Sound of the Desert Episode 1

Somewhere out in the Gobi Desert a really dirty woman is hanging out with her dog that is supposed to be a wolf but doesn't really look like a wolf. They spot a caravan passing by and the ragged woman decides she's had enough of her rags; it's time to steal something newer and better.

 

The caravan stops to make camp. There is one man riding a camel who has the power to stay clean and keep his white clothes sparkling white despite being surrounded by blowing dirt. This is Jiu Ye and when he's not riding a camel he is having to utilize a wheelchair.

 

That night Raggedy Anne sneaks down to the camp to start pilfering. She's caught in the act and must use her martial arts skills to try and get away. Jiu Ye may be in a wheelchair but he can still wield a crossbow. Raggedy Anne knows she can't outrun a bolt and so defiantly surrenders. Jiu Ye is intrigued by this dirty woman. Instead of chopping her hand off he gives over some clothes and salt to Raggedy Anne.

 

She goes back to her cave, cleans up (where'd she get the water?) and tries on her beautiful new blue outfit. The next day Raggedy Anne is out and about in her blue outfit when she comes across another group of men being attacked by bandits. She sends up a howl which brings out a pack of not-wolves. She orders the pack to scare off the bandits.

 

The men she saved were lost in the desert. They ask Raggedy Anne to show them the way to the nearest city. Since she has nothing better to do, Raggedy Anne agrees, telling them the trip will take a day or so on horseback. As introductions are made Raggedy Anne identifies herself as Xin Yue although I take it this isn't her real name. She has a history she must keep hidden.

 

Xin Yue doesn't know how to ride a horse and so must ride with Xiao Wei (a future corner of a love triangle with Xin Yue and Jiu Ye). As they make camp for the evening, Xin Yue has a flashback to several years ago when she saved a man she found in the desert. She refers to the man as "Father" even though he's not biologically related to her. As thanks for saving him, Father wraps a rope around young Xin Yue's throat and drags her kicking and screaming to civilization.

 

While she's leading the group to the nearest town, their ultimate destination is Jian An City. They thank Xin Yue for her help and pay her off. Xin Yue heads back to her cave but she's decided it's time for her to give up the wolf pack and start living with humans again. Her father had mentioned how great Jian An City was so Xin Yue sets out for it.

 

The only money Xin Yue has is the payment Xiao Wei gave her. Not understanding the value of money, Xin Yue spends it like water. She also struggles with the use of chopsticks. With all her money gone, Xin Yue goes out to look for work. Kicked out of the inn for not paying her bill, our wolf girl is forced to go sleep in the woods outside of the city with the other homeless beggars.

 

The next day Xin Yue goes around to the big houses looking for work as a laundress. At one of the houses a very suspicious woman who calls herself Aunt Hong does offer Xin Yue some housework in exchange for food. Don't trust her, Xin Yue!

 

A-ha, just as I suspected! This is a whorehouse. Aunt Hong drugs Xin Yue and locks the young girl up to be used later.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 24

And now I come to the last episode of what I realized is my first Jang Hyuk drama I've ever finished. (Technically I finished Fated To Love You by reading the recaps.) My thanks to the Crazy Shine Team over at Viki.

 

 

Holding Shin Yool in his arms, Wang So walks into the freezing waters. It appears for a moment that Yool has succumbed to the cold. (Because that's what would have happened in real life, you crazy doctor!) So cries out to her, "Yool! (The first time he's called her by her real name.) Wake up! I love you!" Because it's too early in the episode for her character to die, Yool does indeed wake up again.

 

Back in the warm and dry shack, that crazy doctor tells them Yool is showing signs of improvement. (There's nowhere to go but up after you've been turned into a popsicle.)

 

Meanwhile those two conscript laborers who escaped last episode are going to try and get into Chunghae village. Earlier, Eun Chun and Cheong Ok had also tried to get in but were rebuffed by the suspicious villagers. It's Gil Bok and his ever-helpful gossip who fills in the black ninjas about all the wild rumors going around. Rumors like Prince Wang So is leading a rebellion.

 

Wang Shik Ryum is fanning those rumor flames. Using Shin Yool's stolen slave ledger, Shik Ryum informs some councilors about how Yool and So had been secretly buying slaves to turn into their own private army. In order to save the day, Shik Ryum announces he will lead his own private army into the city to face off with So. And while he's at it, Shik Ryum will then march on over to the palace and seize the throne for himself.

