Shine or Go Crazy - Episode 3 (A Quickie Cap)
In this episode, our black assassins reveal themselves and our lovers are reunited ... but not quite as they were. The drama finds its tone and its pace in this one, too - and Jang Hyuk is more beautiful than ever before. I'm pretty sure the director thinks the same because there are a lot of Jang Hyuk shots.
Man, did he look good right before he killed Saguek's Most Annoying Regular.
becca: He did. But I think most people would.
S@ki6: Jang Hyuk is beautiful as long as he doesn't talk.
Hahahaaa, Saki. How can you even watch this then?
Episode 3 verdict: Anything with black assassins in it is perfect in my book.
I hope he has one that doesn't get all sweaty, for later.
Don't worry, Jo. I'm sure he has plenty of extras.
Eun-chun comes to tell him that he has finally found out where the assassins stayed that night of the attack (at Kim Jong-sik's house, one of the Founding Fathers, played by Ahn Seok-Hwan. A sageuk without his chuckle wouldn't be a sageuk, I swear!). It only took him 5 years, yo.
Hmmmph. I suppose you're right but STILL.
HOW DO WE KNOW UNLESS WE TRY??? Also, wow, do I love this gif! *stares*
Later, in the street, Wang So almost runs into Shin-yool, but Baek-myo does her best to to prevent it. Silly woman, don't you know this is pointless? It's unmyeong! He also runs into his sidekick, Kil-bok, who always appears when Wang So is with Eun-chun, who always disappears right then and there, leaving the servant baffled and angry. He has come to fetch Wang So to the palace - his wife demands it. That's the other point of Kil-bok's existence: fetching Wang So and bringing him back to wifey.
He's funny enough, but remember the side-kick in Arang? I'd rather have him.
S@aki6: Sidekick in Arang was awesome. Still love seeing that actor in different shows.
Well, know I want him in this show, too. Hmpf.
So, everybody gathers at Gaegook Temple. There, Yeo-won meets Shin-yool, who is selling goods to the royal family. She seems to recognize her - or someone just like her, because later, when they have tea together (the smart princess immediately recognizes who truly is behind the Trading Company, even though she just wears an "assistant head"-title), she says "you're so much like her, but so different". And what does the princess mean when she says "I want a person"? She is so scary! Plus, it's another So-Shin near-miss, cause he comes to the door but doesn't go in when he hears his wife has a guest. Instead, he goes to butt heads with Wang Wook a bit.
Look at their faces. You can see their characters all over the place. Not going so far as to say Yeo Won is eeeeeeeeeeeevil yet, but calculating in a devious manner? yes.
If Yeowon goes the full-on Lady Mishal or YamJun route, I will love her more than anyone in this show. As it is, Honey Lee's Red Queen act is spot-on.
During the ceremony, Wang Sik-Ryeom humiliates King Jeongjong (Ryu Seung-Soo) - who likes Wang So and is glad to see him - by first interrupting and then joining in the dot-drawing (which is clearly a task for the king alone). And he even dares to ask for more men/money to fortify the West! This made me really mad!
I wondered about that. I mean, could he really just horn in on a king's task? I wondered if it was supposed to go to the highest ranking family member, and he deliberately set that up to put the sweet marshmallow King off balance. I KNOW he did the latter...
He's just letting everyone know where the power REALLY is.
I like King. I don't like Si-Ryeom. Let's draw an ugly mustache on him while he sleeps. OH WAIT.
Luckily, Wang So and his assassins go over to Kim Jong-Sik's house next, to kill the bastard. Who, by the way, has the monopoly on salt and has been asking exorbitant prices lately. Another near-miss in the forest! Shin-yool is going home, since she is feeling chilly. Instead of Wang So, she meets Wang Wook though, who saves her from drowning (or at least from getting wet) when she tries to reach a bellflower on the river bank (which help against the chill). Damn, the meeting leaves him completely shaken. What's going on? It's more than "love at first sight" - he has some kind of flashback with her in it.
So it's not a scene I missed somehow, good. What are the bets? Time travel? Multiple personalities? Telling the future in dreams? Overly romantic daydreaming?
