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Dr. Jin: Episode 21

You wanted answers? You don’t get them.

No, seriously. You don’t. Luckily it’s not the worst thing that ever happened, since the majority of the episode focuses on things that are Not Hyuk, and I’m not one to look a gift jar in the fetus. Or is it a gift fetus in the jar? Either way, Kyung-tak has a lot of feelings and Ha-eung loses some scheming points in a densely packed episode which proves that there’s always time for noble idiocy, even when there’s not enough time for the stuff we’re actually maybe slightly interested in. Onward, to victory!

Note: Or not! Due to an Olympic preemption, Episode 21 aired on Sunday, and the finale will air this coming Saturday. I must have wronged Song Seung-heon in a past life.

 
EPISODE 21 RECAP

Flower petals float down on Chun-hong’s coffin, with Ha-eung, Hyuk, and Young-rae in attendance. Ha-eung is most affected, and we hear him say in voiceover that he hopes that, in the other world, Chun-hong won’t be a gisaeng but a normal woman being loved by the man she loves.

They send her coffin floating on the river, and bid their last farewell. Afterward, Hyuk tries to process the fact that Mina is dead, which is like seeing a pantomime of the five stages of grief on speed.

Dae-gyun punishes the assassins he hired to kill Hyuk for killing Chun-hong, which Kyung-tak overhears. He thinks this is another one of Dae-gyun’s harebrained plots, only to find out that Daddy was behind all of this. Turns out Kyung-tak wasn’t the only son receiving secret orders.

Kyung-tak seems uneasy with Minister Kim’s wish to kill Hyuk because he wouldn’t turn over to the dark side, but even Daddy laments Chun-hong’s accidental death.

Hyuk angsts amidst nice scenery as he flashes back to the time when he first woke up in Joseon with the Jar Fetus, only without the fetus inside. He wonders why he came, and sees a vision of Mina sitting next to him. Addressing her, he says: “I thought I came here to save you. But if you’re not there… what is so meaningful for me to go back then?”

Vision Mina gives Hyuk a small smile, but vanishes into thin air when he tries to touch her. He cries.

Then, he contemplates suicide as he nears the edge of a cliff, asking himself, “What would happen if I jump off here?” Well Hyuk, if you don’t know, give it the good ol’ college try.

He steps closer and closer to the edge, ready to fall to his death, until Young-rae latches onto him from behind and begs him not to do it. Hyuk: “I shouldn’t have come here to begin with. The person who should disappear from here is me.” Truer words have never been spoken.

Young-rae tries to convince him to stay alive for Mina. Hyuk tells her that he has no reason to go back or to stay here, and begins to tell her about Mina…

But we don’t get to hear it, because we cut to Officer Lee with some grim news – French battleships have arrived near Ganghwa Island. Hasn’t it been one full day since Ridel left? Even if it’s been more than that, there’s just no way in hell this could happen so fast. Know how I found that out? Wikipedia. If I can do it, the writers can too.

Hyuk thinks to himself, “If I, myself, in this world and another me in the other world have the same fate, in the end, Young-rae will die like Mina. When? How?” What? Why? What? How? Did I miss the roundtable discussion on parallel universe mechanics that everyone must have had?

Young-rae seems oddly insistent that Hyuk will see Mina again, and that she’ll wake up when he returns. So… Mina isn’t dead, then? This is sort of sounding like a lead-in to noble idiocy, and I wonder if the parallel universe rules dictate that Young-rae must die so Mina can live.

Meanwhile, French battleships bombard Ganghwa Island with cannon fire.

Minister Kim, during a meeting of the Royal Court, blames the attack on Ha-eung for releasing the Catholics, despite the fact that his statement doesn’t make any sense. Regardless, public favor has turned against Ha-eung and they only have five hundred soldiers to defend the island while the French have one thousand.

The Council of Evil calls for Ha-eung to take responsibility should they be defeated, and Ha-eung agrees. “By any possibility, if we are defeated in this war, I will take responsibility and step down cleanly,” he declares, much to Minister Kim’s glee.

Once again, Kyung-tak proves he’s the only one not taking crazy pills during the next Council of Evil meeting. Daddy wants them to lose the war so that Ha-eung will have to step down, and Kyung-tak is incredulous – how can they want Joseon to lose the war? “If we are defeated in this war, just like China, we will get the interference of France,” Kyung-tak presses.

I’m glad he’s the one talking sense, but did he think about any of this before he shot those priests and started the war? Maybe that would have been the better time to rethink his choices. Honestly, Kyung-tak, what did you think was going to happen?

Despite Kyung-tak’s sound words that their country should, yunno, not lose a war, Daddy is still insistent that they must. Because that totally makes sense to want your country to lose a war just to oust one person. Makes you wish you had a brain fetus to go back and slap some sense into these people. (Or, alternatively, to change the production team’s career choices.)

I love that the Council’s all, If only there was a way to foresee the result of the war, which then sends Kyung-tak to foresee the future through Hyuk’s letter. He realizes that everything is happening as Hyuk said it would.

Daddy comes in, and Kyung-tak hides the letter. Even though it seems that, offscreen at some point, Kyung-tak told his Dad about the existence of the letter without letting Dad read it, and now claims that he got rid of it. You’d think Dad would want to have kept it or at least read it, but nope. Instead he asks Kyung-tak about the outcome of the war.

Short answer? Joseon wins. Daddy decides that they must end the war in the palace before they win the war against the French. He then asks Kyung-tak about the fate of their clan, and though Kyung-tak’s face is grim he assures his father, “The history Doctor Jin knew and the history we make will be different.”

Heo Gwang breaks the news of the battleships to Hyuk and Young-rae, along with the orders that some of them must go to provide medical aid on the island. Young-rae is the first to offer her services, but Hyuk dramatically grabs her by the shoulders and tells her that she mustn’t go – she could die. He’s clearly thinking that she’ll croak any day now because of Mina.

If we made a drinking game out of every Council of Evil meeting where Kyung-tak voices his dissent and no one listens, we’d already be trashed. Minister Kim wants to kidnap the King and force him to abdicate so they can choose their own. Kyung-tak, once again, doesn’t think this is a good idea for the country. And Daddy, once again, says that it must be done. Lather, rinse, repeat.

In order to kidnap the King they need to get him out of the palace, so Minister Kim charges Kyung-tak with forging Hyuk’s letter with the addendum that the King will be poisoned that night, so that they can assure the King will leave the grounds. Kyung-tak starts stammering his dissent and Dad puts him down.

So, wait – if this is ultimately the genius plan to take Ha-eung down, why exactly did Minister Kim incite a war again? Does. Not. Compute.

Dae-gyun tries to get Daddy to agree that Kyung-tak sucks, but Dad puts him in his place: “He may say things you don’t want to hear, but he’s not wrong.” Dae-gyun then fumes to his fellow Council members, and they beef up his ego by telling him that he’ll soon become the head of the Andong Kim clan.

Kyung-tak sneaks into Ha-eung’s room to conspicuously place the forged letter, only to be caught by Young-hwi on his way out. Young-hwi is lost and doesn’t know what to do, even though Kyung-tak hints that he himself should not be trusted.

Young-hwi seems to know something’s amiss, and simply tells Kyung-tak, “I want to protect you.” Aww, bromance. Kyung-tak apologizes, probably because he’s betraying Young-hwi at this very moment.

Later, Ha-eung finds that conspicuously placed letter and is shocked to read its contents. C’mon, Ha-eung. You’re smarter than this.

Young-rae knows something’s up with Hyuk, and turns to Heo Gwang for help. As luck would have it, he overheard Chun-hong’s words as she died, and tells Young-rae that someone named Mina passed away. Young-rae drops a penicillin jar in shock, and of course, ominously cuts her finger while picking the pieces up.

She thinks to herself that if Mina died, then she will die also. Which, what? Seriously, where are all these people getting these concrete rules on life and death in parallel universes?

Hyuk comes in to help her, but she’d rather leave him to have a flashback montage of their time together outside. She thinks to herself, “Did he try so hard to save me when I was destined to die? I cannot let him do that anymore.”

Meanwhile, Ha-eung falls right into Minister Kim’s trap, and decides that even if the information is false, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Young-hwi keeps reminding him that he could be worried needlessly, but Ha-eung decides to get Gojong out of the palace anyway. Really, Ha-eung? A letter that wasn’t there before magically reappeared, and you’re still going to trust what’s inside?

Minister Kim is happy that Ha-eung has taken the bait, and orders Kyung-tak to do the Kingnapping. Once again, Kyung-tak voices his problems with this plan and gets an angry Daddy for his troubles, one who blames Kyung-tak for purposefully losing Ridel’s treaty. (Well, that part is true.)

Of course, when the moment of decision comes, Kyung-tak agrees that he’ll do it. Take a shot.

Ha-eung visits Hyuk to comment on how scary the power of history is – everything is running on its predetermined course, after all. But he wants Hyuk’s future knowledge one last time, and asks about the fate of his son, and whether he’ll die after living a full life. Hyuk: “Yes, he will.”

Time for some noble idiocy – Young-rae asks Doctor Yoo to be sent to Ganghwa Island’s war zone, which he points out is like a death wish. Young-rae: “Rather an being a nuisance to others here, I’d rather die living like that.”

So she asks him not to tell anyone where she’s gone – especially Hyuk.

That night, Ha-eung sends little King Gojong away from the palace in a palanquin. (I’m really hoping this is a ruse.) Kyung-tak and his merry men ambush the palanquin, only to find it empty.

Turns out Ha-eung set them up for ambush, and Joo Pal leads the forces that surround Kyung-tak and his men, who scatter for their lives.

However, Joo Pal and Kyung-tak meet, with Kyung-tak asking whether the King is safe, and Joo Pal reporting that he escaped via a different palanquin. Huzzah, a betrayal! We see how it happened in flashback, with Kyung-tak approaching Ha-eung directly to tell him of his father’s nefarious plot.

And while I’m happy about the betrayal, I’m also disappointed in Ha-eung – even with Hyuk’s affirmation, he really didn’t suspect a thing? I hope Hyuk’s idiocy isn’t contagious.

Kyung-tak reports back to Daddy that the palanquin was empty, which has Dae-gyun fuming and naming Kyung-tak a spy. Kyung-tak affirms that he did tell them his plan, only for us to realize that even the betrayal was orchestrated by Minister Kim as part of a grand conspiracy to divert attention to Gojong, so that Ha-eung would be left unguarded and vulnerable to attack.

So once again, Kyung-tak punks us with his triple spy business. Points for consistency, I guess.

Minister Kim leads Kyung-tak and a group of mercenaries to Ha-eung’s quarters, only no one’s inside when they break down the doors. Kyung-tak smells an ambush a second too late, since another group of soldiers come out of the woodwork to surround them, led by Joo Pal and Young-hwi.

A battle breaks out in the courtyard, and Kyung-tak fights to clear an escape path for Daddy. Young-hwi is there to stop him, and the two old friends have an old-fashioned sword fight face to face… Until Kyung-tak gets an arrow to the hip.

He somehow escapes the thick of battle, but is closely followed by Young-hwi.

Ha-eung laughs to himself that Minister Kim must have been surprised, and thanks his informant… who turns out to be Dae-gyun? Now that’s surprising. (And once again brought to you by Scenes Without Hyuk.)

Dae-gyun’s betrayed Daddy Dearest by saving Ha-eung and the King, and now wants Ha-eung’s favor in return, since he plans on becoming the rightful head of the Andong Kim clan soon enough. Ha-eung seems impressed with Dae-gyun’s level of betrayal, but he can’t argue that it saved his skin.

Aww, Young-hwi is still a good friend, since he drags Kyung-tak into Hwalinseo for Hyuk to treat. Hyuk and Kyung-tak go back and forth about treatment, with Kyung-tak wondering why Hyuk would even want to treat him when he’s tried to kill Hyuk so many times.

Hyuk has his doctorly principles though, and insists that Kyung-tak must live, at least for Young-rae. Kyung-tak: “Even if that is so, I do not… I do not want to get treatment from you. I would rather die. I do not want you to take care of my life!”

So Hyuk goes straight to Young-rae, who’s packing up for her one-way trip to Ganghwa Island, and tells her that Kyung-tak is in trouble.

Minister Kim fumes once he realizes that the Council of Evil has betrayed him, his worries only made worse when Joo Pal and his men come in to formally arrest him. Ha-eung saunters in to revel in his victory. “Left State Minister, you don’t seem too happy,” he notes with a smile.

Young-hwi is having to physically restrain a wounded Kyung-tak from going back to his father, and finally yells at him: “The world has changed!” He implores Kyung-tak to leave his father and join him in making a new Joseon, and wonders (like we all do), if Kyung-tak has had enough with always being used.

Kyung-tak doesn’t see how it’s much different than becoming Ha-eung’s dog, and says that if he must be used, he’d rather it be his father. Okay, but what if – and this is just a shot in the dark – he chose not to be used by anyone? You know, be your own man, master of your own universe, all that kind of stuff.

Young-hwi asks incredulously, “Why do you choose to live that way? Is that the right way?” Kyung-tak: “Whether it is right or wrong is not important to me.” But, why not?

“This is my fate,” Kyung-tak finally ekes out, before Young-rae arrives to treat him. He insists he’s fine when he can’t even breathe properly, and Young-rae insists that she save him even though she’s killed him with her words many times.

Then she spouts this gem: “I can’t treat your emotional scars, but I would like to treat your physical wounds.” Hah. Best line of the series award, unless something tops this in the finale.

He stops her from going to get anesthetic, insisting that he’s a warrior. He’s gonna take it like a man.

Ha-eung brings Minister Kim a new plant to talk to and offers him a deal: He’ll spare his life, as long as Minister Kim completely removes himself from politics. Minister Kim tells him that the Andong Kim clan had sixty years of power, and asks Ha-eung how long he expects to last. Hm. It’s almost as if Minister Kim read a letter detailing the future course of events…

Hah. Okay, I know we’ve had some ridiculous medical prostheses in the past, but this one takes the cake – Kyung-tak has a fake torso attached to his torso, with fake abs and all. (Not saying he doesn’t have real abs under there.) He’s even got a random gash on his neck to cover up the seam. New low.

There’s soft candlelight and soft music while Young-rae takes out the arrow, and sticks her finger into the hole to check for internal damage. As she sutures up the wound, Kyung-tak takes a journey down memory lane – except most of his memories with Young-rae suck since she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, ever.

He tells her that she’s a great doctor, and trails off as he starts to say that he tried to keep such a great doctor by his side… But then he assures her that the wound will heal quickly. I’m not sure if he’s talking about his fake tummy or his heart.

Kyung-tak stumbles home to Daddy still covered in blood and looking like hell. Minister Kim: “You are the only one who came for me. I should have listened to you.” Oh my God. Finally.

However, Kyung-tak is still incredibly angry about life, and can barely draw his own sword as he tells Daddy to just order it and it’ll be so – if he wants Ha-eung’s head, he’ll go and get it. Daddy says it’s too late, but Kyung-tak yells, “We haven’t finished yet!”

Minister Kim tells him about Ha-eung’s visit and the plant, asking his son whether he should live like a plant until he dies, or just die now. Kyung-tak finally passes the segregation threshold and falls to his knees in front of his father, tearfully begging him to stay alive.

Even Dad seems taken aback by his son’s sorrow, wondering how he’s earned this loyalty when he’s used Kyung-tak like a dog. “That’s why, in order to earn your heart… when you told me to wag my tail, I wagged my tail, and when you told me to entertain you, I entertained you,” Kyung-tak cries.

Minister Kim asks him why he wants him to live, and Kyung-tak breaks down even more: “Father… You are the last reason for me to live. Even that reason… I do not want to lose even that reason.” Aww, this is actually pretty sad. Scenes Without Hyuk strikes again. Guaranteed results every time.

Poor Kyung-tak pleads with his father to live a quiet life with him: “I, Kim Kyung-tak, will protect you until I die.” Dad seems to warm up to this idea and has Kyung-tak help him up… only to take Kyung-tak’s gun. Oh no.

He smiles at his son, and shoots himself in the chest. Collapsing into Kyung-tak’s arms, he tells him that he was the most like him – and that’s why he was so frightening. “Did you say I was the reason for you to live?” Dad ekes out, one hard word at a time. “But now, live for yourself.” So. Sad. Especially when he calls Kyung-tak’s name in a choked sob.

