LBPG

I'm with you, it'd be nice if Deok Im didn't appear to contradict herself. We know she was shaken by San, she recalled the scene at the bathtub while blushing, we can interpret her telling her friends the truth about liking him (she uses the word 사모 which means yearning/longing, not just "like") then deflected because reasons 🤷‍♀️. She insists she doesn't want to be a concubine, but that doesn't mean she can't harbor feelings for him, she just chose to not act on them.

She still rejects him one more time (per history) so this hug isn't a declaration or acceptance per se, but certainly it's an acknowledgement. Again, imo, I'm not the writer 😂

Right? I'm lucky if I catch just the actors' expressions while also trying to read subtitles 🤣 thank goodness for these people, they really enhance the viewing for us plebs. This drama I've had to watch and rewatch, and then watch clips and read.. Because there's such much richness in details, and a lot of things that without Korean cultural and historical context you have no hope of getting 😩

We're keeping a running list on the discussion threads, check it out for more :)

You're not alone!!!

All I can say is, since I can't enjoy that body, I hope to god someone is because, if not, wasting it is truly a mortal sin 🤣

My fellow kindred spirit, historical romances were my bread and butter in high school, and this is as close as they get considering the female gaze in this drama. This is so fulfilling on so many levels, I can't even...

Here's Souzou (bdsm lite - he was inspired by 50 shades.. As terrible a novel as that was, at least the imagery works!)
https://youtu.be/DIVK_5uFtOA

And here's one of his Pressure performances. Add to this the imagery of his power play as crown prince and the drama viewing is enhanced with so much sensuality: https://youtu.be/SrT1yn1GuAk

But let me tell you, as a Junho stan who doesn't mind watching his Souzou mv and live performances of Pressure on repeat, that neck grab triggered all kinds of hormonal reactions. I didn't even notice the fear on her face till much later 🤣

Look in the drama vs novel discusion thread, I just updated it with a Twitter thread reviewing the novel's ending.

The symbolism of flowers in the drama (likely in the novel as well, seeing how both tomes have flowers on the cover). Shout-out to this Twitter account - this is not my content.

https://twitter.com/Hoyaanae/status/1467426466992648192?t=gCevmwgqlbqNGqp_sjiGAQ&s=19

Additional info on the flowers in the secret garden:

https://twitter.com/emptyvessels_/status/1467619538577813506?t=Lnz-KJk0MnjEPON5Vr0yRA&s=19

Your words to describe this scene are perfection 🙌

I think so - now. When I first saw the scene I had the same thought as you, but the more I watch it, the more it clicks that that scene is pure catharsis.

If her arms could have wrapped around his whole body, I bet she would've too. That was an embrace more of relief than possession, imo.

It was an out for her.

She already had feelings for him but suppressed them because she didn't want to be manipulated into a relationship with him, and didn't want him to effectively be deceived into the relationship either.

Realizing that already they had this connection then, and his feelings for her were not caused by a manipulation (court lady Jo just sent her to the funeral room, not intending for them to meet) I think she used it as an excuse to allow herself to feel her feelings, not necessarily because the meeting back then was especially meaningful to her.

Another thought (lol i think way too much about this drama, but just finished rewatching 8 -- i swear i have other dramas on my list!)

Rather than continuation of revenge, it could be just self-preservation. If she's the one that made Sado (tangentially, unintentionally?) kill all those court ladies, then she may very well be just taking the offensive against retribution. We know Jeongjo didn't shy away from acknowledging his father and putting the fear of god into all those that went against Sado, so it's very likely Deok Im serves more as a trojan horse rather than a spy.

Her wish to protect the court ladies against San going insane could also be a self-fulfilling prophesy. Maybe her hunger for power is just that big, that she'd want to provoke an attack to come out as some sort of savior?

All I know is that that Fairy Palace looked like the Temple of Doom and I wouldn't put it past her to start some human sacrifice rituals 🤣 (jk... i think!)

Work and sleep 🙋‍♀️

I feel you!

If that's the case, is making Yi San appear insane then just a continuation of her revenge for not having been selected as the concubine? Her goal would be reduced to just getting rid of her friend's descendants, because they're not hers? I hope she's more layered than this, but who knows where this will go.. she didn't seem as interested in replacing Yi San, though, did she? Hmm

Everything else about the episode was *chef's kiss*, though. This drama is freaking crack.

This drama is so subversive, with all the turning tropes upside down, even the secret court lady organization (masked assassins!) it reminded me a bit of the badass Hwasadan in Six Flying Dragons or Do Dam Daek in Tree with Deep Roots, but AMPED waaaaaay up! I love it!

But I have to admit the actual scenes in the Fairy Palace and its dungeon took me out of the story - where the heck could this be located? No way it'd be inside the palace, likelier outside and, since it's led by the head court lady, who can allow comings and goings in and out of the palace at will (according to Wol Hye), that made it a bit more believable... but I had to talk myself into believing it 😬

I agree. I also think that her concern for Yi San emulating his father felt real. She claims to want to protect the 700 court ladies underneath her from a real/imagined threat posed by Yi San, I buy it.