The East Palace Episode 1 Recap: Was Gu-cheon Able To Save Prince Yeongan?

Combining supernatural elements of Korean folklore and culture with Joseon era royal power struggle intrigues, Netflix’s latest dark fantasy series, “The East Palace” has produced an engaging narrative spanning over eight episodes, one which has a lot to offer to horror and anime buffs. The series follows an insolent, reclusive yet talented shaman and a court inspector lady as they investigate the true nature of a haunting that threatens the existence of the royal family, and in the process, unearth long buried secrets which destabilize the foundation of lies the royalty sits upon. With solid visuals, brilliant action sequences and strong performance by the cast, “The East Palace” has set up a strong base in the streaming channel’s directory, and viewers are already eager about future continuations.

Spoilers Ahead

Why does the King bring Gu-Cheon to the East Palace?

The series is set in an unspecified point of time during Joseon period of Korea, notably after the country’s monarchy has transitioned its belief system from Buddhism to Neo-Confucian ideals. The episode begins with a beautifully shot horror spectacle, in the middle of the night, inside the premises of the king’s seat in East Palace, in a picturesque setting, the current crown prince mysteriously  dies for reasons unspecified. This is not a solitary incident, as not long ago previous two crown princes have met the same fate – and it is assumed that some supernatural force is in the works inside the royal palace. The next day, the tragic revelation prompts Queen Dowager to rush to meet her son, the king, to address this issue. She believes a spirit is haunting the royal family, just like it did thirty years ago, leaving only the present king as the sole survivor after the rest of the crown princes died one by one. The king, however, doesn’t share the same sentiment as he believes that superstitious people are spreading unfounded rumours about the involvement of supernatural, and he prefers logical explanations for the deaths of his three sons. Queen Dowager decides to do whatever is necessary to save her family, and brings in the best shaman the capital has to offer to bless the premises. During the funeral, the king tries to strengthen the image of royalty to ensure public faith doesn’t falter. 

However, at night, the king sees a terrifying nightmare as a demonic spirit threatens to wipe out his entire bloodline. Not long after, he finds his youngest son, the last remaining crown prince, Yeongan, almost takes his own life after being afflicted by demonic possession. King rushes to a  monastery nestled in mountains to meet one of his trusted monks who can help in this regard, but having become too old and frail, the monk rejects his request. The monk instead offers the service of Gu-cheon, a young man who can see spirits and traverse between the realm of living and dead. Gu-cheon has lived in the monastery ever since he became an orphan, after his mother, who used to be a shaman, took her own life by drowning to death. Cursed by the gods after her pregnancy, Gu-cheon’s mother took her son along with her as she jumped into the water, but Gu-cheon miraculously survived. It is assumed that the near death experience granted Gu-cheon the ability to see the spirits and the souls of the departed, and this ability has become a curse in his life as shown in the way he sleeps inside the monastery to keep away from the sights of wandering spirits. 

A sassy and lazy Gu-cheon insults the king when he seeks his audience, and straight up refuses to help him without knowing his true identity. However, he shows his talent by accurately identifying a spirit cursed wound in the king’s arm, making him realize that the monk has recommended someone genuine. Under the king’s command, soldiers abduct Gu-cheon and bring him to the East Palace, where the king formally introduces himself and shares his predicament. He wants Gu-cheon to get rid of the spirit, without asking too many questions like what’s the true nature of it, and so on.. Gu-cheon mentions the spirit, formerly originated from the pond, has left it and is residing somewhere else inside the palace. He makes a desperate attempt to escape, only to get captured by soldiers, and this time the king makes it quite clear that any attempt to flee, and failure to save his youngest son, will cost Gu-cheon his life. He will earn his freedom from East Palace only after he fulfils the task that has been assigned to him, and will be rewarded if he succeeds. Until then, he is essentially a prisoner inside the palace.

Saeng-gang’s Involvement and Classification of Spirits

The king visits Saeng-gang, a court inspector who has slowly stood amidst the royalties, and is presumably the king’s illegitimate daughter. It is apparent that more than holding a grudge against the king, a dutiful Saeng-gang seeks validation from him as she quickly agrees to closely monitor Gu-cheon on his behalf, and even agrees to kill him if need be. Saeng-gang wastes no time to rattle a clumsy Gu-cheon, and learns the quarters he is living in, the far end of the East Palace, is infested with Yin – dark energies. No wonder that people avoid the area, and the deaths of all the crown princes occurred in the vicinity. Gu-cheon learns about Saeng-gang’s lowly status amidst royalties as one of Queen Dowager’s maids asks her to move away from the royal quarters, and informs Queen Dowager about Gu-cheon’s presence. 

Gu-cheon senses strong Yang energy emanating from Saeng-gang, and pestered by her constant questions, makes her aware about different kinds of spirits. There’s Gwi-mae, a soulless composite form of nature’s dark spiritual energies, which torments those who bear darkness in their heart. However, Gwi-maes doesn’t hold a grudge against humans, and he believes it might be the doing of a Won-gwi. Unlike common Gwi, who are harmless souls, unable to pass on to the afterlife, Won-gwis are souls who have passed away with resentment and regrets in their hearts, which have been burdening them even in their spirit form, keeping them shackled to the mortal plane forever. Severing their ties from the mortal world is the only way to free them, and that’s a mighty hefty task. The pond spirit, which is presumably responsible for the deaths of the past crown princes, probably had some personal connection during its mortal life, which has caused this spiritual infestation.  

Was Gu-cheon Able to Save Prince Yeongan?

Saeng-gang grows restless while getting bothered about Prince Yeongan, and is irritated upon learning Gu-cheon is bothered about his own survival more than the prince’s predicament. Gu-cheon asks her about the nature of the spirit, and looks into the aspect as to why it holds a grudge against royal bloodline. However, given everyone remains suspiciously silent about that aspect, gaining that intel is a difficult task. Eventually, irritated by Gu-cheon’s antics, Saeng-gang decides to write a scathing letter to the king, but later ends up scrapping the plan. 

In the meantime, Prince Yeongan’s possession afflictions have worsened, and as Saeng-gang informs Gu-cheon about it, he finally gets into action. Taking necessary stuff to perform the ritual to step into the Gwi-realm, Gu-cheon reaches the pond to dive underwater, and Saeng-gang follows him despite being asked not to do so. Before diving underwater, Gu-cheon asks Saeng-gang to show her blood, which is strong with Yang energy, to Prince Yeongan, once he regains his consciousness. Gu-cheon emerges to the Gwi-realm by recreating near death experience, and engages with the malevolent pond spirit that has taken over Prince Yeongan’s soul. As instructed by Gu-cheon, Saeng-gang smears her blood on her forehead, and as the spirit gets distracted by the sight on the Gwi-realm, Gu-cheon gets the chance to incapacitate it,  helping the prince to finally be free from its clutches. 

In the concluding moments of the first episode, Gu-cheon asks the true identity of the spirit, which is gradually taking a human form, and wants to learn the reason behind its actions of infestating the royal bloodline. The episode ends with the spirit attacking Gu-cheon, leaving his fate uncertain. 

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