The tables have turned, and now it’s our hero’s turn to show off his world. Although our heroine struggles to take it all in, our hero is in his element and beside himself that she finally believes him. His giddiness disturbs and confuses his staff, especially the usually stoic captain of the guard who is not a fan of his king’s new lady friend.
EPISODE 5
Shin-jae texts Tae-eul to play pool with him and heads over to Na-ri’s café while he waits. When he walks in, Na-ri hastily puts away the diamond Gon gave her as payment. Shin-jae looks worried when she shares that Tae-eul went off with Gon earlier.
In the kingdom, Yeong notifies Ok-nam that Gon appeared with a female “guest.” Tae-eul is reeling from the experience, and after Gon reveals his full identity to her, she supposes that now she really can’t avoid a beheading. The guards look up in shock when Gon laughs.
We cut to a scene that I think is a flashback to right after they went through the gate. Gon shows Tae-eul a place “between” their worlds. Lightning flashes all around the cloudy, sunset sky as Gon explains that there’s “no light, wind or air” here. (Uh, then how are you breathing?) Tae-eul wonders if it’s magic, but Gon attributes it to legend.
We pan out to see they’re on a narrow road leading to a beam of light touching from ground to sky. Gon claims time flows differently here with a minute being like an hour elsewhere; watches don’t even work. He promises to share all his findings when he’s discovered more about this place.
In the stable, Gon gloats that he was right. But Tae-eul fires back that if it’s all true, then it’s terrifying. If it’s not, then she’s crazy. Yeong looks over in distaste at her tone and warns her to watch her manners.
“Especially this face!” she says while pointing at Yeong. He’s supposed to be on her side like he has been since they were three. Tae-eul spots his gun and asks if it’s real. When she goes to grab it, Yeong grabs her arm and glares. Gon instructs him to let her see the gun so she can believe for herself it’s all real.
Yeong is frustrated by the cryptic talk but hands it over. Tae-eul wants to check something and says it’s nothing personal before pointing the gun at Gon. Ack! Yeong leaps in front of Gon while the guards level their guns at Tae-eul.
Tae-eul asks shakily, on the verge of losing it, if this country and Gon are real. Gon steps out from behind Yeong and assures her it’s all real. When she repositions the gun, Yeong steps in front of Gon and grabs the barrel. Gon warns her Yeong won’t move and not to try to confirm whether they’re real by shooting.
She lets go of the gun, and Yeong finally recognizes her. He turns to Gon in shock, and Gon reveals she’s Jung Tae-eul. When they get to the palace, Ok-nam reprimands Gon and instructs Tae-eul to relinquish her personal belongings for security reasons.
Tae-eul deposits her items, and Ok-nam looks up at her in surprise after seeing her ID. Tae-eul asks if she’ll be patted down now, but Ok-nam doesn’t think it’s necessary since she’s the king’s guest. Ok-nam gives Gon a serious look and asks him to follow her out.
Gon hesitates, making Ok-nam go on about how he didn’t follow procedure in bringing a guest in, and it’s arousing suspicion. Gon agrees to go with her and orders Yeong out as well. Yeong throws a suspicious look at Tae-eul but says nothing.
Gon tells Tae-eul to wait there until he ditches Ok-nam. Pfft. When Tae-eul responds in casual language, Yeong’s eyes go wide, and Ok-nam makes a strangled sound. Tae-eul switches to formal language, unsure of how she’s supposed to talk to Gon. It hits him that this means she believes him now, and he laughs delightedly. Once they leave, Tae-eul sinks to the floor overwhelmed.
Secretary Mo fills Gon in on his insanely packed schedule (courtesy of an angry Ok-nam, ha). He asks to be allowed to eat dinner in his study “alone.” Meanwhile, Seung-ah heads to the study to ensure Tae-eul stays inside per Ok-nam’s instruction. When Seung-ah walks in, Tae-eul calls out to “Na-ri,” but Seung-ah corrects her and introduces herself.
Tae-eul already knows the answer, but she can’t help asking if Seung-ah owns a building she rents out to a Taekwondo studio. Seung-ah does own buildings, but they’re in Canada. She offers Tae-eul some relaxing tea and admits it’d be best if Tae-eul were to fall asleep since she can’t leave the study anyway.
Tae-eul points out her directness is like Na-ri’s. She plops down on a chair and starts confirming details like the year and random facts Gon told her about this world. Tae-eul asks Seung-ah for soju instead of tea.
