MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO 
One would not consider the formidable and nefarious
Queen Yoo to be mealy-mouth; she had let Wang So in on the murder conspiracy.
Poison was to be the ingredient to bump off the Crown Prince, Wang Yo’s rival. Though he was not privy to the nasty and inconvenient details,
she dared him to disrupt the plans. As one might have imagined, Wang So’s lie
of wanting to be king had not gone down well with her. She had set her sights
on becoming the future Queen Mother behind the throne of her favourite son,
Wang Yo, not him. There was little doubt that, with her clever murder plot, she
intended to remove Prince Wang Mu once and for all.
On the other hand, it was not a surprise that Yeon Hwa wanted Hae Soo dead since she was the obstacle to her
brother, Wang Wook’s ambition for the throne. The Eighth Prince, intended to
marry Hae Soo and bring her away from the palace. He had refused to be
embroiled in Goryeo court politics. But Hwangbo Yeon-Hwa was rallying her
brother to strive to be the next king so that their family and clan could be
protected.
Wang So was in a quandary; he was caught in the horrifying but meticulously planned murder.
When Wang So ingested the tea, the audience
might have held their breath. Was the tea poisoned or not poisoned? Even
though the Fourth Prince was resolute and calm in the face of adversity, his
agitation could be seen in his hands which he had difficulty in controlling. The
prince could feel that the poison had taken almost immediate effect. The slight
tremors in his hands were almost impossible to hide. As he held the cup for
another round of tea to be poured by Hae Soo, his hands were a little shaky.
Staring at Hae Soo as he partook of the
poisoned tea, he thought in wounded agony, ‘You’re poisoning me.’ One
could feel his intense personal misery but he had to stay mum about the plot. The
attempt to protect her was a testament to his great and enduring love for her
which, at this point in time, had remained unrequited.
It was impossible to second guess his
actions. He was slowly succumbing to the poison running through his body.
Would he remain silent in the face of his terrible suffering? Only the malevolent
conspirators, Queen Yoo and Wang Won AKA the lowlife, knew of his suffering. Yeon
Hwa must have been quivering in her seat. What happened was entirely unexpected.
One has little doubt about the insidious
effects of the poisoned tea on Wang So’s consciousness as he struggled to
overcome his pain. He quickly requested for King Taejo’s permission to leave.
Turning away, Wang So tried to control the
blood from dribbling down his mouth. With the haemorrhaging, blood began
dripping out of his mouth. He must have experienced difficulty in
breathing. It was apparent that his neck muscles had cramped, resulting in
the constriction of his neck veins. The veins popped out, forming horrible bulges.
Wang So’s eyes and face seemed to be swollen. He gasped for breath. Feeling increasingly dazed and
confused, he staggered after Hae Soo who was totally oblivious of his
suffering. Tears of helplessness threatened to drip from his eyes. His neck muscles constricted further and his body was thrown
into convulsions. Was there a creeping paralysis of his body?
Wang So tried to contain his emotions. His steps faltered. All
this while, he had been trying to slow down the effects of the poison. Then, he spurted out blood.
Hae So did not realise his presence until he slumped to the floor and lost consciousness.
This poignant moment is one of the most memorable scenes in the drama.
 
When Hae Soo reached him, she was in a panic.
Fate did not allow Wang So to die. He was able to survive because of his
strict martial arts training under Grand General Park Soo Kyung. After the Royal Physician had administered the antidote to halt the damage to his body, Wang So
recovered. Wang So lived to tell the tale of the vicious
plot.
Hae Soo, who had been grilled, tortured and implicated in the plot, was thrown into
prison to await
her punishment. The gravity of her crime demanded her life. Wang Wook visited
her and reported that Wang So’s life was saved by the timely and judicious administration of
the antidote.
 
