Scandal: A Shocking and Wrongful Incident Episode 2

I have a weakness. That weakness is crazy ass villains. And you, Mr. Jang Tae Ha, are meeting my exacting requirements in crazy assness. Is that a word? No, but it's my blog and there's nothing you can do about it.

More shots of CGI rubble falling in the Taeha Plaza. At least we learn that Ha Myeong Gun's wife is in the Great Beyond and didn't just skip out on them. Jang Tae Ha watches over the collapsing building from the safety of his own office. Geon Young cries for his father from his disintegrating classroom. 

Myeong Gun arrives just as the building collapses and the air if filled with concrete dust and debris. (Yes, I'm having 9-11 flashbacks.) Myeong Gun goes running into the cloud calling out his son's name.

Meanwhile at the hospital, reporter Kang Joo Pil (played by Choi Chul Ho) is interviewing the survivors. Supposedly everyone got out of the building alive because of a phone call earlier alerting the personnel to the bomb. Joo Pil's reporter instincts tell him there's more to this story than meets the eye. 

Tae Ha is filled in on how a father refuses to leave the site saying his son is still in there. Tae Ha orders his guy to tell Geon Young's teacher to say she got everyone out, then she should go for a long trip somewhere. 

The army has set up a cordon around the disaster site and are trying to drag a protesting Myeong Gun away when Tae Ha arrives and recognizes the officer. Knowing all eyes are on him, Tae Ha acts all empathetic and promises to do everything he can to find the boy if he really is in there. Myeong Gun goes dashing back into the ruins proving the army is absolutely useless when it comes to keeping people out.

Myeong Gun is able to locate where the pre-school room once was. He hears his son's voice coming from under a mountain of rubble. He starts to dig Geon Young out when a falling brick knocks Myeong Gun out. Oh dear, and now there's a fire. Someone finds Myeong Gun and he's taken to the hospital. 

Go Joo Ran and her daughter Joo Ha have moved in with Tae Ha since their apartment building was so dangerously close to the collapsed plaza. 

I have to include this:

Joo Ran to housekeeper: Ahjumma, what's the most expensive item here? 

Ahjumma (looking at Joo Ran): I'm not sure about the most expensive item but I know what's the cheapest item.

Tee hee. Add to this the fact that thick-headed Joo Ran doesn't get it at all.

Joo Ran wants to go into Tae Ha's bedroom but quick thinking Ahjumma already locked the door as it would be rude to go into the master's bedroom without the master being at home. You need a name, Ahjumma, because I already adore you! <3 <3 <3

Joo Ran slaps the housekeeper for her impertinence. (Slap her back, Ahjumma! Ah dang, she ain't going to. Maybe later.) 

Oh wait, here comes someone not afraid to slap Joo Ran. It's Yoon Hwa Young returning to her husband's house that used to be her family's house. Hwa Young is disgusted to see that cheap tramp in her home. But she's even more surprised when Joo Ran introduces her to nine year-old Joo Ha. Hwa Young didn't know about this kid. I'm not sure what to make of Joo Ha at this point. She might turn out to be an alright kid. Even now she's apologizing to Hwa Young for anything and everything her mother has ever done.

Driving home that night, Tae Ha talks with his minion, Kang Ho, about whether Geon Young is still alive or not. If the boy is alive, Tae Ha needs to make sure there are no surviving witnesses from inside the building.

Hwa Young had come to deliver the divorce papers to her husband. Joo Ran is over the moon at seeing the papers until she starts reading them and notices the mention of an unknown son, Eun Joong. Furious, Joo Ran tears up the divorce papers. I'm sure there are other copies. 

Myeong Gun awakens in the hospital. All he can think about is his son's cries for help. Despite his injuries, Myeong Gun pulls himself out of the bed and returns to the building site. Geon Young is still hanging on there, trapped under the pile of rubble with only candy to eat. He makes the promise not to die and leave his father and sister alone. 

I was mistaken: Tae Ha wasn't heading home. Instead he's kneeling on the ground outside of a house. He's begging for help. Inside an older man is practicing the art of calligraphy. The old man comes out long enough to pour a bucket of water over Tae Ha's head. Is this the Godfather? I believe it is.

The Godfather already knows the truth about the terrorist bomb story and congratulates Tae Ha for thinking on his feet. Tae Ha needs help blocking all the investigations and getting a permit to quickly demolish what's left of the plaza. In return he simply has to sell his soul to the Godfather. The old man tells Tae Ha to go home and thank Hwa Young for this because the only reason the Godfather is being so helpful is in memory of Hwa Young and her father, Yoon Cheon Ha.

Joo Pil decides to return to the building site to investigate some more for his story. 

Myeong Gun stumbles up to the site to discover they're already digging and pulling down what's left of the crime scene. Only now does Myeong Gun realize what a dastardly lying villain Tae Ha is. Myeong Gun tries to stop the demolition but unlike the army from earlier, these construction guys know how to toss a man out on his ass. And then almost run over him with a dump truck. 

As only can happen in a Kdrama, the dump truck just happens to drop out of its load one of Geon Young's tennis shoes. (It has his name written on it.) Clutching his son's shoe, Myeong Gun desperately runs after the truck, crying out for them to stop. Thank goodness Joo Pil is such a horrible driver as he almost has a head on collision with the truck. At least he stopped it. 

Myeong Gun climbs up into the dump truck and starts searching through the trash and debris. Sure enough, right there near the top (where anyone could have seen it if they'd bothered to look) is Geon Young's hand sticking out. 

Joo Ran is back to bugging Tae Ha into getting a divorce. Of course he's not going to now as he doesn't want to piss The Godfather off. Tae Ha is surprised by an early morning visit from Hwa Young in her business pantsuit. Only now is he hearing about the divorce papers she left the other day. A-ha, just as I thought, Hwa Young has another copy of the papers. 

Tae Ha is shocked to learn he's a father. Joo Ran attempts to accuse Hwa Young of lying about the boy's true paternity but Tae Ha knows Hwa Young isn't that kind of woman. Hwa Young does a 180 and now proclaims she doesn't want a divorce. She wants to reunite with Tae Ha for the benefit of Eun Joong. (Is that all there is to it? I hope there's more, like she's wanting to get hard evidence that Tae Ha is the one who sent her old man up the river.) Hwa Young also returns Tae Ha's sex video tape.

Myeong Gun holds a funeral for his son. Reporter Kang drops by and tells the grieving father that Geon Young's death wasn't an accident - it was murder. Eyewitnesses who evacuated the building told how it was shaking and falling apart before a bomb explosion. However, because Joo Pil works for some lowly gossip rag, no one will take him seriously. No one, that is, but Myeong Gun.

Tae Ha is in his office doing his "I'm So Fertile!" dance of victory. Out in the living room Joo Ran screams in frustration as one of Hwa Young's conditions for Tae Ha to meet his son is to kick his other family out of the house first. 

Tae Ha is arriving at work when Myeong Gun literally jumps on the car. Dad #1 does get in a couple of licks on Dad #2 before minion Kang Ho intervenes and knees Myeong Gun in the groin. Myeong Gun yells at Tae Ha the facts of the cover-up and that the bomb was a fake. Tae Ha dares him to find any evidence to back this crazy story up. 

Myeong Gun meets with Joo Pil again. The reporter plays a mini-tape recording of a worker at the building telling how he was ordered to patch and paint over the cracks and was paid $5000 not to say anything to anyone. Oh no, evil Kang Ho is nearby listening! 

Later at his office, Joo Pil has a visitor. It's Kang Ho inviting the reporter to meet with Tae Ha. Joo Pil stops over at the villain's house thinking he's about to get bribed. Instead he gets Tae Ha's sex tape (as well as a call from the Godfather) and a strong recommendation to change his next article to this scandalous scoop. Aw man, Tae Ha's throwing his slut under the bus. 

Myeong Gun is disgusted when the gossip rag is published and there's nothing about his story in it. That night he waits outside of Tae Ha's house, his police gun in his pocket. Already at the house awaiting Tae Ha's arrival is Hwa Young and Eun Joong. Eun Joong had never met or seen his father before and is anxiously waiting for Tae Ha to get there. He goes out to the front gate to peek out and sees Myeong Gun standing there. The boy mistakenly thinks this is Tae Ha and starts calling Myeong Gun "Daddy." 

Thinking about his own son now, Myeong Gun falls to the ground crying. Believing it was his fault, Eun Joong also starts to cry. He puts his arms around the man to comfort Myeong Gun. This is when Myeong Gun starts getting that crazy look in his eyes. Car lights appear as Tae Ha is about to arrive home. Myeong Gun quickly picks up Eun Joong and starts to carry him away.

 

 

Episode 3

Scandal: A Shocking And Wrongful Incident Episode 1

I am so not down with that title.

A long line of policemen (didn't see one police woman) are at the shooting range practicing their skills. Only one lone cop seems to be a fraidy cat and won't pull his trigger. In fact he looks like he's about to piss in his pants. This is our hero, Ha Eun Joong (played by Kim Jae Won.) Tears fall from his eyes as he hallucinates (at least I hope that's a hallucination) the image of a Lost Child poster. 

He can't take it anymore and Eun Joong runs from the shooting range. He also happens to take the loaded gun with him. Inside his car are more Lost Child posters of a young boy. The kid is identified as Jang Eun Joong, son of Chairman Jang Tae Ha (who will be played by Park Sang Min when he shows up.) 

Still crying, Eun Joong squeals his tires as he leaves the parking lot. He's followed by two other cop cars who really, really want their gun back. Whoops, I looked away. Apparently there was a car chase as the cops tried and failed to stop their wayward detective.

Eun Joong skids to a halt in front of the house of Ha Myeong Geun (played by Cho Jae Hyun). His voiceover tells us that he's the missing Jang Eun Joong. With gun in hand, Eun Joong heads inside to confront the man who kidnapped and raised him. Dad #1 (or would that be #2?) is watering the garden when Eun Joong pulls the gun on him. Seeing the pain in his not-son's eyes, Dad simply stands there, ready to take his punishment. 

Dangit, the scene fades to black just as we hear a gunshot.

We now timewarp back to 1988. Dad #1 is trying to comfort his crying son, Geon Young. There's another younger baby girl who sleeps through all this. Spoke too soon: now baby sister Soo Young is awake and crying. Dad, you've got your hands full. I envy you not. Ah, it seems the boy was crying because Mom is gone. (Not sure at this point if she's dead or just walked away.) 

In another scene we see the Eun Joong boy from the Lost posters performing a ceremonial bow to his grandfather's grave. His mother, Yoon Hwa Young (played by Shin Eun Gyung) makes it a point to drill into her son's head that he is the grandson of Yoon Cheon Ha. This name is repeated several times so it will probably be important later on in the drama. Another important fact is the kid is really into penguins.

Hwa Young's voiceover tells us she's hoping when Eun Joong grows up he will be able to take back the family company. In addition I get the impression she's none too happy with her husband, Jang Tae Ha. 

Finally this Tae Ha shows up. He's doing push ups against his desk while an engineer with extremely ugly glasses warns there are cracks in the Taeha Plaza which they built and it could collapse. Engineer Kim repeatedly warned that there would be problems with the building but he's preaching to deaf ears. Tae Ha simply orders the cracks to be covered up. 

Kim dares to stand up to his boss, bringing up how this was Yoon Cheon Ha's company that Tae Ha basically stole from him and is driving into the ground. An angry Tae Ha takes out a golf club and starts smashing the glass doors on a display case because.... because? When he grows tired, Tae Ha's right hand man Kang Ho offers to take over the important job of smashing this case with the club. 

What. The. Hell.

Back to Hwa Young who is an attorney opening up her own law firm with or without her husband's approval. She gives her partner her divorce papers and orders him to get her a huge settlement. Here's where we learn Tae Ha doesn't know he's the father of a five year-old boy. The partner warns Hwa Young that if that golf club swinging blue meanie learns about Eun Joong he may fight for custody. Hwa Young considers finding some other man to claim he's Eun Joong's father. 

(I have to laugh at the ignored secretary who is getting to hear all this juicy gossip between the lawyers. If Facebook had been invented back in the Eighties, he would have been posting all this by now.)

Tae Ha stops by to visit his aging mistress, an actress named Go Joo Ran (played by Kim Hye Ri.) They have a daughter together, Jang Joo Ha. 

A group of tenement dwellers have set up barricades and are protesting the planned demolition of their homes. The police are called in to defuse the situation. Tae Ha watches from the back of his car as Detective Ha Myeong Gun bumbles his way through the crisis. Tired of waiting, Tae Ha jumps into a nearby bucket loader and starts to demolish the slum himself. 

In the ensuing chaos, Tae Ha does damage to Myeong Gun's police car. This gives the detective the excuse to arrest Tae Ha.

Joo Ran is wanting to get Tae Ha divorced so he'll marry her so she stops by Hwa Young's law office to cause trouble. Cat fight! Joo Ran gives Hwa Young a sex tape of her and Tae Ha and encourages Hwa Young to use it as grounds for adultery. 

Down at the precinct Myeong Gun is ordered by his boss to release Tae Ha. 

At home, after putting Eun Joong to bed and lying about his father being away visiting America, Hwa Young can't resist and pops her husband's sex tape into the VCR. That ain't right, girl. That just ain't right. Hwa Young is just about to stop the tape (but not until the payload is delivered) when she hears Tae Ha talking to his mistress. He may just have been behind his father-in-law, Yoon Cheon Ha, being sent to prison. 

Gosh, Tae Ha: what won't you do? 

Myeong Gun drops off his son at pre-school - which just happens to be held inside the Taeha Plaza - which just happens to be erupting in CGI cracks all over the place. Kang Ho  alerts his boss to the fact the building may collapse in an hour and they need to evacuate everyone. Tae Ha doesn't want anyone to know his building is collapsing because of shoddy workmanship. Instead he comes up with the off-the-wall idea to purposely plant a bomb and blame it on terrorists because of the Olympics.

As people are running pell mell for the doors, stupid Geon Young thinks he'd better stay put in his classroom for when his father comes to pick him up. And here does come Myeong Gun just in time to watch the building collapse.

The Blade and the Petal Episode 4

As Chung sits in his jail cell and Moo Young stands in her palace, both think back to all the scenes from this drama where no one had any lines. (And that's quite a lot!) Moo Young wanders over to the prison - which seems to be oddly absent of any guards - to see him. Chung and Moo Young simply stare at each other for five minutes. If you were playing the drinking game you would be unconscious by now.

Behold, the princess finally speaks. She lays it down to Chung that she'll never forgive him and won't help him. He'll have his head cut off and he'll die. Gee, maybe it was better when you weren't saying anything, Moo Young. 

Effeminate Man and his gang are discussing the Chung situation. So Sa Bun suspects Yeon Gasosmun's camp will try something tomorrow at the public execution, so the Misfits will be keeping a watch from the secret passage to the palace. 

General On, the crony who caused the mess at the festival last episode, is on his knees trying to explain his actions and apologize for his failure. Gaesomun, a man of few to no words, at least moves (proving he's still alive) and pulls out his sword. A couple of other cronies beg for On's life. Gaesomun seems to cave easily and forgive On. Or perhaps the general is just too tired to lift his arm and kill the crony. 

Cousin Jang stops by to visit and Gaesomun sees him alone. They sit in chairs about twenty feet apart. I'm surprised they're not having to yell across the room to each other. Gaesomun plants the seed that Jang would make a perfect king of Goguryeo. 

Despite what she said at the prison, Moo Young goes about trying to convince her father to pardon Chung. The king decides the situation is too politically volatile to call off the execution. Moo Young returns to the prison so she and Chung can stare at each other for another five minutes.

Later, Moo Young remembers a conversation with her young brother where he told her about a secret passage in and out of the palace. A secret passage that everyone seems to know about.

Speaking of this well known secret passage, we see two men walking through  the tunnel and talking about fashion. One man bribes the other man, a palace guard. While the guard is busy counting his money, the other man secretly releases a butterfly. The camera follows the bouncy flight of the bug until it emerges up in the room where Effeminate Man and his gang were talking earlier in the show. 

The room is temporarily empty until the princess steps in. She spots the butterfly and so knows to start looking there for the secret entrance to the secret passage. The guy from earlier had been hired by Moo Young to go down there and release the butterfly. It all makes sense if you thi-- no it doesn't.

Later that night the princess goes into action mode as she enters the passage and heads for the prison. Because what palace doesn't want an unguarded tunnel that goes directly to where dangerous criminals are located? 

What incredible luck! The exit of the secret passage just happens to come out right beside Chung's cell. Oh, but the one lone prison guard has finally decided to show up for work. She must wait for the man to pass by before she can throw a small knife into Chung's cell. I thought the knife was for him to use to cut the ropes around him but... he just kind of sits there.

Moo Young risks running out to try and pick the lock on Chung's cell door. She's not doing a very good job of it and from the sound of it someone is coming this way. Chung just kind of sits there. With someone coming closer, Moo Young has no choice but to run back to her hiding place.

The someone coming is Cousin Jang. He gives the order for Chung to be moved to a different cell. As he's lead away, Chung keeps looking back. Hon, stop looking back. You'll give away where she's hiding! 

Moo Young returns to the palace to once again beg her father to spare Chung's life. (I think the king knew what his daughter was up to and he's the one who sent Jang to check on the prisoner.) The king still refuses to back down.

Gaesomun comes to the palace only to have Cousin Jang tell him the king doesn't want to see him. Ten minutes of silence. Gaesomun requests Chung's body be released to him for a proper funeral. Ten minutes of silence. Gaesomun wants to see his son. Ten minutes of silence. Jang takes the general to the prison. Without looking at him, Gaesomun simply instructs Chung to die with dignity and then he leaves. I sat through twenty minutes of awkward silence for that?

(Uhm Tae Woong has had it pretty easy this episode. All he's had to do is sit.)

Chung enjoys a last meal. The prince tries to read a book. Moo Young paces and frets. 

The prisoners sentenced to death are marched out. While Tae Woong's wig is still terrible, I have to say it's a great deal better than the wigs the other prisoners are wearing. The condemned men kneel and have pillow cases shoved over their heads. The executioner gets to do a little dance. 

Outside on the streets, Moo Young dangerously races her carriage to the killing field.

The pillow case is removed from Chung's head. Cousin Jang is there to announce the king has ordered for the prisoner to be hanged instead. Moo Young comes running in just as they're putting the noose around Chung's neck. Ooh, is this going to be like Sommersby? Now that was a good movie. A dejected Chung looks up to see his princess in the crowd. Their eyes lock. Maybe it is going to be like Sommersby! 

Gaesomun goes down to the basement to stare at a picture. Ah, it's an optical illusion. If you look at it from one angle it appears to be a picture of a nobleman. But at another angle you can see the image of Chung's mother. 

Now back to the Slowest Execution Ever. Jang finally gets things going and gives the signal to hoist Chung up in the air. 

The Blade and The Petal Episode 3

First: over at Dramabeans it looks like HeadsNo2 will be taking on the task of recapping this show in addition to Shark (which is finally getting really good.)

Second: I've had a really, really bad day at work so I'm going to see if I can come up with a Blade and the Petal Drinking Game. Remember kids, as I always say, don't drink and blog.

After the Great Pillow Fight, General Yeon Gaesonum is the only one left in the hall. His son, Yeon Chung stops by to... comfort him? Go "Neener neener"? Rest his feet for a bit? Who knows. They're just sitting there saying nothing to each other when Princess Moo Young comes in.

[Drink until somebody says something]

Eventually Chung explains (also known as lying) that he was just there to pay his respects since he's new to the place. Moo Young warns her bodyguard not to be hanging around such riffraff. 

The new Prime Minister (is that the new Prime Minister? I don't know, I wasn't paying attention.) announces to the court that there's an important festival coming up and on the last day of it there will be all sorts of great entertainers. (Because who wants to talk about running the country when the circus is coming to town!)

The king talks about installing the crown prince. Gaesomun's cronies bitch and complain about things. Gaesomun simply stares.

[Drink.]

Moo Young hears Chung is heading into town and she asks him to get her a book. He picks it up for her but as he's starting to walk away someone bumps into him. Three times at three different angles. Odd music starts to play.

[Drink.]

It's the kind of music you expect from a Western when they're about to have a shoot out in the dusty street, so

[Drink again.]

