Cubic (A SnarkCap) - Episode 14
Shuk: I am a complete idiot, worthy of inflicting pain on myself. Actually, Cubic only has a total of 16 episodes. Blame on my last personal recap, which had 20 episodes. Or my Moderna shots. So we only have three more episodes before we can bid farewell to the weirdest couple in the entire LakornUniverse.
Kmuse: I have no clue how many more we have but am just in it to the end. And really, with the length of the episodes it feels like it is never ending.
Also, this is one of the saddest episodes in the entire lakorn. Have tissues handy!
Trotwood: Not just sad but unnecessarily sad! Whenever I rewatch, I skip whole sections because I really try to block out what happens here.
Chapter 14
Little Flock is drinking a Sprite while his minions adopt various minion poses. One goon confirms that Ruthainark has disappeared from Taipei Hong Kong, and that LLS has a new doll on his arm. Who also happens to be Thai.
How many episodes has it been since we saw Uncle Flock? I am missing his wise words of wisdom, and his ever changing flocking.
It's been quite a lot, but I'm also wondering if they spent some of the flock money on Little Flock's awkward facial hair.
LF questions LLS's activities, and wonders why he just drives from school to work to home, without seeming to contact any old Cubic person. He decides to send some goons to Thailand. Because, it's such a small compact country to find one teenager. Minion questions this, and gets slapped for his pains. No logic zone! You will find the girl!!
LF ends up staring at various magazine covers of Mei Jin, and photos of Nark, muttering about LLS.
New day, new Mercedes, new outfit. MJ tells the driver to take off, but he's Jong Sing's man and JS demands she be protected. Sadly, she isn't happy at JS's attentiveness but annoyed at the bodyguard. She tosses her cerulean tassel earrings bitter emoting that nobody cares if she lives or dies. Um, foreshadowing much?
Stop. It's so painful to hear her speak like this knowing what we know.
The pair step into an elevator with another couple. He is in a long trench coat, dark glasses, and fedora, and in no way looks shady. She is all black hat and fur collar and ill-fitting gloves. As the doors close, the woman clumsily pulls out an old straight razor and the man wraps a garroting wire around his hands.
I appreciate their attention to classic ways of murder. You don't see people getting garroted anymore. It is truly a lost art.
I just wonder why they needed all of that. One good yank on those tassel earrings would cause enough pain to subdue a person.
The scene switches to JS at the Chaihong office with LLS. Suddenly, boss's computer goes black, then switches to a beaten Mei Jin. Little Flock forces both their faces into the camera lens and snarls at LLS.
If they were going to not garrote her why did they even bother showing it to us? Now I am just disappointed that it was a simple kidnapping.
I think they killed the chauffer / bodyguard that was also in the elevator. Which I guess was too gruesome for the face-slapping raeng-loving lakorn watchers to handle.
Anyway, you can see JS wants to jump through the screen and attack Little Flock, but our evil bobblehead just wants to spew at LLS. He wants to meet at a warehouse to discuss a proposal. MJ chokes out that it's a trap, but we already know our boys will go no matter what. They must save Mei Jin!
I spend so much time feeling sorry for MJ, JS, and myself in this episode, thinking about the secondary pairing we deserved and so easily could've have gotten. Poor JS is completely freaked out.
Little Flock throws water on MJ's face to wake her up. Wait, is he having a nangrai moment? She is bruised everywhere and tied to a chair, in a dank, battered room. He taunts that the great famous actress looks like trash now and will probably die tonight because LLS loves that Thailand girl.
She's strong, though. Mei Jin barks back that LLS is not an evil cruel bastard who can only harm helpless women. Yunno, like his own wife.
He admits he killed his spouse, but only because she was noisy...?
Yeah, I didn't get that part. I assumed that he meant that she was in no way going to keep quiet about his dastardly deeds. He thought she would be this meek thing just because she was kind, but she wasn't.
MJ curses him to death and poverty. I'm not sure which one makes him angrier, but he points a gun at her. Now it's her time to taunt him, yelling at him to shoot her! He won't, though, not until Lin Lan Ser shows up. Once he leaves, she tries to find a escape route, but where? She starts using her teeth on her the knots on her wrists.
Once again, this makes me mad because she is a such a good character, with a lot more sense and complexity than any of the other female character, including Nark most of the time. Why couldn't he have kidnapped Nark's sister?
Because nobody would try and save that bimbo.
Once the door to room is secure, he warns a well-bearded goon to guard her well. Then he walks down stairs. But then, the goon walks away in a different direction. Boy, Yong Wen reeeally knows how to recruit quality gang members.
