Thanks, @nrllee, for doing the recap. I think your recaps are more thorough than those made by the original dramabeans duo, javabeans and girlfriday.
I’ll just comment on a few things because I already wrote my “Quick Takes” on this episode. But I’ve lots of fun gifs to add.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
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? 🤷🏻♀️😑).
Same here, @nrllee. I wondered how they got there? Maybe there’s a service door in the apartment intended for the use of the household helpers?
I remember when I was young, we lived in an apartment in Paris with a grand marble staircase and a cramped, coffin-like elevator. While the grown-ups took the elevators, my brothers and I always raced to see who’d get to our floor first. We had to run up quietly so as not to annoy the neighbors, though.
But there was a smaller, back staircase which was accessible from the kitchen. So if there was trash to bring down, or we were out in the rain in our rainboots, we used this staircase to leave or enter the apartment via the kitchen exit.
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.
Lol. It was a good thing she was only littering with paper airplanes. I could easily imagine IJ doing laundry and hanging her clothes to dry on the balcony. The property manager would an attack of apoplexy.
credit: as tagged
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.
The scenarios that Mrs. Park envisions are always so makjang — just like this writer. Is she her alter-ego, you think?
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.
Who did it better? Rhett Butler or Wi HaJoon.
Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Wi HaJoon: Frankly, Mrs. Park, I’m not here for the money.
lol.
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.
She’s such a diva!
I think the actress deserves kudos, too. Her name is Uhm JiWon. She’s the reason we’re hating on Kim GoEun’s character.
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.
IOh, you’re right, @nrllee! You foresaw this scene way back in Episode 3 when the ledgers were discovered.
In the original “Little Women,” Amy burned the manuscript.
In this adaptation, Mr. Park burned the ledger.
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.
I have gifs for this scene, @nrllee, courtesy of yeo-rim’s tumblr
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.
Agree, @nrllee. Her flashback has lots of holes.
IJ’s lucky that Mrs. Foster is trustworthy and not a “plant” like the hotel manager.
I also don’t get why IJ didn’t just ask Mrs. Foster to drive her to the apartment. If Mrs. Foster found the bricks and helped her load them into her luggage, then she could’ve driven her to the final destination, too.
The service is…incomplete!
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. 😂.
I have gif for this one, too.
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.
He probably finds her too trusting. If he really had plans to double-cross her, no amount of aegyo and begging could’ve changed his minds.
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. 😂
Yes, it’s a Dutch angle tilt shot.
The tilt shot can go from a five degree tilt to 90 degree, which is what’s displayed her.
We’re supposed to feel:
a) disoriented just like InJoo. What’s down is up (e.g., InJoo is actually lying down on the floor but she looks like she’s sitting up), and what’s up is down (e.g., Choi is actually sitting up, but he appears lying on the floor).
and b) anxious. Since our perspective is off-balance, we’re made to feel insecure about what will happen next. Will Choi really not take the money and run while InJoo is conked out?
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.
Yes, the blue orchid is used for induction ceremony in this cult.
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.
Hmmm… JongHo’s born with a silver spoon, so I doubt that Jeongran Society was interested him. The cult is only interested in those who have shown genius and grit from a young age. Remember the motto, ““From the lowest and the darkest, to the highest and the brightest.”
JongHo didn’t fit the mold of a high achiever. He was a slacker, and he wasn’t that good at school, right?
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. 🙄.
The thing is when she has a chaotic and high-intensity career like she does, it’s great to come home to somebody who’s stable and has calming effect on her. I don’t think she’s an adrenaline junkie that she thinks she is. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be crying at the sight of terrible things.
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.
Yes. I don’t know how he can individually track the sisters when he’s supposedly in a high security mental institution.
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.
Yes, didn’t they just look like a married couple that Mrs Park (again!) envisioned for herself: the busy husband and the ditzy wife?
gifs from seawherethesunset’s tumblr
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.
Here you go, @nrllee.
Personally, I like a man who knows better than talk to me before I’ve taken a first sip of morning coffee. hahaha.
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.
