Dramatic Friday Review: Dr Jin ep 17

I'm going to level with you right from the beginning of this review/recap/whatever you want to call it.  I don't even know where to start with this episode.  There was so much back and forth and "hidden" scenes (you know, when you think you're seeing one thing, but it turns out there was a hidden scene you didn't know about until later on).  They used the hidden scenes a lot in this episode.  I wonder if there's an actual term for them.  They aren't flashbacks necessarily, because we're not re-seeing something we already saw.  They're things that happened before, but we're only just now seeing them and they are game changers.  So, I'm trying to devise the best way to talk about this episode without a whole lot of backtracking and "well, that's what we thought until we saw this scene"s.  I think I'm going to try to do this -- tell the story in clumps instead of chronologically.  We'll just jump in and see how it goes, shall we?

We begin with Dr Jin.  He's just found out he has a brain tumor, and not just any brain tumor.  It's a brain tumor that 1) is the reason he can travel between worlds 2) grows when he does or says something he shouldn't that alters or messes with the future and 3) will eventually kill him and he will cease to exist if it continues to grow any more.  Oh, and 4) looks like a fetus.  Can't forget that.  Because it's so freaky odd it deserves mentioning.  So he's got this little "friend" living inside of his head causing him intense headaches.  Sometimes so strong that he passes out.  Choon Hong assures him that this is good - it means he's about to return to his own time.

Pack your bags, you're going home!

Myeong Bok is about to ascend the throne which means that the future is back on track and he can leave.  He doesn't really want to leave - he still feels things are left undone.  I don't know what, but okay, why not?  We'll go with that.  He even has a dream where he sees Mr John Doe Holey Head.  What did I tell you about my theory, huh?  You with me on this?  That Mr John Doe Holey Head from the future is really himself?  Remember how he just says "I have to go back"?  It's Jin, desperate to return to Joseon to fix something that's not right, but first he has to go his future self and have the tumor removed.  Except that he doesn't intend to have the tumor removed if you recall.  He was found injured and unconscious and the doctors happened upon the tumor in their evaluation of him.  Right?  Or is my memory off here?  It would though explain why he, John Doe Holey Head, went back to retrieve the Brain Baby tumor once it was taken out since it's the portal back to Joseon.  Only future self grabbed Brain Baby and went back.  Was this meant to happen?  Is it all one continual loop?!  Argh!  And this is why time travel shows make my head hurt.  Well, whether my theory is correct or not, we'll just have to wait and see.  As far as Jin goes, he knows that his remaining time is short and that he will soon return, ready or not.  One important thing to point out at this juncture is that he still doesn't realize that Young Rae is Mi Na.  Choon Hong has told him that they are not the same person and he has believed her.  Oh yeah, and he told Young Rae that Mi Na is sick, not dead.  I originally thought she was in a coma, but then came to believe that she had actually died.  Agh!!!  So confused!!!  I guess I'll just have to wait and find out later, but sheesh, this shouldn't be so murky.

Let's switch up and jump in to the political arena now, shall we?  Myeong Bok has ascended the throne.  There was an attempt by Byung Hee and his gang to discredit the new king by stealing the Royal Seal which would, in essence, make him a powerless king.  Kyung Tak is recruited for the job when he objects to the plan and PigDog (fine, Dae Gyu -- PigDog is way better though) calls his loyalty into question.

"I think it's a bad idea"

"Okay, then prove yourself by doing it"

"Sure.  I'll do it"

I'll come back to this whole thing when I get to the Kyung Tak segment of this review/recap.  


The seal is not stolen, 

See, look, there it is.  The seal in the hands of Myeong Bok.

the king is coronated without further ado, 

He's a cute happy king, he is

and Prince Heung Seon becomes Prince Regent.  Not all is over though.  The game is still afoot.  There is now a whole slew of new issues with the new king on the throne.  There is a struggle to keep and retain power.  Former allies are turning on each other now that their purpose has been achieved.  The Queen Dowager?  She used Heung Seon just as much as he used her.  Putting Myeong Bok on the throne was her method to giving her own family cabinet positions.  The old ruling family still wants their part as well.  Did you think those AhnDongs would go away just because their scarecrow king was gone?  These are the exact things that Heung Seon wants to eliminate from Joseon - the old clan ways and power struggles.  Alliances are switching.  The Queen Dowager and Byung Hee have now joined forces and are plotting together. 

"Let's commit treason together".

"Okay!  Let's!"

And a couple of people emerge as key players that each side wants for their own.

Like Kyung Tak.  Okay.  Let's chat about him for a moment, shall we?  He's the one that had all the "hidden scenes" in this episode.  After he agrees to steal the seal, he overhears his father and brother talking.

I took this shot because I really liked his shoes.

His father is telling an upset Dae Gyu (honestly, the sibling rivalry between these two brothers, aish!) that he's using Kyung Tak.  "If you throw a piece of meat to a starving stray dog, it will always follow you around with his tail wagging. There are dogs who will protect you with its life even when you're attacked by a tiger."  

:(  Dongsaeng wishes she could comfort you.  And talk some sense into that gorgeous head of yours Kyung Tak.

It's so sad and we feel so bad for KT finding out that his father is only being kind to him in order to use him for his own purposes.  What did Dongsaeng try to tell you KT?  He's not a good father.  You shouldn't look to him anymore.  Cut him out of your life.

We then see KT and YH meet.

Young Hwi is trying to turn KT over to their side.  Even though he attempted to kill Prince Heung Seon, they still see him as a valuable asset and a key to their success. YH tries to win him over by talking about a Joseon in which an illegitimate son such as himself could hold a post in the government, could live without discrimination and shame because of his parentage.  KT tells YH that he has loved 3 people and they are all lost to him now, that his father is all he has left.  In other words, thanks, but no thanks.

KT then steals the royal seal.

Wait a minute here Dongsaeng!  Didn't you just say that the seal wasn't stolen and that the coronation happened without further incident?  Why yes, yes I did.  Clever reader you.  This is where our first major hidden scene comes into play.  KT steals the seal.  Only we find out later that the one handed over to Byung Hee was a fake and the real one was given to Young Hwi/Prince Heung Seon.

"Heeheehee!  Take that Byung Hee!"

But don't cheer too soon.  Looks like KT isn't on the good guy's side yet.  Nope.  He's playing a double agent for his father.  

The new regime is to believe that he is on their side, but it has all been orchestrated by Byung Hee.  And it turns out that Byung Hee intended for him to overhear his conversation with Dae Gyun about KT being a loyal dog.  BH is pleased that even after hearing this, KT still chose to side with his father.  By doing so, he has proven his loyalty.    Sigh.  When will he ever learn?  His father is poison.  Stay away.  Each side each thinks that they've won him over to their cause.  I suppose we'll have to wait to see which side he eventually falls on.  I'm never giving up hope!  He's going to prove himself to be a good guy.  Just you wait.

Second major player in this political struggle for power?  Officer Lee, the nephew-in-law of the Queen Dowager.  He's been by Heung Seon's side.  They've been friends.  But now, Queen Dowager is looking to him to help her get their Poong Yang Jo family back into power.  His wife is in labor.  We don't know this for sure yet, but I have a sneaky suspicion that this new baby could come into play.  If it's a boy, I think that there might be an attempt to name him as rightful king, thus keeping the Poong Yang Jo family in power.  Just a suspicion, but a valid one I think.  Why do I think this?  Because the labor isn't going well.  The baby is breach and the umbilical cord has prolapsed.  This means that the baby will die unless Jin performs an emergency C-section.  If we have learned anything during this show, it's that when a life is on the line, Jin can't let it go, even if it means altering the future.  He's been warned not to save any more people that shouldn't be saved.  What if this baby isn't meant to be saved because of the political upheaval he could bring?  Again, just another one of my theories, but I feel it's rather a solid one.  We have to wait to confirm as this was the scene we ended with in ep 17.  Actually, we ended with this little squaring off - Prince Heung Seon threatening Officer Lee.  He's knows of the treason being hatched between the Queen Dowager and Byung Hee and is implicating Officer Lee as well, unless he flips sides of course.  Basically giving him the option of saving his child and his own life by supporting him, not the Queen Dowager.

Duhn, duhn, duhn.

Before I conclude this recap, I just wanted to mention that in this episode we had a joyful family reunion.  Once Myeong Bok is king, Young Hwi is safe to come out of the shadows and appear before his family.  It was rather a touching scene and worth tossing in.

Okay.  I hope I got it all in there.  There was a lot to cover and it was just all over the place.  Jin, you make my head spin.  Aigoo.  

Now, I will leave you so that I can move on to watching and recapping episode 18.