I'm missing Little Flock's old stuffy layered look. He should not wear turtlenecks because it makes him look odd. He either needs to change his turtleneck color or the color of his hair. Maybe decide to go full flock so the aesthetics would be more pleasing?
I can't believe that he isn't passing out from heat stroke.
Mei Jin gets loose, but the window is too high and the door is locked from the outside. Meanwhile, Little Flock comes back upstairs to check on his prisoner. He opens the door - the room is empty and the window is open. Where is she? Why, behind the door. Our Badazz Model manages to clobber him with a chair and steal his handgun. She turns and shoots the newly-returning guard dead with two bullets.
Mei Jin is a total badass and deserved so much more then this show gave her.
Exactly.
Other minions arrive and begin searching the building while she tries desperately to either hide or escape. They cat-and-mouse for a while. She checks every door, but none lead to the outside. Little Flock finally catches her and shoots her in the back. Bad, evil Little Flock! You shot the second best character of the entire show! LLS / JS get there quick!
They are taking forever, so we know it's going to be too late. So disgusted that the killed the such a great character and for what? How did it help this plot or even the suspense?
Sadly, it's too late. Jong Sing kneels next to her. She had managed to drag herself to a corner before passing away. [sniff]. JS gently grasps her hand, unable to believe that she is gone. LLS shows both anger and sadness in his furrowed brow while JS apologizes to her for being too late to save her. LLS leaves him alone to mourn.
We all knew how he felt about her, why did it take LLS so long to figure this out?
Poor Jong Sing. All he can do is stroke her hand and hug her. Surrounded by police, JS carries his love out of the death house.
She is buried in a catholic cemetery in a small private ceremony. The officiant says words of comfort as everyone somberly stands. Mina Mouse and her Useless Spouse are there, as well as several photographers. LLS throws gang signs, but I think he's supposed to be making the Sign Of the Cross. Anyway, he is the first to lay a red rose on her grave.
Seems like a small and too quiet funeral for someone as famous as she was supposed to be. There were more people at that photo shoot in the earlier episode.
JS is in his usual cassock, but his face is pinched and sad. LLS leaves with several bodyguards with semi-automatic rifles. One by one, everyone pays their respects and leaves, until only JS and the officials are left.
From a distance, Lin Lan Ser reflects on all the times he tried pushing the two together. As for Jong Sing, he also flashes back to his interactions with the flirtatious Mei Jin as he kisses the white rose in his hand.
They didn't deserve her.
I think JJS could have deserved her if he wasn't so caught up in his loyalty to LLS.
He finally says those words out loud. "I love you, Mei Jin." He leaves the rose and walks away with a determined stride. Oh yeah, you is in trouble now, you little fakey flock-faced troll.
I definitely want him to be the one to take out Little Flock now.
At a peaceful Chinese park, LLS and JS stare out over the koi pond and the egrets, contemplating. Hong Kong Puey and Mina Mouse stop by. HKP is wearing the best suit in the show so far, but he ruins the moment of fashion harmony by spouting his usual stupid nonsense. Mina tries to interrupt him, but she can't overcome Mount Pompous.
HKP arrogantly promises to bring Evil Flock to justice for the Chaihong Chief, and offers LLS the honor of killing the troll. He continues rub salt in the wounds with I-Told-You-So's, until even I'm thinking someone should push him off the bridge into the koi pond. Instead, LLS just snarls at him to leave, but then proceeds to leave himself, taking JS with him.
Alone, HKP gets all self-important and arrogant, spinning his childhood as one where he lorded over that Lin Lan Ser. Mina giggles that Aunty said he (HKP) was the one running home crying to Momma. Seriously, what does Mina see in him?
If we are taking votes on people we would have rather Little Flock shoot, he would be after Nark's family on my list.
At Chaihong, LLS does an excellent window stare before he and JS have a bro-to-bro talk. JS asks for some time off, in order to put Mei Jin's affairs in order and present them to her family.
LLS flat-out asks JS why he never said out loud that he loved MJ? Why did he never notice his assistant's crush on his moll? After all, they are like brothers, and he didn't love MJ anyway.
JS interrupts his boss. He is grateful for everything LLS has done for him, and apologizes for thinking of MJ. LLS poses while he raps rhapsodic. He had no understanding of what "love" meant until Ruthainark. She changed his world and colored it in happiness. We get a tiny tiny LLS smile as he remembers some of their time together. Thanks, LLS, for making JS feel like crap, since your love is still alive.
Yeah, this seemed particularly callous, but then again unless there are guns involved, LLS really can't read a room.
Still, our good man JS understands what LLS is trying to say. It doesn't stop the hurt, of course. He leaves the room.
