Fall In Love With (Both Of) Me - Episode 13 (A SqueeCap)

Shuk:  It was hard doing a preface for this episode.  So much of the last several has just been a repainting of the same old tired elements. Still, one can always hope for something more. If not, there's always Aaron Yum looking thoughtful.

He does Thoughtful so much shmexier than PDull Leo.

EPISODE 13

Shuk:   Our two girls finish their ablutions before settling down for the night. Chalk Girl is feeling all kinds of guilty for Whiny’s back injury. Plus, she has to let Kitty know of PDullLeo’s boring confession. Kitty is sad for a moment but figures PDullLeo didn't like her anyway.
JoAnne:  Count yourself lucky, girl. No one deserves a life of being looked at thoughtfully, broken only by the occasional thoughtful sigh. Plus, LeoNoAction, your hair is too poofy and your mustache is ratty.

Shuk:  Sexy is having BBQ with OZGang and discussing the snack ad campaign. There’s a moment of silence when he’s addressed as Xiao Lu, and then he accidentally touches hands with Chalky over a condiment. Then the rivalry begins with PDullLeo managing to put all kinds of tidbits on Chalky’s plate, leaving Sexy to blow a pepper…err…blow on a pepper.
JoAnne: I have never wanted to be a bell pepper so much in my entire life.  Or ever, at all, really.  But now, I really really want it.

Shuk:  In the Childrens’ Ward at the hospital, the gang is busily putting together the Wishing Tree.  Toady Jr, now officially dubbed Wang Chung, brings some puddings for the kidlets, leading Kitty to get a little flirty, and to pile boxes into his arms.
JoAnne:  Everybody wangs Chung, tonight?

Shuk:  Bangs is handcam-ing while PDullLeo uses the main camera. They are explaining the idea of writing their wish on a bag of snacks to see if it will come true. (ABORT ABORT ABORT these are HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN ABORT) Our previously truculent little girl is at the doorway. Chalk Girl tells her the instructions, but she just yells that they are a bunch of Fakey Flakes and runs. Tao Zi chases after her, only to bump into our real Fakey Flakey Whiny being wheeled around by Sexy. They share enough of a convo for Sexy to feel sad, and Whiny to feel insecure.
Bitchy:  Someone just tip over her wheelchair please.  Preferably at the top of a stair case.
 
Shuk: Chalk Girl catches up with the little girl and convinces her to write down her wish, promising she will do her best to make it come true.  I’m thinking, what if it’s something like “make the cancer go away”?
JoAnne:  Thus my frantic screaming as I realized a little bit ago just how truly BAD this idea is.

Shuk:  Sexy is talking to the charge nurse about Xiao Jie, The Littlest Cancer Patient. She never interacts with the other children, and doesn't comply with her treatments while waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Nothing appears to be known about the parents, but a neighbor lady visits her once a week.  We get a thoughtful look, but I’m too busy drooling to make fun.
JoAnne:  No wonder your laptops die.
Shuk: But it's a good reason. :)
 
Shuk:  The big filming starts, and the kids put their fat bags of uneaten snacks on the tree.  All three camera men are filming from the same location a few feet apart. [shrug] I’m sure a miracle will occur in the editing room. Plus, if it was me, it would be a shriveled, empty bag on the tree, and my tummy would wish for nothing.
JoAnne: Don't they need to save their miracles for the kids?
 
Shuk: OZGang looks over the wishes, which are all for easily-obtainable things except for our tiny troublemaker. She wants to see her older brother. Chalk Girl wonders why that is so difficult, when our tieless Sexy boy butts in.  (I'd like to tie his butt up...) He already has the answer: the brother fell to his death at a construction site a month ago, while earning money for the procedure.  He believes she wrote it down as an impossible wish.
JoAnne: If this were Korea, I would suspect a birth secret coming up. But no, this is Taiwan, Land of Breezes, Realistic (well, MORE realistic) Treatment of Adult Sexual Behavior, and Simplistic Solutions to Serious Issues.

