Recap: “Faith” Episode 20

Softy: You wonder how much more epic can this story get and an episode like this screams back “This much!” Best one so far in my book. Still trying to catch my breath…

Joonni: Let me catch my breath with you. I was crying in the beginning and screaming in happiness at the end. This episode is sort of a breather to let the good guys win but this of course makes me more nervous for the final four episodes…

Episode 20

Future Eun-soo wrote in the letter, “I am walking on the same road I walked with him. Yes, I remember this place too and every moment of that day.” Future Eun-soo remembers how her hair tie fell and rolled underneath the boulders. She kisses the bottle and hides it in the same place. “I can’t believe in the miracle of you finding this here in a hundred years but because hope still remains, I leave this regret. I thought about it a hundred times- if we had returned to the palace that day, what would have happened? Would our queen have lived and our king not be ruined? So would I not have had to watch that person’s heart die with all that burden? If I could go back to that time and hug him and see his smiling eyes…if I could do that for just one day…Don’t run away like I did even if it ends up being your last day.” (Joonni: Crying…had to stop the video to cry and because my hands were shaking.)

Eun-soo hides the letter as Young comes running over. He sees her pale and stricken face and asks what is wrong. Eun-soo just asks him to hug her so he sits down and puts his arm around her shoulder. He asks again, “What is wrong,” but she just turns back to look at the rocks and shakes her head. Young says, “Tell me so I know.” Eun-soo asks, “If something happens to our king and queen…if something happened to them while you were gone, would you be okay?” Young grabs her shoulders and demands to know what she heard and from whom. Eun-soo sadly cups Young’s face and asks, “What do we do?”

Eun-soo is leading the way back as Young exclaims, “What is this nonsense?” She replies that they have to go back to the king and queen. Young reminds her that they are on the run to the portal and if they go back now, there is no knowing what will happen to her. He wants her to explain so he can understand.

Eun-soo shows him the bottle and Young asks, after looking at it, if the thing inside is also like a note from heaven. Eun-soo tells him the note said that if they return to the palace now, they might be able to save the queen. He asks where she got it from and she replies that she found it underneath the boulders. When Young just looks at her, Eun-soo asks if he doesn’t believe her. He replies, “I believe you because you said so.” He says, “Let’s go,” so she asks if they are going back to the palace. He answers that they will first go to the nearest village to find out news about the palace and also find a way to get rid of all the bounty hunters.

Eun-soo starts to cough so he worriedly leads her to the stream and cups up some water for her to drink. He kneels in front of her and asks if she had a fever. Eun-soo checks and thankfully replies no. Relieved, he leads her away.

Choong-suk reports to a very panicked Gongmin that they have searched the entire capital and everywhere around the temple but there is no trace of the queen. Gongmin declares that he will go and look for her himself. Do-chi reminds him that he needs to stay in the palace so he can received the reports. Gongmin screams for him to get out his way so Choong-suk also adds that Gongmin needs to stay to give orders.

Gongmin turns back to his room and gives orders to request help from the Suribang. Gongmin struggles to focus and he worries out loud to Choong-suk that Noguk’s body is weak and that the weather is cold. “Where and what is she doing?!” Choong-suk offers to go and also join the search party but Gongmin interrupts him to ask if there is any news about Young. Choong-suk replies no. Gongmin declares that he is getting punished for ignoring Young’s heart. “Every time he asked me to protect her and save her- now I know how he felt.”

Lady Choi enters and immediately gets on her knees. She declares that she deserves death for not being able to protect Noguk. Gongmin angrily demands what else she has to say. Lady Choi shows him the letter she found in Noguk’s bedroom. She informs him that she found the attendant who delivered the letter to Noguk and questioned her but the girl did not remember who gave it to her.

Gongmin reads the letter and recognizes the seal as Son Yoo’s. He tells Choong-suk he will give him a hundred men to go Young-bin-gwan (a residence for foreign diplomats) and search. When Choong-suk hesitates because that is where the Yuan diplomats stay, Gongmin says that he will give him two hundred if necessary. He wants them to particularly search Deok Heung’s quarters.

The Woodalchi are at Young-bin-gwan to search and the Yuan diplomats react in anger. Choong-suk informs Son Yoo that they came to search under the king’s order but Son Yoo refuses with his authority as a Yuan envoy. Choong-suk tells him that the king ordered him to deny refusal and just go ahead. Gongmin also wanted the Woodalchi to escort Son Yoo back to the palace. Along with Son Yoo, Dol-bae takes with him Son Yoo’s seal and written letters as evidence.

Noguk is weakly lying in bed in the locked room.

Eun-soo watches from afar as Young frowns, hearing the news from the villagers. She remembers the letter telling her to not run away, even if it ends up being her last day. Young looks back at her and she smiles for him. He comes back and tells her there is no special news other than that there might be war. “So let’s just go on our way again.”

When Eun-soo doesn’t move, he asks if she isn’t going to go. She asks, “If I said I was going to go find the door myself so you can just leave, you won’t go, right?” Young replies, “Of course.” Eun-soo starts to ask what he would do if she said let’s go back together since there is still time until the door opens but he interrupts her, angry that she keeps saying the same thing. Eun-soo gets angry too, asking him what she has to say in order for him to return to the palace.

Young still just wants to continue their journey so Eun-soo asks him why he is in such a hurry to send her back. “You say that everyday- ‘I will send you back, I will definitely send you back.’ Do you want to send me back that quickly? And what you said about how a warrior can’t hesitate. Do you know how it feels for me to hear that?”

Eun-soo continues her rant. “What is this? Is it because of me? Did I ruin a warrior? Is that why you’re saying you are leaving the king? Then what do I become? You say you will protect me but how is that protecting me?! Don’t just protect my life. Protect my heart too!”

Young tries to respond but Eun-soo turns around in frustration and mutters to herself, “Why am I so unlucky? I finally found someone I really like but because of me, he gets imprisoned and he says he is going to give up being a warrior when he doesn’t know how to be anything else.” Eun-soo, turning to Young, says one more time, “Let’s go back.”

Young suddenly asks Eun-soo to stay exactly where she is as he takes down a boy trying to attack them. Young tells her to stay here and he runs off. Eun-soo, left with the injured boy angrily exclaims, “If he is going to slay someone, at least look at his face before.” Eun-soo sits down in front of the boy and tells him that she is going to treat him. “Seeing that he left you with me, I don’t think you’re going to kill me.” (Joonni: Treating someone that just tried to kill her? Yeah, that’s Eun-soo for you.)

At a different location, Young says out loud, “Let’s do it here where she can’t see.” Son Yoo’s henchman jumps out. Young asks him if he can’t just go back because he doesn’t feel like fighting now. The henchman attacks in response and they fight. The henchman injures Young on the shoulder. They start to fight again and Young says, “It seems you have killed as much as me. Aren’t you tired of this? Killing and killing again?” The henchman attacks without an answer and Young fights back, disarming him. He says, “That person always asked if I couldn’t just quit. Can’t you do that?” Silently, the henchman backs off and leaves.

Young goes back to Eun-soo and she sees his injury. She gets upset and tries to get her supplies out but Young stops her to ask, “Are you going to keep being angry till I go back to the palace?” She replies yes; she gets angry when she is worried. Young nods and says that they will return and find out what’s happening. He tells her that he knows what she is thinking but he is not going to send her off alone. She cheerily replies, “Then I will go back with you.” He also reveals that the Yuan envoy doesn’t want to take her to Yuan; he wants to publicly execute her. Eun-soo finally understands what the letter meant by saying it could be her last day.

Young asks if she will still return knowing that. Eun-soo bravely replies, yes. Young assures her that he won’t let her get captured. She smiles as she says, “I know.” She asks him to turn around so she can look at his injury but Young can’t help but look at her with concern.

Gongmin slams down the letter that Noguk received in front of Son Yoo and demands to know what happened. Son Yoo confirms that it is his seal but it’s not his handwriting. Gongmin declares that this letter was a bait to lure out his queen and kidnap her. He demands to know where she is. Son Yoo reminds him that Noguk is a Yuan princess; he could never do something like that to her. Gongmin furiously slams the table again. “I have to see her right now!” He growls, “Tell me where she is!” Son Yoo doesn’t say anything so Gongmin orders for him to be imprisoned and tortured till he talks. Do-chi desperately reminds Gongmin that Son Yoo is a Yuan official. Gongmin seethes in anger but he has no choice but to let Son Yoo go.

Son Yoo returns and Deok Heung asks if his nephew is okay. He heard that the queen was missing. Son Yoo asks if Deok Heung used his seal to write a fake letter and lure out the queen. Deok Heung denies it and asks why he would do such a thing when he knows that Gongmin won’t use the Yuan seal or give up Eun-soo tomorrow, meaning he will become the king anyway. Son Yoo informs Deok Heung that his duty is to make sure that Goryeo becomes part of Yuan without a war. Deok Heung replies that he knows. Son Yoo reminds Deok Heung that the Yuan emperor will not be happy if his daughter is hurt so whoever sits on the Goryeo throne, they have to make sure that Noguk is safe. Deok Heung smiles as he assures Son Yoo that Noguk will be safe.

Noguk wakes up and she doesn’t look very well. She crawls over to the window and asks if anyone is there. She weakly reaches for the water on the drawer and drinks it. (Joonni: *rage* My Noguk. Who dares hurt my Noguk?!)

Gongmin worries out loud to Do-chi, Lady Choi, and Choong-suk. “She might not be in the city. She might have been taken far away already.” Lady Choi assures him that the borders are being watched and since they were set up around the city as soon as Noguk went missing, it is unlikely she was able to leave. But Gongmin can’t be reassured so he orders for the entire country to be searched. While doing so, it hits him that even then, he might not be able to find her- “If we still can’t find her…and it becomes to late…” He orders Do-chi to bring Deok Heung to the palace. Lady Choi wants to stop him but Gongmin says, “We knew from the beginning that only he is capable of doing something like this. We also knew what he will ask for…” (Joonni: Omg, are you saying you will give up the throne? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Ki Chul is receiving treatment. Yang-gak gives the name of the village where Young and Eun-soo were last seen. Ki Chul wonders why there; it’s not on the way to the portal. Eum-ja suggests that it’s because they have to keep making detours while they are chased by bounty hunters. Hwasooin adds that it was a mistake to put a bounty since there won’t be anyone capable of killing Young anyway. Ki Chul should have just set a reward for information of their location so she and Eum-ja could go themselves and take care of it.

Ki Chul suspects Deok Heung since Deok Heung never believed in Eun-soo anyway and made fun of Ki Chul for believing. Eum-ja, Yang-gak, and Hwasooin chime in that they never believed either. Ki Chul asks, “What if I don’t believe and I lose out on the chance to go to heaven? How will I be able to live with that regret?” Eum-ja and Hwasooin offer to go to the door to heaven themselves to look for Young and Eun-soo since they must be heading there; here, the Yuan envoy is waiting to execute Eun-soo. Ki Chul questions this though- what if they aren’t going to the portal? Hwasooin replies, “Then we have all been fooled.”

Young and Eun-soo are back at the Suribang headquarters. The sister exclaims that they are crazy for returning and she tells them that the queen has been kidnapped. The gay Suribang also informs them that Deok Heung has surprisingly been called to the palace, even though it’s so late at night.

Deok Heung enters Gongmin’s room and Gongmin orders everyone outside. Choong-suk tries to remind Gongmin that Deok Heung uses poison but Gongmin is adamant so everyone leaves. Gongmin slowly and steadily walks toward Deok Heung. In an angry tone he starts to say, “My queen…” Deok Heung interrupts to say, “I heard the news. You must be worried.” Gongmin, in a surprisingly soft tone begs, “Please return her to me.”

Deok Heung pretends to not know what Gongmin is talking about so Gongmin says, “You have her. Please return her.” Deok Heung continues to claim innocence. Gongmin asks, in a trembling voice, “What can I do for you? That person is very weak right now. The doctor said she can’t be surprised or eat something wrong.” Gongmin’s voice catches in his throat as tears fill his eyes. “So please start your deal.” (Joonni: I want to strangle Deok Heung so badly. Someone hold me back before I hurt him.)

Deok Heung: “I don’t know who did this but if someone did, he won’t make a deal because the first thing to do is to make sure that no one finds out that he tried to hurt the queen. Second, it would be thrill for that person to watch the rumor spread to Yuan that the king of Goryeo abused and got rid of a Yuan princess.” (Joonni: Okay, don’t hold me back.)

Gongmin: “So by saying that you don’t need a deal, you’re saying that you won’t let her live.” Deok Heung replies, “Well, I don’t know since I am not that person. I’m just guessing.” (Joonni: I am experiencing such rage, I just want to pretend he is not here and just delete him from this recap. I don’t want to hear or translate anything this monster says!!!!!! Afslgkjkl!)

Gongmin turns to Deok Heung with tears in his eyes and says, “If you want the throne just take it. But please, please leave this country alone. You’re a citizen of this country too.” Deok Heung replies, “This country will remain. It’s only the name that is going to be changed- from Goryeo to Yuan.” Gongmin’s heart visibly breaks. “Is that what a country is to you, uncle?” Deok Heung coolly asks, “What is the difference?”

Gongmin, realizing the full extent of Deok Heung’s selfishness, regrets offering the throne to Deok Heung. Still, with Noguk’s life in danger, Gongmin says, “I’m begging to someone like you. What can I do so that you will let her live?”

Meanwhile, the soldiers continue to search everywhere.

Lady Choi enters the Suribang headquarters and sees Young in deep discussion with everyone about Deok Heung’s movements. She also notices that Eun-soo is back too.

Lady Choi drags out Young and asks why they came back. Young sighs and replies that Eun-soo said let’s go back. Lady Choi: “Why? So she can die?” Young: “All of sudden starting yesterday, she kept on saying let’s go back because the palace is in danger.” Lady Choi wonders if Eun-soo is really from heaven.

Young asks about Gongmin. Lady Choi replies, “You should go see him.” Young says he can’t. Lady Choi replies that she thinks this is what Deok Heung’s weapon is- playing with people’s hearts. Eun-soo’s voice is suddenly heard- “That’s what I think too.” She has secretly snuck up to them.

Eun-soo asks Lady Choi, “So you think Deok Heung kidnapped the queen, don’t you?” Lady Choi replies that everyone suspects it but there is no evidence. Gongmin is scared that if he acts rashly, something might happen to Noguk. Eun-soo exclaims that she has a plan- another one that appears in movies a lot. Young interrupts her to ask Lady Choi for the list of people that went with Noguk to the temple. He knows how that last plan from Eun-soo ended up- a surprise wedding and poison. But Eun-soo refuses to remain helpless and continues to describe her plan- first, she will meet him. Young stops her- the enemy is Deok Heung! Eun-soo claims that she knows Deok Heung’s psyche. Her second major was psychology! Young yells, “How you know him?!”

Lady Choi raises her voice to stop the argument- “The queen! She is pregnant.” Eun-soo says to herself, “That can’t be. It’s too early. Perhaps…” She turns to Young and asks him to meet the king- “It’s a matter regarding the queen so his heart must be falling apart.” She adds, “I will go try my way. You said you trust me.”

In her prison, Noguk tries to drink more water but she drops it.

Choong-suk and Dae-man run gleefully to Young inside the palace. Choong-suk asks, “Where were you? His Majesty only told me to not ask anything and that you will return.” Young simply asks where the king is.

Gongmin is sitting in Noguk’s room, clutching at the scarf he gave her. Young announces himself and enters the room. Gongmin can’t look at Young in the eye as Young says, “The person who left you…has returned because my heart is in a hurry. Can I ask you one thing?” Gongmin doesn’t reply so Young just continues. “I heard that you met Deok Heung. What did he say?” Gongmin still doesn’t say anything so Young worriedly calls out, “Your Majesty?”

Gongmin, still not looking at Young, says, “You shouldn’t have come back. I sent you away so why come back so you can see me like this?” Young lowers himself and asks Gongmin to look at him. Gongmin doesn’t comply and just says, “I don’t think there is any way to save her. I thought about killing him but I couldn’t even do that. I am just sitting here at my wit’s end. While I am doing this, my queen….!”

Young pushes the table out of the way, causing the scarf to fall. Gongmin scrambles to the floor after it and Young looks at him with utter disbelief to see his king so broken. He begs for Gongmin to get off his knees as he helps him up onto the chair again. Kneeling in front of him, Young calls out, “Your Majesty,” once again so that Gongmin finally looks at him. He firmly asks again what Deok Heung said to Gongmin. “I need to know what he is thinking.”

Gongmin tells him that Deok Heung denied everything and even refused to deal; all he did was laugh. Gongmin adds with tears in his eyes, “I begged him while saying I would give him my throne and country. I groveled. Did you hear me? I…I even gave away my country.”

Young steadily looks at Gongmin. “The doctor said that what Deok Heung wants is for your heart to be broken down. Is your heart already broken? Then there is no reason for me to be here.” Gongmin finally asks, “What do you need?” Young replies, “I need your command.” Gongmin weakly says, “Find and bring back the queen.” Young stands up and firmly declares, “I accept.” Gongmin starts to thank him for coming back but Young interrupts him. “I haven’t come back yet. I am only here because of a request.” Young bows and quickly leaves. Gongmin finally starts to come back alive with the relief and support that Young has just brought him.

Young, back in the palace and in warrior mode, orders for the Suribang and Woodalchi to prepare. He knows that Deok Heung has no plans to keep Noguk alive so they need to act fast.

Eun-soo meets with Deok Heung. He asks if she knows that tomorrow is her execution day. She coolly replies, “I heard,” and asks him to sit in banmal. He remarks that her rude manner of speaking hasn’t changed. Eun-soo reminds him that she is from heaven; in her eyes, royals and beggars are all the same- “Everyone is equal.”

Deok Heung sits and asks if she came for the antidote. Eun-soo says, “Do you remember when I found out about your trap for Choi Young? This time, I found out where you hid the queen.” Deok Heung laughs, not believing her. Eun-soo takes out the plastic case she found underneath the boulder and shows him the pages- “Shall I read it to you?” Deok Heung remarks that she and him would have made good partners.

Eun-soo tells him that if the diary told her about Young before, this time, it’s about Deok Heung. She pretends to read the letter. “The clever man made a mistake this time. He kidnapped the queen and the queen was pregnant. The place the queen is locked up in is….” Deok Heung is shocked to hear that Noguk is pregnant. Eun-soo stops and folds the letter. Deok Heung tries to grab the letter but Eun-soo keeps it out of his reach.

Deok Heung asks, “So this is a message from heaven?” Eun-soo informs him that the bottle is a something called a plastic film case. Deok Heung asks why she is doing this so she replies that she thought she might be able to get the antidote. Deok Heung asks if she thinks he believes her. Eun-soo exclaims then that she has no choice but to go to the palace and just let them know about Noguk’s location. When Deok Heung reminds her that she is up for execution, Eun-soo counters that they won’t kill her after she saves the queen’s life.

Eun-soo says, “You’re the one that’s going to get into trouble. Did you show your face to Noguk when you kidnapped her?” Deok Heung laughs and Eun-soo continues. “Tell me the truth. There is no antidote for this poison, is there? And the rest of my diary, do you have it? Show me. What is it that you have? Only that royal title?” Deok Heung starts to complain about her foul mouth but she tells him to watch his- “I am someone who decided this morning that it’s okay if I die.” He asks if she will stay by his side if he gives her the antidote. She replies, “I don’t want to,” and starts to leave. He calls after her, saying, “Your symptoms will show up soon and if it does, it will be too late.” Eun-soo doesn’t even look back and as she replies, “I know,” and walks out. (Joonni: My fearless Eun-soo. She’s got the heart of warrior too now. *glomps her in a bear hug*). Deok Heung looks after her, dismayed.

Eun-soo is leaving Young-bin-gwan when Young, who has been waiting for her anxiously outside, grabs her to make sure she is okay. Eun-soo wordlessly puts up a victory sign and smiles. Young breathes a sigh of relief before caressing her hair and smiling back.

Deok Heung gets the report that all the soldiers have been called back. Deok Heung guesses that Young and Eun-soo are playing games with him and claims that he doesn’t need to worry since he still has the queen. He asks how Noguk is doing. The aide replies that he is checking in every day and the queen has gotten very weak; she’s not going to last very long. Deok Hueng orders him to take care of her and leaves. Shi-wool has eavesdropped on this and takes after the aide.

Son Yoo is getting ready to leave and his aide hands him two white stones. They seem like worry rocks that you turn in your hands when you are stressed.

Gongmin looks at Noguk’s scarf and remembers when he proposed to her, not knowing she was a Yuan princess, and when she comforted him. He also remembers seeing her smile happily at Hyun-Go-chon. He asks Do-chi, “There is still no news yet, right?” Do-chi confirms. Gongmin asks, “There will be, right?” Do-chi confirms again. Gongmin declares with determination, “I won’t think of anything else. I will only think that I won’t ever let my child experience the humiliation that I am experiencing.”

Gongmin sits in a meeting with Son Yoo and his ministers. Son Yoo says that he will start but Ki Chul enters, interrupting. He heard that there was an important assembly today and came to attend. He also came to see why a Yuan envoy didn’t even bother to come see him.

Son Yoo continues and asks if Gongmin is ready to fulfill the terms. Gongmin repeats what Son Yoo requested of him- to use the Yuan seal again and execute Eun-soo- and what Son Yoo promised in return for those two things- the independence of Goryeo. Gongmin orders Do-chi to hand Son Yoo the seal. “I used it well but I will give it back because I don’t think this country needs it anymore.” Son Yoo doesn’t respond.

Gongmin continues. “The second thing…” Eun-soo enters the room and Ki Chul jumps up in surprise. (Joonni: Pfft!) Gongmin introduces her as the country’s high doctor and the person who saved Noguk and Young’s life. He adds, “And yesterday, she saved my heart too.” Gongmin asks Son Yoo, “Does she look like a witch/demon to you?” Son Yoo still says nothing.

Deok Heung’s aide enters Noguk’s room. Noguk, barely conscious, says that she couldn’t focus all day long. She asks if he put something in the water. The aide silently continues to put something in the water pot as Noguk pleads that she will give him many times more than what he received to do this. The aide tells her that his owner told him to relay this to her- that if the king loses his mind first, he will let her live. “But since there is no more time, it can’t be helped.” He starts to get close to her with the water so Noguk pulls out her dagger, saying she can’t go first. But she is no match for him in her state and he tries to force-feed her the water, saying that if she drinks it, she will die easily.

Just when she is about to be fed the drink, Young barges in with Shi-wool to rescue her. Noguk faints in Young’s arms. Dol-bae tries to get the name of the person who is behind all this, but the aide stabs himself and dies.

Son Yoo questions Eun-soo- “Is it true that you came from heaven?” Before Eun-soo can answer, Gongmin declares that she is not. “You don’t really believe in this thing called heaven, do you? The rumors spread because her skills are exceptional.” Ki Chul demands to know what Gongmin is saying. He exclaims, “You can’t do this!”

Gongmin asks Eun-soo, “Did you come from heaven, exactly?” Eun-soo replies, “Not from heaven, exactly.” Ki Chul gapes in surprise and Eun-soo silently mouths to Ki Chul, “I’m sorry.” (Joonni: Omg, so adorable. I love you, Eun-soo, so much! And I actually miss the time when he tried to “win” her heart!) Son Yoo starts to ask her if she started the false rumors but Gongmin replies that he did that because he thought it would help him bait people in.

Son Yoo asks Gongmin if he is determined to send his citizens to war. Gongmin replies that he thought about how long he will be subjected to Yuan’s demands if he gets scared this time and kills an innocent citizen like Yuan wants. Gongmin declares, “I decided. This is it. I won’t listen to Yuan anymore.” Son Yoo just replies, “I understand,” and stands up to leave. Before he does, however, he tells Eun-soo that it seems he will have to see her again soon. (Joonni: I’m sitting here nervous about this guy. I don’t think he has shown his full evilness yet and I worry for my babies.)

Just as Ki Chul is about to approach Eun-soo, Choong-suk runs in, saying that Noguk is back and Eun-soo is needed. Gongmin dashes out but before Eun-soo can follow, Ki Chul holds her back and demands to know if all that she said to him was false. Before Eun-soo can explain, she is called out by Choong-suk again.

Before Gongmin can enter Noguk’s room, Lady Choi blocks him, saying that right now is not a good time. He asks if something is wrong so Lady Choi just requests for Eun-soo. Eun-soo goes in and Lady Choi closes the door. Gongmin looks at Young with worry.

Some time later, Eun-soo comes out and reports that Noguk has gained consciousness and is okay but the baby has been lost. She says that after hearing from Noguk, it seems they feed her something like a sleeping pill. Gongmin silently enters the room, his face stricken with grief. Do-chi starts to weep and Eun-soo leans on the door in sadness. Young steps in front of her, holding her hand behind his back.

Gongmin slowly sits next to Noguk, who is facing the wall lying on her bed, happy to see her again but also saddened her grief and his own. He lies next to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her hand. Noguk, with tears streaming down her face, turns around and digs her face deeper into Gongmin. They quietly embrace each other, sharing their love and grief together.

Young comes to find Eun-soo in her room at the medical ward again. He tells her he heard that she said in front of all the statesmen that she wasn’t from heaven. Eun-soo explains that it was Gongmin’s idea. Young informs her that Ki Chul officially requested to see her. Eun-soo worries.

Young says, “From this moment on, there are two things we can do. First, we run away and get chased around until the door to heaven opens.” Eun-soo doesn’t like this idea- they are going to have all the assassin in the country chasing them again with Young having to fight. Young continues, “Second, preemptive attack. We get rid of all the people who will come for you first.” Eun-soo asks, “By ‘rid of,’ you mean you will kill them?” Young replies yes. Eun-soo: “You’re kidding, right?” But Young isn’t kidding as he list those people- Ki Chul, Deok Heung, and even the Yuan envoy if necessary. Young adds, “In order to do that, I have to resign from my post (officially) so that I don’t become a burden to the king. In order to do that, I need his permission…”

Eun-soo interrupts him to offer a third choice- “Until that day, I hide in the safest place.” Young asks where. Eun-soo replies, “Well I need permission for that too.”

Young sits with Ahn Jae as Ahn Jae tells him that his position is really Young’s. “War might really happen.” Young takes a drink and agrees. Ahn Jae asks, “What you are doing? I heard you are taking off your raiment and leaving the palace. All your men are nervous. Is it because of a woman?” Young wonders if it is. Ahn Jae adds, “Or is it because the sword has become heavy for you?” He tells Young how Young’s Jeogwoldae teacher came to his house before he died and talked to his father all night, drinking. The teacher had talked about how his sword had become heavy- that sometimes he couldn’t even pick it up with his two hands. (Joonni: On a completely shallow note, how gorgeous does Lee Min-ho look here?)

Ahn Jae continues, “So I dared to ask him- what does it mean for the sword to become heavy? He said it means that the time to end has come and that he needs to start searching for a place to end it. He said this and then went to the palace the next day and died.” Ahn Jae adds he was angry that someone like the teacher died in front of a king like that.

Ahn Jae asks how long it has been since Young started to use the sword and kill people. Young quietly replies, “I don’t know…” Ahn Jae says, “You were sixteen when you left your house. So thirteen, fourteen years? Since then, how many people have you killed? Isn’t that why your sword has become heavy?” With those introspective words, Ahn Jae leaves and Young looks at his sword, pondering its weight.

Yang-gak and Ki Chul corner Deok Heung at the Young-bin-gwan. Ki Chul says, “Let’s go back to my house.” Deok Heung asks nervously, “What are you talking about?” Ki Chul replies, “Let’s go and finish what we were trying to do in the first place. Let’s go and make those who are playing around with this country pay.” (Joonni: Wait, aren’t you the ones that are playing around with the country? Oh Ki Chul, I felt slightly sorry for you but now I can go back to hating you again. Thank you.)

Dol-bae tries to tell Young about the new Woodalchi recruits but Young orders him to tell Choong-suk. Dol-bae insists that Young take a look but Young yells, “I told you to talk to the vice captain!” Deok-man also tries to talk to Young so Young angrily asks what their problem is. Another Woodalchi tries to tell him that it’s about the new recruits that the higher-ups put in. Young, extremely annoyed, reminds them that family and background is considered fifteenth on the list of qualifications and solicitations are 105^th on the list- “The first is skill.”

Deok-man keeps insisting, saying it is an order from the king. Dae-man rushes in to say that the new recruit is waiting for him in his room. Young opens the door to his room and enters. Smooth as a whistle, his Woodalchi close the door behind him. (Joonni: ROFLMAO. They are soooooo adorable!)

Young stands surprised as Eun-soo, dressed in Woodalchi uniform, salutes him. (Joonni: Where the heck did she get a uniform that fits her?) Young: “What is this?” Eun-soo: “Here. The safest place in Goryeo. I will hide here, right by your side. I got permission from the king. I even got a sword. Look! It’s mine.”

As Young’s face remains serious, Eun-soo nervously starts to explain, “Because there is no dorm for women in the Woodalchi lair, I was going to stay here for the time being. Could you just give me a bed over there?” Young still doesn’t respond so Eun-soo continues, “Normally even if you put two chairs together I can sleep well…”

Young turns around and slams his door open. The Woodalchi, who have been leaning their ear to the door, scatter off sheepishly. (Joonni: Cackling like a loon here). Young closes the door again and walks toward Eun-soo. Eun-soo backs up, saying that she can pay him back for the housing with Woodalchi health examinations. Young asks, while steadily continuing towards her, “So…you want me to stay here too?” Eun-soo replies, “This is the daejang’s room and you are daejang.” Young, getting closer and closer- “Because I am the daejang?” Eun-soo nods. Young has now backed up Eun-soo to the wall. He leans in and repeats quietly, “Here?” Eun-soo nods- “Here. Not running away.” Young finally breaks into a smile and Eun-soo smiles back. (Joonni: Kya!!!)

Softy’s comments:

Things just got heated around here. holy crap -I think I just died and went to drama heaven. they are going to stay in his room together? no wonder he was grinning so much. who knew a sageuk was capable of being this hot and steamy. no need to yell “get a room” anymore cuz it looks like they did. it’s like all our collective “wishful thinking” thoughts came to life in these last few seconds. please oh pretty please – let there be a continuation of this scene. If E21 doesnt start with a kiss, I’m gonna have to hurt someone.

Has anyone noticed there is skinship galore between these two already on each episode? hand holding, hugging, hair patting, pulling close, etc. all that has to lead somewhere doesnt it?

Wonder what KHS is doing to make her husband not feel jealous these days. If KSH ever decides to leave her husband for LMH, her hubby just needs to take a dvd of Faith to court to prove infidelity and how infatuated she is in LMH. To think people thought she wasnt a good actress. I think she is doing a great job convincing the audience she is in love. She has me sold on the idea.

Written before it aired: Whether the one who left the diary and letters is future Eun Soo is no longer disputable. Since they are still one in the same just with different perspectives of the emotions they are going through, that gives us more to delve into.  Future ES looks over at Young holding her close and remembers what it felt like at this stage –how happy she was to be by his side and in his arms. The current one looks over her shoulder at her future self and realizes their time together is limited so she is savoring each moment with him now. In essence, one is holding onto the love she has now and the other is trying to help her keep him alive to keep their love thriving. Her future self is her own guardian angel. Both have one thing in common – they are doing everything they can to prolong his life and their time together. What can be more swoonworthy than this undeniable fact that this whole time Young has been protecting her life, she has been protecting their love. I bet even a warrior would go weak in the knees to discover that truth.

We knew this day would come when Young would question if the sword has become heavy for him. I think all the recent killings he had to do was his answer. he seemed to grow more weary each time he took a life. as for that other thought in his head “it’s time to find the place to end it,” I am really hoping it’s not when ES walks through that portal.  As smart as he is, maybe he will realize it could be rephrased. instead of finding a place to end it, how about finding a place to start fresh. In her world would be even better, but we all know the reason why ES kept coming back here is cuz he could never leave. he was part of history here so taking him away from it is taking him away from his destiny. their love is important to both of them, but not to the extent that it affects history.

I bawled my eyes out during this scene – no words just shared pain and loss. then seeking comfort in each other’s warm embrace. these are the parents their baby lost. going to feel their ache for days….

I love how Young wouldnt let G stay on his knees. even in his misery, young reminds him he is the king. G just wanted to be a grieving husband, but young makes him have strength and asks for his order to find N. It broke my heart when G wouldnt face Young at first. he is so ashamed of what he did to Young, but Young doesnt dwell and just focuses on getting G to act like a king again.

Kdrama history is being rewritten with Faith. Old conventional tropes are being thrown out and replaced with romance done the right way – with roots grown deep to stand the test of time.

Joonni’s comments:

I rarely have pervy thoughts about drama characters. The only time was with “Secret Garden” when Joo-won and Ra-im were in that changing room together. So now with the final scene in this episode, I am having my second pervy thought, because Young chasing the Woodalchi away was the final step down into the gutter. So they are now alone, in his room, so very close, without no one else around…………………………

Okay, crawling out of the gutter now. *Shakes head alert* We got an episode today where the good guys win after all the bad. While I am happy to see my warrior, king, and kick-ass ladies back together again, I found the solutions a bit too easy. I’m not entirely convinced with the way Young is able to convince Son Yoo’s henchman away, especially since we don’t know anything about this man and how he felt about his life. I know his purpose was to bring back Eun-soo to the palace so in the end, the results make sense that he gave up. But at this point, the henchman does not know Young and Eun-soo are going back to the palace so it doesn’t make sense that he would give up that easily on killing Young just by Young asking him if he is tired of fighting. Rather than a flaw in directing this time, I think it was a failure in the writing. The plot is moving along really fast now and I can see the writer taking huge shortcuts. This started to happen last week too and I’m worried how many more she is going to take to get us to the end that she wants.

The other point of dissatisfaction is how easy Shi-wool found out where Noguk was. I know that the Suribang are really good at spying and following but after all that drama being built up around Gongmin and soldiers being unable to find Noguk, I said to myself at that scene, “Really? That easy? Oh come on!” I guess you can argue that it’s because Deok Heung finally called out his aide to report to him when he didn’t before but still, Deok Heung and the aide are just walking around too easily.

With Eun-soo confirming that the bottle is a plastic film case, we have solid proof that Eun-soo traveled to the future and back again in the previous timeline, since she didn’t have it with her when Young first brought her to Goryeo. Or that maybe, as people have suggested, the final Hwata item has something to do with a photograph. What I love about this drama is how open everything continues to remain. We just can’t figure out how this drama will end and what step the characters will take next because Eun-soo showing up in that warrior uniform was a huge surprise and a delightful one at that. It’s not clear exactly how long it takes to go back to the portal but Eun-soo seems to have either given up on going back or surviving the poison. Her decision to go back to the palace, even though she knows she might die, demonstrates how much she loves Young and how she has learned to think of others before herself. That is why I was weeping during the first scene. Future Eun-soo saying that she would give up anything to go back in time and make Young return to the palace so she doesn’t have to watch his heart wither away….it struck me so hard and deep with her regret and capacity for love.

My favorite scene today was between Gongmin and Young (and Ryu Deok-hwan’s acting is amazing). I loved the parallel between when Young was first standing up in front of Gongmin, with Gongmin hanging his head, and later when Young is on his knees, looking up at Gongmin. It felt like things were right again in the world. While I love it more when they are sitting together equally, I knew how much Gongmin needed Young to support him and be there as a warrior for him. In the world of sageuk, your status and rank define who you are- it’s not a separate career or job apart from your core self. Gongmin is a king and Young is a warrior and this defines everything about them and their relationship to each other.

Which brings me to the question that Young has to ponder. We have been given both the arguments that it’s time for Young to stop being a warrior and that Young needs to continue to be one. One side says that the sword is too heavy for him now- he has killed so many people- and the other side says that Young can’t be anything else except a warrior. For me, I can’t decide. Both arguments are strong. But of course, it’s not my decision. It’s up to Young to decide how he will continue to live his life. Without his sword, what is he? Can he really live in peace as a fisherman? Can he really leave Gongmin? Considering that Young came back, despite his worry, because Eun-soo wanted too, maybe Young is capable of not being a warrior anymore. We can also say that Young can leave Gongmin once Goryeo is strong but as king, Gongmin is always going to have trouble. So in the future, even if Gongmin didn’t ask, will Young be able to stay away?

And why isn’t it Monday already?

And just because he was so gorgeous today in this scene…