hyacinthjo

[hyacinthjo]

There really is nothing worse than getting excited for the clock to hit 9AM for an update on Steel Under Silk and then getting hit with yet another hiatus notice.

[hyacinthjo]

I’m going off of what I could understand from the translation (despite me saying that I’d just wait out the ENG side to catch up to the KOR side. I’m just too impatient)

But this episode really gave pretty good insight into how exactly Hee-Ryang’s mind works and how he views things, especially in regards to Yeonjo. So I’ll probably wait until next week when the ENG version comes out on Lezhin to really give my thoughts on it.

[hyacinthjo]

Rereading the prologue for the umpteenth time, and what really interests me is how the white haired antagonist(?) obviously knows about Hee-Ryangs feelings/relationship with Yeonjo. As well as the depth of them because he believes that he can effectively utilize Yeonjo as a pawn (one that has already failed in his own attempt of trying to kill him) at whatever plan he’s developing against Hee-Ryang.

I want to know how he came to find out because:

He is an outsider.

Yeonjo at that point in the story is no longer being held captive by Hee-Ryang or in their previous relationship capacity they were in season 1.

Did he question those who work for Hee Ryang? I don’t think they’d spill on account of being loyal and especially with Hee-Ryang’s increased extent of brutality, they would already know the consequences. Was he just perceptive enough to see it or did someone let it slip who already knew about it? Then I look at what he said about Hee-Ryang being liable to commit all matter of follies only for and because of Yeonjo. Outside of Hee-Ryang’s intent on trying to force Yeonjo to maim Dam-Yi, he hasn’t done anything else that can be seen as drastic past that. Which is why I wonder what exactly has transpired before that point that would make the white haired official so sure in his convictions and if it has anything to do with Yeonjo’s injury.

[hyacinthjo]

The memories that Hee-Ryang and Yeonjo have of that rainy day are probably the happiest ones they've both had in years. It's both of their anchors. On one end it continues to ground them when everything else around them is chaotic and turbulent and on the other, it's weighing both of them down because it's an unrelenting haunt of what could have been.

I think back to episode 82 when Yeonjo faked in his submission to him and how he was visibly shaken from it. He's made note of how much he liked Yeonjo's fiery personality and the fact that he didn't fear him. Like he said: (He'd rather see toss his head in a cheeky retort than grit his teeth an grudgingly obey.) It might come off like Hee-Ryang is deriving some sadistic pleasure from seeing Yeonjo mad (maybe in a way he does.) but I think it provides him some sense of their "normalcy" before this point in time in the story. Yeonjo being defiant and him provoking it further out of endearment of his reponse. Of course there is some malicious intent behind it now because he's actively trying to hurt Yeonjo mentally and emotionally (Brining up his dead father knowing he killed him), but it's just a pattern to what Hee-Ryang does to try to keep Yeonjo in line when he feels like he's being outwardly defied. (Although this time around it's 10x more erratic because he feels like he's loosing the power he thought he had.) Just like in episode 54 where he was threatening to harm Dam-Yi and in turn, Yeonjo hurts himself physically to gain the upper hand but ends up paining Hee-Ryang with his actions. Then most recently in season 2 where it's been alluded to that Yeonjo has tried to kill himself numerous times and even though he knows it's futile, at least he knows that it's hurting Hee-Ryang. It's all such a circle. Very much unstoppable force meets immovable object, until it isn't.

There was something to heart wrenchingly tragic in this episode. Yeonjo seemingly wanting that moment in the rain to remain unsullied, finally breaking down after Hee-Ryang's endless taunts (which under the surface you know he doesn't really mean because he immediately went to stop Yeonjo from crying.) And then Hee-Ryang's confession in the midst of it all. In another timeline I know Yeonjo would've received it happily considering his feelings for Hee-Ryang are also clear, but it probably just feels like an added weight on his chest. That's why Episode 84 & 85 feel like antithesis of Episodes 59-66 from season 1. One's so bright in feel, despite there still being an underlying air of heaviness with them both knowing what was about to transpire even if they chose in that moment to ignore it. And the other is dark filled with pent up emotions and anguish where ironically, true feelings were laid bare. Hee-Ryang in all his effort to not get involved with Yeonjo in more of a capacity more than what they were on the surface, because he knew they could never truly be together in that way, announced that he loved him.

Another instance showing just how Yeonjo constantly undoes him. A boy who he swore was no threat to him an had no claim over his heart has now rendered him more defenseless than any man he's fought on the battlefield could. The love Hee-Ryang feels for Yeonjo is genuine, but it's from a place of obsession as we know. I do believe down the line, he will atone for all that he has done to Yeonjo and that love will then come from a more healthier, less destructive place. These two really have the most compelling intertwined story and relationship arc that I've read in manwha since I started and there's still so much more to read. I'm really looking forward to how it all unfolds in the future.

[hyacinthjo]

Spoilers for Episode 85

Was that a love confession??

I wasn't expecting that so early, but I always figured Hee-Ryang would be the first of the two to actually say it.

I'm going completely off of google lens cause I was too impatient, but it looks like it.

[hyacinthjo]

At least with this week’s Steel Under Silk update I won’t have to read blind through the Korean raws anymore from now on because I’m too impatient to wait for the English Side to catch up.

[hyacinthjo]

I've always wondered if Manwha artists draw the entire season a head of time or just draw it up to a certain point and then draw the remaining episodes during the weekly break between episodes.

Has to be nerve wrecking when you get sick and put out commission for a while if the latter is the case.

Either way, hope Snob takes as much time as they need to recover.

[hyacinthjo]

Was so excited for a new Steel Under Silk chapter today until they hit me with that regular closure notice 😭

[hyacinthjo]

If Yeonjo really is the one who cut his own hair, I think it would really drive the start of further character advancement for him.

Looking back at chapter 29 when he had the flashback of the commoner boys cutting his well kept braid. (which of course he probably kept as remnants of his noble upbringing.) And afterwards he's sporting the exact same shaggy bob he has now in the season 2 prologue.

Besides unkempt/shorter hair denoting commoner status, which he probably will end up being if he's no longer under HR's keep, I feel as though it also signifies Yeonjo at his lowest points. In chapter 29 it's reflective out how he had his way of living ripped away from him forcibly. And in season 2, if he was the one to cut his hair, I do feel like it could be symbolic of him beginning to build himself back up slowly or starting over on his own terms.