Character	Wang So
Appearance	Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Media	Korean Drama
Type	Obsessive
Love Interest	Hae Soo, Queen Yoo (Familial Love)

Wang So is the 4th Prince of royal family. Shunned by his family and the public for his scarred face, he was given a degrading nickname “Wolf Dog”. Despite his cold appearance, he greatly yearns for love and acceptance.

SPOILERS AND PERSONAL OPINION

Wang So and Hae Soo started off on the wrong foot when they first met. Wang So thought that Hae Soo only kept getting in his way, which annoyed the both of them. However, over a series of incidents, they started to empathize with and understand each other.

As they grew closer, Hae Soo discovered So’s emotional turmoil and suffering; she realized So’s strained relationship with his royal family, and found out just how much the scar on his face affected him. As So get continuously shunned and mocked for his scar, by his family and the public alike, Hae Soo used her cosmetics knowledge to cover up the scar. This was the greatest change that saved So, and So fell in love with Hae Soo, vowing to make her his.

Even before Hae Soo helped So with the covering of his facial scar, Wang So had always used possessive words on Hae Soo, often calling her “his person”. After he declared his feelings, his actions and words grew more intense, even when it was still a one-sided love. He regarded Hae Soo highly. While the other princes were scrambling to inherit the throne, So regard it as nothing compared to Hae Soo.

It took some time for Hae Soo to finally reciprocate his feelings. However, even though they enjoyed each other’s company, their journey together was filled with turmoil.

When Wang So’s brothers, the kind-hearted Crown Prince Wang Moo and the innocent 10th Prince Wang Eun died as a result of internal disputes, So decided to claim the throne to put an end to these sufferings. This drove Hae Soo further away from him. As he became the king of a nation, he could no longer live freely with Hae Soo.

To make things worse, Hae Soo could not be married to him due to a rule which forbids the emperor from having a wife with physical scars. In turn, the ambitious princess Yeon Hwa took the opportunity to pressure So into a marriage, making herself the queen of Goryeo. Even so, So wanted Hae Soo to always remain by his side. He warned her to never leave him, and stated that she belongs with him.

Overtime, worn out from the harsh ways of the palace, Hae Soo could no longer bear to stay by So’s side, and pleaded to leave him. Although So knew that Hae Soo was sincere in her request, he used his authority as the king to forbid her from leaving the palace, or from leaving him.

Wang So had also intended to reject the decree by the previous king, which allowed the marriage between 14th Prince Jung and Hae Soo. He was ready to change the law to allow Hae Soo to be married to him even though she was scarred. For Hae Soo, he nearly jeopardized his position as the emperor, even when he had only just established his authority.

It was only when the 8th Prince Wook confessed about his past affair with Hae Soo that So lost all hope. He truly believed that Hae Soo had always been in love with Wook, and never him. Thoroughly heartbroken, he finally allowed Hae Soo to leave the palace with Jung under the previous king’s decree.

When Hae Soo retired to Jung’s hometown, So hired spies to monitor Hae Soo and Jung, and received regular reports of the two. Often, he would visit the premise himself, and would be upset each time he sees Hae Soo seemingly happy with Jung.

Wang So only realized Hae Soo’s genuine feelings towards him after her death. By then, it was too late.

Wang So had always been obsessed with his mother, Queen Yoo. He yearned for motherly love, even though his mother was the very person to scar his face, which caused all his future sufferings.

Unfortunately for So, Queen Yoo viewed her children mostly as a tool to secure the throne. Worse, out of her 3 children, she was the most heartless to So. Not only did she not have any sense of guilt for causing hurt and suffering for So, she even hated him as she deems him an unsightly being that should not be associated with her at all.

There was a time when So was working to seek out the instigator of the Crown Prince’s assassination. Upon discovering it was a scheme of Queen Yoo to eliminate competitors for her son, 3rd Prince Yo, So turned around to massacre all those related to the incident so that no one can trace it back to Queen Yoo.

Wang So then sought out Queen Yoo, and in a demented manner, expressed his pride and joy in carrying out the dirty work to protect her. So expected his mother to feel grateful to him, and perhaps finally like him a little. However, all he got was disgust and insults from her. Hurt, he left the abode, vowing that he will work to make Queen Yoo look only at him, even if she had abandoned him.

In the future, Wang So would succeed the throne after the death of the 3rd Prince Yo. In her ailing days, Wang So used his authority as the king to banish her other son, 14th Prince Jung, from the palace, under the premise that Jung had attempted to sow discord and hinder So’s ascension. Now, the only son left in the palace was So. Queen Yoo can see no other sons but him now.

Even as Queen Yoo laid ill in bed, she refused to be nursed by So. She denied all food So attempted to feed her. And as Queen Yoo’s death drew near, So did not allow anyone to visit her. Even though Jung stood for long hours outside the abode in protest to see Queen Yoo one last time, So coldly ignored it. So even warned that he could have had Jung killed for breaching his banishment.

In Queen Yoo’s last moments, she finally attempted to touch So’s scarred face for once. Unfortunately, it only lasted a brief moment before she succumbed to her ailments. It was unclear what intentions she held as she attempted the act. Nevertheless, So was extremely delighted over her actions, and was equally heartbroken by her departure.

Overall, I really felt that Wang So is one of the most tragic male character I have came across in a korean drama. As a child, he received no love whatsoever from the people around him. Despite being born in a royal family, he was sent far away, and had to struggle to survive since a young age.

Nevertheless, he yearned for love and acceptance, and had shown his willingness to sacrifice himself for others, even when such acts were never reciprocated. He was always alone, shunned, feared and mocked.

He got closer to his brothers, but they eventually died, left, or betrayed him. When he finally got the love of Hae Soo, she had already grown weary from all the sufferings she had endured, and wished to leave him. Even his trusted aides grew sick of the palace, and left him to fend for himself. By the end of it all, he was alone once again.

Given all his past experiences, it is no wonder he grew to be obsessive. How his behavior and thought processes came about was well justified.

Since the beginning, all he wanted was to live in peace, with his loved ones. Unfortunately, he never got a good ending.