Recap: “Faith” Episode 10

Joonni: Just when we think things are looking up for heroes, we find them running up against another wall. The stakes are raised even higher this episode. Ki Chul proves again and again that he is much more cunning and deadly than everyone thinks he is. But what’s a drama without a good villain?

Softy: This drama doesn’t take any prisoners. They are playing hard ball in the most frightening way possible. First time I got chills just from the cliffhanger ending. I don’t think a drama has ever been this daring before. They say knowledge is power, but as this drama proved tonight – it can also be a weapon that has far reaching ramifications that can transcend time.

Episode 10

The Dangerous Time (Choral version)- “Faith” OST

Eun-soo unwraps the bundle and her eyes grow wide in surprise when she sees a violet diary in front of her. “Did you say this one of Hwata’s belongings?” Ki Chul affirms. Eun-soo: “Then this is from hundreds of years ago?” Ki Chul corrects her that it is from a thousand years ago.

Eun-soo slowly opens the diary and turns the pages. The pages are brown and faded but she can read the words. Ki Chul asks in anticipation, “Do you recognize it?” Eun-soo slowly nods as she continues to turn the pages. She gets to the last one, which on the bottom she sees a familiar name- “Eun-soo.”

“What is this?” Eun-soo whispers. Ki Chul asks, “What does it say?” Eun-soo, with tearful eyes, pleads, “Please tell me this is all a dream.” Ki Chul, alarmed at her reaction, asks once again what those letter mean. Eun-soo: “Tell me that this is a long, complicated, and ridiculous dream. That this can only be a dream! Tell me that when I wake up, all this will end.”

Eun-soo starts to cry in earnest so Ki Chul rushes over to her, asking her to tell him what it is written in the diary. “You recognize this, right? It must be heaven’s writing.” Eun-soo tells him that her name, “Eun-soo,” written on it. Ki Chul points to the numbers and asks what they are. Eun-soo replies that she doesn’t really know but they might be coordinates. “Maybe they point to the location of the portal I return home from. Back to my country, my time.”

Ki Chul quickly grabs the diary out of Eun-soo’s hand. If what she is saying is true, he can’t let her have it since he can’t let her return yet. Eun-soo desperately tries to get it back and she starts to throw things at him, causing Jang Bin and Eum-ja to enter the room in alarm.

Blocked by Jang Bin, Eun-soo yells at Ki Chul for him to give her the diary since he can’t read the letters anyway. Ki Chul won’t give it back, however, since she said it had her name in it and directions to the door home. “If give you this precious book and you suddenly go back, then what do I do? Let’s discuss this after you’ve calmed down a bit.” Ki Chul quickly leaves the room.

Eun-soo yells at Jang Bin to go and get the book but he reminds her that he can’t take on Ki Chul and Eum-ja on their own. He asks her what she is talking about with the notebook. Eun-soo tells him that her name was written in the book, and even though it doesn’t make any sense, the writing was her handwriting. It doesn’t make since because even though that’s how she writes her name (confirming that it is hers), it’s the first time she’s seen that diary.

Ki Chul meets Young on his way out of the palace. He says to Young, “I heard you went to the heavenly world. What was it like?” Young: “So you must believe I went to heaven.” Young replies that since he was there for such a short time, he didn’t hear or see anything. Ki Chul finds this suspicious. “You went all the way to heaven and the only thing you brought back was a doctor?!” Young replies that he simply followed the king’s order.

Ki Chul can’t believe that Young is foolish enough to bring back nothing else when he went all the way to heaven. He thought Young was smart but all he did was follow the king’s order. He laments that the portal opened in front of someone like Young. “This country was unlucky. Why you instead of me?” Young smirks, “It must have been heaven’s will.”

Young paces outside with the Woodalchi watching. Deok-man asks if Young will not go and see Eun-soo. Young just orders Deok-man to go and protect Eun-soo. Dae-man offers to go but Young can’t trust him anymore- he’s already lost her once. Deok-man promises to protect Eun-soo with his life so Young hits him, saying, “I told you to not put your life on the line for just anything. Do you carry around a few lives in your pocket?” Deok-man protests, “Still, in case the doctor is in danger…” Young interrupts him- “Don’t put your life on the line. Don’t! Just watch over her.”

