As many of you know, I don’t do recaps. However, it’s good to look back on previous episodes to look at themes or topics that were missed during the first watch.

Gain of function.

Since I’m neither a virologist nor a politician, I’m not going to argue the meaning of “gain of function” in relation to a certain Wuhan lab research that many speculate was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, I’m going to discuss how scientists impart new functions to viruses Uk assigns a new function — or purpose — to Cho Yeong, with the clear intention of benefiting himself in exchange for rescuing her from Jinyowon. As a result of gaining new functions, Cho Yeong becomes valuable to him.

You see, he has no idea that Cho Yeong is the one he needs most in his life. His first impression of her is very much different from his first impression of Naksu.

With Naksu, as soon as he met her, he knew that she had one prime function in his life, and that’s to be his master. Thus, he actively pursued her, even trapping themselves in the Secret Room in Songrim to get to agree to his scheme. She stipulated that their master-pupil relationship would be effective only until she succeeded in training him to be the best mage, and he helped her recover her lost energy. Then, he pledged to serve and protect her with all his heart.

At its most basic level, Uk and Naksu’s relationship was contractual. They were bound to each by the terms they agreed upon and services they had to perform. Uk didn’t like it, but he had to go along with it Naksu’s demands.

By the end of Episode 19, both of them attained their individual objectives. Uk outshone all the other mages and became the King’s Star. Naksu got her energy back, although only temporarily. Their master-pupil relationship formally ended when Uk proposed to her. By Episode 20, they lost each other.

In stark contrast to his first encounter with Naksu, Uk isn’t at all impressed with Cho Yeong. He thinks she is a crazy and lousy priestess. He can’t get away faster from her, but she begs him to take her with him. She has nothing useful or functional to offer. She can’t even escape Jinyowon on her own so how can she be of any of use to him, the strongest mage in the land?

Cho Yeong’s lack-of-purpose versus Naksu’s purposeful advent into his life is just one of the many mirror reversals that we’ve seen in Season 2.

I’ll list five other examples of contrasting elements in the Season 2, Episode 1 that we Bitches should NOT miss.

1. Instead of Naksu dropping in on his airy room in Chwiseonru, Uk wanders in Jinwoyon to her dark prison cell. Their respective settings add context to the theme that Uk is light, and Cho Yeong is shadow.

2. Instead of attacking him with a crab leg, Cho Yeong attacks him with a fire poker. Uk had to carefully point the crab leg away from his neck. With the fire poker, he grabs it easily from her hand. Like taking a toy from a baby.

3. Instead of being impressed with her superior assassin’s skills, he’s skeptical of her skills as a priestess. He calls her crazy and lousy. His first impression of her is a lunatic locked up for her own good.

4. Instead of feigning ignorance about Naksu’s true identity as an assassin, he’s truly surprised that someone is kept hidden in Jinyowon. In Season 1, he teased Naksu, “I’d heard that they just brought a girl who was unable to see. But you can. I think I might have heard of your name. What was it again? It starts with a D, right?” In Season 2, he’s completely unaware of Cho Yeong’s existence, so he asks her, “Who are you? And what is this place? Is this a prison? Are you locked in here?”

5. Instead of Uk spotting the blue mark in Naksu’s eyes and recognizing them as the mark of a Soul Shifter, Cho Yeong sees the pretty stone inside of him, and recognizes that he must have the energy of the sky.

These five examples highlight Yeong’s uselessness. Apart from her ability to see his energy, she provides no additional value, purpose, or inducement for Uk to bring her with him. She’s completely inessential, unlike Naksu who was critical to Uk attaining greatness.

Still, he helps Cho Yeong escape her prison. I daresay that he lends her a hand primarily out of a sense of kinship and solidarity after she confesses to him the reason she’s been locked up.

Uk: Why did they lock up such an incredible priestess? What crime are you guilty of?
Cho Yeong: Being alive. Existing in this world. I am guilty of existing in this world when I should not. I am someone who died a long time ago.

He can empathize because he’s in the same situation.

Cho Yeong: By the way, why are you helping? Why the change of heart?
Uk: Because we are guilty of the same crime. I am also guilty of existing when I should not.

In Episode 6, we find out that he too was temporarily locked in the Secret Room in Songrim. His confrontation with Park Jin is very enlightening so I’ll post it here in full. This is the subs from Netflix.

Uk: How long do you plan to keep me locked up in here?
Park Jin: Just because I wish to keep you locked up does not mean I can. You possess the power of the ice stone. I know you are holding back for my sake.
Uk: Jin Mu and the royal family were behind it all. I need to know what they did to her.
Park Jin: And do what? Will you kill them all?
Uk: Like you said, it is not impossible with the power I possess.
Park Jin: Fighting against the royal family and Cheonbugwan is a revolt. Are you going to use the energy of the sky to disrupt the world?
Uk: I do not care! I do not care for this world. The one person I wanted to protect is dead…and in the most brutal way possible.

Park Jin then opened the box of secrets left by Jang Gang.

Park Jin: Here. You have always wondered if Jang Gang was your real father. This is the gold plaque and letter that your real father left for you. (shows the King’s seal) Jang Gang briefly switched bodies with your father using the alchemy of souls. Your father’s soul pursued your mother, and she gave birth to a baby, which was you. You are the son of the late King. You were born through the alchemy of souls. If not for that, you would not have been born. You were not meant to exist.
Uk: Are you saying that my birth is a sin in itself?
Park Jin: On the night of your birth, the King’s star was in the sky. And to conceal that, Naksu’s father, Cho Chung, died. Jang Gang also died to take responsibility and to keep everything a secret. And the one person you wanted to protect was likely used and killed by those who wanted you dead. If you intend to use your power gained by being born under the King’s Star merely to bring chaos to the world, then I, too, shall do anything to stop you, even if I die by your hands.

My comments, briefly.

1. I dislike how the King’s rape of Uk’s mother is still being downplayed.

2. I’m staunchly prolife so my blog isn’t afraid to speak this truth. A child conceived in rape is neither a sin nor a crime scene. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his birth, a child is precious.

People may conflate these things. True, the King’s action was evil and criminal. But that doesn’t meant that Uk, who was conceived by the King’s action, is a product of evil and a criminal’s son.

In the same way that a civilized society doesn’t stigmatize the child of a killer, porn star, bigamist, drug addict, adulterer, pedophile, gangster, and other people considered “dregs of humanity,” a child of a rapist shouldn’t be condemned. As Maidservant Kim said in Season 1, it mattered little who Uk’s father was. What matters more was who Uk grew up to be.

3. I like the kinder version of Park Jin in Season 2. When he was the leader of Songrim, he was annoyingly dogmatic and illogical.

Take for instance, the number of dead people who knew about the King’s Star. He was trying to connect their death to Uk and somehow blame him for them because he was the King’s Star. That’s strawman argument. If anything, Park Jin should point the blame squarely on Jin Mu.

Also, Park Jin did Uk wrong by appealing to pity, making hasty generalization, creating a false dilemma, and emotionally blackmailing him. Ugh! I dislike the emotional blackmail because it’s soooo melodramatic and cheesy. He essentially told him to choose between him or the ghost of Naksu. If Uk were to use his Hwansu energy to avenge Naksu’s death, then he should consider Park Jin among those who died to protect the secret of his being the King’s Star aka the rightful heir of the throne.

As Master Lee keeps people, Master Seo was also born as the King’s Star, but he didn’t covet the throne. Rather, he chose to be the protector of the land. In other words, if Uk was to use the energy of the King’s Star, it doesn’t have to mean treason and his ascendancy to the throne. Uk doesn’t even want to be King.

To me, this confrontation between Park Jin and Uk underscores how similar Uk and Cho Yeong are in terms of their situation. They’re kindred spirits.

How?

For one, they’re both imprisoned. While Cho Yeong’s prison walls are the physical structure built by Lady Jin, Uk’s prison walls are the emotional and mental impositions on his conscience created by Park Jin.

For another, as Uk said to Cho Yeong, they’re both been made to feel guilty for living when they shouldn’t have existed.

That’s why I say that Uk’s primary reason for helping her out is empathy. It was no longer the feeling of desperation that he had when he sought out Naksu’s mentorship. With Cho Yeong, he was oddly drawn to be compassionate to a girl he found strange and helpless.

The climbing wall he built for Cho Yeong is one good display of his empathy. Although it was ludicrous to use household odds and ends as climbing holds, he went along with her scheme, indulging her whim.

Okay, now that I laid out the primary differences between Uk’s relationship with Naksu and Cho Yeong, let me show how Cho Yeong gained function or purpose in Uk’s life.

A. He needs her divine powers to remove the ice stone.

It’s Cho Yeong’s offer of marriage that plants the seed in Uk’s mind that her divine powers can be of use to him.

She’d been cautioned by the Head Gisaeng to “never date a man with a past as painful as a stab to the heart.” She ignores the warning because she senses Uk’s loneliness. Though he walks freely in open air, he’s just as lonesome as she is, trapped in her dark cell. So, she offers to be with him when nobody else will.

She tells him, “Jang Uk. Everyone seems to avoid you. Just get married while you still can. I am willing to marry you.” He snubs her, saying, “Forget it.” He thinks he has no need for her.

But despite his rebuff, he broaches the topic with Park Jin when news of a Jinyonwon wedding crops up.

Uk: Do you know who the bride is?
Park Jin: Jin ChoYeon, probably. She is the only daughter of the family.
Uk: There is also the eldest daughter.
Park Jin: But she is dead. She was trying to retrieve the ice stone that was sealed in the lake when the waters swept her away. Her father came clean about everything before he died.
Park Jin: Her death was such a waste. With the divine powers she had at such a young age, she would have grown to be as powerful as Jin Seol-ran, the first leader of JInyowon.
Uk: If a priestess as powerful as Jin Seolran exists, will she be able to extract the ice stone within me?
PJ: If she can, would you extract it?

There! It dawns on Uk that she can be of use to him. This is the first time that Cho Yeong gains a function or utility for him. She obviously can’t be a master like Naksu because she lacks skills. But she can be his terminator. With her priestess skills, she can extract the ice stone from him so he can finally rest in peace.

He’s upfront about his intentions with her but he doesn’t give her the full picture.

From Ep 2.

Uk: I thought you wanted someone who could defy your mother and help you escape. If it’s a loving husband you are looking for, instead of a means to escape, then let us say goodbye now. I will send you back on the boat to where you were.
Cho Yeong: (pauses) No way. As long as you free me from that sickening cell, I will stay with you no matter what. You can be a thug for all I care.
Uk: Fortunately, I’m not that bad. I will still be reasonable. Do not worry.
Cho Yeong: But why did you come for me? You obviously are not smitten with me, and you do not seem to pity me either. What is it that you need me for?

Note what Cho Yeong says. She brings in the concept of “need” or 필요하다 (piryohada) into the relationship. Fair warning: I’m not Korean but from what I understand of their concept of  this word “need” is that it entails more than just wanting or desiring something/somebody. Cho Yeong wants to know how she is NECESSARY to him.

Uk: You told me you could see the energy inside me. What you are seeing is the ice stone.
Cho Yeong: Ice stone?
Uk: Long ago, Jin Buyeon found the ice stone that was lying at the bottom of Lake Gyeongcheondaeho.
Cho Yeong: Me?
Uk: You do not need to remember. I just need your great divine powers. That is why I need you. (walks away)
Cho Yeong: (worriedly) My divine powers?

My comments:

1. Uk is angling for a contractual arrangement with Cho Yeong like he did with Naksu. He’ll free her from Jinyowon and she’ll free him from his Purgatorio. But while he and Naksu were on equal footing and could interchange between master and pupil, Uk and Cho Yeong are in different leagues.

That’s significant. Since they don’t have matching or equal contributions to the relationship, with Uk possessing the superior one, Cho Yeong often wonders what he needs her for, and Uk often has to state specifically that he “needs” her to do something for him.

2. He doesn’t want an emotional attachment with her because he plans for her to kill him. He sets a distinct demarcation and is adamant that he doesn’t plan to be a loving husband to her. However, she keeps presenting him with opportunities to behave like a loving husband to her.

3. He says that he needs her divine powers, but he doesn’t say for what.

At this point in time, her “divine” power is her keen sense of smell. She can smell the swamp monster.

This must be how Cho Yeong sees energy in people.

Uk sends her away when he discovers that she doesn’t have powers at all. But his rejection of her is short-lived. After the swamp monster’s attack, he takes her back in, and even tends to her overnight – behaving like a loving husband, after all.

