The Problematic of the Unproblematic

kakashi:  Horrible stuff happens in this episode - look! JoAnne:  Rumor has it she just saw the script for the finale. Shuk: I share her expression.

kakashi: Much happens in this episode. Like ... vampire fights! Talking! Sitting around! Talking! Walking through corridors! There's blood, too! JoAnne: It's all enough to tire out a poor wee pampire boy. Shuk: I can't even believe her. Or course I can't believe I'm still sticking with this.

kakashi: I am really bored with everything I'm watching and/or not really-watching except for PaksaNotPaksa and am officially dropping things like Missing M Noir and all the rest. I feel almost naked without any (or rather, a lot of) KDramas, but since it's quite summery here, feeling naked also feels kinda good. JoAnne: We've been back to pretty cold and I'm pissed off about it. Also, I seem to be watching American stuff again lately. becca: Finals are almost here, which is an extremely stressful thought. On the bright side, summer break is almost here, too! Good luck! Thanks! What she said!  

35 minutes until Rim! He may get the girl this time, but he sure is completely irrelevant, ahahahhaaa, sawry, Rim-lovers. Ahh, but he's SO CUTE. It's so hard to believe Mo Il-Hwa lives behind this face, too

kakashi: Alright then, JoAnne wants me to write something real about this episode. Hm. Well ... this show remains a puzzle to me. Is it comedy? Is it not? Judging from this episode, it is not. This episode was sad and somehow, there is little hope for any of the characters for ever finding happiness. Even if Min-ho turns "good" and gets the girl, his previous life will be made meaningless and he will regret deeply. If Soon-jung falls in love with this weird copy of her previous fiancé, I'll be angry too, especially if it happens so soon. Min-ho is an asshole, 95% of the time. The few things he is now forced to do do not make him like the dead guy at all. That said, I still really enjoy this drama, though I remain cautious. It might break our hearts. I take it back. Don't make me question my baby drama! I love it too much! If I have to look at the various pieces critically I'm afraid that will end. Min Ho tries to eyeball how many licks it takes to get to the c...

This episode continues with the thrilling gut-wrenching tension-ridden action. You are not a good liar. [snicker]

I can't believe we're already doing this for the 17th time. It never gets old, though. Keep em coming, drama! In real life, I would definitely have dropped this. And sorry, JoAnne: once again, hardly any Rim. Seventeen times? Really? Where have I been? Perhaps... out hunting the elusive Rim? Classic symptoms of Rim withdrawal

(JoAnne, you should probably write the intro so that it matches your story!) Nooooooooooo!  I like your intros, and I like the brief moment of reality before I plunge us into LaLa Land. Jung Kyung Ho ponders a world without Kakashi's words to start the day and feels lost

Shuk: Oh Show, what you could have done with our Disney Princess and our Scruffy Prince. Why did you spend so much time on Goon, Greed, and side stories? [sigh] Still, the end wraps up almost everything nicely. But I will always hate you for not giving Tippy a happy ending.  becca: Flaws and all, it's been a fun ride. Thanks for letting me talk you into recapping this one, Shuk! You win major unni points.

kakashi: Ah, it’s been a while. I haven’t missed this at all and haven’t missed anything either. This is SO BORING. Nothing happens. Nothing at all. It’s a miracle more than 0.5% of all Koreans watch it. Maybe it’s the people who fall asleep in front of the TV and don’t switch it off when Blood comes on? JoAnne: It's not THAT bad. It's unfortunate that they're taking such a long time to tell a story that could have been told in fewer episodes, that's all. And ok, our lead is green with a capital G...but he has his moments.  Shuk: I'm just in this to see how much mental pain I can survive.

kakashi: There's so much stuff to watch, it's stressing me out!!! And I'm not even watching a tenth of what other people are watching. JoAnne: I'm not even watching what I'm watching. My love for dramas remains undiminished, however. What about Rain's marriage? How do you feel about that? Oh wait ... what? It's only a rumor? Damn. WHAT?   Here!

Mmmmmmmhh, Min-ho is one sexy MoFo when he gets all emotional over nothing. I want to take him home, cook him dinner and put him to bed. Yup, this drama now has me. Well, he has me. Jung Kyung-ho is one hell of a good actor. He really is. I'm falling hard for Kang Min Ho. He looks 12 and his neck is ridiculously long and skinny but when he's thoughtful I just melt. And the rest of the time I'm generally laughing. Also the porn of those hands.

Well, well, well. We're getting somewhere in this episode, are we not? And what about those rumors that this is getting an extension? I have also heard that Rim will dance naked in the streets if the drama reaches 30%. Apart from that, we have a problem, JoAnne. There is hardly any Rim in this episode. I think most of the important stuff happened off camera! Your pictures always make a story very clear to me, though. Rim sincerely doubts that anything important involving his face would ever happen 'off camera'

I have absolutely no clue anymore what is happening in this drama. When people tweet about it, I go "huh? Is that what happens? Sounds wrong!" Because my version is so compelling.  I also have no idea what's really happening, and yet I don't seem to care. Looks like we aren't the only ones who aren't sure what's going on

Oookay, what happened? This just got very cute and funny. Well, not everything. I still find all those cliché things terrible, but Min-ho and his strangely beating heart? D'awwwwwwwww. Poor confused jerk. I also like his male secretary - when they get the side-kick right, they get it right. Remember the fear we all felt? I think it's going away. I giggle my way through most of the episodes. Paksa commits to his role 100 percent, and everyone is doing what they need to do to keep up. What I love most is that all three of the main actors are skilled at both comedy and drama, and they can make crazy work. Meanwhile, in the ruthless corporate jungle, a fearsome, cold-hearted killer ponders his next move ...and enjoys a tasty cherry lollipop

JoAnne: It seems a few of us are distracted away from The Very Important World of Blogging by something we like to call 'Having a Life' - we are sorry, and we love you, and we hope that you are not too confused by our somewhat mystifying 'schedule' these days. Personally, I thank the stars for CapCaps, because they do not take NEARLY the time a squeecap does. And also because I find them a lot of fun to do, so there's that. kakashi: For once, I have absolutely nothing pressing to do at work. Wow. It feels strange .  Meanwhile, I'm living YOUR normal work life for a while. Ugh.

We're at the end of a (too) long road and I am still laughing at how much RAGE this episode created. Way to go, MBC! Piss everybody off! Hey, but I can't even say that this episode was the worst of them all (I guess it helps if you don't root all that much for the OTP)! I can't even say I hated it. I do understand though that for everybody in denial and/or Hyuk-fever it took this episode to make clear what was clearly visible before: this drama derailed somewhere in the middle and never got back on track. And yet, I will fondly remember. How could I not. Seriously ... Jang Hyuk is glorious. He was magnificent. I don't have rage over the ending. I have quibbles. I have snark. I don't have rage. I described it as An After School Special Edition of SoGC.  S@ki6: It's over, it's over, I take it now it's over! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlBheJB3ww

Barreling towards the end, there are still many things to clear up. But the biggest lies are exposed, and it's up to everyone to deal with them the best way they can. But don't take too long, because evil is ahead on the scoreboard, and our good guys have got to prevail! becca: This is a sad episode, even if it didn't always make sense. I hope the good guys can set everything right in time to give us some cuteness again before the show ends.

kakashi:  In this drama that never ends, big discoveries are being made in this episode. I think. JoAnne:  Gawd, I don't remember. I remember liking the week's episodes, mostly. Then I reminded myself of how bad the acting is - it's not terrible, it's just.... Ahn Jae Hyuk needs work, and Gu Hye Sun, well - I think she can do it, but her choices this time around sometimes grate painfully. So even if I like some of the stuff the story is doing, I never fully engage because I'm watching THEM. Shuk: I literally watch it to comment, then delete it promptly and never think of it again.

Why was I not warned about how emotional this episode is??! I cried my eyes out! It was very hard to watch SoSo, wasn't it? And really, Wookie too. He willingly broke his own heart.

Somebody gets to ride Rim's motorbike in this episode!!! Woah, I know somebody who is going to be jealous... Apart from that: MANY Rim-goodies for you!  This director really likes looking at Rim from behind Mari's right shoulder. I guess the Hair Cut Wars have ended

Don't take the drug, Ji-sang. Don't! Too late. Yep.

Are we over the misunderstanding-silliness yet? I'll open my eyes if we are. If we're not, I'll smack Rim. On the butt. I think he heard you, Kakashi.  But awww, look at his sad, teary face

This drama continues with its tradition to give us one weird/bad/choppy/shitty episode (the uneven one) and then follow it up with a quite awesome episode. Wow, drama, you can still do it! I was intrigued and moved by this episode and then, I was super excited, because when Wang So wants to be a leader, then he is a fooking good leader. You GO, So! That is a man men want to follow. And women want for other reasons. I'd follow him too! Also into the bedroom, of course .  Sewon, I love you. Did I just say that out loud? Oh right, I did. 

"When you're behind, you're behind and you have to carry that behindness proudly like a crown". That's an old blogging/recapping maxim. Never heard of it? Impossible! In any case, we have fallen behind, which is both a sign of too-muchitis and of this drama's over length. I am to blame for the first (4 "recapping projects" at the same time? Are you insane?), but definitely not for the second. This drama is suffering the fate of so many before it and so many after it: it is TOO LONG. The story has run out of steam, the episodes get draggy and fillery, the actors are so tired they can barely stand, and the life-shoot takes away any prettiness we may have had in the beginning. It's a shame, really. It was good, but it could have been so much better. JoAnne: I don't feel it dragging, exactly, although I DO think it would have been improved by some judicious cutting. In fact, it might have been amazing if held to 20 episodes. Almost all dramas I...

Ah, Show. If you were only another episode or two longer, perhaps I would not feel like we are rushing to the end. Still, thanks for these sweet scenes of happiness for several of our couples, before you shredded our hearts with that cop-out BS story twist at the end. becca: I'm just going to stare at this adorable face and try to block out the coming pain.

kakashi:  Whoever is writing this show has no clue how to write a show. They get absolutely nothing right. And I mean that, nothing. Neither the humor, not the romance, nor the hospital stuff, nor the tension. Nothing. Shuk: Was that actually news? JoAnne: Come on. The sunglasses are funny. Is it news to us that we two might, in fact, not have the same sense of humor?! Was that actually news either?

JoAnne started well into this not-sure-what-it-is melo mess, so we're going to continue our Not-Recaps. For Paksa! Long live Paksa! And you, Cutie Soo ... you better watch out. Anyway, we have some rules, too: only the leads make it into the pics and gifs. Well, I cannot promise we won't see anybody else ever, but in this version of the story, there are only leads. I think we are going to need at least one good shot of Jin Goo, maybe down toward the end, to say goodbye.  (Who?) I am so disappointed in Not Very Cutie Soo right now. But I've decided that I like So Not Paksa, even if he is so not Paksa. He's going to end up being Decent Knockoff Paksa, I can tell. This is the shot that sparked the 'he should always be lying down' conversation

JoAnne: I just realized that there are a LOT of new dramas starting up really soon and none of them include My Beloved, but at least the two he was considering have Chilbongie and Lee Jin Wook taking on the roles. kakashi: There always are a crazy amount of new dramas on and new dramas starting. KDrama is out to drive us crazy, I'm certain! 

kakashi: Dear Squeeglets, this is not a recap. But how could we pass on this drama (even though I watched episode 1 and hated it)? Does it not have Paksa and Cutie Soo in it? And Kim So-Yeon who, at least for kakashi here, was one of the first female leads that made an impression, first in Prosecutor Princess and then in Athena: Goddess of War. But then, there's that thing called time, and with a gazillion recaps and non-recaps already going on, all we can do at this moment in time is a CapCap aka Caption Cap aka JoAnne's favorite form of blogging anyway. Nothing that you see or read here may ever have come to pass. Have fun! JoAnne: I watched the first episode last night, and I have to say I couldn't decide what it was it doing, this Show. But it has Paksa (I'm not at all impressed with the look, why do KDramas try to make executive hot shots all look like Hugh Hefner in the 60s?) and Cutie Soo (oh I am SO impressed with the look!) and Kim So-Yeon (big time girl crus...

Is this still on? Damn, it is! But at least, we seem to be over the halfway mark! It does seem like a really long time between episodes, for some reason. Maybe I should watch it later in the week. Are you telling me to hurry up or something? *narrow eyes of suspicion* Not at all! I'm saying I shouldn't watch it until later in the week so that it's more fresh in my mind. Since I'm bringing up the rear, I'm at your tender mercies.

Sorry, mary. There's almost no Rim in this one. And the little we get is an idiot, because he thinks the wrong thing and hurts his Mary because of it. It's the noble idiocy part of the drama. I hate that part. In quiet moments, Rim wonders whether Olla misses him

The hour of angsty misunderstandings is upon us.(But we don't care because he looks FOOOOOOooking Goooooooood) Rim thinks for a moment, then agrees:  He DOES look good

People, sorry it took me so long to recap this. There was an issue of time (a gazillion birthdays and farewells of dear work colleagues/friends etc. to coordinate) but also an issue of will. I hate sad stuff. I don't want to watch sad stuff. The world is sad enough, you only need to have a look at the news. Anyway, now I'm ready. I think. Why? WHY would you lead with this face? Why? Now I'm crying again. See what I'm saying? !  Episode 20 verdict: Just sad.