Mask Episode 18 - The Girl Who Cried Noble Idiot

You know how sometimes there is this amazing drama?  The characters are choice, the plot intense, and everything is just perfect.  And then comes along that sole small problem that just takes it down a notch from a 10 to a 9?  I think we are at that point with Mask.... Personally, I think the episode count is just an episode or two too long and we are seeing the results.  Whenever a show needs filler they always jump to the tried and true noble idiocy trope.

Surprisingly, there is no last minute saving of Ji Sook's mother which is tragic since not only is it sad the woman is dead, but she didn't even get the chance to find out her daughter is healthy and alive.  And know who's fault it is?  That's right, our resident narcissistic lush, Mi Yeon, who is drinking her angst away at the family bar.  She confesses her actions to Seok Hoon and says it is not her fault, that the mother would have died anyway right?

Nope, it's all your fault, you crazy lady.

After confirming the facts about the mother's death (that it was a tragic accident and not due to any outside forces), Seok Hoon does what any good bad guy would do.... uses the facts and morphs them into a threat against Ji Sook's remaining family member.  If Ji Sook does not remain as Eun Ha, then her family will die just like her mother.

And now starts the part of the drama that just annoys the heck out of me.  Not only is there tons of noble idiocy moments, but also Ji Sook's lack of communication puts everyone at risk......again.

If only Ji Sook had told her father and brother the whole story, they would not be tricked by the evil duo.

For example, here is her dad driving away with our evil mastermind, happily thinking thoughts of his daughter and his reunion instead of being concerned that he is the clutches of a mad man.  This could have all been avoided if Ji Sook had taken 10 minutes to explain facts.

So what is Ji Sook's plan on dealing with Seok Hoon now?  Is she just going to take her lumps and turn him into the police which is TOTALLY LOGICAL?  Is she going to warn her family about his evil intentions and use her money to fly them out of the country for a while til Seok Hoon is taken care of?  No... She asks the crazy psycho to fake her own death (as Eun Ha) so she can disappear.

Yet again Ji Sook is making huge decisions without consulting anyone. Does she actually believe that Min Woo is going to go on without her?  That Seok Hoon is going to let her be happy?  This is noble idiocy at its worst.

So the plan is set.  The two Choi couples will go on a vacation together to negate the rumors that they are getting divorced because Seok Hoon and Eun Ha are having an affair (how did that even become a rumor?  Can't remember if that happened before or is just a convenient plot twist).  Either way, the four of them are going to a vacation house and acting happy.  While there, Ji Sook will fake her death in a house fire and Seok Hoon will provide a corpse to be Eun Ha.  Ji Sook will then be free to go about her life.

But of course things don't go the way Ji Sook plans since Seok Hoon is a two-faced snake.  Instead of letting Ji Sook leave, he plans to drug her and actually have her die in the fire.  Might as well get rid of any threat the easy way.

Ji Sook has her own plans.  When Seok Hoon starts the fire and "kills her", reporters and police will be present to catch him in the act and Seok Hoon will go to jail.  Quick question... how does this keep her family any more safe than handing over his videotaped confession?  Even if she is alive, Seok Hoon would still know she screwed him over and get revenge.  This makes no sense whatsoever.

Ji Sook writes down all of her plan in a letter for Min Woo (rather than just telling him beforehand like a sane person).  Which is a huge mistake since Mi Yeon sees the letter and cancels the reporters from coming in an effort to save her husband.  Of course, Mi Yeon is still under the impression it is going to be a fake murder, not an actual murder, so there is that.  

So let's take a quick account of what everyone is doing during the fire.  Since that is the easiest way to finish this recap up.

Seok Hoon
Our evil genius is being a busy little boy.  Along with his evil minion, he drugs Ji Sook, douses the house with gasoline, and manages to look sexy HAWT the whole time.  Seriously have so many internal problems with how sexy I find Seok Hoon.

Yes, I am hot like this flame.

The flames accentuate my hotness.  Are you marveling at my cheekbones, Evil Minion?

But don't think that he is just being evil all the time.  He adds a healthy dose of creepy crazy into the mix, just to keep things interesting.  Here Seok Hoon is saying goodbye to the girl he is about to flambe.

Mi Yeon
It is official, I think Mi Yeon's mind is seriously breaking. She runs away from Min Woo, not wanting to face the truth of her killing Eun Ha..........or her husband trying to kill Min Woo.........or the unintended death of Ji Sook's mother.  I have to assume that she was huddled in the woods with a glass of wine and a straw, drinking the hours away in denial.

She shows up right as the house is burning, assuming that Ji Sook is faking her death.  I know that doesn't mean to do these things that result in people dying, but there are only so many times you can excuse it.  I hope the guilt sends Mi Yeon into shattered oblivion and on a one-way trip to the looney bin.

Min Woo
Poor Min Woo has been conked on the head by evil minion, put in a boat, and set into the middle of a lake.  Because it is not enough that you burn his wife, but you need to make him deal with his phobias on top of it all.

I know that this was a great moment where he confronted his fear and was able to overcome because of his love for Ji Sook.  But something just doesn't feel as intense when I can literally see the bottom of the pond when the camera pans out.  He could easily just walk back to shore and go save his love.

Hmmm you might need to make the picture bigger, but I swear you can see the bottom.

Ji Sook
Ji Sook is passed out and playing sleeping beauty while the world goes up in flames around her. 

Of course Ji Sook manages to wake up right as the fire starts to burn all around her.  And what does our plucky heroine do?  She tries to get out of the door.  And when that doesn't work, she aggressively pounds on the door.  And when that doesn't work, she continues to yell and pound on the door, at which point she passes out from smoke inhalation.

Now, I don't want to be mean and call someone stupid........but I have to point out the giant windows that existed in the room.  I am pretty sure that her skinny little body could have crawled out to safety if she had just been less obsessed with that door.

So here we are, with only two episode left, and the crazy couple currently is winning the war.  I am sure we will be getting a satisfactory ending, but right now I am still too busy smacking my head at Ji Sook's stupidity.

Quick Note -
I will be on vacation in the upcoming week, so expect my recap on the final two episodes to be just a tad bit late. Be sure to check back since I will of course have a lot to chat about in our finale. 

Til Next Week
Kmuse

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