Kolorful Palette: The lady in the red backpack [Kill Me, Heal Me]

by Fanderay

Just when I thought Kill Me, Heal Me had nothing left to excite me, they throw in an unexpected twist! Well timed, Show (for the record, I’m talking about Episode 16 since I’m writing this pre-Episodes 17-18). Now it feels like anything could happen, and I no longer have any concerns about a lack of material to fill the last four episodes.

Up until now, I’ve pretty consistently felt that Ji Sung has been carrying the show alone on his very capable shoulders. He’s so good at showcasing layered emotions that he’s been a bit of a scene stealer, but by contrast I’ve found Ri-jin to be a bit obnoxious and over the top. I know that Hwang Jung-Eum can act and utilize subtlety very well so I’m happy that her role in this drama is now transitioning to something a little more serious than loud psychiatrist, allowing us to see her more vulnerable side.

This scene is from the end of Ri-jin and Do-hyun’s pre-breakup date. As we all know, every noble idiot in K-drama history has had to organize a cute date or special moment to pull at our heartstrings one last time before the happiness ends (despite the clicheness, I’m always a fan). I picked this specific shot because of the great aesthetic, but what I really loved about this whole sequence is that Ri-jin surprised me with her foresight and intuition and showed me that she’s a lot more introspective than I realized. I’ve come to expect that the victim of noble idiocy will be left confused and devastated, much like a dog having rocks thrown at it. Instead, Ri-jin saw exactly what was coming and didn’t even shy away from it. She didn’t even try to stop Do-hyun, and instead respected his choice and dealt with him rather bravely (at least compared to how I would have responded). I admit to finding it a little strange that she could put together that she was in his memories, but not that she’s the kid in the basement (especially since she has a fear or basements and knows he’s been looking for that child) but I wasn’t expecting her to put anything together so I’m still taking it as a win.

As far as the drawing itself goes, it was fun to do something different, and I always jump at any opportunity to paint scenery that’s more exciting than the inside of a building. I used digital oil paints since it’s a simple scene, and I thought visible brush strokes would add a little visual interest. Eventually I hope to find a scene of this type that I love so very much that it’ll be worth the expense of painting on actual canvas (although I’ll have to use acrylics instead of oils since I’m not so good with fumes… another advantage to digital!).

It’s not exactly related to this scene, but I pretty much have to talk about the twist at the end of the episode when Ri-jin’s true identity is revealed. I didn’t expect her to be Cha Do-hyun, but it makes so much sense. As far as I can tell, “Ri-jin” was originally considered a legitimate child on the family registry until Do-hyun’s dad returned and revealed that he wasn’t actually the father. This wouldn’t have been something easy to fix since changing the family registry would ruin their reputation and make the matter of inheritance a little tricky with zero legitimate children (not to mention that daughter-in-law Min Seo-yeon was preferred by Gramps). This birthed a nefarious plot to simply switch Do-hyuns and get rid of Ri-jin altogether. These people are scary awful.

There are a couple of things that I’m confused about though. Like, why did Se-gi yell at Grandma about not saving the other kid when he knows that Ri-jin is alive? And why does Grandma love her son so much but despise Do-hyun so vehemently? I would get why she disliked him if she viewed her son as the vile douchebag that he is, but she seems oblivious to his faults, so why doesn’t her preference extend to her son’s son? Granted, she seems like the kind of lady to hate pretty much everyone, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to it (like she blames Do-hyun for the coma?).

Based on the recognizability of the actors alone I’m guessing we’ll be seeing more of Daddy and Grandpa, and they’ll probably be a big part of fleshing out the family secrets. No one on TV is ever in a coma without waking up, and Grandpa will probably appear in a bunch more flashbacks (and we all know how much this drama loves its flashbacks!).

Although the name switcheroo in itself was a pretty crazy surprise, I’ve also been pretty surprised to gradually learn that Ri-jin’s past is actually more traumatic than Do-hyun’s, and I hope that her coping with her past becomes as much a part of the story as Do-hyun’s issues (abuse is certainly not something to be swept under the rug). I also wonder if Do-hyun’s personality fragmentation is not just a result of memory suppression, but is more directly linked to having to change identities and take over the life of someone he cared about. He was old enough to understand the name change, and that has to be a pretty confusing and scary situation for a kid to go through. Creating multiple personalities would provide a way to hold on to his original self, and if Shin Se-gi is his original name it makes sense that Se-gi would be the most dominant persona and harbor so much resentment and pain.

Now that Ri-jin knows the truth I think that she and Do-hyun will start working together again, and I’m more excited about this show than I have been in a while (it was starting to feel like too much of a flashback-fest). Now it’s a whole new game and I can’t wait to see it play out.

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