Horse Doctor Episode 36
So the day is finally here – It’s time for Kwanghyun to make his triumphant entrance back in Joseon. Myunghwan is having a nightmare over the Lord Oh situation, but he’s not beaten yet. Even when the hospital is under inspection and it seems sure that his career is over, he still sneakily schemes to find a way out of this.
Myunghwan collapses in disbelief at the sight of Lord Oh. But it gets worse. The king hears what happened from Lord Oh – he had his leg amputated but otherwise he’s fine. 🙂 After EVERYONE told him it was hopeless! The king calls to Myunghwan demanding an explanation. But Myunghwan doesn’t have one. The only thing he can say is that it must be 사술 sa-sul witchcraft! The king is very upset and decides he must have a look at Lord Oh himself!
Myunghwan looks worried as Lord Oh talks to the king
He storms over to the hospital and takes a look at Lord Oh’s leg. He wants to know if Lord Oh is really cured or not. Myunghwan doesn’t know what to say. But Jinyung marches forward explaining that Lord Oh IS CURED and that it was not 사술 sa-sul, witchcraft, but 의술 ui-sul – medical practice. The king is shocked and Myunghwan is dismayed (Jinyung seems to have no loyalty to Myunghwan now. If she did, she would be more diplomatic about this situation.)
The king and doctors take a look at Lord Oh’s leg
The king orders the Board of Audit and Inspection to inspect the hospital. A high ranking official marches in to Myunghwan’s office showing his ID badge and soon after all the records start to be moved out of the hospital. Myunghwan looks worried. Meanwhile commoners are causing chaos in the hospital grounds complaining at the lack of care. In the background we see Kwanghyung quietly watching the scene.
Kwanghyun quietly watches the chaos at the hospital
The princess is in her palanquin hurrying to see Eunso who has called her urgently. Eunso shows her the letter they received which confirms that Kwanghyun is still alive. The princess is over the moon but emotional. She’s happy that Kwanghyun is safe but knows that he has not come back for her. 🙁
Dr Saam is released from prison and Kayong gives him fresh tofu to eat. (Read about why people eat tofu when they come out of prison). Inju and Jinyung rush to see him too. But he is not worried about what will happen to him. He tells Inju that the doctor who has been curing all the patients is someone who she knows too.
Kayong brings Dr Saam tofu when he comes out of prison
Meanwhile Jinyung tries to talk to Kayong – the atmosphere is a bit awkward though! Kayong as always prattles away to her in panmal informal speech. Jinyung seems bemused by her behaviour but she also wants to find out if she knows something about Kwanghyun. She asks who the mystery doctor is but Kayong loyally says that she has been sworn to secrecy and so can’t reveal his identity. Although she does mention his surname by mistake. Duh!
Jinyung tries to get intel from Kayong about kwanghyun
Comedy scene – Kibae and Chef are at the restaurant. Daebang’s mum ignores Chef and rushes over to say hello to Kibae. But the two men’s attention soon changes to Kwanghun and they forget about their rivalry. But she is not pleased when their attention moves away from her and she points out that Kwanghyun is DEAD. (Am a bit slow? I think I’ve only just realised that she is just playing a game here. I don’t think she is really interested in either of these men. She just enjoys watching them fight over her!) Kibae is ‘passionately’ adamant that Kwanghyun is not dead. And the atmosphere turns sour…
Kibae and Chef continue their rivalry but talk of Kwanghyun unites them again!
Sungha is out of hospital but guards are after him. Dusik grabs him to hide him – cute. He shows Sungha the likeness of him and explains that he’s a wanted man. Sungha doesn’t want Jinyung to know anything about this. Dusik tells him that Kwanghyun is still alive.
Back home Jabong is getting frustrated with Kibae too, because he won’t give up on the idea that Kwanghyun is still alive. But Kibae notices that the light outside their house has been lit and neither of them lit it. Who put the light on, they wonder? I did, a voice replies and a figure appears from the darkness – guess who! Kibae and Jabong fall back in shock when they find Kwanghyun standing in front of them. There’s an emotional reunion. But Kibae is worried about Kwanghyun being back in Joseon. (he doesn’t know what happened in Qing or that he’s a nobleman.)
Kibae is overcome when Kwanghyun returns home
Jinyung gets to have a look at the medical notes written by the doctor who treated Lord Oh. She recognises Kwanghyun’s writing and realises that he’s the mysterious doctor. She gets out the sandal again (yes, yes, we know you haven’t forgotten him.) The princess arrives to tell her that Kwanghyun is back but Jinyung admits she already ‘knows’ he’s back.
Myunghwan is trying to find a way to wriggle out of this terrible situation he is in. He wants to put the blame on to others. The king is upset with Myunghwan now and wants him punished. But Tebi mama reminds him that he did heal the crown prince when he was seriously ill.
Kwanghyun goes off in the night to a meeting with Qing officials. On his way home afterwards he is followed by Guard Kang and his men. They attack him but then Qing guards arrive and there’s a fight. Kang and his men are over-powered. And Kwanghyun reveals himself to him.
Kwanghyun in ‘disguise’ meets officials from Qing
And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
I love how Myunghwan is so cocky and arrogant right now when he hears that representatives from Qing have arrived. He thinks they have come to officially thank him for his efforts in saving the Empress. But of course we know better. First Sungha comes to tell him that Kwanghyun is still alive. (He must feel that he has to warn his father, unlike Jinyung who has totally turned away from him)
a feast is held for the Qing guests
A feast is held – Myunghwan thinks it is in his honour 😉 – and the king is told that of course Qing wants to thank Joseon for helping the empress. Myunghwan smiles again. But his smile is wiped away when he hears that after he left Qing the empress got sick again. So it wasn’t him who saved her at all, but ‘another’ Joseon doctor who performed surgery. Who could that be? Drum roll and enter ……Kwanghyun. Everyone is in shock. Love it.
What plans does Kwanghyun have in store for Myunghwan?
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So at last Kwanghyun is back. But will the king accept him easily? He helped the Empress of Qing but he is still a fugitive in Joseon. I liked the pomp and circumstance of his entrance. He has a new confidence now too that he will be able to bring down Myunghwan. But we still have 15 episodes to go so he is not going to bring him down so easily …
The best piece of acting and most moving scene in this episode for me definitely comes from Kibae when he he discovers that Kwanghyun is still alive. 🙂
But Myunghwan certainly goes through extremely different emotions in this episode. He starts off looking shocked at the arrival of Lord Oh. Then fear seems to take over as he is concerned about his career. Then he acts smug and confident when he thinks the Qing envoys have come to reward him for curing the empress. But he falls into disbelief when he’s told that Kwanghyun is still alive. And then finally he looks horrified when Kwanghyun enters the palace. He’s had a busy day. 🙂
