We don’t immediately get to see what Boraqchin discussed with Toregene. Instead, we dive headfirst into the war between the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty. Tolui’s forces are vastly outnumbered. He’s also surrounded on all sides. Nevertheless, he is confident that his brother will arrive with reinforcements. In order to calm his men down, however, he has someone perform a ritual that will call forth a storm. Sure enough, a terrible blizzard arrives and saps the ill-prepared Jin army of its energy. The end result is a massacre, and the Jin Dynasty quickly follows suit. Apparently, Genghis Khan did the same thing as Tolui, so now one of his generals starts viewing him in the same light. But Ogedei is the emperor, so… potential drama~

Still, if I have any nitpick about this show, it’s making the mysticism real. Jaadugar is already a dramatized retelling of historical events. The magic mumbo-jumbo cheapens the story in my eyes. No, it wasn’t brilliant skills, tactics, and organizational brilliance that allowed the Mongols to win battle after battle! It was their god! But hey, maybe they didn’t actually call down a storm. Maybe the timing was just incredibly fortuitous, and a blizzard was always headed their way. Plus, I suppose we’ve already deviated from history. As far as I can recall, the Mongols defeated and ultimately destroyed the Jin Dynasty with the help of the Southern Song. But in Jaadugar, the Southern Song rebuffed the Mongols’ offer. Hmm…

The men return home triumphant, and the women have already prepared a feast to celebrate their victory. Toregene, however, wears a scowl the entire time. She also treats Sitara rather coldly. Obviously, this is the result of her encounter with Boraqchin, but the story is content to keep us in the dark for now. Has Sitara’s newborn alliance with Toregene fractured already?

Ogedei suddenly falls ill, which has everyone panicking. If you know nothing about the Mongols and their conquests, you might be concerned too. But I know he eventually led his empire all the way into Europe, where they were still scoring victories after victories. The Mongols ultimately retreated only because Ogedei died (likely from natural causes). Churchill apparently said that Western Europe was only spared by Ogedei’s death. Well, we haven’t seen him do any of that in this anime, so we know he can’t die now. Unless, of course, Jaadugar deviates from history again. Funnily enough, this is where the real tension lies for me: what creative liberties is this show willing to take with history?

According to Boraqchin, Ogedei has been poisoned. Not only that, he has the telltale signs of rahj al-gar poisoning. Well, the wives aren’t going to suspect themselves, so Moge questions Sitara. She, however, quickly determines that the Persian girl must be innocent; Moge thinks she’s good at reading people. Uh-huh… well, putting that aside, the mind instantly goes to that clandestine meeting between Toregene and Boraqchin. Did the first wife cook this up? It’s a tempting thought that immediately seems to pay off. Men search Toregene’s tent and find the incriminating evidence. Nevertheless, I feel no tension. See, nothing I’ve read in the history books says anything about this, so I have no clue where the story is going anymore. I know for a fact that Toregene takes power at some point. She did eventually become regent after Ogedei died, and I can’t imagine Jaadugar deviating from that.

Regardless, Boraqchin now calls on Sitara to heal and save Ogedei. In the process, she starts planting seeds of doubt in the girl’s mind, casting aspersions on Toregene’s motives. You can’t help but wonder if that’s what she did with Toregene.

Privately, Ogedei will be cured using the same remedy with the jada stone, which Sitara willingly offers up. Publicly, however, Boraqchin makes a big song and dance about exorcising the demons cursing the emperor. Again, the first wife’s skillful manipulation is on display. The exorcists totally manage to draw the evil spirits out and into a bowl of water. But to seal the deal and truly “save” Ogedei, someone will have to serve as a sacrifice by drinking said tainted water. Boraqchin initially “offers” herself up, but the exorcists claim that the ritual can only work if a blood relative performs the deed. And guess who courageously steps up to the plate? Yup, it’s none other than Tolui. Boraqchin flashes a conniving grin as he brings the bowl to his lips. Funnily enough, this part actually adheres to history. Sorta. The official record does say Tolui died in a shamanic ritual. Whether that was actually the case — if Boraqchin actually had a hand in bringing him down — is a separate issue.

Still, what we’ve just seen is the first wife taking out two birds with one stone. Tolui just unknowingly poisoned himself. Meanwhile, Toregene is suspected of trying to murder the emperor. Boraqchin is sitting pretty, or so she thinks. I can’t imagine Toregene going down like this. All this commotion allows Sitara to sneak off and speak with Toregene one-on-one. Surely, these two will mend their relationship and strike back. But we’ll have to wait another week to see what they can do.