Minister Kim sobs his son’s name one last time, and passes away. Kyung-tak sobs uncontrollably as he holds his father close.

Ha-eung hears the news, and wishes Minister Kim a good journey to the afterlife. It’s a jarring editing job because we cut right back to Kyung-tak crying with his Dad again, but bad editing shouldn’t surprise us at this point.

Unfortunately we do finally check back in with Hyuk, who gets a dramatic close-up when he finds out where Young-rae’s gone. We find her in the middle of the war zone on Ganghwa Island, with cannon fire exploding all around her.

The Royal Court discusses the fighting, and that their last chance of holding off the French is a fort on the island. Dae-gyun raises a stink about who’s to blame for all of this, which Ha-eung solves by claiming – you guessed it – that he’ll take responsibility and lead reinforcements to the island himself.

It’s chaos on the island where Young-rae is, and things are looking bleak. Back in the capital Hyuk looks more shell-shocked than her as he repeats aloud: “No!”

 
COMMENTS

I was hoping we’d at least start on answering some of the time travel/parallel universe/brain fetus issues in this episode, but it looks like everything’ll get crammed in at the last minute. So much information seems to have died with Chun-hong, and those issues haven’t been readdressed so far, which is pretty disappointing but what’s new.

So, Chun-hong said she came back to this world just to save him, we had more than enough hints that she loved him, and what did it all amount to? Nothing. Granted, it’s not like she was handing out informational pamphlets (“Your Brain Fetus and You”) beforehand, so it’s not like her death served as a purposeful means of keeping everyone in the dark (even though that’s sort of an inevitable effect). Ultimately, for as cool as Chun-hong was, she died as an underdeveloped character. The show is going on fine without her like she never existed at all.

I’m having trouble reconciling the why and how of it all, especially when it comes to Chun-hong, and that makes me wonder whether she was killed off just so she wouldn’t have to answer questions the writers didn’t know the answer to. Does time move differently between the worlds, seeing as how Hyuk saved her when she was a child? How did she know he’d need her to save him in a parallel universe? If saving him was so important, why didn’t she freaking tell him what she needed to while she was alive? Bah, humbug.

As for Young-rae’s noble idiocy act, I’m at a total loss. Somewhere off screen everyone got together and hammered out the concrete rules of parallel universes (or the other option – it was just in the script), which isn’t fine, but we have to go with it. Whatever the case, she believes/knows that her life is tied to Mina’s, and despite Chun-hong’s words, no one knows for sure if Mina is alive or dead. (I base that assumption on the constant flashbacks Hyuk has of Mina flatlining.) But then she decides to go gallivanting in a war zone just so she won’t trouble Hyuk? I mean, what? Seriously, Young-rae. What the hell.

Kyung-tak and Dad were the highlight of the episode, even though I still can’t figure Kyung-tak out, other than the fact that he is the biggest Daddy’s Boy I’ve ever seen. It’s plausible that the thought of making his own choices pales in comparison to having them made for him because all he ever wanted was Daddy’s love. Which is why I found Minister Kim’s act of redemption at the end actually pretty redeeming.

Despite what Minister Kim has done to him the entire show, Kyung-tak is a big boy capable of making his own decisions, so I can only fault Minister Kim so much. But it was nice to see that in the end he realized that Kyung-tak would never forsake him to have his own life, and made the ultimate sacrifice to finally give his son a chance to salvage his humanity. Whether he takes that chance and does something with it, or whether he keeps hating everyone and everything, we’ve yet to find out.

The resolution of his story and how he moves on from here is the most compelling one for me as we head into the finale, but maybe the brain fetus will win out if it actually becomes interesting. Stranger things have happened.

 
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:)

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I can't believe that this drama was recapped all the way until the bitter end.

My hat is off to you HeadsNo2 (with a very deep bow) - I know I couldn't have done it!!!

Stopped watching around episode 5 - was just getting too cheesy but kept reading your recaps.

Cheers!

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This drama is a mess, so I too commend the recapper for hanging in there.

The only positive in this drama is Jaejoong. At least he never gave up and didn't phone in his role. As someone that was critical of his past acting endeavors, I say kudos to him. Park Min Young and Song Seung Hyun were just downright horrible in this and even Lee Bum Soo, could only do so much.

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There's so many unanswered questions, I don't even know how the writers going to cram it all in one episode :O

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21 hours of sucky drama plot, upsetting scenes with candles, worst editing and awful fake surgeries ever!
You have really earn your drama-recapper hero batch HN2!!! thank you for your hard work... just one hour to finish your penitence :)

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i can only see Jaejoong's abs in the screen caps.Lol. Anyway on a completely unrelated issue, is it just me or people on those days don't actually have abs. Correct me if i'm wrong though. I'm kinda curious.

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oh....
*scrolls back up*

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wait but wasn't that fake...nvm....

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I LOVE the screen cap that shows JJ wearing a fake torso, with a gapping hole his the navel ought to be, n Young-rae has an instrument stuck into it, while her eyes are on his face rather than the cut!!! That's so WTF, n so typical of this drama! LMAO.

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I LOVE the screen cap that shows JJ wearing a fake torso, with a gapping hole where his the navel ought to be, n Young-rae has an instrument stuck into it, while her eyes are on his face rather than the cut!!! That's so WTF, n so typical of this drama! LMAO.

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Jaejoong has a pretty nice body in real life. However, I think the fake abs were there for two reasons:

1) Easier to make a HUGE wound in a piece of rubber/fake skin and...

2) Jaejoong has a very well known tattoo on his chest. It would be a big distraction both in terms of being anachronistic and bringing him out of character because it's so well known to his fans and some of the general public.

I have to admit, I have been pleasantly surprised by Jaejoong's acting in this. His character itself might be confusing as all get out - but Jaejoong seems determined to act his heart out to the very end!

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Ah "Always keep the faith" <3 ,but eeey, they managed to cure breast cancer, and form brain babies, so a tattoo like that in the joseon era is actually the most believable. We went through so much in 21 EPS, the least they could have done was to give us fanservice.

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A Jesus tattoo even more believable :))

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And i'm so glad the very end has come. But what do you say to the screenwriter who likes Jaejoong's acting but apologizes for not being able to write better? -awkward-

I love the deferto deminem one on his chest (:

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I came across these bts pics online today of the scene with kt and yr.
http://www.dbsknights.net/2012/08/photos-120807-jaejoong-filming-time.html

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I saw those same pics on another site and there was a comment saying that the fake abs was filled with the fake blood for the fake wound, and that the fake blood flowed into Jaejoong's underwear! :D

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And here all this time I thought they only faked the wound not the whole torso? My bad! I know they have makeup artist in SK!

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Love your screen caps! :)

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OMG, the fake torso takes the cake for this series as the most ridiculous thing ever. I died reading that part. Why couldn't they give us a little fanservice and let Jaejoong show off his abs??? WHYYYY?????

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or or maybe they will show us Song Seung Heon's one instead. Lol

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Does he have any abs. He's so thin....maybe they didn't want to shock the fangirls when they see the reality of an ab-less Jaejoong. In any case, lame choice show...lame choice.

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believe it or not he does have abs.

google images is your friend.

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When in dbsk he was known to have an AMAZING body (MAYBE the best body out of the five). It got to the point to where fans were telling him to STOP working out because his pretty face and body doesn't match.(he had a pretty boy/prince like image for whatever reason) But he has lost a lot of weight for whatever reason. He still has abs now even though he lost so much weight.

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I think he definitely had the best body. Those arms...day-um. :P

But yeah, he's lost weight. I actually think all DB5K members have lost a lot of weight, except maybe Yunho. But the other four look waaaay skinnier. :/

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I heard jaejoong lost about 5-6 kilograms (11-13 lbs) when filming dr jin too. O.O

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YES...he does have abs...but this drama has taken its toll of Mr. Hand Towel. i re-visited episode 1 and the dude has dropped A LOT of weight. JJ too and Park Min Young have all dropped weight thanks this drama.

...wonder if a brain fetus is the new miracle diet.

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I seriously do not know where this story is going to go. Its so confusing and its not in a good way. The characters are so annoying and frustrating.

This drama seems like a remake of bad science fiction movie from the past. Parallel Universe? But different dimensions? What is going on here! Maybe they should get the writers to read some good alien stories to come up with a clear version of their "alternate dimension" and the "terms and conditions" that comes with it.

Watching the drama is a pain itself and the suffering is prolonged till next week. Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I wish to thank the recappers of this drama for taking their time and effort to put into this drama. Really you guys are awesome. Keep doing the great job.

^_^

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Lordy lord...HeadNo2.....i give up props for staying with this thing called a show.... At least here in the US, this monstrosity would have been cancelled after the first commercial break...lol!!

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LOLOLOL hilarious recap! I'm gonna miss reading these!
The more they avoid answering those questions the more pissed I'm getting! I hate how they are probably gonna rush it and just add it in randomly. I feel sorry to the cast this drama is a terrible mess!
Only thing good is the Young Hwi - Kyung Tak bromance XD

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Thank you for the recap!

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Only one more episode! You can do it, Heads!

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Ah so disappointed they did not show my baby's real body. Waited 21 episodes for it. I gotta admit I cried during the Kyung-tak daddy scene. Jaejoong's acting actually surprised me. Like I had no idea he had it in him. My inner fangirl is just so proud. Putting my biases aside, I can't believe I lasted this long. ⊙__⊙. When this first started I defended Park Minyoung, I was like "she's sweet tho, I think she will have awesome chemistry with Song Seung Hun." Whether she lives or dies in this drama I could not care any less. I just want it to end. I don't see where all the "affection" Jin has for youngrae is coming from. I could seriously rant about this drama the whole day. I just love to hate it.

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Hot Mess. Entertainingly Awful.

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Farewell, Chun-hong! You are bound for a far, far, better fictional world than this . . . (really, a hamburger CF contract would be a better deal than this) . . . where you will be able to act with both sides of your lovely face . . . where the audience won't alway be wondering what the hell you're rambling on about . . .

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I'm gonna say it's gift jar in the fetus.

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Maybe Chun Hong accidentally bumped into Jerry O'Connell during one of his slides in parallel universes and he conveniently explained the whole theory on the parallel universes, but due to bad editing, we never got to see it?

And I seriously don't get the need for extension if they are still going to skirt around the brain-fetus-time-travel-parallel-universes-answer.

Btw your screencaps of Hyuk's five stages of grief on speed had me in stitches! Just one episode left. Fighting! :)

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Your recaps make this show worth it. haha Bravo Headsno2 I officially love your recaps. I was cracking up the whole time I only pay attention to this show in order to read these haha.
And about the fake torso thing I agree with the comment about the tatt. Because Jaejoong has always been well known for working out and staying in shape so theres no way it's for lack of real abs.

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Definitely Kyung-Tak is the only character who still interests me in this series, but I must say bravo HeadsNo2 for keeping up the good work and excellent recaps. The wikipedia comment had me laughing out loud. I was really hoping the writers would try to logically explain all of it, but I guess its just so confusing and messy that is impossible. I think HeadsNo2 might be right that if Young-rae dies Mina lives, but who knows maybe Hyuk will just stay in the past...at least he won't be in the present to bother us, right? Just one more episode, you can do it HeadsNo2!

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I was hoping the writers would try to explain something...glad to see they decided to just explain it to the characters...off screen. Kyung-tak might actually grow as a character which really excites me! (Because it feels like every other character has been the same since ep 1). I think HeadsNo2 might be onto something with Young-rae dying so Mina can live or Hyuk will just live in the past. (Well, at least we won't have to deal with him in the present). Kudos again to HeadsNo2 for delivering an awesome recap. You're Wikipedia comment had me laughing out loud.

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Is it weird that I was actually excited when I saw there was a new Dr. Jin recap? It's definitely not because of the story, but Heads, your awesome narration keeps me coming back for more awful. I kinda hope the last episode answers none of our questions, because that would work with the only consistency this show has.

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Me too. :)

Sorry Heads, the adage "pain is gain" must be true. Your pain, our gain. (What? Did it mean something else?)

But only because you make Dr Jin recaps so fun. Thanks!

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I'm exactly the same! I have looked forward to Dr. Jin recaps for the last weeks - and Heads has never failed me :)

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Oppar's fake abs are so hot *Q*

lol kidding! the only abs Jae had were during the mirotic era..he has emaciated ever since..but oppa is still beautiful! :D

"I must have wronged Song Seung-heon in a past life." ---> i think we all did hahahaha

"Hyuk tries to process the fact that Mina is dead, which is like seeing a pantomime of the five stages of grief on speed." - i want the other 2 phases too!! gonna add them to my SSH derp face collection folder

"Once again, Kyung-tak proves he’s the only one not taking crazy pills during the next Council of Evil meeting." atleast his character is the best thing about this sinking ship of a drama -_-"

"Scenes Without Hyuk strikes again. Guaranteed results every time." True! :'D

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Dear Heads, thank you for recapping this series. I am amazed by your ability to make reading about a brain-fetus-goo drama an enjoyable experience. You've done an awesome job sticking it out - the end is in sight!!!

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oh also i love how every recap ends with a picture of jaejoong..its like cleansing your palate from all the weirdness of Dr. Jin with a puuuurrrty jaejoong :D

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The parallel universe take on this show is so ridiculous that it's laughable. I would have swallowed time travel but parallel universes? I mean for the world that Hyuk landed on to be in a different dimension, a hell of a lot more things should have been different when he arrived, but all the changes that did happen was brought on by his arrival so maybe his very presence caused a rift in space-time and made a parallel universe spill over? Talk about being a black hole character...

The Kyung tak-Daddy resolution kinda felt like it was full circle for me. Kyung tak spent his whole life catering to Daddy's whims and wants and it took Daddy actually telling him to live his life and dying for him to (maybe) finally take his own destiny into his own hands. It has a sort of poetic irony to it. I'm pretty satisfied with that story trajectory.

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You are awesome Heads.

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Thanks HeadsNo2 for this recap. Like you,I found Kyung-tak with Minister Kim's death scene as the highlight of this episode and maybe the entire series.

That Chun-hong died leaving many questions still un-answered was disappointing to me too. Who in the remaining characters can provide those answers? Or, did Chun-hong left a letter explaining it all? Or, does the rubics cube have the answer? Or, will the fetus in the jar in the end have speaking lines and clarify this mess? :)

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Awww :( Scenes withouth Hyuk . LOL
So good . Thank you so much Heads !!!

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Thanks so much Heads for this fast recap and your sacrifice for all 21 episodes (one more to go, fighting!). I was lost since early episodes, only read your recap and then watched only some parts in each episode just to see what you pointed out.

I was hoping Chun-hong was the key to the answer of rules behind the parallel universe, so I expected her to live til last episode. Her death with unexplained (logical) reasons makes me ask what's the point of her character? Just to give us some hints, but still keep mystery of the so-called parallel universe?

Many reasons used in this episode make me wanna scratch my head. How come releasing the Catholics lead to the war in Joseon people's view? or is it because when they first did the Catholic persecution, it spurred a revenge, then when they changed their mind to release the Catholic, it made the priests an opportunity to do so? With Hyuk's reasoning of the parallel universe, if Mina died, then YR will die also. So, it's already a given that Mina died? Why didn't YR think if she wouldn't die, then Mina won't die in order to support her previously comfort to Hyuk that he will meet Mina when he goes back. OK.. I know it's gonna be a plot point for the coming war scene (to make her injured and lead Hyuk to return to get more medical supplies to help her.. hope that it won't also lead to KT's death?) ..and I shouldn't be surprised with any reasoning in this drama, right?

Well, at least, KT is the only main characters that wasn't treated by Hyuk by rejecting it himself. I'm satisfied...

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I'm deathly afraid the writers are going to go wheels-up (note that i have really toned down this expression) the way the writers on "Big" did, and refuse to resolve anything whatsoever. And the two episode extension was to allow the plot to???

Oh well, I can still enjoy the non-Hyuk scenes, particularly the gorgeous Jaejoong. Excluding the appalling plastic torso WTFery. So very bizarre.

Thank you for your perseverance in recapping this. We should have known somehow that no good could come of clown car brain surgery and candlelit breast exams/bullet wound surgery.

