If you repeat a lie enough times and get enough people to believe it, does it become true? Or will the truth inevitably come to light no matter how deeply you bury it? Those are the questions facing our characters this week as they prepare to step into an unknown future rife with dangerous truths and comforting lies.
EPISODE 13-14
For the first time, San and Yoo-ha face each other as half-brothers. With San’s sword at his throat, Yoo-ha says he only wanted to end the king’s tyranny ASAP, so San — determined to break the cycle of fratricide — gives him a chance to set things right. Hwa-ryung, however, decides that if her son won’t strike first, she’ll strike for him: when Yoo-ha asks San for a secret meeting, Hwa-ryung has San ambushed.
Shi-yeol leaps to the rescue, of course, getting his forearm sliced open in the process. (It’s a relatively minor injury, but hearing about it later scares Hong-joo so badly that she runs to his room in the middle of the night to assure herself he’s okay.) A very dismayed Yoo-ha arrives on the scene just as the fighting ends. Now all three identities are exposed among them: Lee Seol, Lee Gyeom, Watchman. Handing San their father’s token, Yoo-ha promises to bow out.
Either San was testing him all along, or that gives San an idea. Either way, he gives the token back. Yoo-ha is the “Lee Seol” the people follow now, so he should stay at the forefront, at least for now. Once they’ve accomplished their mutual goal of taking down the tyrannical king, they can sort out who actually gets the throne.
Shi-yeol is less inclined to take Yoo-ha at his word, and the two continue to feel each other out. (I can’t decide if Yoo-ha saying “I enjoyed your jokes, though it seems they were your way of hiding the truth” is heartwarming or heartbreaking.) Neither truly wishes the other harm, but Shi-yeol pointedly warns that the Watchman kills any and all threats to Lee Seol. No exceptions.
Suspicions aside, the bond forged at Ihwawon holds firm. The three spend a lot of time in secret conversation, making plans and sorting out age hierarchy (San is only months older than Yoo-ha, Shi-yeol older than both by four years), until they’re interrupted and have to flail about trying to fall back into Flower Scholar character. Inevitably, Dan-oh overhears, and the truth of Yoo-ha and San’s relation comes spilling out.
Speaking of Dan-oh, there’s not a lot for her to do this week, aside from giving San some much-needed support. She does undergo a short-lived bout of jealousy after witnessing Ban-ya confess her feelings to San, but they clear that up quickly through conversation. Which is one of my favorite things about this couple — for the most part, they talk through their problems and misunderstandings instead of letting them fester.
Deducing that Ban-ya knows San’s identity, Dan-oh kindly arranges a meeting between them so Ban-ya can pledge her support — not because she likes San, but so her father’s death (for supporting San’s father) won’t be in vain. True to her word, Ban-ya throws Tae-hwa off San’s scent by reporting Hwa-ryung’s suspicious activity.
One night, the king decides on a whim to drop by Ihwawon. Dan-oh trembles as she pours his drink, but when the king asks if she thinks Lee Seol can defeat him, she responds with a carefully worded yet gutsy jab at the king’s own fears. Later, she tells San that the game has turned: now the king is on defense, worrying over when and where his opponent might strike.
San is worried, too. See, foresight isn’t his strong point, and only now does he realize his “plan” doesn’t really extend beyond killing the king. With some nudging from Yoo-ha, San starts asking himself some very important questions. Like, what happens to Dan-oh if he becomes king? And how will he rebuild the kingdom post-revolution? Yoo-ha has actual, practical ideas about replacing corrupt officials for the people’s benefit, but San? Not so much.
Enough planning, though: it’s time for action. The king is going on a hunt, and San decides that’s his day to strike. Knowing the night before the hunt could be his last, he spends it with Dan-oh at the safehouse. They talk about their dreams — she’d love to travel, but she’ll be content anywhere if it’s with him — and though he makes it no secret what tomorrow will hold, he promises to return safely. They share a single night of quiet, tender intimacy. In the morning, San leaves Dan-oh in bed, promising again that he’ll be back by nightfall, and she waits until he’s gone to open her eyes so he won’t see her tears.
This week being the (anxious) calm before the storm, Shi-yeol and Hong-joo also spend a lot of time talking about the future. Hong-joo’s new dream is to live as her true self, and Shi-yeol’s — outside of his Watchman duty — seems to be making her dreams come true, one beautiful excursion at a time.
He’s so close and yet so afraid of telling her who he really is. I may not be at all who you think I am, he confesses finally. But my feelings are sincere — I love you. This time, she reaches for him. And this time, their kiss isn’t interrupted.
It doesn’t matter if he’s been living a lie, Hong-joo declares. They’ve both changed through knowing each other, and it’s time to forget the past. Her one request is that he promise not to leave first (meaning: don’t die on me), and I DO NOT LIKE that he doesn’t give a verbal response. Especially since Tae-hwa has discovered that Hong-joo isn’t dead, and vows to kill her for good.
And so, Tae-hwa throws a wrench in literally everyone’s plans. At the hunt, he tells the king that Minister Shin is colluding with not only Lee Seol, but also Hwa-ryung, the Head Eunuch, and the Queen Dowager. That same morning, Tae-hwa’s men leap over the walls of Ihwawon and surround Shi-yeol and Hong-joo, the former of whom was about to leave because of San’s king-killing mission.
Upon hearing Tae-hwa’s report, the king steers his horse for home early, leaving the hunting party behind. San, alone and dressed as the Watchman, steps out in front of him. Both raise their bows and loose their arrows at the same time.
This week gave us so much goodness that I just want to sit and savor it for a while. Every scene with Shi-yeol and Hong-joo, especially when he calls her brave (please, show, I NEED these two to live long, happy lives!), San’s self-aware realization of wait, I actually never thought about how I’d run the country, our Flower Scholars’ tentative allyship, the subtle heartache of San and Dan-oh’s first and possibly last night together.
At the same time, I’m just as anxious about what comes next as our characters are. There have been so many promises made and hints given that I can’t fully predict whether they’ll be happily fulfilled or tragically broken. So if you need me, I’ll be over here manifesting the former!