1st?

My hands are still shaking after seeing the moments of Deputy Magistrate Han is being executed T.T

oh my gosh, i was staring at my laptop for a long while after watching this episode, i mean but why? i knew the grief would come, the tragedy would surface, but all the same i was knocked off my feet but the scenes. our main leads are in for a whole lot of pain and sadness and tragedy. am just soo sad. ............going off to collect my broken parts......

Needs more Chung-Woon! is what I will probably say for every remaining episode of this drama. This man stole my heart and if anything happens to him, I'm gonna be very upset.

Really enjoying this series so far! Yoo Seung-Ho's acting continues to blow me away, and the writing is fast paced - it keeps me wanting more!

You could sense Sun's desperation throughout the episode. Props to YSH for literally every thing that he does. That scene where he's in tears after finding out that the Water Bureau was the price for his life is so tragic. He cannot possibly fathom why his father would do that, and that's perfectly understandable. But as a viewer, I can sympathize with the King. Wouldn't I do anything to keep my baby safe? It's so hard to watch Sun question and hate his father for keeping him alive. The disillusionment in Sun's eyes killed me.

I'm still not on board with Yoon So Hee. Even that moment when she was telling Gon to protect Sun to the last, her eyebrows were twitching the entire time as though she was forcing emotion. I'm not coming around to Hwa Goon either. Thus far she has no concrete goal and is extremely volatile. She acts rashly and the slightest event changes her.

But right now Ga Eun isn't living up to my expectations either. It's too early to make a judgement on all of the characters I suppose. I'll stick around to see what's in store!

Thanks @hanshimi for the recap!

That whole scene between Crown Prince and the King was so enthralling. When the King removed CP’s mask, it gave me chills. It’s something I’m sure CP had been waiting for for his whole life - for someone, especially his father, to see him without his mask. And for it to be the King who removed the mask instead of CP was so significant. You Seungho did a great job showing the different emotions CP went through, especially the realization that all of this came about because of the King’s desire to protect him. Obviously, the King wants the CP to lose his idealism and face reality, but the way he forced CP to open his eyes to the workings of being a ruler broke my heart for CP.

I did find the King’s constant (back &forth) between telling CP that the suffering of the people is because of CP and then telling him that it was because of himself (the King) a little strange, but at the same time, exactly what a father who loved his child so much, he gave up his soul to the devil to save him, would do - it makes him more human and flawed. When he asked the CP if he wanted to transfer the blame to someone else and pretend he knew nothing, all I could think of was that it was not only because of the CP’s poor decision, the King himself made some very bad decisions earlier which had caused all this.

Hwagoon is fast becoming a more interesting character. When her father came home drunk and she asked to marry the CP, it almost seemed as though he was afraid of her. It’s been referenced before, but I really want to see what it is exactly that makes her so adored by Daemok (and Gon for that matter too. Looks like they’re going for the silent bodyguard silently protecting his charge and being so in love with her that he’ll die for her, and maybe even the one she loves). I love hanshimi's deciphering of Hwagoon and I look forward to getting more out of her character.

i am officially emotionally invested in this drama,mind,heart and soul..................its giving me scarlet heart de javu with the loss and heartache and performances i hope the ending will be much better...... its moving and tearing me inside but i just cant walk away,i need to see my prince on that throne in the end.....MBC welcome back

I have written this elsewhere and I'm going to write this here again: I'm having serious beef against this writer because so far the script hasn't made the most out of KSH's talent, while giving other leads, even Lee Sun and Hwa Gun (and Hwa Gun most of all) plenty of room to display their trajectories. Even as a fan I must also say, with bitter reluctance, that she hasn't blown me away with her acting where she should have, especially during those small, quiet moments after the storm has passed. This painfully shows in ep 7-8 and it hurts me personally because I know she's capable of more, judging from her previous projects especially her emotional outburst in I Miss You.

I still can't connect with So-Hee's acting, and as I mentioned in one of my conversations with some fellow Ruler watchers, I find So-Hee too stiff with her body and facial muscles. She has yet to relax them and let Hwa Gun takes over, and the end product is always someone forcing emotions and pain out of herself. I must admit, though, that during the scene with Gon outside the Prince's chamber, I can detect sincerity in her voice when she made a plea for Gon to keep what he had seen a secret between her and him. Her facial expression is still bad, but the voice delivers, at least to me. I hope she will let Hwa Gun 'out' more through her body language, and actually make the character more consistent by toning down the glee. It almost feels as if she was smiling for the camera and audience than to the characters opposite her in the story, and that's why it's irritating (for me) to watch her during those scenes.

Speculations have also flying around with regard to the Queen's true intentions. I don't get that vibe from her and I do hope she hasn't sold her soul to the devil, but I guess we can only get some closure to that front by the end of next week.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying Ruler so far and I hope the show will keep up the current pace and have more in store until the end of its run. Most importantly, please don't let me down as far as Ga Eun is concerned. I hate it when I come into a show for an actress that I love only to be disappointed by what is given to and by her compared to what is given to and by other leads. I by no means say that KSH is bad in this show. There are moments where she still shines, and I hate to say this but so far she hasn't been up to the level that I have seen her delivered.

This was way too angsty for just the third episode. So agree with your intro, hanshimi. The king's throne seems to be just a decorative chair. And its so sad that the first thing the prince does for his people believing it ll help them ends up giving him all this heartbreak.

And how is yoon so hee's character always around the prince? And only married woman put their hair up in joseon, right?

Hmm, so giving Lee Sun the emblem was a setup to make Pyunsoohwe people think he's the real prince, so when they switch places, even if the mask comes off they'll think he's the actual prince. Meanwhile Prince Sun can run around doing stuff. If they do it right, they could take advantage of this. Hwa-goon knows what the real crown prince looks like, but if half the Pyunsoohwe people think Lee Sun is the real prince, the leaders will probably try to take advantage of this to manipulate Lee Sun and oust Prince Sun. There's always the concern that Lee Sun will fall for it out of a desire to stay on the throne, but one of his defining character traits is his intelligence, so I don't think he'd help the bad guys unless he knew it was advantageous to bring them down. I doubt he'll forgive his father's killers for the sake of a title; as much as he hates his station in life, he seems to care a lot about his family and wouldn't abandon them over Pyunsoohwe's sweet nothings. Right?

I do wonder how Prince Sun will manage to figure things out while he has Lee Sun as his double in the palace. I'm sure he'll find some sort of weakness to take down the Water Bureau with, but right now the drama is showing us exactly how difficult that will be. Pyunsoohwe at this point seems like an impenetrable wall of power.

Not to mention the tangled love lines here, with Ga-eun thinking her father was killed by the crown prince himself while Lee Sun will end up being a substitute crown prince so the actual crown prince can run around fixing things....goodness.

The way Yoo Seung-ho cries is so heart-wrenching, I was a mess, I had to pause this episode a couple of times to get myself together before I could watch it again! He started losing people and is told it's all because of him, his shock and pain felt so real! It's not his fault, non of it is, why should he take the blame when it's his father's mistakes! It was his greed to be the king that got them here today! Now he's too deep into this that he cannot even fight Pyunsoowhe! He keeps saying he wants Sun to become stronger to fight them but I don't know how that will happen because Pyunsoowhe seems too strong and too in control of everything!

I thought peasant Sun will be mistaken for CP Sun but it seems like everyone knows the real CP except for Ga-eun! Gon has seen the prince so he will not take the fake one to Dae-mok unless he decides to be faithful to Hwa-gon and help her keep the CP safe. I still don't like her but I think she's doing a little better now! I don't understand her obsession over Sun, though!

I like Chung-woon and would like to see more of him, Sun's face when he told him he'll be his bodyguard, aww! But it's going to break Sun when he knows it's him who's taking his place to behead Magistrate Han, I've not watched episodes 7+8 yet and it already hurts!

Thank you Hanshimi for the recap.

Yoo Seung Ho is daebak!! He has such an expressive face. When his face crumples, it tugs at your heartstrings. But to think there is sooo much tears and angst in the 3rd episode itself, I am quite dreading the last episodes. At this point, I m watching this drama only cos of Yoo Seung Ho. I am excited to see how he grows from a naive, sheltered prince with idealistic principles to a strong, clever king who cuts the strings of the Pyunsoo Group and rule autonomously.

oh i love this drama am looking forward for the character to evolve and exert their revenge or achieve their full potential.. KSYcharacter has finally taken shape in episode 7 n 8 and i agree the villains are competent i love them for that plus L inst disappointing me right now..good work team ruler

Thanks for the recap. I felt for our Prince Sun. How emotionally draining all of those revelations must have been for him.

I like that we have a group of complex characters--especially our villains--and I think there is so much potential as relationships become more complicated and loyalties come into conflict. For example, we have commoner Lee Sun. What will happen once he dons the princely robes (and gets comfortable in them)? On a more simple level, what about characters like Dae-mok's bodyguard, Gon? He will now have conflicting loyalties to his leader and to Hwa-gon. And is it safe to assume that he loves Hwa-gon? I mean, doesn't every broody bodyguard with half of his face covered by long locks harbor secret feelings for the one he silently protects? LOL! I can't wait to see what happens to our characters--hopefully the actors can live up to all of that potential!

I still find Hwa-gon a lot more interesting to watch than Ga-eun right now, my love for Kim So-hyun notwithstanding. While I don't think Yoon So-hee is as bad as people seem to think she is, this character would have been amazing in the hands of a stronger, more nuanced actress. Myungsoo seems to have improved a lot. I am in love with the three way bromance between the Suns and Chung-woon. I wish I could feel sorry for the King and appreciate his sacrifice for his son, but he was then one who starred this mess in the first place.

funny how i cant find any thing interesting in hwa goon...no matter how cool someone's characteristics are..i can never appreciate you if you make innocent people die intentionally...and to be honest yoon so hee doesnt make things easier..once i see her never ending weird smiling face...all i wanna do is fast-forward...

I've never watched a drama with Yoo Seung Ho but now I get why dramabeans and beanies are so fond of him. He's one of the best actors in dramaland I've watched. I watched this and the next episode with my hand over my mouth, with everything so fast paced. I'm so glad they didnt drag out the prince not knowing about Pyunsoo Group longer.

The dad-child relationships are interesting in this drama.
The King wants to protect his son to let him govern without concerns unlike him. Lord Han dies because of his sense of justice and lets his daughter alone. I wonder if there will be a confrontation between King Commendant and Chung Woon. Their masters have different opinion and I imagine aa duel could happen between two loyal bodyguards. Hwa Goon's grandfather has absolute control over his son and organization. He walks over his son and Hwa Goon does the same. They have the most ill family relationship in the drama.
After all these events it's no wonder the Crown Prince collapsed. At that moment I thought it was too much for someone to deal with and his body naturally reacted.

I really LOVE how the dads in this drama teach their kids, they shelter them but also show how to be responsible *respectbows*

I teared up so much at Yoo Seung Ho's grief.

Am I the only one here being moved by Sohyun's acting in that execution scene? To be honest I've watch SO many scenes like that in historical drama, but because those brutal scenes are not common in real life so sometimes I cant connect with the actors's acting. But this time, I was AMAZED. I dont think that "good acting" is enough to describe, at that moment I can only see Ga Eun and feel for her grief, the feeling is so real that I cried my eyes out for her T__T

And about Sohyun's character - Ga Eun, I've seen some complaints about its lacking of character development... I agree to some extent coz I think Sohyun can do better than that if the writers give her a chance, but I think that we are being kind of.. unfair to Ga Eun, aren't we? Why do we have to judge her that much? I really dont understand, we havent know much about her yet and our characters have a longggg way to go. I'll be happy if Ga Eun turn out to be a badass character but right now, I love Ga Eun as who she is, no need to compare her to other characters or my own expectation. I'm kind of sad that some viewers judge her characters but underrated Sohyun's acting while being given short screentime like that.

I'm so sad after reading ep 5,6 recap but hardly found Ga Eun name. I don't want to make quick judgment but I hope So Hyun didn't just choose this script because there is Seung Ho (her dream partner) in this. We got the promise from Han Ga Eun character description that she is a independent, intelligent Joseon young lady, who is driven by her revenge plan but later fall in love and help the prince return to his throne. So far what we get is just the part "nice and kind girl, who is now broken because of her father tragic death". I understand that the write dedicated all 8 first episodes to build the ground for the Prince to grow, but why did even Hwa Gun and Peasant Sun got better development than Han Ga Eun? If we get to later episodes but Han ga Eun character is still limited like this, I will be very disappointed. Kim So Hyun acting skill needs to be released, please give her more meaty story and plot.Don't waste her talent like this, If only she was the one who played Hwa Gun role. Joseon's Go Eun Byul maybe?

is it just me or Hwa goon's dad actually is not very happy with Dae Mok's favouritism towards Hwa goon? Why do I sense that he's actually jealous of Hwa goon getting on Dae Mok's good side even though she's such a brat. Feels a bit sarcasm when he says what my daughter wants that she can't gets. I smell baeshin-vibe

I understand that the tone of my previous comment might come off as whiny and judgmental, especially towards Ga Eun. I start this comment in her defence, and to get my point across in a more coherent manner. By disagreeing with other beanies who hold a different opinion towards this character, I do not wish to start a war or force others to agree with me. What I'm trying to do is to start a discussion on how differently we interpret the same character. You are welcome to join, and before and even after this, you are free to like, or dislike Ga Eun, but I believe the basis to our attitude, or our judgement towards her, merits justification, as well as challenge.
These are the reasons why I think Ga Eun is interesting:
She's smart and knows how to make use of the resources she has at her disposal. Her wit shows in the scene where she rescued our CP from the Water Bureau officials. I need not delve on this any further.
She's perceptive to others' feelings and intuitive to the situations around her. Did you notice the small smile on her face before she turned around and asked why the CP kept following her around in the firefly scene? She was aware of his, and her own feeling, even before he *ahem* shamelessly gave her that lovestruck gaze. Yes please to no confused, bewildered female lead. Did you notice her worried look when Woo Bo warned her father to abort the investigation? She is perceptive to the imminent danger even though she is the only one until now kept in the dark as far as all these upheavals are concerned.
She knows fully well what she wants and doesn't shy away from it. Let's give the girl some credit. She's the only one who has survived the CP's intense gaze, not once, but TWICE. Heck even Hwa Gun couldn't hold out for more than 30 secs and we're already flailing and swaying like windswept grass. Granted, she doesn't have to go the lengths HG has to, because her father lowkey approved of prince Sun even before knowing his identity. Yet it doesn't negate the fact that she knows her feeling and his too, and can convey it without even saying out loud.
She's willful, smart, and willing to listen to reasons, just as Hwa Gun is perceptive and willing to learn. Ep 8 proves my point, but I'm not going to spoil it here.
I agree that Hwa Gun is the more interesting character to this point. It's because she wears her feelings on her sleeves, is quick to act and almost unpredictable. The unpredictability is what makes her interesting, while Ga Eun seems to be more predictable because she's written to be the more self-disciplined and self-controlled one. However, I wouldn't call an unmarried girl born in that era who isn't faltered by a man's gaze predictable. If she doesn't have any intensity deep within her or is really 'meek' like any other female leads she would have looked away and avoided his stare.
Hwa Gun is interesting indeed, I don't...