Dol-bae asks Young again if he will not go and see Eun-soo. Deok-man adds that Eun-soo will be waiting for her. Young just says to him, “If she is danger, just pick her up and run away. Don’t think about fighting.” Deok-man is giddy to hear what that implies. “Then can I piggy-back her? I will end up touching her like this….” Young kicks him.

A young boy in pain is brought into the medical wing and Jang Bin starts to treat him. Deok-man sees this on his way to Eun-soo.

Eun-soo is sitting in her room. Deok-man tries to remain invisible but he is not very successful. When Eun-soo discovers him, Deok-man introduces himself and tells her he came to protect her under Young’s order. Eun-soo weakly introduces herself too. She sees Deo-gi rushing around and curious, she follows her to where Jang Bin is with the sick boy.

Eun-soo asks Jang Bin permission to look at the patient. She feels around the boy’s stomach and asks about his symptoms. She thinks it is appendicitis. She wants to perform surgery but she realizes that she doesn’t have her medical instruments with her anymore. They are with Ki Chul.

Eun-soo asks Deok-man to take her to Ki Chul but he protests, saying that Young will kill him. She drags him along, anyway.

At Ki Chul’s house, Eun-soo is practicing saying hello and she asks Deok-man how she looks. Does her smile look natural? Deok-man shyly answers that she looks pretty.

Ki Chul comes in smiling. So she came because of the diary, did she? No, Eun-soo corrects him. She simply came for her surgical instruments. Ki Chul asks if she doesn’t want to “deal.” If he just gave them to her, it wouldn’t be fun. Eun-soo asks if Ki Chul already gave up on her gaining her heart already. She wants him to try. If he succeeds, they can figure out what’s in the diary together and maybe they can go to heaven together. But not today, since she is busy. She just wants her tools.

Eun-soo stretches out her hand but it is shaking visibly, a better indicator of how she feels right now instead of the brave and cheerful front she is putting on. This doesn’t escape Ki Chul’s notice so he smiles and reassures her. She needn’t be afraid of him. Right now, Eun-soo is more important to him than this country. At least, for now. He tells her to wait. He will bring her back from the palace soon enough.

Gongmin is looking over the list of names that Young has collected as people Gongmin should try to get on his side. One of them is Lee Jae-hyun. Young thinks he will be good government official but he is not sure Lee Jae-hyun will rush to join Gongmin, since to join Gongmin is to fight against Ki Chul. Most people are afraid of Ki Chul.

Gongmin smiles. Ha! What’s he is giving, then, is not a government position but a ticket to the after-world. He puts a mark on Lee Jae-hyun’s name. He notes the name next to it, also with the Lee last name. Young tells him that he is Lee Jae-hyun’s best pupil.

Gongmin asks if Young got this list from the Suribang people. Young explains that the Suribang people sell medicine as a front but they really sell information. The leader of the Suribang is Sasook, who was a colleague of Young’s teacher. Gongmin wonders if he can have these people too. (Joonni: I’m not sure Sasook is his name because it also means “uncle.” I think Young may be referring to the guy as Sasook because he regards him as a uncle since Chi-hoo was like his father. Either way, I’ll just call him Sasook for now.)

Young clears his throat. He’s not sure. They are people who called Young the king’s dog. Flashback to Sasook reminding Young that his teacher, Moon Chi-hoo (the previous Jeokwoldae leader), was a dog to the king and died like a dog. Young replies that this is not the same king. (Joonni: Aw, Young! You like Gongmin! So much!)

Gongmin laughs. He marks a couple of names as he says he will meet these people, whether they are teachers, students, or roughnecks. Ki Chul had said he lived to gather people so Gongmin is going to try to. Young smiles so Gongmin teasingly asks if Young is mocking him. Young cheerfully replies that he just smiled. (Joonni: Aw, aw, aw!)

Dae-man reports to Young that Eun-soo went to Ki Chul and came back with her tools. Young throws Dae-man the list of names and orders him to tell Choong-suk to find out where the people with the marks are.

Eun-soo performs surgery on the boy with the appendicitis with Jang Bin.

The surgery is over and Eun-soo is in her room. Young enters, saying he heard that she went to Ki Chul’s house. “For the sake of taking you out of that home, do you know how much effort the king put in…” Eun-soo angrily interrupts him saying he did something unnecessary. Didn’t she say that she was doing well in that house? “So you didn’t have to do all that- talking about treason and playing with a person.”

Young bitterly responds, “Is that so?” and starts to leave the room. But Eun-soo stops him, apologizing. “I was sorry about that. When the former king was poisoned, as a doctor, I wasn’t able to do anything. So I made you do that with your own hands. I am sorry. And that time for stabbing you in front of the portal to heaven– I am sorry. Even though it was annoying and I was hard on you – I know you protected me. I am really grateful.”

Young is (pleasantly) surprised and suspicious to hear this. This isn’t her usual repertoire of complaints and anger. He asks her what she means by all this. Eun-soo replies, I will do things on my own now.” Young asks exactly what is she going to do on her own. Eun-soo tells him that she knows how to deal with Ki Chul now. “I tested him today and he seems to be falling for it. He wants something from me so if I negotiate well, I can get my diary back.” Young asks what Ki Chul wants from her. Eun-soo tells him that he doesn’t need to know; she can take care of it herself. When Young presses her, Eun-soo tells him that Ki Chul wants to know about history from her.

Young asks worriedly, “So did you say you would tell him?” Eun-soo replies that she will tell Ki Chul what she wants to tell him. “I can also make up stuff he wants to hear. He won’t know if it’s true or not.” Young sighs. “You don’t seem to know what kind of person he is…” Eun-soo interrupts him. “What I want to say is- don’t pay attention to me anymore. I will take care of things on my own and find the way back to my world by myself.”

Eun-soo gets up. “We might not meet again so I am saying goodbye in advance. During all this time, I was grateful. I was sorry. Also, if you can help it, don’t fight.  Don’t get injured. And eat when it’s time to.” Eun-soo slowly bows her head goodbye. Young, angry and frustrated, leaves the room. Eun-soo tearfully watches him leave.

Young grabs Deok-man outside. “If you let that person go out again, I won’t leave you alone.” Young also senses someone sneaking around. It is Eum-ja.

Choong-jung and Dae-man are walking around the palace. Choong-jung demands to know why there are so many gaps in the security. The spy girl pretends to bump into Choong-jung and steals the list of names from him. (Joonni: Curses! Blasted spies!!!!)

Yang-gak gives the list to Ki Chul, telling him what it is. Ki Chul also already heard from Eum-ja that Eun-soo said she would pretend to tell Ki Chul stuff since he won’t know if it’s true or not. Hwasooin wonders if Eun-soo is just a fake. Ki Chul asks Eum-ja what happened to the person that Eun-soo treated. Eum-ja replies that at least, Eun-soo seems to be a real doctor since she saved that person who was a death’s door.

Hwasooin suggests that Ki Chul give all this up- all this talk of heaven is ridiculous. Ki Chul orders Yang-gak to take care of the people of the list. To Eum-ja, he says, “I want to find out more until I am sure that she is not real. It’s because I desperately want her to be real.”

Lady Choi meets with Young. “So she sees the future.” Young: “That’s what she says.” Lady Choi: “So are you saying she is some sort of fortune-teller?” Young corrects her, no. “In heaven, there is a record book…well this is not important. What’s important is that Ki Chul seems to believe Eun-soo.” Young wants to know what Lady Choi thinks Ki Chul will do.

Lady Choi describes Ki Chul as a little child who likes new toys. If he regards Eun-soo as a new toy, he will play with her. Young thinks, seeing that Ki Chul let Eun-soo out of his house, Ki Chul might respect Eun-soo and won’t hurt her. Lady Choi thinks Young is being foolish. Doesn’t he know what a toy is? “Toys are meant to be played with and when you get tired of it, you throw it away, rip it apart, or destroy it.” Young remarks that his aunt often magnifies her words.

