Written and Video Preview for Episode 13 of Queen In Hyuns Man

View Comments

• i don't think his personality has seen a massive shift, he WAS a bit playful, with a hidden streak of rascalness (sorry for the non-existent word)... he was just bound by the culture & customs of his side, so he behaved with the manners and reserve of that era in which he was brought up... but boongdo is, in a sense, a modern man (remember, he showed very little shock at Heejin's so-called-goodbye-kiss, even though it is safe to assume that such behavior might not have existed in his time... why, being a nobleman, he might've very well thought wanton, but he found her charming & passionate, albeit a bit shameless.. so maybe in heejin and the year 2012, he has found that he has that playful side in him, which he can now freely express, not bound by societal hierarchy, etiquette and manners of yonder era... so it's not a personality switch, and maybe this newfound freedom to be more expressive might also have led to his decision to be in 2012...

  but ya, ep 12 did feel like filler or fan-service, but hey, i can take an interim pair of cute episodes to balance other plot-heavy or angsty episodes... very cute OTP, who tempt me too much to ship in real-life :-)

  • I love the fanservice, too.
    But it would have been really cool if instead of taking her on a bike ride, they went out on horseback. He could have showed off his skills, and she could have seen him less as a fish out of water, but a man defined by his time.

  • I hafta agree with u. I think his personality didn't change. Rather, his playffanulness side was unleashed. Esp after alr thinking he'd be staying in the modern world. He needed to adapt to their life all the more. Although the fan service angle is true like what koala said, hahah that kinda makes me wanna watch the next ep all the more-for plot mvmt and more fan service scenes.

  • I didn't find anything wrong with it either, after all, we are in episode 12, it is time we moved the romantic front forward....only two weeks left. Also, after the memory loss senario and the treat of another man claiming his girlfriend, I wasn't suprised he would lay a physical claim to complete the bond.

  • But he's a yangban! Raised as one, educated at Sungkyunkwan, is a government official. He can be someone who is calm when absorbing new experiences and is forward thinking even for his time and his position, but in no way would it be realistic for him to suddenly behave like a modern boyfriend romancing his newfounded lady love in the way he did in ep 12. He could have accepted coming to live in the modern world, but his personality and behavior would still reflect his upbringing for the most part with some deviations for his hidden playful side and his willingness to learn modern mores. But it wouldn't be a wholesale perfect cheesy loverboy coming out. His sudden personality shift actually bothered me because it took me out of the moment, being so unbelievable especially since he was written to be the ideal personification of a yangban.

    In comparison, I look at how Tamra The Island handled the perfect yanban Park Kyu's fish-out-of-water experience on Tamra and his growth when he fell in love with Beo Jin, yet his personality and the way he carried himself remained intact even as he added new understanding, altered his behavior in certain ways, and ultimately become a more complete person as the end (as opposed to a new version of himself).

    • I love how you bring up Park Kyu, and completely agree with everything you said in regards to his change in character throughout Tamra. Also, I agree with you (and I guess I am one of the few) about Kim Boong Do's sudden change in character. He became too modern all of a sudden, and lost that extra special part of him that came from him being a Joseon scholar.

    • Team Park Kyu FTW! Still the most perfect perfect PERFECT Joseon male character ever written. Kim Boong Do is something special, but he's not quite Park Kyu.

• Interesting...I can see what you are saying...Did he seem too relaxed? Too modernized?
  Could it be something as simple as he has made a decision as to where he wants to spend his future and he is letting go of the Joseon ways?
  Could it be that when he returned to Joseon days and ways, the time spent in 2012 had already altered him enough that he no longer felt right being there(then?)?
  Could it be the last leap before he regained his memory changed him for ever for good, and that change meant a committment to fate whatever that means - which made him bolder?

  I am getting shooper nervous about the consequences of using the amulet for selfish reasons...

• Why he can't be foward with HJ? I mean, after realizing she is very important to him, and finally meeting her back, he just let himself be more comfortable with her. Aren't couples like that?

  You mean the bed scene? I do agree if they did it, it is really out of character...

  • What I loved about the characterizations in QIHM is how the writer tries to juxtapose Hee Jin's modern playful ways with Boong Do's assured genteel Joseon ways for the last 10 eps. Suddenly in ep 11-12, Boong Do was acting like a modern boyfriend, and not a Joseon-era boyfriend. Boong Do is a yangban, there is no way in hell a Joseon-era scholar steeped on Confucian mores and proper etiquette would be suddenly behaving this way. As a couple, he would be showing his affection in much more subtle and reserved ways, as he had been doing earlier. The kiss in the car in ep8 was out-of-character but it made sense since emotionally he was taking a great leap forward. Now that he's chosen Hee Jin, he would still be the same him and treat her like he would if she was his woman back in Joseon times, with a bit of modern playfulness, but not this torrential outpouring of romanticism. It's the lack of character consistency I'm pointing out, and the abruptness. If after a few months in 2012 had gone by with them together, then Boong Do's actions would seem much more plausible. For 10 eps we've seen Joseon Boong Do slowly acclimate to modern ways, but in ep 11-12 he took a quantum leap.

    • Oh I see... thanks for replying.

      That is true he changed very fast, but it could also be because he is madly in love? lol not sure.... but I understand what you want to say...

    • maybe he was always a modern man, ahead of his times??? i mean, like i said in my previous comment, he already was pretty fast in adapting to and adopting the modern culture ( the kiss in the library, i mean i'm pretty sure he never bought her explanation of a kiss being a good-bye gesture, but he was playful & forrward enough to make use of the situation - maybe he really is a player, those tendencies having been confined by his era's cultural norms, now freed up)... after all, he did confess to a disconnect with his era, now that he has been in the future... & i don't think it's only because he already knows what happens and doesn't want to live a predestined life... i think, deeper than that, he has already seen, and taken a liking to the New World, which had brought out other facets of his character... because, face it, his era, filled with its conservative attitudes and customs, coupled with political intrigues, and his life-or-death stakes didn't provide him with much opportunities to be the cute, flirty, romantic guy that he is... after all, he still retains his intelligence, wit and good nature, and they haven't exactly shown any scenes of his with his wife...

    • Miss Koala, I beg to differ on all your comments conerning Boong Do's character change. I still don't know why you would think that people in the joseon era were restricted...just because they didn't show feelings opening does not mean they didn't in private and everyone has an inner devil in them. I think what you failed to realize from the writers viewpoint is the fear of loss that has motivated this forward momentum of growth from our time-traveler. He realized he almost forgot the woman he loves, plus another man was already trying to lay claim on her. Any red blooded male would know that it's time for drastic measures and lay his claim....Plus the possiblity of losing the amulet and not being able to return. I also believe the writer has always portrayed him as someone who adapts well to new surroundings....he was never freaked out about time traveling to the 21st century. Therefore, there is no character flaw whatsoever! He also said that he no longer feels any connection to his era, but more at one with ours. For a scholar like him, I would expect that. Also, who wants to live knowing when you will die or your loved ones.

    • I could forgive the "spend the night with me" because the kissing fried my brain and made me all loopy with happiness, but NO WAY would a proper yangban ever ever make that comment to a woman who is not yet his legal wife. I don't care if he's in Joseon, modern, hell, heaven, wherever, it's just not consistent with his morals and upbringing. And for it to happen so abruptly is the kicker. Like I said, BD is a quite adapter, a few months in 2012 and I'd be totally lapping up all his boyfriendy behavior. But then later BD was being all affectionate with HJ publicly (bike ride, in the phone booth), which are all sweet but once again such a huge gap between how he was raised and how he suddenly is behaving. He spent nearly 30 years as a Joseon scholar, steeped in the very essence of Confucian behavior where how low one bows is perfectly timed and every word out of his mouth is correctly used depending on who he is talking to. He's not some random Joseon era man, he's a high court official from an formerly esteemed family. It's the abruptness of his behavioral change that caught me off guard.

    • BD did say that he has spent a few months in 2012...long enough to know that HJ was "conning" him again with regards to the "carre rice" meal she made him...so he has been adapting thru his few months in 2012...so his boyfriend behavior is not as abrupt as it might seem...

    • LOVE THIS Description:
      "He spent nearly 30 years as a Joseon scholar, steeped in the very essence of Confucian behavior where how low one bows is perfectly timed and every word out of his mouth is correctly used depending on who he is talking to."

      What we are seeing his the actor's personality nudging the writing a little, which may not be true to the character, I admit.

    • I agree to some extent. The nature of men and women and relations hasn't changed much in thousands of years and it goes beyond culture, race, and era. I don't think it was out of character for him to ask her to spend the night but the lovey dovey date was kind of over the top. The minute I saw it I thought..."he must have looked up how to date modern girls". That would be more fitting in his character.

      Just because he was good at following the rules of the society he lived in doesn't mean those rules embody who he truly is. It goes back to the question of how would we behave if the rules of our society suddenly didn't exist. If this was the case then writers should have done more to flesh out the nature vs nurture conflict. Since they did it so abruptly it feels like it was thrown in for more fanservice.

    • I love this show to pieces but I do understand what you are trying to say Koala.
      Thank you Beeboop saying whats on my mind.

    • At work in the middle of an experiment so this will be quick. I completely agree with you in that Boong Do's shift in personality was a bit jarring thus leaving me a bit off after episodes 11 and 12. I mean we have seen little bits of him being more forward with HeeJin in the preceding episodes as he adapted to modern mannerisms and lifestyle but even so he still kept his Joseon manners in a way albeit a bit more forward than we expect a yanban to be. However in episodes 11 and 12 he suddenly is a lot more affectionate than I expected of his character. I mean as much as I like fanservice, I was a bit surprised and taken back by the fact that he wanted her to stay the night and the fact that they full on made out because although noblemen had relations with ginsaengs , in regards to women they wanted to marry they would never act like that. Having a woman he wants as a future wife stay the night before marriage would be unheard of in Joseon times so I was a bit surprised they had his character do that or appear to do that. As for the bike ride, since he had wanted to do cheesy things for HeeJin prior to the memory loss I wasn't that surprised by the bike ride date since he essentially started where he left off prior to losing his memory which was him wanting to be a cheesy good boyfriend to her but I was surprised by how affectionate he was during that date.

      In terms to how long he has been jumping from the past to the future, based on the amount of time that seem to be in question during his memory loss (didn't he say when he woke up in episode 9 that he didn't know what happened for the past ~2 months) he has been in the future for a couple of months now so its plausible for him to act like a modern man but based on his mannerisms and actions in the episodes prior to the memory loss it seems a bit of a jump to have him become a full-on cassanova.

  • Why is it out of character...whatever makes you think he didn't take mistresses in the joseon time. Affections may not be shown openly doesn't mean none is shown in private...and for christ sake...he is a man and gotta take charge.

    • Because the drama spent 10 episodes telling us and showing us that Boong Do is the ideal personification of a yangban. He's perfect - honorable, upstanding, and the epitome of proper etiquette in public. Of course he didn't take a mistress. Another Joseon man, I wouldn't know. But we're told BD is a pretty much the pinnacle of what a scholar would be, and there the personality shift is because we're talking about HIM, and not some formless Joseon person coming to the modern times.

    • "He’s perfect – honorable, upstanding, and the epitome of proper etiquette in public" "Honorable" and "Upstanding" maybe.....but the "epitome of proper etiquette in public"? I don't think the writer delved that deep into his character for us to judge that....we've only seen him fighting or running from his life. And we are not talking about anything he did publicly....we are talking about his behaviour with the woman he loves. I really don't understand why it bordered you that his feelings will take new dimensions by episode 12. He's been time traveling since episode 2 or so, enough time to have adapted well, for a character like his who wasn't afraid of his new surroundings. Yes, he's been respectful and modest with her, but deosn't all relationships take a jump into next levels eventually especially when coupled with extinuating (did I spell that right) circumstances. I think you should rewatch episode 11 and 12 and maybe you will come out with new understanding.

    • I was surprised when he subtly asked HJ to spend the night with him, but NO, I don't find his character inconsistent now and before. I agree with Eaglette that we had no idea about him behaving in the public.

      In the set of 300 years ago, we saw him fighting, running away, saving the Queen, confronting Min Am, talking to Yoon Wol, Han Dong and the monk. And none gave me an impression that he always tried to behave as a "proper etiquette in public". I remember when Han Dong told him not to reveal with anyone about his haircut, he even laughed and asked Han Dong why it should be a big deal. He didn't care about whether people consider him as a respectable yanban or not; even Han Dong cared about his status more than him :). (Not to mention that most yanban should be terribly upset and felt guilty when his hair was cut, let alone he cut it himself.)

      In the set of the modern time, he always acted carefully and cautiously, but I think mostly because he is a fish out of the water. He doesn't know how to act proper in the modern time, so he must observe and think before he would speak and act. Still, he shows that he is quite an adaptive and open person. (library hug/kiss. the car kiss. being a thief. cut his hair himself)

      Although I wasn't extremely satisfying with ep 12, I still loved it, and found our characters believable and consistent. It is what I would expect from a widower to act when he is in front of the one he has been longing for a while :).

      In the set of modern era,

• I disagree with the "nothing happening" in episode 12. I believe the OTP had their first semi-fight (more on the uncertainty on whether or not Boong-do should stay in 2012). And Boong-do's desire and interest in the future/present world has grown, which I think plays into plot development later on...

  As for the character shift..I don't necessarily see that either, since he also seems to have a "when in Rome" attitude that we've also seen previously in other episodes. In fact, this "adapting" attitude is very Taoist...

  Just my 2 cents. We can agree to disagree. :)

  • I agree! The small fight in ep 12 was a great onward shift in their relationship. I felt that it brought BD back from his euphoric high, and crashed into brevity of the situation. So, while I agree that he was out of character, like Miss OcKoala said, I also believe it was because of the emotional state of their characters. They did spend a few months together in the modern and a month or so away as the repercussion of the talisman getting sliced.

    That phone booth scene where he calls HJ was a touch of his old self, where he was thinking about how he was going to be "responsible for her". As a fangirl I love that he blew off all his reason for her, but as a logical woman, were that me, I would be riling against him. LOL

    But yes the "abrupt change" wasn't consistent, but neither was it permanent.

• I love his abrupt change - to me it signifies his willingness to accept/explore/investigate this modern world. He's already commented that HJ is "impulsive" (and made the monumental discovery that he finds it attractive) When he stuck his tongue out at DM in EP 11 that was also out of character for someone of his background & upbringing. HJ is the one who has taught him these things and he trusts her so he's also learning/learned a few things about modern day courtship. (who knows what other things he's read about in the library) As far as all the romantic things, he did ask SK about doing "cheesy" things for HJ . So now he's doing a few cheesy things with her that are acceptable in this modern world. I find it charming & believable.

• I thought I was the only one at lost watching Episode 12, glad that you feel the same. Honestly, I only like the first half of Episode 11 and although the latter half of Episode 11 had so many cute scenes, I'm not really sold when BD becomes like a modern boyfriend. The reason why I'm so fascinated watching this drama is because of BD's character as a yangban who falls in love with a modern woman. I really want BD to maintain his character as a yangban coz that's his charisma and the way I look at it he's losing it and i'm also losing my interest on this drama.

• For me it’s even more than a quantum leap. He did say “In-Hyun Wanghu, I need to find out if its worth risking my life” he didn’t know for sure whether the talisman will work, and although he got pieces of info from YW and the monk about “the woman” and “the other world”, he is a very logical person. He laughed at his manservant when he told him about him disappearing and when YW gave him the talisman in the first place he said he didn’t believe in such thing. He’s an intellect through and through, so to take a stab like that it’s a leap of faith (and we saw that he got teary when he recalled his memory with Heejin)

  He just showed us that he’s willing to die for her than he declared that he wanted to take responsibility a.k.a mine-ing her, so the way he showed his affection afterwards is human and logical for me no matter from what era he is.

  And I agree with Tamara about his “when in Rome” attitude, I’ve noticed that too, and what other things he’s read about or even see in the modern society, he spent 3 days in Jejudo alone before Heejin picked him up. And he always says his only merit that he adapts very quick. Still the same Kim Boong-do for me, even bolder.

  Thanks for the update. Yay! It's Wednesday now! (4.27 AM here :P)

• I kinda agree ep12 is a little ep about nothing - nothing major but it dealt with his n her issues about staying/going n to give us a bit of couple time. It's the lull before the storm, me thinks.

  • The lull before the storm is what I want to say too! ^^'

    I admit once I read the recaps I don't have the urge to watch 11 & 12 RAW, unlike previous episodes, but actually waiting calmly for the subtitles to come out. But once I watch them, ah I still hooked as ever. I don't find BD's behaviour uncharacteristic of him. If anything, I always find his smile and laugh in the earlier episodes jarring against his sombre mood in Joseon. So by this time, I'm used to it and even expected that he will be able to behave like a modern boyfriend.
    My reason for not being as crazy about these recent episodes is because everything with higher stakes are already settled. BD has his revenge, memory loss problem solved, BD manage to do time-travel again and BD acknowledged his love for HJ and they met. So now it's the matter of moving forward, to stay or not to stay? And yes E12 is rather slow, not much plot movement there, but like Jammie said "It's the lull before the storm"

• I think BD is learning who he is maybe for the first time. EP 12 set up the stage for the rest of the series. BD decided to take responsible for loving Hejin. He found better understand the strain that them bring together has put on Heejin's life. I don't think.his demeanor changed I think he is being true to himself. He probably always wanted to act this way but because in the Josean era he has such a huge responsiblity to fulfill l not only for the queen but to for his family that were killed. Heejin brought out his repressed self I believe.

  • I love this discussion, everyone!
    Thanks Koala, for getting the ball rolling on this one!

    This is great: I think BD is learning who he is maybe for the first time.
    As you and others have pointed out, he may have been very much a man of his time, of manners, of careful living, but the last 5 years tore him up. He has had to step out of his comfort zone of SKK scholar, husband and son and learn martial arts, learn to write with his left hand! His political party is out of favor. All the backyard barbecues were canceled.

    He landed in a No Fun Zone.

    He spent five years bent on revenge.Time in which he should have been truly happy raising kids, loving his wife, hanging with the rents.

    My friend brought up the idea of survivor guilt - How DOES he deal with the fact that his parents had to die, his pregnant wife died, and prolly others close to his family - yet he lived? Min Am knew it would be both a blessing and a curse

    Now, he fulfills that desire to fix things- he wins! Now what?
    He ends up in a version of Disneyland for him. Airplane rides, kissing girls, no restrictions on his speech, clothing, and the only responsibility he has is to his lover. I think he is letting loose, too. He is doing things - selfish things- that make him happy. OK OK, would he have pouted, and expected his woman to sleep with him after less than one day? Maybe not. But but but there are only three weeks left!!!!!! We want the fanservice before the karma hits the fan.

    • agreed!!!

• Interesting, very interesting to see people decoding different meaning of an issue. Thank you Ms Koala for your open talk.

  I'm one of those people who were surprised and somehow alarmed at his abrupt change in Ep11. But on the other hand, I admire the thoughtful and emotional subtleness of Ep12. I adore Ep12 to bits, it's one of the best episode for me, if not the best.

  Ep11 as you said, Boong-do’s bold comment to Hee-jin still left me in doubt. I always believe nothing happened after the kiss, but the request "to spend the night with him" alone was a scandalous thought for him, a noble Confucious yangban. Till now I still don't know what I should judge this action, was it purely fan-service? Or was it the writer's purpose to create discussion among fans?

  Episode 12, imo, was perfect in every aspect. It was beautiful balance between romance and reality. I really don't understand why some of you said that it added nothing to the plot? I'm sorry, it's meant a lot to the main story of the show: the love of the OTP. They are at the point when they need to discuss about their future, they understand their desire, and they need to face it. Ep 12 shown BD's inner struggle, and for the first time ever HJ's asked him to stay. She never kept him back before, but now she does. Ep 1 to 10 were watching two people falling in love, and episode 12 forward will be about two people in love fight against their obstacle before they finally get together.

  I don’t think their lovey dovey date was over the top. The cuteness in Ep11, his pouty face in Ep11, I can't get used to it. But in ep 12, he was back to his true-self as we've seen in the first 10 episodes. He's always been playful around her, even when they were not lovers. He's always been tender and caring to her. He has never hesitated to show his affection to her, in front of everyone. All those actions which lead to HJ's remark "player", he's always shown it. And now they're dating, a real couple., why does he need to keep his Joseon dignity around her, in the modern world? For his comment of last night, it was surely abrupt. But for their bike date, their phone booth scene, he's been honest with his feelings. And mind you, their bike scene, at the end of the date, there it was, a crack of reality. Boong-do has never relieved himself from the past, he has never forgotten who he is, and thus his vague answers in all of HJ’s questions.

  • All I can say is "wow"! Loved your analysis. You said it for me, but better. I've never forgotten that he was married and was expecting a child. He's no virgin. I've also suspected that he is a player, but in a nice way. I would call him a flirt instead.