Uh Oh. I can't imagine what it must feel like for Ga On to see her father be killed by the Crown Prince. Even more so, I feel so bad for for Prince Sun, now that his identity was used to kill her father, just when he was in his beginning stages of love for Ga On. I wonder how these two leads dynamic would turn out after she recognizes him. Also, Hwa Goon is starting to become a more dangerous character. Her obsession with the Prince is a little crazy, and now that it shows she is quite smart and is willing to listen to Dae Mok, I wonder what will happen once she pushes her way into our lovely couple. Lastly, my heart also aches for Chung Woon. I was looking forward to more of him in this story, but now that's never going to happen. Thank you for the recap. I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks for the recap, hanshimi!

I love how much Prince Sun values his friendship with CW and Lee Sun, protecting them from Gon and other attackers. He doesn't put his life above theirs just cuz he's the prince. And his conversations with CW and Lee Sun later just solidify that he considers them both to be close friends.

I am really terrified for the king and the prince. Pyunsoohwe is ruthless and the listing of the events that were to happen to the witness and fake princes sounded so nonchalant as the magistrate recited them. *shivers*

WB is so wise and really knows what's at stake. I hope he can help coach the prince.

It was really heartbreaking to see Sun learning the truth about his birth and how the king protected him. What a way to pile guilt upon someone... The prince is learning a lot of facts in a short span of time, and I hope this would only fuel his desire to protect his people and set things right. But he's got a lot of learning to do since he's still like a baby bird.

I'm glad that Lee Sun actually heard Sun's wailings and the king's convo with the commander. It might be enough reason for him to remain loyal to the prince and trust in him.

So sad to see that Deputy Magistrate Han needs to be sacrificed for everyone else to survive. But that is the reality with Pyunsoohwe's power. At least Han realizes that Sun is the crown prince and GE is whisked off to safety for now.

HG getting Gon on her side is interesting. It makes me wonder whether Gon would truly serve her and act according to her wishes over Daemok.

The whole exchange between Sun and Han stabbed my heart. Whilst Han has chosen to be the sacrificial lamb in order for Sun to be strong enough to face Pyunsoohwe one day, Sun is not ready to lose such a loyal subject. I can really feel his pain that his foolishness and thoughts of carrying out justice has caused Han and others to lose their lives... His life lessons are coming at a high cost to him and all I can do is root for Sun to bear this pain and persevere.

Gosh, this ep keeps punching me in the gut and twisting my heart... How much more can Sun endure?!?! I guess it shouldn't surprise me at how far Daemok will go to make sure that Sun will be attached to them with no one who would dare to help him, and to sever any sort of ties between Sun and GE if he were to kill her dad. CS being poisoned was hard to watch. Sun has obviously been very fond of and grown very close to him over the years. He even used his eunuch's name as his own alias. My heart is getting thumped with every scene and YSH is definitely putting on a formidable performance.

I was surprised that HG seems to be so deeply affected by Sun's pains and sorrows. But again, I'm curious how well Gon will follow her orders.

The screamed questions from Sun to the king was just a really harsh reality check all around. It was so painful to watch until Sun collapsed. I suppose CW is gonna act in his stead to execute Han. Just...

I don't believe Hwa-goon has any ill intentions towards Prince Sun.

Awwwww! So much heartbreak for the puppy this episode. Yoo Seoung- ho is just killed it this episode! I specially loved the scene where he takes off his mask for Chun-soo. Such vulnerability in his eyes masked behind bravado for his dying friend.

But with Chun-soo gone, Princey is now down to 3 potential loyal subjects (if you count Moo-ha as well) who actually have his back. That's my takeaway from his conversation with his father. The Prince needs to actually go out of the palace and create his own army of loyal bros so he can vanquish evil vanquished through the sheer power of bromance! My expectations have been raised already! =P

Thank you for the recap, @hanshimi! I love and agree with the faith you have in these characters. I'm totally with 'em on this journey, too. Your hopefulness for Hwa-goon makes me hopeful for her character and her potential to be much greater, too. I also love your reminder that Prince's Sun metal mask is only temporary and it can never become one with him. It can only protect his identity for so long, as it hinders him from being his true self. Can you imagine the moment he shows his bare face to the world? It'll be epic. Just like that moment when he appeared to save Lee Sun's dad. As for the glimmer of hope that the cliffhanger left us, you're spot on with that feeling because that's how I felt when the episode ended! I knew that there was no way (right?), but I actually hoping that Prince Sun would be able to stop it all from happening and I was wishing for some kind of loophole. Sadness.

@ravennightstar, are you here? *saves you a spot next to Yoo Seung-ho!* ☺️ (Omg, by the time I post this, you've probably been here ages ago! It took me an entire day to type this comment because ~life~)

RIP Chun-soo! ?? I have to admit that his death was a really effective (albeit sick and cruel–which I'm starting to notice is how Pyunsoohwe does things) way of getting Dae-mok point across of doing what he says or more of the Prince's people will die. Oof. I liked Chun-soo the moment I saw him sneak that book to Prince Sun! His last moments with Prince Sun was so bittersweet. He got to see Sun's face before he passed and they way Sun still managed to joke with him reminded me of their friendly rapport that I adored since the very beginning–when I first saw them together. You'll be missed, Chun-soo!

I can't with the lax security IN THE PALACE! Like, how is it that the Pyunsoohwe baddies keep ninja-ing their way on top of the ceilings in the palace?! Somebody needs to do something about about this! It was so sad when Prince Sun was crying over Chun-soo's death, but then when I saw Hwa-goon and Gon being creepy up on the ceiling, I was like, "Oh no! Now Gon knows how the prince looks like!" Even though Gon now follows Hwa-goon's orders, I'm pretty sure his loyalty still lies with Dae-mok, and now I'm afraid he's gonna tell Dae-mok everything–even though Hwa-goon told him not to (but Dae-mok told him to report everything to him, anyway)! Before Gon saw Prince Sun's face, I was like "Ohohoho" when he thought Lee Sun was the real crown prince because he was holding the prince's jade emblem. I was relieved because it meant that they'd divert their direction away from actual Prince Sun. Sorry, Peasant Sun!

While I feel really bad for Ga-eun's dad and don't want him to go out like that, I couldn't help feeling relieved that the king gave his word to protect Ga-eun. I'm now expecting the king to have her in contention to marry his son and be a princess. Too much? Okay.

This episode did well in setting out the characters conflicts.
Hwa-Goon's character works better when she is not obsess with her love for Prince Sun which I still don't understand.
I like her in this episode when she is plotting, thinking, and using things to move forward her plans.
For example maybe she just wants to marry Prince Sun because she wants to have power.
Felt sad when Prince Sun realizes the truth about why he wears the mask.

Omg, i knew this drama was gonna be tragic but after this ep, i dont know if i wanna watch it anymore. (ok, who am i kidding? of course, im gonna continue watching) it's too tragic!

The words the cp said to his father asking why he was born? He never ask to be cp and why did he make deal with pyunsoohwe has to be the most painful things a father could hear.
I must say the father loves his boy, but he's protecting him wrongly. The scene where cp went to go meet dae mok is my favourite, damn. both are words smith and seeing dae mok yelling because of cp's words gave me life..
Why do i feel bad for laughing at Lee sun in that torture scene? i mean he was funny for some reasons..

Wow @the above comments, i think it's too early to complain that ga eun is not getting enough screen time. There are sageuks that they dind'nt introduced the female lead character until 3rd episode, some of you beanies must be new to sageuks lol.

It was a bad idea to read this while I'm at the office. I had tears in my eyes. T_T