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Seven Day Queen: Episode 18

This is it. The shit hits the fan, and everything reaches the tipping point we’ve been building up to all this while. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, and the big question now is how everyone will survive the collateral damage, and what this means going forward. Is there any love strong enough to weather what these kids have to face? For my blood pressure’s sake, I certainly hope so. And okay, for their sakes too.

 

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EPISODE 18 RECAP

After Yeok slips inside the palace and reveals himself to Chae-kyung, the couple embraces sweetly. He tells her he missed her, and Chae-kyung cries, “Why did you come so late? I waited so long.”

He apologizes and assures her that his leg is healed, and she’s so relieved that she smacks his shoulder, saying that he should have told her because she’d been so worried. He apologizes for that, “And for always only saying I’m sorry, I’m sorry for that too.”

The former minister of the interior, who’d helped Yeok slip into the palace, informs Deputy Commander Park that Yeok is here. He’s concerned for Yeok’s safety with the rebel forces on their way, but Park isn’t concerned, knowing that they’re all in on the same plan.

Chae-kyung understands that Yeok must have a plan for him to risk coming to the palace, and he asks if she will believe that he’s doing this to save them, their families, and the people of the country. His face falls at her reply—that she can’t answer him right now, though she urges him to complete his work and make his plan a reality. Then she will naturally come to believe and support him. Yeok’s face firms with resolve, and he agrees.

She asks after her parents, and Yeok thinks back to his last meeting with her father, who had apologized on behalf of the king as his loyal vassal and family member. Yeok had told him that this was the time to abandon the king rather than apologize, but Minister Shin had merely replied, “What vassal would think first of abandoning his ruler? He must protect him to the best of his ability, and then, if that does not work, he must die fighting for his ruler. That is the fate of a vassal.” Yeonsangun so doesn’t deserve you.

Yeok had asked incredulously if Minister Shin would abandon Chae-kyung, but Minister Shin had replied that it’s Yeok’s job to protect her: “Now, my tie with Chae-kyung has ended.” He’d told Yeok not to continue thinking of him as family, either.

Now Yeok tells Chae-kyung that he did meet her father, and urges her to take her parents to a safe place, leaving her with the location of a hideout. After he leaves, Chae-kyung thinks to herself that she must make her choice now.

Just then, Yeonsangun arrives and she hastily hides Yeok’s note in her hand. He dislikes hearing that she skipped dinner, and I’m continually amazed at how much he worries over her condition while ignoring that he’s the cause of it. Supposing that she may feel cooped up in the palace, Yeonsangun suggests that she accompany him outside on a night hunt.

Chae-kyung thinks to Yeok’s plan: that once the rebel troops arrive, the king would mobilize his troops, leaving only a small number of soldiers behind at the palace. That’s when Yeok would storm in to face off against the king. Worried that the king won’t be here when it happens, she asks to go out to look at the moon instead, saying that her father’s letter had mentioned the view and made her want to see it. He agrees, looking pleased to grant her request.

Loyal Eunuch Song is in on Yeok’s plan, and Chae-kyung entrusts him with the task of taking her parents to the hideout.

But it’s another group of armed men who arrive at Minister Shin’s house, announcing that they were instructed to protect him by Deputy Commander Park. Minister Shin supposes that this means the rebellion has begun.

Chae-kyung is on edge as she and Yeonsangun walk along a bridge, although she explains her jumpiness as being uncomfortable with the guards at her back. Yeonsangun motions for them to stay away as they continue walking.

The rebels arrive at the palace, sending eunuchs and court ladies scattering in fear. Gwang-oh and Seok-hee are among them, dressed as royal soldiers.

Thinking of how the king’s world will end tonight, Chae-kyung’s face twists with tears. He notices, so she explains her sadness as being prompted by thoughts of family. She doesn’t mean her parents, so he cuts off her explanation, not wanting her to hear about Yeok.

But she replies that she was thinking of “Warrior-nim”—the name she called him before knowing he was the king. She speaks of their first meeting, how he’d chided her for saving him at the inn when she should have saved herself, how he promised her a wish, and how he’d shed tears over his brother’s death, feeling guilty.

“I cried because I missed that person,” she says.

Yeonsangun says tightly that that person is dead. “Yes,” Chae-kyung replies. “That is why I cried. Because I cannot see him again. Why did you kill him? You could have saved him, protected him. Him, and also his brother, and friends and family. But you did not.”

