The Tale of Lady Ok – K-drama Episode 7 Recap & Review

Episode 7

Episode 7 of The Tale of Lady Ok begins with Man-seok and Tae-young trying to understand Yun-gyeom’s coldness as they travel to Incheon. Seung-hwi is happy to see her but acts formally as she is a married noblewoman. Man-seok reveals that he lied about Seung-hwi having a family so she wouldn’t feel pressured. Seung-hwi hasn’t stopped missing her which is why he wrote the book The Officer and The Assistant.

Onto the case – the victim, Seol-rang was an understudy and stole the book. He made it raunchy and was performing it when Seung-hwi attacked. Tae-young is furious and confronts the Magistrate for refusing to give Seung-hwi a fair trial when he is Lord Song’s heir. Scared, the Magistrate calls Seol-rang for a hearing. Both artists are asked to write the original story from memory. Seol-rang fails and is punished while Seung-hwi is set free.

In the aftermath, Man-seok tries to convince Tae-young to leave the Seungs and live with them. They are interrupted by Seung-hwi who is shocked to learn that Tae-young brought Lord Song to confirm his identity.

Back at Cheongsu County, Mak-sim waits at the port every day with Dokki. He is curious when she hopes that Tae-young never returns. At the law firm, Kkeutdong observes Mi-ryeong and Do-gyeom being all cutesy. Unfortunately for everyone, Mi-ryeong orchestrates another situation – she pays two neighbours to fabricate a case. While solving it, she shows the clueless Do-gyeom her cute and smart side.

In Incheon, Seung-hwi continues to be formal while he helps Tae-young shop for gifts. She convinces him to treat her like Gu-deok for a day. He complies and reveals he thought of the name Yun-jo for her which means flying high. 

It is the lantern festival in Cheongsu and Do-gyeom and Mi-ryeong visit together. Everyone notices that they like each other while Mi-ryeong plays hard to get. She orchestrates another moment in which she “saves” Do-gyeom from a wagon and gets hit instead. He rushes to save her.

That night, on Tae-young’s behalf, Lord Song attends Seung-hwi’s performance which is colourful and emotive. The after-party is wild as they get selected to be part of the Qing cultural delegation. Man-seok invites Tae-young and lets it slip that Yun-gyeom may have abandoned her. Before Seung-hwi can react, he spots his father. Lord Song regrets his actions and re-acknowledges Seung-hwi as his heir.

Seung-hwi tries not to act happy but Tae-young sees through him. He wishes to marry her as Yun-jo but she points out that it is impossible as his neighbours are her former slavers. He doesn’t mind leaving everything behind for her but she doesn’t want that for him. He doesn’t want to think about their separate futures and falls asleep on her lap. 

She is gone in the morning as she reads his book on the way back. Mak-sim and Do-gyeom are delighted but had hoped she would stay with Seung-hwi. She laughs it off and is more interested in Mi-ryeong and Do-gyeom’s budding relationship. On the couple’s approval, she sets a wedding date. Madam Kim is curious about her parentage as Mi-ryeong is adopted, but for once Madam Hong finds it crass to investigate.

Unknowingly, it furthers the Baeks’ plan as Mi-ryeong is none other than their daughter. Madam Song wants to enact revenge on Tae-young but it seems Mi-ryeong indeed cares for Do-gyeom. On the wedding day, Mi-ryeong is aloof when Tae-young makes matching bracelets for them. Madam Kim spots Madam Song but the other women don’t believe her.

After the wedding, Do-gyeom asks Tae-young to tell him about Yun-gyeom. Mi-ryeong eavesdrops while he rants about Yun-gyeom abandoning them. Mak-sim catches her and finds it odd.

Elsewhere, Mother’s Sanctuary discusses the Memorial Gate given to a nearby county after they forced a widow to take her life. There are a lot of benefits such as extra credit points which Madam Hong covets for her son who is not academically inclined. She also hopes to lead Mother’s Sanctuary as the women look down on her. 

That night, Madam Song visits her. Her son and husband are dead but she lives for revenge. She wants help, and in return, she will get the Memorial Gate for Madam Hong.

At the end of The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 7, a childless curse is “found” in Mi-ryeong’s bed. On top of it, news arrives that Yun-gyeom is dead. Tae-young uncovers the corpse’s face and looks shocked.

The Episode Review

The Tale of Lady Ok Episode 7 finally explains “Cha” Mi-ryeong’s sudden inclusion into the storyline though it is not so sudden now that we think of it. Madam Song was always the vindictive type. Guess it would have been wishful thinking to believe the Baeks have exited the K-drama for good. Poor Tae-young just cannot catch a break. 

Nor can Do-gyeom if we think about it. He loses his mother, father and brother at a very young age. He has lived without an explanation for his brother’s disappearance for 7 years. He doesn’t truly know his sister-in-law who is like a mother figure to him. And now, his wife is hellbent on destroying said mother figure for revenge.

While all of this is quite enticing in terms of plot progress, it doesn’t bode well for Seung-hwi. For one, after his first reunion with Tae-young, he has simply existed in the story. Yun-gyeom has a far more interesting character arc. And now that mantel goes to Do-gyeom.

We would rather watch Tae-young and Do-gyeom trying to figure out the Baeks’ plan than Seung-hwi’s storyline. If we think about it, he doesn’t even have much going on independently. He is simply a love interest and plot device for Tae-young which makes him a poorly written character.