The review you’ve been waiting for —

1. The King’s instability?

If you’re tired of this writer’s nonstop reference to the King’s persecution complex, then so am I. Hey, Writer, we already GET IT that the King never felt accepted by the people because his mother was only a concubine. His younger brother was the favored one by both the King and the royal courtiers, because his mother was a Queen. That’s historically accurate.

But, Writer, stop hinting that the King’s mental instability caused the political troubles unless you can clearly demonstrate to the viewers that the King made the actual decisions.

For instance, in Episode 1, his royal carriage was stoned by peasant who accused him of stealing his land and killing his son. Did the King actually have a hand in this land-grab? We don’t know. But he referred to himself as an “incapable King” who is hated by the people. After overhearing Nokdu’s plan to rehabilitate the King’s image, he ordered all the detained citizens released. This tells me that the King can be reasoned with.

In Episode 2, he suspected that his Minister, Heo Yoon, lied to him about the death of his trusted aide/Nokdu’s foster father. He told Yoon that his suspicion is a “useless” or baseless exercise but then he turned around and had it investigated.

Is this paranoia?

No. As it turned out, he was right not to trust his “faithful” minister. While he was sleeping, the minister was going to choke him.

In Episode 3, he was merely approaching his younger brother, the Royal Prince, to greet him, but the Dowager Queen and the Royal Prince shrank away from him as if he was a monster.

Was he really that evil?  He warned his younger brother not to get sick because “bad luck comes at any time.” But his warning was perceived more as a threat rather than a sign of his concern and solicitude.

lol. The viewers are slowly assimilating the King’s paranoia that everybody’s out to get him because all the other characters regard him as evil.

The following day, his Queen arranged an elaborate tea party for two, on their dead baby’s birthday. For 20 years, his Queen insisted on commemorating their son’s death, making him feel guilty for causing the death of his son, and for not producing another heir.  (Ah! No wonder he had a nightmare. It was getting close to their son’s death anniversary.)

Noteworthy: if he felt burdened by the Queen’s grieving, why didn’t he put an end to it?

In Episode 4, he was with his courtiers. He recounted an encounter with a boy who didn’t recognize that he was the King. The boy wanted to crush an insect egg before it would hatch but he thought it was too cruel. The King meant his story to be a cautionary tale for his coup-plotters but one of his courtiers honed in on the fact that little boy didn’t recognize the King.

In Episode 5, the King was shown a dead pig, the horoscope animal of his lunar calendar year, placed under the Royal Prince’s tree. The meaning was obvious: he was going to die so the real tree of Joseon would grow. One of his Ministers, Minister Im, blamed the Queen Dowager for shamans in the palace. At first, the King reprimanded him for his insolence, “How dare you! Can you take responsibility for the words you speak?” So Minister Im apprised him of the rumors in the palace, and the King ordered him to investigate the dead pig properly. “Tell me clearly who and what motive was there for doing something like this!”

Later, (ep 10 at 15:00), the Dowager Queen and the Royal Prince were dragged away from their quarters under orders of Minister Im. The Dowager Queen was accused of putting a curse on the king and plotting a coup. But she insisted on her innocence. “What you you mean curse and conspiracy?”

Minister Im and his allies watched as the Royal Prince was hauled away. His ally warned that those who opposed of his plan would seek to harm him. He took full responsibility. “Decisions come with danger. I’ll be careful so don’t worry.”

Note: The king didn’t plan this. Minister Im did.

Now, in Episode 6, the Royal Prince is sent to an island. He screamed for his mother, and the King asked if he cried a lot. If he intended to kill his young brother, why would his brother’s tears weigh on his mind?

So, Writer, show us proof or quit trying to insinuate that the King’s mental state, be it his inferiority complex or his persecution complex, is to be blamed for the evils in the palace. The narrative is creating a disconnect among the viewers because things don’t add up.

At this point, the King is nothing but a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a power struggle among different men, namely, Minister Yoon, Minister Im, and the shadowy Prince Yulmo. He’s only beginning to discover their conspiracies now, and none of them was looking out for him.

2. The Royal Edict 

My problem with this kdrama is that the political intrigue is too convoluted to match the light-hearted love affair between DongJoo and Nokdu. Especially in this episode, the political side story so overwhelmed the romance that it felt as if the succession story was the main plot, and DongJoo and Nokdu were mere “extras” (a shout out to “Extra-ordinary You”) to move along the plot.

Take the introduction of the Royal Edict to the plot.

King: Did he cry a lot?
Minister Yoon: Once he went through the door, he was dignified.
King: The wailing of my poor brother was so loud that you could almost hear it past the wall of the palace. I wonder if they did the same when I was humiliated so many times when I was young.

Oh, please here we go again. The King was the “reject” and the younger brother was the favorite. Boo-hoo. 

Minister Yoon: I did so.
King: Yes, you were all I had. Even my father never acknowledged me till the end. That’s why he even left such a cruel edict.

Or a cruel dying wish. Add this to the King’s list of complexes: he had father issues. He was bitter that his father didn’t acknowledge him. It would be ironic if he did the same thing to Nokdu.

King: If you hadn’t found out and gotten rid of it ahead of time like you did, I might not have been able to claim this position. So that’s why I only trust you. Do you know that, Yoon?
Minister Yoon: Your royal grace overflows, Your Majesty.

Flashback. Six years ago, Yoon arrested the Prime Minister, Yoo Yeon Kyeong, for conspiracy. Among the Prime Minister’s possessions was a royal edict issued by the late King.

Minister Yoon: The late king’s secret edict? The rumor was true? Why didn’t you make a move sooner?
Prime Minister: His Majesty suddenly ascended the throne and the Royal Prince Yeongchang was still young. I was looking for the right moment. But you were on step faster.
Minister Yoon: You won’t be able to avoid the charge of treason.
Prime Minister: (cursing him) I promise you, you will regret taking the royal edict from me.

Note: The Prime Minister, Yoo Yeon Kyung, was related to DongJoo. He was either her father or her grandfather. DongJoo’s real name was Yoo Eun Soo.

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The flashback proved the King wrong. He thought his “trusted” Minister Yoon burned the royal scroll. But he kept it.

On the way home, he was surprised by Nokdu’s foster dad who’d come to report on Nokdu.

Foster Dad: The boy is His Majesty’s son. He’s growing up bright and upright. His Highness has ascended the throne, so shouldn’t we put him in his rightful place now?
Minister Yoon: That’s impossible.
Foster Dad: Why? He’s in the highest position so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about anymore.

Yoon handed him the edict.

Per Viki sub: “Depose the royal prince and let the son of Joseon Dynasty take over and preserve its integrity.”

Per Kissasian sub: “Dethrone the Crown Prince and let Royal Prince Yeongchang take the throne after me.”

According to Yoon, the edict was the reason Nokdu couldn’t resurface. According to the edict, his father was the illegitimate King who had to be deposed. The real king should have been the Royal Prince Yeongchang. But really now, all Yoon had to do was burn the darn thing and problem solved.

Note: Yeongchang wasn’t a Crown Prince. He died before he could be designated the heir apparent. But he was a Royal Prince because his father was the late King…like Nodku would be considered a Royal Prince because his father is the current King. However, Yulmo is only a Prince. He claims royal blood because he’s a descendant of a king.

Foster Dad: What is this?
Minister: I just came back from killing the man who hid that. What do you think? Do you truly think he has nothing to worry about anymore?
Foster Dad: How could this be?
Minister: We do not know why the late king made the decision. What if this will not end by his accession to the throne? I, you, and that boy may all die. So give up your pipe dream and go home. If you appear before me again, I’ll not be able to show mercy.

And that’s why I think this succession side plot is taking over the romcom. Everything gravitates towards the King’s legitimacy. With all the attention spent of building the backstory of the King, I felt this episode would have been more appropriately called the “Tale of the King,” instead of the “Tale of Nokdu.”

I didn’t sign up that.

3. Bugging DongJoo

Okay, let’s focus on the bright side now.

I like how Nokdu bugged DongJoo. DongJoo told him to stop bugging her. Because this was his first romance, he shed a few tears.

His feelings were hurt because she told him that he was bugging her.

But the following day, he persisted on bugging her. He didn’t want her to work in the kitchen because she’d in Yulmo’s company.

Nokdu: I said don’t go. What kitchen work do you know how to do? Don’t you know the dark intention behind him calling you out to his kitchen? You’re so naïve.
DongJoo: To keep us apart.
Nokdu: (I don’t think so….) So don’t go.
DongJoo: I have to pay you back.
Nokdu: I’ll give you a discount! Don’t go.
DongJoo: Seriously, I told you to stop bugging me!

Awww. Look at the hurt puppy look.

Nokdu: No, I’m going to keep bugging you.
DongJoo: What?
Nokdu: You said you don’t like me. Fine. I got it. But…I’m going to make you like me. So don’t got to him.
DongJoo: How?

Pay attention here: she was asking him how he would make her heart flutter. He stopped to consider this seriously for an instant. Impatiently, she turned around walked away.  Her behavior tells me that she liked him. One, she was curious to know how he would make her like him. Two, she was doing that same “self-denial” thing she often did. She was fighting her feelings. Just as Nokdu told her before, she had the habit to say that she didn’t want to do it, “Don’t want it. Don’t need it,” when deep inside, she didn’t feel that way.

Her about-face galvanized into action. He chased after her, lifted her and run off with her.

Note: The reason his unexpected move strikes me as funny but romantic is that unconsciously, women have a this desire to be swept off their feet and carried away. Call it the “caveman” tactic.

Nokdu thought he could make her heart flutter with the “caveman” tactic. lol.

When that didn’t work (he received a punch for his troubles), Nokdu tried another method he learned from his Master. His Master advised him to do the “tsundere” tactic.

Master: He should be a little indifferent and then sweet. That’s the secret. What I mean is when you do something for them, say, “You can’t even do this?! If you can’t even manage this, then just go die. Seriously!” And then make it seem like you can’t help but do it for them, ok?

So he waited for her to show up at the creek to wash the dishes.  He didn’t even wait to offer his assistance. He gave her a forceful shoulder-check, grabbed the basket from her and said, “Just go kill yourself if you can’t even do stuff like this!”

Ya! Nokdu! Don’t you think that’s a little too much? Should she really kill herself over this?  

When he continued to berate for her “ineptness,” she whacked him with a dried gourd. Okayyy, last time he received a punch on the nose. This time a bump on the head. Honestly, I prefer witty dialogues to slapstick like this.

He protested loudy. He predicted that she’d think about his help when she was about to sleep at night. “Being indifferent but then sweet is attractive.”

He continued washing the dishes while she sat observing him.

Nokdu: You shouldn’t look at me like that when you said you don’t like me.
DJ: What? How did I look at you?

He approached her and lifted her chin up to look at her.

Nokdu: Like this.

She couldn’t look at him. She swiped his hand away and stood up.

Nokdu: Hey, where are you going?
DJ: What is it to you?
Nokdu: Don’t be late and come home to eat dinner, okay? I said, got it? Seriously, she thinks her mother’s words are poop.

But seriously, Nokdu missed seeing how he had just made her heart flutter. He didn’t need the “caveman” tactic or the “tsundere” tactic. He only had to look at her, and her heart would flutter.

And it also bugged her that he could read her mind just by looking her straight in the eye. She wanted to keep her feelings hidden.

Moreover, do you remember the the other time he lifted her chin to make her look into his eyes? She was flustered that time, too.

He’d move her chin from one side to another to read her face, “You seem happy to see me. But then again you seem to detest me, too.” Then, she smacked his hand away. She was embarrassed that he could discern her feelings that easily.

DongJoo knew that eyes didn’t lie. She noticed straight away that Nokdu was avoiding her eyes when he brought her to the gate.

DongJoo: Why aren’t you looking at me in the eyes?
Nokdu: What do you mean? Hurry up and go somewhere bright.

Awww. He brought her to spend the night at the gisaeng’s home because he didn’t want her sleeping in the dark.

DongJoo: Why aren’t you coming with me?
Nokdu: I’ll tell you later.
DongJoo: That guest at the courtesan house, he wasn’t a pervert, right? Where did you go after disappearing like that? Why did you come to this Widow Village in the first place?
Nokdu: That also, I’ll tell you later.

He closed the gate on her and walked away.

DongJoo didn’t know it yet but this moment should have been a heart-fluttering moment. It bugged her that he didn’t want to tell her what was going on. But had she known that he’d overheard her conversation with Yulmo, and that he was feeling jealous again, she’d definitely feel for him.

Remember now, in DongJoo’s dictionary, “bugging” her means making her heart “flutter.” She doesn’t want Nokdu to bug her means she doesn’t want him to move her. She’s finding it hard to resist him.

4. Yulmo

What can I say?

I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t rely on “feelings” to tell me that he’s bad. I told you about the shoes.

But I am pretty annoyed with the Head Gisaeng for being that naive.

5. Aengdu

Ugh. The character was cute for a few scenes but in this episode, she reminded me of those kids I dislike….precocious kids who think they’re somebody very special. She’s the prime example of why kids should be seen, not heard.