Iljimae Episode 15, recap

Sooooo excited! Without further ado, ladies (and gentlemen)…

Episode 15

Swe Dol snores so hard he wakes himself up, and he sees Yong lying asleep next to him. He pats Yong’s head then goes back to sleep. Yong was actually awake (having just come from robbing the noble of his ginseng) and looks at the sleeping Swe Dol.

The next morning, Shi Wan comes to gloat, because Shi Hoo’s theory of Iljimae robbing only the members of Friends of Heaven prove false. None of the three robbed nobles are on that list.

Anyway, Yong makes his way to the neighbourhood clinic and sees that the doctor is brewing the 300 year old ginseng for those who were injured in the fight. He tries to get a taste but is stopped by Bong Soon, who proudly claims that those are for the injured, as per instructed by Iljimae. On the way to Shim Deok’s alehouse, he sees a pack of kids running around in Iljimae costumes. He scolds them for spending money uselessly and gets poked in the butt repeatedly. But height and age give him the advantage and he manages to chase the kids off.

When he gets there, the alehouse is making a huge profit on the theme of Iljimae, serving plum blossom wine and having all its wine servers dress like Iljimae. Kunghe monk makes a return and Shim Deok is overjoyed.

Yong goes off with Shi Wan to the crime scene of one of the robberies. Shi Hoo is like, wtf are you doing. Yong notices, while looking at the room, that there are ashes left from the day before (from the rope he burned) and tries to wipe them away. Shi Wan notices, and Yong reacts really quickly by telling him that Iljimae must have come in by the roof.

(It’s so cute, in this scene, Yong mimics Shi Wan’s moves while he’s acting all smart and detective-y.)

Shi Hoo and his boss are like, what about the door? And Shi Hoo refutes Shi Wan’s theory because the door is so obviously broken, thereby missing the truth by a few centimetres.

Shi Hoo can tell that the door was sawed from the outside – and Yong is super alarmed because Shi Hoo’s deductions will harm Swe Dol.

Speaking of whom, Swe Dol looks a bit ill after a night of no sleep. Mr. Leatherworker needs to deliver something for one of the nobles, but his dad is doing his side job and thus unavailable – what side job? replacing roofing tiles so that they are not slippery and provide no harm to Iljimae. 😀

Eun Chae gets a horse from her father, and her servant names it Iljimare (for ‘a horse’). She’s totally spoiled… and when Shi Hoo comes to see her, she also mentions that the robbed houses did not belong to members of Friends of Heaven. Arguably tired everyone harping him about it and Eun Chae’s defending Iljimae, he snaps at her. She looks hurt and he walks off.

Hunter dude (disappeared five episodes ago) is teaching his son to make traps. His son is tender-hearted and feels sorry for the rabbit. Minister Kim meets with the hunter and confirms Kyum’s existence. Byun Shik waylays him and tries to trick him into revealing Kyum’s existence – but Kim is too wily for that, and tells him that Kyum was killed in a fight with ruffians.

The king comes to meet the assassin, and apologizes for hitting him with the inkstand. (He’s super devoted, ahhhhh. Stupid.) Byun Shik brings the news that Kyum is dead, from minister Kim, and he’s confirmed from his own people’s reports too. (How they confirmed, is a mystery, since Kyum is obviously alive.) The king suggests a ‘hunt’ the next day.

The hunter delivers the news to Yong, who pretends not to care, but does some research.

Swe Dol waits outside for Yong to come home, and Dani comes out, all concerned for her husband. When she hears that he’s waiting for Yong, she goes all cold again, but goes inside to wait. (Aww. She’s missed sleeping next to him! And she put lipstick on! AWWWWWWWWWW.)

Yong’s watching Bong Soon work really hard at the alehouse. He sets her free from her contract. She’s not happy that he’s telling her to go, because she wants to stay his servant forever. The next scene is so funny because Bong Soon drags him somewhere and forces him against a wall – but we know he can knock her over if he wanted to. Anyway, she plants one on him – and is all gleeful that it was his first kiss.

Poor guy runs off after spitting a bit. He’s so dismayed, his face just asks for a caption. 😀

Yong goes to his hideout and is determined to visit minister Kim, after which his crusade may be over.

Eun Chae goes out again, putting her servant in the carriage. She gets on the horse, but notices plum blossom petals fluttering around in the air. He thanks her for saving his life, but she’s angry that she’s had no news from him for so long and rides off in a huff. (Where’s her entourage??) Yong feels all bad and sits on the roof alone.

But! She comes back! And he jumps on the horse too, and they ride off to his old house. (Iljimae be damned, where did he learn how to ride?)

They climb up to the old plum tree, and she tells him about her encounter with Kyum, shocking him that he was her first love.

Eun Chae: When I was little, I met my first love here, but he died. Still, I remember him deeply.
Iljimae: He is in heaven now, but he must be happy to hear that.
Eun Chae: And then, later, I met a young man here. I thought it was that boy come back to life, but I was stupid, and wrong.
Iljimae: *looking off into the distance*
Eun Chae: Your face, can I look at it? (Her hand actually touches his face…)
Iljmae: *grabs her hand and stops it*
Eun Chae: *is hurt and looks away*
Iljimae: We might not meet again.
Eun Chae: What? Why?
Iljimae: *takes off his headband and tries to cover her eyes*
Eun Chae: *accepts it after some hesitation*
Iljimae: *takes off his mask and leans in for a kiss*

(I don’t know, it was such a typically kdrama kiss – and then we get a montage of the plum trees. But the intention is romantic enough, I guess, even if the intimation that Iljimae and Eun Chae will not meet again is a bit worrying – I suppose he’s referring to his retirement after he figures out his father’s death – but things are never as easy as that.)

Bong Soon tries to buy Kyum’s old house, and then hears that Eun Chae’s aunt is going to chop off the plum tree. Bong Soon comes and buys the tree. Eun Chae, also having heard her intentions, gets here to protect the tree. Of course, she gets here too late, and Bong Soon has already bought the tree.

She gloats and generally disturbs Eun Chae’s usual genteel demeanor.

Before he can meet Kyum, minister Kim is called away on a hunt, supposedly in honour of the Chinese ambassador, but in reality just trying to kill minister Kim. Shi Hoo (and others) is there as security personnel and animal disturber, serving a function usually left to foxhounds in the UK. (Shi Hoo almost gets hit by an arrow, loosed by Shi Wan. I’m going to say this – I don’t think Shi Wan wanted to hurt Shi Hoo. He’s just the nasty boy type who doesn’t really know the difference between a joke and going too far. Besides, he doesn’t kill. He tricks and beats, but his psyche isn’t the killer type.) The hunt is plentiful, and the king is still pretty good at archery.

The hunter spies on Yong, who waits impatiently.

Shi Wan comes with news of the recently deceased minister Kim, who was obviously killed but Byun Shik covers it up as an accident. Shi Hoo notices an identical tattoo on the dead man’s chest as the prosecutor in much earlier episodes (and as Lee Won Ho himself, if you remember)… people in Kim’s own household are bewildered at his death, and Shi Hoo is suspicious.

Yong waits until night, then goes to Kim’s household, where he hears the news of his death with dismay. Now he knows there is someone actively trying to stop his father’s death from coming into light.

Panicked nobles plead to the king that they weren’t participants to Kim’s plans – and we learn a bit more about the history of the Friends of Heaven. There were seven (go numerology) in the beginning, Lee Won Ho, the king, minister Kim, the dead prosecutor, the dead prime minister and the two nobles pleading innocence. They formed the core group which vowed to remove Gwanghaegun from the throne. Then the organization expanded, but the original members were all quite important to the king.

The next day, the ambassador sets up a trap for Iljimae, tired of always having no news from the official channels. The hunter’s rather cowardly son is caught in the middle.

Yong comes to meet with Daeshi and sees him hiding in a soya container – apparently soldiers have been catching all the young men they can find. He finds the hunter’s son being bullied and tries to help, but gets caught too. Yong is there, with about thirty other young men, and is super angry that the ambassador’s son would dare do this to catch Iljimae.

Swe Dol experiences a lull in his business, and is despondent – those two things not being related at all, but everyone else thinks it is. He’s reflected for a long time, and decides to side with Iljimae, and not make locks that may impede Iljimae’s work. An old acquaintance, the family servant who worked for Lee Won Ho’s family, shows up, looking for Swe Dol, and spots both he and Dani.

