The title of Episode 5, “A Heel That Can Easily Get Hurt” is interesting for a number of reasons. It refers to Achilles’ heel or to a fatal weakness in an otherwise perfect or flawless character.

1. The episode began and ended with reference to it.

In the beginning:

BongHwan: (voiceover) For ordinary people, this world is like a minefield of weakness. We become one another’s weakness and drag everyone to hell. Even someone as perfect as me, Jang BongHwan, has a weakness. I can’t bear some other guy looking cooler than me. Especially when it’s in front of a woman I’m interested in. I need to look the best, or I’m not satisfied. You could say it’s the only weakness of someone who is so perfect.

At the end:

BongHwan: (voiceover) There was an immortal being called Achilles. But the heel was his only vulnerable spot. They say he died when an arrow struck that heel. That’s the origin of the expression, “Achilles’ heel.” The actual reason for his death is that there was no artisan to make armor boots for him. If we didn’t have a weakness, we might not have needed each other. We’re each other’s weaknesses, dragging each other to misery.

Queen Soyeon: (voiceover) But we also make up for each other’s weaknesses and save each other.

From the start, BongHwan made no bones about his own Achilles’ heel or his fatal weakness. It’s his conceit. He was a competitive guy who believed himself to be the best man on earth (in any time dimensions, too) even when he was trapped in woman’s body. In his opinion, weaknesses made people vulnerable to others and dependent on others.

But Soyeon countered his opinion, pointing out that weaknesses also allowed people to support and protect one other.

Noteworthy: we hear Soyeon’s voiceover contradicting BongHwan. Isn’t this the first time we hear her voiceover? I like how her point-of-view softened BongHwan’s negative stance and gave positive, laudable outcomes to weaknesses.

2. All the important characters’ weaknesses were unveiled, including the Kim clan’s weakness.

The Grand Queen Dowager’s weaknesses were shown in Episode 3 when BongHwan discovered that his culinary talents could win over the old lady because she:

a) had bad teeth,
b) was obsessed with her health, and
c) desired a youthful appearance.

But even BongHwan’s cooking couldn’t save him from the ire of the Grand Queen Dowager (GQD) after his public disclosure of his suicide attempt.

BongHwan: Kill me! Your Royal Highness! I deserve to die. With an unsure memory, I was confused. I can’t go against my family, nor can I go against my husband. So that I may end this pain, please order me to drink the poison.

This was amusing because Bonghwan had just mocked the palace servants’ custom of begging for death when they were, in fact, pleading for mercy. In dire circumstances, BongHwan proved to be no different from his servants with this exaggerated call for an early death.

BongHwan: (analyzing) What they really want is not the deposition of the queen…
Grand Queen Dowager: Is dying that easy? You threw yourself into the lake and now you ask for the poisonous drink. Why are you so weak?
BongHwan: (realizing) … What they want is definitive confirmation of the pecking order.

The Viki sub is a bit vague so let me explain. BongHwan accurately sized up the situation. The GQD and her brother, Minister Kim Jwageum didn’t actually want to depose Queen Soyeon/BongHwan. Why would they when she/he was married to the current King?

In reality, GQD and Jwageum wanted BongHwan to obey them. By threatening to depose him, they were disciplining him to submit to their authority. They wanted him to know his “place” and not overstep his bounds, like he did when he rescued the concubine. They wanted to bring him to heel.

BongHwan: This all happened because my foolish choice to commit suicide caused a misunderstanding. I’ve committed a sin deserving of death so please kill me, Your Royal Highness.
Grand Queen Dowager: Is it going to be over just because you die? Because of this incident, we have given an advantage to Queen Dowager Jo. This is not your weakness alone. She’ll try to use it as a weakness against our entire Kim family.

There! For the GQD, the scandal created by the Queen’s public admission of her suicide attempt had exposed the Kim clan’s weakness to the Jo clan. Since the Kims didn’t project a united front, their disunity would be used by the enemy. It became obvious to all their political enemies that the weakest link was Queen Soyeon. Because BongHwan’s soul had occupied her body, her/his erratic and unpredictable behavior could topple the whole clan from power — just like Achilles’ heel brought down the powerful immortal.

BongHwan: That..
JwaGeum: (stepping in) Both of you calm down. I’ll ask one thing for the last time, your Royal Highness. (addressing Bonghwan) Do you really want to leave the Palace?
BongHwan: (quickly) I want to live in the Palace.
JwaGeum: (asking the GQD) What do you think Your Royal Highness, the Grand Royal Queen Dowager? (but GQD pondered for a while)
BongHwan: (pleading) Having no memory is the same thing as becoming a new person! I will be reborn as a perfect Queen!

