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Six Flying Dragons: Episode 28

There’s a lot to take in this hour with all the political moving and shaking going on, not to mention the introduction of new key players in what seems like the ever-growing Nameless organization. Who, what, where, why, and how are all questions you’ll find yourself asking this episode, and if you happen to find any answers, pass them my way. Keeping track of everyone is hard enough, but trying to do it when Moo-hyul has such adorkable scenes dedicated to perking up our resident people’s general is no small task sometimes. First world problems, amirite?

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Jung Jinwoon – “Psycho” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 28 RECAP

After recognizing the woman, Bang-ji and Jung Do-jeon take too long to give chase, effectively losing her and the grandmother she was escorting. Grabbing Bang-ji’s arm, Jung Do-jeon confirms that they saw the same woman. “My mother…” Bang-ji murmurs, a bit distantly. “My mother was here.”

A thorough search of the temple yields nothing of value, leaving Bang-ji frustrated that the mother he’s spent a decade looking for disappeared in the blink of an eye. Jung Do-jeon reminds him that all hope isn’t lost—they captured one of Gil Sun-mi’s men alive, and his interrogation might give them the clues they need.

Debate rages on in the dodang as to whether the land surveying should continue when anyone who volunteers gets killed, though Jung Do-jeon calls Jung Mong-joo out afterward on his silence. Jung Mong-joo claims he couldn’t support the land reform in good conscience since he knows what it’ll lead to, and he still doesn’t agree with his old friend on his end goal.

But Jung Do-jeon argues that he’s not pushing for the reform in order to achieve his greater goal, adding that it’s for the good of the nation as it stands. Jung Mong-joo sighs heavily and admits he’s trying to understand Jung Do-jeon’s position, which isn’t too bad of a start.

In order to find those responsible for the murders, Jung Do-jeon asks if Jung Mong-joo has any idea who sent him the letter leading him to the New Joseon Cave. The mere mention of the word Nameless strikes fear into Jung Mong-joo’s heart, since he’d thought the organization was just a myth.

“They exist,” Jung Do-jeon replies emphatically. Moreover, even if it’s not Nameless, they’re still getting played by someone or something that doesn’t want the land reformation to pass.

Walking alone, Jung Do-jeon thinks of an old proverb: “Hardships seldom come alone. One calamity follows on the heels of another.” Those problems being the difficulty with the investigation, the land reform delay, and Jung Mong-joo’s terrible timing in finding out about his plan for a new nation.

“No… actually, there’s only one problem,” Jung Do-jeon revises his earlier thought. “Nameless. It’s Nameless.”

Bang-ji is overeager to begin interrogating the monks of the temple in order to learn about his mother’s whereabouts, sure that her disappearance had to have been aided somehow.

Jung Do-jeon knows that he’s keen to find his mother and that finding Nameless will lead to her, but reminds him that he can’t lose sight of their greater cause. If it’s too difficult for him to remain objective, Jung adds, then he can step back and leave the sleuthing to them.

Bang-ji wastes no time in telling his sister that their mother is alive, that he saw her with his own eyes. The news comes as such a shock to Boon-yi that she has to sit down, and her brother helps her find a seat and her bearings.

He promises his sister that he’s not the person he used to be, and that he’ll root out Nameless and rescue their mother. A tear snakes down Boon-yi’s cheek as she tells him that their mother might not need to be saved, which is a concept he can’t bring himself to understand.

“Mother… wasn’t kidnapped,” she finally says with great difficulty. The night their mother disappeared, she begins to explain, she was awake enough to see what was happening while her brother slept.

In flashback, we see a man tattooed with the Nameless insignia approach Yeon-hyang with a code phrase, which she responds to with an equally coded reply: “He who is nameless shall never disappear.” It’s like watching a sleeper cell get activated, which I suppose is exactly the point.

The next day, the man returned to ask their mother what her answer was, and she’d replied that she would cut all ties with her children. And the next morning, she was gone.

Boon-yi had wanted so badly to believe their mother had been kidnapped so she wouldn’t be faced with the more horrible truth that their mother had coldly abandoned them, and so she never told her brother what she saw.

Her brother also likes to live in denial, since he stops her there on the basis that she must be remembering things wrong—she was only eight at the time, after all. Her resentment at not having a mother must’ve caused her to make up such a memory, he reasons, though Boon-yi knows better.

“I have to find her,” Bang-ji says resolutely. “If what you’re saying is true, it’s all the more reason to find her. I have to find her and ask her why she did that.” Boon-yi just cries, afraid of where this all might lead.

Moo-hyul’s grandmother finds Boon-yi sniffling after the exchange, and sheepishly admits that she overheard their conversation. She sits down to comfort the poor girl, knowing that keeping such a secret for so long must have been terrible for her.

“Still, your mother must have had a reason,” she ventures as she pats Boon-yi’s shoulder. “Being a mother is like that. She wouldn’t have done that without a reason.” For Boon-yi and Bang-ji’s sake, I hope Grandma’s right.

While making their overnight walk back to the temple where Bang-ji spotted his mother, Yeon-hee has similar reassurances for Bang-ji based on what little she remembers of their mother. She wouldn’t have abandoned her children, and as for Boon-yi, Yeon-hee reasons that she’s just trying to protect her brother.

They stop for a moment, and Bang-ji can’t help but offer Yeon-hee a soft smile at her comforting words. She grows uncomfortable and keeps walking, effectively ending their Moment.

Team Land Reform (for the moment) gets stonewalled again when no one shows up for the next dodang assembly to decide on which officials should be sent to do the surveying. Jo Joon threatens Minister Woo and his ilk to shape up and show up or get impeached for stealing land, though what they really need is Jung Mong-joo’s support before the rest will follow.

Since part of the deal Lee Seong-gye and Jung Do-jeon made was that the deposed King Woo couldn’t return to the capital until the land reformation had passed, we find the mad king with three sinister advisors at his house/place of exile in Yeoju.

They get him thinking that his life would be much better without Lee Seong-gye, and one presents a nameless man as a “gift” King Woo could give the great general. The man gives only his family name and his hometown, which the king instantly recognizes.

To add to the mystery, the elderly maidservant at the king’s beck and call proves to be none other than the Nameless Grandma, who gives a knowing look to the king’s advisor. (I don’t know who any of these people are!)

Sitting together in the empty dodang assembly hall, Jung Mong-joo pours his heart out to Jung Do-jeon about how conflicted he feels. The reforms his longtime friend spoke of are ones he’s always dreamed of, but now that he’s faced with taking action to implement them, he can’t bring himself to do it.

“No matter how much I think about it, it’s treason,” he reasons, though he still doesn’t look convinced. When Jung Do-jeon asks why he hasn’t just reported them then, Jung Mong-joo says he hasn’t out of fear that Goryeo will lose a precious opportunity for real change if it loses them.

“Then join us,” Jung Do-jeon pleads. Jung Mong-joo is essential to their cause, since without him, the new nation he’s dreamed of could be doomed from the start. He swears to do everything he can to convince Poeun in the end, but more pressing is the land reformation. He needs his support.

So Jung Mong-joo asks him to make a promise he simply can’t make: that if he can’t be convinced in the end, Jung Do-jeon won’t move forward with overthrowing Goryeo.

The land reformation debate comes back to the dodang, and the same arguments are put forward by both sides. Only Jung Mong-joo is capable of turning the tide, which he finally does by standing and addressing Jung Do-jeon with a question: “Can you promise me?” Of all the things to ask him!

None of the other ministers know what they’re talking about, but all wait with bated breath for the outcome. At last Jung Do-jeon relents, “Yes, I promise.”

With that, Jung Mong-joo declares that the land surveying will move forward regardless of the inherent risks. They’ll pay extra attention to security for the officials who’ve already volunteered to go (meaning Jung Mong-joo planned for this outcome), and the dodang will give Jung Do-jeon and Jo Joon their full support for the land reform.

Now that they have Jung Mong-joo’s support as long as Jung Do-jeon keeps his promise, Jung Mong-joo tells him and Lee Seong-gye what sounds like music to my ears: “The reformation has to be done confidently, in the open, instead of in darkness.” For a start, he says, they can get out of that dank cave and move their operations to Dohwa Manor. (Hooray for hopefully better-lit scenes to come!)

Even though Dohwa Manor had a bad reputation before, by staging their reformation from there, Jung Mong-joo plans to turn it from a negative symbol into a positive one. But Jung Do-jeon wonders if his old friend just wants out of that cave because he’s so bothered by the map on the wall of New Joseon.

While news of the mysterious promise made reaches Ha Ryun (who thinks that Jung Mong-joo must know something Jung Do-jeon doesn’t want him to reveal), it reaches Bang-won too. It doesn’t bother him at first, since he thinks Jung Do-jeon made the promise without meaning to carry it through, only to be corrected by the man himself.

“I will convince him,” Jung Do-jeon says, which only riles Bang-won up: “How can this great cause be shaken by one man’s opinion?” He’s mistaken in that belief, since Jung has to remind him that it’s not just Jung Mong-joo they need to sway. If he comes to their side, the sadaebu, scholars, and students who follow him will come too.

And they need all those people to become the foundation of their new nation. Jung Mong-joo spent many years teaching students and raising them into worthy scholars, so if they lose their support with Jung Mong-joo, who will be left to manage the country?

“We can just raise them again. New people are born every day,” Bang-won replies bluntly, causing a visible tightening of Jung Do-jeon’s features. He basically tells the young dragon what a stupid thing that was to say, emphasizing that raising talented men takes decades. And losing a generation of educated men means they’ll lose a hundred years worth of knowledge.

If they were to lose that, Jung Do-jeon adds, then there’d be no point in creating a new nation at all. They’d have no foundation to build it on. But Bang-won is nothing if not persistent, and asks, “What do we do if Poeun has other ideas?”

Young-kyu keeps tabs on Jung Mong-joo’s movements, following him to Prince Jungchang’s residence. Inside, the prince proposes to the gisaeng Yoon-rang, promising to give her his whole heart even though she isn’t his first wife. (I really don’t know what to make of their romantic interludes. All I end up feeling is mildly confused.)

Jung Mong-joo congratulates the prince for taking on a second wife, though he runs into some difficulty convincing him to take up politics. The prince is uninterested in palace life, preferring to live simply instead.

Bang-won’s interrupted from his thoughts of Jung Do-jeon lauding how only Jung Mong-joo can bring legitimacy to their reform by Grandma and Master Hong talking about the gift King Woo is preparing to give at an oddly specific date and time, which shouldn’t be at all suspicious.

He finds out that Jung Mong-joo paid a visit to the prince and is not happy about it, while Jung Do-jeon & Co. move operations to the newly refurbished (and brightly lit!) Dohwa Manor. But Officer Nam comes running with news that their captive has finally opened his mouth.

Bang-ji and Yeon-hee’s search of the temple yields nothing, which is strange in and of itself. Knowing that three people couldn’t have disappeared without help from the monks, Bang-ji says he’ll stick around to see if he uncovers anything new. Both seem unaware that they’re being watched, and the color of the hanbok seems to point to Gil Sun-mi.

It turns out the captive is talking, but it’s not anything Jung Do-jeon or Officer Nam wants to hear. He fears for his life too much to reveal anything about Nameless, and seems eerily sure that if he holds out and reveals nothing, he’ll be rescued.

Gil Sun-mi approaches Bang-ji in secret to tell him he’s wasting his time staking out the temple when there’s nothing here. The only reason he came to the temple in the first place was to follow Bang-ji, because he has something to pass onto him.

He knows that Bang-ji desperately wants to meet his mother, so he gives him a place, time, and date to see her. The conditions are that he must come alone and tell no one, or else he’ll lose his only chance to see her.

Afterward, Gil Sun-mi seems reluctant to report that he’s done as asked to a nobleman introduced as YOOKSAN (Ahn Suk-hwan). The swordsman seems to think they’ve taken things too far, but Yooksan reminds him that they’re just doing as He tells them and adds a peculiar phrase, “One must break the ash flower’s stem before it blooms.” The nameless “gift” follows close behind.

Bang-ji decides not to tell Boon-yi about his scheduled meeting with Mommy Dearest, while Bang-won informs Jung Do-jeon that Jung Mong-joo met with Prince Jungchang, meaning that he has ulterior motives.

Jung Do-jeon is enraged to learn that Bang-won’s been keeping tabs on Jung Mong-joo, despite Bang-won’s insistence that he can’t trust him so easily. “Whether you trust him or not is of no importance!” Jung Do-jeon yells. “I trust him, and he trusts me!” From now on, Bang-won is to have no involvement whatsoever with Poeun, and Bang-won seems to acquiesce. For now.

But Jung Do-jeon is forced to ask Bang-won for ideas in getting their captive to talk, which forces Bang-won to stop pouting. He advises that they use a method that’s worked for them before, by “allowing” the prisoner to escape. It may lead them to nothing, but it saves them from wasting more time.

Jung Do-jeon sees this as a good opportunity to get Bang-won’s mind off Jung Mong-joo, and assigns him to lead the operation. Boon-yi’s extensive network will act as support, but she’s abstaining for personal reasons.

Moo-hyul decides to confront her about her behavior, and in the politest way possible, calls her strange. He doesn’t understand how she can be so depressed when this plan might allow her to meet the mother she hasn’t seen for over a decade, since he’d be happy about something like that.

“I didn’t know my mother or father,” he begins. They passed away when he was nine or about, he explains, though he doesn’t remember anything but Grandma crying. “I don’t know anything, just that they died.”

But he still manages to smile when he adds that he’s always hoped he could see them in his dreams, if only just once. Boon-yi hopes that his wish will come true, though Moo-hyul returns to the focus to her by saying that she’ll get to meet her mother in the real world, and not a dream. The mother she once thought was dead, no less. “It must be nice,” he sighs.

When Boon-yi’s face doesn’t brighten like he hoped it would, he ventures the sweetest guess as to why: “Ah, is it that you feel bad to see your mom when I can’t ever see mine?” Boon-yi offers him a small smile and thanks him sincerely, knowing that his attempts to comfort her means he’s a very kind person.

It’s adorable how Moo-hyul flushes at such a simple compliment, though he makes sure to remind Boon-yi that he’s envious that she can at least hope to see her mother again. The Boon-yi he knows wouldn’t entrust such a task to anyone else, but would have taken the lead. Hint hint.

He confesses that it’s tough to see her not be the strong general everyone’s used to, though he promises to do well in the operation in her stead. But he just has one more question, “Why are you afraid of hope?” At her downtrodden expression, he decides that waiting for an answer would be a bad idea and takes his leave.

So Operation: Prisoner Escape begins, with Bang-won’s team dropping a key into his cell along with a forged letter bearing Nameless’ red seal. Since the captive believed the organization would rescue him, he doesn’t think twice about using the key to unlock his cell door.

In order to make it believable, Young-kyu rallies the guards to chase down the escapee, only they have strict orders not to capture him. Instead, they chase him so he ends up on the roads Bang-won wants him on, so that he thinks it’s just chance when he comes upon Moo-hyul and a cart in the dark.

Bang-won planned on the prisoner using the cart as a hiding place, but no one planned on the assassin that springs from the shadows. He slashes the captive’s chest before Moo-hyul can intercept him.

The captive escapes on foot, while Young-kyu and Bang-gwa’s forces nearby spring into action at the sound of swords clashing. The assassin fends off Moo-hyul’s attacks fairly well before fleeing, leaving them with no trace of the assassin or the escaped prisoner.

Boon-yi accidentally happens upon the bleeding escapee, too weak to keep going on. Since Nameless has obviously abandoned him (and tried to kill him), he gives Boon-yi intel he’d been holding in. It’s the same thing Yooksan said to Gil Sun-mi, “One must break the ash flower’s stem before it blooms.” And then he tells her a date, the fifth of this month.

He dies, and the assassin responsible appears out of the shadows, ready to kill her for hearing too much. Thinking fast, Boon-yi remembers the code phrase that she overheard when her mother was approached by the Nameless man.

She looks straight into his eyes and repeats it: “He who was not there in the beginning exists forever.” The effect is immediate, with the man lowering his sword parrots back the same phrase her mother repeated when she heard it, which is, “He who is nameless shall never disappear.”

 
COMMENTS

Looks like Boon-yi won’t be able to get out of that family reunion after all. It’s ironic and oddly fitting that she might end up being the first to meet her mother when she seemed so against the idea, and for reasons no one can fault her for, either. Except it’s not just about her mother anymore, but about how deep she might get into an organization that grows more menacing by the day.

I was really glad for Moo-hyul’s surprisingly intuitive and genuine take on Boon-yi’s very real familial struggle, since Bang-ji is about as good at reading emotions as a blind hamster sometimes. Every time he stresses that he isn’t the same person he used to be, he’s usually being exactly that person, and his lack of self-awareness when it comes to that would be frustrating if it didn’t come from such an innocent place.

He just really couldn’t be more polar opposite from his sister if he tried, since he’s still very much a naive boy at heart no matter how honed his killing skills have become. Boon-yi lived a hard life and lived it mostly on her own once her brother left, so of course she’d end up being the more jaded and worldly of the two siblings. Even so, it’s still amazing how Bang-ji never even considered that his mother maybe hasn’t been held captive for all these years.

Then again, I guess he had no reason to suspect his mother of anything else, so it doesn’t seem so unnatural that he’d react to Boon-yi’s revelation by flat-out not believing her. But that same problem of not seeing the forest for the trees is likely going to haunt him when it comes to Gil Sun-mi, since it very much seemed like Bang-ji is going to walk into that trap with his eyes wide open. How he’ll react to the truth is anyone’s guess, though. And that all depends on what the truth actually is.

It was interesting to see that Gil Sun-mi may still have a conscience somewhere, since I’ve been unsure of what to think of him ever since it was revealed that he works for Nameless. This hour put forth so many theories with that organization that I won’t even begin to try to parse them out here, and will just say instead that Jung Do-jeon’s promise to Jung Mong-joo was a major, major deal. Somehow though, I get the feeling that it’s a promise he won’t ever get to keep, not as long as Bang-won has a say in it.

 
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Yasss! JDJ vs LBW is on. I'm loving the Jung Do Jeon vs Lee Bang Won confrontation scenes. Thanks for the recap, Heads :)

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Boon-yi is so awesome. Shin Se-kyung should keep working with this production team 5ever. ♥

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Boon Yi remains the best heroine I've ever seen coming out of kdramas.

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i hold my breath when boon-yi (again) has swords on her throat trying to wiggle her way out but damn that is smart, young lady!

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I just love her. Best actress I have ever seen. I want her to keep doing such dramas forever.

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I would never have expected it to turn out this way. Boon Yi unintentionally joined Nameless lmao this is both hilarious and epic.

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“We can just raise them again. New people are born every day”

This really gave me chills. For a second there, Bang Won looked ready to go to the dark side. What a tease.

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I guess Bang Won only cares about the result, not the process. Reminds me of him chopping the trees.

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Bon Yi gives me chills more than Bang Won now.

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i thought the girl in the main pic was Kim So Eun for a while lol

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This episode left me deeply impressed with Poeun. His struggle to embrace Team Joseon's social cause, without sacrificing his ethical integrity and devotion to principle, is so compelling. I finally get why Sambong sees him as the key to Team Joseon's coalition-building efforts, and (both personally and politically) as an indispensable moral compass.

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Me, too! The depiction is so very real by the actor and the writer. I also really like how close Po Eun and Sambong's friendship is.

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Well said about Poeun and is exactly what he is remembered for to this day in history.

Sambong was the forgotten one. He was seen as an apostate and a traitor. I think he is well received by our generation because we are actually living his dream (some of it).

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this gisaeng really bothers me.. she might be a spy or doesn't have romantic feelings for him...

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I got the same feelings the first time we saw her in the previous episode. I am now even more sure of it since we saw the whole Nameless crew around them. This is certainly some kind of a plot.

Also, why is Po Eun so naive? I get that he has principles and such but that doesn't work in the real world. Plus, couldn't they convince the young scholars themselves? Like, don't they have heads on their shoulders? Are they Po Eun's puppets? If so, then there's no reason to involve them in the New Joseon scheme anyways. Lol, I'm totally becoming Bang Won while watching this show.

Boon Yi is amazing! Moo Hyul is amazing! That's all..

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Also, why is Po Eun so naive?

Mmm... while I admit that BangWon's train of thought is persuasive, I think you've got to put this into perspective. Back then, there were no other mainstream or widespread-enough ideologies or perspectives other than Confucian and Mencius'. Yes, there was trade with the Western world back then but only goods ever traveled that far and not people (which was why Marco Polo travelling that far and detailing the journey was a big deal. And he never even reached Korea!) so Confucianism was the law and breaking it meant something big today like first degree murder. Plus, Korea was sandwiched between China, homeland of Confucius... and the sea, if we're not counting Japan (which again, was significantly influenced by China).

Of course, there were corrupt people but they did things under the understanding that what they were doing was wrong (they may give excuses but I don't think anyone who did that ever expected to be lauded for doing so) and that's only if they learnt and believed in Confucian values. They may not even believe in Confucian values, which made them beasts in the eyes of the learned and the scholarly. For PoEun, the Confucian values that he'd learnt, memorised and lived by became his core beliefs and principles which everyone has in some way or another. Generally, a person who breaks his or her own personal moral codes loses respect for himself and ends up losing himself and that's the same for PoEun.

Therefore, given the background of that ancient time, it becomes clear that PoEun is not the naive one but rather Jung DoJeon was the revolutionary one. PoEun is not the nasty stickler but rather, Jung DoJeon is the one who's not normal and asking of difficult things from people. Jung DoJeon is saying "Treason is good!" (okay, maybe not, but if he's heading towards it what's the difference in outcome?) while PoEun couldn't even spare a brain cell for it.

So in that environment, PoEun, the great teacher had a great influence over his students (the very probable future ministers/ the largest group of learned men in Goryeo) and followers (who do have significant power together). We're not saying that his students and followers are brainless but rather that on this then controversial issue that can split decisions and therefore support, if PoEun stood on Jung DoJeon's side, it'll likely sway the thoughts of those undecided (which can be a very significant number) to Jung DoJeon's side. It's a very simple psychological persuasion in which people generally stick to and follow what they trust. For those who fear that supporting Jung DoJeon means committing a crime (which it actually is!), PoEun, the great stickler to all things good, and his endorsement will greatly calm lots of their fears and belittle their doubts. That's why Jung DoJeon kept saying that PoEun is the moral justice they need for their cause which is crucial to reducing the backlash and opposition in addition...

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in addition to all the other problems which they already have enough of. There is also no use in creating a country without the best people possible (or at least capable people) running it.

Also, Jung DoJeon and his team's project ain't some elementary school class project. Surely you're not expecting them to go to random scholars who they may not trust and go "hey I'm gonna commit treason. You in?" They're already freaking out with just PoEun knowing.

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Well said Peeps :).

Judging from this episode I have a feeling that Poeun is going to betray Sambong when Gongyang becomes king.

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Perfectly put, Peeps! As always, in history the line between a revolutionary and a usurper is really thin. Things can only be clear in hindsight. But when you're in the midst of it, how are you sure that you're really in the right path?

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I know it's hard to understand these characters especially if you are not familiar with their historical background. Historical figures like Poeun,Teacher Lee Saek and Choi Young, (the moderate party, the Goryeo loyalist) lived and died for their country.
They all knew Goryeo was corrupted and they all want to do something about it but they didn't want to reform the government under a new country.

Poeun (Jung Mong-ju) spent his whole life serving his country inside and outside the court. His diplomatic missions (sometimes suicidal) to Japan and China kept the peace between the 3 countries. He was trusted and respected among his fellow court members.

Mogeun (Lee Saek- Poeun and Sambong's teacher and many other scholars) studied at the Imperial University at Beijing and was in charged of improving education and rebuilding Sungkyunkwan University after it was destroyed by the Red Turban invasion. It's amazing that it still existed to this day. (I would love to be inside Sungkyunkwan University's library reading all the history books).
I like the fact that he saw good in Buddhism too and didn't denounced it.

Choi Young, the protector of Goryeo from a young age till the day he died needs no introduction.

The drama does not have enough time to go into details with their background but if you dig a little deeper you'll understand why someone like Poeun was fiercely loyal to Goryeo till the end even knowing that he will be killed for his loyalty.

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I agree , it's really a waste to lose these kind of people.. sometimes I wonder why do they need to change the country? they can still reform the government, remove the corrupt officials.. if the legitimacy is the problem, then what about the other member of wang royal clan..there's no need of dynastic revolution.. I really don't understand that..

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We'll probably see the answer near the end of King GongMin's reign but I'm gonna suspect that it's because it's hard to reform a country so hollow and corrupt right to it's deep roots (*snerk*). Goryeo's ministers are terrible, corrupted and more for self-gain and now even the remaining kingly-candidates are horrible - one is a nutcase regarding power, another is a freaking child and the last I guess is now too enamoured with his new wife-to-be and doesn't even want to be king. There's just way too many factors against efficiently and timely revolutionizing the country's deep-rooted system and I guess they got scared that the revolution may never come to pass.

For example the land reform. If it were just Jung DoJeon's team, it'll have come to pass long ago but now in Goryeo, we have ministers wailing against it (because they've got land themselves and have the power to not let go) and even people killing land reform surveyors! How long are they supposed to put it off? Will land reform ever come to pass? (The answer is yes because, you know, history, but they don't know that.)

It's always easier to start something afresh and new than to save then change something. It's easier to call a regime change and strip everyone of his/her power and only give power to those for the revolution, effectively wiping out the bane called the opposition. After all, power is always what makes things move.

If Goryo remained, people would question the drastic changes (like Buddhism to Confucianism at the ground level) but having a regime change - ah, people would just take it as part of the natural order.

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@Peeps
I do understand the moderates loyalty and it's commendable but Goryeo was rotten to the core. I think it would take way longer to weed out the roots of all the corruptions than to reform under a new government. It's already taking a long time just to pass the land reform.
Imagine trying to implement new laws to keep the corrupted nobles in check? They will combine their armies and start a civil war.

I find it interesting that Sambong, a stuck up Confucian scholar who denounce Buddhism worked perfectly well with a devout Buddhism like Lee Seong-gye but have a tough time with Poeun.

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i think PoEun is more in aline with CY than even he would like
he cares for the ppl but the country comes first
while JDJ LSG the ppl of the country comes first
so they work well together to change the country for them

and i agree with peeps
ppl are often afraid of change they prefer dealing with familiar things than new better things they dont know

i like that more than anythink they all show they are humans there is no real evil but different thought of how things should run

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Right nara. Sambong was for the people. He believes that the king exist for the people and not the other way around. That's what set him apart from Poeun, Choi Young and the rest of the Moderate party.

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@shirayukihime -- Yeah. I can't figure out whether the actress is doing a poor job of conveying the character's sincerity, or an effective job of conveying the character's insincerity.

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i thought she's the Future Queen Roh, wife of King Gongyang.. but it's not. she's just a fictional character.... i read somewhere that her role is important.. maybe she'll influence King Gongyang..maybe becoming a king.. For me, I still don't trust her.. she might be a spy.. a gisaeng tried to captivate the future King Gongyang.. just watching ep. 27, he's obviously in love with her...

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She might be a part of the nameless organization

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I was confused with her appearance and who she was. It felt so random with their fake love and whatever the heck is going on between them.

King Gongyang was forced to be king by Lee Seong Gye and his people. Poor guy just wanted to live a normal life.

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yeah, it so annoying that they did the reform of the government but in the end they were not contented.. everytime i see King gongyang, I remember how tragic it is.. It's more tragic if that girl is a spy.. I thought she is the queen so I didn't expect another woman or concubine will appear.. So do you think the first wife of King Gongyang will appear in SFD?

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I'm not sure. He is not that important nor does she. I'd rather that they give more screen time to the dragons and focus more on the revolution.

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Thank you Heads.

Bang won really looks like he is heading the the dark side, and his conflict with Sam Bong is more visible.

The woman the prince is trying to marry seems suspicious to me, for some weird reason i don't trust her at all.

It sad knowing that Po-eun will not survive, i think i liked him best in this episode its so sad that they could get him on board in forming Joseon although i do know that betraying Goryeo is treason.

Boon yi might be a double spy for the nameless organization and our dragons. This is my most liked Shin Se-kyung's, i think she's good, at least that is how i perceive it.

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I really like SSK in this drama too!

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Lol Heads, does your monitor not get any brighter? What's with the obsession with scenes in the light?

And I burst out at BangJi being compared to a blind hamster.

Oh chills, what's gonna happen to BoonYi now?

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The assassin is none other than Cheok Sa Kwang . Jang Sam Bong which is Lee Bang Ji's Master who trained him, was searching for Cheok Sa Kwang 10 yrs before because one of his student had a duel with Sa Kwang and was killed. Jang Sam Bong was amazed at how someone could kill his top student(at the time) with just one single blow. I think it was around episode 3 or 4 I'm not sure. Cheok Sa Kwang is much more stronger and faster than the Gil Brothers showing that he's able to win by using his deadly swordsmanship skills, which he displayed against Moo-hyul . Lee Bang Ji and Cheok Sa Kwang duel is going to be epic. Can't wait !!

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so it was that guy?? I thought the assassin that Jang Sambong have been looking for is Moo hyul's master... You said that Jang sambong was beaten by cheok sa kwang by just one blow.. i remember how moohyul able to send bang ji flying by just one blow when they first met.. So what about Moo hyul's master? Do you have idea of his identity?

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I mean Jang sambong's student was beaten by cheok sa kwang..

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I thought Moo Hyul's master is Master Hong and he's just good in teaching but not in the act. That's what I remember though.

@JinShyuk
I was really curious who was that assassin and now I can't wait for the confrontation with Bang Ji ??

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k wow but seeing that jeon miseon is acting as yeon hyang, i see why they wanted baek jinhee for boonyi at first since jung dojeon keeps saying boonyi looks very much like her mother.

but shinsekyung is so amazing at her role now it's impossible to imagine anyone else as our favourite lady general ^^

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"For a start, he says, they can get out of that dank cave and move their operations to Dohwa Manor."

I guess that Bang Won will use secret passage of Dohwa Manor for killing Sambong in the future.

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You might be right. Sambong became the prime minister after Joseon was established and the Dohwa Manor of evil and death is the home for the country's prime ministers.

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so do you think he will be like Lee In Gyeom? I think Nam Eun also knew the secret passage..
Dohwa Manor is really the symbol of corruption and people's suffering.. I can't help but remember the song "Mu-yi-yi-ya".. There's the word Dohwajeon there..

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I don't think so. Sambong was the opposite of In Gyeom whether he lived in a cave or mansion.
Yes, Nam Eun knows about the secret passage.

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This episode killed me

Knowing that Po Eun would never be with them pained me so much more while watching this episode

Bang Won getting darker here makes me think about how Ha Ryun is so teasing towards him

I seriously didn't like Ha Ryun at first but that one scene where he was throwing a tantrum in front of his bodyguard literally made me go all out in studying his character

Perhaps, the reason why Jeong Do Jeon planned a murder against Bang Won was because he had already lost his support, Po Eun

It puzzles me that Yeon Yang and that granny disappeared just like that
It's weird but there are many possibilities that I can never say it out since my words are not mature

Boon Yi telling Bang Ji the truth about their mother had me bawling

I wonder, if their mother had rejected the offer to come with that man, what would've happened to them?

I would have typed in more but I'm just gonna say that Boon Yi is literally a reflection on the mirror of Bang Won.
Different but similar

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This drama is really great in giving the characters layers.. most of the time in dramas it only black and white, the main character being good, and the one against the main is a bad person.. in here even though bangwon is the primary main character, the drama shows that hes not just good, but not completely evil.. the people "against" him isnt always just evil..both sides have their own points but are opposing each other..

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@noona ane

I was eerily thinking the same thing, Boon yi is just a female version of Bang won, they are both ruthless, able to put away personal feelings or scruples when faced with a greater cause and both quick on their feet in stressful situations. It's no wonder that Ha Ryun, the face reader, found both Boon Yi's and Bang won's physiognomy compelling.

For all of Moo Hyul's bluster and naive ways he is way more perceptive than Bang ji, who can't see what's right in front of him. Didn't it occur to him that if his mom was kidnapped, why didn't she try to break away to send word to him and his sister? At least, he should give some merit to what his sister told him instead of dismissing it completely.

Now Boon yi has proven to herself that it's not a dream, Pandoras box has been opened and she can infiltrate the Nameless organization. This drama is keeping its momentum going. I'm glad I'm watching it. 5 stars!

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for BJ as well it will be a shock that their mother chose to leave and was not kidnapped he tried convincing BY but also himself
BJ is more fragile in a way than BY and to believe such truth can have a stronger effect on him than on BY thats why he didnt overthink it denied it and immediately sprung to action as in finding and confronting their mother

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I really really wanted Bang Won to come and see when Boon Yi had a tough time telling her brother what she witnessed. Not for anything, I wanted her to be hugged! Goodness, I've never had a brother so I wouldn't know, but are most brothers that dull-headed that they can't just throw an arm over his sister knowing that his sister is in pain? Ugh you adorable Bang Ji you! How frustrating...

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@nomad

I'm with you! "Clueless" must be Bang ji's middle name.

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Its interesting to note that whether its korean or chinese history, the supposed "tyrants" that killed their brother, relatives, parents, ministers in general turned out to be decent emperors with a heart for people.

King Taejong (Bangwon) of Korea and Yong Zheng (china) were both credited for great improvements in the lives of the common folk during their reign. Interestingly (KBS) Korea's earliest scientist Jang Young Shil was peasant class and the only reason why he was allowed to serve the imperial court was cos Bangwon recognised his talent and told his son Sejong that this man will contribute greatly.

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In the drama Jang Young-shil, BangWon and Jang Young-shil's father were like friends before BW became the king In the show JYS's father was nobleman who didn't like BW became the king after killing people.

btw I love the stories of these fictional young dragon characters. Boon-yi, Bang-ji, Mu-yeol are all great (Sin Se-kyung is so pretty!). Also somehow I like Jung Do-jeon and Jong Mong-ju in this show more than the ones in the drama Jung Do-jeon. JDJ played by Jo JaeHyun felt like the character played by the same actor in 'Punch' (sly). KMN Jung Do-jeon feels more upright and sincere.

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I'm glad that Kim Myung Min is getting a little more screen time. He is such a great talent and I felt like he is being wasted here.
I agree, KMM's Sambong is bit more human and sincere.

Jo Jae Hyun's Sambong had a more textbook feel to him. He is exactly what you imagined him to be in history but I guess that is the point. Writer Jung wanted to create Jeong Do Jeon as close as he can be to the real one.

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really anticipating JDJ LBW confrontation
they are preparing now for the big one to come
but im curious of how theyll make these comrades into logical enemies
since the writers always give logical reasons for all sides in the confrontation

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I'm more interested in Nameless and their involvement in this since we already know what's coming from history.

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well im interested in "nameless" but since they seem only a plot device im more interested in how this group will "help" deepen the differences between JDJ BW

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In the end of ep. 2 in Jang Yeong Shil drama , it stated that Jang Yeong Shil, a slave who became a greatest scientist under the support of King Taejong..

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I did not expect that ending! That was totally inline with Boon Yi's character though. Can't wait to see her in that black outfit when she pretended to be one of the Hwasadan(?) spies girls, she was smoking hot hahaha #slightgirlcrush

And I'm really scared for Bang Ji when he decides to walk into that trap. He will certainly become a blind hot hamster then! ?

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I think gisaeng Yoon-rang will somehow have an importance other than just as the lover of the price since they gave her a proper introduction. Maybe she is one of the Nameless and here to influence the prince.

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How many times has the sword been placed at Boon Yi's neck in this drama? (I've lost count). It's beginning to feel more like an accessory than a threat. She must surely hold the record for the most times a female has been threatened by death with a sword in a drama!

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hahaha, so true!

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i dont really understand what makes "nameless" so evil
it is pretty ambiguous and we do know they opposed LIG
so what is it that makes them on the other side of LBW?

can someone please explain?

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@nara
I'm going to make a guess here based on Goryeo's history. I'm trying to figure out who the heck they are (Nameless) and why they were against King Gongmin, Queen Noguk and Lee Seong Gye.

Since this Nameless organization started around King Gongmin's reign they must be his former enemies. Queen Noguk was a Mongolian princess but she loved Goryeo and supported Gongmin in cutting ties with Yuan. She also supported him in retaking Goryeo's land back. It started with Lee Seong Gye's betrayal of his commander and opening the gate for Goryeo.

Their most obvious enemies would Yuan and Empress Ki. Queen Noguk's father died by their hands and Gongmin executed Empress Ki's brother. Lee Seong Gye and his father defected to Goryeo and Yuan collapsed shortly after.

Nameless must be her people. In Gyeom was pro-Yuan, he welcomed Yuan envoys even after Yuan was replaced by Ming. Sambong interrupted the meeting with the Yuan envoys in episode 2 so I guess he's on their target list too.

If this is anything like Tree's Milbon then Nameless should have a connection to the history to justify whatever the heck they are doing.

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How about Power Vacuum?

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i see so they were pro LIG i though they were his enemies
it maes sense now
so they are not Goryo ppl and probably dont want Joseon either

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Empress Ki was a Goryeo woman. Her family was wiped out by King Gongming.

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I think the Nameless organization were using In Gyeom. If I remember correctly the Yuan envoy in eps 2 was send from the prince or something like that. He would be Empress Ki's son.

I'm guessing that Lee In Gyeom found out about Lee Seong-gye's betrayal through Nameless. He denied having spies at Seong -gye's camp.

In Gyeom was behind the assassination of prime minister Shin Don and King Gongmin. Both enemies of Yuan and Empress Ki. Bong Yi and Bang Ji's mother is responsible for Noguk's death and she is obviously related to this Nameless organization.

The history is twisted here to fit the writer's story so I'm just going to leave it at that.

I could be way off here but this is the only thing that makes sense to me when it comes to Nameless.

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thanx kiara and it did make sense and organize everything

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Don't thank me yet :). Let's see if we got this right.

Thank you for asking questions. It makes me think instead of just watching it for Kim Myung Min and Moo-hyul lol.

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Thanks.. It's really confusing about this nameless.. I dn't know if they were Pro or Anti.. they change sides.. We don't know what their purpose. I thought Teacher Yooksan is the leader but seems like he's following orders from someone..

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Yooksan was on top of my suspect list. He is part of Nameless but he does not seems to be their leader.

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@shirayukihime
Yes it is confusing. I think that if we follow the writer's train of thoughts and how they created Milbon in Tree then we should be able figure out Nameless before they reveal in the drama.

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i heard that the SFD writers are afraid of the lawsuit..they plan Yooksan as the part of Haedong Gapjok but then they are afraid of the lawsuits of the descendants of the clan so maybe they will make it look like Yooksan or the leader is not part of the Haedong Gapjok..

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At this rate i will know more about Korean history and slowly forgetting my own country's history lol.

I really want to hug the writers at this moment haha. Bangji and Bangwon are deliciously frustrating, Boonyi and Yeonhee are always badass whatever they do, and all respect to writers for keeping the traits inline with their respective character.

Now let's talk about Bangji, you naive, clueless, insensitive brother! It's true to his character cause i remember being so frustrated he can't even apologize to Yeonhee in the first 24 eps. But here woaaaah, your lil sis sobbing like crazy and you can do is just sitting there with your beautiful doe eyes looking sad and all but in no capacity to offer any comfort words is just baffling to me. It's amazing how naive the best swordsman in all kingdom can be. Love the moment grandma (the good one) and Moohyul offer her good cheer-up words.

For the serious stuff, woaah Bangwon angers me with all that cave talk with JDJ. His "ends justify the means" talk is frightening. And Poeun! Seems like he wants the cherry ending but not wanting to contribute and making his hands dirty, to put it harshly. Well at least from that short session in Dodang hall.

Which brings me to another question: is anyone able to join Dodang whenever they want to? Is there some sort of regulation or requirement for joining? I keep questioning why, as much as i love him, seeing Lee Ji Ran in Dodang, and same goes for Bangwon's father-in-law.

Shout out to everyone here, especially Peeps and Kiara for giving me routine history class twice every week, incredibly insightful for without them i will be all lost in this drama LOL.

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Hi azka, I really like Bang Ji's character. He is a bit of a realist. He is pretty charismatic thanks to the Byun Yo-Han.

In order to get a government position one must be of noble class and pass the civil exams. Sometimes high official's son, friend etc would be accepted into Dodang without taking the civil exams and that is what Sambong is trying to change.Talented qualified people should be running the government.

Towards the end of Goryeo Lee Seong-gye's people slowly took over Dodang and that's why Lee Jiran and Min Je are Dodang officials. I'm not really sure if they were before Joseon was established. But you get the point right? They are weeding out the corrupt nobles and replacing them with their own people.

I'm glad you are enjoying the drama and the history. You are better off taking a history class :). I don't always get the history right.

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I'm joining the Lee Bang Ji's groupie if you don't mind hihihi

Totally agree about getting a history class twice a week with Kiara and Peeps as our teacher hihihi Thank youuuuuuu~~~~ is probably not enough ☺️

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this is very op but where is heo gang btw? he used to be a bit important in the show but he suddenly disappeared.

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yes i miss him too
LJH became my new crush in this series
he had to do some surgery or treatment for his leg? not sure
but i really hope that hell be back soon since his character is a real one and have much more to do history wise

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He has to come back because he is one of Sambong's people in Tree.

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do you mean he is only a fiction character? i thought he was part of the history of Joseon

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Aside from the obvious Sejong, Taejong, Jo Mal-Saeng, Jung In-Ji, most of the characters in Tree were fictional because it was inspired by a fictional novel.

I don't know him from the history so I always assumed that he was fictional.

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@kiara.. what did JO Mal Saeng did in the history? i can't find about him in the internet...

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If I remember correctly he was the Minister of Defense during King Sejong's reign. He lost his position later for being involved in bribery scandals and was sent into exile.

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Why bang won "the real one" is seen as a devil when some resources say that the country was doing will during his time? I'm confused right now!

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*well

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LBW is considered a good king to the common citizens but he was a tyrant and killed anyone who threatened him or thought would threaten him he one a one man ruler and in todays moral code although he is recorded as loved by his citizens he is also remembered as a ruthless and frightening king to his court

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Because he killed his own family and his in laws but he did a lot for the common people

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that's what amazing about him.. he's ruthless but great.. At the time of chaos, you really need a ruthless ruler like him...

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i think in a time of chaos the ruthless take advantage

to me although i really like BW and i do agree with you that maybe initiating the crowning of LSG as king is conflicting to JDJ ideas but as i wrote bf his meaning in that was different than an absolute king therefore not a traditional king but an "evolved" one a new kind of king that is subjected to his court and citizens as we have today

i think JDJ was ahead of his time and maybe korea would have become a modern country much sooner than the rest of the world if he succeeded we cant judge bc it didnt happen in the end

it not that i think LBW was bad as a king he did the same as kings and absolute rulers around the world whichis eliminating the opposition but frm our point of view he can not be considered as great as non tyrannical leaders

i do yjonk that LBW wanted to be remembered as a good king by his common subject and he wroked for that and i think BY in the drama represent his love for his ppl and that although he is ruthless e did love his subjects as represented by his relationship with BY

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yjonk = think
dont ask me how its the ghost in the computer

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Just wanna add that I hope for the next episode we get to see more screen times for the real historical people than the fictional ones. Also, please give Moo Hyul more layers. I thought something would happen on him after the Red Banquet episode, but he is still just like that. He starts to bore me.

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I am still amazed that Boon Yi could remember the exact words she overheard when she was nine years old between her mom and that guy. I can't even remember what I had for lunch a month ago.

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its the last words ofher mother she ever heard
i dont think she remembered from then
i think she memorized them by dreaming\repeating them over and over again
therefore she could still remember them

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Okay,I am right that girl is suspicious..but didn't expect her as a master swords master...I feel annoyed....T_T...Mohyul doesn't have introduction as a dragon..and I wanna see YBW use the sword...So that woman is more powerful than men in the series...Well,we can't blame them cause they live in the turbulent times,where women needed to be stronger enable them to survive..But I wanna see the ruthless and bloodthirsty YBW>>>

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This drama has way too many characters to keep track of. Please, Show, don't make me leave in confuse!

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