Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 18
by HeadsNo2
There are no shortages of bitter pills for Su to swallow this episode, and for the most part, she seems to base her decisions off what’s best for So and his fledgling rule. At the same time, his being king requires him to make some tough decisions, and Su has trouble understanding why the man she loves can’t always be benevolent. Basically, it just sucks to live in Goryeo.
EPISODE 18 RECAP
When Princess Yeonhwa declares that she’ll be marrying the king, Su says she won’t believe it until she hears it from So’s lips. Yeonhwa takes the time to school her on the politics she knows nothing about, telling her about all the opposition So now faces as king—including all the powerful families that now seek to dethrone him. Where were these people when we had two mad kings on the throne?
Regardless, Yeonhwa notes with a sigh that while Su may be happy to wait in the king’s quarters, a woman who’s happy with only that cannot become queen without endangering the king’s position. Also, there’s the scar issue to take into account, which is why Yeonhwa proposes that the two of them merely coexist when she inevitably becomes queen.
Wook tells So much of the same thing, making sure to mention the scar. But, he adds, if So really wants to marry her, he can… only if he gives up the throne. So what’ll it be? “I will not lose either,” So says confidently. “I rose to the throne in order to acquire everything. Do you really think I would cast Hae Su aside over a scar?”
That’s when he points to his own face, to the scar hidden beneath the makeup. “I became king with a face like this,” he reminds Wook.
We get a quick cut to a quiet dinner with Su and So before cutting back to So at court, with yet another official telling So all the things he’s already heard. The only solution, in this day player’s opinion, is for So to marry Yeonhwa. All his problems will disappear that way.
Still, So remains steadfast in his decision to marry Su. Next up to state the obvious is Queen Sinjeong, who gives her two cents about what So should do in order to keep the throne, adding that she even cast her own son out so that she could do what was best for the nation.
The queen hands over a book written by Su, filled with symbols no one recognizes (Hangul, which wouldn’t be invented until 1446) as proof that she’s not normal. Again, So claims to not care about such things. “What is so great about this seat?” he mumbles, causing Queen Sinjeong to note that the only way he’ll leave that throne is if he dies.
Su tells Chae-ryung that her wish to stay in the palace has been granted, but she soon gets pulled away by Astronomer Choi. He laments that this tower used to be so full of life when all the princes would gather and visit, pointing out all the things each prince liked best. But those times are gone now, which is why he’s brought her here: “You must give up on marrying the king.”
He says that she should be the one to end things since So will remain stubborn until the end, but Su meekly protests that she doesn’t want to. “I’ve been through a great deal and waited a long time. I only did so because I believed I would be happy one day. If I were going to give up like this, I would have given up long ago,” she says.
But Astronomer Choi asks her to remember all that’s happened in this palace, and all the danger the king is now in. The only way to prevent more tragedy is to consolidate power around the throne, and he very bluntly says that Su is not the person to help So do that. Su starts to have trouble breathing, and puts a hand over her heart.
Su goes into the king’s quarters with a huge smile on her face and something hidden behind her back, which she reveals to be masks. She wants them to go out to the market and have a bit of fun, and proposes that they disguise themselves in order to leave the palace.
So out they go, with the town all lit up for the exorcism rite festival. She teaches him how to pinky promise, and he takes her hand as they walk, like a true couple. At one point, he pulls her into a backhug and kisses her on the cheek, and there are smiles all around.
She takes him to the prayer stones she piled, causing him to jokingly asked if she did so to pray for him to propose. She unabashedly says yes, considering that he said he’d propose to her at the prayer stones. So says that she should’ve run away when she met him, and she fires back that she did run, but he caught her.
“I don’t remember what drew me to you,” So says. “There are so many reasons now. I have to live with you. Let’s live together. Marry me.” He waits for her reaction, but as her eyes slowly well with tears, his expression turns concerned.
“I cannot,” Su replies. (You could have tried leading with that.) “I cannot do anything for you except to provide you comfort. It will be hard for me to marry you.” Angry now, So asks who’s been putting these ideas into her head, though he stresses that no one can force him to give up on her.
She says she won’t give up either and will continue to stay with him, but that if she became a queen, she’d be too constrained by palace rules. She promises that she’ll be all right as she touches his cheek, and So says that she can’t leave him even if he can’t marry her.
“I will not let you go,” he continues. “Because you are mine. You can’t go anywhere—I will never allow it.” Then, pulling her into an embrace, he softly adds as a tear rolls down his cheek, “You are my only queen.”
Cut to: So and Princess Yeonhwa’s low-rent marriage in front of a meager audience. Wook leads the celebratory cries of “Manseh!” at Yeonhwa becoming queen, even as Su tries on the bride’s wedding hanbok for herself, looking longingly at her reflection.
Jung and his mutton chops find her at the prayer stones, as he claims he also wasn’t invited to the wedding. He jokingly asks if she won’t just come to him now, offering to take her far away if she were to ask him. If she ever wants anything, he adds, all she has to say to him is, “I want it.”
So unveils his bride in the marriage chambers, and gives her a long silent look before turning away from her. When he does, she warns him that Su could be used against him in the future, so getting rid of her now might be best.
He cuts her off there, telling her to focus solely on being queen. Burn.
Chae-ryung finds Su still at the prayer stones later that night, offering her an herbal pouch(?) to ease her suffering. They reminisce about Lady Hae and her prayer stones, which has Chae-ryung thinking of her late mother, who suffered from illness before she died.
Su kneels down next to her and prays to her own mother, repeating over and over again that she’s doing fine. Chae-ryung knows better and takes her hands, as So watches them from afar.
Later that night, he stands outside Su’s room, but can’t bring himself to open the door. She just stays curled up inside.
Now that So’s married Yeonhwa, his vassals finally show up for court, and So’s all smiles as he decides to adopt the era name for his reign as Gwangdeok. Everyone’s agreeable to this and his other decrees, save for one: Wook still wants the king to relinquish his control over the nation’s finances.
Surprisingly, So agrees to Wook’s terms, and declares that he’d like to spend some time reading important literature while his loyal ministers help run the government. He cavalierly declares that fourteenth prince Jung is guilty of treason and will be stripped of his title and sent to his maternal family’s hometown, which gets a rise out of Baek-ah.
But So continues as if he were discussing the weather, adding that he’s not going so far as to execute Jung—that’ll only happen if he steps foot within the capital.
Of course, when Queen Sinmyeongsunseong hears of this, she collapses. Baek-ah tells Su and Woo-hee the news, explaining the severity of the punishment. Su’s knee-jerk reaction is to try to talk to So in order to help Jung, but Woo-hee warns her that she doesn’t have the authority to do so. For now, Baek-ah says, they’ll just have to wait until the king calms down.
Yeonhwa calls on the ailing Queen Sinmyeongsunseong, who only wants to see Jung. But it’s So who comes to see her first, decreeing that only he will see to his mother’s care from now on.
He tends to her like a son while she can only stare up at him, wheezing. His use of the word “Mother” has her struggling even harder, though her power is now limited. Jung is still refused entry to the palace.
Over dinner that night, Su asks So to allow Jung to see their mother, but So slams his chopsticks down as he calls her out for sending for Jung—he’d forbidden anyone from sending him messages, so he knows that only she could’ve done it.
She admits as much, but claims her reasons are just, since the queen is on her deathbed and Jung deserves to be there. But So is adamant that Jung can’t take one step into the palace, or it’ll be his execution. “If Jung is allowed into the palace,” he warns her, “I will not let it go, even if it is you.”
Jung stands outside the palace gates in silent protest until he can barely stand anymore. Baek-ah passes him a jug of water as he goes into the palace, but Jung only pours it over his head.
So tries to spoon medicine into his mother’s mouth, but she keeps her lips clamped firmly shut. She’s been doing as much for five days, refusing to take even a sip of water, and turns away from So’s touch like a possessed person from a crucifix. The only word she manages to repeat is Jung’s name.
But So tells her to take stock of the son who’s actually caring for her now, not the son in the afterlife, or the one who can’t even be with her now. He is king, and he is taking care of her.
The queen opens her eyes then, remembering when So walked into her room covered in blood after massacring a temple full of monks. The words he’d said to her then come back to haunt her now: “You may have cast me aside, but I will not leave. From now on, I will make sure I am all you see.”
So smiles in the present to see this realization dawn on her face. He promises to build her a grand temple and spread tales of how wonderful a mother she was. A tear rolls down his cheek as he adds that everyone will know of their relationship, and their relationship only.
“I will become your one and only precious son. This… is my revenge for you abandoning me as your child.” The queen gasps for air, struggling to say “You… you!” as she reaches up a hand to his face, though it’s almost as if she wants to claw at him rather than caress him.
She has the strength to do neither though, and dies. So breaks down into pitiful tears as he holds her hand to his face, relishing a mother’s touch he could never receive in life.
Su is the one to venture out of the palace gates to deliver the news to Jung, and presumably is the one to allow him into his mother’s quarters to see her body. So allows for this small visit, but says that after he’s done saying his goodbyes, Jung’s punishment will be reinstated.
Later, So tears into Su for taking Jung’s side, and takes special offense to her pitying Jung when she, of all people, should be on his side. “He is not the pitiful one. I was always the one who was cast aside!” So bellows.
Pointing to the scarred side of his face, he tells her that his mother touched him right before she died. “In all my twenty-five years of life, I have never had her to myself. Is it so wrong for me to send her off on my own?” he cries.
Su reaches up to touch his face, but he catches her wrist before she can. “You should have said you understood me,” So grits out with tears in his eyes. He leaves, and all Su can do is sigh.
So finally confronts ninth prince Won over how involved Wook was with the mercury in the bathwater (he knows that Chae-ryung was a servant in Won’s household before she came to Damiwon), and Wang Gyu’s supposed revolt, which ended with the deaths of Eun and his wife.
Though initially reticent, the idea of being plunged into boiling water as punishment gives Won the courage to blame everything on Wook, who he claims colluded with the late king Jeongjong. So has just one more question for him, but we don’t hear what it is.
Su goes looking for Chae-ryung in Damiwon, but notices that there’s a pallor over the other court ladies. Woo-hee would rather show her than tell her what’s going on, since outside, Chae-ryung has been rolled up in a torture taco to be beaten. The king has ordered all the court ladies to watch as a warning.
Su can’t understand why the king would do such a thing, until Astronomer Choi explains that a court lady from Damiwon committed a very serious crime. It’s only then that she’s told who’s in the taco, causing her to stumble toward the bloody mess that was once her friend.
Woo-hee’s there to catch her when she faints, at least. We get a flashback montage of Su and Chae-ryung’s memories before finding Su lying in bed, with the king on a rampage over the royal doctor not telling him of Su’s illness.
Su wakes whispering Chae-ryung’s name, and pushes So off when he reaches out to her. “How could you? How could you do that to someone?” she screams. That’s when So opts to tell her that Chae-ryung had been spying on her the whole time, and that she was the one to deliver the book of Su’s Hangul to Queen Sinjeong.
He adds that not only was Chae-ryung partially responsible for them not getting married, but that it was she who put the mercury in the king’s bathwater. It was Chae-ryung who betrayed Eun and prevented his escape by telling Won and Wook about the secret cave beneath the baths.
That’s when Su remembers that Wook had told her he heard about the cave from Chae-ryung, so she knows what So says is true. Therefore, he stands by his decision, though Su tearfully claims that Chae-ryung’s only crime was being born a slave.
She doesn’t brush off the comforting hand So puts on her shoulder at least, but she gives him no other reaction as he gets up to leave. Seeing a letter that wasn’t there before, Su reaches for it…
But we cut to So throwing a fit in the throne room, as he realizes how much he’s been played by Wook. He knows he only has Baek-ah and Su left on his side, which he blames on Wook: “Now I’ve become a monster to Su. I will never let him get away with this.”
Su opens the letter and recognizes Chae-ryung’s hand instantly, which is yet another reminder that Chae-ryung lied to her (she’d claimed she never learned how to read). In the letter, Chae-ryung claimed that she’d wanted to confess everything to Su, but knew her time was running short.
We see Chae-ryung Lite in flashback as a beggar on the streets. Ninth prince Won had shown her mercy by giving the little girl silver, and when she became a servant in his house, he taught her how to read and write. In the letter, she tells Su that she loved him, and has no regrets, nor does she resent anyone. Is that letter supposed to be written in blood? When did she have time to write that thing?
So stumbles into his room (I’m guessing he’s drunk?), and thinks that Su is the one waiting on his bed wearing a mask. But as he pulls her close and lifts the mask just enough for him to be able to kiss her lips, he pulls back suddenly before he does, unmasking Yeonhwa instead.
