I’ll be quick.

1. The marriage profiles

Because the last Episode 7 featured the profiles of the Crown Prince (CP) and the eldest Maeng sister (HaNa), we are suddenly made aware of a possible match brewing between the two. It’s a match which frankly disturbs my modern 21st century mindset given the CP’s young age. Their age difference doesn’t bother me as much as the marital obligation. I don’t want to think of a 14-year-old having sexual intercourse with a noona (or an ahjussi, for that matter) in my kdramas.

The profiles featured in this episode are the shady ones.

a. Lee Shi Yeol
19 years old
A straight-laced boy

He’s the son of the Sungkyunkwan’s headmaster and the mama’s boy being prepped for marriage with the Left Minister Jo’s daughter. Like the other obedient Confucian scholars in this drama, he also thinks that marriage is a matter between families. He just needs to marry the woman chosen by his family.

Note: I think there’s a subtle dig at these scholarly men who are a) brainwashed to think that filial piety is the be-all and end-all of their existence, and b) book-smart but lacking in common sense, life experience, and street smarts. Generally, the women in this kdrama are portrayed in a more favorable light because they adapt better to crises.

Anyway, Lee Shi Yeol parrots the standard line that his future wife is his “ideal type” because his mother chose her. Of course, his next action quickly betrays him because he buys TWO hairpins. Obviously, one is for his future wife and the other one is for the middle Maeng sister. His move tells me two things. He’s EITHER a naïve boy who’s in denial that he’s attracted to the middle sister OR a philanderer-in-the-making who’s prepared to marry one girl while having an affair with another. My bet’s on the latter.

b. Jo Ye Jin
17 years old
A lonely habitual drinker
Only daughter of Left State Minister Jo Young Bae of Dongno Party

Like Shi Yeol, she speaks well and lies and deceives very well.

YeJin: My fiancé has been decided since I was born.

This is a lie. There’s no way she and Lee Shi Yeol would’ve been matched at birth since his family was in the opposition. Her mother wouldn’t even agree to the match initially until she was convinced by Yeojudaek.

YeJin: He would be a son from one of the top 10% of noble families or he could have passed the state exam with top scores, even if his family is a bit lacking.

She must be smoking. Her fiancé is not from the top 10% of noble families; that’s why they agreed to marry her for her family connections.

According to her, her ideal type is the smartest one who fits the said criteria. We know that Yoon BeGyeom is her ideal type. But he’s only a farmer and an orphan to boot. He didn’t pass the state exams because he refused to take it as he had no political backer.

YeJin: It is given that he would be well-mannered like me.

I found her remark scary given her next action. Like Lee Shi Yeol who bought two hairpins without a tinge of guilt, she covered up the “forbidden” books and the bottles of soju without the slightest bit of shame that she had been exposed as a pretender.

YeJin: There is something my mother says all the time. In the end, the only one protecting women is their family and women are the ones who protect their families. What? (scoffing) Dating for marriage is a crazy idea.

Hmmm… I don’t know about this. Between YeJin and her mother, I don’t see YeJin protecting the family. She strikes me as narcissistic. It’s all about her love woes, and she lies to protect herself. In contrast, Lady Jo might be involved in the backroom plotting, including treason, but she’s doing this to consolidate power for her clan, and not for herself alone. There’s a perceptible difference between mother and daughter.

2. Episode 8. “Life is unexpected, and that is how life holds meaning.”

There were lots of twists and turns in this episode, especially in the romance between SoonDeok and JungWoo.

a. It began with SoonDeok finding out that the arranged plan to stage HwaRok’s death was moved up without telling her. SoonDeok saved him from drowning, but this unexpected turn of event showed us two things.

One, she wasn’t immune to him. She cried with relief that he didn’t die, then berated him for jumping when he didn’t know how to swim.

Sidenote: it was funny that JungWoo believed he could swim from reading about it the previous night. This is what I mean about the show’s mockery of nerds lacking common sense.

Two, he made her feelings known to her (again!). He said that he was glad that he got hurt instead of her.

