The Matchmakers: Episodes 8-9 » Dramabeans MGG

The Matchmakers: Episodes 8-9

by Unit

The second half of our matchmaking show kicks off with shocking revelations and identity reveals, confessions, and the big ol’ mid-show roadblock that hits all our favorite couples and sends them spiraling away from each other.

 
EPISODES 8-9

I should have known when Jung-woo jumped off the cliff on behalf of his lady love last week, that he was going to plunge all the drama’s love-lines into cold water as well. The man cannot even swim. Sheesh! Anyway, we resume for the week with an alarmed Soon-deok diving into the river to bring Jung-woo back to shore, and he claims that he learned how to swim the previous night — by practicing the strokes on his table. Sigh. You have to admit, though, Jung-woo’s dedication is… impressive? Heck, even the almost-drowning situation doesn’t stop him from delivering swoon-worthy lines like: “I am relieved that I was hurt instead of you,” and Soon-deok is actually touched by the gesture.

But when Soon-gu and Jung-woo’s servant interrupt the swoony moment, they’re shocked to see Soon-deok without the Lady Yeo-ju makeup — which had been washed away in the river. Oops! Soon-gu cannot believe that his sister has been playing matchmaker, and he tells her to stop before her in-laws find out. Soon-deok says she will quit after the Maeng sisters get married because the project is important to Jung-woo. And when Soon-gu asks if she has feelings for Jung-woo, Soon-deok denies it. “My husband is the only one for me,” she stutters. Yeah, right.

Anyway, since “Hwa-rok” is officially dead, Minister Park sees no reason to step down from his position. But his sister insists he does in order to show remorse and to allay the king’s suspicion. As always, Lord Jo overrides his wife’s advice because “she is not well versed in politics.” And as always, Minister Park chooses to listen to his brother-in-law instead of his sister.

Minister Park ends up getting dismissed from his position — but not as a fallout from the scandalous novel. Instead, his dismissal stems from closing off a major road in order to cut down pine trees in the area for profit. At least hide your tracks better if you want to be greedy. Jeez! Once again, Lady Park has been proven right. Minister Park should have stepped down on his own — and returned to his position much later. But with an outright dismissal, he can no longer return. Hehe.

It turns out that the crown prince informed the king about the closed off road, as it was one of the things Ha-na pointed out to him when he spent the night at the Maeng house. The road is reopened, and Ha-na gets a letter from the crown prince — who is still under his ordinary nobleman persona — where he encourages her to continue correspondence with him about the happenings in the capital as it will be of great help to him when he becomes a government official. “When we meet again, I can no longer call him kiddo,” Ha-na muses, and I wonder where we are going with this plot.

Jung-woo connects the crown prince’s kidnapping attempt — and his poisoned maid (who Lord Jo’s crew believe to be dead, but is secretly being treated under the king’s orders) — to the late princess’s death. But rather than hypothesize as to who the masterminds are, the king needs solid proof — proof they can only get if the poisoned maid wakes up. And as to whether the king trusts Jung-woo, it’s a no-brainer. His son-in-law has been investigating the princess’s death for eight years even when he, as her father, forgot about it.

Speaking of investigation, Lady Park’s tattling servant returns with the news that Soon-deok has been sneaking out of the house to rent novels. This stirs up fond memories of the times Lady Park overheard Soon-deok reading novels to her late husband, and Lady Park instructs her servant not to look into Soon-deok’s extracurricular activities again. Still, fond memories are just that. Memories. So Lady Park decides that it’s time for Soon-deok to take on more responsibilities as the head lady of the family.

With this wake-up call, Soon-deok has no choice but to become immune to Jung-woo’s advances. She tells him that she received great love from her husband even though they were married for less than half a year. Hence, there is no space in her heart for another man. But as Soon-deok dashes Jung-woo’s hopes, she thinks to herself: “Looking back, I must have known I was already in love with [Jung-woo] the moment I said those [words] to him.”

Soon-deok’s self-admittance of her feelings for Jung-woo is such a great note to end Episode 8 — and the first half of the show — on, and it is the perfect reply to Jung-woo’s “I had already made up my mind to marry Lady Yeo-ju” thoughts at the end of Episode 7. For maximum effect, KBS should just have aired both episodes last week. But no, soccer. *rolls eyes*

Now that we’re properly into the second half of the show, a slave hunter shows up looking for the real Lady Yeo-ju — who is wanted for the murder of Lord Jo’s eldest son. Hollup. What? Is this why the real Lady Yeo-ju has been avoiding Lord Jo? I honestly thought it had something to do with the princess’s death. Whoa! Jung-woo’s servant reports back to Jung-woo — who wasn’t even aware of the murder because it occurred around the same time as the princess’s funeral eight years ago — and a betrayed Jung-woo confronts Soon-deok for concealing her “murderer” identity.

Jung-woo cancels their matchmaking contract and pays Soon-deok off — or rather, gives her money to run away since he can’t bring himself to report her. Awww. Soon-deok has a moment of confusion before it hits her that the real Lady Yeo-ju is the murderer in question. Still, she doesn’t fess up that she isn’t actually Lady Yeo-ju. As a professional, Soon-deok is determined to see the matchmaking project to the end. And if she has to do it behind Jung-woo’s back, so be it.

At the Maeng house, Soon-deok gets more information on the Agents of Love from Mrs. Maeng — who was once an agent. Coincidentally, Soon-deok and her late husband were Mrs. Maeng’s last match before she lost her sight. While Soon-deok relies solely on deduction to match a couple, Mrs. Maeng describes these agents as people who hear a sound or feel a certain energy around a couple that is meant to be. This is totally Jung-woo and his chest pain! He is also an Agent of Love, isn’t he?

Sam-soon deduces that our OTP is having relationship problems, and through her machinations, Jung-woo and Soon-deok end up in a forced proximity situation. I love this trope! Jung-woo’s chest pain begins to act up, and to a worried Soon-deok, he says: “I should just see you and die, if not seeing you will kill me anyway,” before pulling her into a tight hug. Lol.

Soon-deok tells Jung-woo that “she” was framed for the murder, and he tells her to stay at his place for the time being since the slave hunter is hot on her trail. “I am proposing the idea because this is killing me. If I told you that I was lovesick because I had fallen in love with you, would you believe me?” Finally, a direct confession! But it wouldn’t be Jung-woo if he doesn’t add that it will be a great loss for Joseon if such a talented man like himself dies because he cannot see Soon-deok. No kidding! Sadly, Soon-deok turns down his offer, and emphasizes that she doesn’t love him.

Jung-woo is crushed by Soon-deok’s rejection, but Mrs. Maeng won’t have those feelings interrupt her daughters’ matchmaking arrangement. She tells Jung-woo to keep his feelings for Soon-deok in check and stay professional. After all, he of all people should know that they cannot be together. And more importantly, forcing someone to like him is not love.

What then is love? For Jung-woo, love is investigating the Lady Yeo-ju case to clear Soon-deok’s name. And for Soon-deok, love is also looking into the case because it was the real Lady Yeo-ju who pulled her out of suicidal thoughts when her husband died. Soon-deok believes that Lady Yeo-ju is a gift sent by her husband, and that’s why she started matchmaking under Lady Yeo-ju’s name.

As expected, the investigation brings Jung-woo, Soon-deok, and Soon-gu together, and two key figures are revealed in the case: Lord Jo, the father of the deceased, and LORD MIN, Lord Jo’s sworn enemy and a strong member of the opposing faction. Unlike his father, junior Jo was an upright official, and he worked with Lord Min’s daughter — who cross-dressed as her sick government official brother — to expose corruption. Romeo and Juliet ended up falling in love and committing suicide because they couldn’t be together.

To hide the truth about what actually happened, Lords Jo and Min agreed to pin the “murder” on Lady Yeo-ju and her husband. And to cover their tracks, they killed the husband — who was Lord Min’s right-hand man. The real Lady Yeo-ju fled while she was being transported to the capital, and the slave hunter looking for her is the officer who got fired for her escape. All of this “investigation” is based on a novel Soon-deok once read, and just like the Hwa-rok and Minister Park case, she believes that the story was based on real events.

We end the week with Soon-deok and Jung-woo tracking down the author of the story to find out if their assumption is true. While hiding from a sudden rain, Jung-woo asks Soon-deok why she lied about not liking him. But she’s not the only liar in her family when it comes to romantic feelings. To everyone’s disappointment, Soon-gu turned down Sam-soon’s marriage proposal. Boo! And Ye-jin is the same because despite her feelings for Boo-gyeom, she has her heart set on marrying Shi-yeol as arranged by her family.

Shi-yeol isn’t actively pushing back on his engagement with Ye-jin even though he’s got his eyes on Du-ri — who his mother admits would have been perfect as his wife if she came from a better family. But Du-ri’s family is no problem for Boo-gyeom who is forging ahead with their matchmaking arrangement. Sigh. What a mildly frustrating love cycle! I get that some of these pairings are hampered by societal restrictions, but honesty is the best policy, guys.

With all the serious stuff this week, I did not have as much fun as the previous weeks. Still, it wasn’t that bad because despite their antics, I don’t take Lord Jo and Minister Park seriously as villains. I can almost bet that those two didn’t tell Lady Park how her eldest son really died. I hope she wrings both their necks when the truth is finally revealed — and you know the truth will be revealed because aside from plot’s sake, those clowns are just too incompetent to cover their tracks properly. Tsk.

 
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