A slew of information dumped all at once often causes overload and confusion. I think a review of the salient points are in order. However, this isn’t intended to be an “answer key.” You’re free to come up with your theories. 🙂
1. Naksu’s constellation
I think Episode 5’s opening scene should be viewed in tandem with Episode 4’s beginning. Episode 4 began with the meeting with the King and Uk’s supposed father, Jang Gang. The King was thanking JG for the past seven wonderful days with his wife. (Gross to the max!) In his mind, the divination he received on his coronation day would be fulfilled.
Ironically, it was JG who’d divined that he would be granted a son “who had the energy of the King’s Star.” If Park Jin oversees the instruction of mages, Heo Yeom supervises the infirmary, and the Jin HoGyeon handles the magical objects, then Jang Gang is responsible for astrology and prophecies.
But after the soul-switching, JG claimed that his prophecy was incorrect. The King insisted, “No. What you said has to be true. I will have a son thanks to your alchemy of souls. Remember that. Dohwa will bear my son. He will be mine.”
Later, on the night his wife Dohwa is laboring in pain, JG contemplates the night skies. There doesn’t appear to be any moon or stars to divine, but there’s bright patch in the sky. He clutches his heart.
Somewhere in Cheongbugwan, a constellation recorder mage studies the constellation plate’s astral projection. He’s astonished to see the King’s Star appear.
Three comments:
a. The darkness of the night sky surprised me. Considering that the sky is supposed to be filled with the energy of the Daeho waters in order for the King’s star to appear in the center of the Big Dipper, I expected a starry night.
b. In Episode 5, it’s revealed that Jang Gang sneaked the constellation plate out. He told Park Jin that the plate in Cheonbugwan is a fake one without the King’s star.
This is the fake plate.
c. Is the Royal Astrologer who saw the King’s star Naksu’s father? He looks like Naksu’s father, but this can be a plot hole.
I’ll tell you later….
To continue —
Like the opening scene of Episode 4, Episode 5’s opening began with a reference to the constellation marking a birthday. This time, it’s Naksu’s birthday.
When she was young (around 8? 9?), she was brought to work by her father.
Father: (proudly) Here, at Cheongbugwan, we have records of all the constellations. Even the one on your birthday. Would you like to see it?
They were spellbound by the sight of the stars.
For some unknown reason, her father went berserk shortly after that visit to Cheongbugwan. Note: Young Naksu was wearing the same outfit, suggesting it was the same day as her visit to her father’s work.
A terrified maid came running to grab and hide her in a shed. She gave her a warning.
Maid: My lady, stay inside and do not come out. If you see your father, run away. Do not let him catch you.
Then, the maid fled. She didn’t get far before she was struck down.
Since all the four mages, Jin HoGyeong, Park Jin, Heo Yeom, and Jang Gang, were lined in a row in the background, I’m assuming that it was Naksu’s father who struck her with his sword. He stared at the dead money for a moment, then he moved to attack the four mages. Park Jin stepped out of the rank and fought him.
Comments:
a. It’s interesting that Park Jin dueled him. I thought it should have been Jang Gang to subdue Naksu’s father as Jang Gang was his chief at the Cheongbugwon. He should have been the one to deliver the punishment.
b. What caused Naksu’s father to go berserk? My theory is that he saw an anomaly in Naksu’s star formation while they were gazing at it. There’s a parallelism here between Uk’s and Naksu’s star divination, between Episode 4 and Episode 5.
When Jang Gang read the stars and divined the King’s future, he didn’t foresee that his divination would boomerang and break his heart in the future. Notwithstanding the baby’s paternity, Jang Gang decided to protect him. When Uk was born, he closed the baby’s Gate of Energy to block his fate.
As for Naksu’s father, I think when he showed Naksu the record of her birthday’s constellation, he saw an irregularity or anomaly. I suspect the four mages went after him because of his discovery. It must have been something of paramount importance to mages — perhaps something to do with their survival — since four of them went to his residence to see him dead.
No. I don’t think that he was a soul-shifter. He should have turned into a stone as soon as he died, and the child Naksu wouldn’t have sat beside a stone statue she didn’t recognize.
c. What’s shocking is that Naksu’s father wanted her dead.
Unless the maid was lying, her father wanted her dead. Of the top of my head, I can think of a few reasons why he would want to commit filicide.
One, from the stars, he saw that his child would bring doom and chaos to the world.
Two, he wanted to get back at his wife/Naksu’s mom for some offense he just discovered.
Three, he discovered that Naksu wasn’t his real child.
Four, he’d rather kill his own daughter than have the four mages kill her (Refer to “Medea.”)
Five, he’s psychotic.
In contrast to Naksu’s father, Jang Gang saved Uk when Park Jin threw baby. Jang Gang didn’t think Uk was his own flesh-and-blood, but he saved him nonetheless.
d. In Episode 6, it’s revealed that Naksu’s father was a mage, a constellation recorder mage at Cheogbugwan. Park Jin said, “twenty years ago, there was one constellation recorder mage who died in the hands of the four families.” Yeo Heom added that “his entire family were killed on that day, except for his one and only daughter who disappeared.”
This bit of information messes up the timing.
If 20 years ago, Jang Gang was present at the public execution of Naksu’s father, then the baby Uk hadn’t been born yet. Why? Because Jang Gang left right after blocking the GOE at Uk’s birth, and has been AWOL for 20 years.
However, if Naksu’s father was killed before Uk’s birth, then who was the Royal astrologer/recorder mage who saw the King’s Star form on his birthday? Another mage?
I hope this a plot hole just like Uk entering Songrim without his Spirit Plaque in Episode 1.
To recap then, Episode 4 showed us the constellation on Uk’s birthday, and the King’s star was appeared as was predicted by Jang Gang. Episode 5, on the other hand, kept hidden the constellation on Naksu’s birthday. We can only speculate that her father made a dreadful discovery which cost him his life.
2. Naksu’s return
She recalls her first meeting with Jin Mu. He promised to give her power so she accepted his offered hand.
Naksu: The day my father was killed by the four families of Daeho, I followed JIn. I was raised as if I was cut off from the world in the deep and dangerous valleys of Danhyanggok. I don’t know if I toughened up to survive or if I survived because I was tough. By the time my past self and my father had been forgotten, I finally returned to the world as Naksu. But Naksu is dead now. I have returned to this place as MuDeok, along with an incapable young master who is an also an unmotivated pupil.
Uk: How far do we have to go? This bracelet weighs a ton. Master, your pupil is exhausted. I am done. I am too tired to go any further.
Naksu: I am the one carrying all the luggage.
Three comments:
a. Note my thread on “giseya” or “vigor.” This trip is Naksu’s strategy to revive Uk’s zeal, zest, drive, determination, passion, motivation, etc. She brought him here to get his mojo back. But the funny thing is, being in this remote place, Uk decides that this kind of life suits him, too.
b. I like the setting.
Look: Uk is connected to water. He likes to take baths. Water is his symbol because he has the power of the waters of Daeho. In fact, Naksu said that he was going to be her Lake Gyeongcheondaeho.
But Naksu is connected to rock. As a soul-shifter, she’s in danger of becoming a rock. Rock is her symbol because her character is as solid and strong as a rock.
c. She said that she returned to the place as MuDeok. But MuDeok would never have been climbed on rocks nor carried all the luggage. Only Naksu can.
I also think that Naksu’s becoming stronger. At first, I thought she’s acquiring some of Uk’s energy after his Gate of Energy was opened by continuing to be in his company. Hence, she can carry the luggage without buckling under its weight.
But it’s possible that something in Danhyanggok is protecting her or giving her strength, or something in her was revived when she came to Danhyanggok.
To continue…
Uk: I am your young master, and you are my maid. That’s your job.
Naksu: So I am your master when you are in need, but your maid when you need a servant?
Uk: Of course.
Naksu glares at him, and he flinches like a puppy. I like this sort of nonverbal communication.
Uk: I didn’t know that there was a place like this right outside the city.
Naksu: This is a place so rugged and remote that even echoes cannot be heard. Hence the name, Danhyanggok.
Uk: (testing the echo) I hear the echoes just fine.
Naksu: It was just a figure of speech.
Uk: The name is just a bluff.
I googled Uk’s actual reply and discovered that he said “bullshit” as in “There’s bullshit in the name.” The Netflix sub is tame.
This is a funny moment because he just killed Naksu’s mood. Naksu was feeling a bit sentimental and wistful of things in the past, e.g., she was reminiscing about her past; she was no longer Naksu but MuDeok; they were so isolated that nobody could hear their voice.
Then Uk brought her down to earth by calling it bullshit.
3. The arrival of Master Lee
So is he the other mage who can do “alchemy of soul” then?
Lee: (talking to the dog) I would not have recognized her without your help since her soul has no malice. (talking to the sleeping Naksu) You will be better off dying in my hands than to run wild and be petrified.
He lifts his hand to strike her, but he stops as a glowing aura appears from Naksu’s sleeping form. I think the aura comes out as a protective defense; it senses danger and creates a shield of some sort around Naksu.