Just then, Bong Soon runs up with the distressing news that Yong has been captured. More peasants cluster at the front of the gates. Mr. Leatherworker’s dad says what’s on all their minds – Iljimae will come here and rescue the young men. Swe Dol looks on sadly and says, “Iljimae is there.” Kunghe monk looks worried too.

The ambassador’s son is shooting arrows at one of the papers Iljimae has left behind, but there’s someone standing right under the paper – if the person is short, so much the better, but if they’re tall like the hunter’s son or Yong, uh… watch out.

Shi Hoo is disgusted – even he doesn’t condone this way of catching Iljimae. Shi Wan looks on, and spots Yong. He rushes to rescue him, but is blocked by his superior. Shi Hoo spots his brother by adoption and tries to do it too, and is also blocked. (Aww, both of them are so cute, doing the “OH NOES MUST RESCUE YONGI” face. Brownie points to Shi Hoo for showing us that he cares about his adoptive brother and recognizes their bond – which means he may go easier on him if he knows who’s really Iljimae.)

Zheng gets drunk and aims at the hunter’s son. Yong can tell that the arrow went wide (as in, may hint the target) this time and leaps in front of the hunter’s son, taking an arrow in the back – right where his heart would have been, had the arrow hit him in the front. Shi Hoo doesn’t care any longer and rushes forward, carrying him away to his concerned parents beyond the closed gates.

Kunghe carries the unconscious Yong home, while Bong Soon, Dani, Swe Dol, Leatherworker & dad, mafia dude & lackeys look on in panic. Aww, our Yongi has so many friends. Dani would like to stay with Shi Hoo, but decides that Yong is more important at the moment. Poor guy.

The hunter bugs Yong about his precious son, but no one lets him in. Yong wakes up in considerable pain but a lot of determination. Apparently until Iljimae appears, none of the captured people will be released, and if he does not after three days, then they’ll all be killed.

The hunter’s son is a useless, snivelling wreck (I swear, I know it’s for yuck factor, but he has snot hanging out his nose. YUCK). Shi Wan doesn’t want to kill these men, but his father doesn’t care.

Iljimae waits on the roof of the ambassadorial residence, with a large bag next to him. Iljimae’s signature note floats to the imprisoned men, and they barge out according to his instructions. They make it out, as Iljimae creates a big, attention-getting diversion in the shape of himself.

There’s like five hundred people ambushing him. The guy gets beaten a little, but he’s fine and gets out.

The next day, shipping officials discover the Chinese ambassador and his son tied up in black bags, and then enclosed in a big black box. Iljimae appears on a roof right next to the port and looks on.

End episode.

Commentary/Rambling:

– I think that Dani and Swe Dol’s little arc of history with Lee Won Ho will be resolved next episode, but there’s a chance that Swe Dol might die due to narrative justice for what he did to LWH, and his sawing the door open and then installing the locks at the nobleman’s house. He’ll never tell on Yong, and the king will probably have him tortured to death. It’s not a nice end, and I hope Yong saves him from it.

– OMG. THEY’RE GOING TO DO THAT THING, AREN’T THEY??? Old servant of LWH shows up, thinks Yong is Dani’s son, which means he’s Lee Won Ho’s son, and they can’t refute it, because hunter dude is still hanging around, and they can’t exactly say, no, we were lying, Yong is actually adopted. So the king catches news that Lee Won Ho actually had another son, and goes after Yong in a big way. Except Shi Hoo knows his mother is Dani, and figures it out. Then he tries to investigate LWH’s death, which he’s in a position to do, what with having a more complete piece of the puzzle than anyone, and then he’ll figure out that Yong is Kyum and contact him? It looks slightly more possible than the endings being thrown around on Baidu.

– Still worried for Kyum and Shi Hoo when they do join forces, as the king is not someone to be trifled with, as his own nobles know. He pretends to be useless and nice but is quite sharp when he wants to be, which makes it an even bigger shame that he is okay with making his own people miserable in favour of staying in power.

– Where the heck is Kyum’s mommy? At least the hunter’s made a reappearance now.

– Am really liking Shi Hoo and Shi Wan, even though they’re so different. I think it’s just because they’re both nice people, one under a mask of coldness, and the other under about ten layers of assholedom.

– Whoo. I’ve said a lot, haven’t I? Sorry guys. Episode 16 as soon as I can get it!

Sevenses