 

Alone, Wang So rides back into town. Eun Chun and the others fill him in on what's going down. So orders them to go get Gyu Dal and the others to convince the villagers that Yool is still alive. Wang So is off to the palace to meet with the king.

 

So tells his brother about Shik Ryum's plans for a coup. The king had no idea what his uncle was up to. To So's confusion the king won't act immediately and instead keeps asking for a moment alone. He's needing the moment to prepare himself for what he needs to do. The king calls his brother back in and announces he's abdicating the throne to So. Wang So keeps trying to refuse the crown but ultimately he has to take it because it's in the script.

 

Now that she's the queen-to-be, Yeo Won meets with the other (weaker) members of the Legion of Doom and offers forgiveness for their part in killing the old king as long as they abandon Wang Shik Ryum. Otherwise she'll have their entire families wiped out. What's it gonna be, fellas?

 

Day breaks and Wang Shik Ryum leads his army to the site of the village. Wang So stands with the villagers, who are armed with farm implements, as well as the black ninjas. Spawn of Satan wonders where the rest of the Legion of Doom is. Shik Ryum is still confident that once he wins here his evil minions will come flocking back.

 

Just as Poong orders his men to attack, So brandishes the golden sword of the king. He reminds the regular soldiers that they're supposed to be serving the people of Goryeo. We are all the same people. As a sign to the other side, Wang So and all of his makeshift army drop their weapons. That one soldier from last episode throws down his sword and refuses to kill his fellow citizen.

 

Shik Ryum won't give up. He orders the red ninjas to kill his rebellious soldiers. Wang So and his unarmed black ninjas come to their defense. (Cuz ninjas don't need no stinkin' swords to kick ass.) So orders Shik Ryum to surrender. The old man does and that's the end of that. Kinda disappointed here. Did the Show not have money for a good battle scene?

 

Wang So rides back to his woman and finally gets around to that wedding night five years in the making.

 

So asks Yool to come live at the palace with him but she would rather travel and conduct business.

 

Wang So and Yeo Won ascend to the throne. Time passes. So grows a beard. This is when we see the three kids from the first episode sneak into what we now know as the former Hall of Doom. The kids find the butterfly necklace and the yeti (Ji Mong) starts to tell them the long story about the cursed prince and princess.

 

The final shot shows a young Shin Yool and young Wang So meeting again. For those of you confused by the ending, just accept they're both dead and they're reuniting in the afterlife.

 

The End.

 

 

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 23

Here I am at the next to last episode and I keep getting kicked off the internet. Waah!

 

 

Poong's men are beating up a conscripted laborer. Wang So comes to the poor man's defense. Also in the crowd is Eun Chun who rushes over to deliver So's big ass halberd. Playtime is over, Poong. Wang So is ready take them all on but Eun Chan and the others beg So to escape and save them later. (Um, why did you give him his halberd, Eun Chun, if you didn't want him to fight?) Despite their chains, the laborers run to block Poong's soldiers as the prince and Eun Chun slip away. 

 

 

After the ruckus dies down, we get a scene where a conscript and a guard recognize each other as being from the same village. The guard isn't really evil, he's just working to feed the family. He slips his old compatriot a key to unlock the leg shackles and escape. 

 

Wang So quickly figures out what trouble Shik Ryum is planning to cause using the Chunghae village. (That's what I like about this show - everyone is pretty quick on the draw.) Meanwhile at the shack, Shin Yool isn't doing very well. The doctor hired to treat her warns a visiting Wang Uk to prepare for the worst. Baek Myo offers to go get Wang So but Shin Yool doesn't want him to see her like this. Besides, he's to think her really dead so he can go on and become king.

 

Back in town, Cheong Ok reports back to Princess Yeo Won. She relays So's orders to ready their own army for when Shik Ryum's army arrives. Yeo Won goes into action, even making peace with her rivals in order for them to band together against Shik Ryum. 

 

 

Over at Chunghae village the ex-slaves are in mourning for the supposedly dead Yool. Two of the villagers are actually in the employ of Shik Ryum's crony. They start wailing loudly about poor Yool and how she was cruelly cut down by an assassin. This gets the other villagers worked up and convinced they're going to be killed because they're from Balhae. That night a couple of red ninjas sneak into the village and kill an old woman. Her body is found the next day which only agitates the villagers even more. Rumors are rampant as the people suspect it is the king of Goryeo himself who has sent the assassins to wipe out the hated Balhae people. Talk escalates for the villagers to start arming themselves and fight back, which is just what Shik Ryum wants.

 

 

Wang So arrives at the Chunghae trading post and is disturbed to see a notice of mourning on the door. Inside, Team Yool are discussing whether to bring her back home or not when a despondent So bursts into the room. He demands to know what is going on and where is his Gaebong-ah. Staying true to her wishes, Kang Myung tells the prince Yool was killed. So grabs a sword and announces his intent to go kill Shik Ryum slowly and painfully. Team Yool throw themselves on him in order to restrain So. (Technically speaking this is the second time this episode people have had to hold So back.)

 

Wang So is allowed to mourn alone in Yool's bedroom. Ah, but that quick mind is at work again. If Yool was murdered in her bed, why is there no trace of blood? And where is Baek Myo? Something's going on here. He does some searching of her room and finds the other half of their butterfly necklace. So knows if Yool had been killed she would have been wearing this necklace at the time. If she were cremated as they claimed, the necklace would have burnt up in the flames. Therefore his Gaebong-ah must still be alive. Wang So tricks Gyu Dal into spilling the beans. Wang Uk breaks down and gives So directions to the shack.

 

 

Shik Ryum is out for his regular "I'm better than you" ride through the city when he's confronted by Wang So and the black ninjas. After delivering a death threat... they all just walk off. I guess/hope this is part of So's plans to make Shik Ryum nervous and play his hand too early.

 

Wang So sets off on his horse to Yool's shack. He'd better get there soon because that crazy doctor has the craziest idea of treating her. He wants to put Yool into an even colder body of water to cure the cold in her that she caught from being put into a cold body of water.

 

 

Hearing that her hyungnim has arrived, Yool tries to refuse him entrance into the shack. Wang So tells her not to worry about how ill she looks as she will always be the most beautiful woman in his eyes. Now open up the door so I can hold you in my arms and wipe away your tears. Who can resist that? Certainly not Yool.

 

 

Wang So is told about the crazy doctor's crazy cure. Rather than say, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!", Wang So offers to go into the icy waters with Shin Yool. Either they both come out alive or they both die but at least they'll be together. 

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 22

Poong and his men surround Wang So with their swords drawn. They've all conveniently forgotten So is a frickin' ninja. With his hair pin as his only weapon, So takes them all on and kicks their asses. Fighting his way outside, Wang So is able to retrieve his halberd. He's then joined by his black ninjas. Massive fighting ensues with Wang So slipping away.

 

We rewind a bit to see Se Won meeting with Yeo Won before he left to go kill his sister. Telling Yeo Won he has been and always will be her man, Se Won gives her the flying fish pendant off his sword as his final goodbye.

 

 

Masked Se Won enters Yool's bedroom where he's confronted by an armed Wang Uk. (To be honest Yool doesn't have much of a reaction to waking up and finding two men swordfighting in her bedroom.) The two men run outside to continue their fight. Se Won purposely lets down his guard so Uk can deliver a killing blow. Se Won pulls off his mask and Uk is shocked to see the assassin is his old friend. (Really? You really didn't know it was Se Won?) With his dying breath, Se Won begs Uk to never tell Yool the truth about her brother being a cold-blooded assassin.

 

Wang Uk returns to Chunghae to warn everyone that it was Wang Shik Ryum who had sent the assassin. While he didn't succeed this time, the old man will surely try again if he finds out Yool is still alive. Therefore Uk suggests they make it look like Yool was killed after all.

 

Uk breaks the news to his sister about Se Won's death. Yeo Won sees her lover's ghost and once again I'm surprised by Honey Lee's crying. The woman commits when it comes to having an emotional breakdown. That's how you do it, people.

 

 

Shik Ryum receives good news (Yool is dead) and bad news (Wang So is not dead). He keeps asking for Se Won and wonders why his favorite assassin hasn't returned to the Hall of Doom. Spawn of Satan and his men continue to search for So. They don't see him because he's disguised with Chang Gong's snazzy hat.

 

Still wondering if Yool is really dead, Shik Ryum sends his crony to Chunghae to verify her death. Yool has to literally play dead as the crony checks her for a pulse. The crony is convinced - for now.

 

Meanwhile at the palace, King Sane finds an old hidden message from his late father. The old king advises the current king to abdicate in favor of Wang So. Wang Uk comes to the palace to let the king know about the assassination attempt on Yool. With the bride-to-be supposedly dead, the royal wedding is officially called off. 

 

 

Cheong Ok, under her gisaeng guise, comes to visit her favorite customer. In truth it's so she can scope out Poong's palace for Wang So. Oh no, her cover has been blown! Spawn of Satan plans to use her to lay a trap for the prince but So already knows Cheong Ok has been taken prisoner and comes to rescue her.

 

Yool is tying up loose ends at Chunghae before she sneaks away. She tells her "family" that when Wang So returns to the city, they should continue with the subterfuge of her being dead. It's for his own good (in her mind) as Shik Ryum would only use her as a weapon against So if the truth was known.

 

Yool, back in her Gaebong disguise, and Baek Myo slip out of town to a shack in the countryside. There she is treated for her illness by doctors sent by Yeo Won.

 

Wang So (who is not disguised well at all) slips in with the other conscripted workers. He doesn't stay undercover for long when he sees another man being beaten by Poong's guards. Wang So comes to the man's defense and rallies the other laborers to the prince's side.

Shine Or Go Crazy Episode 21

Wang Uk asks Yeo Won to call on all her resources and see if a cure can be found for Shin Yool's lifelong ailment.

 

 

Now that both Uk and Yeo Won have betrayed him, Wang Shik Ryum decides to seize control for himself. Who needs a puppet king? First up, the evil old man implements his labor conscription of the common folk for the capital transfer. Wang So, as part of his sentence, is put under the control of Spawn of Satan. Poong makes the prince work as a sort of bounty hunter to bring in those men who attempt to avoid the draft.

 

Going against tradition, Wang Uk is planning to move in with his bride. He arrives at Chunghae with the promised ginseng the trading company so desperately needs. Yool seems to be getting weaker. She once again almost collapses. Uk is there to catch her in his arms. Yool does her 'Thanks, but please stop touching me' move. Uk notices they're being watched by Se Won, who is there under Shik Ryum's orders. The prince tells Yool's brother about her poor health.

 

Ji Mong advises Mommy that her clan, the Choongjoo, should now ally themselves with their mortal enemies, the equally powerful Hwang Joo clan. Yeo Won is all for this because she wants to make Wang So king so she can be queen.

 

Wang So is taking a lunch break when he sees Baek Myo walk past. Not long after he sees one of Shik Ryum's cronies following closely behind. So orders Eun Chan to keep an eye on them. Baek Myo is heading out to the Chunghae village where the former slaves all live. As she's gossiping with one of the woman, the crony overhears Yool referred to as a princess. Naturally the crony reports back to his boss.

 

Hearing this new information, Wang Shik Ryum comes up with a plan. He will claim Yool has built the Chunghae village as an attempt to resurrect her nation of Balhae. All this could be considered treason against the Goryeo kingdom.

 

Yool continues to try and prepare everything and everyone for her inevitable death. Yang Gyu Dal doesn't seem to get it. He thinks she's just quitting the business because she's getting married. Wang Uk tells Yool he's looking into finding a cure for her. Yool replies, "Don't bother to save me."

 

Wang So, who knows about Yool's tragic past from Eun Chan, comes to Chunghae to see her. He's here to ask her about the ledger she's lost that kept the record for all the slaves she's bought and freed. He believes Shik Ryum's crony has it. (Crony has a name - Baek Sool - but it's too late in the game for me to refer to him by it.) Shin Yool does her best to act distant and cool towards So since they can no longer be together.

 

 

Spawn of Satan goes to the pleasure house where our Cheong Ok woos him into spilling some of his secrets. Now Wang So knows the Legion of Doom are planning something for Chunghae village.

 

 

Uk has Se Won come over for some tea with Yool. She doesn't recognize the bodyguard as the man who tried to kill her a couple of episodes back. Uk doesn't come right out and say, "This is your brother," but he does get Se Won to talk about his mother. (Yool was just a baby being thrown in the icy river so she has no memories of their mom.) It's a rather touching scene but no one ever tells Yool the truth about who Se Won really is.

 

Wang So, under the pretense he doesn't want to be in town during Yool and Uk's wedding, asks to be transferred to Seokyung. He really wants to go there to scope out Shik Ryum's army. Shik Ryum allows the transfer with the understanding Poong will get rid of the prince once they're away from witnesses.

 

Shik Ryum orders Se Won to kill Yool tomorrow night or else things won't go well for Se Won's love, Yeo Won.

 

Spawn of Satan leads his men and conscripts to Seokyung. That night as the guards are all sleeping, Poong's men attack Wang So in the barracks.

 

Back home, a masked Se Won sneaks into Yool's bedroom. Just as he's about to strike his sleeping sister, Uk once again comes to her rescue.