Lee: A great soul has shifted into this body.
He closes his hand and puts it down, so the aura subsides.
Lee: She should have run wild by now, judging by how weak this body looks. How is she still fine?
He feels her forehead.
Lee: I feel no energy around her. Where did it all disappear to?
And then he senses Uk behind him. They fight each other and end up outside the hut. Uk senses MuDeok has followed them outside. He shouts at her to run.
But MuDeok just stands motionless with her eyes wide. Master Lee powers up again to strike her. Uk rushes to her and blocks off Teacher Lee. He waits for the blow but Master Lee doesn’t strike.
MuDeok’s head drops onto Uk’s arm.
The following morning, Naksu doesn’t remember.
Lee: Do you not remember anything from last night?
Naksu: No.
Uk: You stood right there and watched us fight.
Naksu: I did what?
Lee: I guess you sleepwalk. I will get you medicinal herbs for that. Brew them and drink the tea.
I think the reason Master Lee didn’t strike them was because he saw the aura glowing from MuDeok’s body again. She’s like a firefly; she glows even though her body is small and insignificant.
When either Uk or MuDeok’s in danger, the aura comes out. This is the first time that Master Lee has seen anything like it.
Lee: (tells the dog) That soul shifter is special. There is a great soul dwelling inside that small body. Let us get to know her a bit.
Comments:
a. Master Lee says Naksu’s soul has no malice.
Naksu’s soul would have been tainted with malice since she was an assassin. Maybe Naksu’s soul has been purged off its inner grudge or maybe he’s talking about another soul co-dwelling in MuDeok’s body, like MuDeok’s soul or another BuYeon’s soul or some deity’s soul.
However, if there are two souls inside MuDeok’s body, then I think it’s pretty lame that Master Lee can’t distinguish the two souls simply because one is a “great” soul and the another a “lesser” soul.
The message here is the lesser soul aka Naksu’s soul is negligible.
b. He says he can’t feel any energy around her.
Sigh, here we go again. This is one of the most infuriating tricks of the Hong sisters. They’re guilty of obfuscation. They intentionally make things difficult to understand by being imprecise and vague.
The dog can see the leaking energy because there’s a gap between the Naksu’s soul and MuDeok’s body from which the energy seeps out.
I’m going to assume that by “energy,” Master Lee means the glowing aura. He saw it radiating from the sleeping body, but he can’t feel its energy/presence/source when he touches her body.
c. The dog doesn’t bark at her. I’m sure this is meant to be a sign. The dog recognizes her by now and no longer sees her as an evil soul-shifter.
d. She can be sleepwalking, or she can be in a trance because she’s possessed by this great soul/spirit which emits that glowing aura.
4. Naksu’s dream
As Naksu sleeps, the aura hovers above her body.
She then begins to dream. In her dream, she’s still inside MuDeok’s body but she sees the original MuDeok, with the gauze covering her eyes, before her.
Here are some of random explanations I can throw out:
a. This is “Mr Queen” all over again. The two-souls-residing-in-one-body crap.
b. Naksu is becoming aware of the terrible thing she did to the original MuDeok. Her eyes widened then…
she looked in pain.
c. This is the “energy of the sky [which] rules the wind, clouds, and rain” manifesting itself in her dreams.
d. The original MuDeok is some sort of deity.
e. There’s energy in the Danhyanggok that’s waking her up or activating her extra senses.
5. I abhor threesomes.
I can say this because this is my blog. The concept of souls of MuDeok and Naksu co-inhabiting MuDeok’s body is a big nope for me.
The problem with a threesome is often overlooked by undiscriminating viewers. Look here: when Uk falls in love with his master/maid, who is he really in love with? Naksu’s soul or MuDeok’s soul?
Clearly, it’s Naksu’s soul.
I don’t care how the Hong sisters romanticizes this, it isn’t possible for Uk to fall in love with MuDeok’s soul when he hardly knows her. All this time, there’s only one soul he’s been interacting, bantering, sparring, arguing, and connecting with. It’s Naksu’s soul who happens to reside in MuDeok’s body.
Should Naksu’s soul somehow get transferred to another body in the future, then I hope that Uk will recognize her, despite the change in her outward appearance. She’s his soulmate in the literal meaning of the word.
The theory of MuDeok’s soul cohabitating with Naksu’s soul may be acceptable to others, but once Uk kisses, caresses, or makes love with Naksu, it’s too disgusting for me to think that:
a. there’s no privacy or intimacy between the couple,
b. he’s unknowingly kissing, caressing, and making love with MuDeok as well,
c. MuDeok’s soul is trapped to accept his kisses, caresses, and bodily fluids,
d. nonconsensual sexual act is once again normalized.
I don’t care what other people’s fetishes are but the idea of a three-way skinship is as icky as making love to conjoined twins.
#Sorrynotsorry
6. Naksu’s new power
After her return from Danhyanggok, strange things begin to happen to her as if new energy has been activated.
She can see the content of a magic box. Then, as soon as she steps inside the Jinyowon, she agitates the magical objects in the family vault and the birds in the cages. This hadn’t happened before when she was in the presence of the Jin treasures like the Gwiji urn or the restraining bracelet. She didn’t activate them.
Jin HoGyeong, leader of the Jinyowon, suspects something.
It’s possible that the magical things recognize the long-lost daughter of the house, BuYeon. She’s been missing for over a decade. She could have come down with blindness and amnesia, then renamed/reborn as MuDeok from the village of Sari.
Heo Yeom did say that he recognized MuDeok’s ear.
Note: Don’t confuse Naksu and MuDeok. Naksu was the daughter of the Constellation Record Mage who trained under Jin Mu in Danhyanggok. MuDeok was the blind orphan raised by an old woman in Sari village. MuDeok’s background is still very much unknown. No one can vouch for her.
But it’s also possible that Jin HoGyeong just senses a powerful soul in the presence of MuDeok, but recognizes neither her daughter’s soul nor likeness in MuDeok.
Okay, I’m ending here.
Kalimera @Packmule3!
As it seems we are in tune! I had the same reaction upon seeing the scenes with the Royal Astrologer / Constellation Recorder mage the night of his killing spree and with his official robes. I did a post back in Episode’s 5-6 thread.
I also believe that he went bersek for an unknown reason and not because he was a soul switcher. He was targeting his own daughter and her maid protected her.
As I have written in the other thread, Mage Park interefered only when Naksu’s father (we really don’t know her true given name, only her assassin avatar) killed the maid in front of them.
The thing is that the kid Naksu has forgotten all these and after her encounter with the evil Jin, she blames the four families for her father’s passing.
I truly believe that when she will find out the truth, she will be devastated by the manipulation Jin did to her and the fact that she became an assassin due to him.
We had the same idea with you that Naksu’s father was the one who saw Uk’s birth star, but that also doesn’t make sense, since the only one who knows except from mage Jang is mage Park. So I agree that either this is a plothole, or he saw something else entirely.
In my opinion, Master Lee will play a pivotal role to what it will happen next.
Also, I am also puzzled that Naksu and MuDeok were together in that dream sequence.
Are they truly both there? When I saw that dream sequence, I thought that somehow they are both in MuDeok’s body and MuDeok is the sleepwalker, while Naksu is the primary soul. Still, since we don’t know what the Hong Sisters have in mind, I am not sure either and open to possibilities.
As for 6, we are theorizing that MuDeok is the first born and long lost daughter of Jin family. If that is the case, Jinyowon reacted this way for that reason?
I also like your theory that MuDeok could be a deity. That would be interesting…
I do hope they will continue explaining things to us. The cast have made an awesome work with each other and I do hope the script will continue to have cohesion.
Thank you, @packmule3 for your interpretation of Naksu/Mu Deok’s energy. It was confusing to me that Teacher Lee said her soul had no malice. That is certainly not true for Naksu, whose aim is revenge on the 4 families.
Yes, it could get icky-messy with two souls in one body. I like the idea of divinity in Mu Deok I, but what about the mirror? Could a deity have a bad side, too?
@packmule3 and @Cleopatra, Naksu’s father killed the entire household, missing only Naksu who was hidden. I think that whatever made him crazy in *his* interpretation wasn’t specifically about Naksu, but included everyone in his household. Why else would he kill the others? However, it probably was a divination about Naksu. I wonder what the divination actually said.
Naksu is related to stone – as her ultimate destiny, I think. But to Uk, she is like a bird. He described her that way to Teacher Lee and to Maidservant Kim. She had an affinity to birds and liked to call to them with Yul’s whistle/bird caller. She wants to stand in the top of the tall tree where the bird’s nest was. We also know that Naksu didn’t eat chicken until she came into Mu Deok’s body. Was it Naksu who made the birds excited or the Mudeok/goddess? The only other person who made the birds panic like that was Teacher Lee when he came at night to get Sapsali’s spirit from the Jin spirit archive.
Speaking of…how does Teacher Lee not age? It can’t be simply the chaste tea…
@Fern,
The concept of two souls occupying one body doesn’t pan out well in kdramas.
There’s that infamous Mr Queen. The king actually fell in love with the male soul in the Queen’s body, not the overpowered and subjugated Queen’s soul. The male soul was unconventional and saucy.
Oh My Ghost. The man wasn’t attracted at all to the girl. He only began noticing her when the other spirit took over her body. He liked the quirky-ness, spunky-ness of the other spirit.
Uk has fallen for Naksu’s soul. If MuDeok’s soul coexists with Naksu’s soul in MuDeok’s body, then she’ll have to get the hell out of there because sharing is definitely NOT caring in this instance.
Uk can barely tolerate having his master’s attention split between TWO PUPILS: him and Yul. Plus, Naksu already informed Uk that she isn’t going to serve TWO MASTERS: Uk and his future wife Choyeon. She was returning to Danhyanggok solo if he decides to marry Choyeon.
See that?
Both of them demand exclusivity from each other, so how can they bear having MuDeok’s soul as an interloper in their relationship?
Threesomes are plain gross unless we’re talking about the Trinity Doctrine in Christianity. 🙂
If I remember correctly, the ivy-covered door to the secret room at the Jin compound can only be opened by a member of the Jin family. When Master Lee called the spirit that senses soul shifters, it came out of the vault without the door being opened. At the end of Episode 6, we see MuDeok walking in the vault containing the Jin family treasures. If the door opened for her to enter, it is fair to assume that MuDeok is of the Jin family.
Naksu was a vegetarian (or pescatarian?) prior to the soul-shifting.
But MuDeok’s body was accustomed to eating chickens.
If the original MuDeok was also the Jin family’s long-lost first daughter, then had no problems eating feathered animals. 🐓🕊🦃
Yes, the birds panicked when Master Lee came. IIRC, there was also blue light shimmering in the Jin’s treasure vault. The birds and magical objects detected a great power in Master Lee.
So it’s possible that they did the same thing for Naksu when stepped over the Jin’s threshold.
We don’t know yet, @Welmaris, why Naksu is inside the family vault or how she got in. We were only shown Naksu wandering in there.
It’s possible that she was SENT there by Lady Jin herself on some errand to trap her. Or her daughter ChoYeon sent her there to retrieve an object then she disappeared in the mirror.
All Lady Jin said was, “A precious treasure of ours has disappeared. And an individual has disappeared with it.”
But yes, it’ll be a predictable move if the Hong sisters made MuDeok the amnesiac (and blind to boot!) missing beloved first daughter of the Jinyowon.
The only weird thing here is the mother and sister didn’t recognize Buyeong in MuDeok’s body. It’s okay for me that Yul didn’t recognize Naksu when her deceased body was on display in the Secret Room. But any mother should recognize her own daughter even after a decade of absence.
@Fern,
Regarding your question about Naksu’s father, what came into my mind is the following:
Maybe in the dinivation her father saw that she will become the future Queen and he was afraid that the King would ask her to be his Concubine? If that happened before the soul switch between Mage Jang and the late and sickly King that is possible scenario.
At the same time, he could have seen that Naksu might become a powerful mage or someone of importance that could be in danger. The easy part is to think that he would have seen that she would become an assassin.
I agree with @Packmule3 here. The way their fathers reacted shows a lot about what kind of fathers they are. One of them saved the boy, the other tried to kill the girl and in the meantime killed everyone in their household.
It is a mirroring. A Yin – Yan aspect and we can say also a foreshadow, but that is what I think about it. ☺
If Bu Yeong became Mu Deok, the lack of recognition could be caused if there had been another, previous soul shift. But that gets very complicated. Perhaps Bu Yeong is missing because she got pulled into the mirror as well?
It’s interesting that the Prince was also present and seated at the Jin family meeting, as well as Yul and Dang-Ju. Why? Curiosity or part of a plan? Uk looks straight at the prince and does a little side twitch of the head which to me indicates a query. The prince stops looking at Uk, looks into the middle distance, then drops his eyes. He looks guilty of something.
Did Mu Deok take the stone, or did Cho Yeon or the mother take the broken stone out to be able to blame MD for theft? The mother had a distinctly malevolent expression when she looked down at MD as she entered the house. @packmule3, it’s very possible what you theorise, that MD was sent downstairs by her, knowing that she might not be able to return.
@Cleopatra,
If the father saw either that Naksu might be queen or concubine, or that she might be an assassin, neither of those seems enough to kill the her and the whole household along with her. He saw the constellation when she was born – would the stars have shifted since then, or is it his interpretation that shifted? For stars to shift seems to go against the rules of astrology, so I’m thinking that he saw and interpreted something different at that time and it either made him go mad or that he saw it as his duty to kill everyone thinking he could avert some catastrophic event involving even more innocent people.
@Fern,
No stars don’t shift. Especially your natal ones. Interpretations can. I think he went temporary mad.
Could someone decide his duty is to kill all his household, because he couldn’t find his daughter?
Whatever happened in the past, doesn’t change the fact that Naksu’s father abandoned her and that made easier for evil Jin to manipulate her. So, even though he might have wanted to prevent something bad, he made things worse.
@packmule3, we have assumed that Naksu is the same age as the other young adults because she looks a similar age to Yul in the past. Could it be possible that Naksu is a few years older than them? In the scene where she is hiding she looks like she could be between 3-5 years old. Then Jang Kang being present at her father’s death would make sense.
Did the father say that he saw her constellation when she was born? He only said that they have records of all constellations, even one on her birthday.
I don’t know what drove him suddenly mad. All I know is the timing. He was star-gazing with her daughter one moment, then slaughtering people the next.
Usually it’s not logical to assume causation simply because one event followed another. But the writers and directors are doing a visual short-cut, without giving away the real connection.
Park Jin gave Jang Gang the opportunity to kill baby Uk. Jang Gang rejected it and said he only blocked baby’s GOE to protect him.
Naksu’s father, on the other hand, was running amok and killing everyone. He would not spare even his only daughter.
Reminds me of Hotel del Luna when Man Wol killed everybody in the fortress to avenge the deaths of her gang, the only people she considered her family. Capt Firefly tortured her emotionally by executing her “brother” and comrades in front of her, then blaming her for their deaths. She went psycho after that.
And that’s a weird tidbit too about the present-day King getting concubines so he’d beget an heir born under the King’s star. Ugh. 🤦♀️ What’s wrong with these men? It’s really weird when people allow stars, fate, and divination rule their lives.
I like that Naksu believes in “vigor” — rather than stars, fate, and divination — to determine the course of their actions.
Naksu is older by at least 5 to 10 years. She was already a young kid when she visited the Constellation Hall with her father. So she’s a noona to Uk but I don’t mind because their age difference doesn’t come into play.
As I mentioned, Jang Gang was present at the execution, so Baby Uk couldn’t have been born by then. After Uk’s birth, Jang Gang went traveling so I doubt he’d trouble himself to return for the death of a court recorder.
Of course, the Hong sisters can always revise or do a “ret-con” or a retroactive continuity later in the series if they realize that they made an inconsistency or a continuity error. 😂
@Cleopatra, I think that we are thinking along the same lines or parallel lines. I said in another post that he may lately have interpreted the upcoming catastrophe as involving someone in his household and family, therefore similar to 1 or 4 of @packmule’s list of reasons for infanticide. Because he kills everyone – not just his daughter. I don’t think he killed the household *because* he couldn’t find his daughter. I’m sorry if I worded it so a reader would think that. I think he wanted to kill the household as well as his daughter. Otherwise, he could have sought her out first and killed only her. I hope that it’s explained more clearly later.
I wonder why, after the time passing between Naksu’s birth and this tragic night, this updated divination occurred? Why were the heads of the 4 families there? Were they summoned by someone? Was the king involved? It might be totally irrelevant but it reminds me of some sageuks where an entire court member’s family and household are wiped out by a king who believes even one of them is guilty of treason. (as in Goblin, Scarlet Heart and others.)
You are absolutely correct that the father’s actions made it possible for Jin Mu to corrupt the child. She clearly doesn’t remember all of the killing by her father or the servant’s words to her. I find it ironic that in the current time Naksu’s mentor Jin Mu is ready to kill her off since she has become less than what he moulded her to be. He is very nonchalant about killing off his allies who become less useful or less manipulatable.
@packmule3, I’m missing something. Is the Crown Prince not his son? Is he a step-son? Or did he not have the king star in his birth chart?
Yes, the open search for a concubine to produce a suitable heir is pretty gross. Right up there with the former king. Small wonder his queen might be taking matters into her own hands.
@Fern,
Yes, we are. The train of thought is similar, based on what differentiate us.
It’s okay, so no worries.
I agree with you, he wanted to kill everyone, or that we have seen. That’s why I was calling his actions as temporary madness.
If it was a real sageuk and he was to be a traitor then he would have been beheaded and all of his clan would die with him. Since, those Mages where there, we can assume that the Four Families because of their positions are like the protectors of the Kingdom and went there to stop him.
