[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.]
Episode 9 starts full of hope and at the end of episode 10, our two lovers are hopeless in their quest for love. We also see the rise and fall of hope for Joseon’s fate.
Ae-shin’s Hope
After they hug, Ae-shin and Eugene decide to leave the apothecary and go to the Glory Hotel. Both Ae-shin and Eugene are full of hope for their new relationship. Of course, there are many obstacles in the way. One being the state of Joseon.
Eugene is concerned that Ae-shin’s identity has been discovered by Dong-mae, but Ae-shin can read him (Dong-mae). She tells Eugene that Dong-mae would never hurt her. She saved him once. Because he returned her grace like a vicious animal, she believes he would save her at least once.
Eugen tells her that he remembers noble women living like flowers. She says that she is as well – fire flower [flames, or firework].
“When I’m out in the field, I always thinking about the weight of death. So, I take my shot carefully and retreat quickly. When we wear Western clothes and cover our faces, we become faceless and nameless. We become only of the Righteous Army. That is why we need one another. I know it’s cruel to my grandfather, but I wish to burn brightly then wilt. Like a flame.”
Ae-shin’s hope for her future is that of a flame or fireworks. We wonder why she would choose such as a sad ending for herself, but her hope is to live and die serving Joseon. She wants to live her life to the fullest and die fighting for her cause.
Eugene says she’s quite cruel. He wonders where he sits between her passion and cruelty? He thought he was already there, but he may have to take another step into the flames. He admits that he is in trouble. He is troubled because there doesn’t seem to be room for him in her quest to live as a flame.
Ae-shin is a doer, which is why she goes to the Glory Hotel to see Hui-seong. There is only one reason why Ae-shin would meet her fiancé, to break the engagement. Hui-seong knows before she says the words. No matter how much Ae-shin hopes Hui-seong would agree, she knows that this is a difficult ask. Korean marriages are not merely about the couple, but it is a union of two families. Koreans take promises very seriously.
Ae-shin’s hope with Eugene is dashed when Eugene admits his background. Eugene knows what will happen once he finishes his story to her, but he has no intention of keeping things from her. Just as we expected, our unhappy moment for the couple.
When Eugene is done telling his story, he asks the question everyone has been asking.
“The Joseon that you are trying to save, who lives in it? Is there a life for a butcher? Is there a life for slaves?”
Chances are Ae-shin hadn’t thought about what life would look like for low birth people. While this is a character flaw – because every character must have flaws – she is a product of her culture and position. But what makes her the hero is that she is willing to ask the hard question about herself.
Ae-shin’s relationship with Gunner Jang provides the answer. She may not have asked those questions Eugene asked her, but her actions were answering those questions for along time. Gunner Jang points out that she has dedicated her life for the past 10 years, risking her life during every mission. The issue, however, isn’t that she can look past people’s station, but how society continues to judge people.
Gunner Jang kneels down and says, “if people found out how close we are, I will be charged for breaking all moral laws. I will be killed for mistreating someone beyond my social rank. It has nothing to do with your feelings. That’s the law. That’s the society. So, it cannot be. Time has come for you and him to part.”
All the hopes she carried for Eugene has vanished by the mere fact that he was a slave, and she is a noblewoman.
Eugene’s Hope
Ever since Eugene found out about Foreign Minister Lee Se-hun’s role in his parent’s death, we’ve been wondering what justice he will serve. It was by chance that Eugene got a hold of the bank certificate. Eugene giving up the interpreter to Minister Lee Jeong–mun is a test to see if he can be trusted.
Eugene has already set the stage for Lee Se-hun’s demise when he tells the minister his true identity. Minister Lee will not die by Eugene’s hands, but rather in the hands of Joseon. Eugene can’t help himself and humiliates Lee one more time before Lee’s final moments.
Gunner Jang starts shooting at Minister Lee to create a divergence for Eugene to sneak into the house and plant the evidence – the bank certificate everyone has been looking for. Minister Lee Jeong-mun arrives with the police and they search the house and find the evidence Eugene had planted. Of course, Lee Se-hun will plead innocence and say that he has been framed. Everyone knows he was framed, but his execution is swift.
Eugene has gotten his revenge without getting blood on his hands. His hope for justice is complete.
