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Arang and the Magistrate: Episode 5

This show continues to rock my world. It’s fantastically moody, so artfully designed, and directed with a flair for suspense that keeps me riveted. We get some major answers in this episode about who or what people are… only to raise a whole set of new ones about our heroine and what exactly might have been in the fine print on that contract with the king of heaven.

 
EPISODE 5 RECAP

After losing Arang in the big chase and seeing Joo-wal help her over the wall, Eun-oh wonders to himself if the guy really doesn’t recognize his ex-fiancée. But he decides that was not a look of recognition on Joo-wal’s face, and shakes it off.

Dol-swe comes running after master to know where he keeps dashing off to, and then kicks up a fuss when Eun-oh says he has to go do something else. He whines that they were supposed to leave town straightaway, and accuses him of making time with his new honey.

Eun-oh balks but Dol-swe says he can tell that’s exactly what’s going on, but his biggest heartbreak: “How could you not tell me?! What else don’t I know about you?!” Oh you big lug.

Joo-wal walks away reeling, but he looks just as confused by the run-in as well. He doesn’t seem to recognize Arang and yet there’s a flicker of something… More importantly, she makes his Ring of Mystical Whoozit burn bright red. Not a good sign…

Eun-oh goes running back to his room where he told Arang to stay, and there she is, right where he left her. She’s fast. He yells that he told her not to come to the funeral, but she swears she doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

He searches frantically for the clothes she must’ve changed out of, getting handsy and looking all around… and lifting her skirt thinking they must be there… only to find her bare legs. Hahaha.

She screams and SLAPS him across the face on reflex, and then they both freeze, stunned. She leaves a giant red handprint on his cheek to highlight his embarrassment.

She stammers, “I’m so-rry…” and he says “I’m… something similar…” and they scramble to get out of the awkward moment. He asks if she’s really back to find out the truth about her death. He asks for the hairpin, and she says she left it in the afterlife—not by choice, since she was forced to come here naked.

He flares up in anger—she came here without it? She argues that it’s not important anyway. Eun-oh: “That hairpin is far more important to me than a demon like you!” She looks at him with pained eyes, “Demon? How many times do I have to tell you I came back human!”

Eun-oh: “So what if your shell is a person. Do you know a person’s heart?” She says defensively that she does, but even she’s not convinced at her answer. He mocks her so-called beating heart at the sight of Joo-wal and says she sure picked up how to act like a person.

She glares, “You awful bastard.” And then she gets him right where it hurts, eye for eye: “You were an awful bastard to your mother too, weren’t you?” Ooooh. He gets up, trembling in fury and tells her to shut up.

She congratulates him on his quick wit and sharp tongue that knows how to pierce a heart. If he can say such words to her, what wouldn’t he have said to his mother? “Is your mother really missing, or did she run away from you?” Ouch.

He runs out and the argument leaves them both reeling. Arang’s eyes glisten with tears, and Eun-oh runs into the woods to scream and take his anger out on a tree.

Flashback to the moment he was separated from her as a child, when he cried and screamed for her but she never once turned to look at him. And then the last time he saw her, when he said it would have been better if he never had a mother.

Predictably, a wicked tongue. Arang wasn’t wrong, which is of course why it cut so deep. He slumps down to the ground in tears, his hand bloody from banging it against the tree.

Arang sits up till nightfall, still sniffling back tears.

And Joo-wal sits staring at his drawing of Arang in her guard’s uniform. Okay, clearly this is the guy you should’ve hired for the ghost sketching. And then he takes out a mysterious black cloth inside a mysterious box and looks at it mysteriously.

Eun-oh sits on the mountainside all night, and is still in the same position by morning. He makes his way back home clears his throat before opening the door. Arang is sitting up too, now with big dark circles under eyes.

She wonders if this is what happens when you’re human and don’t sleep, and he laughs, mollified by her equal suffering and funny face.

They sit far apart and she murmurs that she did go kind of far yesterday, and says they should just both say I’m sorry and move on with it. He remains stubborn about never saying “I’m sorry,” so she says fine, they’ll just both bury it in their hearts then.

He finally tells her that the hairpin was one he gave to his mother, and asks that they combine their efforts to find out what happened to Lee Seo-rim and to his mother, both missing and/or dead exactly three years ago.

She’s not convinced that helping him will help her, but he says it’s too much of a coincidence to be ignored, and the answer is locked away in her memory. She asks, “Is that why you helped me before…because of that?”

He says with his back turned, “Yes. I told you that I might be brave, but I’m not warm-hearted. Don’t go around saying you know how to read people anymore.” She storms out in a huff, wondering if she can trust him to keep his word.

The Bang Trio returns in good spirits, now that their days of being stuck between the magistrate and Lord Choi are over. Arang passes them in the courtyard and they jump, asking who she is.

She’s like, “Me? I’m Arang.” They meant more like who are you and who gave you permission to be here, and she sneers, “The magistrate! And why do I need permission to go somewhere with my own two feet?” Love her. She lurches at them like the thug that she is, and then goes on her merry way.

Dol-swe flips out at the news that they’re staying longer than expected. He whines that he wants to go home, and demands the reason why they’re staying.

“It’s because of that woman, isn’t it? How could that woman be more important than ME?!” Hahaha. Dol-swe, you have much to learn.

The Bangs drop their jaws at the news, as Eun-oh tells them he’ll be staying for the time being, and so will the girl, who he says is his teacher’s daughter.

Dol-swe searches his brain and realizes it can only be one teacher he means, that quack way up in the mountains. He reminds Eun-oh of all the trouble he went through to find him up there after a year, and Eun-oh says he did learn martial arts, after all.

He already resented Arang, but now that she’s that master’s daughter? He hrmphs that Eun-oh can do as he likes, making his disapproval clear.

Lord Choi is not happy at the news that the magistrate is staying, and sends his servant to his father’s house to find out what Eun-oh’s deal is.

Bang-wool wanders the streets aimlessly, and then happens to cross paths with Dol-swe, muttering to himself about his plight. She zeroes in on him, figuring until the day her shaman powers kick in, she’ll have to make a living her usual way.

Dol-swe pours himself a drink and Bang-wool comes by, noting that she can sense his broken heart. “A woman is the problem.” He nods—how’d she know? Okay, this cracks me up—he’s heartbroken over master, but she assumes he’s got lady troubles.

She says she’s had a similar experience—they say they’ll go but they just come back, go, back, go, back. Hee, she’s thinking of Arang, and he’s like, “Yes! That’s what happening!” Now that he’s hooked, she asks for payment, and then pretends to read her palm, saying that it’s the full moon so her powers are at their best.

She tells him his worries are over—that person doesn’t have long to live and will go to the afterlife. She laughs, asking if he doesn’t feel great, assuming of course he’s angry over an ex. He grabs her, “WHO DIES? My master?!” He shakes her in fury, and she hightails it out of there.