On one hand, I’m glad that HyoRim has finally discovered what a sham her family is. But on the other hand, I think it’s worrisome that she’s taking all this in stride. She’s learning to dissimulate her feelings — and that can’t be healthy at all.
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…
I don’t even know where that frosted window was situated. Behind them?
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.
I think he’s forgiven Choi because:
a) he needed Choi to rescue his wife from doing something rash before his election.
b) he traded IJ’s life for the ledgers. He couldn’t order Choi to kill IJ after that he made that bargain with IK.
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 🤦♀️!).
gifs from seawherethesunsets’ tumblr
I think she was making amends for not trusting him yesterday. She wanted him to know that she can leave him with the money while she attended to her sister’s disappearance because she has trust in him.
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. 😢
Yes, this is another one of this writers’ homages to Western Literature. Didn’t she do “Little Women,” “Theseus and the Minotaur,” “Count of Monte Cristo” and “Rebecca”?
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).
Yes, that deserves an eyeball-rolling gif.
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?
Probably not daily, @nrllee, but every time she had an “episode” and threatened to expose her husband. Mrs. Park said that her father would bring home presents for her mother. Maybe he did them as a inducement to live an ordinary wife, but she would only get into hysterics.
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. 😂
I agree: why can’t IH and HM She’s morbidly obsessed with death.
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.
Lazy writing again. Choi’s dad is a supervisor of the mental facility?? He just happened to keep the layout of the building??
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.
Gifs from mostlyfate’s tumblr
I thought it was funny that JongHo was staying out of this girl’s fight.
One of the lines I’m going to remember from this drama: “I’m a bookkeeper so I can’t stand it when the numbers don’t add up.”
With Ms Go’s face, I can see her taking on a role of a evil shaman in a sageuk.
This was a satisfying moment but I wanted more hits (yes, I’m feeling blood-thirsty).
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.
Thanks, @nrllee, for doing this!
@packmule3 that’s high praise when you compare me to those legendary ladies in DramaBeans 😉.
I am losing patience with this writer. I loathe writers who just drag out the inevitable. Evil should already be vanquished but no…it just keeps resurrecting. It just makes our protagonists look supremely stupid. How many times is writer going to make us doubt Choi’s trustworthiness? 🤔😑.
Here’s Ep10
Ep10
Showdown. Why does this feel like dejavu? O yes, because last ep had a show down too between 2 women. Priest grabs PJS’s phone off him and speaks to Ms Go (Mean Lady). Demands she wire 1billion to his Panama account (huh? He still has one active?) and give him $3000 in cash because he’s leaving early tomorrow from Mukho Port (amateur move. Why reveal where you will be? Just asking to be ambushed 😑). Pistol whips PJS just to prove that he means business. Ms Go got it that time and hustles. The woman only understands violence. Priest is distracted talking to Ms Go and PJS makes a grab for his gun and they fight. PJS manages to get the gun and points it at Priest. PD does it again. The camera angle flip at 90 degrees making it look like both men are horizontal even though they are standing vertically. PJS snarls, “did you think you would make it to Panama alive?” Priest regrets hesitating earlier whether or not to kill him. PJS pulls the trigger. Gun is empty. PJS is supremely annoyed. Priest laughs. And we have a mirror line about the Park face. Priest says, “That’s the face I wanted to see. This is you, your true colors. You’ve always wanted to kill me since the days you used to steal my toys. You’ve never made that face in public have you? The face of a murderer.” PJS pistol whips the Priest and then proceeds to punch him over and over. Priest taunts, “you’re just like your dad. My dad used to get him to do the dirty work. Run people over with cars, hammer people to death. He was very obedient, like a dog.” PJS has heard enough. He picks up a rock 🪨 and hits the Priest. “You should’ve never left the hospital.” Priest retorts, “I wanted to show everyone who you really are…” pauses for effect… “…a thief!” PJS delivers the death blow. And just to be sure, repeats it several times. Blood spatters onto his face. RIP priest/Dantes.
