Janggeum’s Dream: Episode 11 Commentary

The Cave of Death

Continuing to be unpredictable, this episode was like nothing yet in the series.

I take it the sea cucumbers, abalones, and wild honey will all be ingredients for the secret recipe. Or maybe not; perhaps Granny Pot simply wants to restock on foods.

I’m not sure which of the two sidekicks is less grounded in reality, Yeong-ro for thinking the honey pot to have some invisible food only seen by qualified people, or Yeonsaeng for seriously (right?) asking her how it tasted. I did like Yeong-ro’s smile after Granny Pot said to look at the mountain. Cute.

Thanks to Yeong-ro choosing Suro as her guard, Jeong-ho will continue to be around Janggeum to protect her. As for Geum-young’s side, Choe seems to have a good amount of money to hand out. Her influence on her niece is apparent when Geum-young offers their guide more money as compensation for the dangers they may face. Some things are simply worth more than money. At least more than ten million nyang.

The Bee Master is mysterious, but then there are peculiar things about Granny Pot as well. The one issue I’ve had with Granny Pot was her looking in the mirror and transforming from young to old. It really takes a whack at the whole suspension of disbelief thing I’ve been keeping with (at least after Janggeum took a flying jump to catch the foods Dongi tripped and dropped up into the air). If the Bee Master is able to appear in place of the Stone Grandfather, then it may not be farfetched for Granny Pot’s younger-looking self to be nothing more than an illusion.

In the spider cave, and even leading up to it, Geum-young is more determined than ever to get the honey. Janggeum’s the only one thus far who’s been able to compare with her in doing what it takes to further her knowledge and status as a cook. If the two are willing to risk their lives for cooking, then it’ll be a pity to see only one of the two advance. In the meantime, I really would have liked Suro to give her that smack in the back of the head he was thinking about.

Just as Yeonsaeng previously mentioned the inability to swim, and found herself seasick on the ship, this time around she’s unable to keep up with even Dongi during the hike (an exercise in walking she and Suro both are unhappy with, although I’m sure Suro’s in much better shape for it). On top of that, she expresses a fear of heights. While Janggeum is continually taking the initiative, and is unfazed by rocking ships on rolling waves, and is comparable at diving with the local divers, Yeonsaeng is shown with faults. This gives her a greater sense of realism, and probably finds something somewhere for each viewer to relate to.

On the other side, there’s Yeong-ro. Greedy, devious, not afraid to step on the little people on her way up. Nonetheless, she may be becoming good friends with Geum-young during times not seen by the viewer. She’s also presented in a down-to-earth manner with items such as her dislike of spiders and wasps. That is to say, as down-to-earth as one can be while tasting an invisible food only seen by the qualified.

Another difficult-to-believe item is the huge rock falling after Jeong-ho and Janggeum land on it. It must have been a very loose boulder, just waiting for someone to hop down on it with enough force, but if it has enough weight to cause the cave to cave in upon its fall, wouldn’t it be too heavy for the two to knock down? Well, whatever it takes to move the story along and get the two in the cave to find their friends.

Has Jeong-ho’s sword been shown before? I don’t recall seeing it prior, only the staff containing it. This better explains his staff’s ability to stand up against a sword in combat.

The two groups took different paths to reach the same place, and have together found the Bee Master (or rather, the Bee Master has found them). This means they’ll get the honey together, and return with it together, meaning they’ll need to face yet another trial. The question is, will getting the honey be a simple task with the Bee Master on their side? Will the next episode focus on getting the honey while learning from the Bee Master, or will it open with the girls returning with the wild honey?