Oh dear! I signed up for a romcom so this show had better not switch into a melodrama.

I’m trying hard to find humor in the opening scene but it certainly looks inauspicious with the Crown Prince (or is he already the King by then?) holding out his hand for droplets of rain and then setting out on his horse to meet his death in battle. It appears that this scene is from the future, sometime after his 100 days spent with The Girl.

Two elements from this opening scene continue throughout the episode, like threads tying the past and the future.

One element is the rain. Before his impending amnesia and his 100 days, there’s drought in the kingdom. Rain hasn’t fallen in months hence his ministers’ call for sexual relationship with his Crown Princess whom he’s been avoiding. But in the opening scene, storm clouds are rolling in and soon enough, it rains in torrents.

To me, this suggests that he’s given in to the duties of his position (i.e., consummate his marriage with the Crown Princess OR if there’s a twist of fate here, consummate his illicit love affair with The Girl). His emotional long dry spell — or his metaphorical thirst for compassion — has ended.

On a side note, I find this ritualistic belief that rain could be summoned by some sort of human appeal to the rain spirits at odds with the Confucian education. As far as I understand it, there’s no deity and divine providence in Confucianism. A better life is attained not through divine supplication or prayer to the natural world but by following the moral precepts to live a righteous life.  CP memorizes all the wise sayings and ethical proverbs, but at the same time, he’s still expected to perform these “spiritual” unions with the CPrincess simply because the people expect him to be the messenger of the heavens.

The other element is the calling of a warrior.

The flashback gives us a preview of CP’s understanding of warriors. The young Yi Seo teaches him what a true warrior is. Back when they were children, she scolded him for whipping a servant. She said that a person who torments the powerless is a fool, not a warrior. She also told him that sometimes a person must embrace fighting to protect the citizens even when the citizens don’t understand the warrior’s true intentions.

This fateful encounter with Yi Seo tempered his playful, warrior streak and he began his scholarship. Now that he’s the CP, he continues his bookish ways. According to his Eunuch, he does nothing but read at night and his nightly INACTIVITY (euphemism for “no sex life”) is regarded as the cause of his heart ailment.

Thus, in the opening scene when the CP rides in the rain to a battle where death awaits him, it strikes me that he’s a desperate man. He’s fighting to protect someone he cherishes and is no longer willing to be on the sideline like a useless fool or a recalcitrant child.

Either way, the opening scene doesn’t bode well for my expectation of a light-hearted sageuk. lol.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of things to enjoy in this first episode.

Like that joke on the word “fool”. I thought that was witty. Did you see it?

In the flashback, we see the young Crown Prince, Won Duk, standing a log and proclaiming, “I may be young but I will stab and vanquish our enemies as a bold servant of Joseon and save our people! The battle is upon us. Follow me!”

Follow him??

All his “men” except his trusted friend are running in front of him, and HE’s chasing after them. He’s not being followed. lol.

Then, to add injury to this insult, The Girl, Yi Seo, bops him on the head with a wooden stick to stop him from hitting a servant. She shows him who’s the boss there.

Meanwhile, back home, his father is being presented a piece of stone with the word, “useless” etched on it. The stone giver (the future bad guy, Left State Minister, and Won Duk’s father-in-law) interprets the word on the “sacred stone” as a sign from the heaven to depose the present king (i.e., the “useless” one) and install the King’s brother (aka Won Duk’s father) as the new king.

This interpretation is interesting because with the success of the coup, the new king becomes in reality a useless one himself. He’s merely a TOOL manipulated by the Left State Minister who runs the affairs of the country. His father becomes a figurehead of power.

But the more interesting thing about this piece of stone is that the evil Left State Minister’s rationale for deposing the real king is to protect Won Duk.

He warns Won Duk’s father, “A person who is afraid of a tiger will not let the son of a tiger live.” He insinuates that Won Duk, as the son of a tiger, is going to be harmed so his father should wrest the power from the King, his brother, in order to ensure Won Duk’s safety.  Arguably, parental love is the reason for the rebellion.

This explain why the King has shown Won Duk exceeding patience and restraint. He loves his son. For instance, even when he’s furious that Won Duk escaped the “happang” or bed ritual with the Crown Princess, he meets him in the secrecy of the Court Library and doesn’t physically restrain or punish him. He’s the King but he allows the Crown Prince to disrespect him.

King: You brought shame to the name of the Royal Family just to read books like these? (meaning he didn’t do his duty and bed the Crown Princess to read a book on goblins?)
Crown Prince: You used to go on about how I should read before.
King: What? It’s been months since it last rained. I’m sure you know the concerns of the people who will soon need to start farming. But you, the CP, refuse to sleep with the CPrincess. So how do you expect the heavens to bestow rain upon us?
CP: The, are you saying that we are the ones to blame for the drought? (are WE taking responsibility for the failure?)
King: (sighs) Of course not. Everything is because of this wretched king’s fault, obviously. (He’s personally shouldering the blame.)
CP: Father.
King: Weren’t you trying to imply that it’s due to my shortcomings as a king? Don’t you want to insult this king just like all of the other citizens of this country do?
CP: I never wished for you to become king. Nor did I ever want to become the CP. So don’t try to force me into doing anything else.
King: Why you little brat. (I think the word “ingrate” is appropriate.)
CP: Is the one who is making you feel truly uneasy the citizens or the Left State Counselor?
King: (sighs) Do you hate the Crown Princess that much?
CP: She’s not the only one I hate. (and he walks out on the King.)

To me, the real “useless” person — that was foretold by the stone — is the CP.

On a superficial level, he’s useless because he doesn’t do anything.

But on a deeper level, he IS “cornerstore” of the kingdom (as his counselors often remind him) but he’s useless because he refuses to take serious actions in the court. Instead he indulges in childish games as an act of rebellion toward his father.

What has he done so far? He’s like a spiteful kid —

• Telling the court lady to kill all the birds (a silly task) because the birds made her smile. He hasn’t smiled in years so why should she?
• Ordering the scholars to solve a riddle (another futile task) or they can’t leave the palace because he discovers one of them is leaving soon to rendezvous with a friend. He isn’t free to come and go as he pleases so why should the scholars
• Forcing all the single folks in the kingdom (and a foolish task, too) to marry because he himself was forced to enter in a loveless marriage.

To me, he acts like a kid having a temper tantrum. Since he himself can’t smile, enjoy a free day with a friend or be with the one he loves, NOBODY around him should be able to smile, enjoy a free day or be in love, too.

He’s in an unhappy, “uncomfortable” situation so he’s determined that everybody else should be miserable and “uncomfortable” like him.

See that? He doesn’t realize it yet, but he’s behaving just as the stone predicted: a useless fool.

And you know what’s also funny? The stone with the word “useless” inscribed on it got discarded. It would be a funny twist of fate, if the CP were to be similarly discarded, too.

Unless he shapes up.

That’s why it’ll be cosmically funny to see The Girl knock some sense into him again. In their first encounter, he was a warrior wannabe who’s made into a fool. But in their second encounter,  I’m betting that he’d play the fool transformed into a warrior because of his love for The Girl.