The First Night with the Duke- Episodes 3-4
Matchmaking Gone Wrong and a Prince on Fire (Literally)
Episode 3 of The First Night With the Duke gives us drama, flashbacks, failed schemes, and just enough magic to keep things spicy. We open with a dream that tugs at the heart, Sun-chaek remembers her real life and the fallout with her friend Ah-yeong, who wrongly accused her of stealing her boyfriend. It’s a painful glimpse into why Sun-chaek keeps people at arm’s length, and it explains a lot about her fear of emotional entanglement.
Back in the fictional world, Sun-chaek finally wakes up after fainting. Her brothers and Wool-yi fawn over her recovery, completely oblivious to the fact that Prince Yi-beon is now fully invested in marrying their sister. They go on and on about how the prince brought in the royal physician, hunted down a rare herb, and even faced off with a tiger. Yes, a tiger. All for her.
Turns out the medicine man who sent the prince on this death-defying errand was testing his resolve and surprise, he’s not just your average healer. He’s a supernatural being who may be meddling with more than herbs.
The next day, Prince Yi-beon personally delivers the herb and tells Wool-yi to make the medicine. Sun-chaek sees how disheveled and exhausted he is, and it clearly rattles her. Then comes the real shock: the prince casually tells her she’s allowed to attend Su-gyeom’s club. Her emotional defense system glitches, and now she’s wondering if she might actually like him. Maybe. Just a little.
She quickly refocuses on her mission to restore the original story and gets a letter from Eun-ae, full of gratitude and friendship. Sun-chaek decides to invite Eun-ae to the club event, secretly planning to match her with the prince.
Meanwhile, Prince Yi-beon has his own meeting with Su-gyeom. He doesn’t explain what he’s been through, but he does agree to let Su-gyeom host the club event, on the condition that he gets to join too. When Sun-chaek hears that the prince has already invited himself, she’s speechless.
Elsewhere, noble moms gather for tea and gossip. Deok-jeong laments that all three of her sons are still single, and one woman offers to introduce her to someone who can help. Cut to Deok-jeong visiting a shaman, who’s possessed by the same mysterious spirit boy from earlier. The shaman tells her one son is fated to marry soon but warns her not to push the others too hard or risk upsetting fate.
At the palace, the king is falling apart. Natural disasters have plagued the land since he took the throne, and his ministers quietly worry that the prince might be eyeing the crown. Prince Yi-beon, of course, is completely focused on something else.
That evening, the club event finally kicks off. Everyone’s having a good time until Prince Yi-beon walks in, looking flawless and instantly killing the vibe with his jealous energy. Sun-chaek tries her best to push Eun-ae and the prince together, but Yi-beon shuts it all down. His cold behavior toward Eun-ae, especially during the planned meet-cute at the pond, is brutal. He doesn’t help when she falls in, and Eun-ae is clearly crushed.
Meanwhile, Sun-chaek is spying from a wall and falls off, right into Su-gyeom’s arms. Smooth.
Despite all the awkward energy, Sun-chaek livens things up with cocktails and drinking games. The mood begins to bounce back until Prince Yi-beon’s sour attitude puts another damper on the night. Just when it feels like things might fully unravel, a fire breaks out. Su-gyeom rushes to Eun-ae, while Prince Yi-beon doesn’t hesitate to rescue Sun-chaek, carrying her away from danger.
The episode ends with them watching the burning gazebo, fireworks lighting up the sky. Prince Yi-beon turns to Sun-chaek and, in the most dead-serious way possible, announces that she is worthy of being his wife because he had a great time. Sun-chaek is left staring at him, wondering if he’s finally gone completely insane.
If you thought this love triangle was wild before, it’s now officially unhinged and we are absolutely here for it.
Games, Fires, and a Race Against Time
Episode 4 of The First Night With the Duke opens with a rewind to two hours before the fire. And surprise, surprise—it all started with a game. Sun-chaek, still clinging to her mission of making Prince Yi-beon lose interest, gets a little tipsy and tries to embarrass herself in front of everyone. Naturally, the prince remains unbothered.
Undeterred, she introduces Jenga, with a spicy twist. Each block comes with a personal question. Eun-ae draws first and awkwardly asks the prince if he’d still love his partner if she turned into a worm. He brushes it off as too unlikely to answer. But when it’s his turn, he flips the script and asks Sun-chaek about her last kiss. She lies and claims she’s never kissed anyone. Yi-beon corrects her, sort of. He recalls their steamy night and uses the moment to drop a bomb: he plans to marry her and officially declares her his fiancée. Right on cue, his head servant delivers the marriage proposal to her home.