Uk: She is of no use to me, and yet she is a nuisance.

My comments:

1. This statement is key to understanding his attitude towards Cho Yeong. He’s conflicted.

On one hand, he refuses to trouble himself with someone he finds useless. I get that he isn’t a charitable foundation. Why should he make an exemption for one person when he made it clear that he couldn’t care less what happened to the world. Remember he shouted at Park Jin, “I don’t care! I don’t care for this world!”

But on the other hand, he can’t stop himself from caring what happens to Cho Yeong, he can’t stop himself from caring what happens to her and getting involved with her affairs. He’s troubled by her.

2. We see his conflicted feeling towards her in display in future occasions.

a. Like with his appearance at the Unanimous Assembly. He wasn’t planning on helping her, but he showed up anyway.

He changed his mind after seeing the lantern was turned off and remembering what she told him, “I may have deceived you, but not everything was a lie.” And the interesting part here that she told him two things. One, she said that her divine powers would return when her memory came back. And two, she said that she liked him. It makes me wonder then which of these two things did he choose to believe in. Even if she lied about her divine powers, anybody could see that she spoke the truth about liking him. Hmmm…was that the reason he went to the assembly for her?

b. And with the tracking thread. He originally told her to endure the pain. In my household, telling me to “to suck it up” will probably earn my hubby three days in the doghouse. Lol. But Uk more than redeemed himself when he went to Jinyowon and destroyed the thread.

c. Also, with the fireflies. He was mad at her for a) making him hope that Naksu came back, b) destroying the stone tower, and c) appropriating Naksu’s memories. I thought his anger was understandable. But he couldn’t leave her behind in the forest to fend by herself.

d. Same with the banquet. Being a private person, he didn’t like making a public spectacle of his feelings for Naksu. But if killing the fake Naksu was the only way he could protect Cho Yeong from being targeted by the palace, then so be it.

B. He needs her to reconnect with Naksu.

This is Cho Yeong’s second gain-of-function. Uk tells her to act like a medium or psychic to contact Naksu. Apparently, Uk wants to know if Naksu really intended to slay him to avenge her family’s massacre.

Cho Yeong: You and I have liked each other for a long time.
Uk: What?
Cho Yeong: I remember when we exchanged this yin-and-yang jade.
Uk: (scoffing) You remember what? Last time, you made up a nonexistent witness. Are you making up memories now?
Cho Yeong: “They are bird’s eggs.” “I will choose first.” “I pick red. You can have the blue one.” See? I am not lying this time.

Uk is understandably mortified. Cho Yeong doesn’t see anything wrong repeating the words as she treated them as PROOF that she wasn’t lying that her memories returned. But to Uk, she’s repeating his intimate conversation with Naksu and snooping where it doesn’t concern her. It’s kinda like that song…she’s killing him softly with her words.

lol.

Uk: (grabs her wrist) How did you know that?
Cho Yeong: It came to me as soon as I held this jade.
Uk: Why you?
Cho Yeong: Maybe because I am a priestess with great divine powers. (pulling her wrist away) There is no way that memory is mine. It probably belongs to the owner of this blue jade.

She begins to recant her words. Seeing Uk enraged, she backtracks and distances herself from her own memories. Which is unfortunate…

Cho Yeong: (continuing) This yin-and-yang jade is from Jinyowon, isn’t it? I must have seen it there when I was young. I got these flashbacks when I saw it, so I thought they were my memories. But it turns out they were the owner’s.

She’s babbling to cover up her embarrassment. She lies to mollify Uk.

Uk: Her memory remains inside that jade?
Cho Yeong: I guess I really am a powerful priestess. I can see memories that remain in objects.

Unwittingly, Cho Yeong offers another service for Uk. She can be some sort of horse whisperer “Naksu whisperer” to listen to the ghost of Naksu and communicate Naksu’s final thoughts and dying sentiments to Uk.

But she can definitely NOT see just anybody’s memories in objects. If she did, then she should have seen the memories of Uk’s mother since she’s been wearing her old clothes. She can, however, only see HER memories because they’re slowly coming back to her.

Cho Yeong: I was hoping you would be happy that I started getting my powers back, but you came running thinking it was her. You must be disappointed.
Uk: Yes. I’m greatly disappointed.

