Dong Yi — a review of episodes 37 to 41

television

This is a spoiler-rich discussion of what happens in these episodes so do not read this post if you want the experience of watching the serial unfold onscreen. Further, these episode numbers are based on the terrestrial broadcasts I have seen and not on downloaded or DVD episodes. It’s possible that these numbers do not match your experience.

The scriptwriters have been playing with the convention that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. If the King (Ji Jin Hee) and Choi Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo) had met on an occasional basis inside and outside the Palace, there would have been continuing sparks. But this forced separation has really set the relationship on fire. So, finally, we have the touching moment. From this, you will understand the pun. It’s always emotionally affecting to see a couple reunited after a long period. That it should produce an almost immediate hug sealed the deal. There have been moments of physical contact before. We won’t count Dong Yi using the King as a step ladder to climb over a wall. She didn’t know who she was standing on. Overall, there’s been a slow but steady journey to this moment of intimacy. They have been wrestling with the problem of mismatched status as affection grew more real.

The King reminds Dong Yi of the rings in his proposal of "marriage"

The melodrama was really cranked up with Dong Yi inside the Palace as a laundry maid first able to contact Surveillance Bureau Court Lady Jung (Kim Hye-Sun) and fellow surveillance lady who have been so loyal. Then her hopes are dashed as she watches them arrested and her own safety comes under threat. The lascivious son of the Music Department’s director spotted her, sending the Palace into full lock-down as guards with the the right to capture with extreme prejudice scour every nook and cranny. Only just escaping before the doors to the outside world are closed, she retreats to the place where she and the King had enjoyed happy moments. Taking out her trusty fiddle, she plays the siren song that brings the King to her side. Good job he decided to spend the nighttime hours visiting old haunts.

Except, when you think of all the alarums and excursions she has endured over the last few episodes, running hither and thither under threat of death, it’s hardly surprising she manages only a few hours before the adrenaline finally runs out and she collapses. This leaves the King even more devastated. Having just recovered her only to find her at death’s door, the King and brother Cha Jeon-Soo (Bae Su-Bin) can do nothing but look on helplessly.

Lee Kwang-Soo and Lee Hee-Do as salt-of-the-earth musicians

In the meantime, the Southern faction in control of the court is readying itself to fight any attempt to reopen the case of the deposed Queen. Since they are all entrenched in the most senior positions it’s going to be difficult to work around them. Although our Chief of Police, Seo Yong-Gi (Jeong Jin-Yeon), has been promoted to the highest possible position to mount a full investigation, it’s not at all certain he will be allowed access to all the available information — not forgetting the fire at the Treasury destroyed most of the key documents anyway.

With a trap set by burying fake evidence in the grounds of the Treasury, Seo Yong-Gi arrests the Treasurer and Jang Hee-Jae (Kim Yoo Suk). With the torture starting, the King asks Queen Jang (Lee So-Yeon) whether she admits any wrongdoing. He cannot cover up the crimes, but he says he will forgive her in his heart. Not surprisingly, she rejects any hint of confession and, to turn the tables, gets the Southern faction ministers to demand the King hand over Dong Yi for examination. Since she’s the source of the information being used to accuse Jang Hee-Jae, it’s only fair that she also be examined in public. When the King attempts to protect Dong Yi by declaring that he’s already slept with the girl, thus making her a Royal Consort in fact if not in the record books, the Southern faction are outraged. This girl is a declared criminal, having been convicted in her absence of burning down the Treasury. They immediately look to Lady Jang to take action.

Kim Hye-Sun as Court Lady Jung

Once Dong Yi re-enters the Palace, there are two great moments of reunion, first with her friends from the Music Department Hwang Joo-Sik (Lee Hee-Do) and Young-Dal (Lee Kwang-Su) and second, with Court Lady Jung now released from interrogation. Both meetings, in their different ways, give Dong Yi a perspective on her situation.

When the “proposal” finally comes following Dong Yi’s unilateral promotion to Royal Consort, it’s rather endearing to see how inexperienced the King appears to be. It’s fairly obvious he’s never really been in love. Yes, he has had two wives and, no doubt, several concubines, but watching how his heart races and he struggles to come to terms with his emotions, this is obviously a first for him. The combination of Dong Yi’s innocent confusion about her “status” and the King’s boyish embarrassment is all beautifully portrayed. The return of the rings from an early meeting in the market is a nice touch to show how long he has been attracted to her. It all contrasts really well with his self-confidence when confronted by Cha Jeon-Soo who wants to know what the King intends.

Park Ha-Sun as the ex-Queen Inhyeon increasingly shows dignity and humility

We now come to the supreme irony because Dong Yi is the daughter of a convicted criminal. For those of you who missed the early episodes, the entire family and clan were massacred apart from Dong Yi, Cha Jeon-Soo and, possibly, Ge Dwo Ra. That they may have been wrongly accused and killed for political purposes does not change the record. Fearing to be with the King lest her past be discovered and it affects the King’s reputation, she leaves the Palace. Fortunately, Cha Jeon-Soo is able to tell the King exactly where she will be and, at last, we have the confirmation that she will love His Majesty. The whole sequence up to this moment is very nicely paced with Cha Jeon-Soo finally giving up whatever hopes he might have had to win Dong Yi’s heart. In the end, he really is a loyal brother.

As a final thought, Lady Jang does a deal to have her brother released. There will be no more torture for now. Similarly, when told Dong Yi has been acknowledged as receiving the Royal Grace, ex-Queen Inhyeon (Park Ha-Sun) immediately instructs the Western faction to support Dong Yi. It seems loyalty between brothers and sisters, both of the blood and in spirit, runs deep in this culture.

For more general discussions of the social and political context for the serial, see:
Dong Yi — the politics

Dong Yi — superstition and magic

Dong Yi — the minor characters

Dong Yi — final thoughts

Click here for the reviews of the narrative itself:

Dong Yi — the first 22 episodes;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 23 to 29;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 30 to 36;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 37 to 41;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 42 to 47;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 48 to 50;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 51 to 54;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 55 to 63;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 64 to 69;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 70 to the end.

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 30 to 36

television

This is a spoiler-rich discussion of what happens in these episodes so do not read this post if you want the experience of watching the serial unfold onscreen. Further, these episode numbers are based on the terrestrial broadcasts I have seen and not on downloaded or DVD episodes. It’s possible that these numbers do not match your experience.

In Dong Yi, a lot can happen in 120 days. A new Queen can be installed and have a chance to replant an ex-Queen’s garden. A King (Ji Jin Hee) can mourn a missing smiling face. Seo Yong-Gi (Jeong Jin-Yeon), the Chief of Police, can be dismissed from his post by the King and disappear into the countryside with a trusted friend Cha Jeon-Soo (Bae Su-Bin). The family of the new Queen and some of their loyal supporters can find new wealth and status, moving up in the housing market. . . So what’s really happening?

Queen Jang (Lee So-Yeon) is haunted by dreams of Choi Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo), fearing that she will suddenly reappear and reveal all to the King. She and her brother, Jang Hee-Jae (Kim Yoo Suk), are also concerned that the Chinese have not yet acknowledged the “boy” as the heir. While the passage of time is wearing away resistance among the courtiers, this failure from the neighbours is disconcerting. Otherwise, all the plotting appears to have paid off. Except, out in the countryside, Seo Yong-Gi and Cha Jeon-Soo are turning over every stone in their secret search for Dong Yi. Yes, the dismissal was a ruse. This ex-Chief of Police is carrying a royal seal requiring instant obedience. Not surprisingly, this “secret” mission is soon reported back to the capital.

King Sukjong insists Dong Yi looks directly at him

As to Dong Yi herself, it now appears she was found unconscious by a merchant who has nursed her back to health. She was unconscious for two months but is now regaining her strength. He has already found her to be an astute businesswoman, prepared at her own initiative to take control over much of the day-to-day trading. He has been lying to her, of course. He sees profit in a wife and someone to run the business for him. None of the messages she wrote to the capital have been delivered.

Now the searchers are on the trail. They have literally been turning over the stones left by merchants to give each other messages. They have found word of a Dong Yi in a distant province. By one of these coincidences favoured by scriptwriters, Jang Hee-Jae is also going there to meet with a Chinese delegation. Now, after delivering the good news to the King, everyone is converging on the right point on the map. Not surprisingly, by this time Dong Yi has recruited a potential ally. A young nobleman turned academic in exile, Shim Woon Taek (Kim Dong-Yoon) has appeared as a lodger in the merchant’s house.

Bae Su-Bin as Cha Jeon-Soo riding to the rescue again

As an aside, I find myself growing slightly annoyed by the instant flashback technique employed in this series. I’m quite happy for this to be employed every now and again to remind us what happened in previous episodes. But it’s a bit wearing to have a scene start, then we cut to “some time later” and have flashbacks to discover what was said in the first scene or to hear the same lines instantly repeated. This is bad continuity, redundant padding, and distracting. And that dream sequence. What where they thinking? This is so Dallas when Hollywood is having a bad day. Korean directors should have more style.

So now we know Jang Hee-Jae is prepared to give military secrets to persuade the Chinese to formally endorse the “boy” as legitimate heir. He will stop at nothing to see his faction win even though this may mean prejudicing the defence of the realm. Dong Yi is fortuitously reunited with Sul-Hee (Kim Hye-Jin) from her past, now acting as a courtesan in this border region. It seems she has fallen among friends but, because her new male confederate’s name is known to Jang Hee-Jae, the letter he tries to send to the capital is intercepted and she’s once again captured by her enemy. This is cranking up the melodrama, but it remains quite exciting. I’m reminded of early Batman episodes where super-villains come up with ever more elaborate plans to kill the caped crusader rather than just shooting him in the head. A rational Jang Hee-Jae would immediately insist on having his nemesis killed in front of him with the body cut into pieces and buried in distant parts of the land so she can never be resurrected. But the exigencies of the plot require her to survive so, with a little help from her friends, she’s free again and heading off in the direction of the capital to tell all. Fortunately, thanks to the ingenuity of our academic, the Chinese delegation leaves with the wrong documents. Not unnaturally, Dong Yi is carrying the military secrets safely with her.

Kim Hye-Jin as Sul Hee — a courtesan with a heart of gold

While the Police Chief and her brother search for her in the provinces, Dong Yi and Sul-Hee make it back to the capital only to find it in lock-down mode. The Jangs have put every police officer and soldier under their command on the look-out for Dong-Yi — it’s wonderful just how many copies of an artist’s impression of our heroine can be cranked out and distributed only among the “loyal” supporters. Cross-dressing as a boy, she sneaks into the city by the skin of her teeth and, as a chambermaid, gets to within sight of the King before being caught by disinterested guards and thrown out of the Palace. Now she needs a Plan B.

Back in the palace, desperate times call for desperate measures, so Lady Jang takes poison, and all her supporters allege yet another conspiracy from the deposed Queen. Although the plotting remains quite interesting, I find the melodrama of whether Dong Yi will be caught before she gets to the King with all the evidence is a little wearing. When you know how many other episodes there are to come, I wish the scriptwriters would make faster progress to reunite the lovers. As it is, she sits outside the walls playing her two-stringed fiddle with a tear in her eye, while he moons about inside the Palace dreaming he still has the chance of seeing her again.

Lee So-Yeon as Lady Jang relaxing into a happy moment

In all this, Lady Jang is actually the most interesting figure. Having been trapped into playing the role of a villain, she displays a simple determination to succeed. She’s risen from poor circumstances to the position of Queen and she’s not going to give up the position without a fight. Ironically, she feels the King has betrayed her. During all this, he has smiled, allowed her to become Queen and made a fuss of their son. But he has had the Chief of Police out in the countryside secretly searching for Dong Yi. She takes poison not caring whether she lives or dies. Either way, the ex-Queen can be blamed. When she lives, the relief that the King showed signs of worry is short-lived. It seems the King continues to play a double game as the search for Dong Yi focusses on the capital.

For more general discussions of the social and political context for the serial, see:
Dong Yi — the politics

Dong Yi — superstition and magic

Dong Yi — the minor characters

Dong Yi — final thoughts

Click here for the reviews of the narrative itself:

Dong Yi — the first 22 episodes;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 23 to 29;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 30 to 36;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 37 to 41;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 42 to 47;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 48 to 50;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 51 to 54;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 55 to 63;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 64 to 69;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 70 to the end.

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 23 to 29

television

This is a spoiler-rich discussion of what happens in these episodes so do not read this post if you want the experience of watching the serial unfold onscreen. Further, these episode numbers are based on the terrestrial broadcasts I have seen and not on downloaded or DVD episodes. It’s possible that these numbers do not match your experience.

The birth of a son to Lady Jang (Lee So-Yeon) changes everything or changes nothing. It all depends on your point of view. This boy could be the heir to the Joseon throne or he could be the bastard no-one ever talks about. So all the political factions in the court focus on the issue of the succession. Since the Queen Mother has said this child will only be nominated as heir, “Over my dead body”, Lady Jang’s brother Jang Hee-Jae (Kim Yoo Suk) whose villainy grows ever more delightful, decides to take her at her word. The plot to poison her is elegant. Nothing on its own is poisonous but, when you take two different medications, they interact. Not surprisingly, such elegance is transparent to Choi Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo) and Seo Yong-Gi (Jeong Jin-Yeon), so now it comes down to a question of what price to pay for the truth. Has the Chief of Police the courage to investigate independently? Has the Lady Jang “bought” Dong Yi? As we should expect for Dong Yi, the answer is a sad shake of the head and a tear of disappointment. How could Lady Jang betray such high expectations?

Han Hyo Joo as Dong Yi waiting for the action to start

In a way, Lady Jang’s position is rather unfortunate. Her brother was acting in secret. Yet now she knows the plot, her character comes into focus. She always was a tiger playing defence. This was strength with honour. It was what attracted Dong Yi and formed a bond of mutual respect. Except, once you are put into a situation when you must either sacrifice your brother or sacrifice your son’s chances of succession to the throne, it doesn’t help to complain about unfairness. You take the cards you are dealt and make the best of them. The same fighting qualities she displayed when outfacing the Surveillance Bureau in the first narrative arc are back. This time brother and sister aim to use Dong Yi’s investigation as a trap by persuading the identified physician to implicate the Queen. To those who know the facts, it’s an obvious lie, but even the King (Ji Jin Hee) must hesitate when both Queen Inhyeon (Park Ha-Sun) and Lady Jang as the newly promoted Concubine protest their innocence. The real cleverness of the plot to implicate the Queen is that it depends on the investigation unearthing planted evidence and then accepting it at face value. So the physician has connections to the Queen’s family. It appears the family gave him a note representing large sum of money just before the poisonous combination was delivered. Except Dong Yi and the Chief of Police check with the merchant house that was supposed to honour the note and find it a forgery.

Bae Su-Bin enjoys a moment of peace as Cha Jeon-Soo before Dong Yi gets into trouble again

The real point of interest lies in the emergence of the Queen. Until now, she’s been very much in the background but, with her moving centre-stage, we see this must have been an arranged marriage, made in the hope she would bear lots of healthy children. Sadly, although she can wear the royal dresses and walk without falling over, she’s about as interesting as wallpaper. Now, in those distant patriarchal times, women would always been been valued more if they were seen and not heard. Passivity would have been a good quality. Except, when you see the King’s impish sense of humour, you can understand why he would seek outside companionship. That he should turn to is Lady Jang is more interesting. She’s a more determined social climber and fits into the plotting and feuding environment, understanding its ways and prepared to fight her corner as necessary. But there’s no joy in either woman. Coming back to Dong Yi, we can see she’s going to win the day. She fits the model the King likes — she makes him laugh just by being herself. She doesn’t have to pretend or act a part like a courtesan. Seeing them together, triggers such naked jealousy in Lady Jang she agrees to kill Dong Yi. She knows the King will dump her in favour of this “force of nature”.

Park Ha-Sun looking regal as Queen Inhyeon

Once we’ve got over Dong Yi being thrown in the river with a rock tied around her legs only to be rescued by Cha Jeon-Soo, played with increasing confidence by Bae Su-Bin, we can observe her as an ace bluffer with no obvious tell when it comes to confronting Jang Hee-Jae. Then the hunt for the money is to continue. Except it all proves too little too late. The Queen Dowager dies and, with all the evidence stacked, the Queen must be dethroned and sent off in disgrace to a humble cottage in the countryside. At least the Queen shows some dignity in defeat. She and her family may have been victimised, but she holds her head up and no-one sees her cry. Later Dong Yi goes to visit her in exile and finds her working the land to grow vegetables. We see the Queen happy and relaxed. She has given up the past and now embraces the quiet life outside the court. This is the first time the Queen has felt real. Up to this point, she has seemed a mere cypher. Now at least she’s a happy cypher.

Through a detour into the world of fortune telling where Lady Jang’s future doesn’t look so good, we get the biter-bit syndrome. To get Dong Yi into trouble, Lady Jang and the Matron of the Surveillance Bureau conspire to have Dong Yi sent to the Treasury which is controlled by the eunuchs. Since they are protected by custom, it’s expected they will beat Dong Yi black and blue and drive her away. They do beat her but not before she discovers a part of the paper trail to prove where the money came from to bribe the physician. It looks as though the evidence will now surface but the King stops the audit.

Seo Yong-Gi righteously upholding truth, justice and the Joseon way

Continuing the emerging romance, the King uses the musicians as messengers to call Dong Yi to a secret meeting where he explains why he stopped the Surveillance Bureau’s investigation into the Treasury. On another occasion when he’s setting up a meeting, he’s surprised when his personal advisor asks whether he wants to sleep with Dong Yi. This is the reality of the court where it’s almost impossible to do anything without a partisan servant observing it. This is torture for the Lady Jang. It can only mean the King is going to become a real friend to Dong Yi and replace the Lady Jang as confidant. The only hopes for salvation are to destroy all the records held by the Treasury and ensure Dong Yi’s death. Meanwhile Cha Jeon-Soo is given legitimacy by the Chief of Police and continues to spy on Jang Hee-Jae and intercept his mail. They know everything will come to a head when the King goes away on a hunt. During this time, Dong Yi insists on bluffing her way into the Treasury before there is any chance of the records going missing.

On the dread night, Dong Yi is stalked by masked killers as she breaks into the Treasury. First the killers set a fire and then chase her through the streets. A knife strikes her in the shoulder. It’s wonderful melodrama maintaining the interest and excitement of the first section of episodes.

For more general discussions of the social and political context for the serial, see:
Dong Yi — the politics

Dong Yi — superstition and magic

Dong Yi — the minor characters

Dong Yi — final thoughts

Click here for the reviews of the narrative itself:

Dong Yi — the first 22 episodes;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 23 to 29;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 30 to 36;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 37 to 41;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 42 to 47;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 48 to 50;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 51 to 54;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 55 to 63;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 64 to 69;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 70 to the end.

Dong Yi — a review of the first 22 episodes

television

It would be easy to dismiss Dong Yi as yet another Korean historical with romantic overtones sageuk serial. It is, after all, no more than a rerun of familiar themes with a story about a brave young girl, blessed with surprising intelligence and a winning personality. So, although she starts with a lowly position in the court of King Sukjong in the Joseon dynasty, she rises through the ranks as her true qualities are recognised. We might recognise this as the script for Jewel in the Palace or Dae Jang Geum. Indeed, by some strange mischance, that was also directed by Lee Byung-hoon. Yet, for all this is kdrama recycling tried and trusted tropes, this 60-episode serial contrives to be fresh, highly watchable and genuinely addictive.

We start with the young Choi Dong Yi, winningly played by child actor Kim Yoo-jeong. She escapes a massacre of her family and entire clan with the only other known survivor being Cha Jeon-Soo, played by Bae Su-Bin, who is left for dead after falling from a cliff into a river and, possibly, Ge Dwo Ra, a childhood friend. You will benefit by taking notes during these early episodes. It all becomes highly relevant later on. Some six years later, we find Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo making the transition from a supporting role in Iljimae via Shining Inheritance or Brilliant Legacy) has been hiding in plain sight inside the court, working as a serving girl, most recently in the Department of Music. As we might expect, wherever she goes, she manages to befriend and entrance even the most curmudgeonly of peers and bosses. Being immediately identified as trustworthy, she’s commissioned to carry some herbs into the palace and, by an unfortunate accident, is embroiled in an early plot to discredit Lady Jang, played by Lee So-Yeon. Rising to the occasion, she not only outfaces the Surveillance Bureau, but also investigates in the best spirit of a young Miss Marple and proves the Lady Jang innocent. In doing so, she comes to the attention of Seo Yong-Gi, played by Jeong Jin-Yeong, who, as Chief of Police becomes pivotal in future investigations and defending the kingdom.

Ji Jin Hee always showing the King as a man of great humour

This marks a clever blending of court politics and more traditional detective or investigation themes. The Joseon court is disrupted by serious in-fighting between four factions, all vying for power. This is made possible because the majority is hidebound by tradition and fixated by questions of birth and status. This is not a meritocracy. The factions plot for position based on family ties rather than ability. This gives real power to those with the intelligence to see through these manoeuvres. For almost all inside the court, no-one survives without a patron or being able to physically threaten or blackmail enemies into submission. Dong Yi’s virtue is a certain innocence. She uses her powers of deduction in pursuit of truth rather than for her own advantage. This makes her particularly dangerous to the plotters and a target for disposal.

Han Hyo Joo as Dong Yi rising through the ranks

The King, played by Ji Jin Hee this time overcoming his past role in The Man Who Can’t Get Married with a wife and concubines, is fascinated by what life might have been like had he been born into an “ordinary” life. He therefore plays at ordinariness by walking through his capital city, dressed as a mere judge. In this he not only breaks tradition, but also gains an insight into life beyond the walls of the court. On some of these ventures he meets Dong Yi. The journey through several meetings until the final unmasking of his identity is well handled. The uncertainty of how they should then talk to each other is masterful. In this, the actors are wonderful, both achieving an almost luminous quality on screen as they struggle to reconcile an increasing level of personal affection with the impossibly wide gap in social status. There’s absolutely no precedent for anyone apparently so lowly born to be accepted in “Royal” circles. Unlike Lady Jang who becomes a Fourth Level Concubine when biology triumphs and a pregnancy is announced, there’s no immediate prospect of Dong Yi making progress on the heir front. For now, both King and Hound Dog must maintain several degrees of separation.

Lee So Yeon as Lady Jang ready for a public outing

This does not prevent the King from helping Dong Yi advance. As a reward for rescuing the Lady Jang, Dong Yi is elevated from slave to lady and given a position in the Surveillance Bureau. This is taken as a step too far by most of the ladies and, by a dishonest manoeuvre, they trigger a rule requiring her to be dismissed from service. This shows no-one in a good light. If the girl was not worthy, why did the Bureau have to resort to trickery to eliminate her? When the issue is forced into the open, the Bureau must give her a second chance. With the secret help of the King, she passes and is immediately sent undercover to investigate alleged smuggling by one of a visiting Chinese trade delegation. This is also nicely handled as Dong Yi lives up to her reputation for tenacity and independence of thought, first sneaking herself back into the compound to continue the investigation when the cover of the Surveillance Bureau is blown, and later surrendering herself to the Chinese and avoiding an international incident. Fortunately, her investigative skills prevail again.

Kim Yoo Suk the smiling shark

It’s fascinating to identify the members of the warring factions in the court and to see how incompetent so many of them are. People get high-powered jobs by grace and favour, which is deeply frustrating to the competent. Indeed, key decision-makers see the security of their nation threatened by the dead wood at the top of all ministries and bodies supplying essential goods and services to the community. Yet, without plotting a revolution, it’s difficult to see how reforms can be introduced. In this, we may be witnessing the transition of Lady Jang from victim to a possible co-conspirator with her brother, Jang Hee-Jae, who is played as a laughing villain by Kim Yoo Suk. While Queen Inhyeon played by Park Ha-Sun is a somewhat distant and tragic figure, childless and cast aside in favour of Lady Jang. So far, she is marginalised in court affairs.

Park Ha-Sun snatching a brief moment of happiness

One vague concern is that the “detective” elements require a certain suspension of disbelief. Although she’s the daughter of a coroner in a commoner’s village, it’s not clear how Dong Yi could have acquired such wide forensic knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, the whole program is carried off with such style and panche, we can easily forgive the more fantasy-based elements to watch the court plotting at work.

Then one year passes and a male child is born to Lady Jang.

For more general discussions of the social and political context for the serial, see:
Dong Yi — the politics

Dong Yi — superstition and magic

Dong Yi — the minor characters

Dong Yi — final thoughts

Click here for the reviews of the narrative itself:

Dong Yi — the first 22 episodes;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 23 to 29;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 30 to 36;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 37 to 41;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 42 to 47;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 48 to 50;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 51 to 54;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 55 to 63;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 64 to 69;

Dong Yi — a review of episodes 70 to the end.