The Disguiser 伪装者 - Episode 25 (Recap)

We are still in a post-old excitement, pre-new excitement phase, which is good, because we need to get mentally ready for what is coming. That said, I wish the education of Ming Tai would be done already, because I'm getting a bit bored with the "whose fault is it" questions and the seemingly endless peace restoration process in the Ming Family.
JoAnne: We could have some Ming Lou romantic action for a change of pace. You know, just to break things up a bit. I mean, I'm fine with things as they are but you sound a little bored so I guess I could be a good sport and accept a change in direction gracefully. Because I care about you, you know? I really do.
Eleanor: Imagine being romanced by that gorgeous, gravely voice of his...mmmm, was that the sound of JoAnne hitting the floor? ;P

Episode 25

Operation "Confuse Lone Wolf" is still in full swing at the Ming Mansion. Therefore, Ming Lou holds some very loud phone calls, like now with Liang Zhong Chun, in which he scolds him for taking advantage of him. Also, dear Auntie Gui, NO food for Ming Tai and his sore butt - he needs to be starved to fully get what he has done wrong. Ah Cheng, in the meantime, glowers prettily. 
Did I tell you I finally had a drama dream? Yeah, I did. Jing time-travelled to this drama, and I was watching it and yelling at the TV that he had to go back and not mess up the plot.
LOL. I think that a warning label needs to come with scenes where Ah Cheng wears suits. "Caution, might cause swooning fits and fainting spells as well as heart palpitations". 

Liang is agitated after being shouted at and when Killer Wang bursts in without knocking, he gets even more angry. She has come to collect the report on the Wu Tong Road shooting incident. Searching all the houses around the area has unearthed nothing at all, which animates Wang Manchun to gloat, but only until Liang tells her about the double-hit on the hospital ward. Was that prisoner her responsibility? I don't remember, but it seems so - she is no longer cocky at all.
I'm sorry, what? Her hair is speaking to my heart and I can't hear you.
She is breathtakingly gorgeous. Definite girl crush here. Oh wait, I hate this character. But Wang Ou, I love. 

Also, he has in his hand a letter she wrote to Minamida, trying to expose Liang's "business" on the side. He promises to not read it - in exchange for some less antagonism from her. Without Minamida, he suggests, she has nobody who backs her. She is not ready to play nice though. Which does not come as a surprise. Liang is amused, not scared. It is possible that Manchun is severely underestimating him.

Cockroaches, man. They survive nuclear war.

Haha yeah. Also, I have totally forgotten where we are at in the drama. I need to be careful about spoilers. 

Auntie Gui is on a mission to educate her son: She lets him know that Ming Lou's anger earlier was in truth directed towards Ah Cheng and that his behavior is shameful (meaning him wanting more money and threatening to leave etc.). He has probably read some Freud or something, in any case, he skillfully makes her feel guilty for his childhood trauma (which is the reason he is acting the way he does in the present) and demands answers. For example, for why she got him out of an orphanage at a young age, without having a man by her side. 

Yeah. We kinda want to know the answer to that too, Auntie Gui.

Ooh, he is playing her like a fiddle. And she is dancing to his tune. He is soooooo good at this! It's scary at how good he is. I guess there is an element of him also really wanting to know and he's using all that emotion and energy to pump her for information. He's so good at this!

So she does tell him, reluctantly and tearfully: She came to the city and became a servant to the Mings. She met a businessman named Liu, who lied to her, but seemed kind and they had a son together. Because they were not married, he forced her to send the child to an orphanage. He promised he would come and pick them both up after he had settled in the country. No news for a year.

Instead of, you know, marrying her. 

Was he maybe already married or something maybe? 

In her mounting panic and desperation, she went back to the orphanage and was given her one-year old boy. Because she thought if she had the baby, Mr. Liu would definitely come... only to find out many years later, that this was not her boy at all, that Mr. Liu had gone back before her and got their real child - paying for  the nuns' silence with money. 
OH, SNAP. He basically used her as a walking uterus.
Argh!!! So evil!!! That is so terrible. Okay, I am feeling a little bit sorry for Aunty Gui right now. 

Well, that's horrible. But did you really have to abuse him over it?! Well, it seems she was a little insane back then and under tears, she begs him to take it out on her, her alone, because the Mings were always good to him. He is rebellious at first but then seems to take her advice into account. He also promises to think about what she told him, sounding much mollified. 

I would definitely understand a woman kind of losing it over that, but still.

Okay, then I remembered that she abused Ah Cheng, never mind, I don't feel so sorry any more. She had no right to take out her anger and frustration on a little child. 

Breakfast at the Mings the next day ... senza Ming Tai. Big Sis is sighing heavily. She is worrying over Ming Tai ... outwardly over his misdemeanor, but in truth, I think she is worried about him not getting anything to eat etc. In any case, she is still misdirecting her anger towards Ah Cheng and the way he dresses, haha.

Hyung, all the noonas love the way I dress! What's wrong with this? Nothing, dongsaeng. She's michin, michin. Except in Chinese.

Haha. Poor Ah Cheng, he can't catch a break! Though that is definitely not his most attractive outfit, but who am I kidding, Wang Kai would catch my attention in a the world's worst outfit and I'd still swoon and think he was gorgeous. 

After breakfast, the two older brothers go see Ming Tai, who is in bed (fake sleeping, as Ming Lou calls it). What a life. Silk covers, too! Ming Tai is pissed about the beating and the newspaper story about his sexual escapades, which was not something he agreed to! He thinks Ming Lou got back at him deliberately to punish him for firing off a gun close to his ear and wants to officially report it. When Ah Cheng steps closer though, Ming Tai scurries out of bed and backs his bum up against the wall for protection. Haha.

Yeah, I totally did not realize you were referencing his spanking. Haha.

These three crack me up so much! hahahaha oh bratty Ming Tai. Maybe he did get the short end of the stick on this one, but that was not cool to fire a gun so close to Big Bro's ear. 

In Ming Lou's opinion, whipping him only once is going easy on him, so he should be grateful. And even though he has cursed Crazy Wang ever since he kidnapped his little brother, he is also of the opinion that said little brother actually wanted to be involved in this fight. Which is why he stood out on the plane. And when they tried to get him out, he chose to stay.

Ya think?

Yeah Ming Tai, so don't complain so much. If the little dog can't play with the big dogs, he should have stayed on the porch. 

He goes on to say that it was horrible for him having to send his brother into risky situations and that everything Ming Tai has chosen to do would probably kill their sister if she knew. Ming Tai finally gets it: his current situation is nobody's fault but his own. 

And Trainwreck's. Just on principle.

Kakashi, I think you need to add some smelling salts to the recap because DANG! that screencap is making me feel a little faint *hits the floor* (the one above, of Ah Cheng)

 

And then, switch to some play acting for Aunti Gui! Ming Tai claims he wants to "do business" instead of going to school. With no money of his own and no experience. But Ming Lou is ready to help his little bro and "gives" him the flour factory that is entitled to him. Good. That settles it, right?
Go forth and successfully supply all the noodle houses in Shanghai, young man!
Hahaha! Oh I love the Ming brothers so much. I just want to hug them! 

But oh no, Little Master has developed a fever (from being beaten and starved?)! Not really though. They just needed to send Auntie Gui on some errands, so that Ming Lou can instruct Poison Scorpion to lay low. Ming Tai wants to know what to do about the task to investigate prisons. Ming Lou will have Ah Cheng do it and involve Ming Tai at a later stage again. Time to take a little rest - before things get brutal again.

Oh sure. Ming TAI gets to rest because he got his butt beat. When does Ah CHENG get to rest? Ming TAI is a poor little orphan boy, feel sorry for him. Well guess what, Ah CHENG is an orphan too, and HIS foster mother tormented him. But does HE get to take a rest? No, he does not. It's 'Ah Cheng, go to the flour warehouse.' 'Ah Cheng, get two apartments.' 'Ah Cheng, save Ming Tai for the zillionth time.' "Ah Cheng, kill the cute little soldier girl at the hotel.' When does AH CHENG get to take a rest? Huh? Huh?

Tell me about it. Well, if I am must be honest, there was a side story that didn't air. Ah Cheng came over to my place to rest in all those scenes where you didn't see him. I'm not sure if it will make the director's cut or not ;P (They also have to keep up the Ming Tai ruse so Big Sis doesn't suspect that Ming Tai is also a spy, so they have to still baby him otherwise Ming Jing will kill them).

Ming Jing is "reading" downstairs, in truth eagerly waiting for Ming Lou to tell her what is going on. And that is Ming Lou's answer: Ming Tai missed home, mainly her, and badly at that. He was always bullied by others and severely unhappy at Hong Kong University. He didn't dare to tell her, because he was afraid of being scolded. Hahahaaa, Ming Lou.

Haha, paint him as the weak, nerdy, unpopular Mama's boy, and a coward to boot!

Hahaha. These Mings and their lying, spying ways. Ming Lou is also soooo good at this! 

He casually mentioned how he finally talked after being beaten and starved and developed a fever. Of course, Big Sis is now super concerned and runs to her Pampered Child, being "fake angry", as Ming Lou points out - peace is restored in the Ming family.

Ah Cheng still needs a bit of a rest.

Come into my arms Ah Cheng! *Smiles involuntarily at the sight of Ah Cheng smiling* seriously, Wang Kai smiles are like sunshine, sunshine and magic. 

After this good deed, Ming Lou meets with Wang Manchun in a café. They talk about the new Commander for Division 76. Liang is more likely to be chosen, Ming Lou says - unless she performs a miracle. Like capture the Communist Party's Shanghai underground unit. Or destroy the KMT broadcasting. He will help her, of course! He also informs her that both Ah Cheng and Lone Wolf were planted next to him by Minamida to spy on him, but he considers the issue over, now that she's dead and seeing how Lone Wolf messed up pretty badly in the past.
Wait though, don't you think telling her Ah Cheng is a spy is dangerous? What if he gets hurt? Ahh, who am I kidding. Ah Cheng is awesome, and he'll be fine. 
Yeah, I'm not worried about him. He's already been shot and survived that. He can survive anything. 

He has very crucial news though: Wasp has returned to Shanghai. Catch him and she can destroy KMT's Shanghai operation. In addition, that will likely give her the means to destroy Liang once and for all - because of his dealings with the KMT, that are otherwise hard to prove! Our pretty maniac is squarely in Ming Lou's pocket now and she throws all communication she receives from Lone Wolf ("a dog without home") into the trash.
She is SO pretty, though. And even though she's the actual crazy dog, I feel sorry for her when I see how Ming Lou uses her. It's so cold.
I just wish that she wasn't a baddie. Like she would be sooooo good on the side of the KMT or the Communists. All that wasted talent! 

The two older Ming siblings sit up with the "sick" Ming Tai late at night. Oh wait ... he really got sick! Ahahaha. Well, Sis insists on staying with him, which she always has when he was little. Ming Lou goes for a quiet talk with Ah Cheng (the topic? Ming Tai of course). It seems that they want to speed up his defection process to the Communists now. Also, they are content they are handling the Lone Wolf issue well - she wants Ah Cheng to accept her as mother; and does not know that Ming Lou has cut her off from Manchun for good.
This one, I don't feel sorry for. She's a lying, backstabbing, cruel, disloyal person. Yeah, she got dumped and her baby got stolen but how can she fault the Mings for putting her out in order to protect Ah Cheng, especially when they've so graciously accepted her back? Although saying it out loud...she got dumped and her baby got stolen...that would put anyone over the edge, I think. She must still be there.
Yeah, I'm still not sure why she feels the Mings are so responsible. And beating and hurting small Ah Cheng, I love him too much and care about him too much to be forgiving of her. 

Ming Tai is up and about again, polishing some shoes. Not his - but Ah Cheng's and Ming Lou's. Ming Tai wants to go with Ah Cheng, but he is "grounded"... for a whole week. Ming Tai is not happy and... breaks the glass on the door. "Ah Cheng did it!" he screams, when his sister shouts down from above. Haha, she doesn't believe him.
I find this behavior so unattractive, really, and the infantalizing of a grown man that Ming Jing does is pretty creepy, when you look at it.
Indeed. I think she's been a bit of a helicopter parent with Ming Tai and I think that Hu Ge is too old for the role or to be playing it like this. If it were a bratty 20 year old playing him, it would be a little less jarring. Maybe still jarring, but coming from Hu Ge, it's a bit much. Even though is he like a little kid in real life. Haha. 

At the Special Forces Unit HQ, Tengtian Fang Zheng has gathered everyone: Liang, Manchun, Chief of Police. What is going on? It seems Mr. Fujita wants to scare everyone. While they all gather there, he has some second rank offical from the Military Committee dragged out and driven away. Liang knows: this is because of the assassination in the military hospital, which must be an inside job.
Yet those three must be standing there thinking 'Well it wasn't ME, so it must be one of YOU two!'
Ah Cheng's face = priceless. 

And then, it's time for Ming Lou to face the tiger... who demands proof for Ming Lou's loyalty. "Do you know ... the Viper?" the old man asks.
It's been a while, the nicknames confuse me again.
That Viper is going to bite you old man. Or wait, is he going to prove to be a tricky tiger? Noooo!

Comments

Not much development in this episode and nothing that we did not already know. They managed to neutralize Lone Wolf thanks to Ah Cheng's excellent acting, it seems (for the time being), Big Sis has forgiven Ming Tai, Ming Tai has understood that he cannot blame his Big Bro, Big Bro knows that hard times are a'coming and positions his pawns carefully for the next game. Mr. Fujita remains a threat, but I am not very afraid of him at this point in time - he is still too blind. But of course, that can change any minute.
I want Airplane Wang to show up and make things exciting!
I'm not sure my heart is ready for the next installment of exciting.