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Equator Man: Episode 11

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman who has evidence that you tried to kill your best friend while covering up the evidence of your father murdering said best friend’s dad… or so they say. This episode builds on the revelations of the past, as Sun-woo finds out that Chairman Jin is no easy prey and Jang-il fails to learn his lesson on how to treat other human beings. If you’re looking for the end of the noble idiocy phase between Sun-woo and Ji-won you won’t find it here, but with so much story going on, you might not notice it as much as you did before.

In ratings news, Equator Man reached a personal best in ratings at 15.6%, and maintained its position in first place.

 
EPISODE 11 RECAP

The truth sinks in for Jang-il as he remembers their last meeting, where Sun-woo cryptically said things like, “Long time no see” and “It was nice to see you.” Now he realizes it was all an act.

Looking at Sun-woo’s back as they walk to another office reminds Jang-il of the moment he committed that horrible deed and tried to kill his best friend. The intent on his mind must be murderous, since the camera keeps flashing to the incredibly sharp pencil in Jang-il’s hand.

I love that Jang-il’s assistant can literally feel how tense the air is between the two men, since he’s visibly uncomfortable as he looks from Jang-il to Sun-woo and back again. He’s become the third wheel on a date from hell.

With a chaperone in the room, Jang-il and Sun-woo are forced to act the part of newly introduced strangers. Sun-woo is relaxed and conversational, while Jang-il is so nervous that he can’t help but tap his pencil on the table repeatedly.

Sun-woo offers up his expertise on mining, but wonders aloud whether this sort of case is even in Jang-il’s jurisdiction. Tap tap. When Jang-il quips that Sun-woo should just answer their questions (as in, you’re not in a place to ask any of your own), Sun-woo fires back by asking if he’s being questioned as a defendant.

Oh, the look on Jang-il’s face. Sun-woo is totally screwing with him, both of them know it, but there’s nothing Jang-il can do. Sun-woo knows it too, since he smiles at Jang-il’s visible unease. It doesn’t help that Jang-il is prompted into an apology for being out of line.

Against his better instincts, Jang-il follows Sun-woo out when he leaves and purposefully calls him by his real name once they’re outside. To all his pointed questions, Sun-woo’s answers are delightfully flippant, as if to say, What’s the big deal?

When the subject comes to his sight, Sun-woo replies that he had a successful surgery. He was going to surprise Jang-il when they first met, but cites that Jang-il said he was too busy and left before he could say anything. The two trade barbs, though Sun-woo seems like the clear winner by playing on Jang-il’s emotions when they were once friends with remarks like, “I was looking forward to how happy you would have been for me. That hurts.”

Jang-il: “This hurts too.” But you know what really hurts, Jang-il? A tree branch to the head.

He wants to know all there is to know about Sun-woo right there and now, but receives a business card instead. Sun-woo wants them to catch up over drinks later.

Jang-il returns to his office in a daze, but overhears his colleague giving a presentation which names Chairman Jin as a suspect in accepting bribes. Remembering Chairman Jin’s words that bad things will happen if Jang-il doesn’t stop the investigation, he attempts to lead his colleague off the case by saying Chairman Jin is too small a fish to fry.

His colleague, perhaps sensing something shady going on, simply tells Jang-il that he’ll be the one to decide whether to pursue Chairman Jin or not. This sounds like future branch-to-the-head talk.

He returns to his desk to find loads of gifts from adoring fans, those who see him as a great prosecutor always fighting for justice. His ego balloon is swiftly popped when he’s notified of a call from Sun-woo, under his David Kim alias.

During the earlier interview, Sun-woo had claimed that there was no telling whether the firm Jang-il was targeting lied about the amount of resources they had. But now he calls Jang-il with a different story, telling him that his suspicions were true – the firm he’s investigating are swindlers known throughout the field.

Jang-il wonders why Sun-woo didn’t mention this earlier, to which his friend replies that if he gave the answer too easily, Jang-il wouldn’t look like a great prosecutor. This way, he’s making it so that Jang-il will look like he cracked the case on his own.

The woman Jang-il shares an office with gives our resident prosecutor a leery side-eye when he switches to banmal on the phone with Sun-woo. It’s only when she’s gone that he demands Sun-woo meet him tonight, but Sun-woo simply says that he’s already got a meeting lined up and he’ll call later. Click.

At the hotel, Ji-won finds Sun-woo after a multi-language business meeting to ask if he needs anything. Without looking at her, he asks her what she’ll do if he actually needs something, before asking her to come to a performance later with him and his team.

She professionally deflects the question by amending that he can only need something within the boundaries of the hotel. He’s of the mind that she shouldn’t say “anything” if she can’t actually provide “anything,” and the two mince words over it until she gets a call from Jang-il, which Sun-woo overhears.

Ji-won finally tells Sun-woo that he doesn’t need her to go to the performance, it’s just something he wants. She’s there to provide what he needs. In response, he tells her that she won’t make the interview with that kind of attitude.

Back on the line with Jang-il, the talk stays about his party planning until he asks her out for a beer. She has a legitimate excuse for not being able to go, but maybe next time.

Sun-woo and his assistant go over the details of the case. Assistant wants to submit Jang-il, Yong-bae, and Chairman Jin’s names over as suspects, but Sun-woo tears up the petition. For now, he only wants Chairman Jin’s name submitted so that he can take them down one by one.

They don’t have a whole lot of evidence, but Sun-woo plans to use the letter his father wrote to Tae-joo as part of the submittal. It’s going to be an uphill climb regardless, and his assistant offers him a drink along with a mention of Ji-won. He basically tells Sun-woo that there are plenty of fish in the sea, but Sun-woo only has eyes for one fish, and her name is Ji-won.

Yong-bae has clearly taken a liking to Soo-mi since the art exhibition, and gives her a call to invite her to his birthday celebration. She’s happy to oblige, but notes that Jang-il might not be happy about her company. Yong-bae thinks his son is merely being silly (completely unaware of their past together) and says that it’s his birthday, so he can invite who he wants.

He’s there to greet Jang-il when he arrives home, but the smile disappears from his face when his son tells him that Sun-woo can now see. It’s with shock that he hears their first meeting was all a show, and wonders if Sun-woo has lost his mind.

In a dead tone, Jang-il recites the facts he knows about Sun-woo to his father. His name is David Kim now. He studied in America. He’s a successful businessman, and came to the office as an expert. Soon, they’ll meet and he’ll find out the full story.

Yong-bae’s first reaction is to tell Chairman Jin, but his son swiftly stops him. He asserts that there’s no reason to tell him anything pertaining to Sun-woo, and makes it known that he just wants to live life like nothing happened.

Jang-il gives a presentation on the mining firm he’s been investigating, and announces that he’s requested a warrant for the president of the company for giving false statements and manipulating the stock market. In voiceover, we hear someone praising Jang-il for not listening to David Kim’s advice, which was Sun-woo’s plan all along. His tactic worked perfectly to net Jang-il more acclaim.

It’s only when he’s outside that Jang-il finally loses his cool, once his attempt to reach Sun-woo by phone goes unanswered.

The reason why his call is going unanswered is because Sun-woo is meeting with one of the former detectives who was assigned to his father’s case. The detective confirms what Sun-woo already knows – that everything about the hanging was suspicious, too much so to be a simple suicide.

This is good news for Sun-woo, who tells the detective that he plans to appeal again and wants to use him as a witness.

Meanwhile, Chairman Jin is using every resource available to dig up information about Jang-il’s colleague, the prosecutor investigating him. He knows that he can’t depend on Jang-il, so he instructs Secretary Cha to set up his stepdaughter on a blind date with him instead with a fabricated background. Wait, so you’re going to use your stepdaughter as a spy?

Speaking of, we cut to a scene of her and her mom receiving massages. Like most scenes involving Chairman Jin’s wife, it’s harder to get through. The point of the scene is to see Yoon-joo get a call from Sun-woo, aka David Kim.

Ah, so the girl we saw studying with Sun-woo at university was Yoon-joo, after all. They give each other a European-style greeting and gab like old friends, with Sun-woo well aware of who her stepfather is. It seems like he’s fishing for information on Chairman Jin, though she doesn’t seem to realize it and, in fact, wants to introduce the two of them since they have similar business interests.

Norebang. Jang-il’s colleague tells him that he’s off the Chairman Jin case for now – he knows he’s involved, but has to wait until he’s got clear proof. Jang-il is all too happy to hear it.

He calls Ji-won from the karaoke room, and though she can see him on the caller ID all she hears is the song in the background. He hangs up, then nearly jumps out of his seat when his phone rings, thinking it’s her. Alas, it’s only Sun-woo returning his call.

He invites Jang-il over for a drink in his very impressive office, which Jang-il grudgingly compliments. Whiskey is the drink of choice, and it’s an awkward one considering what happened the last time. (Remember that oddly violent pillow fight?)

When all else fails, hang a lantern – when the subject of looks is brought up, Sun-woo acknowledges that Jang-il looks the same, but, “I aged because I went through so many hardships.” Ha, nice of them to address the age difference.

Sun-woo briefly explains how he got to where he’s at, before asking Jang-il if he’d like to go back to their hometown. How about it?

Jang-il goes quiet for a while, then replies that all of those memories seem like they were so long ago. Then, suddenly:

Sun-woo: “Jang-il. Why did you do that?”

His eyes go wide. “Do what?” Sun-woo replies with the same question, “Why did you do that to me?”

A moment of silence passes between them, as we see the wheels turning in Jang-il’s head. We know what he’s thinking, but is that what Sun-woo is really asking?

But no, it turns out Sun-woo is asking why Jang-il didn’t correct him when he thought his father died during his childhood so many years ago. Sun-woo is playing mind games for sure, because he definitely got Jang-il to sweat for a couple of seconds there.

Jang-il passes it off like he lied out of care for Sun-woo, which the latter claims to accept. Only then he brings up Jang-il’s promise that he would help him with his father’s case the day he became a prosecutor. “My father didn’t commit suicide,” he reaffirms. “I remember that I discovered him. I was with you back then. You came with me to the police station. I could depend on you because you were right next to me.”

That’s pretty sad, when you think about it. Regardless, Jang-il apologizes that he can’t keep that promise – he’s not in the criminal division, and lacks the jurisdiction to help him. He claims he’ll talk to one of his colleagues in that division for him, though.

The air between them remains tense with so much left unsaid. Jang-il is left to walk home on his own with a terrible chill.

Through chattering teeth he tells his father to let Chairman Jin know that everything will be all right. I wonder if he’s actually sick, or if he’s having a physical reaction to the anxiety of meeting Sun-woo again when the scales have now tipped against him.

We all know that every Sick Mother gets her hospital bills paid by our lead heroine’s admirer, and this case is no different: Ji-won finds out that Jang-il went to her mother’s hospital and footed the bill for her treatment. Uh oh.

She’s not as mad as I thought she’d be when she gives Jang-il a call asking him to meet her at the hospital so she can pay him back. But he’s still fully dressed under the covers, and is shivering when he tells her that he’s too cold to do much of anything right now.

Sun-woo, meanwhile, wakes from a nightmare where he’s gone blind again. Luckily his unnamed assistant is there to flip the switches and light the room, dressed in flamboyant silk pajamas. Apparently they live together, though we still haven’t gotten a clue as to who he is in relation to Sun-woo and why he knows every single detail about the case.

He wants Sun-woo to submit Jang-il’s name in the petition, worried that Sun-woo is going easy on him because he’s his friend. Sun-woo is quick to deny that fact.

Soo-mi receives a gift of flowers from Sun-woo, only he’s nowhere to be seen. She asks Yoon-joo if the man who left them was blind – but Yoon-joo replies that he was chubby, and wore a gold necklace. Geum-jool.

She goes to her father with the news, who doesn’t seem to be doing too well in his new life as a thespian. She mentions Sun-woo and his expensive flower bouquet with an air of caution, but Kwang-choon is delighted – he just knew Sun-woo was alive. Unlike his daughter who has her reasons for not wanting Sun-woo around, he can’t wait to see his old neighbor.

Ji-won arrives for her scheduled interview with Sun-woo, and gives a very diplomatic answer when he asks her why she wants a new job. He calls her out on it too, saying that her rhetoric sounds over-rehearsed.

He pretty much grills her, and when he mentions that she’s a girl she’s quick to reply that she’s here as an applicant, not a woman. Sun-woo’s even quicker when he fires back, “But you’re not a man.” Can’t argue with the truth.

More personal questions get asked, like whether she’s married or not. He remarks that she’s already of age to be married, though she’s of the belief that one should meet their soulmate first, not just tie the knot because they’re already old.

This goes on, until he catches her staring at him. Ji-won explains herself honestly, “You look too much like someone I know.” As in, you’ve changed so much.

And with that, she leaves without further ado.

Tae-joo has arrived in Korea, and reads over the letter Kyung-pil sent him shortly before his murder asking whose son Sun-woo truly is. He nearly runs into Chairman Jin at the cemetery, both of them there for the anniversary of his fiancée’s death.

We hear Kyung-pil’s letter in voiceover asking Tae-joo if it’s true that he was the one Fiancée Eun-hae loved. By the time Chairman Jin reaches her grave a bouquet of flowers is already resting there, and he surmises truthfully that Tae-joo has already come and gone.

To Eun-hae in the afterlife he asks, “You still haven’t gotten over him?” And then a long moment of silence passes before he says, with tears in his eyes, “I hate you the most in this world.” The look on his face is actually heartbreaking as he struggles to hold back tears.

Because the letter mentions Chairman Jin as Sun-woo’s possibly true father, Tae-joo lies to his Not Son and tells him that he lost the letter, but he’ll testify if needed. Sun-woo’s quick to guess that there was something in the letter he shouldn’t know, which his Not Dad is quick to deny.

Kwang-choon seems to know that her daughter is still after Jang-il, and tries to dissuade her from meeting him at his father’s party by asking her out instead. She flatly refuses, and while Sun-woo goes to the police to submit the petition naming Chairman Jin as a suspect, Kwang-choon pays a visit to Jang-il in front of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Jang-il is short and terse with him, though Kwang-choon tries to milk out as much time as he can just to tell Jang-il not to date his daughter. When Jang-il cuts him off and leaves, Kwang-choon just stares after him and mutters, “That murderer.”

Yong-bae made it seem like he was inviting a number of people for his birthday party, though it’s only Soo-mi who goes. He’s clearly trying to set her up with Jang-il, and it’s awkward nation from the moment he arrives and sums up the situation.

In the same hotel, Yoon-joo and Chairman Jin wait for a meeting with her friend, David Kim. Chairman Jin’s smile falters when he recognizes Sun-woo, though the cordiality comes swiftly back into place as they make their introductions as strangers.

It’s only when Yoon-joo leaves the table that Sun-woo asks Chairman Jin if he remembers him. You can see the old man falter, wondering what lies to spin and what truths to reveal. Sun-woo is brazen as he asks if Chairman Jin remembers his father, and his friend Jang-il.

Finally Chairman Jin acts like he remembers, and blames the confusion on Sun-woo’s new name. Speaking of, how did he get to America after his father died? Sun-woo uses the same reply as he did with Jang-il, that a kind soul helped him.

Yong-bae makes it no secret that he wants Jang-il and Soo-mi together, and leaves his own birthday dinner early in order to afford them time alone. They couldn’t be sitting any further from each other at the table.

Jang-il won’t even look her in the eye, and Soo-mi’s cheerful and coy demeanor seems to have left with Yong-bae as she asks him if she’s still the same shaman’s daughter he once looked down on in his eyes.

Without missing a beat, he tells her that her father came and asked him not to see her. She apologizes, and he drives the point home by asking her why he should have to see someone like him in his office’s lobby. “Like him?” she asks, as though incredulous that Jang-il still has his nose so high in the air.

Jang-il: “You thought I would love you if you came back a famous artist?” Ouch.

Soo-mi addresses him directly. Does he remember what she told him once, about regretting that he treated her so terribly? All bets are off now, as she tells him that now, he actually will regret it. Jang-il, after seeing that painting, do you really think she’s bluffing?

Back with Sun-woo’s awkward dinner, the talk goes from mining to Tae-joo. Oooh. I love that Chairman Jin might have been surprised at first, but he recovered lightning quick. Now he’s turned the tables on Sun-woo on how much subtext he can fit into a conversation.

The name he chose – David – is because of David and Goliath. Chairman Jin wonders who “Goliath” is to him, to which Sun-woo replies, “Everything that stands in my way.” Chairman Jin gives a Cheshire Cat grin.

In his hotel room with Not Dad and Unnamed Assistant/Friend, Sun-woo tells them that the war has only begun. Tae-joo asks what winning is to him – is it Chairman Jin and Yong-bae getting convicted? “More than that,” is Sun-woo’s reply.

Jang-il gets an unwanted call from Chairman Jin asking him if he knows David Kim. We then cut away to Soo-mi opening a dusty old box.

With a glass of wine in hand, she sits back and views a wall… covered in pictures of Jang-il and Sun-woo. It’s complete, photographic evidence of the crime that happened that day. “Lee Jang-il,” she says to the pictures, “I was there that day.”

Chairman Jin and Jang-il finally meet and talk over Sun-woo’s new identity. He’s right to surmise that Sun-woo went blind because of Jang-il, so does he think that him being alright now clears him of any guilt?

He can read Jang-il like a book, despite the prosecutor’s attempts to one-up him. He blatantly tells the Chairman to stop ordering him around, because his father only followed his orders that day. He knows his father isn’t innocent, but compared to Chairman Jin, Jang-il says he is.

It’s almost as though he’s got Chairman Jin, but he doesn’t get the last word. Instead it’s Chairman Jin who asks, with an arrogant smile on his face, “What if, when Yong-bae took him to the mountain… What if he was still alive back then?”

 
COMMENTS

Boom. That’s how you do it.

I’m really glad to see Chairman Jin back in the game, and that he’s played by such a fine actor capable of portraying all the subtext constantly going on in this drama. If there was ever a show where people constantly never say what they mean or mean what they say, this is it. It’s the kind of undercurrent that keeps every conversation alive and interesting, because there’s just so much left unsaid.

It was about time too, since Chairman Jin had really been spinning his wheels for quite a while. I knew the show was saving him for something good, and I wasn’t disappointed. Unfortunately, now that we’ve got everyone involved in the main revenge story, Ji-won does seem to be the odd man out. I like her a lot, but as of now she’s the only inactive participant to the revenge tale and lost a bit of relevancy this episode, when so much – including Sun-woo – moved forward fine without her. In fact, if we took her out of the episode, none of the main story would really suffer – so I hope to see her find a method of involvement soon. Preferably as an employee of ‘Head Hunters’ seeking revenge with Sun-woo, like a vigilante crime-fighting team taking on the world. A girl can dream.

On that note, I wonder how long she and Sun-woo will keep up this facade – I’m worried it’s going to be a while when she has the box containing Kwang-choon’s letter. If she gave it to him now or in the near future, things would be too easy, right? I hope I’m wrong, and that I get to eat my words next episode. Soo-mi is currently killing it in the capabilities department, though I feel like it’s going to take something much worse for her to really turn on Jang-il. But with all the abuse she willingly withstands, I can’t really fathom what that breaking point would be, if one exists at all.

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Oh my gawd! This is getting good. Thanks!

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It is getting really good.
Also, I have to say, I think in episode 12 the meaning behind Soo Mi's "You said that you will regret it someday" changes. She wants him to regret not loving her, but in episode 12 you also see how much she wants Jang Il to be good, how much she feels sorrow for who he has become, and how much she hopes that he is still the same ambitious, but innocent boy--how she wishes/hopes that he regrets doing everything.
We'll have to see in further episodes if that is true, but from the last conversation she has with Jang Il in episode 12 I'm preetty sure.

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Yeah..I agree with you. Soomi was difficult to understand in the beginning but now her layers are more defined and we see that she might actually care about the boys(not just Jang Il). But we can understand why there's an air of suspense when she learned that Sun Woo has returned, because it meant that Jang Il had to face his crimes. It wasn't that she doesn't want her friend back, she just wanted the man she loves to not have to be that "dark" person anymore. But he doesn't see it, the realness of her concern and just dismiss her as an obsessive person.

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Yay! Finally. I had been scouring the internet for this recap. Thank you! <3

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Awesome! That ending gripped me and wouldn't let go

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BEST. DRAMA. EVER.
Soo-mi's character is seriously complex to me, haha.

I can't seem to get a good idea about her!

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yay the recap is up!!

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"Jang-il: “This hurts too.” But you know what really hurts, Jang-il? A tree branch to the head."

i snorted

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I just died laughing.

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LOL. So did I.

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For me it was the: "This sounds like future branch-to-the-head talk."

The first screen cap in the recap of Sun-woo reminds of this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PMf4yUIGVvk/T4TvFQEYF4I/AAAAAAAAAk4/dwD1NwkOywQ/s1600/Bitch+please+face+meme+chat+image+facebook.jpg

And the face Jang-Il had when Sun-woo asked why did he do it? OMG!!! Orgasm!!!!! The terror in his eyes as they were filling up with tears. This is what I call drama!!!

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You can now threaten people a la Coffee Prince style (Eun-chan, Eun-chan-like as the example)

Say someone is really getting on your nerves you could say "I'm a heartbeat away from going Jang-il on you"

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Or..."don't make me get the tree branch"

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Funny line, funny!

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So much tension. Phew.

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Pardon my french, but the reveal of all of Soo-mi paintings of JI's attack on SW was such a HOLY SHIT moment (seriously, I yelled that aloud as I watched that scene). It wasn't clear in the previous episode if she had witnessed the attack, but this one MADE IT CLEAR. And I was floored. Now, I only hope something is actually done with those pieces of evidence.

As for SW's noble idiocy, it is frustrating, but understandable at the same time, too. Chairman Jin is one scary mofo. SW doesn't want anything to happen to her. And with our Big Bad getting back into things, I worry for anyone he perceives as a threat.

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You're right. After all these years, Chairman Jin is still obsessing over Moon Tae Joo! SW took that dream to heart and that is another reason to be cautious! As far as Soo Mi, I thought she had second sight but when the pictures came out and what is revealed in ep 12, I also screamed at the TV!

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I'm so frustrated! When we think Soomi got Jang Il he does this ''I don't care'' face and ''do whatever'' grrrrrrrrrrrr!

I guess he is like ''I know you won't do anything, it passed so much time and you didn't''

Argh. I hope next episode she really go for it. Go for your revenge girl!

Making him marry her would be a good revenge too, since he hates her so much LOL

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Why do I think marriage is going to happen between Soo Mi and Jang Il? Does Korean law also disallow wives from testifying against husbands?

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so this is the reason why jangil marries soomi...aarrr...

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Love how the plot is moving along and relishing the progress of revenge. Wishing for more man duels.
Skipping the romance scenarios for this drama, the pairings do nothing for me and the ladies are very much written like plot devices.

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Are you kidding? I love the verbal man duels! It always shows Jang Il how intelligent SW is!

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I thought it's quite clear I totally love the man duels from my comment. It's all that is in this drama for me to be in. That's why I want even more, they can just cut out the not working romances.

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jangil soomi part is ok...but i found sunwoo jiwon part now is very unnatural and kind of unpleasant to watch...and of course the man duels is the best part to watch...!!!

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HeadsNo2, thank you for continuing to recap the most engaging drama on TV right now.

I honestly fail to see Soomi's capabilities but I seem to be in the minority when it comes to seeing her as anything more than a disgrace to women everywhere. She's reprehensible.

As for Jiwon I totally agree that she's obsolete. I abhor the way that SW is treating her because it's senseless but I don't say that because I believe in their love story. I truly could careless about that but I do feel that he owns her honesty or leave her to live her life. Her existence in the drama makes no sense at this point to me. Hope that changes very soon.

And Chairman Jin is marvelous. Bottom line. He's layered, wise and always aware. But it also makes it more interesting that he was so blind to the truth concerning his son and his fiance. Perhaps we are to believe that's do to the fact that situation actually was involving emotion, vulnerability and heart?

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I also see Soomi as not having any real impact, and yes Jiwon was pretty much obsolete. As long as the man duels remain this good, they can remain that way too.

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I would rather not see the female characters than see them so poorly developed. Jiwon is so morose and Soomi is a nut case. It is very hard to understand her long term obsession with Jang Il. It would be one thing if she were traumatized because of the attempted murder. But she seems more bent out of shape for being stood up on a date and having a meaningless sexual encounter...sadly not unusual experiences for young women.

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I do like Soo-mi precisely because she is a nut case and a disgrace to all women. That makes her interesting and it's hard to predict her future actions because at this point I really cannot say what does she want. Does she still want Jang-Il or does she want to make him suffer? If latter, does she want to destroy him publicly or torment him privately? I am pretty interested in the outcome.

What comes to her unhealthy interest in Jang-Il, I think it has a lot to do with her father being a shaman and with her overbearing shame because of it. That's why it's much worse that Jang-Il didn't show up on a date because it hit her right in the nerve: Jang-Il doesn-t want to date her because she is a daughter of a shaman. So in a sense getting Jang-Il is for he like getting back her dignity, her validation as a human. And when she doesn't get him, when after all these years and after she's become successful and beautiful, she STILL is only a shaman's daughter to Jang-Il and nothing else... shit is going to hit the fan!

What comes to Ji-Won, I'm totally at loss with her like everybody else...

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So where is this that is supposed to hit something that doesn't exist? For she isn't a woman scorned, nor does she hold any kind of power over JI. It's definitely the other way around. I don't see her ever shaking his world, not in the way she's silly enough to desire.

I get your point about her dignity but I postulate that she never had any. What ever made her think JI was worthy of restoring her self-worth? Did I miss something? Was it the umbrella? The rain? When he told her to kiss his ass?

And if what you say is true, what makes what she's doing now set things to right(or get what she's always wanted)? All it does is further prove that she is (or has become) the desperate trash nasty harpy JI always treated her as.

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Arawn, great analysis of Soo Mi!

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Love can never be forced. It's no surprise she's been treated like shit by Jang-Il. If she doesn't respect herself first, why should anyone else?

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Ummm... Soo-Mi is the eyewitness for the murder attempt committed by Jang-Il. You call it "no power over him"? Uh-huh. And it's clear from his reaction to her painting that he's terrified so clearly she has some sort of leverage - and she knows it.

I think you may be right in that she never really had dignity but clearly she craves for it. As I said I think that what she really wanted from Jang-Il was acknowledgement as a worthy human being and not love. To me it doesn't look like she's ever been in love in Jan-Il but rather that she wanted him - she wanted him to treat her as a human. This is something that she constantly says in the series, "how can you treat me like this". Soo-Mi seems to be somewhat mentally unbalanced and so I don't see why would anyone even expect rational behavior or decisions from her. Yes, the reason why she craves acknowlegend from Jang-Il can really be something that small as her being stood up by him. She feels shame because of her father but doesn't know how to wash it away. She really wanted Jang-Il but he dumped her when he found out who her father is which is probably worst thing a guy can do for her not to mention a guy she really likes. So she tries to free herself from the feeling of being nobody by Jang-Il. If only HE will accept her then the whole world will. It's easier to get one person accept you than whole bunch of them and in a way it's easier to put all the blame on Jang-Il. Sure the right path for her would be to come to terms with herself but that's usually difficult. Now he has Jang-Il to blame for her misery.

Well, English is not my first language so I struggle somewhat trying to explain how I see Soo-Mi. I just find her very interesting character because of her complex relationship to Jang-Il (I want to say TO because she really hasn't got relationship of anykind WITH him) and because of her insecurities. Also, at this point, I don't know what she wants. She may still want Jang-Il but may also be past that point and concentrate on revenge on him.

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This is in reply to your last comment. Can't comment there for some reason.

Under someone else the evidence would've held more water, but Jang-il knows that she is not going to hurt him and she has made it painfully clear by constantly chasing after him. She might technically have an "upper-hand" just because she has the evidence that he so fears, but even without anything on her, he can easily play her. I don't see her using the paintings as anything but a last ditch effort to hold onto him. If it is anything more than that, I will be happy to be pleasantly surprised.

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It's quite possible that she won't do anything. Then again, I've watched episode 12 already and even though Jang-Il does play this "you just want me" -card, it's clear that he IS terrified. So she does have some power over him. Maybe not enough to make him "hers" but enough to cause great emotional turmoil and that is already a significant amount of power one person can have over another one.

At the moment I am very curious about Soo-Mi's future decisions because she's effectively shown her cards now. What will she do? She can't hold her knowledge over Jang-Il's head forever because as it is rightfully noted, if she doesn't act soon, Jang-Il will not take her information seriously. Will she make Jang-Il regret? If so, how? Waiting!

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And let's not forget, how dare Jang Il look down on her father when his is a murderer!! But its hard to determine what Soo Mi's motives are. As a nut case, they tend to flip with the wind.

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I totally agree with you in that Soomi seems like nothing but a disgrace to women. While the writers have done such a good job developing the male characters, it is so disappointing that the female characters are either so under-developed (like ji-won) or badly developed (like Soomi). Her obsession with Jang-il wouldn't affect me as much if only we knew the reason behind her obsession. Him giving you an umbrella, proposing a date and standing you up because you are a shaman's daughter? I DON'T think that is a good enough reason for her obsession. Given that she didn't have any friends because she was a shaman's daughter, I am pretty sure many more men must have left her hanging for the precise reason, so why this obsession over Jang-il? Unless she is a little screwed in her head.

And whatever happened to the ambitious Ji-won, who once promised her father that she would gain all the riches back? It's as if the child Ji-won is a completely different person from this meek Ji-won. Now if we knew why she did the 180 degree turn that would be a different story, but giving us these completely different characters without any connection is just plain laziness.

If it is so difficult for the writers to decently develop female characters, the might as well let go of them. I don't think removing either Ji-won or Soomi will make any difference whatsoever to the story at this point.

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Yay! Thanks for the recap! Now off to read.

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I really want Ji Won to get in on the action. I hope she overhears or the assistant decides to take matters in his own hands and tells her everything. I mean she clearly has an advantage, ya know with Jang Il being head-over-heels. She could play him like a fiddle.

I think Jang Il might very well kill Soo Mi. I don't know why she isn't scared. He attempted to kill his bestfriend! Why the hell wouldn't he do the same to a girl he doesn't give a crap about? Her dad will probably find the evidence and put the screws to him.

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I hope Jiwon's character will have something more to do, aside from being a nice wallflower. But I guess we'll see more substance when he hires her. She will also serve in heightening the tension between him and Jang-Il when they realize they're after the same woman. I can imagine the latter's expression when he finds out she's working for Seon U.

Anyway, thanks for the recap Heads. :D

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Thanks for the recap.

and the commentary:

Jang-il: “This hurts too.” But you know what really hurts, Jang-il? A tree branch to the head.

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This!

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Thank you for the recap! I have waited a lifetime (I'm exaggerating, I know! but it feel s like it) for this! Thank you sooooo much!

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When Jang Il tells his dad not to mention Sun Woo to the chairman, I think he really doesn't want the chairman to have Sun Woo killed. Maybe I am giving him to much credit but I think that, fear aside - and there is an enormous amount of fear, Jang Il is drowning in guilt and regret and doesn't want to make thinks worse.

Of course, he also doesn't want the chairman to stir the pot and draw even more attention to himself.

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Me too.. ! I thought I am the only one who think that way...

I think whether or not he realise it, actually sometimes he acts like he want to protect Sun WOo... But his situation and condition doesn't allowed it to. In this episode, It's very clear He Doesn't like the idea his dad become Chairman Jin's puppet.. It's ironic eventhough he knows he owe chariman Jin for give him scholarship, he doesn't want to follow his order.. But maybe I have give him too much credit that I think that way.

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I'm pretty sure Ji Won has a civil suit planned...and who knows what will happen when she reads the letter.

Soomi...episode 12 makes her even more complex...the amount of guilt, pity, and crazy love going on inside her is insane

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The high ratings is fully deserved. The acting and plot in this episode is truly superb.

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Oh holy crap...Am I the only one that wants Jang-il to become a good guy still? I dunno, but when he's scared I feel sorry for him. I bet you it's his face. I still can't forget his noble Prosecutor face from City Hunter. Though not so noble here...

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But if he becomes a good guy the ENTIRE plot will have no grounds anymore. He needs to go all out for revenge to be sweet.

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It will be too far stretch if he become a good guy in the end, What I want is he regret, what he has done in the past to Sun Woo.. his live is always in terror since that incident.

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Same here! I want him to repent, really. I don't know, the sadistic streak in me wants to spare him a heroic somehow protecting Sun-woo death, though that's sorta unlikely. But still, I think it'll be super hard for Sun-woo to forgive them. Ahh the good days, when they were all alive...

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I agree with you. Sure, he's the bad guy and everything but I always find myself thinking that he hit sun woo to protect his dad and if that weren't the case maybe life would be really good for these two friends (though we wouldn't have a drama out if that) so whenever i see shit being thrown at his face one after the other (as we see in this episode and in ep 12), i start to feel bad for him. His sanity is like a thread that's being continually stretched until it snaps. It's A shame what the lives of these two boys could've been. They might have not been the richest, but they would have each other in that little town of theirs.

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I find it interesting that you see JI in a way that he never admits to being, in action or verbally. He clearly said what he did, he did for himself and no one else. If he had done it for his father, I think anyone could have a bit of sympathy for him but since that isn't the case, and he continues to make poor, foolish, incomprehensible choices, it's beyond my human compassion to give a crap about "his" sanity.

And the "shit" you refer to is his own, right? I mean, no one's blaming him for trying to kill some other dude...excuse me, some other best friend too, right? Shouldn't one be willing to own their own "shit?"
He's a man that created his own problem, ran away, and continuously primps around as if he is superior and justified in his actions. If this man loses touch with reality, caused by his own self-loathing and preservation, deception and inability to garner true human emotion, I find it a very very small price to pay. That I doubt JI actually has the emotional depth to succeed in.

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i think jangil is a kind of struggling man...he is not entirely chairman jin's gang..he would want to keep a distance with jin, he did show some regretful and painful gestures when he remembering the good time with sunwoo in the past...but he is self-centred and tries to cover the wrongs with another wrong...that's why he is not really 100% black or white bad guy...but rather a very grey and complex character...

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Notorious Noona,
You make an excellent point. The only overt clues that he might feel regret are the rare flashbacks to his memories of their friendship and that comment to his dad about not mentioning Sun Woo to the chairman. But.. there are times when Jang Il's affect around SW seems to relect not just anger and fear, but also regret.

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"If this man loses touch with reality, caused by his own self-loathing and preservation, deception and inability to garner true human emotion, I find it a very very small price to pay."
And isn't that what we saw in Ep.1 with Jang Il pointing the gun at Jin? Jang Il losing it and blaming everything on Jin as in, if you hadn't choked Sun Woo's dad, I would be the person I want to think I am, except I wouldn't without your money. Paradox - Thread snapping right there. Also, Sun Woo seems compassionate toward Jang Il in that opening scene, so, get ready for some 'saving Jang Il in the end' goings on.
In that opening scene we get another fact, or maybe fact; that Sun Woo isn't Jin's son. So maybe not dad is dad after all. I'm so unexpectedly loving this show! I love a good mystery, and this one is done so well. And the film noir aspect, Korean style, is excellent.

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Now that you bring it up, I definitely have to review the beginning of the 1st episode!

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Hmm, I might have to watch the beginning of ep 1 again too

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I just watched the beginning of the first episode again. Jang Il says that Chairman Jin isn't Sun Woo's real dad. But I remember that SW's mom confessed to Tae Joo that she was pregnant with Chairman Jin's child. When Chairman Jin saw them talking, he misinterpreted what was going on and felt jealous.

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What I understand from watching ep 1 earlier in the drama, Jang Il plan to kill chairman Jin and himself. He clearly statement he write a death note for both him and chairman Jin. So What I understand., He want to kill chariman Jin first, before him. So he took the blame not only chairman Jin who has made him and his father a murderer, but himself too....

So Sun WOo who knows it try to not make it worse...

And let's not forget Jang Il's face when his gun point on Sun Woo's face, he looks turmoil and tormented!

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Hey, does anybody recognize what is the music they use in the beginning and in the end of this episode? It starts around 1:20 into the episode at least in the dramacrazy.net.

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Arawn.....please use Viki or mysoju.com. I stopped using dramacrazy.net because of too many attempted intruder attack notices from my antivirus program.

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Viki doesn't work in my country. Mysoju is ok, I suppose, but that's not the point - what is the music there?! Is it created just for the series or from somewhere else. It just sounds so familiar. Gaaaah!

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Does Tae Moo help SW genuinely or with a motive?

Why is he hiding the truth from SW that Chairman Jin is
his biological father ?

I usually do not watch drama with revenge plot, I watch this bcoz of UTW, but now the story and the actors impressed me.

Jiwon is plain and expressionless, Soo mi is not too bad in her acting, except that she is overly obsessed by JI.

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Tae Woo doesn't tell SW about Chairman Jin being his real father in order to spare SW pain. Chairman Jin is such a terrible man, it would be crushing to discover their relationship.

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"He calls Ji-won from the karaoke room, and though she can see him on the caller ID all she hears is the song in the background. "

why jangil not speaking when it got through? does it mean that he wants jiwon listen to the song in the background? not quite get it here..

Also, what was the greeting card written when jangil picked it up in a pile of gifts sent by his law lecture "fans" as said by his assistant?

did chairman Jin know that it was jangil who tried to kill sunwoo and caused him blind? as he did say this to jangil in their talk..but I couldn't remember when and how chairman Jin knew about this..

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The greeting card from a young fan of JI, praises him for being a great prosecutor. JI experiences the terrible irony of that praise because he tried to murder his best friend, covered up his father's crime, and is being dragged into the machinations of Chairman Jin.

It's pretty clear that Chairman Jin figured out, very early in the story, that JI had attacked SW.

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ic, thanks..so what is the phone call thing that jiwon could only hear the background song in the karaoke when jangil called her and not speaking over the phone?? will it be the song has some special meaning that jangil wanted to express to jiwon?

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I was also wondering about the karaoke scene. Sometimes in kdramas someone will make a phone call just to hear their beloved's voice, even though they can't bring themselves to speak. Or maybe, as you suggest, JI wanted her to hear that song.

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So very, very good. :)

Last episode I thought the painting Soo Mi had in the gallery was from her imagination. since she knew Jang Il had caused Sun Woo's "accident" I thought the painting was just from her extrapolating from what she knew and what was written in Sun Woo's braille letter that she took before our last time jump. I didn't know she saw the whole damn thing...and did nothing about it to help Sun Woo!!!

I agree that it would be too easy for her to just hang those pictures up for everybody to see. I thought the paintings they were going to show her with were at the end of the episode were the ones she made that had braille on them from Sun Woo's letter condemning Jang Il and his father. That painting needs to come back with Jang Il staring at it not know what the hell he's looking at.

So good. Soo Mi is so evil. I hope she tortures the hell out of Jang Il. Although, technically what she did, not reporting the crime is something you can prosecute too, in the US at least. It's just one crime on top of another...1 lie gives birth to 7 and so does 1 crime in this show.

The only thing that gives me pause is that really Jang Il did not treat Soo mi so badly for her to act towards him how she does. She is just as much of a psychopath as he is to watch her childhood friend get basically murdered and then to do nothing about it and instead use that information for her own personal gain. Actually Soo Mi seems to be out to get her own revenge, but it seems hollow in comparison to the reasons Sun Woo wants revenge. Soo Mi is not trying to get back at Jang Il for what he did to Sun Woo, but what he did to her...which was what. The guy was Capital Offense Jerk Face from the time she met him.

How can the response to "you ignored me after lending me your umbrella" and "you tried to kill me after covering my father's murder" be the same? LOL

I agree too that Ji Won needs to get back in the story.

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Yeah, from our point of view Soo-Mi really doesn't have much of a reason for revenge. But it doesn't matter because from her point of view she DOES have a reason. It may seem hollow to us but not to her and that is one of the reasons why I like the character. I wouldn't say she's a psychopath but she definitely is mentally unstable and does things that are criminal (not reporting Jang-Il) and horrible (not telling Sun-Woo) for her own advantage. Hmm, actually, I take that back, she may be a psychopath to some extent. I don't see her expressing much of a regret unlike Jang-Il has at least on some occasions. And she is totally obsessed with Jang-Il. It's obsession, not love. In a way I actually think that she's worse than Jang-Il even though she hasn't killed anyone.

On the side note, I do wonder, as somebody else here wondered too, how come she's not afraid of Jang-Il. She has ample proof that Jang-Il will kill if pushed to the corner so shouldn't she be afraid that he might kill her, too, if she torments him too much?

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I see Soo Mi and Jang Il as mirror images of each other. I wonder if the writers will have them take different paths, given a similar set of circumstances, or if their relationship will be the man against self conflict played out between the two.

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this is interesting ... soomi is the inner self of jangil who always brings out the facts ( the pictures) that jangil doesn't want to remember, he asks soomi if she is leech that sticks to him and will never goes away...and jangil is going to live with soomi forever just as the past wrong doings will follow jangil forever in his heart...and so as regrets, painful memories will not go away from him...

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and soomi is so obsessed with the beautiful, pure, under the umbrella in the rain jangil, she will never forget this jangil..symbolized jangil is so regretful about the only dark spot (hit and kill his best friend) in his life.. and he wants so much and is obsessed with that he were the pure "jangil under the umbrella"...thank you for enlightening me in this sense and i think the drama has so much to say and not just as superficial as what the audience could comprehend...

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I wouldn't mind if they kill each other, or he just kills her. -_-' Ok, maybe that was a bit much but her character is the worst. I really want her to be in some real pain and not the 'boohoo I love you but you tried to kill my friend' pain that leads her to be an ass.

After watching ep 12 (I won't spoil), I can't stand her even more. ><

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Soo Mi has two offenses: knowingly not reporting JI's crimes; talking her father out of reporting Yong Bae's crime when he wanted to. What her ultimate reasoning behind it is anyone's guess though!

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Jang-il: "This hurts too." But you know what really hurts, Jang-il? A tree banch ot the head.....and that, right there, is why I religiously read your recaps Heads. And I'm not even watching the drama! Thanks for your hard work. You got me hooked with History of a Salaryman and I always look forward to all your posts. Thank you! Thank you!

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HeadsNo2, thanks from me too!

One thing that I am enjoying so much from these recaps are the really spirited and interesting discussions that follow in the comments.
Although I can relate to the fangirl part of things because the two leads are so amazing, I particularly appreciate the careful analysis of the characters and plot that are launched in the your recaps and carried on by the readers.

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hello headsNo2
thank you for the recap
this ep was awesome and tense
can a drama gets any better my baby deserve all the credits and high ratings
Go my baby , Go !

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I may be in the minority that actually like the development in Soomi's character. I think that the fact that she was able to stand up to Jang Il that much(you'll see in ep 12) is a reflection that she does hold cautiousness, even if it's not enough to get her to turn on him completely yet.

I do feel that she's a sincere person from some angle and unlike Jang Il, she doesn't look down on him even with the crime that she witnessed him committing and instead felt sad for the person he became. It's no longer with anger that she says "you'll regret it" as much as in sadness.

Maybe she could have even loved him, heck even Ji Won could have loved him, but he made it impossible for anything sincere to enter his life. Jang Il is a locked door, and no one really knows how to be with him. I don't think he even knows how to be with himself. He has returned to the person he was before he met Sun Woo(and became worse).

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Yes, the adult version. Sun Woo momentarily saved him but it took one whack for him to go down that abyss!

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I have a question i really want to know the answer. Why is Sonwoo's hair color is very light. It really doesn't look good. Black is much better for Uhm Tae Woong

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I think it was in the hopes of making him look younger. At the beginning of episode 1, his hair is black so somewhere it changes back before the end episode.

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It’s hard not to feel debilitating when determining to have revenge on Jang Il for Sun Won seems to be the only theme in a drama. Sure, it’s got tension and suspension, but it makes me feel awfully numb after a while. There’s got to be more added besides getting revenge, for instance, the development in Ji Won’s character’s development, and ugh — can someeone slap Soo Mi in the face? Wake up you nutcase! I wonder how she managed to strip her guilty about not reporting Jang Ii hitting Sun Won 13 years ago. He might get murdered, for god's sake!!

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WHAT?! You forget about Chairman Jin and Yong Bae! Oh, its so much more! But I think what hurts most is Jang Il's betrayal!! I enjoy the psychological torture of Jang Il's psyche right now! And Soo Mi? I don't know. I think her childhood had an impact on her in such a negative way! But who does not wonder if Sun Woo has guessed that she knows more than she has said!?

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Thanks for the recap and your comments.

I liked UTW a lot in this one. I am glad he got his swagger back because I missed it.
I don't think we are going to be seeing a lot of HJW and him in romantic situations, so I am resigned to that.

I still feel a little clausterphobic with all the tight close ups, silences and no OST, but I am still watching.

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I find all the characters interesting except for ji won,her young self was likeable but now she's so blah.I wish she would be taken out of the drama completely,her character is boring as hell and her dumb expressions piss me off.She barely even affects the plot.I would rather soo mi be the lead girl(yes I know she's pathetic throwing herself at jung il and arrogant as well)but at least she is relevant to the main story she knows what happened with jung-il and sun-woo that day and keeps things interesting.I can take a bitchy and evil lead girl just not a boring one with dumb expressions(ji won).

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When someone writes an post he/she maintains the thought of a user in his/her mind that how a user can understand it.
Thus that's why this piece of writing is great. Thanks!

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