Lady Choi asks if Young knows who Geum Son is – he was a famous painter who was known even in Yuan. People said his paintings looked so real that when he drew a flower, a butterfly would come and land on it. Ki Chul fell for him and bought him a lot of things. Then one day, the artist drew something that Ki Chul didn’t like. Ki Chul had ordered Geum Son to a portrait of him. Instead of a human, Geum Son had drawn a snake. That night, Ki Chul cut off both his hands, took out his eyes, and threw him away. Till the next night, he didn’t die and was crawling along. But no one helped him because they all feared Ki Chul’s wrath. (Joonni: What an awful anecdote. *shudders*)

Young closes his eyes, worried. “What does a toy have to do to stay alive?” Lady Choi replies, “She has to listen well and match his mood, to get in his good favor for a long time.” Young sighs- that won’t work. Eun-soo isn’t the type to do that. Lady Choi agrees.

Young: “It’s better to help her escape.” Lady Choi asks, “Where to? Ki Chul’s power extends far beyond Goryeo.” Is Young going to take her and run? “But to do that, you have too much to do here. Can you handle it all?” Young doesn’t answer. He just sighs.

The Woodalchi are looking for and rounding up the Suribang people. None of the main guys are captured but the people posing as medicine salesman are. When they ask why, Dol-bae replies that they don’t know the reason either.

Young is having a drink while Dae-man sits on the floor, looking around suspiciously. Young orders him to stop. (Joonni: See, Dae-man is a puppy! The faithful, loyal watchdog. We should forget his name and just call him puppy from now on. <3) He asks Dae-man if he knows how to drink yet. Dae-man replies that even if he drinks just one cup, people next to him get die. (Joonni: Haha! So the puppy bites when it’s drunk.)

Sasook and partner show up and Sasook calls Young a dog. He wonders if Young got money to do this. The woman doesn’t think so- Young doesn’t care about money. So Sasook and woman are even more curious. Then why come to the market and mess up their business? Did his king order him too. Young says, “Ask him yourself,” and gets up.

Gongmin sits down and reveals himself. Sasook and his sister (Gongmin calls them the Manbo siblings) confusedly bow. Gongmin greets them. “I heard that you wouldn’t come if I called you and if I went looking for you, you would hide even farther so I made this meeting. Will you accept my drink?”

Eum-ja is outside, listening to Eun-soo tell Jang Bin about “Korea” with his superhuman hearing. Eun-soo is trying to think up the best story to tell Ki Chul. She asks Jang Bin if her story is interesting. He dryly says no. She tries to think about what Goryeo needs. Guns? No, that’s not good. What about sewage and plumbing? This would benefit the citizens. Also bathrooms would benefit her.

Jang Bin asks her if it is her plan to tell Ki Chul information about heaven and get her diary in return. Eun-soo confirms. Bin tells her that he agrees with Young- Ki Chul is a very scary person. But Eun-soo quickly disregards his concern. She explains that she lived in Gangnam and that place has much more scary people. (Joonni: Yep, Eun-soo definitely has no idea how scary Ki Chul is.*heads desk*) Jang Bin finds it curious that there are scary people in heaven so Eun-soo explains that she isn’t really from heaven. She is from the future. (Joonni: Curses again! Eum-ja is listening to all this!)

Deok-man comes over and claps to get Eum-ja’s attention because he thinks Eum-ja is sleeping. His clap breaks Eum-ja’s concentration and Eum-ja holds his ears in pain. Deok-man says how Eum-ja puts him in a bad mood with his white hair. Deok-man poses to fight but Eum-ja just walks off. Deok-man yells after him, “Are you just going to go? Let’s have one fight. Hey, white hair!”

The Manbo siblings try to excuse themselves without accepting Gongmin’s offer so Young says to Gongmin, “You have to either make a scary group like this your own, or get rid of them. If you lose them here, it will be hard to catch them again. Please give the order now. Will you keep them or get rid of them?”