Seung-ah offers to look up stuff for Tae-eul on her phone; she can’t lend it to her since it’s a work phone. Tae-eul immediately asks her to look up Lee Gon. Seung-ah is horrified she flippantly uses the king’s name and doesn’t understand how Tae-eul could be so uninformed. Tae-eul doesn’t know how to explain, so she settles for claiming she entered the country illegally.
Yeong barges in and asks for a moment with Tae-eul. When they’re alone, Tae-eul remarks on how different he is from Eun-seob. She apologizes for the gun thing and wonders if he’s always been so serious. He holds out a glass, so she bounces up and presses her thumb on Gon’s inkpad before stamping her print on the glass.
He’s taken off guard by her compliance, but she explains she gets where he’s coming from. He won’t find anything, though. Yeong takes a breath before asking if she’s from the Republic of Korea in a parallel universe. Tae-eul is amazed he knows.
Yeong accusingly asks who she is and what she’s done to Gon. Does she have anything to with the mark on his shoulder? Tae-eul doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and she takes issue with him talking casually to her when she’s a year older.
Seung-ah knocks insistently, and Yeong finds her staring slack-jawed at Gon in his robe wheeling a dining cart. Gon cuts off Yeong’s questions about Tae-eul, saying he’ll send him info on quantum mechanics. Yeong can write his questions afterward. Yeong is dumbfounded.
When Gon hears Tae-eul wants alcohol, he sends Yeong to find some. In the hall, Seung-ah wonders why Gon claimed to know her when they first met, but Yeong is more interested in her impression of Tae-eul. She’s unwilling to report to anyone but Ok-nam, though, and laments missing this great opportunity.
Tae-eul downs a beer and asks if she’s being held captive. Gon explains that everyone is frazzled since this has never happened before, although he’s imagined it many times. In private, she’s back to speaking casually and calling him Kim Kae-ddong.
He sees her inked thumb and jokingly asks if she bought some property. He immediately hands over his phone when she demands it, and Tae-eul pockets it for later use. Before eating, Tae-eul tells him to taste the food first. Ha!
Tae-eul references how in Alice in Wonderland, Alice ate things that made her grow and shrink. What if she dies here? Gon tells her not to worry since he’ll keep his word, and she’ll die of beheading. She digs in and disses his cooking skills.
He goes off about how if he were to call out, everyone would come rushing … and in walks Ok-nam, startling them both into standing. Ok-nam informs them that she prepared the furthest room from Gon’s for their guest. Ha. Gon smiles as Tae-eul shovels in the rest of her food. He annoys Ok-nam by asking if it’s the room all the way on the right or left before leaving.
Ok-nam orders Tae-eul to keep silent about everything involving the palace and Gon. Tae-eul assures her she’s a government official too, so she won’t reveal anything. Ok-nam refers to her as lieutenant, making Tae-eul ask how they all know her.
Ok-nam says Gon has had her ID since he was young, but no one by that name existed. And there’s no lieutenant rank of the police. Ok-nam sees her appearance as a bad omen and something that will harm Gon. Tae-eul should restrict her contact to her, Gon and Yeong. Ok-nam warns her against getting curious about Gon or this world and trying to stay.
Gon sneaks into Tae-eul’s room that night. He didn’t want her to be alone and scared. She’s surprised he deigns to sit on the floor with her, and he admits the floor isn’t so bad. Tae-eul wants to the ID of hers he has, and he promises to show her tomorrow. He’s afraid she’ll leave once she sees it.
Tae-eul asks about the lion keychain on her car key. Ah, so he put it there. He won it at an arcade after spending way too much time and money. Worried the guard outside will hear, Tae-eul shushes him. Gon freaks her out by claiming there are CCTV cameras everywhere, and then he marvels at how easily she believes him now.
She’s paranoid about the cameras, so he offers her proof there’s no camera by laying his head on her shoulder. Tae-eul freezes for a few seconds before telling him to get off without much umph. She claims it’s uncomfortable, but Gon is quite comfortable.
Tae-eul: “You’ve never dated, have you?” Gon’s head shoots up, and he insists he has. She hazards a guess as to when. “Now,” she says to a silenced Gon. After a few seconds of staring, he wonders, “Should I have done this?” and kisses her. He asks her to guess if he’s proving whether he’s dated before or is dating now.
