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Nice Guy: Episode 19

This certainly is an emotional powerhouse of an episode, with Maru and Jae-hee coming to some startling (and sometimes frustrating) realizations about themselves and how they relate to each other. Now that Eun-ki’s back, she’s not about to let anyone off the hook as far as her dead daddy goes, and the only thing standing between her and a pile of bodies is Maru. I think, anyway. It’s hard to tell when he’s actually in there or when it’s his empty shell walking around.

Note: Please, please do not post any spoilers even remotely related to the final episode, out of consideration for those who haven’t watched it. As a fellow fan and as a recapper, I ask that you please try to contain all the feels. Nothing with a “Spoiler Warning” or a “The ending made me feel XYZ.” We’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow. Thanks! ♥

SONG OF THE DAY

Blue October – “The Answer” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 19 RECAP

Eun-ki follows Maru from a distance, and we hear her in voiceover:

Eun-ki: Last night, these thoughts came into my mind: Yes, that’s right. Kang Maru and I can never be together. Even if I were to go crazy again, so what? Where in the world is love impossible? If I rebel and stand my ground, anyone in this world would come and stop us. Then, believing that, and believing in the people who will separate and stop us… I will, for the last time, run to him. For the last time, I will hold his hand. For the last time, I will listen to what he says. For the last time, I will talk to him about my honest feelings. For the last time, he will kiss my scars, and for the last time, we’ll reminisce about how we were together.”

Maru holds his head in pain. Eun-ki doesn’t seem to notice. She keeps following him, and whips around the second he turns. Did he notice her? (It’d kind of be hard not to.)

Her voiceover continues as she questions whether there’s truly no way for them to be together and happy, or if they’ve ignored those ways. Even if they were to put their heads together, she can’t see a way out.

“Even then, what if I can’t give up? ‘Hold onto me. I want to be next to you. I can’t break up with you just like this.’ Can I grab onto Kang Maru and just whine? Those who will separate and stop us… I will believe in those people.”

I understand where she’s coming from and why, but this whole ‘I can’t stop myself, so I need someone else to’ is vaguely frustrating. Just run away and elope already.

We jump back a bit to Eun-ki and Joon-ha’s coffee shop conversation, where she asks if he has even more to hide from her. He doesn’t answer.

Maru listens to Joon-ha’s recording of Jae-hee and Min-young during Chairman Seo’s final moments. After pausing it, Maru asks why he revealed this to him.

Joon-ha wonders why the first question out of Maru’s mouth wasn’t “Why are you revealing this now?” Seeing as how this one piece of evidence can destroy Jae-hee and Min-young easily. Joon-ha counted on Maru’s level-headedness, which is why he brought the tape. He presses play again.

Now we hear Joon-ha’s side of the phone call, and the blackmail reveal about his father killing Eun-ki’s mother. He tearfully admits to Maru that the reason why he hid the truth from Eun-ki was not to save himself, but because he was afraid of her getting hurt if she were to try and take revenge. Aww.

He hands his resignation letter to Min-young along with a copy of the phone conversation. He admits that he was a hypocrite in wanting to have Eun-ki, which is why he didn’t want to lose her to Maru. He was sure he would have told her the truth in time. But that’s changed.

Joon-ha: “Letting go of someone, and also giving up on someone… I learned this, too, was love. That it’s a bigger love than keeping her to myself. And so for that reason, I can be happy. I realized that not too long ago. Kang Maru taught me that.”

So it’s with tears in his eyes that he tells Min-young: “Let’s turn ourselves in. You and I. For the sin we committed against Eun-ki, let’s turn ourselves in.”

Maru listens to the death recording again and hones in on Min-young asking Jae-hee: “Didn’t you tell me to help you?” Because he remembers when Jae-hee asked for his help, back with the (first) murder.

Jae-hee slumps as she hears the contents of Eun-ki’s report, which calls for her to step down temporarily and leave the company in the hands of professionals. Also, Maru has been dismissed.

Speak of the devil, he comes to Jae-hee’s office (calling her Noona) to ask for a date. In the park. So we’re technically still in a flashback.

Eun-ki sees him on his way to the park, which explains her presence. Once he’s with Jae-hee his friendly persona is back, and as he holds her hand he remembers how they’ve always been cold. And how, once, her cold hands were all he’d worried about.

He starts breathing onto her hands to warm them, which we only see from behind. There’s this horrible moment where his breathing sounds ragged and his shoulders shake ever so slightly.

Jae-hee grows concerned and lifts his face, now covered in tears. Ooof. That just hits me in the gut.

Maru collects himself enough to admit that he’s thought about the night of the murder, and how things would have been different had he let her turn herself in. He would have never left her, no matter how long it took. He would have proposed. “Then would Noona have been happy?”

He goes deeper and deeper into a world of “what if,” describing how they’d eke out a poor but happy existence. How they’d vacation once a year. How he could have saved to buy her a brand-name bag.

He starts breaking down again as he imagines this world, and it is just breaking my heart. Jae-hee’s too, since she can’t hold back her tears. Broken, Maru asks again, “‘Then would Noona have been happy? Would you have been happier than now?’ I’ve had those thoughts. It was all wrong since then.”

But because of that one night, now Jae-hee has lost the ability to decide right from wrong. (What?)

And for that, Maru apologizes, because he made her into the unimaginable monster she is. He’s taking responsibility for it, and now the conversation takes a different turn. Still shedding heart-wrenching tears, he tells her:

“I will go to Noona. Love… I can’t promise love, but I can stay with you forever. As long as what you want from me isn’t love, as long as it isn’t that, it’s fine. Wherever noona is, I will wait for you, I’ll be understanding, I’ll be able to hold it in, endure it, and I will hold your hand. I won’t let it go. Stop all the useless acts, and throw away all the heavy weights laid upon you. And if there happens to be punishment that you deserve, accept it all. I will wait for you any time, so… will you come to me?”