He pushes her away, roughly reminding her that he warned her against getting greedy. She reminds him that he told her to fulfill her duties as a queen, and part of her duty is to bear him a son.
She more or less embraces him, causing So to smile ruthlessly. “What if I tell you to turn your back on Wook and your family? Can you do it?” If she were to do so and become his only queen, he adds, then he’d make their son the crown prince. She’d be both the queen, as well as the queen mother.
Su stares listlessly at the baths in Damiwon while clutching the hairpin So gave her. When Baek-ah approaches, she whispers flatly that the person she loved killed her little sister, and doesn’t seem to listen when Baek-ah says that the king already knew that Chae-ryung was up to no good. That was why he tried to send her away from the palace in the first place.
“No matter what she did wrong, how could he punish her so cruelly?” Su replies. “I don’t know how to escape this misery. Chae-ryung was just a girl in love.” She grips her chest as she becomes asthmatic again, causing Baek-ah to worry for her.
She turns to him then, and offers him her hairpin. She wants him to give it to Jung, and to send him a message: “I want it.” Of course, Baek-ah doesn’t know the meaning behind the message, but promises to deliver it just as she said it.
COMMENTS
I’m having a tough time understanding Su on this one, despite the understandable pain of losing someone she thought well of. It’d be a completely different situation if Chae-ryung had been killed and no one thought to explain her crimes to Su, but Su got a pretty good breakdown of Chae-ryung’s deceit from So and Baek-ah. Plus, she had proof that Chae-ryung was lying in the letter. So why can she not understand that Chae-ryung’s actions had consequences?
It’s not even as though Chae-ryung was only caught spying—So went into detail about her poisoning King Hyejong’s bathwater (and Chae-ryung had no qualms whatsoever about leaving the blame for that on Su’s shoulders), how she deliberately betrayed Su’s trust in stealing her writing and reporting on her, not to mention how she was directly involved in the deaths of Eun and Soon-deok. Doesn’t Su feel even remotely wronged? Can she really blame all of Chae-ryung’s actions on the fact that she was only taking orders? Enough to not trust the man she loves when he justified his actions?
Trust has always been a prevailing problem between Su and So, though it’s been a one-way street for a long while now. So never fails to give Su the benefit of the doubt, but she spares none for him—and it’s really beginning to feel like whenever she does have an opportunity to take his side, she opts not to. I get that he was being unreasonable when it came to his mother, but he had character-driven reasons for wanting her all to himself. All he wanted from Su was for her to understand him, but she couldn’t. Though that I can understand from her end just a little, since she likes Jung, and thought it would only be fair for him to see his mother. She got her wish in the end, and So didn’t fight her on it, which says a lot.
That being said, So’s scenes with his mother were the highlight of the episode, and they felt like the only anchor in the sea of fly-by-night scene cuts we’ve been getting. Finally, the camera saw fit to linger on something for more than a few seconds, and what a face to linger on. So’s been all over the map now that he’s become king, and it’s been hard to follow his lines of thinking when, for instance, he acted very bizarrely in court. All that smiling and agreeableness might’ve hinted at some ulterior plan, but the directing did nothing else to help lead us to that conclusion. Barring any hints, his behavior just left me scratching my head. I honestly don’t know what to make of it.
But his behavior with his mother felt grounded in something real, something we could actually understand, as we saw in So the lost boy who only ever wanted his mother’s love. He did get his revenge after all, but his revenge was just another way for him to try and reach out to her—if he couldn’t have her love by choice, he’d at least have the illusion of it. In the end, he only wanted her to acknowledge him as her son, and even at the bitter end, I’m inclined to think she didn’t. And that seems fitting for her character, who’s been thoroughly and unexplainably awful her entire life. It’d feel like cheating if she were redeemed in the final hour.
However, I have no qualms about So believing whatever he wants to believe about the intention behind his mother’s touch, because he’s just so pitiful. It’s heartbreaking that he’d take that ambiguous, clawing hand as affection, only because it was the first time his mother ever even touched him. But the facade melted away when she actually passed, and he looked more lost and devastated than ever as he held her hand to his face just to feel that touch she’d never willingly give. It was very well played, and I was with him every step. With Su, I just feel resigned. But who knows—maybe the time spent apart will help give everyone some perspective. Or it’ll just make everything worse.
RELATED POSTS
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 17
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 16
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 15
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 14
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 13
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 12
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 11
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 10
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 9
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 8
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 7
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 6
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 5
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 4
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 3
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 2
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 1
Tags: featured, IU, Kang Haneul, Lee Jun-ki, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
Hello Dramabeans series
![[2022 Year in Review] The Bean Count](https://www.dramabeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/beancount_2022.png)
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51 bubblesnbb
October 25, 2016 at 9:42 PM
Ok.... this ep got me yelling at the TV almost the whole way through.... so frustrating!! That's all I'm going to say. Rant over.
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52 sancheezy
October 25, 2016 at 9:43 PM
I think the winner of this drama besides LJK is Baekhyun and EXO OST,
his acting mostly bad but he nailed the last scene,
his storyline is weird but he got a very memorable ending,
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Yoyo
October 25, 2016 at 10:05 PM
It's tragic that I remember Eun in his death not as he lived.
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Baek
October 26, 2016 at 10:04 PM
Its ok, even in real life, some people tend to be famous or only remembered after they are not around..
that scene was great..!!
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53 Hazelli
October 25, 2016 at 9:44 PM
I'm watching this with my husband and he just called Hae Soo passive aggressive!
I honestly wanted to give IU a chance despite the comments. I don't know her work and I have no issue with her. But, seriously, but I wonder how it would have been if the character had been played by a more seasoned actress who had the range and gravitas for such a complex character and storyline (which was the case in the Chinese drama, which is one of the reasons people liked it more I'm guessing). We probably would not have felt as annoyed with Hae Soo if the actress could portray more subtleties and maturity (as needed), because it could be seen as she is making conscious decisions and not simply interfering with the political and social life of this royal family.
Poor LJG has bags under his eyes. Not sure if it's due to makeup or sleepless nights as Emperor.
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 4:09 AM
I don't think the blame for my frustration can be laid at IU's door - I strongly doubt that another actress would have made Su less frustrating, because the story itself is what's done that - NOT the actress. IU's actually done pretty well despite the story undermining So/Su multiple times.
And even if someone else played Su, you'd still be dealing with this writer and PD's idiotic decisions to write Su as driven by visions, reluctant to trust So and oh yeah, no matter who plays Su, we're still going to get a handwaved 'oh btw she fell in love with So during the two-year time jump!' storyline. Good luck with finding any actress who'd be able to make THAT palatable.
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EliRod
October 26, 2016 at 10:56 AM
@pogo
It's so funny that when I am late commenting on an episode I just put Find on Page "pogo" haha I know that all of your comments are gonna give me great satisfaction of narration interpretation!
I have so much to say but not time at all! AHH stupid exams!
Just going to say that usually I analyze HaeSoo's action but OMG I just have to point out IU acting. There are so many scenes that I was mesmerized by her. Called me bias but I was just unconsciously drawn by her acting.
1. Face of concern but trust when Yeonhwa says she is goint to marry WS
2. Face of waiting for him so say something while having dinner with WS after finding out about the marriage
3. I cannot marry you, but I love you. She is so honest and straight forward, she knows her limitations, she knows her personality will not suit a Queen, she doesn't want to be the reason for WS to lose the throne
4. Dress and mirror
5. Jung side. She was missed to tell WS "WTH you would be the first one to know how it feels to be thrown and cast away and you do the same to Jung? Did not let him say goodbye only for your revenge?"
6. And finally that scream when asking about WS about why did he kill Chae ryeung.
I am sorry, but IU stole the entire episode for me.
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Barbrey
October 26, 2016 at 2:36 PM
Don't apologize! She stole the episode for me too!
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:04 PM
Don't be sorry, she was nailing it this entire episode. I like her as Su generally, and I kind of wish she'd been allowed a little more leeway by the PD/writing, to not stick to the model of the chaste and demure heroine or as close to one as possible.
I may be frustrated with Su's actions, but that scene where she practically snarled at So for killing Chae-ryung made me sit up, and how! I didn't know she had it in her.
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Maui
October 26, 2016 at 6:24 PM
@Elirod,@Barbrey, @pogo...agree...OMG IU....that is the scream of a heart breaking....of wanting to just say to So....you can't do this to me...not- you- So...fantastic!, but the scene that just mesmerized me was when she has this heart to heart talk with So and the proposal.....usually it's So's eyes that tell the whole story for me, his emotions are written in his eyes evreytime and he is so good at this, that words are not needed most of the time...but this time it was IU's eyes that said it all....from the moment her eyes fill with tears, and So realizes these are not tears of happiness, but the way she simply just accepts the inevitable....she looked like a Queen to me in that moment, regal, firm, conviction in her every word, and absolute certainty that she knows the right words to make this allright for So....I am allright So, it will all be allright and her hand on his cheek...just perfect delivery ....
54 paramount
October 25, 2016 at 9:45 PM
There was a lot of stuff that left me speechless (in a bad way) from this episode. But what had me completely at a loss was Soo reading Chae Ryung's letter & getting to the line "I have no regrets"... AND NOT THINKING THAT WAS COMPLETELY DISTURBING?!?!
GIRL. HOW. CAN. YOU. THINK. THAT'S. ACCEPTABLE.
She MURDERED a King. A KING THAT HAE SOO /LIKED/
How can she not have ONE FLASH of anger & immediately forgive her as "just a slave" "just a girl in love" ?!?!?
I certainly don't watch dramas (particular this one) for the characters' superb logic & reasoning skills but this was too far for me. TOO FAR.
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paramount
October 25, 2016 at 9:47 PM
*particularly
The anger prevented me from speaking English properly >__<
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Maui
October 26, 2016 at 6:27 PM
@paramount, " “I have no regrets”…only because I've seen the c-version...but those words I believe mean "I have no resentment towards being betrayed by the person who said he cared about me....
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55 Kindred1999
October 25, 2016 at 9:49 PM
Thanks for the recap. No one enjoys it when the otp hits a storm but this wasn't a storm-it was freaking giant maelstrom ready to suck the whole ship DOWN and take the entire fandom with it. Not a surprise but still...
This show could have saved me alot of stress if everyone just listened to their "parents" from jump. Lady Oh told Su exactly what she's finding out now, about how the throne changes things no matter what. King Taejo knew exactly what he was talking about in ep. 12 when he told So that a king must be willing to throw away anyone and anything. So ain't giving up the seat for anyone so he is and will cont. to do just that. He values Su and Baek-ah more then anything. He and Su will be done next week and if Woo Hee's treason becomes known, we all know what's gonna happen- the bromance will die right along with her. And So will truly be alone then with only his desperate to conceive wife to keep him company :shivers:
Tonight i was finally able to put my finger on what grates me about Yeonhwa-she has no limits. There truly is nothing more important to her then her own ambitions to be Queen and Queen mother. Will she throw away her family? Of course she will imo. You can seen she still wants So's love but that's not important compared to her real goals. She can preach to Su about making the kingdom stable because it falls in line with her goals (no one was worried about that with the last two kings thoe?) And she'll get her wish but just like So and Su should have listened to the future versions of themselves, Yeonhwa could have done with chatting with her mother in law before she lost her mind..just so she can grasp what lies ahead of her. Her determination makes her unstoppable but also her own worst enemy. So is in a snake pit so yes, he needs a queen who is a viper to survive. And that is YH. Don't think they'll be much warmth between a wolf and a viper but whatever @ this point. May they be miserable after Su departs.
I'm not even put out with Su because it has all just been too freaking much for her at this point. The girl has a permanent limp and a heart condition so bad she needs to be looking for some foxglove to chew on. And she basically has nothing to show for it-nothing she's allowed to keep. Princes have died, mother figures have been lost and Su still has to endure. I've accepted that the So/Su love story has turned out to be a captive key lock. So needed Su and her love because they made him into a man who could fight and win the throne. But just like a parcel locker at the post office-once the key opens the door to what you want, you can't take it with you. It stays stuck in the door because it's not meant to go any further. Sadly this is tru of So/Su as well. Love may have gotten him where he wanted to go but it will not keep him where he needs to be and that's heartbreaking for both of them but at least So gets the throne. Su gets a big ole bag of nothing or Lady Oh's fate in 10 years (if...
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Kindred1999
October 25, 2016 at 9:58 PM
This episode was like sucking on three warheads @ the same time: sounds like a good idea but it really was never a good idea and your friends were cruel not to tell you that from the start.
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Maui
October 26, 2016 at 6:46 PM
@kindred1999...OMG I am so glad I cameback to revisit comments and read yours...you are so funny, I can't stop laughing...this " I’ve accepted that the So/Su love story has turned out to be a captive key lock. "...so well said...precisely why Soo needs to get out of Goryeo pronto....there love simply has a much better chance of going somewhere as reincarnations in the modern world than Goryeo..." Su gets a big ole bag of nothing or Lady Oh’s fate in 10 years (if…"...after prolonged laughter I can now continue...Lady Oh's fate or worse is probably in her future if she remains in the Palace....bottom line, the palace is not a Disney Palace where you marry the Prince and live happily everafter...that applies to Yeonwha too...this..."And she’ll get her wish but just like So and Su should have listened to the future versions of themselves, Yeonhwa could have done with chatting with her mother in law before she lost her mind..just so she can grasp what lies ahead of her."...you read my thoughts, when Yeonwha actually looked alarmed to find the Queen sick, and So quietly locks everyone out of the room.....her panicked face...that my dear could be you in a few years....she thinks she's evil, and conniving, she does not know of what she speaks...this is Gwangjong she married and one without restraints anymore once Su leaves....release the Kracon....anyone? "Don’t think they’ll be much warmth between a wolf and a viper but whatever @ this point. May they be miserable after Su departs."....sort of like waving goodbye to the Titanic as it sails away.....
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:24 AM
I do like Yeonhwa, not as a person (not after she sold out Eun and Soon-deok when she absolutely didn't need to), but because her character goes beyond regular second lead women in actually having motives for her actions other than her romantic interest in a man and its lack of reciprocation.
There truly is nothing more important to her then her own ambitions to be Queen and Queen mother.
This exactly - she literally went to Yo with his ring on her finger, offering herself up to be his queen. With Yeon-hwa, feelings are entirely secondary to power and the pursuit of it. I mean, she herself has stated as much. Which makes her a much more interesting second lead than the usual - she wants So, but she wants the position of Queen more.
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Kiara
October 26, 2016 at 12:13 PM
I think Yeon Hwa sold them out so she won't be the sacrificial lamb for the Khitans. Wang Yoo was going to send her there.
It was either her life or Eun and she chose hers.
Eun and his wife were dead the minute his grandfather decided to lead a rebellion against Wang Yoo. Eun became a hunted criminal because of what he did. Wang Gyu did this to his own family. If he wasn't so greedy Eun would still be alive and Wang So and Yo wouldn't kill their own brother and sister in law.
Yeon Hwa is no Disney princess. You can kind of see Goryeo's cutthroat politics through her. Kill or be killed. That's Goryeo for you.
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 12:37 PM
Also, as we learned this episode, it wasn't just Yeonhwa whose actions surrounding the escape led to Eun and Soon-deok's death - they might just have made it out if it wasn't for Won and Wook.
Yeonhwa is no Disney princess, but that is precisely what makes her work as a character - we know what makes her tick.
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Kiara
October 31, 2016 at 11:38 AM
Being a commoner's daughter sounds like a blessing when you are female royalty. At least they are not often sacrificed for their country.
It's sad but at least Yeon Hwa's father Taejo spared her unlike her older sisters who were already married off. She was probably daddy's little girl based on their conversations.
He said that she brings him happiness in his old age. They probably spent a lot of time together. It looked like she goes to the palace to greet him daily and brought him something that she made.
He probably left her unmarried to rival her brothers because he knows her well. His comment about her being a great king if she was born a male probably fuel her ambition and will to live her life the way she choose to.
Jamie Opso
October 26, 2016 at 7:34 AM
@Kindred1999
I love your entire comment but especially this:
"I’ve accepted that the So/Su love story has turned out to be a captive key lock. So needed Su and her love because they made him into a man who could fight and win the throne. But just like a parcel locker at the post office-once the key opens the door to what you want, you can’t take it with you. It stays stuck in the door because it’s not meant to go any further. Sadly this is tru of So/Su as well. Love may have gotten him where he wanted to go but it will not keep him where he needs to be and that’s heartbreaking for both of them but at least So gets the throne. Su gets a big ole bag of nothing or Lady Oh’s fate in 10 years"
This is a fantastic metaphor. But do you think So would not have eventually become king without Hae Soo? Other people feel he would have eventually warred with his brothers and gained the throne without Hae Soo in the story: he would just be his original ruthless crazy-wolf self without her softening effect of love. I'm so mixed up about this at this point, I don't know what to think.
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Jamie Opso
October 26, 2016 at 7:34 AM
Argh, why am I having so much trouble with closing brackets today? I wish I could go back and edit.
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Barbrey
October 26, 2016 at 2:37 PM
Nice.
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56 uchie
October 25, 2016 at 9:51 PM
2 episode leave. Seem no one will get happy ending in goryeo, i hope in modern era then....
iam still in shock because 2 characters dead in one episode. Feel bad for CR, she do it because her first love man!. Iam so sick with the first love, lady Oh, Soondeok and now CR. Be carefull with your first love guys *lol
iam cried because WS when he cried for his evil mother. LJG amazing acting nail it!! WS change too much after the throne. "Mens in royal family become coward because the same thing." (R.I.P LadyOh) its so true!!
In the last scene, soo call for Jung, are she really want to leave WS?? I can't believe after WS explain everything, after she promised will not leave him.
Prepare for the last 2 episode, more tears, more heartache,...
Nb.1. sorry for the bad english :))
2. For hangout group member, really enjoy reading you conversation guys, its so fun have many friends around the world...
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57 Johan
October 25, 2016 at 9:52 PM
Same with everyone's reaction, what's with Hae So's decision to leave So in the end? I don't get it!
Hae So choosing Chae rung over So?
She totally overlooked the betrayal & evil doings of chae rung and choose her side without hesitation over her love for Wang So.
How can she do that to So?
I am so stressed that I actually ate a lot today.?
This is too much! and she actually want to go with Jung just because Wang So decided to kill Chae rung?
Thats justice served.
I dont get it really, is it because the series was squeezed to 20? the reactions & decisions were all so sudden.
It is like I was given something to eat and I'm in the middle of chewing the food then suddenly I was forced to try another dish.
I had not even chewed it properly & swallowed the food afterwards then came another one.
Bam! I guess, I'm not the only one who got indigestion from this.?
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Johan
October 25, 2016 at 9:59 PM
Thanks Heads, I almost forgot to thank you for the speedy recap.?
I hope the ending would be a little acceptable.
I can't have indigestion 3 times in a row.
This one already is too much to bear.
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JoseMiro
October 25, 2016 at 10:18 PM
Imagine if you had sister that you love, than suddenly she was killed brutally by the love of your life without explanation.. how do you feel ?
Obviously Soo still love So, but with that incident it's only natural if she want to have a space that she does not get in the palace, if she stayed she can't guarantee that she will still love So, and the love don't turn into hatred
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JoseMiro
October 25, 2016 at 10:23 PM
.. apparently not even a trial, not even an atttempt to root out who's the master mind behind, CR just killed because she just a slave, her life means nothing in royal's eyes
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junah
October 25, 2016 at 11:48 PM
second that.
moral is difficult concept. everyone seems to give So free pass when he killed the monks out of love of his mother, but CR killing out of love of his protector ? nope. everyone thinks she deserved every beating. there's seriously double standards here when it comes to main character and supporting character.
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banini
October 26, 2016 at 12:39 AM
If I remember right, those monks were evil? Yes, killing is a bad thing but since we're comparing between who is more forgivable between two killers, the one who kills bad people wins over the one who killed the good ones. CR had a hand in killing Mu, Eun and Seon Deok - death of those people are harder to swallow than the assassin monks.
junah
October 26, 2016 at 1:39 AM
the evil monks that ordered by Yo to kill the CP were killed by Yo himself. So killed the other monks on the temple to prevent Mu finding connection between the temple and her mother.
pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:03 AM
So had a direct interest in preventing that connection from getting out - if it was known his mother was behind the assassinations, her entire line (including him and Jung) would be declared traitors. Plus if he killed them all, she couldn't use the temple to direct assassinations from anymore.
And even with that, SO ACTUALLY FELT REMORSE for killing those monks, he went completely to pieces at the prayer stones. Contrast that with Chae-ryung who's as chirpy as can be after poisoning Mu for two years and then has the gall to write 'I regret nothing' in her last letter....
gem28
October 26, 2016 at 3:24 AM
This is Goryeo, not Joseon, not 21st century, so what exactly are you expecting?? What exactly is Hae-Su expecting? She saw her cousin, the woman she considered her mother, three kings, one innocent prince and his wife die right in front of her eyes. Chae Ryung knew her fate the day she choose to poison and murder a person for the sake of her love, she was a slave but that is not why she did it. She did for love and she knew it could backfire and she has no regrets. I could accept the bit about slavery if Chae Ryung did it for fear of her own life. But she did for the prince she loved and would perhaps do it again for him. I am sorry, Chae Ryung had a choice, she chose to kill. Hae Su has selective memory and two different sets of rule for people around her. And most importantly, the Chae Ryung's tragedy was supposed to be vital in driving So-Su apart but Chae-Ryung herself is such a shady character so its very difficult to feel sorry for her. And it takes away Su's growth, the reaction she gave would be believable if she hadn't had the experience that she has. She basically is a static who still believes in her premonitions and doesn't trust So, this is where it really feels like a bad decision by the writers. I just don't and can't follow her logic.
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Kiara
October 26, 2016 at 12:37 PM
When a crime is proven the king does not need to consult with his lover first before he makes a decision.
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esjpx
October 26, 2016 at 1:59 PM
Yeah that's ultimately the reason they don't match, being from different eras already makes a romance between them impossible. They're fundamentally different and Hae Soo is unable to deny her own self even further to accept the ways of the Goryeo palace. Lady Oh already warned her this would happen, they were just fooling themselves into thinking their romance could work.
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Kiara
October 26, 2016 at 3:20 PM
I hate palace romance to be honest. Hardly ends well.
58 happychou
October 25, 2016 at 10:02 PM
I know we are not rooting for a happy ending (at least in Goryeo), but I still hope that Soo will redeem herself at her last moment when she dies. I want to see how much love she can give to So, like a greater impact scene where Soo give her life to save So.
I don't doubt Soo loves So very much, if she doesn't she would not stand by his side for so long, saw her lover got married to someone you hate yet still stood by him because she knows it's for his sake, and watch how someone you love become ruthless. All those pain she has to endure drives her to get away from the palace. BUT I don't think I can withstand when So doesn't know how much he was loved by her. That boy at his core just wants love and we don't see he got enough of it.
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59 lazydramaqueen
October 25, 2016 at 10:03 PM
I think this is the episode I finally feel like I give up on Su. Like So, I want to like her so much, but she is surprisingly stingy with how loyal and affectionate she will be with our hero. She is super giving and forgiving to others. Her inconsistency makes me think she doesn't deserve So.
You've all ranted about CR. I agree! She deserved to die.
I literally cried when So married Yeonhwa. I was hoping this was the part where the show took creative license to history. (This show is a good lesson on why falling in love with a king is a bad idea.)
The queen's death--it was beautiful and sad, all because of So's reaction to it.
The only positive thing I can say is that when the show disappoints, it inspires me to write fanfiction about what could have been. Personally, if I could rewrite Su, I would have had her character be outraged that people like CR, Yo, and others put her man in danger. I would've helped Gwangjong out by advocating for the death of his enemies and this is me as a 21st-century feminist talking.
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Lottebun
October 26, 2016 at 5:16 AM
I hope the writer takes creative license to history by dumping yeonhwa in the ice palace for poisoning the Prince's tea.
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j9
October 26, 2016 at 9:20 AM
"I literally cried when So married Yeonhwa"
This is why I refuse to watch this episode. I'm done! I can't take it anymore. Recaps only for me. I was really hoping the show would take more of a creative license as the promotional advertising was all about this undying love of our two leads, only to find the majority of the episodes focused on the female lead and 2nd lead. And then to have it go down this road..... I feel so disenchanted.
So with that said @Meimei, I would be happy to read your fanfiction of what "should have been"
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60 Summers Ghost
October 25, 2016 at 10:04 PM
Case 1: A despicable maid named Chae Ryung killed a king by slowly and horribly poisoning him and finally driving him mad. Leaves a letter, says its fine, I was in love so I'd gladly do it again.
Hae-Su's reaction: Alright, BFF. I get you. I'll leave So because he is the unreasonable one for punishing a murderer.
Case 2: Hae-Su has visions of the future where So kills his brothers.
Hae-Su's reaction: Oh, you are a monster. How can anybody want you.
See, Hae-Su has two separate standards for people. Those who love which once included Wook, she always had reasons to justify their action despite them being horrible. She is basically like Kellyanne Conway defending Trump when it comes to her near and dear ones.
But when it comes to So, she always chooses to doubt him, casting aspersion subtly his way. Which brings me to the conclusion, Su is somebody who has never loved So. She chose him merely because he was the best option at the time but the moment the illusion of grandeur is shattered and reality hits she bails. This is why she belongs with Wook. Birds of the same feather flock together. Both of them can stick to their loved ones when the its sunny and bright and its withing their limits of accepted standard. Beyond that, they will always shun their partners. So, in conclusion, I think Su should leave So be and go marry or drown in the bathhouse to look for a portal back to 21st century. That way this abuse cycle can end.
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Fay
October 26, 2016 at 12:24 AM
This.
I agree with you on all of the above, I haven't liked her character at all since the beginning, her willingness to engage in major flirting and emotional infidelity while tending to her dying sister (they were literally flirting next her dying body) was just horrible. It was also a pretty clear indication of who she really is as a person, shallow, venal, stupid, ungrateful etc.
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:27 AM
In Su's defence, for a good while there with Wook she didn't actually realise what she was doing - feelings are not the same as actions.
I mean, she wasn't the one sending anyone love poems......and they consciously broke it off when they realised a line had been crossed.
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61 altruysm
October 25, 2016 at 10:10 PM
I wonder what Wook planned to do if and once he became king. If he followed his own train of thought about Su having a scar, would he also still just marry her? Hmm
I'm glad the Chaeryung stuff finally got answered even though it felt a little out of place. And they mentioned Lady Hae again yaaay! It is becoming more apparent that Su really is the bad omen when it comes to the family. It feels like edging to the finale, Su will eventually make it back to her present and read history books and see this Hae Su as the cause of Gwangjong lol.
So must remember Su's plea to never kill a brother. Eun doesn't really count, Yo never died from his sword, and he sent Jung away instead of killing him - even though this exile is a little similar to what the late mother did to him. Anyways it seems like this declaration to end Wook will be as a result of Su confessing that she was planning to marry him and So casting her and any past obligations/promises aside.
I enjoy the depth of character we get from So but still don't like how he and Su progressed to almost getting married. Like Su started out as almost a possession to him, as he always said she belongs to him, forcing kisses on her, etc. This was when she still liked Wook which was never told to So directly buuuut idk still feels weird to me. Even this episode he tells Su that he will "not permit" her to leave him. And I get that all of this kind of "possession" and desperately wanting her is because of his upbringing, childhood, and circumstances - which should let him absolve Su of her past feelings for Wook since she does truly love So now.
As forgiving as he has been in the past with allowing Chaeryung to stay in the palace (even though according to Baekah, So held suspicion of her), allowing Su to live after seeing his scar, getting past Eun asking to see his face, etc., now it's always So's way or no way which is especially easy now that he is King. Again this can be relatable to how his past treatment was and how he never got anything he wanted. But a wise King wouldn't utilize his past that way in order to justify his present actions, right?
Really really interested to see how Su reacts next episode with Wook.
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62 lazydramaqueen
October 25, 2016 at 10:12 PM
Also, in the spirit of being assertive, is there some way we fans could suggest (or pressure) SBS to release a director's cut with all the scenes? When the show takes its time, it's lovely and cut scenes fill in so many blanks.
Also, many people have already spoken about LJK's amazing acting. I've seen a lot of his work (Arang, Scholar, King & Clown, 2 Weeks, Josean Gunman, Time of Dog and Wolf). He's always good but his Wang So is amazing: beautiful, vulnerable, charismatic, swoon-worthy. If there's some way we International fans can influence him getting an acting award, let us know. It seems like Korean fans sometimes have sway over such things.
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63 atz
October 25, 2016 at 10:18 PM
I am going to write a rather blunt opinion...
I think illogical view of Su is not because her naiveté from the 21st Century mindset. She is just stupid and plain illogical.
I do not like Wook's sister becoming a Queen but at the same time I realize that Su is not fit for a Queen anyway. A stupid Queen can really destroys her man and his Kingdom. Though So is cruel sometimes and ruthless for sure, he is truly fit for a King because of the characters. In a way, a good warm hearted nice guy would not survive in the competition of becoming a King back then.
JM tells that Su should not mess with the history but how come he can be sure what we have learned as Korean history is the accurate account of all events? How come he was puzzled that Yo took over the throne as if he did not see the event in history book.
Is he as clueless as Su when it comes to Korean history?
JM and Su need to go back to 21st Century and enroll themselves with lectures by Jin Jung-seok, Korean history best lecturer aka High Quality Trash!!
Oh, this drama is a piece of frustration and confusions.
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64 Ren
October 25, 2016 at 10:20 PM
Isn't it interesting that it's in a festival mask that So finds a reprieve to his suffering and starts to act like his former self? When So donned the wolf mask all that people saw was a monster and an attack dog. So is King, the mask is gone, the scar covered and forgotten and he is still nothing but a monster in everyone's eyes. *Cue corny argument about how emotional scars cannot be covered by BB cream.* It's a hollow victory, just like how the monument for Queen Sinmyeongsunseong will be based on a pack lies and no substitute for an actual loving mother-son relationship.
Oh and Su. No Su, being born a slave wasn't her only/ crime, I'm pretty sure regicide counts too. Honestly, out of all things to leave the Palace over and your I'll never leave you spiel...
Good riddance Taco Chae-ryung, you will not be missed.
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65 rinny
October 25, 2016 at 10:20 PM
I think i can understand hae soo stand. or at least her situation. True enough she's been over reacting, but i couldn't blame her. she's been having a roller coaster day throughout this episode. with her finding out she's ill and powerless followed by the marriage of So and then death of Chae Ryung. With no one to confide to, no work to get her distracted and keep everything bottled up with a smile, it's not difficult to understand why her mind is all over the place.
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66 Lessa
October 25, 2016 at 10:21 PM
This awful situation is exactly why HaeSoo should have just said to heck with Goryeo men & establish the corporate empire that could have been known as Soo Skin Solutions, Inc.
But alas, no.
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banini
October 26, 2016 at 12:51 AM
...or just publish her hangeul book and steal King Sejong(?)'s thunder.
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Kiara
October 26, 2016 at 12:49 PM
Right, run a business, get rich, travel the country, visit China, break a few hearts, dump a few princes and then write about her great adventure in Goryeo.
Hae-soo, switch places with me. I'd take all I can get from Lee Jun-ki.
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67 Napkiin
October 25, 2016 at 10:42 PM
I'm just speculating, but assuming Soo dies then transports back to the future, she may see the Korean (hangul) book she wrote back in Goryeo being kept in a museum. Then she'll realize this is all real. How awesome would that be??
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happychou
October 25, 2016 at 11:21 PM
pretty awesome since it means she really did have a part in changing history given Hangul was invented later by a Joseon king, compare to being a forgotten-in-history comfort woman of Gwangjeong.
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Napkiin
October 26, 2016 at 12:20 AM
Whoa I wouldn't call her a comfort woman. Comfort woman means sex slavery. Eg during WW2
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happychou
October 26, 2016 at 2:36 AM
apology for misleading, I refer to HS who gives comfort to Gwangjeong. Btw don't you think she could be his "comfort woman" (no slavery involve) if she decided to stay beside So? given how So initially rejected YH after they're married, Soo could be the one bearing So's children.
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Ren
October 26, 2016 at 8:40 AM
The term comfort women has really specific and horrific connotations. I'm sure there's no ill intentions on your part, but I'd just avoid using it to describe this context period.
Napkiin
October 26, 2016 at 10:11 AM
Comfort woman is a very sensitive word, I would avoid using thay word if I were you...Since Japan took many girls against their will from countries like Korea and many more for sodiers to act as a sex slave.
I know you meant no ill intentions but anybody who sees "comfort woman" knows what it means and can only assume.
pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:07 AM
Can we just avoid using the term "comfort woman" at all, for Su? Those words have a very specific meaning, especially when it comes to recent Korean history, and it seems wrong to apply them to a fictional character whose situation is not even close to being like the ones we know.
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68 Piggie
October 25, 2016 at 10:49 PM
King So is a NICE GUY compared to his counterpart (YongZheng, YZ) in C-BBJX.
Chae Ryong gets beaten to death nicely wrapped in a mattress as buffer. Hanging? Too light a punishment (you only suffer a few mins) for killing a king, leading to the death of an innocent prince, betraying a friend, etc.
*********
Wanna know what YZ did?
(1) STEAM a traitor (equivalent of CR) to death, make other servants watch, smell the cooked human flesh & hear the boiling water.
(2) CHOP off tongue & hands of a eunuch & cast him out to the streets for gossiping -- at least he still has legs to run to the nearest river & jump in.
And more but I'll stop here. Losing your dinner? Stick to King So. And he's sexier than YZ -- King So can spank me to death anytime.
**********
I usually don't criticize this show but the last straw being CR's death is just too lame. Ruoxi (C version of Hae Su) got way more crap before she finally breaks.
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JoseMiro
October 25, 2016 at 11:12 PM
That's what I feel sorry for .. the writer just give another reason for bashing Soo character
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UrsulaX
October 27, 2016 at 5:54 PM
I’m glad somebody made the comparison to the Chinese series. Though it had its share of flaws, too, I supported Ruoxi 100% when she decided to leave the 4th prince. Ruoxi was a more sympathetic character in general, even if I could not understand her attraction to the 8th prince in the beginning. That part of the story was arguably better in the Korean version, but Moon Lovers failed on other fronts by dumbing down the politics and character motivations considerably. Soo is an idiot. I have a bigger problem with her ridiculous promise to always support So than her decision to leave after he had her friend killed. Being a slave in love does not absolve Chae Ryung of all responsibility. It’s a consideration, of course, but what crime is completely pardoned because the perpetrators succumbed to their emotions, and why isn’t the 4th prince forgiven on similar terms? Her logic does reinforce my impression that the younger characters in this show are completely irrational. Wook and his sister may seem pragmatic, but they’re just as unhinged as everyone else. The King, Lady Oh, etc., were the only ones capable of keeping their wits about them.
The 4th prince was aloof and calculating in the Chinese version, but he seemed to be able to relate to Ruoxi and the 13th prince intellectually. Consequently, we forgave Ruoxi for not realizing the strict rule she initially supported in theory would amount to a frighteningly despotic regime. I remember being completely shocked when the 4th prince’s reign began with an execution in which someone was torn apart by horses. In fact, I appreciated the Korean version for preparing us for the inevitable with a bad horse scene in the beginning. However, the So then turned into a benign, misunderstood child who just wanted a little love, and it was too easy to forget he slaughtered animals and monks, even when his romantic overtures seemed a little too aggressively possessive.
I would agree that Ruoxi had more grievances against the 4th prince, too, starting from the secretive way he gained power after his father’s death. Ruoxi was close to the king, having served him for a good portion of the series, but she became a reluctant accomplice when the 4th prince took the throne, thus betraying the former king’s wishes and the eunuch whom she regarded as a mentor. The 4th prince had the eunuch, Chae Ryong’s counterpart, and many others killed to control his minions. His methods were disturbing, to say the least, and the steaming scene was memorable. Furthermore, some of these people were killed simply because they could question his authority and support the widespread belief that the 14th prince was his father’s chosen successor. Any attempt to justify his actions would be nothing more than an argument for tyranny.
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UrsulaX
October 27, 2016 at 5:55 PM
I always felt Ruoxi went along with the 4th prince, not only because she loved him against her better judgment, but because she also knew from history that he was not someone who could be trifled with. Soo, on the other hand, seems content to dispel her misgivings until people die, at which point she recoils as if she did not see any of it coming. It’s annoying to watch, and it’s unclear what she wants. She is not the intuitive free spirit Ruoxi was, and she hardly resists her fate, whereas Ruoxi lost her position as the king’s servant for refusing to marry and initially tried to kill herself to return to her time.
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Kiara
October 28, 2016 at 12:12 AM
I couldn't have said it any better. Thank You!
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69 Zolo
October 25, 2016 at 10:53 PM
I understand both main character`s decisions. In hae su`s opinion even though it was chae ryun`s fault, wang so shouldn`t have killed her in such cruel way. Hae su was right to let jung see his mother because she wanted peace amongst brothers.
Wang so is acting sooo childish. URGHHHHH
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Piggie
October 25, 2016 at 11:37 PM
CHILDISH? What kind of sympathy should you show a woman who:
(1) Uses her own son with a knife to threaten the King to not get married.
At least King Taejo secretly visits So, sends his general to teach him martial arts, toughens him up psychologically albeit by using HS.
(2) Discriminates her son's look when she HERSELF disfigures him.
(3) Ties So to the pillar for arrow target practice ... WTF??!!
(4) Uses her other sons to obtain ultimate power of the throne -- King Yo questions what he is to her before his death.
(5) Make other woman lose her baby & frame it on another family. I'm surprise YH didn't insult the dowager on her deathbed.
* * * * *
At least King So still sheds a few genuine tears after that. Besides, he did chastise HS: "I only ask for that last few mins after her 20 years' of abondonement -- what's wrong with that?"
Jung has had his mother's babying ALL his life.
* * * * *
When King So says these being the final words she hears: "This is my revenge for your abondonement all my life!!!" ...
I was doing this: \^0^/
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70 ck1Oz
October 25, 2016 at 11:13 PM
This show is nuts. For a girl who spent so much time in the palace- she is being written as being so immature. Everything is all about her. I can't even empathise with her situations. I am so glad I am only following it via recaps.
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Piggie
October 26, 2016 at 12:02 AM
Put it this way -- this show to us serious fans is...
like Wang So to Hae Su -- scarred but we love it anyway.
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straws
October 26, 2016 at 1:26 AM
+1000000 kudos
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pogo
October 26, 2016 at 3:28 AM
@Piggie - +1000000000000000000000
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ck1Oz
October 26, 2016 at 5:10 AM
I watched it till this week. When they finally got together. I can take suffering. Horrible horrible feeling about to die and you FEEL for your characters. Su makes me so frustrated. Did she really think in that brutal time period and all the murderous palace politics that all can be forgiven just because of love?
I feel worse because it is all pre produced and I wanted a drama that would console me after BBJX. I ended up rewatching it just to verify that I didn't have a false memory of the epic love betweeb the 4th Prince and RX.
I mourn for the what- if in the Korean version. I wanted to love HS so badly
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pollyanna
October 26, 2016 at 12:39 AM
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71 striving8
October 25, 2016 at 11:18 PM
This is drama is so stupid. I don't even know why I bother.
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Piggie
October 25, 2016 at 11:38 PM
Then don't. Why are you here?
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72 Pei
October 25, 2016 at 11:19 PM
As always, fast recap. Cheers & thanks to HeadsNo
Stellar LJG! That crying scene was heart breaking, death music cue was for So’s grieving over his mum.
At this point, I’m exhausted. Too emotionally invested, aching all over my body for trying to keep up with all the cut scenes (thanks to MLSHR crappy editing team), but I’m not a sobbing mess like back then with UF. I will stick to MLSHR to the end and aware that this show might not end up with happy ending (dare I hope…). This show owes big time to LJG!
My Highlights :
1. Sweet So-Soo moments that end up with a thunder storm ahead. I’m waiting for this private moment of So-Soo, back hug and kisses, pinky promise, proposal. When So went all out with this “I don’t remember what drew me to you, There are so many reasons now. I have to live with you. Let’s live together. Marry me.” I’m suffocated, cause I knew Soo will turn this sweet proposal down for something sounds like greater good reason. When So tears, “You are my only queen”. I’m dead! I seriously have to brace up myself for next week episode, too sad!!! T___T
2. Royal marriage wedding night. HAH! Take that YH! I guess this is the consequence of married for throne, if YH expecting So welcome her in his bed chamber. No, that’s not gonna happen!
3. So’s grieving over SMS death. He got his revenge over his mom and not happy about it, all he want was mother loves but till the end mom never hold him dearly. LJG totally killing this!
4. Won rat on Wook & CR taco torture. This sneaky Won needs to pay! As for CR, all of those I-love-him-and-will-do-anything-for-him reason is not working for me. This girl was never smart enough to know that this Master-Slave relationship will never work in Goryeo, she’s just simply blinded and betrayed Soo. I can’t, I just can’t pity CR. And why the hell Won still not death here?
5. Soo decide to leave So. I understand that CR is dear sister to you, but after that all lies and the impact of all those lies Soo just couldn’t feel anger toward CR. She ain’t no saint but act like one -_-“
There you go, bye bye 4th Prince So and welcome King Gwangjong. This Gwangjong need some anger management session, So just pushing everyone out. King Taejo & Court Lady Oh all over again plus anger management issues, it tired me yet I just can’t stop investing my time to this show!
Judging by next week episodes preview, I’m waiting for Wook death scene but not happy with So. Shall refrain for further comment about this until next week. I’m so not happy about it!
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73 Franbergh II
October 25, 2016 at 11:24 PM
whoaaaahhh!!! the first screenshoot. su and the blue dress. that is just so gorgeous. i always love dresses from historic movies/drama. the details just so amazing. really one's hand could create such beautiful piece is amazing. no wonder in that era there is huge gap of rich vs poor people's clothing. because creating such beautiful thing is no way cheap.
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74 junah
October 25, 2016 at 11:25 PM
I can not understand why many people hate Su for taking side on CR. Su is on point for defending (ish) CR.
Punishment is only fair if being given to them who capable of making free choices for which they should take the responsibility. Since CR is a slave and slave doesn't have this kind of freedom at that time, asking for her moral responsibility more than anyone who actually have that freedom (Won/Wook) don't do her justice.
either she refuses the treason or helping it in the first place, the final result's still the same. she'll get punishment either from her master (won/wook) or the king. So, I totally get what Su meant and agree wholeheartedly with her in that logical.
this girl just teach Gwangjon the 21th century concept of justice, and everyone blame her for not "trusting So" enough. I know everyone only look it on romance side, but come on. there is serious slavery issue here. and the fact that Wang So take no direct action (yet) on Won/Wook as the mastermind, is just disturbing.
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gem28
October 25, 2016 at 11:46 PM
I wasn't aware of the fact that its okay to kill people by poisoning in 21st century. Am I the only bothered by how unapologetic CR was in her letter to Su. It read like this,
"Sorry not sorry" #lovemakesitokay #loveforthewin #Muwascrazysoitisokaytokillhim -
Yours truly,
BFF and Psychopath Chae Ryun
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junah
October 25, 2016 at 11:59 PM
of course it's not, now, where slavery is clearly eliminated. but if slavery still exist, we may want to take a look if someone who doesn't have free choices, also liable for ethical responsibility.
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:19 AM
Thank you, in complete agreement. CR's death letter really showed Hae Su how powerless she was. The tone might have read sorry not sorry, but it was truly about how little CR had control in her own fate when the prince got involved in her life.
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Ren
October 26, 2016 at 3:32 AM
But Chae-ryung's letter clearly indicated that she wasn't spying and poisoning people because she was forced to by Won. She said she was doing it for love which implies choice and agency. The lack of remorse doesn't help either.
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 6:57 AM
I think you can deal with your lot in life by resenting that you have to do something or you can buy into it super hard by implying to yourself that you have agency (b/c of love of Won or whatevs). In truth, CR had none. She was a slave.
Ren
October 26, 2016 at 8:35 AM
@Seltzerwater from the her brief scene with Won it seemed like he was just emotionally manipulating her rather than straight out making orders. She also could of left the palace and just said that she failed to convince Su. I think there were choices to be made. There wasn't any threat hanging over her head and I presume she was supporting her family through her Damiwon salary. The only real cost would have been losing Won's questionable affection.
@junah above mentioned that we can't hold slaves responsible because they themselves have no agency. Even if we were to accept that Chae-ryung had no other choice, her #noregretz cavalier attitude overly slow poisoning someone is problematic, and surely we can judge her as a human based on this.
pogo
October 27, 2016 at 1:37 AM
@Seltzerwater - Chae-ryung didn't just follow orders, she went above and beyond them.
That hangul book..... how do you think it ended up in Queen Sinjeong's hands? More than even Chae-ryung's hand in the mercury poisoning and nearly getting Su framed/killed for it, the sight of that book was when I was DONE with Chae-ryung no matter what excuses anyone trotted out for her.
She didn't steal that book on Won and Wook's orders, the decision to hand even that over to them was one she made of her own agency.
JoseMiro
October 26, 2016 at 1:14 AM
If this poisoning happen in 21 century, there will be a trial, an open one (hei, this is a murderer of head of one country, news will be all over), they will found out who's behind the action,what motive, who's the accomplice,etc., the punishment will be fair and justice
By killing just one slave is merely indicated how injustice the king was. WS and Soo know exactly who behind this, that are Wook,Won and King Yo .. if this become publish then every person of that clan should be punished, including WS..he is a Yo clan after all
Soo can related well with slavery thing, because basically she just the same.. she orphaned, no power, no status, no family back-up,trap in the palace and politic intrigue, so she feel this injustice more, that's why she react strong to the king... to her this is not just a mater of trust of your boyfriend, this is her principle that every person have equally right. So she just want to be treated equally as a person and she want this treatment from her man of all the people in the palace.
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chocopieb
October 26, 2016 at 3:08 AM
That reminds me of the unending trials we had for a murder in our country lol...
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JoseMiro
October 26, 2016 at 6:52 PM
still isn't it ? to much drama and power played on that case
Napkiin
October 26, 2016 at 1:43 AM
LOL your comment
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Minzzles
October 26, 2016 at 6:25 PM
CR WANTED to do it though because of #love.
#lovewins
#loveislove
#howtogetawaywithmurder
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75 kimberlly path
October 25, 2016 at 11:35 PM
I was on the limit, I can forward it can also stop here. I'm bored with Haesoo emotions enough
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76 YY
October 25, 2016 at 11:40 PM
This episode was a rollercoaster of emotions for me.
1. The part where GJ holds Su so, so tight, and says, "You are my queen", and cries a single tear, his face filled with anger and frustration and helplessness as he realizes he has no choice but to marry YH and to forsake the girl he loves. The rage in his face is because again, he is forced to do something against his will, even though he is the king. I cried.
2. The part Su gives the hairpin to Baek-Ah at the end, and says, "Tell Jung - I am willing" , and Baek-Ah looks at her with understanding and sadness ih his eyes, and says so gently to her, "If I do this, will you stop being sad?" So so sad, I cried.
3. The most important question is, have they done it yet???? The candle didn't mean anything, it was just a draught? And they're getting angry with each other, and she's going to leave, and how's she going to get pregnant? Maybe there won't be a baby here?????
4. I am now super paranoid of The Tall Green Teapot and its green little teacups, placed neatly on a brown tray; it's in all the crucial scenes:
in the throne room next to GJ, I swear I heard the teacups rattle when GJ slammed his fist on the table (boy, that has got to hurt), but maybe they didn't rattle, I'm just hearing them rattle coz I'm so paranoid.
in the bridal chamber, on GJ and YH's wedding night.
in Su's bedroom in a corner tucked away.
Do you notice, THEY NEVER DRINK THE TEA ANYMORE????
Are these PPL for ceramic teapots?
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banini
October 26, 2016 at 1:14 AM
#3 - I'm inclined to believe they haven't done it yet. Maybe they'll be dropping the pregnancy plot, not much time left for that. Plus their conversation about having babies and preparing her body seemed to imply they hadn't - what with Su being "what children, we're not even married yet, you need to propose big time first" - in ep17. Did they use contraceptives back then? If not then by Su's reaction, they didn't do it.
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Ren
October 26, 2016 at 3:38 AM
I teared up in the lantern sequence as well. It's the epitome of could haves and should haves. They could have been adorable puppies living outside the palace, but for one reason or another, here we are.
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Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:35 AM
@Ren, I agree, also the scene of Su in her wedding dress....the wedding to Yeonwha is painful at so many levels, not because she won the game of thrones and is now the clear winner as the Queen...In Su's eyes Yeonwha didn't win against her because Su never wanted to be Queen...if she wanted to be Queen as badly as Yeonwha she could have married Taejo. The saddest part is that this split for Soo represents not being able to marry Soo and become his wife more than his Queen....The one thing that So really needs, is the love of a true family. It's the big hole missing in his life. Children and a real wife would have truly filled/ provided him with the happiness he needs and made him whole in the way being King will never do....from history we know that the relationship between Yeonwha and Goryeong was strained to put it mildly, and he has two sons with her, one dies, and the second is practically killed by Gwangjong himself....I don't see happy family there....that is the saddest split in this....A King and Queen who are suppose to be a mother and father to the country but are at war with each other....Goryeo dysfuntional family /nation all around...it's a sad, sad repeat of Queen S and Taejo....
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Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:37 AM
sorry that line was meant to read..."The saddest part is that this split for Soo represents not being able to marry So and become his wife more than his Queen..."
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Lemon Meringue
October 26, 2016 at 7:41 AM
Re no. 3 - they definitely did it. I didn't spend my childhood watching Chinese period dramas for nothing; the extinguishing candle is code for the horizontal tango.
No clue if the pregnancy plot will surface, but don't take HS's coyness during the convo on babies and marriage to mean they didn't do it. Again, its standard behavior among period drama heroines to go all coy and shy when the subject of babies crop up.
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YY
October 26, 2016 at 9:19 PM
She went coy during the lantern date, he held her hand and she froze, then she smiled and relaxed. I thought, she's so uncomfortable about him holding her hand her eyes went all goggly, is this another hint that they haven't done it???? And the pause at the door when he left the wifey and went looking for Su, the outstretched hand then the withdrawal...is this another hint he wanted to um, seek solace in her warm embrace (I'm being very genteel here) out of frustration, and then forcing himself to turn away by thinking, no, she's a sweet innocent maiden, I can't take advantage of her, I'll wait for another 100 years. FRUSTRATING.
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banini
October 26, 2016 at 10:38 PM
When he was about to enter Hae Su's room I thought it demonstrated that at his wedding night he wanted to consumate it with another woman, his true love as if it was their wedding night, instead of his real wife (then they showed Yon Hwa alone in her room too).
When he held back, I thought, why not go in if you have already done it before? If she was too sad then the more they have to be "together" to tell themselves that the wedding was nothing, this is the real deal. It was not like he wronged her for him to hesitate since it was HS who declined marriage.
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Lemon Meringue
October 27, 2016 at 3:35 AM
@YY, @banini
All this debate just shows the show should have given us a way hotter bed scene before all the angst set in. Lol
Nah, they did it. HS was just being shy at the lantern date. As for WS hovering and hesitating at her door on his wedding night, I actually had a diff interpretation. He had seen both HS and CR at the prayer stones and might have hesitated to seek solace in HS arms that night because of the knowledge of what he was about to do to CR.
But then my theory was shot to pieces because in the international version, apparently WS was hovering outside Yeonhwa's door, and not HS. So who knows *shrugs*
banini
October 27, 2016 at 6:38 PM
I'm really mad at these editors, why do they tell two different stories of the same drama? These last couple of episodes have different scenes/elements that instead of complementing the two versions, somehow make them contradictory. Like one has 1yr year jump while the other hasn't; in one So lingers outside HS's door while the other at YH's; in their reconciliation one version's kiss scene faded out into a blownout candle while in the other the kiss ended in a warm embrace. These might be shallow but for a show that requires the audience to analyze and interpret a lot (and dig all available version), such discrepancies may matter on how we see the story.
I wouldn't be surprised anymore if the ending in the international vs sbs turned out different :-[
Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:41 AM
Deed is done...two years of separation, 6 or more years of a relationship together, and finally there one and only chance to spend at least one night away from the palace....who can blame them for not wasting that opportunity?
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banini
October 27, 2016 at 6:21 PM
Precisely why I was soooo frustrated when their dialogue about children kinda implied they haven't. I do hope your right, cause that is the natural flow their relationship should have.
But what if, just what if, it really didn't happen but here comes Wook (or Yeon Hwa) admitting their relationship with passionate details of some past pre-soul swap encounters between them. Sorry, I'm getting into makjang mode here :-D We have enough as it is to drive us insane ;-)
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77 Ruby
October 25, 2016 at 11:56 PM
There is a saying that I think best exemplifies Wang So's journey to the throne. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
He said he wanted the throne in order to stop the bloodshed between brothers and nephews. But wasn't he prepared to wrest away the throne from Yo and showed up with an army ? YH letting them inside the palace prevented bloodshed. But you know So was prepared to slash, cut and stab his way to get the crown.
Later he ordered Yo's supporters killed. He also banned his younger brother Jung from seeing their dying, albeit evil, mother then ordered said brother into exile.
He thinks nothing of killing or punishing anyone against him.
He married YH ( got blackmailed into it) to keep the throne. There goes his promise to marry Soo. Telling her she is your only queen doesn't change the fact she's turned into your side chick. And while she agreed to the reason, it doesn't make it any less painful for her.
Hello? She wore the wedding dress her hated rival donned to tie the knot with you.
So is turning back into the feral wolf dog we met at the start of the show. He is surrounded by people who do not like him, want his throne and won't hesitate to kill him. To him, it is akin to being back in the mountains surrounded by ravenous wolves.
And guess who represents the tree he liked but ended up burning to survive? Soo.
I think the 4th king reigned for 25 or 26 years so he probably will end up like his old man. Whole on his deathbed, he'll be calling out for the only woman he ever loved.
And please let that not be the happy ending of this show. I am going to punch someone's face if Wang So and Hae Soo's souls meet in a meadow somewhere in the afterlife at the end of episode 20.
That would suck.
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pollyanna
October 26, 2016 at 12:26 AM
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Ruby
October 26, 2016 at 12:35 AM
I meant Soo wore a wedding dress while YH tied the knot with Wang So. I don't think they shared the same dress.?
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pollyanna
October 26, 2016 at 12:51 AM
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Barbrey
October 26, 2016 at 3:22 AM
Nice analysis. I liked this part especially: "So is turning back into the feral wolf dog we met at the start of the show. He is surrounded by people who do not like him, want his throne and won’t hesitate to kill him. To him, it is akin to being back in the mountains surrounded by ravenous wolves.
And guess who represents the tree he liked but ended up burning to survive? Soo."
When he told that story, I immediately thought the tree would be Soo, but hadn't thought of the people around the throne as wolves till you said it. Nice extended metaphor!
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pineapplegongzhu
October 26, 2016 at 7:21 AM
100% agree with you! I love what you said.
Like @Barbrey, when Wang So talked about his pat pat tree that he had to burn down, I knew it was foreshadowing how he would treat anything (or anyone he loved) if it became a matter of survival.
And that's what the throne requires: survival. Even Wook's mom, the Queen, said you only leave the throne through death.
In fact, I think Hae Su's name means a certain type of tree (if the post from soompi is to be believed).
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Jamie Opso
October 26, 2016 at 8:01 PM
@Ruby: "So is turning back into the feral wolf dog we met at the start of the show. He is surrounded by people who do not like him, want his throne and won’t hesitate to kill him. To him, it is akin to being back in the mountains surrounded by ravenous wolves.
And guess who represents the tree he liked but ended up burning to survive? Soo. I think the 4th king reigned for 25 or 26 years so he probably will end up like his old man. Whole on his deathbed, he’ll be calling out for the only woman he ever loved."
This is probably the most depressing, yet truthful comment I've read tonight. Gah.
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78 Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:20 AM
I was really surprised by all the negative reaction because I've been really enjoying the ride. I think the show did a service to itself by starting the relationships so slowly, it was extremely careful in how it showed how each character developed feelings for each other and that's exactly the reason we're having SUCH a tumultuous/heated reaction to all the action that's happening now. I don't think of this show as any Korean Drama, it seems to be heavily influenced by American television: these last four episodes are essentially a long Season Finale. In the season finale, all the action that has been simmering finally COMES TO HEAD and that's why these episodes feels so incredibly fast paced. Because they are, and because we're finally paying off everything that we've learned in episode 1-17. The Chae Ryeun flashback feels like it's stuffed in, but if you remember, almost every character death has had a similar flashback (Lady Hae, King Taejo) The show has not deviated from it's pre-existing style. How you feel about it is up to you.
I still love the emotional journey of the characters; I still feel like show stays really true to it's roots.
ON WANG SO
Wang So has always said to Hae Su that he would protect her, but there are two things that he can't protect her from: death, and himself. These are to the two things that are inevitable and it's going to be Wang So who hurts her the most. What's also incredibly tragic is all the things that Wang So said in the beginning when Hae Su entered the palace BECAME TRUE. He told her to trust no one in the palace (she trusted Chae Ryung, Wook, both whom betrayed her) and he told her everyone in the palace is alone. Her optimism rebutted at first, but look at where we are. Wang So is alone. Hae Su is alone. That is a true tragedy, to be told your fate, to buck against it, and to ultimately fail. Ugh, right in the gut man.
ON HAE SU
Okay, what happened to all those Hae Su haters that were angry at her for not wanting to Wang So to become king at the end of 16?? Where are your loud complaints now? Because literally everything that Hae Su has feared that Wang So would do, that the Kingship would force him to do, the separation, the cruelty, etc, he had to do it ALL this episode. I didn't think Hae Su was stupid at all for stating her doubts for Wang So. She has personally seen the death of two kings at the throne. She's personally served both. I think she was completely cognizant of all the machinations, the paranoia, the greed of the power who are around the king. She didn't want it for Wang So. Now do you get why?? She's accepted that Wang So would become King because of her great love for him. She even made him King because that's what he wanted. And now, who's paying the price? Hae Su. God girl, I want you to get out of there no matter how much you love Wang So. Her love is such a double edged sword. On the one hand, who she is allowed her to love Wang So, despite...
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:23 AM
despite GIGANTIC RED FLAGS (um, temple of death much) BUT it's also the reasons that she also loved Chae Ryung. She would not shuttle these characteristics just because it's more convenient to do so. Hae Su is the definition of inconvenient.
If anything CR's death letter cements to HS why she has to leave the palace. She's not giving CR an out when she says she was just a girl in love. She's thinking about HERSELF also as a girl in love, and what that means in the future for Wang So and her role in the many deaths of the kings. That flashback with Jimong is no accident. Hae Su understands. Because CR made her complicit in the death. Idk, I give her a lot of credit, because I think with HS you have always have to read the subtext.
ON PATRIARCHY
Overthinking kdrama talks about how this is a story of a monstrous patriarchy that feeds on women and destroys them in the process. These women love these men despite their absolute power to destroy them. And this is such a fine read for me. Because if you look at every single female character, they die when they fall in love with a Prince. It's too precarious of a position to be in if you are not also yourself a Royal surrounded by power. Even being the daughter of a general is not enough. Seon Deok, Hae Su, Cha Ryeun, are all going to die DIRECTLY as a result of their love for the princes. This is the great overarching sadness of the show: that theses women are doomed as soon as they fall in love with a prince, but that they struggle on anyways. Aish, my heart hurts writing this. There are NO sides to blame for this. There are no ships sinking or whatever - this I've always maintained because I've not been watching the show for this. Just the mere fact that women have ALWAYS suffered at the hands of the men who love them. That's the great tragedy for me.
ON FUTURE SADNESS
My theory is that all those poems that Hae Su made Wang So write over and over again are going to come back and it's gonna bite Wang So so hard in the richard simmons. If we thought LJK did a great job with the Queen Yoo death scene, wait until the Hae Su death scene. We're all gonna need to take leave from work for a week.
I also suspect that her diary written in Hangul will somehow be in a museum in the future. Maybe she sees it when she goes back to the future and maybe that's the moment she meets next-Gen Wang So.
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Pei
October 26, 2016 at 1:00 AM
@Seltzerwater WOW! What an enlightenment!
"If we thought LJK did a great job with the Queen Yoo death scene, wait until the Hae Su death scene. We’re all gonna need to take leave from work for a week."
For this Queen Yoo death scene, I'm considering to take a day off work but couldn't. I'm playing hide and seek with my boss to read all of beanies comments and post this *lol*
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happychou
October 26, 2016 at 2:43 AM
Oh why @Pei I do too play hide and seek with work, keep coming back to this thread.
@Seltzerwater Let's form a support group for the trauma we are going to face next week.
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straws
October 26, 2016 at 3:04 AM
I'm glad I found your detailed explanations in the midst of others ranting on how bad this show and casts, which I found they're not that bad. I'm not into KDrama and I love to read other's perspectives to see if there are details which I missed while watching it. After all, I only came back here once a year and when LJK drama is on air. Then, I resume my life watching Anime and this cycle repeats after LJK acted in a new drama.
Honestly, I do wish the drama a faster pace in earlier episode. But now, I understand why it's written in that way. I missed those episodes now T.T. I do believe PD-nim and writer-nim want to shorten our suffering in very few face pace episodes because the drama will not have a happy ending for SoSoo couple anyway, at least in Goryeo era.
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Maui
October 26, 2016 at 7:42 PM
If Hae Soo is leaving Goryeo , the death scene needs to be epic, everyone else's has been and I think hers should be too....one big large display of fireworks...ok Goryeo, I gave it my all...and this is me saying goodbye....
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Jamie Opso
October 26, 2016 at 8:16 PM
@Seltzerwater: I love your entire post, and I am looking forward to epic grief and regret from So. Just waiting to see how those copies of the poem will play out.
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Tza
October 26, 2016 at 12:33 AM
I actually agree with you regarding Hae Su's choice. She knew what kind of king that Gwangjong going to be and she thought she can change that. But, everything turned out to be as expected. Gwangjong is evil Gwangjong after all (not I blamed him after all the pressure he got). So, I understand why Hae su was terribly affected by CR's death eventho the reason of punishment was valid. She witnessed too many death already. She expected to be love more when Wangso became king but the situation changed. But I guess she still can't accept it that killing is the only way to survive in Goryeo era
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banini
October 26, 2016 at 1:28 AM
Your insight about Hae Su is very good and I agree with it. The problem probably is that it didn't translate that well on screen. It was very good on paper but ended up lacking in the actual execution, at least in my opinion, specially the great love part.
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Barbrey
October 26, 2016 at 2:45 PM
Yeah, I think that's it too.
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junah
October 26, 2016 at 1:32 AM
I give her a lot of credit, because I think with HS you have always have to read the subtext.
thank you for writing this. can't agree more. i begin to think that Su haters will hate her whatever choice she made. Lol. I felt annoyed with her last 2 episodes, but last night, I root for her decision. It's about time she leave the palace She has betrayed by almost everyone she trusted. It's not the lack of love toward So but the fact that palace DOES change people. and what does make So an exception for it ? In last episode, Su had much confidence when she decided to stay with So and ensure he won't be the king like history told. but what So did to Jung, feel like the drawback of the man we know Su has made him this far. when So said "you should be the one who understand me", it feels like So start to suffers the victim mentality. we have seen this happen in Wook, Yo, and now him.
So once said, a throne nothing to him without Su love. and what happen now, he can not hold Su without making her suffocated. the choice is in Su now. stay in palace will just crushed each other.
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Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:45 AM
@Selzterwater....I'm jumping into the bandwagon, count me in...thank you for your post, and agree with the comments that followed.
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sancheezy
October 26, 2016 at 1:40 AM
people angry because the drama doesn't make a logical progression, nothing is long enough to make audience feels and understand their motivation,
seriously this is not like any finale season cause all the things is implied here...
if you compare this to US series, then this is a failed drama,
tons of drama would be masterpiece if we interpret all the action into depth logic even that never confirmed.
there should be a good matter to judge a drama, you can be emotionally invested but that doesn't mean your interpreration make the drama objectively good,
between the chopped shot and loud background sound, there must be hidden message to appreciate music and their cosmetic ability, sigh
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 6:58 AM
YMMV I like the show for the reasons I've stated. You dislike the show for your reasons.
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79 Tza
October 26, 2016 at 12:23 AM
Thanks for the great recaps!
All these killings and heartbreaking scenes gave me a headache. This drama is so intense I can't breath when I watched it last night.
On the other side, lets cherish the short sweet scene of happy couple WS and HS. Gosh, they were so cute when they were happily in love. WS looked so innocent without all the politic issues and HS with her aegyo and all. I wish more lovely scenes of them were shown earlier.
LJK is a totally great actor! I love it when he prefer saeguk type of drama but I hope to see him in a 21st century character with the same sassiness and sexiness. Another two eps to go. Sobs.
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80 Ren
October 26, 2016 at 12:27 AM
This is a fantastic rendition of the Moon Lovers meltdown:
https://www.tumblr.com/video/sehunreacts/152300843087/500/
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charie
October 26, 2016 at 12:37 AM
omg, so accurate. Hahaha.
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Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:47 AM
@Ren, brilliant, best rendition of how we all feel right now...laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more....than u....and I will be sharing this too to others who are just feeling the complete rollercoaster of emotions...cheers.
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81 Johan
October 26, 2016 at 12:35 AM
If only this was not squeezed to 20 episodes, events will turn out better explained or shown beautifully.
If only..
Nonetheless, though I am so stressed today, this will not stop me from wanting to finish this drama till the end.
I am still hoping for a nice ending.
Is that too much to ask?
This is a plea from someone who haven't sleep properly since episode 1 of MLSHR till now and who
remains addicted to it even if stressed due to enexpected turn out of events this ep 18.
For better or for worse, even if Hae So leaves you,
I won't leave you till this drama ends.?
I don't have an idea of the chinese version.
Let's hope for a better ending.?
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82 charie
October 26, 2016 at 12:36 AM
This was the most I fast forwarded through an episode of this show watching it for the first time. I felt bad because I probably missed something, so I went back to watch it properly, and I felt even more bad, because I just wasted my time. Ugh. So becoming evil, his actions, justified or not, are giving me a whiplash. The only thing that I liked was the So scene on his mom's deathbed because I felt his pain, him loving his mother through and through despite that love never reciprocated. And it feels like this show wants me to give everyone a free pass because of all their seemingly unstable emotional/mental health, I am looking at you, CR, I have my limits, too. Ugh, I am so confused.
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83 pineapplegongzhu
October 26, 2016 at 12:38 AM
Thanks for the recap, Heads!
I have nothing to add that HeadsNo2, Seltzerwater and Barbrey haven’t said already, and very eloquently.
Some really great speeches this episode (well, mainly delivered by LJG)!
And seriously, only Lee Joon Gi can pull off a mad vengeful rant at his dying mother one minute, and then collapse into sobs like a little lost boy within a second of her passing away. #theforceisstrongwiththisone
Hae Su vs Yeon Hwa
It’s a sad fact that Wang So the man, and Gwangjong the king need different things/women. Ji Mong was so on point when he said that Hae Su could give comfort but not strength to the king. We always knew it, which is why however hateful Yeon Hwa can be, we all knew she is Wang So’s match for a royal couple.
Wang So needed the unconditional love, understanding and kindness of Hae Su. But Gwangjong needs allegiances, power, and strength that only comes through royal connections and politicking. So tragic.
It’s amazing how many things they are tying up well. I liked how Wang So ties all of Chae Ryung’s actions from the beginning to her latest act of sabotage/treason. It shows the richness of the story.
Wang So & Queen SMSS
I love the speech Wang So gives to his mother about fabricating their loving relationship and erecting a temple in her honor. It’s funny how history can be re-written like that. I love the tie in to his speech in episode 4 with the flashback. I mean, we always knew he would make good on his promise/threat, but it was still stunning how they incorporated this scene into the full arc of his relationship with his mother. So tragic, yet again, because you can’t force someone to love you. How sad when it is your own mother who disowns you. Gwangjong is still just a little boy who never understood his mother’s rejection but desperately wanted her love.
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:43 AM
Yeah I loved the CR flashback sequences! It felt like the final moments of the usual suspects. Just Hae Su's realization sinking in. And I don't get why people think HS is excusing CR at all. Those flashbacks are damning. HS's probably racked with guilt right over being partially responsible in aiding CR's actions.
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Maui
October 27, 2016 at 9:54 AM
@PineappleGongzhu, this, "It’s amazing how many things they are tying up well. I liked how Wang So ties all of Chae Ryung’s actions from the beginning to her latest act of sabotage/treason. It shows the richness of the story."well said.
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84 Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:44 AM
Oof, everyone who's angry with the show should read this.
http://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/378975-current-drama-2016moon-lovers-%E2%9D%A4-scarlet-heart-ryeo-%EB%8B%AC%EC%9D%98-%EC%97%B0%EC%9D%B8-%EB%B3%B4%EB%B3%B4%EA%B2%BD%EC%8B%AC-%EB%A0%A4-~-0-online-event-for-the-casts-please-see-page-1/?do=findComment&comment=20135418
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PakalanaPikake
October 26, 2016 at 3:11 PM
First, a big "Thank You" to Heads!!!
@Seltzerwater,
Thanks for that link to zi4r's excellent analysis of Hae-Su's character development over at Soompi. It's a long, but very good, read that covers a lot more ground than just the court lady.
It contains a link to a separate rant by zi4r on H-S that eloquently voiced the exact same character issues that have been making me nuts. The kicker is that her characterization is intentional, and ultimately makes her red kryptonite to Wang So:
http://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/378975-current-drama-2016moon-lovers-%E2%9D%A4-scarlet-heart-ryeo-%EB%8B%AC%EC%9D%98-%EC%97%B0%EC%9D%B8-%EB%B3%B4%EB%B3%B4%EA%B2%BD%EC%8B%AC-%EB%A0%A4-~-0-online-event-for-the-casts-please-see-page-1/?page=1446#comment-20126157
I've been feeling frustrated with Hae-Su's loyalty towards Chae-Ryung. It strikes me as yet another instance of her crummy powers of discernment, which hark back to episode 1 and her backstabbing friend running off with her chump of a boyfriend who left her holding the bag on his debts. Granted, she wised up to them as she was being chased by debt collectors... but she seems to have forgotten that lesson since arriving in Goyreo. ARGH! "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" is playing on a loop in my mind...
As a viewer, I thought that surviving the foibles of Do-Kyung and Oh Hae Young (OH HAE YOUNG AGAIN) took a lot of perseverance and detachment. It is even more the case witnessing Hae-Su's character traits, which are really fatal flaws that do her in and exert tremendous collateral damage on people she allegedly cares about. I hope she gets her head out of her butt in her next incarnation...
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85 dramamad
October 26, 2016 at 12:45 AM
God! even the recaps are so painful to read. Respect to those of you actually watching this. And an ovation to Heads for watching and then writing about it.
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86 Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 12:52 AM
I guess I'll just defend the show in the minority here. One thing I absolutely love is how ambiguous all the characters are and how the writer wants to understand their perspective no matter what. EVERYONE is given a reason why they do what they did. Chae Ryung's flashback cemented why she did what she did.
There's so much hate for Hae Su, which I don't understand. Hae Su is a wonderful loving girl with some well-earned trust issues. And her fears are well-founded. Wang So is the same, the cruelty was always simmering along, that we put aside judgement while he was being a romantic hero is our fault. That Wook was a romantic hero now turned cunning villain, also fantastic. Yeon Hwa, awful, strategic, yet focused on survival. Even Queen Yoo, in her last moments dealing with a son who's been her greatest source of pain. Every character is given their time to show us how they were making decisions and why. For that show, I love ya.
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Cassy
October 26, 2016 at 1:19 AM
+100000000000
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Jamie Opso
October 26, 2016 at 8:32 PM
Seltzerwater said: "One thing I absolutely love is how ambiguous all the characters are....Hae Su is a wonderful loving girl with some well-earned trust issues. And her fears are well-founded. Wang So is the same, the cruelty was always simmering along, that we put aside judgement while he was being a romantic hero is our fault. That Wook was a romantic hero now turned cunning villain, also fantastic."
Yes, I love them, too. But right now I want to throw myself on the floor and have a kicking, screaming tantrum about So. I don't WANT him to be cruel and crazy, I want him to be the romantic hero, dammit! (Wook fans felt the same, I'm sure, about his faults taking over his character.)
Sigh. I can’t help but see this show as an extended meditation on the nature and course of romantic love.
Courtship love is all about idealizing the other person, as well as (without realizing it) ourselves. It’s a time when we minimize our differences, and see the other person in the best possible light. We present ourselves in the best possible light, too, and want to sincerely live up to that “best self.” However, in the long run, that type of love (perfect union) is unsustainable.
Problems arise when our separate selves reassert themselves and it becomes apparent that our interests don’t necessarily align; and in this show, the stakes are so high--life and death, in fact.
The king and princes divide their romantic, sexual and reproductive interests among multiple women. Each queen or concubine wants her son to rule or to keep him safe; and would probably prefer to be the only woman with the king. However, it is in the king’s interest to have multiple women, children, and political alliances. So what union can there be, other than practical, and maybe selfish, in the end?
Show, you're killing all my dreams of romance and happy endings. This is a Goryeo Game of Thrones, after all.
Then, in the future, if reincarnated Hae Soo and So meet and mate, we can expect they will eventually drift apart? So has a strained relationship with his family, and will be too consumed by his job? Hae Soo will be iced out by his cold, critical family, feel neglected by So, and disillusioned by his office-politicking, and leave him?
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 9:05 PM
waaah, right in the feels Jaime!
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Maui
October 28, 2016 at 9:29 AM
@Jamie,...."Then, in the future, if reincarnated Hae Soo and So meet and mate, we can expect they will eventually drift apart? So has a strained relationship with his family, and will be too consumed by his job? Hae Soo will be iced out by his cold, critical family, feel neglected by So, and disillusioned by his office-politicking, and leave him."....In Kdrama version of their life together yes, I believe this is what we would see. Dramaland needs angst, real, imagined, fabricated....in real life I think three things make a relationship last versus break apart, 1. A willing heart 2.open communication 3. The ability to forgive, and move on to learn and grow from the experience.....So/Soo worked on overcoming #1 in the first half of the show, #2 came a little later but #3.....mmmm...So isn't there yet....if forgiveness doesn't follow betrayal, dissapointment, perceived or real failure on your partners part...then you don't learn and grow from the experience as a couple, and the relationship can fade instead of mature...
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87 nona hani
October 26, 2016 at 1:02 AM
I don't care anything else...i just want the baby part.. where the hell it has been gone!!!!!..hahahahhah
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88 Cassy
October 26, 2016 at 1:17 AM
I don't understand why everyone is so harsh towards Soo....
Put yourself in her shoes and imagine whether you would not make the same decision... That girl is physically and emotionally worn out after having lived 6 years (maybe more ?) in the body of someone else, leaving her family in the 21st century. She adapted quickly and fell in love with someone who was very violent with her at the beginning. She came a long way and her love for So is now unquestionable for me. But loving someone doesn't mean you have to understand and agree with each of his decisions. Ok, Chaeryung deserved this punishment, but from Soo's perspective, she was only a slave and this was her way of surviving all these years in this unhealthy environment. Her principles have not changed at all and she's been very consistent. But now all she wants is living outside the torments of the royal household... How can you blame a young girl for wishing a little peace before dying ?
As for So, he's been the same since the beginning, his temper has always been unstable and violent, he just toned down a bit when he realized Soo and Baekah were on his side, but now that he is the king he has more power and nobody can stop him. His character is again, for me, very consistent and next week (as seen in the preview), he will not accept that his worst enemy was Soo's past lover, it will hurt him like crazy.... :(
Having seen the Chinese version, I pretty sure the end will be similar... I will have to emotionally prepare myself :( :(
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89 Forsythia
October 26, 2016 at 1:18 AM
I have a question here: isn't that wang so supposed to use gwangjong as his name?why then he is using gwangdeok in this drama? Is it in the real history that he used gwangdeok first then changed to gwangjeong? Or this is the twist of the drama?
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kumoiwa
October 26, 2016 at 2:49 AM
Gwangdeok is his era name, which only emperors were allowed to use. Gwangjong is So's temple name, which was given only after his death.
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Forsythia
October 26, 2016 at 7:37 PM
Thank you for that information^^
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90 Nesterenko Anastasiia
October 26, 2016 at 1:18 AM
Though Hae Soo is indeed somewhat irrational, I think she is also deeply depressed. She had little time to cope with the thought she will die soon and that she will not be getting any real happiness. She can not sort out her feelings and she keeps losing and losing. She is simply unable to understand this So, so angry, so cruel. And I think is he told her about CR in advance she would have accepted. She has too much emotional baggage and guilt to sort through before beginning this understanding. It is hard to live like she lives, without freedom and even without any tasks to do. It is like being on maternal leave without the baby - you go mad slowly. She needs someone rational to talk to, then she could have processed it somehow, but instead she is sinking. But they reallu give her very little agency and reason to act like she acts. RuoXi was considerably stronger, more aware of politics and though she also fought for everyone she knew her limits. And she knew why, she just could not abide cruelty. Here they just do no let HS express herself correctly. Awful writing, poor heroes.
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91 Melbeanie
October 26, 2016 at 1:26 AM
Thanks Heads for this recap!
This show just brings heartaches nonstop, it's unbelievable! Or maybe it is just like what you said, it just sucks to live in Georyo!
I have given up hopes of a happy ending, at least in this era. With all these things happening, it's not difficult to see that everybody may just end up dead.
I do think that Su will go back to present day Korea and well, meet the man of her life, in the body of So! Since this show started in the present day, it may end up with that as well. Maybe that's the happiness Lee Jun-ki was talking about. I'll gladly lap it up with this tired, beaten, heavy heart that's been a witness of this sick royal family, episode after episode. I don't know, but I just can't quit. I reckon that's what you call "the fervent love for Lee Jun-ki", seriously.
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92 mexmax
October 26, 2016 at 1:42 AM
It's the year 2016.
Archeologists have discovered Su's Hangul notebook. The book was found in a cave, inside a jar. Korean historians and archeologists alike marvel at how well preserved the book is considering its proximity to the former location of the ancient baths. However, the real mystery is why the book exists at all. Up until now, the literature has widely agreed that Hangul was invented in 1446. After extensive scrutiny (and head scratching), archeologists have confirmed with numerous tests that the book was indeed written at least 400 years prior to the supposed invention of Hangul in 1446. The book has incited plenty of heated debate among academics, calling many to question the validity of dating methods. Others are contemplating how the discovery impacts our knowledge of Korean history. Will we potentially have to rewrite history as we know it?
The Onion wrote an article on the matter and argued that only a bizarre time warp involving transporting a young woman thousands of years into the past could explain the origin of the book. This gave anyone with any knowledge about the incident a good laugh, but alas, the origins of the book remain an enigma, causing many historians much heartache.
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Barbrey
October 26, 2016 at 3:27 AM
Perfect! LOL! I was wondering how that hangul book was going to play out!
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darkheart
October 27, 2016 at 12:08 AM
i bet WS will burn it or something
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banini
October 27, 2016 at 1:19 AM
The book will end up in Joseon, in the hands of a Crown Prince who is friends with Kim Sung Yeol. It will be hidden since it contains the secret of how to kill Gwi.
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93 BTS
October 26, 2016 at 1:45 AM
Hv u guys watch all the BTS clips frm this drama?its so much fun to watch like very funny cute and all i'm thinking is how can it turns into those scenes we watch?its better to watch the bts it hv better editing hahahahhaha n lee joon gi is soooooo cute and handsome and pretty awwwwwwww and looks like the cast chemistry is also great on the bts..maybe thats why at least the love story is beautiful..
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94 Rex
October 26, 2016 at 1:51 AM
I actually don't fault Hae Soo for wanting to leave the palace. I think Chaeryung's death was partly just an excuse for her to get out of that hellhole. 7 or so years of bloodshed, palace politics, betrayals, 2 mother figures dead, a sister figure dead, friends dead, a permanent limp from torture, and a terminal heart problem? Hell, I'd want to get out of there too and spend last few days in peace. Not to mention her rival is married to her love (despite his unwillingness)...regardless of having spent 7 years in that time, I still wouldn't be able to accept it.
At this point, I just want everyone in Goryeo to die so we can finally see reincarnated Wang So and Go Ha Jin happily together in the future.
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straws
October 26, 2016 at 3:19 AM
I wish to see other princes' reincarnations too!
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95 KumiTokki
October 26, 2016 at 2:14 AM
So much lost potential really for Wang So's character. They spent so much time all happy and giddy for so many episodes, that their delivery of making Wang So into Gwang Jong is unbelievable. Reading others peoples' opinion I realized that he was bound to turn into this, but you know it just hurts since you know where his coming from, you know his past and all you want for him is to be happy. Although I'm kind of annoyed that Chae Ryung is what triggered Hae Soo into wanting to leave-I seriously wished that she was able to hold on a little longer- I guess I'm on Hae Soo's side for wanting to leave the palace, heck, i'm not even there and i'm only watching, but just doing so already gives me so much stress! Seriously as much as they are following the same exact format as the Chinese version, I wish this was where they cut the line and made their own plot that still ends up where it needs to be. I was so confident that So would be different from the Chinese 4th prince, I was hoping that Soo would have only wanted to leave the palace because of her health and that she wanted to see the outside world, but mainly, it seems like So's drastic change will be a major reason for her departure. At this point of the drama, my interest has gone from 100% to around a 70%-60%. From the preview, I lost all hope, but you know how previews always trick you so maybe there was another reason why So didn't want to see Soo anymore, there must be, there has to be, if not then his character development since episode 1 was all for nothing. I lost all hope for So and Soo that I'm preparing myself for the worst, that last thread of hope now is if Ha Jin goes back to the future and meets a modern hot So.. Drama gods please spare us in the end please.
P.S.
Can someone put mercury in Yeon Hwa's bath? I'll be willing to die for it
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96 oreocrush
October 26, 2016 at 2:16 AM
The show frustrates me to no end and I'm waiting for the last 2 episodes to air and binge watch all at one go including ep 18. I thought I could go on just watching So Soo but no, I need something by LJK to satiate all my expectations for this show with another amazing show with LJK in it. Considering My Girl was my last LJK drama, any recommendation beannies?
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straws
October 26, 2016 at 3:20 AM
Two Weeks (thriller) & Arang (RomCom)
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LillyLee
October 26, 2016 at 10:34 AM
I like 2 Weeks the best
I keep putting it in request at Netflix so my friends can watch it.
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j9
October 26, 2016 at 9:47 AM
@oreocrush
I feel the same way. I stopped watching after ep 17. And IF, and only IF they manage to pull a satisfactory ending out of 20, will I either binge watch the last 3 episodes or just go straight to ep20.
But right now my hope has pretty much faded away...
"I need something by LJK to satiate all my expectations for this show with another amazing show with LJK in it."
I feel the same way about that as well, so it looks like Arang and the Magistrate for me
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97 daniboo
October 26, 2016 at 2:19 AM
I would gladly sacrifice the romantic entanglement(s) that Hae Soo had with Wook and Wang So if that meant she was going to be well defined as a character. Hae Soo is basically place as a love interest for these two Princes and has been made irrelevant to the plot . If I was the scriptwriter the main focus would've been the fight for the throne, better character development for Hae Soo and all the Prince's, and showing the dynamics between the Prince's and the relationship Hae Soo had with each of them. I felt that Wang So becoming the King was no big deal due to the fact that Wang So didn't do anything to deserve the throne it was basically given to him by default/circumstance. Maybe if Wang So was shown to be making steps to acquire the throne from the very beginning and that was part of his reason for coming back to the palace, then maybe my opinion would be different.
There is absolutely no excuse for the illogical writing and the erratic pacing that this drama has. The scriptwriter and director knew how many episodes they had to deal with everything. The first half of this drama was filled with useless scenes and plot points that were not needed and the second half was completely rushed. This is just shoddy work in my opinion. Sorry if my comments are too negative but seeing what could've been a epic sageuk fusion fall so short when it had time, rich source material, major investment quite frankly pisses me off.
I feel like this casts time was wasted and LJK was made to lose a massive amount weight for nothing.
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Notintoyou
October 27, 2016 at 2:17 AM
This to be honest +1000
I don't know if I'm in the minority, I don't like the scriptwriter. I'll admit I like the dialogues, but everything else sucks.
People put too much faith in the writer for connecting mythologies, etc --- it doesn't mean anything when it's never explored on the show.
The writer butchered the characters. Hae Soo's turning point should've been when Lady Oh died. I have to give props to IU because while the script didn't give her character growth, she portrayed it.
Wang So is too emotionally volatile and wasn't given any qualities of a king in the beginning. I wanted to root for him as a wise, sage king not because he's supposed to be, but because I should see those qualities in him.
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98 shiningdream
October 26, 2016 at 2:48 AM
i think most ppl would have said what im about to say
but i really dont understand how Su could choose chaeryung's side when CR obviously lied to her and even betrayed her. remember how Su was acccused of putting mercury in Mu's bath? CR didnt do anything. like for me, the worst thing that could ever happen is to have my best friend lie to me or betray me. obviously So could have told her about CR before beating CR but even after knowing that truth, how could Su forgive CR?
I cannot understand Su, such a birdbrain to me.
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LillyLee
October 26, 2016 at 10:37 AM
yeah, it would have been better to have just sent her away like he intended in the first place instead of killing her
Logic says THAT is why Hae Soo sees him as a monster.
He knew all along how it would end if she did not leave and he let Hae Soo become a part of what caused her death
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99 rochinipark
October 26, 2016 at 3:08 AM
Cannot recall another drama that has drawn so much conflicting views. Dramabeans commentaters are ready to do their Thesis in Kdramas and its reaction it gets from Viewers.
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Seltzerwater
October 26, 2016 at 7:00 AM
LMAO truth. I haven't been this active in Kdrama fandom for years.
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Maui
October 28, 2016 at 9:32 AM
@Seltzerwater...LOL...I've never been this active in Kdrama fandom...period...ever...:)What is this? I'm just so shocked at myself?...I thank my family and friends for their patience with this lunatic version of myself....
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mary
October 28, 2016 at 8:57 AM
IKR? Haha both sides (for this ep, Pro vs Anti-Haesu) make good points too. I wouldn't be able to choose a clear victor.
Now I know how the TV stations feel when they're trying to choose awards and decide to give tie for daesang.
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100 straws
October 26, 2016 at 3:27 AM
Baek Ah and Woo Hee preview seems foreshadowing Woo Hee is going to die next.
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Baek
October 28, 2016 at 3:54 AM
Big time bomb there.. Lets see how it turns out though im not so optimistic, disappointed that she really betrayed and spy on baek-ah and So for Yo.. She's really a scary girl (though her intention is for her people to have a better lives T_T) and the Soo and her scene on whether they would be forgiven if they did someone wrong, seems to be a bad sign..
with the sudden out of nowhere grandmother account from baek ah that her grandmother witness entire family was killed by the king of bakje (her grandfather somemore.. if being the citizen was bad enough, i cant imagine what happens when she's the true heir somemore)..
her identity of princess still not revealed..
her spying act..
her dishonesty.. (certain things i agree she had no control, one cant control where and who she was born and what the previous generation did, they had no play in it..) but many times she could come clean with baek-ah, but she choose not to.. i honestly think she missed her chance already.. even if So is generous enough not to kill her, i think she would be too ashamed to be with baek-ah.. and probably leaving her for his safety too.. (like what the minister said)
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