Ep 4 of K2H owns me, body and soul
Mar. 31st, 2012 12:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousie
First, let's start with the fact that the King is fucking insane. I am not sure whether we were supposed to think 'yay, clever test' and blame Jae Ha for 'failing' it by shooting Hang Ah, but if so, I am not getting on that bandwagon. Who the hell conducts an experiment like that?! Woo-hoo, dude, put a bunch of people in mortal peril (there so many ways this could have gone deathly wrong), and get your little brother one step away from suicide. Hooray for you! You and Batman Villain should swap tips. People are not toys. Also, while Jae Ha has plenty of faults and flaws, not trusting NK and shooting Hang Ah is not among them. It's pretty significant that perfect soldier Shi Kyung was exactly the same. In fact, to have done otherwise would have been cripplingly naive under the circumstances. The King's bizarro 'you are from a royal family so should have seen through it' seems insane and victim-blaming - the scenario created was beyond probable and, I fail to see what else one will expect when (a) hunted by NK army (b) shown via TV reports that North and South are at war (c) told he is about to be conveyed out and after hard time trusting, finally doing so (d) only to be led out to a full glare of NK soldiers with rifles drawn. At this point, I'd have wondered whether Jae Ha was mentally damaged if he didn't react the way he did! (Also, Kingie, your psycho test only failed because you had the whole army out there for no reason, if it went as scheduled, it would have passed).
I've seen people wonder why Hang Ah held a grudge for Jae Ha's verbal smackdown in ep 2 and doesn't hold one in the least when he shot her point-blank in the chest, but it makes sense to me. In ep 2, he was being a spiteful little bitch and said things he said to hurt her. In ep 4, he (and she) believed their countries were at war and he shot her when he thought she delivered him to his enemies with every reason to believe so. If the tables were turned, I see Hang Ah doing the same. (I did love when he told her it hurt his heart (when he shot her). AWWWWW. I love true love with guns).
Anyway, I want the King offed now. Also, while we are on Kingly insanity, who the hell asks someone 'hey, you had a gun to your head, why didn't you pull the trigger, you should have!' Dude, get therapy! You annoy the fuck out of me.
The episode highlighted the best and worst of Jae Ha. He was being a total dick to the SNSD-loving NK officer and I wanted to club him, but by the end of the ep, I had a ridiculously-sized crush on him. He is deliberately flaky but only when he knows he can be. When push comes to shove and he's the against the wall, he's got a ton of guts and courage. Underneath the spoiled persona is a spine of steel. The whole thing with the 60km run pretty much personifies this. He throws doing this run in his brother's face and, at that time, I do believe he means every word, due to his temper and his hurt/rage/guilt. But then he's quite happy when he thinks he'll run 2km and they will come get him and say he did enough for PR. But then (I am using too many 'but then?', aren't I?), when it turns out he has to do all 60km, he buckles down and grimly keeps going in freezing Korean winter in heavy military gear even with his leg busted, which is pretty much tourniquetted to keep him from bleeding! He refuses to give up even when the soldiers try to get him into the van and even when he thinks he lost anyway because he couldn't make it in time. His outburst near the end where he just yells "I can't! I can't! I can't!" actually made me emo up a bit (LSG is acting this role out of the ballpark btw).
Anyway, on to caps. Supposedly NK and SK are now at war over a minor incident that escalated, and Jae Ha, Shi Kyung and the third SK Korean guy have been caught. Only to have Hang Ah et al. show up and tell them that they will escort them out. The SK guys believe it as much as to be expected. Or, as JH puts it, perhaps it would be more convincing if they put away their guns.
Not helping your cause, Hang Ah!
Jae Ha refuses to go to be taken to Pyongyang and Hang Ah pulls a gun on him. I love an OTP that uses guns in an argument the way other people use curse words.
JH convinces the gang he and Shi Kyung need the bathroom. One little detail I loved is how his hands are shaking in this scene...
The escape attempt doesn't work, and we are back to the gun extravangza. And then JH, who hurt his leg in the scuffle, tells Hang Ah that he is not going anywhere. Because sure, he'll be treated well by NK, to be traded for territory or other concessions, but he won't do it, he refuses to be a hostage. And he tells her he won't leave and if she wants to kill him over it, so be it. OMFG, Jae Ha, I think I have just fallen in love!
And she turns her gun around and gives it to him! (EEEEE!) And it sinks it for him that maybe she wasn't lying, and she really was going to take them out to get them to SK.
I just love that they are back to bickering in 2 seconds flat.
Only, they step out into the full glare of massed NK army. Hang Ah is shocked but all Jae Ha can think of is that she planned it all along, to betray them.
He raises his (formerly her) gun, and shoots her point-blank in the chest (since none of them know it's a psycho experiment, none of them know it's blanks). I think this drama knows what I like!
Anybody else find the combo of gun and crazy angst really hot? No? Just me? I'll be backing away slowly from the rest of you sane people, now.
And then he puts the gun to his own head, ready to pull the trigger. I think I just went to drama heaven.
"Oops, surprise! It was all fake!" Honestly, I want to strangle the moron King, especially when he goes on and on about how this was a super-simple test and he's sorry his own brother failed it blahblahblah go DIAF already.
Oh, poor Hang Ah, clearly thinking of Jae Ha shooting her.
The confrontation with King and Jae Ha and I ranted about it above so I'll just shut up.
Guess who joins him for the insane 60km stunt? I love how he's secretly so pleased. Heeee.
He optimistically thinks he won't have to do the whole thing but it turns out he does. I love that he just buckles down and does it. One problem - he's barely limping because he's still freaking bleeding from the unhealed wound in his leg. Hang Ah gets her acupuncture needles out and I love that he freaks out at first until he realizes this is making the pain go away. AWWWWW. Guns AND hurt/comfort? You are spoiling me, drama!
Only that is a short term solution and, acupuncture or not, nobody should be going on a 60km hike in a blizzard, carrying heavy gear, with a bum leg. So soon, he's barely moving again. The guys in the car freak out and try to get him to give up and come in, but Jae Ha recalls his brother's disappointment and Hang Ah's taunt in ep 3 that he has no pride (and I love that HA's opinion is clearly as important to him as that of his idolized brother), grits his teeth and keeps on.
Next morning, they are still walking. Or, in Jae Ha's case, hobbling. Despite being on his last legs (hee, pun!) he refuses her hand and then she offers to piggy-back him (!!!!) to which he only growls "Move aside." Both sexy and masochistic. Just how I love my fictional men!
Only he really can't walk any more and pretty much rolls down the hill. Note to self - do not join Korean military, they seem to be insane.
And then he pretty much breaks down, at the end of his rope, crying "I can't!" Awwwww. Is there something in my eye?
They just sit, and she points out that they are out of time - they will never make it to the meeting point on time. And then she gives him a handkerchief to wipe up the tears (AWWWW!) and plops down with a grin, saying the weather is great for winter, so why don't they rest? And they are sneaking looks at each other! (LSG and HJW continue to have so much chemistry, it ought to be illegal!) At some point in there, he also makes his comment about feeling the shot too, right through his chest. *meeeeelt*
After a little bit of time resting, he gets up, telling her he is going to finish. She says the challenge is already over and he lost, and he grins a little and says he's a royal so he has to keep going. My heart!!!!
He stumbles, and when Shi Kyung tries to help him up, he refuses the help, asking angrily if he's being mocked for failure. This is when Hang Ah reveals she lied about the time because she wanted him to give up and rest, and they can actually make it. I love that he takes her helping hand this time! (Also, how much do I love it that he keeps calling her "Commie" as a term of endearment? EEE!)
!!!!!!!!
Apologies for how long this turned out to be. I got kinda carried away! :) You get a virtual cookie (or a shirtless Jae Ha or Hang Ah, if you prefer) if you read through this opus.
It seems barely anyone on my flist is watching this. Guys, you are missing out!
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Date: 2012-03-31 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 05:22 am (UTC)-kfan13
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Date: 2012-03-31 06:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 06:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 09:56 am (UTC)Can you believe that was only episode 4? This drama is going to own us. Is it Wednesday already?
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Date: 2012-03-31 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 01:46 pm (UTC)Re: King. I can't look at him without rage now, but he's on-screen a minimum amount of time, so that's fine. He's just lucky JH didn't pull that trigger he held to his temple, because blanks or not, you shoot yourself in the temple point blank, there is a decent chance you will kill, or at least badly injure, yourself. King would be looking at finding a new heir stat after that sort of thing.
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Date: 2012-03-31 01:49 pm (UTC)Their chemistry is so explosive and I love that there aren't idiotic love rivals or anything (one of the reasons I love action dramas, they don't have time for that stuff).
Btw, now that it's over, want to give Shut Up a chance? It's not a musical the way Dream High or What's Up were - there are a couple of band performances but that is about it. And you'd love the OTP - he's super-loyal and neither one of them pays attention to interlopers.
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Date: 2012-03-31 01:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 01:50 pm (UTC)ETA: Good luck with the exam!
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Date: 2012-03-31 01:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 01:55 pm (UTC)I am happy they took their wardrobe more from the former than the latter. My eyes have still to recover from Goong's 'fashion.'
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Date: 2012-03-31 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 03:35 pm (UTC)I wouldn't mind seeing JH jealous again though! That would be some intense stuff^^
I might give Shut Up a chance later in the year but I would like to finish What's Up first. Maybe this summer when I'm on holiday and have more free time. But I'll start downloading the episodes right away to have it on hand when I decide to start it.
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Date: 2012-03-31 05:16 pm (UTC)I am really loving all the tension and drama in KH2. I frankly cant wait for next week since the sister shows up, jae ha ends up marrying hang ah and i bet the king dies if not next week the week after. The king dying will totally send Jae Ha off the rails and I cant waiiiiit. It'll be interesting to see Jae Ha go from being a bit of a rascal to being King material. I wonder how Hang Ah will fair in all this mess though. Seung gi is getting all the good lines so far in this drama. I want Ha Ji won to have her moment in the sun too! (although nothing can beat that first episode ender with her beating him up. good times)
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Date: 2012-03-31 05:36 pm (UTC)I'm totally watching this, I just get to the episodes later than you do and I'm trying to avoid spoilers :)
(Still haven't seen 4, in fact, so I'll read this whole post later...)
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Date: 2012-03-31 06:23 pm (UTC)I think any time Shi Kyung is within ten feet of A, JH gets jealous but as for real serious intense jealousy - I dunno - this drama doesn't seem to have OTP interlopers. But we'll see. I know the synopsis said that TOTB will try to separate them after they fall in love, so I am sure there is some intensity and angst coming.
Yeah, with torrents it's good to get stuff quick.
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Date: 2012-03-31 06:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 06:27 pm (UTC)Maybe I am evil, but I can't wait for the King to buy it because I really want to see JH lose it. It's going to be spectacular.
I think HA is such a cool character and does have cool scenes - she doesn't need to grow into awesomeness as much as she's already there :P
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Date: 2012-03-31 07:49 pm (UTC)This drama pushes all my buttons. In a GOOD way! I'm loving it! Hopefully it continues to be awesome. :)
Going straight into this after the wonderful SUFBB has been a treat. If this holds up, and if Bride Mask in May and Arang in July don't fall on their faces, I could be a VERY happy camper untill sometime in September!
trixicopper
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Date: 2012-03-31 08:23 pm (UTC)But the final scene of that test, with the bright lights and the gun, was one of my favorite drama scenes ever. That was almost perfect. I'm not sure how I feel about the last part of the episode -- it just seemed like a bit of a jarring shift in tone -- but that middle part was great. (Did I want it to stay angsty longer? Seemed like it was earned angst...)
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Date: 2012-04-01 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 12:16 am (UTC)That scene with the gun was very IRIS-like and that's a big compliment coming from me. I want something as emotionally powerful in the future eps.
I do think the rest of the ep tied to it. (And the whole hopping for 60km on busted leg satisfied my angst junkie craving :P)
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Date: 2012-04-01 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 04:28 am (UTC)Argggh, can't wait for Wednesday to come, ahhhh stresss *Jae Ha mode on*
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Date: 2012-04-01 05:00 am (UTC)This episode was such a roller coaster ride that left my heart pumping and itching for a second ride. I cannot wait for next week!
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Date: 2012-04-01 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 02:50 pm (UTC)Yes, when I saw his hands shaking, that was it for me. I do love that this places his bravery in that whole sequence in a very different context - he's terrified but he still does the brave thing and doesn't let it show.
I wonder if LSG is so good at playing bastards that you end up adoring so well (though K2H has certainly flipped the adoration switch way earlier for me than Gumiho or Brilliant Legacy), because he normally comes across as such a nice person - I wonder if the hint of that comes through and makes you not give up on him during bastardy parts?
He is super-intense in this one. He's never been bad at acting, but I do wonder if this PD and acting opposite HJW has the effect of him elevating his game. I liked him in the other two dramas of his, but here I can't take my eyes off him.
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Date: 2012-04-01 02:51 pm (UTC)LOL re: stress. I love when he mutters it.
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Date: 2012-04-01 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 07:24 pm (UTC)I've followed Lee seung gi on many interviews and variety shows and he really does seem like a good nice. He is so well know in korea for his personality and as you wrote, i think it allows audiences to hold on waiting for the good guy to appear.
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Date: 2012-04-01 10:44 pm (UTC)Also, my sister and I totally agree with you about the stupid King. I though he was adorable before the fourth episode but now I can't wait for him to die. I mean not only was that experiment stupid and cruel but everything about it was illogical. We decided that there were plenty of better ways to test there cooperation and ability to trust each other. I mean if it still had to be an experiment why couldn't it be some other country attacking North Korea or even their two countries and the team would have to rely on each other to survive.
He was being idealistic to a delusional degree if he thought his brother was in the wrong.
But really the original 60 km last test would've worked fine forging bonds of comradeship under suffering, really the whole experiment thing is dangerous, like you said they're all commandos (except Jae Ha) and some one could get really hurt even without guns. Though, besides all that, why couldn't he and the commanders have met the team in the hall or gone over the intercom to let them know it was just a test instead of greeting them with a wall of North Korean rifles.
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Date: 2012-04-02 12:04 am (UTC)I think he might be worried that Jae Ha could not pull the 60 km march - the guy knows what a softy Jae Ha really is, in terms of stamina and resolution, or so he thought. The king figured in a case of escaping to the safety Jae Ha should be second to none. And he's right. Without Hang Ah and his feelings for her (a need to trust her, a pride to show off in front of her), Jae Ha would probably be a much more willing stowaway. This was something the king did not know and did not consider. But, love blinds us! What can I say?!
Love all the minor details LSG is doing to flesh out his character. When Hang Ah shows up for the march, his head turned in sync with where her finger was pointing. And soon as she finished laying out the danger, he said, let's go. And she sighed a little, like I knew this persuasion won't take long, but even so...She definitely helps him up his game.
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Date: 2012-04-02 12:08 am (UTC)Yeah, I liked the King for the first 3 but now I just want him to be put down. Leaving aside anything else, like the cruelty and stupidity of the experiment and him having the gall to blame JH (JH actually passed his idiotic experiment - if the King himself didn't go off-plan and had the whole might of NK ranged there, the cooperation would have been fine), if he really thinks JH et al reacted wrongly when he saw the best and brightest of NK with rifles pointing straight at him after being informed of the state of war, he's too delusional and unworldly to be a King. Forget realpolitik, he's unsuited for any brand of politics. You've got to be kidding me!
Also, I spent the second part of the ep, the one with JH and HA on their run, alternating thinking that I hope JH had his tetanus shots up to date and cringing. I know it's a drama and all, but that sort of stuff can have really bad and permanent consequences. Yikes.
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Date: 2012-04-02 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-02 12:23 am (UTC)I think, whether one likes the King or not, the drama has established pretty well that he is idealistic but isn't the best ruler. It was clear even when he was a kid.
Yes, I love all the little things LSG is doing. He and HJW really bounce off each other perfectly.
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Date: 2012-04-02 02:37 am (UTC)As a king, Jae Kang is a gatekeeper, a stock-taker. His misfortune, and future demise, sad to say, starts when he tries to do the one thing he really wants to accomplish - the unification. If not for that, I think the bad guy will be perfectly happy to leave the king alone and maintain the status quo. (I am not saying Jae Kang should not attempt to do it. He's just not cut out for the task.)
Jae Ha is totally different. He is a conqueror. Maybe even he himself does not know that, or refuses to admit that, but he is an action-taker. He has guts. He would not be a mannequin. Those qualities cannot be taught. Either you have it, or you don't. Can't wait to see if he gets to learn the other 'acquired' stuff and becomes a true king.
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Date: 2012-04-02 03:05 am (UTC)If JH went against crazy villain, he would not be sitting there all civilized, he'd be doing stuff.
Provided he learns to control his temper and his tongue to some degree, he's going to make a much better King than his brother, who is really too idealistic to be involved in politics (JH also has a better understanding of the realities of modern monarchy).
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Date: 2012-04-02 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-02 08:30 am (UTC)show is already making a place in my heart just after
4 episodes. The plot + cinematography+ witty script lines + awesome directing I believe will be the recipe of success for the coming episodes, but of course the acting of both leads will pretty sure be a buzz for acting awards soon, still it's too early to tell. I wonder how can they top off
Episode 4? The bathroom scene has got me trembling too, it's just too convincing..
I love your review. Just like you I am totally into this drama. Will be coming back for more :)
Can't wait for wed-thu. I thought weekends are the only
days of the week worth looking forward too. Hehe
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Date: 2012-04-03 04:09 am (UTC)Yes, it's rare for me to fall so hard so soon, but here I am.
The batthroom scene was perfect.
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Date: 2012-04-03 04:09 am (UTC)