“Feelings” is a good way to describe the third episode of Arthdal Chronicles Season 2. We were not expecting the chemistry between the new Tanya and Eunseom, but it felt good to see it. On the other hand, Lee Joon Ki has started feeling very appropriate for the role of a more mature Eunseom and Saya. In the show’s writers, we are placing our trust, and here is the recap of the episode.
Spoiler Alert
What Is Happening With The Ago Tribe?
When the Ago tribe sees that their general is missing, they go into a state of panic since, without him, their war and union are pretty much done. As they desperately try to retrace his steps, they realize that one of the last people that the Inaishingi saw was Syoreujagin. As expected, the prisoner is being annoying because he certainly hates them all. That is when one of the members gets down on his knees and begs him to help, which, to our surprise, ends up working. Syoreujagin takes them to the cottage where Eunseom went, and upon finding it burned down, he speculates whether Eunseom got swapped with Saya. This is the moment that the others discover how the Inaishingi and the Arthdal General are connected. Chaeeun backs it up, but right now, the only option in front of the men is to leave for Arthdal to get back Eunseom, and they need to take Syoreujagin with them. They first ask Chaeeun, but she refuses since she has to treat and take care of Saya. She does not reveal that Saya is with her, as she is protecting him so that her sister, Nunbyeol, remains safe. Right now, he is in the care of the Neanthals, who know his parentage and his connection to Eunseom.
How Does Tanya Help The Slaves?
Tanya wasn’t joking when she said that she knew as well as Tagon how to use fear as a tool. Tagon is saddened by the death of Mubaek, but he also sees this as an opportunity. It is quite clear that Taelha organized this attack on Saya, and Mubaek was an unintentional victim. The soldiers have retrieved the crescent-shaped dagger from the burned-down cottage, and that is the signature weapon of the Shahati children, who listen to the Asa tribe, which can only be commanded by the queen. She is the very evident culprit, and when the general tries to tell the King about it, he is shut down as Tagon says that there isn’t enough evidence. The body of the child could not be identified as Shahati, and in such a case, there is no way that he would blame the queen yet. At this time, the general directly asks the King whether he wants to make a deal with the queen in exchange for getting her out of a tough situation. After all, isn’t that what marriage is?
Meanwhile, Tanya is told by one of her helper girls about the abysmal conditions of the slaves in one of the masters’ houses. When Tanya goes to check it herself, she finds it to be true and is horrified and angry. She had been granting a lot of blessings to the masters who owned the most slaves so that they would take care of those under them. But in the absence of that, Tanya breaks the bracelet she had given the man, which scares him enough to get a doctor for all of them. Tanya has set an example of what she expects in return for her protection, and this will serve to nullify the complaints of the rich against the slaves getting three meals a day.
Does Taelha Know That Saya Is Eunseom?
As Saya, aka Eunseom, is lying in bed, the queen has to start worrying about what will happen once he wakes up. The fact remains that Saya will undoubtedly blame the whole thing on the queen, as it is the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. It wouldn’t matter whether he is able to prove anything or if other evidence is presented. Once Saya says that he was attacked by the Shahati, it is game over for Taelha.
Meanwhile, Eunseom has woken up, and he can hear the people outside calling him Saya. But we don’t think the situation has quite sunk in yet when Taelha enters his chambers, as he is ready to attack her with a sword. Taelha defends herself just fine, but something about Saya’s manner of attack feels very odd to Taelha. He passes out again, and when he wakes up a while later, he is briefed about everything by one of the soldiers around. However, Eunseom’s priority is to leave Arthdal immediately.
While making his way out, he stumbles on what we are presuming must be called a ‘war council,’ where he gets the update, while pretending to be Saya, that the Ago tribe is safe for now. As he leaves the palace, the generals are terrified since they need to get Saya to the King to get his statement. Nothing can interfere with that, and that is why his leaving like that is concerning. Eunseom ends up meeting Nunbyeol, who recognizes who he is, and with the others from Ago, they deduce that Chaeeun is probably taking care of Saya. The plan for them is to leave Arthdal as soon as possible, and despite knowing that he will be forgoing the chance to meet Tanya, Eunseom has to think of the people first. Luckily for their romance, the soldiers find him, and he is forced to go back to the palace with them.
Before he meets the King, Eunseom meets Tanya, and after seeing her in person, he can’t be stoic and controlled anymore. He couldn’t refuse how much he had missed her or craved her presence. If he had left without meeting her, he would have regretted it forever. Tanya still thinks he is Saya, but he lets her know who he is by reminding her of something he used to say once.
In front of the King, Eunseom (still pretending to be Saya) states that he has little memory of that day. He claims that there had been a different weapon from the crescent-shaped dagger that had attacked him, and the Shahati may have been there, but they weren’t the ones to harm him. Everyone is surprised at this statement since it completely lets Taelha off the hook. But the queen has not missed the warning that Eunseom has given. He said that he wasn’t sure of this other dagger and that he could remember the events of the day anytime. That was indirectly said to Taelha.
At the end of Episode 3 of Arthdal Chronicles season 2, Taelha goes to meet Eunseom in his chambers and finds Tanya there. Tanya already knows everything from Eunseom, but what surprises us is that Taelha also senses that the person in front of her is not Saya. It could have been the technique from the fight before, or it could have been something about Tanya’s manner, but Taelha knows. We know that Eunseom is going to lie to her or disregard her doubts, but we believe that Taelha may play along with it, temporarily, for motives of her own.
Final Thoughts
Who would have thought that we would have liked to have seen the brothers switch places? But while Eunseom’s arc is predictable, we cannot decide what will happen with Saya. The Neanthals and Chaeeun know who he is, so he can’t get away with it like Eunseom is doing. Tanya is going to send someone to look for him, so that might solve something, but it is time he wakes up. The rest is to be seen.
