“Haechi” and loose ends that will never be tied.
At this point of the drama “Haechi”, with only two more weeks to go (I doubt there will be any extensions), I have no more hopes that the sub-plots will ever be developed. I love this drama but these are the things that often frustrate me about most dramas I’ve seen. It’s like the writer and director put in so many good ideas but ended up not knowing what to do with them anymore when they realized that the length of their drama isn’t enough to cover the plots and sub-plots they’ve outlined. Revisions are fine if you’re still in the planning stage. Unfortunately, if you do that while the drama is already airing, it affects the integrity of the storytelling. Hence, you end up with loose ends that are dropped somewhere along the way:
The relationship between Yeongjo and Yeo Ji – this drama isn’t a romance so it isn’t really critical to the resolution of the main plot, but my problem with this is that it was included in Yeoning’s story arc in the drama so it’s still a loose end to me. If they didn’t intend to develop this, regardless of how it’s supposed to turn out, they shouldn’t have put it in at all. Anyway, I don’t think it would have been such a great loss if they didn’t create Yeo Ji’s character at all, unless she’s based on one of Yeoning’s consorts who will eventually play an important role during this early part of his reign. Regardless, since they already put her in, the least they could have done was develop her relationship with Yeoning properly without turning this into a romance sageuk.
Lee Tan’s death ledger – unless I’m mistaken, I don’t recall that it was ever found. I’m hoping that since Lee Tan remains an important character in the main story arc, this will still be taken up and resolved.
Han Jeong Seok’s little boy – he still appeared in the drama shortly after his parents died. Moon Su, Yeo Ji, Jang Dal and Ah Bong were commemorating his father’s death. Yeo Ji was clearly living with him in Inspector Han’s old home so she must have become his guardian. Yeo Ji still lived in the house until she became court lady so he should have still been there. However, he just disappeared in succeeding episodes with no explanation of what happened to him.
Min Jin Heon’s mute assassin – in the episodes where he appeared, there were hints that there was more to this old man than just being an assassin who had become a simpleton. He was an excellent fighter and for some reason, Dal Moon had some sort of connection with him. Dal Moon somehow knew what he was afraid of and how best to neutralize him. Was he someone that Dal Moon knew personally? Could he have been Dal Moon’s mentor? The former leader of the network of spies and informants that Dal Moon now led? This would have been a very interesting story arc to explore about Dal Moon’s mysterious past.
Park Moon Su’s background – Moon Su is clearly a nobleman. Yet what we don’t know is why he is close to Inspector Han and his family. And why does he stay at Han’s house? Being a nobleman, he would surely have his own family home somewhere in Hanyang, unless he’s a provincial noble that only stays in Hanyang until he passes the exams. And why is it that he consistently failed the exams for the past 11 years? Was someone deliberately preventing him from becoming an inspector or even a court official, given his aristocratic background?
Cheon Yeo Ji’s background – Yeo Ji is quite well-educated despite her claims of being a peasant. She can read and write and speak three languages. She’s an expert in martial arts and investigation. She lives with the Hans so it’s easy enough to assume that she’s an orphan they took in. But the question is why. Was her father another Saheonbu inspector? Did her family die during the movement of slaves to murder their masters? Was she one of those daughters of noble families who were implicated in the movement and got executed for it? She did mention once to Yeoning that she remembered the chaos of that time.
Dal Moon’s background – a part of it was covered during the drama, that of his connection to Yoon Young, a gisaeng who was once the prime minister’s and now Lee Tan’s concubine. Yet it never explained why he’s also well-educated despite his humble background. And how did he come to lead this complex network of spies and informants?
I guess I’ll never know the answers to these loose ends. I’ll just have to speculate on my own, or write fanfics.
