DFR: Faith (The Great Doctor) ep 4

My 2-3 year old computer has been acting its age this week and throwing temper tantrums.  Actually it was my internet service provider's problem.  Actually it was my antivirus software hosted by my internet service provider's problem.  Which is annoying because it's like real antivirus software (one of the big names) not some ACME product bought in a dark alleyway from a guy in a trench coat.  I guess even the big guys are subject to glitches every once in a while.  But it sure is annoying when I have reviews to write and no internet on the one device that lets me write them.  They might as well lop off both my arms for as productive as I've been able to be.  Oh well...  Obviously we're sort of back up (there are still issues, but it's good enough for now - issues will have to wait - no way I'm messing with it now that it's working), but I'm a little behind on my D(ramatic)F(riday)R(eview).  As in, it will actually be posted on Friday instead of on Thursday o.O.  Sorry about that.  But at least now you have the full, unnecessary rambling story all about it.  :D

How about we chat a little Faith now?

Gi Cheol is one bad mamma jamma.  Choi Young is warrior extraordinaire with an impressive pedigree.  Juk Wuk Dae (Red Crescent Moons) are warriors with great powers but a sad history.  Gi Cheol wants a Juk Wuk Dae warrior of his own.  Looks like it's recruiting time for Team Gi Cheol and he has his sights set on Choi Young.  Uh oh.

In the meantime, unaware that Bad Guy is about to come a'courtin', Choi Young has a dream.  In this dream he comes upon a mystery man (don't worry, we find out later who it is in another dream sequence) who asks him, "Have you still not found it yet?"  This of course begs the question, "what is it?"  Only that's me asking the question, CY apparently knows what the old guy is talking about.

The king and the doctor meet.  They haven't really had much time to chat up until now.  Both don't know exactly how to address each other.  It's her first time meeting a king and his first time meeting someone from heaven.  I thought that was cute.  Which is why I mention it.  That's the nice thing about having your own blog - you can talk about whatever you darn well please.  I could sit here and talk about my plans for the weekend if I wanted to.  Not that it fits into the story here, but I could if I wanted to.  (P.S.  My weekend plans kind of stink.  Tonight will be cool if we can get a sitter.  We're going out to dinner with friends and then to a comedy show featuring the friend that we will be dining with's triplet sister. True story.  But then The Husband will be working all day Saturday.  That's stinky.  But it has nothing to do with Faith, so how about we get back to the task at hand here?  Enough dilly dallying).

*cough*  So, where were we?

Oh yeah, chatty time with the king and doctor.

She's still trying to make sense of where she is and what's going on.  She got all excited when she saw a vase and recognized it for being from that time period.  Obviously to her, it's a priceless treasure whereas to them, it's just a vase.  Just sitting there, not doing anything but collecting that Goryeon dust.

History has never been her strong point, so she's a little slow catching on.  But slowly they do start to catch on.  She starts to realize that she knows these people.  The king and queen and even General Choi.  They're all famous and have monuments to them and everything.  (psst...it's true.  I looked it up.  General Choi was a real person.  I didn't bother to look up the king and queen - they're not played by Lee Min Ho I just trusted that they existed.  Sometimes you have to just have a little faith).

Wait - so the psycho that kidnapped me is the General Choi?

While the king and Eun Soo are talking, Choi Young and the queen are having a little chat of their own.

He comments on how her mastery of the Goryeo language is too good for someone from Yuan who supposedly just found out 2 years ago that she'd be marrying the Goryeo king and moving.  She admits that she started learning 8 years ago after meeting a man from Goryeo and wanting to be able to talk to him.  There is a definite sense of "pay attention - this is important!" like a big neon sign at this revelation.  {Official Ahjumma Prediction:  this mystery man was Choi Young and she has had the hots for him long time}.  They discuss Gi Cheol and the current problems with him, you know, like how he wants to kill the king and queen and become the new ruler.  Gi Cheol is the older brother of Empress Gi.  This is supposed to maybe mean something to us, but currently I am still in the dark.  I'm sure we'll find out more later, so for now, put a pin in it and we will readdress at another time.  The queen then brings up an interesting point.  If Gi Cheol succeeds in his evil dastardly plot and becomes the new king than CY and his men will have to protect him just as he currently protects Whiny Boy King and Queen Rod Up her Rear.  Like those nicknames?  I just came up with them all by myself.  ;)  She, the queen, perceives he is tired of being in this position, risking his life for this king or that and that that is why he wishes to die.  She then does something scandalous!  She puts her hand on his forehead in order to feel his temperature.

He's burning up of course.  I could have told her that.  He's a hunk of a hunk of burning man he is.  So take your hand of my man, bee watch!  He freaks out at her touch and the impropriety of it all and asks her in no uncertain terms to remove her hand post haste.  Boom!  That's what I'm saying Queenie babe!  No one touches my oppa!  (Shhh...no one point out that as an ahjumma LMH isn't technically my oppa.  I know, but I really like this place I have here in the great Land of Denial and don't want to move).

Choi Young has brought the list to the doctor.  Not the heavenly doctor, just the normal Goryeo doctor.  He wants to know if they can somehow test this thing to see if it's legit.  If it's fake, then it was planted and it means there is some conspiracy.  I think.  I dunno.  I was more concerned with 'how the heck are you going to test the authenticity of a piece of paper in the 1300s?'.  (Psst...we find out later.  And it's kind of cool).

Word about the doctor from the heavens is starting to spread around town.  The general catches wind of it...

...and tells the doctor that her life is in danger.  (Did you see that she is carrying the vase?  She had asked the king for it or a painting.  LOL.  Silly treasure hunting doctor.  I suppose though if you're kidnapped and brought back 700 years and basically held as a prisoner, you're due a little swag in your bag).

Okay, I just have to mention this scene.  It's not integral to the story (unlike the one I totally skipped before this one but it was a Gi Cheol dastardly plotting scene and I'm tired of those.  4 episodes in and I'm already done.  Told you I don't like the political wheelings and dealings.  You were warned.  Bring on the eye candy cuteness!).  The doctor is talking to CY about his stab wound.  She tells him that he's lucky it wasn't worse than it was.  And that it was because of his impressive physique.  She says, "it was thanks to the well-developed six packs".  Bwahahaha!  I love it!    

Is that a cat call oh Heavenly Doctor?

She tells him he has to take care of his health because he's a famous warrior and needs to protect Goryeo, fight wars and get remembered by history.  She also starts to hypothesize that she isn't from the heavens, but from the future.  No really?!  Was this truly in question?  I mean, I'm sure Gangnam is a really nice place and all, but heaven?!  And this lady is a  d o c t o r?  o.O?

Their little chat is interrupted -- by an exploding firebomb.

The doctor's reaction?

X-Men!

*giggle*  I think she's cute.  In her sometimes dimwitted state of shock.  I like that it's taking her so long to figure all this out though.  It makes it more believable.  If she were to suddenly just be okay with it all and understand what was going on, I'd have a harder time swallowing that.  It's good that she's almost always in a state of disbelief and/or cluelessness.  We do still see those moments when she's in her element and shows that she's not as dimwitted as she sometimes appears to be.

So, Fire Lady is on the scene, tossing firebombs.  There's a showdown between Choi Young and her. She has a message to deliver to him, but he refuses to hear it.  It ends in her casually strolling away after jumping off the wall dramatically, saying "see you later!".

Okay, I don't know about you, but this is dragging on.  Not the show, but this review.  Are you tired of hearing me go on and on and on?  I feel like these are really long reviews lately.  It's because I'm putting up too many pictures and trying to talk about each one.  That and I don't know what will be significant later on and I would hate to miss anything.  Does anyone mind if I skip a little?  Hopefully you've already seen this episode anyway and don't need a long recap.  Just some bullet points mingled with opinions, right?

Remember the test?  Centipedes is how they do it back in the 1300s.  They don't go for human blood (good to know), but they sure are fans of chicken blood.  Meaning, this evidence was planted and we are in conspiracy country.

Choi Young tells the king his story.

 The first part, the part about the Juk Wul Dae warriors, was animated.  Animated Lee Min Ho is hot by the way, you know, for a drawing.  o.O

It's a sad tale of talented warriors trained to use inner powers (I'm assuming this is where the lightning power comes from) that get used and abused, trapped and plucked off until very few remain.  They are nearly extinct, Choi Young is the last of them it sounds like.

We see the old Choi Young.  It's several years back, and he's a different guy.  Laughing and jumping around all animated-like.  The Juk Wul Dae warriors are in the palace to meet the emperor and are very excited, wondering what treasures await them all.  And there's a girl - the 3rd in command and maybe possibly a love interest, or at least a really close friend.

They enter the emperors banquet and are shocked by the scene that awaits them.  He's a charlatan.  Dancing girls and raucous ruckus.

 And here is the emperor.  Making out with a, we'll just say "courtesan" to be nice.  He has a major slimeball vibe going.

 And he proves just what a slimeball he is when he sees the lone woman in the ranks.  And gets all icky pervy.

And orders her, as the emperor, to strip.

Gag.  I think I puked a little in my mouth at his creepy ickyness here.

She starts.  He has grabbed the leader's sword and holds it on her.  She goes to slow for him and he gets all antsy and starts waving the sword around.  He's just about to cut the strap off himself when the leader finally steps in and stops him.

And gets stabbed for his efforts.

As he is dying, he begs his 2nd in command, Choi Young, to pledge to serve the king.  This is one of those moments that was, shall we say, lost in translation?  I don't get it.  I'm sure it has something to do with honor and duty to the king and all, but I was confused.  The guy who was just brutally stabbed by a nasty imbecile while trying to protect the honor of one of his warriors who was being sexually harassed is bleeding and dying and ordering with his very last breaths the new leader by default to serve the nasty imbecile in order to protect the rest of the group.  Huh?

Choi Young eventually makes the oath, they all bow before the king in servitude and he dances merrily around.

Serious.  Creepy.  Vibes.  And disturbing.  And sad.  And explains why Choi Young is now the way he is instead of the effervescent guy he used to be.

The king hears this story and realizes that the sleezeball from the story is none other than his big brother.  "Oh, so that's why you resented me from the beginning", he says.  Yeah, you think?

Again, Choi Young asks to be relieved from his duty as a leader of the Wudalchi.  He wants to fish while he waits for Heaven's Gate to reopen.  He likes fishing and he's good at it.

The king denies his request, saying that he still has unfinished business to complete, and then leaves in shame, embarrassed by the dishonorable actions of his older brother towards this man and his comrades.

Next we see the king, he is walking with his entourage down the corridor and meets up with the queen and her entourage.  He is looking for her opinion on something.  He has a dilemma.  He knows about the conspiracy.  Does he face it and put both their lives in jeopardy, or act his part and be the fool king.  She wants to know why he's bothering to ask her and he tells her it is because no matter what option he goes with, it will affect her.  I think she's a little touched by this.  Maybe my ahjumma theory is off.  Maybe it's the king that was the mystery Goryeo man she met 8 years ago and not Choi Young.  Maybe she has a soft spot for her husband after all and acts cold towards him because of his anger/hatred towards her.

He then speaks of Plan C which she accurately attributes to Jo Il Shin.  Is it just me or does she not trust him?  She's smart to not.  I read the history.  I know what he did in real life.  Yup.  Jo Il Shin really existed.  Not going to throw up any spoilers here, I'll just leave it at she's very wise to not trust him.  Duhn duhn duhn. ;)  What's Plan C?  Well, you'll see.

First we have to return to Choi Young.  While he was telling the king his story, Eun Soo was outside listening in.  Once the king leaves, he collapses.  He starts to have a seizure.  She rushes to his side, screaming "Psycho!" which brings everyone running in.  Aw, what a sweet pet name - Psycho.  Cute.  They attend to him, trying to do whatever they can with their limited resources to save his life.  Meanwhile, he's having another dream.  Same location as before, same old guy sitting there, only this time he is fishing and Choi Young calls him father and asks if he can just stay there with him.  He really just wants to die.  He's done.  Poor guy.

Okay.  Final scene.  Plan C is to reveal to the court that the king has been blessed by the heavens who sent him his very own doctor.  Then Gi Cheol shows up and crashes the party.  He causes a ruckus and we end there.

Phew.  I'm done.  I may have missed some things along the way, if so, sorry.  Tough noogies.  I'm not going back.  This thing is long enough and the day is half over already - I've got to get it posted.  It's been fun, but for now I am done.  Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful drama filled weekend and remember to always "keep the faith"....  ;)  Oh, and stay tuned for Unnie's next installment of Arang and the Magistrate.  She's waiting on subs, but will get it out as soon as humanly possible because she's got those X-Men-like superpowers too.  Well, she really likes X-Men, does that count?  And she's a mom and everyone knows that moms have superpowers.  See.  Told ya.  X-Men superpowers.  Boom!  >//<