Eugene’s hope with Ae-shin is another story. As we saw from Ae-shin’s perspective, Eugene had known their relationship was hopeless from the beginning. Knowing that truth, he still couldn’t stay away from her. But he has gotten her answer and he is heartbroken nonetheless.
“Dear Joseph,
On my way back to Joseon, I may have had some hopes. I hoped that I had changed, and I hoped that Joseon would’ve changed too. Hence, I hope to stand next to the woman I met on this soil and walk side by side with her. From the very first moment I saw her. But it doesn’t seem like I’ve managed to get out of the small crate yet. Even though I knew she’d give that look if I told her my long story. Because of her sincerity, I’ve decided to run away from Joseon again.”
All of Eugene’s hopes are gone as far as Ae-shin is concerned and he wants to run away, far from anything that reminds him of her. Eugene finds that the music box had been returned and the curtain sways as the breeze flows through the open window. He knows that this was Ae-shin’s way of saying ‘good-bye’.
Do not fear. This is a Korean Drama and there will be another set of hope and hopeless coming for Ae-shin and Eugene.
Dong-mae’s Hope
Dong-mae’s hope is clear. He wants to understand Ae-shin’s choice, but he also needs to save her. Dong-mae finds another Righteous Army man he saw at Jemulpo. Dong-mae asks a lot of questions because he wants to understand why people would risk their lives to fight a battle that seems hopeless. When the man refuses to give up names of other members, he tries to commit suicide. This takes Dong-mae by surprise. This is the resolve of the Righteous Army members.
“‘Run away if your cover is blown and die if you get caught.’ Try catching a hundred of us. Anyone of my comrades would do the same.”
This is the danger that Ae-shin is in.
When Dong-mae goes to see Hayashi, he doesn’t bring the captured Right Army member. Instead, he takes the runaway owner of Hwawollu. Hayashi is mad that Dong-mae failed to capture any Righteous Army members, but Dong-mae quickly turns the blame on Hayashi for providing bad information to him. The real reason Dong-mae didn’t bring the Righteous Army member was to protect Ae-shin, so we see Dong-mae’s character shift. Or perhaps, this was always the reason he came back to Joseon.
Dong-mae starts to pick up on the fact that others – Hui-seong and Eugene – may also know about Ae-shin’s extracurricular activities. They all pretend they don’t because all three men are protecting Ae-shin. Eugene says to Dong-mae that the person with a limp has to be Lee Wan-ik – for both of them. Hui-seong got his suit to match the one Ae-shin was seen wearing. While Dong-mae may not like the fact others are also protecting Ae-shin, his hope of keeping her safe also increases by these two men’s actions.
Dong-mae knows that he doesn’t have a chance with Ae-shin, but his hope of seeing her drives him. When he takes the young servant to question about the bank certificate, Ae-shin intervenes. His actions gets him a nice slap on the face, but it also forces Ae-shin to see Dong-mae on his terms, every 15th of the month, until he is satisfied. This brings a smile to his face as he continues to hope for something that can never be.
Joseon’s Hope
Now that the Emperor got his certificate back, he wonders what he should do with it. Lee Jeong-mun says that Britain lent money to Japan and it is instigating a war with Russia. If that happens, Joseon will be the most harmed country. Perhaps, they should use the money to fortify Joseon’s military. The Emperor agrees and he wants Eugene’s help. Lee Jeong-mun correctly points out that Eugene’s motives were not for Joseon. Lee says that they should find out about Eugene, but the Emperor is drawn to Eugene.
But soon the Emperor’s hope for Eugene’s help vanishes when Eugene refuses the job offer.
We see further trouble for Joseon when Lee Wan-ik gathers other ministers to lobby for a position as the new Foreign Minister. In court, the ministers are arguing for Lee Wan-ik as the new Foreign Minister even getting the British involved on Japan’s side. However, the Emperor appoints the Minister of Farm and Trade as the new Foreign Minister and Lee Wan-ik would assume the now vacant Farm and Trade division. This upsets Lee Wan-ik greatly and he will be out for blood.
The reason why these characters fight is because there is hope, or rather, they choose to see the hope. Even in the most desperate times, Korea never lost hope. This is just a snap shot of Japanese colonialism. Things were unspeakable bad for decades. Through it all, people kept fighting, for their identify, sovereignty, and culture.
That’s all for this post. I will see you next time for Episode 11 and 12: Reveals. What will our characters reveal to us?