Hyde, Jekyll, and I ep 4: Sorry, Not Sorry

Okay AddicKts, so I have a confession to make. My recap of episode 2 started out a lot different. It had to be edited big time before I posted it. Why? Because I accidentally spent a good portion of it reviewing Kill Me, Heal Me instead. Man, you should have seen the awesomeness that had to be cut. If only.... ;) I learned something from the whole silly incident though - I can't watch two dramas with such similar premises when one of those two is one that I am reviewing. Which just means that I have added incentive to get these reviews written and done so that I can go watch the latest episodes of KMHM. So, I hate to rush this along, but.... I gots me some drama waiting for me on the other side of this review. How about we speed things up and jump right into it? Sound good? Sounds good.  And away we go!

Episode 4 was, thankfully, in my opinion, the best that we've had from this series so far. Nothing super cheesy or weird (the rope scene in 3 - come on. Really?! WTH was that?), just some good old fashioned storytelling. And some very nice close-up head shots of Hyun Bin. Like a lot of close-up head shots of Hyun Bin. It's pretty much a Hyun Bin close-up head shot extravaganza.

Not that I mind. At least not yet. If, by say, episode 14, they're still doing it to this extent, well, maybe, just maybe, I'll start to find it odd, if not annoying. I find that hard to imagine though. The annoying part that is. They may very well keep the close-up head shots going for all I know. I mean, it is Hyun Bin, and, as I pointed out last time, it has been 4  v e r y   l  o  n  g   years. Maybe the production crew has missed him just as much as we have. Or maybe they are assuming that we have missed him so entirely much that we don't care about the story they are telling, we just want to see Hyun Bin. And not only Hyun Bin playing one role, but Hyun Bin playing two very different roles, with two very different looks, in one show. It's like double the Bin. Let's face it, he's really the only thing at this point that is selling this drama. *gasp!* Did she just say that out loud?!?!  I'm sorry if I offend anyone's sensibilities, but is anyone out there really watching this for any other reason? Maybe you're a Psych major or something and so you're trying to soak up all the crazy/DID stuff. Maybe you're really into circuses. Or amusements parks. Or...or....really, what else is there here? Face it. It's a showcase for Binnie's triumphant return to the land of dramas and not a whole lot else right now. Not to say that it won't become something else, but at this point, yeah, it's pretty much just an excuse to get a whole heck of a lot of close-up head shots of Hyun Bin in all his post-militaristic glory.

Some things of note from this episode include the introduction of our second female lead in the form of this girl. We first meet her and she's all excited about Robin's return. She has pictures of him and they look suspiciously close. We find out later that she is president of his fan club (remember how he writes a popular webtoon?). She's cute and bouncy and bubbly and I already hate her.

Sorry, not sorry. Go away.

We get a little more of the bad guy. We know he's a bad guy because, as Kmuse so perfectly pointed out, the music tells us so. That and he really likes to flick his Bic. Okay, so it's probably technically not a Bic, but it rhymed, so we're going with it. He likes to play with a lighter and everyone knows that that automatically equals "evil". Well, that and he tried to kill our heroine in the first episode after she came across a bloody body strewn on an office floor. In other words, yes, dear writers, we get it. He's a bad mamajama. Thank you.

Know who else is a bad mamajama? This guy....

He's out for Seo Jin's job it would seem. I hate this character already merely because of the role he played in Birth of a Beauty. I didn't even finish that drama, but my dislike of his character is still nice and strong and it continues forward into this one as well. Remember what I said in my first review about Korea and typecasting?

Case in point....

Please, can't Daddy Dearest just have like a heart attack and drop dead now? 4 episodes in and I'm already done with him. He can't accept that his son is "weak" and has a mental condition. He wants him to leave for purely selfish reasons. Still not cool Daddy-O. You can leave too, along with the rest of the Crew Evil.

There is some mysterious happening that happened 5 years ago. Someone got hurt. We don't know who or how or why or any of that yet, just that something ominous happened. Ominous enough that Seo Jin and Bad Dad see eye-to-eye on that one point. The possibility of a similar incident reoccurring terrifies the both of them. That, and it was an event that Robin doesn't know about.

Let's chat for a second about Robin. Robin is obviously Seo Jin's split personality. He comes out to save Seo Jin. In the past, Seo Jin was the one calling on and leaning on him. You get the idea that he wasn't always as unwelcome as he is now - that he actually served a purpose. Served a purpose and, not only that, but he and Seo Jin had this very odd agreement and understanding between the two of them. They set up and agreed to basic rules, or protocols. There were 19, now there's 20, the 20th of course being to protect Ha Na. It would seem as if Robin was not always the enemy that he appears to be now. Probably has something to do with our mysterious happenings of 5 years ago if I had to fathom a guess. So, Robin has a purpose in existing. Now his purpose is to protect Ha Na. Ha Na, the girl that saved Seo Jin's life 15 years ago. The three of them are interminably connected.

Interminably connected or not, Seo Jin is determined to get rid of Ha Na. Her being there gives him a sense of foreboding. To him, she somehow represents everything going wrong. She was the one that caused Robin to be "born" initially. How dare she. The nerve of her trying to save his life which led to Robin's first appearance when he had to save hers. It's totally unfair of him to hate on her like he's doing, but he's doing it all the same. He orders her to be removed, which means that, yes, once again the circus finds itself without a place to call home.  The entire on-again-off-again saga going with that stupid contract is beyond obnoxious. You know, just for the record. I frankly don't really even care. It's a plot line that is too weak to carry the story, yet they are relying on it nicely all the same. Sure, it's a handy-dandy way of getting our two leads to interact, which is of course why they are using it incessantly, but I'm over it by now and really hope it finally gets laid to rest sooner rather than later. But anyway.... Seo Jin's all butt-hurt about Robin being back and Ha Na's role in that, so he fires the circus...again. She's mad...again...so she goes to find him in an effort to get everyone's job back...again. This time she dresses in a mascot costume.

They argue back and forth. Seo Jin spots the necklace that she is wearing. His necklace given to her by Robin.

This angers him and he tries to get it back. She fights back, lobbing accusations against him about how he always runs away when things get tough, but how Robin is always there to save the day. He gets pissed that she keeps bringing up Robin, grabs the necklace and then, probably because she is being threatened, goes into his "transformation" stance. His "transformation" is stopped though when Ha Na, thinking he is having a panic attack, covers his ears with her hands and soothes him.

He reminds me of the Hulk with all his dramatic, emotionally-charged transforming.

This kindness shown to him by one he was just attacking unnerves him and makes him think. You know, and like start to fall in love and stuff, even if he doesn't realize it yet. Of course, we all know that that is what is really going on here, don't we?

How hilarious was it when, after being pushed down by Seo Jin getting up (and left there by him since he's still our resident rat bas**** at this stage in the game), she couldn't get up because of the costume she was wearing? Seriously girl, looks like it's time for a little ab work, huh?

she's like a little awkward walrus

I greatly appreciated our gratuitous scene with our Hypnotic Hot Doc.

Ha Na goes to continue on with the hypnosis, knowing that, even if it doesn't protect her beloved circus thanks to Seo Jin being a contract-canceling maniac, the culprit still needs to be discovered and Dr Kang found. She suspects that the culprit was the one behind the Phantom of the Opera-esque incident of the falling light fixture (i.e. disco ball) and is hoping that subconsciously she can recall his face from that time. She can't. But she does see him there, confirming the fact that she is being targeted. Not a whole lot is gained from the scene except a whole lot of "awwww! He's so sweet!" in regards to our Hypnotic Hot Doc. Well, that and that she remembers Seo Jin being there before she is saved. I suppose that might be important later. Along with the fact that the culprit was a "patient" of Hypnotic Hotness right before her.

Looks like we have a stalker on our hands. A stalker who answers to and/or was hired by someone. Do I even have to pretend like I care at this point in this part of the story? Did I just say that out loud? Am I going to delete it? Nah. I want to care, really I do, but right now I just...don't. But the doctor is hella cute and so it was still awesome and worth it. Hey - you've been warned. I can sometimes be "that girl" - the one that watches a drama for the hotness and not necessarily the story. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, bad guy is there, then she's there, then Seo Jin is there.

Why is Seo Jin there? Apparently Dr Kang's records were found by the police and sent to Dr Hypnotic Hotness. Seo Jin is there to track them down in the hopes that the answer to all his problems lies within. It doesn't. These "records" are just thousands of picture files. While there, striking out in the Robin-elimination attempt, he spots Ha Na's scarf left behind and takes it with him, staring at it as it sits on the seat of his car.

Are we to assume at this point that the girl has started to worm her little circus-freak way into his cold, callused heart? It may seem so, for when he spots her walking down the street, they slowly follow her (because that's totally not creepy in Kdrama-land).

Then, in a flash, she is once again in danger, as our formerly-masked culprit/hitman/lighter-flicker comes straight for her on a motorbike. Our darling (totally clueless and forever oblivious in the face of danger) damsel in distress is once again saved by our hero, except this time, it's Seo Jin doing the saving, not Robin. Sure, she's a valuable asset to him and in need of protecting in order for him to kill off his little parasite, but still...he does what he has not done before and saves her without the need for Robin.

He yells at her in the process of course (he is still Seo Jin after all),

You tell her Jinah!

but then things take a twist. They have a sweet moment where she agrees to leave Wonderland and he agrees to hire all the other circus folk on in some capacity or another. This is followed by her taking back her earlier accusation that he always runs away. This earns her an umbrella from our mean ol' Seo Jin, who is obviously not as mean as he initially seems, more just "misunderstood". Being Team Seo Jin as I still am (I am holding out hope for our boy and keeping the faith alive) (plus, I prefer Hyun Bin in glasses), this scene made me all happy and warm and fuzzy. He'll fight it all the way, but he's falling for her. He can't help it. She and he are connected, like it or not. 

After our sweet little umbrella scene, Robin comes to pay Ha Na a visit. She's all down in the dumps as she prepares to leave the circus, getting drunk and strolling down memory lane as she envisions scenes from her circus past with her father. Robin calls out of the blue and then shows up. He tries to cheer her up.

Did anyone else pick up a Johnny Depp/Willy Wonka vibe here?

And then they jump on the trampoline while shouting insults directed towards Seo Jin. We get a small little 'ooh lala' moment where they collapse together and then stare into each others eyes.

Robin's hotness factor went up significantly. Rawr!

Ha Na confesses that she will be leaving due to Seo Jin kicking her out. We find out in the morning just how Robin took this news. I loved how SJ woke up all sore thanks to Robin's tramp fun.

As he is trying to figure out just what happened that made him so sore, he spots the note from Robin. The note that just says "Sorry".

Robin has never left a note saying "sorry" before. And he's done plenty of things in the past that he should be sorry for. This freaks Seo Jin out, wondering just how bad it must have been, whatever it was that prompted the one word apology from his other half. The answer soon appears on his doorstep in the form of one Ha Na, freshly fingerprinted contract in hand.

Contract and bags. Not only did Robin get her her job back, but he also set it up for her to live there in Seo Jin's house. With him. For protection. Oh ho ho! This just got interesting! Thank you Robin!

My final thoughts on the episode as a whole? While not being the absolute most captivating episode of all times, and with a few little minor issues with it along the way, overall, like I said in the beginning, best episode of this drama yet. It gives me hope that our little story will continue to progress along, getting more and more interesting along the way. I am certainly not giving up on it yet. I'm actually getting intrigued and curious on some of the mysteries we are waiting to learn about. I am also liking the continual development of our characters. Minus the evil ones. They still annoy me, but they're the bad guys - I'm not supposed to be fond of them, now am I? I love how both Robin and Seo Jin are morphing into characters different than what we originally were introduced to. Robin being more complex and Seo Jin having a soft, sweet, squishy side buried deep beneath his hard, crunchy shell. I look forward to seeing what episodes 5 and 6 have to offer us this week.

And this is where I leave you for now. Stay tuned for Kmuse's recapping of episode 5, you know, once it's out, then I'll be back with 6. Until then, back hugs and fish kisses to you all!