Shine or Go Crazy - Episode 8 (A SqueeCap)

My favorite episode yet, OMG. Here is something you might not yet know: I don't mind (good) romance stuff, but I absolutely LOVE action. Especially if it involves (injured) ninja men. In this episode, we also get romance, but it's absolutely secondary. Lives are on the line! This whole situation is about to blow up.
JoAnne: They ramped it up this week, that's for sure. But you just wait for 10, Kakashi. Ten is really good. (yes, I know that. That's why I keep waiting for TEN3!) 
S@ki6: I definitely got the memo that action is a good thing for Sensei!
becca: Action is good, romance is good… but that is not a kiss!!
Episode 8 verdict: I WANT MORE NAO!

Episode 8

Oh you pining fool in love! Wang So's feet take him to the Chunghae Trading Company. But he didn't come for Kaebong, no! He came for his special embellishments, he lies to himself. But if he were to run into Kaebong ... well, then he would have to see him, of course.
Last night I found out that Jjang Hyuk is a married father of two. Je suis desolee.
His kids are probably incredibly adorable. Just hope he gets on one of those daddy and baby shows.
I'd rather he just spend time with them at home, like a normal dad. I'm sure the daddy/baby shows are adorable, but I do wonder about the wisdom of putting small children in the spotlight so early on.
He goes into the big meeting room, where all the gowns are on display, softly asking for "Keabong-aaa". No Kaebong-a though ... only Shin-yool! Her face lights up when she seems him, but at the last moment, she remembers she isn't wearing Kaebong-clothes. When she returns, she is - and Wang So is smugly looking at the garbs, picking the one he thinks is his. Then, he looks at her ... and is mesmerized by the lips again immediately. He has to tell her to stay back ... because he has caught a cold. Has she eaten magnets and he iron? Or do her lips have tremendous sucking power?
Well that's a question, now, isn't it. I doubt it's one they'll answer.
I'd buy the "tremendous sucking power" explanation, except the bad drag ought to negate the sucking power, so…
*shrug* The heart wants what the heart wants. I don't think it cares about her clothes.
He also has to learn that the blue gown with the dragon isn't his, but Wang Wook's (DANG) - and that his is the plainest, ugliest. Yeah, cause after hearing about him from the princes, Shin-yool thought Wang So was kinda like a mouse. But he sets her straight! Wang So is a very nice and great person. And yeah, he knows him a "little bit", they hung out. He calls himself a magnificent white tiger - and then gets to play mannequin for her, since she breaks the real one.
I'm not sure Tiger is right, either, but I can work with it for now. Here, kitty kitty kitty...
Promise a cat-nip.
Hahaha! You two! *shakes head, smiling*
But he simply can't take the closeness. And walks out. She follows and he stops ... but won't look at her. He says he won't be able to see her for a while because he wants to get the selling rights to something else than the bronze mirror. She is happy about that, thinking he is finally getting out of his unstable swordsman life. They say goodbye and he promises to come back once he's done.
Wonder what he's going to go do...
He goes to see his spy at the brothel and pretends to be very, very drunk. They pretend he is sleeping off the effects of the alcohol, but in reality, he joins his gang of outlaws in the forest.
That's not the first thing that came to mind, but okay.
No TV in those days, so they needed hobbies.
Some people played baduk; some people played ninja.
I think JoAnne's mind went to some other places. But never mind :)
His wife is suspicious when she is informed about his brothel-activities - and orders them to check whether he is truly passed out drunk in person in the future. Damn. She also hears about that Kaebong-fellow ... and that it is the Deputy Head of the Trading Company in reality. Is that a hint of jealousy there?!
I do believe so, yes. 
Maybe. It must be weird to be as gorgeous as Honey Lee and have your husband completely disinterested. Then again, he got annoyed when Dumb Brother at the Trading Company was drooling over her, so he's not totally disinterested.
In the forest hideout, Eun-chun is worried. Wang So's identity has been revealed so it would be much wiser to lay low right now, but of course, So So doesn't think so.
Every time we say So-So I think about that awesome girl that Mo should have been with in Age of Feeling (YES!)