Night of the full moon. Trouble.

Arang sits in Seo-rim’s room, thinking over Eun-oh’s proposition. She tells herself it’s not a bad deal, since she was going to ask for his help anyway. She looks in the mirror and asks Seo-rim, who smiles back at her. Okay, that creeped me out. I know it’s just her smiling at herself, but still.

She finds Eun-oh pacing in the courtyard and agrees to his deal. He says their partnership has officially begun then, and offers up a pair of peaches to seal the deal. She shrinks back in fear.

He has to remind her that she’s a person now, and holds it out to her. She shuts her eyes and slowly reaches out her hand. It hovers above the peach in a lovely moment as the music swells…

She touches it, and opens her eyes in surprise. No cuts, no scars. She really is alive.

The way she lights up just kills me. She grabs it in each hand just to be sure, “I’m really a person!” Eun-oh smiles and wonders how he believed her when she didn’t believe it herself.

She takes the most delicious bite out of a peach ever, savoring the taste of being human.

He goes to take a bite out of his when she asks, “How long have you been a mo-mo-dong-ja?” [Literally “mama’s boy.” HA] She says he’s always like ‘mommy, mommy,’ kind of like an overgrown baby who doesn’t want to stop breastfeeding. Hahahaha, are you really saying this as he’s sucking on a peach?

He barely has time to get over his shock and yell, “HEY!” before she skips away, leaving him speechless.

Joo-wal goes to see the mysterious gisaeng. The doors swing open on their own and she asks if he’s prepared. She says she’s anticipating whoever he’s prepared this time. Interesting. Perhaps all of this is a sacrifice of some sort?

Whatever he’s up to, it’s not rainbows and kittens, ’cause he picks up a knife, and the music tells us it’s a Knife Of Doom.

And then, we see Arang asleep in her bed. Uh… I don’t like this…

Eun-oh continues to pace in the yard, thinking over Arang’s words. Another flashback to his youth shows us that his mother was always stoic, just shut up in that room. He ran to her one day and she said it was the memorial day of her entire family’s death.

She said that they all died together, all except her, because of “him.” She swears that one day, she’ll get her revenge, and destroy him. Hm, so maybe her disappearance wasn’t just about giving Eun-oh a better life, but her personal vendetta.

The full moon continues to rise over the dark clouds. A mysterious figure clad in black jumps over the wall and into the magistrate’s courtyard… and right into Arang’s room. Aaaaack!

It’s Joo-wal, who looms over her. HOW DID YOU FIND HER? Was it the ring? Or did you recognize her? Can you smell her? WHAT?

He inches closer and takes out his knife…

She turns in her sleep, murmuring about peaches, and he hesitates.

We zoom in on Eun-oh’s back in the courtyard. Please sense something’s wrong… Please sense something’s wrong…

Joo-wal gathers himself, winces… and STABS her in the chest. She wakes with one pained cry.

Eun-oh turns. Did he hear it? Please for the love of peaches, tell me you have bionic hearing or something.

There is something so frightening about the close-up on her eyes, open and awake, her killer looming in her pupils.

Joo-wal pulls the knife out and waits, as she falls unconscious. He puts a talisman on her neck, and it disappears into her skin. WUT. And then he picks her up to carry her away.

Up in heaven, the Jade Emperor stops playing his gayageum, sensing something amiss. “It has finally begun.” Hades sighs that he doesn’t know if they did a good thing or not, and the Jade Emperor betrays a worried look. I don’t like that look. What’s that look for?

Eun-oh makes his way to Arang’s room, moving so slow it nearly gives me an aneurysm. He finds it empty and scoffs that she still thinks she’s a ghost, assuming she ran off somewhere.

He’s just about to shut the door when his eye catches the pool of blood in her bed, and he goes back to get a closer look. Yep, blood. In her bed. So why are you still staring at it? RUN. RUUUUUUUUN!

He finally tumbles out and picks up the trail of blood from her body being dragged away, and takes off running. But the trail ends where Joo-wal picked up his horse, and Eun-oh stops in panic at the fork in the road, screaming, “AMNESIA~!”

Joo-wal rides into the woods carrying Arang’s limp body, and stops at a tree marked with that black cloth. He carries her body into a creepy house, and lays her down at some kind of altar.

Okay, sufficiently creeping me out, guys.

He takes off his mask and lingers over her body. He reaches out his hand to touch her face, and then pulls away and runs out. Is it recognition? Did you kill her once before? Did you love her? Or do you just regret having to kill a pretty girl for your demon ritual?

We finally get a flashback to his past, and some answers. The mysterious gisaeng approaches him as a child, and puts the ring on his finger. She tells him that from this day forward, he is Choi Joo-wal. Hm.

She says that every full moon of the leap month he is to bring a girl with a pure soul. The child asks how he’ll know, and she says the ring will tell him. Dude, how many girls have you killed? Though I guess we still don’t know if he actually kills them or just brings them to her, nearly dead.

Back to the present. The gisaeng approaches, shrouded in black. He bows and says it’s done, and she lifts her veil…

IT’S MOM.

Well, now we know why Eun-oh’s got supernatural powers. What the hell are you, Mom? She looks up at the full moon with a smile, saying she’s waited a long time. And then she friggin’ licks her chops in anticipation of seeing the girl. Omg, do you EAT THEM?

She says she’s especially excited to see this one, and asks if she really has the body of one who was already born. Joo-wal says yes. So he does recognize her. This makes things more interesting.

He takes her to the altar, and Mom looks up in anticipation… as her face changes from smiling to angry. Eek, you do that really well. *chills*

Joo-wal jumps out of his skin. The altar is empty. Ohthankgod.

Cut to Arang running through the woods, clutching her chest and gasping for dear life. This is terrifying. Flashback to minutes ago, when she woke up screaming in pain. Not dead yet, or dead and alive again?

She flees in terror.

Mom asks what happened, and Joo-wal stammers that he left the corpse right here. Ah so you did think you killed her. Or… maybe you did? He goes running out after her, wondering how she’s alive, panicking that this can’t be.

Arang races through the woods, tumbling down hills and barely breathing. She finally gets to town and can’t go on any longer, and pauses. Suddenly a hand clamps over her mouth and grabs her…

She screeeeeeeams bloody murder, hysterical and so frightened it chills me to the bone. But it’s Eun-oh, grabbing her into the shadows. Oh I can finally breathe.

He tries to get her to calm down, but her legs finally give out once she sees that it’s him, and she collapses in a heap. He asks what happened, and she can barely get out the words: “…someone stabbed me… I thought I died… left me in the mountains… I ran away… I ran away… I ran…”

She faints in his arms.

He carries her back to his room and lays her down. He looks at her bloodstained clothes and wonders what on earth happened to her.

Mom waits by the altar, turning the purple ring on her finger inwards as Joo-wal returns. He stammers that she’s gone, and Mom slaps him across the face, cutting him.

