Recap: Lovers of the Red Sky, Episode One
If you know me at all from over at the Certified Noonas podcast then you’ll know that Korean historical dramas, or Sageuks, are not generally my bag. I’m not big on political plotlines in dramas and Sageuks are very heavily into politics. I mean, is it even a Sageuk if nobody is trying to wrest power away from the royal in charge? But I’ve heard some interesting things about Lovers of the Red Sky. I thought I would check out the first episode and help you all decide if you’re ready to give it a chance.
Lovers of the Red Sky: Recap, Episode 1
The story begins with a quick lesson in Korean folklore. The goddess of childbirth, Sam Shim, was truly 3 gods in one body. One of them blessed life, one brought death, and the third created balance between the two. Until one day the god of death ate the god of balance which led to war and chaos on Earth. The death demon, Ma Wang, was severed from the body of Sam Shim. It terrorized the Earth until one day a woman painted a picture that through Sam Shim’s power was able to trap Ma Wang inside it. After that, the woman disappeared.
Dan Dynasty, First Year of King Seongjo’s Reign
We are told that King Yeongjong was able to come to rule through the power he recieved when the demon Ma Wang entered his body. Now the old king has become afraid of the demon’s power. He has his people perform a ritual to rid his body of the demon and trap it inside of the holy painting. He has passed the throne on to his son Seongjo.
A pregnant woman prays near a holy tree for her husband the royal painter to complete the portrait in time to save the former king and trap Ma Wang. The Shamans and the Taoists have worked together to set up the ritual. The Taoists take charge ultimately and the head Shaman is clearly displeased (I don’t know if she’s actually going to turn out to be evil or they’re just setting her up to look that way for now, but something is definitely sketchy).
Meanwhile, the pregnant woman has gone into labour under the the holy tree and wolves have heard her cries of pain. The woman cries out in fear as she begins to bleed and the wolves approach. She passes out with Sam Shim’s name on her lips and a literal death grip on her new baby. Just when it seems that all is lost, the goddess appears and scares the wolves away. She then takes the baby she calls Cheon Gi and disappears.
Meanwhile, back at the palace the painting has been completed. As the portrait is carried to the ritual, the Taoist priest with the painter cries out in pain as his right hand begins to glow. The painter tries to help and they both pass out. The ritual begins and Ma Wang’s dark energy is pulled out from the old king’s body. The priest tells everyone to close their eyes against the demon. It attempts to take over the new king who’s shining symbols seem to repel the dark spirit. The two men in the painting room awaken now but the priest has glowing green eyes. He leaves the painter trembling in fear and disappears.
Ma Wang fights back against the ritual. He appears to have broken through the spells only to be repelled once more by the power of Sam Shin. As her power turns the tide against Ma Wang, he curses the land with drought and famine. Ma Wang then curses the taoist priest that his descendants will be lost in darkness. The painter appears and is cursed that his descendants will never paint again. Ultimately, Ma Wang is sealed inside the portrait of the old king.
The baby has been blinded. Sam Shin cannot undo the curse, but provides a blessing instead.
As Sam Shim looks at the stars, one falls from the sky and elsewhere that night a baby boy is born named Ha Ram. The old king’s cursed portrait is sealed with talismans and locked within a case. The two kings leave together, discussing the possible curse to come. The young king worries that the seals could be broken bringing Ma Wang back.
After the kings have left, the soldiers turn on the Taoist priests (here it comes). The head Shaman says that the former king has chosen the Shamans as his son’s future advisors. He is cutting off the Taoist sect permanently (whomp, there it is). The Taoists fight back briefly before scattering. The head priest is chased to a cliffs edge. His arm is cut off and he ultimately leaps to his death (I mean, probably not actually dead. It would hardly be a drama without someone coming back from the dead).
Nine Years Later
The seal on Ma Wang has held, but so has the drought. The head Shaman, Mi Su, searches for a way to end the drought. People are suffering and dying everywhere. She learns of a young boy who has the power of water divination. When she follows him home she sees the boy’s father is someone she knows.
The Taoist priest survived his fall and the loss of his arm. His son is Ha Ram who was born on that fateful night. Mi Su goes to visit the man later that night. She says that she will take his son to be sacrificed in a ritual with the hopes of returning water to the land. He tries to fight her, but their powers are no longer equal.
Elsewhere, the painter has gone mad since the night his daughter was born. He sits and paints messy paintings while she looks on unseeingly.
The procession carrying Ha Ram to the palace passes by Cheon Gi and her father. Ha Ram’s father walks alongside him. It seems that the presence of the former priest sets something off in the old painter. He begins to rants until Taoist Ha Seong Jin stops him. The Taoist priest senses demonic energy on the painter but sees a totally different energy on his young daughter. When the two men recognize each other, a happy reunion ensues.
At the Shaman headquarters, the two men catch up on each others lives. They learn that their children share a birthday. The painter is surprised to learn that the boy does not appear to be affected by the curse. The children are told to go out and play so that the two men can talk. Cheon Gi wishes to go to the painter’s guild. Ha Ram follows along as ordered by his father.
Painting Institute
Cheon Gi finds her way easily to the painting guild she’s gone to so many times before. Ha Ram follows her as she heads into a painting class. The Headmaster sees her and smiles. He’s interrupted from his lesson by a woman bringing food. After he leaves, the students begin to paint. Cheon Gi tells Ha Ram to close his eyes and listen. He hears the sounds of the brushes gliding around. Cheon Gi says that sound brings her peace.
The Headmaster sits to his meal with his housekeeper. The two clearly have feelings for one another. Their hands touch and she blushes. They are interrupted by Cheon Gi walking into the room unannounced. They’re interrupted a second time when Cheon Gi returns to ask where the housekeeper is. Ha Ram watches as the housekeeper silently tries to tell her employer an excuse to give the child. Ha Ram interprets what the housekeeper is trying tell her boss. He laughs a little as he takes Cheon Gi off to find the relieved housekeeper. (This scene is giving me hope for a lighter show with a possible happy ending? It’s so cute and silly. Fingers crossed folks)
Outside the two children bump into the housekeeper. She takes Cheon Gi’s torn jacket to mend. Cheon Gi crouches down to draw in the dirt. She draws a spiral but calls it a star. Ha Ram takes her hand and draws out the shape of a constellation.
Ha Ram’s stomach begins to growl and Cheon Gi takes him to find food. As they walk through the village, Sam Shim appears before them. She looks like a common old woman and offers Ha Ram a charm for the next day. The butterfly charm disappears in his hand with a gold burst. A second gold burst in the shape of a butterfly appears briefly on his back. The two children leave the woman who is pleased that they have finally found one another.
Shamanist Bureau
Back at the Shaman building, the two fathers talk with each other. Ha Seong Jin reveals that his son is about to be sacrificed in a ritual the next day. Meanwhile at the palace, Mi Su reveals the parentage of the sacrifice she found. King Seongjo is relieved to learn that the old priest survived that bloody night 9 years ago. But not so relieved that he won’t still kill the priest’s son.
The king’s advisors are shocked to hear that the Shamanists are planning a human sacrifice. They counsel the King strongly against it. The King is very ready to agree with them. He commands that no human sacrifice will be committed at the rain ritual the next day. The head Shaman however silently vows that she will do what needs to be done.
The Woods
The two children have wandered into a wooded area. Cheon Gi removes a slat from a fence nearby and crawls through. Ha Ram yells at her about stealing things but she only hushes the boy. He follows her through the fence and into a grove of peach trees. The trees are guarded by a snoring woman. Ha Ram climbs the tree to knock down some fruit. The boy falls from the tree and lands on Cheon Gi. The noise wakes the sleeping woman and the children flee.
Escaping from the woman, the children find themselves at a riverbank. They sit to catch their breath and Ha Ram tells of Cheon Gi for getting them into trouble. The girl rises to leave. She cries because she has no friends and everyone blames her for all the things that have gone wrong in her life. She just wanted to have a friend and share a peach with him. Ha Ram feels bad and tells Cheon Gi that none of those things were her fault. She didn’t kill her mother or drive her father mad. Those are heaven things not human things.
“But,” he says, “I’m hungry from running so much and that is definitely your fault”. The two chuckle as he brings out the peaches to share. While eating, Ha Ram tends to the skinned knee Cheon Gi got while escaping from the orchard. He wraps a red cloth around her wound and then gives her a piggyback ride home.
On the way home, Ha Ram stops to look at the stars. He forgets that Cheon Gi won’t be able to enjoy them with him. He feels guilty for enjoying them by himself but describes the constellations to her. The children make plans to visit again the next day after the rain ceremony. Cheon Gi asks for Ha Ram’s hand and then reaches up to “look” at his face with her fingers. She reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses him quickly.
The Rain Festival
The next day, preparations are underway for the festival. Ha Ram is dressed in ceremonial robes. Cheon Gi’s father has once again lost the lucidity he displayed around Ha Ram’s father. Cheon Gi hopes to procure a good medicine for him. At the palace, the Crown Prince greets his two younger brothers. The older of the two remains standoffish while the younger one grins at his eldest brother. It’s clear that they are not allowed to be as close as the oldest and youngest would wish to be.
Second Prince Hu feels stifled by life in the Crown Prince’s shadow. Third Prince Yul chooses to look on the bright side of all things in life. Yul drags his older brother off to see the portraits of former kings. (This seems like a bad idea. Didn’t their grandfather started this kingdom? How many portraits can there be in this place.) On their way into the building, Prince Hu drops the protection amulet that their father has given each of his sons. He picks it back up but has a bad feeling about it.
Inside they walk the row of portraits only to come to a closed room. The room is sealed with talismans. Prince Hu hears a voice calling to him from the room. He ignores the talismans and opens the doors (why are there no locks? Who seals up a demon with only paper warnings?). Head Shaman Mi Su feels a disturbance at that moment, but is distracted by the approach of the king.
Meanwhile Princes Hu and Yul are finding a locked box full of demon portrait. Prince Hu opens the box and stares into the demon eyes of his grandfather’s portrait (were they never taught any history? WTH?) Second Prince Hu kicks his brother knocking him unconcious, and then sets fire to his grandfather’s portrait. This frees the demon which then attempts to possess his body. The amulet protects the young prince and the demon flies to find another victim.
Back at the ritual, Ha Ram nervously waits for his part in the ceremony. He circles a cauldron while the Head Shaman dances on another platform. A choir of boys copy his dance while chanting a chorus. His father realizes suddenly that this is meant to be a human sacrifice. He attempts to save his son but is prevented by the stronger power of the Shamans. He can only watch in horror as he sees magic envelop Ha Ram. Drawn by the Sam Shin’s ward, Ma Wang has come to possess the boy sacrifice. Lightening and thunder rock the sky. Both Ha Ram and Cheon Gi, who was crossing a bridge elsewhere in town, are thrown into the water.
The two young children drown while calling out mentally for their fathers. The two princes are rescued from the now raging fire in the portrait hall. And finally, for the first time in nine years, the rain begins to fall.
Underwater
Ha Ram jolts back to life as the demon energy of Ma Wang possesses his body. Sam Shim’s power protects him though. She appears before him in the form of a butterfly. Ma Wang will be trapped in the body of the boy. She takes his eyes into herself, creating two red spots on her wings. Ma Wang’s eyes are the source of his power. Until he once again reclaims his eyes, Ma Wang will be powerless.
The butterfly the goes to Cheon Gi. Sam Shim gifts the eyes to the young girl. She is now a vessel of destiny, created to save the world. Cheon Gi awakens to a school of fish swarming around her. They raise her up to the surface of the water. The girl watches the fish with wonder. When she wakes up again, she is resting in the roots of the tree where she was born.
Ma Wang’s demon power also raises Ha Ram back up to the surface of the water, and then beyond it. The boy floats in the sky high above the onlookers before being gently lowered back to the ground. His father weeps over the unconscious body of his son. The King orders the Head Shaman to be arrested for disobedience, despite the fact that he clearly knew what she was doing at the time. Against all odds, Ha Ram opens his eyes and sits up. He cries out that he cannot see anything, while miles away Cheon Gi marvels at the world she can see for the first time.
Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this first episode. The beginning portion was like watching a fairy tale. Other than the wolves (which weren’t bad mind you) the CGI has been really quite good. The story is interesting and so are the characters. I look forward to seeing more of what goes on and how the demon will ultimately be defeated.
I’m a little surprised that we didn’t get to the older actors for these kids yet, but I think that’s a good thing. It tells me that they are planning to take their time with the storytelling. Hopefully that means we won’t have unnecessary pointless plots mucking up the works later (a girl can dream can’t she?). Despite the dark themes of demons and child sacrifice, the show also had many light and fun moments. The theme song is light as well, leading me to hope for a fairy tale ending of the Disney variety. I definitely plan to check out more episodes.
For more of my thoughts on historical dramas, check out the Certified Noonas episode, Certified Sageuk
Are you interested in more Korean folk tales and fairy stories? I wrote about some of my favourite folklore podcasts over on the Noonas’ website and you can check that out over here.
If you’re newer to kdramas and find the historical drama a little overwhelming, why not check out our Beginner’s Guide to Kdrama Rules? (Rules number 2 and 20 are particularly relevant 😉)
