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Dr. Jin: Episode 10

No royal birthday is ever a normal affair, and this one comes chock to the brim with assassination attempts, confrontations, poisoning, your normal share of political maneuvering, and the biggest clown car operating room we’ve seen yet. In short, there’s fun to be had.

I liked this episode because of all the forward movement it allowed our characters, and disliked it for all the basic production problems it could do without, if only a little schooling or manual-reading were involved. Heck, I’m ready to mail a copy of Directing for Dummies at this point.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

Young-rae’s mom is suffering from a nervous system disease caused by a lack of vitamin B1, which Hyuk notes as potentially life-threatening (in his Disease Facts voiceover), though she refuses to accept his treatment or see her daughter.

The Queen Dowager’s birthday bash is a sore subject for Minister Kim, who wonders what Ha-eung’s true motivations are in throwing it for her. He resolves to stop the banquet at all costs, and headlines an official protest to the Queen Dowager, citing that in these tumultuous times (ailing king, poor citizens), rubbing a luxurious banquet in the people’s faces will only incur their wrath.

Minister Kim veils his agenda under a layer of false concern for her well-being, and the Queen Dowager is wise enough to politics at this point to laugh openly at his antics. She calls him out for wielding absolute power over the Court, until one of the ministers pipes up that the King declared that he would follow the Court’s opinion – and judging by the number of Court members protesting outside, this news doesn’t bode well for her.

Remembering how his father scolded him for going to school and educating himself, Myeong-bok begs for his father’s forgiveness when he’s caught red-handed with more books. Only this time Ha-eung doesn’t scold him, and even hands him a book – the Zizhi Tongjan, a Chinese historical magnum opus normally reserved for kingly reading – with the instructions that he’s to study now more than ever and mind his manners. Ha-eung: “Soon, you will meet with the highest elder.”

Hyuk and Heo Gwang discuss Mom’s diagnosis and prognosis, both of them knowing that the cure would be for her to eat foods rich in vitamin B1 (Heo Gwang doesn’t know what a “vitamin” is but he knows how to treat the disease all the same), only she won’t eat, which makes things a little more difficult.

Young-rae overhears their conversation and goes to a pray at a secluded house functioning as a makeshift Catholic Church, presided over by a Western priest. One of the worshippers inside turns out to be Ha-eung’s wife, which is such a cool twist (in theory), knowing Ha-eung’s history-to-be of Catholic persecution.

Ha-eung decides to play a dangerous game by interrupting a Council of Evil meeting in the gibang under the excuse of asking Minister Kim why he’d want to kill him, a mere pitiful relative of the king – one of the assassins named Dae-gyun as the plot’s conspirator, after all. Dae-gyun’s poker face is nowhere near his father’s, because anyone who’d look at him would know he’s guilty as all get-out.

As soon as Minister Kim denies it, Ha-eung acts so relieved, because that means they’ll have to catch the culprit responsible for such a punishable felony. I love what a veiled threat that is, and that Ha-eung tosses out afterward, By the way, I’m so very glad you’ll let me continue on with the banquet and reverse your decision. Cheers! If I said this man was born for politics, that’d be a little redundant, wouldn’t it?

Back at Hwalinseo, Hyuk and Young-rae try to devise a method to get her mother to eat the vitamins she needs, and upon hearing that Mom likes sweet things, Hyuk is instantly reminded of a donut-shaped treat he’d once made with Mina.

They have a donut-making montage intercut with Hyuk making donuts in the present, and they’re a hit amongst the staff. When Young-rae asks what it’s called, Hyuk answers frankly, “A donut.” Ha. I love it when he doesn’t bother to rename things for historical preservation. Go big or go home, right?

Kyung-tak upstages his kelp-for-brains brother as far as Ha-eung’s assassination plot is concerned, which earns him points with Dad. Dae-gyun is less than happy about this, but gone are the days he could bully his little brother, since Kyung-tak asserts his newfound sense of confidence.

“I also have the blood of His Excellency flowing through my veins,” Kyung-tak warns his brother. “I will not let anyone abuse me any longer.” Strong words, but Dae-gyun’s quick to throw out that he knows his little brother has lost his marbles over a girl.