Gongmin asks Manbo, “What should I do? I plan to choose between two things today. The path I have to go as the king – should I take the easy path even if I spill some blood or should I take the right path and walk as human being even though I go more slowly? Today I am going to decide after seeing you. So what should I do?”

Hwasooin watches all this. (Joonni: Curses again!)

Spy girl and Eum-ja kill the other female guards.

Gongmin watches as Eun-soo looks at No-gook’s scar.

Young growls, demanding to know how Choong-jung could lose the list. Choong-jung stutters. He’s not sure that Dae-man gave it to him. Puppy adamantly replies that he did.

Dol-bae comes over to Young with a message from the Suribang. It said that Eum-ja is sneaking around Eun-soo and one of his powers is to be able to hear things from long distance. (Joonni: He finds out now?!!! Argh!)

Eun-soo says the wound is healing well. “In a month, you’ll probably have to look hard the scar. Because I have some skills.” She asks Gongmin to look. Gongmin smiles and agrees with Eun-soo. (Joonni: Aw, No-gook looks so shy!)

No-gook comments that she heard that Eun-soo saved someone else today. Eun-soo replies that it was just a simple procedure. Gongmin adds that the child is the son of someone high up so it would have been a problem for him if the child lost his life. Lady Choi gives the kid’s name- Lee Sung-gye. Eun-soo is shocked to hear the name. “What did you say his name was?” (Joonni: *shock* According to history, Lee Sung-gye kills Choi Young later on.) Eum-ja is listening to all is outside. (Joonni: CURSES!!!! Someone find this guy quick!)

In shock, Eun-soo slowly walks over to Jang Bin and asks, “If it wasn’t for me – would the queen have passed away?” Jang replies yes. Eun-soo: “If I didn’t go and see him, then the former king might not have died from poison. Since he had a cancer – at least, it wouldn’t have been from poison.” Gongmin wants to know what Eun-soo is talking about but Eun-soo continues with her rhetorical questions. “If I didn’t treat that child, would he have died? If that child is the Lee Sung-gye I know…what is all this?” Gongmin asks if she know the child. Eun-soo starts to say, “That child, later on…the Joseon “Lee” dynasty…” Eun-soo covers her mouth in shock. (Joonni: This is so freakin’ cool.)

Young rushes in and asks permission to take Eun-soo away. Outside, Young says to her, “I have something to tell you.” Eun-soo interrupts him. “I will speak first. What did you do to me? Did you know what it means for you to drag me here to this world?” Young asks her to please close that mouth of hers. “That is what I wanted to tell you.”  He tries to take her away again but she kicks his butt. “I know this much – that history shouldn’t be changed. That is why after I fell into this world, I was cautious.”

Eun-soo is yelling at Young but she is really angry at herself. She is basically telling him that she performed surgery today without thinking about the consequences of her actions, not because she is some great ethical doctor, but because she wanted to use the surgery as an excuse to see Ki Chul. “So I performed the surgery but do you know who the patient is?” Young tells her to close her mouth. Eun-soo: “That kid grows up to be…” Young barks at her to stop so Eun-soo yells back, “Why? When I am this frustrated! Who do I tell?!”

Young angrily explains that all the things she is saying about knowing history is putting her in  danger. But Eun-soo continues to say what she wants to say. “The person I save today is going to kill you!”

Before Young can react to this, he senses Eum-ja. He orders the Woodalchi to protect Eun-soo and runs off to catch Eum-ja. (Joonni: I forgot how much I like to see Lee Min-ho run. Too bad all that armor covers his longs legs. Because I love them legs.;)) Unfortunately, Eum-ja escapes.

Eum-ja reports to Ki Chul everything he heard. This confirms for Ki Chul that everything about Eun-soo is real. Ki Won asks if they should bring back Eun-soo. Yang-gak shrewdly comments that even if they do, it is useless because she won’t tell them the truth.

