Secret Garden: Episode 16

254 January 3, 2011January 24, 2016

by girlfriday

It’s the Episode of Answers, as all the puzzle pieces fall into place and get neatly locked together. It’s certainly about time, as all of this has been set up for a while now, and this particular theory concerning Joo-won and Ra-im’s father has been circling the wagons for what seems like half a century now. Finally, an episode where we find out enough to change how we go from here on out.

EPISODE 16 RECAP

Back in their own bodies, Joo-won collapses in the elevator, gasping for breath. Ra-im screams into the phone but he doesn’t answer, so she calls Ah-young in a panic, to tell her where Joo-won is trapped. She calls 119 (Korean equivalent of 911) and then grabs a taxi to rush over.

In voiceover, we hear Ra-im’s father say a prayer to the gods for the strength to save a life, as he lives in fear, praying for it to rain. He asks to be prepared and that if he is destined to lose his life to save another, he asks the gods to take care of his wife and daughter. I don’t necessarily read this as happening in the present, as it is probably what he regularly prayed when he was alive. (But it can be read as an actual monologue “looking down” on events; it’s open to interpretation.) Seeing as how he’s a firefighter, it’s not surprising that rain would be seen as a salvation in his eyes, and why the rain motif holds the supernatural power that it does.

Secretary Kim, frantic and screaming in terror, gets the emergency crew to pry open the elevator, which is stuck between two floors. I’ve actually experienced this exact thing, and I can tell you, minus the claustrophobia, it’s still crazy scary.

Joo-won is already unconscious by the time he gets rushed to the hospital, and Ra-im follows the ambulance straight there. Director Park arrives as well, but can’t go in, for fear of what he’s done. He swears to his assistant that he was just curious to see if Joo-won would really take the elevator; this isn’t what he intended. But they sneak out anyway, unable to face him.

Ra-im comes up to the room as Ji-hyun comes out. She recognizes Ra-im from when Joo-wonda came to see her, but Ra-im doesn’t (although she should, from Episode 14, yeah? See, it’s confusing for everyone when you’re doing so much switchy-unswitchy-re-re-re-switchy.)

Ra-im walks in cautiously, and Joo-won sits up. Angry, he asks what the hell she was doing in the elevator. Crying, Ra-im says she’s sorry—she just wanted to show him (Director Park) that he could do it, and never imagined that it would get stuck.

Joo-won sighs and tells her to come close, and pulls her in for a hug. He apologizes as he holds her, saying that he was scared he’d never get to see her again. She says the same, and cries on his shoulder.

He asks how the audition went, and she looks down. Joo-won can’t believe she ditched her dream audition, but she counters that there was nothing else she could think of when he got trapped. He gets dressed and they rush out of there, against doctor’s orders, to try and make the auditions before they end. They arrive too late, and the cleaning crew is all that’s left.

It’s perhaps the first real consequence I’ve seen from their body swap—that he cares more than she does right now about her audition. It might be all that time he spent training and preparing to actually go in her stead, but generally it’s just nice to see him caring about HER life in some way that’s not you’re-so-lucky-to-be-in-my-sparkly-presence.

Oska earns back his good name, and the fickle press rushes him to ask how it feels to defend his honor. He thanks Chae-ri for coming forward about the songwriter selling her that same song, and brushes off questions about a scandal with her. Seul watches from afar, happy to see him clear his name.

She returns to her office to find Oska sitting there, eating tofu (symbolic of getting out of jail, a superstition to keep from going back). He wants to celebrate his day with her, but she’s not going to let him into her life that easily, and announces that she’s headed to LOEL.

Oska jumps up, asking if she’s still trying to marry Joo-won, to which she says “why not,” since he’s so awesome. Oska is quick to tell her how NOT awesome Joo-won is, and declares that he was going to go shopping anyway (for Chae-ri’s present) and offers to tag along. He gets the devil eye at the mention of asking her to help pick out another girl’s present (yeah, big no-no).

He thinks it’s cute how they’re bickering like the old days, but she sets him straight—who wants to go back to the old days? Those were the hardest days of her life, no thanks to him, and asks why he’s so quick to forgive himself. Ouch. She runs into her office and lets out a tear, as Oska watches from the window.

Joo-won and Ra-im end up back at her place, dejected from the missed audition. He hugs her and promises to make it so that she can audition, and she looks up at him like a little girl, wondering if such a miracle could happen. He tells her to trust him, and that he can’t stand to see her cry anymore.

On his way out, he runs into Jong-soo, who’s been waiting in front of Ra-im’s house and thinks that it’s still Ra-im in his body. He asks what happened with the audition, and Joo-won sets him straight about it being him back in his own body (for which he gets a long-awaited punch in the face, heh) and that he intends on getting Ra-im another shot at Dark Blood. Jong-soo doesn’t see how, as the director has already moved on to Japan.

So Joo-won heads over to Oska’s, where he’s greeted with another wary “Who are you?” Oska can tell right away from the rude word choice that it’s Joo-won, and he confirms it. He asks Oska for his help tracking down the director, using his contacts in Japan.

Oska: “So, if I do this for you, what do I get out of it?” Joo-won: “What do you want?” Oska: “Gil Ra-im.” Joo-won: “Wanna die?” Haha. Oska tells him to move out then, or get a hotel room. Joo-won can’t, as he doesn’t want to further advertise his instability to investors, who have already made bets on how long he’ll last after the PDA at the party.

Oska: “Yeah, so who told you to kiss her and advertise to the world that you’re crazy?” Joo-won shrugs and just says it couldn’t be helped; it was something he waited too long for.

Ra-im cries over the lost audition, while Joo-won spends the whole night calling the director and spouting his importance like the lunatic that he is. And because this has no foothold on reality, the director actually calls him back directly, as if leaving fifty bratty messages somehow gets you what you want in life. He hilariously charters a private jet to get the director to come back to Korea on his way to Hong Kong, just to give Ra-im another chance. Well, points for having that private jet handy.

He escorts the director to the set of Ra-im’s latest movie, where they watch her do her thing. As Joo-won promised, five minutes was all he needed to see, but he leaves with zero indication of interest.

This time Joo-won’s visit to the set is actually well-meaning and sweet, as he tells Ra-im that he just wanted to see her face (rather than have her be disappointed in having Dark Blood‘s director come all this way and dismiss her). He buys the whole crew lunch, and jokes that he’s going to tell this new director that she’s his Kim Tae-hee and Jeon Do-yeon right away, just to set things straight.

He heads back to work to find out who trapped him in the elevator, and it’s not long before Director Park is standing in front of him, confessing to the whole thing. He says that he just wanted to check if he’d really take the elevator, and Joo-won is surprised that he’s known about his condition all this time. He wonders why he’s confessing, and Director Park says sincerely that being a usurper is better than being a murderer; he’s happy that Joo-won is well, and offers his resignation. Joo-won hesitates, but accepts it, as Director Park’s face falls.

As Ra-im broods over the Dark Blood script one last time, her father says in voiceover: “That’s right, Ra-im. Don’t look back on it. That’s not something you were supposed to do. My daughter is okay now. I’m relieved.” This one is very much his present monologue looking down at her. Ten points for everyone who voted for deadly movie over deadly illness.

Oska interrupts Seul’s yoga class to write her a message on placards like she’d done for him many times. He writes asking her to forgive him, the guy who forgave himself too quickly. Another asks if it really wasn’t her who liked the roasted chestnuts. The last says that he’s leaving for now, and that she’s the prettiest one in the room…and he’s the second. HA!

He leaves to go meet Tae-sun, asking him to sign with him, since he’s decided not to sign with Seul. Tae-sun asks why he’s so obsessed; does Oska like him? Oska, not reading between the lines, replies that of course he does. Tae-sun tries again, reminding him that he likes dudes, and Oska just stupidly says, “Yeah, so go ahead and like guys! I like girls! So?” Simple, simple Oska.

Oska tells him that their fates were sealed the second Tae-sun decided to help him with the plagiarism scandal—now there’s a friendship there that he can’t escape if he tried. He steals Tae-sun’s mp3 player as hostage and leaves him to think it over. Tae-sun pretends to be surly in front of him, but as soon as Oska walks out, his face breaks into a smile. Aw.

