Synopsis: Lee Daegil (in the front), a man of high birth, watched his world crumble when his love for a slave, Eonnyeon, caused the ruin of his family, before she disappeared. Obsessed with her, he spends ten years as a Slave Hunter, alongside new companions, ‘General’ Choi and Wangson, looking relentlessly for her. After being one day sent after Song Taeha (in the back), a former-General-turned-slave on the run caught in a political conflict, fate puts him back on Eonnyeon's track.
Notes: Dirt, sweat, blood and tears. I couldn’t find any whump list related to it, probably because it’s a bit older, and it’s a shame coz it’s a standard in my book. Good plot, good film-making, good acting, good jokes, good soundtracks. And the bromance is adorable! Also the main characters are basically shirtless with impeccable figures half of the time. Have a good time!
NB: Timestamps might be off (< 1mn) depending on where you watch the show. I do not disclose any character death on purpose. The characters are listed by chronological order of whump in each episode.
------ EPISODE 1 ------
Wangson
6:21 Stabbed in the leg, screaming in pain
8:45 Limping, angry
11:43 Leg bandaged, in pain
23:22 Leg still bandaged, limping
Lee Deagil
12:36 (In a flashback) Trapped in a house fire
54:59 (In a flashback) Attacked with a sword, scared, betrayed, trapped in a house fire, face cut with a sickle
Song Taeha
20:43 Limping, kneeling, slapped, falls to the ground, slapped again, apologizing
47:20 Headbutted, limping
49:25 Falls to the ground, apologizing
------ EPISODE 2 ------
Lee Deagil
4:08 Hit on the head with a rock, bleeding
5:35 In a fight against a group of men, hit several times with pieces of wood
7:55 Tackled to the ground
9:47 Single tear rolling down his cheek
20:05 Drunk
52:17 (Excuse-me sir??????)
59:22 Shoved off his horse
‘General’ Choi
9:02 Sword to the neck
Song Taeha
33:45 Kicked in the chest, falls to the ground, coughing
------ EPISODE 3 ------
Lee Deagil
1:08 Cut on his side, groans in pain
3:35 Punched in the stomach, shot at with arrows
5:38 Passes out, wound treated, wincing in pain
1:01:20 Head grazed by a bullet, falls from his horse
Song Taeha
3:44 Shot at with arrows, shot
11:49 Crawling on the ground, wincing and groaning in pain, struggling to stay awake, rips the arrow out of his shoulder
16:16 Falls to his knees, crying
58:12 Exhausted, passes out, bleeding
Wangson
40:23 Pulled by the ears (comical)
48:13 (Boy, you better keep sleeping lmao)
------ EPISODE 4 ------
Lee Deagil
0:24 (Continued from previous ep) Head grazed by a bullet, falls from his horse, knocked out for a few seconds
1:40 Still lying on the ground, panting
3:37 Wound treated, moaning in pain
32:20 Hit, forced to kneel
54:33 Hit in the face
Song Taeha
11:48 Unconscious, wound treated
12:13 (In a flashback) Discovers his wife and son were murdered, furious, crying, discovers his son is still alive, running away with him, his son dies anyway, devastated
Beak Ho (a little extra whumpee because I like him)
52:05 In a fight, hit on the back on his head, falls down, passes out
------ EPISODE 5 ------
Song Taeha
0:11 Shot at with arrows
36:13 (In a flashback) Tortured to obtain a false confession
------ EPISODE 6 ------
Song Taeha
22:40 (In a flashback) Tied to a chair, tortured to obtain a false confession
1:01:09 Chased
Lee Deagil
58:48 Kicked in the side
Wangson
59:28 Kicked between the legs (comical), in pain
------ EPISODE 7 ------
Song Taeha
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Chaised
3:49 Running away
Wangson
0:32 (Continued from previous ep) Kicked between the legs (comical), in pain
6:24 Still in pain from the kick, limping
14:40 Hit in the throat, choking
16:30 Struggling to talk, kicked between the legs again
‘General’ Choi
0:50 Shoulder injured in a fight, wincing in pain
6:15 Bandaging his own wound
Lee Deagil
1:36 Fighting against Song Taeha, shoved, kicked back
4:40 Recognizes the woman he has been chaising for ten years, in shock, attacked from behind with a sword, hit on his back, collapses, passes out
7:13 Still on the ground, dragged away
13:11 Still in shock
Beak Ho
2:54 Attacked with a sword, fighting, stabbed in the chest while protecting someone, collapses, heavily breathing
5:40 On the ground, panting, pulls out the knife in his chest, helped to walk
7:47 Wound tended to, moaning in pain, panting
------ EPISODE 8 ------
None.
