Quick takes.
1. Unnie is dead.
IJ: I love it when you make that face. You’re like a little child who has lost her toy.
Mrs. Park: I was having so much fun until just a moment ago.
IJ: Did you think I’d be that stupid? Did you seriously think that I’d believe Hwayoung was alive?
Huh? Who was she kidding? Of course, she was THAT stupid to believe that Unnie was alive. She admitted as much to Choi Doil later when he reproved her for not trusting him. He said, “I never expected you to betray me. I thought you trusted me.” She replied, “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. It’s just that…I wanted to see Hwayoung so badly.”
There! She said it.
I wish she had adopted MY stance on this whole issue of Unnie’s death. As I said early on, unless there’s verifiable proof that she’s alive, I’ll proceed as if she’s dead. IJ’s continued uncertainty and wishful thinking don’t do anything but endanger lives.
Unnie should stay dead.
@nrllee, as for this writer doing a u-turn and resurrecting the Unnie.
The captain of the Titanic couldn’t reverse the ship’s course. I don’t think this writer can bring back the Unnie back to life either at this late stage without making it look forced and clumsy. In my opinion, she’s NOT at all that convincing as a mystery writer, Given how long she’s been in the industry, she’s overrated. The reappearance of the Unnie in the final episodes would be too much of a “Gotcha! Fooled ya!” moment.
Anyway, this whole confrontation scene got me annoyed for a few reasons:
a. IJ has a revolver but for all the good that it did to her, she might as well have a fairy wand in her hand. I’m with Mrs. Park when she said, “To think that you could do something with that thing…you really must be stupid.”
b. Mrs. Park dismissed 70B won as “chump change”.
Mrs. Park: No matter what you do, this story will end with your death.
IJ: If I die, how are you going to find the 70 billion won?
Mrs. Park: That chump change doesn’t mean anything to me. Do you think this is about money? I’m an artist. I’ll just imagine that I filmed a 70-billion won blockbuster.
But she was outraged when she was fined S$1,000 for littering.
Mrs. Park: Yah! Don’t you know that you could get fined just for littering in Singapore?!
IJ: Whatever.
It beats me why she had to open the door for the property manager. Didn’t she stop to think that the property manager would’ve found it strange to see a drugged out IJ on the floor or that IJ could’ve asked for help from the property manager?
c. That Mrs. Park got away with it again.
Mr: Honey, stop.
Mrs: What the hell?
Doil: Your phone was off. So I’m only here to pass you this call.
Yeahhhhh. Right. So did he really have to barge in like that? Couldn’t he have knocked on the door if he was relaying a message from Mr. Park?
Mrs: Why do you keep butting in? You’re so annoying.
Mr: You promised not to cause a fuss until the election was over.
Mrs: This won’t cause a fuss. My preparations were thorough. Everything will wrap up nicely. I can’t give up on this one.
Mr: You can since your entire fortune is on the line.
Mrs: What fortune?
Then, Oh InKyung interrupted in her reporter’s voice, “This is reporter Oh InKyung.” This was such an incongruous moment: she sounded like she was reporting live on TV.
IK: I’ve secured the ledgers of the slush funds managed by your family. I stayed up all night going through them. I knew it would be a lot but I didn’t expect to see numbers in the trillions.
Mrs: Who do you think you are? How dare you do this to me? Honey, can’t you just kill her?
Lol. She asked him to kill a person like I ask my husband to pick up milk from the supermarket on the way home.
IK: I’ve made sure that the ledgers will be revealed if I die. This is an exclusive that could turn the entire country upside down, so it wasn’t easy for me either since I had to choose between his and my sister’s life. I’m getting the shorter end of the stick, so let’s make a deal. The ledgers for my sister.
Then, the sisters squabbled because InJoo didn’t want her to give up the ledgers.
Mrs: (throws a hissy fit, and the gun) I absolutely hate them!
She walked out and her men followed her.
Personally, this scene is so unsatisfying because:
• the villain didn’t get her comeuppance.
• it was another deus ex machina. This time, the writer intervened to save the villain.
• it invalidated all the angst-y and thrilling moments before this scene. It left me wondering what the point was of setting up the whole big confrontation when Mrs. Park could just walk out in a snit. She was like a sulky teenager being reminded of her curfew.
Question: What did we just watch?
Answer: Makjang. We are watching makjang. Ugh.
