Seven Day Queen: Episode 8

by javabeans

There are the kinds of sacrifices that make me want to reach into the screen and knock heads around, and there are the kind that twist me up and knot up my heartstrings because the dilemma is presented so strongly that the sacrifice feels respectable, sometimes downright necessary. Guess which one this is? It’s another tense ride today, all chock-full of emotional challenges and tests of character, topped off with another cliffhanger to keep us on edge for the next week. ANOTHER WEEK, by god. What will I do to fill the time.

 
EPISODE 8 RECAP

Nok-soo takes a secret meeting with Secretary Im, and suggests that they hang Chae-kyung in public to purposely draw out Yeok. They don’t know that Myung-hye has planted a couple men in Secretary Im’s staff, who report those plans to Myung-hye and her uncle, Deputy Commander Park.

They recognize the effectiveness of Nok-soo’s idea, because Yeok won’t be able to ignore Chae-kyung’s suffering if he sees it right in front of his eyes. Thus Myung-hye realizes that this fight will never end until Yeok appears—unless they can eliminate Chae-kyung from the equation.

That’s what prompts Myung-hye to disguise herself as a fellow prisoner to join Chae-kyung in her cell. She notices that Chae-kyung is already ill and seems surprised to realize that she has been enduring agony for Yeok’s sake, hoping that he’ll stay away.

Myung-hye pulls out the vial of poison and gets ready to administer it, thinking Chae-kyung ought to be glad to be put out of her misery—but just then, a guard shows up and asks what she’s doing.

Myung-hye hides the vial quickly, then looks up in surprise to see that the guard is Seo-no. Aw, he went rogue to help Chae-kyung! He says he came out of concern, and Myung-hye jumps to use that as her excuse too—she was worried that Yeok might do something, so she came here purely to observe. She insists that she’s here with the exact same intention as Seo-no and warns him not to find fault with her. Ugh, I really dislike her.

Seo-no, at least, doesn’t appear to trust her explanation. He binds her wrists with rope, then stands guard directly in front of the cell. She asks if he got Yeok’s permission to come, and Seo-no says tersely not to mention him. Myung-hye figures they fought, then takes out the poison vial surreptitiously while his back is turned.

But that’s when Scarface and his men enter the prison. Seo-no hastily unties Myung-hye’s hands and they both resume their covers as guard and prisoner. Scarface has Chae-kyung dragged out of the building, and Myung-hye warns Seo-no not to do anything rash.

Chae-kyung is put into a caged wagon, and Seo-no joins the entourage of guards that accompany it as it is wheeled along. Chae-kyung asks with mounting panic where she’s being taken, and Secretary Im offers to let her go now if she reveals where the thief is hiding. She asks incredulously why he’s going to such lengths to catch him, and Secretary Im replies that the man is guilty of high treason for stealing tributes from the king.

Chae-kyung is mounted to a large cross and hung above the city wall. Damn, there’s just something powerful about crucifixion imagery. I’m trying to take comfort in the fact that it’s Seo-no tying her there, even though she doesn’t seem to recognize him.

She trembles as she’s tied many feet above the ground, but she’s even more frightened by the sight of archers getting into position, ready to attack the minute Yeok shows up.

She repeats to herself in agitation, “You must not come. If you come, you will die.”

Seo-no climbs up onto the cross to offer Chae-kyung a last drink of water, which she declines, to his dismay.

Secretary Im orders the news to be spread far and wide to ensure their target will hear it. Scarface speculates that the reason Yeok hasn’t shown up yet is because of the poison arrow he shot him with—if he hasn’t been treated with the antidote yet, he should be suffering the throes of its effects. Oh no, is that what Chae-kyung is feeling?

Yeok reads through records of royal tributes, but his mind wanders to his recent conversation with his mother, when she’d urged him to bide his time. He’d told her he would find his own way, because this method didn’t suit him. Gwang-oh brings him more records and asks if Yeok picked a fight with Seo-no on purpose, and Yeok unthinkingly says yes before realizing what he’s said. He denies it right away, but Gwang-oh guesses that he provoked Seo-no knowing that he’d go to help Chae-kyung.

Yeok winces over his shoulder wound, and it looks even worse now, all festering and ragged. Gwang-oh recoils at the smell of the bandage, recognizing the herb used as an antidote—and then the thought strikes him: “Were you poisoned?”

While his friends fuss over his fever, Yeok thinks back to Chae-kyung tending him with medicinal plants, and how she’d had a cut on her arm. A doctor is called to treat him, and while he assures Yeok that the poison doesn’t cause immediate death, if untreated it could be very dangerous. Yeok asks for an antidote, but the doctor says it would take two days to collect the ingredients and make it.

Seo-no bursts in to tell them of Chae-kyung’s plight. Yeok immediately starts to head out, but his friends argue that he’ll get himself killed. He fires back that he can’t just leave her to hang like that when she’s already in bad shape.

Gwang-oh points out that even if they were to rescue her, they don’t have an antidote. Seo-no adds another concern: that even if they had it, it wouldn’t do any good. Based on how she refused water, he fears that she’s already decided to die.

Daylight comes and Chae-kyung continues hanging on the cross, thinking of Yeonsangun’s offer to release her in exchange for capturing Yeok, and how Yeok had told her sarcastically to ask for help if she wanted to see him die. That firms her resolve, and she vows, “I won’t do that. Ever.”

Yeok watches from a distance, torn at the sight of her pain but clearly seeing the armed men lying in wait. He remembers how she’d expressed relief that the man she fell for this time turned out to be the prince after all, and not a strange jerk.

Yeonsangun drinks alone in an inn, recalling the time he’d observed memorial rites with Chae-kyung. He growls, “There’s no use in smiling like that. If you refuse my helping hand, I will not protect you either.”

Suddenly, an arrow flies through the door and lands in the table. He bolts out the door while his bodyguard steps protectively in front of him, and off in the distance Yeok draws his bow and takes aim. Yeonsangun jumps out of the way as a second arrow whizzes by, and more swordsmen leap into position in front of the king.

Yeok is far enough away that his face can’t be seen, but Yeonsangun narrows his eyes when he spots him. Yeok runs, and Yeonsangun turns his attention to the letter wrapped around the arrow shaft. It reads, “Shin Chae-kyung is dying at the gates. Thanks for killing her for me.”

Yeonsangun immediately mounts his horse and rides off, thinking furiously, “Die? Who’ll die?”

He catches up to Yeok on the road, although he doesn’t realize this is the arrow-shooter. Yeok ducks his head as Yeonsangun overtakes him in the road, thinking, “Hyungnim, now you will have to know—what your mistaken choices and judgments will result in.”

The two riders take different forks in the road, but Yeonsangun halts his horse to throw a look back. They’re too far away to see very clearly, but as Yeok pauses, they stare at each other for a moment before continuing on their way.

Chae-kyung weakens as the day wears on, head hanging in fatigue. Her mind revisits memories from her youth, like when she’d told Yeok that whistling allayed her fears. Thinking of all their sweet moments together, first as children and then in recent days, brings a smile to her face.

Off in the distance, she makes out the blurry figure of a rider heading her way. Although she seems uplifted at first to recognize Yeok, that immediately turns to panic upon seeing Secretary Im’s men preparing their weapons. She shakes her head frantically, telling him he mustn’t approach, and struggles futilely against her ropes.

But as the rider nears, Yeok turns into Yeonsangun, and her face both falls in disappointment and relaxes in relief. The soldiers are called to stand down as Yeonsangun dismounts, and he stares up in shock to see Chae-kyung in her condition. She recognizes the king, and maybe it’s the relief that causes her to finally go limp, head lolling forward.

Yeonsangun orders her taken down, and once she’s freed, he carries her off on horseback. In the distance, Yeok watches them go, and Seo-no assures him that she’ll be safe now.

Yeonsangun takes her to the royal doctor, who explains that she was hit with a poison arrow, and the poison has spread through her entire body. Yeonsangun orders him to save her no matter what, then asks the unconscious Chae-kyung how and why she endured so long in her condition. He blames himself for letting this happen to her all to catch Yeok, and chides her for not asking for help, which he would have given immediately.