Shuk:  Later that night, PDullLeo and Chalk Girl discuss the wish, and wonder if there is something that the brother left behind they can use.  Leo strokes her hair in reassurance, and I get a little skeeved out.
JoAnne: Unfortunately, 'skeeved out' is part of that vast wasteland of emotions not contained within the skillset of our heroine.

Any way you look at it, just NO.

Shuk:  PDullLeo gets a text from Sexy asking to meet outside ASAP.  There, Sexy hands Dull the phone number of the neighbor, stating they might find some answers.  He asks Dull to handle it, since he technically isn’t supposed to be assisting the company.
JoAnne: Well technically you aren't supposed to invent human beings, either, but I didn't see you holding back then, did I?

Shuk:  Our Stepford Family has a meeting with Butler Fu, talking about their relationship with OZ and Lu Tian Xing.  Fu is alarmed when they employee-ize their supposed adoptive family member. Clearly FosterMom is looking for some way to use OZ to tie him down to the company and her daughter.
JoAnne:  Sit! Fetch! Stay! Impregnate!
 
Shuk:  Sexy is still at DorkHouse, playing OZball with himself.

Shuk:  Tao Zi is at TaoHouse looking at pictures of her brother. TaoMom wonders whatever happened to that lucky OZBall her son always carried.

Shuk: Chalk Girl gets a page from Whiny asking to meet on a lonely stretch of road.  Not really, but it’s dark at the park.  They go for a stroll.

Shuk: Whiny asks about OZ without Tian Xing as part of the team, tells Chalky she doesn’t blame her for the accident, and repeats her fear of TX leaving her [cue evil music] unless she stays in the wheelchair.  Tao Zi assures her that both her “brothers” will always be there for her. I wonder why Whiny did this, since she is not nearly smart enough for any type of rivalry stratagem.
JoAnne:  Sure she is.  She's playing on Tao Ze's sympathy and guilt.
 
Shuk:  It’s the day of the Great Wish Fulfillment, and again our trio of cameras are all lined up on one side of the Tree. Heck, I got nothin’, except, these are supposedly professionals??
JoAnne:  This is Oz, though.

Shuk:  Littlest Cancer Patient spoils the filming by calling everyone a liar, since she knows her brother is in heaven.  She runs off, again. Chalky chases her, again. Our Three Filmateers, actually the entire OZGang, chase them as well, leaving all the other children to do nothing but stare at their presents. Some fun this is for them!
JoAnne: Hey, they got presents. What do they care?

Shuk:  LCP is crying on a bench when Tao Zi finds her. She explains that, just like her own DeadBro, that LCP DeadBro would want her to be brave and live happily. The present is an Encouragement Box, ostensibly from the DeadBro, which includes the newly-designed snack with “I wish my little sister will grow up to be a good girl”. Crisis averted, and the little girl will accept her treatments while waiting for a donor.
JoAnne: So at least part of the gift is from DeadBro, but then they added the value brand snack bag?
Shuk:  Headgames With Terminally-Ill Children: Right or Wrong? Next on Maury Povich.

Shuk:  Chalk Girl is walking with DeadBro. She apologizes for losing the company, but DeadBro just wants her to find her own dream. She continues walking alone until she sees what looks like her brother playing with his ball.
JoAnne:  Forever alone.
 
Shuk:  She runs there, only to find out it’s actually Lu Tian Xing. Personally, I would not be that disappointed to see hot man versus dead brother, but we all have our weaknesses. He asks if she recognizes the OZBall, and when she does, he explains how it came into his possession twelve years ago. Sexy continues that his love of advertising stemmed from meeting her brother, and apologizes for being the cause of his demise. Chalk Girl readily forgives him as they both cry; after all, KidChalky dropped the OZBall that made KidSexy run out into the street.
JoAnne: Hot man playing with ball is definitely first on my list of those particular options.

Shuk:  Sexy takes a deep breath, wipes his eyes, and hands the OZBall back to its owner, thanking her brother for his inspiration and telling her to hang on tight to it this time. She looks down on it and cries; he reaches out to tuck her hair but pulls back at the last second.
JoAnne: I give you my ball as a token of my love.  Treat it well. 
 
Shuk: Chalk Girl sincerely thanks him for the return of the OZBall, and also his postie that helped her solidify the snack ad campaign. She flips around and heads off, while he gives a watery smile to her retreating back.
JoAnne:  I appreciate the gesture of you giving me your ball, but I am not ready to accept all that it implies.

Shuk:  TaoMom and Dad are overjoyed at getting the OZBall back, acting like their son’s spirit possesses the darn thing. They share a group hug and sobfest.
JoAnne:  It's now a family ball.

Shuk:  It’s morning, and Sexy is being dressed by Butler Fu. Fu worriedly warns Sexy not to mention OZ in front of FosterMom or do anything that might bring OZ-related stuff to her attention.
JoAnne: Cover your eyes so they can't see you, Tian Xing!
 
Shuk: PPL Time, and Whiny is smearing BB cream on her face in anticipation of her slave adopted brother’s arrival. Toady shows up first, and he continues the makeup-dabbing while encouraging her to continue the Big Stinking Gimpy Lie to win her obsession’s heart.
JoAnne:  I cannot give you my ball, but I can apply your makeup in a similarly inappropriate gesture of love.

Shuk:  She stands up to show Toady how well she is doing, which is the perfect time for Sexy to show up and see her standing.  She fakes a fall and cries to Tian Xing that she will be crippled for life. I’m thinking emotionally crippled, we all already knew.
JoAnne:  And I'm thinking how easily this could all be disproved as I fantasize about crushing someone's ball between my fingers. Just pop it like a grape, you know what I'm saying?

Shuk:  FosterMom meets up with Sexy. We find out that she has been doing all his investments, and offers to trade OZStock for TXStock, which would make Toady and Sexy equal partner, with FosterMom as the swing vote.  DON’T DO IT, SEXY!!  He’s thoughtful outside LiHouse.
JoAnne:  She offers to do a thing she has in fact already done.  If he had a ball, it would now be in a vise.

Shuk: OZGang is snarfing snacks and celebrating the successful ad project. Wang Chung happily tells everyone he understands why Tian Xing wants to hang with this company. At the end, PDullLeo walks Chalk Girl home. She thanks him for his help with the Littlest Cancer Patient, and he grabs her wrist to ask if he can take care of her and the business forever, even though he knows she doesn't love him. She’s just staring at him when Sexy arrives at the river front.
JoAnne: Oh is this where he popped up out of nowhere, like a ...um...ball?  That made me giggle.  Was he hiding behind a rock?
Shuk: Seriously sexy ankles, though.
 
Shuk:  Sexy remarks on the touching scene but caveats with: “I’m never going to give up on Tao Li Se.” PDullLeo tries to pull her away as Sexy asks her is she will accept Leo. She does her usually tree impression. Sexy admits that he hurt her, and has unresolved issues with Huan Huan, but challenges her to deny her feelings for him. She doesn't answer, but she tells PDullLeo to continue walking with her, leaving Sexy’s behind. I mean, leaving him behind.
JoAnne:  It's ok. She accepted his ball.

Shuk:  Whiny falls, calls, and bawls, this time to her mother. Helping her back into the wheelchair, FosterMom realizes that Huan Huan is healing, understands the ramifications, and swears her daughter to silence in order to land the man she loves. Ugh, I knew they were gonna do this. Didn't I predict this an episode or two back?
JoAnne: Yes, you did.  It was amaze-balls.

Shuk: It’s morning at OZ, and Kitty ducks out to give our Boring Couple some Boring Time. On the way out, though, she bumps into Wang Chung; she coquettishly wonders if he sticks around because of her.  He doesn't deny it, but claims he is there for the post-production work. Bangs is dramatically sorrowful because his stalker obsession object of his affection didn’t show and doesn’t text. They decide on the final patter for the ad, and PDullLeo is happy to say out loud how little they need Lu Tian Xing.
JoAnne:  Do you think Helen (right, Helen?) begged the PD to let her not appear anymore because Bangs has really bad breath or something?

Shuk:  Our schmexy GM is with Whiny.  Huan Huan wonders how things are going between Tao Zi and him.  He states that everyone hates a liar, so he has an uphill battle. It bothers her for a moment, but she shakes it off and tells him her sole purpose is life is to be with him, even to the extent of doing wrong things. His face goes through several expressions, ending in a half smile and an “oh shit, she’s a lunatic” look.
JoAnne: Well. Telling the truth is for OTHER people, obviously.

Shuk:  That night, FosterMom convinces Whiny that, even if they are lying about the extent of her healing, it’s okay because it’s done out of love. Once she leaves her daughter’s bedroom, she meets with her son, who’s pissed that his foster bro now has the same percentage of the company that he has. Mom just smiles her Ursula smile, and tells him eeeeeverything is going according to a plan, and to trust his mama. I’m not convinced Toady is convinced, but whatever. Can we just have a Truck of Doom? Or even a Prius of Pain?
JoAnne:  The Lexus of Limb Damage?
 
Shuk: Sexy meets Toady for a drink, and admits he found out about the stock exchange after it had already completed.  Tian Xing promises Lance that he doesn't want anything to do with TX, only OZ. Lance pushes the point: with the stock transfer, OZ will be part of TX, so why not come back and resume his position at the parent company? That would make his sister and his mother very happy. Sexy sips his drink and says nothing.
JoAnne:  The pet is playing dead.
 
Shuk:  OZ gets a happy box from the children at the hospital, thanking them for the presents.  LCP included a note that she will be brave and live happily, and that they found a marrow donor.  PDullLeo praises Chalk Girl for the campaign, and she decides to show the LCP thank you note to Sexy.  PDullLeo finally comes clean from whom he received the LCP’s contact information, and tells her that he is proud she doesn't hold a grudge against their GM.
JoAnne: I was fleetingly proud of Leo.

Shuk:  The Stepford Family is having breakfast, and FosterMom tells Whiny that she plans to have her engaged to Sexy. Toady smiles his little ToadFace smile.
JoAnne:  Hello, my dear daughter, I picked you up a husband while I was out shopping!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Shuk:  We all know that the fight for this rinky-dink company was going to end up being a plot point, but the show couldn't get any more draggy if it was hitched to a pair of oxen.  Heck, I’m yawning even as I’m writing this, but I’m going to hope it’s because is 0300 am.
JoAnne: Who gives a shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit about this company? WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?

Shuk:  We can see that Tao Li Se is softening towards Tian Xing, despite the wooden performance of Tia Li. After all, Chalky still hasn’t removed that couple’s bracelet, a fact the show keeps pounding in our heads every time there’s an excuse to see her wrist.
JoAnne:  Well, but that's only because they don't take any time to point out that she CAN'T actually take it off, but one assumes, based on the bracelet's appearance in multiple dramas across multiple countries, that the 'home' audience is fully aware of that fact without needing to be told. And to stretch the point even further - isn't it just supposed to send the message that this relationship cannot be undone?

Shuk:  The net is closing in on Lu Tian Xing, whether or not he is aware of it.  Did he think it strange that FosterMom wanted the OZ shares? Since Butler Fu had already warned him, I thought it was out of character for him to let those shares slip out of his control, even if it meant telling off his mother substitute. I’m more and more convinced he was tolerated with absent affection, probably for whatever he brought into the family of his father’s estate. Now that her daughter’s happiness is on the line, Foster Mom seems to be without morals or qualms in screwing him over for stud. The OZGang is going to be crucial to Tian Xing’s survival, and if he can’t get them back on his side, he’s all but chained to an eyehook at the foot of Huan Huan’s bed.
JoAnne: I think he fully realized it at the moment, but it was already fait accompli - nothing for him to do but bide his time.  And at that moment, he may have also thought she wouldn't do anything untoward.  Later he is clearly surprised to learn the truth of his 'family's' affection for him.

Shuk:  Let's end it with another pepper gif: