THE SCHOLAR WHO WALKS THE NIGHT
EPISODE 14
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Lee: athletic
Lee: smiling
Kim Sung Yeol: Intense look
Kim Sung Yeol: athletic
Kim Sung Yeol: Handsome
Kim Sung Yeol: Resting
Vampire Scholar: Kim Sung Yeol
Left profile: Kim Sung Yeol
Lee: contemplative mood
Lee: Sexy
Lee's laughter and smiles are his trademarks
REALITY SETS IN
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FORGIVENESS
KILLER OF HER FATHER
Kim Sung Yeol: Shocked at Jo Yang Sun's screams
At the beginning of the Episode 14, Kim Sung Yeol fights with the new vampire, Noh Hak Yong, who almost bites Jo Yang Sun. On defeating him, he raises his hands to thrust the sansa dagger into him. She screams at him to stop and then faints. It dawns on Jo Yang Sun that Kim Sung Yeol is her father’s killer.
Noh Hak Yong has turned into a vampire
Which is worse: your father’s killer or your boyfriend being a vampire?
She accepts the fact that he is a vampire but an idealised romantic version of a vampire.
Jo Yang Sun: distraught
Finding out that Kim Sung Yeol is her father’s killer is a shock. Her father has been turned into a vampire by Gwi. It is not his fault that he is a vampire. If her father sucks her blood, it is also not his fault.
Kim Sung Yeol is also a vampire. Being a vampire is one thing, but being the killer of her father magnifies Kim Sung Yeol's shortcomings. He may have saved her from her vampire father but the fact remains that he is her father’s killer. Can she reconcile herself to the fact that Kim Sung Yeol is a murderous vampire as well as her father's killer? It is the biggest shock of her life and she is, indeed, heartbroken.
Will the relationship between Kim Sung Yeol and Jo Yang Sun peter out? Is there going to be a downward spiral of emotions? Will there be personality or value clashes?
When she refuses to talk to him to thrash things out, Kim Sung Yeol tries to convince himself that the time has come for him to wake up from his dreams of having a human life-mate. 
Disappointed: Kim Sung Yeol
Is Jo Yang Sun going to embrace and accept the fact that he is a vampire with animalistic instincts? His attack on vampire Noh Hak Yong has ruined her image of him being the gentleman scholar or the romantic vampire.
The sudden bolt of alarming remembrance is pulling them apart. She crouches in terror at the sight of him. It actually shows how fragile her love for him is. If she is not careful, her lack of forgiveness will skew her perspective of their future together.
The two lovebirds have become more distant and the lack of forgiveness for him on her part over her father’s death is putting a distance between them. Is she going to freak out in the future every time she sees him killing a human?
In the first place, is there a recipe for success in such a unique relationship? He has a lot of emotional baggage and she has a deeply wounded heart. Are they going separate tracks and separate ways? 
Lovebirds: Two deeply wounded souls
He wants to send her off to China (Qing Dynasty) to prevent her from being sacrificed as she is the ‘secret plan’ who will be able to kill Qwi. She might want to sacrifice herself if she finds that out.
To her utter humiliation, he makes her leave by tearing her slave documents to pieces and telling her he is no longer her master.
Background: Jo Yang Sun gathers up
the torn pieces of her slave document
Perhaps, the two have to step back and look at their relationship in a different light. Does the vampire have any redeeming points? Ah, he certainly has. He loves her deeply and would sacrifice his life for her. It is so romantic!
At the end of the episode, viewers learn that all these issues do not scupper the love relationship between them. He, Kim Sung Yeol is her saviour and protector and he deeply loves her. She is, probably, the redeemer in his life and the tamer of his animalistic instincts. The healing process would be on-going in their lives. He, the gentleman scholar (or Joseon knight in his regal hanbok) will protect her with his life.
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GWI
UNCULTURED VAMPIRE
The cruel and evil vampire, Gwi, has turned Noh Hak Yong, the son of the Deputy Prime Minister, into a vampire and allows him to go on a killing spree. Since Noh Hak Yong is still useful, he brings him back to his underground palace or hideout.
Gwi does not seem to have fun in the regular way that common folks do. All he does is to play with or to kill his victims. Thanks to him, Hwayang-Gak is now in a mess.
Evil vampire, Gwi and his victim
He tells Soo Hyang that he plans to discard her after having fun with her, but he will now allow her to remain with him a bit longer since Hwayang-Gak, her property, is in shambles.
Soo Hyang: Gwi's love interest
The musically accomplished Soo Hyang, whom he has brought back to his underground palace, benefits him as she is a seasoned entertainer. He is probably bored with his meaningless vampire lifestyle of killing people and drinking their blood. Has he not seen the error of his ways? Doesn’t he have a real or healthy lifestyle?
However, he is fortunate that he has got himself a gisaeng or courtesan to bring some sunshine, which he lacks, into his miserable existence. Is the uncouth and uncivilised vampire able to appreciate the beautiful musical notes that the lovely and demure Soo Hyang plays on the Korean traditional musical instrument, the komungo? Probably not.
komomgo
komomgo
komungo
komungo
komungo
komungo
Like the Chinese saying, it is ‘like a treat offered to an unappreciative audience’ or in other words or idiom, to cast pearls before swine, or to play the lute to the cow.
Uncultured Qwi: His main interest is to kill
Chinese saying: 'Play the lute to the cow'
Chinese saying: 'Play the lute to the cow'
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THE REALITY
A VAMPIRE AS A LIFEMATE
Ho Jin, Kim Sung Yeol's aide, fears Jo Yang Sun would be further shocked to discover Kim Sung Yeol would be hunting for fresh human blood the next day but Kim Sung Yeol feels it is better that she sees his true nature. During the full moon, he would need to feed on human blood or else he would get into a frenzy and start killing people.
Finally, the reality of Kim Sung Yeol being a vampire sets in.
Would he want her to be a vampire too? He has tried to fight against his beastly instincts to sink his teeth into the nape of her neck. He loves her and does not want her to be in a similar situation, that is, regularly trying to find sources of human blood to drink. Both her biological father and her adoptive father love her dearly and have sought to protect her from becoming a target of Qwi, and also from turning into a vampire.
Can a vampire and a warm-blood be life-mates? Can she get accustomed to his need for blood and his regular feeding?
Jo Yang Sun soon learns the realities of being the beloved of a vampire. But nothing could have prepared her for the shock of her life. He is a blood feasting vampire! She has to differentiate between the vampire Kim Sung Yeol, the reality, and the vampire Kim Sung Yeol, the fantasy. Most viewers, by now, can differentiate between reality and fantasy. Does she need therapy to help her separate reality from fantasy? And of course, Jo Yang Sung can, by this stage of the story, differentiate fact from fiction.
THE VAMPIRE DRINKS BLOOD
Jo Yang Sun observes Kim Sung Yeol from the doorway.
He has not taken fresh human blood for some time and he has become weak. When Baek In Ho brings back a deer for him, Jo Yang Sun braces herself to face the eye-popping truth of her man, the vampire. She has followed the trail of blood of the injured animal to his quarters.
Horrors!
He drinks the fresh blood of the deer from a bowl. Terror washes over her. She gasps. He suddenly senses her presence but he does not stop because the need for the blood is overpowering. His cold and unemotional eyes latch on to her. Perhaps, he wants the reality of him being a vampire to sink in. His life ought to be transparent to her, if they are going to have a future together.
Kim Sung Yeol, the vampire drinks cervine blood
He lowers the bowl of cervine blood a little and gauges her reaction. Her hands instinctively moves to her chest, as if she is touching her pumping heart.
Everything comes to a screeching halt for her. His silence is telling. Tension and fear fill the air.
He sees all her little hand movements and understands the turmoil she is feeling. He tears his eyes from her and continues drinking and making his otherworldly and gulping sounds as he swallows down the blood.
She looks incredulously at his blood feeding and stares in trepidation at him.
After he has drunk the last drop, he places the bowl of blood down. From where she stands, she can see traces of the blood on the bowl.
He stares up and makes some nauseating sounds as he downs the blood. Blood dribbles repulsively from his mouth, and he bends his head, making retching sounds as if he has an urge to regurgitate the blood.
As she watches, she covers her mouth with her hand in horror. She feels nauseated, and probably, a queasy feeling is swelling up from her stomach. Her breath comes out in gasps. She is almost choking in tears. She holds back her sorrow and alarm. Suddenly, she panics, then darts and takes flight.
Kim Sung Yeol stares vacantly at her disappearing body. His vampirish eyes shine like a wild cat’s in the darkness. He suddenly heaves in frustration and grimaces at his own pain and suffering. If one could see into his mind, one would see a wild, rabid dog rushing round and round in circles chasing its tail endlessly. Ravaged with pain and marred by helplessness, his wrath climbs. Blind fury pours out and his anger boils over. Violently, he sweeps all the things from his table.
Blood drips from his lips
The realization that he is really a vampire shocks her like the suddenness of an explosive earthquake. Her mind is in chaos. Does she feel horror or pity? It is then that understanding dawned on her that vampirism is not a fantasy. Reality sets in.
Kim Sung Yeol scowls at the thought of the awful sight that he has made that might have shocked her to the very core. He is enormously frustrated about his transformation and his irresistible urge to drink blood. He is emotionally distraught. His expression of his hunger for blood gives the viewers the creeps.
The normally stony-faced vampire is desperate and seeks her out. He finds her in a corner, crouching in terror. Without much of a warning, Kim Sung Yeol swoops down with his face only a few inches away. Nothing escapes his attention. She is too terrified to think. His eyes narrowed on her face, noting the rising confusion and bewilderment. Point blank, he confesses that his true identity is that of a vampire. He looks at her squarely in the eye and frankly tells her that one day, he would not know what he might do to her in one of his rages.
She demands to know why he has not shown this side of him earlier and his reason for allowing their relationship to develop that far. He answers that he is a beast who cannot control his instincts. Does it mean that if he has told her earlier that he is a vampire, she would not have allowed her love for him to take root? He almost wants to bite her and she can feel his frustration.
She tells him gently and sympathetically that it is not his fault. That is not what he wants to hear. He then remembers how he has tragically become a vampire by drinking Lee Myung Hee, his first love’s blood. 
What is the difference between Lee Myung Hee and Jo Yang Sun?
Both are torn, heart and soul. Her feelings are vague, and a boundary is drawn between them. When she turns her face away from him, her negative expression is like an open book to him and he catches glimpses of her innermost thoughts.
She has rejected him. One could imagine the depth of his pain and frustration. It takes an emotional toil on him. He is hoarse with suppressed emotion. At this point, he walks off into the darkness of the forest in total dejection. 
Distraught lovers
Jo Yang Sun is left to think about their love. She remembers that previously, he has frankly declared there is no future for their love. When she asks him why, he says she will soon find out one day.
So, has Jo Yang Sun’s romantic feelings for him been stymied by this incident? Can they be together without her turning into a vampire?
Reality sets in: Kim Sung Yeol's vampire identity is exposed
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BETRAYAL
THE GUARDIAN VAMPIRE
STRIPPED OFF HIS PROTECTIVE SILK ROBE
Kim Sung Yeol: In his silk, vampire-mentor robe
Gwi is cleverly planning to get his hands on Kim Sung Yeol’s special guardian-vampire black robe made of silk which has been handed to him by his vampire mentor, Hae Seo. This black robe can protect Kim Sung Yeol from the sun and he is able to walk around in broad daylight like any Joseon resident.
Vampire Noh Hak Yong has torn a piece of the special cloth from Kim Sung Yeol's robes during his previous skirmish with Kim Sung Yeol at Hwayang-Gak. Gwi carefully studies the material which glimmers in the light. He soon understands that it is unique and it can probably protect Kim Sung Yeol from the dangerous rays of the sun. He wants to, by hook or by crook, get his hands on it.
Gwi commands the new queen Choi Hye Ryung to weasel the robe out of Kim Sung Yeol. He bites her neck and orders her to pretend to be Lee Myung Hee. Earlier, the smart but conniving Queen Choi Hye Ryung has thought of a better plan – to get the enemies, Gwi and Kim Sung Yeol to meet. After Gwi defeats Kim Sung Yeol, he would be at the mercy of Jo Yang Sun. If that happens, the vampires will disappear from the face of the Joseon world.
That night is a full moon night. A weakened Kim Sung Yeol has fled his home because of a combination of problems: his emotional problems with Jo Yang Sun and his lack of fresh human blood. He is under great stress and is in a turmoil. Being in a very weak physical state, he collapses in a fuzzy state of mind.
