The thread is open.
Who’s here for Park Hyung Sik?
lol.
NB: If you’re new to this BitchesOverDramas, please note that I have a “No ‘Oppa'” rule. Rabid fangirls/anti-fangirls of PHS aren’t going to be granted posting rights on the blog. Please stay on twitter, tiktok or facebook. 🙂
Who’s here for the screenwriter, Jung HyunJung?
🙂
There are kdramas that I watch for the screenwriters, like
the Hong sisters (“Alchemy of Souls” and “Hotel del Luna”),
Song JaeJung (“W” and “Memories of the Alhambra”),
Park HyeRun (“Start Up” and “Pinocchio”), and
Kim Eunsook (“Goblin” and “The King: Eternal Monarch.” However, I’m skipping “The Glory” which is currently on air because a) I’m not a big fan of Song HyeKyo and b) I’m not into melodrama.)
I don’t mind their inherent biases in the plot, partly because their worldview somewhat aligns with mine, and partly because I trust their judgment on critical issues.
Sidenote: if you notice, these female writers are not afraid to go against public opinion when it comes to the integrity of their works. I know the Hong sisters met with backlash when they decided to ditch that actress Jung Somin after Season 1 of AoS. Song JaeJung was panned for the ending of MOA, and for underutilizing Park ShinHye. Park HyeRun was lambasted by crazy fangirls of Kim SeonHo (ugh!) for supposedly changing the script midstream and making their “Good Boy” a second male lead. (He WAS the second male lead. Duh….) And Kim EunSook is Kim EunSook. She can do whatever she wants. lol.
But the writer of “Our Blooming Youth,” Jung HyunJung, is relatively unfamiliar to me so she will be under close scrutiny from here on out.
NB: Remember that this blog entertains spoilers and theories. Stay away from this blog if you don’t want to encounter them or return only after you’ve finished watching the episode.
This picture is taken from Ortelius’ map called “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,” circa 1570.
Let’s enjoy the show!
Kalispera @Packmule3 and et!
Episode 1 started pretty good and gave us right away the dynamics of the Court and the Key Characters. Everyone was introduced to us from the very beginning and we already have an idea about where some stand. I want to see in what depth some will go for their power hunger.
Park Hyung Sik looks good in his Seja / Crown Prince Uniform. In every sequence he is in, he owns it.
I want to find out more about WHY the Maiden’s family was murdered in the first place and the step brother accused her for it.
Of course there will be Palace Politics and good vs bad officials.
So far the Younger Court Ladies and the Eunuchs are awful. You will see why. That’s all for now. More tomorrow.
P.S. To be honest with you I wanted to see what it will happen next.
@Cleopatra -I agree – love the cliffhanger. I am certainly interested in the two mysteries so far – who and why FL family was murdered and who and what is behind the curse “haunting” the crown prince. There are some obvious villains so far, but I expect the truth will be more complicated and there will be some red herrings along the way.
I thought the first episode excelled in plot exposition with some flashbacks (but not distracting) and minimal voice over. The backstory unfolded in a mostly natural way through the dialogue without feeling like an information dump.
I understand this is based on a novel called the Golden Hairpin which is actually translated in English and seems to have some good reviews. But according to the reviews, the book ends on a cliff hanger with the main mystery never being solved setting it up for a book series. I don’t know if book two has been written or published, But I can’t imagine this drama ending without the murder mystery being solved.
I also read that there was a lavish and expensive Chinese dramatization that had to be shelved because of sex crimes committed by the lead actor. They were going to reshoot with a new actor – but it doesn’t appear to have been released.
All in all, I’m hooked so far. Can they keep up the pace and mystery over 20 episodes?
Hey @Good Twin!
Good to see you here! Since I was the first one to open the thread I didn’t want to do spoilers until everyone comes along!
Yes, you are right we need to find out more about the Curse as well.
I didn’t know it was based on a book! Thank you for the information, which is quite interesting! I do hope the Jakkanim takes liberties and she will give us a satisfactory ending!
I think they will keep up the good work. It is just a hunch, but I am drawn in by everything so far. Did you see our Agashi fighting those guards? I loved her for that! She is not a damsel in distress!
It is good to have a Sageuk that will meet our expectations to start the year, don’t you think?
@Cleopatra – I didn’t consider it a spoiler since it was spelled out in the Viki synopsis 😂 I agree wholeheartedly! it was a really strong start to the drama.