When Oska gets home, he’s curious and picks up Tae-sun’s mp3 player, and finds a song he’s written, called “Oska.” Double Aw.

Ra-im arrives to pick up her stuff, announcing that she’s returned to her own body. He gives her a 2011 Oska calendar (imma need one of those to give jb for Christmas) and she asks him something she’s been curious about for a while: why does he always lose to Joo-won on purpose?

Oska smiles, surprised that she noticed, since everyone else always thinks that he gets run over by Joo-won instead. She says it’s because even while he’s losing, his face shows that he’s happy. Oska is impressed, and notes again that she’s quite a woman. He asks her to take care of Joo-won.

In answer to her question, he says that Joo-won experienced something when he was twenty-one that he shouldn’t have, and had a hard time and became depressed afterward. He stopped interacting and talking, so Oska did the only thing he could do to get a reaction: bug him and taunt him, that way he’d at least connect with him over annoyance. Aw, that’s the sweetest reason for a big brother taunting someone if I’ve ever heard of one.

She asks what the traumatic event was, and Oska tells her to hear it directly from Joo-won…when he remembers. He tells her that he has no memory of what happened, since he’s repressed it to survive.

She walks out with her bags, contemplating what Oska told her, when Joo-won pulls up to the house. He tells her she should’ve called, and wonders if Oska made fun of him. Ra-im: “My oppa isn’t that kind of person.” He offers to take her home and stop somewhere for tea, which she declines with a “I already had some…with my oppa.” Heh. I love when she uses her fan-oppa relationship with Oska to tease him.

He takes her home, and has finally had enough. He sits her down for a talk. Joo-won: “Stop calling Woo-young hyung ‘my oppa.’ From now on, I’m your oppa. If you call anyone else ‘oppa,’ I’ll consider it cheating.” Hahaha. Where was this conversation when we needed it?

She just looks at him sideways, raising his ire. He declares that she’s done weird things to steal his heart, given him strange liquor to steal his body, and shown up at the party to steal his lips. She scoffs at his ability to color the truth (I’d say more like rewrite history) and he counters that it’s the only way he’d end up falling for her and thinking that she’s so pretty.

She circles January 8 on her calendar, and he asks what it’s for. Duh, you were told when you were in her body. Is there some sort of memory wipe involved this time or something? He fixates on her reacquiring an Oska calendar for yet another year, and she calls him out on messing up the other one, which he deliciously points out he did with her own hands.

He pulls her down to the bed and she warns him that Ah-young could come home at any minute, which he brushes off. He wonders how her eyes are so pretty and what feature will be pretty tomorrow, and she gives him a little kiss, as a way to repay on a bunch of hugs owed, all at once.

Meanwhile, Mom gets the report that Ra-im is back at her place, and Joo-won is staying at Oska’s. Her secretary asks vaguely if she’s going to do that thing she does every year, and she replies that she always does.

Oska’s mom crashes the meeting with a panic in her voice. Well, let’s just say it’s slightly more shrill than her average shrill. She throws down a front-page story with Seul and Oska connected as a couple, and asks what on earth this girl is doing, going on a blind date with one cousin and starting a scandal with the other. Joo-won’s mom just assumes that Oska stole her out from under Joo-won.

Oska finds Seul on a location scout and presents the newspaper with a huge smile on his face, but her reaction is the opposite, as she asks him if he denied it, and to keep his phone on to answer any calls and kill any other stories. His face falls as he realizes…this is what he said to her when they were dating the first time.

He realizes that the things he remembers—the fun, happy times, are all conveniently happy memories from his perspective alone. He shouts, almost more at himself than at her, “What have I done to you?” She fields a call about the story and denies their relationship right in front of him, and he pulls her in for a hug in response, as the crowd snaps away around them.

Joo-won, back at Oska’s house, looks at the calendar as he remembers Jong-soo asking about the anniversary of Ra-im’s father’s death. He starts to put the pieces together…he died when Ra-im was seventeen, which makes it thirteen years ago, which matches up to his age (twenty-one) when he had his accident. He looks back to his calendar from thirteen years ago, and sees that it’s the same date exactly—the date of his accident, and the day Ra-im’s dad died.

Oska comes home and Joo-won tells him about the coincidence—not that he remembers the day, but that he has a record of that day from the hospital. He adds that when he was trapped in that elevator (which is news to Oska) he remembered something. He asks if his accident was actually an elevator incident, and not a traffic accident like his entire family has been saying all these years.

He goes to see Ji-hyun, and she pretends not to know what he’s talking about, but he calls her out along with his family for lying. She admits as much, because the shock was too much for him to handle after the accident, so they all decided to just tell him that it was a mild traffic accident. She advises him to try and move on, but he feels the need to remember it all, because he can’t quite put his finger on it, but he feels like he lost something important.

Ra-im helps Ah-young shop for a present for Secretary Kim, and Ah-young worries that the rumor is true—that Joo-won is dying of some terminal illness and only has three months to live. Ra-im insists that’s not why he collapsed in the elevator, but Ah-young’s imagination won’t let it go.

Ra-im leaves to go visit her father’s ashes, but finds that someone is already there with flowers…Joo-won’s mother. She asks how she knows her father, and Mom almost goes into shock to find out that Ra-im is his daughter.

Mom stumbles home in utter disbelief, as she remembers Ra-im’s hurt and angry words that her father is someone who risked his life to save countless others and that his memory is not something that she can just disrespect. She stares, horrified, “How can it be?”

Joo-won orders a handbag accessory to be designed after the cat that Ra-im likes, and he draws a version for them to use.

Ra-im goes back to work, teaching the trainees how to do wirework. One of the guys who has a crush on her uses the opportunity to flirt, and gets caught in the act by Joo-won. He gets all huffy that she tells the other guy he was brave, and declares that he’s brave too; whatever it is, he can do it. Cue chorus of laughs as Joo-won hangs in the air, flailing around and screaming for dear life.

They walk home together with groceries, as Ra-im plans to cook dinner. He puts his arm around her saying that he’s cold, and she shakes him off, replying that she’s hot. He takes it to the bow-chicka-bow-wow place, wondering why she’s hot when she’s with him, and tries to ask if they can **eyebrow raise** tonight, or tomorrow…

She’s about to shoot him down when she gets a frantic text from Ah-young, warning her that Joo-won’s mother is at the apartment. She ditches Joo-won with an excuse and rushes over alone.

She walks in and braces herself for yet another onslaught. But this time Mom is calm as she starts describing Joo-won’s accident from thirteen years ago…and the fireman who rescued him…and lost his life…

She realized it today, when she saw Ra-im at the cemetery, because she was there to honor the man who saved her son. Ra-im stands there in shock, not wanting to believe it.

Mom slowly gets down on her knees, as Ra-im gasps and tears fall. Mom’s eyes well up with tears as she says that she’ll repay her with unfathomable amounts of money. She begs her not to hold onto Joo-won any longer, and to please let him go.

COMMENTS

While the connection between Ra-im’s father and Joo-won wasn’t really very surprising, it was played out well in this episode, as a matter of laying the pieces down throughout the hour as the main storyline, while other things went on in the background. I’m just glad we didn’t drag out each piece paaaaainstakingly over the course of the next four episodes, as I was really hoping to have answers to the past to change the character dynamics in the time we have remaining. Frankly, while I like the couple together, they’re less exciting in the lovey-dovey dynamic, and I found myself caring much more about the Seul-Oska-Tae-sun triangle because well, it’s still unfinished.

At least now we have our tragic twist of fate, and we can see how it changes the couple and how they see their happily ever after. Listen, any change of course at this point is welcome, as the plot was in a lull for a while. I’m actually kind of looking forward to some angst, with the big fat caveat that it be handled well, oh dear god. If everyone stays as forthright and talkative as they have in this episode, we’re good. If people start taking Noble Idiot pills, we will have words, Show.

254

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1 Memei

January 3, 2011 at 10:23 AM

Am I first? Lol

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Memei

January 3, 2011 at 10:41 AM

So, as I've understood, Joowon's mom begged Ra-Im to let go of Joowon because even though her father saved Joowon's life, she STILL can't accept her, right?

