My thoughts of a few things:

1. Historicity or the historical authenticity of the drama

I’m neither a historian nor literature major so I can only give as much creative license to kdrama screenwriters as I do Shakespeare. I accord The Bard the freedom to pen and embellish historically accurate events like Henry V rallying his troops on St. Crispin’s Day with his speech or Mark Anthony turning the Roman public against Julius Caesar’s assassins with his rhetoric.

In the same vein, I allow the screenwriter of “To My Beloved Thief” to thrill us viewers with a romantic snippet like this in Episode 8 –

EunJo: Why are you following me?
Yi Yeol: Well, if you sumble into a ditch, I’ll pull you out. If you have a drink, I’ll pour you another. If you cry, I thought I could pat your back.

even though I know that historically, the Grand Prince succeeded his tyrannical half-brother as King Jungjong and was married THREE times. (And no, I’m not going to count the concubines…) So much for happily-ever-after, right?

The first of his wives was deposed Queen Dangyeong who was featured in that kdrama “Queen for 7 Days,” starring Park MinYoung.

Legend has it that, during her exile, the Queen hung a skirt like a signal to King Jungjong (another Bat Signal!) that all was well with her and that she loved him still.

His second wife was Queen Janggyeong whom the King deeply admired and respected as recorded in the Palace Annals. She died at childbirth.

From wiki, on the subject of Queen Janggyeong’s death.

The King was deeply grieved and lamented, saying, ‘It is said that extreme joy brings sorrow. How can there be such a great national celebration and yet such an unforeseen tragedy? Although life and death are determined by heaven, how could heaven take away my virtuous queen so early?’ He could not stop mourning. He then instructed the State Council, ‘Having lost my virtuous queen so early, my mind is in turmoil, and I am at a loss. I cannot make decisions. Except for matters related to mourning, suspend all other reports.’ Inside the palace, there was no one who did not grieve deeply.”

I didn’t care to read about the third queen, because I’m assuming that our heroine EunJo would become one of the first two wives (or neither one, lol).

So, yes, although a part of me can admire Yi Yeol’s resolve and steadfastness in his man-to-man conversation with EunJo’s father, a part of me highly doubts the outcome of his declaration.

I’ll go over that conversation now.

YY: I apologize to you on behalf of His Majesty. I’ve nothing but sincerity –-
Father: I dislike that sincerity.

Meaning, he would prefer that the Grand Prince was insincere because then, a) he would leave his daughter alone and b) all their problems would be nipped in the bud.

Father: Those around you would become His Majesty’s hostages. If Your Highness is sincere, His Majesty will use it against you easily. I will not force EunJo into the palace where only death awaits. Especially if it’s a wedding.

No doubt he would rather see EunJo working as a servant in the palace than living as a Grand Prince’s consort. In his mind, being married to the Grand Prince is a fate equal to – if not worse than – death.

YY: If that’s the reason, I will protect her even if I have to leave the palace.

That’s noble of him. He’ll renounce his title and family ties and go on exile with her. But what about his mother, the Queen Dowager? Will he forsake her, too? I thought he had been doing “nothing” all his life to protect her, and now he was just going to abandon her because he’s found the love of his life? But on second thought, didn’t the Queen Dowager instruct him, “From now on, live for one woman. Not for me”?

Father: No. Please do nothing. This is the only way to protect EunJo.
YY: (undeterred) If I say I must…If I still insist on marrying her…
Father: If you insist, then I will threaten EunJo with my own death. If you proceed despite everything, I will truly end my life to stop it.

Ugh! Emotional backmailer! He just pulled the “I’ll kill myself!” card. I’m inured to kdrama mothers threatening their son with suicide/self-harm, but I believe this is the first time I’ve seen a father use this tactic to get his way. Does anybody else have problems reconciling this weak, ineffectual and emotional blackmailing father with the image of a strong minister presented by the Buddhist nun (“There wasn’t a single soul in the capital beyond Lord Hong Min Jik’s protection”) and the Grand Prince (“He once served as the Minister of War. The battles he won in the north was beyond counting.”)?

Father: Please help me, so that I do not end up hurting EunJo as well.

Checkmate! Yi Yeol knows what a glutton for martyrdom EunJo is. She won’t bear to see her father dead because she opts to find happiness with Yi Yeol.

For now, I’m open to the possibility of an Unhappily-Ever-After finale for our couple. Yi Yeol can marry Eunjoo but she’ll be deposed within seven days or she’ll die at childbirth after a few years of marriage.

Yi Yeol himself predicted the unhappy fate of his consort waaaay back in Episode 1. Remember his conversation with the daughter of the corrupt Chief Inspector? I assume it’s a foreshadowing. 🤨

YY: Stabbing, killing, blood splattering…there’s no elegance in it. Do you enjoy it?
Daughter: How could a woman possibly enjoy the sight of blood?
YY: Oh dear! To become the Grand Prince’s wife, you must be able to. Struggle and scheming are fundamental skills in the royal family.

The Chief Inspector tried to change the topic, but Yi Yeol refused, calling the old man out for feigning ignorance.

YY: Why pretend not to know? It only embarrasses us both. (turning back to the daughter) If you were to bear a prince, he would be a threat to the crown prince. One day, he might be found dead by poison, or murdered, made to look like suicide. You probably know this much already… Or perhaps accused of treason.
Chief Inspector: You’re going too far with your words!
YY: (savagely) Even if, through that bloody struggle, I become King and you become Queen, you would soon be deposed.
Daughter: Why is that?
YY: Your family has wealth, but not a political powerhouse, so protecting the Inner Palace wouldn’t be easy. A king cannot simply be a husband. What a king must protect is not his woman, but the throne itself. Your father would know. Since he deposed His Majesty’s mother.

This tells me that, from the beginning, Yi Yeol is fully cognizant of the problems and risks of being the Grand Prince’s consort. However, now that he’s fallen in love for the first time, he’s inudiciously thrown all caution to the wind.

It’ll be interesting to see a) whether he’ll choose the girl or the throne, b) whether he’ll follow through with his romantic words or weasel out when the going gets tough, and c) whether he’ll live for her or sacrifice her because royal duty calls.

2. Re. the Name

Veteran viewers of kdramas know these four things about the legend of Hong GilDong.

One, he’s the Korean equivalent of Robin Hood, that is, he steals from the rich to give to the poor. Two, he’s also the Korean equivalent of Superman with magical superpowers. Three, he’s the issue of a minister and a low-born woman, like the heroine Hong EunJo and villain-in-the-making Im JaeYi.

And four, the Hong sisters adapted the folktale and made it into their kdrama “Hong Gildong” (2008).

In this kdrama, we’re given a version of the origin story (or creation story) of the legendary Gil Dong. Remember Episode 1? EunJo didn’t come up with the name Gil Dong for herself. She was surprised to hear that folks started to call the mysterious person who was giving aid to the poor folks by that name.

Chief Investigator: They say people call him Gil Dong. “A companion on the road.” Shortened to Gil Dong?
Assistant: There’s also a rumor it means “a lifeline on the street.”
Chief Investigator: What a headache! Buried under rumors, the case has become a mystery.

In Korean, “gil” literally means “road” or “path” and “dong” means “neighborhood.”

The people coined the name Gil Dong for EunJo. All she did was to leave her drawings as a calling card. Obviously, she left these “calling cards” in order to shift blame to her and to save the servants from being suspected of thievery and punished for her deeds.

She herself had mixed feelings about her chosen course of action. On one hand, she felt she had to do something for her poor patients when her medicine couldn’t heal their bodies because of their hungry stomachs. But on the other hand, she felt guilty for stealing. She didn’t start out thinking that she was out to save the world.

To me, that’s the function of the Buddhist nun in the plot. Whether EunJo likes it or now, the nun will harness the rumors circulating about Gil Dong to use as some sort of propaganda to manipulate public opinion. She’ll mythologize the rumors because she believes the people need a superhero to uplift them during these trying times. She just needs a name to unite the people and Gil Dong is the most convenient one.

Buddhist Nun: A divine being. Perhaps a god is what we need. I want to know all rumors about Gil Dong.

But the thing is these rumors are an amalgamation of different circumstances. Though many good deeds were indeed due to EunJo, the latest delivery of rice to the Gujilmak neighborhood was sent by the Grand Prince. As for the dead Gil Dong, he was a fake one hired by Im first son to disrupt and end the investigation around the suspicious death of the corrupt Chief Investigator.

The rumors – like today’s AI – are making it hard to tell truth from fiction.

3. Jealousy

I like the jealousy tropes in these two episodes although they play into the stereotypes.

The Grand Prince straight away sensed that Jae Yi was interested in EunJo. In Episode 6, he was mulling over what he would do to his rival if he so much as touched her.

YY as Eunjo: The punk is really getting under my skin. So! He’s been harboring feelings for her all this time. Anyway, if he lays even a finger on this body…

In Episode 7, he gave her a latch, spinning her a story about a wolf spotted near the annex where she lived. He also warned her to lock her door tightly when she slept. Of course, she didn’t get that he meant a metaphoric wolf named Jae Yi.

In both these instances, he showed his jealousy by protecting his interests, i.e., EunJo, from another competitor/challenger.

In Episode 8, he challenged Jae Yi to a duel. This is on par with how men generally show jealousy: physical aggression.

JaeYi: (interrupting YY’s proposal) Don’t take his hand! You can’t go. Not until you die in this house.
YY: Move aside.
JaeYi: Unlike the noble Grand Prince, I’m a lowly fellow who easily turns petty.

Bravo, JaeYi! This audacity is often reserved for kdrama heroes. Nothing gets in the male lead’s way. However, given that JaeYi is only the SECOND male lead in this drama, his behavior smacks of insolence. Do you understand the difference? If JaeYi had been the male lead, his subtle challenge to the Grand Prince would have been viewed as boldness or bad-assery, and we the audience would have been cheering him on. But JaeYi was the 2ML, therefore his show of boldness would be considered an effrontery, that is, he had NO right to disrespect the Grand Prince’s authority.

JaeYi: She’s the lady of this house. No one crosses this threshold unless they’re dead.

Hmmm…I’m not sure if the translation is exact but it must be noted that JaeYi referred to EunJo as LADY of the house. Perhaps it’s because he took to heart the warning that Yi Yeol (as EunJo) gave him to respect his elders and stop using the words “eolnyeo” and “concubine” to refer to EunJo.

YY: If I get petty, everyone in this house, except Hong EunJo, will cross the threshold dead. Dae Chu! Sword!
Dae Chu: (tossing him the sword)
YY: Bring it on.

I like how he escalates the situation in zero seconds. I guess, he’s been spoiling for a fight ever since he saw JaeYi’s half-brother manhandling EunJo.

YY: Strip away your rank. Discard your status. Drop the formal speech.

Meaning, no holds barred. He’s daring JaeYi to do his best to defeat because he’s ready to trounce him and teach him a lesson.

JaeYi: Could you even fight?
YY: Too much talking.
EunJo: (talking to YY) What are you doing? Just go.
YY: I tend to clash if provoked.
JaeYi: That’s the only thing I like about you.
EunJo: Officer Seo! Are you just going to stand and watch?
Seo: Men grow by fighting each other.
JaeYi: If I win, Hong EunJo won’t leave this house until she dies here.
YY: If I win, Hong EunJo will live long and well under my roof.

Another thing. Men typically show jealousy by “territorial marking.” JaeYi declared ownership, i.e., that EunJo belongs to HIS family but Yi Yeol countered by saying that she would live under his roof.

Then they begin dueling. See that? Yi Yeol showed his jealousy by showing off his strength, power, and superiority over his rival. This need to show dominance is typical of jealous men attempting to secure their love interest.

In contrast, this was how EunJo showed jealousy.

a. Withdrawing from his company/Running away from him

They had a chance encounter with JiYeon, the daughter of the Chief State Counselor Han Seung Rok (I guess he was the current prime minister) in the medical storeroom.

EunJo really had no reason to be jealous because a) Yi Yeol didn’t even remember the girl, and b) it’s been rumored that he rejected all the ladies in the capital. But she showed her jealousy when she left Hyeminseo in a snit. She walked out and didn’t wait for him. She also wouldn’t let him carry her medical kit.

b. Using reverse psychology

EJ: Listen. You should seek someone worthy of you, Grand Prince.
YY: Why look elsewhere when you’re right here, perfectly healthy? Who else?

Lol. “Perfectly healthy”? What an unromantic thing to say! It sounds as if he’s inspecting a brooding mare.

EJ: Don’t play dumb. Someone like the daughter of the Chief State Councilor.

A jealous woman is likely to confront the man about her “rival” but in a subtle, indirect way. Although she secretly resents it, EunJo is encouraging the Grand Prince to be with “other woman” because the other woman is a more suitable match for him. She naturally feels inadequate because she’s the daughter of an impoverished ex-Minister of War.

But her reverse psychology doesn’t work on Yi Yeol.

YY: Are you jealous?
EJ: I’m not!

Yes, a jealous woman is also likely to deny her emotion.

Thankfully, Yi Yeol attempts to diffuse the situation.

YY: She was a woman I met out of obligation to Mother. Just once.
EJ: I didn’t even ask.
YY: You could at least pretend to be curious.
EJ: I’m saying this for your sake, Grand Prince.
YY: If you truly care about me, make me some chicken soup.
EJ: Ask the head chef in the royal kitchen to make the chicken soup.

Yes, a jealous woman is also likely to shut the guy out and give him the “silent treatment” rather than challenge him to a duel. EunJo is pettily refusing to make chicken soup for Yi Yeol and runs away.

It’s noteworthy that neither EunJo nor Yi Yeol have reasons to be jealous because the other person isn’t interested in the other persons.

4. JaeYi

I gave my first impressions of him here: To My Beloved Thief: The Difference Between Eunjo and JaeYi

While we’re getting the hero Gil Dong’s origin story in this drama, we’re also seeing the villain origin story. The key elements of villain origin story are there: trauma, resentment, great brains, motivation, and now unrequited love as catalyst.

I’d be interested to see in the next episode whether he’ll take up the offer of his older brother

Older Bro: But why must Hong Min Jik cause trouble precisely when Father is away?
JY: Where did the land that supposedly covered their debts come from?
OB: It’s his cousin’s. That wench should be kept within our household.
JY: Why must that be?
OB: Father is keeping Hong Min Jik in check. She’s kind of a hostage.
JY: Then wouldn’t it still work even if it weren’t Grandfather?
OB: What are you saying?
JY: Just proceed with the original arrangements.
OB: What arrangements? Take that venomous girl as my concubine? Are you insane? Wait. What about you doing it instead of me?

Honestly, this whole dialogue sounds suspicious to me. I can’t believe that JY didn’t realize sooner that he could actually step in as her husband. After all, EunJo previously lied that he was her fiancé.