------ EPISODE 9 ------
Beak Ho
4:52 Pierced through from behind with a spear, collapses
Song Taeha
21:05 (In a flashback) Imprisoned, body and face covered in bloody injuries
1:01:30 Wrongfully accused, surrounded
Lee Deagil
1:02:05 Reunited with the man responsible for the death of his family, furious
------ EPISODE 10 ------
Lee Deagil
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Reunited with the man responsible for the death of his family, furious
6:31 Put to sleep, asking for comfort in his own way, comforted
Wangson
27:55 (In a flashback) Hit a few times, running away, chased
29:28 (In a flashback) Thrown to the ground, screaming in pain, in an armlock, scared, trying to run away, thrown to the ground again, dragged, kicked in the stomach
32:10 (In a flashback) Panting, wincing and moaning in pain, surrenders, hit on the head
‘General’ Choi
54:22 Punched in the stomach, grunting in pain
------ EPISODE 12 ------
Lee Deagil
1:02:18 In shock, collapses
------ EPISODE 13 ------
Lee Deagil
2:11 Lost, conflicted
4:22 Crying
5:30 Sobbing, screaming
18:30 Praying, hands shaking
42:07 Loosing his mind (he was already insane but… it’s getting concerning)
57:54 Finally ready to move on, tearing up
Wangson
52:32 Punched in the face, beaten by Deagil, held back, thrown back, groaning in pain, panting
------ EPISODE 14 ------
‘General’ Choi
12:39 Discovers Wangson is gone, worried for him
39:31 Arrives where Wangson was attacked, worried for him, calling his name, scared for him
41:33 Finds a puddle of blood, tearing up
1:01:27 Ambushed, shot at with an arrow, attacked, sword wound on his side, stabbed in the shoulder
Wangson
12:49 Sore, angry
33:57 Attacked from behind, sword to his neck
37:39 Still under attack, cut on his arm, wincing in pain, panting, fighting back, overpowered, trying to run away, kicked in the chest, trying to run away again, beaten, kicked in the head, rolls down a roof
39:56 Lying on the ground, coughing, blood dripping down his arm, wounds on his face, wincing in pain, spitting blood, panting, scared
42:23 Unconscious on the ground, dragged away, leaving a trail of blood
1:02:25 Unconscious on the ground
Lee Deagil
30:05 Discovers Wangson is gone, worried for him
------ EPISODE 15 ------
‘General’ Choi
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Ambushed, shot at with an arrow, attacked, sword wound on his side, stabbed in the shoulder, fighting
2:14 Still fighting, cut on his leg, collapses, kicked in the face
4:02 Attacked from behind
Wangson
3:12 Unconscious on the ground
Lee Deagil
28:28 Exhausted after spending the night looking for his friends, dischieveld, collapses, tries to get back up, falls, passes out
35:35 (In a nightmare) Watches as his friends get murdered, pointing a blade at his own throat.
35:36 Wakes up screaming
46:05 Crying
1:01:14 Sword to the neck
------ EPISODE 16 ------
Lee Deagil
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Sword to the neck, fighting
16:57 Exhausted after a long fight, unsteady, fighting more, collapses
21:55 Tearing up, crying, screaming
55:51 Missing his friends, tearing up, sobbing
58:29 Attacked, rope tighten around his neck, choking, taken away, hung from a ceiling by the wrists, beaten, interrogated, beaten again, screaming in pain
1:01:02 Exhausted, panting
1:02:35 Threatened with a piece of white-hot metal
Song Taeha
16:57 Exhausted after a long fight, unsteady, fighting more, collapses
29:12 Captured, hands tied, collapses
54:40 Hung from a ceiling by the wrists
57:59 Beaten while hung up
Wangson, ‘General’ Choi
33:55 Unconscious on a cart
------ EPISODE 17 ------
Lee Deagil
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Hung from a ceiling by the wrists, threatened with a piece of white-hot metal
1:34 Hit on the stomach, wincing and moaning in pain, struggling to breath, hit again, catching his breath
3:11 Hit on the neck, passes out, nosebleed
14:20 Untied, dragged to a cell
21:05 Sore
53:20 Beaten up, dragged out of the cell and to the gallows
56:41 Beaten, moaning in pain
1:00:50 Silently crying, noose almost wrapped around his neck, scared, resisting, beaten
1:02:22 Still getting beaten, noose wrapped around his neck, hanged
Song Taeha
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Hung from a ceiling by the wrists
4:35 Tortured with a piece of white-hot metal, holding back screams
14:20 Untied, dragged to a cell
53:20 Taken out of the cell and to the gallows
1:01:10 Beaten
Wangson, ‘General’ Choi
18:51 Lying on a cart, weak, freezing in the snow, struggling to stand, wincing in pain, running away
------ EPISODE 18 ------
Lee Deagil
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Hanged (I honestly don’t feel like describing this, it’s just heartbreaking, see for yourself)
8:34 Gasping for air, fighting his way out
34:15 Witnesses the death of a friend, tearing up, lowkey looses it
Wangson
26:35 Wounds bandaged, kneeling, in pain, stabbed in the leg, moaning in pain, threatened, scared
50:00 Threatened with a knife, scared
‘General’ Choi
26:35 Wounds bandaged, exhausted, threatened
------ EPISODE 19 ------
Lee Deagil
1:00:09 Punched in the face
1:03:08 Hit a few times, knocked to the ground
Wangson
1:02:09 Still recovering from injuries, collapses when trying to walk ok his wounded leg, helped to walk
‘General’ Choi
1:02:09 Still recovering from injuries, painful shoulder
------ EPISODE 20 ------
Lee Deagil
0:05 (Continued from previous ep) Hit a few times, knocked to the ground
4:19 Finally reunited with his friends, stunned, crying, hugged
Wangson