This is hilarious. Because of BongHwan’s weakness – his vanity and conceit, remember? – he couldn’t help but think of himself in terms of “perfection.” Any reasonable man would have compromised and offered to try his best next time and to abide by GQD’s demands in the future. But nooooo, BongHwan just had to promise to be the “perfect” Queen. He was going to bite more than he could chew.

Grand Queen Dowager: I don’t trust a promise of words.
BongHwan: I will show you through actions.
JwaGeum: Why don’t you keep an eye on her and see, Your Royal Highness, the Grand Royal Queen Dowager?
Grand Queen Dowager: Alright.
BongHwan: Your grace is immeasurable. I won’t make you worried again.
JwaGeum: I am not worried. (taking out the Queen’s embroidery with the words “Give up your false self” sewn on it) We do not have any such thing as a weakness. If anything becomes a problem, (looking pointedly at BongHwan), we just need to cut it out. (throwing the embroidery into the fire)
BongHwan: (realizing) This is the real thing. A real warning.

BongHwan realized that Minister JwaGeum didn’t have any weakness. If he had any, he would simply eliminate it.

Welllll…that’s one way of dealing with weaknesses.

3. Soyeon’s weakness? 

As for Soyeon’s weakness, it seemed to involved a letter. The King mentioned a letter when she surprised him at the pavilion on the eve of their nuptials.

King: Why are you here?
Soyeon: I have something to say.
King: You made things complicated for nothing.

Note: Do you get why the King would be guilt-ridden when he saw BongHwan’s graffiti on the stone? Bonghwan had etched, “I came here for nothing. – Jang Bong Hwan.” To me, BongHwan was just leaving his mark, like that “Kilroy was here” graffiti.

But the King would have been reminded of what he told Soyeon on that night she almost drowned. He’d told her that she went to the pavilion “for nothing.”

King: (continuing) My fate is already in your family’s hands. Just ask me to hand over the letter next time.

Okayyyy…what’s in that letter? I’m curious now.

Soyeon: Do you not like me because I’m from the Andong Kim clan?
King: I did not say I do not like you.
Soyeon: Do you like me then? If I were not Andong Kim, do you think you would have seen me in a different light?
King: No, I would have not. You became the Queen because you are from the Kim clan.
Soyeon: I always tried my best. I am not going to be crowned as queen just because of my name. I dedicated my whole life to this yet people say…

I like her stand for independence. She wanted to be judged for herself, not for her family’s prestige, reputation, and (mis)deeds. She was also saying that she didn’t frivolously accept the role of Queen as she committed her whole life to it by trying her best. (Cough. Cough. BongHwan…)

King: You will get what you wanted so bad tomorrow. It is late and we have an important event tomorrow. Please go to your bed chamber now.
Soyeon: You should love me.
King: Is that an order?

A note on the camera shot here: This is called an over-the-shoulder shot. We’re looking at the King from behind Soyeon’s shoulder. Do you see her head in the foreground? This kind of camera shot allows us to see the King from Soyeon’s perspective. We are being made to identify with HER emotions as he walks away. He isn’t walking away from Soyeon; he was also walking away from us, the viewers. In effect, we “feel” that he’s rejecting us, as well. That’s why we sympathize with Soyeon’s abandonment here.

🙂

Looking back at the incident, the King wondered whether his coldness had pushed her into the lake.  But Prince YeongPyeong reasoned that if she had tried to kill herself simply because of his indifference, then she would have fallen into the lake by herself. Meaning, she should have jumped immediately after his departure.

Like, she should have jump about now…

Instead, Soyeon used the letter, and she jumped in the water while in the company of the concubine HwaJin, thus implicating HwaJin in her death. He ascribed an ulterior motive to Soyeon’s attempted suicide.

Note here: this guy’s weakness is HwaJin herself. Tsk tsk tsk.

For me, until the contents of the letter is revealed, Soyeon’s real weakness cannot be ascertained.

4. The concubine HwaJin’s weaknesses were a bit murky, too. 

In kdramas, we’ve become accustomed to viewing the “Other Woman” as villains so I’m not going to revise my prejudice for HwaJin.

Judging from the smile on her face, HwaJin was waiting for the King at the pavilion. Note: the King too had a similar smile on his face while waiting at the pavilion.

Obviously, Hwajin wasn’t expecting to see Soyeon. She didn’t know that the King had left early after Soyeon spoke with him.

Soyeon: You can’t meet with the King tonight.
HJ: Why are you…?
Soyeon: Will you be satisfied only after taking everything I have?
HJ: Did you change the content of the letter?

