The Crazy Ahjummas: Pinocchio ep 19: Revenge, Revelations, and Redemption

Here we are! Next-to-last episode of Pinocchio! So much good stuff to cover from all three episodes this week, so let's get started (if for no other reason than Kmuse is patiently waiting for me to get this done so that we can tackle that finale!)

Here are my top 7 plot strings from ep 19:

1. This Was Fun to Watch
The truth starts spilling out when (Melted) Ice Mom turns herself in. Truth of conspiracy and lies and coverups. She owns up to her sins while taking down the other guilty parties along with her. Director What's His Ugly Face and Chairwoman Park are named and caught up in the whole mess. It was fun watching all the dominoes start falling. And really, really fun to watch Chairwoman Park become more and more unhinged as things progressed down her own personal path of self-destruction. As she and her team try to do damage-control, Ice Mom is there in the background warning everyone what her next step will be and helping them prepare to use it against her in countering. It's beautiful. Truly. Watching the downward spiral of the conspirators as their whole evil empire starts to crumble out from underneath them, one can't help but cheer. Now, I could sit here and spell out this whole section, but I'll just let the pictures tell the story instead, as I believe the visual will serve us all much better. They did such a good job visually while filming to illustrate Chairwoman Park falling apart. It really was fun to watch, wasn't it? Let's relive some of those moments now...

Called out...

Attempt to avoid questioning...Foiled

Early morning underground...caught

Pissed Off the Wrong Fangirl...

heeheehee...this is good stuff!

2. Chan Soo, We Believe in You!
One of the threats against the whole "David Coalition" taking down of evil "Goliath" rests squarely on poor Chan Soo's shoulders. The team predicts along this path of take-down that one of "Goliath"'s tactics will be to approach Chan Soo with a thick wad of cash and try to buy him off. If he were to withdraw his civil defamation suit against Ice Mom, everything would be lost. Investigations would cease and Goliath would be able to walk away, unharmed. Sure enough, as predicted, the wad of cash ends up in Chan Soo's hands. He's promised that he won't accept it, yet of course, principles won't feed his family. It's enough cash to set them up for life. Oh, poor, poor Chan Soo! He stands there, understandably tempted and conflicted (why oh why didn't he warn his wife that this was coming so that she could help him stand strong instead of standing there gobsmacked and salivating at the envelope stuffed with cash?!?!) Thankfully for him, he is saved in his moment of weakness by the news crews showing up on scene to catch the whole bribery action in progress and our David Coalition lives on to fight another day.

Good job Chan Soo! We knew you could do it! We had total faith in you!

Or not ;)

3. I Think I'm Touched...maybe...sorta??

"Hey, I know I abandoned you physically and emotionally for the majority of your life, but how about I make that up to you now by letting you awkwardly stand there for five minutes in order to block the sun while I sleep?" I suppose going from arch-enemy to sunshade is a step in the right direction. And somehow, through the magic of drama, it still ends up being a warm and fuzzy mother-daughter moment. Let's all give the power of kdrama a slow clap here, huh? I think it's earned it.

4. Letting it Go
Two things come to mind with the concept of "letting it go". One serious and one cute. I'll start with the cute. The sling. How awesome was that moment when we realized that Dal Po was faking his injury? Well, not faking the actual injury, boy did have surgery and all, but faking the current continual severity of said injury. In Ha walks in on him vigorously brushing his teeth with his supposed bad arm. Oops. Caught. Looks like Dal Po didn't want to go back to his empty bachelor's pad. In Ha basically tells him to forget the charade and to just come back home to his family where he belongs. And then throws the sling in the garbage. Heehee! You go girl! I love her BS-free zone attitude. She tells it like it is, no games. Love it!

And now the more serious letting go. Specifically, Dal Po letting go of his thirst for revenge. His anger and vindictiveness has faded. They've all endured so much pain and heartache. It's been 19 long episodes. He's ready to just let it go and move on. He's forgiven and the rage has dissipated. He's apologetic to Hottie Hyung for this, but even Hyung agrees that it's time to move on. The old wounds are healing and a beautiful life is starting fresh. The crap of the past is like fertilizer to the future. I love seeing him finally be at peace.

5. Bum Jo's Sacrifice

Oh, Bum Jo. Bum Jo, Bum Jo, Bum Jo. You sweet, sweet, stupid boy. I love that he worked as a double agent against his mother. I can even understand why he couldn't bring himself to turn her in. We have to give him a break here. He grew up in this cushy bubble, unaware of the evils his mother was perpetrating in the background. She was indulgent, lavishing him with love and care and motherly tenderness. She was an angel of a mom. She may be a She Devil in many, many other ways, but as a mother, she was pretty amazing. At least from his perspective. He's still reeling from the truths about her that he has just found out. The poor boy's entire world has just been turned, flipped upside down. To his credit, he never disbelieved the truth when it was presented to him. He fought to find the truth. He didn't run from it or hide from it. He faced it head-on with a strength of character that would be hard to find in anyone. So no, he wasn't able to be as strong as Dal Po or In Ha in turning against his own blood when the occasion called for it, but he also didn't have the same background as them. Call me a softy, but I just can't be disappointed in him. It's obviously a major struggle he is facing internally. He is caught in a very difficult situation. I'm willing to cut him some slack for vacillating, mainly because, he never betrays the trust Dal Po has put in him. He is a good little double agent. He records countless incriminating conversations. He does what he has said he is going to do. He only stops short of going to the police with what he has.

Sort of.

He finds a work-around. A way to bring the truth to light and reveal what needs to be revealed without directly betraying his mother. His loop hole? He turns himself in as the one who ordered the attack on the news stations. By doing so, he brings his mother down with him. Remember, the She Devil herself is still an angel mother. She is unable to watch her son take the fall and ends up switching places with him behind bars. Bum Jo was the most effective tool that could have been used against her, and it was wielded beautifully by our Tall Knight.

6. Like a Jilted Bride Left at the Altar

As word of Bum Jo's trip to the police station begins to spread, tires of dirty senators start squealing as they quickly do an abort mission, abandoning plans to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at Bum Jo Mall's newest project. Like rats fleeing from a sinking ship, they all scatter, leaving Chairwoman Park the proverbial jilted bride at the altar.

Reporters are gathered and everyone is awkwardly standing around trying to figure out why all the chairs are still empty as things are about to begin. Then the call comes in. Chairwoman Park gets the news that her son has turned himself in for attempted murder. Reporters scramble and crowd as she goes to leave. She's not answering any questions, that is, until In Ha speaks up. Bum Jo has asked her to pass a message along. This message subtly names her as his accomplice - turning all eyes and fingers her direction - just as Bum Jo intended. Because he's a rock star like that.

7. Hopelessly Devoted to You

In the midst of all this chaos, Dal Po receives a phone call from the man himself, Bum Jo. How cute is that by the way? That Bum Jo's so-called "one phone call" (probably not a thing in Korea, but you never know. It is here and so that's how I chose to think of it) before heading off to jail is to Dal Po. In this phone call, Bum Jo reveals his true intentions for doing what he did. He tells Dal Po that it was due to him letting things go that made him feel the need to do this. He wants to bring the truth to light, the good, the bad, the everything.

And then the emotional gut twister when BJ reminds DP how he once told him he was on his side. "Imagine how loyal I must be to you to be doing this?" said, as tears from both men fall. Aww! How bromantic! These two and their love/hate relationship with one another is a thing of beauty, isn't it?

And there we have it, the exciting conclusion of episode 19. Only one left! Okay, and yes, it already aired. You know, they don't really consult us bloggers' schedules when choosing when to air. Crazy, but true ;) We can't wait to return and chat about the finale with you all! So stay tuned - more to come as we wrap up this awesome drama!