It’s such a beautiful, raw scene. The Maru we’re seeing is (finally) the true Maru. The noble idiot Maru, since he can’t actually take responsibility for Jae-hee’s lack of moral fiber, but never has there been a more beautiful idiot.

Jae-hee breaks down into sobs, and Maru pulls her close to comfort her. Eun-ki watches silently.

It’s Jae-sik’s birthday, and Choco has made him seaweed soup with the exact grade of beef he likes. Aww. Jae-gil can’t help noticing Jae-sik’s suspicious and nervous behavior, especially when he asks about Maru.

To make matters worse, he sends both Jae-gil and Choco out. Jae-gil, trust your gut! Turn back!

Jae-sik finds Maru in the bathroom, and asks if Maru ever thought that he’d turn on him. Expressionless, Maru answers yes.

So then Jae-sik admits that he does have a knife on him, and that he was promised an apartment if he kills Maru. (That’s it?) Maru isn’t surprised at all, and pretty much gives Jae-sik the go-ahead. Again, points for honesty on Jae-sik’s part.

But it’s Jae-sik who chickens out, only to have himself violently thrown out by Jae-gil. He knows perfectly well what Jae-sik was there to do, but tells him, “Maru will die even if you don’t kill him.”

He then drops to his knees to beg Jae-sik to listen to his conscience, if he has one. Maru is one of the few people who ever treated him like a person, after all.

Jae-sik takes all this in stride, since murder doesn’t seem to bother him too much. He even chides Jae-gil for crying over Maru’s illness without being in Maru’s shoes. It’s almost funny, in a pitch-black humor sort of way, for Jae-sik to be all, Think about how I feel, I’m trying to kill the poor bastard!

The whole gang gets time to brood, interrupted by a phone call: Joon-ha was in a car accident the night before, and is now in a coma.

To which I say: WHAT?!

Flash back to him telling Maru that he’d offer Min-young the chance to turn himself in, since they’d been friends once. But in case “something” were to happen to him, he charged Maru with releasing the file. Jesus. Way to totally suck out any emotional impact this could have had by showing us nothing. (Speaking of dissatisfying car crashes…)

Eun-ki’s already at the hospital by the time Maru arrives, and she begs a comatose Joon-ha to open his eyes.

Maru drags her outside, and she admits that she’d confronted Joon-ha about an hour long call she’d seen logged between him and her father the night he died. She’d accused him of being on Jae-hee and Min-young’s side. But Joon-ha never said a word, and only cried.

It’s with venom that Eun-ki yells: “Han Jae-hee and Ahn Min-young killed my father. My father was murdered.”

Because of that same reason, she believes they tried to kill Joon-ha. Maru warns her against making any accusations without evidence lest she become a target like Joon-ha, but she refuses.

He’s trying to protect her by not letting her go empty-handed… So, why isn’t he giving her the evidence again? What does he stand to lose?

Eun-ki gleans that he’s trying to protect Jae-hee, and levels him a cold stare as she tells him that she’s going to catch Jae-hee herself. “Protect Han Jae-hee, the one you can’t stand to lose,” she grates out, revealing that she saw them together the other night in the process.

Jae-hee finds Eun-suk moping, and offers him one last chance: Does he want the shiniest toy in the world, one that would have everyone bowing to him forever? One that’s one-thousand times better than Eun-ki?

It seems like she’s giving herself one last chance, too. She’s deciding between the extravagant life she leads and the one Maru is offering her.

Eun-suk decides against the offer. “Only babies want to have toys,” he wisely tells her. “I’m not a baby anymore.”

Decision made, Jae-hee takes one last look around her home. She slowly strips off her expensive jewelry in place of one simple, tiny gold band. She’s surprised when she realizes that the gold ring is just as pretty as the huge diamond one she just removed.

She calls Min-young because she has something to say, and he prepares some disturbingly gaudy jewelry to give to her when she comes. But it’s Maru who walks through the door first.

He knows Min-young tried to kill Joon-ha, and offers him a chance to turn himself in while Jae-hee listens from outside the door.

He doesn’t have evidence that Min-young had a hand in Joon-ha’s death, but judges that it’s true just by the way Min-young reacts. He brandishes the thumb drive with the Chairman’s death evidence, and still, he appeals to Min-young’s conscience to ask him to do the right thing.

Either way, Maru plans to persuade Jae-hee to turn herself in, and adds that he’ll take care of her for the rest of her days. She’s stunned by the realization that evidence exists of her crime (and that Maru knows of it), as he adds that the file will make its way to the police in twenty-four hours. Tick tock.

She hides away in the stairwell as she realizes why Maru said all those things to her about her lack of judgment, and refuses to take his call.

Secretary Hyun tells Eun-ki that the police believe Joon-ha’s car crash was intentional, only they have no evidence of the other driver. She did manage to capture Secretary Jo’s car trailing Joon-ha’s the night of the accident, and hands the footage over to Eun-ki.

One moment of admittedly-integrated-but-still-completely-obvious use of product placement later, and Eun-ki has the license plate.

She storms into Joon-ha’s hospital room once she realizes Min-young is in it, and slaps his hand away from Joon-ha’s prone body. They face off as he tells her that he has people he can trust to take care of him, but she fires back, “Where in the world is there someone you can trust? There is no person like that for me.”

So, she refuses to budge in order to protect Joon-ha. Jae-hee’s on her way in as she ushers Min-young out, and Eun-ki acts the part of a lioness protecting her cub when she becomes to Jae-hee what the TSA is to us.

She checks her handbag for weapons, makes her take off her coat, and soon has her unbuttoning her blouse to check for hidden weapons. Min-young can’t get a word in edgewise, and while Eun-ki’s content to let Jae-hee humiliate herself, Maru puts a stop to it.

Jae-hee storms off, and so does Eun-ki. Min-young just stews.

Maru tells Eun-ki that she’s now in more danger than Joon-ha ever was, and if he were the one behind everything, he’d want her dead as soon as possible. Eun-ki: “Get rid of me then. If you get rid of me, then all the evidence will be gone.”

Maru smirks a bit – it’s not a bad idea, killing her with his own hands. Especially with Jae-hee suspicious of their relationship – him killing her would put an end to that, wouldn’t it?

I get that he doesn’t really mean to kill her, but this conversation is a bit overboard with all the twistiness. He uses the “I’m going to kill you” excuse to hold her hostage, so that she’s always within stabbing reach when he finds the urge.

When we put that through the completely scientific Maru Translator, we get: I won’t let you out of my sight so I can protect you.

Meanwhile, Jae-hee again considers Maru’s offer of eternal care. When Min-young arrives with the purse she left at the hospital, she asks if he had a hand in Joon-ha’s accident. She knows he did without him needing to answer.

Surprisingly, Min-young claims he’ll go to the police alone and take full responsibility for Chairman Seo’s death. He’ll tell them that he forced Jae-hee out of calling for help in order to protect her. Huh. Well, that doesn’t make him any less awful.

But Jae-hee’s had it up to HERE with men taking responsibility for her actions. “Who are you to take responsibility for me? It wasn’t because of your threat, but it was my will, Han Jae-hee’s free will, that caused the Chairman’s death.” Ohmagawd. Finally, someone is speaking sense.

She admits that deep down, she wanted the Chairman dead because her and Eun-suk were at risk if he lived. All Min-young did was take the blood off her hands and put it onto his own.

Jae-hee: “Who are you people to say it’s all your fault? Why are you people sorry? I committed those sins from my own will, beliefs, and values. Why are they all you peoples’ fault? How good do you people think you are? How impressive are you people? Why are you people taking responsibility for my life? Why do you make someone so embarrassing and pitiful?”

I never thought I’d say this about something Jae-hee said, but amen. Finally. Bravo. Thank you. Thank you.

“You’re the same,” she adds through gritted teeth. “You and Kang Maru are the same.” When even Jae-hee can easily draw a parallel between the hero and villain of the same show, we’ve got some issues. Compelling issues, but issues nonetheless.

Eun-ki finds Maru a much more attentive shadow than she had counted on, since he’s practically squeezing the toothpaste while she brushes her teeth. She’s choosing to stay in the hospital to care for and protect Joon-ha, and Maru has a cute moment of covering her with his coat when she falls asleep at the helm.

The next day, Maru ends up at his old house, surprised to find that Jae-hee now owns it. Maru: “I came, didn’t I?” Jae-hee: “With just your empty shell? Did you come from Eun-ki’s side?”

He replies honestly, which causes Jae-hee to respond in kind by handing over a huge file of all that Chairman Seo had left for Eun-ki. Every last penny he’d collected from tax fraud over the years into one huge sum, not to mention all of Taesan and everything else he owned.

As for the why, Jae-hee proposes a deal. If she gives Eun-ki everything, she wants Maru to give her all the copies of the illicit tape recording. “I am never going to turn myself in,” she asserts.

But, if he wants her to turn herself in and pay for her crimes, then she wants all of him. Not just his empty shell, but his heart, and love. Only when she knows he’ll be faithfully waiting for her on the other side will she turn herself in.

Well, my short-lived love of Jae-hee ends here. It was good while it lasted.

Maru returns to Joon-ha’s room only to find Eun-ki out for fresh air. Worry is etched into his face as he goes searching for her, and relief floods him when he finds her dozing off on a bench.

He eases her head onto his shoulder while she sleeps, and she wakes with a start.

“Eun-ki-ya,” he tells her as he takes her hand. “Let’s run away. I will go anywhere you go. To a place where no one in the world can find us. Run away with me, Seo Eun-ki.”

 
COMMENTS

Yes, run away with him. No, seriously. I mean it. Just pack your bags and go. It’s not the most responsible of solutions, and yes he just made this same promise to another girl… waitaminute. He DID just make this promise to another girl. So, who exactly does he really want to go with again?

Maru’s scene with Jae-hee was one of the best of the series, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth as far as Maru is concerned. Has he learned nothing from all of this? Truly? He has this grand speech about a supposedly grand revelation, except it’s not a revelation at all. He just thinks things would have been different if he let Jae-hee take the fall, and completely leaves out even a tiny space in which she could be held responsible. Here’s the guy who believed an amnesiac Eun-ki deserved some of the blame for falling for a bastard like him. So why is Jae-hee automatically exempt from the same kind of scrutiny?

And the best thing about it is that Jae-hee knows exactly what’s going on, even if she’s not doing anything about it. It was cathartic, to say the least, to have her voice some reason (for as long as it lasted) in recognizing that she, as President of the Jae-hee Nation, made her own terrible choices. (Who’d have thought?) She made every decision with full knowledge of what she was doing. Having Maru infantilize her by claiming responsibility for her missing moral compass goes to show that, in the end, no one can take the fall quite like him – if only because he seeks out the highest cliffs.

It frustrates me, because I want him to be happy, and I know his happiness depends on Eun-ki. But this boy is just not in the right mind to ever let himself take that happiness, especially when he’s choosing to soak in the dirty bathwater of Jae-hee’s own choices like it’s his own. And if he doesn’t realize that it isn’t, if he truly believes he’s responsible for Jae-hee’s choices, then he’s hopeless. Unless the show of tears with Jae-hee was all a lie, then I’m stuck believing that while Maru does love Eun-ki, he doesn’t believe he has the right to. Otherwise, why offer to sacrifice your whole life and happiness for a woman you don’t even love just so you can stay away from the woman you do love? Oy.

The same kind of situation is going on with Eun-ki, in that she can’t trust herself to take personal responsibility for loving Maru, and is thus placing the situation out of her hands in the hopes that someone will come and tear them apart. (The only time someone in a drama wants a meddling second lead, they don’t get one. Irony.) I’m all for her going either way – staying with Maru, or leaving him. But I want it to be her choice. And I want her to want it to be her choice. What wrong turn did we take in order for Jae-hee to be the only one who recognizes that personal culpability actually exists?

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Compared to I miss you, this show is a comedy.
Thanks heads!

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sometimes I just wish that Maru's head hurting ness thing will just happen. and everyone will hold hands and be like, I'm sorry Maru and hug.
idk.
Maru.
I love you.
but..Get out of the picture.

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Thanks for the recap!! :D

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hopefully there will be a happy ending :)

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tq...tq

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Been a great ride watching this show, now for the finale.

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Thanks heafs for the recap :) off to read

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Thank you for the recap heads! i'm not sure what i feel about this episode. I love the JH and MR scene, that was refreshingly sad and gave me abit of empathy towards JH. but damn cmon Maru! have you no sense! Just as you thought that JH was beginning to regain a conscious she doesn't !! RAGEEEEEE!

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Even if Maru has yet to learn his lesson, I must say that that scene between him and Jae-hee really moved me. He had the realization that what he had done in the past was wrong and did not help her. What he fails to realize is that, ultimately, Jae-hee made her own decisions.

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Thi is what I thought was going through Maru's mind: He thinks he owes restitution to Eun-Gi and so he sacrifices himself to Jae-Hee if she will turn herself in. Then Eun-Gi will supposedly be happy since her father was avenged and she would get her company back.

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I must say I started this show on a whim and am so glad I made that decision. As we come to the end I still (stupidly) hope for a happy ending with Eun Gi and Maru, but, hey, a girl can dream. Thanks HeadsNo2 for the recaps and everyone else who followed this show so closely. It's almost over and I just don't know what other show I will find to fill its place.

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goddamn you song joong ki for being such a pretty crier!

but oooooof that scene in the park with jaehee really got me in the gut!

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One more episode... Im glad i stick with this drama.

Now, it's Maru's turn to tell Eun Ki to run away with him....

Eun Ki and Maru are very much alike..

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Heads.... Thank you so much for the recap.

It has been a roller coaster ride with Maru and Eun Ki but I'm glad i have taken the journey with them.

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this show is daebaakk... i read the recap and feel sad for both Eun ki and Maru. Thanks HeadsNo2 for your amazing work!

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Ha ha! I knew the spoiler thing was bound to come up today but i can't believe u actually begged people not to post them! i find it much more effective when u lot literally threaten anyone that dares post anything even remotely resembling a spoiler of a finale like u did for some popular drama this year, that just made my day!
Thank u and looking forward to the new drama next week...wed/thurs are officially my fav days this year!

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Maybe there wasnt enough time to film a car crash. Al that explosion and props will have taken so much time and effort for a couple of seconds of screen time.

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This drama has almost come full circle.

1. It's funny how JH finally can go home but that home is not the same. The old adage of thing change and you can never go back is revealed here.

2. JS's emotional but blunt discovery of being recognized as a human being was also touching. You can tell his torn decision about killing MR because of Choco's care and MR's blunt understanding of the situation/people around him.

3. EG's turmoil about love and vengeance was also touching. She still has feelings for MR but the death of everyone she loved and the loss of finding someone to trust is touching. At this point she can't even trust herself.

4. It's ironic that MR asks EG to run away like she did at the beach before the accident. He wants a fresh start and return to the innocence of love and life just like EG did back then. He is willing to forget everything and everyone but the one person he loves. Like you I wanted them to runaway together and start a fresh new life...

5. JH and MY's moral compass has wavered back and forth. MY's obsessively dedicated to JH and willing to take the fall for hr and JH has finally owned up to her culpabilities. JH has definitely grown as a person finally even though she still will not turn herself in. Their relationship has also come almost full circle as well.

I've seen the last episode and can't wait to see what you're opinion and insights will be.

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I don't really have a problem with JH's deal for Maru.. in her own twisted way, She has loved Maru and only him..It's as obsessive as Maru's devotion to her early in the series.

I've realized over the course of the drama that Jae Hee is just a lost soul who hates her life that she has now.. one that she wanted so badly ironically.

I've really enjoyed this drama.. but have to say, I get tired of seeing all the flashbacks especially compared to watching city hunter at the moment.. I know what has happened show, you don't need to tell me over and over again.

On to the finale.

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Mad respect for Park Si Yeon! She was all kinds of brilliant in this episode....granted she's been mersmerizing the whole time....now for the finale *runs of to watch next ep*

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while Maru does love Eun-ki, he doesn’t believe he has the right to
I feel like that's what he's always been doing....never really living for himself....always doing the selfless thing in the worst way possible....but he has been coming to certain realizations, like in that scene when he drinks with Jae Gil after JG finds out about his hematoma.....so I'm still holding out some hope for him

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Thanks for the recap.

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Joon-ha looked hot in this episode. Like more than usual. Is it just me?

The Jae-hee and Maru scene in the beginning was really sad. I was just talking with some people earlier this week about mothers who protect their sons, even if they're committing heinous crimes....the right thing to do by the children you love is to have them take the punishment.

I like how the drama didn't depict Jae-hee as some psychopath evildoer. It was a mix of influences that had brought Jae-hee to this point. There were the circumstances her home life that has given her a fear of living in the slums. Maru constantly protecting her prevented her from developing the necessary coping skills. And then there's her - ultimately, she was the one who had done these horrible things.

All those things Maru said on that bench, I've wondered. I don't think it's bad for him to feel responsible. It's like when you let a friend drive drunk and he gets into an accident. Well that friend shouldn't have planned to drink so much if he was going to drive and he was the one who made that decision, but I'm sure I would feel responsible and wished that I had said or done something.

Love how Eun-gi stood by Joon-ha's side - how she called him oppa, gave him bodyguards (though they were admittedly useless), slapped Ahn Min-young's hand away, and forced Jae-hee to strip, and made Ahn Min-young squirm inside to see his beloved Jae-hee humiliated.

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yeah, Joon-ha has been looking hotter than usual these last couple of episodes, well, before he landed in hospital anyway (good chance for Lee Sang-yeob to catch up on some sleep, I suppose).

And I love how loyal Eun-ki is to him too, this is literally the first time we see her drop formal titles and go back to what she (probably) called him all her life before he became a lawyer and she started working for Taesan.

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'King of Dramas' has totally messed with my head now! Everytime i see a PPL i think orange juice! And everytime i see a flashback i think somebody's adding time to hit that 30% rating! Speaking of which, i think NG is up there giving Vampire Prosecutor a run for its money when it comes to the ridiculous number of flashbacks they both have per episode!

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Me too!!! I actually saw the orange juice scenes in KoD and had to run to the kitchen to get some...LOL
I'm actually immune to PPl...Like it doesn't bother me but since the first ep of KoD, I'm totally keeping track of everytime that phone and tablet turns up in this drama

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Omo Omo... exactly... what have you done to us Anthony Kim with your PPL and flashbacks to extend the time?

Before i would be amused but most of the time i really didnt care about the products.

Although, at one time I actually looked for that Canon camera since I'm into photography.

Now, every time there is a close up of the brand name, i think of PPL.

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Thank you! As soon as I saw that Samsung Galaxy PPL I started yelling "Orange juice!" at the screen over and over. Then I realized that I was thirsty.

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oh my god me too

anthony kim is really something

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true dat. i kept counting how many flashbacks are there in the last two episodes. boy the drama within drama has explained most dramas well.

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Me too! They've been using a lot of flashbacks lately. I'm assuming they don't have enough filmed in time.

At least the samsung galaxy was presented in a more logical manner in this episode than in KoD's drama within a drama. I do wonder how Lee Kyung Hee feels about the product placement though.

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hahaha yeah, the flashbacks were getting ridiculous, but I agree that they probably couldn't get enough filmed in time.

Either way, it's over now, the cast and crew have earned a good long rest - poor Moon Chae Won was looking so tired in her on-set birthday pics, I wanted to tuck her right into bed and order her to stay there for a week lol

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I had the exact same reaction, even though I didn't like the extreme soap-dramaness of having a courier DIE for a second of PPL.

Seriously, PD? Did the Secretary not think of enlarging the photo for the license plate herself when she got the CCTV capture? Or does Samsung only cash out when the lead holds the product? :p

I thought Moon Chae Won looked uncomfortable at how obvious the PPL was ... there was a hint of resignation mixed with amusement that totally broke the suspense of the accident for me.

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yeah that car accident aftermath really threw me off. When I was watching the episode I thought that I missed something, but now it seems really convenient-haha

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I love this show so much but it is so confusing. Maru is the most complex character I have ever encountered and that is largely because of the awesomeness with which Song Joong-ki plays him. The guy is so tight lipped about his emotions, that when he does show emotions, I can't tell if they're real or not. I want Maru to be happy too, but how can he be if he is rarely honest with his feelings or what he thinks he should do and be feeling. The guy is an enigma. But I love him all the same.

That being said the idea that neither he nor Eun-ki will be happy with the other because of all the people who want to keep them apart is just crap. Come on, we can do better than that. You guys just need to go all in or give it all up. Be with each other because you want to be together, or don't because you don't want to be together. None of this wishy-washy-ness about "I love you, but everyone is against us, so we must not be right" crap. Please. Just, please. Grow up and grow a spine!

Okay, I'm done ranting.

Thanks for the recap, HeadsNo2!

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Well said!
You have captured the confusion I feel watching him, but why I like watching him.

This episode took the wind out of my hope-for-a-happy-ending sails.

I hated the conversation with MR and JH because I could feel her rejecting his version of what would have happened.
She NEVER would have chosen the boring happy home - at that stage of her life. She was all about the flash of being a reporter, and, correct me if I am wrong, wasn't she already seeing the Chairman?

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Well she was! And it's not like she was faithful to chairman whom she killed a man for.

Agree with both of your points. And may I add that I hate those who say she is some great personage, the woman got everything handed to her in a silver plate all long. Whether from Maru who truly loved her or the chairman that fell for her tricks and not to mention lawyer Ahn who is obsessed about her. She knows only who to take, take and take.

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I don't think it was ever really confirmed that she was seeing the chairman in the romantic/sexual sense, but I do get the sense she got into some shady dealing with the Chairman. When she returned to the Chairman's after the murder, wasn't she in tears and all like "did you know what I have done to the man I value more than my own life?" (or something thereabouts). If the Chairman knew that she was in love with some guy while they were in a relationship, he would have never kept her around

I wouldn't say that she would have never chosen the boring happy home. With Maru taking that fall for her, neither she nor us nor Maru will ever know. What Jae-hee had craved was the feeling of feeling safe, protected, and successful. I think if Maru ended up being a successful doctor, Jae-hee would have really gotten what she wanted. Maru would have been paying the bills and she would be a trophy wife with a successful husband. With Maru's skills, I bet he would have risen up the ranks really fast. They would have sent their kids to good schools. (Of course, if later down the line, Maru gets a head injury and can no longer practice medicine, wouldn't put it past Jae-hee to dump him and find a sugar daddy)

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Did anyone else feel like the wind was really let out Nice Guy's sails in this episode? All the great energy of episodes 1-18, keeping me constantly on the edge of my seat, is suddenly gone. I really just didn't feel any of the urgency this show has made me come to expect. Kind of disappointed. :( Hope it picks up in the finale.

However I will say that--as awful as she is--I did like that Jae Hee put her foot down and took responsibility for her own actions. She's not some pathetic woman being manipulated by men; she is the manipulator, damnit! That was a nice touch.

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I felt it. All kinds of ridiculous behaviour on all sides. Quite unbelievable stuff

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I agree with you. It really felt like everyone is tired. Even the scene with JH and Maru, I have a trust issue with Maru. I am not convinced that he is truly sincere or is he doing it to protect EG? Or he convinced himself this is the best course of action.Or show is running out of ideas?

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Maru is giving ME a headache with that speech of his to Jae Hee. As touching as that scene was at the park....You fight to be with the woman you love, not the one you feel sorry/guilty for. It doesn't even have the guise of an effort to ultimately protect Eun Ki. And then...to go for the migraine of all migraines, he makes the same offer to Eun Ki in the final scene. Does that even make sense????

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Wow! Just run away with him,if it was me i would run with him without any hesitate! Thank you soooo much Headsno2 for your great recap :-*

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Thanx for the recap Heads.. What a roller coaster ride we have here in this drama... Let's roll one more time for the finale!

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YAYYY A RECAP!!! I was waiting for this :D

I'm so confused. I don't understand Maru. This has been a fun story, but because it's so hard to get a grasp on him, I can't fully invest in him. I've got trust issues, and he's not making it any better!

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Thanks for the recap, and thanks for echoing my thoughts abut Maru's crying scene. SJK totally pulled me in with the beauty of his raw emotion, but I got pulled out again when I realized that Maru was exhibiting major character regression. I was so happy when I thought he had realized that he had been an enabler-- but when he instead took all the blame and volunteered to sacrifice the rest of his life to comfort the monster he had allegedly created, I was peeved. I'm still left wondering what did cause Jae Hee to go to the Dark Side (it obviously was not Maru). She was building a career as a successful reporter, her namja chingu was about to become a doctor-- her life at that point was actually better than it had ever been before, and was likely to get even better. In the flashbacks, she seemed so sweet and happy in those days, but we know (from ep. 1, I think) that she had already made the decision to join forces with the Chairman before the manslaughter happened-- but we don't know why. She claimed it was because of her desperate desire to escape poverty, but that doesn't really ring true to me, given her situation. Anyway, I was super glad she finally put the onus of her misdeeds on herself.

This drama has its share of flaws but what it does well, it does superbly, and it's been a riveting ride.

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Risa, you said it so much better than I did. I've seen the last episode so can't wait to come back for the final comments!

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Thanks for the recap. And BIG THANKS for asking everyone not to give away the ending. I will wait until this weekend to watch the last two episodes. It has been great.

Peace.

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PPL is worse when is not sutile at all... People in SK had complained for the excesive PPL in NG,
ps: i wasn't convinced to buy the canon camera hehehe

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I agree 100% with you, HeadNo2, that the crying scene between Jae Hee and MaRu left a sour taste in my mouth. I did feel bad for MaRu when he was talking about what could have been, but honestly I think because of my intense dislike for Jae Hee and the fact that she was responsible for her own actions, I did not shed a tear. And since she did allow MaRu to serve 7 years in jail, accuse him of blackmail, have him beat up, etc. etc., I found it a little unbelievable that he'd go that far for her.

Jae Gil, on the other hand, had me weeping like a baby. That actor is one crazy looking dude, but his acting is spot on. There is something about his devotion to MaRu that never fails to bring me to tears!

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Jea Gil? i recommend u to watch Running Man ^^

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Thanks, Heads:) Actually, I've not been watching this show, so that i can remain reasonably detached from it. Always look forward to your recaps! can't wait to see ep 20:)

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Thanks for the recap and the spoiler warning warning.

Does anyone else notice how pregnant PSY is?
Between all the sitting scenes, double breasted blazers and only straight on shots, it is so obvious.

If she is, I hope the poor dear is getting some sleep on that crazy shooting schedule.

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i notice the same thing
when she descent staircase in blue dress
swollen bre*st

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It's amazed me so many are unsatisfied with JAe Hee - Ma Ru's scene, and read the scene differently. I kind actually like it. It's true it's not merely his fault for Jae Hee's turn into monster. But... Actually, despite all his sacrifice all this time, he never admit what he did all wrong in the first episode. Some people from the initial episode complaint about MR's attitude who suddenly gone revenge for JH who betrayed him, because it's his choice to take the blame right? as if He has no right to do that. But now, he actually admit it, what he did back then was WRONG, eventhough it's frustating he took all the blame to himself. He is sincere to said it for JH, maybe not as alover, but as a friend....

He felt responsible, because he feels he is the only one who can she lean on.

I hope too, for once, he will decide to choose his own happiness

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Honestly, almost everyone loves that scene particularly because of Maru's realization that what he did 7 years ago was wrong. However, now that he realized his calculation back then was wrong and finally envisioned that a more apt finale for Jae Hee is possible, he is taking another stride of managerial responsibility over her. Which just makes me go "Again?"

What makes matters worse is that Jae Hee just remained silent. She never countered Maru's poor analysis of what he has done.

Happily, she said what we all been waiting for for her to say during her scene with Ahn. I'm fully satisfied with that brave admission from Jae Hee.

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I really appreciate seeing JH's character growth (however slow and little). We've seen her go from the happy young noona to MR, to unscrupulous money grabbing word-that-rhymes-with-ditch, to coming to terms with all her misdeeds and taking up responsibility (even if she did a little detour there, desperately trying for the last time to get MR back when she realised none of what she had could give her the kind of happiness she looked forward to with MR but was so sorely lacking). I think cute little ES deserves some credit for educating his mom here.

MR, on the other hand, is staying true to his character, always the noble idiot. I don't think he necessarily thinks JH is not at fault for her own misdeeds, but rather he is acknowledging his own part in this whole thing. So that entire scene in the park, in my honest opinion, is as much about him taking up responsibility for all that has happened and dealing with the guilt of making the wrong choices himself. With EG however, I feel like him pinning partial blame on her for falling in love with him is only a way to keep her away from him and protect her. It's twisted, I know, but that's probably the best way he can think of when dealing with someone as stubborn and headstrong as EH.

Now we'll just have to wait for MY to snap out from his dream and see how everything comes full circle.

By the way, many thanks to HeadsNo2 for dutifully recapping such a beautiful melodrama over the past few months! I shan't start heaping on the praises for the show now or I'll never stop.

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Park shi-yeon totally owns the role of Jae Hee. I am so invested in her journey and I don't hate her at all. I like her and understand her but this doesn't mean I support all her choices. MCW and SJK were also good in their roles but I think PSH out-acted them. I'm impressed as I underestimated her.
I hope lawyer park gets better.

The parents on this show totally sucked. The chairman threw out his wife and had her killed. Jae Hee mother was a prostitute who didn't cook for her kids and wanted to sell her daughter. Maru's parents left him to raise his sister Choco whose mum chose her abusive boyfriend instead of her. No wonder the 3 leads became so messed up!

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I love Siyeon and she really rocks this role like no other.

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I have an uneasy feeling and afraid that maru will meet his death for the final episode. :(

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Yes yes! Run away together! TO THE HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOM.

Fucking... ohmygod. This was definitely an emotional roller coaster, but the plot itself has slowed to a crawl. We have an idea what's coming, writer, let's get to it. Also, these guys need lessons from Mi-ho and Woong-ah- "I love you, so I'm not going to die and you shouldn't either." How hard is that? The (beautiful) noble idiot stuff has gone too far.

The Maru/Jae-hee scene was beautiful, and yet perfectly highlighted all the disturbing dynamics in their relationship. And when he's making his grand confession that basically amounts to "I promise to not be happy with you, making you, me, AND Eun-ki miserable. So turn yourself in, k?" got a "Dude, that sounds... awful. For everyone" reaction from me.

I sort of love how ineffectual Jae-sik is. I mean, he wouldn't have his house for long, because Choco and Jae-gil would be like "we left and came back, like, 10 minutes later, and Jae-sik was there when we left, and now Maru's dead, and Jae-sik's gone. I WONDER WHO DID IT."

And the coma? FUCK. Seriously? You went there? With sexy lawyer? And then Maru decides to not give Eun-ki evidence and the ability to decide for herself for silly reasons of his own, trying to "spare her the heartache?" Bullshit. I mean, they were partially established in the whole emotional I-do-somehow-still-care-for-Jae-hee-as-the-arbiter-of-my-purgatory scene, but geez. He definitely wants Eun-ki to be happy, but seems a little fuzzy on how to actually make it happen for such a smart guy. Forest for the trees, I guess.

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Possessions do not fix things. Rock on, Eun-suk.

Heh, Maru Translator. He pretty much always needs one, huh? I know Maru's whole "I'm going to stab you" thing was supposed to be romantic, with the music and jacket-covering and all, but it just came off creepy. I wonder if the writer meant it to be said with no bite, as a sort of tender coded acknowledgement they both understood (funny how they understood their telepathic phone conversations better), rather than the straight-up fuckery that it was.

Aaaaaaand we're back to square one with Jae-hee. I am with you on loving her totally for like, three seconds, and then my head went straight for the desk with her whole ultimatum shit.

(If Maru collapses in the hospital, they'll save him, right? Go go go! DAMMIT. Unfortunately, I think this episode was his death warrant. Now, surprise Maru and us, writer! Miraculously rehabilitate his inability to believe he deserves happiness!)

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Yes yes! Run away together! TO THE HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOM.

Preach!

And I also agree about the Maru Translator, I feel like everyone on that show needs a decoding chip in their heads to understand each other.

(but my poor unlucky Joon-ha, he's got no hope of ever getting the girl AND he ends up in a coma? People almost-die a lot in this drama lol)

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I absolutely loved that scene between MR and JH. It was so real and touching. When MR looked up with tears all over his face it really got to me. I was not expecting that. And all of the 'what ifs' just made me feel sad.
When Eun Suk said that only babies want toys and that he's not a baby anymore I was just like wow, he's right. So wise and adorable. He really helped JH realize that what she's been doing was childish and that simple things are good too. Love him.
Park Si Yeon is so amazing. I always love watching her scenes as JH. She's the best. I'm sad there's no more Nice Guy. I want to see more of her!

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I can't believe Maru spent an whole episode persuading an empty shell to turn herself in! Even after Joon ha's accident he remains handcuffed. Damnn now I don't even want to watch the ending. I just hope that HN2 explains in a way to understand all this twistedness- if that's word...

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Oh Man forgive me, but this recap is a bit late IMO. With the final episode already been aired, it's a bit anticlimactic now...

Let me just say one thing. Kang Ma Ru is one tough bastard of a nice guy. And Seo Eun Gi is one dedicated innocent btch.

On to the finale.

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U have a point there but NG recaps have always come on Thurs/Fri, it is what it is and most of us are just grateful there's even recaps to begin with. Cuz there's so many awesome dramas out there that we wish could be recapped but we just take what we get!

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I guess so, I know this is late, but as a suggestion recapping both ep19-20 together would have probably been better. :)

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Total disagreement. I was glad to have the rest of reading this recap before watching the final. So, do it like you did it is my vote. ;)

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here's a suggestion: knowing that the Nice Guy recaps always came out on Thurs and Friday nights, stay away from dramabeans from Thursday night through Friday evening and wait till late Friday night or even Saturday morning to read both recaps?

so glad that HeadsNo2 is recapping this series and that we can all come together after each episode and comment on it here!

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I can't deal with the heavy-duty emotional stuff right now, but can we please raise a toast to whoever did Jae-hee's amazing manicure and got her bob to look less ajumma-like?

(and, while we're at it, another one to the stylist behind Eun-ki's awesome shoes at the Return from Amnesia party-crash and Maru's really nice coat)

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yeah, it's clearly pre-amnesiac Eun-ki he says needs to take responsibility for falling for him, though I wonder how seriously to take that statement anyway.

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Thanks! had to read this episode. no time to watch. can't wait for the ending and I'll definitely watch this before watching the ending!

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TBH I might be one of a very few that like the chemistry of PSY and SJK more. MCW's acting is awesome but I can't feel the love between EG and Maru :(

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Thanks for the recap! And I love that you picked Blue October as the accompanying song...this song totally suits this show ;)

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Thanks! Thanks! Can't wait for your final recap.

Gah, have to go or else I'll burst up spoilers right and left.

<3 Maru

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Love the recap, HeadsNo2, and I'm skipping all the comments out of deep spoiler fears to give my own two cents before watching the conclusion. (OMG, the next one is the conclusion!!)

I loved that Maru had that conversation with Jae-hee. I see it a bit differently in that I think he is saying that they both did wrong. By taking away her responsibility, infantilizing her, Maru did wrong. But Jae-hee also did wrong in killing someone. Two people in the equation -- not just Maru.

So he needs to let Jae-hee take responsibility now, for the next murder. And she needs to take that responsibility. And, to make up for his past wrong he'll stay by her side, but he won't suggest Jae-hee's wrong is his responsibility -- she needs to take punishment for her wrong. (I have no idea if this makes sense. But I thought it was a really insightful confession on Maru's part.)

I totally cheered with you with Jae-hee's big realization -- then sad-faced when she kind of blew past it to try and negotiate ownership of Maru's love. (Because blackmail makes the sweetest relationships, Jae-hee? Is that your theory? Maybe run that by your five year old kid, see what he says.)

I think what Maru is running around like a crazy person trying to accomplish is for Jae-hee and Min-young to confess so Eun-ki doesn't have to take revenge and hurt herself (as Joon-ha was worried she'd do.) But Jae-hee endangered his mission, so he's kind of slumped down into "let's just escape land". Which has me worried because if he's actively seeking a happy(-ish?) ending now... doesn't that mean he'll not get on in the next ep? Must watch to find out!! Stocked up on tissues -- hope I won't need them.

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All I can say is Maru has a super IQ but low EQ. :(

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@HeadsNo2
Dear HeadsNo2, thanks for the recaps, they were great. I really enjoyed this series. It was fun!!! to watch all the twisted characters most of all Maru.
Just wanted to say that I kind of understood what Maru meant when he said "I'm sorry, I made u like this." It's not that he is taking responsibility for the choices she has made but rather for the choice he made and for the part he had in all this. He chose to take the blame for her and as he said everything started from then. If he hadn't, everything would have turned out differently. She wouldn't have become the terrible monster he says she is. Of course it was also possible for her not become what she became after that, had she made different choices in life. But the way he sees it is; that moment, that very moment could have been a game changer in all their lives. Had he not decided (as he mentioned later wrongly and with totally stupid notions) to take the blame for her, the picture would have changed.

They were two parties involved in the mistake. In Maru and jae-hee's case we consider her the evil and in Maru and Eun-ki's, Maru's the evil. But that doesn't mean they are the only ones to blame. The so called victims also had a choice and chose to play the part. So they are also to blame.

I thought I understood what he meant cause it also is what he said Eun-ki should do; that she should take responsibility for her part in all that happened. She knew from half way in what he was, yet she decided over and over to go to him. He didn't force her to come to him, even though she would have wanted him to cling to her. When they initially broke up, although it would have ruined his plans he let her go. It was her who decided to hell with all, I want him and went after him. Her intentions in doing this I think was also as flawed as him when he took the blame. In any case she in her almost right mind decided to go after what she wants and it backfired, slapped her in the face and hard too. And that my dear friend is why she is scared now to make a decision and wants the universe to decide for her or give her any sign of what she has to do. Cause once u decide to stand up against the world and the world puts u back in your place, it really is hard to stand up again and make a decision God forbid it is the same decision that put U in this place the first time around.

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"...but never has there been a more beautiful idiot."

True that! Love you Kang Ma Ru! ^^

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