Bride Of The Century Episode 16 Final (A SqueeCap)
Shuk: It’s final tie up time! There’s still so much we don’t know about the curse, Grandma’s part in with the red shoe, whether everyone gets (and deserves) a happy ending, our secondary couple hookups, and whether we should do The Time Warp again-n-n-n.
JoAnne: Odd, this is my second Rocky Horror reference in as many days. Perhaps I need to rewatch this weekend.
Shuk: To coin your phrase, this was a great show with a careless ending. So Mouse and Cookie win the spotlight.
EPISODE 16 (FINAL)
Shuk: ChoiGhosty complements Bubbles on her forbearance and promises great rewards for waiting. I hope not as slowly as that darn windmill.
JoAnne: I'm still really pissed off, Shukie.
Shuk: Araiso, unni. [pat pat]
Shuk: Ugh with the new hairstyle, Honggie. Kitten Prince struts the hallowed halls of TaeYang with Cookie and Flunkette. The mall is doing well, it seems, and his new policies for his employees are big hits as well. They come upon a thoroughly unpleasant customer trying to bully a return on a damaged gabang. Kitten addresses her as ahjumma, and authorizes the refund, since she’s too ugly to own such an expensive item. She flounces off with ruffled feathers and damaged bag, and he sends Flunkette after her with a smile. The employee is grateful and he is gracious.
JoAnne: He is a muffin, though, is he not? So cute. And that scratchy voice! Love it, always have, always will.
Shuk: A little farther down, one of the store models sidles up to him and purrs that she’s single again. He just smiles and flashes his couples band; he’s not. Aww, so he still wears it. Does Bubbles? I rewind. No. Idiot woman.
JoAnne: Awwww, I love that he still considers himself married to her even though they're apart. Or you know, actually ever got married.
Shuk: At the children’s corner, a crying toddler catches his eye, and he pops over for a little bounce time. Does he know he’s a dad in real life? He looks towards the door, and envisions Doo-rim running towards him with a smile, but the vision morphs into Mom. He hands off the kid and once he starts walking his smile slips off his face.
JoAnne: I don't think he knows. I think he just imagines what it would have been like for them.
Shuk: At the Lake Of The Frame, both ChoiDad and ChoiMother are staring out over the water as a small fire consumes a dead woman's diary and a vinyl violin record. He apologizes for not realizing her importance in his heart all these years, and he would chose her in the afterlife. They hug. And somewhere out the Writer-nim gets to ring a bell. RING!!!
JoAnne Translates: Wife, you've been around for years. I got used to you. I don't like things to change. I guess you're ok. And you ARE alive, so....
Shuk: Kitten Prince stares at a box containing Bubbles’ couple ring. Ah, so she didn't take it with her. His thoughts swirl around missing her, and we find out a year has passed and it’s the Christmas holiday season.
Shuk: All four Choi's share kimchi and sweet potatoes, and, in voice-over, Kang-ju relates that many things have eased since she left; the family is more at ease together, and this was a gift she gave them. He still misses her, though, a lot.
JoAnne: Ok, so one year has gone by and Choi House is back to 'normal' although Kitten misses his sweetheart. What about Jang House? What about Na House?
Shuk: In Namhae, Grandma is on babysitting duty while Bubbles heads to the harbor to open their fish stall. Sitting without customers, she works on knitting a red sweater. A local stops by to chat; proof that she’s not exactly hiding her existence there. Once the girl is gone, she closes her eyes and sends a mental message to Kang-ju: Our son looks just like you, and whenever the loneliness overwhelms, she looks at him and the sky, and misses you.
JoAnne Counts on Her Fingers: That is one BIG ass 4-5 month old baby, Shuk.
Shuk: I wouldn't know, having no curtain-climbers to call my own.
Shuk: Kitten is by Dead Momma Kitty grave when ChoiDad saunters by. He starts the conversation: the air is warming, spring is coming, and good news is coming your way.
JoAnne: I don't always hang out in graveyards, but when I do, it's kitten graveyards for me! Nothin' says lovin' like the bones of a kitteh, ammiright?
