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Rooftop Prince: Episode 5

Aw, I’m really enjoying how this show is managing to mix in bits of real feeling amidst all the hilarious wacky turns. It’s not easy to turn on a dime and go from absurd to emotional and not make us feel like we have dramatic whiplash. Good thing, too, since my stomach already hurts from laughing.

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EPISODE 5 RECAP

Yi Gak declares that he is the long-lost Tae-yong. Is he faking it? Or does this reincarnation business come with a handy memory card slot for intersecting lifelines? Tae-mu starts to accuse him of being an impostor, but Granny cuts him off and asks for a private moment and sends him away.

Grandma only needs one word of confirmation to hop aboard this I’m-back-from-nowheresville train, which isn’t surprising since she was so grief-stricken that she almost asked the stranger to impersonate her grandson just so she could keep believing he was alive. Yi Gak answers that it’s really him, and Grandma sobs, “Oh, my baby.”

Tae-mu, Se-na, and Park-ha hear enough from the outer room to guess that Grandma’s bought the story completely. Se-na pulls Park-ha aside to ask why she hasn’t left for America yet, frustrated to keep running into her. Park-ha doesn’t understand her stepsister’s pushiness to keep her away, so Se-na lays it out plainly, saying that she lied about her family background to her boyfriend and her boss. Pointing out that Park-ha took her money, Se-na urges her to hurry her departure plans.

Grandma decides to move Tae-yong-gak back home, so Park-ha goes home alone. And finds her ducklings fresh out of the shower—are you actually braiding each other’s hair? They sigh over their lustrous locks, pleased with that modern marvel, shampoo.

Park-ha tells the boys that the prince has gone off to a nice family so it’s time for them to worry about their own lives, ha, like they’re puppies awaiting adoption. As we know, grooming is one step in prettying puppies up for prospective new owners, so Park-ha tsk-tsks over their unruly hair and tells them they’ll have to cut their hair tomorrow. Oh thank god. It’s amazing for comic purposes, but damn if that isn’t some ugly hair.

But the boys immediately throw a fit. Yong-sool slams his hand on the table angrily, and Man-bo declares, “Cut my throat first!” Given that the topknot was a marker of dignity and manhood in their era, I suppose a modern haircut would be akin to a symbolic castration. Although one of them doesn’t have to worry about that, just sayin’…

At the family mansion, Grandma happily sends Tae-yong-gak off to bed, content to hear his story tomorrow. He heads to his room, where he regards the photo of Tae-yong and confirms our suspicions—this is an act, and he’s still the prince. He thinks, “Yong Tae-yong, I am sure you are my reincarnation.”

The question, then, is why Princey is here and Tae-yong is not. He wonders, “Then are you dead? Are you what called me here?”

In the morning, Grandma’s confused when Yi Gak asks her to buy him a rooftop apartment. He asks carefully, “Is it…too expensive?” and Grandma bursts out laughing. Okay, that’s cute.

His official story is that while he knows who he is, he still has amnesia so he’d like to continue living in the rooftop room where he’s been staying, until his memories recover. Grandma’s reluctant to have him move out so soon, but she agrees—on one condition. Cut his hair.

Yi Gak exclaims, “NO! Not the hair!” HAHAHA. This cracks me up. This drama, I swear.

He returns to the rooftop to hear Park-ha confirm she’ll be moving out soon. The ducklings hurry to their prince, wailing that she’s going to leave and they’ll be homeless. How will they protect him then?

Park-ha returns their Joseon-era garb, which takes them by surprise. But they haven’t even paid her back yet! She’s resigned to her decision, though, freeing them from that obligation.

She’s still miffed at the prince, so Yi Gak asks for a moment alone and tells Park-ha that he hadn’t known her circumstances when he’d spoken so harshly the other night. He’d said she was bound to ruin her business because she didn’t keep her promises, and now that her business has indeed been ruined she asks if he’s happy about it.

She asks if he’s really the CEO’s grandson, and he goes with the lie, saying he is. She isn’t quite sure whether to believe him, but waves it aside. She returns a piece of cloth to him, which was found in his Joseon garb, and he unfolds it to reveal that piece of embroidery that Bu-yong (Joseon’s Park-ha) had stitched, which unni Hwa-yong had passed off as her own handiwork.