2. The scene with the ledger also annoyed me.
a. What did IK mean that the ledgers would be revealed IF SHE DIED? She said, “I’ve made sure that the ledgers will be revealed if I die.”
How’s that possible? Did she digitally copy the ledgers before handing them over? Or was she bluffing? If she did copies, then she can still release the contents of the ledgers after her sister was released.
b. Why is IK such a binary thinker? She can only think in terms of her sister or the ledgers.
I find it hard to believe that a seasoned reporter like IK still views the world in terms of black-or-white. How is she a good reporter, if she can’t see the nuances, contexts, gray areas, and multi-layers to a problem?
In real life, thinking RATIONALLY means resisting to simplify a problem into a rigid dichotomy. IK’s binary mindset impedes her ability to come up with a solution that will save her sister AND expose the Park family’s crimes.
To me, IJ’s character is yet another sign of this writer’s weakness. She’s two-dimensional.
3. Jeongran Society is a cult.
As Sherlock Holmes would say, “It’s not just a criminal organization; it’s a cult.”
Gen Won is their deity. Back in Episode 4 (timestamp:11:25), the nurse who was attending to the Bank CEO overheard Mr. Park uttering the “creed.”
Mr. Park: The war isn’t over.
Bank CEO: “The war isn’t over.”
Mr. Park: The General is waiting.
Bank CEO: “The General is waiting.”
Mr. Park: How high do you think that someone from rock bottom can rise up to?
Bank CEO: To the highest and the brightest place.
If you remember, those words were in Unnie’s typewritten suicide notes. “How high can someone from rock bottom go?” (Ep 1, timestamp: 1:10:06).
The child in the school had the same mantra. (Ep 5, timestamp 48:35) When the school director asked the child what she was studying for, the child replied, “If I study hard, I can reach the highest place, even if I’m from the lowest place.” On the wall exhibit of the school, the slogan “From the lowest and the darkest, to the highest and the brightest” was prominently displayed.
Hmmm…if I were IK, I would investigate all the notable alumni featured on that wall. The school is a cult.
What are the other things we know about this cult?
a. We got the wrong numbers. 70B won was nothing; more than 3 trillion won was embezzled over 25 years. The funds purportedly went to support the mission of the Jeongran Society. But as I see it, Mrs. Park’s the one in control of the money. She’s the CEO, and Mr. Park is just the director.
It’s similar to the dummy company that Choi Doil set up for InJoo.
b. In Mr. Park’s words, people who have “fallen from grace” (in other words, the Lucifers and the devils) are those who “fail to give up their lives when the need arises.”
c. When the members of the Jeongran Society receive the orchid, they are forced to die (i.e., killed) if they do not voluntarily choose death.
d. Her boss Mr. Jo (or the Professor Bhaer figure) is a member of the cult.
Should I be shocked? I don’t care that he’s in cahoots with the bad guys, as long as JongHo isn’t one of them. It would be an utter betrayal if Laurie…errr…JongHo was a member of the Jeongram Society too.
From Mr. Jo, we learned the pledge of the society. “I entrust my life and death to Jeongran Society. It shall remain confidential unless otherwise authorized.”
More importantly, we learned the vision statement of the Jeongran Society from him. He told IK, “Everyone needs a father like that. A world where you can go from the lowest to the highest place regardless of who your parents are. That’s a world that is truly equal and just. If Park Jaesang becomes the mayor of Seoul and then the president, everyone can be part of Jeongran Society.”
The funny thing about this Jeongran Society is that their first members seem to be the children of Gen Cho’s wartime buddies.
e. The “Father Tree”
Each blue orchids on the “father tree” represents a cult member. I’m assuming the member is given a blue orchid and he/she hangs it on the tree during the initiation rite as a sign that he/she is dependent on the father tree (aka the secret organization) for nurturance, support, and protection. In turn, the tree/organization can depend on him/her for assistance in their nefarious activities.
Does this mean then that IH is a member of the Jeongran Society, too, because Mrs. Park hung her orchid on the tree?
4. Alpha waves
JongHo was friendzoned.
JH: Back then, I was young and made it sound like a joke. But I should have been more clear and said that I really liked you. And that I wanted to marry you because I couldn’t see myself in love with anyone else.
IK: You must have been mistaken. We went through a lot together at an early age. Like your mother passing away and your father getting remarried. The way you felt about me was what psychologists call “attachment” and biologists call “imprinting.” But that’s different from romance. It’s much closer to kinship.
JH: What’s romance anyway? Doesn’t marriage make two people a family?
IK: For me, when I’m with you, my brain produces alpha waves. The peaceful waves you get when you’re meditating or resting. Romance is meant to be exciting and thrilling. It increases your heart rate.
And here JH looked like he was about to say something, but he changed his mind. He poured himself soju. I don’t know if IK finally realized that she was hurting him.
IK: Injoo was right. I should have been the one to draw the line. Let’s call it a day.
JH: Do you think you couldn’t go abroad then because of money? It was because of your family. I wanted to take you someplace far away. I wanted to see who you’d become in a different world. You can do that now. You can let go of your guilt now.
IK: (not answering)
JH: That’s what I wanted to tell you today.
Ahhh. Oh I see now. JongHo believed that InKyung was just making money an issue, and that she was really tempted to go with him, but she felt obligated to stay with her family and help out because of her family’s financial hardship.
It was sweet when he hugged her after they met up.
JH: InKyung. I won’t ask you for anything else. Peace…peace is all I ask for.
He was trying to get alpha waves from IK. I’m crossing my fingers that he isn’t a Judas, and this hug of theirs isn’t the equivalent of Judas’ kiss.
5. “Edmond Dantes”
Hallelujah! The sisters finally got their act together.
I like that IJ whacked Ms. Go but I wished she hit her with the bar more than once, instead of slapping her.
I’m glad that IK rescued “Edmond Dantes” — lol! I’ve never seen such a cowardly Edmond Dantes — from the psych ward. But I’m sure he’ll die before he can testify.
6. That weird sex scene between Mr. and Mrs. Park is just gross.
So is that how she gets him to do as she wants? A quickie?? Ugh. I wish I could unsee this scene.
7. Mrs. Park is so evil that she becomes a parody of evil.
Is the writer aware that her villain no longer makes sense?
The Singapore showdown between IJ and Mrs Park made sense. It was bound to happen because the money had to be cashed out. But the kidnapping of IH is too makjang, too off-the-wall, and too bizarre a plot.
I don’t get who was fooling whom:
a. In the hospital, when Mrs. Park and Hyorin had their talk about IH’s disappearance. Did Mrs. Park want Hyorin to believe that her best friend abandoned her? Or did Hyorin know that her mom kidnapped IH and was just going to sacrifice her best friend to her mom’s homicidal tendencies?
b. In the closed room, when Mrs. Park visited IH. Did Mrs. Park expect IH to be hysterical and go begging to be released? Was she shocked by IH’s sangfroid? She looked unprepared to deal with IH. She thought IH could be made into puppet for the drama she created in her head, but IH was writing her own script.
Mrs. Park: (showing her food) Have this if you get hungry.
IH: What did you tell Hyorin?
Mrs. Park: That you left alone for Japan. I couldn’t tell her that I kidnapped you from school, could I?
IH: Did she cry? How long will it take for her to forget?
Mrs. Park: (fake laugh) Why? Do you think you won’t be able to leave this room?
IH: It was 2,922 days. How did that person manage to live that long in a place like this?
That’s 8 years and 2 days. 365 x 8 = 2920.
Mrs. Park: (nonplussed) How do you know about that?
IH: (doesn’t answer her, instead takes out cuttings) I saw it in your album. She was cut out of every picture. She’s your mother right? There are so many pictures of her. She was so close to you.
We already guessed who she was. But the interesting thing here is that her mom died when she was in high school.
Mrs. Park: No one knew that my mom once lived her.
Is she lying again? I thought the Great Aunt aka Syringe Lady visited her mother often. If Great Aunt did visit Mrs. Won and she knew that Mrs Won was imprisoned in that room, then she was complicit. She didn’t help Mrs. Won to escape.
Mrs. Park: You’ll end up just like her. I told you, didn’t I? That I like secrets.
IH: “The closed room.” Will I end up hanging myself there? I’d love to paint that scene.
In my opinion, Mrs. Park thought she could scare IH. But IH seems to be morbidly obsessed about death that she was. Lol.
8. Choi Doil
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We expected him to save her, but couldn’t he have come in a bit sooner or at least, with a lot less smoke?
