TSWWTN: Episode 12

EPISODE 12

THE REVELATION THE MISSING LINK

📷 Handsome Kim Sung Yeol wears his gat and beautiful hanbok

📷 Those eyes: Lee Joon Gi in a lift 📷 That look and that nice smile

📷 Sexy vampire

📷 Masked vampire 📷 Sexy long-haired vampire 📷 Lee Joon Gi: Phoenix eyes, Patrician nose and Cupid Bow lips 📷 The eyes have it and the ayes have it too

THE HUNTER IS HUNTED

📷 Vampire power: Prince Lee Yoon is lifted up

📷 Vampire power: Kim Sung Yeol threatens the Crown Prince

📷 Vampire power: The arrow is intercepted

As the story unfolds in the previous episode, the vampire scholar, Kim Sung Yeol, senses that something is amiss and follows his nose until he meets the Crown Prince with his aide.

The Crown Prince suspects that Kim Sung Yeol is more ambitious than what he wants to let on. He accuses the vampire scholar of harbouring the grand ambition of wanting to be the Joseon king after he has wiped out that wicked vampire, Gwi.

📷 Conflict between Kim Sung Yeol and Crown Prince Lee Yoon

Kim Sung Yeol, determined not to tolerate any of the Crown Prince’s searing verbal slander, savagely lifts the Crown Prince up in the air. The Crown Prince swiftly draws out his hawthorn dagger to strike at Kim Sung Yeol but to no avail.

📷 Vampire hunter, Baek Inho

The vampire scholar is also able to deftly intercept an arrow shot by the vampire hunter, Baek Inho, one of the Crown Prince’s supporters.

📷 Vampire Kim Sung Yeol

📷 The vampire with the intercepted arrow

📷 Shocked: Jo Yang Sun

Jo Yang Sun comes upon the scene in time to see all these  and more. She sees Kim Sung Yeol’sfrightening change in facial expression and demeanour when he screws up his eyes. She has never seen him in that light – a ferocious beast. He is like two different personalities, a ferocious beast having superhuman strength one moment, and a regal awe-inspiring scholar and a gentle lover lavishing gentle kisses the next. He is indeed an enigma to her.

📷 Kim Sung Yeol intercepts an arrow

Kim Sung Yeol, fearful that his vampire secret would be leaked out, hurriedly herds Jo Yang Sun back home. He admonishes her for carelessly wandering around, and then, explains that the Crown Prince and the King have submitted totally to Gwi.

📷 Surprised: Arrival of Jo Yang Sun 

📷 Kim Sung Yeol drags Jo Yang Sun home

📷 Kim Sung Yeol fears his secret would be exposed

THE SENILE AND FOOLHARDY KING

📷 The foolish Joseon king

Kim Sung Yeol, after finally winning the trust and confidence of Crown Prince Lee Yoon, requests for an audience with the Joseon king.

📷 Soo Hyang helps Kim Sung Yeol with his official robes

📷 Soo Hyang adjusting the straps of his official robes

📷 King Sung Yeol enters the throne room

📷 An audience with the king:  Kim Sung Yeol in his official robes

King Seonjo, seen at first to be a worthless and weak king, seems to do an about-turn. He has bent to the will of the evil vampire, Gwi, in the past.

But now, he takes on a different mantle. Kim Sung Yeolsurrenders Crown Prince Jung Hyun’s diary to him but to his dismay and horror, the king tears and burns the most important page containing 6 names which would solve the mystery of how to tackle Gwi. He seems impatient about dispatching Gwi and wants to deal with Gwi in his own way and on his own terms. He wants to destroy Gwi on his grandson's wedding day. Is the king deluded? He seems to have lost touch with reality and incapable of thinking strategically. His word is law.

📷 The king burns a page from Crown Prince Jung Hyun's diary 📷 Kim Sung Yeol: Great disappointment

📷 Kim Sung Yeol prostrates before the king

📷 Kim Sung Yeol: commanded to obey the king

They discuss the three ways, as indicated in Crown Prince Jung Hyun’s diary, to get rid of Gwi.

1. The royal will is crucial. The king must not be in cahoots with Gwi, and has to, of his own volition, choose to oppose the evil Gwi.

