[Drama 2013/2014] King's Daughter, Soo Baek Hyang 제왕의 딸, 수백향

Araminta Jouana · November 16, 2013

Well, i guess that one way or another, the King is still guilty of something ! The thing which i found inacceptable is the exchange of the two boys ! He took the easy course for him in a moment of weakness. Isn't fair play for Heaven divine justice to send SH to the king ? Just continue to raise and love cuckoos...but this time without his knowledge.

Still, i never was so conflicted by a drama ! They really did a good job in proposing so many cornelian dilemna (impossible choice in dilemna: fatality either way).

ps: Any one can tell me if the cornelian dilemna is a common knowledge in english ?!

chasen8888 · November 16, 2013

My Thoughts

This week’s episode focused on the prediction of the dire future of Baekjae due to the mistake embracement of the SH/”SBH” by the king. In addition it goes to show SH/”SBH” greediness for power in the future. As stated in a previous my thoughts post all this likely to happen because of the king’s feeling of guilt towards Chae Hwa - CH and trying to make all this up through SH/”SBH” which leads to very foolish decisions and horrific consequences. The king in his own way though wise is completely “blinded by the traitor - SH/”SBH”.

The episodes also cemented the broken relationship between father and son “JM” who is now committed to destroying him through SH/”SBH” ‘something tells me that he will end up falling in his own trap’ as SH/”SBH” becomes “wiser”. It also shows that JM knows that SH/”SBH” is a fraud. The sad thing about this is that the father truly loves his son but because of country and in a way filial piety (towards previous king) he is unable to embrace him.

As for team SN what we have somewhat learned was what one of the true purposes of the field training is and that is elimination of trainees & weak BMs. We are all aware that the spy business isn't friendly and if you are not mentally/physically prepared/tough it’s not the life for that person it’s a kill/be killed profession - not pretty. The other is that MGG has talent as an artist which is a good skill/talent to have, reading & writing are as important so the intelligence component i.e. part 2 begins next week. Therefore SN’s new assignment/tests begins.

What I somewhat find interesting is SH/”SBH” thoughts on SN, she selfishly loves and hates her at the same time. Because SN has always been there for her in difficulties she loves her but because of SN relationship with mom and the fact that she is the true princess she hates her.

Kucheon – KC. He did not stop the fate of CH with the king. That fate was broken the minute the king turned his back on her making her aware of his choice. CH tried to die with her father in the fire, but due to KC complete love for CH, saved her from herself when she tried to commit suicide more than once, there would be no story if she died so early. He waited until she was ready & for her permission to be with her as a man – changing of the hair pin was her commitment to him as a wife. KC was never selfish, his past revealed that he was bad but he changed for the better through CH & the family excluding SH were happy until JM destroyed that happiness. As for SH's personality - part of it is because she is spoiled, as earlier mentioned they were too giving to the poisonous 'flower'.

I have read most of your points as to the seers’ prediction & on the king, arminta ‘s points are valid in that it refers to the king. I believed it was the mother because of the ‘female term applied’. Also it in a way could also apply partly to SN & SH’s relationship as SN was instrumental in raising SH as her own & that child/SH stole everything from her. SN is also blind to SH real character, she has always put SH’s needs over her own hence the suffering that she goes through for SH who will be Baekjae's destruction. What I am happy about is that GM is aware of the prediction & therefore has to be more vigilant from it, hope he got the other part.

In the case of the king there are something’s to note about him:-

The cornelian dilemma – which is the first time I have read this term (looked it up, thanks learn something new), is another phrase for a common one known as “In between a rock and a hard place” which was the state of the king at that time. Although most of us do not support the decision he made. It has to be noted that he made a promise to the previous king which is to save the prince because he is too young to take the throne, the son was in danger, he will be easier to be assassinated and used as a puppet by the councilors etc for power and control of the country. It seem that this occurred in the past & the country was badly damaged, this was what forced GM in making decisions on behalf of the king & lying about CH as he knew that the current king was not interested in the throne to rule Baekjae. You also have the king’s own son – he does not want him in power per se and yet has to keep him alive. Therefore the solution he came up with was to use the clothes as to switch yet protecting them. To me, his mistake was entrusting JM to the previous king ‘loyal councilor – JM’s aide’ who accuses him of causing the death of the previous king therefore raising JM with a twisted view & greed for power. When all JM wanted was a loving father.

The other mistake that the king made was literally turning his back on CH when she came pleading to him for her father. We do not like it but it is a fact that CH’s father did kill the previous king and he must be punished, however what the king does not know is that the father was actually tricked by GM who made implications to him that should the previous king be out of the way it would lead to a rise in power via CH. Also there is & should be a consequence of this treasonous action it’s not one to forgive easily. What the king did was chose the previous king and country over CH and lost a lot. Just like CH chose filial piety over her love for the king, he did the same with her. Remember family blood is one of the most important things/guide for him it in a way contributes to his downfall.

The king being able to see CH by going himself. In defense it’s not as easy as it appears, he is not in his current position able to do so. Before he is a man he is a king with the responsibilities & threats associated with it. We as regular folks have more freedom than they do as they are constantly watched etc., hence that’s how JM was able to attack CH because of it, plus if he went himself it would have been easier for him to be assassinated, even if he went in disguise the excuse would that be of bandits etc. What would happen is MN would have become king = no story for us viewers.

Finally the king embracing the fraud over the true SBH. SH/”SBH” is a very good liar, she has most of the evidence pointing her as the ‘true’ princess, SN still does not know that she is SBH, she just thinks of term/promise meaning to always protect SH. SH/”SBH” told the king and others that the mother & sister are dead killed by bandits which is plausible as it is known that there was a frequency of bandit movement in the area at the time. In her mind SN is dead after abandoning her earlier. SH/”SBH” lies to herself and others until it becomes truth which makes her very convincing the exception being JM who knows who she is, but he does not know what SN looks like either/if she is alive. With exception to the GM no one of consequence knows what SN looks like/that she is in fact SBH. Therefore, because of the fact that SH is also CH’s daughter they are accepting her as “SBH” but by embracing the fraud he has become foolish via guilt.

This week episode was a bit of frustration for me in that more was focused on SH etc and less on SN but what it has done in its own way was lay a base of things to come.

I am happy to read more comments from fellow watchers of this show its fun & interesting. Plus you learn new things “cornelian dilemma” was one for me.

Until next time.

November 16, 2013

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone ! It's so interesting !

Yes, the king's guilt towards CH led him to acknowledge SH as a princess. He was unable to protect CH. So, now, he has to take care of SH.

It was easy for her to deceive him : name (SBH), hairpin, song....
But GM seems to be suspicious. He also saw the 2 girls even if he can't clearly remember...

SH is the character I can't understand. She has everything : a loving mother, a gentle father who « died »( ?? KC's body disappeared) protecting her, a protective sister who bows to all her whims..

She rejected all her family's love. She disowns them... She's really ungrateful...

On the contrary, I feel sorry for JM (even if I don't approve his behaviour) because all he wanted was (like you said Chasen8888) a father's love. All his attempts to please the King failed... He was always ostracized. Since he was young, the minister who took care of him keeps telling him that the King is responsible for his father's murder so he had to avenge him (filial duty).

The king loves his son and he tried to protect him but by refusing to give him love or support JM's hate will grow...

I love the cuckoo's metaphor. It symbolises perfectly the drama story.

About KC

He was really devoted to CH. He saved her and wanted to see her smile.He wasn't selfish at all. Without him CH would have killed herself.

She fall for him and decided to become his wife. They were happy together.

The cornelian dilemma

Thanks again, Chasen8888. I didn't know there is an equivalent in english because this expression is tipically french. I was also curious.

This expression fits perfectly the King's choice, Araminta !

tulip06 · November 17, 2013

This is such complexity in the feeling of each that makes this drama so great....i agree...i can't hate KC...Selfish or not he saved her and the baby...this stupid king gave up his own son...he made everything worse...he sent his men to his lover house...did nothing to save her...after 20 years he dares to call her and the only thing he does is to cause her death indirectly...we saw first ep first scenes it seems his children will kill each other...it was blood and JM was dead

tulip06 · November 17, 2013

Anyone else think it's weird that counselor married his teenaged daughter to the King and not to the Crown Prince? There's such an age difference that she could easily spend the majority of her life a widow and unable to marry as the Queen Dowager.
Anyway, I suppose a king for a son-in-law now is better than a king for a son-in-law later...

November 17, 2013

tulip06 said: Anyone else think it's weird that counselor married his teenaged daughter to the King and not to the Crown Prince? There's such an age difference that she could easily spend the majority of her life a widow and unable to marry as the Queen Dowager.
Anyway, I suppose a king for a son-in-law now is better than a king for a son-in-law later...

November 17, 2013

Rinachan
said:
libby5602
said:

November 17, 2013

First, I thought it was also directed to the boys because I watched the episode without the subs. When the seer spoke, they show at the same time the girls and the boys (episode 28).

After I watched the episode subbed, it was clear she was referring to the girls. She clearly said : " The fraud will take its father' s eyes". That happened with the painting of the king. She also shouted when she saw SH.

About SN's love for her sister, her mother always told SN to protect SH.
But like her real father (the king), the bond that links her family is very important. She's the eldest sister so she has to watch over her little sister no matter what. It's one of her personality traits

NewKDramaAddict · November 17, 2013

tulip06 said: Anyone else think it's weird that counselor married his teenaged daughter to the King and not to the Crown Prince? There's such an age difference that she could easily spend the majority of her life a widow and unable to marry as the Queen Dowager.
Anyway, I suppose a king for a son-in-law now is better than a king for a son-in-law later...

irilight · November 18, 2013

Hi, First time posting here...

@pangia, thank you for starting this thread....

I just marathoned this drama to be current... It is so good, the story so compelling...

Thank you all for your insights..
Araminta Jouana said: In a way,it was KC who stopped CH's fate with the king. He took her away and finally had her. We all loved him but maybe, SH took her selfishness and greedy personnality from her dad...? Let's just wait and see what he will do when SH will do harm and what will he do about SN ? In such situation, the good ones are always betrayed for "good" reason (SH is still his blood related daughter so even if she's denying him, he may obey her and cover for her.).

This is such complexity in the feeling of each that makes this drama so great.

spring123 · November 18, 2013

irilight said: Hi, First time posting here...

@pangia, thank you for starting this thread....

I just marathoned this drama to be current... It is so good, the story so compelling...

Thank you all for your insights..
Araminta Jouana said: In a way,it was KC who stopped CH's fate with the king. He took her away and finally had her. We all loved him but maybe, SH took her selfishness and greedy personnality from her dad...? Let's just wait and see what he will do when SH will do harm and what will he do about SN ? In such situation, the good ones are always betrayed for "good" reason (SH is still his blood related daughter so even if she's denying him, he may obey her and cover for her.).

This is such complexity in the feeling of each that makes this drama so great.

NewKDramaAddict · November 18, 2013

spring123 said: irilight said: Hi, First time posting here...

@pangia, thank you for starting this thread....

I just marathoned this drama to be current... It is so good, the story so compelling...

Thank you all for your insights..
Araminta Jouana said: In a way,it was KC who stopped CH's fate with the king. He took her away and finally had her. We all loved him but maybe, SH took her selfishness and greedy personnality from her dad...? Let's just wait and see what he will do when SH will do harm and what will he do about SN ? In such situation, the good ones are always betrayed for "good" reason (SH is still his blood related daughter so even if she's denying him, he may obey her and cover for her.).

This is such complexity in the feeling of each that makes this drama so great.

spring123 · November 18, 2013

Look his son JM crying , CH father's family was destroyed , CH's poor family disappeared . his daughter SN becomes a beggar in the mountain !!

who can respect this kind of man ?? sorry , not me !!

I really want to wait and see how can the writers build up JM + SH 's relationship ??

If the King believes SH is his daughter ?? so he had to tell JM ... oh no you're my son ????

Then what could JM do ??

