Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 4 of Season 1 of Kingdom, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Ju Ji-hoon as Crown Prince Yi Chang, Bae Doona as Seo-bi, Ryu Seung-ryong as Cho Hak ju, Kim Sang-ho as Mou Young, Kim Sung-kyu as Yeong shin, and Kim Hye-jun as the Queen Consort. We discuss:

• Recent comments from our listeners, including Shine, who has attended many K Drama star meet and greets in Manila. Shine says it’s common for fans to walk up on stage to say hello to stars at the end of these events.
• The Hero’s Journey framework, which was researched and popularized by writer Joseph Campbell, who researched thousands of myths, stories and legends from around the world. He came up with what he called the monomyth or the Hero’s Journey, which he says is basically the template for so many of our myths and legends.
• How exciting it is to map Kingdom to the Hero’s Journey. 
  • We think the Call to Adventure has happened
  • The Crown Prince at first tried to refuse the call
  • Mu Young is clearly his guide
  • The Crown Prince is being tested; witness the people who died by the arrows of the palace guards
  • But the Crown Prince is also gaining allies in Seo bi and Young shin
  • The Crown Prince is also an orphan. We see a lot of orphans in hero’s journey movies and shows: Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, Frodo Baggins
• In this episode, it seems everyone is headed to Sangju.
• How Cho Hak ju had the messenger who delivered his son’s head killed on the spot, which means he killed the messenger. We discuss the origins of the phrase, “don’t shoot the messenger.”
• The beacon fires used to alert the country, or bongsu. In Lord of the Rings, there are beacon fires used to alert the Kingdom of Gondor in the event of an attack.
• How Cho Hak ju shows the court officials that the king is a monster and proclaims him still alive and still king.
• The Crown Prince’s continued evolution. In the previous episode, he was mostly looking out for himself. In this episode, the people are looking to him for what to do next.
• The samo, or the hat that the court officials wear when they wear their court attire, or the dallyeong
• Kim Sang-ho, the actor who plays Mu Young.

References

• Beacon Towers during the Joseon Dynasty
• Lord of the Rings: Warning Beacons of Gondor
• Why So Many  Superheroes are Orphans
• Podcast: D-Day: The Tide Turns
• Podcast: History’s Secret Heroes