#with subs

I love that parallel. It shows us that Seo Hwi is not a cold merciless killing machine, never was, never will be.

On war, he had no other choice but to kill in order to survive. He was dragged onto the battlefield against his will. But when he willingly chose to kill people - first time when he had to assassinate one of the founders to get LBW attention and trust, second time when he sided with LBW in his coup and had to kill to get his revenge - both times he ended up staring and his bloodied hands, blood that didn’t belong to him. The first time he was feverishly washing hands and face, trying to get rid of the blood, because it’s not who he is, he’s not someone who takes lives without batting an eye. The second time he was shellshocked just like he was back when he was in Liaodong. Every single kill was scarring his soul. It was challenging for him because by his nature he’s a gentle and kind person.

And what a powerful scene it was when he broke his sword. Seo Hwi got exhausted by all the fights and bloodshed, it shattered his soul, almost consumed it. He wanted to leave that all behind and step out of that circle of misery and grief.

Little did he know.

Seo Hwi had to pick up his sword yet again to save the love of his life. 

I just love that it took almost the whole drama for us to see Seo Hwi resuing Hui Jae. And it’s not because she’s a weak damsel in distress, nope, because she was cornered, just like many men in this show including Seo Hwi himself have been. It was realistic and it was beautiful.

They shot this scene beautifully. The way Seo Hwi appeared in the blurred frame in the crucial moment bringing relief, it was so emotional.

The terror oh his face and how he calls her by her full name, my heart

My poor poor boi