4:24 Limping, helped to walk
5:20 Pulled by the ear, thrown to the ground, scolded, crying
‘General’ Choi
5:54 Tearing up
------ EPISODE 21 ------
Wangson
14:14 Drunk, suddenly tearing up, comforted
28:06 Hungover
Song Taeha
47:33 Discovers one of his best friends is dead, in shock, crying
------ EPISODE 22 ------
Wangson
6:15 Still recovering from injuries, wincing in pain
Song Taeha, Lee Deagil
58:03 Running away, chased
------ EPISODE 23 ------
Lee Deagil
50:55 Ambushed, running away, shot at with arrows, surrounded, running away
------ EPISODE 24 ------
Wangson
15:22 Limping
32:32 Tearing up
Song Taeha
40:23 Stabbed in the back
41:20 Cut on the arm, panting
44:02 Cut on the side, cut on the back, pierced with a sword, collapses
45:42 Sweating, moaning in pain
47:20 Helped to stand up and walk
53:09 Struggling to walk, collapses
Lee Deagil
7:03 Chased
43:59 Cut on the arm, kicked
48:25 Cut on the chest
49:05 Exhausted, collapses
51:03 Struggling to stand up, hand shaking out of exhaustion, faces alone an entire regiment
55:43 Exhausted, drooling blood, struggling to talk, collapses, held in someone's arms
It is now to make time for a pusher post for my favorite Korean period drama of all time - Chuno/The Slave Hunters.
The story revolves around three main characters (though supporting characters are many, complex, and incredible) - Dae Gil, a fallen noble who has long become a feared slave hunter of escaped slaves, Hye Won, a former slave girl who has long lived under a false identity of a noble lady, and Tae Ha, a formerly very high aristocrat and right hand of now-dead Crown Prince So Hyeon who has been punished and made a military slave.
The story proper starts when Tae Ha seemingly suddenly goes on the run and the government for reasons that won’t be explained until later issues a mad bounty on him dead or alive and Dae Gil joins the chase, without knowing that Tae Ha and his long-lost love Hye Won, who he has been searching for a decade for, have crossed paths and are traveling together.
So, why Chuno? It has amazing visuals, great fights, incredible performances and an intriguing plot, not to mention the sole love triangle I’ve ever loved in a kdrama (watching it live was agony!)
But it’s not any of that. It’s the fact that it’s the sole sageuk that really focuses on class and plight of the dispossessed - not even The Rebel does it as well and with such a focus. The Rebel is wish fulfillment but this is not. One of the other plots running almost parallel is a doomed slave rebellion - no Hong Gil Dong shows up to save anyone. The most you can manage is to try to carve out some obscurity of peace and even that is almost impossible. There is a reason that Tae Ha's grand mission, the best outcome is not something like restoring So Hyeon's last remaining living son to his position or the throne or anything, it is merely saving the child's life to live in obscurity and even that is barely achieved.
Almost every character, and certainly every major one is on the margins of society - slaves, peasants, and other lower classes. And the drama tackles not only what it does to live on the bottom of the social pyramid but also with innate prejudices which even the dispossessed possess. It really does tackle class structure in a way I don't see in other sageuks, even the small number that do not focus on royals and court. What I think really makes it possible is the fact that all three mains exist in the in-between space, neither permanently this nor that and it shows the artificiality of distinctions. Dae Gil is a former noble who is now barely better than the slaves he hunts. He's free, yes, but he exists on the margins and upper class is as closed to him as the moon. Hye Won used to be Un Nyun, a slave woman who almost died for the sin of going "above her station" in love but now she is upper class lady Hye Won with a fictitious background. Tae Ha was incredibly high up (back in the past, Dae Gil's family would have probably preened at the unimaginable honor of being invited to his house or similar) but now he is a branded military slave. If people can pass between classes like this - due to luck (good or bad), loss or gain of money, politics etc, the class distinction is shown as absurd. There is nothing visible that distinguishes present day Dae Gil from a man who was born in the gutter or Hye Won from a lady noble by birth. And yet, and yet - I love how the class prejudice is shown to be embedded in its very victims. One of my favorite story beats is Tae Ha's instinctive initial recoil on discovering Hye Won is originally a slave. He's a man who was made a slave on the most unjust grounds, he has to know how meaningless this distinction is, how cruel and pointless. But yet his first reaction is horror because even as a victim of the system he has bought into it - his status is a terrible injustice, he gets that. But to get that the system itself is awful is another step. I love that this does not come easy to him.
Anyway, this is a great drama with complex characters and complex narratives. It was a mad hit back when it came out but like a lot of "older" dramas is less talked about/watched today and I am trying to remedy it :)
PS If you shipped Dae Gil x Hye Won instead of Tae Ha x Hye Won like me (and I totally get why, they were also epic), you can always then watch Robber, which is a modern drama in which Jang Hyuk and Lee Da Hae starred as the OTP of a desperate conman preying on lonely women and a grieving widow. You can always, like me, view it as their happy ending AU.
