Mr. Sunshine: Episode 5

by dramallama

The plot continues to take a back seat as we delve more into Eugene’s exploration of his intentions. While he outwardly claims to be an American soldier, he finds himself sympathizing with the Joseon people. His curiosity about the powerless Joseon people — some blissfully frivolous like Hee-sung and others who are fiercely loyal like Ae-shin — seems to drive some of his indecision about whose side he’s on, whether he’s either a traitor or a patriot, and how he defines his loyalties.

 
EPISODE 5 RECAP

Hee-sung, the son of wealthiest noble family in Joseon, arrives at noblewoman Ae-shin’s house and expresses his regret for not arriving sooner, implying that he admires Ae-shin’s beauty. He offers his fiancée his prepared flowers, but Ae-shin doesn’t take them and simply stares at him with a straight face. He wonders if it’s the flowers or him that she doesn’t like.

Meanwhile, at Hee-sung’s home, Joseon-American naval officer Eugene seeks revenge on the family that killed his parents. Pointing the gun at Hee-sung’s father, Eugene demands to know where his parents were buried, but the nobleman admits that he has no idea because all slaves were buried together.

Eugene threatens to ruin the nobleman’s family if they don’t recover his parents’ bodies and tells them to notify the U.S. embassy if they do. The nobleman and his wife are confused why they would inform the U.S. embassy, so Eugene introduces himself as an American naval officer. Then he lowers his gun and walks out of the house.

Back at Ae-shin’s house, Hee-sung apologizes for being so late. Ae-shin accuses him of arriving unannounced after ten years, and tells him to set another time to return because Grandfather is away paying his respects to their ancestors. Hee-sung asks if Ae-shin will be less angry if he returns at a better time, but Ae-shin isn’t so easily assuaged. She claims that she’s not angry; rather, she’s surprised that Hee-sung is exactly as she’d imagined: pale, soft, and weak.

Hee-sung takes Ae-shin’s insults lightly and laughs. He admits that Ae-shin was nothing like he’d imagined and says that she’s like a flower. With a sincere look, he offers her the flowers again, and Ae-shin stares back, still doubtful.

A servant timidly reports to Dong-mae about Hee-sung’s return from Japan and his visit to Ae-shin’s house. Dong-mae offers him a generous payment for this intel, and the servant thanks him profusely, promising to report more news to Dong-mae.

Ticked off by this news, Dong-mae looks more irritated than usual as he makes his evening rounds in his territory. A clueless Japanese man doesn’t actively avoid Dong-mae and his posse as they walk by, and Dong-mae lets out his anger on this innocent man by beating him to the ground.

His right-hand man, Yujo, stops Dong-mae from going any further and offers to take care of the situation. Dong-mae insists that he was angered by the underdressed Japanese man defaming the reputation of the Japanese Empire, but it sounds like Dong-mae’s convincing himself that this burst of anger had nothing to do with Ae-shin’s fiancé.

The prominent ceramist, Eun-san, offers a porcelain piece to the Japanese-siding foreign affairs minister and claims that he’s the first to receive the coveted porcelain among all those begging for pieces. The minister throws him a bar of gold as payment, and Eun-san thanks him for the recognition.

As Eun-san leaves with his apprentice, we find out that the porcelain was actually the work of the apprentice. While the apprentice trembles in fear of getting exposed, Eun-san celebrates his apprentice’s talent and suggests that they treat themselves to a meal. As they walk, Eun-san recognizes Eugene on horseback and thinks back to their mysterious interaction back at this home, where Eugene seemed to treat him with an eerie familiarity.

Eugene’s friend and superior, Kyle, is waiting for him when he returns to his office and asks if he got his revenge. Eugene looks accusingly at Gwan-soo, who admits that he revealed Eugene’s schedule to Kyle because he was so insistent. Kyle breaths a sigh of relief when Eugene implies that he didn’t kill the nobles, and Eugene admits that he’s unsure of what he’ll bestow on his enemies.

