Our protagonist is finally reunited with his dearest sister, but their lives quickly spiral into despair. Played like marionettes at the hands of the evil minister who dealt such pain upon their family, our reunited siblings are faced with an impossible-to-win case that threatens to keep them apart forever.
EPISODES 13-14
After narrowly escaping her chance encounter with her long-lost brother, Eun-soo slips out of the situation through a quick swap of clothes with her attendant. However, her shaken reaction pings Ji-sun’s suspicion radar. Questioning her relationship with Han-soo, he’s shocked when he realizes she’s been spying on Han-soo to “repay Councilor Yoo’s kindness.” Ji-sun immediately reveals the truth to Eun-soo — Councilor Yoo had been behind the death of her parents. All of Councilor Yoo’s duplicitous reassurances start to sound very different in hindsight, and once alone, a betrayed Eun-soo smashes a vase to the ground in despair.
Resilience and resourcefulness clearly run in the Kang family, because Eun-soo launches straight into a revenge plan. Liaising with the Hungu crony MINISTER IM (Choi Byung-mo), Eun-soo tracks down a secret ledger in Councilor Yoo’s house. When Councilor Yoo returns, she readies her dagger, but before she can stick it in his neck, Ji-sun pulls her aside. (Eun-soo drops her dagger, which is definitely an ominous sign, because Councilor Yoo finds it.)
Through a conversation with Yeon-joo, Ji-sun has figured out Eun-soo’s identity. Dropping to his knees, he apologizes for what his family has done to hers. However, Eun-soo comforts him, reminding him that his father’s sins are not his to bear; he is walking a different path. In return, Ji-sun vows to keep Eun-soo safe.
Meanwhile, reconciliation is in the air for our main couple. When the queen dowager personally pays a visit to the merchant inn to check that Yeon-joo hasn’t returned, Han-soo happens to overhear her spiel — and now he knows what Yeon-joo willingly sacrificed in exchange for his safety.
Yeon-joo arrives just then, so Han-soo grabs her hand and runs till they’re a safe distance away. Having realized that Yeon-joo’s engagement to Ji-sun is a strategic one — not a romantic one — Han-soo finally says the words that Yeon-joo’s yearned to hear, urging her not to go through with the wedding. Moved, Yeon-joo kisses Han-soo.
While our lovebirds are rekindling their romance, things aren’t so rosy over at the palace. There’s been growing unease among the Hungu faction, since people are starting to question Councilor Yoo’s power given recent events. Hyul plans to exploit this discord, but feeling threatened, Councilor Yoo strikes first.
Commissioning Master Jo to murder a random civilian and frame it as a cuckold’s revenge, Councilor Yoo then uses the crime to launch an investigation into Eun-soo for committing adultery with multiple men. (Nevermind that she did all that under his own orders!)
Now that things are growing dire for him and Eun-soo has outlived her purpose, Councilor Yoo plans to strike two birds with one stone. Not only is it a ploy to get the accused Hungu officials to swear loyalty to him in exchange for his assistance, but he also gets to deal yet another blow to the Kang family.
Eun-soo is promptly arrested, and the commotion draws Han-soo back to Eun-soo’s pub. There, he runs into her attendant, who’s holding a pile of belongings that look all too familiar. Recognizing them as Eun-soo’s, Han-soo is struck with the horrible realization that the accused criminal is his estranged sister.
The siblings share a tearful reunion in prison, and it’s heartbreaking to watch Han-soo break down, wracked with guilt over how his beloved sister had been exploited in his absence. Han-soo wants nothing more than to jump into the fray and rescue his sister, but Ji-sun holds him back. Given Han-soo’s infamous reputation, and the royal court’s dislike of attorneys, anything he does will only backfire on Eun-soo. Instead, Ji-sun proposes, Han-soo ought to use him as a proxy. They’ll save Eun-soo together.
Unfortunately, that plan barely takes off. (Why would you dangle a Han-soo and Ji-sun partnership in front of me, only for it to not go anywhere?!) Hyul is determined to play by the book and make an example out of Eun-soo — he needs to establish his royal authority, and this is the perfect chance to undermine Councilor Yoo’s power by eliminating one of his people. (Um, did he forget that Councilor Yoo is deliberately cutting Eun-soo off? Hyul, you’re just giving him what he wants!)
That means there are only two options left for Eun-soo: up to a hundred floggings and exile as per criminal law, or execution as per civil law. Ji-sun’s pleas for Hyul to consider Eun-soo’s circumstances fall on deaf ears — despite hearing about Councilor Yoo’s manipulation from Yeon-joo, Hyul is adamant on judging only the cold hard facts. And that means Eun-soo’s a criminal.
Backed into a corner, and desperate to save Eun-soo through any means possible, Han-soo does the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do. He heads straight to Councilor Yoo, falls to his knees, and begs him to spare his sister. He’ll do anything in return, even if it means forsaking his revenge and his morals. (Nooooo.)
When Hyul finds out about this (because of course he does), the betrayal cuts deep. Hadn’t Han-soo agreed to be friends with him? He should have pleaded with him, not Councilor Yoo. It’s too late now — Han-soo’s done the one thing he should never have done. Eun-soo will be punished according to the law. (Sigh, I don’t like that they’ve made Hyul so obstinate after weeks of setting up how he’s a compassionate and humble king…)
The day of Eun-soo’s sentencing arrives, and Han-soo is made to declare her verdict as per Hyul’s orders. Tears fall from both siblings’ eyes, and Han-soo can barely eke out the words on the scroll — Eun-soo will be hanged for her crimes. (There has to be a reason Hyul made Han-soo deliver the verdict, right? There’s a secret message in there, right..?)
Our protagonists scramble to save Eun-soo, devising schemes to fake her death and help her escape to a faraway place. However, Eun-soo can’t bear to make her dearest brother live as a fugitive with her, nor can she stand to see innocent people be punished for helping her. So when Councilor Yoo returns her dagger to her, Eun-soo only sees one choice ahead of her. She stabs herself in the neck, and she breathes her last in her brother’s arms.
The case wraps up with a bleak montage of our protagonists, left disillusioned and devastated in the wake of Eun-soo’s death. Ji-sun resigns from his post. Yeon-joo falls ill. Han-soo stands at the edge of a rooftop, drunk and despairing. Then we end with a sudden declaration — Yeon-joo puts Han-soo’s jade rings on, then heads straight to Ji-sun to request that they put their marriage back on the table.
This week’s episodes felt like a landslide off a cliff, in that the series of events kept snowballing from bad to worse without any respite. There’s only so much sustained tension a viewer can take before it gets exhausting and monotonous. It felt a bit like the drama was speeding through the Eun-soo arc, moving from point to point like ticking things off a checklist.
In fact, I think that’s my main gripe with this show — the latter half feels almost like it was penned by a different writer, given the sharp turn into melodramatic angst and typical sageuk clichés. I can’t help but find myself missing the witty and self-aware tone the show initially took, because it set us up for an unconventional trope-subverting ride only to dash our hopes.
That’s why, as much as I dislike fake-outs because of how they undercut our emotional labor (unless done absolutely right), I’m somewhat hoping this is all just a ploy to trick Councilor Yoo. Otherwise, it feels unfair to Han-soo’s character journey — he suffered, then he crawled his way back fighting tooth and nail for revenge, only to suffer again by losing the only family member he has left.
Similarly, Eun-soo deserves so much better than this tragic fate. On the bright side, we got to see Han So-eun deliver a stunningly heartrending performance — but on the other hand, that imaginary scene of a happy Kang family broke me almost as much as it did Han-soo. I just want the siblings to be reunited in happiness! With Dong-chi, too! Is that really too much to ask?