Gu Family Book: Episode 21
by girlfriday
This hour is the bookend to Episodes 1 and 2, and even though it’s been a while since Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa have been at the center of this story, it turns out they can still wring our hearts, just like they did the first time. I’m not crying, I swear. I just have something in my eye.
SONG OF THE DAY
Yisabel – “My Eden” from the OST [ Download ]
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EPISODE 21 RECAP
Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa finally meet for the first time in twenty years. Seo-hwa’s voice shakes as she calls his name, and this time we hear Wol-ryung’s thoughts as he looks back at her curiously: “Who is she, that woman? How does it hurt just to look at her?”
A glimpse of her in the past flickers by, and then when she calls his name the same way, he’s taken aback. “Who are you? Do you know me?” And as they approach each other, a group of archers races through the woods.
But before they can exchange any more words, Kang-chi shows up and steps in between them. He tells Wol-ryung that he can’t kill any more people, and that he’s going to put a stop to it all. He runs at Wol-ryung and attacks.
Wol-ryung fights back and slams Kang-chi up against a tree by his throat. Kang-chi: “Stop! I know you’re in agony. I know that’s not your real face. And I also know that the only person who can stop it is me. I’ll stop it. I’ll stop you.”
Seo-hwa sheds a tear as she watches father and son come to blows. They fight, but it only takes a few seconds for Wol-ryung to gain the upper hand. He gets ready to strike, when Seo-hwa screams, “No, Wol-ryung!”
His hand freezes in mid-air, and he’s more surprised than anyone. Seo-hwa cries for him to stop: “He’s your son! Our son.” He looks back and forth between them, hesitating. Kang-chi uses that chance to fight back, but they just end up in another deadlock grip.
Suddenly the group of archers arrives behind Wol-ryung. They aim, but Kang-chi sees them first and swings around to protect him.
We cut straight to Jo Gwan-woong testing out his new rifle with an evil glint in his evil eye, and then when we get back to the gumiho family reunion, Wol-ryung is frozen in shock at Kang-chi, who’s got a back riddled with arrows from jumping into the way.
The archers get ready to attack a second time, and this time Wol-ryung zooms over there to suck the life right out of them. Seo-hwa rushes to Kang-chi’s side, and when they turn around to look for Wol-ryung, he’s gone.
Yeo-wool, Gon, and Tae-seo decide to make a run for it and find Kang-chi looking like a pincushion. Yeo-wool rushes to hug him, and then she holds him close as Gon yaaaanks out the arrows one by one. Yeesh, it’s worse coming out than going in.
But he gets through the pain, and then the blue lights come to work their magic, thank goodness. From a distance, Wol-ryung watches them and his gaze lingers on Seo-hwa. She can feel him nearby and looks up, but there’s no one there.
The group returns to the school, and Kang-chi brings his mother with him. Jo Gwan-woong gets a string of bad news: Wol-ryung has killed their men, they failed to kill Seo-hwa, and Kang-chi ran off with her.
He fumes, knowing that it means she’ll get taken straight to Lee Soon-shin. Sure enough, the admiral arrives at the school to meet her, and Seo-hwa sends Kang-chi out so the adults can talk.
Yeo-wool’s stomach growls from the day of running around and kicking ass, so she and the boys run to Teacher Gong, who makes them a chicken. Gon and Tae-seo watch as Kang-chi and Yeo-wool fight over giving each other the best piece, and finally Tae-seo just breaks it up by grabbing it for himself. Ha.
Gon grabs the other leg, leaving the lovebirds to fight over the rest. If you can’t get the girl, you might as well get the best chicken parts.
Seo-hwa tells Lee Soon-shin that war is inevitable, and he agrees—but his worry isn’t foreign enemies, but those who are working to derail this country from the inside, like Jo Gwan-woong.
She tells him that Jo Gwan-woong’s network of foreign backing is far wider than he knows, and offers to give him the full list. Ah, to cut off his money stream. She asks for a favor in exchange, which we don’t hear.
Tae-seo gets ready to head back to the Hundred Year Inn, and finds Kang-chi lost in thought over his tree homework. Kang-chi worries that maybe it’s too dangerous for Tae-seo to go back, and promises to come running if he needs help.
He shares his homework puzzle—to figure out what kind of house is made by cutting this tree—and Tae-seo says in order to make a house you have to cut the tree at its base first. With that he takes out his sword and slices the paper right at the trunk of the hanja, turning it into the character for “foundation,” that comes from “root.”
Tae-seo says that a person who doesn’t know his roots can’t say he knows himself, and suggests that maybe figuring out that answer is the point of his assignment. I like all the riddles he gets, but I wish they’d let him figure them out on his own.
Kang-chi makes a bed for his mother, and she takes his hand. She thanks him for growing up so well when she fell so short as a mother, and he just beams at the praise, so relieved that she thinks he’s a decent person.
She confesses now that she ran back to him twenty years ago. When she came to her senses she ran back to the Moonlight Garden where she had left him and searched endlessly for her way back, but the mountain wouldn’t reopen the way there. “There wasn’t one day you weren’t in my thoughts.”
They stand there holding each other’s hands lovingly, as he calls her mother one more time. Yeo-wool listens from the other side of the door with a smile. She sits outside with Gon and muses that it must be nice to have a mother, even if parents do kind of make your life miserable sometimes. Gon asks if Master Dam does that to her, and she says every time he’s mean to Kang-chi it makes her sad.
Gon understands how Master Dam feels though—if he knows that Yeo-wool or Kang-chi could die if they don’t avoid each other, it’d be weirder for him not to be overprotective. But Yeo-wool doesn’t care much about a future she doesn’t know yet: “If you change the present to match the future, living now has no meaning.” Wise words, my friend. Gon can’t help but smile at that.
Lee Soon-shin gets reports of multiple massacres all over the area, and so does Jo Gwan-woong. If they’re both surprised, then it can only be one culprit…
Wol-ryung sucks the life out of a man and throws him on the ground, and when we pan out, he’s surrounded by a sea of corpses. Whoa.
Both sides guess from his course that he’s headed straight for the Hundred Year Inn. Lee Soon-shin sends his men to clear out the area, and then as Wol-ryung kills his way through the village, we hear his inner thoughts pleading: “Someone stop me. My thirst won’t be quenched. I want to kill them all. Please, somebody stop me!”
Kang-chi sleeps in his mother’s lap, and she adoringly caresses his hair and pats him to sleep like a baby. Once he’s asleep, she takes out that dagger she kept all these years and the smile fades from her face.
Yeo-wool and Gon get some late-night practice in, and she takes issue with him going easy on her. He reminds her that she likes to win which is why he’s letting her, which just annoys her more.
So he stops holding back and they train for real. He still wins, of course, but she just takes it in stride and decides she’ll have to practice twice as much starting tomorrow. There’s a charged moment when he realizes he’s holding her hand, and awkwardly pulls away.
They stop when they see Seo-hwa, who’s come outside to watch them. She goes to see Master Dam next, and they exchange knowing nods. Oh, are you doing what I think you’re doing?
Yeo-wool comes in to check on sleeping Kang-chi, and then we see her conversation with Seo-hwa in flashback. She asks Yeo-wool to take care of Kang-chi, because she has to go stop Wol-ryung.
Mom says she can’t burden her son with a fate so cruel, and that this is the best that she can do for him. She says that seeing Yeo-wool with him gave her the courage, knowing that he’d be happy with her.
She takes Yeo-wool’s hand: “I hope that you can protect the love that I could not, because I was too foolish.”
Yeo-wool thinks it over, and then wakes Kang-chi. She decides to tell him the truth—that his mother went down to the village to stop Wol-ryung, and she thought he needed to know.
Meanwhile, the town is on high alert with people evacuating left and right. The officials urge Jo Gwan-woong to run away, but he refuses to be chased out, demon or not. He says that even Wol-ryung wouldn’t survive losing his head, which I’m sure is true, but how are you going to do that, exactly? Ah, he’s armed with his rifle—is he going to try shooting it off?
Seo-hwa’s old associates decide that this is a great diversion and make plans to steal back their precious map while everyone’s busy dealing with the demon. Tae-seo is spying on them, but gets found out before he can tell anyone.
Kang-chi runs out to ask Gon what’s really going on, and finally hears about Wol-ryung’s massacre spree, and his mother’s decision to try and stop him. Yeo-wool figures out that the inn is next, and Kang-chi gets ready to head out.
She asks him to wait for her to get her sword so they can go together. When she runs inside, Kang-chi asks Gon to look after her, intending to go without her.
She runs inside to grab her weapons, and Gon comes in to block her exit. He says that Kang-chi asked him to give her a message: “I’ll be back.” He reminds her that Kang-chi always keeps his word, and that this isn’t a fight for humans to get mixed up in.
She worries that he’ll need her if he loses his bracelet and hulks out, but Gon tells her that Kang-chi has learned how to control himself without her. She’s stunned: “Without me?” Gon says that Kang-chi might be much stronger than they know.
As Kang-chi races out of the school, he takes his bracelet off and takes a giant leap, flying down the hillside. Wut. Suddenly he’s taking flying leaps? Where was the episode when he learned how to do that? Show skips all the good stuff, grumble grumble.
Jo Gwan-woong is ready with a barricade, and Wol-ryung approaches through a thick fog, growling ominously. Jo Gwan-woong raises his rifle, and Minion lights the fuse…
Wol-ryung keeps coming closer and closer, when suddenly Seo-hwa steps out in front of him. She calls out his name and asks him to stop, but he just reaches out and chokes her with one hand.
She cries as she struggles to hold on, and when her tears drop onto his hand, it awakens something in him. Does he remember her?
But while this has been going on, Jo Gwan-woong has been aiming his gun at them, and the fuse has been lit this whole time. Wol-ryung looks up and sees the barrel aimed at Seo-hwa’s back.
He fires, and at the same time, Wol-ryung swings around to shield her, taking the shot in the back.
Kang-chi runs toward the inn, but finds Lee Soon-shin standing in the street, waiting for him.
Wol-ryung collapses into Seo-hwa’s arms, and she screams his name when she sees blood pouring out of his shoulder. She clamps her hands over the wound, crying his name… and it changes his eyes.
The red disappears, the black veins recede, and he looks into her eyes. Augh, the pain written all over his face—he remembers. A tear trickles down his cheek as he struggles to say it aloud: “S…Seo-hwa?”
Seo-hwa: “Do you remember me?” Wol-ryung: “I missed you.” Awwww. They embrace in a wash of tears, and then she thinks, “Let’s return now, to the Moonlight Garden.” A gust of wind blows through, and they linger there, holding onto each other for a little longer.
And then when the wind is gone, so are they.
Kang-chi tells Lee Soon-shin that he can’t let them go like this, but he’s told that this was his mother’s final choice, for his sake. And in flashback we see what her request was.
She kneels before Lee Soon-shin and asks him to help Kang-chi live whatever life he chooses, and begs him not to let Kang-chi see her go.
Kang-chi cries that it can’t be: “I just found her. I just got to look at her face as much I wanted. I just barely got to call her mother. I can’t let her go!” He breaks down in tears, and Lee Soon-shin hugs him while he cries, shedding a tear of his own. Aw, what a nice moment. I just really like it when these two share a scene.
In the morning, Jo Gwan-woong walks around listlessly, looking like he’s had his soul sucked out (er, not that he had one to begin with). He thinks back to the last day that Seo-hwa was here.
He had offered to take her back if she would come to him. She scoffs at him, and says that right there is his punishment—he has power and riches, and could have the whole world, but still not be satisfied.
She tells him that he’ll never satisfy that hollow thirst. “And in the end, you’ll never truly have anything. That is your punishment.” He roars in fury now, calling her name. It’s just so delightfully karmic that the one thing he really wanted was Seo-hwa’s heart, which he could never have.
Seo-hwa wakes up in the Moonlight Garden and smiles at the familiar cave. She heads outside and we see her wander around the same way she did twenty years ago.
Wol-ryung asks if she’s finally awake, and when she turns around, she sees him as he was before—the smiling, happy Wol-ryung. Aw, we’ve missed you! We see that it’s just her illusion because he’s still dressed in black and bleeding, and she asks if he’s okay.
He tells he can barely remember her name and her face—that’s the only thing he can hold onto right now. He urges her to go back before he loses that memory again. He turns to walk away from her.
She cries out to him: “I’m sorry, Wol-ryung! I was too young then, and my heart wasn’t big enough to accept your love. I’m sorry for the scars I gave you. I’m sorry I caused you pain.” His face twists in pain to hear her words.
And then she takes out the dagger, saying that she kept it all these years, hoping that if she could just see him again, she’d put everything back the way it was. “In your eternal life, I may have been just one shred of wind that blew past you, but remember this—you were everything to me.”
He realizes what she’s about to do and cries, “NO!” but she stabs herself in the heart before he can get to her, and falls into his arms. As he cries and pleads with her not to die, she becomes Young Seo-hwa in his eyes.
She says through tears, “I love you, Wol-ryung. And I’m sorry… that my love only amounts to this.” She reaches out to touch his cheek as they both cry, and then she smiles up at him so sweetly before closing her eyes.
He wails and wails for her not to go, clutching her close. The blue lights return to the garden and swirl around him as he cries holding her, and then we hear his thoughts in voiceover: “I didn’t hate you. I only missed you. I didn’t resent you. I only loved you with all my heart. I love you. I love you.”
As he cries and begs for her to open her eyes, she turns back into present-day Seo-hwa. The heavens open up and cry too, as if feeling his pain.
Soo-ryun receives Kang-chi’s answer to her homework assignment. She opens up the paper and written is just one character, for “mother.”
He trudges home in the rain and finds Yeo-wool waiting outside for him with an umbrella. Aw.
She gets up when she sees him, and she notes his bare wrist. Flashback to earlier in the evening, when Dad had told her that it was time now to let Kang-chi go. He said it was time that Kang-chi left in search of the Gu Family Book.
She walks over to him now to share her umbrella, and he tells her wearily that he’s back. She asks after Mom, and he just hugs her, and then says through tears that she’s gone. Yeo-wool pats his back and lets him cry on her shoulder.
She sheds tears too as Dad’s words ring in her ears: “Let Kang-chi go. You have to let him go so that he can leave comfortably.”
COMMENTS
Dad, are you seriously urging her to be a noble idiot? I was okay with Seo-hwa’s sacrifice, but if Yeo-wool pushes Kang-chi away “for his own good,” I’ll pitch a fit. So I guess the book quest was always going to be Kang-chi’s study abroad, to force the couple to separate in the eleventh hour. I can’t help but roll my eyes, not that that’s even the worst trope on the planet (really, there are worse) but because for this universe and this story, it feels like falling back on a rom-com drama crutch that you just don’t need. Is there no such thing as telling your girlfriend you’ll be right back after your hundred-day fast in the mountains, or whatever? It’s not like she won’t wait for you.
I liked the closing of Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa’s arc, even if it felt too short given how invested we were in their story from the beginning. it was nice to have Lee Yeon-hee back, because it really drove home Wol-ryung’s pain and his loss. The weaving back and forth between her seeing him as he was twenty years ago and him seeing her that way too—it played into the visceral connection we have in seeing those two characters together the way we remember them.
And even though she came around as a mother to Kang-chi late in the game, it’s really her relationship with Wol-ryung that was her emotional hook. So I appreciated having Lee Yeon-hee back, and also for letting them say their goodbye in the garden without Kang-chi. That felt right, that the focus wasn’t on him.
There were certainly some bumps in the road (like a lack of development for Demon Wol-ryung or that stretch of story time where they just remained frustratingly cryptic), but the big emotional beats for this couple were always done well. Between the first two episodes and this one, Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa’s story has that epic love and loss, and bittersweet tragedy, that makes it linger in your thoughts. I think what always struck a chord with me was the way they made such human mistakes, lived and suffered as a result of them, and then owned up to the choices they had made.
In that way Seo-hwa’s death didn’t feel like she was just being noble to save others, but that she was really paying the price for the mistakes she had made, and was doing everything in her power to right her wrongs, in a cosmic sense—and why the dagger in the heart of the one you love is that metaphor-turned-literal-weapon in the first place. They each took turns dying a different death in place of the other, and so this time when she saves him, she really does put everything back in its rightful place.