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Again, I am lost in this episode. I just want this drama to end already!! Why do I keep reading about it anyway? Huh...

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Again, I am lost in this episode. I just want this drama to end already!! Why do I keep reading about it anyway? Huh... We need answers!! Not confusions!!

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The most "good" thing about this episode was how well you recapped everything. There is nothing else nice I can say about it.

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The most "good" thing about this episode was how well you recapped everything. There is nothing else nice I can say about it. This seres started off with so much promise and now I feel obligated to finish it off cause that what the drama addict in me would do.

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Lol...I thought the beginning was pretty bad too. :P

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The most "good" thing about this episode was how well you recapped everything. There is nothing else nice I can say about it. This series started off with so much promise and now I feel obligated to finish it off cause that what the drama addict in me would do.

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I could barely get though this recap because I was laughing so much. Stellar work HeadsNo2!!! Every section has a gem. Many have already mentioned the wikipedia comment. What about "lather, rinse, repeat"? What about "a pantomine of the five stages of grief on speed"? These recaps are so good that I almost wish Dr. Jin had another extension. I haven't watched or read anything as funny (on screen or online) than these recaps all summer. I fell like the last recap will indicate to me that summer is officially over. Sigh.

Three cheers for HeadNos2!

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Thanks a lot Heads! Really appreciate your work and thanks for sticking it out til the end.

My favourite line in the recap: "Aww, this is actually pretty sad. Scenes Without Hyuk strikes again. Guaranteed results every time."

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OMG this recap tickled me so much its a wonder i still remembered how to breathe LMAO

After this show I don't think I'll be watching any of SSH's drama for a long time. I never thought it possible for someone to develop an allergy to SSH but thanks to DR. Jin, i think i have =))

As for KJJ, well, in spite the poor script, his acting actually made me bawl over this episode *sniff sniff* I think he's someone I can look forward to seeing again in a drama. I just hope he'd get into a better written one. =))

Thanks so muchee heads! one more episode to go!

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I feel sorry for the actors. The writers have given up. We're down to the last ep and I don't think they can wrap this up.

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The giggles began the second I saw the screen cap of Chun hong's Flower Barge 'O Death -- it looks like a Mardi Gras parade float on speed and WTF was that over-blown round wreath stuck on the back?! I can just picture people downstream seeing that festive flower box hove into view and thinking "Oooo... a gift for us! Let's see what's inside...." Poor Chun-hong. No dignity (or answers) to the bitter end.

Poor Jaejoong - fake abs to cover his real ones?! He's got a major arrow sticking right through him, he's looking like a shish-kabob ready for the grill and insult to injury, his ex-never-was-his-girlfriend informs him that it's a PENETRATING wound (really?! Just because it's sticking right through him but you feel the need to give him your learned diagnosis, Young Rae?! You suck - and I don't mean in the good way that Kyung-tak might have actually enjoyed at one point in your twisted relationship...). Just cram that finger in a little deeper to validate your point. Passive/aggressive, much?!

Thanks for the recap, HeadsNo2. I actually cried reading this one - tears of laughter are good, and that hasn't happened since the old days of reading recaps at TWOP.
Thank you. Seriously.
I only wish we could throw you a BIG finale party for real!
:)

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Ha! I just kept thinking that the Flower Barge O'Death would probably float over to that little island and stay there. Where everybody could see it. Until....it rots? Eew.

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Thank you for recaping. The last epsode of dad and kyungtak is really heart breaking... i actually cry. Is a failure to have hyuk in this drama. I' m sure this drama will be a good one withouut him.

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This episode was actually interesting, and I realized why. The scenes with Kyung-tak, Left State Minister Kim, and Ha-eung were well acted and strong. The father dying in his son's arms could have been melodramatic, but instead was very well done and touching. Dr. Jin had a small part in this episode and the episode was SO, SO much better for it.

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And the WTFery continues. Seems like the council of evil had so many evil plans they barely attempted one before going on to the next. If, in the end, the big plan was to go over and grab Ha-eung, why all the machinations? And how exactly would that have been politically expedient? We killed the prince regent, so....give us back the power now?

Still annoyed at what the writers have done to Kyung-Tak. He lives for other people's commands because....it's his fate? Yeah, that's just plain lazy. There IS no good reason.

And I have a terrible feeling that his father's last instruction, "live for yourself," will be the one he finally disobeys. But if he dies just to save YR and Hyuk, I will be seriously DISPLEASED.

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Oh God, I hope Kyung-Tak won't die in such a pitiful way!
But seeing how screwed he is now, I can really imagine Young-Rae dying stupidly (and thus Mina surviving), and Kyung-Tak going all mad and slash down Hyuk in his stupid face -and then we're back to ep1, with a Hyuk with a head injury and a fetus, coming back into his era and being operated by himself!

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good post, seriously :)

at least in previous episodes, the WTFery was so outrageous that it was comical. episode 21's WTFery was, as you note, lazy-arse writing.

The Dad off's himself because he can't live w/out power...really? and Kyung-Tak's half-dim-witted brother goes all benedict arnold on his dad just to get in good graces with Ha-eung AND then all of a sudden grows a pair to in believing HE can come up with a plan to 'out-power' Ha-eung...OY!

i really want the bromance to live on...TakHwi. to kill either one of them off, is as you say, lazy writing.

this episode had me repeatedly mumbling "Wha?"

you're right...lazy writing FTL!

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I'm REALLY scared now because it seems like the screenwriter for ep 21 is NOT the same writer for ep 22 so I have no idea how this will end.

As for Jaejoong's fake abs scene....I'm speechless. I'm not suprise they gave him fake abs even though he is known to have/had an amazing body. However, I think Jaejoong mentioned that he isn't really comfortable showing off his body tho. When I think about his body I can't helped but think about fans telling him to STOP working out because his pretty face doesn't match his body (or something like that). Apparently jaejoong with large muscles looks gross or whatever.

Anyway good luck heads!! One more to GO!!!!!!

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agreed. this episode seemed like it was written by someone on the French (invading) Battleship.

not only was it 'max-bizarro', there was absolutely zero comic relief. sigh.

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I read the manga of dr jin and kind of liked it, i was excited when they announced the adaptation into korean drama. But what a dissapoinment.. the plot is all over the place, the writing is suck, etc.. keep watching to see how much far this drama can go.. the most enjoyment occured from dr jin is the dramabeans recap.. gosh it was very entertaining.

But note from this episode, i did cried when kyung tak father died.. seriously, this is the best scene of the entire drama. Never take jaejoong as an actor before, watching this i'm starting to see him in the different light. Hope he can act soon in a drama with a better writer..

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I have an unhealthy obsession to jaejoong, but even i have to admit that this drama is a big mess.. well my consolations is jaejoong look pretty here, and he act with all his heart out.

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I don't know why I am always at work when I read these and laugh like a fool:
"Since the majority of the episode focuses on things that are Not Hyuk, I’m not one to look a gift jar in the fetus."

Ahhhhh, there's no place like headsNo2.

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Hilarity as usual. Your recaps make me laugh and laugh and laugh. The show is so lame. But Why am I dying to find out what happens?! Thanks for the weekly giggles.

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Thanks, Heads. After much teeth gnashing and eyes rolling throughout Hyuk and YT scenes, I have thrown in the towel.

SSH's acting is so annoying in this drama. Sick but I cackle in glee whenever that the jar fetus zaps him.

One more to go!

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The Hand Towel, right?
It can only work if you throw in the fetus jar, too.

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Thank you for the recap! I laughed so much! :D

I went and watched the episode for Kyung-Tak, Young-Hwi and Daddy Dearest. And I wanted to thank Kyung-tak so hard when he yelled in Hyuk's face, forbidding him to operate on him. THANK YOU, Kyung-tak!
I'm glad also that Young-Hwi's coming back into action. The bromance is adorable.

True also, the scene where Kyung-Tak's father dies is very well-acted, and I would have cried if the editing had not completely destroyed the atmosphere firstly by cutting Kyung-Tak's crying with Ha-Eung's scene, then by killing all my tears with Kyuk's stupid face, bad acting, and bad Young-Rae-plot...

Then I decided to watch the scene again so as not to end with Hyuk, and I noticed something that quite disturbs me...
Why the Hell the father has a bloody hand while holding the gun, therefore BEFORE putting his hand on his bloodied chest??? Did they redo the scene and then forgot to wash his hand??? This is totally killing the scene!!! The view of the Kim's house with the bang sound was already ridiculous, did they have to make that mistake as well??? I feel so bad for the actors who were doing such a great work! Do you guys think it's a mistake or is there a reason for the father to have his hand all bloody while holding the gun???

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Maybe some blood squirted out of his chest...

Honestly, I don't think you can expect any logic in this drama anymore at this point.

I think I would probably be satisfied if everyone just randomly died of a brain(fetus)attack/parallel world disease.

Well, atleast we have the KyungHwi bromance to give us pretty boys with semi-interesting characters~

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someone bake a cake for HeadsNo2!!!
awesome recaps as always and your'e almost done :) It's pretty cool how you've managed to turn something awful and mind-numbing into something entertaining and fun. It proves to the talent and gift that have for writing. and I'm looking forward to your next recapping projects.
anyway, I'm thinking of actually starting to watch this drama, now that I've found a good method of dealing with the pain it will bring me--a drinking game. God knows I have to be drunk in order to take all that crap, but should I start drinking everytime Young Rae cries? everytime she's been told that she would die? everytime Jin shows his "WTF I'm screwed" face? or everytime he's squirted by blood on his face?

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Heads, thank you for the thoroughly enjoyable recap <3
Kyung-tak, in his own words ("I don't care what is right or wrong") has affirmed my take on him as an amoral character with a conscience. He is completely aware that he is being used by dad, and that dad has made one erroneous judgment after another and will end badly- esp. having read Hyuk's letter, but is still stubbornly determined to follow dad to the bitter end. I equate his unfortunate loyalty to what many in his time pledge to their king/superior. Like when Ha-eung chose to drink the poison given to him by the king, like when Kyung-tak's lieutenant said he would do anything Kyung-tak tells him to do, without question.
Had Kyung-tak not met and come to love Young-hwi and Young-rae, he would have become a very scary person. Minister Kim version. 2.0, with much better looks xD I thought it was interesting that Minister Kim said because KT resembled him the most, he was the most fearsome. Because yeah, had Kyung-tak wanted to, Minister Kim would have been finished a long time ago.
I second everything Heads said about why Minister Kim choosing death was actually quite redeeming. It was one of the few scenes in this drama that was satisfying to watch, and it was beautifully acted by Kim Eung Soo and Jaejoong <3
My biggest concern going into the finale is that the writer who appears to have written most if not all of Kyung-tak's scenes said LM's death scene was the last scene she wrote.... OMG what are they going to do with KT in the last episode?! We shall find out soon xP

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OMO I just want to clean up Jaejoong and give him a big snuggly hug.

Sorry this comment is not exactly....deep. :P

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