Well, It wasn’t per se @Good Twin! The trailer gives that away too! 😅
I thought they did a great job with the pacing and setting up the mystery for ML and FL’s stories. @GoodTwin Yes it’s based on the Chinese book Golden Hairpin which is a 3 or 4 book series but only book 1 is translated well in English and available. However I did find a website that “translated” the rest of the books but the translation was difficult to read as it did some very literal translations of what I imagine is “flowery” descriptions of things which made it hard to understand. I couldn’t help myself since I wanted to be “spoiled”. So far they have kept some of the basic framework from the book but also deviated so it’s hard to tell where the drama is going. I think it’s in a good way though since they have to condense all 3-4 books into a 20 episode drama. Most notable there is no female servant helper girl in the books (although I find their sisterhood refreshing) and the FL is a sleuth but not a martial arts expert in the book. Also in the book the older Crown prince brother is not dead and at least in books 1, 3/4 (I skipped 2 since I read online it didn’t really add to the overall story) the Prince didn’t have the arm weakness issue either and there was no need to prove his physical fitness to the ministers. Maybe because it was originally Chinese there are also several more princes which all could be contenders for the throne.
I did find the CGI deers a little distracting as well the scenes where the price is “riding” the horse without hands and shooting his arrow. Otherwise the cinematography is quite beautiful and well done. Excited to see what happens tomorrow and crossing fingers for rising rating.
I will be late to the party. I need to finish off a few existing dramas before I have time to take on another one. Good to hear the positive reviews. Sounds promising so far.
Kalimera @nrllee!
It is good to see you in this thread!
I do hope you will be able to watch this as well…I have missed your insights!
@koalatown,
I snorted when you wrote, “Maybe because it was originally Chinese there are also several more princes which all could be contenders for the throne.”
In the beginning, I found it odd when a character wasn’t called by his/her given name — like we do here in the US — but addressed by his/her birth order “First Prince,” “Second Prince,” “First Daughter,” “Second Daughter,” etc. But after @nrllee enlightened me on the complicated order of these courtesy names, I began to see the practical side of knowing the birth orders. At least in Cdramas, I can ascribe the tropes as soon as I hear the courtesy names:
First Prince: either sickly and will die soon, or tyrannical and will die later.
Second Prince: bad guy who wants to be the heir
Third to (Nth – 1) Prince: inconsequential but requisite plot stirrers
Nth Prince/Last Prince: the real diamond in the rough.
I only pay attention to the prince that matters and I’m glad that in kdramas, we don’t have to bother with the shenanigans of the extraneous siblings. Restricted with the 16-episode format, kdrama writers have to be more disciplined in their plot-weaving than their Chinese counterparts.
@nrllee,
You’d be interested to know that the director of this show was also the director of “100 Days My Prince.” He (I’m assuming he’s male) also made “Psychopath Diary” and the directing, editing and cinematography were cohesive.
@koalatown -thank for the information about the series. I too noted the CGI deer! They probably have to make them look slightly fake so viewers don’t get upset (weird how not the same for killing people in film). Speaking of cartoons – I did think the villains seem a bit cartoonish – the uncle with the evil laugh, the gluttonous grand prince, the three men speaking noisily in the cafe and the one asking the other to quiet down and him saying no one’s around. (I didn’t see an eavesdropper but there’s always an overheard conversation in these dramas). I’ll be looking for someone less obvious to be behind this – maybe the grand nephew’s mother? It’s probably way too early for me to speculate who is the big bad, but right now the bad guys seem way too obvious for sophisticated court scheming. Looking forward to episode 2.
Thanks for that tidbit @packmule3. Directing, cinematography and editing can only do so much for a crappy script though? I haven’t watched any of the dramas she’s penned. Her most recent writing was Lovestruck in the City? Some in our midst have watched this I believe? Can you tell I have been disappointed with the screen writers of my current dramas? 😂
Kalispera,
I just finished watching Episode 2. The pacing of the show is pretty good. I didn’t realize one hour passed by and I want more…
The director along with the montage team have done wonders so far.
I am eager to see more of the story unfolding. I am enjoying our FL and how she is reacting to the predicament that she was born a girl.
The speech she gave to Seja was pretty good, although it is written from our own era’s perspective. I don’t think a girl would ever talk like this in Joseon and to a Crown Prince nevertheless. I am just pinpointing it.
