The only time we write recaps in this blog is if we’re madly in love with the drama 😍or we’re rip-snorting 😤 mad at the drama. This one falls in the second category.

Thanks, @nrllee for this MADcap™.

@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? 🤔😑.

I understand, @nrllee.

MADcap = writing a recap when you’re mad.

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 😑).

Just a note for those who are joining this blog late.

The reason @nrllee is calling Won Sangwoo the “Priest” is because back in Episode 4, Won Sangwoo was reading the “Count of Monte Cristo,” I identified him as Abbé Faria, the priest in the novel rather than the hero, Edmond Dante’s.

Abbé Faria was in a solitary confinement in a fortress in the middle of the sea. The prison guards thought he was mad because he kept talking about a hidden treasure. 💡Wasn’t Won Sangwon declared insane because he was talking about his family’s hidden wealth aka the slush funds?

Abbé Faria not only taught and educated Edmond Dantes while they were in prison together, he also enlightened Dantes about the real reason for his incarceration. He told Dantes the location of the treasure which Dantes would later use to fund his vengeance. And after he died, he gave Dantes the opportunity to escape the fortress.

Do you see the similarities?

Won Sangwon guided the sisters. He taught InJoo how to enjoy the money without guilt. He gave her the ledgers which InJoo would need to survive. He helped her escape.

In addition, he reached out to InKyung when she was about to give up on the corruption case. He texted her, “You’re on the right track but you’re asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking how much Park Il-Bok’s land was worth, you should have asked why he had it.”

Remember my comment in “Quick Takes”? I said one character flaw of IK is that she is a binary thinker. She can’t see “the nuances, contexts, gray areas, and multi-layers to a problem.” Well, Won Sangwon, the Priest, disclosed to her the real layers she missed: the financial sleight of hands of the Jeongsan Society.

In the same way that Abbé Faria unveiled the conspiracy behind Edmond Dantes’s false imprisonment, Won Sangwon opened the eyes of the public to the real Park Jaesang. Calling Park Jaesang a thief, he goaded him in order to expose the depths of his wickedness. He knew that Park Jaesang was much more than a thief: he was a cold-blooded murderer.

Won Sangwon was willing to sacrifice his life for the greater good. To me, he’s the first hero in this drama.

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.

In the end, Won Sangwon got his revenge like Dantes got his revenge. But the difference between the two men was satisfaction.

Though Won Sangwon died at the hands of Park Jaesang, he was satisfied that he accomplished his goal.

Dantes on the other hand survived his revenge plot but he had mixed feelings about his actions. True, he was satisfied that he succeeded in making his enemies pay, but he also regretted hurting innocent people in the pursuit of his vengeance.

If you must know, I think the “Count of Monte Cristo” is a makjang, too. 🤦‍♀️ But it’s less gimmicky than this kdrama.

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.

Just a factoid. I think the mental institution in this drama is named after St. Benedict Joseph Labre. He’s the Catholic patron saint of the homeless and mentally ill. Although the hospital in the kdrama is fictional, the saint was real.

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.

I know, right? I think the maid is on IJ and Choi Doil’s side.

She must have known that the two children escaped the residence with IJ, but she didn’t say anything.

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.

Pacing up and down the STAIRS?

Who does that?

I thought this bit of detail from the writer was unnecessary. I doubt that Mrs. Park was the type to pace up and down the stairs in heels, with her long peignoir trailing behind her.

The writer just needed to show a reason for Choi Doil to look out the window at that time.

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).

A few comments, @nrllee.

a. I agree. That was a photo of Won Sangwoo, Won SangA (Mrs. Park) and Park Jaesung.

b. The character of IH isn’t well-drawn…or at least, it was uneven.

Earlier in the series, the writer attempted to link IH’s obsession with death with the their mother’s unresolved issues about the death of their third daughter. The point the writer was trying to convey was that IH had a phobia of dying young because their mother told her stories about her older sister dying young from a congenital disease. IH believed she would suffer the same fate hence her morbid thoughts on death.

But the reason this point didn’t come across was because the viewers were entertained when IJ blocked their mother on the phone. The viewers were amused that all three sisters ended up blocking a member of the family.

What the viewers missed seeing at that moment was that each sister had a primary concern. For IJ, it was money. For IK, it was her professional success. For IH, it was death.

c. I agree. It was weird how Mrs. Park made the story of her mom’s captivity all about herself. She didn’t grasp how horrific it must have been for her mom to be imprisoned in that cell for 8 years. She was only upset that her mom was absent on birthdays and special days.

In her mind, her mom should have abandoned her principles and ignored her conscience. She wanted her mom to turn a blind eye to her husband’s criminal activities and to just enjoy the luxurious lifestyle that was offered to her by General Won.

d. That’s what she wanted her brother, The Priest, to do, too.

She was upset that her brother was uncompromising like their mom. He too was unwilling to ignore evil and compromise his principles.

In her point of view, both of them “deserved” their deaths since they didn’t want to yield to the stronger power, the Jeongsan Society. They “asked” for their death because they insisted on taking the righteous path.

If their mom had apologized for threatening to expose their father’s violent crimes, and if her brother had apologized for exposing the slush funds, they would still be alive.

e. I think she felt a tinge of sadness that her brother was murdered. But she blamed him, rather than her husband, for his murder. His death was on him because he wouldn’t apologize for exposing the slush funds and beg for his life.

See how warped her mind is? Up is down, and down is up.

f. When she told IH, “nothing particular. What happened today has been happening every day, for the past 1000s of days,” I think she was implying that the power of Jeongsan Society is insurmountable. Nothing can be done to change anything.

The dissidents of their cult will still find themselves imprisoned in a closed room (or asylum) where the only escape is death.

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.”

Well, both Choi men underestimated the Priest.

In Episode 3, Choi DoIl insinuated that the Priest was taking advantage of IJ to get his revenge.

Doil: Mr. Won made a clever move.
IJ: What?
Doil: What would he enjoy more than you going after Mr. Park with those ledgers? He’ll get his revenge without lifting a finger. Or course, you could die during the process. But why should he care? It doesn’t concern him.

He couldn’t have foreseen the Priest sacrificing his life to take down a wicked man because in his mind, the rich people only look after their own interests.

Choi Senior is similarly biased. He didn’t expect the Priest to kill his brother-in-law because he knew the Priest was non-violent soul. But he also couldn’t have foreseen that there was more than one way to kill a man like Park Jaesang. They didn’t have to assassinate him when the loss of his presidential aspiration was enough to kill him.

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.

A few observations:

a. I wonder who wrote the “run away” on the wall of the wardrobe. Was it the mom? Was she the spirit of the dead that IH could hear?

b. It intrigues me that the wallpaper of the wardrobe is the same as the wallpaper in Unnie’s room. Who did the wallpaper?

c. I like that IJ took photographs.

In another episode, she took photos of the TV that Mr. Park busted with the golf club. Here, she took photos of Mrs. Park’s closed room.

I wish she’d put the pictures to good use, though. Right now, the photos are just for souvenir.

d. This exhortation to run away is getting too repetitive.

In the opening credit, the three sisters were shown running away. They found themselves playing inside the dollhouse and IJ grabbed her two sisters’ hands and fled the dining room.

In Episode 4, IH heard the voice in her head to run away.

The first time while she was sketching a portrait of Mrs. Park.

The second time while she was under anesthesia.

In Episode 10, when IJ discussed with Mrs. Park the possibility of letting the children live freely on their own, she was getting her sister — and Hyorin — out of the “dollhouse.”

Back in Episode 8, IJ dreamt that her Unnie was urging her to run away.

In this episode, IJ saw the writing on the wall,

so, she asked IK if she would run away with her. Since she already got their youngest sister out of the dollhouse, she wanted IK out, too.

Of course, we knew IK’s answer. She already said no to JongHo; she would say no to IJ, too.

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.

Frankly, I don’t get why these kdrama writers insist on portraying a bad politician as someone who disinfects his hands after a rally.

As a germaphobe myself, I personally appreciate it when a politician, butcher, baker, and candlestick maker sanitize their hands BEFORE and AFTER shaking hands with people.

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.

The writer is setting up this dichotomy again.

There are people who believe that the pen is mightier than the sword. But then there’s General Douglas MacArthur who said, “Whoever said ‘the pen is mightier than the Sword.’ obviously never encountered automatic weapon.” and the NRA.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

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.”

I think IJ was just downplaying her relationship with her sisters.

She wanted Mrs. Park to gloat and feel good that she was “more” loved as a mother than IJ was loved as an unnie.

The fact remains however that the girls were running away from Mrs. Park because she posed a threat to their life and happiness. She was endangering them; IJ wasn’t.

Of course, in that UNGRATEFUL IH’s mind, her sister is a monster of the same caliber as Mrs. Park.  She felt stifled by the love of her older sisters.

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.

And it worked, too. At the end of this episode, I think she suspected Choi Doil of absconding with the money so she checked their bank account.

Sigh.

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.”

This is the most reasonable rebuttal I’ve heard so far.

To me, the contract between the Jeongsan Society and the signing member is unconscionable. For one, the Jeongsan Society exploited the individual member’s distressed and dire situation to gain an unfair advantage. For another, the open-ended nature of the contract gives the Jeongsan Society unilateral discretion on how to impose the punishment (death!) should the individual member fail to perform.

Here, Choi Doil was correct in saying that the deal — or contractual arrangement — he had with Jeongsan Society was unreasonable since it was something he agreed to when he was a child of 12.

Besides, Mr. Park only paid for his education and his education could be repaid in dollars and cents. Becoming a murderer wasn’t something the young Choi Doil signed on to do. And there wasn’t enough money in the world to pay for Choi Doil’s transformation into a murderer

To me, that’s a clear difference between Choi Doil and Mr. Park. Mr. Park sold his soul to General Won; Choi Doil didn’t. Mr. Park sold himself when he committed his first murder (was his father his first victim?) at the General’s behest.

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.

To me, IJ was being treated like a puppet again. But instead of Mrs. Park pulling the strings, it was Choi Doil who played her like a puppet, arguably for her own good.

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.”

I think IJ was offended by this statement.

I think she was offended just like she was offended when JongHo told her, when they were 24 years old, that he was going to study abroad, not because he wanted to study, but because he had nothing better to do. He also told her that she could go with him if she married him. Reflecting on his proposal, IK said, “Do you know how much I hated you for saying that? I stopped talking to you for years because I couldn’t tell you how miserable that made me feel. ‘Everything comes easily when you have money. Life must be like a game to him.'”

Same thing here. IK could be hating on him again because he made her feel miserable. JongHo admired her because in his eyes, she could beat typhoons and Park Jaesang easily. To JongHo, life was just a game; there are winners and losers, and IK was always going to be a winner. IK could be upset with him because he simply couldn’t grasp the concept that. she. was. struggling.

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. 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

I don’t get it either. Has such technology been invented already?🤔

I’m not into social media: I know you can record and stream something live Facebook. But I didn’t know you could prearranged to send the file on its own after the recording ended. Wooooow, high tech.

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.

Not stupid so much as deluded, @nrllee. In politics, whenever there’s a cognitive dissonance in politics, not a few voters will cling to their belief and defend their candidate more vigorously.

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

It’s either the police or Choi Doil at the door.

Okay, this is it. Am moving to discuss “Love in Contract” next.

Thanks again for the MADcap, @nrllee.