She is sincerely grateful to Ra Im's father and the only way she can handle this situation is to beg and compensate her with money because she still can't accept her as her son's match.

By the way, is it just me or Joowon's been asking for sexy time for how many episodes now? hahahaha. Seriously, Ra Im's acting like a high schooler whilst Joowon is all about being in an ADULT relationship.

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snow

January 3, 2011 at 10:52 AM

lol @ sexy time. ironically joo won hasn't been very adult in his antics, lol.

i think joo won's mom wants ra im to stay away also because she's afraid ra im will stir joo won's memories of the accident - now that she knows ra im's identity. she's probably afraid the trauma of it all will send joo won into another shock after they'd spent 13 years suppressing it.

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Memei

January 3, 2011 at 11:03 AM

Yes, that could one of the reasons. But seriously, I think Joowon will be way more depressed if she takes Ra Im away from him. Lol.

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d-addict

January 3, 2011 at 10:52 AM

i think it's because jw's mom doesn't want him to remember the past (which RI is a blatant reminder of), thinking it will bring back his depression and catatonia

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molly

January 3, 2011 at 11:22 AM

I don't think it's that simple. Joo-won recently had his elevator accident, and he's starting to piece the puzzle together (although his mom doesn't realize it yet). Knowing that Ra-im's father died to save him might trigger emotional distress and cause a relapse into his depression, trauma, etc. As a mother, Joo-won's mom (evil lady that she is, she still loves her son) doesn't want any connections to the accident to be present around her son in fear that the knowledge will harm him. His mom, Oska, and the psychiatrist all kept it a secret for the past decade because they thought it would be better to bury the memories as Joo-won's mind did. The mom's begging seems to result more from her concern for her son's health rather than from her opposition to the match. Because, as a parent, she still has a heart, and I think we're starting to see glimpses of humanity as she feels guilt over Ra-im's loss of her father because of Joo-won. Even though she's still trying to pay her off, it's a way to "compensate" for her loss.

Although, one could argue that Joo-won's mom is also using this connection to her advantage, knowing that Ra-im will feel guilty about dating Joo-won and will probably break up with him as a result. That way, she kills two birds with one stone: repaying (in the literal sense) her father for his courageous act for her son and getting rid of Ra-im by having her make the decision to leave Joo-won.

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Sooshi Meo

January 6, 2011 at 7:55 PM

You guys are so funny. Yeah, I do feel like Ra Im is still in H.S mode concerning relationships and JW is quite adult about it except for their comedic episodes. This is the only drama so far that I am interested in BOTH couples lead and secondary. I like this drama overall. It keeps me interested. I am upset that JW's mom got on both knees to beg only for RI to stay away from JW. A tiny, tiny, tiny part of it may be because of RI's father that she knelt because she felt guilty and thankful but I still think that ultimately she wants RI to stay away from her son and that would be THE reason for RI to do so. JW will remember regardless because secrets are meant to be found out sooner or later. As for any connection solved I don't see any really. We find out about JW's accident and RI's father's cause of death but thats it. It hasn't yet answered why RI's father gave them the wine for them to switch in order for RI and JW to switch spirits/bodies. What kind of tragedy will RI fall into that her father must switch their bodies? And why is he in that old lady's body? Well, four more episodes to go. :)

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Houstontwin

January 3, 2011 at 11:45 AM

You're so right! Raim may be inexperienced but, assuming that she loves him, she is very stingy with showing her affection.
As for JW's mom, I think that her class snobbery had now taken a back seat to some confused and misguided fear that finding out about Raim's dad will cause lasting harm to JW.

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ar

January 3, 2011 at 4:05 PM

Maybe that's just the way she is. I'm pretty stingy at showing affection too. I find it cute when other people do it and find it embarrassing when I think abt myself doing it.

I think Joo-won has also been in more relationships than Ra-Im, even though his mom always tend to pay them off to leave. I bet before 'the accident', when he was probably 'more normal', he had more girls go after him. I get the feeling that Ra-Im had probably dated but was never in a real relationship.

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DRAMADDICT/4ever

January 3, 2011 at 12:07 PM

"sexy times"hahahaha, I remember when they were staring at each other on ep. 13 and he ruins the moment by saying in a low voice "there is an empty room next door" lol. So yea I agree with you our JW wants some action from our stunt woman for quite some time now heh.

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fan

January 3, 2011 at 11:59 AM

Although Raim is falling in LOVE with joowon... after finding out that her father's death was a result of saving Joowon's life, you can see the obvious conflict that she will have to face in the next couple of episodes...
Although she has started developing feelings for Joowon, he can never replace the position her father held in her life....

I predict that she will leave Joowon in the next episode.... Joowon heartbroken will find out why she left and finally find out what actually happened to him in that elevator 13 years ago!!

There better be a happy ending!! :S

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PickmePICKME

January 3, 2011 at 1:37 PM

But that is just stupid!! If She leaves Joo-Won because if this, then thats just dumb. I mean OBVI her dad didnt die in vain, and its a plus that the guy her dad saved is majorly in love with her--and not bc of a sense of guilt, since Joo-Won doesnt remember shix. OMO, this is making me so angry. I swear if they seperate now I will not not---I dont know what im going to do. But I'd be pissed!! PISSED! It took em like 14 episode to finally connect and now in the last four you wanna ruin it!!!! They should become even stronger!!! WTH!!! WTH!!! omo, i think my blood pressure might raise. ugh this is not fun anymore. I rather watch mary and mu gyul than have a noble idiotic act ruin a drama. And I loved Mary and Mu gyul

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LezGo

January 3, 2011 at 1:59 PM

lol@u.

tbh, if she decides that she needs a break from him, I'd understand. It's a lot to take in, and she adored/adores her father. And even though it isn't JW's fault, it may still be overwhelming and confusing. You can't blamer her for not acting 100% rational after hearing news like that. Or maybe she will.

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cherryline

January 4, 2011 at 2:52 AM

now its clear...no i don't think gil ra im would do that...after what joo won' s mother said to her and after joo won fight for their love...

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SGcrazed

January 3, 2011 at 2:32 PM

totally saw that perspective she leaves him thinking its better for him not to remember, she gets accepted in dark blood which she figure should keep her distracted and hey it was her dream after all

but her bitterness over the lover she cant keep has her acting wreckless and she gets into an accident while filming thus her Bfriend premonition coming true and the only person to save her will be JW , but since he would have probably remembered about her father/accident he will stake his life for he cant live without her they will either both die or both will survive THE END

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sapient

January 3, 2011 at 3:59 PM

I think at least some version of what you described above will happen in the remaining episodes. I don't think RaIm's part in Dark Blood went away and it may resurface in the next episodes to set up for some crisis. The story needs a major crisis to test JW and RaIm's love and the writer seems to be laying the ground work before the finale. I just hope we get happily ever after.

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mimiki

January 3, 2011 at 7:36 PM

yeah.. your story kind of makes sense, but you know what makes me confused. the fact that the father said that Ra im is safe because she didn't pass the audition.

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SG-addict

January 3, 2011 at 8:20 PM

I have the same qn on that too! If she was safe, it'd mean she didn't get the Dark Blood job, then what's the whole point of JW going through all that just to arrange the audition for her?

cherryline

January 4, 2011 at 2:53 AM

yeah now i get the story....destiny is just so amazing..

2 sara.ramodark

January 3, 2011 at 10:24 AM

yay first to comment bth loved the recap

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3 Tania

January 3, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Gosh how much I have been waiting for this XD, yesterday today GOD finally.

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4 Celest

January 3, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Very good episode imo. FINALLY we have some answers. (and some plot development) totally loved that Joo-won's mom almost does a complete 180. At least now she's not as annoying as she normally is.

And is anyone else cheering for Seul/Oska as much as I am? I'm actually glad that there's more of them featured in this episode.

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Memei

January 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM

RAH RAH SIZMUMBAH! I'm cheering for them as well! I love this second pairing. Or maybe I just really love Yoon Sang-hyun, lol. Anyway, their loveline seems to drag but with good reasons. Seul has been plotting against Oska for how many episodes and it would be really out-of-character if she just forgive him that easily.

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jeezvive

January 3, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Me too, count me count me (raising right hand) I so love Oska-Seul tandem. It is so fun to add TS into their romance, but please only as a distraction and not as 3rd leg!

I am so fangirling Yoon Sang Hyun now. :D

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5 mynnnnn

January 3, 2011 at 10:31 AM

thank you for the recap!!
i for one was a bit disappointed in ra-im cuz she didn't express her concern for joo-won as much as i would have liked in this episode. and there were some real moments too, especially at the beginning in the hopsital :/
but SG <3

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6 beng

January 3, 2011 at 10:34 AM

i've been refreshing a million times and right when i'm about to sleep, it came. Praise the Lord! and Girlfriday =)

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7 d-addict

January 3, 2011 at 10:38 AM

joo won had better be listening outside that door

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Eileen

January 3, 2011 at 10:52 AM

Lol. I agree! I would hate for Ra-Im to run away again.

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Flore

January 3, 2011 at 3:08 PM

I totally agree. I love how they revealed the truth, because it also gives a credible reason why the mother will like Ra-im in the end. I can not wait to see how Joo-won will find out!

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Ojou_Belle

January 3, 2011 at 3:17 PM

Yes, I agree...I noticed that the door was not fully closed when Ra Im went in....and he does have a tendency to follow her around.

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8 kilmenyanne

January 3, 2011 at 10:43 AM

Even when she was being a bitch, Evil Mother somehow, irritatingly made sense. Now, apologising yet still wanting a breakup, I'm starting to realise how awesome SG is in that even its side characters are brilliant.

Comparisons to MNIKSS:

THANK GOD it wasn't a car accident.
End scene similar to Samshik's mom disapproving of Hee Jin coming back because of her cancer thingy.

Damn mothers and their mothering issues. Sigh :D

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9 Okie Dokie

January 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM

I wonder how this connection will play out. I saw it coming in this episode, yes. But to see how Joo Won's mother finally admitted her wrong and bow to Ra Im, that was kinda great. Poor Joo Won, how is he going to take this...

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10 Tammu

January 3, 2011 at 10:47 AM

Joo Won, you better be hiding outside the door, eavesdropping on this conversation! Or else, I don't think I can take the potential angst the ending scenes created.

Thanks for the recap -- I squealed when I saw it!

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11 blackapple

January 3, 2011 at 10:47 AM

thanks so much for the recap GF! i love your recaps! ^_^ i was so sad because i thought SG was only 16 episodes long, but then i got to the end and saw it wasn't finished and i got so excited! :D

p.s. first? yay!

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blackapple

January 3, 2011 at 10:48 AM

just kidding... definitely not first...

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12 snow

January 3, 2011 at 10:49 AM

yay, finally some movement! thanks for the recap, girlfriday! wondering how joo won will handle the shock when he finally remembers everything. angst galore in next episode, i hope!

i like seul-oska too, but i'm wondering about oska-taesun, if oska will ever figure that out. wouldn't a threesome be cool? hehehe.

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13 Nakima_chan

January 3, 2011 at 10:55 AM

Ah, I knew that the dad saved Joo-won! This episode is so sad. I am especially said for Tae-sun, because Oska is so dense~ He could at least let Tae-sun go instead of torture him . . . Oh well, the drama will work itself out ^_^

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Nikki

January 5, 2011 at 7:21 PM

We have 4 eps left, which is plenty of time for the writers to do something ridiculous with the Oksa-Seul-Taesun triangle. For example, Taesun confesses to Oska and it somehow ends up in the tabloids...BUT, I kinda trust the writers not to do anything that stupid. I bet that the writers will resolve this better situation better, than they will the Ra Im/Joo Won/dead dad dram.

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14 Eltauruss

January 3, 2011 at 10:56 AM

its the first time waiting for the recap like crazy!
thanx alot

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15 Myra

January 3, 2011 at 10:57 AM

aww..that was fast!! Thanks for the recap... though I don't understand Korean language....it will now be easy for me to watch the raw.. thanks again

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16 hoo

January 3, 2011 at 10:59 AM

Finally some stakes for our leads. Normally, I'd be super annoyed at this soap opera plot contrivance coincidence of Ra Im's father sacrificing his life for Joo Won, but I buy it here simply because fate is such a big theme. Ra Im's father is pulling the stings with the body swap, so it makes since he choose Joo Won to help out his daughter. It's all very circle of life or something.

Just a guess based on every.other.kdrama.ever, but I'm pretty sure we're heading into the angst!dark!emo! episodes where the truth is finally revealed and rather than acting like rational human beings, Ra Im and Joo Won will think they need to self sacrifice or something and break up and be all pained and emo for no reason other than to drag out the show a few more episodes. Ngl, I'm kinda looking for a little angst in SG so bring it on ;)

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 11:36 AM

Ra Im will be doing the self-sacrificing of course - it's practically embedded in her DNA. I like her, but the girl has issues when it comes to looking after her own well-being.

Joo Won I'm not so sure about though, it would be against type - this might be the point where the plot inverses the trope and actually takes advantage of the fact that he steamrollers over everything until he get what he wants.

One can hope... right?

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Houstontwin

January 3, 2011 at 11:53 AM

I think that you are overly optimistic. This drama is on its way down the drain! I wonder why so many great dramas fall apart at the end. Don't the writers outline the story pre-production? Surely with some thought ahead of time they should be able to come up with a more original story line.

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 1:05 PM

*I think that you are overly optimistic

Probably. Which would suck.

On the other hand, we have had a couple of stereotypes inverted in this drama:

-Kickass Stuntwoman is a pussycat,
-Macho Male Lead is a neurotic metrosexual,
-Evil Second Female Lead is really not that evil and has a point, to the extend that we're rooting for her,
-Grandpa's fifth(?) wife is not a meddling grandmother but the voice of reason instead

So we'll see. I'm still enjoying the show and all the speculation surrounding it here on Dramabeans and other blogs.

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Houstontwin

January 4, 2011 at 3:05 AM

You're right. SG has a lot going for it, particularly in terms of great characters and witty dialogue. I guess that is why so many of us are frustrated and preparing ourselves for disappointment!
I hope that your optimism is rewarded! I really want SG to succeed and to surprise me.

halfmoon

January 3, 2011 at 2:17 PM

Hmmm... And what if JW, being the little mermaid and feeling guilty towards RI, decides to disappear? Naaahh, JW wouldn't do that, would he?

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 2:49 PM

*being the little mermaid and feeling guilty towards RI

Ack! We need to arrest character development, STAT ;)

But seriously, I don't know. I still feel it can go either way. I mean, someone still needs to be given a piggyback ride.

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halfmoon

January 3, 2011 at 3:20 PM

I can totally picture RI giving JW a piggyback ride :-P

jomo143

January 4, 2011 at 3:54 PM

I am replying to your hand stitched camo gear!

Now that is funny, and I can picture it!

jomo143

January 4, 2011 at 9:27 AM

Where would Mr. "I am not a person that you can ignore" disappear to? And how?

Every where he goes he sparkles!

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Josina

January 4, 2011 at 12:55 PM

He'd get himself some customised camouflage gear, hand-stitched by Irish artisans of course!

17 yuna

January 3, 2011 at 11:05 AM

wew! thanx so much for the recap. i've been waiting for this... refreshing often finally paid off. :)

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18 stee

January 3, 2011 at 11:12 AM

Yeah, I REALLY hope the inevitable angst will be handled well.

As for the accident -- I wonder if we'll get the full details/a flashback as well.. I'm still curious about it.

Good episode. The elevator scene at the end of ep 15 was so intense that I just had to watch 16 raw to see what happened next. I ended up watching the whole episode, of course :D

Thanks for the recap!

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jusash

January 3, 2011 at 2:50 PM

Totally with you on the elevator scene. I think all viewer-empathy was totally sucked into Joo-won in his anguished suffering. No words neccesary.

Hyun-bin had made incredible leaps as an actor! Delivery is impeccable be it his conversation or expression, rapid bullet-firing repartee, or comedic timing.
Loving Binnie's interactions with Oska too. (and I am now LOVING Oska bigtime - despite his self-centred simplicity. This guy's heart is in the right place and he's amazingly grounded at times, despite all the fluff he projects).

As for the secretary .... this guy plays him to a paranoid tee too. :) Impaling himself ironically like that screaming "pali, pali" frantically right in the centre and impeding the whole rescue-operation!

I understand he's worried but I was like" "yo dude get out of the way dammit! so the rescue workers can get the hell to Joo-won like you're yelling! :)

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19 zj

January 3, 2011 at 11:14 AM

thanks girlfriday! unfortunately i think the Noble Idiot act is inevitable

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maria

January 3, 2011 at 9:58 PM

no way-- i'm willing to bet a surprise is up ahead (Joo Won listeing at the door, maybe? ) i'm feeling like if someone's gonna be taking Noble Idiot pills, it's surprisingly going to be Joo Won, and not Ra Im. oooooh the possibilities! i wish the PD/ writer was psychic and can read the awesome scenario in my head right now!!!!!!!!!!

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20 nokcha

January 3, 2011 at 11:14 AM

Perfect timing! I just finished the raw and then checked here to see if the recap was done. This was a fantastic episode!

Thanks for the recap!

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21 minho

January 3, 2011 at 11:16 AM

thnks for the recaps.am lovin this drama

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22 jomo143

January 3, 2011 at 11:16 AM

Thanks for the recap!

While I understand why JWmom would not want Key Lime around to help stir up horrible memories, wouldn't Dr. Lady want her patient to start to remember safely, with intense therapy? And wouldn't Key Lime be the perfect person to be by his side as he goes through it?

Isn't the fact that JW has started to recall some facts demonstrate that the time has come to face his reality, and his family needs to help him put the shattered pieces of his life back together?

I have to say I am looking forward to HJW/HB's angsty acting.

Where can I get the cell phone charm that JW is designing, and do you think it'll get caught somewhere so that JW will have to reach in and save Key Lime from certain death even though it means he has to face his worst fear and overcome it?

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 12:10 PM

Where can I get the cell phone charm that JW is designing

Marketeers, take note! (hey, it worked for sales of Alice in Wonderland....)

The cat is a character called Myoo according to the HelloChloe blog, so perhaps something similar is already available? http://chloeplus.blogspot.com/2010/12/myoo-stuffed-cat-in-secret-garden.html

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23 halfmoon

January 3, 2011 at 11:18 AM

I suppose the series was originally meant to be 16 episodes, not 20. The pace of the storyline would have been perfect, but the way it's been so far doesn't bother me much.

I found this episode to have a few continuity issues, though. I guess the crew is out of time -- too bad.

I also wished RI showed more affection to JW at the hospital. She could have, at least, hugged him back tighter, or hold his head, etc. In any case, I can't wait to see how the rest of the story will play out, and if we'll go through the usual story development in this type of scenario.

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24 yuna

January 3, 2011 at 11:21 AM

btw... i guess joo won's mother is doing a reverse psychology to persuade ra im to give up joo won. knowing ra im's father as a man with dedication and values, she's expecting ra im to be just like her father and would be touched seeing her kneeling down thus would eventually give in to her intention of parting them.

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jomo143

January 3, 2011 at 11:40 AM

I do not like JWmom because she is selfish.

But when she started to call him "uri Joo Won" over and over, I saw for the first time a mother who wanted to protect her son rather than control him. She gets some points for that!

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jusash

January 3, 2011 at 2:39 PM

Joo-won's mom is a good actress.

If you pay careful to her eye expressions too, there is this one instance when they look sincere when she means what she's saying. Her eyes project all that.

Then the veil goes down on that expression, and she's back to normal - bi*tch lady again.

Props to the actress playing this precious character! :)

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 3:42 PM

She's amazing actually.

I can't understand a word of Korean and yet I love watching her in RAWs, she really uses her eyes and face.

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HUH??

January 3, 2011 at 9:10 PM

If you watch Joowon's mother, Mrs. Moon's beat down of Gil Ra Im in Ra Im's apartment that left RaIm on the floor, there were moments when she looked as if she was feeling Gil RaIm's pain. iI couldn't figure out if it was the actress responding emphatically to Ha Ji won's work or if it was a character choice.

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25 anon

January 3, 2011 at 11:38 AM

How is it that Ra-Im and Joo-Won's mom never ran into each once in 13 years at her dad's burial site when they visit every year.

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 11:46 AM

How is it that Ra-Im and Joo-Won’s mom never ran into each once in 13 years at her dad’s burial site when they visit every year

I was thinking the same thing... although I guess you don't necessarily pay that much attention to a stranger.

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flibbet

January 3, 2011 at 11:57 AM

Maybe they just didn't recognize each other

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AcrobaticUrchin

January 3, 2011 at 12:04 PM

It's dramaworld! Coincidences like that only happen when they're convenient (which is usually around the 16th episode of a 20-episode-long drama). ;)

I'm glad they finally got somewhere with the plot too, although I won't deny having enjoyed the fluff and antics of the past episodes.

I wish Ra Im would have showed a bit more affection to Joo Won too... I'm hoping they'll be some in the upcoming episodes (and not too much Noble Angst).

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 12:16 PM

*Coincidences like that only happen when they’re convenient

I know, I'd just run out of Suspension of Disbelief listening to Joo Won - Columbia University Alumni - speak English...

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 12:21 PM

Sorry, that should be 'alumnus'. Karma is instant.

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Sara

January 3, 2011 at 2:56 PM

I think the way Joo Won speak English is alright. At least I can easily hear what he says without substitles. There's bunch of other dramas where the spoken English is atrocious, Love Story in Harvard for one. You need a lot of Suspension of Disbelief for that drama

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 4:09 PM

I haven't seen Love Story in Harvard. Is the story itself any good? If so, I can work on developing my suspension ;)

I guess in this drama it seemed particularly out of character to me - even more so because the one advantage of the body switch is supposed to be the fact that JW speaks much better English than RI, and Seul's OMG English was ridiculed in earlier episodes. But it's just a minor detail, so I still buy into the whole Joowon character.

It just makes me appreciate the skill with which this was handled in MNIKSS: no bumbling conversations with doc Henry, just Sam Soon telling him about pastry and Proust using French, Korean and English. Wonderful.

Sara

January 3, 2011 at 6:30 PM

A forgettable drama .It's been years since I watched LSIH. They were law students in Harvard hence the name .For the life of me I can't remember how the story goes but I do remember those English speaking scenes. Set a really high bar of Suspension of Disbelief for those scenes. We will appreciate how Joo Won's speaks when we've been exposed early with other drama's English scene.

I love it too when Sam Soon talks about madeleine with Henry(Henli). It was so funny. All those pastries make me hungry :)

R

January 5, 2011 at 2:55 PM

I am aware that as an English speaker your standards must be high, nevertheless, I have met a lot of Americans and English who studied in my country (Italy, for the record) and still had a bad Italian pronounciation after 4 years.
No problem in that, I actually find it charming, but you might want to cut some slack to all the people whose mother tongue is very different from English. Just don't give it for granted that acquiring a good pronounciation of a foreign language were such an easy task.

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Elle-Emme

January 8, 2011 at 12:44 AM

Binnie's English is not that bad

I understood what he said

philip lee's lips are looking odder to me each time i see him

lisa rinnaish

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ilovepasta

January 3, 2011 at 12:08 PM

bonne question !

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mommy

January 3, 2011 at 2:17 PM

hello, Are you French?!? cos I am

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Akem

January 3, 2011 at 5:07 PM

You're french? I speak french? I'm a congolese leaving on Belgium.

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maria

January 3, 2011 at 10:00 PM

moi aussi! :)

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claire

January 3, 2011 at 11:21 PM

It's because Raim remembers the date as December 5th on Chinese Calendar and JooWon's mom remembers it as January 8th on Western calendar.This year Dec.5th of Chinese calendar happened to coincide again on the Jan.8th on Western calendar like 13 years ago(That's when JooWon's accident happened)
Like every year Chinese New Year's day falls on a different date on the western calendar ,they must have visited the memorial on the different days until now.

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Houstontwin

January 4, 2011 at 3:15 AM

Wow! that's really interesting. Thank you.

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tweetpandora

January 8, 2011 at 6:48 AM

Thanks I was wondering about that but thought it was another unrealistic thing we were suposed suspend belief on...I love how K-daram has fans from all over the world, french congolese in Belgium etc...LOL. And I think Binnie's English was OK (have heard worse), more than that I think Oska's Japanese was brilliant (except for the typical exchange of Z for J, can someone explain to me why Koreans struggle with this?)

By the way am I the only one who thinks that SG has lost its charm? I am not even that psyched about the finale :-( I hate it when this happens with Drama's but like Javabeans said somewhere I have been watching dramas for almost 15 years and I am tired of cliche's and melodrama and a drama has to be really unique to hold me these days...

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26 Mina

January 3, 2011 at 12:02 PM

I'm so over the main couple, and I'm now rooting for Taesun. He is so sweet. Boy, you should just find another man. There are plenty gay men in Hollywood, just come to America.

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jomo143

January 3, 2011 at 12:08 PM

I agree!
There is something so sad about him falling for Oska, trying to stay away, and having Oksa keep pulling him back in!
I do not want TS to get (any more) hurt.

I love how he calls Seul "Ahjuma."

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Emily

January 3, 2011 at 2:48 PM

I have been rooting for oska/tae sun ever since tae sun said he was gay. I know its never going to happen but...one can still cling to hope can't they?

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HUH??

January 3, 2011 at 9:18 PM

I'm curious about rooting for the oska/tae sun pair.

They are cute, but would they work? Would you want a cutie like Tae sun to be stuck with a man who couldn't love him fully?

Oska is straight, right? Tae sun is gay, right? Except for THE CRYING GAME, i've never seen that pairing work in an emotionally satisfying way. The same for a gay man and straight woman.

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27 sobohomom2

January 3, 2011 at 12:03 PM

It's strange how in kdrama land, the natural course of diseases (and mental health problems) bear absolutely no resemblance to reality. People develop Alzheimer's overnight and quickly drop dead, or have a sudden bout of cancer that always knocks them off on the surgeon's table.

As someone who was treated for post traumatic stress syndrome, I can tell you that no self-respecting psychiatrist or therapist would allow a trauma to remain untapped for 13 years. That's downright unhealthy. JW is rich, rich, rich and could afford the best care that money can buy.

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x0mi07

January 3, 2011 at 5:34 PM

Except Joowon's trauma was so severe it disabled him from functioning. His natural coping mechanism might not have been the right one but it was what enabled him to cope. coping is different for everyone. It might be unhealthy as written on paper but if he isn't ready to let it go, it's not healthy to force it either. I understand that thirteen years is a long time. But apparently it was necessary for joowon to do so. Seeing his situation in the elevator, it might've been for the better. After all, joowon's present environment (at work if not at home) is highly stressful and maybe it was a clinical judgment that it's safer for him to just forget until he's ready to remember. A stressful environment is not conducive for the treatment of a person undergoing PTSD w/selective amnesia. Additionally, Joowon's character seems really fragile from how Oska, Jihyun, and his mom treat him. His threshold for stress doesn't seem very high and he tries to play down a lot of big situations in order to get through it (i.e. arranged marriage dates, company decisions, work, family meetings) because they can cause him emotional stress if he doesn't.

[When I was on duty in a long term mental health facility, we had this patient who would still burst into crying fits if someone asks her if she can remember why she was brought there. According to her records, her kid's death was the incident she tries to block out. They treated her for PTSD over and over again for seven years but every time there's a breakthrough, she's so psychologically weak that she regresses immediately after remembering. So when we met her, we were told that if you try to get her to remember it, she'll cry until she forgets. Or she'll rush off to do something else until she seriously can't remember the events of us asking her about it. She's quite normal and functions very well if she isn't triggered. In some cases, it's better to forget right.]

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geanna

January 4, 2011 at 1:09 AM

thanks for your explanation. :)
i finally get it. and now i no longer feel what oska, joo won mom n ji hyun did as absurd... i kinda angry at the probability of ra im to do noble act for joo won by leaving him for the same reason his family did all these years... but now, just like you said, for the sake of his health, maybe it's for good... but dang, i want happy ending! i'll curse the writer if someone ended up dead or anything involving heartbreak~!

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x0mi07

January 4, 2011 at 9:21 AM

you're welcome.=D i kinda feel bad having to remember my duty experience at all. it was more terrible if you witness it. but i'm glad it helped clarify a bit. because the writer doesn't seem to be pushing for extreme suspension of disbelief after all the research she's done for the other aspects of this story.

i really hope it's a happy ending. city hall got a happy ending... so here's to hoping right?^^

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izzie

January 4, 2011 at 5:34 AM

I have a bad suspicion about JW's trauma if it's something so bad that he had to repress. Could it be that he was trapped in an elevator during a fire, with RI's dad, where the latter was able to save him, but he had to watch him die? I dunno... big fire, two men trapped, fireman so heroic he let JW use his protective gear so he burns instead of him? That would be a situation nobody would want to be in and a memory anyone would want to repress. I hope I'm not posting a spoiler here. (Shudders at how they're gonna play it out, if ever.)

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x0mi07

January 4, 2011 at 9:37 AM

or the elevator wires break cuz of the fire and joowon gets pushed to safety while raim's dad doesn't make it. but that's just too horrid to think about. for the sake of realism, i hope it's a severe traumatic experience (wouldn't wish it on anyone in real life) but then again, the definition of a severe traumatic experience is clearly dependent on a person; it's different for everyone.

real life example: i didn't care for lizards at all until someone put one on the palm of my hand when i was in fourth grade. it was gross but i didn't seem to mind it until i watched parent trap where some lizard-like creature crawled into the mouth of the dad's fiance. i've been terrified of lizards ever since. i feel horror like joowon does. if i see one (even if it's outside a glass window), i run to another room shaking and crying and shouting with my throat constricted and heart pounding on my chest for hours until i get anti-anxiety meds &/or sedatives. *sulks*

so it doesn't really matter what kind of trauma joowon experienced. it doesn't even have to be a grand disaster. the fact that there was a fire and that his escape from the elevator was at the cost of another man's life is already traumatic enough. survivor's guilt + ptsd isn't easy to deal with. it can be debilitating.

[in grey's anatomy, cristina yang's ptsd is so severe that despite being the most talented surgeon on her batch, she can't operate and decided to quit the residency program all together. the writers have spent months and many many episodes with very little progress for her character.>,<]

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28 raccoon 너구리

January 3, 2011 at 12:04 PM

^thought the same...worried it ll slow down the show for me. i fear that it will turn to the impossible love scenario:

they break up, ra im goes to jong soo but doesn t really feel it, joo won s miserable; his mum accepts the relationship seeing how pitiful joo won is except now he has to win ra im back. comes ep 20, she realises she can t live without sparkly joo won, couple again, jong soo gets with joo won s sister, oska and seul get back together...anyone can turn gay for tae sun? stuntman maybe?

why do i keep getting errors when i post? is the email required now? can t use hangeul in the name?

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29 adicted to sg

January 3, 2011 at 12:12 PM

for those who are dying to read the recaps.. there is another option. you can go to http://soulsrebel.wordpress.com/ they do a live translation for secret garden during the show.

You can read the caption and then watch the raw episode. although the caption may not perfect and the time, it will appease you. because you will immediately know what's going on with the episode.

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30 lb_tmi

January 3, 2011 at 12:14 PM

am i the only one that totally did not see the Joowon and KeyLime's dad's connection? i was totally caught off guard. i'm still :0 about the whole thing.

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Sara

January 3, 2011 at 7:02 PM

that's because hopeless SG addicts have been camping in soompi and related blogs scooping out every tidbits spoilers and wild predictions that may or may not come true

thanks girlfriday for the recap

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kpopfan

January 3, 2011 at 9:32 PM

no, you're not the only one. I was like "OMG" the whole time. didn't see it coming but it is all making sense.

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vanillasalt

January 4, 2011 at 11:42 PM

Yeah, i was like "no freakin' way man!" after i read this recap. But the more i read the recaps over again (bc im a hopeless addict), the more impatient i get while waiting for the end subs :'(

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31 purvi

January 3, 2011 at 12:17 PM

WHY? I mean WHY?
why does it have to turn out this way?
typical kdrama thingy i suppose..........well never mind
Hey! girlfriday ,im an Indian fan of kdramas and i absolutely love DRAMABEANS! U ROCK! n your recaps r really amazing!
great job! keep it up!

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poo

January 3, 2011 at 8:38 PM

Hey purvi am frm india too ^^
I so agree with you, Typical much? The mom/ dad/ haraboji/ halmoni etc. always forcing the girl to leave if she wants the guy to be happy and then she breaks up with the guy with no explanations. Amean why dont they get it that it is gonna make the things worse for the guy.
Cmon they ve gotta try sthg new >.<

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purvi

January 20, 2011 at 7:09 AM

o god! i thought i was the only one ! so nice!
i saw the rply just today can i mail u?

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purvi

January 20, 2011 at 7:11 AM

where do u live by the way!

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32 Memei

January 3, 2011 at 12:28 PM

Okay, the Athena recap has been there for like half-a-day already and this one has only been what? a couple of hours? but the comments here are like four-fold already.

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Josina

January 3, 2011 at 4:28 PM

It's because we practically need cliffsnotes to keep track of the story, what with the body swapping and the different calendars and all!

Athena seems to be fairly straightforward in contrast: hot people with guns running around trying to save the world and the girl from the hot double agents. Which doesn't mean I'm knocking it. It's why I watch James Bond.

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x0mi07

January 3, 2011 at 5:38 PM

different calendars cuz ra-im notes the lunar calendar which gives different dates for the solar calendar. i mean the muslim month of ramadan changes days/months every year. of course ra-im's dad's death anniversary would move to.

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33 Maggie Y

January 3, 2011 at 12:33 PM

Is it just me or does it feel like this drama is slowly fizzling out? As much as I enjoyed the whole drama itself... I feel like we're getting into the drag before the drama ends.

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rayray

January 3, 2011 at 8:20 PM

I think its the whole 'will they finally get together or not'(even though we all know they would eventually ..its fun watching the tension,attraction and bickering and as soon as thats over and the lovey dovey phase starts,things do tend to fizzle as they head to angst territory)

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34 huhwut

January 3, 2011 at 12:33 PM

Wait wait I don't get it
so the father died + joo won accident is on December 5th so wut's Janurary 8th?

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35 A

January 3, 2011 at 12:41 PM

January 8th is date on the calendar we use, and december 5th, i'm guessing is the date on the lunar calendar.

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36 myerz

January 3, 2011 at 12:42 PM

is too much to ask for a longer kiss from Ra-Im or just act like a regular couple already!!! not even a hint of "holding hands" while walking wont hurt. hehe
im soooooo addicted to this drama and i just started watching this right after ep14 ended and i finished ep14 even before they broadcasted episode 15. i thought that by the time i get to episode 14 the drama would have ended by then...but no!! cant wait for the next episodes but dont want for the drama to end.

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37 AdamAdam

January 3, 2011 at 12:53 PM

I'm confuse!! Why is it 13 years ago?

If it's 13 years ago, then how old are they now?

I don't get the date either, I thought I saw January 3 marked at Joo won's calendar and not 8th.

I haven't seen ep 15 and 16 with sub so I might have missed something but something is just not too right...

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Freedom

January 3, 2011 at 1:34 PM

@AdamAdam

Presently,
Joo-Won: 34 years old
Ra-Im: 30 - 31 years old

Oksa told Ra-Im the accident occurred when Joo-Won was 21 years old which was 13 years ago. (I'm sure you can do the math here. :))

In another episode prior, Joo-Won learned that Ra-Im's father died when she's 17 years old. So, it was 1997 when Ra-Im's dad died and Joo-Won had his accident.

Now the dates: the confusion was caused by the use of the Lunar Calendar (used for a lot of the traditional Asian festivals, birthdays, important events, etc.) vs. the Julian Calendar. The equivanlent of Dec 5th on the Lunar Calendar is actually Jan 8th on the Julian Calendar, just depending on which calendar you're referring to.

Hope this helps...

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meltedd

January 3, 2011 at 3:58 PM

Yeah was about to mention that too. I believe the date is Dec 5th as Freedom above has mentioned, and if you use the chinese subs, they mention it's the lunar calendar. Hence why Joowon has no recollection of the date despite it being mentioned when he was in Raim's body.

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AdamAdam

January 3, 2011 at 6:39 PM

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

Somehow I thought their both only 20 + and Oska is 34..

And the date makes sense to me now. Thanks!

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Freedom

January 3, 2011 at 7:25 PM

You're very welcome, AdamAdam. Glad this question about the dates was raised though as it can certainly be confusing, especially for non-Asians...

Yeah, both Joo-Won and Ra-Im do look like they are in their 20's. In real life, I think Hyun-Bin is only 28 (and he does has a 'baby-face', I guess) but Ha Jin-Won is really 31 now which is no big deal as she looks just as youthful as any 20-something young ladies. She's definitely one of my favorite actresses right now as she's so naturally pretty and charismatic at the same time, not to mention a kick-ass great actor, don't you think?

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dian_drina

January 3, 2011 at 11:07 PM

can't believe it.. I just know now that Ha Ji Won is already 31 when she looks like a real cute teenager with "OPPAAAA" pouting mouth wiggle in Joo Won imagination, (soo ENVy..)

38 evelia

January 3, 2011 at 1:06 PM

Thanks for the recap!

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39 greensmoochy

January 3, 2011 at 1:14 PM

aaaah so looking forward to this ep's recap. thank you thank you!!!

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40 Daniela

January 3, 2011 at 1:16 PM

Thank you for the recap! I was very surprised when Joo-won mom knelt. But I don’t like all the “I don’t tell you to protect you”. I know that the brain (or the mind) has some mechanisms of protection, and one of them is to forget certain painful things, but he remembers an accident, he doesn’t totally forgot, so why don’t tell him the truth and help him to get better? I know he was in pain, depressed, but after that, they could start to help him. Ah, what I’m saying, I already know the answer. Still, we need the angst, so it’s a good excuse, not my favorite, but i aprove it.

I’m sad because there will be Noble Idiots, I see it coming. I love the show, but since early episodes I was thinking that the angst will involve some situation where Noble Idiots can appear. And at those times I just hoped that the writer handle the situation differently, Noble Idiots out.
The best thing for me will be that Ra-im refuses to leave Joo-won. That will be awesome! It will be unexpected for me. And not because she do it in the name of love or whatever, only because see it from her, it will be cool.

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PickmePICKME

January 3, 2011 at 1:21 PM

Oh i hope you are right. I am so counting on ra-im to say hell no I wont go!!! lol. I can not for the life of me stand noble idiots. They better not make Joo-won the noble idiot (because that would be a waste after he came so faaaarrrrr). Ugh, show pls dont fail me. Kick momma Kim to the curb. What is Joo-Wons mothers name? Does she have one?

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41 red_pill

January 3, 2011 at 1:17 PM

Just a quick comment: I find it ominous that Dad's voiceover tells her it was for the better that she won't be doing the audition - yet Joo-woo went through all this trouble that might get her the part after all.

And another, Joo-won didn't recognize the date Jan. 8 because Philip Lee mentions the Lunar date (Dec. 5) instead.

PS. I adore Joo-won's latest (and presumably last) tracksuit! It's a heart from afar!

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red_pill

January 3, 2011 at 1:18 PM

*correction: she won’t be doing the movie, not audition.

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jomo143

January 4, 2011 at 8:56 AM

By the way, as far as another actress getting the part in that movie, does this mean she has to die in Key Lime's place?

That would be horrible!!

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Lee

January 6, 2011 at 6:40 AM

Not necessarily she could have a different reaction speed to Ra Im and avoid the accident completely, I think we just have to go with the if it's not Ra Im then it will be okay, but I can see it going the way others and mentioned and she will get the part e.t.c

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42 PickmePICKME

January 3, 2011 at 1:17 PM

Oh golly, I totally enjoy secret garden. But what makes me love it even more is all the characters. Gosh, I love Joo-won and Ra-Im, and im happy they have been working together and are still feeling their way along. But Oska and Seuls relationship is equally as good. The second leads are just as cool and I dont hate the second lead girl. Thats a first for me concerning K-drama's. They really know how to give you a girl to hate eheheh. But not in this one. I didnt even dislike seul really from the beginning since joo-won let her know, which alot of male leads dont have the balls to do heheh. GOLLY. I love this show, but i cant wait until it ends and I get my happy ending. Muahahah--I dont like being so obsessed with something, but at the same time i dont mind.

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43 Net-chan

January 3, 2011 at 1:27 PM

Omo omo it is getting even better than it was!!! I wondered all along what the relationship between Ra im's father and Joo Won was. Now we finally know. And there begins the drama: how can Ra im love the man who killed her father in a way? hohoho...

Thanks gf for the recap ^^!

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Freedom

January 3, 2011 at 8:17 PM

Sorry, Net-chan... Got to rebutt your last question: "how can Ra im love the man who killed her faither in a way?"

First of all, don't you think using the word 'KILLED' is bit much? Hope you didn't think Joo-Won was a murderer when he's in the accident?! :)

Secondly, you know Ra-Im's father was a FIRE-FIGHTER, right? Yes, it's extremely sad that any person who chooses to be a public servant that would need to take the risk of sacrificing his or her own life at times in order to save others. (Hats off to all of them!) But it didn't make those who need fire-fighters' help KILLERS, right? I agree it's sort of crazy and spooky that Ra-Im's father died becaused of saving her boyfriend's life before but it's a DRAMA! Even if it happened in real life, any sensible person would have realized they are irrelevant. In fact, if it could be that coincidental for real, would you reckon that must be God's will/destiny or whatever that make this happen? It's meant to be LOVE!

Lastly (now I admit this is sort of my assumption), I think Ra-Im's father was 'arranging' all this on purpose as I believe when that grumpy Secret Garden Restaurant lady/Ra-Im's father serving them the chicken stew, she said she was making all those medicinal wines to help save her daughter, thus the body-swaps and all that. He saw how tough his daughter's life is, it just seemed to me that he wanted her to find her Prince Charming (preferably one with money and totally fell head over heels for her who is somehow also indebted to him) so she would be taken care of, just like what he had prayed for when his voice-over occurred the 1st time in that elevator scene at the beginning of this ep. Again, just a thought and my 2 cents... Net-chan, please don't mind my comments above as I would like to see you enjoy SG from a different perspective. :)

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44 Twilight

January 3, 2011 at 2:26 PM

Girlfriday, thank you very much for the episode updates. I am not a fan of Ha Ji Won but I really liked her in this series. She is tough in the outside but at the same time very vulnerable like a little girl in Joo- Woon's presence. I can't help but adore her character Ra Im.

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45 SG-addict

January 3, 2011 at 2:50 PM

GF, thanks for the recap! Love it! :)

Two points though:
She circles January 8 on her calendar, and he asks what it’s for. Duh, you were told when you were in her body. Is there some sort of memory wipe involved this time or something?
As explained by some here, when Jong-soo mentioned Ra Im’s dad anniversary to Ra-Him(?), he was quoting the lunar calendar. So in 2011, the lunar date (5th day of the 12th month falls on January 8th of the Julian calendar)

Ra-im comes up to the room as Ji-hyun comes out. She recognizes Ra-im from when Joo-wonda came to see her, but Ra-im doesn’t (although she should, from Episode 14, yeah? See, it’s confusing for everyone when you’re doing so much switchy-unswitchy-re-re-re-switchy.)
When Ji-hyun greeted Ra Im with “Long time no see”, Ra Kim actually replied “You know me?” It makes sense cos Ji Hyun has never met Ra Im as herself before. When “Ra Im” went to see her at the hospital in the earlier episode, it was actually Joo Won in her. And she’s not been informed of that visit subsequently. In ep 14, Ji-hyun saw Joo won, even though it was Ra Im in him.

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46 Que263

January 3, 2011 at 3:05 PM

I'm really loving SG and this episode. While the connection between JW and RI's dad has been obvious for a while, I like how it does not gloss over the characters' discovery of it. As much as I already hate Noble Idiots too, I think it will be an especially bad plot device in this drama. RI has already held her emotions and feelings for JW. It's always seemed like he was way more into her than she was into him. He pursued her like the crazy lunatic that he is but she still seems withdrawn. Now more than ever, she really needs to step up and claim her man because he is really going to need her. But of course I'm not delusional. I know that RI will be the Noble Idiot; it's in her nature. JW will be on his own to put the pieces together and find her when he needs her the most and hopefully she'll at least meet him halfway. As much as I'm enjoying it. I'm not really sure I have faith in SG to surprise me and defy kdrama laws, nevertheless I'm hopeful.
Even though he's basically a tertiary character, I'm adoring Tae-sun; simultaneously my heart is already breaking over what is bound to be in store for him. I wish Oska would realize what he is putting him through and stop pursuing him even if it is strictly professional from Oska's point-of-view. Again, I know that I'm asking too much. Oska has already proven himself not to be the brightest bulb. I mean, how long has it taken him to realize why Seul dumped him?

I've been following this blog religiously for a while now although this is my first time leaving a comment. Keep up the awesomeness!!!

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47 Jane

January 3, 2011 at 3:18 PM

Thanks so much for the recap, normally I get along pretty well (even though my Korean is pretty mediocre) but the grave site scene really threw me.

I mean obviously they were both there visiting Ra im's dad, but I didn't understand why JW's mom was there. For about twenty minutes I entertained the possibility tha JW's mom had something with Ra im's dad, but that would be so out of character for her. She's way too full of her own social status to have a fling with a firefighter. Also it would've been such a low blow for the audience, a birth secret? At this point, really? I was feeling pretty disgusted by the possibility, so thank God it was not the case.

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48 dododido

January 3, 2011 at 3:31 PM

Rumors say that the reason why Joo Won is so traumatized by the elevator accident is because he witnessed Ra Im's father being chopped in half by the elevator while trying to save him... LOL..

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kilmenyanne

January 4, 2011 at 8:05 AM

if that's played for angst, it will totally phail for me because I still haven't stopped laughing. awesomesauce.

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qing

January 5, 2011 at 10:19 AM

LOL. awesome comment, dododido!

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49 makadoto

January 3, 2011 at 4:02 PM

Another cliffhanger!.. weekend feels wayyy tooo long to wait. omg i super love this drama

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aoun

January 4, 2011 at 10:25 AM

agree!! This is only Wednesday, arkkkkk..

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50 grasya

January 3, 2011 at 4:02 PM

i don't see why Ra Im should be conflicted that it was Joo Won her dad was saving when he died. It's not like it was Joo Won's fault; and certainly, her father died while performing his duty as a fireman. This was the person her dad gave up his life for, so why would that change things? isn't it more logical that Ra Im will continue loving JW, since he was somebody her father cherished JW's life more than his own?

I bet, when her father died, the latter made JW promise him to take care of his daughter. And JW's gonna remember it soon. And the Sea Witch will have no other choice but to accept Ra Im.

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ar

January 3, 2011 at 4:12 PM

I think she will more likely feel conflicted because to Joo-won the incident where her dad died saving him was a memory so traumatic, he had repressed it in order to survive. Otherwise, he would have probably committed suicide. To be near him is to bring back those memories to Joo-won, Ra-Im will feel like she has to leave him in order to save his sanity and to save his life.

(i think her father saved JW from a sense of duty as a fireman rather than because he cherished JW's life. JW can be some lowlife creep and the father will still feel a sense of duty because that is the noble type of person her father was).

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grasya

January 3, 2011 at 6:06 PM

for lack of appropriate word, i meant that he had to give up his life so that joo won would live, hehe, kinda he gave lesser value to his life than joo won's because of duty.

but i would understand it if it would be Joo Won who will stay away and give up on Ra Im when he learns of such fact --- that ra im's father died because of him. it is a possibility that joo won was just outside, listening to the exchange of his mother and ra im.

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