Episode 18: All About Han

Everyone says that Li'er smartens up so maybe this is her last 'dumb' episode



1.Zheng discusses Li'er with Zhao Gao and Li Zong, his closest retainers. The issue is the conflict between her and Han's stories. Li Zong believes that the two have a relationship that is deeper than just that of servant and master because most would not go to such an extent to protect someone.



2.THEN guards arrive to report 'hey, you know we just saw Madame Li sneaking into Han's cell disguised as a maid' ROFL



3.Meanwhile, Li'er confronts Han. She accuses him of making an extraordinarily stupid choice (pot meet kettle) but she apologizes that he has suffered on her behalf (she gave Qing'er like no real apology) and she tells him she knew she would be safe because she is certain the Emperor would never hurt her.



THIS IS IMPORTANT



4. Han points out that she is wrong because she was imprisoned. But she says no, he just did this to make me reflect (HER THINKING HAS CHANGED BECAUSE SHE IS DEFENDING THE EMPEROR VERY CLEARLY)



5.Han points out that the harem is a dangerous place and anyone could use her time in here to hurt her. Instead of addressing this valid point she changes the subject and focus back to him and starts to cry about how awful it is that he is in this situation



6.At this point, the emperor has arrived and is so slowly walking towards the cell, watching the two of them...



7.Han tells her that he was ready to die the moment he entered the palace so its okay (OMG these too are so similar in their desire to die for love) just as she is promising to save him the emperor interrupts them with a 'what's going on here?'



8.he orders her to not bother leaving and has the door locked and then she admits to him the 'truth' that Han is her senior brother and that they grew up together, so she didn't consider it abduction when she left with him (semantics) . Everyone doubts this, because she has lied so much, so she suggests that a master be brought in to watch senior brother train--he would know they trained together. the emperor agrees why not, he can duel the same guy you fought, and she says he's injured but the emperor says it doesn't matter your fighting stances would be the important part



9.Zhao Gao periodically jumps in to give his little digs, but he also raises some valid points, mainly he asks why she didn't ask to visit her family the palace isn't a dungeon and she says palace law forbids her to leave the harem; Gao then says that she doesn't sound very apologetic even though a lot of people died because of her actions--or almost died (so this is personal he is mad because he almost died for her) and she doesn't answer this



10.For reasons unknown, she is released from the cell even though he said she would remain there, and he confronts her in private. he wants to know if she is actually telling the truth and she admits half of it is true and half is a lie. she admits she left the palace not to see her family, but to see Jing (she is smart enough not to say his name). the emperor is sort of so blown away by her audacity that he can't even get mad. he quietly accuses her of treating him like a joke and basically cheating on him. she informs him that she planned to come back because she knew he would never let her go, and she wanted her child to have a happy life, so she told Jing that Tian Ming is his child. At first this makes him happy, but when he realizes the reason--that it is all for Jing to be protected--he becomes upset



11.the day of the duel arrives and Jing is such a bloody mess. he duels the general and loses easily, like she predicted, and everyone is convinced that he is not a childhood friend and the king orders him to be executed. she steals his sword, jumps onto the field, and says something her grandpa said that resonates within jing. they duel--and beat the general together--but their movements are so coordinated it is obvious



12.Zhao gao still has negative words and focuses on her taking the sword but the emperor yells at him to stop already, that she did it to make a point and he promises her not to hurt him



13.alone with han, he questions him. he tells him that he knows she is not in love with him and basically implies that he thinks that Han is in love with her. he allows han to remain as a guard, to protect her, so long as he swears fealty to her. what convinced him to allow this is the fact that han asks him if he could give up his life for her--and states he knows he can't because he is the emperor and has to put the state first in the end, but he can do what the emperor can't, and that is to die for her if necessary.



14.elsewhere, jing is basically drinking himself into a grave. lan'er remains by his side even though his father tells her to let him go because he is not in a place to acknowledge her but she is patient. jing constantly has memories of her bombard her, and it is interesting because he always sees her as he remembers her, sweet and kind, not the somewhat reserved woman she has become, who looks and talks differently



15.Jing finally addresses his internal conflict--his love for her or his desire to do great things and he decides to let her go and be a sword, but not just any sword, it's like he is resigned to do whatever necessary, even if it means he dies....



16.the king visits Li'er who still looks at the scarf sometimes and she thanks him for sparing han but asks him why he isn't angry. he says he isn't mad that she has a fellowship with han, but he is annoyed that it's been a year and she still won't open her heart to him....



Thoughts:

So like everyone thought, they used the interlude with Jing to illustrate that she will never try to leave Zheng, even if given the opportunity, and it shows a shift in her thinking of him--in the palace everyone loves the emperor but back at home, when others insult him, she defends him since she knows him better--and while she doesn't perceive it as change it really is because prior to this she never would have thought that about him. it shows the beginning of her opening up.



And the stupid choice to see han, well, they needed to have a plot opening for him to stay. there you go.

I hope the show starts to improve now that they have laid the foundation for her falling in love with him, as she has 100 percent decided to stay and the revenge storyline, as Jing has decided to focus completely on the sword, not on matters of the heart.

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Episode 4: The Memorial Ceremony

-The episode opens up with the extended family gathering to honor the deathday of the Kameyama grandfather. This is the 17th one. All conversation stops when she is introduced and you can actually here birds chirping, its so silent.



-The family gossips about her before the ceremony commence. Some remark on how pretty she is. Others wonder if it is true that all foreigners eat meat only and are violent. Masaharu tells her to ignore them but she turns and introduces herself--making it clear she speaks Japanese and everyone is surprised about this.



-The priest comes in and he tries to introduce Ellie but he looks at her and laughs and says 'I see you brought back a souvenir' LOL I thought it was a witty insult



-The ceremony commences and Masaharu walks her through what to do. She embarrasses herself a few times and then her legs start to get numb. So Masaharu helps her up to walk it off and she falls--onto the priest--and she just greets him and says good afternoon! (I laughed so hard)



-After the ceremony Masaharu tries to get the priest to acknowledge her. At first he seems friendly, but then he tests her by having her use chopsticks, and she can't use them. He says you can't even hope to be accepted if you can't even do this, basically.



-Children playing cause Sumire to drop a Sake bottle, it breaks, and the little girl is hurt. Ellie immediately moves to help, and the boy is sent away but Ellie tells him to apologize and this impresses the priest who remarks that she has heart and that's all she needs to be a good wife. Everyone applauds but Masaharu's mother screams she will never accept her and leaves the room.



-Sitting alone, Ellie is very sad and upset by what was sad. Masaharu watches her and thinks back to his own experiences with her family. We learn that he begged for her hand in marriage and her mother was screaming at him and her Uncle was extremely rude and said that he could never make whiskey because it is a Scottish tradition and he is merely an Asian barbarian. He then literally dragged him out of the house. So he can empathize with her.



-Elsewhere his mother sits alone in a room and cries. I imagine she feels like everyone is against her, and frustrated because she wants to do the right thing and feels cornered.



-The kids come over and start to sing a song that is actually a song she knows. They ask her to sing it in English, and she does, but then the mother comes up and just shuts her down with a look.



What will Ellie do?



So the show continues to highlight some of the issues that Ellie might encounter--like how to use chopsticks. not to surprising. but it also had some really funny parts, for instance when the priest was singing she asked him what he was saying and Masaharu was like I don't actually know just look serious which is something that I think everyone experiences at some point in their life--

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Episode 3: Etiquette (and we will make them accept us!)

This episode focuses on Ellie's continued pursuit of gaining acceptance and her openness to learning Japanese customs and rituals (in some ways, not so much in others)



1. Ellie experiences her first 'Japanese dining table'. This is different because traditionally, you kneel or sit on a cushion and you have a little mini table. They arrive for dinner, only to find that Ellie has no table. Masaharu asks his mother, and she tells him (his mother never looks at or really acknowledges Ellie) that she is not family, but she can eat with the maids.



2.Angry, Masaharu says they will eat in his rooms. There Ellie shows how upset she is, and shares that this is just like Scotland. In a flashback, we see her talking to her mother, Rosemarie, who is vehement that she not marry Masaharu. Her mother says it isn't right because he is Japanese and she is Scottish, and Ellie says that shouldn't matter. Then her mother tells her that in Japan, they will never accept a foreigner and she will be bullied and mistreated and basically live a horrible life.



3.Ellie's last words to her mother, it seems, are essentially 'I'll show you! They will think I am Japanese!' so she's pretty determined and a tough cookie. But she is upset that not only does her mother seem to be right, but no one has congratulated them on their marriage, just like back home. Masaharu takes her in his arms and reassures her that everything will be fine (aww!!)



4.I guess her batteries recharged thanks to Masaharu, she is encouraged to keep trying. The next morning she is sweeping in front of the home, singing a Scottish song in English, and greeting whoever walks by. The people she greets are clearly not comfortable and bow before running away. Shimaji comes outside and tells her to stop cleaning because it's his job and he will get in trouble--then he proceeds to toss water on the ground because it helps the dust settle (he says it's an old Japanese trick but people have done that everywhere) and she wants to try, upsetting him. They fight over the little water pale and she rips away, dumping water on a man behind her.

Who turns out to be Masaharu's father! Lol. She apologizes and he tells her not to worry before heading her inside, and she's like is that dad, and Shimaji nods his head and says this isn't good



5.His father talks to his mother, who is adamant that he say something to their son about this Ellie. And he just nods his head and says well, I have work to do, leaving his wife annoyed. It seems that since he married into the family, he has really made sake his life and even collects rice in the field. Here Masahaur meets him for the first time in years and have a heart-to-heart.



6.But they don't talk about Ellie. They talk about Sake and whiskey. He explains to his father his desire to brew whiskey, and part of the reason he wants to make is the challenge, and he compares it to his father who managed to make sake in spite of not having the best water to work with. We also learn that Masaharu first had whiskey when he was 20 and said he never knew something so delicious could exist....his father tells him that if he really wants to make whiskey, then he should be willing to risk everything ?



7.We go Ellie who is scrubbing pots in the kitche. Chikoko, big sister, comes in and tells her that her cleaning is making problems for the maids. Ellie either doesn't understand or ignores this and asks what the brush is, learning a new word, and chikoko tells her. She then tells her that their mother isn't mean, she is just acting in the best interests of the family. Ellie smiles and says that means she must work harder to earn her approval, and this leaves elder sister speechless.



8. It's finally the day of the memorial service. Ellie wears her first kimono and she complains that while it is lovely, it's extremely uncomfortable. Sumire laughs and says that she will get used to it. Alone, Masaharu and Ellie practice the greeting to the priest (he plans to have the priest accept her since his mother respects him so much) and what results is an incredibly adorable scene



Conclusion: the leads in this show have so much chemistry I wish they were dating in real life.

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Episode 2: The Proposal

1. Our episode opens up where we left off. Masaharu is kneeling with Ellie, begging his mother to recognize his marriage. Interestingly, the conversation evolves into an argument between the two about the family business.



2.We learn that despite being the second son, Masaharu is the heir. However, he wants to make whiskey. In addition, we learn that his family did not pay for him to go to Scotland; it was the President of the Osaka company (of...sake?). He makes it clear to his mother that his dream is to make a new type of alcohol popular in Japan; his mother lectures him on tradition.



3.In a scene that made me laugh out loud, Ellie, who the narrator makes clear has no idea what they are talking about (presumably because they are talking very fast and using words she doesn't know) but understands his mother is furious, topples over because her legs have gone numb from kneeling.



4.Masaharu immediately tries to help her, his mother just stares at her as if it proves her point and tells him how could she recognize someone who can't even handle their traditions and cultural ways, and leaves, while Ellie is moaning in pain (I really, really like this actress)



5.In the next scene we see Sumire, who is increasingly delighted by Ellie, and Masaharu sitting with the priest . It seems that a ceremony to honor the ancestors is about to occur. Masahru hopes to trick his mother into acknowledging her since only family are allowed to intend (I think he thinks she will not make a scene because it might be rude It being such a big ceremony). They laugh because Ellie is so tall the robes don't fit her.



6.Sumire asks more questions about their relationship. Masaharu is incredibly uncomfortable and Ellie loves this, teasing him and telling him again and again that she loves him and hugs him--public displays of affection and talking about love are a no-no but she ignores him when he says this-Sumire seems to like the Western way of talking about feelings openly and expressing love.



7.She asks how they met, and ignoring Masaharu, Ellie tells a story and we are treated to a flashback. They met at a Christmas party two years ago, thrown by her sister Helen. She noticed him immediately, perhaps because he was a Japanese man in Scotland, who knows, and while eating cake he got a silver coin and she got a silver thimble. This is an old tradition, and it means that the two are fated to be together. She dismisses it immediately as a superstition but Masaharu stares at her very intensely and I interpreted this as him being hyperaware of her from day one.



8.The two spent a lot of time together and got to know each other because he would come by to teach her little brother Judo. During this time she learned a lot about his dreams to make whiskey and change Japan, since the only alcohol there is sake. She seems to admire his ambition,, passion, and honesty, especially when talking about his dreams.



9.Finally, they are sitting by a river one day (basically they spend all of their time together) and he shares with her that he has to return to Japan on Saturday (that is like a whammy). She is upset and cannot look at him, and begins to speak English and says how sad she is that he is leaving, but that she won't ever forget about him. It looks like she is crying but she won't look at him, and he is visibly upset. Masaharu proposes to her--in English--and she immediately says yes.



10.Back in the present, Sumire is like how I am when I watch a drama when people are in love--just gushing and waving her hands because it is so romantic--



Thoughts:

I thought it was hysterical when she fell over. I took a semester of Japanese once and I remember in one part they showed us some traditions and thinking how painful it was to kneel, even for a few minutes--and thinking that they must have steel knees or something--

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Episode 1: Going to Japan

Characters:



Kameyama Massaharu 'Massan': The titular main character who married a foreign woman while studying how to brew whiskey in Scotland



Ellie: A Scottish woman who married Massan



Sumire: Massan's youngest sister who appears accepting of her brother's choice in marriage problem



Kameyame Sanae: Massan's mother



Chikako: Massan's other sister (?)



The family clerk is met but I don't recall his name



--This is a Japanese morning drama so each episode is only 15 minutes long



1.Our story opens to a crowd of people sitting. On a table in the front are two things: a photo of a pretty blonde woman, smiling, and a bottle of whisky named 'Ellie'



2.The camera focuses on an elderly man who seems to have tears in his eyes as the whiskey receives international recognition for being really good whiskey. But his eyes are only on the photograph of the woman...



3.We are then transported to many, many years ago and in about a minute we learn, through narration and flashbacks, that a young Japanese man by the name of Massan traveled to Scotland to study about the ways to make whiskey. We also see he met a pretty woman, they fell in love, and were married. Ellie is her name, and she agrees to return to Japan with him.



4.Massan tells Ellie that his parents instantly approved of his marriage and look forward to meeting her, which help her commit to returning with him and ease her fears of meeting his parents



5.Ellie has studied very hard to learn Japanese but she still mispronounces some words, and while others know it is because she is still learning the language, it gives people some hesitation like 'did you say that?' but overall the people she meets are impressed with her mastery of the language



6.From the moment they set foot in Japan, heads turn left and right because foreigners, especially a foreign woman, are incredibly uncommon in Japan. I don't think anyone actually thinks that the two are married since it is such an alien idea.



7.Ellie repeatedly talks about how excited she is to meet his mother and Massan constantly changes the subject--already sending the message that MAYBE he wasn't quite so honest about them being excited--he is also uncomfortable, because the narrator reveals that Ellie deeply likes the fact that he is so honest. Welp.



8.It is truly funny to watch Ellie through her encounters as she meets people--Massan tries to hide his face in his home town it seems he is not only well known but he is referred to as 'master' by the townspeople, suggesting he is pretty important. He can't hide his face from his sister, Sumire, or an elderly man who is happy to see him.



9. Sumire immedietly guesses the nature of their romance and teases her brother about how afraid he must be to see their mother. Meanwhile, Ellie mistakes the old man--who is actually their clerk--for his father and warmly embraces him. The old man freaks out, and Ellie is initially surprised and then embarrassed to learn of her mistake. She greets Sumire with a hug, who is clearly uncomfortable but does not freak out



10.They reach his home, and she keeps talking about how excited she is to see his mother, and he keeps looking more and more uncomfortable. She gets a brief tour of the place where they make sake (bc that is what his family does) and a man who works there says she isn't allowed directly in the distillery. She is confused and asks why, and he doesn't even know why. He basically just says 'because you are a woman and that's the way it is'.



11.Another sister (?) appears and she immediately does not seem to warm up to Ellie. She ignores her and the couple is led to their mother's room. Ellie admires the flowers, and touches them--Massan panics and tells her not to touch them as they are his mother's work (she seems unaware of the tradition of Japanese flower arranging) and she accidentally knocks the vase over. While the two are hastily cleaning up the mess, a severe old woman enters--this is his mother. She wants to hug her but Massan yanks her to her knees and tells her she should not be so physical with people.



12. He then bows his head and tells his mother this is his bride. His mother is utterly flat and tells her point blank she will never accept a foreigner for a daughter-in-law. Ellie is shocked, and looks at Massan who can't look her in the eye....



Thoughts: This was really funny. And not in a cheesy way. The actors are good, and I really like the actress who portrays Ellie.



Background:

So this is based off of two very real people. To read the account of that, here is a link: http://justhungry.com/masataka-taketsuru-father-japanese-whiskey-and-his-two-loves

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Episode 25: Qu Yuan is targeted--AGAIN

This episode deals with Qu Yuan being set up for embezzlement. Yup. Here we go.



1. The episode begins with the Grand Adviser (Uncle) essentially revealing, as a result of Judge Chen's questioning, that he switched out the jade because it is a sacred treasure and he did not trust the chancellor



2.The emperor orders him to be executed immediately. Ministers speak up for him citing that the Grand Adviser was not wrong to want to protect such an important treasure and also, as Lord Qu reminds him, Qin would have found another reason to go to war with them. The king decides to let him go, and has him lose a year of pay.



3.Afterwards, the king has a private audience with his uncle and relates to him a tale of a subject who broke the rules by impersonating the king to save his life, and died by assassins. He then tells his uncle that while he broke the rules, he believes him to be a loyal subject. (I think he is saying that he likes that his action gave him an opportunity to show that he won't let an act go on unpunished BUT is also able to be benevolent)



4.Back in Quan county, the same three guys YET AGAIN scheme to take out Qu Yuan (this is a tired old plot device I hope this is the last time). They essentially blackmail a guy who has helped them steal treasury money, a guard, to change the books and set Qu Yuan up for embezzlement (this is like saying you are going to frame Mother Theresa for murder)



5.The plot is carried out. Judge Chen is shocked to see that the books are not right, and immediately investigates where a guard confesses that Qu yuan made him change the books and they find gold bars in Qu Yuans room. Somehow I like to think that if Qu Yuan was committing a crime he would know how to not get caught. he's supposed to be a genius.



6.Qu Yuan is enraged as he is arrested. Later, his servant tries to help him escape and Qu Yuan AGAIN gets on his soap box and insists that he is a servant to the people and will not hide from the law.



7.Back at the capital, Judge Chen reveals his findings and the emperor is not happy, because it makes him look bad since he decided to appoint someone so young. Lord Jing wants him killed, and Lord Qu and Lord Zhao try to plead on his behalf. The king orders a second investigation.



8.(It should be noted that prior to this the king continued to express regret about his sister being in Qin and how he feels bad for betraying her and the Queen and his mother try to tell him to get over it that this is the world they live in) Anyways the Queen Dowager visits her son and reminds him that while he likes and respects Qu Yuan and feels betrayed, killing him could be bad for the military since they are preparing for war and his father is the leader of the troops



9.Meanwhile, Mo Chou learns that Qu Yuan is facing death and shows that she cannot stay away--answering the lingering question of the last episode. She returns, organizes, and sets up a petition to beg for Qu Yuan's life.



10.Judge Chen meets with the King and says 'hey, I think it's kind of strange how clumsy this looks--why would someone as smart as Qu Yuan commit a crime and not even try to conceal it? hmmm. sounds like a set up'



11.The king decides to visit the province in question, and his palanquin is stopped by a bunch of people kneeling in white, Mo Chou in front, and they all plead to for Qu Yuan's life.



Conclusion: It does not bother me if a show is predictable. But I thought this was pure filler. The only new piece of information we learned is they emphasize the dynamic of carrying out justice: if Qu Yuan had indeed committed the crime, then he should be punished but his status as the military leader's son adds a new angle. It emphasizes yet again that not everything is as black and white as Qu Yuan sees it. Justice is not clean cut. The emperor could punish him, but he hesitates because he cares for him. He should declare war, but he cares about his sister and what that means for her. Qu Yuan doesn't care if he dies because of his pride. He won't have his name blackened.



So in some ways this episode is important--but it dragged a lot.

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Episode 24: A dramatic rescue and...war?

This show is starting to feel like reverse Titanic: two star-crossed lovers, the wealthy one is the guy, the poor one is the girl...caught up in a lot of heavy personal family drama but add to that the fact that all of this is occurring in the midst of a huge power struggle internally in Qin & Chu, and externally as Qin wants to conquer the other nations.



I am splitting this summary into two parts:



Part 1: Mo Chou, Qu Yuan, Xia'er, and the families



In the middle of the night, on his wedding, Qu Yuan visits Xia'er not to consummate their marriage but to discuss his lover. Cuiwei, the servant to Xia'er, insists that Qu Yuan swear to never see Mo Chou again as it is extremely insulting to her (it really is) and Qu Yuan is in the middle of making this promise when Xia'er stops him--meaning she doesn't want him to promise--and they go to see her father.



For reasons unknown, Lord and Lady Qu just happen to be watching this scene, unobserved by the others, and remark that their son is really lucky to have such an understanding wife (and he really is in these dramas, they are FILLED with women trying to kill women who get in the way of their relationship with the man).



Lord Zhao, meanwhile, is nursing his injured hand (this might seem like a small injury but in these times a cut really could mean death) and wondering who could have done this. His wife suggests a rival minister, but he says not even that guy is dumb enough to send an assassin in broad daylight on his child's wedding (emphasizing yet again that Mo Chou went there to die, and in a very public way, almost as if to say, I think, well you don't care about me so I will die and maybe then you might!)



Xia'er and Qu Yuan enter and they immediately beg him to intercede and spare Mo Chou. Sensing this has to do with the woman herself, he asks the ladies to leave, and asks for the truth. Qu Yuan asks him if he remembers the Shaman. Lord Zhao says he does, that many years ago she did something that greatly angered the previous king, and the king ordered that she be killed. He said he was the one who had to carry out the order, and that he killed her, and they were punished with a three year drought after.



Qu Yuan explains that Mo Chou is the child of that shaman, and that she acted recklessly for revenge but begs him to spare her. This visibly shocks Lord Zhao, who then calls him crazy and says that they can't just let people go when they attack ministers in broad daylight. He is basically calling him crazy. And he asks him why he cares so much.



Meanwhile, Xia'er is walking with her mother who is questioning about this. While Xia'er does not answer her, her mother is able to conclude that this Mo Chou is a lover of Qu Yuan, and she is offended by his behavior but she tells her mother that they never should have married and that were it not for her, he would have married her. But her mother says none of that matters because Xia'er is his current wife.



Well, Qu Yuan seems only good at insulting people in spite of his honesty. His father in law is incredibly offended that he would come to him and ask him to spare his old lover. Qu Yuan swears to never see her again, and that he will also take a cut like him, and he takes his dagger and plunges it into his chest! He is crazy!



Lord Zhao thinks so too, and calls for a doctor, alerting Xia'er and his wife. Xia'er screams when she sees Qu Yuan and kneels beside him and swears she will not get up until he saves Mo Chou (does she have feelings for him?) and Qu Yuan makes more promises: he promises to never see Mo Chou, that if she ever harms the Zhao family he will loyally protect them, but swears he will die if she is not saved.



Well.

Not much of a choice.



The following morning Mo Chou is carried towards the execution stand and the crowd all gasp at her behavior, and she is tied to a post. She is to be shot to death with arrows. General Qu (big brother) shows up to stall (and this is very cheesy) but Qu Yuan shows up in time with an edict freeing her.



Afterwards, they are by the water and she has an extremely emotionless affect as she thanks him for saving her but tell shim she will go about her revenge. He begs her not to do this, to not throw her life away and she interprets it as him siding with the Zhao family and he grabs her, she pushes him to the ground, but when he doesn't get back up, she realizes he is injured. She helps him.



He essentially is able to convince her to go home, and I think he does it by reminding her that her actions will have bad consequences for her family. She chooses to go home, and so does he. She tells him to pretend like they never met and basically fell in love, and he asks her if that is possible (she doesn't answer).



Xia'er has a conversation with her servant who continues to complain about Qu Yuan whom she believes only follows his heart. Xia'er says that they should not have married, and asks her servant to rethink right and wrong, and that maybe the wrong choices are the right ones. She also says that Qu Yuan does not always follow his heart because if he did, he would have married Mo Chou.



That night, Qu Yuan visits Xia'er (I like this scene) and asks her to keep the doors close while he talks to her (not only is Mo Chou a barrier in their relationship, but the doors are almost like his heart shut off from anything) and he explains to her that in Quan county Mo Chou was his everything: she was his best friend, she supported him and encouraged him especially when he did not believe in himself and she stayed by his side when he was dying when others fled--this is like saying this woman is my soulmate--and then he asks her for some time to let go over her and tells her he hopes that some day they can become close friends but he also points out this time could be good for her as she had someone else in her heart as well.



Qu Yuan returns to Quan county to resume his job, but he is not very happy. He tells his servant, basically, he did not want to stay with his new bride because he couldn't, but that Quan county is the last place on earth he would want to be (so basically there is no where for him to go).



Meanwhile, Mo Chou is home and her father sees her and is happy he is back. he tells her that it is good QuYuan married because now she can have a stable life. She tells him she has forgotten about him and asks permission to join Qing'er in the circus so she can get away from Quan county (and Qu Yuan). He agrees.



Part 2: The War Declaration

So we return to the state of Qi where the King is preparing to host a Holy Flame Emperor ceremony now that they have the He Shi Bi. He is preparing to send out envoys to all the 8 states. Chu Li Ji, his brother(?) and advisor thinks it is silly how everyone makes a big deal about the sacred jade.



Lord Chen, who has been examining it, discovers it is a fake--that the real one has an imperfection in it and he only knows it because his ancestors new a jade master. The Chancellor bursts out laughing. He remarks that the king of chu is so smart, and yet he gave them a reason to declare war. They have not only insulted Qi, they have insulted the flame emperor, and have lied.



So a war edict is read out in front of their ginormous army. The edict is sent to Chu, where the Ministers are all shocked and not exactly calm. The emperor is stoic. All the ministers believe this is a trap to frame them, but Lord Qu is willing to lead an army, in spite of the delicate marital alliances between the states.



They ultimately decide to verify the rumors because they have the advantage of everyone believing that Qi is a greedy state. They want to make sure that the jade they have is actually a fake.



PHEW

So this show places a lot of emphasis on emotions and feelings. I think this is why they have so many scenes just filming the main leads who are just sad and depressed. I liked the dramatic promises and the stabbing, I want to know what the chancellor will do, and I hope a theme in the show is how Qu Yuan, for all his noble aspirations, will make promises that he will keep on breaking--like he wants to regain control of the situation and fix everything but he can't.

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Episode 23 Summary: Marriage and Revenge

I like this episode, if only because it seems to officially close Act I, which was Mo Chou and Qu Yuan falling in love, and begins the plot of separated lovers.



-Upon arriving home, Qu Yuan is almost in a state of shock as the reality of his choices really start to sink in. He stands in the middle of the courtyard, decorated for a wedding he never expected to happen--a wedding with Xia'er. He slowly turns and has flashback after flashback of all of his efforts to marry Mo Chou, which included trying to win her father's favor, and it seems almost like he is thinking in spite of everything, he truly did not think this would happen. He thinks back on his promises to Mo Chou, promises of living anywhere they wanted, but not only has that not happened, but he is back where he started, and his worse fears are being realized: he is not marring her.



-Meanwhile, Mo Chou is equally shocked at Qu Yuan's betrayal. She walks home in the run, thinking back on the same promises he made, and she can't believe he did something she never thought he would do. Everyone told her to not trust his promises, and even she was skeptical but was won over, but he is marrying someone else. She thinks back on what his mother said, and decides to take back her life--and her fate--by running to catch Qu Yuan and convince him before he leaves. But she is told by Shi Jia he has departed already, and he didn't even leave a message for her. No goodbye, no apology. He just left.



-Elsewhere, Xia'er's mother, Lady Zhao, approaches her daughter and tells her that they cannot bear to see her unhappy and give her the illusion of a choice--that they will back out of this, but they owe the Qu family and the Zhao family, she reminds her, has a motto of never owing anyone anything. Well. Not much of a choice.



>Xia'er says to her mother that she can't believe that Qu Yuan is agreeing to marry her

>Her mother says basically, 'Well the king will behead him if he doesn't' but she says it in such a casual way that I burst out laughing. Like yea, he will, you know, die, so that's the reason why LOLZ



-Xia'er arranges a meeting with Qu Yuan by the water and listens to his reasons for marrying for her. It is a very bittersweet scene, and Qu Yuan looks so different from the last time he was here, when he was so confident and certain of his choices. He bitterly tells her that fate cannot be avoided and although she does not say anything, Xia'er may be thinking of the man she loved, and might be silently agreeing with him. She tells him that this could be a fake marriage, in name only, and he seems to light up at that.



-Miles away, Mo Chou returns him and her father knows something is wrong. Yi'er and he go about trying to make her warm and comfortable and she sits in silent shock for a few moments before breaking down in tears and sobbing in her father's arms, and apologizing for not listening to him and telling him that he was right about Qu Yuan



(WHY NOT TAKE MO CHOU AS A CONCUBINE???)



-Xia'er returns and tells her parents that she will marry Qu Yuan.



-The next morning is bright and sunny, belying whatever emotions Mo Chou must be feeling as she gazes out the window, her face flat. She looks like a statue as her father approaches her and tells her quietly that not all of this is Qu Yuan's fault because he is different (bc he is a noble) and one day he would have regretted eloping with her. S



-She tells her father that he already regrets it (but not in the way you think) because to him, she is nothing, and that may imply he regrets ever knowing her to begin with (OH SNAP) . Her father quickly changes the subject and says, almost as if he is concerned she is going to kill herself, that his only desire has been to see that his children are safe. And then he proceeds to tell her that Lord Zhao is personally responsible for her mother's death.



-He immediately regrets it because it completely changes Mo Chou, who wants revenge against the Zhao for running their lives (it isn't clear if Qu Yuan is part of this, but I think he is) and she leaves to get revenge.



-We flash to a scene with bad CGI: it's Qu Yuan, surrounded by a sea of lava and the younger version of him (his conscience?) says this is all his fault because he made this choice and then adult Qu Yuan screams in agony before waking up.....(I think he has intense feels)



-The day of the wedding arrives and Qu Yuan is like a zombie. Mo Chou watches him from the shadows, and I don't know if she is able to see how unhappy he is. I don't think she can; I think she is too upset. She sees the parents gloating and greeting one another on the great match, she watches Qu Yuan greet his father in law (although he does not call him father) and she watches the entire wedding. Maybe she secretly hopes he will back out. Maybe she wants to suffer. Who knows.



-After the ceremony, just as Qu Yuan enters the bridal chamber, she attacks Lord Zhao but fails miserably. I think she knew she would fail. Qu Yuan is shocked to see her there, and after she is arrested, Mo Chou tells the guy questioning her she did it because officals are evil and literally tells him to kill her.



-Qu Yuan tries to see her, and tells the official he knows her, but because of this he can't see her. The official tells him that he has never seen anyone so determined to die, and eventually let's him see her in jail. Mo Chou looks like a ghost and barely looks at Qu Yuan, still in his marriage robes, and he basically says you shouldn't have done this just because I am marrying the Zhao's and she basically says this has nothing to do with you, it's because he killed my mother, and he promises to get her.



--this is great: so she looks at him and says (and her eyes are red, like she's been crying for a long time) that she knows all about his promises and the Mo Chou who believed his promises is long gone



-Qu Yuan is upset by this, but he has to act fast since she has been ordered to be beheaded. he goes to his father and gets on his knees and begs him to save her, that he will do whatever he wants, but his father is furious and yells at him for insulting his new family and bride by going to visit a criminal, and for caring more about a fisher's daughter than his respectable wife--he gives him his back



-Qu Yuan is dejected and in the next scene sits outside of Xia'er's bridal residence. He apologizes for what happened and she decides to help him free her (maybe Xia'er likes him? I don't know....)



END OF EPISODE

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ep 22 spoilers aheadd

Spoilers Ahead!



1.The Advisor Shang suggests that all they can do is ask the king to personally grant the marriage. He will make the effort on his behalf in return for the jade pillow. Consort Zheng, meanwhile, dances for the King, and he notices she captures the attention of a certain someone (her lover? he totally knows!) Royal Uncle is caught staring and called out but he states he wouldn't dare. (the music is so good for this show!) A young woman sings the ode to orange song. We learn the composition of the song (melody) comes from a zither player--Bi Xia! It seems they are a perfect pair everyone keeps repeating...it is so obvious, even the Queen is smiling at what they are asking for. (I love watching these dances with words. The Queen suggests the king approve this marriage and he agrees, because she requested). The Minister of War is so happy. Minister Zhao hesitates before thanking the king. (OMG.....so funny)



2.Lord Zhao does not thank him, but pretends to thank him. (somehow, Bi Xia does not seem so adverse to marriage. Is she in love with him now?) She wants to tell Qu Yuan immediately (she wants to help him in love, because she is not destined for happiness, so she does not wish it on anyone).



3.Over tea, he and Bi Xia meet. She tells him that the king bestowed marriage and it will be completed in a few days. What will he do? He refuses, and she tells him she came to warn him. Chances of him revoking it are impossible since he made it in front of all the ministers. He will try, he states. She encourages him to elope. She explains that in spite of what he thinks, their families ultimately control them.



-Can we take a moment to acknowledge how rare it is that the male lead isn't being fought over by two women?-



4. He explains to Mo Chou the reason for Bi XIa's visit. They discuss eloping. He is willing to give up everything for her, he explains. She tells him that she is willing. (I am surprised, to be honest). Bi Xia returns home and refuses to marry Qu Yian again. Qu Yuan prepares to run off. He meet with Shi Jia, his assistant, to have a cup of wine. We learn he does not drink. Because the ambitions of rules are so big, nobles are greedy, citizens suffer, and he needs a clear head to deal with it all. Qu Yuan states there are many people who are not drunk but their actions are a mess. He seriously discusses leaving the county to him. He tells him he doesn't know how long he will be gone. Because he must deal with personal matters.



5.Mo Chou has dinner with her little brother and father. She makes a great meal like New Year's feast. (This is good bye dinner). Her father does not eat (I think he knows her plan). (Is her father dying? He coughs up blood!).



6.Her father tells her some truths. He explains her mother was the Grand Shaman of Chu. She knew divination and prophecy, and was brought into the palace by the previous king. She managed all of the ceremonies. Her mother was plotted against, saved them, and died alone.



7.At the inn, meanwhile, Qu Yuan meets his mother where he refuses to marry Bi Xia. He is willing to give up his family for her, he tells her mother. He refuses to get up unless she agrees. His mother states he would not force him but it is a royal order. She states their family will be killed if he defies this order. Is he willing to have his lover live in fear?



8.Meanwhile, we finally learn that her mother taught her martial arts! What does her mother have to do with Qu Yuan? Is it because she is a criminal's daughter? (also, I def. think that Bi Xia is in love with him). She won't leave because she is confident he will leave.



9.I don't envy Qu Yuan. In his mind we see him sitting in a field beside a younger version of himself. He seems to be the voice of reason. While the adult him is more free and emotional, hair down. He says Mo Chou is his reality, the mountain spirit is his dream . He can't take Mo Chou away and he can't find the mountain spirit :/



10.Meanwhile, Mo Chou bows to her sleeping father and prepares to leave. Her father is crying silently. But he will let her go, if she wants to be with him...she waits for him at the dock...he doesn't go, and he returns with his mother. He isn't even going to say good bye! OMG!



I feel so bad for them. I feel so bad for her.



11.She waits all alone. And then it ends.

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episode 21 spoilers ahead

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1.Bi Xia seems ready to drown herself (over someone like Cang Yun, who lied, cheated, even attempted to rape her) But she really loved him and he just broke her heart. Qu Yuan saves her, and reminds her that her family will miss her. She is unconvinced that there are people who care for her meanwhile her family frantically searches for her.



2.Bi Xia returns, escorted by Qu Yan whom she thanks. Qu Yuan greets Lord Zhao and he implores him to remain the night but he refuses as he has work. Cai Wei explains what transpired that day and that she nearly killed herself. Lord Zhao is filled with regret for allowing such an awful man into his home. He wants revenge on Cang Yun and he wants his men to kill Cang Yun (WHOA!)



3.Bi Xia destroys all of her love notes from Cang Yun and everything he ever gave her, including his poems. (I do think Cang Yun is pitiful because he has no chance to really fight back even if he is awful). Bi Xia states the old her is dead. Wonder what that means...?



4.Lord Jing have a final drink (poison?). He again is told to take the initiative, end his life, and his name will enter the family generational book and his family will be cared for. He drinks a sip, but cannot finish it. He thanks his uncle. Crying. He cuts his own throat (we only see the sword fall) and Jing Po with tears in his eyes vows to kill Qu Yuang. Meanwhile, Lord Jing po kneels outside the kings door with spiky bars tearing into his back. He begs for punishment. Oh, twigs of the chaste tree. The High Minister is beat with a whip (I think the king is using Qu Yuan to stir up trouble that way the ministers are fighting one another and not for the throne). The king personally beats him after the servants! He brought the head of his own nephew to him (WOW). The king tells him he knew what he was doing but never expected his greed to go so far. Lord Jing begs him to spare his life, even begs the Queen, and finally his life is spared but half of his wealth must be given to the people of Quan! WOW



5.The king explains he let him live because he did not want a fued between the Qu and Jing families. The Queen explains he was let off light but he states if he does something wrong again, he can execute the entire Jing clan. Meanwhile, Tian Ji continues to send her messages to the Prime Minister and we learn from the King that Ying Ying (princess Yin) failed in her mission. The Queen states she doesn't mind if they go to war with Chu because she became Qin when she married him. He promises to not desecrate the king's body if they succeed in this war and bury him properly to save her face.



6.Meanwhile, Prime Minister reports that the three powerful families in Chu are at odds. Now will be good to attack! (thanks Qu Yuan). Tian Ji also sends letters to the Qi king....she only tells him that she seduced the king; the minister of qi is concerned by her lack of info but the Qi king is confident all is fine. It seems the Qi king wants to attack Chu but isn't because Qin is planning to rule the world and they need their allies--the six countries must unite.



7.Meanwhile, the king of Qin visits the countryside with prime minister and Bai Qi. We learn a famous general, Wu Qi, Bai Qi's namesake, who defeated Wei and help build Chu into a powerful nation, is someone to be thanked because he also defeated Qin and this woke Qin up to the fact that they need to be strong and attack first.



8.Bi Xia isolates herself and seems to lack the desire to much. We learn because of the issue with the jing family, the marriage with Qu Yuan has been pushed back. They must be careful to avoid offending the Jing family and triggering a feud.



9.Father Qu shares with with his wife what happened with Jing Po. Qu Yuan will now be a target. And he can't apologize to Jing because he is guilty. He believes they must move forward with the marriage and combine their families powers. He meets Lord Zhao with gifts to confirm the marriage. They even have days selected. But the Zhao family wants to slow it down.......they hide behind their duaghter having a cold. OMG



10.THINGs ARE DIFFERENT NOW says Lord Qu to his wife. He knows Zhao is dragging his feet. We learn they need to get the approval of Advisor Shang t cancel it. Meanwhile, Qu Yuan, who remains utterly unaware or indifferent to the hellstorm he has created, visits Mo Chou like nothing is wrong. He comes bearing gifts and to ask to marry Mo Chou. He refuses and throws the gifts on the ground. Why can't they be together. It seems he wants to protect her since his family is not supportive. He wants to know if he would give up his family and status to be with her. He says this has nothing to do with others. Her father says his family must come to greet him to see her again before locking him out.



HER FATHER WILL DISOWN HER IF SHE GOES WITH HIM. (they better not be related because there is some secret her father has been keeping from her)



11.Qu Yuan suddenly asks if her father is keeping something from her because he suspects he has reasons for all of this (they are holding one another by the beach...so pretty...). Elsewhere, Grand Adviser Shang is visited by Lord Qu with a treasure, a jade pillow gifted to him from the previous king. He has a request: he wants help with the engagement. He states the reality: Qu Yuan offended Jing. Zhao will never openly attach Jing. LOrd Qu promises to give him consideration if he agrees to help him. Poor Minister of War....

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ep 20 spoilers ahead!

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In Memoriam, gone too soon: assassins, villagers, and peasants (no big name characters) (I do a recap of who has died every 10 episodes in long dramas like this)



1.You'er (Qu Yuan's elder brother) reports their parents the incident regarding Lord Jing. They discuss how bold he is to try to harm someone from the Qu family (one of the big 3 Chu noble families). However, despite being provincial bullies from Quan (the most corrupt district) they have some powerful backers in the royal court. He is the nephew of Jing Po, head of the Jing family. Father Qu yet again laments the family allowing Qu Yuan to do as he pleases....



2.Back in Quan, Qu Yuan returns from a walk with Mo Chou only to learn that Lord Jing has left and the magistrates office is wrecked. This INFURIATES him. He is going to see the King directly and Mo Chou goes with him. He boldly enters his home town with her on his horse and lets just say they cause quite the stir, attracting the attention of everyone (I admire his shamelessness but admit this is pretty big). She chooses to stay at an inn instead of visiting his family.



3.Qu Yuan visits the emperor and begs him to release him from his position as magistrate because he has failed? How has he failed? He states he 1)he lacks the ability to do his job well and 2)the ability to establish order. He explains why this is so: that the office of the magistrate was damaged and a man currently under investigation for attempting to murder him fled with the help of others. He gives the king the report, and he is furious. Jing Po is asked who the man is (a big deal, if the emperor wants to know your name). A stuttering Jing begs to be allowed to handle it personally and immediately leaves to do so. Father Qu is yet again shocked by his sons behavior.



4.After this scene, the king walks with Qu and explains that he gives him permission to do whatever he wants to the man who tried to kill him (this should be a red flag to Qu Yuan because he has no evidence; this would be a miscarriage of justice; however he doesn't seem to notice). Qu Yuan asks what about the men protecting him, and the emperor glazes over this, instead asking him not to do anything rash and he will 'explain it all to him later'. Mmmhmm. I am skeptical.



5.Meanwhile (this is an interesting interlude) Lord Zhao discusses with his wife the fiasco involving the Jing family. Lord Zhao again discusses how he initially wanted to use the marriage alliance to gain the position of district magistrate--something Jing also covets--but because of this incident he will have to proceed with caution. Why? that is explained in the next scene...



6.Father Qu is irate as he confronts his son for his latest bit of foolishness, as he calls it. He explains to his son that he is creating numerous problems for their family. Since he has been discussing marriage with the Zhao family, everyone will think that they colluded to bring down the Jing family. It will gain them a powerful enemy. He believes they need to move the marriage up (before Zhao pulls out). Never being one to pick his battles, in addition to being extremely devoid of logic when it comes to reading a situation, Qu Yuan chooses to announce to his father NOW that he plans on marrying Mo Chou. Who is Mo Chou? A fisherman's daughter. His father nearly has a conniption as he tells him he is going to marry Zhao and Qu Yuan insists he would have to die first, and his father retorts even in death he would have him married to her (I think you can do this; marry a dead relative to someone in Asian culture although I don't know about China)



7.You'er is asked to convince Qu Yuan to marry Zhao, but Qu Yuan asks You'er to convince their parents. His brother reminds him that his father is especially stubborn and will never change his mind. He also tells him he understands he is in love, but he isn't accepting the reality that he has certain responsibilities (essentially).



8.While Tian Ji continues to ingratiate herself in the life of the king Jing Po visits his nephew. this isn't good. He tells his nephew that the king himself wants to know who did this. Immediately Lord Jing begs his uncle to help him and we learn that Jing Po not only raised him but that Lord Jing's criminal acts are largely the reason why their family is so wealthy. However, he cannot save him from this because the king is involved. He tells him that he will have to kill himself, for their family, and he will take care of their kids.



9.Later, when Lord Jing is visited by his friend, he is crying silently. He explains to him that he must kill Qu Yuan, because he will be the next target, and make sure he suffers so much his family is ruined. He explains he cannot do it because he doesn't have time and looks at the sword on the wall....



10.Meanwhile, Qu Yuan leaves to meet Bi Xia (his fiancee) by the river while Mother Qu visits Mo Chou. His mother is extremely shrewd. She is kind and respectful to her, even compliments her and tells her she must be special if her son picked her, but explains that because her son is passionate and loyal he will not leave her. She explains that it is his fortune to be born into a noble family and he has certain obligations, and his marriage partner is even fated by heaven because they share the same birthdays (lie--but then, this is the same woman who could ask her adopted son to die for Qu Yuan and succeeded). She implores her to break it off.



11.Meanwhile, Qu Yuan meets with Bi Xia. He has the gall, in my opinion, to ask her to break off the engagement because he has a woman he loves. (REALLY? After what he did?) She very calmly says she knows how to help him: she can die. He thinks this is a bad idea, so she says, well you can die and swings a dagger at him. Mo Chou shows up to save him again (how did she know he was there? is she a ninja?) Bi Xia essentially screams she isn't scared to die because of what he did to drive off Cang Yun, and Mo Chou tells her that they have seen Cang Yun gambling in Quan. Bi Xia is stunned and leaves.



12.Mo Chou reveals she met his mother and that she wants them to break up. She states maybe they should, since he is fated by heaven to be with Bi Xia. he tells her that the birthday think is false, that they lied about his birthday because his father thought it was an unlucky day. This seems to reassure her and they are once again confident as they make promises to be together forever.



13.Mo Chou returns home and her father guesses correctly, that his family doesn't like her although she never admits it. She is confident they will be together but her father tells her not to marry him and orders her to obey but she refuses and runs off. Again she visits Qu Yuan and talks about her father; he promises to convince her father.



14.Bi Xia sneaks out and asks to see Cang Yun. She goes to the gambling house, and this is the shocking scene she sees: 1)Cang Yun gambles with the precious jade token (the symbol of their love) and states he got it from a daughter of the Zhao family but they refuse to let him gamble because he cheated 2)a poorly dressed woman comes in and screams at him from running out to gamble when the family is starving 3)a little boy hugs him and calls him father and begs him to come back 4)this wife tries to steal the jade away



15.Bi Xia, in tears, slaps him. The poor woman spits on her and accuses her of stealing someone else's man and then Bi Xia flees while Cang Yun finally gets the jade back but it breaks....(like his romance). On the beach Bi Xia sends Cai Wei away and then breaks into tears, staring at her jade half. Cang Yun limps over and tells her that he loves her, that he lied to her because he liked her, that he beat his crazy wife and divorced her, and wants to live peacefully with her now (okay, so we know he is 1)A Liar 2)an adulturer 3)a wife beater 4)a gambler and to make it worse, he is poor (not a crime, but not a plus as it makes life hard) and he wants her back! How many girls in that position would fall for someone like him, and he has the audacity? I feel so bad for her! And to learn the truth from the same man who she hates (tQu Yuan, who made it impossible for them to be together by interfering when the king would have hired him) ouch



16.It take her wielding a rock before Cang Yun finally leaves. And she just cries...





Comments: Alright, so here are my thoughts. First of all, Cang Yun is a mega jerk. But so is Qu Yuan. He constantly makes extremely self righteous choices, without considering the reaction or welfare of those around him. I think he is just, but lacks empathy, especially when his own judgments of others are in the way. He lacks the ability to read people, and he doesn't seem to recognize that his actions will have long term consequences on the lives of others. Take Cang Yun. He and Bi Xia could have been together. They may have been happy, or not. but that's for her to decide. He took that decision away when he allowed his overly high standards on poetry to get in the way, and he was completely lacking in empathy nor did he care that he was essentially ruining Cang Yun's final chances. Or his love for Mo Chou. This is all romantic, but he doesn't care about his family. Or that this could ignite a war of the families. Nor does he seem to be question the King at all. I am looking forward to seeing him get a rude awakening.

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episode 7 spoilers ahead

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1.Everyone at the church is panicking--except for Yoo Na. She is extremely calm (guess who did it?). The mother faints and is taken to the hospital. We learn that...Yeong Sa (I think?) has returned and is using the lumber area for his 'studio' and that is why it is now locked.



2.Ji Yook reveals she is pregnant (I wonder if Hyo Jin is her daughter) she continues to hear things like 'mommy, why did you kill me?' and accuses Yoo Na of saying these things. She warns her to stop making things hard for her.



3.So Yoon investigates and connects with a major news network to confirm if the nurse they used during the special with the ghost mother is her sister. They meet with her because 1)the woman was killed and 2)it is in the same area as the serial killings. They confirm, through footage, that the woman was in fact Hyo Jin and that she had been deeply interested in finding her own mother. She returns, contacts officer Park, and they go to speak to Hyo Jin's 'mother' for answers, but she's left to kill herself.



4. The mother tries to drown herself but Song rescues her, gives her CPR. It seems she had planned this as she had sold her business before coming. She shares that Hyo Jin was in fact her daughter. She adopted a young runaway, but later died by drowning and her body was never recovered. The girl she adopted, it seems, was her sister. (It might explain why she took the name Hyo Jin).



5.Elsewhere, a 7th serial killer victim is found at a construction site.



6.The officers interview a cow farm owner. It seems he is the former driver. he had a history of debt, and they pressure him, suggesting he was fired for being unreliable--but then how did he get so much money? He insists it was form an inheritance. They accuse him of taking money from the assemblyman as payment for killing Hyo Jin. He shares that just before the girl died, he was asked to drive along a remote road where the assemblyman met with Hyo Jin. He did this twice. He was not in the car when they spoke. Then he frantically makes a phone call and states that he is being set up for murder--the person on the other end? The assemblyman's FATHER.



7.Meanwhile, the Captain removes the officers from the case in spite of all of the evidence they have collected and scoffs at their belief that the Gwon family is related to the girls death. He tells them that there is no reason Gwon would kill a girl when the position he wanted was so minor, and he ignores the officers when they say that maybe he had another reason. They are very angry. He also tells them to ignore the fact that their daughter painted on the church, (Oh by the way, they found out she was the one)



8.Meanwhile, Hyun confronts the math teacher. He tells her what he knows: that all the places they sent information for regarding the position of English teacher were cancelled immediately after sending the information. They only posted the position at So Yoon's school, and rejected all three equally qualified candidates before selecting So Yoon. He tells her that this is clearly part of a plan, but she refuses to speak. He tells her that she must have received a lot of money if she doesn't fear being fired. She also doesn't seem to fear being arrested and walks out.



9.Ba Woo's dad shows up drunk at the pharmacy and accuses the pharmacist of giving his son weird meds (Yoo Na told him) she denies it and tells him to check with the doctor. He accuses her of trying to hurt his son because 1)he saw her with Hyo Jin just before she died and 2)she threatened to have him fired from the factory if he spoke about it and now 3)she is giving him meds to keep him quiet. She asks him what he wants...



10.Park is able to 100% confirm Hyo Jin and Jung are the same and also learns that it seems So Yoon was also investigating and learned it first...she knows what that means. She confronts Hyun who basically says he was doing it to avoid an uncomfortable situation and to protect her. She tells him that she learned her sister had found her biological sister in the town and she is going to investigate who this person is and why she didn't speak up--startling Hyun--but it is more than clear she doesn't trust him. Hyun also warns her that her sister was treated with contempt after the town learned of the affair and that So Yoon should be wary of the fake sympathy from the town and that she may be a target of hate because her relationship as Hyo Jin's sister is now public..



11.The new occupant at the lumberyard received a note 'I know you are back. Meet with me'



7.Ga yeong continues to stalk Nam, and is even seen at the funeral by the pharmacist, although he ignores her. Later, she smashes his car with a rock and then walks off, bumping into Song before running away.



8.Working with the news, So Yoon broadcasts the following slide across the country: looking for information on the illegal adoption in Achiara! The restaurant owner runs to the pharmacist and tells her about the add and the fact that someone is looking for Bengmama. (How much you want to bet that is the fortune teller?)



9.At the end of the episode, Yoo Na visits So Yoon. She tells her that she began to see ghosts after she saw the dead baby in her mother's stomach. She believes her mother hates her for this, partly. She tells her that the teacher told her to write that on the wall. She also tells her that the painting of the woman holding the child was not one of love (she does this after So Yoon tries to tell her that her mother loves her) and that Hyo Jin believed her when she told her that her mother hated her. She tells her that the woman in the painting is getting ready to kill her child, and that her mother is getting rid of her (i.e. maybe sending her away) because she no longer needs her since she is going to have another child. Sure enough, the woman in the painting is holding a knife....

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episode 6 spoilers ahead

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'Funeral'



1.In this episode Yoo Na's mother directly accuses her of not being on her side. In a flashback, we learn that Yoo Na asked her 'why did you kill my sibling?' and this is because she was able to sense the dead baby in her mother's womb (it is likely it was a miscarriage). Meanwhile, her mother confirms that her primary reason for having a child, specifically a son, is to protect her status but I am certain it is deeper than that (she uses her children?). She essentially blackmails her husband, who is resistant to in vitro because of his age and the fact that he has two children, but his wife tells him that Hye Jin's death could ruin his campaign but she will support him if he helps her.



2.Meanwhile, Hyo Jin's mother placed flyers all over the town inviting everyone to her daughter's funeral. As this happens, the officers continue their interviews of the townspeople. They interview Ji Sook who shares that during the time Hyo Jin was killed, she was with her mother in law visiting temples. She also shares that she did not notify them that Hyo Jin helped her mother in law as a home care giver because she did not like her. In addition to this, she states that the fight was started by Hyo Jin (we, the viewers, know otherwise). Her hands, however, are shaking during this interview and Officer Park's senior partner notices this. (Officer Park is extremely sympathetic to the wife during this interview it's almost annoying).



3.Seo Chang Gwon, the assemblyman, is interviewed next. (Moments before he is interviewed, he is meeting with our favorite pharmacist, and it seems she has certain items of interest from the time capsule and is using it to pressure him to keep his son 'away from the front lines'. She is seen leaving his office by the officers). Chang Gwon reports that he had the affair, that she threatened to blackmail him if he did not give her 30,000 dollars. Fearing for his image and campaign, he ended it and that was his last contact with her. He confirms this by showing that during the time she was killed (a 2 week window) he was heavily involved in his campaign and could not possibly see her. The officers tell him that there is no signs of Hyo Jin having ever received any money from him. Also, why should he be bothered by a woman when the position he was campaigning for was not so important? The congressman is evasive and asks the men to confirm his schedule with his secretary.



4.Following these interviews, Officer Park's senior points out how weird it is that the two people who had the strongest connection to the case have such well thought out and planned alibis. To prove this, he points out how rare it is for people to know EXACTLY what they did two years ago and yet these two people had an answer for everything. Also, Hyo Jin was one of many women the assembly man was with. Why should he care about one more?



5.Meanwhile, Chang Gwon meets with his son and explains to him that his step mother wants another child. He essentially tells him that she has always wanted to be the chairman of the schools because she never finished school (I wonder why?) and tells his son to not shake the boat, to focus on the company he will inherit, and reminds him that blood is thicker than water. His son straight up asks him if he killed Hyo Jin and he tells him that he would never make his son the son of a murderer.



6.Meanwhile, we learn that So Yoon's sister may have been illegal adopted. This is learned while she is following some leads and meets the 'ghost mom'--a woman whose baby died at birth but she can't accept it so she visits the hospitals and orphanages looking for her baby. She is quite famous. The woman reveals in the elevator that she knew her sister and that they were on t.v. together....she also shares that 'not all mothers like their children'



7.The grandmother is interviewed, and she is very tightlipped regarding her relationship with Hyo Jin. She essentially states that she never noticed the help, but lets slip that no one worked as well as her (which is why she fires people often). When the officers ask her how she could not notice when someone she liked so much went missing, she again insists it was no big deal.



8.At the diner, the two officers discuss the case, and they begin to focus on Hyo Jin. Why did she even come to this town when she was pretty, had no connections, and clearly could have gone anywhere. did she really just come here to be a con artist? She specifically chose the wealthy family to volunteer for, in order to seduce the father. Perhaps she had a grudge? This causes the shop owner to drop her food, and she so clearly knows something but won't tell...



9.While searching online, Officer Park learns that a woman posted about 'looking for adoptive parents in Achiara' her name is Jung--the sister So Yoon is looking for--but the last four digits of her cell are the same as Hyo Jin's....



10.The pharmacist is questioned. She denies noticing Hyo Jin disappeared and dismisses the time spent playing tennis as casual as running into someone at the gym. She claims not knowing her very well at all. Her answers are logical, the officer points out. So Yoon is sitting nearby, and I think because of this, she reveals that Hyo Jin shared she was looking for a sibling and that is all she knew about her reasons for coming to the town. (I find this female lead annoying lead. she seems to trust everyone even though a lot of weird stuff has being happening.)



11.Officer Park shares the info he found about her sister and Hyo Jin. Now Hyo Jin is finally beginning to suspect that she may be her sister. Meanwhile, Gi Hyun interviews an old classmate of Jung (the sister) who reveals she saw a woman walking down the street a couple years back and instantly recognized her. She stopped when called her name, but insisted she was Hyo Jin. She believes it was Jung because 1)she stopped and 2)she was so pretty and unforgettable it had to b her. She confirms the picture of Hyo Jin as Jun, and Gi Hyun does not share this information with So Yoon....(we also learn during his meeting with So Yoon that he wanted to be an architect and his family is overwhelming him)



12.The officers learn that the assemblyman's driver changed during the two weeks leading up to Hyo Jin's death. This is a pretty big deal because those final weeks were especially busy AND you don't just fire your driver.



13.At the funeral, many towns people arrive. Yoo Na goes, but her brother and parents don't (I wonder why). Song isn't there, although he is wearing black, because he has been tracing his footage of Hyo Jin and it leads him to Dae Kwang Mokje (the lumberyard?) which is locked. He leaves a note there...



14.A thunderstorm rolls in and the message 'Save me mom' and 'mom save me' appears in blood red paint behind a tapestry that falls during the funeral...shocking everyone...

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episode 5 spoilers ahead

Spoilers Ahead!

'The Reason They Are Silent'



1.Based on video footage that was likely the last day she was alive (based on clothing) police can confirm she was filmed about 100 meters from where the body was discovered. Officers go to Ji Sook's home to question Gi Hyun, the man in the video. He insists it was a casual encounter. For reasons unknown, he does not reveal to officers that during that conversation Hye Jin insisted she was from the village (born there). He is able to show that the clothing she was wearing in the video is actually different from the clothes she was found in, meaning that he was probably not the last person to see her alive.



2.Assembly man has dinner with his father while this happens, and his father promises him that that Hye Jin, who has caused as many problems alive as dead, won't ruin his life. He later calls his son to ask what the police wanted and his son tells him he did not give away any information and that his affair is still secret before hanging up.



3.Locals everywhere are gossiping about the incident with the police questioning Gi Hyun. At the beauty parlor ladies say that they know Hye Jin visited that house often (this is gossip) and that the family probably benefited from her death (I think this implies they think she might have been having an affair with Gi Hyun). So Yoon overhears this, and tries to do a search for her sister in their computer. Using date of birth, guess who comes up? Unsurprising, it is Hye Jin (I think we all know by now its her sister). Still, So Yoon has her doubts...even though she visits places all over the city and the same thing happens



4.Gi hyun begins his role as chairman at the school We learn he is also investigating So Yoon and why she came to the town. (His true colors are showing!) Meanwhile Ba Woo gives Ji Hee (pharmacist) the time capsule. Nam notices it, and steals it...



--I think Ji Sook is someone's mother--



5.Meanwhile, Ji Sook seems to be having a meltdown of guilt in the office of Gi Hyun and says that Hye Jin is dead, so why is she still bothering her? She cries in his arms, and Ga Jeong films this...(In another flashback, on that same day he met her in the woods, Hye Jin called his father trash but states the bigger trash in the family is his stepmother....)



6.Officer Park visits Hye Jin's old boss who is now all tears (so fake) and she essentially reveals that she believes that Hye Jin was a manipulative seductress. The girls in the office who are interviewed reaveal nothing new. elsewhere, Park's partner interviews Ga Yeong's mother, and we learn she had an affair with assembly man and he wonders if she has lingering feelings. He says this to rattle her because no one is helping with this case. She reveals that Hye Jin used to volunteer and sometimes played tennis with Ji Hee, which she thought was odd since the latter had no friends.



7.At the elderly home where she volunteered, we learn that Hye Jin specifically requested to assist the mother of assemblyman! Meanwhile, the grandmother reveals to Ji Sook that how sad she is that Hye Jin died because she was so kind but Ji Sook 1)tells her she was probably ticked by her and 2)almost threatens her, reminding her that she has to be careful during this police investigation not to say anything that might threaten the future of her grandson



8)Meanwhile, Officer Park meets outside with an employee at the art studio where Hye Jin worked. he learns that the boss lady ordered a gag order on Hye Jin's name so no one would talk about her because of the epic brawl she got into with Ji Sook just before (a month) Hye Jin disappeared. He learns that this order was made because the studio is owned by the steel factory and they needed to be mindful. He shows how utterly dumb he is because even after she tells him this fight was likely over a man, he has no idea who the man is!



9)Meanwhile, Nam, we learn, has a compulsive gambling problem that returned after Hye Jin died. She wants the box he took back and accuses him of trying to ruin their lives, he accuses her of killing Hye Jin because she was going to quit (we don't know what) and she didn't like that. This earns him a slap. he also wants to know Jo hee's secret...



10)We learn that So Yoon is using a private investigator and this has yielded nothing. He also is working for Gi Hyun, secretly. He tells Gi Hyun he has learned nothing but did not reveal to So Yoon he is also looking for her sister's former classmates...



11)Yoo Na recognizes the half necklace in So Yoon's home and explains that Hye Jin was very upset because she lost it, that her little sister had one, but died in a car accident. Naturally the wheels in So Yoon's head begin to turn. She immediately runs to the police station.



12)Officers interview Hye Jin's mother, who appears. She explains she avoided them because she could not accept it. She wants to see her body. So Yoon asks her if her daughter had any siblings, but she says she was an only child (oh come on! you can't back off because of that!). Hye Jin's mother collapses and sobs when she sees the body of her daughter.



13)The episode ends with Ji Sook, who is obsessed with having a child. Fixated even.

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episode 4 spoilers ahead!

Spoilers Ahead!



1.So Yoon finds Yoo Na's phone. She knows the meeting place and smacks the transvestite in the head with a shovel. Then police arrive and he is arrested. The girls also go with the police and Ga Yeong explains to the officers that she knew he was the murder because a few months back a few teens beat him up (you know, for being different) and that was when the guy said he killed a woman.



2.Shockingly, Ga Yeong wants reward money to reveal this information! So Yoon challenges Ga Yeong's reasons for being at the shed (she was there because Yoo Na was frightened) and implicates that perhaps she was there because Yoo Na got her a job. However Yoo Na refuses to cooperate and backs Ga Yeong up. The mothers arrive and a strange look of recognition passes over their faces before they go inside. They go home, one in a stately car, the other fighting as they walk down the street and Ji Sook warns her daughter to stay away from a troublesome girl like her...



3.On her way back from the station, Yoo Na accuses her mother of liking the fact/being happy that Hyo Jin is dead. Her mother tells her that her father has gone to bed with half the women in the town and it would be silly of her to be upset over her. She yells at her that she doesn't know anything. She doesn't care that Hyo Jin is dead, is happy the truth is out but then she has a vision of Hyo Jin slapping on her window, almost in fear, begging for help it seems, and she almost crashes their car but they make it through...



4.Meanwhile, the Yong Lady is Kang Pil Song, a stock broker by day (he trades on his computer) with two arrests for indecent exposure. He is arrested (I think it is interesting how Officer Park learns about the police process; a smart way to educate the audience without being annoying; I also think he can be moronic because he told both the moms that the body is indeed Hyo Jin's (both claim they barely knew her...odd) and that she was likely murdered) However, Song is released because he has a solid alibi. He was hospitalized at the time Hyo Jin went missing for two whole months, due to a car accident.



5.Because the serial killer strikes again, this time in their province (a change in his pattern) (sixth victim) all the officers are being used on this case so the smaller station is allowed to handle the investigation of Hyo Jin (much to Officer Park's delight).



6.Meanwhile, Ji Sook visits her sister, Jo Hee, the pharmacist. Jo Hee casually says that she doesn't think that the guy they caught is the serial killer because it is too easy. This triggers Ji Sook who states if being murdered by a strange man isn't hard, then what is? Jo Hee says she seems rather worried, that she must be happy the other girl is dead, but thinks it is too convenient since someone wanted Hyo Jin dead (the plot thickens....). Ji Sook takes this personally and accuses her sister of not being grateful for the easy life she has helped her have and also accuses her of hating Hyo Jin (I thought she was her best friend?) Jo Hee doesn't deny this but adds that Hyo Jin would not die that easily and both basically accuse the other of not grieving over her death. Also, Jo Hee says she looks like she is worried about something....



7.Officer Park makes the call to Hyo Jin's mother, tells her that her daughter is dead, and then afterwards remarks on how freaky/weird this situation is. How strange that in a small town where nothing happens no one seems to care that a woman just disappeared and people seem to want to distance themselves as far as possible from Hyo Jin. He gets the warrant to confiscate and go through her belongings and we learn that he still cannot find her ID/laptop/credit cards.



8.Throughout all of this (and I will skip over things just so this makes more sense) So Yoon searches for clues about her sister, Jung. She learns that her sister likely wound up at an orphanage due to an error at the welfare office (that is one hell of an error). She also learns she has an aunt, through her father, but because she is not directly related she can't have her info. Ji Hyun helps her (also, I find him very odd. he just happened to be passing by her bus stop, at night, when she returned? why the heck was he taking a stroll so late? dressed entirely in black?). We learn her sister was at an orphanage where she had run away from multiple times. She sent So Yoon letters for years but she never received them. It drove her crazy. She wouldn't eat or sleep she would wait for a reply. Then , she pieced some things together and learned that perhaps her grandmother only took her because she was a blood relation. Yes. Her sister was ADOPTED. She later meets her aunt who confirms that her parents were unable to conceive for many years and adopted her. Because of this, her elder sister wanted to find her real birth mother. No one really knows why her grandmother kept them separated.



9.Meanwhile, Officer Park visits the 'Young Lady' as he is referred to. He brings beer and chicken and asks questions. He learns that 1)he enjoys to dress up as a woman because he likes the look of terror on girls who see him and run away; he thinks it is cute 2)he met Hyo Jin one night and she did not run away in fear. She stared at him long and hard and this became the most embarrassing moment of his life. he ran from her, and become interested in her. he thought she was special. thus he took the photos.



10.Meanwhile, the assemblyman is trying hard to squash this murder case so it does not interfere with his plans. He wants the captain to close the case and rule it an accident. But because Officer Park's presentation shows that it was likely a murder because 1)there is no signs of a robbery 2)key evidence is missing like her computer, id, credit cards 3)she showed no signs of leaving the area and even bought pets the day she went missing. They have 1 week to come up with additional evidence or it will be closed.



11.Ga Jeong meets Teacher Nam while he is painting. She essentially tells him she is dropping out for her new job and we learn what happened the night she got into that car. He was in the car, and he put his hand on her leg. It seemed sexual. But really he wanted to know about her strawberry shaped birthmark on her leg. She tells him she finds this really interesting, because no one knows about that except her mother, her friends, and herself and teacher Hyo Jin. Nam seems uneasy until she asks him if he was in love with her....



12.Meanwhile, Officer Park itemizes every item she wore in the photos (So Yoon told him that the photographer must really like her because the photos seem too personal) and he concludes that these were taken three days in a row. he returns to the young lady, with chicken, and reveals his findings. Song tells him that truthfully, that night he encountered Hyo Jin, she said to him 'How would your mother feel, seeing you like this' and those were powerful words (FYI he is moving away and plans on seeking treatment). He liked her, he said, because there was no trace of mockery just genuine concern. So he began to photograph her. He said it looked like she was waiting for someone. He stopped because he left to go to visit his family and had his accident (which means he was probably the last person to see her alive) which Park tells him--and then he reveals something else--he has FILM footage of the last day! And a man comes to visit her, based on his back and attire it is a young man, and as he turns, it looks a lot like Teacher Nam....!



Comments: I am not very clear about Korea's view on men who dress in women's clothing but from what I know it is actually very common for men who are interested only in women to wear women's clothing (most people who are transvestites report being interested in women) and I don't use the word 'cross dresser' because I learned it can be offensive to others. But it would reflect the show and people being uncomfortable with someone different, so it is likely accurate.

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