Legend of the Blue Sea Episode 12 Recap

Joon Jae clarifies things with Sim Chung.

 Legend of the Blue Sea Episode 12 Recap 

In the past…just as Dam Ryung (Lee Min Ho) is about to strike Dae Young with a sword, a government official reads a royal decree sentencing Dam Ryung to house arrest for being mesmerized and under the control of a mermaid. Dae Young smiles with glee.

In the present… Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho) is arrested by Detective Hong who was searching for Dae Young but found Joon Jae instead. Joon Jae agrees to go quietly with Detective Hong. I do take issue with the murkiness of that choice. Leaving Sim Chung waiting and alone isn’t the choice of someone putting her needs first. If he did it so as not to involve the police and Sim Chung, then that works for me. Sim Chung (Gianna Jun) waits for Joon Jae and wonders where he is. Dae Young is in the taxi watching Sim Chung, but she doesn’t know this. Sim Chung spots the stuffed pink octopus on the ground. She picks it up wondering where Joon Jae is.

Detective Hong refuses to let Joon Jae answer his phone when Sim Chung calls. Joon Jae makes the excellent point that Detective Hong does not have an arrest warrant and he’s cooperating so the handcuffs are unnecessary. That argument falls on deaf ears. Sim Chung doesn’t understand why Joon Jae isn’t answering his phone. She wonders where he is.

When Detective Hong’s partner gets in the car, he’s surprised to see Joon Jae. Weren’t they there to catch Dae Young? That gets Joon Jae’s attention. He tells them Dae Young is there to find him. He convinces them to allow him to call Sim Chung. While Detective Hong holds the phone, Joon Jae asks Sim Chung where she is. She explains that she’s still there waiting. Relieved, Joon Jae tells Sim Chung to go home, something came up and he can’t join her. Sim Chung will take a taxi as she spots the taxi that unbeknownst to her, Dae Young is in. She and Joon Jae keep talking as she gets in the taxi. Immediately she recognizes Dae Young’s eyes and says to Dae Young he’s wearing a hat today. Joon Jae realizes that last time Sim Chung saw Dae Young he was wearing a hat. He asks where she is. Sim Chung gives him the clue should make him think of Namsan Tower. The phone call ends and she doesn’t pick up when he calls back. Joon Jae makes the connection they heading to Namsan Tower. Detective Hong directs his partner to drive. Joon Jae declares if something happens to Sim Chung he’ll make Detective Hong pay.

To his credit, Detective Hong believes him and removes his handcuffs. Detective Hong calls for roadblocks. We see that Dae Young has injected Sim Chung with a drug and she’s passed out. Joon Jae realizes that to avoid the roadblocks, Dae Young took a road that exits Seoul. He tells the police to take the road. They comply.

When Sim Chung wakes, she sees Dae Young filling a barrel with water. He informs her she can’t move. He says he’s had weird dreams and he’s going to confirm something. Wanna bet he’s going to put her in the barrel or soak her with water? It’s still bugging me that evil Dae Young has the dreams too. I wish the dreams had only been for Joon Jae. That plot device feels tainted. Dae Young says in his dream she was a mermaid in the water and human on land. He’s wondering if he put her in the barrel, would she change into a mermaid?

The police realize that Dae Young could be at the abandoned hospital. They split up and search.

The barrel is full of water. Dae Young goes to lift Sim Chung. She warns him if she were a mermaid she could erase his memory. Dae Young flashes back to the past and recalls everything about Sim Chung, Dam Ryung, and himself. He stares at her. She outstretches her hand and dares him to touch her. Nice move! He runs away.

Sim Chung calls to Joon Jae. He hears her. He finds her, hugs her, and apologizes for being late. Dae Young drives away and avoids being caught. You knew that would happen.

Joon Jae and Sim Chung arrive home. Jo Nam Doo and Tae O tell them that Dae Young is on the loose and the idiot police are looking for them now. Jo Nam Doo and Tae O are stunned when Detective Hong and his partner walk in the house. Joon Jae takes Sim Chung to the bedroom. It’s awkward in the living room between the four men.

Joon Jae settles Sim Chung in his bed. She wants to talk about Dae Young but he tells her they’ll talk about it tomorrow. Joon Jae tells her when his lease is up in 2 years, she’ll move to his next house with him. Sweet! She’s surprised that he’s thinking they’ll be together in the future. Joon Jae strokes her hair and tells her to sleep. He says he has to talk to the men in the living room.

Detective Hong wants to know why Dae Young took Sim Chung to the hospital. Joon Jae tries to convince him it was because of him. Tae O shows them the CCTV footage of Dae Young lurking around their house on the day their neighbor was killed. Joon Jae shows them the text message that Dae Young sent using Joon Jae’s father’s assistant’s phone. Jo Nam Doo confirms that Joon Jae was almost killed when he met Dae Young that day. Why Dae Young is targeting Joon Jae isn’t explained. Joon Jae states he’s never conned Dae Young. He offers to help the police catch Dae Young. He promises to cooperate after Dae Young has been caught. Joon Jae says he’s got something to protect and he can’t run away anymore. He asks the police to believe him and leave for the night.

Sim Chung thinks of Joon Jae hugging her when he found her. She thinks of him saying she’ll be with him. She wonders about moving, the deposit, and doesn’t understand the details. Joon Jae listens to her in the loft bed and chuckles over her confusion. When she wonders if he might be falling for her – the hair fluffing, the tucking in bed, she gets giddy, maybe this is romantic love. She can’t turn her brain off and Joon Jae opens the loft door and implore her to sleep. He reminds her favorite TV shows are on in the early morning. She bids him good night. He goes back to bed and her incessant analysis drives him crazy. The writer totally pegged how women obsess of details and replay what a guy said again and again.

The next day Ahn Jin Joo calls Jo Nam Doo (recall he is pretending to be an investment banker with Kim Jae as his client) but he doesn’t answer. Abandoning contacting Jo Nam Doo, Ahn Jin Joo calls Seo Hee instead. She suggests they get together. Seo Hee agrees to a 7pm meeting. Unbeknownst to Seo Hee, Chi Hyeon watches her replace his father’s pills. When she steps away he takes the replacement pills. Chi Hyeon is in a difficult spot. He loves his mother. He loves his father. He suspects his mother of hurting he father. What does he do now?

Sim Chung and Joon Jae are bleary eyed the next morning. Joon Jae says that Sim Chung tossed and turned last night. Sim Chung wonders if he’s angry with her. Wait a minute? Doesn’t she know that he can hear her thoughts? I guess not, but for a second I thought back to her reveal that she was mermaid and thought she knew he could hear her thoughts when she confessed this. That’s obviously wrong. Joon Jae assures her he’s not mad. Realizing that Sim Chung would enjoy a dip in the pool to get her mermaid on, he suggests Jo Nam Doo and Tae O join him to buy a Christmas tree. He tells Sim Chung she has to stay home. She doesn’t understand why she can’t go. Joon Jae wishes Sim Chung could hear him think that she need time in the water. Joon Jae tells her to relax and enjoy her time in the house like she owned it. She still doesn’t get it.

When she goes to pinch his cheeks like he did to her, he pushes her against a wall and tells her to do whatever she wants while she is alone. Racked with questions and insecurities, Sim Chung’ thoughts race and Joon Jae exits the room to protect himself the overload of her thoughts. I’d go crazy listening to nervous and unsure incessant chatter inside Sim Chung’s head.

Chi Hyeon listens to his father tell his lawyer that he wants to revise his will to leave everything he can legally to Joon Jae. The lawyer warns him that certain assets must be available for his wife and Chi Hyeon. Father understands as long as Joon Jae gets the bulk of his estate. Now Chi Hyeon has heard his father favor Joon Jae over him, will this change his stance of wanting a relationship with Joon Jae?

Ahn Jin Joo is solicitous with Seo Hee. They drink rice wine together. Just as Ahn Jin Joo brings up the possibility of co-investing Seo Hee gets a call from her lawyer which she takes effectively shutting down Ahn Jin Joo’s request. Irritated Ahn Jin Joo starts drinking more than her share of the rice and gets drunk. She ends up insulting Seo Hee by calling her old. Seo Hee calls to be picked up. She leaves the room telling Ahn Jin Joo to sober up and consider her words more carefully in the future. When Ahn Jin Joo mumbles about Seo Hee stealing her best friend’s man and marrying him, that gets Seo Hee’s attention. She listens surprised at the dirt Ahn Jin Joo knows about her.

As the boys prepare Christmas dinner as Cha Si A watches, Sim Chung thinks and frets over her wardrobe choices. Joon Jae gets a kick out of Sim Chung’s desire to look better than Cha Si A. When Sim Chung appears, she looks lovely and all the boys notice. Tae O snaps a photo on his phone and Joon Jae chases him reminding him that Tae O promised not to take any more pictures of Sim Chung. Cha Si A smiles a little smile. Does she think Tae O took a picture of her? When Sim Chung entered the room? Delusional, thy name is Cha Si A. Our ladies, Cha Si A and Sim Chung glare at each other. Yep, they both want to be the alpha female in the room.

It’s humorous when Sim Chung is able to mimic Joon Jae’s ability to pop a snack into the air and into his mouth. She’s does it effortlessly. Cha Si A tries put cannot. She whines for Joon Jae to teach her. This irks Sim Chung who isn’t getting Joon Jae’s attention but more importantly she can’t stop eating the yummy snack. Joon Jae chuckles and asks Sim Chung if the snack is tasty.

Later the two women glare and chat. Sim Chung informs Cha Si A that she’ll be moving to wherever Joon Jae moves to when his lease is up. Cha Si A is startled but recover quickly planting doubt in Sim Chung’s head by mimicking the incessant worrying thoughts Sim Chung has about Joon Jae. I’m sure Cha Si A has had all those thoughts herself. Ladies, we’ve got to stop obsessing over men. They don’t obsess over us (unless it’s a kdrama). Cha Si A taunts Sim Chung that Joon Jae was her hook line and sinker. Cha Si A brags that her aloof status keeps Joon Jae near her. She tells Sim Chung to return to where she came from.

Dae Young ignores the phone calls from Seo Hee which irritates her. Chi Hyeon asks Seo Hee the right question “who is my father”? Seo Hee says he’s asleep in the upstairs bedroom. Chi Hyeon clarifies. Who is his biological father? OMG, is it Dae Young? Wow, talk about losing the parent lottery if Chi Hyeon’s father is Dae Young! Seo Hee says his biological father will never seek him out because he knows that’s best for Chi Hyeon. Seo Hee tells her son that they are team and will fight the world together. Chi Hyeon is upset.

Cha Si A drinks alone until Tae O comes and joins her. She slides a photo of herself across the table. Tae O is confused. Cha Si A tells him he doesn’t have to take picture of her in secret, he knows has one. LOL! She did think he secretly took a picture. Tae O tries to tell her, but she won’t listen. She tells him to own up to the pain of unrequited love. She goes into a long explanation of her unrequited love for Joon Jae. Annoyed and trapped, Tae O stares at her in disgust and eats the snacks on the table. Ah, but Cha Si A’s superiority is destroyed when she’s rip roaring drunk and dials up Joon Jae demanding to know why he doesn’t have a plan with her. Tae O has the patience of a saint to listen to Cha Si A’s ramblings. Gosh, I hope Joon Jae isn’t really listening to her. Yes, he is. Now I feel sorry for both men. Joon Jae tells Cha Si A to ask Tae O to take her home. Jo Nam Doo can’t believe he lived to see the day that Cha Si A drunk dialed Joon Jae. She’s always so composed.

Tired from that encounter with Cha Si A, Joon Jae enters his bedroom to find Sim Chung unsure of his feelings for her. He hears her concern and tells her to sleep in the bed and he’ll sleep in the loft. He begs her to stop thinking and let sleep wash away all her concerns. Poor guy, I feel his pain. First Cha Si A then another round of Sim Chung’s insecurity. Of course, the obvious thing would be for him to be crystal clear about his feelings for Sim Chung. He’s not solving a problem that he could easily solve. Cha Si A lays on the bed and wishes for sleep.

Ahn Jin Joo wakes and recalls the rude things she said to Seo Hee. She moans to her husband that she blew it.

Cha Si A checks her phone logs and confirms her fears, she did indeed drunk dial Joon Jae. She screams in embarrassment.

JJ’s mother heads to hospital for medicine.

Ahn Jin Joo rushes to Seo Hee and begs her forgiveness. She claims that what she said yesterday was an aberration.

Sim Chung watches Tae O play video games. He gets nervous. She asks if his face is normally that red. He shakes his head in the negative. Sim Chung asks if Tae O can help her look up things on the computer. Things like if a guy likes you or he’s just flirting with you. Joon Jae isn’t happy to see their heads together. He tells her he’ll help her. She thinks she must find out if he likes her or he’s just flirting with her. Joon Jae barks asking if he has to say it out loud. The answer is yes, Joon Jae, you should see this clearly. Sim Chung looks at him in confusion. Joon Jae manages to play it off.

The doctor doesn’t understand why Joon Jae’s father’s sight is deteriorating. Surgery seems to be the only option now. Seo Hee pretends to be the understanding supportive wife. She sits him down in and tells him she’ll wrap up the paperwork. Joon Jae’s father sits and sees a blurry version of his first wife. It is Joon Jae’s mother at the hospital for her medicine. She stares at her first husband in horror. But he doesn’t react. He wonders if he sees what he thinks he sees. Joon Jae’s mother spins around. Seo Hee returns and leads her husband away. She doesn’t see Joon Jae’s mother.

Flashback to a young Seo Hee imposing on Joon Jae’s mother who is flush with a happy marriage to a wealthy man. Seo Hee whines that raising her son after her husband’s death is difficult. Joon Jae’s mother unknowingly encouraged Seo Hee to meet with her husband to sell him insurance.

Chi Hyeon calls Joon Jae. He hesitates but decides to answer the call. Oh no, it’s another drunk on the other end of the line. Chi Hyeon slurs that he’s the fake son and Joon Jae is the real son. Chi Hyeon tells Joon Jae that he can’t protect Joon Jae’s father, that’s up to Joon Jae now. He urges him to protect his father. He’ll protect his mother. He says it’s his last warning on the subject.

Joon Jae finds Sim Chung waiting for him on his bed. He listens to her thoughts about her insecurity about him. He urges her to ask him directly. She says she’s not ready and has to think about it all night. Joon Jae sighs a heavy sigh. He stops her from going up the ladder to the loft. At his touch, she stops thinking about her insecurities. He stares at her. He tells her it’s better when her thoughts are quiet. She stares at him. He leans over and kisses her. Folks, we have mutual kissing with lip movement! That’s a real kiss!

My thoughts

Finally, Joon Jae took control of the situation and dashed Sim Chung’s doubts with action. It’s true that actions speak louder than words. He banished her concerns with a kiss. Now do I think she won’t fret again? Maybe not, but I was getting tired of her incessant worrying about their relationship too. I know that women do that to themselves. I didn’t realize it could that irksome.

On the evil side of the house, Dae Young recalled the entirety of the past and realized that Sim Chung’s words of memory erasure was a strong possibility. He fled. Then he ignored Seo Hee’s calls. I am wondering one thing – is Dae Young Chi Hyeon’s father? If so, I pity Chi Hyeon. Seo Hee didn’t reassure him in a way that worked. Now she’s full on intent on making Joon Jae’s father blind or dead with her fake medicine and actions. Is there anything redeeming about Seo Hee? I don’t think so. I pity Chi Hyeon.

Dam Ryung / Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho) delighted in Sim Chung liking him but disliked Sim Chung doubting him. He didn’t want to clearly state his feelings. But that’s exactly what he had to do to quiet her fears. I appreciated that it was a decent kiss with some oomph behind it. I think about all the angles the actors have to endure for those kiss scenes. The production of a kiss must render it unenjoyable at times. Though thinking about it, with the right actor, I’d probably enjoy every angle. But then I wouldn’t like the crew filming, so count me out. But back to Joon Jae. The other thing I liked was how he was honest (as he could be) with Detective Hong and was able to redirect the focus to Dae Young who was the crucial criminal to catch. Joon Jae even brought Detective Hong to his house. Last but not least, Joon Jae got not one but two drunk calls. He was gracious with Cha Si A and cool to Chi Hyeon. With Chi Hyeon making that call to Joon Jae, does that mean he’s no longer going to help Joon Jae’s father escape his mother’s machinations?

Sim Chung (Gianna Jun) carried the flag of obsessive worrier most of the episode. She fretted about Joon Jae’s feeling for him many times and with a rush of concerns and questions. While I understand why she did it, and cannot claim I haven’t done the same thing, I was glad when Joon Jae finally and directly let her know she mattered to him. He wasn’t flirting. He liked her. The snack eating was pretty cool. I must say that Cha Si A and Sim Chung are fun to watch. While each woman want to best the other, they aren’t mean or hateful, so they are fun to watch. Sim Chung was cool under fire when she freaked Dam Young out with the possibility that she could erase his memory. Loved it when she reached out to him and he fled.

Check out the another instrumental song “Memories” .

About KJT (aka kjtamuser)

Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.

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Tagged with: ep 12, episode 12, 푸른 바다의 전설, Legend of the Blue Sea
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