This scene had me laughing because it’s so out-of-character. Look here: she’s been married before. Why was she acting like a virgin?
Ep 9
Show down. IJ didn’t believe that Unnie was alive. Mrs P had back up. Her goons appear from round the corner of the room (don’t ask me how they got into the apartment – the front door didn’t open? Were they just hiding all that time? And IJ was stupid and didn’t bother to walk through the apartment or go to the toilet and just stayed seated in the lounge all that time? 🤷🏻♀️😑). Goon manhandles gun out of groggy IJ’s hand. Mrs P gains the upper hand again. IJ says if she dies, Mrs P won’t see that money. Mrs P claims this was never about the money, it was about “the art” 🙄. Saved by the doorbell… literally. Security guard appears on the intercom. Someone had been throwing paper aeroplanes off the balcony. Everyone turns to look at the table IJ was sitting on before and Lo and behold, there’s a stack of newspapers and one folded paper aeroplane ready to take flight. It’s against the strict regulations of Singapore. A $1000 fine is to be paid. Mrs P asks IJ the obvious. Did you throw it? Don’t you know it’s illegal to litter in Singapore you nitwit? IJ pouts. Mrs P gets one of goons to deal with it. He opens the door…and gets knocked out cold with a fire extinguisher…by our dashing White Knight Choi…sigh… 🥰. He takes out another 3 men… and then halts when he sees one goon point the gun at IJ…boohoo. Mrs P gleefully takes the gun out of the goon’s hand, then points it at Choi. She’s decided to make an impromptu change to the ending of her play. The pair of them (lovers) fought over the money, IJ kills Choi and then jumps to her death. All this time I am wondering, what happened to the security guard? And the fine? Mrs P cocks the gun. Choi cool as a cucumber utters, “frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.” No wait. Wrong movie/drama. No, he says, “I am not here for the money”. He takes his phone out of his pocket and who should be on the other end but Mr P. The other crazy telling her to just stop already, reminding her that she promised not to create any waves before the election. Mrs P is petulant and stamps her feet. Mr P tells her that her whole fortune is on the line. Then turns the conversation over to IK (who is in the room in Seoul with Mr P). IK tells Mrs P she is in possession of the ledgers and is ready to expose the slush fund. Mrs P tells hubby to just kill IK already. IK assures her that if she dies, the ledgers will be revealed in a news report. Gah…I dislike NJH’s voice. It keeps clipping like a record with scratches on it. The deal is the ledgers for the life of IJ. Mrs P throws the uncocked gun on the floor in disgust and marches out with her goons.
IK and Mr P have a heart to heart. There’s more than 3 trillion won moved into the slush fund according to IK’s calculations after looking through the ledgers. IK finds out that Mr P has been watching her all this time, since she was a trainee digging up dirt on him. Turns out Prof Bhaer is Mr P’s informant too? So there goes her 9pm news exclusive? IK is dismayed, sheds a tear (or two) when she realizes she’s been betrayed by Prof Bhaer. Mr P starts to rip the ledgers apart and tosses them into the fireplace where a fire is burning. Well I guess this is the mirror for Jo’s manuscripts being burnt.
Back to Mr Hotness in Singapore. Who is…sigh…cradling IJ’s head in his lap…stroking her hair subtly with his thumb… She wakes and mumbles an apology for taking the money and breaking with protocol. Sigh, he doesn’t shout at her for her stupidity or play the blame game. Instead he says it’s all his fault that he didn’t have a plan for this contingency – he didn’t expect that she wouldn’t trust him? The man is a saint. 🥰. IJ explains that it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, she was going to split the money with him later, she just wanted to believe so badly that Unnie was alive and wanted to see her again. He nods calmly as if he totally understands her logic. Then asks her what happened to the money.
Flashback as IJ explains. She had put all the money in a locker at Macpherson train station. Don’t ask me how the train station can be so deserted in the day time as she opens the luggage on the floor beside the locker (number 6) and moves large wads of cash from luggage into the locker in plain sight. She then rings Mrs Foster (the lady attendant at the Fullerton) from a public phone (how she does this with no local currency or card is beyond me but whatever) and Mrs Foster helps her put bricks into the luggage? No questions asked? 🤷🏻♀️. Above and beyond service.
