The thread is now open for spoilers and discussions.
Gifs from liveasbutterflies’ tumblr
His prompt for the painting: “The spirit of spring fills the mountains as we walk among the peach blossoms. I keep waiting for the peaches and search morning and night.”
Her explanation of her painting: “The painting is about a boy whose face I do not know who picked peaches with me when I couldn’t see, and whom I miss very much.”
Note: Their memories of each other were hidden in plain sight hearing.
Gifs from kateknowsdramas’ tumblr
Heads-up: if you see a LotRS with a password this week, do NOT worry. It only means that it’s a work in progress and I’ll remove the password as soon as I’m done with the draft.
Let’s enjoy the show!
Kalimera! Thank you @Packmule3!
Oh, I am waiting to see what will happen with the 2nd Prince and CG’s Father!
Hello! Anyone suffering from SLS in this drama? You can exlude me, although I must admit that this time the SL seems resonable and lovable. But after watching ep7 live I can say
SPOILER ALERT
that the 3rd prince definitely stepped up his game and Ha Ram was having second thoughts anyway so… he’s not going stand still and do nothing.
Btw I just accquired the Viki pass few days ago to watch the LOTRS with their translations and silly me, I watched live the raw version on SBS bc I thought the subs are going to take some time, but no, they are already out on Viki.
@Linnea,
Viki has every episode subbed. 🙂
Samshin, you are a naugthy Lady / Shin… LMAO!
@Cleopatra yes, yes, I know, but somehow I thought the subs are out at least few hours later after the episode airs in Korea, but luckily they were there directly (I seem to have gotten used to those “other sites” where one have to wait for the subs and watch the raw version first).
But, but, I cannot wait for a discussion abt the triangle and how it’s going to develop. Lets watch ep8 first.
@Kinnea: I like the 2nd prince and am already feeling sorry for him. But good that Ha Ram did an about turn and decided that he can’t really let Cheong Gi go.
I’m not sure though why Goddess Samshin spelled that painting to reach Ha Ram’s house. Was this the same painting the evil Jinn was looking for earlier? Guess time will reveal what is the significance of that tiger painting.
I like how Ha Ram is taking revenge for his father’s death. Not sure why he has the 2nd prince in his kill list though. I dont think the 2nd prince had a hand in Ha Ram’s father’s murder.
*Sorry I meant @Linnea (my phone types random alphabets sometimes 😜)
No worries @Phoenix, I know myself the autocorrect can be a nightmare.
But as to the 3rd prince, I’m wondering abt his intentions towards Cheon Gi. At their first meeting he seems to be drawn to her beauty – we can see him watching her when she’s approaching from behind the pieces of cloth hanging in front of the dye cottage. The next minute he got perplexed by her cheekiness. At the contest he first got put off and dissapointed that she was the forger he was looking for but then he got amazed by her interpretation of the last prompt. And now, when he knows abt her circumstances he says his heart aches when he sees her. Which I’m interpreting as some mixed feelings of guilt (that he took her for a low painting forger) and compassion or pity bc of her tough situation. So it’s kind of complex but on the other side – is it ok for him to push for some kind of relationship with a girl in such circumstances and when the social distance is so huge? It reminds me a bit abt ‘Moonlight drawn by clouds’ when the crown prince aka Park Bo Gum was pushing for some closeness with the FM in disguise. But as his eunuch said it could end in her death sentence bc this kind of behaviour is a disregard for the prince’s digninty and ofc it’s not the prince who would be found at fault. When it comes to Ha Ram, who holds a high position as well, at least we can see that they were equals when they met as children and made those meaningful memories which now kind of blurres the social distance between them, when they are together in private. So, apart from the apparent directory of the narrative, it’s only natural for them to seek each other, in contrast to the 3rd prince (and we saw that the 2nd prince already gave him a heads up during that scene when Cheon Gi’s father had attacked him and Cheon Gi was held responsible. He said something like: are you going to intervene to rescue this girl? It sounded almost like a threat, that it could be used against both him and the girl. Therefore Ha Ram had to intervene, it was more acceptable for him to that, even if the 2d prince asked Ha Ram the same question: are you going to sacrifice everything for this girl?)
What I loved:
Prince Yul is the MVP I told you so! Best character, best actor, absolutely adorbs! His and HCG banter is always the best.
HCG calls out Brian Kox (that’s short for Korean Cox) and his chubby paramour on their secret love affair that everyone knows about so the chubby took action in broad daylight. That was hot!
What I didn’t like:
Every scene with Oily McBrows is a chore to sit through. I’m now taking bathroom breaks whenever he LARPs as V For Vendetta which is the most ridiculous subplot. Nobody cares about your revenge, punk, except that you clearly hate Prince Yul and only pretend to be his friend. Come to think of it, your half-smile is creepy af and I bet Steppenwolf was drawn to you cause he sensed that you were evil.
Wigen’s uses her Professor X power to bust HCG’s date with Prince Yul and send her to Oily McBrows. I don’t know about you but this romance is now taking the no agency, no choice, all fate-dictated turn and that’s not cool. It wasn’t HCG’s free will to visit Oily but Wigen Xavier’s mindtrick cause she knew that HCG has finally noticed Prince Yul’s charms.
What I REALLY EFFIN LOVED
Wigen’s gets giant egg in the face when Prince Yul defies her mind game and finds HCG anyway! A ha ha ha ha, take that, witch! Moreover, things got more romantic than they would have had she just gone straight to him to deliver the painting. Epic fail, Wingen X! Maybe start working on the power of foresight? “I see future and…oh shoot…it’s a meetcute in the rain! and piggyback! Noooo! I better not meddle in her mundane business of delivering a gift painting. Nothing romantic there.” Yes, that would have been so much better eh?
Prince Yul, the Annoying One, Prince Harry Rotter and the Bodyguard are hotter than Oily McBrows. There, I said it.
I really like Prince Yul and even the King teased him about CG. Let’s bring on the rivalry. I liked that CG told HR that she’s decided to accept them as just pleasant memories. I’m just enjoying this drama.
The rain scene reminded me of Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds. It made me miss Gummy!
Kalimera,
I am very happy how the story is progressing scriptwise. One drawback is that we cannot read the book that LotRS is based on, so we don’t know what the writernim has written.
I really enjoyed @Linnea’s train of thought. Mostly because it give us all the reasons why Cheon Gi cannot be with the 3rd Prince. Still, it is known from Episode 1 that Samshin has connected Cheon Gi with HaRam and that they were fated to be together.
I understand that some posters want the 3rd Prince for Cheon Gi, but the gap in their class difference is big.
I don’t remember if @Packmule3 explained it, but I think she did in another thread, for Cheon Gi to become the Royal Consort or Comcubine is not a life she would choose for herself.
The King can joke as much he likes, but the life of a peasant girl is hard at it is. Cheon Gi doesn’t have to be mixed into the Palace’s politics and deposition of the Crown Prince.
What Cheon Gi really wants is to be a painter and that is a bold statement in an historic era that women didn’t do what they liked.
As for Samshin, she was doing what she has to do which is Divine Intervention. She is the one who interferes when she feels she has to, in order Cheon Gi not to be hurt in the process and fullfil her Fate.
As for the painting, it depicts a tiger that is both a talisman, but also refers to the Mountain Spirit Ho Ryung we saw back in Episode 3.
Let us see what will happen tonight!
Oh thanks @Cleopatra! Yes! The Tiger is meant to be with HR to protect him from MaWang somehow. At least that’s what I think.
It made sense now why Samshin made CG end up in HR’s house.
Hey @agdr03!
The Tiger/ Mountain Spirit is protecting the Mountain and the Palace. Samshin tried to make her also protect the inhabitants against MaWang back in Episode 3.
Samshin has made a move, where HR had to understand that he needs to protect CG at all times, with his own free will.
He had to decide for himself to make a bold move and that he did. So far, HaRam was doing so instictively, as an subconscious trigger. From now on, he must do so consciously.
After the Painting Competition, Cheon Gi gathered a lot of attention, which is dangerous. The 2nd Prince won’t even blink if he has to use her as leverage to his brother, the 3rd Prince.
And just to be crystal clear, the 2nd Prince will do so if the chance arises, because he doesn’t care at all about people, only for the throne he so craves.
I don’t want Third Prince with HCG. he’s a great character on his own and doesn’t need to coattail her to be relevant for the story, unlike Ha Ram who is completely marginal for the main plot which is painting. Being possessed doesn’t make him central to the plot, so they have shoe-horned him through unnecesaary love triangle to justify why he’s present where he has no business being. The character is completely ridiculous – blind but can see everything, masked vigilante, the richest man in the kingdom, horoscope fortune teller, and possessed but mostly dormant evil God who activates only when Oily and HCG touch. Beyond ridiculous.
I meant 3rd prince (I said 2nd prince instead) when I said I feel sorry again for the SLS. Prince Yul is a solid second lead though, his smile is quite open hearted, though he is too quick to judge people, is easily swayed and is not strong enough as a character.
@Cleopatra Thanks for explaining the significance of the Tiger painting. I was confused why Shamshin spelled the painting, never connected it to the mountain spirit till I read @packmule3’s latest post and your comment.
Looking forward to today’s episode now😊
My first thoughts after watching Episode 7.
So now we have an idea WHY Cheon Gi will paint that Royal Portrait.
She will paint it for HaRam-ah. To save HaRam to be precise.
In the meantime, the 3rd Prince will learn the truth from his Father The King.
Eun Oh, who seems slightly better in the teaser, will say the truth to his daughter Cheon Gi.
Those two will understand that somehow HaRam is linked with what happened.
The more, plotwise, is revealed, the more I tend to believe that HaRam will be sacrificed twice… Once when he was youmg, and once in the near future…😐
Still, it remains to be seen how the Mountain Spirit will suppress MaWang, since HaRam is inside the Palace amd the ShamanLady is doing Black Enchantment.
More tomorrow…
P.S. @Phoenix speak for the Tiger, right?
@Cleopatra, this is a great conclusion that Cheon Gi will paint the royal portrait to save Ha Ram.
It would be very sad if Ha Ram was to be sacrificed once again, but I think you may be right on this. If I recall right it was already indicated in the opening sequence of the first episode: “a woman painter who lost her lover to Ma Wang” or something like that. And then the voice over (Samshin?) says that the painter disapeared. This second statement gives me some hope for a happy ending though, but probably in sageuk style, that they are going to wander somewhere far away and live in peace. Or so I hope. But I haven’t read the novel so no idea what’s going to happen.
I’m not sure but I think one of the main conflicts may be about destiny as opposed to choice. As @Packmule3 wrote in her reunion post Samshin brought Cheon Gi and Ha Ram toghether through the tiger painting (destiny) but then he chose to seek her and fulfill his promise. Cheon Gi may be the divine painter aka destined to create the royal painting but as @Cleo says she may actively decide to do it in order to save Ha Ram. And maybe also they both represent the opposition between destiny and choice: in today’s episode Cheon Gi asks Ha Ram if everything is written in the stars and he says that in his world it is (so he would represent destiny?) while she answers with a question that if it’s true then what’s the point of striving/making any effort in life (IIRC) – so her doubts may indicate that she represents choice. Just a theory.
Ep 8 – dropped this drama after Yul and Ha Ram went to war over Maiden Hong. Ridiculous. Yul knows she likes Ha Ram so why pursue her still while Ha Ram is toxic beyond redemption (emotional manipulation up the wazoo, general a-holery). Also, this was a textbook Filler Zone episode. Can’t stick around even for my precious Scooby Gang.
Yes, @Phoenix,
Prince Yangmyeong/Prince3 is a likable guy but I don’t see him as a match for his Hyung. I can still see how his Hyung kicked him like a donkey, and he just fell over in Episode 2.
But if you like the actor, you should watch him on that virtual reality show, “We Got Married.” He was cute there, too.
https://www.facebook.com/MyungSungCouple/videos/myungsung-couple-episode-1/355644608128925/
Ooooh, good connection, @Cleopatra!
CheongGi would paint that Portrait at the cost of her losing her eyesight (or was it her sanity?) to save HaRam.
We shall see. I don’t have time to watch Episode 8 tonight. Probably tomorrow. 🙂
Speaking of the triangle and Prince Yul – I don’t want to particulary nag about him. But did anyone else react when he said to Cheon Gi in the first half of ep. 8? He may be a gentleman who want to cover a lady with his coat in the rain but when he brought the expensive royal medicine and she said she had prepared something for him as well, he answered: Nevermind. What could you offer? (Viki) It didn’t sit well with me bc the Prince himself accentuated the distance between them. So it’s ok for him to give her things but he doesn’t want to accept anything from her whatever reason. I checked another site and the subs there (kdramahood) were different: It’s alright. You don’t have much. This second version puts Yul in a slightly better light but still… It looks like he only would like to see her as a willing object of his admiration and care. Maybe like a precious painting in his collection (I don’t mean to say that he collect women like painting of course). Not as an individual who may want to offer him something by her free choice (even if she doesn’t have much).
Hey @Linnea,
I have read what you wrote. The reason i haven’t answered to you yet is that I want to rewatch Episodes 7+8 in one sitting to write more and this didn’t happen today…
You are right though, he seemed to look down on her a bit. It might be a reflex of jealousy though. She left the 3rd Prince for HaRam-ah… His ego was hurt!
@Cleopatra no worries. I’m looking forward to your post abt ep 7 & 8! I feel I need a rewatch as well but probably can make some more time only at the weekend.
The script is very tight, we are midway through the drama and it’s still very well written (maybe minus the second ML’s obligatory jealousy).
@Linnea,
I agree with you! The Writernim explained everything from Episode 1 and now does her magic.
I think that major incidents will happen into the next 4-6 episodes…like Goblin.
When I want to check details I always rewatch the episodes. Especially when there is foreshadowing.
The Mythology of the universe is rather interesting.
Annyeong,
i love that the prince3 chided HR coz he let CG walk in the rain TWICE. omg. seriously. who does that?
so human though that men are more likely to make a hard stand when confronted with a rival – for example, with DS in HCCC. it’s like a wake up call. and HR got that. i love that confrontation in the rain… and CG on piggy back – oh my. did HR know? but what a statement: she made a promise to me first (not verbatim). oooh take that, Prince3! hihi
i’m glad HR got to open up and confess basically. CG is so understanding. i like his plea (inside thought) to CG: wait for me. awwwww
so the tiger goddess is protecting HR or the people in the palace… unfortunately, it didn’t stop Prince2 from cutting his throat slightly. 🙁 and now it will be confirmed and all hell breaks loose. ay yay. so HR didn’t know Ma Wang at all… poor guy. he’s inhabited by the evil but clueless about it. and his memory too was affected until he met CG and memories has been coming in fragments.
poor CG when she got scared by MaWang… losing the handkerchief. but with purpose as that’s how Mawang will be revealed to all. waaaaaa
yes, big reveals next episode. oooh lala.