Although the FL is more than capable to protect herself and we have witnessed that in both episodes. Let me count how many times the CP saved her so far? In Episode 2 twice and she saved him once with her brains. Should I say they are even? We shall see…
I can also see WHY and HOW Seja will fall in love with her. She is an admirable person and I really like that we get to see a heroine like this.
I think we are going to get hooked with this kdrama!
I started this drama with low expectations because I wasn’t a big fan of Romance is a Bonus Book. But after watching the first two episodes I’m all in. I love the kick-ass heroine who is brave, smart, skilled with a sword, and a good sleuth. I agree that her speech to the Crown Prince was a little too 21st century but since this is a fantasy I have decided to let it slide. (Not sure how I would feel if that’s the way she always talks to him!) I’m not wild about the CP, which just means he has lots of room for improvement/a big character development arc ahead. Looking forward to next week’s episodes!
I am intrigued after watching the first two episodes too.
I like Park Hyung Sik in this. I’ve only seen him in Strong Woman Bong Soon before and wasn’t too impressed by him. But in this role, he displays the dignity and poise of a crown prince to the T. He was giving me Lee Min Ho from The Eternal Monarch vibes with his brooding looks. I’ve never seen the FL in any drama before but I like her bravery and can-do attitude in crisis situations.
The pacing of the drama is taut and the mystery is interesting. I’m hoping this will keep me engaged till the end🤞🤞🤞
I’m a bit confused by the comedian type minister’s son. I would have thought him to be a character brought in to provide comedic relief but the opening credits show the hand emblem he carries. So he must be somehow tied to the main mystery plot. Only time will reveal I guess 😁
@BethB. I think the CP is pretty lonely and paranoid right now thanks to his beloved brother getting murdered and getting “framed” for it when he never wanted to be CP. The mystery letter and at least 2 predictions coming true probably is making him doubt his own sanity too and clearly he can’t share his burden with anyone and show weakness since it seems like no one wants him as CP even his own dad (or so he said). I definitely see a lot of growth coming for him when he learns to trust the FL and work together instead of alone.
@phoenix. The minister’s son being a talented coroner and obsessed about dead bodies is pulled from the books as is his adoration of the FL for her amazing sleuthing. In the book he was both comedic relief and key partner so I imagine it will be similar. Should be a fun ride!
@koalatown
Thank you for that info. Maybe the minister’s son will become the sleuthing partner to our CP-FL duo in solving the mystery of who murdered the earlier CP and the FL’s family. He might become the love interest of the FL’s companion too.
@Good Twin
Thanks for sharing the book details. Interesting to know that the novel is called Golden Hairpin. Wonder if that’s significant to the plot. No mention of any golden hairpin yet (the only person I’ve seen wearing one is the Queen or stepmother of the CP/ niece of the scheming minister). So I’m with you on the suspect being a bit less obvious.
If the novel ends on a cliffhanger, then the drama scriptwriter will have the creative freedom to come up with an appropriate ending. I haven’t watched Lovestruck in the City, so have no idea of her writing skills. So I am still keeping my hopes up for this one 🤞
@nrllee
Maybe the writer will deliver on our expectations this time 😝
@Cleo
I’m with you on being hooked from episode 1. I like a good mystery plot which doesn’t sag due to unrelated fillers and keeps the tension alive.
@packmule3
Good to know that this drama is directed by the director of 100 Days My Prince. That is one of my favourite sageuks and the directing was great in that – no boring moments and just the right mix of romance and dramatic plot progression. So I’m going to keep watching this one for now, hoping this will be my first good sageuk of 2023!
@BethB @koalatown
I think that pain and feeling of injustice of ‘being framed’ for the murder of dear ones without being given a chance to explain their innocence or even grieve – is what will tie the CP and the FL together. They are basically facing similar circumstances – the need to bring the true murderer to light to get justice for their slain family members and clear their names.
I think the CP secretly will learn to admire the determination of the FL – in spite of being a woman in Joseon times, she doesn’t give up fighting when the whole world is against her, while he with all the power vested in him has basically done nothing in last 2-3 years to find his brother’s killer.
Kalimera @Phoenix!
Good to see you here! Yes, the tension / suspence regarding the mystery is the moving stone of the story.
You need to watch Park Hyung Sik on Happiness! He is amazing over there! I have him on my Top3 Idols / actors list!
I also agree on what you wrote to @BethB and @Koalatown.
Those two are like yin and yan. The lonely and aloof Crown Prince who suffers silently and cannot trust anyone, because he suspects everyone and the FL who lost everyone, just because she was a capable woman who solved mysteries in her province.
