[Spoiler alert: If you have not seen Mr. Sunshine, the article below contains spoilers. Please stop reading now if you do not want the details to the episodes.]
Today’s post is about a very human emotion, jealousy. What drives jealousy or what prompts it?
Let’s take a closer look at our four main characters.
Ae-shin’s Jealousy
It’s hard to ignore Ae-shin’s jealousy. We expect her to be more upset at finding out Eugene’s identity as an American soldier. The emotion we get is jealousy instead.
This is interesting to the audience because Ae-shin has already crossed the line from mere curiosity to genuine feelings for Eugene. She is upset, of course, but it’s the ugly green monster, jealousy, that is driving her.
After leaving the train depot, Ae-shin and her group are on their way home. Haman-daek is curious about Hina and asks what “hotel” is. She says, “Her (Hina’s) business must be booming because the owner is so pretty.” Ae-shin mutters that Hina wasn’t that pretty. Haman-daek continues by saying that she has never see a beauty like her in Hanseong. Ae-shin gets really annoyed from this and says, “then I’ll be the one in all of Joseon.” She slams her palanquin window like a spoiled child and Haman-daek wonders why Ae-shin is so upset.
Ae-shin is still upset when we see her trying to draw Eugene’s name on the ground by her training hut. She remembers the interaction between Hina and Eugene at the train depot and mutters, “I see you have a fair share of women.” In part, it’s her jealousy that leads her to the English school, where she is not allowed to go. She is determined to learn the language as Hina had done and to share a connection with Eugene – perhaps to read his name.
Hina’s Jealousy
Hina saves the day for Ae-shin when Ae-shin is being detained by the American soldiers. They change clothes and have a nice little chat together. Hina even confides in Ae-shin that she owes her great fortune to her dead husband. She also tells Ae-shin that it was not a marriage of her choice, but more or less being sold by her father. These two women are sizing each other up during their lovely chat, but they seem to be genuinely interested in each other.
Back at the Glory Hotel, Hina watches Eugene as he laughs and talks with his fellow Americans. What we find out is that Hina did not help Ae-shin out of altruistic reasons, but she saw the tension between Ae-shin and Eugene – which she did not like. When she sees Dong-mae, she admits that she was trying to interrupt Ae-shin and Eugene, but it only seems to bring them together. Still, she tells Dong-mae not to kill Eugene. “There may be a day when he asks about me.”
It’s hard to know what triggered Hina to have romantic thoughts about Eugene since their interaction was so brief. She may have felt some kind of kindred spirit, both Koreans, but also “foreigners”. She may not have had men acting chivalrous towards her and she was grateful that he treated her like a person. After all, this is Joseon and she was sold into marriage by her own father. She felt his kindness when he gave her his handkerchief for her bleeding hand. While Hina acts much cooler than Ae-shin, you can see a bit of jealousy in her when she sees that Eugene is concerned about Ae-shin.
Eugene’s Jealousy
When Eugene returns to his room, someone had turned it upside down looking for something. Eugene remembers Dong-mae saying that he is very good at looking for things, so he approaches Dong-mae. Dong-mae replies that he had just finished talking about doing that, but someone seem to have beaten him to it. Dong-mae says that whoever has the thing that he is looking for, they will likely die.
When the witnesses are called to the American Legation, people give the wrong description to Choon-sik, who was hired to do a rendering of the suspect. Eugene incorrectly assumes that Ae-shin and her accomplice stole the rifle. He also remembers that someone had searched his room and wonders if Ae-shin is in possession of it (the thing Dong-mae is looking for).
He tries to get Ae-shin to tell her who stole the rifle because he thinks that the stolen rifle and the item Dong-mae is looking for may be related. He feels that her life may be in danger. He admits to Ae-shin, “I’m trying to protecting you.” When she asks why, he says that because he can. He even admits that it may also be his jealousy as he shows her the picture of the “suspect”. Ae-shin tells him that the picture is of the Japanese soldier.
This is a pretty big admission for Eugene. He admits to Ae-shin that he is trying to protect her. He just spills that’s he may be jealous of her accomplice. Eugene’s fear that Ae-shin may be in danger allows him to admit his jealousy and concern.
Eugene is conflicted because of his concern and jealousy. He doesn’t know what to make of this woman. He spent his whole life hating the noble class. He had resolved himself to accomplish his mission when he got his assignment. Now, he finds himself drawn to Ae-shin despite his resolve.
Dong-mae’s Jealousy
Dong-mae being jealous of anyone in Ae-shin’s surrounding is something the audience can see miles away. Remember, he killed two men in broad daylight because they wanted to do bad things to Ae-shin. So, it’s not a surprise when we see Dong-mae pay extra attention to Eugene when Hina mentions that they (Dong-mae and Eugene) seem to share concerns over a certain Lady Ae-shin.
When Dong-mae was on the run as a child, he watched from a distance as his parents were being beaten by the commoners on the street. Ae-shin hides him in her palanquin in order to save him. When Dong-mae asks Ae-shin why she saved him, she says that all people’s lives are precious. Dong-mae asks her who said that and she replies “Confucius”. Dong-mae takes the edge of her skirt and wipes his bloody lips and says, “you’re just a noble fool who lives in luxury”.
Dong-mae’s cruelty towards the young Ae-shin seemed to be out of jealousy. He should be grateful, but he is spiteful. Ae-shin lives in a world that he has never seen – where all lives are equally important. She spends her time reading and learning. Ae-shin’s world is for the few lucky privileged people. He sees the disconnect between her world and his. He doesn’t say these words to be hateful to her, but more out of anger that he has to live in his world. He has to be on the run, while the little girl sits in her silk dress talking about everyone’s lives being precious.
It’s this cruelty to Ae-shin that will haunt and follow Dong-mae around. In the coming episodes, we will see how Dong-mae deals with making amends.
That’s all for this episode. Join me next time for Episode 5: Choice. Now that our characters are opening up to their feelings, what type of choices will they make?