Mrs P at home sitting on the edge of her bed. Mr P comes home, drops to the ground beside her and lays his head on her lap. She consoles him, “it must’ve been hard.” Mr P pleads, “you have to tell me I’ve done well. That’s all that matters.” This pair needs to be in St Benedictus. 😬 Mrs P smiles and chides, “do you think I would say otherwise? This was all a part of our plan..”. She adds, “There’s only one thing left for you to do now…” Reaching over to the bedside table, she grabs a pillbox labeled “sleeping pills”, offers him 2 and tells him to sleep now because he has a big day planned tomorrow. Then closes the door to their room.
Choi and IJ are allowed entry into the Park household thanks to a maid. Obviously she never got the memo that they were no longer in the welcome list for the Park house. They go to see HR in her room. HR tells IJ that she thinks her mom did something to IH (she didn’t believe her mother’s story. Who would blame her?). HR insists IH would never betray her like that. Cool head Choi asks HR if she has any idea where her mom would’ve kept IH. HR hushes them and they hear footsteps outside. It’s someone pacing up and down the stairs? HR tells them her mother does that whenever she’s troubled about something. Mr Hotness thinks on his feet and walks over to the window and opens it. IJ follows. They see Mrs P walking outside and then entering a door to the side of the house.
Cut to IH sleeping in the closed room. Mrs P hovers over her. Then tells her to wake up. IH calmly asks, “is it time for me to die?” 😑😬🤦♀️ How weird is this child? Mrs P asks if she’s prepared to die. IH replies, “I would rather die than live here for 2922 days. But tell my sisters and HR that I ran away with the money. I don’t want them to know that I died.” Curiouser and curiouser. Even Mrs P is incredulous. And that’s saying something. 😂. Mrs P probably thinks IH is a kindred spirit (shared oddities) and starts to tell her tale. “How did you think I felt when my mom was kept here for 2922 days?” Yeah…make it all about yourself. How selfish. “I was 9. I needed my mom. All those birthdays and Christmases. My father kept sending her gifts. As if it would make her repent…”. Huh? Mrs P continues, “she said should would tell everyone at church if my father kept killing people. She wanted to ask God for forgiveness.” She pauses and gazes at the small wooden cross on the table. “Whether people died or not, she should’ve kept being my mom. I am more important than those people, aren’t I? But despite all that, things were still better when she was alive. Why did my brother find this so hard to understand till the end? All he had to do was apologize. And beg for his life. (What does he have anything to do with the “sins” of her mother? She’s a nutcase). He knew he would die. So why???” Mrs P wells up. IH remains inscrutable. Is she sympathetic? Angry? Mortified? I don’t know with this actress 😂. Mrs P takes a photo (?) out of her pocket and throws it in IH’s lap. “Paint this. You said you wanted to paint didn’t you?” IH looks at the photo and then as Mrs P makes to leave, IH asks, “Did something happen today?” Mrs P stops and turns, “nothing particular. What happened today has been happening every day, for the past 1000s of days. (There is nothing new under the sun in other words)”. IH gazes at the photo and it’s a photo of 3 children. 2 boys flanking a girl. They are sitting on the floor playing with toys. I guess it’s Mr and Mrs P and Gen Won’s son (Priest).
Daddy Choi checks his truck arsenal. A handgun is missing and so is his car. IK peppers him with questions about the Priest. Where is he? Daddy Choi sits by the campfire 🔥 (campfires have magical powers when it comes to confessions and epiphanies) and mutters matter of factly, “he ran away. He was about to be the center of the greatest scandal of history. How could he not be afraid?” IK bites her lower lip, furrows her brow (how did she NOT expect this? 🙄) and offers another suggestion, “did he go to kill PJS himself?” Daddy Choi snorts, “you’re a bad judge of character Ms Oh (you don’t say). He couldn’t shoot anyone. He dropped out of military academy because he couldn’t bear to shoot a gun. You can’t fight this with the news. Wars are fought using guns.”
IH starting to outline the children in the photo on the canvas. She hears the footsteps and the door squeaks open to reveal IJ, HR and Choi Jr. The girls come in for a group hug. Choi Jr surveys the room. Opens the wardrobe then walks over to the table and rifles through the bank books. HR exclaims, “so this is the closed room!”. IJ peers into the open wardrobe and sees the words Run Away written in blood on the floral painting. She snaps a few pics of the room on her phone. Choi packs some things into a bag and hustles everyone out of there. IH remembers the photo she’s painting and grabs it before they leave.
PJS at a rally. He’s being swarmed by enthusiastic supporters. He gives them one final wave before getting into his car. Then hurriedly disinfects his hands. Not long now, encourages Ms Go, you’re ahead in the game by a big margin. He asks if she found out how Priest escaped from St Benedictus. She shows him a pic of Choi Jr (masked up) rescuing IJ and JongHo. Telling Mr P that Choi has betrayed them and joined the sisters. Ms Go says she thinks he came back to Seoul because he has a thing for IJ. Mr P snorts, “do you think he would risk it all for a woman?” Hell yeah. Ms Go relents, “probably not.” Mr P works out that Choi Sr is probably involved in the whole affair which is why Choi Jr changed sides. We find out that Choi Jr’s mother has stomach cancer. Mr P wants her released on parole and transferred to a hospital (so he can use her as ransom).
IK back in the secret hut. She’s still working on her news report to take PJS down by talking to her informants on the phone. Meanwhile Choi Sr is watching the news report about PJS at the rally before as he cleans his gun. Pacifist JongHo returns with food. IK’s informant hangs up on her. Choi Sr tells her to stop wasting her time. IK insists that her way is the best way. The pen is mightier than the sword. JongHo just gazes at her adoringly. In his eyes she can do no wrong. Choi Jr makes his entrance into the hut and all eyes turn to him expectantly.
Mrs P is frantically searching for HR everywhere inside and outside the house. She screams at the maid (the one who let Choi and IJ into the house last night), “how can anyone NOT know that the girls are missing?” The maid lowers her head guilt ridden and tells her that IJ is waiting to see her. Mrs P composes herself and then walks into the lounge room where IJ is sitting. Mrs P asks if IJ is here to blackmail her. IJ explains she took the girls away last night, she was going to leave HR behind but both girls decided to leave together and left Mrs P a letter. IJ hands it to her. Letter reads, “mom, I always felt sad thinking about you. Because I could feel your misery. But I want to be free from those emotions now. I just want to live my life. Scene cuts to girls with permission slips signed buying ferry tickets to Fukuoka. She reads on. “When it rains, I want to get wet. When the wind blows, I will feel the breeze. I want to live as an artist.” Scene cuts back to the girls running in the ferry terminal scurrying away happily and board the ferry. They hold hands as the ferry leaves port. The letter finishes with, “Don’t look for me mom. Nevertheless, I love you.” Mrs P wipes away the tears from her eyes, asks IJ, “what about IH? Did she leave you a note?” IJ pulls out a torn off sheet of paper with the scribbled words, “I will contact you when we’ve settled down.” IJ suggests they leave the girls to fend for themselves for a while. Mrs P insists HR can’t sleep rough. She reckons she would return within a month…no a year. But Mrs P says she will send someone to watch over her regardless. Mrs P calls a truce. This conversation is just all kinds of weird. How can both women sit and talk sensibly like this after the disaster that was their last encounter? Makes no sense. 🤷🏻♀️. Anyway, Mrs P says she will make up some excuse to Mr P about HR’s disappearance and then attempts once more to seed doubt into IJ’s mind about the trustworthiness of Choi Jr.
IJ returns to the hut. Was she tailed? Who knows? IK is still working through her contact list to take down PJS. IJ asks her if she would just drop everything and leave with her overseas. IK tells her IJ can go on her own. She wants to stay and fight. IJ apologizes for bringing up the topic and leaves IK to work. IK sees something on her laptop and looks horrified. IJ is concerned and comforts her. We are not shown what IK has seen.
Choi Jr dressed up as a tradesman. Meets up with Choi Sr who is plugging in something electrical in behind a stage. Choi Sr hands him a note. It’s a list of the arsenal stored in his truck. He tosses in the keys and says, “if I don’t make it home tomorrow…my truck…” Choi Jr rolls his eyes and hands it all back to dad. “I refuse,” he says. Choi Sr pushes the lot back to him, “I have collected them for the past 20 years.” Choi Jr is adamant, “I have tried to live the past 20 years without using weapons. What pisses me off most is when some stranger acts like he’s my father. No more small talk. We’re not here to chat.” He tosses the lot back to his dad. Then receives a text message informing him that his mother attempted suicide and is now in Wonryeong Medical Center. She needs a guardian’s consent for emergency surgery.
Choi Jr in hospital. Sees his mother and starts to get emotional. Mr P and Ms Go walk in the room. “It’s all your fault”, Mr P explains. “She bit her tongue and almost died.” Choi rebuts, “how is it my fault?” Mr P explains how his mom refused parole for many years because she didn’t want to burden him. And she got scared when she saw Ms Go wanting to take her out of prison. Choi Jr sees right through him and drawls, “so am I here to be blackmailed or coerced (by you)?” Mr P retorts, “I know you. I took you to the States when you were 12.” Flashback to when Choi was 12. He’s standing beside Gen Won. PJS was putting an orchid (Choi’s) back onto the Father Tree. Choi’s wish then was to live with his mom later in life and getting revenge on his father. Back to present. Apparently Choi Sr was deemed a traitor because he refused a kill order and ran away. His mother became a murderer instead to convince Gen Won to take Choi in as one of his own (poor child given a better life). Choi remains calm. “Let’s not talk about the past. That was a childish wish.” He tells Mr P to just give it to him straight. Mr P wants Choi Jr to bring Choi Sr to him and fulfill his childhood wish of being with his mother. Then he heaps on the guilt. Your mom has stomach cancer. She’s been refusing treatment. You can save her if you take her now. Choi Jr folds. He will reveal his father’s plans but states his conditions. Let us leave now and never look for us again, and keep your filthy paws off my money. Mr P asks about IJ. Choi Jr doesn’t even blink. I just need her to sign over power of attorney to me. She means nothing to me. Liar. 😂. But good cover. Protecting her at all costs.
Choi Jr driving. He is being followed by a van.
Choi Jr back at hut talking to IJ. Telling her they need to move the money and asks her to sign the documents. IK and JongHo look up from their activity when they hear the “sign here” instruction. The document is in English. JongHo gets up and walks over to them and asks to read it. IK walks over too. They agree that it’s a necessary step. IK snaps a pic of it just in case and then tells IJ to sign it. He’s wearing a bug. The van has 2 men who are making sure he follows through. They report to Ms Go that Choi Jr has got the power of attorney from IJ. Ms Go moves Choi’s mom from the hospital in a wheelchair.
Voiceover from Choi Jr about the whereabouts of sniper rifles. We see Choi Sr planting the rifles. Choi Jr continues, “you shouldn’t approach him now because he’s unpredictable. You must lure him to a quiet place.” We see Choi Jr getting IJ to deliver a list of the weapons arsenal to someone. I thought he gave it back to his dad? How is he in possession of that list now? 🤷🏻♀️. The guy IJ hands the list to looks like the guy IK interviewed who gave her the background about Choi Sr ? Anyway, this guy will pay Choi Sr handsomely for the arsenal. Guy makes contact with Choi Sr. Someone plants a bomb (?) underneath the arsenal truck? Choi Sr gets into the truck to make the trade and the timed detonator counts down. Men seen to take down the sniper rifles at their various points. Choi Jr seen to be on a plane with his mom.
IJ and guy who wants to buy the arsenal. She sees a photo of him in a protest where he is engulfed in flames. He says that was all a show – he was wearing a fire protective suit. Foreshadowing? Choi Sr shows up on his truck. As he parks, the truck explodes. Choi Sr emerges in flames from the truck. IJ is horrified. Guy runs out with a fire extinguisher. Van with men watching verify that Choi Sr is taken away in an ambulance with a very distraught IJ crying. She dials Choi Jr only to be told he can’t be contacted. She steps into the ambulance. She leaves messages for Choi Jr as she sits bedside with Choi Sr at the hospital.
PJS at a TV broadcast. As he heads into the studio he sees a room with the sign “Reporter Oh InKyung”. He pauses and wonders what is happening. He bursts into the studio and sees IK sitting at a desk ready to go on air. IK is there interviewing someone. And it’s Choi Jr’s mother. 👏👍. IK says Choi Jr’s mother’s tongue has sutures on it and she can’t speak so she will speak on her behalf. IJ notices IK is on air in the hospital TV and starts to watch it on her phone. IK is about to reveal the true events of the murder long ago. Choi Jr has given IK the hammer which has now been forensically examined. And the murderer was Mr P’s dad. Mr P has heard enough. He walks out of the studio. Mrs P has also seen the new report and is aghast. IJ is watching so intently at the hospital that she doesn’t notice Choi Sr watching over her shoulder. She startles and wonders how he got better so quick? 😂😂. Choi Jr saunters in and says they need to go. IJ demands to know what’s going on. Choi Jr says there’s no time, he will explain everything later.
The Choi boys in the car with an indignant IJ in the backseat demanding why she was left out of the loop. Choi Jr calms her by telling her how important she was in the whole operation. Aww…sweet talk. She had given him the heads up about his mother and the evidence. Flashback showing what happened between father and son when they first met after 20 years. Choi Jr flew back to Seoul from Singapore and the first thing he did was to collect the hammer from the locker and run forensics on it. And he passes the information to IK when they met later at the rendezvous hut. He had planned to reveal this later but the meeting with Mr P at the hospital meant he had to improvise. Clever man. Sigh. How perfect can he be? 😂😂😂. Apparently the power of attorney document was actually a note to IJ and JongHo in English saying he was being wire tapped and revealing his plans. And for IJ to be kept in the dark.
Choi Jr – I wondered about Choi Sr. It would have been best to just let him die.
(Choi Sr glances at his son – yeah, I feel the love too dad. 😂. That’s just man speak yeah? He cares. Or he wouldn’t have joked about it.). But I decided to put my bet on you Ms Oh. (O cut with the formalities already. Just use banmal will you?)
Note to the Guy that was supposed to buy the arsenal (which IJ thought was the arsenal list)? Was actually detailing how Choi was being followed and for him to play along. Guy organized a fake patient admission because he knew a doctor at the hospital. Choi Jr needed IJ to really believe the whole explosion and burn injuries were real.
IJ – I hate you. (Spoken like a true lover 😂).
Choi Sr apologizes for his son’s insolence. “That was a terrible ordeal for you. It was heartbreaking to witness. Sorry.”
IJ – that’s even more annoying! (😂😂 father and son are both in the dog house).
Head of News is apologizing to Mr P effusively in the lobby area of news building. He didn’t know anything about the report. Ms Go warns him about the seriousness of spreading fake news. IK interrupts and confronts PJS, knowing full well all the cameras (from other stations?) were reporting too. PJS deflects by revealing how she admitted herself to a mental institution and is an alcoholic. They exchange barbs.
Choi Sr walks alongside IJ in a car park as Choi Jr tries to act nonchalant walking ahead of the pair. Choi Sr whispers to IJ, “He kept telling me NOT to fall asleep in hospital and to make sure I looked out for you.” IJ secretly smiles at the sweet gesture of affection and replies, “sorry but I am an important person to him. I am a walking 70bil won.” Choi Sr shows her his bag, “there’s no safer place than to be right by my side.” They are stopped suddenly by plains clothes policemen. They have had reports of illegal gun possession and want to do a search. The police arrest Choi Sr.
News report – devalues IK’s reveal because she was with Choi Sr who was planing to assassinate PJS. 🙄😑. Foiled again.
Major rally event. PJS on stage making his rally speech. There’s a big TV screen behind him. IJ and Choi Jr watch from afar. Choi Jr has a iPad? He opens it and clicks a button to play. The TV screen behind PJS lights up. We see PJS holding a gun (the killing of the Priest was videoed?). The crowd falls silent as they watch. And the conversation about his real face is played out. Cameras flash. Ms Go tries to get the staff to turn it off. But they have been hacked…by Mr Hotness. The man with a plan…always plan for contingencies. 🥰. PJS is flustered.
IK and JongHo in the car watching the broadcast live. So this is the murderous face you see IK, JongHo says. Now everyone sees it too. This is the power of news. 🙄. IK voices her doubts, “there were times I wasn’t sure I could do it.” JongHo gives her another adoring look, “I never doubted you.” Not feeling this couple at all really. More cheesy lines. “You’re someone who beats typhoons. PJS is a typhoon.”
PJS tries to carry on as usual at the big rally. Another video is uploaded. This time it is PJS actually killing the priest with the rock. Don’t ask me why PJS’s team is so incompetent with technology. The crowd watches horrified. The full video is played before the tech team pulls out all the cables that power the screen. The crowd looks subdued as the night sky lights up with fireworks. Everyone is momentarily distracted by the firework display and PJS makes his exit. Big TV on the side of a building next to rally venue lights up as Choi Jr hits another play button. IK is back on screen. Another news report. With the previous videos of PJS killing the priest replaying once more. Flashback. That’s what horrified IK whilst she was looking at her laptop in the hut. I can’t work out how a dead person can upload a video of himself being killed into an email that was scheduled to deliver after his death? If you can tell me how that works, I am all ears. 🙄🤦🏻♀️ IJ watches with pride, “That’s my sister” she declares to Choi. He gives her an indulgent smile.
Damage control from Park’s campaign. They try to claim that it’s all been fabricated and hackers are to blame. Ms Go assures PJS only 50% of people believe the footage. Yeah? So the public is stupid too? Whatever. He still wins the exit polls by a large margin.
Mr and Mrs P seem subdued as they eat cut apples in the hospital room of Gen Won (coma). Neither look like they are happy with the turn of events.
IK is in the newsroom again. Newsreader asks her if she is disappointed by the poll results. Before IK can answer, the newsreader cuts away to breaking news. Video footage (blurry) is seen of a man on top of an abandoned building. He takes a leap off it. Report reveals the person is none other than PJS. Was he pushed? Do we care? 🤷♀️🙄. IK is in a daze. The newsreader asks if she thinks her reveal yesterday was the cause of his demise. IK is speechless. They cut to a short break to allow her to compose herself.
Mrs P at the morgue. Pats the hand of Mr P. As the staffer pulls the white cloth over his head, we see in his hand a blue flower – yeah she stuffed it into his hand with that pat. Yes that darn orchid again. Mrs P walks out of the morgue and dials IJ. This time it’s war.
Mrs P – why do you ignore my advice? I told you I won’t just sit around. You better look forward to what’s going to happen now.
IJ who is at home (her original home from ep1) rushes to her laptop to check the funds in her account. It’s still sitting at a healthy amount. She dials Choi Jr. “your call could not be connected.” She refreshes the page on the laptop. The funds drop to zero in her account. She’s in disbelief. Then jumps when she hears bangs on the front door. The door opens.
END
@packmule3, I agree with your comment, “Personally, I like a man who knows better than talk to me before I’ve taken a first sip of morning coffee. hahaha.” More frivolously I would turn down the imaginary volume, ‘Shhhh. Let the scenery speak for itself.’
@nrllee, your commentary is 💯%. The emoji’s are spot on and made me laugh. I admit it. I watched episode 10 because your and @packmule3’s recap were making me laugh. It ended with another ‘Do You Trust Choi that Pesky Conman?’ Of course, Choi could be awaiting IJ in Greece or better, Cyprus, with the now snowy-white funds. I wonder why Greece and not a tax haven like Qatar, the BVI or Malta? Preferred scenery for filming?
@Fern the whole drama is so over the top and plain ridiculous. I can’t fault the acting though. Except for the actresses playing IK and IH who leave much to be desired. I agree with @packmule3 that the actress playing Mrs P is doing a great job. I can’t wait for this to end next week. I am praying that writer doesn’t decide (like Alcott) to give us “Good Wives” as a sequel. Won’t be signing on for more makjang. 😑
If it’s proper Makjang, I want to see Mean Lady turn against Mrs Park, with the scenario that Mean Lady was enamoured of Mr Park since childhood but Mr P and Mrs P were too narcissistic to see it. They can go down together, slapping each other to death with s̶e̶a̶w̶e̶e̶d̶ orchid stems.