2. Only a humane vampire guardian, that is Kim Sung Yeol, can overcome Gwi.

3. Of all those six persons who are connected on the maternal side (to the imperial family?), only one has survived, that is, Jo Yang Sun. Only her blood can kill Gwi. If he drinks her blood, he will die.

Despite being persuaded by Kim Sung Yeol to postpone putting his ambitious plan into action, the foolish king plans to remove Gwi in his lifetime. Being old, he has not much time left and he is not about to put his plans on hold. The King commands Kim Sung Yeol to obey him or else his contrary action would be tantamount to treason. The vampire scholar is compelled to close ranks behind the king and prepares to do battle with Gwi during the royal wedding.

Kim Sung Yeol fears that it would be his last battle and gives Jo Yang Sun a loving goodbye kiss. She is oblivious of the king’s grandiose plan that would putKim Sung Yeol’s life in jeopardy.

📷 Kim Sun Yeol smiles at his beloved

📷 Jo Yang Sun is confused by his smile

📷 The lovers lock eyes 📷 Moving closer 📷 Closer  📷 The kiss

📷 Kim Sung Yeol's goodbye kiss

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1055993047767075&fref=nf Goodbye Kiss

The senile and foolhardy king wants to lure Gwi out of his hideout during his grandson’s Crown Prince Lee Yoon’s wedding to Choi Hye Ryung, the Prime Minister’s daughter. 

To all intents and purposes, the king is vindicated as he does consult the vampire hunter’s opinion about the practicality of his plan, but the only response of Baek Inho is that everything has been prepared and it is too late to change plans.

The king is wisdom-challenged. A lifetime of belief in the absolute superiority of the Joseon kingship has made him intolerant of the opinions of his more intelligent subjects, like Kim Sung Yeol. He has laboured under the fallacy that only kings could think. The lack of a proper strategy is one the king’s shortcomings and failings. He does not even have a contingency plan in the event of the failure of his controversial scheme.

The overconfident and impulsive King is, in effect, digging his own grave, for later, he rightfully decides to wholly take the blame for the disastrous failure of his grandiose plan. He also instructs Crown Prince Lee Yoon to sacrifice Seo Jin or Jo Yang Sun to Gwi. Her blood is the key to the downfall of Gwi.

A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

As viewers know it, Choi Hye Ryung’s marriage to the Crown Prince has been artfully orchestrated by her. She confides in Gwi about her ambitions. She wants to be of a higher status than her father, the Prime Minister, whom she despises as he has betrayed her in order to ascend the political ladder. He has offered her to be Gwi’s helper and that has driven her mother to insanity. Through her persuasive talk and manipulation, she is able to influence the not so wily vampire, Gwi into contracting the marriage of convenience for her.

The King is mandated by Gwi to arrange the marriage of the Prime minister’s daughter, Choi Hye Ryung, to the handsome Crown Prince. She is more than enthusiastic about the coupling but the Crown Prince does not reciprocate her feelings.  To gain the Crown Prince’s favour and approval, she even masterminds an ‘accidental’ meeting with the crown prince to tell him that she aspires to help the palace to save the Joseon world. At the same time, she shrewdly arranges for herself to be shot by her own henchman in order to win his trust and confidence.

Choi Hye Ryung meets Crown Prince Lee Yoon

📷 Choi Hye Ryung, with Crown Prince Lee Yoon: After being shot by an arrow

At that point in time, the prince does not know that she is to be betrothed to him. The clueless fellow falls for her matrimonial trap because later, he quickly agrees to Gwi’s earlier proposal that he marries her.   Choi Hye Ryung seems to have those two males neatly wrapped around her dainty fingers. What exactly is her plan? To be the power behind the throne?

THE ROYAL WEDDING

The royal wedding ceremony is magnificent but it is a bit too short and keeps the viewers wanting more. Crown Prince Lee Yoon and the newly crowned princess, Choi Hye Ryung look so charming together.

Their elaborately embroidered wedding robes and headgear are splendid. Red is a celebratory colour for the Koreans and the Chinese. The Crown Princess wears a daesu, a crown adorned with ornaments whileCrown Prince Lee Yoon wears the Myeonryugwan, a crown which consists of a flatboard with dangling beaded strings in front and at the back.

