Spy Myung Wol Episode 15 Recap
Oy, Spy Myung Wol is like a recalcitrant child. I compliment it once for having a comparatively sane and decently plotted last (re: previous) episode, and it decides to make me wish I withheld the compliment because this episode appeared to have made a great effort to go the opposite direction. With the exception of one great scene (thank you Eric for selling the angst of loving a spy ), everyone was turning in circles. AGAIN. *headdesk*
You want the book? Gimme the book. I love you? I can’t love you. Come with me to North Korea. No, run away because I don’t want to take you to North Korea. The most consistent and relatable character in this entire drama amongst the leads has been Choi Ryu, so he gets the post topping picture for remaining the sole shining beacon of sanity in this otherwise now completely off-the-rails drama.
Episode 15 baby recap:
Myung Wol points her gun at her erstwhile lover/target and gives the utterly befuddled Kang Woo the real 411 at last. He asks what’s with the calling him “comrade” and she like “duh, because I’m a North Korean.” Myung Wol unhappily explains to Kang Woo that she is Han Myung Wol, member of the Anti-Hallyu Squad of the North Korean army. She is on a mission to South Korea, and he’s her target. Choi Ryu stares in wide-eyed silence during this entire reveal. Kang Woo thinks she’s lying, but Myung Wol is in a don’t-screw-with-me mode now.
The Chairman is pissed to discover his master plan to dispose of Kang Woo and Choi Ryu, hours after he got the book from them, has been foiled. As Homer would say: “doh.” The Chairman’s ineffectual evilness has turned him into Dr. Evil (and this drama veering into Austin Power-esque spy territory). He orders his minion to find out the real identities of Choi Ryu and Myung Wol, and their whereabouts along with Kang Woo. In Ah worries her grandpa realized she gave up his location, and is also trying to use her limited brain cells to connect Kang Woo’s daddy to grandpa.
The love triangle retreats back to Kang Woo’s place for a formal powwow, whereby Kang Woo gets the full scoop on how North Korea wants to procure itself a top Hallyu star and he happened to be the lucky chosen one. Myung Wol was the agent sent on the mission to marry him and make him defect to North Korea. I give Kang Woo props for not busting out in tears laughing when he hears this grand master plan.
Choi Ryu lays down the law – they will take Kang Woo to North Korea via China once he departs for his supposed US trip. Myung Wol explains how initially they wanted his cooperation, but now they have no time, so he’s coming with them whether he wants to or not. Choi Ryu realizes Myung Wol changed her mind because she knows the truth about the North ordering Choi Ryu to kill them all if the mission failed.
Kang Woo goes back to his room to mope and reflect on how ALL the clues were there that Myung Wol was no simple crazy but normal background fangirl. Spy parents are briefed by Choi Ryu that the jig is up, but they are headed back to North Korea with Kang Woo in tow anyways. Spy parents are happy to finally be headed back to their homeland, and without a death warrant on their heads.
Kang Woo asks Myung Wol if she ever genuinely liked him? She lies and says it was all a show for the sake of her mission. He refuses to accept that answer because he knows the difference between fake affection and real love. Myung Wol slaps Kang Woo and tells him to wake up. She’s a North Korean officer and can kill him with one hand. She’s no longer the Han Myung Wol he knew. Myung Wol gets all teary after she walks away.
We find out Kang Woo’s dead daddy was a former authenticator for the Chairman who discovered the secret of the Four Books (leads to a treasure in Manchuria that can change the power in the Korean peninsula) and urged the Chairman to turn over the books to the authorities. Instead he got run over for wanting to do the right thing.
Choi Ryu finds Kang Woo sneaking out at night. Kang Woo says they can’t possibly believe they can take him to North Korea? Kang Woo wonders why Choi Ryu will send the woman he loves into a mission that requires her to seduce another man. Choi Ryu tells Kang Woo that if Myung Wol fails in her mission, the only result is death. Kang Woo asks why Choi Ryu would allow Myung Wol to take on this mission in the first place since he also loves her? Choi Ryu says all Kang Woo needs to do now is go to North Korea and he can protect Myung Wol.
