At this point, Lee Soo Yeon is the only main character I like wholeheartedly in Missing You. I love her ability to survive, even if she has chosen not to confront her past but to etch out a new future and she’ll eventually have to revisit her untreated scars. I applaud her desire to take out her anger at Jung Woo in the petty little ways she had available, toying with this guilt-ridden former beau of hers who left her in her most dire time of need. I hurt for all the pain she’s suffered, I’m proud of what successes and vestige of normalcy she created in the past 14 years, even if one day she’ll have to reconcile the first 15 years in order to create a whole Lee Soo Yeon/Zoe hybrid that is the complete version of her. After spending four episodes with adult Hyung Joon and Jung Woo, I’ve decided each is one-half awesome/one-half fucktard that I want to bitch slap. I continue to love Jung Woo when he’s being a funny cop, a dogged detective, a loving faux-son to Soo Yeon’s mother, everything EXCEPT for when he’s being unrequited loverboy Jung Woo with Soo Yeon, which is when I want to knee him in the groin and tell him to MOVE ON.
He continues with the wrist and shoulder grabbing and the whole “I’ll keep waiting for you to return to me” mindboggling self-motivation (he should be happy she’s alive, period – with no insistence on her “returning” to him because she’s not a dog who can return to her rightful owner!). Hyung Joon is only awesome as loverboy Hyung Joon to Soo Yeon, because his love for her is all real, built on 14 years of relationship, and completely allows her to dictate the terms. But vengeful surveillance camera Hyung Joon with his secret lair is so stupid and shifty that I just want to slap him upside the head and tell him to MOVE ON. If Jung Woo can continue to be a great detective and good son and marry a nice girl, he’d be golden in my book. If Hyung Joon can give up his revenge plan and return to France with Soo Yeon, then he’s also golden in my book. Alas, the drama insists on foisting stalkerish loverboy Jung Woo and revenge plotting Hyung Joon on us. What a waste.
Episode 9 recap:
Jung Woo watches the CCTV footage from the parking garage and sees Soo Yeon’s face in the driver’s seat. He processes this new information and then drives his car to some remote area to dust it for prints. I like that he doesn’t want to go through proper police channels, but dude, that is some police 101 do-not-dos you are doing and about to do.
Back to the pretentious party, with poor Hyung Joon rocking a greasy ahjusshi frou and dressed like he’s attending a wine auction, Jung Woo arrives and sees Soo Yeon sitting down and spots his estranged dad staring at her.
Hyung Joon walks in front of Soo Yeon to block her from Han Tae Joon’s line of sight as she fingers the key necklace. They walk away only to stop when Soo Yeon notices Jung Woo. She stares at him rather belligerently, while he looks calmly back at her.
Jung Woo deliberately walks towards them only to keep moving to greet his father first. Daddy is not pleased to see his rebel son. Jung Woo wants to talk with Hyung Joon but his dad pipes up and says he’s not feeling well in such a fancy setting as a hint he wants to talk with Hyung Joon now. Hyung Joon offers to meet with Han Tae Joon now to talk business. They walk away and Jung Woo asks not to be kept waiting for too long.
Hyung Joon is distracted and keeps looking towards the main party room. He tells Han Tae Joon that he can’t stay long so to cut to the case. Hyung Joon agrees to consider withdrawing the money slowly from the bank account and says he’ll talk with his boss first.
Soo Yeon is aware Jung Woo is staring at her as she walks around the room greeting guests. He mentally calls her Lee Soo Yeon. Suddenly she looks up and he’s not there anymore. She then turns around and he’s standing right there with his arms outstretched like he did when they were kids and he blocked the wind for her and told her not to cry. He asks cheekily if he looks good? I say it’s all good except for the turtleneck.
She tries to move past him but he shifts his body to block her. Soo Yeon thinks back to their happier times as kids and starts getting a little teary. Jung Woo gets a text from his colleagues at the police station saying they are coming.
Soo Yeon walks away and calls Hyung Joon, but Jung Woo grabs her phone out of her hand and tells Hyung Joon that he needs to take Soo Yeon away now and can’t wait for him any longer.
Soo Yeon tries to grab her phone back but Jung Woo grabs her by the shoulders and tells her that she is now a suspect in the murder of the rapist. Her face was captured on CCTV in the parking lot of the guy’s building. Soo Yeon almost loses her bearing and Jung Woo keeps her from falling down. She tells him that she didn’t do it and he knows. Soo Yeon immediately calls for Hyung Joon but Jung Woo tells her that she needs to buck up now. He doesn’t want to see handcuffs on her wrist or see her hurt. He begs her to believe him. Soo Yeon stares at him and then starts screaming for Hyung Joon over and over again as she breaks free of his hold on her shoulders.
Hyung Joon arrives and hurries over and pulls Soo Yeon into his embrace and tells her that everything will be fine. Soo Yeon keeps says “it’s not me, it’s not me.” Hyung Joon glares at Jung Woo, demanding to know that the hell he is doing? The rest of the police arrive and Jung Woo grabs Soo Yeon’s other hand and informs them that he has to take Soo Yeon in for questioning in the death of the rapist.
Jung Woo doesn’t allow Soo Yeon to be cuffed or taken with the rest of the police, dragging her off and promising to bring her into the station. Soo Yeon cries for Hyung Joon, who promises that he’ll go get her out. Soo Yeon stares at Hyung Joon only and nods, like he’s her only lifeline here. Jung Woo pulls Soo Yeon away and Hyung Joon looks down on his empty hands.
Han Tae Joon asks Secretary Nam to investigate who Zoe is. He saw her get arrested at the party as a suspect in the rapist’s murder. Secretary Nam promises to keep an eye on things and Han Tae Joon warns him not to fuck up again or else the consequences will be dire. Stepmother still dreams of getting the sponsor money from Harry and winning Zoe as a designer all at once. She continues to tell Secretary Nam to make it happen. Ah Reum overhears this conversation and asks if her mother is stupid or calculating. Why would she trust a snake like Secretary Nam to do anything?
Soo Yeon’s mom is cleaning and worried about Jung Woo. She asks if Eun Joo knows where he is. All calls to his cell aren’t being answered. When they call the station, Jung Woo’s partner says he is too busy to talk. Can someone tell me what purpose Eun Joo serves in this drama?
Jung Woo drives Soo Yeon to the police station. At the police station, he gets out of the car and can see her wiping away tears inside. He tells her that he placed a magic spell on the coat and it’ll makle her invisible. She gets out and he puts a giant coat on her to keep her warm because she leaves it behind and initially refuses to wear it. She only consents when he reminds her that this will keep her hidden and not be seen.
The cleaning ahjumma has just finished her shift and sees Jung Woo with Soo Yeon. She agrees to help Jung Woo bring Soo Yeon into the police station without being spotted by the media. He thinks back to how he promised to keep him safe and always be by her side.
As Soo Yeon walks in with the cleaning ahjumma, they sneak past reporters waiting in the lobby. The cleaning ahjumma talks about how that rapist deserved to die and says she’s always happy to help her future son-in-law Jung Woo, and warns her that Jung Woo is reserved for her daughter. She asks Soo Yeon “you didn’t kill him, right?” The ahjumma says that if Jung Woo says she didn’t do it, then she believes him. She tells Soo Yeon to not be so nervous, otherwise even if she’s not guilty she’ll look guilty. She compliments Soo Yeon on being so pretty, the first time she’s seen a girl prettier than her daughter.
Soo Yeon sits before Jung Woo’s partner and the captain as they ask her questions. She’s frightened and her hands as shaking. Jung Woo’s partner tries to lessen the intensity of the questioning. She’s told that she showed up on the CCTV and they know she was in the car that hit the rapist the day he was released from prison. The captain asks if that wasn’t the first time she’s met the rapist dude before?
Jung Woo rushes into the police station and Hyung Joon is waiting there already. He asks what the evidence is and is told about Soo Yeon in the surveillance camera and her cellphone. Hyung Joon tries to explain again that Soo Yeon’s cellphone was stolen. Jung Woo reveals that Soo Yeon’s stolen cellphone disappeared from the rapist death crime scene after he died.
Jung Woo tells Hyung Joon to find a way to clear Soo Yeon. Hyung Joon says Soo Yeon has no reason to kill that man since she doesn’t even know who he is. Jung Woo looks conflicted when he hears this and says yes, that is why he needs to take her home and he needs to catch the real rapist. After Jung Woo leaves, Hyung Joon looks really worried.
The police questioning is turning more directed and Soo Yeon remains silent, unable or unwilling to answer any questions. Soo Yeon to the call with the rapist before he died. Jung Woo walks in and declares that he will find the real killer. Soo Yeon flashes back to the rapist coming towards her and her crying and holding a stick to protect herself, before being conked over the head and then dragged away. Soo Yeon finally talks – she asks why the police are investigating the rapist’s death, didn’t he deserve to die since she read in the papers that he raped and murdered a girl. Jung Woo reminds her that everything she said today is recorded.
The captain is told that the fingerprints of Zoe don’t match Lee Soo Yeon’s from 14 years ago. Hyung Joon sits in the police station with his head down and resting on his cane, waiting for Soo Yeon. Jung Woo sits across from Soo Yeon to finish the interrogation and have her sign some papers before releasing her. He asks if she’s okay?
Soo Yeon says that if she were Lee Soo Yeon, then he doesn’t need to investigate further. He only came to see her after the rapist died and asked if she was Lee Soo yeon. Was he testing her and therefore looking for the murderer? Because if she was a murder’s daughter and a rape victim, so she killed him. Jung Woo asks how her thinking got so extreme? He says just because Lee Soo Yeon was a murderer’s daughter and a rape victim doesn’t mean she killed the rapist. Soo Yeon would never kill anyone. Soo Yeon says that if she were Lee Soo Yeon, the first person she would kill is Jung Woo. Jung Woo is willing to be killed by her, if only she really were Lee Soo Yeon.
Soo Yeon is released after Hyung Joon got assistance from the French embassy to assure the police that she won’t flee the country. Soo Yeon walks out to find Hyung Joon sitting there with his head down, waiting for her. She walks up to him and he raises his head to her, showing his fatigue and concern.
He smiles and offers his hand to her as he says “let’s go home.” She smiles and reaches out to clasp his hand and repeats “yes, let’s go home.”
Jung Woo walks up behind them and sees this moment and he looks really crushed as he sees Soo Yeon with eyes only for Hyung Joon and relying on him. Hyung Joon sees Jung Woo turn away and stop looking at them.
As Hyung Joon and Soo Yeon leave, they run into Soo Yeon’s mom arriving with food for Jung Woo. Soo Yeon recognizes her and immediately averts her head, just like her tendency when she was a child. Hyung Joon notices Soo Yeon trying to hide her face.
As they walk past Soo Yeon’s mom, Soo Yeon sneaks a peak while Soo Yeon’s mom keeps staring at her and flashes back to teenage Soo Yeon’s similar behavior quirks. A French lawyer arrives and asks if Zoe is alright. He assures them that he will handle things from now on.
Jung Woo follows Soo Yeon and Hyung Joon as they get into their car. He hides behind a beam and smiles. He says to himself that it must be painful for her to see him (no shit, Sherlock), but he will wait for her. He does his memory-erasing move from where he is standing.
Hyung Joon and Soo Yeon return home and see that its already been searched by the police for her cellphone. Hyung Joon says it was all his fault, from the car accident to her coming to Seoul. If he put her on a plane back to France, this wouldn’t have happened. Soo Yeon looks exhausted and Hyung Joon calls her by her Korean name Soo Yeon-ah and she stops and looks at him. Hyung Joon tells her to go get some rest and she tells him the same.
Soo Yeon enters her room and thinks back to what she said to Jung Woo at the police station and his response that he won’t mind if she kills him as long as she’s Lee Soo Yeon. She breaks down and starts sobbing into her bed. Hyung Joon stands outside her door listening to her cry, looking very sad and concerned. She covers head with the comforter to muffle her sobs.
Jung Woo sits in the police interrogation room with the fingerprint of Zoe he lifted from his car and Soo Yeon’s diary. He is about to match the fingerprints when Soo Yeon’s mom enters with food so he puts it away. He gets up and hugs her tightly.
Soo Yeon’s mom encourages him to eat and he happily eats. He tells her through food and tears that he really misses Soo Yeon and she’ll come back because he will keep waiting for her. He remembers Soo Yeon used to walk backwards so she could keep looking at his handsome face. He tells her not to worry, she’ll be back because of him. Jung Woo cries and says the food is delicious. Soo Yeon’s mom cries and watches him eat. Okay, this scene totally made me cry. And long for my mommy’s food.
Hyung Joon is in his secret lair and IMing someone on his computer. The unknown other person is clearly a friend and asks how Soo Yeon is doing? Hyung Joon says Soo Yeon is a lot stronger than anyone thinks. She cried and is now resting. Friend says it was a good idea to switch the fingerprints in advance. Hyung Joon admits that he’s close to getting pissed. The friend tells him not to get pissed, Hyung Joon is very scary when he’s pissed.
Hyung Joon tells the friend to hurry up the process. Initially he wanted to starve (bankrupt) Han Tae Joon but now he’s changed his mind, he wants to destroy him like a pig who gorged himself to death. He will give Han Tae Joon lots of money until he destroys himself. Friend asks if he should start giving money and Hyung Joon says yes. Hyung Joon deletes the IM conversation and then switches to watch the police officers searching his house via his hidden cameras.
Jung Woo’s partner goes to Soo Yeon’s mom’s house to make kimchee with her. He says he wants to learn so he can be an attractive marriage prospect. Soo Yeon’s mom probes about who that girl at the police station was and finds out that she’s a very wealthy fashion designer.
The police continue the murder investigation and are frustrated that the killer was not captured on any surveillance or roadside cameras.
Hyung Joon and Jung Woo chat in an interrogation room, with Hyung Joon asking if Soo Yeon was here being questioned yesterday. Jung Woo asks how she is doing and is told she cried last night and didn’t sleep well.
Hyung Joon asks to get along with Jung Woo, the three of them, asking if they can be friends. Jung Woo says no, what will Hyung Joon do if Jung Woo has a crush on Soo Yeon? Hyung Joon smiles and warns him that he’s known to be quite frightening if he gets pissed. Does Jung Woo still think Zoe is Soo Yeon? Jung Woo says, other than her different looks, there is nothing else that is different between Zoe and Soo Yeon. If Hyung Joon finds some, let him know.
Jung Woo says that even if it’s hard for Soo Yeon to come back, he knows she misses him and so he’ll keep waiting for her to come back. The two men stare at each other.
Soo Yeon’s mom gets the address where Soo Yeon lives from Jung Woo’s partner. Soo Yeon decides to buck up and makes plans to eat out. As she drives the car out of the house, she runs into her mom outside.
Soo Yeon tries to avert her face but her mom gets right up to the car and stares at her with tears in her eyes. Soo Yeon finally raises her head and stares back looking equally distraught. Mom cries and reaches for Soo Yeon through the window, asking if its her?
Thoughts of Mine:
Finally! Something other than the leobu-loebu staring that has ended each episode recently. I really want Soo Yeon to meet her mom. Forget Jung Woo’s comparatively puny issues (which I’ll discuss shortly), Soo Yeon’s mom ought to be feeling a freighter’s worth of guilt and pain with the loss of her only daughter. If she was a better mom, if she took better care of Soo Yeon, if only, if only. Jung Woo lost a girl he had a teenage crush on, Soo Yeon’s mom lost her ONLY DAUGHTER. This should have been the focus of Soo Yeon confronting her past and taking steps to reconcile who she is now with the people she’s left behind, starting first with her mother. Her mother failed at being a mother overall, but wasn’t a reason for the horrific rape she endured. But Soo Yeon’s desire to leave her past behind was motivated in one part because she never felt like her mother loved her or wanted her around. If Soo Yeon had a loving and supportive mother, she would have been able to return to a place of security and support to heal.
I’m not condemning Soo Yeon’s mom for failures in parenting, because goodness sakes there is plenty to go around with the parents in this drama. I merely want the drama to have focused on this aspect of Soo Yeon’s healing rather than all the Jung Woo antics. I can’t believe how once again physically in-your-face Jung Woo was with Soo Yeon at the beginning of this episode. At this point, if the writer wants to write Jung Woo like a borderline grabby ass, who am I to ask that he be written with less distasteful tendencies to express himself with physical and unwanted gestures of “caring”. I finally pinpointed what bothers me so much on the narrative structure with MY – this drama has chosen to make Han Jung Woo the POV character when really it needed to be Lee Soo Yeon. From the beginning, this drama started with Jung Woo in America, his return to Korea, his moving into the neighborhood, and so forth. Even after the rape, the drama spent one episode dealing with Jung Woo’s pain at leaving Soo Yeon behind, as opposed to showing us what happened to Soo Yeon after she suffered being raped and run over with a car.
It’s like a drama with two individuals injured in the same accident, and choosing to show the story from the POV of the one who broke an arm as opposed to the one who is a quadriplegic. And from that POV, we hear about the poor broken armed person talking about how hard it is to write and eat, when the giant pink elephant in the room is that there is another person who can’t move a single appendage below the neck. It’s called context, and it’s not that I don’t understand Jung Woo’s pain, but there is just no comparison to Soo Yeon’s pain and suffering from the very same traumatic incident. He witnessed a rape, she fucking got raped (and run over by a car). I don’t want to hear Jung Woo whining about how sorry he is, how bad he feels, how he’s waiting for her to come back to him. I want to hear her story – why she’s so angry, how she managed the pain in the last 14 years.
That’s why Hyung Joon annoys me less than Jung Woo, because we’re not subjected to teeming heaps of his so-called man pain, though compared to Jung Woo he suffered way more tangible trauma as well. He got bitten by evil hounds and was locked up in a room with an untreated infected leg injury to the point that he’s a cripple now and needs to use a cane. His mother got killed by his older evil half-brother. I’m just happy the drama doesn’t waste time with Hyung Joon sitting in a car or a room just moping, though showing us his secret lair and revenge plot does freak me out mostly because I know he’ll lose Soo Yeon that much faster if he goes through with it. Though Jung Woo also was totally inappropriate when he declared that he liked Soo Yeon to Hyung Joon’s face. Hello? Just because she was your former teenage girlfriend doesn’t mean you can toss decency out the window and just announce you want to steal someone’s girlfriend to them. If I were Hyung Joon I would have punched Jung Woo out already. The three leads here are so screwed up no amount of therapy can fully heal them, so the most I can hope for is that they create a semblance of a happy and normal life. I am so supportive of Soo Yeon and Hyung Joon because, for all intents and purposes, they did so that for the last 14 years in France. But too many people are still hurting because of their disappearance, so now they have no choice but to confront this past head on.
Watch here to watch Missing You.
No actually even though he said he waited for her, he actually let Zoe go in the scene he looked at them from afar. He did not force her to be LSY any more. Whether she is back to him is her choice. That is why he cried while eating lunch with her mom. He bare his sorrow and tears while eating the food from the bento. It is like a release valve for him and the realization that he cannot have lSY ever again. Also, later he told Harry that it is just his one side feeling toward her so don’t worry.
On him grabbing her twists and stuffs, it was in some particular situation, he is actually very gentle and understanding to her, he protects her in his own way.
The reason why you like HJ and LSY more is because you are YSH and YEH bias. You don’t like the actor who plays HJW at all (or I have to say you hate him) LOL it is not too hard to get it from reading your recap. You are too bias you actually only see things properly from your biases’ side and are ignorant to others. LOL
You should write your own blog if you love Yoochun so much. I don’t like Yoo Seung Ho at all but I respect Miss Koala’s viewpoint because, uh, it’s HER blog.
Tolerating dissents with healthy debating is a virtue to be practised. The world will be a better place, won’t it? Telling someone to write his/her own blog is tantamount to calling for the expulsion of dissidents. Unfortunately this mentality characterises some cultures and is really akin to causing LSY’s alienation in school just because her father was deemed to have killed someone. I’m impressed that Ms Koala appreciates this, based on the fact that she hasn’t blocked any dissenting views.
Woah… I think you need to drink a calm relaxing medicine. She likes all three Yoochun, YEH, and YSH but only like HJ/LSY in this drama. I have watch this episode 9 raw link and I know how Koala unni feel but for me of the grabbing was ho hum. I gotta admit HJ/JW is driving me crazy in this episode….. In my opinion, the heartbreaking and good part was at the end and from the preview it will be heartbreaking and sad will the be reunion of Mother/Daughter. So, I am gonna watch that part and everything else later on.
Koala Unni, can you please translate the preview of episode 10. I am not sure if it is her said something died daughter and what is LSY mom said. Also, I do not understand why she is barefoot and LSY carried her shoes and looking for her. What does that mean?
Hi Trina, doing well?
I may not agree with koala about JW and HJ at all, but I don’t think it’s true that she doesn’t like Yoochun. She has mentioned many times that he’s emoting well as the JW character. She just happens to like YSH much more. Doesn’t mean she hates Yoochun.
Agreed
I’m the first to comment
Thanks koala for the recap
U did so fast
I love your recaps. They say everything I’m unwilling to about this drama because I am inexplicably and overwhelmingly emotionally attached. I love YEH and more attention paid to her character development would be wonderful.
By the way, did she wear the bright color lipstick I can not tell as her pale white face is distracting. I do love her hair. Her clothes is not so much in this episode….
Thanks for the recap!
Well,, once again i really agree with ur thoughts..
All of my words about this drama are same with yours..
Sooyeon is the most suffered person here..i really understand her anger and her pain,,the story must be use her pov for sure..
Those two men protect n love sooyeon with their own way,,i believe that…but still,,there’s something that u cant force to get it back when u had already lost that…
Jungwoo-ya,,i do sorry for u,,but please back to ur sense,,n just move on!
And harry,,being a psycho like that wont be fun again if u exchange that with ur lost love…be a normal n fight for her!
Aaaaarghhhh,,,this episode is daebak! ^_^b
Reading today recap, I got an idea… Could it be the cleaning ahjumma that killed the rapist for Jung Woo? The way that she talk to Soo Yeon in your recap kind of gave me bad vibe about it! Either that or maybe her mom to avenge her? Anyway, just some thoughts I got… What do you all think?
You really want to know what I think?
I think the cleaning ahjumma killed the rapist. I think the cleaning ahjumma’s “daughter” that she keeps talking about Jung Woo marrying is dead. The cleaning ahjumma had a daughter that was raped/killed by the rapist as well, since when the other kidnapper came back he beat up the rapist for doing this “again”. So she killed the rapist for her own revenge.
Or the alternative is that the cleaning ahjumma is batshit insane and her “daughter” doesn’t exist. She is way to fixated on Jung Woo. What if she read the newspaper report about Soo Yeon’s rape and death and imagined that was her daughter. And therefore she takes revenge on the rapist for her rape and supposed murder. And she keeps wanting Jung Woo to marry her daughter “Soo Yeon” because that is a happy ending to this pair of child lover’s split apart.
I totally think she’s the one, and Hyung Joon has nothing to do with it. The only other option is that Han Tae Joon sent someone to kill the rapist to keep him quiet for good. I think the rapist called Han Tae Joon to ask for more money to continue to let the world think he murdered Soo Yeon.
HOLY CRAP THAT MAKES SENSE!!! WOW!
Omg, coz the cleaning ahjumma is actually in alot of dramas, and I thought they must have a better role for her than helping JW be a sneaky cop. OMG THIS MAKES SENSE!!!
I think both your theories can be possible and the cleaning ahjumma is really suspicious if you ask me (whatever what her motive is; raped and murdered daughter or Jung Woo love obsession, but I’m not sure the show will go there…)!
I’m a big fan of your blog Miss Koala, so a big thank you and do continue to write even with your busy schedule!
you might be on the ball with this one Captain! the cleaning ahjumma has a lot of air time in this show! thats for sure!
thanks for the recap! i really appreciate it! i wonder when we will have some kissing scenes in this drama hehehehhe
you might be right on this one Captain! the cleaning ahjumma has a lot of air time in this show! so she might be special! hahahahah
thanks for the recap! i really appreciate it. i wonder if this show will ever have a kissing scene hehehehhehe
sorry Captain! please delete! double post!!!!
Thanks for the recap!
I’m actually feeling a little sorry for the actress playing Eun joo. Her character was so cool as a kid, but she hardly shows up as an adult. I mean, why does the actress even show up with the other three leads at the press conference if her part is so small? I’m afraid that all those protesting words from some of Yoochun’s fans (not all, some) when she was cast may have caused the writers to lessen her part, which if true is really terrible!
I was also wondering about this. She hardly appears and we are almost halfway so I think they actually reduced her role. I feel sad for her.
If that’s true….it really really is sad….I’m a Yoochun fan, but I don’t care what the guy does in his private life or he’s cast with in a drama…I just like watching him on screen and be mesmerized…These crazy fans of his should really go get a life…WTF?
They are going to ruin an actress’s life for what? …These kind of stories really make me crazy…
Do they think Yoochun is an angel without any fault? what world do they live in that they cannot separate reel from REAL?
so what if she exposed some flesh in a photo shoot? big deal!!! …that is so narrow minded….I really feel sorry for that actress and mad as hell at these morons Yoochun’s fans who protested against her….
Oh yeah…and if anyone of them happens to read my comment about what they did to that actress here…bring it on, I’m ready for you…
actually the writer was not happy with her casting and decided to dicline her character long ago
Really? Such a shame as I think the story would have benefited from the Eun Jo character.
Thank you for the recap. I’m not surprised that I agree with your take on this drama once again. I have a hard time embracing the supposed hero of this drama. I know everyone is written with their own flaws but the selfish, grabby, overly agressive, entitled attitude of JW’s is such a huge turnoff. If you can forget the horrific trauma Zoe suffered and focus on the fact that the teenage boy she crushed on, who hasn’t seen her in 14 years, is still invading her space, ignoring her protests and trying to stake a claim with the guy she is currently dating…does it make any sense? It sounds like some horrible teenaged love/turned stalker movie starring the vaguely date rapey (yes I went there) ex jock who can’t let go of the glory days.
The way this story is going I won’t be a bit surprised if JW drags the poor girl away by her hair while fiendishly stroking his handlebar moustache. My vote is for everyone to focus more on dealing with their issues, then having a stronger, more capable Zoe deciding which of her boyfriends sucks less (Go team Harry).
I swear I didn’t format it like that on purpose!
Count me in team harry! ;D
Well,,its true that he’s an evil,,he’s psycho,,unhealthy etc,,but he surely knows how to protect the person he loves…
Whether its a dependence love type or in manipulative way or something like that… really dont care coz he truly deeply loves her.,,14yrs are very very looooong time…i really like his character… *imo ^^
Ps: not means i hate jungwoo,,i do like him too,,but in many ways i think harry is better,,hehehehe…
Thank you so much for your recap!! I am YSH bias so your recap really talks about what i have been thinking watching this drama! Please keep making these recaps!!
HJW’s forcing the issue is what bothers me about this drama. What is his purpose? To make himself feel better about his abandoning her? The hands play such a key element in this drama. When they were locked in the warehouse before she was raped and they were holding hands, then her grip was torn from his; this theme keeps getting played again and again. When he lost his grip on her hand and she watched him leave her, she lost her TRUST in him. Now as an adult HJW, he wants her to trust him and she’s so NOT having it. She keeps turning to HJ for security. The drama seems to be heading in the direction of making HJ sneaky and evil so as to have LSY lose trust in him and turn to HJW. I dislike HJW’s continued insistence on having LSY confront her past. She is an adult and should be allowed to make up her own mind when she’s ready to take that step, if ever. It’s her choice and not his. How does he know what’s best for her?
It’s interesting to continue to watch the characters come unraveled. Thanks for the recap Ms. Koala. I always enjoy your POV. Again thanks for your hard work.
HEY MISS KOLA!
I am too lazy to write most of the time, but I do enjoy your blog , and have for over 2 years or so.
I Just wanted to say ” I am sorry for all the Nagging comments you get from the people who dont like your thought’s.” The way I see it, they should just quit reading recaps when they dont agree or like them. I personally, see no point in arguing over this matter. ESP since, its an individual opinion, and it harms no one directly or indirectly. I FIND IT SO CHILDISH.
ITs like me, when i was a kid. Everyone had to see things from my perspective only. ANd, i would argue until i got tired to make it that way. Thank god, I left that way behind, or else, I would have had a mental breakdown by now. =)
I agree with you 100%, I wish the ending would be harry and zoe together, and micky’s character letting go. ITs NOT FAIR! I dont like the whole first love importance korean dramas give. IN the end, i know its not how its going to end. But, that really makes no difference, for I am an expert at changing the story in my head, to the way I like.
Lastly, thank you so much for your time in doing these recaps. When I had exam’s, i would read your recaps and feel as if i watched the drama. IT would save me 30-40 minutes of time, and also serve as a quick break and diversion.
ANyway, dont get discouraged nor do you have to waste your time, in replying to people who dont get your point, and just want to argue that you have to see it their way.
LOve ya!
ANya
Hey Koala! Thanx for your recap as always. This is my first time commenting even though I have been a silent lurker for a while now. I just wanted to point out that although HJW is the male lead and hence a lot of the story will revolve around his point of view, he is the only character out of the 3 leads (LSY & KHJ being the other two) that is open about his pain and emotions and so appears to be “in your face” compared to LSY & KHJ who are either burying their past or hiding it. I also feel that is a point the scriptwriter is trying to make with each character. HJW is always open and straightforward with everything he does and has always been portrayed as such since episode 1. KHJ on the other hand is a very secretive character and never reveals his emotions or pain. It may appear that he has an open relationship with LSY/ZOE but he’s never been truthful to her or trust her with any of his feelings or plans and I feel the more he tries to cover up her past or protect her, the more danger she would be in. Don’t get me wrong, I love KHJ as a character and find him the most fascinating because you can never guess what he’s thinking. I feel most of his trust issues stem from fear of abandonment. LSY may be the female lead and as you rightfully said the story should show more from her point of view as she has been the one hurt the most. However, LSY is currently in denial of her past and is trying very hard to bury her pain so deeply that she won’t even remember it exists. I feel because of that we the viewers cannot see how hurt she really is or her point of view although we get glimpses when she is vulnerable and reveals a bit of herself and pain. I think that as the character LSY confronts her past and opens herself up a bit more, we would see her pain and point of view and I believe that’s the point the scriptwriter is trying to make.
I am not shipping LSY with anyone at the moment because in my humble opinion none of them are up to par. I agree that they all need to heal but heal at their own time and pace and not because someone else is urging them to. They all need to break free from their painful past and move on to hopefully a better, less painful future before getting involved in any romantic relationship.
PS…sorry for the long post as my first comment.
@Shaniqua
Bravo! you comment was spot on for me and very well articulated…
Wow! So impressed: everything I would want to say and more! You really summed up the whole situation well, and even made me see why LSY cannot be the main POV here.
..well said! we share the same opinion ^^
Shaniqua, your comment was spot-on! I hope a lot of people manage to read it and think for themselves why the story progresses the way it does. I get incredibly frustrated with people reading the recaps and just going along with what’s being said, without wondering if it’s actually right.
There is a reason why the drama is from HJW’s POV and not LSY. He’s the one bringing the story forward, as much as people would prefer to see LSY and her dealing with the pain. The fact is that she’s only now facing her trauma, because HJW is back in her life. Harry keeps telling her she’s not LSY but Zoe, he has no understanding of what she went through, and he’ll never be able to heal her.
And don’t get me started on the “she’s a rape victim, treat her with care”. Do you have any idea how condescending that is? After being hurt, the last thing you want is feel that everyone is handling you like you’re made of glass. It’s like they don’t believe she can ever surpass that event, that she’s not strong enough, that she will be forever damaged by it. Facing the pain is the only way to heal, and I think Sooyeon proved it when she eagerly travelled to Seoul, when she willingly went to the rapist’s apartment. She knows that hiding isn’t working.
I appreciate the dinamics between Harry and Zoe, but I can’t forget how creepy he actually is. People get angry about HJW grabing LSY’s wrist, but I’d be more concern about the mental bulying that Harry is performing on her since they were teenagers. Harry is controling her in a much more dangerous way than dragging her by the arm on one or other scene. He wants her to forget who she is, people she loved, and think only of her.
Having said that, I think that Harry is one of the best villains I’ve seen recently on any k-dramas, exactly because he’s so subtle about his evil ways you almost don’t believe him to be bad.
I agree with your post. You make the most sense out of everyone else. Everyone else is fixated on their “Harry” love. Everytime Koala says Harry and Zoe have 14 years of a “solid, real relationship”, my stomach turns because their whole relationship was built on a lie–a lie he told. And I don’t want to hear he was just a kid because its been 14 years and I’m sure he’s been keeping track on “Lee Soo Yeon’s death” fall out. He knew HJW was still looking for LSY, that’s why he didn’t want them to meet initially. His character is way too shady for me to ever like. And personally I think his mom is still alive. We never saw her actual death. I think that’s who he was chatting with on the computer. Just my theory. I do believe the cleaning woman is the killer, without a doubt. We shall see. Its getting good. At least IMO.
I like your recap however i agree that yoochun is too grabby but come on he really loves sooyeon. many ppl gave up looking for her except for him he actually became a detective for her and now that shes here he wants to do things the right way. he already is left with the guilt of abaonding her at the ware house. so please stop being too hard on him! im sure because his character is a detective , maybe thats what leads to grabiness?idek. but im looking forward for episode 10. i cant wait to see the mother daughter reunion though i hope she doesnt fake and pretend she isnt sooyeon! Thank you, koala!
sorry comment came out duplicate for some reason(>.<)
I don’t think she’s gonna fake with her mama….she needs her…and this is where her real healing is going to begin…
I believe HJW when he says he’ll wait for LSY…. I think that by showing his grabby nature, in contradicts what he says but I also understand that he is also impatient now that he found her… It’s like a kid during Christmas Eve who peeks at his presents the day before Christmas because of his excitement and impatience…. Here, HJW knows that Joy is LSY but is too excited to wait for her to come clean….
I like your recap however i agree that yoochun is too grabby but come on he really loves sooyeon. many ppl gave up looking for her except for him he actually became a detective for her and now that shes here he wants to do things the right way. he already is left with the guilt of abaonding her at the ware house. so please stop being too hard on him! im sure because his character is a detective , maybe thats what leads to grabiness?idek. but im looking forward for episode 10. i cant wait to see the mother daughter reunion though i hope she doesnt fake and pretend she isnt sooyeon! Thank you, koala!
One thing: okay she saw the newspaper and she knows about LSY. but WHY she has to said that if she were LSY she would kill HJW, if is supposed that no one knows about him being kidnaped with her… there’s no sign that outside the police and eun joo and SY mom’s knows about him at time.
HJ & SY spending the last 14 yrs together is not a good enough reason for them to stay together & it doesn’t mean it will work out in the end. Heck…. Even marriage couple of 15+yrs divorce.
The one thing SY need right now is her mom. She need to return home. Her biggest mistake was leaving w/ a complete stranger. SY should have stayed behind when the nurse didn’t want to take her( at the warehouse or whatever)& find her way home instead … And perhaps she would of have a better mind set than now. I ship SY & her mom.
LOL, no, I ship Jung Woo with Soo Yeon’s mom. She’s already taken.
This would be the ideal ships in this drama:
Jung Woo-Soo Yeon’s mom
Ah Reum-her giant oppa-gifted teddy bear
Han Tae Joon – his pornstache
Soo Yeon – poor dead by coke can Detective Kim
Eun Joo – a purpose in this story other than 30 sec scenes an episode
Hyung Joon – his dead mom or his cane
Soo Yeon’s lipstick – some blotting paper to down the color
Hyung Joon’s mansion – with ME!
Stepmom – Secretary Nam (to be all sneaky and plotty together)
JW’s wonderful relationship with his adopted mom makes me wonder what could have been with SY and Detective Kim. She would’ve been able to grow and develop normally into a warm, open, and strong woman under such a great father figure. Ahh.. such is kdrama life.
Yoochun and Song Ok-sook deserve props for having such genuine, on-screen warmth which isn’t something you see everyday when it comes to child-parent relationships in kdramas.
The gut-wrenching scene where Myung-hee was feeding JW and they were both crying, that little gesture- which was so subtle yet so moving- of her wiping away his tears as he ate.. She was offscreen but they only needed to show her hand performing such an intrinsically maternal task to her child and I was nearly floored by all the emotions I was getting from that simple detail. It was so real.
SY needs this sort of positive paternal influence in her life. It’s too late with Detective Kim but I hope she can have it with Myung-hee when they reunite.
sorry I meant *parental influence
LOL, I can buy in your shipping list! 🙂
I honestly don’t think it was a mistake for her to leave from her point of view. Who can blame her? Her first love let her down again, her mum treated her like crap most of the time, she is already ostracized in school as she is the daughter of murderer, how much worse would it be for her as a rape victim? I doubt her classmates would be understanding. The only thing good would have been her relationship with the detective but she probably wouldn’t have wanted to go back because she would feel she would bring shame to the family.
I agree…. LSY had an amazingly horrible life that just got worse with being raped…. I would have walked away too. At that time, she needed to walk away from her life and nicknames, but now, she acknowledge that life to move on.
Hahahaa started again. So glad I’m not so invested in this drama, I’m here to take a sneak peek on noona’s boy.
MrsK can write e’thing she wants, it’s her blog, to write s’thing here never was a problem, even when you aren’t 100% with Koala.
Just keep up on watching dramas folks!
ahhh.. come on my dear chingu… I know you want to watch it.. come on…. ;D
@Trina dear,
I am watching but I’m not toooo crazy about it. KOD is my crack drama at the moment. But honestly I watch too many.
The cleaning ahjumah killed the rapist.. Hhhmmmm … Very interesting !!! As long as Harry is not involved .. is fine with me.. 😉
I’m honestly surprised that the storyline is moving this slowly, it’s one episode away from the half-point and nothing significant has happened. But surprisingly, this drama still has my attention (I blame it on Yoon Eun Hye and Yoo Seung Ho’s chemistry =])
I don’t think that it is going slow at all, considering that it has only been 4-5 episodes since the adults showed up…. things are already unravelling this early..
@mtoh I am fine and u. Have not seen you for a while… I hope you are catch up with all kdramas of 2012
I appreciate your views on this drama. My friends and I have a total JW bias LOL, but that’s partly because we loved Micky in RTP, YEH in everything, and thus far, have seen nothing of YSH. Anyways, like I said, I like your blog even though I don’t agree with some of what you write. It’s nice to read a different perspective because it forces me to actually think about why I prefer JW regardless of his less than admirable traits. So for that, thank you Koala! 🙂
Regarding your desire to have the drama focus on LSY more rather than just HJW, I also agree. I know so much about HJW and empathize with him so much more than any other character on the show. But LSY is the one who was hurt the most and she’s holding it all in. I agree with the person who commented above about how we can’t really be let into LSY’s world until she’s able to go there herself.
Also, I remember how people were so shocked about the addition of such a traumatic event like rape into the drama (myself included). I liked that the writers were choosing to tackle such an important and sometimes overlooked issue, but the handling leaves a lot to be desired. For one, LSY is not the my main focus in the story even though what happened to her is what is driving the story. At this point, I figure it’s because the show would truly become too depressing if they did this.
I noticed that I get so anxious when LSY shows up on the screen, but the scenes with HJW and the family bring a smile to my face. Honestly, though I wish it wasn’t so, the focus on HJW is part of what makes me able to watch this show. Without him and all his eccentricities, I would have quit this show and I almost did after episode 4. I like the adult JW and I like seeing life through his eyes because I see everything. I see the fear, pain, guilt, loneliness, honesty, insanity and joy through him. To put more focus on LSY, I’m afraid all I would see is denial, pain, dishonesty, anger, and a sham life based on lies and fear. There would be no joy to gleam from her life.
And I can’t see it through the whole thing with HJ because that just seems so deceitful. With all his connections, he had no way of finding out that the police, her mom and JW were still looking for LSY? Or finding out that his ‘trick’ caused the death of a detective? I don’t buy it. He knows enough to keep tabs on Han Tae Joon and plan revenge but hears nothing about the guy’s kid?
Plus while LSY and HJ may ‘love’ each other, it’s clear she’s uncomfortable with intimacy. And he knows everything about her life, yet she knows almost nothing about his. What kind of relationship is that? If he loves her as much as he claims, he should be honest with her and allow her to accept him as he is, just like he has accepted LSY as she is.
I know it’s the writers fault but it irritates me just as much as JW’s behavior irritates others. Also one big difference I’ve noticed between JW and HJ is that one is heading on the path to revenge, while the other seems to seek justice. HJ wants to destroy HTJ (not that I blame him) and seems like he isn’t really thinking about how it will affect LSY (with the key necklace and pretty much causing everything that’s happened so far by refusing to leave Korea because of ‘business’). JW wants to find LSY and bring her justice (and maybe win her heart again). Since this is a K-drama, JW’s plan has a higher chance of succeeding and HJ wavers between causing his own destruction or ultimately giving up. I do like all the main characters and I can see where they’re all coming from, but I feel more connected to: HJW > LSY > HJ. Can’t wait to read your recap for episode 10! 😀
It’s understandable for a rape victim to be uncomfortable with being touched by their boyfriend/husband.
I understand that, I was just using that to make the point that I don’t see their relationship going further than that. And this isn’t to say she would be more comfortable with JW (she might even be less comfortable), but it’s not helping me root for their pairing. I’m not particularly rooting for a JW pairing either but I like him better so… 🙂
Agreed with Shiku. Some rape survivors are just not comfortable with sexual intimacy. Some even become altogether asexual. While sometimes it means you haven’t healed, sometimes it just means that is how you’ve chosen to heal yourself. (FYI, being asexual does NOT mean you can’t have loving and fulfilling romantic relationships.)
While I disagree in a few ways with some of your post, it’s nice to see another opinion. The only thing I really want to disagree with is the idea of Harry’s culpability in these events for wanting to stay in Korea. I neither like nor hate the revenge plan but I will say he never tried to make Zoe stay with him. He simply agreed when she suddenly said she wanted to live with him in Korea. They are apart when the other is on business a lot so it wouldn’t be strange for her to return to France while he stayed for his revenge. Instead she made her own decision without any influence from him, so even though I can see him feeling guilty about it, ultimately it was a choice Zoe made to stay and not a choice Harry made for both of them.
I can see your point about Zoe making the choice to stay in Korea but I still think if his ultimate goal is to protect and care for her, then he would leave. In fact, once he saw Zoe break down after the car accident, he should have packed up and left. Besides, what was up with parading her in front of Han Tae Joon? That was unnecessary and only makes her a target for HTJ once he figures out he’s being played. Thanks for replying though. 🙂
I will say no more about the love triangle than what I said on the last recap. (Ugh, Jung Woo/Soo Yeon; Yay, Zoe/Harry.) One more episode and my feelings have not changed a bit.
The only thing I (sorta) disagree/differ about is that I’m less annoyed with the revenge plan. Though I agree it is quite shoehorned in to the story, I do feel the set up was sufficient enough that I can understand why Harry wants to go through with it. I mean, the man kidnapped and murdered his mother as well as crippled Hyung Joon before threatening his life…all while being his older brother, technically. While I wish that story had more finesse, I can understand Harry’s motivations and drive for revenge.
But that brings me to the biggest thing I’m annoyed with. That being I know that it will be the impetus for why Zoe leaves Harry. While, again, I can understand that decision for her, part of me thinks it’d be strange because what he’s getting revenge for is serious enough for me personally to let it slide. I reiterate, the man murdered his mother, crippled him, and then ran him out of the country. I’d be finna kill a dude too after that. lol
Anyway, though Yoochun is killing his characterization, Jung Woo continues to only be appealing to me when he’s not in a room with Zoe…or not being really emo about her to himself. Like, stop, I geddit. Your love is pure and real and steadfast. Move on, buddy.
When I saw the rape episode, I had high hopes for this drama and praised the writer for daring to touch a sensitive topic that people wanna normally burry. I thought that she would make this drama special just, like ‘Thank You’ which also had an extremely taboo topic of AIDS. ‘Thank You’ wasn’t only heartwarming but also educational.
I thought we would be seeing another drama in which we learn something from as we watch. Instead, we get 5 episodes focused on Han Jung Woo dealing with his guilt moments and longing for Lee Soo Yeon. I am not saying that they shouldn’t show his guilt, but come on now, they’ve been focusing on his guilt since epi.5 up to epi.9, it’s really too much and it doesn’t make sense to me.
Netizens have actually been complaining a lot about this on diff. sites. The writer is so focused on Han Jung Woo guilt ridden character, while failing to develop the Lee Soo Yeon character. It’s like telling viewers that Han Jung Woo’s guilt is bigger than Lee Soo Yeon’s rape and everyone elses. As a female viewer, it’s pretty offensive to me that the writer touched the sensitive subject of RAPE, but fails to enlighten the audience about the effect and etc. Why even use rape in the plot, if you are gonna fail to develop the story and make it seem like an unimportant topic? You dont just write about something as big as that, then just half ass writing about the victim like a redheaded stepchild, then leave the audience to speculate why Lee Soo Yeon the rape victim is acting the way she is. The writer didn’t even make viewers sympathize with the rape victim until epi.9.
Netizens also asking if they are watching the right genre melodrama, because the plot is getting weak, it revolves more about investigations just like a mystery genre.
This had so much potential, but the writer ruined it for me.
That’s a great point. What happened to the plot, or are we too ambitious in thinking there was one in the first place? All the baddies seem to be just there for decoration or to spin impossible evil schemes that don’t make much sense.
StepMother “I’ll get Harry and Zoe to design clothes if it’s the last thing I do” *cue evil music*
I find the role of Stepmom, and to some extent AhReum, totally pointless in the drama so far. As for Eun Joo, it is a pity, I think she could have been a role that could be meaningful.
I wish the writer will develop her as an alternative support for LSY (like how she was with LSY when they were young) if ans when LSY is ready to return to her mom.
I agree with you, like, 110%
many thanks to Koala for your speedy recap. I enjoy your blog very much. How about if the cleaning ahjumma is actually Harry’s friend ?
Yes, I agree to your point. When I watch Hyung Joon IM’ing someone, I guess the fingerprint is not matched because of that friend’s effort. But Jung Woo has already has a evidence that Soo Yeon and Zoe is matched, so maybe from this evidence, Jung Woo will know that there’s a spy in the office.
Probably the spy is the office lady. Probably the office lady is Hyung Joon’s mom. Probably she is not dead. Probably she also got plastic surgery to change her face. And probably Hyung Joon didn’t know that the office lady is his mom. And the probability of my statement is dunno.. 1% right? 🙂
Here is my theory:
To this point, we see little of Eun Joo because I believe she is the killer. Her motives:
1. She witness the rapist beat the crap of Jun Woo.
2. She blames the death of her father and Soo Yeon on him.
3. It is possible she wanted Jun Woo to move on with his life for him to do it was to get rid of the rapist who continue’s to toy with Jun Woo saying that he knows where Soo Yeon is. Didn’t she tell Jun Woo that Seo Yeon is dead?
Just my two cents.
Oooh! 1000 points to sadeyesdor if you are right!!!
wow… Congrats if you are totally right….
Here is something that cross my mind, does anyone think that Harry really loves Seo Yeon or is he using her as part of his revenge scheme? We know he wants to destroy Jun Woo’s dad and the way to do it is to hurt his son. It will be consistent with all the revenge schemes that we have seen so far. Could Harry’s secret contact has been keeping tabs on Jun Woo n notified Harry when the rapist got out of jail which is why he return to Korea?
Thanks Koala sis, Just love reading your recap. Just one wish, that is for JW to just move on. In 14 yrs for a 14-year old girld is a life time. So during that time the bonding of LSY and HJ is really tight.
Hi Ms. Koala! While reading your recap and the interesting comments here, I formed an opinion as to why we see HJW’s POV instead of LSY. Practically speaking, the production makes PYC’s character the center of the narrative because he has the most passionate if not largest fanbase among the three. So if they want to sell the drama, they should go to the popular demand, and PYC’s is that one. Same goes for EJ non existent role. Fans don’t want her near their oppa, so her exposure got shortened to 30sec. I am not against the fans and I admire how passionate they are. I am just merely pointing out that their reactions are being considered on how the writers make this drama progress.
I think I’ve read somewhere that stated this drama is a male lead centered drama from the start. Furthermore, even the character of HJW was created more or less the same as Yoochun’s personality. For example, HJW went to America and studied in a school in Virginia. It is exactly like Yoochun in real life when he was 12 to 16 years old. HJW is called crazy rabbit. Well, Yoochun has always been associated with rabbit in fandom since TVXQ 3rd album in 2007. In the story, HJW is portrayed as a man who is good to woman especially his mom (LSY’s mom). Well, if you know YC in real life, he is well known for the big and touching love for his mother and his brother. You will cry watching a video of him crying and talking about his mother and his family. In the story HJW sang ‘Magic Castle’, which is well know to be one of the song that DBSK sang, and also the mentioned of him wanting to be a singer, which he is in real life. Yoochun is that much loved in Korea..hehe
What’s wrong with the story revolves around HJW? It depends on the writer on which character he’d chose to portrayed the drama. Though I’d say the story gives quite fair exposure for male and female lead. Just that it was told in the point of view of HJW. Hmm…actually, really? lol I think it’s quite even for both female and male lead.
Why do you get so upset over the story was told in HJW point of view. It’s not a big deal lol. It still covers the problem and psychological problem faced by the female lead. Should I be sorry for you that you cannot fully enjoy this story because of this lol
There’s nothing wrong if the story revolves around Han Jung Woo IF the the writer didn’t use RAPE as a plot. Don’t use it for your writing purpose if you are only going to undermine the victim’s pain and focus on the male’s guilt part for abandoning the victim, as if HIS pain is the greatest pain of all. If she wasn’t planning on enlightening and raising awareness about the issue just like the statement she used in an interview, that she picked rape to raise awareness and shed light how victims cope and loved ones left behind, then she shouldn’t have used that subject for this drama. Cause I have not seen her raising awareness or developing the other characters at all, espescially Lee Soo Yeon’s character. What the writer is doing seems to me is raping the character over and over again, then covering up the crime by not further developing her character and solely focusing on HJW’s guilt.
You’re right, I don’t follow PYC’s life and doesn’t get the parallelism of the character to him. There is nothing wrong in using his POV as long as it makes the plot progress reasonably. If the writers can use it effectively not just to unfold the story but also for viewers to understand LSY character as a rape victim, then that would be nice. Because this drama has a sensitive topic that’s not really tackled a lot, it should help the viewers shed a light on understanding rape victims in general.
@ sallimae
Cause I have not seen her raising awareness or developing the other characters at all, espescially Lee Soo Yeon’s character
Exactly. It would bother me but for the fact that (1) Soo Yeon’s trauma is easily the worst of the three leads, and (2) her trauma is central to the mysteries and choices the characters make.
But the writer has chosen to make Lee Soo Yeon once again this helpless victim by not writing her adult character beyond a superficial attempt to show that she was a successful fashion designer. I loved the Jeju scenes because SY was shown as a woman who had a job, had interests, had a backbone, had fun.
But since she returned to Seoul, it’s been all her reacting to Jung Woo. Nothing else. So in totally all we really know about Lee Soo Yeon is that she was an abused child who got raped as a teen and is now a fashion designer. Where is her personality shown? What does she like, dislike? Why is she so close to Harry? Why does she hate Jung Woo so much? What is her thought process through all this? Why are we constantly given Jung Woo’s thoughts and rarely shown Soo Yeon’s.
I proferred the possibility that the writer was using rape as a sensationalized plot device way back in episode 3, but withheld final judgment until I watched the entire drama. Now I’m more and more losing faith she will do anything meaningful with Soo Yeon.
Frankly I am STUNNED this is the same drama that came from the writer who wrote Can You Hear My Heart, a drama that dealt with not just one, but two very sensitive topics and did so with heart and careful thought. In CYHMY, the male lead was deaf, and the father of the female lead was mentally handicapped (i.e. slow, with the IQ of a young child). The drama explored these issues by careful character development mixed with plot narrative without sacrificing one for the other.
It’s such a shame MY is focusing on Jung Woo to the point that its affecting Soo Yeon’s character development. Being angry and sad and dealing with unresolved rape trauma is not character development. Yoon Eun Hye is acting well, but she’s just so little to work with its laughable. Don’t even get me started on Hyung Joon. His character development is nil at this point.
@ockoala Exactly what has been baffling me. I am so shocked that this drama is written by my favorite writer who wrote one of my favorite drama of all time Can You Hear My Heart. That drama was so through about every aspect. She worked hard and I felt her womanly touch on that. But on this, it seems she is just half assing her writing. Like she just decided, to not make her usual effort, because she got 3 popular actors in this. It’s as if she is too busy fangirling on Han Jung Woo, so she put the other important topic on hold. Makes me scratch my head in amazement.
@ sallimae
Rape appeared in the plot but then again so did multiple murders, physical abuses, bullying, child abuse, kidnappings, bullying, harassment, etc. the list goes on.
I don’t get why so many people- from the laundry list of crimes that appeared in the plot- are choosing and treating rape as the penultimate crime that can happen to a character in a drama. Are you going to make it so taboo that, unless the POV was from the victim, then the drama might as well be garbage?
I fail to see how there hasn’t been enough “raising awareness” going on. The audience can clearly see the vast emotional damage she’s undergone just from that crime alone and it still affects her to this day to the point that she has a complete breakdown at the sight and and voice of her attacker. A good portion of this drama shows SY’s struggle to cope with her trauma.
Just because she doesn’t have the POV in the narrative doesn’t necessarily mean that the writer is doing a disservice to rape victims.
The narrative doesn’t have to come from the POV of the rape victim, however almost everything bad that could happen to anyone happened to LSY. Abused, raped, bullied, run over, abandoned, accused of a crime. But the writer keeps on undermining those and keep shoving Han Jung Woo’s guilt for 5 straight episodes down people’s throat. How viewers should pity poor HJW for his guilt which is made to be greater than anyone else’s pain. I see it as a lurker in soompi. Writer failed to develop LSY’s character better, so when LSY says something out of anger to HJW, everyone hates her character and can’t connect or sympathize with her even for all the events she went through. That’s major proof that the writer failed in that aspect. She just started on epi.9 to make improvements with LSY’s character, but it seems a bit too late in the drama.
@ Sarah
Let me answer your question to @sallimae:
This drama has a lot of bad things happening to a lot of innocent people. The POV need not be from the victims of those bad things to be relevant. The writer can choose to write from any POV. But that is very problematic writing and only works if the victim is dead. If the victim is living, then the viewers would naturally care the most about the victim’s experience, thoughts, feelings. Showing us from the POV of someone around the victim is fine, but not at the expense of not developing the victim’s story.
Stories like The Lovely Bones, about the rape and murder of a 13 year old girl, was phenomenal because as a narrative the writer had two parallel threads, both developed equally. She had a fantasy portion where the dead girl was in Heaven and looking down on her family, dealing with dying young, in such a violent way, wishing for a life she will never get to lead. Her rape and murder was fleshed out from her POV.
A parallel thread was about the life of her family – mom, dad, younger sister. Their fear, anger, frustration, sorrow, guilt – not being able to find the perpetrator, losing a loved one, the marriage falling apart, the younger sister rebelling. The arduous path towards healing. We were taken through all of that.
So while the story is anchored by an unspeakable crime – the senseless rape and murder of a younger girl – the story developed the aftermath of that with thoughtful and indepth analysis of what it is like to be raped (the murder part is more like the writer’s conjecture), and also what its like to be the family/friend of someone who was raped.
In Missing You – the writer chose to write from the POV of Jung Woo and its coming at the expense of Soo Yeon’s side of the story. If both sides were given relatively equal weight then I would feel like I’m getting to know adult Soo Yeon and Jung Woo equally. As is, I only know Jung Woo. And since the rape (and not the murder of Hyung Joon’s mom, his attack and becoming crippled, domestic violence, etc. – all the other bad acts in this drama) is chosen as the focal point for the narrative, then it must be from Soo Yeon’s POV otherwise it’s just used to highlight how guilty and sad and angry Jung Woo feels. I get that he feels that way (the family and friends of victims are also victims and often need therapy of their own), but his pain is nothing compared to Soo Yeon’s.
@Sarah I think the reason why rape seems the “penultimate conflict” in this drama is because this act violates something sacred in the humanity of the person who experiences it. I personally would rather be bullied, abused, kidnapped, run over or murdered than be raped. Rape should only be used as a plot device after giving careful thought otherwise the writer is doing a disservice to the rape victims. As for the character development, we have to see LSY overcome her trauma and somehow reconcile her past and present and likewise Zoe and LSY before she can really find love. So as I still don’t see growth in that part, I cannot really root for the first love premise of the story.
@ ockoala
“…his pain is nothing compared to Soo Yeon’s.”
I understand your point about shedding more light on LSY’s POV but I don’t think his pain is ‘nothing’ compared to hers. You used the good example of The Lovely Bones to explain your point, but you also mentioned how there was also a narrative for the grieving family. I get the frustration about LSY’s portrayal, but one thing I’ve come to realize through with this show is that one type of pain is not greater or lesser than another. The pain of feeling unwanted and unloved should not be ignored when compared to the pain caused by violence. The human mind is unpredictable; what hurts one person doesn’t necessarily affect another in the same way.
Guilt is a powerful emotion. It isn’t just there, simmering beneath the surface; it eats away at a person’s soul and they will have no rest until they can make atonement. He’s had this guilt for 14 years and I get that people think it’s easy to let go and move on but it’s not (especially when you believe you caused something so horrible to happen). I’m not saying LSY’s trauma isn’t important but so is her mom’s, HJW, Eun Joo (who lost not just her dad but also a possible best friend/sister), and HJ.
I also take into account the fact that this is a 20 episode show. If K-dramas did multiple seasons like many western shows and the producers decided to extend the show to 100 episodes, there would be ample time to delve into all narratives. As it stands, the narrative that connects all aspects of the show is HJW’s. He’s connected to the family, to LSY, and to HJ and all that mess his father caused (though he doesn’t know it yet). HJW’s character seems, to me, to be the most sensible way to weave all parts of the story together.
I also think that HJW isn’t just trying to get LSY justice for her rape or convince her to love him, he’s also trying to heal her. She’s carried this burden of not only being a rape victim, but also a murderer’s daughter. This is the only opportunity she has to let go of that label. She never was a murderer’s daughter and she never deserved any of what happened to her. I think that’s one of the big issues she’s still facing. She’s let go of LSY’s past not only because of the rape, but also because she doesn’t think anyone would care about the rape of a ‘murderer’s daughter.’ She’s gone through life hearing that she’d be better off dead and decided to do just that. If that ‘murderer’s daughter’ label wasn’t there, do we really think she would have believed HJ and gone off to France?
If she’s able to accept that she, as LSY (not Zoe), is deserving of love and compassion and a family, I think she may end up being one of my favorite K-drama characters. I don’t feel any connection to ‘Zoe,’ the only connection I feel is to LSY. And that’s the problem a lot of people watching are having. The main character is LSY, not Zoe, so when she reverts to her Zoe facade, I don’t sympathize. When I see LSY, I remember the girl from the first four episodes who made me cry and demand justice for her, and I feel for her.
I know we’re supposed to keep in mind the fact that she’s experienced trauma, but chalk it up to YEH’s fantastic acting because I really do see her as someone different when she’s Zoe. She’s someone who wasn’t raped and is now a successful designer engaged to a businessman. I see only Zoe, with some bits of LSY and that doesn’t really engage me.
I beg to disagree that he has larger fanbase than YEH’s. Not because RTP was a success if you may call that, it doesn’t mean he has a larger one. If so, why did MBC signed up YEH for this project, if they believed (base from your premise that he has largest fanbase than everyonelse’s in the cast) YC can pull things off even without help from someone as big as YEH. I like YC too in this drama, the guy is good and i guess, he’s kind of nice, so please, if you’re a fan of this guy, stop doing what you’re doing, you’re not doing him any good…
Sorry for making it look like PCY has the largest fanbase or he is the only one needed for this drama. I do not intend to imply that. I just thought that the fans in some way influenced the flow of the story or the character’s development. I think they are all needed for the story to progress, and that YEH is a good actress. But I also agree to some comments here that we should get to see more of LSY path towards healing more than anyone else.
….”Cause I have not seen her raising awareness or developing the other characters at all, espescially Lee Soo Yeon’s character. What the writer is doing seems to me is raping the character over and over again, then covering up the crime by not further developing her character and solely focusing on HJW’s guilt.”
@sallimae …tsk…tsk…I pity LSY/EHY. Have you not seen how tormented, traumatic, super sad and disturbed she is through all that horrified, fragile, fearful expression. What has YEH been doing through those superb sorrowful, tearful acting of hers. You claimed you cannot see the writer explain or develop the character of a rape victim? You cannot feel how much pain a rape victim suffers through the portrayal of LSY character in this drama. For real? like really?
I’m 100% honest and want to tell you the writer indeed succeeded to portray the pain of a rape victim. And also the evil and a dark side of a rapist. I’m sure all of us detest the rapist to death..So where is the problem that the writer is ignoring the real rape issue in the drama.
Yes, the writer also focused on HJW’s guilt, but hey, that’s also the theme of the drama, about love, about HJW & LSY love. Apart from the gruesome plot of rape tragedy, there’s also the underlying beautiful, pure, innocent first love story between HJW and LSY. Which transcends for a long period of 14 years. And that is just one amazing, touching love between them. Like I said, if you chose to overlook the beauty of love story between HJW and LSY, maybe I should feel sorry you’re not able to enjoy this. How unfortunate.
I’m glad I’m not like that. I’m totally enjoying where the flow of the story is going although the story is layered with tearful and heart wrenching events. “I Miss You” is a good melodrama that covers a reality issue in real life, with the touch of heartwarming love story.
You are missing the point here. I have no gripe on Yoon Eun Hye’s portrayal, I think she is doing an excellent job of what little is given of her.
I only have a problem with the writer, that she fails on developing the character and raising awareness regarding the sensitive topic and how the victim usually copes with such a devastating event, often leaving audiences to speculate as to why LSY behaves the way she does. So the writing it’s a far cry from Thank You, which helped the audience to understand the sensitive topic and the characters better.
hmmm intellectual conversation good
Soo Yeon is my favorite character. The scene when she saw her mom at the police station and the last scene broke my heart. YEH’s acting and the mom’s acting was deabak. I can’t wait to see what will happen between them.
Honestly, I’m glad that Eun Hye picked this melodrama, because I personnaly think that she’s doing a tremendously good job in it.
Thank you for the recap!
Eunjoo is the cleaning ladies mom I’m calling it. But I’m probably wrong
Maybe the drama is focused on JW because it’s his evil, horrible Dad who started everything? (I’m totally guessing) You just know his relationship with his Dad is going to become a focal point later when he finally finds out everything his Dad has been up to. It started with his & his Dad so maybe it will end with him & his Dad.
I have no clue, I just found that a very interesting question so I’m making a guess. 🙂
Koala, first of all, thank you for the recap. One idea about why the POV is focused on Jung Woo seems to be that this isn’t just a story about a girl who was raped but also a story of a girl who disappeared for 14 years and was given up for dead by pretty much everyone except Jung Woo. Whether it was love or guilt or some mix of both that forced him to keep believing that she was alive and he would eventually find her, it’s not clear. But even when her own mother is urging him to forget her, Jung Woo is the only one who won’t let go of hope.
The rape was a tragic event. But to the people who care about Soo Yeon(her mom,, Jung Woo, Detective Kim) her disappearance was also a terrible tragedy. The family of children who disappeared always say that the worst part is not knowing. Jung Woo and Soo Yeon’s mom have been living with that burden for years.
The writer said she conceived of the story first because she wanted to write about the character of Jung Woo, a fearless detective and his quest to find a lost love. Every story could possibly be told through different POVs and has different sides but this particular story is being told through Jung Woo’s lens.
I think Jung Woo won’t totally accept that Zoe is Soo Yeon until she tells him herself and he is waiting for that. That’s why he didn’t do the DNA test. I think some of his brusqueness with her is due to his own rash personality which tends to express emotion physically, desperation and uncertainty.
Also, when people disappear and return alive, there is usually a feeling of first immense relief followed by anger. Why didn’t the person contact them all this time? Didn’t they know how desperately worried they made everyone? In this case, Soo Yeon didn’t but Jung Woo doesn’t know that.
Thanks koala for the recap! Esp for ur pov in the drama. I have been silent reader in ur blog.. and every time i visit here.. it is like reading an essay for drama class.. lol. But i like the way u point out the traumatic bond between the characters.
From the way i see it.. none of them already move on from the past. Losing someone precious in their life is not something they can handle easily. One is the lover and other is the mother. Yet LSY has a different case since she is not losing her loved one but her own confident to the world.
LSY with the denial that she already erased the bad memories yet we can see that she hasn’t because all this time she never once back to korea. KHJ with his endless revenge which actually make him looks even more pitiful. Its because he has none to rely on… except his wealthy.
And HJW with his feeling of guilty. If he really feels guilty about abandoning her, he will try to move on… not only superficially move on… but forgiving himself that’s the point.
Well for me I think hj plan it all especially wat was happening to sy because from the start he knows what jw is to ls coz he knows ls is he’s ace to take revenge to jw, and I know d killing of d rapist n nurse Jung was doing of hj, and I think hj doesn’t love ls but I think he will realize it in d end
While I want Jungwoo to end up with Suyeon, I mostly agree with Koala. I think she’s been posting very good reviews and analysis. This episode was the best one in the series. They finally showed emotional line for female lead and revealed Hyunjoon’s darker side. This combo is really uplifting Jungwoo’s character more and the drama itself. Hope it gets even better. All the actors in this series are doing great. I really like their acting and face expressions are awesome.
I am surprised that you are asking what the purpose of Eun Joo is! It is OBVIOUS. She is the only person (other than Jung Woo, possibly Soo Yeon and of course mom) that had access to the personal information of MOM to order the dried ice.
Further more, she has EVERY POSSIBLE MOTIVE (that make sense!). She has had a crush on Jung Woo (from the first meeting), and this has blossomed into love (not reciprocated at all). Getting rid of the murderer (who also attacked Jung Woo in her presence), will rid her ‘adopted’ family (mum and Jung Woo) of all memories of Soo Yeon, and burry grudges and guilty feelings for ever. Or so she assumes…
Jung Woo deserves every shred of sympathy though; he DID run away (but he also said that he will always stand by her and protect her, and that he will only ever run away when he is really scared. He returned with help (but dad was NOT helping) and then he went on to continue search with the help of Detective Kim. And when detective died, he continued looking for her on his own. He has taken care of Soo Yeon’s mother and Eun Joo, all the time waiting…
Hyung Joon however, is frighteningly manipulative (even to nurse and Soo Yeon when still a child!). He even hides from Soo Yeon (when he gives his cane to someone else to tap on the ground) to watch her search frantically for him (on hands and knees)… and certainly it is weird watching your girlfriend secretly with the help of cameras all over the house.
This story is very cleverly written, and I find myself paying close attention to the dialogue…
Whoah! Seriously!? I guess u need a lot of understanding to be able to get to the heart of this drama because from your prev. recaps and at this point, I still don’t think you are getting what Writer-nim is doing w/ the story. Though i dont agree w/ most of your thoughts there, still thanks for the recaps.
(and to those people who still dont know yet, there’s MY thread there in soompi… please do check it, there’s plenty of bright and insightful people there<3)
I honestly don’t care that the POV is HJW but I do care that LSY’s pain and struggle to move on were not being explored more. I have been hoping that this drama will serve as an inspiration for rape victims/ abandoned kids out there and give them a message that life doesn’t end when bad things happen, there’s hope and light at the end of the tunnel.. However, with all the guilt ridden angst devoted to most of the episodes so far, doesn’t look like that will happen. If I am a victim like LSY, I would have been asking MBC to stop this drama as it only exploited the rape issue and not really helped anybody at all (proof is how there’s more connection to HJW’s pain than LSY – seriously?!). It may seem like a drastic response but I know people who have been raped and I feel for them, this is a disservice to what they have been through.
Not to say that I don’t love our cast and how they have been acting, I think they are definitely carrying this drama even with the poor writing.
I like my cute boys like any normal girl but I hope next episodes will get us viewers to sympathise with LSY and her feelings (pain, anger, etc)!
I don’t think this show is doing a disservice to anybody, it’s just a show after all. And as someone who’s been in a similar situation as LSY, I am in no way offended by this drama. Everyone heals in different ways and this show is focusing on a particular path of healing. This doesn’t and shouldn’t make anyone else unsatisfied with their own way of dealing with their pain. Plus I don’t recall MBC announcing that this show will help rape victims in anyway. So taking the show off for failing to do so is ridiculous. If they wanted to do something, setting up a fund or airing PSAs would be more helpful.
I feel that any victim who looks to a TV show to absolutely and correctly capture their emotions will be disappointed. A documentary would be more informative and accurate. To me, a TV show isn’t likely to significantly inspire or demoralize a victim. Reality is what can do that. Seeing justice done on TV doesn’t compare to seeing your real life attacker brought to justice. Real life events like this are what inspires other victims.
And I’ve realized that I’m not watching this show to see someone go through something painful, though some might be. I’m watching precisely for the unrealistic aspect that makes me feel like people can get through such terrible pain and come out sane. Many victims don’t have the opportunity that LSY has, that opportunity to go back home and confront their fears and overcome them.
Plus, the whole thing about having more sympathy for HJW is because I’ve barely seen ‘LSY.’ I’ve seen plenty of ‘Zoe’ but not much of the actual victim. They may have the same face, but they are NOT the same person. The more LSY comes out, the more I can see the pain she’s going through. And don’t rag on the writer about this because the synopsis already stated that she puts up a smiling face to hide her emotions. So that’s what we’ll see for now. There’s no reason to watch this show if you were expecting otherwise.
hi kaola. This is my 1st time commenting. All this while i was a silent reader. I love your recaps on MY. i dont think u r biased ( i read some ppl commented u r) I agree that the writer should focus more on SY’s pain, how she endured her pain with HJ’s care. This episode however is ‘daebak’. At least in this episode JW has become less irritating.
And.. I, too, think that the cleaning ahjumma is the culprit. Remember an episode where she hurt her hand? I think its suspicious why it kept mentioned in the next episode, like it was an important clue or something. I hope its not the moustache dad’ doing. Cause it will be too easy.. (I hate his moustache) But it hurt my head to think what is it got to do with rich Auntie(nurse)’s death. Why is the autopsy report doesnt come out yet.
Sorry i wrote so long. Thanks kaola for the recap!
Hyung Joon really gives me this creepy feeling, although Yoo Seung Ho performance were not as clearly seen as the main but through his eyes and motive, I feel scared in every of his scenes (except those with SY). I totally root him with SY all the way, hope nothing happens with him because of his revenge plan.
HJW is pulling me in with his emotions. Yes HJW did a mistake and his sorrows are not as nealy painful as LSY but he is the most honest character and you gotta love him for that. His “violence” is just an exaggeration by Koala, who simply couldn’t find anything against him and decided to use this, cause lets face it she never liked HJW and although he is giving us a 1000 reasons to love him, she just cant find it in her to do so because of her bias who is playing the evil dude. GET OVER YOUR BIAS KOALA.
*sorry but I had to say it*
I guess, it’s not only Capt. K who should get over her bias. You should too and everyone else, for that matter. Because the truth is, everyone who’ve posted here re MY is biased at some point. PYC fans are biased towards Jung Woo, YEH fans are biased towards Seo Yoon, and noonas like me who love YSH is biased towards Harry. So please, stop asking people to get over their biases if you yourself have your own.
agree 🙂
Thank you Ms. Koala for articulating and sharing my sentiments exactly. In truth, we still love in a world deeply rooted in male chauvinism. The writer may have wittingly or unwittingly disenfranchised women by choosing to linger and highlight HJW’s mopey and feeble cries of guilt rather than explore the real struggles of a woman violated in the most horrific manner – LSY, the victim herself.
I remain hopeful though, seeing from this episode, that LSY’s character can also become a focal point of healing with her transitioning from a mere lamb to the slaughter to someone who chooses her own path and finally her being able to come to grips with the traumas of her past and mend relationships with her mother and past flame.
On a side note, Yeh’s acting chops have really reached a whole new level and I really do admire her tenacity to give justice to LSY’s role. Hope the viewers give her credit too!
just rewatched the scene of LSY and her mom at the ending.. waaahh! crying buckets! can’t wait to see them reconciled to each other!
Seo Yeon will be confronted with her trauma when she stopped being Zoe..
Basically, the drama just make her runaway and make a new live with new identity, as many of rape victim do to avoid ‘shame’..
When the writer still fail to address the issues about rape and the trauma after 11-12th episode (where I assumed that LSY will comeback), I’ll start my judgement.
Someone mention ‘Thank You’ above.. This is a perfect example, cause for the first 8 episodes is about Jang Hyuk and his pain due to his fiancee death. Not until the middle to the latter part that the focus shift to the mother and how she handle her daughter AIDS and latter near the end, the shows light AIDS positively and pained the daughter paint perfectly. And she makes the ‘family come together’. I still hold my hope.
And if not, well, more Yoochun for me then 😀
I agree. I hate that part when Jung Woo told Harry that he’s in love with his girl. If I were Harry, I would have punched his face too. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jung Woo but that was unnecessary for him to do that. Just because he was LSY’s first love doesn’t mean he has the right to steal her away from Harry. (he may not have told that but he did attempt by making himself as Zoe’s secret lover but whatever, he still does want to have LSY back. I thought that knowing only that she’s alive would set him free from his guilt and that would satisfy him alone, just by knowing she’s happy now and she’s okay is enough for him but I guess he wanted more.)
If he had waited 14 years for her, SY and HJ also tried their best to forget their nightmares and move on with their lives for 14 years (they were happy together before they went back to korea, right?) I mean, those 14 years for the 3 characters wasn’t a joke so I hope people would not disregard the 14 years that SY & HJ spent together too. I always see people saying “so what if they spent 14 years together, even 15+ marriage would even end up in divorce, etc.” I don’t buy that. Those long years are actually really significant to them because they worked hard for it together, choosing to be ‘happy’ that’s why they chose to forget the past (its their way to be happy). It wasn’t like they were just fooling around. And the fact that both of them actually can’t live without each other (they’re co-dependent).
I personally don’t mind if any of them would end up with Zoe but the only one I think deserves it a bit more is Harry (except for his evil revenge plans etc though I hope he just forgets about it and just move on too)
People forgets that all of these three characters have their own nightmares too and I hope that they won’t disregard one because they favor that one person more than the other.
you prediction on that cleaning ahjumma is 100% correct…daebak
Thanks for the recap. This is the first episode that I kinda liked JW. I still think he pushes himself too much in Zoe’s face but I tried to ignore that. So many little little things that he said and did kind of made up for ep 8’s faults. Like how he didn’t even say anything when HJ said ” SY doesn’t the killer” and his whole conversation in the police station with Zoe. all good.
This is also the first time that I started feeling a little wary of the HJW character. That scene in his secret room of pain (emotional pain not the 50 shades of grey kind..duh) kind of creeped me out – in a good way. I think he can be scary … NICE!
But of course my favorite was YEH. She acted sooo well in the episode. I could feel her fear.
My prediction btw : The cleaning ahjumma is SY’s real mother. (Hey a KDrama without a birth secret? come on) She wants to avenge her lost daughter. So she kills the “Aunt” who had the kids kidnapped and the rapist.
HJ will do something evil that will put SY in danger. She will die/be killed and JW won’t be able to save her (again) and JW will kill himself in guilt.
So very optimistic, am I not?
LOL I find it extremely funny that people want JW to move on. Then this drama would be nothing about love but Harry making his revenge. 2 dimensional with a dead on love between Zoe and Harry. AND, NO WAY will zoe be the focus of the drama cuz all there is is Harry’s revenge.
This is a korean drama. Zoe would not even be a main character if Jungwoo is not involved to heal her. I don’t see any appeal in a drama if all we do is watch Harry get his revenge, that could prolly be done in erm 10 episodes.
I know this is a late reply @ poy’s comment but I need to just let this out….on PYC having the largest fan base can you even hear yourself saying that??? You need to do a lot of researching man! Maybe you don’t even know who the famous stars are in that country. I don’t even know PYC until this drama….YEH is one of Korea’s A listers and hallyuh stars and PYC is lucky to have been paired with the very famous YEH who is known internationally! Just for your info! and please we are talking about their characters here in IMY so there is no need to bring on their personal achievements especially if your statement is baseless.
You’re so awesome! I do not suppose I have read through something like that before. So great to discover someone with a few unique thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This web site is one thing that’s
needed on the web, someone with a little originality!
I always find it interesting whenever people say they like Harry’s character more. I always wonder if that means that they just don’t care that he killed the detective ajhussi or think he was justified in it. I felt bad for Harry, sure. He was a scared kid. Jung Woo was a scared kid and left his girlfriend to die in a shed somewhere. I think my issue is, Jung Woo didn’t kill anyone. Harry did. And then continued to kill. I am aware that you didn’t know that he was still killing at the time of writing and I haven’t made an effort to see your later views after Harry’s descent into madness. But killing the detective ajhussi predated this episode, and I am shocked at how many people I know who were willing to forgive that. By this episode, I was next to nearly positive he’d killed the aunt, and pretty positive he killed the rapist. Was Jung Woo perfect? Of course not. But in terms of character, JW was leaps and bounds above Harry.
“If Jung Woo can continue to be a great detective and good son and marry a nice girl, he’d be golden in my book. If Hyung Joon can give up his revenge plan and return to France with Soo Yeon, then he’s also golden in my book.”
If only you had written this series! What an awesome resolution we would have enjoyed. Appreciate the recaps by the way. Thank you!