Bewildered, he swears that he killed her, and left her body right there. “I killed her. She was dead…” If he’s that sure, then things are weirder than ever. Did the Jade Emperor give her nine lives? Is she un-killable in that body?

She slaps him again, demanding, “Where is my soul? Where is the soul I must have tonight?!”

Soul-eater it is. But why? He swears it’ll never happen again, but she’s beyond that, livid that he hasn’t kept up his end of the bargain. She’s given him everything—riches anyone would be envious of, and the life that he asked for, letting him “live like a person.”

That wording is curious, ’cause like everything surrounding this guy, it could be metaphorical… or literal and beastly. He’s seeming more human though, if what he really wanted was wealth.

She calls him golbi-danji, meaning roughly nothing-but-bones, and asks if he wants to return to that, which terrifies him. She calls him a useless bastard, and he falls to his knees, trembling.

Flashback to his past, as a young boy, so poor and hungry that he ate from the troughs of livestock. He had no name, so the other children taunted him, calling him skin-and-bones.

So he’s human after all. Just desperate enough to be used for evil.

Eun-oh wakes up in the morning, having slept sitting up by Arang’s side. He peels back her collar to check her wound, and finds it healed over.

He gapes, “What… are you?” A question we ask a lot around here.

Bang-wool sets out bright and early, planning to get a good spot today and have better luck, only to have set up her mat right where Dol-swe spent the night after drinking.

He chases after her again, asking if what she said was true, and gets doused with water by a nearby shopkeeper, mid-chase. Suddenly it turns into a slo-mo beauty moment, as he shakes the water off. Haha.

Bang-wool starts to see Dol-swe as some manly hunk, which cracks me up because mostly he just looks like a wet dog. But she gulps and watches him go, practically drooling.

The Bang Trio brings Eun-oh the only women’s clothes they have on hand—from when there used to be female officers around. He asks about the mountain where Arang said she was taken last night, and they say it’s the Abandoned Mountain, rumored to be filled with ghosts.

He leaves the clothes for her in the room and puts her shoes outside on the stoop, when Dol-swe comes home and sizes up the scene. He goes tearing past Eun-oh and into the room, and gasps to find Arang sleeping there in his master’s bed, as suspected.

Eun-oh has to drag him back out to keep him from screaming, and Dol-swe blubbers, “D-d-did you sleep with her?”

Eun-oh just gives up arguing: “Yes.” Dol-swe gaaaaaasps and says he’s going back home this instant to tell on him (HA) and Eun-oh just snaps at him to follow.

They go up to the Abandoned Mountain, and he follows Arang’s trail backwards, searching for clues. Dol-swe’s still stuck on the other matter, and asks how far he’s going to go with Arang.

Eun-oh: “Till the end,” meaning his investigation, of course, but Dol-swe says that marriage is out of the question—doesn’t he know his father?

But they come to a full stop at the sight of the mysterious house. They creep up cautiously, surrounded by dense fog.

Eun-oh opens the door to find the strange altar, and sees the recent blood stain. This is where she was. Dol-swe begs him to leave this creepy mountain he’s sure is filled with ghosts, but Eun-oh says that’s what’s weird: “There are no ghosts.”

Okay, why does that freak me out?

Like whatever Mom is, she’s so scary that ghosts are afraid to go near her.

He thinks to himself that none of this makes sense—why of all people would someone attack Arang, when she has no attachments to anyone here? He shakes away the thought that someone could have recognized her, and then something catches his eye.

He reaches into a corner to pick up something wedged behind a cabinet, and finds… his mother’s hairpin.

 
COMMENTS

Well now I’m suddenly interested in the mom storyline, whereas before it was just weepy backstory that I didn’t care about. Kudos for making her the big bad, ’cause the way they were pulling out all the stops for the Eun-oh sympathy, I didn’t expect we’d end up here. I never even expected to get an answer as to why Eun-oh can see ghosts, but now there’s so much to explore there—is his mother a shaman? A demon? Does she eat souls to stay alive? Powerful? Beautiful? For all we know she could be a thousand years old.

Now it seems clear he inherited her supernatural powers to some degree, but it’s freaking me out that they might, yunno… be EVIL powers, ’cause then that’s a whole new can of worms for him to deal with. Man, I love a show that keeps me guessing. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.

I found it hysterical that the drama calls Eun-oh out for being a mama’s boy, ’cause he is strangely obsessed with his mother, and I thought it clever that Arang says what we’re thinking out loud. Like dude, get over it. But now that we know Mom is evil and trying to eat Arang’s soul, I’m all over this mom story. Let’s go, mama’s boy. Track that soul-eater down!

And how creepy is it that she sort of replaces Eun-oh with Joo-wal, raising him like half son, half minion of evil, to do her bidding? There’s still the question of Lord Choi—was he just the conveniently nearest rich man around, or is there a reason he was targeted? How did she convince him to raise Joo-wal as his own? And he seemed aware of Joo-wal’s full-moon obligation, which means he’s in on it to some degree. Perhaps it was the promise of riches—they both benefit if Joo-wal keeps his end of the bargain?

But the kicker is, what the hell did Arang return as? Is she human or not? Human but immune to stabbings through the heart? I don’t think so. But she ate the peach, so she’s no longer a ghost, and not a reaper. (Did anyone else think of Buffy? YOU CAME BACK WRONG.) This is a twist that makes me suspicious of the Jade Emperor, because there’s obviously a whole lot he’s not telling us, or Arang, or Hades… He seems to be using her to uncover a bigger mystery, which I expected since it hardly seemed likely that he’d let her go back just because of Seo-rim’s wrongful death. But I’m wary that it seems too good to be true—that she can’t be killed. Because as Mu-young said, there’s nothing in the world that is infinite.

So what… is she?

It’s going to plague me, and you know what? I LOVE THAT.

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Two perfect dramas in the same day. i don't even know what to watch first- Gaksital or Arang. Thank you for the recap!

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creepy! that screenshot of mom is way creepy! i can't even stare at that for more than 5 seconds~

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Arang is given 3 full moons (months) to live by the jade emperor, meaning she's permitted to live as a human and that also might mean immunity from death. Jade Emperor's the God, and also Hades, so everything's possible if they allow it.

And also one of my guess is that Joo Wal's father is the same as Joo Wal when he's younger, searching pure souls for the Mother or for her relatives, so maybe that's the reason he's into it too.

Maybe Mu Yeong is related to the Mother? or maybe he's the one who killed the Mother's relatives, 'the guy' she wants to take revenge on. Haha.

I feel sad for the magistrate. He loves his mother so much that it will hurt him when he finds out the truth :( He might even think that his mother might be a victim rather than the suspect in all this mystery. :(

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I think it's only fair that she gets immunity from death. They promised 3 moons and she should get her three moons. Can you imagine how pissed Arang would have been if she was promised 3 moons, but died on her 2nd day of being alive and then have the jade emperor be all like "dang, that's too bad"! Arang would have a fit!

