Asian Addicts Anonymous

Dong Yi watches helplessly as her brother and father are being taken away to jail. She goes to run after them, but is stopped by Kim Hwan (the man in the market place who warned her away from danger earlier). He takes her back to his house to keep her safe for the time being. Meanwhile, Chun Soo goes looking for Dong Yi and finds Kim Hwan’s servant instead. The servant takes Chun Soo to Dong Yi. Dong Yi asked if it was true that her brother and father were part of the Sword Fraternity. Chun Soo says yes it is. Dong Yi then asks if they were the ones who killed the nobles. Chun Soo adamantly states no, saying the fraternity was to help runaway slaves. Dong Yi’s father and brother have been framed.

Chun Soo then takes Dong Yi to the last hideout of the fraternity. The weapons and supplies are still there, meaning the Triad guards hadn’t found it in the initial raids. Chun Soo builds a fire and warms Dong Yi’s feet. They hear a sound and it turns out there are some survivors left from the raids. They begin plotting what to do to get the chief and the rest out of jail. That’s when Jang shows up (the guy who betrayed them in episode 2) telling them that the execution is going to be the next day instead of after the first month finishes. Dong Yi and some men go to steal fireworks to help break her father out of jail while Chun Soo breaks into the prison to tell the chief and Dong Ju their plans.

Meanwhile, Choi Hyo Won is taken out to see Officer Seo who has been tricked into believing that Hyo Won has only used him all of these years. Seo tells Hyo Won that he will no longer believe a word he says and that he won’t forgive him for killing his father. Seo did give Hyo Won a chance to say he didn’t kill his father, but Hyo Won decided to make things easier for Seo by refusing to tell him the truth. Let’s face it, what could have Seo done besides get himself killed?

Dong Ju says they know the execution is the next day, but Chun Soo and the other survivors are to stand down and live. Chun Soo does not like this and argues with Dong Ju, but Dong Ju shuts him up by saying this is the Hyo Won’s last orders as Chief. He wants Chun Soo and the other survivors to do nothing and live on to complete the work that Hyo Won started. Chun Soo then goes and reports this to the men who are unhappy with the edict as well.

The next days sees Dong Yi disguised as a boy getting ready to sail away from the capital. Chun Soo promises to meet Dong Yi again and gives her his headband so that he would always be able to find her. He then says that he will be bringing Dong Yi’s brother and father back with him. He has decided to ignore that last order and do his best to help his fellow comrades escape. The plan worked well in the beginning with the explosions causing enough confusion to help him set the others free; however, as they were running towards where horses were hidden, they were surround by Triad guards. The small band of fraternity members fought together one last time. First Dong Ju fell, then Choi Hyo Won. Chun Soo apologizes for not following the last order, but Hyo Won says that he is happy to be able to die this way, with the rest of his men. Chun Soo desperately fights the guards to keep his promise to Dong Yi. He literary falls off the edge of a cliff after being heavily wounded.

Meanwhile, Dong Yi hears about the escape attempt and execution and goes running off to find Chun Soo, Dong Ju and Hyo Won. When she arrives on the scene, there is nothing but the bodies of dead guards and blood. She finds the pouch she made her father and begins crying saying that Chun Soo has lied to her. She eventually makes her way back to her old house where she sleeps for the night.

The official who perpetrated it all calls Kim Hwan to his house to meet with a young middle class woman (the same woman who helped Dong Yi escape notice during the fireworks operation). He wants Kim Hwan to read the girl’s future. Hwan tells the official that if she enters the king’s bedchamber then there is a chance that she will achieve the highest position possible. Hwan then meets with the girl outside to tell her the news himself, however, he does add some advice that he did not give the official. He says that he has seen another girl with a similar future. The two will be like shadow and light. Hee Bin has everything while the other has nothing, but that girl will rise up to become something extraordinary. He also states that Hee Bin cannot fight with her and that Hee Bin will draw the girl in to compete with her. Hee Bin says that the girl will become her shadow then. Hwan states that Hee Bin shall become the girl’s shadow.

My thoughts: As much as I hate the fact that Officer Seo doesn’t believe in Choi Hyo Won any more, it is a good thing because it will probably spare his life in the end. As long as he believed in Choi’s innocence, the harder the conspirators will try to implicate and destroy him as well. I was brokenhearted to see Dong Yi’s family’s death. I kept hoping against hope that either her father or brother would survive, but neither does. At least they go out fighting in honor rather than dying like dogs on the execution block.

Ah, adults. Through this entire episode you hear first Kim Hwan, then Chun Soo say that everything is fine and that her brother and father will be saved. Not true. As much as you want to give Dong Yi hope, it does no good to build it up to the point it’s even more excruciating when she loses everyone.

I must say my favorite part of this episode is where Kim Hwan tells Hee Bin that she will be Dong Yi’s shadow and basically the reason behind Dong Yi’s rise. What a bitter pill she’ll have to swallow come later episodes. It’s weird because until the end of this one, you think that she isn’t all that bad of a person, but her character is supposed to be one of the main antagonists towards Dong Yi as an adult.