Platinum Fox

Nonsuch, thank you for your interpretation of the mother's actions towards Niao Niao (NN). While I understand where you are coming from, I respectfully disagree. Let's look at how the mother treats NN and NN's response to it.

In the first episodes we learn that mom and dad have been away fighting a war for 15 years. They left NN behind to stave off a calamity that the grandmother was going to face. The mother demonstrating filial piety allows (grudgingly) NN to be left behind while taking her twin brother with them. We learn from the great uncle that to get back at NN's mother for leaving the girl instead of the boy, the grandmother and Aunt Ge (both favoring boys over the girls) pledged to not discipline NN or make her do anything. Hence, NN learns through imitation to plot and scheme and seek revenge on every little thing. Also, everyone around her teases her about her parents abandoning her. NN doesn't trust adults and rightly so. She has been sent to reflect on her behavior to a village with barely enough to eat or keep herself warm. Again, she has been abandon by the very people who were to care for her. Mother knows that NN is faking everything, but doesn't do anything about it as she has a bigger plan. NN thinks mother isn't doing enough to get rid of the people who bullied her.

The fact that she has a strong will comes directly from her mother. Who went through a divorce herself and is now a talented general in her own right. So you have two strong willed people fighting each other. Like mother, like daughter. Why should NN trust her parents, whom she has never met and doesn't know? They don't know her either. Mother and daughter are trying to figure each other out and get to know each other. But the mother still needs to maintain parental guidance.

Niao Niao is stubborn, talented, but extremely illiterate, and unruly. She gets revenge for every little thing someone does to her. At this time, girls are suppose to be learned in the classics, music, something else, and literature. Niao Niao has none of this knowledge. Niao Niao thinks she is okay the way she is and because no one ever really made her study and learn to read, she resists when mom makes her do it. Mom's fighting against 15 years of learned behavior, so it is going to look like she is controlling.

One of the first things mom disciplines NN for is eavesdropping. Mom let's it slide two times, but the third time she smacks NN's hand with a ruler (once). Notice NN doesn't eavesdrop again. She learned quickly that there are consequences to her behavior. Mom didn't like having to discipline her that way, but it needed to be done. Mom originally went up to measure NN for new clothes.

Niao Niao plays on the mom's guilt a lot to get out of a lot of things, like studying. Mom tries to discipline her without spanking her (mom doesn't like corporal punishment). Taking away snacks when Niao Niao is supposed to be studying. Not allowing her to go places until she does something. Mom only hits NN twice (with a ruler and with the military paddle). Both times NN deserved it.

For me, viewers want a villain in dramas and in this one, the viewers have made mom the villain. Is she a perfect mother, no, but she is better than some of the other mothers and grandmothers in this drama. jmo

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.

Gang Cheol was also a victim of the massacre that happened in episode 1. The Celestial General tells Gang Cheol that the blame for him not ascending is on the royal family. We will not know why until episode 13.

Are you saying the blind shaman is a member of the royal family and is using the Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow to get back at the royal family? When does he say he is a member of the royal family?

I understood what the poster was saying. What I am asking is what is the Celestial General actually winning? Look at what the Celestial General has done. He possessed the crown prince and the king. He didn't kill them, just possessed them. Why? He killed the prince who raped the girl. Why? He could have strangled Gang Cheol and killed him, but didn't. Why? Also, he killed the grandfather who was planning a rebellion. Why? The Celestial General killed Bibi because he was full of jealousy and hate for Gang Cheol. He took Bibi's moonlit pearl, why? It knows that there is something stronger than it that it will need to take care of. What is It? Do you see the pattern? Why is it sad?

As I wrote to you before, we don't know the entire story from 100 years ago, just that the king's great-great grandfather was a coward and sacrificed an entire village to make his get away, but why is he running away from the palace? Why are the barbarians invading? How did the barbarians know the king was going to Yongdam in the first place?

As for him attacking the queen, the rock did its job. It kept the Celestial General far enough way that the sword didn't kill the queen. We don't know if it hurt the baby. If the Celestial General had wanted to kill the king, he could have done it with no problems as the king no longer had the stone. It is testing the king to see if the king will run away and protect himself or protect his family and the people around him.

So let me ask you what is the Celestial General winning? He doesn't get the crown prince because the crown prince has Yeo Ri's rock. Is he trying to get the crown prince or is he trying to protect the crown prince?

In this drama you need to look at patterns. Why can every spirit jump in and out of live people, but Gang Cheol can't escape from a dead human body even though he has tried multiple times?

What you are looking at is the average score of everyone who has rated the drama. This includes people who have rated multiple times using different accounts. What you should be looking at is the verified rating which tries to screen out all multiple ratings by a single person. That rating is 9.01. This is the first time that I have seen a verified rating be higher than the average rating.

You can find the verified rating by hovering over the orange rating box.

Thank, yes, I wrote that before I watched episode 14.

It is very fitting that the blind shaman used the body of a palace guard to harm the queen as this is the exact opposite of what happened 100 years ago. A 100 years ago a mother and son were harmed because of a decision the king made. Now the Celestial General has a chance to harm a mother and son of the royal family. He does, but it seems like it is only a flesh wound, and he can gauge the response of the king. Will the king help his queen or let his guards persuade him to run away. If the king is smart, he will attack the Celestial General, but not try to kill him. As this will be enough to let the Celestial General know that the king loves his family and will also fight for his people.

We still have lots of questions left to answer.
Who is the blind shaman? Why does he have a grudge against the royal family? It seems to be what happened 13 years ago.
What happened 13 years ago to the present king's mother and father? We know the king's father was possessed by the Celestial General and Yeo Ri's grandmother tried to exorcise it out of him. Thus, why the father was killed. But we need to know why the king's father was attacked by the Celestial General?
Why did the barbarians suddenly attack the great-great grandfather and why was running away from the palace in the first place.
Was the palace guard able to save his family and was his child the one who saw Gang Cheol? It doesn't really matter who saw Gang Cheol as it was because of the king's decision that the baby wasn't in bed sleeping peacefully.
What does the Colossal Shadow look like? Will we see Yeo Ri's grandmother?

Yes, but the blind shaman says at the beginning that he also has a grudge against the royal family. With the "mastermind" dead, why is the blind shaman still calling up the Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow? He also had a chance at redemption after he was put in prison, but didn't confess. There is more to the blind shaman than just him being someone's peon.

You have forgotten what that pearl is made of. Bibi cultivated hate, rage, and jealousy. His essence would reflect that. As the saying goes, "You are what you eat." His eating of the corrupt officials by appearances seems like a good thing. However, when he ate the minister of war (the one who hated Yun Gap the most), what happened to Bibi? He started getting jealous and angry at Gang Cheol for really no reason.

Now what is the 8 ft. creature full of jealousy, hatred, and rage. We do have a sliver of hope as Bibi realizes his mistake and takes action which would add a little love to his essence. So the 8 ft. creature has a little love in his essence now.

The writers have been very careful about making sure they stick to their original intentions. Now if it had eaten Gang Cheol's essence it would have killed it as it would have been filled with love. Love is what will kill the 8 ft. creature.

I'm not really following what you mean, but from the sounds of it you think the Celestial General doesn't think Gang Cheol is evil, but will get revenge on the person who made him fail in his ascension. The Celestial General just wants to make sure that the proper person gets the blame, the king.

Funny, I never noticed when there wasn't any music. It just makes the actors have to do their job better at conveying the emotions of the scene. It also makes the scene more believable. jmo

Yes, the only thing we really know about him is that he kidnapped and trafficked children. The grandfather let him off, now let see if the king will. He has already had his chance for redemption.

It has been inferred throughout the last four episodes or when the Celestial General had Gang Cheol by the neck. A baby can't talk, so neither can its spirit. However, the father knew and wanted to make sure that the blame was put in the right place, not on his son. He is under the impression that Gang Cheol is still evil.

Does it come right out and say that the baby is the son of the Celestial General no.

At the beginning of the drama, the king has the rock made into the lens of corrective eye wear. Meaning his vision is blurry, unclear. By episode 13/14, his vision has cleared. He understands now who and what is haunting him (a decision made by a his ancestor). So he no longer needs the rock to clear his vision. However, his unborn son and his queen need protection because they don't know what is going on. The king is going to take full responsibility for what his ancestor did.

Yes, he is a vengeful spirit. At the very beginning you see him burning the crops of the people to get back at them for causing him not to ascend. If he wasn't, there would be no reason to give Yeo Ri the male spirit rock in the first place.

I hope this helps.

After episode 14, mom knows that her son is dead and weeps for him. She and Yeo Ri do send Yun Gap to the afterlife to give all three of them closure. However, before that mom knew that Gang Cheol in Yun Gap's body was not her son. It is why in episode 13 she instantly knows when her son comes back and she says, "You have come to your senses." Meaning you are now my son.

What has it won?

It will definitely be a happy ending for everyone, unless the king messes up, but I don't think he will.

Gang Cheol looses his powers because he has lost all of his hate he had for humans. Now that he is "human" his power comes from something else, love (blooms from the plant). The power of love conquers everything.

As the for the baby who saw Gang Cheol, it is the son of the palace guard who went to try and save his family during the massacre a 100 years ago. The Celestial General just said it was him to protect his child from Gang Cheol's hate. He wanted the blame where it rightfully should have been, the great-great grandfather of the present king or the royal family.

I agree. I felt there should be at least an episode dedicated to Yun Gap's return, but viewers have already complained about the drama being too many episodes at 16. But maybe it was better to just rip the bandaid off and get it over with quickly as he couldn't return to his body any way. It was nice to give the mother and Yeo Ri closure.

I also agree with you about the blind shaman. He is now calling the shots as the "mastermind" is now dead. In the beginning, it did say that he also had some grudge against the royal family as well, so what is his grudge? Or does he just like causing chaos!

Are you sure?

That rock is one of the most important parts of the drama. Remember it protected Yeo Ri against Gang Cheol throughout her childhood. She wasn't ready to take on Gang Cheol like she claimed when she was 13. Grandmother understood that. Notice that once the stone is not in her possession that she starts to have feelings for Gang Cheol, and then she falls in love with him. Yeo Ri also found that rock burdensome (because it brings out the fact that Gang Cheol is really a dragon) and gave it to the crown prince who is also too young to rule the kingdom if something happens to his dad. He will need to be protected until he can make good decisions on his own.

Now, the king was also young and a little naive when he first took over the throne. He needed protection from the grandfather and the queen dowager who were trying to bring him down with the spirit of the Celestial General. Grandmother realized that he was just like his father and needed protection. She gave him the rock (an act of motherly love). After 13 years, he feels that he has gained enough wisdom to rule without protection from the rock. He gives the stone to his queen who is carrying his unborn child, who is also too young to rule if something were to happen to him.

Parents protect their children when they are young from all the bad things that could happen, but at some point in their lives the children must experience these things and decide for themselves how they will live their lives. The rock is the symbolism of this protection.

As for why Gang Cheol is weakening. He was once a powerful, hateful spirit. Hate is a very powerful emotion. Now, he has experienced all kinds of emotions and has grown to love Yeo Ri. The hate he had for humans is almost gone. His power is now drawn from love from the blooms of the plant that was kept by the other girl who liked Yun Gap, but bloomed because of love.

What we don't know is if the king's guard from 100 years ago was able to rescue his family from the massacre (it appears not). It was his son who saw Kang Cheol ascend. The Celestial General told Gang Cheol that he was the spirit who saw him because he wanted Gang Cheol to be angry at the royal family and take revenge. He also said it was him because he wanted to protect his son. Again, a father protecting his child.

Hope this helps. This drama is a morality play. Everything in it has meaning, especially the spirits who have haunted the palace. Happy drama watching.