Bad Guy: Episode 14
by girlfriday
Episode 14: wherein girlfriday drowns. Seriously. Watch out for the plot holes. I’m sinking in them.
EPISODE 14 RECAP
Gun-wook finds Secretary Kim waiting outside his door, and Gun-wook says he knows who’s been visiting his parents’ grave. At the same time, Madam Shin meets with her housekeeper, to ask her about her hunch that Tae-sung 1.0 and Gun-wook are one and the same. She recounts her caramel theory, and Madam Shin flips her lid.
Gun-wook has brought Secretary Kim over to his sunbae’s apartment, and the two don’t beat about the bush concerning his identity. My question is, if Secretary Kim’s two pieces of information identified Gun-wook as Gun-wook, how’d he get to Tae-sung Number 1? Gun-wook asks why he took care of his parents’ grave all these years, and he responds that they died an unfair death, and there was no one else to do it. Gun-wook stirs at those words. Secretary Kim asks cryptically, “Don’t you want to know…how they died?”
Well, that’ll surely send him over the edge.
Gun-wook has to ask again whether he’s implying that it wasn’t an accident, and then wonders if President Hong is behind it. Secretary Kim assures him that the President knows nothing; it was Madam Shin who pulled the strings.
Is anyone surprised?
He says that Madam Shin couldn’t accept an illegitimate child and did everything in her power to get rid of said child. Gun-wook seems shocked at this news. Really? For a supposed mastermind, you really missed the big clues. Couldn’t you see the giant neon sign above her head that reads: Evil Hagwitch?
Secretary Kim fills us in on the whys and wherefores: Madam Shin didn’t want to raise her husband’s bastard child from another woman, so she thought that raising a FAKE Tae-sung would somehow be better. Er, what now? So she had Gun-wook brought in and pretended he was Tae-sung, only to have the real Tae-sung found later, which is when Gun-wook got kicked out.
That…is just….Stupid. So rather than raise Tae-sung, which she ended up having to do anyway, she brought in a random kid? What purpose does that serve other than to annoy me? That doesn’t even closely resemble logic.
Secretary Kim tells him that Madam Shin had to get rid of any evidence concerning Gun-wook, and so arranged to have his parents killed in a car accident. He adds that they weren’t his biological parents either. This changes the timeline of the entire backstory, no? Because if they died on the same night that Gun-wook got kicked out, what would necessitate that, if Madam Shin no longer needed Gun-wook to be the fake Tae-sung? And even if she had it occur that night to keep them from reuniting with their son, why on earth would they have to DIE in order to keep her motives a secret? Who would reach that crazy conclusion anyway?
I really should have known this was going to happen…the plot holes are starting to melt my brain.
Gun-wook thinks so too, as he breaks down at the knowledge that he lost his entire family and his childhood over the illogical choices of a rich madwoman. Secretary Kim announces that as the extent of his knowledge on the matter and leaves. Gun-wook runs screaming, and collapses in a fury of tears and anguish.
He returns home to find Jae-in sitting in his super-secret plotting room. She discovered it by “accident” in his absence, and she asks, even now with hope in her voice, for him to tell her this isn’t what she thinks it is. Gun-wook, now more than ever not in the mood to entertain her hopes, says it’s just what she thinks.
He grabs her for a tour of the Big Board, where he very creepily goes down the list: Mo-nae has a broken engagement, Tae-ra is due for a divorce, and Tae-gyun (eldest son) was here, but now he’s…not. Gun-wook’s smile here is totally sadistic and creepy, and it effectively wigs out me and Jae-in both.
Jae-in asks why he’s talking like this, like he’s got a vendetta against Haeshin. Not so quick on the uptake, are you? Gun-wook asks if he’s supposed to be nice to them, like she is. Gun-wook: “Are you already playing the role of daughter-in-law? Or…does it hurt that much that Tae-sung might get wounded?”
Jae-in asks why he’s always so concerned with Tae-sung, and why he’ll never talk about himself. Gun-wook: “Hong Tae-sung? I want everything of Hong Tae-sung’s. I want to take it all. They treat people like bugs because of their pride…those people who wear the shell of Haeshin…I’m going to step on them all.”
She decides he’s crazy, and hits a nerve when she muses that even if these people had killed his parents (speaking hypothetically, since she knows nothing), this is going too far.
Jae-in: Fine. Let’s go. I’m going to do whatever it takes to marry Hong Tae-sung and become a part of that family. Then if you want to step on me too, you do as your heart desires.
Gun-wook: Moon Jae-in, don’t delude yourself. Me? I can use you if I need to, then throw you away cruelly. Since when do you think of me? Don’t be a hypocrite.
Jae-in’s heart shatters, as she accepts the truth. She says she had hoped that he wouldn’t end up being this person, but she gets it now, and walks away. She turns back one last time to plead with him for an explanation…just a word…but he gives her nothing. She says, tears streaming down her face, that her heart was swayed because of him, but she can let go and go her own way now. That seems to stir him a little, but not enough to break his resolve.
As she walks out, Gun-wook thinks to himself in voiceover, “Moon Jae-in, it doesn’t matter whom you choose. Me, and Haeshin…we’re all going to come crashing down.”
