Episode 12 wouldn’t be complete without my highlights.

1. MaGo4’s encounter with Manwol

Most people find her harsh but I like her. I don’t put up with nonsense and I’d rather tell Manwol that she’s an ass to her face so she’d shape up than sugarcoat the terrible truth about her death. The other MaGos haven’t been upfront with her fate. Besides, Manwol isn’t any less crueler than MaGo4 when she let Sanchez know that Veronica’s already gone.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to be cruel to be kind.

MG4: The one who made your flowers bloom, how would you feel about losing him? Arrogant and foolish Manwol. Didn’t you say that you are not afraid of those flowers withering? You’re wrong. Those flowers will wither once you feel fear.

MW: (scoffing) If I say, “Why are you doing this to me? I’m scared,” while I’m shivering and shaking like a dog in the rain, and the petals are pelting down, that’s when I want to do it. I’ll say, “Okkkay!” and “Will you lead me to the afterlife?” It’s true that your system is a bit petty. Instead of all of that, bring that bastard to me right now. I’ll finish it all completely and disappear from you. Just like what I’ve been waiting and wanting to do all of these long years.

Manwol’s sarcasm amuses me here. She isn’t intimidated one bit by the gods. She’s telling MaGo 4 to bring it on because she won’t hold herself back. Being turned to dust doesn’t scare her anyway. In fact, she looks forward to oblivion as an escape from her 1000-year- old punishment. Whether Hotel del Luna was a prison or a fence, she’s been living in hell.

However, although I like Manwol’s sarcasm, part of me wishes she’d shut up, too. She’s been spoiling for a fight against the deity that she can’t win. As it is, she has zero idea what the future will bring. She complains of her life being hell when an online forum, named HELLo after hell, is about to bring chaos to Chansung’s life, and consequently her life, too. To me, her unrestrained words can only bring her bad karma.

To continue —

MG4: Gu Chansung will bring that guy to you.

Per general consensus, CS is bringing the Captain. However, if the Captain is indeed living as a firefly, then he doesn’t exist as the Captain in real life. I suggest then that Chansung is bringing the essence of the Captain or his representative, not the physical form and reincarnated existence of the Captain.

Note that in Kissasian subs, there’s leeway with the pronouns. MG4 said, “Gu Chansung. (He) will eventually bring (him) to you.” We all know about the ambiguity of pronouns.

MW: Why do you keep bringing GCS into all of this?
MG4: I’m not the one who brought him into this. It’s the one who wants to give you a good send-off.

It’s not only MaGo 1 who’s rooting for Manwol to have a good send-off. The Magos 2 and 3 are helping, too, in their own way.

But it’s incorrect to assume that MG4 is undermining her chances of a good send-off. It’s counter-intuitive, but MG4 actually displays concern whenever she gives Manwol a severe warning or threatens to punish her. If MG4 doesn’t care one bit about her fate, then she’ll be indifferent and apathetic. MG4’s appearance deters Manwol from giving in to her base instincts. MG4 is the ultimate “uncool” character because she holds her back.

To continue —

MG4: You’ve only been looking forward to disappearing for over a thousand years. The price that GCS will have to pay for you is unjust. It’s not fair or objective.

I must point out that as MG4 reprimands Manwol for the price Chansung has to pay for her, the camera focuses on Manwol’s reflection in the green water. I don’t know if that’s supposed to look ominous or just dirty.

MW: I tried to stop him. He said that he’ll do it.
MG4: You wicked woman.
MW: Yes, Yes. I’m a wicked woman who knows everything and is still keeping him next to me.

She sounds as if she doesn’t care about Chansung’s sacrifice and she’s arrogantly bragging. Like this:  “Yes, I know very well that he’s going to suffer a lot by remaining with me. But heyyy, don’t blame me! He wants to stick to me, warts and all. What can I do when he’s a besotted fool?”

MG4: You’re bad. Really bad! Because of you, he even had to see the severed relationship that hurt him the most. (flashback of Chansung’s mom) What else will he have to unfairly go through while being by your side? (MW’s hand tremble) I really like seeing you trembling in fear.

MaGo leaves her. MW clenches her hand.

Three noteworthy things:

One, Manwol’s thinks that the mother incident was the severed relationship that hurt Chansung the most. I personally think it’s a contrived plot device to push the notion that Chansung was denied his existence and past (as the title of the Heidegger book, “Being and Time” suggested).

Manwol doesn’t know, however, that, in another part of the city, Chansung just met up with another severed relationship with a greater impact on his life. To me, this scene serves as a reminder that Manwol is neither omniscient or all-knowing, like the MaGos. She claims “to know everything” and assumes that she can avoid “losing him” when, in reality, she’s unprepared for what fate has in store for her, like most human beings.

Two, she clenches her hand just like Yeonwoo (remember the leaf?) and the Captain (remember the hairpin?). They all have difference reasons for clenching their hand.

In Manwol’s case, I’m wasn’t sure, at first,  if she’s controlling her rage or her fear.  But since she was worriedly searching for Chansung after this encounter, I’d say it’s fear. She’s worried that something has happened to him as MG4 hinted.

Three, if it weren’t for this “meanie” MG4, then Manwol wouldn’t have known about the connection between her fear and the tree blossoms. The other MaGos are extremely reticent about Manwol’s future. MG4 is cruel but Manwol can thank her later if and when she gets send-off to the afterlife  nicely.

2. Getting ready for death

I like that scene when Manwol recounts her past life with Yeonwoo and both she and Chansung realize that it’s the first time she’s opened up to him like that. They have a different interpretation of this change in her.

CS: Maybe it’s because the flowers are blooming.
MW: Maybe it’s because the flowers are withering soon.

It’s like seeing a glass with half a glass of water in it. Is the glass half-empty or half-filled?

Chansung is living in the moment. He’s enjoying this new, light-hearted, playful, kinder, empathetic side of Manwol. He thinks she’s blossoming like the flowers. But Manwol’s already anticipating her death. Especially after she’s been warned by MG4 about the withering flowers, and after she realized that Chansung could have died, she’s naturally preoccupied with death.

So Manwol’s words shake Chansung up. He’s forgotten his role in her life. He leaves her to compose himself.

He begins to remember her command, “Do your best looking into me (meaning, to get to know her well and understand her) and taking care of me. And see me off just as Ma Go wanted”

and he connects her command with MaGo1’s praises, “You must be doing really well! A flower is about to bloom. Take good care of her and send her off well”

then he links these to the previous manager’s question, “Who is the final guest you have to send off, GCS?”

He finally pieces them all together with Manwol’s parting advice, “I’ll be your last guest. Don’t feel lonely when you send me off.”

credit: cafeyeon’s tumblr

That’s when he realizes what the end game will be for him when she leaves.

Do I need to spell it out?

L.O.N.E.L.I.N.E.S.S.

That’s the price of her sending her off well.

3. Naughtiness

Reality check!

How many of you thought that Chansung looked naughty in this scene?

MW: Welll, our GCS is a healthy man…(smiles naughtily)… Aigoo. A human should be able to sleep well. Too bad.
CS: (standing up) Then let’s go. Let me sleep comfortably in your room. Never mind the massager, I want an arm pillow. You’ll be my arm pillow and what’s the use of an eye mask? You should pat my head. So that I can sleep.

MW: What’s wrong with you? So naughty. Hey cool down.
CS: (pulls her to him) You should be the one to cool down. Your face is red.

lol.

His words were naughty but his face didn’t look naughty.

This is naughty.

This is naughty.

And Tom Hiddleston was definitely naughty. That’s why the girl burst out giggling.

Chansung may have been spouting off innuendos but his face is expressionless. There’s no devilish twinkle in his eye. There’s no wolfish grin. There’s no raised eyebrow. There’s no risqué look.

He didn’t have the facial expressions of a naughty person.

And it’s NOT because Yeo JinGoo is a lousy actor. He’s actually a good actor. But I think he’s been directed to say lines with a deadpan face.

And I think there’s a reason. It’s for contrast…with the Captain. 🙂

He was the naughty one.

MW: You’re going to collect money with your face. (lol. Chansung wouldn’t WANT to collect money from his appearance.)
Capt: (with a winsome look) Just by talking, can’t I persuade you to release me, Nooi? I could convince you even better if only my arms and feet were free.

And the funny thing is Manwol doesn’t respond to the Captain’s cheekiness. She just freezes up when he smiles at him.

Unlike with Chansung. This is what? the second? the third time, she teases him about being a “healthy male.” (Meaning, a man with sexual appetites)

But Manwol teases Chansung because a grown woman like her finds a REPRESSED man irresistibly fun to tease. She’s teasing him to get a reaction from him. When he rises to her challenge and surprises her by deftly outdoing her teasing with a deadpan delivery, she becomes more intrigued.

4. The Doctor’s Son

I already discussed the theme of lifelines elsewhere so let’s focus on the son now.

Reaper: It’s a relief that you settled it. If you hadn’t then I would have taken all three of them together.
MW: Perhaps the parents may have wanted that.

Sidenote: I’m reminded here of the dog who chose to die with its owner and go to the afterworld with him. “Going together” is always an option.

Manwol remembers the doctor’s son being concerned about his parents.

Son: If I go, my mom and dad will have a much harder time.
MW: That’s not something for you to worry about. That’s the burden to be carried by the ones left.
Son: But then, that scares me very much.

Back in the present, Manwol also says that she’s scared.

Manwol is like the doctor’s son. They worry about the burden that their loved one would suffer once they’re gone.

And let’s not forget, Yeonwoo, too. He worried about Manwol, too. He gave her a huge smile because he didn’t want her to feel guilty that she’d caused his death. They should have killed the Captain that day by the quicksand, instead of befriending him. lol.

In his office, Chansung studies his lifeline and recalls the doctor. “Even if I give everything, I can’t let go.”

I think he should have focused on what he said to the doctor instead.

Doc: If I can save my son’s life, then it doesn’t matter.
CS: It’s unfortunate, but now the decision is for the child to make. If he decides, then you should let him go.

But given what he told Manwol in Episode 10, “I will not let you disappear,”

 

5. Sanchez’s pizza

I thought pizza was a fitting choice of food considering the topic of Chansung and Manwol’s emotional confrontation. You see, mozzarella should stick to the pizza crust.

CS: Why are you doing that?
MW: It’s because of you! Because you don’t tell him straight.
CS: Is it laughable that I’m considerate of him getting hurt?
MW: Right, it’s laughable. Be it the parents that are shortening their lifespan to give it to their son, or your friend that made pizza to give to his dead girlfriend. They’re all pathetic. I get mad looking at them be so shabby. Don’t you dare be like that.

I’m not sure “shabby” is the right word. I think “disgraceful,” “deplorable,” and plain “stupid” would be better words. She thinks they’re pathetic because they’re doing something futile and useless. The parents couldn’t prevent their son from dying because they’d all die anyway, and Sanchez is silly to think that Veronica is still at the hotel when she’d already moved on to the afterworld.

But denial is her defense mechanism. She’s belittling other people’s grief because she’s trying to numb her own emotions and block out her own fear that he would suffer in grief, too.

CS: (stunned) Why do you think I won’t be like that? I don’t want to let go and do not want to send you off. Thinking that I won’t be able to see you anymore is driving me crazy. Otoke! How could you tell me to be fine?

MW: Because you’re someone that has to send me off. You have to be fine.

No, she isn’t really telling HIM to be fine. She’s telling HERSELF that he’ll be fine.

MW: (cont) If you tell me that you’re not fine, then I would be very scared.

To me, she wants him to be okay with her death, so SHE will be fine with dying. She’s afraid. But Manwol has lived for so long without fear that she’s forgotten that fear is part of the human condition. It is said that, we’re the only creatures, who cry out in the first very minute that we are born, to announce to the whole world that we’re alive. And it’s not a cry of joy but a cry of pain and fear of the unknown.

Of course, Manwol is scared to death. Literally.

CS: Before you said that if I’m by your side as I take care of you, you were afraid that I’d have a pay a price. Perhaps it’s this. The thing that you hate so much, being so pathetic. You should go. I need to go to my friend.

Here, Chansung is alluding to that time in Episode 4 when he slept under the tree. Here’s the conversation.

MW: You saw me in your sleep again?
CS: Are you curious? Sit down. I’ll tell you what you were like in my dream.
MW: (coldly) This is what I hate. I should be telling you to shut up, or that I’ll rip your mouth open. But I thought about sitting down next to you. I hate my thought in that split second.
CS: (plucking the leaf from his shoulder) You held out for over 1000 years but you let go for a second. (shows her the leaf) I won a tremendous moment.
MW: Yes, this change means a lot to me, and you’ll have to pay for it.

But Kissasian has a slightly different sub – because of the pronouns. “A long time ago, I told you that I was afraid of paying the price if I did stay by your side and look after you. This must be what I have meant. Becoming a nuisance that you despise. Go. I’ll go to my friend.”

I think the Kissasian is right, too. This time, it refers to that scene in Episode 3:

MW: Why did you see that? (meaning the flashbacks)
CS: I know. Why is it that I can see you? I’m afraid that there will be a price to pay.

However, in this Episode 12, he thinks that she doesn’t want him to be a nuisance, to do something uncool and stupid like hold on to her pathetically. So he makes himself scarce and walks away.

6. Turning green

As I said earlier, I found the kiss anticlimactic. I didn’t want to see tongue swapping and heavy breathing. But THAT kiss wasn’t what I wanted either. It didn’t match the romance of the words. Like, his hand ruined the visuals. He looked like he was holding her face with a finger gun.

 

pwahahaha.

MW: When I first saw you, the flowers in this neighborhood were blooming so prettily. Now they’re nowhere to be seen. At the time, you were so scared because you’d just seen a ghost. Today, I’m the same. (meaning, it’s now her turn to be scared )The flowers are withering.
CS: I see.
MW: They won’t even remain as flower petals. They disappear even before they hit the ground. Nothing seems to remain.

I like that she’s explaining to him why she’s scared. The petal looks like ghosts to her, too, because they disappear.

CS: Perhaps the flowers that bloomed in your tree just like how the first leaf, they might be falling for me. They might pile up and become very heavy and painful. I will handle them as my share. So don’t be scared when you leave me.

CS: This, to the weak human that I am, who is now doing his best with all of his might, is love.
MW: Being left only as a petal which will vanish is too sad. (And she kisses him.)

Carpe diem! Seize the day…or better yet, kiss the guy!

I like what @FGB4877 said here about the petals and Manwol’s transformation.

On another note, the blossoming of the flowers is – at least for me – her opening to the people (and ghosts) around her. The more human she gets the more vulnerable, but also the more real. That is why when they kissed the petals of the Moon Tree reached the soil: they were real feelings by a true person, not an isolated being in an Ivory Tower.

But why is that I feel uneasiness about the whole situation, as if Chansung did something incredibly noble but incredibly stupid (as Manwol feared) at the same time?

Wait a second!

Could he have traded places with Manwol?

Did he volunteer to give Manwol a lifeline and take over her curse? Like become the next Hotel del Luna proprietor?

Is that why it’s suddenly so green?

Then as they were kissing, the camera director was shooting with green filter.

And is that why Chansung was talking about that leaf that drifted down towards her only to land on him?  From Episode 4.

According to @growing_beautifully, the leaf

The leaf of the dream was a precious shared moment of Man Wol’s time, a sign of the link between them (or a merging of their time), and something that he held close to his heart, literally and possibly figuratively.

Is it really a merging of their time, in that sense that he assumes the burden for her?

Is this why MG4 was furious with her?

MG4 said that Manwol had been looking forward to disappearing for a thousand years. But Manwol had said, “…Bring that bastard to me right now. I’ll finish it all completely and disappear from you. Just like what I’ve been waiting and wanting to do all of these long years.” MG4 confirmed that Chansung will bring “the guy,” and that the price Chansung had to pay for her was unfair.

But is Chansung the guy himself?

It’ll be funny+scary if this is where the Hong sisters are heading.