My Sassy Girl: Episodes 3-4

by chickachunga

Nothing gets between this sassy girl and her precious jade ring, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make our dignified scholar find it. She’s a princess who doesn’t play by the royalty rulebook — instead, she eschews it in favor of fierce autonomy. And despite our scholar’s efforts to reduce run-ins with her to zero, it seems the universe prefers these two polar opposites together, even though there’s no end to their bickering.

 
EPISODE 3 RECAP

At a library stall, two ladies ask if the books My Lover From Another Star and Secrets of Sungkyunkwan (har) are available, but the bookseller reports that they’re so popular they’ve already been checked out, much to the ladies’ disappointment. He then gets distracted by one lady’s beautiful hands, but not for long, since he spots Gyun Woo in the marketplace. He bolts out to see Gyun Woo, who asks if the guys are inside, and the bookseller eagerly answers in the affirmative before leading the way.

Inside his library, he pushes a bookshelf aside to reveal a secret room in the back adorned with salacious drawings of women. Inside, buddies BANG SE-HO (Lee Shi-un) and MAENG KWANG-SOO are enacting a romantic scene (from Autumn Fairy Tale, no less!) when Gyun Woo flings a scroll at them and disrupts the moment. He asks them what they’re up to, and Kwang-soo answers that this is the secret to their success.

Gyun Woo notices the drawings of scantily clad women in the room and says he has a favor to ask of them. Cut to: The bookseller finishing up a drawing of Princes Hyemyeong for him. Gyun Woo says the woman in the drawing is his enemy, but Se-ho quips that his enemy will turn into a friend before turning into a lover.

Gyun Woo goes around town asking people if they’ve seen the woman in his drawing, but he gets zero leads. Next, we see a pretty young woman, JUNG DA-YEON (Kim Yoon-hye), trying on colorful hairpins before she bumps into Gyun Woo on a street. He doesn’t immediately recognize her, but she does, so she refreshes his memory.

They relocate to a teahouse where live music is playing to catch up. She figures that the matchmakers are going crazy now that Joseon’s most eligible bachelor is back home, but Gyun Woo smiles and answers that he’s not ready for marriage yet; his first priority is to achieve peace in the country. But he does admit that for a woman who moves his heart, he may be willing to throw his dreams away and live a life devoted to her. Da-yeon smiles and wonders who that lucky lady will be.

Hyemyeong arrives at the teahouse and quickly locates Gyun Woo. They lock eyes, and she swiftly marches over to his table. She points at him and asks, “It’s you, isn’t it?” Gyun Woo scoffs that she ended up returning to him on her own two feet despite his searching.

“Why, so you could do something perverted again?” she blurts out accusingly. Gyun Woo’s jaw drops, the music stops, and horrified patrons of the teahouse shift their attention to him. He reminds her that he’s the one who saved her drunken self, but she doesn’t buy it, instead accusing him of taking her to an inn in order to rape her.

Her flagrant accusations stun Gyun Woo, and the patrons continue to murmur their disgust. Da-yeon tells Hyemyeong to lower her voice, but Hyemyeong tells her to stay out of it. Gyun Woo warns that defamation is a serious crime, but Hyemyeong says that he took something that means more than life to her.

Fed up, he excuses himself and drags Hyemyeong aside to speak in private. She sticks out her hand and orders him to hand “it” over. He suggests they take this to the police, but she tells him to cut it out and hand over her jade ring, stat.

Gyun Woo realizes that she’s referring to the ring he picked up on the bridge the other night, and further realizes that she made this huge fuss all because of it. He asks for an apology first, but she refuses to apologize to a thief. He’s flabbergasted that she’s now accusing him of rape and theft and shouts that he’ll give her back her darn ring.

But when he reaches into his sleeve and pats down his outfit, he comes up empty. A very cross Hyemyeong threatens to write “rapist” on his face and send him into exile if he doesn’t find the ring, and Gyun Woo imagines getting punished by King Hwijong while crying injustice. He snaps out of it and proposes that they call it even since he also has something he needs to retrieve from her: his shattered honor and pride.

