Terrific confrontation between Seo Jin and Tae Joo. Another easy escape for Tae Joo makes us shake our heads in disbelief…Let it go…Robin is territorial about Ha Na. Seo Jin is more open to sharing. How does Ha Na balance two different relationships with the same man?
Episode 14 Recap:
Seo Jin (Hyun Bin) enters the apartment/office of Tae Joo (Sung Joo). Tae Joo mistakenly thinks he is meeting Robin (Hyun Bin) (Seo Jin’s alternate personality) to extract the new memories about the kidnapping that Robin claims he has retrieved from Seo Jin’s memory.
Frankly I enjoy this moment where Tae Joo is at a disadvantage. Villains that always have the edge…boring and sloppy storytelling by a writer.
Robin (Seo Jin) and Tae Joo sit down. Immediately Tae Joo hypnotizes Robin. Ha Na (Han Ji Min) and Detective Na listen via the listening device Seo Jin is wearing. Detective Na can hardly believe the hypnosis happens that quickly.
Tae Joo asks Robin to detail the kidnapping that he now remembers. Robin begins with the fact that Soo Hyun (Tae Joo) asked him to meet at the Ghost House. Robin wonders if Soo Hyun was part of the kidnapping scheme. Tae Joo does not like that inference and moves the conversation along. Robin recalls being in the Ghost House and the kidnapper dragging him away. Tae Joo decides he will overlay new memories to make the incident more favorable to him. He tells Robin that Soo Hyun pleaded with the kidnapper and tried to stop him from dragging both of them away.
Tae Joo tells Robin “this is where our memories differ”.
Seo Jin thinks “you’ve got that right”.
Tae Joo finally reveals his identity. “I am your friend, Soo Hyun”. Tae Joo is angry that he must speak with Robin and not Seo Jin who is a coward to hide behind Robin.
Here’s the moment we’ve waited for…
Seo Jin opens his eyes, utters “Soo Hyun” as he slowly leans forward. Tae Joo is stunned that it is Seo Jin NOT Robin in the room with him.
Let’s gloss over the police pounding at the door unwilling to open it without backup. There are 4 officers and two men, Tae Joo and Seo Jin, inside. The police have guns. The odds are in their favor….ridiculous.
* Seo Jin tells Tae Joo that his father was a co conspirator. Tae Joo adamantly denies this.
* Seo Jin tells Tae Joo they were both victims to their father’s actions. Tae Joo adamantly denies this.
* Seo Jin tells Tae Joo they were both denied by their father and it seriously messed with them. Tae Joo adamantly denies this.
Let’s gloss over that Tae Joo was able to burst through the door of his office, knock over 4 officers (with guns drawn) and escape down the stairwell…ridiculous.
Let’s gloss over that Tae Joo is able to hypnotize the officers by playing the trigger song on his cell phone. That was actually clever.
Seo Jin hugs Ha Na when she bursts into Tae Joo’s office. Detective Na tells them the police blew it and Tae Joo escape. Seo Jin and Ha Na do not seem surprised.
At the hospital Dr. Kang tells Seo Jin that she miscalculated that a simple meeting between Tae Joo and Seo Jin would heal the wounds. She notes that Seo Jin blamed himself for his escape without his friend. But Tae Joo, he turned his feelings into rage and a quest for revenge. Dr. Kang thanks Ha Na for her support of Seo Jin.
Seo Jin’s assistant, Young Chan (Lee Seung Jun) is forthright with Seo Jin’s father, Myung Han (Lee Deok Hwa), and tells him to stop threatening to send Seo Jin to America and to lock him up for treatment. Bold move Young Chan…I like it!
Ha Na tells Seo Jin know that she knows the story of the kidnapping, she is impressed how well he handled the incident. She tells him well done. It is a nice supportive moment between them. Not sure I’d tell someone that splintering into two personalities was handling trauma well.
Seo Jin makes a video for Robin and thanks him. He determined the truth about Tae Joo. He came up with the plan to unmask Tae Joo. The thanks is well deserved.
Ha Na runs a bit of a fever and Seo Jin frets over her just like she did him in episode 8. Seo Jin has quite the stash of pharmaceuticals! Robin soothes Ha Na while she sleeps irritated with the care attempts by Seo Jin. He, Robin, is the only care giver Ha Na needs.
Ha Na and Seo Jin are basically in lock down mode at the house. Tae Joo is on the loose. Who knows what he will do next?
Tae Joo decides he must confirm or deny that his father was a co conspirator. He must hear the truth from the kidnapper. Unfortunately the kidnapper is in the hospital guarded 24/7. Do you think that will stop slippery Tae Joo from getting what he wants?
Tae Joo slips into the hospital with a mask over his face so he is undetected. He waits in the cat scan room for the kidnapper who has a scheduled appointment. He swaps a drugged person for the kidnapper. He easily exits with the kidnapper. Let’s gloss over his easy exit with the kidnapper in tow but commend the swap in the cat scan room, that was clever.