RELATED POSTS
- Gu Family Book: Episode 20
- Gu Family Book: Episode 19
- Gu Family Book: Episode 18
- Gu Family Book: Episode 17
- Gu Family Book: Episode 16
- Gu Family Book: Episode 15
- Gu Family Book: Episode 14
- Gu Family Book: Episode 13
- Gu Family Book: Episode 12
- Gu Family Book: Episode 11
- Gu Family Book: Episode 10
- Gu Family Book: Episode 9
- Gu Family Book: Episode 8
- Gu Family Book: Episode 7
- Gu Family Book: Episode 6
- Gu Family Book: Episode 5
- Gu Family Book: Episode 4
- Gu Family Book: Episode 3
- Gu Family Book: Episode 2
- Gu Family Book: Episode 1
Tags: featured, Gu Family Book, Lee Seung-gi, Suzy
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1 Ivoire
June 17, 2013 at 8:35 PM
Thanks!
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tieuyeunu
June 17, 2013 at 10:00 PM
one day I'm going to beat you to the punch and add a comment first.
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missDVM
June 18, 2013 at 7:02 AM
Hee hee. You guys are so silly about being first.
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Ivoire
June 18, 2013 at 1:56 PM
Thank you again, GF for this recap! I also wanted to thank some of the beanies who answered some of my questions last week, as well as those who added thoughts to my comments. Last week was an extremely busy week, and though I wanted to respond back, I did not manage to do so :-(...
This ep. was so sad and as you aptly said, a bookend to ep. 1 and 2, which told us the story of KC's parents. I didn't cry when I watched this ep., however, I couldn't help but feel sad for WR, SH and especially KC, who had finally met his mom, made up with her, was looking forward to getting to know her (and letting her know him), when he had to experience yet another loss (of someone very important to him). As I have been thinking about KC and his journey since we met him in ep. 3, I have often thought, "man, this is someone who could have a lifetime of therapy. Good thing he has people like YW, LSS, Gon, teacher Gong, TS, Choi and the people at the Inn and in the village who truly care about him."
I will start (or better yet continue) with some questions that came to me as I watched this ep.
1--I was a little curious about the wound that SH got on the side of her shoulder, when WR was shot. I know that WR shielded her and protected her, "taking the bullet" for her. However, based on their positions (how they were standing, facing each other), I would think that if the bullet went through WR and got to SH, it would be through her chest and through her back, wouldn't it? How did SH get that hole in the side of her shoulder? (And I believe JGW fired only once?)
2--Also, humans can't kill WR, right? Only KC can, though per JGW, humans could at least decapitate WR, whether they manage to do it with a sword or with a gun.
3--I was a little curious as to what made WR save SH and take the bullet for her. When he came back as a demon (or on his way to becoming a demon), he was bent on destruction (and killing) and he "wanted to break her neck." Could it be that it was SH's tears (that he saw and that fell on his hands), that touched him, bringing back (a little bit at a time) his memory? He did hug her for a long time, when he hugged her, and he could hear her thoughts... So maybe he was starting to come back?
4-- As I think through this drama, and dissect the episodes, I try to understand why certain things happen, and I try to fill out or rationalize the things that the writers don't tell us, such as when KC flew from the Martial Arts School to somewhere in the village, and we didn't know (we were never told) that KC could fly (even GF was surprised about that).
That being said, I can see how SH sacrificing herself would reverse the curse of WR being a demon (I guess there was no statute of limitation on when the stabbing should occur, which was a good thing). I was a little surprised however (and a little perplexed actually) when WR's black veins went away, and his red eyes changed back to their normal color, when they were still in the village. I wondered, "was it SH's compassion for WR, the fact that she still loved him that made him change back? Or at least started his change (and brought back some of his memory)?" Because personally, those were the only plausible explanations/reasons I could come up with, since her stabbing happened later on.
6--I also thought it was interesting that the mountain would not open up for SH when she came back, with the intent to maybe take KC back with her, and I couldn't help but wonder why. It sounded as if the mountains were trying to protect KC (and keep him in Moonlight Garden). And I thought, protect him from what? From his destiny being fulfilled? (Basically what we watched since ep. 3). I am just kind of curious as to why the mountain would do that to SH when she came back. I don't believe she was going to kill him (though she did try when he was first born). After all, SH was his mother, why not let her get to her baby?
Those were my questions for now...
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Manin
June 18, 2013 at 3:35 PM
Didn't finish reading all your comment, nor am I actually watching the drama atm but I can try and answer question no. 1:
Bullets back then did not have the same design or the same power behind them as modern weapons. Even today not all weapons or bullets will actually pierce the body. It also depends on where the bullet hit: like if it hits a pure "fleshy" place or somewhere with bones that could catch it. Also moving through layers of cloths would reduce the speed of the bullet to where it wouldn't actually go through the first body, or make it unable to pierce (or injure) a second person. It could also drive the bullet a bit out of course as it goes through one person before the other.
The older weapons such as the one used here, are also less accurate, so the bullet wouldn't necessarily have hit where it would look like it hits (unless they show the exact place, again I haven't watched it so can't say). Then again, could just be a mistake on behalf of the crew.
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Manin
June 18, 2013 at 3:37 PM
Okay, after re-reading your comment I realized I had misread it the first time around. Hope my reply was still useful though :p
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Ivoire
June 22, 2013 at 5:55 PM
Hello Manin,
And thank you for attempting to answer my question. I was confused by your explanations (hahaha), but I know that you meant well, which I appreciate. Please believe that I did try to understand what you said.
And you are right, about the fact that you misread my question, however I do appreciate and like that at least, you TRIED to answer it. I hope your weekend is going well :-)
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MysteryGirl2013
November 22, 2013 at 9:13 PM
"I was surprised (and a little perplexed actually) when WR's black veins went away and hos red eyes changed back to their normal color"
I think WR already remembered SH there and because of his love for her he returned to normal. (Just like the times when KC cant still control his gumiho side but when YW is there when he removes his bracelet he does not change)
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Ivoire
June 18, 2013 at 7:27 PM
Some of my thoughts on the ep...
Like many, I was glad to see that the show had some closure (and an ep. mostly) on the parents. Some of our questions were answered, and we now know (by the end of the ep.) that WR will be on his way to becoming the divine creature that he was, and that his demonic ways will be left behind.
This is an aside comment, and I wanted to mention that a while ago, and I kept forgetting. I thought it was interesting to me that when WR was a divine creature, he was not only dressed in white (we get the point) but also "buttoned up," all the way to his neck. When he became a demon, besides wearing black, we could see part of his chest. It just seemed to me that he was "sexified" in way, and I kept thinking about demon=bad things and bad things are sometimes (or often) presented in a very attractive way, so we would not resist them or realize how bad they are. I know that when WR was a demon, he did bad things and he killed people, but man was he hot! Maybe they "sexified" him on purpose :-) (not that he needed to be, he was already fine as he was), so we would forget about the killings (maybe).
I thought it was also interesting (and sad) that the one time when WR, SH and KC were finally together was when WR and KC were fighting each other, and being at each other' s throats. No time for conversations, no time for hugs (though KC could surely use some). I also thought it was interesting that KC told his dad (when they were fighting), "I will stop you!" He didn't say "I will kill you" right away, though we know that KC was the only one who could "stop" WR, and that probably meant killing him in the end. I would have to say that I was not surprised however, by the end of the ep. that KC and WR had not killed each other. I didn't think that would happen, it would have been a great burden on KC, and a terrible way to start his adult life.