Oh dear. Uk doesn’t get that Cho Yeong is also very much disappointed to learn that Uk was hoping Naksu would be there. But rather than admit her own disappointment in him, she switches it around and claims that he’s disappointed in her.

Cho Yeong: I will put this back where I found it. (returns the jade and the stone tower crumbles) It collapses again.
Uk: (remembering Park Jin’s words) You really knocked it down well.

Park Jin accused him of building the stone tower for Naksu, not to mourn her passing but to pray for her return. Since Cho Yeong knocked it down, Uk’s taking it as a sign that Cho Yeong is putting an end to his prayers and that she wants him to move on from Naksu.

Cho Yeong re-stacks the stones haphazardly. One falls on her hand, grazing it. Uk sighs and takes a look at it.

Uk: Do not try to fix what you have already broken.

This statement is easily misunderstood. In her mind, he’s telling her that any attempt to replace Naksu in his broken heart will be futile; she can never be Naksu’s stand-in. She shouldn’t bother fixing anything.

However, he’s actually telling her to be honest with her feelings. He believes that she’s jealous/disappointed/resentful/angry about the idea of Naksu in his life. But she’s covering up this slew of negative emotions by restoring the tower. He thinks she really wants to knock it down but since this is a petty urge, she channels it into an acceptable outlet.

Cho Yeong: I really did not touch it. It collapsed on its own.
Uk: Is that so? So you weren’t using your powers to merely disappoint me?

There! You see that? He’s accusing her of purposely knocking it down out of spite. He thinks she’s still holding a grudge because he came running to the stone tower at the thought of Naksu’s appearance. She’s wrecking Naksu’s stone tower because she’s angry and wants to get back at him.

Cho Yeong: I am telling the truth. I found this jade stone by chance and when I first had a flashback, I thought it was my memory. If you had come before I even realized anything, I would have been happy.
Uk: Good to know that I am not the only one who is disappointed. How could you think that memory was yours? Because you have what was hers?
Cho Yeong: (speechless)

If I were her, I’d be confused, too. Where did this fury come from? One second, he’s acting concerned about the scratch on her hand. And the next, he’s chewing her out.

Uk: Did you get any other flashbacks like this?
Cho Yeong: No. That was all I saw.

She’s lying again. She actually had another flashback when she touched Naksu’s sword. She saw the assassin in action. She’s lying now but who can blame her after his rant.

Cho Yeong: Taking a peek at someone else’s memory is not exactly enjoyable, you see. (handing him the blue jade) Take it.
Uk: Why? You said you felt elated when you thought it was yours. Tell me if you see anything else. Like you said, we liked each other for a long time. I am dying to know how she felt right before she died.
Cho Yeong: I cannot see anything else. Let go. You are hurting me.
Uk: Keep the jade. You will see more as you regain powers.
Cho Yeong: Are you putting me in between you and that dead girl?
Uk: You did that yourself by calling me with that. Thanks to this, I have found another use for you. I buried questions in that stone tower, thinking I would never hear answers to them. I might be able to hear them through you.

There it is. Cho Yeong’s gain-of-function. No question about it: Uk’s proposal is cruel. If ever there’s a time that requires a payback, this is it. He’s lashing out at her because she got his hopes up.

What’s Cho Yeong going to do? Well, she hides her disappointment by denying that she was excited to see him come.

Cho Yeong: I called you hoping you would not come. You should not have come. So, this is why no one believed it when they heard about our marriage. I was excited about nothing.
Uk: You got what you wanted by marrying me. You escaped from Jinyowon, found a place to stay, and gained freedom.
Cho Yeong: You are right. I feel more at ease now that I have nothing to look forward to. I guess this stone tower was your real wife. I will make sure to build it back to how it was.
Uk: Do as you wish.

That’s why, personally, the fireflies don’t mean much to me. As far as I’m concerned, he can shove those fireflies where the sun don’t shine.

C. He needs her help to give Naksu a rest.

Cho Yeong: You came here all by yourself? To lighten up the night sky?
Uk: Yes. Did you boast around?
Cho Yeong: (very pleased with herself) Yes. Now everyone here truly believes that we are married.
Uk: Good.

As I said, he couldn’t care less whether people believed they were happily married or not. Why should he when he’s planning on dying anyway? He’s only checking to see whether his plan to lure Naksu out was working or not.

