“I came to sit by the water, but the clouds had come.”
(So’s letter to Soo after he decided to marry Moo’s eldest daughter and become next in line for the throne.)
I knew then and there that there was no way in that lifetime that So and Soo would be together. It felt like every time they had a chance at happiness, something horrible happens.
a) When So came back from being an ambassador to Khitan, he asked Soo to marry him (after getting the idea from Yeon Hwa). But while Yeon Hwa and So were talking, King Taejo basically confirmed to Soo that Wang So was going to be King – he had a bright future ahead of him. He was destined to be King, and Soo cannot take that from him for the sake of her freedom.
b) When Moo became King and everything was at peace, So was, again, going to ask Soo to marry him. This time, it’s clear that the two of them are in love. The sun was finally shining on these two lovers. However, So had to marry his niece to protect the King. He couldn’t ask Soo to marry him out of guilt that he betrayed her trust.
c) The two of them eventually made up, AND THEN WANG YO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND USURPED THE THRONE. So was forced to become the Wolf Dog once more and kill Eun as a final death wish. That was the turning point for So, and to protect the people he loves and to save his own sanity, he decides to become the King of Goryeo.
d) So FINALLY becomes King, but all the clans are rallying up against him, with the leadership of Wook. So and Soo were going to get married, but then he had to marry advantageously to protect the throne. Soo protects him by letting him marry Yeon Hwa, knowing that So would rather fight for her and die than break his promise.
The signs were all there, yet we still hoped for a soft ending. “I came by the water, but the clouds had come” became their story. They could’ve been together, but someone something was always in their way. They were so imperfect and problematic and beautiful and were like two pieces of the same heart. They loved each other so much it hurt seeing them drift apart and become separated by two FUCKING millennia.
That’s two thousand years.