📷 Royal Wedding Day

The Crown Princess’s red attire, according to tradition, symbolises that she is a helper and blessing to the future king.

The pair of birds, a pattern on the robe, signifies the harmony between yin and yang, or the affinity between the married royal couple. 

📷 Royal Wedding rites

According to Joseon Royal Wedding rites, the couple should have their first dance together but then as the story goes, the green-eyed vampire Gwi interrupted everything.

The vampire wants to bring the crown prince to his knees. Previously, Gwi has even mocked and insulted him by suggesting that he spends the wedding night with Choi Hye Ryung.

It is not amusing to watch the deliberation with which Gwi  charges into the new palace grounds to exert his power. The viewers want to throw him out of the Joseon world and wipe the smirks off his evil (ahem, handsome) face!

📷 Evil but handsome vampire

Royal wedding between Crown Prince Lee Yoon and Choi Hye Ryung

KIM SUNG YEOL BATTLES GWI LEE JOON GI The Action Star Soo Hyang wants to go with Kim Sung Yeol to battle Gwi. She wants to die by his side even if he does not return her love but he tells her gently and in a way that brooks no argument that she must not go. She cannot protest but turns away in tears not because he does not allow her to go with him but because he tells her to take care of Jo Yang Sun, should he not return. 📷 Discussion: The attack on Gwi Was it time for her to give up? No, she goes anyway. When Gwi appears and insults the royal family and asks to be served a drink by the bride, Soo Hyang offers to pour him the wine. She is dressed in a splendid gisaeng or courtesan dress complete with a huge hat, known as Jeonmo. The frame of the hat  is made from bamboo.

📷 Kim Sung Yeol stands guard during the royal wedding

The militia has been commanded to fire at Gwi after Soo Hyang has poured him the wine. Gwi fights with the vampire hunter, Baek Inho and palace militia. He smashes his challengers and wreaks havoc in the palace grounds. The vampire hunter tries shooting and also knifing Gwi with a hawthorn dagger but he is thrown like a toy to the ground by Gwi. Firepower from the militia’s guns cannot kill Gwi but only stun him for a while. The militia are easily vanquished. 📷 Fighting the Prime Minister's henchmen As expected, Lee Joon Gi is shown in an impressive display of his martial arts skills. As Kim Sung Yeol, he battles it out with the ambitious Prime Minister and his lackeys outside the palace walls to protect the royal family. 📷 Kim Sung Yeol: Protecting the royal family 📷 Kim Sun Yeol: Shielding the royal family from harm He does not have any weapons. He jumps out from nowhere and sweeps his feet against them and they are felled by his explosive tornado kicks. Jumping, somersaulting in the air and swinging his feet round and round, his hanbok rotates, swirls and flies. He manages to dislodge some swords and he reverse-punches some challengers to the ground. 📷 Kim Sung Yeol:  Fighting with Gwi After saving the royal family, he confronts Gwi. Both bellow and roar like wild beasts and get into a fist fight. Throwing a weapon at Gwi and injuring him, Kim Sung Yeol is able to stall for time for his getaway. 📷 Kim Sung Yeol:  Sexy leg: A captivating & sensual stance

📷 Fight: Kim Sung Yeol and Gwi

📷 Gwi: The face of evil Kim Sung Yeol quickly carries the injured vampire hunter, Baek Inho to safety but alas, the hunter dies from his mortal wounds. Fortunately, in his dying breath, he is able to disclose the crucial piece of information to Kim Sung Yeol that Seo Jin or Jo Yang Sun is the missing link in his quest to kill the evil vampire, Gwi. The Secret: Jo Yang Sun is the key to the destruction of Gwi

THE REVELATION

What Kim Sun Yeol does not know about Jo Yang Sun in the earlier episodes becomes crystal clear to him in Episode 12. The puzzle clicks into place.

Jo Yang Sun is the maternal link! She is Seo Jin, the daughter of Doctor Seo Jeong Jin and she is the childhood friend of Crown Prince Lee Yoon, who has given her the calligraphy or writing brush box.

Coincidentally, Kim Sung Yeol is connected to her in a strange way. After being bitten by her own father, who has been turned into a vampire by Gwi, Kim Sung Yeol appears in time to kill her father, and save her. He then heals her. Everything,  at that point, seems to make sense.

