Freefoxx

This seems like an interesting drama. Kind of reminds me of Serenade of Peaceful Joy, easy to dismiss as boring at first glance but when you watch for a while, it's actually a pretty interesting story.

1. Yes, that's how I understood it. If anyone followed the "paper trail," Deputy Minister Pei was the official who formally appointed Sass. He would be liable for having recommended a traitor, but because of his loyalty to the Emperor I assume that's why he's only demoted and not executed or anything like that.

2. Yes. It's implied that the emperor's right-hand eunuch (Sass's old friend and the person who recommended Sass to Deputy Minister Pei) was in fact loyal to the emperor all along, and orchestrated the plot to eliminate the Crown Prince and Princess as threats to the Emperor's power. It's implied by Deputy Minister Pei that the Emperor was very likely aware of these actions. This also explains why he tried to leave the banquet early and seemed unhappy about being compelled to return. Earlier, it's also suggested in a roundabout way that the Emperor is making his own political moves (bringing Deputy Minister Pei, who is not affiliated with the Crown Prince or Princess, to see the tower before any of the other officials).

This was such a good drama. Brilliant writing, a VERY tight and multilayered plot, and very solid acting. Easily one of the best of the year.

Scenes with the king were interesting in the last couple episodes. Now we know he wasn't innocent with regard to his brother. Scene with sword was also telling - as passive as he seems, he truly does have some "fight" in him, just not enough to cut through his opposition (QD, court, etc.)

And while QD is still evil, at least it's a more understandable evil - she's put her entire heart and soul into making her son's wish come true, whatever the cost, and has become so warped that she views the next generation as disposable.

I wonder if the deposed queen has anything to do with this. She gave off a VERY vengeful vibe.

She was recruited to the palace by the Queen Dowager who (at least initially) thinks she is her double agent against the Queen. In reality, she is genuinely loyal to the Queen.

You're correct, that's the order of the Queen's biological sons. Uiseong (biological son of Consort Hwang) is older than the Crown Prince.

I agree, the acting all around is good IMO. I've enjoyed the whole drama, sure there's always things that could be improved but on the whole it's very solid.

Villain in particular is quite good. He's like a kindly grandfather who just happens to be a remorseless cold-hearted killer, too. A little more could have been made out of his role, I think.

I know we're a long way off but I think you're 100% right about the CP's son becoming king. I think Seungnam will restore him to honor his brother's legacy (and I think the Queen will be fine with this). Ultimately, the Queen will probably end up running the whole show as the new Queen Dowager, supported by the loyal ministers that Seungnam is recruiting through the contest. My guess (again, who knows if this is even close to being right lol) is that Seungnam will fall in love with Minister Yoon's daughter and ultimately ride off into the sunset with her to live a more normal life. She has some sort of sickness too so maybe their time will be limited or something like that.

I think you're right. It's implied in one of the earlier episodes that she has some sort of medical diagnosis and might die young, so the minister basically lets her do whatever brings her happiness. I think he will ultimately support Seungnam.

I think it's going to be somewhat important for the plot. Her father (controls the military) is currently supporting the Queen Dowager but this will almost certainly change if she insists on marrying Seungnam.

I agree. My money is on the king being poisoned or something to that effect, causing all sorts of chaos. He's starting to show independence (and openly help the Queen) so I don't see him lasting long

I think he is going to be murdered or forced to abdicate in the upcoming episodes. The chief councilor has made clear he wants to overthrow him, and I think the Queen Dowager would sacrifice just about anyone and anything as long as she can keep power and one of her blood descendants on the throne.

The court politics are pretty accurate to the reality of Joseon palace life. Sometimes there would be a strong king who ruled with an iron fist, but at other times you'd have factions among the officials who would accumulate enough power to stage coups, remove disliked kings (or crown princes), and replace them with more pliable puppets. The king in this drama came to the throne through exactly that sort of machination. And the people responsible for this (the chief councilor and the Empress Dowager) are shown to have control over the bureaucracy and the military, so the king doesn't have much to counter with.

I think this is right. I'd put money on him witnessing something and telling someone, prompting Evil Grandma to frame the eunuch and forcing his parents to send him away for his own safety.

If I had to guess, I think it has something to do with Uiseong's parentage, this might help explain why he is so brazen towards Uiseong in their confrontations.

Yeah it's quite accurate in terms of showing where the "real" power could lie at a royal court, especially one where the king depended on the ministers for his legitimacy (as this one does, because he wasn't the intended heir).

I think you're right about the physician being Uiseong's father. From what we've seen of Consort Hwang, I don't think she would go to this (risky) extreme of having his life saved if he wasn't her son's father and someone she still loves. It's much safer for her and her father's ambitions to have him out of the way, and she seems too shrewd to let a passing affair get in the way; it's got to be a lot more than that.

This is a really important point. He's been brought up to believe he was robbed of his birthright so of course he's going to act horribly to the people he thinks are in his way. The same thing is true for the King - now that we're seeing more 1:1 interactions between him and the QD, his (seemingly reluctant) passivity makes a lot more sense. He's spent his whole life *being* controlled by his mother, so he doesn't have the first idea of how to *take* control in any aspect of his life.

I think he knows that *something* shady happened and that the QD was involved. When the QD is berating him about deposing the Crown Prince, she makes a comment along the lines of, "If you know what I went through to get here, then you wouldn't let yourself be swayed by this." It's said in a manner that implies he *does* know the risks she took and would be showing ingratitude if he continues to resist what she wants.

Also, it's apparent that QD was a threat to Prince Seongnam when he was a child and that had something to do with him leaving the palace. The King would have to have approved this, as well as his return, so he must know that his mother isn't particularly benign.