Things that bug me about this kdrama:
1. The social disparity in the King and his love interest, JiYeong
I’m only giving it pass because I get that I’m watching a kdrama, and I’m not a killjoy. But in real life, such social disparity in relationships is best avoided because of the unequal power dynamics it creates.
2. The King’s demands to be spoon-fed
I also get that the director and screenwriter want to show that King still pines for his deceased mother and longs for that maternal comfort, but to me there’s an unresolved Oedipus complex going on in these scenes. Nasty.
Moreover, these moments don’t strike me as romantic or erotic because of the power imbalance I mentioned above. It borders on sexual harassment from my point of view.
Same goes with his bare chest while dining. Ewww. I didn’t need to see that. The only reason I can think of for including that element in the show is to remind us that the historical Yeonsangun on which this character is based was debauched and depraved.
3. Vaseline
Oh brother!
Things that I like:
1. The sisterhood of JiYeong and GilGeom
GG isn’t just a convenient sidekick. She brings some things to the table, like her excellent nose for sniffing out hidden food ingredients, and her savoir faire. Though she appears to be a rustic girl, she knows her manners around high society, and reminds JiYeong of proper etiquette and standard courtesies of that era.
2. The King’s nascent jealousy
It’s a given that he’ll become jealous of this Yeonhuigun individual that JiYeong keeps bringing up in their conversation. I wonder how this will all play out.
3. The location of the Mangunrok
So, it’s not lost after all.
In Episode 2, the King had his guard retrieve her bag from the cliffside. But after ascertaining that it was the bag that JiYeong was looking for, he flung it back into the darkness. He told her, “Now, you have no reason to run away.”
In this episode (timestamp: 50:01), the bag, manuscript and passport are seen locked away in a cabinet. It’s good to know that her stuff isn’t exposed to the elements. I’m guessing the king ordered his guard to recover the bag without JiYeong’s knowledge, and he keeps it stashed in his chamber.
4. JiYeong’s imperviousness to bullying by the other chefs
I like that she went to the kitchen expecting the other chefs to sabotage her first day at work so she let them deal with their own chicanery.
That’s on point.
She couldn’t have risen to her elite status in the gastronomic circles if she couldn’t handle this garden-variety bullying in the food service industry.
5. JiYeong’s telepathic conversation with Mokju
She’s not fooled one bit by Mokju’s demure act because she knows history. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
6. Her “backers”
She has the Head Eunuch on her side and the Chief Royal Secretary Im, too. While it’s foolish to trust in Secretary Im completely, it’s still useful to have him around to run interference for her and to block obstacles from the Concubine Mokju.
He’ll also come in handy when Mokju’s own backer, that Grand Prince (Prince JeSeon?), shows his face.
7. The title: Course #3 Haute Cuisine
I said that the titles aren’t haphazard, right? They hint at the central theme(s) of the episode and plot movement.
To me, haute cuisine refers to three things:
a. The royal kitchen
The French for kitchen is “cuisine” and in this episode, JiYeong enters the royal kitchen, which is obviously the “highest” or premier kitchen in the land. Initially, she joined the staff as one of many chefs. But then, she’s quickly promoted by the king and declared the new chief royal cook.
b. “High cooking”
On a basic level, the haute cuisine introduces the king’s palate to new food, and we get to see food porn when the dishes are photographed so prettily.
I like that JiYeong shows the king how food is served sequentially. There’s the hors d’oeuvre (steak tartare), followed by the soup (pea soup), then the main course (viande).
There’s no strong spice in this meal like gochugang, or MSG. Everything is simply refined, served with the freshest ingredients and prepared in unique methods (or as JiYeong calls it “tableside service”). To me, those are the hallmarks of haute cuisine.
But on a higher level, the French cuisine introduces the king to culinary practices outside his known world. He’s exposed to new sensations, new experiences. And these will indirectly and gradually accustom him to open up to new ways of challenging the status quo and resolving conflicts.
Take for instance, his promotion of an unknown female to the rank of chief royal cook.
This riles the chefs in the royal kitchen because they aren’t used to women working in their midst. One of the chefs even suggests that JiYeong be treated like “nain” instead. (A “nain” is a generic term for female serving in the royal palace.)
But as far as the king is concerned, JiYeong is the best cook there is in the kingdom. She’s judged on merits, not sex, and she continues to astound him with every concoction she cooks for him.
Then, let’s look at the impromptu cooking competition organized by his concubine, Mokju. Because the king doesn’t want to lose his precious chef and her extraordinary dishes, he’s forced to step in to make the competition – and the punishment for defeat – equitable for all. That is, all losers lose an arm. Lol.
So he’s shaking up the royal court.
c. A proxy war
To me, the haute cuisine is a metaphor of the power struggle in King Yi Heon’s court.
His ministers and officials want JiYeong beheaded, but he refuses to be their puppet and defies them by installing her as chief royal cook. Then, his grandmother, the Queen Dowager, and his concubine also want to eliminate JiYeong, but he accuses the Queen Dowager of crossing the line as JiYeong is someone he’s chosen to work for him. She’s “his person.”
Note: The English-dubbed version on Netflix doesn’t include his statement so I’ll transcribe the English sub.
Dowager: Your Majesty, I have not seen you in a long time. I heard the gwinyeo became the chief royal cook, so I prepared a competition. Would you like to watch together?
King: Yes. I heard you are holding this competition for the arm of the gwinyeo I have appointed.
Dowager: You seem to care a great deal about her (fake chuckle) seeing that you came all the way here to face –
King: (coldly interrupting) You are the one who crossed the line first. She is my chief royal cook which means she is my person.
Dowager: All she has to do is win the competition. Then all will be well and settled. I heard the ministers objected to your appointing her as the chief royal cook. You must know their dismay will not die down unless something is done.
King: In that case, will the other cooks also lose their arms if they lose?
Dowager: The other cooks have already been recognized by the palace. They are not the same.
King: Where is the fun in that, Grandmother? As you said, all they have to do is win. It is only right to keep the rules fair.
Then he commands everybody, “Listen carefully! Other than the one cook who wins today, the rest will give up an arm. Do you understand? Bring in the straw cutters.”
That’s why I say that this haute cuisine is a proxy war. Although the king steps in to defend JiYeong from the ministers, his grandmother and his concubine, he’s also using JiYeong to show his dominance over these people. He’s indicating to them that the situation has changed. He’s no longer the young, helpless crown prince who witnessed his dear mother dragged away. Now, he has the power to protect “his person.”
However, as of this episode, he isn’t protecting her out of love. At least, not yet.
Rather, he’s sending a clear message to his ministers and the Dowager Queen that they should beware because he can do whatever he wants to do. And that includes putting an unknown gwinyeo as top chef in the most important kitchen in the land.
I think it’s a clever tie-in when JiYeong mentions the significance of deer as she feeds him the haute cuisine. She says, “Historically speaking, deer represents the king, and its tongue was considered one of the eight delicacies. That’s why the fight for royal power is called ‘chukrok,’ no?”
That’s all for now.
@Packmule3, my brief thoughts after having just finished this episode:
The bare-chested king during his evening meal may have been staged to show he is above worrying about decorum, especially in his own quarters. The staff waiting on him acted as if this is just more of the same: they didn’t behave as if they were scandalized. But I also think it was staging to hook viewers. I suppose the bare-chest scene is evidence Lee Chae Min isn’t yet in a strong position when negotiating a drama contract. If fan service isn’t something he’s able to eliminate from a role, I give him credit for making his presence in this scene about more than just a glimpse of his abs. I thought he looked menacing in his state of undress. From the beginning, Yeon Ji Yeong has worried about King Yi Heon’s reputation of forcibly using women for his own pleasure; his attire and posture as she entered his room compounded her concern.
I think Lee Chae Min is able to project a regal, powerful aspect even when the drama puts him in a slightly silly setting. That hideaway with entertainers, when he reveals himself as one of the dancers? As soon as he unmasked himself, he was in total control of the situation. Entering the courtyard where the Queen Dowager’s cooking competition was taking place? He commanded respect even when walking under that big, bouncy umbrella. I hope this actor is able to continue being multi-faceted in this role, showing both menace and vulnerability, absolute power and kindness, and so on. If he is all bad, with no redeeming qualities, we won’t care about him. But if he’s not convincingly tyrannical, this story loses its edge.
