Chuno: Episode 6

by hjkomo

Another great cliffhanger – Kwak Jung Hwan sure knows how to keep us on the edge of our seats!

The last episode ended with Dae-gil, realizing he’d been tricked by Tae-ha, racing back to the inn. Tae-ha puts his ear to the ground and hears Dae-gil’s horse approaching. The chase continues…

SONG OF THE DAY

Rob Dougan – “Furious Angel” (This is the song that played in the Chuno trailers, and it sure did get me pumped up for the drama.) [ Download ]

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Aware that they’d be overtaken easily if they tried to escape on horseback, Tae-ha sends a riderless horse galloping away to misdirect the slave hunters once again. Then, he takes Hye-won over the mountains on foot, knowing they would soon reach a place where the path branched off in several directions, making it too difficult for their pursuers to follow.

Dae-gil arrives at the inn and puts his ear to the ground to hear Tae-ha’s horse heading east (because Dae-gil’s ears have a special GPS-navigational system with audio recognition software. LOL.), and he jumps back on his horse to continue the pursuit. When he catches up to the loose horse, he realizes he’s been tricked again, so he sends up a [really cool!] flare to signal Choi and Wang-son.

Tae-ha lets it slip that the pursuers are after both Hye-won and himself (he had previously told her that she was the intended target, not him). Hye-won demands to know why he’s on the run. Tae-ha states that people may be pursuing him, but he is not on the run. She persists on getting answers from him, so he reveals to her that their pursuers are slave hunters. Hye-won is taken aback and says she can’t be the one they’re after – she’s not a slave. Likewise, Tae-ha states that he’s no slave, either. (It’s interesting that both vehemently deny being slaves. Hye-won was a slave but spent the last decade as a free woman, yet was still enslaved to her grief. Tae-ha was once free and then enslaved, but in his heart, he will never be a slave. So, who is what in this situation? And are they really lying when they say they’re not slaves?)

Hye-won decides she can no longer travel with Tae-ha (the risk is too high), but Tae-ha cannot allow her to go. Since she knows where he is headed, he can’t risk his pursuers discovering his plans. She protests that she would not reveal such information, but Tae-ha knows that there are ways of making people talk despite their intent to keep quiet. After confirming once more that Tae-ha is not a slave, Hye-won agrees to go with him as far as Chungju.

Dae-gil catches on to Tae-ha’s attempt at misdirection. He figures the only way to catch up with Tae-ha is to find out where he is headed, so Dae-gil decides to go to the local library to read the official gazettes. Somewhere within those volumes must be information on Tae-ha’s past.

As they continue their trek through the mountains, Tae-ha pauses a moment, while Hye-won takes in the spectacular view. Tae-ha realizes they’ve taken the wrong path and must backtrack a little. Hye-won asks, “Do soldiers get lost?” This prompts an embarrassed Tae-ha to begin quoting adages to explain what happened, which makes Hye-won chuckle at his defensiveness and serious nature – twice. (Poor Tae-ha. He sure could use one of Dae-gil’s compasses right about now.)

Posing as officials from the state tribunal grants the slave hunters full access to the library’s tomes.
Seol-hwa is surprised to learn that the guys use such sly tactics – here all along, she thought they were slave hunters, but they’re actually con men…(Dae-gil shuts her up before she can give them away).

After hours of poring over the gazettes, Dae-gil and Choi finally find the information they were looking for. Seol-hwa and Wang-son, on the other hand, spend the time taking a nap.

Through flashbacks, we learn what brought about Tae-ha’s descent into slavery. He was once the high-ranked Commissioner of the Military Training Command. When Crown Prince So-hyeon died, Tae-ha defied the royal command to end the mourning period – what usually lasted for three years had been reduced to a mere three days. Then, he was accused of pilfering state-owned grain and, after a torturous interrogation, was sentenced to slavery.

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Dae-gil finds it odd that Tae-ha was allowed to live, when the crime in question would have certainly warranted a death sentence. We then see that Tae-ha was merely a pawn guppy in Lee Gyeong-shik’s nefarious plan to fry a much bigger fish – Left State Councilor Im Young-ho. In exchange for sparing Song Tae-ha’s life, Im Young-ho agreed to step down from his office and return to his hometown of Chungju.

So, the slave hunters set out for Chungju and, along the way, Dae-gil sets out his own net for Tae-ha. They stop at a country local’s abode near the road, this time, posing as officers of the Left Capital Bureau on the search for criminals. Dae-gil instructs the old man to give Tae-ha and his female companion lodging, should they stop there, and then to quietly alert the local authorities.

Back in Hanyang, Hwang Chul-woong finally agrees to do Lee Gyeong-shik’s bidding – assassinate Im Young-ho and the Royal Successor, Prince Seok-gyeon. At Lee Gyeong-shik’s suggestion, he bids his wife, Sun-young, farewell before he departs. In a piteous scene, Sun-young tries to warn him not to oppose her father because he is a frightening man, but Chul-woong tells her he can neither read the scribbles on the letter she wrote, nor understand her spoken words.

Chul-woong then goes to his mother’s house but only watches her from a distance until she closes her doors for the night. In a touching scene, Chul-woong bids his mother farewell with the deepest formal bow. It’s as if he’s asking forgiveness for the sins he’s about to commit, as well as wishing her well, should he not return. *sob*

Tae-ha and Hye-won stop to take lodgings for night. Remembering Dae-gil’s instructions, the old man shows the travelers to a shed where they can sleep and then sneaks off to alert the authorities.
Hye-won tells Tae-ha her name, while Tae-ha reveals that he lost his family during the war. Hye-won speaks of her lost love, the one who saved her from the Qing, and Tae-ha advises her to let him go and to move on because he is no longer in this world…to which she replies –

Hye-won: He has already been given my heart. And different from a man…
a woman’s love is endless.

Suddenly, officers from the local bureau arrive to take the travelers in for questioning, but Tae-ha easily defeats them. Tae-ha picks up a police whistle, dropped by one of the officers, and they make their escape.

Once in town, Tae-ha and Hye-won come upon a checkpoint in the street. Tae-ha suggests they split up and meet beyond the checkpoint. Should she be stopped, Tae-ha advises Hye-won to act like she’s gone mad – with her short hair and mourning clothes, it would be easy for her to be mistaken as a woman who has gone mad [with grief], and he gives her the police whistle in case she needs to call for help.

Crippled by nerves and fear when she approaches the checkpoint, Hye-won runs away suspiciously, which gets the attention of the officers. They chase and then capture her, realizing she’s the woman they’ve been told to look out for. But as they’re about to drag her off to the bureau, they are viciously slain by Yoon-ji, who has finally caught up to her prey.

Having heard a police whistle (blown by one of the officers chasing Hye-won), Tae-ha rushes to her aid. He slightly injures Yoon-ji and drives her away…for now. Hye-won is in complete shock over the incident, so Tae-ha tells her to close her eyes and think of the person she holds most dear. She holds her most precious possession close to her heart – the rock given to her by Dae-gil (and henceforth known as Choco – named after Jang Hyuk’s choco-abs) – and slowly regains her composure. To camouflage the blood spatter on her clothes, Tae-ha uses charcoal to draw pictures of red-blossomed branches.

With the danger seemingly passed, Tae-ha and Hye-won say their farewells to one another.

Dae-gil and the gang reach the outskirts of Chungju, and they use their compasses to coordinate their approach to Im Young-ho’s house. Wang-son is sent to keep an eye out from the rooftops, while Dae-gil and Choi approach the house from opposite directions. Once again, a disappointed Seol-hwa is left behind to mind the horses.

Hwang Chul-woong arrives to carry out the first part of his mission, but before he slays the former Left State Councilor, final words are spoken:

Im Young-ho: : Go tell him (Lee Gyeong-shik) this –
“Water that has already passed by cannot turn the mill.”

Chul-woong: His Excellency’s message for you is –
“No matter how upright the bamboo, it cannot be used as a pillar.”

Song Tae-ha arrives to see his mentor and his entire household slain. Tae-ha confronts their murderer, and THE FIGHT BEGINS.

Chul-woong and Tae-ha are seemingly evenly matched, but before a victor can be established, Dae-gil arrives, and so begins the 3-WAY FIGHT! One would think Dae-gil should let the two duke it out on their own and just swoop in at the most opportune moment, but Dae-gil follows a code. Thinking Chul-woong is another bounty hunter, Dae-gil cannot allow him to defeat Tae-ha and win the spoils. Dae-gil must capture Tae-ha himself.

HOTNESS OVERLOAD!
{With the camera encircling the threesome, it’s like watching a well-choreographed dance of metal and sinew.}

Ready to spring into action if needed, Wang-son waits on a rooftop, until he is surprised by the presence of Yoon-ji. His masculine charms usually work wonders on all manner of women, but this time, his efforts are met with a swift, hard kick to his manly parts. OUCH!

Meanwhile, Baek-ho continues his search, showing Hye-won’s picture to people on the street. Hye-won sees and then tries to avoid him, but when he spots her, she blows her whistle and takes off running.

Back at the fight, Choi arrives and takes on Chul-woong, while Dae-gil and Tae-ha battle it out. Now, it’s TWO-ON-TWO.

~ MORE HOTNESS OVERLOAD! ~ (Excuse me for a moment, while I regain my voice from squeeing and allow the blood to rush back into my head.)

Tae-ha hears the whistle, and leaves the fight to rescue Hye-won. Dae-gil takes chase.

Chul-woong also attempts to go after Tae-ha but is hampered by Choi. Chul-woong pulls rank by showing his official seal, but Choi mistakes him for just another slave hunter and pulls out his own [counterfeit] seal. (Somehow, this male postering still ends up making me swoon rather than roll my eyes. One certainly can’t deny – these men are HOT!)

As they reach the center of town, Dae-gil takes an alternate street in order to cut Tae-ha off up ahead.

Hye-won is running from Baek-ho, Tae-ha is running towards Hye-won, and Dae-gil is running to intercept Tae-ha – all three about to converge at one intersection. OMG!

COMMENTS

So far, we’ve seen some great development into the characters and what drives them –

Dae-gil’s endless quest to find Un-nyun, Tae-ha’s noble mission to save Prince Seok-gyeon, and Hwang Chul-woong…well, I’m still trying to figure him out. He’s such a fascinatingly complex character!

But Un-nyun/Hye-won…we don’t yet know all the details of how she spent the last ten years, but we do know that she hasn’t really had any purpose in life after the [supposed] death of her Young Master, Dae-gil. She has mourned his loss and basically passed the years as a listless (yet ethereal) creature. It’s only now that she’s broken free…will she begin to shed that lifelessness. We’ve already seen some of those sparks – first, when she persisted on knowing whether Tae-ha was a slave and why he was on the run; and second, when she smiled and laughed (probably for the first time in ten years) at Tae-ha’s long explanation of why soldiers sometimes get lost. I, for one, look forward to seeing how her character develops over the remaining episodes.

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