I grew up with the proverb “Waste not, want not” drilled into my brain. @nrllee wrote an excellent recap and it would be a shame not to repost up here. I’ll add my comments.

Ep14 (The Return)

Episode 14: The Return: Shiny Mint.

The Viki version translated it as “Remorse.”

The Kissasian version said,”The Return.”

I don’t know about the translation but I think the Kissasian version is the appropriate theme of this episode so that’s the one I’ll focus on.

I think there’s a meaning to the flowers, too. The flowers actually have a symbolism different from the title or theme of the episode.  But I’m too pressed for time now to figure them out. If I were the writer, however, I’d gather all the flowers into a bouquet for the wedding of Hoon and Gaedong at the finale. The leader of the Flower Crew deserves a floral bouquet with all the flowers mentioned in these 16 episodes.

GD finally speaks. Let go of me, she orders MH and forcibly removes her hand from his. She repeats her apologies to Soo, annuls their marriage and pretty much tells MH that she doesn’t want to be with him either. She will go back to where she belongs (she doesn’t know where but it’s not with either of them). Then she leaves them to talk with these parting words, “my opinion never mattered to either of you in this marriage anyway”.

She’s objectively wrong. Her opinion mattered so much to both gentlemen that they withheld the truth about Soo’s identity so she wouldn’t be daunted at the idea of marrying royalty.

Her opinion = her choice of husband.

Each man wanted to be chosen as her life partner hence they cleared the path so she could make her choice and state her opinion.

As Jihwa said to her father, the choice of marriage partner is the most important decision a woman can make since she’s powerless after the union, and her fate depended on her husband. Thus, she insisted on investigating her selection first. Gaedong, on the other hand, didn’t need “research” on Soo and Hoon as she knew them well already. But if she was to make a logical choice, then her best option is NOT Soo. If her fate is linked to her husband, then marriage to Soo will bring her either ruin (because the Vice Premier is threatening to expose her as a fraud) or death (because the Prime Minister is threatening to kill her).

Hoon is her logical choice.

And this random comment of hers, in Episode 2, before she got married to Lee Soo is good prophesy. lol.

MH kneels before Soo and tells him about his father killing the Crown Prince and his assassination attempts on GD. He pleads with him to let her go because she would be in danger by his side. Soo refuses. He pretends “to have heard nothing” and vows, “I will protect her. You protect your own heart. This is a command.” And he stalks off. Whoa someone’s got a bad attitude. 🤔 Talk about selfish to the extreme.

Frankly, I can’t recall being this indifferent towards the outcome of a love triangle. And I blame the actress, Gong Seung Yoon, for this. She’s my favorite scapegoat for a reason.

Addressing Soo: Soo. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep my promise to marry you. But Soo, I can’t go to you. I didn’t become a noble lady to marry you. This marriage has ended.

The pupil of eyes didn’t change. Her eyes didn’t squint. Her eyebrows didn’t raise. Her forehead didn’t furrow. The APPLES of cheeks didn’t move; she could have grimaced to show that she didn’t like hurting Soo this way. Her nose didn’t flare; catching her breath or an uneven breathing would have shown her sadness. Her lips didn’t tighten; she could have bit her bottom lip for a nano-second to show how stressing this is for her. Her chin didn’t harden or quiver; when she said this engagement is ended, her chin should have shown her resoluteness or her hesitancy to deliver that blow.

I’m looking at deadwood.

And her voice. Her voice! It didn’t change.

Then, she turned to face Hoon. And she did the same thing!

Addressing Hoon: Thank you for helping me find Soo. (looking down) Because of you, I found Soo and my brother so now I’ll go back to where I belong.
Hoon: Where are you talking about?
GD: I’m not sure.

The emotions she should have been displaying at this moment are hurt and anger because in her mind, he didn’t care to tell her the truth. But she looked and sounded like she was reading a cookbook. Yes, I know that she’s now a lady and she can’t be over-emoting now that she’s Lady Yoon instead of Gaedong. But her eyes, at the very least, should be expressive.

Addressing both: But I don’t seem to belong to any of these sides. Please continue your conversation. My opinion isn’t needed for this marriage anyway, right?

Her voice here should have hardened to suggest coldness or hauteur.