I suspect MuYoung may be related to one of the girls creepy Joo-wal lured, which is why Muyoung can't find her.

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things just got interesting! his mom is sooo creepy! and damn he has to kill a girl with a pure soul every month?! ever since he was young. evil!!! i cant wait till eun oh finds out about his precious mom. i think he'll be traumatized :O
the scene between dol swe and the shaman was hilarious. i love her character. cant wait for more scenes with them together.
thanks for the recap!

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I think it's just when the full moon falls on the 15th. So not every month, but often enough.

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Or on leap month full moons. So once, maybe twice every 4 years.

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same here~~ i also can't understand in any way how joo-wal found arang.. =(

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It was his Spidey-sense! lol.

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I just have to make this one comment in response to Eun-oh's powers potentially being evil. I don't think it's a matter of the powers being inherently evil as it is of how he chooses to use them. I have so many theories about what's going on, but they all start to feel equally unlikely once I start typing them out, so...I'll leave it at this!

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HOLY CRAP!!! That was one of the best twists ever! It never occurred to me the mom could be evil or alive even. I wonder if the person she's getting revenge on is in fact the Jade Emperor?

I don't think Arang is not human but just one that can't die until she fulfills her contract or runs out of time. The Jade Emperor probably just forgot to mention that to anyone. Hey, it's not his fault if no one bothers to read the fine print.

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Just watched the episode. So good!

I really loved the argument scene. It was so well acted out, and you could see the fury and their hurt in their eyes and their voices. I need to go check out some of Lee Jun Ki's other works. I've only seen him in My Girl and I liked him there, but in AATM he's really bringing it in.

And Shin Min Ah is just adorable. She's so lovely to watch and so cute! I loved the peach scene and the dark eye circle scene. They make such a lovely couple these two.

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I must admit I didn't get all the details when I watched the episode raw last night (Arang remains much more difficult to follow without subs than Faith) so I'm super glad for the fast recapping! Thanks!!

The show is a gem, that's for sure.

Parts, it's the writing: I'm amazed how well the writers handle the mystery elements (by, i.e. bringing in new ones while giving us tidbit-answers) and the emotional elements - and fuse them in the case of the mother. It satisfies just enough curiosity not to be frustrating but it constantly reminds us that we really have no clue what's going on.

Parts, it's the acting: Shin Min Ah is simply amazing. The casting for the evil mother is superb (that face!) and her acting freaaaking scary. Yeon Woo-jin (whose other projects I haven't seen) is able to show more and more of his acting skills and I am impressed. And our dearest, Lee Jun-Ki, is very convincing as a (psychologically) troubled and scarred mama boy, and I guess we'll see him going through a lot more troubles before this ends. He's a bit over the top when he does angst/anger (the tree scene), so I hope he'll learn from SMA as the show progresses. Sometimes, less is more, especially when displaying intense emotions.

Directing and cinematography etc.: There was less slow motion in this episode, which I thought was good (though why they chose a slo-mo for the slap is beyond me), it was used a bit excessively before. I also find the use of the swivel-around camera (or whatever you call it) a bit excessive: Whenever Eunoh looks at something, the camera goes wooosh, around his face. Not that I mind seeing that face a lot, though. lol.

The best thing: the colors. Somebody else wrote further up that all the color's seem placed deliberately and I agree - the particular use of color makes this a viewing pleasure (most beautiful scene so far: when the Reaper's lantern turns the landscape into autumn glory)

Furthermore, I liked that Eunoh finally put on a different Hanbok in this episode (actually, two new ones! yay) after wearing the same for 3 and a half. Though I liked the blue.

I didn't like that the Head Reaper did a no-show and I didn't like that we only got a glimpse of the Jade Emperor (whose lip gloss color is stunning) and Hades in this episode.

That said, I have a very simple and shallow question: Will we ever see Lee Jun-Ki with his hair down?! I want to see his mane of glory! And: stop hiding his body! He either needs to go take a bath in a river/under a waterfall or he needs to get wounded. Hear me, writers?

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i agree! hehehe. oh dear writers, hear ous plea. a nekkid Lee Jun ki, err semi-nekkid will do. :D :D :D please don't deny us with this one. HAHAHAHA.

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lol. agreeee....

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yeah, semi naked is good enough. for now :)

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LOL. Arang had to wear the same hanbok for 3 years. I was wondering how long the magistrate had to wear his!

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Ha, I was thinking the same thing. Apparently he has his own show or a video diary on youtube, so in one of the episodes I saw him getting ready to shoot ep 1 of AATM - he was discussing his wardrobe, hair, etc. Unfortunately his hair is still short. There is something about his eyes that is so unique though. They are really elongated somehow, very, very beautiful. You need to see him with long hair to notice this though, lol:)

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How much power does EO mum need? Since she's been doing it for quite some time, she should be powerful enough to exact revenge? Is it also for survival reasons? I don't really get it.

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Agree that the directing and cinematography is great. However, i think Jade Emperor's new hairdo is a big NO-NO!

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Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Thanks for the recaps!! I am guessing the mom has something to do with the 400 missing souls that have heaven and earth out of balance. I also think that's why Arang is alive, not only to find out who killed her, but to get back the souls, and bring balance to the force!!! YEAhhhhhhhhhhhh I am sooooooooooo excited for tomorrow's eps!!!!

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Any thoughts on who "he" is? I've read in someone's comment below that maybe it's the Head Reaper. I think the whole plot really comes down to Mom's ultimate revenge. I think we're gonna see some intense Mom revelations soon.

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I think EO's mom and the death reaper are brother and sister.

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Oooh, I like this theory! It would tie things together nicely with the characters that we've already been introduced to! It also gives the head reaper more of a storyline other than just chasing down Arang. That the Head Reaper misses his sister...and his sister has turned evil...and that her son--his nephew--is trying to keep the reaper from taking Arang...love the possibilities for the continuing complexity of the show!

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oooooooooooooooh WOWWWWW! YES! That is quite possible. Does Reaper have to pay for his sister's sins?

Am trying to do the math right now. A new dead girl every full moon in a leap month doesn't add up to a lotta souls in 3 years.

When a soul is sealed, where does it?

I'm thinking Mom has revenge plans but she's not the cause of all those missing souls. And I can't see Lord Choi destroying so many souls. And Joo Wal couldn't have done it cause he's not that old.

If a soul is sealed, and stays inside the corpse... are there tons of bodies buried somewhere with souls sealed inside them that not even Grim Reaper can get at?

Questions, questions.

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Hmm, I really wonder how much the magistrate knows about his mother. I find his obsession to find her a bit excessive? Maybe he knows and he is trying to stop her evil-doings? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. And was the hairpin used to stab Arang the first time she died?

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yeah, I agree, totally obsessive and a bit weird. Either: bad writing, bad acting, or we just don't yet know what's really going on :) I guess/hope it's the last...

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Thanks for the recap!!!

This is so freaking awesome I can't wait to watch it!!!

I kind of expected the mysterious gisaeng to be the Mom, but I do hope she's not possessed or something. I want Mom to be the real evil baddie!!! As cruel it is for Eun-Oh, it would be much more interesting than a baddie having taken his mom's soul&body. I can already picture the usual cliché scene with her snickering and saying "hahaha I actually ate your Mom", with Eun-Oh screaming "noooooo!!!!" so yeah...please let it be Mom the bad guy!!!!

I agree with all you people here. I think the Head Reaper may be Mom's brother, and the Jade Emperor definitly sent Arang back to solve the problem of all the souls Mom consumed.

I am a bit concerned about the no-doctor issue as well. As some of you said, I don't understand why Eun-Oh doesn't take care of Arang's wound. For God's sake, the girl could have bled to death!!!

Am looking forward to the shaman and Bang-wool's relationship, those two looks so cute and funny together!

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My only problem with your recap is that I lose interest in watching the episode itself. It is THAT good. Thank you and though I sense real joy in you while doing and writing it, please know that you indeed, share this joy with so many. =)

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I thought the scene where Joo-wal went to visit Eun-oh's mum in the mysterious room was super creepy. When they showed her back, I was half-expecting her to turn her head all the way around to talk to Joo-wal. *shudders*

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all the supernatural themes, characters and mysteries are freaking awesome, love it. i mean if the love story thing didn't happen, i honestly would cry over it, thats how good i see this show as. it has other aspects to fall back on.

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Not so much buffy but I did have flashes of "Jennifer's Body" I was expecting Joo-wal to get all shiny after the kill but seeing as Mum's the big bad that's out.

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Can't take seriouslyJade Emperor with the wacky hairdo. LOL. He looks like an old lady librarian.

Also MOM looks creepy and weirdo looking. Too many plastic surgeries.Doesn't look natural.

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Is it bad that although the mom creeped me out hardcore during that scene, that every time I saw her face I couldn't help but think, AHH. PLASTIC SURGERY! XD

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she was famous with her natural beauty in her 20s..
search kang moon-young (which is her real name)
http://cafe.daum.net/phws1355/CuNw/58?docid=14uef|CuNw|58|20111219225726&srchid=IIM6ryP9500#A160577374EEF41A5215FCD
she had a serious accident while exercisingand that ruined her face.
after that she seemed to have a few surgeries to get her face back, but i guess it didnt work..

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Thanks for the article. Now I feel like an ass for judging her. Definitely going to the 10th hell.

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I love Shin Min Ah's acting. Wow....the tension was heightened because the character was played so well. And the dynamic between her and LJK is just awesome.

This drama itself is turning out to be quite beyond what I was expecting...I wasn't expecting scary but man,I got the spooks watching that scene where he stabbed her up to creepy mom was... *shudders*

Looking forward to tomorrow especially after adding the previews.

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Thanks for the recap, GF! This episode had me literally on the edge of my seat. It started off fluffy and funny and then just took such a dark turn that I regretted watching it at 3AM. @_@

I agree with so many of the comments!! I have a feeling that the Head Reaper might be the mom's brother. I remember the Jade Emperor saying something about if he was thinking of his sister and I sort of connected that with maybe he's looking for her because he finds it bizarre that she hasn't been taken to the Underworld yet? Which then feeds into the theory that she IS waaaay older than she seems and is eating souls in order to stay young in order to enact revenge on the "he" that killed her family.

Except there's definitely one theory I didn't exactly agree with. I don't think she's exactly looking to enact revenge on the Jade Emperor. I saw a previous comment that said that on the "rotten moon," the Jade Emperor and Hades can't see anything that goes on in the mortal realm so evil runs rampant? What if the mom's family was killed on the one of the rotten moon nights? I only suggest this because this episode was centered around the full moon so I just sort of assumed that it was connected to the whole thing too. And also, what if some other sort of evil sees the mother's weakened spirit (consumed by hatred and want of revenge) and sees an opportunity to use her for its own evil designs? I don't even know. @___@

I also love the idea that the Jade Emperor and Hades sent Arang back not because of her wrongful death but because they sense that her death has something to do with that event 400 years ago? So they're sort of using her to figure that out and maybe this is Jade Emperor attempting to fix whatever problem it was that he was supposed to fix?

Ahhhh. It was sooooo freaking creepy when EO said that there were no ghosts around. I was like ...uh, if ghosts don't want to stick around you guys should leaveee!!!

Anyways, just some theories! ^_^ I love the theorizing that goes on at DB! This is actually my first time commenting after lurking for so long! :X

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I have a theory about the no ghost thing at the mountain. Maybe there are no ghosts because Eun-oh's mom keeps eating them? Just a theory, but giving what happened in this episode, I think it seems likely.

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The caption of the mom creap me out to no end. reading this at night isn't a good thing when the actress could pull faces like that.
I can't wait to know more about this.
thanks for the quick recap looking forward to reading more. can't wait it yet :(

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wow! this particular episode has the whole package for me, I can't think of a single fault, it was riveting- left me laughing & at the edge of my seat.
normally around the episode 5 mark of worthwhile dramas it gets really interesting, addictive even & this show has got me. if it continues on this quality, this high grade of everything its up there with the top dramas ever.
loved the 2 big comedic moments too, especially the 'wet dog' Dol Swe moment. if mom is some evil witch with a magic wand or magic hairpin or whatever and turns him into a slobbering labrador for real i will spontaneously combust from the laughter, seriously!
can't wait for episode 6!!!

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Oh I loooooooove this drama! Love that the drama is really ramping up. And yeah, I still love Joo Wal. All these motherless lost boys! Would he be bad if he had not been without a mother and a father? Interesting how his adopted father treats him.

I like the self-searching scenes with the Magistrate. I really like him a lot. He has a very tender conscience. Joo Wal doesn't have the self-searching scenes but you can also tell, just by the actor's skill, that he has moments of grief.

I suppose the only trouble I'm having is with Arang. I'm thinking the reason we don't see any self-searching from her is because she has no memory. But it'
s hard to like her. For me anyway. Because she is so self-serving. Even when the magistrate tells her that he lost his mother, all she ponders his how it will affect her and the most emotion she can get out of his story is to turn it against him and call him "Mama's Boy." And this is a pure soul? I guess cause she hasn't accumulated any human sins along the way...so that makes her a pure soul. Unless the writers are so enamored of her that they can't see that they have to prove her goodness to the audience.

I think it's the fiction writer in me that is having trouble with Arang. I try to make excuses for her. I say "well, she lived as a recluse so she doesn't know how to care about other folks. She was locked away from the world so she's got a childlike solipsism and she only cares about herself."

It's a problem with writers that they are so caught up with their main character that they don't quite realize that what they consider cute and amusing and passionate and childlike-lovely is just a grating charcter and they need to step outside of the story for a while (put it away for six months) so they can see wht little clues they could put along the way to show the kindness of this "childlike character." Granted I don't mind childlike characters, but I tend to resist them if they always think of their own needs and if the writers want me to go along lovingly adoringly on the ride.

But that kind of stuff only happens when there is one writer working on a story so close to his heart he can't see the story or the characters clearly. But this is a team of writers, I'm thinking. (Unless I'm wrong?) And a team can't be that clueless. Honestly, I think of Arang as Dr Jin Lite. Cause she has that same wrapped-up-in-herself quality.

I'm kinda hoping the writers are aware of this aspect...of how she might appear to folks who aren't inclined to like her simply because she is a heroine who has died. In that way, they will show her character arc as she becomes more and more of herself. I like it that the Magistrate is indulgent toward her selfishness even after he gets angry with her and doesn't demand too much of an understanding heart from her. Maybe he thinks she just couldn't comprehend the situation cause she's a ghost and he did kinda tell her that maybe she is pretending to emotions. (Which she doesn't think she is and which --although a throwaway line in an argument-- really does hit the mark of describing this character) But I also don't want him explaining away her hurt in such a way that we viewers are supposed to be satisfied with it.

Another thing..weirdly I'm thinking about the male-female dynamics of this story. I'm not great at feminist analysis but wow, the subtexts in this story!

Oh gee! Sorry about the long semi-rant. I really do love this show.

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I'm thinking they must be deliberately making her childlike since she sort of is--she was "reborn" from Lee Seo-Rim into Arang 3 years ago, and her personality is still developing. In those three years the only "person" to have shown her some kindness before Eun-Oh was the old man ghost who gave her the name, Arang. She didn't have memories or any loved ones...until now, and I can see that being around Eun-Oh is beginning to create those kinds of emotions. When the Reaper was taking her down the River Styx, she seemed a little regretful that she hadn't said farewell to Eun-Oh, and I think she's a little confused and put off that he continues to claim that his kindness to her is solely based on his search for his mother. She seems a little hurt or put off that he flatly claims that he has no warmth toward her, which means to me that she wants it.

I think both of them will continue to grow with one another. As she has to begin to consider others, so does he, and it will change their selfish actions into ones that are done to help or save another. With a 20 episode arc, I think they are moving in that direction, but that they can't have her wholly complete by episode 5, because then where is there room to grow? I will be a lot more satisfying, I think, if Arang continues to grow instead of being fully complete now and just going around and kicking butt, because then that would be boring (at least to me).

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I hope you're right. I understand the writers were trying to show her need for his love when she asked about why he helped her, but really...when someone is on their own life path and someone else Shanghai's them into doing something for them ...well, that's a big thing to ask. If you were searching for your lost mom and someone forces you into her life and drags you into her own issues -- and you actually help her because to help her means finding your own life as well, why should she not be grateful at least? And if he is helping her as a means of finding his mother, that's okay by my book. But maybe if I think of her as a new soul -- with a baby's tendency to think only of its own needs-- I can understand her a bit better. Thanks. I only wish the writers had hinted more about her newborn soul. Again as a writer, I'll say it doesn't take that much to just drop a hint that she doesn't know anything. The gods could've slipped in a word for her. That's what writers do..they find a way to make you understand what's going on with a character. I don't want her to be super-perfect or super complete by episode 5 but I want to see some reason for the inexplicable selfishness and unself-questioning. But you've given me a good answer so I'll go with your opinion.

As for Magistrate...he has shown kindness already so he's not selfish. To be selfish toward one person is not to be generally selfish. Whereas Arang is pushy with everyone... and pushiness as a kind of trait of the "cute" rom-com girl is okay. I like pushy rom-com women. But in this case...wow, it's like I feel the writers are saying "isn't this kind of cute pushiness wonderful?" And I'm thinking..."Nah, it isn't. Not really."

Magistrate is kind to his servant, was gentle with the shaman. He's closed off because he wants to find his mother. A good son wants to respect and find and perhaps take care of his mother (not knowing she is evil.) But Arang only wishes to find herself. Understandable, she's a ghost. With a newborn soul. Maybe in the next episodes she will want to find the truth as a means of helping other people. Still, even when she was alive the first time, it looks as though she was unknown and totally selfish. Maybe her father kept her from true live and it was as if she had no one. Plus she was shy. But IF she was the kind of person who gave to the poor or some such thing, more folks might have been at her funeral. It's sad to live a life where only one's servant is aware of you. So I'm waiting for her to get her mind off her self. (Although, yeah, I've never been a ghost or a lost soul so I can't really judge.)

I can't define purity of soul as childlike selfisness because it would mean I have to understand why Arang behaved like a young child and couldn't understand the wounded soul of the Magistrate. Purity to me means goodness of soul. But if the drama wants us to understand it as someone so into her own world that her fall-back humor is to mock the sorrow of others..well, I'll go with it. But it bothers me.

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interesting discussion you're having! For me, the pushiness of Arang so far is shown as a result of what she went through as a (new) ghost. When she is running across the field after seeing her dead body and has the flashbacks, we see how she was "forced" to become rough in order to survive. And that's her (sole) reality right now, since she has no memory.

And I didn't understand the "pure soul" to be somebody morally perfect ("without a fault") but simply the soul of a "virgin" (= pure woman). But then my Korean is basic and I don't know what the word in Korean is that they use and whether it can be translated that way.

I haven't seen Arang as selfish before, but you have a point. She is selfish - but could she really be otherwise at this point? I am not sure; I wouldn't find that credible. I find Eun Ho's character to be much more flawed - he likes her (somewhat), but in this episode at least, he treats her like crap. Like a thing, actually. And there is zero trust between them yet. Sure, there's more going on - like him being genuinely concerned but not wanting to admit that (even to himself) and her being genuinely touched by some of his actions, but both characters don't know how to build trust (due to their experiences). I am curious to see how this bond (which can only grow through trust) will be forged!

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I think it's no surprise that he treats her like crap. I remember him even just stand watching a man being beaten and be cold towards ghosts begging for his help. It's rather that his caring for her (that we saw in previous episodes) is kinda out of his usual character. I even thought that why he change his color so soon. I mean, it's sweet but I prefer him be a jerk for a little bit longer.

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Well, right now we have people who seem to be at their wits end because of the sorrows of life. Arang has had to be a ghost. Magistrate was pulled from his mom and raised by dad then finds mom missing. Joo Wal has had to endure poverty and mockery so he's now a killer-for-mom. I guess I find Joo-Wal and Magistrate more understandable. I kinda started balking at Arang when she didn't seem to care that she was stressing out the shaman. Yeah, i know ..shaman is comic relief but it really affected me that Arang wouldn't let up and then pulled her into the trapping meo-young/reaper bit. Then Arang didn't care when trapped Reaper warned her she was dealing with stuff she didn't understand. Then Arang becomes a real person and she doesn't try to comfort the little old nanny who had been grieving for her for three years. Not even a scene where we think "she wants to comfort old nanny but she can't cause nanny would recognize her." NADA.

