Move over, HP2.

This is the kdrama that captured my interest. Here are the things I like about Episode 1.

1. The world-building

I appreciate the drama giving us the creation myth because I'm not well-versed in Korean mythology. A creation myth is important because it reveals how the characters perceive cause and effect in their world. Instead of events happening randomly, the creation myth gives a semblance of order and connection in their chaotic lives.

In this drama, we're told that three gods initially lived in symbiosis: the goddess of life (or Samshin), god of death, and god of balance. But the god of death, because of his unquenchable thirst for blood, devoured the god of balance. With balance symbolically dead, chaos reigned. And Mawang, the Demon King who emerged from the goddess of life, entered into human hearts, and festered in the darker side of human nature.

Mawang was eventually banished from the land when a woman sealed him inside a painting she drew. Mawang had killed her lover, so she prayed to the Samshin for help in putting away Mawang. After she succeeded in her mission, she disappeared.

Three comments:

a. Unless the subbers were wrong, it was specifically stated that Mawang was created from Samshin, the goddess of life. At first, I assumed that he surely would have been spawned by the god of death since he wrought destruction. But when I gave it a second thought, I realized that the god of death, by his very nature, couldn't possibly give life to anything. It made sense then that the goddess of life gave life to Mawang. The goddess of life created both the good and bad.

b. I don't know if this creation myth is a foreshadowing of the intertwined fates and unhappy end of Hong ChungGi the painter, and Ha Ram the astrologer. I'm crossing my finger that we get a happily ever after.

c. Another interesting concept that we can glean from this creation myth is that since the gods created the chaos, there are bad events which humans cannot control. The conversation of young Hong ChungGi and Ha Ram displayed this concept.

They had just escaped from somebody's peach orchard, and Ram chided her for causing trouble.

Ram: (jokingly) If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been chased by someone who's scary as a ghost.
CG: (moves away angrily)
Ram: Where are you going? (pulling on her sleeve to stop her)
CG: I hate you.
Ram: (letting go) I never said I wanted to steal someone else's peaches.
CG: You are just like everyone else. Because I can't see, and because my father isn't mentally well, and because my mother died when I was born, I have no friends. Everyone points fingers at me for no reason. They say I'm a cursed child. I only wanted to each a peach with you. (sniffles)
Ram: I'm sorry. But the fact that your mother died giving birth to you, that you were born blind, that your father isn't mentally well, none of these is your fault. So why…?
CG: Why what? What do you know?
Ram: You're right. I don't know anything but... you can't help it. Everything that has happened to you is not within the human will. It isn't your fault. So don't blame yourself for things that you cannot control.


Ram: (his tummy growling) I'm even hungrier now from running so much. And that is definitely your fault. (teasing her)
CG: (smiles)

This was a sweet scene. I liked how it began and ended with him teasing her. At first, she was prickly, then she understood his sense of humor.

He bit into the peach, and complained that it still wasn't ripe. She munched hers, and grinned. She said, "It's sweet. Tastes delicious." I like to think that this proved that she wasn't cursed like she thought she was.

2. Fated Births

I'm relieved that I don't have to deal with a love triangle here.

Samshin ordained ChungGi and Ram to be partners from birth since their fathers were key players in the exorcism of Mawang. On the night they were born, their fathers were participating in the extraction of Mawang from the body of the old king Yeongjong.

The old king Yeongjong had used Mawang to conquer lands and consolidate power. But when Mawang's destructive force became too strong even for him to control, he ceded the throne to his successor Seongjo, and ordered the exorcism done on him. In his mind, the only way to put an end to the bloody war was to summon Mawang out of his body and to seal the demon in a painting drawn of himself.

Now, two painters were involved in the creation of the old King's portrait: ChungGi's father, Hong EunOh, and Gan Yun Guk. YunGuk appeared to be EunOh's supervisor; EunOh did all the painting.

However, as soon as the painting was delivered to the ritual site, YunGuk was possessed by an unknown force with a green aura.

Meanwhile, two exorcists were involved in summoning Mawang out of the old king's body: Ha Ram's father, Ha SeongJin, and a Shaman lady named Mi Su. Mi Su resented that Ha Ram's father took over the ritual from her.

But as it turned out, she was in on a plot to get rid of Ha Ram's father and his people from the Taoist Bureau as soon as the ritual was over. Apparently, the new King Seongjo had aligned himself with Mi Su and her Shaman group.

With the help of the goddess Samshin, Ha Ram's father sealed Mawang in the portrait, but not before Mawang cursed the people present at the ritual.

To the new King Seongjo, he said, "From this day forward, you will all suffer from drought and famine!" To Ha Ram's father, he said, "Your descendants will be lost in darkness!" and to ChungGi's father, he said, "Your descendants will never paint again."

That curse on ChungGi's father caused the newborn ChungGi to lose her eyesight. Samshin couldn't undo the curse, but she blessed ChungGi with a "destined partner" -- Ha Ram -- who would help her avoid the curse.

Four comments:

a. While all the major participants were cursed that night, two people were noticeably spared: The shaman MiSu and the painter YunGuk who was possessed by Green Aura and disappeared into night. I find YunGuk interesting because his color is different from the others.

SamShin had yellow light. Ha Ram's father had blue light from his sword. Mawang had swirling black smoke, and red eyes. But YunGuk was the only one with green light and green eyes. We have to keep an eye out for him.

b. The sword. It appeared to have constellations engraved on the blade. No doubt Ha Ram will wield that sword in the future.

c. As for the newborn Ha Ram, Manwol's curse on him wasn't instantaneous like it had been on ChungGi. He suffered the effects of being "lost in darkness" only when he was 9 years old and was appointed to lead the rain ritual. While Samshin couldn't also undo the curse on Ha Ram, Ha Ram was able to circumvent it by learning to read the stars, and relying on his sense of hearing. He was never truly lost in darkness after he became blind.

d. I don't know the connection but as consequence of Mawang's curse on Ha Ram, he seemed to have acquired an extraordinary power to locate water. I don't know how that happened by I wouldn't be surprised if his father had counter-acted the curse of being lost in darkness.

3. The fated encounter of the children

Frankly, it was the child actors that hooked me in to this drama.

They portrayed the young ChungGi and Ram very well. They didn't overplay the emotions, and weren't "mugging" for the camera. It also helped that their scenes weren't just a filler. I thought the screenwriter did a good job showing the back story and emotional subtext of the future grown-up ChungGi and Ram in this fated encounter of the children when they were 9 years old.

There were many sweet moments, but I'll limit myself to five.

First, it's clear that ChungGi was the one to teach Ram to listen to sounds when one is blind.

Ram took her advice to heart when he lost his eyesight. But I think it's also key that it was ChungGi who instilled in Ram's mind the idea of charging for information.

Ram: So what are we doing here?
ChungGi: You would not understand even if I told you.
Ram: Come now, tell me.
ChunGi: Do you expect me to answer you for free?
Ram: Do you expect me to pay you?
ChungGi: Nothing in this world is free.

When Ram grew up, he launched the "Wolseongdang" or art gallery. In front of the gallery was a box where people submitted their question. He answered the questions if they paid the price. He became an "information central" who knew everything. The inspiration for this "intelligence gathering" was undoubtedly from young ChungGi.

Second, Ram knew ChungGi's name. I especially like how the screenwriter subtly ensured that Ram discovered her name.

When ChungGi burst in on the art school headmaster in a secret tryst with the maid, the headmaster shouted ChungGi's name in shock. Next time she surprised the headmaster again, Ram called her by name to lead her away.

Since Ram knew ChungGi's name from the start, this would hopefully eliminate any prolonged (and tedious) identity confusion in the story.

Third, ChungGi was sensitive about her appearance. I found this cute because hey! the girl gotta preserve her dignity! 

The art school maid noticed that ChungGi had a tear on her sleeve.

Maid: (taking off ChungGi's jacket) I'll sew it back together in no time. Wait here for a moment.
ChungGi: (addressing Ram) Did you pretend not to see it when you saw the hole?
Ram: I always get holes in my clothes, so I thought you were the same.
ChungGi: Do you also not have a mother?
Ram: I do.

This brief dialogue made the characters more real and tangible to the viewers.  We get that ChungGi didn't like to be viewed as different and pathetic, so she was touchy about the hole in her outfit. In her mind, if she had a mother around to care for her, then she wouldn't look unkempt. (Of course, she wasn't to know that the hole on her dress is the least of her problems. Her grimy face and dusty clothes were a giveaway that she was a street urchin.)

As for Ram's response, it showed that he was perceptive of her feelings. He said the right thing to mollify her without sounding condescending.

Fourth, ChungGi drew a circular star on the ground.

Ram said it looked more like a full moon than a star. Then, he took her hand and drew the Big Dipper with her.

To me, they drew the stars in their own unique way. Ram drew the stars as he saw them in the night sky. ChungGi however, since she was blind, drew the star as she imagined it. Her star reminded me of Van Gogh's swirly "Starry Night."

source: vangoghgallery.com

Fifth, Ram bandaged the cut on her knee with his handkerchief. She wanted to return it before they parted ways.

ChungGi: Here you should take this.
Ram: (tying it back on her knee) That's all right. I'll come to fetch it after the rain ritual.
ChungGi: Isn't this precious to you?

Ram: This? It is nothing. It is just the one and only handkerchief that my mother gave me.
ChunGi: Are you telling the truth?

At this moment, she finally became attuned to his teasing. Earlier, on the way home, she scolded him for playing a joke on her. He complained that she was being merciless.

She sensed that he was teasing her again when he said that the handkerchief was trivial although it was his only keepsake from his mother. She understood his wry sense of humor.

This tells us that she learned to "hear" his nuance although she couldn't see his face. This is a good sign that they'll be on the same wavelength, too, in the future when they meet again.

ChungGi: All right. Come back tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you.
Ram: Alright. Tomorrow, I'll go back to Anseong Daek's peach blossom field and steal more peaches for you.

Then, she asked for his hand, touched his face, and kissed him. They were embarrassed at first but they recovered quickly.

ChungGi: You will go pick peaches with me tomorrow, won't you?
Ram: Sure, of course.
ChunGi: Fine. That's a promise.

Of course, the following day, Mawang broke loose from the painting and entered Ram's body. Instead of sealing him in the painting, Samshin sealed Mawang in Ram's body. The butterfly "tattoos" that she had imprinted on Ram's hand and nape acted like the shaman MiSu's yellow talisman paper. They effectively sealed Mawang in Ram's body.

Samshin: Ha Ram. You have sacrificed yourself for the good of countless people.
Mawang: Have you used the child as bait to lure me?
Samshin: Mawang, remain in this child's body. I will take your eyes, the source of your power. You will be powerless until the day you reclaim your eyes.

Then, she flew to ChungGi.

Samshin: ChungGi. You are a child destined to save the world. I shall temporarily entrust these eyes to you. Create the vessel of destiny.

Based on her actions, I'm assuming that the Samshin had a masterplan in mind. She was giving ChungGi time to mature as an artist and draw the divine painting that would exile Mawang for good. Meanwhile, she was also counting on Ha Ram to keep Mawang under control inside of him while ChungGi grew up. In a sense, Ha Ram was the sacrificial lamb.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I'll end here. Ep 2 will follow tomorrow.