Young-hwi encourages his mother to eat Hyuk’s donuts (though he lies that he bought them at the market), though her pride won’t allow her to accept until she’s alone with them. He reports the good news to Young-rae and gives her a piece of comfort/advice: “One day, she will understand you.”

A secret meeting with fellow Anonymous members reveals that some of their comrades have been captured by the police, who are desperate to find them.

This takes him back to the gibang, where Joo Pal giddily receives a set of robes for a ninth ranking government official position from Ha-eung, along with a royal decree in Hanja he can’t read. Ha-eung has pulled some strings to get him a position, and it’s cute how excited Joo Pal is to graduate from being a street thug to a bonafide (albeit very low-ranking) official.

Ha-eung tries to lay out his banquet contingency plans with Anonymous as a backup should Minister Kim pull a stunt, but Young-hwi is insistent that Ha-eung get the Queen Dowager to free his captured comrades first. The two go back and forth over which is more important and once again end up at a stalemate.

…Only, that’s when Young-hwi finds his comrades’ severed heads on display in the marketplace, a feat which Kyung-tak carried out under Daddy’s orders.

Banquet preparations. Joo Pal has a good time strutting around in his new uniform like he’s a high-ranking minister, having been charged by Ha-eung to make sure the party is packed when the time comes. Even the Queen Dowager’s favorite performer is back in top shape, thanks to Hyuk’s surgery.

The Hwalinseo doctors bring a sample of Hyuk’s Donuts to Ha-eung, declaring that they’ve become a hit all over town. Ha-eung excitedly declares that they’ll serve them to the Queen Dowager at the party, and that shifty doctor looks shifty… We can probably see where this is headed.

But in case we can’t, Doctor Yoo drops the hint to Minister Kim that they can kill two birds with one stone – Ha-eung and Hyuk – by poisoning some donuts…

Meanwhile, Young-hwi’s comrades suggest killing Minister Kim at the banquet to avenge their dead. Young-hwi, still deeply affected by the deaths, asks them if they’re telling him to kill his best friend’s father, saying,”I stole the fortunes of powerful noble families to save the hungry. But now, the only things I can steal are their lives… Most of all, the life of the Left State Minister.”

He’s sadly resigned to his fate, and pulls Kyung-tak away from rallying his own troops for a heart-to-heart. It seems like Young-hwi is there to say goodbye, at least to their friendship, as he honestly tells Kyung-tak: “It would have been better if we did not know each other. But I want you to know one thing. To me, you are always more than what I deserve, and a friend I’m thankful for.” Aww.

Kyung-tak doesn’t get the other implications of this message, and they leave it at that.

Young-rae comes in late to Hwalinseo, relaying the news that Mom’s health has improved thanks to Hyuk’s Donuts, and as always, manages to turn the conversation topic to Mina and awkwardness. Young-rae: “She must have been very sweet. You must miss her.” Hyuk: “That’s why I must go back.”

Ha-eung and Myeong-bok come for a visit, and there’s a nice touch where Myeong-bok calls Young-rae familiarly, indicating that these visits are frequent. She passes off the donuts for the Queen Dowager to Ha-eung, who’s content to reminisce about his first meeting with Hyuk, when he saved him from death.

We get a little flashback reel of their good times together, and Ha-eung even hints that he might still be a marketplace drunk if he’d never met Hyuk. Interesting theory. He asks Hyuk if he still looks like a beggar to him, which catches him by surprise, as he assures Ha-eung that while he may be different from when they first met, it’s not a bad thing. And then he wonders if what he heard before was actually true…

Cue a convenient flashback to the future, where Mina is literally reading a book on Ha-eung’s life and spouting facts about him to Hyuk. While the modern conception of Ha-eung is that he was an opponent of modernization, her book argues that that stance is missing the point: Ha-eung saved Joseon from the grip of the Andong Kim clan, and tried to rebuild a country on the verge of collapse. Aka, a True Reformer. (I also like that they threw in the donuts with this scene too, which is like a reference within a reference within a reference. Jinception.)