I’m happy to see excellent support actors in this drama; I hope the script does them justice. In Episode 3 I was disappointed that dialogue resorted to tell, don’t show. It made some characters remind me of stock Bond villains, explaining all their bad motivations and intentions. It came off as cartoonish.
The other thing I found cartoonish in Episode 3 was the amusing way characters behaved in what would generally be thought of as dire circumstances. As in Monte Python parlance, there’s a lot of nod, nod, wink wink. I suppose it’s a way of taking the edge off the consequences of a tyrant’s actions.
There have been a few remarks along the lines of “This is like a dream.” I’m betting this drama’s denouement involves Yeon Ji Yeong waking from a bump on the head and realizing that all she’d experienced in the Joseon era was from her subconscious. But wait! In her own time, on her return to South Korea, she’ll meet someone eerily familiar… (Maybe more than one, since she told Gil Geum she wanted to bring her to the future.)
Speaking of Gil Geum, the script made it clear there’d be a romantic connection between her and jester Gong Gil. As soon as I saw their meet cute, I heard in my head the Papageno & Papagena duet from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
@Welmaris I enjoyed your observations and comments. I am writing from the perspective of having finished episode 4.
You are so right about this actor’s need to be both regal and vulnerable. I was not sure he would be able to carry it off but we are seeing it more in these 2 episodes. The cooking contest scene is where I began to see him as commanding in the manner of a king. In some previous scenes where he is displaying cruelty, he seemed more like a teenage boy in his facial mannerisms, displaying no conflict or depth. The cooking contest scenes were also where I began to feel the connection between the leads.
I am happy( and hopeful) about a drama’s quality when I see so many excellent support actors. Many of the ministers are familiar, some of the concubines, the grandmother, the Queen, one of the era’s chefs( he often plays a middle level boss in the workplace and can be very funny), the chief secretary, and the eunuchs(how can I forget the eunuchs). I read recently that eunuchs often were powerful in the palace because, unlike ministers, they were much less likely to be demoted or killed so had longevity in the court. These 2 actors have had longevity as eunuchs-often displaying kindness, but occasionally are evil characters. I think the actress playing the evil concubine fits here role well. I am familiar with her as a gumiho in “My roommate is a gumiho.”
I am finding it dificult to not imagine the ending of this drama. Since the beginning episodes leaned so much into genre tropes, it is probably a good bet that the ending will as well. I wonder if that someone eerily familiar will be Professor Pierre, the academic who sent the Mangurok to her in Paris.
Perhaps she is in Joseon for a second time-having only changed history to a certain degree she is now tasked by supernatural forces to change his posthumous reputation. I believe the Mangunrok will be key and wrote more about this in the first impressions thread.
About jestor Gong Gil, it is of note(but probably not relevant to this drama) that he plays a love interest of the King in “The King and the Clown” a movie about this same despot.
About the bare chest, if it is fan service it is not working for me!
We see how the king does not seem to be in charge of his own court. I am wondering if this story will suggest that the evil deeds are less his doing and more a result of his not being able to be a strong ruler. Perhaps female lead gives him the strength to take charge because he wants to protect her and feels nourished by her. We shall see. He also
Has a strong backer in someone from the future.
This reminds me that I was particularly touched by the scene between the grandmother as a child and her mother- the last time she saw her mother. There is a similar scene of the female lead and her father eating a similar soup, I think, Or perhaps that was the noodle dish.
There is emotional closeness in those scenes. The scenes where he is being served dinner with his chest bared are emotionally distancing.
I have gone from being skeptical about this drama to not being able to wait for the next episode!
I am so into this show that I rewatch each pair of episodes somewhere around Wednesday.
There is a webnovel but I dont care. HEA or not, its all about the ride for me. Always.
Love the meals being explained, and the visuals accompanying taste. Never get tired of flames filling the sidewise take on the actorses pupils.
Want to know about each meal, get anxious if the script hops over one. what happened to his night time snack? Thrown onto the floor? Fie!
