This show has been on since September, yet very few episodes have been subbed. It's also known as The Great King's Dream, Dream of the Emperor, and Dream of the King.
Kim Yushin (played by Kim Yoo Suk) is addressing his men. He congratulates them on a recent victory, reminds them their main goal is to unite the Three Kingdoms (Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo) and to wipe out all the pro-Tang factions. Elsewhere, King Chunchu (played by Choi Soo Jung, who is sporting some big-ass gold earrings) is praying to the ancestors for help in unification when Yushin and his yelling men interrupt and start slaughtering people. Yushin's soldiers and Chunchu's guards face off as the two men meet face to face in the middle. Chunchu has taken off his big-ass gold earrings and donned his warrior guyliner, so you know he means business. Yushin is upset because of the Tang influence in the kingdom. He wants to kill them all. Chunchu asks for patience from his general, that he plans to use the Tang to unify the kingdoms. A thunderstorm breaks as the two men exchange sword blows.
The Great Omniscient Voiceover gives us a PowerPoint presentation on how things have been for the last couple of decades and who is fighting who. We now go live to 609 A.D. The Baekje are making a general nuisance of themselves as they conduct raids into Silla and capture hapless villagers. As they're marching their war booty back to the border, a lone warrior appears. It's a young Kim Yushin in mime makeup. (Oh, and he's played now by No Young Hak, who is also playing in The Great Seer. This is one busy kid.) He takes on the Baekje all by himself and is quite impressive (compared to the usual goofy roles I've seen Young Hak play) but eventually the odds are against him as he's greatly outnumbered. Yushin is being dragged along behind a horse when finally his old man, Kim Seohyeon, shows up with some soldiers. These particular Baekje are killed and the grateful villagers are returned home.
Mom Manmyeong is not happy her son has been running around in mime makeup and putting his life at risk. (Moms can be such a killjoy sometimes.) Seohyeon decides to send his son to Seorabeol, the Silla capital, and have Yushin join the Hwarangdo.
King Jinpyeong is holding court and discussing the Baekje problem. Reform leader Alcheon suggests the king name an heir. This throws the conservative party into a tizzy. In the end the king agrees to Alcheon's idea.
Country bumpkin Kim Yushin arrives in the big city and quickly his eye is caught by the lovely lass, Cheongwan. She's being harassed by some Hwarang which gives Yushin the opportunity to come to her aid and show off his fighting skills. Unfortunately, again, he's outnumbered. The only one to come to his aid is an even younger Chunchu, who gets no respect because he's not a royal prince. Turns out Chunchu's father, Kim Yongchun (played by Jung Dong Hwan, the sickly king of The Princess' Man), is an old friend of Seohyeon's and so Yushin will be staying with them. Thus begins the lifelong friendship of the Short and the Even Shorter.
Now we go to a guy with a hawk. This is Bihyeong (played by Jang Dong Jik), stepbrother of Kim Yongchun and leader of the Gwimun - a group of people with hairstyles straight out of a Japanese manga. They're discussing how Jinpyeong is trying to come up with an heir. Bihyeong's second in command, Gildal/Golden Fox (played by Lee Jung Yong), urges his leader to ride in and take the crown for himself. Bihyeong has no interest in becoming king. Not happy with a leader with no ambition, Gildal talks with his own clique about getting rid of Bihyeong and becoming king himself.
There's talk about King Jinpyeong adopting Chunchu and making the boy the royal heir. Queen Sado, is so not down with that. She would rather have the king's brother, Galmunwang, named as heir since he's the only other male with royal blood. Problem is, Galmunwang is nuttier than a fruitcake.
Bihyeong and Yongchun have a secret night meeting. Bihyeong wants to help make Chunchu the royal heir so their family can regain the throne. (Yongchun and Bihyeong's father, Jinji, was the king who was deposed to make way for Jinpyeong.) On his way back home, Bihyeong is attacked by water ninjas. He fights them off with his iron fan. Soldiers arrive and throw a net over him, but Bihyeong uses his fan to cut the ropes and free himself. The soldiers and ninjas had been sent by Sukheuljong, leader of the conservative party.
Yushin isn't allowed to join the Hwarangdo because of his father ran off with Sukheujong's daughter, Manmyeong.
Queen Sado plots to eliminate her problem by eliminating Chunchu. She recruits Gildal and his non-Korean hair to do the dirty work.
We finally get to see Prince Deokman, and no, she's not a long-lost twin disguising herself as a boy. She publicly supports her father in naming Chunchu as heir while harboring secret ambitions for herself.
Sukheujong has his own secret meeting with Gildal.
Bihyeong is out fishing when he's joined by Cheongwan, the girl who has stolen Yushin's heart. Suddenly they're attacked by more water ninjas! (Bihyeong, stay away from water, for God's sake!) He's fights them off with his fishing pole, while other Gwimun men and women come to his defense. Cheongwan just stands there. After killing all the ninjas, they figure out Gildal is behind the attack, which means Yongchun and Chunchu are in danger.
Chunchu and his mother are having tea with Queen Sado. She's talking down to him, explaining his grandfather was deposed because he was a tyrant. Chunchu dares to argue with the old woman.
Since he can't get into the Hwarangdo, Yushin is ready to give up and go back home. He's standing outside getting his horse ready when one of Bihyeong's people comes running up. She's looking for Yongchun and Chunchu to warn them they're in danger. Of course this mean Yushin must spring into action.
Chunchu and his entourage are heading back home when Gildal and his ninjas attack. Chunchu's guards are next door to useless as you can see them shaking in their boots. Gildal assures them he won't kill anyone if they'll just hand over the boy. Otherwise, the Golden Fox will slaughter them all. This is when a lone Kim Yushin rides up and hits Gildal with a spear. Gildal may be down but he's not out. He pulls the spear from his chest and gets back up, threatening to cut Yushin up into little pieces. Yushin grabs a sword, Gildal grabs a wicked-looking halberd, and both run at each other in slow motion.
Gosh, plenty of action going on here, but someone needs to tie that cameraman down. The camera just keeps going around and around and around.... I'm getting dizzy.
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