house for dinner. They sit down and Bangwon pours Mongju a drink...but Mongju dismissively tosses the invitation back in Bangwon's lap and asks him what he really wants. They argue--calmly--and throw nature metaphors back and forth, but in the end Mongju calls the whole situation "just plain treason" and refuses to consider Bangwon's pleas to "give in just once." He pulls out a piece of paper of his own, hands it to Bangwon and says it's for Seonggye. And then gets up and leaves, food and drink untouched.
Mongju heads home on a horse that's being led by a servant. But now the horse seems to sense trouble and won't go any farther. Mongju assumes the horse is just hungry and tired from a long day and says he'll walk home. Besides, a wake is being held nearby for someone he knew, so he says he'll stop there first. So he heads off by himself...but not alone, because Bangwon's aide Jo and four of his friends are watching.
As he walks, Mongju reflects on JD offering to compromise and just now LS begging him to compromise...and maybe just for a moment wonders if he made the right choice. But it matters no more, because now his five pursuers have surrounded him as he crosses a small bridge over a creek. Jo speaks up and relays a message from Bangwon. "He said it's for the cause and asked for your forgiveness." Mongju glares back, unafraid. "I knew his moment would come. He is a lowly scoundrel" and what you all are doing is unforgivable. But he does add, "Thank him for letting me die as a loyal servant of Goryeo." The five converge on him...and in a much-too-long sequence, kill him.
Seonggye wakes up after a long nap. Jiran rushes in. "We're in trouble." Brings the paper that Mongju gave Bangwon. It's a poem. "Even if I die a hundred times, even if I turn into dust, my love for my dear will not die." Seonggye can figure out what's happened, maybe not who did it but certainly what, and he slumps to the ground sobbing and screaming.
General Bae goes to the jail and gets JD released. At this time of night? Why? As Bae leads him to the assassination site, JD realizes that something must have happened to Mongju. He sees the body still lying there at the scene, rushes to it and freaks out as Bangwon looks on from a distance.
Narration briefly summarizes Mongju's life. Most of what it tells us, we've seen in the series. But we learn that he was the top scorer in all of his civil service exams; was called "the progenitor of Neo-Confucianism" by Lee Saek; helped improve relations with Ming; and helped secure the release of hundreds of citizens captured by Japanese pirates. And was killed in 1392 by assassins sent by Bangwon.