Jo Yang Sun is the key to the future downfall of Gwi. It is known to the viewers that Gwi loves the scent of her blood. The viewers do not know why, but her blood will certainly kill Gwi or cast him into eternal perdition.

A memory must be leaching into Kim Sung Yeol’s consciousness. He will definitely remember his 120 year old resolution to destroy Gwi.

The viewers will have to second guess his decision of what he would do about Jo Yang Sun. What is he going to do with this revelation?

The viewers can sense the turmoil that arises in Kim Sung Yeol from the unexpected and astonishing revelation.

What would be his next step? What if Jo Yang Sun finds out that he is the murderer of her father? Will she also be thinking that he does not love her and will sacrifice her to Gwi just to complete the mission he has set out to do?

Would he be like Hamlet asking that crucial question?

"To sacrifice Jo Yang Sun or not to sacrifice Jo Yang Sun?" That’s the question.

His 120 year old lifetime mission will be squandered if he does not sacrifice her. He will be tortured this time round. He has fallen head over heels in love with her and it will not be an easy decision. It’s like giving his lady love a death sentence. At some critical point in his life, he would have to confront his dilemma.

Viewers might shout, “Hurray!  She can also join him in his vampire world as his wife. Wouldn’t it be so romantic? There’s a smattering of truth in it. But then, is life as simple as that?

Perhaps, destiny has more in mind for them than the two being happily married with little vampires flooding the home.

Kim Sung Yeol’s vampire’s life may not be such a happy thing. Kim Sung Yeol is cursed to be a man and a beast - to be a vampire. He is always hankering and hungering for blood. If he loves her, he would not wish that for her.

Kim Sung Yeol might have an overdeveloped sense of duty as well, and saving the Joseon world takes precedence over everything else, including his love for her. Viewers have to be reminded that his aim at the beginning is to disappear after his mission of destroying Gwi is completed. There might not be much music left in him and he might just kill himself even though the Crown Prince Lee Yoon has suggested that he, Kim Sung Yeol should not disappear but live on to take good care of Jo Yang Sun.

Kim Sung Yeol must have been exhausted and stressed out from the constant and lonely battle with Gwi who flies out from nowhere to attack him. Would the vampire scholar have a deep longing for peace and quiet, and also a loving family life?

The scriptwriters, would probably, have Jo Yang Sun make the difficult decision of sacrificing herself. Would it, in any way, work in her favour in the end?

EPISODES 11 & 12

The beautiful Kim Soo Eun plays the manipulative and conniving Choi Hye Ryung to the hilt. She and good-looking Max Shim Chang Min make a wonderful pair.

📷 Kim Soo Eun

📷 Max Shim Chang Min

Choi Tae Hwan who plays Ho Jin, Kim Sung Yeol’s aide, is quite a funny character. He is a lot of fun and he is lucky because he seems to get to say funny things.

📷 Choi Tae Hwan

Lee Soon Jae’s portrayal of the silly king makes one so sad about the state of affairs of the palace. One sympathizes with him.

📷 Lee Soon Jae

Now, what can we say about the two main characters, the very handsome and sexy Lee Joon Gi, and the beautiful and sweet Lee Yu Bi? Oh, they look so good together and they really have great chemistry.

📷 Great chemistry: Jo Yang Sun and Kim Sung Yeol

However, words cannot describe the brilliant actor that Lee Joon Gi is. How does one describe the kind of energy that emanates from his eyes? His eyes are always talking, even when his lips have stopped moving! And of course, his action scenes are always so exciting.

📷 Expressive Eyes: Lee Joon Gi

📷 In pain: Kim Sung Yeol's expression

📷 Kim Sung Yeol: A bullet is taken out

📷 Kim Sung Yeol: Playful smile

Vampire Gwi and Soo Hyang would make a great couple too. They both look so beautiful, especially Gwi, with his make-up and gaudy red hanbok.

📷 Gwi and Soo Hyang

Jang Hee Jin and Lee Yu Bi are great actresses, but Lee Joon Gi is a class act and is in a league of his own.

📷 Jang Hee Jin

📷 Lee Yu Bi

📷 Charming smile: Lee Joon Gi as Kim Sung Yeol 📷 Lee Joon Gi: A Class Act - he is in a League of His Own