I wish purple elf prince was the hero. I really really really like him. He's so pretty!
I like Limnium, too, but… no. This character has potential, but he's really not doing it for me. I hope he gets better.
I'm a bit more interested in the assassination though, sorry. Scumbag Kim Jong-Sik is currently greedily polishing a "very expensive" vase when Wang So and the Phoenix assassins appear. *Gulp*. I have a thing for ninja-men.
Right there with you on that. Maybe that's why the Healer Outfit worked so well.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you two just said.
Well, Kim Jong-sik refuses to tell them anything about the king's assassination - and dies. Clutching his piece of the bronze mirror. That's now in the hand of the Black Assassins, which makes Evil Wang really nervous. Especially since the Phoenix Assassins left their mark behind - they're back! Question is, though: Who is controlling them? By the way, Wang So mentions that the evil mastermind is most likely The King's Administrator (=Evil Wang). You smart boy you!
I am so glad you giffed that. Do you think his facial hair is real, by the way? Because Mama LIKE.
The facial hair is surprisingly dishy.
Oh yes, I think it's real. And Jang Hyuk is one of those guys who pulls off facial hair reeeally well.
While Yeo Won urges her brother to meet with the charming real head of the Trading Company and make her "his own", Shin-yool is putting on men's clothing, as she often does when trading outside.
Limnium's face has always puzzled me. Is it possible to have womanly eyes?
He's pretty! At a slave market, she finally sees Wang So! (Hahaha at the camera during that scene) Something is weighing heavy on his mind: the King asked him to find the Black Assassins and win them over - he wants to be a real king, who protects his people, not a strawman. Wang So feels deeply sorry for his troubled brother, but decides it's not yet the time to reveal himself.
Seriously though, do you not just want to nibble on that jawline? Maybe lick that Adam's Apple?
No.
I would not be averse to the idea. Not at all. And aww, poor King really wants to be a good king. I feel so badly for him.
Forgetting she is wearing men's clothing and forgetting he has never even seen her face, Shin-yool positions herself in front of Wang So, who is like "WTF"? She then proceeds to look him up and down, to feel his chest and his butt, has him turn around - and then offers to buy him (Kil-bok almost bursts a vein through the whole thing)
About all that: What the hell was she thinking? And So's dance... that was the best ever. I'm giggling right now all over again.
This terrible crossdressing that somehow passes is what on Twitter, @mariegossip and I have been referring to as a Bob. Just check out the last of the Blackadder Elizabethan episodes and you'll see what we mean.
Honestly, I'm getting really tired of cross-dressing in sageuks, whether they're believable or not. If you're going to do it, make it interesting and not just an easy way to get the heroine out and doing things with the boys.
Maybe she could slap her knee and say, "arrrgh" and stuff socks down her trousers.
Too bad he's not for sale! He has again some saving to do, though: and soon after, she lies in his arms after he pulls her out of the path of a galloping horse. I might have swooned a bit here. She says he is mighty fine, but there's something wrong with his head (he doesn't remember things) and throws him a bag full of silver for saving her.
She's an idiot! She knows he never saw her face.
Eh, they were close together and that veil wasn't so thick.
Knowing the area well, Shin-yool takes quarters in the one tavern in town and buys out all the rooms. Hahahaaaa. And indeed, when "The Leech" Kil-bok goes searching for a room (Wang So is annoyed he is on his tail, because it severely restricts his actions), there are only two rooms with only one person in them - so they need to share. That way, Kil-bok ends up in Kyeong's room and Wang So ends up in Shin-yool's.
Sure. Okay. Whatever gets them in a room together, writer. But honestly, why not just stop and have a comment scroll across the screen that says 'We need them together so we're just going to put them in the same hotel room.'
Was that not there? Pretty sure I saw it….
They drink together - and are having a great time. She says she's only interested in money, not in changing the world. Protecting the people is the King's duty, not hers. That just makes him sad again, but she advises him to just weigh the losses and benefits in any situation and chose the thing with the most benefit. Which is NOT telling the king right now, he realizes again. They get quite drunk and she starts hitting on him, haha. Oh, he is so cute when he's flustered.
She really sucks at being a boy. Which means she's probably pretty accurate about what it would look like in real life.
Bob.
Man, did he look good right before he killed Saguek's Most Annoying Regular.
becca: He did. But I think most people would.
S@ki6: Jang Hyuk is beautiful as long as he doesn't talk.
Hahahaaa, Saki. How can you even watch this then?
Episode 3 verdict: Anything with black assassins in it is perfect in my book.
Episode 3
The episode is opening with Jang Hyuk exercising blindfolded in the forest. YES, this is very important.I hope he has one that doesn't get all sweaty, for later.
Don't worry, Jo. I'm sure he has plenty of extras.
Eun-chun comes to tell him that he has finally found out where the assassins stayed that night of the attack (at Kim Jong-sik's house, one of the Founding Fathers, played by Ahn Seok-Hwan. A sageuk without his chuckle wouldn't be a sageuk, I swear!). It only took him 5 years, yo.
Hmmmph. I suppose you're right but STILL.
HOW DO WE KNOW UNLESS WE TRY??? Also, wow, do I love this gif! *stares*
He's funny enough, but remember the side-kick in Arang? I'd rather have him.
S@aki6: Sidekick in Arang was awesome. Still love seeing that actor in different shows.
Well, know I want him in this show, too. Hmpf.
Look at their faces. You can see their characters all over the place. Not going so far as to say Yeo Won is eeeeeeeeeeeevil yet, but calculating in a devious manner? yes.
If Yeowon goes the full-on Lady Mishal or YamJun route, I will love her more than anyone in this show. As it is, Honey Lee's Red Queen act is spot-on.
I wondered about that. I mean, could he really just horn in on a king's task? I wondered if it was supposed to go to the highest ranking family member, and he deliberately set that up to put the sweet marshmallow King off balance. I KNOW he did the latter...
He's just letting everyone know where the power REALLY is.
I like King. I don't like Si-Ryeom. Let's draw an ugly mustache on him while he sleeps. OH WAIT.
So it's not a scene I missed somehow, good. What are the bets? Time travel? Multiple personalities? Telling the future in dreams? Overly romantic daydreaming?
I wish purple elf prince was the hero. I really really really like him. He's so pretty!
I like Limnium, too, but… no. This character has potential, but he's really not doing it for me. I hope he gets better.
Right there with you on that. Maybe that's why the Healer Outfit worked so well.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you two just said.
I am so glad you giffed that. Do you think his facial hair is real, by the way? Because Mama LIKE.
The facial hair is surprisingly dishy.
Oh yes, I think it's real. And Jang Hyuk is one of those guys who pulls off facial hair reeeally well.
Limnium's face has always puzzled me. Is it possible to have womanly eyes?
He's pretty! At a slave market, she finally sees Wang So! (Hahaha at the camera during that scene) Something is weighing heavy on his mind: the King asked him to find the Black Assassins and win them over - he wants to be a real king, who protects his people, not a strawman. Wang So feels deeply sorry for his troubled brother, but decides it's not yet the time to reveal himself.
Seriously though, do you not just want to nibble on that jawline? Maybe lick that Adam's Apple?
No.
I would not be averse to the idea. Not at all. And aww, poor King really wants to be a good king. I feel so badly for him.
About all that: What the hell was she thinking? And So's dance... that was the best ever. I'm giggling right now all over again.
This terrible crossdressing that somehow passes is what on Twitter, @mariegossip and I have been referring to as a Bob. Just check out the last of the Blackadder Elizabethan episodes and you'll see what we mean.
Honestly, I'm getting really tired of cross-dressing in sageuks, whether they're believable or not. If you're going to do it, make it interesting and not just an easy way to get the heroine out and doing things with the boys.
Maybe she could slap her knee and say, "arrrgh" and stuff socks down her trousers.
Too bad he's not for sale! He has again some saving to do, though: and soon after, she lies in his arms after he pulls her out of the path of a galloping horse. I might have swooned a bit here. She says he is mighty fine, but there's something wrong with his head (he doesn't remember things) and throws him a bag full of silver for saving her.
She's an idiot! She knows he never saw her face.
Eh, they were close together and that veil wasn't so thick.
Sure. Okay. Whatever gets them in a room together, writer. But honestly, why not just stop and have a comment scroll across the screen that says 'We need them together so we're just going to put them in the same hotel room.'
Was that not there? Pretty sure I saw it….
She really sucks at being a boy. Which means she's probably pretty accurate about what it would look like in real life.
Bob.
She asks for his name and he says it's So So. Her's? Kaebong. Kaebong
from Kaebong. She asks whether he has been there - he has - and whether
he had a good time - he has ... in misery. Ahahahaaaa, her face falls. And it falls even more when he says he's married ... twice already. But he makes it sound like he abhors marriage and has, in fact, never ever slept with his half-sister.
I am relieved, so relieved, to hear that. Now, do you think he'll go the whole pure hero way and turn out to have never slept with any of the gisaengs, either?
That'd be really Wangless.
Does that mean they're not really married then? It's enough to anger Shin-yool a LOT though - and she turns very nasty towards him and doesn't let him sleep on the bed.
Her behavior is just ridiculous, much as I like her. How can she be mad at him?
On the one hand, she IS drunk. On the other hand, she's a bit of a bubblehead even when she's sober.
Of course she is mad that he seems to have completely forgotten about her, while she has not spent a single day not pining after him.
In the morning she has softened again towards him - seeing him sit there on the bed makes her remember all their sweet moments (wow, they have many for a couple who has only spent two nights together). But he is married now ... to another woman. So this is the end of the contract for her, Shin-yool assures herself.
Oh, it is? Guess we can stop watching the drama, then, right?
No, because ShinYool is a bit slow here. Then again, so is everyone else. Personally, I think she should just live happily ever after with her bodyguard.
Comments
This drama has different parts, one being all the stuff at the palace, the other being OTP-stuff. The palace-stuff is completely humor free (except for Kil-bok) and in fact, is beginning to scare me. Evil Wang is already on Wang So's heel, but at least, he has the Ice Princess to help him. She wants to become Queen, which means she'll do everything to protect her husband, won't she? Even though he treats her like a stranger, even after 5 years, and never spends more than a few hours a month in her presence.
I'm not so sure that his life is safe in her hands at all. And one thing puzzles me. Way earlier, she said she intended to make either her husband or her brother the king. What benefit would she get from her brother being the king, realistically? Is she thinking she'd marry HIM?
He's both brother and husband, a brother-husband. It's called endogamy. Gross, but best move on from this because it'll continue getting more and more stomach-churning just to think about it when they lived a fairly normal family life in real life.
She was talking about making either Wang-so or Wang-wook king, and I don't think she's so much concerned with being queen herself as with being the power behind the king. She could get that with Wang-wook, too, without having to marry him.
The OTP-stuff on the other hand is packed-full with humor - and he is a different man when he is with her. Already, we see how much he enjoys his/her company and how talking to her helps him sort out all the difficult stuff from his other life.
But she keeps getting sick, so don't get too attached.
Plus, she has a really hot bodyguard, and I still have hopes she'll wake up and go for that cutie.
We're only on episode three, and I'm already tired of her sickness. For the most part, I like her with Wang-so, though.
Do I like that she is pretending to be a man? Yes and no. Yes, because what we saw in this episode is a budding friendship. A true friendship, not some "hey, we knew each other as children so we must love each other again now"-shit. She is completely smitten with him since their wedding, but she doesn't know him at all. Through their conversations, she gets to know him - and to truly love him. Of course, he will also fall in love with her, thinking she's a he. That's an old trope, but one that I don't mind too much, unless it's used in a cruel way. Still, it's something we've seen so often, I could probably do without it. But I guess it's in the book too?
For me, the not-knowing-he's-a-girl trope is far more irritating than the we-knew-each-other-as-children bit. Mostly because I can buy kids not recognizing each other years later, but I have no idea how those idiots ever successfully convince ANYone that they're a boy.
Bob.
It's ridiculous, but I usually give the idiots a little grace because, in their time and reality, a woman dressing as a man is so unheard of that that's the ridiculous thing. Except cross-dressing is so prevalent in sageuks these days that you wouldn't know it.