Tae-ra’s husband comes to cuddle up for a little nookie, but Tae-ra rebuffs him. He’s like, what’s wrong with you? What, a man can reject a woman’s sexual advances, but a woman can’t reject his? That sound? That’s the sound of me sharpening my claws.
It looks like he’s just testing her though, to try and get some confirmation of her affair. He angles to try and get Gun-wook’s phone number from her, saying that he wants to have a drink with him to talk about Mo-nae, but Tae-ra deflects. He at least seems devastated or angry now because of her affair, whereas he struck me as strangely ambivalent about it before, like it made her more attractive to him, or permitted his own dalliances.
Jae-in arrives at home and vents to her sister that Gun-wook scared her today, and she doesn’t know what to believe. Not that it wouldn’t be nice of you to stand by your man, but generally speaking, if a guy’s got a secret lair where he’s plotting the downfall of an empire and a trophy wall to prove it, you should probably run screaming the other way. Or check for heads in freezer. Then run screaming.
The next morning Gun-wook passes off the big corporate slush fund info to his contact, and then meets with Madam Shin. She coyly asks how the search for his family is going, and he replies that they passed away…a regrettable death at someone‘s hand.
She coolly calls him Choi Tae-sung, and he responds in kind, not a feather unruffled. He says that she must’ve been surprised, what with him being not dead and all. She tries to play dumb, but they both know the score now.
Gun-wook looks down at her with a breezy smile on his face, toying with her and enjoying it way too much. Madam Shin actually tries to get him to leave the company and stop trying to meet Mo-nae, and of course Gun-wook corrects her that it’s actually Mo-nae who likes him, calls him, comes to see him, and that he didn’t enter the company because of Mo-nae.
Madam Shin loses her veneer for a moment, letting loose one of her characteristic banshee wails, and Gun-wook doesn’t even flinch: “Why are you so afraid of me?” Well-played. She whines on her high horse about him not knowing his place or who she is, but Gun-wook sends her reeling again: “You must be really nervous…that I’ll end up your family again.”
She flips out one more time at that implication (little does she know he means Tae-ra, not Mo-nae). And then Gun-wook puts the nail in the coffin: “Rather than the real Hong Tae-sung, wouldn’t it have been better if you had the nicer me, even if I was fake, trapped in that house? Wouldn’t that have been peaceful for everyone…Mother?”
She starts shaking. He asks her one final question to lay it all to rest: who was the one to lie to his parents that he was Hong Tae-sung? He surmises that the only one to tell such a lie would be her. At that, she empties her water in his face.
He smiles…that’s all the answer he needed. He threatens her, bald-faced, that he’s not going to be chased out in the rain anymore, and that he has nothing to lose now, compared to Mother…who has everything to lose. He dangles Mo-nae, her precious youngest daughter in front of her first, saying that she may be precious to her, but he can throw her away at a moment’s notice.
Tae-sung arrives on the scene, splitting up the frivolity. Gun-wook leaves, after leveling his best I-own-your-ass-little-mouse glare at Madam Shin one last time. I think Kim Nam-gil’s eyes are on their own show. This episode could be called “The Ten Thousand Glares of Bad Kitty.”
Madam Shin tries to get Tae-sung to fire Gun-wook, since he won’t heed her warnings to leave. Tae-sung’s having none of that, since he likes Gun-wook (despite punches thrown?), and Madam Shin can’t actually state any reasons why she wants him gone. He’s mad at her for firing Jae-in too, so he storms out with a “No.”
Jae-in thinks back to Gun-wook’s words the other night, and decides to wear the watch from Tae-sung. Note that this is a reaction to Gun-wook, and not at all about Tae-sung. But he doesn’t know that, as it’s the first thing he notices when they meet up. He smiles sheepishly about it, and then offers her a job as a designer for his robot theme park. Oh, THAT’s not going to be weird for her, being stuck in meetings between you and Gun-wook. Tae-sung’s manner of just handing her a job doesn’t sit well with her, but she considers it.
Gun-wook stops by his sunbae’s restaurant and finds the cops hanging out there, pretty much daily. He asks when the statute of limitations is for murder (fifteen years), and laments cryptically that he found out too late. Old Cop urges him to abide by the law, while Young Cop offers up another course of action: nab the perpetrator on a different, newer crime.
Meanwhile, Tae-ra gets a call (presumably from Gun-wook’s contact) and rushes over to her husband’s favorite bar, where she catches him canoodling with his mistress. Well aren’t you squirmy when the tables are turned. She pretty much immediately asks for a divorce. He tries to convince her that she can’t handle a scandal like that, being the perfectionist Vice President and all. But she doesn’t care. Even when he asks if it’s because of Gun-wook, she doesn’t balk.
He tells her that they’ll get over this, and that he forgives her. What now? Tae-ra: “Forgive? FORGIVE?” Hahaha. It’s befitting a lifetime adulterer to “forgive” his wife’s brief affair while in no way equating it to his own monumental failings. She announces that she’ll be raising their daughter, and tells him that she knows now…what it means to be with someone she loves. Oh, crap. That declaration of faith in your boyfriend is so going to bite you in the ass. But hey, either way, your life seems better minus the cheating cold fish husband.
It appears that the Tae-ra move was executed by Gun-wook’s partner without his consent. He decided that separating her husband was necessary, because he, being the family’s high-powered prosecutor, could get them out of whatever giant financial/legal disaster that they’re planning. This way, he’s separated and the family is without backup. It’s not really the soundest theory, because Haeshin could afford an entire army of high-priced lawyers at a moment’s notice, and it’s unlikely they’d have only one prosecutor in their pocket. Gun-wook isn’t ecstatic about it, but decides to use the situation to his advantage.
Tae-sung convinces Jae-in to take the job, and he starts offering apartments and things that chaebols do, I suppose. But Jae-in finds herself lost in thought about Gun-wook and how little she really knew about him. It’s sad to see Tae-sung so happy while Jae-in so clearly doesn’t have her heart in it; it sort of takes the punch out of what used to be a dramatic love triangle.
Madam Shin is kept up at night by nightmares of little Tae-sung calling her Mom in a creepy voice. Yeah, karma’s a bitch that way.
She marches over to Gun-wook’s office the next morning, and tells him one more time to quit. Yeah, we already confirmed that your demand was totally ineffectual the first time. She slaps him across the face for good measure, with Tae-sung and Jae-in watching. That totally took the venom out of your bite, lady, because now all you’re doing is throwing tantrums and showing your weaknesses. Gun-wook smirks at having the upper hand.
Tae-sung then does the cutest thing ever. He takes Gun-wook shopping, and then out for ice cream, as an apology for his mother. I see a music video in the works!
He tells Gun-wook that he’s like a hyung (older brother) to him. I’d be happy if everyone else died but these two could walk away as friends. Gun-wook takes the opportunity to cut to banmal: “Hong Tae-sung. Tae-sung. Tae-sung-ah.”
Tae-sung laughs, “Just because I said you were like a hyung doesn’t mean you can cut your words!” Gun-wook keeps at it teasingly, and Tae-sung allows it just until they finish their ice cream. He challenges Gun-wook to play the hyung.
But Gun-wook gets back to his cold self for a moment, saying that he’s not going to be anyone’s hyung, because we come into his world alone, and we leave alone. Buzzkill. Tae-sung: “You’re making fun of me right now, aren’t you?” Gun-wook nods silently with his ice cream in his face—it’s cuter than six puppies.
He adds one last piece of advice as the hyung: “Don’t trust anyone.”
The inside trading and shady deals of Haeshin go public, and the press floods President Hong. He asks Secretary Kim what he’s found out, and he lies that he’s still struggling to get anything concrete. Interesting.
He tries to get Tae-ra’s husband on the phone, but he’s not answering. At the same time, Tae-ra announces her plans for divorce to Madam Shin, who promptly freaks out, to no avail.
Jae-in tries one more time to get some info out of Old Cop, but he refuses to give her any. That is, until he very loudly laments to Young Cop that Gun-wook is behind the latest Haeshin scandal, while Jae-in is still very clearly within earshot. Jae-in confronts Gun-wook about the story in the paper, but he brushes her off, saying she should congratulate him.
Mo-nae is on her way abroad, and meets with Tae-sung to say goodbye. If this is the actual send-off for her character, I’m disappointed, Show. That’s a waste of a great character if that’s all there is for her.
Gun-wook decides it’s time to toy with his mouse again, so he calls Madam Shin and Tae-ra to his office within minutes of each other. He times it just so, and Madam Shin walks in on this:
He deliberately plays the clueless boyfriend, essentially driving Madam Shin off her rocker.
As Mo-nae leaves, Gun-wook sits in his lair, burning up her picture. Two down. I’m disappointed that there wasn’t more fight in Mo-nae, but I suppose it’s better for her that Gun-wook didn’t damage her further. As far as I’m concerned, she may be a spoiled brat, but she was an innocent in the matter.
Madam Shin starts to show how truly loose her screws are. She tells her housekeeper that when Gun-wook’s parents died, no one but Gun-wook was sad. But when HER SON died, the whole family, nay the whole country wept. Oh, really? You are truly delusional, and the scariest kind of sociopath, because you believe in your heart of hearts, that you are in the right.
Tae-sung opens up the letter that Mo-nae left for him, and it asks him to please stop Tae-ra because she’s out of her mind—she says she loves Gun-wook and the two are dating.
President Hong walks in on the tail end of Madam Shin’s latest rant, and demands to know what’s going on. She tells him that Gun-wook is the fake Tae-sung, and that he’s out to get the whole family. She even fesses up about the whole fake-child business. She tells him that it wasn’t Gun-wook’s parents who deceived him; it was her.
He can’t believe it. When she uses the excuse that she couldn’t bear to raise his illegitimate child, he spits back that HE accepted Tae-ra as his own daughter. Whoa. That’s news. So President Hong married into the family (because Madam Shin is the actual bloodline heir to Haeshin) when she had already had a child.
She tells him that it’s all his fault, (the original adultery, the bringing in of the child), and lays out the damage that Gun-wook has dealt so far. His anger switches focus to Gun-wook pretty quickly.
He calls Gun-wook to the house, and you think he might rip into him like Madam Shin, but no—here’s the twist: that closeness between Dad and Tae-sung Number 1 was indeed the real deal. As soon as Gun-wook walks in the door, he calls out with sadness shaking in his voice, “Tae-sung-ah.”
