Giving Jae-yi a chance to redeem herself, Lee Hwan was impressed at how she passed his test to score an opportunity to prove her innocence in the 3rd episode of Our Blooming Youth.
Sung-on investigates the event which targeted the prince at the grand hunting while Ga-ram through her showcase of skills officially becomes Myung-jin’s apprentice.
abbyinhallyuland watched Our Blooming Youth on Prime Video
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04| 05 & 06| 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 | 11 & 12 | 13 & 14 | 15 & 16 | 17 & 18 | 19 | Finale + Series Review |
Our Blooming Youth Episode 3 Highlights
Desperate to prove her innocence, Min Jae-yi pleads with Crown Prince Lee Hwan to help her.
In response, Lee Hwan gives her a task to enter his palace so she can be worthy of being included as his first people.
“Meet me at the East Palace. But you have to figure out how to go there on your own.”
Smart Jae-yi wipes her tears right away and asks the court ladies where she can find clothing for new eunuchs.
Meanwhile, Ga-ram is being lectured by her new teacher Kim Myung-jin about her illiteracy. Her wise teacher is at least happy that she knows a little basic when she missed only one character when he asked her to write his name.
Arriving at the East Palace, Lee Hwan is welcomed by his people who even vaunted a special music number much to his nonchalance and faint amusement. When the eunuchs tried to ask whether a new eunuch can come into the team, Lee Hwan says no and goes to rest in his chamber.
On her way to the East Palace, Jae-yi got lost but bumped into the princess who was off to see her brother Lee Hwan. Surmising about a time when her father caught him wearing a man’s clothes because he went to a place where he can prove someone’s innocence, she was reminded by her father’s words that she was disobeying the law. Along with that, it will be an arduous journey as she is bound to face hindrances.
With that memory in mind, Jae-yi bravely enters the door of the East Palace determined to accomplish her goal. Just like her response to her father before, she’d rather face the cruel world than stay in her room hiding.
Surprised to see Jae-yi finding her way to the East Palace on her own, he also introduced her to her young brother prince, and labels her with a name based on his eidetic memory.
“I’m not looking for a place to stay or a place to live. All I want is to clear my name so my family can rest in peace and go back to my fiancé with dignity.”
Revealing her intention to get to the bottom of her family’s murder, Jae-yi also tells Lee Hwan that her father’s last words were to protect him. Backed by her words that it was really her probing that solved Joseon’s hard-to-crack cases with Ga-ram; she promises to unlock the mystery of the ghost’s cursed letter in 10 days to which Lee Hwan agrees.
Meanwhile, Sung-on faces a puzzling situation as he investigates the Office of Taoism. The man who messed up the brush and water at the hunting ceremony went off-grid. His probing led to an item owned by the culprit which belongs to his father.
Seeking his father’s wisdom, he was advised that Lee Hwan’s enemies are trying to tame him. As the next King, they want him subdued. Minister Han educates his son on how a king can assume the throne with his relationship with his father who is also a king.
He also forewarns Sung-on that Lee Hwan is a capable Crown Prince that can become the most dangerous king. However, he needs to trust his subjects so he can ascend to the throne. Understanding his father’s words about how people want Prince Myung-an to become the next king, Sung-on vows to protect his best friend. But his father worries about his mission when Lee Hwan does not even trust him.
“I may have thought you are colder than the ice in the ice storage. I take it back. But I know that you still don’t trust me. I will solve these two cases and prove myself.”
Tae-gang brings Jae-yi to Lee Hwan’s secret room to work on her mission. Voicing his concern about the prince’s vested trust in Je-yi, Lee Hwan reassures his loyal guard of his decision.
With food prepared for her to dig in, Jae-yi realizes the crown prince has a warm side to him but he is insufferably skeptical. Vowing to decode the cases given to her, she checks on the room lent to her and from the traces of Lee Hwan’s tenacity to practice calligraphy and archery, she silently admires him.
Waking up late, Jae-yi struggles to find where the East Palace and even forgot her shoes. The head eunuch lent his shoes to her as she helps Lee Hwan with his clothes clumsily.
Wondering why he stares at her differently, Lee Hwan honestly responds that she still has a baby face. Beaming at each other, she acknowledged meeting him when they were young.
While they exchange it’s-nice-to-meet-you-again smiles; Sung-on receives news that his betrothed might have failed to survive when she was chased for her family’s murder.
Our Blooming Youth Episode 3 Musings
Early on, viewers are primed for the inevitable brotherhood fallout due to the possible romance that would bloom between Lee Hwan and Jae Yi. The two are really raising their love chemistry well and the fading scene in this episode easily draws smiles from the viewers.
Similarly, the master-apprentice quirky duo of Ga-ram and Myung-jin bring additional zest to the story.
Behind Lee Hwan’s back are conspiracies that he is wary of, and we can’t wait to know the identities of people passing secret messages.
Thanks to Minister Han, the series elaborates on Lee Hwan’s plight as a capable prince that would hurdle feats to become a king.
Transitioning to a lighter mood from its launch episodes, Our Blooming Youth is on its way to a balanced serving of thrill and love elements. It has delineated well the conflict to be tackled and the opposing sides that would move in the narrative.
Witness how Lee Hwan and Jae-yi uncover the secrets and fight against their enemies in Our Blooming Youth every Monday and Tuesday on tvN.
Photos: tvN Drama
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