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Equator Man: Episode 12

Some things just don’t stay in the past when you want them to. It’s a harsh realization that smacks Jang-il in the face every episode, and one that the people around Sun-woo don’t seem to understand. Everyone learns exactly how much they’re chained to their pasts, no matter how hard they try to create a new life. But with a history as dark as the one our leads share, who’s surprised that no one can ever forgive and forget?

Ratings dropped to 13.6% this episode, but Equator Man still maintained top spot among fellow dramas The King 2 Hearts and Rooftop Prince.

 
EPISODE 12 RECAP

Soo-mi surveys her wall of paintings of the branch incident like a queen surveying her empire. While packing up one of them she tells herself that she wasn’t going to show this painting to anyone – but she’s now changed her mind.

We pick back up with Chairman Jin and Jang-il, the latter of whom gets firmly put in his place with Chairman Jin’s parting words: “Don’t you dare to speak like that to me again.” I’ll say.

Sun-woo’s still-unnamed assistant delivers some bad news, in that the police have shut down Sun-woo’s appeal due to lack of homicidal evidence. This is what Sun-woo expected, so he instructs No Name to continue with the next phase of the plan.

At home, Jang-il has no appetite and is further put-off by his father fawning over Soo-mi, whose gallery he’s been invited to. (Uh oh.) He wants his father to stop calling her, but can’t come up with a concrete reason as to why.

Chairman Jin’s words about Yong-bae possibly murdering Kyung-pil flash through his mind, though he’s unable to ask what he wants to of his father. Instead he gets a text from Sun-woo asking to meet for lunch.

The two men speak cordially once they meet, with both of them quibbling over who will foot the bill. Sun-woo says it’s all on him, to which Jang-il jokingly remarks, “You’re so heartless.” Sun-woo: “Isn’t that your style?” Burn.

He turns over the appeal report for Jang-il to read, which immediately turns the mood tense. The next sequence of events involves many close-ups on their mouths while they eat bread with incredible dramatic gravitas. It’s not meant to be funny, but it is unintentionally silly.

Things really take a turn when Sun-woo tells him that he left out Yong-bae’s name in the report on purpose, even though he overheard him on the phone admitting that he was at Chairman Jin’s house the day his father died. He’s referencing that time Yong-bae talked to Chairman Jin on the phone while he was blind, apparently thinking that Sun-woo was deaf, too.

Jang-il can barely keep his reactions in check. Sun-woo simply acts like Jang-il is still his friend, so it’s not so much to ask for a little help, right? “The only witness I have is your father,” Sun-woo claims. So Jang-il rescinds his earlier claims of being unable to help, and tells Sun-woo that he’ll deal with it. How? No one knows. But we know what happened the last time he tried to deal with this same issue…

True to form, Jang-il thinks over Sun-woo’s words as he’s driving. It only takes one look at the manilla folder occupying the passenger seat for Jang-il to start fuh-reaking out, yelling in his car and pounding on the steering wheel like a mad man.

Sun-woo planned for this too, since he and No Name have figured that the petition will probably end up in Jang-il’s trashcan. It’s no matter, since it’s time to move onto the next step of the plan. (Seriously, if I’ve missed No Name’s name and anyone knows it, please share. Or let’s think of a more creative thing to call him until the show bothers to explain his presence.)

The idea is to use Jang-il’s colleague JOON-HO, the one who’s been going after Chairman Jin. No Name seems to be getting on friendly terms with him and makes it seem like pure coincidence that Joon-ho overhears him expressing ‘surprise’ over the phone at hearing Chairman Jin’s name attached to a homicide. It’s enough to pique Joon-ho’s interest, so I’d say mission accomplished on that front.

Geum-jool arrives to deliver some of Sun-woo’s old effects to him, including his father’s typewriter. He warns his friend to be careful with this petition stuff seeing as he got into an accident right before the last one. But of course, poor Geum-jool holds no suspicions that Sun-woo’s accident was anything but, and seems genuinely confused when Sun-woo suggests that he didn’t just trip and fall off a cliff.

He won’t let the matter go, even later into the conversation. “What happened if you didn’t trip, then?” Someone’s going to be in for a huge shock if anyone tells him the truth.

Because of his boyish crush on Soo-mi, he urges Sun-woo to go to her second gallery showing and hands him the brochure. Sun-woo’s brows furrow when he sees the painting of Jang-il (though he doesn’t know it) walking alone on the bridge. Geum-jool even comments that it’s the site of Sun-woo’s accident. You’re so close, Sun-woo!

Meanwhile, Soo-mi mails the painting of Jang-il taking a tree branch to the back of Sun-woo’s head, and Ji-won finds a huge deposit made to her bank account.

She calls No Name, who tells her that it’s a “signing bonus” from Sun-woo and that she’ll be working for them starting next week. Now Sun-woo is on the hunt for a place to live, and No Name calls him out for choosing to stay in the hotel this long just for Ji-won.

Jang-il runs into his colleague, who knows better than to tell or show Jang-il anything about Chairman Jin’s case. Smart boy.

Once he’s at home he takes a look at the petition and is interrupted by a call from Sun-woo, asking him if he’s talked to that colleague of his in the criminal division. When Jang-il affirms, Sun-woo asks the name of the prosecutor, as though testing to see whether he’s lying. Jang-il knows it too and asks, “You don’t trust me?”

Sun-woo plays it off, and Jang-il finally gives him a name – though I get the distinct impression he hasn’t asked yet.

Either way, Jang-il shoves the folder into a dark corner of his drawer after the phone call and places a call to the colleague he just named. He takes him out for drinks and explains the situation in a way that makes Sun-woo seem obsessed over a simple suicide, telling his colleague to lie about looking into the case if Sun-woo ever calls to ask.

As luck would have it, Sun-woo does call to ask, and meets the prosecutor directly. He’s come to submit his father’s typewriter as evidence and freely hands over his business card when asked. It surprises Jang-il’s colleague that Sun-woo is the president of a prominent company – after all, Jang-il had made Sun-woo sound a little crazy.

All of Jang-il’s plans are backfiring on him. He clearly didn’t think Sun-woo would go so far, yet he did. He also told his colleague that Sun-woo was his hometown friend, so now his colleague seems eager to help and even asks for the petition. Jang-il pauses, the wheels turning fast in his head, before he gives the equivalent of the “dog ate my friend’s petition” excuse.

But then, thinking fast, he brings up some lucrative evidence he has about a big casino, and offers the case to his colleague. Sounds like a bribe in the making.

Ji-won has come to Head Hunters early to get a leg up on the job she’ll be starting next week. Sun-woo instead wants her to do some party planning for his business first, which she’s already on top of.

She takes Sun-woo to the banquet venue and explains everything, although she keeps having to pause when she catches him staring. When she finally calls him out he claims it’s because she’s missing an earring – which isn’t untrue – and that she can’t miss things like that at the banquet. Speaking of, does she have a dress? (When do they ever?)

So, it’s time for a makeover scene. He wants to make it clear to Ji-won that this isn’t a personal gift, but for his own image – she’ll be representing his firm, so she has to look appropriate.

He hates every dress but the last, which is a formal number that shows off her shoulders. Ji-won bears his flippant-yet-not attitude with amazing patience.

Meanwhile, Jang-il goes to the hotel to deliver Ji-won a cake, only to find that she’s no longer working there.

It looks like Sun-woo bought Ji-won the whole store by the amount of bags in his backseat. While in the car she gets a text from Jang-il asking about her resignation from the hotel, though she turns it off the moment Sun-woo orders her to.

Since she’s planning the party she’s seen the guest list, and asks Sun-woo whether he knows everyone who’s invited. “I know some, and some I want to know,” he replies cryptically.

But she’s seen Chairman Jin on the list (finally, a tie to her past, maybe sort of), and asks Sun-woo which category he falls into. Sun-woo says he knows him but they aren’t close, so she moves onto Jang-il. How about him?

Ji-won remembers the animosity between Jang-il and Sun-woo, although she never had any idea that they knew each other in their college days. It’s only now that Sun-woo tells her that they were once best friends, a long long time ago.

Chairman Jin is much more wary of David Kim/Sun-woo than Secretary Cha, and that’s the reason why he’s going to the banquet – he can’t back out in a fight. But he has another matter to attend to first, which is to tell his stepdaughter to casually date Joon-ho under a false identity in order to get him off Chairman Jin’s case.

Surprisingly enough, Yoon-joo readily agrees to loan herself out to the prosecutor if it will benefit the business. She even asks to get paid for the work she’ll put in by going on a date with him.

Ji-won prepares to leave Sun-woo’s hotel for the night, but catches him looking longingly at a copy of The Old Man and the Sea, the book that defined their relationship. She doesn’t make her presence known but seems happy to realize that he hasn’t forgotten her.

We hear Sun-woo in voiceover reading from a book that talks about the pain of missing someone, and the longing of wanting to return to their side – an obvious allegory for his relationship with Ji-won. It seems he’s taken up the audiobook business too, since we see him recording the lines rather than just thinking them.

The next day, Sun-woo goes to Soo-mi’s gallery accompanied by his old cane. He goes straight to the painting of Jang-il on the bridge as Geum-jool brings Soo-mi to meet their very important guest, and Sun-woo puts on his “I’m Blind” face.

HA. Geum-jool can barely hold in his laughter behind Soo-mi, who’s completely fallen for Sun-woo’s act and believes him to still be blind. She’s ecstatic to see him, though her face falls slightly when he asks her to explain the bridge painting to him.

He has to wring answers out of her, since she starts by saying it’s a cliff from their neighborhood (Sun-woo: “And…?”), and she painted the scene she saw. As for the person in it, she simply says it was someone crossing the bridge and that’s that.

Only then does Sun-woo turn to her, his eyes slowly gaining focus… “You’re pretty, Choi Soo-mi.”

Just as she realizes the truth, Geum-jool spills the beans that Sun-woo wanted to surprise her. She reacts by kicking him in the shins. Ha. The news only lifts her spirits as she pulls Sun-woo into another happy hug.

No one’s happier to see Sun-woo than Kwang-choon, and the three of them go out for celebratory drinks. Soo-mi can’t remain at ease since she remembers deciphering the Braille letter Sun-woo wrote about his last memory being of Jang-il – so she knew then, as she knows now, that he remembers everything.

The conversation takes on a much more serious tone when Sun-woo tells them that he submitted their names in the police petition, so they should be prepared to be called as witnesses. Kwang-choon grows somber as he asks Sun-woo why he’s bringing up the past.

Sun-woo: “It was never the past for me.”

Jang-il, meanwhile, receives Soo-mi’s package. Thinking that it’s from another one of his adoring fans he tells his assistant to have it, since the box is probably filled with chocolates. Oh, Jang-il. You couldn’t be more wrong.