JS ends up at Mei Jin's apartment, looking over all the bits and pieces that made up her existence, all while reminiscing of their times together. Her pictures are scattered everywhere; and he picks one up that shows her mischievous side. Should he have admitted his feelings when she found her pictures in his cellphone? Would they have been happy?
YES!!!!
His reverie is broken by an assistant, there to begin the packout of all Mei Jin's possessions. He looks around for a final time, in farewell, before striding out of that place of memories.
Nark reads of Mei Jin's death in a Thai tabloid. Without thought, she whips out her cell phone and calls Danny? Why? Because she's a geeenius.
Danny answers, chastises her about possible wire-tapping, then spends a few minutes catching up on the HK news. His chastisement is the quickest on the planet, and he actually looks around like someone is going to see him and know he is talking to her despite the fact that he is the one talking about having his phone bugged. (rolling my eyes)
The news includes Evil Flock, EF's search for her, LLS's love (which she still doesn't believe), etc. etc. You have to appreciate that even being in hiding can't change Nark's denial. She stays consistent if nothing else.
Danny suddenly hears INTERPOL voices behind him. It's Policeman Patrick! What's he doing roaming the halls of a high school? What kind of crazy education facility is this? Oh yeah, one where the mafioso principal is crushing on a juvenile former student. Silly me.
And apparently INTERPOL just randomly show up.
Hippy Cop's hair is looking pretty nice when Patrick grandly announces to every student within earshot that He! Is! An! Interpol! Agent! Who! Suspects! This! Student's! Phone! Contains! A! Phone! Number! To! His! Father! He grabs the device out of Danny's hand.
Danny looks worried and tries to snatch it back. For some reason, Hippy Hair knows the area code is Thai. Patrick calls the last number. Will Nark answer? The tension mounts as the BGM gets more and more bombastic...
At least it's helpful. I mean if you had to leave the room to get a drink or go to the bathroom, you know to rush back because something is going to happen AND you know you have a couple of minutes of staring before you absolutely have to get back.
Principal Lan Ser accosts the agents, and proves that even Interpol can't pull a tiger's whiskers in his own den. LLS intimidates the agent, barking for him to cease and desist. Patrick still has the phone, though, which has now been ringing for over three minutes. When did the voicemail kick in on an 1990's tiny phone?
Throughout the Hong Kong Staredown, Nark has been outhinking herself in a manner worthy of Vizzini himself. Inconceivable! Does she answer? Does she not??
She doesn't, and our grumpy agent returns the phone to Danny.
With that, LLS orders them to begone. But not until the thots point guns at LLS and his 'school security staff'. The standoff is broken when Hippy Hair puts his handgun away. The two big shots exchange verbal barbs and the agents leave. I think Hippy Hair middle-fingers the school.
Danny breaks the news that LLS's girl called him regarding Mei Jin's death. Was that a flash of jealousy in LLS's eyes? He warns the younger man to never answer a call from Ruthainark again. Danny agrees, but wonders aloud if she is still be safe when powerful people want her found. LLS leaves but is clearly worried.
Later, LLS is laying in bed wearing The Robe and not much else. We have more flashback retrospectives of LLS and Nark. When we come back to now, he's now hugging a pillow on his sofa. We have more scenes, then we are back on the bed, this time prone. Sleep-pining, much? That is next level pining. It even beats staring on stairs pining.
So much self-indulgent pining. JS's girls in dead, but he's lying around because his girl (who doesn't know she is his girl) called someone else. We get it. You miss her. But geeze. Get with the program!
The next morning, tea service! With Trotwood's favorite kettle. It's called Freud Teaball, and has been out of stock since 3 months after I found out where to buy one. I don't think they make them anymore.
LLS orders JS to put a tail on Patrick, and to put a one million HK dollars on Little Flock. JS asks if there were any orders on Nantaka, which made LLS realize he had forgotten about her. (or repressed the memory like the rest of us) Since Little Flock was willing to kill MJ, he could easily target all women near LLS. He wants Nark's dad and sister to hunker down and not leave their quarters.
JS gets a phone call - they have already found Little Flock! He is at a nearby dock.
This is what a million HK dollars can do. Why not think of this before?
Not only that, but he appears to be on a Cheng Kung class patrol frigate. With an Indonesian flag pinned over the Taiwanese HK one. LLS and his gang sneak aboard to get our bad guy. Our two boys are in their usual sartorial splendor, and I'm thinking they should be in quasi-military fatigues or something. Still, LLS's red tapestry vest makes a nice backdrop to the semi-automatic handgun.
Shuk, there was no time to change clothes! They are on a revenge mission!
JS starts the first salvo, spraying the canteen with bullets. Yong Wen isn't there, though. He's eating cup noodles on the poop deck. Dropping his snack, he shoots at two of LLS's guys and escapes. A deck by deck search includes stair stares and stair shooting until Little Flock makes it to an outer deck.
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| Stares up stares...with guns! |
As JS and LLS creep around, they find nothing but their MIB. Little Flock nearly gets a head shot on LLS, but a MIB discovers him before he can shoot the main lead.
The chase resumes. LLS and JS end up in the wheelhouse, but YW is nowhere to be found.
Oh wait, there he is, maniacally laughing on top of the radar array. There's a bomb hidden on the bridge and he has the detonator! He squeezes his phone to set it off!! Noooo!!!
Except it's on a timer, and the ticking noise gives our guys enough awareness to clear the deck. Crazy Little Flock is standing above the bomb, but miraculously is uninjured. Still a nutjob, though. (If you have a detonator why also have it on timer?)
Speaking of crazy people, Nark just can't help doing her best to get exposed. She contacts her idiot sister. Or maybe Nan contacted her, which would make Nark the idiot sister for answering. Anyway, they talk about the gun battle, and the older sister picks up on Nark's concern for her benefactor.
While they are talking, Jong Sing shows up in Nan's place, and she's not smart enough to hang up or come up with a plausible explanation. She. is. just. not. smart.
JS grabs the phone and starts yelling at Nark. Yes, she misses her family. Yes, she misses Chaihong group. But she needs to think about what would happen to LLS if she is captured by Patrick or by Yong Wen. Nark's face droops, but she still exacts a promise from JS to protect their boss, before hanging up. Awww.
Nantaka has been listening to half the convo, and I think she realizes that her sister and LLS's feelings are deeper and more complicated than she thought. JS is very curt with her; he confiscates her phone, and refuses to take her to see LLS.
Realization or just constipation? It is hard to tell with her.
Or remember that she didn't eat breakfast? You never can tell with her.
Over afternoon tea, JS reveals the phone call to LLS and broaches the Nan subject. He advises LLS to let her go if he isn't going to like her. LLS decides to deal with it tomorrow.
LLS hesitates a moment, then, in a quiet voice, asks if Ruthainark had any words to pass along to him. JS tells him of the promise, which elicits an LLS tiny smile. Which elicits a tiny smile from JS. This was cute.
Back in Thailand, Nark is pacing back and forth, trying to come up with some plan to help LLS catch Little Flock. We get all sorts of zoom-shots of her and of Yong Wen. Her conclusion at the end of all this, is to set herself up as bait. Right after JS ordered her to stay low and not make waves. He had to know she is just going to do the opposite of what he says, right? This isn't a new pattern of behavior.
She ends up contacting Chin Fu (the scarfaced assassin shot on the beach). She offers to hire him, so they can team up and capture Yan Yong Wen. She starts to explain her plan to him, but we don't get to hear it. Were all these phone numbers saved on her Thai phone or her HK phone? Either way, the cost of those country to country minutes must be astronomical.
It's the next day, and Nan finally gets to meet with LLS after a long time cooped up in her apartment. She's happy but intimidated, wondering why he wanted to see her. It's hard for me to focus becuse I'm rolling my eyes so much.
LLS announces that she and her father will be transported back to Thailand soon. She's puzzled: what about the debt? He just says the debt is cancelled in exchange for her sister. He doesn't give her any other explanation, and the conversation is over.
Well, not quite. Nan manages to choke out the question we have all wanted to ask him. Do you love Ruthainark? His answer is a non-answer and a dismissal, and it percolates through her cranium that for sure there is attraction there, with flashbacks to prove it.
Geez, if the idiot sister can figure it out, why can't the genius one? Oh but wait, Nan's final thought is a man like LLS couldn't possibly prefer her bland sister to herself. Still, I think maybe she's trying to fool herself.
We get another montage of Nark thinking about LLS and LLS thinking about Nark. I find his more amusing because he's sitting in a student classroom in HER chair, stroking the top of the desk while ruminating.
I just imagined my high school principal sitting in a classroom and stroking a desk. Uhm... that is more ew then aw. (haha)
Of course, he gets caught by Danny, who can't help but be snarky. And LLS's response is to throw her chair out, so it can't be used by anyone but her. (because that is what grown men do). Danny finally gets serious and demands to know how LLS is going to resolve this. But with Little Flock gone to ground and Interpol still sniffing around, the only thing LLS can do is wait things out and avoid any traps.
Danny points out a huge hole in this. Does LLS think Nark is really sitting still in Thailand? Just then, his phone buzzes. Guess who it is! Hmm. Give me a minute to think . . .
LLS snatches the phone faster than Patrick did and berates Nark for the call. She is ecstatic that she can talk to her hero.
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| What should have been done with the scriptwriter before this episode was written. |