Here we go again with that letter. What’s with the letter? I’m beginning to hope that it was some bad-ass letter.

It’s interesting to me that HJ would worry about changing the letter. Didn’t we see her change a word in her letter when her maid accidentally splattered in on her paper?

Soyeon: You changed something that is even more important. Why can I not change such a thing?

Soyeon believed that she could surely change the content of the letter if HJ was able to change SOMETHING more important than the letter. There are, at least, three interpretations as to what that “something” could have been been. One, Soyeon could be referring to the King suddenly developing feelings for HJ. Two, Soyeon could be talking about politics; that is, HJ’s loyalty to the King was suspect. Three, Soyeon could be talking about sexual here, like HJ couldn’t bear children or that she was in love with someone else.

HJ: (looking guilty) I’m not sure what you are talking about.
Soyeon: I know your lies. If His Majesty knows the truth I know, you will understand me. The feeling when your loved one is looking at you with despise. How cruel it is to see those eyes for the rest of your life.
HJ: (stepping back and almost falling in the water)
Soyeon: If you want to keep the lie, leave the palace.
HJ: You found my weakness. Reveal the truth to the King. But you will have to reveal another truth as well that you tried to kill His Majesty.

There you go. Her Achilles’ heel was a lie.

It seemed like the two ladies have entangled lies. Soyeon wouldn’t be able to reveal HJ’s secret to the King without also revealing a more damaging secret about herself. HJ was accusing Soyeon of attempting to kill the King.

Soyeon: (clutching her skirt) You know everything.

I think Soyeon was being sarcastic here. She was saying that HJ was so wrong about the situation that she wasn’t even going to try to correct her delusion.

HJ: You can not do anything.

lol. Soyeon proved her wrong in the next minute. There was indeed something that she could do: jump into the lake.

Soyeon: (clutching her skirt again) I swear you will also lose someone dear to you.

The interesting part of this camera focus on Soyeon’s grip on her skirt is that we’re lead to believe that HJ was RIGHT in her accusation that Soyeon wanted to kill the King. But it’s also possible that Soyeon was clutching her skirt to stop herself from revealing the truth and proving HJ WRONG in her assumptions.

Then, Soyeon jumped into the water.

Note: Soyeon did lose somebody dear to her shortly after this: her maid.

To me, HJ’s weaknesses were
a. she genuinely seemed to care for the King.
b. she lied about something that could make the King turn against her if he discovered the truth
c. she was the primary suspect in the Queen’s drowning.

5. The King’s weakness was his guilt complex. 

While BongHwan’s vanity might very well cause his downfall, the King’s Achilles’ heel was his guilt complex.

His guilt was mentioned by Prince Yeongpyeong and the concubine, HwaJin (at 1:03:02).

YP: What’s wrong?
HJ: His Majesty is weak when he feels guilty.
YP: It is what you have to pay for surviving. It is what guilt is.
HJ: (silently) Did you go this far just to win the King’s heart?

Three things here:

First, HJ’s rhetorical question was addressed to Queen Soyeon. She had Queen Soyeon in mind while she and YP were looking at the pavilion in the lake.

Second, Prince YP could be referring to the King’s survivor’s guilt. The King had been suffering from nightmares. In his nightmares, a man struck another man with a sword, instantly killing him. A boy, presumably the young King, was hiding behind a post. Before he could scream out in horror, his mouth was covered by his maid.

The dead man could be the King’s dad, brother, uncle or cousin. The King appeared to be the sole survivor of that tragedy.

Third, the King, however, could be suffering from another form of guilt. This was mentioned briefly in Episode 3 when Kim Hwan told BongHwan about the King’s nightmares.

KH: (talking animatedly) Bam! Beheaded.
BongHwan: (to himself) Wow! This guy is so freaking talkative. How can he keep talking without a break?
KH: That’s why the energy of this place is a bit damp. That’s why His Majesty the King also has a nightmare every night.
Bonghwan: A nightmare?
KH: The king has had the same nightmare since his days on Ganghwa Island. It’s about him getting beheaded for treason.

Kim Hwan implied that the King had nightmares because of the “bad energy” in the palace. Since I don’t believe in “bad energy,” feng shui, evil vibes, and all that nonsense, I say that the King was having nightmares because of his guilty conscience. He was planning treason which could very well end up in his decapitation.

6. The hairpin was the symbolic arrow that pierced the King’s weak spot, his guilt. 

To many of us, it’s obvious that the King’s real guilt originated from his treatment of Soyeon/BongHwan. It was BongHwan who pricked the King’s conscience, and he did it on two occasions.

The first time happened after the King’s attempted assassination of BongHwan. He wanted to get rid of the Queen out of fear that the Queen overheard his conversation with Prince Yeongpyeong and Hong. They were plotting to root out the Kim clan’s stranglehold on the monarchy when the Queen burst into their room.

As usual, I’m writing down the whole dialogue from Kissasian Viki so we’re all on the same page.

King: That night, what happened to you?
BongHwan: (to himself) It’s too dangerous. I can’t say anything. (aloud) I got it.
King: What did you just say?
BongHwan: That night you tried to kill me.
King: (to himself) She knows it! (aloud) Then why did you keep it hidden until now? What are you planning to do?
BongHwan: Since I didn’t know. Thanks to the fragrance of that tea you drink, I only just realized it. It’s too bad. If I had known sooner, I would have killed you. Bastard. Even if you’re crazy over another woman, how could you try and kill your own wife? How can you call yourself a human being? Jo HwaJin was your concubine anyway! Is legal adultery not enough for you? Did you have to try and kill your wife?!

Good, BongHwan! Give it to him straight! You were a womanizer, BongHwan, but at least you didn’t try to kill anyone. lol.

King: (to himself) She doesn’t know the reason. (aloud) My Queen, you heard something that night you shouldn’t have. What did you hear? Answer me. What did you hear?

He wanted to hear BongHwan’s confession so he could proceed with his plan to kill him. The King couldn’t believe that he misinterpreted the Queen’s actions. He and his friends were so confident that the Queen was already scheming something with the Kim clan.

BongHwan: (scoffing) So there’s another reason? Are you saying that there was a justifiably reason for trying to kill this woman? You have got to be kidding me.

Meaning, how low could the King get? How pathetic? He was trying to excuse his attempted murder of the Queen.

BongHwan: (chastising him) Whether it was because I heard something or because you’re crazy about a woman, there’s only one reason for you to try to kill me. Because I’m weaker than you. If I was stronger than you, you wouldn’t have attacked me so easily. Since I can be so easily killed, I’m weaker than you. That is the real reason. (handed him her hair pin again) Prove to me that you’re just a murderer who kills those who are weaker than you!

BongHwan tried to get the King stab him but he refused and ran away with the hair pin.

BongHwan achieved two things here:

First, he made the King realize that that real reason that the Queen was expendable was because she was the weaker sex. She was weaker and thus disposable in the King’s pursuit of revenge and social justice.

Second, BongHwan also made the King realize that he was no better than his enemies if he was willing to sacrifice the weak people for his goals. The King acknowledged that the end could NOT justify the means. (Bravo!)

But Prince Yeongpyeong opposed him. He reminding him that their goals were just and righteous. If their goals were just, then the methods to achieve their goals were just as well. (Wrong.) He believed that they could resort to unscrupulous methods to beat the Kim clan since their people were an unscrupulous lot.

Next, the second time BongHwan stabbed the King’s conscience, it was after the King chose to protect his concubine from the wrath of the Grand Queen Dowager.

I had to laugh at the contrast in their facial expressions. The King was trying to look — and sound — apologetic.  BongHwang just gave him a baleful glare.

I’m getting the subs from Kissasian because Viki’s translation is rather messy and long-winded.

King: My Queen, how are you feeling now?
BongHwan: You’re so worried about my health, yet you did put the sword on my neck? There’s not even one day I felt comfortable after coming here. As soon as I opened my eyes, I was told I would marry the next day.

I like how BongHwan and the King understood this differently. Throughout their conversation, the two were NEVER on the same wavelength. The King totally misunderstood BongHwan’s words because he was unaware that BongHwan had taken over Queen Soyeon’s body.  For instance, when BongHwan complained about being pressured to marry the King as soon as he opened his eyes, he was talking about his soul transmigrating into Queen Soyeon’s body.

The King, on the other hand, simply assumed the Queen/BongHwan was referring to her installation in the palace in preparation for their wedding.

BongHwan: The guy called my husband who sleeps under the same blanket with me tries to kill me. And even the family that was on my side threatens to dethrone me.
King: (shocked) What do you mean dethrone?
BongHwan: Why? Are you tempted? It’s a perfect opportunity to put Jo HwaJin in my place, right?

The King should begin to feel guilty. This was the first time he heard of dethronement.

King: Why are you so worked up like a fighting cock? I did not come here to fight with you, My Queen.

By a fighting cock, the King meant that the Queen was spoiling for a fight. He didn’t know that BongHwan was ill-tempered and hostile because he was under a lot of pressure to be the “great Queen” or he’d be banished from the palace.

BongHwan: Just seeing your face makes me angry. Don’t you think I would? You who tried to kill me, and your lover you would die for. I’m about to die trying to save you two.

