We haven’t mentioned before just how goosebumps-inducing the soundtrack of Arthdal Chronicles is. It is so apt for the fantasy of the story, and the ending of Arthdal Chronicles Episode 5 was especially riveting, despite its superlative nature. While it has given us some angst for a few characters (since they are played by our favorite actors), we suppose there was no other way to go about it, and here is the recap of the episode.
Spoiler Alert
How does Saya take Eunseom’s place?
When it was said that Aramun and Inaishingi were each other’s enemies, no one could have predicted the number of ways in which that would unfold over time. Tagon may never have been a part of the bigger picture. Perhaps it was the brothers who were destined to stand against each other till the bitter end.
Now that Saya is awake, the Neanthals tell him that he is the older brother, and they also give him a stone, which was to be passed down to him. Apparently, Saya and Eunseom had a part of it each, and they were supposed to use it to recognize each other. But since they have met each other, the stone feels irrelevant, but Saya keeps it since it belongs to him anyway. When he is leaving with Chaeeun, they are attacked by some people, and luckily, the Neanthals protect them, but before dying, the attackers say they are ‘Ikomahis.’ Saya sees that they are also wearing a stone similar to him, and he remembers a mountain.
The Ikomahis mean something to Saya, and we are guessing that it could be his origin. Since the attackers are Igutu, perhaps Saya’s father was from the Ikomahis. Right now, whatever Saya’s realizations, he knows that his task is to go back to Arthdal. However, he has seen his brother’s life in his dreams, and he knows that Eunseom is taking his place. He is already getting involved in matters of the state, and he has reunited with Tanya. As for Saya, the defeat he has faced in the war against the Ago tribe is still stinging him. We don’t think that he knows yet that the Igutus have started gaining acceptance in Arthdal or the rest of the things that Eunseom and Tanya have done.
On a different note, we sense a friendship developing between Chaeeun and Saya. Or it could even be a romantic relationship. Saya has not had the best track record when it comes to love, but there seems to be a spark of something between him and Chaeeun. Elsewhere, the Ago tribe has been falling apart since Eunseom’s disappearance. Their horses are dying due to an epidemic, and the tribes want to break up since they don’t have a leader. This raises the urgency to find Eunseom, or at least to get some news about him. While they are looking for Eunseom, or perhaps just patrolling in the night, they stumble upon Saya, who was making his way back to Arthdal. He cannot admit that he is not Eunseom; therefore, similar to his brother, to save himself in this situation, he takes on the role of Inaishingi.
What is happening to Tagon?
Frankly, we abhor the new plot we are predicting for Tagon. To establish Eunseom as Aramun Haesulla, Tagon must be out of the picture, and madness seems to be the way. He has spent a lifetime being afraid to show his Igutu blood. It is an intrinsic part of his life and politics; therefore, right now, the fact that it is out in the open makes him paranoid about its repercussions. The world is still trying to grasp that Igutus are an important part of their world, but Tagon refuses to look at it positively. The words of the old lady from episode 4 are all he can hear—that everyone wants to kill and abandon him. That is why, even when he is being cared for, and Taelha is staunchly by his side, he is unable to see that. When Eunseon, as Saya, tries to tell him that things will be okay, Tagon disbelieves it. We just hope that this is his delirium caused by ill health and that he will snap out of it eventually. The character of Tagon deserves a better conclusion than death due to madness.
How Does Eunseom Become Aramun Haesulla?
One of the reasons we don’t want a terrible end for Tagon is because that will extend to Taelha. Whatever her principles may be, she is too majestic and dignified to go down in such a manner. Taelha understands that Tanya must have known about Tagon being Igutu for her to do what she did. But when confronted about it, Tanya reveals that she only came to know about it recently. Since Taelha has been keeping tabs on Eunseom, she knows that Tanya met with him, so she realizes that he must have been the one to tell Tanya. That just means that he is not who he is telling himself to be.
With that knowledge, she immediately kidnaps him to ask him these questions. But the trouble is that she knows he is not Saya, but the soldiers don’t. According to them, the queen has kidnapped the general, and this signals rebellion. As they set out to rescue him, Eunsoem’s friends and Tanya’s dad became aware of the truth, and they also planned to help Eunsoem escape covertly. They are successful in their mission, and while leaving Eunseom at a safe place to go back, Yeolson gives him an iron sword. Whatever politics and power plays Yeolson may choose to be a part of for his survival, he cannot ignore where his true loyalties lie, and his heart is with Eunseom’s cause.
As Eunseom holds the iron sword in his hand, he realizes just how powerful it is, and as if to fully reinforce the fact for him, he has to fight with someone who is mad at him for risking Tanya’s life. It is during this fight that Eunseom witnesses how Aramun’s prophecy comes true. Not only does the lightning crack open the tree, but it leaves Eunseom with the prophesied lightning scar and a sword in his hand that is no less than a powerful part of his body. It is the prophecy coming to life in person. Tanya had earlier told him that in order to be a true leader of Arthdal, one could not be only Inaishingi or Aramun. They had to be both if they wanted true unity instead of just control through divisive politics. Perhaps it is at this moment that Eunseom realizes what Tanya means, as he feels the power and, by extension, the possibilities of it.
At the end of Episode 5 of Arthdal Chronicles Season 2, he tells the soldier to tell Tanya that Aramun has arrived and he has found his sword in the tree as prophesied. Eunseom accepts this lie as he understands that this is the sword that will win him what he wants, and everything else in the way is a detail that could be brushed over.
Final Thoughts
Once Saya discovers all the things that Eunsoem is up to, will he take revenge through the Ago tribe, or will he deem it more important to investigate the Ikomahis? Then there is Tagon, and since Eunseom is ready to accept his title as Aramun Haesulla, the king needs to die soon. Maybe we will see that he brings it upon himself by acting deranged. Things are going to get very tense, and probably not in a good way, so we will have to wait and see.
