Knight Flower: Episodes 7-8

by Unit

Trouble brews in the enemy camp, and as a result, our moonlighting heroine comes a step closer to learning the truth about her brother. Our amnesiac hero is not far behind with respect to his family’s massacre, and a new face pops into town to shake up everything we thought we knew about what happened 15 years ago.

 
EPISODES 7-8

We resume with Yeo-hwa unmasking herself in front of Soo-ho and telling him that she’s Lord Seok’s daughter-in-law. As a widow, Yeo-hwa says she is bound by societal restrictions and expectations to follow her husband to the afterlife. But rather than waiting to die, she implores Soo-ho to give her a chance to live via carrying on with her moonlighting operations.

Soo-ho agrees to keep her secret on the condition that she no longer engages in dangerous activities. One wrong move on her part, and all bets are off. Okay, put on a mask and follow her around. Is that so hard? Lol. I mean, he’ll definitely need that mask because Yeo-hwa soon bites into her next case: why did Lady Oh lie that Lady Baek’s ring was her husband’s?

Speaking of Minister Yeom’s death, Pil-jik informs Lord Seok that Soo-ho is digging into the case, and Lord Seok instructs him to look into Soo-ho’s adoption into the Park family. In the meantime, Lord Seok orders Lady Oh to live in seclusion at a temple, but she refuses to quietly go off into the night after helping him amass all the power he currently wields. Trouble in the enemy camp? I’m here for it!

Yoon-hak reports his findings about Lord Seok’s daughter-in-law being Sung-hoo’s sister to the king, and the king is convinced that it is not a coincidence. Yoon-hak deduces that Lord Seok probably used the marriage as a means to hold Yeo-hwa hostage just in case the late king gave Sung-hoo his jade tablet and his last royal edict. The king suspects that’s probably why Sung-hoo hasn’t come out of hiding if he’s still alive, and he instructs Yoon-hak to find out if Yeo-hwa knows anything about it.

Lord Seok invites Yoon-hak for drinks in his house, and Yoon-hak is uncomfortable because Soo-ho was also invited. But guess who is more uncomfortable when they arrive? It’s a shocked Yeo-hwa who wonders why Soo-ho is in her house. Don’t worry, sis, today is not about you. Lord Seok tells Yoon-hak that he will keep a close eye on Soo-ho, and they both know those are not harmless words. Curiously enough, one of the Seok household servant’s gaze lingers on the Park brothers. Hmmm.

On a lighter note, Yoon-hak runs into Yeon-seon again, and she’s curious to know if Soo-ho accompanied him to the house (for Yeo-hwa’s sake, of course). A slightly jealous Yoon-hak misinterprets her questions to mean that she’s interested in Soo-ho. And when he asks her about Yeo-hwa (as per investigation into her brother), Yeon-seon misinterprets it as Yoon-hak’s interest in her mistress. Lol.

The king covertly summons Soo-ho to ask about Minister Yeom’s poisoning, and Soo-ho shares his suspicion that Lady Oh is behind it. The king reveals that the late king’s death, Soo-ho’s family’s massacre, and Lord Yeom’s death are related. He warns that if Soo-ho keeps on investigating Yeom’s case, he would be in danger. But Soo-ho insists on forging ahead for the sake of justice. If this is the king’s test, Soo-ho passes in flying colors, and the king invites him to join them in their ongoing investigation.

The king confirms from an eunuch who worked in the palace 15 years ago that Lady Oh personally served the late king tea that fateful night. And while the king and Yoon-hak can tell that Lord Seok was the mastermind, they need evidence to prove it — evidence that is within reach now that the poisonous petals have resurfaced. Soo-ho is tasked to keep an eye on Lady Oh, and he asks So-woon for information on Oh.

In exchange for a yet to be discussed request, So-woon discloses the half-sibling relationship between Lady Oh and Pil-jik. She mentions that Pil-jik became the head of a merchant guild around the same time Minister Yeom became the Minister of Finance, and that the family’s rise to power happened so fast. Hmmm. That was most likely compensation for Oh’s role in the late king’s death. Soo-ho thanks So-woon for the information, and insists that Yeo-hwa be kept in the dark because the investigation is dangerous. Awwwn. Showing concern for your beloved, I see.

Soo-ho’s plan to keep Yeo-hwa away from Lady Oh’s investigation is dead on arrival because Lady Oh personally brings Yeo-hwa into her orbit. In an attempt to get even with Lord Seok, Oh takes advantage of Yeo-hwa’s desperation to hint that her brother was involved in the incidents surrounding the late king’s death, and that Lord Seok knows more about the case than he’s telling Yeo-hwa.

