My Dearest (2023) Episode 4

Episode 4 of My Dearest starts as the Voluntary army from Neunggun-ri leaves the village. Jang-hyun accompanies them up to an intersection outside. Seeing that they can handle the horses competently, he leaves them and goes up a hill. He informs Goo-jam that he is camping at the hill since it is the only way the invaders must follow on their way to attack the village.

A look at the aftermath of the ambush: most soldiers died, including Soon-yak. One of the survivors from Neunggun-ri wants to go back to the village. Yeon-joon, who also survived the attack, intends to continue to the Namhan fortress to rescue the King. 

At Namhan fortress, the King and the officials debate the way forward. Some of the officials advise the King to vacate the palace as the intruders requested for the promise of preserving the government. Other officials disagree, quoting the historic event during the Jingkang Incident. The intruders had promised to preserve the government and when the King agreed, they took him and the loyal subjects captive.

The King agrees to prepare for the final battle but soon after receives news that the Qing army has ambushed and overpowered all the reinforcements.

Jang-hyun hears the sound of the horses and knows that the Mongolians are coming. He intends to go up the mountain to make smoke signals and inform the other villages to flee. Goo-jam informs him that Ryang-eum has gone down to the village though.

Jang-hyun rushes down to save him and directs Goo-jam to go up the mountain and make smoke signals for hours. The intruders invade and Ryang-eum is nearly captured but Jang-hyun shows up in time to save him. 

Back at Neunggun-ri, the women gather to pray for the soldiers when Gil-chae notices the smoke up the mountain. She informs the village elders of what Jang-hyun had told her. Fortunately, they listen to her and they agree to flee the village. The Mongolians invade more villages, killing and taking hostages. The villagers at Neunggun-ri prepare to leave. Song-chu notices a crow when leaving and suddenly asks his wife to go ahead as he forgot to put the lid on a jar and goes back to the village. 

Gil-chae, Eun-ae, their families, and servants arrive at the river. The boat is not big enough to carry all of them. The men want the women and children to go first but when Gil-Chae’s younger brother refuses to leave without the father, Gil-chae asks him to leave first. Hence, Gil-chae, Eun-ae, Madam Bang-doo, and Jong-jong are left behind. 

Grandma Yi-rang, Song-chu’s wife, returns to the village for her husband. Song-chu knows that crows always accompany the intruders. He noticed crows while leaving the village and knew that the intruders were close and given the speed of the village masters and their families, the intruders would catch up to them in no time. He, therefore, stays behind to buy the villagers more time. 

The intruders arrive at an empty village. The leader wants them to find silk and the women who have not left. They find silk outside Song-chu’s house that he had intentionally left to lure them in.  he had poured oil on the silk, and he shoots a fire arrow as soon as they begin to gather the silk. The intruders close to the silk catches fire.

 At the river, the boat comes back but the servant rowing the boat is dead. Gil-chae quickly takes charge and helps them find a different way to escape. Back in the village, Song-chu holds back the intruders giving the villagers enough time to escape, but in the end, they kill him and his wife. 

The intruders chase after the villagers to get the women and the money. They arrive at the river and notice the footprints left by Gil-chae, Eun-ae, and their servants. They support a pregnant Bang-doo as they run into the forest. They hide under a hanging rock and since Gil-chae and Jong-jong trace back the footprints, the intruders lose the trail and leave.

Jang-hyun, Ryang-eum, and Goo-jam arrive at the village and are glad that the villagers are able to flee. They see Song-chu and his wife under the snow who die in each other’s arms and bury them. Jang-hyun vows to catch the intruders who killed Song-chu and his wife. He says he has no intention to save the king but must punish those who killed Song-chu and his wife.

The intruders are still searching the forest for the villagers who fled. Elsewhere, Madam Bang-doo is due and Gil-chae has to act as the midwife and help her deliver since Eun-ae faints at the sight of blood. Due to the pain, Bang-doo screams into the night, alerting the intruders, who start to close in on their location. 

Madam Bang-doo delivers safely but the baby is at risk due to the cold. The ladies lost their carry-ons while running from the intruders. Gil-chae has to go out of their hiding place to look for clothes to help keep the baby and Madam Bang-doo warm.

She finds a dying man, manages to get some warm clothes from him, and heads back to the cave. She goes out again, searching for anything else to help them and hiding her footsteps from the intruders. 

Eun-ae leaves the cave in search of Gil-chae and comes across an intruder. He nearly takes advantage of her but Gil-chae shows up in time and stabs him with the knife given by Jang-hyun. They are traumatized as they push the dead man down a cliff. They go to the river to try to wash away the blood.

Eun-ae is terrified that if people find out she encountered an intruder, they will not believe her when she tells them nothing happened. They make a vow never to tell anyone what happened. Gil-chae carries Madam Bang-doo across the mountain. The ladies are cold, exhausted, and hungry but do not stop moving. 

Jang-hyun meets with the intruders who invaded the village. They have women hostages tied together and walking barefoot. Their feet are bleeding. Together with Ryang-eum and Goo-jam, they kill the intruders and free the women. 

Elsewhere, the ladies are hurdled together at night to keep warm. Gil-chae has the same dream of the man waiting for him by a lake. She leans onto the stranger in her dream, acknowledging that he is most likely her future husband. She cries, asking him where he is when she is terrified and exhausted.

The man turns to her, but she wakes up before she can see his face. Drowsily, she sees a man at a distance and thinks that her future husband is coming to her rescue. However, she quickly realizes it is an intruder and urges them to run away. They are almost subdued, but seeing Jong-jong in danger, Gil-chae bites one of the intruders and rushes to help Jong-jong. 

Suddenly, arrows attack the intruders and she sees a silhouette of a man coming at a distance. The intruders rush to attack the man but they are easily defeated. One of them tries to take Gil-chae captive but Jang-hyun throws his sword piercing the man who falls to his death. Gil-chae is speechless as she gazes upon her saviour.

One of the intruders rushes to attack Jang-hyun but Gil-chae warns him by shouting, “Watch out, my dear.” Although the intruder manages to land a cut on Jang-hyun’s arm, it is not deep and Jang-hyun easily kills him. Ryang-eum and Goo-jam run after the intruders who escape. At the end of the episode, Jang-hyun checks on Gil-chae, making sure she is okay. He smiles at the realization that Gil-chae just called her “my dear.”

The Episode Review

The character of Gil-chae goes through massive character development in this episode. Since the first chapter, she’s been arrogant, selfish, careless, and full of pride. Her real character is evident here. Unlike other women who appear helpless in times of danger, she is brave and takes charge. She trusts Jang-hyun and convinces the villagers to leave at the sight of smoke on the mountain and she manages to save the villagers. 

She cares for Jong-jong, Eun-ae, and Madam Bang-doo and never leaves them behind despite Madam Bang-doo being pregnant and slowing down their progress. She quickly thinks about hiding their footsteps to ensure the intruders do not find them. She takes charge, helps Madam Bang-doo deliver, and bravely ventures into the night, knowing the intruders are lurking in the darkness to find something to keep the baby warm.

Despite being exhausted and hungry, she carries a weary Bang-doo as they flee from the intruders. Jang-hyun character is also vividly portrayed too. While all the able men leave the old, kids, and women helpless to save the king, which the people see as an act of disloyalty, he cares more about the people. He does not intend to save the King but he rescues women from the intruders and gets revenge for Song-chu and his wife. 

Finally, Gil-chae returns Jang-hyun’s feelings in the end, and we look forward to what happens next.