IJ hands Choi the locker key because she “trusts” him. 😂😂😂. Then she proceeds to hold onto the key as he tries to take it from her. They do this tug of war with the locker key and it’s cute. 😂. She’s worried she won’t wake up from her stupor if she falls asleep (Choi rolls his eyes her because she’s being so melodramatic 😂😂😂) and gives him final instructions to make sure he shares the 70bil with her sisters. She clasps his hand with both her hands as she pleads, his eye twitches at the sudden touch and he blinks… he’s a man in love. The PD has filmed certain segments of this in a strangle angle as IJ lay on the floor. Maybe @packmule3 can make sense of it. The way it’s framed it looks like Choi is horizontal and IJ is vertical? Is it a Dutch angle? 🤔. IJ passes out and Choi has the locker key. He checks her pulse (on her neck) and breathes a sigh of relief. And I am a tad breathless too after this scene. 😂
IK confronts Prof Bhaer. She’s in disbelief. Is it true that he’s in cahoots with PJS? Prof Bhaer…is married? 🤔. Anyway he spins some sob story about his past when he was struggling to get by financially. He was given an orchid and met Gen Won. O, it’s an induction symbol? The orchid? He said he had to pledge allegiance to the JR Society. And he’s trying to convert her too? Okay so maybe he isn’t Prof Bhaer after all. He tries to convince her that everyone needs Big Daddy (JR society/PJS) to oversee their lives so that it runs smoothly. IK is disgusted.
IH and HR in the orchid room. They hatch a plan to ditch the adults and run away. Fly to another country and live an idyllic life selling their artwork. They giggle as they huddle over IH’s phone and scroll through the possibilities.
Laurie (JongHo) pours a drink for IK as she pours out her disappointments to him. He suggests they go to the US together and for her to drop this JR society nonsense. Apparently Grandpa’s health is on the improve, and he wants JongHo to get his degree. O…he reveals that he’s already proposed to her (when they were 24). He had planned to just get married and both would just head over to the US. He hadn’t planned to do anything whilst he was over there at all. This proposition disgusted IJ because he made it sound so easy to just drop everything and go. He had so many options since he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. JongHo clarifies that he should’ve been more transparent with her then. That he only proposed that plan because he couldn’t see himself with anyone else other than her. IK is momentarily dumbfounded. Then she tries to explain away his proposal by saying he’s just attached to her, that it’s not “romance”. That she doesn’t feel passionately about him at all. She just feels comfortable. So it’s NOT romance by her definition. Yeah…whatever Jo. 🙄. JongHo looks forlorn with this second rejection. IJ knows she’s hurt him badly and hastily makes her exit. She is drinking alone now on some stone steps (to Great Aunt’s house?). She rings Choi’s father and gives him the run down. Plan B. Choi is cleaning his rifle? Looks heavy duty. Good, he mutters. After I kill PJS, you can tell my story to the rest of the world. IK asks to join him in killing PJS. She receives a text after hanging up. It’s from Dantes. Our priest of Monte Cristo in the mental facility? How does he have access to a phone? But we don’t ask these common sense questions because…err…we’re not meant to be a thinking audience you know? He tells her she is on the right track but asking the wrong questions.
Back to our lovers. IJ in bed. Nay, not with Choi. She awakes and when she spies Choi calmly reading a paper on the couch beside her, startles and pulls the covers protectively over her bosom. What are you doing? Why are you watching me sleep? Err…because he likes you? 😑 And he’s been watching you all this time. Choi is cool as a cucumber, “Didn’t want you to die”. 😂😂😂. Well that changes everything doesn’t it? Whew…he’s not some creepy stalker. 😂😂😂. Folds his paper and walks to the dining table. Where breakfast (?) is set…for 2. IJ changes and the sits down and eats. They looks so much like a married couple. He shows her the paper company he set up where she’s CEO and he’s the director. They will fly to Greece today where she can stay temporarily at some place he’s organized (her sisters can join her later) and they will split the funds 60-40 like they agreed. He’s even organized an accountant to manage her finances there so she can live off the proceeds (investments with the funds) so the original capital stays intact. IJ is surprised as he makes it sound like he’s going to disappear from her life. Choi explains that Mrs P will fly home to Seoul and find something else to entertain herself with (and will forget about IJ), but his situation is different. He’s in much deeper than she is with the Crazies and he can’t leave like she can. It’s best they never meet again, he states with nonchalance. It’s for her own safety, he assures her. 😢. So he’s taken all the risk and she’s taken all the gains. Marry the man IJ, marry him now. Elope to some deserted island and live happily ever after with him. She suggests hopefully that they could keep in touch via social media. 😑. He ignores her suggestion and reads papers on the table. She pouts and eats her yoghurt.
