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My Dearest: Episodes 18-19

by alathe

Our leads are together at last! Naturally, this is when disaster strikes. It’s still a long way home for the Joseon captives, and our hero wouldn’t be so infinitely loveable if he wasn’t determined to fight for them. The course of true love never did run smooth… but it has to be said, all the geopolitical turbulence probably isn’t helping.

 

EPISODES 18-19

This drama is bold, going where few have dared venture before… the bedroom. That’s right — after years of pretense and restraint, Gil-chae and Jang-hyun finally go all the way! Alas, this moment of happiness has a short sell-by date. Jang-hyun still has promises to keep — and captives to rescue. Gil-chae takes this news with admirable stoicism; if there’s one thing she’s accustomed to, it’s waiting. Before he leaves, however, she slides a silver ring onto his finger: one of a matched pair she commissioned long ago — and, still hoping, kept.

From here, things go frightfully sour. With the paranoid king hurling out accusations, the crown prince refuses to keep his promise to the captives. It’s too risky. His father already suspects him of building an army on the sly. If you don’t obey me in this, he informs Jang-hyun, then I’ll never see you again. Jang-hyun gives him a bitter look. He’d thought this prince was different — and yet. You took the words right out of my mouth, he says.

And so it’s back across the border on a wing and a prayer… plus the promise of a princess. Jang-hyun’s deal with Gak-hwa was simple: he will stay with her, provided she grants the captives safe passage across the river. It’s a barefaced lie, but it’s handy insurance. Yang-chun embraces Jang-hyun at the riverbank, with the captives waiting behind him. Terrified, they begin to wade across, whilst Gak-hwa and her reinforcements observe, unmoving.

All is calm. Then, very suddenly, it is not. On the far bank, armed men rush to surround them. There are cries of anguish from the captives, who know little other than the fact that they’ve been betrayed. Arrows fly. Old men, wanting nothing more than to go home, fall bleeding on the sand. Yang-chun steps in to shield his crush, IN-OK (Min Ji-ah), who stumbles too, as an arrow hits the baby in her arms. Yang-chun himself is hit, and dragged from the battlefield by Goo Jam.

Within minutes, only Jang-hyun and Ryang-eum are still fighting. In an intriguing callback to Episode 4, an attacker approaches Jang-hyun from behind, and Ryang-eum cries out a warning — but this time, our hero’s reflexes fail him. Soon, both he and Ryang-eum are unconscious on the sand. Across the bank, Gak-hwa brandishes a sword to Goo Jam’s throat, demanding to know what happened to Jang-hyun, only for both to realize that this attack had nothing to do with each other. Meanwhile, Jang-hyun blinks the blood out of his eyes and stirs… finding himself in the depths of the Joseon palace.

Here, countless palace workers have been abducted and tortured. An interrogator gives a miserable grin, demanding to know which of the men they’ve captured is Goo Yang-chun, founder of the rebel army. Yang-chun is miles away, surrounded by disillusioned captives. Jang-hyun, resigned, declares himself to be the man they’re looking for. He is dragged away and beaten within an inch of his life. Slumped on the floor, on the brink of passing out, he drops Gil-chae’s ring. As he flickers in and out of consciousness, he hears a man ordered to kill him, and glances up. It’s Ningguchin, one of his old cronies from Uiju! Ningguchin raises his club — and subtly pulls the blow. Jang-hyun’s fingers close desperately on the ring.

Ningguchin saved, not one, but two of his old allies. With his help, Ryang-eum fled the guards. Now, he goes to the only person with a hope of extricating Jang-hyun from a royal torture chamber… the prince. And oh, but it is brutal. This episode contains one of my most-loved Joseon tropes, where the idealistic prince confronts the father who half despises him for being his successor. Our prince speaks earnestly about the captives — how profoundly they moved him, how human they made him. And yet, the king can’t possibly understand. He shoves his son away. The prince stands strong as he leaves the chamber… only to slump to the floor in a swoon.

Woe betide you if you anger Joseon’s scholars. Yeon-joon, now the proud possessor of a working political conscience, convinces his venerable teacher, JANG CHEOL (Moon Sung-geun), to act. Soon, the Sarim scholars throng the palace, kneeling in stern academic disapprobation. The king, Jang Cheol demands, must hand his secret prisoners over to the Royal Investigation Bureau. After all, there’s precedent for what happens when a king falls foul of his scholars, and results are invariably messy. But the king, still fearing treason, orders the Sarim party dragged from the palace grounds.

Throughout the night’s turmoil, one person has watched, careful and silent. It’s Gil-chae’s sometime patron, the sharp-eyed ROYAL CONSORT JO (So Yoo-jin). Now is her moment. She sends Gil-chae a very particular dagger commission — with orders to bury it inside the palace. At first, our heroine flatly refuses. She won’t involve herself in something that smells so distinctly of a scheme. But when she learns that the crown prince’s staff have been arrested, terror for Jang-hyun forces her to abandon her principles. Besides, smirks Concubine Jo, my son may be king one day. I’ll have the means of protecting you and yours.

The job is carried out. Gil-chae doubles back through the palace, in search of anything that might lead her to Jang-hyun — and glimpses several men pulling a wheelbarrow. Peering through the dark, she sees, to her horror, that it contains a heap of broken corpses. One hand lets something drop. It’s a familiar silver ring.

Jang-hyun lies motionless atop a pile of bodies. Once again, Gil-chae steels herself to do the ugly yet necessary thing. Smearing herself with his blood, she lies on top of him — and waits. Soon, a guard comes to keep watch. When his back is turned, she takes a nearby stone, and heaves it against his head.

There’s no choice: Gil-chae must walk out of the palace, bloodstained, carting the half-dead body of her semi-husband, and just hope that everyone is aggressively devoted to minding their own business. Naturally, she’s spotted. But the palace worker who finds her is none too keen on the king’s new policy of indiscriminate bloodshed; he’s willing to sneak them both out. Soon, Ryang-eum catches up to them, and after some hesitation, Gil-chae surrenders Jang-hyun to his care. And none too soon — Jang-hyun’s disappearance is noted, the man who helped them forced to spill the beans, and search parties dispatched across the city.

Ryang-eum finds refuge with Young-rang, who is back on her feet after her ordeal in Shimyang. Together, they tend to Jang-hyun. But the usual towels and hot water may not cut it. The prognosis looks grim — even for a man sturdy enough to sword fight his way through smallpox. Young-rang is fiercely optimistic, but Ryang-eum fears the worst. And so, swallowing his pride, he invites Gil-chae to come and see Jang-hyun, quickly. She’s the person he’d want by his side at the end.

Meanwhile, Jang-hyun tosses, turns, and dreams. We see him again as a well-dressed child, laughing with his servant, SAM-DO (Baek Seung-do) — the man in love with Jang-hyun’s sister. Due to his pitch-perfect whistling, our tiny hero nicknames this servant… Ryang-eum. Darkness falls. The young Jang-hyun screams through the rain for his father — whilst inside, a man is beaten to death. But the bloodied man on the floor is Sam-do. And the man standing above him, eyes alight with cruelty, is Jang-hyun’s father… Jang Cheol.

Jang-hyun snaps awake. Gil-chae reaches for his hand, and he recoils. He asks — who are you? Oh no, cue the advent of one of my least-loved tropes: amnesia. Jang-hyun has no memory of his companions — all he recalls are fragments of his childhood trauma, and plenty of baggage about social propriety.

To give this (kind of ill-conceived) plotline its due, some bits are cute. Gil-chae is delighted that Jang-hyun is alive. She spends her days ensuring he eats well, wheedling him into games of cat’s cradle, and flirting outrageously. There’s a great moment when Ryang-eum reminisces with Jang-hyun about “someone” who taught him many things: music, archery, medicine. When Jang-hyun asks if he means a woman, the flat look he receives so clearly reads “daily, I am subjected to this heterosexual nonsense,” that I cackled. Still, on the whole? It’s pretty cringe-worthy to see a whole montage of Gil-chae hitting on a mortified Jang-hyun, whilst refusing to clarify their relationship or back off when he asks.

Soon, though, we’re back to what I love best: palace intrigue! Much like Gil-chae, the crown princess sits terrified at the bedside of her beloved. When the royal doctor prescribes acupuncture, her fists clench — is it really safe, with his condition? Still, despite her mistrust, the prince pulls through. Soon, he regains consciousness.

Jang-hyun’s old friend, EUNUCH PYO (Yang Hyun-min), sends the rest of the staff away. Now that the two are alone, the prince requests paper and ink. A little while later, he folds a letter under his pillow and declares he must rest. But by the time the princess returns, all smiles and homemade porridge, he is motionless and cold. When the king storms in, he finds the princess clutching his son’s dead body — and staring at him with hard, reproachful eyes.

It’s political pandemonium. The king, haunted by that look from the princess, immediately converts his guilt into suspicion. Recently, Consort Jo accused the princess of hiding cursed objects in the palace… not unlike the dagger Gil-chae was hired to bury. Lacking proof, the accusation went nowhere. Now, it very conveniently resurfaces… alongside an even more convenient (and totally-not-blackmailed) witness. The princess, desperate, kneels outside the king’s chambers, pleading for mercy — which is only taken as proof of her arrogance.

Yeon-joon petitions his teacher, to zero avail. Jang Cheol has never stood up for a woman in his life, has a bee in his bonnet about disobedient children, and could get an Olympic gold in fence-sitting. After all, what if she did curse the king? We’re all strict believers in social hierarchy here — harumph! With no one willing to defend her, the princess is doomed: ordered to drink poison, she survives for two agonizing days before dying. Her last act is to send a mysterious box to Gil-chae, which may or may not contain her husband’s final letter. After all, it was addressed to Jang-hyun.

But for now, this means nothing to our hero. All he knows is that his companions are determined to hide him from the authorities — and that he may well have done something wrong. He doesn’t know how to respond to Gil-chae’s expectations. Nonetheless, Gil-chae is adamant: for a long time, all she’s wanted is to live a mundane life with him. Joking, doing chores, worrying about what to eat for dinner… all of this makes her happy. So, asks Jang-hyun, even if I never regain my memories, you won’t abandon me? Gil-chae scoffs. Not even in death.

There’s another awkward moment where Gil-chae tends to Jang-hyun’s injuries, and things get a little too intimate. Jang-hyun snaps, embarrassedly ordering her away. Later that night, he looks at the two silver rings. He tries to put one on. Fumbles it. As it falls to the floor, it strikes a chord — and he remembers that terrible night where it fell for the first time. When Gil-chae next emerges, she sees the look in his eyes, and immediately knows. I’m sorry, says Jang-hyun, drawing her into his arms. I’m not too late, am I?

This was a week of real highs and lows! Succession feuds, scheming royals and uppity scholars make my heart sing, so that final, hectic showdown in Episode 18 was a delight. I enjoy how truly human our crown prince and princess were — her quiet, stubborn stoicism, and his habit of rising to the challenge of doing the right thing roughly 70% of the time… both of which fed beautifully into the eventual tragedy. At the end of the day, as Jang-hyun insisted early on, you can’t rely on royalty; the very mechanisms that put our well-intentioned crown prince in power would always undo him. Meanwhile, there was the grisly, gothic brilliance of Gil-chae smearing herself in blood and lying next to Jang-hyun’s half-dead body, when they’d been sleeping side by side a few scenes before. Chills.

As for the lows? The amnesia plotline was uncomfortable for several reasons, but I think my biggest beef is how it prevented development between our leads. For all that Gil-chae yearns for domestic bliss, it feels as if they’re looking for excuses not to show our main couple together, with all their memories, and aware of each other’s feelings. It’s as if they’re scared that won’t be interesting — but I’d much prefer it to another sickbed scene. That perfect chemistry is one of the show’s greatest strengths! Meanwhile, I’ve given up on poor Ryang-eum receiving any kind of narrative justice. However, the reveal that Jang Cheol is — most likely — Jang-hyun’s father was perfect. I love Yeon-joon being set up as his pseudo-son, and the way the show deconstructs the violence lurking behind that stern moralism… he’s like the evil alter-ego of Poeun from Six Flying Dragons. I cannot wait to see how it all comes to a head!

 
RELATED POSTS

Tags: Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Chung-ah, Lee Hak-joo, My Dearest, Namgoong Min

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So you're telling me that these two have like probably two maybe three scenes total in this entire show of them seriously facing each other without something between them, and the very next thing you do is produce an amnesia plot point?
Forget wondering if anything in this show is worth anything, one can't take it seriously enough in the slightest for us to even get to that point.

Oh and also, Justice for Crown Prince Sohyeon who most certainly did not deserve you doing THAT to his real life story.
Cowards.

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Aren't you glad they skipped Gwanghae? I'm a broken record when it comes to Crown Prince Sohyeon and Crown Princess Minhoe.

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*bares teeth defensively*
Looks like I'm confiscating Sohyeon and Minhoe from Dramaland writers as well for the time being then, huh. 🙄🙄🙄

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I was actually looking forward to how CP Sohyeon's death would be written. But acupuncture wasn't one of the things I expected. He was already down with his health thanks to the stress and mental trauma his father subjected him to.
And they totally skipped his encounter with Johann Adam Schall von Bell. After the careful way MD has been with it's history, they ignore such a pivotal part. I'd gladly exchange the paranoid palace scenes for this part to be included.
I'd have preferred if he was left without being attended to by the Royal Doctor.
CP Sohyeon's story made my hairs stand.
@kiara, according to secular history, did CP Minhoe face death not so long after her husband passed? I thought she even wrote a memoir detailing the days leading to and of her husband's death.

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@jerrykuvira,
The royal physician was not there to save him, but the opposite. According to the Annals, Court physician Lee was Injo's trusted aide. His concubine, Lady Jo, hired him, who was in a hostile relationship with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. She wanted her son to take the Crown Prince's place.
The Crown Princess was executed by poison per Injo's order 11 months after her husband died. She was charged with treason in planning to poison the king, a rumor, of course. Shortly after, her mother and older brothers were also executed. Her 3 sons were exiled to Jeju, where the two oldest died soon after. Her daughters were stripped of their noble rank and downgraded into commoners.
I don't know if Crown Princess Minhoe's memoir existed or not. The only memoir that became public was written by Crown Prince Sado's wife, Lady Hyegyeong.

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Thank you. I must have mixed it up.

Yh. Immediately I saw that physician I saw a death sentence. And all I could do was count the time before their ploys become a reality.

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Oh you have no idea how pissed I am - extremely, extremely not surprised at this point, but nonetheless still pissed - they didn't even bother to even mention off hand his 3 months in Beijing and meeting Johann Adam Schall von Bell.

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After the writer has basically cut and pasted GWTW for the first half of the show and is now scraping the bottom of the barrel with an amnesia trope I'm bewildered as to why they want to write an extra episode.
If by some miracle the leads get to spend quality, happy time together this cannot justify the show being labelled romance.

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I doubt the writer was the one pushing for an extension. Most likely she had a perfectly finished script that got revised the last minute to squeeze in another episode.

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I like to think the writer was working under the gunpoint during the second season, because how else could the person who wrote season 1 write fake pregnancy and amnesia storylines?

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Amnesia???? Really??? You have to be f'ing kidding me. At least it was really short amnesia?

As with Rebel, Hwang Jin Young continues to be on point when it comes to social commentary and creating complex characters, but plot structure and creating meaningful set-ups and pay-offs is still posing a challenge.

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Ah, @wonhwa, are you saying that plot structure and creating meaningful set-ups and pay-offs were poor in her other four MBC sageuk ? I have not seen «Rebel» or any other ...

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I've only seen Rebel of her other works but that one had far worse plot structure issues than this one (assuming things don't completely trainwreck in the last two episodes). Also, like this show it had some really compelling characters, great acting performances, and brutal social commentary. I will say that amnesia aside there are many things I like a great deal about this show - I just wish it didn't drop such a random trope in at the last minute, particularly there didn't seem to be any need for it. Given Lee Jang Hyun's physical condition, having him drift in and out of consciousness would have worked equally well and could have introduced the past memories just as effectively (as could have having him wake up and slowly recover with his memories intact). Going the amnesia route felt like a cheap way to introduce "cute couple moments" that felt unbelievable and unearned (unless Jang Hyun is also faking his amnesia like he did his earlier illness, which honestly would annoy me even more).

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I agree the structural issues in Rebel were worse, but find myself angrier at MD only because the highs have been so much higher. I was obsessed with MD in a way I was not with Rebel (though I enjoyed it) so every time it drops the ball I take personal offense 😅

Agreed, it seems like the rationale was, "ah, people want more sugar and romance so let's give them NKM being all cute!" Just a total mismatch between what the audience actually has been craving and the fanservice they (probably MBC) think will pull ratings up.

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Excellent, thank you both, @nokdudu and @wonhwa, that's really useful critical commentary. As I learnt, they still film K-drama while airing a drama (unless it's Netflix), and therefore such a development is very, very possible of course.

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@angelshadows50 Live shoots (filming while airing) are not as common in Kdrama as they used to be, I don't think. Especially not so down to the wire as with My Dearest, and especially not with a big historical drama like this. I mean they are really cutting it close with having to edit and what not (and it often shows...)

I heard something that even recently Eun Jin and Min did not know for certain when their last day of filming would be. The actors, crew, and director must be exhausted. I don't think this is usually how it goes.

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Thank you, @nokdudu! Really interesting ... I prefer to not be a couch potato but really understand the process behind something as well ... what you say gives perspective to the Korean film industry ... it has become such a phenomenon outside Korea as well, that these things de-glamourise it again as well, which is good in my mind. A dose of reality in an overhyped world, yet without destroying the « celluloid magic » ...

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Sure thing, @angelshadows50 :D I'm far from an expert but do know things have changed especially with the turn toward streaming, some for better and some for worse. There are bad things to say about Netflix to be sure, but their way of shooting in entirety before a release is generally better I think in terms of not being so hard on cast and crew. (Doesn't mean they're getting paid well enough though 😖) And of course no last minute meddling from networks that way.

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True - the better something is the more frustrating it is when things suddenly go sideways.

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Also, how would you have written it differently? That was also my question to @sicarius. It is easy to criticise, but if you critique can you also offer something which you regard as better and more plausible (in detail) ? The reaction of the Korean public seems to be stirring ... that for me is always a good sign that something is effective and good. As an international outsider, I can merely put my global history magnifying glass onto historic events in Korea with knowledge of only secondary sources ... Anything else would be hubris at this point.

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Not sure when you actually asked me this but anyway.

To write it differently you have to go back to about episode 8, for a start.
You also have to have a proper understanding of what Story with a capital S means as a Concept itself, outside of your own history, before you chose to write about history using Story.
If you do not wish to actually write a Story with a Capital S, and instead want to masquerade as one for some other reason, then I have no time for you, and you're not worth writing differently either, since the issue starts before anything written actually begins and therefore cannot be fixed in any way by me proposing mere alternatives.
I do mention some ideas of a different approach in my episode 9+10 essay as well, although they're also pretty abstract.

However I disagree with your approach to this question.
Do you wish for me to give you an entire rewrite (in detail as you put it) as justification for my opinions????
Although I am actually a writer as well, I do not believe it is necessarily the *audience's* place or role to entirely rewrite a show to prove their criticisms valid.

I also disagree that Knetz reactions to this show is enough justification for... well, anything, including apparently NOT criticising the actual story????
Anyway.

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I'll ponder on this ... for now : what does «Knetz reactions to this show» mean? I don't know this expression ...

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Is Knetz an abbreviation for the composite «Korean Netizen»?

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Yes KNetz is short for Korean Netizens, aka Korean viewers, consumers, commenters etc.

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@angelshadows51
I've been thinking more about your question and also my response, first which I admit was deliberately a bit inflationary and also potentially missing YOUR point, because I was deliberately trying to challenge the way you worded it, which wasn't really necessary, and I don't really have the energy to respond to a response to it either (silly me), but I think overall between everything I've written already, you should be able to find enough of an answer to how I would've approached the sorry differently and therefore written it differently to answer your question, both the broader more abstract approach which I think is more appropriate for my issues with the show anyway, and also examples of more direct, immediate surface level changes.

I tend to reach a point with a show like this however, where I think changing surface level writing (the amnesia for example) is superfluous because it's not really the core issue of the writing, and so you have to strip the story back a lot more, and often when you do that, the issues are too entrenched to fix simply. Ergo, I will send you back my conclusions of both previous essays.

Anyway, I'm really tired and have been unwell; I said I wasn't going to say much more about this show but in my tiredness succumbed to weakness lol which is not good, so I probably won't actually have much more to say if you get back to me, but I'll read it! Haha
Commented out even more, we are, now!

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With respect, you appear to have a great deal of time for the writer, on the evidence of your posts here.

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Yes, that is probably true. It has, however, mostly to do with the fact that this is only the 2nd Korean historical drama I am involved in this intensely and only the 1st K-drama I am analysing with this much depth at all, sharing my thoughts and feelings with others. I do not have —as @sicarius for example, or @kiara too I suppose— a lot of experience with watching Korean dramas. Also, the world of scriptwriting (and analysing it) is absolutely new to me. I have been involved deeply personally in other cultures before, and hence I very much would like to «get» the Korean culture and «beingness» too. K-drama is, for me, one way of entering into this understanding.

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I might quote one of my preferred authors on the topic of understanding, Hannah Arendt. «I want to understand. And if I have understood as others have, I have —how can I express that— a feeling of homecoming.» This is a translation of her words uttered in German in an interview from 1963.

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Also, she then proceeds to adding that writing is part of that process of understanding. So, I, here, for the first time, am writing down what I have understood so far.

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Ah, my response was directed to Sicarius's comment, not to you, angelshadow.

Arendt is a fine thinker to admire.

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😂😂😂😂 indeed, that's one way of putting it, but I think you've missed the point of the original statement, and also I'm pretty burnt out now and have little MORE time, or more to add, which should've been pretty obvious from my latest posts and comments, and latest essay après 16 also. Lol.

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Hi, @sicarius, I also concluded that I will first go through all the comments you gave already, to see if I can construct a potential reply to my satisfaction. At my end, my factual life is rather challenging at the moment, so I have almost no time to sit down in peace and quiet and think — and write. So, eventually, I'll do it. So ... let's leave it at that for now. :)

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TIMELINE: 1645-1647
- Crown Prince Sohyeon died May 21, 1645 (age 33)
- Crown Princess Kang died April 30, 1646 (age 35) - Crown Princess Kang is a descendant of General Kang Kam-ch'an, the main character in KBS sageuk "Goryeo Khitan War."
- Choi Myung-gil died June 19, 1647 (age 60-EPS 19)

SARIM FACTION: Two things that may relate to this drama.
1. They originated from Goryeo, so they did not acknowledge Joseon as a legitimate dynasty. They remained loyal to Goryeo.
2. The martyrdom of past leaders like Jeong Mong-ju, aka Poeun (the Saint of Goryeo), and Jo Gwang-jo earned support and respect from fellow scholars and the people.
 Elder Jang Cheol rallied the militia, aka the Righteous Army, during the Qing invasion and is likely to do it again. The army we saw in the pilot episode was probably the militia supporting/fighting with Jang Hyun. If Elder Jang Cheol is the "Saint of Joseon" in this drama, he will likely die a martyr.

@sicarius, At this point, where was Injo residing? (worst security ever, lol). Did you happen to visit Gyeongdeokgung Palace on your trip?

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Hi ye all, just an additional clarification to the age at which Choi Myeong-gil died. Last night, I read something interesting to the discrepancy of traditional (Chinese) lunar age calculation in comparison to our Western age count.

EP 19 states on the screen that Choi Myeong-gil died at age 62, yet @kiara here writes he was 60 years of age when he passed. I believe both is correct. Here is the explanation from ChinaKnowledge.de :

The traditional lunar age calculation operates with "void years" (xusui 虛歲). This method uses calendric years to indicate the age of a person. When born, a person is one "year" (sui 歲) old, not because he or she has spent 9 months in the womb of the mother (as popular belief goes), but because the current year is the first calendric year the person experiences. With the shift to the next calendric year (according to the Chinese calendar), the person in question is two "years" (sui) old, even if he or she was born only a week or a day before the Chinese New Year. The consequence is that the difference between the lunar age and the real age (shisui 實歲, measured in absolute time) can be as much as one, sometimes even two "years". A person in a traditional text, having the age of 20 sui, is thus 19 or 18 years (absolute) old.

Additionally to this comment, I would like to point out that the political undertones and references in this episode I found particularly worthwhile and interesting, and I venture to say, many Korean viewers might have too. — The exchange between these two old geezers of Ming-to-Qing-change politics and their references to the Injo coup d’état of 1623 … I felt that was a wonderful and very humane way of interpreting the politics of the time and writing it into the script of My Dearest.

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I got used to it after reading "Na Man'gap's Diary of 1636." I mentioned before that the years were off by 1 or 2 compared to our calendar, but both are correct because he used the lunar/solar method.

Funny how the game changes. Choi Meong-gil was part of the main group that dethroned Gwanghae. They all gained power from it by putting a weak, delusion king on the throne that they could control. This mess was their own doing.

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Yes, that's why I mentioned the details since not everyone has that detailed knowledge, and might ask why the discrepancy of 2 years ...

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@angelshadows50,

If you want to analyze every detail, please continue. I'm sure a lot of beanies would love to read it.

For me, I don't give a shit at this point other than the basics.
Maybe we'll get into it in another sageuk that interests us both.

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As for the 1623 coup ... that's a whole new storyline, which, to analyse with depth, I believe is way more complex than coming from our position in history and saying « it was of their own making » indicating that it was foreseeable. That is way too black and white, and I strongly object to this way of argumentation, judging a book by its cover, or here, judging a historic event only by its outcome and obviously from a vantage point of historic perspective.

What will people 500 years from now say about our world politics at present for example, or what we keep doing to our one and only blue marble? (If there are still people on planet Earth at that point, but I think so.)

Or another example : after Adolf Hitler became chancellor it was not foreseeable that he would have six million Jewish people killed in concentration camps. The Shoah was not foreseeable when Germans elected this man as chancellor … What was to be expected, but clearly only after the Reichskristallnacht in 1938, was that Jewish people, who had contributed so much to the germanic, slavic and romanic cultures, would be prosecuted. You will also see the clear connections to the outcome of the First World War. I am a huge fan of Hannah Arendt, and I believe you will find a subtle way of argumentation in all her books as well. — Also, for the learning from WW 1, the victors of the Second World War have NOT approached the loosing axe powers Germany and Japan after the wars in Europe and Asia ended with huge reparation payments etc. The aftermath of the First World War was a huge learning in that sense. So tragic events CAN lead to learning and a development for humanity.

A second contemporary example : will people in 50 years say that the highly symbolic 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York City was the consequence of the US’s government world politics in the last 30 or so years, in particular their politics in the Middle East? And will they judge that America’s (and Britain’s) «War on Terror» was a justifiable answer to this attack?

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Going back to the 1623 coup : in my understanding My Dearest is also non-judgemental in its assessment of the coup, which I like. It only makes the point to one of the apparently four main actors in 1623 that, given the situation in 1645, their behaviour in 1636/7 should have been different … as to retain «the national pride» we should have thought to the bitter end … (this is my paraphrasing). Choi Myeong-gil did in 1637 what is nowadays described with Bismarck’s expression of Realpolitik. This drama does not comment on the 1623 coup, in my view. Because doing that you would have to actually go into the socioeconomic situation after the Imjin Wars, the weakening Ming dynasty’s suzerain role, the sorry state of the Joseon military, the question of legitimacy all over the royal Joseon court, the new rise of the neoconfucian scholar-officials after the purges of the 16th century, etc. etc. This drama is not about that.

For me this drama looks at a pivotal point of power change, where the proverbial squid between two whales got squeezed again … with the very real thread of extinction (by the Manchu/Qing; only that that was not Hong Taiji’s aim, luckily). Yes, that king, who unfortunately received the temple name suffix _jo as Injo, remained in his Ming-support old school camp, and then blamed his son for being «modern» and forward-looking. That apparently the whole country went into denial and rejected captives who returned and shunned —almost prosecuted— women who were mistreated by the invaders once they returned as «used women» in Joseon society’s eyes, is a deeply sorry state of affairs — but not unique to this time in history and this place in the world. As our East Indian contributors have reminded us, the latter part still exists in some parts of the world at times nowadays. Something similar can be said for some Islamic states and cultures (which has NOTHING to do with the Q’ran, by the way), and it is even reported occasionally in my country, Germany, or in France for that matter.

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*fought to the bitter end*

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Kiara, this is so interesting that the Sarim faction originated from Goryeo and considered Joseon illegitimate. But in this story they sure seem to be embracing Neo-Confucianism, does that seem like a contradiction?

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I believe the old Sarim of Goryeo embraced Neo-Confucianism before Joseon was established. They seem to be extreme loyalists and strive to become sages/saints.
I was a bit confused with their role here. I felt like they went back and forth when it came to Injo.

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Oh, I see. Thank you. I was mistaken in assuming that N-C and Joseon were paired.

I feel like they’re going back and forth on Injo here as well.
Hoping to become a sage or saint seems right in line with Eun Ae’s husband’s MO (sorry I don’t remember his name!)

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@bbstl,
I understand because Buddhism comes to mind when we think of Goryeo, and Joseon would be Neo-Confucianism. Some people in Korea have the same belief about Joseon to this day.

"Jeong Do-jeon" and "Six Flying Dragons" did a great job conveying the beliefs and loyalty of the old Sarim Scholars.

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Thanks, @kiara! Between lack of study and lack of memory I missed that!

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I am at my last straw with this show. It astounds me that a writer capable of creating such complex political intrigue has to resort to tropes as asinine and desperate as amnesia. It was dumb enough what they did with Gak-hwa's character (who could have and should have been utilized far better than the nonsensical "love triangle" role they pigeonholed Lee Chung-ah in), but AMNESIA??!!??!? Nope. No fucking way. No fucking way I wasted hours of my life watching a genuinely masterful drama lead up to... this. I'm honestly convinced the writer despises their own protagonists because why else do they keep finding convoluted reasons to keep separating the leads from their HEA (if that even happens)? And what the hell is going on with Crown Prince Sohyeon?? I get that this is fiction, but he doesn't need to be done dirty like that.

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I had a whole rant stored up while watching ep. 19, but this show is no longer worth the trouble. Never mind a 'happy ever after,' which I didn't expect anyway - she can't even let them have 20 minutes of 'happy right now.' It's ridiculous. I feel sorry for the actors working so hard to sell this bullshit. As for amnesia, the only words I have are four-letter ones. What a farce.

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The actors are fighting for their life, acting like rent is due, just to barely make this drama coherent. Someone needs to slap the writer's hands off the keyboard and do some editing!

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GH could have been written as a worthier love opponent. TBH, when it comes to JH, GC needs a bit of a shakeup at times. Viewers have been known to show support for many second leads with better characterization. Shooting a mean arrow is all and good. Stereotyping GH as the selfish & cruel 3rd wheel, only using threats/position to get her way is weak.

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I wasn't comfortable with the Royal Doctor treating CP Sohyeon. It was as if he had received the death sentence awaiting punishment.
And the Crown Princess too...she fought hard, she fought well. It was so so sad. Thankfully her son reversed every nonsense/dishonor his grandfather did to his parents.
"If you disobey me, I'll never see you again." "I was going to tell you the same thing." I liked how Jang-hyun outlined his utter disappointment in the Royal Family without mincing words. And despite the salty way their last conversation ended, it didn't stop the CP from doing something to help his friend.
It was a huge mistake leaving the country in Injo's hands for the time he reigned. Sadly, this kind of kings don't die easily. They live exceptionally long lives, making the lives of others a living hell in the process.

So Lee Jang-hyun's dad is the Opposition Scholar. While it throws a wrench in the personality of the scholar, his current deeds seems like he's paying penance and is doing good in hopes that he'll see his son again. They were this close to meeting if not for that search party out looking for Jang-hyun.

And can I say I'm happy for Jang-hyun's courtesan friend who happened to upscale herself upon returning to Joseon. Jang-hyun pushed her to not settle for less. And yes, she settled for the best. This is the kind of man Won-mo should have at least tried to be.

Seems like we are having someone else try to not be like Won-mo in Yang-chun.

Qing Princess makes a trip to Joseon. I knew it was only a matter of time before the royal house realize that they've shot themselves maximally in the leg. I'd love to see them scurry around for a few days. My only tiff here is that Jang-hyun has regained his memory. I'd love to see him leave them gobsmacked as they have to deal with a man suffering from a a memory loss of their design. But since his memory is back, I'm guessing it'll be a different kind of scurry. And with the death of the CP and his wife, I'm sure he's not open to doing the royal family a favor anytime soon.

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When a show that was supposed to be just 20 episodes of misery porn has an illicit affair with an extension, the mutant offspring is --- (d)amnesia.

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I didn't see the a) b) and c).
Programming mistake?
Very good comment.

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I don't even know if I want to restart this drama or no. I dropped it at EP. 9 bc I was spoiled on the first (second?) breakup but I keep meaning to get back to it bc of the rave reviews. Reading these recaps tho, should I bother...?? Idk anymore.

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You can always find out for yourself :).

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I say, resume! I'm watching MD slowly. I continue to be fascinated despite the pain. I suspect it's gonna be worth it.

BTW, I have zero background on Korean history. Beanies' commentaries help me a lot.

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Thanks for the recap @alathe!
I am here to read what happened instead of sit through 2 hours of this show. I feel bad for Crown Prince Sohyeon and his Crown Princess. I need to look up other movies or dramas with them in it. Their story is just too tragic.
What other tropey hurdle can they include in the last minute for JH and GC?

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I feel bad for Crown Prince Sohyeon and his Crown Princess.

😢

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DRAMA:
Cruel Palace: War of the Flowers
Three Musketeers

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Thanks!

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I don't specially like this couple. I didn't really like their bed scene because it was very sudden after all their lies. What was the point to get married, if she's just doing what he offered in the past now.

Why didn't tell her why he had to leave, what he promised... Again they don't communicate. It's like they don't have anything to share, so they used the amnesia trope to separate them and let JH opened up a little bit about his past.

The story of the Prince and the Princess was sad and disapointing. They always showed them as weak or sick. I was hoping for teamwork and showing the Prince stronger than that, what could justify the King's paranoia.

I just want Ryang-eum to find his happiness, he's such talented in different ways, he can leave and find someone who loves him too.

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I am so tired by this show… the first half was so well done, with the tighter pacing, believable plot (for the most part), and characters who truly made me feel like rooting for them despite their flaws individually and together as a couple. However all the development I expected in this half has been cast aside in favor of ill-executed trope after trope and while I’m still watching I feel my investment in the main couple has almost completely flickered out.

On the other hand, the palace intrigue has caught my attention a lot more and I find the strongest performances have been in that arena this set of episodes. Im not entirely happy with how they handled the CPs deaths but CP So-Hyeon’s scenes these two episodes were brilliant and I loved the portrayal of the conflict between father and son.

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Thank you alathe for your wonderful recap. 
I feel like I am dragging myself towards the finish line and was disheartened to hear of the episode extension. Haven't you tortured us enough show?
I find it ironic after such a great start in the first half, wanting these leads to somehow beat the odds and get together, now I just want it to stop. 
I have resigned myself to the fact after watching 19 episodes (and a f%#$+& amnesia trope) that the writer has no intention of giving us as viewers or the characters any pay off/reprieve from the angst/ pain/drama and no, the 2-3 minute bedroom scene in this episode doesn't cut it or give their relationship the amount of time they/we deserve.
 I find it very hard to believe that the moment JH finally, finally gets to be with GC after all they have been through, the years it has taken, he is so quick to turn around and leave to get the captives.
I don't think it's too much to ask for the show to spend 10-15 mins with them just being together, happy and communicating. This is such a squandered opportunity as the leads shine when they are together, their chemistry is amazing.
Rang-eum, the actor playing the character has been fabulous, I wish his second half of the show hadn't been reduced to a cardboard cut out. 
The actors playing the Crown Prince and Princess have also been fabulous, so saddened by their demise but glad they had more screen time in these last few episodes.
I really wish there had been no Qing princess storyline and we had focused more on the characters from the first half. 
Hwaiting beanies, sigh.....Hwaiting 😪

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An additional comment with regards to the portrayal and references to Crown Prince Sohyeon and Kangbin.

It has been commented that Crown Prince Sohyeon was limited in his portrayal here —for example the exclusion of his time in Beijing in 1644, and also that his achievements in Qing seemed to be largely prompted (according to the narrative in this drama) by Jang Hyeon. Yes and no, I would say.

My impression is that the writer limited the narrative on Sohyeon to what was clearly effecting the Joseon (and his father’s) perspective of him once he returned. So in that sense his time in Beijing was not necessary to portray, as the drama had already made clear that he had become a changed man in Shenyang, and that this extolled his father’s jealousy and suspicion.

If the father-son-conflict is a drama trope … yes, probably. But it is also very clear to me that it does happen in real life, and that it seemed to be the real-life experience of many a Joseon crown prince. Sohyeon, in this traumatic time for Korea, was no exception.

Here again, I loved the scene where Injo toasts with his son’s official investiture clothing, the blue crown prince’s dragon robe (or is it a phoenix embroidered on the front?) … I felt that was subtleness in action, in terms of describing his mixed feelings and regret at his son’s death. Remember the episode when Injo went on about Sohyeon having reputedly accepted the red dragon robe (gunlongpao, longpao) — during Sohyeon’s first visit to his father in Joseon in 1640? (Something which was historically correct, so far as I know, that he got offered that highly symbolic garment by Hong Taiji but refused).

As for Kang-bin : when I read up on her early on while watching the drama, I was struck by her tragic story. Also, something stuck in my mind — her posthumous name : 민회빈 [愍懷嬪] , romanised Minhoebin. The Chinese characters of Minhoe 愍懷 mean « heartbroken » (however Wikipedia says « grudge and remorse »).

So, her title at birth, up to her marriage in 1627 at age 16 was : gangssi, Landy Kang, 강씨 [姜氏] ;
From 1627 till 1645 she was known as 빈궁 강씨 [嬪宮 姜氏] or short 강빈 (bingung gangssi or short gangbin), Her Highness, Crown Princess Consort Kang of Joseon, or short : Kang Bin.

Unfortunately, I cannot find the reference at the moment, who ultimately bestowed that posthumous name onto her, which Joseon king. Was it already under her brother-in-law’s reign? Probably not …

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IIRC, King Sukjong reinstated her as crown princess and gave her the name Minhoe.

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Great, so it was Sukjong! Thanks ...

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I'm not sure if I recall it correctly. If you happen to confirm it later, please let me know.

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A few minutes of bliss, then of course, separation. It was jarring that Jang Hyun promised both Gil Chae and the Emperor Princess that he would return in a month. Maybe he was lying to one of them, maybe it will end up being a lie to both.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were the most compelling parts of these episodes. The depths of their characters showed what they could have done with the Emperor Princess (make her have some humanity or any sense beyond herself if you are going to spend so much time on her). The love between the Crown Prince and Princess came through so clearly. The little beat when the CP said how he had to eat the juk that the Princess was making told so much--his love for her and also a foretelling of his imminent death.

The acting during the amnesia seemed off. Maybe everyone had secondhand embarrassment of that portion. Or maybe I as the viewer didn't have that type of relationship to play such childish games with the couple at this point. Besides it being another separation, this time a separation while they were in the same place, the contrast between their childish overacting (does amnesia also give you a complete character change?) in the midst of so much brutality and cruelty. I know that the story takes place during a difficult period, but for this unnecessary plot device, the contrast did it no favors.

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It puzzled me too when the night before, there was that passionate dialogue which JH ardently confessing his deep love for GC and telling her that he will be with her from now on. Yet the next morning, he said he had to go away again. (Something he had promised YC but didn't mention about his deal/promise with GH!) . It brought me back to ep 10 when GC rightly said so that she was always in the same spot & he was always the one leaving. In ep 14, there was that also that self reproach about when things started going wrong at the times he left her before in the past. Both are never 100% entirely open/honest with each other which is so frustrating.
The storytelling in Part 1 was tight & resonated strongly with viewers rooting for the couple when the flow between the romance & historical events was done right. Part 2 was just all over the place. When they try to milk the same emotions with earlier soundtracks with certain scenes, at times it felt contrived.

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While I thought the amnesia was in bad taste, what was the point? I don't think it is as bad as everyone else seems to. I think part of the point of this episode was to have her save him. To see how far she was willing to go, to show their love is true. So at the end of the day the drama is a love story, even while showing what was happening in the greater world at that point. There are only 2 episodes left and I am enjoying them.

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@alathe, thank you for the recap !!

Well, here we are. Looking at the extension.
JH is wanted due to his interpreter role in Qing.
GC is caught up in the burial of items on palace grounds scheme.
The Prince and Princess are gone 😢
Lonely Princess will pop her head back in to put in her 2 cents worth.

Aigoo. Scholars Courts Crazy Kings Amnesia Rings

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness extended episodes bind them.

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Oh, what’s going on with Jong Jong and Gu Jam ?
They need some story time too writers !
Not 20 seconds in the final episode either.

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I am glad they are still alive, tbh. Actually, besides the obvious ones, we only got one death, the poor captive's baby. And another near death by arrow experience 🤣

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Yeah Yang-Chun has a hard life.

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GJ is such a sweetie. I like how he said he prefers to keep things simple when JJ was asking him about his many admirers. Meaning since JJ is the one he likes, he will be honest & open about it. He will show & tell her so. Full stop.

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This comment is about Jang-Hyeon’s memories and being JANG Hyeon, JANG Cheol’s son, the sage of Joseon’s son.
In the end it has become a rather long post, so I shall split it up …

It seems to be fairly clear that it is the case that (Lee) Jang Hyeon is Jang Cheol’s son. What we as viewers are missing so far is the connecting years between the yanban scholar’s (approximately) eight years old son, and the 15-year old government nobi who rescues the young nobi boy from the abuse by the government official, a prefect I believe it was, a boy whom he then names Ryang-Eum (I believe he named him that way although that has not be said in the drama). Why is clear after having watched EP 19.

The eye make-up of the (younger) Jang Cheol in the barn where he was having the servant Sam Do beaten to a pulp, is dark, so I find @alathe’s comment eyes alight with cruelty (and death, I would add) spot on. — Also, remember Jang Cheol’s (seemingly more general) comment about the connection of cruelty and fear ? It is in EP 17, starts at position 8’16, and he reflects to his now-student Yeon-jun :

The King has become cruel. A great calamity is bound to befall this country. [ Text on screen gives explanation of Hangul «hyabyeon» ; Kocowa translates it as « a great calamity » ] His majesty is afraid. Do you know this? When a man is afraid, his cruelty reveals itself.

This comment —by the way— seems to be reflected or rather developed, in my view, by the conversation of the two pivotal Joseon officials at the time of the Byongjahoran in EP 19, when they talk about Injo, while sitting at Choi Myeong-gil’s sick bed. — But let’s carry on with my point.

In as far as it regards Jang Cheol and —by implication— his son, Jang-Hyeon this, for me, becomes a key quote for their relationship and a hint for a possible resolution to this. The question for me is : atonement or not ? CONTD.

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CONTD.
The character Jang-Hyeon —of Marvel-like superhero qualities in this drama— has so far not shown cruelty in the eye of fear. There were, to my recollection, also few moments of fear for him, if any obvious ones. He proceeded with decisive action as in fighting when he or someone he valued (or had made promises to) was threatened mortally, but never when people obviously disregarded the prevailing mores of the time. He seemed to rather value being different, as it was initially part of his attraction to Gil-Chae. It is also maybe WHY he followed the Crown Prince to Qing ; as he said, he was rather interested to see how this (conventional) Crown Prince and son would turn out, now being thrown into a diametrically opposed situation. And his reaction to Gil-Chae, when she confessed that she was sexually assaulted by a «barbarian» … priceless … empathetic, warm, caring … loving, in the best possible way.

All reactions, in my view, will go back to his traumatic childhood experience. Maybe one can even go as far as to say that Jang-Hyun has been atoning for his father’s sins all his life so far. When he falls into the (temporary) amnesia he recalls the mores of his youth and his beliefs.

So, the amnesia plotline serves, among other things, this aim : to show HOW his yangban youth was.

Now, let’s look at that first.

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CONTD. While piggy-backing on his beloved servant Sam Do (who is probably a young man of about 17, 18 years of age), the viewer learns two important details about Jang-Hyun’s personal history:
one, the original bearer of the name «Ryang-eum» was Sam Do, due to his pitch-perfect whistling skill, and he named it as such ;
two, this 8 or 9 year old boy was a « prodigy » , so he must have been the pride of his father and this yangban household (since he would have taken the gwageo (the national civil service examinations) and with it guaranteed the household’s yangban status for another three generations). Why am I saying this ? The book he is holding and reading/reciting from is The Great Learning, — Daxue 大學 — a Confucian classic, and part of the canon of Sishu 四書 ( « Four Books » ) ; it was added to the integral Confucian writing on the order and harmony of society — a must read/study for a Confucian scholar! Only …. not at the age of 8 or 9 ! (That’s also made clear, for example, in « Dong Yi » for the prodigy son Yi Geum of Sukjong, Joseon’s 19th king, with this son becoming one of the most «enlightened» Joseon kings, the future Yeongo, 21st monarch of Joseon).
So, for one, Jang Hyun could read Classical Chinese ! His comical taking-the-exams at Neungguri’s seowon … well, that was that, in hindsight : funny.

We learn a third detail which holds importance in the drama :
this most rare occurrence of hearing the sound of flowers blooming. (In both cases the flower is specified I believe as the « Marvel of Peru » , Mirabilis Jalapa, also called 4 o’clock flower, because it usually opens from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o'clock).

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CONTD. [LAST]
We learn a third detail which holds importance in the drama :
this most rare occurrence of hearing the sound of flowers blooming. (In both cases the flower is specified I believe as the « Marvel of Peru » , Mirabilis Jalapa, also called 4 o’clock flower, because it usually opens from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o'clock).

We also learn from his flashbacks while in this temporary amnesia, that his father apparently beat the servant Sam Do (possibly to death) because Sam Do —presumably— dared to violate the societal mores of the time. Also, for that reason, presumably, Jang Hyeon’s older sister killed herself ; she loved the smile of a servant, she loved a servant … (the sister seemed to be about eight years Jang Hyeon’s senior, so most likely about the servant’s age.) If you remember, Jang Hyeon told the Crown Prince that he had been very angry with someone (and his sister is shown) because that person had chosen death over surviving the nightmare they were experiencing.

Now, what about atonement by the character Jang Cheol ?

A clear answer to that will, I believe, shown in the last couple of episodes next week. So far he has rather been the rigid scholar, who —as @alathe says quite righty— never stood up for a woman … because of his rigid, neoconfucian beliefs. And dissed his son’s obvious distress in fron and in the barn, as well as his words that «your sister did that for you» (presumably killing herself).

I did notice occasionally a different direction of tone, so as when it was revealed that he also remembered his son at his father’s death anniversary. But that might also have another, more sinister, explanation. We will see.

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Thanks for your exposé on Jang Cheol.

To be honest, with the reveal that Jang Cheol was that father in the barn, everything he has done prior to the reveal fell under critical scrutiny by me. And while i was ready to give him a pass when the scene where he's waiting on his son to show up(they both hold that location dear but I don't know what) - a short furlough of some sort just so it doesn't seem like I've completely written him off - I went back to completely writing him off thanks to the comment he made with respects to Crown Princess Minhoe. CP Minhoe was to become the next mother of the nation. And I'm sure he's not unaware of her reputation within the palace.
For someone who commented that the king is afraid and his fear will bring out his cruelty, he wasn't scared to defy the king on account of the imprisoned and tortured people but became somewhat "understanding" of the king unjustly putting his daughter-in-law under the wringer, as if he forgot that the king is afraid and that fear brings out the king's cruelty, as if he forgot that the king was afraid of her husband.

His two-faced morality and values now greatly annoys me, nor do I anymore commend him for bolding checking the King during the wake of the current scholar protest.

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Yes, completely agree, that's also why I am not sure if this can turn out, that even he can show atonement. I feel we are missing still bits of information on that triangle relationship father-son-daughter to make a final judgement call.

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Also, @jerrykuvira, don't you think that little actor who played Jang Hyeon as boy did a FANTASTIC JOB? I cannot imagine how it would be for an 7 or 8 year old boy, even if you know it's not real, to see a man beaten up on the floor covered in blood... his emotional portrayal is outstanding.

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I'm in the minority maybe , but I still love this show and these characters.
I did not like the amnesia episode, if any felt like one shoe horned in for an extension it be this one. Though it is the original penultimate episode those tend to be either really great or really not.
I too wish our writer would believe in the appeal of our OTP being happy and working together, bit that rarely happens. I'd love to see them working together in one of their schemes.
The CP and Jang hyun had such an interesting relationship, I wish we'd have got to see more of it.

I did love that we got to see that the "sound of flowers" came from his sister. And the meaning of Ryang eum's name.

I am curious though, who is the man that Young ram is living with?

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@bcampbell1662, are you referring to the »teagam« who turned up and repelled the mercenaries hired by the King's eunuch ... from entering that residence where Ryang-eum had brought Jang-hyeon?

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If you mean him —the person who turns up in EP 19, position 8’42— then that is 김자점 (Romanisation varies, often Kim Ja-jeom). He first appears in My Dearest in EP 16 (position 5’44) announcing that the Khan (Hong Taiji) was gravely ill. He is a historic person and a pro-Qing faction scholar official (while Choi Gyeong-mil was, at that time, a captive like the Crown Prince in Shenyang).

He was Right State Councillor, then Left State Councillor and also Chief State Councillor at varying times in these 5 years (1644 to 1649), so highly influential ; even the King did not dare touch him … he had also been supporting the efforts to return captives and reintegrate them into Joseon society.

In EP 16 the opposing (probably Sarim) scholar officials around Kim Ryu are snickering at him that he is now sitting on his high horse as Choi Gyeong-mil is in Shenyang …

He seems to be also the official whom Concubine Jo confided in and used … but I am not certain about that ; have to look into the episodes again. If that were so, then I am not quite clear why he would help someone who can counteract her plans … but maybe that was not known at that point yet.

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Thank you for this. Yes, the men searching backed off and called him something like "your excellency " and it surprised me.

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Adding to @angelshadow50 comment.

(from my fan wall)
MY DEAREST (Episodes 3 and 4)

TIMELINE of the QING INVASION
(From “The Diary of 1636” by Na Man’gap).

Along the ridge of Yonggol Mountain at Uiji are fire beacons to signal a start of an invasion. Lighting one torch means there is no activity. Two torches mean the enemy has appeared. Three torches mean they have crossed the frontier. Four torches mean they approach the battle.
Starting from Yonggol and ending at Chongbang, where the Supreme Field Commander is stationed, the fire beacons seem to reach the capital. Fear would turn into chaos, so any disturbance must be stopped here.

December 6th, 1636:
– Two torches were lit but Kim Ja-jeom (Supreme Field Commander) ignored it and didn’t report to the king.

December 9th:
– Kim Ja-jeom dispatched a military official, Shin Young to Uiji to examine the situation.

December 10:
– Shin Young arrived at Sunan, and the enemy horses swarmed all over the district capital. Shin immediately turned around and rode back.

December 11:
– Young reports to Kim Ja-jeom, but he scolded him by saying that his nonsense would upset the military situation and proclaimed that he would behead Young.
Another military official in pursuit returns corroborating Young’s story. Only then did the supreme commander submit a royal report.
Virtually all the enemy troops crossed the river and ignored the fortresses and towns. (Episode 3)

December 12:
– The official report from Kim Ja-jeom regarding the Manchu invasion reached the court.

He would have been executed for this, but Injo exiled him to Jeju to save his life. He was later pardoned by Injo and returned to court (eps 16).

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Great! Yes ... I remember vaguely that he was said also to be a bit of a shady figure ... he had this one person reportedly murdered because he could become dangerous to him, Im Gyeong-eop. Wasn't he also one of the people who supported the coup in 1623 ?

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Yes, one of the main masterminds of the coup. The current Prime Minister Kim Ryu, Choi Myeong Gil, Yi Gwal who rebelled after the coup was also mentioned.

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Thank you. I am impressed by all the historical knowledge I've seen Beanies share around this drama.

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@alathe, I meant to say that before, yet I noticed it again this time : your selection of screenshots with those you «pepper» your recaps is excellent in my view! Be they one image, or two images put next to each other, and the order too ... thank you!

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Probably I am one of the few that still loves this show here. I am glad to see that even the ones that hate it are still watching it. Kudos to you all, it must be very hard to keep watching, being if only on ff. The show must be doing something right if is producing some kind of emotion, being love or hate.
About the amnesia thing that I see many beanes complain about, I can remind them that we are in sageuk kdrama teritory where people are killed on suspicion of placing a curse, believed in magic and got heated acupuncture treatment for it and made everyone get married so the rain will come pouring. I personaly believe it advanced the story by drawing a good balance from the tragic events with its funny moments, it showed RE's acceptance of their relation, presented more about JH's past, hid JH from the CP and his princess deaths. And, more important for ME, it showed GC trying to seduce JH as I wanted her to do since the end of part one. Although she didn't buy him 100 fans, kissing him and hughing him satisfied me enough. And I guess we have a confirmation that JH parts work. 😂

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And another mention about the amnesia...he will remember everything that GC did (unless another amnesia hits him LOL) and he needed to know that she will stay with him no matter what.

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I am glad you brought this up again, @kodra … [ chuckle ] … the amnesia plotline —

My feeling is that it is not only K-dramaland. Wouldn’t it be possible that he suffered from an acute subdural hematoma, which can affect thinking and memory ? Maybe there is some article out there, like the one @johnb found on arrow wounds …?

In any case, I am not unhappy with that plotline. As you say, it gave us some fun moments ; it showed Ryang-Eum’s acceptance (lovely moment where he arranges both their pairs of shoes on the doorstep) ; it gave time for Jang-Hyeon to have his young self memories told to the viewers (I commented on that above) ; in my mind it also showed that even his amnesic self is attracted to Gil-Chae ; and as you say, it bypassed the deaths of the princely couple as information for Jang Hyeon. If he had known about it, the viewer would have expected some action from him. Also, after being surprised and caught by these King’s Eunuch hired mercenaries who thwarted his rescue plan at Yalu river, it is only logical that he is dragged away and tortured … the «couples ring» Gil-Chae gave him serves as linkage between him being caught and holding on to dear life, her recognising that the lifeless covered body on the wheelbarrow may be him, and him recovering from the temporary amnesia …

On the fun moments I liked in particular :
1) Gil-Chae’ chopsticks-feeding Jang-Hyeon while Ryang-Eum watches — with his reaction! Priceless … talk about passive-aggressive, stuffing-your-face eating …
2) the scene, where Gil Chae puts ointment on his wounds, first at his back, then at his front, and his increasing sense of wincing, until he snaps … Enough! She heads out of the room —hurt— … BUT I got the feeling he was about to say « I am only a man, and if you touch me here … that could have been the 16th century equivalent of foreplay … I thought that was very funny …
And of course all the other simple pleasures of a mundane life, if only for a while. —

One thing I forgot about there is the timeline … it was said that the deaths of Crown Prince and Princess are apart by several months … so how does that equate with the amnesia plot ? And then the Qing emissary turns up in Hanyang …

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Actually, looking at @kiara's timeline under comment #3 would indicate that Jang Hyeon's temporary amnesia will have lasted for a year ... (if we follow the chronology as we have done so far for «My Dearest») ... Hmm ...

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Yes, I hope @johnb would find that much needed info to combat the non-believers! 🤣 I would, but I got lost in translation.

Yes, there were a few important and very funny moments that made me really love the amnesia trope (but please, don't tell anyone, I will never be accepted by the sageuk army, I am not worthy 🤣). I laughed when RE tells the amnesiac JH that he never thought he would forget about HER, he was right on point, bless his soul. I hope he is not the one in that cell.

But, angel, it's a month since I have been here and I read about a buttdrama and a dogdrama. A revenge marriage after one dies and goes back in time. Two shows about curses from history, one from Silla and one from joseon. I don't even know what the watermellon show is about but I have heard is about time travel through a bar. Another one concerns a girl that spent 15yrs on a island by herself all gromed and with all the stuff needed like living in a resort. Another one about a widower that runs around town and nobody, even her brother, recognizes her although she is an elite of the elites and her scary mom in law just doesn't check on her at all. That is some magic makeup she is wearing. Soon, about a travel in the future through a fountain. And don't make me start on k-k war, I hope I can get past first 15 minutes because I want to learn more about that history. And, although I didn't follow the kidnapping one, I am sure I will find some reycled trope even there. So, I can find it in every kdrama but I chose not to because, frankly, I would not watch any kdrama at all.
And again, my concern was not how long the amnesia lasted as I know that the writer streches and compreses time as she needs and wants for the story to progress as she sees fit. She has been doing that from the start, when CH went to get the rice for the old couple wedding, when they went to the island and his following them in ep. 6, just to mention a few. I am not obsesed with these things, tbh, I would rather enjoy the show.

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🤣🤣🤣 love this response ... I got lost in your descriptions, but they are hilarious ... I am just starting a conversation with Sicarius ... I came to K-drama because I loved the emotions, and I am learning a lot about the otherness of this culture which I find fascinating. So, I have hardly any traffic signs on my path, all open road for me ... Others who do this watching for years and years have of course way more traffic signs on their road ... which might become useful for me ... or not, we'll see.

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angelshadows50
I know and I see the trafic signes but I get wings and fly above them when the meaning of the whole story gives me so much enjoyment. If not, they will become as american or european shows for me and that will be the end of my watching shows or movies experience for me.
I hope I get attached to another drama like this but don't think it will happen too soon.

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I think I know what you mean, I became really, really selective about European shows, and almost not watch any American productions at all any longer. As for «My Dearest» I went down that same path of attachment ; it has become a kind of springboard now to really learn and understand about Korean culture, civilization and history. So let's share out experiences ... !

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*our experiences*

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"unless another amnesia hits him LOL"
🤣🤣🤣

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Besides the drama, a big draw for me is also the korean historic written facts that the writer chose to reveal, even by not revealing. And seeing the reaction of the sageuk beanie squad here, I assume that a lot of other heads exploded in other higher circles. I read that even a show in Korea was held to discuss that period and CP's death recently, following the popularity of MD. I know that seeing the reaction here it made me more curious as why would she completely ignore a very important detail and instead of watching other shows I keep translating korean papers and trying to learn more before I make a judgement.
It appears that the meeting of CP and the jesuit was mentioned only by the jesuit and there were no other mentions on the korean or qing side. So the writer chose to believe what her ancestors wrote and not some foreign religious figure. I am sure there are a lot of korean history profesionals that believe this. There were a few records of that time, more important one being Sohyeon Simyang Ilgi, or the Shenyang diary, that recorded everything in those 8 years that happened during CP stay in Shenyang. From an article I will present later I found that "Shenyang Diary" was finally published on August 18, the first year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1644), and subsequent diaries are missing. Therefore, the diary from August 19 to February 16 of the following year still needs to be searched." This, exactly this is as a great kdrama script as it gets. Prince Sohyeon arrives to Beijing in September and leaves in December. See the dates? Exactly when the meeting would have been taken place. If that is not a fascinating fact of history, I don't know what is. That diary has everything, but those dates so we only have the jesuit memoirs. Are we to believe that in those 3 months he is converted and is so westernized that he is wiling to promote everything and change an entire country? After 30 or so years of Confuscianism he changed on a dime? It's like Papa would become a muslim in 3 months. Because I didn't find anything before those three months mentioning his new western values or change to christianism. If that is true, if a person can change that fast, what can we say about that person as a future leader?