Suddenly, he spies Queen Choi Hye Ryung in her royal sseugae chima, a head dressing, covering her head and body. This part of the clothing, which is typically worn by women who lived in the Joseon era, hides their faces and puts a distance between them and the men.
sseugae chima
Choi Hye Ryung appears before Kim Sung Yeol
Running into Choi Hye Ryung is not fortuitous; it is pure bad luck for Kim Sung Yeol! Choi Hye Ryung pretends to be Lee Myung Hee. She has reopened his emotional wounds. She proffers a hand, and he accepts it trustingly and falls for her treachery. Kim Sung Yeol suddenly falls unconscious.
Choi Hye Ryung commands her henchman to strip him off his special black vampire-guardian robe which can make him almost invincible and almost impossible to defeat.
Kim Sung Yeol: Unconscious
She has a vested interest in bringing his robe back, that is, to maintain her power in the palace. She is depriving him of his protection. Though cold and calculating, she seems wracked with guilt and feels a bit regretful about relieving him of his guardian-vampire clothes which accords him protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. This special robe makes him different from Gwi. Without his vampire robe, he will be forced to live in darkness.
Wily queen and Emotionally troubled vampire
Will she surrender the robe to Gwi? Is she actually a master of deception and manipulation? Has her real nature seeped to the surface? Could she be Lee Myung Hee who probably has been robbed off her memory?
Kim Sung Yeol is not able to discern Choi Hye Ryung's real self in his hazy state due to a lack of blood. Deprived of his protective clothing from his vampire mentor who has passed on the baton to him to destroy Gwi, he is now helpless. He is incapacitated by the loss of his protective robe. He has to face the reality that he cannot protect the Joseon world anymore.
Stripped of his special robe: weakened vampire
Kim Sung Yeol: Affected by the bright, hot and burning sun
Has Choi Hye Ryung changed?
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THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE
QUEEN CHOI HYE RYUNG
Chess
Tantalising suggestions or questions are crystallising.
Are Queen Choi Hye Ryung and Lee Myung Hee the same person? Has Choi Hye Ryung's memory been wiped out?
The queen has no qualms about taking advantage of a weakened Kim Sung Yeol. She has committed a hideous crime against him. It is betrayal if she is the reincarnation of Lee Myung Hee. Kim Sung Yeol’s love for her will be over. The closure would be final. His wound would heal. But, will it come back to haunt her?
Chess: The Queen is stronger than the King
Like in a chess game, the Queen is more powerful than the King. Is Queen Choi Hye Ryung also the power behind the throne? Is she demonstrating, in no uncertain terms, who really runs the show?
King Lee Yoon looks weak and helpless. Though King Hyeonjo suspects that Choi Hye Ryung may have dark secrets and ambitions of her own, he has delegated to her the difficult task of assisting Crown Prince Lee Yoon in ruling the kindom.
King Hyeonjo, when alive, is clearly someone whose major task on behalf of the palace is to guide and shepherd Crown Prince Lee Yoon, and to insulate and protect him. Now that King Hyeonjo is gone, the new king has lost direction especially under the threat of Gwi.
While the king is weak and ineffective, his queen is hard-edged, vindictive and manipulative. Her words are as tart as vinegar especially when dealing with Jo Yang Sun. Is she helping or hurting the dignity of the crown?
Despite her dainty and gentle demeanour, she is thought to be exerting a strong and ruthless force as she could easily obtain Kim Sung Yeol’s robe for the king. Probably he would surrender it to Gwi. |
THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
TRUE COLOURS
KIM SUNG YEOL AND THE KING
The sacrificial lamb
Jo Yang Sun is the sacrificial lamb to be offered to Gwi for the common good of the kingdom.
Earlier in the episode, Baek In Ho discusses the issue with Kim Sung Yeol and both agree that she should be protected.
Queen Choi Hye Ryung suspects that Jo Yang Sun is directly descended from Gwi. She remembers that Gwi has let his guard down once and has divulged to her his secret that he has once impregnated a human, and unbeknownst to him, she has given birth to a baby. Their offspring could supposedly be his nemesis because her blood would destroy him.
In her pursuit to keep her position as queen and gain the king’s affections, she allows herself to obey Gwi’s devious plans to get rid of Kim Sung Yeol. Meanwhile, King Lee Yoon wants to hunt Kim Sung Yeol down despite the objections of the Deputy Prime Minister, who feels their target should be Jo Yang Sun. King Lee Yoon finally goes in search of her.