I love the contrast here, too. BongHwan was telling the King what an ingrate he was. The King had no qualms killing BongHwan/Queen yet he displayed no reluctance dying for the Other Woman/Concubine. The King and his lover had just put BongHwan in trouble. Of course, part of BongHwan’s complaint was that HwaJin didn’t appreciate his efforts to save her.

From the King’s perspective, BongHwan’s words were meant to chasten him. He felt like a scum because he used his wife, the Queen (the one he was willing to murder) to protect himself and his concubine.

Bonghwan: (continuing) At this rate, before I kill myself, they will make me kill myself first.

He was telling the King that his decision to commit suicide might not even his decision to make. He might be forced by GQD and Minister Jwageum to perform some sort of ritualistic suicide (like drink poison) as an alternative to public disgrace and execution.

The King however would again feel guilty because, in his mind, he already tried to kill her twice: when he caused her enough emotional distress that she’d jump into the lake, and when he attempted to kill her because she might have overheard their scheme.

Bonghwan: (continuing) If I don’t get angry in such situation, am I human? I’d be Buddha!

BongHwan smacked the King down. The King could accuse BongHwan of  overreacting. He could downplay the situation as a mere tempest in a teacup. But to BongHwan, this was a grave and serious matter for him because his life was on the line. He had every right to behave like a “fighting cock.” The King was being insensitive.

So the King tried to placate BongHwan.

King: You must have a lot of complaints about me, I do understand but —
BongHwan: Whoa! Don’t try to “understand me.” Don’t even say that you understand after all that. You should’ve understood me before putting a sword to my neck.

In other words, “Too little too late, King.”

Bonghwan was telling him to cut the bullshit about all that talk of “understanding.” He wasn’t going to be conned by that nonsense. He knew better. Besides, he only had to cope with the situation for two more weeks…or until the lake was filled up.

To the King’s ears, the Queen was telling him that she wasn’t EVER going to waste her time listening to his sweet-talk again so he shouldn’t even try it. “She” was no longer going to be fooled by all his talk of “understanding” after the way he treated her. She knew him well.  She knew that he loved the concubine and that he tried to kill her. So he could cut this fake act.

BongHwan: (continuing) No. You should’ve understood this woman when she tried to kill herself on the night before the wedding. It’s late. Your understand means nothing now.

BongHwan’s beating his chest was a nice touch. It appeared as if the Queen was lamenting the pain in her chest. To BongHwan however, this gesture was a manly thing…like thumping his chest for emphasis.

lol. I like BongHwan’s outrage here. He was defending his host body, Queen Soyeon, for the King’s callous treatment. The King, on the other hand, saw BongHwan’s outburst as the Queen venting the pain she had to endure because of him. He was feeling remorseful.

BongHwan:  Hey, get lost. I’m too tired to get angry. (heaving a great sigh)

King: I’ll come back after your emotions have stabilized.
BongHwan: Don’t come unless you will get on your knees in front of me and beg for forgiveness.
King: I’ll come back again.
BongHwan: That bastard. I said not to come back!

Note 1: When BongHwan told the King not to come back until he was groveling on his knees, he meant that rhetorically. He didn’t really want to see the King again. But the King misunderstood BongHwan and took it literally. He was going to return and apologize to the Queen. I took this as a sign that the King was changing his perception of the Queen…thanks to BongHwan.

Note 2: BongHwan threw his hair pin at the door and it punched a hole through the paper. To me, this hair pin was the symbolic “arrow” shot at Achilles’ heel.

Remember: the King’s prime weakness was his guilt complex.

That hair pin had already stirred up his guilty feelings when BongHwan held it to his neck and dared him to kill a weak woman.

This time, the hair pin was back again. And with the hair pin, he realized that he misjudged the Queen.

Earlier, when Prince Yeongpyeong warned him to be wary of the Queen’s motives, he replied that “evil people usually approach with a smile. If her action was all for changing my mind, I’ll be able to find out when I see her attitude.” He went to the Queen’s room to observe if she was going to smile, simper, cajole him. Instead, Bonghwan came at him like a “fighting cock,” and then threw that hair pin after him.

The hair pin convinced him that the Queen wasn’t manipulating him to gain his sympathy; she was truly angry with him. It was the proof he needed that the Queen wasn’t one of the evil Kims. He didn’t know that, in more ways than one, the Queen was no longer a member of the evil Kims because Jang BongHwan was now occupying her body.

Now, whether BongHwan will eventually cause his downfall (his “Achilles’ heel”) or his survival and triumph in the palace politics, we’ll find out soon enough.

********

Gotta run.