The two men swirl around to face each other. The new guy has an earring, really dark circles under his eyes, Elvis sideburns and a mohawk.

[Drink.]

I'm still expecting to see tumbleweeds blowing by. Anyway, Elvis-chan simply nods to Chung and keeps on walking. Chung looks kind of befuddled and for once I don't blame him. Just then his PR/manager/agent guy comes up to congratulate Chung on becoming a palace guard and insists on taking Chung out for a drink. 

Later that night Elvis-chan meets with one of Gaesoman's cronies to report that everything is ready. They've got something planned for the festival and it ain't a juggling act. Or maybe it is. Who knows. Chung just happens to overhear part of this conversation and sees the crony that Elvis-chan is talking to. What he doesn't hear is the part where the crony explains the tradition of the prince and princess dressing up as commoners to mingle amongst the unwashed masses. That's when Elvis-chan is ordered to eliminate them. 

The next day Moo Young nags her young brother (played by Lee Min Ho. No, not that Lee Min Ho, the other Lee Min Ho.) to sharpen up his martial arts skills. The prince is like, "I don't wanna!" Tired of all the whining, Yeon Chung threatens to burn all the prince's paintings unless the brat shows up for practice. 

The prince and the pauper bond over a book.

That evening Moo Young and the prince hit the crowded streets with their bodyguard. Chung once again spots Elvis-chan (who can kill innocent chickens with his deadly flute) and gets the willies. (Is that Park Joo Hyung playing Elvis-chan? I can't say for sure.) Elvis-chan goes to the upper floor of a building where he can get a better look at the prince and princess. 

Chung's party have stopped for a breather when suddenly a gisaeng dashes out to drag the prince inside. Moo Young just smiles, so glad her younger brother is about to get laid. 

Also in the crowd is one of Gaesomun's bodyguards. Gaesomun has sent him to personally deliver a letter to Chung. Also also in the crowd is Cousin Jang. He notices Gaesomun's man and so decides to follow.

The prince gets cold feet and ducks out on the gisaeng. His virginity is saved!

[Drink.]

As the prince is waving to his sister (who is all of ten feet away from him), upstairs Elvis-chan loads his flute with a deadly dart and starts to take aim. At that moment an extra wanders in and blocks the clear shot of the prince, so Elvis-chan turns his attention to Moo Young. (More and more I think that is Park Joo Hyung.) Elvis-chan takes a deep breath and... ah dangit, Chung steps in the way. See, this is why you shouldn't hesitate. He could have gotten a clean shot of her while she was doing her Miss America wave, but he just had to wait.

The prince, sensing his sister and Chung would like some alone time, makes his excuses to retire early. Elvis-chan takes another deep breath and blows only to be blocked once again this time by someone's box of goods. I'm quickly losing respect for you, Kenji.

Oh dear Lord, it's the horrible music from Episode 1.

[Drink and hit the mute button.]

Moo Young stops to hear a poetry slam. Whatever it takes to stop that music. A street kid steals Chung's sword. A more bearable love song plays as Chung and Moo Young chase the little scamp. Turns out the kid was hired by Gaesomun's man (or G-Man for short). G-Man returns the sword to Chung. Chung recognizes his father's man and is rattled.

Jang sees this exchange and turns his suspicions now on Chung. 

Thinking he's alone, Chung finds his father's letter hidden on the scabbard. Gaesomun warns his son not to be hanging around such riffraff. Jang watches from afar as Chung burns the letter. The fire goes out before the job is complete so Jang is able to retrieve a portion of the missive.

The next day the prince and Chung practice their sword fighting. Cousin Jang stops by to watch and there's something familiar about Chung's fighting style. It almost reminds him of that masked guy Jang fought with in Episode 1. 

A garage door opens to allow the king and his family to enter the grand hall for an evening's entertainment. Chung makes eyes at his father. Gaesomun just stares into the abyss.

[Drink.]

Elvis-chan is going to be one of the performers. He's got white makeup on but still has those gigantic dark circles under his eyes. Dude, what exactly is wrong with you? Do you have scurvy? You need to see a doctor right away.

The garage door opens again, this time for the prince and an extra to put on a display of what little sword fighting skills the prince has. 

Next up is kabuki theater. Oy! Chung is keeping his eye on his father's crony. The play has a message. It's about two wives who can't get along (the king and Gaesomun.) Their house (Goguryeo) is attacked by a robber (the Tang.) The wives must work together to oust the robber. Gaesomun and the king almost share a smile. 

Unable to hold it any longer, the crony steps forward to whisper in Gaesomun's ear about the plan he's set in motion without his boss's approval. Gaesomun stares.

[Drink.]

Elvis-chan fills his flute with a powdery substance. Dressed as a raven it's almost his cue to appear before the royal audience. 

Gaesomun looks to the king. Just when they were about to reach an accord of sorts. Will he do anything to stop Elvis-chan?

The ravens drop in from the ceiling ala Cirque du Soleil style. Ah, Elvis-chan eyes the soup bowls in front of the guests. Is he planning to blow his poison into their food? Whatever he is planning to do he's taking his own sweet time about it. Perhaps because it's taking an awful long time for Chung to realize the prince and princess are in danger.

Elvis-chan, still hanging from the ceiling, finally blows his flute towards the bowls. Chung leaps over everyone's heads, his sword deflecting the poison pellets. Chung grabs one of the ribbons so he and Elvis-chan can do their own sky dance. The king scolds Chung for interrupting the performance.

[Drink until somebody says something.]

Not wanting to rat his father out, Chung apologizes for being such a country bumpkin and not understanding the performance, thinking the prince and princess were in danger. Moo Young and her brother come to Chung's defense. The king is all set to forgive Chung when Jang makes his move.

Using his sword, Jang make a cut in Chung's sleeve, exposing the scar from the wound he got when they fought. Jang names Chung as the man who killed the lone witness to the attack on the prince and princess from Episode 1. Chung doesn't even try to defend himself on that count although he repeatedly denies being in the hire of Yeon Gaesomun. Gaesomun says nothing.

[Drink.]

Chung admits to being the son of Gaesomun but not working as a spy for the general. Chung is sentenced to be executed. The king asks the general what do you think of them apples? Gasomun finally speaks up asking where's the evidence Chung was ever a spy? Sad violin music plays as Gasomun gives with one hand (publicly claiming Chung is his son) and takes with the other (Chung is a bastard and not worth his time or attention.) The king still plans to have Chung executed for being a spy.

Say, whatever happened to Elvis-chan?

Heartless City Episode 12

Shi Hyun denies knowing Doctor's Son. Soo Min says that's too bad as she really wants to meet the guy and ask him something. He drives her back to Club Whorehouse. While they're still in the car Soo Min starts asking him why he left the money after they'd hooked up. Shi Hyun apologizes saying that's the only way he knows how to interact with women. (If you think about it, yes, all his life he's been surrounded by prostitutes so it kind of makes sense.) He tells her he's not going to see her again. Soo Min throws the money back in Shi Hyun's face.

Now that she's been asking questions about Doctor's Son, Shi Hyun decides to investigate Soo Min. 

Jin Sook yells at Min Hong Gi for not telling her Safari was an undercover cop.

Min pushes Shi Hyun to get even deeper into Pusan's organization.

Shi Hyun makes plans with Jin Sook and Hyun Soo. (Boy, yer blindin' me with that hot pink jacket.)

The next day the boys go to visit The Nerd. Hyun Soo will be in charge of the distribution of the drugs. Shi Hyun asks to be able to work under The Nerd. Nerd says, "We'll see." Scale has been freed from jail and is back in the fold. Ah, but a flashback tells us that Scale's son has been sent out of the country and Shi Hyun is the only one who knows where the kid is. Therefore Scale is still secretly in Doctor's Son's pocket.

Ji gives Soo Min another high tech spy gadget, this time a tube of lipstick that is actually a recording device. He wants her to place in somewhere in Jin Sook's office. (Hope this works better than the tube of lipstick he gave Gyung Mi.) 

Soo Min places (well, drops) the lipstick under the couch just as Jin Sook comes in. The girls are just starting to talk when that Nerd and his cronies barge in unannounced.  

Nerd wants Soo Min to sit on his lap. Ah, better have my Brain Bleach handy. Don't you do it, Soo Min! Jin Sook tells him she's off limits. Soo Min can feel the the tension in the air between the two so she introduces herself as Areum and volunteers to have a drink with Nerd. Oh no, now the Nerd is singing karaoke! While his cronies clap, Nerd keeps poking Jin Sook with the microphone trying to get her to sing. Once again Soo Min steps in to defuse the situation by singing herself. Okay, I'm gonna hit mute here for a sec. Unfortunately DramaFever doesn't give any subtitles to the song lyrics so I have no idea what she's saying. Soo Min has tears in her eyes so it must be a sad song. Or it's because Nerd up in her face rubbing his body against hers. 

Thank goodness Nerd decides he's too drunk to do anything tonight. But as he leaves he instructs Jin Sook to send "Areum" to his place tomorrow. Jin Sook makes a phone call which Ji overhears. He knows she's going to go meet with Safari and so Ji calls Soo Min to order her to follow Jin Sook. Jin Sook knows she's being followed and easily ditches her tail.

Jin Sook wants Safari to make Nerd disappear. I want Nerd to disappear as well so go, Safari, go! 

Suh Yoon Gyung - remember her? The one Ji shot in the leg? She gets a visit from Director Min. Her leg is almost healed and he wants her back on the special forces unit. Ji understandably doesn't want her back. 

Annoying Reporter Cha still hasn't recovered from her brush with death. Ji comes to give her some cold comfort in the form of Get Your Ass Outta Bed.

The place for the drug deal has been set. Hyun Soo is to go pay for the drugs. Shi Hyun advises him to keep it clean and straight. This is a simple exchange of goods. Just then Doctor's Son gets a call from Nerd ordering him to come to the mansion right now. This is to make sure there's no funny business during their business.

Jin Sook has no choice but to send Soo Min over to Nerd's place. She arrives just as Shi Hyun is getting there as well. He demands to know what she's doing here. Soo Min says it's none of his business and they should act like they don't know each other. She goes in first while Shi Hyun calls Jin Sook to ask why Soo Min is at Nerd's place.

Inside, Soo Min is mixing up drinks for her client when Nerd asks Scale where Doctor's Son is. Soo Min thinks at last she'll finally get to see the man she blames for Gyung Mi's death. Scale goes outside to warn Shi Hyun that Nerd has given the Kill 'Em All order. 

Shi Hyun calls Hyun Soo to warn him to get the hell out of there but it's too late as Nerd's men drive up. 

Before Soo Min left Club Whorehouse, Jin Sook gave her a little vial of drugs to mix into Nerd's drink so he would pass out. Hurry with that, Soo Min! Oh no, the drugs are taking too long and Nerd is unbuckling his belt. Thank God, she also brought a taser with her. That was a close one.

As per Jin Sook's instructions, Soo Min sneaks outside to unlock the gate. In walk Safari, Eun Soo (who's got some revenge of her own to get) and Meth Kim. Why Meth Kim? He's got an arm in a sling, he's useless. 

After Eun Soo stabs Nerd with her blurry knife, Safari leaves behind Gyung Mi's cell phone in order to make it look like Doctor's Son is the one who killed Jo. 

Yoon Gyung calls Ji to tell him about Gyung Mi's missing cellphone being turned back on. 

Shi Hyun bursts into Nerd's bedroom to see the bloody body on the bed. Scale is having a drink. This so wasn't part of Shi Hyun's plan. Scale warns him Ji is on his way so he'd better get out of here. 

Ji comes running into the mansion. Where did Nerd's guards go? No one is stopping the cop as he goes upstairs and finds a body. Scale is still there and, going by Shi Hyun's orders, tells Ji that the dead guy is Doctor's Son. 

Shi Hyun goes to yell at Jin Sook for starting this war with Pusan. As he's outside in his car nursing a headache he sees Soo Min get into her car and leave. Soo Min is going to meet with Ji out in the wide open where anyone can see them. And that's exactly what happens as Shi Hyun has followed her.

Heartless City Episode 11

I'm quite sad to hear DramaCrazy has decided to close down. I'm also quite sad to hear I'll be working overtime until further notice.

After a multitude of unnecessary flashbacks, Shi Hyun finally realizes he'd better get his skinny butt out of there while Ji Hyung Min can't seem him behind the bookcase. Ji later orders Fat Cop to verify Safari's story. Soo Min, dressed in a zoo staff uniform, slinks away. Annoying Reporter Cha is treated for shock.

Ji storms into Prosecutor Ahn's office and gives him The Finger about interfering in this operation and getting a cop killed. 

(I'm annoyed that Ji continues to wear a gun shoulder strap with no bullets in the little loops.)

Back at headquarters, a handcuffed Safari sits in the interrogation room. Ji sends Detective Kim in to question the suspect. All the while Safari is secretly picking the lock on his handcuffs. He annoys Kim to no end. Kim goes over to rough Safari up only to have Safari slap the handcuffs on him. Ji comes running into the room to save Kim.

In the end Ji has no legal cause to keep Safari. They have no proof there was a drug deal going down or that Safari was even a part of it. Prosecutor Ahn assumes Safari was Ji's insider. Ji keeps a straight face and lets Ahn continue thinking he's right.

Shi Hyun arranges a meeting with Director Min to demand the truth. Min admits Safari truly is an undercover cop who has since gone bad. Others have said it and now I'm going to say it: everyone in this show is going to turn out to be an undercover cop and there's actually no criminals anywhere in sight. This is pushing it, Show. I was enjoying you up until this moment.

Shi Hyun has a freak out because Min didn't tell him. Min explains that since Safari's been outed as a cop, the bigger fish of Pusan/Chairman Jo will make his move and that's when they'll get him.

The Nerd is on his way to clean up the mess and take care of Safari. 

Instead of going back to Club Whorehouse where Jin Sook is waiting for her, Soo Min goes to her old home. Ji tells her to go back to Jin Sook. Soo Min is to tell her the truth about the deal going sour. Now that there's a crack between the two criminal organizations, Ji is confident they can exploit it to their benefit. Ji gives Soo Min a run-down on who to look out for.

Min Hong Gi returns home from work to find Safari waiting for him. Safari whips out a gun and points it at Min's head. Min doesn't even blink and even dares Safari to shoot. Safari shoots, alright - shoots the floor. The two men part ways. Safari has a freak out in his car. Min has a freak out in his living room. Everyone's having a freak out in this episode!

Meth Kim and Eun Soo kneel before Zod The Nerd. They both appear to have been beaten up. The Nerd orders Meth Kim to go get Safari. After tasting her blood, The Nerd directs Eun Soo to be cleaned up and brought to his room. Ahhh, brain bleach, STAT! The Horror. The Horror.

Soo Min has returned to Jin Sook's headquarters. They're about to have a drink together when The Nerd's men start busting in. Jin Sook tells Soo Min to get away first. The older woman stands her ground against the thugs and she demands to speak with The Nerd. He wants her to hand over Doctor's Son. Jin Sook tries to work out a distribution deal without involving Shi Hyun.

Soo Min calls Ji to tell him Jin Sook is in trouble. Someone calls Doctor's Son to tell him Jin Sook is in trouble. My phone is ringing. Someone is probably calling to tell me Jin Sook is in trouble.

Soo Min returns to the room to find... Jin Sook isn't in any trouble at all. False alarm. Everybody back to their stations.

The next day Jin Sook nervously prepares for her meeting with The Nerd. When she gets into her car there's Doctor's Son already there. Shi Hyun asks her not to go; let him handle the deal. Oh, and did she know Safari was a cop? Judging from her reaction, no she didn't.

Doctor's Son allows Scale to have a brief reunion with his young son. It's touching in a way how Scale loves his little boy. But now for the big people to talk. Shi Hyun has Scale arrange a meeting with The Nerd so Doctor's Son can beg for forgiveness and ask to be an obedient dog again.

The Nerd doesn't think Doctor's Son is crazy enough to come into his lair. He's surprised when Shi Hyun does just that. The Nerd slaps him and orders Shi Hyun to kneel. They're about to execute him when Shi Hyun says he'll give The Nerd the distribution. The Nerd agrees to this although now the price of the goods will be doubled.

Soo Min sends word to Shi Hyun that she wants to meet him at the cafe. As usual with these Kdramas there aren't any other customers in the place. Against his better judgment Shi Hyun shows up. She thanks him for saving her the other day and asks if he's alright himself. Then Soo Min just blurts out, "Do you know Doctor's Son?" 

The Blade and the Petal Episode 2

You're probably wondering does the show get any better?

HELL NO THE SHOW DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER!

Without a moment's hesitation, Moo Young places the apple upon her head and she stands in front of a cross. Yeon Chung reties his blindfold and then takes aim. The crowd holds its breath in anticipation. Chung releases several arrows which thunk into the cross on either side of Moo Young's head. Either he's just warming up or he's a really bad shot. Alas, the poor apple is not spared and goes the way of all the other innocent fruit he's ruthlessly shot.

Moo Young is quite pleased she wasn't killed or horrible maimed. She asks Chung why he's wasting his talent on something so trivial as the performing arts when he could be leading the exciting life of a guard. 

That's enough dialogue for now. Let's enjoy the silence.

Chung decides to take Moo Young's advice and try out for the football team palace guard. Of course he'll have to go through endless training and testing under the tutelage of Cousin Jang. Part of the training is apparently a free-for-all brawl. Whoever is left standing is the winner.

Meanwhile the king is wanting to get rid of Yeon Gaesomun by sending the general way off to the border to build a wall. Gaesomun is like, "I don't think so. Excuse me now while I take a nap."

The survivors of the bar fight are now to commence an Iron Man triathlon with hiking, swimming and archery. Chung's arm wound from Episode 1 has begun to bleed again. And they're off! Moo Young just can't resist and comes out to view the competition. 

Chung starts off in the lead but his bleeding arm and mommy flashbacks cause him to fall behind. The contestants come to the next obstacle: they must jump across a deep canyon to (hopefully) grab a rope hanging on the other side. If you survive that then you go for a refreshing swim in the ocean.

(You know what would be good? If Chung's bleeding arm attracted a shark and he had to do battle with a great white. That'd be awesome. Of course it doesn't happen. C'mon, Show - you couldn't afford a CGI shark?)

Chung has to swim down to retrieve a flag to show he reached his goal. However his exhaustion finally catches up to him and he starts to black out. Suddenly Moo Young dives in and rescues him. Um, isn't that cheating? 

On the beach, a perfectly coiffed princess is joined by Effeminate Man. He wants to know who does her hair. Also he wants to know what Moo Young's deal is with the guy in the bad wig. 

Although he won the triathlon, Chung doesn't feel like he deserves it since Moo Young had to help him. He drops out of the competition and catches the next boat out of town. Moo Young jumps on a horse and rides along the shore giving our two protagonists plenty of time to just stare at each other.

Yeon Gaesomun is still taking his nap when two assassins jump through his paper doors. They're quickly sliced and diced by Gaesomun's bodyguard. At the same time the prime minister he's been wanting to get rid of is strangled. Gaesomun wakes up long enough to attend the prime minister's funeral. There's a strange interaction between Gaesomun and a female mourner I take to be the dead man's daughter. She first slaps him with a bouquet of flowers, then gives him some sort of eye signal. Not sure what that was all about.

The position of the prime minister must be filled quickly with an election. It all hangs on nobleman Yang Moon and which way he leans. Moo Young volunteers to meet secretly with Yang and feel him out. When she returns to the palace Moo Young discovers Chung changed his mind and came back to be her personal bodyguard. Right in front of Chung she talks about what a pain that Yeon Gaesomun is and how they need to rub him out.

There's a long drawn-out election scene. Creak... creak... creak... It's up to Yang Moon and his delegation to break the tie. The silence is deafening. You can cut the tension with a knife. Ah, who am I kidding - this scene is boring as all get out.

Yang throws his ballot in with the king's candidate. Yet as Gaesomun stares the hell out of the floor, the delegates that were supposed to follow Yang's lead instead throw their weight behind the opposition's candidate. The new prime minister, part of Yeon's clan, gets up to make his acceptance speech. But what's this? The PM orders Gaesomun to go build a wall at the border just as the king wanted. The court erupts into a pillow fight.