My notes. I hope they’re still useful despite being two months late.

1. The Crown Prince vs Jin Mu

JM: I will find the sword that can help you destroy Jang Uk. I am the only one who can protect you by getting rid of the King’s Star.

Note that by “sword,” Jin Mu doesn’t only mean an actual sword. He also means a weapon that eliminates Jang Uk. As we see in the end, JM’s choice of weapon is Naksu, and she thrusts her sword into Jang Uk, killing him.

Crown Prince: Jang Uk has lost all his energy. He gave it all up to break the barrier. He is no longer eligible to be the next Gwanju. He has lost all power. And everyone already thinks the King’s Star has risen for me. There is nothing more that you can do for me, Assistant Gwanju.

I’ve to give credit to him. He’s listing the reasons for not seeking to destroy Uk. He doesn’t see Uk as a threat to his position.

CP: (continuing): Jang Gang sacrificed himself to keep Songrim, Jinyowon, and Cheonbugwan safe. But since Jin U-tak is alive, you will be found guilty. I do not want to punish my former master. Come clean and accept your punishment.
JM: Do you truly think the ice stone is gone? That stone gets its power from the sky. The one who was born with the energy of the King’s Star is awarded that power. What would you do if he was actually hiding his power? I will wait for your reply.

Remember now: The CP doesn’t believe in this King’s Star superstition, but he knows well that he wasn’t born with its energy. His father the King had kept on sleeping with concubines in his attempt to father a son born with King’s Star.

But this moment is critical because:

a) Jin Mu plants in his head that Jang Uk could be hiding something from him, and

b) more importantly, Jin Mu is giving the Crown Prince an insecurity. As the CP will tell MuDeok/Naksu later, he feels humiliated – and pathetic – that Jang Uk accomplished something he didn’t. He admits this in an encounter with MuDeok.

CP: Do I look worried that I will lose credit? I am just annoyed by everyone’s flattery.

He’s annoyed because he knows he doesn’t deserve it.

MuDeok: They are all praising you. You can just accept it for what it is.
CP: It offends me to hear such things from strangers. Seeing you worship me despite knowing everything (glaring at her) feels like you are mocking me and I hate it.

He hates it because he knows that she’s being insincere. He doesn’t mind other people’s insincerity. But he won’t tolerate it from her. He expects candor from MuDeok; he likes her for her straight talk.

MD: (sighing) I can empathize with you. You will never see me again. So do not worry.
CP: I heard. You are leaving with him.
MD: Yes, Your Royal Highness. We are going to go far away from this capital and live together.
CP: Together? (scoffing) I could easily stop you from leaving. Do you think I will let him go when he knows my weakness?
MD: Then, how would it feel to keep having him around you? Then it would not simply just offend you anymore.

Meaning, why is he being masochist like this? Why is he torturing himself by keeping them around him when he’s just annoyed at the sight of them together? I like that she talks sense into him.

CP: Right. You are Filthy MuDeok who listens to my petty complaints. Then listen to this as well. I will feel small, knowing that he did something I had failed to do. And pretending to have done something I did not do will make me more pathetic. But most of all, I will vehemently despise seeing you two together.
MD: (speechless)
CP: I told you before that I do not hold on to things that I know I cannot hold on to. Do you know what happens if I try and still fail to hold on?
MD: Will you blame that individual and get rid of him/her?
CP: If this pathetic, wretched feeling turns into a violent, wicked one, simply avoiding me will not cut it.
CP: Go far away where I cannot reach you. (walks away)
MD: (sighing)

My takeaways from this scene:

a. Just because he’s conflicted doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. I like that he’s drawn a line in the sand so he won’t overstep his authority. This tells me that he’s aware how easy it is for him, given his rank and status, to go too far and to do something unacceptable, like force himself on her. He wants to do the honorable thing.

b. So like Yul, the Crown Prince endures his feelings for her. If he lets go of his self-imposed restriction, and goes after her, she won’t be able to escape him.

c. I think he and Jang Uk will stay in their lane.

2. The divination bells and the power of the ice stone

The divination bells appeared like last-minute addition. I didn’t like that the Hong sisters pulled it out of nowhere:

a) to explain why Mage Cho went berserk and killed his family. He was supposedly under the spell of the bells.

b) to create a conflict that would catapult the story into Season 2, and

c) to wipe out the happy ending we were expecting for Jang Uk and Naksu.

To me, if divination bells had been in existence all along, then why weren’t they used earlier? For example, Jin Mu could have used that on Naksu when she first went missing to summon her out of her hiding place and continue her assassinations. Also, Jin Mu (or the Queen) could have used it to get rid of the pesky Eunuch who kept demanding to be soul-shifted. Just make him go on a rampage so he could be eliminated on the spot.

But I get it: the divination bells are a handy-dandy tool to get Jang Uk to reveal the whereabouts of the ice stone.

The ex-Queen/shaman’s court lady: I have brought the Queen’s soul potions and the divination bells as you commanded.
JM: I can make all the soul shifters I have created go on a rampage with this. If Jang Uk really has the ice stone’s power, he will have no choice but to reveal it.

See that?

Jin Mu is in search of the ice stone. Once Jang Uk walks out of his funeral pyre, he’ll have proof that Uk is in possession of the ice stone.

3. Seo Yul’s worm

I think the presence of the parasitic worm in Yul’s body will be significant in Season 2. For one, he’ll have part of the Jin family’s power. And for another, he’ll be forced to continue a relationship with SoYi.

To be honest, I don’t want him to end up with her. I generally don’t like to see bad behavior (like SoYi’s) rewarded with something good in life (Yul’s affection). I prefer Yul to end up with Lady Heo although they’re both related to Mage Heo.

4. On Naksu/Cho Yeon’s father’s death

Naksu: (telling Jang Uk) There’s something I must ask Jin Mu. Whether my father chose to become a soul shifter or if there’s a story behind it. Only he will know.

Sigh. Naksu is a heartless and conniving assassin, so I don’t think this statement of hers fits her character. Despite all that they know of Jin Mu, will she really trust him to tell her the truth about her father’s death, and not manipulate the back story to fit his agenda? She sounds naïve and gullible.

Maidservant Kim: (telling the other mages) Lord Cho Chung passed away because of Gwanju Jang Gang. Lord Cho found out that the Gwanju had practiced sorcery. Afraid that Lord Cho would tell the truth, Jin Mu turned him into a soul shifter and made him run wild.

Until now, we’re TOLD – and NOT shown – that Mage Cho discovered GwangJu practicing sorcery. This may or may not be true.

But I still think Mage Cho was targeted because of the constellation plates that he saw. He saw that the King’s Star appear on Jang Uk’s birthday, and he saw the constellation plate of his daughter’s birthday.

Mage Seo: Are you saying that we killed him when he was actually innocent?

Worse than that, what kind of friend and master was Jang Gang when:

a. he let his friend be killed by his assistant,

b. he didn’t punish his assistant, and destroy the ice stone, after realizing the harm it caused to the people he loved,

c. he ran away. He was the opposite of Jang Uk in vigor and determination. He should have fixed the situation right away.

Lady Jin: It is not our fault. We were not aware of that situation.
Maidservant Kim: Everybody thinks that Lord Cho killed his own family after practicing sorcery. The Gwanju implored that Lord Cho’s name is cleared.
Mage Seo: We should discuss this at the next Unanimous Assembly.
Lady Jin: But why did Jin Mu go that far? If he just wanted to silence Lord Cho, why did he turn him into a soul shifter and make him kill his entire family?

This is what I said earlier. The moment he saw his friend Mage Cho turn into a soul-shifter, Jang Gang should have known that his assistant was using the Soul Ejector without his permission and stopped Jin Mu right there and then. But he tolerated and allowed Jin Mu’s crimes to go on, so he’s complicit in them, too. Such a weakling!

Park Jin: (telling Maidservant Kim) Jin Mu knows everything about the circumstances of Uk’s birth. He only did that to Jang Gang’s friend, Cho Chung, solely to torture Jang Gang.
Maidservant Kim: That means if Jin Mu gets caught, he will expose Young Master Jang’s secret.
Park Jin: We cannot let that happen. Jin Mu must be killed.

Sigh. Here we go again with the secret birth makjang from the Hong Sisters!

In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter that Jang Uk was the previous king’s son? So what if he has a prior claim to the throne?
‘
Jang Uk doesn’t want the throne. As he told Yul before. He doesn’t want to protect the country. He only wants to protect Naksu/MuDeok. He wants to follow his heart.

5. Fishing with Master Lee

Fishing is a metaphor, right? They’re not just catching fish but Uk is about to fish for some new information on the mysterious past of MuDeok.

Uk: Master Lee, you have been letting then go countless times.
Lee: I do not have regrets about the fish I have failed to catch.
Uk: What do you mean? It would be a waste. It would be unfair.

Lol. He’s talking about Maidservant Kim. He failed in his courtship but he doesn’t regret it.

Lee: That is being greedy and obsessive.
Uk: What?
Lee: However, I saw there is pure sadness in loss.
Uk: (thinking)
Lee: Lately, I am starting to understand why people feel sad when they see a river running, a season passing, and a sun setting.

He probably means that solitary people like him feel the passage of time more keenly than people who are in the company of a loved one.

