We begin tonight's story in a truck - a freezer truck. A freezer truck with a girl locked inside. And a man coming to that girl's rescue.
But first, we flash to another scene. A scene in which we get a confession. A confession along the lines of, "Luke, I am your father", only this time substitute "Luke" with Se Na and "father" with mother. That's right. It finally comes out that Chairwoman Jang is Se Na's birth mother. 
Oh the shock. Se Na is speechless. Thank goodness because when she speaks I only want to scream because it's almost always a lie disguised as sweetness. She's noticeably shaken by the news and asks for a moment to collect her thoughts. Of course she takes this moment to make a phone call. "Wonder who she could be calling?", Dongsaeng sarcastically asks.
Duh. Of course she calls up Tae Mu. Tae Mu who has just finished locking Bak Ha in said freezer truck and is waiting on Lee Gak to show. Se Na tells him not to take care of the Bak Ha problem after all, because now they're blood sisters. Don't know or understand her full intention in calling off her hound, but she did. Only it's too late. Lee Gak is almost there. Not that Tae Mu would have backed off. He's in full CYT mode right now. Need that one defined? "Cover Your Toosh". Hey, this here is a family blog - no room for potty language around here.
So there's the confrontation. Blah blah blah...stuff is said, threats made. Cellphone with photo evidence of Tae Mu's fib handed over to Mr Evil. He then drops the key to the truck and makes Lee Gak bow before him to pick it up. Poor Prince Lee Gak. Bowing before such a low life as Tae Mu. But he does what he needs to do to save Bak Ha.
Turns out Tae Mu is not such an honorable man (no kidding! - shocker). He has some goons show up right then and they start beating the tar out of our Prince Charming. Just when it's looking really bad for Lee Gak, it's Yong Seol, Power Ranger Extraordinaire, to the rescue!
He kicks some major goon tooshie, leaving Lee Gak free to run and save Bak Ha.
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"How you doin' girl?"
"Oh, just chillin'"
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She's a little BakHa-cicle, but still alive and well enough to return home to where we see the J3 sitting there waiting anxiously. Aw! Aren't they cute?!
They help Bak Ha into the house and we see another classic form of "the formation" - the posse of cuties fawning and falling all over themselves to help the pretty girl. So, if I go and get myself locked in a freezer truck, will I have four 300-year-old hotties carry me in to my apartment too? Don't think I won't try it - I mean, look at them. You know you'd try it too.
Next thing we know, it's morning and Lee Gak has been watching over Bak Ha all night. Okay, this has been something I have wanted to bring up multiple times in the past. Anytime they show this angle of her room, I see these - boxes? - with the label "Purity Flavored" on them. I just have to ask, what flavor exactly is "purity"? Grape? Strawberry? Pineapple? Cotton Candy? Spinach? What exactly does "purity" taste like? I bet it's refreshing. Hmm, just thought I'd ask.
Ok, fine. Enough about the funny 'Engrish'. I'll cut to the scene that I know you all want me to show.
Here you go....
He "tames" her mouth and eyes with a kiss in a very brief, yet sweet, moment. Awww!
This brush with death has recharged Bak Ha's desire to find her birth mother. She gets the idea to put an ad in the paper and puts her picture in an envelope in order to submit it for publication.
We then cut to Se Na and Tae Mu, sitting down together while Se Na reveals that she is the rightful first daughter of Chairwoman Jang after all.
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| Aw, look how meek and humble she is. |
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| "So, she's like, actually your sister then?" |
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| "Don't say that out loud. It makes me feel dirty." What? YOU feel dirty because BAK HA is your sister? Why? Just because you're so nasty compared to her? You should feel dirty being her sister. She's purity flavored after all and you're dirty-gum-scraped-off-the-ground flavored. |
At this point we see the pure, unadulterated glee grow in Tae Mu's face. He's practically giddy with excitement. You can see the wheels turning. This is a wonderful turn of events for him. He's so excited he can barely contain himself. Seriously, have you ever seen him so animated with joy? Everything's coming up Tae Mu.
He's so full of himself. Oh yeah, Tae Mu? Think you're all that and a bag of chips? I've got news for you there buddy, you ain't. You're more like this....
Bak Ha, against Lee Gak's urging to rest, decides to go to work as Chairwoman Jang's secretary to prove to Tae Mu that he hasn't beaten her. She's still carrying the envelope with her baby picture meant for the "Hey Mom - where are you?" ad she's putting in the paper. Of course Chairwoman Jang sees it and asks about it. Bak Ha explains that it is a picture she is using to find her birth mother. "Oh can I see it?" asks Chairman Jang. "Of course!" says Bak Ha. The envelope is handed over. The tension rises. The truth is about to be revealed in a dramatic moment! Chairwoman Jang slowly and painfully starts to extract the photo from the envelope when...
CRAP! She gets a phone call!
From SE NA of course!
Aigoo!
Dash it all!!!!
This of course makes Se Na freak out! The pictures all over the wall of Bak Ha's dad! Surely Chairwoman Jang will see them and she can't have that.
Why hasn't she seen them before? Has she not been to the house? No, really. I really don't remember. Has she? Or have they always met outside of the apartment? Or is she just blind and missed them?
Oh well, either way, Se Na dashes over to the home of the woman who raised her to hide the evidence.
Hahahahahaha! Oh my, this girl is shameless! Her deceit knows no bounds.
The dinner is so sad and touching. Man Ok is obviously distraught at the loss of her daughter. Se Na is oblivious to her mother's sentiments, thinking, I'm sure, only of herself and maintaining the facade and keeping all of the lies she's hiding hidden.
Chairwoman Jang goes to comfort her friend. At least we know compassion isn't completely dead in the family line. I guess it all skipped Se Na and went straight to little sister Bak Ha.
We then get Lee Gak showing the picture of Tae Yong and Tae Mu in New York to Bak Ha, which she has seen before. What she hasn't seen though is herself in the background of this picture. She realizes that they (the Taes) had met in the bar that she worked in in NY and that Tae Yong had dropped off the postcard with his drawing of her there himself.
Aha! Lee Gak's got him now! He plans to destroy him...completely. This just got personal after all. No one throws his woman in a freezer truck and gets away with it! You hear me?! No one!
Begin Operation Mess with Tae Mu part Two. Is it only part two? I lost count. Whatever. It's still funny as all get out. No really. Watch his face throughout the exchange.
They begin by going out to a bar. All is well. Lee Gak is playing the part of forgetful Tae Yong well. He tells Tae Mu that he's excited to introduce him to someone he's met. Hmmm...wonder who it could be?
Bak Ha of course! Did you see that one coming? Well, didja? Tae Yong makes a well-timed exit, long enough for Bak Ha to meet Tae Mu and accuse him of sleeping well despite his heinous act of last night (you know, locking her in the truck). Sorry there buddy. You know what they say, right? A woman scorned and all? You think scorning is bad - you should see what happens when you drug her and leave her to freeze to death. Oh heck yeahs. She's got your number pal. You're toast.
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| See that face? She's not messing around. It's about to get real up in here. |
Anyway, so the ruse is that Tae Yong ran into this woman that he remembers from New York randomly in front of the office. How coincidental, huh? He brings her to meet with himself and Tae Mu under the guise of introducing her to his cousin.Then they toy with him a little.
Talk about the bar where she worked.
How he (Tae Yong) had drawn the picture on the postcard for her.
How Tae Yong, after thinking about it, thinks he's starting to remember their meeting.
Bak Ha seems to recall that the two Taes were together that day.
Watch his face. I know, so many screenshots - I just thought they told the story so well. His expressions during this conversation are priceless!
Tae Yong to Bak Ha: "Oh silly! This guy says he didn't meet me in NY!"
Well played Team Lee Gak and Bak Ha, well played. You have him scared. Methinks you're playing with fire though. Remember what happened last time you had him on the run? Something about a truck...and some freezing.... Ring a bell? Play with him if you must, goodness knows I love it, just watch your back. This guy gets vicious when he's backed in to a corner and threatened.
Which brings us here - Tae Yong's office. Tae Mu is snooping around and comes across a laptop on the bookshelf. He opens it up to find the picture of him and Tae Yong. Now, remember, at this point he thinks that the real Tae Yong is back from his coma and that Lee Gak is off somewhere, hiding now that his con has been revealved. He knows that Lee Gak is on to him, but not Tae Yong. He believes that Tae Yong is still clueless as to what went down in NY. So he's concerned that eventually Tae Yong will use the computer and see the picture. At this point he assumes that that hasn't happened since Tae Yong is still playing innocent Mr. No Memory of the Incident. Follow all that? He gets caught for snooping and replaces the computer back on the shelf. Obviously though, we know he won't leave it alone at that. He may be temporarily stopped, but we know he'll be back for it.
And then, finally, an AHA! moment! Prince Lee Gak displays some of the brains he was known for back in his day. He finally puts a couple of puzzle clues together, namely "so if you and the princess were blood sisters back in the Joseon era, maybe you're actually blood sisters here as well, not the stepsisters you thought".
Oh.
Yeah.
Maybe.
Huh.
How about that?
Never thought about it that way.
Now, we knew Tae Mu wouldn't let the computer thing go, right? So of course he sends Se Na in for it. She sneaks in.
See how sneaky she is? She's wasting her time as a laid-off secretary. Maybe she should look into covert ops.
She finds the computer and opens it, seeing the picture that Tae Mu is so desperate to bury.
Uh oh. Guess who comes in?
Grandma.
And she's pissed.
(Hmm, on second thought, maybe a I was a bit premature on the whole covert ops idea).
"That was Tae Mu and Tae Yong, wasn't it?"
Now, prepare yourself. This next part is sad. Grab your kleenex.
Got it? Promise? You're not going to want to go any further until you are properly prepared. Just trust me. Okay, ready or not...
Grandma falls down the stairs.
Se Na panics and meets, who else, but Tae Mu. Under the bridge, like the trolls they are.
He comforts a very rattled Se Na, telling her to run to Hong Kong and don't look back.
Meanwhile, Lee Gak shows up back at the house after going out to get some noodles for Grandma. He finds her on the floor in a pool of blood.
He rushes to her. Didn't anyone ever tell him not to move somebody who has fallen unless absolutely necessary? I don't think it would have made much difference in this situation, but the first aid training in me kicked in to high gear and I found myself wanting to yell at the screen.
Poor Halmoni. She doesn't make it. Gosh, I loved that lady. What now?
Lee Gak returns to the house and finds the key that Se Na dropped in the struggle. He knows someone was there. Think he suspects something? Does he know this was no accident?
Se Na is in full meltdown panic mode. She is hastily throwing a bag together. I must give props to this actress by the way. Wow! She did a fantastic job with this character in this scenario.
Bak Ha, remembering what Lee Gak said about her maybe being Se Na's blood sister, runs to Chairwoman Jang after dropping her and Se Na off at the airport, envelope in hand. She shows her the picture.
It's true! Bak Ha is In Joo, long-lost birth daughter of Chairwoman Jang. And blood sister to a nasty piece of work.
Said nasty piece of work sees the reunion between mother and daughter and realizes that it's all over. The secret is out. It's all going to unravel. She was already on the edge, this puts her over.
She runs away. She texts Momma Jang to admit that yes, Bak Ha is her real daughter and she's sorry for lying and not telling the truth and is too ashamed to face her or go to Hong Kong with her after all.
Finally, we see a little conscience from this girl. A little soul peeking out. Well, it's about friggin time.
She drowns her sorrows in a whole lot of alcohol. Cute nails by the way. Those were my high school colors. Go Gators!
She hears someone enter the room, and assumes it's Tae Mu since she's waiting for him. She asks him why he made her go to the funeral and how he was able to stand before his grandmother like that.
This party wouldn't be complete though without Tae Mu showing up right at that moment as well.
Shocked expressions are exchanged. And the episode ends.
Oh my! What ever will episode 18 bring? Does Se Na mend her dirty-gum-on-the-ground flavored ways? Is there still hope for her? Does Tae Mu finally get what's coming to him? Do we finally solve the 300 year old mystery of the Princess's death? Ack! So much yet to resolve! Can't wait until tomorrow!
Unnie's 2 cents:
Oh Dongsaeng! I heart you & this review so much! LOVE the pictures! Especially the devil version of Tae Mu. Accurate & Hysterical! And I too had noticed the "Purity Flavored" boxes & was curious about them...I just never got around to asking. Thank you. I feel a sense of closure...even without an answer...yet. I feel the satisfaction of closure just because one of us finally asked about the boxes. Ahhhh.Can I just say, first & foremost, how much I ADORE those wonderful, funny, butt kicking, worrying, caring, gorgeous, selfless Joseon Power Rangers SO much. Seriously!! They are absolutely spectacularly awesome!! They were only in the beginning of this episode & I LOVED their brief moments so much. I want to have my very own Joseon Power Ranger Posse too!! Do you think CA can make that happen by my birthday? He has like 2 weeks!! What not enough time? Or do you think he wouldn't really want me to have 4 incredibly good looking, sexier than all get out, men following me around & taking care of my health, my safety, my...... "needs". {giggle-yeah I went there-oh like you wouldn't!!}
Now onto my 2 cents...{But unnie you've already gone for like 10 minutes-none of THAT was your 2 cents?!?! - I'm getting there, geez Bossy Bessie.}
Gotta talk about my MOST favorite moment. His "Taming" of her mouth & eyes. So sweet but is it just me but I would not have kept quiet OR closed my eyes, so I could get more kisses. Anybody else agree? {wink wink rowr-giggle}
Moments that stuck out to me, besides the ones w/ my Power Rangers, were when it was finally revealed to SeNa she was Chairwoman Jang's 1st born. I think that is the first time I saw real actual honest emotion on her face, other than avarice & greed of course. It was kind of unsettling honestly. Maybe even creepy, to see her show human emotion. But within few a minutes I couldn't tell if she was being sincere or not again, when she knelt down before Chairwoman Jang & apologized for her earlier lie about being the 2nd daughter. (If you are confused by this description in another post I laid out the intricacy of their entire relationship...go here for that road map, it'll make everything clear.) {ROFLOL No it won't Unnie, it was even more confusing that just watching the show itself!---Shhh, they don't know that!} Really it'll help. {winks & giggling evilly-Unnie}
Then the other thing I noticed in this episode even more than usual, and Dongsaeng mentioned it above was the many freaked out faces of Tae Mu & the one scene in which he is practically doing a booty dance in his seat, he's so giddy w/ unabashed greed, when SeNa informs him of her maternal heritage. Lee Tae Sung, you make great faces!! Keep 'em coming, please. This Unnie loves them.
Then when Halmoni was murdered I believe my exact message to Dongsaeng via "Text-ersation" was... and I quote...
"OMO OMO OMO OMO OMO OMO OMO!!!!!!" I just looked at my iPad & that is exactly what I said. Yes, I am articulate!
Also little sidenotice... I really liked seeing "Harry Potter/Bow Tie" man (officially tired of looking up his name) look concerned over Hippy Aunt (like this name for her better) when waiting to hear if Halmoni passed, in the hospital. It was a very touching scene & I think shows that even though he doesn't want to admit it, he likes her too. Awww. I wonder if they will complete that story line? With only 3 episodes left....I doubt it.
Then when Bak Ha ran back into the airport to find Chairwoman Jang & show her the picture.....FINALLY!!! It was about freaking time! And of course the look on SeNa's face when she turns around to Tae Yong/Lee Gak & discovers she let the proverbial "cat out of the bag." Priceless.
These are the moments that stood out to me. Although like Dongsaeng I truly enjoy the really fun new game, "Messing w/ Tae Mu's Mind!" Kind of wishing I could play too....although I would totally suck at it, absolutely no poker face talent in my whole little body. Plus, my maniacal laughter would probably give it away too. Oh well. At least I can watch the professionals do it via this delightful show.
This show is off the chain fun & intense & entertaining. It's a Trifecta! Looking forward to tomorrow's episode! We have to come up with a nickname for Lee Gak & Bak Ha. If any of you can think of a clever combo of their names please leave it in the comments. I am so that Team!
Next up The King 2 Hearts ep 17 review courtesy of Unnie. Won't you join me?
Sarang,
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