Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 12
by HeadsNo2
There’s plenty of suffering to go around this hour, both the internal and external kind. Our hero seems to be the only one who knows what he wants and is fully intent on getting it, though he’s up against some new resistance in the form of Su’s guilt. He might be the only one who can save her now—but it’s less about saving her from her situation, and more about saving her from herself.
EPISODE 12 RECAP
King Taejo orders his son and fourth prince So to go to China (specifically the Later Jin dynasty) as an ambassador. So agrees to do as he’s told, but he asks for the king to allow Su to continue working in the palace.
The king agrees, only for as long as it takes for So to leave the room. Then he tells Astronomer Choi to send Su to a place where none of the princes will be able to see her again—if So won’t let her go, then he’ll make it so he has no choice.
Astronomer Choi finds Su in the late Court Lady Oh’s room, and offers Su some comfort when it comes to her mentor’s death. But then he informs her that she’s to leave the palace, effective immediately.
Su just sighs in resignation as she asks where it is that she’ll have to go. Meanwhile, So packs his belongings, including the makeup needed to cover his scar. Before she goes, Su makes sure to find So, despite having to limp because of her wounds.
They go for a slow walk, where So gives her pointers on how to best get over her pain and grief. If she works hard, she’ll be able to forget, which Su turns back onto him: “You should forget me now.” So doesn’t take her seriously, and only asks that she stay in the palace and wait for him.
“I will not wait for you,” she replies, handing back the hairpin he gave her. “This happened to you because you tried to help me,” she adds, referencing his new appointment to go to Later Jin. She feels bad because she knows how happy he was to be allowed into the palace, but now he’s having to leave because of her.
Using a hand on her waist, So pulls her closer, and leans in for a kiss. At the last moment, Su turns her head, and So just smiles. “I said I would get your permission,” he says in light admonishment.
Then, with her guard down, So steals a very quick kiss. “I lied,” he explains with a Cheshire grin. He takes the hairpin in her hand and says he’ll use it as a good luck talisman, since he’ll be back soon. But as he walks away, Su thinks to herself that she won’t be waiting for him, even though he risked his life for her and called her his.
As he turns around and waves at her with the pin in his hand, Su thinks to herself that she can’t help but be afraid every time they meet. Despite knowing that her heart had been in someone else’s hands, she wonders, “Why is it so difficult to let you go?”
Wook sees her limping up the steps upon her return to the palace, but can’t bring himself to say anything to her. She turns around to see him turned away from her, and he walks away from her purposefully. Tears well in her eyes, but she says nothing. Only when she’s turned away does Wook chance a look back at her.
So returns to wearing a mask on his journey to Jin, while Su is sent out of the palace with a small bundle of her belongings. Fourteenth prince Jung finds Wook to tell him that Su’s gone. Wook leaps to his feet and checks Su’s room, which is now devoid of her presence.
Knowing that she’s been cast out, Wook slowly sinks to the ground, crying. “Su-ya… if you just leave like this…” He reaches out a trembling hand to her bedding, before he throws it in a rage and cries out, “Su-ya!”
Outside the palace, Su turns as if she’s heard it. Maybe she did.
Queen Sinmyeongsunseong talks casually about that “pesky creature” who’s now dead to Princess Yeonhwa, referencing Court Lady Oh. Now that she’s seen Yeonhwa’s scheming side, the evil queen thinks that they’re very much alike, but Yeonhwa puts the kibosh on this notion by reminding her that her own mother, Queen Sinjeong, was exiled for supposedly causing Court Lady Oh’s miscarriage.
Though she doesn’t outright claim that the evil queen was to blame for the miscarriage, everyone knows that she’s the reason Court Lady Oh, the woman the king loved the most, had to die. If her own mother could be exiled for causing a miscarriage, then Queen Sinmyeongsunseong is in for much worse—so Yeonhwa knows an alliance would be foolish.
The evil queen says that Yeonhwa is just as culpable as she is, which makes the princess laugh. Because she drank the poison, she’s free of suspicion, and anyone else who was involved is either dead or gone. “You are alone now, Your Majesty. Do not make my mother get on her knees ever again,” Yeonhwa adds as a warning.
Third prince Yo is back, and having overheard the conversation, he tells his mother that he can’t help but like Yeonhwa for her gumption. His mother warns him to stay away from her, while Yo seems to think of it as a challenge. Besides, his uncle, Wang Shik-ryeom, has offered to support his potential rise to the throne.
One year later, the 26th year of Taejo’s reign. King Taejo is apparently not long bound for this world, and third prince Yo taunts his brothers that the king may very well decide that he should have the throne.
Now that Yo’s returned to the palace with supporters ready to place him in power, Crown Prince Mu worries that the king has made it so that anyone can take the crown. Astronomer Choi assures him that the king is only using this opportunity to find out who’s on Mu’s side, but Mu worries that those close to him will be the ones to pay for the king’s experiment.
At a festival held for King Taejo, princess-in-disguise Woo-hee is among the group of sword dancers performing for him. Suddenly, she breaks from the others, jumps onto the king’s table, and stabs him with her sword.
Of course, it’s just a daydream on her part, since she’s just practicing her sword dance. Thirteenth prince Baek-ah calls her out for getting the move wrong, since he’s providing the accompaniment. Does no one pay attention to how weird a job this is for a prince to have?
Baek-ah ends up inches from Woo-hee’s face during his admonishment, which makes her acutely aware of their proximity. But when he mentions that “the wife” has prepared food for him, her eyes go wide: “You’re married?”
Seeing her face, he pounces on the chance to taunt her as he asks if him being married would bother her. She’s quick to demur, though she’s curious to know how long he’s been married, if he has children, etc. Baek-ah continues to tout his imaginary family until he tells her that the wife he was referring to was his father’s wife, aka his mother, and gives her the modern “Okay” hand signal that Su taught him. Hah.
Tenth prince Eun scoffs at his wife for testing whether he read a book she gave him, even going so far as to bet his own wrist that he read it. Soon-deok draws a line on his wrist and says that it’s hers now, as are his eyes and nose (which she draws circles around, hah).
He tells her she might as well take all of him, but makes an exception when she tries to mark his finger—that’s Su’s, he says. When she turns away, Eun nervously asks if she’s crying, but then a dagger comes flying at them. Soon-deok protects him from it, but it cuts her hair tie in the process, causing her hair to flow loose around her face.
It was her dad who threw the dagger to test her reflexes, and she chastises him for scaring her husband. But when she offers to blow on Eun’s booboo from the fall, Grand General Park just gapes.
Yo offers Princess Yeonhwa a ring along with the promise that he’ll divorce his wife once he becomes king, and make Yeonhwa his queen. She’s not buying it, since Yo’s father-in-law is the current Minister of the Left, Park Young-gyu, and he’d be crazy to lose that alliance.
But Yo says he’ll only need Minister Park’s support before he becomes king, and not after. He deliberately places the ring on Yeonhwa’s finger even after she pushes it back toward him, though Wook’s appearance gives her a chance to pull her hand back.
Though Wook is slightly hostile toward him, Yo reminds him that with the king about to release teachings for his descendants, it means that there’ll be a major shift soon. Yo wonders if they should just attack first and get their father out of the way before that happens, but at Wook’s admonishment, he claims he was only joking.
Yo leaves, but not before reminding Wook of his promise to support him when the time comes. Yeonhwa is quick to call Wook out for making such a bargain—why wouldn’t he try to claim the throne for himself?
But Wook has clearly given this more thought than her, since he knows that whoever goes against the crown prince will become a traitor. However, if he were to rise up against that traitor, then he’d become a hero.
When Yeonhwa asks what would happen if Yo were to end up betraying him, Wook’s eyes land on the ring Yo gave her. She’s scandalized when he says it suits her well, knowing full well what he means: “Are you telling me to become a hostage?” With a humorless smile, Wook tells her to call it what she likes. “We owe each other a great debt, do we not? You should put up with this much.” Damn, Wook. That’s cold.
We find Su working as a lowly water maid for a gisaeng house, though her reputation for once being a court lady in Damiwon is well known amongst the other girls. They grow angry when the still-crippled Su refuses to gossip about any of the princes with them, and deliberately trip her when she tries to leave.
They accuse her of killing her own superior, calling her bad luck. They throw her laundry back into the river, and as Su struggles to collect it all, Wook and Jung happen to see her struggle. Wook is the first to turn away.
Once in the palace, Wook confronts Jung over deliberately taking him to see Su. Wook claims to be indifferent to her plight, but Jung knows that he loved Su once, so what’s the reason he can’t go to her? Wook claims that it’s because he can’t go against the king, but Jung doesn’t quite look like he buys it.
That night, Wook finds Su eating a meager meal alone. She sets it aside when she sees him and rises unsteadily, causing Wook to ask if her leg still pains her—he knows Jung has been sending her medicine. In a flat tone, she tells him that it only bothers her sometimes, but that she’s fine otherwise.
“Do you hate me?” Wook asks tentatively. Su’s eyes fill with tears as she looks blankly forward. Wook explains that he couldn’t come because he couldn’t promise her anything, and that it’s his own shame over being so useless to her.
Because the king was so upset over Court Lady Oh, he explains, he couldn’t even dare to bring up the idea of marrying her to his father. Only then does Su speak up: “Did you miss me? Even once? Has there been a time when you missed me?”
After a pause, Wook quietly replies, “Every day. I longed for you every moment.” Su takes this in for a moment, her expression softening with relief as she says, “That is all I need then. That is enough.” But when Wook says that everything will get better once he has more power, Su tells him not to put himself in danger on her behalf.
With tears in his own eyes, Wook can only tell her to keep herself safe. “Please don’t make me feel sorrier than I do,” he adds, before abruptly leaving. A tear snakes down Su’s cheek as she watches him go.
So returns from Later Jin, and updates his father on the political goings-on there, including a possible conflict between Jin and the Khitan. King Taejo wants to send him back to deal with it but So refuses, since he knows his father broke the promise he made to keep Su in the palace when he left.
His father asks if he still has feelings for Su, which soon turns into a tirade about how kings should be willing to throw anyone and anything away. So retorts that he isn’t a king and won’t become one, so that rule doesn’t apply to him. He even adds in a subtle threat that if the king wants him to remain as an ally for Crown Prince Mu, then he shouldn’t make things harder for him. “I, too, will live like a human now.”
Grand General Park does some damage control once So leaves, but it’s not that Taejo is upset with So’s actions—he’s actually pleased with his new attitude. “Now, he will not lose no matter who he fights,” the king says, adding that only now will he be able to die in peace.
As Su hangs laundry to dry, she thinks she sees a vision of So, only to turn around and find nothing there. But then she stops suddenly, feeling a presence behind her. “You never did listen,” So’s voice says.
He wraps his arms around her from behind and adds, “I missed you.” Su tells him that he shouldn’t be there as she pulls away from his grasp, but he just takes her work-roughened hands in his and smiles: “You are beautiful, as always.”
That’s when she finally notices his mask, which breaks her out of her stupor. Suddenly she’s all questions, but he unmasks himself to reveal a perfectly covered scar beneath. “I didn’t take it off so I wouldn’t forget you,” he says. “I was determined to come back to you.”
Su reminds him that she’s just a water maid now, and therefore not in a position to be having any contact with him. She’s glad he returned safe, and now he knows she’s fine. That should be enough.
She tries to limp away from him, but So grabs her by the wrist, claiming that he’ll find a way to fix her situation. Su finally breaks and pulls away from him, half-crying that she’s trying to just forget everything through hard labor. But what she doesn’t say aloud is, “You must put a stop to your affections toward me.”
So says he’ll help her just the way she helped him, and together, they’ll find a way for her to forget, without having to live the way she’s living. In voiceover, Su says, “Please do not throw yourself away because of me.” But aloud, she says that So’s the one she wants to avoid—when she looks at him, she’s reminded of everything she’s trying to forget.
She tells him to forget about her too, which is the only way no one will get hurt. She returns to her room, where she’s approached by Astronomer Choi. Hmm.
King Taejo’s health is failing, so as a last resort, Astronomer Choi serves him a specially concocted tea to bring back his appetite. Taejo knows upon tasting it that Su made it, and so he tells Choi to bring her to him.
Quick cut to Princess Yeonhwa asking So to marry her. (This seems sudden.) She tells him that she’s thought about the kind of person she is, and that she’s not satisfied with her lot. She wants power, which means she wants the throne.
So smiles gently at her as he replies that he’s the opposite of the kind of person she’s looking for, which Yeonhwa claims to know already. But what she wasn’t counting on was that she was a woman with feelings, as she admits, “I have loved you for a long time. I am destined to be with you.” (She mimics the same words Yo said about the two of them.)
After a long silence, So says that when he was very young, someone told him he was fated to be king—but that’s the day he received the scar on his face. He wasn’t even treated as a prince, let alone a king. “We’re destined to be?” he all but scoffs. “I don’t believe in destiny. And there’s someone else I want.” Yeonhwa knows he’s talking about Su, and warns that he’ll ruin his future if he ties his fate to such an unlucky girl.
“I wouldn’t even have had a future if it weren’t for Su,” So replies. “Now that I’ve said it, I know for certain—without her, I’m nothing.”
Su limps into the throne room to meet the ailing king, who readily drinks the tea she made him. Looking at him, Su recognizes the same symptoms she once saw in her own grandpa, and guesses that he doesn’t have much time left.
Taejo seems to read her thoughts, and then asks, “Where did you come from?” He admits that he looked into her after Court Lady Oh’s death, and after questioning anyone who ever knew her, he concluded that she became a completely different person. But then, he astutely tells her that he thinks she’s similar to Astronomer Choi: “You know the future, and we do not.”
He asks her if she knows So was fated to become king, and sighs that if Crown Prince Mu and So are both destined to become king, no one knows what will happen. He knows she’ll be able to see it all happen, but warns her against getting involved.
Su’s only request is that the king send her away instead, because she doesn’t have the courage to live in the palace anymore. Taejo’s advice is for her to learn to close her eyes to the things she can’t fix with her own strength, otherwise, her situation will never change.
“Do not get so hung up on the future that you lose what you have now,” the king adds. “If [Court Lady Oh] called you her daughter, then you are a daughter to me, which is why I am giving you this advice.” Oh, now she’s like a daughter to you?
As Su leaves the palace, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by the sounds of battle in the courtyard. A premonition of events to come, perhaps.
Meanwhile, Woo-hee cuts herself while practicing her sword dance, and in his worry, Baek-ah discovers scars from old cuts crisscrossing her wrists. He knows better than to ask, so he asks if he can hold her instead. She shakes her head, but he pulls her in anyway.
He says he’s sorry for any hardship she endured, even though he wasn’t around then. “I want only good things to happen for you, and I want to make you happy now. Trust me.” Woo-hee pulls away, angrily asking who he thinks he is to promise such things. When she leaves, Baek-ah quietly admits, “I still have more to confess to you.”
Su happens to see Woo-hee crying, and next thing we know, the two are sitting down for a chat. She seems to know that it has something to do with Baek-ah, which makes Woo-hee question how Su knows him. They talk as if they know each other, which must’ve come about because Su works as a maid for Woo-hee’s gibang.
To cover for Baek-ah (since Woo-hee doesn’t know he’s a prince), Su claims she met him before she entered the palace. She tells Woo-hee that he’s a good person who she shouldn’t be pushing away, but Woo-hee claims she doesn’t have a choice.
Woo-hee fills in some of the gaps on how she and Su know each other, as she says both of them bonded over their shared hardships. She wants Su to do her makeup for the big ceremony tomorrow, because she wants it so that Baek-ah will look at her once and never forget her. “That’s how I want to be remembered,” she says more quietly.
After Yo plots with Minister Park to use Woo-hee to kill the king at the ceremony, he pretends to feign disinterest in whether the king does or doesn’t attend. But that’s because he knows Wook has his back, since Wook is the one who convinces the king to attend.
Yo looks on approvingly as Wook puts his prince’s garb over another outfit. The ailing king presides over the ceremony, but So waits outside to catch Su so he can give her back the hairpin. “Let’s get married,” he says suddenly.
If she marries him, he says, she can leave the gyobang (gisaeng house that focused more on the arts) as well as the palace. At her reluctance, he adds that they can divorce after he gets her out of the palace—all she has to say is yes.
Of course, Su doesn’t, because she doesn’t want to make So leave the palace. So claims to not care if he’s with his father or not, to which Su asks, “What if you were to become king? Would you still leave?” So: “If I were king, would you leave with me?”
Handing her back the hairpin, So smiles a bit as he asks her to come with him—she’s still his, after all. Su seems to waver for a moment, but then she gives the hairpin back. She can’t marry him, she says, and turns to see that Wook has overheard the entire conversation.
Wook grabs So before he can chase after her, telling him not to fill her head with lies that he, a prince, could marry a water maid like her. “If I say it’s marriage, then it’s marriage,” So fires back. But then Wook reminds him that he’s the reason Su’s in such a lowly state, which is why he can’t forgive him.
But So won’t take the blame from him, and says that he gave him everything he needed to prove Su’s innocence. Wook’s uselessness is the reason Su’s there, he adds, which only makes Wook grab his half-brother by the collar.
At the ceremony, Woo-hee takes part in the sword dance. As the music crescendos, she sees Baek-ah in the crowd, realizing from his clothes that he’s a prince. Baek-ah watches her gaze and has a realization of his own: She was practicing the wrong movements earlier because she had another plan in mind.
As Woo-hee rushes the king, Baek-ah jumps in front of her and takes the sword meant for his father. He couldn’t just tackle her?
Back with the two warring men, So tells Wook to stop pretending like he cares about Su—he can just turn his back on her like he already has. But he can see whatever Wook’s wearing underneath his robes by the hold he has on him.
And then, quick cut back to Baek-ah, who pulls back from Woo-hee.
COMMENTS
Well, now I’m more inclined to think that Episode 11 was a lucky fluke. I feel spoiled from having a clear emotional through line that we could easily follow to having the sort of hodgepodge of scenes we got in this episode, where I was left struggling to figure out who we were following and what we should be rooting for them to accomplish. Was this about Su? So? Woo-hee? Killing the king? Focus, Moon Lovers! Focus.
I had a feeling we were in for a ride when that time skip rolled around, since we were already back to being excluded from the events of the episode—and then suddenly, we were dropped into the story a year later without even one exposition fairy to help catch us up. It was disorienting, and for the remainder of the episode I couldn’t help but feel like the show was just trying to keep itself afloat.
The rapid-fire succession of scenes would’ve been much easier to swallow if we had at least one point to anchor us, but we were effectively shut out from seeing Su’s point of view. What she’s been through has been extraordinary and more than enough to cause a person to shut down—but she’s still our heroine, and we need her to at least try to play an active role in events. Su’s biggest issue has been her lack of proactivity, which we could somewhat blame on circumstance before. And even now, we can point to circumstance as being the reason why she can’t help herself, only now she’s willingly given up on trying.
So without her even making an effort to change her fate, and with her being completely resigned to suffering in silence, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to want for her. Obviously, any viewer will want her to snap out of the funk she’s in, but to what end? It’d be great if So really could swoop in to save the day here, but Wook may have a point about his marriage solution not being that feasible. Even so, what is it that Su actually wants? For a hot second, her goal was to try and dissuade So from fulfilling his destiny. I can see why that’s changed now, but that doesn’t mean that she should be the one helping history along by suggesting that So should become king. What does she want to happen?
At least So’s trying, and in an hour so full of doom and gloom, that counts for a lot. Right now I’ve got all my hopes pinned on him, though it’s interesting to note how his father’s opinion has changed in such a short while. Then again, King Taejo seemed to be much more open to a lot of things, considering that he realized that Su was a time traveler. If he’d figured this out about her before and knew that it would’ve made Court Lady Oh happy for him to treat her as a daughter, why did that change now, after a year of hard labor? Was it really just that one cup of tea? More than ever, that would’ve been a scene to hear Su say something. Anything. Or for her to even realize that Astronomer Choi may know more than he’s letting on, and that he could be her ticket out of her misery. But that’d mean she’d have to want something first. So c’mon, Su. You’re from the future. Act like it.
RELATED POSTS
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- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 7
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Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
Hello Dramabeans series
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101 FiyaShady
October 3, 2016 at 10:09 PM
I read that this drama was directed and produced by Kim Kyu Tae who is famous for many drama (Iris, It's Ok Its Love, TWTWB,etc.)
How come it has so different feeling? Because of the script? With 8eps left, there are pretty much loopholes in this drama. Watching this bcoz of HaNeul and Joo Hyuk; LJK is huge bonus...but this drama looks underrated with less appealing way of directing. IOIL is so good but whammm, this one doesn't satisfy me to the fullest.
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Nayour
October 4, 2016 at 3:36 AM
The way I'm seeing it is that he's trying too hard to force his own directing style onto a narrative that clearly doesn't fit it. Sure we have some beautifully shot scenes, but the framing in most seems off. Editing seems to be a problem as well but let's not get into that.
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Kiara
October 4, 2016 at 8:57 AM
Not everyone can do sageuk. He is better off staying the heck away from the genre.
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102 banini
October 3, 2016 at 10:17 PM
Question: When Hae Su told So "Don't throw yourself away for me" (not sure if in voiceover or not, I forgot), what does she mean?
1- Don't change your current mindset of not aiming for the throne just to save me?
Or
2 - Don't throw away your potential of being king by running away from the palace with me?
Which one? Initially she was afraid of him being king but now she seems to acknowledge his potential of being a worthy king?
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 12:04 AM
She means both, banini. She doesn't want him to do ANYTHING because of her. She wants him to forget her. Because she thinks if she influences him in any way, it will lead to him killing his brothers. She thinks she is responsible for setting him on track to become Gwangjong the tyrant (who wasn't such a tyrant as she seems to think).
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Money
October 4, 2016 at 4:29 AM
I see it in a different light. She wants him to lead a happy and peaceful life that she thinks he won't be able to attain if he kept on associating himself with her. She's a mere water maid. The lowest prey in the palace food chain. There's scandal to her name. People associate her with bad luck. The two factors you mentioned played a part in it too, but I think she just didn't want him to get into trouble because of her.
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103 endo
October 3, 2016 at 10:34 PM
Out of topic: Whenever i saw LJG. I always remember that morning when my husband show me LJG's instagram post:
https://youtu.be/_iBvFCN1iB4
You see, that's my neighborhood. I also jog there and stroll on those shops and view sunset in that ocean. So imagine my shock when i saw this and i didn't see him? The one guy i've been obsessing about all those years? ?
I actually cried and my husband was making fun of me until now. ????
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Moonlightmys2
October 4, 2016 at 12:43 AM
so I guess you live in Hawaii? So cool :) I think LJG took that when he was doing photoshoot in Hawaii a few months ago.
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Money
October 4, 2016 at 4:30 AM
Your husband is a fun and loving one! ^-^
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endo
October 4, 2016 at 10:55 AM
Yes. i'm from Hawaii. He did a photoshoot on our island so all those photos we're from our town. Good thing i was not there when he did it. I may have scared him with all the stalking i''ll do. Haha!
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104 SpringPearl
October 3, 2016 at 10:37 PM
So please go marry Yeon Hwa and become the king. She truly loves u. Soo just doesn't deserve u.
That said I love the character of YH atleast till now. She is so smart and is not pure evil. She is doing everything for survival and respect. She is in no sense like the Queen. Infact So and YH r the only two characters whose motives I can understand.
This show just ruined the OTP for me ?
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Jamie Opso
October 4, 2016 at 5:46 AM
"So please go marry Yeon Hwa and become the king. She truly loves u."
Hmmm, I don't know. I think Yeon Hwa has a soft spot for Wang So, but there is a reason she hasn't gone to him before now: she has been keeping her strategic options open, and keeping both Wang So and Wang Yo dangling as potential partners. She's been playing them against each other for a long time now as potential suitors/kings.
Yeon Hwa is only going to Wang So now, I think, because she sees Wook will essentially use her as a bargaining chip/hostage with Yo, which she thinks is the worse option for her. (Agreed: Yo is very dangerous to her and everyone around him.) I think she would not hesitate to cut Wang So loose if it worked to her advantage.
Yeon Hwa, like Wook, will never let her romantic affections get in the way of her ambitions or position. Like their father, the king, they both will discard whoever disadvantages them. It's just that Wook feels worse about it.
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105 LYF
October 3, 2016 at 10:48 PM
I think the show would benefit a lot from adding Hae-soo voiceovers. Anything to let us get into her head more, and hear her thoughts.
So/Soo really needs to pick up now or it's never, except I can't think of a possible situation where Soo will realise she has feelings for him and confront them. He's already sacrificed his life for her, proposed to her (in addition to offering a divorce if she doesn't like him), stayed faithful to her despite the time skip..... Boy has already done everything there is to be done, I don't know what else will make this girl wake up and realise he's more than a friend to her.
And just a side note, I love that Soo is limping now. It emphasises how traumatic ep 11's ordeal was for her as well as reflects her current emotional state.... Something broke, and nope, it's never going to be fixed. Looks like it'll be a while before we can see this girl smile wholeheartedly or go all mouthy on the princes again, if at all.
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chocopieb
October 4, 2016 at 1:08 AM
Yes we need to know more of haesoo's thought process.. Idk if they deliberately remove it to make us second guess every single thing happening or theyre just too lazy ugh
Also that limping.. Im veery veeeery uncomfortable with it, seeing her limp makes me imagine the torture she had undergone and it made me go eery. Just seeing her walk scares me. In addition haesoo's tiny build makes her look even more fragile that everytime she moves im scared she'll collapse >__<
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106 Nippa
October 3, 2016 at 11:01 PM
Is it the same storyline as the bubu jing xin?? Or is it different??
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gem28
October 4, 2016 at 12:03 AM
This is nothing like C BBJX, Rouxi had a backbone, she was smart and she refused to obey even the Emperor and always was true to her choice be it whatever. 8th was ambitious but had dignity, 4th was ambitious and cruel but had his principles, 13 was wonderful, 14th was a sweetheart and a great guy, 10th wasn't so silly. Oh, and Kangxi was a just emperor, he wasn't afraid of some crazy concubine and ignore all else in her favor. He was a Emperor who ruled with an iron fist yet was a loving, fair father. So, no this is nothing like the C version and they have butchered every character and made a mockery out of them.
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Sojuboy
October 4, 2016 at 5:37 PM
The whole crap is turning into absolute garbage. It's not even funny anymore.
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Tara
October 5, 2016 at 12:32 AM
Hear, hear.
I thought the differences between the two versions acceptable and even refreshing at times, but it seems to have a serious identity crisis. The point when characters and plot stop making sense, the point when one goes from reading between the lines to making up stupid theories to fill in the holes, and the point one realise it's more than halfway through the show....it's a lost cause.
What's most frustrating though is its not the acting that's at fault.
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LYF
October 4, 2016 at 1:08 AM
Officially it's an adaptation of the novel. Personally I think it's more of a reimagining of the original story, with lots of deviations and liberties taken with the source material, but keeping the main plot points the same (e.g. female lead falls in love with 8th then 4th, battle amongst princes for the throne, female lead works as a court lady before being a servant washing clothes). And as Gem already pointed out, the characters here are very different from BBJX, with different motivations etc, so overall the story feels familiar but different.
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pebble
October 4, 2016 at 4:01 AM
Start of every ep has this disclaimer "this drama has taken a creative license to history", if they were taking a creative license to history for a story with famous historical figures as characters, of course they would obviously not faithfully follow the original novel too. Bits and pieces from history got blended up with bits and pieces from BBJX into a hotchpotch. I think they hoped to spice things up a bit, but no matter how seemingly perfect the recipe might be, or even with top grade ingredients (LJK), the avant garde chef over experimented with flavors meddling. The end result looked like a nicely presented and well plated dish with an alluring aroma, but was hard to swallow and leaving a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.
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suegarbaby
October 4, 2016 at 6:24 AM
Interesting analogy! So would you be re-visiting this restaurant again?
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Sam
October 4, 2016 at 9:08 AM
This drama is an adaptation of the book NOT a remake of the c-version.
This is nothing like the c-version. I have seen both, k version is miles away better than the c-version. The latter is just too draggy.
Actor of Moon Lovers are alot better than its counterpart. Even Wang Eun who were heavily criticised was better than the c version where the 10th prince could be as idiot in that version. Unlike Wang Eun whom was only portrayed as childish.
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gem28
October 4, 2016 at 11:53 AM
What book have you read and what C version did you watch?? I distinctly remember 10th having his own set of goal despite having the most innocence in the C version whereas 10th is portrayed as a petulant child in the Korean version. I am genuinely asking. The inaccurate and poor excuse of following or adapting the book not the drama was legitimate when we were like 4-5 episodes in the drama, its been 11 episodes so that doesn't count anymore.
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Sam
October 4, 2016 at 12:29 PM
To each his own. You may like the c-version but to me it's not appealing at all. That's probably, I have watched the k-version and I have certain expectations. For me, the korean actors are far superior. Sorry if you find the 10th prince in the c-version to be someone with a clear goals but to me, well he may have but to me the character was portrayed like an idiot in the c-version. I'd rather choose the petulant child than the idiot.
To me, the production is a lot better. The flow in the c version is too slow. I don't mean to offend anyone but K-version is better in every form.
Moon Lovers is an adaptation, so it keeps certain elements but does not mean it has to follow exactly what's in the book. I love it just how it is depicting the Goryeo dynasty.
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Hye Mi
October 4, 2016 at 12:42 PM
I suggest you re-read the novel and re-watch the C-drama before making your argument.
The K-version is more an adaptation of the drama than the book itself. You need proof?
1- In the novel, RX never attempted to go back to the present. The idea of the heroine trying to go back to the present (& meet 4th prince) is taken from the drama.
2- In the novel, RX met 4th prince the first time at the birthday party for 10th at 8th's mansion. The meeting between the heroine and the hero on the street when the hero is on horseback and when he almost runs over her is taken from the drama.
3- RX is the only one who time-travelled to the past in the novel. There is no other time-traveller or doppelganger of any person in modern time. Both the idea of a doppelganger and the heroine's running after him, which led to her bumping into the hero is also taken from the drama.
4- The hero's shielding the heroine from the rain in the rain scene was, as a commentor (Bwear, I believe) clarified, Nicky Wu's ad lib in the drama. It was not from the novel that this action was taken.
You are entitled to think the cast in ML is better. To me, they can never outshine their Chinese counterparts. Their characters pale in comparison to the original source characters, and the acting of most of the younger princes and side characters leaves much to be desired. I give due credit to LJK, KHN and IU, though I like the characters in the novels much better. One can say LJK is a better actor than NW, which I'd rather not compare, because their characters are at two different ends of the spectrum, with one cold, secretive, intelligent, scheming, measured and composed, while the other outwardly intense, fiery and skilled in martial arts. I rank IU as equal to LSS, as I cringed at both's cutesy antics and was deeply touched by their haunting sadness and void of life and will in the later part of their journey. I must admit being shallow here because I like KHN's look better than Kevin, but if one forgets about look and focuses on emotional portrayal, Kevin is no less powerful in conveying his despair and loss.
And no, the C-version doesn't have problematic editting, directing and storytelling choices, so the conclusion that the K-version is miles better is questionable at best. At least in the C-version relationships do not develop off-screen, leaving fans to fill in the gaps with speculation & assumption themselves. That is a fact that even one who does not like C-BBJX cannot refute.
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Sam
October 4, 2016 at 1:25 PM
The c-version's discussion should just be kept in the c-version thread. For me there is no comparison as I am watching these dramas like two different drama. Both may have some similar elements but totally different. But If you insist on the comparison, for me hands-down, k-version is the better adaptation.
I also don't understand those so called critic about zoom shots, editing...I wonders if these people are film experts. To me, this drama is one of the best korean dramas I have watched.
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Hye Mi
October 4, 2016 at 1:55 PM
I beg to differ. This is the adaptation of BBJX, and it bears many resemblances in in both details and iconic scenes to the C-drama, so discussion of the C-version is inevitable. Adapting a work is subjecting the adaptation to comparison. If ML doesn't want to be compared to its C-counterpart, how about not cherry-picking details exclusive to the C-version first itself? Because, after all, they secured the rights to adapt the novel, not the drama (and the C-drama's screenwriter is not the original author, Tong Hua, so basically they have no rights to using original details from the C-drama at all).
And no, I am not the one to initiate the comparison in this thread, I merely responded to your comparison between the K- and C-versions.
Re. the criticism: One does not have to be experts in related fields to appreciate or criticise editting, directing or writing decisions. It's like saying other people cannot say a woman is ugly if the commentors are not of extraordinary beauty themselves, or ordinary customers cannot criticise a dish in a restaurant because they are not qualified cooks. As long as you have abundant experience to a certain field, notice and internalise its rules, you can write valid criticisms as your knowledge allows. Not to mention I have come across two people on soompi who work in the field of film making who also commented on some bad editting choices in ML. Whether or not you're going to disregard these people as adopting fake identities, my argument still stands that you don't need to be qualified experts to give criticism. You cannot shut down people's opinions just because they don't have a degree in film-making. Knowledge matters, and knowledge on directing, editting, screen-writing and acting can be gained through lots of watching experience, critical appreciation and extensive reading combined.
Sam
October 4, 2016 at 2:26 PM
I am sorry but I would insist Moon Lovers is one of the best korean drama I have watched. I know it's flawed so as all other dramas and movies. Moon Lovers is truly engaging. I started watching this drama unaware of its background. This is even my first Lee Joon Gi's drama and btw he captivated my heart thru this drama from his first appearance in the 1st episode. Prince Wang So is just one of the well portrayed characters in kdrama love.
Seriously, I don't see the point of discussing c-version in the Moon Lovers as they are totally different dramas. I don't mean to shut anyone down but I just feel it's unfair for Moon Lovers not to be appreciated as it is because of some pointless comparison. I have watched the c-version out of curiosity but Moon Lovers is superior in every aspect. C-version is just too slow and draggy in comparison. I am not saying c-version is totally bad but Moon Lovers is miles better.
Hye Mi
October 4, 2016 at 3:11 PM
@Sam: Didn't I say you're entitled to your opinion? In my comment above I didn't say that ML should not be one of your best K-dramas. You're free to enjoy it as much as you like. I was merely refuting your argument that ML is better in every front. Off-screen relationship development is a flaw of this drama that is not experienced in the C-version, so at least in this respect ML is not better.
You may not want to discuss C-BBJX, but since ML is an adaptation, BBJX will pop up in the discussion so what does one do about it? Why is it okay for comments such as 'In the original, 4th doesn't make full appearance until episode x' or '9th will also have his own love line in the original' to go unchallenged, but it's a taboo to point out the details that ML have cherry-picked from its C-counterpart, or to compare other aspects such as characterisation, pacing, plot development or acting between the two? And why do some ML fans drag C-BBJX in to explain away the slow plot/ romance development of ML, but would reject any resemblance between the two shows and declare they are 'totally different' whenever the comparison risks placing ML in a bad light? And no, they are not 'totally different', no matter how some ML fans want to argue for it. If ML was really 'totally different', it wouldn't have adapted BBJX in the first place. It wouldn't share highly similar story line, number of princes and their general loveline, and wouldn't cherry-pick details from the C-drama. If ML was really 'totally different', it should have been completely original in its take of the story from the get go. It chose this path, and by doing so it subjected itself to comparison. If one chooses to watch ML without any comparison to C-BBJX, that is one's decision and right, but it doesn't give them the right to dictate others to do the same. One can still make comparisons and appreciate each drama for their own merits at the same time. And re. your good will at wanting one to appreciate ML without comparison to C-BBJX: most fans of ML here do not thoroughly enjoy ML because of its own blunders rather than because they are comparing ML to C-BBJX, so you don't have to feel any injustice done to ML because of BBJX. The ones don't enjoy ML as much as C-BBJX and make the comparisons are far fewer in number than the die-hard ML fans here who complain about the faults made by ML production team themselves.
Sam
October 4, 2016 at 3:30 PM
If you don't like this drama why would you waste your time writing long negative comments. If you prefer the other version, why don't you post your appreciation in its thread than exhaust yourself with too much negativity.
I want to irrirate, this drama is one of the best kdramas I've seen. I am sure many people share the same sentiment.
Hye Mi
October 4, 2016 at 4:09 PM
@Sam: I'm not spreading negativity. I'm merely refuting your arguments. I repeat: I don't meddle with your preference of ML. I'm here to argue against your opinions/ implications that:
1- ML is nothing like C-BBJX.
2- ML is better than C-BBJX in every front.
3- If one is not expert in film-making, why do they criticise the editting, directing, or filming of ML?
4- ML and C-BBJX are totally different dramas.
5- If one compares the two shows, they can't appreciate ML, so one should not bring C-BBJX to the discussion.
My points are:
1- The two shows are not completely different.
2- ML is better than C-BBJX in certain aspects, but not in every front.
3- One does not need to be qualified to give valid criticisms. One only needs knowledge, and knowledge about film-making does not exclusively come from formal training/ courses.
4- One is free to appreciate ML however they like, but this doesn't give them the right to tell others to imitate their own approach of appreciating a show.
Whether or not I prefer C-BBJX is irrelevant to this debate. I'm here to argue that every viewer should be allowed to voice their own opinions of a show, whether it is positive or negative, as long as they keep it civil. I also challenge the practice of dragging C-BBJX to explain away ML's flaws, but reject its relevance when comparison to C-BBJX makes ML appear in a bad light. Please don't mask your lack of arguments or your unwillingness to refute by fixing on my preferences, as it has nothing to do with this discussion. And I will stay and comment whatever I want, because I'm still staying within the rules and on equal stand with everyone here, so no one has the right to tell me to post in another thread.
Sam
October 4, 2016 at 5:35 PM
I don't think an argument the two dramas is necessary. Moon Lover is a good drama as it is. As I always, it's one of the best kdramas ever produced. You may repute my statement but that's how I feel about this drama. I have never felt too engaged to a drama before like I am for Moon Lovers. It is flawed, well that is true, so as all dramas and movies.
This drama is way better than it's counterpart. I dont need to elaborate the comparison because I dont' think it is necessary.
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Hye Mi
October 4, 2016 at 6:59 PM
*sigh* You can't seem to distinguish between your preference and your overgeneralisation. This is the third and last time I repeat what I said: I don't challenge your considering ML one of the best Kdramas you've seen, so there is no need to reiterate it time and again because it is not relevant to my argument. I question only your overgeneralisation and argue for the right to freely express one's opinion.
If you don't want to make comparisons or criticise the editing of ML, that's your choice. If others people want to make comparisons or criticism, that's their choice. Others' choice to speak their mind, especially in a civil way, should not be shut down just because you don't think it's necessary.
My bottom line: when I say comparison is inevitable, I don't mean to say 'Dear Sam, I think you have to make comparison'. Instead, what I want to say is:' Dear Sam, if others make comparisons, please let them.' Whatever your opinion of comparisons is, it should not be expected that others should feel and do the same.
I hope I have made my point across this time. It's fine if you don't want to elaborate on your opinion. Actually, now I'd probably prefer that solution too.
Lea
October 4, 2016 at 10:21 PM
You haven't really watched C-BBJX, have you?? You have yet to point out one point to actually support your argument. We have all made specific points but you are sticking to gross generalization, that could only mean that you really did not watch the actual version or read the book. Am I right??
107 silentbeluga
October 3, 2016 at 11:01 PM
I think it’s interesting how this show has positioned both So and Wook in very similar positions but really had them diverge in terms of actions.
When it came to the poisoning, they both had close family members who were involved (So’s mother and Wook’s sister) and neither of them was willing to throw them under the bus. So relied on Wook to expose his mother, unaware that Yeonwha was involved as well and that therefore, by the same logic that made So unable to expose his mother, Wook’s hands were tied. So made a big show of trying to save Su, which was ultimately useless since Astronomer Choi showed up with a royal order, and Wook made a big show of being useless even though the fact that he went to see Lady Court Oh is indirectly the cause of Su’s salvation. There’s a nice parallel between the two men’s situations, their thirst for the throne and their love of Hae Su and I really appreciate that it’s personality that sets them apart. So declared Su his whereas Wook always considered that she wasn’t his to claim, leading So to step in the rain and Wook to walk away. Gotta give it to the script, structurally, it holds up.
But as much as I love the set-up for conflict, now would really be a good time for Su to step up to the plate and start, I don’t know, doing stuff?
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charie
October 4, 2016 at 2:26 AM
+1
This comment is so refreshing. We find So and Wook having the same motivation --- protect Su. The difference in both lies in their methods which boil down to, as you said, their personalities. And thinking about your comment, I find that no one is above the other when it comes to loving Su because both are trying to find ways to protect Su the way they know how.
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Flightey Gazelles
October 4, 2016 at 6:11 AM
Nice analysis!! I love the parallels you drew.
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108 Leavy
October 3, 2016 at 11:23 PM
I think that Soo behaviour is quite consistent with that of Go Ha Jin back to 21th century. Look, she trusted everyone and was enthusiastic about making people happy solving their cosmetic problems. In the end, she was betrayed by BF and best friend, got into financial troubles, and what she did? She runs away, drinks soju and dreams about falling into never ending sleep... that's pretty the same what Soo is doing right now, isn't it? So there's no point of her being girl from future, that's her personality ?
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Aichan
October 4, 2016 at 1:02 AM
Point on! ? that's her personality! --> i totally agree with u: 21st century girl is not always strong and brave.who could easily jump in politics and walk with all the privilage. (i mean..who exactly can remember our own country history and when travel back in time can really make changes out of it?)
She's that naive girl from the first place which can be cheated and tricked by closest person (her bf and friend cheated on her and leave her with amount of debts)
What makes me wonder is the odds that she have beauty licences and the next future king need BB cream ? and Ji mong travel to the future to find her.
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109 NatsuDragneel
October 3, 2016 at 11:26 PM
I am literally crying right now with Baek Hae, don't care about Wook. I seriously just want more of the 10th prince and his adorable wife scenes. The 3rd prince just got even hotter in this 1 year. Shouldn't they have relocated her to a further place, she is literally right next to the palace still. Will she be limping forever? its been a year already.
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chocopieb
October 4, 2016 at 1:12 AM
Lol me too.. I dont mind watching more of the other princes. At least they do something in their 2-3 mins of appearance.
Then we have some others who spend 10 mins repeating the same words from one ep to another... Yes we know you wanna save the girl, yes we know you dont have the capabilities yet. Then please get up there and do something before making yet another promise....
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wheatmill
October 4, 2016 at 7:34 AM
This episode is so discouraging. I have the same feeling too. Can I have more of 10th prince? I never believe that I will be saying this as previously I want to skip the scene whenerver the 10th prince appear.
Su is just so damn frustrating. It has been a year! Can't she figure out what she wants to do with her life? Does Lady Oh scarifice means nothing to her? Wake up girl!!! Is this how you want your life to be in Goryeo?
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Jan
October 4, 2016 at 2:08 AM
Will she be limping forever? I think that it is likely because the torture probably included breaking or damaging the bones in her leg, and I don't think she got any medical attention or physiotherapy.
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110 rochinipark
October 3, 2016 at 11:38 PM
I agree with Heads opinion, there must have been another editor at helm of this episode. Most scenes did not flow with each other and they want viewers to just fill in the blanks. Example,Su and Woo Hee talking like they known each other awhile and understanding each other due to the scars on their wrist. There should have been somekind of flashback here.
And the Prince Eun scene felt so out of place even if it was to highlight the father meeting the daughter.
The time traveler here seems more realistic as she is an adult and realistically,how many of us would be able to remember history right out of our head unless we are history buffs. I feel so sad for her and if I did not know this was from a novel I would wish she returns to the future.
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111 altruysm
October 3, 2016 at 11:45 PM
I do agree that Su should have a tad bit more desire. I understand all the hardships she has gone through and caused herself, but with a year time gap maybe have some new ambition. She had so much of it early on which led her to becoming who she is now - perhaps one reason she is so actively avoiding it now - but for the character's sake I wish the viewers had something more to grasp on her rather than her waiting to be saved by someone (even though she tries to admit she doesn't want it, it kinda feels like that is where this show is headed)
I don't really know IF Su could start to regain her characteristics that made everyone love her in the beginning, but that earlier self seemed like the person to help out what is kind of happening now (So and Wook and such)
Also, BAEK AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
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112 SHQA
October 3, 2016 at 11:46 PM
I usually do not pay much attention to the dialog in K-dramas, but some of the subtitles jumped off the screen today. Episode 12 was rife with BS.
#1 Yeon Hwa's "I am a girl too. I have loved you for a long time" BS proposal to Wang So.
#2 Wang Wook's "I longed for you every moment" BS declaration, while still stalking Hae Soo.
#3 Hae Soo's "Are you trying to kill me?" BS question to Wang So.
#4 Wang Wook's "She was put in danger, all because of you" BS accusation to Wang So.
#5 The King's “If Court Lady Oh called you her daughter, then you are a daughter to me” BS reassurance to Hae Soo.
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lolalarue
October 4, 2016 at 12:08 AM
+1.
I guess the show has done at least something right in making us care about it enough to be pissed at what's happening on the screen.
When I heard the King had said that, I was just like ... um what now? This man and his rotten brood of children. The only ones that were either not raised by him (So) or from families that are weak politically (Baek Ah, Moo). Jung, well he's still a little too coddled to make predictions.
I wish YH didn't have that sneering countenance, I actually admire her scheming except for the smirking/sneering face and voice. But honestly I could watch Queen SMS and Yeon Hwa battle for the throne using the boys as their chess pieces (except for So), they're quite entertaining.
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lolalarue
October 4, 2016 at 12:09 AM
Meant to say, the only ones that are okay.
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Flightey Gazelles
October 4, 2016 at 6:15 AM
' This man and his rotten brood of children' lol!!
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swati
October 4, 2016 at 3:14 AM
Totally.. I specially hated the whole Wook-Su relation drama... I really thought they were over.
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Jamie Opso
October 4, 2016 at 5:53 AM
Yes! The cognitive dissonance of all these BS statements was making my head spin in this episode.
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113 junah
October 3, 2016 at 11:48 PM
Watching last night episode was frustrating, and I am afraid it will be even more frustrating towards the end. they have serious problem with the timeline. Ep 11 should have been ended with Su leaves the palaces, instead of making it in the first five minutes. new eps 12 can start with a big leap to 1 year. for me it will much more sense and not rushing viewer emotion. we're still mourn, production people!!
ep 12 storyline has so much potential, but unfortunately lack in development of background and character introduction. that baek-ah girl ( i dont even remember her name), is not very convincing (both act and the character itself). I don't know why the writer needs her to be somehow related with Su, and to make such a messy bounding between the two last night. even with baek-ah, the relationship is not believing. if you want to use her to kills some character, leave her as stranger unless she has more important role in the future. otherwise, make it believable, esp. her anger toward the king.
in romance department, urrghh..i know i hate wook because of last eps, but the scene on the river just heartbreaking, and can not help but remember how sweet their relationship before. I like what the writers doing here, again. instead of making scene where Suu could easily shows her anger and disappointment, they made her says "i miss you" first. maybe it looks like she's stupid for lingering in hopeless relationship, but it's actually some strong statement to belittle your counterpart and showing that you are a bigger person in here. some people say, it was not clean cut. i think it was. It's been a year. it makes sense HS already past her anger and is looking for some closure, some peaceful feeling. that's why instead of asking "why" she chose "have you ever missed me?". i get that. sometimes you want to understand that the reason why you need to break up is not because change of your partner feeling, but it just happen to be "sometimes-love-is-ain't-enough" situation. and when we Wook replied "every day every second", HS gets her closure. this is good break up scene. beautifully done.
i wish HS will have more role on the game of throne rather than just an observer like what the king wants her to be. I can't wait how they're going to wrap up the story. but i am begin to worry each episode, worry if it will be poorly executed. urrghhhh.....this is frustrating.
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114 Ruby
October 3, 2016 at 11:49 PM
This is just my two cents on this addicting yet flawed show.
Like other viewers, I am getting tired of waiting for the romance to pick up between So and Soo. There are times I want to bitch slap some sense into the heroine and kick Wook's ass. He is like the on-again on-again boyfriend who keeps stringing you along for his own needs.
However, I think folks do need to cut Soo some slack. She is a regular working girl thrust into an era where one plotted and killed others to survive. She is not a history buff, she couldn't read or write the language, she's naive and gullible.
Her life takes a turn for the worse when she enters the palace. She is not equipped to survive that poison pit. She has lost allies, friends and a lover. She went from a lady to a washerwoman. She is physically and emotionally broken.
The spunky sassy time traveller we glimpsed in the beginning has been chewed up and spit out by the fates. And even if she decides to be with So, she cannot be his queen. She is scarred, she is an orphan, she has low status and she has no money. Her future with him will be as a concubine. His own Court Lady Oh, so to speak.
History has been written already. So will be king and his queen will be his half sister.
I think Soo is just the catalyst needed to bring about the bloody succession fights. Her interactions and her relationships with certain characters have repercussions.
She is needed for So to become the king.
If I were her, I'd embrace that role. If I'm supposed to be fate's pawn then so be it.
I'd grab me some 4th Prince ass then scheme our way to the throne.
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Jamie Opso
October 4, 2016 at 5:58 AM
I agree with everything you say except maybe:
"If I were her, I’d embrace that role. If I’m supposed to be fate’s pawn then so be it.
I’d grab me some 4th Prince ass then scheme our way to the throne."
It doesn't seem to me like this is within her personality capabilities at all, to be an ambitious, ruthless schemer--especially as broken as she is. It will be interesting to see if the show manages to pull this off and make it a believable twist!
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Ruby
October 4, 2016 at 7:01 AM
You're right. Soo isn't the scheming type. But she does have a will to live.
She needs to decide if she's just going to exist on the margins of palace life or walk the path at So's side like Court Lady Oh did with the king.
She doesn't have a lot of options to be honest.
And if the 13th Prince is dead, I think So will further be determined to keep her by his side. I think the Wolf Dog is going to lose it if she leaves or dies or keep rejecting him.
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Jamie Opso
October 4, 2016 at 12:16 PM
Yes, agreed, in order for there to be a story, *something* has to happen--Hae Soo will need to act (whether she's forced into it, like Wook, or not).
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115 Ruby
October 3, 2016 at 11:51 PM
Sorry. I meant to say Wook is like an on-again off-again boyfriend.
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116 SoSoo
October 3, 2016 at 11:55 PM
Gosh ! this episode is really killing me ! Seriously Hae Soo didn't even realize that WW has changed? Only in episode 13 you would say that he has changed?? why is it so late? I seriously thought this episode is going to be SoSoo's sweetest moment together. But I have to wait more *sigh* . On a side note, I do think the king will say something to either So or Soo before he dies. And I do think Ji Mong is plotting to make Soo could enter the palace again in order to help Wang So become king. I do hope it is all about only Wang So after this ,, please no more heartbreaking moment PDnim..
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117 Alcircee
October 3, 2016 at 11:58 PM
Honest to God, if Baek Ah dies, I will riot.
The single character that seems to be thoroughly unattached to the palace and has a bit of autonomy over his life and they just had to shish kabob the dude. I mean, was that really necessary?
Seriously though, it feels like the drama has taken a sharp and dramatic dark turn. Soo's lost all remnants of the positive modern girl she started off as (can we blame her? that girls literally been through the 9 circles of hell and back and she came out with just a limp) and plus with the absence of the 10th Prince (bless his innocent soul), it feels like the drama has lost a bit of the much needed spunk it had. It's such a shift from the somewhat lighthearted beginning they set us up with at the onset of the drama. Like damn Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore girl and not even your red shoes can bring us back to happier times at this point. We've crawled so deep into the throne battle narrative, I really can't see this ending well at all (for our heroine at least).
Also, just a thought that I've been having frequently: I wonder if she were to die again, Soo that is, would she be sent back to modern times? Or would she die indefinitely? It would add a nice twist, I think.
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118 lunatic4kd
October 3, 2016 at 11:59 PM
Well, gosh, this episode was so disjointed I got distracted from the mission of trying to keep the narrative straight. That last bit, though, was delightful with So facing Wook and then the preview of them fighting as they each want to be king. All I could do was smile and think of these two adorable goofballs on Running Man playing with each other; Lee Jun Ki staying wonderfully in role while he ran around and Kang Ha Neul just giggling the whole time. I love these guys. It totally makes up for the total failure of the suspension of my disbelief in this drama. I do love the cinematography though and the magnificence of episode 11 shall blaze through my memory like the shooting star it was.
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119 lolalarue
October 4, 2016 at 12:03 AM
I think I'm going to stick with recaps and reviews until the plot moves on from Soo/Wook properly. Soo's 'love' for Wook is actually making me angry. I scoffed at the descriptions and gifs of Wook crying in her bedroom (yuck). Do the right thing and properly break up with her already. I hope other poster's are right and it's Soo's shield to keep away from So (because he's going to be King so she can't be with him) but ugh. I just can't deal anymore.
I'm also really frustrated that all the romantic clips/spoilers that I've seen that made me so pumped about the romance of the show have actually been while only one side of the couple is interested! COME ON!
Now I'm interested in the fight for the throne but I keep getting stuck watching Soo look miserable (newsflash - I don't care anymore).
In other news, as disappointing as future Soo is, if I were in her place I'd be much worse off (think dead) by now. So even if she's no Ruoxi, at least she's managed to survive until now.
Can I also say, I really don't like the way they keep bringing in BBJX plot points when they don't work for the relationships built up on this show. Namely tea making for the King (um when did that ever happen before?). If it's a pretext to get Soo to see him (which I'm sure it is), could it not have been a little more organic? Ruoxi had built a close relationship with the King (as his tea lady among other things) so when she went back to make him food for his deteriorating health it made sense! Why couldn't they just do something original. Why would he know what her tea tastes like? Gah.
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michyeosseo
October 4, 2016 at 12:53 AM
The tea-making annoyed me for reasons that Taejo at this point is not entitled to that, NOT AT ALL. And it wasn't her tea he recognized, but Court Lady Oh's specific brew which she taught to Soo in one of the episodes where they had the talk about people in relation to will in changing others.
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Jan
October 4, 2016 at 2:26 AM
The king's tea lady is Lady Oh, and Soo is her assistant cum disciple. Since Lady Oh is dead, only Soo can make that special brew of tea for him. In fact, Soo is in charge of making tea for the princes.
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120 halfmoon
October 4, 2016 at 12:05 AM
Soo to Wook : “Did you miss me? Even once? Has there been a time when you missed me?”
So to Soo : "I missed you"
Sigh. That says it all.
Now that we have 8 episodes left, I wonder where the writer is wanting to bring our OTP to. Is Soo finally going to warm up to So? One minute she was terrified of the idea of him being the next King (was she about to convince him not to seek the throne?). The next minute, she wants out of his life so he can remain and I guess, fulfill his destiny. Granted, a lot has happened that could have completely changed her...
I don't have anything against the belief in reincarnation. But I just don't want Show to make Soo realize she's madly in love with So when it's too late, have her leave or sacrifice herself by returning to the future (or present times), have So become King, married to his half sister and longing for his true love, then reincarnate in modern times to finally be with Soo. I wish So, not his reincarnated soul, to be with her. Come on, Show, I'm expecting better upcoming episodes!
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halfmoon
October 4, 2016 at 12:11 AM
Also, when is So going to find out that Soo is from the future? And what is really Soo's purpose? The show could have written a character who could read the future as well. I just feel the fact that Soo is from the future has been under utilized.
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121 Starfall
October 4, 2016 at 12:08 AM
Wtf with the king suddenly looking at Su as his daughter too. Like thanks, but too late. All I could think of is that he's had time to think and is now all sentimental over Lady Oh so now he's trying to cling to memories she had left.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 12:22 AM
Yeah, that came right out of left field.
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122 Starfall
October 4, 2016 at 12:08 AM
Also, Yo's eyeliner is...winged? The more evil he gets, the fancier his eyeliner becomes smh
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Ruby
October 4, 2016 at 12:17 AM
Not only that, he is sporting eyeshadow too in this episodes. You know shit is about to hit the fan soon.
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HD
October 4, 2016 at 12:34 AM
Haha your comment reminds me of the scene before the final showdown between gil tae mi and ddang sae in Six Flying Dragons..when gil tae mi takes his own time to apply the blue eyeshadow.
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Andy Pandy
October 4, 2016 at 12:59 AM
He was upset that everyone could only keep talking about So's BB cream that he felt it was necessary to step up his makeup game, lol.
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Leavy
October 4, 2016 at 1:16 AM
And nice lipstick hahaha
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Jamie Opso
October 4, 2016 at 6:01 AM
He's rocking it, though! ;)
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jomo143
October 4, 2016 at 6:16 AM
OMG, the cat eyes!!
But it looks awesome. Bet the other Princes are jealous of him for a change, and Soo better watch out, too.
Someone is else in the palace got skills.
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JoyBells
October 4, 2016 at 6:34 AM
That's Yo's way of getting back in the game,war-paint and all. No way he is going to ruin his pretty face by rubbing it hotch-potch,it has to be a pair of pretty-winged eyeliner.
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harmonyfb
October 4, 2016 at 7:41 AM
The more evil he gets, the fancier his eyeliner becomes
I came of age in the early 80s - eyeliner for me is masculine as hell and twice as sexy.
Everytime Wang Yo's outlined eyes flash, my vision kind of whites out from how sexy he is. Evil, yes. But sexy.
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kumoiwa
October 4, 2016 at 9:14 AM
I LOVE his eyeliner so much though, so on point all the time. Hong Jong-hyun's eyes are the perfect shape for that tight waterline line and there's no way to describe how envious I am of him for that.
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123 Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 12:17 AM
I actually loved the episode when I watched it a second time for the SBS version with subs. Yep, the time jumps were jolting, but I found the emotions realistic, IU did a fine job with both So and Wook.
I do agree with Heads though - this was not enough Su centric. She's our main heroine, our protagonist, and we need to get back to seeing the story through her.
I love how everything is unfolding with Wook and So and would be completely happy with it if I didn't feel we were RUNNING OUT OF TIME FOR THE EPIC LOVE STORY WE WERE PROMISED.
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silentbeluga
October 4, 2016 at 12:47 AM
I agree with you. With only 8 episodes left to go, it feels like we have a smartly-woven web of political alliances and an interesting chess set but on the romance front, it's a long prelude that yet has to get into its first stanza. At this pace, I wouldn't be surprised if So lost interest before Su reciprocated ;p
Come on show, you promised me a love to (literally) defy time, how about your start delivering?
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124 Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 12:27 AM
Anyone else kind of interested in the King's ten instructions? Historically, Taejo did leave these instructions behind for his heirs, with his advice on how to consolidate and strengthen the throne at the expense of all the nobles who helped put him on it. Both Mu and Yo failed to do this, only Gwangjong succeeded.
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125 Viki
October 4, 2016 at 12:27 AM
Last week's episodes were awesome, full of emotions, and great acting...but now, I'm back to watching just for Junki. Still gripping...because of Junki.
We'll see what happens next. I guess Baek Ah is the first prince to go down? That's sad. He didn't get to do much...
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shelly
October 4, 2016 at 1:28 AM
he learned from so, lol. so loves a girl and said girl is about to be painted a traitor? so drinks the poison.
baek-ah loves a girl and said girl is about to commit treason? baek-ah steps in her path and takes the hit.
bromance at its evilest, lol.
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126 HD
October 4, 2016 at 12:29 AM
I don't get it - Didn't the editor and director have a look at the final version of this episode and realise that the flow is so disjointed from the previous one?
Sigh.. with just 8 more episodes to go I hope the show is not on a downward trajectory with ep 11 being the highlight of this series.
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127 shelly
October 4, 2016 at 12:48 AM
wook wants his cake and to it eat too. he wanted soo but now he wants the throne he'd kind of want her but not as much as the throne. he'd much rather find excuses why he can't have soo - like the king forbid it, so is to blame etc. it's not his fault for having no balls or for not loving her enough, no sir! it's someone else's fault.
the one good think in his part in this ep is the way he's ready to use the princess for his own goals - that's the only part where it's visible they didn't mend their relationship. yeonhwa is now a tool for wook to gain power with. cold but that's life.
as always, soo turned around and made it a mess. wang so was the only one to offer help and comfort by standing with her when there was nothing else to do - and what is she doing? still pining after wook and "fearing" so? he will become gwangjong, SO WHAT? instead of taking a decisive stand and either help him become a better man, or disappear completely from his life, she keeps wishy-washing-it. he won't take no for an answer if she doesn't say it like she means it. so far, it's been something like - go away, beast (that you will become), i don't wanna be friends anymore 'cause you're a prince and i'm a servant (as if she was much of anything else for a long time), but every time he pushed her a bit, she had conflicting reactions. i wish she'd just pick a fence.
so far, and for so long, this was a doomed romance between soo and wook - they'd better not have it as a doomed romance that will end in tragedy and circumvent so completely. if soo is a factor in the change of so from mostly-normal leader so into tyrant gwangjong, i'd rather it be not just because he was frustrated/rejected by her because of REASONS.
seriously, would so and wook battle it out just because of a girl?? what about their respective loyalties? so was CP's man for a while. wook was the cool-headed one (so cool he was almost frozen.) and now they're doing the jealousy dance and that leads to a change in the line of kings?? the heck.
re: baek-ah and woo-hee. the king is so old and frail, they'd better wait it out. the only thing that stands against an assassination is the succession - anyone who wants to be the next king has to politically maneuver around the CP - that's why it takes so long. as for woo-hee, she's doing it as revenge, maybe it took so long because she didn't actually get an opportunity. how many times would one want to see a sword dance anyway? see one, seen them all, lol.
but why stab baek-ah? i can see the idiot claiming he bumbled into her path, ooops. but she'd still be the one to blame for stabbing him. if she doesn't show who she is - and even then - how could she escape punishment? unless it's another make-belief, lol.
show, you'd better keep baek-ah alive or else.
as for eun, pah. the "need to be in" scene was meaningless. and i can't help but wonder... if they hadn't wasted so much time with them... how...
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shelly
October 4, 2016 at 12:55 AM
...meaningless. and i can't help but wonder... if they hadn't wasted so much time with them... how would the story flow now?
they'd have a lot more time to develop the politics and fighting and give everyone time to be evil or come save the day.
i have this sinking feeling that the first half of the story was wasted in cutesy things and that annoying stare-contest romance between wook and soo, when it could have been a set-up for the later struggles.
and as for actual scenes - anyone get the rurouni kenshin leave-taking pangs when so left for china? i was playing the departure theme in my mind, nevermind the tone they took with the separation.
those massive trees and all that green - wow, i finally loved the setting more than so's face, lol. beautiful place. i wish they'd say where they filmed that scene. maybe sometime in the very far future i might get to visit korea - that would be a place to see.
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128 doubt_no_more
October 4, 2016 at 12:53 AM
At first I cannot understand Hae Soo's action. Her flippant act regarding Wang So angered me so much, I almost wanted to break my laptop. But after giving some thoughts, I realized I might have missed something regarding certain scenes.
1. Hae So met Wang So before she leaves Damiwon, despite the king's warning not to meet any of the prince. So I asked myself, why Wang So? Why not Wang Wook? I think I am safe to assume that she already likes Wang So, but because she is loyal to Wang Wook, she doesn't know how to register that feeling.
2. Hae So looks touched, almost wanna take Wang So's hand to get married and run away from the palace. She took a moment before giving her answer, like she contemplating her chances. Sadly, the king met her before she met Wang So, which effectively rejecting Wang So's proposal, because she knows Wang So is meant to be a king.
3. She does look like she doesn't know what else to do, living in that era. But upon meeting the king, I think the king has shown/told her what she can do. It feels like the moment between Hae So and the king is to show that she can no longer run away from her destiny, no matter how much she's afraid for everyone's safety. Almost feel like, she has come to the decision, hence the question she asked at Wang So about him becoming a king.
4. I was furious when Hae So keeps rejecting Wang So's proposal. How many times already? Her actions seem like she is still hanging on Wang Wook, but her inner monologue says otherwise. She doesn't want Wang So to get hurt because of her (she feels bad when Wang So has to be sent to later Jin knowing he likes living in the palace), and she keeps worrying about him (she asked why he wore his mask again, and the nagging). Her actions and her words are so contrary, but at the end it is about about Wang So and Wang So only. So I sorta forgive her now.... That is why I think Wang So pursues her relentlessly although he keeps getting rejected and gets hurt, because he can see past her actions.
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129 alln
October 4, 2016 at 12:57 AM
Well, this episode really causes emotional toll on us, doesn’t it? I followed the live recap on Soompi, and man that was uproar on almost every comment. Some of the commenters even wrote they would give up watching. Almost every comment were bashing Soo which is completely understandable. The fact that there are only 8 episodes left for our main OTP with all those battles over throne and other couples development seems to be the source of frustration. I was mad too, I couldn’t stop cursing when I watched recordings of the drama on IG. I was so ready to throw everything on Wook-Soo’s scene
But after I watched the whole eps, w/ subtitle, on 32” TV screen, I pull back all of my resentment towards Soo.
Here I’d try to see from Soo’s perspective alone:
1. First, about Soo’s feeling towards Wook. It seems difficult to comprehend that after a year of complete abandonment, she still had feeling for him. I’d see it based on my personal XP. To me, it’s reasonable. She and Wook never had the CLEAN CUT for their relationship. He simply ignored her w/o explanation, and because she loved him deeply, she would just cook up some excuses for him. She knew well about her present status, and she could understand that one of the excuse had to be this. In fact she was even okay with how Wook treated her because she’d rather have him ignore her than risking his prince status. She still loved him, accepted his excuse, and would never resent him. I know it’s frustrating for us. We, as audience, know very well what Wook had done (and hadn’t done) to Soo, but she didn’t know. Things would be different if he broke up with her briefly, but we know that Wook would never wanna have a clean break with her. Clean cut heals faster, but Soo’s one is a jagged one, and apparently it took more than one year to heal. It took me 6 years to heal from a pretty much same condition so I can totally relate to Soo here.
Given that, I also believe that it wasn’t the same quality of love anymore. As much as she loved him and understood his excuse, she also knew that she wasn’t his priority anymore and it would be hard to keep a relationship with him. I see her question to Wook whether he ever missed her as some kind of affirmation. She needed to be sure that her love wasn’t in vain, that he really did ever love her. I’d like to think that Wook’s answer somehow provided healing for her in order to move on. They loved each other in the past, but it’s over now.
2. Soo’s feeling towards So. We have only 3 moments of So-Soo, and unfortunately, 3 rejections.
First moment in Dongji lake, it’s reasonable that she’d ask him to forget her. She was still blaming herself for Lady Oh’s death, and it hit her that So was also kinda exiled because of her. She saw how delightful So was to achieve King’s acknowledgment after the rain ceremony and it pained her to know she was the one that snatched it from him. She couldn’t stand anymore sacrifice from people she cared so much. Yes, she CARED about...
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alln
October 4, 2016 at 1:00 AM
(continued)
So. A lot. She still held dearly his feeling to Wook but obviously So created some sparks that were significant enough to threaten her loyalty and thus, she was afraid.
Second moment on the fabric drying place. This is why it’s important to WATCH this eps on a BIG SCREEN. You’d miss Soo’s tears on her eyes if you don’t. The moment she stayed still, some say it was because she felt his presence. But I think it was more like because she realized how she missed him so much, enough for her to have (what she thought) the imagination of him there. We don’t have Soo’s mindtalk here but those tears upon hearing his voice weren’t placed there for no reason. She MISSED HIM so damn much, and her reaction of him wearing that mask is enough to show how deeply she cared for him.
It was just after she was sure he was okay that reality hit her; she had to stay away from him in order for him to be safe. And ofc So would use this moment to ask her leaving the palace, and this was what triggered her to be hostile towards So. HAIL TO THE SOO’S VOICEOVERS ON SBS VERSION, because if I just watch the int version I’d think she lost her mind and didn’t deserve So at all. I think this was why people in Soompi got mad over Soo, because we lost that precious voiceovers. I want to strangle the editor who cut out the voiceovers for making Soo despicable and misunderstood. Now we understand that it was her effort to push So away, all for his own safety. Again, she CARED so much. And I believe this had nothing to do with her feeling towards Wook.
Third moment, the proposal. It’s interesting that Soo’s feeling here are mixed of guilt, temptation, realization, and obligation. So offered her the perfect way out of the palace, something she was longing for. He provided her the solution of divorce so her lack of love wasn’t a concern here. Soo felt guilty to accept So’s offer because she would be using him for benefit. But we can see she was tempted to accept, and at the same time she was still afraid of him changing for his ambition for the throne. So she was kinda challenging him when she asked whether he would leave if he became the king. I guess Soo’s expectation would be So choosing the throne over her. There was a slight anger in the way she asked him, and I can’t help but think that she already realized Wook chose throne over her and apparently she thought So would do the same. But he chose the opposite and she was astounded. I think in that moment Soo realized how So is the complete opposite of Wook and this might touch her heart in no way before. But then come the obligation King put on her, and she had to forsake her feeling and temptation to run away with So. And that way we got our hero’s 3rd rejection. All for the sake of So.
I know some people wouldn’t agree with my takes on Soo. I also don’t know why, but I can relate to her better in this eps, even better than in those previous eps. I’d say, give a chance for Soo to heal and put herself...
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alln
October 4, 2016 at 1:02 AM
(continued)
back in shape again. She might look like a purposeless cast in this episode, but girl was just doomed into the lowest point of her life and she tried to comply in her own way. Yes she was barely living. But here she finally got her purpose thanks to the King’s revelation, and I hope we will find better Soo in today’s eps.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 3:19 AM
Nicely said, Alin. I agree with you, though I do wish they had made that moment behind the sheets a bit more definitive than some tears we may or may not be able to see. I didn't see them, but I FELT them, but there wasn't enough to verify what I was feeling.
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Lover of Moon Lovers
October 4, 2016 at 3:44 AM
@alln,
Totally touched by your comment on Su's silenced tears at cloth-drying scene. I saw her tears but didn't thought deeply enough like you.
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130 Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 1:06 AM
This episode got 7.9 in the ratings. Not high but a lot better than the 5.6 a few weeks ago. It seems to have been steadily climbing since then. I know most of us have given up on the Korean ratings, preferring to privilege the international interest, where Moon Lovers is making a strong showing, but I'd still really like ML to hit 10% by the end because my own crack addiction to this drama makes me want the actors and production staff (except the editor) to know how much some of us have enjoyed it!
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131 Diana
October 4, 2016 at 1:33 AM
I actually loved this episode. While it wasn't as heartbreaking as the last, it is still a very solid one. The three scenes between Soo and So had me crying from the getgo. Anyway, the way I see it, Soo is finally letting go of Wook. That moment they had by the river was practically the end of their relationship. It wasn't romantic- just heartbreaking and tragic. Soo finally sees through his empty promises and excuses. It's only after he leaves does one tear drop fall from her eyes. Also, did anyone noticed how Soo looked so resigned and dead inside when she was speaking to him? Damn.
Compared to So and Soo's reunion, however, now THAT scene... it had me so emotional. It was such a romantic, beautiful, and absolutely heart-wrenching moment! I've seen so many comments hating on Soo for pushing So away but can't you guys see that she honestly believes she's doing the 'right thing' and that it's for his own good? SHE ACCEPTED HIS EMBRACE. That's a clear indicator of her current feelings for So, if anything. If you compare it to the back hug in episode 9 (cringes), there's an obvious difference.
It's so obvious that Soo loves So but she's in denial. What's so heartbreaking is that Soo blames herself for her predicament and she's terrified of dragging So down with her. He's already risked so much for her and she doesn't want a repeat after Lady Oh. That entire scene on the bridge had me in tears because of her inner monologue. All she ever wants is for So to be happy.. what she doesn't know that without her, he can't ever be happy. Without her, he's nothing.
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132 IvoryLight
October 4, 2016 at 1:52 AM
Haven't watched the episode yet so going slightly crazy and it looks like I'll be missing tonight's as well. *cries*
Still enjoying reading everyone's thoughts on it though so I'll know what to look out for but now will need to track down the SBS version subbed. Oy vey.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 2:49 AM
Try kissasian. I like that site because it subs the sbs version but also cause I can watch on my tablet without getting inundated with ads. Thats not the case with myasiantv, the other site I"ve seen mentioned that subs sbs.
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133 Tifa
October 4, 2016 at 2:20 AM
I don't get it. Why was Soo sucked into the Goryeo time period in the first place? Is there a point in any of this? Am I that of a dim-witted viewer? I am so confused.
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Jan
October 4, 2016 at 2:58 AM
This is purely my speculation, but I think that the past needed someone from the future who was courageous enough to risk her own life to save a stranger's, and her role is to save the younger princes from being killed by So, thus changing history from the one she remembers of Gwangjong killing all his brothers. Her test was when she dived in to save the little boy from drowning.
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Nayour
October 4, 2016 at 3:15 AM
Well so far the drama hasn't explained that expect in detail, and has merely hinted that it has something to do with her knowledge. We'll just have to wait and see I guess? I'm assuming it's so that she with her privy to the future becomes the one who makes Wang So a king, in more than just helping him gain the title but giving him the tools and drive to become one, in a sense a king-maker. Just making wild guesses here though, take it with a grain of salt.
I can tell you how it goes in the original/chinese version though. [spoiler alert for BBJX] In the original, the heroine who had knowledge of who wins the battle for the throne inadvertently becomes the catalyst for the tragic events she knows to follow. Her love for the 8th prince caused her to caution him about the 4th, which starts their rivalry. 8th's plotting against the 4th, which caused the imprisonment of 4th's most loyal brother and ally, 13th prince, and the heroine's suffering (who got punished and demoted to a washer lady), in turn spurs the 4th prince to vy for the throne so he could have power to protect those he cherished, aka 13th and our herione. Thus beginning the bloody battle. This is what I believe is called a predestined paradox.
The remake is differing significantly but I'm assuming it'll go in the same direction, making Hae Su the one who creates the future she forsees.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 3:31 AM
Yes, but what might be different in this version (I haven't seen BBJX) is that Su KNOWS she's the one creating that future, and that is what is terrifying her. That's why she wants to get as far away as possible, that's why she doesn't want So anywhere near her, that's why she describes herself as not able to die but unable to live in this history.
It's a problem because Gwangjong's role in Korean history is crucial. Besides everything else he accomplishes, he's their first emperor, declaring himself one when he shrugs off all allegiance or obeisance to any other nation. If she doesn't play her own role to make history happen as she knows it, by just being herself, telling or warning whoever, trying to protect people - it doesn't matter how it happens, it matters that it happens. Because without her, the story might be telling us, then there was every chance Gwangjong wouldn't have gone on to consolidate and stabilize the nation, and the nation would have been swallowed up by China or the Khitan. That Korea is an independent nation today owes a lot to Gwangjong.
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134 crapatata
October 4, 2016 at 2:24 AM
SUPER LOVE THIS DRAMA. Also Wook I love you so much. Not willing to let go of this ship :(((((
The thing with this drama I think is that the faults arent in the main storyline, but all outside of it. Mainly in the editing and the episode length. I can feel that there's so much more to all the scenes and they're all so well acted, but there're just so many logic jumps that could be easily filled in by the missing scenes they cut.
The production team made a mistake early on in the drama when they chose to just air 30+ episodes. Who does that? Either go 50 or go 20. What's with the 30 episodes?
All those production choices are so halfway, so is the level of reality that they chose to inject into the story. Like early on in the series, when Hae Soo fought with the 10th prince when even the king knew about it and she GOT AWAY WITH IT?? Heavily unrealistic, that's some fushion sageuk shit right there. So now, when the story is trying to be a lot more realistic in terms of the limits in power of the princes, it's hard for the audience to come to terms with that. Which I think is where all the hate for Wook is coming from. The setting-up episodes of the drama made it look as if getting away with things was so easy, when in fact, if you were put into that far back in the past, every small action is political. (I actually had a problem with Hae Soo getting away with the "-yo" language, when in fact she should have known to speak the "-imnikka" way in front of the princes.)
ANYWAY my entire point here is that the drama right now is trying to be a lot more realistic, so Wook doesnt deserve the hate he's getting, because he's really powerless in this situation. One wrong move and his entire family could die, no exaggeration. He WAS willing to throw his ambition for Hae Soo a few episodes back, but the irritating sister got in the way (THE BITCH). So I totally feel for him and believe his decision to be legitimate. So on the other hand, as much as I love him now, can move so easily because he doesnt have a family to protect. He believes nothing can hold him back, except Hae Soo, as she serves as the motivation for most of his actions in the drama, which feeds the plot I guess, so that's well and good for us audiences.
Oh and I almost forgot, THAT SCENE WITH WOOK TELLING YEONHWA TO SERVE AS COLLATERAL. SO BADASS I LOVETTE. That's what u get for tryna have your brother's lover executed.
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crapatata
October 4, 2016 at 2:26 AM
OHMYGOD I JUST FACTCHECKED MY COMMENT. THERE'RE ONLY 20 EPISODES???? Let me die.
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Nayour
October 4, 2016 at 3:25 AM
Personally I feel like if this drama had an additional 4 or 5 episodes, the story telling would've been so much better, as transitions would've not need to be so jumpy, we won't feel like we had a few steps missing, and we could build up to certain things more, for example: Baek Ah's love line AND his friendship with Su and So respectively - just feel like he's such an underdeveloped character and most of his parts are kinda like feel in the blanks. No thanks production team, I like to be shown things, I don't appreciate having to read so much between the lines. Felt like the script writer probably wrote a 30 episode story or something and someone just told them to shove it and cut it to 20. Bad choices people, bad choices.
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135 Hanna Banana
October 4, 2016 at 2:38 AM
Okay this is for everyone who thinks Su is blaming So for her problems. Not to be rude but how did you interpret that? Isn't it clear she's doing the classic noble idiocy thing, where she's trying to push him away so he doesn't further endanger himself for her? Basically she wants him to stop acting on his feelings for her cause the way she sees it that'll end him and in return that'll end her. She's already lost someone near and dear because that person was trying to protect her and her last line in the previous episode - "if I had known someone would die for me, I would have never been so greedy to live again". The poor girl just had her spirits broken, give her a break.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 2:59 AM
I agree but I think it goes even deeper because of the fate thing. I truly do think she feels like poison to Wang So. Even her presence in his life can lead to changes in him she thinks are ruinous and will lead him to kill his family members. I think she thinks the only way to change history is not to live history. She doesn't want to die, but she doesn't want to live and bring diaster either. So being sent far away from all of them is the only thing she can think of to save them. Terrible circumstances really. If she does step back into their lives, it will be with eyes wide open knowing everything she does brings fate crashing down on them.
But thats why the king says it doesn't matter, to live in the present as if the future doesn't exist, because she can't escape no matter where he sends her.
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136 Prita
October 4, 2016 at 2:41 AM
Thank you for the translation. Dissapointed SBS version doesn't have the eng sub.
Can't wait for the next eps. I hope this show can be one of the masterpiece of korean drama.
I vote for Wang So and Hae So
^__^
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137 Cris W.
October 4, 2016 at 2:57 AM
WOOK YOU SPINELESS TWAT
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138 Jae
October 4, 2016 at 3:06 AM
Comments in here have been surpassed by the other site.
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JoyBells
October 4, 2016 at 6:39 AM
Sorry,what do you mean?
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139 Jae
October 4, 2016 at 3:07 AM
The number of comments here have been surpassed by the other site.
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Barbrey
October 4, 2016 at 3:37 AM
I'm sorry, is this a competition?
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Hanazumi
October 4, 2016 at 3:42 AM
I don't think it is a competition. It just shows how Moon Lovers is extremely popular and well-known internationally.
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Jae
October 4, 2016 at 5:03 AM
Well not really. :) It's all for Moon Lovers anyway regardless which site fans want to express their love for the drama. I just thought that some beannies may have jumped ship. Not that it matters. I am just saying. :)
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Sparks
October 4, 2016 at 9:36 AM
I could understand. Recaps sometimes spoils the drama appreciation and sometimes or perhaps oftentime it stirs up unnecessary issues.
That is why some prefer to comment on drama broadcast sites so they could appreciate the drama more objectively. Or some even watch the live stream together. That's probably why the viewing feels more interesting and the comments keep flowing.
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JoyBells
October 4, 2016 at 6:41 AM
Which other site?
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140 Lover of Moon Lovers
October 4, 2016 at 3:29 AM
My feeling when watching this show is worrying a lot for Su. However, I want to say something to defend for her.
First, she is a normal girl in modern day. The story already revealed how she was in her time: fooled, betrayed, desperate by creditors' chase. The only thing shined on her was that she always reached out her hands to save people (the kid fell into water) no matter what. She wasn't a great woman (sat burried in alcohol at the pier to just want to sleep through the hardship), right?
That's why it's natural to see how she is being inactive this time. In front of history where she has given some glimpse of, it's understandable that she first doesn't know what to do, also given that she is asked to stay put. It's very natural for an ordinary girl to feel scared if she would do something wrong because this is history, these people are key figures of history. We cannot ask her soon to roll her sleves to play a part of the history. The show is right so far in developing this girl's character.
Yes, we might feel frustrated whenever she rejected So. Apparently, Su-So romance is what viewers want eagerly. But from Su's perspective, it can't be prompt. We know that she genuinely loves Wook, and hasn't known why he turned this way. I don't like she is with Wook, but I feel touched about her feeling still left for Wook because that is her modern self who always devotes to her relationship. Moreover, Su already had that scary illusion on So as well as she knew he would be the key historical character, the king of a nation. That is no lightweight at all.
That says I love that show is significantly beautiful and good when it comes to this character. Until now, what she does always is consistent with her self in modern day: that she does everything because that is her heart (cares for a scarred So, protested against Court Lady Oh's execution...), not because she is a hero.
She isn't a star playing big, but she is a little girl doing things because of her heart. That is her charm that gets our princes falling for her, understandably.
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141 Hanazumi
October 4, 2016 at 3:37 AM
I was able to finally pierce together something I was trying to understand.
The scene that Woo Hee stabbed Baek Ah is similar to how in the original when the 13th prince was imprisoned for a long time due to the 8th prince's doing (it was in fact revealed to be Ruoxi who warned the 8th prince which triggered the bomb :P - hence she is indirectly the cause). Here, Wook has his hand in part of Yo's plan. So Yo's plan caused Baek Ah to suffer just like how 8th prince caused 13th prince to suffer in the original. So the 8th prince in the original got divided into Yo and Wook in this situation. And of course, there's the warning that Hae Soo gave to Wook before. So it's coming together.
Also, in the original, [SPOILERS????]
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Hanazumi
October 4, 2016 at 3:46 AM
Eventually, Hae Soo will blame herself later on for what happened despite the King's advice to her. She already did something or "contributed" to the change in history.
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chocopieb
October 4, 2016 at 4:28 AM
Why [SPOILER]
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142 T_T
October 4, 2016 at 3:41 AM
I feel so sad and worried for Soo. I've lost 3 important people in my life in a span of 2 years. I have my friends and family's support but it still feels like hell.
I can't even imagine her pain.
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143 Johan
October 4, 2016 at 3:50 AM
I am just really curious...
Is Baek Ah going to die from the stab?
I find watching 3 meals a day enjoyable to watch lately because he was added in the original casts.
So watching him being stabbed made me reàlly sad.?
I do hope he survive.
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144 harmonyfb
October 4, 2016 at 4:26 AM
This episode really bothered me, especially since I thought this thing was pre-produced - shouldn't the script be more coherent?
1. Why are they suddenly bringing up plotline-altering information now, more than half-way through? "So was born under a king star"?? Since when? The first 11 episodes, the king wants WS to be a prop for the Crown Prince, but now he's talking like he always intended for WS to be King? WHAT.
2. So...Hae Soo is framed, and suffers torment, and watches her surrogate mom get hanged for someone else's crime...so the king demotes her as far as possible & makes her life even harder. What? "You're like my daughter" - well, gee, thanks, "dad".
3. Why does the king suddenly think she's like Ji Mong? And if he does think that, why is he wasting her knowledge on laundry? That makes no sense whatsoever, especially considering Taejo is supposed to be a very canny individual.
4. Hae Soo and Woo Hee are suddenly best friends? The hell? They've never even exchanged glances!
When every scene makes me have to assume backstory that's brand new - just makes me want to scream loud enough to be heard in Korea.
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chocopieb
October 4, 2016 at 4:36 AM
So becoming king was mentioned earlier, i think.. When haesoo confronted jimong.. When they talked abt gwangjong becoming king. But i dont rmb that well neither :p but then again, the special training that so got, and how he was always put on crown prince's side, there are suspicions from there too i guess..
At the time of her torture, i dont think the king had paid that much attention to her yet. He only considered her more after court lady oh's sacrifice.. And that should be how he got interested in her. This girl who was a nobody, managed to stir up so much trouble and gain so much sympathy/affections(?) from the woman he loved dearly in a very short time..
Haesoo is a laundry girl in the gibang where woohee works at.. But yeah they couldve showed them meeting earlier on~ i assume baekah still contacts haesoo a lot, since woohee is also aware of their friendship~ but yeaaaaaa ;___; i guess that part is not that important~ yes it breaks the flow but it doesnt really harm the story~ myb~
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145 Melbeanie
October 4, 2016 at 4:50 AM
Thanks Heads! This was quick!
Goodness Baek-ah, why?! He is So's favourite brother so I guess So will go berserk over this...then Su's rejection is no help at all.
I thought Su would like to change history because she doesn't want So to kill his brothers while being king or in becoming a king so why not leave the palace with So? I mean So said that she can divorce him after they leave the palace if she's hesitant. Is she still in love with Wook? Didn't she feel anything when So backhugged her (because I did, as crazy at it sounds)? Surely she felt comfort and relief as this is her lifesaver who came home safely after a year. Maybe she did feel something but would not like to be involved with Su as she said that everything bad happens because of her. I hope she'll come around, but when? Maybe she's fallen already but she hasn't realised it yet.
I do think that Su's behaviour is caused by her mourning over Court Lady Oh and yes, being guilt-ridden for everything. Or maybe she's still getting over Wook. It was just so heartbreaking when she asked Wook if he ever missed her, even once and the look while she was waiting for his answer, ugh! I love IU's acting here. It was just so real. Wook's crying doesn't affect me anymore, seriously. He's like saying yes, I love you but I love myself more, of course. I mean he doesn't want to be married to a water maid so why not let her go and be with someone else? He won't have her but he also wouldn't want anybody to have her either? Selfish, so selfish! Is it because it is So? I was just glad that So told him, to his face, that Wook's uselessness makes him so angry, exactly my sentiment...
It was just funny when the King said that he considers Su as his daughter because Court Lady Oh did. Gee, really? That's a whole year of hard labour, King! I do believe that the king just remembered everything because of the tea. The tea suddenly reminds him of Lady Oh, hence, Su as well. Am I so proud of So when he defied his father by not following his orders for failing his promise that Su remain in the palace. But I was so surprised that the King felt the same. When the King asked Su who she really is, well I was terrified for awhile but his words of saying that do not be involved, don't be caught by thoughts of the future but what's at hand...well, will Su heed the advice? Will she just witness history unfold itself while she sit idly by? Yes, I also wonder when she'll ever get out of her funk. When So gets hurt? Please don't wait for that! Su, give your love to So now chaebal, that way, he wouldn't have to fight for it that would probably cause that bloodbath that history tells us...By the way, this drama says that it took a creative take on history, does creative mean it can change somewhat like you know, So marrying Su and having cute princes and princesses? Show, please make me happy...
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146 Pei
October 4, 2016 at 4:57 AM
itching to comment before Heads post next episode recap XD
1. I love how Soo give glance to Wook only to realize he is over her, and Wook took last glance then turn away as he did throw Soo under the bus and leave her wounded emotionally & physically
2. For Wook crying over Soo departure out of castle? Deal with it dude! You did choose throne over love, so I guess sobbing over that is an act of desperation
3. I kinda burst in laughter when So flatly refuse Daddy King new assignment. And yes, it did buy me a bit that Daddy King did concern about So although he is not showing it openly
4. Laundry hanging & So-Soo reunited..... love it love it looovveeeeee it!! When So give Soo back hug, I just squeal over it XD
5. Yeon Hwa propose So hand in marriage and get flatly refuse, ehm..... some kind of act due desperation? She did love So but not as much she love the throne. Can't wait her next plot though... this evil-to-be-queen is still in the game
6. Please someone give a wake up call for Soo! Huhuhu, I find it a bit bias since I love LJG as So. It's a sin to refuse that smexy prince proposal!!! While So clearly desperate to get Soo out of this mess, she just don't get it.
7. Woo Hee will pay and Baek Ah will not die! I refuse to see Baek Ah die!
Okay... off to wait infront of TV screen now :)
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147 Lucie
October 4, 2016 at 6:35 AM
Finally, FINALLY, a character is experiencing lasting effects from churi (the leg twisting torture)! I mean, obviously it is horrible for Soo, but churi often resulted in permanent disability of those it was inflicted upon. I've watched A LOT of sageuks, and not a single character has ever had any real side effects before. By the next episode they are running around and engaging in martial arts as per usual. So, bravo, writer, for getting this one thing right.
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148 Jat
October 4, 2016 at 7:20 AM
Prince Yo to Yeon Hwa,: marry me I 'll divorce my wife (liar!)
Yeon Hwa to So: marry me, I have loved you for a long time( you don't think he will say yes, don't you girl)
So to Soo: marry me( ad much as I love him, I dunno how he's gonna pull it off)
Last time someone talk about getting married, somebody died. With 3 proposals, maybe 3 deaths? Wook learnt his lesson, it's not something you're gonna get just because you want it so bad.
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149 WangSo-ya
October 4, 2016 at 7:31 AM
Livestreamed the 13th episode despite not understanding the dialogue. Despite that I truly enjoyed the show. What more can I say, Lee Joon Gi is Lee Joon Gi. What a brilliant actor!
Other actors were good too but Lee Joon Gi stood out.
Hope Kang Hanuel and Hong Joon Hyun will get their lead roles after this drama.
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150 JuicyFeet
October 4, 2016 at 8:02 AM
I'm just really ready to see our two main leads do shit with their lives (and love life!).
Prince So is definitely trying- he's trying to thrive in his own life in his own way and also trying to woo his lady. He's being totally baller. A+ to you, kid!
Hae Su is in Mopetown. While I totally understand and sympathize with her mentality towards life and love right now- it's totally real and warranted in EVERY way- as a viewer I want a heroine that is stronger than I am. I want Su to be stronger in this situation than I would be. I want her to take her life by the balls and FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO
Also, can you let IU and Lee Joon Gi kiss, and I mean REALLY kiss, sooner rather than later? I am beyond ready for their romance to kick in. Don't get me wrong, I love that their loveline is kind of like a slow friendshippy simmer, but I hate that Su is all hateful towards it. FEMALE HEROINES DENYING THEIR LOVE IS MY LEAST FAVORITE TROPE. JUST LOVE PROPERLY FOR ONCE UGHH
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