COMMENTS
Why isn’t Madam Shin running around and telling her children about Gun-wook? It’s not like she feels any remorse or guilt over her part in the mess, as we witnessed. So it serves her no purpose to keep her mouth shut when she knows that he’s out to get everyone in the family. It serves to extend the plot, but makes no sense.
That said, I do find her brand of pathology totally twisted and interesting. I don’t enjoy her maniacal scenes, mostly because they scare me, but her character is quite riveting.
Gun-wook is becoming…less interesting. I don’t know what it is. He’s definitely playing up the cat-and-mouse angle, but it’s getting a little over-the-top, with his knowing glance after knowing glance. He comes off as less of the string-pulling mastermind, and more of an opportunist, which takes away some of the flair. I also think it’s a mistake to give him NOTHING to lose…because then we can’t be on his side for any reason other than: Gun-wook Bad / Madam Shin Badder.
Things should take an interesting turn now that President Hong knows. I’m hoping that this relationship will actually stir something in Gun-wook and make him falter or question his actions.
And I’d give my left arm for Gun-wook and Tae-sung’s bromance to be the OTP. Can they just eat ice cream and shoot the breeze for three more episodes?
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Tags: Bad Guy, Han Ga-in, Jung So-min, Kim Jae-wook, Kim Nam-gil, Oh Yeon-soo
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1 koreandramalover/kay
August 3, 2010 at 8:46 PM
Thanks so much Girlfriday for the fantastic recap! I could understand the episode from just reading your recap! Great work! Keep it up! :)
I agree totally that Gun Wook is beginning to bore me too but let us hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
And I just love your witty and hilariously spot-on comments! Thank you so much for your hard work! Much appreciated by someone who doesnt speak Korean. :)
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2 Countdown
August 3, 2010 at 8:50 PM
Ugh can't Gun-Wook die already!!! Please free this drama of all the excessive angst!!
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3 koreandramalover/kay
August 3, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Oh! I forgot to mention something. What's the deal with Mo Nae leaving like that? A bright character so unceremoniously brushed aside! So sad...
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4 Birdie
August 3, 2010 at 8:56 PM
Bad Guy is becoming boring and predictable. They repeat situations/scenes too often. The drama had a good start and then mid way it feels draggy and boring. Even the acting from the casts seem to go down some levels. With all the hype, I guess I expect a better drama.
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5 ar
August 3, 2010 at 9:01 PM
"I’d be happy if everyone else died but these two could walk away as friends."
--- I wholeheartedly agree!
Out of this episode, I do love the Gunwook and Madam Shin interactions. It's payback time!
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6 Yumi-chan
August 3, 2010 at 9:06 PM
The ten thousand glares of bad kitty.
Lmfao forever.
Seriously best line ever.
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7 SeeYah
August 3, 2010 at 9:13 PM
Thanks for the recap Girlfriday.
I always love reading your recaps after watching the show.
As to the answer to why the evil madame can't tell her whole family who GunWook is... thy answer shall be answered to you in due time. Trust me, I honestly never expected this, but after watching last weeks ep, I wanted to throw a box of tennis balls at my laptop, but I ended up eating Cheetos and screaming wth over and over again.
As for the GunWook becoming boring, he wasn't that interesting to me from the beginning... he's to vengeful for me. I was more excited to meet TaeSung.
But about GunWook... I like the way he's truly on a mission and won't back down because I was getting sick of the stories where the vengeful character backs down because they fall in love or came to their senses. He won't even let JaeIn get in his way; he said that he would use her if he had to.
God, I love this drama.
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8 Ladymoonstone143
August 3, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Thanks Girlfriday for another awesome recap.
After watching the two guys eating ice cream...I couldn't help but wanted one myself..they make the ice cream looks and taste much better...lol
Looking forward to the coming episodes so the writers can make sense of the many questions that needed to be answered...
Thanks again...
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9 anna
August 3, 2010 at 9:15 PM
Is this what happen when they have to rush the drama? It's quite sad, but I'm still interesting in how it ends. It can't be good as in happy anyway.
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10 orangelauren
August 3, 2010 at 9:25 PM
I want the two Tae-sungs to be BFFLS too, but keep President Hong in the picture too. Maybe he can be the ice cream man while the boys have cute interactions.
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11 :P
August 3, 2010 at 9:37 PM
wow, im kinda glad i just read the recaps cuz i wud not want to hear madam shin's banshee screams...which there happened to be a lot of
Tae-sung+Gun-wook=OTP sorry Jae-In these boys are perfect for each other, and its just 'portrayed' as a hyung-dongsaeng relationship
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12 red
August 3, 2010 at 9:39 PM
loved the recap, hilarious... i was kinda disappointed in this episode too....i hope the last two goes of with a bang
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13 missy
August 3, 2010 at 9:42 PM
Sorry girlfriday but i have to defend Bad Guy.
from my point of view:
1) GW was rather surprised to find out that his parents died not because of a silly accident, that it was premeditated.
2) Madam Shin has a loose screw on her head that causes her to be illogical i.e. adopting a fake Tae-sung. fyi, he's not a random child because he is an adopted child (which is easier to take from his parents) and his name is also Tae-sung. so he is an easy-to-make-believe Mr. Hong's love child.
3) Madam Shin scares me in a good way. Her shrills might be irritating but it is one of her remarkable traits which reflects her craziness.
