Of course, it was only a matter of time before the paranoid king died, but I will miss him. The scenes with the two brothers were always absolutely captivating and superbly acted.

I don't believe that Jin-han suddenly switched to the "dark side of the force" and that he disregarded his brother's wishes and ascended the throne out of greed for power. Rather, his aim is probably to find out who is responsible for the king's death so that he can hunt him down. After that, he will probably leave the throne to his nephew as soon as he is old enough.
And it's definitely no coincidence that he's looking for a Baduk teacher after exactly three years. Someone is definitely hoping for a reunion.

I like Jinhan. He was loyal to his brother and liked him a lot. I don't think he never wanted the throne for himself. But the circonstances made him taking it. First, his brother wasn't himself anymore, he died by poison, his son is very young, the politic situation with Qinq is complicated. So by taking the throne, Jinhan can protect his nephew from people who killed the King and from other countries.

I'm tired by Hee-soo acting like she knew better than anyone else. Myung-ha is not the best person, after all, he was helping his father but he wasn't wrong about her and the danger she put herself and her family in. It was quite impossible her real gender wasn't revealed when she was in prison...

Is her father is dead? I hope not, we already lost the King.

Let me say it already. I was surprised to see Jo Sung-ha and Sohn Hyun-joo out of the story this early, even though I'm glad I don't have to see another episode of Jo Sung-ha being evil - I've had many of that last year.

Things escalated and crashed so quickly. I'll miss the King. Choi Dae-hoon was 👌🏽 spot-on with his delivery.

The situation with Hee-soo reminded me of Ruler: Owner of the Mask. The female lead and her father suffered something similar. I don't know how they are going to get together again but I really hope this becomes the friends to enemies to lovers story we will add to the list.

Coming back as Mungwoo? I agree. Coming back as female? Not so much. But then, after Honey Lee's undercover guise at Pil Inn plus a 3-year hiatus, I expected a better disguise. Just saying.

It is fun that using Mong-woo as her new name is a way to pique the interest of Lee In. You know. He knows who Mungwoo is, so he needs no soothsayer to figure out she's the Baduk guy. But what he won't expect is that she's now a spy in addition to Baduk opponent.
I wish that they go the route of the bolded and not another journey of unknown identity.

If the first two episodes were a bit lacklustre, 3-4 were making more than up for it. Jo Jung-seok was mesmerizing, I could not take my eyes off his moves to become king. He surely has a plan, we just don't know what that is, yet. I did not expect the early demise of Minister Kim, but I am not going to miss him.

I am looking forward to Myung-ha returning for revenge, but I am still not quite sold on Hee-soo dressed up as a man. She really acts more like a loose cannon than a Baduk player skilled in strategy and planning ahead.

The king is the one who sent the spy. But when Kim accused Jinhan of it, the king believed him. I was going are you insane!
The king needed an excuse to hate Jinhan and get rid of hom. And it is heartbreaking to watch the brothers turn on each other.

Oof. What a descent. What a week. I've done a bit of ranting/commenting around the fan walls and what we're watching pages, but I can say it again here and it's just as true: THAT SCENE. With his face half covered in blood. It was just so beautifully done and made me think all sorts of thoughts about how this was the beginning of his descent into madness.. half of him white and pure and the other half drenched in blood.

For me the most impactful scenes visually are the following:
1. The opening credits. Gorgeous. Love the sound of the Baduk board and then the different people arranged as pieces on the board. It just matches the themes of the drama so well- each of these people has personality and desires and what they WISH they could do, and then there's what actually happens as they get swept up in each other's schemes and manipulations.

2. The confrontation between the King and Lee In. Kudos, guys. You did great. I was especially struck with the moment when the king spread his arms and just look so stsrk raving bonkers.. it was great. And poor Lee In, to have NO closure whatsoever. Not only does he not know for certain who killed his brother, but also to have someone you've loved start saying things like "I only pretended to like you because that was the play I needed to make in order to survive". Even if they had a great history growing up, the strain between the two of them in the last year has to have had its toll.

3. The bloody scene in the mourning courtyard. This scene feels so symbolic of just his cracking morality and anger at the court and the world in general. What's so sad is that I believe him when he said he was sincere about stepping down if anyone opposed him ascending the throne. And yet. He's lying to himself. Who on earth would dare oppose him after that scene?!

4. Hongjang's death. Just the sight of her friend dead and peaceful on the ground, with Mongwoo crying over her.. it was striking. And I LOVE that Mongwoo called back to the conversation they had about how the blood of the captives stained the air. As far as we know he spent years being an incredibly loyal, morally strong ally of the king. Will we learn otherwise with time? I don't know. But I love it. I'm so here for it. All of Mong woo's interactions with him until the massive Betrayal pointed to him being an AWESOME dude. So it'll be fun to watch them interact now that he's gone to the dark side.

Other notes:
I actually am so intrigued by the court lady. She was pretty obviously terrified of the old king and didn't want to be intimate with him, and it was sad to watch her flinch when Lee In grabbed her. I am SO curious as to what he said to her though. If he has any sort of deeper calculated plan in taking the throne, she's the one who I think knows about it.

Bravo, show. Bravo. Now don't break my heart please. Or at least put it back together when you're done.

Yes, yes, it petered off a little bit, but the revenge aspect brought this back to life. This has been great also good riddance to Minister Kim, that actor always plays an annoying character. Revenge and love by baduk, im ready for tradegy.

OMG, guys. GUYS. The feeeeeeelllllzzzzz. Episode 4 was such an emotional rollercoaster for me:

"I HAVE NEVER LOVED YOU!" Uuuuuuhhhhhhh. Is there anything WORSE in this world you can say to a person who clearly loves you more than anything?!! Who sacrificed years and years of captivity to ensure your survival and the survival of the nation?!? Who recites your partying words like they are written in his heart?!? Cruel, so-so cruel!

Then, OMG, IS HE ACTUALLY LYING about the King's last words?!? He's actually lying! He actually does!! Wae?!?! What an interesting protagonist - smart, loyal, shrewd but now morally compromised. I'm so, so, so invested with our newly-minted King, omg.

Then, "I am not upset because this is wrong. You prey on my desperation and force me to perjure myself for personal gain." Giiiiiirrrl, you tell him! Tell Myung-ha what we all felt from the beginning, that you are such an irritating douchebag!

What, this SLEAZEBALL switched sides?! Hmm, is there anyone in this court who gives favors without asking/expecting something in return?! The court lady, the Mother Queen, the Sleazeball, the widowed queen, Myung-Ha, all were crawling like a pack of hyenas around each other and main leads to exhort favors and promises. This was such a sinister qui-pro-quo happening throughout the episode, and - I can't believe I'm saying this - I was actually invested in the Palace Politics and dynastic games.

He killed the Evil Scheming Minister?! No way!! Show, are you going there? Are you really going there?! Are you risking depicting our Protagonist unlikable, but in fact, no one even cares at this point, because we are so invested anyway?!

"I do not concern myself with friends and such things anymore. I am the King now." Ugggghhhh. Torched it. Embracing that destiny to the fullest, aren't you?

Hongjang dying...... I really, really, really don't remember the last time I cried so unexpectedly while watching K-drama. *Immediately rewind to re-watch the scene for a hundredth time*

Me, oh-oh the Cliff of Doom is coming. What?! There's such a thing as Waterfall of Doom?! *scratch my head in a confusion*

Then, "I swear on my father and Hongjang. I will survive and return and make him feel the pain of being betrayed by the person he trusted." Giiiiirrrll, I understand you lost your best friend and your idol just fell down from a pedestal into a ditch but this IS your reason for a revenge?! You better make it more convincing, Show, because, I'm not feeling it yet.

"All he does all day is drinking and women". *chuckle*

She's baaaaack! As a Royal Baduk Teacher! OMG!

Whew, thank you, episode 4, you will surely last me for all of the palace politics in at least 4 more episodes. I'm all in!

It was heartbreaking to see Grand Prince Jinhan turn cold and heartless. It made me think twice if he was a trechearous snake like his enemies think him to be. But I still want to have hope that he will turn out to be a better person and King than everyone thought him to be.
As much as it was satisfying to see Myung Ha's meddling backfire on him, it was heartbreaking that it negatively impacted HongJang and HeeSoo. I expect him to make a bigger mess in the future but hopefully Hee Soo will be wiser then. I am bracing myself for more heartbreaks and betrayals.

Thanks for the recap! I decided to watch this one against my better judgment. This last episode was killer. Jo Jung-seok has resting villain face, which I think everyone knows on some level. He has this weird non-expression which looks thoughtful or sinister, depending on the character, and then a really charming smile. For this part, it lets him vibrate between the real person (a brother, a friend, a person who likes games) and the political man. His snap decision to take the throne is incredible to watch.

I really believed his pain in the scene with the king. I really believed that the king loved his brother! Choi Dae-hoon was so incredible.

Am I right that the court lady who was serving the king (and was his girlfriend, sort of?) was the person who poisoned him?

I'm enjoying this show, but, c'mon, Shin Se-Kyung makes too pretty and adorable a man to actually be mistaken for a man.

Marathon 4 eps and I didn't know it would be like this. The soft hearted Prince became a cold King??
Can't complaint JJS acting, all are chef kiss, too bad SSK seems can't match him.

"Still, he adds (sincerely) that if even one person disapproves, he won’t ascend the throne" quoting mistyisles.

If the Grand Prince was sincere, then why does he not stand by his word to concede if any one person opposed him becoming king?

Did I miss something?