While a tyrant fights for his position as king, he's rapidly losing control, and his attempts to wrest power from his opponents is earning him more enemies than friends. Meanwhile our humble hero finds himself gaining power he never expected, and he decides to use that power to further his cause. They're drawing ever closer to a showdown, and it's anyone's guess who will win and who will lose when the victory lies with the hearts of the people.
EPISODE 17 RECAP
Eunseom is saved from dying during the Judgment of the Waterfall by Karika and her Momo warriors, who are inhumanly agile in the water. They get him to the shallows, where Dalsae tackle-hugs Eunseom and nearly drowns him in a few inches of water, lol. Eunseom blinks up at everyone, wondering if this is a dream, and then Badoru leaps on him and almost drowns him a third time. So cute.
Once everything is explained, Eunseom thanks Karika and her men for saving his life. Karika says they're now "untwined" now that her debt to him for saving her baby's life has been paid. She asks what he'll do now, and Eunseom says he has to go back and save Ipsaeng.
Karika laughs and says that if he returns to the Myo clan, he'll no longer live as himself. She offers Eunseom the chance to go with her, but he insists on saving Ipsaeng, so Karika extends the invitation to join the Momo tribe any time he wishes.
The Myo clan pray fervently for Inaishingi (in the form of Eunseom, for surviving the Judgment) to return to them, but the chief's daughter's intended, Tachoogan, sneers that they're all crazy. He argues to the chief that Eunseom was obviously lying about dreaming of Inaishingi, but the female warrior, Miroosol, can't believe that Ipsaeng, an Ago tribe member, would lie about such a thing.
Tachoogan decides to prove that Ipsaeng is lying, so he goes to the cages, ostensibly to bring Ipsaeng his last meal. He casually cuts the vines holding the cage together, which Ipsaeng immediately notices. He tries to run, but Tachoogan is lying in wait, and he lassos Ipsaeng before he gets more than a few steps away.
He yells to the chief that Ipsaeng wouldn't be trying to escape if the Igutu had been telling the truth. Ipsaeng calls Tachoogan a fool for believing Eunseom's claim of have received a dream vision from Inaishingi, and he growls for them to kill him now because they'll all end up dead at the hands of the other Ago clans anyway.
Tachoogan notices that the others are listening to Ipsaeng's warnings and tells them not to be tricked. Miroosol says that they believed Eunseom because they desperately wanted his words to be true, that they could help the other clans instead of selling them into slavery.
Tachoogan screams that that's why they can't afford hope, and that it's ridiculous to wait for Inaishingi to return and save them. At that exact moment, Eunseom returns and pulls the sickle from the stump, the last act of his Judgment. The entire clan stare at him, dumbfounded, and Eunseom just gasps, "We're good now, right?" HA.
He helps Ipsaeng to his feet and says that regardless of whether the message comes from Inaishingi or not, it's still stupid to war with their own tribe. He's ready to take Ipsaeng and leave, but Ipsaeng stammers, "I... In.. Inaishingi?" The rest of the clan take up the cry, "Inaishingi has returned!" as they hoist Eunseom into the air.
Eunseom is taken to the council lodge and told that he and Inaishingi are the only people who have ever survived the Judgment of the Waterfall. The chief believes that Eunseom is the second coming of Inaishingi, but Eunseom confesses that someone saved him. The Myo grandmother says that doesn't matter — for all they know, Inaishingi also had help a thousand years ago.
Eunseom starts to say that he made up the dream, but Tachoogan grabs him and drags him out to stand in front of the other warriors. They vow to do as Inaishingi says and start saving the other tribes from slavery, and they even swear to die for him. Tachoogan whispers to Eunseom that whether or not he truly had that dream, he is Inaishingi now.