Gwan-soo mentions that Kyle wasn’t the only person asking for Eugene’s schedule, and Eugene comes face to face with the young boy he saved from the Japanese soldiers. The boy wants to repay him for his help and offers to do anything. This situation reminds Eugene of his youth, when he begged the American man to let him repay his debt. He realizes now how uncomfortable and conflicted the man must have felt, and he rejects the boy’s offer. From around the corner, Eun-san watches this interaction.

At the archery range, Ae-shin’s aunt expertly shoots her arrow at the target, and her sister-in-law compliments her all-encompassing talent. But that comment becomes back-handed when the sister-in-law says the exception to Aunt’s talent is her lack of a son to inherit Grandpa’s wealth. Sister-in-law suggests that Aunt adopt a son so that all the inheritance doesn’t default to the family’s son-in-laws, but Aunt isn’t too keen on this suggestion.

After nailing another arrow in the bull’s-eye, Aunt says that she’ll follow Grandfather’s wishes, and if they choose to adopt a son to inherit the family’s wealth, she has no intention of adopting any of Sister-in-law’s children. They wonder why Hee-sung’s mother is missing from their regular archery meeting, and Aunt assumes that she’s probably to ashamed to show her face after Hee-sung only just returned after ten years away from his fiancée.

But Hee-sung’s mother’s absence is due to the shock of being confronted by the revenge-seeking Eugene. Her husband curses the modernization of Joseon for allowing such lowly people to dare to point a gun at nobles. Realizing the full extent of Eugene’s threat on their family, Hee-sung’s mother decides to send a telegram to Hee-sung, whom she still believes is in Japan. She wants him to stay clear of Joseon until they get rid of Eugene, and she rushes out to send this urgent message.

But as we know, Hee-sung is already in Joseon and gambles at Glory Hotel in a game of Go-Stop with Ae-soon, Ae-shin’s cousin, and her gambling friends. Ae-soon confidently puts in all her money in the pot, but her impressive hand is just barely beaten — this time by Hee-sung. He happily divides the riches among all the women, though Ae-soon still looks distraught by her losses.

Ae-shin paces in her room while her maid expresses approval of Hee-sung, saying that he’s handsome and even brought flowers. But Ae-shin finds this unsatisfactory — he only brought her mere flowers.

Ae-shin practices shooting at her hideout and thinks about Hee-sung’s comment about her being like a flower. Instead of being flattered, Ae-shin considers this the reason to break of her engagement.

Eugene rides through the forest on his horse, and we see haunting contrast of his childhood self running for his life and grown Eugene riding comfortably on horseback. He visits Ignobleman’s old home, where he lived and served with his parents.

He remembers a moment with his mother, and in a flashback, we watch a conversation between them. His mother stared at a flower and told Yoo-jin that she would like to be reincarnated as a flower in a grand home that he would live in. Eugene reminisces while watching this barren house from above.

Dong-mae continues to seethe with anger in response to Ae-shin’s fiancé returning to Joseon. He “practices” martial arts with his lackeys, which is basically just him aggressively throwing them on the ground. Right-hand man Yujo stops him before he gets carried away, but his anger doesn’t look fully managed yet.

Hee-sung happily strolls through the town, greeting the local people and flirting with women. He sees a woman who looks vaguely familiar, and he suddenly realizes it’s his mother. Surprised and scared to see Hee-sung in Joseon, his mother scolds him for being out of touch, and they head to Glory Hotel to discuss matters.

Hee-sung’s mother tells him to stay away from their home and be anonymous. Cue: two ladies walking by their table and greeting Hee-sung by name. It’s clearly too late for that. She scolds him and chases him up the stairs as Hee-sung flees to his room.