He’s about to leave, but she drags him to the inn they spent the night at. The innkeeper recognizes them, but he claims that hasn’t seen the jade ring with the lovebirds they’re looking for. Gyun Woo asks to search the room they stayed in, but the innkeeper says that the room is currently occupied.

However, that doesn’t stop Hyemyeong from barging in anyway and interrupting a couple that was getting ready to get frisky. She pulls back their sheets and asks if they saw the ring (they didn’t), but Hyemyeong says something smells fishy nonetheless. She correctly assumes they’re not a married couple, prompting them to exit in humiliation.

Next, she searches for the ring in a huge pile of laundry, flinging clothes behind her and hitting Gyun Woo in the process. She orders him to also dig through the clothes with his hands, and he reluctantly complies.

Over at the palace, Da-yeon’s embroidering flowers with other ladies and stops to glance at Gyun Hee, Gyun Woo’s little sister. She’s reminded of the teahouse incident where Gyun Woo dragged Hyemyeong out by the hand, so after the embroidery session, Da-yeon tells Gyun Hee that she came across Gyun Woo’s girlfriend.

Gyun Hee is surprised to hear this and assures Da-yeon that that’s untrue, since he just came home recently. She then asks Da-yeon what she thinks of Gyun Woo, since she’d like to be her sister-in-law. Da-yeon answers that there are lines of ladies waiting for Gyun Woo, but Gyun Hee says they’re all empty-headed — unlike Da-yeon, who comes from a great family, is beautiful, and is qualified enough for her brother.

Next, we see royal advisors express their disapproval with King Hwijong’s desire to bring back the “shinmungo” system. “Is it really wrong to want to hear from the people themselves?” King Hwijong asks. Minister Park says that they discontinued it because it was noisy, and also because the complaints that people made were trivial.

But Minister Gyun counters that matters that are trivial to them are life and death to the people. Eventually, the king abandons the idea, but he’s unhappy about it. In their chamber, Minister Park says that he finds the king’s behavior suspicious, and Minister Jung says that the king will visit the people from time to time because he’s starting to think for himself.

Minister Park says that Minister Gyun is the problem, and Minister Jung menacingly determines that if the king continues to think like this, he’ll make sure the king loses something precious again. We return ominously to Hyemyeong and Gyun Woo, who have not yet found the ring amidst the laundry.

Hymyeong’s stomach growls, and Gyun Woo suggests that they grab a bite to eat to get the energy to keep searching — but Hyemyeong says that she’s in no mood to eat. Cut to: her satisfyingly downing a drink, heh.

They’re at a fermented skate restaurant, and Gyun Woo’s clearly not a fan of the pungent dish. Regardless of his tastes, Hyemyeong wraps a piece of skate in kimchi and stuffs it in his mouth anyway. He wants to spit it out, but holds it in when she remarks that there are so many starving people in Joseon.

Gyun Woo’s had enough. With the skate still in his mouth, he gets up and sputters that he’s saved her numerous times, but she’s never thanked him once. Unperturbed, she downs another drink and brings up the ring again. Before leaving, he says that he’s done all he could and adds that he hopes she finds it.

Buuut, he doesn’t get very far. After downing the whole bottle of alcohol, Hyemyeong ends up slumped over the table. Cut to: Gyun Woo piggybacking a very drunk Hyemyeong, who’s still going on about her ring. He has no idea where she lives, but after being forced to giddyup like a horse by Hyemyeong, he comes across a tree and sets her down.

He walks off… only to return soon after and sit next to her on the ground, unable to leave her alone. He glances at her sleeping face and even allows her head to fall against his shoulder. Aw.

Later, Choon Poong wakes him up and cackles at Gyun Woo’s face; Hyemyeong left, but not before scribbling “jade ring” on his face while he was asleep.

Back at the palace, King Hwijong hands Joon-young the tabloid detailing Hyemyeong’s habits of sneaking out of the palace before instructing him to find out who’s behind the tabloids and why. Then, a random shoe hits the king’s shoulder, and Joon-young immediately draws his sword. The other shoe falls to the ground before him, and he looks up to find Hyemyeong crawling back over the palace gates.

She gets caught by her father, and after learning that she’s snuck out more than once, he says that he’ll teach her the strict customs of the palace now. Cut to Queen Park, who’s incredulous that Hyemyeong’s punishment was to merely recite and copy down palace rules.

Hyemyeong fumes in her room, blaming Gyun Woo for everything, but eunuch Young-shin reminds her that she’s the one who lost the ring and continues to sneak out. To this, Hyemyeong sarcastically apologizes for doing things that princesses shouldn’t do.

Meanwhile, Gyun Woo vigorously scrubs off the ink from his face, hoping that he’ll never see Hyemyeong again. Later, Hyemyeong tosses the rulebook and criticizes how antiquated and nonsensical it is: “What, do women have no brains? Why can’t we do anything by ourselves?” Young-shin just tells her to memorize it, and we see that he and Byul are writing down the customs for her, heh.

Hyemyeong scolds Byul for not mimicking her handwriting properly until a voice from outside announces the king’s arrival. Young-shin and Byul frantically clear the table so that it looks like Hyemyeong’s been writing all along. When a stern voice asks if she’s been slacking off, she turns to find it coming from her little brother, the prince, who pranked her.

Outside, the king and his mother overhear the laughter of the prince and Hyemyeong. The king disapproves, but his mother asks that he forgive them — isn’t he glad that they love each other? The king says that people are trying to find fault in the royal court, and he fears that the prince will end up reckless like his sister.

But his mother says that children grow up with their parents’ love, and she claims to be grateful that the princess is kindhearted, despite the adversity she faced.

 
EPISODE 4 RECAP

Gyun Woo pours Da-yeon some tea as he apologizes for the teahouse fracas from before, but she’s understanding and says that she knows he’s not a pervert. He tells her that the crazy woman from the teahouse is obsessed with him, but claims that he’s handled the matter and will never ever see her again. Yeah, okay.

Back at the palace, Hyemyeong is disappointed to see that there’s nowhere for her to slip away unnoticed due to the guards present. Eunuch Young-shin finds her and asks if she’s forgotten what day it is today, and by her expression, she clearly has.

We cut to the king assigning Gyun Woo a special post as the instructor in charge of the prince’s education. The prince and Gyun Woo formally bow to each other while Minister Jung looks on with a grimace, and Minister Gyun looks on with concern.

Student and teacher take a stroll together, and Won-ja tells Gyun Woo that his sister is also curious about new things and would get along well with him.

They’re on a bridge when Hyemyeong calls out to her little brother. Gyun Woo and Hyemyeong politely introduce themselves, but when they come up from their bows, they’re alarmed to see each other. The prince asks if they know each other, and Hyemyeong answers that there’s a guy who harasses women every night in Joseon who just so happens to resemble Gyun Woo, but Gyun Woo counters that there’s no way the king would appoint a person like that as the prince’s tutor.

Minister Jung and his cronies complain that Minister Gyun’s son was chosen for such an important post without their approval. Minister Park notes that the king is acting out of character these days.

Outside, the king knowingly shoots his arrow at the target, and it’s a bullseye. Minister Gyun expresses concern over what the others will think, but the king says what’s most important is not hitting the target, but pulling the bow string back.

While having tea with the royal women of the court, Gyun Woo is asked what his ideal type is and says that he’s not currently looking, but he pointedly adds that prefers a gentle and graceful woman, bright like the sun.

