At the end of the last episode, Prince Heung Seon was about to (willingly) drink poison because the king had ordered it. So what if the king ordered it based upon false information, that apparently doesn't mean anything. Okay, now I'm all for loyalty and patriotism and all that, really I am. I may blog about all things Korean, but I am a true American patriot through and through. I wave my red, white and blue, pledge allegiance and sing about rockets' red glare with all my heart. Patriot blood runs deep through these veins. I had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War for goodness' sake. But even I have to say that this is going a bit too far. If the leader of my country ordered me to die by poisoning, I doubt I'd follow that order, especially if it was based on false accusations. But, hey, who am I to judge? To each their own I guess. So, Prince Heung Seon is going to drink the poison when an angry mob suddenly appears. Ah, saved by that proverbial bell! Ignore those pitchforks and farm tools being wielded as weapons - Heung Seon is saved! Jin, who, if you remember, has been in a room crying because he was unable to save his buddy, is told the happy news - a riot has started! Oh glory be! The farmers have risen up in revolt. Thank goodness Jin once again had paid attention in history class because he is able to tell us what is going on. Revolution! It's true, it's in the history books. That village that they're in - Jinju - was where a peasant uprising had begun. Well, talk about timing. And speaking of coincidences, guess who else is in Jinju besides the rest of our do-gooder cast? Why ol' Kyung Tak of course. When Daddy got mad and fired him, he sent him off to the countryside to, where else, but Jinju. Convenient, isn't it? He is put in charge of the punitive forces there and ordered to stop the insurgents.
Meanwhile, back at the Jinju ranch, Heung Seon is mad. At who? Mad at the people for beating up the guy that was sent to poison him. "He's just doing his job" (to come and kill me for no reason).
The bowl of poison is kicked over by one of the angry farmers, but not to worry, Heung Seon will eventually ask for more once things calm down a bit. But then word will come that he has been pardoned. Talk about your glutton for punishment. At least he shows some human emotion and not some wacky sense of national pride gone amuck when the official reprieve comes in and is relieved.
Meanwhile, back at the Jinju ranch, Heung Seon is mad. At who? Mad at the people for beating up the guy that was sent to poison him. "He's just doing his job" (to come and kill me for no reason).
The bowl of poison is kicked over by one of the angry farmers, but not to worry, Heung Seon will eventually ask for more once things calm down a bit. But then word will come that he has been pardoned. Talk about your glutton for punishment. At least he shows some human emotion and not some wacky sense of national pride gone amuck when the official reprieve comes in and is relieved.
Young Rae also happens to be in town, apparently seeking out her brother who has supposedly run away to a temple to study. While she and her maid are walking, they encounter a nasty piece of work that actually makes PigDog McNasty look just a little less nasty. He's the local magistrate and is caught by the women trying to rape a young girl in the name of "interrogation". In an act of pure evil creepiness, he kills the young lady and then sets his sights on Young Rae. Not to worry though for Dr Jin and his band of brothers shows up and saves the day. Again. No really. The man has impeccable timing. And some amazing "Young Rae in distress" radar.
After the hubbub cools a bit, the group separates. Young Rae continues on her journey to see her brother, unwillingly accompanied by Dr Jin. There's some sort of talk between the two (frankly I zoned out because I'm really truly not rooting for this couple and so the "love story" is totally lost on me).
The magistrate from earlier then stumbles on to the scene, bleeding from a sword wound to his gut. Jin rushes him inside and starts to get him ready for surgery. When he turns to ask his trusty assistant for assistance, she's not there.
She refuses to help save the man because of who he is and what she saw him do. She feels he is better off dead. This is medical ethics 101 - do you save an evil man from death, knowing that if he lives, many innocent people could die. Young Rae's argument is no, you let the dirty rotten poo face die, while Jin obviously argues the more modernly accepted notion that you do not differentiate - you save all who need saving. I have a family member who is currently in his residency and working at a regional hospital that is the only major trauma center for a very large area, meaning he gets to see a lot of action. During his recent trauma rotation, they had a hostage situation in the hospital. A guy came in and took some people hostage. The man ended up getting himself shot. My family member was on the team that was then called in to try to save the man, and try they did. They went to great lengths to save him. This is normal doctor stuff in other words. But obviously something that ethically can be a bit dividing. Anyway, long personal story aside, Jin and YR stand there arguing over whether or not this bad dude should be saved as the bad dude is bleeding out all over the place. It would have been awesome if the bad dude had called out something like, "Hello! Dying over here!". But he didn't. *frowny pouty face* YR leaves and Jin gets to work. Now, it's not all happy happy for the guy. Sure, he's getting a life saving operation, but he's doing it without anesthesia. One kind of gets the feeling that Jin doesn't feel so bad about this. He's required by his doctor's oath/ethics to save him, but not to make it pleasant. As he is working, the angry mob shows up looking for the magistrate. They're out for blood and are looking to finish the job they started. Young Rae, apparently swayed by Jin's argument, then comes to the rescue and guards the door as Jin finishes sewing the man up. Once he's done, the doors open and the people rush in to grab the official.
Only, it's not only the magistrate that is taken by the mob. Yup. Jin and Young Rae are also grabbed because they were helping the bad dude. I love this shot of Young Rae. "Here we go again" is written all over her face.
Of course it's Young Hwi. He's leading the revolution. And here we thought he had run away from home to study peacefully at his uncle's temple. Silly us, how could we fall for that tricky trickster's tricks? There's a long conversation between him and Jin and Young Rae, who are both trying to convince him to leave and go home. He obviously refuses. We also get a flashback that shows YH being chased by Kyung Tak and KT letting him get away.
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| Superfluous shots? Maybe. Pure eye candy though. Enjoy all the eye candy. It's my gift to you. |
And then yet another flashback, back to the conversation with Choon Hong about messing with history/the future. See, Jin remembers this revolt a little differently. There wasn't a large battle as is currently building. Why? Because it was orginally an unorganized angry mob of farmers. They attacked and then things fizzled out. Now Young Hwi, who if you remember, would have died early on if not for Jin, is leading a massive military-style charge. He has a "what on earth have I done" moment.
Young Hwi bids farewell to his sister. You get the idea that this is his final farewell, especially after Jin's "oh what have I done" moment. Then the battle commences. Kyung Tak leads the charge on the castle being defended by the common folk.
They're kind of evenly matched at first, until that pesky artillery is called in. Why didn't KT start with the big guns? Why waste time and men on rocks and arrows and ladders? Hmm. Maybe because the scene would have been shortened considerably, for when the guns come out, the battle is very quickly lost by the mostly unarmed peasants. And then, as I'm sure we all predicted, we get the one-on-one battle between the two best frenemies.
Kyung Tak finally has Young Hwi in a vulnerable position and is ready to go for the kill. He reminds his former friend of his promise that the next time the two met, YH would die by KT's sword, two which YH replies, "if it's your sword, I'll accept it with good feelings."
Aw! Such a Hallmark moment. But when it comes down to it, KT can't do it, he can't kill his friend.
But guess who can? The magistrate who has escaped his bounds, picked up KT's gun and fires, killing Young Hwi.
Everyone is sad.
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| A bit blurry, but poignant moment where KT is splattered with the blood of his best friend. |
The magistrate is dead (KT got him).
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| That's KT killing the icky magistrate |
Young Rae is next seen unconcious in a bed, being nursed by Jin. KT comes in, dismisses Jin a little roughly (methinks there's still some jealousies there), and begins to care for YR himself.
As he cools her fevered brow with a cold cloth, he flashes back to a happier time. He and YH and YR are in the marketplace. He's picking up trinkets for his crush and she is shyly refusing them. KT reaches over tentatively and grabs what he thinks is YR's hand, but it turns out to be YH's instead. They laugh and tease together.
Once the flashback is over, we see KT grasp YR's hand for real. I have to give props to Park Min Young here. I don't know how she stayed so calm and still while JaeJoong was holding her hand in this scene. That's one incredible actress right there I must say.
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| Seriously, how does one hold so incredibly still when JaeJoong is holding your hand? Best Actress Award here she comes! For this one scene alone. |
Through all of this, there is some political dealings going on. Long story short, Heung Seon has arranged, through various means, to have Jin become the sickly King's doctor. We end the episode with Jin going to meet the king.
And there we have it, end of episode 12. Did I cover all your favorite moments? Did I miss something? What was your take on this episode? I personally liked this one better than 11. If I had to make a confession, I'd admit that I wished that I was more emotionally involved with these characters. I honestly was fine when Young Hwi was killed. And I liked him. He was a fine character. His voice was yummy. I will miss that. He was pretty to look at. I just don't really care a whole hill of beans for any of the characters, with the exception of Kyung Tak, and no, not just because he's my favorite K-idol. I think KT's story is the saddest of all. It really stinks to be him. Everyone else, eh. I do wish I was more emotionally invested. Oh well. 12 episodes down, 8 to go. I do have enough unanswered questions to keep my interest slightly piqued. This whole Choon Hong knowing Jin's true identity has me curious. I'd love to know more about that. Since I am falling asleep as I sit here, I will leave it at that for tonight. I hope that you have a marvelous weekend filled with delightful dramas. Don't forget about our giveaway contest going on now through Wednesday. It's your chance to try for a little gift card action to either iTunes or YesAsia. It's just our little way of saying thank you (and not at all about our desperate attempts for comments. No sir-ee! Just about a great big thank you to those that take the time to read what these two crazy ahjummas have to say about the world of K).
Take care! All the best to you and yours!
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