53

History of the Salaryman: Episode 21

We’re finally here at the penultimate episode, and our characters are in for quite a trial. Gabi’s manipulative ways are in full force as the hammer of justice comes closer and closer to hitting her square on the head (as is well deserved), and Woo-hee proves her mettle in order to fight for what’s right. It’s a setup to an unpredictable finale, and one that leaves us biting the same nails we’ve been biting since last week all over again.

 
EPISODE 21 RECAP

Gabi’s minion races headlong toward Woo-hee as she stands, frozen in fear. It seems like things will only end badly… until Bang stakes his own life and car as a shield for Woo-hee, and the Minion’s car miraculously stops within inches of hitting Bang’s car. Woo-hee’s safe, the Minion escapes, and Bang gets suspicious. No cars, or people, were harmed in the making of this scene.

Our resident murderess is already a mess before she hears the bad news – her plot to kill Woo-hee failed, and it was all because of Bang. Her calls to Bum-jeung go ignored, as well they should.

Woo-hee shows Hang-woo the footage of Bum-jeung with Chairman Jin’s will (which she tells him she came across by coincidence). She tells him that she’s sure Gabi murdered the Chairman, and is pretty put off by how Hang-woo keeps shielding Gabi, even going so far as to tell Woo-hee to just feign ignorance about everything.

But Woo-hee has had enough with this, and isn’t about to conspire with Hang-woo to cover up a murder. She flat-out tells him that if he doesn’t want to see her come forward with what she knows about the murder, then he needs to stop helping Gabi immediately.

Since Woo-hee wanted to know why Hang-woo was so keen on helping Gabi, he takes her to brother/cousin Hang-ryang’s memorial. He tells her that his father died because of Chairman Jin, and that Hang-ryang died helping him on his revenge mission. So whether Gabi fabricated the will, or whether she really did murder Chairman Jin… in the end none of it matters to him, since he wanted revenge anyway.

I had held out some hope that maybe Hang-woo was wise to Gabi’s trickery, but the opposite seems to be the case. He tells Woo-hee that he has to protect Gabi on Hang-ryang’s account, having clearly believed everything Gabi told him. Ugh.

To make matters worse, when Woo-hee tries to intervene, he just gives her a Shut Up Hug and tells her that they’ll both be going to America soon, so she just has to hold off till then. To Woo-hee’s credit, she doesn’t look like she’s keen on this idea.

Just because she missed the opportunity to kill Woo-hee once doesn’t mean Gabi has decided against it, as her and her minion discuss how to dispose of her. She hides her surprise as Woo-hee meets her in the elevator, and the two share some terse yet veiled words. The best thing about it is that Gabi is more worried about Woo-hee than Woo-hee is about her, but a lady with so many secrets is bound to be paranoid in all things.

When Woo-hee leaves the elevator, she wonders aloud whether Gabi was really lovers with Hang-ryang. “You might be able to fool Hang-woo, but not me,” she proclaims defiantly. (I love this girl!)

Bang comes upon a skittish Prosecutor Moon-soo in the gym, demanding to know why Moon-soo is giving up on Gabi’s indictment. It seems pretty clear that it was Moon-soo’s higher ups who wanted to shut this case down, no doubt having been paid off in some form to leave Chun Ha alone. Moon-soo is content to leave it at that, but Bang calls upon his sense of justice (quite loudly, of course), and basically asks where Moon-soo’s balls have gone.

Bang: “If you’re just going to bury stuff, you’re not a prosecutor, you’re a mortician!” Ahaha. Quote of the week.

Even that isn’t enough to turn Moon-soo back to the side of good, but the sight of Yeo-chi’s disappointed face is. All of a sudden Moon-soo does an about-face, and goes running after Yeo-chi when she pretends to run away, unable to face such an unworthy prosecutor. (Teamwork for the win!)

Team Bang decides to come up with a strategy in order to help Moon-soo get an indictment, and the best solution is to get public sentiment on their side. Hilariously, no one listens to Jang Ryang’s more seasoned suggestions and only go for what Bang suggests – which is just to tell the truth. Even that will be a huge blow to Gabi.

(I took a mental note of this last episode but now it seems more intentional – we’re seeing a lot of people take vitamins lately in Team Bang. At the end of this scene, Jang Ryang even pops a pill. Could Eternal Youth be back?)

Team Bang then takes to the streets, and the internet cafes, to spread the word about Gabi’s embezzlement and Chairman Jin’s suspicious death. When Hang-woo gets word, he demands that they sic cyber security on whoever is spreading the malicious rumors. Poor Hang-woo is in for another shock when he hears that Bang has called him out for a live TV debate on the matter.

