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Queen In-hyun’s Man: Episode 12

If I could bottle the unicorns and rainbows that power this show, I would. And then I’d be… rich? Powerful? In excess of a lot of whimsy?

An adorable episode filled with cute couply moments, as well as the first major decision our lovebirds make for their futures, both past and present. (And I’m just filling in for an episode; javabeans and HeadsNo2 will be back with your regularly scheduled programming shortly.)

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

Hee-jin stirs awake in the middle of the night, and smiles sleepily at Boong-do, who’s standing in the doorway, fully dressed. Wait, you’re not just running off like that, in the middle of the night, are you? ARE YOU?

He does smile at her sweetly, but that does not cancel out a post-sex sneak-out, ya hear me, scholar boy?

Hee-jin wakes up in the morning, still swooning. Aw. Yeah, I’d have that look on my face too. But she quickly discovers that she’s the only one in the bed. She shuffles out in her blanket burrito and grows increasingly annoyed to find that he’s really gone.

But wait, a note! She finds a note on the nightstand by the bed, and recognizes her name written at the top. Only… she can’t read the rest of it. Hahahaha. She gets dressed and sits there, phone in hand, trying to puzzle together the few hanja characters she knows.

I love that it’s like a code-cracking scene, but only for her. After a while, she slams it aside in frustration, “If you’re going to write a note, you should be considerate of the receiver and write it in Hangul!” Right?

She squirms out her frustration, and that’s when she discovers something in her dress pocket… it’s Boong-do’s talisman. Waitaminute, so he’s not gone?

Boong-do’s voice rings out from the yard and she runs out to the balcony. He’s… learning how to ride a bike? Pfft. He tells her that he had to do something, he was so bored waiting for her to wake up.

She tells him she was worried, with the disappearing act and a letter. He looks up, “A letter?” She shows him the note, and he laughs, “That’s your address, so that I wouldn’t forget it. Can you not even read your own address? You’re considerably stupi—”

HA. She cuts him off, “You don’t even know how to ride a bike!” Heh. It’s not even that she’s that dim, but her insistence that she’s very smart that’s always hilarious.

He asks what she wants to eat and offers to go buy breakfast. She figures she has to go anyway, since he has no money, but he takes out another giant wad of bills from his pockets.

He totally re-sold that same sword! Hahaha. This time he knows what he’s doing and gets more money from the shopkeeper. He muses that on the third time, he’ll likely get more. So funny.

I love any scene where he relives the same conversation with someone, like his re-inquisition with Soo-kyung, because he has this awesome smirk of recognition on his face.

He says he was going to get her another car, but she already has one. She quickly squashes that idea, “I can’t drive a car that might disappear on me at any moment.” Aw, when she says stuff like that, it just breaks my heart.

He asks what he should buy, and she starts to tell him, but rethinks it and tells him to wait. She runs inside and writes down a shopping list, grumbling all the while about him insinuating that she’s dumb. She runs the list out to him, and he stares at it blankly. She puffs up proudly, “You wouldn’t be able to read it anyway. It’s in English.” HAHAHA. I love her petty revenge.

He gives the list to the clerk at the store, who asks if a foreigner wrote it, and Boong-do says no, “Just someone whose pride is needlessly strong-willed.”

He gets a good laugh though, when the clerk points out that she spelled “curry” wrong. To her credit, “curry” is phonetically way off in Korean, but she also spells “menu” wrong, which really shouldn’t happen if you’ve eaten at a restaurant, ever.

Meanwhile, Soo-kyung stews over her breakfast, declaring that Hee-jin has three minutes left on the clock to call her before their friendship is over forever. She growls into her phone to ring, right now, right now, right now… and then it rings.

She screams into the phone and Hee-jin asks if everything went okay with Dong-min. Oh! I forgot all about him, locked in there! Hee. In flashback, Soo-kyung frees him from the shower and he fumes.

Soo-kyung asks where she is, gasping, “Did you spend the night with your saseng fan?” Hee-jin corrects her—he’s not some crazy stalker, and besides, Soo-kyung’s the one who said she’d automatically take her side if the man in her dreams turned out to be real.

She leaves Soo-kyung gaping into the phone, “When did I ever say that??” But then she recalls the very conversation where she pleaded with Hee-jin to get her head on straight, promising that very thing. Heh.

Boong-do returns with the groceries and asks if he brought back the right stuff. I love how much he enjoys this. Hee-jin proceeds to make him breakfast, in this awesome showy cooking-show display, of how difficult it is to make instant curry. LOL.

She goes into this long and thorough explanation of the very important steps, such as opening the package along the dotted line, pouring evenly over the rice, covering with saran wrap (not for amateurs), and setting the microwave to exactly three minutes, no more, no less.

He watches it all silently, arms crossed. She presents him with her cooking masterpiece and says that he needn’t thank her, wiping her brow from the effort. He finally lets out a sigh, calling her out for her con.

She feigns offense, “What do you mean, a con?” He says it’s been months since he first came here, and bellows in his Very Important voice, “Where does this woman get off…” She laughs, realizing her cover’s been blown. She sticks out her tongue, and he goes googly-eyed again. Aw.

As they eat, she asks where he went in the middle of the night, remembering him standing in the doorway fully dressed. But he tells her she must’ve dreamt it, and conspicuously changes the subject. Hm.

Dong-min arrives on set still fuming, and throws a fit at the director, insisting that they fusion-up their drama and kill off Queen In-hyun instead. The PD tells him that would make the king a psycho, and Dong-min says he is one anyway.

It’s the same exchange they’ve had before, but this time Dong-min is way more riled up, and understandably so. He throws a massive hissy fit on set.

Boong-do suggests a bike ride to go get coffee, and Hee-jin eyes him warily—didn’t he just learn how to ride that thing? But he tells her that he spent hours learning how to ride it expressly so that he could take her along, and well, how’s a girl to say no to that?

He jokes that if they fall, they’re each to take care of their own bodies, and she calls him an irresponsible driver. He responds by wrapping her arms around his waist and taking off with a huge grin.

WHY SO CUTE?

They ride around and stop for snuggles along the way.

They get stopped at a train crossing and Hee-jin agrees that he really does learn how to do things very quickly, and carefully broaches the subject of jobs he could have if he were to live here, like a teacher or perpetual slacker who lives off the money from selling his swords.

Eeek, I know what she’s doing right now, and I’m so nervous for her—it’s that moment when you start testing the waters in your relationship: Is this guy staying or just passing through? I don’t want her to ask, but I do!

His answer? “Well…” That’s it?! She deflates, and starts to badmouth the Joseon era—you never know when you’ll lose favor in the king’s eyes, and even if you succeed you won’t get to live that long… What’s so great about it anyway?

He gives the same noncommittal, “Perhaps.” She sighs.

And then she remembers that the talisman is in her pocket, and turns his attention to a campfire by the side of the road. “If I just tossed this in there, you’d be stuck here forever.”

She asks if she should, and he doesn’t reply. So she makes a swoosh sound and declares that it’s gone.

He stops in his tracks, the smile fading from his face. He runs over to the fire, “What have you done?”

But of course she hasn’t thrown it in. She waves it in front of his face and sticks her tongue out, and he sighs in relief. But her smiles fades as she realizes… “You were really scared… that you wouldn’t be able to return…” Oof.

She tells him to take the talisman to keep it safe, joking that she’s likely to really burn it, and holds it out to him. He looks at her tenderly, but says nothing to the contrary.

And then he takes it from her hand. Nooo! You can just see that she doesn’t want him to do it, and she holds onto that piece of paper till the last possible moment. But he takes it, and her heart sinks.

Her phone rings with news that she’s due on set after all, since Dong-min’s sudden hospitalization. She calls Soo-kyung, who confirms that Dong-min is in all likelihood faking said illness since he can’t handle being a dumpee, but he threw a fit on set and now they have to clean up the mess.

She tells Boong-do that she has to go, and he argues that Dong-min is clearly faking it (ha) and she brightens a bit at his jealousy.

Meanwhile back in Hanyang, Ja-soo gets a report from one of his spies that Boong-do is away, and he smiles.

Flashback to a plan by Minister Min, who tells Ja-soo to wait until Queen In-hyun is away (visiting her mother), and to make sure that Boong-do does not enter the palace at the same time. He sends a few men to Boong-do’s hometown, and takes the rest to see the queen.

Hee-jin goes to see Dong-min bearing flowers, and he greets her with a water sprayer at the ready. You are so childish. He gets his revenge by spraying her, and she takes the water attack in Boong-do’s place, though she does call him out on his childishness.

He remembers that he was also hit with a pillow, and launches one at her too. Guh. I really want to hit you right now. He grabs her wrist to go lock her in the shower too for good measure, but she pulls away to try and talk things out.

He screams that the evidence of her cheating is clear as day, and then they get interrupted by the arrival of the PD. Dong-min declares that he cannot act like he’s in love with a cheating Queen In-hyun, and tells the director to cut all her scenes.

Thankfully the PD is levelheaded enough to roll with the punches despite his diva star actor, and tells Hee-jin that they’ll have to shoot separately for now. Thank heavens for the marvels of editing, eh?

She calls the pension but the owner tells her that Boong-do left. She wonders if he stepped out or if he’s gone, and then thinks back to the middle of the night—that was no dream, and she’s sure that he went somewhere then too.

Her eyes widen, “What if he has a woman in the Joseon era too, and is going back and forth?” She thinks about his reaction to her taking away the talisman.

“And he acknowledged that he was a player!” Haha. I think he only did that to kiss you, hon. She starts to envision Player Boong-do back in Joseon, each arm around a half-naked gisaeng.

Omg, Imaginary Boong-do is hilariously raunchy. He chases the girls, sticking his head under their skirts, and Hee-jin snaps herself out of it, “No! That isn’t like him. But… who’s to tell, really, what he’s like there?” Ha.

Back in Hanyang, Yoon-wol goes to see the monk at the temple, and he tells her that Boong-do came to see him in the middle of the night. Ah, so that’s where he was sneaking off to.