Since, in her tone of voice and her facial expression, she didn’t differentiate much between the two me, why should I care as a viewer?

MH finds GD. Tries to explain in his lovely dulcet voice but she keeps cutting him off. She’s mad, chucking a massive tantrum. I am done being a noble lady, I quit! And stomps off in a fit of rage. She’s not terribly rational. Gone back to being a child again whilst MH maintains his dignity and remains the adult in the relationship. 😕

Again, it’s the delivery of this actress, Gong Seung Yoon, that’s making Gaedong look like a brat.

Her lines: When I said I loved you, how foolish was I? Why didn’t you stop me from submitting a selection application? (she begins to screech. Ugh!! Her voice! She needs a voice coach, omilord.)
Then, Hoon hugs her. Hoon is hugging her because he understands that she’s just venting in anger and frustration.
GD: Let me go!
Hoon: (not letting go so he could explain) How could I stop you? You said you had to save your older brother. (Notice that his speech pattern started calm but became faster and louder at the end? That suggests that he too was restraining himself until the end.)
GD: (pushing him) You should have still told me before you made me feel confused (blinking eyes furiously) about my feelings with nonsense like that “I’ll stay by your side.” Before I deluded myself thinking those words were the whole world. (shouting)
Hoon: Gaedong.
GD: (throws her ribbon) I’m glad. I was getting tired of acting like a noble lady anyway. Living as Gaedong is better than living in the palace.
Hoon: Gaedong.
GD: I want to stop this foolish noble lady game. In my life there’s no such thing as a next opportunity.

In writing, she’s correct, you know. The discovery that he’d known the truth all along forces to re-think and reassess her whole perception of their romance. She now has to wonder whether he had an ulterior motive saying what he said. Whereas before she happily believed that he meant those words and those sweet gestures, now she’s remembering them with suspicion and distrust.

But the thing is, as the episode progresses, she realizes that he didn’t lie. That’s the significance of the comic strip that she drew on the book.

lol. We were right, weren’t we? She was AWAKE the whole time her head was lolling around.

Anyway, when she remembered that moment, she must have realized that his feelings for her were real. He didn’t pretend. He didn’t have to protect her head because she was (supposedly) sleeping and wouldn’t have known of it. But he did it anyway because he cared for her — without any expectation of being acknowledged or recompensed. And above all, he showed her tenderness because he wanted to, and not because the King ordered him to.

That’s why he muttered, “What will I do with you?” If he was only doing what the King ordered him to do, then he shouldn’t have been wondering what his next course of action. Everything was laid out clearly in the book. There were procedural rules for everything.

But none of the rules applied for him because he fell in love with her. He didn’t know what to do because it was his first time to fall in love.

YS is at Lord Kang’s and Lord Kang learns that instead of JiHwa meeting the King last time, it was GD who met with him instead. YS is quick to tell him that he didn’t know Soo was King then but Kang says MH must’ve known. YS frantically tries to defend MH. Kang decides to keep this information to himself and warns YS to tell no one that he knows about it. YS returns to the agency to a glum MH and DJ and recounts everything that happened at the Queen Selection. DJ smells something (their servant is listening in the background) and makes to sniff YS which sends him into another anxiety attack. MH steadies him wordlessly, stops him from scratching.

I want to know how Hoon rescued him.

JiHwa’s maid is trying to find PalPun (GD’s brother) but finds out from JiHwa that she has already sold him. She is distressed and asks why she wasn’t told beforehand to which JH threatened to sell her too if she kept stepping out of line. Honestly not sure how the writer will redeem JH. She is at the point of no return for me. 😡 DJ is better off without her. The maid runs to the agency to inform MH about the plight of GD’s brother. How does she know he will help?? Did I miss how she found out PalPun was GD’s brother? Otherwise it’s a plot hole. 😳

In Episode 7, the maid saw Palpun draw on the wall and was about to get a broom to strike him. GD stepped in. The maid reported that GD was calling the fool orabeoni. She also saw GD feeding Palpun in Episode 11.

If she insists on wrecking GD’s reputation, then DJ steps in as the man she’d been with that night and ruin hers. DJ did declare war between them before giving her the shoes. I think if he needs to protect the Flower Crew, especially YS from her father’s hold, then he would.