Oops. In all the excitement over Eun-soo being real, Ki Chul forgot that. “That’s right. We still have that problem.” (Joonni: Lady Choi is so right. Ki Chul is like a child.) Like a kid who just got a remote control car but doesn’t have any batteries in the house, Ki Chul excitedly exclaims that they need to take care of this quickly and simply. “There is so much to understand and so much to have but there is not enough time.”

Hwasooin puts medicine on Eum-ja’s bleeding ears. She asks why he keeps opening his closed ears when he knows they are ten times more sensitive than most people. “What will you do if you lose your hearing?” Eum-ja replies that he does this because Ki Chul wants to know. (Joonni: Aw, the loyalty moves me a little.) Hwasooin advise Eum-ja to lie to Ki Chul by telling him that he used his power but didn’t hear anything useful. Eum-ja wonders if lying is easy for her so Hwasooin replies that lying is easier than telling the truth.

Hwasoonin asks if Eum-ja saw Young- was he still following Eun-soo around? Eum-ja is annoyed by her interest in Young and sulks- “What is it that you want to know?” Hwasooin replies that while Ki Chul likes to play with world, she likes to play with men’s hearts. She asks Eum-ja, “What’s fun for you?”

Hwasooin notices Eum-ja’s sour mood and teasingly explains that Young is just one of many. “But you…” Hwasooin flirtatiously touches Eum-ja’s face. She walks off, laughing. (Softy: I think he might like her; Joonni: Yep. It’s actually kind of sweet the way he doesn’t back away from her touch like most people would. Too bad she is playing with him.)

Eun-soo checks on Lee Sung-gye. He asks if she is the doctor from heaven. “I heard I was going to die but you saved me. My father will be here soon to reward you grandly.” Eun-soo asks for his name. He replies that he is Lee Sung-gye. Eun-soo confirms that this child is who she thinks he is.

Young orders Puppy to go and see if Eun-soo is still in the medicine wing. Dol-bae reports that Ki Chul has come to the palace.

Eun-soo enters her room to find Hwasooin holding Deo-gi hostage. Hwasooin threatens to kill Deo-gi if Eun-soo doesn’t listen and go for a “walk” with her. Eun-soo asks her to let go of the Deo-gi first. Hwasooin threatens, “Will you answer faster if I kill her first?”

Eun-soo comes out of her room and asks Deok-man to go inside and help Deo-gi carry something heavy. Deok-man finds Deo-gi tied up inside the room.

Jang Bin finds Lee Sung-gye missing from the hosptial bed. (Joonni: No!)

Deok-man frantically asks Puppy, “Did you see her?” Puppy: “What should I have seen?”

Young enters the royal court. Ki Chul asks Gongmin, “Have all the people who protect you gathered here right now? Is this all?” Gongmin orders Ki Chul to say what he came to say.

Ki Chul: “I heard you were gathering people – the best ones. You thought well. To have and maintain power, you need to gather people. So I thought…I can’t let you easily have everything.”

Gongmin smirks and asks why. “Do you plan to have a power struggle with me?” Ki Chul replies that he doesn’t want a struggle so before that happens…He pulls out the list of names and hands it to the eunuch. Young gives Choong-jung the death glare.

Ki Chul declares that he is Gongmin’s person so why would Gongmin need other people. “I am the jealous type so I don’t like the people on the list. I don’t want to let those people live.”

Young draws his sword on Ki Chul. He declares that he can kill Ki Chul right now for speaking so improperly in front of the king. Gongmin repeats to Ki Chul what Young said. “How could you dare to say such things without fear in front of the king unless you were prepared to lay your life on the line?”

Ki Chul smiles. “Would I have done something this foolish without any back up plan?” Ki Chul tells Gongmin that his first back up plan is at the queen’s quarters and the second plan is with Eun-soo. Young gives the death glare to Deok-man and Puppy.

Hwasooin takes Eun-soo outside the palace and shows her Lee Sung-gye in a cage. Hwasooin threatens the life of Lee Sung-gye unless Eun-soo does what she is told to do. Eun-soo asks how she can talk about killing people so easily. Hwasooin replies that killing people is easy for her.

Young holds the sword to Ki Chul and addresses Gongmin. “Your Majesty. We can kill him first and find out what to do next after.” Ki Chul says to Gongmin, “That is what being a king is like. You have to keep deciding who to kill, who to sacrifice, and who to save.” Gongmin orders Young to put his sword away so Young pulls back.

Gongmin growls at Ki Chul. “I am tired of your word plays. What do you want from me?” Ki Chul replies, “Nothing. I don’t want you to do anything.” Gongmin seethes at Ki Chul’s audacity. “Are you telling me, to my face, to become a puppet king?!” Ki Chul corrects Gongmin- no, he wants him to become a king who cares about his citizens. “Those people on that list- they are your citizens. If you give up, they live.” Gongmin angrily demands to know why Ki Chul is doing this. Young motions to his men and they leave.

Hwasooin goes to the home of the first name on the list- Yoon Dae-hyung. Eum-ja kills him. Eun-soo watches in shock. Eum-ja leaves a note in the dead man’s mouth.

Ki Chul tells Gongmin that he heard that the first person on the list was killed by a thief. Gongmin asks in shock, “Did you kill him?” Ki Chul just continues. “Some time later, the second person on the list was also killed by a thief.” (Joonni: Goodness, this is awful what they are making Eun-soo watch.) Before Ki Chul can continue with his threat, Gongmin screams, shaking in anger, “So what?!” Ki Chul replies, “You know what you have to do.” (Joonni: I think I’m going to cry.)

Young tells Gongmin, “I will go and come back so until then, please drag out some time.” Gongmin replies that he will.

The Woodalchi go to check on the dead people. They find the note that Eum-ja left. On it is written, “If you know your mistake, correct it.”

Eun-soo is throwing up. Eum-ja offers her a napkin but Eun-soo knocks it away. Hwasooin tells her that they have a lot of houses to go to before the sun sets. She says to Eum-ja, “How does she look? I think she understands completely now how bad we are and what will happen to her if she plays with us.” Eum-ja asks, “Should we go on to the next level?” Hwasooin says to Eun-soo, “You have to choose the next step. Choose among the three. First- the queen. Second- Jang Bin. The third is Woodalchi Choi Young. Who is the person you treasure the most? That person is next step.”

Softy’s comments:

It just dawned on me that I am watching one of the last time traveling dramas of this summer when ES was worried how her decisions now would affect the future.  All this time her character gave us comedic relief, but tonight things took a serious turn. The tide has turned in this drama and she has been sobered by the reality of her predicament.  I have to admit part of me wanted to slap her silly for not listening to Young when he told her to be quiet cuz he was afraid Eum was listening, but I also understood her desperation to keep talking cuz she just saved the man who would grow up to kill Young. If you see if from her perspective, she is terrified so shutting up is the last thing on her mind. She felt the urgency to share with Young cuz this is the man who brought her here – the man who bled to protect her – the man she said she no longer needed- and the only person she feels the closest to and wants to confide in. It just dawned on me who she would choose of out of the 3. She will choose Young. Cuz out of the 3, he is the only one who has a fighting chance to defend himself and come out of this alive. The queen and Jang don’t have a prayer, but she knows Young might be able to. More importantly, she will choose Young cuz that’s what he would want her to do. It’s the only conclusion a doctor in her situation could reach and as a person it’s the only decision she will be able to live with.

The other day someone said I write like a “romantic fool” and for a second I didnt know how to take that. It’s certainly not how I see myself, but I guess I do tend to write “wearing my heart on my sleeve.” It’s the only way I know how. I can’t lie and say I like something without the truth surfacing sooner or later. Recapping dramas to me is something that is supposed to be fun. If you dont get any joy out of it, then what’s the point in investing hours in translating. Not once did this drama cease to entertain me. it’s been ten episodes and I have to admit, I like this drama so much I am just as shocked as my friends. they never dreamed I would like this kind of story and kept wondering what I am drawn to. they guessed LMH first, but let’s face it, I am not in this for the long run for the pretty. That’s why I managed to limit photos to a select few. Mostly cuz this is Joonni’s blog and I am a guest so I need to mind my manners. For the record, I am here for this story and cant wait to see how it unfolds. I love these characters and how they have been fleshed out – even minor characters like Young’s aunt, that kid and the medicine girl Deo, the woodalchi men, and even Eum. So much that I even bothered to memorize half their names and that’s saying a lot for someone like me who cherishes using initials to save brain power. I like that I don’t know how they will handle each episode and find myself drawn to this drama even more with each passing week. The central love story I am not in a rush to see like most people cuz I put it on the back burner for the sake of plot. everything that has happened must come first – the king needs to become the kind of leader that he wants and Young has to help him. someone needs to deal with KC and his band of killers as well before the narrative can make any sense. I don’t think I would like an episode where Young and ES are just falling for each other and that’s all we get – progress for their love story. in short bursts it’s cute and charming, but in full dose we might drown in all that sweetness. Not to mention this isnt Rooftop Prince. Just cuz this has time traveling doesn’t mean it has to follow every typical kdrama formula. If anything I love it cuz it seems to stand out and stray away from those things. There is no push and pull in this drama for me. It’s been “pull” all the way and I have been willingly following along enjoying the view with every step.

Joonni’s comment:

What a predicament for Eun-soo. The choice that is Hwasooin is giving her is not really a choice, is it? I agree with Softy. I think Eun-soo will pick Young. But with Ki Chul and his people, you just never know if he is going to end up killing all three anyway. That’s what I love about our villain. He doesn’t play within the box and that is what Gongmin (and Eun-soo) has to learn to do. This is what makes this drama stand out for me- everyone trying to always get one step ahead of each other, playing mind games. And in the context of a sageuk, the consequences of losing is always death. So while I complained before that this drama wasn’t epic enough, I think I’m going to take it back now. It’s not epic in the sense of style or tone, but with the stakes raised this high, this drama is definitely one hell of a rollercoaster.

This was really Eun-soo’s episode for me- the one I have been waiting for. Today we saw her fully comprehend what it means for her to be here and we also learned more about the time-travel arc and its significance. Eun-soo and her medical skills finally feel fully integrated into the story instead of a tertiary plot mechanism. I was reminded why I love time-travel stories. It’s because the consequences are always so epic. What’s interesting with this drama is that real history is played out as if someone like Eun-soo really did time-travel and save No-gook and Lee Sung-gye from dying. How else would Lee Sung-gye have grown old enough to kill Choi Young later? Although, I am worried what will happen now that Young knows who is going to kill him. So far, Young hasn’t really taken Eun-soo and her talk about the future seriously so I wonder what he’s going to do with this information. *rubs hands in excitement* Hee!

I also got a better sense this episode about the complexity of emotions that Eun-soo is feeling and the awful situation she is in. She scared and confused in an unfamiliar world. People are dying left and right, either for her or because of her. Remember, this is why she quit being a general surgeon. She doesn’t want to handle people’s lives. And now, history, no, the future, is going to be changed because of her. We’ve spent the past few episode unraveling Young and Gongmin’s story, so now, I think, the drama is going to spend a few episodes with Eun-soo at the center. Yay!

I know I complained about the directing during the romantic scenes between Eun-soo and Young but I just want to clarify that it’s not because I’m not invested in them. I realized today that I actually missed seeing more of them together this episode. On paper, I really love this OTP but I just get frustrated sometimes by its visual portrayal.

Oh the scene with Gongmin and Ki Chul as Ki Chul is telling him about all the people he is killing! My heart bled for Gongmin. How do you fight against someone who cares so little about human lives? It’s been wonderful to see Gongmin smiling so much but now we’re going to see him angry and sad again.

And success! Finally, an opening screencap that isn’t Lee Min-ho. 😉

On a shallow note, the new hair has finally won me over. I found myself screencapping too much of Lee Min-ho, thinking that every angle is the best angle. Hee! I’m so happy to see more of his face.