If this Episode 4 was supposed to be comedy, then I must have been the only viewer in the whole wide world of internet who didn’t appreciate the humor. The only scene that drew a smile from me involved the leeches. Like the CP/Lee Yul/WonDeuk, I didn’t see that coming – or to be precise — those suckers swimming.

I was deceived to believe that there were two distinct worlds in the story: the dark, intrigue-filled world of the royals and the provincial world of Hong Shim with its earthy humor and simplistic needs. I tolerated Lee Yul as a sulky, self-centered, wayward and uncomfortable (that’s the buzzword of this kdrama) Crown Prince, because I thought that once he crossed over to Hong Shim’s world and became WonDeok, he would change for the better.

I call bullshit on viewers who defended his actions as “justified” because he suffered. The CP had the proper makings of a despot. Remember? He ordered all the birds killed because they amused a maid. Cruelty to animals is a warning sign of violent and criminal tendencies. Plus, he imprisoned his ministers out of resentment and spite that one of them was going out with a friend. He abused his power then. Sure, he was traumatized by the massacre, and he abhorred his father’s coup, but his cruelty to animals and people as payback for his privileged life (Oh! Woe is me!) is inexcusable. If this happened in real life, I’d call him psycho. 😈

Thus, I eagerly awaited his transformation into a likable dude in this episode. And what I got was another despicable dud.

I put the blame squarely on the kind of comedy the writer and director chose to use here. They tried to depict the CP/Lee Yul as a buffoon using CRINGE COMEDY and this kind of comedy easily falls flat when executed incorrectly.

What’s cringe comedy?

In a cringe comedy, the main character lacks self-awareness. When he encounters people, there’s an embarrassment (or cringe moment) when his self-importance gets totally wrecked by how people perceive and interact with him. The comedy is derived from the incongruity between his inflated self-image and harsh reality. And viewers laugh at his obliviousness to his social faux pas.

The best example of cringe comedy is George Costanza, that character from hit comedy show, Seinfeld. He creates awkward moments with his inappropriate behavior but he double-downs and INSISTS that he’s the one in the right, and the other people are idiots.

Sheer comedic genius. 

It’s my opinion that the writer and director of this kdrama sought to copy this form of comedy with Lee Yul/WonDeuk’s character.

WonDeuk “sensed” that he was of noble birth, so he wouldn’t stoop to do menial jobs. To his wife Hong Shim, however, his protest was just his method to avoid labor. His conceit astounded and exasperated her. His cringe moments were meant to be absurd and ironic: a penniless Crown Prince winking for a bowl of soup, rolling in poop, and being chased for his only pair of boots.

But to me, the reason this comedy was UNFUNNY was because most viewers were ambivalent about the CP’s character, to begin with. If they were discriminating viewers like me (ha!), they would have viewed his early displays of cruelty as odious, and this episode only reinforced and validated their initial distaste for him.

Take for instance, the meal. Like, how could he not pay for his meal?! If he was smart enough to protest that one man got away without paying for his meal, then he KNEW that payment was required for all diners. He was trying to con his way out and thought his “eyewink” would pass muster.

To me, this scene wasn’t funny at all because it reminded me of his imperious demands as the CP. Back then, he expected his wishes to be followed no matter how ridiculous they were, like commanding all single people in the kingdom to marry. His experience at the tavern reminded me that he was a useless fool who’d starve to death, if it weren’t for his royal position that he abhorred.

Same with the shoes. That chase scene wasn’t funny to me. What right did he have to take something that didn’t belong to him? He was told that the shoes were communal property, but he believed that his need for the shoes superseded others.

Again, his behavior here reminded me of his presumptuousness as the CP. He resented becoming a royal, yet he enjoyed the luxury of his position, like taking hot baths with rose petals when there was a drought going on. If he felt THAT guilty about the bloodshed, then perhaps he should have lived austerely in atonement or devoted his life in service to the poor in memory of those deaths – instead of spreading misery around him like a jerk.

Likewise the house renovations. Is he really that gullible? And that selfish? Once he learned that he had been tricked by a loan-shark, he should have been guilt-stricken. But he remained impervious to her money-angst and her real fears that they’d all be turned into slaves.

I didn’t find that whole scene laughable. In fact, I was stone-faced the whole time. You see, he was manipulated just like his father had been manipulated by a craftier person. Both of them had put other people in harm’s way because they were tricked by people to think of their self-interest and self-preservation above anything else.

But one obvious difference between him and his father was that his father felt guilt for his actions. He, on the other hand, thought he deserved to have a luxurious room and comfortable house despite saddling his wife with an enormous debt.

Do you see it? He had looked down on his father because he thought he was a better person. But with his amnesia, he’s shown to be as crappy as ever.

At first, I disliked this episode because of its lowbrow and bawdry humor. As I said in another post regarding the comedy “Eulachacha Waikiki,”

I’m repulsed by poop jokes, vomit jokes, slapstick, and body gags. I consider them crude and rude — and there was plenty of those here in this Episode 4.

I also disliked it when Hong Shim was ogling at WonDeuk’s body parts. Really, that was sexist. Just reverse the scenario, and imagine WonDeuk staring lewdly at Hong Shim’s breast instead. You’ll understand what I mean….

But what I ended up hating most about this episode (apart from Hong Shim’s believing her own lies about WonDeuk’s existence –– I’ve to discuss that some other time) is that the cringe comedy is itself cringe-worthy. It was a miserable fail.

I wish the writer had resorted to another method of making WonDeuk look like a buffoon while gaining our empathy.

My fan-service-o-meter rating for the plot development in this episode: