Rooftop Prince: Episode 18
by javabeans
So much unintentional comedy in this episode, where you just have to laugh at the disconnect between what was meant and what you actually feel. I guess the alternative would be to get aggravated, but I prefer laughing, even if I wasn’t meant to. After all, it doesn’t matter so much why I’m entertained, as long as I am, right? And really, isn’t that what performance art is all about?
SONG OF THE DAY
Urban Zakapa – “Beautiful Day” [ Download ]
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EPISODE 18 RECAP
Having overheard Se-na’s comment and deduced that the dynamic duo (dynamic duds, more like) were behind Grandma’s death, Yi Gak punches Tae-mu. They grapple for a bit, then Yi Gak punches him again. Ah, this drama’s double-smackdown can be so satisfying.
Yi Gak accuses Tae-mu of killing grandma, calling him a liar and murderer (ooh, dangerous words to repeat—they echo Impostor No. 1’s accusation—even if he’s in Tae-yong guise right now). Tae-mu is actually a much better liar when he’s acting in defense of Se-na, and he fights back… only to get a third punch to the face. Yi Gak vows to reveal the crime and make him pay.
Yi Gak returns to the hospital, this time to see the real Tae-yong, who’s still comatose. He apologizes for not being able to protect Grandma in Tae-yong’s stead, thinking, “I have committed a huge sin against you.” He vows to punish Grandma’s killers, then beg for his forgiveness.
I suppose there’s nothing wrong in giving Yi Gak even more motivation to bring down the baddies with Grandma’s death, but for the fact that he has plenty of motivation already. You know, the attempted murder (Tae-yong), the cover-up, the take-over plot, the other attempted murder (Park-ha), and now the new murder? C’mon drama, three episodes left! Focus!
Park-ha meets Yi Gak at their favorite tree, and he offers a few encouraging words about her finding her mother, and noting that the relationship mirrors their Joseon counterparts. Park-ha’s reaction is conflicted, though, since it’s a bittersweet discovery to have made so late, and she cries a little.
Yi Gak steps behind her to embrace her, only to find that his arms go right through Park-ha—he’s fading again. Eek! This is his first experience with the phenomenon, since the first time was with the ducklings, and the second time only Park-ha noticed.
He stares at his translucent body disbelievingly, trembling in horror. When Park-ha turns to face him, he’s back to his solid self and she wonders at his shocked expression. He regains his composure and tells her nothing is wrong, but walks away feeling spooked.
Park-ha catches up to him, and this time he admits that something’s wrong with him—that he couldn’t hold her because he’d faded out. She knows what he means, and asks, “You saw yourself disappearing?”
He’s upset that she didn’t tell him when she saw it, but she says tearily that she couldn’t bring herself to. He reaches out to touch her again, but he hovers over her shoulder, afraid that he might not be able to. When his hand makes contact, he breathes in relief and pulls her to him. They stand there for a long while, holding each other.
They puzzle it out together; Yi Gak supposes this is a precursor to his return to Joseon. It’s a thought that makes Park-ha rueful, and he replies, “I think the reason I came here was to meet you.” His reasoning is simplistic, though sweet: that it’s because the only thing he has done here was to fall for her.
Park-ha reminds him that he has to solve the princess’s murder, but he says, “I want to use my remaining time here for you.” But there’s still Grandma’s death to solve as well, and he sighs at the lack of time.
Yi Gak returns to his ducklings, who report their findings. The police suspect more to the death than a mere accident, and are investigating.
The most pressing goal right now is to find evidence to pin Tae-mu for the crime, and Yi Gak wants to get it before the police, so he can punish Tae-mu himself. Er. That’s admirable and all, but I’m pretty sure the police are perfectly capable of this one—don’t mess with their investigation!
Grandma’s lawyer addresses the family regarding the upcoming will reading, which will leave the entire company to Tae-yong. Talk about a transparent plot device—you gather the family now to tell them to gather again later, so they can hear the reading of the will, which you disclose here anyway? What is even the point, other than to give us a plot conflict to fill out an episode? I’m trying not to roll my eyes here, but the drama’s really starting to lose steam.
The will’s contents are unsurprising, but really, Grandma’s tunnel-vision love for Tae-yong is starting to get annoying. Duh, there’s a reason everyone else is dissatisfied, when you can’t get over your blood-line purity bullshit and only leave an inheritance for the one person who shares your genetic line! Sheesh.
But wait! There’s a provision: That if Tae-yong doesn’t show up for the reading, the company goes to Tae-mu. Ruh-roh. Lordy, Grandma, were you blind, or just stupid? In her defense, the will was drafted while Tae-yong was still missing, and the lawyer points out that the clause is moot since Tae-yong is sitting right here. Oh, so that tidbit served no purpose other than to Give Tae-mu Ideas? Trust me, he doesn’t need any more of those.
Tae-mu and his father leave the reading fuming helplessly. It’s a will, and without a valid reason to protest it, there’s nothing they can do to prevent Tae-yong from taking over.
A reason, you say? Why, that’s nothing a good mastermind can’t invent. Tae-mu lands on his recent fight with Tae-yong, and now those words belatedly sink in: Yi Gak’s accusation that he’s a murderer and a liar. Arg! I knew that would come back to bite him. This tips Tae-mu off that Impostor No. 1 is also Impostor No. 2, and he goes looking for proof of the hunch.
He replays the video taken from the hospital room when Tae-yong “awoke” from his coma, and sees something he missed earlier—the way Yi Gak hid his hand from sight. The couple ring he’s trying to conceal isn’t very visible onscreen, but it’s a suspicious gesture and it gives Tae-mu confirmation that something is up.
A detective comes to Se-na’s door to ask questions regarding Grandma’s death. Gulp.
Tae-mu goes to Grandma’s house, where Tae-yong’s car is parked. Opening it (why do people not lock their car doors?!), he plants a bag of cash and a plane ticket (in Tae-yong’s name) in the armrest compartment.
Yi Gak mulls over the case in his mind, so distracted that Park-ha teases him to get his attention. As they walk down the street, he sees a news report about the helpfulness of car black boxes in accidents. This gives him an idea, since he recalls seeing traces of that accident in front of the house—the same one that Se-na had passed by on her exit from the house.
That gives them a lead, and they canvass various neighborhood auto shops asking about a recent accident. They get multiple nos, but one mechanic recalls doing repairs a couple days ago, and that sends them to talk to the appropriate driver, who confirms that the accident happened in that neighborhood. The only hitch is that the car belongs to a relative who lives quite a distance away, in Gwangju.
That puts them in a good mood, and they plan to head down right away. But on their way home, they’re stopped by a detective—the same one who spoke with Se-na—who asks if he’s the “real Tae-yong” and then orders him brought in on suspicion of Grandma’s death.
Wut? You can arrest people based on a tip now?! ‘Cause I’m pretty sure they can’t have any real proof on Tae-yong, even with that bag of cash. This drama, I SWEAR.
The cop sits Yi Gak down and asks smugly where the real Tae-yong is. He plops the stack of hundred-dollar bills down and accuses him of faking an identity, entering the house, killing Grandma, stealing company money, and preparing to flee to the States. Wow, what deductive powers you have; I suppose if those conclusions aren’t going to jump to you, you go to them. Garrrr, you’re killin’ me here.
Yi Gak insists he’s never seen this cash before and the cop laughs in his face. Tae-mu is called in, and naturally he isn’t going to be his cousin’s alibi, so instead he lies and says he was with Se-na. Convenient, for them to corroborate each other’s stories.
After the cop leaves, Tae-mu tells Yi Gak that it’ll all be over tomorrow, so he can sit here in jail till the will is read, leaving the company to Tae-mu. Twirls evil mustache.
Yi Gak is shut in jail, and he protests that Tae-mu’s the real bad guy. The cop just handcuffs him and threatens to charge him with obstructing justice if he doesn’t shut up.
