Ep 2 A bad feeling is never wrong.
1. The profile of JungWoo is released is Episode 2.
Shim Jung Woo: 25 years old
Prince Consort and Inspector
Note: Widowed prince
He explains his status.
The reason I am petitioning to invalidate my marriage to the princess is because my inability to take public office is the greatest waste of Joseon’s resources. My life, besides making appeals, is that of a scholar-official.
Then, it’s shown how he had applied himself to scholarly pursuits, like
a. playing the Korean flute, dageum. He studied at the Jangakwon, the government office of music and dance. In just 6 months, he acquired the same level of skills as his instructor. But instead of accepting the praises humbly, he insulted his instructor by pointing out his instructor’s performance lacked personality, so it wasn’t perfect like his.
b. painting. He studied at the Dohwaseo, the Royal Institute for painting. While he impressed the masters there with his exquisite rendering of dappled sunlight, he also insulted them by suggesting that they should go out more often to enjoy the sunlight to know how to draw sunlight well like he did.
c. lastly, medicine. He apprenticed with the Royal physician to learn acupuncture and other things. The physician guessed that he was studying medicine to discover the cause of the Princess’ death, but he denied it, saying that nobody could find a cure for his chronic abdominal pain, so he was searching for a cure himself. Lol. It’s a good thing that the physician wasn’t too offended by that insult.
My three comments:
One, at first watch, it would seem as if these scholarly pursuits were just randomly chosen by the screenwriter. But they actually have a purpose.
For example, in Ep 5, JungWoo pulled out his dageum to break up the bachelors’ fight and played soulful music that riveted everyone’s attention at the SeonHwa Temple. SoonDeok complimented him for that.
SoonDeok: I really enjoyed your daegeum performance.
JungWoo: Mmm. I tend to get really good at something if I start it.
SoonDeok: (smiling)
I thought it was the beginning of SoonDeok’s appreciation of JungWoo’s fine talents, and JungWoo’s learning to think outside the box.
Then, in Ep 6, he impressed her with his sketches of the three Maeng sisters.
SoonDeok: (shocked) Wow! The drawings. Daebak! They are amazing…sir. Did you draw them yourself, Your Excellency?
JungWoo: You said we would reenact the first sight at Tenple Seonhwa to decide on suitable matches for them. I drew them to increase the efficiency of our work. (clearing his throat)
SoonDeok: You are even skilled at drawing. There is nothing you cannot do, Your Excellency.
Here, JungWoo used his talent for their mission. Of course, his drawing of SoonDeok will get him in trouble with Lady SoHyun in later episode….
As for his medical skills, they will come in handy when he’s called to investigate the poisoning of a royal maid and solve the Princess’ death.
As I said elsewhere, the screenwriter wrote a very tight script. Not much is wasted here.
Two, it’s due to his training as a Confucian scholar that he fails to apply practical approach, common sense, and broader solutions to the problems. He’s different from SoonDeok. Later in this episode, the King will scold him for his strict adherence to rituals and formality, saying “You are too inflexible and unaware. So useless.” The King worries that he won’t survive in a rough political world. He advises him, “JungWoo-ya, politics is about losing less and gaining what you want. Keep that in mind.”
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On a lighter side, however, JungWoo’s belief that he can succeed in anything he puts his mind to (literally, his mind) has comical effects, like when he told SoonDeok that he “mastered” swimming and sword-fighting by reading about them.
The swimming from Ep 8
SoonDeok: Have you gone mad? Why would you jump in when you cannot even swim.
JungWoo: I mastered swimming last night.
SoonDeok: What?
JungWoo: (he explained how)
SoonDeok: Wait. So you are saying you learned how to swim from a book?
JungWoo: I could have done it perfectly, only if I didn’t get shot at by an arrow.
The swordfight from Ep 11
SoonDeok: Are you alright? I did not know you could wield a sword.
JungWoo: I learned it from the books every now and then to protect you. But today was my first time with an actual sword.
SoonDeok: (confused) You learned swordsmanship from the books for me?
JungWoo: (smiling shyly)
I find it cute that a) he’s doing things not for just his personal edification, but also for SoonDeok’s protection, and b) his book-learning is balanced by SoonDeok’s street-smarts.
To continue…
Three, to me, that’s the first and foremost explanation of the title, “A bad feeling is never wrong.”
JungWoo’s chronic abdominal pain is a bad feeling. Little does he know that this bad feeling is his visceral reaction to love in action. He experiences pain in his abdomen and chest because the energy in his body is responding to the sight of fated lovers. Just like the superhero Spiderman has “spidey sense” to sense imminent danger, he has a sixth sense to recognize future soulmates because he’s one of those legendary Ssangyeonsulsas of yore.
Thus, his “bad feeling” – or his sixth sense — is never wrong.
There are two other scenes when both JungWoo and SoonDeok directly voiced their bad feelings – or misgivings — about working with each other.
JungWoo was pressured by the Royal Secretary to work with SoonDeok. The Royal Secretary had utter confidence in SoonDeok’s abilities as she successfully prevented his second son from entering a Buddhist temple and matched him in marriage. Of course, the Secretary didn’t know that he had been tricked by SoonDeok into approving the marriage.
Royal Secretary: Among the peddlers at the Hongwol merchants’ inn, there is a skilled matchmaker.
JungWoo: (thinking with trepidation) Sure, it couldn’t be…
Royal Secretary: Yeojudaek. She is a talent who married off my troublemaker second son.
JungWoo: (thinking to himself still) A bad feeling is never wrong.
Royal Secretary: I asked her especially. So go and meet her at the inn tomorrow.
JungWoo: I will figure this out myself.
Royal Secretary: How so? Listen to me this time. I especially asked Yeojudaek, who is very busy. Make sure to recruit her even if you must pay extra.
JungWoo: (bowing)
Royal Secretary: I ask that you help the Inspector.
SoonDeok: Ah. How could a matchmaker like me help the inspector?
Royal Secretary: The task is to wed the old maidens of Namsan Village. You can definitely help.
SoonDeok: (thinking to herself) A bad feeling is never wrong.
It’s cute that their bad feelings for each other are reciprocated. “Bad feelings” have two significances, of course. On one level, their bad feelings mean that they oppose working together. On another level, their bad feelings indicate that they are fated to be a couple in the future.
2. The reason(s) for SoonDeok’s matchmaking
The widow/real Yeojudaek asked SoonDeok why she tried so hard matching couples when she wouldn’t earn extra money for her extra effort.
SoonDeok: Because it’s only once. For a noblewoman, there is only one husband. So, whatever means it takes, she must wed someone of good fate.
Meaning, marriage for a noblewoman is a one-shot deal. SoonDeok understood that her client, the bride-to-be, could only marry once in her lifetime. Thus, she would spare no effort to ensure that her client’s marriage would be a happy one. Her husband should be her fated one. SoonDeok’s view of marriage is:
— female-centric, i.e., the focus of the matchmaking is the bride/wife.
— personal, i.e., the wedding must be beneficial and favorable to the couple being united in matrimony.
— and based on her life experience. She was once happily married, and she would like others to experience similar marital bliss.
In contrast, this is what Jungwoo said about marriage.
Jungwoo: Marriage is to bring the good of two households together, to support the nation and royal family, and produce the next generation.
Instead of being female-centric, the focus is on the needs of the family, community, society, and country. Instead of encouraging individual happiness, it demands harmony for the greater good. And instead of basing his rules on a personal experience, he’s relying on Confucian values and precepts to back him up.
For example, when SoonDeok said that for a noblewoman, there was only one husband, she made it sound as if the practice was done out of love. However, the fact is this practice has been codified as a rule. JungWoo cited it.
3. SoonDeok’s daydream
She daydreamed of one afternoon she spent reading a book to her husband.
Husband: Twenty years had passed. How could she have sat in the same place?
SoonDeok: Please be patient. You will know the reason when I read the end.
Husband: I apologize. I was just too curious.
SoonDeok: I will continue to read. “Looking at the bride sitting the same way she was the first night twenty years ago, I felt more worried than scared. The scholar caressed her shoulder. At that moment, the bride turned into ashes and broke into pieces. The ashes turned into a butterfly and flew away after wandering around the scholar.” (closing the book) The end of this story is always sad yet beautiful to read.
She looked down to see her husband – who supposedly was curious to know the end – had fallen asleep. She covered his face from the sunlight with her hands.
The daydream felt so real to SoonDeok that when she was roused by the sound of JungWoo at her side, she mistook him for her husband.
SoonDeok: (touching his shoulder) Did you wake up because of me? (blinking) What is this? A dream? (touching his face) I want to go back to sleep if this is a dream. I miss you, my dear husband.
JungWoo: Uhhh…
SoonDeok laid her hand on his shoulder again, and this time, he allowed himself to sink into her lap.
SoonDeok: This…is too realistic.
She woke up for real and screamed. She pushed JungWoo off and he landed to the ground with a solid thud.
No question here: It was wrong of JungWoo to lay his head on her lap. But I can understand his position. For one, he thought she was still dreaming and didn’t want to wake her by creating a fuss or struggling out of her grasp. For another, he was indulging in a daydream, too.
4. “Apologize first!”
JungWoo received his first important lesson on “How to Be a Husband.”
Women forgive you if you apologize to them. Yeaaaaah…because women have a forgiving heart.
I like the way she burst into the room; she looked like she was ready to kill him. All she needed was an axe or a chain-saw to complete the image. Naturally, JungWoo was frightened out of his mind.
They were both shocked to hear the other person cede ground.
In this case, their “bad feeling,” that is, their prediction that the other person would be most uncooperative, was wrong.
5. Last, the split-screen
I must say that I admired what the director did here. He divided the screen to juxtapose SoonDeok’s and JungWoo’s morning routines and show us the contrast between the two.
After the split screen, he showed SoonDeok hard at work with the servants to prepare the morning meal of the whole family while JungWoo sat waiting for his breakfast. SoonDeok also oversaw the clean up then got her son ready for school. For a moment there, I thought the two would cross path again outside the Jo’s residence. But she walked inside as JungWoo passed by on his donkey.
The director’s meticulous technique conveyed the episode’s point that these two people are polar opposite of each other, but are nonetheless, two halves of a whole.
That’s it, folks. I have to limit myself or this will never end.
It’s a good sign about the quality of a show when you have a lot to say about it, @Packmule3!
I was highly amused by JungWoo’s morning toilette. Being that South Koreans seem to be especially attentive to skin care, I imagine Rowoon’s actions in character may not be too different from what he does in real life (with modern-day products). In contrast, SoonDeok’s morning preparations were all about practicality.
I’ve just finished the series. Meticulous is a great word for this screenwriter. The ML and FL are opposites, especially in the beginning. By the later episodes they are using each other’s theories and phrases. Thank you for the points you raised above.
I was laughing at the face washing routines. Soon Deok is roused with difficulty and then splashes her face in a slap-dash manner to wake herself up for the busy day ahead. Jung Woo seems to be using all of the tricks a beautician would use for a facial, and in a slow and meditative way.
@Welmaris, I was thinking the same thing about Rowoon. And perhaps a bit self-mocking, too.
I was thinking the same, @Welmaris. The way JW patted his cheeks and brushed his brows, I could imagine Rowoon doing the same for his morning skincare routine.
Don’t you think too that JungWoo was given warm water while SoonDeok was given cold water? 😂
@Fern,
I think Rowoon outdid himself in this kdrama. I remember my main complaint about him in “Extraordinary You.” I said his face was such an inexpressive canvas that I have to guess what emotion he was trying to communicate. Well, here his facial expressions were on point. It’s hard to believe it’s the same action. He definitely improved a lot.
Also, for the close-up shots, he was acting with the camera right in front of his face. He must be in character to do that convincingly.
I think all of the characters in this drama did well and it probably made Rowoon up his game. The talent to emulate was there. Madame Park (Park Ji Young) was extraordinary – I initially thought that she would be given a redemption arc, until it became clear that she took no prisoners and never considered that she had acted in error. The fact that she gave her well thumbed copy of ‘The Art of War’ to her daughter as a wedding present said volumes. Cho Yi Hyun was an actress I hadn’t seen before but she captured the poise, discipline and mannerisms of a Joseon woman so well. It will be odd to see her in a drama set in our times.
I agree @Fern, I was scared of the MIL and I was curious whether she will have her redemption arc but obviously not. I’m so glad Seonduk was able to outsmart her.
Cho Yi Hyun was in “Hospital Playlist,” @Fern.
Do you remember the twins? The medical first year residents? She and twin brother idolized SongHwa because SongHwa was the doctor who operated on their mom. The mom didn’t survive but they remembered the doctor crying and apologizing to them.
The twin brother wasn’t as capable as the twin sister. She was the calm, collected twin who knew the answers to the medical questions.
Welllll… that’s SoonDeok.
@agdr03,
I thought it was sad in the end when she ended up killing the men in the family and alienating the rest so she was alone in that big house of theirs.
She was a memorable character, that’s for sure.
JungWoo suggesting (castigating?) the Dohwaseo masters actually go outside to paint made me think of the Impressionist Movement, which spanned 1867-1886. In Europe the painters were able to venture out of their studios and paint en plein air because they no longer had to grind pigments and mix their own paints. In 1941 John Rand had developed and patented the collapsible paint tube. As written in an article I found online:
Jean Renoir, son of the great Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, claims that his father once said that without Rand’s tubes, “there would have been no Cézanne, no Monet, no Sisley or Pissarro, nothing of what the journalists were later to call Impressionism.” (https://rehs.com/eng/2023/07/tubes-the-invention-that-made-art-modern/)
I don’t know much about paint mediums used by Joseon artists. We see JungWoo working in ink, I believe. I suppose that means he had to transport his ink stone, ink sticks, water and brushes to the site where he painted.
In looking online for information about paint mediums available to Joseon artists, I found an interesting article about a past special exhibit at the National Museum of Korea entitled Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea. (https://issuu.com/museumofkorea/docs/nmk_v48/s/12244163). The article summarizes the words of Joseon painter Kang Sehwang: …that landscape was one of the most difficult painting genres, given the vastness of the subject matter; that the real scenery drawing was the most difficult type of landscape to produce; and that the real scenery portrayal of the Korean landscape was the most difficult of all paintings to undertake. If the real scenery landscape painting does not reflect the reality, the differences between the real scene and the painting can not be disguised.
This makes me think JungWoo was accusing the Dohwaseo masters of being lazy. It’s not that they didn’t know about creating works en plein air, but that they didn’t want to challenge themselves.
Yes, it was very sad. She really thought of how she’s going to ‘take care’ of things and it depended on her husband’s answer.
Wish I could go back and fix the formatting…but eh…I said what I wanted to say. I just forgot that the html for end emphasis (italics) includes a forward slash.
@Packmule, we previously saw the actress who portrayed the MIL, Park Ji Young, play Head Court Lady Jo in The Red Sleeve. She received a nomination for a 2021 MBC Drama Award (Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries) for that portrayal.
@Fern,
I think Madam Park (or Jo’s wife) overlooked the important lesson from the book.
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
The ART of war is knowing how to defeat the enemy without actually spilling blood and losing lives in war.
I can fix the italics for you tomorrow, @Welmaris when I’m on my laptop. (I can’t do it over my phone.)
Park JiYoung performed well. One thing that did distract me though was her chin. She must have had something done to her chin, jaw, and/or neck. 🤔
The prison scene where she gave her brother poison and told him that by tomorrow, he would be out of jail, but then punished her husband’s murders by facing him and having him strangled from behind — it was probably one of the most memorable for me.
@packmule3, she must have selected what she wanted from ‘The Art of War.’ I didn’t know the quote, but Soon Deok embodied that and her MIL embodied the opposite.
Thanks for the reference to Hospital Playlist. She was good in that, too, and has really grown as an actress. I would have loved to see the auditions for this drama.
The actress Kim Hye-eun, who played the fencing coach in 25/21 had a similar chin. It bothered me at the time, but I wonder if it’s natural?
Finally got a chance to watch and enjoy this show (it was great) and am enjoying reading thru the posts and comments as well, thank-you. There is an ep 4 post listed as restricted- I don’t know if that’s to stop spam or if its friends-only. If its just because of spam and there is a way I can read it, please let me know. thanks!