DFR: Faith ep 19

Welcome back Faithfuls!  It's been a long time since we last saw each other!  Okay, okay, so it was earlier today when I got my review of 18 up just a teensy bit late, but it's still great to be back here with you again for round 19!  No kisses this time to analyze in great detail :( , but we still had some nice romantic scenes to enjoy so not all is lost.  And a surprise announcement about a little bundle of joy on its way.  Ooh!  Who could it be?  I'm not telling, at least not yet.  My lips are sealed!  (^.-)  kekekeke!  <----- That's Korean for "hahahaha" in case you're newer to the Kworld, but a way cuter hahaha.

So since I'm already a tad behind (i.e.  I'm kind of hitting "holy fliparoni" status because I've got a long road ahead still before these reviews are done -- as in I still have to watch the last 40+ minutes or so of 19 because I was sick and quit taking screenshots after the first 20 minutes.  I ended up watching all of it - it was one of those 'I'm done but I'll just keep watching for another minute just because' that ended up lasting the whole rest of the episode and then I was all like, 'Aw crap!  Why didn't I take screenshots?!?!'.  Plus I still haven't seen any of episode 20.  So, yeah, a little behind.  D'oh!), I'm going to cut right to the chase, dispense with the niceties, and start recapping this bad boy!  Let's git 'er done!

Did you know that a week ago today I was playing at Knotts Berry Farm with my family and friends?
:(
And that today my family (parents & siblings) are at Disneyland and keep sending me pictures of all the fun they're having without me?
:(
And I still haven't found that cold medicine to make my head not feel like a giant zit ready to pop?
:(
And I've had my son home sick for the past 3 days?
:(
And that it's been early release at school for the past 2 days so I have my kids here and they keep wanting to use the computer for homework and stuff and I keep having to battle them back?
:(
(I think I'm going to have to ask Santa for a laptop for Christmas)
:)
And I wonder why I'm finding it difficult to concentrate.
;)


Yuan has sent a request.  They want the High Doctor.  Uh oh.  She can't be taking any trips to Yuan, even if they just want to be friends (which they don't).  That heaven door is opening soon and it's her last chance to go back home.  So she and Choi Young make preparations to flee.

Did you know that I think Lee Min Ho is a shmexy beast?
My "Lee Min Ho Yah" Pinterest board (get it?  it's supposed to sound like 'Lee Min Hoh Yeah!'  It's incognito, hiding from my non-K followers who I think just assume the "Yah" is part of his name.  I was trying to be tricksy) only has 245 pins though.  Time to get those numbers up.  Too much shmexiness to be constrained to a mere 245 pictures, wouldn't you agree?  Definitely.

He needs to go see the king before he takes off, so he sends her with Dae Man, aka Cutie Pie with the Hair as her escort.  Along the way, we get a little bit of his story and how he and Choi Young met.  He lived alone in the forest since he was 8 or 9, meeting CY around age 13/14.  He was a wild child, literally, and there was chasing and biting involved, but eventually, after 5 days Dae Man fell asleep and woke to find that CY had given him a fish.  They've been together ever since.  Ohhhkay....  o.O?  Bit of a strange story, but, uhm... yeah.  Don't know what else to say to that, so we'll just leave it.  Moving on....

The Yuan envoy has arrived.  And he has called a meeting of the government officials and invited the king.  The king isn't too happy about this.  Who is this guy to come in to his town and start ordering his people around, including him, the king?  We'll just say that they don't get off on the best foot.  The Yuan guy has orders to replace the "unstable" current king with Deok Heung, but with the understanding that Deok Heung will be the last king of Goryeo - that Goryeo will become a city of Yuan and will be fully under their rule, with Deok Heung acting as Prime Minister/governor (depends on which subber you ask).  The king doesn't like this idea of losing his country to Yuan and threatens war.  The envoy, himself a man of Goryeo, offers up a compromise of sorts.  Retain Goryeo as in independent nation, just start using the seal from Yuan and execute the High Doctor.  Yeah.  Problem though - the seal has been stolen and I don't think the king really wants Eun Soo dead.  He still agrees to the terms to keep the peace for now, but secretly passes on the message for Choi Young to get the heck out of Dodge with Eun Soo.  Good thing they were already on their way.

Word gets round that the High Doctor has run off with Choi Young and a price is placed on their head.

They start running into trouble as they journey.  There are bar fights

This dark hat guy just won't leave them alone.  He keeps showing up.

and fights in the forest with archers and stuff.

But there's also some nice romantic, sweet scenes.  Like Eun Soo trying to teach him some 'heavenly' things to repay him for teaching her how to ride a horse and fight with a knife.  She tries "aja" which she wants him to teach to his men.

She tries pinky promise so that he never has to swear an oath on his life again.

And she ends by teaching him 'high 5' and asks him to teach it to the king.

Then there is their snuggle session under a tree.  She's exhausted, not being accustomed to walking so much, having always ridden in things in her world.  He invites her so sweetly to lean on his shoulder.  Then asks her if there's anything she's enjoyed about being in that world.  Anything?  Obviously he's trying to get her to admit that she likes him.  It is so so so cute I could just die!  I so melted all over the place like a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer sidewalk.  They share a moment and then he wraps his arm around her, holding her close.  And fangirls across the world give out a simultaneous "She's so lucky!  I wish I were her right now!".

There's also this scene.  She wakes, sees that he is missing, and goes outside to find him where he is on guard duty.  They sit there chatting.  She asks him if he has ever in his life been able to do what he wants.  He answers that he has - yesterday and today, meaning that being there with her is the first time in his life he has ever done something he wanted to do.  AGH!  Can't keep melting like this!  I can't live as this puddle of goo this man turns me in to.

And did anyone catch this smile he gives her as they are making yet another escape?  It was a tiny moment, but pretty sure there were some exploding ovaries involved.

Sorry so blurry.  Told you, it was a very tiny moment that passed all too quickly but left a big impact.  How can I explain immaculate conception via a fictional drama hero?  

I should point out, since they do frequently in this episode, that the envoy from Yuan is working with Deok Heung.  He knows that the king doesn't have the seal or the high doctor, yet those are the two things that he asks for in order to avoid war.  Hmm....  Gi Cheol has a meltdown of sorts.  He gets really really angry with Deok Heung when he finds out that Eun Soo has run off with Choi Young.  He starts to get all frosty and stuff but then something goes terribly wrong.

He falls to the ground with his frosty arm all funky and out of control.  He needs his hot bath stat.  Later on, while he's recovering, the king pays him a visit.  He knows that Gi Cheol has the seal and asks for it back, promising him in return that he will lift the house arrest that Gi Cheol is currently under.  Gi Cheol practically wets himself with excitement at this prospect and calls for the seal to be brought right away.  Remember what he wants most of all -- to go to the heavens with Eun Soo, but under house arrest like he is, he can't leave.  He's been going mad, literally and figuratively.

The king is stressed out.  He has some difficult decisions to make and figure out.  He's not sleeping.  The queen goes to him and starts packing up his stuff.

How cute was he when he was all, "I was just about to come in dear".  She asks him to share with her the problem of that day and she'll help him worry over it so that he doesn't have to worry all alone.  As he starts to tell her, she almost vomits.

He freaks out because she's sick, but everyone else is kind of giving each other the eye.  The eye?  What eye?  The "oh ho, I think someone's preggers" eye.  Sure enough, Dr Jang confirms that she indeed has a little prince or princess bun in the royal oven.

I think Lady Choi is a little excited *giggle*

The king is told and is overjoyed and rushes to his bride.  He gets all teary eyed and tells her he's a lucky man, embraces her and thanks her.  Aww!  Cuteness overload here!

Speaking of cuteness overload - I neglected to mention Choi Young's goodbye.  He is talking to his 2nd in charge guy and giving him orders for when he is gone -- handing over the Woodalchi reigns.  He also gives him his box of personal belongings, asking him to dispose of them for him.

There's also the goodbye scene with Lady Choi.  She is passing on the message from the king that CY is to flee with ES.  He tells his aunt who is worried about him giving up all that he has worked for for the past 7 years that there's nothing there for him that he will miss.  

As he's leaving, she drops the bomb on him.  She tells him to be careful and not get caught because Yuan doesn't just want Eun Soo, they want her publicly executed.

CY's not planning on coming back.  He can't.  One, because if he is there then the king must order him to bring Eun Soo in for execution and no one, including the king, wants that.  Secondly, he knows that he is no longer fit for the position - he can't lead the way he needs to be able to lead or protect the way that he should protect because his loyalties lie with Eun Soo now, not the king or Goryeo.  Granted, he can't just leave without worrying about what's going on back at the palace.  Eun Soo even points out to him that she's seen him looking back towards the palace while he's on guard duty.  He also takes notice of the provincial soldiers out in town recruiting an army of new soldiers.  Looks like war might be on the horizon.

We end with a couple of events worth noting.  First, the queen receives a letter telling her to come to a temple to secretly meet with the envoy who has a message for her from her mother, empress of Yuan.

She goes to the temple and sneaks away as Lady Choi is gushing about how beautiful this baby will be.  It appears that the queen has been led into a trap, for as she is standing in this small room waiting for the guy with the message from mom, the doors and windows all close, locking her in.  Uh oh.  Not a smart move on her part.  I don't know what she was thinking.

Episode 19 ends with Choi Young and Eun Soo being chased by some guys trying to capture them.  They are running through the woods and Choi Young drops her off at some rocks while he goes to kick some pursuing tooshes.

While she is waiting for him to return, she knocks a bell off a branch.

It rolls underneath some rocks.  She bends down to pick it up, and it seems like she has a flash of memory, for once the bell is in hand, she reaches back under the rock and pulls out a moss-covered canister.

Like she knew it was there - like the bell had sparked some sort of memory.  She opens up the canister and inside is a handwritten note, all aged and worn.

It's addressed to her.  It tells her that she needs to remember this moment - remember the man and the warm looks he is giving her right now.

As if anyone could ever forget a warm look from that face.

The note writer claims to be her from the future.  We get a flashback that shows her placing the bell and the note.

Ugh!  Time travel shows!!!  I no get you.  You hurt my brain.  My take on this is that Choi Young is about to die, and that this was the last happy time they had together, which is why Future ES wants Past ES to treasure the moment.  We'll see if I'm right, but as for this episode, that's where we end - them holding each other with her being all upset.

I know you're expecting me to do it, but I'm not going to.  Nope, not this time.  You can if you want.  I'll even pause for a second to give you time for your own "duhn duhn duhns".  I don't want to be too predictable.  Keep 'em wondering, "will she?  won't she?".

Now, time to go watch episode 20 because I don't know about you, but I am super curious as to what happens next!  I'll see you at the next review I hope.  Until then, always keep the faith and have happy Min Ho dreams.

I said Lee Min Ho dreams, not weird dark hat stalker dude.  Told you, he keeps popping up in random places.