Recap: “Faith” Episode 8

Joonni: Uh-oh. Ki Chul just woke up a sleeping tiger. Softy: This whole episode just screamed “bring it on” cuz if a fight is what Ki Chul wants, that’s what he is going to get.

Episode 8:

Ki Chul declares that Young is a traitor and orders Ahn and his soldiers to make Young kneel. To emphasize Young’s lack of options, Hwasooin pulls off her glove and lays her hand on Eun-soo’s shoulder.

Young drops his sword and kneels in defeat. Young looks at Eun-soo but she turns away, tears falling from his eyes.

The guards escort a handcuffed Young out of the house. Eum-ja stops the guards and signals for one to check Young for weapons. A guard finds a knife hidden in Young’s back but Eum-ja eyes Young warily, suspecting more. Young sighs and points out his leg, on which the guard finds another knife. “This is it,” Young says.

Ki Chul examines Choong-jung’s dead body and sees the stab wound. Eum-ja hands Ki Chul Young’s sword and tells him that it is the sword given to Young by the previous Jeokwoldae dae-jang. Ki Chul tells Eum-ja that Choong-jung drank the poison that was meant for Young. Eum-ja guesses that Young made Choong-jung drink it instead. Ki Chul is not sure, however: “Right. That would be the right answer…in order to live…if he is human.” Eum-ja asks, “But is that not the right answer?” Ki Chul doesn’t answer the question and instead, asks for Eun-soo.

Eun-soo paces back and forth, muttering to herself that this is not the history that she knows. According to her memory, Young lives until old age. Eun-soo tries to reassure herself- “There is no way he will die this early. He won’t.”

Hwasooin looks at Eun-soo suspiciously- does she really know the future? Because she is from heaven? Eun-soo tells her that it’s in the records. Hwasooin asks if she is in the heavenly records too while she shows Eun-soo her power. “Does it have me written down as a master of hwa-gong or a femme fatale?” Eun-soo replies that something is strange – little by little this is different from the history she knows.

Eun-soo wants to know what will happen to Young if he is taken away like this. Hwasooin replies that Young will be killed, slowly and painfully, in front of many people. Eun-soo offers herself as witness to testify that while Young might be a murder, he is not a traitor. Hwasooin advises Eun-soo to talk to Ki Chul- while the king might not be able to save Young, Ki Chul can. She tells Eun-soo to save Young because she doesn’t want him to die either. Before she leaves, Eun-soo asks if Ki Chul has a weakness. Hwasooin smirks- if she knew his weakness, she would have used that knowledge herself already. “One thing, though. Don’t look weak to him. Ki Chul likes to step on weak people like they are bugs.”

Ahn tells Young, who is locked up in the mobile cage, to not resent him so much for this. Young replies that he doesn’t- he came into this house on his own two feet. Ahn continues what he was saying before about how one can continue living off the country generation after generation (meaning, maintaining one’s family’s position continuously). Ahn:

“First, identify the powerful person. Second, stick to that person. Third, and it’s the most important, believe that you are right in doing all this.”

Young scoffs- the maintenance of status sure is troublesome. Young sees Eun-soo coming out of the house with Ki Chul and he stares at her. Eun-soo looks back him but both their faces are unreadable.

Ki Chul, Eun-soo, and crew follow Young as he is led back to the capital inside his mobile cage. (Joonni: I’m getting unreasonably angry at seeing Young locked up like that. The crazy attachment phase is starting for me.)

Lady Choi informs No-gook that state soldiers are guarding the king instead of the Woodalchi now and joining them are Ki Chul’s private soldiers (in the white uniform). No-gook understands that it means that the king is now basically confined.  Lady Choi agrees and beats her chest in frustration.

No-gook asks if the people who attacked her on the way to Ki Chul’s house was Ki Chul’s men. Lady Choi tells her that the Woodalchi believe it is so. No-gooks is furious- so Ki Chul regards her life to be worth that of fly!  No-gook angrily laments: “The king has a queen that is worth less than fly so now he is alone.” Lady Choi asks if No-gook will like to see Gongmin now but No-gook only mutters, “The king is a fool,” before storming back to her room.

Gongmin is in his room, trying to draw but failing. He attempts to leave the room but Ki Won is there to stop him with feigned concern- “Your Majesty, if you wish to go somewhere, let us know so we can protect you.” He nods for the guards to close the door in Gongmin’s face.  Wordlessly, Gongmin turns back and looks at his room, feeling trapped.

Deo-gi distracts the guards outside the Woodalchi lair while Dae-man climbs the wall to get inside. Choong-suk asks if he came alone; where is Joo-suk? Dae-man tells him that Joo-suk went to see the king to relay a message from Young but he can’t get through because of all the guards. He also tells him rumor has it that Young’s been captured.

The Woodalchi are upset. Acting like the hot-heads that they are, Dol-bae and Deok-man suggest that they just break out of here and rescue Young. If they are going to die as traitors, they want to rescue their dae-jang first. Choong-suk reminds them that all their weapons have been taken from them. There is nothing they can fight with now.

The guards put Young in a cell and shackle him to the wall. Young remembers what Choong-jung said about Ki Chul giving him the poison to give to Young but Choong-jung drank it instead. Young cries as he remembers Choong-jung saying how much it hurts. He also remembers Eun-soo turning away in horror, yelling, “Don’t touch me. Remove your dirty hands!”

Young takes the aspirin bottle out from his robes. The flower that Eun-soo gave him is inside. He takes it out and remembers how she gave it to him as a present and how she told him to lean on her shoulders. He gives a small smile, his eyes filled with tears, before he puts the flower back in the bottle. Young lies down and tears glisten in his eye as he remembers how she looked at him when he was in the cage. He also remembers her complaining that he smelled like blood.

Eun-soo is in Ki Chul’s house again, locked up in a room. In symmetry to Young in his prison, Eun-soo remembers how Young looked at her through his cage. As Eum-ja opens the door to her room, she flashes back to when Young opened the same door to rescue her last time. She also remembers how Young told her to stay by his side so he can protect her and how he tasted her drink first to check for poison.

Eun-soo enters the room where Ki Chul is and Hwasooin winks at her. Eun-soo clears her throat and awkwardly kicks her chair in an attempt to appear tough. Ki Chul laughs and offers her food in a very polite and courteous tone. Eun-soo notes this difference and exclaims that it is strange. The last time she was here, they were belittling and threatening her. “Is there poison in the food?”

Ki Chul assures her that he would not use poison to kill her since it wouldn’t work on a doctor from heaven. He asks if she is upset because her door was locked. Eun-soo clarifies. She is mad because she kept on telling him that she had something to say all the way from Gwanghwado but he ignored her and kept her locked up. What does he want from her now?

Ki Chul tells her that he has something to ask from her. Eun-soo sits down, agreeing to this “business” deal. She has something to ask herself. Eun-soo balls her hands into fists in nervousness underneath the table as she coolly asks Ki Chul to lay down his cards first.

Ki Chul shows Eun-soo her medical instruments, as well as the ones he inherited from his teacher who claimed they were from Hwa-ta. Ki Chul gauges her reaction and asks if she recognizes them. Eun-soo examines the rusty instruments and wonders how they could be here. She sees the “Made in Korea” sign on the scalpel. She yells at Ki Chul in confusion, “What are these?!”

Jang Bin goes to see Gongmin with Joo-suk disguised as one of his assistants. Jang Bing tells Ki Won, who is guarding the door, that he is bringing medicine for the king. Ki Won exclaims that he has never heard that the king needed medicine, to which Bin counters, in a admonishing tone, that as someone who protects the king, Ki Won should know everything about him.

Gongmin’s pile of crumbled up drawings has only grown larger since the last time we last saw him. He looks up in surprise to see Jang Bin. Jang Bin signals to Gongmin with his eyes to pretend that he was expecting his medicine. The other assistant closes the door tightly.

With Ki Won no longer looking inside, Joo-suk reveals himself. Jang Bin suggests that Gongmin call Joo-suk closer so that people outside can’t hear. Gongmin peers at Joo-suk- weren’t all the Woodalchi locked up? Joo-suk tells him that he disobeyed the royal order and went alone to Gwanghwado. Gongmin growls- so he was the Woodalchi that went secretly to Young! Gongmin asks if he met Young and what Young was doing. Joo-suk tells him that Young was on the run with Eun-soo and Choong-jung. Gongmin raises his eyebrows- “why?” Joo-suk replies that Young said it was a set up.

Gongmin gets up. “I heard that Choi Young was captured by state soldiers.” Gongmin thinks it is suspicious that Joo-suk came to him only after Young was captured. Is Joo-suk the back up plan? Joo-suk tries to explain that it isn’t so but Gongmin interrupts him. Did Young send Joo-suk in hopes that Gongmin would welcome Young back with open arms since Gongmin has no other option?!

Gongmin furiously throws Joo-suk a sword. He declares that Joo-suk should die. Didn’t he say so himself that he disobeyed a royal command and that he deserved to die?

Joo-suk pulls out the sword and holds it to his own neck. He promises to take his own life only after he tells Gongmin what Young wanted to him to relay: “I, Choi Young, a Woodalchi warrior, have not finished what you ordered me to do yet.” Remembering the familiar words, Gongmin asks if that is all there is to the message. Joo-suk affirms. He bows and is about to kill himself but Jang Bin stops him. Gongmin tells Joo-suk that there is still something left for him to do.

Ki Chul shows Eun-soo Hwa-ta’s medical instruments and tells her that there are two more sets. She asks to see the rest but when Ki Chul doesn’t move, she questions his intent- didn’t he bring her here to show them to her?

Ki Chul tells her that he made a bet with the king that he could win her heart within seven days. Eun-soo asks in indignation- so what if he wins? Ki Chuls informs her that he if wins, he will keep Eun-soo. If he loses, she will go back to the king. So he wants to know- “Where is your heart now?” Eun-soo huffs that her heart is with her. Ki Chul asks if she will give her heart to him. Eun-soo replies no, she doesn’t want to. Ki Chul is shocked that there is someone who dares to say no in front of him. (Softy: why he finds this hard to believe is beyond me – look in the mirror buddy and then look at Young and see the difference for yourself. even you would choose Young I bet.)

It’s now time for Eun-soo to play her cards. She points to Hwa-ta’s instruments and asks Ki Chul, “You want to know what these are, right? You said there were two more sets. You want to know what those two are too.” Ki Chul leans in in anticipation. Can she explain them to her? Eun-soo replies that she doesn’t know what those other two are but if they came with these (referring to Hwa-ta’s instruments), she will definitely know what they are. After all, they came from her world. But before she tells him, Eun-soo wants Ki Chul to save Young.

Ki Chul tells her that she is doing the deal wrong. If she becomes Ki Chul’s, she will explain what Hwa-ta’s things are anyway so the deal is that if she becomes Ki Chul’s, he will save Young’s life.

Ki Won checks on Young and is surprised to hear that Young has been sleeping straight through since yesterday- without eating or going to the bathroom. (Joonni: His bladder must be huge!)

In Young’s dream, he is back in the forest with his father, standing on the frozen lake. His father asks, “You still haven’t found it?” Young: “What was I looking for? He tries to walk toward his father but he falls into the water. Young struggles in the water only to find himself suddenly choking on dry land. His father asks what he is doing. Young asks, “When did the ice melt?” But his father does not know what he is talking about- this place has never been frozen. He directs Young to look around. “See, it’s always been like this.” The scenery around them is rich in color and life, like spring. Young looks around in curious amazement. Young wakes up from his dream, his eyes glistening but with a small smile on his face.