I loved seeing KC with his mommy, all the scenes, the sad, heartwrenching ones and the happy ones, because they made me realize how much KC had been yearning to know his real parents and have them (and get along with them). Those were scenes of simple things (holding KC's hands, complimenting him on the fine person he had turned into, KC making the bed for his mom, KC sleeping on her lap, KC standing tall, proud and happy when he brought his mom at the Academy, etc...), yet they conveyed so much. The painful scenes showed us how much suffering KC and SH had gone through on their own, because of each other. And then for KC, to lose his mommy so soon, *Sob*
I never thought that SH was bad a person (not all bad anyway), and as she admitted, I did believe that she was young, naive and overwhelmed by what she had gone through (between what happened to her family and finding out who WR was and what he did), so her explanations simply confirm how I saw her character all along, and I was happily surprised to learn that she had even gone to look for KC, when she felt better. So in the end, KC had not been rejected by his mom (not really), and she probably didn't mean to abandon him. Life just happened, I guess. (And what a life! *Phew*). Still, she wanted the best for him.
Contrarily to what SH told YW, I don't believe that a mom's presence and love can be replaced. Maybe because this is a drama, SH had those lines (about your child not needing you once he is grown), and I understand that SH was trying to put YW's heart at ease about her (SH) leaving. However, I don't know that KC would have agreed with that statement, (not based on how he cried when he learned that his mother left, for good).
I did love (of course), the bickering between KC and YW. I might be in the minority, but I do love the cute in this drama, not only between KC and YW, but also with Gon and TS, and CJ (when that happened).
I will be back later with the rest of my thoughts...
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Yuuki
January 1, 2015 at 4:49 PM
Why couldn't Wol Ryung use his blood to save an heal Seo Hwa???
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2 mysterious
June 17, 2013 at 8:35 PM
I have been waiting all day, practically haunting this site and now it's here! Yay! I wasn't even going to watch this series at first and now I am in love with it. Especially Wol-ryung; I love him whether he is good or evil.
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skelly
June 18, 2013 at 10:05 AM
I think I'll keep this episode and the first ones and just forget about everything in between.
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AK
June 18, 2013 at 2:59 PM
Same here. WolRyung and SeoHwa's story is just too amazing... So much more emotionally thrilling than KangChi & YeoWool's story (and everything else).
Gaaah ;_; I bawled my eyes out the moment WolRyung recognized SeoHwa and said "I missed you".
And SeoHwa's heartfelt confession... WolRyung saying that he never resented her in his inner thoughts...
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mailahana
June 19, 2013 at 12:32 AM
Yup, they put all beauty on seohwa & wolryung scene. And yisabel-eden OST as background song when they were hugging in the village impressed me much. IMO
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mysterious
June 18, 2013 at 5:23 PM
That has to be Choi Jin Hyuk singing during the scene when Seo-wha died. I've never heard him sing, but that has to be his voice. I knew it was him the moment I heard it. And it is so fitting that it would be him singing the song since it makes you feel like it's Wol-ryung singing which just drives his pain home even more.
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3 lordj
June 17, 2013 at 8:35 PM
Thank you gf for the wonderful recap as always.
Finally, a closure on the parents’ story. Seo-hwa sacrifices herself to save Wol-ryung from losing against his demon within. As she stabs her heart with the dagger, Wol-ryung turning fully into a 1000 year demon is stopped.
But what touches me most is Kang-Chi shielding his father from the arrows. It only shows that deep within, Kang-chi is not ready and never be ready to kill his own father.
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lordj
June 17, 2013 at 8:44 PM
I just love this family.
Kang-chi saved Seo-hwa from the ninjas. Kang-chi saved his father from arrows. Seo-hwa saved Kang-chi from pain of killing his father. Wol-ryung saved Seo-hwa from the rifle shot. And Seo-hwa saved Wol-ryung from turning into a demon.
They may not spend much time being a family. But there is no greater love than sacrificing yourself for your loved one. :)
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 8:49 PM
Well said.
A Mountain God's family is no ordinary family!
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justme
June 18, 2013 at 7:39 AM
damn! i totz i never cry for this drama.. but..u r right!! tear for this episode .. SH and WR really reach my limit for romance in this drama!
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the50-person
June 17, 2013 at 8:56 PM
i agree. :)
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Aimei
June 17, 2013 at 10:10 PM
*slow clap* bravo. Best comment ever.
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Julia the Berkshire Beanie
June 18, 2013 at 2:59 AM
I feel satisfied with Seo-Hwa's redemption as the conclusion to her love of Daddy Gu. When you have lived with guilt for your mistakes for 20 years and get a chance to make up for it, this is a precious opportunity.
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Toystar
June 18, 2013 at 5:59 AM
Me 2!
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Yeah, I liked how he also understood that WR was in pain and that's not the real him. I never thought for a second Kangchi would kill his father. I figured there would have been another way to save him. I did figure KC would be the one who did it, but SH doing it is more fitting since it was her actions that lead to this mess in the first place. Goes back to what Kangchi said about the elders problems are the elders problems and they should fix it themselves and not drag the kids into it.
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 8:55 PM
And it also means that she has been reflecting on what she did that fateful day on the mountain, that she has been living w her guilt.
She said to YW: I was too dumb to protect my love. You continue to protect yours.
So now that she is old enough to know how to protect her love, she does with her life. It's beautiful closure.
Not to mention that it spares KC of the burden.
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4 Raitei
June 17, 2013 at 8:41 PM
I was really happy when Papa Gu remembered Seo Hwa and kind of came back to his old self, you know? I was really happy. I thought the old couple will have a chance at a happy ending. But then, that hope burst like a popped bubble. Suffice to say, I got rather depressed. Papa Gu is left lonely again, and even Baby Gu, who just started receiving motherly love, is left crying. :'(
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Dbsklove
June 17, 2013 at 8:55 PM
I actually teared up when they embraced... I dunno... It was so heart wrenching T.T strangely I didn't cry when I first saw them...
Oh god this ep was so good omg kang chi will meet his real daddy naoooo~~ <3<3<3
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houstontwin
June 18, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Maybe papa gu will have opportunity to be grandpapa gu. That could heal his heart!
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5 Dream
June 17, 2013 at 8:43 PM
Thank you, as always, for you recap.
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6 maxzzr
June 17, 2013 at 8:46 PM
Thank you so much for these recaps
I'm really enjoying this series . I know a happy ending would be nice but personally what I want more is a satisfying ending.
I love that each episode is filled with a lot of events, I really dislike series that just have fillers ( yes naruto I'm looking at you).
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7 rainbow9
June 17, 2013 at 8:46 PM
I cried at the scenes between KC and LSS, cried at the scenes between WR and SH, and cried at the scenes between YW and KC at the end. OMG, I cried a lot today. My heart hurt so much, but I loved it!:) LSG is a great crier, I can feel his emotions so much. I think his crying also brushed off Suzy because she can reciprocate those tears to make the scene so much better. I love the scenes between SH and WR. Both LYH and CJH cried so beautifully sad:( This episode was just so awesome!
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zfih
June 17, 2013 at 8:50 PM
Bawling...just Bawling my eyes out :( Wolryungs acting was so realistic!
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Dream
June 17, 2013 at 9:08 PM
I am very impressed with LSG's acting. He is incredible. This is a very touching and sad episode.
Now that SH admits that she was too dumb to protect her love, YW should take her words and protect hers. Please pls pls don't let KC go for "his own good". We all know that KC cannot live a life without YW.
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hhisc
June 18, 2013 at 4:26 AM
His life is not dependent on hers, give me a break.
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Osi
June 17, 2013 at 10:30 PM
"LSG is a great crier, I can feel his emotions so much."
I agree wholeheartedly with you on this. All the scenes with him crying hurt me so much that I want to hug him.
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8 KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 8:46 PM
Oh, it's here, it's here. Thank you.
After this ep, I fully understand why people have been praising the 1st 2 eps. This ep, which is mostly abt the parents, is sensational, even tho it is abt the ending of their love affair. The parents' love story is larger than life, so the OTPs' pales in comparison, bcos it no big stakes r on the line: KC won't become a 1000 year old demon, n YW won't be chained up and dragged off into slavery. YW's love for KC is steadfast n strong, so we can just appreciate the cute. Cute ultimately doesn't trump epic.
I'm glad SH gets to say: "I was young and stupid. My heart wasn't strong enough to handle your love." I was thinking the same for the past 9 weeks. Also glad that WR is restored from demonhood. SH's plunging the wooden dagger into her heart lifts the curse. But how come he is so easily absolved of the crime of taking many innocent lives?
Funny Evil Lord has been pining for SH all those years. But how can he be any competition for the tall, handsome, gorgeous, breath-taking Mountain God? Seriously. LOL.
I'm not worried abt KC n YW. He'll leave the academy temporarily to look for the Book, n will be back for YW, for sure.
Now that WR is a good gumiho again, what will happen to the relationship between father and son?
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aisling
June 17, 2013 at 10:59 PM
I think Papa Gu and Gumiho Baby will go and find the Gu Family Book together.
I mean, Seo Hwa said before she died that in his eternal life, she would be no more than a passing breath of wind for him. But if Papa Gu became human...
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 11:10 PM
Oh that's a GRRRRREAT idea!! Then KC can have his father by his side, and WR can have a family, and get comfort from his thwafted love. Now that's a happy ending I can live with.
But what abt all those innocent lives he took? Would that be forgiven since he wasn't himself? Like an insanity plea?
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aisling
June 18, 2013 at 12:34 AM
I'd say let JGW pay for those ;)
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nomad
June 18, 2013 at 6:11 AM
AMEN.
9 Claudine
June 17, 2013 at 8:49 PM
I haven't read the recap yet but I've seen the episode RAW. OMG! I thought I had already forgotten how I mourned the parents' tragic story. I thought Seo-hwa and Kang-chi would be able to bring Wol-ryung back, but I have to admit Seo-hwa's death made their ending much more interesting. Sad, yeah, but way more meaningful.
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10 hannah
June 17, 2013 at 8:49 PM
If I'm tearing up from reading the recaps, how am I going to make it through the episode? Gah, I love mom and dad's story.
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 8:51 PM
.."how am I going to make it through the episode?"
With a box of tissues beside you.
I watched it 3 times already and teared each time.
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hannah
June 17, 2013 at 9:54 PM
I've liked the episodes okay throughout this series; however I realized with episode 21 that closure of the parent's story is what has kept me invested. The tragedy of the whole situation really gets me: her family being unjustly accused, her brother and friend dying in such terrible ways, her living with guilt of not trusting her husband, and not finding her baby because the forest no longer accepted her. This should read like bad melodrama, but I give major props to the actors for enchanting us with their story.
P.S. You're right, the kleenex came in handy.
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11 lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 8:49 PM
Yeo-wool listen to his mother, not your father. I have high hopes they won't go down the noble idiocy route, though the preview is pointing towards that. YW and KC usually surprise us in getting over things quicker than most kdrama couples. There's no reason they have to break up for good so he can go do his 100 day thing. If they are worried about that pesky prophecy of death, it would be better to work together to change that and not give into it.
WR could actually come in handy here to possibly guide his son. Despite how tragic his story was with SH I don't think for a minute he regrets meeting and falling in love with her.
I was never that invested in Wol-ryung and SH's story, but this end seems fitting for them, though I felt the scene dragged on too long. I was actually hoping for a less obvious end to SH saving him, but I guess this works. She was able to end the suffering of her son and her husband as her final act. It's the least she can do after what she did to Wol-ryung and Kangchi.
Curious about what happens to old gumiho daddy now. I guess a fitting punishment for him (for his countless murders) would be to live alone and protect the mountain once again. Though I can't help but somehow he might fade away and be with SH and have happiness in the afterlife somehow.
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:02 PM
Last paragraph:
It'd be nice if he could be SH, but how does he join her in the afterlife if he can't die? Perhaps the powers that be will punish him for his murders by giving him death?
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:04 PM
I don't know. Honestly I think he does need to pay for the murdering he did so maybe a happy death isn't fitting. He's not totally innocent in what happened with SH in the first place. Though I still think more than likely his punishment will be living alone forever protecting the mountain as usual, without even his son there since he'll be either human or with his adopted family.
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12 the50-person
June 17, 2013 at 8:50 PM
Damn i cried when seohwa stabbed herself. the scene between her and wolryung was really heartbreaking... *sobs*
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13 fuzzymogwai
June 17, 2013 at 8:52 PM
cried really hard...like really hard....but i was also happy that they got to be together for a little bit before the end....
and ok the four kidsmfighting over the chicken was adorable...and hertummy noises....i mean did you see gons facemwhen her tummy made noises? keke
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the50-person
June 17, 2013 at 8:58 PM
i think that was the only really light hearted scene in this ep. :P
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14 jude
June 17, 2013 at 8:52 PM
I've been waiting for this. Thank you so much GF.
This might sound overreacting but for me personally, this drama has just officially ended at episode 21. I find Kang Chi and Yeo Wool cute but it's the parent's story that hooks me up so bad. And that last sacrifice that Seo Hwa takes for Wol Ryung just... *pounds heart in agony*
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hannah
June 17, 2013 at 9:55 PM
Amen
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Kiara
June 17, 2013 at 9:57 PM
1,2 and 21 end of story for me too.
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AK
June 18, 2013 at 3:06 PM
If they made a GFB Season 2 as a lengthened view on the parents' journey (1,2,21), I'd totally watch it.
I really wanna see how they fell in love! To make up for all these tragic moments.
I never expected a "side story" to take the spotlight like this but seriously, WolRyung and SeoHwa's love story is the highlight of the series.
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Gidget
June 17, 2013 at 11:16 PM
Me too! I've found it odd how much more invested I am in certain elements of this story than others. I like all the elements equally, but don't feel invested equally.
I think it's because it seems as though there are two separate styles being used to tell the story. Stylistically there is a greater sense of gravitas and history in the portrayal of: WR/SH, CJ, JGW, CSR, DPJ, LSS, Monk SJ. The rest of the characters fit neatly into what loosely seems to be a hanbok rom com (KC, YW, Gon, TS, MS, etc.)
For me, telling the story in two different styles inherently makes me want to choose between them. If they were separate shows I'd like both equally. But put together it's the storylines with more gravitas that have captured my interest and my heart. The hanbok rom com just seems to pale in comparison.
Oh, and thanks to GF for the good writing. It sent tears streaming down my face the whole last half of the recap.
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koleeh
June 18, 2013 at 4:19 AM
omg! I too was only hooked because of the love story of the parents. I thought I was the only one..I really thought or was hoping that SH & WR will be together forever yah kno..especially when she came back..and me thinking that KC finally has that chance of having his real mother by his side...bbbuuutt..nnooo.. it was sad to see that their love story has ended.. And yeah i feel the same way too:p
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15 zakin89
June 17, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Thanks for the recap!
There was a lot of tears in this one^^ And I'm not only talking characters here :P
I already had a feeling last week that I am going to need a lot of tissues for the last 4 episodes but I didn't know that I would need that many with this one already xD
The scene between KC and LSS was really touching and I guess all has been said about SW and WR. It was nice to see the end of their tragic romance even if accompanied with a lot of tears T.T
I just hope that despite daddy's words YW won't choose the path of noble idiocy because I think I'm going to throw a fit if she does :P
I mean...Puppy needs his girl right?
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:05 PM
I think that's the writer pushing our buttons. I believe it'll be nothing serious when it comes time for him to leave the academy. It just means she can't go with him. A quest has to be undertaken alone, is all.
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zakin89
June 17, 2013 at 9:09 PM
Yeah I think so too but I seriously hate it that they do that in nearly every drama...
My heart just can't take that kind of stuff in the last few episodes :D (I know I should know by now that there's a lot of angst in the end and it was way worse with Gaksital but I'm still a wreck throughout last episodes^^)
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:19 PM
Reminds me of YW ignoring KC and then him ignoring her and making me think they will drag out their misunderstanding for a few episodes, but then Kangchi just went right back and got over it a minute later. I think this will be the same. YW and KC just don't seem the type to suffer from noble idiocy.
I still think the quest is pointless if he has nobody to return to and without love. There is no meaning to becoming human without her and the rest of the people he's grown to care about.
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16 trixicopper
June 17, 2013 at 8:56 PM
I would have gladly watched an entire drama of WR and SHs story. KC and YW are cute and everything,but they have never grabbed my heart the way the parents romance did. So I will now continue to sob in to my pillow. :(
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Tartani
June 17, 2013 at 9:03 PM
I really love WR and SH but how much story can we really get from them? I think their story works best movie like, had it been more than 2 episodes I probably wouldn't have been as invested as I was in their story. Their story is actually quite simplistic;
-Hotty Gumiho falls in love with pretty girl.
-Marriage and make baby time!
-Pretty girl who used to be really dumb betrays him.
-Hotty gumiho turns into demon.
-Pretty girl becomes old, gets smarter and comes back.
-Hotty gumiho comes back as demon.
-Pretty girl kills herself to save hotty gumiho.
It was basically the first 2 episodes and today's was all we really needed.
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:08 PM
Yep. ep 1+2 and this episode tells their story completely. At most we could get some cute falling in love scenes. They could possibly have a stronger foundation of love with more episodes, but that would make their actions or betrayal and lies look pretty ridiculous. The tragedy is that they never go to fully build their love before they were torn apart.
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:15 PM
I think the most beautiful part of a love story (n of love in real life) is the falling in love part. That's what we got in the 1st 2 eps. More eps of building understanding n trust while good for their relationship could be mundane compared to seeing the blue lights for the 1st time, letting butterflies out of a bag, etc. That's why we've all been bowled over by the 1st 2 eps.
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:49 PM
Hah different strokes I guess. I prefer the building of a relationship over the start of one. Everyone can fall in love, not many people can keep their love alive and protect it. How people deal with issues that come up along the way and grow and change is more compelling to me overall.
KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 10:34 PM
You got a point. I was just speaking fr a drama pt of view, you know, what is "dramatic".
Gidget
June 18, 2013 at 9:53 AM
Chalk it up to personal taste in what's watchable, but I'd find the following a worthwhile viewing experience (and would love to see their story explore the themes related to how and why people love):
The backstory of WR. The (mythological) world he lived in. His friendship with the monk and the gnawing loneliness that caused him to want to become human. (The necessity of love and the inadequacy of mere companionship.)
The backstory of SH's family and their betrayal by GW. The reasons she inspired such loyalty from the people around her (including the twisted loyalty of GW). The reasons she made such flawed decisions in her betrayal of WR. How she matured in her understanding of what love really is. (Love isn't love if it lacks loyalty. Genuine love has a responsibility to protect.)
Fleshing out SH's temporary insanity when she was trying to end her pregnancy and her return to the forest to retrieve KC. (Genuine love doesn't demand perfection. Genuine love doesn't abandon.)
The mythology/reason for WR's forest slumber. (Heaven's love is inseparable from its justice.) (Here I'm tying together the fact that WR became evil through no fault of his own, and deserved a chance to receive redemption.)
What was going on in WR's clouded mind after he awoke from his forest slumber. (How time and unresolved wrongs can twist even the deepest love into hate. How our deepest heart desire is for love to be restored; even after hate has overshadowed it on the surface. How love requires both repentance and forgiveness when a wrong has been committed.)
WR and SH's true feelings about KC that were in conflict with their harsh outward treatment of him. (The unique and deep nature of parental love for a child. How parental love, although genuine, is distorted by the personal flaws of the parents. How a parent should transcend their own flaws to give the child the love they deserve.)
And so much more. (Yup, thinking some CJH fan-service would be a nice touch.)
Come to think of it, this drama had so much interesting unexplored territory I'd continue to watch it if it became a character-driven multi-drama franchise. Preferably to explore the world they created via installments that flesh out the stories of each of the major characters. Then tie it up with a pretty bow at the end, in an installment which gives us a glimpse of their collective future.
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Gidget
June 18, 2013 at 10:10 AM
"explore the world they created via installments that flesh out the stories of each of the major characters"
means
Short installments (only a few episodes) that feature the more interesting characters as the lead in their own micro-series.
I completely agree that each individual's storyline couldn't sustain being stretched out more than a few episodes.
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skelly
June 18, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Really, most of the episodes have been spent on the least interesting parts of the story. I know lots of people love the cute, and yes KC and YW are just adorbs, but I get a little frustrated when the adults go off to further the plot and we are left sitting at the kids table, watching them fight over chicken. I felt like the writer just made me about twelve years old.
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Gidget
June 18, 2013 at 12:19 PM
I completely agree!
Not to be redundant with another post further down the line, but I thought there were actually two dramas embedded in this one. One was a fusion of historical mythology, fiction and non-fiction, which explored deeper and more interesting topics. The other was a youthful non-serious rom-com that was playing dress-up in hanbok. Initially I liked the artistic vision of punctuating the historical drama with small bits that felt a bit more lighthearted and modern. But in the end, the rom com was given all the story's oxygen.
This episode feels to me like that last little burst of flame that happens right before a fire runs out of fuel. The brightness is gone and embers are all that remain.
17 Tartani
June 17, 2013 at 8:57 PM
Thanks for the recap. I can't shake off the feeling that WR will still die. But I hope he can at least have some nice father son moments with KC before he leaves. Ahh noble idiocy, I thought we got past that right? But the writer has been misleading about that before so I really hope they won't make it a big deal again.
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18 Andrea
June 17, 2013 at 8:58 PM
I spent most of this episode sobbing and hitting pause, because I could't see a thing through my tears. I need a hug. And something to fix my broken heart.
When I recover my sanity, I'll probably analyze the episode like usually. Meanwhile, I'll cry myself to sleep. Or something.
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19 snow_white
June 17, 2013 at 8:58 PM
Thanks
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20 Mia
June 17, 2013 at 8:59 PM
Thank you for the recap! ~off to cry in the corner some more.
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21 gg
June 17, 2013 at 9:00 PM
omg that was so incredibly sad....why couldnt they all end up together and happy....waahhh
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22 DogTimeWolf
June 17, 2013 at 9:03 PM
I bawled throughout this episode - I think I almost cried as much as I did during each episode of One Litre of Tears. I watched it RAW, I was desperate , hehhee. Thanks! BTW, am I the only that laughs every time Jo Gwan-woong says "Mwo ra?" ? LOL I swear it's like his favorite word ever and that face that he makes when he says it. Speaking of favorite words, I'm pretty sure by now, Suzy is actually calling Lee SeungGi KangChi, Yeo Wol says his name at least 50 times each episode. LOL
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23 ak
June 17, 2013 at 9:03 PM
I thought gumihos have the power to heal? Kang Chi did it for Yeo Wool and one of the Masters. Why couldn't Wol Ryung do the same for Seo Hwa? Were there limitations about their healing power that I missed on the earlier episodes?
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:09 PM
That's why WR was trying to make SH let go of her hands on the dagger, so he can pull it out. There has to be an open wound for the blue lights to heal it. (See the case of KC's arrow shots.) But it's a question whether at that point in time WR's gumiho goodness has been fully restored yet, cos it is SH's taking her life w the wooden dagger that restores it. Perhaps she has to die first b4 he has the power to heal w his blood again.
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ak
June 17, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Yes. Re-watched it. Blue floaty things didn't appear until after Seo Hwa died. Therefore, he was still unable to heal her :( Thanks for the replies!
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bambledd
June 17, 2013 at 9:10 PM
I think WR wasn't a full gumiho again until Seo-Hwa died (while he was weeping over her death, that's when those blue lights came) and there's probably healing for wounds, but not death.
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Nermin Badwi
June 17, 2013 at 9:14 PM
when he became a demon, he lost his ability to heal, if u noticed, he is still bleeding from the shot gun wound
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Dream
June 17, 2013 at 9:15 PM
when SH died, WR was still a demon who doesn't have the healing power. He turns back into GMH after she's dead, maybe that's why.
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Claudine
June 17, 2013 at 9:37 PM
I guess Wol-ryung did not know that his blood's healing power is transferable. I think there's a lot of things he doesn't know by virtue of his not being allowed to mingle with people.
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:46 PM
The dagger wasn't just a normal dagger. It ended a curse. I don't think he could heal her from that. Though if it's just because it needed to be removed (like the arrows) it makes me concerned about GW and his stupid gun.
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24 anonymous
June 17, 2013 at 9:07 PM
I will remember this drama in future because of WR-SH moments. They were so beautiful. Or maybe the rest of drama was dull.
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25 sheila380
June 17, 2013 at 9:09 PM
Thank you for your wonderful re-caps!
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26 Love drama
June 17, 2013 at 9:11 PM
I love this epi too. Maybe it become most memory of parent's story. I not cry but really shock , seem like lose sth. I sad for mother , not sure she die in hand his husband but i miss her with son . His smile , warm betwen son. I prefer this actress old and young for mother really fit . I love most part kc and yw at rain really good. The end of preview , the monk tell kc , i'm really shock. They i'll cry with hidden feel when be together. wow this drama recally serious and hook me . my honest , to Pds , sport that papa ho cry really hard look . Sound so loud so i close my ears when watch. I also hard my emotion but Thank you , actress! But really sad!
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27 geese
June 17, 2013 at 9:13 PM
major tearjerker...
whew....i was hoping there will be 2nd saga enable to explain every training and journey he need to conquer....
just being greedy of the LSS 1st sageuk...
it would be nice to see them sometime later...
i mean really later...not too early...
i need to recover first from all the emotional turmoil this sageuk brings...
right guys......
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28 bambledd
June 17, 2013 at 9:15 PM
I don't see why they're making KangChi going away to find the Gu Book such a big deal. They're making it like he and Yeo-Wool have to break up. Why can't he go find the book, then come back??
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bambledd
June 17, 2013 at 9:25 PM
And how did Seo-Hwa know the wooden dagger driven into her heart would turn Wol-ryung back to gumiho? Hmmm
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:40 PM
Do you remember how in ep 2 the monk told YR abt his quest to be human? All those conditions? And what he said when he gave WR that wooden dagger? That if his loved one betrays him, then he has to plunge it into her heart, or else he becomes a 1000 year old demon? SH is just doing what WR should have done to prevent himself fr that fate.
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Claudine
June 17, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Monk So-jung told her after she gave birth to Kang-chi. He explained why Wol-ryung tried to stab her with the dagger when she betrayed him which in turn forced Master Dam to kill him.
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bambledd
June 17, 2013 at 9:45 PM
Ahh, I see. Thank U!
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verte
June 18, 2013 at 12:37 AM
Nooooo D:
He didn't try to stab her :(
He was just talking to her and turned into his monster form and his claws hurt Seo Hwa so Master Dam stabbed him!
Sorry, I love Wol Ryung too much :'(
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justme
June 18, 2013 at 7:59 AM
yep !!he did said he cant stab SH cuz his love pure even SH betrayed him .. watch back ep 2 guys!!
Bluegirl
March 16, 2021 at 9:30 PM
This the part that's confusing & didnt do WR's character justice at all for being selfless & sacrificial for love. If WR decide to spare SH by not stabbing her, why did WR transform & claw hurt SH's shoulder? Did WR purposely transform & claw her bcz he felt betrayed yet couldn't bring himself to kill her? Or isit WR accidentally claw SH's shoulder bcz he couldn't control his transformation due to grief??
Can u guys help explain on this part,
29 crazedlu
June 17, 2013 at 9:17 PM
Buh! Ok, I enjoyed the closing of Wolryung and Seohwa's story.
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30 Dream
June 17, 2013 at 9:18 PM
I love every part of this episode ... except when at the last moment of SH the song was not sung by the original singer, and I think the original version was MUCH MUCH more touching.... (I felt touch every time when that song is sung..) but this new version just doesn't cut it. I think that scene would have been better with the original singer.
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lordj
June 17, 2013 at 10:41 PM
I feel you. I think the original version suits the scene much better.
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ManDu
June 17, 2013 at 10:46 PM
I believe the reason they used that version was because the actor of WR(Choi Jin Hyuk) sang that version. I personally enjoyed the scene that much more because of it, but to each their own.
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31 Joyce
June 17, 2013 at 9:21 PM
Thank you for the recap. I really loved this show.
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32 Weird
June 17, 2013 at 9:21 PM
I'm maybe the weirdest one on earth who wasn't moved by WR and SH scene at the Moonlight Garden. I couldn't feel what they feel or what I should've felt.
Also, dear PD-nim, the scene where they're crying together was tooooo long...
GF,thank you for your always awesome recaps. Same with you, I always love the scenes between LSS and KC. I was crying along with them. LSG tears acting is simply... *speechless*
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lemondoodle
June 17, 2013 at 9:42 PM
It was too long and the actor butchering The One didn't help. Also felt it lacked subtlety with the clothes change showing he was now good!!! and LYH coming back as SH was distracting to me. I mostly blame the PD though.
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:47 PM
Covering The One. A non-professional singer at that. It's either extraordinary bravery, confidence or foolhardiness.
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Weird
June 17, 2013 at 10:06 PM
Sigh the PD..
I scratched my head on the looong scene where TS stabbed KC,but I tried to forget it. Now he gave me this scene that was supposedly touching, but it's just bored me. I couldn't feel the emotion from WR, I was disturbed by the flashbacks and the sudden appearance of old SH and WR.
I also felt cheated because it's not The One I heard on the background.
Plot wise,the story between SH and WR is good, but the execution made me scratching my head even harder.
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kyl
June 17, 2013 at 10:29 PM
Glad I'm not the only one. Frankly, the switch between good and bad WR, and then between young and old SW was distracting. I couldn't really focus on the emotional impact, which is why I felt something during that village scene but didn't really feel anything during the Moonlight Garden scene. Kinda admire CJH's bravery at covering The One's song (of all songs). Not sure if I appreciate his efforts though.
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Fidelity
June 18, 2013 at 12:58 AM
Lol, I definitely had a problem trying to feel the impact of that TS/KC scene because I was wondering what the hell YW, her dad and Gon were doing after witnessing the stab.
The lengthiness of that SH/SR scene at the moonlight garden removed some effect for me as well. I would argue that even at the village they took a little too long because there were hostile troops of JGW just watching the love scene rather awkwardly. I guess the garden scene was intentionally prolonged to show off CJH's cover though.
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Dream
June 17, 2013 at 11:05 PM
It was long... and he just keeps crying "No" "No"... probably would be better if it were cut shorter and then the viewers can feel the emotion better... so CJH acts better than he sings... should have stick with The One.
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33 Feelan
June 17, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Thanks for the recap!!
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34 yumii
June 17, 2013 at 9:29 PM
Thanks for the recap.
No time to watch. Just enough time to read.
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35 Flo Collinson
June 17, 2013 at 9:34 PM
MOST tear jerking episode ever....I could not stop crying. I'm tell you i am so hooked on this drama right now. And Seo hwa and wol ryung ending was not how I wanted it to end but the only way it could be done and it was done so BEAutifully. But swear drama gods if you make yeo wool or kang chi pulled a noble idiocy. I will find a way to jump through this computer and throttle you. I SWEAR!!!!!!
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36 Noelle
June 17, 2013 at 9:35 PM
OMG my eyes started to tear up.
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37 Lolapalooza
June 17, 2013 at 9:40 PM
WHY IS DADDY GUMIHO SO GOODLOOKING D: GAHHH
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:48 PM
Now I really can't wait for Heirs. But Oct is a L-O-N-G time away!
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Cheryl
June 17, 2013 at 9:55 PM
I know! There's one good thing about the number of fangirls KC has compared to the number WR has: less competition to take out. >:D I'll win in the end, though. That's a given. HE'S ALL MINE, YOU GOT THAT? MINE!
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Cheryl dear,
That might change in a hurry. He seems to be on the verge of an explosion in his career. There is an interview on CIS where the interviewer asks him: Do you know how popular you are now?
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38 KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:42 PM
"If you can't get the girl, you might as well get the best chicken parts." Muhaha. Small consolation prize, that. :D
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 11:06 PM
The KC tries to stop her fr having the chicken wing, saying: "Don't you know what it means to have the wing?"
Does anyone know what it means?
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syung
June 18, 2013 at 12:15 AM
he doesn't want YW to fly away, or leave him.
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kumi
June 18, 2013 at 4:32 AM
They better go vegetarian!
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39 Tootsiepatootsie
June 17, 2013 at 9:47 PM
AWMIGAWD This episode was so sad >_< Anticipating the next episode- I'm wondering what will happen to Wol Ryung... AND WHY HASN"t THAT NEARLY-BAD-EViL-RAPIST-MAN-IN-OLDEN-DAY-ROBES died yet? Actually, I would like to see him die a slow and painful death- he deserves it after all
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KDaddict
June 17, 2013 at 9:55 PM
How abt having him die fr syphilis, with open sores, with the disease getting into his brain, w him losing everything he has amazed, leaving him destitute on the street, w everyone he has ever crossed spitting on him? Oh, it's satisfying just typing those words.
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40 Izzu
June 17, 2013 at 9:49 PM
Thanks for the recap... and the feels~
That aside...
"If you can’t get the girl, you might as well get the best chicken parts."
I find this quote most funny... hahaha
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41 owl
June 17, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Lots of crying going down in this episode. KC takes the arrows for WR. WR takes the bullet for SH. And SH, rather than return, takes the daggar for WR. It is a gift of the Magi sort of irony with far deeper ramifications. But I wonder about the Book of Gu, will there be some pathway to undo any of this, or would that even make sense?
**Question**: When SH turned things back the way they were by plunging the daggar in her heart and she became her young self, then wouldn't that mean that KC was never born?
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Tartani
June 17, 2013 at 9:53 PM
I think it was more of a mirage that WR sees, the young lady he fell in love with at first sight.
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owl
June 18, 2013 at 11:35 AM
Oh, geez - there I go again, being so literal!
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42 kdramapedia
June 17, 2013 at 9:54 PM
I was most moved by Kang-Chi's plethora of father figures in his life. That scene with Lee Soon-Shin? Done so well. He's surrounded by father's who look out for and take care of him (even Papa Gu Demon for brief moments), and Kang-Chi returns their love and care ten-fold. So much so that Seo-Hwa could tell in such a short period of time that he has been raised well.
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Weird
June 17, 2013 at 10:17 PM
Agree with you re that scene with LSS.
Until now, if that scene comes to my mind, I shed a tear again. Even while I'm typing now, I got teary eyes. It's so moving.
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43 yan
June 17, 2013 at 10:06 PM
Thanks for your recap.
I think I'm the only one didn't cry or even tear up at SW death scene, I know it's supposed to be sad and heart-breaking but I feel nothing... The scene is a bit long imo, the actor cried his heart out but it seems lacking something and did they change the singer for the OST or use the wrong file? I remember this song was so good, now it's meh...
Some scenes are unnecessary, like the kitchen scene, YW-Gon scenes, seems out of place (unless they decided to kill Gon next episodes). I guess they are fillers because this episode is for parent but I wish for more mother and son moments. But overall nice ending for the parent, though I want SH is alive and WR died, he killed many...
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44 Stardust
June 17, 2013 at 10:07 PM
What an episode!! My emotions are all over the place, after seeing the chicken eating portion hahaha and suddenly becos my lunch hour was ending I watched the ending first and now I have difficulty seeing through my tears... XD
But what a beautiful ending to their tragic love story, and I was happy that Seo Hwa was the one who put things back as they are, because she kind of caused it all to begin with, and since Wol ryung had a wardrobe change when he was holding the dead Seo Hwa, sobbing his heart out, I guess it means he has now returned to 100% gummi-goodness? now to see father and son fight that EVIL gun-wielding monster, now that I will gladly see...
I think Yeol wool will NOT go the route of the noble idiot, because so far, that has not been the conventional way the writers have gone, for which I am so grateful... See she tightened her hold onto Kang chi and not loosen it, which hopefully means that her resolve to be with him is stronger than ever...right?
The Gu family book may only be a figurative thing, or a state of mind? I don't expect a book to materialize later on which will probably look kinda lame...
Once again thank you for the recaps, we love you, gf and jb!! ♥♥♥
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45 kyl
June 17, 2013 at 10:11 PM
Yeah, agreed. Even if the prophecy states that either YW or KC may die, somehow I can't really take it seriously because YW and KC's relationship has always been the strongest when they're being cute, IMO. Then again, there has been a lot of saving in the past (KC being stabbed by TS, YW being saved from danger for about 3 times). We know they were not in any real danger in the earlier episodes, but if only it was played out well enough to drive the impact home, it might have a different effect then. Otherwise, I just thought they were merely plot devices without any serious consequences. As you have said, it pales in comparison with the parents' somehow more epic story, where the stakes are played out real. Probably because the parents have much fewer episodes to play out the stakes, but it's more effective that way. I'm beginning to think GFB has too many episodes in hand that it can handle, so the story tends to drag. Initially I do think that 24 episodes for GFB is just right because it had so much potential, it's just not explored.
Glad that WR is back to being a good gumiho, although the fact that his demon self is the culprit behind the village massacre still bothers me. He has to pay the price for it somehow, right? Because I can't imagine him getting scot-free after the massive killing spree. I've always had a hard time picturing KC and WR as father and son, because they both look like they're in the same age category. Perhaps it's more effective if WR looks older? Anyway, I kinda hope WR will be KC's guide in discovering and controlling more of his powers. I think WR is gonna retreat to the mountains though, after all that grief. I don't think KC will be hating him for what his mom did either.
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Tartani
June 17, 2013 at 10:32 PM
I agree with your first paragraph. The story has a lot of potential that can be explored however the writer only barely scrapes of the surface of those potentials and adds in a bunch of sometimes unnecessary filler cutesy stuffs and not enough angst for our OTP. I'm not too familiar with the writer's older works and I don't intend to check them out as they seem to be overly makjang despite my love for JW and YSY, but perhaps she was a bit hindered by what Suzy is capable of. I feel that we have to take into consideration that Suzy is great at acting cute but not so good at emotionally.
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kyl
June 18, 2013 at 1:57 AM
To me, Baker King's writing had more emotional impact (even if it's chock full of makjang) than GFB, although it's probably because GFB is a sageuk and it entered live shoot since the beginning. Or the writer's writing has deteriorated. Or the writing accommodates the ability of a certain actor like you said. Sometimes I feel that YW's character has no purpose other than to be there for KC, which is why they inserted the scenes of them smiling at each other for no apparent reason and them eating chicken together just to give YW some airtime, IMO.
Speaking of which, I have no idea why the production spent 2 whole months just filming the first 2 episodes. It seems to me that the production is a little short-sighted.
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reglest
June 18, 2013 at 5:44 AM
Why do I think the same??
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kyl
June 18, 2013 at 1:08 AM
Oops. This comment is supposed to be in reply to comment no. 8 @KDaddict.
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46 gracias
June 17, 2013 at 10:15 PM
Welcome back GF
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47 Jenica Camis
June 17, 2013 at 10:20 PM
My heart is so broken for the parents specially for my hot gumiho daddy is he dead now 2 wont i be able 2 see him in the remaining 3 eps its a sad episodes but its more sad 4 our baby gumiho the tears are hevier than the rain itself its mor painfull than those arrows stuck in his back for loosing the mother he just known for a while but i'll be a good thing his father wont die in his own hands & why the hell is YW dad telling her 2 break up with gumiho baby i think theres a reason 4 that i also wonder what's next task from the last 4 men of honor geez why is the recap so late in our country i want 2 be the first one 2 comment 2 but it's always a day late but thanks anyway your doing a great job
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48 damnkdramas
June 17, 2013 at 10:28 PM
awesome episode, I cried like a baby
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49 JK
June 17, 2013 at 10:28 PM
Can someone tell me is Wol-Ryung now back to his usual Gumiho self, now that Seo-Hwa is dead? I mean, it would be so pointless if she died, and then he's still going to turn into a monster.
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Stardust
June 17, 2013 at 10:49 PM
All the pretty blue swirly lights seem to indicate so.... Because at first he woke as a cursed demon, and was kinda 'cut off' from the mystical world? Hence he had not been healing from the wounds he sustained since... But with all those lights back, it seems that he has now reconnected back to that world...
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bambledd
June 18, 2013 at 1:53 AM
Plus, the preview for ep 22 shows WR out of the black clothing and in his gumiho white/blue outfit. I think we can safely assume he reverted back.
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50 Katherine
June 17, 2013 at 10:58 PM
I cried watching the scene where Seo Hwa dies... it was so bittersweet. I jumped for joy for the reunion, but cried when it really was the end for the both of them.
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