He says shrewdly that she sure is putting a lot of effort into provoking him—and stalling for time. Oh crap. He knows? Why must he know everything?

He asks what she’s doing it for, just as he receives an urgent report of the rebel forces arriving. He looks at Chae-kyung with accusing eyes, asking if this was her reason, and swiftly draws a sword to her neck, reminding her that he could kill her at any moment.

She shocks him with her response: “Let us die together, then.” Her crime is in taking his heart, and his is in abandoning his country—their two deaths would allow many to live, she says.

Then she informs him of the rebellion that will soon be at his door. He’s astonished when she says he will have nobody left to protect him, because he has lost the support of all of his followers.

Yeonsangun growls, “I will kill you. I should have killed you! If I could not have you, I should have killed you!” And then, “I should have had you!”

His face contorts wildly and he raises the sword. Chae-kyung steels herself for the deathblow—but it doesn’t come. Hand shaking, Yeonsangun can’t bring himself to strike, and he drops the sword.

Instead he drags her to the queen dowager’s quarters, calling them the first two to lose their lives when the rebels arrive. Yeonsangun cuts through the queen dowager’s feigned outrage over how he can still suspect Yeok, honing in on the actual issue: He knows Yeok is leading the rebellion.

Chae-kyung’s eyes widen, but he points out that Chae-kyung wouldn’t betray him to help the rebels for anyone other than Yeok.

Yeonsangun orders this room guarded, then leaves to convene the court, where he orders the war minister to mobilize troops to fight the rebels. The war minister complies, but after he dispatches his offers into action, one remains behind—Yeok, in soldier’s uniform.

The war minister is astonished to see Yeok healthy and walking. Yeok lays out the minister’s situation plainly: His chances for success are low, but he cannot disobey the king’s order and not fight. He asks, “Will you die at the rebel forces’ hands? Or, will you die at the king’s hand?” Then he offers a third option: “Or, will you help me and become the rebellion’s biggest contributor?”

The war minister instantly drops to his knee and addresses Yeok as king, declaring his loyalty.

The rebels stand ready and armed outside the palace gate, with Myung-hye in the front line. Yeok, still disguised as one of the king’s officers, stands with the war minister as the troops ready to fire—but suddenly, the rebels turn and run. The king’s soldiers chase them into the woods, thinking the rebels an easy mark. Myung-hye and her men take cover in the forest, and she thinks that everything now rests on Yeok’s shoulders.

Secretary Im reports confidently back to Yeonsangun that the rebels turned tail, smirking that Yeok was in such a hurry that he enlisted a bunch of bumpkins. He seems assured of their defense strategy, as the war minister has dispatched troops to every city gate.

What they don’t know is that Yeok now takes the lead over the soldiers under the war minister’s command, as well as the Snail Brides embedded among them. Yeok gives the order to move out, heading toward the king’s palace.

With the war minister at the lead, the soldiers are allowed inside the gates, but stopped outside Yeonsangun’s palace. They allow the war minister through, and he takes Yeok with him and orders the rest to stand guard outside.

Yeok avoids recognition, and ducks his head when they run into Secretary Im and Nok-soo. Secretary Im is feeling cheerful at the victory at the gate, but Nok-soo takes note of Yeok. She isn’t immediately suspicious, but I’m nervous that she noticed anything at all.

Yeonsangun congratulates the war minister on winning a battle without shedding any blood, and smiles to hear that Yeok never even showed himself. Yeonsangun instructs the minister to capture Yeok, assured that the rebels will scatter as soon as he’s caught.

From his place behind the war minister, Yeok chuckles aloud and asks, “Will that truly happen? Did you not say that the king is determined by the heavens? The will of the heavens is the will of the people. Even if you kill Grand Prince Jinsung, will the people forgive a king who is not recognized by the heavens?”

Yeonsangun gets up to challenge the impertinent officer, drawing a sword and holding it threateningly. Then Yeok draws his sword, and Yeonsangun looks astonished that he would dare.

Finally, Yeok raises his gaze to meet the king’s, and removes his helmet to reveal his face fully. Yeonsangun actually takes a step back, shocked to see him. Yeok states solemnly, “Now, I must return everything to their rightful places.”

Secretary and Nok-soo are startled at the sight of so many soldiers outside the king’s palace, and Nok-soo doesn’t quite believe the explanation given for their presence. Gwang-oh reaches for his sword, readying to act swiftly if necessary, but Secretary Im accepts the explanation and ushers Nok-soo away.

It’s because Secretary Im has realized that the war minister has changed sides—but he stops Nok-soo from doing anything because he also realizes that it’s too late, and that they’re outnumbered.

But Nok-soo’s not of the same mindset, and she tells him to serve what he must, because she will do the same. With that, she heads back to go to Yeonsangun despite his warning.

Inside, Yeok offers Yeonsangun one last chance. Yeonsangun laughs, then raises his sword with a yell.

Screaming court ladies flee the palace, the king’s soldiers realize the other soldiers are rebels, and the troops face off. Gwang-oh urges Yeok to hurry.

With only the two brothers left inside, they go at each other fiercely with swords. Yeonsangun is skilled and powerful, though Yeok seems to be holding his own.

Chae-kyung receives the update that Yeok is now in the king’s palace, knowing that they’re in their last stages of the rebellion.

Yeonsangun draws the first blood, but Yeok quickly returns with a cut of his own. As they fight, Yeonsangun thinks darkly, “Why were you born?” Yeok’s returning thought: “I’m sorry for being born. But now that I have been born, I must do my part and bear responsibility fully. Therefore, goodbye.”

Just as Yeonsangun is thinking that one of them must die, Chae-kyung bursts into the room and calls out to both of them. Noooo, why are you here? This will only be more painful all around!

Yeonsangun resumes the fight, and Chae-kyung narrates that while the two brothers were preparing for the finish, soldiers on both sides were standing off and others were fleeing to save their lives.

Yeok finally gets in a strong blow and disarms Yeonsangun, who falls to the ground. He holds his sword to his brother’s throat, just as Chae-kyung shouts out to him not to do it.

Yeok’s hand trembles and Yeonsangun eggs him on, screaming, “Did you come all this way without the nerve to kill me?”

Yeok tenses, raises his sword, and swings with a bellow. But he can’t do it, and Yeonsangun looks triumphant while Yeok wrestles with himself. Chae-kyung rushes to Yeok’s side, and Yeonsangun’s manic smile falters at that sight.

The sword drops out of Yeok’s hand as other rebel soldiers rush into the room. They take Yeonsangun into their custody, and Chae-kyung and Yeok turn to leave together.

“Good,” Yeonsangun says bleakly. “It’s a good thing. You have finally become king. Thanks to you, my revenge is complete.”

Yeonsangun laughs bitterly, saying that he started dreaming of revenge when Yeok threw away his claim to the throne to choose happiness with Chae-kyung. He thought of all the ways to torment Yeok, and decided that making Yeok king and forcing him to experience all of his anguish and pain would be his revenge.

“Yeok-ah,” he says, “My little brother. Are you not curious to know what pain awaits you on this path? Look forward to it.” He laughs in his manic, tortured way that makes him as chilling as it makes him pitiful.

After the room clears, Chae-kyung asks if it’s finally over: “Can we be happy now?” Yeok smiles gently and assures her that they can.

Eunuchs and court ladies don’t quite know how to react to Yeonsangun as he’s escorted in prisoner’s ropes. He screams at them to laugh if they can’t cry for him, chuckling madly to himself.

Chae-kyung father apologizes to his wife, and she understands that he will go to the king no matter what. Minster Shin says that he did not honor his promise to be the king’s father and family, and thinks this is his last chance to do so. Chae-kyung’s mother smiles through her tears and says she will see him off.

She starts to prepare his ministerial robes, but Minister Shin stops her, saying, “I am not going as the king’s vassal. This time, I go as his family.” Chae-kyung’s mother breaks down into tears worrying about what will happen to Chae-kyung, and Minister Shin embraces her, apologizing.

He steps outside to face his fate, and finds his path blocked by Deputy Commander Park’s men, who declare that they were ordered to stop him from leaving.

Deputy Commander Park charges in to capture Secretary Im, who is hurriedly stashing away valuables. But Secretary Im is confident in his get-out-of-jail-free card, and leans in close to remind Park that he knows of his actions with the Snail Brides. He’s saving Park’s life by keeping that to himself, in which case Park ought to return the favor.

Secretary Im declares that he will serve the new king, and Park stuns his men by giving the order to let him go.

So Secretary Im walks out with his head still attached to his body, looking smug in the utmost as he is carried off in his palanquin. But it’s not long before he notices that he’s being carried in the wrong direction, although Scarface confirms that this is the correct path. The palanquin-bearers run off, and Scarface tells Im, “It is an honor that I could serve you to the last.”

He drives a sword through Secretary Im, who dies amidst a gasp of shock. Then Myung-hye steps forward to seal their deal, assuring him of his family’s safety and providing him a new life in a remote location. You know, this is the first time I’ve ever been glad of Myung-hye’s willingness to do the dirty work for a greater good.

Then Myung-hye reminds him of the last part of their deal, and Scarface slices the sword across… himself? What? Is this the punishment Yeok suffered? I take back what I said about Myung-hye, who says that despite a disabled body, he will be able to “live like a person” now. Yes, but what about you? When will you turn human?

Nok-soo walks resolutely into the palace to see Yeonsangun, who tells her to run now, since she has to save her life first if she is to do anything about this. She asks what she could do without him, and says that flowers never last long—they bloom beautifully for a short while, then wilt.

“In this life, I am satisfied to have lived as your flower,” she says. She pulls a pin from her hair and places it in his palm—it has a sharp, dagger-like end, and she asks to die by his hand. He looks at her with wide eyes, but when she embraces him, he drives the dagger into her neck and holds her as she dies in his arms.

As her hand falls limp, Yeonsangun begins to sob, clutching Nok-soo’s body even tighter.

Chae-kyung lies down in bed, and keeps her eyes closed when Yeok joins her. She thinks to herself that she doesn’t understand her dreary feelings and therefore doesn’t know how to look at her husband.

Yeok has similar thoughts, asking himself, “Things happened the way I intended, but why does my heart feel so dreary?” And so they both lie there, unspeaking, both confused about their feelings.

The next day, the queen dowager receives the high-level officials who backed the rebellion, who assure her that Yeok is suited to the task of being king, pleased that he pulled off a successful coup with minimal losses.

Yeonsangun is brought before the full court, kneeling in his prisoner’s whites alongside his queen and their children. It’s an uncomfortable reality to be confronted with the innocent family members, and Chae-kyung struggles to see her aunt and nephews being read their sentences of dethronement and exile.

Yeok takes her hand but wonders if she’s okay. She isn’t, not quite, and walks numbly back to her quarters, barely registering that she’s being addressed as the new queen. And then, even worse news: Eunuch Song delivers the report that her parents are dead.

In a flashback to the night before, we see her father ordering the armed men to step aside, only ready to accept orders from the king. He’s cut down, his wife struck next. A dying Minister Shin outstretches his hand toward his wife, thinking that with their deaths, they are only thinking to protect Chae-kyung.

Chae-kyung rushes to her parents’ house, finding her mother and father still lying where they fell, soaked in their own blood. She hurries to their sides, overcome with grief.

Yeok visits his mother, dressed in his kingly robes, though his mood is distinctly more subdued than either his mother’s or Deputy Commander Park’s. His mother asks after his somber mood, and he admits that despite overcoming the great struggle, he doesn’t feel happy about it.

“I have lost too many things,” he says. “And I fear the things I have yet to lose.”

His mother assures him that it’s just that he has lived so pressed by life-and-death fears that he has forgotten how to be happy. “Now, you will only have happiness,” she tells him.

When he steps outside, his friends greet him with long faces. He asks what’s the matter, and it falls to them to deliver the news.

Chae-kyung sits with her parents’ bodies, now moved inside the house. She asks her mother if she will continue sleeping like this, urging her to nag her like always. Then she turns to her father and apologizes for being angry with him, begging him to come back and clutching his hand as she cries. And then she finds something in his palm—a snail shell. Ohhhh, shit. Oh shit oh shitohshit.

Yeok bursts into the room in a panic, aghast at the sight of his in-laws laid out like that. He’s just as shocked as Chae-kyung over this twist, but I don’t like the stunned, hurt look in her eyes as she turns to see him. And then she collapses, unconscious.

A bit later, Yeok walks into his throne room, his eyes haunted and his steps weary. He staggers toward his throne, and then falls to his knees on the steps before it. He recalls all the words his father-in-law had said, about serving his ruler to the last.

“Why did you make such a foolish choice?” Yeok asks despairingly. “WHY?”

Chae-kyung lies in a daze, only jumping up at the arrival of her nanny. She checks multiple times that Nanny truly is alive and well, and starts to say that she dreamt the worst nightmare about her parents. Nanny’s face twists into sobs as Chae-kyung insists it’s all a dream and that she has to go see her parents.

Nanny pulls her into a tight embrace, and reality crashes back in on Chae-kyung, who falls to the ground in sobs.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commander Park informs the queen dowager she has nothing to worry, because now Chae-kyung will leave her position of her own will. Ohh, you evil little man. You killed her parents so she wouldn’t be queen? Fuck you and the little horse you rode in on.

Ashen and bleak-faced, Chae-kyung asks for her mirror to be brought out, then asks her court lady to dress her particularly well so she can see the king.

Yeok looks up in surprise when Chae-kyung approaches his throne, and rushes to embrace her. It’s the scene that opened this show all those episodes ago, and Chae-kyung’s fist tightens around the dagger hidden in her palm.

She drives it down once but stops herself, and Yeok realizes something is amiss. He grabs her wrist and steps back to see her looking at him hatefully—and then, clasping her hand between his, he guides the dagger toward his heart.

Chae-kyung struggles to draw her hand back from his tight grasp, and it’s not clear who’s pushing and who’s pulling—but then the dagger drives forward and Yeok jerk backs in pain.

 
COMMENTS

So, we’re finally here, at the breaking point, and at the climactic scene we’ve been building toward the whole series long. I loved that the show opened on such a dynamic, emotionally fraught sequence and hinted at the anguish down the line, and both the up- and downside of that is that we’ve spent the whole series with this hanging over our heads. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have this kind of dramatic irony in play, because it lends weight and significance to moments of foreshadowing, and forces us to appreciate the brief flashes of light we’ve had in between the troubles.

It’s almost like watching a prophecy play out before your eyes, and this is the rare instance where I feel like fate is represented in a really compelling way—where I believe that these people are one hundred percent acting of their own free will and emotions, and yet I also feel this magnetic force propelling them along this set course. I tend to pooh-pooh the concept of fate when used in a fatalistic way, as though the universe wanted something and the people’s wills are inconsequential. But I appreciate this treatment of it, where something feels voluntary but also inevitable. Fate isn’t necessarily a greater power dictating events; it can be something less concrete and sentient than that—maybe it’s just giving a name to events that carry such weight that they tip the probability of certain reactions in their favor.

It seemed lovely in a bittersweet way that winning the coup wasn’t necessarily the endgame—at least, not for our main characters, for whom it may be something of a pyrrhic victory. It was really poignant to have both of them feeling bleak after having secured what they wanted—he got to win the throne without killing his brother, and she got to see an end to the constant tug of war where she was essentially the rope being pulled. But while I believe there’s a sense of relief at the threat being removed, I think they’ve suffered so much getting here that the entire act of winning the throne must come with a lot of trauma and baggage.

The biggest tragedy, I thought, was Minister Shin’s death, and I don’t even mean the underhanded way he went, likely at Deputy Commander Park’s orders. I mean how he was ready to die to be at Yeonsangun’s side at the end, because he was so principled that he lived according to his personal moral code, one far above the standards of any other mortal serving this court. I both admire that kind of honor and feel frustrated by it, because while I wouldn’t have Minister Shin be anything like the weaselly Secretary Im, the latter has a sense of self-preservation that I have to at least concede is well-used. He’s a despicable person for all the misdeeds he’s committed, but I don’t begrudge anyone fighting tooth and nail to survive.

But Minister Shin was Yeonsangun’s last chance at some semblance of humanity, I thought, even more than Chae-kyung. It’s deeply ironic that he cast him aside when he was the one man Yeonsangun could have trusted with his life, and Yeonsangun sealed his fate when he rejected his last connection to his better side. Even so, I was relieved to see his emotional reaction to Nok-soo’s death, because while I don’t think he felt a fraction of the care he feels for Chae-kyung (or that Nok-soo felt for him), I do think he felt something special toward her. I suspect that more so than losing her as a person, losing her amidst such a display of personal loyalty may have been the final blow that made him realize everything else he’d lost. Perhaps he hadn’t even realized he’d had such loyalty in the first place, making it extra pitiful.

