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The Matchmakers: Episodes 5-6
by Unit
Progress is made on the matchmaking front — but not in the way our resident matchmakers expect it to go. Meanwhile, our love-struck hero continues to fall down the rabbit hole that is his feelings for our bubbly heroine, and what do you know! She just might have feelings for him too.
EPISODES 5-6
We pick up from where we left off last week with the uptight Jung-woo recognizing Soon-deok at the Lantern Festival without her Lady Yeo-ju makeup. He is affronted by how a “merchant” like her pretends to be a noblewoman, but he has no plans of reporting her to the authorities. In fact, for all his mortification, he says he prefers her face without the heavy makeup. Awww.
Anyway, matchmaking duties commence, and Jung-woo trails after Soon-deok like a kid with his mom at the mall. As they weave through the crowd, Jung-woo’s chest pain acts up as usual, and Soon-deok volunteers to become his shield. And as he focuses on her and not the crowd, his palpitations calm down.
The shield and the shielded soon arrive at a gathering of old bachelors to interview potential grooms for the Maeng sisters. A good number of the men have “young and pretty” ladies as their ideal type, but with the short timeframe they have to marry off the Maeng sisters, our matchmaking duo can’t afford to be picky. So ready or not, it’s time to begin Operation Love at First Sight.
As it turns out, Cupid has other plans for two of the Maeng sisters that don’t include any of the old bachelors. There’s a love match being played out for Du-ri with LEE SHI-YEOL (Sohn Sang-yeon), a scholar she frequently runs into. Shi-yeol is attracted to Du-ri, and she’s not exactly indifferent to him. There’s just one small detail standing in the way of this love match: Shi-yeol is the scholar Lord Jo’s family plans to marry Ye-jin off to.
Last week, it appeared that Ye-jin had feelings for a servant. But we come to learn that the guy, YOON BOO-GYEOM (Choi Kyung-hoon), is an orphaned nobleman and not a servant. Boo-gyeom clearly reciprocates Ye-jin’s affections. But as someone who chose to become a farmer rather than a government official since he doesn’t have the backing of a powerful faction, it seems like he doesn’t think he’s worthy enough for Ye-jin. Coincidentally, Boo-gyeom is the bachelor our matchmaking duo have in mind for Du-ri.
As for Sam-soon, Soon-gu finally recognizes her as Hwa-rok. But rather than arrest her, he informs her that the Investigation Bureau is after her for causing the spinster’s suicide. Soon-gu advises Sam-soon to stop writing her novels immediately, otherwise she could be executed if caught. B-but… what is going to happen to the love story between the soldier and the female assassin that he just inspired her to write? I want to read it!!
Not to be left out of the festivities, our matchmaking duo fly paper lanterns, and it’s cute how Jung-woo has an extra supply of lanterns for Soon-deok. It’s even cuter how he pouts in jealousy over her many references to her orabeoni while they’re at it. Speaking of pouting, Soon-deok suddenly leans in super close to Jung-woo, and he closes his eyes and readies his lips in expectation… but she leans past his face in the direction of the gong signaling the end of the festival. LMAO! Cinderella runs off, leaving behind Prince Charming — who doesn’t even know what to do with himself. “She cannot just leave after making a situation like this!” Jung-woo sputters, and I agree! But this is so fun. Heh.
Soon-deok reunites with her in-laws and Soon-gu — who is questioned by Lady Park about last week’s Shinmungo. Soon-gu claims that the order to open the Shinmungo came from the king’s son-in-law, and Lady Park accepts the explanation although she wonders what Jung-woo is up to — a sentiment Soon-deok shares. She was the one behind it, so why would the king’s son-in-law take the responsibility?
Soon-gu tells Soon-deok that the king’s son-in-law came to see him and personally requested that his name be mentioned if anyone asked about the Shinmungo. Why? He doesn’t want innocent people to suffer at the hands of the despicable Minister Park. And he can always avoid punishment as a member of the royal family. Pfft. What a roundabout way of saying he’s trying to prevent “Lady Yeo-ju” from getting into trouble. Anyway, this leaves Soon-deok wondering if the matchmaking inspector and the royal son-in-law are acquainted. Honey, they’re the same person!
Lady Park tables Jung-woo’s recent exploits with the Shinmingo and matchmaking before her husband. She worries that Jung-woo has taken the king’s side, and Lord Jo decides to expedite the faction’s plan of sending Jung-woo into exile on bribery charges after the crown prince replacement plan pushes through. Ha! To think that Jung-woo’s late father started this faction before Lord Jo hijacked it to grow his power.
Lady Park acknowledges that Jung-woo is too smart to fall for an exile scheme, and she suggests that they keep him close to monitor him. That way, they can decide if he will join hands with them and if not, they can eliminate him rather than exile him. How does she plan to keep him close? Why, make him their grandson’s tutor, of course.
Jung-woo reluctantly accepts the position, and Soon-deok almost faints when she catches a glimpse of her son’s new tutor. Heh. The king’s son-in-law and the royal inspector — she once badmouthed him to — are the same person? Omona! By the way, we come to learn that Soon-deok is not the biological mother of her son, GEUN-SEOK. Interesting.
Now aware of who Jung-woo really is, Soon-deok becomes extra polite around him. But he already got used to her treating him like an ordinary inspector, and he finds her sudden respectful attitude uncomfortable. Lol. It’s giving “love me for who I am, not because I’m the royal son-in-law” vibes. Hahaha. Just kidding. He still doesn’t know that she’s the mother of his new student, though.
Jung-woo and Soon-deok are in the middle of finalizing the Maeng sisters’ matches when their fingers accidentally touch. *gasps!* Sparks fly, but they don’t pull away immediately. A flustered Soon-deok just keeps going with reasons why bachelor A is the best fit for Maeng sister B. Caught up in the moment, Jung-woo asks, “What kind of woman should I be with?” And that’s when his servant interrupts their flow to bring in snacks. Come on, man! Couldn’t you come in at a later time?
Later on, Jung-woo worries that Soon-deok must think that he is immoral for asking about a match for himself when he can’t remarry. But Soon-deok is just as dazed, and thinks herself crazy for not pulling away when his hand touched hers. What if he thinks she’s easy? She tells her maid and Ye-jin about her “friend” with a similar problem, and the maid replies that her friend has feelings for that man. Soon-deok issues a firm “No!” but isn’t a strong denial often an affirmation? Lol.
Going forward, Soon-deok resolves to be strictly professional with Jung-woo. For now, it’s probably the best line of action because their matchmaking plans have hit a snag. The bachelors are willing to be matched with anyone except the Maeng sisters due to the unsavory rumors surrounding them. Soon-deok comes up with a plan to quell the rumors — starting with that of Ha-na’s possession by the spinster’s ghost. How? By finding the real murderer and proving that the spinster didn’t commit suicide.
Jung-woo is tasked with this plan, and all roads lead back to Soon-gu — who knows the truth, but is hesitant to reveal who the murderer is for the mere satisfaction of Jung-woo’s curiosity. He claims that the murderer is a powerful person, and he will only reveal the truth if Jung-woo is confident that the culprit will be punished. So, Jung-woo brings him back to their matchmaking hideout. (Who wants to bet that the murderer is connected to Lord Jo’s faction?)
Once again, Soon-deok is surprised to see her brother, but she’s also starting to get a little upset that he can’t recognize her as Lady Yeo-ju. Lol. Meanwhile, Soon-gu just has eyes for Sam-soon and he grows furious when he learns that she — or rather, Hwa-rok — has been chosen as the person to spread the truth. “You said only the murderer will get punished. How could you have Lady Sam-soon do such a dangerous job?” He yells at them. Awww. He’s giving Lord Protector and future husband vibes. Unfortunately, all the yelling gets to Jung-woo, and his chest pain returns with a vengeance that causes him to faint. Yikes!
I like the pacing of this show, and how naturally everything is falling into place romance-wise. I especially like that they didn’t drag out the reveal that Jung-woo is the royal son-in-law, and I think the knowledge of his royal identity raises the romantic stakes for Soon-deok — especially with her conflicted realization that she is starting to fall for him. Bring on the forbidden romance trope!
The drama made mention of certain “Agents of Love” who are not mere matchmakers — they’re like deities that can identify a person’s soulmate. From Jung-woo’s research, Soon-deok ticks all the boxes on the Agent of Love criteria — including being a widow! And this makes me wonder how things will play out with our OTP’s romance if Soon-deok is truly an Agent of Love like the drama will have us believe.
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