As for Magistrate, I think he's like Choi Young in Faith (or like any man with a stressed-out past.) He has learned to not get into battles that are none of his business. I have faith in his heart because he repeatedly shows it. I'm not one of those folks who like the calm silent cold male who is really a sweetie underneath it all but there is kindness to him..and perhaps a bit of the "I am so spiritual cause I was with quackmaster so I'm not gonna be flipping out over ghosts etc." Fact is, though, just because one sees ghosts in trouble, there is no big rule that one has to help them out and that is the only time he's been cold and indifferent. It's like getting into a culture war when it's none of your business. He's cool-headed and not pushy.

I think he cares about her. He stayed in the room all night with her while she slept. Which counts for a lot. But he's not sure what type of person she is...and it's possible he is trying his best not to fall into loving a ghost. Which is normal. She is a client. I think that's one of the reasons why he gave her the peach...to see if she was really real. But he's not fully convinced yet.

I did wonder why the heck he didn't take her to a doctor but I figured he figured she was some kind of in between human and the gods had made a contract with her for three months so she was going to live. He trusts the gods and he figures this is something way bigger than his mind to understand.

What I'm curious about is how Joo Wal is going to react when he meets/sees Arang again in the light of day...cause ya know!!!!!!!!!! that is definitely gonna happen.

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@Carole McDonnell: But Arang doesn't know the little old nanny. It's a stranger crying about another stranger.

For me, the depth was shown in her character when she thought back to all she'd gone through as a ghost, forced to toughen into the gangster ghost she is right now. I felt sympathy for how rough she'd had to become to survive in such a rough world. And I like how she's looking at her former-self as almost a little sister -- someone soft and vulnerable who was murdered and dumped and forgotten. So Arang will find the truth and maybe a little vengeance for her.

But I do agree she's very self-centered. Just like Eun-oh. Which is what makes them such a cool pair. I feel like part of the journey will be both of them having their hearts grow ten sizes along the way.

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I, too, wanted to shake Eun Oh and tell him to do something to help Arang. I think she can't die until the gods take her back themselves, which is why she died and came back again.

Also, WHY would Eun Oh take her right back to the place she was stabbed in the first place?!? I mean, they came for her once, do you think putting her in a different room is enough to keep her safe? Take her to Bang Wool's house, or something!

I could see evil mom being Moo Young's sister as well—it would explain why he keeps searching for her, but never finds her. Maybe her body has all the missing souls in it—sooo creepy!

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What did you all think about the detail that Eun-Oh dropped in about this mysterious master that sort-of-maybe kept his hostage in the mountains for a year while Dol Swe went in search of him? The "master whose real identity we do not know" who taught Eun-Oh the fast track to martial arts mastery? Could this master be a character we already know? Could it be say, the Jade Emperor or Hades in human form? Or something else?

This gives some legs to my theory that Eun-Oh, like Arang, possibly died and was returned to human form. That is why now, they both can see both ghosts and humans. If Eun-Oh was gone for a year, then if he "died" and returned, then Dol Swe would have missed those events and would not have known any better. We still don't know how long Eun-Oh has been able to see ghosts. And I don't think we know yet when Eun-Oh was gone for a year since he and Dol Swe have known each other for 15.

If this is so, this could mean that he and Arang in the end, could be together since THEY'RE BOTH DEAD? Crazy? Maybe!

I wonder if we'll ever seen Eun-Oh's mother in a flashback being affectionate with him. Is he so attached to her because his father is too harsh and she's the alternative, and because she's so withholding that he would end up craving the attention he could not get?

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Nooo... If the writers pulled a "THEY'RE BOTH DEAD" on us, I'll be writing hate mail.

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Me too. Unless it's done well. But... I'd miss the whole "I'm in love with you but you're dead and I'm alive" angst? Besides, how would the Magistrate have died?

Still, Opheliadrowning's got a great point there! What did that master teach him? And maybe the quackmaster was Jade Emperor? And the fact that magistrate and arang met up and she had the hairpin shows that there was some instrumental-possibly-divine hand directing Magistrate's course.

I just don't think he was dead though. OR he would have known it. But in this show, death doesn't seem to be permanent. As Reaper said. I know Jade Emperor said "this is the first time I've ever done this." But now who knows what kind of cryptic wordplay he was using? Or if he said it just for Arang's sake? Aaargh, this drama!!! So gooooooood.

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Ooh, one more thing... I gotta challenge the whole "Mama's Boy" thing. Living in the American Black community, I'm kinda sensitive to the whole idea of missing persons. There is a big epidemic of that in Black America. In fact, there's a big epidemic of missing people -- especially kids and women in the USA-- and I'm kinda offended that folks are belittling the search for a missing person. True, this is Korean drama and the drama takes place in Joseon period but nevertheless, the loss of a missing person is very hard to deal with. And it's not something to snigger at or to belittle with "get over it." There is no closure when a family member goes missing. Yeah, I know, it sounds like I'm getting fantasy mixed up with real life but it really is an important of people's lives that someone in their family -- a wife, a child, or a mother-- has gone missing. Wanting to find out what happened is therefore not being a mama's boy. Sorry, I try not to be argumentative but that "get over it" comment really did p*ss me off. What would you do if your mother went missing? Would you like being told to "get over it"?

-C

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Good point Carole. I was feeling irked at people calling Eun-Oh obsessed. If my mom went missing suddenly, I'd definitely be searching for her too. Plenty of people continue to look for missing children/relatives/loved ones years and years after they disappeared.

If there were strong bonds between two individuals, of course they'd continue searching. It's only natural and only human to want to protect and take care of their loved ones, even if that meant travelling far away to search for them after they've mysteriously disappeared.

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Thanks so much, Emmy! I didn't want to be a pain but it just seemed odd that so many folks were ready to dismiss a lost mother. Very cold and odd and unnatural.

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Actually I was really irritated at Eun Oh's obsession with finding his mum too, but I think it was more because it seemed like she didn't deserve him to be looking for her like that. We see nothing in the story that shows us that she ever acted like a mother to him. To me, she just seemed selfish and cruel, and she even ended up leaving him, so I just feel like it's not justified for him to be missing his mother like that.

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Uhmm. I hadn't thought about the deserving thing. Not in that way. I thought she was just another sacrificing mom who gave him up to his father so he could have a better life. So I didn't see her sending him off as evil but as a noble motherly sacrifice thing. The kinda thing that shows up a lot in dramas.

But you're making me think. Looking back now I'm like...uhm..."if son comes in to cry about being bullied, would I go on about the death day of my slaughtered clan?" Who knows? I might. Maybe that's when the Magistrate learned to put aside his own needs for other people.

Still, whether she deserves his love or not, she has it. And why should we be irked by that.

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As mom's are the barometer of their child's behavior, it saddens me that his mom was emotionally not available and is the cause of his callousness perhaps. She cannot be blamed entirely as it is his own choice in the matter, but she definitely shaped who he is now.

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True, Moms aren't entirely to blame.

I wonder if her clan was killed because they were evil. If they were good, Lord Choi killed them. If they were bad, the Jade Emperor killed them -- to rid the world of them. And she is the last remaining.

Makes me wonder about Magistrate's life. Would he have been a baddie if mom had raised him? From nature or nurture?

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Or would mom be used to wreck havoc on innocent lives to fulfill her vengeance if she kept her son by her side?

Children do affect positive influences so I say she did not want his pure influence and clung to her hatred.

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could it be that the young shaman is Eunho's sister or somehow related to the mother?

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oh good heavens! There's a thought! I generally hate all that "everyone is related in some way" drama trope..but I would soo accept that.

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damn this is good. loving all the twists and turns that are happening.

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is it just me or did someone else notice.. eun oh's slow reaction to arang's fear when he grabs her. and also why doesn't he do anything to check why she had blood all over her chest? Like doesn't he see it or doesn't it worry him? If so, why doesn't it? I mean in the real world when someone you know is bloodied you'd automatically check it out right?

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I think he has a sixth sense about things....

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I love SHIN MIN AH! I think she just kicked up her acting like 1000 notches.

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Oooh yeah.. Thanks Mawiie! ?

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This drama is awesome! Shin MinhAh´s acting as Arang in this episode is so good and I could totally feel her fear and horror while she gasped for air and ran through the forest/mountain. Also the dark atmosphere and setting is filmed wo well, I could really feel shiver though my body when they walked into that mountain. I also have to say the actress who played Eun Oh´s mum is so freaky, but she does her job really good.

I love the Shaman and Dol Sae together, they´re both really hilarious and lively characters.

I think Arang and Eun Oh needs the Shaman´s help to figure out those spells and magics used by his mum. She probably also has knowledge about those missing 400 ghosts in her "fantastic shaman book" :p

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I love you so much for that buffy reference

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I guess I shouldn't watch this right before I go to sleep.....

Creepy Mama!

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I'm really curious about the Mom now. Maybe she was just a regular person, a rich lady turned into a slave because her family was ruined? Maybe her thirst for revenge made her do a deal with an evil spirit. How did a powerful minister like Eun Oh's dad end up having a kid with a soul eater?

The cinematography in this drama is beautiful. I love the close up shots of the character's eyes where you can see the reflections. That right there is enough to give such an impact to the scene.

And I'm jealous that Shin Min Ah is apparently doing this drama in very very minimal makeup and she still manages to look gorgeous. -_-

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I think that the mother is a shaman. Since the jade emperor killed her family (he did refer to something as a mistake in the past), she decided to use her powers and make the jade emperor pay. That is why, she has been snatching the souls of these pure women. The Jade emperor cannot touch her for some reason, so he needs her son to take care of that. I think that Arang is just the bait, the real goal is Eunho.

Question is, if she is a shaman, how can she not feel that he is her son. Is he really her son? And where exactly did the seed of good in her die?

She definitely behaves like a woman scorned. She is on a mission. Just cannot figure out her full agenda.

Thank you for the recap!

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Now THAT'S a good way to keep the traditional (and almost mandatory) kdrama "evil mom" character and add a twist to that.

I just LOVE this drama!!! And before this I didn't even like Lee Jun Ki. I mean, he's not my ideal type, but I like his character a lot here.

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To be honest I decided to watch this drama only because Lee Jun Ki is in it.

A little disappointed that the eye candy is completely out, but the thriller isn't bad. Hopefully his hair will grow soon - loved his long hair in Iljimae.

Hope that his next project is a romantic comedy though - don't want to see him in tragic roles.

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Arang and the Magistrate Facebook fanpage :)

http://www.facebook.com/ArangMagistrate.MBC

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wow, that was some hardcore analysis up there, and that's the reason why I love comments more than the recaps ( sorry db recappers) the comments wouldn't be possible without DB anyway! If anyone wants some real , long discussion, press next after 1. Happy reading!

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Oh. My. God. What an episode. So much was revealed, and yet I have even more questions. When Arang was stabbed, I had a feeling she was going to be okay, but I don't get it! What is she now? And what is Eun-oh's mom? And what is Eun-oh? This drama has so many twists! I love it!

Thanks for the recap, Girlfriday!

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I did not see the Mom-twist coming! Which I adore! It ties Eun-oh into the mystery so much more tightly and deepens (and horrifies!) the story so much and... I'd totally twirl evil!Mom for bringing the awesome to the drama, but she's too damn creepy. So I'll just clap. From really far away. ;)

And oh my gosh, Joo-wal! What a fascinating turn of events there. For a moment or two I thought maybe he was some sort of golem -- the way she gave him a name (an identity) and he just lit up, like he was coming to life -- but that he's an actual human, a human being treated like a golem -- it brings the pathos. Which I love!

Thanks for the excellent recaps, Girlfriday. :)

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Wow, when people said that the weird woman might be EO's mother, I didn't believe it. I REALLY thought that initially EO's mother and Arang's missing were complete separate things even when she held the pin. Maybe they were connected but not to this EVIL extent. LOL. I seriously can't wait for the scene that EO might come face to face with his EVIL monster mama. I wasn't super invested in the plot about finding his mom at first but wow, now I'm excited. :D I LOVE LOVE the interconnectedness of everything!

And Joo Wal. ALWAYS have to comment about his character because I'm biased towards the actor. :p I KNEW that he wasn't like bad/evil laden from the beginning. He's following orders and become mad. There's still a shred of humanity in him when he faces Arang. Maybe unconscious love from the past because they were to be married? But I love the complexity of his character. He is bad but he has a story.

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For some reason I think with this devil mom, I feel like even when she was/(is still?) human, it felt she never "really" cared that deeply for Eun-oh in the flashbacks. It was mostly Eun-oh going towards her. I think the fact that Eun-oh has this kind of "supernatural" mom is the reason he is able to see spirits maybe.

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Show I lobe uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...u are making my days happier !

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I just thought of something... I think the Jade Emperor must have put some GPS signal into arang when they made her human again so that it would be easier for him to solve the mystery of those lost souls...

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Ok. this is so scary. i'm terrified. The creepy mountain scares me.
I closed my eyes when LJK at that creepy house. I couldn't see the eng sub, therefore I read this recaps to find out the last part.
Sigh.
Bbbbbbrrrr.... I watched it at night. Perfect! Now I'm scared to go to bathroom. Someone wants to accompany me???????? Please.........
:D:D

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Mom's face scares the hell out of me >.<

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