The Disguiser 伪装者 - Episode 14 (Recap)

Well, I know a few people who might not have liked this episode for how it ended, but it's a goddamn GOOD episode again, with awesome action scene, romance, witty dialogue, and several faces of Ming Tai. I think I need to start labeling these posts: Hu Ge looks too good. That can't be good for our health!
JoAnne: I don't know... he looks very cheesy here, Kakashi. But then, I'm never going to be okay with silk scarf neck thing that's so popular in K-Tw-C-J-Th-dramas.
Hide your daughters! JoAnne is in a bad mood :) .... Well, of course he looks cheesy here, cause that's the purpose of his look, duh. As for the scarf: that's a typical 1930s dandy look. I like it!  
Eleanor (aka dewaanifordrama): Well JoAnne is dealing with a rather terrible work SNAFU. We should send Ming Lou there to take care of the idiots and then comfort Jo. And Hu Ge, well I think the man would look good in anything quite frankly. And dang, that profile of his. Wow. 

Episode 14

Aunty Gui is staggering to the rickshaw, crying ... she gets in. Just when it's about to take off, someone screams "Wait!!". Our Ah Cheng. Racing up to her. With his long and elegant fingers, he picks up his mother's suitcase and carries it back into the house. Everybody is moved. Aunty Gui is staying.
OH FINE.
His long and elegant fingers. *lies rolling on the floor with laughter*. We all know that Ah Cheng was totally going to do that. Despite his assassin-spy ways, I think he's still a bit of a lost boy at heart.
Now that this is out of the way, Ah Cheng goes back to his old mean-sexy form --- pestering poor ol' Liang, who has just been summoned to the Nantian. We know whom he has to thank for that, don't we! Ah Cheng pretends to know exactly what the summons is about - from a spy, the Japanese have learned everything about Liang's illegal trading , which, by the way, includes arms.
Can't even feel sorry for Liang, that weaselly rabbit.
I don't even know what to write. It's a bit absurd that I'm so in love with Wang Kai. He's so good at this spy stuff! And he has so much fun being mean to Liang. Haha. 
And here comes Brother Ah Cheng's awesome advice for dummy Liang: admit everything and much more to the Japanese. It's the only way he'll get out alive! And thus, while standing in front of the Japanese Commander, Liang pretends to be hunting for illegal arms trading within Division 76 himself - and all the traces lead back to the (dead) Chen Liang. He then whines about too much work and a kid who does not remember what his father looks like. Nantian leaves him off the hook, reluctantly and quite annoyed. Haha, Liang is amusing.
Sort of. I just don't like him. I wouldn't like him real life, either. Weasel. Sycophant. Conniving bully.
But at least he's being used well by our favourite spies. And Ah Cheng, it's like his face was made for shadowed lighting. 
Everybody's darling Jin Yun (NOT) is at a hotel - she is getting a key, has eye contact with Uncle Li who is sitting in the lobby... and is then attempting to enter a hotel room dressed as a maid. There are two guards, who thoroughly check everything on her trolley. They let her in and one guard leaves his position to get something to eat. Inside, there is the Minister of Military Supplies and with him many interesting documents. Jin Yun drugs his wine and takes pictures of the documents when he's passed out.
I loved that shot we got of just a portion of his torso, out of focus, as he slumps over. She doesn't even look, just takes out the teeny camera.
At least she's being a better spy this time round. 
The guard who went down to the lobby meets Mr. Tong there: he is Liang's leather-jacket wearning brother-in-law, who is here on "official business". Upstairs, Jin Yun is done - she takes what looks like ... three small gold bars (to make it looks like a robbery) ... and leaves. Oh no, one of the guards steps in and sees his boss passed out on the sofa! She runs him over with the trolley (hehe) and is able to pass the camera and what else she took to Uncle Li. He leaves the hotel, Jin Yun closely behind - but she is recognized by that guard down in the lobby as the maid going in, now in civilian clothing! Oups, sorry ... gotta arrest you.
Sorry, not sorry.  
Man Li wouldn't have allowed herself to get arrested. 
They find a piece of paper on her, with a rendez-vous point: the Moonlight Bar. At our KMT guys' hideout, Ming Tai and the gang are piecing information together that will ultimately lead them to the Division of Military Supplies as well. Suddenly, somebody rings the doorbell ... two long, one short. That's the Communist Party's distress signal, Guo knows. And indeed, it's Uncle Li, who asks for their help in freeing his (only?) agent!
Oh come on, is she really that terrible of an agent that she keeps a note on herself about where to go next? You can't remember something like that, TrainWreck?
It's to get the bad guys to go there with her of course! How else would you be able to rescue your agent? It's a clever trap by Uncle Li
I immediately assumed it was a red herring just in case she got caught. Man Li of course would never need such a thing.
This is Man Li's face when she hears who the arrested person is:
Hahahahahha, the way she busted out with a NO! I mean, um, Commander, regulations prohibit...
Oh Man Li, don't worry, I was totally saying the same thing. We love YOU Man Li. 
Hahaha, she even blurts out "we are not going!" ... and then adds that they need permission first. Ah, yes, remember Ming Tai? Always get permission from Cobra for everything you do? Ming Tai goes ... fu** permission, let's go! Uncle Li hands him a ring to wear, so she can recognize him. Are we at rings already? Nice :D
Was that ring like the ring they had on their first mission?
I think it's a similar ring/concept, but not the same one. I was actually really ticked off that he didn't ask for permission. It could mess so many things up. Argh! 
Ming Tai staggers into the Moonlight bar, pretending to be very drunk. Oh my, he looks GOOD in this leather jacket .... *swallows hard*. He complains loudly about the lack of female guests - and then spots one. Alone, by the window. RAWR, must investigate!
The jacket is fine but the SCARF, Kakashi - the SCARF. It completely negates any manliness. Silk Scarves, the International Emasculator.
We have completely different tastes. I really like scarves on men
Yeah, I don't mind the scarves either. Hu Ge totally gave off this James Dean look/vibe thing in this scene. He plays the "bad boy" so well. He looked SO GOOD in this scene!!! SO GOOD!!!
All the Division 76 spies in the bar go on high alert, but Ming Tai just flops down opposite of her, playing an extremely annoying gigolo. And indeed, she is annoyed - but only until she sees the ring. The problem is, she is handcuffed under the table. Why not try the good old rose trick? That certainly convinces the agents that he is nothing but a playboy and they relax.
Seriously, where did the rose come from, and can he disappear TrainWreck TO that dimension?
I guess maybe he could have known to bring something like that along. Does he always just carry around a spare rose? Is this a Ming brothers thing? Ming Lou did it too. 
Next, Ming Tai slides his shoe along her leg (hm, that's quite erotic....) ... while Psycho Kitten kills two guards outside and then takes position, yawning from time to time. Ah, so Ming Tai gave her a key to the handcuffs with his shoe?! We are left to wonder, but she does have a key now and starts undoing the cuffs (or is she just using a hairpin?) while he does a few more napkin tricks --- and suddenly, there's a gun on the table! Yes, Ming Tai: she likes.
Grumbles: she looks like she's wearing support hose. Meanwhile, my Psycho Kitten looks fabulous and is totally kicking ass and oh yeah, Ming Tai, she doesn't seem to need rescuing every time she goddamn turns around, either.
Right?! Pyscho Kitten would never have gotten caught unless she turned herself in. And I LURVED how awesome she looked in that alleyway and then yawned. Haha. I LUFF her so much!!! 
And BANG, they start shooting evil guys. Hm, but the evil guys are shooting back! What, Ming Tai? You did not bring enough ammunition?! There's some preeeetty cool under the table action, hiding behind bodies and shooting upside down (all un-giffable though, sorry). Yeah, so Man Li is better, okay, but Jin Yun isn't too bad in this situation either! She pins Liang's brother-in-law to the bar with a knife. The rest is, well, Brother-In-Law Tong Hu history.
You see what they did, there, right? They tried to give us cool couple's choreography to make us think it should be these two, or at least that these two have as much chemistry as Ming Tai and my Psycho Kitten, but the choreography was just as lame as TrainWreck herself. Although Ming Tai's solo bits were very cool, yes.
Amen to all Jo said. I just can't get onboard with Trainwreck. Hu Ge though, he is so fabulous!!!
Uncle Li bursts in to pick her up - and when Ming Tai exits through the back, he almost gets shot by his little Psycho Kitten. Twu Luv.
Damn, she looks good. No scarf. That's the key. Just a bad ass leather jacket and a turtleneck.
Hehe. At least he was fast enough to duck back into the doorway. I just love their interactions. They're so much more real and less contrived. Oh Psycho Kitten I luff you. 
Ring, ring, goes the phone in Liang's place .... it's a woman, crying, saying her brother never returned, an accident happened! Everybody is dead! Waitaminute.... what kind of brother-in-law was that?! Wow, Liang is also VERY rude to his wife on his way out, as concern for "his guys" takes over.
Thinking about the various ways in which this man could have been a brother-in-law and yet clearly NOT his wife's brother, and coming to one conclusion: at least two women have slept with this rat-faced weasel. Ewww.
Yeah, that whole situation. Blergh. And it made me like him even less the way he treated his wife. Argh. Yuck. 

At the Ming Manison, Ming Tai is back to his baby self, playing cards with the servant girl (winning all the money from her, duh). Upstairs, Ah Cheng whispers into Ming Lou's ear that little Ming Tai killed a few before going to bed last night. He was in a particularly good mood when he came back!. They approve, yes, and are frankly unsurprised he did not ask for permission. But Ming Lou also voices some ominous possibility of becoming Ming Tai's target pretty soon. No, no, no!!!
Say all that again, please, and slowly. I was distracted at 'Ah Cheng whispers into Ming Lou's ear'
It sounds like we should get all that (substantial) Ah Cheng-Ming Lou fanfic translated for Jo. I hear there really is A LOT of it. Unsurprisingly. 
They come down the stairs and sweet Ah Cheng gives Ming Jing the oil painting he made the other day ... the one entitled "Home" by Ming Lou. The two older brothers leave and Ming Tai is forced to go take the picture to be framed, even though he complains it's much too cold out. Ming Tai's killings have made the front page of the newspaper and the press calls it "Black Friday". Seriously, Ming Tai. Don't be reckless! Liang no longer looks like a fool as he rallies his remaining troops to bloody revenge.Wang Man Chun is back from sick leave as well, looking down at Liang's battle speech from a window in the building.
Dumbass firing off a weapon like that. You can't make me like him.
Yeah, who allowed this man to have a weapon in the first place. And yes, sweet, sweet Ah Cheng. I quite like that painting. I will happily retire with him and we can hang the painting over our mantlepiece. 

Ming Tai is out and about ... and bumps into his Miss Keiko! FATE! (He has to stop looking this good, please. It's kinda dangerous for me). She's a medical student! And she's passing out leaflets on leprosy prevention - he takes them from her and the other students and passes them out much more quickly. Hehe.
Oh of course, she's a nurse. Why do men fantasize about nurses?
I don't care if Fate is trying to bludgeon me into submission. That the drama is trying to hard to make us believe that they're fated is a sure sign that they know that Man Li and Ming Tai have waaaay better chemistry. And on a completely different note: wouldn't it be lovely to be the wardrobe assistants and to help Hu Ge (and Wang Kai and Jin Dong) pick out their outfits?! What a good excuse it would be to stare at them some more. 
 I'm DEAD:
Oh, what is Ming Lou doing with Wang Man Chun?! He is waiting for her to jog in his direction, brings her coke. She bitterly says she has no family left, when he offers to take her home. Oh, man, he is NICE to her ... but she steps away, saying she wants and needs no help; she is different from other women. She knows she has killed a lot of people and she knows she will get killed one of these days too. He tells her to give that killing business up - he is afraid there won't be a possibility later. So... does he care after all??!
He can't. There's no way. I, on the other hand, am developing some sympathy for the psychopath.
This whole situation is all rather sad. They're sort of perfect for each other, but there's no way they could ever work. And yeah, there's no way he really cares. He only has room to love his family and his country. 
It's the episode of drink-giving, cause Ming Tai has bought some Sinalco (?) for Jin Yun. She thanks him - once for helping with the leaflets and once for helping her escape yesterday. He would do it again, he assures her, anytime (while she says she wouldn't save him, mean!). That moment, in the sun together... it's so wonderful, it's unreal.
Ming Tai, wake up. She sucks at being a spy, she WILL not save your ass, and you're going to break Psycho Kitten's heart. And we all know what THAT leads to, don't we.
Argh!!! I will re-imagine this scene shot with him and Pyscho Kitten instead. 
Without a war, she says, this should have been the most truthful reality. And he thanks her - for letting him be the real Ming Tai even if just for a moment, for making him feel normal. She teases him about seeing a doctor for his multiple personalities, but he says the illness in his heart cannot be cured by any doctor. It can only be cured by her. Cheeeeeeeeeeesy, but, man! so cute.
I dunno. This Ming Tai wears stupid scarves and acts like a 6-year-old boy. Not my favorite Ming Tai.
But he looks sooooo preeeeeeety!!! Ming Tai, you could totally be real with Man Li too. Just because she has a past doesn't mean that she doesn't crave for normalcy and love and affection. 
She jumps up: She has to go. He is chagrined he may have been too rash or said something wrong. She tells him that they cannot enter into a relationship. And it's not only because she considers him a "spoilt son of a wealthy family". It's because the Communists forbid it. Hey, I'm pretty sure the KMT forbid it too, Ming Tai, but of course, you haven't bothered asking! Already this meeting is crossing a line, she adds. And: "Don't use this look on me". The heartbroken puppy-eyed I'm-so-in-love look you mean?! Yes, it's a KILLER.
Oh come on, you she-devil. You know exactly what you're doing.
Ming Tai, go home to Man Li. She loves you more. Plus Ming Tai-Man Li babies would be so much cuter. 
Ouch, rejected Ming Tai looks soooo saaaaad. Why did she ask him to run away then? he asks, desperately. That was her heart talking, she says. Because she does not know if she will stay alive to meet him again.
Hope springs eternal.
Ming Tai, don't be sad. Love Man Li. 
She steps away, then turns: and says she considers him just and true Chinese, no matter whom he works for. And she smiles at him, as she walks to join her fellow students. Impulsive like he is, Ming Tai runs after her, swings her around and kisses her.
Oh my God. Her stupid pants under the dress go with his stupid scarf and his poorly fitted suit. If I don't acknowledge it, it didn't happen.
Well for now we can just pretend it was his imagination. Or Kakashi can just imagine herself in his arms instead. *sends over some blood pressure medication*

Comments

Come on! Do you still feel nothing for this couple?! Don't send Ming Tai to the dark force! Psycho Kitten is the dark force! Look how much she enjoys killing. But Ming Tai is not like this! He is the guy who likes to sit on stairs in the sun and talk about the nice things in life with a girl he likes. He likes to have good Shanghai coffee, read books (preferably not in Latin), play cards and tease his brothers. He wants a quiet life, a wife, a few kids ...
Yeah, no. Psycho Kitten likes it exactly as much as Ming Tai likes it, and not a bit more. You can't tell me he doesn't get off on this spy stuff. And my poor Kitten would be happy to live in the sunshine with Ming Tai. Remember how giggly she got over those pretty dresses and how lighthearted she is when she's not on a mission? That's just as much her as this spoiled playboy part of Ming Tai is part of him.
I'm with Jo here. Ming Tai LOVES being a spy. I think that he still doesn't quite get the gravity of it all (he does, but not like Ah Cheng or Ming Lou do). And Psycho Kitten and Ming Tai work together in such synchronicity that you can FEEL the chemistry. The actors just have waaaay more chemistry. And once Ming Tai made the choice to become a spy, he's also already "on the dark side" anyway. And it's not like Man Li eve volunteered for all this. Being a spy was the best way out of being abused and used her whole life. She didn't commit the murders from blood lust, but for the sake of revenge and then turned herself in. I have a lot more sympathy and love for her. 

The drama is clever though that it gives us two women representing these two extreme sides of his life. And of course, our medical student is not "the other life" either - she's an undercover agent just like him. She understands that (hence her "we cannot be together"), but he does not want to understand. Maybe he wants this illusion - this illusion of being whole, of being someone he once liked to be. And maybe he should have this illusion: as long as it will last. Because it will not last forever, and may not even last long.
I'm counting down the minutes. If we get rid of TrainWreck, even if it costs a bit of Ming Tai's sunshine, that's okay with me.
I think if she had even just a little more spunk I would like her a little more. She's so bland. Especially next to Ming Tai and Man Li. He'd be bored with her after a few months. Sadly though, I think Trainwreck is here to stay. 

OOOkay, I think I'll give up trying to be nice to her. It's a lost cause.
So are you joining us in making #TeamManLi banners then? ;P 
Hmmm .... secretly, maybe? But seriously, I don't hate this woman. I really don't!