Ae-shin stares at Hee-sung’s flowers in her room and grabs them to throw out. But before she can, she’s summoned outside by her servants. She goes outside to find a carriage and a messenger from Glory Hotel delivering a love letter from Hee-sung. He writes his invitation to Glory Hotel in flowery language, and Ae-shin looks offended by this supposed romantic gesture.

At Glory Hotel, Ae-shin confronts Hee-sung about this offensive gesture of inviting her to this hotel, and Hee-sung explains that this is how courtship looks like in Tokyo. Ae-shin reminds him that they’re in Joseon, and she expresses her dissatisfaction with this engagement, candidly admitting that she’s searching for reasons to break it off. Hee-sung tells her to give up on that endeavor because he likes her.

But Ae-shin is out of patience. She admits that initially, she waited. After five years, Grandfather was worried, Aunt cursed at him, and Ae-shin was disappointed. She says that although they had never met, she embraced their families’ promise as her own. She accuses him, “What can a man protect if he can’t even fulfill a promise with a woman?” With this disappointment, she decided to forget him.

Hee-sung accepts Ae-shin’s resolve and proposes a compromise. They can cancel their marriage, and he can take the blame, but he proposes that they remain as friends. Eugene walks into the hotel and watches the two curiously. Ae-shin notices him and takes this opportunity to leave by telling Hee-sung that she’s been summoned by the U.S. embassy. She approaches Eugene and tells him to lead the way, and Eugene does as told. Hee-sung notes this awkward interaction.

Eugene leads Ae-shin through the town until she gives direction to veer left. They find a quiet spot to talk, and Eugene asks about her relationship with Hee-sung. He comments on how Ae-shin is regarded as a precious entity, so the two having conversation over coffee must have meant that they’re close. He asks if they’re comrades, and Ae-shin clarifies that they’re just friends, which makes Eugene wonder if a man and a woman can be just friends.

Ae-shin notices Eugene’s name embroidered on his hat and tries to show off the English she’s learned so far. But she can’t get past “E” because she’s only learned up to “F” in the alphabet. Eugene smiles in amusement, and Ae-shin tries to impress him by sharing the very long English phrase she learned at the school: “Where are you from?” she asks in English. This question triggers flashbacks for Eugene, from his youth and up to current day. He mumbles under his breath that everyone seems to ask that question.

Eugene asks if he’s done being used, and Ae-shin apologizes for that. She tells him that she’ll consider his debt repaid from when she allowed him to ride along in the boat. But Eugene has no intention of paying back his debt just yet and asserts that this time, Ae-shin is indebted to him. With that he walks off, back to the hotel.

Dong-mae reports to the Japanese minister in Joseon about the missing document. He asks if it really exists and suggests that they wait for it to appear, since they have no leads on tracking the document. The Japanese consulate expresses his frustration about the missing document and orders Dong-mae to keep his mouth shut in front of Wan-ik, who arrives tomorrow. He also warns Dong-mae not to conspire with Wan-ik, since they’re both of Joseon descent. Dong-mae takes offense to this and claims that he’s always considered himself Japanese.

Dong-mae greets Wan-ik upon his arrival from Japan, and he avoids any questions about the Japanese minister or his slush fund by asking about Wan-ik’s trip. He acts like a sycophant and offers to report any intel about the slush fund to Wan-ik. He claims that he’s feeling loyal to Joseon today, and Wan-ik grins at Dong-mae’s quick wit. Before they board the train, Wan-ik notices a sketch of a woman posted on the bulletin and rips the sketch off the bulletin to take with him.

In the train, Wan-ik comments on how Joseon has modernized. He mentions the rumors of a hotel in Hanseong (modern-day Seoul), and Dong-mae confirms that this exists. Dong-mae asks if he would like to stay there, but Wan-ik refuses. He asks why he would just stay there for a couple days if he could own the place.

At Glory Hotel, two fencers face off in the courtyard, and the winner is none other than Glory Hotel’s owner, Hina. Her opponent asks why she’s so competitive to win, and she answers that she has a lot of enemies. Her loyal worker hands her a glass of water and tries to report something she encountered, and Hina is dismissive until the worker mentions that it’s about Eugene’s room.

The worker explains that Eugene had requested his room to be cleaned, and she noticed that it looked like it had been rummaged through. Hina notes this unwelcome news and tells her worker to keep quiet about it, for it could alarm other guests.

Eun-san sits alone by his home and pieces together the hints to confirm Eugene’s identity. Turns out, Eun-san was the person who rummaged through Eugene’s room, after determining that the U.S. consulate had a high chance of hiding the coveted document. He ordered a woman spy to determine when Eugene’s room would be empty, and the spy had reported that this U.S. consulate was a bit mysterious — he had all the documents to confirm his U.S. citizenship, but he looks like a Joseon person.

While rummaging through Eugene’s room, Eun-san had found the ornament, which reminded him of the young boy who offered this ornament as payment for helping him escape to the U.S.

Eun-san remembers his unsettling interaction with Eugene, when he came to his home and spoke to him with familiarity. It finally dawns on him that the young runaway boy is Eugene, and he laughs at this miracle of a coincidence. His celebration is interrupted by sounds of gunshots nearby, and Eun-san’s Japanese apprentice guiltily confirms that those are the sounds of the Japanese army training. Eun-san tells his apprentice to keep his head up and suggests that they cook dinner together.

As the Japanese army trains, the bald Japanese solider (who Eugene saved the young boy and his sister from) remembers that Eugene belonged to the U.S. forces. He impulsively decides to seek revenge and orders his men to follow him to the embassy.

When the Japanese army marches into the embassy, we see the young boy indebted to Eugene hiding nearby and immediately running to Eugene’s office to report this urgent news. He cries as he tells Eugene that this is all his fault — that Eugene had to intervene because he was too weak and now the Japanese are going to hurt Eugene. Eugene consoles him by saying that he intervened not because the boy was weak but because Joseon is weak. He says that the U.S. is strong and will protect him, unlike Joseon.

But the boy continues to cry out of fear that the large Japanese army will beat and punish Eugene. The mournful cries of the young boy amuse Eugene, who doesn’t seem to worry about the Japanese beating them. Then he wonders how the young boy got here so fast, and through his crying, the boy explains that he scaled the wall.

Eugene walks down the stairs to join his forces standing face-to-face with the Japanese army. Baldy tells his interpreter to translate his demand to capture the American soldier who inflicted harm on a Japanese soldier. The message gets delivered in an amusingly roundabout chain: Baldy’s translator relays the message in Korean, then Gwan-soo translates it to English. Eugene replies in English that he also has a wound — on his heart — and Gwan-soo struggles to relay a diplomatic translation, which ends up being a simple apology.

Baldy doesn’t take the apology well and demands that they cooperate with the investigation. After going through two rounds of translations, Kyle gets the message and happily agrees to be seized to meet their demands. He laughs in fascination about the happenings in Joseon, and Baldy angrily yells at his interpreter to explain why Kyle is laughing.

The Japanese interpreter asks Gwan-soo why Kyle is laughing, and Gwan-soo tells him that it’s obvious that Kyle is sneering at the Japanese demands to capture him for an investigation. The Japanese interpreter gets angry at Gwan-soo, asking how he could possibly translate this to Baldy, and Gwan-soo snaps that it’s none of his business how he translates the message. They begin to bicker aggressively until Baldy has had enough and orders a stand-off.

The Japanese point their guns at the American soldiers, who respond in kind. Eugene takes it from there without the interpreters and calls the two Japanese soldiers, Baldy and his friend, by name. Eugene explains in Japanese that the U.S. holds extensive information beyond their expectations. He tells the two reckless Japanese soldiers that whether they intended or not, they’ve just declared war against the U.S. One bullet will determine the fate of this declaration, and Eugene threatens to make the first shot.

Realizing the dire consequences of their actions, the Japanese soldiers retreat. Kyle commends Eugene’s victory, and Eugene repeats what President Roosevelt told them before being deployed to Joseon: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” With that resolved, Kyle reminds Eugene that they should focus on identifying the gun thief, which Eugene had been avoiding.

Gwan-soo and the other interpreter reconcile with each other over jjajangmyun, and they credit themselves for deescalating the situation to prevent war. The Japanese interpreter offers to give him the list of gunmen if Gwan-soo buys him mandoo, so of course, diligent Gwan-soo obliges.

In his office, Eugene thinks about Ae-shin’s greeting to Eun-san and her mention of a Gunner Jang. Gwan-soo interrupts his thoughts with a list of new leads, which he received from his interpreter friend. He presumes that the gun thief is likely a person who is familiar with guns, so he gives Eugene a list of gunners. Eugene expresses his bewilderment of Gwan-soo’s diligence and asks if Gunner Jang is on the list. Gwan-soo confirms this and seems proud that they were on the same page in this investigation.

Gunner Jang, or Seung-gu as we know him, visits a friend’s metal shop to seek his expertise on weaponry. He reveals the American gun and asks his friend to deconstruct it to analyze its parts. He also asks his friend to put it back together, since he intends on returning it.

Ae-shin’s maid tells Ae-shin about the American soldiers beating up the Japanese soldiers to save the Joseon children, and that the Joseon people are celebrating the American efforts to help Joseon. Ae-shin (notably in her shooting practice outfit, meaning her maid knows some part of her secret) asserts that no country is in Joseon to help, even the U.S. Her maid wonders why the American soldiers helped, and Ae-shin quotes Eugene in her response: Because he can.

As Ae-shin makes her way down the mountain, she finds Eugene waiting for her right at the entrance of her hideout. She’s not surprised by his presence but demands to know what he’s doing there. Eugene informs her that he’s starting to identify all people affiliated with guns as a part of his investigation, and Ae-shin points her gun at him, threatened by this potential investigation. She asks if he’s here to investigate her or Seung-gu, but Eugene claims that isn’t his intention. If it were, then he would have brought an army of American soldiers with him, he says.

He explains that first it was curiosity, then observation, and finally now he’s addressing it. When he first arrived in Joseon, he vowed not to do anything, because anything he did would only help to ruin Joseon. Ae-shin says that he’s already contributed to Joseon’s ruin, but he warns that he’s only done that. He should have initially captured her when he could, but his curiosity stopped him. He’s not sure if it’s because Joseon has changed or if Ae-shin is unusual, but he ultimately decided to turn a blind eye.

Now addressing the consequences of his inaction, Eugene tells Ae-shin to stay in her noblewoman persona for the time being because American soldiers are sure to visit next. Ae-shin lowers her gun and asks why he saved the Joseon children, and Eugene answers that he thought he could win. Ae-shin doesn’t believe him entirely and calls him out for flinching when she pointed her gun at him just now. He explains that then, he thought he would lose.

As Eugene starts to leave, Ae-shin asks which direction he’s headed. She says that she’ll also head that way, which is the same line Eugene used when he first suspected Ae-shin’s secret identity. So they walk side by side through the woods, with Ae-shin’s servants keeping a close eye on them from behind.

Eugene asks Ae-shin why she’s trying to save Joseon, and she stops and passionately responds, “Although Joseon is rough shape right now, it has endured 500 years of history through many wars. In every way, people risked their lives to protect this nation. That Joseon is peacefully being ripped apart, first by China, then Russia, and now Japan and even the U.S. Wouldn’t someone need to fight this struggling nation?”

Eugene asks why it needs to be Ae-shin fighting for Joseon, and she asks why not. Eugene pauses, with his eyes welling with emotion, and Ae-shin tells him that he need not worry. He claims that he’s not worried about her; rather, he’s worried about himself. To break the tension, Ae-shin comments on how the low-flying birds are indicating that a storm is upon them.

Sure enough, it’s raining by the evening, and Eugene looks pensive as he looks out the window of his office. He sees Gwan-soo escort two people into the embassy in the rain, and he recognizes one man as Ignobleman’s servant who beat him the day his parents died.

Also brooding is Hee-sung, who sits in his hotel room with a cigarette in hand. He thinks about his mother’s pleas to stay away from home and the scar on her neck. Both the scar and her warning to stay hidden in the hotel seem to be a mystery to him.

Dong-mae enters a book/calligraphy store and notices a carriage pull up to the shop. Ae-shin exits the carriage and makes her way into the store. She doesn’t look happy to see Dong-mae, who spits out his candy and offers to leave. She doesn’t find that necessary, since they’re both customers at the store, and she agrees to wait her turn.

Ae-shin’s maid follows her into the store and backpedals in fear when she sees Dong-mae. She knocks over items on a shelf, and Ae-shin tells her maid to find the owner while she cleans up the mess. The maid readily runs off to track down the owner, leaving Dong-mae and Ae-shin alone together.

Dong-mae carelessly kicks the brushes into a pile, but Ae-shin crouches down to pick up the items. He joins her and notices the seam of her dress brush his hand. He fixates on her dress, and Ae-shin looks startled when she sees him staring at her dress. She immediately stands up in defense, but Dong-mae grabs the end of her skirt.

Ae-shin demands to know what he’s doing, and Dong-mae looks up and says that he’s not doing anything. He continues to hold onto the end of her dress, and Ae-shin glares at him with fear.

 
COMMENTS

That’s an interesting manifestation of Dong-mae’s jealousy, and I’m more aligned with Ae-shin’s startled reaction than anything. So far, we’ve seen Dong-mae’s tentative nature in their interactions, which have indicated that he’s more careful and almost more human around her. After seeing Dong-mae’s aggressive reaction to the news of Ae-shin’s fiancé in this episode, it’s very clear that he’s protective of his crush and also in full denial that he has a crush on Ae-shin at all. But in general, we haven’t been privy to the extent of Dong-mae’s feelings for Ae-shin, so that dress grab at the end feels abrupt and honestly a bit frightening. Maybe there’s more to deconstruct there, but I’m mainly sensing Dong-mae’s jealousy and inability to properly express his feelings.

Hee-sung is such a charmer, but we know there’s more to him behind his frivolous persona. Coming from the wealthiest family in Joseon, he’s naturally revered but also antagonized, and I wonder if he intentionally carries his façade to neutralize the threat some may feel around him. His brooding scene hinted that he’s more perceptive than we think, and I’m interested to see how much guilt and responsibility he feels for his family’s immoral deeds.

Regarding Eugene’s internal conflict about where his loyalties lie, I think it’s become obvious that he cares about the Joseon people. He’ll fall back on his U.S. affiliation when he needs their power, but he deeply empathizes with the weak Joseon people who are experiencing the brunt of Joseon’s demise. He understands the consequences of being poor and powerless, so he uses his power to help because he can. But he’s always at an arm’s distance from the Joseon people, and I think his distance makes him even more curious about Ae-shin’s conviction to save Joseon, especially since she’s a noble who doesn’t suffer much from this turbulence. Ae-shin’s passion and pride in fighting for Joseon in contrast to Eugene’s lukewarm loyalties makes her my favorite character by far.

It’s neat to discover these characters layer by layer with each episode, but it’s at the expense of the plot, which is still only inching forward. The drawn-out cinematography is so beautiful and pleasing to the eye, but I need this story to get a move on. I think there’s an obligatory mention of that mysterious document every episode just to remind us that this plot still exists, but otherwise, we haven’t gotten much progress on this plot device. Whatever ensues from the discovery of this document better be good, but no pressure. This document better be worth the wait, but no pressure. No pressure at all.

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