I wasn't really happy with Shi-yeol's arc. They made like the Watchman was a murderer who thirsts for blood but it's not true. The only one who really talked about him was Tae-Hwa and he never was the most objective about this... Shi-Yeol is smart but he left when he knew that Tae-Hwa was after Hong-Ju? When he knew he was followed by men? When San will risk the most? It didn't make sense. I would have prefered to see him embracing his role instead to feel ashamed. Tae-Hwa's son tried to kill an unarmed kid who was a Prince with 10 men, it was an execution. Shi-Yeol killed him in a fair fight, he even tried to let him safe...

I liked how San and Yoo-Ha's lie is confusing everybody. But it doesn't look good for Yoo-Ha...

The 2 sisters don't have a lot to do in this story... Hong-Joo will have been the mourning girl for almost the whole drama and Danoh is just the love interest now.

some pasts can’t be erased

Come on. It's kdramaland. That's what amnesia is for.

--------------------

Yoo-ha & San both claiming to be Spartacus Seol. Bleh.

--------------------

I don't care what episode it is, what they think the plot needs for next week or even what audiences (and censors?) think about good guys killing bad guys. Getting Tae-hwa at sword point and then not finishing him off is just too stupid to believe 😠👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

I agree about San and Dan-oh's relationship. It is a very respectful, loving, and believable pairing, and I like the way the show has neither ignored nor sugarcoated the central conflict between them--namely, that their lives and relationship will radically change if San becomes King. I do wish the chemistry between the actors was a little more intense, as if it was, the love story would be more compelling to watch. However, they still make a sweet, sincere couple.

Shi-yeol's story this week was very painful to watch. Although he had no real agency when it came to being a Watchman and killing people he was trained to view as enemies, his self-loathing and noble idiocy made complete sense to me. For so much of his life he avoided having any kind of emotional crisis by simply pretending to be--and thus becoming--a playboy living a simple, pleasurable life with no real attachment to anyone or anything other than his duty. That obviously changed when he met and fell in love with Hong-joo. By opening himself to feeling love for her, he has also opened himself up to every other emotion he has tried to repress, and now the guilt and shame are overwhelming. It's really no wonder he thought the best course of action was to disappear from everyone's lives.

And as much as I want these two to be happy together, it's hard for me to imagine how Hong-joo could be with the man who killed her fiancee, even if that man was just doing what he was trained to do, and is obviously not a monster.

Yoo-ha has also emerged as much more of a tragic figure than I expected; other than gaining a brother, his whole arc has been about heartache and loss. This may be because he's ultimately going to be the one on the throne, a role for which he seems better suited than San.

Anxious for the finale!

It was just Shi-yeol vs the Six Swords plus Tae-hwa. I really don't know why Shi-yeol is buckling down in guilt. It was a fair fight to them and an unfair one to him, 7 to 1. I get his remorse from causing the death of Hong-joo's fiancee. I wished it stopped at that. Carrying out his duties as Watchman is not something he should feel remorse about. For crying out loud they've all been looking for the head of Lee Seol for a very long time and he's being the roadblock to that.

And hats to the Queen Dowager for understanding the lies her grandsons played out. She acted in consistency with her character and I liked that a lot.

Did Hwa-ryung really have to die? They didn't have to sacrifice her to save Yoo-ha. Kdramas really know how to go for the jugular when they want to pull this heart wrenching scenes. Acknowledging their mother-son relationship at Hwa-ryung's death door is just too sad. And, I really believed Han Chae-ah will remain throughout TRSG's run.

Thank you for the weecap, @mistyisles! I loved the reunion between Grandma and grandsons - one the heir and the other an unacknowledged son. She promised to have a longer conversation with Gyeom later. But now that the king has woken up, it might not happen it all. I'm hoping it happens and Yu-ha be properly introduced as the Crown Prince's son, though not the heir and he couldn't live in the palace, at least he will still be able to show his heritage.

The ending of episode 16 was frustrating to watch. Why spare Jang, the source of ultimate trouble? Instead of a long talk with him and then another frustrating discussion about who will sacrifice himself, kill the man, and run. So simple and watching Dan-oh and San acting all romantic was cheesy. Lives are at stake. Postpone this cheesy romance for now.

It is clear Shi-yeol was forced to become a watchman and he wants out more than anything. For me, his story is more captivating than Who is Seol game and the bloodthirsty king whom I need to be gone this instant. I wished we delved deeper into Shi-yeol's backstory and motives. Compared to it, the romance feels unentertaining and uninteresting.

That's such a good point about how San & Dan-oh being lowkey and also stable is a blessing @mistyisles! If there was drama on that front too it would be too much, plus poor San would have no one to be his rock.

I'm kind of hoping that Shi-yeol saying he killed Hong-joo's fiance is more like he feels responsible since he is a Watchman himself or maybe he did something/didn't do something to prevent it happening rather than him meaning it as he literally stabbed the fiance. Because, obviously we know the Watchmen are just doing their job protecting the heir and it wasn't any different that night - Lee Seol was being hunted effectively so it really did all go down while the Watchman was on the defensive - but I imagine it'd be REALLY hard though to try get over/overcome the fact that the guy you like now quite literally is the reason why your once betrothed is dead (and vice versa, for Shi-yeol too). I'm just not convinced that's something you can practically overcome as a couple, so for their sake I am hoping that they do some kind of reveal where we see that Shi-yeol wasn't the one who physically killed him.

I'm also worried they'll have Yoo-ha act as sacrificial goat to get San on the throne, since they've gone and killed his mum now too - PLEASE show, I need ALL 3 of my scholars to see it through to the end of episode 18!!

Thanks for the recap once again.

I'm with pretty much everyone else on this - not killing Jang (yet again, the man is like a cat with multiple lives when faced with Shi-Yeol) and his minions was a serious (and incomprehensible) mistake.

And like everyone else, not taking the opportunity to fill out his backstory was a serious mistake.

I really want to understand just why he is feeling like such a monster now - it doesn't seem all that period appropriate unless he converted to a pacifist stand of Buddhism or something, so while I can emphasise with his mental state, I'm not sure I understand where it is coming from.

Ok so he's killed lots of people, but as others have noted, he's essentially just a soldier just defending his Lord all paid for by the Crown against what seems mostly to be a private vendetta by Jang and his six swords!

That said, .iIt's obviously a pretty longstanding dislike of his job (he said the day he killed the six swords crew was the worst in his life). Moreover he noticeably didn't kill some people who posed a serious threat along the way such as Danoh when she started her find Lee Seol money making quest.

Is it for example, that now that he has met San and doesn't think he was worth defending!

And unfortunately now that all has been revealed I fear for the worst - I can't see how the couple can possibly reconcile, and fear he (and perhaps she) will die heroically...

The synopsis of this drama was all about the Dan-oh, the woman who runs an inn.. and yet at this time, Dan Oh just became the love interest, needa rescuing, beung left behind and waiting for the hero ..

I dropped this at ep 13 and following the recaps now. Once the reveal about the real Lee Seol, the show lost its' uniqueness and thus my interest.

Also, why do sageuks tend to consider that being king and/or queen for the leads is a happy ending? It is actually a tragic end for both.

Mistyisles, thank you for the recap !

When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk. -Tuco

Ah, let antagonist Tae-hwa just spew while you have him at sword point !
Typically it’s the villains who pontificate rather than perforate only to see their advantage evaporate due to their hesitancy to hack their opponents while the hacking opportunities abound.
So when one of our heroes decides to invoke the No poke rule while Tae-hwa pontificates, emotional damage occurs. 😢

As we head into the final week, I am cautious that they can calmly bring this show to a decent conclusion within two episodes. The calamity should have been at least one episode earlier.

I’ve been slammed with work and other obligations this week so haven’t had much of a chance for writing longish comments.
Despite my enjoyment of some of the performances, particularly Kang Hoon’s as well as Hongjoo and his burgeoning relationship, I’ve been disappointed in how this drama has progressed.
As other Beanies have said, the progressive marginalisation of Danoh from a protagonist to a damsel in distress occupying the majority of her screen time making lovely goo goo eyes at San, worrying about San, telling others about her worries about San and waiting for San to return has been really irritating. This has been such a sexist retreat from the initial context - no matter how poorly conceptualised - of her being an active participant in unravelling the drama’s central mystery. The usual excuse of ‘why, this is Joseon and women had no agency’ is such a flawed and absurd excuse as so much of what goes on in any sageuk is fiction so most boundaries can and should be crossed otherwise this form of art has no greater social, cultural and political value apart from 1) serving as a pretty-looking but largely forgettable entertainment, 2) generating income and 3) reaffirming sexist portrayals of women as nothing but eye candies there to love, support, fawn over and grieve over men as well as have children. Danoh’s character could have been shown to have an interest in politics, capable of formulating a critique of the corrupt and brutal monarchy and aspirations/dreams for liberating Joseon and herself but none of that materialised. Her character became not only less vital to the plot but also less interesting and bright. What a waste.