Gap Dong Episode 2 - Disarmed by A Pretty Face

In episode 2 we discover that there is not one woman in the show that has any psycho radar.  Nor even any common sense  when it comes to picking up strange men that they just met.  I know our resident killer Tae Oh is pretty and everything, but come on ladies, you are making our sex look bad.  So come join me as I discuss where these women are going wrong and why our resident psycho makes such a great character to watch.

We start the episode with Ryoo Tae Oh, also known as our sexy psycho killer, being released from the mental institution.  Does anyone else wonder why he was in there in the first place?  With a swagger and a smile he walks away.  Next we see him charming his way into a job at a coffee shop where is (HE) neatly dodges all questions about his past with a smile and vague answer.  But he's hot, so of course he gets the job.  Now comes the uber creepy part.  He begins to check out women passing by on the street as possible murder victims.  

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK!  This freaked me out so much that I literally had a nightmare last night and woke up screaming.  Totally felt sheepish the next morning and I am never going to admit it to my husband that I got scared over a kdrama.  

Anyway back to our psycho, he starts to look for the perfect victim.  It needs to be just right since he is obsessed with recreating the murders exactly like the original ones.  And in this case that means a woman carrying a cake box on Christmas eve.  I don't know about the rest of you, but it is scenes like this that make me never want to leave my house

It is at this point that we meet (she was in the first episode also but really did not leave much of an impression) Ma Ji Wool.  You know that character in horror movies that is cute, bubbly, usually some type of student, and they end up getting stabbed horribly within the first 10 minutes?  Well I think we have our obvious victim in perky artist/high schooler Ma Ji Wool (Kim Ji Won - Heirs).  Not that she will be murdered per say, but she sure is oblivious to any sense of "psycho radar".  Where others get weird vibes from Ryoo Tae Oh, she bounces towards him and asks him to be her model.  I swear she might as well have  a big neon sign blinking over her head reading Victim Here!  And our killer agrees since he chooses her as his first kill, until she is dragged away by a monk berating her for flirting with strange men.  It was kind of funny how his face fell as his perfect victim was snatched from his hands.  But never fear since there are an abundance of cake carrying single women walking the streets.

Our second lady that makes me say WTH? is our favorite hands on therapist and possible Nancy Drew junky Maria Oh.  Walking in the mall (does anyone else wonder if they are getting money to film in this mall since a lot of scenes seem to happen here) to meet with Moo Yeom.  But instead of our hero Tae Oh suddenly is standing in front of her.  So I might have screamed a bit when Tae Oh suddenly popped up in front of doctor lady.  And the fact that she takes it all in stride and just starts talking to him as a therapist is just nuts.  Is anyone else yelling "Boundaries you crazy lady!" at the screen?   I'm just saying that if I was a therapist at a mental institution, and I just by chance had one of the inmates find me right after they were released, then I as a sane and normal person, would be having my psycho alert alarm going off like crazy in my head.  Yet she not only ditches our hero to talk with Tae Oh, but then returns to get coffee from his cafe the next day.  How is this lady not dead yet?  Then to top it off later she is in the institution playing blind man's bluff with the inmates.  

Because going around touching mental patients hands (even if it is an effort to find Gap Dong) is totally a good idea.  Seriously please tell me that there is some hidden reason for her unprofessional stupidity.  I really want to like this character but she sometimes does some really really stupid things

Let's take a moment to acknowledge something truly unique that happened in this episode.  That super allusive scene found in very few kdramas.  A scene in which it is a female showering and not a male.  And seriously I want a show of hands on how many people have mirrors hanging up in their showers so they can stare at themselves and brood.  I don't know about you but I really don't want to stare at myself mid shower.

But it is weaver lady who wins the competition of stupidest female of the episode.  Not only does she ignore any warning twinges she might have had when picking up a stranger off the side of the street, she actually brings him to her isolated ginormous warehouse where she weaves reeds into crafty things like bags and fish sculptures.  She makes him a warm cup of tea and flirts with no fear or reservations.  Even when his "broken" arm turns out not to be broken, she just exclaims how happy she is that he is OK.  He literally unwraps the bandages off of his wrist and she just smiles dumbly.  How many signs do you have to get before you start being worried?  At this point I am just shaking my head and wondering how many other women are going to fall victim to his good looks, leaving behind their senses and eventual corpses.

But the episode was not all hot crazy baristas and stupid senseless women.  We also have our dueling policeman rounding out the episode.  The Yang Chul Gon dislike continues as he uses his rank to constantly belittle and stomp upon Ha Moo Yeom's desire to catch the murderer.  Again both actors shine as they constantly face off in a battle of supremacy as each man feels the need to close this case.  I especially like the scene where they were in the autopsy room and Moo Yeom begs to be a part of the team assigned to the Gap Dong case.  His earnest and anxious need to see it through and then Chul Gon's fierce desire to make him pay for the supposed sins of his father are electrifying.  When the Scary Tiger starts to accuse Moo Yeom of being a possible suspect (like father, like son) you truly just want to smack his smug smirk off with the back end of a frying pan. These two men's conflict with each other is truly the best dynamic within the show.

I personally can't wait to see our psycho hottie and Mad Monk start to fight against each other.  With the end of episode 2 it is obvious that Moo Yeom is now going to take the role as Tae Oh's nemesis.  And judging by his actions so far, Tae Oh is the type who is going to want to play with his enemy which should provide with some really compelling television.  I personally can't wait til Friday.

Kmuse

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps, posts and to join in our kdrama discussions.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts