My Dearest (2023) Part 2 Episode 3

Episode 13 of My Dearest starts with Goo Yang-chun refusing the help of the women he terms tarnished by the intruders, and Gil-chae and other captives escaping capture by the hunters. Jang-hyun arrives in time to help them escape, but Gil-chae and other Joseon women captives reach a dead end on a cliff. Some women choose to jump into the water below, taking their lives. According to Joseon customs, they choose to die instead of going back soiled, as it would be a sin. 

Gil-chae tells them it is their will to live, and it does not concern their parents. She reminds Jong-jong how they chose to stay alive at Ganghwa Island and have been happy. She promises to protect Jong-jong and other Joseon women who choose to live and be recaptured. She offers her hand as assurance just as the hunters arrive and take them back to the slave market. Jong-jong and Gil-chae are separated. 

Goo Won-moo and his assistant arrive at an inn to rest for the night. They share a room with other men who taunt Won-moo for going to save a woman soiled by other men. Won-mo gets into a confrontation with the men, and later that night, they try to steal his coins. When he catches up to them, one begs on his knees for Won-moo to give him the money he intends to use to bail his wife to pay for his son. He tells Won-moo there is no need to get back his wife since she has lost her chastity, and he can always find another wife. The son’s life is more important since the man cannot replace his flesh and blood. Won-moo goes back, thinking about the man’s words. In Hanyang, Gil-chae’s family worries about Gil-chae’s abduction, while the neighbours think she deserves it. 

Eun-ae prays for the safe return of Gil-chae and Jong-jong. Yeon-joon tries to get assistance from the royal court but is turned back. He decides to go to the scholar who helped him while imprisoned to ask for help. The scholar says he has no way to help Gil-chae due to a lack of evidence that she is not an escaped captive. The scholar who escorts him out asks him to join them and help rebuild the country that is falling apart. 

Jang-hyun delivers the cows to the Joseon farmers. Later, he finds out that the masked slave hunter is the Qing Princess, and she has noticed him. She asks Jang-hyun to give his time. Meanwhile, Won-moo arrives in Simyang to look for Gil-chae. He enquires from the officials, but her name is not on the list of captured slaves. One official suggests that he look at the slave market. On the way, Won-moo remembers the words of the men he met. She would be okay if she is sold to the Princess’s house, but other men will soil her body if she is sent to the slave market. The site of the women at the market horrifies Won-moo.

The Princess takes Jang-hyun for a walk, but his reactions puzzle her. She says normal men usually stutter in her company or cannot look her in the eyes. The Princess’s words remind him of Gil-chae saying something similar, and he laughs. The Princess tells him of her role in the invasion of Joseon, but His Majesty disapproves of active women in society, so he says she should keep the palace women in line. Hence, she decided to hunt captives in disguise due to boredom. Later, she tries to kiss Jang-hyun, but he pulls away. She suggests he join her in her bed, but he says if a mere interpreter like him gets involved with royalty, he might lose his life.

Emperor Khan asks The Crown Prince to provide military rations for the Songshan battlefield. The court officials are against it and want him to ask for King Injo’s opinion. The Crown Prince asks Eunuch Pyo to send to Jang-hyun. He tells him about Yong Gol-dae trying to intimidate him again. Jang-hyun offers to help him find workers and horses to send to Gol-dae to help the Crown Prince continue to protect and stay loyal to the Joseon people.

Meanwhile, the Qing Princess sends a spy to look into Jang-hyun, and she reports that the Joseon Crown Prince seems to favour and trust Jang-hyun. She also tells her that Jang-hyun is not close to any women, and in his free time, he drinks alone. 

Won-moo returns to Hanyang but without Gil-chae. In a flashback of his confrontation with the seller at the slave market, he is told that Gil-chae is sold to a man. He also adds that she must be exhausted from caring for the man. Eun-ae does not accept that it is Gil-chae’s fate, so she asks Madam Bang-doo to accompany her to Simyang to bring back Gil-chae and Jong-jong. Ryang-eum overhears Eun-ae’s conversation with Yeon-joon and decides to go to Simyang to get Gil-chae. He knows that Jang-hyun is tied to her, and he might go crazy if something bad happened to her.

Meanwhile, the slave buyer who had Gil-chae brings her back and asks for his money. His head is bandaged, and he says it is Gil-chae’s fault. The slave seller thinks Gil-chae is a nuisance and takes her back to her cell. He also mentions that her husband came looking for her.

The Princess asks Jang-hyun to accompany her hunting. Later at night, she insists that he serve her in bed and promise not to abandon him like the women in his heart did. If she is married to another man, she will take him with her as long as he serves her in bed. The Princess gets drunk and passes out. The following day, Jang-hyun offers her honey water to help with the hangover. She thinks he stayed up all night stoking the fire so she does not get cold. 

Yang-chun and Goo-jam argue about whether or not Jang-hyun spent the night with a woman. Goo-jam thinks Jang-hyun cannot be with other women because of Gil-chae. When Jang-hyun arrives, he tells them he spent the night talking with a woman, but Yang-chun thinks otherwise. At the same time, Gil-chae seems to have lost all hope since the seller told her that Won-moo came for her but gave up and returned when he heard another man bought her. She loses her will to fight and becomes agreeable to her captives.

One day, she sees Jang-hyun at the market but hides to avoid him noticing her. Later in her cell, she thinks he might still feel hotter than others and even dreams of Jang-hyun coming to get her as her husband. 

Ryang-eum arrives in Simyang and tells Jang-hyun that Gil-chae is in Simyang. He goes to the Slave market to look for her. Coincidentally, Gil-chae is the item on sale. She thinks she sees things when she first sees him, but their eyes meet. Jang-hyun’s demeanour changes, and he beats every man who tries to stop him from approaching the isle. He kneels next to her, and tears start streaming down. The episode ends as he keeps crying out “WHY” since he cannot understand how Gil-chae is at the slave market.

The Episode Review

The episode delves deep into how the Joseons and the Qing people look down on women. The Joseons think a woman who has been captured is not worthy of being saved as the husbands can get another wife. The Qing Emperor thinks his daughters need not be active in society. Their role is to get into arranged marriages for the nation’s sake. Won-moo gave up on Gil-chae, and Yeon-joon let Eun-ae go alone to rescue Gil-chae.

The only people going against the beliefs are Gil-chae and Jang-hyun. She stops women from committing suicide by encouraging them to survive, and Jang-hyun fights his way towards Gil-chae. If you did not cry when Jang-hyun set his eyes on Gil-chae, your heart must be so strong. That look carried the weight of his confusion, disbelief, worry, anger, affection, and heartbreak. I could not hold myself back as he fought towards her, never once taking his eyes off her. Can they finally get together? What other obstacles will they have to overcome?