In the republic, Moon-shik shops with his wife, who also seems to be a cop, and claims he’s meeting Shin-jae for drinks later. But Shin-jae gets a text that he’s his cover story. When Shin-jae asks who he’s truly meeting, Moon-shik replies, “loneliness.” Ha. Shin-jae stares at his unanswered text to Tae-eul.
The following morning in the kingdom, Gon brings Tae-eul a guard uniform so she can accompany him secretly. Tae-eul opens the curtain to reveal Ok-nam already in her room. She’s furious but decides it’s better for them to be in public. Ok-nam forbids them from taking photos together.
Tae-eul follows Yeong throughout the day, helping guard Gon at his events. After a speech at a university, Gon grabs Yeong’s wrist radio to ask, “Wasn’t I cool?” The confused guards all scramble to compliment him while Yeong looks at him like he’s grown a second head.
Yeong reluctantly plays go-between and passes Tae-eul a change of clothes with Gon’s message that she should go have fun while he attends to his duties. She asks Yeong if he has cash, seeing as she brought his “boss” food and such in her world.
On his private helicopter, Gon checks his phone’s search history and laughs to see Tae-eul’s burning questions (including info on him). But he pauses when he sees she looked up his father and Rim.
Speak of the devil, Rim is busy harassing a pregnant woman. He sent her pictures of her alternate living fancy while she struggles to make ends meet. That life is hers if she wants it. Rim is confident since no one has refused his offer thus far. Frightened and desperate, she asks what she needs to do. “You just have to kill the other you.” She hesitates but then asks how to contact him.
Seo-ryung receives a report about a Chinese fishing boat that sent a distress signal in the East Sea. It’s not the first time, and Seo-ryung assumes the Japanese Navy has interfered. She orders the people be saved and the next negotiations with Japan be more aggressive.
We flash back to Seo-ryung’s appointment as prime minster when she’d asked Gon what kind of prime minister he wanted. “Please be a prime minister who gives mostly written reports.” Ha. She thinks of his statement that he’ll never be indebted to her.
Meanwhile, Tae-eul wanders around Busan. A massive picture of Gon graces an advertisement for an exhibition, making Tae-eul recall their kiss. Tae-eul is then shocked to see a bulletin noting Corea’s GDP is the 4th highest globally. A girl beside her explains they export rare minerals from mountains owned by the Royal Court. Tae-eul realizes how staggeringly wealthy Gon truly is.
In the train station on her way to Seoul, the two men who were arrested at the rowing competition spot her and mistake her for Luna. Yeong stops them and confirms that they referred to Tae-eul as Luna. In Seoul, Tae-eul happens to spot Seo-ryung and thinks of the rumors she saw online about her and Gon.
Seo-ryung joins a group of rich women – including the alternate of the pregnant woman Rim approached – for a meal, but the atmosphere is cold. The women’s insults are met by threats on Seo-ryung’s end.
Tae-eul visits the police station and sees Moon-shik’s and Detective Shim’s alternates walking out. She stops them to ask if they know her; they don’t. She rattles off the names of her colleagues, but they don’t recognize any of them.
She goes to Shin-jae’s old neighborhood, assuming his family must not have gone bankrupt in this world since he’s not a detective. Tae-eul and Shin-jae stand on opposite sides of the street and pass each other by but in different worlds. In the republic, Shin-jae stares sadly at his old house.
Shin-jae runs into the psychiatrist woman at a convenience store, and they drink beer outside. She’s surprised to hear he’s a detective, admitting she thought he was a gangster. She’s from this neighborhood and asks when he moved since she’s never seen him around.
She suddenly remembers him saying his family went bankrupt. Shin-jae confesses he visits the neighborhood sometimes, although it makes him feel bitter. She asks if he still has recurring nightmares, but he scolds her for turning this into a session while she’s drinking. Again, he stares at the unanswered text he sent to Tae-eul.
In the kingdom, Tae-eul goes to her dad’s place, but a woman claims to have lived there for 30 years. She doesn’t recognize his name or the name Ahn Bong-hee, which I’m assuming is Tae-eul’s mother.
Tae-eul goes back to the train station but doesn’t have enough for a ticket back.She calls the Court’s mainline, but no one will believe she knows Gon. Thankfully, the message gets passed to him anyway. He orders the helicopter to go to Seoul and contacts Yeong.
Tae-eul gets a fright when Yeong appears silently beside her. He wonders if she’s truly a police officer. Why did she go to the police station earlier? Tae-eul is outraged he’s been following her. Guards suddenly surround the front entrance of the nearby building, and Gon does the dramatic slow-mo walk out.
