I Hear Your Voice ep 9: Dramatic Review

This episode was crazy!  Talk about intense and being on the edge of your seat!

So, this week being Independence Day, the family and I went up north to pine country with some friends to escape the brutal summer heat.  We had a great time and I even managed to watch at least this episode while hanging in the hotel room late that night.  Boy oh boy, was The Husband ever annoyed though!  I kept screaming and freaking out at the most intense moments.  At one point I tossed down the iPad and had to look away.  He hates when I do that.  Too bad.  It's what makes drama watching fun, so ppbbblllltttt! --  I'll scream if I want to.  ;)

Anyway, sorry this is a bit later than normal.  I actually tried doing a review while on vacation.  I tried something new and different - a video review since I couldn't type it out without the computer.  Yeah....that didn't go so well.  First, it was over 17 minutes long.  And sounded painfully awkward.  I am so totally not an on-camera kind of gal.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  I tried.  I even tried to do another format while sitting poolside, but that also flopped.  Instead, I had to wait until returning home.  Maybe someday I'll get the whole video thing figured out because I don't know about you, but I'd love to have a mixed media format.  What do you think?  You're opinions matter the most.  Read it, watch it or a mix of both?  Leave any opinions in the comment section if you so desire because I really am curious to know your feedback.

All that aside for now, let's chat drama!

Dongsaeng's Drama Dozen Divided by Dul of Episode 9

1.  Forward and Back and Around We Go

I don't know about you, but when I started this episode, I thought I had missed something very important.  Last I knew, Soo Ha was kissing Hye Sung at the aquarium before leaving on his revenge quest.  Next thing we know, episode 9 starts out with Hye Sung in a hospital bed post-op after an apparent stab wound.  Wha?  What happened?  What did I miss?  Is this even the same drama?  Did I get the episode wrong?  Where am I?  The panic was quickly set to rest though after I went back and double checked to make sure I hadn't actually skipped anything.  And sure enough, a minute later we're getting the whole "3 days ago" thing.  Ah.  Gotcha.  We went forward, now we're going back.  Why didn't you just say so?  Dramatic effect?  Fine.  You got it.  Congratulations.  Anyway, so yeah, we go back to where we left off, more or less.  It's the time before Psycho's sentencing date in court where we learn if he's going to be declared guilty or innocent.  Soo Ha is making preparations in this time frame.  He's caught by his classmate writing something about "if I disappear..." as well as carrying a knife in his bag and skipping school.  He's up to something.  Not only that, but we see him approach Attorney Cha to ask him a favor.  He's definitely plotting and preparing for something and is making sure that Hye Sung will be watched over by others besides himself.

2.  The Verdict and the Fallout

This went just about the way I'm sure we expected it to go.  In the end, there's not enough evidence to convict Psycho of murder and so he is released.  Bad guy happy, good guys not.  Hye Sung is devastated.  She and Attorney Cha in essence break up.  Well, he is responsible for setting her arch enemy free, can you blame a girl?  Poor guy though - he's obviously grief-stricken and feeling miserable.  Hye Sung melts down right there in the revolving door of the courthouse, the judge who just freed the killer watching on.

Right after the trial ends, Attorney Cha finally gets the records from the murder trial 10 years ago and is shocked to learn of the threats and violent attack made by Psycho against Hye Sung.  May I just ask the obvious question here?  WHY IN THE BLUE BLAZES DID THIS NOT COME UP IN THE TRIAL???????  Sure, Attorney Cha may not have had the information, but why not have the prosecutor bring it up?  They were desperate enough that they tried to get the former cell mate to lie - why not tell the court the truth of what really happened that day 10 years ago????  Why is it never mentioned???  He threatened to kill her in the courtroom while physically attacking her in front of tons of witnesses.  Seems like more of a legit argument then something supposedly told to a cell mate while in prison.  I suppose it's just one of those things we have to learn to let go of, but seriously....!  SMH 

3.  Bombs
We have two "bombs" that go off here.  One is figurative and I'll just mention it briefly because it will most certainly become important later on.  There is some bad blood between the Prosecutor's father and the former cell mate of Psycho.  What we know is that Do Yun's dad is the one responsible for putting this man in jail and he gets all angry when Seo Dae Suk's name is mentioned.  Furthermore, when Do Yun mentions the name of the cellmate/witness, he suddenly changes his tune and emphatically tells her to stay away from it and leave it alone.  Hmmm...bad blood, yes?  Yes.  I'm sure there's more to come on that front.

The second bomb is more literal and comes in the form of a bug bomb, tossed into Hye Sung's apartment.  We assume of course that it is Psycho that does it, but no, it's Soo Ha in an attempt to get the police force's attention and make sure everyone is aware that she is in grave danger.  He is doing all he can to protect her.  Attorney Cha comes back into the picture at this point and even starts directing the cops (he used to be a cop before becoming a defense attorney). 

4.  The Fight

Soo Ha and Psycho meet for a duel in a parking garage.  How poetic is it that Psycho is sitting there waiting for him with none other than a pipe, same as he used on his father all those years ago?  This guy is creepy, especially as he sits there waiting with his eyes closed and acting all crazy-like.  Soo Ha shows up, knife in hand.  Basically he is there to end this one way or another in order to protect Hye Sung.  He doesn't care who dies, the way he figures is that either way, she'll be safe.  We learn why Psycho had his eyes closed - he turns out all the lights and has an advantage over Soo Ha when he can see and Soo Ha is blinded.  They fight.  It starts out bad for Soo Ha.  He's getting pummeled with the pipe.  Back and forth they go.  Finally, Soo Ha gets the upper hand, knocks him down and goes for the kill with the knife when suddenly....  Ouch!  Hye Sung runs out in front of him, getting stabbed by Soo Ha instead.  He's so unbelievably distraught and upset as he watches her bleed.  He bends down to her and of course Psycho has to use this opportunity to pick up the knife and stab him in the back.  The fight ends with Psycho stumbling off and catching Attorney Cha's eye as he does so.  Right before she passes out, Hye Sung insistently tells Soo Ha to hide what really happened and to make sure that Psycho is the one who gets blamed for her stabbing.  She wants to protect Soo Ha.  She doesn't want him to kill Min Joon Gook.  She doesn't want him to become a murderer himself. 

5.  Where Are They Now?

After the stabbing, we see Soo Ha leaning over Hye Sung's hospital bed, whispering something to her before he disappears, not to be seen again for a year.  That's when we end up back where we started - she's waking up from surgery and Attorney Cha is there.  Her first thought and concern is for Soo Ha.  She wants to know where he is and if he's okay.

Not long after Soo Ha disappears, a severed hand appears floating up out of the water.  It belongs to Min Joon Gook and he is assumed dead, and Soo Ha is the suspect.  Soo Ha is now a wanted man for the murder of Min Joon Gook.  Now, let me just go on record as saying that I for one do not buy for one moment that Joon Gook is dead.  Neither do I believe Soo Ha to be responsible for the dismemberment.  Why?  Well, for one, that would be too easy and we're just barely past the halfway mark of this drama.  And secondly, I don't believe it because Hye Sung doesn't believe it.  We finally get to learn what Soo Ha had whispered to her before he took off.  He promised her that he wouldn't do what she was afraid of him doing and that she should trust him.  I think that Hye Sung getting caught in the crossfire (or rather, cross blade in this case I suppose) was a huge shock to him and cured him of any desire to go against her wish that he not kill Joon Gook.  She obviously meant business if she was willing to step in front of the knife in order to keep him from becoming a murderer.  So yeah, I don't believe he killed Psycho and I'm glad I'm not alone.  My theory at this point is that Joon Gook cut his own hand off in order to frame Soo Ha because he's a freaky, creeptastic psycho through-and-through.

Fast forward a year.  Attorney Cha has quit the defense attorney's office and has gone to work for his family at their spa.  Hye Sung is back to being the lousy lawyer she was before.  Do Yun is still prosecutor, who, thanks to Hye Sung's lackluster efforts, has sure been winning a lot of her cases lately.  But is she happy?  No.  She's upset with Hye Sung and wants her former formiddable foe to return.  It's no fun when it's a gimmee.  Soo Ha has disappeared.  Min Joon Gook has disappeared.  Nothing is known of their whereabouts or anything.  Hye Sung lives as an empty shell, dialing it in at work, texting her dead mother and chasing after guys in the street she thinks are Soo Ha.



6.  *Sigh* My Least Favorite Drama Plot Device

Soo Ha has been located living out in the countryside under a different name.  Hye Sung gets the call and rushes down to the police station.  Only there's a little problem.  Yes, they went there.  Can I just tell you how this is truly my very least favorite plot device of all plot devices?  I hate this -- the amnesia plot device.  Sure enough, Soo Ha appears to not know who he is.  We don't know at this point if he's faking or not, but that's where we end this episode.






Wowzers.  Wasn't that a crazy episode?  Intense and emotional.  And needed a longer-than-normal review.  I'm just excited that I can now finally watch episode 10.  I've been dying!  The suspense!  Ack!  Don't tell me what happens yet, but do come back once I have seen it and let's chat!

Until then, have a wonderful day and we'll see you soon!