4) Madam Shin might not be telling his children of the fake Tae-sung because her dark secrets will be revealed. Because at a time when they will be questioning/investigating why is he doing all the revenge, her evilness will be brought to light. Now, she will be telling only the tip of the iceberg to avoid this
i have one major theory in mind which might explain why Madam Shin tried to kill GW and his family. and i hope it will be true because i also thought that the idea is so obscured.
ps. isn't it javabeans who said in ep2 or ep3 recap that GW's parents die in a non-dramatic death? now here is a plot of their death. i thought you will be happy about it
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anastassia
August 8, 2010 at 11:41 PM
Well said.
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14 langdon813
August 3, 2010 at 9:43 PM
The scene with Gun-wook and Tae-sung in their wayfarers, eating ice cream and flirting their little hearts out? Worth sitting through the entire drama for. Absolutely. That's my OTP right there.
Madame Shin may give me nightmares. The way she manages to increase just the last words of her sentences by about a billion decibels, in mere milliseconds, is freakishly amazing.
Great recap as always, thanks GF!
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15 pat
August 3, 2010 at 9:48 PM
Eyes on their own show had me laughing out load. This recap was the BEST,gf. And I want the guys to run away together too. JI is so boring. This show is a FINE FINE
mess,but I love it.
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16 tami
August 3, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Episode 14 makes a lot sense if GW was actually the real Tae Sung, which he probably is.
I still love this series
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17 haj
August 3, 2010 at 10:23 PM
Despite it not resembleing logiv to you, I get why Madam Shin brought in a fake Tae-sung. Fake Tae-sung would have been like adopting a random boy and raising him. But real Tae-sung is a bastard, the only evidence of her husband's infidelity. Real Tae-sung is the relust of an incident that sullied the family. So not having to raise that disgusting reminder would give some peace of mind. In a peverted way, its like a child in school who's able to resist his classmates' taunts because he knows they're wrong.
Also wit Gun-wook and Tae-sung being friends despite fisticuffs: they're boys. For reals, men don't seam to put much by physical damage. My brother one, for revenge, slapped a friend of his really hard and caught it on video, But the guys are still buddies and when my brother showd people that video, the victim laughs too
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18 Ning
August 3, 2010 at 10:28 PM
Eh, this is actually the first thriller-melo drama I watched and therefore I have no expectation or comparison with anything else. But I thought it was very VERY GOOD, and I actually trembling with excitement when I watched this particular episode.
The confrontation part is really intense and I agree with @missy on Mdm Shin being a bit psycho...actually very much psycho. And seeing how her own logic is kinda twisted, well she of course will try to shortchange her husband in anyway she can. Crazy method included.
The fangirls have decreed that Tae-Sung-Gun Wook is the ultimate OTP, no further argument required!
Monae leaving is all right to me what can she do at her position anyway? She doesn't have the power that her mom has. Ep 14 is mostly the result of GW's plan come together and the whole Haeshin family start to crumble. TR imminent divorce, Mo Nae leaving, Mdm Shin getting crazier and Tae Sung start rebeling actively against Mdm Shin. I think the rollercoaster has started its dive now!
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19 missy
August 3, 2010 at 10:35 PM
@tami - that's my big theory too! glad another viewer has sensed it also :)
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20 Auntiemame
August 3, 2010 at 10:50 PM
That ice cream segment was totally priceless. And, YES!, there should be more of them.
As for the plot holes, I had hypothesized back in ep. 5 that GW is the real HTS. And, the reason that Madam Shin got rid of him and put in a fake was so that, when President Hong died decades later, she could play the DNA card ... again.
And, with the real HTS dying as a child and proving the adult HTS to be a fake and therefore, not have the right to inherit, the family fortune would remain with her and her bloodline.
I still wonder how differently these later episodes would have played out if it was still slotted for 20 episodes.
I guess all questions will be answer within the next couple of days.
Thanks for the recap.
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21 elisa
August 3, 2010 at 11:01 PM
wait i'm so confused. so taesung WAS the real taesung? when i was watching it i kept thinking that gun wook was the real taesung and that taesung was the pretend child brought in cause she didn't want to raise illegit gun wook.
but now that this is the case.... the plot holes seem so bad. my original assumptions made more sense! ahhh why.
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22 Ani
August 3, 2010 at 11:11 PM
Ah, the One True Pairing indeed. HAHAHAHA!
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23 Belva
August 3, 2010 at 11:39 PM
After Secretary Kim identified GW as GW he knows this guy is plotting something against the Hongs. He also knew that Tae Sung no.1 is not dead (be it he knew it beforehand or from the police investigation) and the conversation with Madam Shin asking/suspecting about Tae Sung no.1, in addition to having done a background check on GW and knows his childhood was untraceable. With all these I believe is enough (at least for me) to link TS no.1 with Gun Wook.
About Madam Shin eventually having to raise the real TS despite giving all the trouble to find a fake one before that, you will have to keep watching because there must be a reason why Madam Shin end up wanting to strangle little GW (if that’s a flash back). GW might just end up being the real HTS. So Shin probably didn’t end up raising the real HTS.
Or maybe I’m just being defensive. Don’t mind me ;)
“Or check for heads in freezer. Then run screaming”
lol! That reminded me of some movies with a sick psychopath character (The Chaser maybe?) I’m glad GW is not sick like that, but then again it would be interesting if he is THAT bad a guy.
“I see a music video in the works!”
That was my exact taught while in cloud 9 when that scene appeared.
And here’s for our OTP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NehdX263-qM
Thanks for the great recap :)
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24 maria
August 3, 2010 at 11:42 PM
"evil hagwitch" in neon lights.... oh, if that could only be a real thing! LOL
thanks for the recap, gf! the bromance is awesome, and erm.. off tangent, but. IS THAT THE UGLIEST MISTRESS IN THE HISTORY OF EVER OR WHAT. O_O
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25 ilikehim
August 3, 2010 at 11:46 PM
I read and i usually dont comment, but I have to defend this point:
"What purpose does it serve..doesn't even resemble logic"
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY DISAGREE and think it makes all the sense in the world.
It makes sense that she thinks its easier to live with a stranger aka gun wook, than to live with a person she HATES, ABHOR, and DESPISE...aka real taesung.
I for one would pick living with a random person (like a room-mate) over living with someone I hate (enemy?).
Now I am not saying its right and I agree with her evil actions, I just disagree that u think its not "logical".
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26 Jossy
August 3, 2010 at 11:50 PM
I too thought the male bonding between Gun-Wook and Tae-Sung was the highlight of the episode.. And if their bromance further blooms, it will damn well be the highlight of the entire drama, IMHO
btw.. GF love your recap! So smart and witty!! :)
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27 Gigi
August 4, 2010 at 12:30 AM
"The Ten Thousand Glares of Bad Kitty"? LOL.
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28 sajor
August 4, 2010 at 12:49 AM
i have to agree with 13missy and 17haj on the reasons why madam shim adopted a fake taesung, considering how crazy she might be. and also with 23belva on how could secretary kim ended up knowing shim gun wook is taesung#1. knowing SGW=SGW would naturally lead secretary kim to find his motives, which may have lead him to recognize that SGW=HTS#1, from the memory of HTS's face or his mysterious character.
i don't think bad guy is perfect, but frankly i don't get also why you would think it has such big plot holes. when i was watching (and re-watching) the parts you said were its plot holes, i hadn't had the impression there's something wrong with those, plot-wise. and i don't think it's because i was being carried away by the look of the show.
i agree with some of your comments, and i can understand and even appreciate why you would think otherwise on some points we differ. but on such important things such as BG having big plot holes, and from your previous recap that BG would have made more sense if SGW planned the assassination of the eldest son, i honestly feel disappointed reading that you think in such a way. all in all though, reading your recaps still enriches my viewing experience. and thank you for that.
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29 nopanda
August 4, 2010 at 12:55 AM
Just throwing my two cents into the fray: I think the fact that Tae-ra isn't President Hong's biological child may support the Gun-wook = real Tae-sung theory. Why else throw us that random red herring so late in the game (actually, two, since we now know Gun-wook wasn't fathered by his mute dad either)? Please let it not be just a coincidence AGAIN.
But despite all the latent flaws in this drama, I'm here for Kim Nam Gil, smexy pornstache and all! Please let us have a decent ending this week to help get through to 2012. =(
Thank you girlfriday for the interesting read, as always, and all the commenters as well <3
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30 jodasg
August 4, 2010 at 1:03 AM
@Missy, I am totally with you on your points! I tot that it make sense that a crazy woman like mdm shin would adopt a non-related kid & pass it off as the real deal instead of getting the real deal since she probably cannot accept her hubby affair. It is like a big time disgrace that her hubby actually prefer another woman , a lowly class one vs her who is high up on the society ladder.
So far the show is pretty okay to me except that i still dun know where Secretary Kim stands at. I mean why would he tell GW that his parents' death is not an accident if he is supposed to nail down the person who is harming haeshin group & report back to his boss? He should just hv tattle tell on GW but yet.... hmmmm
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31 Aya
August 4, 2010 at 1:25 AM
Gun Wook going messily down on that ice cream cone was epic.
So Tae-sung gets him clothes (like Tae-ra did for him) and they have this cozy afternoon date (like 3/4 of the women in the drama)
and they're all cool and sweet and HOT looking and have this grumbling-mumbling chat about defining their relationship and Tae-sung has this adorable embarassed "oh, hyung~" smile on his face......
This is The OTP right there............... Please, get a room you two.
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32 Q
August 4, 2010 at 1:37 AM
Crazy GW was really scary :< ... but he redeemed himself during the ice-cream scene hehe he got it all over his face. I couldn't help noticing how the volume of ice-cream kept changing between shots though xD.
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33 Shamara
August 4, 2010 at 1:51 AM
Thanks for the great recap GF. I do love KNG's acting.
He can change his expression from sadistic and creepy to sad and teary in a matter of second.I think he had pulled off GW's character really well.
Wasn't LMH supposed to be cast in this drama as GW but turned it down?
Well, I'm pretty sure KNG had pulled it off a lot better than LMH would have.
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34 anais
August 4, 2010 at 2:11 AM
Finally, an explanation of OTP.
Also, I too am another who believes Gunwook is the real HTS. And who thinks the plot holes aren't actually plot holes but finally some making sense of previously introduced plot holes. For example, Gunwook's nightmare of being strangled by Madame Shin. Why would she attempt to kill him if he were a fake? The explanation she gives of adopting a fake one, in my opinion, applies to the HTS #2. When she realized she couldn't accept constant affirmation of her husband's infidelity, she fabricated the second HTS in order to get rid of the first. A big FU to the husband. Not a plot hole, but - seems to me - a classic example of hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned, especially a crazy banshee like Madame Shin. How satisfying to have her husband kick out his very own son and leave him to a pitiful death, or so she thought. Which is why the Secretary Kim's explanation doesn't make sense 100%. And which would account for the seemingly inexplicable and sudden switch in Pres Hong from the initial anger at Gunwook to the desperately pleading tenderness right at the end.
That said, Kim Nam Gil was fabulous in Queen Seon Deok. Don't know what's going on here - whether it's him, the character, the director, the writing? But just not gripping. (Though Kim Nam Gil's mode of consuming an ice cream cone - whew... really, can't have been unintentional. Especially not in a scene of bonding with HTS. Fetishistic substitution much?)
And OMG - somebody please, please get rid of Jae-in. She's merely a plot device, not a character proper.
In the end, people I want to see remaining and reconciled - Gunwook, Taesung, Taera, and Pres Hong. I would be delighted to have Taera and Gunwook together - much, much, much hotter and more organic than that inexplicably unmotivated pairing with Jae-in. I mean, really, from whence did their attachments spring? Gunwook's - way back in episode 3 or something like that - as a result of learning simply that her father isn't around any longer? Puleeease. His credibility as a bad guy was shot from that moment on. And her? Totally inorganic. Give me the pairing that has me asking whether I am actually watching K-Drama. Certainly not my mother's K-Drama.
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35 Jen
August 4, 2010 at 2:23 AM
I don't get the loopholes you're referring to because the story makes sense to me.
I believe Secretary Kim already suspected Gun-wook of being Tae-sung 1.0 when Gun-wook asked him about the little boy who was brought into the family and then kicked out. That's not something a lot of people knew, and considering that Hong Tae-sung himself knew very little about it, Gun-wook came off very suspicious. Everything else that happened after, like the sketch of Gun-wook, Madam Shin's paranoia about Tae-sung 1.0's death, and Gun-wook's involvement in almost all the family member's lives reaffirmed Secretary Kim's suspicions.
I just think that Secretary Kim didn't say anything before because he didn't think there was a need to. It was almost like he had some secret himself that involved Gun-wook and he didn't want to reveal his knowledge about Gun-wook until it was absolutely necessary. (I have my own theories about this, but I'll keep it to myself. Hehe.)
As for Madam Shin taking Gun-wook in, I agree with comment 17. It's obvious she didn't want the real Tae-sung to be found or to become a part of their household because he'd be a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity and her own inadequacies. She even said she'd rather raise another person's child than the child of her husband's mistress. Therefore, she plotted to thwart her husband's search of his son by taking in Gun-wook who was the same age and had the same name. However, the DNA testing showed that Gun-wook wasn't the son President Hong was looking for, Madam Shin had to conceal her scheme so that her husband would never find out her involvement.
She probably thought that if Gun-wook's parents had survived, they'd tell President Hong of her involvement and then try to somehow get money out of it. Madam Shin sought a solution and it seemed murder was it. She had Gun-wook's parents killed and believed that Gun-wook died as well. Madam Shin knew that if he had survived, he'd come back for either money or revenge. So, yeah, that most likely explains why she's so scared of Gun-wook.
As for Madam Shin not telling her children about Gun-wook, I'm guessing it's because she knows they'll connect the dots and find out that she's a murderer. As psychotic as Madam Shin is, I'm sure she doesn't want her children to think of her in that way. It was okay for her to tell President Hong because deep down she believes that he's the reason why she had to do all these bad things. She wanted him to know that he was at fault as well so that she wouldn't have to face the reality of her heinous crimes alone.
Some of the things that you considered plot holes have already been explained in subtle hints throughout the previous episodes. It's not necessarily spelled out for you, but part of the fun of this drama is that you get to observe and piece things together as you go.
Oh, and no bashing on my Gun-wook. He's a tortured soul. He needs love. =D
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36 shin mi rae
August 4, 2010 at 3:02 AM
love it girlfriday. im laughing and people in the office are beginning to think im crazy.
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37 shin mi rae
August 4, 2010 at 3:18 AM
okay, for a while now, i'm speculating that gunwook might be the real hong tae sung. i think it makes more sense for madam shin to screw up that DNA evidence so they will accept the fake taesung. also, with this twist, it will make the attempted murder of gun wook more sense. (girlfriday, we are trying to plug the plot holes here)... madam shin hates the illegitimate child so much - she wants him out of their lives. as she said, she would rather raise the fake hong tae sung.
however, the only thing screwing my brains was that heated make-out scene in the elevator (and everywhere else) between gunwook and taera. how creepy will that be if they are really blood brothers and sisters. im loving this new taera twist. cant wait for the big reveal... is bad guy really ending this week????
miss you so much gunwook oppa!
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38 Artemis
August 4, 2010 at 3:21 AM
Ok, I haven't watched any of this drama yet, but that last cap - OMG.LOVE.IT!!!!
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39 Dlover
August 4, 2010 at 4:04 AM
i think im still tuneing in to bad guy cause of KNG
and beacuse i enjoyed it so much from the start i still
have hope it will get better as it nears its end ^^.....it also sucks
that they got rid of MN she was a great character that got me likeing
Bad Guy more in the first place :(
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40 Mel
August 4, 2010 at 5:01 AM
Oh my. We've got two of the hottest guys in one frame, enjoying a lovely afternoon of ice cream and mirrored shades. Oh my oh my oh my.
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41 MEIKO**** ^-^
August 4, 2010 at 5:56 AM
thanks!!!! ^_^
"And I’d give my left arm for Gun-wook and Tae-sung’s bromance to be the OTP. Can they just eat ice cream and shoot the breeze for three more episodes?"
hahaha!!! i agree!!! that scene was totally a breather from all those crying, fighting and shouting scenes! Gosh, both of them looked soooo cute!!!!
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42 Linh
August 4, 2010 at 6:33 AM
I'm really confused because when I watched the episode, i thought the Gunwook was the illegitimate child and that was how Mrs. Shin got his parents to bring him to her. And when she found the real Taesung, she got rid of Gunwook because she didn't want to raise the bastard child. And in order to cover up the fact that Gunwook is really President Hong's child and that she lied not Gunwook's parents, she had them killed. She also tried to have Gunwook killed for the same reason.
Btw...the ten thousand glares of bad kitty...LMAO...classic
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43 pat
August 4, 2010 at 6:34 AM
My version of this drama would be to ELIMINATE the JI character and make the triangle TR and TS competing for GW's affection, attention, loyalty, love/friendship
and Monae as the forth wheel. JI is only there for Kdrama convention and detracts
from the family vs GW dynamic which could have been so much more detailed if not for the boring JI/GW screen time. The GW part is written too passively, he is not BAD enough. But the ice cream scene may be one of my 3 favorite scenes of all time ..........the ice cream melted from the HOTNESS.
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44 dokutokunaneko
August 4, 2010 at 6:42 AM
a possible explanation for Madam Shin's crazy scheme (of adopting the fake child rather than the real one): it might be that it's her way of taking revenge on the President - say, they raise the child for 20 years, then when the time comes for the President to give fake Tae-sung part of the inheritance, she reveals, haha, it's not your child, etc. But that logic only makes sense if and only if she intends to reveal it later. Considering her twisted psyche, I don't think it's that far-fetched; but, yeah, killing the parents is just...It feels like the drama needs someone to die, and dispose of the people who will not affect the plot a whole lot if they disappear and will also serve as part of the premise...Convenient, I say. Lame, but convenient!
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45 infiniti512
August 4, 2010 at 7:24 AM
I'm thinking that the whole timing of the parents dying was tht Gunwook was supposed to be in the car with them.
And yes, TaeSung and GunWook were cuter than the cuppycake song!
But I was loving this episode....ep 15 is where I started pulling my hair, and also wanting so badly to pull Madam Shin's haha.
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46 rainerust
August 4, 2010 at 7:28 AM
I stopped following this drama ages ago but @ 37 just to point out...if GW really was the real HTS, then, following logic, TR wouldn't be related to him by blood at all. Since, during GF's recap, she pointed out,
"When she uses the excuse that she couldn’t bear to raise his illegitimate child, he spits back that HE accepted Tae-ra as his own daughter. Whoa. That’s news. So President Hong married into the family (because Madam Shin is the actual bloodline heir to Haeshin) when she had already had a child."
i.e. TR obviously isn't President Hong's real daughter.
...just wanted to point that out. I love the recaps, even though I'm not really watching this drama anymore. Pretty curious to see how the last few eps pan out.
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47 langdon813
August 4, 2010 at 8:08 AM
You know, about that ice cream scene (yes, one-track mind, I know). I wonder whose idea that actually was, because it was absolutely the most blatant fan service I think I've ever seen in a drama. Wonder if it was the PD or KNG himself, because he was certainly appreciating his ice cream cone in a most enthusiastic way, was he not?? It would be awesome if that whole scene was dreamed up by KNG and KJW, because they certainly seemed to enjoy the nudge, nudge, wink, wink aspect of it. As did I.
8)
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48 laura
August 4, 2010 at 8:17 AM
Why mrs Shin don't tell her children about Gun-wook? ok, then she should tell them she make his life miserable and killed his parents, I'm sure Tae-ra, Tae-sung will understand and be in her side. Of course!
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49 Lahlita
August 4, 2010 at 9:12 AM
At the end of the confrontation between GW and Madame Hong, in which she basically admits to murder and he threatens the very lives of her children, you start with the next paragraph with:
Tae-sung arrives on the scene, splitting up the frivolity.
Spit-take every time! And way to go, Girlfriday, shipping the slash angle! I haven't been watching Bad Guy. I'd thought of starting, but I'd rather someone just made a playlist of scenes between Bad Kitty (HOT) and Waffle Prince (um, HOT).
And ... I have absolutely nothing substantial to say. I am ashamed. *hangs head*
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50 Mi
August 4, 2010 at 10:44 AM
it SUCKS that they have to cut the drama short T_T
I think it would've been better w/ ALL the 20 episodes
GRRRRRR!!!
I'm so scared for the next 3 because I have a feeling
they'll be rushing like crazy to finish everything ):
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