Mu-Myung Choi
After a few episodes of building up the characters and political allegiances at work, King Maker: The Change Of Destiny slows down slightly for an hour of drama taking place in Hanyang. With Chun-Joong going by an alias to protect his identity and his fortune telling skills put to good use, the episode does well to introduce new characters and set the scene for the drama to follow. We begin episode 3 of King Maker: The Change Of Destiny in Spring with the King collapsing. Queen Jo arrives and tells them all to keep this quiet for now while the Prime Minister learns the King has a tumour. When Bong-Ryeon arrives to tend to the weakened King, Queen Jo is suspicious, believing she’s been sent by Byeong-Woon. Meanwhile, Chun-Joong is greeted by Pal-Yong at a local restaurant after he helped Chun-Joong with the Moon gang at the end of the previous episode. However, when the man tries to rob him, Chun-Joong is wise to his moves and manages to stop the thief in the middle of the street. Among the belongings stolen is his book, which we cut back in time and see him discussing with the Monk, advising him to change his destiny and “Create a new path where this path ends.” As we cut back and see, Bong-Ryeon betrayed Chun-Joong in order to help him live a longer life and to put him on the right path to change his destiny. Chun-Joong vows to avenge his Father but for now, he’ll bide his time and choose an opportune moment to do just that. Back in the present, Pal-Yong bumps into Chun-Joong again but this time our fortune teller gives the man a bag of coins and requests he do some errands for him. Those errands include finding a fortune teller by the name of Red Monk. When he gets there he discredits the teller and instead reads the Red Monk’s fortune; peeling off his beard, correctly guessing his date of birth and warning him to stay away from water. Meanwhile, In-Gyu is put to work as a spy to figure out what the Royal Family are going to do next. While he sits in the shadows within a gambling den watching from afar, Chun-Joong arrives just as officials enter and arrest the gamblers. Outside, Chun-Joong greets one of the men from inside called Ha-Eung Lee and introduces himself as Mu-Myung Choi to disguise his true name. For now they go their separate ways but I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of this man. Bong-Ryeon is put to use again by the Prime Minister who request she find the next Lord of Ganghwa. In the morning, Nahab (the Prime Minister’s concubine) dumps stacks of rice into the water as part of their ritual for the Dragon King. Given how the villagers are starving, this certainly doesn’t sit well with them but the Red Monk enters the water and is promptly beaten for his efforts. Chun-Joong saves him from death though and rallies the people together. This small act inadvertently sees him end up with a lot of fame and made the new fortune teller. At the same time, In-Gyu tasks his men to try and find Chun-Joong, believing him to be residing in town. Heungseon Daewongun arrives and has his fortune told but Chun-Joong senses a hidden agenda and calls him out on it. He warns Chun-Joong to choose his woods carefully at the upcoming feast and walks away, but not before Pal-Jong updates him on the man’s shadowy past. After an unpleasant encounter with In-Gyu, Bong-Ryeon continues to pose as a concubine but Chun-Joong spots her outside and finds himself unable to tear his eyes away. Only, Pal-Yong distracts him and brings him back inside. Bong-Ryeon meanwhile, is haunted by visions depicting Chun-Joong being killed. she looks set to faint BUT Chun-Joong catches her in his arms. As the two stare one another down, she utters “my lord…” faintly as the episode closes out. With lots of flashbacks to fill us in on what’s happened so far, King Maker: The Change Of Destiny slows down slightly to help fill us in on what’s happened so far and prepare for the next wave of inevitable political drama to filter into the show. So far though King Maker has done well to settle into its period drama roots and the authentic costume and production design certainly helps give the feel of the time period. The blend of fact and fiction works really well too and the light supernatural elements surrounding the face reading and fortune telling help this one stand out next to others in the genre. Quite what next week’s episodes have in store for us though remains to be seen! Published: 26 May 2020 at 12:10 pm on TheReviewGeek.com