Back in the present past, Ha-eung assures both himself and Hyuk that he will change Joseon and save the oppressed citizens. Hyuk actually has some conviction when he replies: “Please do that. That’s how history and the future will be changed the way everyone is hoping for.” Ha-eung finds this wording curious, and repeats: “A history that everyone hopes for…”

And that night, Chun-hong finds Young-hwi struggling to hold back his tears as the banquet draws ever near. We find him later dressed as a policeman with his fellow Anonymous members, with their plan to use their disguises at the banquet in order to kill Minister Kim.

Young-hwi has resolved to go all-in, and instructs his men to slay Minister Kim should he fail. With resolve in his eyes he tells his men, “After we send him to hell, there shall we meet each other again.”

Banquet day. The Queen Dowager addresses all those gathered that such a luxurious feast isn’t just for her birthday, but to comfort the people. I don’t see how that makes a whole lot of sense, but Joo Pal’s enthusiasm in leading the crowd in his practiced cheer (“Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!”) is adorable nonetheless.

Young-hwi and his men run into two guards in their quest to climb the rooftops, and silently (very, very silently) kill them before any alarm is sounded.

Then we cut to the party, where Chun-hong and her fellow gisaeng perform a synchronized dance in ceremonial wear, before cutting right back to Kyung-tak, who notices the missing officers and blood on the streets.

And then, we cut to the palace maids, with one tasting all the food to test for poison. She eats one of Hyuk’s Donuts without any immediate effects. Her sidekick is looking pretty suspicious, though. (The quick cuts back and forth are trying to be suspenseful, but damn if this editing isn’t the worst thing that ever happened.)

Young-hwi scales a nearby rooftop to get a clear shot at Minister Kim, while the palace maids present the food (and donuts) to the Queen Dowager. Dae-gyun watches and waits super obviously as she’s about to take a bite… but she’s distracted by a performance just in time.

And Myeong-bok, meandering through the streets, spies Young-hwi on a rooftop and innocently alerts Kyung-tak to his presence, just as Hyuk adorably holds a parasol over Young-rae’s head to protect her from the sun. Aww.

Kyung-tak can’t recognize Young-hwi with a mask on, but shoots the assassin targeting his father all the same, sending Young-hwi tumbling from the rooftop with a bullet in his arm.

Meanwhile, Ha-eung introduces Myeong-bok to the Queen Dowager, who praises his intelligence and offers him a reward of Hyuk’s Poisoned Donuts. Dae-gyun tries to intervene that she should taste them first, which totally screams suspicion, but she still hands them off to Myeong-bok anyway. He takes a bite, and Minister Kim feels a slight twinge of remorse(?).

Kyung-tak chases a masked Young-hwi down, resulting in a fight between the police force and the tiny band of Anonymous members. His comrades volunteer to sacrifice themselves so Young-hwi can escape, which leaves him in a face-off against Kyung-tak on an deserted street.

What follows is an epically blurry fight, though Kyung-tak is confused when his opponent only parries his blows, declaring that he knows who the Anonymous Leader’s target was (Daddy Dearest), and because of that, he can’t let him live.

They fight s’more, and Kyung-tak ends up facing the business end of Young-hwi’s sword when he trips and falls over a rock. Young-hwi has the opportunity but can’t kill him, which gives Kyung-tak a chance… to slice the mask off Young-hwi’s face. His eyes go wide at the sight of his old friend, having been completely unaware of his secret identity.

It’s nice that Young-hwi faces him dead-on, well aware that the jig is up. When he decides to make a run for it Kyung-tak gets a clear shot at his back and hesitates, his hands shaking, and loses the nerve. He cries out in frustration as he fires the shot into the air, and Young-hwi pauses just long enough to register what’s happened with tears in his eyes. Aww, you guys.

Back at the banquet, the Queen Dowager finally takes a bite of a donut and doubles over in pain right afterward. Doctor Yoo declares it as arsenic poison and she’s rushed off to more private quarters, while Hyuk arrives just outside to hear the story from Ha-eung. He sends Young-rae to fetch his magical bag from Hwalinseo. There’s no time to waste! Except for all that time spent talking.

Everyone thinks screaming at the unconscious Queen Dowager will scare the poison right out of her, and Minister Kim’s motives are confusing. It seemed like the plan was to poison the Queen Dowager and blame it on Hyuk’s Donuts, but when Hyuk and Ha-eung come to argue with Doctor Yoo, he gets excited when Ha-eung stakes his life on Hyuk’s ability to save her, as though that was the end goal.

Only, then it seems like they clearly don’t want Hyuk to save her, citing the law that only the royal physicians may touch royalty to try and get him out. But all rules have a loophole, and Hyuk finds this one pretty fast – Doctor Yoo will perform the stomach pumping procedure with his own hands, and Hyuk will sit right beside him to direct him through it.

HA. The very image of this clown car operating room (I think this one’s a new record, there are more than a dozen people in here) with Doctor Yoo trying and kind of failing to put on latex gloves is hilarious. Hyuk directs everything from only a foot away, and calmly instructs him on how to insert the rubber tubing into the Queen Dowager’s mouth so it reaches her stomach. From there, it’s a matter of emptying the contents.

And then Hyuk sticks his face in the bowl filled with the Queen Dowager’s stomach fluid, smelling arsenic. Doctor Yoo’s dismissive since he knew it was arsenic from the start, for reasons only obvious to us.

Then it’s time to flush out her stomach, and also time for Kyung-tak to try and process the fact that his arch-nemesis and best friend are all one in the same. As expected, that’s no easy task, and will surely require much more angsting.

Stomach flushing complete, Hyuk guides the Queen Dowager into drinking a detox mix on her own, without the tube. Dae-gyun gets up and leaves while everyone remains transfixed on the procedure. The Queen Dowager sighs, “I… am alive.” Which sends a flood of relief through the room, with Hyuk nearly in tears.

Nothing cheers up a royal like everyone in the room sobbing as they offer up their lives, and Hyuk and Young-rae leave, job complete.

Except Dae-gyun and a group of policeman are waiting to arrest them just outside the gates. Dae-gyun accuses Hyuk of poisoning the donuts just so he could then cure the Queen Dowager and show off his medical skills, a claim which has Ha-eung balking – the queen’s maidservant and his son both ate the donuts and were fine, so how could the whole batch be poisoned?

Dae-gyun doesn’t know, and doesn’t care. Hyuk and Young-rae are dragged off to the bureau. Again? I wonder if Hyuk and the prison guards are on a first-name basis at this point.

A flustered Ha-eung tries to strategize ways to save Hyuk with Chun-hong, who keeps trying to convince him that they’re in way too deep for him to risk it all now. He was the Andong Kim clan’s target, not Hyuk. Chun-hong: “Whoever loses in this fight will end up losing everything.” Plus, she tells him that he can’t depend on Anonymous to help Hyuk break out, because only Young-hwi survived.

I love Ha-eung’s heart of gold, since he can only think about helping Hyuk, who’s suffering on his behalf. Out of options, he thinks of one last wild card – a “double-edged sword.”

Cut to: Kyung-tak. Wait, this can’t possibly be who Ha-eung meant, right? He’s been kept out of the ‘Poison the Queen’ plot, and sees the Council of Evil leaving his father’s room. Dae-gyun doesn’t miss an opportunity to stab at his little brother: “You have great luck, you almost became husband to a traitor!”

This is news to Kyung-tak, so his brother spells it out – his fiancée tried to poison the Queen Dowager.

Young-rae screams as she undergoes torture at the police bureau, with Hyuk tied down to a chair next to her and unable to help. His clothes are stained with blood but he seems pretty okay as he protests his innocence to Dae-gyun, the official interrogator.

Only she seems to be holding up miserably, just as we get to the heart of the interrogation… Dae-gyun claims he’ll free Hyuk and Young-rae if he’ll only name Ha-eung as the orchestrator of the poisoning. That’s the big fish they’re after.

But Hyuk hesitates, wanting to protect his friend (and maybe history, but there’s no knowing), and doesn’t out Ha-eung like they want. So they move onto Young-rae, who looks like she’s about to break any moment, and ask her to implicate Ha-eung or face the hot iron.

Dae-gyun gets right in her face, and this glorious change comes over Young-rae as she looks him dead in the eye and asks if this is what his faction did to her father, and if this is how they obtain their confessions.

With fire in her voice, she declares, “If I have committed a crime then I will take that punishment. However, just for me to stay alive, I cannot confess to a crime I did not commit.” Generic words, but awesome delivery.

So it’s the hot iron for her. Kyung-tak arrives just in time to do a whole lot of nothing, without much of a reaction to tell us whether he’s registering what he’s seeing or not.

As for Hyuk, he can only uselessly scream at them to stop as the sound of searing flesh is heard, and Young-rae falls unconscious.

 
COMMENTS

A strong finish for an episode that spent most of its time setting the table, although it was a hard-earned scene with all the production ineptitude going on. I’ve harped on the jarring use of editing before so I won’t go into it again (rest assured – it’s still terrible), but one thing I’ve been noticing for far too many episodes now is an inability of the director to focus his own damn camera.

I’m guessing that someone didn’t notice this until the episode hit the editing room floor, but almost all of the Queen Dowager’s one-shots during the banquet scene were just out of focus, with the chair behind her being the sharpest thing in the shot. Not. Okay. It’s a horrible trend that also tends to happen when the background is brighter than the foreground, and it plagued Hyuk’s one-shots during the stomach-pumping scene, too. I’ve tried to ignore it, but it’s a problem that keeps getting worse, and is a little alarming considering the fact that we’ve just reached the halfway mark.

That sort of complete failure to do the very basic tenants of a director’s job make up most of this show’s woes, in that most of the things it tries to accomplish end up looking like the amateur hour. I can’t stay in a scene when there are fifty production problems there to take me right out, whether it’s out-of-focus actors, bad sound editing, no sound editing, or bad scene editing. It’s not fair for the fly-by-night genuine character moments to have to compete with bad production. It’s not fair for the viewers, either.

Putting all that aside, there were some nice developments peppered in this episode. Young-hwi has been played by an engaging actor with little to do thus far, and things started getting interesting once he sided with Ha-eung. Needless to say, I was worried that he’d be killed before we could see more of this de facto alliance, so I’m glad that he’s sticking around a little longer.

Ha-eung’s been great since moment one, although it was a little on-the-nose (not to mention, a little lazy) to insert Hyuk’s flashback to the future scene where Mina’s job is to tell him, and us by extension, not to perceive Ha-eung as a bad guy. Hyuk didn’t need that kind of push and neither did we, since Ha-eung’s done nothing but prove his worth so far. However, it’ll be nice to see how his heart of gold measures up when he’s got more at stake, which is bound to happen as he immerses himself in the rough political climate that’s waiting for him.

But if that kind of flashback is what Hyuk needed to really believe in Ha-eung as a competent leader, then go for it, Dr. Jin. Tell the story you want to tell however you want to tell it, just stay focused while you do it.

 
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Whoah! I'm number one?

Gotta convince my family to get some of those
medicinal cookies!

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So, is there a recipe for the anti-beriberi donuts?

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Why does almost every Hyuk/Mina flashback involve exposition? Was she his girlfriend, or his tutor?

Thanks for the recap, Heads! :)

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Oh wow. Kyung-tak (Jaejoong`s acting) was amazing. I really mean it. The frustration, pain, and sadness were clearly expressed. Fabulous job!!

I do hope that his ex-fiance is alright. I`m waiting for episode 11 just to be sure that she`s alright.

After watching this episode, it makes me happy that interrogation has changed over the years, we have more say to our rights and freedoms, and we can re-elect leaders who are corrupt (at least in developed countries that is). Those who commit wrong doings are innocent until proven guilty. Those who are suspected are not tortured. I`m glad I live in Canada at the moment.

Overall, Jaejoong`s acting was powerful Park Min-young is really good in delivering her speech. I give you my applause.

