This is the recap for K-Drama The Red Sleeve Cuff: Episode 1. Magistrate is reading book. The candle is blown out. He takes his sword when someone calls him. He realizes that she’s the one who killed the previous magistrates. He opens the door and finds out that the spirit left. He sees the water on the floor.
The Red Sleeve Cuff: Episode 1 Recap
Note: From here on out there are specific plot spoilers for K-Drama The Red Sleeve Cuff: Episode 1.
Magistrate follows the spirit and arrives at the lake. He sees the couple spirits in the water. He drops his sword and squats down to take a look at them. He stretches out his hand and tries to drag them out of the water. But they drag him into the water.
The little maids are startled after Deok-Im told them the story. Bok-Yeon screams when it’s lightning. She passes out until Deok-Im tries to tell something to her. Deok-Im smiles to close the book. She tells the little maids that the meeting ends.
The maids put their stuff into Deok-Im’s basket after the meeting. They all think the tale is pretty good. Kyung-Hee hands over the cloth she embroidered to Deok-Im. Deok-Im bows to Kyung-Hee. Young-Hee hands over her comb to Deok-Im. She worries that nobody will interested in her comb. Deok-Im comforts Young-Hee that she will sell it.
Mi-Goong walks to Deok-Im, and asks her for telling her the ending of the tale. Deok-Im rejects it. Mi-Goong throws the coppers to Deok-Im’s forehead. The maids blame Mi-Goong for doing it to Deok-Im. Mi-Goong apologizes to Deok-Im, trying to pick up her coppers. But Deok-Im grabs the coppers and tells Mi-Goong that she will read more for her.
Deok-Im smiles to take the coppers. Kyung-Hee scolds Deok-Im and thinks she has no pride. But Deok-Im says that she doesn’t care for her pride, and reveals she needs 100 coppers. She refuses to tell the maids her reason. It makes them be interested in the reason. Deok-Im promises to tell them the reason after she got 100 coppers. Kyung-Hee is furious to tell Deok-Im that she’s not interested in it at all. She tries to take the maids away.
The maid runs by. She tells Deok-Im that the court ladies come. Kyung-Hee tries to flee. But Deok-Im stops her. Head Court Lady Jo smiles when other court ladies want to give the little maids a lesson. The little maids hide behind the screen. But Bok-Yeon takes aside the screen because she wants to leave. She’s shocked to see the court ladies.
Head Court Lady Jo takes out her glasses to read the book. She closes the book and asks the little maid if the culprit isn’t one of them. They deny. Head Court Lady Jo gets the court lay to bring an lion box. She tells the little maids that the beast inside the box will bite the liars. She asks them to put their hands into the box.
All of the little maids don’t dare to put their hands into the mouth of the lion, except Deok-Im. Head Court Lady Jo asks the little maids to show their hands to her. She finds out that only Deok-Im’s hand was stained by the ink. She tells the court lay punish all of the little maids, except Deok-Im.
But Deok-Im raises her hand and confesses to Head Court Lady Jo that she was the culprit, and she knew the box is a trap. Head Court Lady Jo smiles. She chooses Deok-Im in the end.
Yi San makes a mistake in the test. He punishes himself for staying in the study all night. The eunuch breaks into the study, and tells Yi San that his grandma is gone. Yi San collapses and feels sad. Deok-Im is sent to pay her respect to Crown Princess Young. Kyung-Hee escorts Deok-Im to the gate with other little maids. She worries that her friend cannot find the way.
Deok-Im is confident to tell Kyung-Hee that she knows the path by her heart. But she’s lost when she walks in the woods. She cries to call her friend’s names. But nobody replies her. The lantern drops into the water when Deok-Im walks through the stone bridge.
Yi San visits King Youngjo and asks for going to see Crown Princess Young. Because he knows the woman is his natural grandma. King Youngjo throws a fit to Yi San. He tells him that he’s a sinner if he accepts Crown Princess Young as his natural grandma. Yi San is startled to ask King Youngjo for his mercy.
Yi San leaves the palace. He walks in the woods. He’s startled when he hears the cry of the beast. He trips and cover his ears. Deok-Im shows up and slaps his back. It makes him scream. She tells him that she wants to go to see Crown Princess Young. He joins her.
Yi San walks though the stone bridge with Deok-Im. But the two don’t trust each other. Deok-Im thinks Yi San is lower than her after knowing he didn’t past the test. She tells him to be her follower. Deok-Im sees the lights on the road. He tells her that she will find Crown Princess Young if she follows the lights.
Yi San and Deok-Im walk through the road. They arrive at the house. Deok-Im runs and tries to knock at the door. But Yi San stops her and confesses that he didn’t get the permission. She tells him that he will get killed for doing it. He yells at her and tells her that he wants to see Crown Princess Young one last time.
Deok-Im takes Yi San to climb over the wall. He tries to sneak into the house. But she stops him and reminds him to take off his shoes. He walks into the room and sees Crown Princess Young. Deok-Im closes the door. Yi San gets on knees to Crown Princess Young. He tears up and tells her that he didn’t intend to hurt her.
It flashes back. Crown Princess Young gets on knees to Yi San. She admits that she killed his father. He yells at her and thinks she’s not a mom. He trips because of his anger. She climbs to him, and cares for him. But he pushes her over and his crown drops.
Yi San tears up. He thinks Crown Princess Young pretends to care for her son. He stares at her and asks her if she will give him up if he comes a person like his father. She holds his cheek and wipes off his tears. She tears up and tells him that she’s a sinner. She tells him not to forgive her.
Deok-Im wipes off Yi San’s tears. She comforts him that Crown Princess Young wouldn’t hate him. He doesn’t think so because he hurt Crown Princess Young. He tears up again. She tells him that Crown Princess Young knows his feelings because she’s a dead now. She reminds him that the lights are the evidences.
Deok-Im tells Yi San that she feared to see Crown Princess Young because she’s a dead. But she doesn’t fear her now after she heard her story. She thanks him and calls his name. She reveals he told it to her when he wonders how she knew it. She tries to tell her name to him but King Youngjo comes.
Yi San is startled because he cannot let King Youngjo see him. Deok-Im helps him flee from the window, and throws the shoes to him after he fell to the ground. Deok-Im tries to flee. But King Youngjo is outside. She gets on knees to him after he opened the door.
Deok-Im tells King Youngjo that she’s the maid of Crown Prince. He tells her to look up on him so that he sees her face. He laughs because he thinks she’s like his daughter. King Youngjo points at Crown Princess Young and tells Deok-Im that he cannot support the woman after she passed away even if she had accompanied him for a long time.
But Deok-Im thinks King Youngjo did a great job. He’s surprised that she’s so loyal. He offers to accompany Crown Princess Young together, and tells her that the woman’s sleeves were red. He adds that he felt sad because Crown Princess Young wanted to be the king’s woman, and he was just a normal prince.
King Youngjo tells Deok-Im that he was lucky to take the throne, and Crown Princess Young got married with him. He sheds tears after he realized that his lover is gone. He learns that Deok-Im wants to be a writer. So he takes out the book from the drawer, and gives the book to her.
King Youngjo tells King Youngjo that the book was written by Crown Princess Young. He tells her that it’s her fate when she worries if she has the qualification to accept the book. He laughs after knowing she’s the maid of Crown Prince. She thinks she will take same path like Crown Princess Young.
Deok-Im leaves Crown Princess Young’s palace when she holds her book. She doesn’t believe that the man who talked with her was King Youngjo. The maid takes Deok-Im to see Head Court Lady Jo. Head Court Lady Jo praises Deok-Im. Deok-Im asks Head Court Lady Jo why she gave the task to her.
Head Court Lady Jo tells Deok-Im that she wanted to let her know that she has a chance to die in the palace. Deok-Im gets on knees to Crown Princess Young when her hearse passes by. Head Court Lady Jo tells Deok-Im that she can die in the palace as well if she comes the king’s woman. She thinks she wants to get the honor like other maids.
Head Court Lady Jo touches Deok-Im’s face. She thinks she will be beautiful after she grows up. She hugs her and tells her that she believes she will take Crown Princess Young’s path. Yi San sneaks into his palace. He sees Deok-Ro letting the eunuch leave. He walks into the room.
Deok-Ro scolds Yi San for going to see Crown Princess Young. But Yi San tells Deok-Ro not to step in his business. Deok-Ro shows the book which he found in the library to Yi San. He asks him why he has to read the book since King Youngjo doesn’t allow people to read the book.
Yi San thinks Deok-Ro treats him as King Youngjo’s puppet. Deok-Ro gets on knees to Yi San. He tells him that he wants to create the new world with him. But Yi San points out that Deok-Ro is the follower of King Youngjo. He asks him to put the book back. Deok-Ro returns to the library. He puts the book on the bookshelf. But he doesn’t know someone is watching him.
Deok-Im gets the money from the maids for reading the book for them. But Court Lady Seo pinches Deok-Im’s ear and takes her away. Court Lady Seo thinks Deok-Im didn’t learn her lesson. Deok-Im talks back that she earned a lot through reading books for people.
Court Lady Seo tells Deok-Im to go to study so that she can help Crown Prince. But Deok-Im rejects it because she thinks she won’t get money from Crown Prince for helping him. Court Lady Seo is furious to hit Deok-Im’s forehead. She tells her that she will get kicked out if Crown Prince passes away.
The Red Sleeve Cuff: Episode 1 stars Lee Joon-Ho, Lee Se-Young and Kang Hoon.