-Oh my God thank you my dear father ! you abandoned me to embrace you brother's son to sit on that throne !! ?????then people wouldn't say bad mouth about you ??? :)

In my country if you guy was going to shopping or somewhere else , but leaving you child ( even your dog ) in your car ( it doesn't matter Winter or Summer ), someone if they see your kids they'll call Police right away ... then you guy will get a big problem

100%for sure !!

Araminta Jouana · November 18, 2013

irilight said: Hi, First time posting here...

@pangia, thank you for starting this thread....

I just marathoned this drama to be current... It is so good, the story so compelling...

Thank you all for your insights..
Araminta Jouana said: In a way,it was KC who stopped CH's fate with the king. He took her away and finally had her. We all loved him but maybe, SH took her selfishness and greedy personnality from her dad...? Let's just wait and see what he will do when SH will do harm and what will he do about SN ? In such situation, the good ones are always betrayed for "good" reason (SH is still his blood related daughter so even if she's denying him, he may obey her and cover for her.).

This is such complexity in the feeling of each that makes this drama so great.

idil24 · November 18, 2013

if you haven't see ep 33 u can watch on link http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17c09x_%E3%85%85%E3%85%82%E3%85%8E_lifestyle?start=1079 no eng sub sorry

November 18, 2013

ep 33 caps

carmolita · November 18, 2013

I just watched episode 33 and loved the arrow shooting scene between SN and MN It was sooo Romantic. I can see where this is going SN is going to become skilled in archery and probably rival her brother JM~ as she was practicing archery even after her fingers were bleeding. They may even make her skilled in the sword to set her apart even further from SH and have her blindly walk in her father's footsteps.

I wouldn't be surprised if the crown prince eventually suspects who she is and keeps it to himself.

~ but I would expect the GM wife to be killed by the fake SH as she knows more than the others (except for JM) about SH true identity.

prissymom · November 19, 2013

@ araminta...
from my understanding of Kuchon's character he is a trained warrior of Koguryo, trained from when he was still young. i think he was able to kill many people because he is physically strong, that was how he earned his reputation. i don't think he kills just for the heck of it or because he is evil.
but i do think that he also displayed some selfishness. when he saw Chae Hwa's maid in the market, he hid from her. For what reason? He knows that Chae Hwa and the maid are very close, so it is unlikely that he hid from that maid because he is afraid that the maid will lead authorities to where he and Chae Hwa are living. I think his reason for hiding from the maid and not tellling Chae Hwa that he saw the maid is because he is afraid that Chae Hwa will leave him if she knows that the maid is alive. When he did that he showed selfishness, he took away Chae Hwa's right to decide her future by giving her only one option to survive - stay with him.
But Kuchon made-up for that show of selfishness towards the end. When Chae Hwa went to where the King was waiting for her, Kuchon did not stop her. He was the first one to step back, therefore he did not deprive Chae Hwa her right to choose her future. It is just unfortunate that Chae Hwa's choice eventually lead to her death.
SPECULATION: I think Kuchon will again save Seolhee in the future. In the synopsis it says that Seolhee will have a tragic ending. But a tragic ending does not necessarily mean death. For someone as vain and materialistic as Seolhee, losing her beauty and the wealth she is now enjoying, and living the simple life she hated so much could also be a tragic ending.
Maybe there will be another fire, and Kuchon will save her (like he saved Chae Hwa in the past). Maybe while saving her, Seolhee will be disfigured. Therefore, she will have no choice but to hide away from people and live a simple life, with only Kuchon for company, the father she dislikes so much. Living this kind of life can also be considered a tragedy if you are someone like Seolhee.
Seolhee may hate her former life, but she is more suitable for it than Seolnan. Remember those scenes when they are digging for root crops? Seolhee was very good at it, while Seolnan was so inept at that task.

prissymom · November 19, 2013

Finally, the writers have increased the tempo of the romance between Crown Prince and Seolnan. Here are some pictures....
In one of the scenes, Kangbok (Crown Prince trusty bodyguard) asks the Crown Prince why he kept following Seolnan the whole day. The Crown Prince, of course, denies this.