Thursday, July 9, 2015

I Remember You ep 6: The Body and Bad Guy Count Continues to Grow

There is so much going on in this episode that I'm not even sure where to start. More dead bodies. More connections. More possible/probable bad guys. And one big problem - Seo In Guk is way too distracting as a leading man and makes it hard to focus on all of these deep plot intricacies.



 The old man and the bludgeoning

Our gorgeous leading man has gone to pay the old man, Prosecutor Shin, a visit. Prosecutor Shin is the sole survivor of our revenge-seeking murderer of last episode - the young man who's father was framed and imprisoned for the murder of his wife and daughter. His murder was the one that the police were able to prevent. Hyeon wants to know why this man was on the hit list. Here's why: Park Yeong Cheul, man framed for murder of wife and daughter. Officers Yang (our dead cop "friend" with info on Lee Hyeok's dad) and Choi investigated the crime and wrongfully arrested the wrong man. Surviving son-turned-revenge-murderer Park Dae Yeong's first victim was one Cho Hyeok Joo, the real guy who killed his mother and sister. Prosecutor Shin was the man that put Park Yeong Cheul behind bars, knowing that he wasn't actually guilty, in order to protect the real killer, Cho Hyeok Joo, mob informant. By shielding the informant who was the real killer, Prosecutor Shin was able to make a major bust in the mob and earn himself some fancy accolades. This lead into a spirited philosophical debate on whether or not it is better for one life to be lost in the act of saving others. According to Prosecutor Shin, yes, it is better to lose one innocent if it benefits a greater number of people. Lee Hyeon is quick to point out that this is a belief apparently held by psycho killers. I'm sure that this will most likely be an important theme going forward, so best to make mention of it.

And now, we get a little story about Lee Joon Yeong from our eerie old man. Ready for another story? This one is kinda major and important. I warned you - lots of stuff came at us in this episode, even in just the first few minutes. Okay. So here's how it all went down. Pros. Shin was the one that prosecuted Lee Joon Yeong, who at the time was arrested for a simple robbery murder case. He had been suspected in other murders, but there was never enough evidence to catch him. Enter this "simple" case where he was finally caught. Pros. Shin infers that evidence was fabricated in order to catch LJY, and that Lee Hyeon's father was most likely the one that fabricated this evidence. So, the debate then becomes whether or not Dad did the right thing. This debate is cut short by another shocking revelation - Hyeon has had not one, but two episodes of memory loss in his life. Pros. Shin then asks him what he remembers of his mother's murder. 

What the what??? We don't get any further information than this because right in that moment, Hyeon is suddenly attacked and hit from behind by a mystery person we only get a tiny glimpse of and falls to the ground unconscious.
Who are you? Show us your face! Is it LJY or an "errand boy" send by LJY? ACK! ANSWERS PLS!
Since this is a tense moment, I'm not even going to make some borderline inappropriate remark about not minding the idea of seeing a passed out SIG on MY floor....


The Other Memory
As he is bludgeoned from behind by our mystery person and passes out, we get flashbacks to this second memory lost. The murder of Hyeon's mother. Purple flowers. Blood. His little brother's face and a "hyung!". Mom telling Hyeon to run away.

So, who killed Hyeon's mom? Was Lee Joon Yeong somehow involved? Did his father fabricate evidence in order to catch him because he killed his wife? How was Min involved?? What the heck is going on? I need answers! There's something seriously funky and twisted going on here. Hyeon wakes up on the floor, bloody and disorientated, and finds a "love note" left to him - a card with a picture of purple flowers on it. He remembers the words of LJY that he will have kept his promise and will be by his side by this time. He remarks that from that time on, Pros. Shin disappears and is never heard from again.
Even bloodied and perplexed, he still looks crazy gorgeous. Just how does he do it?!


How Dick and Sally Met/Boy Meets Girl
We learn in this episode just how and why Lee Hyeon and Ji An's paths crossed. Ji An's father was one of the guards in the ambulance when Joon Young made his escape. As he disappeared right along with the suspect, Dad got blamed for being an accomplice. The young Ji An of course believes her father to be innocent. As she is skulking around the police station fighting for her father's good name, she happens to find out that Hyeon is the son of the man killed by Joon Young. She starts tailing him in an effort to find out more. Fast forward to the present and we learn that Lee Hyeon now knows that she is his childhood stalker and that she has the missing files on his father's murder.

Number 1

Because our collection of creepy bad guys or potential bad guys wasn't large enough, we get another one added in. Or another two really I guess. Or I suppose it's actually three. Who knows. I give up trying to count. Anyway, we see a young man sitting at a table. A book is pushed towards him by a disembodied arm. What book you ask? Why Lee Hyeon's book of course. In it is a sticky note with information about Lee Hyeon's upcoming lecture. Next thing we know, this young man is sitting in the audience as Hyeon discusses whether psychopaths are born (have a genetic disposition) or made (products of their environment). The subject material is of particular interest to our new character because his father sits in jail for murder and he is concerned that he himself is a murderer like his father, or at least has the potential to be. Hyeon, obviously having a personal chord hit by the young man's concerns, having fought these very thoughts himself from the time he was young and his father called him a monster, takes the boy under his wing and talks to him. Gives him his number even. And then sends him a book called "The Wolf Story", which we don't know yet the story of, but I'm sure it will be significant later on of course.


Our troubled young man, Lee Jeong Ha, is soon in a whole mess of trouble when he confesses to killing a man named Park Jeong Soo.

Park Jeong Soo was the man that took the stand as a witness against Lee Jeong Ha's father, Lee Han Cheol and so it appears to be yet another simple revenge killing. Except there's a problem. The crime scene evidence shows that there was a third person and that Lee Jeong Ha is most likely not the actual murderer as he claims to be.

Lee Hyeon is of course convinced that Jeong Ha is lying in order to cover for someone else. Just who would that be? My money is on a little brother. Just like Lee Hyeon. See where we're going here???
Little brother and Dad - oh yeah, they look innocent.
Dirty Cops?

So, we have potential bad guys piling up all over the place. Sadly, our police station and Special Investigations team is not immune from suspicion. I've got two I'm keeping an eye on, and I'm not the only one. As all this is going down, Hyeon is checking in to see who was first on scene at the murder of the police officer. After the first responders, the first to cross the yellow tape was none other than our super creepy medical examiner. But, we later learn that there was one who showed up even earlier and before the rest of his team - the cop who's name I don't know but who is the one looking into it for Hyeon. When his coworker calls him out on it, pointing out that he excluded his own name from the list even though he was the first one there, the guy gives a lame excuse of "well, I didn't think he was suspecting me". That's mighty fishy right there. Red flags are waving like crazy here. Do we have a bad cop on our hands?
Mr White Shirt - what are you up to?

And, as Kmuse has previously pointed out, our team leader is also acting suspiciously. I really hate to believe that either one of these guys is dirty, but at this point, I'm not ruling anything out as a possibility.

Dining with the Enemy

This has to be one of the most hair-raising dinners ever in dramadom. Lee Hyeon invites his M.E. neighbor over for dinner. As the two cook, the disturbing factor increases exponentially with M.E. wielding a knife and claiming to be quite skilled with it.
Totally normal way to look at a knife. Totally. He looks like he wants to make out with it. Or carve a SIG:(

Ooh! This guy is trying so hard to be uber sinister. And succeeding. Again, we get the same dinner scene with a Lee man sitting across from a super creepy dude at the dinner table. I love that the director keeps using this setting to remind us of the past.

One of the topics breached at this awkward dinner is what the M.E. found at the crime scene of the murdered cop. There was something that the cop wanted to share with Lee Hyeon in relation to his father's death, but whatever that mysterious item is has mysteriously gone missing. Being the first on scene as he was, this has Lee Hyeon asking the creepy neighbor a few questions. I love how the guy was caught in his lie about being a "goose dad" or whatever the term is - a father who stays in Korea and works while his family is abroad. I'm glad Lee Hyeon is smart enough to figure out that this guy is one giant bag of BS.

