What a pity for us but good for them! Thanks a bunch for this!

Maybe this is the first time in his life that things have gone wrong for him and are spiralling away. Maybe the first time he has been challenged and doesn't have any experience in how to act, unlike Hwan whose position has been threatened for the past year (and perhaps before that too) and is used to being tested and having to work things out without giving his feelings away.

Yeah, he's fine for SML because I hardly ever care about them and can continue to do so here with an easy heart lol. But it kinda rubs me the wrong way that script - and other characters - overpraise him THAT much. I feel like writer basically forces him down my throat as a conflicted but (for now) still likeable character and I hate when they do that. Something about him is just too unsympathetic in a rather boring way for me to have any reaction other than "oh really?" eye-roll to his screentime. Previous recap's comparison with SML from Tale of Nokdu was very apt - I couldn't stand that guy as a proper contender for FL's heart but after a certain twist he's got MUCH more interesting, charismatic and in his niche. Maybe it'll play like that here as well.

@Gikata, I was the one who brought up the comparison to the SML in Tale of Nokdu from last week! Lol. I agree with you that I found that guy insufferably boring in Nokdu, until he went full evil, but somehow I’m finding HSO more compelling as a character. I agree the writing is being a bit heavy handed with all the secondhand praise of him, but I do understand the people around him haven’t been witness to all his moments of weakness and disloyalty, all his bursts of anger and petty reactions during his investigation into Jaeyi’s supposed lover, etc. I think as the audience, in the past 2 weeks, especially this one, we’ve seen mostly his worst traits coming to light. But I have a prediction (I may be wrong) that our SML will have his moment of honesty and mini redemption with the CP as soon as next week (in the preview, [SPOILER]). I think SML will be welcomed back into the fold and join the investigation crew for a time, only to fall to his weaknesses again down the line, and be used by someone to betray the CP in a bigger way… and then maybe redeem himself or go full villain, one or the other. Anyway, just my wild guesses!

@happyokaytales, that was you? Omg, I totally forgot with all those ENDLESS glitches I have to fight in this show's recaps, sorry! I kinda get the more compelling part - Sung On is not shown as being actual psycho up till this point and most likely won't ever go this far to the dark side... But it's a double-edged sword in his case - I can't help but think that being a little crazy (and not just permanently angry/upset) could've actually make him more interesting... Or maybe not. I've never seen this actor before and idk if he can pull a magnetic villain off. Maybe, like @kaddicted said, he'll just stays being yet another whiny spoiled noble boy incapable of dealing with a real challenge. At the very last writer should give him and Hwan a proper showdown! What's the male friendship - or animosity - without some punches exchanged?))) Who knows, maybe that's the very thing their relationship desperately needed all this time...

It's ok, I personally always wish for romantic sageuks WITHOUT love triangles, but some things just aren't meant to be in kdramaland)))

Proto-feminist depiction of FL (along with her feisty tomboyishness) is by no means rare to the genre. Dramas that actually talk about slavery deeply other than just showing the daily brutality of it to move the plot are... well, not scarce for sure, but also not as common. 50/50 I'd say.

Forgot to add that dramas which feature a slave/former slave/half-slave (that were legally still slaves in Joseon) among main leads are much more inclined to properly delve into the issue, so if you're really interested in such shows, monitor character descriptions and tags, it's highly likely to pay off.

That's an interesting moment, actually. While it doesn't clear much about Garam's status (if she was a slave it would've still be up to Min clan - or Han clan, if she was a part of her mistress' dowry - to decide her marital fate) it was more played like Jaeyi took on the role of Garam's mother in arranging a good marriage for her. Technically if Garam IS free at this point, it should've been her (older?) brother's concern and not Jaeyi's anymore, but girls are so close so maybe Jaeyi felt that she - or her husband-to-be - would be better at it than him. She's likely to know Garam's preferences as well as Garam knows hers and can simply give HSO a detailed wish list, while that can easily be way too awkward of a topic for Garam to discuss with a male sibling in that era. Not to mention that men and women - even nowadays! - have a very different perception of what makes a suitable husband. Either way Garam was very moved by her lady's concern, and for a good reason.

@hacja: Don’t get a big head though. Or bigger?😂

Don’t get a big head though. Or bigger?
@dncingemma Don't worry. There is no one more aware of my flaws than I am. Even my wife is nice enough to only mention them occasionally!

But, to the point--one thing that I really worry about given my way too extensive Dramabeans commentary is that I'll be seen as arrogant and disrespectful of any commentor on Dramabeans. I sure hope not, because I've learned far more from commentators than I'll ever contribute back.

I appreciate your position as someone committed to gender equality (and other types of equality). I agree with you on every point. I definitely do not want to come across as a "mansplainer."

I apologize to you, and any woman who reads this, if you've been annoyed at my frequent presence and comments. I reassure myself that if you met me in person, you wouldn't think I had a big head-but who knows--maybe you would! I have to try to work on that, in Dramabeans and elsewhere!

@hacja: Not at all!:)

@hacja: I meant to also add that I was teasing you because I paid you a genuine compliment so was alluding to the adage, “don’t let it go to your head”. I hope it didn’t come across as though I was cross.

And believe me, I am pretty quick to realise who is a mansplainer and never regarded you as such. On the other hand, this morning a cabbie tried to mansplain something very basic to me and I politely but firmly put him in his place. The end:)

I have a suspicion that we'll see her properly breaking down - likely in front of Hwan again - later on, maybe once they'll get some real clue about culprit or when she experiences another traumatic situation. She comes from a loving family so it's possible she's just not used to cathartic crying all by herself and needs some strong shoulder (is this where her fetish comes from?) to do it on... But there's no one to assist her with that currently. Even Garam doesn't quite fit. It's very sweet that they can hold hands and kinda comfort each other, but Jaeyi needs more than that for sure.

Ooh, I love this take, @gikata! Also love, "is this where her fetish comes from?" hahaha!

I think if this is how it plays out, it's definitely got to be Hwan. Almost everyone else believes she killed them, for one. And also it's as much a shared experience between them as grief can be between anyone. They've already established an understanding between them because of their respective losses, so it would make sense for him to be her emotional outlet.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love your observation about memory loss and trauma. Yes, memory is a very interesting thing.

I guess I would like to see better execution in the way the drama addresses these issues. I don't mind humor, if handled in a certain way, but for some reason, I don't like the way it has been handled in the show. I hope I am not being too picky.

I’m not putting boy guard in the clear yet— he’s still on watch, a little sketchy to me still.

Hmmm... It was beautifully choreographed, but clearly staged fight - with heavy emphasis on everything, especially CP, looking extra cool with all the impractically broad/complex moves and very obvious posturing. Good - or disappointing, depending on your expectations - touch is the fact that I don't think typical for the genre wires were used at all. As making video shows, there was a stunt double but it seems like most was performed by Hyungsik himself (and I'm SUFFERING here from not knowing if that cool flying leg kick was him or not). Keep in mind that he's actually trained in kendo (and has some rather impressive certified level of it that I can't recall for sure) and went though both hellish idol physical training and military service as part of elite troops, so we shouldn't be all that surprised at him looking convincing in action scenes. I'd say that at this point he's not at the same level as his fellow actors FAMOUS for their martial arts shtick, but he has a great potential to get there if he wants to. Main issue here is that with his resume he seems more skilled in ACTUALLY fighting (Happiness is a good display of this - stunts he does there ARE real and deadly effective if done right) than doing so maximally pretty for the camera^^

P.S. Funny TMI - in Hwarang he also did impressive sword-fighting scenes, wowing everyone on set... but that was kinda tampered by the fact that weapons used in a drama were awfully anachronistic (I think Silla preferred straight swords over katanas) and so was his fencing style)))

@gikata below, from what I understand, PHS is a 4th Dan black belt in Kumdo, which is the Korean version of Kendo, but I believe he achieved that in middle school when he was competing in the sport, before he got into idol training, so presumably hasn’t been regularly keeping up with it. But since he was impressive in Hwarang and here (you could tell most of it was him, not the double), I’m assuming he’s not forgotten much. I also wanna agree with you that his fighting style in Happiness was SO well-done, really cool looking but at the same time made to look competent, practical and effective, rather than showy, like his character there. As an aside, I’ll say, same with Han Hyo Joo’s action in that drama.

Oh, there's definitely a lot of reasons for Hwan to fall Jaeyi! Realistic skepticism aside - like that he should've been already married with some kids if lucky at his age - it kinda makes sense politically for him to be still single. His stepmom's family it clearly not into letting him to strengthen his position by marriage. And it probably stung a bit to see his friend (that's younger than him if relationship chart I've seen didn't lie) getting all giddy over starting a family soon when he has none of his own and can't really afford it rn either. Plus that curse... It's perfectly understandable that he fishes for compliments from a lady when opportunity presented itself. That's nice while also safe (he can't be more wrong but he doesn't know it yet), so he relaxes and just goes for it. Problem here is that he relaxed a bit too much (and maybe writer/PD getting too heavy on such scenes - Hyungsik's bedroom eyes ARE a lethal weapon and should be handled carefully) for his own good lol. I'm already dreading the angst that comes when he connects the dots and realizes what deep sh... trouble he's in.

Idk about Jaeyi. Her crush on Sung On is also superficial (people even go as far as suggesting that it was Hwan she liked looks-wise as a kid and not him - well, boys never introduced themselves in front of her so who knows) and is mostly based on her idealistic belief that they're fated and her loyal nature (that makes her want to return to man she can't even be sure still wants her, cleared name or not). So while shallow crush is not much of an issue, the loyalty part clearly will be. Angst incoming: Part 2. Will we have to wait until Sung On fully shows her his true colors so she can get over him? 16 episodes more, plenty of time to drive them and us insane.

Oh, that's how it's called in SK? I knew but forgot))) Middle school or not, it's hard to forget basics once you get to the 1st Dan level (let alone 4th). And all the fights in Happiness were AWESOME - real, brutal, often dirty and very pragmatic. HHJ surprised me a lot too, never pictured her as action girl before.

Yes, Hwan calmed down pretty fast given how much of an ego beating Jaeyi gave him lol. I also think he's much less of an ego-fragile than Sung On... I suppose being rudely humbled down on a daily basis did some good to him - namely, helped him to learn accepting defeat. Now she also taught him to accept being wrong. He's a hard working student, isn't he? My main issue is rather not with him softening up to her too fast, but with him being not-so-lowkey about it will all those smiles, looong stares, sweet tone, borderline flirty lines etc. He's a tsundere! We tend to fall fast but we don't make it shown right away, that's too scary and embarrassing! That's the whole point of the archetype, you know. Hidden letter with a present that she had to search for (while thinking he trolled her with a lame time-consuming task) feels more like it for his personality. But oh well, boy is just this starved for appreciation and intimacy, what did I expect from him anyway...

I see what you’re saying— he is being very obvious about his growing affection for her— it’s only ep4, so I smell trouble ahead and soon— I saw a preview [SPOILER]. Trope city, but also tells me his falling for her will probably be progressing way too fast and result in maximum angst.

And yes the PHS gaze is lethal. Like, it’s truly a gift, how he can look at someone so lovingly without seeming at all weird or creepy. His eyes are a national treasure!

And I can go on for days about the power couple that was Yihyun and Saebom and how awesome and fun their tagteam fight scenes were to watch. Some of the best choreography I’ve seen. As someone who grew up watching Jackie Chan films, I like me some flash in my fight scenes, but the Happiness team really nailed the more grounded style with a dash of flair for visual interest. No complaints, lots of rewatches. Those Happiness fight scenes were very underrated, much like the drama.

@happyokaytales

Hwan is painfully obvious so far, so - his own angst aside - it won't be long before other people start to notice. And, since they are clearly not in a position to question him about it directly, there will be all kinds of theories instead and then rumors... Since "CP is crippled" was more or less rebuked for now, I'm afraid we're in for "CP is gay for his cute little eunuch" in addition to "CP committed fratricide" and "CP is cursed". Queen's clan is gonna throw a party in celebration of those "wonderful" news! Bring your game face back, boy, before you land yourself AND her in a huge trouble!

Yeah, his eyes are something else)))

Happiness got a lot of love, but still it deserved so much more! I watched it live while being sick (and awfully sleep deprived) with covid δ and it was quite an experience lmao))) To this day I wonder how well it could've do if launched as a streaming-only drama instead of trying to compromise with TV restrictions to win the audience that was simply not ready for something hitting this close to home.

@gikata agreed completely that Hwan needs to keep his game face on to protect himself from malicious palace rumors, but at least so far, the honey eyes have only been deployed when they’re one on one. So palace rumors as of now is that the famously distrustful Prince has a new trusted advisor who’s a lowly eunuch solving cases for him, usurping (former?) bff HSO, ooohh! This is enough to put Jaeyi in potential danger, tbh, so I’d rather they not go the way of gay rumors cuz even though it’s appropriate to the times, I’m not interested in seeing all the homophobia being played out, potentially for laughs.

Happiness should’ve come out on Netflix. The TVing exclusive hampered it so much— it did *really* well domestically on TVing streaming, consistently ranking at the top during airing and also year-end lists, plus online buzz worthy rankings, etc. but the international distribution was all over the place, so it didn’t get a chance to go viral even though it was much beloved among fans who found it. When it debuted on Asia Netflix 4 months later it shot to the top of the charts and stayed for a long time. If only they had coordinated and *marketed* the release for streaming, where a show like this would thrive, people could’ve discovered it all at once and it could’ve blown up. Instead we have people *still* just now discovering it and realizing it’s so good. Sigh.

@happyokaytales, I may still have some hopes for Hwan's self-control, but none of that for the other people in his palace. Prying ears and eyes are EVERYWHERE, so it's highly unlikely that his secret budding crush stays secret until the very end. Someone's bound to notice for sure. Maybe even Sung On himself - BEFORE realizing that annoying eunuch in question is actually his almost-wife. Yikes.

Yeah, seeing how well PD's current work - The Glory - does in charts and buzz thanks to Netflix makes me kinda salty, even though its core theme and approach to it is arguably more to SK audience's liking than those things in Happiness. Still, it could've been MASSIVE internationally if handled better.

Wow, that's significantly darker than just a couple breaking up... Esp with how things turned out in the drama.

Where I live there are no widely known superstitions about gifting shoes or shoes in general, but you absolutely cannot gift people with knives/scissors (as this means you'll quarrel and "cut this person out of your life") or handkerchiefs (this means cursing the receiving party to the life full of tears), and if you do, they MUST pay you some symbolic money for it to make it a trade and not a gift. Let's hope Jaeyi won't develop a romantic idea of embroidering a handkerchief for Hwan, his life already sucks as it is!

It apparently stems from buying new shoes for a funeral, which connected neatly to the way news was broken to the bereaved after a mining disaster. The dead man's fellow miners would turn up at his home to tell his wife, and solemnly put his boots on the table. So new shoes on the table suggests sudden death and funerals. Cheerful, eh! I always tell friends to put them on the floor, even though I live in a different country now, and I say it a lot because the table seems to be the place to examine new shoes!

Ouch. Sounds really terrible to find out about a tragedy in your own family that way.

We never put shoes on table, unless it's a shoe store's showcase. Doing it at home is simply UNHYGIENIC, no? There's enough trouble with our - perfectly shoeless - cats firmly believing that tables are meant for them to sit/sleep/run on.

I’ll add onto this cultural sharing and say that in Chinese culture, gifting a clock is a huge insult. Watches, no problem, but no clocks, especially not to relatives. Clocks you gotta buy yourself. Cuz the phrase “gift clock” sounds like the phrase you use to describe when you send off a relative to the afterlife when they die, at this funeral, that whole deal. So gifting a clock is akin to wishing someone dead.

I think the contents of the letter was written in the fake letter sent with the wedding present. The fake letter was seeking help to solve the mystery of the first letter.

I think what Sung-On's dad was right on the money about how people are distrustful of a king who is intelligent and has a mind of his own. The ministers all want a figurehead king and to rule the country themselves behind the scenes.

@asianromance, but who send the fake letter if Hwan himself didn't and - supposedly - no one else knew about the curse? And what for? The most logical answer is that someone tried to help Hwan anonymously. Who is that unexpectedly informed person and what are they're trying to gain from supporting CP?

Indeed, ALL ministers, Sung On's dad included. He wasn't even that low-key about it...

