To be honest with you guys, I really thought the previous episode really slowed down the momentum that had built up during episode 9. There were so many reveals there and then you saddle us with the romantic misadventures of the characters?
Which, truly, I have no objection with usually, but the chemistry between your two leads isn’t as strong as it should be. I know that I’ve been saying that there’s no chemistry between the two leads which maybe I should have scaled back because they do have chemistry, it’s just that they have better chemistry with other characters.
Anyway. Episode 11!
Jang Wook and Naksu are finally reunited in Songrim, as she has passed the servant test. And we get a whole sorta confession of feelings for each other between Jang Wook and Naksu and I kinda want to order some yang chow rice because I am not about it.
It’s not like the writers haven’t done their due diligence. I feel like if I read the script by itself, I’d say that all the prerequisites for them to fall in love are all there and I might even say that the chemistry is there on the page. But it just doesn’t translate as well on screen! I really don’t think there’s anyone to blame here because sometimes that special thing just isn’t there!
I do like that Naksu’s reaction to being in love with Jang Wook is what you’d expect from a typical stoic male lead, while Jang Wook is acting the way you’d expect a female lead would. It’s giving me a little bit of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon! But other than that I am not really here for it!
Meanwhile, Seo Yool is getting his heart broken earlier than scheduled! We all knew that this was coming since he’s the second lead after all but I didn’t think it would arrive at the halfway point of this show. Truthfully, the show hasn’t even concretely shown why Naksu would dump Seo Yool. Is it because she learned his family was involved in the killing of her father all those years ago? So was Jang Wook’s family! And she already learned that her father was a soul shifter! I don’t get it!
Anyway! There is a misunderstanding because Dong-gu sees Seo Yool’s bird whistle in Naksu’s things, and he comes to the conclusion that the two have feelings for each other. Which isn’t exactly untrue! He shares all of this with Jang Wook, who comes to the conclusion that he’s in an unrequited love situation. But any sympathy I have for Jang Wook gets thrown out the window because they follow this scene with one of Seo Yool getting his heart broken and guys! Minhyun’s eyes? GOD.
Thankfully, I am drawn away from that and into Master Lee’s hut where he’s having dinner with Heo Yeom and Heo Yeom lets it slip that Park Jin just intends to keep Jang Wook locked up in Songrim. Which leads us to a flashback where Park Jin reveals that he does know that Jin Mu knows that Jang Wook is the ~Chosen One~. And yet you’re keeping him locked up and not equipping him with the necessary tools to keep himself alive! You’re the worst paternal figure ever!
Then we get the whole chaebol kid being sulky because he doesn’t think the poor girl doesn’t like him back and you know what Boys Over Flowers did this better. The only advantage you have is that your situation isn’t as problematic as the one they did back then! I HAVE HAD IT.
I don’t know you guys. I just don’t think at the halfway point of your story, when you’ve set up a lot of plot movements, do you slow things down with character moments that should have been done during the first half? I JUST CAN’T WITH IT GUYS
THANKFULLY, we get back to political dealings and it appears that Jin Mu is indeed meeting with the Jin family matriarch, ready to hand in Seo-i as his Bu-yeon substitute. It turns out that he’s the one that abducted her in the previous episode. AND ALSO BU-YEON WAS IN HER MOM’S WOMB FOR 13 MONTHS????
As it turns out, Bu-yeon was freaking dead in the womb and it’s implied that her mother asked Jang Gang to use the magical hailstone to bring her back. Park Jin doesn’t know all of this, of course, but he does suspect that Jin Mu and the matriarch are up to something.
Back in Jin Mu’s lair, he quickly finds out that So-i is just pretending to be blind, and is about to have her killed but So-i’s survival instincts kick in and she says that she can totally pretend to be blind and be whoever she’s needed to be. There’s an absolutely badass scene where Jin Mu tests her resolve and I am reinvigorated.
Then we get back to Naksu, who the crown prince is trying to flirt with Boys Over Flowers-style and at least these two have chemistry. But Naksu at least gets an idea to use him against Jang Wook. Exactly how she’s going to use him is not clear to me yet.
And you know how so out of it I am right now? I think I just spent two hours doing anything else beside watch the rest of the thing. Else I wouldn’t have kept the last sentence in the previous paragraph and just wrote that Naksu bet a jade piece Jang Wook gave her that’s basically their promise rings or some shit. If Jang Wook doesn’t beat at least one mage in a 10-day duel, the crown prince gets the jade.
I just roll my eyes at the argument Jang Wook and Naksu have about fuck if I care and then I am reinvigorated once more when Master Lee tries to awkwardly show his feelings for head maidservant Kim. CHEMISTRY! And there’s even cute jealousy from Park Jin! He’s still a bad father figure though!
AND THEN THERE’S EVEN MORE CUTENESS FROM CHO-YEON AND DANG-GU. THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF. THEY EVEN HAVE A FIGHT AND HAVE TOTALLY CUTE CONFESSION OF FEELINGS. MORE. OF. THIS.
Park Jin discovers the two of them being all sweet and it’s even worked seamlessly into the plot because it allows Dang-gu to spill that Jin Mu is helping to find Bu-yeon for the Jin matriarch. I wish we just stayed in this part of the story more!
Back in Jin Mu’s lair, we get to see another soul transfer happen, and it looks like he’s been fermenting unrest and forming alliances with old mages by promising them eternal life through the soul ejector. AND we also get to know that Jin Mu’s plan is to bring the Jin matriarch over to his lair and…switch her soul with someone? We’ll see!
Then we end on a really cool sequence of Jang Wook losing his duels but also slowly improving! I think things are looking up!
Ron Does Stuff 
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