I had briefly paused this drama to check out the hype about that Chinese drama, “The Demon Hunter’s Romance” (TDHR). But after skimming through 25 episodes of TDHR, I was once again reminded of the primary reason I avoided Cdramas like the plague: the low return of investment.

Cdramas almost always have a compelling start. But after investing time in the series, getting emotional attached to the characters, and immersing myself in the multiple arcs, themes as well as central message of the plot, I find that the happy resolution and a satisfactory closure that I expect from my dramas can be frustratingly elusive.

Hmmm. Is my situation similar to the brouhaha about the Chinese-made Hermès Birkins? Just like a shopper buying into the illusion of luxury and specialness that comes with owning a Birkin, viewers like me buy into the illusion of a happy ending simply because we watched the main leads face so many adversities together. Naturally, we feel duped to discover the fake HEA.

That’s why I’m back watching this kdrama. Even if I don’t get the expected “one true pairing” in the end (I think it’ll be YeoRi with Kang Cheol-in-YoonGap’s body). at least, the series is only 16 episodes long. Not 36.

Things I learned in Episodes 3 & 4.

1. Yoon Gap (YG)

The Well Ghost wasn’t lying when she said that YG had been consumed by the Colossal Shadow (CS). According to Kang Cheol, YG was able to temporarily escape the CS because YeoRi’s prayer summoned him out of the CS.

We don’t know why and how YG was consumed by the CS. He wasn’t a royal — or was he? He was an illegitimate child. His mother was a commoner, but his father could very well be a royal or a nobleman.

As far as Kang Cheol was concerned, YG was already good as dead. But to YeoRi, YG was still very much alive and could be released from the CS’ clutches. She believed that this rescue was a daunting but doable task as long as Kang Cheol aided her.

Noteworthy: Both YeoRi and the King held YG in high regard. For example, the King wanted to consult him re. state matters, despite his ill health. He said, “Even if you lost your memory, surely you have not also lost your brilliance as a master of verification and erudition.” He then presented the reform bill for state slaves to YG for YG’s perusal.

However, to Kang Cheol, YG was a fool.

For instance, he didn’t understand why the CS devoured YG. In his own words, “I cannot believe he was consumed by the CS. With his foolish personality, he must have thrown himself in recklessly, thinking he was helping the King.”

To me, this could be the green-eyed monster inside of Kang Cheol speaking (aka jealousy). But it’s possible that Kang Cheol regarded YG with contempt because he considered YG’s betrayal of YeoRi unforgivable. He was convinced that YG lured YeoRi to the palace, despite knowing the evil spirit waiting for her there. To him, YG appeared foolish because he didn’t anticipate the danger to YeoRi and reckless because all he cared about was helping the King, without regard to YeoRi’s welfare.

To be honest, I also erroneously thought that the Colossal Shadow was referring to YG, too, when he told YeoRi, “You are truly a rare and great vessel. Your divine abilities are far more enticing than that lowly blathering fool.” But on second thought, the CS must have meant the old male shaman. YeoRi was baffled by the CS’ remark because she hadn’t met the other shaman yet.

As of Episode 4, I doubt YG will win YeoRi’s heart at the end. Fortune favors the bold, as they say, and YG has been conspicuously weak (e.g., running terrified from the CS) in these episodes.

2. The King

The contrast between the Kang Cheol and the King is striking. Kang Cheol is a cynic so he views the King as a foolish idealist.

I like that he called the King out for aspiring to establish a utopian society.

King: If I teach the universal and righteous principles of the world and practice a proper people-oriented government, we could eventually suppress that greedy human nature and achieve an era of peace and prosperity someday.
Kang Cheol: Exactly. Do you think that’s possible? From the start, humans were never like that. In my thousand years of observation, I have never seen such a world. That’s why is called “an ideal world that does not exist in reality.”

In other words, a Utopia.

Two things about the King that perplexed Kang Cheol —

a. how the King managed to remain unharmed all these years when the CS lived in the palace.

Kang Cheol didn’t know that the King’s spectacles contained a magic stone, which was a “twin” of the magic stone YeoRi lost. It protected him from the evil spirit haunting the palace.

Kang Cheol also surmised that the CS’s vengeful resentment didn’t begin with the King and that it went back way further.

My theory is the Colossal Shadow was originally a general. Given that the old shaman referred to the CS as the Celestial General, my guess is that the resentment began with a general when he was ordered by a king — a delusional king, nonetheless — to wage war for a “great cause.” The general knew, however, that he was being sent on a suicidal mission, a “lost cause” that would result in  the deaths of multitudes. So he held a grudge for the king and the monarchy for their blatant disregard for life.

This theory ties in neatly with Kang Cheol’s own backstory. Remember on the night when he was about to ascend to the heavens? There was a fierce attack going on. Military men on horses were riding through the village, burning homes, and killing people. One soldier found a swaddled infant on the ground, and this infant (which I presume was YeoRi) took a look at the destruction around her and then spotted the sea serpent/dragon ascending into heaven. Then, the dragon fell back to earth.

b. how the King would reconcile his desire to protect his own son from the CS with his zeal to drive the shamans out of the city.

Since Kang Cheol expected the King to put his son’s welfare above state affairs, he thought the King would back down from his hardline stance regarding the shamans. He was gloating when he posed the rhetorical question in his head, “What will you do now? To save your son, will you ignore the national law that you serve so dearly? Hmph! Yes, it must be conflicting. You acted all high and mighty as the King, but in the end, are you not just a mere human?”

But to his utter shock, the King ordered him and YeoRi to be escorted out of the city.

To me, this scene is important because Kang Cheol acquired a newfound respect for the King when he didn’t compromise his principles. In the future, it’s possible for Kang Cheol to form a working relationship with the King because he knew the King to be man of his word.

Note: I don’t think Kang Cheol would have done the same thing as the King, though. If he had to choose between YeoRi’s safety and the national security, YeoRi would come first.

3. YeoRi

One thing that YeoRi had in common with the King is idealization. In the same way that the King idealized his nation and citizens, YeoRi idealized YG.

For instance, when she saw YG’s longevity bracelet, she instantly remembered the time she gifted him with it. I guess it was supposed to work like a charm, protecting the wearer. YG had promised to come back and bring her with him, so he wished them both to live long and healthy lives until then.

YeoRi idealized – or romanticized – YG’s words to mean that they would eventually live happily ever after together as one family. Hence, she was upset that YG failed to live up to his promise and died on her. She threw the longevity bracelet away. (Hmmm… I wonder how she would feel if she learned that YG hadn’t thought of returning to their village if the King hadn’t ordered him to go on a mission in the area.)

Noteworthy: Kang Cheol showed signs of jealousy when he requested a longevity bracelet from YeoRi as sign of her sincerity. I really don’t know why he would need one. The whole point of YeoRi becoming his disciple/devotee is to facilitate his departure from this world and ascension into the heavens. He didn’t need “longevity” as much as he needed closure.

I should also point out that, as much as YeoRi idealized YG, she demonized Kang Cheol. I’m surprised that after all those 13 years spent in his company, she had been oblivious of Kang Cheol’s protection.

I especially like the scene with the tiger. She thought he had left her to deal with it on her own. But then he reappeared after lightning struck.

KC: (tapping her head) Are you all right?
YR: Just now, there was a tiger over there. (pointing behind him)
KC: (looking back) That beast? He ran away after getting struck by a bold of lightning. (reaching down to help her to her feet)
YR: He ran away? After getting struck by lightning?
KC: (wordlessly turning away)
YR: (not moving an inch)
KC: (turning back to her) Will you stay here all day? We need to find a place for us to sleep before it gets dark.

I like the way he didn’t brag that it was he who frightened the tiger away with a lightning bolt. He was unusually reticent. Perhaps he didn’t want her gratitude. Perhaps he was in a hurry to find them a place to sleep. Perhaps he was feeling shy. Perhaps he had to conserve the use of his Zeus-like power so he couldn’t tell her about it….

At any rate, she brought the topic up again after they found shelter for the night. She admitted to witnessing the lightning bolt a “couple of times.”

YR: I think I have seen it a couple of times before as well. A bolt of lightning falling from the sky. I was a crossing a mountain to sell spectacles to Sir Kim in the neighboring village. By chance, were you the one who did that then, too? Did you send lightning that time as well and chase away the tiger?
KC: Since ancient times, this land was full of tigers. Whole villages were wiped out by tiger attacks. It would be even stranger for a young girl to cross the mountains countless times, without any fear but never be attacked by a tiger.
YR: (speechless when she realized how much he had been literally her “guardian spirit” all these years)
KC: You do not need to look at me like that. You are the human who gave me hope that I can become a dragon again and ascend. I only did so because making sure you stay alive and well is my only hope.
YR: (staring at him intently)

My two comments:

One, I found it touching that he had safeguarded her all those years IN SECRET. Not once did he call her attention to it, keep score or demand payback. On those many instances, when she berated him, insulted him, and accused him of tormenting her, he could have brought up the fact that he saved her life countless times, but he didn’t. Instead, he allowed her to think the worst of him.

Two, do you see the difference between YG and Kang Cheol? After receiving the longevity bracelet from YeoRi, YG made a wish that they could both live long and healthy lives until he came back again for her. He used words to express his long-term wish. But he really didn’t do anything for her after that, did he?

Without a longevity bracelet or any sort of token exchanged, Kang Cheol ensured that YeoRi lived a long and healthy life by staying by her side and watching out for her at all times. His actions spoke louder than YG’s words.

4. Kang Cheol (KC)

I’ll keep this short as I’ve already written so much about KC while discussing the other characters.

a. YeoRi should have known that KC was up to no good when she noticed that his shoes were covered in dirt. She asked him if he went somewhere at night without letting her know. Of course, he did! He got his own ritual items (lol, he made sure they were brightly colored too to attract attention) and displayed them at the same location, Mount Bukak, so the King would immediately suspect them.

b. Yes, water was significant to KC. In my First Impressions, I wondered if water was significant in the story given that as a sea dragon, he trained in the water and by the waterfall, and that he found his “new hope” – in the form of the 13 year old YeoRi! Ugh! – playing by the waterfall.

Thus, I wasn’t surprised that he needed the water to regain his strength after dueling with the CS. He should ascend to heavens on a rainy day.

c. I understood his resentment once he heard YeoRi’s bargain with him. She offered her “devotion” to KC – although she made it sound like an forced servitude – in exchange for his assistance in rescuing YG from the monster.

YR: I will grant your long-held wish. I will accept you as my body’s guardian spirit and serve you devotedly. Until the day you ascend as a dragon, I will pray fervently for you.
KC: (suspicious) What are you trying to do?
YR: What you said is true. I have tried my best, but I cannot fight against the CS by myself. I thought I could make it work by stealing the King’s Spiritward Stone, but I was wrong. I do not even have a guardian spirit. He was never a match for me from the start. However, I think it may be possible with your help. When we fought together, we were able to drive out that terrifying thing.
KC: (angrily) So, you want me to fight him again?

He was mad because she sounded uncaring, unfeeling, and unconcerned about him. Even after seeing him in his weakened state, she couldn’t wait to ask him to go fight CS again.

YR: You saved my life today, but I haven’t shaken off all the anger and hatred I feel toward you. Still…(kneeling down before him) I will do everything you ask. I will do anything you want. So please save Sir Yoon Gap.
KC: (outraged) I begged and clung to you for 13 years. But now, you give in so easily just to save that one bastard? (stormed off)
YR: Yah! Kang Cheol!

My two comments:

One, the “yah!” sounded funny to my ears. He had rebuked her but instead of feeling guilty, she was incensed with him because he was walking away from her. Lol. It was clear that she couldn’t care less about saving his pride and ego.

Two, YeoRi’s bargain (or proposition) made it clear to Kang Cheol that, in YeoRi’s eyes, he was only a convenient tool to get YG back. For 13 years, she ignored him, and she would have continued to ignore him, if she didn’t need his help to defeat the CS and rescue YG.

Most viewers think this was just a case of jealousy. But to me, it was more than that. It hurt him to realize that she had turned a blind eye to his suffering and a deaf ear to his pleas because she didn’t care a whit about him.

Off to bed now.