When he snacked on her, that slow movement of his hand just a little way down her torso…flames.
@IF Such a small movement with his hand and so much Feeling communicated!
I was thinking it seemed a little early in the Romance.And of course like many I am not that fond of a drunken kiss especially when only one person has been drinking. However, I think The romance will be moving on now in the plot.Yea!
@ibisfeather and @monmor, there is much more wrong with the kiss at the end of Episode 4 than the king’s drunkenness: there’s a huge imbalance of power between the ML and the FL: her life and livelihood depend on his whims. She’s put in a compromising position in front of the king’s attendants, and there’s nothing she can do to avoid the embarrassment of his public display of affection. (Although with the tyrant’s reputation of using women as objects, only plot development can explain why palace observers put so much store in this particular dalliance of his.)
I think the perspective depends on what one anticipates will happen in the plot.
I want to see him( The character in the drama not the real life Historical king) as Someone who will change in this drama.So I anticipate a romance. However, that may not be the case.
I am ambivalent about just how evil he is in the drama. It did look like he was ready to cut the arms off those two chefs. Is he so evil with women though? Maybe we have seen that and I have missed it or is it the reputation of the historical king?
I would like to think he was not really ready to cut off their arms but who knows?! Perhaps it is just wishful thinking on my part.
It’s very interesting watching that scene just how ambiguous the production/story is about that kiss. Is his vulnerability in those moments with the FL, his tears and his new valuing of her being presented as something that equalises or at least reduces the power imbalance a bit.
The FL looks at him steadily with a look of understanding. Again, obvious massive power imbalance aside, is the show trying to present a story within the bigger historical story?
I ask because it wasn’t clear when we watched that scene. Ep 5 will no doubt reveal more.
Those straw cutters being marched in and prominently displayed were an ironic nod to the glitzy televised cooking competition Yeon Ji Yeong won in the first episode: except instead of the winner hoisting a trophy over her head, the two losers would lose their arms.
From the beginning of Episode 3 to the end of Episode 4, viewers come full circle with the king and his abs, with contrasts highlighting the king’s state of mind. In the beginning, being partially undressed before Yeon Ji Yeong is consciously done, his intent being to impress her with with his power. He’s not constrained by the etiquette expected of all his underlings. He projects animalistic vigor. The next instance of his undress that Yeon Ji Yeong witnesses, the king is out of control. His undress is dishevelment, a symptom of incapacity. At least temporarily, his mind and body have succumbed to chaos.
@Welmaris I like your thoughts about the significance of the straw cutters.
Yes, there have been hints that he is a mad King And it is interesting to think about his level of dishevelment reflecting his psychological state.
@Kate I like your comment about the drama trying to present a story within a larger historical story.Because I also think that is what is being done.
Taking that thought a little further, there are aspects of this story: the academic
Who sends her the mangunrok, the questions about who wrote it and whether it is in classical chinese or hangul, That makes me think about the recording of history And who records it. As we all know, history, mostly as we know it was handed down from male writers about “male events”. It is not at all about how women lived and what women experienced. A book about recipes would Be more likely to reflect women’s experience .
Loving this discussion – @Monmor I hope your reading of the story is further developed in the show. That will really make for a fascinating encounter with this historic period. It will make the FL the disruptor who both influences history from the inside of the Royal Court and allows us, with her, to glimpse some of the humanity concealed beneath the received historic narrative.
@Welmaris also liking your points re the ironic nod to the French TV Chef Competition – haha – and the powerful symbolism of dishevelment.
Well done, @Welmaris!
Is this the only drama site where instead of salivating over the king’s abs puerilely, we discuss the possible intentions of the director and screenwriter for such display? 😂
But I see what you mean. When he first showed up for dinner bare-chested, it seemed to be in defiance, arrogance, superiority. He can flout rules and conventions because he’s the king. “Cry more, plebeians!”
But the second time he did so, the situation was different. He was in distress. He might be a king, but he also looked like a kid having a meltdown and didn’t know what to do.
I thought it was interesting though that he didn’t recognize JiYeong but he deduced she was the one walking out behind the rest because of the blue hair tie she wore.