I think she grew up to believe that they killed him with no reason. If you are a child you can believe someone who “saved” you.
The evil Jin is doing what the others did to him. He discards people like they are things. He is not loyal to anyone, even himself. So, his affiliation with the Queen is under question as well.
As for the Crown Prince, he is the legitimate son of the current Queen and the King. The King seems to be a fool with all those Concumbines and if the Queen will react that means she wants her son to be on the throne. Daebi Mama / Queen Dowager indeed…
The CP is the current King’s son. But no “King’s Star” designation. 😂
So if King gets another son born with that King’s Star, then CP can be replaced (Killed? Exiled? Deposed? Turned into a regent?).
Gross alright. Kinda like churning out babies like they’re manufactured in doll factory. Then designating them as precious only if with the “King’s Star” logo.
Thanks for the clarification on the Crown Prince. If I were the Queen, I would be completely angry with him about those concubines. In effect, he’s saying that the CP is not useful, and that because of that she as the CP’s mother is replaceable, should he beget an heir with a king star in his constellation.
I thought that Jang Kang left Jin Mu in charge of Cheonbugwan as his second in command. I think that he valued Jin Mu, unless I’m missing something. Jin Mu is so ambitious, however, to even take in Naksu as a child before Jang Kang has left. (unless, as pm3 said, it was a plot hole to have him present)
@packmule3, sorry. I type slowly. You said the same thing before I finally posted. Me: 🐢
@Fern,
And that is the right thing. The truth is that in reality, children were dying a lot, so the Kings would have bethrothed to royal concubines in order to have a legitimate heir.
In AoS however, the King is not respecting nor cherishing, both his Queen or his own son the Crown Prince. He is so obsessed with the King Star divination that he will bring the wrath upon him. Because the person who he is seeking already exists! *facepalm*
@Cleopatra, I was wondering if the queen is either poisoning him or feeding him something like the chaste tea, the contents being from within the chest sent by Jin Mu who wants the CP on the throne? Even if someone with the star sign didn’t exist, what a nasty way to act to a wife and son! It’s too obvious that he’s not doing it just to have spare heirs should the CP die. He’s doing it to be able to replace the CP.
@Fern, I also think that the Queen is feeding the King chaste herbs supplied by Jin Mu. Both she and Jin Mu want CP on the throne.
Make that me three who thinks the Queen is feeding the King chaste herbs. Master Lee did say he was going into town to sell herbs he’d collected. He may not know his buyer is Jin Mu…or then again, he may.
There’s a bit of a problem with thinking Naksu’s father made a terrible discovery when looking at the record of the stars when his daughter was born, and his discovery sending him into a killing madness because he wanted to prevent something foretold in the stars about her. He had her in his arms as they looked together at the projection of her natal horoscope. If he’d at that time discovered something he believed he should commit filicide to prevent, she was there with him. He could have taken her out of Cheonbugwan and done the dirty deed right away. Why go home, set down his daughter, and lose track of her while killing everyone else in his household?
I’m NOT going to defend my theory hard because this theory is a disposable one. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. Oh well.
All I’m saying is there’s a parallelism at work here.
If the male lead had a horoscope/divination/constellation so pivotal to the future of Daeho, then it’s logical to expect that the female lead — whose importance is of the same magnitude as male lead (if not more so because she’s the “master”) — would have her own horoscope/divination/constellation to impact the course of history.
It’d be weird…and sexist…that somebody like Naksu wouldn’t have been “pre-ordained by the stars” or prophesied by the seers when she and Uk together can take down the whole Daeho kingdom with their combined strengths.
The way these kdramas go, they would have been fated at birth, and their encounters “written in the stars.”
As for the Naksu’s father, I don’t know what triggered his killing spree. All I know is:
a. he and Naksu were looking at her birthday constellation.
b. he wanted to kill Naksu (according to the servant) sometime after the Cheongbugwan.
c. the mages wanted him dead.
Now, others made their theories and I made mine. I said that although correlation doesn’t imply causation, in this case, I’m going to make a short cut: he discovered something dreadful about her constellation.
The writers didn’t reveal any more so it’s best to wait and see.
But if I’m allowed to venture a guess, then I’ll say that the father’s discovery is comparable to a missing piece of a puzzle. By itself, his discovery wouldn’t have any meaning. But if his discovery was the missing piece or the last bit of information needed to see whole picture, then yeahhhh, Naksu’s constellation would be the flashpoint.
The presence of the mages at his death is significant, too. He was allowed inside the Cheonbugwan to read/record the stars. From the sound of it, he was very proud of his job. He wasn’t a disgruntled worker. He wasn’t a soul-shifter. He didn’t appear to have any other connection with the four mages other than the constellation records. If they had to kill him off, it would be more likely because he discovered something he shouldn’t have about the constellations rather than embezzlement or poor job performance. 🙂
Naksu’s father’s berserker episode reminds me of a scene from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series when one of powerful male channelers mind is overrun by the tainted male side of the One Power (yin-yang/female-male) and he massacres his entire household including his beloved wife. When that character comes to himself and realizes what he has done, he goes mad. And so I wonder if something didn’t happen between the scene we see with Naksu’s father joyfully holding his daughter up to look at the star charts and the massacre. Something beyond seeing something in the stars. His response is just too drastic and wild. It could be something imposed on him by someone like the increasingly evil looking Jin Mu or some aspect of this power that has not yet been reveled (unless the mirror is our first hint of it). And the fancy red birthday party dress that the small Naksu is wearing does strongly suggest that the massacre happens on her birthday. We mostly have not seen an evil side to the force itself that the mages learn to control only evil and mechanically forced uses of that force. I think though we are missing a scene. And mostly the 4 mages seem duty bound rather than vengeful. I think something most have gone horribly wrong that they can only fix by killing the father.
On another note: I puzzled for a bit regarding the actor playing Master Lee with such gravitas until I realized he was the insurance agent in Crash Landing on me. He has great acting range!
Kalimera Ladies!
@Packmule3,
I agree with you about the parallelism. It is a good example of how those two fathers acted in order to save or not their children.
We will get to see what made Naksu’s father act this way, but that doesn’t change that Naksu was abandoned all alone for evil Jin to manipulate her!
@Fern,
I agree with all of you who said that the Queen is giving the King chaste tea.
At the same time, I am thinking she is giving him more than that. 🙂
@salteddust,
what a great reference! I love WoT! The thing is in AoS, we haven’t seen this part of tainted power as in WoT. We are watching a slightly different edition with the soul shifters that go wild and need to “eat” human energy.
Either way, the “temporary madness” works over here as well. I believe that something triggered him and I agree with you that we have missed a scene or incident that caused him to behave like that.
Btw, the actor playing Master Lee was also in Vincenzo!
@Cleopatra, Kalimera. Are you thinking a slow acting poison for the King? I had wondered about that for the 1st King, but Jang Kang, being a mage, would have realised it when he was in the King’s body?
@packmule3, @Welmaris, perhaps the astrologer found a curious niggle in that revisiting of Naksu’s birth constellation, that when he investigated more deeply later that day turned out to be linked to something momentous and overwhelming. @Salteddust, that seems a valid comparison to some sort of shift of power. I guess the show will tell us in its own time. Fun to theorise until then.
We’ve seen that Jin Mu uses people and throws them away. We also know that Jin Mu is part of Cheongbugwan, second in command after Jang Gang. I imagine if Naksu’s father made a startling discovery while looking at his daughter’s natal horoscope, he caused a bit of a stir at Cheongbugwan and caught the attention of Jin Mu. I wouldn’t put it past that ambitious man to twist and use the new information to his benefit. I suspect he intentionally accelerated the distress of Naksu’s father. The reason all four leading mages arrived at the site of the massacre is not clear to us yet, but they may have gotten there just before the maid was killed. Jin Mu, I suspect, was lurking on the fringes. Gaining control of Naksu may have been Jin Mu’s intent, and he may have manipulated people and events to get what he wanted. Taking in an orphaned child out of the kindness of his heart…that’s not in character for him. And the fact that he kept Naksu hidden from everyone all those years confirms, in my opinion, his nefarious intent.
@Fern,
If you notice the King is too calm, like he is lethargic. So, it might not be a poison per se, but something that holds him…stable. BTW the actor was the baddie in Uncanny Counter.
We don’t have a lot of information regarding the late King. We don’t know if he had a Queen, or if his brother (now the King) has done something to him via his Queen and sister in law. We can be suspicious of course, if the Queen does the same thing to the current King.
@Cleopatra, I have to comment about the new king: The first thing I noticed about him and his close courtiers was the head gear. It looked like gold coloured aluminium foil like something you would see in a primary school play. They must have spent all of the costume cash on the hanboks and 1st and 2nd male’s outfits.
Yes this king looks strangely laid back, even when he agrees with Jin Mu about some extreme plan.
@Fern,
In the battle the King’s head gear was even worse… *face palm*
@Cleopatra, cardboard covered in foil? 😆
@Fern,
True!
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