Uk: (seeing empty basket) Looking at this empty basket makes me sad. MuDeok told me to catch a lot of fish.
Lee: Do you plan to keep the soul shifter by your side?
Uk: We kept our promise to you. I stood in front of Naksu’s sword, and she put down her sword. So I hope you will keep your end of the bargain and let us go.
Lee: What happened to the ice stone that day? Is it perhaps inside you? (looks at him)
Uk: (remembering and staring at his hand) Even if it is, it is completely useless.

In other words, affirmative. The ice stone is inside of him.

Just a bit of explanation/assumption here: Uk and Jin BuYeong have differences and similarities.

Uk has the ice stone within him. At the end of this episode, when he dies and comes back to the life, it’s due to the ice stone inside of him. The ice stone revives him.

Jin BuYeong doesn’t have the ice stone within her. However, I think she and the ice stone are one. I wrote about this before. Because she was already dead in utero, she was revived, created, and born with the power of the ice stone. That’s why the relics in the Jinyowon family vault recognized as THE one. They said, “She’s here!” “It’s her, the blind girl!” and “It’s the ice stone!”

That’s also why in Episode 5, when Master Lee first encountered the sleeping MuDeok, he saw a blue aura emanating from her body. And that’s why in Episode 18, both the child BuYeong and the adult Buyeong could explain the existence of the ice stone to the Naksu/MuDeok.

To continue:

Uk: I can no longer catch a waterdrop, let alone a Golden Fish. (sighing)
Lee: If you train again, you will be able to use that power.
Uk: I witnessed how the desire to win that power made people violent and evil. It is only right not to awaken the ice stone’s power.
Lee: You are greedy with catching fish but not with the ice stone? Ha! You are better than me.
Uk: In any case, since I have the ice stone, I can protect one individual. If MuDeok runs wild, please help me use this power to stop it.
Lee: She will be fine as long as she does not try to bring out her power. That small, weak body is housing the powerful soul of an assassin. If anything, she would have already run wild. The reason why she has not is that her body is in control of the soul’s power.

Soul = the assassin Naksu
Body = the priestess BuYeong.
The small and weak (and blind) body of Buyeong has been in control of Naksu’s soul.

Uk: (looks at him)
Lee: I could see that on the day we first met. The only thing that can encompass the powers of a mage is the divine powers of priestesses. I believe MuDeok’s body originally belonged to someone with great divine powers.

“great divine powers” = power of the sky/heaven, like the power of the ice stone

It’s tiresome that we’ve already reached 20 episodes but none of the characters have come to realize the super-complicated alchemy of souls and bodies in Naksu, MuDeok, Jin BuYeong, and Cho Yeong.

6. Yin-Yang Deaths

Jang Uk’s dead body is about to be burned in a funeral pyre. Meanwhile, the slowly- petrifying Naksu is about to jump off the cliff into the watery grave of soul shifters.

Fire and water. Yin-yang.

When Jang Uk walks out of the fire alive, Jin Mu will know that it’s the power of the ice stone that revived him.

Remember the power of the ice stone? From the scene in Ep 7:

Master Lee: (telling the kids) The ice stone summoned the soul back into its dead body to bring it back to life. It exchanged the souls of two bodies. It sucked the souls out of living people and stole their energy. And eventually, that astonishing power brought forth chaos.

Jang Uk was already dead, but because of the ice stone in him, his soul returned to his dead body and brought him back to life.

As for Naksu, she’s rescued from the water by two female swimmers.

The most sensible assumption is that she’s rescued by Jin Cho-Yeon’s people. Her mother instructed her to bring back the assassin Naksu/MuDeok alive. Her mother suspects MuDeok to be her long-lost daughter.

It’s also possible that it’s the Crown Prince’s people who went out to search for her. When Jin Mu reported to the king about Naksu’s appearance, he looked concerned enough to send out a search party for her.

But frankly, I wouldn’t mind if Naksu’s rescuers are unfamiliar characters. If her body is kidnapped by strangers, then Jang Uk will have a new quest for Season 2 and that’s to find her again just by going with her “eyes.” Remember? I mentioned that “eyes” will be important in this drama.

It’s too bad that the priestess Jin BuYeong didn’t come to Naksu’s rescue again like she had done a few times in the past. I can only think of two explanations for BuYeong’s no-show.

One, because Naksu already gave up the power of the ice stone (in Episode 18) and the ice stone and Jin BuYeong are one. You give up on one, you give on the other.

Two, because, as Master Lee warned Jang Uk, once MuDeok brings out the powerful assassin’s soul, the small, weak body sheltering her soul is no longer in control. Once Naksu’s assassin soul is released, she’s on her own.

7. The actress’ Jung So Min’s departure

As I said before, I don’t mind the change in actresses because for me, Jang Uk is in love with the soul of the assassin Naksu/Cho Yeong, and not the body of the priestess Jin BuYeong.

That’s it! Toodles. (I might edit and add more when I wake up.)