Aww. I didn't watch that drama, but I followed the squeecaps. I shipped them. Oh damn, Evil Wang is giving the order to lure the outlaws to an abandoned monastery using one of the nobles as bait - and kill them there. Of course (for dramatics), Shin-yool is also on her way - because the Elf found out that a person with her mother's name stayed there and left a painting in a room.
I think HE'S the ill-fated prince. Bad hair, no sense of timing when it comes to women, a serious creeping habit. This guy is bound to get knocked off. Ooh! Do you think the Drama Gods will smile favourably upon us and do it at the monastery? 
I like his outfit.
*yawn* I do not care about this missing-mom story.
Elf and Bob get there first. Always on the lookout for helpful plants, she collects a few rhododendron leaves (good against infections, but poisonous for the weak) and then goes into her (probably) mother's (probably) room. She finds the picture of a flying fish on the wall, the guardian god of the people of Balhae. Mommy! Mommy is alive!!! How veeeeery emotional.
Something smells fishy to me.
And Mum could've died at any time after this picture was painted.
*soft snoring*
Elf Prince wants to comfort her, hand hovering over her shoulder - but then goes outside instead (yes, thank you), where Hot Assassin in red attacks him from behind. Elf: out. (by the way, where is h(y)ung Kyeong?)
He's just hanging out.
I don't think he was there.
Yes, he stayed at the trading company, I think.
*sighs* you guys are not very quick on the uptake these days.
Hahahahaaaaa, all the funnier.

Oh no... the black assassins are falling for the bait! They followed the Western Nobles (who thought he was meeting the Chinese assassins at the monastery) ... but he is already dead! The red assassins have killed him and Hot Assassin has the mirror piece. It's a trap!!
It's a trap with a hot assassin. I'm still going in.
This assassin should just take over everything.
…. Everything? *wiggles eyebrows suggestively*
Hot Assassin and his wobbly blade take on Wang So with the big sword.
*sobbing* Not a wobbly blade, please? He's so HOT. Wang So recognizes his opponent as the one assassin that got away five years ago (the wobble gives it away). It looks pretty even until Shin-yool steps out of her room ... right into the path of the two fighters. DAMN.
She's safe. That blade wobbles.
Bet it's at attention when Princess Yeowon needs it. Jang Bori's voice could make a man's blade wobbly, just saying.
Ack!! Now I need brain bleach to get those images out of my head!!
 
To get her out of harms way, Wang So takes her hand and runs, Hottie hot on their heels. He even knows a shortcut and is upon them! He manages to get between Wang So and Shin-yool and goes for her!! She can dodge the wobbly sword with a little help of Wang So but almost falls down a steep slope - Wang So catches her just in time, but as he stands there unguarded, Hot Assassin cuts him deep ... and both fall and tumble down the rocky slope. 
Ouch.
I guess we should not have underestimated it.  He did have flexibility going for him.
I think the wobbly blade is quite dangerous, in fact. Instead of going straight for you, it gets you from several wobbly sides.
At the monastery, purple Elf wakes up. Without even a prince to kiss him! I'm impressed! He only needs himself. …. I'm… not touching that one. Someone has to... His confusion only lasts a few seconds ... outside, he discovers the dead noble, with the Outlaw's flag on his face. He starts searching for the assistant head, frantically, first at the monastery, then in the forest. Creeping from behind a tree, he observes Eun-chun and his men and sees the emblem on their clothes (crow or phoenix, we're not sure at this stage). Later, he also happens upon Red Hot Assassin. He should have the whole picture by now.
The only picture that matters to me is him gliding out from behind things.  Keep doing it, keep doing it!
Smooooooovvve.
*sings* You come to realize, you've seen his kind of eyes - watching you from underneath a rock!
Shin-yool gains consciousness. They survived the fall, but Wang So is out cold. His left arm is a bloody mess.
This is true. Can't argue with that. Can't make fun of it, either. Only my knowledge that he has to survive at least a few more episodes (he COULD die eventually and inspire someone else to carry on in his shoes, but it won't happen that way) keeps me from worrying a little bit.
Shin-yool drags him to a cavern (not sure how she managed that, have you ever tried to drag a person that is heavier than you?) and lights a fire. When she starts treating his wound, she notices the emblem on his back as well (three legged crow, not phoenix!) (one part of his true identity uncovered!) and then hastens to still the bleeding with cobwebs (That's a total thing in fact) and parts of her garment. Yes, it's a fact, but I thought they used it as packing, not bandage. She then remembers the rhododendron and chews some for him ... endangering her own life (cause its poisonous for weak people). And she feeds him the juices mouth-to-mouth.
Still, it's a kiss of sorts.
Still, gross.
It is not a kiss. Nope. It is disgusting and unnecessary. You're an ostensibly smart girl, Shin-yool. I'm sure you could have found another way. This is not a kiss.
At the cavern, Wang So is waking up, his first thought belongs to Kaebong. He can barely move because it hurts so much, but his concern for Kaebong helps him forget the pain. Shin-yool has lapsed into one of her ice-phases, so he draws her near to warm her. That wakes her up in turn. She has LOADS of questions for him, like is he one of the outlaws, who where the men in red, did he kill the noble, etc. He just asks her to keep his secret a secret and that the Red Guys are bad.
And he is clearly not bad. Way too handsome. I know, that doesn't hold up in front of Hot Assassin as a measure of goodness, but I think HA is good, just caught up with the wrong crowd. We could totally fix him!
I just want him to take over the kingdom and marry Yeowon. But I may have to write that fanfiction myself. 
My blog is your blog, write away!
She gets them a blanket from a nearby house (pays for it in silver, the good soul) and helps him walk through the forest. If there was a house, why not just take him to it? Well, I guess she must have thought 'random person alone in the woods needs a blanket' was less suspicious than 'random injured person being helped'. I do wonder where they're headed?! Home?! Lucky for them, her horse appears. She shows first signs of paralysis in her hands ... it's the rhododendron poison! She gets him (and herself) up on that horse and ties him to her with the white blanket since he cannot hold on tight. They ride off ... watching them from the shadows is Eun-chun.
Why does he not get an awesome Creep Glide of his own? He's a great character! He deserves it!
They make it home, to the gates of the Chunghae Trading Company. But WTF! The Elf is there, waiting. His face turns to stone when he sees his hyung behind her.
I bet it's the only thing he has that... ah, I'm not going to say it. You know what I'm thinking. She has to explicitly ask him for help (lying that So So fell off his horse) - and he reluctantly gives it, by cutting the blanket with his sword ... and after another reluctant moment, by dragging Wang So off the horse. Roughly. He stops her from taking Wang So to the inn by saying he will do it - but when she is gone inside, he shouts at Wang So for endangering Kaebong (excuse me?!)... and then simply lets him stand there. Well, stand and then collapse, because Wang So is not in good shape.
Fucking dickwad.
Luckily, Eun-chun followed them from the forest and hurries to get Wang So to safety. Inside, Shin-yool gets her maid to bring So So a warm blanket, but Wang Wook comes in and lies about Wang So having gone away by himself.
DEATH! Death to the betrayer! He then has the gall to ask "What about this hyungnim?" (=himself), when she wants to rush out to help a badly wounded man. Bleh, just go away, you. What a selfish being!! He interrogates her about when and where she met Wang So, but she first lies and then collapses. Paralyzed by poison.
And hopefully, hatred of this asshole. Dude, you have NoTP written allll over you. Go away.
I am not sure why both injured people could not have been cared for at the same place.
Simple: it's because Wang Wook is fine with abandoning Wang So to his death. He doesn't care, as long as he gets his step mom's doppelganger all to himself.
Meanwhile, Wang Sik-Ryeom (who gets the remaining two KingKillers to hand over their bronze mirror pieces to him for safe-keeping) hears that Prince Wang So was severely injured on his left arm and will not be able to participate in the Princes Competition. But Wang So has a different plan: he WILL be there. No matter what. And he orders Eun-chun to start the next phase of their operation. Poor Eun-chun is very worried for his master.
Good Eun-chun. Good man. I always enjoy this actor.
Yeo Won finds her passed-out husband in the garden not long after. I guess he is lucky to be married to a capable herbologist, because she starts taking care of him (noticing the cobwebs AND the jade butterfly necklace on the way, of course). He mumbles "Kaebong-a, Kaebong-a" in the process (which doesn't go down too well). At the Trading Company, Wang Wook guards Shin-yool's detoxification sleep, and when he takes her hand, she calls out for her "hyungnim". Not you, you fool.
Yeah, go away. Surely you need to practice your gliding or lounge around emotionally somewhere ELSE.
The Emo is strong within.
When Wang So comes to again, he sees his wife's (I'd say worried) face. She doesn't expect him to tell her the truth about his injury and whereabouts so doesn't even ask - but she tells him to give up on the Princes' Competition. He cannot participate with that wound. But he is of a different opinion: he will - no matter what. And he will show the world who the true kings of Goryeo are. "Too bad", she says when he's out again, "that it's up to me to choose who the next King will be".
Oh gurl, you are so wrong about that.
I missed where she gets to decide that. Is a rule decided by the First King?
I don't think so. It's just something she's been saying ever since she was a kid. Probably tied to the whole prophecy-thingy.
Clearly, she says it here because if she saves this dude (he is almost dying at the point) and makes him fit for battle in 2 days, he will win. She knows that. If she doesn't, then Wook will win. So indeed, the fate of the kingdom is in her hand at this moment
The current King is showing symptoms of the poisoning ... which are increased paranoia and boiling anger, I'd say. Seeing how the Hwangs are funding the biggest chunk of the competition, he surmises that Wang Wook has already been chosen as the next king. And he hears that Chungae Trading Company is also supporting the Competition (embellishments!) - plus that the assistant head and Wang Wook are fairly close. Uh-oh.
Sheet. Please, sweet King, don't let the madness take over. Be cool. Be cool for just a little while longer. Let your brother do his thing. Ah, but for some reason, your brother won't tell about that thing.  Tsk, tsk, tsk. A little sharing of secrets could be good for the soul, you know. Or, you know, the life of the cross-dressing girl you don't know your brother is married to. For that matter, neither does he, but that doesn't stop him from being totally in love even though he thinks she's a man.
Shin-yool has just woken up, but has to hear about vicious rumors on the streets that the Righteous Men aren't righteous at all, but petty thieves. All put in circulation by Se-won and the likes. Se-Won. Who is Se-Won?  That's Hot Assassin, right? I haven't learned a lot of the real names in this. Too many Wangs.
Just noting that name down…
((psst, hint: I'm keeping asiawiki open when I recap)) 
 
She also hears from her mom Baek-Myo (by the way, I have never said it, but now I will: Kim Sun-Young, whom I've never seen before, does a really great job in this) (+1) why she hates that swordsman so much: not because he is poor; but because whenever Shin-yool meets him, bad things happen to her. But what can Shin-yool do against unmyeong? Nothing, of course. But Baek-Myo swears she'll do anything to keep this man away from Shin-yool.
Convenient she can say this now and prep the way for future acceptance since he himself isn't a bad guy but as I recall she hated him on sight, and HE wasn't the catalyst for the two meeting, Shin Yool was. So any blame for that is on her, or her idiot brother if you want to go back far enough.
I think she hates him because he's annoying. But she thinks Jang Hyuk fangirls will come after her with slingshots and so she's pretending it's about ShinYool, who is also annoying. 
Ji-mong meets with Eun-chun and we hear that they have (another) royal mission: to make Wang So the next king. Ji-mong reports on the current King's weird personality change and diminishing judgment capabilities. It's a very charged situation: one mistake from King Jeongjong and Uncle Wang will seize the opportunity to get more power.
Until very recently I really thought that for some reason he was just a Crown Prince. I'm so glad that's cleared up.

In debrief with his sister, Wang Wook slightly lies about what happened at the temple, but is now sure Wang So is the leader of the black assassins. She tells him Wang So will never be able to participate in the competition because of his injury. Also, now that she knows her husband knows Uncle Wang's weakness, she needs to control her husband. She also knows her brother is keeping things from her (like who Kaebong really is). I bet the temperature in that room just got about 10 degrees chillier. Wang Wook thinks he will definitely win the Competition - and because in his head, he is quasi the next king already, he goes on the offensive with her: he doesn't want her to have all the cards in her hands - from now on, he will no longer tolerate it. Huh, I'd like you see stop this woman.
She has more balls in her little finger than you have anywhere, you tall skinny Nope.
Exactly! And this is where I fell out of crush on the Purple Elf because this sister was his lifeline and support. Ungrateful brat.
I can understand why he wouldn't want to be her puppet forever, though. Her smile is creeping me out, by the way.
Next, the Princess goes to visit Shin-yool, to confirm her suspicions. Yes, her (sometimes dumb) husband thinks Kaebong is a man. When she sees scratches on Shin-yool's hands, she asks whether she was at the Temple ... and that she should have put spider webs on those wounds. Since they're good against bleeding. Dun dun. I know what you did last night.
Yes but doesn't it sometimes feel like these people connect too many dots with the magic marker of writer laziness?
Yep.
All the time.
I don't give a rat's fart. Why? Because I usually hate it when they don't get things. At least we're moving along swiftly

Comments

Next episode, next eppppisode, quickly, quickly!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, this woman is so dangerous, how I love/hate her! So, who has she chosen as next king?! I'm pretty sure it's not her brother after what he told her. But can she make Wang So healthy enough to fight? In that condition? If yes, she deserves several hot nights with him. Maybe they're not brother and sister at all ... you know, birth secrets and stuff?
She is really, really well played. Bravo, Honey Lee, braaaaaaaaaah-VO.
Honey Lee is a fangirl's dream bias. You just can't fault her.
At least not in this drama. Girl is doing very well, indeed!

Wang Wook. DAMN, this is the episode in which we are made to hate him. How could he have treated his brother like this?! I am pretty sure he saw that he was badly injured - and he knew he didn't just fall of his horse. He knew and he didn't help him and he even showed disappointment to hear that he had made it home. I hope you get your tiny ass whooped, you little shit.
I guess now is as good a time as any to confide that part of the reason he is called Goryeo Ken by me (apart from the Barbie wig) is that Ken is famously devoid of any hint of genitalia. Perhaps you assumed that already.
I can understand him treating a brother from another mother like that, but I can't understand him ditching his full sister like he did, the shallow little purple turd.
He didn't care AT ALL, though. Shouldn't a human being at least feel a little conflicted about wanting his brother to die in a ditch?

The cross-dressery was completely irrelevant in this episode. Good. I like the scene at the cave. I'm pretty sure we're nearly at the point where they both learn about the true identity of the other.
I am really sad that we are about caught up to the airing show, because waiting is HARD.
Cross-dressing is true writer's laziness. ShinYool could've been veiled throughout because Wang So would never have been able to see through a see-through veil.