Back at Lord Yun’s residence, GD is back to her peasant clothes and packing in her room. She is called outside to be greeted by gifts galore (sent by Soo) and the manservant tells her they are the only household that received gifts from the King (Dejavu?) and word has spread villagewide (rigged by Soo) that she’s his preferred pick for Queen. Lord Yun appears and tells GD not to disgrace his family’s name by dressing like a commoner. She seems to take his chiding well.

Sneaky Soo and his gifts. I feel like Lord Yoon is underutilized in this story. Surely, he’s the trump card??

The Jihwa and her father can be stopped by DJ.
The Prime Minister can be stopped by Hoon and the King.
The King and his foster father can be stopped by Hoon and Lord Yoon. Lord Yoon comes out and says that his daughter is already married and isn’t eligible to marry again. lol.

But who shall the King marry?

Face off between Prime Minister and Soo. He wants his niece to be top choice and relegate GD to concubine (?). Soo is adamant that GD become Queen. Stale mate.

Lord Kang is mad that JiHwa spent the night with another man (not the King) and demands to know who he is. JH says no one of importance. 😩 He warns that they need to make sure GD keeps mum about this or JH’s chances of becoming Queen would be toast. He scolds her for being careless. JH remembers the shoes DJ gave her.

Of course, she wears DJ’s shoes. I like that royal blue color.

GD is back in her room dressed as a noble woman once more. She finally opens the marriage proposal letter that MH gave her. There’s a single Chinese character in it. It means Love – not just any love, more specifically, the love between a man and woman (yay me for being able to read Chinese 😂). She is mad at him for being so cryptic (she can’t read it). Then proceeds of read the Flower Crew Book of Rules. She’s still mad – calling him “cranky man”. She’s called outside and finds her brother with MH. MH has freed him. He reinforces that she too is “free” to choose. He makes no attempts to sway her.

Aha! And now we have the second reference to the title, “The Return.” The first once which I’m sure y’all noticed was when GD threw her ribbon shortly after she said she was quitting the game. She didn’t want to be the noble lady, she was *returning* to her old self, Gaedong.

This is the second meaning. She’s reunited with her brother because Hoon *returned* him to her. And with this “return,” she’s now free to choose.

Hoon: It’s as I say. Starting from this moment, your brother is no longer a slave.
GD: How is that possible?
Hoon: Lady Kang sold him the day after the Royal Spouse Selection (RSS). Matchmaker Do gathered all his information powers and found him.
GD: Really? Is my brother really free now? Really?

Mr. Darcy alert!

Hoon: Gaedong. You are free now too. If you want, you can go to the RSS or not go and live as lady Yoon Soo Yeon or as Gaedong. You can go to that person or remain at the Flower Crew. If you want, I’ll also give a new identity to your brother. From now on, you’ll never have to run away or look for anyone else again. You can go wherever your heart desires.

Kinda like Matrix. Does she want the red pill or the blue pill?

Hoon’s giving her freedom. But if she chooses to be with the King, then she’ll a) always have to run away from people trying to oust her as Queen, b) look for someone named Ma Hoon in the crowd, and c) never go wherever her heart desires.

GD: Do you mean anywhere?
Hoon: Wherever you want to go.
GD: If that’s the case, you must feel relieved now.

Whut?? She missed the freaking point!

Her first thought is he must be relieved to get rid of her. (facepalm) It didn’t enter her head that he wanted to get rid of her PROBLEMS, not her, personally.

Hoon: Yes, I feel incredibly relieved now.

“Yes, I feel incredibly relieved now that you’re free to stay by my side.” <– There! I fixed your sentence for you, Hoon!

GD: Ok. Your annoying burden will leave now.

GRrrrrrrrrrr….How can they have this misunderstanding over a gift? It’s not even a Trojan Horse?!! Fact: Hoon gave her brother’s freedom to her as a gift. Fact: He also gave her freedom as a gift. So how on earth could she have misinterpreted his generous gifts as a insult?

That’s why DoJoon’s comment is hilarious. He appeared out of the blue and told him something like, in times like this, it’s customary for the guy to grab the girl and say, “Don’t go.”

“Yah! Kajima.”

Then, he told him that he’s too boring.

She is all huffy. Err…I thought she wanted to have that choice? That was her gripe on the bridge when they BOTH wanted her? Fickle much? 😒

I know, right? She wanted to decide for herself, but she also wanted that “Don’t gooooo” drama that DJ mentioned. And she would bring this up again later when she returned for the liquor that she hid in Hoon’s office. She told him it was a drink reserved for frustrating moments.

GD:…when you feel like your insides are going to burst from holding it in.
Hoon: Your inside bursts?
GD: Yes. Because of a certain someone, my insides are bursting.
Hoon: (realizing that she was talking about him. He avoids her eyes)
GD: Then, I’ll take my leave.

She suddenly remembered the love letter. “It’s ‘long’ of longing heart.”

GD: (Muttering) So it’s some kind of love letter. (looking at him) But didn’t you say I was free now? Because it seemed like you didn’t know.

She was annoyed with him because he wasn’t making a move on her. If he thought she was free, shouldn’t he trying to date her then? He was too slow.

Power play happening between Lord Kang and Prime Minister to try to swing the vote of the King to their charges. GD heads to the agency to find out what the cryptic character means. YS is home and tells her it means love, that whoever gave it to her must love her ardently. She looks pleased.

I like the Viki subs.

YS: It is “long” of longing heart.
GD: Long of longing heart?
YS: Yeah. Someone must be fervently longing for you.

That’s the third context of “return.”  Hoon is longing for her return. They’re separated and, until her return, he’ll yearn for her presence by his side.

So love = yearning, aching, pining, longing.

MH returns and she makes some lame excuse that she’s back to pick up some things. She’s still mad at him. This time for not taking the initiative and requesting she come to him. Talk about fickle. 🙄 He reads her well and says let’s run away tomorrow.

As she’s getting ready for their date, Soo’s father meets her and does his whole spiel about being there for Soo and going ahead with round 2 to save the Flower Crew from certain annihilation. blah…blah..blah…But he’s Soo, he won’t do that, she protests. He’s not Soo anymore, he’s the King now – Captain’s ominous warning. 😬

Capt: During the time, I didn’t see you, I see you became a maiden from a noble family. Gaedong, you have to come to the next round of Royal Spouse Selection.
GD: Mister
Capt: His Majesty can’t sleep. It’s not only for His Majesty. If you don’t come, Lord Ma Hoon will also be put in a difficult situation. If you run away, do you think his Majesty will leave the Flower Crew alone?

Ahhhh. So that’s how they’re going to play it, right? Emotional blackmail?

GD: Soo is not that kind of person.
Capt: It’s not Soo. It’s His Majesty.

Fine, contract is null and void then. She agreed to marry Lee Soo. Not His Majesty.

Gaedong was supposed to marry Lee Soo, and Yoon Soo Yeon, the noble man’s daughter, is supposed to be matched to the King. But Lee Soo doesn’t exist anymore and Yoon Soo Yeon is disqualified because of her being secretly married to Hoon.

Take that, Lee Soo!

Capt: (cont) His Majesty bet everything in order to put you beside him. For you, many lives are on the line.

Whatever. Before she enters the palace, the life of the Flower Crew is on the line. After she enters the palace, there’s really only one life left on the line: hers. The Prime Minister and the Vice Premier are after her. The stupid King doesn’t know that he’s bringing the lamb to the slaughter.

I guess he needs to be taught a lesson and to see Gaedong endangered before he gives up on her.

GD: Ahjussi.
Capt: I know this isn’t your choice. But it wasn’t His Majesty’s choice to become King, either. Gaedong. Just this once, help His Majesty, I’m asking you.

Listen to how that actor delivered his last line, “Gaedong. Just this once, help His Majesty, I’m asking you,” When he called her name, he sounded fatherly. He paused. Next he said, “Just this once,” in a firm voice because this is a request, a one-time request that he was making. He paused. Then, he said, “help his Majesty, I’m asking you” in a whisper, like a prayer.

I don’t need to understand Korean to know that he was beseeching her. He spoke only a brief sentence, but each part was segmented to communicate the right emotion.

And THAT kind of IQ in an actor is what I’m looking for in Gong Seung Yeon. The actor should know what he/she is trying to express and must “get into the character” to become convincing.