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Thanks for the recap HeadsNo2. I can't believe I'm still watching this, but it's fun in a way with all the mistakes. How much more physical abuse can Dr Jin and Young-rae take? He's still limping from his last beating and I'm sure her scar hasn't healed, so now she has to deal with another burn scar. I'm getting very worried about them. Til next time...and I'd also like a recipe for the donuts if you can find one.

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gracias for the recap ;)

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Everyone thinks screaming at the unconscious Queen Dowager will scare the poison right out of her

You mean it won't? Well, there goes my doctorate in Scream Therapy. Lucky I still have my Dunkin Donuts Pharmacology degree to fall back on.

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thank you for recaping. i' m glad i just read the recaps... i think i won' t watch it. but i' m sure i want to read it. so keep fighting!!! ^_^

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I totally agree that this show could be so much better with such a seasoned cast, and is absolutely let down by crappy amateurish directing, camera work and editing. The one thing i like is the OST, so good... :)

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a “double-edged sword.” is that really kyung tak ?

i think more then just a sympaty things toward his ex fiancee and ex friend so he will help them and betrayted his father, maybe Ha-eung and chun-hong need to talk/consult kyung tak so he can decide which path he will able to take.

anyway, thank you for your recap,

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this recap (and all the previous ones) is COMEDY GOLD!

i mean "which is like a reference within a reference within a reference. Jinception." HAHAHAH

you kill me!!

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Thank you Heads for the recap ^__^ You've pointed out everything that's wrong with the directing, editing, camera work etc in this show. Sigh. It's a pity really, considering this show actually has a more interesting storyline going on than many of the other currently airing shows.

As for the characters/actors...
PMY's last scene in this episode reminds me why I was so impressed with her in SKKS, she plays a character of steely backbone really well. Not impressed with her portrayal of a preachy Mary Sue thus far- but then again, doubt anyone can successfully pull off a likeable MS.
I have also been rooting for Young-hwi (and his actor), so glad he survived (for now)! I am still bracing for his ultimate tragic ending though... Will take a happy ending for him as a pleasant surprise.
Ha-eung... I am waiting for him to "betray" Hyuk and the audience by later turning into a much darker character, since the whole Catholics subplot must be there for a reason. You can also tell from his convos with Young-hwi that he's the "end justifies means" kind of guy, and people like that can very easily be tempted to abuse power once they have it.
I felt Kyung-tak's cryptic non-reaction (though he did look somewhat shocked) to be the real cliffhanger of the episode. Cause we KNOW. Young-rae will be alright, this early into the series. But it is very unclear if Kyung-tak will do anything to help her at all, and his action or inaction will pretty much define the tone of this character going forward. So...*swallows nervously*
Only thing to say about Hyuk was they seriously messed up his "tortured" make-up and costume >_> I mean are those blood from the previous inmate...?
Ep.11 come quickly!!!

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From the looks of that still, Kyung-tak's next assignment is guarding the royal privy. He doesn't look enthusiastic.

You need to do a caption writing contest with some of these stills.

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ROLMAO!!
:)

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HAHAHAHA!

"Are you done, Your Highness?"

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hahahaha awesome!

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wow.. nice development, my asking is, will Dr. Jin be back to modern time ever??? and when is that?

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and whatever happened to the magic brain fetus?

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yes, at the end.

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LMFAOOOO, "jinception".
Headsno, you're definitely growing on me as a funny and worthy recapper!

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Am I the only one who thinks YR getting burned will be a cop-out? I have a feeling that they're gonna go "psyche!" at the beginning of ep 11. But I'm just going off what I'm reading in the recaps b/c I haven't actually been watching this drama.

Secondly, why do production companies keep hiring this horrible director in potentially fantastic dramas?! UGH. The directing is basically the reason I have chosen not to watch and rather just stick to recaps.

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See...I really don't understand your logic. You can't bother to actually watch the drama just because HeadsNo2 doesn't like the editing or maybe because other people whine about this drama? I watch the drama and then read HeadsNo2's recaps. I agree with most points and disagree with others but that is the beauty of it. I draw my OWN conclusions. If you ever make a comment about this drama rest assured that if you didn't actually watch you will only be parroting someone else's opinion.

