Gap Dong Episode 20 (FINALE) - The End is Here

Gap Dong ends with a surprisingly well done finale which was a shock after multiple episodes of insanity.  Unfortunately a descent ending does not take the bitter taste out of my mouth when I think about this train wreck of a drama.  All of the missed opportunities to create something really memorable (in a good way) is enough to make a drama aficionado cry, but regardless of what I feel about the drama, at least it is finally over.  So let's take one last walk into this world and see what we have learned.

-Things we learned from Gap Dong-

#1 The bad guys are always caught in the end

Even if it is after 20 years, 18+ murders, 1 bullet to the brain, countless inept police, crooked politicians, enabling parents, and a lot of unfortunate people who are mentally devastated by the cops investigation.  Don't you worry, the police will always get their guy.  DGD is given a death sentence and falls apart at the thought of dying.  Tae Oh on the other hand played his cards right and received a 10 year sentence in a mental institution, a much lesser sentence than was originally planned.  I guess the one who can play crazy better wins in the end.  Not only that but by giving up his Korean citizenship (he had a dual American citizenship) and is trying to get shipped overseas for treatment.

#2 All serial killers have an irrational fear of death

This show keeps forgetting it's own premise that the killers (Detective Gap Dong & Tae Oh) are psychopaths and are incapable of feelings.  Unless the writers decide otherwise, then they freak out over everything, especially the fear of their own mortality. It was one of the main flaws I had with the movie.  If the killers are meant to be soulless and scary (because let's just admit that their crimes and actions in the beginning were very very scary) then let them stay that way.  Don't try to make me empathize with them.  This show would have been greatly improved with more "who did it" rather than the prevalent "why they did it".   I have seen Halloween specials on the Disney Channel that provided with better suspense, than the second half of this drama.  And considering what a great concept they had to work with, it is just a crying shame.

#3 Once obsessed with Gap Dong, always obsessed with Gap Dong

Scary Tiger quits the department and has himself transferred to the correctional facilities where he can watch DGD 24/7 and attempt to get him to confess more crimes.  And that is how you become a sad and lonely middle aged man with no one to care for you other than your new BFF Moo Yeom.  At some point, you just got to let it go.  

#4 The only way to get closure is with a confession.

Because the fact that the guy has been convicted and sentenced to die is just not enough.  Unless you know the whys, the whole suffering in prison thing is worthless.  This relates back to the over psychoanalyzing problem the writers suffer from.  I wonder if one of them goes to an intense amount of therapy and is just projecting personal issues onto the plot.  DGD tells Moo Yeom (during yet another attempt to "understand" him) that if he helps DGD commit suicide than he will draw a map showing all the other bodies which are buried.   DGD complies but is given a simple vitamin since at least DGD can't escape his punishment that easily.

#5 All killers are not equal

Tae Oh is getting ready to depart but goes to see DGD one last time to gloat.  He reveals that he understands the point behind the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.  By letting a "captive" go he is able to retreat and pretend to go underground and disappear.  Thereby, he is free to murder in secret as long as his kills are never found, thus giving himself freedom.  DGD tells Tae Oh that there is no stopping, and Tae Oh just smiles and says "maybe".  DGD tries talking his protege into killing him (I thought he was afraid of death?), saying that one of the two of them had to die for things to be complete.  Tae Oh smiles wider and says that there is no way he is going to ruin his freedom for DGD, his ex-god and ex-hero, now that he has surpassed him by using his own brains.  Now DGD is just a loser in prison and Tae Oh is the true Gap Dong.  

I would just like to point out how great this scene was.  Letting Lee Joon's on screen charisma come out is what attracted me to the drama in the first place.  However when they stuck him in a supporting role rather than the lead, the drama began to fall apart.  The real Gap Dong was just not as good as the copycat for me.

#6 If you are hot enough, you can be forgiven anything.

Is it just me that thinks it is really really weird that all the characters are acting nonchalant and sorrowful towards Tae Oh?  He did go on a murderous rampage killing 7 innocent women.  He is a psychopath, and yet they all seem to be sorry to see him go and/or for letting him down.   Moo Yeom even calls him a "troublemaker" in a semi-favorable tone.   Dr Maria is even traveling to the US with him to be his therapist, because that just screams common sense.  Just because he has charisma does not make him any less of a killer as DGD, and yet everyone seems ready to cut him some slack.  

Oh wait, I guess taunting DGD was not the smartest thing to do since he finds another disciple in prison who just happens to be released, and has him murder poor Tae Oh thereby making sure that he is the one and only Gap Dong.  Dr Maria finds him bleeding out in front of the hospital and stays with him as he slowly dies of his wounds.  Poor Tae Oh, his character will be greatly missed, and I am just thankful that he made it til the end of the drama since his character was the only thing that made this show bearable.  By far the most poignant moment of the episode.

#7 Don't steal other people's sporks.

DGD is feeling quite tough now that he has killed off his copycat and he is the big bad in prison.  He stomps around like he owns the place, that is until he tries to steal another inmates silverware.  The poor inmate who was victimized loses it and stabs DGD in the eye with a spork (I am assuming it was a spork because that is just the funnest word to use and is a greatly unappreciated utensil).  A very undignified end to DGD who we assume eventually dies on death row.

#8 And everyone lives happily ever after

The last bit was pretty boring after the spork incident.  Just assume that everyone got their happy ending.  The drama ends with ditsy girl, Dr Maria, and Moo Yeom visiting the resting place of Tae Oh's ashes.  They send prayers for his soul and wonder if he had truly meant to stop, since this show had not stomped the psychological crap deep enough into the viewers psyche.  But I can forgive them that, since the show is now officially over!!!!!!

My Final Thoughts

I think you all understand my viewpoint about this drama pretty well after reading the last few recaps.  But just to sum it up in as few words as possible.  It had an amazing concept and the writers destroyed it with their psycho babble and bad character development and poorly planned pacing.  Is it worth watching?  Maybe if you don't mind FF some of the more boring filler, but I would only suggest it if you have literally watched almost everything else.  Save yourself the pain and watch something else.

What's next for Kmuse?

I am at an impasse when it comes to which drama I want to recap next.  There are so many options, but until I actually get an impression on the plots and writing styles, I don't want to commit.  My short list is as follows: Trot Lovers, Fated to Love You, Marriage without Love, and a distant 4th The Joseon Gunman (I think this is going to be amazing but I am worried that my recapping style could not do a Sageuk justice.).  Until I decide on my next drama be sure to check out my recaps for "King of High School" which is so far a really well written romantic comedy.

Sincerely,
Kmuse
Follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps, posts and to join in our kdrama discussions. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts 

Gap Dong Episode 19 - Can You Say Entraptment?

We have made it to the last episodes of this drama and I am personally jumping for joy.  No more unexplainable plots, no more stupid females, and no more having to figure out how to say "this does not make sense" in a new and enlightening way.  To say I am happy for this drama to end is an understatement.  On that note, lets jump right into the crazy and see if we can wrap up all those pesky loose ends.  I especially want them to explain the wide spread knowledge of the whistling tune (seriously, it is driving me nuts, I might need to start some balloon therapy) and I would not be sad if the nunchucks make another appearance at some point.

Moo Yeom and Detective Gap Dong (DGD) are facing off with each other at the pool.  DGD has decided to prove his multiple personality by killing Moo Yeom while being caught on CCTV, because then he can prove he is crazy and get a reduced sentence.  Although why that is needed before he is even charged with anything, I am not sure.  Moo Yeom is setting things up to have him attempt to kill him so he can officially arrest him.  I guess that makes a bit more sense, but not by much.  Waiting in the wings is the female detective (still in her skimpy swim suit) with her gun as his back up.  DGD rushes Moo Yeom and easily takes his gun away.  I thought that the gun was going to be empty, but the writers proved me wrong and had bullets in the gun.  WHAT?  Seriously?  Why would you bring a loaded gun and let the serial killer shoot you.  And why is lady cop still standing there like an extra from a James Bond film.  I think I would want more back up than a barely covered sex kitten cop even if she is holding a gun.  Sure enough she hesitates long enough for DGD to get off a shot that enters Moo Yeom's shoulder before sex kitten also shoots DGD in the shoulder.  Let's just be thankful that we don't have another miraculous brain bullet recovery to explain.

Moo Yeom is shot, but tells his partner not to worry, "I wont bleed out before I drive DGD to the prison."  WTH!  Here's a thought, maybe you should tell the stupid injured cop who is hallucinating due to the bullet in his freaking brain, "No you can't drive the prisoner off by yourself and interrogate him, because you are bleeding from a gun shot wound and look like you will pass out....because you let him have a flipping loaded gun you idiot". 

Moo Yeom begins to drive erratically and talks about both of them dying together, making DGD look very nervous.  Our Mad Monk tells DGD that he will bleed out before going to the hospital unless he tells him about the other murders that he has committed (assuming that DGD never stopped, just stopped posing the bodies).  Eventually he passes out and drives the car straight into a telephone pole, scaring DGD enough to admit to another dead body site.  Success on being able to charge DGD with a murder that was not past the point of prosecuting.

Meanwhile, we have Tae Oh hanging out in the woods with Ditzy Ji Wool, tied to a tree and doing his balloon therapy.   Tae Oh texts Dr Maria to come join them or else he will be killing Ji Wool.  So if you leave a victim alone with a serial killer (who you are pretty sure is going to attempt to kill so said victim) are you at all responsible.  The lackadaisical manner in which Dr Maria and Yang Chul-Gon treat this situation is driving me nuts.  One, he had already confessed and was most likely getting the death penalty or at least life in prison.  Why was this even remotely necessary?  Two.  How are you going to watch and make sure bad things (like stupid webgirl getting sliced and diced) don't happen when you are far away in a car and not in the woods watching your sting operation.  A tracking device does not save someone from a gun or a blade.  Three, who knew that the stupid balloon therapy would kind of work.  Either that or the writers wanted to pull in the pervy noona demographic with Lee Joon pursing his lips over and over.   Hmmmmmm  I think we all know what the real motivation was with that concept.

After hearing that Moo Yeom had indeed caught DGD with new charges, Dr Maria announces that it is now her time to do something (again WHY WHY WHY is this necessary?)  She calmly walks into the clearing and confronts Tae Oh, but looks a little shocked when he tells her that they are going to play a game.  (I would like to point out that you could see this storyline coming from at least 10 episodes ago)  

At least we get some of my questions answered as we see that the police have a hover/helicopter camera circling over the clearing where Tae Oh is making the two girls play Rock, Paper, and Scissors.  The cops are monitoring the feed far back from the actual kill site and seem very calm considering they are "catching" a serial killer.   I am sure if Tae Oh looks like he is about to attack one of the girls that were sitting a foot away from him, the helicopter droid can distract him by falling out of the sky and hitting him on the head, enabling the 10 min the police would need to get to the actual attack location.  It makes total sense.

I think I would be more invested in this whole remake of the rock, paper, scissors, debacle if I actually cared about either of the female characters.  Of course when twit girl chooses her life over Dr Maria's, just as Dr Maria was about to give up her life for her twit girl, but instead ends up actually winning the game on accident, I could not stop laughing.  Wow that went very wrong very quickly. Tae Oh spends more time asking important questions pertaining to Dr Maria's lack of sympathy for him, or at least proper treatment of a therapeutic nature.  Her reply was that he was Gap Dong's copycat and she refuses to ever give sympathy to someone who murdered people (maybe she is in the wrong profession).  Tae Oh looks up at the drone and smile, telling  them "when I die.........?" and the scene cuts off before we get to hear the rest. 

I was wondering why everything was taking so long to develop.  If he is literally sliding the knife along twit girls throat, isn't that a good enough reason to call it a day and take Tae Oh back into custody.  But I guess they were waiting for Moo Yeom to get out of surgery, ignore the doctors advice about the bullet in his brain, sign permission for DGD to get surgery, and then drive over to the scene of the 2nd sting operation.  DGD's words about killing Tae Oh are ringing through his ears as he tries to figure out how this situation will result in Tae Oh's release from prison.  He joins the trio whistling Gap Dong's theme song (seriously where did they all learn this whistling thing) and Tae Oh just smirks and automatically gives himself up. 

DGD gets ready for his new trial, and I was surprised to notice that this one was not even half the circus that the first trial in ep 17.  But that does not stop him from freaking out when his sentence is about to pronounce his sentence.  DGD runs about yelling to let him live, and that he did not want to die (is anyone else disappointed that Gap Dong kind of ended up being a whiny jerk and not even half as scary as Tae Oh.).  We end on DGD screaming and begging for his life while Moo Yeom looks on with an expression of disgust. 

I am not sure where the writers are really trying to go with the psychological storyline anymore.  The writers keep trying to make the actions of the killers make some type of sense, they have triggers, or multiple personalities, or it is societies fault.  Why can't they just be killers and let the concept lie.  There is no logical reasoning that can explain the situation and the meandering attempts to give an explanation are just plain frustrating for both the other characters in the drama as well as we the viewers.  Right now I am just holding on to the end because of this blog so I am ecstatic to watch the last episode tomorrow. 

Kmuse

Follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps, posts and to join in our kdrama discussions. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts 

New Press Release Photos - Bride of the Century, Hotel King, & A Secret Love Affair

Usually I am one of those people that looks at the press release photos and kind of say "eh". Traditionally they are really stiff poses with stilted smiles but this week has had a plethora of cute couple shots from several dramas and they just make me smile.  So since I have some extra time on my hands til I pick another weekly recap, I thought I would share.

Lee Dong Wook & Lee Da Hae - Hotel King

I have to admit that I am one of those people that is really excited for the reunion between Lee Dong Wook (Wild Romance, Scent of a Women) and Lee Da Hae (Iris 2, Miss Ripley).  For those of you who are unaware, nine years ago they co-stared in the drama My Girl which was a ratings hit at the time.  Now they are coming back together for the Melodrama Hotel King replacing Golden Rainbow in a few weeks.

Lee Hong Ki & Yang Jin Sung- Bride of the Century

These two are the total surprise couple of the year so far.  They have chemistry that bursts forth from them on and off the screen. The powers that be threw a mid show media event and the pictures could not be cuter.  Seriously these are  photos of the leads just hanging out, having fun, and being adorable.  You can tell why the drama is a success just looking at the ease between them.

Yoo Ah In & Kim Hee Ae - A Secret Love Affair

I am so excited!  This drama starts next week and these newly released press photos have just made me more excited.  Obviously the leads are very comfortable around each other and have a good relationship which I hope (crossing fingers, wishing on a star, knock on wood) will spill over into the drama.  Especially since this is a really hard couple to sell with the huge age gap, but since both are such good actors I am expecting good things.

Let's all hope that the off screen chemistry continues on screen and that we can expect some great drama moments to come from it.  Off to watch more drama, I fell so behind this week for some reason.  Hope you are doing better then I am on watching everything.  Be sure to check back for my weekly countdown this Sunday.

Sincerely,
Kmuse

P.S.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps and posts.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts