The King's Dream Episode 10

There's been some major drama behind this drama.

Bora comes to and urges her husband to leave her behind and save himself. Like Chunchu's gonna do that. He picks her up and carries her out of the burning building just before the roof collapses. As Chunchu and Yushin tend to Bora, they learn the important documents concerning the illegal salt trade have been stolen. Chunchu swears vengeance against those who endangered his wife and child just to cover their other crime.

Queen Seungman returns the documents to Yushin's grandfather. Chunchu is like a dog with a bone, however, and goes to confront the Prime Minister about his corruption. He offers the old man a way out if he'll just resign his post and return all his ill-gotten gains. The Prime Minister refuses. 

Chunchu hears that the Hwarang are giving out high interest loans. He takes his men to go and confront the warriors. The Hwarang won't let Chunchu's men in. The two camps get into a brawl. It takes Yushin to break them all up. He grants Chunchu access, vowing there is no corruption here and if there is, Yushin will take all the blame.

Yushin's sisters, Bohui and Munhui, are out shopping at the marketplace. Bohui wanders off to the side to look at some material and witnesses Bihyeong being attacked by market ninjas. Methinks Bohui's heart is all aflutter for Bihyeong. He wields his iron fan and flips and twirls all over the alley as he takes on this roaming band of ninjas. (Silla is absolutely infested with ninjas! They need to spray or something.) 

One ninja (who is entirely too fat to qualify for ninjahood) sees Bohui just standing there and he goes after her. Before his sword can connect with the damsel, Bihyeong eliminates the ninja and catches the falling girl before she hits the ground. Oh yeah, major heart fluttering going on here.

Bihyeong's sidekick, Nanseung of the Great Hair, busts open a giant crock pot to discover what they were looking for. And it is... uh, what? Something. With one last longing look back at Bohui (flutter flutter), Bihyeong orders his Gwimun away. So I guess this means it is up to Bohui to clean up the bodies he left behind. I mean, somebody's gotta do it.

That night Bihyeong meets with Chunchu. Apparently what Nanseung found in the crock were the documents of the illegal salt trade, as well as evidence of the Hwarang's high interest loans. Meanwhile, Seungman begins to suspect her maid, Sino, is a spy and is the one who told Bihyeong where to find the incriminating documents.

Chunchu formerly hands over his evidence to King Jinpyeong. When the king asks where the Hwarang got the money to give out as loans in the first place, Chunchu implicates the queen. Jinpyeong turns against Seungman and threatens to dethrone her.

Kim Yushin is brought in to testify before the king. While he admits the Hwarang were giving out loans, Yushin pleads that the money went to good causes like strengthening fortifications and training new soldiers to defend the kingdom. This convinces the king to sweep this little matter under the rug. Now, on to the salt sales.

In order to save the Prime Minister as well as the fate of the entire clan, Kim Yushin's father, Kim Seohyeon, confesses that he was the mastermind behind the salt scandal. Seohyeon is stripped of his titles, beaten, and exiled out of the city. 

Seungman fake-cries and guilt-trips the gullible old king into forgiving her. 

Fearing for their safety, King Jinpyeong banishes his concubine Boryang and their son Boro from the palace. Princess Deokman tries to come to their defense but for once the king will not be swayed. Deokman demands her father banish her from the palace as well. Surprisingly it is Queen Seungman who comes running to beg the king to forgive the princess. (Oh, Lee Young Ah, you just don't cry very well.)

The next day over tea, Seungman suggests to the Prime Minister to make one of his granddaughters become a royal concubine. Will it be Munhui who is crushing on the married Chunchu, or Bonhui who crushing on the outlaw Bihyeong?

In an effort to work things out between them, Princess Deokman hosts the K-League Classic between Chunchu's men (in blue) and the Hwarang (in red.) Things are going sportingly until Yushin's brother, Heumsun, performs unnecessary roughness against Chunchu. Suddenly a hockey game breaks out! What's so funny about peace love and understanding?

After getting a right royal dressing down from Princess Deokman, the men settle their differences the old fashioned way - with alcohol! 

Yushin takes a drunk Chunchu back to his house to sleep it off. This sets up the scenario of drunk Chunchu to do the deed with Munhui, thinking she was his wife Bora. In his defense, Munhui wasn't exactly trying to correct his mistaken assumption. 

Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek Episode 1

Starring Jin Goo, Park Ha Sun, Jo Hyun Jae and Han Chae Young.

As always happens on Kdrama Airlines, only the attractive people get to sit next to each other in first class. Ad man Eddie Kang (Or "Addie" as the subs have it over at Viki) can't have a moment's peace without a beautiful woman trying to hit on him. Such is the burden of handsome and successful men. The woman keeps addressing him as Mr. Eddie, which naturally makes me think of The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Anyone? Anyone get that? Anyone?

So the woman/actress keeps bothering Mr. Eddie which allows the audience to learn that he'll be working at Geumsan Advertising. Oh, his business card does say 'Addie Kang'. Well, too bad. I'm gonna call you Mr. Eddie.

Cut to Lee Tae Baek going through a group job interview. (Quick check. Nope, never saw anything Jin Goo's been in.) He's not doing very well since his academic background is quite spotty. Still, he tries to glide by with his slick tongue and flashy self promotion. Note: I'm already not liking the director here. When Tae Baek simply stands up, there's no reason I have to see it three times at three different angles. 

Feeling he successfully bamboozled the interviewers, Tae Baek is out enjoying his sweet motorcycle when he nearly runs over a hapless pedestrian. I'm going to assume this is Baek Ji Hoon. He manages to stop before hitting her but he does end up crushing a bottle of booze she was fetching for her demanding boss, Go Ah Ri.

Tae Baek returns to his day job to help out his hyungs in setting up a giant billboard advertising a car. The billboard is to be hung outside a building, directly across from Geumsan headquarters. But when Go Ah Ri looks out her office window, she's mortified to see the billboard is hanging vertically instead of horizontally. Ah Ri orders Ji Hoon to get this mess straightened out immediately or she's fired as well as those nincompoops.

Mr. Eddie is already arriving at work when he sees the vertical billboard. I think it works. It makes the car look like a rocket about to shoot up into space. But I don't work in advertising so my two cents aren't worth a plug nickel. Mr. Eddie gets a phone call from the Geumsan president/Mr. Eddie's father, chewing him out to hurry up and get to work.

This is only ten minutes in and I feel like I've been watching for ten hours.

Ji Hoon runs over to the building next door and warns Tae Baek that if they don't get the billboard put up vertically, they ain't gettin' paid. The gang jumps into action and get the billboard corrected before the president of the car company arrives at Geumsan. Resting up on the roof, Tae Baek defends his reasoning for originally hanging the billboard the way he did. At least that would get people's attention. Now the billboard is just another boring ad. (I agree.) Just then Ji Hoon gets a call from Mr. Eddie ordering her to have the billboard put back the way it was.

This time Ji Hoon dons a hardhat and hooks herself up to the ropes, going over the side of the building with Tae Baek to help him with the gigantic billboard that we're supposed to believe only two people are needed to move it. Meanwhile over at Geumsan, Ah Ri is having difficulties holding the car president's attention. He's not impressed with their ad campaign. (Neither am I. Hey, old man. Let's you and me blow this joint and go get a beer.) 

Mr. Eddie respectfully asks the car president for two more weeks to deliver a new campaign that he would like. The car president gives him only thirty seconds. Go! Mr. Eddie pushes a button, activating the window blinds, to grandly reveal the now vertical billboard of the car. Thrilling music is played. Won over, the grumpy old man deems to give Mr. Eddie his two weeks. 

Mr. Eddie meets with his team of outrageously dressed advertisement people. He butts heads with Ah Ri constantly. In Kdramaland, that means love.

Tae Baek has a simple dinner with his poor grandmother and sister. We see he has some pictures of him with Ah Ri back when she was a nerd but still didn't look like Han Chae Young. 

Tae Baek learns that Geumsan hasn't paid the billboard company, therefore he and his buds can't get paid. He decides to go over to Geumsan and rattle some cages. This is when he discovers his long lost Ah Ri is the person in charge of him not getting paid. (He calls her by a different name, though.) Ah Ri is not pleased to see him after all this time. She coldly explains to him that when she changed her name, she changed her entire world. There's no room for Tae Baek in Ah Ri's new, successful life.

Tae Baek ends up heart broken by Ah Ri and Ji Hoon ends up slapped by Ah Ri.

Music video interlude.

That evening Ji Hoon drops by a sporting goods store to talk with her ahjumma. Sitting out in his car, an old man watches Ji Hoon through the window.

Someone smears vaseline on the camera so Tae Baek can have a flashback of happier times with Ah Ri back when she went by her original name.

Yet another music video interlude! How many are they going to have in one episode?

Tae Baek gets inspired by a little kid who can't act. He's working on his own ad campaign for the car. He corrals Ji Hoon into helping him bring his idea to fruition. He then... turns it all over to Ah Ri so she can turn it in as her own work (which she does.) She calls Tae Baek to break the news to him that the idea was turned down. Yet later Mr. Eddie is looking at the proposal and suddenly changes his mind. So in a sense Ah Ri didn't steal Tae Baek's work as he gave her permission to use it as her own, and she didn't technically lie to him as at the time she called Tae Baek to tell him the bad news Mr. Eddie hadn't taken a good look at Ah Ri/Tae Baek's work. Still, you know this is supposed to create conflict.

A Hundred Year's Inheritance (Abridged) Episode 10

EMIL is getting her drink on when Chae Won suggests perhaps it is time for the old woman to go to the mental hospital this time. Chae Won (in my opinion) plays her hand too soon by revealing to EMIL of regaining her memory. EMIL doesn't seem all that concerned and admits to everything she's done. Chae Won again just cries and asks, "How could you do that to someone?" I'm rather disappointed right now. I was hoping Chae Won was going to get tough and smart and exact her revenge. Instead she's gone all wimpy and weepy.

But wait, perhaps there is yet hope! EMIL finally passes out at the table and Chae Won reveals she's been recording their conversation on her phone. 

Meanwhile Se Yoon is trying to kindly explain to Joo Ri that he's just not that into her. Joo Ri begs him that when he decides to finally leave his dead girlfriend behind and move on that she'll have the first shot at his affections. 

EMIL wakes up in her own bed (Chae Won helped her home) and goes to get something to drink. Chae Won is up and sweetly offers her a glass of water. EMIL becomes paranoid and accuses her daughter-in-law of trying to poison her. Chul Goo is witness to this and is surprised to learn his wife has regained her memory. Chul Goo drops to his knees and begs Chae Won's forgiveness. This is becoming a regular position for him. He should seriously consider investing in some knee pads. Chae Won agrees to give him and their marriage another chance. She then drops the hint that EMIL is acting very strange, believing someone's trying to poison her. Easily-led Chul Goo takes this to heart.

At the office, EMIL is still suffering from her hangover to end all hangovers. Chul Goo invites her out for a "date" to cheer her up. The date turns out to be a date with Chae Won's therapist. EMIL storms out of the room.

Back at home, EMIL flaunts the prenup she had bullied Chae Won into signing. Chae Won counters with the recording of drunk EMIL talking about how easy it was for her to railroad Chae Won into the mental hospital. She threatens to go public with the recording unless EMIL destroys the prenup. EMIL tears up the paper and Chae Won deletes the file.

Se Yoon is at a grocery store checking some displays out and is surprised to spy Chae Won and Chul Goo out shopping together. Mr. Let's Never Meet Again just can't help himself and strikes up a conversation with her. As usual with these two it is a stilted and awkward conversation. OTP my ass.

Now that she's got her memories back, Chul Goo thinks they should go celebrate with her family at the noodle house. To give him a little credit, Chul Goo does seem to be trying to be a better person. Dad isn't quite convinced, though, and pulls Chae Won aside to ask her why she decided to stay with her husband. She assures Dad she'll be alright. 

Se Yoon returns home and is surprised to find Joo Ri is there helping out with dinner. He is not pleased and basically tells her to get out. Not understanding the whole story, his mom sides with Joo Ri and fusses at him for being so rude.

EMIL discovers her son's plans to move to Portugal. And can you blame him? Check out my future home:

After her requisite hissy fit, EMIL gets down to business. She invites Chae Won to her office for a little chit chat. She offers Chae Won an obscene amount of money to not take her precious Chul Goo away. Chae Won refuses the money. She explains she has discovered the best way to get her revenge against EMIL is to steal Chul Goo away.

Remember when this show used to have good cliffhangers? Yeah, those were good times.

The Following Episode 1

This guy at work kept going on and on about how good this show is. Then again, this is the same guy who claimed Arrow was also a good show. Therefore I head into this with low expectations.

Night. Virginia. While Virginia claims to be for lovers, at this particular moment we're at a penitentiary. Pete the Guard is getting off his shift and collecting his things from his locker. Just as Pete is driving out of the gates of the prison, inside a gruesome discovery is made. Several prison guards have been slaughtered at their post. The lights blaze on and the sirens begin to wail, but "Pete" is well out of range.

Day. Brooklyn. A phone rings. Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) drags himself out of bed but ignores the ringing phone. He guzzles down water like there's no tomorrow. At least I hope that's water. Hardy flips on the TV and is stunned to hear the report about the five guards killed and the notorious serial killer Joe Carroll escaping. This time when the phone rings Hardy answers. Its the FBI. They want Hardy back. He's the one who caught Carroll the first time and he's the only one who can catch him again. (Which doesn't speak highly for the rest of the agents at the Bureau.)

Afternoon. Virginia. Dr. Sarah Fuller is taking out the garbage when suddenly the police arrive. They take their recycling seriously! Sarah is alarmed to hear of the escape of Joe Carroll. A former student of Carroll's, she had survived his attempt to kill her and had testified against him in court. The cops will be protecting her 24/7. Sarah's neighbor, Will, comes to check on her. I bet we need to keep an eye on Will.

Hardy arrives at the prison and is greeted by two other agents who like to walk and talk fast. Hardy makes it a point to inquire about Sarah. A little background here: Carroll, who was scheduled to be executed the next month, was a literary professor at Winslow University. In Carroll's jail cell, Hardy finds a copy of the book he wrote about the killer. Inside the book is a note to Hardy suggesting he write a sequel. 

Elsewhere in Virginia, Carroll's ex-wife, Claire Matthews, and their son are also under police protection as the vultures media start setting up camp outside her home.

Hardy and the two agents arrive at mobile command center (which appears to be inside an abandoned grocery store.) Hardy walks past, but doesn't notice, a woman who has come to speak to someone about Joe Carroll. She's shuffled aside to fill out paperwork. 

Hardy goes over the back story of failed novelist Joe Carroll who felt the need to cut out his victims' eyes. They keep throwing around the word "piquerist" which leads me to end up reading the nauseating tale of real life serial killer Albert Fish, but I digress...  Back to Hardy. We learn the reason he's no longer with the FBI is because he was seriously wounded by Carroll during his first capture and Hardy now has a pacemaker. 

Mystery Woman (one of many Carroll groupies who came to visit him in prison) receives a text message, a signal for go. She removes an ice pick from her purse (apparently the FBI doesn't bother to screen people who come into their mobile command centers) and starts taking off her clothes. Her body is covered in writing. Hardy attempts to calmly talk her out of whatever she's going to do. She says "Lord, help my poor soul" and then drives the pick into her eye. Ick.

Hardy takes a drink from his bottle of "water" as they read all the words on the dead woman's body. All Poe. Even her last spoken words were supposedly Poe's last words. Hardy receives a phone call from Sarah Fuller. Although she formerly refers to him as Mr. Hardy, you can tell there's something more between these two.

The FBI suspect one of the guards at the prison actually helped Carroll escape. The cops swarm the guard's house. The guard isn't home but he left behind evidence of the dogs he tortured and killed.

Sarah and her two gay neighbors are watching the news about the woman's death. Sarah decides to call it a night at the boys leave. She's getting undressed and stops to stare at the scars on her body. Flashback to 2003. She and another girl return to their empty sorority house (the rest are in Daytona) when Carroll attacks. It's Sorority House Massacre! 

Hardy goes to speak with Claire at her home, which leads to another flashback of when they first met and flirted like crazy. Back to the present, Claire shows him a letter she had received from her crazy husband. Hardy asks her not to show the letter to anyone else. During their conversation, Hardy gets the idea that Carroll will make his next move against Sarah Fuller as she's  unfinished business. 

Night. Sarah's house. Hardy and his team arrive. The other police detective believes Sarah is in bed asleep. Yet when Hardy rushes into her bedroom, she's not there. There is the corpse of the officer who is supposed to be guarding her, though. Hardy follows a blood trail to Sarah's closet and discovers the back of the wall is false. There's an opening that leads into the house next door of the gay neighbors. The blood trail leads to the garage where they find the dead body of a cop. Written on the wall in blood: "Nevermore."

Another flashback to 2003 as Hardy is on the campus of the university where Carroll taught. Turns out he was just outside of the sorority house just as Sarah and her doomed friend were arriving. He soon hears Sarah screaming and he breaks into the house. He finds Sarah on the floor, a knife sticking out of her abdomen. She has the strength to warn him Carroll is right behind him. This is the fight where Carroll stabbed Hardy in the chest. Thinking him dead, Carroll goes back to Sarah to slit her throat. Hardy shoots the professor twice.

Back to the present. While the rest of the team are examining the gay guys' house, Hardy silently figures out by himself where they (and hopefully a live Sarah) may be at. Interestingly, Hardy doesn't share this news with the crew but leaves them all behind. 

Still night. Still Virginia. Hardy arrives at a dilapidated bed and breakfast. He starts searching inside the cobwebbed interior. The sounds of Sarah's screams pierce the air. Hardy begins running towards them which causes his defective heart to act up.  

Suddenly Carroll whomps Hardy with a two by four. Hardy, gasping, asks where Sarah is. Carroll reveals her screams were a recording, then unties a rope which drops Sarah's body from the ceiling. Hardy launches himself at the killer, wrapping his hands around Carroll's throat. Carroll squeaks how he formally surrenders and wants to turn himself in. Right at that moment Hardy's team come rushing in and have to order him to release Carroll. 

Returned back to prison, Joe Carroll wants to have a talk with Hardy. As they're talking, we see the dog-torturing guard (wearing a police uniform) asking a young woman to allow him to check her doors and windows just in case. She allows him in. Back to the prison, Carroll wants to see his wife. Hardy replies she'll never agree to that but Carroll believes she'll change her mind this time.

Cut to Claire's house and she can't find her son, Joey. Her trusted babysitter has taken him and delivers the sleeping boy to the gay neighbors. They all ride off into the night.


In conclusion: do NOT read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Unless you're a piquerist in which case this book is right up your alley.

Incarnation of Money Episode 1

It's a Giant reunion with Park Sang Min and Hwang Jung Eum as well as the writer and director. Oh, there's also Kang Ji Hwan in this but looking over his credits shows me I've never watched any of his dramas. And what's with that haircut?!?

We open with a construction site and an excavator has just revealed some printed money and gold bars hidden in the dirt. Money is flying through the air. Understandably all the construction workers drop what they're doing and run around trying to catch it. They end up fighting each other over the horde and requiring medical attention. Remember, kids, the love of money is the root of all evil. 

A TV reporter on the scene estimates the haul was $10 million dollars. Hell ya I'd be fighting over that! Prosecutor Lee Cha Don and his weird haircut shows up at the site as well. The (strangely clean for being buried in the dirt) money is all piled up on a table. Another man speculates the money once belonged to Lee Kang Seok who went missing 15 years ago. 

Right in the middle of all this Cha Don receives a mysterious phone call from an unknown source. The man on the other end claims he knows Cha Don's real name. Mystery Man (who is sitting in a car at the construction site) arranges for a midnight meeting at a hotel. After he hangs up, Mystery Man says to himself that Cha Don is the missing Lee Kang Seok. 

Now its flashback time to 1997. Answer me! Oh, Cha Don is now played by Park Ji Bin (who also played the young Kang San of May Queen). Young Cha Don/Kang Seok is living the good life with a mansion and servants. He's planning to ride to the airport to pick up his father. It is Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary and Mom hears from the help that she might be getting a pearl necklace from her hubby. I suspect this will be important later on. 

Meanwhile, on the airplane, Fat Dad Lee Joong Man is squirting medicine up his nose for his sinuses. The camera makes sure we see this so again this must be important later on. He's reading a newspaper and is happy to see a story about his mistress, actress Eun Bi Ryung (played by Oh Yoon Ah). 

We now cut to her bedroom where she's snuggling up with Ji Se Kwang (Park Sang Min) who also works for Fat Dad. She thinks she's got another week with him before her sugar daddy arrives back in town. 

Kang Seok greets his dad at the airport. Fat Dad takes a bag (the pearl necklace) from the driver/family lawyer and tells him to take Kang Seok back home. Fat Dad can't wait for some hot messy love from his young sweet thang and goes directly to her house. Eww, and he's planning to stay there for a couple of days. 

Kang Seok, who knows exactly what his dirty old man is up to, returns home and makes up the excuse to his mother that Fat Dad had to go meet an investor from Hong Kong. Mom isn't fooled - she knows who Fat Dad has gone to see. She goes to choke down a handful of pills and flashes back to when Fat Dad threaten to kick her out if she interfered with Bi Ryung's acting career. (Frankly I think Mom should be grateful to Bi Ryung. The farther Fat Dad stayed away from me the better.)

Fat Dad quietly enters Bi Ryung's house and spies her and Se Kwang cavorting in the bath tub. He goes back out to his car and puts the necklace in the trunk while he takes a golf club out. Sadly we're not going to see anything good. Just as quickly he throws the golf club back in and instead calls Bi Ryung, talking like he's still in America and not outside in the drive way.

Night falls and some guy is outside in the bushes taking pictures of Bi Ryung as she does yoga. Oh, it's the reporter from the $10 million dollar first scene. Se Kwang catches the guy in the act. The reporter manages to run away but Se Kwang got his camera.

Fat Dad returns home and starts cleaning his hunting guns and asking all sorts of questions of the lawyer about beating murder raps. 

Se Kwang develops the pictures (remember, this is 1997. gotta do it the old fashioned way) and sees the evidence of him and Bi Ryung being more than just pals. He also sees one of the pictures shows Fat Dad outside of the house when he claimed to be outside of the country. At that moment Se Kwang gets a phone call from his boss. Fat Dad (still saying he's in the U.S.) invites Se Kwang to a party next week. After that phone call, Se Kwang gets another one, this time from the lawyer who is warning Se Kwang that the boss is after his balls. 

It's the day of the big party. Fat Dad is loading his shotgun and planning to wait for the fireworks to cover the sound of shooting. Mom comes in to give Fat Dad his herbal tonic. The lawyer watches intently as Fat Dad drinks the tonic down. Hmmm.

Young Kang Seok pals around with Se Kwang. Fat Dad comes out to greet Se Kwang and the arriving Bi Ryung, introducing the two as if they don't know each other. Mom spots the pearl necklace around the young actress's throat. Bi Ryung is a total bitch to Mom. Mom slips off to swallow some more pills. (Is this bad camera work or is someone supposed to be watching Mom through a window?)

Fat Dad gives a speech to his guests. Hey, there's Grandpa Dae Pyung, also from May Queen! Kang Seok sees Bi Ryung trying to cop a feel of Se Kwang under the table. After the speech, Kang Seok goes up to the actress and asks for an autograph. She says the fountain pen isn't working. Kang Seok works with it a bit, causing the ink to spray all over her chest. As Kang Seok pretends to try and help clean the ink away, he purposely breaks the pearl necklace. As Bi Ryung crawls under a table to retrieve some pearls, Kang Seok joins her and warns the actress to cut ties with his dad or the boy will torture her even more. To prove his point, as Bi Ryung emerges from underneath, Kang Seok dumps the table's contents all over her.

Fat Dad is anxiously waiting for nine o'clock for when the fireworks start. He's in his private office with Bi Ryung (who has gotten a change of clothes) when they're joined by Se Kwang. Fat Dad grabs his hunting rifle and points it at the pair, demanding to know why they betrayed him after all he's done for both of them. Bi Ryung screams.

The fireworks explode! 

Fat Dad pulls the trigger but nothing happens. Aha, seems that Lawyer (need to learn his name) took out the shells and gave them to Se Kwang earlier. Fat Dad starts to use the rifle as a club when suddenly he keels over. As Fat Dad lies on the floor, Se Kwang tells a story. Long ago Fat Dad was involved in a drunk driving incident that killed a person. Instead of going to prison, Fat Dad arranged for someone else be blamed for the accident. That person, who died of a horrible disease while in prison, was Se Kwang's dad.  Oh, and now we learn that it was Se Kwang who has been spiking Fat Dad's tonic so long suffering Mom will be blamed for her husband's death. Se Kwang, don't you realize this makes you no better than Fat Dad, framing someone else for your own dirty deed?

Kang Seok is about to come into the room. Se Kwang abandons his girlfriend and dives out the nearest window. As the son comes into the room, Bi Ryung calls upon her acting skills to pretend Fat Dad just now collapsed for no reason. Se Kwang comes around the building and returns to the room as though he just got there. To the duplicitous duo's dismay, Fat Dad is still hanging on to his fat ghost and Kang Seok has him rushed to the hospital.

It is time for the obligatory K-drama riverside scene. Se Kwang, Bi Ryung, and Lawyer are all worried about the semi-comatose Fat Dad. What if he revives? What if he remembers? Also, that fake will they went to so much trouble to fabricate will now be useless if he lives. 

Mom is arrested and taken down to the police station where she gets into a slap fight with Bi Ryung. The prosecutor in charge of the case is Kwon Jae Kyu (played by another Giant alumni, Lee Ki Young.) He's planning to send Mom up the river for the maximum amount of time. 

Kang Seok beats up a kid at school for calling his Mom a murderer. Through a flashback we see another time when Kang Seok beat the ever living daylights out of another kid and Fat Dad praised him. The Father of the Year goes on to advise his son to not bother to study hard as that's for poor kids who are trying to get out of poverty. Since Kang Seok is already rich, he can just hire those poor kids to think for him.

Back to the (1997) present, Kang Seok returns to his father's hospital room to find Se Kwang and Lawyer. They tell him Fat Dad is now technically brain dead and the best thing to do for him is to turn the machines off and let him go. 

Lawyer meets with jailed Mom and tells her about Fat Man's new will which leaves everything to his mistress. Mom (being secretly recorded by Lawyer) tells him to fix the will so she gets everything. Then after she's found not guilty she'll have the life support on her husband shut off. I'm not really sure what Se Kwang is planning to do with the tape recording. 

At the trial, Se Kwang - acting as an assistant lawyer for Mom - argues that Fat Dad may have had a reaction to his sinus medication which caused his collapse. Se Kwang actually seems to be doing a good job of defending Mom. The judge is about to read off the findings of the court when....

The Credits suddenly burst onto the scene!

A Hundred Year's Inheritance (Abridged) Episode 9

Last time on The Adventures of Stupid Girl, Chae Won was once again locked in a room against her will. I sense a running theme here.

As Chae Won uselessly screams for help, her memories of Episodes 1 and 2 come rushing back to her. Upstairs in the warm house, Evil Mother-In-Law is looking through all the evidence Chae Won had gathered over time concerning the wrong-doings of her husband. Ironically it is Chul Goo who seems to be the only one in the house worried about where Chae Won is and is searching for her. 

Meanwhile, Se Yoon and his pirate figurines just have a sneaking suspicion that Chae Won is yet again in some kind of trouble. At that moment he receives a phone call from Chul Goo asking if his wife happens to be with the other fellow. Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in. Then they fuss at you for getting involved in their marital problems even though it was Chul Goo who called you first. Go figure.

Finally the house keeper (who really needs a name if she's going to be this important to the plot) tells Chul Goo about EMIL being down in the basement earlier. Perhaps the young miss followed? This time it is Chul Goo who comes racing to his wife's rescue. After putting Chae Won to bed, Chul Goo goes to yell at his mother. EMIL has no idea what he's going on about as for once she's kind of innocent of what he's accusing her of. Chae Won hints at getting her memories back but doesn't come right out and say it. She'd rather let EMIL stew for awhile.

Chae Won continues to hide the fact she's gotten her memory back. It's EMIL's birthday and Chae Won lets on like she wants to throw a big birthday party for the witch. EMIL urges her daughter, Joo Ri, to bring her special someone to the party, not realizing it is Se Yoon. EMIL calls the family lawyer to check on the status of the kids' divorce. She mentions how a "contract" (pre-nup) is safe in her safe. Chae Won overhears this conversation and later on tries to break into the safe with no success. 

Chae Won invites Se Yoon out for coffee in order to return his shoes to him. Se Yoon wants to have a lawyer friend of his help her out but Chae Won insists she'll take care of her own problems. Yeah, you've been doing such a wonderful job of it so far. She confides in Se Yoon that she's gotten her memory back. This scene is supposed to convince the viewers of the budding attraction between the two, but I'm still not feeling it. There's simply no chemistry at all. Here, this is how I feel about these two:

At work, Joo Ri is carrying a big box of the company's latest noodle product. She sees Se Yoon's mother going into the ladies room. Seeing an opportunity to score points, Joo Ri also goes into the bathroom. Two cleaning ladies are in there and Joo Ri loudly offers them some of the noodles since they work so hard. Mom comes out of a stall and the cleaning ladies praise Joo Ri for being so nice to them. Mom is easily moved.

EMIL arrives at the restaurant for her birthday dinner. She's early and awaits everyone else to arrive. Chul Goo is driving Chae Won there when his wife fakes a headache. They turn around and go back home. Joo Ri fails in her attempt to ask Se Yoon to the birthday dinner so she runs off crying. He runs after her to comfort Joo Ri, which was her plan all along. They're not going to the birthday party either. EMIL sits alone at the table, forsaken by her family. 

Joo Ri finally confesses her feelings to Se Yoon.

Chul Goo is nursing his wife when he gets a phone call from his realtor. (He's wanting to move out with Chae Won, perhaps to Portugal.) With her permission, Chul Goo goes to meet with the fellow. Now that she's alone its time for Chae Won to implement her plans.

A slightly tipsy EMIL is eating her birthday cake with her fingers when Chae Won shows up. EMIL complains about how the last three years she's been living on various pills (blood pressure, sleeping, etc.) because of her daughter-in-law. Chae Won smoothly leans in and whispers perhaps it is EMIL's turn to be put in a mental hospital, hinting again that she's gotten her memory back.

A Hundred Year's Inheritance (Abridged) Episode 8

Stupid Girl/Stupid Girl

Not much rhymes with Stupid Girl

Is she dumb? Listen, bud!

She's got noodles in her blood

Aigoo!

Here comes the Stupid Girl

Okay, where were we? I was outta the room. Oh yeah, Chae Won is down on the floor asking if her crazy in-laws are going to put her in the nuthouse again. But then she starts screaming like a crazy person, so maybe she should go to the nuthouse. EMIL admits Chae Won was in the mental hospital but only because EMIL was worried about her being so depressed and all. It was to help her! Stupid Girl reveals everything Se Yoon revealed, about him being out of the country and all. Really, she should have kept her mouth shut and made them wonder. Chul Goo is like, "Wait, so you weren't having an affair?" EMIL is like, "I'm going back to bed." 

Chae Won and her useless husband go back to their bedroom. She pulls out those photos she loves to carry around and explains how Se Yoon was just helping her out of the mental hospital and such. As for the one picture that looks like she's about to kiss Se Yoon, Chae Won tells her husband it's been photoshopped and if he doesn't believe her then get a professional to look at it. 

Chul Goo goes to confront his mother in her tacky, tacky bed. She complains she paid a lot of money for that picture to be doctored, it shouldn't have come out so bad. Now Chul Goo is back to "I love Chae Won so much I'll never divorce her!" Yeah, you love her so much you threw a glass at her. He goes running to his wife and begs her forgiveness. She asks him if he knew about her being put in the mental hospital. Chul Goo claims he's totally innocent about that.

Chae Won calls her dad but he's not much help. He tells her to be good to her (useless) husband when she gets her memory back. Dad thinks he hears his princess crying but Chae Won denies it. Instead she thinks to herself how she's never going to cry again. As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again!

The next morning Chul Goo calls Se Yoon. He wants to apologize in person. I bet Se Yoon is wondering to himself, "Why the hell did I get involved with this crazy-assed family?!?" Anyway, the two meet for coffee and Se Yoon forgives him, although Chul Goo won't shake his hand. 

Chae Won is seeing EMIL off to work. EMIL wonders why, now that she knows everything, Chae Won is still hanging around. Chae Won simply wishes EMIL to have a good day at work. As soon as the old bat is gone, Chae Won starts searching EMIL's bedroom for the key to the basement. 

EMIL arranges to have a meeting with Chae Won's dad. She wants him to urge Chae Won to get a divorce. EMIL goes on to lie about Chae Won being rude to her elders and arguing constantly with her husband. Dad is shocked there was any trouble in the marriage. It's all news to him. He goes to Chae Won's home and begs her to just leave with him with only the clothes on her back. Dad is about ready to have another crying fit over not knowing his little princess was so unhappy. With tears in her eyes, Chae Won again refuses to leave with Dad. (She has a mission, after all.) Chul Goo suddenly arrives and begs for forgiveness from Dad. Dad just goes "Aigoo!" over and over.

Se Yoon has to go pick up Joo Ri, who is passed out at a bar. He must be exhausted from saving all these damsels in distress. As he's helping her out of the bar, she gives a conspiratorial wink to the bartender who had called Se Yoon. In his car, Joo Ri gives him a fake/drunk kiss. It doesn't work. Her next move is to beg him to stop as she thinks she's about to throw up. Se Yoon pulls the car over to let her out. He asks her why she was drinking so much. Joo Ri is about to confess her feelings when the house keeper, coming back from the market, interrupts them. Se Yoon gladly hands over the (fake) drunk Joo Ri to the house keeper's keeping. I know someone who isn't going to be getting a Christmas bonus this year!

Chul Goo is back to moving himself and Chae Won out of the house. This time he's even threatening to move out of the country. EMIL has another hissy fit and tries to strangle herself. Chul Goo just gets up and leaves. The hissy fit immediately stops. EMIL then physically boots Chae Won out of the house and orders her to never come back.

Chae Won is stumbling down the sidewalk, freezing in the Korean winter air, when Se Yoon sees her as he drives by. Yet another damsel in distress to save.  He man-handles her into his car where she falls asleep.

Music video interlude.

After buying her dinner, putting his shoes on her feet, and lending her bus fare, Se Yoon (again) hopes they never meet again. Dude, this is a 50 episode show. Stop saying how you hope you never meet her again.

On the bus, Chae Won flashes back to what Se Yoon said five seconds ago. Does the Show think the Audience has that short of an attention span? Chae Won returns to the house and huddles outside in the cold until the house keeper finally lets her back in.

EMIL learns from the big mouth housekeeper of how Chae Won has been wanting to find the keys to the basement so she can access her luggage. EMIL wonders what is so important in her DIL's bags. But wait, perhaps this was all part of Chae Won's plans! Curious now, EMIL gets the key out of her purse and goes to check the basement. Chae Won is right behind her. Okay, I forgive you now, big mouth housekeeper. 

As EMIL is searching the dark store room, Chae Won sneaks in behind her. EMIL finds the luggage and takes it, and the key, with her. As Chae Won is huddled behind some furniture, EMIL ends up locking Chae Won in the basement! 

Stupid Girl/Stupid Girl

Locked in a basement, Stupid Girl
Can she escape? 'Course she will
She's got 42 episodes still
Oy vey!
Here comes the Stupid Girl

As Chae Won bangs on the door and cries for help, this causes other flashbacks of memories from when she was locked up at the mental hospital. This allows the floodgates to open and other memories come rushing in. She may be locked in a basement but at least Chae Won now has her memory back. Now that you've got time to kill, plot your revenge!