He came after hearing she called 17 times. He wonders why she came all the way to Seoul. Did she find Ahn Bong-hee? Tae-eul grumbles and throws a dirty look at Yeong, assuming he tipped Gon off.
Gon wonders who the woman is, and Tae-eul takes a beat before saying it’s her mom. Even if Tae-eul doesn’t exist, her mom might be alive here. She smiles sadly and says she hopes her mom isn’t sick here. She only wanted to see her, since she hasn’t since she was five.
Gon stares at her in sympathy and says she should’ve told him, but Tae-eul replies she was only curious. She didn’t find her, anyway. Tae-eul sincerely remarks that she had a fun day thanks to Gon.
He realizes now that she must’ve been searching for the train when she looked up “KTX” (Korea’s high-speed train). She immediately blames Yeong again, and they glare at each other. But Gon shares that he perused his phone’s search history and has fun teasing her about how she looked up “Lee Gon’s ex-girlfriend.”
Yeong hurries over to say, “Prime Minister Gu—” but Gon cuts him off to wonder why Tae-eul looked her up too. She insists she was merely curious about the youngest female prime minister, but he’s having fun with her possible jealousy.
A motorcade arrives, and a frustrated Yeong finally gets to share that the prime minister is coming. Seo-ryung marches over and notes that she didn’t expect to see Gon here and with company. Seo-ryung turns and introduces herself to Tae-eul, holding out her hand. The two women stare at each other while Gon eyes Seo-ryung suspiciously.
COMMENTS
Although I still think the romance was too rushed, their chemistry this episode was much better. They’re on a more level playing field now – well, not status-wise but in terms of what they know – and I much prefer this dynamic. They’ve gained a sense of comradery and trust as they navigate this strange phenomenon, and it’s nice to see them both letting down their guards with each other. But that kiss? Come on, drama, it’s 2020! Can’t we be done with the heroine turning into a docile, wide-eyed statue when a guy she’s clearly attracted to kisses her? It felt so out of character for Tae-eul who does not come across as the blushing innocent type. She’s the one who addressed their flirty relationship head on in the first place. That scene felt frustratingly dated.
Tae-eul’s intense response to experiencing the parallel universe for the first time was so different from Gon’s measured response. She treated it like she was in a video game at first, not able to accept that it was reality albeit a different one. When she grabbed that gun, she seemed almost unhinged. But if I suddenly found myself in a parallel universe, I’d probably feel a little unhinged too. Once she got over the initial shock, though, she took it all in stride. I’m glad she didn’t distance herself from Gon or start treating him like a stranger. She’s still super casual around him and not the least bit concerned about his status. At least, not until Ok-nam is around to give her the evil eye. Poor Ok-nam, trying to single-handedly maintain order. It was amusing to see even Tae-eul acquiesce in the face of her ferocity.
I’m enjoying how much having Tae-eul around is throwing Yeong off his game. He can’t maintain that robot-like demeanor when he’s watching Gon flirt or Tae-eul act like she owns the place. Yeong is used to being in control and being able to predict Gon’s movements, but now he’s out of the loop. I do hope he gets brought in eventually, but I wouldn’t mind watching him flail a bit more first. It’s a chance for him to have facial expressions!
Tae-eul’s presence looks like it’ll be a catalyst for Seo-ryung as well. Maybe they’ll surprise me and use her more creatively as opposed to the typical meddling second lead, but I’m not holding out too much hope on that front. It’s a shame that her character is turning out to be so straightforward. I am glad we’ve seen her doing her job and taking down misogynistic dudes, but she’s pretty one note as a character.
Our other antagonist has been busy. Now we know that Rim is gathering people and convincing them to kill and replace their alternates. The question is what’s in it for him? It must feed into his ultimate plan, especially since that pregnant woman’s alternate is powerful in the kingdom, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s doing it at least partially for entertainment. He enjoys playing the deity, so it fits that he’d flex his power by manipulating people into doing the extreme and sowing chaos.
On a final note, the editing really frustrated me this episode. Twice I was unsure either where or when a scene was taking place. The first time was that scene with Tae-eul and Gon in the “between.” I’m assuming it was a flashback since that makes the most sense, but we cut so abruptly to that scene that I couldn’t be sure. Then, there was the scene where Tae-eul and Shin-jae walked past each other on the street. I wasn’t sure until Shin-jae looked at his phone that we had switched to the republic. A little more context from the editing would be nice.