VeeVeeVee

I was also confused but people in Twitter said that it was just a clarification that it was indeed Mu Jin who orchestrated everything that happened 300 years later.

It was him who buried the spell book and created a shrine, hoping that one day he and Aeng Cho will be reincarnated and be happy together. It wasn't revealed in the previous episodes as to how the spell book got kept inside the Jang Clan's land in Mt. Oju, that's why.

And then Mu Jin's wish got answered as it was him himself through Shin Yu who found the spell book and brought it back to its real owner--- Aeng Cho/Hong Jo.

I'M GOING TO MISS THIS SERIES SOOOO BADLY. 😭😭And that was a VERY satisfying and full-packed finale. Thank you, screenwriter and PD-nim for this masterpiece.Thank you as well to all the actors and production crew who served their best in every episode. EVERYONE ACTED SOOOOO WELL IN THIS DRAMA, ESPECIALLY THE MAIN LEADS!!!Jo Bo Ah, Kim Seok Woo/Rowoon, it was a privilege watching your craft every week. Thank you very much. I love you! 💓

I just know the direction and cinematography of this is going to be soooo good and expensive considering this is also directed by the Crash Landing On You PD-nim 😍

I JUST MET HWANG MIN HYUN IN PERSON AND BOY, HE LOOKED ETHEREAL!! UNREALL!!

What made Shaman Eun Wol's call extra funny is that both Shin Yu and Hong Jo were virgins and with their first consummation, they were able to conceive right away.
It just shows both were naive in the contraceptive department. 😂
They're soooo cute.

Hong Jo was Aeng Cho 300 years ago (Joseon Dynasty). She was abandoned as a child and was placed in the care of a Shaman. Her original name was never disclosed as she said she already died, but Jang Mu Jin named her "Aeng Cho". Shin Yu is a reincarnation of his ancestor Jang Mu Jin who was heartbroken after his mother died of an illness and he was not permitted to say goodbye (the entire family was scared that he'll contract her sickness too. He was an only child of a prominent clan so his father had a very strict upbringing of him). The only place where Mu Jin can grieve for his mother openly was in the mountains, presumably within their family property, and that's where he met the young nameless shaman (Aeng Cho). It was love at first "encounter" for Mu Jin as Aeng Cho helped him in his grief. They then grew up together, taking shelter in the mountains from their respective problems.

They eventually made their relationship official after Mu Jin became an adult (there was a ceremony in Joseon for affluent males). His father knew about their relationship and disapproved of it. He made Aeng Cho break up with him by threatening the life of the old shaman who raised her (presumably a reincarnation of Shaman Eun Wol).Fast forward to years later, Mu Jin became a young royal guard (he was also very smart, the youngest to pass the exams) and Aeng Cho became a well-known great Shaman that the King's concubine secretly hired her (Shamanism was forbidden in the royal family/palace) to help her beget a son. Mu Jin saw Aeng Cho in the palace and they finally came clean with each other and got back together, dating freely in the palace.Eventually, a son was born to the concubine. She then became ambitious and wanted to make her own son replace the Crown Prince. She ordered Aeng Cho to use black magic against the Crown Prince in order to kill him. Aeng Cho pretended to work on it but she couldn't bear to use black magic and kill the CP. She nonetheless used a black magic presumably to put a curse on herself that whoever kills her will be cursed. The CP suddenly died. The King found out about Aeng Cho and sentenced her to death. Aeng Cho then publicly revealed that whoever kills her will be cursed for generations. The King and all of his subjects got scared and thought of ways to circumvent the curse. Also, all parties were after Aeng Cho's Book of Spells for their own personal gain.Unbeknownst to all of them, it was the Concubine herself who ordered another Shaman to use black magic against the CP. This shaman was the past self of the Gardener. Aeng Cho managed to escape with the help of MuJin and was chased after by the head of the royal guards (Kwon Jae Kyong's past self) and his team. Mu Jin tried to protect her and secured her Book of Spells but he was later on captured by the royalbguards. The head then revealed that they'll kill Aeng Cho by dismemberment, using bulls to rip her apart. When Aeng Cho got captured as well and there was no other way out for her, Mu Jin decided to kill her instead with his own knife rather than making her face a more gruesome death. Commenters here also said that this could also be because Koreans believe that the soul of a dismembered body won't be able to reincarnate. Mu Jin didn't want that so he killed Aeng Cho and willingly took the curse. Aeng Cho also understood that she was killed out of love. Her last moments were of her comforting Mu Jin by caressing his face with her bloody hands (the Red Hand the present Shin Yu is suffering from). Nayeon's past life was never revealed but she might be the Concubine's reincarnation as she once mentioned that she feels like she used to be a Princess and had lived in the palace.

THAT LOVE SCENE WAS THE SMOOTHEST ONE I'VE SEEN IN K-DRAMA LAND.

Rowoon is on fiiiiire 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

The fact that their first child is a daughter means that the Jang family curse is indeed lifted. Yeyyyy

I love you, Lee Min Jinnnn! 💕

Dear Nam Ki Hoon PD-nim, please do a full blown historical drama please.
Your cinematography and filming skills are just chef's kiss!

Jang Sin Yu

Mu Jin was able to walk away from the royal family unscathed after that incident with Aeng Cho as (1) his family is also powerful and rich, mighty subjects of the King which they couldn't just offend, and (2) he actually did them a favor of killing her and getting cursed for it.
It was a win-win moment for the crown. I wouldn't even be surprised that he got rewarded for it hence the massive wealth of the Jang Clan.
Mu Jin even managed to create a shrine which was a big deal back then.

I don't think that the past Jae Gyeong wanted a kill-on-the-spot though.

The arrow was only meant to immobilize Aeng Cho so to assure the capturers that she cannot escape from them, and yet his archer was still very scared to hurt her because of the curse.

The plan of dismembering with the use of animals was really the plan as everyone in the palace is scared of the curse. And remember, the royal guards are subjects of the King. Any death personally caused by them would also redound to the karma of the King. He didn't want that as he was also responsible in securing a clean lineage of the Royal Family.
So getting animals without any connection to the Royal Family to kill Aeng Cho would be the best answer to that dilemma.

For me, yes. Consider it as mercy killing. Aeng Cho cannot escape death anyway as she got caught so rather than having her dismembered, Mu Jin chose the easier death instead. He couldn't care less about the curse.

And some also pointed out that in Korean beliefs, getting dismembered is believed to also kill the soul. That you'd no longer be reincarnated. Mu Jin didn't want that for Aeng Cho. He wants them to meet and be happy in their next life.

Sadly it still took them 300 years to meet again but I think it was still worth it.

I don't think the bearing a son to pass the curse theory is right because in the earlier episodes, when Sin Yu was discussing to his Dad about their illness, he mentioned that when he was in high school, he really thought his Dad will not make it. That he'll die. You can also see in his Dad's expression that he felt so guilty that his son had to witness such a traumatic experience. Then the Dad said that the difference between their illness is that the Dad's is curable whereas Sin Yu's is not. And that also explains why the Dad is overly protective of Sin Yu. Even encouraging him to stop working and just stay at home.


I mean, his Dad's illness didn't go away by passing it on the son. The Dads just have to make sure they manage their sickness well. Remember in ep 1 where the grandfather was also shown to be managing his sickness well and was the first Jang male to reach that ripe old age?

So I think the reason why most Jang males are encouraged to marry early so that they could also bear kids early, so the line continues as they're also tasked to take care of the shrine. That they don't die without leaving anyone for the shrine.

Only Sin Yu has the Red Hand because he is the reincarnation of Jang Mu Jin. It only applies to him. His soul was Mu Jin's, so his life is just a continuation of Mu Jin's tragic life. Only him has a tie with Aeng Cho.

That's why in the earlier episodes where his Dad is shown being overly protective of SinYu, the Dad said that the difference between their illness is that the his is curable, whereas Sin Yu's is not.

So, the entire Jang male descendants of Mu Jin are cursed, all of them are sick with their respective illnesses. But Sin Yu has the special/severe form as he also has the Red Hand.

Personally, I think this Red Hand is just a manifestation of Mu Jin's PTSD considering that that was his last moment with Aeng Cho. He got so traumatized that his next life (Sin Yu) still has it too. It's just that, Sin Yu thought of it as a negative feeling since he didn't know at first what that Red Hand was. He's scared of it but managed to control it as he reached adulthood.

Upon learning about his past life, we can all see that Sin Yu/Mu Jin took the Red Hand as a comforting presence, as it feels like he/they can still feel Aeng Cho caressing him/them even if she passed away already.

I hope my explanation makes sense.

True. A nomination would be good enough. I would be satisfied if he'd get acknowledged for doing great in this.

excuse me?

I know there's a tough competition in Baeksang Arts Awards but can't Rowoon get nominated for Best Actor please?
He deserves it so much!

Yes and it's a beautiful relationship. They may not fully appreciate it (Mom and Dad complain about each other, Sin Yu acts like the mature elder) but for people like Hong Joo who long for any semblance of family, theirs is a very beautiful and solid unit.