Gongmin thinks over what Young said about not completing his job yet. Gongmin remembers the day when Young handed him the letter from the previous king that granted Young permission to leave the palace once he brought back Gongmin from Yuan. He also remembers how he asked Young whose order he will follow- the previous king or the current king? Gongmin realizes with happiness that Young is following his order.

Gongmin walks confidently and excitedly into the royal court where his ministers wait. Jo Il-shin reports that the ministers have decided Young should be swiftly questioned and punished for his crime. Gongmin agrees- in order to speed up the process, he will question Young himself. Jo Il-Shin and another minister try to stop Gongmin, declaring their concern for him since Young is dangerous but Gongmin won’t have any of it. He will see Young himself. (Joonni: Love it, love it, love it. Finally! Some resolve and charisma! And LOL. I find myself saying “shut up” Eun-soo style when Jo Il-shin is talking. Really, he needs to shut up or I am going to pull out every hair on his beard one by one.)

Jo Il-shin is still trying to stop Gongmin even as they stand in front of Young’s cell. Gongmin asks if they are afraid that he will get hurt when they have shackled Young like that. Ki Won informs him that since Young uses nae-gong, they had to use special shackles. Gongmin pretends to admire them and asks if he can’t open the door now since the shackles are strong. Gongmin enters the cell and locks the door behind him.

Young bows in front of Gongmin. Gongmin asks, “Did you say that you didn’t finish what I ordered you to do?” Young affirms. Gongmin understands now that it means Young is still carrying out his order. Young once again confirms. Gongmin: “I gave you two missions. The first was to find evidence for the murder of the twenty-four ministers, which you already did. The second was to find out who and why I had to fight.” Young tells him that Gongmin already knows who he has to find due to the evidence from the ministers’ murder but Young has not been able to find out why Gongmin has to fight. Ki Won strains to hear what is going on inside the cell but he can’t.

Gongmin declares that he already knows why he has to fight. Can Young show him how? Young doesn’t see how that it is possible- he is locked up a traitor. Gongmin asks if Young plans to just die like this. Is this what he really wants? Is this the end?

Gongmin bends down and faces Young straight on. “Teach me how to fight so I can rescue you.” He places his hand on Young’s arm and explains to Young that he sent Eun-soo to Ki Chul because he thought that would be the only way he can protect her. “If she stays by my side, it will be more dangerous for her. Because I don’t have power. Because there was nothing I could do.” Young finally looks up and asks, “Is she safe in that house?” Gongmin replies that there is no way he can confirm that.

A minister rushes over to Eum-ja, saying he has something to report to Ki Chul. Eum-ja tells him that Ki Chul said he did not want to be interrupted, no matter how urgent.

Eun-soo is showing Ki Chul and Hwasooin the modern way of mixing alcohol and drinking them. Ki Chul plays along but he is impatient. Didn’t she say that she would give him her heart, not alcohol? Eun-soo:

“You keep saying heart, heart, heart, but a person’s heart is not like some designer bag that you buy with money or forcibly take from someone else and make it yours.”

Eun-soo yells “cheers” and downs her drink. Hwasooin hilariously asks if Eun-soo is a drunkard, not a doctor.

Eun-soo prods Ki Chul to have a drink. “You said you wanted my heart so how could you not drink the alcohol I gave you?” Ki Chul gulps it down, but before Eun-soo can pour him another, Ki Chul grabs her wrists, threatening her- he doesn’t put up with people playing with him, whether they are a king or a doctor from heaven. Eun-soo replies that she isn’t playing either- she isn’t going to give her heart that easily. She wants Ki Chul to show some effort. Ki Chul asks if drinking is showing her effort. Eun-soo responds that only stupid and unskilled people make others repeat the same thing over and over. (Joonni: Ha! That is what Young wants to say to you, missy.) If Ki Chul wants to have her heart, he needs to at least drink once a week with her. Doesn’t he know that hearts are shared over drinks? She looks down at Ki Chul’s hand holding her wrists and says coyly, “Holding hands come way later.” Ki Chul laughs in amusement.