I'm thinking about the contents of the original letter sent by the ghost. It was mainly a list of penalties that would be suffered by Hwan, one of which was his friend stabbing him in the back. Clearly meant to isolate him with no-one to turn to, so he tries confiding in his old master but did not send any of the letters he wrote. We saw them all scattered around on the floor, lots of them. He couldn't find the right words, or possibly how his master could even help him. Something obviously stopped him from sending a letter, as who can he trust to deliver it? Somebody has succeeded in driving a wedge between Hwan and Sung-on, and then we are privy to the conversation between Sung-on and his father, who ably demonstrates how SO falls down on the job by considering family loyalties before his loyalty to the CP. Is Councillor Han for or against Hwan? Was the turtle found in the raid one of the originals or just a replica used to test Sung-on's loyalties?

If someone wanted to help Hwan by sending the letter, why not hide it among the gifts to be delivered before the journey started? The very act of killing the CP's messenger and replacing him doesn't sound helpful at all. Somebody wanted Jae-yi's father to know about the lurid letter that the CP had decided against sharing, and went to criminal lengths to do so behind his back. Then the family get poisoned but only after the letter is read. Was the poisoner on hand to act after the letter was opened, or was that just coincidence and the family was poisoned to prevent a strong alliance being made by marriage? OR, did Sung-on's family become aware of the Princess's interest in him and decide at the last minute to sabotage the wedding in pursuit of a higher connection? I think there could be a few things going on behind the scenes while our eyes are being directed to the problem of the letter.

Also, where is Jae-yi's "lover",who was brought up as a member of the household? He has disappeared just as Jae-yi did but nobody seems to think he could be involved other than as a marriage wrecker. I think he might know something and has skipped off for his own safety. He might supply some information if he shows up later, whether it be the ID of the messenger, or who really put poison in the food, or something else we are not yet aware of. I'm actually wondering if there are two "ghostly" factions here - one pushing for chaos, the other observing and preventing things from deteriorating too far.

For this reason, I think the contents of the ghost's letter are more widely known than we think. Somebody wanted Jae-yi's father to know, and possibly somebody else wanted to stop him from knowing and offering help. Who picked up all the crumpled letters written by (but not sent by) the CP? OK, let's assume he burned them, but he was chucking them around the room, one might have rolled under the furniture to be discovered by a spy cleaner or eunuch. And what about the messages being passed via...

... And what about the messages being passed via the container buried under a stone? We saw a neat letter being exchanged but who is to say a crumpled draft didn't make its way in there previously?

I think I've raised more questions than I've answered but it's just things I've been pondering on having read other comments and thinking back on what we've seen so far.

@kaddicted, Councilor Han seems to more on the status quo (aka King always being secondary to his court) side than anything else. Whether he actively plots against Hwan or just passively disapproves of him as a future king remains unknown for now. I'm afraid his interactions with his son - who he clearly doesn't think all that high of either - are just not enough to get him as a political figure.

Yes, I also think that one of Hwan's unsent letters ended up being stolen. His perfect memory aside, guy is awfully stressed about the whole issue so it's possible he was not paying enough attention to secrecy here and didn't notice a draft missing.

Princess being into Sung On actually is NOT in Han clan's interest at all - whoever marries a princess is not allowed to take any important government position by law, so no way Councilor Han wants such fate for his son. He's very open about wishing for the opposite - Sung On to succeed him as a big player in court.

Secret message exchange in CP's palace are also may not be related to anything above. It's The Palace - everyone casually spies on everyone there))) We'll discuss it further under next recap bcs spoilers, but Ep5 actually made me think that CP may know about this info leak...

I agree with you. He forgot that the children of nobles or slaves have the same fate. Everyone in Joseon lives according to their parents' status, but he makes him seem like the problem was the crown prince and not the system itself.

Half of the characters are suspicious, and some of them have openly plotted against the CP, but so far the only characters that seem really suspicious imo, are the king and Sung On's dad.

@enriquequierecagar, personally I don't trust the King one bit, but he was literally named as a suspect in like what, Ep2? That's far too early and obvious for a mystery drama.

Crown Prince is surely a problem for everyone who doesn't want to have King with brains on the throne. List is VERY long, I'm afraid)))