Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 12

After his confusing and hurtful encounter with Mommy Dearest, Wang So returns home to his quarters and the first thing he notices is his battle outfit is missing. (A jealous Yeo Won had taken a sword to it after learning about her husband's other marriage.) Yeo Won asks how his tea went with his mother. So replies he didn't get any tea, just heaps and heaps of abuse as usual. Yeo Won immediately figures out that someone else must have been there for Mommy Dearest to act the way she did.

 

Wang So, echoing my own childhood, asks "What are you doing in my room touching my stuff?" Yeo Won announces she knows, and she knows So knows, that Gaebong is really a woman, so they need to stop hanging out together so much. Wang So laughs at the princess for suddenly trying to act like a wife after all this time. Oh, and she'd better not touch his stuff, or his people, ever again.

 

Wang So leaves the house, just missing Shin Yool who has come to see the princess. Yeo Won offers some tea and some advice: stop spending time with my husband. The princess also returns the battle outfit to Yool (complete with alterations made by a sharp sword). Yool knows exactly what this means.

 

Wang Uk goes to Wang Shik Ryum, asking to borrow the red ninjas in order to capture the black ninjas. In return, Uk will become Shik Ryum's tool. At least, that's what the old man will think. Uk has his own secret plans of getting rid of Wang So and then seizing the throne. The only one who knows about this double dealing is Se Won.

 

It has been two days since Gyu Dal was drugged by the gisaeng madam. He can remember very little of that night, just that he was served tea and there was incense that smelled divine. (The incense was the drug.)

 

Despite Yeo Won's threats, Yool sneaks away to spend some time with Wang So as they deliver medicine to a local clinic. The doctor hands over to Yool a book compiling all the poisons and antidotes he's been studying. (This should come in handy for curing King Crazy.)

 

After a day of cuteness overload, Yool sneaks So into her private quarters. Their hormones are in full swing and it looks like they may just get around to consummating their marriage. Not. Here comes Baek Myo into the room, forcing So to hide under the table.

 

Wang So returns home (no, I don't know if he ever did get any or not) to be surprised by a visit from Mommy Dearest. She's come to have tea with him. So understandably doesn't know how to react to her sudden kindness. Mommy explains she had to act so awful to him last episode because too many eyes are watching her at the palace. Here and now, though, she begs for a new beginning for both of them. So serves his mother a cup of tea, showing he's ready to forgive her. (This is a three-hankie scene, people!)

 

Yool receives a summons from Wang Shik Ryum. When she arrives she finds Wang Uk also in attendance. Now that he can see her without the beekeeper hat on, Shik Ryum comments on how much Yool does resemble Uk's old girlfriend who had to marry Uk's dad. I'll say this: Yool isn't a bit rattled at being in the old man's presence. From behind a screen Se Won watches all. A-ha, what's that hanging from his sword? Is it a trinket in the shape of a flying fish, guardian god of the Balhae? More and more you people have convinced me Se Won is related to Yool.

 

Anyway, the Legion of Doom want Chunghae to simply hand over some people and materials. Yool says no. Yool offers a partnership. Uk says no. Well, this is going nowhere fast.

 

As Yool is about to leave she stops and asks Uk about his old girlfriend (that we see in a flashback hanging from the neck until dead.) If Uk wanted to keep the girlfriend, why didn't he marry her? Uk yells that in this country for a prince to marry without the king's permission automatically means death. Yool now realizes her hasty marriage to Wang So could put him in jeopardy if it ever got out.

 

Mommy (I can't call her Dearest anymore) finds out that So and Yeo Won haven't consummated their marriage and decides to do something about it.

 

 

 

 

Wang So has snuck back into Yool's bedroom, planning to surprise her with couple's rings. Yool comes back to her room trying to find the resolve to put an end to her relationship with So. While he watches from his hiding place, Yool pulls out her old wedding outfit from five years ago. At last that secret is finally resolved as So recognizes the dress and puts two and two together. Yool is weeping into her wedding dress and never sees So, who also realizes the danger they both could be in.

 

He is standing outside in the courtyard when Yool finally encounters him, thinking he just arrived. So acts like the same old goofball and asks what she's hiding behind her back, knowing full well it's her wedding dress. Yool claims she was just throwing something old away. So hugs her and says you can throw things away but you can't throw memories away.

 

Mommy sends for Wang So and Yeo Won to attend to her. The dowager queen has cast their fortune and set the date. In five days it will be the perfect time for the couple to knock boots. Roll in the hay. Succumb to their treacherous bodies. To be washed upon love's transcendent shores.

 

Naturally Yeo Won is all for it. That night she sends Lackette to Chunghae supposedly with a request for Yool to pick a good night for the prince and princess to do it all for the nookie.

 

Suddenly it's five days later. Both So and Yeo Won are being prepared for the sacrifice. With a stone cold face, So marches forward to do the deed. Can you feel the love tonight? 

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 11

Wang Uk is proclaiming his feelings and grabbing Shin Yool up in that awkward hug. After a moment's hesitation of WTH, Yool shrugs herself out of his embrace.

 

 

Now that he's been rejected by Yool, and in a way betrayed by sister Yeo Won (who nursed Wang So back to health in order to win the tournament), Uk is determined to become a new man. A man who won't depend on other people to get what he wants. (Normally this is the part of the show when the second lead becomes all villainy. Judging from what I've seen of this guy's acting skills, however, I don't foresee much of a change for his character.)

 

Wang So - in prince mode - asks Wang Uk over for some conversation. So wants to find out where Uk learned his swordfighting technique. Oh So, to quote the great Jim Profit: The worst way to get a straight answer is to ask an honest question. (Damn, I loved Profit. Why did it have to get canceled? Why?) As expected, Uk is suddenly on defense and becomes all evasive. It was a drifter; a man I'll never see again and you can't contact. Wang So reveals that he realizes now that Gaebong is a woman. Uk acknowledges he wants to make Gaebong/Yool his woman (without mentioning her earlier friend-zoning) and asks So to be nice and back off. 

 

Wang So says No.

 

With her eyes opened to Shik Ryum's ulterior motives, Mommy Dearest wants to join up with the Justice League against the Legion of Doom. She understands this means she'll have to change her way of thinking when it comes to Wang So. I demand huge groveling!

 

 

By Yeo Won's orders, the princess's main lackey (Lackette?) bullies Gil Bok into helping her break Wang So and Shin Yool up so So and Yeo Won can become a real husband and wife. Thankfully Wang So quickly catches on that Gil Bok is up to something and sends the flunky off to the mountains.

 

Since his identity has been revealed, everyone at Chunghae acts differently towards So. He insists they go back to the way things were before. So pretends like he still thinks Gaebong is a man and the assistant head of the company is a completely different person. He asks to meet the woman in order to make his formal greetings to Yool. As revenge the prince makes Yool constantly change back and forth from feminine to masculine garb.

 

 

So ends his hijinks by dumping Gaebong in a bathtub and growling at her for tricking him for so long. Yool has a valid rebuttal in that he tricked her about being a prince. So shows how grateful he is that he's not gay. When Baek Myo starts to come into the bath house, Yool hides So under the water.

 

Yool tells him she'll still have to dress like a man so Baek Myo won't find out So has found out. Not that Yool can stop giggling like a teenager around him in front of everybody. A drunk Gyu Dal starts muttering about his sister's mission to find someone from five years ago before he's stopped. This makes So jealous to think Yool has someone in her past.

 

The king is being inundated with requests for him to have the black ninjas hunted down and executed. Oh no, one of the requests has been seeded with that secret poison that makes the king go crazy. Just when it appeared Yool's tea was helping him. Under the influence of the drug, the king gives his permission to capture the black ninjas. He also has a bit of a crack up in front of the court which gets tongues to wagging.

 

Shik Ryum continues his campaign to turn the king against Wang So.

 

Mirroring Lackette and Gil Bok from earlier, Ji Mong and Eun Chan decide to break Wang So and Yool up in order to save the prince's marriage.

 

Yool is surprised to be invited to tea with Mommy Dearest. And Yeo Won. The dowager queen's motives are innocent as she simply wants to get a nice present for So for winning the tournament. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, Mommy Dearest doesn't pick up on the undercurrents between Yool and Yeo Won.

 

Yeo Won spies the butterfly necklace on Yool and starts asking questions, like where is the other half of it, knowing full well where it is. Yool smoothly claims no, the ornament is supposed to look like this. There is no other half. I luv me some mind games.

 

Yeo Won may be jealous but she's still razor sharp in the brains department as she suspects that new gisaeng, Cheong Ok, is one of Wang So's crew.

 

Since it didn't work out with Wang Uk, So asks his father-in-law who trained the prince. This time he at least learns it was a bodyguard the old man fired six years ago. (Fired because the old man saw how close Se Won and Yeo Won were getting.)

 

 

Yeo Won has laid a trap for Gyu Dal at the gisaeng house. The madam drugs the brother with ancient sodium pentothal (not that it takes much for Gyu Dal to spill his guts in the first place.) Gyu Dal tells all about his sister getting married to So five years ago but the prince doesn't recognize his first wife now.

 

Yeo Won be illin' when she receives this information.

 

Mommy Dearest has been sending invitations to Wang So for him to come visit her but he found it hard to believe she would want to see him. Unfortunately by the time So does show up to see Mommy, she's having face time with Shik Ryum. (She's been acting like she still believes in Shik Ryum's lies. Now that So is here, Mommy Dearest will have to continue to behave like Mommy Dearest instead of making up lost time with her son. Oh, the pain.)

 

 

Okay, Show, you picked up steam again. Good job.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 10

We go back to the depressing victory feast when King Crazy has the veiled Shin Yool brought in. However this time we get a few more scenes we didn't last episode. The king has asked her who will be the next king and Yool dodges the bullet by answering a prince with the name of Wang. King Crazy then asks Yool to predict Prince Wang So's fate. Yool requires So to write out a letter, which he does, but just as Yool is about to study the paper the king changes his mind and asks for Prince Wang Uk to write a letter. Yool's fortunetelling predicts Uk will have a lonely future. Enjoying this, the king then has Prince Wang Teen Idol to write something. Yool reads this guy as being too easily lead by other people and he would be better off becoming a Buddhist monk.

 

King Crazy starts to tire of this game and holds his sword at Yool's throat. Wang So finally speaks up and tells her to tell the king what she plans to do with the profits she'll be making from this tournament. Yool explains she'll use the money to pay physicians and provide medicine for the sick. With others begging him to allow the tournament to end on a high note (and not, you know, murder), King Crazy allows Yool to live while warning her he'll be watching.

 

Shik Ryum seizes his chance to plant the bug in the king's ear that Prince Wang So spent some time at the Chunghae Trading Company. Surely So and Yool have cooked something up against the king. King Crazy gets paranoid all over again.

 

We get a flashback of when Yeo Won was nursing her husband back to health. Wang So wonders why she's bothering because if he isn't well enough to be in the tournament then surely Wang Uk will win. Yeo Won answers she still has some use for him.

 

Yool returns home and tells everyone about So being a prince but until he reveals the truth himself they are to treat So like he's the same old same old. Baek Myo doesn't care if So is a real prince or not, she still doesn't like him and urges Yool not to allow him back in. Yeah, that doesn't happen.

 

Dressed as Gaebong, she welcomes back So and scolds him for making her worry about his wound. Suddenly Baek Myo barges in and drags Gaebong away. The king is here! While Yool is quickly changing back into her beekeeper hat, King Crazy runs into So which only confirms the monarch's suspicions about So's part in a conspiracy. Naturally So denies any of this.

 

A veiled Yool comes into the room. Seeing the king's hand shaking she offers to serve him a rare tea. Hopefully it will be an antidote to the poison that's been making him nuts. The king starts interrogating Yool on her relationship with his brother. Carefully manoeuvring through this landmine, Yool relates how So has a close relationship with another worker at the trading company. She tells how So was locked up for being drunk, accused of stealing, and punished for being lazy. Obviously none of them knew he was a prince because who would treat royalty this way?

 

Perhaps the tea is helping as King Crazy seems satisfied and is willing to trust Wang So again. After the ruler leaves, So goes sneaking around Chunghae and catches Yool with her beekeeper hat off. Now we have another secret revealed. So is relieved he's not gay but he wants revenge for all Gaebong/Yool has put him through.

 

Meanwhile, Shik Ryum realizes one of the talismans the Legion of Doom gave him to keep is a fake. He figures Wang So must have the real one.

 

Yeo Won is at home with dinner on the table, waiting for her husband to come back. She must think all her nursing must have changed So's mind about their marriage. This is all quickly dashed to pieces when Yeo Won is informed about So's return to Chunghae.

 

The next day there's even more trouble at Chunghae. Prince Wang Teen Idol, the one who would be better off as a monk, is trashing the place in a drunken rage. Thankfully Wang Uk swoops in and runs little brother off. Uk then goes on to confess his feelings for Yool, grabbing her up in a stiff hug.

 

Not much of a cliffhanger. Show, you're starting to lose steam.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 9

Shin Yool and Princess Yeo Won continue their mind games over tea. Yool asks the princess to pass on word to Prince Wang So that he needs to come and pick up his tournament outfit. This gives Yeo Won the knowledge that her rival doesn't know that So and Wang So are the same person. As a friendly warning Yeo Won advises the merchant to stop hanging around that rascally So as he is no good.

 

 

As she is leaving Chunghae Yeo Won spots Bidam Wannabe #2. They come together pretending to be looking over merchandise for sale. (This is a shoplifter's dream as there doesn't appear to be anyone nearby keeping an eye over these trinkets. But I digress...) Yeo Won lets BW know she knows he's the red ninja who wounded Wang So. The fact her bodyguard was unable to dispatch her husband tells Yeo Won that So is just as strong and skilled as BW. This doesn't sit well with BW who is all sorts of thwarted. As she leaves him, Yeo Won slips a gewgaw into BW's hand.

 

Mommy Dearest is easily bamboozled by Wang Shik Ryum into supporting the Tournament of Princes. After hearing the latest gossip about the black ninjas killing Sinestro and stealing his silver (which they didn't), the king - who continues to lose his grip on straight thinking - appears to give up hope that the black ninjas will be able to help him. King Crazy, knowing Wang Uk is the prince most eager to seize the throne, orders that Shin Yool be  made to attend the tournament. The moment Uk wins, King Crazy will have Yool killed right before the prince's eyes. A rather extreme way of saying, "Nyeh nyeh."

 

It just so happens Wang Uk himself asks Yool to attend the tournament. She turns him down, though, as she doesn't feel like watching any sports since she is still unable to locate the wounded So.

 

Finally! As Shik Ryum goes over his evil plans he addresses BW as Se Won.

 

The next day King Crazy sends a fancy palanquin to Chunghae to pick Shin Yool up and bring her to the tournament. Yool reluctantly dons her beekeeper hat as she has a bad feeling about this but knows you can't turn down an invitation from the king. She's brought in for a face-to-veiled-face meeting with the monarch. When King Crazy orders her to remove her veil, advisor Ji Mong recognizes Yool from her earlier palace adventure with Wang So.

 

 

It's Tournament Time!

 

Yool, her veil back in place, is shown to her prime arena seat. The princes are marched out to great fanfare. The king wonders where So could possibly be. Shik Ryum chuckles that the prince must be too afraid for the competition. Before King Crazy can get a chance to formally start the proceedings, Shik Ryum supersedes and gets to do all the speechifying. Mommy Dearest maybe, just maybe, starts to get a clue. To everyone's surprise, King Crazy does get a word in edgewise, making all sorts of allusions to dragons and blue seas. While no one is quite sure what he's talking about, Yool is smart enough to figure out he's referring to Uk and herself and that her life is in mortal danger.

 

Meanwhile Wang So, who hasn't been doing much of anything this entire episode, finally gets up out of his sickbed and gets dressed in the outfit Yool made for him. Fangirls squee.

 

First up to compete against each other is Wang Uk and Wang Not Important. Then it's Wang Uk vs Wang Fuzzy Hat. Now it's Wang Uk and Wang Never Saw You Before.

 

 

Just as Wang Uk is about to be awarded for winning and Yool is about to be executed, So shows up. Now at least one truth is revealed as Yool understands So's true identity. During the first round which is archery, So struggles with his wounded arm and ends up losing to Uk. Next they mount up on horses and hit each other with sticks. So wins this one.

 

The last competition is swordsmanship, although So has a big ass halberd, not a sword. During the fight So notices a similarity between Uk's swordsmanship and the sword work of the red ninja (Se Won) who attacked So at the temple. So knocks Uk out of the ring and thus wins the tournament.

 

Afterwards there is a depressing victory feast for the king and his brothers. King Crazy thanks his uncle and all the nobles for throwing this competition (i.e. "I won't forget this.") Oh, but there's one other person the king wants to thank. He has Yool (still wearing her beekeeper hat) brought into the room. Uk looks alarmed while So, who can't see clearly past the veil, looks like he's about to pass out from all his exertion.

 

 

King Crazy tries to trip Yool up by asking her who she reasons will be the next king of Goryeo. She cleverly answers it will be a prince with the name of Wang (which is about half the population of Goryeo at this point.) The king won't let up and demands to know why Chunghae was outfitting all the princes. Yool explains honestly that as a merchant she can use the tournament as free advertising and make a profit selling replicas of the stuff the combatants were wearing. King Crazy refuses to believe this simple answer and accuses Yool of working with Wang Uk to seize the throne. To give him credit, Uk immediately comes to Yool's defense. King Crazy unsheathes his sword and holds it at Yool's throat.

 

 

Honestly, this episode was a let-down. They've been building up and building up this whole Tournament of Princes. I was expecting action scenes out the wazoo but instead got little to nothing. Remember in Queen Seondeok when the Hwarang were fighting each other to become the next grand marshal? That's how you do it!

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 8

Oh good. Last night I thought I was going to have to go back to DramaFever's crappy player for this episode, but while I was sleeping, the gang over at Viki burned the midnight oil. Go, Shiny Crazy Team!

 

 

Wang So, still not sure about his sexuality, returns to Chunghae just to catch a glimpse of his blood brother, Gaebong. Yool is a quick change artist as it takes her only seconds to go from feminine to masculine garb. Afraid he'll try to kiss his bro again, So claims he has a cold and warns Gaebong to keep some space between them. Of course she doesn't.

 

They're admiring all the outfits Yool put together for the princes. So isn't happy with the one made up for Prince So and Gaebong tells him what all the other princes said about their absent brother. He's a loser, he's lazy, he lives off his wife's family and spends most of his time with the gisaengs. Wang So tries to build up Prince So in Gaebong's eyes.

 

Suddenly Wang So remembers he needs to get back to the business of finding his father's killers. He tells Gaebong he's going to be gone for awhile so don't expect to see him around. Back in prince mode, So goes to the gisaeng house to carouse with his mole, Cheong Ok. She's to cover for him and tell everyone the prince is passed out drunk so So can have the freedom to sneak around and do ninja stuff.

 

The head madam sends a report immediately to Yeo Won about the prince being passed out. I'm still not sure where Yeo Won fits in, whether she's good or bad, but she sure is super smart. She sends orders back that next time they are to make absolutely sure the prince is where he's supposed to be. Go into the room and see the actual body.

 

Furthermore, Yeo Won is told that the guy So has been hanging out with is actually Yool in disguise.

 

Wang So joins up with his black ninjas and is prepared to gear up when Eun Chan stops him. He fears the prince's identity has been revealed and the enemy will be looking for So. The prince insists on coming along on the mission as he wants to brush up on his ninja skills for the Tournament of Princes.

 

Meanwhile, Wang Shik Ryum and Bidam Wannabe #2 are plotting on leading the black ninjas into a trap at an abandoned temple. Wang Uk reports back to Yool with some good news. He's found a potential lead on where her mother might have been. She was once a nun at a temple that has now been abandoned. (How convenient.) Uk offers to take Yool there to search for more clues. She changes back into her Gaebong clothes so they can ride really slow horses to the temple.

 

In the room where the nun used to live, Yool finds a picture of a flying fish. She explains this is a guardian god to the Balhae people, so there is still a slim chance this nun was Yool's mother. Uk goes out of the room to go get some water when he's suddenly karate chopped by a red ninja.

 

 

Sinestro, member of the Legion of Doom, has arrived at the temple expecting to meet and pay the red ninjas to keep working for him. To his surprise, Sinestro's guards turn on him and a red ninja (BW) comes flying out of nowhere to slice Sinestro's throat and relieve the old man of his piece of the talisman. (Hmm, someone just brought up the interesting question of what if Bidam Wannabe #2 is Yool's long lost brother she's looking for. I must admit that would be a good twist.)

 

So's black ninjas come upon Sinestro's dead body and get into a fight with the red ninjas. (Where's Gaebong during all this? Doesn't she hear this noise? Isn't she wondering where Uk went?) Masked So and Masked BW face off against each other. Ages later Gaebong finally realizes something is going on outside and walks right out on So and BW. Now that she's in danger, Wang So must call off his duel and try to take Gaebong away to safety. BW is hot on their heels.

 

So and BW get into another fight. Gaebong just stands there, the perfect target. When he sees the red ninja going for her, So gets in the way and takes the sword blow instead. This causes him and Gaebong to fall together down a cliff. (Cuz it ain't a KDrama if there's no one falling off a cliff.) The fall causes So's mask to come off.

 

 

Wang Uk regains consciousness and starts looking for Yool. At the bottom of the cliff Gaebong is the first to wake up and realize her rescuer was So. Somehow (offscreen, of course) she has the strength to move the wounded So to a cave where she attempts first aid for his wound which includes putting spiderwebs on his cut arm. She chews up some rhododendron leaves for medicine and kisses the juice into So's mouth. 

 

Eventually So wakes up and Gaebong gives him the third degree. Is he a member of the black ninjas everyone's talking about? Did he kill Sinestro? Who was the guy in red? So swears his blood brother to secrecy about everything she's witnessed today. Gaebong manages to find her horse again and somehow (offscreen, again) she gets So's weakened body up on the animal. Ah, but what So doesn't see is Yool's hand is shaking. All that rhododendron juice, while beneficial for him, was poisonous for her.

 

She gets him back to Chunghae where an anxious Wang Uk has been waiting for her. Because she begged him to, a disgruntled Uk must help his wounded brother off the horse. Gaebong goes inside to find some more medication. Uk growls at his brother to leave Gaebong alone while managing to reopen So's wound. The prince stalks off in disgust as So faints from blood loss. Eun Chan swoops in and carries his boss away. Inside, Yool faints herself from the poison and Baek Myo goes into crisis mode.

 

BW starts the rumor on the street that it was the black ninjas who killed Sinestro. He also tells Shik Ryum about wounding So's arm, making him unable to participate in the upcoming tournament.

 

Eun Chan returns So to his house where Yeo Won finds her husband passed out in the yard. At first she thinks he's dead drunk until she finds the blood. She takes him inside to nurse him and oops, Yeo Won finds the butterfly necklace on her husband. He starts muttering Gaebong's name which makes his wife super duper jealous. Elsewhere, Wang Uk sits next to Yool's bedside. She starts muttering So's name which makes Uk super duper jealous.

 

So wakes up and Yeo Won asks about the necklace. He explains it away as simply a good luck charm. He wonders why his wife isn't wondering how and why he's been wounded. For his benefit, Yeo Won acts like she's assumed he was injured while secretly practicing for the tournament. Privately she wonders if she should stop trying to put her brother Uk on the throne and throw all her kingmaking powers behind her brother So.

 

Black Manta and Bizarro come running to Shik Ryum after hearing about Sinestro's death. Shik Ryum pretends it was the black ninjas who made off with Sinestro's talisman. This is enough to convince the remaining Legion of Doom to hand over their pieces to Shik Ryum for safety.

 

The king and his advisor, Ji Mong, are discussing the upcoming tournament and everyone who's being so "helpful" to fund it. When he hears about Chunghae outfitting all the princes, the king gets upset. Ji Mong tries to remind his monarch that the trading company is the least of their worries but the king seems to be taking this all personal and swears vengeance. Is this personality change one of the side effects of the poison the king was exposed to? This is so unlike him.

 

Yool recovers from her poisoning (for now) to learn that the regular people have now turned against the black ninjas and consider the band nothing but thieves. Yool keeps the faith. Baek Myo is furious that Yool risked her life for that no-good So when the princess's health is already so frail. Yool asks Kang Myung to find out where So is.

 

BW is standing watch outside Chunghae when he sees Princess Yeo Won stopping by for a visit. Yool is outside to greet her visitor and I must say BW has this strange look on his face as he sees her. Does he recognize her as the person at the abandoned temple? Or does he recognize her as his long lost sister? Hmm.

 

Yeo Won starts asking Yool about this So guy who works for them. Yool is honest enough to say she sometimes dresses as a man for work and So thinks she's a male. Noticing a scratch on the merchant's hand, Yeo Won comes right out and asks if Yool as been to the abandoned temple. Again, Yool is honest and replies she went there with Wang Uk. Yeo Won thinks to herself that Yool was with So. Yool thinks to herself that the princess is trying to get her to spill the beans about So's involvement with the black ninjas.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 7

Seeing Yool/Gaebong dressed up in women's clothing has Wang So wondering again if his drinking buddy is indeed a girl, and a pretty one at that. Once in the royal library Yool is too busy drooling over the scrolls to notice So giving her that "I'm in love" look. You know the one I mean. If you don't, you must be new to Kdramas.

 

But the prince has other business he needs to attend to. So slips away from the library so he can go meet with his brother. The king is desperate to know if Wang So was able to contact the black ninjas. So replies he succeeded in contacting the secretive band but for the moment it is too dangerous for both sides to meet. The king was hoping they would help him to stop this Tournament of Princes but it looks like it will have to go through.

 

Oh no, here comes Mommy Dearest! She snarls at her cursed son for daring to break into the palace where he's not wanted and endangering the life of the king.

 

Yool changes back into her Gaebong disguise and is starting to leave the palace when she learns So hasn't been seen. She stays behind to wait on him to appear. When a heartbroken So ambles through the gates, Yool jumps all over him for making her worried sick. He goes from the cold rage of a mother who doesn't want him to someone caring enough to be concerned whether he was alright or not. So asks for a hug because he needs one right now. In the shadows, jelly nelly Wang Uk watches them in disgust.

 

Gaebong decides what her bro really needs is a good stiff drink poured by a pretty girl. She takes Wang So to the gisaeng house. The same house where he's better known to the staff as a prince. So winks at the head madam and keeps saying, "This is my first time here." The madam catches on quickly and says, "We're glad to have you here for the first time."

 

Wang So gets to reminiscing about his time in the city of Gaebong five years ago. Yool sheds a tear from learning that he hadn't forgotten her. Slowly they lean in towards each other. Slowly. Slowly. Almost there.

 

Wang Uk crashes the party! He goes along with pretending he's never met So before, then starts making his own moves on Yool while So must sit back and stew in his own juices. Uk asks "Gaebong" to start calling him hyungnim which totally gets stuck in So's craw. The people back at Chunghae are worried about Yool so Uk is here to take her home. So insists he'll be the one to take her home. Yool is totally baffled as to just what she is caught in the middle of and ends up going home with her bodyguard, Kyung.

 

The Legion of Doom are meeting in Wang Shik Ryum's basement. The old guy has finally wised up that these talisman pieces are a liability and suggests they all gather the remaining pieces and hide them well. The other members of Doom are against this as each piece has writing that when put together spell out "We killed the king!" or something like that. Each member holds one piece so that the others can't betray the Legion. One of the other members (since I've been calling them the Legion of Doom I'll just use Doom names and call him Sinestro) thinks to try using the Chinese red ninjas again. Later, Shik Ryum tells Bidam Wannabe #2 to use Sinestro as bait to draw out Wang So, then kill them both.

 

Wang Uk is the first to find the home of the master craftsman who created the bronze mirror. The man's son informs the prince that his father is dead but he remember Dad making the mirror five years ago for Kim Jong Sik. (You know, Kim Jong Sik is getting more airtime dead than when he was alive.) The son remembers Dad said there was writing on the back of the mirror but doesn't know what it said.

 

Uk reports back to Yeo Won. I'll give her this: Yeo Won is the only character on this show smart enough to figure out the entire plot already.

 

 

Wang So, confused about his sexuality, makes a pass at Eun Chan.

 

Yool, back in feminine garb, is also confused and ends up hugging a visiting Wang Uk. Not that he minds. Embarrassed, she goes running off. Uk stays to ask Baek Myo questions about this So guy who's been hanging around lately. Once again Baek Myo is a font of information, assuring the prince that So still thinks Yool is a man. The only time she does shut up is when Uk starts asking about Yool's family. All the ahjumma will say is that Yool's biological brother is probably dead and the mother, converted to a Buddhist nun, is also most likely dead. Since Wang Uk is in charge of all the Buddhist temples in Goryeo, he offers to help search for Yool's mother.

 

Wang So returns to his home to find a letter from Gyu Dal, Yool's adopted brother. Without the rest of the company knowing what he's doing, Gyu Dal is inviting all the competing princes to Chunghae  so the company can get their measurements and stuff to suit the princes up (free of charge). So's numerous other brothers descend upon the merchant's house because who doesn't like free? (Seriously, if So's dad hadn't died from poison he would have died because of exhaustion from impregnating all these women.)

 

Yool asks if all the princes are here and learns the one missing is Prince So. The other brothers, Uk included, trash talk So down and predict he'll be the first prince to cave in competition.

 

Later that evening Gyu Dal has the princes sit down to dinner in a private room at the gisaeng house. While Gyu Dal is conveniently away, Wang So makes his princely appearance before his unappreciative brothers. So tries to remind his siblings that the Tournament of Princes was originally meant to bring the brothers together. Uk disagrees and says it is a clear pathway to throne. So announces he will join in the tournament in order to teach his brothers a lesson.

Three Kingdoms Episode 53

Well, I didn't win the Powerball and I'm out of booze so let's see what's happening in Ancient China.

 

 

After Sun Quan sort of mumbles, "I'm the boss, not you," Zhou Yu offers to resign his military position and await his punishment. Lu Su assures Sun Quan he did the right thing although the advisor worries the army's loyalty will be more for Zhou Yu than the marquis. Sun Quan finally finds his balls and orders the secret attack against Jing to be called off immediately. Anyone who doesn't obey him is to be executed on the spot.

 

Zhou Yu is off to get his drink on. I feel ya, bro. Lu Meng tries to stop the general and gets bitch slapped for his efforts. Zhou Yu, as usual, lays all the blame for his woes on Zhuge Liang.

 

Sun Quan receives a report from the leaders of the aborted attack on Jing. They fear Big Fan will attack them if they stop now so won't the marquis reconsider his orders to retreat? An angry Sun Quan orders all his generals to be fired. Lady Wu (more lines for a female character, yay!) comes into the room to remind her hot-headed son that they need all the warriors they can get so enough with the dismissals or Sun Quan may just lose his position himself.

 

Following his mother's orders, Sun Quan reinstates Zhou Yu as grand commander. Zhou Yu thinks this means the attack on Jing can go ahead as planned. Lu Su says no way Jose. If the Southland fights against Liu Bei, Cao Cao will simply swoop in and take everything over. Sun Quan scolds Lu Su with Zhou Yu surprisingly coming to the advisor's defense. Is this all an act on Sun Quan's part?

 

The next day a remorseful Zhou Yu stops by Lu Su's house. Lu Su orders for some wine to be brought to them only to learn money's too tight to mention and his household can't afford any wine. Lu Su sends his coat to be pawned for liquor. The two men make peace between themselves.

 

Lady Wu has a meeting with Zhou Yu, Sun Quan, and Lu Meng so she can rake them over the coals for their half-assed plan of taking Liu Bei prisoner. Go, Mama, Go! The way Lady Wu sees it they have no choice but to go through with the wedding in order to save face. Zhou Yu quickly eats his words and argues that Liu Bei is too old for Sun Xiaomei. Lady Wu shoots back, "Why didn't you think about that in the first place?!" In the end they all agree to at least let Xiaomei call the shots and decide if she wants to marry the old Baby Bouncer.

 

 

 Ruby Lin

 

Ruby Lin

 

Ruby Lin

 

The whole reason I started watching this show. It took 53 friggin' episodes to finally get Ruby Lin out of her trailer.

 

Xiaomei isn't too keen on the idea of marrying such an old geezer. Lady Wu tells her daughter to close her eyes and think of England - er, China - as it is Xiamei's duty to help cement the alliance between the royal uncle and the Sun clan.

 

Meanwhile, Liu Bei and Zhao Yun are worried. They're supposed to be heading to Sweet Dew Temple tomorrow to meet the prospective bride but are worried this is all a trap. Lu Su suddenly arrives to warn them they're right, this is all a trap. If Xiaomei gives the thumbs down to the marriage, hidden soldiers will jump out to make sure Liu Bei never leaves the temple of doom. Lu Su has a plan to get them out of town in a hurry but Liu Bei declines to leave. Maybe, just maybe, Xiaomei will like him after all.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 6

Wang So meets with Eun Chan to pass on the names of the other vase owners. One of them is a Hwang, which is So's wife's clan, and one of them is So's own uncle. Not to be confused with his other uncle, Shik Ryum, who is also Yeo Won's uncle. This is the most confusing family tree.

 

Wang So also shows his partner the bronze mirror with the similar pattern as Kim Jong Sik's talisman. So now wants to investigate the mirror, who made it and where it came from.

 

 

Suddenly they are surprised by Gil Bok. I haven't mentioned Gil Bok before because he's not a very important character. Long story short he is the prince's batman who doesn't know his master's secret life as head of the black ninjas. Well, until this moment, that is.

 

Bidam Wannabe #2 and Scarface come down to scope Wang So out and see if he's the prince who scarred Scarface. Scarface follows So back to his little room at the Chunghae where they get into a fight that is witnessed by Gaebong/Yool. She and her bodyguard, Kyung, insist on running after them so they can get in the way of things. And just to make things even more confusing, BW and Eun Chun are also hanging out in the shadows. (I still have my doubts about Eun Chun.)

 

Scarface ends up dead but not before revealing to Wang So that the bad guys know he's a prince. So leaves a message behind on the corpse so the bad guys will know that he knows they know. He returns to his room where an anxious Gaebong is waiting and tries to bluff his way out by claiming Scarface is an old friend and they were just practicing their fighting techniques.

 

Wang Shik Ryum now has the proof that Wang So is the prince he needs to watch out for. The old man drops in to visit with Mommy Dearest and just happens to mentioned how what cursed Wang So has been hanging around the king way too much.

 

There's fighting in the court. Shik Ryum and his gang want to move Goryeo's capital out West while the other side of the room cry, "Don't do it!" Shik Ryum, acting like it's a done deal, announces in celebration of the capital being moved he proposes the old tradition of having all of the princes fight each other.

 

The secret potion that Yeo Won delivered last episode is carefully sprinkled on a scroll.

 

 

Learning about the MMA fight planned for the princes, Wang So tries to get in to see his brother the king only to find Mommy Dearest has ordered all the guards to keep her bad luck son out of the palace. Not knowing what his mother has done, the king wonders why Wang So hasn't arrived yet. To kill time (and himself), the king starts perusing through paperwork, including the poisoned scroll. 

 

Yeo Won meets with Wang Uk and tells him Wang So is suspected to be the leader of the black ninjas and is currently working at Chunghae. They need to look into this. Chunghae is supposed to be closed for exams but Baek Myo makes an exception for her favorite prince. Uk casually asks about a beggar who is working for them and Baek Myo becomes an out-of-control font of information as she tells the prince all about So and the bronze mirror.

 

 

Uk catches Yool dressed up as Gaebong and can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to think she was a man. He asks Yool to help outfit him for the upcoming mortal kombat of princes. In return for this, Uk will get Yool into the royal library so she can ooh and ahh over all the books. She hears Wang So yelling outside and excuses herself to go see what's going on. Uk spies So getting up close and personal with Yool and obviously doesn't like it. (Doesn't Oh Yeon Seo look like Shin Mina?)

 

It's time for Wang So to leave Chunghae. As a parting gift, Gaebong gives So the name of the artisan who crafted the bronze mirror. So insists he and Gaebong become blood brothers.

 

Wang So asks Eun Chan to pass a message on to the king. So will have to sneak into the palace and wants his brother to meet him in the royal library. Wang So returns to Chunghae and offers to help the company to deliver some goods to the palace. Once inside So has a hard time shaking off his blood brother. However, Yool/Gaebong ends up helping So as she's wanting to sneak into the library herself. So steals some laundry so they can disguise themselves. Yool gets to do a Victor/Victoria as she is a woman disguised as a man disguised as a woman.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 5

After begging Gaebong/Yool for a job at the Chunghae Trading Company, (and getting konked out before he could show off his butt), Wang So is tossed into one of their back storerooms. As he slumps over some sacks, this causes his half-butterfly necklace to tumble out. Yool's hope is renewed to see that he kept her charm.

 

When So wakes up he starts searching the storeroom for the ledgers he needs and something to put on because he's cold. Clumsy Thumbsy knocks over several boxes and shelves as well as dislodging his butterfly necklace. When Gaebong/Yool comes back into the room she finds Wang So in the middle of a mess. She's angry and hurt at first as she thinks he's trying to rob her, but then her emotions swing the other way when So celebrates after recovering his lost butterfly. He explains it is his good luck charm and he wouldn't trade it for the world. Gaebong demands So stay and work off all the property he managed to destroy.

 

Yool's adoptive family isn't too sure about having Wang So around. Mother hen Baek Myo is especially against it. Yool tries to say she's doing this in order to help Wang So out of his hard luck life and find a respectable vocation. They figure it should take only five days.

 

Musical interlude as Bidam Wannabe #2 (what is his friggin' name?!) dreamily remembers first being ordered by Wang Shik Ryum to go work/spy on Yeo Won and how he's loved her ever since she was a young tween. Back to the present, Yeo Won figures out very quickly that her uncle suspects one of the many princes of the late king is responsible for the murder of Kim Jong Sik. Question is, is she one step ahead of Shik Ryum and suspecting her own long-absent husband?

 

So reports for his first day of work and I finally learn the name of Yool's (step? foster? adopted?) brother is Yang Gyu Dal. Wang So tries to learn where the ledgers are kept but Yool insists he's vigorously trained from the bottom up.

 

(BTW, I've had to switch to DramaFever and their player is an unholy piece of crap. Hear that, DramaFever? Unholy. Piece. Of. Crap.)

 

So sees Gaebong/Yool entering the bath house. Suspecting his drinking buddy may be a girl, Wang So goes to poke a hole in the paper and see for himself. Baek Myo figured he would try such a trick and has arranged for Yool's bodyguard, Kyung (lots of bodyguards in this show), to stand in for Yool in the steamy room. Now convinced Gaebong truly is a man, So gives some fanservice and takes off his shirt so Yool can rub some liniment on his sore muscles.

 

Yeo Won delivers a mysterious (and perhaps poisonous?) potion to Shik Ryum. In return she wants to have the exclusive rights to sell salt in Goryeo. Afterwards she decides to do some shopping... at Chunghae, where she promptly catches her husband. He explains he's slumming at the merchant's house. For him it is a mini-vacation from the rigors or royal life. Yeo Won doesn't expose him - for now.

 

There's this hilarious moment when Baek Myo, smiling from ear to ear, is running in slow motion. Kang Myung thinks she's running to him and he opens his arms wide open. She knocks him aside and hurries forward to greet the newly arrived Wang Uk. So I guess the couple aren't married as I previously thought.

 

While feminine Yool is entertaining the prince, Wang So goes searching for the ledgers and ends up in her bedroom. Uk tells his story about his long-lost love who was made to marry his own father, the late king. (So why does this woman look like Yool in your flashbacks, Uk? Don't tell me Yool has a twin sister she doesn't know about.)

 

Back in the bedroom, So discovers a mirror with a specific design on the back. The design is similar to the talisman Kim Jong Sik and the other Legion of Doom members have. Wang So doesn't have time to work out the connection as he's discovered by Baek Myo and Kang Myung.

 

Yool changes quickly into Gaebong as the family confronts So about theft. She has Kyung search So and finds a receipt on the prince's body. (The receipt was the connection between the late great Kim Jong Sik and the Chunghae Co.) Gaebong takes one look at it and declares the receipt is a fake.

 

Another Chunghae employee is dragged out. Turns out this guy has been selling expensive pottery on the side. He starts singing like a bird as to who else he's sold this pottery to, so now Wang So has an idea of the other members of the Legion of Doom.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 4

Shin Yool (still in male mode) and Wang So part ways at the hotel. The next day So and Eun Chan are down at the docks keeping an eye on some suspicious guys who have just gotten off of the boat. If the guys are supposed to be here in secret then they're doing an awful job of laying low as they seem to purposely pick a fight with our duo. Rather than blow their own cover, Eun Chan and So run away with the gang in pursuit.

 

Ah, it was all a ruse as here comes a second boat with the real team of assassins on it. Thankfully during all the melee Eun Chan notices this and trails the bad guys. 

 

 

Hiding from the port authority, Wang So seeks refuge on a docked boat. It just happens to be Yool's vessel. Although she thinks he's committed a crime and is eluding arrest, Yool still helps So out by misdirecting the guards. So promises to pay her back someday for the help.

 

Bidam Wannabe #2 (wouldn't it be nice to know his character's name?) meets with the Chinese assassins in the woods. The head guy is one we've seen before. He's the red ninja that Wang So cut with the poisoned blade back five years ago. While it didn't kill him, the poison did leave a nasty scar on the assassin's face. He's here for revenge and tells Bidam Wannabe #2 that he had heard the man referred to as "Prince."

 

This is reported back to Wang Shik Ryum. So now they know it's a prince that killed Kim Jong Sik. Problem is the old king was rather prolific and there are numerous princes running around. At least they've got Scarface who remembers what his attacker looks like.

 

Wang So goes to the Chunghae Trading Co. looking for his drinking buddy he knows only as Gaebong. By this time Yool is back to being female but when she learns So is looking for her/him, she quickly changes clothes. Yool has her hopes up that he's here because he finally remembers her but instead Wang So just wants to wet his whistle again with his drinking partner. Disappointed, Yool has So thrown out and orders him to never come here again.

 

 

During court, Shik Ryum is riled when the king finds the backbone to turn down his uncle's plans to build a castle out West.

 

 

Back in prince mode, Wang So goes to party with some gisaengs. He's heard there's a new girl at the place and he would like to have some private time with her. The girl, going by the name Cheong Ok, is actually one of Wang So's black ninjas working undercover.

 

However, So isn't the only one with a gisaeng spy. His wife, Yeo Won, has the head madam reporting how the other nobles are reacting to the king's refusal to fund the castle.

 

Yool is back in her sickbed. Baek Myo thinks Yool's poor health is due to being thrown into an icy river when she was a baby. Like So, Yool was born to royalty and was the subject of a prophecy her people, the Balhae, didn't like so they tried to kill her. Baek Myo, a court maid, was the one to dive into the river and save the baby.

 

Yool recovers although she figures she won't live to a ripe old age. Wang Uk comes to the shop to moon over Yool. Her adoptive family likes him as a match much more than they do Wang So.

 

Afterwards, Uk and his sister stop by Shik Ryum's place to announce they're throwing their clan's support behind the old guy. Yeo Won is wanting to put Uk on the throne.

 

During their investigation, Eun Chan and Wang So find a connection to Chunghae Co. So swallows his pride and offers to show his butt if Gaebong/Yool will hire him at the company so he can do some undercover work himself.