If I were the kidnapper I’d be very afraid. Tae Joo is nuts! Practically frothing his rage he tells the kidnapper that “prison is not much of a price to pay for what he did to him”.
The hapless police admit to each other they’ve blown it yet another time. “We’ve been had again”. Detective Na claims he should submit his letter of resignation. He rallies and vows to arrest Tae Joo with his own two hands. Detective is concerned that Tae Joo will target Ha Na next.
Seo Jin apologizes to Ha Na for not considering her shock at yesterday’s events. The fact that her trusted doctor Tae Joo was really Soo Hyun must have shaken her. He wishes he had taken better care of her. He tells her that Tae Joo kidnapped the kidnapper and they must stay in the house for now. He asks her if they can continue building their relationship, slowly. “Let’s take our time and do things together.”
Ha Na wonders was it Robin or Seo Jin that took care of her last night. When Seo Jin reviews the CCTV, cameras in the house!, we see that Robin went into Ha Na’s room and cared for her throughout the night.
That evening Ha Na finds Robin cooking dinner for them. She mentioned Seo Jin and Robin lays down two ground rules for their time together. 1. Do not mention Seo Jin. 2. Relish their time together. Ha Na seems to like the rules. She gives Robin a back hug and thanks him for his care last night. She thanks him for saving her. They have a lovely evening together. They are cute together.
Woo Jung (Hyeri) frets about Robin. Circus boy tells her he is going to stake his claim on her. She does not know what to think about that. What is point of this character?
Tae Joo takes the kidnapper back to the kidnap location from 1992. When the kidnapper wakes up, the tables are turned. Tae Joo is by the fire and he’s tied up on a chair, helpless. Tae Joo holds a burning wood plank and tells the kidnapper he better tell him the truth. The kidnapper flashes back faux Soo Hyun beating him in prison using the same words. The kidnapper realizes the truth may get him killed. Lying through his teeth he tells Tae Joo that his father was NOT a co conspirator. This is a definitely a false confession under duress. Tae Joo smiles. He knew it. His father was not part of the kidnapping scheme. Delusional, thy name is Tae Joo!
Poor Seo Jin watching the CCTV (I still cannot get over the house has cameras inside) of Robin and Ha Na’s lovely evening. It is obvious they care for each other.
Seo Jin cooks dinner for Ha Na. Instead of sitting side by side like with Robin, they sit across from each other. Ha Na wonders why he made dinner. Is he copying Robin? Seo Jin tells Ha Na he wants to get to know her better. Will she share her times with Robin with him?
Tae Joo fools the police that he is traveling around Korea.
Young Chan has a flicker of something when he gets into his car to head to Seo Jin’s house. He dismisses it as nothing. Little does he know he is driving Tae Joo right into the compound and providing easy access to Seo Jin and Ha Na.
Seo Jin and Ha Na are plunged into darkness when the lights go out. In the darkness, Tae Joo appears and puts his hand over Ha Na’s mouth. Tae Joo tells Seo Jin they still have things to resolve between them.
Comments:
* The strength of this episode was in the initial scene between Seo Jin impersonating Robin when he visited Tae Joo. Tae Joo hypnotized Robin and tried to implant false memories. Tae Joo cannot accept the truth. Altering everyone’s memories to match his own delusional ones works for him.
* This weakness of this episode was the ridiculously easy escape Tae Joo had. It was egregious that Tae Joo escaped from his apartment by shoving 4 armed officers to the ground. The police certainly are bumbling and playing catch up all the time. The writers did give Tae Joo some clever moments. Using the hypnosis song against the police officer was clever. Waiting for the kidnapper in the cat scan room and swapping him for a drugged patient was clever.
* Tae Joo is certifiably crazy. Sung Joo is all in playing this role with a maniacal relish. His performance is good. Tae Joo’s favorite past time seems to be kidnapping people or holding people hostage during this series. Oh the irony that this all stems for the kidnapping trauma as a boy.
* Thank goodness Dr. Kang is finally free from Tae Joo. Poor woman should be alert, she could be kidnapped again at any moment!
* Hyun Bin delivered the stellar scene of the episode when Seo Jin confronted Tae Joo. Hyun Bin and Soo Jung played that scene perfectly. Robin not wanting to share Ha Na with Seo Jin is understandable but a bit short sighted too. Seo Jin reaching out to Ha Na sincerely was wonderful.
* Han Ji Min as Jang Ha Na is managing to balance the tug between Robin and Seo Jin. Ha Na loves Robin. Ha Na supports and cares for Seo Jin. Ha Na does not come off as a two timer or insincere in any way. You believe she care about both men. She sees them as individuals even though they are two sides of the same coin. Ha Na is the glue between Robin and Seo Jin. Ji Min’s performance is working with both leading men. That is impressive.
* No new song this week for the OST. We’ll have to content ourselves with the 6 lovely songs we’ve got. Check them out via the embedded playlist or the link.
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
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