After all the excitement of last week’s episode, this week’s happenings seem a little dull but where this episode lacked in action, it made up for in plot development so it’s not a total loss.
Picking up where we left off, Dal Hyang was on the verge of becoming a rather holy man (sorry, bad pun), which would have really put a damper on this future as a military man. Thank goodness he had enough brains (or luck… I’m still not sure on this one) to use his horse as a shield and save himself from a rather sticky end. As glad as I am that Dal Hyang was able to evade the Qing warriors, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the horse. Poor thing! I’m beginning to wonder if this bad luck with horses will follow Dal Hyang throughout the series and if it does, I may have to start counting how many horses this guy goes through! He’s down two already and I have a feeling, this is only the beginning. Still, the horse gave its life for a greater good and for that we can all be grateful because it means Dal Hyuang will live to fight another day. Hooray!
Of course before Dal Hyang could go off and save the world, or do other heroic deeds, he had to become an official officer in the military which means we had to suffer through all of the pomp and circumstance of a rather tedious graduation ceremony. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who finds commencement ceremonies about as lively as a sloth.) As boring as the ceremony itself was, the costumes of all in attendance were quite lovely and I found the whole thing a treat for the eyes, just not for the rest of my senses. Honestly, it’s a good thing Mi Ryeong decided to show up at that ceremony, otherwise we might have all fallen asleep at that point. Having the prince’s servant chase down a rather elusive Mi Ryeong is an interesting way to spice things up a bit and having her run into Yoon Seo (aka the Crown Princess) made it even more so. There’s nothing I love more than having rival love interests meet in unexpected places and this was no exception. I know Yoon Seo had no idea who she was speaking to at that moment but Mi Ryeong knew exactly who she was addressing and she took every advantage of that moment, to size up the woman who had taken her place at the prince’s side.
I couldn’t really decipher the vibes I was getting from Mi Ryeong when she met the princess but I know there was more going on there than just curiosity sprinkled with a dash of jealousy. I think to fully understand that scene, we need to kn0w where Mi Ryeong is coming from and unfortunately, for having an entire episode dedicated to assuring us that she is, in fact, alive, we still don’t know much about her. What we do know is that she most definitely did NOT die five years ago. The prince, for whatever reason, is the one who told her to go kill herself which means she’s probably holding onto a ginormous grudge and the prince is probably harboring all kinds of guilt. Put those two together and you have a recipe for instant fireworks, the moment these two finally face each other and I’m not gonna lie, I’m really looking forward to that. We need to have some fireworks somewhere and we’re certainly not getting any from the prince and princess.
Poor Yoon Seo! She’s doomed to be the unloved wife of a man in love with another woman and you know that’s gotta suck. All she wants is for the prince to notice her and treat her as an equal or, if nothing else, at least with respect but no. The prince seems dead set on teasing Yoon Seo and keeping her around when he finds her amusing but then tossing her aside the moment she starts to get even a little close. I understand that the prince is still harboring feelings for Mi Ryeong (though they’re probably not all lovey-dovey, seeing as how he told her to go die) and I get that an arranged marriage between two uninterested parties would be tedious for both but at least Yoon Seo is trying. Maybe if she has enough breakdowns in front of the King, he’ll take pity on her and force his son to be a little nicer, especially if he ever wants to see a grandson running around the palace.
Sadly, the King’s wishes for a grandson are never going to come true if Sohyeon can’t keep himself out of trouble and let’s be honest here, the prince seems to thrive on trouble. He admitted to Dal Hyang that he hates being cooped up in the palace which means he finds every chance he can to get out and we all know what happens when royalty continually sneaks out of the palace. Bad things my friends. Bad things. At least Sohyeon is smart enough to commission Dal Hyang to do his dirty work for him. There’s no way Sohyeon could keep an eye on the Qing envoy (aka Mi Ryeong) and he knows that, so he set Dal Hyang to the task. I’m not sure how well this is going to go, seeing as how Mi Ryeong has already tried to kill Dal Hyang once and I have no doubt she’ll do it again. At least Dal Hyang has the skill and wits to survive this far so I’m sure he’ll be alright.
So tell me, what are your thoughts on this week’s episode of The Three Musketeers? Are you enjoying the plot and character development? Are you intrigued by the relationship between Sohyeon and Mi Ryeong? What do you think happened between them in the past that made the prince tell her to go kill herself? Do you think Mi Ryeong might be holding onto a grudge for that? What do you think about the prince and his wife? Is there any hope for them to find love together or are they going to end up drifting apart, doomed to spend the rest of their lives in a marriage without love? What do you see in Dal Hyang’s future? Will he be able to keep an eye on the Qing envoy without being attacked by Mi Ryeong or is he pretty much toast? I’d love to hear your thoughts so be sure to leave me a comment below!
You can catch up on all of my reviews of The Three Musketeers here: