Hyde, Jekyll and I ep 2 - Two's Clues

December 6, 2012. Anyone know the significance of that date? Anyone? Bueller? If you don't know, well, I'll tell you. That was the day that Hyun Bin's military service ended. I had it marked on my calendar. I had a countdown clock
going. Yes. Really. You see, Hyun Bin was my first drama crush thanks to Secret Garden, which was my 2nd drama and the one that hooked me completely and hopelessly on the genre as a whole. Shortly after falling in love with him and Kdramas (the two are forever linked in my heart), he began his military service. I was devastated. This was a brand new world to me. The idea that this gem of an actor that I had just discovered for myself was suddenly gone for 21 months was a bitter pill to swallow. I've grown more resigned to the inevitability now, but yeah, back then, when it was all still brand new, I had a hard time. Oh, how those 21 months just crawled at a snail's pace! Sure, I found other actors to love along the way, but man, I sure missed my Binnie. As his release date drew near, my anticipation grew stronger and stronger. I literally, for real, remember exactly where I was at the moment of his release. You may think that I'm just messing with you, but would I seriously want to come across as this crazy if it weren't true? I recall experiencing that unnerving sense of shock wonder that no one else around me had any idea of the momentous happenings that were occurring. It was so significant to me, yet life around me kept on going on, with everyone oblivious to it all. I wished that I could have turned on the radio and heard the news or watched it live on TV. How could the world just keep on turning while HB returned to civilian life?!? Inconceivable.

And then we all know what happened after that, right?

Nothing.

Zilch. Nada. Zip. Nothing.

No return to the world of drama. Oh, the unfairness of it all!!!  Here we had waited ever so impatiently all those nearly 2 years of his service, all for nothing. Oh sure, he did a movie somewhere in there and that's great and all, but do you know how impossible it is for me to get my hands on a movie??? Dramas are easy peasy. Plenty of resources. Movies? Not so much. Much, much harder to come by. It may as well not even exist. Ads (modeling, oh so much modeling!) and a movie - that's all that has come our way in the form of HB since March of 2011. The torture of these past 4 years has been palpable for this HB fan. So, yes, when word of his return to the drama world was announced, well, let's just say this ahjumma's wish was finally granted. And yes, there was no doubt in my mind which drama I wanted to talk about next. It was a no-brainer.

So, now that I've fully exposed my crazy to you all, let's hope that the drama gods play fair on this one and that this one lives up to my own private hype. Personally, I'll watch it no matter what, if for no other reason than to listen to that voice and see that face for 20+ hours. Yup. I am that cheap and without pure drama scruples. Whatcha going to do? 4 years people. 4 very long years. I am not giving up now. No siree. I ain't no quitter. I honestly had no idea what the drama was about before agreeing to recap it. It didn't matter. It was Hyun-Freaking-Bin's way overdue return to the small screen. Good news is that I'm okay with the Jekyll and Hyde concept. That's something. Though, I must admit, it's going to be a struggle to keep this one separated in my mind from Kill Me, Heal Me that I also just began and has the same concept of multiple personality disorder. Dear dramas - why? Why do you like to all follow a specific theme together? This happens all the time and I'm not quite so sure of it. If you wanted your drama to stand out from the crowd, wouldn't you want to choose a totally different storyline? Why do the same as someone else? I worry about the ratings on this one since Kill Me, Heal Me started sooner. And quite honestly rocks so hard that maybe some may not want to give yet another one with a similar plot line a go. Or, maybe the opposite will occur. Maybe everyone already watching KMHM will be so intrigued by the whole multiple personality thing that they will flock in droves to another one. Yeah, I'm sure that's more likely. **I just saw something today about how KMHM has been accused of plagiarising Hyde, Jekyll and Me. Oh goody. Drama drama. Lovely. Accusations such as this that hang over a drama really spoil the enjoyment of said drama. Boo. I hope it isn't true. If it is, shame on them. Bad form. As a bystander though, I'm going to let them battle it all out and I'm just going to watch my stories and pretend all is well. That's how I roll.**

As I pondered what I was going to write about this episode, something from my past life as a young SAHM kept coming to mind. Raise your hand if you are at all familiar with a certain (American) children's show that starred a blue dog and her human trying to solve mysteries/puzzles using clues? If you know it, this will make more sense to you, but even if you don't, that's okay too. In the show, the dog would leave paw prints on clues and the human would find them and write them down. There was a song involved and that song has been playing non-stop in my head as I've thought about all the "clues" that we've been given so far in these first two episodes of this drama. Obviously there is some mystery here that will slowly be unraveled for us, just as in pretty much every other drama. And usually this early on in the game, we are pretty lost and clueless as to what is actually going on. They drop enough hints and things to let us know that we really don't know what is happening, but that something is definitely happening. These are the things I wanted to focus on for now in this recap. Just for kicks, we'll call it Two's Clues.

CLUE - There is obvious history going on between our leads. There is a reason why the moment he sees Ha Na in danger, Robin comes out to the rescue. For five years, Robin has been successfully contained, but when she appears, all of that changes. Then we get the flashback from 15 years ago, with a young Ha Na hanging from a bridge and a young Robin/Seo Jin (probably not split back then is my guess) coming to her rescue. This may be their first encounter, it may not be. We don't know that for sure. We do know that he obviously had a major trauma in his past and she most likely did too. How does a young girl end up dangling from a bridge in the first place late at night? How does a young man just happen to be in that same area as her at that same time? We know enough to know that we don't know very much at this stage in the game, so we'll just be good little drama viewers and note the clues as we continue on. We do know that she spent her childhood at Wonder Land, as he did as well. She as the daughter of the circus ringmaster and he as the heir to the "kingdom". My guess is that it's safe to assume their paths crossed at some point.We also know at that time that he said it was "in his nature" to help people. Obviously not the Seo Jin we know now - what changed along the way?

