This episode “Haechi (The legendary beast that differentiates good and evil)” aired on April 30. Spoiler alert!
Well I have postponed creating this last post of Haechi long enough. I didn’t want it to end! Waaaaa!
We pick up this episode at the Saheonbu court where King Yeongjo tells all those present and tells them that he is abolishing the position “Chief of Personnel” (that controls all three government agencies) because it is corrupt and no one trusts them. The news is received in both extremes of the emotion spectrum. Some are so happy to see this happen at last while the high officials are in absolute shock!
King Yeongjo hasn’t even arrived to his palace when Ja-dong runs up to him that Mil Pung kun is back in the castle causing complete chaos screaming ‘The King has arrived.” When Yeongjo arrives he tells him that he has come to die as a King. King Yeongjo notices that he is shaking, that he is scared to die. As he is dragged away by the guards he is able to overtake them and grab one of their swords and starts sprinting sown towards our King. Yeo ji noticing no one is really going to do anything jumps in front of the King to protect him, but King Yeonjo swiftly turns and protects her. They both discover that Mil Pung has stabbed himself with the sword. They watch him die, as he is imagining that he is reuniting with his beloved Yoon-young as King.
We see the execution of the Namin rebel In jwa and Byung-joo. We also see the very touching scene of Dal Moon saying his goodby to Yoon-young on a bed of flowers on a boat down the river.
Yeo ji comforts the King as he questions his ability as King he may make wrong decisions. Her answer is that the fact that he asks himself those questions is what makes him a good King. He decides to address the people to ask them about taxes and they tell him that the tax that they find hard to pay is the military tax, and King Yeongjo makes the proposition that the landowners should pay for that tax for the and that they own. That makes all the aristocrats angry and there is a lot of shouting back and fourth. To define the situation, King Yeongjo asks the people to split up and go to a different palace gate depending on their opinion. He says that he will follow whichever opinion has the majority. Of course the regular townspeople are the majority so the tax law is eventually passed in their favor.
King Yeongjo visits Dal-moon and he jokes about him being worried that he will become the King of the streets as well and he is going to hold another public conversation soon. Dal Moon re-states that he is the King of the Streets. He also visits Min Jin heon as he has not responded to the Kings summons to the palace. He has retired and is working as a potter. They converse and he counsels the young King again and then does a deep bow as he leaves. Deep as in getting on his knees!
In the last scene we see King Yeongjo hold Yeon ji’s hand as they are surprised by Ja dong. The romantic scene is broken not only by Ja dong but by King Yeonjo’s discovery that a nearby bridge is in very bad state. He decides to walk down to talk to the people who live below the bridge and get their thoughts, totally unprotected. That leaves Ja dong running to get the guard while Yeo ji observes him with love from the bridge. The drama ends with King Yeongjo thinking and repeating the same words lord Min jin heon had told him earlier from his perspective “As I walk this road, I hope I will not easily get exhausted or disappointed. After all, both life and politics is about slowly progressing one step at a time.”
The End!
Oh that beautiful face! What a sight he is!
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