Why Jang Uk and Naksu are perfect for each other and how the love triangle with Seo Yul only reinforces that:
Let’s start with a quick character analysis, shall we?
First we have Yul, the model student, the one who’s memorized all the rules by heart and follows them to the letter.
While he was in love with Naksu (or rather, the memory of her) his first instinct when he met her again in S1 was to doubt and suspect her.
As you can see here (EP 12 S1) he, very subtly, tells Uk they should get rid of Naksu since she’s now a soul shifter, and a dangerous one at that. She’s the shadow assassin, after all.
And let’s be real, he never trusted her completely. Why would his first thought after she ran wild be “this could have been avoided if I’d reported her” otherwhise? He trusted Uk, but not Naksu.
This can be seen in the latest episode, EP 6. He may love her, but he still believes getting rid of her is better for everyone. Even though she herself doesn’t know who she is. Even though she is harmless. His choice is still the same: to follow the rules, eliminate the thread, and maintain peace.
On the other hand we have Uk: the underdog. Underestimated, undermined and cast aside his whole life. He doesn’t follow the rules, but rather his heart. How could he believe in a system that deemed him worthless? He doesn’t owe anyone shit, because no one ever gave him a chance, none ever cared enough, until Naksu.
This is Uk’s answer to Yul’s “Naksu is dangerous”. He doesn’t condemn her, doesn’t judge her, doesn’t let prejudice win over what he knows about her. Never has. Because he’s been there. Because he’s been called useless, a silly nobleman who wasted his time and others’s, a man who would amount for nothing. Until Naksu gave him the chance no one ever gave him before.
Naksu stabbed Uk. She killed him. And yet the moment he woke up, he was sure none of that was her fault, that Jin Mu was the mastermind somehow. Hell, even when he was dying in her arms he reached for her and interlaced their fingers in an “I love you” gesture. He NEVER doubter her, even while she drove a sword through his heart.
God, and look at this. He doesn’t give a damn about anything else, for him it’s all about her because she’s the one who gave him back the wings his father cut and his previous masters kept locked up.
Also, something the king said on EP 4 is very telling.
People love to talk about Naksu, love to gossip about her, but not a single one of them knows her. No one knows anything about her. Except Uk.
Uk, who looked beyond the assassin’s facade and saw the affection-starved girl. The girl who often bought honey biscuits for him, the girl who made a certain type of noodles because she knew he liked them.
He saw the girl who was worth protecting, even dying for, while everyone else saw the girl that must be killed, the threat.