Shuk: Our resident low medium is counseling a couple. Oh look, it’s Flunkette and Idol Boy. This must be their tie-up scene. The medium gushes on how great a couple they are, but Kang-In slips him an envelope. It turns out it was a setup. Put a check mark in that box. RING!!!
JoAnne: He is so cute with normal hair, though. And I do like them together.
Shuk: At the office, Flunkette shows Kitten a picture of a white and pink Vespa, and mumbles something about spotting Bubbles. He takes off for Namhae, and she prays that he finds Bubbles. Really, she’s back in her old place at her old job. What exactly makes the search difficult?
JoAnne: THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
Shuk: She’s making deliveries; he’s wandering around with her picture talking to random strangers. This goes on until nighttime. He finally sits on a bench, discouraged. She walks past less than 10 meters away. A fortuitous bump by a scooter releases her red yarn ball, which rolls past and taps a departing Kitten Prince. He turns around and their eyes meet.
JoAnne: And meet and meet and meet and MEET for chrissakes.
Shuk: They both stare with glistening eyes before smiling at each other.
Shuk: He shows no surprise when he meets his son, and Bubbles explains his name is an amalgam of theirs: Kang-rim. Grandma thanks him for looking for them, and Kitten formally bows to her, sorry for taking so long.
JoAnne: Somewhere in this episode they made it clear he'd been having Flunkette search all over. I'm so pissed off at the illogic of this because everyone KNEW SHE WAS FROM NAMHAE that it is actually kind of spoiling my happiness at their reunion.
Shuk: At A Taste of Doo-Rim (I wanted to type that one last time), it appears that public sentiment has changed and everyone is feeling squishy about the romantic love story between the mall heir and the fake princess.
JoAnne: So what changed, exactly? What additional info came to light that would make the public both a) continue to be reading about a minor news event a year later and b) decide awww, how cute?
Shuk: The Na’s and the Choi’s finally meet again, and Grandma presents the other Red Slipper. It turns out she was Grandfather’s First Bride (and the opening sequence), but she loved a village boy, so she drugged his wine and ran off. The sad thing? Grandfather was thoroughly in love with her, and started the curse rumor so his parents would accept her as his bride.
JoAnne: Well that, I did not expect. Well-played, Show. Well-played indeed.
Shuk: We interrupt the regularly-scheduled SqueeCap for a quick character rundown: ChoiGhosty is the Great-Grandmother, her son Choi Grandfather’s first bride was No Doo-rim’s grandmother. Apparently there wasn’t anything with the Parent’s generation except for a murdering mother-in-law and a deeply misled daughter.
JoAnne: I'm glad because last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking ok, so Choi Ghost fell for Kang Ju's grandfather or Great Grandfather at the most, and if Grandma is related to that baby, then Kang Ju and Doo Rim are cousins. Not even distant cousins. So I'm glad about this because it means there's a family connection but not a blood connection. However, this does make Grandma a bigamist.
Shuk: Isn't that an Italian fog?
Shuk: Grandma Soon-bok formally asks for forgiveness from the Choi elders. ChoiDad spouts some crap and thanks her for her granddaughter.
Shuk: At the ancestor house, Bubbles gets formally introduced to the familial spirits as the breeder of the next generation. She’s wearing the ring. Good time for a kiss! Pretty please? With tongue? What the hell, we get a hug. Blech. Disappointment.
JoAnne: Come on, Show. You can do better than this.
Shuk: More tying-up stuff, and not in a scarf-around-the-wrist-in-the-privacy-of-the-bedchamber way. (After all, those hairy legs DO mean he's a little kinky!) Bubbles visits PsychoJangMa, and holds her hand. She snaps out of it. Soooo, the punishment for the psychological damage to her biological daughter, and the murderous intent towards a doppelganger, ends with a year of Pink and Purpleness and a hug. Yea freaking yea. [weakly waves victory flag] RING!!
JoAnne: FUCK no.
Shuk: Bubbles prettifies ChoiDad’s tie; it appears the older couple is going out for a night on the town, and some fun times at the villa. Will they take their clothes off in bed? Who knows. RING!!
JoAnne: Will Bubble Baby have a younger uncle?
Shuk: AwesomeOppa takes Bubbles to a spa for some PPL and callous removal. It’s his gift for her return.
JoAnne: If I can't have you, I can at least soften you up for the guy that gets you? Weird.
Shuk: Grandma and Mouse are closing the restaurant for the night, when Cookie shows up, stutters a bit, and exposes….a ring box! Greedy Mouse snatches it, opens it, squeals, and lets him put the ring on her finger. They kiss and there’s more happy screeching. RING!!
JoAnne: Well I did like them so this is good news.
Shuk: It’s another dead person memorial at the Choi estate, and Bubbles cooks. Kitten Prince is bouncing Fat and Chubby just as Idol Boy arrives. It’s for Great-grandfather, and this year they are including ChoiGhosty.
JoAnne: Awww, remember she was complaining that no one ever offered her food. She wasn't vengeful, she was HUNGRY.
Shuk: The ceremony goes smoothly, and, in the ancestor house, we see ChoiMaster and ChoiGhosty finally together again. This one gets two rings due to the amount of time since the events. RING!!! RING!!!
JoAnne: Wonder how dead ChoiWifey feels about the happy ending for ChoiMaster and ChoiChippy.
Shuk: Our couple is sitting outside rehashing all sixteen episodes. Doo-rim asks him the burning question: when did he fall in love in love? He hems and haws, then admits the first time they kissed at the tie-pull-fall. The tender kiss at the showcase was heartfelt and not fake at all. She looks wide-eyed at him, and admits she feels butterflies whenever she sees him. He goes pompous for a moment, but then quietly admits the same thing. Kisseu! Kisseu! Nope, stupid hug-snuggle. [grumble grumble]. Not giffing it.
JoAnne: I'm just going to go replay that bed scene from Witch's Romance.
Shuk: The medium is studying like the civil exam is tomorrow. Without ChoiGhosty, his soothsaying skills are for shite. However, WhiteLady shows up, happy and sated from her memorial meal.
JoAnne: Oh sure, the homewrecker is good now - she's had food and a reunion with someone else's husband.
Shuk: And happy medium asks the one burning question left in all our hearts: How can two unrelated woman look exactly alike??? Flashback time: both babies were born very close to the same time, and ChoiGhosty put Na Doo-rim’s face on Jang Yi-kyung. So Bubbles was the original, and Smirky had the Super Deluxe Ultimate South Korean Plastic Surgery package. That gets a Deus ex Machina RING!!!
JoAnne: You're kidding me, right? I reject this entirely.
Shuk: He wonders if she will stay and help him again, but she gives him a Confusing Confucianism and drifts off into smoke.
Shuk: ChoiMother searches for her daughter-in-law, only to find her playing GoStop with Kitten Prince and ChoiDad. Dad admits that it’s fun, but he keeps losing. Mother pulls back the sleeves of her hanbok, and dives into the game. Yay! She’s human and warm! Nobody in the family knew it!Family harmony restored! RING!!!
JoAnne: Show me her face covered in ink spots as proof, though.
Shuk: Good point.
Shuk: Doo-rim practices the formal tea ceremony on Mother, who pronounces it adequate. Bubbles asks for consideration for the servants; Ahjumma and Ahjussi want some time off to visit their son. Mother agrees, and passes the Lady of the Household baton (in the form of the ancestor house key) over to Doo-rim. I giggle because Drama Fever subbed it as “outhouse”. Funny I don’t remember a moon on the door.
JoAnne: Oh, DF...constantly getting some little thing wrong.
Shuk: ChoiMother tells her she’s comfortable handing the reins over. The mom-dau moment is broken by Ahjumma frantically looking for Little Prince. Bubbles smiles and tells her that he probably went “there”. And we see ChoiGhosty playing bouncy bouncy with our fat baby BubbleBoy.
JoAnne: Well, she never did get to play with her own baby, so even if I'm mad at her I can't begrudge this.
Shuk: Strolling inside the compound, Kang-ju tells his wife he wants to plant a tree for their baby. She scoffs at his poor shovel skills. As he frames out the location, Bubbles notices the first tentative sakura blossoms of spring, and they wander off arm and arm through the garden. WAIT!! WHERE’S THE KISSING?
JoAnne: What is the significance of that? Where the hell are our kisses? I AM ANGRY.
FINAL FINAL THOUGHTS
Shuk: Boo! Hiss!! With such good kissing and interaction throughout the drama, why is the last kiss of the show a secondary couple?? Wae?? Not that tiny Mouse and Cookie the Tree aren’t cute, but I am thoroughly disappointed, Show. [sulk]
JoAnne: I threw a magazine at the tv.
Shuk: The tie-ups were adequate, although nothing earth-shattering. The surprise of the Face/Off-esque explanation regarding our lookalikes was just too contrived and about as satisfying as ending the series with “and the little boy fell out of bed and woke up.”
JoAnne: There's a distinct whiff of Bobby Ewing in the shower about this, yes.
Shuk: Also, there should be no redemption for JangMa, in the present. The laws she broke, both municipal and ethical, should have rendered her a vegetable for eternity. But I guess we have to have that whole crappy forgiveness thing going on. I had hoped that AwesomeOppa would leave that den of craziness and strike out on his own, but I guess loyalty counts for something. [sigh]
JoAnne: Where's his happy ending? How come he doesn't get someone to love? HOW IS THAT FAIR?
Shuk: Thanks again for all our loyal readers who stayed with us through this one! I’m not sure what will be next, but kakashi and her gang of SqueeCappers will soldier on!
JoAnne: Thank you everybody! On behalf of squeecappers everywhere, I apologize for this MOST UNSATISFYING ending. Also: I want that kitten.
JoAnne: Odd, this is my second Rocky Horror reference in as many days. Perhaps I need to rewatch this weekend.
Shuk: To coin your phrase, this was a great show with a careless ending. So Mouse and Cookie win the spotlight.
EPISODE 16 (FINAL)
Shuk: ChoiGhosty complements Bubbles on her forbearance and promises great rewards for waiting. I hope not as slowly as that darn windmill.
JoAnne: I'm still really pissed off, Shukie.
Shuk: Araiso, unni. [pat pat]
Shuk: Ugh with the new hairstyle, Honggie. Kitten Prince struts the hallowed halls of TaeYang with Cookie and Flunkette. The mall is doing well, it seems, and his new policies for his employees are big hits as well. They come upon a thoroughly unpleasant customer trying to bully a return on a damaged gabang. Kitten addresses her as ahjumma, and authorizes the refund, since she’s too ugly to own such an expensive item. She flounces off with ruffled feathers and damaged bag, and he sends Flunkette after her with a smile. The employee is grateful and he is gracious.
JoAnne: He is a muffin, though, is he not? So cute. And that scratchy voice! Love it, always have, always will.
JoAnne: Awwww, I love that he still considers himself married to her even though they're apart. Or you know, actually ever got married.
Shuk: At the children’s corner, a crying toddler catches his eye, and he pops over for a little bounce time. Does he know he’s a dad in real life? He looks towards the door, and envisions Doo-rim running towards him with a smile, but the vision morphs into Mom. He hands off the kid and once he starts walking his smile slips off his face.
JoAnne: I don't think he knows. I think he just imagines what it would have been like for them.
JoAnne Translates: Wife, you've been around for years. I got used to you. I don't like things to change. I guess you're ok. And you ARE alive, so....
Shuk: All four Choi's share kimchi and sweet potatoes, and, in voice-over, Kang-ju relates that many things have eased since she left; the family is more at ease together, and this was a gift she gave them. He still misses her, though, a lot.
JoAnne: Ok, so one year has gone by and Choi House is back to 'normal' although Kitten misses his sweetheart. What about Jang House? What about Na House?
Shuk: In Namhae, Grandma is on babysitting duty while Bubbles heads to the harbor to open their fish stall. Sitting without customers, she works on knitting a red sweater. A local stops by to chat; proof that she’s not exactly hiding her existence there. Once the girl is gone, she closes her eyes and sends a mental message to Kang-ju: Our son looks just like you, and whenever the loneliness overwhelms, she looks at him and the sky, and misses you.
JoAnne Counts on Her Fingers: That is one BIG ass 4-5 month old baby, Shuk.
Shuk: I wouldn't know, having no curtain-climbers to call my own.
JoAnne: I don't always hang out in graveyards, but when I do, it's kitten graveyards for me! Nothin' says lovin' like the bones of a kitteh, ammiright?
Shuk: Our resident low medium is counseling a couple. Oh look, it’s Flunkette and Idol Boy. This must be their tie-up scene. The medium gushes on how great a couple they are, but Kang-In slips him an envelope. It turns out it was a setup. Put a check mark in that box. RING!!!
JoAnne: He is so cute with normal hair, though. And I do like them together.
Shuk: At the office, Flunkette shows Kitten a picture of a white and pink Vespa, and mumbles something about spotting Bubbles. He takes off for Namhae, and she prays that he finds Bubbles. Really, she’s back in her old place at her old job. What exactly makes the search difficult?
JoAnne: THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
JoAnne: And meet and meet and meet and MEET for chrissakes.
Shuk: He shows no surprise when he meets his son, and Bubbles explains his name is an amalgam of theirs: Kang-rim. Grandma thanks him for looking for them, and Kitten formally bows to her, sorry for taking so long.
JoAnne: Somewhere in this episode they made it clear he'd been having Flunkette search all over. I'm so pissed off at the illogic of this because everyone KNEW SHE WAS FROM NAMHAE that it is actually kind of spoiling my happiness at their reunion.
Shuk: At A Taste of Doo-Rim (I wanted to type that one last time), it appears that public sentiment has changed and everyone is feeling squishy about the romantic love story between the mall heir and the fake princess.
JoAnne: So what changed, exactly? What additional info came to light that would make the public both a) continue to be reading about a minor news event a year later and b) decide awww, how cute?
Shuk: The Na’s and the Choi’s finally meet again, and Grandma presents the other Red Slipper. It turns out she was Grandfather’s First Bride (and the opening sequence), but she loved a village boy, so she drugged his wine and ran off. The sad thing? Grandfather was thoroughly in love with her, and started the curse rumor so his parents would accept her as his bride.
JoAnne: Well that, I did not expect. Well-played, Show. Well-played indeed.
Shuk: We interrupt the regularly-scheduled SqueeCap for a quick character rundown: ChoiGhosty is the Great-Grandmother, her son Choi Grandfather’s first bride was No Doo-rim’s grandmother. Apparently there wasn’t anything with the Parent’s generation except for a murdering mother-in-law and a deeply misled daughter.
JoAnne: I'm glad because last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking ok, so Choi Ghost fell for Kang Ju's grandfather or Great Grandfather at the most, and if Grandma is related to that baby, then Kang Ju and Doo Rim are cousins. Not even distant cousins. So I'm glad about this because it means there's a family connection but not a blood connection. However, this does make Grandma a bigamist.
Shuk: Isn't that an Italian fog?
Shuk: Grandma Soon-bok formally asks for forgiveness from the Choi elders. ChoiDad spouts some crap and thanks her for her granddaughter.
Shuk: At the ancestor house, Bubbles gets formally introduced to the familial spirits as the breeder of the next generation. She’s wearing the ring. Good time for a kiss! Pretty please? With tongue? What the hell, we get a hug. Blech. Disappointment.
JoAnne: Come on, Show. You can do better than this.
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| Yaaawwwwwnnnnn |
JoAnne: FUCK no.
Shuk: Bubbles prettifies ChoiDad’s tie; it appears the older couple is going out for a night on the town, and some fun times at the villa. Will they take their clothes off in bed? Who knows. RING!!
JoAnne: Will Bubble Baby have a younger uncle?
Shuk: AwesomeOppa takes Bubbles to a spa for some PPL and callous removal. It’s his gift for her return.
JoAnne: If I can't have you, I can at least soften you up for the guy that gets you? Weird.
 |
| But my paws are bee-yoo-tee-full! |
JoAnne: Well I did like them so this is good news.
Shuk: It’s another dead person memorial at the Choi estate, and Bubbles cooks. Kitten Prince is bouncing Fat and Chubby just as Idol Boy arrives. It’s for Great-grandfather, and this year they are including ChoiGhosty.
JoAnne: Awww, remember she was complaining that no one ever offered her food. She wasn't vengeful, she was HUNGRY.
JoAnne: Wonder how dead ChoiWifey feels about the happy ending for ChoiMaster and ChoiChippy.
Shuk: Our couple is sitting outside rehashing all sixteen episodes. Doo-rim asks him the burning question: when did he fall in love in love? He hems and haws, then admits the first time they kissed at the tie-pull-fall. The tender kiss at the showcase was heartfelt and not fake at all. She looks wide-eyed at him, and admits she feels butterflies whenever she sees him. He goes pompous for a moment, but then quietly admits the same thing. Kisseu! Kisseu! Nope, stupid hug-snuggle. [grumble grumble]. Not giffing it.
JoAnne: I'm just going to go replay that bed scene from Witch's Romance.
Shuk: The medium is studying like the civil exam is tomorrow. Without ChoiGhosty, his soothsaying skills are for shite. However, WhiteLady shows up, happy and sated from her memorial meal.
JoAnne: Oh sure, the homewrecker is good now - she's had food and a reunion with someone else's husband.
Shuk: And happy medium asks the one burning question left in all our hearts: How can two unrelated woman look exactly alike??? Flashback time: both babies were born very close to the same time, and ChoiGhosty put Na Doo-rim’s face on Jang Yi-kyung. So Bubbles was the original, and Smirky had the Super Deluxe Ultimate South Korean Plastic Surgery package. That gets a Deus ex Machina RING!!!
JoAnne: You're kidding me, right? I reject this entirely.
Shuk: ChoiMother searches for her daughter-in-law, only to find her playing GoStop with Kitten Prince and ChoiDad. Dad admits that it’s fun, but he keeps losing. Mother pulls back the sleeves of her hanbok, and dives into the game. Yay! She’s human and warm! Nobody in the family knew it!Family harmony restored! RING!!!
JoAnne: Show me her face covered in ink spots as proof, though.
Shuk: Good point.
Shuk: Doo-rim practices the formal tea ceremony on Mother, who pronounces it adequate. Bubbles asks for consideration for the servants; Ahjumma and Ahjussi want some time off to visit their son. Mother agrees, and passes the Lady of the Household baton (in the form of the ancestor house key) over to Doo-rim. I giggle because Drama Fever subbed it as “outhouse”. Funny I don’t remember a moon on the door.
JoAnne: Oh, DF...constantly getting some little thing wrong.
Shuk: ChoiMother tells her she’s comfortable handing the reins over. The mom-dau moment is broken by Ahjumma frantically looking for Little Prince. Bubbles smiles and tells her that he probably went “there”. And we see ChoiGhosty playing bouncy bouncy with our fat baby BubbleBoy.
JoAnne: Well, she never did get to play with her own baby, so even if I'm mad at her I can't begrudge this.
JoAnne: What is the significance of that? Where the hell are our kisses? I AM ANGRY.
Shuk: Boo! Hiss!! With such good kissing and interaction throughout the drama, why is the last kiss of the show a secondary couple?? Wae?? Not that tiny Mouse and Cookie the Tree aren’t cute, but I am thoroughly disappointed, Show. [sulk]
JoAnne: I threw a magazine at the tv.
Shuk: The tie-ups were adequate, although nothing earth-shattering. The surprise of the Face/Off-esque explanation regarding our lookalikes was just too contrived and about as satisfying as ending the series with “and the little boy fell out of bed and woke up.”
JoAnne: There's a distinct whiff of Bobby Ewing in the shower about this, yes.
Shuk: Also, there should be no redemption for JangMa, in the present. The laws she broke, both municipal and ethical, should have rendered her a vegetable for eternity. But I guess we have to have that whole crappy forgiveness thing going on. I had hoped that AwesomeOppa would leave that den of craziness and strike out on his own, but I guess loyalty counts for something. [sigh]
JoAnne: Where's his happy ending? How come he doesn't get someone to love? HOW IS THAT FAIR?
Shuk: Thanks again for all our loyal readers who stayed with us through this one! I’m not sure what will be next, but kakashi and her gang of SqueeCappers will soldier on!
JoAnne: Thank you everybody! On behalf of squeecappers everywhere, I apologize for this MOST UNSATISFYING ending. Also: I want that kitten.
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| And I'm done! |