The Tale of Lady Ok – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

Episode 2

Episode 2 of The Tale of Lady Ok begins with Gu-deok learning that everyone at the inn is dead and the bandits have run off. The officers brought her to the Oks by recognising Grandma Ok’s ring on her finger.

Gu-deok tells Grandma the truth and shares she couldn’t run away as it would worry her. She will take any punishment but she knows the murderers. Turns out, she used to gather herbs near the cave of the bandits, Sam-man and Cheon-bok. 

Grandma takes her to the officers and presents her as Tae-young as they would not believe a slave girl. She also lets Gu-deok stay as Tae-young till the bandits are caught. However, only the senior slave, Mak-sim knows the truth and they have to be careful.

Out of everyone, Mother’s Sanctuary, the noble ladies of Cheongsu County cannot know the truth as they are vile and cruel, especially Madam Song. We see it as they gossip about Tae-young and send an insincere condolence letter.

Mak-sim is wary but Gu-deok sends back a snarky response. She also helps the other slaves with calculations, cooking and embroidery, and claims partial amnesia for things she doesn’t know. She also befriends Tae-young’s little brother Chan-young and buys books for him, impressing Grandma.

The bandits are finally caught and the officers instantly believe Gu-deok’s testimony. The Oks also get back the stolen loot and among them are the Qing gifts which Gu-deok remembers and passes along with Tae-young’s messages. Grandma is reminded of her granddaughter in Gu-deok and stops her from leaving as it was Tae-young’s final wish. Gu-deok will have to live by hiding her face should anyone recognise her but she is officially Ok Tae-young.

2 years later, Mother’s Sanctuary hates Tae-young as she has brought in an upright magistrate who may cause problems for the ladies’ corrupt husbands. Grandma Ok visits Chan-young in Hanyang and Tae-young stays behind. As they bid farewell, a guard who looks like Seo-in walks past.

As for Seo-in, he has become the famous storyteller and masked performer, Cheon Seung-hwi. Soeddong has become his manager, Man-seok. Seung-hwi continues to take down Gu-deok’s wanted posters and still thinks about her. He arrives in Cheongsu county and all the women are excited to see him including Baek-yi. She is also in a secret relationship with Madam Song’s son, Baek Do-gwang who is to be sent to Hanyang soon.

She wants to watch Seung-hwi’s play and in trying to convince Tae-young to accompany her, she tells her one of his famous stories. It is the tale of Gu-deok and Seo-in and ends with him looking all over the coast for her. A shocked Tae-young shows up to the play. So does Seung-hwi’s look-alike guard. The performance begins and it is of Gu-deok and Seo-in. Seung-hwi himself dances while staying masked the whole time.

When he gives the gem to “Gu-deok”, he takes off his mask and gets close to the audience. Tae-young and Seung-hwi spot and recognise each other and she runs off. Baek-yi believes they are lovers because of the gem she carries around, just like in the play. Baek-yi approaches Seung-hwi who is ranting to Man-seok for having missed her.  

They set up a trap and lure Tae-young out till she finds Seung-hwi alone. While she imagines hugging him, she scolds him for exposing her story and putting her at risk. She is happy that he found his dream but they can never meet again. However, she is delighted to meet Man-seok and Seung-hwi feels jealous.

At home, Baek-yi explains herself – she is sad that Tae-young has no friends or prospects and so just wants her to be happy with Seung-hwi. However, Tae-young shares she has Baek-yi. She also doesn’t want to be greedy and seeing him once is enough for her.

But Seung-hwi has other plans as he shows up at Tae-young’s place the next day. He pretends to blackmail her and she agrees to hang out with him. He takes her to a coastal hut that he has made for her and she is touched. 

He is amused when she finally asks about him. He tells her how the gisaengs taught him to perform as he hoped if he became famous, she would find him. But his father was furious for tarnishing his name so Seung-hwi changed it and put on a mask. And while he is free, he doesn’t want her to hide herself. He asks her to run away with him and find her father so they can all live by the beach.

But her choice is taken from her when Baek-yi is found hanging from a tree. The coroner claims suicide but the slaves find a head wound and believe Madam Song killed her for getting involved with Do-gwang. Tae-young wants justice but Mak-sim begs her not to risk her identity and leave with Seung-hwi as it was Baek-yi’s wish. 

However, Tae-young believes she must pay back the real Tae-young by following her wish. She gives back the gem to Seung-hwi and asks him to forget her. They have a bittersweet parting as he is glad she sounds like herself again.

At the end of The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 2, Mak-sim confronts Madam Song. The noblewoman is furious and beats her. Tae-young shows up with the magistrate and declares that Madam Song has killed and framed Baek-yi’s death as suicide. The magistrate agrees to investigate and when Song refuses, she is arrested. The magistrate asks for Gu-deok’s name and she states that it is Ok Tae-young.

The Episode Review

The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 2 is refreshing as it is realistic. It doesn’t gloss over the fact that slaves existed in the Joseon era and reminds us that all the sidekicks and friendly servants of the noble protagonists in the usual sageuks are slaves. But by making a slave the protagonist, it makes us very much aware of their situation.

It also gives us ample angst via a glimpse of Tae-young’s feelings and how she must feel when she cannot stop other slaves from facing the same plight she did when she was a slave.

It is also surprising that the usual K-drama tropes are not dragged on such as Tae-young hiding her identity or the hide-and-seek before the protagonists finally meet and recognise each other. There is no scary and cruel matriarch or the nosy spy of a servant.

We also found it hilarious the way Tae-young instantly calls Seung-hwi out for being selfish. Glad to see he didn’t have a dramatic transformation just by one talk and we can see glimpses of his noble privilege in the way he didn’t think he would put her at risk by publicizing their story. 

The show is trying its hardest to create new and unique plot twists and different character arcs that make us want to keep watching it. At no point do we feel like it is getting boring or the different subplots are overdone. While the premiere felt a little shaky, this one solidifies the K-drama’s tone and keeps viewers hooked and excited for what’s to come next.