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100 Days My Prince: Episode 7

So many smiles from our previously grumpy prince! Yul is still a grump, but he’s somehow a smiley grump, which totally shouldn’t work but somehow does. The best part is that all of his smiles are for Hong-shim, who’s starting to warm up to her odd husband despite herself. But the palace is in crisis and Yul is getting closer to being discovered, putting them both in grave danger.

 
EPISODE 7 RECAP

As Yul rides to Hong-shim’s rescue, Moo-yeon visits the house where, he was told, the doctor recently treated a man with an arrow wound. He finds Hong-shim’s father sobbing in his destroyed yard, and watches as Gu-dol tells Dad that Hong-shim is in trouble.

The name “Hong-shim” doesn’t mean anything to Moo-yeon, but he remembers his sister telling him that she lives in this house. It occurs to him that the Hong-shim they’re worried about might be Yi-seo.

Yul finds Hong-shim tied to a tree surrounded by her captors. Yul dismounts and quickly scans the area, noting the thugs’ weapons. He asks why they kidnapped Hong-shim as he calmly cuts a branch from a nearby tree, saying conversationally that this particular wood is used to make canes.

Hong-shim mutters that he’s an idiot, and Yul just grins that this wood hurts like nobody’s business. Laughing, the thugs pick up their staffs and swords, but Yul nimbly evades their attacks, sharply snapping them with his branch and making them cry out in pain.

But at one point, he finds himself facing the point of a sword, which triggers a memory of a man with his face half-hidden. It distracts Yul, giving the thug an opening to slash his arm.

While Yul is fighting, Hong-shim works to untie her bonds, and she frees herself just in time to grab a staff and stop another thug from killing Yul. Yul saves her life from another attacker, then grabs a sword and confronts the kidnappers.

They run in fear, leaving Yul and Hong-shim to confirm that they’re each okay. Yul says that it’s no longer safe at Hong-shim’s house, suggesting they go instead to the inn, where it will be harder to attack them.

Before he goes after the thugs, Hong-shim starts to tear off a piece of her skirt to bandage his arm, but Yul stops her, saying that she has so few dresses already. He reaches up to push her loose hair off her face, giving her the sweetest smile when she looks up at him.

At the palace, Je-yoon and the court lady he was caught with in the crown princess’s quarters are accused of being there to retrieve a talisman that was planted to harm the crown prince and princess. Je-yoon says he got lost, being new at the palace, and the court lady says she was returning a hair ornament to a friend.

Minister Kim declares their answers unsatisfactory and orders them tortured. They pause to ask Je-yoon if he was there on orders from his half-brother, Minister Jung (that explains a lot), but he insists he knows nothing of any talisman.

The interrogation is stopped by Minister Jung and his cronies, with the woman who oversaw the search of So-hye’s quarters. She reports that no talisman was found, and the ministers accuse Minister Kim of trying to torture a false confession out of Je-yoon and the lady.

Instead of halting the proceedings, Minister Kim orders more torture chairs to be brought in. He says he was going to question the ministers next anyway, and asks why they’re defending a man who sneaked into a locked area of the palace.

Minister Jung says that it was probably a lovers’ tryst, and that it’s not the first time Je-yoon has been caught behaving lewdly. He tells Minister Kim that Je-yoon deserves punishment, but that he can’t punish the court lady without the crown princess’s permission. Furious at being blamed, Je-yoon snarls that he’ll find a talisman if there is one.

Meanwhile, Hong-shim runs into the village men as she heads back to town. As Moo-yeon watches from the bushes, Dad and Gu-dol check on Hong-shim and send the men after the thugs, and Hong-shim insists she’s fine other than having sore wrists from being tied.

Je-yoon is allowed to investigate, and he asks for white sugar, which he sprinkles around the building, to the ministers’ confusion. He watches as ants cover the piles of sugar he left behind — all but one. He lifts the stone under the untouched sugar and finds the talisman, then explains that the ink used to write talismans is also used on the palace walls because it repels insects. Brilliant.

Minister Kim orders Je-yoon taken back for more interrogation, and when Je-yoon protests that finding the talisman proves he doesn’t work for the queen or his brother, Minister Kim claims that he found the talisman because he helped hide it. They start to drag Je-yoon away, and he yells, “The crown prince! A few days ago, the crown prince gave me an order.”

Minister Kim asks how that’s possible when the crown prince is dead. Kneeling, Je-yoon asks for a private audience, then looks up at Minister Kim and asks, “Or shall I speak right here?”

Yul follows one of the thugs all the way to Magistrate Jo’s office. The thug reports to Magistrate Jo and Master Park that Yul was skilled enough to fight off all four of them, and though Master Park is furious, the thug is more scared of Yul and tells Master Park to hire someone else.

Hong-shim slips away to watch for Yul when the restaurant ajumma brings drinks to calm everyone’s nerves. He finally arrives and notes that she seems worried, and tells her not to make fun of him now that she’s seen his incredible fighting prowess. Is he… is he teasing her right now??

If he is, Hong-shim shocks him out of it by ordering him to strip. He looks around like Right here?, but doesn’t seem reluctant, though she just means that he can’t be seen wearing those nobleman’s clothes. She steps close to help, and he doesn’t move a muscle until she squeezes his arm. When he flinches, Hong-shim jokes that he’s a whiner, and they both laugh.

Minister Kim allows Je-yoon his private meeting, wanting to know how he got an order from the dead crown prince. Je-yoon says he received a secret letter that led him to Crown Princess So-hye’s rooms, where he met the court lady by chance. He refuses to say what was in the letter or let Minister Kim see it, leading Minister Kim to accuse him of making it up.

While Hong-shim doctors his wounds at the inn, Yul closely watches her worried expression. He sees her injured wrists and swears to punish the men who hurt her, but she tells him that “people like us” should just be grateful they survived. He asks what she means by that, and she says sadly that they aren’t treated as humans.

She asks where he learned to fight, and he says he doesn’t know, but he adds (smiling again!) that he remembers being good at martial arts. He pronounces himself perfect, with his ability to read and his fighting skills.

Hong-shim snarks that he’s still bad at being humble, and she starts to leave for the night. But Yul stops her and asks her to stay with him tonight — he even makes it an order.

Je-yoon takes a letter to the gisaeng, Ae-wol, for safekeeping. He warns her that it could put her in danger, but she says her life isn’t that safe anyway. In return, she asks him to take her looking at flowers, and Je-yoon says that his heart belongs to someone, but Ae-wol isn’t bothered, finding the whole situation romantic.

After Je-yoon leaves, Ae-wol is attacked in her room by an assassin. He gropes her, looking for the letter, and she tells him calmly that she may be a gisaeng but he should still talk to her first. Ha, I like her spirit.

Though Hong-shim agrees to sleep in the same room with Yul, she’s startled to find him only inches from her face and tries to turn away. He throws an arm over her shoulder and pulls her closer, claiming that he needs to elevate his injured arm. Riiiiiight.

Moo-yeon meets with one of his men, who gives him a hand-drawn picture of Yul. He says he got it from a performance troupe that came through town, and that they plan to ask the troupe where they saw him.

At the same time, Ae-wol’s attacker takes Minister Kim the letter she got from Je-yoon, which is just a wanted poster. Angry at being tricked, Minister Kim orders Je-yoon brought to him immediately.

Hong-shim has a hard time sleeping, her thoughts busy remembering Yul fighting off her attackers, then gently stroking her cheek. She sits up, then takes his hand in hers to look at it closely.

A little while later, she goes into her father’s room, where she startles a stranger (cameo by Ahn Se-ha) who’s also staying in the room. Dad has gone home to dig up the clothing that Yul was wearing when he found him.

Moo-yeon is also still awake, recalling the night his and Yi-suh’s father was murdered and they’d escaped from Minister Kim’s men. Exhausted, they’d stopped to rest, and as the men hunting them drew closer, Moo-yeon/Seok-ha had covered Yi-suh in leaves and promised to meet her on the bridge soon.

He’d led their pursuers away, and had ended up at Minister Kim’s home, holding a knife to young So-hye’s throat. He’d told Minister Kim that Yi-suh was dead, and to call off the search or he’d kill his daughter. Minister Kim had intoned that sacrifice is a necessary evil, but had smirked that if Seok-ha took after his father, he’d be too weak-hearted to kill So-hye.

Seok-ha had raised his sword at Minister Kim instead, but Minister Kim had easily flipped and disarmed him, and Seok-ha had begged him to just spare his sister.

Back in the present, Moo-yeon tells his man that he wants to finish this job quickly. Even his man is unsettled at their orders to kill the crown prince, but Moo-yeon says he made a deal, and that after this, they won’t have to kill anymore. Their third friend returns to report that he found their target in Songjo village.

Minister Kim visits Magistrate Jo to say that he needs to kill Yul, and suddenly an arrow flies past them and embeds itself in a post, with a note attached. Minister Kim decides that no matter who did this, they can blame Yul and punish him.

Yul wakes early and goes to the cottage, where he sees that everything was destroyed by the thugs. He goes to the woodpile where he left his book, but it’s gone, which seems to upset him the most. The patrol comes to arrest him, so he sends Meok-goo to find Hong-shim and send her to Magistrate Jo’s office.

Yul is brought to the magistrate’s office, where he’s told that he’s been arrested for shooting at Magistrate Jo. Yul asks for proof that he shot the arrow, so Magistrate Jo shows him that the attached letter contains the poem he recited at Master Park’s party.

Yul says that’s not evidence, since everyone who was there heard that poem. Magistrate Jo hits him hard, saying that Yul needs to know his place, and orders him taken to the rack.

Hong-shim arrives with what looks like most of the village, asking what her fool of a husband did to deserve a beating. Master Park bellows that he’s heard Yul is a good fighter, and looks guilty when Yul asks if he sent those thugs.

Hong-shim is knocked down in the scuffle, and she starts wailing that she finally got married at her advanced age, but her house was ransacked and her husband can’t help her if he’s injured (LOL, Yul is actually rolling his eyes as he’s strapped to the rack). Master Park raises a sword to her neck and orders Yul untied.

At the palace, the Sungkyunkwan scholars petition the king — in fact, the king is bombarded with petitions, all asking for the deposition of Queen Park and Prince Seowon. The young prince visits him to ask why an interrogation that was supposedly secret results in hundreds of petitions within a day.

Prince Seowon believes that Minister Kim planned this in order to take over the country. He brings up Yul’s mother, and how she conveniently died just as Neungseon was being made king, asking if his father will risk losing him and his mother, too. Outside the door, Minister Jung listens, then walks away looking smug.

Yul is given a bow and arrow and told to shoot at a target to prove his guilt or innocence. Yul says that he can’t shoot because he lost his memory. Master Park aims his sword at Hong-shim’s throat and tells Yul to shoot, or she dies.

He says that if Yul hits the target, it proves he shot the arrow with the note, and if he misses, it proves he’s hiding his skill, and Hong-shim will die. The villagers exclaim over the unfairness of this, but Yul picks up the bow and takes aim. His hands begin to shake and he lowers the bow, and we see a rivulet of blood streaming down his injured arm.

But then he looks at Hong-shim, and he raises the bow again… then turns to aim at Master Park. He has another flashback of an arrow winging towards him, and when he lets the arrow fly, it misses Master Park’s sword. Furious, Magistrate Jo orders Yul beheaded.

Suddenly the crowd scatters, yelling that the royal inspector has arrived. It’s the man from Dad’s room last night, and he catches Magistrate Jo as he tries to make a run for it. The royal inspector introduces himself as Heo Man-shik, and when Magistrate Jo says he’s done nothing wrong, Man-shik tosses Yul’s missing book at his feet… a list of the corruptions he’s committed.

Man-shik issues an order to his men to arrest everyone involved, and in the resulting mayhem, Yul grabs Hong-shim and escapes. Once they’re safe, he hugs her and apologizes, explaining that he was aiming at Master Park’s sword.

Hong-shim reminds him that he said he couldn’t shoot, but Yul says that when he picked up the bow, he just felt that he could do it. She thinks it’s his injury that made his shot go off, but Yul says that he remembered something in that moment. She’s concerned about his arm, but he says he has to see someone before he goes to a doctor.

Minister Kim and his lackeys are upset to hear that the king granted an audience to Prince Seowon. They hear of an accident that killed the son of a chief officer, so Minister Kim goes to see Crown Princess So-hye in her quarters. He’s been waiting for a death in order to learn who the father of her baby is (was), and he congratulates her on her efficient work, but after he leaves, her smile fades.

Magistrate Jo is arrested and dragged off, though Master Park got away for the moment. The villagers eyeball Town Official Park, who sits in the dirt to cry that he was the one shielding them until the villagers take pity on him, and he jumps up to join the celebrations.

Yul correctly guesses that Man-shik shot the arrow with the poem on it. He calls Man-shik a shabby royal inspector, because he nearly got him and Hong-shim killed, and he even knows that Man-shik tripped the girl at Master Park’s party. He asks how Man-shik got the ledger of Magistrate Jo’s corruptions, and Man-shik confesses that Hong-shim gave it to him.

The ministers get their audience with the king, where Minister Kim’s side argues for Queen Park and Prince Seowon’s deposition. The other side state that a talisman isn’t enough evidence of a plot against the crown prince, and the king agrees. He decides to send the chief censor and Prince Seowon to look for evidence at the mountain.

So-hye visits Queen Park, saying that she hasn’t been able to sleep because of the queen’s “gift.” She brings her own gift — a plain wooden hairstick, which So-hye says will come in useful outside the palace. She turns to go, stopping first to gag for show and tell the queen that she’s pregnant.

The king pronounces that he will do nothing until the crown prince’s death is solved. Minister Kim asks why he doesn’t trust him after putting him in charge, and when the king says that Prince Seowon is his only living heir, Minister Kim drops the bomb that there’s another descendant — So-hye’s unborn child.

Yul wonders how Hong-shim knew that Man-shik is a royal inspector, and he thinks about how she often switches between standard language and local dialect, and how she can read but never tried to make money with her ability. He asks Gu-dol asks how Hong-shim became separated from her brother, but Gu-dol says she’s an only child. Kkeut-nyeo pipes up that actually, Hong-shim’s dad brought her to the village after his own daughter died, and Yul asks her to send Hong-shim to meet him in the field.

Hong-shim is also having doubts about Yul, remembering how he fought the thugs. Dad gets the hiccups from fright when he runs into Hong-shim, and she tells Dad that she came home safely because of Won-deuk/Yul, who took on four armed men with only a tree branch, then did archery when he was arrested. She asks Dad who Won-deuk really is, demanding the truth this time, but Dad just stammers an apology.

On his way to meet Hong-shim, Yul stops at a vendor to buy some ladies’ shoes. He specifically asks for a pair embroidered with cherry blossoms, and all the vendor has is a pretty pair of pink shoes with plum blossoms, but Yul takes them.

Moo-yeon and his men are searching the village, and Moo-yeon recognizes Yul as he’s buying the shoes. He follows Yul to the field, then hides and takes aim with his bow and arrow. He lets loose just as Hong-shim arrives to see Yul.

Over Yul’s shoulder, Hong-shim sees the arrow, flying straight towards him.

COMMENTS

Oh no… Hong-shim is going to jump in front of that arrow Joseon Noble Idiot style, isn’t she? I’ll never understand why character do that, instead of just pushing the person out of the way while also not getting themselves hurt. Hopefully I’m wrong, and this show does have a tendency to turn tropes on their ear, because I’d rather not see Yul feeling guilty all next episode because Hong-shim got hurt on his behalf.

It’s beautiful to see Yul’s gradual softening towards Hong-shim, and by extension, the villagers that make up his new community. It’s like a slow-motion version of how Hong-shim changed him when they were children, showing him that a person’s station in life doesn’t mean they’re lesser, or give him the right to treat them badly. I knew he’d come around because he’s proved that he’s open-minded before, though it’s taking longer this time because now Hong-shim is working against sixteen years’ worth of protective barrier that Yul put up between himself and other people. But it’s lovely to watch Yul learning from her example, and how he’s coming to care for her despite himself. And just like I predicted, he may be entrenched in his behaviors, but once he changes his mind, he’s interestingly unselfconscious about showing that he’s changed. I love that about him — he’s not shy about admitting, even just through his actions, that he feels differently than before, and is open about showing it. I mean, he bought Hong-shim a present! He spent money on someone other than himself!

The palace intrigues are getting more complicated, particularly regarding So-hye’s pregnancy, but my main takeaway from this episode is that she had a random official’s son killed in order to protect the real father of her child (I believe it’s Minister Jung, Je-yoon’s half-brother, but the show still hasn’t told us for sure yet). I don’t think the man she killed is truly the father, because while she’s going along with her father’s plans for now, think that So-hye has her own agenda that involves her baby’s father. Meanwhile, the king refuses to kick out Queen Park and Prince Seowon even though everyone agrees they must have planted that talisman, instead choosing to send Prince Seowon to look for evidence regarding Yul’s (supposed) death. Of everyone at the palace, I think that the younger prince is probably the one with the clearest moral compass, so he could end up being a great help if he can find Yul before Moo-yeon kills him.

Once again, I appreciate how the plot seem to move forward at a consistent pace, allowing for more interesting developments in the story. I was surprised that Hong-shim and Moo-yeon found each other so quickly, and that Moo-yeon only gave a token attempt to deny who he really is, but now we have him poised to discover that the man he’s been sent to kill is the man is actually his sister’s husband. That’s going to put a wrench in things, especially since it’s clear that Moo-yeon is only carrying out these orders to win his freedom, and not because he likes killing. I actually hope that Moo-yeon’s part in the story increases, now that he’s the only one who knows where the crown prince is — I’d even love to see him turn, and actually help Yul and Hong-shim hide from Minister Kim. He’s got a big decision to make… he can kill Yul and win his freedom but lose his sister, or help his sister and find another way out of whatever unholy arrangement he has with Minister Kim.

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Thank you!

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This show quickly hooked me last week now I'm all caught up in only a matter of days!

I'm loving that Won Deuk/Yul is starting to get in on Hong Shim's secrets. He may be the one with the obvious secrets, but Hong Shim has some pretty big secrets too! I like that he's noticing things about her that others may not have caught on to...

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I'm glad that they are both aware of each other's noble habits. It was one of my gripes earlier.
They have both given each other clues that aren't peasants.

I'm also glad that Yul caught on with Hong-shim's inconsistent dialects which was a cause of confusion among some viewers. (Nam Jin-hyun was doing it on purpose 👍). An uptown girl from the capital (Hanyang) hiding out in the village as a country bumpkin.

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Oh god, I can't help giggling everytime Yul is on screen. Aside from the times I'm not swooning that is! Hong Shim and Yul are such a refreshing couple to watch bickering but also making moony eyes at each other!

As much as I love these two, I want more Je Yoon! I want him to find our crown prince first before the villains get him... Or even Hong Shim's brother...who seems to have enough burden as it is. It's going to be hard to take Yul's life now that he knows that his sister seems to know him. I don't know how he's going to escape from Minister Kim but I really hope he does! He better not die!

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I also like Jeyoon's scenes. However, did he purposely put Aewol's life in danger by giving her the fake letter when he knew he was being followed? He knew he was being followed by his expression when he left the geisha house. He also knew that someone would take the letter from Aewol. Otherwise, the fact that the letter was fake serves no purpose.

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From the conversation that they had, it was pretty telling that Aewol knew what would happen if she took the letter. And she took it willingly.
That being said, Je yoon trusted her to take care of herself in this situation I think, because he knew that no harm would come to her. After all, Minister Kim only wanted the letter retrieved and didn't order anyone's death in the process. And from what we saw, she wasn't harmed in any way (that we know off). Hopefully there is a deeper plan to this that will be revealed later on.

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I hope there is a deeper plan that will be revealed later. This drama does use that as a plot device, and Jeyoon is a really smart character.
Otherwise, everything you said requires a leap of faith on Jeyoon's part--that Aewol would take the letter willingly even in the face of danger; that Aewol (whom he didn't remember) could take care of herself; and Minister Kim wouldn't harm her (even though he had killed many people in the past as collateral damage), and Jeyoon didn't know Minister Kim well.
In any case, I really enjoy Jeyoon's character, so his seemingly callousness in putting Aewol in danger seemed out of character.

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It's true that Je yoon is smart. So if Aewol hadn't accepted the note he would have had to find another way to confirm his suspicion of Minister Kim. The show took the easy way out.
I agree that I have a lot of faith in Je yoon. But it would have been better if he gave the letter to the friend he knows very well instead of Aewol. But either way like you say, they would have been in danger.
I just have this imaginary scene playing in my head where Aewol convinces Je yoon to trust her with anything and that she can take care of herself. That is a LOT of faith I know lol but I hope to see this play out in the next few episodes. If not, well I'll keep it in my imagination. :)

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I thought that whole scene was unnecessary. If he is smart he should know that Minister Kim would have him followed since he is connected to the crown prince.

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Songjo village is now without a magistrate and Je-yoon would be a great candidate with his current status. Low level (half yangban) nobles weren't given high official position in the capital even though they were talented.

I'm so done with all the eye-rolling court nonsense in Songjo village.
Let's get a bit serious here. Yul needs someone on his side outside of the palace. It won't be long before he is discovered by Minister Kim.

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Hear, hear! 👏

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Stay tune for a special edition of "Won Deok and the Magistrate."

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The fight scene of Yul was so cool I watched it 3 times! Lol :p
Thanks so much LollyPip for your speedy recaps and insights, especially when VIU have some minor errors in the Eng translation, and giving us this space to fangirl and discuss about this great show! :)

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I am so disappointed. After 8 episodes, this drama has yet to speak to my heart. I am all head at the moment and I do not like that.
I don't really care that much about any of the characters, I do enjoy them, but my heart is not racing.
8 episodes... filled with useless things and I feel this is time we have lost for the real romance and vengeance. Do not rush the last part with a deus-ex-machina please

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So the book that Yul was hiding behind his house, with a totally different title, was actually a ledger detailing the magistrate's corruption? How did he get his hands on it?
Like yul, even I've doubts as to how HS knew that the guy was a royal inspector? And what as he even doing in her father's room in the first place?
Did yul and the the royal inspector plan all that? If so, it was very sloppily executed. Yul and HS were in serious danger. Seeing that yul didn't tell him about the ledger beforehand, why did he send word for him? What were they planning to do? This entire 20 minutes was extremely confusing.

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That guy was waving a rather important stick at Hong Shim when she barged into his room to find her father. (I just assume that as a last minute addition, Hong Shim's dad was made to share a room with him because there are limited rooms or something. Or maybe cos it's cheap. Like a Joseon version of a backpackers' dorm.) As a lady of noble birth, I assume she knows what that bronze-gold-ish thing is. Normal people don't carry sticks of such expensive metals.

For a woman whom I assume stopped formal education as a child at age 6 or 9, Hong Shim impresses me with her literacy level.

And no, Royal Inspector was the only one who plotted that huge drama. Yul got dragged in only cos the crazy nobles needed to pin something on him to off him and stop him from exposing their corrupt lying ways. Otherwise, anyone else could have been the victim.

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Then why did Yul call for him? They showed only one flashback between them, where neither Yul told him about the ledger nor they came up with a plan. that's why that entire sequence felt disjointed for me, Everything just turned out for the best.

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Yul called for the inspector because he knew the person orchestrating his arrest was Master Park and was hoping the inspector could walk in on him when they were in the act of being corrupt. He did get lucky by thinking quickly.

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(off topic). "ihatehopkins," Johns Hopkins? Haha...

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I read the situation much the same way as our fellow beanie so eloquently explained.Yul and HS both happened to identify the official due to their implicit understanding of the 'upper' class trappings.Yul s inferences are mainly down to his observational skills that have been highlighted since ep 1-2 and HS just happened to walk in on him with the wand/pen thingy that made her connect the dots.But I totally see your point about the clumsy way in which half the info is shown to us and the other half just left for us to figure out.not sure if there were obvious cultural nuances that seamlessly connected the dots for native viewers 🤔.I am a huge fan of show don't tell but this particular series powers that be seem to take it a bit too far and just assume us to be in the loop.
Despite these inconsistencies, i want to like the show and most of the times,I do.So here s hoping these leaps will be far and few in between

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Yup, after 7 episodes I kind off given up on my high expectations and sit back and enjoy NJH & DO's cute moments. Surprisingly this is a TVN drama, they seldom have such bad editing (Is the root problem?) before. There were moments where it was so unbelievably well shot like in the barley field and mountain scenes, similar to Mr Sunshine kind of standard, so it's hard to imagine directing is the the problem.

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OK, here's what I understood. The royal inspector, while attending the old geezer's birthday party, took notice of Won Deuk, Hong Shim and how mean the magistrate/old geezer were to the villagers.
Won Deuk, while reading the villager's papers for free, found out how corrupted the magistrate was and decided to write up a ledger.
He then found out the disguised royal inspector and that's why when he was taken away he told the child to find the scholar "with the friendly eyes".
Meanwhile, Hong Shim had a revelation for herself with the important stick, as @peeps pointed out. So, they both knew that he was a royal inspector and both contacted him separately (Won Deuk through the child, Hong Shim by taking the ledger). Since the ledger was taken before Won Deuk was arrested, hence the arrow that flew in – the royal inspector was probably already poised to get the magistrate.

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He didn't receive the ledger before. He clearly told Yul that HS gave him the ledger after he was arrested. Also the kid didn't go to the inspector directly. He informed HS first what Yul told him to do. That's when she took the ledger to him I guess.

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I missed (or misunderstood) that part. Since Won Deuk didn't find the ledger before getting arrested, I assumed Hong Shim had already taken it, because she already knew its content, having found it in the previous episode. I don't know, at least that's how I put everything together in order to make sense. 💁

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She did find the ledger before and took it, but didn't hand it over till yul's arrest. That's why that entire plan of the inspector seems poorly executed to me.

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HS discovered the identity of the inspector from the golden stick. The golden stick had writings on it, which included the guy's name and probably his position or clues implying his position (the words were too small to read). (At approx. 32 mins.)

WD discovered the identity of the inspector because of the poem WD had recited at Park's party. At around 59 mins, in a flashback, the guy asked WD how WD knew about the poem, and WD said he didn't know. As WD was walking away, he heard the guy talking to himself, "I submitted that poem for the civil service exam." WD probably figured out that the guy was a gov official from the fact that the guy took the civil service exam. (WD probably knew the poem because, as the crown prince, he graded the civil service exam.)

WD sent for the inspector b/c he knew that the inspector could save him from the mayor, and he (WD) had information that could incriminate the mayor (so the inspector would arrest the mayor, thereby saving WD).

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Your answer makes sense. But doesn't it seem like he put too much faith in him? What made him think that the inspector would save him? To him, yul is just a commoner. And they didn't share any information regarding the ledger beforehand.

I'll probably stop nitpicking now. I'm overthinking this.

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He probably did put too much faith in him....but did he have a choice? I think that's the best thing he could come up with while trying to run away from the guards 🤔

(But I always feel like I miss important parts, so I don't know if my way of thinking makes sense 😅)

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I think that even though WD didn't have the ledger (b/c HS had taken it), he could tell the inspector the info orally. Upon hearing the accusations, the inspector would postpone WD's punishment to investigate his claims, thereby saving WD from the punishment.
The purpose for the inspector going to the gov office is not to save WD, but to arrest the mayor. The mayor getting arrested results in WD escaping punishment (being "saved"), which is what WD intended when he summoned the inspector.

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I'm a bit confused here so help me understand this.

Won Deuk was the one residing the poem. How does that make him discover the identity of the inspector?
Yes Inspector Heo submitted it in his civil exam. He should be the one to be suspicious that this Won Deuk is not a peasant but someone with high position in the government.

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Yup loads of leaps of faith from Yil and not enough critical thinking on the part of the royal officer..smh..Many of us have pieced together what would happened behind the scenes and vat our main characters were thinking,but it doesn't excuse the fact that while they were smart in some parts of the story,in other parts the collective IQ(and common sense) seem to drop straight into negative.I dunno if we should just blame the editing or spread it evenly to the writer and director as well.while there are brilliant frames,interssting characters, and poignant dialogues the drama also lacks the cohesive flow I would have loved to see.Oh well

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Agreed!
They are pretty sloppy, fortunately these are familiar tropes that we can easily figure out.

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"Won Deuk was the one residing the poem. How does that make him discover the identity of the inspector? Yes Inspector Heo submitted it in his civil exam."

I think it's because: taking the civil service exam = government official. WD overheard the inspector saying to himself that he (the inspector) had taken the civil service exam, so WD assumed the inspector was a government official.

(Koreans in Korea likely understood the implications of taking the civil service exam much better than i-fans. After all, preparing/taking the civil service exam is a common theme in many k-dramas. Unlike today where many Koreans take the exam, much fewer people took it during the olden days, so the takers/passers got much higher positions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_public_service_examinations)

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Lol that's me being defensive so I deleted it.

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I figured Yul would have read the inspector's civil service exam. He must have really liked it to have memorized it. Or will we find out that Yul has photographic memory?!

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In episode 6, Won Deuk bought a book, spending all the money they earned from copying the novels.

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My takeaway is... Younger Prince would probably make a good king and Yul can go galloping off with Hong Shim and be a town official somewhere. Maybe at the very place he is right now. It has to be a position and place of administration that comes with Yuk Jeon though, because he is completely useless at labour.

I wonder how these two boys were bourne from their snivelling of a spineless cowardly father's DNA. They're pretty smart and steel strong.

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I love that they're both smart. I hope Seowon gets to play a pivotal role in all of this.

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They both seem to have strong mothers though ;)
Yul s mother was decidely moral,strong and was likely to cede her husband's self serving ways.from the few scenes she had,I can totally see how she would have most probably stood against her husband ascending the throne at the expense of his own brother.Hence Min Kim s timely chess move to take out the worthy queen.half hope she is alive and will end up living happily with Yil and HS by end of series🤗
And say what of the current queen,she has chuztpa and unlike a certain king is actively taking steps to get to where she wants,granted most of the steps are putting her faith in tailsmen and a decidedly suspect chief counselor but hey no one s perfect .if there is one thing I like about this show,it's the way the female characters all seem to be engaged in their own rebellions against an overwhelmingly patriarchial society.The queen,the seja bi,our Hong Shim,they are all trying to fight their battles

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Hoops forgot to add our courageous Ae will to the gang of plucky ladies

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Yes, I am predicting that the younger brother will become heir to the throne. I also predict (hope) that Yul will abdicate the throne in favor of a more peaceful existence with Hong-shim. That is, if the show doesn't take a darker turn......

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I've been thinking that Yul might be happier far away from palace politics, and could end up hiding his identity after his memory returns. With a talented younger brother to take his place, he might just succeed.

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Thank you for the recap. I started watching this for Nam Ji-hyun, I like her acting. But the actor D.O ....😶. This has nothing to do with the fact that he is an idol turn actor, his acting leaves a lot to be desired. This is my first time seeing him in anything so maybe he will get better as the drama progresses. I keep thinking that if it was a different lead actor then this drama would be perfect because I am enjoying the storyline 😬. Please EXO fans don’t kill me 😅

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You should totally watch It's Okay It's Love. That was his first acting role, he was a small but very important character. The drama is really good too and it's one I always recommend to people. Kyungsoo's character here is supposed to be this way.

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Oh I agree. I don't care about the idol fact, I just wanted an actor who looks older and more charismatic. I can't help myself to see a teenager and not an adult... He just looks as rebellion teenager for me :p

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I guess Kyungsoo was good enough to portray the character the writer had in mind! ;)

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I mean we don't like him in this role and the fact that writter, PD or anybody chose him, doesn't really change this fact.

It's not the first time I don't agree with the choice of actor in a drama...

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Oh yeah, I totally understand that! ^^

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Oo..I think I feel the same way in some scenes.Don't get me wrong,DO is perfectly serviceable most of the time and is positively brilliant with his haughty ways,but I can see the green-ness come through in many scenes.It's understandable given he is fairly new and isn't a full time actor yet.

Another thing that catches me unaware at times is his physicality.He carries himself as the broad shouldered seja but in certain scenes his more demure form seems to undercut some of the grandeur.this episode when he suddenly took off running after the hooligans,i suddenly burst out laughing coz that was a kiddo run.
Usually the director chooses to frame Yul and HS and many other side characters in varying elevations and angles to create the illusion of a more imposing physicality and it works fine but then there are moments like this.inevitable ofc😊
Fully aware that this might also be coming from an intrinsic bias I have about the tall dark hero who towers over the relatively diminutive heroine ,the whole cast and then some

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Sometimes I wonder if it's me being unable to take any criticism (..maybe a little bit, lol..), but I think I'm ok with it if it's something presented with actual points that can be discussed (for example saying "his acting leaves a lot to be desired" without any further explanation, doesn't sit right with me 😅)...so thank you for that 😅

I get what you mean in this comment, I partially agree, too; obviously I don't necessarily see Kyungsoo as being the best actor ever, he has his weak and strong points, but overall I think he's a great actor an he's doing a very good job here too...

And I agree about that bias you mentioned, it surely has an influence on how people see him and their expectations of how he should look, imo...I'm happy he is breaking those stereotypes, though, lol!! xD

Finally, yes, his way of running was a bit too cute at times, I noticed to! xD
(But the way he jumped on that horse, on the other hand *-*...)

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I can't hide my bias at times as well :D But anyone who claims he's the best actor ever is delusional and so is a person who outright dismisses him. If you watch him long enough, you'll realize he has great potential and has a lot to work with. There's lots of room for improvement but he can certainly stand his ground among his peers.

As for his physical stature, I look to other great short actors like Jo Jung-suk, Song Joong-ki, Kim Soo-hyun, Yoo Seung-ho, Im Si-wan and many more. I think he'll be okay ;)

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DO on the horseback truly was majestic :D
Also totally agree with your comment about the need to smash the archetypal hero image. I always sigh over the ultra diminutive leading ladies but never realized that I myself am guilty of having a bias for strapping heroes :( Who said dramas can't be vehicles of self realization ;) As for this particular instance, my issue with his 'physicality' isn't necessarily to do with his height. One of my all time faves Jo-Jung Seok and he is of similar height,i think. But when he is on screen,he totally dominates it. Erm can't really explain it,so for now I will term it as a 'presence'. Granted comparing DO to a veteran like JJS is ridiculous.And I think a lot of that presence gets developed over time,which is precisely why I said DO is doing a good job and has his moments of brilliance.Besides this is my first time watching him outside of EXO MVs, so my opinion is purely based on his interpretation of Yul so far.

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@Ashes2Ashes

Yes, I totally get your point! :)

Btw...I hope you can check KS entire filmography!! You won't regret it! ^^

...talking about Jo Jung Suk, you didn't see the film they did together (Hyung/My annoying brother)? Because that was beautiful and probably Kyungsoo's best performance to date =)
(JJS slayed too, but that's a given xD)

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Thanks for the recommendation. Always on the look out for more Jo Jung Seok ;) Will check out "My annoying brother" as soon as I get a chance :)

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@ashes2ashes

If you do, remember to bring tissues! 😅

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I think I can't stop my brain to think about the last partners of Nam Ji Hyun. The scenes where she was lying with Ji Chang Wook in Suspicious Partner were cute and sexy. In this drama, they look like they have the same height, the same size of face. I just prefer manlier men, I guess :p

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Lucky girl that Nam Ji-hyun ❤ being paired with Kang Ha-Neul, Seo In-Guk, Ji Chang-Wook... 😊sigh...

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I guess the mystery is solved. Since her adoptive father had a real daughter who died, Hong-shim must believe that Won-deuk was the fiance of the late daughter. That explains everything now! Hong-shim and Won-deuk are so well-matched as a couple, but of them are clever and quick-witted. I love it.

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I'm also semi-convinced that Moo-yeon IS the baby daddy. So-hye clearly hated her father from the moment she knew he didn't value her life and she and Moo-yeon would have formed some kind of bond based on the fact that they both hated the person they were forced to grow up with.

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This show has a Shopping King Louis vibes. Main actor with amnesia. Missing brother.

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A beanie pointed out that Minister Jung is probably the baby's father. And the guessing game continues. Is there any reason why he is at the Queen's side?

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The father is more into Moyeon imo.

Minister Jung is family of the queen, cmiiw

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Thank you LolliPip! Whenever WonShim have scene together it's always heart fluttering, fluff overload. Gosh they are so cute together...

Iirc in the synopsis when You are regain his memory he doesn't know if the crown princess is pregnant. So maybe he will accept the baby as him or something OaO

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I don't care about the palace. I groan every time the show switches scenes. Even Je Yoon can't save it. I hated how Hong Shim didn't tell them the truth that Won Deuk saved her. She was ruining his good name by making everyone think he got scared and ran away. I love Ae Wol's fearless attitude, first with Je Yoon ("So what if I die?"), then to the assassin ("I may be a lowly gisaeng, but I didn't allow you to grope me.") Why does Hong Shim's father have a roommate, and why didn't Hong Shim ask who he is?! I'm curious about Moo Yeon's friend. "After this, you and I will not have to kill any more people." Thanks for the recap, @LollyPip!

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I think the palace scenes are necessary to provide a backdrop for the mystery and the high stakes. Without those scenes, the high stake secrets and mystery wouldn't make sense. Without the mystery (leaving just the romance), this drama wouldn't be as attractive to many viewers.

HS was smart not to tell everyone right away that WD saved her. The fact that WD--an "idiot" villager--could fight off five armed thugs would raise suspicions of who he actually was, which might endanger his life. Thus, having people thinking that he was a coward was a better alternative than putting his life in danger.

As for the father's roommate, during the olden times, it's common for multiple people to share the same hotel room. So it wasn't out-of-the-ordinary that the father and the inspector shared the same hotel room. (That coincidence led HS to discover that the roommate was an inspector; and she later summoned him to save WD from the mayor.)

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I think she didn't tell the truth because she was surprised by how he could actually do that...he is not supposed to be a martial art expert, she likely didn't want to expose that part of him yet..
That's my take, at least 😊

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Ae Wol really is dabaek😍

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Wondeuk got to be Hongshim's knight in expensive clothing on a horse and everything, those scenes left me swooning, sigh. He cares for her and he makes it so obvious. He even apologized for the arrow going the wrong way :( their banter is a lot more comfortable now and they're laughing together. Wondeuk's pride at discovering something he is good at and then Hongshim just being done with his praises of himself is so so cute huhu I really love them as a couple and I can't wait for Hongshim to finally realize her feelings since it seems their time together is limited :( pls be happy wonshim couple

I hope Orabeoni finds a way out of killing the Crown Prince and out of Vice Premier's grip without having to die. I want to see a happy brother-sister reunion :(

Is the palace really going to take Crown Princess' and Vice Premier's word on the pregnancy when everyone knew Yul wouldn't sleep with her... she left so abruptly that night she asked to be in Yul's arms how could anyone believe that sigh. Although no palace is complete without the power-hungry schemers lol

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Last week, I belive, I actually thought minister Jung could possibly be the father, just because of that scene where he saw the envelope (did we find out what that was in the end? I should rewatch again the episodes) the crown princess hid.

But now I changed my mind since they actually never had any relevant interaction that might suggest them having such a relationship..

I'm pretty set on Moo Yeon now, but I'm open to other possibilities too! I feel like they didn't leave any definitive hint through the drama...or maybe I just missed them lol!!

On a lighter note, I still love my Wonshim couple dearly!
I hope we can have some more genuinely happy time for them next week before all hell brakes loose...because that's going to happen pretty soon, I'm afraid! ㅠㅠ

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Yeah I am also in the oraboni- baby daddy camp.From last ep ,it is clear that Seja bi was aware and pained by the twisted way in which she came to be married to Yul.Her Dad' s nonchalant way of gambling with her life also seem to have struck a chord.We have also seen how she puts on a sneering,colder armour around her father(can't reqlly blame her there) and so her sneering at Moo yaon that one time they were on screen together as adults look more like posing for her Father's sake and may be just may be to deflect any potential doubts away from him.

Another possibility could be the crown prince.(Doing my best to not ick out at the violation of trust/morality on her part as an older sis in law if this comes to be true)This would explain her hiding a message that the queen 'loyalist' min.Jung can pass onto the younger prince
I just don't see her casually endangering her life along with her family s on a potential power play with min Jung.the lady is ambitious and in many ways her Father's daughter,but her affair seems more of an emotional one.

It's mainly a credit to the way she is being played that I tend to give her some benefit of the doubt despite her callous treatment of other lives.what can I say,i like my villains layered and grey 😚

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I had though Minister Jung was the baby's father. Now I don't think so. So who was that letter for that the Crown Princess hid in the roof tile? And what was it about? Was it a love letter -- or an order to whack a random guy so she could pass him off as the baby's father to get Daddy Dearest off her back?

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Very good questions, there!!
I still don't know, not sure if I missed something or if the show is keeping us in the dark about that 😅

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Ooh..I didn't think the letter would be a kill order.Like her dad,she might also prefer not to get her hands dirty,esp. when she knows it's an innocent dying to throw dad off the trail. But if it is true,I don't get why Min Jung would follow orders of Min Kim's daughter unless he is in cahoots with her or is doing it to stop the exposure of her affair with the younger prince. Or may be we read the scene wrong and the letter was not really meant for Jung?He might have tailed the Seja bi?But why won't he use the letter(given the era,I am guessing any communications the princess would have on the down- low could be ground for deposition esp when she is supposedly hiring the heir) if it didn't implicate himself or any one in his camp.
Hmm may be this show has more depth than I have been giving it credit for :)

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At first I thought the letter was for min Jung too (hence me thinking they might have some kind of relationship)...then I realized that might not be the case, he could have just took it without her knowing...

But I don't think we know which one it is yet...I guess I'll just wait for the show to reveal more details, hopefully soon! xD

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My only suspect was Moo-young since eps 2 and I'll stick with it because I don't particularly enjoy the guessing game with this kind of writing.

At this point, I don't know if Jung would double cross the queen to help create an heir to the throne over Prince Seowon. He has more to gain with the queen's son then having to sleep with their political enemy to create another heir to the throne. What would he get out of it? He is never going to marry her.

I really hope that this crown princess is not stupid. I have been rooting for her because I do sympathize with her situation. She has been nothing but a pawn and Yul hates her because of her father's sin.
I hope that her plan to have a child outside of her marriage was at least for love or even revenge.

On the other hand

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"not because he likes killing" his calm "thank you for your work" while walking the poor fletcher off the cliff gives the lie to that statement - he was not troubled or remorseful at all, and its a cruel cold thing to say to someone as you kill them. but thank you very much for your excellent thorough recap - that the drama is deciding to redeem him or more likely give him a free pass is the cue ive been waiting for to drop this

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Oh, you're here again complaining about Moo Yeon :)
I'm curious about what made you keep going with the hate-watching after ep 3 or something, though..

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oh you're here again! I thought you were going to stop after you didn't show up in ep 6. please stop complaining and being such a wet blanket. you can just stop watching or stop commenting and allow everyone else who is here because they enjoy the show to enjoy it in peace.

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He bought her a preseeeeent! Yey!

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Why would Hong Shim or any of the villagers be surprised by Yul can fight. He lost his memories of who he is, but according to what they know, he has been off fighting in the army. I guess their assumption is that losing ones memory equals losing every other learned skill, which is false since he can clearly speak, walk, read, write, etc.

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No, that's not what they are assuming at all...
Just because he was in the army it doesn't mean he should be that good when it comes to martial arts (?) ;)
It's still suspicious for him (supposedly a peasant like them) to have that skill

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Yul is on another level when it comes to martial art. They don't teach this in the military.
Who lectured their opponents about the difference between a Spindle branch and Ash tree branch before whooping their asses?

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Won-deuk is supposedly a commoner, they should not be able to read or write (I'm thinking this drama is set before King Sejong's time and the Korean alphabet hasn't been invented yet), and his martial arts expertise is next level, more than what they would be taught in the military which is why Hong-shim doesn't immediately tell the others that he was the one who saved her.

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A commoner in the military would not be given a role that requires him to fight. HS's dad is also in the military but he is just a night watchman or something to that effect. So a commoner fending off 5 men skillfully, knows how to shoot an arrow and read Hanja would raise eyebrows.
Just an observation related to the comment above - When HS wrote down the sign for her "solution agency", it was in Hangul. When they were transcribing those novels, the title of the book and WD's writing was in Hangul. So Hangul existed during this drama's time. But all the other formal writing shown in the show are Chinese characters (or Hanja, I assume). So, it is safe to assume only the royals and the yangban (noble folk) would train in both because all the learnings and the old text are in Hanja. But HS clearly didn't mind showing off that she knew how to write Hangul when she put that sign up in front of her house, but she chose to hide her yangban learnings. Perhaps it wasn't ground-breaking if a commoner knew a little Hangul, but Hanja was out of reach.

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Thank you!
I didn't think of Hong-shim's signs and that she had already learned Hangul.
That makes sense because the villagers knew what it meant but they didn't understand the official announcement of the crown prince's passing.

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I think the timeline is after Sejong the Great coz these were Korean letters he was scribing in the book at ep 5 @1:08, if my eyes served me correctly.

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I watch this drama because I really like the life of Yul and Hong-Shim in the village. I really hate the bad politics in the palace and skip it.
I hope Yul end up living outside the palace with Hong-shim after kick the evil minister kim out.

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I love that Won Deuk gave Hong Shim shoes. He was so adamant in returning the shoes he wore during their wedding and finds his straw shoes uncomfortable. But instead of buying one for himself he got his wife a pair first.

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It's a sweet love gesture to buy shoes for the one he cares for but according to K-drama sageuk tropes, that would mean "separation" is coming.

Nevertheless, I like seeing him grow from being selfish and useless to someone dependable and selfless.

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...oh no...why ruin the sweet moment! TT TT

Funny thing is, I was just now reading old comments about "It's ok that's love" and someone mentioned the same thing about a scene where JIS character gives shoes to D.O. ...I didn't make the connection with our Wonshim couple though! :(((

Anyways, I'm quite positive this drama is going to have a happy(ish) ending (fingers crossed ^^)..so I hope that whatever separation might come before that will be thoughtfully written! :)

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Ooops sorry!

No worries though. I'm also positive that it'll have it's rom ending with Yul and Yi-suh in their rightful place.

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that scene in It's ok it's love killed me (and the tissue box beside me). That was beautifully heart wrenching!
I couldn't help but think the same though about the shoes symbolizing an eminent separation. But since this show has so far been avoiding the cliches. So maybe we won't get noble idiocy angst.
Though makes me wonder how the brother will ever redeem himself. He has killed, albeit to gain freedom and go back to his sister. I really want this show to subvert the other inevitable noble sacrifice and let the brother have at least somewhat of a happy ending.

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I thought he thought of buying the pretty shoes for her because (1) he places quite big importance on comfortable shoes for himself (running away with rental shoes, refusing to return after wedding) ; (2) he wanted to replace the cherry blossom tree that was cut down. Hong Shim mentioned to him previously it was her favorite tree/flower. So he wanted to get her shoes with the blossom on them.

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Thank you for recapping, LollyPip! I am still confused about the book in the woodpile. I thought Yul had bought reading material, but now I don't think it was. Did he buy a blank book and write down Magistrate Jo's misdeeds (that he'd heard the neighbors complaining about?), or had Hong-shim been keeping the ledger and using the woodpile as its hiding place, and Yul had stumbled across it?

I cracked up when I realized that this episode contains a twist on the story of Chunhyang -- but with Won-deok as the damsel in distress this time. At Master Park's birthday party, Hong-shim had been in the role of Chunhyang, and also when he was trying to add her to his concubine collection. More of the imagery from Chunhyang continues in the next episode.

Yul is turning out to be a fount of botanical knowledge, in addition to demonstrating his prowess as a swordsman and archer. He practically walks on water. LOL! He knows the properties of various trees, and can differentiate plum petals from those of cherry blossoms. We haven't seen him paint yet, but I'm sure he's going to display his accomplishments as a artist any second now. LOL! Hey, he could make money as a portraitist. ;-)

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How Yul got his hands on the book is another thing that show hasn't explained yet. @peeps and @superwhopotterlock have been having a discussion on this some time ago. From what I can infer,Yul became aware of the corruption in office while reading for the villagers. The book was previously shown while the magistrate and master Park were evil-ing.
He did mention to HS that the book cost him so may be Yul bought it from slave/servant who took it to him,may be.
Yul has displayed strong civic sense but I am not sure why he would actively go looking for proof of their wrong doings.More likely is that he came across the book accidentally
and then bought it as insurance as he knew Park had not so noble designs on Hong Shim.

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@pakalanapikake

I watched the next episode and it makes more sense there but this whole thing feels so staged.
The stick is called a "yuchuk" and Heo is a Royal secret commissioner.

"Royal secret commissioners were part of an inspection system unique to the Joseon Dynasty. They carried around special rulers called yuchuk that contained their identity plates, which they used for various purposes, such as to measure the size of sticks used to beat criminals or the gourd bowls used to weigh rice."

Read this article from the JoongAng Daily. http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2911082

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This answers some of my own questions about Heo and how he just appeared in the village out of nowhere and who send him.

I guess our king does his job sometimes. He is probably capable if he wasn't controlled by Minister Kim.

I like your reference "Chunhyang" :). Another thing that I like about our main characters is that they take turns being the knight in shining armor and the damsel in distress.

Yul is turning out to be the most talented crown prince ever lol.

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Thanks for that article on the modern revival of secret commissioners, @kiara. Very interesting. I had never seen a yuchuk before, but recognized the big golden disk from HYANGDAN and CHUNHYANG. It all made sense to me that Heo was on an undercover mission. Heck, in HYANGDAN, the evil new magistrate who was lusting after Hyangdan was throwing a birthday party just like Master Park -- and that may have been the case in the original story, too. Alas, some of the details of the pansori escape me at the moment.

I was so tickled when I recognized the CHUNHYANG elements coming into play, and glad you enjoyed the reference. To me, that's foreshadowing that good will ultimately triumph over evil, and that Minister Kim & Co. and Queen Park will get their just desserts.

Could Yul have sent Heo out on a mission, or could only the king do that? I would think that Seja could have been deputized to order investigations by his father.

As for the king, he may be a pretty good ruler after all. But we only ever see him when Minister of the Left Kim is yanking his chain or threatening his family yet again.

I like the reciprocal bail-outs of the OTP, too. Hong-shim and Won-deok are both capable and resourceful in their own ways. I agree, Yul Seja is a most accomplished Crown Prince. And he's turning out to be a jolly good fellow, too. ;-)

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@pakalanapikake
I don't know if our seja Yul has the power to do that because they are the king's secret agents. He may not know who they are since the order was received in secret.
The timing is very vague. We don't know when he got there.
Thanks to Yul the case was solved while Heo was sleepwalking on the job lol.

I really hope that it will end well for our couple. They have proven to be the kind of ruler that the people really need.
Hong-shim was taught well by his father to respect and treat others fairly regardless of their station. She hung out with a butcher of all people. They were the lowest of low beside the slaves.
Yul had to be brought down to earth and he is starting to see the world through the common people's eyes.

How can you not give them a happy ending? I rarely ask for one with sageuks because 90% of the time it's about dead people but this is pure fiction free from certain obligations to follow the history.

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@kiara,

Oh, wow... So maybe Minister of the Left Kim doesn't know who the royal secret commissioner is either. How novel! I wasn't sure if King Dad might have delegated authority to Yul, or if that were even possible.

Amen to a happy ending for Yul and Yi-seo. If it weren't for Minister Kim's machinations, Yul would have remained the son of a grand prince and not been forced into assuming the mantle of seja. Yi-seo would have remained a noblewoman, and they could have married and had a comfortable life away from the BS at court. Prince Seowon, on the other hand, was born the son of a king and an ambitious and unscrupulous queen, and has grown up in the palace. He may be more cut out for the throne, although I'm sure that Yul would do an excellent job. I'm sure that he would be most unhappy having the Ministry of Rites telling him when to sleep with his wife. Thus, I hope for a happy ending that gives them both what they truly want. ;-)

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I've never heard of that movie before, so I was looking it up...and then I found out that Cho Seung-woo character name (Mongryong) is the same as Baekhyun's dog!
It's quite a pointless information, but I though it was funny! I wonder if they were inspired by that movie ^^

Ok, sorry for the off topic! lol xD

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@cubely lelly19, I didn't know about Baekhyun's dog's name, which is funny indeed. Could it be a play on "mongrel"?

The film CHUNHYANG is beautiful. The pansori singing is emotive and moving.

Mongryong was the handsome 16-year-old son of the magistrate of Namwon. He fell in love at first sight with a retired gisaeng's beautiful and virtuous daughter when he saw her riding a swing on a holiday when it was traditional for women to actually go out in public and enjoy themselves. (There was a scene like this in PAINTER OF THE WIND.) He wasn't motivated to study, as I recall. But he fell for her like a ton of bricks, and wasn't put off by the impossible social gulf between them. He knew he couldn't get parental permission to wed, so he did it without asking. Her mother agreed. And there was the making of much whoopee.

Shortly thereafter, his father was called to Seoul, and ordered his son to accompany him. Mongryong promised to return to her when he passed his civil service exams, which gave him great incentive to study hard. She promised to wait for him.

Alas, the replacement magistrate was corrupt, and a horrid womanizer. He repeatedly tried to make Chunhyang his concubine, which she steadfastly refused. Evil magistrate threw a huge birthday bash at a famous pavilion attended by many crooked nobles and public servants, and was about to have her killed when a ragged beggar returned with a big detachment of policemen to bust the whole lot of them for corruption, and maybe even conspiracy. Mongryong had come in first in the exams, was appointed a royal secret commissioner, and was sent to Namwon. He saved the day, etc., etc., and so forth. As a reward for his service to the crown, the king ennobled Chunhyang so she could legally marry Mongryong, IIRC.

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Thank you for the detailed explanation! It's very interesting!
I briefly read about the movie and watched the trailer earlier, but knowing how that specific scene was helped a lot! ^^

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You're most welcome. ;-)

If you know the story, then you can really appreciate how funny the delightful 2-episode drama special HYANGDAN is. It is a spoof. Hyangdan is the name of Chunhyang's maid. Mongryong falls for the very pretty maid instead of her vapid, airhead mistress. It is truly hilarious. It was recapped on DB, and is well worth watching. Choi Siwon plays Mongryong, and is simply superb. The entire cast is great. It's a total romp. The music by the fabulous trio of Kim sisters is terrific. IIRC, the story of Shim-chung, another famous pansori, is also worked into the plot. ;-)

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Adore this show but got one question though..How did Yul get that book in the 1st place? Did I miss or forget something? And I'd like to mention 2 errors in above recap (though no one probably cares)
1. The arrow was shot towards Master Park, not Minister Kim.
2. Yul asked Meok gu to bring the royal officer by description, not Hong Shim.
😊😊

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Hi...

Is there anyone knows what is the name of the building of the magistrate office?

Please.

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I'm literally so irritated. Hongshim's dad probably could use a better actor. Instead of providing any drama or comedy, he just makes me want to punch him. I mean, is there anything he can do besides showing the whites of his eyes and raising his eyebrows and looking just overall guilty/suspicious, or like a dying cat?

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What was the name of the book the Hong Shim found?

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