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The King 2 Hearts: Episode 15

Just when you think the king is Gilligan, he turns out to be MacGyver. Yeesh, the things you gotta do to get engaged in this world. Remind me never to double down on war games to be with the one I love. Huh? Whadduya mean that’s crazy? IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

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King 2 Hearts OST – J. Min – “말 못하죠” (I Can’t Speak) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 15 RECAP

We backtrack a bit to our team after finding out that key-bearer Young-bae has been taken hostage. Jae-ha calls his general for options – if they can’t get off this island on that raft, what are the other ways to win the game?

The general names the options, all unlikely: full surrender by the opposing team, they “kill” every member on the other team, or get the rest of the U.S. team to switch sides on their leader in a coup de tat. Jae-ha says no, none of those.

The final one: destroy the other team’s equipment, cutting them off from supplies and all communication, leaving them incapacitated. That’s the one. Jae-ha hangs up and his team worries – real explosives? Hang-ah says they can’t, scared that people might get hurt, but Jae-ha says that’s why they have to make sure that no one does.

The plan is to set off a few bombs and then get the Americans to surrender. If they don’t? Then they blow every last bit of the U.S. bunker. They ask how they’re even going to make explosives anyway, and Jae-ha takes out his phone. All he needs is two of these.

Then we catch up to the end of the last episode, as Jae-ha sneaks onto the Americans’ base, and gets to work. In voiceover this time we hear his explanation to his team, that the upside of military service being compulsory is that you get all sorts – guys who make cell phones, video games.

And what did princey do in his spare time in the army? Why make bombs out of everyday things, of course. “Because I was bored.” Hahaha. I love that the explanation isn’t that he’s some genius, but that he spent his army days goofing off and doing things he wasn’t supposed to.

He sets up the first explosive and waits. Kang-seok draws two guys away, successfully killing one on a land mine. Dong-ha waits, and the guard watching Young-bae finally asks if that lighter he picked up is his. Young-bae takes a look, and sees “Yeom Dong-ha” carved into the side of the lighter.

He beams and calls out Dong-ha’s name, which is his cue to toss a smoke grenade into the room. Young-bae overtakes his guard.

Hang-ah gets into a firefight, and Not-Shi-kyung ends up dead, but she takes out one on the other team.

By nightfall, the Americans are down to three active men, and one taken hostage (Young-bae’s guard). Jae-ha sets up another explosive, but the clock is winding down on the whole game, and Dong-ha asks if they shouldn’t just ambush the other team.

Hang-ah says they can’t, ’cause that leaves Jae-ha alone to finish the job, clearly meaning, he couldn’t possibly, the wee tyke. Jae-ha just turns to her mid-bomb assembly, with the most hilarious silent you-did-not-just-patronize-me-like-that look on his face.

He radios Kang-seok to see if he’s holding up his end. Kang-seok is too busy making a run for it to answer, as he climbs a barbed wire fence to get away from the one American left on his tail.

But just as he reaches the top of the fence, he takes a bullet and his kill-meter beeps. He collapses to the ground in a heap, as the U.S. soldier takes out his first-aid kit (aw), and Kang-seok mutters with a laugh that it’ll take three hours for him to get back to the rest of his team. Ha. What an elaborate diversion.

They wait, but the two last holdouts on the American team refuse to budge from the bunker. Jae-ha tells Hang-ah to draw them out. She worries that there isn’t enough time, but he says with confidence, “We still have twenty minutes. We can do it.” Aw, you learned that from her.

Hang-ah calls the U.S. team leader (she speaks in Korean and he answers in English, but at least they have interpreters in earpieces, since it’s a game) and calls him out, as she walks the hostage toward them.

The leader leaves the boat keys with the last team member inside, and goes out to face Hang-ah without weapons, to negotiate. She asks why he’s here alone, nervous since this puts a big kink in her safety distraction plan, but Jae-ha gives them the go-ahead anyway.

Hang-ah panics, but keeps up negotiations, while Jae-ha sneaks up behind the bunker, calls to ignite the bomb, and gets the drop on the guy inside. He tells the guy to get away from the wall behind him, but he doesn’t listen, of course. Oh crap.

The bomb goes off, and the guy gets knocked down by the blast. Oh noes. Please don’t die. Please don’t die. Jae-ha runs over to make sure he’s okay, and breathes a sigh of relief. Phew.

But the explosion must’ve knocked out his radio, because it goes dead and he chucks it aside. Jae-ha snatches the boat keys and then immediately gets to work in rigging the last charge. He cuts the gas line on this one. Eep. Is that a good idea?

The U.S. team leader calls foul (they’re not allowed to bring real explosives) but Hang-ah points out the rule that they’re allowed to make use of whatever they find. He says it’s just a game, but it’s no game to her:

“It’s critical for us. The people we love are on the line. Have you ever been separated from your family? People with the same language, the same history, who lived together for thousands of years… in one moment, halved… have you ever been split like that? Losing parents, siblings, destroyed by a three-year war… have you ever had that happen to you? I don’t know if something like this is just a game to you, but it has always been critical for us.”

She tells him that their communications are out. She points out their armory, and presses a button on her phone. It blows. She says their headquarters are the last to go, and tells them to surrender. But they aren’t backing down.

She checks her watch nervously. Minutes till deadline. But there’s no answer from Jae-ha, and she doesn’t know if he’s had enough time to set the last charge.

Inside, Jae-ha works as fast as he can, sweat dripping, hands shaking so hard it turns me into a nervous wreck just to watch. Stop shaking while building explody things!

Hang-ah weighs her options. Another minute goes by.

Flashback to their initial conversation where she voiced her fears that the plan would be too risky. He tells her they can do it, and caresses her face, hugging her for reassurance.

He tells her that no matter what, they can’t go past eight o’clock, so even if the other team doesn’t surrender, she has to blow the charge before their time is up.

Back to Jae-ha wiring with trembling hands. Ohgodohgod, who knew bomb-building could be just as nerve-wracking as bomb-disabling? He barely finishes, and then struggles to drag the American out in time…

She looks down at her phone, and then gets ready to make the call. The U.S. team leader apparently has thrown all reason aside, because he declares that he doesn’t care whether his teammate LIVES OR DIES (uh… just going to assume you’re psyching her out, ’cause that’s just ridiculous) but warns her that Jae-ha will die too.

She hesitates. Back to flashback, where Jae-ha says to her, “I’m going to win. And I’m going to return and be engaged to you. If you feel the same way, then you press that button before eight o’clock. Trust me. And I’ll trust you.” A nice reversal of the last war games they played, where they did neither.

Holding her face, he asks her to promise—that if she loves him, she’ll push the button. Back to the present. Hang-ah puts her finger over the phone, with seconds left to spare. A tear rolls down her cheek, as she says, “I love Comrade Lee Jae-ha…” and she presses the button.

The call goes through, and the whole bunker goes up in a massive explosion. She screams for Jae-ha and goes running, and Dong-ha follows after her. He stops her from running right into the fire, and she screams and cries for Jae-ha, thinking the worst.

She wails, and then from the edge of the woods behind them, Jae-ha’s voice rings out, “You’re so loud!” Startled, they run over to the other side, and find him heaving on the ground, the American solider still unconscious, lying next to him.

Her tears turn from fear to ones of relief, and he gets up and smiles, joking, “Why are you crying? Did someone die?” She just keeps crying. He staggers to stand up, and then she finally walks toward him, collapsing into his chest with sobs.

He just hugs her tight as she cries and cries, and he laughs, “You can’t trust me, even till the end, can you?” I just love that she’s crying and he’s laughing. He holds her close, and from the distance, he and Dong-ha exchange smiles.

At the palace, Secretary Eun reports to Mom and Jae-shin that the WOC is currently weighing final verdict. Mom asks about the latest incident with Club M, and he says it’s taken care of. Jae-shin takes issue with his idea of problem solving, since it involves groveling to the enemy. You and me both, sister.

Mom tells her to apologize to Secretary Eun (as an elder), and she does, knowing that he did what was necessary. Well, necessary for the good of whom is questionable, but whatever. He adds that it was a good experience for his son as well.

She looks up, startled, “Eun Shi-kyung went there and apologized too?”

Shi-kyung goes for a run as the day’s events go swirling around in his head. Mia’s threats, her crimes, the fact that she enjoys watching Jae-shin suffer in terror… it sends him to the ground as he trips on a traffic cone.

He goes to put it back, and it suddenly opens the floodgates. He kicks and screams, boiling over with anger. He falls to his knees, fists balled up, as angry tears come pouring out.

And from the distance, Jae-shin sees it all, having come out to look for him. Oof, that breaks my heart even more. He lets one last tear fall, and she cries a tear to match his.

He gathers himself and goes back to being the pillar of strength, which I think breaks my heart most of all.

She calls him to the greenhouse later, and he comes in uniform. She asks if the man he met earlier today was the one who killed her brother, and agrees to return to therapy to regain her memories. But this time Shi-kyung tells her that she doesn’t have to.

Oh noes! Did it kill his spirit? Is he broken?

She looks up, surprised, “Have you given up on me?” He stammers no, but he’s clearly seeing things differently now. I’m terrified that this is the end to Shi-kyung’s innocence, but then Jae-shin switches gears: “I like you.” Er?

“The world’s most frustrating and un-fun, one leader of the royal guard… I like him.” He just gapes, mouth literally hanging open. She starts to get flustered and asks him to say something, so he tries to move his lips, but no sound comes out.

I seriously think he might cry. Or crap his pants. It’s fifty-fifty right now. He’s so nervous that he can barely speak, and finally manages to stammer that she must be having a really hard time, which can lead to psychological trauma. HA. You mean the only reason she could possibly like you is if she were damaged in the head?

She agrees that she is having a really hard time, which is why she kept wanting him by her side—by throwing tantrums, and picking fights, making jokes. “And then I realized… ah, I like this person. So don’t give up on me. I’ll be courageous like you. I’ll become a woman who befits you.” Awww. She asks him to standby and keep watch.

Meanwhile, it’s Day Three of limbo on Battleship Island, as both teams await the official decision from the WOC. The air is still tense between the two teams, despite the fact that they’ve had to bunk together, which the boys complain about, but Hang-ah points out is a given, since they’re the ones who blew up the other camp. Touché.

She decides to try and make the best of it, and gathers up the meat on their table. The boys panic—Not the meeeeeat!—but it works to break the ice, and they share their rations. The guy who tended to Kang-seok’s wounds tosses ointment at the back of his head, even eliciting a grumbly thank you from the giant.

Cut to Shi-kyung panicking, “The princess went where?” She went to go face the bad guy is where, as she watches Bong-gu’s speech at the peace convention with a glare. Bong-gu declares the monarchy of this country lacking, and the peninsula not yet ready for true peace.

He steps down from the stage, satisfied with himself, and then a special guest is announced: Lee Jae-shin. She comes to the stage and apologizes for her last appearance, making no excuses for herself.

She calls Bong-gu out on his words, for not separating personal feelings from a view of an entire country, and says that yes—they are a war-torn country, always preparing for the worst, every game a war game.

As she speaks, Shi-kyung races to the convention hall and bursts into the room, but finds that she’s poised and confident and speaking with ease. She says that what Bong-gu said is true about peace not dropping in out of the sky—that it has to be made little by little.

And with that she motions to her assistants, who take out a pair of crutches. And with their help, she rises from her chair and stands up. Not on her own – she’s wearing braces, essentially an entire suit from the waist down, but she’s holding herself up, even as her hands tremble.

She says that she can only stand for about ten minutes. “But someday I will stand. Our country is the same.” She says that every little step they’re making is for peace, and just as she needs this walking suit to stand, their country needs the rest of the world to help them achieve that peace.

And then she ends the same way she did with Shi-kyung, asking them to standby and keep watch, as she works hard. She bows. Shi-kyung wells up with emotion. The room applauds with a standing ovation, and Bong-gu fumes.

From the palace, Mom watches with tears in her eyes, “That’s my daughter.” Aw. Secretary Eun smiles.

The WOC panel debates the decision for three days straight, and then finally put it to a vote. Back on the island, the winners’ boat gets started up, and it’s Team Korea onboard. Whooo! Not that we ever thought they’d lose.

Jae-ha looks over at the Americans, waiting on the shore in defeat, and offers them a ride. Once they’re aboard, Hang-ah offers her Korean patch to the U.S. team leader and they trade patches with a handshake. Suddenly it’s like an end-of-summer-camp lovefest, and Kang-seok’s like, that’s enough of that mushy stuff, until he gets offered a trade too. Hee.

As they sail off, we get told that Team Korea bested Russia in Round 2, but lost to Egypt in Round 3, landing in fourth place at the end. They toast with the Americans at the end of the games, and give interviews, faces beaming.

Hang-ah gets asked about her engagement, and she stops mid-sentence, not knowing how to answer. She looks around… and then Jae-ha pops into frame, “Engaged? Of course we’re getting engaged. From now on, this is my fiancée.” Kang-seok pours champagne and the party rages on.

Bong-gu watches the broadcast with a smile on his face, and though his words are mocking, I’m pretty sure a part of him thinks that they’re friends. Seriously. Like the war game teams, except he’s too much of a sociopath to know the difference between that and real life.

He calls Shi-kyung and greets him with, “Hello, this is Rotten Cookies.” Pffft. Shi-kyung coldly asks how he got this number. Bong-gu asks, “What is it that you like about Lee Jae-ha?” Omg, is this a jealous why-don’t-you-love-me call?

“You know, he and I are the same. There’s hardly a difference. So why…” Shi-kyung just hangs up. HA.

He starts to save the number into his phone as “Rotten Cookies,” when Bong-gu calls again. Dude, take a hint. He already has a king he loves. Er, serves.

But he pleads with him to listen, and this time he asks, “Do you trust your father?” Oh NO. “Blind faith is poisonous you know…” Aaaargh, I’m so torn between wanting him to know the truth so he can right the wrongs, and wanting him to be protected from the truth about the father he keeps on that pedestal.

If he did say more, we don’t get to hear it. Next thing we know, Jae-ha gets a call from Secretary Eun, who’s on his way to meet him with Shi-kyung in tow. He says that Bong-gu has requested a meeting, and though Hang-ah protests, Jae-ha agrees to meet him.

Dad asks Shi-kyung why Bong-gu called him, and asks if there was anything else he said. Shi-kyung shrugs it off, though he’s clearly got a lot of new questions where Dad is concerned.

Bong-gu congratulates Jae-ha on the WOC, and then in a surprise move, he says that all this one-upping each other back and forth has run its course. He proposes that they stop now: “Let’s just say I’m sorry and end it.” Jae-ha sneers, “Say? You killed a man, and you want to say it’s like you’re sorry?”

Bong-gu says he lost a lot too, a hundred billion dollars to be exact, and figures that it’s a fair exchange—Jae-kang couldn’t possibly be worth that much, right? He says they’ll call it even then. Brother, hundred billion, they both lost, but it’s samesies.

Cookies, you are so off your rocker, it amazes me.

He says it dawned on him how alike they are, actually acknowledging that Jae-ha is on his level. He says that Jae-ha is the one who said in his present that he shot at his girlfriend too.

Jae-ha: “So you shot that woman too? So you could be like me?” Bong-gu counters that he’s actually a step above, since he used live rounds. Jae-ha nods calmly. “That’s true. You and I are only a hair different… But I know how to feel ashamed. I shouldn’t hurt the people around me. I shouldn’t have shot Hang-ah like that. At least I reflect on my actions. But what are you?”

Bong-gu laughs, taken aback. “Why are you being like this? You’re a philistine just like me.” Jae-ha says sure, but at least he has a conscience. But Bong-gu is nothing except himself.

“You eat when you want to eat, and crap when you when you want to crap. Haven’t you seen something that does the same? Oh it’s dog-pigs. They do that, right? They eat, crap, bite and tear each other apart anywhere. Without knowing shame.” [A dog-pig isn’t a real thing, but what you’d call someone who’s sub-human, a beast.]

Bong-gu asks if he’s really going to keep up the fight, and Jae-ha says he was going to let it go, but he Just. Can’t. Do it. Bong-gu asks, I swear with a touch of eagerness, if Jae-ha’s going to keep attacking the front line, but he says no: “I’m just going to ignore you.”

Hahaha. I love that Jae-ha can always read what Bong-gu wants him to say, and do the opposite. He says he doesn’t want to end up a dog-pig by association and laughs. Bong-gu seethes on the inside and then gets up to congratulate him on his engagement ceremony, and sticks out his hand for a shake. Jae-ha glares, thinking it a threat, and Bong-gu coos that he can rest easy, and turns to go.

But then… he has to scootch out sideways from the space between the chair and the coffee table, an inch at a time. Hahahahaha.

It’s time for the engagement and the guests file in as Dong-ha checks every single person and Shi-kyung does another sweep, warning the team to keep a watchful eye.

Jae-ha’s mom and Hang-ah’s dad sit up on the stage, and Kang-seok and Young-bae arrive in full uniform and sit down in the front row, all stiff and sticking out like sore thumbs. Aw. The whole family is here.

All except Jae-shin who’s hard at work in physical therapy. She’s got a long way to go, but she’s not giving up, and says to herself that she’ll make the wedding, no matter what.

Jae-ha and Hang-ah arrive in a convertible, waving to the crowd, and then Jae-ha waits on the stage.

Bong-gu plays with his tarot cards, tellingly still obsessed with the people who surround Jae-ha, and picks some ominous cards, or at least that’s what the music tells us, because I don’t read tarot.

Hang-ah comes out onto the stage and Jae-ha takes her by the hand.

Suddenly a familiar voice rings out. Omg, is that Jae-kang??

They turn to the giant monitor, and there’s Jae-kang, practicing for this very thing. The MC announces that the late king had recorded his rehearsals and that today he’ll be presiding over the engagement. Aw. Are you gonna make me cry?

Jae-ha gives Secretary Eun a grateful smile, knowing it was his doing. He bows his head with a smile. But just when I’m about to give the old man a point or two for this adorable stunt, he gets a call from Club M and leaves to take it. Urg.

Jae-kang presides over the engagement ceremony, which in Korea can be as elaborate as a second wedding, and given that they’re royals, it’s pretty much like a wedding-lite.

He asks them each to vow to uphold their duties to the country and to its people, and they answer yes. And then he asks them for one last promise, as a couple representing a union between North and South Koreas – will they do everything in their power to rid this country of war, and even in war, promise to stand united? They turn towards each other…

Back to Bong-gu, cackling at the Queen of Swords card. He picks another to turn over: the King of Swords. I’m just going to go out on a limb and say he’s happy ’cause it’s king, queen, and war.

Jae-ha and Hang-ah both give their promises. Jae-kang smiles. Waaaah, it’s like he’s smiling right at them!

They turn to the crowd, hand in hand.

 
COMMENTS

Damn, the things we had to endure to get the two of you ALMOST married. I hope having to win a war simulation to get engaged doesn’t mean they need to win a real war to get married. Why do I feel like I just jinxed that?

Frankly the main reason I’m glad they finally got engaged is that the last few episodes were sapped of a lot of tension, because once the couple confirmed their love, the WOC was the only thing standing in the way, and it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. So while there were interesting moments for our characters, there wasn’t a lot of forward movement. I’m much happier now that we’ve got that past us, and can go forward with new story points, because this drama is a lot better when we’ve got real world stakes against the monarchy rather than a war game situation.

I get what they’re trying to do with the WOC and what it means to have the couple fighting together successfully in a practice situation, but it’s just not as dramatically riveting as the actual threat and political strife between North and South, no matter how many homemade bombs you make. Sure it’s tense in the moment (and we got a great crying/laughing reunion in the rubble), but plotwise these last three episodes felt very much like treading over necessary but not new or interesting ground.

I’ll put up with a lot for the sake of the plot, but that was definitely the rough patch in the story. It’s possible that the execution left a lot to be desired, but even in the writing, despite some good character beats, overall it doesn’t hold a candle to their training days, Jae-kang’s death, Jae-ha’s kidnapping or crossing the DMZ for love. I know you can’t be epic for twenty episodes straight, but you can’t help but feel the downshift in momentum when it falls short.

Thankfully it’s behind us and I feel the upswing a-comin’ in a major way.

Though what we did get in the meantime I do appreciate: Jae-shin and Shi-kyung have made great strides, which is awesome to see, especially in watching Shi-kyung influence Jae-shin to stop feeling sorry for herself and take charge of her life. These royals sure do take their time growing up, but they make an impact when they do. I hope she can get it together and be a pillar for him to lean on, because he’s going to need it. Wah. If the mini breakdown today was just a taste, I don’t know how I’m going to handle it when the shit really hits the fan. For now, let’s enjoy the happy.

 
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Thank you!

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Thank you GF!
Off to read!

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Ok, I've got it why GF said the last three episodes has elt very much like treading over necessary but not new or interesting ground. Because in the earlier episode, we always get amazed by each turn the plot present, but not the last three. I understand. But still, I'm enjoying the last two too ( not yet watch this one, I admit)

But show!! How could you make me teary just from reading recaps? Stop building such briliant reflection conversation to keep my sanity please!! I have what you called after effect of crying you know, red swollen eyes, snorty nose, hoarse voice. I can't get rid of thoseee~tough I love it hiks.

The first line(oke it's LINES not line I know) which struck me is Hang Ah's:“It’s critical for us. The people we love are on the line. Have you ever been separated from your family? People with the same language, the same history, who lived together for thousands of years… in one moment, halved… have you ever been split like that? Losing parents, siblings, destroyed by a three-year war… have you ever had that happen to you? I don’t know if something like this is just a game to you, but it has always been critical for us.”
Those sentences just makes me realize how foolish a war is, it's separating one from the other under the umbrella reasoning of ideology, which sometimes most of us don't know WHAT. These lines struck me the most because who knows, in Korea (both of them, South and North), how many people feels te same? How many people hoping for a unity? This is briliant, really. Maybe because I was grown up in various background, I think a unity is the most anchor among all, and felt so touched with this sentence.

The next scene which make me awe is how Jae Ha acknowledge that he and Bong Gu is just A hair different. Despite the truth, it makes me respect Jae Ha more, because he knows and does not deny it. It reminds me that actually you can't avoid mistake, but the most important point in that is, how do you reflect after that, not just let it passed away and forgotten. I love how Jae ha is not just a reckless prince, but still reflecting by himself no matter how egoist he seem before. I just have one wish, please Jae Ha, turn those similarity into power, don't go berserk and being Bong Gu, with Hang Ah in your side, I believe you can.

And Jae Kang...how much I miss you? Just see you in the video is already make me teary eyed, can we have more scenes of you, please??

That's for now...gonna add something after watch! Aja!

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Those lines were brilliant and so true.

My eyes welled up too.

I think the worst part about the Korean War was that the people were just thrown into it. It wasn't even about the Koreans picking an ideology and fighting against each other.

The US and the Soviets decided to fight a proxy war, and people were separated from their families and their loved ones.

Thanks one again GF!

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Except now the masses on both sides have been inculcated with ideologies they won't easily relinquish. For some it's become a matter of PRINCIPLE and to a certain extent it's down to just plain stubbornness/maintaining the status quo.

Unfortunately, neither side (when thinking of both sides as nations, not as individuals) sees the situation at hand as something that's been thrust upon them. The conflict on the macro scale and the actual instigators are largely forgotten about because everybody's busy pointing the finger at who did what to whom, getting lost in the micro.

I'd say the biggest roadblock is that they see the division and can't see past it. It's all in the language-- there is US (woori) and then there is THEM (jaenae). In practice, this ends up with a lot of North Koreans who've defected to South Korea being treated as second class citizens (or often-times worse) by the very people who share the same rich culture and centuries long history before the blight of their respective Republics.

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HA's big speech about how the Americans will never understand how desperate and critical their situation is made me yell AMERICAN CIVIL WAR at the screen!

Then again, I don't suppose the North Korean schools have space in their curriculum to delve much into American history-- I imagine it's a lot of how great the Dear Leader is and how gloriousness of communism.

Now, just to shed some light on the public opinion in South Korea on reunification-- I am supposing it would depend largely on how the issue of reunification is framed and the way that question is posed. ie. If the question was worded such that exploited the importance Korean people place on blood ties and the ethnic bond between the two countries, anyone answering that question would most likely concede that reunification would be a good thing and the only answer. But if the question were to be posed on a purely objective way with all the socio-political implications that an actual reunification would bring to bear on South Korea, my guess would be that most people would answer that it would be too big a strain on their country and is unfeasible in the short to medium term. Plus, Koreans are historically divisive people to the point of belligerence-- just take a look at what happened to the Korean communities in both Japan and Russia. The in-fighting, prejudice and inevitable splintering of those groups should just about tell you everything you need to know.

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If you're bringing up the American Civil War, which had a completely different outcome from the Korean War (and in fact was about several Southern states WANTING secession from the United States) then you've kind of completely misunderstood what she's said.

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I think the only difference is that the American civil war *has* an outcome, as opposed to the Korean conflict which has always been at an uneasy stalemate. All civil wars are pretty much the same, especially when you have family fighting against family, brother pitted against brother. The fact that the Southern states wanted secession from the North does not change the fact that, at some point, they wanted to take over the Northern states as well- winner takes all.

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Well, the American civil war was in the 1860es, Korean was in the 50es so it's much more near in terms of being separated from families etc. (like... "my uncle is living in North Korea and I can't see him")
Even if they studied it (I did, and I'm italian and we have a lot of history to learn X°D maybe they also study it), I think HA meant that the consequences are still there and you can still fell them. The war is still very possible. The tension is still here, etc.

I don't want to criticize, it's just that I read it that way.

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This.

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Yes, I understood it to mean just that too but I was just pointing out that her accusation that America as a nation has NEVER known what it means to be separated by civil war was an inaccurate presumption on her part and perhaps highlighted her ignorance to American history. Many American families were indeed torn apart, they did feel the anxiety and tension borne of a national identity torn asunder, and everyone involved was playing with very high stakes.

Within the context of the storytelling in the drama, I fully understand the necessity for HA's soapbox monologue about the true cost/stakes of the Korean conflict. I agree that the the ACW has long been over and that its effects and consequences are now generally forgotten and largely irrelevant to the identity and daily life of the modern-day American (much unlike the on-going conflict for modern-day Koreans).

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I just want to say that you are correct about their civil war being much more relevant than America's, but that is not to say that there still aren't effects today. For some people living in the southern part of the United States, the Civil War is a very sensitive subject. There is a chance that you could get hurt if you bring up the fact the the Union won the war in the wrong place. I have actually felt such tension when I visited certain parts of the southern states. To them the war never ended. Of course this is nothing compared to the situation Korea is in currently. But I think that America should be credited with the ability to feel some empathy AND sympathy in this situation.

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That's how I read it as well. The American Civil War ended almost 150 years ago. The Korean War went into a cease-fire almost 60 years ago. 90 years is more than enough time for America's memory of pain, loss, and families being torn apart to be dulled, dimmed, and faded.

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HA’s big speech about how the Americans will never understand how desperate and critical their situation is made me yell AMERICAN CIVIL WAR at the screen!

I'm White and a Yank, and for my own part, I know in my neck of the woods, among people I know, the Civil War is something that happened several states south of here about 150 years ago we learned about in school. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, I'm sure it's a different story.

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Have you ever been separated from your family? People with the same language, the same history, who lived together for thousands of years… in one moment, halved… have you ever been split like that? Losing parents, siblings, destroyed by a three-year war… have you ever had that happen to you?

It happened to me...and don't wanna noone to happenn again. War are the stupid idea for everyone ;)

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You? What happened dear?

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I was 5 years old when war started. Luckly my parents are alive and my sister as well...but some of my friends and neighbors aren't. I had to live home for sometime,
and I finished 2 grades during war...I don't have to explain how was it during bombing...let's just said JH you haven't seen anything. Red cross and UNHCR helped as a lot...War stopped thanks to USA and EU.
20 years after..it doesn't make sense...we still all live in one country, breathe the same air, go to same scholls, work together...why war had to happened...still don't know.

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I'm sorry to heard that.

That just remind me to feel grateful to live in 'relatively peaceful' country, at least I never taste war til now (and I hope never). Can't imagine to get separated from your beloved, your insight make me teary eyed Mtoh :(
Let's make this into lesson for all of us, no matter what,the one who suffer the most in war is the people, no matter what. Let's hope war will never happen again, and by this, I mean in any side of the world *sincerely pray*

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@reglest: Thanks dear!

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yeah, that totally got me teary eyed!!

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oh yes! to me those were this best lines this episode.

you know what my fear is now? that Bong Gu will try to make Ja Ha tip over to become like him - by try to do so by taking the people Ja Ha loves away from him, hoping he will turn into a beast (recalling the movie Seven...).

Oh nos....! Letting my bad imagination run wild... i hope it doesn't come to this. =(

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I was thinking about that possibility too, now that I watched episode 16! :S I hope we're wrong.

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Don't think it'll happen since Jae-ha still has Shi Kyung by his side....who'll be his source of strength until the highnesses are back on home turf!

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true. the writer/s are amazing. the word wars between bong gu and JH are some of the scenes i'm looking forward to in every episode. this time it's " you're only you...you eat when you want to eat, you poop when you want to poop." JH you're such an smart ass.

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I've been waiting all day!. Thanks gf!

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Thanks for the recap! I was just refreshing to see your take on the scene where Jae Shin confesses. Woohoo!

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Thanks GF.

This week, I have practiced discipline. I will not read the recaps (only skimmed through GF's comments) and I will patiently wait on subs. :D

I...am....disciplined. I tell you, I am!

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Really???? *tickling Arhazivory*
Then I'll serve you so....kkkk~

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lol. Still didn't read it. I'm disciplined this week Reglest. :p

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Thanks for the recap.

I am glad I am not the only one who misses the gang from the training days.

Somehow I will always love the goofy Gilligan in the ruffled track suit more than the handsome king in the royal uniform.

Let's hope uniting against NOT-King Krazy pants will bring back some highs.

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Omo. I almost forgot about the ruffled tracksuit. I miss those days too but mainly cause Jae Kang was still alive.

Out of the Blue: Love how Hang Ah bawled like a baby when Jae Ha came out alive.
Shi Kyung is fine. Nuff said.
Anybody else diggin that collarish necklace Jae Shin had on at the peace conf.?
There's no sweat on Jae Shin's face even though her hair is wet.
That engagement/wedding dress is lovely. Fits Hang Ah style simple but elegant.

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Now I cannot see ruffles without thinking about Jae Ha's weird outfit =)

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"goofy Gilligan in the ruffled track suit"

ahhhh, the memory this elicits. I think the reason I really enjoyed JH joking about winning thru less than honourable means in Ep 14 was that it was good to see glimpses of our Jae-ha back! yunno, with-every-word-that-leaves-his-mouth-he-digs-his-grave-deeper Jae-ha!!

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Thank you for the recap! :)

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Kumawoyo, GF!

Woah! Love the ladies in TK2H, they’re not one to shy away about their feelings. I love how the second leads get to shine also. Also noticed how the tone of the scenes changes. For ex: When Jae Shin showed up unannounced her attire, make up says it all and even how composure she is and her speech was awesome. Oh my gosh, the look on our EarnesBot, the love and being proud of her. You go girl!
Regarding our AhHa couple, Wheeeeee am so proud them both fabulous and impressive and not to forget the rest of the team! Love that they do trust each other and the hug it’s always kills me. And to top it off they made friends at the end of the game. How ‘bout that? Thought it was pretty cool. Oh yeah, the engagement is on and the late King, awww got teary eyed when they showed him. Last but not the least, Jae Ha The King MacGyver!

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I love the way they filmed the scene before Jaeshin's grand entrance.

That look she had in her eye!

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Yup, the fierce look, love that!

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Woohoo! Thanks for the recap :)

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THANKS!

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Thanks Girlfriday! :)

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thanks for the recap GF!
love this episode to bits

*off to read*

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This drama's doing a fantastic job making use of the second leads. From Kang Seok the grumpy lovable giant learning to play nice with the other kids in the global sandbox; to Shi Kyung stepping all over Bonkers Bong Gu's ego to Jae Shin giving the same ego the proverbial kick in the love below, each of the side characters as really, really grown and in turn, grown on me. I found Jae Shin's confession (rawr! You go and get your man girl!) and subsequent speech very touching and powerful even in their simplicity. You can tell she has Jae-ha's fighting spirit and unwillingness to back down.

Not going to lie; I'm a wee bit scared for tomorrow. Those previews don't bode well for me heart or me tear ducts.

On a total side note can we please get Lee Seung Gi a role as a bad guy? My goodness this man's devious smile kills me; he'd make such a rawr! evil mastermind.

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Oh god, I'd so watch that- Lee Seunggi being a sexy evil mastermind...

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just love Jae Ha's 'drop your gun' action sequence...

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yea, love that scene too

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I LOVE that too in K2H !! How the side characters aren't just there like trees in the background! I loved seeing Kang Seok and Young Bae in the WOC arc... I will be sad to see them go, but maybe they can help JH save his queen and his mother.. Seeing today's preview, I'm already nervous!!! Gaaah LOVE this drama!! Daebak!! :)

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Yes, totally agree! The emotional complexity and continued development of the supporting characters is one of the many strengths of this show. The sophistication of the writing blows me away every week and at this point I trust that they will not to let me down with a weak-sauce ending with the K-drama cliches and loose ends.

SPEAKING OF SLOPPY WRITING...the Hong sisters can definitely learn a lot from these writers. I hope that they're watching and taking notes for their upcoming project! (Yes, I'm talking about Big with Gong Yoo). They're good at what they do but they've become very set in their ways with their little formulas and old stand-by tropes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever noticed how one-dimensional and lazily written their supporting characters always are. They are usually a team of two, male and female, and largely forgettable. They get so much screen time but end up being completely inconsequential and are there only to serve as convenient crutches to push the plot along in unnatural and inorganic ways. (I'm looking at the high school friends that eventually got married in Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang, the model brother and hairdresser sister in My Girl, the daughter of the director and the wannabe director in Gumiho, the manager and the stylist in YAB, and were we supposed to care about the parasite dad and the shallow doctor's mother in Best Love???). Majorly off topic but I had to get it off my chest. Phew!

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"Lee Seung Gi a role as a bad guy? My goodness this man’s devious smile kills me; he’d make such a rawr! evil mastermind."

I say yayyy to this! Who knew Seung-gi had one of the sexiest devilish smiles in K-ent?! The boy from MGIAG and BL!! HAAAA!!

I'm pretty sure he'll be busy with his singing career after he wraps up TK2H, concert in Japan, and he'll prolly get a nice breather from work when he's the torchbearer at the London Olympics!! Wonder what his next acting project will be?

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Heard our boy's so hardworking he's been practicing his singing in between his shoots!

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I swore that I am not going to follow ANY drama live after this one is done! It's just too grueling, both mentally and physically. But, if Seung Gi has another drama...

Oh well, I am sure by then I will be fit and lean and hungry again!

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I couldn't agree more with you. Usually there's an emotional disconnect for me waiting b/w episodes. So, it's a feat that I'm still as invested after Ep 16 as I was during Ep 6. But, to experience a drama this good 'live' with an online community is awesome. Imagine if you'd have watched this after it aired. You wouldn't be able to spazz at the little moments. So pros and cons watching it 'live'.

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Agree wholeheartedly! Other than the clunky acting from the foreigners, the script, the main and side characters are all daebak!

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I have said the same thing! LSG as an evil second lead? The smile, the facial features! He would do evil SO WELL!!

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Thanks GF! This episode was much better then the last one and moved things along nicely. I'm worried about the poor little Bot. It's going to break him when he realizes what his daddy is, and that's going to break me. Let's just hope the Jae Shin is ready to be awesome and help him deal.

Speaking of awesome, our King was certainly that this episode. It was so great to see him use his knowledge for the good of the team and of course to get his girl. The scene where he held her while she cried was adorable. He was so happy and she was so relieved.

Loved his conversation with king crazy. He really does have that man's number. And as much as we've all compared Jae Ha and Bong Gu on the comment threads it was nice to see the drama make the same connection. And to make the obvious point about what it is that makes them different.

The engagement was beautiful. Loved that Big Brother was there to give his blessing. And Hang Ah looked beautiful and they were both so happy. I know it's the calm before the storm, but I'm going to savor it. I think things are going to get tense from here on out.

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I found the theme park backdrop to the engagement a little distracting. The roller coaster in the background overshadowed the romantic edge for me. I guess I need to tone down my attention to detail a wee bit.

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Gosh, I did not even see the roller coaster. Now I will have to go back and look!

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I agree. I thought it was a wee bit odd having the engagement in a theme park. It's like watching Kate and William get married in the London Eye.

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Thank you for the recap!

I'm back to loving this show after having a couple of doubts. Hope it keeps up the momentum.

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thank you..I'm always waiting this... :D

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thank you thank you ~~~~~ <3

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This show is so addictive. I can't wait for tomorrows episode!!

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Thankyou for recap! Awsome episode. Can't wait until the next one where hang ah can kick some baddies asses@ :D

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Thanks for the recap, GF!

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I love this episode. Ha ji won looks beautiful in that simple and elegant gown. Not everyone can look good in that simple gown.Her back and arms look great. Anticipating the next episode. I started watching live streaming even though i have to wake up early[in states].

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darn! every episode of tk2h is just so effing good. men, there never is a lull moment. your recap is always my savior (coz i don't quite understand korean) whenever i'm itching so much to watch the latest episode. i really can't control and discipline myself, every week i will tell myself to NOT READ THE RECAP! but i still did it every time. :) sarang sarang sarang for shi-kyung.

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wow wow wow thanks!

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Sooo... does anyone know what the tarot cards mean, by any chance?

Thanks for the recap!

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Swords

The king and queen of swords pretty much symbolize JH and HA *I think*...except that a more detailed description of the King of swords on some random internet sites make it sound more like SK than JH.

The first card was 5 of cups, which doesn't really mean anything to me. I think Bong Gu just went nuts and wanted some nutty self-entertainment before he plotted on HA.

Just my take. I totally went to google the tarot after that scene.

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On second thoughts, it might be symbolic that Bong Gu was drawing from a suit of swords and cups. Wikipedia says swords symbolize the military while cups (also known as hearts) symbolize emotion/love. Which is pretty much the plot of TK2H...

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The first Tarot card which floats and BG grabbed is the The Five of Cups..--The Five of Cups speaks of loss. It appears at those times when we have to say goodbye to something in our lives and cannot cope with the empty feeling this leaves behind. The reason loss feels painful is because we want to hold on to possessions, people, jobs etc. When the time comes to let go we struggle to disassociate ourselves from these things and therefore a part of us feels empty when they’re gone.

Then he open a card with the five of cups underneath which is the Queen of Swords that would likely represent Hang Ah.-- not a good sign >,<

With the Queen of Swords he open another card which is the King of Swords (Lee Jae Ha)..

.. when I searched the meaning of the card, i am bothered especially with the five of cups which means ending relationships/loss.. But i am at ease since one of the counterpart of this card to be defeated is LOVE.. hihi.. AhHa couple definitely/ must win through the end.. sniff.. keke

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Thanks for the info! because of the previews, it makes me wonder if some of the "loss/disappointment" has to do with Shi-kyung's father, the Secretary

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Thanks GF! yay! finally some Shi-kyung & Jae Shin love. ^__^

And yay for the engagement! :)

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frankly I will just have watch the rest of the drama for Hang-ah's sake as after setting up that girl's death and with all the rest of Jae-ha bullsh*t over the course of the drama I can not bring myself to like him or even really sympathise with him to any great extent. So Bong-gu murders people for money and kicks and Jae-ha does so for revenge and 'love', [though at lest Bong-gu can do his own killing], it makes no mind to me, dead is dead and that girl had a family too, who gives them revenge? It odd how one theme in a drama can kill it for you sometimes, for me this one just too big to let slide.

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Before I go off to read, I just have to shout: This episode is DAEBAK!! Gosh for some reason I love love this episode I don't even know why. Alright maybe I do, sooo many great scenes in this episode!! The Ah-Ha hug is daebak (HJW's crying scene before that, that was really great I thought), JS's speech and queen mother's reaction to that (awww), the partial engagement scene (makes me really nervous and excited at the same time, don't know what Bong Gu's going to do, those tarot cards yikes!), and I like the WOC too haha I like me some cute CS action. Then there's the preview omfg!!! please please don't let anything happen to hang-ah or queen mother ;_;

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Yay for the second leads in this ep.
We get to see earnest in his first ever emotional outburst.
The guy is usually sincere and calm, so it's nice we got to see this vulnerable side of him.
If i felt for him here, i can't even imagine how i'll feel when he finds out what his daddio's been up to.
I love how princess was so straight forward about her feelings for earnest, and his really cute/awkward/surprised reaction was so adorbs for me. Yay for straight-forward royals. They might be lacking in some areas, but trust that they'll tell it like it is.
I think when she stood on the stage and said that she'll work hard with the people, i knew from Shi Kyung's face that he really fell in love with her right then and there. they're just so perfect for each other.

The WOC -- well, GF just basically put all my thoughts into words.
I'm just glad that we can move along, because i want to get back to the bong gu v ___ showdowns.
Those are the best.

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And Kang Seok, you have redeemed yourself.
You had me all giggles laughs in this episode

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that "thank you" was kinda sweet *given that it came from him*

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Basically I understand why OC seem like letdown, because it's existence doesn't serve much plot of the drama...
But mangoes..I'll miss Kang Seok and young Bae after this, can't we have them back for day saving please??

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Omg. I'll miss them too.
perhaps they can all come to the palace and serve as royal guards.
Yeah? :D That way we can have all of em around~

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hmm, I liked the WOC bit in this episode a lot more...perhaps because it had an underlying emotional urgency?!

From the EP 16 preview it looks like JH and SK will have their first tiff....ickk!

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Jae-kang presiding over the engagement was so heartwarming... I miss him!!!
He was saying the lines as if he hears them say yes to the promises.

I love the camaraderie they earned afte the WOC, even grumpy Kang-seok earned a friend.

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Yes, that's totally touching. And unexpected. He's like the proud father. Ah, dear Jae Kang, really miss you.

And the drama did a wonderful job juxtaposing Jae Kang (and what he represents) versus Club M's lost profits because of the non-conflict. Every conversation Jae Ha has with Bong Gu just further clarifies what is at stake and the two are fighting for.

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thanks GF

wow another awesome episode, Lee Seung gi why are you so hot in combat uniform wow im drooling over you,totally you are so manly and handsome, you have my heart now.

I loved the way how our OTP hugged each other after the explosion it feels like they are hugging each other not as HA and JH but HJW and LSG can you two please date in real life forget about the big age gap,and in the previous interviews of HJW in FO she dont mind if she dates younger guys as long as she likes him too,so Seunggi make a move now hehehe.cant wait for tonight's epi 16.K2h fighting

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Finally, they got engaged! Jae Kang being there via video was a nice touch. Cried buckets when the former King and his wife got murdered. Now, can't wait for Hang-ah to kick some of John Mayer's cujones. As the new King and Queen, they have to watch their backs from Mr.Wacko.

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What's wrong Bong gu? Suddenly you realize you're crazy and want to give up after all you've gone through? Surely, you must have no more confidence.
haha but i LOVE that lately NO ONE is satisfying Bong Gu.
It's like he's a kid totally being denied of his sweets.
Princess confidently delivers her speech in that epic stand on crutches scene.
Earnest calls him rotten cookies even though he wants to be liked as much as Jae Ha.
And Jae Ha, your composure like that in front of a man we all know killed your brother -- man.
Jae Ha, you are not without your imperfections but surely, you are one kick.ass.hero.
Dramaland i want moar of these types. thankyou.

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BG is soo crazy obsessed with the two men! hahaaa

It's a joy to watch him being thwarted at his game by Jae-ha and SK!! LOVE IT!!

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I think Bong Gu has crush on JH...

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I think Bong Gu *wishes* he were JH

I'd say his man-crush is actually on Shi-Kyung!

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His greatest tragedy currently is not that he does not get to be King but that he wants a bromance like Jae Ha and Shi Kyung's and instead he gets gopher.

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"But then… he has to scootch out sideways from the space between the chair and the coffee table, an inch at a time. Hahahahaha. "

I noticed that too and I was laughing so hard. LOL. What a very "uncool" way to exit.

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I noticed that too! It was a really funny touch.

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I just wondered if they both had to inch in like that before their dramatic conversation. Like... what an ego squasher that'd be? lol

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and i'm imagining it right now. LOL. it's a good thing that they did not include that one or else the tension between them will go flat to me. can i call it "crabby exit"? LOL.

or would it be awesome if they exit together like that going in the opposite direction while staring at each other? ^_^

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LOL picturing your last sentence!

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hahaha i just spit all over myself when i read your comment. hahahahha

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Him scootching out sideways made his verbal defeat at the hands of JH so much sweeter!!

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this.. show is such a roller coaster.... i half expected Jae ha to accept Bong gu's peace offer.. and suddenly the drama turns into a romantic comedy like "my princess" or something

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rofl your comment made me laugh (in a good way!). I had a mental image of HA storming to her room and JH knocking on her door to ask her, "Must you be North Korean? Will you die if you convert your citizenship? Can you not be North Korean...and just be my woman?"

Yes I am insane. I still remember that scene.

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@random person: loved your tk2h/my princess mashup!

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This episode is much better than the last one. The highlight of this episode:

- Hang Ah believed in Jae Ha and pressed the button even though she knew Jae Ha might die in the explosion (this led me to believe that Ah-Ha couple have sorted out their trust issue and together they can fight Bong Goo & BonBon together)
- Hang Ah's tears & screams as she's so scared she might lost Jae Ha during that explosion :(
- Princess Jae Shin's courageous determination that one day she will be able to stand again and regain her memory. And she's so brave to confess to Earnest Bot that she likes him. Girl's power! I love the women in this drama, they're all fighters and so courageous!
- Shi Kyung broke down in tears broke my heart. I hope Princess Jae Shin, King Jae Ha, Hang Ah & the Royal Family will support him when he knows the truth; as he has fully supported and believed in King Jae Ha & Princess Jae Shin. Hope they won't turn against him because the bad guy is his father, not him.
- Queen mother's happy tears during his daughter's speech & at the engagement party
- And of course the engagement... It's a really nice & sweet touch that Jae Kang was the one who officiated the engagement, it's bittersweet but so glad that two of Jae Kang's wishes r fulfilled (the WOC and Jae Ha's & Hang Ah's engagement)

So scared for tonight's episode though.

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I think Jae-shin seeing Shi-Kyung's tormented tears will help them continue to heal. I cannot imagine her turning away from him after witnessing that. At first, I thought that was a possibility until I watched that scene.

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Thanks for the recap though i am planning to watch first the episode with english sub first then read the recap nyahahaha can't wait for more

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I loved the "she's my daughter" moment from the queen. Straight up proud mom.

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With you.
You can totally see how proud she was in princess.
Those eyes, facial expression.
What an awesome mommy.

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I was barely holding it in during Jae Shin;s speech and when they panned to her mother in tears, saying "That's my daughter ..." awwwww!

So darn proud and in awe of Jae Shin this episode. Especially when she said she wanted to be a woman of worthy of Shi Kyung. You just wanna hug her and tell her the boy be thinking she's so worthy, he be scared shitless.

The Royal Family ... why so cool?

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Thank you for the recaps, GF.

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I stopped reading the mo i saw Shi-kyung cryin. WAEEE are you crying baby? Ah, my heart bleeds when i see you in pain. *dramatic flailing*. Jo jung suk has not failed me, so far so good. If he keeps this up, we may as well have him as a benchmark for all supporting actors in a drama series. I LURV ME SOME JO JUNG SUK :3

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So is he no longer the Earnest Bot, since he went and got an emotions chip? And Seriously JM wants to be his friend so badly, taking a nickname for himself, calling him...

This cat and mouse game with the royal family is his social life, its sort of pathetic.

And go Jae Shin!! This princess seriously rocks. Plus she looked amazing in that scene leading up to her speech.

And yeah, JM is all excited about taking on the 'Queen of Swords' but dude... she is like a Buffy-Ninja, I think he is going to seriously underestimate her. (As in, I hope he does, because I love it when she busts out the whoppin')

Hate the Americans a little less in this episode, so that was nice. Their General probably should be demoted (For his doofy hair cut alone).

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I think the only thing that will hold her back is the Queen Mother. She will be super concerned for her safety.

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You know this drama is good when completely unprompted, the discussion with work mates over lunch turns to how awesome 'The King 2 Hearts' is, and how hot Lee Seunggi has become (I work with a bunch of Korean girls/women and I had no idea any of them have been watching this drama until today).

I just spent the last half hour listening to them fan girl: "Lee Seunggi nomu moshiso!" (Lee Seunggi is really impressive/great). It was that and a lot of squeeing over the proposal scene. I felt vindicated to hear someone else say they couldn't decide whether to watch the new episode or sleep last night.

Even my mother has gone nuts over this drama, she called me last night to demand I see her today to give her the new episode.

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I'm so jealous. You get to talk talk with co-workers about your kdrama.

My people just smile at me with benevolent amusement.

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awww i talk AT my coworkers about k dramas and they just stare at me....like 'here she goes again with the koreans'....i am jealous too.

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Please share the Seung-gi fangirling?! Did all of you start AT.THE.SAME.TIME?! hahaaa

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@manelbrotr Yes, I get the same treatment from my friends! But I'm going to sit them down make them watch until they fangirl with me, but that's another story...

Saima- one girl was complaining that she was dying to get home to watch the new episode she was downloading, and then after finding out it was K2H all of us chimed in to talk about how exciting the drama was. STRAIGHT after that came the squeeing over Seunggi.
"He's so hot!"
"He has such a nice body!"
"You could tell he had a nice body on 1n2d!"
"When did he become such a good actor?!" *much talking about his acting being good.
"What year was he born?" (since Koreans seemingly HAVE to know everyone's respective ages).
"He's an early 1987" - to which half the table were like "oh, maybe that's too young for us" as if that were the only thing keeping them apart from Seunggi (we range from about 22 - 29yrs old).
The conversation weirdly turned to his younger sister: "Apparently he has a younger sister."
"Oh she's so lucky!"
Then there was about 10 mins of conversation about the proposal scene: "He said he'd kiss her everyday for revenge! I want him to say that to me!!" To which someone was like "you have a boyfriend who could say that you", and her classic reply: "It's not the same".
Oh, and then we squealed over Shikyung - it was pretty much the same conversation.

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Awwww. I'm jealous, too. :)

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I was jealous, too, until I realized that if I had people at work who liked kdrama, I would probably never get anything done. Then I would be fired. Then I would not be able to pay for internet. Then I would not be able to watch kdrama. Then I would be committed to some sort of institution.

Oh the downward spiral!!!

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Hi Jenlikeskettlecorn,

Thank you for sharing this conversation and the details of it. It made me laugh out loud. I especially liked the bit about the woman who said she wanted LSG to tell her that he would kiss her everyday for revenge and upon being told "you have a boyfriend who could say that to you," her classic reply was "It's not the same :-)" I literally LOL'ed at that comment. Ah, the power of LSG, soooo funny!!! You are so lucky to be working with colleagues with whom you can talk about the dramas you are currently watching. I LOVED that the same thing happened during the conversation about Shi Kyung.

Is work a little more fun now, for you? (since you get to talk about Kdramas during lunchtime?)

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Hehe. I don't have as much people to share my K2H addition with, but the most important is the one that truly understands me the most : My best friend.
It feels so good to let out all of this!
I mean we're letting it out via typing but that surely is not the same as letting it out verbally.
Hope more and more people join in on the k-drama watching boat. haha.

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Yes, I have one co-worker, Chinese who watches it the day after I do. I talked her into watching it last week as she usually watches Japanese and Taiwanese dramas more often. Imagine my surprise when she had marathon watched all of the available episodes and is as hooked as me!

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i love this episode again...actually i love it all haha!!!

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I hope that the ratings of king 2hearts will rise again above it's competitors TK2H fighting!!!

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TV ratings not so good (AGB and TNS)... think it was either 2nd or 3rd but internet live streaming was daebak at 31.5%!!

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Holy crud how is it that online streaming gets higher and higher and yet viewers gets lower?
Seriously.
if there wasn't so much competition fighting sibs/mom/dad/grandma for the remote it's likely ratings would be so much higher.
But, the drama makes me happy, and that's what's most important

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Thanks so much for the recap!

When Hang Ah talked about they could not possibly leave the helpless kid to fend for himself, the kid in question turned and looked, cocked headed because he had to clutch a flashlight with his chin, straight at her. You kidding me? YOU KIDDING ME!? Hahaha!

I was telling Jae Ha the whole time, don't shake, calm down. And don't slip your fingers!

When Hang Ah just could not stop crying and buried her head in Jae Ha's chest, I thought about the last really heartbreaking cry she had she was doing the same thing to her father's chest/shoulder. HJW is just amazing!

And I was so glad you caught the awkward and funny moment when Bong Gu inched and side-stepped his way out of the furniture!

Finally for now, go, princess, go! I know you can do it. Fighting!

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haha, that flashlight moment cracked me up too! and the way HA just went softer after seeing JH's gaze.. haha really love it.

oh and HJW is totally an expert-in-heartbreaking-cry. totally daebak.

by the way, did you notice how sweet shi kyung's reaction in the greenhouse was? the way he cleared his throat before talking to the princess *because before that his voice was trembling, if I'm not mistaken*? that was an 'aww' moment for me

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That was lovely played. It's easier to go all emo-out but to show surprise convincingly and to show restraint yet not quite totally concealed...Wonderful acting.

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He's a fantastic actor! Haven't seen such remarkable acting for a long time. It's the little gestures and movements that make his acting so real. he should have a lead role.
Queen mother is also great.

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I did not realize he was a stage actor until someone posted a link. I would believe being in musicals would require you to bring in your audience through facial features and mannerism. He is very, very good at it!

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I love the king's expression when Hang -ah said immature or the kid to fend for himself. It's priceless.That's why I love k2h.Such witty remark

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After Jae Ha's incredulous stare, Hang Ah said soothingly, now, now, just take your time and continue the good work. Mind you, she's talking to the king who is in the process of assembly a bomb! This couple just kills me.

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Just listened to TK2H OST (releasing on May 23)!! Spectacular and tremendously beautiful!! Whilst listening to a few instrumentals (The King’s Love and Emotion, HangAh's dream, Sad Sky, & Painful Love) I cried....i did! and smiled through my tears when listening to Grease and Lazy (which played during Prince Jae-ha's playful with nary a responsibility days). Listening to this OST evoked the same emotions that watching this series has been. Oh boy!! It's guaranteed that I'll be a wreck when this drama ends!! Let's hope it ends on a series high, eh?!!

I thought the viki subbers wouldn't be subbing until next week. *facepalm* Decided to check in only to realize that it's at 95%!! gahhhhhhh....

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For those who want to listen to the OST:

http://tryp96.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/the-king-2hearts-ost/

<3

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The instrumental pieces are all so awesome, especially track # 9... which is now the ringtone for my iPhone :)

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really? woww... i'm always into instrumental pieces! can't wait to listen to them!

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@ Saima

Thanks for sharing! This will tide me over until the OST comes out. Gaahhh. I love the instrumental pieces! Track# 8 (King's Love and Emotion) is so beautiful it's making me cry. *sniff*

And you're not the only one who's gonna be a wreck when this drama ends. I know I'm gonna be so depressed when that time comes.

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Can anyone shed some light as to why SG is not singing any of the OSTs?

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Apparently some fans are thinking TK2H will pull a MGIAG and surprise the viewers. There may be a possibility since the OST will officially release on May 23! I'm not pinning my hopes on it though! :/

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@Saima, thank you for sharing. So far, I love all the instrumental and no. 2., am still checking it out.

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The music is very beautiful, it's not a distinct one like RP BGM which you know by it's characteristic, but it's conveying feelings all over ^^

Btw, Anyone else realize that the OST isn't complete (yet)?
I don't hear the music played when Hang Ah is back to Korea...please correct me if you recognize that!

I hope they'll release the VERY full OST like TMETS (plus Seung Gi and Jo Jung Sok singing in there please!)

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@girlfriday

The Tarot Cards drawn in order:

The Five of Cups - Upright

A need to re-order and re-evaluate priorities. Union and espousal. Dishonour that cannot be overcome, loss defeat. There is a need to curb futile belligerence and accept the inevitable. Worry and regret, broken engagements and emotional letdowns. Emotional or monetary legacies

Queen of Swords - Upright

A complex, courageous, intelligent woman, who may well have suffered some deep sorrow or loss. She is concerned with attention to accuracy and detail and can skillfully balance opposing factions to meet her own needs. She has attained inner wisdom and a sense of truth. The cards is one for women who have overcome adversity especially at the hands of men, to obtain a state of grace. The ability of women.

King of Swords - Upright

Upright - This king is certainly a ruler. This man is a law-maker, someone with a rational, alert and inventive mind. An advocate of law and order, and modernity to the expense of tradition. He has a tendency to be somewhat overcautious and leaves on project quickly to star on another. A man of independent judgment and an achiever in what he does.

Not to be taken too literal as apparently it takes years for one to be able to interpret it accurately, but as the person who came up with the idea of putting these cards in this sequence might not know about that then this would be what you'd have to go on.

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Seemed to be Queen of Swords is both Kim Hang Ah and the Queen Dowager.

King of Swords is more of the style of Jae Ha.

Five of cups, to me more indicates Bong Gu... though I think the first layer of meaning isn't supposed to be that way and Bong Gu won't read it that way.

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Gee, the things I learn from watching this show!

Thanks so much!

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Oh thank you so much.

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Ah~ I want to know which deck of Tarot cards they used. I'd like to buy them.

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ke, tarot product placement :)

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LOLs...again?? I've lost count of how many PPL in this drama already

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Hey RTP has the radish doll... and the amusement park too. They gotta pay the bills somehow.

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I don't mind though, we know this drama is highly budget, they need to cover that ^^

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GF"Cookies, you are so off your rocker, it amazes me."

Lol

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Jae-ha’s kidnapping?? When was Jae-ha kidnapped?

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Episode 12!!

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Yet another episode that sped my 1 hour away...

My personal feeling is that knowing the engagement IS going to happen took away a lot of suspense. This episode still surprised me in many many ways but if I didn't know for sure that the engagement was going to happen...I would probably get a heart attack during the woc scenes, at least until their win was confirmed.

That said, the writer/PD has a knack for putting together iconic scenes, such as JS giving that speech and standing with the help of crutches, SK's teary reaction to JS's confession, JH's rejection of Bong Gu's 'peace' offer etc.

Each episode is so rewarding...my attention just never strays. And I so badly want JH to win and get his happily ever after, except that I think the writer is too realistic for that so I'm living in dread that someone might get hurt/killed/destroyed in some way that makes JH's eventual victory bittersweet.

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Yea, based on their previous works..the writers tend to make the ending is somewhat realistic, mostly open ending (Damo, Beethoven Virus)

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I agree, knowing that the engagement will happen took put some wind from the last 2 episodes. Wish I kept away from spoilers but I just couldn't resist.

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Regarding your last sentence I would like to cite girlfriday at her recap of "City Hunter" episode 19 about the death of Young Ju:

"I can’t believe it. It kills me, but in the best way possible. I mean, he was maybe the ONE character I didn’t want to see die under any circumstance… which is what makes it PERFECT. It’s the death that gets me in the gut, and rips out my insides. I have such a love-hate relationship with a show that does that. Respect, but angry bitter respect. Like it knows exactly whom I love and then kills him bloody. Gah."

She got it to the heart of it. That's exactly what get's me the most at Korean dramas.

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