He had come seeking advice because he couldn’t sleep. Back in the present, the monk tells Yoon-wol that Boong-do’s concerns have grown ever since he came to have the talisman.

“It seemed he wanted to go to a new world.”

Aw, sad for Yoon-wol, but it makes ME happy! (And we all know that’s what’s important.)

Hee-jin drives, still struggling to fight off her nagging fears, when Boong-do finally calls. He’s at their phone booth, after spending the day touring Seoul. Oooh, because you want to live here now? Yes? Yes?

He asks if she’s okay, worried that she might’ve been attacked. She assures him no such thing happened—doesn’t he know who she is? Boong-do: “You’re the most-oft attacked person I know.” Aw.

She arrives at the park, but they continue to talk on the phone while she looks out at him from her car. She asks why he didn’t go with her then, if he was so worried, and he counters that Dong-min would’ve ended up more wounded. Pfft.

She asks what he’s going to do, all big talk with the taking responsibility and zero follow-through. He says there’s nothing to be done, “except relinquishing control and waiting for you to stop being mad at me.”

Such a smooth-talker. She complains that that’s not an answer, and then he tells her to open her glove compartment. She opens it to find his cash stash, just sitting there. I love that people instinctively dart their eyes to check for onlookers whenever they’re presented with that much cash.

She gets out and asks why he’s always trying to act like a chaebol out of some manhwa, but he tells her to use the money… “For me.” *gasp*

“I think I need to stop using payphones, and wearing other people’s clothes…”

Eeeeee! He asks her to get him a house, near hers, and a phone, and some clothes. Will it be enough money? She answers blankly that it’s enough…

Boong-do: I said that I’d take responsibility for you. But it occurred to me that to take responsibility for inserting myself into your life and throwing it into chaos… being your boyfriend for a short while, or buying you an expensive car, or spraying water on that man… isn’t enough. Truly taking responsibility… is being near you at all times. What do you think? That’s the only conclusion I could come to.

Oh swoon.

She’s walking towards the phone booth the entire time, and looks up at him now, stunned speechless.

He waits nervously in the silence, and then finally feels her gaze and turns to her. He starts to lower the phone when she finally speaks. “It is a very admirable conclusion.”

And then that music cue that I love So. Much. floats in, and he smiles, “Is that so?” She beams, bragging, “I do have a good eye for people.”

They just stand that way, phones to their ears, him in the phone booth and her outside, not wanting to break the moment.

But it suddenly starts to rain (Oh bless the friggin’ rain) and he swoops her inside the booth and closes the door. (Why am I so taken by the fact that he swings the door from the top?)

His arm stays wrapped around her and they look out at the rain, back at each other, and then back out at the rain.

Flashback to Boong-do’s temple visit in the wee hours of the night. The monk asks what’s on his mind, and Boong-do says that he’s been so focused on Queen In-hyun and his own survival that he sort of raced ahead thoughtlessly.

But now that all that is behind him, “This place has become the past to me. Will I be able to continue living here?” We see him visit present-day Seoul, and marvel at how much the world has changed.

He stops at the timeline river, placing his hand over his little piece of history, marking the reinstatement of Queen In-hyun in 1694. He continues to the monk:

Boong-do: I’m afraid to put words to lips, the things that I know will come to pass. And now I must live every day as it is already written. Is that a humane way to live? Can someone who knows fate live a happy life?

We see him go to the bookstore and run his hands over all the Joseon history books—marking his and future kings. And then he stops short at the sight of an Italian travel guide and suddenly he’s taken with pictures of a whole new world.

“Strangely enough, the future has become the present to me. So I have come to question whether the time I should be walking in is in that place.”

Back to Yoon-wol, hearing this told to her by the monk. She gasps wondering how he could actually think to leave. But the monk says that he thinks Boong-do has perhaps made a connection in that world.

(He says specifically, “Found fate” or a connection, and here’s where the fate/connection/Queen In-hyun pun fits so nicely—He’s saying Boong-do found his fate/in-nyun, but it sounds only slightly off from saying that he’s found an In-hyun in that time as well.)

Now back to the monk with Boong-do (we’re doing a lot of skipping for a sequence that wasn’t initially very time-warpy). The monk asks if he can really live in a place where no one will remember him. Will he be happy in solitude?

But Boong-do then flashes back to the moment when Hee-jin came running to the phone booth to find him. “Yes, but if by chance, there were one person who remembered me, then wouldn’t life be a little different?”

Aw, I love it, because it’s the moment when he realizes that even though no one else remembers him (post-rewriting of events), she still does.

The monk tells Yoon-wol that the decision would be difficult for anyone, but he sees that Boong-do’s heart is already in that other world. Yoon-wol’s heart sinks. Listen, if you were already planning to spend your life loving him from afar, what’s a few hundred years’ difference? Just sayin’.

Ja-soo races to report to Minister Min about Boong-do’s magical life-saving talisman that’s useless to them because it only listens to its master. Useful, that. He suggests giving the order to get rid of the talisman and kill Boong-do at once.

But Minister Min raises a hand to stop him. Twisting the words on the talisman, he says, “If it’s true that if you are about to die you live, then it must also be true that when you are about to live, you die.” Damnit.

Ja-soo doesn’t get the poetry, so Minister Min adds with an evil grin that if Boong-do has turned the tables with a talisman, there’s nothing to say that he can’t come to ruin by that same talisman. Evil cackle of glee.

Back in the phone booth. It’s been raining for hours and they haven’t budged. He’s got his arms around her as they flip through the travel book and he shows her the picture of the cathedral in Italy. “The moment I saw it I felt a strange sensation, and now I want to go there.”

She teases that he doesn’t even know English and he wants to go abroad, and he counters that given a month, he’d speak English better than her. So… neither of you knows they speak Italian in Italy?

He tells her they can even make a bet, and asks her again how to spell “curry.” Hee. They tease and laugh and he threads his fingers through hers as they look through the book, stopping to gaze and snuggle. And in voiceover…

Hee-jin: It was an encounter that started by chance. A strange encounter that started by chance, in a rift in time. The end of that chance encounter’s inevitable cause and effect… was coming near.

 
COMMENTS

She’s narrating that last bit from sometime in the future, which is a bit unnerving (things tend to sound sadder in the past tense) but it’s entirely open-ended what that cause-and-effect will turn out to be. What I love about this relationship is that despite the fact that it defies space and time in an epic way, it’s really a very everyday romance in many ways. That moment when she tests the waters to see if he has any intention of sticking around? I just felt every bit of her nervous anticipation in my veins. He did fulfill his promise — to think about how he’d “take responsibility” — but damn if I wasn’t sweating it when he kept silent again and again throughout the episode.

I know Boong-do gets all the love (and rightfully so, swooooon), but I really adore Hee-jin. She’s such a great character. She’s bubbly but not annoyingly so, she’s not book-smart but so quick on the uptake, and she’s so delightfully imaginative. Even smartypants Boong-do can never guess her next move. (Though I suppose her overactive imagination does cause her some grief when she’s imagining Joseon Boong-do. Poor girl. It’s worse than a long-distance relationship times twelve.) And what I like most is that she wears her heart on her sleeve—you just can’t help but love her back.

I love that the question of whether or not to live in the future is a philosophical one for Boong-do. I never expected anything less, but it’s so befitting his character to ask the existential questions rather than just make big declarations for love. It’s not that he’s incapable of leading with his heart, since we’ve seen him act on his feelings on numerous occasions, but this feels more like a solid decision to me. He’s not being rash, but asking himself if this is right, and if a future can even exist for him in a past where he knows the outcome.

There’s this constant visual motif on this show to have our couple in separate spaces, even when they’re together—he’s upstairs in her apartment when she’s downstairs, he’s in the yard while she’s on the balcony, he’s in the phone booth and she’s in the car. I love it because it quietly reinforces their separteness—they are in the same space, and yet still not of the same space. The show has taken pains (in a great way) to show that they are always distant, but always longing for the other, whether it’s a distance of 300 years or two feet.

All the characters in this world speak of time and space as interchangeable things—you walk in a time, as much as you walk in a space. They are naturally bound. Boong-do is defying that natural order by stepping into a space he doesn’t belong to, and now he knows things he has no business knowing. (I knew letting him into that library would be bad news! That’s like giving a heroin addict a free taste!)

Because knowledge isn’t bound by the same rules, he can go to new worlds and learn what happens, and then change the course of history, which we’ve seen. And yet, daily life still progresses in a linear fashion—you still have to live your life somehow, one day after the other. And that’s the crux of Boong-do’s problem. Does he now, knowing the future, continue to live out his days as they are written? It’s a great way to come at the problem and give us reason to root for Boong-do to live in the future (outside of doing so for love, of course), because we want him to live a life with endless possibilities in a world where his future is still unwritten.

So happy to have a time-travel drama actually BE about time travel, and the strange cause-and-effect chain that can alter the course of history, and more importantly, two people’s hearts. And though the hand of Fate will always throw a wrench when it wants to, I love that it’s a decision he makes about his own future with Hee-jin. I just hope he gets to live by his choice. Ya hear me, Fate? *fistshake*

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This is the part where I start worrying about where this drama will take us. I reallyreallyREALLY have no interest whatsoever in heartbreak (where it is the characters' and/or my own), so please, Show, figure out a way to let them stay tighter? Okay?

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Sorry for the appalling spelling mistakes -_-

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I love this show! I love this show! I love this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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they are in the same space, and yet still not of the same space.

Just wonderfully and accurately put. The Director puts in a lot of these things all throughout the drama. It makes you think and it makes you analyze the bigger picture as much as the smallest most important details such as the one you've pointed out.

And may I just add, everything you just said in the comments section...I felt like I was listening to a Professor further explain a topic in class and just nodding and taking all that deeper knowledge that slipped by me unknowingly.

Thank you for the recap! It was very insightful how you digested everything!

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"There’s this constant visual motif on this show to have our couple in separate spaces, even when they’re together"
And, conversely, when they are actually in the same space, it's always a temporary one: the phone booth, the car, a rental apartment... ... ...

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Swoon.....

There is no "I dont know if i fall in love or not", no noble idiot, no "i love him/her but I can't tell him/her", no "please save me", no "I kiss him but my hands are dangling at my side", no "I kiss her but her lips feel like stone".

Has Drama God just went to a class of how to swoon viewers? Why such a good drama!

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Hey, it's GIRLFRIDAY!!! :D I'm SO happy that you're writing a recap on my current favourite drama - even if it's just temporary! ^^ Reading through your Comments section had me nodding my head constantly in agreement - everything I love about this drama was said perfectly by you there. Especially the Hee-jin bit - I express my love for Boong-do way more vocally than I do my love for Hee-jin, but I honestly love her just as much, and for all the reasons you stated. The amazing thing about this couple is that I can still enjoy them when they're separated, just because they're such lovely characters both together AND apart. And again, as you said, I love how Boong-do is motivated by more reasons than his love for Hee-jin to move permanently to the future. It's just so suitable for his character and it makes me feel so much more comfortable with his decision. :P

As for this ep, I remember that some viewers were complaining about how the fluff was taking over the brains and plot of the drama, but I didn't think so. There's still this underlying ominous current to it even while our couple is being all lovey-dovey, what with all the questions and possible effects rising to the surface the moment he considers leaving his time for good. And that voiceover at the end! DO NOT LIKE VOICEOVERS IN PAST TENSE. D:<

Anyway, thanks for the awesome recap GF! Again, I love how perfectly you expressed everything I felt about this ep. <3

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I really don't want this show to end, it's just too good to see it go! Thanks for the wonderful recap!!

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Thank you, Girlfriday! This is such a great show that it's wonderful to have more 'voices' and perspectives on the recaps!

Thank you especially for your comments. As I'm watching the show, I'm aware that this isn't a simple rom-com, but I'm so enjoying the interaction between the characters, the sweetness of the romance, the plausible plot, that I don't give much thought to the existential questions. Or possibly my brain doesn't work that way! I am grateful for the questions you've raised, especially of Boong-do's dilemma of living in this new world, and of time/ fate.

This drama really 'hits hard' in all dimensions. And very enjoyably.

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to do so, but i'd like to thank those of you who made suggestions on which of Ji Hyun-woo's other dramas to watch. I've caught some very sweet moments on Old Miss Diary, some on Over The Rainbow, all of Mr. Idol (where's the shirtless scene?), and some episodes of A Thousand Kisses, including ep 32 where he was heartbreakingly. . . heartbroken. My conclusion - JHW plays characters in love convincingly. Very. If he were asked to fall in love with a stone he'd probably pull it off! It's those eyes. . .

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I found an interview on Youtube of JHW in 2010.
At that point in his career, he had kissed 15 actresses, and was pretty much known as the romantic one.
He also says something like "Directors like me because I am not that handsome, but people feel comfortable with me." Ha!
The only thing that has changed since then is his lipcount has increased!

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Actually, now that I think of it, isn't this his first role where he isn't in a noona-dongsang relationship?

GF - I am curious about how you feel/felt about this actor before this show. He has been around a long time. Did he have a perception of being too something? Too young? Too not-serious?

Here are the interviews. Noona killer alert!
Part one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdbR7_W3muQ
Part two:
Starts with the question about kissing leading ladies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-X34QRAqsU

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I'm a puddle of goo now. Thanks a lot. Now I'm not going to get anything done today. Please note that this is not a complaint :D

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Thanks jomo! That guy seems so simple and warm and honest... I just can't resist him. And it must really be a pleasure to act with someone like that: Like there is no pressure. Is he a Zen master in disguise or what? I feel like his Bong-doo doesn't come from nowhere.

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I think you are right, BD is closer to his real character.

It's interesting to watch him in a role like Invincible Lee Pyung Kang where he was bouncing off the walls.
Totally different than in this.

In other interviews, he says acting is his job, but music is his love.
He seems to look up to his brother, singer/musician Ji Hyun Soo. Having a brother in the business prolly keeps them both grounded.

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*splat* One more noona down for the count after watching that interview. Gah! I agree, he seems very warm, sincere, and down-to-earth IRL, and those qualities are a big part of what makes Boong Do so appealing.

Thanks for the links, Jomo. And thanks a mill. for the links you left in the ep. 7 recap. I just discovered an mp4 version of this drama that's 720p but only 320mb/ep (and sans commercials). A kind soul at DSS has created subs for the mp4 files-- let me know if you want links. (Though I think you already have a bunch of versions downloaded. Okay, time to go to bed because my sleep-deprived brain just heard that as "you already have a bunch of virgins"...)

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For those that like their scholar man playing a guitar and singing.

GUTIAR CAM!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1gSD6QqfZ8

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@Jomo,

I think (from the bits I've seen) that his leading ladies in Over the Rainbow were his contemporaries. And also in the movie Fly High?

Thank you for the links! Did you also see the interview on Sketchbook? he was asked the importance of these older leading ladies, and he answered something along the lines of 'they have made me who I am' :-)

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Actually [b]jomo[/b], it IS still a noona-dongseng here in QIM. YIN is 31. I think she's two years older.

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YIN is 1982 and JHW is 1984, but I think in the story, he is supposed to be older than her, non?

(Well, technically, he is 300+ years older)

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Of course in the story, he is 300+ yrs older, what, it's scary LOL, j/k.

From the character description of the official site, BD and HJ are at the same age: 27.
SK is also 27.
Dong Min is 32.

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Don't forget 2010's "Birth of the Rich" (aka "Becoming a Billionaire") which will start running on KBS World beginning tomorrow (4 June) in the afternoons. If JHW could reduce a stone-faced Lee Bo-young into a quivering puddle of goo by the end of that series, then he has some serious acting chops goin' on there! ;)

Am totally appreciating the recaps - this will be the first drama I marathon after work calms down to a dull roar!!

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Yeah, I am down with him in BoaRM, too, for the same reason.

ONLY JHW has made Lee Bo-young even remotely attractive to me. His chemistry with her- meaning her attraction to him - is so obvious. Her resistance was FUTILE. LOL!

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i watched becoming a billlionaire in 2010, and i did turn into a quivering puddle of goo. and yes, i saw in kbsw last nite that they r doing a rerun of that drama. what a great timing! more JHW looking hot hot hot!

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This was an absolutely beautiful episode! I loved it because it so depicted the beautiful relationship that is HJ/BD! Still feel sorry for Yen Wol but does she realize that technically BD is dead?! Isn't that what Min's minion said that you had to die to come back to life?! At this point, there is only two outcomes, BD dies or he comes to live in the present; its that simple.

Now let's talk about DM for a minute. I am so royally pissed at him. Talk about abusive! Yes, I said it, abusive! If he does not get his way, he definitely becomes abusive. I thought the water and pillow were way over the top! He has this "Do as I say, not as I do" mentality which I hate (*shudders* as I think of my ex-husband!). SK, I have finally forgiven her as other posters have gotten me to see it from her perspective. But DM?! What an utter douchebag, he needs a swift kick in the gonads! And I am willing to step up and volunteer!

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Totally agree. I love how this character unfolded for us.

We see HJ's initial antagonism towards him and how he was manipulating her with his alleged power to affect the casting, so we kinda don't like him either.

But he sooooooo adorable in his pique...for a little while we felt a little sorry for him. But those scary scenes of his abuse made me hate him even more than a lot of second leads.

We have to give ALL the credit to Kim Jin Woo. Seriously this man is control itself. His voice, mannerisms, all the little moments that flash across his (very handsome) face. How can those tantrums be both childish and menacing?
You can practically hear the time bomb ticking...shivers...

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As an actor, totally agree and I am impressed!!

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Totally agree. He was an ass in the beginning, but he was so besides the point that it was amusing. Now he's just...wrong.

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Agree. He was actually abusive from episode 1, where he completely disregarded her feelings in exposing her undressed state. From then on, consistently disregards and disrespects her feelings, wishes, and physical boundaries/discomfort with him. Abusive.

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I just love this show to pieces! Let's all pray that there will be a podcast soon to hear some discussion about it (and for K2H too while we're at it :D)

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Podcast... Please...pretty please

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GF -
We have been waiting to hear your thoughts on Show.
So glad you shared them.

Oooh! Thanks for (He says specifically, “Found fate” or a connection, and here’s where the fate/connection/Queen In-hyun pun fits so nicely—He’s saying Boong-do found his fate/in-nyun, but it sounds only slightly off from saying that he’s found an In-hyun in that time as well.)
Very clever!

Plot movement occurs when the characters' actions or speech clearly affects the outcome of the story.

The whole "burn the amulet" scene? WOW! Like you said, you could have cut the tension with an antique sword. Will she? Won't she? How will BD react? Holy moly that was awesome!

As much as I care about the real QIH (really I do care) and his revenge, and YW, and his servants in the past...(who am I lying to? DON'T CARE!) the story for me is our OTP and them staying together. THAT was answered in this show- THE moment we have been waiting for.

He's staying! He's staying with her! They are going to speak English in Florence! YAY!!

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Bwahahaha,

They are going to speak English in Florence! YAY!!

But it's true! For a tourist attraction like Florence, everyone can speak English! And they are going to spend their spaghetti honeymoon there!

I love Florence!

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I returned from Italy to the States 5 days ago. They all speak English.

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the best time traveler drama ever.....

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everyone should watch invincible youth 2 ep 2 the first 10 min..

Ji Hyun Woo playing the guitar to wake the girls up...

major drool worth moment!!!!!!!

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Seriously I start watching Invincible Youth 2 because there is Hyun Woo there.
Can u tell me other variety shows which show Hyun Woo?

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I'm so anxious... They keep insinuating that once he tries to live the talisman will kick in to kill him... :-/ Say it aint sooooooo

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From the time BD saved his own life I thought that was the indicator that he would have to live in the present. I respect that his decision to live in the present was not made because of HJ.

I don't know if it will be shown but I would like to see how he makes the adjustment.

The only thing I have yet to figure out is why HJ never lost her memories of him, when everyone else did. BD even lost his. I know that everyone else ended up with a different timeline that didn't include him, but that was also true of HJ yet she retained her memories of BD.

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Wow, i love your recaps. You guys are all so deep. I never caught the idea of the separateness of time/space visual motifs.

I like it that the writers don't show if they slept together or not. They are aware of what their viewers are like. I kept looking under the blanket trying to see if she was clothed or not. When I saw the strap of her outfit I thought..."uhmmmm...I wonder." Whether they slept together or not, the lover of HEA in me wants the OTP to be permanent. A baby would be fine, if they slept with each other but still... I want HJ and BD together.

Thing is: they are fated to meet. Everywhere he goes, she is there to meet him. Love across time or maybe love for a specific time.

I just trust these writers. They have written a very organic story where everything flows naturally from the characters and yet there is the wonderful manipulation that makes every scene work so well and that makes every part/aspect of the story click in. I'm still thinking of the direction where BD catches HJ as she swoons when they meet the second time. This means, for me, that the writers will find a way to bring the story to a happy ending. I feel there is something we don't quite see yet, something about the talisman we don't fully understand yet. A sudden wonderful Deus Ex Machina which will feel totally appropriate and give us that AHA! moment. To end it sadly would be kneejerk. I don't think these writers will do anything that kneejerk. Not with this drama. Plus Boong-Do is very intelligent. (Still amazed about episode 14) So I think he's got to find a workaround with that talisman.

I'm thinking of Florence also. IT might be that he will meet her in Florence -- since he feels drawn to that place... (but that would be reincarnation mode). I'd accept that. Although they haven't talked about reincarnation at all. And Boong-Do being drawn to a Christian place of worship is interesting. I still am hoping for that happy scene we saw in the first episode.

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My friend came up with a good guess - this is NOT a spoiler -
You know how we never see HJ's off screen mother?

What if she finds out from her mom that their family descended from the real QIH?

BD's active participation in keeping the ousted queen alive is what allowed HJ to live in 2012.

How cool would that be?
I really hope they DO explain how the monk's choice of time travel connects to HJ? Fate is cool and all that, but I want to know WHY HER?

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Yeah, it can't simply be because she is playing In-Hyeon.

I have had moments where I wonder if Hee-Jin will be taken back to the past or if someone from the past will come into the present to pursue Boong Do. I have often wondered why we never saw the face of Boong-Do's wife. Not that she looks like Hee-jin but that they have totally removed any family for him...so he pretty much can leave the past with only Yoon-wol and his servant and the monk missing him.

I do wonder about them always talking about Boong Do's family (as if they are alive somewhere.) They say "we searched among his family and he wasn't there," or "we will destroy his family." That kinda makes me raise my eyebrows. Maybe they are talking about extended family. Or --in the case of destroying his family-- they might be talking about his future family lineage.

Am not sure that Queen In Hyeon had any children. Didn't she die childless?

I get the feeling that there is a big mega-surprise -- a bit of cinematic misdirection-- that will make us all go back and retrace everything we've ever seen to get the lost clues. That's how much I trust these writers. I so hope I won't be disappointed. I hate loving a drama all the way through and then at the end BINOG! SPLAT!!!!

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@Carole,

I'm not Korean, so I can't vouch for my historical knowledge, but I think Queen In-hyun died childless. (This I gather from watching Dong Yi, ha)

I also think that when they at about destroying his family, they are talking about destroying his family name/ honour (forever branded a family of traitors, no one remembers them with honour etc), which may also include destroying the household - anyone associated with the family, as well as ensuring there is no future generation (by executing the males). All in a day's work for vengeful kings.

It would be nice to know what the connection between Hee-jin and Boong-do is, but I don't want to have it simply reduced to the fact that she was the Queen's descendant i.e. fate! There's got to be more to it than that!

But, yes, I'm with you on the misdirection. The writer is obviously setting up the drama for some grand loop-around. Just 2 more days and we'll find out!

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I really, really hope that Hee-Jin is NOT some long-lost descendant in Queen In-hyun, or her reincarnation, or any of that folderol. That one of the plot fancies that made RTP so incredibly unrealistic. RTP was comedy, QIHM is philosophy.
I like the fact that there is some randomness to it - after all, isn't one of the main points of this show the flexibility of fate? It's true that man proposes/God disposes, but the show seems to be saying that people do have some choice in how their lives will spin out, and that when things happen over and over again it is not because of the inevitability of fate but because of consistency of character (for example, SK's repeated questioning of BD's background).
For Hee-Jin to be a reincarnation or descendant makes it all seem pre-ordained, which to me takes away from the specialness of it, the precious gift they discovered, and it also negates all of their initiative in trying to stay together.
Boong-Do's struggle is to not only fulfill all of his vows and responsibilities, but also forge his own path in life. That is why he sees now that he can no longer stay in Joseon - he knows too much of his own life and the life of his country, and he would have to live a prisoner in a life totally pre-ordained. (Imagine worrying over every decision whether or not it was the decision you were supposed to make!).
At this point, tying his new-found future to some fated mate from the past would seem like a cruel joke (and this really diminishes Hee-Jin, making her less of a unique and interesting person to have her be just a current manifestation of Queen In-hyun).

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I just keep wondering now what the heck he's gonna do with the amulet once he's in modern times. The amulet has to disappear or be buried or something? After happily settling down in present time (if such a thing happens) He can't go keeping it on his person in this life... It would bring in all kinds of weirdness with him being protected from accidents, murders, etc (not aging, of course.) Maybe the amulet itself will fade of its own accord. But it really has to disappear from his life, mustn't it?

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That is also my burning question - WHY her? Is the answer so simple in that she is the first person he spoke to when he warped himself into the 21st century? Perhaps a little bit profound in that Queen In-Hyun is his focus in the Josean era wherein he pledged to protect her with his life. In e modern world he met TV Queen in- Hyun who becomes his one contact in the modern world - someone whom he can trust and has a profound and spiritual connection I.e. Heejin is now his constant point in the modern world. Perhaps it is that simple? Maybe not - hope the drama will address this question.

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have anyone here seen the BTS photos (taken by fans on the location) from this episode....?? they looked adorably sweet to each other:
1. JHW massaging YIN's shoulder
2. YIN feeding JHW the meal while having break

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Thanks for the recap!!

I really really <3 this show. I am a sci-fi fan and I appreciate the use of time travel in this story as not just a convient way to introduce the two main characters. It is a major part of the story and it continues to be an issue that that the Boong-do and Hee-jin and us fans consider. None of use know how this will play out in the end. Hopefully there is a happy ending.

Boong-do and Hee-jin happy and together in 2012.

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(Why am I so taken by the fact that he swings the door from the top?)

I had the same thoughts hehe..

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people from soompi made a tumbler acct for jhw, feel free to visit!

http://fuckyeahjihyunwoo.tumblr.com/

and if you have facebook, there are plenty of goodies at

https://www.facebook.com/QueenInhyunsMan

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OMG! That pic with the guitar? Fatal nosebleed.
Thanks for the links!

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Warning for those who are spoiler sensitive, the Facebook link is spoiler central. I love it, but stay away if you want to be surprised!

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Best time-travel show so far! THANKS Girlfriday!

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can''t believe that the final two episodes of QIM is coming out this week. it feels like it's all ending all too soon :-(. oh well, starting my marathon now :-D

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Why does Boong-do write with Hanja characters?
I would have thought since Hangul was launched by King Sejong around 1444 and since Boong-do was said to be born in 1640 in the trailer, wouldn't Boong-do know at least how to write and read phonetically Hangul?

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Hangul, from what I understand, was still for the masses (commoners) at that time.

Knowing hanja was a mark of status and education. As Boong-do was a minister and scholar, he would really only need to know hanja.

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BEST SHOW.

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is this drama really good???? i haven't been active in the kdrama land lately but scanning thru the recaps it seems that i've missed a good drama like this one =(

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http://www.kimchidramas.net/2012/05/queen-in-hyuns-man.html

you poor soul missing out on this! please start now hehe :)

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Is it just me who's bothered by Boong Do's acting? Most of the time he's like a brick wall. :| I get that his character is serious and cool. But this is more than that.
It's almost like Suzy. I don't even get bothered by SSH's acting.

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oh, i don't see brick wall at all. He thinks before acting but he is very passionate and humorous. He's in a really confusing situation in one era and a really dangerous situation in another. He's pretty chill, though. I wouldn't call it a brick wall though. (And trust me, I know from Brick walls.)

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This episode is certainly not a filler at all. Like many of you have said it gave us more of their time together. This is their FIRST date - the date that they promised each in a month's time which was messed up when the talisman was split into two. I loved this episode which shimmered with their chemistry and there is development in the plot - development in their relationship as to what's next? Taking it to the next step - they both realized and Bong Do particularly that they cannot continue like this forever i.e. he jumps back and forth!! He needs to make a decision which i am so pleased that he did after weighing all the pros and cons. Atta-boy!!

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Adore.

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HA! you're not the only swooning over the scene boong do swings the phone booth door from the top..!!!!
ah no more words to tell you how much i love this drama.. the couple, plot, story and everyhthing!

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Anyone else notice how Hee-Jin has dressed Boong-Do in pink satin when she envisions him fooling around with the gisaengs? LOL! Sorry, but he does NOT rock the pink satin...

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I only got around to watching this drama last month. I'm so glad I did! And of course the recaps after each episode just make it better.

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Did something happened between them in the first part of this Ep? I was kinda confused because of how hee-jin was dressed and that she's covering her body with the comforter? Or Is it because "it was just so cold" T______T Can someone please explain it to me :""""""""""(

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rewatching and rereading recaps for the 3rd time. kim boong do is probably the fantasy character i love the most despite do min joon and park su ha and gaksital hahahhaha <3 he's just so swoony and earnest and serious with a hint of cute and cheek goodness can there be a queen inhyun man 2 please

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'So… neither of you knows they speak Italian in Italy?'

LOL. I almost chocked on my lemonade when I read this line and then proceeded to giggle like an idiot for five minutes. Your personal comments are my favorite thing about your recaps.

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