The East Palace Episode 3 Recap: What Happens To Gu-cheon?

The repeated journeys to the spirit world starts taking a toll on Gu-cheon, as the third episode of “The East Palace” sends him further into the trail of the pond spirit. Previously, Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang’s investigation revealed Queen Dowager’s role in the murder of thirteen court ladies, whose spirits try to take revenge on her after getting freed. As Gu-cheon battles with the spirits to save Queen Dowager’s life, one of the spirits reveals that the most favored lady in the late king’s court put curse on royal bloodline before taking her own life in front of Queen Dowager, who had the court ladies murdered to eliminate all the witnesses.

Spoilers Ahead

Gu-cheon manages to save Queen Dowager’s life, and just like the previous episode, Saeng-gang drags his drowned body out of the pond to bring him back. However, this time around, Gu-cheon wakes up in an almost possessed state, and nearly chokes Saeng-gang to death before losing his consciousness. Later, upon regaining his composure, Gu-cheon reveals that fighting with thirteen Won-gwis drained much of his Yang energy, in that condition he runs the risk of becoming a mindless spirit and hence he detests helping people out in spiritual infestation problems. Having shared a significant truth about himself, Gu-cheon asks Saeng-gang to share the truth about whom she wants to kill as she had mentioned earlier. 

Saeng-gang reveals just like it happened with the thirteen court ladies, Queen Dowager framed her mother as well by falsely accusing her of planting cursed objects in a salt storehouse, right after a young Saeng-gang heard the whispers of the restless Won-gwis trapped inside the storehouse. In fear of getting exposed for her sins, Queen Dowager framed her mother, and a young Saeng-gang’s repeated pleas to the king didn’t amount to anything either. They were thrown out of the palace, and not long after Saeng-gang’s mother was poisoned to death. Saeng-gang believes whoever is protecting the secret of pond spirit, is also responsible for the death of her mother. She trusts Gu-cheon to unravel the secret. It should be mentioned that Saeng-gang had approached the king to learn the truth about the pond spirit, who refused to share any details about it and commanded her to exterminate the spirit without asking too many questions. 

Knowing that Queen Dowager’s handmaiden, Jang, must know the identity of the most favored lady who put a curse on the royal bloodline, Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang pay a visit to Jang’s quarters and to spook her they try make her room appear as if the pond spirit paid a visit to seek revenge. However, they are almost caught in the act as Jang returns to her room, which prompts the duo to pretend as if they are trying to locate the malevolent spirit. In the meantime, the Ggeomeoksali, who was following Gu-cheon everywhere, appears, and gives Jang a proper scare, causing her to faint in an instant. Upon regaining her senses, a scared Jang seems to have believed Gu-cheon’s warnings, and shares what happened with the most favored lady all those years ago. She mentions that the late king’s most favored lady in the court conceived a child who was about to become the successor to the throne. The lady had fallen in love with one of the royal guards, and upon investigating it was revealed that it was his child whom she was carrying in her womb. Upon being severely tortured, the lady suffered a miscarriage, and before committing suicide, she put a curse on the royal bloodline.  The problem is, Jang doesn’t know her name, she had no familial connections that people know of, her remains was secretly burned away, and her belongings can’t be found anywhere. This means freeing her spirit is nearly impossible and visiting that lover’s royal guard’s place is not an option either as it is haunted by his restless spirit. Gu-cheon suggests there is an option of letting his own soul move away to learn the truth, but if his body and soul remain separated for too long, he will become a wandering spirit burdened with karma aka Ak-gwi. 

Gu-cheon notices a well in the royal garden which seems to suddenly pique his interest. Later, as he returns to his quarters, Saeng-gang reveals her wish to lend him Yang energy, or at least  accompany her the next time he goes to Gwi-realm. Gu-cheon is clearly annoyed by this proposition but at the same time he recognizes his options are getting limited. Saeng-gang reminds him that he can not leave the palace until he saves Prince Yeongan’s life by taking down the spirit, but even if he does, chances of leaving the palace alive are negligible. Gu-cheon reveals if his hands are thus forced, he will die and return as a vengeful Ak-gwi to kill the king, a remark which Saeng-gang doesn’t like despite being subjected to such injustice by the king in the past. Seeing her dismayed, Gu-cheon reveals his disdain for the royals who play with the lives of those whom they deem beneath them, and remarks she too is the same. Saeng-gang’s grandma, Consort Sukbin, shares her concerns about her granddaughter with the king as she is troubled by her return to the royal palace. That doesn’t bother the king; he instead wants to focus on the fact that Queen Dowager is trying to make her nephew, Prince Iksang’s son, the royal successor. Sukbin is startled when the king directly mentions that nothing will stop his son from sitting on the throne, and he will resort to using the influence of spirits to wipe out any obstacles if need be. 

Late at night, Gu-cheon sleepwalks to the well, as in a dazed state he starts to believe that his late mother is calling to him. The next morning, one of the maids is found dead inside the well, and Jang covers up the incident promptly so that the upcoming 70th birthday celebration of Queen Dowager doesn’t get hampered. Saeng-gang initially thinks that Gu-cheon might be responsible as he is found covered in mud and bloodstains. Gu-cheon is unable to remember anything from the last night, and merely mentions that his Yang energy is getting drained by his previous visits to Gwi-realm and constant presence of the Ggeomeoksali. Saeng-gang appears to be hurt by suspecting his actions, and she leaves him.

Prince Yeongan’s condition worsens and the king once again threatens Gu-cheon to do whatever needs to be done before Queen Dowager’s birthday celebration. Pushed to a corner, Gu-cheon takes a drastic measure as he plans to visit Gwi-realm once again, this time as a soul, and face the vengeful spirit of the lover royal guard. Finding Saeng-gang to be absent, Gu-cheon asks the young girl, Ji-yul, to take a bowl of water mixed with his blood and put it in front of the royal guard’s haunted home. He submerges himself into a giant water filled urn, and confronts the royal guard’s Won-gwi, who is protecting something which belonged to the most favored lady. 

In the meantime, Saeng-gang notices thunder striking on the jujube tree in the garden, and remembers Gu-cheon mentioning that it acts as a better  weapon in Gwi-realm than conventional peach tree branches which he uses in the battles against the spirits. Seeing the lightning as a sign from heaven, Saeng-gang collects a burnt branch. As she learns what Gu-cheon is up to, she delivers the branch to the spirit realm, allowing Gu-cheon to defeat the Won-gwi of the royal guard. The spirit appears remorseful, and reveals that he was forced to frame the most favoured lady by spreading the lie about their affair. Queen Dowager threatened the lives of his family, prompting the royal guard to plant evidence which made it seem the most favored lady conceived a child with him. To make up for his sins, the Won-gwi of the royal guard protected the cloth of the lady’s unborn child which she had knitted on her own, as a remembrance to deliver to her spirit he kept to absolve his sins. 

Using her hearing abilities, Saeng-gang learns the location of the buried cloth,  and digs it up. However, as she tries to bring Gu-cheon back, it appears his soul has drifted away for too long. Saeng-gang decides to venture to Gwi-realm by drowning herself in the pond, and finds in his dazed state, Gu-cheon’s soul is being lured by one of the Gwi-maes which resides inside the well. Saeng-gang tries her desperate best to bring him back to his senses, to no avail, as there is a latent guilt in Gu-cheon’s heart which is pushing him further to his doom. Gu-cheon believes he is the reason behind his mother’s passing all those years ago, which makes it all the easier for the well Gwi-mae to hypnotize him with a hallucination of his mother and drag him to itself. In the meantime, the Ggeomeoksali appears in the Gwi-realm, and consolidates enough spirit energy to become a hulking Gwi-mae. Both these monstrous creatures take Gu-cheon into the well, and Saeng-gang returns to the mortal realm. As she laments not being able to save Gu-cheon’s soul, she wonders whether it was his secretive plan to become an Ak-gwi to go after the king. As the episode concludes, Gu-cheon’s soul is revealed to have turned into a vengeful spirit, and moving towards the palace with malicious intent.