Mr. Sunshine episode 4 thoughts:

-> Yoo Yeon-seok. This is going to be a regular pattern for my “thoughts” posts. Get used to it.
-> I can’t take these dramatic staring contests seriously. They’re just too indulgent and go on too long. Yes yes yes everyone is very pretty but I don’t think I’ve ever held a person’s gaze that long without saying anything.
-> This is the first drama (and a sageuk at that!) that I can remember that has the woman tell the guy who swung her away from an oncoming vehicle, “I have eyes and ears and can save myself, thanks.” Hooray for Ae-shin’s maid, I love this ajumma!
-> Dong-mae buying candy had me dead.
-> The flashback to young Ae-shin and Dong-mae! So sad, so intense, this could be an entirely different story if it was just about the two of them, a star-crossed lovers / Romeo & Juliet type story. Oh, what a thought!
-> I actually like Kim Min-jung’s character. Kudo Hina is a SMART lady, a flirt, and speaks just as many languages as our boi Eugene. She’d make the best spy ever. I can’t wait to watch her character trajectory as she gets more and more caught up in the political shenanigans, seeing as she runs the place all the important players like to visit.
-> The puns from David McInnis’s character! I appreciate the little jokes the show manages to squeeze in.
-> LIKE all the characters asking if the translator and pawn shop dealer are brothers!!
-> Okay, I officially don’t like Byun Yo-han’s character. He’s a playboy and a gambler and from the way Ae-shin looked at him with disgust at the very end of the episode makes me think she knows his insincere ways. Also, we all know he doesn’t stand a chance.
-> Adding onto that, I feel like out of the three male leads, HE’S the one who could easily go full villain on us!
-> I really like where Eugene is now, holding his former masters at gunpoint. This is what I’m talking about! His emotions are taking control and he, too, feels the need to exact revenge, quite like Dong-mae felt in the last episode. Finally we’re starting to see who Eugene Choi is. I don’t think he’ll actually kill them, that would be a huge political no-no, but I like that he’s a finger’s pull away from personal and political disaster.
-> Park Hyo-shin’s voice during the ending credits gets me. Not only did they spend money on the big stars, they spent money on the soundtrack and somehow coaxed PHS out of his typical hiding.
-> Yoo Yeon-seok. See accompanying screenshots.
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    YYS is the scene stealer and his role is the most dynamic too but I found BYH good too. He does go well with the fl for obvious reasons. Moreover i think AS does harbour some feelings for him as we learnt in the previous episodes that she does regularly stitch a suit for him. The only thibg I am not feeling is the ml and fl scenes. Apparently they should be intense but I find them lacking and boring. I was glad BYH finally stepped in and according to the teaser I think he will just side with EC, not become evil.

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      I think BYH is really good, but he’s definitely the least interesting to me (now). Perhaps his character and Ae-shin have some history, and politically they are a good match, but idk, her scowl when she saw him definitely wasn’t the typical “moved to tears because I can’t believe he’s finally back.” And do I think he’ll actually become a real villain? Not really, YYS’s character is much better set up for that trajectory. You’re right, BYH will probably stay a “good” (relatively) guy, but there will be lots of tension because all the guys will be mad in love with Ae-shin and of course only one of them will be lucky enough to receive her heart. And it won’t be BYH!

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    I think a YYS pairing with Ae Shin would excite me more than a BYH pairing! I haven’t been able to connect to BYH as yet and it’s scary because we have had 4 episodes already!

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      Yes yes yes YYS as main lead would be my perfect world. Sadly, that’s not how this show is going to play out. Sniff.

      And with so much focus on LBH and KTR’s characters, these second and third leads haven’t gotten much to do yet. YYS was absent from ep 1 and most of ep 2, and BYH absent from ep 3 (was he also absent from ep 2? I can’t remember).

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        Let’s see how it pans out! I am not a huge fan of the writer (I found both DOTS and Goblin, underwhelming) but I am liking it this far! BYH is the only one I can’t connect to! Maybe it’s a way he is portraying Eugene Choi or maybe his indifference to Joseon? I don’t know. BYH is a terrific actor though…

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          I wasn’t a big fan of DoTS (I watched it almost begrudgingly) but I did enjoy Goblin (though more for the acting than everything else). Perhaps it is Lee Byung-heon’s portrayal of Eugene that is making him hard to connect to… I didn’t start to like him until this fourth episode, and only because of the very last scene that gives him potential to really change and or show his suppressed colors. I haven’t seen LBH in anything, nor Byun Yo-han, so these two aren’t making me starry-eyed yet — they have a lot to live up to, my expectations are pretty high! I have seen YYS and Kim Tae-ri in other stuff, and I am happily pleased by what I’m seeing. 😀

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    You couldn’t have said it any better!

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    I am curious to know what your thoughts on his last encounter with AS. It seems like something intense between these two was there when she saved him. There must be more to that scene in the carriage. That memory shook AS and we can see she unconciously reacted the same way. Is it because she remembers he said she was just a noble fool who lives a luxury life? And that she was angry with herself for judging him, acting holier than thou, seeing his reaction to her scolding is not what she was expecting, his calm, strong deep gaze telling her who are you to say that to me, yangban agasshi? Or is it simply just fear from those pair of killer gaze? I think I lived and died multiple times when he shot that stare.

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      The way I interpret it, little Ae-shin took pity on Dong-mae, understanding that he’d probably get killed if he was spotted, and decided to hide him and help him. Perhaps she expected him to be utterly grateful and not say a word out of fear, but instead he mouthed off, insulted her, and wiped his bloody/dirty face on her dress. Perhaps young Dong-mae’s words struck a cord in her that she hasn’t forgotten, and while she does live a luxurious life and has immense pride and expects people to respect her, she definitely is not a fool.

      To me, adult Ae-shin is angry that Dong-mae has become an ally of the Japanese when Ae-shin’s parents sacrificed their lives to keep Joseon out from under Japanese influence, which is what Ae-shin is currently working toward herself. I think she’s repulsed that the boy she saved has become a traitor to his country, which makes her angry at herself. (I’m getting really psychological here, this is just speculation.)

      On the other side of things — adult Dong-mae still feels a deep sense of gratitude toward Ae-shin and it’s obvious whatever feelings he has will soon turn into love. Ae-shin was the only person who showed him compassion in his life and treated him kindly. It’s those qualities about her that Dong-mae longs for and perhaps even wants to repay. He might be a ruthless and reckless leader, but he does show softer sides. I feel like his emotions can seesaw to extremes, as opposed to Eugene who keeps his feelings under his composed soldier facade.

      Is Ae-shin afraid of Dong-mae? I don’t think so. I believe she just doesn’t like the person he has become.

      And I, too, died multiple times during their scene together and was riveted during the flashback, the two child actors did a phenomenal job. Ae-shin and Dong-mae’s storyline is going to be so angst-y due to having that childhood connection.

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        I was hallucinating your words as being, she was angry for losing one hot blooded specimen to the Japanese.. *runnnnn!!*

        I must agree that the child actors were superb! And I also agree that it is not so much deep attraction that he felt towards her, perhaps deep gratitude with some attraction. The latter will grow later on as he begins to support her fight… I don’t know why I have this feeling that though he was shocked, in which he hid his emotion really well, to hear her accused him of being a traitor, he was more disappointed that that is all that she could see. There must be another reason for him to come back to reside in Joseon besides revenge and AS. He may not have a clue of what she thought of the Japanese but generally the people of Joseon are against the Japanese, and that he was aware of, I like to believe so. There must also be a reason for him to look for the document. Maybe to sell it to the highest bidder, or maybe he has his own agenda. Seeing Hina closely staring at the crates of guns, affirms my suspicion. There is more than meet the eyes for Hina and DM. We do not know what transpired during their time in Japan. He could have been a double agent, just like Hina, thus the relationship between the two. They may have learnt more about the previous uprising against the Japanese and may have joined forces. For them the only way to survive in Japan is to sing the same song. Japan is different than the US, hence we see a much more laidback Eugene but a hardened, ruthless DM. After a point of hardship, Eugene’s life got positively better as he became a citizen of the US. But for DM, I don’t think he already is a Japanese by citizenship. I find DM’s character has more dynamic. Like you can play around it and paint various colours to it, it will still be interesting to get to know. ^_^

        Oh by the way, thank you sooooo much for the glorious screeshots! You are an angel! 😉

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          I agree, I don’t believe Dong-mae considers himself Japanese like Eugene considers himself American. Dong-mae is still a man of Joseon but his political allegiance is with Japan. For now. I love all the speculation we’re doing!! And you’re very welcome for the glorious screenshots! I took a million of them and picked the best ones, glad you like them! 😄

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