Everyone is stunned. But there’s no time to process the news, because Eun-ae suddenly has an allergic reaction. In the chaos, Sun-chaek accidentally sets the gazebo on fire. Yi-beon saves her while Su-gyeom rushes Eun-ae to safety. As fireworks light up the sky, Prince Yi-beon walks Sun-chaek home.
At her doorstep, her father Ho-yeol refuses the marriage proposal. Sun-chaek is pleasantly surprised that he is pushing back. Ho-yeol says Sun-chaek’s older brothers must marry first, but Yi-beon sees through the excuse. When pressed, Ho-yeol admits he doesn’t want his daughter in the royal family. He wants her to live a peaceful, ordinary life. Yi-beon is clearly hurt but says nothing. Later, he gives her brothers two months to find wives, subtly turning their father’s excuse into a deadline.
Meanwhile, Deok-jeong decides not to scold Sun-chaek but encourages her to reconsider. After all, a handsome prince with a sword and a six-pack is nothing to scoff at.
Prince Yi-beon returns home and reflects on the past. A flashback reveals his tragic family history: his mother committed treason in an attempt to put her husband on the throne. After her death, Yi-beon sacrificed his own dreams to serve the king as his weapon. The guilt and bloodshed have haunted him ever since.
Elsewhere, Hwa-seon begs the Queen Mother to help her win the prince’s heart. Surprisingly, the Queen Mother agrees.
The next morning, Sun-chaek wakes up and enjoys a rare peaceful moment with her brothers, who claim they’ll protect her from the prince. She knows they are no match for him. On the way to check on Eun-ae, she meets a starving foreigner named Mark. Ignoring warnings that associating with foreigners is risky, Sun-chaek buys him food and clothes. Mark explains that his ship sank in a storm and he was the only survivor. As this happens, a dress seller congratulates her on her engagement and offers to make her wedding gown.
Sun-chaek doesn’t get to see Eun-ae, but she does meet her father, who’s grateful for their friendship. On her way home, she bumps into Su-gyeom, who shocks her with a confession, not to her, but about his feelings for Eun-ae. He asks Sun-chaek to help him win her over, which throws her into a deeper dilemma.
Meanwhile, Prince Yi-beon is attacked while visiting his parents’ graves. Though the attackers escape, he reports the ambush to the king, warning that the Heuksa Clan has returned. The king notices the prince seems afraid and guesses it’s because he has something or someone he now wants to protect.
Back in town, Sun-chaek sees Mark again and offers to show him around. After she leaves him at his new home, he secretly meets with Hwa-seon. Something shady is definitely going on.
Suddenly, Sun-chaek collapses in the street, coughing blood. Military officers declare she has the plague and take her into confinement. Prince Yi-beon rushes to her side and begs the guards to let him in, even offering his sword. Moved by his sincerity, they allow it. He stays by her side for days, risking his own life to nurse her back to health.
While he’s gone, the Queen Mother makes her move. She convinces the king to open up marriage applications for Prince Yi-beon. For reasons unknown, the king agrees. Posters go up all over town, calling on noble ladies to apply for the prince’s hand. Eun-ae’s father encourages her to sign up, and of course, Hwa-seon throws her hat in too.
But Sun-chaek’s name is missing from the list. The god spirit notices and magically sends her a poster. She receives it just as she’s beginning to recover and realizes she only has a few hours left to apply. Weak and barely able to walk, she sneaks out of camp, tripping with every step but refusing to give up.
As the clock ticks down and her strength fades, Sun-chaek pushes forward, determined to reclaim her fate. The question is, will she make it in time?
We’ll find out next episode.
DramaZen's Opinion
These episodes had everything...games, jealousy, emotional chaos, a tiger fight, and a fire (both literal and romantic).
Episode 3 was peak comedic drama. Sun-chaek trying to embarrass herself into getting dumped? Hilarious. Prince Yi-beon declaring her his fiancée in front of everyone like it’s no big deal? Unhinged and iconic. And let’s not forget the absolute whiplash when her dad rejected the proposal without batting an eye. The man said, “I’d rather she stays single forever,” and Yi-beon just stood there, heartbroken and confused.
Then episode 4 rolled in with the heat...starting with a flirty Jenga game and ending in a full-blown plague camp. Yi-beon going full knight-in-shining-armor mode, offering his sword just to stay by Sun-chaek’s side, might be the most romantic thing he’s done yet. Meanwhile, Sun-chaek’s out here coughing blood, falling in the street, and still trying to take charge of her fate.
Also, shoutout to Mark the mysterious foreigner and the spirit boy playing puppet master in the background. The plot is thickening fast, and I’m loving every second of it.
This drama is chaotic, heartfelt, and completely addicting. Episodes 3 and 4 were a rollercoaster, and I never want to get off.