Kim Sung Yeol: helpless and weakened
Realisation: Robbed of his black robe
His body is intolerant of the sun
Upon waking up, Kim Sung Yeol is shocked by the betrayal of Choi Hye Ryung. He has lost his black robe and the sun is shining into his eyes. His body burns and smoke seems to emanate from his body. Having to confront the reality that he has lost his powers is quite an intimidating situation. He has to half walk and half crawl home.
King Lee Yoon is now unafraid of Kim Sung Yeol because Kim Sung Yeol’s special robe is in his hands.
The king has a defensive note in his voice when he informs Jo Yang Sun that she is to be the sacrificial lamb to annihilate Qwi. She is shocked that she is the secret weapon to destroy Qwi, and that she must offer herself to him so that when he bites her, he will die.
King Lee Yoon, the human vulture, swoops down, cawing his reason why she needs to be sacrificed. He has revealed his true self. He once proclaimed that if she was a lady, he would have made her his lover. Here is a man, and a king at that, mandating that one of his subjects must be sacrificed, not protected for the common good of the kingdom.
Kim Sun Yeol defends his beloved, Jo Yang Sun
Think back about how he represented, portrayed or projected himself earlier as ‘The Lustful Scholar’ who heroically tries to expose the presence of the vampire, Gwi in the palace. He has also said that ‘the King must be righteous for the kingdom to be righteous’.
Viewers can now be a judge of the character of King Lee Yoon, for the coward that he is. Reality and fantasy has to be distinguished. ‘The Lustful Scholar’ is fictional but King Lee Yoon is real.
Kim Sun Yeol: Jo Yang Sun's protector
Kim Sung Yeol arrives back in time to protect Jo Yang Sun.
The human vulture, King Lee Yoon, has descended and it has triggered Kim Sung Yeol’s protective instincts. His heart manifests itself, even though he is too weak to defend Jo Yang Sun. He cannot bear to see the person he loves perish unjustly. His pleading in his weakened state is of no consequence. There is an exchange of heated words. Kim Sung Yeol’s voice drips with bitterness as he admonishes the king for baying for her blood. The eyes of the two men lock. King Lee Yoon’s voice is low with menace but Kim Sung Yeol’s burns hotter.
The true colours of the two men eventually show. King Lee Yoon says dispassionately that it has to be done quickly to save the Joseon world. Cold hearted. Ruthless. These are the words to describe the new King and Queen. Both of them deserve each other.
Would he, later, be held up as an example of a cowardly king?
It is the defining moment of King Sung Yeol’s romantic life. He finally shows quite clearly that he loves and cherishes Jo Yang San, and is even willing to sacrifice his life to protect her.
Kim Sung Yeol bellows at King Lee Yoon that if he sacrifices her, he will regret it forever. On a positive note, the incident is a blessing in disguise for Jo Yang Sun. At least, she is now convinced of Kim Sung Yeol’s true feelings for her and can breathe a sigh of relief. She can take comfort in the fact that he really loves her with his life unlike King Lee Yoon who would sacrifice her at the behest of his father.
Kim Sung Yeol v. King Lee Yoon
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EPISODES 13 AND 14
Lee Joon Gi is a joy to watch in all the episodes, not only for his handsome looks but also for his enormous acting talent. The two episodes show what a consummate actor he is, especially in the scene where Kim Sung Yeol drinks the blood of the deer, and also in the scenes which showcase his emotional interaction with Jo Yang Sun. Viewers stare at him in fascination as the blood goes down his throat. His facial expressions as a vampire and lover are priceless. It’s impossible not to be impressed by him and his acting talent.
Lee Joon Gi
Lee Joon Gi as the vampire Kim Sung Yeol: Exceptional acting talent
Gwi and Soo Hyang’s flirtatious exchange is exciting and interesting, and very amusing. The script writers must inject the drama with more of such scenes.
Lee Soo Hyuk as Qwi
Jang Hee Jin as Soo Hyang
King Lee Yoon and Queen Hye Ryung are in their element. They are getting more thrilling to watch.
Max Shim Chang Min as King Lee Yoon
Kim So Eun as Queen Choi Hye Ryung
The old King Hyeonjo makes quite an impressive show of his courage. One’s heart nearly drops when he plunges into the well.
Lee Soon Jae as King Hyeonjo
People who have watched the drama are excited about it. It is such a fantastic drama. Just remember, some people do not know how to appreciate the best.
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