The guards outside Young’s cell notice the blood on the floor near Young, who sits with his head hanging. They think that Young has cut his wrists and fear the consequences- they can’t let him die or else they will die. They open the cell door and wonder if Young is dead. When one of them gets close, Young knocks him out and swiftly takes out the other. He unlocks his shackles and escapes from the prison.

Eun-soo grumpily says that that isn’t it. Ki Chul wonders why- isn’t this the “date” she said they needed to do in order for him to win her heart? Eun-soo replies that dates should only involve two people but everyone is following them around- how can they make any progress with so many people watching? Ki Chul makes the others stay put while he and Eun-soo walk off. Young secretly watches them.

Outside of Ki Chul’s house, Eun-soo has told Ki Chul about her world. Ki Chul is surprised to here that there are no kings in her world, but someone called a president. Ki Chul wonders how a president is different from a king so Eun-soo explains that a king is king by blood but the citizens elect a president. Ki Chul wants to know, then, how do citizens decide if a person is worthy to be a president. Eun-soo explains that nominees need to campaign. Ki Chul laughs to hear such ridiculousness- imagine all those people claiming to be worthy of being the king!

Eun-soo notices the same yellow flower that she gave to Young growing nearby. She stares and Ki Chul asks if she likes the flower. Eun-soo replies that it’s just a flower she knows. Young is still hiding and watching her.

The minister reports to Ki Chul about Gongmin seeing Young. Thinking he is distracted, Eun-soo runs away but Ki Chul just smiles at her efforts.

Eun-soo is running through the forest when she slips. Young catches her from behind. Eun-soo, thinking that it is Ki Chul, pleads for him to let go- she was just trying to see how far she could run. She struggles upright but when she turns around, Young is gone. (Joonni: I’m sorry. I thought it was romantic when he caught her but watching him just slip away like that and all of sudden, poof, he’s gone, has me laughing like a lunatic. God, I love this drama and all its strangeness.)

Ki Chul finds Eun-soo wandering and searching around in the woods and suspiciously asks what she is looking for. Did someone come?

Back at Ki Chul’s place, Ki Won reports that Young has escaped. Ki Chul looks back at Eun-soo and, eager to keep this a secret from her, quietly orders for his soldiers to be sent to the Woodalchi lair immediately. He is sure that Young will have gone there to get reinforcement.

Ki Won enters the Woodalchi headquarters with his soldiers. He orders the Woodalchi to stay where they are as he searches the room. Jang Bin is circling the palace outside with incense that causes the guards to faint. Young and Dae-man are able to secretly enter Gongmin’s room.

Gongmin joyfully laughs to see Young and says, “There is nowhere a traitor can’t go.” Young announces that he came to ask one thing and give one answer.

Ki Won reports to Ki Chul that Young is not with the Woodalchi. Ki Chul realizes that Young is with the king. He rushes off.

Young says to Gongmin, “You said you already know why you need to fight. What is that reason?” Gongmin: “To become the king.” Young: “You already are the king.” Gongmin reminds Young that he never regarded him as the king. Young:

“You asked me to teach you how to fight. I will give you that answer now. A king is not someone who fights. A king is someone who has. There are kings that have one or two people and there are others who have tens of thousands. So first, own me. Then I will do the fighting.”

Ki Chul rushes into Gongmin’s room expecting to see Young but he only sees Gongmin sitting alone at his table. Gongmin nonchalantly asks why he is so late.  He performed an experiment to see if Ki Chul’s guards would be able to protect him but see, they’ve all fainted outside. He wants Ki Chul to change them.

Ki Chul growls if it wasn’t Young who did that to his men. Gongmin feigns ignorance- he heard that Ki Won was guarding Young- did something happen?

Ki Chul opens the door to Young’s cell and finds him inside. Ki Chul calls his name and Young looks up. Ki Chul says, “You shouldn’t have done that. A smart person like you should have already known that I did all this because I treasured you and wanted to make you mine.”  Young: “By all this…do you mean turning me into a traitor, stripping my men of their weapons and confining them, and giving the previous king poison?”

Ki Chul responds, “I didn’t know which king you liked. I was going to let you choose.” Ki Chul continues, “Was it you who gave the poison to Choong-jung?” He tsks- he was going to let Young go tomorrow. Why did Young foolishly go meet Eun-soo and Choong-jung? Ki Chul laments the headache that Young caused him.

Ki Chul tells Young that Eun-soo asked him to hurry up and release him. “So let’s stop our push and pull.” Ki Chul turns to leave but Young calls out to him. Young:

“Don’t most people say that ‘I am living’? In reality, that’s not it. It’s ‘I am dying’- until the day you die- day by day. So I made up my mind to quietly die. I was being docile and obedient but you kept on poking me- to wake up…to get up…to try living.”

Gongmin stamps some royal decrees before he heads to No-gook’s room. He apologizes for coming to see her so late but he has a favor to ask. “I plan to be courageous from now on because there is someone I want to earn. To earn him, I think I need to show my courage first. It’s a courage that can only be fulfilled with your help. Will you help me? Even though you hate me and think I am pathetic and pitiful, I want to try this thing called, ‘frontal attack.’ Will you help me?” Lady Choi pulls out some robes for No-gook.

Ki Chul ushers Eun-soo into the royal court. Gongmin enters with his eunuch carrying another set of robes behind him. Ki Chul smiles at first but it fades as he notices that something is different with Gongmin.

Gongmin declares that he will announce a few things today that the ministers will have to go out and relay to the citizens. “First…” The eunuchs change Gongmin’s Yuan robes into Goryeo attire and No-gook enters the court, also dressed in Goryeo attire. Jo Il-shin proudly announces that the king and queen have donned the royal Goryeo attire instead of Yuan clothes. Another minister gets up to complain but Gongmin cuts him down- he’s not done talking yet. He orders the ministers to be quiet.

Gongmin continues, “The second thing- these people completed my order to investigate what has happened in Goryeo over the past ten years while I was not here so I want to reward them properly.  Bring them in.”

Young and his Woodalchi men walk into the court and they all kneel. Young gets up and looks straight at Gongmin.

Preview for Episode 8:

Lady Choi asks Young why he suddenly decided do this for the sake of the king. Young: “Just because.”

Eun-soo to Ki Chul: “I went towards the main door and all these guys blocked me.” Ki Chul: “Where do you want to go?” Eun-soo: “Can I go out?” Ki Chul: “No.”

Young tells Deok-man: “If the doctor is in danger, just pick her up and run away. Don’t think about arguing with her.” Deok-man: “Can I piggyback her too? I can touch…” Young slaps him before he can finish.

Ki Chul mumbles about the letters in heaven and the heavenly world. Hwasooin asks, “Is that why you had Eum-ja watch her? To see if it is truly real?” Ki Chul yells, “I said it is real!”

Eum-ja tells Eun-soo, “I got an order about him today.” Eun-soo: “About that person, Choi Young?” Eum-ja asks, “Should I kill him or save him?

Softy’s comments:

Best looking stalker award should go to Young. On a more serious note, it’s amazing how one man’s convictions can light such a fire in someone else who needs that leap of faith to hold onto with dear life. This whole episode just screamed “bring it on” cuz if a fight is what Ki Chul wants, that’s what he is going to get.

He’s come undone by a flower. who knew he could have such a sentimental heart. I can’t believe he kept that flower in his aspirin bottle. Forget all the times he carried her in his arms – this made me swoon a lot more. this simple gesture says so much about what he is keeping inside.

It’s in these quiet little moments when characters really come alive.

Written before it aired: In the final scene last night, I thought that’s going a little overboard – aiming so many swords at one defenseless guy, but then I saw this. They shackled him to the wall.  I guess you can’t underestimate the fury that lies beneath a warrior general. Take it too lightly and he could take your life, except I think the fight went out of him last night.  His sole reason for hanging on was to save the former king and Eun Soo, but now that one is gone and the other is appalled at what he is capable of, not sure he has anything left to fight for at the moment.

That’s why I am glad Gongmin is going to see Young. They need this face to face to clear the air. Even though they can’t trust all these machinations going on around them, they can still see truth in each other’s eyes. Gongmin may be dense about love and other things, but he knows a good person when he sees one.  Let’s hope he trusts his judge of character and these two come up with a ploy of their own to give Ki Chul a taste of his own medicine.

In the preview, ES said that the history she knows is changing little by little. I hope that means that Ki Chul dies a lot sooner than he is supposed to and the reason for his untimely painful death is Young. Who knew history could be accelerated by pure hatred.

* crud – Young gets a higher ponytail and a wavy perm – not liking this new goryeo look that much. I like his original one- he was smoldering in every scene -but now ….there are just puffs of smoke here and there for me. oh well – I can learn to deal with it I guess.

Joonni’s comments:

Agree about the new hair for the upcoming episode. But it seems that he is going to change it again.

Not sure if I like it for his role but it’s definitely better than the one promised for next week. It looks sleeker and makes him look younger. Or maybe he’s just wearing the headband for the press conference. Anyway, I figure if Lee Minho can rock the Gu Jun-pyo perm, he can make any hair work. Or maybe not. Okay, I don’t sound that convincing. 😀

If I was previously more interested in Gongmin, now I am desperately trying to wrap my head around this Young character. He is a warrior, through and through. He lives to protect and follow orders. In the past, he did this as a Jeokwoldae. He and his “family” fulfilled their duty as they were ordered because they believed they were protecting their country. But with the death of his “father,” Young lost that motivation and he basically become a robot that just did what he is told. Through his meeting with Eun-soo, the death of Choong-jung, and Gongmin confirming that he was really only looking out for Eun-soo, Young realizes that there is once again something he wishes to fight for and that there are people worth fighting for again, not because he is bound as a warrior to do so, but because he believes in the righteousness of that role. In a way, Ahn’s advice runs true but for Young, it’s not about power but about honor. First, he needs to identify the person who is honorable. Then he needs to stick to that person. Finally, he needs to believe that he is right in doing so. Young scoffed before at Ahn because he thought it was silly that everyone was trying so hard to live when they were going to die anyway. But now that Young has realized that even if death awaits everyone, it still matters how you live that life, he will struggle as hard as everyone else to shape the world into a place he can live.

I’m so happy that Gongmin and Young have finally understood each other and are teaming up. And Yoo Oh-sung is totally rocking the Ki Chul character. He never goes far to enough to make the villain ridiculous and maintains a very cautious and cunningly calculated exterior. There are definitely moments when I am laughing at him but I never find him dumb. You can always see the gears turning in his head and always feel like there is something that he isn’t telling you but has it already planned out.

Isn’t it delightful the way Eun-soo made the whole “heart” debate into this romantic chase that Ki Chul has to do? I know that Ki Chul and Gongmin are not necessarily talking about romantic feelings when they are betting on people’s hearts so it’s hilarious to see Eun-soo make Ki Chul try to win her over romantically through modern devices of courtship.

I’m hoping that we get a Eun-soo heavy episode soon. No-gook, Gongmin, and Young all have very deeply layered conflicts but we haven’t really gotten the chance to understand how Eun-soo feels being here in Goryeo and how her world-view is changing. I hope that the drama takes some time soon to fill us in a bit more about this whole time-traveling thing. Right now, it isn’t coming up as major conflict so Eun-soo’s story, which is at the center of that, feels a little slighted.

I’m also having trouble trying to understand what Young’s father meant by the lake never being frozen. Can others explain?