Vespertyne29

So here is my question.

Is the prophecy/curse real?

Doctor Choi obviously believes it because of the old prophet's earlier warning that he would lose QD if he didn't marry her immediately.

But I think the prophecy about the death of the man who is Myung Yoon's first husband is a huge issue in this drama!

If the prophecy is real, the CP is Myung Yoon's first husband. (That's the reason Dr. Choi needs to depose him, make the GP the CP, and marry his daughter to GP/new CP, who would technically be her second husband).

So if the prophecy is true, and the curse is real, CP is cursed for being MY's first husband, and fated to die.

How do the scriptwriters get around this? Anyone else wondering about this?

My understanding is that the QD's only son was killed as a child (or young teenager) by the deposed previous king. He killed her son, who presumably was his half brother, and banished the QD for 10 years. (I assume the deposed king was the older son - from either a concubine or a queen who had died - of the king who forced the QD into marriage).

The QD has no blood relation to the king or his two sons, CP and GP. She isn't their biological grandmother.

I thought that, too, but now I'm wondering what's in the bundle that the CP is carrying - the one he buried to keep it from being discovered if he were captured at the physician's clinic.

Excellent summation.
I enjoyed the flashbacks to before the current king took the throne, and he and his second wife (CP's stepmother, GP's birth mother) where the family was so affectionate with each other, and the current Queen was a loving mother to both her birth and adopted sons.

The kidnapping is pretty much the foundation of the plot of the entire drama.

1. The doctor wants his daughter to be Crown Princess. The doctor "saved" the king from an assassin attack (which appears to have been a fake attack planned by the doctor and QD, so the doctor could gain favor by getting injured in saving the king). After this probably staged attack, the QD suggests the doctor's daughter be CP, and the grateful king and queen are agreeable. At this point there is no plan to depose the CP. The plan is for the doctor's daughter to really marry the CP and become his princess and eventually the queen.
2. The problem is that per the old blind dude's prophecy - which the doctor clearly believes 100% - his daughter's first husband will die. Thus there is no point in marrying her to the CP if he's just going to die, because then some other man - most likely the GP - will become CP and eventually King. His daughter will then never become queen, or only be queen for a short period of time.
3. So, the doctor comes up with a plan to get around the prophecy/curse. He orders his bodyguard/righthand man to kidnap a random gentleman, give knock out drugs to both his daughter and the man, stage a "ceremonial marriage" between them, and have them spend a night together (both unconscious, so no actual marriage consummation, and not even any knowledge/memory as to what had happened while they were unconscious). The doctor believed the prophecy of his daughter's first husband dying would be resolved, because the random kidnapped man would technically be his daughter's first husband , and the victim of the curse/prophecy. Presumably the doctor thought that random man would die (being cursed by the prophecy) or either he planned to kill the man to get rid of him immediately. Either way, the prophecy would be fulfilled, and then his daughter could marry the CP, who would be her second husband, unaffected by the prophecy/curse.
4. But the bodyguard, in a highly unbelievable coincidence (which we must accept as it is the basis for the entire drama's plot), happens to come across the CP sitting alone in a tavern, and kidnaps him as the "random" gentleman to participate in the prophecy-fulfilling marriage. And so, completely contrary to the plan, the CP himself becomes the first husband., thus giving the CP the fate of the daughter's first husband and ruining the doctor's and QD's plans. Per the prophecy, the CP will die. They're in the same position as they would have been if the daughter had openly married the CP.
5. At that point, the doctor must get rid of the CP, because he's cursed to die by being daughter's first husband. So the plan changes to deposing the CP, make the GP the new CP, marry the daughter to the new CP, who will technically be her second husband and thus be unaffected by the curse/prophecy. The QD and doctor also want to kill the CP because he knows about their affair, and also threatens to expose them as traitors who poisoned the king.

So obviously the accidental kidnapping of the CP as a "random scholar" and having a ceremonial marriage to him, ruined all the doctor's plans to find a way that his daughter could marry the CP, and his plan changed to depose the CP, so his daughter can marry the new CP (the current GP) who - as second husband - would be unaffected by the curse.

The Queen is having an excellent arc of character growth in this drama. I'm enjoying her character. But I think the GP is my favorite character. He is a lovely, complex character. I do hope he has a good ending, but I sadly have to confess that I am the least optimistic about his fate in this drama.

First, I have to admit that I had a hard time getting around the fact that the PD didn't hire young actors to play the younger versions of the QD and doctor, because those 2 actors, especially the QD, were HIGHLY unconvincing as being in their late teens-early 20s. At least with the doctor they could take off his facial hair for a different look, but the actress paying the QD is 49, and she looks like she's in her 40s. Which is fine - she is an attractive woman - but it means she cannot ever convincingly play a character who is at least 30 years younger that the actress's actual age.

Second, I agree with you 100%. The efforts to humanize the QD and make her sympathetic have absolutely ZERO effect on me. IMO, it doesn't matter one bit if she is "sad" about her evil acts, her lies and manipulations, and her murders and attempted murders. As long as she does nothing to stop what she's put into action, she is unforgivable. That toxic "love" she feels for the doctor is no excuse. I agree with the Queen's assessment of her character - she's not human, she's a monster. No amount of wallowing in her lost love/forced marriage background (and don't get me started on how unrealistic it was that the king would suddenly appear out of nowhere, for no reason, and be so madly in lust with the QD that he had to force her to become - not just his concubine, but his queen!! Pfffft. Nonsense) is going to change my mind about her character. She didn't blink about ordering her minions to kill the CP in order to cover her affair, and she didn't blink when it came time to manipulating the Queen by tearfully sharing her sad love story so the Queen would feel sympathy for and trust her, so the QD could poison the King and frame the Queen for it.

The doctor is a fatally unredeemable character. He is willing to sacrifice his own daughter for power. He doesn't care that she has no interest in marrying the CP, whoever holds that title. He already killed an innocent doctor to cover for himself, and he's behind poisoning the king. He's been trying to kill the CP from the time he found out the CP was the "scholar" his bodyguard kidnapped. I don't even think he truly loves the QD. He obviously got married and had a daughter. If he was madly in love with the only love of his life, why did he ever marry? Plus, he seems much more interested in putting his daughter in line to be queen that he does in being with the QD. He may feel lingering affection for her, but undying, sacrifice-anything love? No way.

So while the QD at least has a credible "all for my love" excuse - which absolutely does not, in any way, justify or excuse her treasonous/murderous actions - I do not believe the doctor even has that pathetic excuse. I think he's just after power.

The only person whose punishment would have been justifiable on a moral level would be the prior king who forced the QD into marriage.

I really love the GP's character, and the actor is doing an excellent job. He convincingly pretends to be the ambitious, cold prince who wants to usurp his brother's position as CP, and then convincingly shows his true feelings. Plus he's so handsome.

But I have to admit, I am having a hard time seeing how the GP ends up alive at the end of this drama. The two most concerning factors are his public acts, which we know are to fool his grandfather and the other officials but still look treasonous, and the fact that he's in love with the FL. Second MLs in his position usually end up dead in historical dramas, often sacrificing their lives to restore order and save the rightful heir and their love interest. I'd really like to see the GP have a good ending, but am not seeing it as very likely based on precedent.

I see she was also the FL in Secret Royal Inspector & Joy, another drama I dropped due to the FL. Didn’t realize it was the same actress.
As I noted, it’s my personal opinion, which is as valid as anyone else’s opinion. You don’t have to agree. Opinions are just that: opinions.

Hahaha. Wrong

By episode 4 I was FFing to get past any scene with the FL. Her voice and mannerisms are not tolerable to me personally. Loved both the main and 2nd MLs, and their budding friendship was the highlight of episode 4. But had to drop because of FL

I wonder if it’s this little girl who sang with Steven Zhang in China’s Forbidden City celebration a few years ago. I love their duet

https://youtu.be/7TCz9nqbJLo?si=ELuXpRs2o32Q7Va-

In the article:
“ Subsequently, My Daily reported that a representative from the actress's agency stated, "It is true that Song Ha Yoon transferred schools due to a school violence-related case at Banpo High School." But the agency denies that the transfer has anything to do with the bullying accusations that have surfaced recently”

Regardless of the veracity of these new allegations, this statement makes it sound asif there is an admitted, verified past bullying incident that was serious enough to result in a school transfer, although it is not related to the current allegation.

I personally think it’s ridiculous to cancel adult celebrities for what they did a decade or more ago as middle or high school students . But how hypocritical of the posters here to ignore a verified teenage bully when you accept unverified rumors and anonymous claims made against other actors.

Nope. It just bugs the right wing religious nut jobs to see mockery of their anti-Christ “religion.”

It’s a Kdrama, but I loved The Fiery Priest.

Did you even see the film?

The people leading the scam are obviously Chinese nationals who are targeting their own people in China. There are some bad Myanma actors, but they are limited to what are probably local gangs and the corrupt local police station (the local government official and other official police agencies help the Chinese police break up the scam and rescue the hostages.

The Chinese scammers lied to, held captive, and physically abused innocent Myanma men as part of their cyber scams. When Lay’s character comes up with a way to get them out, by convincing the scam leader that he can save $ by using AI instead of the Myanmar workers, the film shows the Chinese leaders not freeing them, but just busing them to other areas of forced labor. The most vicious, horrible abuse in the film was of a Myanmar worker.

Only inattentive people would watch this and think the actual evil scammers were the Myanmars. They were being exploited just like the Chinese citizens, except for the corrupt local police And police corruption is a common theme in dramas all over the world.

It has a near perfect mix of comedy and drama, and Rain is really a great comedic actor. Plus he can effectively carry the more serious, emotional scenes, which always surprises me. I’m not as familiar w ith Kim Bum as an actor, but his and Rain’s characters have a great rapport, and their very different personalities and backgrounds make them great fouls for one another, and also provides a lot of opportunities for character growth.

I’m enjoying this drama.

It’s clear that many people skip episodes and scenes, and then complain about things without having actually watched the drama to understand how everything fits in. I can’t watch that way. Either I like a drama, and watch every minute, and rewatch scenes if there’s something I think I missed, or I drop it. (The exception is in dramas - mostly Cdramas - that have an annoying second lead couple. I will skip all of their couple scenes because I’m not interested in them as individuals or as a couple).

This drama is mostly about the relationship between the two MLs. The romance angle is minor, but used very efficiently in the story, giving a reason for how certain characters come into contact with one another, make some of their decisions, and have motivation for certain actions they take. So far there hasn’t been anything that didn’t progress the story the drama is telling. So skipping scenes or episodes inevitably leads to an incomplete grasp of the plot and subplots, and diminishes the story being told.

People seem to forget that KST had shown ZERO INTEREST in being taught anything, or in being a doctor. And he verbalized that repeatedly. It took a long time for Dr. Cha to find out exactly why KST didn’t want to be a practicing doctor, and even then, KST was not interested in practicing medicine. So the fact that Dr. Cha wasn’t teaching KST makes perfect sense in the context of the drama.