The Great Seer Ep.11&12

Way behind, but slowly slugging through my drama-watching.

Episode 11

Someone, just someone slap some sense into King Gongmin (as much as I love Ryu Tae Joon). Lee In Im, having all the right info (from evil priestess), puts 2 and 2 together to find out the king was actually testing them for their 'loyalty'. He makes a show in front of him and I guess he's safe for now.

Ji Sang and Ban Ya finally reunite in their adult years after much separation  however under the circumstance of being held captive by the evil priestess who wants to know where Ban Ya's mother is buried in order to move her 'mom' so that she can possess the land of kings and ultimately become Queen. Yeah, like you'll get away with that...                                                                                              

You'll get punished for digging up people's graves lady.

With Ji Sang and Ban Ya's reunion, we are not left out with Hae In and Jung Geun's reunion. He's here to tell her her father is safe as he heard from some 'friend'. I'm so torn with Jung Geun because I know he's not going to get the girl and is going to just fall deeper in his evil path. Hopefully Hae In can kind of help him in the future? Just to get back on the right path?

 

Ban Ya runs to get Young Ji to help, per Ji Sang's instructions and come just in time to see that the Evil Priestess has successfully moved her mother's grave and replaced it with...her own mother's. Young Ji immediately recognizes this is the 'land of kings' and says it should have been reported as it is now 'off limits'.

Ban Ya does not wait for Ji Sang to come back and heads in the rain to claw at the freshly mounded grave. And so the pivotal point in Ban Ya's character transformation happens when she finally realizes how weak and helpless she is, and in order for her not to be picked on, in order for her to be powerful, she must become Queen. It's reasonable though, seeing how her younger years were full of hardship and torment, there is supple reason for her to want to become Queen. So goodbye to the so-called 'good' Ban-Ya, and hello evil one.

I love how they're teasing on the mother-son moments, although they're supposed to be 'heart-breaking', I'm not too sympathetic with Evil Priestess here because she totally threw away her own conscience and son to climb up to her position, so she totally deserves it! Feeling bad now won't help!

Apparently, Bong Choon (the gisaeng)'s guard from her priestess days still works at the palace and feeds her some news. This time she overhears the Evil Priestess and that rat-like empire representative plotting to assassinate the Queen. However, moles rarely do make it out alive...


Episode 12

This episode should be merited a semi-full recap because it was just amazing. We're finally chugging along the plot, things are starting to fall into place, and unfinished plots are starting to come to a close, while others are just beginning.

Lee Sung Gye is brought in to see the King but is being announced a traitor. He quickly sees the assassins that have been placed to kill the King and through quick reflexes aims at one of them, sending the place into a furry. He quickly foils their plans and finds a map of the temple the queen is staying at, alerting the king that the Queen is also being targeted. Lee In Im just glares at Lee Sung Gye as his plan is slowly being torn apart.

The Queen and Young Ji safely escape with the help of Jung Geun and take refuge in a room where they unexpectedly (for them, but not her) meet Ban Ya who is conveniently behind a cupboard with sliding doors and tells them to hurry and hide with her. When it is confirmed that the place and everyone else is safe, Ban Ya and Jung Geun are brought forth in front of the King and Queen. The King does not thank them for saving the Queen but instead tells people to lock them up.

Young Ji and Jung Geun have a touching mother-son moment where he tells her all he wanted to do was protect her, but she tells him that ever since he was 5 , he was already doing it. The evil priestess listens on to their conversation in the shadows, (probably with a thousand knives in her heart), and quietly leaves, dropping the package of medicine meant for Jung Geun. No pity for you lady, no pity.

Ya Sook and Hyo Myung have semi-successfully escaped from the enemies, but unfortunately get trapped in a net. They get into a funny quarrel of 'stop touching me' (yeah hard not to in such a confined space), when Moohak the monk strides in to save them. Ya Sook finally returns to Lee Sung Gye and they prepare to go to battle with Duk Heung.

Ji Sang has persuaded the Professor No to get him out of this 'impersonation' fiasco under conditions he won't tell he was connected with knowing about the 'land of kings'. Professor No reluctantly agrees to it and helps him get a position as a temporary student at Seowoon.  He immediately recognizes Hyo Myung as his father's friends from his younger days but pretends not to know him by using another fake name, Hong Dae Bok. Hae In suspiciously asks if he's impersonating someone again (ha!) and he tells her to keep quiet.

The evil priestess visits her son, and actually confesses (!) that she is his real mother. Wow, wasn't expecting it to be that soon, or maybe I was. She tells him he isn't safe as those who have received letters from Duk Heung would want him dead. And suddenly, some soldier comes in and takes out his sword, the Evil Priestess jumps to block Jung Geun and gets the knife. Why am I feeling this is just a set-up?

Ban Ya gets tortured from the King and she goes with the story that her father told her to stay at the temple to meet her 'destined man'. She tells the King she pities him because he has no one to trust. She plays on this 'trust' concept that earlier echoes a nice phrase creepy monk had said before.

"A person mistrusting other people also means that he is despearatly looking for someone to trust."

You got that right. King Gongmin mistrusts the 'right' people and trusts the 'wrong' people. I don't think he's ever going to get it the other way around, sigh.

Creepy monk  comes to save Ban Ya by telling the King that he can read people's destiny by looking at their faces and tells him that Ban Ya will be the mother of a king. King Gongmin tests him by bringing in 3 convicts and asks him to guess which one will die first. He points one man out, but the King orders for all of them to be killed. Just in time, the man pointed out sputters out some blood and falls to the ground. The King stands there in disbelief and eventually orders that Ban Ya be treated. Stupid King, falling for their trap already! Someone please, slap some sense into him.

Aha! I knew it! The Evil Priestess pays off the same man who slashed her, to go into hiding. She's certain now that Jung Geun won't spill the beans on her since she revealed her true identity. Sigh, this woman. She's using her son again just to protect herself. How can you ask your son to forgive you? I seriously have zero pity for this lady! Jung Geun comes out safely after giving out the names of the people to the King (minus his father and the priestess) and spits into uh, his 'real' mother's face that if she hurts his 'other' mother Young Ji again, he won't forgive her.

Ban Ya, already treating herself like the Queen, gets fixed up and gets a visit from Queen Noguk to get the hell out of here if she really thinks she will be give the King a son. She simply tells her, the Queen (!) off that the king has commanded she stay here and she cannot disobey his commands. She later meets with Ji Sang and bluntly tells him she's preparing to be the Queen, even boldly saying that he'd be kneeling before her the next time they met! Ji Sang stares at her in disbelief and wonders how she could change so fast. He knows that she won't listen anymore and turns around to leave. She hugs him from the back and tells him to never see her again, in tears. Wow, that ended fast. 

The King's army come back from the war beaming with pride and the King sees (only?) Lee In Im. He rewards them with positions, but Lee In Im wishes the King grant him one wish. He wishes that Young Ji be pardoned for her crimes and the King agrees to it. As much of a scumbag he is, he really loves Young Ji, although never showing his love in the right way...

Everything seems to be peaceful and settled and Jung Geun comes to meet Hae In telling her that he's staying at SeoWoon for her. She wonders what he means by that, and Ji Sang comes in to ask her if she really doesn't know what he means and tells Jung Geun to just tell her.

.............................

So one plot finally coming to a close (the whole assassination attempt), and we're going to settle into the lives of Jung Geun, Ji Sang and Hye In becoming students at SeoWoon. Ban Ya preparing to become Queen, and what other evil deeds the Evil Priestess and Lee In Im have up their sleeves. I love how the show is not draggy and just keeps the pace up and moving every episode. I've seen the ratings, and I'm extremely disappointed in them, although I know that they're not everything, it's just disheartening to see such a great show not get any recognition from the Korean audience. Sigh.