Banquet time. All the who’s who of investing show up, along with No Name, Geum-jool, and Soo-mi. Chairman Jin even pays his respects to Sun-woo, though their talk over business is brief.

Soo-mi’s all smiles until Jang-il enters the hall, and upon seeing each other, she immediately walks away to avoid a confrontation. Jang-il and Sun-woo likewise exchange small talk until they’re both struck dumb by the sight of Ji-won approaching in her formal dress.

Sun-woo acts surprised to know that Ji-won and Jang-il knew each other from college, and leaves them to talk alone. She cuts to the chase and immediately asks Jang-il why he pretended like he didn’t know Sun-woo back in college, to which he replies that it would have been awkward for Sun-woo to know that he was in love with the girl he liked.

When he asks her if their past connection got her this job, she replies, “No, Sun-woo doesn’t know me. He never saw my face. It’s also been a long time… he’s just my boss now.” And she looks at Sun-woo from across the room, just as Soo-mi keeps her eyes on her in the same fashion.

It’s got to be awkward for Ji-won to entertain Chairman Jin’s family, seeing as none of them remember who she and her father were. She ends up speaking with Chairman Jin directly about investments, and the conversation remains polite.

Soo-mi has immediately recognized Ji-won, and asks Sun-woo if he remembers her as the girl he liked in college. He denies everything, claiming that he liked a lot of girls and met a lot of volunteers. Ji-won overhears everything.

Chairman Jin gets a shock when he sees Tae-joo at the banquet, although it looks as if he’s seen a ghost. Tae-joo disappears through a door and Chairman Jin follows, and he ends up chasing Tae-joo through many more dark hallways and doors until he ends up as the lone man in a vast, empty room.

He can’t find Tae-joo, and calls him out. His voice echoes in the emptiness.

We get a pretty jarring cut back to the party, where Chairman Jin asks the all-knowing (seriously, he does seem very omniscient) No Name whether a Moon Tae-joo was on the invite list. With a mysterious little smile, No Name says that there was no such person.

Jang-il regretfully informs Sun-woo that his friend won’t be able to take on the case for a while – he’s in the middle of a big gambling case. He’ll be done in three to four months, but that’s already past the statute of limitations on Kyung-pil’s case.

When Sun-woo expresses his disappointment, Jang-il is there to hammer the point home. “Sun-woo. Your father committed suicide.” As in, there’s no case anyway.

Sun-woo comes back with a question, asking whether some sort of deal was made – you know, a scholarship for Jang-il in exchange for his father’s silence about being at Chairman Jin’s house that day. Not an investment, but a deal to hide a bigger secret, to magically turn a homicide into a suicide…

And Jang-il, who has had enough, grabs Sun-woo by the collar and punches him in the middle of his own party.

It’s bad news bears for Jang-il, who looks at least shocked (if not the teensiest bit remorseful – not because he hit Sun-woo, but because she witnessed it) when he’s met with Ji-won’s disappointed gaze.

He makes it back to his office to find a note left by his assistant telling him that the package wasn’t chocolate, it was art. And to make matters worse, “It looks like you.”

He opens it, and is predictably shocked when he sees a painting of him the moment before he bashed Sun-woo in the head.

This time, he decides to go to Soo-mi directly. Only we cut to her in the gallery with his father, who’s still scouting her as a match for his son. When he asks that fateful question, “What do your parents do?” Soo-mi’s face falls and she goes silent.

Jang-il calls to let her know he’s on the way, and is surprised to see his father there when he arrives. Yong-bae, having no idea what’s really going on, assumes Jang-il skipped work for a date and happily leaves the two lovebirds alone.

Soo-mi hums in a creepy, self-assured way as she makes her new guest coffee. He addresses her like she’s trash, his words dripping with venom as he calls her a leech. She’s used to it, and simply asks him if he didn’t like the gift. If not, he can pick another…

And she unveils her Wall of Crazy. Jang-il’s reaction is surprisingly subdued when she informs him that she was there that day, and we get taken into a flashback of Young Soo-mi, who witnessed the scene up close, moments before Jang-il hit Sun-woo.

Shocked, she hid as Jang-il threw Sun-woo into the ocean. And, at least, she cried.

Jang-il demands to know why she never showed the paintings to Sun-woo. She explains that he was unconscious at first, then blind when he woke up – and there might not be a point in showing him now since he might already know.

Full of hatred, Jang-il calls her out on wanting him so bad that she would use these paintings to threaten him just so she could have him for her own. “You want to have me that badly?” he asks, his voice degrading in and of itself.

Soo-mi stands up for herself, and curses at him to shut up. She knew she should have gone to the police station that day – so in that sense, she’s committed a grave sin against Sun-woo. Yet still, she feels pity for Jang-il. “You must have had a hard time up until now. You were scared, and sorry.”

He yells at her to demand why she didn’t go, and she tells him that it was because she felt sorry for him, who had to stab his best friend in the back. He calls her crazy, saying she lost it because she wanted him so badly, and she fires right back, “Isn’t it you who went crazy? Why did you attack Sun-woo? Why did you try to kill him? He was your best friend. How could you?!”

Now, Jang-il practically roars at her to shut up. He doesn’t want to hear that Sun-woo did so much for him, he doesn’t want to be reminded of what he did. But it’s all there on a wall, staring him in the face.

Soo-mi: “Do you know that Sun-woo submitted a petition? If they start the investigation again, I will tell him. Fifteen years ago, when Sun-woo was going to submit the petition, you hit him from behind. You hit him, then you pushed him off the cliff to kill him. I’m going to tell them all!”

“Go ahead!” Jang-il challenges right back. “Do what you want.”

But then there’s this oh-so-small moment right before Jang-il leaves, where all his anger melts away and only terror shows.

Soo-mi reaches her hand out to a painting of Young Jang-il crying. “You said that you will regret it, right? Yes, you will regret it.” And she cries.

 
COMMENTS

This show certainly saves the best for last, and knows how to craft a cliffhanger. This was more of an emotional cliffhanger than anything, but a much-needed one, since it gave great insight into Soo-mi’s character and actually made Jang-il more of an enigma even though we know about everything there is to know about him.

I didn’t expect the show to solve Ji-won’s lack of relevancy in one episode, but I was certainly hoping that we might get a better idea for what role she could play in the future. Instead we were given the barest of glimpses when she asked about Chairman Jin being on the guest list, and then nothing when she confronted him directly. I want to like you, Ji-won, but good gracious do you need something – anything – to do. Planning parties and getting makeovers just isn’t going to cut it.

That’s why Soo-mi continues to be intriguing, even if we find her actions reprehensible. Because, let’s face it – Ji-won is currently filling the shoes of a morally upright female lead, and she’s suffering for it because she is, unfortunately, boring. That’s not to say that being good is boring, but the show just can’t depend on her to be good on her own time and hope that makes up for her lack of placement in the story. Soo-mi has got a lot more to work with in terms of complexity, which is handled very well by Im Jung-eun, because her younger counterpart seemed much more coldhearted by comparison. I may not agree with what Soo-mi has done/is doing, but there’s a level to which I understand her. And even if I didn’t, she is at least fun to watch, which garners points in my book regardless.

It was interesting to me that Jang-il showed no fear when presented with Soo-mi’s artwork, and that he was still such a Toolington the Third to her. I’m sure he thinks that he’s depriving her of what she wants by not giving in, but his sheer hatred of her is almost frightening. I like Jang-il, but for the first time ever I wanted to smack him. I’ll buy that him hitting Sun-woo was a spur of the moment crime of passion, but his consistent dehumanizing treatment toward Soo-mi – who up until these paintings hasn’t wronged him enough to warrant such treatment – is hard to watch. Why does Ji-won get treated inherently better, when her family fortune was long gone by the time she reached college? Did a shaman kill Jang-il’s family and eat his sandwich in a past life?

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YES! Its equating time.

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OMG! I can't believe she has a flipping wall. Oh wait... I totally can. I'm kind of happy Jang Il is slowly losing his composure. Thinking everything was hidden away and far from the light of day. Seeing his world starting to crumble is satisfying. I just can't wait to see him fall completely. All I hope is that Sun Woo can make it out in time before he completely loses himself. Like Harvey Dent said "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Sorry, I just nerded out didn't I?

Thank You for the recap! Looking forward to the next episode.

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The wall! The flipping wall was sheer genius! I too don't completely understand Soo Mi but at the same time I am proud of her as she provides the cracks needed to Jang Il's psyche!

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Thank you thank you :)

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Yes! I am really interested in Soo Mi as well. It's her acting but also the way the writer writes her character compared to the other girl. Truthfully, the other girl barely gets any screen time or substantial lines that can help us see beyond her sad face (which she perpetually wears).
I am especially intrigued by Soo Mi's last lines in this episode. She is not crazy. She just feels so much compassion and pity for Jang-il...love for him in a sense. Even though he treated her like crap, there is some sort of love for him that desperately wants him to "regret it" and feel remorse for his actions.
She is a tragic but fierce character.

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Thanx.so tense.holding my breath while reading this

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Someone put Jiwon in the game!! but I think we might see this coming soon (hopefully) since we're starting to see glimpse of connection between Chairman Jin and Jiwon. Seriously, I thought her younger self was an interesting character, but her older self is painfully boring typical korean heroine character.
And I agree with you, why does Jang-iL hates Soomi so much that I feel like he wants to eat her alive everytime they have a scene together? cause they are so much alike? because Soomi can see through Jang-iL's evil? because of her obsession with him mirrored with his obsession with Jiwon?? These two character is equally frightening.

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I'd like to see Jiwon be a little more spunky...to talk back and push back more. Also, couldn't she have made some veiled remarks to Chairman Jin. I think that Jiwon doesn't have much of substance to say because the writers haven't really worked out her issues with Chairman Jin. If they haven't fully defined the conflict then Jiwon doesn't have any hints to drop.

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As much as I hate the character, I agree with you Heads...she's much more meaningful to the plot than Ji Won. Its good to have a character to hate (I love the actress of course). Soo-Mi...I detest you.

Anyway, the episode was good. Although....the close-ups of them eating bread had me laughing and the kdrama 'must have' scene where the man shops for the girl had me sighing.

No-Name. lol....until you pointed it out I didn't even realize he had no name. Should we message KBS about this?

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Maybe we can give him a name and he will be kinda like adopted by Dramabeans. LOL

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What do you think the bread was supposed to symbolize?

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That's it....I don't know. -_-' Was it just lip service for the females?

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Ha!

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I did not understand the meaning of watching them dip and eat bread. I kept watching it hoping that something would click!

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I could not stop laughing during their bread eating scene. I know it was meant to be dramatic but it was just too damn funny

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jiwon and sunwoo forever!!!
who cares if jiwon isn't in the game they are the best couple everrrrrrr

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One thing is for sure, I wouldn't want to have a friend like Soomi.

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I find that ep 11 is much more interesting than ep 12. There isn't a scene in ep 12 where i would hold my breath! Still, solid acting overall.

Thanks for the recap!

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"Did a shaman kill Jang-il’s family and eat his sandwich in a past life?" I had to laugh here even though the sentiment is so true. He really does seem to HATE her out of proportion to what is actually happening--even before the "wall of crazy."

What does it say about Soomi's character that so many of us still like her even though we all agree that she is disturbing at best? What I find interesting here is that the writers seem much more invested in second female lead here; Soomi's character could have easily be the one-dimensional "other" girl but she is rather complex. Well to be honest, I am even more interested in Chairman Jin's daughter. I am to the point that I am starting to feel sorry for the actress that is playing Jiwon. Everyone (and I mean everyone--even the guy with no name) has something TO DO with scenes to chew on and great lines. She gets treated literally like a doll to get dressed and to be given things (new job, new bank balance). Even her lines do not have much impact, for right when she seems to be heading somewhere, the writers seem to back away.

I have to interupt this intellectual discussion with "Wow. Uhm Tae Woong in a tux? Yum Uhm yum!"

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thanks a lot for recaping. I enjoy this episode a lot!!!

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I really thought I would stop watching this show but picked up the most recent episode. Has anyone found it inconsistent that young Soo-Mi would ask for young Sun Woo's whereabouts after he goes missing as if she didn't know what was happening if she knew all along what happened? I'm not sure if it's because I missed a few episodes or if the writers are just rewriting history at this point.

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i totally find it inconsitent too regarding young soo mi and adult soo mi's behaviour regarding sun woo.

the writers are rewriting history at this point. there wasn't a hint in the early episodes (and i didn't miss any episodes!) that young soo mi knew anything abt jang il and sun woo's encounter on the cliff.

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I thought of that too. SHe really did seem to not know where he is at that point. This just means that she's more twisted and really good at acting.

How could she not even call the police...if its even anonymously, to report that someone possibly drowned? And then to alk around looking for him? Is that a plot-hole or is she just sick?

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I think her "looking" for SunWoo was more of a "he got hit so many times and survived" kinda thing, or at least this is the only way this plot-line can be explained. And asking Jung-Il about his friends whereabouts like that only explains her reaction better, considering she had close to no interest for SunWoo before that. So yes, this actually explains to me why she had interest in SunWoo's well-being all of a sudden, only knowing that Jang-Il's father had to do with his father's death won't necessarily make her that worried about him.

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I found it a nice detail, actually. Soo-mi was "looking" for Sun-woo because then people would realize that he was missing. Otherwise it might have been a few days before anyone would have noticed he was gone. Maybe even longer. I can't remember if Sun-woo was found because people were actually looking for him or it was just luck, but either way having people know that you are gone is important. Kicking up a fuss was her way of doing right by her old friend.

She's her father's daughter, I guess. She may not totally do the right and moral thing (going to the police station to report a murder), but she's not going to be throwing up any additional roadblocks.

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Why do I think that Young Soo Mi rescued Young Sun Woo from the water? I think the searching and asking of anyone seen or heard from Sun Woo was cover. And again, am I the only one who feels the Sun Woo is a little suspicious of Soo Mi? I got tha feeling in previous episodes when he was blind and she would ask him certain questions. He would get this look on his face.....

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Thanks so much for the recap...^^ i'm hoping JiWon will have a better plot in future episodes when she finally open and read the letter KC writte to SunWoo, i think if that happens SW can allow himself be near JW again since she will know everything and definitly will want to help him... even if he won't want it JW will still stay close to SW....
and i want to find out how she will react when she find out what JangIl did to SunWoo... and of course what will soomi will do now... be in the HUNTERS side or bad crazy people Side??!! i was happy to know that she indeed care for SW

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE RECAP!! °-°

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I wondered about that, too, but I remembered she did exactly what her father did.

Parent and child witnessed the murder/attempted murder parent and child. Neither went to the police, both used the situation for blackmail.

I don't know if we are supposed to think they are the bad seed, or trash, or opportunists, or what...

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Chee huu! I heart your recaps and the comments after- had a good laugh with shaman and sandwich bit. Thanks!

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Thanks for the recaps! I usually skip them but this show is so good I can't help but read it!

I have a question for those of you who like and understand Soo Mi: Why is she not deserving of Jang Il to treat her any kind of way? I mean honestly, if it was your girl (friend) and you heard that some dude she is loving is treating her like boo boo on the street; wouldn't you be upset with your friend for trying to love an Ass!? Wouldn't you try and encourage her to do better?

Lord knows I hate Jang Il, but I cannot be mad at him for his behavior towards Soo Mi when he has told her everyday since they were kids to "kiss his ass." Soo Mi is a glutton for abuse and it is her own doing! Not to mention the fact that she covered up not one-- but two murders because she thought it would in some way get her closer to Jang Il! What type of sense does that make!? Please help me understand another point of view....

Ekun

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I think this is partly why Jang-Il keeps treating her poorly. First of all, he wants to get rid of her and since saying "no" nicely has no effect, he's behaving like a total ass. Secondly, I think that Soo-Mi's infatuation of him does make him despise her even more. At this point it seems to be more about Soo-Mi herself than her father why Jang-Il doesn't want to have anything to do with her though her father does count to some degree as we saw in the previous episode.

In any case, this episode made Soo-Mi REALLY interesting. So far she has shown very little emotions mostly being just obsessed by getting Jang-Il or just by Jang-Il. But at the end of the episode you can see pity, sadness, remorse. So she actually has some feelings and that makes things even more tricky. What will she do? What does she want now?

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As a lurker I can't believe I'm actually posting a comment, but this show really hooks me in :)

I totally agree with you Ekun and can absolutely understand the way Jang Il treating Soomi. When you dislike someone yet they keep trying to impress/follow/get your attention it's actually pretty annoying. I experienced this when I was in junior high, a guy who really liked me kept trying all sort of silly things to get my attention, my initial indifference toward him gradually turned into a distaste and it annoyed me every single time I had to interact with him. So I can sympathize with Jang Il. And given his introvert loner personality the way he treated Soomii is totally understandable. Her Shaman Dad perhaps was the reason in the beginning but it's her pushy personality that really did it for him, and me. Soomii and Jang Il is exactly like each other, it's interesting to see how hard they try to get what doesn't belong to them.

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I think the last scene was brilliantly acted. There were some real raw emotions boiling and both Lee Jun Hyuk and Im Jung Eun did really well portraying those emotions. I feel that Soomi has outgrown her romantic feelings for Jang Il but I feel that she is clouded by his refusal to accept her as anything more than the pesty daughter of a shaman.

I think she just wanted him to be nice to her once, or not always dismiss everything she says as noise. She wants to be important in his life and I think she mistook that for love but she just wanted to have a leverage on the guy who rejects her very existence.

It's interesting to me how layered Soomi is and Im Jung Eun is doing a stellar job with the character too. I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

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i agree that the last scene was very good..both Lee Jun Hyuk and Im Jung Eun did a very good job...they caught the audience's attention tightly and made it really a drama time...

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I like this: "She wants to be important in his life and I think she mistook that for love but she just wanted to have a leverage on the guy who rejects her very existence."

For Soomi, it seems to have gone from a like struggle to a power struggle. She knew teen JI dismissed her and didn't meet her that day because he is a classist snobby a**hole. Now she seems to think, "How DARE he treat me like that? I WILL make you see my worth, and you WILL suffer at my hands for treating me like trash."

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Especially when your Dad killed someone and you tried to kill your best friend. How dare you look down and snub me! That seems to be the dominant attitude; however, I believe, given a chance, a look or any hope from Jang Il, she will be on his side faster than you can count to 1

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Well if jang-il is supposed to be a classist snobby a**hole then why does jiwon get treated nicely even though she is poor too,while soo-mi gets treated like dirt?I don't get it.
Is it because soo-mi's dad is a shaman?From what I understand she was mistreated and didn't have any friends because of her dad's status,plus jang-il and the shaman seemed to have a mutual dislike for each other from the get go.I really don't think it has to do with her personality like some people are saying because he treated her nicely and seemed to genuinely like her before finding out who her father was.

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you definitely can call him "Mr. No Name"... :)

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In my opinion, the lunch scene in which they eat bread with incredible dramatic gravitas is a reference to Communion, the Christian practice of eating bread and wine in order to remember Christ and his sacrifice. (I think the script writer intentionally had Sunwoo ask the waiter for the house wine, in continuance of this reference). Communion isn't just about remembering Christ, it's something Christians do together as a group, in common, as a community. It signifies fellowship and a close relationship. Thus, it is ironic that Jang Il and Sunwoo are partaking in Communion together, because they are mortal enemies. However, it is also true that they have this deep, special bond.

I rather liked the close ups on their mouths chewing bread. There were just too many repetitions of scenes Jang Il's mouth, then Sunwoo's mouth, etc. It's the director/editor's stylistic flair that makes this drama a visual treat.

I also feel frustrated with Jiwon's gentleness and passiveness. I guess the problem with making her more intent on revenge is that then she wouldn't be a paragon of virtue. If the beautiful, suffering heroine isn't a paragon of virtue, how can the hero's pure love/admiration of her be justified? This drama is really about the two men, Jang Il and Sunwoo, so Jiwon becomes a side prop.

I still don't really get Soomi. I didn't know until this episode that she truly liked Sunwoo. Now I somewhat understand what was going on in her mind. She truly likes Sunwoo, but she likes Jang Il more and wants to protect him. Should have been simple, right?? I find the ambiguity of her expressions annoying. I wish the director/actor could make her true emotions more obvious to the viewer. I mean I spent the whole last couple of episodes wondering how she really felt about Sunwoo. This whole time, it was like, is she faking it?? zomg, what's really going in on her dang mind??!!

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Thank you! I was sure that the bread meant something.

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1. Was I the only one who saw a girl in a skirt under the staircase when Sun-woo was having dinner with Soo-mi and Kwang-choon(?) (or was it with their other friend, idk). The girl is not there in the screen cap which makes me think that she was there by accident in just one shot. If anyone else saw that girl let me know!

2. What was up with all those close up on the mouth, first it was SM then the boys. I kept thinking how usually in movies and such, close ups of the mouth when the character is eating depicts their greed, and to a certain extent looks savage. It's hard to explain, but always the character (to me at least) looks really barbaric, That wasn't the case here but I can't help but wonder if there was a point the director was trying to make to the viewers which I, unfortunately, didn't get. If someone has an idea let me know!

3. I seriously love Lee Joon Hyk as JI. During SM's revelation at the end when he screams to do whatever the hell she wants. I love staring at his face. It's a mix of emotions. His eyes are wide and filled with tears, because he's scared but his stare has so much hatred for Soo mi. And at the same time, his voice, even when he is screaming, seems to be in control. To me, it seemed that he still had the upper hand in their conversation and that showed the strength and presence of his mind.

Thanks for the recap!

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I am totally more interested in jangil and soomi couple now...will they be together at the end? will jangil one day fall in love with soomi? or will soomi testifies and destroys jangil finally, or will she protects him to the very end......

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I think that Soomi will be instrumental in destroying Jang Il even after Sun Woo decides to try and save him.

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my guess is soomi will die for jangil at the end..and jangil finally falls in love with her but it is too late...

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I like that guess because it includes 'soomi will die'.

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is it the case that you are as cool as soomi...haha..just kidding...

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LOL!

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Thanks for the recap!
It did seem like the bread and wine scene, the director was self-parodying for a little.

My son was watching this episode with me, so he didn't feel the gravitas much. We both stared fascinated at the mouths. I tried to explain that this was a psychological thriller and that we are watching a battle of wills, and are supposed to be imagining what the heck the two were thinking about the other.

JW better speak up soon. I know she has shown spunk before. I need her to sock SW in the head and say, "Seriously? You DON'T know who I am?"
Actually, all she has to do is pick up TOMatS and start reading it. Then dare him to pretend he has never met her.

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From the previews of episode 13, its coming!!

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I appreciate that the writers have created a character who is a "bad guy" who we can really care about. We are horrified by his actions but also hate to see him suffer. On the other hand, his dad comes across as really icky and it's hard to understand why Jang Il isn't more forceful and direct with him.

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@houstontwin, about your last comment, it helps that lee joon hyuk is drop dead good looking as well
I don't think this story was written to give Jangil a love angle.
Between Jiwon n Soomi's cters, I prefer the latter who is morMe feisty n has more character compared to Jiwon who is still nothing more than a wallflower at this point

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What urks me bout Korean DREAMs is that. NO one EVER GETS REVENGE they always let emotion get in the way.

If you have watched *CAIN ABEL* *EAST OF EDEN* And more U WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IM talken bout never the less its a good drama just hope

THE WRTIERS DON'T SCREW IT UP

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thank you
I am also wondering why Ji won gets better treatment than Soomi by Jang II ? both girls were poor when they meet him for the first time wut is the difference? if he cares about status and fortune why he treats Ji won better ? he is even paying her Mom's hospital bills? why?

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Well soomi's dad is a shaman who scams people for a living remember how jangil gave dirty looks to him when he sees the shaman at first?Otoh when he first saw jiwon she was the rich daughter and he fell in love with that image of her.I don't believe he truly loves jiwon if he found out she was a shaman's daughter he would treat her the same..

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i think soo-mi's going to be one of the first to die in this drama. poor girl...

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'No name' is the cop in the movie Blind no? We could just call him Mr Blind?! He he!

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well...i can proudly say that i love Soomi right from the start when many disliked her....and she's grown to become more n more awesome!! yeah, you go girl!! i love how she's so complex....like young Jangil(i don't know what to say about Jangil now who has become through n through evilllll) young Jangil at least had the mixture that made him seemed more layered to me.
i have to agree though....Jiwon is boring. in dramas like this...the goody heroine often fell flat.
n to those who wonder why Jangil liked Jiwon when she too, was poor.
well, remember the first time Jangil saw her on stage?...isn't she like....introduced as the president's daughter or something? n the way she's on the stage n had lights surrounding her...sort of shows she's on top....well, that's my interpretation.
n i guess it's also got to do with Jangil's looking down on shaman/or maybe just Kwangchoon..though for what reason i know not.

oh no...now i'm praying for Soomi's safety......please don't let her be killed....she's too awesome.
Sunwoo on the other hand....well, i haven't resume to watch...but i don't know...he sounds too damn smart to calculate everything that would happen n nothing went wrong. i don't know..but it seemed to me....adult Sunwoo n Jangil are potrayed with such extremes in their personality that it made me less invested in them.

anyway, thanks for the recap. i've been behind many episodes. definitely need to catch up ASAP. this drama rockz!

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huwaaa...can admin help to erase this comment above. must be an accident for double post. i'm so sorry.

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well...i can proudly say that i love Soomi right from the start when many disliked her....and she's grown to become more n more awesome!! yeah, you go girl!! i love how she's so complex....like young Jangil(i don't know what to say about Jangil now who has become through n through evilllll) young Jangil at least had the mixture that made him seemed more layered to me.
i have to agree though....Jiwon is boring. in dramas like this...the goody heroine often fell flat.
n to those who wonder why Jangil liked Jiwon when she too, was poor.
well, remember the first time Jangil saw her on stage?...isn't she like....introduced as the president's daughter or something? n the way she's on the stage n had lights surrounding her...sort of shows she's on top....well, that's my interpretation.
n i guess it's also got to do with Jangil's looking down on shaman/or maybe just Kwangchoon..though for what reason i know not.

oh no...now i'm praying for Soomi's safety......please don't let her be killed....she's too awesome.
Sunwoo on the other hand....well, i haven't resume to watch...but i don't know...he sounds too damn smart to calculate everything that would happen n nothing went wrong. i don't know..but it seemed to me....adult Sunwoo n Jangil are potrayed with such extremes in their personality that it made me less invested in them.

anyway, thanks for the recap. i've been behind many episodes. definitely need to catch up ASAP. this drama rockz!

ps: oh...and if anyone's watching Siwan(young Jangil)'s sitcom Standby ep16.....there's a little parody of his Equator Man scene where he washed his face in front of the mirror with intense background music(but not for a reason as serious as in this drama of course....it's just getting kissed by a guy...xD)

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Thanks to your insightful recaps, HeadsNo2,...I downloaded and marathoned Equator Man yesterday. I can see why it's a major contender in a 3-way ratings battle. We've got rom-com, thriller-farce and straight-up-revenge ALL at once ---► I don't remember ever having had 3 great shows airing at the same time. (pretty cool..if also frustrating)

Having watched them all back-to-back, I'd have to say the most jarring episodes were *the college years*. The actors went from fresh faced boys to men (obviously in their late 20's and 30's) ...when they finally got to 'full adult' status...I was thinking, "Whew~...it was getting hard to suspend belief...let's move on."

The thing that has me hooked is the over-riding sense of sadness at *what could have been* for these two friends. I want SunWoo to have proper revenge...and yet, I somehow want redemption for JangIl as well. (I'll credit my love for the actor with this feeling - left-over pangs of sorrow for City Hunter's prosecutor)

As for the female characters:

►Soo-mi --- sigh. Should'a gotten on with her life...yearsssss ago. She CHOSE to cover an attempted murder. Can't gloss over that.

Then, has clung to warped memories and emotional self abuse over the murderer's well being. I've read many comments of support for her character, but personally, I have to concur with Toolington the Third's assessment ---- she's a leech. (very watchable..but still ~)

►Ji-Won --- I'm actually o.k. that she's gone into wooden-purity-character. Having watched the episodes in marathon mode, she's really always been placed as a bookmark between the pages of the guy's story. By being simply *the thing that each guy wants*, which will ultimately play out in MORE conflict between the male leads --- she serves her purpose.

Also, while I think the actress is quite talented, I find her to be a bit 'prickly' in other roles as well...so, I guess I'm not as bothered that she's a minor plot point.

Anyway ~ Thanks for the recaps...Looking forward to the next round! ❤

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As a name for Sun Woo's lackey -
how about La-Kee?

justathought...

;-)

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ooooo good one...or alternately - Min-Yun

snickers ~

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Oh you two are funny!

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lol!

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As a lurker I can't believe I'm actually posting a comment, but this show really hooks me in :)

I totally agree with you Ekun and can absolutely understand the way Jang Il treating Soomi. When you dislike someone yet they keep trying to impress/follow/get your attention it's actually pretty annoying. I experienced this when I was in junior high, a guy who really liked me kept trying all sort of silly things to get my attention, my initial indifference toward him gradually turned into a distaste and it annoyed me every single time I had to interact with him. So I can sympathize with Jang Il. And given his introvert loner personality the way he treated Soomii is totally understandable. Her Shaman Dad perhaps was the reason in the beginning but it's her pushy personality that really did it for him, and me. Soomii and Jang Il is exactly like each other, it's interesting to see how hard they try to get what doesn't belong to them.

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i'm rooting for ji-won but i totally agree with you on how her character lacks depth. Soo mi is much more intriguing.

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This was definitely f*&ck with Jang Il day! I enjoyed watching his slow hike to madness. His constantly trying to defleck Sun Woo's efforts and Sun Woo masterly predicted such actions by setting up No Name (or Min Yun/La Kee hahaa) to interact with prosecutor friend of Jang Il. I also enjoy that fact that Soo Mi is milking the relationship between her and Yong Bae to Jang Il's consternation. Boy, did any one else thing Jang Il totally lost it when he was screaming in the car? Had he saw the painting right after that, I think we all would have expected the next scene to be at the mental institution. Sun Woo masterly egging him on at the founding party was the icing on the cake. His look (JI) when he looked up to see Ji Won looking at him with disappointment was the tops! Hopes upon hopes that that action solidifies any hopes of having a relationship with JW never happening! I sure hope the writers do not go done that road because even if I feel remotely (a mean remotely sorry for JI, happiness, even a brief one, he does not deserve!!

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Thanks for the recap. Makes it clear to me now on some parts.
Just a correction, though. I think the name of the company that Ji-Won now works for is LoyalTree. Head Hunters is probably the name of the search firm that refers Ji-Won to the job interview. just my 2 cents worth.....

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Can't wait for recaps of ep 13 and 14. I have SO MUCH to say!!

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I really think that soo-mi will blackmail jang-il into marrying her.In a preview of the last few episodes,jang il says "should I marry soo-mi and and live the rest of my life unhappy?"she is so desperate for him even though he despises her wow,but I still like her character she is unpredictable,a little crazy,and makes the show interesting,oh and I love her makeup(irrelevant i know).
Oh and as for ji won I officially want her off the show,have her get run over,pushed off a cliff I don't care anymore her scenes bore me to death and the faces the actress makes irritate me to no end.I'm not even rooting for her with sunwoo I thought they were cute at first,but the lack of character development the writers have given her makes me wish he get over her,and have her off the show for good,ok rant over!

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YOU DONT MESS UP WITH CHOI SOOMI!! lol
jeez that wall 0.o
intense bread eating omg...
before soomi revealed that wall, i was like in my head " are you readyyyy jangil??" he was just like " shoot what do she have there? im ready."

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