Yeok watches quietly from behind the window as Yeonsangun insists on feeding Chae-kyung the antidote himself. He spoons it into her mouth, wiping her mouth with his finger, then touches her face gently.

Yeonsangun is called away, at which point Yeok steps forward and sits at her bedside. He takes her hand and tells her, “Chae-kyung-ah, I’m not sorry. It’s your fault for not keeping your promise from the start.” Funny how his eyes and voice say exactly the opposite of his words, and his voice trembles as he continues, “Did you not say you would not wait? But you will have waited. You will have called my name inwardly countless times. You will have told me not to come even as you waited for me. Do you think I do not know you?”

And then, Chae-kyung opens her eyes.

Outside, the king receives the update that no sign of the thief was found. Yeonsangun asks scornfully if the thief means to play hide and seek, just as a sound comes from inside the room and puts him on immediate alert. He inches closer to the door, wary.

Chae-kyung’s vision comes into focus on Yeok’s face, and he asks why she went this far. She smiles up at him, saying that he did the same thing: “Now, I repay my debt to you.” Her eyes fall closed, and footsteps sound outside the door.

Yeok leaps for cover moments before Yeonsangun enters with his bodyguard, looking for signs of an intruder. Yeok sweats from his hiding spot behind the bed, but thankfully the arrival of the queen diverts Yeonsangun’s attention. Yeonsangun steps outside to speak with the queen, who’s come by with Chae-kyung’s parents. Yeok emerges from hiding and grasps Chae-kyung’s hand one last time before slipping away.

Chae-kyung’s mother and the queen rush to her side. She’s fallen back asleep, but now she wears Yeok’s promise ring around her neck—he must have given it to her.

Wearing a grim face, Yeonsangun asks his eunuch for an update on Secretary Im, and is told that all has been done as ordered.

Now it’s Scarface and his men who are strung up on crosses on the city wall. When Yeonsangun arrives, Secretary Im quakes under the king’s thunderous gaze, and an underling kneels before the king’s horse to offer his back as stepstool. Seeing the king’s stony face, Secretary Im orders his man to move—and takes his place on the ground, on hands and knees.

Yeonsangun uses Im as his footstool, then asks if he finds his current position too burdensome to bear. He reminds Secretary Im that his order was to find the thief, and yet Im let things get out of hand: “Were you this incompetent a person?” Buuuurn. It must be hard to be a dumb Iago.

Yeonsangun tells him he was better suited for his prior position (a clear demotion), and Secretary Im blubbers an apology. Yeonsangun draws his sword and holds it to the man’s neck, cutting him off: “If you cause harm to one of my people again without my approval, it will not be your back but your neck that you offer up.”

Secretary Im looks terrified before the king, but as soon as Yeonsangun rides off, his tone turns resolute as he thinks, “No, Your Highness. I must be the only person you call yours.” He vows to capture Yeok and Minister Shin “for our sake.” Well, that took a possessive turn.

Chae-kyung wakes to find her mother and nanny at her side. Her first thought is to confirm the day, wondering if the deadline has passed for Yeok to show up (lest the punishment fall to her), and hears that it hasn’t arrived yet.

She cries, almost in surprise, “Am I… still alive? I can’t be alive. He may still come then.”

It breaks her mother’s heart, who screams at her for entertaining thoughts of dying, appalled that she was barely brought back from death only to wish to go. She tells her angrily to die if that’s her desire, because she doesn’t need a selfish daughter like her.

Nanny chides Chae-kyung for letting a mere thief get between her and her mother, when that thief hasn’t shown his face or any sign of concern. Chae-kyung says that he hasn’t come because he is unable, and that she’s even prayed for him not to.

Chae-kyung turns away from her medicine now, but then recalls how Yeonsangun fed her medicine when she was first brought here… and how, in her daze, she saw Yeok appear at her bedside too.

Minister Shin finds his wife lurking in the open doorway, watching Chae-kyung with Nanny rather than joining them. She tells him that Chae-kyung is much better now, and after watching for a moment from the doorway, Minister Shin turns to go, saying that seeing him would only make Chae-kyung cry. Mom joins him in leaving, explaining sheepishly that she’s already fought with her.

That night, Yeonsangun takes out the letter he received earlier at the inn, and another letter from years ago from Yeok. The handwriting is identical, and Yeonsangun scoffs to himself, “That I would resort to such cowardly methods just to catch you.” He burns both letters, then challenges Yeok to come to him.

Yeok runs all the way to his mountainside grave, where he screams up at the sky in a rage. He thinks back to his ailing father’s warning that as a prince, Yeok would find himself a target after the king’s death.

In the palace, Minister Shin greets the queen dowager as she arrives to visit Chae-kyung, although she makes it clear that it’s more for appearances’ sake. Minister Shin says that he trusts the queen dowager to know whom Chae-kyung was protecting, and asks her to consider forgiving the old debt (when Chae-kyung denied involvement with Yeok, leading to his punishment).

The queen dowager warns him not to tell her again to stand back and do nothing—words he said back when Yeok was exiled. “I should be able to help you,” she adds. Minister Shin thanks her for the offer, but says firmly that he will protect his own daughter.

The queen dowager returns to her quarters to meet with her two confidantes, Deputy Commander Park and Myung-hye. She reports that Minister Shin came out strong by declaring no further debts between them, and Park guesses that Shin knows that Yeok is alive. The queen dowager advises them to stand back and not act for the time being—she will watch as Minister Shin and Chae-kyung live out their fates.

The queen dowager tells Myung-hye that she must be disappointed to have her efforts thwarted when it took a lot for her to administer the poison. Myung-hye confesses that she never did it, because Chae-kyung had been poisoned by an arrow and had been silently suffering its effects.

The queen dowager exclaims, “Do you mean that girl is prepared to die to protect Yeok?” Myung-hye says yes.

The queen dowager worries that this will weigh heavily on Yeok’s mind, and Deputy Commander Park instructs Myung-hye to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do anything.

Myung-hye returns to their headquarters, where she informs the team that Chae-kyung will be released, although not immediately. She was technically arrested on royal order, so they’ll need to go through formalities to pardon her. It’s good news, and everyone watches for Yeok’s reaction.

He suggests leaving the city until things have calmed down. They’re surprised that he’d be willing to do it, but don’t disagree.

Myung-hye speaks privately with Seo-no to ask why he didn’t reveal seeing her at the prison. Seo-no simply asks if Myung-hye would consider changing her tactics: “I have heard that love is respecting the methods and thinking similar thoughts to the one you love. And that is why love is difficult.”

Myung-hye retorts, “Who said anything about loving?” Seo-no asks, “If not love, then what is it? Lady Chae-kyung opened his heart and changed his thoughts and gave him conviction. But Lady Myung-hye—if you wish to win over Chae-kyung, you will have to try even harder.”

In her sickroom, Chae-kyung makes her way to the window Yeok used to slip away, and recalls the words he’d spoken at her bedside—about how he knew she waited for him, because he knew her.

Now we see that Yeok had taken the ring off his own neck and placed it on hers as she slept. He’d told her, “You said that a promise should come with token to mark it. When that promise is made invalid, shouldn’t that token be taken back as well? Now, there are no more promises between us. And no promise to return.”

Chae-kyung pulls the out the ring, which she now wears around her neck, and cries over the memory.

Meanwhile, Yeok and Seo-no ride outside of the city, while the sound of whistling fills the air.

At court, Secretary Im pronounces Chae-kyung’s pardon, reading the king’s decision aloud, which mentions the flood situation in the south and the citizens’ suffering. It states that crimes excluding those of the highest level will be forgiven as a comfort to the struggling people. That includes Chae-kyung, who is to be pardoned and released.

It makes all the ministers (minus a shocked Minister Shin) drop to their knees in protest, arguing against it. Three ministers declare that the tribute thief stole from them last night, which they argue brings dishonor to the king. Clearly some late-night conspiring has been in play, maneuvered by Secretary Im, and they present letters left by the supposed thief, which tell them not to feel too resentful since he also stole from the king.

Yeonsangun crumples the notes angrily and demands an explanation. Secretary Im states that the thief struck again and that he will alert the authorities to investigate. Other ministers speak up to argue that letting Chae-kyung go when she conspired with the culprit would just embolden the thief. And once again, Yeonsangun finds that his efforts to enact a decision are stymied by his court.

Minister Shin is stunned at this turn, and Secretary Im watches him with snakelike eyes, thinking that Shin was mistaken if he thought things would just end here. In a flashback to the night before, we see Secretary Im handing out those notes to his army of henchmen, who then raided the ministers and left the notes behind.

Minister Shin kneels before the throne and tells the king that he will take responsibility and resign his post. He reminds the king that there’s no evidence proving that Chae-kyung acted in concert with the thief, but since she was captured while with him, he asks to take her punishment himself.

This surprises the entire room, but moreover, the king refuses to accept those terms. Yeonsangun sarcastically sums up the ministers’ stance: The thief must be caught, Chae-kyung is a crucial connection who must not be released, and they’re only saying this out of loyalty to the king, not because they were raided.

Yeonsangun says in his angry caustic tone that their demands must be met, and throws an entire chest of royal badges onto the floor, telling them to use them to catch that thief. He tells them to mobilize all the royal resources they wish and capture that thief. A minister protests that he mustn’t give away his badges so freely, and Yeonsangun supposes that they’re afraid to use them and put their own necks on the line. Motioning broadly, Yeonsangun urges them to go ahead and use them. Ah, I frigging love sarcastic Yeonsangun.

He tells Minister Shin to rise, but the man remains kneeling and insists on receiving the punishment. Yeonsangun argues that he isn’t the one who ought to receive punishment, but the minister replies that the situation gets more and more complicated, requiring someone to take responsibility.

Yeonsangun fires back that the cowardly thief is the one who should take responsibility—for stealing from him, for putting Chae-kyung in danger, and for raiding the ministers. He turns his scathing words back on the rest of the court, saying that when Chae-kyung was first arrested, everyone remained silent and did nothing more than observe how the king and Minister Shin reacted—but the minute they were raided, they get all up in arms.

He challenges anyone who accuses Minister Shin and Chae-kyung of a crime to provide evidence or catch the thief themselves. When they do, he will discuss how to punish father and daughter. He storms out, and Secretary Im looks a little unnerved to have things not quite go to plan.

Minister Shin remains kneeling as everyone files out of the room. Deputy Commander Park, who has been quietly observing as always, gets in a dig at Secretary Im by guessing that he will lose this round to Minister Shin. Secretary Im retorts that Park is hardly in a position to talk, offended at the jab.

Chae-kyung’s nanny is so distracted that when Chae-kyung tries to get her attention, she blurts reflexively, “Nothing’s the matter!” Which, of course, is immediately a tipoff that something is.

Chae-kyung asks what it is, and the answer sends her running for the palace, worried for her father. Minister Shin has taken up a penitent position in front of the king’s palace, kneeling on a straw mat in the open courtyard in supplication to the king.

Secretary Im notes that today is the last day allotted to Chae-kyung to turn over Yeok in exchange for freedom. With a few hours left till the deadline, he wonders whose neck will ultimately be offered up.

Chae-kyung runs all the way to the palace, crying as she sees her father kneeling in the courtyard. Falling next to him, she apologizes for making him endure this suffering, blaming herself.

Yeonsangun arrives and is surprised to see Chae-kyung there. She kneels before him and begs him to spare her family any blame, pleading to take on the punishment alone. She asks him to carry out the original punishment, insisting on it in the name of fairness.

She says that the king has given her chances to save herself, and it was she who did not take them. Yeonsangun orders her taken back to the infirmary and walks away, so Chae-kyung springs up to run after him. His guards draw their swords to keep her at a distance—and then Chae-kyung sways, her eyes roll up in her head, and she falls.

Her mother rushes to cradle her, and Yeonsangun pushes past his guards toward her. But it’s another voice that cuts in, booming across the courtyard: “Stop!”

There at the gate stands a nobleman, his figure blurry in Chae-kyung’s hazy vision. He walks toward the palace, and eyes widen in disbelief the closer he gets.

It’s Yeok, and he walks purposefully toward them. Yeonsangun asks who he is, and gets the reply: “Lee Yeok.”

The queen dowager sways in shock. Minister Shin gapes. Secretary Im looks completely gobsmacked.

“Hyungnim,” Yeok continues. “It’s me. I have returned.”

 
COMMENTS

He’s baaaaaack! I was actually so startled that Yeok showed up that I exclaimed out loud when he did—I had, of course, fantasized about the possibility in that fairytale way but thought that there was no way he could arrive yet. The show did a convincing job of showing the futility of that when Yeok went to the prison and almost charged in without a plan, and how traps were laid out for him at every step. I was a little disappointed when all Yeok did was provoke Seo-no into acting in his place, since that seemed passive and roundabout, and also unnecessary since I’m sure Seo-no would have just gone to the prison at Yeok’s request. So I was relieved when he turned out to have a more active idea up his sleeve, and thought it was much smarter to manipulate Yeonsangun into action.

I have no idea what he’s thinking now, but I have to think that he’s thought of a plan and has a longer game in mind. Because hero appearances are great and all, but not if they just send the hero straight to prison! I’m choosing to believe that he’s found his own method, as he once told his mother he would do, because lying low and biding his time is not his style.

I never thought I’d say it, but I’m really enjoying the court politics in this drama, and I think that’s in large part why I feel like this is a more exciting sageuk than most—I mean, in addition to the sweet childhood story, the angsty separated lovers, the riveting villain’s performance, and all the other reasons that make this a good drama. But court politics is a beast in and of itself, and frequently incorporated into historicals because it’s a surefire way to raise stakes and take events to the level of utmost significance—not only are lives at risk, but we’re talking about putting self, family, and country on the line and you just don’t beat that in terms of narrative urgency.

But the truth is that those things can also be crutches when used in a clockwork manner to take stories in certain directions, in the way that kimchi slaps and money envelopes drive makjang dramas or Candys run amok in rom-coms. Easy shorthand to push plot. So I love that this drama provides me with the novel experience of relishing the exchanges that go down in the king’s court. I don’t necessarily think the villainous ministers are all that brilliant in their scheming, but this drama makes very effective use of the incompetence of the machine of politics to drive conflict. The thing really in Yeonsangun’s way isn’t just a particular scheme or person, but the entire way politics is run that allows greed and selfishness to stymie productive actions at every turn. It recalls the bone-deep frustration I feel about modern politics, but wrapped up in fictional characters I can root for.

The drama isn’t being entirely sympathetic to Yeonsangun (though this may be as sympathetic a light as we’ll ever get to see him), and I actually appreciate that it’s not only giving us the simplistic “Yeonsangun was misunderstood” portrayal—the dark, cruel side is certainly there. But where court politics are concerned, I definitely feel myself pulling for him to maneuver his way around his greedy, useless ministers through whatever verbal or logic gymnastics he can manage.

In the meantime, I really enjoyed Chae-kyung’s suffering quietly to protect Yeok, which is another thing I’d never thought I’d say—quietly suffering sacrifices usually drive me nuts, because I’m often screaming at people to just talk and resolve problems with information. But this setup worked quite well in establishing the stakes and showed us in an understated way how deeply committed she was to protecting Yeok. The quiet sacrifice is hardly an unusual plot development in dramas so I have to chalk it up to this drama having just that extra something in execution that makes the conflicts spark and the emotions land. Sometimes I like it when that pain cuts deep, okay?

RELATED POSTS

• Seven Day Queen: Episode 1
• Premiere Watch: My Sassy Girl, Seven Day Queen, Best Hit, Duel
• Arranged marriages and love at first sight for the Seven Day Queen
• Queen for a week, heartbreak to last a lifetime
• Seven Day Queen’s young lovers realize their tragic fates
• Elegant tears and waking forbidden hearts in Seven Day Queen
• Thwarted kisses and rom-com hijinks in Seven Day Queen
• Blood, thorns, and tears in first teaser for Seven Day Queen
• Seven Day Queen team puts in their first four hours at script read