Uk: Then Naksu will show up here soon.
Cho Yeong: (confused) Naksu?
Uk: This event was arranged to summon Naksu.
Cho Yeong: Why?
Uk: So that my wife would get killed by Naksu. (pausing) Jin BuYeon. I am sorry but you will have to die now.

He finally reveals his ulterior motive for agreeing to all her requests for the banquet.

Uk: If I do not get rid of Naksu myself, people will constantly spread rumors about her. I want her to rest in peace. So, help me out.

Once Jang Uk’s mission is accomplished, Cho Yeong explains to the Queen and the guests what really transpired. Since the Queen herself has declared that Naksu is the assassin, the Queen can’t retract it now that Cho Yeong reveals the body switch.

Cho Yeong: Once he gets rid of Naksu the soul shifter, she will forever be gone from our lives.

By this, she means in the lives of the people of Daeho as well as the private life of Jang Uk.  She just helped Uk get the closure he needed. Previously, Uk could wallow in misery for as long as he wanted. Maidservant Kim and Park Jin allowed him all the time in the world to grieve. But with the unexpected arrival of Cho Yeong in his life, Uk finds himself needing to worry about her safety and protection. He was originally willing to bide his time to deal with the public hysteria of a Naksu. But once he learned that his new bride was targeted, he set a plan in motion.

D. He needs her to have a good night sleep.

This is one of the tropes of the Hong sisters: the lover gets to sleep soundly in the beloved’s arms. Remember “Master’s Sun”?

In this drama, it’s Uk who gets to sleep while beside Cho Yeong.

She wakes him up from his deep slumber when she touches his face. He kisses her and Cho Yeong thinks he must still dreaming of Naksu.

Cho Yeong: So you are still dreaming. It breaks my heart. (touching his face again)
Uk: I’m not dreaming.
Cho Yeong: Do you recognize me?
Uk: Yes. You woke me up.

Literally and figurately speaking she woke him up. He was fast asleep until she touched him, and he’d been spending his last three years dormant until she begged him to help her out.

Cho Yeong: (sitting up) I was not trying to wake you up. You had mistaken me for someone else. I only stayed because I could not just leave you like that. I thought you were still dreaming.
Uk: Then let us pretend that I am. I will go back to sleep so leave. I have not slept so soundly in a long time. (then turns his back on her)
Cho Yeong: You have me to thank for that.
Uk: Yeah right. Thanks to you, my sleep was interrupted.
Cho Yeong: Can you not feel the warmth in here? The wraiths fled because of me. See? You are not cold anymore, are you?
Uk: (looks around)
Cho Yeong: If I leave, you will not be able to sleep well like you just did.

There she goes again. She’s the one who puts the idea in his head that she has something to offer him that may seem trivial but is actually necessary. Having a good night’s sleep is essential to someone who hasn’t slept soundly for a long while.

Cho Yeong: Should I go?
Uk: In that case, stay. We both need to sleep. So sleep here and do not wake me up.
Cho Yeong: All right. I will do that. After all, it would be useful of me to help you sleep better.

Here she goes again. Making herself be useful to him.

Cho Yeong: I heard that the ice stone keeps you awake. Is that not why you brought me here? To sleep better.
Uk: Yes. That’s why. I want to fall into a deep sleep.

He’s referring to death. But Cho Yeong doesn’t know it.

Cho Yeong: Jang Uk, are you having a hard time because you have trouble going to sleep? I feel bad for waking you up. Should I pat you again so you can sleep well?
Uk: (sits up) What?

He remembers Naksu patting him to sleep when he almost died from hypothermia.

Cho Yeong: I patted you as you fell asleep. I patted you until my wrist hurt. (flapping her wrist to demonstrate) Shall I do it again?
Uk: Forget it. You – (draws a line on the blanket) Here. Do not cross the line.

Cho Yeong backs away from the line. But she reaches out and hovers her hand on his back. When he doesn’t react, she begins patting him again.

Cho Yeong: There, now you feel warm.
Uk: Yes. It feels warm.

Later, she crosses the line and snuggles up against him. If you notice, she also gives him her pillow.