CLUE - Another guess is that some of Seo Jin's trauma relates to this guy.

Korea sure loves their typecasting. Have you ever seen this guy play a nice guy?

It's the eyebrows. They just say evil. That and his insistence that "nice guy" Robin never comes out to play. Who would fight so hard to keep their good side at bay? I adore that this is his Jekyll and Hyde twist though - that it is the good "Jekyll" that stays hidden behind the cold and callous "Hyde". Honestly, I did not see that one coming and I like it. Daddy sure is bent on getting his freak of a son out of the country though. Not cool, Daddy-O.

CLUE - Seo Jin maybe isn't so cold and callous as one would initially assume. Sure, he tries his hardest in an effort to keep Robin quiet, but we see the truth peek out a bit. He's just left himself (Robin) a cryptic and threatening message about some 19th protocol and shutting him up for good in his secret lair tucked away in the world's most awesome meditation room evar.

Now he meditates, and cries. The poor little lamb - obviously something really horrendous has happened to this kid. I just want to run up and hug him and hold him and tell him that everything is going to be okay. Maybe start by ripping that turtleneck off of him. Surely that has to feel confining and is not helping his fragile mental state. Has nothing to do with what we already saw lurks beneath that turtleneck sweater in episode 1. Nah. Nope. Purely innocent desire here to help a fellow man in need and save him from fabric enstranglement.


CLUE - The Case of the Missing Doctor
We have the mysterious disappearance of one Dr Kang on our hands here. We don't know who took her or why, but we do know that it is urgent that we find her right away as she has suddenly, after all these years, discovered what she believes will be the cure for Seo Jin and his pesky Robin problem. We also know that Ha Na is the sole witness to the abduction, or at least the post-attack/pre-abduction of the Dr. The problem is is that she cannot recall the suspect's face.

Hey, he said it, not me.

Through hypnosis (enter Hottie #2 into the male mix! Or I guess it would be #3 if we count our twofer lead)

Meet Hottie #2/3 - Dr Hypnosis @_@

she gets to the point of remembering that she removed his mask and saw his face, she's just not able to recall exactly what that face looked like. We know it was a guy wearing a hat and glasses. And that he's now following her. And making dreams come true. Not in a good way - more in a "dodge the falling disco ball of death" way. Just as in Seo Jin's dream, Robin comes out to save our heroine in that very moment as she stands there staring up at the giant ball of doom about to crush her. You know, because it's easier for a personality shift and dramatic rescue than for her to just take a couple steps to the side in order to avoid getting crushed.

Of course though, merely stepping to the side and saving her own tush would have made this nice cuddle scene unnecessary, and what a waste that would have been.

Is it just me, or is smiling Robin kinda creepy? At least when you take still shots of it. He's kind of cute in action, but check this out and tell me that it's not creepy....

Right?!??

I rather enjoyed this part though as he is cradling her. Again. Luckyyy!

I want HB to hold me like that. And whisper in my ear in that gorgeous sexy voice of his. While I smell his sweet HB smell. And feel his warm HB warmth.... *zoning out for a minute* brb

...and....back. Sorry about that. 4 years folks. 4 very, very long HB-less years. 

CLUE - Seo Jin/Robin may have spent some time around the circus as witnessed by his acrobatics as he runs away from the taser-weilding company goons. Totally supports my theory that their paths crossed as kids. He obviously knows her. The need to protect her is what draws out Robin. Her and only her. From the moment she is back in his life, Robin is back in his too.

Yup. Totally not creepy at all. It's a Robin-in-a-Box

CLUE - Our last clue that should be mentioned, as it has already been pointed out quite clearly (like shoved down our throats) that it is important to our story, is the necklace. The mystery boy that saved her 15 years ago was wearing the same necklace that Seo Jin wears now. Definitely not the most subtle of clues to say the least, but I would be negligent if I didn't bring it up at some point. There. Necklace. Final clue for this episode.

And thus concludes our game of Two's Clues.  What do you think? Any running theories already? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind being signed up for the Seo Jin-style of Witness Protection myself. A little one-on-one time with Binnie, tucked away in a hotel room with a magical view. That's just about the only other running theory I have going on that I haven't already mentioned. ;) 

You know, at some point, we're probably going to have to choose up sides. Are you going to be Team Seo Jin or Team Robin? Honestly, as crazy as this may seem, I am all about Seo Jin right now. Cold and heartless as he is, I see a genuine warmth lurking below the surface that I just haven't gotten from Robin yet. And yeah, Robin's grin is a bit unnerving as is his jumping around like some twisted nymph or other fantastical, supernatural creature. We'll see if I change my mind along the way, but as of right now, I'm pulling for my boy Seo Jin. 

Now, I will be signing off since this post is very tardy (thank a dramatic weekend of grandfathers being whisked away to hospitals from airports via ambulance for that one) and the new episodes are due to come out any moment now. Well, not "any moment", but tomorrow and that's close enough. Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to chatting with you more about Hyun Bin this drama as we go along!  Until next time, back hugs and fish kisses to you all!