Both of them have enemies who want their demise. They believe they vanquished the FL but that is not the case. The baddies don’t know it yet.
One big difference is that the FL has vigor, while the Crown Prince seems to be frozen in time. Not that he is lacking in personality or character. He saved her twice and in time before they find out who she really was.
– What a nice touch they have added here for her, @Packmule3! After AoS I tend to notice vigor as a character trait than before. –
We also need to pay attention that Seja is mourning in silence.
Someone murdered his brother and he couldn’t deal with the emotions properly because he became the Crown Prince the same day it happened. The first night he slept in his brother’s chambers, the culprit(s) started their mission to make him a mad man. Three years later, he is almost psychotic that they are aiming arrows at him and his best friend will betray him in the meantime.
That’s why he cried in the warehouse. His emotions are all over the place and cannot express himself inside the palace. His Master – the only person who he trusted is murdered. His burden is not an easy one.
And here comes the FL in his life that will give him back his power he thinks he lost or we can better say that it is in limbo. At the same time, she will end his mourning phase and when this happens, the Crown Prince will start fighting back.
He will fall in love with her of course. She is admirable indeed and he is admirable indeed.
Seja will become a good King. He is not like his Father, the current King, who also didn’t do anything to find the killer of his firstborn son and says sarcastically to his subject that he is likely to abandon his second son in a blink of an eye for the grand prince.
I am glad we get to see such a pair @Phoenix! It is refreshing and promising!
Hey all😊 I finished the 2 episodes. Glad to see the side charcters couple from 100 days my Prince made a cameo appearance in the village in ep 2!
A few things :
1. Do you think CP kill his brother? May be he has been set up? It may not be his intention, but he may be a part of it, set up by someone? Just that he acts like he hasn’t sent any letters, but he did to his master. I can’t tell if all his words are true. He seems so traumatised.
2.Do you think the left state councillor is the good guy? Or will he deliver a plot twist to us later on?
The minister’s son is really good at chemistry. A genius who is ahead of his time often is seen as crazy. Have we seen his Dad yet? Is his dad one of the officials appear in the court?
The people who manipulates CP’s fears, insecurity and state of mind is likely to be a team of:
– someone close to the Prince, who can access his room
– someone good at chemistry, who knows how a few items added together would create the desired effects e.g, red liquid, poison
– someone who knows martial art, to shoot the arrows
CP character is shown as a man full of suspicions. He doesn’t trust anyone. Certainly not very nice, a bit annoying and rude. It suits his situation though. He is constantly on edge. Those illusions show that he is very paranoid . Would an arrow accident or a few letters give him such effects? It felt to me it is from something deeper, like guilt.
@Viva
Interesting points to ponder you have brought up😊
I was wondering too if the CP really did write the letter or not. A lot of mysteries in this drama, in just two episodes.
Hey @Viva!
Good to see you here!
To answer to your first question:
I don’t believe that the Crown Prince killed his Hyung. His breakdown at the warehouse in the later part of Episode 2 confirmed that for me.
Since his Master is killed, he will not just admit to anyone that he sent a secret letter where he confessed about the Curse and the ghost.
Think about it, he is the Crown Prince and they are looking for reasons to depose him. Not only the Officials, but his own father as well!
Regarding your second question, the fact that the King confessed to him that he will depose the Crown Prince so easily means that he trusts him. He didn’t utter those words in the company of the Queen’s uncle. So we can see that for now he seems to be with the King.
We don’t know yet who the Father of Turenim / Young Master / Doctor is. We only heard of his title.
From all the Sageuks I have seen, we do know that there are people who can be bought inside a palace and it doesn’t matter if it is an Eunuch or a Court Lady. Spies exist, so the person you are referring too most likely is there.
So the persons you are asking for are not one, but many.
There is the mastermind of course and his connections. An Eunuch or royal guard who threw the paper. The shaman and the guard or official who added the substance to the water. The same person that shooted the arrow.
I don’t think the Crown Prince is bad per se. He is traumatized and cannot trust even his own father. I think his character is spot on.
@phoenix. Agree it’s a mystery if he wrote the letter or not. He seems so adamant he did not but clearly someone who knows a lot did if it wasn’t him. Did someone do it to help or hurt him? It’s not much of a secret if the baddie or baddies (as @cleopatra suggests) in addition to a secret supporter knows. This part is not like the book so no spoiler help for me 😜. Could he have done it during some kind of psychotic break and legitimately not remember?
I usually don’t like watching shows live because of my frustration waiting for answers in the next episode. I’m glad I did for this one to be able to enjoy chatting and speculating with you $itches. 😍
@phoenix hairpins in the book play multiple roles which so far aren’t here- the FL as a sleuth used to wear several of them and used to use the stick part of her hairpin to help her brainstorm and solve problems by “writing things down”. It’s a habit and unconscious behavior that “gives her away as a girl” early in the book because when she took out the one hairpin for the male top bun disguise while trying to solve something her hair all fell down she was recognizable. Luckily it only happened in the presence of the ML who already knew who she was. Later multiple different hairpins are part of different mysteries that they solve together. I know people have doubts about the author but so far I can say with a little bit of finger crossing that she has adapted the book well by improving on an already pretty cool FL and bringing more depth and pathos to the ML which makes him way more interesting too.
Some thoughts:
1. CP is shown in flashback writing the letter but crumpling it up. It seems someone sent it and that person was an ally because it was seeking help from his trusted teacher. Regardless of whether he sent the letter or someone else sent on his behalf*, the letter appears to have gotten the entire family killed. (*CP was awfully curious about whether his wedding gift had been delivered when he found the messenger was killed which implies CP knew about the letter)
2. I thought evil Uncle admitted to one of his cohorts to causing the blood to appear because he wanted to humble the smug CP after the hunt. This would suggest he is not big bad – because it did not sound like part of a larger conspiracy but was rather an opportunistic attempt to embarrass and weaken the prince.
3. There were implications that the king is involved. Seems far fetched that the king would kill his eldest, would try to cripple the CP and make him paranoid and insane, all in an effort to get his third son and with his superior family ties installed as the heir. Like would any of this, even if successful, reflect well on the king and inspire confidence? Also, it just seems like a king could be a bit more direct?
I guess the show is going to settle into mystery of the week sleuthing with the “youthful” CP, Jae-yi, Ga Ram, comedic relief guy, and maybe fiancée as the Scooby Doo squad.
I’m in, after watching the first two episodes. I want solving mysteries to be this show’s focus, as I find palace politics tiresome. Why? Because to build plot tension, many dramas have openly evil characters act with impunity while their victims are mired in cluelessness. I’d rather see a cat-and-mouse game in which we viewers watch a wily “victim” stay one step ahead, leading the antagonist to downfall. Will this be such a drama?
I agree that Park Hyung Sik is believable in the role of Crown Prince. He’s good at displaying imperiousness and bad temper, but he’s also convincing with complex emotions like despair. I look forward to seeing him flesh out this role with a wide range of emotions.
Hooray for the cameos by Kim Ki Doo and Lee Min Ji, two character actors with impressive skills and filmography. I hope we see more of Man Deok and Bok Soon!
@koalatown, although I agree the scenes of the Crown Prince hunting with bow and arrow on horseback were not well done, the fact is mounted archery was, and is, practiced worldwide. A good equestrian on a well-trained horse does not rely on reins for control, but gives signals with leg pressure and shifting weight in the seat (saddle or bareback). The Wikipedia article on Mounted Archery has a section on Traditional Korean. I imagine Korean nobility made sure their sons trained in equestrian and military arts as part of a well-rounded education. China and Japan also have long histories of mounted archery.
I forgot to include the link to the Wikipedia article on mounted archery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mounted_archery
@Welmaris. Cool information thanks! didn’t think the action was odd but more the filming looked very much like a green screen and on a mechanical horse. Most of the other horse riding scenes seemed to be live filming and PHS did an instagram showing himself practicing riding. That particular short clip was a bit jarring given how beautiful the rest of it was filmed. Overall it did not distract from my overall enjoyment though. Glad you like it too!
@koalatown
Ooh nice, lots of hairpin references in the novel it seems, but none in the drama so far. Would have been a nice trope-y scene with the FL unconsciously pulling put her hairpin to write in the CP’s presence, thereby opening her top knot and revealing her long hair, making the CP realize that she is a female😝
@Good Twin
I love the idea of “mystery of the week” format solved by our Scooby Doo sleuthing squad 😀 That would keep our interest engaged by not focusing just on the main mystery in the lead pair’s lives which may get boring after a while.
@Welmaris
Very interesting wiki on mounted archery, thanks for sharing.
@welmaris and @phoenix – I’m hooked by the main mystery and will stick around for the little(r) mysteries.
I like that there are a number of potential villains and some to still be introduced. All that is really known at this point is that whoever is behind CP’s curse plays the long game.
@Cleopatra, although it looks like the Crown Prince did nothing since his older brother’s murder three years ago, I believe he’s stayed vigilant and is and biding his time. Since he was wounded by the arrow a year ago, he’s kept his physical condition–recovery of full use of his arm–secret. Maintaining that illusion with people around him all the time must’ve required unrelenting focus; even the court maids who washed him daily had no idea he had use of his right arm. As the Right State Minister says at the end of the hunt, “It appears that it was not that His Highness could not quash the rumors, but that he was letting it grow.” For example, the Crown Prince fired attendants he caught gossiping, so he used rumormongering to root out disloyalty.
One person in on the Crown Prince’s secret was the King. In conversation with his father, the Crown Prince says he was preparing to reveal his fitness, but the trap set by the Ministers moved up his timeline.
During Min Jae Yi and the Crown Prince’s first face-to-face (sword to neck) encounter, when Min Jae Yi brings up the subject of the secret letter sent to her father, the Crown Prince denies knowledge of it. He could be speaking truth, or prevaricating because two other people are nearby–Sergeant Han and Tae Kang–and voices carry. The Crown Prince trusts no-one. When the secret letter is again discussed in the shed where Jae Yi is imprisoned, the Crown Prince likely would again assume they could be overheard, as the shed is far from soundproof and people were outside.
I do not doubt the Crown Prince secretly wrote to his master. I do not doubt Master Min received a secret letter, which he showed his daughter. But we don’t know if the letter received by Master Min was written by the Crown Prince. In a flashback with voiceover, the Crown Prince says he burned every letter he’d written, and even Tae Kang–the person always by his side–didn’t know the contents (that is, the Crown Prince believes someone couldn’t have read, then duplicated from memory, what he’d written and burned). The secret letter received by Master Min quoted the contents of the ghost letter and specified when the Crown Prince received it: on the day his brother died, he was installed as Crown Prince and moved into the Crown Prince’s palace. The secret letter also accurately reported that the Crown Prince told nobody about the ghost letter, that he burned it, but a second copy of the ghost letter was received two years later, with a different line (the third, instead of the second) written in red. The letter secretly sent to Master Min in the Crown Prince’s name asked for help, because the Crown Prince could not trust anyone, nor reveal his true feelings, and his isolation was causing emotional distress. The secret letter summoned Yoon Jae, Master Min’s son, to do undercover investigation of the ghost letter, since Yoon Jae was renowned for having solved many cases in Gaeseong County (in truth, he was the front for his sister, Jae Yi).
Two people are certain to know the contents of the ghost letter: the one who wrote it, and the Crown Prince, who read it. To accurately quote the ghost letter in the secret letter sent to Master Min, to be correct about the day the Crown Prince received the first ghost letter, and to be correct about the Crown Prince receiving as second ghost letter with a different line highlighted, the writer of the secret letter could have been either the sender of the two ghost letters or the receiver. But not so fast! We don’t know how many people were involved in the scheme to write and deliver the ghost letters. We do know the writer of the secret letter to Master Min is, if not the Crown Prince, someone who was in the palace on the day the Crown Prince was installed, and two years later when the second ghost letter was delivered. The writer of the secret letter is aware Master Min is someone from whom the Crown Prince would seek help. The writer of the secret letter does not know that Master Min’s son, Yoon Jae, was not the detective extraordinaire.
How was the ghost letter delivered? We see it fluttered down to land on his desk. One possibility is that earlier in the day it was hidden in the ceiling of the Crown Prince’s chambers when the room was empty and unguarded, with some mechanism to release it. Another possibility is that the antagonist has a peep hole in the ceiling over the desk through which the Crown Prince can be spied on and the letters dropped. The Crown Prince was asleep when the first ghost letter fell, so he assumed someone entered his chamber to set the letter on his desk.
Some other things I’ve been thinking about since watching the first two episodes of Our Blooming Youth:
I was at first confused why all the kills of the hunt were attributed to the Crown Prince, not only by the assembled ministers, but also by the peasants when they saw the procession. After rewatching, I think I understand that only three people in the hunting grounds were allowed to have bows and arrows: the Crown Prince, and the two men guarding him. The other military personnel involved in the hunt flushed out game by making noise, but did not carry bows and arrows. The ministers were not hunting, but waiting at the camp. Because the purpose of the hunt was to gather sacrifices on behalf of the nation, it was cultural knowledge that it was the role of the Crown Prince to do the hunting. That’s why it is an anomaly that military department archery equipment was found in the hunting grounds, and that bringing it in can be viewed as treasonous. The arrow shot at the Crown Prince could not be an innocent hunting mistake.
I’m still not clear why the Crown Prince, when faced with his best friend drawing a bow on him, didn’t immediately release his arrow, but let Han Seong On shoot first. He claims to trust no-one, but seemed to trust Sergeant Han to not kill him. Having been shot in the back once before, did the Crown Prince trust Sergeant Han to be aiming at someone behind him? As it turned out, Sergeant Han’s arrow took down a hawk that was dive-bombing the Crown Prince, so trust seems to have been warranted in this case.
I am convinced the Crown Prince and his father, the King, are on the same side. In a scene after the hunt, when the Crown Prince, the King, and the current Queen are having tea together, this conversation takes place:
Q: Your Majesty. What a relief it is that the Crown Prince is perfectly fine, right?
K: We were not able to catch the person who shot the arrow at the Crown Prince a year ago. Are you not aware that treacherous men are trying to kill the Crown Prince?
Q: Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince demonstrated that he is lacking in no way as the Crown Prince during the military training hunt, have we not achieved our purposes?
K: That will not be enough. You must not forget what I have told you many times before. You must not forget the Crown Prince Ui Hyeon’s death.
Q: Your Majesty.
CP: I am…constantly thinking about what you are concerned about, so do not worry, Father.
When the Crown Prince, in front of the king and ministers, reveals the reason behind a blood-like liquid dripping from his writing brush, the King says, “Shamans? In all things, there is an objective. It must have been an attempt to bruise Crown Prince’s authority. Wicked schemes against Crown Prince means it is also aiming at this nation. He must be found out and be punished as a warning to others.” With the stability of his nation at heart, I doubt the king would be conspiring with others to remove the current Crown Prince for no good reason. The Left State Minister was concerned after the king said about the Crown Prince, “If he cannot prove himself, I will depose him. There is one more grand prince remaining. So what worry is there for this nation?” [To which minister the king said this, we don’t know, because we only see the minister’s back.] The king may have introduced the possibility of deposing the Crown Prince to relieve some of the danger threatening his second son. Knowing before the hunt that the Crown Prince could use his arm, the king may have been setting his own trap for those who tried to entrap the Crown Prince. As the Left State Minister says, “None of us know what His Majesty is thinking.” As it turned out, the Crown Prince did prove himself, negating the if-then proposition.
To highlight information, in case some of us missed it:
The king’s youngest son was born of a maternal line that is politically strong. The king, himself, was born of a palace water maid (who was probably elevated to high rank after giving birth to a son). The current queen is a member of the “best” family in Joseon, the Jo family of Seongju, and her uncle is the Right State Minister. The current queen and her son, because of their blood connections, strengthen the king’s authority. As yet, the only thing we’ve been told about the mother of the king’s oldest two sons is that she was not of as strong a family as the current queen’s.
Kalimera !
@Good Twin,
For you 2, I don’t think the Evil Uncle was behind the shaman trick. He said that to save face to his subordinate.
He is evil but we don’t know in what extent yet, because he wants his nephew the Grand Prince to be the new Crown Prince. He could have poisoned the firstborn son of the King three years ago with the peaches and surely he tries to depose the current Crown Prince.
Kalimera @Welmaris,
It is good to see you here, I was happy when I saw your handle appearing on my email notifications and also leaving me a comment.
I agree with you that Seja even if he wrote the secret letter he wouldn’t say that aloud when he could be heard. I was thinking yesterday, but I forgot to write it down that the Maiden can recognize CP’s handwriting. She is solving mysteries and she sure can remember if the penmanship is the same or not.
So, in the next episode we have to get an affirmation by the Seja about that secret letter or will she tell him your writing was the same, therefore you sent that letter?
He was also protecting the fact that he has the full use of his right hand. Although at times, he is trembling. I am curious if his trembling has to do with
with the area’s muscles or it is a psychological thing? I also noticed that the wound hasn’t healed properly.
This is something I realize myself after letting the episodes sink. There were given so many tidbits here and there that if you don’t pay attention you can miss it. Thanks goodness we can rewatch the episodes if we want…
Yes, the arrow shot to the Crown Prince was not an incident. It was a ploy and it comes along with the shaman trickery that turned the water into “red blood”.
As for the King I will hope that he is indeed with his son’s side.
I remember that scene you trascribed. Although the Queen doesn’t seem to agree with her Uncle, still she is frail herself and she is listening not to what her husband the King says, but what her Uncle says. She might not be evil per se, but her indecisiveness might cost her in the long run.
No, the King is not conspiring with the others to depose the Crown Prince.
BUT
He will do so though, if his authority is threatened and that is what he said to Left State Councilor Han Joong-Eon. He will depose the Crown Prince and he will make the Grand Prince the heir for the nation’s stability. Hence my thoughts about him that I wrote above.
You are right that we don’t know much about the mother of the Crown Prince.
Still, I was expecting to see a Queen Dowager in the series, but it seems is not the case in OBY.
omg this thread has been such a good read!
for context, I haven’t watched the first two episodes and barely knew about the drama coming into this thread – now I am definitely watching it because of how much you all love it and because it is based on one of my favourite Chinese romantic novels of all times: Golden Hairpin series is fully translated in Vietnamese (my first language) and I have read it at least 3 times. that being said I can probably spoil a lot of details but i hope to reserve that til after the drama finishes because the story truly deserves being gradually explored and unpacked by you guys with a fresh mind. 4 books, each of which around 10 hours reading time from memory, compiled into 20 one-hour episodes, i agree with others that the story has (to begin with, the ML isnt a crown prince in the novel) and will probably deviate quite significantly from the novels.
good news is the novel series is mainly focused on unweaving mysteries, layers and layers and yes more layers of nuanced human relationships and situations which have logically led to the plots (just as many of you would like to see). let’s cross fingers that the writer does justice to the original story, because, well, it deserves so.
let’s buckle up!
P/S: don’t we all love it when the whole world views of our leads aren’t just romantic love against a backdrop of some minor family, friends, job droplets here and there, but deep introspection, actions based on morals and the engagement/ conflicts between themselves and various forces of society?
I just finished Episode 1 and I am all in. There is nothing like a good historical mystery to balance the heavy melodramas I am also watching currently. Will read the comments after I finish Episode 2.
@Welmaris and @Cleopatra what a treat to wake up to your analysis. I hope the drama continues to intrigue. @cocole883 – welcome! I wish the each of the novels were translated into English. But so far it looks like only the first one has. I expect this drama may create more demand and they’ll get translated. Love your PS!
@cocole883, hello and welcome! You write delightfully, and I hope you continue to contribute to this thread and others on Bitches over Dramas. You may be right that the Korean drama will deviate from the Chinese series of novels, but your deep knowledge of the source material may be helpful as we watch and analyze this series.
Rewatched episode 1 and I wondered where did the FL find the man’s clothes and hat to change into after falling off from the cliff. Would have been nice if they had shown a scene of her washing up near some village and stealing some clothes. Or maybe since she was gone for 2 weeks she had time to forage for clothes in nearby villages along with some food.
Another funny oversight is how come the military outfit borrowed from her maid’s brother fit so well despite the height difference of the character since the brother is supposed to be 6 feet tall. Truthfully this was sort of swiped from the book and the book never explained it either. Magic soldier uniforms that shrink to size in Joeson times. Too bad that doesn’t exist or else I wouldn’t have to worry about overeating during the winter months 🤣.
thank you everyone for the warm welcome and your kind words!
@koalatown the book did talk briefly about how the clothes fit her very loosely and she was wary that other soldiers will recognise that she is not the brother due to height and build differences. again though, the equivalent scenes in the novel and the drama happens in completely different contexts: in the novel there was no hunt, the ML and his army was returning to the capital after a victory (iow everyone was celebrating so less likely for harsh punishments) and the soldier (he was not the maid’s brother – in fact there was no loyal-maid-to-FL character at all – but just someone in debt to FL’s family’s good deeds), before switching place with FL, has been pretending he has diarrhea for the day thus FL would say she is the soldier’s cousin filling in for him because of his illness if she were caught (she indeed says this to ML later but her lies doesn’t fly).
to me the novel explains every minor details and build up the complex mysteries so well, even to the most nitty gritty bits, which is what sells it to me as an overthinker. it’s sad that its best quality isn’t so well adapted into live action yet overall screenwriters tend to skim over details more than novelists in my observations (thank you Hong sisters for making AoS a rare exception)