He gapes in shock: The butterfly that had disappeared after his princess died has now returned. (Note: When first watching Episode 1, I had assumed the CG butterfly was just a way to transition us to modern times. But judging from his reaction, the butterfly literally disappeared from the stitching and flitted off to New York, where Tae-yong then sketched it landing on Park-ha’s shoulder.)

Park-ha opens that tin containing her New York mementos and sees Tae-yong’s sketch of her with the butterfly. As she closes the box, the camera lingers on Probable Future Clue, aka Tae-yong’s cell phone—the one Tae-mu thought he’d tossed into the ocean, not realizing it accidentally got swapped with another tourist’s.

Becky and Lady Mimi burst into the room (knocking aside the tin box) to protest, upset to hear she’s moving away.

Yi Gak gathers his men and delivers news that makes them fall to their knees in horror—he wants them to cut their hair? What did they do wrong? He tells them that they have two missions here: adjust to modern times, and protect that rooftop room. Cutting their hair is a necessary step.

His men don’t think so, and cry that if they return to Joseon with short hair, they’ll be disgraced or die. Ever the stalwart warrior, Yong-sool says that it would be better to all commit suicide here than to “live in shame with cut hair.” He makes a move to retrieve his sword, and I love that that gets the other two ducklings to back off, like, Whoa, whoa, who said anything about suicide?

From a distance, Becky and Mimi watch with disapproval, thinking the boys are throwing a hissy fit over Park-ha leaving.

Mimi returns to her desk, where her computer wallpaper is a cartoonified drawing of the Joseon travelers that we’ve already seen as interstitial images. Since she’s a(n aspiring) manhwa artist, I’m guessing she’s using them for inspiration. Cute.

She turns on her phone, only to see that it’s not hers—she must’ve picked up the wrong one when she dropped it upstairs. This one has a photo of Tae-yong as its wallpaper, so she assumes it’s Princey’s phone.

Tae-mu’s father wonders if the newcomer could really be Tae-yong, and Tae-mu protests a little too hard, forgetting that while HE knows Tae-yong can’t be back from the dead (since he killed him, sorta), the others don’t.

Tae-mu balks at the idea of calling police—must be scared of getting tangled up in the investigation—and instead goes the DNA route. He gathers the family, saying this is for peace of mind, and smirks when Yi Gak freaks out at the foreign object heading for his mouth.

Tae-mu takes this as proof of impostorhood and holds him down, and while struggling a cell phone falls out of Yi Gak’s pocket. It’s the one Mimi returned, and the wallpaper shows an old photo of Tae-yong and Grandma together.

Grandma orders Tae-mu to call Tae-yong’s old number, and with shaking hands he complies, all the while thinking of the true danger: the photos and video clips on that phone confirming that Tae-mu did meet up with Tae-yong when he said he didn’t.

Sure enough, Yi Gak’s phone rings, and that’s enough proof for the rest of the family. They rejoice while Tae-mu trembles in his seat, especially when Great Aunt suggests looking through the phone to figure out what he was up to before his disappearance. He gets a reprieve because the phone is password-locked, but Grandma tells Tae-mu to take Tae-yong to the service center to get it unlocked immediately.

As Tae-mu drives them to the center, he sees the phone fall out of Yi Gak’s pocket onto the car seat. He slips it into his own pocket, then feigns ignorance when it’s discovered missing.

Se-na is annoyed at an unexpected visit by Mom, who proposes that they scrape together the cash so Park-ha can keep her store. But a call from Tae-mu, who’s on his way over, makes her hurry Mom out to avoid their meeting.

Tae-mu comes home to an empty apartment, and starts to smash Tae-yong’s phone. Se-na comes home, and he hurriedly drops it out of sight… into the shopping bag Mom accidentally left behind. Muahaha. (The puzzle pieces are being set in place in a super-obvious way, but I do appreciate the fact that they fit together. So often they don’t.)

Thus they’re both nervous and fidgety, for different reasons. Se-na notices Mom’s bag and distracts him by suggesting dinner out. As they’re leaving, she spots Mom heading back to recover that bag and whips up an excuse to go back upstairs first to handle Mom.

Tae-mu feels antsy about that bag, though, and rushes back inside, only to find it gone. Se-na lies that she threw it in the trash, and he relaxes. Trash is good.

Park-ha clears out her apartment and sends most of her furniture and appliances off to a recycling center. At the last moment she remembers that stuffed radish doll and grabs it out of the stash. Aw.

Family dinner. Grandma and Great Aunt aren’t quite sure what to make of Tae-yong’s friends, with their long hair and weird clothes (Chi-san’s still wearing his gigolo’s sequins underneath his jacket, ha). I love that their strangeness is attributed to the assumption that they’re Tae-yong’s artist friends; it explains the long hair, which Aunt calls gross. Right on, sister.

The boys are perplexed at the cutlery on the table, and ask Grandma’s permission to use a knife for their meat, since Yong-sool is an expert with the blade. Of course, she replies—and out comes the sword.

Chi-san holds up his plate, and Yong-sool flicks the sword with expert precision, leaving perfectly diced meatstuffs raining down onto the plate in a neat arrangement. The moment is scored with all the grandeur of a sageuk swordfight—and Yong-sool approaches his task with that kind of grave concentration—and I just about snort food into my sinuses. (When will I learn not to eat when watching this show?)

In Tae-yong’s room, the boys freak out at the photo of Tae-yong. Yi Gak lays down new rules: Do not refer to him as Prince, or call him Highness. From now on, he will be Yong Tae-yong.

Smartypants Man-bo catches on first: “Re…incarnation?” Yi Gak nods, explaining that he’s assuming the identity of his reincarnation, who is likely dead—one incarnation cannot exist in the same space and time as another. If there is a connection between these events and the princess’s death, he will track it down, and once they do, they’ll be able to return to Joseon.

This is all theory, but it makes sense to our boys, who promise to call him Tae-yong from now on.

On her rooftop, Park-ha takes out her twine dolls and accidentally drops it over the ledge. They catch on a power cable so she stretches her arm over trying to retrieve it, just as Yi Gak comes home and sees her half-dangling over the ledge.

Assuming the worst, he grabs her from behind, wrapping his arms alllll the way around her and crying out, “No! You mustn’t kill yourself!” HA. She is naturally confused, but he refuses to let go until she promises not to jump.

She gasps out a promise, and he lets go. She tells him she wasn’t going to jump, and he peers over the ledge to see the dropped doll, and manages to pluck it from the cable.

When asked why he’s here, he pulls out a bottle of soju and a can of whipped cream, to repay her for the last time.

They sit down for a liquor and sugar session, although this time she turns down the whipped cream. Today she’ll stick with bitterness.

At the mansion, the three sidekicks don their Joseon clothing to hold a rite for Man-bo’s mother (the yearly memorial for a deceased parent)—they may be in the wrong time, but filial duty transcends the time-space continuum. Chi-san rifles through the fridge for food for the ritual table, and discovers a treasure: “Th-this… is what you put on omurice!” And then he shoots ketchup directly into his mouth. Gack.

Grandma comes down for a drink of water and sees the refrigerator door ajar. Chi-san hides behind it, but when she swings the door closed, there he is, standing with his ketchup-smeared mouth. LOL. Grandma screams and faints.

Great Aunt wakes up to find the scary figure of Yong-sool looming over her, asking her to come with him (to find liquor). She flips out, insisting she’s not ready to “go” just yet: “I won’t die!” Heh.

Park-ha makes a comment about their ages, so Yi Gak says he doesn’t remember that. She says ruefully that her memory has a hole, too, and explains her own situation: She was badly injured in an accident and remembers nothing prior to the age of 9. After then, she found she had no family, or any happy memories.

She takes out her phone to show him a photo of a beach, saying that whenever she was discouraged, she’d imagine going on vacation to the sea, and that would make her feel better.

By now she has fully dropped to banmal, and takes out the twine dolls, saying that it’s made of tree nuts found at the beach. If you tie the hands behind the dolls’ backs, you’ll earn money (hers are tied thusly), and if you tie their legs together you’ll find love. Tying their hands to each other wishes you health.

He wonders why she’s living like this if she’s been wishing for luck all this while, and she grimaces, shoving the doll at him and telling him to try wishing, then.

Park-ha starts shivering in the cold, so Yi Gak pulls down a curtain and drapes it over her. He asks if she’s really planning to fly to America tomorrow, and she says that it’s all arranged. He tells her she should stay.

Having collected the requisite food and liquor for their memorial, the boys set up a table in the living room and pay their respects to Man-bo’s mother.

But it’s their turn to be spooked, because a figure steps in front of the table, wearing a moisturizing pack that makes her face look ghostly. Man-bo gasps, “Mother!” They all pass out, and the housekeeper wonders what’s wrong with them.

Sitting in the attic room, Park-ha and Yi Gak both nod off. When she wakes up in the morning, she’s sleeping alone.

Yi Gak heads out to the car, taking the passenger seat while the family chauffeur prepares to drive. He tells his boys to sit in the back and they obey immediately. Only, when Yi Gak looks around, they’ve disappeared. Omg, is this going where I think it’s going?

Yes, it is: They get out and look curiously toward the back, where the three boys have stuffed themselves into the trunk. You know, since they’re so used to riding in Park-ha’s truckbed. HAHAHAHA. Oh, so adorable.

On to the Home & Shopping office, where Yi Gak points out the reincarnated princess. Chi-san offers to do the honors of going inside to escort the princess out.

Cut to: Chi-san being dragged out by security guards. They mutter to each other that the only long-haired people to be admitted are ladies.

Man-bo goes next, using his best authoritative voice to ask for the one in charge, only to have the guards note that he’s got long hair, too. He turns back, rejected.

Yong-sool is much more efficient: Punch, kick, boom they’re down. He heads inside unfettered… but the revolving door ushers him right back out. Hee.

The security guards get back up and he easily knocks them back down, going back inside for Attempt #2. But curses, it’s that damned door again, drawing him inside and spitting him back outside.

Yong-sool looks up at the battered security guards with a What fresh hell is this? look on his face, and tries again. And again. And again. Oh my god, why is this so funny? Snort.

Yi Gak declares, “This is our reality. Because of our appearance, we cannot pass through that door!” Pffffffft. It’s hilarious because it’s true, but not for the pseudo-mystical reason he supposes, that somehow they’re being repelled from the fortress containing the princess because of their long hair. The three ducklings bow their head in dismay, on their knees before the prince.

The camera pulls back to reveal: Yi Gak, standing on top of a park bench to maintain the height differential. Hee! This drama just keeps piling on the jokes, and I’m loving it. What sells the moment is that he’s in utter seriousness, and the boys’ grave tone totally belies the sight gag.

In her empty room with bags packed for departure, Park-ha contemplates Mr. Radish and uses him to decide whether she should really go or not. Except, every time she holds him up and lets him fall over, he falls on the side of leaving Korea.

The fact that she’s disappointed and keeps retrying the “test” should be proof enough of her feelings, and she finally gets him to fall on the side of not leaving. She asks Mr. Radish, “If they ask, should I just stay?”

She hears noises at the door and rushes out eagerly to meet her ducklings, although she pretends she’s not totally thrilled to see them. Yi Gak explains, “I have heard of such a thing called a souvenir photo. We have come here to take that, to remember the last.”

Park-ha’s disappointed, having expected (and hoped) that they’d beg her to stay, and deflates at the mention of goodbye. Not knowing that they’re here to part with…their soon-to-be-lost hair. HA.

Park-ha directs them in posing, then joins them for the photos.

Then, the moment of truth. Chi-san tries to chicken out (Yong-sool grabs him), while Man-bo pleads with the prince to change his mind, to give up the rooftop room, to back out before it’s too late. Yi Gak proceeds, though, and is the first to get the dreaded snip, while his courtiers cry, “Noooooo!”

It’s a testament to how committed they are to the ridiculousness that Yi Gak actually sheds a tear in this farcically funny scene.

After his haircut, Yi Gak hurries back to the rooftop room and finds it empty. He runs after the bus Park-ha boards just as it pulls out of the station, and he screams her name. He runs right into the path of an oncoming truck, realizing the danger too late, and flinches for impact—making all of us swear, If you pull another Dream High 2, I’m going to kill something, I’m sure.

But the truck screeches to a halt just inches from his face, leaving him unscathed, though badly shaken. The truck driver insists on taking him to the hospital despite his fixation on catching the bus, and ushers Yi Gak to take a seat. Which is when Yi Gak looks up and sees the billboard painted on the truck’s side: a tropical beach, with palm trees.

Yi Gak asks to buy that picture, offering twice the amount. He holds up a credit card—a black card only for VIPs.

So when a dejected Park-ha looks out her bus window, she sees that picture right outside, and it makes her smile. Yi Gak dangles out of his window shouting her name until finally she spots him.

He madly gestures for her to stop, but she shrinks back in embarrassment. So he screams at the bus to stop, while the rest of the passengers look on curiously at the strange man.

The bus pulls over and he boards the bus, demanding to know how she could just up and leave. She reminds him of the goodbye photo they took, and he says, in complete and utter seriousness, “Then what else would I call it, when we are taking a final souvenir photo before cutting our hair?”

He declares that he has acquired a beach, so she doesn’t have to go far away anymore. With that, he pulls her off the bus, and everyone else claps for what they assume was a romantic reconciliation.

The bus drives off, and they stand there awkwardly for a long moment, hand to wrist, sorta bashful and sorta happy. Now she registers his new haircut, and he smiles.

They sit on the truck, gazing at their new beach, and Yi Gak tells her that she’ll make good memories from now on.

Then the truck honks, startling them off-balance. He grabs her to steady them both, and they end up in each other’s arms. Feeling something spark.

 
COMMENTS

As usual, the family stuff tends to be less interesting, but this episode managed to work around that by bringing the Joseon boys into the mansion to liven things up. Way to work with your weakness and fill in the slow gaps with fast-moving fish-out-of-water comedy I could just watch forever.

Some of the jokes can be entirely cheesy, and yet I just about die laughing anyway—it’s all in the delivery. It sure as heck ain’t subtle humor, but it’s also not the kind that hams itself up, Jim Carrey style, all, “Look at me! I’m making a joke!” It has a deadpan delivery for a lot of its sight gags, like the running bit of how the prince is always on an elevated plane. It’s just ingrained into these four men, so they don’t even question the fact that in any situation, they are meant to be lower. And if they can’t get there naturally, by golly they’ll create that height differential—whether Yi Gak is standing on a platform or a playground bench.

It’s a running joke that they’ve been doing for a while, but without drawing extra attention to itself; you either notice it or you don’t. I’m pretty sure I missed the first instance or two, but now that I’ve seen it, it just elevates every scene in which it comes into play. Just like how it’s always Man-bo who figures things out first, but nobody’s expositing, “You’re the brain, so therefore you always understand fastest.” They’re just little details laid into the background that are there for us to discover, on our own time.

I’m really warming up to this rooftop family, with every interaction. I already liked them, but this was the first time we saw Park-ha’s attachment to them, judging from her hope that they’d hold her back. She’s gone her whole life without familial attachments (that she can remember), so she’s probably a little gun-shy about extending the hand first—but she desperately wants a hand held out to her, so she can grab tight.

We’ve also progressed far enough that the boys are learning how to survive without her, which takes things from a dynamic of pure dependence to one involving attachment and affection. Especially on his side; sure he needs Park-ha’s room, but there’s enough emotional connection that his hurt at her departure is not just about her apartment.

The reincarnation story, meanwhile, introduces an interesting question of… owning your identity, for lack of a better way of putting it. It’s definitely the thing that makes this setup unique, and I’m curious to know where they’re going with it. It’s a fresh enough basis for a drama that there aren’t a zillion and a half iterations of the plot, so the drama has some freedom to create its own rules.

This premise is unlike, say, zombies or vampires where there exists a basic understanding of the mythology, so there are certain narrative boundaries. With reincarnation, I feel like they can take this in a lot of different directions—is Tae-yong dead, or merely in a different slice of time-space, like Yi Gak? What does the butterfly signify? It disappeared after the princess died, when Yi Gak’s tear landed on it, so perhaps it represents his sorrow that she’s gone. But Bu-yong was the true creator of that piece of embroidery, so maybe the Embroidery God in the Sky is giving him a clue that he’s grieving after the wrong girl. And while I’m still in the camp of “The princess died in the pond, until the show tells me otherwise,” perhaps there’s enough room to feed the conspiracy theories that drowned girl isn’t who he thinks she is.

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wow, keep refreshing and here I am :)

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Thank you very much for the recap and interesting analysis! I like your comment that the butterfly signifies that the prince falls for the wrong person. It is clear enough that the loveline already starts from BOTH sides. Princey might not be aware of it himself, still grieving over his princess but Park Ha is kind of falling slowly right now. Can't wait until tomorrow :)

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Thank you for such a lovely write up. You are so right, it is the fine details that makes me like the drama even more. The hidden clues and the subtle details. The actors are also doing a great job in their roles. Now that the love line has started and all the characters are in place, I can't wait to see where this drama goes. For a romantic drama, this drama is very nuanced and very well written.

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me too waiting in here and thanks for RECAP (*>ω<)

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Yah!! I kept refreshing the page!!

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lool u guys are funny

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Me too! I was waiting for the recap since morning XD

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Cute family pic on top there! The boys are already mastering the art of the V signs when taking photos! :D

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Yay!! Refreshing 212545787542121 times DOES payoff!!!
Thanks JB!

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LOL. You're so funny.

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sigh thank you.. i needed my fix

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YAY! After I read this, I can go back to sleep! My morning is complete! :* Saranghae!

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Holy cow! I haven't even watched it yet! So early! Thank you very much for the recap. They really take a lot of time and effort. ♥

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Aaaah i was waiting for it!!
I am totally enjoying rooftop prince!
Chun's acting has improved so much and the OTP's chemistry is adorable!! The prince's man are lovable goofballs!!
Rooftop prince hwaiting!! (^o^)

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Dying from the cuteness! :D thanks for the recap!

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I love this episode so much !!! It's so funny at the part where the guys trying to get into the company LOL. Thanks for the recap. Can't wait for tmr episode !!!

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Thank you so much for the recap, off to read now.

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Thank God for fusion sageuks otherwise Yoochun would have a tough time in drama-land.

Also I love this show. Too. Cute.

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Thank you ! :)

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Aigo~ can't wait to watch it! Thanks JB.

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Five episodes in and this show makes me fall in love with it more and more! Fish-out-of-water comedies tend to be among my favourites, so the fact that this show can continually find new situations for the Joseon Power Rangers to be in and milk it just makes me immensely happy. But as has been pointed out, it's the seriousness the four guys have that really makes these moments uproariously funny.

Oh, and I'm immensely glad that the Prince's posse will be joining him in the Home Shopping Family affairs. That's definitely the weak link in this drama so far, so I'm glad that's being addressed. And omo~ we've got the first stirring of feelings among our two leads! Can't wait for episode six!

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I love rooftop prince!!

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i really like the show so much. thanks for the recap!

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The ending was adorable! Everyone looks so much better with their new hairdos/

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I was thinking... is it possible for them to go back in time... I mean, back in time to pre-marriage Prince and before the evil sister scarred the younger sister's face. They were able to time travel to the future, so I wouldn't find it too far fetched to go back in the past. But I suppose, they don't really have to do that. I guess the Prince (back in Joseon) could just fall for the younger sister regardless of her face. I really want the wrong to be righted.

Anyhow - I like they are all really cute and funny but I also admit to be really bored by the Tae Yong part of the story. I guess I'll get more into it when I find out how it all fits together.

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nooooo, i dont want the Prince to go back to joseon with out BakHa and end up marry her past self because then BakHa would be left alone without anyone again in the modern time. besides he has to fall in love with her modern self. BakHa may look exactly like her past life, but they are actually two differnt people - he needs to fall in love with her spunky loving 2012 person.

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that is unless the todays version of the prince doesn't also return alive, and they end it with meaningful looks between the pair suggesting something in the future happening, perhaps based off the drawing he did? thus both sets can have a 'happy' ending

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Interesting thought, and I think if the real Tae-Young is alive then the guys will just switch palces again and park ha will believe it has been one guy all along and prince would go back and both would find their place. plausible.

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Thank you so much!
This chapter was quite endearing .. I can see some progress in our main couple :D

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finally the recap came out!! thankiess JB :))

now im dying to watch this episode!!

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Wow this update was really fast! I just decide to come here for an update of what's happening in dramaland when I see this recap up already!!! I can't wait to watch all 6 episodes in one go during the Easter break!~ Wooo Hoo!! Thanks for the recap btw!!

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Thanks Javabeans. I noticed the elevations and lol at the joke. These guys really are some characters that I just have fallen for....

Having the boys moving in was fun touch. The occupants of that house needed some excitement. They are like aliens from another planet.

The family photo was a nice touch and I agree that she wants to belong somewhere and be wanted. The fact that these guys were upset that she was abandoning them was sweet. The crown prince does need her help because the expression on his face when faced with the reality that they are still in the dark ages about some things hit home during dinner and showing them the crown princess. Fish out of water indeed.....Park-ha to the rescue.

I have no idea where this is headed. Since the drama tells us two bodies cannot occupy the same space, things are getting interesting....The butterfly motif is lost on me because it has many meanings.

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Thank you for the recap! I tried to watch it on viki today but they changed their website. (Much prettier now.) For some reason, though, the subtitles weren't working, so I will try again. I'm glad you guys are around so I know what the heck is going on in these dramas that I'm so into now... :-)

Looking forward to tomorrow already!

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The jokes are because of the men out of their normal time-space sequence and their reactions to it. As you said, the family drama is not interesting, and I am not terribly interested in the murdered princess story. I'm gonna enjoy the sight gags while they last and I hope they will last a while longer - nothing like silly comedy, eh?

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I'm really enjoying this show...love the whole cast!! thanks for the recap!!

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Thanks for the recap!

Okay if Bu Yong is the one who died that just leads to a crap load of questions. First, where the heck is the princess? Was she kidnapped? Was she kidnapped by Tae Mu of the past? Is there some kind of conspiracy going on and is the princess a part of it? If she is, did she kill Bu Yong?

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my mom walked in on me watching this ep and i convinced her to watch eps 2-4 as well and now she's hooked lmao. laughs non-stop at pretty much every scene

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also is it just me, or is yoochun's comedic timing FANTASTIC?

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He's naturally a dork, and has the funniest sense of humor too

You should try watching a interview sometime
like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIuqFZoEfI

plus you get to see prince Lee Gak being doting oppa to a little girl

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thanks for the video link. That was the cutest thing ever! Yoochun doting on Yoobin (the little girl from The Princess' Man) is just awwww.....

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thanks so much for the recaps! this is an awesome episode... :)

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Ha! Perfect job for Yong Sool = chef at Benihana's.

Since I'm nursing bruised ribs, taking a deep breath is painful enough. Let alone laughing like a crazy person watching this episode. I don't know if I had tears of laughter or pain.

You are absolutely correct about their comedic timing being spot on because one can see the gag(s) coming and still laugh uproariously.

As always, your recaps are also hilarious and so well-written. Thank you.

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Addendum: I hope they'll continue to show Becky and Lady Mimi. I think they complement the ducklings so well.

And, it's amazing how Becky, Lady Mimi and Park Ha just went with the flow on housing, feeding and putting up with these four dudes, without hesitation or many questions.

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waiting for all the eps to air and the subs finished before start watching but i am loving the recaps.

thanks!!!

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haha! Hilarious! I love LMH and the actor playing Chi-san....i just finished watching Special Affairs Team Ten and he's cute there as well!! I watched a bit of the raw and that haircut scene cracked me up...their tears made me laugh even more!! Sorry guise I understand your pain but it was just too funny! <3

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Thanks for this recap/ You must have had your synapses firing and fingers flying at record speed.

There were so many LOL's during this one again, but
it was the sweetness is what grabbed me today - both the taste and emotions.

Why is sweetness so important to all the boys?
Is it what they were lacking back in Joseon days?
Something our modern tastes take for granted.
Between the Prince paying back with the soju and whipped cream and Chi-san eating the ketchup (Yiiiii-ugg!) both are fond memories connected to PH's kindness.

It was endearing that the boys did the funeral ritual, too, amid all the strangeness. Very sweet.

"You can make good memories from now on" plopped YG squarely into PH's life for a bit. He never says anything casually, so it hit me as especially nice that he made that effort to purchase the mural for her. How absolutely fitting is it that gramma gave the Prince a credit card: "the black card with no limit" as his Highness prolly lived his whole life relying on the royal coffers without ever considering what he spent.

I hope we get to see Great Auntie interact a lot more with the boys. That actress cracks me up in all her shows - she never plays dialed back. Did you see her jumping up and down? I LOVE her!

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Sparks between Park Ha and Yi Gak are starting to ignite!!! Whee! **Squeal**

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Thanks for the recap! It really brightened my day, and your comments about how much you're enjoying the show seems to make me enjoy it even more.

I'm still a bit wary of the whole family/company storyline, and I hope it doesn't take over the drama. What does reassure me a bit is that it's the same writer as Bad Family. That drama also had a storyline with a(n almost mustache-twirly) villain who really wanted to take over a company, and there were inheritance issues there too. But the crazy family really was the center of that show and made me love it to pieces. (Thanks for alerting me to that gem, javabeans!) In any case, it's been a fun ride so far.

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I just love you writing Javabeans :-)

"pleased with that modern marvel, shampoo" - LOL (I'm gonna miss those boys' glorious locks!)

"Embroidery God in the Sky" - how do you think of these things?

Agree with you, not so keen on the rich family story, but loving everything involving the lovely little rooftop family.

Can't wait to watch this subbed!

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TWO hugs in one episode? Are they trying to stop my heart??

I really really loved this episode. If I had doubts before, now I lay my mind at rest about where the story's going. I feel like the directing really comes together with the writing to to keep things going. Everything flows nicely and just fits, but not TOO logically or obviously, as JB said. It's in the foreshadowing and also the fresh turns along the way. I think we'll get a satisfying answer to the murder mystery, the loveline progression.. Speaking of which....

THEY ARE SO CUTE. The hugs, the soju 2.0, the photo-taking (him mirroring what she was asking the OTHER boys to do!), the hair cut, the BUS CHASE WITH THE AD. This drama takes your standard drama cliches and spins them into something funny and unique, this latest one was too sweet and adorable :D I have a feeling the *sparks erupting* from the hug at the end will lead to something other than a kiss or other expected romancing.... I cannot. wait. for tonight!!!

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Oh and there was a cute moment in the preview for ep5 that wasn't included in the ep... Yigak chasing after her and shouting her name in a less-than-dignified manner (why are you so cute like that?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8boUl5ShK9M&list=UUcOYEm78CpaZQvPE6LtoSeA&index=4&feature=plcp

(Seems like the scene where she waves them goodbye wasn't included too, hmm)

And I can't resist sharing, BTS for ep 3. Helium voice!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGGXIIZ8eng&feature=g-all-u&context=G2539abeFAAAAAAAAZAA

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I knew they were gonna end up in the trunk but then I still laugh so hard till my stomach hurts!!! soooo much fun to watch!!!

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thank you so much for getting the recap out this quick. sometimes i cant watch the dramas right away, but this satisfies that drama craze :) thank you!!!!

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I totally missed the height differential. I am going back and will look out for it, lol. Thank you so much for the recap! I'm totally loving this drama.

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OMG.. I have been laughing in my room So many times while reading your recaps... My family thinks I've gone crazy because I have music running and reading the recaps in silence..

I TOTALLY LOVE that they CANNOT part with their hair.. but at last they CUT IT!! Even though it was soo painful... but now i'm interested in the Yi Gak/Park Ha romance.. and how Yi Gak is going to play out and fool the family and solving the mystery... INTERESTING INTERESTING..

Thank you for posting a very well written recap of the episodes as always!! I also have to praise Yoochun and the other 3 for playing their characters soo well!! :)

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Thanks for the recap JB. I enjoyed the funny moments.

I find it interesting that they haven't made the long locks of hair gorgeous but the opposite.

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finallyyyy, they're long hair is gone and they look normal LOL

thanks for the recappp

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Thanks for the recap! Really loving this show, and so glad that it was really Yi-gak faking that he was the grandson and not the grandson's spirit. When the boys do the "rolling eyes into the head" faces, it just leaves me cracking up! Though if a phone hasn't been used for two years, would it still have battery life in there?

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gakkie & park-ha couple~ sweets!!

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Loving the drama sooo much that I actually read first the recap before I watch it!!hehehehe!

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Other things that might have been missed tortoise turning its head in the pond scene

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hahaha omg that scene totally spooked me out!!

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Thank JB. As always, you recap really enhances my viewing experience. I am loving how the drama tickles my funny bones and engages my inquiring mind.

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The thing that I enjoy the most, and is lost in translation, is how the boys tried to learn modern day speech etc. I hope that Yi Gak continues to speak in Joseon/king speech because I think that is part of his charm.
Sigh.
This is so funny! And I like how they don't, like you said, over-do things by blatantly saying "you're the smartest one manbo!" or stuff like that. We just watch him figure things out faster than everyone else.
So cute.
esp. the hair scene. It reminded me of that one Jackie Chan movie!

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I desperately WANT a radish-plushie-doll.

I'm serious....:) The one on the show looks like a baby seal with a leaf-sprout hat. ((((squishhhh)))

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Me too!! It always looks so squishy when parkha's holding it and petting it :D And did anyone notice how it stayed standing when parkha ran to meet her 4 men at the door? After her dilemma game with it... hehe

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yes i noticed too!!! ahh adorably cute, Mr. Radish Man!

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Me too *><* WAAAAAAAHH!!

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