Only two more episodes!! I feel like I’m running a marathon here.

1. HongShim’s real reason for staying in Hanyang, part 2

It’s funny how reversals in this kdrama can happen in a span of 30 minutes. Last episode, HongShim left her fake father in a huff and now she was returning home in a daze.

HS: I will not go. I will stay here until we find my brother. (lol. Here she goes again. She’s using her brother as an excuse to stay when we know that ain’t the truth.)
FF: What’s gotten into you?
HS: Father, I told you about palpoongi before, didn’t I? Thanks to him, my brother and I were able to run away.

Now again, she’s omitting something critical here. She heard the boy Lee Yul identifying himself as “Lee Yul, the son of Prince Neungseon” to command the guards to stop their pursuit.

FF: Right, what about him?
HS: Palpoongi is WonDeuk.
FF: What?
HS: Palpoongi is the Crown Prince. (FF is stunned.) He still kept my hair tie when even I forgot about it.

Seeing that hair tie and knowing that he held onto it shook her to the core. Her memories of LY circled around the cherry blossoms but she forgot that she had left him a keepsake, too.  As I was telling onlysb, that hair tie is significant for two reasons: One, that hair tie linked LY to MooYoung because it was originally a gift from him. Her brother had beaten her in a pretend swordfight because she gave away the brand new hair tie he bought for her. We’ll know soon enough how MY’s and LY’s fate will clash each other.

Two, and more importantly, she realized that she was wrong. All these years, she thought that LeeYul had forgotten about her and broken her promise to marry her when they grew up. Thus, seeing him treasure that little strip of cloth because it was his sole reminder of her, made her realize how wrong she was. LeeYul told the truth when he told her that he liked her more than rain or petal showers.

*Note to myself: Outside, JeYoon was eavesdropping. He’s the only one outside the Lee, Kim and Yoon families who knew what happened that night of the massacre. I don’t know what impact this, and the fact that he also eavesdropped on MY telling HS that WonDeuk was the son-in-law of the murderer, will have on the plot later on.

FF: How could this have happened?
HS: I guess we were meant to meet each other again somehow.

Ahhh…fate! But to me, she was saying this in such a straightforward, unemotional, matter-of-fact tone because she had already come to terms with this fate for much longer than she’s letting on. While her father was all agog, she was oddly composed. It wasn’t a surprise to her like it was with her FF.

FF: HongShim, put yourself together. The current king framed your father as a rebel and killed him to become a king. You could’ve gotten killed, too. You lived in hiding for all your life because of it.
HS: It wasn’t His Highness’ fault though. It was all because of the elders’ greed. (I like it that she doesn’t have the least bit grudge.)
FF: That doesn’t change anything.
HS: I know. But he is still my savior, so I want to miss him all I want. At least while we are here in Hanyang, I want to see him if I can. Keeping him in my heart is not a sin.

This was the important reversal here. She had been protesting MY’s and her FF’s demand to forget WD. But after her discovery that WD was palpoongi and, more importantly, that he’d missed her all this time, her feelings for him were now validated. She didn’t have an ill-fated relationship as MooYoon said. It wasn’t wrong of her to love him because 1) he wasn’t culpable in the death of her father, and 2) she had been there in LeeYul’s heart before the CPrincess. This was the “impediment” I mentioned earlier. In future encounters, she would no longer feel guilty about holding hands or kissing him because in her mind, she had legitimate claims to him. She was first. ❤️

FF: I’m not doing this because I hate him. I wouldn’t be like this if he were a noble man. He’s the son of the King. I’m stopping you for a reason. I’m worried about you.
HS: I’m more worried about him in the palace than myself. All these incidents are so strange.

I like that her first and last thoughts were always of LY.  I think she realized now the serious situation LY was in. If he couldn’t go after her and had to miss her all these years, with just her hairtie as a token reminder, then it meant that he has been prevented to go after her. He was imprisoned in that palace. Yet now somebody in the palace wanted him dead. I think that’s the reason she’s been going out at night and chasing after her brother.

2. “I was first.”

Recovering his memory of HongShim also produced the same effect on LeeYul. Like HS, he was happy to assert a previous claim to her. But unlike HongShim who could hardly go up to the CPrincess and shoo her away from the palace, LeeYul could summon his rival and deliver him the good news. “I was first.” ❤️

I thought it was funny that he couldn’t wait to rub it in JeYoon’s face and that he had to elaborate on it, “I was first. You came next. I recovered a memory last night. I met her before you did. I’m sure without a shadow of a doubt. It was very long ago.” He didn’t have to explain himself.

Normally, I would dislike two men fighting over a girl like dogs over a bone, but I made allowances here because 1) WonDeuk looked petty, and 2) because he had said that the palace was a lonely place.

For him, one reason it was a lonely place was because his actions, as the Crown Prince, had far-reaching and, often unintended, consequences. Take for instance, his disappearance the other night to meet HongShim. Because of his late night trip, Minister Kim was reprimanded and a eunuch was whipped. Also, he couldn’t dismiss his Eunuch despite uncovering the conspiracy. Dismissing his whole staff meant punishment not only for the staff members but also their families.

For LeeYul then, every little thing he did, was magnified a hundred times because of his rank and position.

Having a sparring buddy like JY would be a welcome relief. He could match wits with JY without fear that he could get JY killed for treason or that he would hurt JY’s feelings.

As it was, JY also recognized that he was being treated differently from the other minions. He could counter LY without LY feeling uncomfortable or wanting his head on a platter. He said, “That’s unfortunate. Not only did you lose your memory, but you’re only now remembering someone so special. Is that not a pity? Did you summon me here to tell me that?”

In LeeYul’s previous life, pre-amnesia, to answer the Crown Prince insolently like JY did could have meant drinking the Crown Prince’s bath water. 😱

3. Protecting his woman

I don’t like the amateurish way the writer had set this scene up. It appeared contrived. As big as Hanyang was, what were the odds that LY and JY would be passing by that particular place at exactly that moment when an assassin was choking HS??!

But oh well. We’ll just use this as a convenient excuse to see the difference between LY’s and JY’s approach to protecting HS. 😜

JY’s approach is to distract. He didn’t want LY’s life endangered, so he stepped in to rescue HS. He told LY, “It’s not a situation where you should step forward yourself.” Then, he approached HongShim’s assailant in a disarming manner, “What are you doing to that woman?” lol. To me, he sounded like he was asking for directions!! “Sir? Where is the nearest grocery store?” 🤪

When the man ordered him to keep on moving, he replied glibly, “I’m too righteous to walk away from this.” The man then shoved HongShim aside and turned to him instead to menace him.

In contrast, LY is more tactical. As I said before, he would hang back long enough to assess the situation and then he would act.

In this scenario, he knew that the assassin was too much of a match for JY, and he couldn’t protect both JY and HS from a trained fighter. So he used the element of surprise to disarm the assassin. The man didn’t even see him coming. Only after he had knocked down the man, did LY address him, saying, “I’m more impetuous and vicious than this scholar.”

To which, JY quipped, “And he’s extraordinarily skilled in martial arts, too.”

JY did this “distract” method with the abductors of the Chinese girl. I thought he would fight them mano-a-mano and mentally, I was ready to cheer him on. So you could imagine my consternation when instead he made them CHASE after him. He let HongShim enter the hut by herself to face the lone guard. I thought it was telling that it was HongShim who was bruised up while JY looked unruffled.

As for LeeYul, we saw him fight before in Episode 7. We saw him eyeing the swords of HongShim’s kidnappers and scanning the forest for his own improvised weapon, a whip from a branch of a tree. He took on all the thugs and scared them to run for their lives. Bravo!

Also, the nice thing here with LY’s fight scene was that he kept a steady eye on HS. Even when he was being attacked from all sides and sustained a gash on his arm, his main focus was keeping her safe and protected.

He even had time to fix her hair.

credit: trendingkdrama’s tumblr

 

Now, this ability to fight is important especially for a girl like HongShim who hero-worshipped her older brother. Given that their father was a great fighter himself, HongShim would admire and respect LY for his sword-fighting and martial arts skills.

 

4. HongShim’s fake father’s change of heart

I don’t know if I’ve said this before but I absolutely despise how this man acts. He’s got one and ONLY one expression on his face to express all negative emotions, like worry, fear, sadness, grief. And that facial expression can be aptly described as constipated. 🙄Grrr… I really want to wipe that look off his face.

FF: You see, HongShim, can we stay in Hanyang even after we find your brother?
HS: Why would you suddenly say that?
FF: I thought about it and I feel like you and the Crown Prince are meant to be. It’s not every day you find someone that pure. Loving someone you met at a young age until this day isn’t easy at all either. One more thing, do you think I knew he was the Crown Prince when I saved him from Mount Chunwoo?
HS: What if we are meant to be? Should I tell him to stop being the Crown Prince and live with me?
FF: Well…that will not be possible. I’m just saying this because I’m distressed about your break-up.
HS: (looking down and smiling secretly) We did not break up.

**note to myself: compare HS and CPrincess “secret” smiles.

FF: What?
HS: Our hearts are connected to each other.
FF: Oh that? (he looked disappointed.)

Lol. I think he was willing for HongShim to be a concubine!!! The other villagers seemed to accept that, too.

5. MooYoung/CPrincess/Minister Kim relationship 

Will cover this in another post

6. Villagers 

Of course, we can predict how these ragtag team will end up, right? The village official will probably be promoted to mayor if he passed the civil service exams that WonDeuk suggested he should take. Gudol will most likely end up as a eunuch-in-training beside the disabled Eunuch. And HongShim’s best friend will become her lady-in-waiting.

7. The HongShim-and-WonDeuk evening stroll

See how far they’ve come from this night in Episode 6?

lol. I told you that that scene was significant. 🙂

Back then, he offered her his hand but she refused it. He had to chase after her and take her hand. Now, he would take her hand, and she would so hold onto it.

She only asked him to let go of her hand so she could see his face. When they walked side by side, his face was hidden from her, and she wanted to see him again because she missed him. See? She didn’t feel like she was usurping the CPrincess’ spot anymore.

I like how he obliged her by walking backwards. It was great to see WonDeuk smile again.

That scene in Episode 6 was the beginning of the husband-and-wife stroll.

It would also explain why that night in Episode 13, the two of them felt suffocated in their rooms: HongShim in the little hut, and LeeYul in his palace. They were missing their nightly walks together.

I’m going on a trip soon but hopefully will be back in time for the show’s end.