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Imo, the writer decided to go on the more important facts with what is mentioned in the joseon and qing historic papers at that time. Like CP's malaria and acupuncture treatment because I read that there is a mention in a manchurian document that the qings believed that CP had malaria and instead of being given the right treatment, he was wrongly treated with acupuncture. Or the real life JH role in the negotiation between the two countries. And the same goes with their meeting and CP presumed total instant almost makeover by the jesuit. I just didn't find it in korean papers, maybe I will be proven wrong. But if really isn't, then the writer should be appreciated because it is a gutsy move, one that obviously upset so many.

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Again, the real life JH appears in the above mentioned article (is ij chinese and here it gor translated as Zheng Minshou) :
"Close contact and observation made the attitudes and behaviors of some Qing court officials and even the image of the emperor truly come to life. According to field records, for example, the translator Zheng Minshou was an arrogant, domineering, corrupt and perverted person. A typical figure who seeks power for personal gain; Wu Mudao is a close and friendly guardian; Huang Taiji is an emotional person. A monarch who is rich, cold on the outside and hot on the inside, and clear on punishment. On the contrary, we can also get a glimpse from between the lines of "Shenyang Diary" Seeing how the Qing people viewed the Koreans, for example, they described Injo as an insincere and ungrateful king. Lord; the crown prince is a trustworthy prince; Kim Sang-heon is a minister with noble"

"First, according to "Shenyang Diary", the pox epidemic in Shenyang was very serious at that time, and the Qing people were very concerned about pox infection. So fearful that everyone from the royal family to the common people spent a lot of energy to avoid acne, and the disease became more common. It became a taboo for the Qing people. Huang Taiji, who is the king of a country, is no exception. In order to avoid acne..."

And a little fact about Zheng Minshou ( real life JH), I don't consider it spoiler because I don't know if the writer will follow exactly his life.: he dies in 1653 in S-city and was considered a traitor at the end by the nobles.

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I agree with you, @kodra, that Schall's recollections are to be read as promotional material, not a factual account. The order of Ignatius of Loyola was before anything « the army of God » — out there to convert non-believers ... wherever in the world. I think it it likely they met and exchanged ideas, but not more ...

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Probably the exchange of ideas was more in that jesuit mind. I think our beloved prince only went to procure advanced tehnology, I believe he got a watch or something like that they made it public after 10 years from the incident.

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"I agree with you....that Schall's recollections are to be read as promotional material, not a factual account"

But that's all that we have about it written from that time, none from the joseons or the qings. And from that are we to believe that he turned into christianity and that he would have changed the whole country? In those three months? How did he do it? Did he smacked our CP over head and provoke him amnesia, like our hero JH in the drama, to forget his confuscianism upbringing? And at that time in Beijing the qings were running around shaving mings heads and transitioning the country...what western exposure are we talking about? From the same qings that he lived with for 8 years?

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@kodra, I do not know the historiographical sources quoting his conversion to Christianity. I only know, anectodically, that this was one claim. In terms of logic, I would agree with you. Historians of different ages are also only human, and do have an agenda when writing (specific point of view), in particular if they are exposed to a regime which was oppressive (as the Japanese in their colonial period for example). So, at present, I do not know the various standpoints on this issue from first-hand exploration. The man seemed to have been curious and open enough to have exposed himself to new learnings, as in learning Manchu for example. But that might have just as well been a completely practical approach to his life. — What is essential is that the relationship to his father DID GET STRAINED to be point of breakage. So it is probably more interesting to see, historically, the primary sources which might illuminate that from the Joseon and Qing side.

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Anything else is interpretation. A drama is allowed to interpret of course, but what I liked about this, is that so much seem to have been the writer's interpretation on the basis of (first-hand) historical accounts. As I can then go and learn about Korean history while watching this drama.

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Also, I am just remembering : we keep forgetting how un-Neoconfucian it was that this father-son relationship was severed ... in both aspect : subject to king and father to son. THAT for me is the essential tragedy of a rigid belief system being lived, ... and not being lived. All sides lost their humanity here ...

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The qings most likely had their hand in breaking that relationship, they did something similar to the mings. For sure, threaten Injo with switching places with the CP amd for him to become a hostage added to his paranoia.

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Actually, @kodra and @kiara, do you happen to know how authentic it is that Injo feared the returnees, that ragtag of peasants and ex-nobi to become a private army? And how big were the numbers in fact around 1643-1645? Any documents you have seen to that effect? Because that is, so far as I can tell, the writer's argument in these least 4 episodes, if I am not mistaken. She makes him say that repeatedly ...

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"what I liked about this, is that so much seem to have been the writer's interpretation on the basis of (first-hand) historical accounts"

I would add korean or chinese accounts. And so far she has been on point but we will see if she will backtrack with that letter that the CP wrote to JH. If she does, then we will know what the extension was all about.

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@angelshadows50,
I have not read information about Injo's fear of the returnees staging a rebellion. Still, he probably was fearful after Shim Gi-won's attempted revolt, which was recorded in the Annals.

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Almost to the finish line...thank you, as always, @alathe for the recap! (Ryang-eum's "every day I have to deal with heterosexual nonsense" face made me cackle, too ☺️)

Ahh, guys...where did we go wrong? Writernim??? Anyone???? AMNESIA?????

Part 1 was so invigorating because I was so interested in the characters and there was a sense they truly were making the story. Part 2 feels like the writer had the history stuff mapped out and then was just like..."hm, how to stick these characters in here?" It's a shame.

I didn't hate the whole of Episode 19. Ryang-eum finally coming to terms with GC's place by JH's side was nice—him fixing both their shoes is the kind of beautiful, understated and poignant moment I expect from this show, but that have felt in short supply. I only wish we had gotten there sooner. How interesting it could have been to not only see JH and GC actually *together* and *working together* but RE too, and some of our other characters? So many missed opportunities.

I resent that when GC finally is in a good spot and has the agency and drive to shower JH with affection, it's when he has lost his memories and is resistant. It wasn't cute for me, just uncomfortable to watch. They clearly needed JH out of commission so he wouldn't interfere when they needed to wrap up CP's storyline but it was so poorly done. We already had 1 episode of NKM playing the comedy of faking a coma with GC dotes on him. This ep felt too close to that one...I was like, "we already did this and it's not even a little bit fun this time!"

Was this episode the last min. extension? Or was this planned and the "extension" is just bits they've added here and there to make the drama overall longer? The production for this drama has been so odd (and seemingly stressful?) that I can't help but wonder if I should be turning the heat up in my glare @ MBC instead of at our writer. Hwang Jin Young said she spent 5 years writing this show—in P1 I believed her. Now? It's just not adding up.

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Oh, I did truly love that overhead shot of GC lying on JH after she smeared herself in blood to protect him. That was the kind of stunner of a moment that reminded me for a second of what this show could've been if it kept the quality of P1. But then of course it was followed by such nonsense 😓

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I think the suggestion is that they recovered a number of scenes which would otherwise have stayed on the virtual cutting room floor, in order to cobble together an extra episode ?

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Yeah that was my impression too. I was just wondering if the amnesia was planned/if what we saw in ep 19 was some of that extra stuff or if some of the extra stuff is yet to come...

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I believe the amnesia was planed in the same episode with the deaths of the royal couple regardles of the number of episodes. It was used for comedic relief mostly to balance the tragic events, but also to reveal many other things, one of which is GC's love for him now and through out the story (the rings that she made and kept). I liked the fact that she gave him back the ribbon, it showed what impact those words had on her when they first kissed. And, of course, to take him away from the palace events because he is considered a traitor before the they died and it was a way to keep him hidden a period of time.
There is unconfirmed talk that initialy the script was made for 30 episodes and they only got 20. I also believe that one of the writer's goal was to share to the public's view the legacy of the CP as it is written in the korean historic writings at that time, and not from the jesuit's pov and that has upset many beanies and I understand their dislike with the show. So far, that is what I gathered. For so long the CP was seen as some christian martyr and that, as I found watching this drama, was only written by the jesuit at that time and perpetuated through the religious missionaries later on. Unless she changes at the last moment, we still have to see the letter from the CP, I find this fascinating about the writer.

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MD had all the promises to be great. Alas as most know by now, Part 2 was let down by poor editing, plot lines & at times questionable narratives. NGM & AEJ remain brilliant in their interpretation of JH & GC. IMO their best works to-date! If not for anything else, they & the main supporting cast members deserve the applause & support to the end, no matter how weary & exhausting Part 2 journey has been.

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I wish I could cheer MD on for "all the awards" because the cast certainly deserves the recognition. NKM and AEJ have been so perfect that it's a shame the writing hasn't been 100% like they have been!

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Yup the acting has been top notch from day one. Earlier part's standard was so high. It already got the viewers emotionally invested so naturally viewers will expect the same if not more. It is always more heartbreaking when the expectation is not met. It is such a waste cos so much more could have been done better since there were sufficient episodes in the second part.

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