Episode 3 of the Tale of Nokdu is like a glass of champagne. It’s bubbly, simple and elegant.

The bubbly. 

Here are some of the bubbly scenes that had me in stitches.

1. His lipstick

I laughed hard because I remembered my son playing with my make-up kit when he was a toddler.

2. The poke in the eye

His eyeball rolling around curiously.

Her finger poking his eyeball.

This second had at least 5 takes.

3. One of the assassins “falling” (literally and figuratively) for him

She said her heart fluttered when she was in his arms and then tried to snuggle against him.

4. His clothing malfunction

5. “Who’s your daddy?” joke

I take note of the terms of endearment in kdramas because a) they indicate the kind of relationship that couple will eventually have, and b) they’re inside jokes only a couple understands.

In “Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency,” the hero calls the heroine “stone head” emphasizing how the heroine beat up the hero at their first meeting. In this romcom, the hero teases the girl about a mother-daughter relationship.

This is interesting because DongJu was moaning her mother’s name in her sleep when she and Nokdu were in prison on their first night together. Then, they talked about their mothers in their life. DongJu’s mother cared and protected her while Nokdu’s surrogate mother resented his addition to her family.

In this third episode, DongJu makes a bet that he can’t copy the dance that she’s been trying to learn for ages.

DongJu: If you do even one move right, I’m your daughter.

Nokdu just smiles at her, then points the fan at her, meaning “Challenge accepted” or “You’re on!”

When he dances perfectly, he cheekily calls Dongju, “Daughter.”

At the end of the episode, Nokdu shows up at the lord’s house to rescue Dongju, he tells her that he’ll henceforth be known as her mother. “I’m your mother.”

For good measure, he stresses each syllable, “O.Mo.Ni.”

I like for two reasons. One, he’s found his swagger. lol.

And two, I thought it was a play on “Who’s your daddy?” but in this case, “Who’s your mommy?”

Okay, for the innocent babes around here. The word “daddy” in “Who’s your daddy?” doesn’t refer to a paternal relationship. The “daddy” has a sexual connation, as in “sugar daddy” or lover.

Read about it here: Washington Post: Who’s Your Daddy?

I’ll highlight the pertinent passages:

While the phrase has its innocent overtones — in the 1969 Zombies hit “Time of the Season,” the singer investigates a potential love interest by inquiring, “What’s your name, who’s your daddy?” — its most direct and historic meaning has been sexual. The origins of the full phrase are obscure, but the slang use of “daddy” has long been associated with prostitution. According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the oldest usage dates to 1681, when the speakers were hookers who used the phrase in reference to their pimps or to an older male customer.

In old blues songs, dating to at least 1909, “daddy” is slang for pimp. The title of another number, from1926, spelled it out a little further: “How Can I Be Your Sweet Mama When You’re Daddy to Someone Else?” Later on, the term was generalized in African American speech to mean any male lover, and had variants, such as “sugar daddy,” that survive to this day, according to the slang dictionary.

source: Washington Post: Who’s Your Daddy?

So, when Nokdu says, “I’m your mother,” to me – note, that that: I said, *to me* — he’s telling her that she’s now his. He’s the gisaeng’s master.

The simple.

The plot isn’t too complicated to follow.

1. His birthday

On his birthday, he’s surprised that he’s served seaweed soup. There’s no way the cook would have known it was his birthday. His birthdate was the only information his father told him about his identity.

Note: Is this a coincidence or not that he had a sumptuous breakfast, complete with seaweed soup, served on his birthday? lol. I think it’s a happy coincidence.

Yulmo, the suitor of DongJu, greeted him Happy birthday, too.

Yulmo: Happy birthday.
Nokdu: I’m not a child. (Meaning, he doesn’t get excited over birthdays like a kid anymore.)
Yulmo: (remembering something) Now that I think about it, today is –
Nokdo: What is it? Is today someone’s birthday?
Yulmo: Ah, it’s nothing.

I wonder how he knew about the death of the Prince, when he’s about Nokdu’s age. Is he close to the palace?

2. The candy

Yulmo, the suitor of DongJu, gives her candy. She doesn’t want to accept anything from him, so she calls Nokdu to her side and gives him all the candies. Yulmo can’t complain.

Nokdu likes the sweet. He likes it so much that he can’t resist stuffing all into his mouth (like a squirrel) and eating a candy that’s fallen on the ground.

Elsewhere in the palace, the king and queen talk over snacks.

King: What are you doing here?
Queen: I realized I was pregnant, only after I followed Your Majesty out of the palace during the war. I couldn’t eat anything but what Lady Kim brought, this okchundang is the only thing I could stomach. Do you remember, too, Your Majesty?
King: You always make it so obvious every year this way. So how could I not remember?
Queen: If he had lived, would he have loved these Okchundang, too?
King: (looking at wife) He died. He has passed away. Please stop.
Queen: (pleading voice) As soon as he was born, he died. What’s the reason I can’t long for him? Why do you loathe it so much?

I like how a candy drops from its mound and rolls off the table. It ends up rolling on the ground and being picked up by Nokdu who gobbles it up like a squirrel.

This transition between palace setting and the village setting is seamless and it’s the director’s method of establishing a link between Nokdu and the Queen. Nokdu is the long-lost son who was thought dead but was hidden from the Queen and King.

To me, the seaweed soup and the candy are auspicious gifts on Nokdu’s birthday.

3. Combs

Why is Dongju collecting combs and knick-knacks from the other gisaeng?

4. The King’s relationship

This is where I stand after Episode 3. Tale of Nokdu: Ep 3 The King’s Queen

I can revise this later after Episode 4.

The elegant.

It would be remiss of me if I didn’t praise the wonderful job the director is doing with cinematography.

Take Nokdu’s dance scene on the rocks.

Edited 10/8/2019 to add the gifs. source: imjaebeoum’s tumblr

the smirk was a nice touch

source: imjaebeoum’s tumblr

This is an excellent shot.

The stone pillars in the foreground is perfect. Each stone on those pillars represent a prayer, wish or hope of a stranger who passed by and piled a stone on top of another.

This panoramic shot shows a moving body, Nokdu’s body, dancing between the rocks. I’m impressed with the contrast between his fluid motion and the immovable boulders, and between the vibrant color of his hanbok and landscape’s rock and the trees.

To me, the dance is about living in the moment. Although the rocks and trees will remain long after the Nokdu and Dongju are gone, for a weird and brief point in time, their spirits became eternal, too. He dances in a timeless celebration of life and she sits spellbound, looking at him and falling in love.

And this scene is also amazing.

The first screenshot is jarring because it turns our perspective upside down. We’re expecting to see Nokdu lying HORIZONTAL on the ground to sleep and Dongju’s silhouette facing VERTICAL.

Like this:

But by inverting the whole image, the director makes us feel how Nokgu is feeling: DISORIENTED. His world has turned upside down. He just told Dongju that he really wasn’t interested in women. “I can’t. And it isn’t the right time, either.”  She replied him, “Do you love your madam that much?” He turned to face her and said, “I do. I miss her and I want to meet her.”

He was staring at her silhouette.

Now, Nokdu created this lie about a “madam” whom he’s in love with, when all along, he’s using Dongju as the template. She’s the “madam” he’s referring to. Thus, not does her silhouette evoke the missing (or absentee) madam, it also romanticizes the moment. Nokdu is actually pining for her. lol.

The silhouette is a brilliant symbol for Dongju.

So there you go. This is a flash review because I’m sure Episode 4 will have more progress on the romance plot and the mystery subplot.