Choi Ryu sneaks into In Ah’s bedroom to find a place to hide. She covers for him when the guards come looking. Myung Wol and Kang Woo head out to wrap up some of his matters. They meet with Agent Kyung and lie that they are back together and she’s going to the US with him. Kang Woo pulls Dae Kang aside and asks him to find out how a North Korean spy can legitimately stay in South Korea. Erh….defect maybe? Kang Woo is not so terribly up to date on his peninsular politics. He goes to thank all the production crew who worked on their drama, because the crew is the real reason for a star’s success in the industry. LOL, love the meta of this throwaway scene.
Choi Ryu finds out Kang Woo left the house with Myung Wol and races to find them. Kang Woo and Myung Wol visit his old neighborhood and he wonders when he’ll get to come back some day. She reveals that she heard about what happened to his dad. He thought that if he got famous and made lots of money, he could find out the truth about his father’s death. Well Kang Woo, you sorta did find out about your daddy’s death in the end by working for the Chairman. Now all Kang Woo wants is revenge on the Chairman.
They play a game of catch outside. Myung Wol thinks to herself – wondering if she can stay here with him, why she needs to take him to North Korea, whether she can change the horrible reality they are facing. Myung Wol throws the ball far to give Kang Woo a chance to runaway when he goes to retrieve it. But he returns with the ball, just as Choi Ryu arrives. Myung Wol looks stricken that he didn’t take the chance. Kang Woo gives her the ball as a present.
Kang Woo finds out that a North Korean spy who is convicted gets a life sentence, but who turns herself in can get pardoned and guarantee basic living standards in South Korea. In Ah gets drunks and toddles over to Choi Ryu’s place to cry on his shoulder. Choi Ryu calls the Chairman to return In Ah in exchange for the Four Book.
Kang Woo and Myung Wol have a mature and thoughtful communication on the roof. He asks what she wants in life. She says she lives only with orders. He wonders if she intends to live her entire life just following orders. She says that is precisely her dream, following orders and serving her country. He will never understand.
She asks him why he came back after she gave him a chance to run away? Kang Woo says he’s all alone, and Myung Wol is the only woman he has ever loved. He is simply Kang Woo, a man who loves Myung Wol. It doesn’t matter whether he leaves or stays. He asks her to turn herself in because he forgives her.
He wonders why she can’t do it. Myung Wol reiterates that she’s an officer trained by her government, and she made a promise to be like her dad. Kang Woo reminds her that even with all that, she fell in love with him anyways. Kang Woo pulls her in for a tight hug, telling her that she also wants only him, just like he wants only her. Myung Wol allows herself to hug him back.
Choi Ryu gets the Four Book from the Chairman in exchange for In Ah. The spy parents enjoy a farewell meal with Dae Kang. Myung Wol watches Kang Woo rest and thinks back to Choi Ryu reminding her that if the mission fails, Kang Woo’s life will be in danger since he knows their real identity. Kang Woo thinks back to Choi Ryu reminding him that Myung Wol’s life will be forfeit if she lets him go and fails her mission.
On the way to the airport, the trio are waylaid by the Chairman’s goons. Choi Ryu stays to fight while Myung Wol and Kang Woo manage to get away. Myung Wol points at gun at Kang Woo, telling him to run away and leave. Myung Wol goes back to her apartment to find an irate Choi Ryu waiting for her. He takes a gun to head out and eliminate Kang Woo, but Myung Wol won’t let him. She tells him to kill her as long as he lets that man live. Choi Ryu asks if she really wants to drive him insane? Does she really not know what he really wants?
The Chairman finds out about the spies real identity and calls Kang Woo, threatening to call the authorities to report the spies presence in South Korea. Kang Woo barges in to see the Chairman, offering to forgive him about his dad’s death and help him get the Four Book back, as long as the Chairman doesn’t call the authorities.
Kang Woo arrives at Myung Wol’s apartment. He goes straight to the point and asks Myung Wol to marry him and live here with him. Ooookay? That really solves all the problems. Kang Woo is clearly a Hallyu star who lives in fantasyland instead of South Korea. But he’s pretty sincere about Myung Wol, which is nice to finally see.
Im happy the first again. Lol just needed to post this one up b4any1. Off to reading.
Wait. What? This is the last episode? Huh?
There are 18 episodes.
I still maintain that the writers should have made Myung-wol pregnant and had a time jump, where she runs away from everyone and then suddenly reappears. And then maybe she could get a terminal disease and die while Kang-woo clutches their newborn daughter in his arms and Choi Ryu defects to be the life-long silent protector of Myung-wol’s child. The spy parents could die in a blaze of glory helping Myung-wol escape from a death squad sent by the North to eliminate her – who were actually sent by the Chairman, because he’s a secret North Korean plant sent to try to convert the South to communism. And then, purely for the wth factor, Dae-kyung can become president and start a nuclear war with the North out of his all-consuming grief and the whole world blows up and we all die. I mean…could you come up with a better melodrama than that? Oh yeah, and before everyone dies, we should find out that Kang-woo, Myung-wol, and Ryu are all long-lost triplet siblings and that Kang-woo’s father was actually a North Korean scientist conducting experiments on them who wasn’t his father at all, but he had a crisis of conscience and escaped to the South and was only able to take Kang-woo with him. And then the Chairman blackmailed Kang-woo’s dad into working for him, but was then ordered to kill him and keep an eye on Kang-woo.
Yeah, I think that should happen. ^_^
I think i like this plot better.
And the daughter of myungwol and Kang woo grows up to look just like Myung Wol and becomes a south korean spy and goes to North to kick some ass and the story happens all over again, but on the other side of the wall.
Ha! I love it. It can be called – wait for it – SPY MYUNG-WOL 2: Revenge of the South.
i approve of this madness. so i’m planning we go to s.k. and kidnap all smw writers and then you can replace them and make this plot a reality (in the fantasy drama world anyway). don’t worry, we’ll have special potions that would make all the higher-ups give the go signal on everything about this revised and improved plot development. ;P
lol
@Tammie, there are three more episodes.
Ok for the dragging they did till ep 12, the last two episodes have picked up pace.Now where on earth are the NIS agents when we need them.
i do not know whats going on , but for heavens sake end this show already. Is Poseidon after this? bring it on faster….
Thanks. I see Ms. Koala clarified it in the post. I know I’m older than most here, but my mind has not completely left me! lol
Thanks for the recap! On a side note – Is there anyone in this – yes, I’ll say it – farce, that hasn’t been slapped? With episode 15 we can add Kang Woo and In Ah to the list.
thanks for the recap.. I did not watch the episode, but i was curious – so i came to read the recap. Thanks for taking ur time and posting it.
About SMW, i liked yesterdays episode, and todays episode is less interesting but more on the angsty side; i hope next week does justice to the whole fiasco.
Thanks a ton for all ur hard work; its appreciated..
you don’t seem enthusiastic about this show. your tone in your writing seems almost bored…
Koala, I’ve gotten a few laughs watching this (I use the term loosely) drama. But the best time has been your recaps/comments. We’re coming down the stretch here, so grit your teeth and soldier on, comrade.
Agree, i like Kola unnis writing more than the show, and i quote your writing
“I give Kang Woo props for not busting out in tears laughing when he hears this grand master plan”
I think it is one of the shows where you have switch off your mind logic and watch, so you are just watching people talk and move, rather than interpretting the show.
unni, can we generate a report of your writings and our comments here and print them or email them to the producer/PD of the show? Seriously.
This is a crazy show, but somehow I keep watching it and waiting for the next one – I guess just to see what they come up with next. Thank God Eric is so interesting to watch as an actor. I don’t hate this show at all, but I really wish they could have done better. It’s like they had no clue what they were going to do after the first 3 episodes and just ad lib as they go along.
Someone needs to shoot this show and put it out of it’s misery.
Le Sigh.
Thank you Ms Koala.I am still watching,my fervor has died down.However soldiering on because of the 2 male leads.I love Ryu in Powerful Opponents and darn it,just want to see what happens in the end.I can’t even be bothered with the subs anymore,it’s so bad I just watch it raw after the recaps.
Hi Koala! Thanks to your rec, I’ve discovered the awesomeness that is Zenkai Girl. I do hope that to be able to share the wonderful drama it is, you could do a recap for your other readers to encourage them to watch it. Thank youuuu so much for recommending it. 🙂
I know this drama is not the best (in simple words), but I somehow can’t stop myself from reading about it or watching it 😀 Though I’m still rooting for Choi Ryu and Kang Woo to end up together and everything would make soooo much sense
And it continues to go round and round… In the future I hope they make the technology to jump into dramas. I would have the time of my life slapping sense into characters.
Did you write this recap while reading a Kyoya/Haruhi fanfic? Heheh Unnie you got amazing multi-tasking skills!
hi ms.koala. its random. but may i ask u, where do you get ji sung photo (the one in your top page),, heheheheh. he is so adorable!!!!
Love this “The love triangle retreats back to Kang Woo’s place for a formal powwow”
Never seen rivals so relaxed around each other. We hardly even get angry glances at each other anymore. They’re just sooooooo tired, prolly wishing the other to JUST SHOOT ME NOW AND END THiS!
Thanks for your recap and funny comments. We really do have to take this plot with a LARGE chuck of salt — maybe that kosher kind, or sea salt?
Not only has everyone know officially been slapped. Almost everyone has been kidnapped, and held or stolen one of more of the “SA AP SA.”
Are there really three more episodes?
i know this is really far fetch but i was thinking that kang woo`s dad was the guy who told chyi ryu supiorer to get kang woo to come to north remember they never showed his face only the back of the head
I’m assuming that that person is supposed to be Kim Jong Il. Who would not take kindly to being parodied in a South Korean drama by any actor, hence the back-of-the-head shot.
As for Kang Woo’s dad – he’s dead. Like, really really dead. He died when he was ran over by a car. No one doubts or disputes that. KW was only trying to find out the reason his dad died, not to investigate whether his dad was dead or not.
But hey, I could be totally wrong and you right. At this point, this drama can’t do anything to shock me anymore. KW’s dad can magically crawl out of his grave and turn out to be the mysterious North Korean leader who gave the order to bring KW to North Korea.
Nevertheless I am grateful of this show although I have yet to complete the last two episodes and not in hurry to catch up , but I am bursting out in tears laughing over Ms Koala and all of your comments for the last 2 episodes especially the last episode. Many thanks.
Thanks for the recap!
Such an irony that the real-life HYS fiasco & the drama-in-drama (Shiri 2?) were way more interesting than the actual drama itself. SPW began with such promise & an interesting premise but pity it was poorly executed!
Alas I’m afraid it’s too late to fire anybody (*coughthewriterscough*) now & my only hope is that somebody pulls through with a terrific ending to go off with a bang or the creative team might just end up with no gigs for a very very loooonng time!
My take on the ending? Choi Ryu will die protecting Myung Wol to the end, she and Kang Wu will take off, not for N. Korea, but for Hollywood. She’ll write a best-selling expose on the crazy orders of the N.K rulers and open her own martial arts dojo for Hollywoodites, He’ll take Broadway by storm with his singing and acting, and J. InA will get on the wrong plane and end up in North Korea, so they’ll get their Hallyu star after all! BTW, if they go for the baby finish, it’ll be twins-a little MW and a Little KW and the cycle will start all over. Oh, yeah, and evil Grandpa will end up in jail for tax evasion and owning illegal artifacts.
Here’s my solution to this drama:
Based on the fact that both the North and Chairman Joo want those darn books, Ryu should offer the North a deal to trade the books in exchange for their freedom. However, Ryu makes the same deal with Chairman Joo. He’ll trade the books for their freedom. :phew:
THEN, he throws Chairman Joo and the books into a crate and sends it North. 😀
Voila! Everybody gets what they want. The North gets the books plus an added bonus of a new comrade, i.e. Chairman Joo. Chairman Joo gets what he wants, i.e. the books. Minor detail being that he has to be in the North, in order to have the books. But, that’s okay because if he had stayed in the South, he would have been in prison for killing KW’s father, anyway. Ahhh, there’s only a slight difference being in prison and being in a restricted society. 😛
And, everybody else is safe and sound, in the South, living life as usual.
The End!
The writing/story hasn’t been great. But, I still looked forward to watching this drama for its wackiness that seems to be now isolated to only the spy-parents and DK.