But it’s a damn shame the minister went the way he did, his death implicating the Snail Brides (and by extension, Yeok). I’m extra chagrined about it because we know that the minister had been resigned to dying for a cause, only to have someone swoop in and hijack that death and imbue it with all sorts of other baggage. If I’m hunting for silver linings, I have to say that I’m glad that we’ve now caught up to the opening sequence of the drama, which means that everything after this point is a big question mark, and we’re now free of that particular dread and anticipation hanging over our heads. I honestly don’t know where we go from here, or what I even want for everyone, and that uncertainty is going to be the death of me this next week. Everyone biting your nails in anticipation?

 
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I watched parts of this raw yesterday, and immediately knew that I would have to comment on jb's recap as soon as it was published. So I went to bed, waiting for the recap. Boy, am I surprised by the fact that there are already 80 comments posted at 8 AM US EST. Kudos to all of you dedicated drama fans around the world! Still, I'm also surprised that very few comments touch on the family theme that has played an important role in both Rebel and Queen for Seven Days, the two big Yeonsangun-related sageuks of spring-summer 2017. I find the two different depictions of family to be very interesting, and maybe that's just me. But in Rebel, the "family," as in the Hong clan, ended up restored and revitalized. Gil Dong, Gil Hyun, and their little sister Eorini were reunited.... Heck! Even Mori joined their family. And Yeonsangun died deranged, sick, and alone, having lost both Nok-soo and Jangwon, the eunuch. Whereas in QF7D, particularly in this episode the family, that all-important Confucian social unit, is torn asunder. The stepmother finally and officially casts aside her stepson, younger brother fights against older brother, the daughter is left to mourn for her dead parents.... And oh, that final glimpse of Yeonsangun!!! (at least in this episode) We don't see him being dragged off alone, crazy and snarling with hate/anger (Granted, he did kill Nok-soo in this ep, so I guess that's pretty crazy. XD). But in his final scene, we see him with his family. So many dramas have ignored the fact that his insanity affected his family, his wife and sons.... Here, in QF7D, we see his little immediate family unit assembled in white prisoners' clothes. And his son, the Crown Prince, cries out for his father, mother, and even GRANDMOTHER. This reinforces the fact that, regardless of how strained their relationship was, the Queen Dowager was Yeonsangun's legal mother and legally grandmother to his kids. Stepmother/son, older/younger brother, aunt/niece, older/younger cousin (Yeonsangun's kids, at least the CP and Grand Prince Changnyeong, were CK's bio cousins and also her nephews by marriage), parent/child.... You have all these biological/legal relationships, all of these social/emotional ties, and they're all destroyed in this one scene.

Think about how horrifying and terrible that must've been in Confucian Joseon society....

Also, one last thing, when I watched CK's scenes with her dead parents, when I saw actor Jang Hyun-sung lifeless on the ground like that, I couldn't help but think of his appearance on the Return of Superman. I sincerely hope that Junwoo and Junseo didn't watch this episode! *sniffles*

So glad that at least Nanny has survived! Hopefully, she will be able to keep CK company in exile.

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Thank you for bringing up the Confucian angle in SEVEN DAY QUEEN. All along I've seen it as one of main reasons why Minister Shin has stuck by Yeonsangun. He is supporting his king, but he is also relating to him as a younger (and almost adoptive) member of his family, as well as his brother-in-law.

That's a nice contrast you pointed out with the theme of family in REBEL.

It's been interesting to see how the two dramas have dealt with the same historical figures. REBEL is much more an ensemble production, with fictional Amogae dominating the first third of the show. But in SEVEN DAY QUEEN, Yeonsangun has been front and center for the whole show, and has provided a monumental foil against which his historic brother and sister-in-law have developed.

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PakalanaPikake, thanks for your response! I definitely agree with you that Minister Shin stayed loyal to Yeonsangun for Confucian reasons. He was really a model subject.... And of course, as you mentioned, at least in this drama, he considered Yeonsangun to be a member of his family. He was basically young Yung's surrogate father.

Thank you for also reminding me of the differences between "Rebel" and "Qf7D!" It does make much more sense to think of "Rebel" as an ensemble production! :) And yes, Lee Dong Gun's Yeonsangun is definitely the foil to his historic brother.... Ironically though, I don't think he brings out much of his brother's good side as the foil! I think we've seen more of the darkness/complex gray areas within both of them!

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Also, I finally went and made an account! ^_^

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*waves to Shel*

Congrats on your new DB account!!

After seeing how Yeok turned out as depicted in SAIMDANG, LIGHT'S DIARY, I haven't been holding out much hope for Yeonsangun's successor. There simply isn't a magic wand strong enough to redeem him, much as I wish that could happen.

We have Yeonsangun's and Yeok's father to thank for this atrocious mess, along with the self-serving scheming of the Dowager Queen -- and the same old-same old yangban who screwed everything up in all three dramas. Grrr.

It occurs to me that Minister Shin could be called an "ideal" Confucian subject, in the Platonic sense of the word. He's too good to be true, and simply cannot exist in the real world. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be a person of principles.

As for the detronement proclamation scene with Yeonsangun's immediate family: I think it's the only time we've actually seen him with his legal wife and their children. In so many sageuks, the women and children are ignored and all we see are braying scholars and intransigent ministers hollering "Choena!" It's easy to lose sight of the collateral damage that sows the seeds of discord and destruction in succeeding generations. It's a poisonous gift that keeps on giving.

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Good morning and Happy Saturday, PakalanaPikake! (It's morning for me here ^_^). Thank you for welcoming me as an official Beanie! I've actually been around for 3-4 years now, but just never bothered to register since I don't comment often. Surprisingly, yesterday, DB somehow connected my new account to some old comments of mine from three years ago. Makes me wonder how they dug those up. :D Maybe it's all linked to the old email address that I used to register my account. XDDD.

Anyway, regarding Jungjong (Yeok) in "Saimdang," I only watched a little bit of that drama, but yes, he's really quite paranoid. Like, it almost makes you wonder if he and Yeonsangun both had some crazy genes. In history though, I think he's considered to have been a weak and ineffective sovereign, tied down by the officials who elevated him to the throne, at best. And maybe, I'm saying just maybe because I don't know if there's any actual historical basis for this, maybe paranoid and scared for his life at worst.

As for Seongjong, that's Yeok's and Yeonsangun's father, I'm not really sure what his personality was like in history. But we do know, according to what was recorded officially in the Sillok at least, that Yeonsangun's mother was jealous of her husband sleeping with his concubines. She was so jealous that she actually scratched Seongjong's face, and that's part of the reason why she was later deposed. So maybe Yeonsangun got his crazy genes from mom, not dad. Haha, I don't know.

In terms of seeing Yeonsangun with his Queen and sons when they were all deposed (the sons were basically sentenced to death by poisoning in exile), we've seen Yeonsangun with the Queen before! In one of the middle/later episodes, I believe it was some time after Yeok and CK were married, he hugs her pretty desperately. He hugs her while referring to her and their son as his only family. And then later in episode 17, the Queen helps tuck a drunk Yeonsangun into bed. He clutches her hand then too. But you're right that we saw the kids for the first time at the dethronement. I thought that was pretty significant in and of itself actually because we usually don't think of Yeonsangun as a father, good or bad. He's usually just portrayed as a bloody bastard who lusted after countless women/girls and went on crazy killing rampages. But if you look at history closely, let's just say in terms of what type of relationship he might have had with his official wife, Queen Shin.... Not much has been recorded, but the records do show that they had loads of kids together (three survived into childhood long enough for their names/titles to be recorded, Princess Hwishin Crown Prince Yi Hwang, and Grand Prince Changnyeong). So yeah, they had loads of kids together, and unless Yeonsangun was so crazy that he raped her all the time, that kinda tells you that there must've something between them, doesn't it? They must've felt something for each other, at least for some of...

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I typed out a long response to your response, PakalanaPikake, but I don't think it saved. XDDD. Let's try again, shall we?

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i am an avid fan of this sageuk when it all started. i usually don't like cliffhangers yet due to this beautiful heartbreak of a drama, i signed up for the ride unwillingly.

i cried the most when our CK mourned for her parents, although it was already presented since Day 1 that she will lose them for choosing the love of her life.

like my usual thought after every ep: They don't deserve her in that cruel world.

Kudos to LDG. hoping for a recognition for his impalpable performance.

this coming week is the longest week of my life, anticipating what the SDQ team will deliver for its finale. while waiting, i will ask the Drama Deities to give us a happy ending, or atleast a well executed and meaningful end for one of the best dramas of 2017.

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Cry river of tears too....PMY is such a tearjerker...amazing performer!

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On the positive note, nanny is alive!! I'm hoping for a happy ending next week even if that means writer-nim ignores history altogether ;p

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I just love NANNY! and yes she is for now the only family left for CK...CK deserves all her love and care! Fighting Nanny!

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OMG I cried so hard watching this episode. ? When CG said she missed the warrior, the conversation between CG's mom and Lord Shin, the moment when the whole King's family is exiled and crown prince called for grandmother and CG's sad to see her little cousins cried, and lastly, when CG's parents died. ????? I don't know how to recover from this pain.

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Yes! Chae-kyung's reminiscences of Warrior-nim were so doggone sad. How did things ever get so screwed up? Oh, right. They were SNAFU'd from the get-go, and we all hoped against hope that a seriously maltreated prince could overcome his horrid mistreatment at his father's hands. In the end, he couldn't, and he took the whole kingdom with him when he eventually went off the rails.

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(If someone else hasn't said this already...) Show, please pull "a MDBC".

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An episode of everyone behaving irrationally.

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Minister Shin's death was a little disappointing. I understand and respect why he chose that path, but a part of me is like 'he just died like that?!' I wanted to see a little more action and heroic-ness on his part before dying. I think it would have been more meaningful if Yeonsangun witnessed his death as his final act of loyalty which would add on to his realization of losing the the people who actually cared for him (and they can still plant the snail shell later).

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Ah! My poor heart! Tragedy and Angst have walked through the door and now I am heartbroken ?.

I never even considered the possibility that Chae Kyung may not even want to remain as queen. I always thought she was forced out against her will. What superb writing! With all that has happened, CK is going to want to die or leave the palace. Not even her love for Yeok will make her change her mind. She's seen so many dear family and friends either exiled or killed, she has no ambition to be queen, nothing to keep her in the palace at this point.

There's was really an ill fated romance.

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*Theirs*

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This show just breaks my heart. Will share my thoughts once I see the episode for myself.

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THIS IS EPIC IN PROPORTION! I have not been so emotionally, mentally and physically invested in a drama since Bridal Mask...Queen you are breaking me into million pieces!!!! Everything about this drama is perfect, almost flawless. The acting are just solid and fluid and consistent! Ottoke for its last week???? I am still incoherent I dont know what to say, this is just amazing, awesome, palpable, engrossing!!! ( I am now lost for descriptive words!)
Fighting my QueenCK and PrinceYeok! And LDG...deserving of a Baeksang!

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When the queen dowager hold CK's hand..I don't know but it seemed super unsincere to me. Also the moment Yeok gets the throne, she miraculously recovers. She is a snake and I don't like her nor her dog.
Huge congrats to LDG for that crazy laugh. It creeped me out, that is for sure.

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"Is it over?" Chae-kyung asked.

Me: Oh dear, this is where the tragedy starts.

I can only imagine the hell Yeonsangun has been living in. He's gone to crazy to the extent that he came up with the perfect revenge. Indeed, it is the most satisfying revenge. The throne is so heavy, it will eventually wear you and those around you down. No wonder kings are mostly, if not all, crazy, although in different degrees.

Not sure if it's just me but I didn't feel much for Nok-soo. Throughout the drama, she was just, well, there. I thought they could have done more justice for the character but it just ended flat for me. Also, I was hoping for a crueler death for the evil minister. Darn it!

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Ugh my heart???

All the actors have done an amazing job in this series but that scene with Yeok collapsing at the throne was amazing. YWJ's expression was just so raw with despair and spent, he looked entirely different.

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Enjoying this series and love coming in here after every ep to read your comments which is perceptive and very well put, especially the parts when you go deep into characterisations. Kudos to your level of commitment to watching and writing!

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This episode I cried a ocean of tears. The deaths of CK's parents and Noksoo really tugged at my heart. I even cried for Yeonsangun (especially that moment when he was with CK outside the palace)

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Will there maybe be a second season or is it already sure that there will not be a second one?

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The preview for ep 19 looks mindboggling...arent we supposed to be in the final stretch...exiled then just gentle OTP moments...
Why are there more drama n angst....
Our poor OTP....give them a break and us some beautiful moments....

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i start to miss yeon woo jin and park min young already.
hope to see them in other new drama soon.

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