Bang and Hang-woo meet in the makeup room for their upcoming TV appearance, and Bang can’t resist the urge to make a quip that Hang-woo’s makeup artist will need to use a lot on Hang-woo’s “big flat face.” Haha. The two of them continue to exchange barbed words as Yeo-chi tends to Bang’s skincare and Woo-hee continues to look uncomfortable caught between both sides.

The debate begins in front of the cameras. Bang is hilariously introduced by his nickname, Versailles Yoo, and is asked about the swirl of news around Mo Gabi’s embezzlement. Bang launches into a speech on everything that’s wrong with corporatism when it’s used for private gains (aka embezzlement), and Hang-woo’s response is merely that they’ll sue Bang for what was clearly a defamatory, unfounded remark against Gabi.

Things start heating up between the two, and even the moderator is unable to stop them. Hang-woo brings up Bang’s own embezzlement charges (which he was acquitted for), and as soon as Bang attacks back Hang-woo says he’ll add on an extra lawsuit for defamation of his character. Their microphones eventually get cut off, and we see them continuing to yell at each other in total silence.

Moon-soo has decided to come back onto the case, probably due to his puppy love for Yeo-chi. She definitely plays him for all he’s got, giving him moony eyes while entreating him to help their cause. Bang has the urge to counter everything Moon-soo says like it’s nothing, so when Moon-soo says that his father served as the former Minister of Justice, Bang scoffs. (It’s not like he’s the current one.) But when Moon-soo starts rattling off the rest of his impressive family credentials, Bang is at an adorable loss.

As if Gabi isn’t crazy enough, she loses it at the news that she’ll actually have to face a judge. In court. She can’t get ahold of Hang-woo, and we find out that’s on purpose – Hang-woo is refusing to take her calls.

He goes to find Bum-jeung instead, who seems to be at peace tending to a greenhouse full of plants. When Hang-woo tells him that Chun Ha is in bad shape, Bum-jeung offers a sage observation: “One reaps what one sows. Whether that’s farming or in corporations. All things in the world operate the same.”

No amount of asking is going to get Bum-jeung to go back to work, it seems. But Hang-woo gets an ace in the pocket (literally) when Bum-jeung gives him an envelope that looks suspiciously like Chairman Jin’s will, with the instruction that Hang-woo open it only when the frustration becomes too much.

Shin gets a call from Hang-woo to do some dirty work again, and Team Bang encourages him to continue playing double agent. Hang-woo is working to amass the best legal team in Korea for Chun Ha’s defense, and Bang takes the live updates he gets from Shin straight to Moon-soo. These scenes all point to one thing: Bang and Hang-woo are going to war, and are amassing their armies.

Bang gets an interesting tidbit from Shin’s spying – Hang-woo is being blackmailed by Gabi’s minion. Unfortunately for Hang-woo, he gives Shin the briefcase of money, which then gives Bang, Yeo-chi, and Moon-soo the perfect opportunity to stake out the blackmail spot. Moon-soo is excited – this is going to be trial gold for them.

As soon as Gabi’s minion takes the briefcase, Moon-soo and his men are there to take him into custody. Yeo-chi remarks that things are going so well for them, but this only makes Bang concerned – things that go too well in the beginning have the biggest tendency to go wrong later. (Foreshadowing alert!)

Moon-soo takes charge of interrogating the Minion, who’s got a long list of past charges against him. These are enough to put him in for a long while, so Moon-soo offers to bargain. If Minion comes to court tomorrow to testify about the dual contract Gabi signed with the Golden Brothers, Moon-soo will shorten his list of charges. Minion offers a better deal: what if he just brings the contract itself?

Next we see him, he’s fabricating the contract and forging the signatures. He’s unaware that he’s being watched by the Chun Ha security cameras he helped to install, and calls Moon-soo with some last minute worries. Moon-soo doesn’t give him a break, and tells him to show up bright and early at the courthouse tomorrow with the contract.

It’s the day of the trial, and there’s no sign of the minion. Bang and Yeo-chi are clearly concerned, but Moon-soo remains steadfast in his belief that he hasn’t been duped. Yikes. This isn’t going to end well, is it?

In the courtroom, Moon-soo makes his case on how much money Gabi wasted in investments using Jang Ryang’s testimony. But her defense lawyer probes deeper, taking Jang Ryang to task on misleading Gabi to throw her money away. Things aren’t looking good for Jang Ryang when the lawyer asks him what “chairman” he supposedly talked on the phone to during a conversation with Gabi (since talking to that chairman was used as a tactic to convince her), and Jang Ryang saves the day by wittily replying that it was the “chairman” of his neighborhood morning soccer club. HA. Crisis temporarily averted.

Bang writes a secret message to Moon-soo after seeing Bum-jeung in attendance. The defense lawyer makes it known that Jang Ryang opposed Gabi’s ascendance to the position of chairwoman by delegating his stocks to Yeo-chi, coming to the (true) conclusion that Jang Ryang deliberately tried to get Gabi to squander her investments. After reading the message, Moon-soo declares that their next witness will be Bum-jeung, and the court takes a temporary recess.

Team Bang knows that they’re up against a tough foe, and Moon-soo grows concerned over Gabi’s minion being a no-show so far. Now their hopes lie in Bum-jeung testifying against Gabi.

And Gabi, the sly, manipulative fox that she is, comes upon Bum-jeung while he’s alone. Her tone is apologetic, everything about her completely false as she tries to play Bum-jeung’s emotions back in her favor so he won’t testify against her. Really, Gabi? After the way you treated him last time, you’re going to be this transparent? Well, it’s your grave.

Bum-jeung seems to be sticking to his guns, and Gabi seems all the more relentless for it. Grabbing his arm, she tells him, “I was wrong. Jus this once. Just this once, please forgive me. You’ll come back to me, right? You used to love me. A little mistake like this… you can forgive plenty, right?” Bum-jeung: “I can forgive you, but I don’t think I can trust you again.” He leaves her stewing.

On the stand, Bum-jeung answers all the questions about Gabi’s spending truthfully. The mansion, the yacht, the painting – all of them were bought under the company’s name. Gabi looks like she’s about to pop at every word that comes out of Bum-jeung, each word being the truth and hurting all the more for it. She has the gall to actually look hurt, too.

Shin has been able to track down Gabi’s minion, who comes bearing the (forged?) dual contract between Chun Ha and the Golden Brothers. Moon-soo submits it as evidence that Gabi covered up her embezzlement debt with the stocks sold via the dual contract. Hang-woo hands a disc to the defense lawyer, who then claims that the contract the minion produced was fabricated – and not only that, that the prosecution threatened the minion into fabricating it. They have the phone conversation to prove it. Yiiiikes.

What the defense produces is the security camera recording of Gabi’s minion forging the contract, and Moon-soo calling at just that time. Without hearing Moon-soo’s voice, it certainly does look and sound like they were collaborating to forge the contract. In order to find out who was on the other end of the line, they call the number from the security footage – and Moon-soo’s phone vibrates. (What kind of prosecutor leaves his phone on, even in vibrate mode?)

With this new evidence, the defense lawyer calls for Moon-soo to be debarred, and the trial is done for the day on a very bad note for Bang’s side. Hang-woo knows it, and levels a triumphant smile toward his rival.

Now we get to see what really happened – and that the folder Bum-jeung gave Hang-woo wasn’t the will, but a stratagem suggesting that Hang-woo use the opponent’s spy against them… along with pictures of Bang and Shin together. Hang-woo was incensed to know that Shin betrayed him, and that knowledge is what led him to use Shin as a triple spy for his own purposes.

Gabi is surprised to learn that Bum-jeung turned out to be her savior by arranging everything. I doubt that changes anything in her warped brain, though.

Apparently that one piece of missing evidence is enough to damn the prosecution’s case, since the verdict is going to end up in Gabi’s favor. If that happens, the double jeopardy law (where the defendant can’t be charged for the same thing twice) would prohibit them from going after Gabi again or making an appeal, so this is their only chance. If they can get ahold of the dual contract before the official sentencing, then Gabi will go to jail. But this means that Bang will have to do some illegal digging into the Golden Brothers to get it, and messing with them at all is already labeled an international issue that Moon-soo is unwilling to touch.

Yeo-chi and So Ha get derailed from an executive meeting by Gabi, who simply proclaims that the meeting isn’t happening because she’s just done away with the idea of board meetings, period. She’s happy to tell Yeo-chi that Moon-soo has been debarred and that the prosecution is giving up, though Yeo-chi reminds her that even if the prosecution has given up, she never will.

Gabi draws close to Yeo-chi, so only she can hear what she says next: “Don’t be a brat, Baek Yeo-chi. If you don’t want to end up like your grandfather.” Oooohhh. Gauntlet thrown, Yeo-chi proclaims her stance for everyone in the lobby to hear.

Yeo-chi: “Remember this, Mo Gabi. Maybe you can evade an embezzlement charge, but you will never evade the murder charge. You killed Grandpa. I will prove that personally no matter what. You’re going to live life wretchedly, being called a murderer the rest of your life, and die.”

Woo-hee, master of overhearing conversations, hasn’t slacked off on her job this episode. She’s heard everything and takes it straight to Hang-woo, who doesn’t want to hear her talk about the murder matter any further. She persists, and asks him if he’s ever considered that Gabi might not have been Hang-ryang’s lover, and that maybe – just maybe – Gabi could be playing him.

By the look on his face, Hang-woo’s never thought of it. (Really, Hang-woo?) Gabi ends up in hearing range of their conversation as Woo-hee continues to say that Chairman Jin’s real will exists, and that she’ll make sure everyone knows that Gabi ascended to her lofty seat using a fake will. When Hang-woo asks her why she would go through all the trouble, she explains that it’s all because she’s scared for him.

Gabi finds Woo-hee on her way out of the office, and invites her for a private conversation. (No, Woo-hee! Don’t go!) But go she does, and she even tells Gabi that the only reason she hasn’t gone to the police is because she was hoping Gabi would take the initiative and turn herself in. With the fingerprint lifted from the syringe and the video footage of Chairman Jin’s real will, there’s enough to prove that Gabi had motive for murder.

Woo-hee throws down the gauntlet. “If you don’t confess by this week,” she says, “I’m going to the police.”

Once alone with her minion, Gabi orders him to get rid of Woo-hee without anyone knowing. She wants Woo-hee dead. I’m sure she means for real this time, which only worries me more.

Jang Ryang is nearly in tears as Bang discusses his possible illegal activity with Bun-kwae and Shin, claiming that he can be cited as an accomplice just for listening in. It’s funny that Bang asks both men how many times they’ve broken the law, and after learning that neither Bun-kwae or Shin has a completely clean record, he gives them fake prosecutors’ badges and invites them to break the law with him.

What are they going to be doing, exactly? According to Jang Ryang they’ll be impersonating prosecutors in order to conduct a search and seizure on the Golden Brothers, presumably to get that dual contract. I just love that Jang Ryang is freaking out about breaking the law.

Bang barges into the Golden Brothers’ office with the blue boxes only prosecutors get to use, and aways with the files. They’ve had the police called on them, and attempt a daring escape through the back doors.

They’re about to be caught by the police… but are saved in the nick of time by a getaway car being driven by Jang Ryang, with Yeo-chi in the passenger seat. Ha! And aww, teamwork!

Though they fret about Yeo-chi’s involvement, she simply declares that she doesn’t like to be left out of anything. But is the dual contract really in one of those boxes? Shin says yes, on the basis that they “took anything that looked important.” Haha. I guess that’s as good a strategy as any.

Bang gets a call from Woo-hee, but the line dies the moment he answers. His attempts to call her back go straight to her voicemail, and he worries that something is wrong. Oh no.

We cut to Woo-hee in her car. She tries to brake, but the pedal isn’t working… oh no. She gets distracted by a call from Bang and crashes into road construction, but emerges with only a few bruises. (Why is my heart still in my throat?)

Her phone dies the moment she tries to call Bang back. She tries to wave down a car coming at her in the street… but it’s Gabi’s minion driving, and he starts speeding up.

The car heads straight for Woo-hee at full speed, and we fade to white. What seems like the sickening sound of car-on-flesh is heard.

Hang-woo tries calling Woo-hee, but the call goes straight to her voicemail. He talks himself out of going to her house on account of his pride. But his phone rings, and it’s Bang on the other end. Bang tells him that he’s going to the prosecution tomorrow to turn himself in, because he found the real double contract. Even though he broke the law to do so.

Hang-woo doesn’t quite get it, so Bang spells it out. “You didn’t understand what I said? The dual contract you made with Golden Brothers. It’s in my hands, I said!”

 
COMMENTS

Is she dead? Is she alive? (And if you’ve seen the final episode before reading this, please remain spoiler-free in the comments section.)

I wasn’t super thrilled that we were ending with the same sort of cliffhanger hinging on the same question, at least as far as Woo-hee goes. I’ve been doing a pretty terrible job in predicting the story movements for this show so far, so I’m just staying out of this one – it certainly seems like death was inevitable, but in dramaland, I’ll believe it when I see a dead body. And even then, zombies are a constant threat that should not be ignored. There’s your public service message of the day.

Last week, I was left wondering how Gabi’s fall would happen fast enough for Hang-woo and Bang to have a final battle, which was the grand finale of the original Chu-Han Contention. Even though two episodes wouldn’t have been enough, I thought that Hang-woo and Bang’s battle still might be possible, and thus be the reason for the two-episode extension.

But if this drama, despite my expectations, was really just about overthrowing Gabi – I can’t help feeling disappointed. As this episode went on, the slow realization dawned on me that Gabi wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon and that this was the conflict that would take us to the end. Having a Big Bad isn’t a bad thing, but every time Bang and Hang-woo took a backseat to Gabi in recent episodes I soothed myself to sleep at night with the thought that they’d have their time to shine after she was gone… only, now it looks like they won’t.

Strangely enough, even though there was an extension, it feels like we’ve been deprived of Bang at the expense of spending time on a character like Gabi – who has no redeeming qualities and is essentially an over-glorified obstacle who’s lost a sense of subtlety. She’s bad, sure. But bad enough to steal precious time we could have been spending with Versailles Yoo? I’m not sure.

Who knows – the finale might be a whirlwind adventure that totally shatters all my negative expectations. I hope so, and I’m ready to be surprised, excited, and moved. And certainly, I’m still sad to say goodbye tomorrow.

(In today’s epilogue, Woo-hee sings to a sleeping Hang-woo and offers up a cute and bittersweet prayer so that Hang-woo will never leave her side, because she’s the only one who can look after a man as hot-tempered as he is. Even though it’s a painful road, she prays that no other woman ever be saddled with such pain, so that Hang-woo is hers alone. I love that she’s the one doing the protecting, because Hang-woo is honestly naive to the ways of the world. Let’s hope Hang-woo’s white knight lives to fight another day.)

 
RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , , , ,

53

Required fields are marked *

Man, things are heating up! Can't wait for the finale :D

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

The moment when she goes to Gabi and tells her to turn herself in, I was like noooooo, what are you doing? It really seems silly that WH doesn't think about the fact that Gabi HAS murdered before, and there's nothing stopping her from doing it again.

I also really wished more out of HW as the antagonist. While I really enjoyed the show, it feels like it started off as a completely different back in episode 1 and we've changed directions so many times. I mean, whatever happened to that Youth Drug and all the crazy side effects?!

In a way, it was a bit more realistic, what with all the various motives and tiny story lines, but I really would have liked a final face-ff between HW and Bang, because I swear that's what we were promised.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

its awesome!! that's all ill say ;3

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

First? Awesome recap now I'm off to find spoilers

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

What a great series! I loved everyone, but I agree I wish we would've been able to see more of Bang and Hang-woo, show down or at least plotting against Gabi! I mean come on!!!! She needs to go! I can't wait for the finale, I love Salaryman too freakin much

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

In recent episodes, woo hee has been getting on my nerves for essentially aiding in the cover up of the murder (since she already knew that gabi most likely did it and that hang woo is in gavis side) but now she's probably the only one who can get hang woo to realize he's been tricked (I also don't believe that the stanford? graduate fails to see that gabi is playing him when he's the one telling bum jeung about her manipulative ways..)
She can't die now!!!! Also, she should bring the information on chairman jins murder (the fingerprint syringe stuff) to bang (I don't think they know about that right?) if she really wants justice because it's obvious that hang woo isn't going to do anything about it!!
And lastly, how can hang woo just cover everything up by saying they'll leave for America soon?? Just leave behind the huge mess you've created?? And this might sound insensitive, but hang ryang is dead!! Hang woo should work on protecting those who are alive!! If not for bang orr even yeo chi, then for woo hee! Covering up a murder (obstruction of justice?) is a big deal!

Okay okay done ranting now...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.

I simply cannot wait for the finale. This has been an awesome series, thanks for the recaps!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Agree with HeadsNo2 - we really needed to see a face-off between Bang and HangWoo. This drama actually needs 30 episodes, really. I just wish it were, so that we would get the fight we were promised early on.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love this drama.
I honestly think that half of the time, the most interesting parts of this drama are the epilogues =D

I was angry at Woo Hee in the beginning for telling Hang Woo everything and not telling Yeo Chi and Bang since they were the direct victims.
Now, as I think about it, I can also understand why Woo Hee told Hang Woo first. I understand that her helping Bang and Yeo Chi is a direct betrayal of Hang Woo, but when the man is being that dense, a small betrayal in the name of what's right would've benefited him too.

What I wanted to see was Bang and Hang Woo, despite the enmity with each other, join sides and fight against Gabi together. But I think I'll be disappointed if that only happens in the last episode.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

So this episode confirms to me that Hang Woo is an a-hole that does not deserve Woo-Hee at all. Instead of worrying about why his love isn't picking up the phone he has to think about his pride instead.

Just don't care anymore, this guy just needs to go away.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Love the drama, but I must say that this episode and lately, it is about getting rid of Gabi, which kind of get a little boring. I would rather they get back to the shenanigans of Yoo Bang , the salaryman vs the Stanford trained high powered Hang Woo. I would be upset if they let Hang Woo off for all the bad things he did with no remorse.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I know I've probably been Hang Woo's biggest cheerleader....
....
FORGIVE ME COMMENTATORS WHO WERE RIGHT ABOUT HANG WOO!
*Gets on knees and bow*

I was so blinded by the love, i didn't see the danger! Cha Woo Hee!!!!!!!!!! I was sooo wrongg! Hang Woo is a nappunum! I can't believe he went till the very end believing in Mo Gabi to the point Woo Hee was dragged into it too ):

Ugh, I have so much to say about today's episode! Can't wait for your recap tomorrow!

0
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

Call me blind, call me dense. You can even beat me. But i refuse to leave Hang Woo's side. The guy is manipulative and dumb at times but I really really believe he loves Woo Hee at this time of the story. I may be an hopeless cause, but he said he was ready to suffer through marriage for the rest of his life, and this is the way i want him to pay for his faults. Poor boy has had his share of bad luck, physical violence and allergic reactions. If there is only one truthful supporter of his till the end, it will be me.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Lets say he does love Woo Hee (and i believe he does, even though there warning signs of potential trouble)

Does that excuse the wrong after wrong after wrong he does??????

I sincerely believe even a Murderer and the other EXTREME criminals is capable of loving someone. The real test is what he willing to do to people that does not mean anything to him.

He does not even give a shit that someone was murdered and he knows who did it. He does not give a shit if he ruins a person career. He does not give a shit if he puts an innocent person in prison for murder (that he himself framed) We have all watched the show from episode 1 to at least 21. I could go on and on with his bad character.

It's not just his business personality being cutthroat and ruthless (I don't even care about that in the story) It's everything else that goes WAY above and beyond business such as lack of care for any collateral damage he may cause

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree with you except that I can look past some of his cut-throat business tactics because this show is about the war of business. Giant vs the little man. So anything goes.

It's outside of that which pisses me off. He always falls back on his pride when he should be worrying about his fiancee. He could move to America with her and avoid all this headache but chooses to stay and do wrong. Causing her to cry and have to stick with his illegal actions. Shown hardly any redeemable qualities to prove he's worth of Woo Hee.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

sorry, i might not have made it clear enough.

I also DON'T care about cut-throat business tactics, It's the one not related to business and goes against any definition of ethics and morals

0

I thought I would be eating crow too, but he's totally little boy lost. I don't think he's evil.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm recycling my comment in soompi, sorry for not writing new one.

I am mad once again after I read this article. the first time was few hours ago while I segmented at viki and almost, for the first time since I'm working full of joy with No Salary Team on this project, I wanted to retire and ask for someone to replace me.

1. Hang Woo is BAD person, no one ever convince me that he can change for the good. and as I said before, no matter how many good thing he will do from now on, I could NOT be able to forget and forgive all the wrong, hateful, full of malice, hatred and revenge. What he made so far? burning the factory leaving a person to die there, implicating innocent Yoo Bang and Yeo Chi for murder, forging documents, suppressing the woman he supposedly loves and now to destroy the reputation of honest and fair prosecutor. Did I forget something? Totally major turn-off.

2. Woo Hee. I know deep down she's alive and hiding from that bit** who's trying to kill her. I know she's kind, smart, sexy and lovable person. her connection with Hang Woo vanished her commonsense. If I was Yeo Chi, I probably would slap her as someone here suggested, she needs a wake up call right away! If I was Yoo Bang, I would put a mirror in front her face and forces her to deal with the bitter truth that the woman he knew, no more existent. Please let Woo Hee live, writer-nim, and please let her back to her old self. she MUST understand that the man she loves isn't right for her and need to break up with him.

3. Yoo Bang is my biggest man crash since I'm watching k-dramas. his character so good written, I have no other choice but fall deeply in love with him. as Yeo Chi said in episode 14's epilogue, when a person is so great, you can see above his assets and look. he is the opposite of Hang Woo. Loyal, carrying, smart, full of love and patient, full of compassion to his friends and others. Consider his actions stem from a focused, healthy and responsible way tostreamline and change the things that should change. he's my HERO.

4. Yeo Chi is my biggest woman crash since I'm watching k-dramas. She went through the greatest upheaval from useless granddaughter of huge firm, spoil, childish and loudmouth to a person that I'll gladly welcome her as my BFF. she has great personality like Yoo Bang (that's why they are total match made in dramaland heaven), and unlike Woo Hee, she'll never let anyone to step on her! she's not afraid about her image and stays true to herself to her principles and to her friends. It's the first time I saw character like her's in K-drama. what can I say? I love strong and smart women.

Today is the last episode. let's hope that I'll get my happy end and Mo Gabi, Hang Woo, Chil Bok and Park Beom Jung will end in JAIL!

0
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oops. forgot to thank you, HeadsNo2. So, lots of thanks for your great recap. I love to read you and may I ask what is going to be your new recap project?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I love Yeo-chi, too; her character's progression has been fantastic to watch and now I totally fangirl her, and think she's made of win and sprinkled with awesome. :D

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

It's funny but I'm actually more pissed off at Woo-Hee than I am at Hang-Woo. I mean, from the beginning Hang-Woo has been the antagonist. No amount of tears or occasional "humane" moments from him convinced me otherwise of her status as a selfish jerk.

However, Woo-Hee was quite a different character in the beginning who went from being a victim to a stronger and more mature women who was turned around and became proactive with Bang.
Now, she's once again in a victim mode where she can't do anything and has to rely on the jerk to bring out the truth. I mean, yeah, she did threaten Gabi but her threat is as good as a paper going against a shredding machine. If a person could go as far as to MURDER for money and go to countless means to cover up and further the agenda, do you really think she will just drop it because you tell her to? Seriously, you would think Woo-Hee would be more aware of what Gabi is capable of especially after her near death experience. Talk about common sense.
Woo-Hee is worried that Gabi is pulling him down but thing is, Gabi isn't Hang-Woo's pit. Hang-Woo is the one digging his own grave. The problem isn't Gabi or anyone else. It's HANG-WOO-the delusion one.
Ugh, people can say that Woo-Hee is justified in turning her back at Bang and withholding evidence because she loves Hang-Woo but that's just such a twisted mentality. That's no excuse to obstruct justice. I hate how Hang-Woo has manipulated Woo-Hee's feelings and actions ALL for his OWN benefits. Their relationship has all the signs of an abusive one. Hang-Woo may care or "love" Woo-Hee but he loves his pride and SELF a million times more than Woo-Hee.
Woo-Hee needs to get her head back and be the awesome smarty head that she is. Run, Girl. His lips are dripping honey but he'll sting you like a bee.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I would say that after Coffee Prince's Eun Chan, Yeo Chi is my favorite female lead in a kdrama ever!! I DESPISE with a passion the sad faced-stomped over poor little girls that waits for some arrogant chaebol to save them while staring like deer in headlights, I love strong female characters and Yeo Chi was more than that. And Woo Hee, there's something about her character that I found fascinating, she's the common girl that gets dragged around by the man, but she has her own power, it's more subtle than Yeo Chi but it's there.

I hope this drama sets a new standard in kdramaland, we need more stories with good characters, you can't only rely in hot oppas trying to sell the audience a bad story.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

yeochi became nothing other than a wasted character! mo gabi was awesome, much more like the historical yeo chi than yeo chi. I also had a lot of issues with mo gabi becoming a toothless person.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Awww, how cute (the epilogue!) Then again I can't believe I have to go back to my maniacal chanting please don't let Woo-hee die, don't let her die, don't let her die, kill her and I'll kill you, Show...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Woo Hee has been frustrating me for a while. But the reason is because i care for her character and knows she is a good person at the same time i also know she is making wrong decision due to being blinded by love. She should be reporting her knowledge to law enforcement but likely afraid to betray Hang Woo. (and 'SHOW' you better not kill her off)

Hang Woo, it is now 21 episode in and I STILL have the same opinion. anyways i won't keep beating a dead horse, so i'll leave it at that.

Gabi, since 'show' started turning her into mustache twirling and evil cackling type caricature, I sort of lost interest in her. Much rather see a final showdown between well developed charters of Yoo Bang and Hang Woo

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I don't have all that much to say as I agree with your commentary, Heads (why is Gabi the main antagonist? ugh, such a waste of potential conflict between Hang-woo and Bang), so I'll just add that I enjoyed all of the 'little' moments in this episode (Bang and Yeo-chi at the cyber-cafe; Bang eating ramen while wearing a newspaper so as not to stain his suit; Bang's jealousy over Moon-soo's flirtatious behaviour with Yeo-chi - so cute) and thought the epilogue was sweet (hopefully not bittersweet; I guess that depends on the finale, though).

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Spoilers deleted; in the future, it would be quickest to alert me via email if things need deleting, since I don't necessarily read all comments the moment they come in.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh frackin' frack. Now I can't unsee what I've just seen.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks javabeans for removing the spoilers (argh!) and another thanks to HeadsNo2 for the awesome recap!

There was a little part of me hoping that Hangwoo was in fact the smart one stringing Gabi along right from the start, so it was frustrating for me to see him acting like such a gullible kid even til now. Also, come on Woo Hee, grow a spine and just expose the evidence! So as long as your man is safe and sound, it's okay to cover up the murder? Really?

*Sigh* I do agree these few episodes have really been heavily centred on Gabi and I so wish to see more of our Versailles Yoo and Yeo-chi... How often do I get to say: 22 episodes is just TOO short?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sheesh, what did they do to WH? Here's a hint for you girl. Don't tell a "murderer" you know she's one before you tell the police. Hello?!

I refused to believe that HW was that gullible! I feel wronged somehow. He fell for Mo Gabi's lie.

Well, looking forward to what the ending will be.

Thanks HeadsNo2.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks Heads for another great recap!

You are right about the use of the same cliffhanger for the last 2 episodes. The show has been great in so many aspects, but the cliffhangers...

It's becoming more obvious that Versailles and Yoo Bang won't have the chance to have an epic battle royal. I was willing to settle for bromance, but that is also apparently not meant to be either. Too bad, the show lost a great opportunity there was well.

All that said, I am off to watch the LAST episode. *sadface*. I will miss both HOtS and your recaps. Thanks again!

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

"Versailles and Yoo Bang"

Silly me, I meant "Versailles and Hang Woo" OOPS!

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

It is a funny name! I loved when he introduces himself as that on the TV show lol

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I lost it when he said it!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Er, that ending what so meh considering they used the same thing in the previous episode. Come on HOTS! Go out with a BANG! Hahaha. Go Bang go!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

man, do any of these korean actresses have real noses? They have all had their noses done!!! implants are so noticeable...

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I guess that's why I find Park Shin Hye the prettiest, her nose, "imperfect" as it may look, looks like a real nose(I'm sure she's never had any nose job, but who knows!).

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Episode 21 raw and subs is out guys!!!
check it out---> http://10a11cd1.tinylinks.co

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the awesome recap Heads! Looking forward to your thoughts on the finale.

I agree with you that Mo Gabi became the focus at the expense of the Bang-Hang-woo rivalry. Plus, even though the actress is doing a good job of acting out the character, she's just too crazy. To the point where we're going the she's-crazy-thus-knows-not-what-she-does route, which maddens me because it goes for sympathy/forgiveness where the character deserves none. She may be driven mad by greed at this point, but she was already plenty evil - and sanely so - when she killed Chairman Jin.

Sad that Hang-woo was dragged around by her too. I would have liked him as an antagonist, even if he was never redeemed, if he at least was motivated by his OWN reasons. It's pathetic for him to be used by Mo Gabi in this ridiculous deception, which Woo-hee has seen through, and Hang-woo should have. I thought he was smarter than that.

Also, PLEASE, people, respect the request for no spoilers! What the hell, seriously.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I have a feeling that they stretched out the Mo Gabi angle because they didn't have enough time for a Bang-HangWoo fight. But that doesn't make sense because the latter fight is really the big deal, both drama and history-wise. Mo Gabi's a satisfying villain to hate, and she does have a historical counterpart, but the writers are cutting out the last and best third of the story...given how good they are, I'm really thinking this is the time constraint. I think JB mentioned in a news post that the writers had wanted more time (hence the two-episode extension) but I really think they could have used 30 episodes at least.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree, there are a lot of angles left either unresolved or very perfunctorily covered - and that's without even going into the Bang/Hang-woo conflict. I understand why the writers did this given the episode count, but I think they could have planned it better. I think they failed to adjust their writing style from their last drama, Giant, which was 60 episodes and had the luxury of slower, more detailed storytelling. Honestly there were a few episodes where things slowed down a bit.

HotS is still one of the best-written shows of the year so far, it just pains me to think how much more awesome it could have been.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think you are right about the writing team. The main reason why I love Giant so much is because the writers took the time to introduce each character, each conflict and its consequences on the overall story. It was harder to capture that in HOtS, but it is still one of my favorite dramas of all time!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This has been a really fantabulous drama. The best I've seen in years. Can't wait for the finale! Salaryman, fighting!!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the recap!! I can't wait to see how this all ends, hopefully without any more trial scenes. While its great that the show was extended, and I know that those types of things need to be played out and shown, it really made be miss the awesomeness of the previous episodes.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

i THINK HW IS MORE PATHETIC THAN A REAL BAD PERSON... he's such a fool for MGB !

Again a sweet moment in the epilogue... i definitly prefer HW/WH romantic couple!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yeah... nice going...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I really love the epilogue~ Thank's for the recap HeadsNo2! :D

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Heads~

Thanks for the recap.

When Yeo-chi says "Hi " to Hang-woo at the TV studio, Hah! Small scene but oh so funny. I'm going to miss this show.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

As much as I love Woo-hee, I want her to die because I don't think Hang-woo ever deserved her. For me the bigger villain's Hang-woo because I find him so idiotic and not in a funny or endearing way. Yes, he's smart business-wise, but even in business his emotions are involved and that's not smart at all. Argh. I really don't like him.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with characters. Why do you have to tell the villains what your plan is? Personally I would just pull the rug out from under them. Why would I owe Mo Ga Bi anything to give her a week?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

When the CCTV recording showed then number of the phone of the person the secretary was calling, I was like "Yes! I knew he tilted the phone to far toward the camera!"

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

OMG!!!!!! Hang Woo snap out of it already!!! I can't stand it anymore (granted this is the 21 épisode).

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *