Nothing to see here.

Or to be precise, there was nothing to see here that wasn’t predicted in the blog.

1. The political upheaval in 1987 wasn’t just a convenient backdrop to the story. It provided the plot point which altered and shaped the characters in the drama.

Fortunately (or should I say presciently, lol), the timeline of South Korea’s modern history was already introduced in my review of Episodes 5 & 6 because in Episode 9, we see the civil unrest in Seoul seeping into the idyllic village of WooJeong. The countryside wasn’t as insulated from the national politics as it appeared in the first episodes.

HaeJoon (HJ) and YoonYoung (YY) didn’t arrive in 1987 randomly. Sure, HJ wanted to catch the real serial murderer in 1987. But it became evident in Episode 9 that one reason the killer got away in 1987 was because the local police department was steamrolled by the “secret” police from Seoul. The Seoul police (or the “anti-communism” bureau) simply took over the murder investigation, declaring their action a matter of national urgency.

It was chilling to see the Seoul police swoop in on the WooJeong police department to arrest “university punks who committed crimes worse than murder.” In their warped priorities, political opposition was worse than homicide.

2. The guesswork that the student teacher Ms. Lee and Baek Yoo Seop were friends proved correct.

They were both third year students in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at the Seoul National University (SNU). If we were Koreans, this bit of information would have struck a chord. Their national hero Park Jong Chol was also a senior in the Linguistic Department at SNU back in 1987. I told you that Mr. Park died while in police custody. He was tortured to death and the police tried to cover it up by falsely claiming he died of shock.

Like Baek HeeSeop was beaten up in the kdrama because he didn’t want to give up his Hyung’s location, Mr. Park was tortured by the police when he refused to give the names and whereabouts of other “radical” students.

So, let’s keep in mind while we watch the torture scene in Episode 9. Although it’s certainly distressing to watch the abuse Baek HeeSeop went through, this was only a fraction of the police brutality that Mr. Park suffered in reality. To me, that whole scene alluded to the torture of Mr. Park.

Note: Another historical connection made in Episode 9 is the death of the Baek father, mother and eldest son, Jin Seop, during the 1980 Gwajung protest. It’s safe to assume that Baek Jin Seop was a university student protesting in the streets, and the Baek parents were among those massacred when the troops began killing civilians.

Now, if we rewatch that scene in Episode 2 when Baek HeeSeop recounted his father’s death to YoonYoung, it’s interesting to hear how calm he was. He gave her the sanitized version of his father’s death. To me, it appears as if he was already at peace with his family’s tragedy.

I’m also moved by the significance of the key that HeeSeop wore around his neck. Their mother had intentionally locked the brothers inside the house — perhaps to save them from the soldiers who were raiding the town. After their parents’ and oldest brother’s death, the brothers had made the lock and key into matching necklaces. These were meant to remind themselves of their mom’s last request. She wanted them to take good care of each other and live a good life.

On a side note, I thought it was pretty twisted how the lock and key necklaces — two symbols of their family tragedy and brotherhood — ended up as evidence to incriminate Baek HeeSeop in both the murder case and the commie witchhunt.

3. The Hyung Baek YooSeop was innocent of the murders.

We knew it was red herring all along.

The blood stain on the shirt was the Hyung’s. His blood type was A. Baek HeeSeop’s and teacher’s blood type were O and the sister’s blood type was B.

Note: it’s still a mystery how the Hyung’s lock ended up near the abandoned house where the dead sister’s body was found. According to HJ’s investigation, on the night of the 16th, people saw Baek Yoo Seop in the middle of Seoul. May 16th was when the teacher was found murdered in the stream, and SoonAe’s sister was found dead the following morning.

My guess however is that Go MinSook dropped the lock near the abandoned house to frame the Hyung.

Remember?

HeeSeop was in the hospital with the paper bag of clothes when he disposed of the blue hat in the trash can. GMS was lurking around the corner. In my review of that episode, I wrote that HeeSeop was in the hospital to give his Hyung a change of clothes.

The hospital is the only place that HeeSeop, his Hyung and GMS could have crossed paths. It isn’t hard to assume that GMS stole the lock from the Hyung then planted it near the abandoned house.

4. Go Minsook’s third victim was indeed going to be the chief bully.

Who didn’t see that coming?

But I misnamed the chief bully as Park YuRi. Her real name is Kim HaeKyung.

I wonder whether HJ’s intervention did the trick and averted her death. I hope he didn’t just delay the murder like he did with the student leader and the sister. I hope he stopped Kim HaeKyung’s death for good.

I wish the writer would stop throwing red herrings, and just tell me who created the time machine and why.

Things to watch out for:

1. The identity of HJ’s mother

No, I doubt it’s Go MinSook. My money’s on the owner/manager of Bong Bong Teahouse.

Why?

For one, HJ’s dad was fussy about his grilled cheese sandwich. GMS wasn’t the type to get rid of her mean brother, only to replace him with a fussy boyfriend. And I don’t see HJ’s quirky dad making out with a high school girl with a princess complex.

For another, the Bong Bong Teahouse owner was the type that a nerd would be attracted to. Opposites attract, and all that.

2. Go MinSook did plan to have her brother tie up the girls, but her brother broke his wrist.

Come on now. Is there still anybody out there who doesn’t think that GMS is the killer? She’s already telling viewers that she did it. Believe her!

artist: Paul Noth from “The New Yorker”

3. YoonYoung’s boring self-recrimination for misjudging her father

Didn’t I say that she was judgmental and hypercritical about her father when she didn’t know all her facts? I’m glad to see that reality bit her hard. I’d wish karma on her, too, if she wasn’t the female lead.

YY: Who am I? And where is this place? After traveling this far in time, what kind of answer should I give you? I’m here without knowing anything like a fool. Right here, in your darkest hour, I’m here.

She needs a hashtag. #yoohoo #iamherewithyou

That’s the other thing I dislike about this character: her self-absorption. Why does she make it all about her? Her dad HeeSeop was all beaten up and she goes on an existential crisis. “Who am I? Where is this place? Yoohoo! I’m here! In your darkest hour of need, I’m here!”

Couldn’t she tell that, in moments like this, it’s NOT about her? She should just listen to him cry it all out.

4. For me, the romance between the two leads is NOT slow burn, it’s freezer burn.

credit: reader’s digest

I get that he’s sweet on her when he buys her the salty-and-sweet food that she likes. And I get, too, that she’s beginning to like him even though he’s such a stick-in-the-mud.

But that scene when she was frolicking in the stream alone because he refused to join her validates my antipathy to their romance. How can it be romantic when she acted like a precocious little girl demanding attention from her uncle?

Brrrr…

I wish the screenwriter wouldn’t force romance on HJ and YY as fan service to the viewers. I’ve seen the other drama that he (or she?) co-wrote. It’s the “Tale of Nokdu.” When you compare this couple to the couple in “Tale of Nokdu,” it becomes glaringly obvious that this drama lacks the sentimentality, mental connection, and intimacy a couple in love displays.

Done!