Heaven and hell broke loose when the Crown Prince and Hae Soo
were accused of being conspirators in the attempted murder of the Fourth
Prince.
The litany of accusations, which discredited the two, was potentially devastating. Poison was found among Hae Soo’s belongings. But, in one surprising move, Park Young Gyu, Wang Yo’s father-in-law, accused the Crown Prince of trying to murder Wang So who supposedly was his rival for the Goryeo throne. He declared that a precious necklace was found with the poison. He implied that due to his close relationship with Hae Soo, Wang Mu must have gifted the jewellery to her. The evidence, though circumstantial, pointed to their conspiracy. There were sneaking suspicions that the accusations were false. In fact, it was obvious to the Goryeo royalty that the items had been surreptitiously planted in Hae Soo’s room.
Wang Wook raised doubts about the far-fetched accusations,
arguing that the poison had been intended for the Crown Prince.
No one could accuse the kind-hearted Wang Mu of wilful
blindness to reality. The Crown Prince was aggrieved and regretted that his
heir-apparent position had generated trouble for the innocent victims in the
diabolical palace plot. He pleaded with his father to appoint another
successor. But Taejo, going to the very heart of the matter, spelt out clearly why he was the chosen one. There was a distinction to be made. Wang Mu, the king’s
first born, was the son of Wang Geon, being born before the founding of
Goryeo. In contrast, the others were the sons of the King Taejo. The king had
an affinity with Wang Mu as they had shared a long history of fighting together side by side to
establish the kingdom and, he wanted to give his first son everything.
  
When Wang Wook reported to Wang So about the false accusations,
the latter revealed that Queen Yoo was the mastermind of the plot. Wang So
requested Wang Wook to stand up for Hae Soo. But, the Eighth Prince never did. Being a coward,
he appealed to Court Lady Oh to speak up for Hae Soo instead.
 
Soon after, Wang So visited Hae Soo. On seeing her tortured
body, his heart must have splintered into a thousand pieces. The young woman was
confused that he, the Fourth Prince, would even sacrifice his life for her, a
mere nobody. Who was she that he would do it for her? She was moved by his
sacrificial love and admitted that it would be harder for her to reject him from then onwards.
He smiled that funny smile of his and told her not to run away from him.
Since both of them had survived, they were destined to be together.
When Wang Wook discovered that Yeon Hwa was involved in the
murder attempt, he thundered at her recklessness. If her crime was exposed,
their family would be punished. Yeon Hwa was unrepentant; she had been bitterly resentful of the fact that her brother had discarded his chance to be king for a mere court lady.
 
Wang So was understandably distraught. When he went to Taejo to
plead for Hae Soo’s life, he displayed a maturity beyond his years. Love for
Hae Soo, which outweighed even personal concerns, had changed him. For the
first time in his life, Wang So boldly stood up to his father. Indignant that
the king had failed to conduct investigations with a fine-tooth comb, he
castigated his father for carelessly laying the blame of murder on an
innocent court lady, who was above suspicion. The king was being dominated by turbulent politics in the palace. In order to
protect the status quo and save his favourite son, the king would not hesitate put blameless victims to death. Taejo’s hands seemed to be shackled by the
powerful and untouchable queen and court officials who tried to pervert the
course of justice. He now
saw the king and his moral standards in a new perspective. A person in authority had to be
responsible and accountable for his deeds. ‘The owner of a sword must wield his sword properly.’
Wang Wook requested Court Lady Oh to intervene for Hae Soo. She,
in turn, questioned why he, himself, didn’t stand up for her despite
professing that he loved her dearly. Wang Wook proved to be Wang So’s inferior; he
did not have the edge that Wang So had. And that was fierce courage, passion
and determination for the girl he loved. Wang Wook, in short, was a coward.
Court Lady Oh predicted that one day, he would regret it.
But, Court Lady Oh did plead with Taejo to hang her instead of
Hae Soo. She was once the love of his life but he had cast her aside in
favour of Queen Yoo. The King did not believe her when she took the blame for the murder attempt. Having a painful terminal illness and
near death’s door, she requested that she be put out of her misery. Given
Goryeo’s political climate, Taejo had to admit defeat and abide by her final
request.
 
That Hae Soo was to die was too shocking a prospect for Wang So
to contemplate. When she was brought out to be hanged, he rushed there to
save her. Hae Soo was not waiting for him, but for her Eighth Prince, for their final meeting but Wang Wook was nowhere to be found. Stalling for time, Wang So protected her with his martial arts and swordsmanship prowess.
 
To Wang So’s relief, the astronomer appeared in time to
announce that Hae Soo was innocent and would be freed. It seemed that the culprit
was Concubine Oh who was to be hanged in Hae Soo’s place.
It was a sad goodbye for Hae Soo and Court Lady Oh. The older lady advised her to be vigilant every
step of the way as she was walking on thin ice in the palace.
It is a chilling example of evil, twisted ambition and the
whitewashing of justice.
None knew what had transpired between Taejo and Concubine
Oh. The politically experienced king was no country bumpkin; he certainly
knew about Queen Yoo’s conspiracy. It
was shocking news to everyone except Queen Yoo that Concubine Oh would be the sacrificial lamb.
Hae Soo refused to accept the reality of the situation and knelt in
front of the main palace to beg the king for mercy. But the king had already
decreed that Concubine Oh would die. Queen Hwangbo, who had also, in the past, been a victim of injustice, tried to talk the king out of it. The king remained resolute and unemotional.
As she knelt, it seemed that the heavens cried with her. The imagery of the pelting rain symbolises the protest of the heavens against the
injustice. The princes appeared but they, being cowardly and having the herd mentality, were
reluctant to join her.
But, Hae Soo's persistence and courage moved Wang So.  
Wang Wook appeared but he, fearing the king’s wrath, also distanced
himself from her. He did not want to run the risk of being called a rebel
prince. Their romance was star-crossed. There was a question mark in her
mind. Did he really love her? Did the rain slowly wash away the love Hae Soo
had for Wang Wook? However, what was certain was her romance with Wang Wook would take
a turn for the worse in the future. He came up short compared to Wang So. His
cowardice pointed to the end of their romance.
The fact that Wang So, who was predestined for greatness, would
put his life on the line for Hae Soo showed her importance in his heart. This
resonates well with the audience.
Yin and Yang. White and Black. They were opposites: they complemented and completed each other. She was soft and full of emotion while he was hard and personified reason. Yet, Hae Soo and Wang So were on the same page. You cannot have one without the other. Yin and Yang symbolises the starting point for change.
Driven by his all-consuming love, the Fourth Prince, dressed in black robes with a white cummerbund, courageously and majestically stood in the driving rain, shielding her with his huge black cape while she knelt in her white robes. His heart must have been heavy knowing that she was frail and sick from the torture that had recently been inflicted on her. 
When she felt faint, Wang So caught hold of her in his arms. His touch
was tender and his gaze was caring as he listened to her sobs. She couldn’t
imagine another person dying in her place. She didn’t want to live. It was a
poignant scene.
‘Yuanfen’. ‘Destiny’ and ‘Fate’. Wang So and Hae Soo’s meeting
with each other was ‘predestined’ and they were ‘fated’ to be with each
other.
In this unforgettable romantic scene, the handsome Goryeon prince, Wang So, made no secret of
his extraordinary love for his lovely beloved, Hae Soo.
In this awesome and picture-perfect scene, the two are flanked by two huge solid columns as the rain lashed at them. The courage, passion and strength that the Fourth Prince had so far displayed must have made her realise that he truly loved her. His level of courage parallelled hers and made his love greater, deeper and truer than that of Wang Wook’s. His angsty emotions were deeply moving. The Fourth Prince must have slowly but surely crept into Hae Soo’s heart.  You have to hand it to Lee Joon Gi - he is most amazing in this episode of the drama. But, it goes without saying that his performance has been very impressive and unforgettable throughout the drama. |