[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.]
We are a quarter of the way through the series and things are heating up.
Before I get to the episode’s theme, I want to remark on why Korean dramas are so compelling – they love to mix genres. In just this episode, it seems like a thriller, then romance, and a bit of comedy rolled up in a war story. Sometimes, it fails at giving the audience what it expects, which we will go over later.
But as Hina says, “it sure was a fun ride, wasn’t it?” And I am much more forgiving as long as the journey is fun.
Let’s get back to our episode. We see our characters going through a rollercoaster ride of emotions. This is why the episode’s theme is self-control. How much self-control does each character have and what does that mean for their goals?
Dong-mae
This opening scene gives the audience Dong-mae’s struggles. When he grabs a hold of Ae-shin’s skirt [a big, fat no-no for this time and culture], a stunned Ae-shin asks him what he’s doing. He replies, “Nothing, I’m just here, aegisshi.”
He continues by saying, “Do you know why I came back to Joseon? Just one time, because of that one moment (when he said that she was just a noble fool living in luxury), even after turning a hundred times, there is only this one path, aegisshi.”
Yoo Yeon Seok’s performance is brilliant and riveting. He conveys Dong-mae’s conflict and helplessness with that intense gaze at Ae-shin. We’re not sure if Ae-shin will become his victim (of his obsession) or if his confession will allow him to resolve his feelings. The level of complexity in this character is one of the reasons why this drama works so well.
Dong-mae certainly shows a lack of self-control when it comes to Ae-shin, but it’s his love for her that allows him to walk away. Despite his strong feelings for her, he has already brought enough harm to her. He will not cause her more pain.
Dong-mae does show great restraint when he is with Eugene and Hui-seong at the bar. He already hates Hui-seong for being Ae-shin’s fiancé. He finds out that Eugene has been calling Ae-shin to the American Legation, so Eugene is probably on his hit list as well. Hui-seong provides a bit of a comic relief, which disarms Dong-mae to a certain degree even though both him and Eugene talk about killing Hui-seong.
It’s unclear what Dong-mae’s goals are besides knowing everything about Ae-shin and making money by scaring people. Perhaps, he really only has one goal – Ae-shin.
Eugene
As the main male protagonist of the series, audience expects Eugene to show restraint and self-control. And for the most part, we get that.
When Eugene finds out that Hui-seong is Ae-shin’s fiancé, he is shocked. Completely understandable. Eugene hasn’t fully accepted his feeling for Ae-shin, so there is no justification for him to act rash. Even when he brings up the subject to Ae-shin, he is calm, but he admits that he is curious.
Eugene also shows self-control when he unexpectedly runs into Ae-shin’s palanquin on his way to the chicken soup tavern and when he walks her away from the American Legation after he discovers her in disguise.
Eugene has a much harder time when we see him deal with his parents. This is the scar that he has carried with him for 30 years. He still feels the injustice of his parent’s death and he is understandably enraged at hearing that his parent’s bodies were thrown into some unknown grave.
We see Eugene falter when he finds out about Hui-seong’s family – his old master. His step towards Ae-shin isn’t out of his affection for her, but rather his deep hatred for the Kim family. The sin of one’s parent is the sin of their offspring. This is a hard concept for Westerners, but it is something that Koreans have lived with for hundreds of years. This is also the guilt that Hui-seong lives with. Living by that code, Eugene could have easily killed Hui-seong, but he makes a calculated move by accepting Ae-shin’s offer – “love”.
Joseon
For Joseon, the self-control isn’t about emotion, but sovereignty. The missing item, which we find out is the bank deposit certificate, will make or break Korea’s self-control and self-governance. We know that the Japanese are looking for it because Dong-mae was hire to look for it. The Emperor is also looking for it because it’s his bank certificate. It seems that the Righteous Army via the potter, searched Eugene’s room looking for it.
Eugene remarks that the bank certificate for 100,000 yen, which has the signature of the Emperor of Korea, signifies Korea’s fate. Why?
We will go into that more in the later episodes, but the Korean Emperor has deposited a quite a large sum of money to the Russia-China bank in Shanghai, secretly from the Japanese. And the only person allowed to withdraw the money is the Emperor of Korea.
“Our ally, Russia, has lost it’s power, whereas the British-Japanese alliance has solidified. U.S. is observing the situation without taking sides, and we still do not know where the deposit certificate is. Is the Queen, who died such a brutal death, trying to punish me?”
We feel Emperor Gojong’s desperation and he seems to be at wits end. It is imperative for the Emperor to find the certificate before it does not fall into the hands of the Japanese.
Couple of side notes not related to our theme:
Wedding
When Ae-shin’s aunt visits Hui-seong mother to talk about the wedding, she asks for Hui-seong birth date and time. This is an important step in looking at the couple’s marriage compatibility. You may think that maybe they should have looked at this before Hui-seong and Ae-shin were engaged, right?
Some families do look at this before the actual marriage talk. Other times, they look at the birth dates and time to choose the most auspicious day for the wedding. In either case, looking at one’s birth date and time was an important tradition. Even today, some families look at the couple’s birth date and time for compatibility prior to the engagement or the wedding.
Bowing
When Lee Wan-ik enters the throne room, he struggles and completes a full bow to the Emperor. When Hui-seong returns home to his parent’s house, he says that they need to receive a full bow. Bowing is an important greeting in Korean culture.
There is the full bow that required the person to lower themselves all the way to the floor. These days, the full bow is reserved for ceremonies and special occasion like New Year.
There is the half bow where the person bend his or her lower half of the body almost 90 degrees. You see this when someone is meeting a person of high importance. You will often see this when an employee meets the higher ups or meeting future in-law for the first time.
Then, there is the small bow where the person lowers his or her head. I got so used to automatically bowing that I have accidently bowed to Westerns when I return to the U.S. after two years. It’s that common.
That’s all I had for Episode 6. Please join me next time for Episode 7 and 8: Holding Back. We know that some are more capable than others in self-control, but will it prevent them from going all in or hold back from what they really want?