Mrs P returns home with lots of gifts. To the delight of HR. She explains why she left to go to the Orchid Festival in Singapore. HR tells her she is excited about a play she is in right now. Mrs P asks her what her role is. HR gleefully replies it’s a serial killer. IH looks surprised at this reveal. Okay this whole family is bonkers. IH explains, “Macbeth is not a serial killer. I mean…a few people can be killed to become king.” Girl, where is your sense of justice? What price a life? Rich or poor? HR asks innocently, “is that so?” Both she and Mrs P share a giggle. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree? 🤔. Mr P strides in. Plants a kiss on Mrs P’s forehead and they play happy families. The girls exchange strained looks and get back to eating breakfast.
The girls walk to school. HR says her fake parents make her sick. IH praises her for her “stellar acting” back in the house. HR says IH should keep all the bank books for safe keeping because she tends to be forgetful.
Mr and Mrs P at the dining table. Mean lady comes in and barks out Mr P’s schedule. 7 minutes before he has to leave. Mrs P says she has something to show him. She purrs suggestively, “5 minutes is all we need yes?”. They disappear down a corridor and then make out. Hello Mr and Mrs Smith. As he hugs her, she whispers in his ear, “kill the reporter for me.” He agrees. Then we have blurred figures writhing filmed through a frosted window? Not quite Titanic with the palm on the steamy glass pane…but okay…
Scene change. Mr P walking out to his car with Mean Lady. Get rid of the reporter. Mean lady questions his sudden change of plans (he had told her to hold off till after the election). He doesn’t reply. Just says he wants it done before the end of the day. Err…what happened to his demand for Choi to get rid of IJ? Conveniently forgotten? 🤔. Men cut wires outside Great Aunt’s residence. They run inside.
Choi and IJ at airport. Boarding call for flight to Athens. They stand up and start to walk. IJ gets a call from JongHo telling her IK is missing. He informs her that IK is not replying to her phone and when he got into Great Aunt’s residence, the place was a mess and the parrot 🦜 is dead. IJ turns and walks the opposite way followed by a worried Choi. IJ tells JongHo to go through all the ERs to see if IK has been in a car accident. Choi wants her to just pause a moment to let him work out a plan. IJ refuses his offer. Honestly IJ, you are a complete idiot. It will take you 7-8hrs to get back to Seoul anyway? Even if you boarded the next available flight, you can take up his offer for a more meticulous work around? 😑. He says he can’t be with her this time. She asks him what happens to the money if she dies. He tells her all of it goes to the Director (him). Then she gives him her final words. She tells him that of all the people she’s met, he’s been the kindest to her. (He loves you, you fool 🤦♀️!). That if she dies, she wants her sisters to receive her share of the money because she trusts that he will do the right thing. With those parting words, she walks off. Leaving Choi speechless. Goodness knows how she can pay for a flight home to Seoul at such short notice? But whatever.
HR in rehearsing Macbeth. “What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.” This is the scene after Duncan’s death. Lady Macbeth is supposed to appear after HR’s (as Macbeth) lines…but misses her cue. The teacher calls out to IH. A student replies she hasn’t seen IH for a while now. They try to call her but her phone is turned off. HR starts to panic. Thinking IH may have run away with the bank books. She clutches her chest and falls to the ground. Voiceover of IH talking to HR (their plans to run away together) as we see a train 🚊 hurtling through snow capped fields.
HR in bed. Mrs P hovering asking her what happened. She tells HR that the Immigration Office has told her that IH left for Japan at 4pm today. And she’s noticed that her bank books and cash from the safe are all missing. HR lies in bed silent in disbelief and tears well up in her eyes. Mrs P says she will call the police. HR’s face hardens and she looks at her mom, “I gave them to her. I told her to go far away and see all the paintings she wants to see.” She continues that she wanted IH to experience all the things she did when she was young. How apt that they were doing Macbeth. Betrayal. But for me, poor lamb HR is the messianic figure. Forgive them for they know not what they do. Instead of calling for justice against IH, HR has offered her grace. Valjean and the Monsignor. Take the silver candlesticks too. She’ll be back in a few days, HR assures her mom. So don’t call the police. 😢
IH wakes up in a bed. She’s dressed as Lady Macbeth? It’s a closed room, a replica of the art display. 😬. Flashback to when the girls were looking at the art display, “the closed room”. There’s a painting easel. A table with some books. Bank books and cash is strewn on the floor. IH opens a drawer and takes a zip locked bag out and studies the contents. There’s a wardrobe and it looks suspiciously like the one in the art display. IH opens the wardrobe and notices that there are markings on the inside. Like notches counting days? There’s a lot of them. She pushes the clothes aside to reveal a floral painting with words “run away” written in blood (?). She hears a door open and Mrs P waltzes in carrying some food for her. Where is the toilet? And shower? 🤔. So she’s been kidnapped? By Mrs P? “What did you tell HR?” IH asks. “That you left for Japan on your own.” IH is also a mathematical genius. 2922 days, she notes (yes she counted those notches that fast). That’s how long someone was locked in this room. Mrs P seems lost for words. IH walks back to the table and takes the ziplock bag and hands it to Mrs P. It’s the cut outs from the photo album. As we expected, she had cut her mother out of the photos. Her mother had been locked up in that room. So I gather Great Aunt Syringe lady was there to sedate her daily then? Mrs P tells her that nobody knows her mother had been locked up in this room. IH asks if she will suffer the same fate as Mrs P’s mom. Committing suicide by hanging herself in the wardrobe. Then she adds, “I really want to paint that scene”. Paint her own death? Suffer for her art? I always thought IH was odd, but she seriously needs therapy. Even Mrs P looks a bit taken aback by her train of thought. You know what? Why not just swap the girls? IH would fit perfectly in the Park household. She’s as loony as they are? HR would be the little girl that desperately needs the mothering that IJ and IK are only too happy to offer. There you go. Happy ever after. 😂
IJ is home. Trying to convince the police that IK has been kidnapped. Police track IK’s phone to St Benedictus. The mental facility. Turns out IK has admitted herself for alcoholism. And she’s using IJ’s name. IK suddenly becomes MacGyver because she manages to hoist herself up into the air vents (who Choi’s dad just happens to know about because he used to be a supervisor in that facility) which interconnect so she can gain access into our Priest (Gen Won’s son). IJ’s mind connects the dots. She and JongHo head there and find that she’s been reported missing…they view CCTV footage and find that IK was indeed there all this time.
IK pays a visit to Gen Won’s son via the air vents. He comments someone told him she was remarkably tenacious when she was pursuing a lead. And she’s proved it.
This bit sort of went over my head. They are discussing some finance stuff and why PJS would gain the upper hand if he moves up as mayor of Seoul. Something about sending the bank under on purpose. And how PJS approves permits and what becomes of the land he approves permits for should be her focus. IK wants the Priest to testify. He asks who will believe a lunatic? She promises to back him up with evidence and witnesses etc. He asks how he can escape. She says she will work something out and she has someone who will be able to protect him. I know Choi’s dad is a Seal but…okay…whatever.
Mean lady shows up at St Benedictus. IJ drags JongHo away behind a column just in time before they are seen. She overhears Mean Lady talking about IK and how they need to catch her because she’s a big threat to Mr P. IJ sets off the fire alarm in the building. Mean lady gets into the security room of the building and views cameras. Sees IJ and tells her men to catch her. IJ heads up to the same level as Priest’s room, then yells a warning to IK to run for it. Don’t ask me why IK stands unmoving at the door of Priest’s room as if to ask, “can you just repeat that again? One more time for the dummy?” IJ and JongHo head up to the rooftop. Mean lady sees them on CCTV and gives an evil sneer. She gets up there and is ambushed by JongHo and IJ. This time IJ is the one with the steel bar. Payback time. Mean lady’s 2 goons finally get to the rooftop. IJ seems to suddenly lose her bravado? JongHo taps in. Grabs Mean lady and leans her over the edge of the building. Come any closer and I will shove her off. He tells IJ to call the police. IJ drops the steel bar? 🙄 And grabs her phone. Only for Mean Lady to head butt JongHo and their team gets the upper hand. Man comes running in to inform them that the VIP has escaped. She tells the men to lock the pair in the basement till they find the VIP.
Don’t ask me how but IK and Priest escape. They seem to have gotten out through some water pipe. Or tunnel. Who knows? Pretty miraculous but…whatever. And are met at the rendezvous point by commando Choi in his getaway vehicle. IK says she needs to double back to rescue IJ. Daddy Choi tells her that he’s already sent backup there.
Cut to hooded man in black with duffel bag walking to St Benedictus. We can’t see his face. Cuts a fine figure of a man. Is it? Can it be? I hold my breath. Walks into reception. Sets off a smoke grenade. Grabs keys off a security guard. Casually tosses another grenade. Takes out a guard or two. Easy peasy… just like he did the goons in Singapore. Sigh… I swoon. Finds IJ and JongHo tied up. It is Mr White Knight in Shining Armour…yet again. This dialogue is too good. Have to give it to you verbatim.
IJ – why are you here?
Choi – I tried my best to come up with a plan. But I couldn’t. So I just came. (Give the man an academy award).
Choi puts gas masks on IJ and JongHo. While he’s just got a bandana on over his nose and mouth? Man. How cool. They get away and meet up at rendezvous point (countryside house) with Daddy Choi where IJ and Priest are at. The sisters unite. Daddy Choi asks after Son Choi who just gives him the silent treatment. JongHo embraces IK. IJ walks away with the Priest to leave the pair in peace. JongHo mutters as he holds IK tight, “I ask for nothing else. Just peace.” Aww…our tree hugger (come to think of it, IK is sort of like a tree. A bit wooden, but I digress) is a pacifist. IK hugs him back. The night deepens and the campfire burns. Daddy Choi reveals his plan (like father like son – both are men who like meticulous planning) to the motley crew. In 3 days, PJS will have a big rally. And he plans to take him out then. JongHo the pacifist asks if they really need to kill him? Son Choi backs dad up, if they don’t kill PJS, none of them can return to any type of normal life. IK interjects and says they have the Priest now who can testify and bring PJS down that way instead? Daddy Choi strikes IK out of group. He was going to go it alone anyway. Son Choi gives him a sideways glance as Daddy Choi walks out of the hut. Everyone looks a bit uncomfortable. IJ asks IK if she’s been in touch with IH? IK says no? 🙄. Choi gets up and says he will do some snooping in the Park household. IJ follows him. 🥰. Priest looks pensive and deep in thought.
Mean lady getting a lecture from PJS. PJS gets a call. It’s the priest? He’s driving. How did he get the keys to the car? 🤔. Anyway, he’s telling PJS that he never wanted to be part of this plan of the others . That he can’t bear to stand under the spotlight. Priest says he just wants compensation for the time he’s spent locked away and he’ll be out of his hair forever. PJS asks where he is and says he will give him as much as he needs. Priest mentions the food stall by the sea…come alone he requests.
PJS on a bench on a hill overlooking the food stall by the sea. He watches as his men and mean lady apprehend a man seated in the food stall. It’s not the priest? PJS takes his phone out and we see someone holding a gun to the back of his head. PJS stands and faces the priest who cocks the gun. It’s been a while, JaeSang, he mutters.
End.
Thank @nrlee!!!!! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed not having to watch the last three episodes but instead get to read your recaps with @pm3 commentary. Much more entertaining!
@nrllee, when Mr. Choi Jr. showed up at the mental hospital in tactical disguise, I thought that he was going to use Peruvian Instant Darkness powder (from Harry Potter universe) and he did!
I was happy when mean Ms. Go got whacked by IJ. The moment was too brief though.
This is me whenever I watch this drama. 😂. It’s hard to take seriously.
https://i.ibb.co/NVgWqfZ/98-B914-E6-DC1-A-45-E1-92-D8-D93-C15-ECC397.jpg
So it appears the role of the blue orchid is
1. An induction into the JR society. Approved applicants receive one and their orchid is “grafted” onto the Father tree. With it their lives belong to JRS. They are promised security and a life of ease. As @packmule3 intimated, it’s like a cult. Does this mean all those orchids on the tree are members out at large still? There are a lot of them. And IH was inducted into this cult too. Makes sense. She acts like a cult member who has been isolated from family and indoctrinated. She’s practically lived with them all this time. No wonder she’s behaving like them.
2. If they betray the JRS or are deemed untrustworthy, their orchid is removed from the Father Tree and returned to them in death. Their lives are snuffed out.
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