궁Goong : Princess hours 궁

Episode 7-8 one shot episode

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 7-8

The Queen Mother, Shin's Grandma, is worried about how few children there are in the imperial household (there are precisely three, all of them in their late teens). Queen Mother suggests that Shin and Chaekyung should go ahead and produce an heir. Like, right now. Grandma's very frank about these sorts of things.

 Shin's Mama, However, Is Horrified.

But the idea is quickly dropped. I expect it to make another appearance in later episodes, though.

In an unexpectedly nice move, Shin offers to take Chaekyung to visit with her family for a few days. Shin even fishes for affirmation from Chaekyung, coolly saying that he'll make a lot of trouble for her family, so wouldn't she just prefer to leave him behind? But when Chaekyung seems inclined to leave him, Shin is quick to assert that he has to go on this trip, or else the adults will never let Chaekyung go. Ooh, he was just trying to see if she really wanted him to come along.

In the car on the way over, Shin can't help but grin at Chaekyung's irrepressible happiness. The home visit is uncomfortable, as Chaekyung's family tries to figure out how to treat the Crown Prince, but Shin kinda likes it. What's even better is when Chaekyung's family staggers out of the livingroom as one, panting from the exertion of talking to the prince for so long. After dinner, since there aren't enough rooms for everyone, Shin takes Chaekyung's hand and suggests that they share a room. *gulp*

Mere Words Cannot Describe the Awkward.

Chaekyung gets upset when Shin stays in her room, and she asks: "Did you come to my house just to annoy me like this?" The answer? "Yes." And he looks so happy about it. A mostly one-sided kickfight for bedspace ensues. Chaekyung eventually loses and gets the floor.

Elsewhere, Hyorin feels tense, so she goes to Yul's Mom's yoga studio to chill out. Hyorin already sees Yul's Mom as a mentor and source of relief, which is really bad since Mom's a deceptive and seasoned plotter. Her plans are gaining momentum, and now Yul's Mom outright promises her son to get the kingdom back for him.

Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word. Mama's Gonna Buy You a Constitutional Monarchy.

Ah, and it's back to the funny hijinks at Casa de Chaekyung. Shin grins widely while watching Chaekyung's parents doing cute things, and he even smiles when Chaekyung fusses at him for leaving the roots on lettuce they pick for a meal. I am not just enjoying these scenes--I am heartwarmed by them. The cold, distant prince is enjoying a friendly, chaotic home at last.

Shin reports back to the Queen and Queen Mother that everyone at Chaekyung' s house hangs out together and splits the chores evenly. They're like friends! Queen Mother marvels over whether family can really be chingu. Later, Shin tries to apply the warmth he's learned at Chaekyung's house and call his mom eomma, or "Mom" instead of "Your Majesty," but she shuts him down immediately, appalled that he's letting his manners slip. In a flashback we see that the Queen pounded it into Shin's head from an early age that he was special and had to act dignified because he was the next king. Now we see where he gets the coldness from. If only Chaekyung understood some of this, she might know how to handle Shin's bouts of random distancing.

Chaekyung Is Blissfully Unaware of Shin's Hang-Ups.

Back in Hyorin's subplot, Yul's Mom tells Hyorin a story about Prince Charles and Camilla; how although Charles married Diana, his marriage grew rocky and he fell for Camilla. Then after years of struggling, the brave Camilla finally got to marry her prince! Um. I don't think most people view the Charles/Diana/Camilla situation in such a glowing light.

Hyorin follows Yul's Mom's advice and says that she'll use Camilla's example and stay close to the royal family, even helping Chaekyung out, so that she can get her man in the end. Hyorin, before you were somewhat pitiable, but now you've become someone to despise. Ick. It's noteworthy that only Hyorin is supposed to see stealing Shin as a noble thing--Yul's Mom is actually trying to get Hyorin to ruin Shin's reputation, so that Yul can become the beloved William to Shin's disgraced Charles.

Everyone Seems to Be Plotting Shin's Downfall.

While playing a form of polo, Yul's horse runs into Shin's horse and they both fall off. Twenty people run to help Shin, and only Chaekyung runs to help Yul. She doesn't even go see Shin afterward, and this hurts his feelings terribly. But Shin's been hanging out with Hyorin, so Chaekyung thinks he doesn't want to see her. Shin keeps Chaekyung from going on a ceremonial visit to Thailand with him, but his reasons aren't clear. And the episode ends on this down note just as we'd made so much progress! Yargh.