Two weeks later, the “Forbidden Marriage” and its cheerful team are finally back! We pick up where we left off, with Seo Ran (Park Ju Hyun) kidnapped by the nefarious lackeys of Jo Sung Gyung (Yang Dong Geun), and her besotted king and loyal bodyguard are ready to find her at any cost. But there are a lot of surprises in store for this week’s episodes, and just when it seems like the good guys are winning, Jo Sung Gyung is trying his best.
Here are the most amazing moments from this week’s releases!
Warning: Spoilers for episodes 7-8 below.
1. The King Ji Heon make a move
Yi Heon (Kim Young Dae) may not have been able to figure out at first if his feelings for Seo Ran were the result of her ability to channel the spirit of the late Crown Princess (Kim Min Ju), but So Rang is a force of nature, and it finally dawned on him that he succumbed to her a long time ago. No more than when, despite the fever and a fair injury after the last hanging in the palace, he runs out with a sword in his hand, having learned about the abduction from the Rank. Finding her safe and sound, rescued by the leader of a village hidden in the mountains, he can’t take his eyes off her. The village in question remained hidden due to the violation of the decree banning marriage and allowing couples to live there, have children and raise them. It is significant that Yi Heon witnessed one of these weddings, and his eyes immediately turned to So Rang with the tenderest smile. It’s really amazing how much he loves her.
Thus, when she returns to the palace safe and sound, Yi Heon can’t stop fixating on her, on her every word and gesture. So when she wipes a petal off his cheek while he’s in the tub, he’s gone and he starts a passionate kiss.
This is an important moment for him, and he is sure that So Rang must feel the same, so he is confused when she pulls away, accuses him of confusing her with the crown Princess, and tells him not to kiss her if he doesn’t. I mean this. And she runs away while he’s still stuttering. Poor guy. But wow, what a scene. These two have serious chemistry.
2. So Rank decides to leave the palace
Surprisingly, it is after the rescue that So Rang loses its spark. Firstly, it’s the fact that Lee Shin Won (Kim Woo Seok) is clearly in love with her and keeps saying things like that:
So Rang genuinely cares about Shin Won, but not in that sense. She is heartbroken because of how this breaks up their relationship, but at the same time understands that he needs time. And in the midst of all this, the Grand Dowager Queen (Cha Mi-kyung) finally heard that her grandson chased after the palace maid of all people, and she is unhappy. I was hoping we wouldn’t go down the path of a disapproving mother-in-law (or, in this case, grandmother), but here we are. She offers So Rang a choice: to leave the palace or to stay and become a placeholder in order to arouse the king’s desire a little so that he can bring it down on a respectable noblewoman. So the Rang may be of noble blood, but she has no way to prove it or attempt on her. Therefore, it is not surprising that she decides to leave the palace.
Yi Heon is unhappy because our guy had big plans to confess to her after he took her on a trip to one of the other secluded palaces. It hurts him when she asks if he will force her to stay if she doesn’t want to, and this seems to slow down our romance. But this show works pretty well on the communication front, so soon someone will make a move. And surprisingly, the King can’t be the first to confess.
3. Unexpected recognition from the Rank
At this moment, the entire royal court knows that the king is ill with So Rang. After seeing him wasting away and pulling up weeds, wondering if she forced herself to stay by his side all this time, they ask him to ask her again why she wants to leave so badly. And Hong hesitantly does this and is stunned when So Rang agrees that it’s his fault that she hates being the only one with genuine feelings while he’s busy mistaking her for the crown princess. It’s almost funny because we know it’s not, but it’s reasonable for So Rang to believe it because he never said the words to her.
Well, this time he’s definitely doing it in the most swoon-worthy way. And finally we have assembled our main pair! They missed each other so much, it’s just adorable. He’s quiet, with a wry sense of humor, and she’s just furious. Too cute.
Alas, problems with Jo Sung-Gyun continue to grow, and he chooses this night of all nights to start going all-in.
4. Death of Chun Seok
Song Kyung was forced to defend himself when Yi Heon captured his henchmen and began conducting kidnapping operations across the country. Seo Un Jung (Park Sung Yeon), Seo Ran’s former evil stepmother, is actively involved in these operations, as she pays for the daughters of noble families to be kidnapped and sold to rude men so that her daughter (masquerading as Ye Hyun Song) has a better chance of becoming a queen. Uh-huh.
Ja Chon-seok (Yoon Jung-hoon), a young state guard captain and Shin Won’s assistant, is unfortunately blackmailed into silence about the evidence when Un Jung threatens the life of the woman he loves. At first we are led to believe that he will betray Shin Won, but the opposite happens. When Sun Gyun approaches the king’s secluded palace, using it as a chance to kill Yi Hong away from the more closely guarded main palace, Chun Seok intervenes and takes a poisoned dart for Shin Won. A terrified Shin Won begs him to stay conscious, but it’s too late, and Chun Seok dies.
Shin Won manages to warn Hyun in time, but at a great cost. He gets hit by a dart too, and although it almost kills him (and nearly drives Yi Heon crazy again), he loses the ability to use his right arm instead. Both Hong and Shin Won know who did it, but as usual, the problem is the lack of evidence.
5. Shin Won decides to leave the palace
These days everyone wants to leave the palace! Shin Won had already resigned from his post before Chun Seok’s death for the simple reason that seeing So Rang with the king every day becomes torture. But the loss of his sword arm makes the situation worse. After burying Chun Sok, he leaves the palace, telling the crying So Rang that it is dangerous to be near him now because he can no longer protect her or anyone else.
And Hong stands in his way without saying a word, but Shin Won silently bows and walks past him. Both So Rang and Yi Heon mourn the passing of their dearest friend.
It’s all the sadder because these three just work so well together. In that mountain village, they were so happy just hanging out with each other without jealousy.
It’s just a shame that all these feelings have muddied an incredibly strong partnership. Nevertheless, it is quite realistic that Shin Won needs time to sort out his feelings and find his own goal, which has been the search for Ye Hyun Song for a long time. Both men need reasons, passions and a purpose that goes beyond a woman. And although Yi Hong has the land he cares about, Shin Won has nothing. Perhaps this distance and Shin Won’s independent investigations will benefit him.
Or maybe not. Shin Won was the first to quickly realize that So Rang had staged an obsession attack in a mountain village after reading the leader’s diary. She did this to keep Yi Heon and Shin Won safe, but there was a seed of doubt planted in Shin Won—perhaps it was from the very beginning—that Seo Ran’s powers were not necessarily real. A preview next week also reveals that Shin Won discovered that he was the reason Ye Hyun Sung was “killed” so that Un Jung’s biological daughter could marry him. Kim Woo-seok nailed a stoic but cute soldier, so seeing him angry will be incredible.
The pace has been excellent so far and there are only four episodes left, we have a lot of opportunities to cover and enough episodes for that. The preview also shows Seo Ran struggling to deal with the Great Queen Dowager and pushing Yi Hong away, which seems a bit strange for her usually straight-talking character grabbing the bull by the horns. We hope that next week the anxiety will decrease and the good guys will start winning more! They are really cute when they do it!
What did you think of this week’s episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she works as a lawyer, fangirls over Ji Sung, and attempts to write the greatest fantasy romance of all time. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!
Currently Watching: “Summer Strike,” “The Forbidden Marriage.”
Looking Forward to: “Island,” “The Interest of Love,” “Queen of the Scene,” “Black Knight,” and Ji Sung’s next drama.