There! He unexpectedly revealed that they moved up the time without informing her and that he practiced swimming the night before because he feared that the mission was dangerous for her. JungWoo’s assistant confirmed that it had been JungWoo who insisted that he’d jump instead of Yeojudaek.

b. Next, SoonDeok’s unexpected dive into the river also resulted in her Orabeoni discovering who she was. (No waterproof makeup was invented in Joseon period.) Without her makeup, the Captain finally recognized her. He followed her to clear things up between them, but their private conversation aroused JungWoo’s jealousy. He wondered why they were talking so long together. He was still suspicious of them when they had their next matchmaker’s meeting. When the Captain discreetly protected his young sister’s head from bumping the table, JungWoo’s green eyes misunderstood this brotherly gesture for a romantic relationship, or in his words, an “inappropriate relationship.”

But note here: as he was watching them, he didn’t suffer any chest pains. Despite feeling jealous, his “Ssangyeonsulsa” divining power didn’t trigger his usual body aches he gets whenever he was in the presence of lovers. When SoonDeok asked if his chest was in pain again, he lied that it hurt.

He ordered Yeonjudeak and his assistant, Oh Bong to switch places. As soon as she sat down beside him, he gave a little “ooh” because his heart fluttered.

Samsoon: Your Excellency Gyeongwoonjae, do you like Yeojudaek?
JungWoo: Huh?
Captain: (embarrassed for his sister) Lady Samsoon! How can you say such an absurd thing?
Oh Bong: (suspecting that the Captain was being jealous) Officer, do you have feelings for Yeojudaek?
Captain: (protesting loudly) I do not!
SoonDeok: (slamming the table and standing up in protest) Have you gone mad?

I thought this dialogue was great. It’s zippy. It showed Samsoon being perceptive and incautious at the same time. It showed the Captain protecting his young sister’s reputation. It showed Oh Bong posing direct questions that his master couldn’t. He really has Jungwoo’s best interests at heart. And it showed JungWoo as a little too slow on the uptake. He didn’t know how to respond to Samsoon’s simple question.

c. Then came the preparation of the three bachelors for their romantic encounter with the three sisters. For Jungwoo, he had an unexpected insight on what would make a girl’s heart flutter. It was cute when he took advantage of Yeojudaek’s teaching moments to find out what she liked.

For instance, Yeojudaek established that “If 30% of a man’s looks depend on clothing, then 70% depends on hairstyle.” But when she made an exception of Bachelor #22 because he had handsome face and clothes that fit him well, JungWoo asked if that was her style, too. They agreed to meet at the venue where the Dano festivities were going to be held. He arrived early as usual. He’d been waiting for her as usual.

Yeojudaek wanted him to instruct Bachelor #12 to put a lot of effort into the swing riding contest for Hana because it was important to her. Lol. I don’t think she realized that, by showing up early all the time, JungWoo, too, was putting a lot of effort into this matchmaking because it was important part to her.

Then Yeojudaek instructed him to make sure Bachelor #24 know how to wrestle and receive a prize. JungWoo asked her if she also like men who are good at wresting. After Yeojudaek showed him the stream where women traditionally wash their hair, she brought him to the place where Bachelor #23 was going to color the nails of Lady SamSoon. Out of the blue, JungWoo asked her to give him a demonstration.

I think he either wanted to spend more time with her or he intended to paint her nail, not the other way around. He was surprised when she told him to extend a finger.

SoonDeok: Put out a finger for me.
JungWoo: Me?
SoonDeok: (nodding)
JungWoo: Aren’t garden balsam petals for women?
SoonDeok: To show you how it is done, I cannot do it on myself. Hurry, we do not have time.

Hmmm? Don’t tell me he also studied how to apply balsam petals the night before and wanted to show off his textbook knowledge. Lol.

After she finished doing it, she told him about a bit about the tradition of dying the nails with crushed balsam petals.

SoonDeok: Legend has it that if the color remains until the first snow falls, your love will come true.
JungWoo: (eyeing her strangely; he thought that she was referring to HIS love.)
SoonDeok: Please tell the groom candidate to tell the lady that.
JungWoo: (understanding) Okay.

To me, JungWoo was trying hard to get to know her. Certainly, he was focused on their mission to get the bachelors and sisters married. But I like how he would unexpectedly shift the conversation and make the moment about SoonDeok. This indicates his continued interest in her as a person.

3. Noteworthy things

a. Lady Hana got the CP to open the area which the Defense Minister closed off to the public. In turn, the Defense Minister’s illegal appropriation of the land and personal use of the pine trees were discovered.

b. The CP and Lady Hana decided to be penfriends for now.

But was it foreshadowing when she wrote, “If we meet again, I will not be able to call you ‘little kid’ anymore?” Instead of “little kid,” is she going to call him, “Your Majesty” or “My Husband”? Ugh.

c. The Jo’s plan was too complicated.

They didn’t simply want to kill the Crown Prince outright. Instead, they wanted him dead but also wanted to depose his mother, the Queen. The King wouldn’t have an ally loyal to him in the palace. Once the Queen is deposed, the Consort is left. And the consort is from the clan of Minister Jo’s wife, Lady SoHyun.

Jungwoo: (to the king) Seeing how the CP is not displaying any symptoms of poison, the Eastern Palace maid did not get sick after eating the CP’s leftover food. She took the poison herself in order to send the CP to his private residence.
King: I also feel that was the intention. Because even if something happens to the CP living in his private residence, the Queen who sent him there would be held responsible.
Jungwoo: If it’s someone who would make such a plan, perhaps it is –
King: I need conclusive evidence instead of a hunch.

d. The Defense Minister is beginning to think that his sister is smarter than the Left State Minister Jo.

Defense Minister: Am I the only one who took pine trees from there? This is so unfair! Gosh! I should have just listened to Noonim. Had I resigned, getting reinstated would have been easy. (looking at Jo) But I was dismissed so…
Jo: Let us first discuss who we should nominate for your successor.

Lol. I’m sure it was Lady Jo who recommended nominating the Sungkyunkwan Headmaster as Defense Minister because she expected them to be in-laws. She didn’t know that this marriage wasn’t going to happen.

e. Left State Minister Jo is from the noble class while his wife’s family isn’t.

Jo: Why are you so bad at taking care of business? You did not think of getting rid of the clothes and the ID tag?
Defense Minister: You nobility do nothing but talk.
Jo: What did you say?

That’s the Viki sub. The Viu translation was much harsher. “You people only know how to talk and not act.” Clearly, he wasn’t a member of the “you people.”

The Defense Minister’s contempt for his brother-in-law couldn’t be hidden.

4. I actually like Lady Jo’s relationship with SoonDeok.

Despite her maid’s non-stop attempts to show SoonDeok in a negative light, Lady Jo always took her side. When the maid brought out the forbidden book SoonDeok was hiding, she accused SoonDeok of being thoughtless and siding with the enemies. But Lady Jo could only imagine that SoonDeok was just reading books like this out of loneliness. In her mind, SoonDeok was passing away time with books because she missed her husband (and Lady Jo’s son) badly.

She recalled the time she chanced upon SoonDeok reading to her husband.

Husband: How could she still be sitting there even though 20 years had passed?
SoonDeok: Just hold on for a little bit. Once you hear the ending, you will find out the reason.
Husband: I am sorry. I was too curious.
SoonDeok: I will keep reading. “In that moment, the bride turned into ashes and broke into pieces….”

I think that’s what bothers Lady Jo the most. She’s afraid that SoonDeok, too, would turn into ashes and break into pieces after passing time without her beloved husband. And so she decided to give SoonDeok a job on the pretext that she was to take up the mantle of being lady-of-the-house soon.

Lady Jo: It is the key to the shed and the list of names of the tenant farmers. From now on, you should handle the tenant farmers and the grain supply in our house.
SoonDeok: Me?
Lady Jo: Do you not feel suffocated from only sewing at home? I have told Mister Kim, so you should look after our family’s fields and check on tenant farmers. If the owner does not personally manage things and leave it to someone else, it will not be run well.

I like how both SoonDeok and JungWoo are busy doing tasks other than matchmaking. JungWoo is taking care of state matters while SeonDeok is learning to handle household finances.

SoonDeok: I think it is a bit too early for me to manage it.
Lady Jo: I handled it as soon as I married into this family so you can definitely do it, too. It is about time you start preparing to become the headmistress of the Jo family.

Two things: One, I like that she has great confidence in her abilities. Two, it means that she married “up” into the Jo clan and had to take responsibility of household on her own.

SoonDeok: Yes, mother.
Lady Jo: (producing the controversial book) Sam Wol’s mother brought this to me, saying she found this in the backyard of the annex. You need to work to get people on your side from now. People typically do not know to be grateful and are whimsical. They try to avoid danger but cannot give up on their own profit. So if people think you are scary and provide benefits to them, they will always take your side. Keep that in mind.

Interesting. Lady Jo believes in “scare tactics.”

SoonDeok was right to be scared after her meeting with her mother-in-law because Lady Jo didn’t scold her. Then, she imagined speaking to her dead husband. Her husband reminded her how much his mother liked from the beginning because of her wisdom and common sense.

SoonDeok: I know. I also like Mother.
Husband: I am relieved to know Mother has you.
SoonDeok: You also do not like that I am doing matchmaking work, I see.

This is SoonDeok’s acknowledging to herself that her husband, had he been alive, would have disapproved of what she was doing. Her husband married her, not only because he loved her but also because he knew that she would match his mother perfectly and obey his parents dutifully.

This imaginary conversation with her husband is SoonDeok’s method of coming to terms with her guilty conscience. Neither her beloved husband nor her mother-in-law would approve of her secret, but she liked matchmaking couples too much to stop for them.

5. The hurt feelings and the lie

The reason JungWoo so easily believed that SoonDeok was a murderer was because his feelings were hurt when she LIED about not liking him. In his mind, if she could lie about her feelings for him, then she could lie about being a murderer, too.

JungWoo: You know so much about romance, so why are you living as a widow? Is it similar to how a monk cannot shave his own head?
SoonDeok: Though I was with my late husband for less than a half a year, I received so much love from him that there is no space in my heart to like anyone else.
SoonDeok: (internally) Now that I think about it, I think I knew the moment I said this that I already gave my heart to His Excellency Gyeongwoonjae.

My comments:

a. The Viki sub used a metaphor of the monk. A monk already shaved his head. He couldn’t shave what was no longer there. Similarly, the widow already poured all the love and romance she had on her late husband, she couldn’t give something that was no longer there.

Viu translated it this way, though.

Lol. I think I like the “monk” metaphor better. It seemed more like JungWoo to talk about bald monks rather than itchy backs.

b. As soon as she said that, she knew she was lying. She believed she should not have any feelings for anymore as it would mean disloyalty and dishonor to the love she shared with her deceased husband.

But as soon as she said that, she knew she was making excuses. She was putting up a wall and being defensive because she had already fallen in love with JungWoo. In spite of herself, she was in love with him.

c. Obviously, JungWoo could see through this. Her words didn’t measure up to her actions. She was beside herself when she thought he drowned. She gave in to his unreasonable request to sit apart from her Orabeoni. She was worried when he fainted and was the first one to hold him.

Hence, when he was misinformed by Oh Bong that Yeojudaek was a “wanted person” because she committed murder, he asked her if she was hiding something. He presumed that she was lying about her identity, just like she lied about her feelings for him.

JungWoo: Is it true what you told me about how your name is SoonDeok and that you became a widow five years ago after your husband died of illness?
SoonDeok: Yes. It is true.
JungWoo: (inhales deeply) Are you sure there is not one bit that is false? How long did you think you could hide your identity?
SoonDeok: (bluffing) How did you find out? Well… the thing is…

SoonDeok feared that he either discovered that she was the daughter-in-law of the Left State Minister or that she was the sister of the Captain.

JungWoo: I really hoped it would not be true. I feel extremely betrayed by you. Our matchmaking contract is over as of this moment.
SoonDeok: Your Excellency. Let me explain!
JungWoo: (yelling) Explain what? What excuse can you as a murderer give?

Cue the “Half of My Heart” OST.

Here are three reasons I like the show.

One, it could have easily deteriorated into an Idiot Plot, but it didn’t.

In an Idiot Plot (as I mentioned in another kdrama), the characters are infuriatingly slow to resolve the conflict either because they don’t talk to each other, or they are too dense to realize the obvious. An idiot plot contrives to make the misunderstanding go on forever to the point of absurdity and incredulity.

In this series, however, the plot twists make sense. The characters aren’t idiots, and their actions are reasonable. SoonDeok’s secrecy, for instance, is understandable. So are JungWoo’s suspicious and hurt feelings.

Two, the director made good choices with his shot selections, especially the extreme long shots like this.

This.

And this.

No. The extreme long shots aren’t filmed simply to capture the beauty of the landscape. Tsk. That’s an amateurish way of looking at cinematography. To me, these wide shots emphasize how wide the gap is between SoonDeok and JungWoo, and how big of a problem these two have to face together. They look so small, helpless, and insignificant that whatever they do, they can’t win against fate.

Yet, they keep on trying.

Three, the cliffhangers don’t annoy. That’s important. I’m not inclined to watch the next episode if the cliffhanger don’t have resolutions in the next episode.

So well done, screenwriter and director. Let me see how the second half of this drama holds up.