With the Wahan tribe held captive by an unknown enemy, our hero Eunseom sets forth to find out who he's fighting and journeys toward the land of Arthdal to save his people. Eunseom isn't the only person headed to Arthdal with big ambitions — antihero Tagon prepares to make a big homecoming entrance and starts making some bold moves to instigate power struggles amongst the Arthdal union leaders. We learn more about a certain mysterious woman's role in between Tagon and his father and how she may wield significant influence on the power shifts within Arthdal.
EPISODE 3 RECAP
As Eunseom speeds ahead on his horse, Helper, Moobaek wonders if this horse could be the legendary Kanmoreu, which would make the rider Aramun Haesulla, the god of union. Moobaek orders his men to return to the captives while he continues to chase after the runaway.
While riding Helper, Eunseom's eyes flash purple as he thinks back to Tanya being dragged away. He rolls off Helper and dunks his head in the water, remembering Tanya's plea for him to save himself so that he can one day save the Wahan tribe. His purple eyes fade, and he cries in despair: How will he overcome the stronger enemies?
Then, Eunseom hears a rustling behind him and quickly scans his surroundings. Moobaek emerges from the forest, so Eunseom hops back onto Helper. In pursuit of the potential legendary horse, Moobaek realizes that he may never be able to catch up, so he begins to shoot arrows at Eunseom.
Just as Moobaek draws his bow for another shot, Helper stops and turns around, and Eunseom panics. As Helper runs toward Moobaek, Eunseom remembers Dalsae (the Wahan tribe member with a particular distaste for Eunseom) accusing Eunseom of not being human because of his too fast vision. He trusts his fast instincts and avoids the oncoming arrows as he rides straight at Moobaek.
Moobaek draws his sword to attack Eunseom as he passes, but his horse suddenly stops. Moobaek falls off his horse, and his horse runs after Eunseom. As Moobaek chases after his horse and Eunseom, he remembers Saenyeok Tribe leader Sanung anointing him as a Kanmoreu-like warrior — a strong and fast leader. Sanung retold the legend that even enemy horses followed Kanmoreu.
Recalling this tale, Moobaek slows down and watches his horse run off. He wonders if this could really be Kanmoreu.
Meanwhile, the Wahan tribe captives walk through the Sea of Tears on the enemy-built bridges. Wahan's current great mother, Mother Choseol, collapses, and Tanya worries that she's overheating. But Mother Choseol stands back up and continues to walk. Tanya asks who these people are and where they're taking them, and Mother Choseol seems to have her suspicions.
Eunseom returns to the pillaged Wahan village and grieves the loss of children, fathers, and mothers. He finds Tanya's flower crown and holds it tightly as he proceeds to scavenge for any weapons. Then, he hears a whimpering voice call him name, "Uncle Euseom!"
Eunseom turns around to find little Doti, who runs into his arms. Doti cries that the strange men killed everyone, and Eunseom tightly hugs Doti, trying to comfort her. Eunseom tells Doti that they'll save everyone, but Doti doesn't want to meet the scary men again.
Putting on a brave face, Eunseom reminds Doti of the great mother's advice during difficult times: Listen to the song of the spirit. Eunseom claims that he heard the voice of the horse's spirit saying, "Turn around and run head on."
Doti is still scared by the prospect of being outnumbered by the scary men, so Eunseom then reminds her of Uncle Dalsae's strategy to capture the enemy's tribe leader. They may not be able to defeat all their enemies, but they could trade the enemy's tribe leader for the Wahan people. Doti finally smiles hopefully.
