Kingdom (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript

BASED ON THE KINGDOM OF THE GODS

You must never...

look inside His Majesty's bedchamber.

Do you understand?

Yes, my lord.

THE KING IS DEAD. A NEW WIND WILL BLOW.

- We deserve to die!
- We deserve to die!

Over 100 of the same notice were posted

all over Hanyang last night.

His Majesty, who is very much alive,

has perished?



Capture everyone who posted these,

wrote these,

or gave instructions to write these.

Bring in every single one of them.

I shall annihilate their entire families.

The same goes for...

those who did nothing
while these notices went up

throughout the capital.

My lord, please spare my life.

My lord, please!

Forgive me, my lord.

- Please, my lord!
- My lord!

Please spare my life!

The Haewon Cho Clan
is rounding up young scholars.



Goodness. Oh, my! What are you doing?

No! Gyeong-seok!

Gyeong-seok! Goodness!

Gyeong-seok!

Arrest them!

Ten days have passed
since His Majesty fell ill with smallpox.

The only two people who had seen
His Majesty during the past ten days

are Chief State Councilor Cho Hak-ju
and his daughter, the second Queen.

No wonder those terrible rumors

of His Majesty passing away have spread.

Halt!

We received a report that 89 scholars
from institutions near Hanyang

worked together to post
these heinous notices.

Confess!

The first to confess
will have his life spared!

Who are the real traitors of this nation?

Through the spoils system and extortion,

the evil family of the Queen
is busy feeding themselves.

The traitors?

Look to the Haewon Cho Clan!

How dare you! Shut your mouth!

Those of the Haewon Cho Clan
are but insects

that are sucking the blood of the people.

How do they differ from swine
that eat feces?

Perhaps it is better
for His Majesty to be dead.

He is a feeble king who handed the nation

over to Lord Cho Hak-ju,
the head of those swine!

How dare you!

Did you say it is better
for His Majesty to be dead?

Do you admit to treason?

Then to whom are you referring
by "new wind"?

Who is the new king you wish to serve?

Is it the Crown Prince?

TONGMYEONGJEON

Your Royal Highness.

You have been at my chambers for days

even though I am not fit to move.

Father has been ill for ten days,

but there is nothing I can do for him.

It devastates me that I cannot fulfill
my duties as his son.

Please permit me to enter
the King's palace

and to stay by Father's side.

Your father is lying ill from smallpox.

If you catch it from him and fall ill
while looking after His Majesty,

who will lead this nation?

As a senior member of the royal family,
I can never permit it,

so please leave.

Then just tell me this.

Is Father...

truly alive?

You may have learned
how to be filial toward your father,

but not toward your mother.

How could you be so disobedient
to me in front of the servants?

Do you hate me that much?

Or is that hatred more toward...

your unborn sibling?

Your Majesty, how dare I...

If that is not the case,

please head back.

What are you waiting for?
Escort the Crown Prince.

I must see my father.

I will go to the King's palace.

Your Royal Highness, have you forgotten?

The Queen ordered that Your Royal Highness
be kept out of the King's palace.

Step aside.

I said to step aside!

Please be understanding.

Whom do you serve?

Whom do you consider
the King of this nation?

Is it my father or the Haewon Cho Clan?

Is there anyone in the entire palace

who does not follow the orders
of the Haewon Cho Clan?

Your Royal Highness.

- Please be understanding!
- Please be understanding!

Call Mu-yeong.

Your Royal Highness.

Why would you throw something
worth more than my year's salary?

If a tantrum is what you wanted to throw,

you should have aimed it at the Queen.

The greatest virtue a crown prince
must pursue is filial piety.

I cannot ignore the virtue
and risk being deposed.

The wench may be barely of age,

but she is my mother nonetheless.

I see.

Your Royal Highness
is a truly devoted son.

I have a job for you.

Is it...

Is it to go to the King's palace
and see His Majesty?

Bring me the journal
kept at the Royal Infirmary.

The palace guards keep an eye
on the journal day and night.

How can I possibly obtain it?

The pears from Naju,
the pomegranates from Gochang,

and the ginger sweets
prepared with care by the Royal Kitchen...

Did you forget all that you stole from me?

Your Royal Highness.

Think of your wife, who supported you

until you finally passed
the state examination

at the age of 40.

You stole from my dessert table
in order to bring them to your kind wife

who finally got pregnant

after ten years of marriage, did you not?

Your Royal Highness,
you know of my situation.

How long are you planning to use that
against me?

If they find out
that you stole from my dessert table,

you will be fired.

I will be so if I get caught
stealing the journal.

I see.

I hear tonight's dessert table
will have beef pancakes.

I guess I cannot force you.

If I try to sneak in before sunrise
when the guards change shifts,

I may be able to get the journal.

The guards will not be
as frosty before sunrise.

I may be able to get it
if I sneak in during the shift change.

His Majesty went missing?

Forgive me.

I only stepped away for a moment...

If you wish to live, you must find him.

Now!

Father is...

missing?

What are you doing here,
Your Royal Highness?

There was...

something monstrous in the hallway.

Something monstrous?

It sounded like a beast.

It smelled of blood and had a foul stench.

It was not human.
It had the shape of a monster.

That cannot be true.

A monster in the King's palace?

Your Royal Highness must be wrong.

You do not believe me?

Your Royal Highness must be weak
from having knelt in contrition for days.

Please return to your chambers

and have a physician check up on you.

Have His Royal Highness's attendants
escort him.

Did you find my father?

What do you mean?

His Majesty...

is lying in his bed at this very moment.

He is lying in his bed?

I shall simply check for myself then.

Your Royal Highness, please stop.

Father, it is Chang.

Please stop, Your Royal Highness.

- Open the door.
- No!

Open it at once!

You dare draw

your sword at me?

It is the Queen's orders.

I am only maintaining the laws
of the palace.

Can a mere commander of the Royal Army

shed the blood of the royal family?

If you can,

strike me.

Where is my father?

Why?

Are you concerned
about your father's safety?

I saw...

a hideous monster
inside the King's palace.

I saw one as well.

A son pretending
to be concerned about his father

when he secretly wishes
for his father to die

so that he can secure safety
and power for himself.

That is the monster I saw.

Not only that,

but I saw monsters

full of evil thoughts

who intend to use that son
to slay His Majesty

and take over this nation.

Those monsters' blood
is filling the courtyard

of the Royal Investigation Bureau.

Once that blood overflows,
the leader of the conspiracy,

the new king they wish to place
on the throne, will be identified.

When the time comes,

even a mere commander of the Royal Army

may shed the blood of the royal family.

Your Royal Highness may continue to wait,
but His Majesty will not return.

His illness subsided,
so he went to the Queen's palace.

Beom-il,

escort His Royal Highness out.

Yes, Father.

His Royal Highness
must have been startled.

Bring him some medicine
to calm his nerves.

Your Royal Highness.

Did you retrieve it?

Yes.

I almost got caught,
but I managed to sneak it out.

Father collapsed ten days ago,

at the end of the month.

"Chills, fever,

and a headache.

Administered the decoction for rashes
numerous times, but it was ineffective.

The fever is too high to be varicella.

The symptoms are severe.

There might not be a cure."

Your Royal Highness,

why are there no more entries?

This cannot be.

Those in the Royal Infirmary must write
an entry every day without fail.

Furthermore,
Father was in critical condition.

Unless they had to hide something

and intentionally omitted entries...

What is happening to my father right now

in his own palace?

Your Royal Highness.

Who is Physician Lee Seung-hui?

He was a royal physician,
but he resigned three years ago.

How do you know of him?

His name is written on the last entry
regarding His Majesty.

PHYSICIAN LEE SEUNG-HUI OF JIYULHEON
IN DONGNAE WAS CALLED INTO THE PALACE

I must go out in disguise.

Pardon? In disguise?

You cannot. Who knows
what the Queen will do to you...

She said not to enter the King's palace.

She did not forbid me
from leaving the palace.

Your Royal Highness!

Prepare to leave.

It will be just you and me.

Then what about...

the beef pancakes?

DONGNAE

JIYULHEON

Eat a little more.
You will recover faster that way.

I will have it later.

You call that food?

They will croak from starvation
before the disease kills them.

The government promised
to send us some rice soon,

so wait until then.

Like they would.

Dozens of people die every day

waiting for that rice.

You should rest.

What are you doing?

Those people will become sicker
if they do not eat that,

so watch what you say.

By the way,

when is that Physician Lee coming?

I told you he went to Hanyang.

So, when is he coming back?

I came all the way here
because I heard he was the best.

Your wound will heal quickly

if you shut your trap,

so be on your way.

What did you just...

What the...

What are you looking at?

The medicine is ineffective
since they cannot eat much.

This is bad.

- Physician Lee has returned!
- Hurry!

Physician Lee is back!

There he is!

Welcome back, Master.

What is that, Master?

Prepare for a funeral.

Pardon?

Whose funeral do you mean?

Over here.

Help me with this.

Let's open it.

- My gosh, Dan-i.
- It is Dan-i!

- Oh, my. Dan-i!
- My goodness.

- What happened?
- What happened to him?

- Oh, my.
- Dan-i...

What happened to Dan-i?

How could this happen to him?

Master!

Master, what happened? Please tell me!

What happened in Hanyang

that Dan-i returned
in such a gruesome state?

Please tell me, Master.

Nothing happened.

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

HANYANG

It says they will depose His Majesty,

have the Crown Prince take the throne,

and create a new world.

This is conclusive evidence of treason.

We must bring the Crown Prince
to the Royal Investigation Bureau

and interrogate him right away.

Where and how did you find the letter?

Someone reported that one of the scholars

who was arrested had this letter at home.

What a useful informant.

He knew every single one
of the 89 scholars who committed treason

and where the secret letter
that no one knew about was kept.

Who is this informant?

Why is that important?

None of the 89 scholars
admitted to the allegation of treason.

Yet,

you are accusing them of treason based on
the statement of that single informant.

This is an insult
to the Confucian scholars,

the foundation of this nation.

Are the Confucian scholars
really the foundation of this nation?

What did those Confucian scholars

ever do for this nation?

What are you saying?

Two disastrous wars

swept through this land.

Do you know...

why we were defeated so helplessly?

It is because weak Confucian scholars,

who only blabbed of the Analects
and Mencius

without taking any action,
led this nation.

The same holds true today.

You are completely out of line,
Chief State Councilor.

What do you think you are doing?

Can you not see?

Should I help you see it better?

Now do you see what it says?

It says they will tear down the King,

disturb the order,

and create chaos,
thus leading this nation to ruin.

After reading such a horrendous letter,

should the members of the Court
sit around and argue about

what should be done while doing nothing
as they did during those wars?

Lord Cho,

that is enough.

Arrest the Crown Prince and bring him
to the Royal Investigation Bureau.

Where is the Crown Prince?

We do not know.

Give me the same answer again,
and you will lose your neck.

Where is the Crown Prince?

- I truly do not...
- If I may answer,

we have been searching for him all day,

but he is nowhere
within the Crown Prince's palace.

You saw for yourself, did you not?

Find the Crown Prince!

Search all over the palace and Hanyang

and drag him
to the Royal Investigation Bureau.

The Crown Prince is no longer...

the heir to the throne.

He is a criminal who conspired treason.

Gosh.

Is anyone there?

It is taking a bath.

Is anyone there?

Sure, sure.

Are you Park Jong-yeong,

- an orderly at the Royal Infirmary?
- Yes, I am.

What brings
the Crown Prince's personal guard by?

I am looking for Physician Lee Seung-hui
from Dongnae.

He entered the palace

on the third of the month
when you were on duty.

I do not know his name,

but the physician from Dongnae
has left already.

The lad who came with him
got severely ill,

so they had to return.

Ask what his symptoms were like.

Why was the lad in critical condition?

Did he catch smallpox?

A dullard like me does not know for sure,

but it was not a disease.

He had deep wounds all over his body.

It looked as if he was bitten
by a huge beast.

Your Royal Highness, we must hurry.

We will get caught at this rate.
We must hurry back.

That way is south,
so Dongnae must be in that direction.

I need to know

what happened to my father
and to the royal family

of this nation.

What do you mean?

I must go to Dongnae.

To Dongnae?

Now?

Without eunuchs or court ladies
to serve you?

You and I alone?

We cannot.

I shall go.

Do you know how far it is
from Hanyang to Dongnae?

You almost vomited several times

on the way here from the palace

because of the stench.

How can you make it all the way to Dongnae

on such rough and difficult roads?
It is nearly 350km away.

My life until now has been more difficult
than that.

What about your meals?

You will not even get to see
the delicacies you enjoy in the palace.

I do not care.

We could encounter bandits or rioters.

They might kill us.

I will die anyway...

if I remain here.

Because of the allegation of treason?

Your Royal Highness,
even the Haewon Cho Clan

cannot harm you
for something you did not do.

I did it.

Pardon?

May I beg your pardon?

I...

conspired treason against Father.

Why?

How...

You are the Crown Prince.
The throne would have been yours anyway.

So why?

IT HAS ITS MEANING IN CREATING A NEW WORLD

LEE CHANG

Crown Prince...

That is correct.

I am the Crown Prince of this nation.

I am my father's only son,

but I shall die if the Queen
gives birth to a legitimate son.

I am but an illegitimate Crown Prince
born of a concubine.

That was why.

Because I wanted to live.

- Still...
- I still feel the same way.

Many scholars are dying at the Royal
Investigation Bureau to protect me.

The only way to save them and myself...

is in the south, in Dongnae.

I must go to Dongnae,
meet Physician Lee Seung-hui,

and find out

what happened to my father.

All I said was that he took the lad home

because he was in critical condition.

Forgive me, my lord!

I am sure

the Crown Prince went to Dongnae
in search of Physician Lee.

I told you before, did I not?

We should have silenced Lee Seung-hui
by killing him.

Physician Lee...

is still valuable to us.

However,

the Crown Prince is not.

Our messengers will not arrive
ahead of the Crown Prince.

You must go and stop him yourselves.

A cavalry of ten on speedy horses
will head out first,

and 50 competent soldiers
of the Royal Army shall follow.

You must stop him

before he reaches Dongnae

and Jiyulheon.

Even if it means you have to kill him.

HANYANG, DONGNAE

DONGNAE

I cannot stop thinking about...

the strange wounds

on Dan-i's body.

We shall go.

I see smoke from the chimney.

What is going on?

It has been so long since I last had meat.

I feel much better now.

- This is so good!
- Can I have another bowl?

This is so delicious.

- What is that?
- This is unbelievably delicious!

What is all this?

Is it not obvious?

The patients are starving to death,

but the physician is holed up in his room.

I needed food to live, so I hunted a deer.

A deer?

You found a deer in the mountains?

Did you get the government's permission?

Should we get permission to die too?

People here complain even if I bring food.

My lady.

I am sorry to ask,
but could I have some more?

My wife is trying to breastfeed the baby,
but is having trouble...

- Sure.
- Thank you.

It is all right. Do not cry.

What?

How could you do this?

- How could you?
- What are you talking about?

I saw it.

I saw it.

How could you do that to a person?

How could you...

He was like family to us.

Who cares what he was to you?

Once you die, you are nothing
but a slab of meat.

Are you out of your mind?

He was a person, just like us.

How can a person

- eat another person?
- So what?

Should we all just starve to death

arguing about what we ought to do
as human beings?

If everyone lived that way,

half the population of Dongnae
would have starved to death already.

What do you mean?

How do you think the people
in the south survived?

Do you think His Majesty saved them?

No. What saved them...

were the flesh and bones of neighbors
who starved to death.

That cannot be true.

You live as you wish to live.

I will do whatever I need to do
to stay alive.

It is delicious.

Jong-gu!

Are you all right?

What is it? What is wrong?

Jong-gu!

Jong-gu!

Jong-gu!

Jong-gu!

Jong-gu!

Jong-gu.

Jong-gu!

Master!

Mister.

Mister!

Mister, hold on.

Mister!

Do you have anything more to say?

Subtitle translation by Hye-lim Park