Mandate of Heaven: Episode 9

by javabeans

Chess pieces move around, power shifts, and Team Hero makes significant strides as well as suffering pretty big blows. It’s a great day for our sidekicks as well, who step up in big ways to make their contributions and have me eagerly anticipating more to come in the next episode. I hadn’t expected some of the side characters to play as big a role as they have, but it’s a pleasant surprise since it feels like the world is a fully populated place with all sorts of people, not just pawns to be arranged around our hero.

SONG OF THE DAY

XIA (Junsu) – “바보가슴” (Foolish Heart) from the Mandate of Heaven OST [ Download ]

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EPISODE 9 RECAP

While Vice Premier Kim heads to the prince’s quarters with his assassins in tow, another battle is shaping up in the queen’s. Lee Ho comes along for a visit to Queen Munjeong’s sickbed at the request of his brother Gyeongwon, but refuses to play into her hands.

She’s working the martyr angle here, sighing that she will do as the crown prince requests and dutifully declare to the king that she is trying to do Lee Ho in. Her advisers gasp and clutch pearls, but Lee Ho doesn’t back down, to her irritation. He calls her bluff and says that he will accompany her to see the king, and with no recourse she also sticks to her line.

It’s softhearted Prince Gyeongwon who begs his brother tearfully not to proceed. Crying, he drops to his knees and pleads for them to both back down, because he can’t bear being caught between them. The queen smirks to herself. While Gyeongwon isn’t in on her scheme, she is definitely using him to advance her ends—the goodhearted are so easily manipulated.

Just then, word reaches Lee Ho of his secret patient regaining consciousness. He hurries back to his quarters.

Back to our hero in peril: Vice Premier Kim catches Won red-handed at Deok-pal’s bedside. On his cue, his assassins advance, with Deok-pal unable to move and Won helpless to defend himself. But then a sword thrusts through the screen, right into the lead assassin. Badass. There’s another man hidden behind there, unbeknownst to Won, probably instructed by the prince to keep watch.

The guard leaps out to fight off the attackers, but sadly gets stabbed in the back by Vice Premier Kim. Enraged, Won launches himself at the old man and they both go sprawling. The knife skitters across the floor, and Vice Premier Kim gets to it first and raises it to strike.

Won is stronger, though, and overpowers him enough to turn the blade around on the attacker. He sees the cut on Kim’s hand, confirming his role in the murder, and growls at him to beg Do-saeng’s forgiveness on the other side. But Kim chuckles that Won will have to let him go if he wants to cure his sick daughter, since she’s been taken into his household. Worse yet, he gives him the ultimatum: If Won wants to save Rang, kill Deok-pal.

Lee Ho’s entourage returns to find dead guards strewn in his courtyard. Heading inside, he finds Won sitting dully with Deok-pal, who’s barely clinging to life. For now, though, that’s a relief.

But both men feel the burden of their respective predicaments: The prince feels guilt over the lives lost on his behalf, while Won silently wrestles with his dilemma.

There are dead assassins left behind, but Vice Premier Kim was careful to hire foreign mercenaries whose identities (and therefore contractors) will be difficult to trace. We all know who did it, but there’s little in the way of proof. Lee Ho orders his men to stay close and keep word of this from spreading, because if the two fugitives’ presence is known, it’ll implicate both himself and the king.

Keeping this hushed up benefits the queen as well, though she’s frustrated at the constant failure to kill Deok-pal. Vice Premier Kim informs her that Won will do it, and she accepts that with the caveat that failure will result in Kim’s name being the next target for elimination.

Rang’s condition doesn’t improve, and Da-in worries that she could die if she doesn’t take an upturn soon. Vice Premier Kim orders her to cure her, “because dead bait is useless!” His deal was to help Won escape to the Ming empire with Rang if he killed Deok-pal, which doesn’t work without the Rang part.

Won deliberates all night, thinking of the prince’s trust in him. The concern may be moot since Deok-pal is not doing well, but that doesn’t ease his mind. Jang-geum recommends informing the prince of the extent of the bad news to prevent unrealistic hopes, but Won refuses, insisting that he’ll fix him.

Won is upset that Da-in didn’t tell him of Rang’s transfer to the Kim household, though she says she was afraid to worry him further. Interestingly, he shares with her the full truth, including Vice Premier Kim’s proposed deal; it’s telling that he trusts her with such damning knowledge.

For now, the pressing concern is Rang’s raging fever. Won wants to rescue her from Kim’s evil clutches, and sends Da-in to deliver a message to the thieves. She does, not seeing that a sad-eyed Do-moon watches from a distance. Aw. Something about the assassin with a heart tugs at my heart; I hope he gets a chance to choose the good guys, especially since Merchant Jang is valuing him less these days.

At the bandits’ fortress, So-baek tries to make heads or tails of Won’s message, although seeing as she can’t read, it’s all a blur to her. And to Geo-chil, too, who holds it upside-down and muses, “The black stuff is letters and the white stuff is paper…” HA. Granny has to stumble her way through it, but they all freeze to hear that Rang is being held captive by the vice premier.

So-baek is rarin’ to go rescue her right away, but Geo-chil puts his foot down; he puts Keok-jung on the job and forbids his daughter from participating. Too dangerous.

With his own neck on the line, Vice Premier Kim decides that the sicker Rang is, the better for his needs. Granted her usefulness negates if she dies, but keeping her at death’s door is just the push Won needs to do his bidding.

From outside Kim’s estate, Jung-hwan observes the goings-on, and is surprised to see Rang being carried out of the house. He follows the conveyance to the palace and wonders what Kim is playing.

Keok-jung is one step behind them and arrives at Kim’s household to find that Rang has been moved. Ha, I love the look of shock on his face when So-baek joins him—like you didn’t expect that coming?

He drags her back to headquarters, and while Geo-chil would dearly love to give her a thrashing, he’s too much of a marshmallow to actually do anything to her. She protests that she has to go to the palace to save the sick girl, a prospect the other thieves flatly reject, but Chun-bong speaks up with a proposition. There may be a way…

To make Won even more desperate, Vice Premier Kim has him brought to Rang’s side, where he can see for himself how dire her condition is. The deadline is set: Kill Deok-pal by tomorrow night, or the girl dies.

He leaves in a daze, and clutches Da-in’s hands to plead, “Help me.”

Chun-bong’s plan has the bandits ambushing a caravan of palace officials on a mountain road, and they easily subdue the party and steal their uniforms. Decked out as officials and carrying goods expected at the palace gives them the perfect cover, and they are granted entry. Might I add on a purely superficial note that Keok-jung sure cleans up nice. I mean, I knew that from his turn as Red Eyes, but at least this time he’s playing a good guy.

Once inside, it’s fairly easy for Keok-jung and So-baek to excuse themselves without further suspicion. So-baek is rather stupidly chatty, talking out loud in very incriminating ways, but at least she has Keok-jung around to shut her up and watch her back. What would that girl do without him? Aw, and then he even gives her tired legs a massage. Keep him!

The problem is, while they’ve gained entree to the palace, they don’t have any leads and have to search the hard way, wandering and looking for Rang. Hours later, they still don’t know where to find her.

Won has come to a decision and tells Deok-pal that he couldn’t kill him to save his daughter. Even so, he apologizes for not being able to continue treating him… which may be a moot concern because Deok-pal sounds the death rattle.

Da-in treats Rang that night, and enacts The Plan: She sends Do-moon out to fetch the vice premier on an urgent matter, and as he hurries off Won sneaks inside the room, which is now only guarded by one man. Won grabs a heavy pot and slams it into the guard’s head. It doesn’t send him into unconsciousness, but after a brief struggle he and Da-in manage to knock him out.

To his horror, Lee Ho finds Deok-pal dead with Won nowhere in sight. It’s a huge blow, and he decides that this must be Vice Premier Kim’s doing—he had Deok-pal killed and Won taken hostage. Aw. His faith in Won is both touching and heartbreaking, in that he doesn’t even consider that Won might have acted on his own.

The baddies are elated to hear of the death, and assume that Won came over to the dark side after all. But only for about two seconds because they hear that he has disappeared, and they soon find that Rang is gone as well. Kim orders Do-moon to find them.

Won and Da-in don’t get very far before being stopped by a palace guard, who finds their excuse plenty suspicious. Thankfully that’s when the bandits find them, knocking out the guard and offering their assistance. Won is reluctant to leave Da-in behind and has to be urged away, while she assures him that she’ll be fine.

Won and Rang are smuggled out of the palace in the delivery wagon, and make their way onward on foot. Do-moon catches up to them in the city, but Keok-jung stays behind to distract him with a fight, allowing the others to escape. They’re pursued by two more guards, but So-baek manages them on her own.

The sword- and hand-fight between Do-moon and Keok-jung is a well-matched skirmish between two masters, but ultimately it’s Do-moon who gets the upper hand. Oh no! Don’t kill Keok-jung!

Lee Ho is in low spirits that night and drowns his sorrows in drink. He blames himself for everything, and for failing Won yet again. He’s about ready to storm over to confront the vice premier in person when Da-in informs him that Won isn’t in the hands of the enemy but has actually escaped the palace safely. The prince is overcome with tearful relief, which is really quite moving. I love that shot of his face.

Lee Ho’s guard now reports that he believes Kim to have hidden Rang away in a storeroom in the palace, and hands over a small pouch. Da-in identifies it as Rang’s medicine pouch, and figures it was dropped accidentally. Lee Ho opens it… and pulls out that scrap with the flower drawing. GASP!

He can’t know what exactly that means, but he does know for sure who drew that flower.

Won and So-baek seek shelter in a backroom (of one of their cohorts in town) and he hurriedly begins treating Rang, who’s still burning with fever. With all other remedies proving ineffectual, Won reaches for a terrifying giant needle to apply to the base of the neck, but can’t bring himself to use such a dangerous method.

And now So-baek wonders what happened to Keok-jung. Why’s he so late?

Thankfully he isn’t dead, but the truth isn’t much happier: He’s being tortured at the hands of traitorous police officer Gon-oh while Vice Premier Kim looks on. Keok-jung refuses to talk, and gets drowned repeatedly.

Jung-hwan mulls over the facts that aren’t quite lining up: Kim is using Rang as bait and took her home, only to return her to the palace. Why? He then hears of the recent escape of Won and Rang, who were working in league with Geo-chil’s gang.

The ministers evil are happy to report Deok-pal’s death to the queen, though they have to admit they lost Won. Still, he can’t have gone far and they assure her it won’t be long before they have him in their grasp.

Minister Yoon grumbles about “that bitch Da-in” who wrecked everything, explaining that she has helped Won but that their hands are tied because she is a surrogate daughter to Merchant Jang. And Merchant Jang is their bank account, so they can’t risk losing their funding source.

The queen notes Da-in’s name with interest. They promise to have everything in order soon, and she’s pleased enough with Deok-pal’s death to smirk at the idea of Lee Ho’s despair over the same news. Time for her next move, and she declares, “I am thinking to stick a knife in the prince’s back now.”

Jung-hwan feigns ignorance upon his next meeting with Vice Premier Kim, asking after the child and acting surprised to hear she was moved to the palace. But Kim clues in on Jung-hwan’s suspicions and twists the truth just enough to keep him thinking that Kim is the good guy and the prince the troublemaker. After all, he’s the man who harbored Won, a fugitive, in his own quarters in the palace.

Vice Premier Kim is quick to alert the court to Lee Ho’s hiding of criminals, and leads the charge in demanding punishment. Aw, crap.

Prince Gyeongwon defends his brother as a good man who would never do as he is accused of doing, and naively appeals to his mother to help. He’s so steadfast in his support that his mother loses her temper and asks if he’s challenging her, and Gyeongwon meekly backs down.

The statesmen gather for an official audience with the king, with the men divided into two camps: The evil ministers implicate the prince, while Lee Ho’s loyalists entreat the king to not fall for malicious rumors.

King Jungjong declares that he was too hasty in deciding to pass the throne along to Lee Ho, and rescinds his abdication announcement. Oh no. Poor weak prince, with such an easily manipulated father.

Vice Premier adds to the blow by informing the king of Lee Ho’s direct hand in harboring Won. They argue that he has violated national law and thus must be subject to appropriate penalty.

Lee Ho is left with no defense and no power, and his right-hand guard is immediately apprehended and tortured.

It’s panic mode for Chun-bong’s secret council: Not only has their side taken a huge hit, but they now fear for their own lives. They argue the need to rally their forces and back the prince, but Chun-bong has a more philosophical response. He takes the long view, saying that the prince create an opportunity himself, if he is to prove he can be a good king. He proposes building up their might in the meantime, and supplies money for weapons.

By now So-baek is consumed with worry for Keok-jung, in denial that he could be hurt or caught. But just then, Rang finally stirs awake, to their relief. Yet when she opens her eyes, she calls Won “ajusshi” and begs him to save her father. Not a good sign, and Won reaches for that scary needle again. With a steady hand he inserts it into her back.

Jung-hwan is, thankfully, smarter than the average bear and hears of Keok-jung’s capture. I like that he seems suspicious of Vice Premier Kim and is playing the facts close to the vest, although I’m not convinced he’s suspicious enough to breathe a sigh of relief. Still, this means he’s keeping close watch over Kim’s household—and sees Gon-oh leaving it. Yesssss. Finally.

The bad news is that one of the officers pipes up that Gon-oh probably heard the same news and came over to check. No, don’t listen to him! He’s either dumb or evil too! I’m putting my store in the fact that Jung-hwan doesn’t look like he buys that explanation entirely.

But for now, a more immediate concern: They spot Keok-jung escaping over the wall and fleeing, as they expected he would. Jung-hwan orders his men to follow secretly.

Keok-jung makes his way to a storefront in the city, whose backroom is where Won and So-baek have hidden to await his return. Phew, and also, uh-oh.

Eunuch Hwang is one of Lee Ho’s attendants and is therefore also tortured, but as we know, he’s also a mole on Team Evil. Tempted with promises of future promotion, he endures the torture, and that lends his testimony extra credibility now as he is brought before the king. Ack.

Thus Eunuch Hwang gets ready to incriminate Lee Ho while the evil ministers pretend they haven’t planned this all out in advance. Lee Ho clenches his jaw, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The eunuch grovels before the king—but something about the way he utters, “The truth is…” makes the ministers look up in concern. Is he going to toe the line, or go rogue? Pins and needles, folks.

Jung-hwan bursts into the storefront, and the merchant rings the bell alerting the fugitives. Too bad hawk-eyed Jung-hwan sees the motion and knows something is up. Won grabs Rang and they escape into the streets, with the officers just behind them.

So-baek is able to steal a horse and takes Rang, while the two men split up on foot. Eek! Keok-jung is badly injured and Won… well, Won was never going to win any battles even on his best day.

Jung-hwan seems to relish the chase, and speedily catches up to Won in the streets. He drags him back to the station, ignoring Won’s cries of innocence, and Woo-young sees her brother’s capture with shock. Jung-hwan smiles: Gotcha.

 
COMMENTS

I have a pretty solid amount of faith in Jung-hwan’s intelligence that Won’s recapture doesn’t feel quite as dire a circumstance as it might in the hands of, for instance, Gon-oh or the baddies. Plus, there were multiple instances of his reaction shots belying greater suspicions; I hope—no, expect—him to refrain from swallowing Vice Premier Kim’s explanations wholesale. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t.

Mandate of Heaven isn’t a drama that necessarily moves me episode to episode, but it remains very entertaining. In fact, it’s because I’m not quite emotionally immersed that I can find the humor in moments that aren’t meant to be humorous, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Dramas that get you in the gut are rarer than ones you don’t, and so I’m just relieved to have one that remains engaging and fast-moving and funny, both intentionally or not.

As an example of the unintentional variety, we have our rotating wheel of prisoners—how many times can Won get caught and escape, right? To the show’s credit, each instance is developed with the plot logic so that it doesn’t feel repetitive; it just makes me chuckle to note how the officers are good enough to keep catching the fugitives, but never all three at once. Gotta keep the daddy-daughter duo constantly estranged to have dramatic momentum, after all.

Plus, I think it’s better for the show to have a series of captures and escapes, rather than dragging out one long runaway chase—now that would get tiresome. At least in this instance, we’re given the opportunity to get creative with our jailbreaks, as well as building up the bonds every time somebody steps in to help Won. Like the bandits—how great are they, am I right?

Sure, we’ve established that Won saved the boss and therefore they owe him a debt, but it still feels like they’ve more than made up for that. They’re gradually transitioning from Won’s allies to Won’s friends, driven to help him not out of obligation but genuine caring, and I love that. Especially with So-baek and her thickheadedly loyal ways, while Keok-jung is the awesome silent sidekick who’s actually doing all the hard work.

Not to decry her contributions since she’s got her fighting skills and daring, which certainly come in handy, but I can’t help but see her and Geo-chil as dimwitted Inspector Gadget types while Keok-jung is the long-suffering Penny/Brain, aka the actual brains of the operation. Please tell me this reference isn’t lost on all of you. I want a happy ending for Keok-jung. So. Much.

In fact, this show has done a strong job of building up really compelling secondary characters all around. Well almost all around—Ministers Evil 1 and 2 are still caricatures of, well, evil. If you can describe the whole of a character’s purpose in the story with one word, I’d say you’re really just a plot device. Inasmuch as plot devices are necessary, it’s fine—I’ll deal with it and accept them as necessities.

Even with those two stock types driving a lot of the conflict, the rest of the cast has a nice depth that I find surprising but welcome. Merchant Jang, for instance, may be a part of the baddies but he’s got a more nuanced rationale for why he acts as he does. The queen’s motivation is simpler, but her portrayal as manipulator is interesting to watch, particularly given how she managed to raise a sweet young boy despite her poisoned character.

I’ll even go so far as to say much of the supporting cast has more character depth than our leads. I’m not knocking the leads—they’re dealing with pretty dramatic situations and that’s got their hands full—but it’s worth noting how nicely the backdrop is painted, that’s all.

RELATED POSTS

• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 8
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 7
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 6
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 5
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 4
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 3
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 2
• Mandate of Heaven: Episode 1