I just can't read recaps alone (though I do appreciate them). What is the point then? Might as well just pick up a short book at the library. You can't say you have given up on watching a drama when you don't even watch in the first place.

Reading recaps is NOT the same as watching the drama.

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...'And then Hyuk sticks his face in the bowl filled with the Queen Dowager’s stomach fluid'...

Awww, HeadsNo2 - who knew you were such a wuss? I, on the other hand, wisely keep a small trash bucket next to me while watching Dr. Jin. Never know when one might come in handy while watching all these gross DJ scenes. The ginsaeng syphilis sore-scraping almost lost me my lunch, but luckily I slapped my laptop closed just at the right moment.

I still can't figure out the arsenic donut poisoning - why didn't the kid keel over? We saw him take a bite and then run off with a baker's dozen. Does that mean the Dowager Queen was supposed to sit there and pig down the entire bowlful till she got to the poisoned donut(s)?
Shades of "Flowers In The Attic" - at least there ALL the donuts were dusted with nasty arsenic!

It was nice to see Park Min Young actually earning her paycheck - she's good with the 'backbone of steel' acting.
But, WTH was with Jaejoong's KT character watching the torture with that vapid stare?!

Thanks for the recap, HeadsNo2! I bow to your tolerance.
:)

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Agree! I was pretty shocked that Kyung Tak just stood there doing nothing! But I guess maybe next episode it'll show something. Or he does something to make it up?

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I was shocked too at Kyung-Tak's inaction just when I was about to heap praise on his acting during his scenes with Younghwi

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Now I'm wondering if the director just forgot to yell "CUT" with that scene. I wouldn't be surprised - it's like he left Jaejoong twisting in the wind for that reaction shot.
:)

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How does that make sense when they have a script? If he was fishing for a reaction without telling Jaejoong and Jaejoong failed to deliver then they would have cut the scene or brought him in later. This director....he doesn't seem to show his characters unless they will do something. Until he has use for them he completely ignores them or uses them for foreshadowing purposes. Not much else......I don't know if that makes him redundant or some twisted type of reserved but I doubt he would leave one of his actors hanging in the wind unless he has plans for him later. Which he does because the last screencap zooms in on him, Dr. Jin and Young Rae. You don't need to know Korean to see what the director is "hinting" at.

And again....less than 2 minutes were left. Maybe the cringe inducing sound of flesh burning and Young Rae's understandable panic made (in the mind of the director) a more interesting cliffhanger than KKT charging in yelling like a crazy person. Either way you can't dog on KJ (he is a Kim right?) for following the script like all the other actors unless you want him to make a "concerned" face because that changes everything right?

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I think since the episode was almost over it may have been the director's choice to save the action till the next epsiode. I suppose if KKT does something then they would run out of time and maybe the director thought that Young Rae's searing flesh was a more compelling finish.

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LBS has been slowly but surely dominating episode after another but this one is when he completely took over! Awesome stuff, Lee So Yeon too, i prefer her all poised, regal(and a bit bitchy!) and unbelievably am so sticking with this drama and planning on dropping the Hong Sisters' new stuff... How fortunes have changed!

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"I’m ready to mail a copy of Directing for Dummies at this point."- I did not even notice that the cameras were out of focus half of the time. I guess I was too busy glorying over that which was a story. I guess I liked the episode because I laughed a lot. That's a sad commentary but true. I was kind of sad that Young-hwi character got outed so early.That does not bode well for him to be around for long. Until the end, not likely. Things I don;t understand. How could Ha-eung’s son still be alive after the literally handful of donuts that he ate. Okay, fire the taste tester! Off with her head, she failed miserably!

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I've resolved to reading the recaps first and based on that decide whether to watch the episode.
This episode seems like it was full packed with interesting developments, so now I'm off to watch..
Thanks :)

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I went to snoresville about 15 minutes in. I was hoping for a bit more from the drama. I mean, usually I'd complain about idol actors that can't act, but, this time around, I can't even blame any of the actors - idol or not. Seriously, this drama actually HAVE actors that work for their characters. They play each character awesomely that the horrid script and editting makes me wanna blow someone's head.

I'm gonna stick to another couple more episodes since that is the most I can handle starring only at Jaejoong to forget the drama that can't be sure whether it should be a documentary, medical journal or an actual drama - and I actually LIKE documentaries!

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LOL! Be patient, I know....10 episodes but I'll watch till the end cause well right now my summer is clear and maybe things will really get rolling on the 2nd half. Who knows but it is not very likely.

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it's quite obvious that the hot iron did not reach YR's body or else KT would've had a bigger reaction...tho it still doesn't make sense that someone who's loved her so much for so long wasn't more surprised/shocked at her current tortured condition....flaw in the directing/script once again I guess....am only watching this show because of Jae...it's too bad that the promising cast is wasted by the poor drama that they're acting in.

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"Jinception". I love it!

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Another great recap, Heads. Thank you!

I can't imagine having to recap this one... seems like it would be painful having to put so much thought into writing about something so vapid.

The characters that are getting me through this drama are Young-hwi, Chun-hong and Kyung-tak. I also want to see if there is anymore about the brain fetus or "bandage man".

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The strongest conflict in this drama is between Kyung Tak and Young Hwi. They should have made this drama about them, not included the whole future doctor things. I love Jaejoong and can't stand watching him being so desperate, his fiancee left him, his bestfriend became his biggest enemy. It breaks my heart. :( *Sending Jaejoong virtual hug*

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Kyung Tak and Young Hwi conflict would have been more interesting.

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so, i've been contemplating whether to watch this or not? any one recommend it? i actually haven't read any of the recaps except for ep.1 and it didn't seem that great, even if at first i was so excited about the awesome .

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AWW NO the best bros can't not be best bros anymore!!! And thanks for the recap HeadsNo2 - love your wit, love your writing style. <3

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Why I find the future scene between dr. Jin n Mina is much more appealing..
want to see both of them more in next episodes...

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"which is like a reference within a reference within a reference. Jinception"
that put a huge smile on my face.

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me too! =D

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I don't think KT is meant to be a policeman. He could never shoot anybody. I really like LSY's acting and her character should be with Dr. Jin and PMY should be with KT.

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Why is Dr Jin never really challenged? That's my problem. I want a hero who is truly challenged to win the girl, who truly has stuff at stake, who suffers for more than ten minutes. I feel as if the screenwriters just can't allow our hero to suffer, really suffer...or to really work for the girl. It's not only laziness or Mary Sueism..it's an inability to understand that what enthralls the viewer is the length and depth of a conflict. That said...oh my gosh! I cannot stop being interested in this show..and I am stumped as to why. Thanks so much for the recap.

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"Heck, I’m ready to mail a copy of Directing for Dummies at this point."

I can provide stamps.

Jinception! LOL, Genius

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I don't know... This show lost me somehow. I dunno what went wrong, but I lost interest. It started so well, now it's just a huge miz of so many characters, there is no one to invest in, emotionally and all... Great concept, bad implementation.

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"And then Hyuk sticks his face in the bowl filled with the Queen Dowager’s stomach fluid, smelling arsenic"

I'm confused. Arsenic is odorless and has no taste, which was why it was the perfect poison. Why didn't the writers have Jin stick a piece of copper in the stomach liquid to see if it would become discolored, which was a common way of testing for heavy metal poison.

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“Soon, you will meet with the highest elder.” - Yi Ha-eung, since he was inelligible to the throne in the first place, presented Myeong-bok as King...

One of the worshippers inside turns out to be Ha-eung’s wife - woah, Lady Min, a Roman Catholic?!! Such a nice twist indeed. And yes, Ha-eung was as much of an anti-Catholic as his ancestor Yeongjo was...
Also, Lady Min was a distant relative of Empress Myeongseong through another one of Queen Inhyeon's elder brothers.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/girlfridaydb/drama/2012/drjin/jin10/jin10-00553.jpg -> Haha~!!! Joseon-era type gastric lavage, LOL

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