He says this while staring at Hyemyeong, and the prince notes that Gyun Woo’s ideal type is the exact opposite of her, heh. Afterward, Hyemyeong asks Gyun Woo if he can return the ring to her now that he knows she’s a princess, which he takes to mean that she still thinks he has it. She warns that if he doesn’t find her ring, his life will be a living hell once she tells her father what kind of person he really is.

Gyun Woo suggests they go see the king together, asking if he knows about his daughter’s drunken and violent ways. This ruffles Hyemyeong’s feathers, and Gyun Woo gruffly tells her to start acting like a princess.

The king has tea with his mother and Queen Park — his mother thinks that her son chose the right teacher for the prince, and the king agrees. She then says that the prince will want to study thanks to Gyun Woo, so they should act now and officially appoint him the crown prince.

In her own quarters, Queen Park flings her cup in anger, livid that the prince could become the crown prince since she’s desperately trying to get pregnant (so that her child could upend him).

Minister Jung enters and tells her to calm down; the prince becoming the crown prince was to be expected, and besides, it’s her fault that she didn’t give birth to a prince. She shouts that the king continues to avoid sleeping with her, so what can she do?

Minister Jung reminds her that the prince thinks she’s his birth mother, so nothing will change once he becomes crown prince unless Hyemyeong says something. If that were the case, Minister Jung tells Queen Park to handle it by marrying Hyemyeong off or eliminating her.

Hyemyeong returns to her room, and Young-shin doubts that Gyun Woo is the sex-crazed pervert she’s been going on about — he seems too perfect. Annoyed, she reminds him that perverts don’t have their status written on their face.

Gyun Woo has drinks with Kwang-soo and Se-ho, who congratulate him on his new post. Se-ho asks if he’s met the princess whose beauty apparently outshines a poppy flower, but Gyun Woo flatly replies that false rumors like that are dangerous. Just then, the bookseller barges in and hands Gyun Woo a gift: a tabloid that contains all the secret rumors within the palace, most of them regarding Princess Hyemyeong.

Gyun Woo opens the scroll, and we see the rumors about Hyemyeong come to life. Rumor has it that she has no common sense, that even in the midst of a famine, she’ll complain about her plethora of dishes. Another rumored trait of Hyemyeong? Lewd debauchery.

Cut to: Hyemyeong gleefully selecting a few well-chiseled men for her pleasure. Hyemyeong is also rumored to abuse her power, and we see her outrageously (and hilariously) ordering her entire retinue to turn around and head back to the palace, all because she ran out of peanuts. After reading the tabloid, the bookseller and Gyun Woo’s buddies warn him that those who wrong the princess and live to tell the tale don’t actually exist; if she targets him, he’s dead.

Gyun Woo stands on a bridge, regretting what he said to the princess earlier about her drunken ways — but he can’t help but wonder why the ring is so important as he gazes at the moon. At the palace, Hyemyeong looks at the same moon and appears concerned.

She thinks back to when she received the jade ring from a man who told her to take good care of it. His face isn’t revealed to us, and back in the present, we see Joon-young take note of Hyemyeong’s unease.

The next day, Gyun Woo gets pelted with red beans by his mother and sister. It’s his first day of work so they want to rid him of bad luck, they say, so he spreads out his arms and tells them to resume. But then his father arrives and reminds them that they’re wasting food that people shed blood, sweat, and tears for, though his family doesn’t seem very contrite.

As the final step, his mother sets the gourd down, and Gyun Woo stomps on it for luck. Later, we see the prince enjoying his lesson with Gyun Woo, but Hyemyeong overhears Gyun Woo bragging and tells the prince that if he wants to be a good king some day, he mustn’t trust the words of every scholar. To this, Gyun Woo smoothly counters that it’s also important for kings to heed the counsel of scholars.

On a different day, Gyun Woo teaches the how to say “I’m the Prince of Joseon” in Chinese. But Hyemyeong interrupts the lesson by repeatedly asking Gyun Woo if he’s eaten (in Chinese). He ignores her, but because she keeps repeating the question, the prince ends up learning how to say that phrase instead of Gyun Woo’s.

After the lesson, Gyun Woo wonders if Hyemyeong will continue to pester him until he finds her ring. And it seems that that’s the case, since she says that she’ll alert Joon-young that a pervert’s been hired as the prince’s teacher. Worried, Gyun-woo grabs her and asks if she’ll stop calling him a pervert if he finds her ring, and Hyemyeong promises.

Behind a post, the two peer out at the headquarters of a gangsters’ den. Gyun Woo says that anything that’s been smuggled or stolen is likely inside, since transactions also take place there. He warns Hyemyeong that they’re rough people, but she strides toward the entrance without any fear.

Inside, a man who clearly got beaten up kneels before an intimidating loan shark who says that he’s late on his payments. The loan shark shouts that he continues to be the bad guy because the man keeps breaking his promises — but just then, Gyun Woo and Hyemyeong enter, and he pours out a bag of stolen jade rings he’s amassed for them to see.

But it doesn’t take long for Hyemyeong to see that hers isn’t there, though she does notice the names of citizens as well as how much they owe in the loan shark’s ledger. While the loan shark has his back turned, Hyemyeong steals his ledger, but he quickly notices and orders his men to catch her and Gyun Woo.

The two manage to barely evade their grasp. Hyemyeong even kicks one guy in the nuts, and together, she and Gyun Woo fend off the thugs before jumping off a balcony and onto the ground below.

Unfortunately for them, they find themselves surrounded, but luckily, loyal guard Byul comes to the rescue. She nods at Gyun Woo and Hyemyeong to escape while she fights off the assailants.

One of the thugs throws a knife at Gyun Woo and Hyemyeong, which stops them in their tracks. They’re still outnumbered, but Byul has an idea; she kicks a basket of coins into the air to cause a frenzy for all the townspeople, which also makes it difficult for the thugs to attack Gyun Woo and Hyemyeong.

Amid the bustle, Hyemyeong loses her grip on the ledger, and it goes flying.

 
COMMENTS

The colors are bright and vibrant, and the direction, as far as I can tell, is lean and efficient enough. But the rudimentary humor, most of it in slapstick territory, just isn’t landing for me. Generally speaking, the comedic timing just seems off, with jokes that play out for a beat too long and subsequently lose all chance to elicit laughter. I feel like the zippy pace of Episodes 1-2 unfortunately slowed down in Episodes 3-4.

Joo-won’s playing Gyun Woo rather straight, and Oh Yeon-seo is hamming it up in nearly every scene she’s in. I get it — it’s important to show how much they clash in the beginning to make their eventual reunion against all odds meaningful in the end. But I feel like I’ve already seen her entire range of wacky facial contortions, and I’ve lost count on the number of times she uttered some iteration of, “Find my ring, or else!”

There’s so little depth to this haughty princess that I’m finding her more pesky than endearing. As it stands, I am firmly Team Gyun Woo. Also, I didn’t find the false accusations of being a pervert and rapist very amusing. Even the lightly veiled barbs the two exchanged never amounted to disses that impressed me or made me laugh; they were pretty childish and not very incisive.

We’re only four episodes in, so I’ll hang onto the hope that the series can and will improve. I guess I’m somewhat intrigued by Hyemyeong’s jade ring, and more so the mysterious man who gave it to her. Are the gold lovebirds on the ring a clue to their relationship? We met Da-yeon in this episode, and I wonder if she and Gyun Woo grew up together, or if her feelings for Gyun Woo are based on how seemingly perfect he is in the brains and looks department.

I’d like to learn more about Joon-young, and I really like Young-shin and Byul as Hyemyeong’s sidekicks. Hopefully, we’ll see that there’s more to the princess than her knack for always jumping the gun. The king’s mother mentioned her kind heart, and it seems like Hyemyeong was concerned about the citizens that owed money to the thugs, which is why she stole the ledger. I want to see this good heart of hers that eventually may have the power to move Gyun Woo’s too.

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