After last week’s epic episode, I was a little worried that this week’s would be a bit of a downer but it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. (Hooray!) With plenty to talk about let’s not waste any more time here. 가자!
Grinning like a Cheshire Cat while the recap of last week’s awesomeness played out, I was so ready to dive into this week’s episode and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed. Picking up right where we left off, with the Prince in dire need of medical attention, the Princess freaking out and Dal Hyang, Seung Po, Min Seo and their servants headed straight for jail, we jumped right into the thick of things and that’s just the way I like it. I had to laugh when Dal Hyang walked into that prison, smiling almost as much as I was when Seung Po so warmly welcomed him. It’s not every day someone goes to jail with a smile that brilliant on his face but hey, when you’re about to spend the next month, just hanging out with friends is a stinky, filthy, straw-filled jail cell, what’s not to smile about? I suppose if any of them were in any real trouble, they might have been a bit more concerned with their current situation but as it was, spending a month in jail was more like a vacation than a punishment. Lucky them!
Speaking of punishment, I laughed so hard when Seung Po was the only one of the jailbirds to receive any sort of actual punishment. He’s such a smart-mouthed punk, he deserved to be smacked and the Prince knew it. I loved how playful Sohyeon was in that scene, he seemed to be back to full health and just as ornery as ever. That little wink he gave Dal Hyang as he turned to leave… I died. (Though maybe that was more because of Dal Hyang’s little smile… It’s so hard to tell!) Too bad the Prince can’t be that playful with his wife! Ugh! Every time I see the Prince interacting with Yoon Seo, I just want to smack him. He’s been married to the Princess for five years now and he still keeps her at arm’s distance, even when she’s going out of her way to help him out of his current predicament. (Jerk.) I mean, not only did she help Yong Gol Dae escape the palace, she’s also taken the initiative to carry out the King’s order for a grandchild and that requires some guts! (And apparently a whole lot of alcohol…)
You know, I could understand this level of awkward between Sohyeon and Yoon Seo if they’d only been married a few months but the fact is, they’ve been married five years… FIVE YEARS! and he still treats her like she’s a stranger. Just what the heck have these two been doing for the past half a decade? It’s obvious they haven’t been talking (or doing anything else together, for that matter) so it’s no wonder Yoon Seo is suddenly asking to be let go. What woman on Earth would want to stay with a man who treats her as just another courtier, rather than his wife? I’d be asking to leave too, if I were in Yoon Seo’s shoes, especially now that she knows the truth about Sohyeon’s past. It’s got to be incredibly difficult, staying with a man who so obviously loves another woman and I applaud Yoon Seo’s efforts and bravery; not only has she stuck by the Prince for so long, without receiving any sort of affection from him in return, but she’s also taken it upon herself to carry out the King’s orders and when that doesn’t fly, she calmly and rationally asks Sohyeon to let her go. Suddenly Yoon Seo is my hero and I can only hope that this last request of hers finally knocks some sense into Sohyeon’s head because seriously, sometimes that man is about as thick as a brick. If Sohyeon doesn’t start recognizing just how amazing Yoon Seo is, I’m going to start cheering for her to ditch the Prince and hook up with Dal Hyang. Sure, their love story might end up being as tragic as Romeo and Juliet’s but at least they’d have a few brief moments of happy before they died.
Before I get too carried away in my frustration over Prince Sohyeon’s stupidity, I’d better move on so let’s talk about Dal Hyang and his reassignment, shall we? I think it’s fantastic that as part of the King’s decree, Dal Hyang has been reinstated as a member of the convoy assigned to escort Yong Gol Dae and his company back home. I loved the interaction between Dal Hyang and Gol Dae when Dal Hyang came running towards the convoy, in a desperate attempt to get the convoy departed. Again, Dal Hyang was given the slightest little wink, this time by Gol Dae and I’m suddenly wondering if anyone in this drama won’t, at some point, wink at Dal Hyang! I can’t decide if this is actually funny or if I should be jealous. I wanna wink at Dal Hyang too! Oh! No! Wait…
Moving on… I’m happy to see that, despite all of the King’s crazy, when it came down to it, he was persuaded to see reason and cancel his order to kill Yong Gol Dae. The last thing anyone needed was for the King to give into his crazy side and push his entire country into an unnecessary war. I’m also happy Kim Ja Jeom was demoted but I have a feeling that’s not going to be nearly enough to keep him from stirring up trouble. I have no idea how Ja Jeom is going to make Mi Ryeong a princess but it’s obvious he’s got some sort of plan and I have a feeling it’s going to stir up all kinds of trouble. With the way things are now, I could easily see Ja Jeom throwing Mi Ryeong at the Prince and having their whole past exposed to the public. Outrage among the people would ensue. The Prince would be forced into a very difficult situation and I could easily see him being forced to rely on Yoon Seo to bail him out. (Which might be tricky if he decides to dismiss her right before all of this goes down…)
Of course all of that is just my crazy talking and there’s no guarantee anything even remotely close to that will happen, I just like to make guesses every now and then. (And I really like watching to see if I’m right. Ha!) My question for you is, do you have any predictions you’d like to make of your own? Any theories you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them (as well as your thoughts on this week’s episode) so be sure to leave me a comment below!
You can catch up on all of my reviews of The Three Musketeers here:
I thought Ep 8 had a good balance of humour and heart(break). Dalhyang was super cute, with those puppy dog eyes and naivety, Seung Po and Panseo were hilarious while the Crown Princess was so pathetic having to endure a loveless marriage for the last 5 years. Also loved how Yong Gol Dae teased Dalhyang when they met again.
Seems like the action, intrigue and suspense will be picking up again in Ep 9 judging from the trailers, so can’t wait for Sunday again.