Tae-mu takes Se-na out for a fancy dinner, telling her to cheer up since everything is almost at its end. She’s a lot more worried than he is, but that makes sense since she was always smarter than him.
Yi Gak sits in jail overnight, and with just one hour till will-reading time, he begs the cops to just let him out for an hour, promising to return. Ha, the only thing that would make these cops less competent is if they complied. It’s too bad Yi Gak couldn’t have a convenient fading spell right now, to let him slip through the bars; for once he could use it to his advantage.
At home, Park-ha catches a glimpse of Yi Gak’s embroidered handkerchief, and this time she notices something they’d all missed: In the bottom corner are initials. Just as Tae-yong’s postcard featured the hangul initials for his name, this set is for Bu-yong’s.
She visits him in jail, finding him dejected at his inability to do anything. She assures him that the baddies won’t get away with it, then takes out the handkerchief to show him what she noticed. He sees that they’re Bu-yong’s initials, and realizes that Hwa-yong lied when she passed it off as her handiwork.
Yi Gak reaches out a hand to the glass as if to touch the embroidery… but it goes right through. Aww, yeah! Hurry, jump! Why are you hesitating? Move!
And then, he disappears right in front of Park-ha’s eyes, fading entirely this time. Yi Gak finds himself rematerializing outside, in the hallway. They’re still in hostile territory with cops all around, so Park-ha grabs his arm and they vamoose out of there.
Once safely outside, Yi Gak takes off running. The family waits nervously with three minutes left on the clock, while the evil ones laugh to themselves. Yi Gak tears inside the building, racing against the clock, while the executor begins the proceedings.
Seeing that Tae-yong is not here, the executor proceeds to the second-case scenario, naming Tae-mu the inheritor. Tae-mu takes the forms to stamp his seal, and just seconds before he puts ink to paper, Yi Gak bursts through the doors.
Tae-mu declares that he’s a phony, but Yi Gak points out that if he’s a phony, he wouldn’t have been able to make the proceedings. (Being in jail and all.) Tae-mu has no rebuttal, and so Tae-yong is named the new CEO after all.
Pyo Taek-soo congratulates him on outwitting their foes, and advises him to kick Tae-mu out of the company right away. Yi Gak asks to be allowed to take care of Tae-mu (“I have an idea”), and asks Taek-soo to take over as administrator of the company, naming him President Pyo.
The ducklings have taken over the task of tracking down that black box, and bring it back to Yi Gak for review. What he sees has him gaping in shock, and he summons Yong-sool with an ominous voice.
Next thing we know, Tae-mu is walking out of the Home & Shopping building, and Yong-sool grabs him from behind and shoves him into a car. The ducklings drag him in to face Yi Gak, who orders him to call Se-na here.
Tae-mu growls, “You think you can get away with this?” Yong-sool literally slaps him upside the head. HA. I love how relatively wimpy this use of force is, and yet it’s perfectly adequate to subdue Tae-mu. See, not everyone needs ice trucks and yachts to do their bidding for them. “Call Hong Se-na here,” Yi Gak commands again.
Cut to: Se-na and Tae-mu, sitting in the hot seat together. HAHA. I don’t think it was supposed to be a funny transition given the dark lighting, ominous voices, and heavy music cues, but the smash cut is hilarious.
They replay the black box footage, and now we get to see it too. It has a clear view of Grandma’s front gate, with Se-na walking out of it clutching the stolen laptop.
Se-na’s already shaking in fear, but she summons her composure to argue that there’s nothing strange about her leaving the house. Yi Gak paints the picture more exactly, saying that she left the house at the very same time that Grandma died.
Tae-mu claims that projected times of death can be off by an hour or two, and tries to leave. Yong-sool sits him right back down. Yi Gak tells them what he wants: They are to mete out their own punishments by resigning their jobs and returning the money they stole (to frame him with). And I go, Whaaaa? That’s your bright idea? C’mon, and here I thought you were gonna get all badass up in this hizzy.
He does tack on the warning that if they don’t, he’ll make them feel the agony of dismemberment. But unless that’s through actual dismemberment, I’m thinking it’s not much of a threat.
He looks particularly at Se-na—who seems closer to the breaking point—as he says this is the last chance he’s giving them, and that they don’t have much time.
Once they’ve left, Se-na anxiously asks Tae-mu what to do. Her face was caught on camera and she’s on the hook—what now? Tae-mu glowers and vows, “I’m going to kill that bastard.” You mean you’ll try. We all know how this goes.
That night, Park-ha huddles outside Yi Gak’s door, asking if he’s sleeping and disappointed when he says he is. He asks what has her so worried that she’d camp out in front of his door, and she says she’s scared he’ll disappear.
So he brings her inside and tucks her into bed right next to him. Aww. They lie down with hands linked, but her concerns aren’t totally relieved. She muses that he’ll still have to return to Joseon and solve the princess’s murder: “That’s what has to happen, isn’t it?”
He turns to face her and says, “Since thinking of having to say goodbye at some unknown point is so painful, I have decided to only think in the moment here, which I spend just with you. I like this moment.” He proposes that they make lots of moments together and tells her to think of something to do tomorrow night.
With that they go to sleep, still holding hands.
The next day, Tae-mu gives Se-na last-minute tips on what must be their new plan. That involves Se-na bringing Tae-yong here to this lake, “by any means necessary.”
Se-na arrives at the rooftop with something to tell Park-ha, attitude meek and head bowed. She affects the demeanor of the self-pitying penitent, saying Park-ha must hate her and apologizing for everything.
Starting to cry, Se-na says she’d like to die; thinking of her wrongs has her so ashamed she can barely hold her head up. Nor can she turn to Mom, or her birth mother, or Park-ha: “Should I just die? If I die, could I be forgiven?”
Admittedly Se-na is pretty convincing; if we didn’t know she was up to no good, I might almost believe her. So Park-ha can’t help feeling sorry for her as well, and softens a bit. When she steps aside, Se-na sees her phone lying on the table and reads the incoming text from “Dummy ♥” that asks if she’s decided where to go tonight. Ughhh. This is just too easy, isn’t it?
Se-na replies as Park-ha, telling him to meet her at the reservoir tonight for some night fishing. He replies that he’ll meet her there, and adds that she should wear the couple tee that he left out for her (which is Chi-san’s, HA).
Se-na hurries out with an excuse (and the phone), then swipes the couple tee for good measure. Park-ha comes running out to flag her down, though she doesn’t seem suspicious as she gets into the car. Instead Park-ha extends an olive branch by offering to buy unni dinner, since she doesn’t want to part ways on such abrupt terms.
Then she sees the reservoir on Se-na’s GPS screen (oh thank goodness), and jumps to the helpful, but mistaken, conclusion that Se-na might be planning to kill herself there. Se-na says she just entered the wrong address, while Park-ha urges her that she can always atone for her wrongs and not to take her life so lightly.
Just then, Park-ah’s ringtone sounds, and it comes from Se-na’s handbag. Se-na cringes, but Park-ha, THE IDIOT, lets her off the hook by saying she has the same song for her ringtone. O RLY? WHAT A COINCIDENCE.
Now Se-na has to answer the phone, and she can’t take it out without Park-ha recognizing it. She sticks a hand inside to quiet the phone, which goes unanswered for Yi Gak, calling from the fishing supply store.
Yong-sool tells Yi Gak that nighttime is dangerous and offers himself as chaperone, which Yi Gak firmly dismisses. No third wheels necessary. I do love Yong-sool’s protective streak, and since it has saved royal ass before I’m thinking it should really not be taken so lightly. Ahem.
While Yi Gak has his romantic date, the boys have plans to go see a baseball game. Unfortunately, Chi-san has left the tickets at home; he’ll have to hurry home to get them.
Se-na drives Park-ha to the restaurant, then excuses herself by saying she’s not hungry. Lol. That’s the best excuse a master liar could think up? She literally strands Park-ha in the street and drives off.
Yi Gak gets to the reservoir first and busily sets up for the date. Park-ha, oblivious to the plans, looks all over the house for her phone and totally doesn’t suspect her sister of a thing. Thankfully, Chi-san arrives to pick up his tickets, and he wonders why she isn’t out on her fishing date.
NOW Park-ha thinks over all of unni’s highly suspicious behaviors, putting together two and two (and two and two—seriously honey, there were a lot of clues).
Yi Gak wonders at Park-ha’s tardiness while she speeds over in a taxi. As he paces by the water, he tries calling her but gets no response again. He assumes she let her battery die, but then worries that maybe she got into an accident, and that has him looking around.
That’s when Se-na appears in the distance and waves to him. In the dark, all he can see is her silhouette, and she playfully turns in the other direction and dashes off. He takes it for a flirty game of Hide N Seek and follows as she leads him right toward Tae-mu, waiting on the other side in his car. Tae-mu revs the engine, readying to drive into Yi Gak. Well, I suppose he’s got a leg up, in that it’s not his first car-related almost-murder; maybe second time’s the charm?
Park-ha’s taxi drops her off and she starts to make her way toward the water. Se-na brings Tae-yong to the appointed spot and hides herself out of view, and Tae-mu starts to drive forward, creeping ahead quietly at first.
Park-ha sees Yi Gak first, then the car approaching behind him. Realizing he’s in danger, she calls out to him. He brightens to see her, but doesn’t see the car coming at him from the other direction. It picks up speed, and Tae-mu guns it.
Yi Gak sees the car at the last moment, just as Park-ha flies at him and shoves him out of harm’s way. Which leaves her right in its path.
COMMENTS
Okay, I give up. Rooftop Prince has always been a little sloppy, but here’s where it gets downright stupid. You can only endure so many dumb twists and turns before you throw up your hands and just disengage, right?
The thing is, I’d be more willing to sit through the lameness if it served a purpose I still cared about. Say, the Joseon mystery, or the time-warping. But the company takeover? Whoopdafrickindoo. I don’t know if there’s anybody who still cares about that home shopping channel or who runs it.
In fact, I’m a little conflicted about painting Tae-mu as the bad guy in respect to the takeover—in the murder(s), there’s no question—because I’m pretty sure he’s the only guy who does any work. Seriously. What does it say about your company that the only competent employee is a murderous psychopath? At this point I’m wondering why Tae-mu doesn’t just set up his own company and run that, since he’s got the experience and business acumen. That’s what LinkedIn is for; post that resumé and you’ll have a dozen companies knocking on your door who want to recognize your achievements. I almost wish the CEO were a withholding father figure instead of grandma, because I can see an illegitimate son driven to extremes to win Daddy’s love. Like in Cinderella’s Sister. (Although, yeah, that got tedious too.) But a crusty ol’ grandma who doesn’t care about you or your father? Psh. Whatevs. Move on.
I agree that the show should have been shorter, but I tend to think that of all shows, so that’s not particular to Rooftop Prince. And really, I do think there was enough material to work with to have filled out the 20 episodes with less stupidity. But I’ve always been more interested in the Joseon stuff, and am bummed to realize that basically all that potential is just gonna be stuffed into the first and last episodes. Boo.
As to the drowning mystery? I admit that this was the very first episode that I thought it might be possible that Bu-yong died in the lake because of a botched attempt on someone else’s life. I’d been aware of that speculation, but never saw much to support it. But this lake episode brings it together—and the fact that we’re thematically circling back to the beginning shows that the drama does know what it’s doing, and had its story plotted out well in advance. In that regard you can’t quite blame the live-shoot for coming up with story twists on the fly, since I think there’s enough evidence that a lot of this was planned. It’s just that the execution is so shaky.
The one shining light of hope: We get one new clue. Instead of the princess’s death being an attempt to kill Se-na that killed Bu-yong instead, now we can posit that Yi Gak was the real target, which is a theory I hadn’t really considered. The time-warp fits better in the context of sending him to safety in a moment of mortal peril, which makes a LOT more sense than Fate deciding he needs to solve a murder case. I like that. I wish we had lots more of that.
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Tags: featured, Han Ji-min, Jung Yumi (2), Lee Tae-sung, Micky Yoochun, Rooftop Prince
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1 otchosais
May 17, 2012 at 5:52 PM
thanks for this one!
off to read! :)
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danny
May 17, 2012 at 6:48 PM
yap, my guess is, in Joseon , the poisoned persimmon fruit was intended for the Crown Prince, and it ends up eaten by someone else, maybe Buyong or the Crown Princess , that's why someone is dead. Thanks for the recap too!
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twentyonebuds
May 17, 2012 at 7:49 PM
yep thats what I thought way back in the first episode too! Although I thought the victim was the Princess and not Bu yong. It's so sad that this drama had so much potential to work with in terms of the joseon mystery and the reincarnation of second lives...like do we live out the same life as a past reincarnation in our second lives? Surely we've got to progress or digress. And I would have liked to know more about Bu Yong because she seemed different to Park Ha..
Also is anyone else curious about Tae Mu's past reincarnation?
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Nutella
May 17, 2012 at 9:51 PM
Yes, I definitely like all of your theories better... Not only does saving him from assassination attempts make more sense than solving a murder mystery 300 years later, rather than, say throwing him a month *backward* in time and making him lead up to the assassination attempts, but also, this way it also ties in to how everything can play out. If Fate doesn't want him to die, it can mean he remains in the present for the rest of his life, which would mean that he would be written off in the history books, which would explain Bak Ha's sadness when she read the history books. It would also explain why he would suddenly be fading in and out. At certain times it gets safer for him to go back, but not for long, and he ends up solidifying each time.
I must say though, that this new clue reminded me of Queen In Hyun's Man. One gets a bloody talisman, and the other an butterfly-embroidered handkerchief, both of which transport them into the future to save their lives.
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tam
May 18, 2012 at 6:17 PM
I don't think this is the FINAL-all-inclusive scene that ties everything together even though we finally get a scene with a pond in it.
I'm waiting for Pak Ha to figure out the answer to the riddle that has been repeated so many times. Once she figures that out, then I'm FOR SURE it'll be the defining moment. Because back when Lee Gak explained what happened that night, the only variable (other person) he mentioned was Bu Yong who came to answer his riddle.
So for now, I don't think this cliff hanger will connect directly to what actually happened 300 years ago. Meaning I still don't think Pak Ha will end up as the victim/in the pond.
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Dedicated
May 20, 2012 at 1:34 AM
i guess Bu Yong came at night and told him the answer of the riddle but she used that as a disguise to take Hwa Yong's clothings. If the theory of someone above/below mentioned is true that the Crown Princess along with Crown Prince's brother-in-law was planning to overthrow the Prince and BY somehow got intel about that and tried to save the Prince, she must have disguised herself as HY with her clothes and went to the meeting place instead of her. I suggest the father knew about her saving plan or HY's betrayal, because it was weird of him tryng to close the investigation by any means, objecting to the Crown Prince as he was trying to enlighten the possible assasination/murder on his wife, as he was dismissing the case of his own daughter in front of the King and the other officials as a merely unfortunate coincidence.
If this were the case, that covers up many parallelties in the story line: 1) BY in the Joseon Era switching clothes and going in place of her sister, where SN did the same in modern times.
2)HY planned to get rid of LG with the help of the Chief of Police Department (?), SN does the same in accordance with TM
3) BY steps in to save LG, PH jumps in front of the car heroically, although she could've just pushed him and roll to the side, not stand in front of the car like a surprised deer caught in the flash lights a car waiting to be run over, but i guess it is easy to comment than be in her place, maybe because of shock and fright i couldn't even move my body an inch! hah!
4) this would also make sense because after the suicide/murder of the Crown Princess (although we are still not sure who the murdered person was) we didn't see BY, which is interestingly curious. As the loving sister she was, shouldn't she come to the Palace and try comforting LG?
5) If truly BY was the one in the pond, it is understandable that HY went into hiding and didn't show her face, but shouldn't LG look at the corpse's face at least once before sending her off to the next world and make sure that it was his bride who drawned in the pond?
6) Someone wanted to coup the Prince, TM wanted to coup TY. LG had his back by his J3 Powerrangers and the King, although he was sick, TY had his back by the Granny, who doted on him endlessly, and Pyo Tek.
7) The drawned woman's hand was like touching TY's hand in the water where he suddenly opened his eyes for a split second as to show he was not dead and the story begins. The woman who was connected to TY and LG was PH, so it makes sense if the woman in the pond is BY.
And about the giant turtle! I didn't notice until someone posted about it. Then watched ep1 again and wow! that's horrifying!
Stacey
May 17, 2012 at 7:19 PM
This episode was do lame. They made such a big deal about park ha's mom and then they don't show us what is happening with that dynamic and SeNa. Whyisn't yi Hal smart enough to give the key as evidence of foul play? Why aren't the police looking for a suspect who disappeared for murder? Why isn't anyone scared of yi gal getting arrested? Why Would the inheritance be given to TM the next day? Why doesn't he put his seal on it while it's in front of him? Do many thing things that didn't mAke sense. Ugh. I don't know how they can wrap this up well next week.
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Annis
May 20, 2012 at 2:30 AM
Yep, this episode was so lame, I scream so many time to my computer... cause i can't stand to all the stupidities ...... I can't believe that Yi Gak ask Tae mu to be his alibi, they're in bar so there are so many people who saw them !!!!!!!! How stupid to ask your enemy to be your alibi........ I don't know if I can stand to see this drama again, but just 3 episodes left, maybe i can endure some stupidities.....*Sigh*
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2 toritorisan
May 17, 2012 at 5:53 PM
Yay! I've been waiting for this! Thanks so much.
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3 Cindy
May 17, 2012 at 5:53 PM
Ahh Thank you!!
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4 dapinaymrs
May 17, 2012 at 6:01 PM
KAMSAHAMNIDA! Loved this episode too. No jumps but we have something to look forward to.
Others are wishing Se Na will push Bak Ha to save her and dies instead of her. I think that would really make an ingenious twist in the story. Se Na gets redemption AND gets punishment.
*goes off to read* :*
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h311ybean
May 17, 2012 at 7:02 PM
Nice one! And by extension, Tae-mu is left holding the bag (or distraught at the loss of his lady love and readily confessing to everything). And Park-ha as CEO Jang's surviving daughter gets all of her stake in the company, putting her on the same financial footing as Tae-yong, who will miraculously recover and the first thing he'll see is Park-ha's face (Yi Gak having returned to his own time and to Bu-young). The end.
As I was reading this recap, I noticed the parallel between the lake and the reservoir. Not all the pieces in each puzzle are the same, but I hope that the result of this reservoir episode will let the drama take a big step in disposing of the villains *and* in solving the Joseon mystery!
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rbee
May 17, 2012 at 7:39 PM
Oh, I like those ideas, dapinaymrs and h3llybean. I hope that's how it plays out.
This was a pretty crazy, pieced together episode. Still missing our cutie-pie ducklings. Although, they were here and there today, not much was very memorable except for the 2 minutes in the fishing store. Loved chipmunk doing his frantic search for the tickets routine. So Cute.
Thx for the recap, JB. Awesome as always!
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Love Silents
May 19, 2013 at 7:27 PM
Chi San = Chipmunk!! bahahaha!!!!
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Silver
May 17, 2012 at 9:28 PM
HA. I like your theory, but Park Ha loves Yi Gak not Tae Yong. If they end up together, it would still not be the same as Yi Gak and Park Ha. They have their own quirks and are SO ADORABLE together.
Can Park Ha love Tae Yong after loving Yi Gak? This drama is also slowly losing its focus and messing up its priorities. I fell in love with drama mainly because of the Joseon mystery and the rooftop family.
And another thing I have many doubts about is, was Bu Yong really the one killed and dumped/left to float in the pond? The clothes were Hwa Yong's...the one she wore on the day of murder. It doesn't make sense. I hope it will make more sense by the last ep.
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h311ybean
May 17, 2012 at 10:11 PM
This is the main reason why I am not a fan of time-travel romances in general - it won't be the same if they end up with people from their own time, but it would also take a major paradigm shift for me to accept one of them deciding to live in the other's time so that they stay together.
You are totally right about Park-ha and Yi Gak getting along wonderfully, but all the fade-in/fade-out business does not bode well for a happy ending involving the both of them in the same era. Besides, I still feel sorry for Bu-young and Tae-yong, who apparently liked their contemporaries, and think they should get something even though there was hardly any loveline development there.
I'll be happy for the characters and their shippers if Park-ha/Yi Gak happens, though. This is just a drama and a happy ending is a happy ending. All the plotty theory stuff I put up there was just me toying with the loose ends - not at all a list of demands to the Powers That Be :) Peace!
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kungfupigeon
May 18, 2012 at 9:52 PM
Well, maybe somehow if Yi Gak goes back, Park Ha would swap with Bu Yong
exquisitemelody
May 17, 2012 at 8:27 PM
I never thought about that possibility! I would really love that ending.
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shirin-noona
May 18, 2012 at 12:49 AM
That is a great theory,but Se Na has to run like a cheetah to be able to push Park Ha out of the way!But anything is possible in dramas!
What I think is going to happen is that the car will actually hit Park Ha and she will die,just at that time Yi Gak will fade and go back to Chosun before everything had gotten so messed up,he'll right the wrongs from the past and the future will change as well.We'll go back to the first scene where Park Ha and Tae Yong had met ( in New York ) but somehow this time they know each other.Tae Yong has Yi Gak's memories and stuff.Sort of like the ending of Heaven's Postman.And they will also see the reincarnations of the ducklings all successful and happy,and everyone will live happily ever after:)
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NieMM
May 18, 2012 at 11:46 AM
This was also my assumption! The car will veer towards SeNa and kill her. An accidental killing that should have been for the prince :)
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5 pumpkinattack
May 17, 2012 at 6:04 PM
Yeah, totally crazy today.
Thanks for the recap! :)
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6 kirst3n
May 17, 2012 at 6:04 PM
OMG, cries. Thank you!
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7 nonski
May 17, 2012 at 6:05 PM
thanks so much for the recaps... off to read!
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8 DarknessEyes
May 17, 2012 at 6:06 PM
sad.... i miss it's original quality.
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9 Noelle
May 17, 2012 at 6:08 PM
YAY! Thank you! Can't wait to read.
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Noelle
May 17, 2012 at 6:53 PM
HOLY SHIT! If Park Ha dies then that means it was Bu Yong in the pond and not the Princess! Which means in the past it was Sena and maybe a past Tae Mu that killed her. There must of been a coup of some sort! Thats the only reason I can think of for the boring business takeover. It's just a parallel.
I get everyone's ire at the show. I mean they wasted so much time on things we thought everyone already knew. Like Yi Gak figuring out the BY/PH connection. That happened three times! They keep dragging stuff out. I would of rather this episode happened sooner so we could of spent more time in the Joseon era. I think we'll be getting back there with Park Ha being out of it. I think that was his whole mission was to keep her alive. So lets see if Mr. Turtle is the time jump conductor and no I won't give up on the turtle. I'm stuck on that thing till the bitter end. I'm guessing now we'll see Yi Gak as the mysterious shoe in the doorway and the guy who pulled Chi San in the tent to tell him that there is a hermit who saw the murder. Please don't disappoint me final!
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im-still-on-ep14
May 17, 2012 at 8:39 PM
u noticed that creepy turtle 2!!!
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MenCallMeBacon
May 17, 2012 at 8:43 PM
Thank you! Someone else noticed that Turtle too! That turtle freaked me out in Episode 1 and has been on the back of mind ever since. Just like the fact that I have felt that the target of the assassination attempt may have been Yi Gak and not the Crown Princess (or Bu Yong). Why plant a false tip about a witness and then try to kill Yi Gak otherwise? I guess one can say that the baddies tried to kill off Yi Gak and the ducklings to stop the investigation?
I also agree with you that the show spent way too much time having us watch the characters try to figure out what the audience already knew, rather than having us figure out the clues along with the characters. I don't begrudge the show, however, because I still find it entertaining. Has the show lost its mind? Yes. Do I still find it fun? Yes.
P.S. Do you mean that it was Tae Moo who pulled Chi San into the tent to tell him about the witness?
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kaye
May 18, 2012 at 8:28 AM
So that was a turtle! I had to replay that part a number of times because I wasn't too sure of what it was and it seemed to have moved.
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10 nova611
May 17, 2012 at 6:08 PM
where's all the fun?
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Noelle
May 17, 2012 at 6:53 PM
Tae Mu killed it.
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h311ybean
May 17, 2012 at 7:04 PM
LOL. If the fun really died, I doubt if it was Tae-mu who did the actual killing :-p
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rbee
May 17, 2012 at 7:42 PM
You all are killing me. Got me some serious laughin' tears rolling down my face. Ha!
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megels7719
May 17, 2012 at 8:37 PM
Agree...he's not very good at killing anyone or getting rid of them for that matter...how many times has he tried and failed?
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Florentine Lily
May 17, 2012 at 8:53 PM
Most likely it tripped past Se Na, fell down the stairs and died.
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Swye
May 17, 2012 at 11:25 PM
bahahaha. you just made my day. LOL
Cruelsummer
May 18, 2012 at 6:13 PM
This entire thread has me rolling. Oh...I love the people of Dramabeans.
exquisitemelody
May 17, 2012 at 8:29 PM
Tae Mu killed something?! :O
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shirin-noona
May 18, 2012 at 12:52 AM
LOL!
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yuyunzzz
May 17, 2012 at 9:40 PM
the only interesting part in this ep is the interactions between PH and YG. and I agree tae-mu is the stupidest, worst killer I ever met and I feel sorry to him for his failures. and what the hell in grandma's mind? is she trying to make her will longer by adding ridiculous condition? goshhh.... I can't watch this ep by not throwing something on the laptop. plz... bring us another fun for next eps.
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11 Kana
May 17, 2012 at 6:11 PM
so SAD this drama is ending next week!!! im gonna miss rooftop sooo much T^T thanks for the review! off to read~
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Stardust
May 17, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Don't miss it too much lol Transfer your love to Queen In Hyun's man! So much more worth the precious drama time.... ♥
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Corn Tea
May 17, 2012 at 7:54 PM
couldn't agree more. RTP thumbs down. QIHM thumbs up!
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hanie
May 17, 2012 at 8:33 PM
^
no wonder I keep on complaining while watching this. Guess I know where all my love gone. kekekeke
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Florentine Lily
May 17, 2012 at 8:56 PM
QIHM is definitely going strong. Plus, there's no company take-over/we-are-related? side story to distract from the plot. I knew RTP would never be the same after they introduced the mom-subplot.
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skelly
May 17, 2012 at 10:37 PM
ITA! I liked RTP just fine until I started watching QIHM, and then I started noticing all of the things I didn't really like about RTP...it truly suffers in comparison.
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eternalfive
May 18, 2012 at 12:46 AM
Haha, same here. I was dealing okay with the clumsy plotline and stupidity in the previous few eps before I began watching QIHM, but now I can't even be bothered to continue watching RTP. Not even for the ducklings - not that they're appearing much anyway. :(
Kiara
May 18, 2012 at 8:01 AM
Well, I'll miss the first half of it.
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12 Alicia
May 17, 2012 at 6:13 PM
Thank goodness for the recaps. Always when I read I get a different take or understand things better.
Like the investigation for grandma's murder. I watch with english subs and it had me going WTH? cuz it was subbed as the police ruled the murder an accident so therefore no investigation but now reading this I see the subbers got it wrong.
As for the police arresting Taeyong on a tip and not properly investigating, its not only this drama but ALL other dramas unless its a procedural or one about a cop family; these cops are basically idiots. I always wonder how they finished school and got their badges
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danny
May 17, 2012 at 6:50 PM
in DRAMAS it's not that the COPS are idiots. It's the writers wanting us the watchers to believe that they are IDIOTS.
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13 Yaremse
May 17, 2012 at 6:17 PM
This episode got kinda REALLY stupid -_-
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Kiara
May 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM
Gave me a few good laugh though especially Tae-mu. His facial expression when he was about to run over our Prince. Dude looks like he was taking a dump. Me thinks Lee Tae-seong needssomeactinglessons.
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skelly
May 17, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Oh, come now - he's the man of 10,000 faces!
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kaye
May 18, 2012 at 8:33 AM
Yes! I was kind of disappointed with Lee Tae-seong's performance in this drama 'cause he was pretty decent in Playful Kiss.
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SoyB
May 18, 2012 at 11:38 AM
He can only do so much with bad writing... I'm willing to give him another chance with hopefully a better drama.
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spjork
May 18, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Dude has taken this role Super Seriously. Probably too seriously. He mentions all the time on his Twitter about how he catches himself thinking very dark thoughts, can feel his character's negativity bleeding into his own personality, and that it's gotten dangerously close to affecting him in his everyday life!
I mean, he seems like a really nice guy and I also thought he performed well in Playful Kiss (but maybe that was just because next to Kim Hyun Joong, anyone would look like a good actor?) but somebody needs to pull him aside and tell him that pulling ridiculous, overly dramatic faces does not equal dramatic acting. Method acting is great, so long as that method isn't overacting.
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glace
May 18, 2012 at 3:20 PM
right like you would think the directors would note that and make him redo scenes. I wonder if they're purposefully making him do that ._.
Love Silents
May 19, 2013 at 7:34 PM
Haha! I thought his face got Botoxed....
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14 sootyxsnowpetal
May 17, 2012 at 6:21 PM
Thanks for the recap!
I didn't like this episode either. Not enough cuteness and too much of stupidity as well as too little of the plot moving forward. I hope the show redeems itself next week!
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15 kooriyuki
May 17, 2012 at 6:21 PM
i wish they had involved a lil more back and forth time-traveling (ala QIHM) instead of just focusing on YG n his ducklings stuck in 2012 all the while.
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16 hillll
May 17, 2012 at 6:22 PM
This show had a premise with so much potential. Unfortunately, it spent too much on the company plot and lost all its humor. I just hope the writers are able to tie all this mess up nicely next week.
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17 crazedlu
May 17, 2012 at 6:25 PM
hehehe. lame. buuut, that last paragraph in your comments section is something cool to consider.
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18 Ace
May 17, 2012 at 6:25 PM
Agree that this would've been better if it was just 16 episodes. There are a lot of fillers but I'm not really complaining since I stopped watching sometime during the middle episodes. But man, I'm sad about Park-ha's character. She was just so sweet and smart in the beginning (Bu-yong even more so) but how did she turn out to be this naive and stupid? How many times is she gonna fall for Se-na's lies? Learn from your mistakes, gal.
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Florentine Lily
May 17, 2012 at 9:05 PM
I've watched a lot of K-Dramas and, in most of them, the girl always gets dumbed down near the end. The writers use that to "advance" the plot but it just annoys me. I understand why Park-Ha might have fallen for her lies in this episode (Se Na looked like she wanted redemption) but taking her previous actions into consideration, I wouldn't let her near my house.
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19 bd
May 17, 2012 at 6:29 PM
RP JUMPED THE SHARK so long ago, but now, I'm just watching to see how bad the writing can get (and what little remains of the Joseon Power Rangers).
Not "Lie to Me" bad, but certainly "Secret Garden" bad (except RP actually had some cute/funny moments w/ the JPRs, unlike SG which was devoid of any cute/funny moments).
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20 sita
May 17, 2012 at 6:31 PM
thanks jb! :)
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21 im80
May 17, 2012 at 6:31 PM
The writer maybe good at making comedy scripts but really bad for suspense and how to end the series.. I hope some miracle will happen for the last 2 episode.
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22 Gia
May 17, 2012 at 6:32 PM
BAH! I've always had that feeling that it was Bu-yong that died and not whateverhernameis. But other than that, I just want Park Ha and Princey to end up together. Not Park Ha and real Tae-yong. Not Princey and Bu-yong (though that's technically out of the question if Bu-yong is REALLY the one that died...). Anyway, thanks for the recaps. I still really like this show... if I will like it all the way depends on how it ends... -_____-
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23 amatsu
May 17, 2012 at 6:35 PM
I've long since stopped watching the show but I always come here to read your recaps. I don't think I'll be continuing this series but thank you for all your hardwork! I miss the fun times where there wasn't much Sena-Taemu-Company exposure. Those were the worst parts, so uninteresting. I wanted more Joseon too.
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24 TamTam
May 17, 2012 at 6:39 PM
I found myself skipping through half of the episode and finally just to the final scene at the lake. Then I came here to read what I missed... which can be summarized in one sentence, basically. At least you guys make the recaps entertaining.
I also laughed at the cut scene when Sena and Taemu were "summoned" to the dark room. They were like two bad kids being called to the principal's office squirming in their seats. Gotta find the funny somewhere so my eyes just don't roll out of my head. I also thought the ducklings were suppose to play a bigger role in helping Lee Gak, but every time he's in a bind, they're nowhere to be found.
The couple scenes were sweet, but the impact of Park Ha's sacrifice was weakened because by then I just want something new to happen.
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mskololia
May 17, 2012 at 6:45 PM
I stopped caring about her character with the freezer episode. One too many near deaths for my taste.
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jenlim
May 20, 2012 at 8:09 PM
Exactly how I felt :-(
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25 mskololia
May 17, 2012 at 6:43 PM
STUPID is an understatement. And, I agree about the live-shoot being the biggest offender that kills the storytelling...again.
Thanks JB!
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26 shl71
May 17, 2012 at 6:44 PM
Thank you for the recaps, Javabeans!
I'd stopped watching some time ago as well; the show just lost its funny for me, but your recaps have kept me updated (since I really want to know what happens at the end now) -- thank you!
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27 Shiku
May 17, 2012 at 6:46 PM
I also entertained the notion that it was Buyong and not the crown princess. However, when you take into consideration that in ep 1 the consensus was that it was the princess. If it wasn't why would he get into an argument with some of the ministers in one of the King's cabinet meetings?
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28 Swye
May 17, 2012 at 6:46 PM
I give up. It's sad that this drama started out as my favorite and now I can barely tolerate it. I can't even get myself to watch the show anymore. So, I am just going to read the recaps to get a sense of closure, which I really hope the writers provide.
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Alex
May 18, 2012 at 9:29 AM
This happens to me all the time :(... First KDrama ever, Protect The Boss which was a train wreck at the end... Right now I'm putting all my hope in "Queen In-Hyun's Man", just purely gorgeous on every level.
Both have time travelling hero's, but in one... We know the ending from the start, it's the process on how we get there that's the question. It has a mixing of the past and present, instead of having one just reflect the other, both the past and the present affect the other in some ways.
RTP is dead...
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Coco
May 21, 2012 at 12:39 PM
I still love RTP to pieces. I would have loved less Tae-Mu and more Joseon Era but it's still the best drama out for me right now. Fighting Writer-nim! Give us the best ending.
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29 jiajia
May 17, 2012 at 6:46 PM
thank you!
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30 Aquila
May 17, 2012 at 6:49 PM
Thanks for the recap! Was waiting on your take on this episode!
I had to admit, I was a little concerned when they ended ep17... I felt kind of confused... Ep 18 didn't really advance any more forward for a drama series about to end.
I do however felt a slight cringe when this episode ended with Park Ha shoving Lee Gak out of the way... I don't know why but its such an old drama tactic on getting the heroine screwed but not to the point where she gets killed (yet?).
With two episodes left and my head already piecing my theories on how this drama will end - the outcome does not look good...
I pray that this drama can successfully complete its course and not have a rushed or botched ending that many potential dramas have/had done!!!
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31 kirara
May 17, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Yeah, this episode was a bit on the crazy end.. some of the stuff was not necessary and kinda of not making any sense,
But it was still cute and funny (the show down between tae-mu and yi gak and then to the 3 ducklings kidnapping tae-mu and then bringing both him and Se-na for questioning.. HAHAH :D)
But wow, can't believe its going to be over soon and feeling like there's still unanswered questions which is basically going to smush EVERYTHING in the last two episodes.
Thanks for posting though~! :D
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32 Ivoire
May 17, 2012 at 6:52 PM
Thank you for the recap, as always!
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33 dea
May 17, 2012 at 6:53 PM
I'm sad with RTP because it started out really strong & funny, but it went down the hill with the whole company & birth secret plots. Tae Mu is so far one of the worst villain ever - he's to one-dimensional. I wish the writer could spend more time developing his evilness so his character can have more depth.
From the beginning, I know this drama is about Lee Gak / Tae Yong and Yoochun has done an exceptional job in portraying LG, TY, TY v.1, TY v.2 etc; and it made lots of sense when the writer said that the success of this drama would depend on Yoochun. But it upsets me too, because even though Yoochun has done his absolute best, the script is bleh.
So I hope the writer can give us the best 2 last episodes next week. More Joseon scenes and F3 ducklings please.
And I'm with javabeans, I also think Tae Mu deserves to be the CEO or run his own business. He's the only one who does all the work in the company.
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Xtool
May 17, 2012 at 9:53 PM
He may be slightly competent but who wants to work for someone who runs people over, plants fake evidence on them to get them arrested, and gets his girlfeind to steal for him. Management material - ooooh, I don't think so. Unless he's gonna run Enron or something.
Looks to me like he'd hurl anybody into the volcano to save his own hide. Your only prayer would be his patent inability to execute.
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Spjork
May 18, 2012 at 7:00 AM
I think you have quite a rosy view when it comes to corporations. In my opinion, you've just described many of the COO's, CFO's, CEO, etal running Fortune 500 companies/multinational corporations. The only difference being that they would probably throw money at the situation and have other people doing these things for them rather than dirty their own hands.
I'm not saying that power and morals are mutually exclusive (in theory) but power does corrupt. In practice, power is never free and it usually doesn't come cheap.
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pk
May 18, 2012 at 6:47 AM
He is not interested in the running of the Co, he told HK CEO, he is going to sell it....anyway, with his talent, the company will really go bankrupt so the best person to run is still that short guy...
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SoyB
May 18, 2012 at 11:42 AM
Agree, he is doing his best and can only do so much with bad writing... I think all the actors are trying really hard, but sadly, the script just makes them look bad. Like I really hate Sena, but the actress is doing a really great job of still making me hate her. It really is such a waste of decent talent... oh well.
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34 twenty20
May 17, 2012 at 6:53 PM
Ouchh..this episode is killing me!! Only 2 more episodes left! But still so many things happened..I want Joseon scene too! PD nim, dont waste the last 2 episodes for next week!
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35 miaka_0210
May 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM
Wait so im confused (as always, lol!!), i thought it was Se-na who died in the previous era, so how come now we think its actually Bu-yong who died? Because of Tae-mu running her over with a car? Can somebody explain to me please!!!
Thanks for the recap!!!
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dea
May 17, 2012 at 7:19 PM
On ep 1, Lee Gak mentioned that the Crown Princess died in Buyong pond. Coincidence? I don't think so. From that moment, I believe Buyong was the one who drowned in that pond.
The King was quite ill at that time. LG's brother-in-law (police chief Hong Rang Hyung) was the one who investigated this case. I had a feeling that because the King was ill, HRH might want to ascend to the throne and he collaborated with CP to kill Lee Gak. But Buyong knew about their plan and was killed instead of LG.
This is the reason why I hope the writer will have more Joseon scene, because I really want to know the relation between TaeMu, company story, birth secret etc with what happened in Joseon era.
TaeMu = police chief HRH?
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exquisitemelody
May 17, 2012 at 8:41 PM
From the get go, I always though it was Bu Yong that died...must be the Lost instincts in me. There must've been a reason for our only seeing her face down. I never thought about this whole Joseon coup thing until seeing comments about it this episode. If this is what happened (and it makes a lot of sense), I wish all of this would've come to fruitation earlier! We would've had more Joseon scenes :(
I'm hard to please when it comes to finales...I'm excited, but nervous to see how this one ends!
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Nancy Drew
May 17, 2012 at 9:22 PM
Me too- from the beginning, my intuition told me it was Bu Yong who had died. In a previous comment, I listed several reasons why I believed that, including what dea pointed out above about the pond being named "Bu Yong Pond". And here's another compelling clue that was on my list:
Clue#2: The way the images of the floating bodies were presented. Soon after seeing the woman’s body in the water, we see Tae Yong’s, which gives us the idea of parallel destinies. At one point, the images are superimposed so that it appears they form one being. In another shot, it looks like their hands are reaching out to one another. (To me, that’s a Big Clue.)
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trotwood
May 18, 2012 at 5:32 AM
So I am thinking that if it is Bu Young that died, maybe we can all get what we want which is to have Park Ha get the Prince. She can go back in time with him (since he seems to be fading anyway) and what does she have left really in this time? Did you see how they cut the reconciliation bit with her mother into seconds?
"Hi, I am really your daughter, you know the one you have been looking for for the enitre show"
"Really? *cries* Nice to meet you. I want you to come live with me now"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. My sister wants me dead and I am in love with a reincarnated Prince"
"Okay, Bye. Good luck" vanishes. story arc over.
(P.S.-- I love the actress that plays their mother--she can be moving, bitchy, calculating, etc.--she was wasted here like so many of the great actors).
Florentine Lily
May 17, 2012 at 9:23 PM
But if Bu Yong died, why didn't the Crown Prince find out? A lot of time elapsed between her death and him calling on the Rangers and the investigation. Where did the Crown Princess disappear to?
If the writers wanted to go down that road, they should have condensed episode 10-18 into 2-4 episodes and saved us all from the agonizing, horrible writing.
I'm only watching now to see the ending (please, don't be extended).
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36 RibyBooWhoo
May 17, 2012 at 6:56 PM
i've always hav a feeling that it was bu yong who died in da lake from da very first eps..bt we nvr know rite..anyway thanks for the recap..i've been waiting for this recap xD..cant wait till next week :)
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37 makoto
May 17, 2012 at 7:02 PM
yeah! stupid n lame. why that smarty park ha being deceived by sena over and over again. why didn't they call the police? I hope yong sool arrive just in time to save her.
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RamanKuttyGopalan
May 18, 2012 at 6:06 PM
"why that smarty park ha being deceived by sena over and over again"
Smarty Park Ha? Haaa....Call her anything but smart.
Evidently the writers had ran out of "smart" ideas on how to extend the 16 ep drama to 20 ep. They have nothing better than repetitive plots. Say Yay if you agree :>)
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38 im-still-on-ep14
May 17, 2012 at 7:05 PM
dis are my questions for this drama:
wouldn't it be easier to solve the joseon mystery murder wit a history buk?
watever happend 2 d yong sool-lady mimi lovelyn?
wat was dat creepy turtle-like statue in ep 1?
did the people back in joseon ever wondered y princey disapeared? did they even cared??
the end of this episode reminded me of jyj's in heaven music video. LOL
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Schmazel
May 17, 2012 at 8:28 PM
And who opened the door to Sena's apartment in episode 2?
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im-still-on-ep14
May 17, 2012 at 8:33 PM
dat one too!! i never really got who placed that shoe!! but i have a feeling in won't be answered...
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JaeP
May 18, 2012 at 1:36 PM
Tae-Mu opened the door! He placed his shoe in the door and went to get a towel. When PH walked in he asked (before he saw her) if she forgot her key, believing her to be SeNa. Why is there so much confusion over that?
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lenrasoon
May 17, 2012 at 8:36 PM
Lee Gak opened since he was the one who found the keys and entered the door after.
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lenrasoon
May 17, 2012 at 8:39 PM
my mistake i was talking about this episode and not episode 2, episode 2 i think it was tae mu (they didn't hint to be someone else), but i have to re watch that episode to be sure.
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im-still-on-ep14
May 17, 2012 at 8:46 PM
when pak ha went into the aprtment tae mu just got out of the shower...sum1 let her in...maybe it was just tae mu...
Swye
May 17, 2012 at 11:31 PM
But who opened the door for Sena? in this episode that is.
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Spjork
May 18, 2012 at 6:49 AM
She did!
The door has a pass key and pass code function. So when she couldn't find her "key" (because she dropped it in Tae Yong's room during her struggle with grandma) she punched some numbers.
6002forever
May 18, 2012 at 7:16 AM
Se Na has the combination numbers to the lock. Remember, after she lost her apartment key in Grandma's house ,she went back and keyed in the combination numbers to get in?
And I saw a '...22.." amongst a bunch of numbers she punched in.
exquisitemelody
May 17, 2012 at 8:42 PM
Yeah...I doubt we'll get an answer to that. Guess it was just a gimmack to get Park Ha into the apt? But it really makes no sense for Tae Mu to put a shoe in the door to let her in...he could've just opened it all the way and let her in.
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im-still-on-ep14
May 17, 2012 at 8:49 PM
i know! what was the point of dat...and i really wanted the lady mimi and yong sool lovelyn...
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beppu10
May 18, 2012 at 2:21 AM
Another question:
What exactly did Park Ha read in that History Book?
Anyway, despite of the seemingly discouraging recap and some comments here I still want to to push through till the end. Yah, I agree with the downward spiraling of the script, but I still have faith in the writer that he would somehow pull it through--but he better do it very well because a lot of us are already exasperated with it!
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39 girl
May 17, 2012 at 7:06 PM
there comes a point where the lying becomes expected, annoying, boring and makes me wish the protagonists weren't so forgiving and moral all the time! especially Se Na!
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40 h311ybean
May 17, 2012 at 7:07 PM
Ugh, I hope it wasn't Bu-young who died because that suggests that 1) something will happen to Park-ha, and 2) there won't be any suitable woman waiting for Yi Gak when he returns to his own time.
On the bright side, Park-ha and Tae-yong can come out of their comas together? I don't know....
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RamanKuttyGopalan
May 18, 2012 at 5:50 PM
Park Ha isn't gonna die hellybeanie, the scriptwriters should know better than to kill the leading character more so as early as the 18eps. If she should die it'd be around 30 - 40 mins into the final ep.
So rest assured Park Ha or Bu Yong will be there when our prince returns to Joseon. The only thing now is how the writers going to figure out on removing Bu Yong's dreadful scar. We can't have her traveling to the future to get surgical help, can we? Cant bear the thought of princey (albeit not so handsome) spending the rest of his life sleeping next to Bu Yong's half-burnt face.
Faitinn!!
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Buttercup
May 19, 2012 at 2:14 PM
Hahaha...." Cant bear the thought of princey.... spending the rest of his life sleeping next to Bu Yong’s half-burnt face."
Love is definitely only as deep as your skin, haha.
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RamanKuttyGopalan
May 19, 2012 at 8:14 PM
Love? I didnt know Prince was in love with Bu Yong :/, i must have missed something. I thought he loves Park Ha. Imagine loving someone and sleeping with someone else (with a half-burnt face at that), whatever reincarnation is, Park Ha can never be Bu Yong or vice versa.
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h311ybean
May 20, 2012 at 5:51 PM
I never got the impression that he was in love with Bu-young, but they did seem to get along well together in their one Joseon scene, and maybe he's now drawing parallels in his head between her and Park-ha so will be more open to pairing up with her when he returns to his own time.
However, it also occurred to me that maybe Park-ha and Bu-young might end up switching places so that Bu-young can get plastic surgery for her face and be all pretty when Tae-yong recovers. I don't know if Park-ha will be happy to give up all her modern conveniences just to be with the man she loves, but there's another possibility for us!
41 Myra
May 17, 2012 at 7:13 PM
YAY!!! would like to thank you first for this super fast recap...now off to read.
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42 Jaymie
May 17, 2012 at 7:17 PM
I liked part of the episode because Parkha finally saw something without a nudge or suggestion from Yi Gak. Maybe Parkha will be transported to Joseon and the prince can tease him about how she needs to adjust to his time. Lol. I miss seeing the three boys though. I wanted them to get more screen time and useful in the drama. Hope the writers can come up with a good ending.
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43 PilTa
May 17, 2012 at 7:22 PM
wth sums up the entire episode.
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44 kewbie
May 17, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Thank you for recapping! BTW I love the screencap you used. :-)
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45 mom2mp
May 17, 2012 at 7:33 PM
Thank you Javabeans. Please do not give up. Why? Why now? Lets get this over with, JB. Its two more episodes and it would be a shame if you gave up at this stage. Lets all take a deep breath and try to find SOMETHING that will make this worthwhile. How about the J4 ducklings? They are cute, right?
"That’s what LinkedIn is for; post that resumé and you’ll have a dozen companies knocking on your door who want to recognize your achievements."
ha ha ha!!! That was funny! But, it might be easier to take-over than to create your own.
About the last comment on "The one shining light of hope:"… From what I have seen the past 18 episodes is that, while the motives were different in the two time periods, the actions are pretty much the same. If Sena took advantage of Park Ha, you had the Crown Princess exploiting BuYoung. Similarly, if BuYoung was the one who was killed in Joseon era, it would mean that Park Ha is the one who will be killed in the present. I think saving YiGak from harm in the present is incidental. And not to mention that TaeYoung had already come to harm in the first episode. Isn't he still in a coma, awaiting his soul to re-enter him after YiGak goes back to Joseon?
Someone mentioned that the dried persimmons were probably meant for YiGak. If that were the case, then the person who died HAS TO BE the Crown Princess. 'Coz remember, BuYoung just whispered the answer to the riddle (isnt anyone curious about what she whispered to YiGak?) and left the room.
And then I have a couple of questions about continuity:
- If BuYoung was the one who was killed in episode 1, wouldn't SOMEONE have noticed that it wasn't the Crown Princess when they dragged her body out of the pond? I mean, they wouldn't have left the body in the pond, right? And they discovered the body the same night/ next day morning. So, unless they disfigured her face AND put her in the same clothes as the Crown Princess, SOMEONE should have noticed that there was something fishy. And since they ruled the death as an accident/ suicide, disfiguring the face would have been a dead give-away.
- When YiGak and his ducklings go back to the past, how would the present world explain away their absence. Agreed that the real TaeYoung might regain consciousness and the home shopping company will be back to being its peachy self. But how would Chairman Pyo explain where the impostor who had posed as the bespectacled TaeYoung disappeared? Since Park Ha is the only one who knows the truth, killing her in this episode totally makes sense now.
And that was long winded.
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46 anotheraddict
May 17, 2012 at 7:36 PM
I'm totally exasperated. And duckling-deprived. I'm gonna listen to "Beautiful Day" again to get in a better mood, then watch a drama that hasn't squandered all of it's potential.
I'm still convinced that Bo Yong was the murderee, and the wearing of the sister's wardrobe in this ep. is further evidence of that... however, in this case, I really would love to be wrong.
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En En Koh
May 17, 2012 at 9:19 PM
Geez! That was a brilliant observation about Sena wearing Park Ha's clothes to distract Lee Gak!
Cos during Joseon, the dead body floating on the lake was fake down, we can't see the face though a lot has speculate that it could very well be Bu Yong. But why was Bu Yong wearing the Crown Princess' clothes if BY was indeed the one being drowned? Wondering how did the conspiracy work here?
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47 jelly
May 17, 2012 at 7:41 PM
Gosh..Why did the writers put Park Ha as the one to be killed at the car crash. They could have just let Yi Gak alone and since he is invisible at some point could have crashed but unharmed...that will lead the car crashing thru the lake with Taemu in it.
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En En Koh
May 17, 2012 at 9:21 PM
Haha! i thought about that as well!!! it could bet that when the car was heading toward Lee Gak, he would be flickering and would just so happen to disappear and Tae Mu's car would be heading straight for the lake or something.... lol
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duckiesforpresident
May 19, 2012 at 12:48 AM
HAHAHHA
Yes!
That scene would be unlucky/incompetent murderer creme de la creme.
Se-na sobs at court apologizing for her deeds, but that TM made her do it. YG clenches his fist while BH looks on with concern (GRR - where did BH's fire blow to?).
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48 Cynthia
May 17, 2012 at 7:44 PM
Awww... I see the obvious scripting problems, especially for these last two episodes, but I just can't turn my back on Show. Show has given me so much of the funny that I can't bring the mean.
It's pretty bad when the murder(ers) wind up making me laugh - it's like watching Boris and Natasha's evil bumbling.
Poor Tae Mu - right up until the last second of this ep he STILL isn't able to run over his intended victim. Another 'hit', another miss. Sheesh, nothing goes right for this guy. Frankly, I miss him as Duckie, mooning around after his Ha Ni while combing his greasy hair with his giant comb. Now THAT was acting!
:)
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49 Daniella
May 17, 2012 at 7:45 PM
Words cannot express how much I wanted to punch everybody in this show today! Like seriously Bak Ha?! Seriously?!
I'm so pissed off right now.
I'm so pissed of they gave them the second chance. Why? And if he escaped, why doesn't the cop come looking for him?!
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50 maracarrero
May 17, 2012 at 7:48 PM
I'm just going to throw a theory out to the kdrama universe. If YG/BY and TY/BH(PH) were meant to be
and Prince YG corrects history, then the future will
be different so maybe TY/BH meet in NY, fall in love
and the result is different (she will forget what she
lived with YG because he is TY in her present) and
she'll be happy in love. Or else she lives, YG goes
back to Joseon and the comatose TY recovers and
goes to the hospital and they live happily ever after.
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pasabaporaqui
May 18, 2012 at 6:23 AM
I am with you at this in the thing about correct the future.
I think YG/BY and TY/BH meant to be . So for me the only way that YG7BH can split is if at least one of them forget everything and we can see that the other “the same” as we have seen for the other.
So for example :
YG goes back save BY so the travel was to save her and to open his eyes about the whole situation a mirror of the current moment “ bad guys want yg head and by died saving him” and we see some flashback
protracting BY doing some cool stuff and been a fighter does it why she dies as BK (so we do not feel so bad about BY not having the same personality that BH).
So with the change in the past BK does not remember anything about YG and meet TY in this place in NY that the post card says (<--this is the only way I can imagine a romance fair between does two) and they live happily ever after like you said.
But then I dont know what I would do with the TWO villains , can I make them just disappear? I don’t care about them to be honest….
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