There’s a bit of reversal here. In Season 1, Uk needed a heartwarming story and rhythmic pats on his back from Naksu to ward off the cold and put him to sleep. This season, he still needs those gentle strokes from Cho Yeong, but instead of stories, he only needs silence from her.

Also in Season 1, Naksu resisted from showing him physical comfort. She was “tsundere” while Uk was demonstrative. Their personalities switch this season. Cho Yeong showers Uk with affection, and it’s Uk who’s the male “tsundere.” It would be interesting to see how which personality Cho Yeong will end up with once her memories return.

E. He needs her to be Naksu’s substitute.

Cho Yeong takes Uk’s hand and promises to stay by his side within close distance. Then, she takes his hand and intertwine their fingers.

Naturally, this spooks him because he’s reminded of that time he interlocked hands with Naksu and promised to hold her hand as if it was a ring.

He leaves her because he thinks she’s toying with him.

Cho Yeong: Jang Uk. Let me explain. When I woke up today, I saw several memories. They were as vivid as if they were mine. I was very confused and flustered.
Uk: So what? Did you grab my hand so I could recall an unforgettable memory? So that I could reminisce and be happy?
Cho Yeong: At least you got to cry last night. Did that not help you feel better?
Uk: I guess so. I guess I found another use for you.

Uk: (continuing) I could grab your hand and touch you. I could embrace you if I miss her. I could hug you in my sleep and not have to wait for her in my dreams. After all, you’re offering to substitute for her.

Cho Yeong: (looks down)
Uk: Feel free to re-enact another memory. This time, I will not decline.
Cho Yeong: Yesterday, I was trying to comfort you. You seemed so sad. And today, I wanted to see if you had a room in your heart for me. It seems you do not, so I will stop.

My comments:

1. He’s discovering that his long-buried memories of Naksu are being revived because of something that Cho Yeong says or does. He’s not sure whether she’s doing it deliberately to make him fall in love with her. So he bristles at the thought that this is just her ploy to win his affection.

2. He doesn’t think it’s necessary for her to rekindle his feelings and memories of Naksu. He probably wants his feelings for her distinct and separate from his feelings from Naksu. Besides, the two women have nothing in common. Naksu was his wise master, and Cho Yeong is the girl who constantly surprises him with her randomness.

3. Of course, he doesn’t know that Cho Yeong can’t help herself. She’s regaining her memories.

Later, he admits to Maidservant Kim that he had babbled out of shock. He doesn’t confess to her however that he was disconcerted when holding Cho Yeong’s hand because it felt like he was holding Naksu’s hand again.

Maidservant Kim warns him that if he keeps mistreating Cho Yeong, he’ll end up like a dog in a wild goose chase. In her opinion, Cho Yeong has the right to become upset with him because he made her feel like he settled for a chicken instead of a pheasant.

So he “apologizes” to Cho Yeong when he meets her next.

Uk: I did not mean to imply that I settled for you over a pheasant. I only wanted you to shut up because you made it seem like that was my intention. Anyway, do not act like a chicken. And I will not act like a dog.
Cho Yeong: (confused)

He’s trying to explain his earlier offensive behavior. He was being defensive because she assumed that he was using her as a poor and inferior stand-in for Naksu when in reality, he had no intention of comparing her at all with Naksu. However, it was that sensation of similarity with Naksu’s hand that shocked him and threw him off.

The following night when he accompanies her to Jinyowon, she shares with him one of her fantasies while she was locked up in her prison. She imagined herself sitting alone on top of a tall tree. Knowing no one, she was powerless and alone. She could only hope that someone would come to rescue her. And then he came.

Her story startles him because this is similar to Naksu’s heartwarming tale about a bird in the tree.

Uk: What was that all about?
Cho Yeong: (insisting) That’s my story. It was a thought that I had during my time in that room. (showing her empty hands) I do not have that stone with me right now.

Then, he reaches out to intertwine fingers with her. This time, he accepts that he hasn’t been imagining things.

Uk: I must be going crazy because of you. Why do you keep confusing me?
Cho Yeong: What is there to be confused about? You hold my hand and listen to my stories…only to think about someone else. If you miss her so much, how about I help you out a little more? Shall I hold you in my arms and put to bed as well? Shall I just do everything she did?
Uk: A tree like that actually existed. A big, tall tree. There was a tree that we had promised to climb up together.
Cho Yeong: Is that a tree in Danhyanggok?
Uk: (steps back)
Cho Yeong: Is it? I wonder how I know about that place. Maybe I went there when I was little?
Uk: This is why I have trouble believing that they are yours.
Cho Yeong: It is your choice whether to believe me or not. But this is my hand that you are holding, and it’ll be me who hold you and puts you to bed at night. So, when you are looking at me, see me for who I am. Just like you did that night.

My comment:

1. I think this represents the turning of the tide. Whereas before he assumes that Cho Yeong has an ulterior motive for claiming Naksu’s memories, he now gives her the benefit of the doubt. He’s beginning to accept that what she tells him is the plain truth, and without intentions to deceive him.

2. I like the dignified way that Cho Yeong tells him it’s up to him to believe or not, but he should remember who he’s sleeping with that night.

F. He needs her to open the Jinyowon door.

From Ep 5.

Cho Yeong: I am grateful that you came. But we don’t need to spend the night.
Uk: Yes. That’s why I came.
Cho Yeong: (covers her chest) You truly want to spend the night together?
Uk: I only said I wanted to spend the night here. How could you interpret it like that?
Cho Yeong: How could I not? You said we had our duties. We have alcohol and a newlyweds’ bed. Of course, I would think that you wanted to spend the night with me.
Uk: Sorry to disappoint you but I have something to do here. Master Lee asked me for a favor.
Cho Yeong: About coming here with me?
Uk: Yes. Earlier today, we had a misunderstanding. Yet I did everything you asked for. Now, we must do what I need to do.
Cho Yeong: And what is that?
Uk: When it gets darker, I need you to open Jinyowon for me.

Here, she gains a function as his helpmate in solving a state problem. It was Master Lee who suggested that he use his wife as his connection to enter the Jinyowon. I can see this as a husband-and-wife enterprise in the future. They take care of the state affairs for the Crown Prince when he ascends to the throne.

G. He needs her protection. 

Cho Yeong: You must have trained hard.
Uk: That is because someone made sure that my life was put at risk if I did not do my best.
Cho Yeong: Who?
Uk: My…master. My harsh master always put me on the brink and pushed me. Thanks to that, I learned to climb back up again. My master never allowed me to quit and do nothing.

This is a first for him. He’s talking about Naksu without grief.

Cho Yeong: It is better to die than do nothing.
Uk: (confused)

Cho Yeong: What? Did I confuse you again?
Uk: Now I really have no idea who it is that is talking. But it is strange. I have heard that too many times today. Maybe because I thought of quitting.

Yes. He heard Master Lee and the Crown Prince urge him to take action earlier that day.

Both times, he said he had nothing more he wished to protect, and the men reminded him of Naksu’s words of (de)motivation. lol.

gifs from dramaism’s tumblr

Crown Prince had a nice retort. “Listen, Jang Uk. Do you remember what you said when you saved everyone in the barrier? You told me that it is better to die than to do nothing, just as youro master has taught you. Back then, you were full of vigor even though you had lost your energy. But now you are dead despite the power you possess. Fine. Do absolutely nothing. After all, you’re dead.”

Cho Yeong: What do you mean? Were you going to quit everything?
Uk: Yes. I finally found a way to get rid of the burden I carry.
Cho Yeong: Is it that burdensome for you? (shows him the Songrim plaque) Lord Park told me that I was incredible as he gave me this. I will slowly become more and more powerful, and I will use that power to protect you.
Uk: I’m also getting confused about what it is that I really want from you.

In other words, he doesn’t know what he NEEDS from her. He’s been finding her very useful to have at his side.

Cho Yeong: I plan to find my own room. I will find out who I really am and decorate my room with my own traits. I hope that makes it easier for you to find me.

She hugs him and pats his back.

Cho Yeong: I will keep you warm and help you rest comfortably.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

So there we have it. A short and growing list of Cho Yeong’s many uses and functions for Uk since they met.

But since this is kdrama, I expect the Hong sisters to twist this around and end with Uk confessing to love her for no good reason and no purpose whatsoever. Isn’t that the whole point of unconditional love? He loves her just because. She can be as useless as the letter “l” in “chalk” and “salmon” but without her, there’s no way he can spell love.

gifs from devildrusje’s tumblr

source: devildrusje’s tumblr