This actor convinced me that Gaedong must return to the Palace for His Majesty. And this is the fourth meaning of the title, “The Return.” She’s asked to return to the former Soo/current King’s side.

MH and GD have a beach date. Lots of running on the sand and splashing…It’s nice but I am not feeling it. They drink from those gourd cups that they got on their first night together at the inn. He ties the love knot around her wrist. He seems to guess something’s up but doesn’t press her for answers. She doesn’t tell him that she’s going to break it off with him 🙄. Who’s the coward now?

Ugh! Gaedong is already faking it here. She’s already made up her mind, after that conversation with Soo’s dad, the Royal Captain, to return to the palace. That’s why she say something weird:

Hoon: (talking about her insistence on sharing one room together)
GD: Mr. Matchmaker. Earning something takes months —
Hoon and GD: And spending it takes and instant. (laughing)
GD: As long as you know. (then looking at him) Don’t forget and remember it well.

She wants him to remember because she’s expecting that memories will be all that they’ll share, moving forward.

This whole trip was her last hurrah before she locks herself in the palace.

I say look who’s being deceptive now?

But yes, I like how Gaedong knows his reaction to her clothes. He’s not going to go overboard with his compliments. He’ll only say, “It’s not too bad” instead of “You look awesome!” And I like that Hoon can finish her thoughts because she always quotes practical advice instead of lofty phrases like he does. lol.

Meanwhile, Lord Kang is told by JiHwa that she sold GD’s brother and he summons YS to find him. They want him back as a bargaining chip? Later GD (I guess in preparation for her going into the Palace) tells YS to look after her brother whilst she’s away. YS is visibly torn. We get insight into his past life. He was forced to be an executioner? I thought this was kinda odd… really? He was obviously NOT cut out for the job. Was the man forcing him his father or something? We aren’t told. Anyway, he refuses and ends up killing a guard instead of the criminal he was supposed to execute. So I guess that’s why he’s on the run for killing someone and has a bounty on his head.

Ugh. Blatant catering to the fangirls. This character’s backstory could have been shortened. It was enough to show that he wasn’t cut out for the executioner’s job and that he peed in his pants that’s why he was stinky. Until now, we still don’t know how he ended up being rescued by Ma Hoon.

Given this actor’s fangirls, however, we can rest assured that his character will be given redemption. He’ll do the right thing and protect Gaedong and her brother PalPong.

This is the fifth interpretation of “The Return.” Will PalPong be returned to Jihwa’s family by YS? Is this how YS? will return the trust given to him by Gaedong and Hoon? Will YS return to his baser instinct for survival or will he do the right thing?

BTW, don’t we get a follow-up on DoJoon’s promise to find his mother? What happened to that one?

Break up time. GD dresses for the second round of Queen Selection. Writes her goodbye note and sends it off together with the love knot and Flower Crew Rule Book. MH receives it, runs to Lord Yun’s to stop her dropping the book on the way out. She resolutely sits in the Palanquin. He is telling her he will handle everything in his lovely dulcet tones 😍… she on the other hand is yelling at him…why must she shout her replies? 🙄 Trying her hardest to cut him off by saying mean things. He steps away to let her go. Rain comes down and they sob in their respective corners. Scene sweeps back to the dropped book. Pages flip in the rain and wind…she’s drawn little cartoons on the pages of them together in the corner of the pages. It’s cute. And where the rule says “A Matchmaker must not fall in love with the client”, she’s crossed it out and written, “A matchmaker may feel love for his/her client”.

And this is the sixth context of “The Return.” She’s returning to Lee Soo’s side as requested by the father so she returns everything back to Hoon. She thinks she has no other choice but to marry the King.

The rain’s a nice touch. Remember now, the term for this is “pathetic fallacy.” It’s when the weather mirrors the mood of the characters. It’s a sad day so it has to rain on them because then it will look like even the “heavens” are crying over the separation of this ill-fated couple.

However, I’m also inclined to link it to her wedding day. It was raining that day, too, and she became scared. He told her that it was only a sunshower, and the rain was only greeting her on her wedding day.

If we were to cut out everything that happened between the two sunshowers, then it would seem that Gaedong and Hoon *returned* everything to their original setting. This is the seventh and final meaning of the theme “Return” in this episode.