Yeo-hwa in turn attempts to insert herself into the Lady Oh investigation because she can “be of use” to Soo-ho now that she’s buddies with Lady Oh. But Soo-ho refuses because: 1) it’s dangerous; 2) So-woon’s request was for him to stay away from Yeo-hwa. Oof! “What on earth am I to do?” an exasperated Soo-ho asks into the void after Yeo-hwa gets all pouty and leaves. Lol.

Yeo-hwa’s next point of call is her father-in-law who cautions her against spending as much time with Lady Oh. Lord Seok also notes that Yeo-hwa is beginning to ask too many questions about what happened to her brother, and of course he’s unsettled because… he is in possession of the late king’s jade tablet and royal edict! Heol! I had some hope that Yeo-hwa’s brother was still alive and holding on to the late king’s items. But with this reveal and the flashback of Pil-jik hacking Sung-hoo to death, I don’t know anymore.

Masked Yeo-hwa is out for another night of moonlighting when she spots Lord Seok heading out. Naturally, she trails after him, and she’s surprised to see him meet up with Lady Oh. She doesn’t overhear the conversation between the partners in crime, but the summary is: Lord Seok doesn’t feel threatened by Oh’s moves on his daughter-in-law. Or so he claims.

Earlier on, Pil-jik learned that Soo-ho was adopted the night the former king died, and all signs point to him as the son of the head of the late king’s guard. Pil-jik is sure he killed the boy, plus Soo-ho doesn’t seem to recognize him as one would if he ran into his parents’ murderer. But we know that Soo-ho has PTSD-induced partial amnesia. To be doubly sure, Pil-jik and his thugs ambush Soo-ho, and Soo-ho is knocked out after getting dizzy on seeing Pil-jik’s sword — the same sword that wreaked havoc on his family 15 years ago. Pil-jik uses the opportunity to check Soo-ho’s back, and the scar from his blade that terrible night confirms Soo-ho’s real identity.

Pil-jik is about to deliver the killing blow when masked Yeo-hwa appears to fight off the thugs. Phew! She manages to rescue an unconscious Soo-ho, and drags him to the Watermill of Secret Romance. When Soo-ho eventually comes to, he tells Yeo-hwa about his family’s massacre and memory loss. “To use your secret as leverage, my secret is too great,” he says. But more than just a means to assure Yeo-hwa that her secret is safe with him, I think Soo-ho telling her his secret represents the level of trust he has in her.

The biggest surprise this week was the arrival of a new merchant, JOO YO-SEOB (Oh Eui-shik), who returned to Joseon after a long stint abroad. So-woon’s keen eyes picked up on his noble birth status despite his western mannerisms, and she ended up being right because Yo-seob is…Lord Seok’s “dead” son! Ermm… yeah, I think I need a minute to process this.

From all indications, Yo-seob was in love with a foreigner, and Lord Seok refused to tarnish his family’s reputation by approving the relationship. Seok ordered his son to leave the family with a threat to personally eliminate him if he ever returned. And to his faithful wife, he lied that their son travelled to Qing and met an accidental death in the woods. Nah, Lord Seok is such a demon, and I need Lady Yoo to arise and borrow a leaf from Lady Park’s playbook!

All of this happened 15 years ago before Yeo-hwa married into the family, and now this undead husband has just complicated our romance! To make matters worse — or more fun, I don’t know at this point — Yo-seob is attracted to Yeo-hwa at first sight! When he asks around for who she is, he learns that she is the Left State Councilor’s daughter-in-law. “My wife?” Yo-seob spurts, and I’ll never be tired of him inserting English phrases into his conversations. Lol.

The week ends with Yeo-hwa finding a note hidden in her room that says to meet at a certain location for information about her brother. She shows up to the meet as her masked alter ego, and it’s Yoon-hak behind the note. She points a sword to his throat, and Soo-ho steps in with his own sword to her neck. Oh well, it’s time for everyone to lay their cards on the table and form a new alliance.

As to the end result of this alliance, I’m guessing, like with every other sageuk, the good guys will triumph over the baddies — without casualties, I hope. We got Lady Oh’s villain era last week, and the undead husband this week. I’m not sure what the drama can do to top these reveals next week. But feel free to surprise me, Show.

Thankfully, despite all these complications, the show still manages to be fun. The pacing is moving along really nicely, and while I’d like more progress with the OTP’s romance, I’m not that unsatisfied with where they currently are. It’s the same thing with Yoon-hak and Yeon-seon. I particularly liked how he went out of his way to let her know that her commoner status didn’t matter to him, and wherever these two end up — friendship or romance — I think I’ll be fine with it.

 
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