Dramatic Friday Review: Rooftop Prince ep 18

Yesterday Dongsaeng & I were talking about how hard it has been reviewing the last....oh dozen or episodes of The King 2 Hearts because of the massive drama in the show.  We could poke fun but I think we both have felt the seriousness of the subject matter just hasn't left a whole lot of room for flippancy.  At least not without burdening ourselves w/ remorse for bad jokes & bad taste.  So she teased me, when I had to review yesterdays ep 17 of TK2H & when I finished I teased her for today's 18th episode.  Rooftop Prince has more room for levity & is more fun for us to review.  While TK2H gives off a more melodrama/thriller movie feel Rooftop Prince has more of a soap opera-esque feel to it & soap operas are always fun to pick on.  Right?

And while I still have things I have & will poke fun for ep 18 RTP, I will admit, even this one had me on the edge of my seat last night.  I watched it on my iPad in bed, while CA slept soundly, loudly like a bear in his cave for winter - snoring the walls down, next to me.  And even though he is not a quiet sleeper {giggle - poor CA, his wife reveals private stuff about him on her public K blog - this is what you are all thinking, right?} it took all my willpower to not talk (scream) back at the iPad screen.  So I am warning you now, if you haven't seen the episode yet....watch where you can talk back to the screen.  I think it would have helped relieve some of the anxiety.  

The last thing my dongsaeng talked about in her review yesterday was the shocked expressions on every one's faces when it was Tae Yong who walked through the door into Tae Mu/SeNa's Officetel apt, & she spilled her "killer" secret.  

{Oh Unnie!  You so Punny! {cricket/cricket} Ok, in my head that was funny.  Maybe I didn't tell the joke right?  Hmmm...}

When episode 18 starts they are all still staring at each other.  Until, that is, Lee Gak/Tae Yong throws a huge punch & knocks Tae Mu down & calls him & SeNa murderers & liars.   Now in the fit of passionate hate & outrage he also says, "I knew it before."  And a couple other things.  Why this is important is because later Tae Mu will remember it, via flashback of course.  But in the heat of the moment the comment goes unnoticed.  Of course if my cousin were punching me in the face & insulting me, I'd probably be more concerned with the punching first too.  

He makes the BEST faces.  Is he thinking...

I'm going to kill that rat b^*&#d cousin!
OR
  I have to get tickets to Big Bang's "Alive" tour?  I just LOVE T.O.P.!!  He's the bomb diggety!!!

It's really anybody's guess. ^.^

After the big fight & the yelling we see Lee Gak show up at the real Tae Yong's hospital room.  Where he apologizes for not being able to keep his Halmoni safe & that he will not be able to forgive himself until he makes those responsible pay for their crimes.  He swears he will make it right.

Then we see him standing stoically lost in deep thought.  But his entire visage brightens completely the minute he spies Bak Ha walking toward him.  Awww...every girl wants her man to look so happy & bright when she walks within eye sight.  Like she is the whole happy world to him.  We watch as he & Bak Ha, sitting under that beautiful tree on the hilltop looking over Seoul together, discuss her shocking news that Chairwoman Jang is in fact her mother, which confirmed his suspicion that she & SeNa were, in fact, full blooded biological sisters.  Answering another of his questions re: the leap forward from Joseon.  

He thinks she must be happy to know she is not alone anymore & while she is acknowledging she should be happy, I think she feels even more alone.  Wouldn't you, if you found out that your real sister was SeNa?  I would.  She steps away from their bench & stands, softly crying on the hill & he comes up behind her slowly to wrap her in his arms.  Unfortunately, it's just not possible, because for the first time, he sees himself fade & he is unable to hold her.  

He tries to hide it from her & walks away but she can sense, probably from the incredibly expressive facial expressions - just guessing, he is wearing.  So she follows him & he admits to what happened & finds out that she has already seen him fade.  He gets mad at first & asks why she didn't think it was important to tell him that he's been fading?  But she asks him, "How do I tell you that?"  She has a good point.  How do you tell someone that?  When he thinks about it, he realizes she's right & it leads to a sweet hug moment.  

Lyrics to the OST are included in this screenshot.  I have nothing of any real import or funny to add.  Of
course you didn't know that & read this whole caption anyway.  Suckers. : P 

It's now nighttime & our dynamic leading couple are still discussing his fading.  They both figure that it means he is on the right path & closer to going back to Joseon.  Which of course makes them both sad.  The thought of him leaving & them never seeing each other again.  I was waiting for her to tell him it would be nice if they lived in the same time again but alas she didn't.  :(  

In the next scene we see my favorite trio!!  

Yep they get a BIG picture.  Why?  Because I heart them so much!
Hello pretty men.  

uhm...where was I again...?

Oh yeah review...professional...think professional, unnie.

The Joseon Power Rangers inform Lee Gak that the police do not believe Halmoni was murdered.  They are investigating the neighborhood etc...  He tells them that Tae Mu is indeed responsible but without proof, a gut feeling is just not going to cut it.  They need evidence. 

The next morning is the reading of Halmoni's will.  And everyone is there.  Well not everyone.  No Power Rangers {sad face} & no Bak Ha.  Remember the Power Rangers are still in hiding because Lee Gak is pretending to be the real Tae Yong, and as the real Tae Yong is not the one in love with Bak Ha, she's not needed in this scene either.  But Harry Potter/Bow Tie Man & Hippy Aunt are there as well as Tae Mu & his dad & Lee Gak.  It's revealed that Halmoni left everything to Tae Yong.  However, if Tae Yong was not there or available then it would all go to Tae Mu.  That the Will will be official the next day at noon & everybody (meaning Tae Yong) has to be there or it all goes to the next in line.   

Now if that isn't a set up for Tae Mu & his dad to try & prevent Tae Yong from being able to attend in time I don't know what is...totally predictable that scene.  Pathetic even but for a Soap Opera-esque kind of show, it's standard protocol.

It's after the meeting on his way back to his apt that Tae Mu has that awesome flashback to his fight w/ Tae Yong.  And he remembers that key phrase.  And it sends him back to the office in search of the video taken the day the real Tae Yong woke up from his coma, so miraculously.  

And if you remember that moment when Lee Gak realizes he is still wearing his couple ring & tries oh so discreetly to shove his hand under the sheet before Tae Mu sees it & realizes the truth.  Well that scene is on the video & for the first time Tae Mu sees it & makes more great faces as realizes what happened...

ROFLOL I LOVE his faces!!

Then we see this strange man ringing SeNa & Tae Mu's doorbell to their officetel.  When she opens the door he reveals he is a police officer & that he has some questions for her.  She looks suitably shaken by this info & that's all we get from that scene.  Then it shoots back to Tae Mu who has just arrived at his Halmoni's home & is stealthily creeping over to Tae Yong's car, while holding a black paper bag.  He tries the handle & finding it unlocked he opens it, looks around for a moment & then glances inside the bag...

Guess what he's going to do.

If you guessed frame Tae Yong you are super smart!

This is where we see him trying to prevent his 'cousin' from making that will reading the next day.  

While Tae Mu is planting evidence & framing Lee Gak, he & Bak Ha are trying to figure out a way to come up with evidence of their own, course they want real evidence not the fake kind. When it's revealed on a TV news show that cars in Korea come equipped w/ a  "black box", kind of like a recorder in a police car, it records what is going on outside the car.  Its how they have helped to prevent car accidents.  Lee Gak remembers back to when he was coming back to Halmoni with her noodles & he stepped on glass etc in the street from an obvious car accident.  And he asks Bak Ha if she thinks there will be evidence on that car's black box of who came & went from Halmoni's house the day & time she died.  Eureka!  It is possible & so then they go from garage to garage looking for the car in the accident & then they go to the owner's house, only to find out that the car actually belongs to out of town relatives, who live a distance away.  

As Bak Ha & Lee Gak share one of his favorite sugary fruit drinks, they discuss going to that house asap...only they are interrupted by the police officer who had been questioning SeNa earlier.  He asks if Lee Gak is Tae Yong.  He confirms he is Yong Tae Yong & is promptly & unceremoniously arrested & dragged off for processing & jail.  For impersonation & possibly murder & embezzlement.  It would seem Tae Mu's frame up is going according to plan.  No matter how much he insists he didn't do anything & is in fact Tae Yong the police don't believe him & he is going to rot in their jail cell.  Which means that Tae Mu has also succeeded in preventing Lee Gak from appearing in time for the will reading the next day.  Or has he????  {This would be an ideal place for an eyebrow raising emoticon, don't ya think?}

The next morning Bak Ha is sitting down & trying to pass the time, & she spies Lee Gak's precious handkerchief, you know the one that the Crown Princess "supposedly" made all by herself all night long just for him.  

but upon looking at it...

 she notices something in the corner.  It looks like an abbreviation of B.Y. in the corner but she isn't positive & has no idea what that might mean.

So when she goes to visit Lee Gak in jail she remembers the hanky & shows the abbreviation to him & he realizes that the B.Y. stands for Bu Yong, the crown Princess's sister...

 Then he reaches towards the hanky...I believe in an attempt to see what happens...only to find himself fading again.

Now what are the chances that this is how escapes & is able to make the will reading on time.

It's official I am obviously psychic!

No, it has nothing to do with predictable writing.  I AM psychic I swear!  Really!

I can prove it!!  Think of a color right now & I bet I can tell you what color you're thinking of...

>.< ---purple, red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, silver, grey, chartreuse, magenta, brown, orange!  See told ya I'd get your color.

Whew!  That was hard.  I should get myself some chocolate.  

Anyway, because he was able to escape he does indeed make it to the meeting but not on time.  No he has to be suitably late to the meeting to increase the anxiety filled room.  And  in the process we get to hear Tae Mu's dad's deep, slimy, chuckle.  Honestly, Tae Mu's dad totally creeps me out when he's smiling & laughing.  Like he's a pervy kind of naaaasssstuy!  Just creeps me the heck out.  Anyone else?  

Doesn't he creep you out too?  *shudder*

But just as Tae Mu is about to put his stamp on the will, in bursts Tae Yong, just in the nick of time!  Our hero.  Poor Tae Mu always a bridesmaid, never the bride.  Tsk tsk tsk...

Right after the meeting we see Lee Gak &, my favorites again, the Power Rangers.  They put the chip from the black box into the laptop & watch the evidence.  As soon as he sees it, he turns to Yong Seul & tells him to bring in Tae Mu.  

Before he knows what is happening Tae Mu, standing outside the front door of the company; in broad daylight, finds himself being grabbed & shoved into a car, driven by Chi San, with Yong Seul & Man Bo on either side of him.  One question?  Why are they driving off only to arrive back in the conference room they were in previously?  Ummm...weren't they also inside the company building?!?!    Honestly, I thought they were already inside the office building but maybe they were in hiding at Harry Potter/Bow Tie Man's house still.  Cause that conference room is not in the rooftop house.  So where in the heck were they?  

Once they get Tae Mu there, Lee Gak demands that Tae Mu call SeNa in as well, to wherever the heck they are having this meeting.  She arrives & they play the footage from the black box chip for both of them...

SeNa tries to get out of it by claiming she's always going in & out of Halmoni's house & then Tae Mu adds, when Lee Gak points out that it is at the time of Halmoni's death that she is leaving the house, that the exact timing of death is never accurate so it could be that she was there a couple of hours before or after Halmoni died.  

But Lee Gak knows what happened & he's demanding that they leave the area, the company etc...or he will get revenge like they would not believe.  And before I finish this review, which is quickly coming up AddiKts, I feel there is something I have noticed in every single episode of almost every drama I've seen.  

And that is....the fist clench!  Whenever they want to convey angst or aggression barely suppressed they show a glimpse of the male (sometimes the females too) clenching their fist tightly together.  

What is up with the fist clench?!?  I have never in my life seen men clench their fists like they do in k-dramas.  In American shows they mostly just grind their teeth & clench their jaws.  So my question is do Korean men (& sometimes women) really clench their fists this much?  Or is this one of those wonderful k-drama techniques used to show emotion without saying anything?  Personally I always prefer a nice flaring nostril moment.  But maybe that's just me.

All of these fist clench moments have been brought to you by the writers & director of Rooftop Prince....

Okay now back to my review...

So SeNa & Tae Mu have been properly thrown off their game what do they decide needs to be their next move???  Well duh.  We're talking about murderers & liars here people...they are going to kill Lee Gak.  Tae Mu takes SeNa to a fishing spot & tells her to learn the landscape & terrain well.  That she needs to, by any means possible, lure Tae Yong to this fishing hole.

While they are plotting the demise of our hero, our hero is at home, trying to get some sleep.  Only Bak Ha is making that impossible, as she sits outside his bedroom door calling, "Your Highness?  Are you really asleep?"  He realizes she is not going to go to sleep like he commands so he opens the door & asks her why she is so anxious.  At which point she confesses that after seeing him fade completely at the police station she is terrified that she'll go to sleep & he'll fade away completely.  So he grabs her wrist & brings her into his room, closing the door behind her.  And then my heart goes all beat skippy when he tucks her in bed next to him & clasps fingers with her.  Asking her if this is better?  My answer is .... almost.  {giggle, sorry I'll be more grown up}

As part of their grand scheme to take out Lee Gak, SeNa arrives at the rooftop house the next day all remorseful for her treatment of Bak Ha etc...  and I don't honestly know why I am surprised but Bak Ha lets her into the house so they can talk.  I realize that Bak Ha & SeNa are sisters etc... but seriously she is also aware that SeNa is possibly responsible for Halmoni's death & for all sorts of other lies & wrong doings.  I'd have kicked her skinny little lying a$$ off the rooftop & maybe cleaned her clock doing it!  But no Bak Ha not only brings her into the house but buys her whole, "I'm sorry / maybe I should kill myself" crap & then brings SeNa water & fruits.  I really want to slap Bak Ha & yell at her that she is an idiot.  While Bak Ha is getting the refreshments, she gets a text message on her phone, that once again she left out in the open, alone w/ the lying murderess.  At this point I think I will never leave my phone anywhere I am not.  You just never know what people will do when you leave it in their hands.  

SeNa picks up Bak Ha's phone & heads to the restroom where she not only reads Lee Gak's message but then responds to it & his question of what Bak Ha wants to do with him.  SeNa, as Bak Ha via text, tells Lee Gak to meet her, where else, the fishing spot for some night fishing at 8pm.  He then tells her that he left her a couple shirt & that she should wear it.  SeNa goes back into the main room, sticking Bak Ha's phone in her purse & then ungracefully says she's gonna go.  Thinking she's made good her escape she gets into her car & starts to drive away but Bak Ha stops her, convinced that SeNa is going to commit suicide.  Especially when she sees the GPS to the fishing hole, which is isolated & far away.   Then Lee gak is trying to call Bak Ha & her phone rings.  From SeNa's purse!! 

I was thinking good she's caught.  But oh no.  Bak Ha's stupidity knows no bounds & she says, 'wow my phone has the same ring tone, weird'.  {shaking my head at Bak Ha's ridiculous naivety nay her sheer stupidity!  Seriously Bak Ha?!?!  Seriously!?!?! For the love of all that is HOLY!!}

SeNa reaches into her purse, careful not to show the phone & turns it off.  And they drive off together to eat.  Only once they reach the restaurant & Bak Ha gets out SeNa squeals, I'm not really going to eat so I'm going to leave bye!"   And then drives off very quickly.  

Through all this Lee Gak is with the Power Rangers purchasing fishing supplies for his date w/ Bak Ha.  You can see how excited he is that he is getting this special night alone with Bak Ha, but he is concerned that he hasn't been able to get a hold of her all day, not since they set the date via text.  Yet, he is not concerned enough to go home & check on her.  The Power Rangers, it seems, are off to a game but Chi San forgot the tickets so he goes home to pick them up & tips off Bak Ha, when he says to have fun fishing w/ the Prince.  She starts adding it all up in her pretty little head.  SeNa acting so weird, the phone ringing in the purse, the fact that she hasn't seen her phone since then, the fishing date that she doesnt' know anything about, the surprise location on SeNa's GPS.  She knows they are going to do something to Lee Gak, she gets into a taxi & heads off to save her Prince Charming.  About fricken time!  

Lee Gak on the other hand is happily smiling to himself over her choice of isolated locations for their date & setting it all up.  I smile at his romantic happy in love face & yet I know what's really going on so....

However when 8 has come & gone he starts to worry...until he sees Bak Ha in the couple shirt.  

 Only it's not Bak Ha.  Hello SeNa.  And he calls out to Bak Ha & she waves back & then turns & runs.  He thinks it's a game so he chases after her.  

But really SeNa is leading him through the terrain she spent time learning, right to the perfect spot for Tae Mu, who is waiting in his car to kill Lee Gak.

Bak Ha arrives at this point & in her search for Lee Gak Finds him standing right in the path of Tae Mu's car.  But instead of immediately screaming at him to move she stands there looking shocked till the last possible second then she calls out for him, Tae Mu flashes on his headlights...

 But Bak Ha at the last minute runs to the rescue & pushes Lee Gak out of the way & ends up in the path of Tae Mu's car instead!

And that is how the episode ended.  

Seriously intense for Rooftop Prince.  Frustrating to watch these characters that I like so much acting so stupid.  Seriously it's like they're trying to do everything they can to help the 2 evil leads.  Frustrating & maddening!  

I am really looking forward to next week's final episodes of Rooftop Prince.  I will miss these guys too...okay mostly I'll miss the Power Rangers. ^^  And sweet romantic Micky.  Yes definitely going to miss Micky.  And while I am crossing my fingers, eyes & toes for a really awesome SWAK kind of ending for this one too...I honestly don't expect to get one because all the kisses have been kind of tame & boring.  Sweet but not much more depth to them than sweet.  Not that I am knocking sweet.  This drama is really good at sweet so I'm not complaining.  

Until next week AddiKts.

Sarang,

And now dongsaeng take it away my dear....

Dongsaeng's 2 cents:

Dongsaeng will post her 2 cents here in a little while...she is still watching the show.  King 2 Hearts done her in.  giggle.  When she's finished RTP she'll edit & add in her thoughts later.

*Runs in, totally out of breath*  Okay, okay.  I'm here!  Sorry I'm so late to the party.  Not that anyone wants to hear my lame excuses, but I have to tell the story anyway because it's my blog and telling stories is what I like to do.

So, last night was karate awards ceremony for my kids.  They both advanced to blue belts with purple stripes by the way, you know, if anyone is curious (go Little Poppers!).  This involved me sitting at a local school for 2 1/2 hours, which would have actually worked to my advantage had the school's internet not been so dumb as to block access to Viki.  Grr.  Could have really used that time to be productive Generic School District - thanks a lot for nothing!  So, anyway, we stumble home at the end of a very long, long evening with numb legs and weary bodies.  I toss those Little Poppers into bed and settle down to get to work.  I start with TK2H because that was the review I had to write.  There I am, all settled in with iPad in hand and pen and paper at the ready to take notes, when, alas!, no subs!  Seriously!  Something glitchy was happening with Viki.  The show started, but there were no subs.  I closed it and reopened it to try again.  Again, nothing.  Then the episode completely disappeared from the list of episodes.  It was right at that moment that I received a text from Unnie warning me to not watch either episode that night due to the intense nature of the episodes.  My Unnie knows me well.  She's got my back.  She knew that I'd already had one panic attack related ER visit that week (chincha, and no, I don't want to tell that story) and was worried for my health.  Sweet Unnie taking care of her little sister.  She even went as far as to offer to take all the reviews this week for me.  What a great big sister I have, right?  What she doesn't realize though is that the dramas don't cause the panic attacks.  If anything, they're like meds to help.  Sometimes.  Granted, these episodes wouldn't have helped very much.  And I was on the verge anyway, so I heeded my Unnie's advice, gave up on waiting for Viki to fix the problem and went to bed.

I awoke early and started them first thing this morning though.  Of course, by the time I finished with the insanely complicated review of TK2H, a lot of time had passed.  It took me all morning.  Then I had to eat.  And call a friend who needed a call.  And then call Unnie and goodness knows what those conversations can be like.  You think we say a lot here - ha!  We can go on and on and on for hours.  Until life derails us, in this case, she had to pick up kids from school.  I finally then sat down to watch, only to be interrupted by the Husband calling.  And more eating.  Before I knew it, I wasn't finishing the episode until nearly 3pm, which is where we are now.  I've just finished watching it finally and am ready to throw in my two cents.  Now that I've already managed to write half a novel.

Now to let you in on a secret.  Shhhh.  Come in closer.  Can you hear me okay?  Okay.  Don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, it's just between you and me.  Promise to keep my secret?  Okay.  My secret is that I'm totally stalling here.  I don't really want to give my two cents on this episode.  After a rocky early middle part with this series, I was finally on board with it.  Once we got through some of the middle episodes that were just, uhm, how do I say this nicely?  Crap?  Oh wait, that's not nice at all.  We'll just say I had issues with it at times.  Lately though it's been awesome and I've really enjoyed watching it.  This episode though, *sigh*.  I don't know what went wrong here.  I just wasn't feeling it.  It didn't grab me.  Not even the "dramatic" ending (that was the lamest car-running-someone-down scene ever).  It was just...well...I hate to say it, but it just really wasn't very good.  Definitely not on the same level it has been for the last however many episodes since it redeemed itself earlier.  It was hokey and contrived.  Bak Ha was an idiot to fall for SeNa's song and dance yet again when she literally does know better.  I understand that she's trusting and all, but c'mon girl!  Really?!  Really?!  *bangs head against wall in frustration*

It was just all over the place.  Even the music was particularly distracting this time around.  One second it's all serious.  Then happy.  Then sad.  Then happy.  Then serious.  On and on and on.  Pick an emotion and stick with it, would you?  All this bouncing around is making me dizzy.  Or is that the vertigo (part 2 of the ER visit I don't want to talk about but I'll keep alluding to annoyingly)?  There weren't a lot of moments when I cheered this time.  There weren't a lot of moments where I felt any thing at all.  It just didn't move me...and I'm a creature of emotion. I go by how I feel.  If I didn't feel anything, then it just didn't mean much to me.  And this episode just didn't do it for me.  Sorry.  I hate to be harsh, but I have to be honest.  I'm not giving up on it.  Not that I would anyways with only 2 episodes of 20 to go, but I still do hold out hope for the remainder of the show and am willing to once again chalk this up to a fluke, much like those few episodes in the middle there.  So, come one Rooftop Prince!  I know you've got it in you.  I've seen it plenty of times.  Bring your A game next week so that we can part as friends, 'kay?  Thanks!