5 Historical Events Illustrated In Episodes 5-6 Of "My Dearest" That Had Us Sobbing

“My Dearest” promises to be to 2023 what “The Red Sleeve” was to 2021. The dynamic between our not-yet lovers is just so good in the few moments they have together in the middle of war. The show has done a fantastic job of using historical events to facilitate key moments in the characters’ lives in organic, thoughtful, and heart-wrenching ways. Here are five key historical moments from the previous week’s episodes!

Warning: spoilers for episodes 5-6 below.

1. The soldiers of Joseon scattered after a bad defeat

To say that Nam Yeon Joon (Lee Hak Joo) and his band of scholars have been decimated would be an understatement. They left at least 30 strong and are down to about three. Yeon Joon wanders about, looking for other displaced soldiers to join up with, and within a few days, they have their own ragtag army, one that Lee Jang Hyun (Namgoong Min) runs into when leaving to search for other survivors.

Jang Hyun feels defeated at this point. He was elated when Yoo Gil Chae (Ahn Eun Jin) called him her “dearest,” a term used by wives to their husbands in Joseon. Despite poking fun at her, he had the biggest smile on his face and was halfway into a speech on how he doesn’t believe in marriage but he could (could what?), but she cuts him off by lying that she mistook him for Yeon Joon and that’s why she said that. And Jang Hyun believes the lie. So, when he runs into Yeon Joon’s “army” headed by General Kim Joon Ryong (Son Kwang Eop), he doesn’t want anything to do with them—until the general announces that the entire army is going to walk into a death trap and “die honorably.” Because that’s so useful. Jang Hyun rolls his eyes and suggests an alternate plan. The invaders always gather and burn their dead because they don’t want their soldiers’ bodies in foreign hands. So Jang Hyun suggests that they disguise themselves as Jin corpses and ambush the enemy. The plan works perfectly, and the Joseon army scores their first victory against the Greater Jin.

The best path forward is to use that momentum, unite with reinforcements, storm the fortress, and rescue the King. Only, the Jin kill all their reinforcements, and General Kim Joon Ryong’s army has no weapons, arrows, or armor left. So, there’s only one thing they can do.

2. The army of General Kim Joon Ryong disbands

The general tries to sound hopeful, saying that they’ll reconvene when everyone has gotten supplies to made arrowheads so they can fight. But everyone knows the truth: there is no winning this war. Jang Hyun and Yeon Joon return to the makeshift village where Gil Chae and other women are serving as nurses to help the wounded. Jang Hyun has had to expend every inch of his strength to kill the invaders and protect Yeon Joon’s idiot behind because the man truly has no idea what he’s doing. But Yeon Joon gets injured due to idiocy anyway, and Gil Chae takes it out on Jang Hyun. The poor man looks so tired and just leaves when Gil Chae realizes that he’s injured too. And she goes nuts out of concern.

Kyung Eun Ae (Lee Da In) watches Gil Chae fuss over Jang Hyun and gently thanks him, having realized that he kept Yeon Joon safe this whole time. She insists that Gil Chae doesn’t love Yeon Joon the way a woman loves a man (so she knows about Gil Chae’s obsession) but that Gil Chae looked for Jang Hyun immediately after the news that the war broke. Jang Hyun doesn’t really believe Eun Ae but asks Gil Chae anyway, and everything changes for him when she starts stammering and blushing. He finally realizes what Eun Ae already knew: Gil Chae doesn’t know she likes him.

From then on, he takes every chance to be near her. He proposes that they get to know each other without discussing who likes who, and if one of them starts to yearn for the other, then they be honest with each other. Gil Chae huffs and puffs, but she’s really taken with him, and he isn’t shy about it either. He literally looks for every reason to be near her!

3. The Khan’s arrival

Alas, war intrudes once more, and Jang Hyun has to leave Gil Chae. He swears by moonlight that he will find her again, and she hides how heartbroken she is at his departure. He’s forced into protecting Yeon Joon and a court eunuch as they sneak into the fortress the king is walled up in. It’s interesting that everyone in Jang Hyun’s life has the same idea after seeing how skilled he is in languages, warfare, and battle tactics: they want to use him. What’s even worse is that they believe he’s required to lend his body, his mind, and skills for “the good of the King.” King Injo (Kim Jong Tae) and Crown Prince So Hyun (Kim Mu Jun) genuinely believe that they are worth more than anyone in the country and therefore lives must be laid down in their service. Jang Hyun thinks that a load of hooey.

He initially refuses to spy on the Mongols for Prince So Hyun but changes his mind upon hearing that the Khan could have arrived in Joseon. If this is true, it’s game over for Joseon, and more importantly, game over for Gil Chae and the survivors who are hiding out in Ganghwa Island. So he and Ryang Eum (Kim Yoon Woo) infiltrate the main Mongol camp and discover that the Khan is really there. Ryang Eum earns the Khan’s favor with his beautiful voice, and Jang Hyun earns a torture session from the Khan’s right-hand man Yong Gol Dae (Choi Young Woo), who suspects them of being spies. After having his doubts somewhat assuaged, Jang Hyun and Ryang Eum are allowed to visit the Khan everyday and sing for him. Which is how they find out about the smallpox.

4. Smallpox arrives

War and disease are inherently intertwined, but it’s still frightening to realize how quickly a disease that’s curable could  nowkill so many. The Mongolian and Greater Jin army start to crumble internally, but externally, they ramp up their attacks, demanding that King Injo leave his fortress and submit to their ruler. King Injo refuses because he’s too good for that, of course. He knows the invaders will subject him to indignity followed by death. The fact that his people are being subjected to the same thing right now doesn’t cross his mind. Naturally.

Jang Hyun is working in the quarantine wing and sends up as many secret letters to Crown Prince So Hyun as he can, but everything depends on the king being willing to take a loss for his people. And King Injo is not willing to do that, even when Crown Prince So Hyun pleads with his father to do so. So, in retaliation, the invaders decide to remind Injo that he has no power. They attack Ganghwa Island, where the king’s grandson is hiding with the survivors.

5. The attack on Ganghwa Island

What follows here is a massacre. Gil Chae is alerted by a child and has the foresight to realize that the invaders have arrived to kill them. Of course, the men don’t believe her, and they pay the price.

Gil Chae, Eun Ae, and their maids Jong Jong (Park Jeong Yeon) and Bang Doo Ne (Kwon So Hyun) are able to escape and hide as the other survivors are brutally butchered. But there’s no way off the island except by boat. And the only other group with a boat are the king’s soldiers who have showed up, but not to rescue the survivors. Nope, they can’t be bothered with that. The king’s men are here to rescue the king’s grandson only. Gil Chae realizes this and bravely risks her life, saving the infant grandson from death.

She barters passage for her, Eun Ae, Jong Jong, and Doo Ne, especially because Doo Ne has just had her baby and can provide milk for the king’s grandson. They sail away even as other people beg to be allowed on the boat. Gil Chae drops her knife pushing away a woman trying to yank Jong Jong off the boat and watches that same woman die at the invaders’ hands minutes later. The other women end their lives by jumping into the ocean before the invading men can hurt them. Eun Ae tells her not to think about it, but Gil Chae can’t stop.

A Mongol soldier picks up Gil Chae’s knife and returns to camp, where Jang Hyun nearly has a heart attack seeing it. He thinks Gil Chae is dead and is devastated.

He volunteers for a Mongol mission tracking the king’s grandson that’ll bring him close to the island so he can at least bury her. It works out excellent because the king’s soldiers use Gil Chae and the other women as bait while fleeing to hide their cowardly skins. Jang Hyun sees Gil Chae from afar and this beautiful look of relief appears on his face. He isn’t doing well and seems to have caught smallpox from the other soldiers, but he plants himself in their path and reveals that he’s a Joseon man.

Gil Chae sees him fighting from afar as she and the other women run for their life, but she recognizes him even then. She leaves the others and runs to him just as he gets badly hurt. And we leave off there! This show is out to break hearts, and I’m here for it. It’s so lovingly crafted with every shot straight out of a movie and expressing so much in such few lines. This is an exquisite drama, and the fact that there’s only two weeks left before we have to wait for part two is definitely going to wreck me. Here’s hoping we get a few cute moments next week because tragedy seems to be coming!

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Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she fangirls over Ji Sung, and spins thrillers set in increasingly fantastic worlds. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!

Currently Watching:  “Longing For You,” “My Dearest,” “Not Others,” and “My Lovely Liar.”
Looking Forward to: “Gyeongseong Creature,” “Ask The Stars,” “The Girl Downstairs,” “The Worst Evil,” “Queen of Tears,” “Vigilante,” “Daily Dose of Sunshine,” and Ji Sung’s next drama.