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Fated To Love You: Episode 11

Brace yourselves, everyone—this is not an easy hour. We see the fallout of the worst birthday present ever, and it’s up to one incredible heroine to pull herself together to protect everyone in this family. It’s a heavy burden to bear, having to listen to hurtful words and being tough as nails waiting for her greatest joys in life to come back to her. And no one is better for the task than Keddongie’s mother.

It was an extremely tight ratings race on Wednesday—the difference between first and third place was a mere 0.6%. Joseon Gunman came up top with 10.5%, It’s Okay, It’s Love edged out with 10.1%, and Fated To Love You took third with 9.9%.

SONG OF THE DAY

Younha – “Say Something” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 11 RECAP

We open with Gun driving through a tunnel, looking oddly troubled. As a limo passes by, he looks over at the passenger inside: himself, holding the heart-shaped lollipop Mi-young gave him. Huh? What the hell is going on right now?

What follows are snippets for what’s to come (for us, as viewers) but the recent past for Gun. A tear rolls down his cheek as he now recalls the hurtful exchanges with Mi-young: questioning her intentions for marrying him and whether the child growing inside of her is really his, being unable to recognize Mi-young (who hastily took off her wedding ring), and being told how he doesn’t recall what happened in the past three months.

Seeing all that makes me uneasy because these means all signs point to amnesia, but if anything, we’re seeing the moment everything comes flooding back to him at the top of the hour. Gun breaks down in sobs.

We rewind back to the day Gun’s sudden collapse, as Yong comes running to tell the disgruntled Jangin board members about the news. Over at the hospital, Gun comes to and literally jumps at seeing Se-ra. He wonders why he’s at the hospital since the last thing he remembers is leaving for Macau. Notgoodnotgoodnotgood.

Manager Tak grabs his boss in a relieved (but painful) bear hug, and seeing Se-ra and Manager Tak’s perplexed faces has Gun half-jokingly wonder if he’s been in some kind of accident. He freaks out when they don’t answer.

Now we learn more about the mysterious illness that has plagued the Lee family line: Huntington’s disease, a neurodegenerative genetic disorder. According to Doctor Moon, memory loss is one of the symptoms, though that alone isn’t enough to make a diagnosis. Moreover, Gun hasn’t shown any physical symptoms, such as chorea (involuntary jerky and writhing movements), so the best thing to do now is wait and see.

(I looked up some more info out of curiosity, which I think helps anchor some details: The average onset appears between a person’s 30s and 40s, though the chance of earlier onset increases with a larger number of repeats in the family, like the Lee clan. Symptoms affect behavior, movement, and psychomotor abilities, and also include dementia. Life expectancy significantly drops once symptoms appear to, on average, 10 to 20 years.)

While a distraught Mi-young rushes into the hospital, Se-ra grabs Gun in a headlock like old times when she sees him lingering outside of his room. She can’t help but hug him when he calls her “my Se-ra,” and that’s when Mi-young walks into and sees them together.

Devastated, Mi-young stands agape as Gun walks hand-in-hand with Se-ra right past her. Oof. But then Gun doubles back, having recognized Mi-young’s face after all: “You know me, don’t you?” he asks.

“Yes, I do,” she answers. She can barely hold back her tears as Gun identifies her as that strange woman from their ring-losing-dog-chase incident—their first encounter—and asks if Daniel is her boyfriend. Oh god, this is only the beginning and we might have to endure 50+ more anguish-filled minutes of this?!

Mi-young learns of Gun’s amnesiac state from Se-ra, who explains that Gun doesn’t remember his married life with Mi-young at all. Since forcing his memories or receiving shocking news could negatively affect him, she requests that Mi-young step out of the picture.

Gun isn’t used to the hot weather, still thinking it’s May. He’s given his possessions that were on his person when he came into the hospital. He doesn’t recognize his wedding ring.

Daniel drops Mi-young off at her mother’s restaurant, both sympathetic to Mi-young about her husband’s memory loss and angry at Gun for hurting her again. But Mi-young says Gun’s probably having a more difficult time than she is, and believes that he’ll remember her and Keddongie again.

Before bed, Mi-young tells Keddongie about her very long day: “Seeing your father who never once got sick in the hospital, Daddy looked so weak. Daddy always took care of Mommy. You’re going to pray with me that Daddy recovers his memory, right?”

Mom continues voicing her disappointment in Gun, noting how neither of them have seen a trace of him. Her maternal worry kicks in when she hears that Gun is sick, only to go to bed hearing that he’s got hurt feelings.

Mi-young receives a text from Daniel soon afterwards, saying how he may not be the first but could be the last person who wishes her a happy birthday. He’s also sent her a funny video, which makes her laugh.

She celebrates her birthday twin in a soft voice: “Happy Birthday Gun.”

Gun has a meta-moment at the hospital, wondering if he’s like one of those amnesiacs you see in the dramas (ha, it’s A New Leaf and Fantasy Couple). He isn’t too troubled by the fact he can’t remember the past three months, since he has people like Se-ra to fill him in.

He does, however, have a belated eureka moment: If Se-ra’s here, then does that mean she accepted his marriage proposal? Se-ra apologizes for making him wait so long, saying that she’s going to quit ballet and stay with him. He’s over the moon to hear it, then shows her the ring, asking if Se-ra gave it to him.

Se-ra steps outside to take a call before she can answer, though. She sees Gun ogling over the ring on his finger.

At Lee Manor, Manager Tak comes up with the elaborate excuse that Gun is throwing himself into his work, so as not to startle Grandma Wang about Gun’s condition. But just as she rises, Doctor Moon jumps in to stop her, issuing complete bedrest until he says otherwise. I love how he emphasizes that she must, must follow doctor’s orders.

Gun wonders why he’s still in this stuffy hospital room if he’s feeling perfectly fine. But then he has a thought: Does his memory loss mean the onset of his genetic disorder?

At the same time, Mi-young is told to be patient to make sure Gun is mentally at ease. The same goes for Mi-young, since she needs to think of the baby.

Gun barges in just then, worried about his health. He recognizes Mi-young, whom he calls “ke-ban-ji” or “dog-ring,” and he wonders why she keeps appearing in front of him. He asks if someone she knows is hospitalized here, and she nods.

He asks who that is, but then sees his own medical records on display. He asks why the doc is discussing his condition with a stranger, and is told that this woman is his personal secretary. Mi-young’s Doctor Moon, say what? face cracks me up.

Now back in the hospital room, Mi-young hastily tucks away her wedding ring before Gun whips around to interrogate her. He asks for her name and remarks how pleasant it sounds. When she says it’s pretty common and ordinary, Gun unknowingly repeats the same words he told her in Macau—that a common name means that a lot of people like it.

She plays along with the secretary ruse, spinning this story of how he was so impressed by her running abilities when they first met that he invited her to apply for the company, and she eventually became his secretary. Gun laughs at that idea: “As if.”

He has a hard time believing it, and then yells at Manager Tak when he joins them. Having heard about the ruse, Manager Tak addresses Mi-young accordingly, and even fist-bumps Mi-young to show off what a great combo they were. Ha.

He dismisses them both, but calls Mi-young back again to ask if she knows about this mysterious ring he found. His girlfriend said she didn’t give it to him, so why does he have it? She answers, “It’s mine.”

She says she entrusted it to him and offers to take it back now. But Gun childishly doesn’t give it to her, claiming that he can’t trust her words. So until his memory returns, he’ll be keeping it. He muses, “But you and I keep crossing paths because of these rings. How strange.”

Once out of earshot, Manager Tak shares with Mi-young that Gun was on his way to meet her for her birthday when he collapsed, even ignoring a board meeting that would decide his future. He tells Mi-young not to beat herself over it because Gun’s always worrying about her.

Se-ra is displeased to see Mi-young hanging around Gun at the hospital after their talk. Mi-young apologizes, but she can’t stand by when she knows Gun became sick because of her. “I want to help him and look after him until he recovers his memory.”

Se-ra scoffs at that, and asks if Mi-young thinks she means a great deal to Gun. She’s read about their contract marriage in the papers—all that will be left waiting for her at the end of this road is divorce, isn’t it? “We’ll be able to find that out when Gun recovers his memory,” Mi-young answers.

Mi-young talks to Keddongie on her way to her mother’s, telling the little one to be patient and not be upset that Daddy can’t remember them. He’s sick right now, after all.

Daniel happens to be waiting for her, and the two relocate to chat. She thanks him for his humorous gift, and he asks if she remembers what he said on her birthday. You know, that bit about how he’d actively pursue her now.

She says she understands that he was worried about her, and grateful that she has a good person like Daniel by her side. Eek, officially friend-zoned? Daniel seems to realize it too, hanging on the “good person” compliment.

He asks about Gun, and Mi-young says that she’s relieved that Gun hasn’t completely forgotten about her. He smiles at her optimism even now, and reminds her that there’s no need to say that she’s okay when she isn’t.

Se-ra’s mother pays a surprise visit to her daughter and gapes to hear of her plans to quit ballet. She asks if Se-ra is planning to see Gun, and just when I’m half-expecting her to slap her daughter any moment now, she throws aside the lunchbox Se-ra was preparing for him instead.

Se-ra’s bottom lip literally quivers as her mother tells her to re-examine herself for chasing around a married man, and that ballet is her only shred of dignity left.

Meanwhile, Gun is worried over what will happen to the most important people in his life if his disease really has kicked in. Aw, Manager Tak’s on that list. But aside from his grandmother and Se-ra, Gun can’t shake off the notion that there’s someone else…

So he checks his phone, and aw—he has Mi-young and their baby saved as “Snail ♥ Keddongie.” He’s surprised when Mi-young picks up, and she quickly explains away the nickname (dalpeng-ie) that likens to how she can do a variety (dayanghada) of tasks.

He immediately tests her words, giving her a laundry list of errands to complete in the next half hour. He asks if these kinds of personal errands bother her, but Mi-young is smiling because this means she gets to see Gun. Aww.

As for Gun, he acknowledges that she’s not half-bad. I will love it if you fall in love with her all over again. He decides to check the news, which ack—you’ll see the headlines about your contract marriage! And that’s exactly what he sees.

Mi-young arrives at the hospital with her arms full of clothes, documents, and food. She makes sure to take off her wedding ring, but Gun exits before she enters, taking the items out of her hands with a solemn expression.

Once changed, Gun and Mi-young sit down at a cafe where Gun tries calling her “Secretary Kim” a few times. He’s amused when she responds readily, and asks if she really works for him.

Flustered, Mi-young slips up and calls him the more affectionate “Gun-ee-sshi,” an address he picks up on. He asks why she lied about being his secretary when in fact, she’s not. Mi-young apologizes, and he asks how she could stick to that lie when they made headlines not too long ago.

Mi-young honestly says that she didn’t mean to deceive him, but cites how the doctor said that shocking news would be detrimental in his current state. Gun acknowledges that it must be great if they had a one-night stand and held a shotgun wedding. That’s what everyone’s saying, Gun says. Is it true?

Gun is in disbelief when Mi-young confirms them. Why would he leave his Se-ra to do something like that with someone like Mi-young? Ouch.

But he isn’t finished yet: “Is it true that you married me based on the condition that you would receive money, have the baby, and get divorced? Did I, by any chance, make that offer?” I thought it’d hurt less because we’ve seen it once already, but this is just worse.

“There were many things that happened during those three months you can’t remember. Although I can’t say them now.” Mi-young answers softly.

Gun has heard enough, resigning himself to the idea that they were in a contract marriage and “I didn’t love you in the slightest, right?” Someone pick up the broken pieces of my heart off the floor.

And if it couldn’t get any worse, it just did—Gun points to her stomach and asks, “Is that baby you’re carrying my child?” There are tears in Mi-young’s eyes, but she still somehow answers, “Yes. Keddongie is your baby.”

Gun returns to Lee Manor, and is totally confused when his grandmother tells him to bring Mi-young home. Manager Tak ushers Gun into his quarters, where he explains that Grandma Wang knows nothing about Gun’s amnesia.

Gun asks if it was fun making him look like a fool about his relationship to Mi-young, to which he’s told that they were thinking of his health. He flicks Manager Tak’s hands off of him, while his secretary suggests that Gun doesn’t do anything he’ll regret.

“This really isn’t it. This… isn’t it,” Manager Tak emphasizes, and Gun takes issue with inserting his name in those words (Lee Gun and “this” are homonyms in Korean). It’s adorable how much Manager Tak worries about the newlyweds, and reminds Gun to eat in his room on account of his morning sickness. Ha, I totally forgot about that.

Gun sighs over the wedding photo and children’s books, and while looking around the bedroom-nursery, he asks, confused, “What happened to me?”

Mi-young’s family sit around her as she eats, perhaps wondering the same thing we are: If she’s okay. She says yes, confident that Gun will come back. Mom worried for her though, saying that only fools would stay married after what she’s been through. Mom plans on returning the money Gun gave their family too and snaps at Mi-ja’s suggestion that Mi-young could get alimony from her divorce.

At work, Gun is introduced to Daniel whom he recognizes from the hospital, and the latter’s use of calling Mi-young by name has him inquiring what kind of relationship the two have.

Daniel can’t suppress a laugh and tells Gun that they had a similar conversation like this one once. He repeats it verbatim, including how Gun referred to Mi-young as “my wife,” and that he in turn deliberately referred to her by name. “That should be enough of an answer to that question.”

Gun stops him from leaving because he feels Daniel has more to tell him. Daniel does: “I hope that you regain your memory as soon as possible. That is, if you want to know just how kind and grateful a person like Mi-young is. You may even lose that chance if you’re too late.”

Gun is distracted at lunch with Se-ra, but when he tries to bring up the topic about his marriage to Mi-young, Se-ra changes the topic, saying that it doesn’t matter to her that he can’t remember these past few months.

Once their meal arrives, Gun stares at his plate, strangely hesitant about eating snails all of a sudden. I don’t know if he sees the animated snail, but we do. Se-ra on the other hand, happily digs in, even offering one to him.

The prenatal teacher and her twin drop by to say hello just then, and Gun doesn’t remember how he knows either of them. He’s astounded to hear that he’s been taking prenatal classes and bought baby supplies.

Se-ra rises from her seat, upset, and Gun takes off after her. She’s offended by those women’s judgmental eyes and demands to know what he’d been doing instead of settling things with Mi-young. “What’s the problem?” You saying all of this right now.

Gun promises to take care of everything, but there’s a child involved. But Se-ra cuts him off, “So what? If it’s because of the baby, she can have the baby and you can take it home. I’ll even raise that child myself like it were my own. So settle it with her.”

He asks for a little more time, but she doesn’t see why he’d need it. “I even gave up ballet for you. I gave that up, but what are you hesitating for?” Not Cool, Se-ra.

Gun examines the various baby things at home, like the Keddongie mug and baby outfit. He starts reading Mi-young’s letters to the baby, which express her joy and fear about becoming a mother.

He reads about Mi-young’s fascination with how two such different people can share so many similarities, and how they’ll all spend the day tomorrow together.

A tear falls from Gun’s eye as he reads the final few lines: “Meeting your dad was one of the happiest things that ever happened to me.”

Gun is fighting a headache when he returns to his office to see Se-ra waiting for him. She’s eager to spend the day together if he isn’t busy, and notices that the pictures of them together aren’t on his desk.

He finds them in his desk drawer, where he also sees something else: the heart-shaped lollipop. He takes a long minute to look at it, which makes Se-ra nervous. It’s at that moment he recalls a snippet of an exchange—him giving a chip and being given this lollipop in return.

It’s followed by more broken memories from Macau, like his proposal decorations being taken down and hearing Se-ra apologize to him. He asks, “Did you… not come to Macau three months ago?”

He realizes that Se-ra wasn’t there for his proposal, and walks out holding the candy in his hand, completely lost in his own thoughts.

Se-ra chases after him, begging him not to go. “Se-ra…” Gun says weakly. “I feel… like I lost something really important to me.” With that, he pulls out of Se-ra’s hold on him and takes off. Go Gun Go!

And now we’re back to the opening sequence, where Gun is driving through the tunnel, where Mi-young’s face, voice, and happy memories with her come flooding back to him. Her heartfelt confession about her feelings and the fear it brings rings in his ears, and he recalls when Mi-young was taken away from Lee Manor and from him.

Tears streaming down Gun’s cheeks, he calls out in between his sobs: “Dalpeng-ah! Keddong-ah! Dalpeng-ah!”

 
COMMENTS

Man, that was a tough hour to get through. We’ve been spoiled with such delectable moments in this series that despite knowing that there would be some kind of angst on the horizon, I wasn’t looking forward to an inevitable turn in the story. You could call it a mind-heart battle, where my brain knew a conflict had to come, but my heart wouldn’t be prepared for nor accept whatever it would be. Not for This. Show.

I knew that it had to be something drastic to forcibly keep our inseparable couple apart, and I feared amnesia. So I wasn’t thrilled when that’s exactly what we got, because again, that mind-heart battle: My mind would argue that because Gun is in love with Mi-young now, he would need a system reset to consider feelings for Se-ra again; my heart would say, screw you, Amnesia—go take a timeout next to your friend Noble Idiocy. At the very least, I appreciated that we saw the moment Gun recovered his memory at the beginning, giving us an assurance that this was a very temporary thing. It didn’t, however, make it any easier to get through the episode, watching Gun be even colder to Mi-young because he couldn’t even remember her. Just writing about it still upsets me. There were times I couldn’t even bring myself to laugh at the much-needed humorous moments, since they were still undercut by the inner pain that Gun and Mi-young weren’t together.

At first, I wanted to sympathize with Se-ra, because I could see how seeing the old Gun, the one who loved her for years, would want her to pick up right where they left off. But as the hour progressed, I continued to see her lie by omission to Gun and eventually saw her use the emotionally manipulative card against him. It would honestly be a pity to see Se-ra’s character go down this traditional second female lead route (read: crazy bitch), even if it is inevitable so that we would root for Mi-young (which we would, anyway). I’ve realized that Se-ra was nearly always the one with the upper hand in her relationship with Gun, because he would jump through hoops to please her. It’s only when I compare Gun’s relationship with Mi-young where he enjoys taking care of her that I think that being with Se-ra probably wasn’t good for him in the long run.

Then our other suitor Daniel said that he’d pursue Mi-young just last episode, only to… not. I’d wondered why he didn’t, thinking that perhaps he was being considerate towards Mi-young and her recent emotional trauma. But then I also considered the possibility that Daniel didn’t feel it was a level playing field to compete for Mi-young’s affections against amnesiac Gun. Perhaps that was why Daniel nudged him to remember before it was too late, but then again, he’s also been friend-zoned in this hour. On an optimistic level, there could-maybe-not-really be hope for him yet, but that would also mean something even more heartbreaking between the newlyweds.

Even in perhaps the most heart-wrenching page in her married life thus far, I’m still impressed by how Mi-young could hold herself together, especially when Gun told her that he didn’t love her and questioned if the baby was even his. After hearing him speak the most incredible things about her, it was painful to hear and she was still confident that Gun would come back. So it was such a relief to see him come out of his amnesia spell in one hour, but if this episode means that this is the actual onset of his degenerative disease, then that easily means it could happen again. And again. And if that happens, then… I don’t know. Welcome back, Gun.

 
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WHY DID I SEE THIS COMING WHHHHY

omg poor mi young ;;

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Trot Lovers and now this..... Chun Hee and Mi Young should get together and compare notes..... obnoxious male leads check, bitchy second female leads check..... its ridiculous!

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Yup. 100% agree. Mind numbingly dumb.

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I feel you just wanted to bash this drama for bashing sake. The amnesia wasn't badly done AT ALL. It can't be compared to Trot Lovers

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I hear you.

None of the drama characters you mention (as well as the ones in the mental illness pretend drama) seem genuine or credible to elicit any response from me. Oh, the parade of fakes and automatons! All this, while things are really falling apart on the grounds in South Korea, what with another military murder long covered-up and a sinkhole that erupted and hastily filled. They are still trying to recover bodies from Sewol, more than three months after the event.

Oddly, it is the characters in the tvN dramas that seem most real.

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I can't believe the writer pull this so-common-drama-recipe in this episode!

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I don't know, while I Hate the use of amnesia, the way that the show structured the episode made it so much more bearable. I kind of really liked how the episode started and ended in the same place, even if I was really confused when I first watched it. I even watched the beginning three more times, partly because I was confused, and partly because Gun's emotions were so raw. That's why I love this show. The way that Jang Nara and Jang Hyuk are playing these characters just gets to me. So, I guess because of the characters and the setup, I can forgive the authors a little.

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Taking a leaf off of MND with the cold open, I guess. It totally works!!

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out*

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renee:

i agree.

but DANG! that's how ya do amnesia...45 minutes and then BAM! DONE! FINISHED! guy is reduced to tears....

i love this show!

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Yes, this was one of the better uses of the amnesia trope I've seen, if you're going to wedge it in there, this was a less annoying way to do it.
Just once, however, why don't we let the heroine have a ride on the trope-train? Why can't we let Candy be the one who forgets all the misery and tries to get on with her regular life, while Mr. Chaebol stews? Then she could say, "Why would I be with a jerk who yells at me for finding his ring like you?" You still get the separation, but then he is forced to confront his feelings and the burden is on him to prove his affections. With the pregnancy implications, I would have loved to see this kind of twist this time. Admittedly, it gives less angst to the ex-girlfriend angle, but opens even more possibilities to the male second-lead.
Can someone write this fic???

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This is a GREAT idea! I would watch this.

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agree!!!

when i saw the preview before watching this episode, i was so scared because of the use of "amnesia" as conflict... but yes, like you've said, it so much bearable. I also like that Gun saw the news about his marriage with Mi Young, while he was still in the hospital... at least he knows that he is already married making things a little easier for MY. :)

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Right??? Like why? I am not saying this episode was bad, but I have been spoiled by all the previous episodes that A(nnoying)mnesia was a bit disappointing. But oh thank the lord that it was only for one episode! (hopefully)

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riya:

right you are. there are some precious gems in this episode.

anybody here JUST LOVE SECRETARY TAK?

omg-when Gun yells "how dare you touch your CEO?" Tak just fires back with sincerity, "it's just skinship. skinship."

just kill me with all the adorkable - ness this show has to offer.

45 minute amnesia...i'll take it along with all the adorable quirky everything else show has to offer.

no complaints here.

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I think its really funny that so many people are complaining about the use of amnesia in this show. Please remember this is a remake of an older drama. It would be really strange if they didn't include the major plot elements that were in the original. I do really love that they didn't drag it out...

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There was no amnesia plot in the original drama

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Yes!!! The drama works well without amnesia, so I really was rolling my eye when I read this recap. Why amnesia, it's not necessary!

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Amnesia is the kimchi for Korean drama... writers add it in all kinds for Melo Drama Comedy its Korean style
booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring

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Yea, there was no amnesia in the original so I was kind of annoyed they added this plot because I wanted this to stick to the original as much as possible. But, Jang Hyuk's acting at the end made up for it.

I'm SOOO excited for the next episode. The climax is finally coming which was my favorite part. I can't to see their acting.

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There was no amnesia in the tw version, but I was wondering how they are going to put a twist in the drama bec I hate what they did in the tw version, the leadman knowingly hurt the leadlady with his actions and words and just drag the whole emotion of whether he loves the girl or not.
In here, it is consisent, it is only the memories that set them apart but not their feelings. When gun started to show it, he showed it all the way until the lost of memories. Unlike in the tw version wherein he goes
back and forth which makes it irritating.
I only watchd that version because of this drama, in order to know the story, but there are scenes that are so irritating. :-) :-)

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Well there you go, the amnesia is used brilliantly here! The final scene where he regained his memory is so incredibly heart wrenching. Jang Hyuk is no jerk in this series, he is wonderful character.

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Getting an ax right now.

What just happened?

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*sigh*

At least his hair looks decent again. Thank god for small mercies.

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I needed to vent. Sorry for the great lengths I've gone to. :D

Heartache, heartache, and more heartache. Except I'm willing to accept it if they keep on doing it the way they have been till now. The sheer number of clichés and contrivances in this show amazes me sometimes, and I'm not denying that on paper, FTLY sounds like the most hackneyed story ever. But what amazes me even more is the fact that this show climbs right on top of these overused drama-land tropes & manages to land a knock-out punch anyway. Did I want amnesia? An incurable disease? Noble idiocy? Separation? Hell no. Yet I cannot find it in myself to complain after being hit with ALL of them in one measly episode. Because FTLY incorporated all of them without losing its humour and its heart, and moved me yet again. And just for that, I love it even more than before.

I remember Se-Ra saying in the previous episode that if she could go back in time, she would do things differently. And I also remember our frustration with Gun for keeping quiet and not voicing his feelings even when Mi-young declared that she loves him. His temporary amnesia in this episode gave BOTH these characters a golden chance to get back to that earlier stage in their relationship, to the point they both think they want so badly. And...bingo, reality check. Gun realises that there is a gaping hole in his life, one that Se-Ra is unable to fill any more, where once she was all he had wanted. This time, he goes to Mi-young out of CHOICE, not fate or duty or compulsion. And Se-Ra gives up ballet to be with Gun, only to realise that she had lost him long back. She has now lost everything precious to her, and this might just be the push needed to bring her hitherto private destructive side to the forefront. In fact I think this episode did a really good job of setting up Se-Ra for us, who I find rather self-centred, if not downright selfish. She's angry with Gun for being happy with Mi-young, but not once does she consider his side of things. So she's happy and smiling and caring towards him as long as the lie serves her, but the moment it causes her difficulty, she throws a fit and storms off? So while I don't (yet) hate her for doing anything she does in this episode, I can't help comparing her to Mi-young, and find her immensely lacking in the 'caring for other people' department. And that's a good thing when you wonder why Gun and MY need and deserve each other.

Which brings me to Mi-young, who deserves an essay of her own, really. Her character, for me, is the super-glue that holds this show together. The writers and the actor deserve a lot of applause for this, because I've rarely come across a character like hers who is soft-spoken yet strong, meek yet dignified. Dunno what the others felt about it, but I thought she totally trumped Se-ra in the stairwell confrontation scene. All without wailing, being impolite. or raising her voice even once. Mi-young radiates sincerity, and for...

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...for viewers like me who are tired of both doormats and meanies, she's absolutely marvellous.

Does anyone else appreciate Daniel for being the ONLY one to give Gun the plain truth, straight out? Like, "That is what you said, and this is what I said. This is how things stand between us, so now you better shake that pretty head of yours and buck up, before I snatch your wife." You go, Daniel !! :D

So yes, for me the amnesia trope was used pretty well, actually. They made it look sensible with the whole Huntington's background, and they even remembered that we have things like cellphones and online news!!! Ha. Too bad he had to read it when he did though, because it deprived us of potential adorable scene. But overall, I think it served its primary purpose of character development - Gun consciously moving on, Mi-young being stronger than ever, and Se-ra being pushed into a corner.

All that said and done, however, I don't think I'm re-watching this episode any time soon.

P.S- I did not see that preview. Absolutely not. Nope. *temporary amnesia happening here*

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I'm 100% with you. This could've been a disastrous episode, but it ended up really good .. and really sad.

Granted, we're not rewatching it anytime soon. Same goes for the next ep. For now, let's just enjoy the 9.5 hours of happiness we'd been blessed with earlier.

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Yes! I thought this episode delivered the dreaded amnesia card but worked with it so well. I'm SO GLAD that it was only for one episode. I think the fact that Gun remembers it all at the end of the episode really allows him to cancel any doubt he had about his feelings for miyoung. I love how in this episode everyone (except sera) was urging Gun to get his memories back or reminding him of how happy he was with MY.

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Yes! I thought this episode delivered the dreaded amnesia but worked with it so well. The fact that Gun remembers it all at the end of the episode really allows him to cancel any doubts he had about his feelings for miyoung. I'm SO GLAD that it was only for one episode. I love how in the episode everyone (except sera) was urging GUn to get his memories back or reminding him of how happy he was with MY.

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boxed-in

good post.
i think we can agree that show has incorporated ALL the dramaland trope. but by doing so, show delivers humanity through it. so much so, that viewers do not feel hoodwinked, abused or frustrated by the trope...we understand the trope...we need the trope to be able to peer into each character's soul.

show just keeps getting more brillianter (word?). :)

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your rant is a beautiful tribute to the show, boxed-in. loved reading every bit of it.

FTLY has been very orthodox with its choices, but has displayed exceptional finesse with their execution. i was frustrated to no end when i saw the review yesterday, but it all played out really smoothly in the end. *gives show a big hug*

i love how grounded kim mi-young is in their love. i think that is what allows her to get through all the pain that she faces, because she knows it's not coming from a real source. i absolutely love it that she is stronger than us, the audience, in being able to face it all. it hurts and pinches and unnerves us, but she takes it all in her stride. gosh, i love that woman.

loved watching gunnie pick up fragments from his memory to find that they add up to make a whole that is much bigger, warmer, with has more heart and happiness than what he'd amassed in his life before kim mi-young.

i think he's genuinely shocked at the kind of relationship he's been able to establish with another human being. at the level of love and tenderness he's been able to pour over his unborn child. i don't think he quite knew what he was capable of, and that picture of him in his room, going through all their baby stuff, it shows how much meeting kim mi-young and becoming a father has changed him. i think it took him by surprise, that he was capable of being a part of another person's life in such capacity. again, i keep getting reminded of that scene where kim mi-young's mother calls him son and he's so taken aback because of the warmth, intimacy, belongingness that represents. he's clearly missed out on that all his life, and it's clear how important a sense of family is to him. and that's exactly what kim mi-young and the baby give him.

oh, and as far as the hair is concerned, i know y'all were distracted by the disease-that-shall-not-be-named. but i couldn't help but notice how gunnie faints with that sloppy snape hairdo, and wakes up in the hospital with a snazzy do. i can suspend my disbelief for amnesia and birth secrets, but that inconsistency in hairdo was just jarring. :)

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My fingers thank you for writing out my thoughts on this episode. Well said!

I have to say if you have to do amnesia, this is the way to do it.

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Omg ikr, the preview we didnt see.. T-T

someone spoiled it for us in viki lol

so i was like "omo when that happens, i know im gonna cry"

T-T

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Totally love your comment. I see MY the same way. It is quite rare to have a female lead like her. I absolutely love her quiet dignity. I was applauding her after she handled Se Ra with so much class.

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Yay! @Boxed-In: Everything you just said! This show really does just keep hitting it out of the park!

I love that, as a remake, it is somehow succeeding in deepening the meaning of this couple's story while also clearing away a lot of the structural and narrative weeds that made the Taiwanese original so messy. As addictive and moving as that one was, it was, in many ways, a hot mess of a plot-driven story full of shallow characters and maudlin moments.

The Korean version reads more like the story of a man and a woman falling in love ever so timorously and unexpectedly; it is clearly character driven and the events that occur (i.e. the plot) are all in the service of revealing and developing each player's character profile. The result, therefore, is that we care more about WHY people do the things that they do and less about the step-by-step what happens next.

That, I think, is why I love this show to distraction. And I completely agree with you that Mi Young is that once-in-a-blue-moon character that deserves - nay, demands - an essay of her own if we are even going to scratch the surface of who she is.

Jang Na Ra rules!

Oh, and Jang Hyuk - that voice [rawr!]! Never in a million years could I have imagined that a person ordering coffee and donuts in his pink and green polka dotted pyjamas could be so... [pass the smelling salts - quick, please*]...!

(Just watch - and listen to - the scene where he calls Mi Young with errands and you'll see what I mean.)

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I love how you've summed up this episode. As much as I hate amnesia, and I didn't want it to happen here, they did it well. They did it Really well.

I'll eventually come to terms with this episode.

As for the teaser...I've seen the original, so I'm not surprised or nervous. I'm mostly just hoping they do the next bit of the story justice.

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I do feel sorry for Se Ra. She has that creepy, selfish mother who keeps pushing her ballet career. It brings up that common kdrama theme of parental obedience vs. personal fulfilment.
It took a lot for her to stand up to Mom and after reading the news that Gun's marriage is a sham (along with being told by Dr. O. not to spill the beans), I can understand Se Ra's behavior. I'm not saying that I condone it.
The drama trope that I found most annoying was Dr. O's instruction that Gun must not be told about his marriage. Arrgh!

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@Nood: Absolutely. I'm also hoping that we'll get to add to those 9.5 hours of pure happiness very soon. I need this show to stay happy, dammit.

@sophie: Yes, I loved how everyone kept nudging him towards MY too. The general niceness of the characters in this show is one of the many things I love about it.

@Awe: Thanks. :) 'Brillianter' is the word, yes. Why ever not? FTLY deserves a new adjective.

@jhu: Hahaha. Thanks so much. I loved reading your take on Gun's character as well. And agree totally. It is actually another reason why amnesia fit in quite well here. The Gun they have showed us until now could NOT have behaved with MY the way he did in this episode, without the amnesia.
About the hair, umm, let's just say he has a benevolent nurse around who sympathised with all our grief over the Snape hairdo. Thank you, Kind Nurse.

@houstontwin: I agree. I mostly feel sorry for Se Ra too because it's pretty clear that the girl has very little in the name of a support system, and now she's lost Gun too. Her behaviour with MY was totally understandable too. It is her 'me, me, me' attitude with Gun that I have a grouse against. Which does not make her a bad person, true, but it does set her up for some desperate, (probably) bitchy behaviour later on.

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I wonder if Se Ra would even understand that love is about two people sharing and caring about each other? If she grew up with a Mother who was only interested in what Se Ra could do for her, then it makes sense that she thinks that her relationship with Gun is normal. Gun does stuff for her like she does for her mom--so it must be love. Which makes her even more tragic.

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LOL at the rate he was driving at the end he's likely to end up in an accident with amnesia all over again

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But in K-dramaland, another head trauma when you already have amnesia will cure you!!! So he's all good?' ?

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TL lol

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Everytime someone drives fast in dramas, I brace for the inevitable car accident.

Man, Koreans get amnesia A LOT.

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Hahaha I was like- keep your eyes on the road! And your hands on the wheels! Hopefully he safely arrived to Minyoung house

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@ blnmom: "Man, Koreans get amnesia A LOT."

They sure do! An with good reason. Huntington's chorea - *see?*

Anyway, teh closely relates CoChRES (Congenital Chronic Recurrent Amnesia Syndrome) is actually a real medical condition, first documented in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” in 1913 courtesy of a French memory disorder specialist M. Proust. Those with a genetic predisposition can live their whole lives without even knowing about it since it requires a trigger that they may never encounter. Some known triggers include physical trauma resulting from blunt force or acute infections or compromised immune system due to severe and overwhelming stress. Sudden onset of CoChRES can also be triggered by psychological trauma (connected to the immuno-compromising stress trigger) resulting in deep emotional distress. Geon's memori loss may be a case of the latter.

In his work, M. Proust went to great lengths to document a particular patient’s search for lost time and his writings led to enormous breakthroughs at the cross roads of neuroscience (especially the function of the hippocampus in storing and retrieving long-term memory) and psychology (particularly where interpretation of retrieved memory is concerned)…

And –granted– TV dramas and film are a *tad* cavalier about how casually they resort to alluding to this condition, but it’s science people! You can trust that occasional epidemics of CoChRES and other related disorders do tend to make their rounds periodically and the fact of the matter is that when TV dramas, K or otherwise, are also overrun with amnesia epidemics, its just art imitating life.

So don’t be surprised if you hear about a seasonal amnesia epidemic sweeping across Eastern and South Eastern Asia…

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That was actually pretty fascinating to read. Doesn't make the laziness of many Asian drama writers any more acceptable, but at least now I can pretend it's because of a real illness, not because the writer quit halfway through the drama, lol.

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I'm glad you enjoyed the joke ... :-)

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Ugh so much angst. I'm just grateful the amnesia bit is over now, and that the next episode will be out tonight!

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Gosh....it's just episode 11 and my heart...my poor heart is aching. I have always liked Jang Hyuk and I wish more people can appreciate what a fine actor he is. Jang Nara's frail yet strong sensitivity is so spot on. It is truly worth the 12 years wait !

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I so didn't want to comment on this ep. My heart is still fragile and based on the previews,I might actually cry next ep.
I have this to say though, I hated the mere thought of AMNESIA but it was fine absolutely beautifully. I loved the way it was handled.
Secondly, Jang Hyuk is a beast. His acting in this ep floored me. I am absolutely in awe of him.

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Isn't he just so fantastically versatile here ?

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"Thank You" was one of my first kdramas and I was so moved by Jang Hyuk's performance. At the time, I thought that he was absolutely unique. Only later did I realize how many fine actors can be found in kdramas.

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I totally agree wth you, only few can do refined acting , not only good acting.

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I thought this episode was better than the last two even though they played the amnesia card. I could feel MY's heart break when Gun asked if the baby is his. Oh man...

It was a cool episode overall. The amnesia did not bother me that much since it came and went just as fast. I'm really looking forward to the next episode though. I want to see how the "accident" will affect the two of them. It was really smart to show the preview right after ep 11 because I'm completely pumped for the tragedy which is about to happen. I'm anticipating the ratings of the drama to reach first in the timeslot for the next episode (fingers-crossed).

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I'm not going to say I'm 'pumped' for what's next, but I am certainly ready and anticipating.

This next bit was, for reasons I can't explain here without spoiling it, my favorite part of the whole original drama.

Such raw emotion. I hope they can match it in this version.

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Thanks for the speedy recap Gummi!

I still love you, Gun :-)

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What. The. Frog.

What is up with all the memory loss with dramas lately? Hotel king, trot lovers, and now this :(

I'm not saying i give up on you, show, because i love you. I just hope the use of this amnesia cliche will be justified and will never be used as a source of more conflicts to come.

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The opening and closing sequence of tunnel driving will go down in history as one of the best, poignantly heartbreaking yet hauntingly beautiful! Jang Hyuk deserves all the accolades and awards coming his way.

As much as I hate amnesia as a plot device, this episode is absolutely brilliant in clearing the way for the second chapter of LG's and KMY's story.

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Hahaha. For a while there, I wondered if they were showing us Episode 12 by mistake. They probably wanted to show Gun getting his memories back right at the beginning in order to tempt people into watching the whole episode, rather than groaning "Not freaking amnesia AGAIN!" and switching to Cartoon Network. :D

Jokes apart, the scene was poignant and beautiful to watch. Totally agree.

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"... and switching to Cartoon Network. " HAHAHAHA. Well I did watch some light-hearted anime after that episode. Couldn't go to sleep with those heartbreaking scenes on my mind.

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Hi Boxed-In.. I also was wondering what's happening.. really thought I clicked wrongly and was watching Part 2 already.. but after sticking with it a few more minutes I've come to appreciate the writers for doing so. Daebak!

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Yes ! That scene was all kinds of sad and beautiful. I don't usually "feel" KDrama tears, but JH's acting is top-notch. He had me broken from the get-go.

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Last year it was ghost. This year must be the year for amnesia and look-alike siblings. Plot dujour.......

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ohh at last ive been refreshing dont know how many times...thx so much...now off to read

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Summary of this epidsode:
Good: The awful hair is gone.
Bad: So is his memories.

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OMG, this is a big twist to the FTLY franchise. I just hope and pray nobody will die...

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Totally random: So I’m sitting down with wet eyes , feeling sad watching the ending scene and out of nowhere my babushka says “he has few screws loose, yes? Why he crying and calling out dog poopie?” Mehn I couldn’t even explain the whole dog poop thing cos I was laughing so hard(and she had gone back to her room), I don’t know which made me laugh harder, the fact that I then realized that he was actually crying and saying snail and dog poopie or my babushka’s accent.. I know that scene was supposed to be sad but .........

Freaking AMNESIA!!!!!! URGH!! But still I’m glad they didn’t drag it out. From the preview of the next episode, it looks like I’m going to have to sit with a box of tissue..

And it looks like Gun’s former hairstylist is back. Hurray??

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“he has few screws loose, yes? Why he crying and calling out dog poopie?”

This made me snort. Not even gonna lie.

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This is certainly one of the better k-dramas I have watched for a while. My heart is broken into pieces after watching FTLY! Great acting from JH, JNR and CJH for they evoked all these enotions from its viewers. Bracing for more heartache tonight!

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This is certainly one of the better k-dramas I have watched for a while. My heart is broken into pieces after watching FTLY! Great acting from JH, JNR and CJH for they evoked all these enotions from its viewers. Bracing for more heartache tonight!
Thanks a lot for this recap!

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Is there an amnesia thingy in Taiwanese version. I've only watch till the dog got lost episode.
Cheers to Amnesia and what we will do without you!

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I haven't seen the Taiwanese version in years, but I don't remember the amnesia or all these transformative, lovey dovey moments in the original version. Didn't the "Gun" character remained self-centered and mean until the disaster (which I don't want to reveal)?
I am really glad that the Kdrama version has a nicer, more grown-up "Gun".

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I'm actually wondering if the Korean version is going to follow through with the disaster. I do want to see it, but I think they exchanged it with amnesia instead.

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There was no amnesia.

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Great recap, thank you !

I have to say, as disappointed as all of us were when we realized it is indeed the A card into play, this episode was fairly well conducted.

The first scene was painful yet equally beautiful. We usually hate the anti-OTP plot twist episodes because we just want our sweethearts to be happy all the time, but for the amnesia peripety, things could have been far cheesier and unpleasant. It also helps that they didn't drag it on longer,let's just celebrate that.

I will complain about one thing though : if I get amnesia and I read an article about me on the net, I will most likely defer to my right-hand man for a thorough explanation before I take action.

On a brighter note, that was some superb acting from our leads, as usual. KDramaland, if you HAVE TO go down the A road from now on, at least back it up with such performances.

All things considered, this is a good episode. Certainly not what we hoped for, but not exactly what we dreaded.

Not so sure about the next episode though. God have mercy on us.

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I was very angry when I found it was oh-so-cliche amnesia that affected our Gun, but then I stopped and thought about it - it wasn't some deus ex machina - the seeds were sown earlier. We've known Gun has possibly some genetic disease for some time now and now we know it's Huntington's - and one of it's symptoms, as stated in the recap, is the memory loss. So my anger dissipated quickly. If it had to be a cliche, at least it was well grounded cliche. And it only lasted one hour and made Se Ra only too eager to fight for her old flame (I predict some more trouble from her) as well as consolidated Gun's budding feelings towards Mi Young and Ke Donggie. Those feelings are there to stay, no matter what happens in the following episodes (oh my poor heart...).

I wonder though if Huntignton's is there to stay? That would be interesting and out-of-the-ordinary for K-dramaland. I suspect some miracle though - that Gun's collapse was to due to immense stress and not his disease. Oh, well.

The highlight of the episode - Gun's good hair is back! You've been missed, Hair.

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saw the previews at the end of this episode .... my wife aint going to be happy.

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OMG poor poor MY she confesses and then the love of her life gets Amnesia what a fated love. (Crying again). Thanks for the recaps!

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I think the use of Huntington's Chorea is brilliant and also suggests why Se Ra is inappropriate for him while MI Young is. I am surprised Se Ra even wants to be with him knowing he has this probability in his future. She really isn't up to loving him in the selfless way people who have this type of disease need. And why has genetic testing already set this issue to rest?

I love your analysis as to how HC puts the family genetic problem/history in perspective. What a great thing to write into the storyline. For me, one of the problems is that Gun's natural personality includes potential behavioral symptoms of early onset HD, so without the testing piece, you might conclude he has the disease. Or do they already know he has it? Was something lost in translation?

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I've been wondering about that too. I've done some brief reading about this disease and they should have tested Gun for its presence way back when. So Dr. Octopus/Gun already should know if he has it or not. Unless the results are inconclusive? Or the defective gene may stay dormant and never be activated (but nevertheless passed on to his future offsprings)? I don't know. Who am I to question K-dramaland logic? He's of age (per the divorce agreement he was born in 1982, so he's 32) when the symptoms should kick in and seemingly they have. So we shall see what happens.

I'm reminded of House M. D. (potential spoilers?) - where Thirteen had Huntington's, passed on to her by her father who also died of it. But she only found it out after genetic testing when she was in her late 20s/early 30s (Season 5) IIRC. But I don't remember what were the circumstances of such late tests - either she was scared to confirm her worst fears or earlier tests were inconclusive.

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And if he knew he had the gene, shouldn't they have tested the fetus before deciding to get married and have the child?

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What difference would it have made?

They had a one night stand.

They got married after the news of her pregnancy.

Plus, abortion is not legal in Korea, as far as I know. Nor would the show have been likely to tackle a taboo topic of this sort.

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To diagnose Huntington, the person must have 3 criteria: chorea, dementia and positive family history. So Gun hasnt been showing any chorea like Dr Octopus said, so we cant say much if Gun has already developed Huntington. And they can do genetic testing since childhood bcs it is a genetic defect in chromosome 4 but there's not treatment arrest the course of disease. Just some drugs to contorl the movement. Like in House, Thirteen only gt on clinical trial huhu
I just had my dementia lecture today. So funny!

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I meant that they already know he had the disease, but still dont know when the disease going to kick in(bcs they need the 3 criterias). And theres no treatment to stop the disease from appearing.

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Thanks for the thorough answer. Medicine is not really my field (far from it, I'm more of a linguistic & literature nut myself).

I doubt though that the drama will stick to scientific side of things and will suddenly feature a U-turn where Gun doesn't have the disease (I'd admire the creators if they did stick to his disease). But maybe his disease will kick in very late in life so that he can live happily with MY and their potential future children for quite a long time.

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As far as I read, HC is hereditary disorder which is passed through families in which the nerve cells in certain parts of the brain degenerate. That's why the xrays of Gun's brain was in Dr. Octopus's office when he was explaining Gun's family disease to Mi Young. She should get prenatal testing to see if Dog Poopie will inherit the same problem? I think Gun mentioned he wants to live another 20 years to see Dog Poopie grow up in previous episode, which is the life expectancy after the onset of HC. Cried my eyes out in this episode when Gun asked Mi Young if that was his baby?

Sera got her second chance when Gun had a memory loss. She thought she could regain Gun back to the way he was 3 months ago and everything would fall back in place. I've watched enough Kdramas that that will never happen! Even though her shrewish mother was harsh, she gave Sera a reality check she deserved.

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Oh, I forgot Thirteen got on a clinical trial, not that she had her genetic tests done. Thanks for clearing that up (I watched House a long time ago).

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Just want to point out that Huntington's is a genetic disease that Does Not Skip Generations. That means every single direct offspring of the family has the illness already. The issue is that it can physically manifest itself at anytime. Or it can never manifest itself. But it is always There. Gae Dongie already has it, and the mistress' son has it as well. It's just the luck of the draw which family members are actually Affected by it.

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If one parent has the disease, the child has a 50/50 chance of having the disease or not. If both parents have the disease, the child has a 100 percent chance of having the disease. If a grandfather has the disease and the dad does not have the disease, the child WILL NOT have the disease, unless the mom has the disease, which gives the child a 50/50 chance of having the disease. Once the disease is not passed down, none of that bloodline will inherit the disease, unless a spouse has the disease.

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Point being, if Gun doesn't have Hungington's disease, neither does Gae Ddongie. If Gun does have Huntington's disease, Gae Ddongie will have a 50/50 chance of having it as well. If Gae Ddongie does not have the disease, neither will Gae Ddongie's offspring. If Gae Ddongie does have the disease, Gae Ddongie's offspring will have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the disease.

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I can't even bring myself to finish the episode despite loving the drama and the characters so much because, really? amnesia? ugh (but from the opening at least it doesn't last long?)

I think i'll just read the recap instead.
also thanks gummi!

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You need to watch this episode.. you won't regret it. And if you could not.. then you'd miss the very heart of this series.

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I watched it raw and understood enough that the dreaded amnesia is used…I thought about not watching the sub after, but I'm glad I did. There were so many words that cut through my heart but made me realize how these two truly made for each other. So if you like words as much as I do, you might not want to miss watching it.

Just a request for a little spoiler called "please don't break my heart too many times, show": For those who've watched the TW version, it did end on a happy note, didn't it? This show will be the end of me if it ends with Gun dying or something.

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Yes, it ended happy. Actually the ending was really, really over the top and ridiculous.

Hopefully, they'll tone it down a smidgeon, lol.

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I agree with chinee chua, you won't regret watching this . I also agree with her , this is the heart of the story because this is where the twist will come from. They totally change it from TW version, that is why I love this version even more not only because the actors and actresses are great in their acting.

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Not gonna lie but I did flip a lid when the amnesia was introduced because... Well... I can just take so much amnesia drama at a time and after Trot Lovers I actually had enough^^

But oh well it was solved quickly here (and even in TL it didn't last that long) so all is well...Kind of

The preview made me very anxious though!

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Thanks gummimochi for the very much anticipated recap.

What an awesome episode.. daebak!

I love the whole team of FTLY.. so well executed plot (Amnesia) providing heart wrenching scenes with a few much needed humorous moments.

Can't wait for the next episode.

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Its kind of related to what happen to gun jun pyo in bbf but am happy since he can remember in young again, cant wait for d next episode recap

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Been reading two recaps (Trots & Fated) with amnesia PIPS! What's -up guys!?! Are we playing here?

I'm so excited to see this episode expecting a twist but not this! You just torture my heart (sic) twice today! Will you please get it back in episode 12?

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anyone else notice that SeRa's t-shirt says: FAUX in silver?

gotta hand it to show...it's all about the details.

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Hehe, yup..... I also noticed this on It's ok It's love where HS wore " psycho" on her shirt ....LOL

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This being a remake it has no choice but to fall to the same cliche tropes the original did, best part about this version is that he writers recognise this and deal with them quickly.
was a lil worried as to what this episode would do to the Daniel character, glad to see he is still the perfect neighbourhood oppa. I dont blame SeRa one bit, she was working on the assumption that the marriage was fake as per the news articles as just wanted erase that part of their lives and move on...so i get her.
The hour wasnt as heartbreaking as i expected but seeing the previews for the next im not sure i wanna watch.lol.

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<I dont blame SeRa one bit, she was working on the assumption that the marriage was fake as per the news articles

If you conduct your life on the basis of news articles rather than talking to the people who know the truth for sure, I think you will suffer a lot of misery. Just saying.

No sympathy for Se-ra – she still lied, given that they weren't engaged. Obfuscating the truth to get what you want... is not okay in my book. Of course, everyone was pretending / lying in this episode (incl. Mi-young), except for Daniel.

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what exactly about the news articles was false? and Gun never told her he loved MY, all he gave as an excuse was that MY was pregnant and he had to take responsibility...ok then. then the news article comes out and it turns out not only is it a fake marriage but the marriage is to end once the baby is born. could you blame SeRa for hoping to just move on and forget the last few months ever happened? she never denied the truth nor lied to him, she just wanted them to move passed it. what exactly is so unforgivable about that.

and who was she to ask? MY says nothing and Gun couldnt remember a thing.

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I have seen the taiwan version, this version is much better, in almost everything especially acting of all the characters.
In the tw version, the lead man, hurt the leadlady by his actions and words, without amnesia. He realised he love the girl after losing her, that is why that version is long. Here gun hurt MY bec he lost his memories but he already have chosen MY when he confessed about the marriage and just continued wth his married life without turning his attention to se ra,.
That is why I love this version more. :-) :-) :-)

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That lunch moment was so anti-Sera...i felt sorry for her as I lol-ed at he Twins asking if MY had plastic surgery or gained weight because SeRa looks nothing like his wife...if your man was cheating send the twins in to shame the two of them.

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I did start out feeling sorry for her too, but then I remembered the countless times Mi-Young was the target of (much worse) jibes, and how SHE handled it like a champion. And...let's just say I quite appreciated the twins after that.

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Lets not act like MY wasnt on the verge og collapse the two major times that people(mostly that stupid lawyer) really went in on her and whereas MY has her mom, siblings, family and best friend to defend her it seems like SeRa has ever only had herself and then she had Gun but in that moment she was being told that she didnt belong with Gun and if not with him and not with ballet and definitely not with her mom...then what did she have? Its easy to side with MY cause of how sweet and innocent she is but the person who truly lost in all this was SeRa...she had two great loves in her life, she lost Gun(the one thing she could always count on to love her), and now dancing doesnt feel the same without him being her safety net.

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....amnesia......I just can't take another amnesia....no ....matter...how...well...it .....is ....done.

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Did anyone notice how Gun's half brother did a 180 about face from wanting the fall of his half brother to being genuinely concerned for his hyung?

That's the power of Kim Min Young! I love this show!

Even when they use the amnesiac trope they do it in such a classy way, keeping it for a short duration so while we agonize over Gun forgetting his precious snail and being cold to her; we also see that he's so in love with her, he can't help remembering that there is something or someone so important that he'd forgotten.

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To be fair Yong has always loved his brother that has nothing to do with KMY, its Gun who is the problem he is too indifferent to the boy. So Yong has an older brother he loves but who he believes hates him and a mom Who treats him like a prince and wants to destroy his brother for "his" benefits...who does Yong side with?
MY will be there one open Gun to accept his brother. Point is all Yong wants is Gun's attention and if taking his place in the family will get it for him then so be it.

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In Yong and Gun's relationship I see Tan and Won of Heirs.

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Exactly! Which is the only aspect of that show that i found remotely interesting. It was so tragic how one brother just needed to be loved by the one person he felt was in the boat as him, and the other feared to love the one family he had as he feared that love might be used to hurt him someday.

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Thank you for a great recap!

When I read the last line of HeadsNo2's comment for episode 10 last week, I laughed. Ha, yeah if Gun gets amnesia! That certainly won't happen in Fated to Love You! Surely not. Please Gun, don't get amnesia.

What??? I'm so glad I kept watching though and I have to say I only did because of the first scene where we see Gun retrieving his lost memories. Firstly, I knew this would be a one episode dilemma and two, the heartbreak Gun felt when he remembered his beautiful Mi-young, well, it just got to me. By the end of the episode I was yelling at him, 'Just ring her! Stop the car and ring her!!'

I'm so, so glad Gun's original hair style is back!
I do feel a smidgen of sympathy for Se-ra. She can't accept the fact that she's lost a great man. That's a big mistake on her behalf.
I'm not sure if it's verified that Gun has Huntington's disease. His memory returned within a few days so that's promising. He also isn't showing any other symptoms as the doctor explained. I'm hopeful he doesn't have the disease.

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Thanks for the recap Gummi.

That was a much better episode than I expected. It was sad, true but so well done. I loved the flashback that started and ended the episode, the song in the background was just perfect. What is it? And Gun's tears, both when he read the baby book and at the end of the episode when he remembered everything while driving. So heart breaking.

I find it ironic that Se Ra's attempts to show her intimacy with him led Gun to see the heart shaped candy and remember everything. Se Ra's mom is truly awful and I don't like the implication that it wasn't Se Ra who chose ballet but it was her mother. By the way, since I just caught up and this is my first post on this drama I'd like to say a few words about the discussions about Se Ra in the earlier episodes. I think Se Ra is also a victim of the situation but not the biggest victim at all. In fact she's the only one who is partly responsible for her own situation. I disagree strongly that if it wasn't for Mi Young and the baby they had no problems in their relationship. If you are part of a committed couple you cannot make unilateral decisions and expect everything to go your way (having your cake and eating it, too!). You have to accept the consequence of those unilateral decisions including people's reactions to it. When Se Ra got the phone call about getting the part she left Gun preparing a proposal and ran to New York. She didn't even call him and explain, just left a message. Gun was so hurt that he didn't call her back for weeks when there was no Mi Young in his life. That's a glaring sign of the problems in their relationship. Ironically when he ran into Mi Young again and she asked he lied to her and told her he spoke with Se Ra. In fact he only called her to let her know he was getting married. So he had lot more common courtesy than she ever had. In any case, I am still on this point because Se Ra is acting like she's still entitled to Gun both with Gun himself and Mi Young and I don't like that at all. Instead of taking responsibility for the consequences of her unilateral decision she is blaming others. Let's face it, if she was by Gun's side that night he wouldn't be sleeping with Mi Young.

Mi Young hurt this episode, not only due to being forgotten but also by some of the things amnesiac Gun said such as "is it really my baby?". He had never questioned that the first time around. But she hung on to the hope that not only he would remember her but also the love that they shared. And she was proven right. He had the same nagging feeling like Joo Joong-won had that he forgot something terribly important.

I have a bad feeling that the next episode will be the real heartbreaker.

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PS. I also loved Gun’s reactions to the ring he found among his belongings (loved the fact that he refused to give it to her until he got his memory back), his acquired secretary, hearing from everyone including Chief Tak, his grandmother, and Daniel how important she was to him, and all the things he did such as attending prenatal classes, buying baby things, having morning sickness and finding reminders of Mi Young everywhere in his room.

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Gun and Mi Young's mini amnesia relationship mirrored their previous relationship in a way. When they met and decided to get married Gun was looking at her favorably and was warming up to her. Then he learned he got drugged and assumed she was in on the plan and came up with the marriage contract, divorce and payoff for the baby. After the amnesia, similarly first he couldn't believe he would hire her as his PA but then started warming up to her... until he read the newspaper reports of their contract marriage. And this time he hurt her by the talk of things he offered in the first round.

I hate amnesia as much as the next person but at least this one was somewhat logical (fit with his illness), short and well done.

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One more thing about Se Ra: Gun leaves her when he starts remembering Mi Young in Macau. But at the same time this makes him realize that Se Ra never came to Macau. They way he asked her to confirm this made me think he couldn't forgive her for that and that was her downfall which explains how a man in love with a woman can fall for another woman. Gun was hurt by Se Ra so badly that without realizing she lost her place in his heart. By the time Mi Young reappeared there was place for her there.

About morning sickness: I would have loved him to disregard Manager Tak's warning, try to eat in the kitchen and get morning sickness. I was so looking forward to it. That was my one big disappointment with the episode.

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I also wanted him to go open the fridge and watch his reaction. LOL!

I agree with all you said especially your take on Se Ra. This wouldn't have happened if she had made a different choice so she has no one to blame but herself. (Which of course she won't acknowledge.)

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totally! love that morning sickness reference!

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Thank god amnesia lasted only ONE episode!

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The comedy, MiYoung becoming his personal secretary gave me hope, the animated snail coming out of the shell, the prenatal teacher with her hand motions, all of it made it easier to watch...and of course the "hearty" laugh of Lee Gun..he is still our hero!

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Thanks Gummi for a lovely recap.

Lol @ screw you, Amnesia—go take a timeout next to your friend Noble Idiocy.

I've been watching more than my usual share of dramas these past few weeks, and I can't even....the way plot points from one drama blend into another. FTLY is doing a great job of adding a freshness to stale tropes, but I've just about had it with the other shows.

It's really difficult keeping up with different shows, and they feel like bad carbon copies of one another. Never thought I'd see this level of incest in screenwriting. It's like scripts are secretly sleeping with each other and making unwanted babies that we nevertheless have to deal with. (Yikes, my metaphor also feels like a rip-off of FTLY's theme.) Well, let's hope and pray in the least that the dramagods grant our writers some level of creativity, originality, flair, oomph so that it doesn't feel like writers are pulling out last minute add-ons from their not-so-magical bag of tricks.

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The small heartfelt moments of those ending scene flash backs.

:')

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Along with Ailee's voice. I gots to know the song! Pws realise the mp3, show.

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Does anyone know the title of background song been used for this episode?

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The song has not been realised yet. I guess we'll have to wait for the next few days (Hopefully hours? LOL). I waited for a whole week since ep 10 but still no signs :(

Could recognise that it was Ailee's voice though..

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I like the mi young stood up for her self with sera and said we will see when he remembers

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Wow, temporary amnesia for both FTLY and Trot, that's pretty similar too- the guy is at a state just after he met the leading girl, the girlfriend that never worked out being manipulative, and the leading girl who is stoically taking it all in. I haven't watched this episode yet, but I don't mind too much why the writers had to take this path to generate conflict. The writers have impressed me with how they're handling this differently from the TW version though, I'll give them that.

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I was just making the comparison between FTLY and Trot as well. I was feeling weary with the amnesia plot (not again!) but I like how the stories in FTLY and Trot have been enriched with the amnesia.

I was also mentally prepping myself for the storyline to go down the way the TW version did, which led me to cry real tears for the first time (when watching a drama). I don't know how the Korean version will play out and I am a little fearful since there seems to be time for "that" to happen.

Also, I really dislike how so many dramas have made the second female leads the crazy vicious bitches and the second male leads swoon-worthy. Girls are nice too!! and good sports!

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I'm so with you, Gummimochi. The head knows the writers are going to throw in the punches about now. I know I have to prepare myself for the inevitable heart wrenching moments. Still it didn't make it any easier. This episode was pure pain.

I was going to throw a tantrum when they used the 'A' plotline but since they linked it to his genetic disease, it was easier to accept. Addition to that, even though it was a tough watch, at least they resolved it within the hour.

Whenever I see Mi Young cry, I'll cry. Now, when I see Lee Gun cry, I'm crying too. These two superb actors are really killing me with their spot on emotional expressions.

Episode 12 looks like a real killer. I better get my tissues ready because I know my heart is going to break into tiny pieces...again.

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Wow, I've not gotten to that point in Trot Lovers... lol. Still on Episode 8! No spoile--- ah, whatevs.

It's okay, since I have a Korean ethnic background, I guess I will get amnesia soon enough so I won't remember that Trot Lovers has an amnesia scene coming.

Back to FTLY.

Man, the plot points just fly. What could have lasted 2-3 episodes was just over and done with in less than 45 minutes. That's amazing.

On the other hand, IF (big if) this is 20 episodes, then we have like 4 or 5 more of big events like this happening.

I wonder if we can get a new character in - evil KMY (the identical but evil twin of KMY, whose name is also KMY, and is Daniel Pitt's long lost sister). The evil KMY kicks ass, takes no prisoners and beats the crap out of Sera, Mama Yong, and just because she feels like it, Secretary Tak. Secretary Tak will be evil KMY's "bap."

Back to seriousness for a second - the clips at the end of Ep 10 bespeak of something really really horrible going to happen tonight - the reason why KMY has to leave Gunnie altogether.

I won't say it aloud (for fear it may come true), but it is horrible, and it might be necessary from a plot standpoint.

In other words, in order for the fated pair OTP to get back together, there has to be a pure reason outside of and unrelated to any obligation to a third party (read - baby). For that to happen.... well, you know.

I just hope that in the next 9 episodes (IF, and this is a big IF, this is a 20 episode series), KMY gets to have a lot of happiness and not just in the last 5 minutes of the last episode.

I want KMY to have twins, and a plot twist could be that one of them isn't hers. Or maybe both are hers, but one of them is Daniel Pitt's.

:)

I mean, if we are going all mak-jang and stuff, let's freaking do it 100%. I'm in. I gave my heart to this drama for 10 episodes, and now that we are going all conventional plot twists, let's add them all in.

I want Revenge, Temptation of Wife style. I want KMY to learn how to tango and then seduce Gunnie from under Sera's nose. I want KMY to yank out her bad fingernail, work out, Rocky Balboa (in Rocky III) Eye of the Tiger style, and kick Sera's ass all over the ballet stage. I want the Hamo Hamo guys to come in and do a dragonball z fusion and then kick Mama Yong down the street like a nerf soccer ball.

The possibilities are endless. Why stop at amnesia.

/end rant.

(still love FTLY though! *kiss kiss* *Mi-an!*)

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lol at EVERYTHING. you are fantastic. lol.

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Just trying to be light and fluffy.

It's like tying a bowling ball to end of one of those carnival balloons that is filled with helium.

That's how my heart will feel tonight after the bombshells explode. *ka-THUNK*

Then I will be back, ALL OVER HN2's recap, and ranting for the evil twin who is also named KMY to appear and kick everyone's ass.

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Bwahahaha.

That sounds like a great way to cope, actually. A lot like imagining bespectacled snails crawling all over you. And since you're completely helpless against the onslaught, you might as well give in and fall in love with the snails anyway.

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OMG.... for a sec there, I was like "wait, who is commenting like THAT( hehe, the crazy plot twists)... woori @ samsooki ???..... SIGH, the fact your JNR is so good in this drama (& SUFFERS so much) has reset your normal, analytical mind ....
LOL on the " Korean ethnicity " & thus amnesia will kick in to forget unwanted spoilers ?? I usually just go " lalala, I can't read/hear that ???)
Just hang in there, my chingu, like MY-shi, I , too, have confident in our PD nim & everything will be ok in FTLY ( I hope ?)

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heh cingdoc.

You so crazy. Lalala never works. You need to use pillows and other physical blocks to prevent the pain.

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Back to serious mode -

And Gummi, another wonderful recap! Thank you.

I am so glad how you touched upon how Gunnie sees himself as another person, and how this is really a step-back moment for everyone (audience included).

If you had an opportunity to go back in time and erase everything, memories included, would you still do things the same way? Is it fate or is it random choices?

Gunnie sees that even if he goes back to where things were before all of the weird events touched off, he still feels like his life is not whole. It is almost as if KMY is outside of time, and makes Gunnie whole.

How can Sera compete with someone who appears in Gunnie's heart regardless of the timeline?

Poor Sera.

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So nice to read you again Samsooki. Your City Hall recaps were the first ever recaps I read on this site (long after they were posted so I never wrote there)

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Thanks!

City Hall is like the opposite of FTLY. Amazing that I can like both dramas, isn't it?

Then again, I am a big JNR fan (I guess what is amazing is that I can like both Kim Sunah and Jang Nara with the same 마음 / 심장 (heart). I am a rare random bird.

:)

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Well, I do like both of these dramas very much as well so there you go, you are not the only one. :)

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*standing ovation* "HEAR! HEAR!"

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LOOOL, aww Samsooki you complete me (Don't let Mrs Samsooki hear) :-).
Sigh. What can I say? I have my heart to FTLY since Ep 5 and I am in it for the long haul. But tbh, I was impressed with this ep. It had a lot of beautifully acted scenes while still giving us the funny.
As I said last week, I hoped this was a 16 ep drama cos that would cut down on the angst episodes but alas I think it's 20 eps.
Buckle up guys, it's going to get a bit bumpy

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I like your version of the story. Not sure I would watch it, but I would definitely read recaps and lol every five seconds, lol.

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And on medical side of view, the dementia is totally irreversible :P
But it's still pretty awesome when the disease is so similiar like in the medical books ; psychosis, paranoia like the way Gun always seeing snails around him and how he react after he got married with MY in earlier ep, he got into depression and total anxiety. Im still waiting for the jerky movements. Ok snap me back into the dramaland logic and 'reality'! Bcs this writer is soo good, im just admiring her/his work! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

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I was disappointed with this episode. If they were going to bring the amnesia then why not make it last longer? I also question the morale of our octopus doctor and secretary for not telling gun about his wife or not telling grandma about gun's injury.

I mean, a man loses his memory and no one tells him that he is married, does that make any sense?!!!! Daniel was the only sane person in this episode. I know this drama is not even trying to be realistic and even though I am not a fan of silly moments and over dramatization I have still been enjoying FTLY so far. Now, this amnesia episode felt like a big flat filler.

Se Ra has been bearable so far but after this episode I have no sympathy for her. Every word her mother said was right and she should have listened.

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Just finished watching episode 12 and if you thought this was a rough ride, just wait for episode 12. I've never been so emotionally distraught over a drama in my life. o<-<

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I kept wondering whether I would have enjoyed this episode more if I had not watched Trot Lovers or if Trot Lovers had used (misused) the amnesia card after FTLY used theirs. It was a great and sad episode. Oh well, I guess I found another reason to be pissed at Trot Lovers. lol

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What the heck did this ep do?

It's like did we sort of go one circle n then started no different from where we left off?

So Sera is still self-centred (yah. I did X for u and so u need to reciprocate. Bleh)

So Daniel made no advance. (Same conv dude n no difference???)

Mi Young became Gun's post-it girl this ep!??? After all the awesome he treats her like a human being and wants her to be superglue ??

Gun. So u discovered u might just like Mi Young?

Arghs. Circle.

Feels like a hamster.

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Hi Lynx!

I actually think this episode is a turning point for a lot of the characters, especially Se Ra, and I'm really glad the others reacted the way they did. At the beginning, Se Ra wasn't really anyone to blame and throughout the show, she didn't really do much to break Gun and MY's relationship. So even if she's starting to create havoc now, she can finally understand that Gun doesn't just belong to her anymore and that there is someone else in his heart.

I'm glad Daniel didn't take advantage of the situation, because then we know that he's not manipulative or childish enough to think about his personal gain before Mi Young's feelings.

And finally! I was happy that Mi Young became his "secretary" here because in a lot of dramas, the woman is discouraged by the opposing character like SR and begins to run away or wallow in despair. But here, she doesn't let those things take her down and she remains loyal to Gun while he's having hard times. She knows that it's not his fault, and that he's hurting without even knowing. And considering how timid her character is supposed to be, this episode shows her strength.

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