A couple of other moments where this guy gave me the heebie jeebies...
What is this look??? What is the lawyer to him?
Reading his own story here perchance?
Hiring Your Enemy that is Probably Your Little Brother

In what may be yet another ploy to keep his potential enemies close, like I believe he is doing with the Medical Examiner Creepy Neighbor, Lee Hyeon calls up the lawyer (who I continue to reference as little brother Min every time he comes on screen so I haven't even bothered to learn whatever name he goes by these days) in order to hire him to represent the young man Lee Jeong Ha. It isn't quite clear at this time his reasoning behind this, but rest assured, this is our brilliant Lee Hyeon so obviously he has a brilliant reason and we will soon know what that is as we move forward.

Ready for a Heart Shattering?
We end this episode with a heartbreaking conversation between our two "someday lovers" (meaning that they aren't in a relationship yet but someday we know they will be). Hyeon asks Ji An why she didn't just tell him her identity and that she too, like him, had lost her father to Joon Young. She comes back with some junk about how he hadn't remembered her and that hurt her pride. He calls her bluff and accuses her, in a hurt-filled voice, of doubting him. He knows that she thinks he is a monster like Joon Young and on his side.

He ends with a question of her, "how do I look in your eyes?" - the same question asked of him by the troubled young man earlier.
Gorgeous. Perfect. Beautiful. Hot. Super super sexy. Need I go on?

Ouch! Oh my, but that hits me right to the gut. Poor Hyeon! Spending his whole life being questioned and doubted by those close to him. Always wondering about whether they are right or not. What a tortured existence that is! Breaks my heart. Shatters it into a million pieces. I just want to hug him, pat his pretty head, and tell him that not everyone thinks he is a monster.


Okay, so unlike our mean writers, I can't leave us on such a sad note. I have a couple of other moments I wanted to mention before signing out for today.

Like this moment when Ji An shoots down the lawyer after he offers her a ride and then pretty much responds to his "the work I do as a defense attorney is good because..." remark with a "boo hoo, you still suck" reply. Haha! She rocks!
Oooh! If looks could kill! He'd be a serial kil....uhh....hmmm.... *wink*

Just one of so many example of why SIG does not make a good leading man. Just look at that! How am I supposed to concentrate on the plot when he looks like that?! And this is just one of many, many more moments where he was too distracting. Oh so many more.
*fans self*
I will leave it here for now. As I mentioned earlier, there was so much going on in this episode that it was kind of hard to cover it all. This story is getting so complicated and complex, with all sorts of histories and stories being cleverly interwoven. It reminds me of why I don't read mysteries, or, when I do, why I always skip to the end when things start to get like this. Watching this two episodes per week at a time is certainly an exercise in major patience for me. It seems as if every new bit of information we get just raises even more questions and possibilities. But honestly, the way it is shaping up so far, I am so impressed and optimistic that this one will shine as a perfect example of storytelling at its best. I'm having fun on this (albeit it frustrating) journey so far as I hope you are as well!

Back hugs and fish kisses,
Dongsaeng

6 comments:

  1. Oh boy, little bro's look when Ji An tells him the OTHER guy (the one in the hospital that lil Min is supposed to be defending) is number one for SIG - chilly chilly

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  2. Frankly, I was a bit confused by this episode, mainly coz I can't seem to concentrate on the story and just go on a stare-at-SIG binge then my mind refuses to process any data after that. No, that is not some joke, I really don't know how they made him be that distracting, this has never happened before. Too many handsome korean actors out there but I was never distrated from any story like this. btw, the writers can't seem to think of any family name but Lee, our main lead is Lee Hyeon, then some wannabe killer is Lee Jung Hwa then the somewhat doctor is Lee Joon Ho. Nice.

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    1. On the name thing - oh my goodness, YES!!! All of these names are so stinking close it is driving me batty!!!! I can't keep them all straight. And yes, I know exactly what you mean by SIG being incredibly distracting. He just has this way about him that I don't fully understand, but he sucks you in so deep that you can't crawl out.

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    2. I supper agreed! oh my I'm already quite bad with korean names, and then they gave me all the names with "Lee" in this show....including some minor roles in the minor murder cases too ! *OMG* I gave up trying to rmb any other names except for the leads ....LOL

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  3. Is it just me? SIG seems fabulously charming in this show...as compared to other of his previous shows ... is it becos he need to act this way as a genius high IQ professor in criminology (and a possible psychopath)??

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