dangermousie | Queen In Hyun's Man - eps 15-16 thoughts and caps

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Queen In Hyun's Man - eps 15-16 thoughts and caps

I am more and more in love with this drama, the more I think about it....

I love that BD gave her the talisman - that is such a concrete, practical, Bong Do way of committment.

I loved all the details of their mundane togetherness in ep 15. And how like BD to be the ultimate bookworm and also have an endless thirst for knowledge (love his rapid-fire questioning of Hee Jin about the most random things). I know QIHM is a great love story, but what I love is that BD being in the modern world isn't just about being with the woman he loves - it is also a chance for him to learn all sorts of things he'd have never known in Joseon, to travel to lands he never could have gone there. He doesn't just have HJ, he has a whole new world.

The purpose of a tie. This scene is so full of sweetness and affection and giddy happiness (I also love BD's deadpan sense of humor and how openly affectionate HJ is - BD is very contained, he needs someone like this). Trust QIHM to take something utterly mundane and turn it into shippy heaven only to double back on itself in the next ep and twist the purpose of a tie in the most horrific way only to later get back to its original sweetness.

Awwwww. I wonder if HJ picked out that dorky sweater? :P You know what I love? How openly physically affectionate and how in each other's space this couple is with each other, in the way you rarely see in kdramas. It makes me think of twdramas.

Their date. I love everything about it - the fact that he is (of course!) reading before she gets there, the fact that he orders something pretty unpalatable to his period palate but tries to pretend it's OK (ah, macho pride :P) but then she feeds him some of hers and he swaps. Heeee. And just the sheer effortless open affection they show each other throughout. They just shine. It's especially wonderful to see normally rather deadpan BD look so blissful.

There is more adorable teasing when he goes to buy her cotton candy but then...

All of a sudden, he's back in Joseon. I knew it! Not only could the story have them be this happy narratively, not with all the story left, but we kept having all these dire warnings about the talisman having a mind of its own and they are coming true in the most horrible way.

He finds YW killed and I love how he goes grimly berserk. I think BD has always had a "I am willing to risk my life and throw it away if necessary" streak (I wonder if that is why the talisman was so effective) and it's chilling to see how he is not paying any attention even to his wounds to kill the man who killed YW - this is the same man who went back knowing he'd be tortured, who went back and had that insane 'I am going to get shot and maybe live" plan. He is miles away from the laughing man with HJ and that is, perhaps, the greatest gift modern world can give him - he can be a bookworm, giddily in love, and not this suicidal avenger.

Meanwhile, poor HJ!

This is here because they are both so pretty when they angst.

This scene was shocking. I mean, we always knew he risked his life somehow to get back but we never saw it! And for him to stand there, and slit his own throat, without knowing if the talisman would still work (and you see that uncertainty in his eyes, but overwhelmed by his desperation), to get back to her - holy &*&!!!!

He is back but only so their separation can be more cruel - they see each other for a second and he can sense something is wrong and then he winks back out, being forced back into the past in front of her eyes, just so she'd have no hope left.

This scene, of them reaching to each other across time, and breaking down as sheer impossibility hits them, now imprisoned on separate sides of the time divide forever - this is where I started bawling. For HJ, who weeps as though her heart is breaking (because it is) and for BD, who is so controlled that it's doubly horrifying to see him weep, because it means he's broken too.

Yeah.

His one hope is the monk. Who is now dead. But I don't think even if he was alive, he'd be able to replicate it. That talisman was fueled by YW's love - the paper was merely the conduit - and YW is dead now.

So he comes to a decision and the most heartwrenching part of the drama follows - he decides to burn the talisman so she won't be burdened with memories but writes a letter first in case he forgets too, because he does not want to forget. To see BD sob, actually sob - is awful. And to see HJ's total breakdown! You know, a lot of dramas try to tell you their OTP is true love who can't live without each other, but few sell me on it. QIHM does. And how bleakly fitting that the price for having your life saved is wishing you were dead anyway - by giving BD a glimpse, a possibility, a hope of a new life and of love and then snatching it away - that is the worst punishment, especially when any chance of life in Joseon is gone too. I know I posted this letter before, but it bears re-quoting.

This is a letter that's written both to you and to me at the same time. I might forget that I had ever written this letter...Or even this letter itself might disappear. For me or for you, this letter is written for whoever may live holding on to the memories. When I first happened to come into possession of this talisman, I was very curious about its cause and effect. At first, I thought that the realization of my dream was the effect. Shortly after, I thought meeting you was its effect. Then afterwards, I thought that beginning a new life in another world was the effect. But it's only now that I came to realize its effects. If the cause was me surviving, then me losing everything was the effect. My future. My honor. My values. My people. And you, too. In order to preserve my life, I had to give up an equivalent price. This only made sense. That I thought I could keep even one of those things was my own foolishness. How much more will I lose in order to repay the price? Not being able to see you anymore, I have now realized that even that was a luxury. Memories. Our memories. Memories. Losing them is the final price I must pay. I do not know what will happen now. Will we forget each other, or will we live unable to forget, forever in agony? If I have a final wish...it is to remember you. In a life without aims, to not even have those memories would be hell. And you...As for you...Even if you should happen to read this letter someday far in the future, I pray that you will not be able to realize whom it is for.

And then BD spends a year on the run. He's been able to keep his memories and I am not sure if it's a mercy or further punishment.

This scene - you see him just...give up. How long can you keep going with no goal or hope? And it hurts so much because BD has always been about fighting, about going on.

His wish came true. She is reading his letter and has no idea whom it's for. My heart!

This was surreally gorgeous - the two of them, sharing their space, separated by centuries, and HJ, who does not remember anything, starts to cry, not knowing why but somehow able to feel his proximity and his distress across the years.

You remember that cuteness with the tie? Yeah. This drama is about to turn it into something utterly horrifying. This is so wrong - that BD has been driven so far as to commit suicide, that he is using the tie HJ gave him - a relic of one of his happiest memories, that that that that...

And meanwhile HJ starts to break down, feeling his despair and imminent death across centuries, despite memory wipe, despite that she shouldn't remember, shouldn't feel because it's against laws of time and space and magic. And then she remembers even though she cannot, shouldn't. A greater magic than any talisman. She dials his number and stumbles out, crying...

She is like a madwoman, asking to see the documentary on KBD she was narrating...

Someone comes in and she asks for a moment only...

Her call went across time as he was dying, and once he managed to free himself (it was awful to watch) and pick it up, he was transported. I've seen contradictory takes on this but I loved it. No, of course the phone isn't a magic gimmick - just like the original talisman was, it is merely a conduit for feeling, in this case not YW's but HJ's. In this case, what drove the 'phone talisman' was HJ's love for BD, love that managed to survive despite laws of the Universe, the fact that she remembered him when she shouldn't have been able to, and the fact that he was about to die, thus hearkening back to the original 'die in order to live' mantra of the original talisman. (Also, thank God - if the original talisman was dependent on YW being alive, life expectancy of a gisaeng in 17th-century wasn't great in any event).

His joy, when he thought all is lost but he has a second chance, is a wonderful thing to behold.

"I came back because you called me." This final scene, with its tenderness, passion and sheer love is probably my favorite ending scene in any drama. I love his attempt at nonchalance which doesn't work, I love the way they eat each other up with their eyes, I love the physical contrast with HJ tiny, pale, like a porcelain doll, and BD tall and masculine and in black.

And now we are back to the PROPER purpose of a tie (when he tells her he missed the purpose of a tie so much he was going to die...ohhh, so much said with so little, and horrifically literally true, but now all erased in all the happiness).

I think this is the best kdrama kissing scene I've ever seen. In part because there is so much feeling and I am so invested and also it's gorgeously shot and they are glowing, but also because they actually kiss the way real people do - mouths open, devouring each other.

And now I feel like rewatching the ending again!

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I still contend that w/o monk's voodoo, YW's love couldn't have been manifested through the talisman which means HJ's love manifesting through the phone on its own is BS . BUT I will let that go and weep with you because yes, it was an incredibly romantic ending. If ever two ppl deserve to be together, they're these two.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on the talisman :)

That ending is one I rewatched about a million times.

but... but... couldn't it have been anything else in that bag of his instead of the phone??? i get the phone is essential for communicating, but its usage could have just stayed in modern times... instead of suddenly coming alive in no-coverage joseon time and battery-probably-dead a year later.....

but hey, the reasons i'm seeing hashed out by supporters of this are getting better (no sarcasm at all)-- it's mainly a choice of words... the phone being key because of "connection"? or "memories"? or "conduit" of sincere love and desire for his well-being?... now that last one (used by you) makes such a difference-- it's much more... powerful/relevant?... and i think in the same way... writer-nim could have paced the story-telling a bit differently either before ep 16 or within it to flesh out that possibility before dropping it on us. but of course... by ep 16, she was running out of time to show her tale =P

I still utterly love QIHM <3 =D

Well, it's not any stranger for the phone to work with no cellphone towers than for a piece of paper to transport you across time. Magic is just...magic. And I do think the story has the idea that magic is just conduit for feelings - I doubt t=head monk knew about 21st century and the amulet taking him there.

Ahh, this drama has stolen my soul.

Can I cry again?

Join me! I don't think I'll ever be able to rewatch second half of 15 and first half of 16.

It is just so fascinating our divided people are about the ending to this drama. It's largely a testament to the quality and overall briliance of this drama that people are so passionate about it. If it was just another good but not great drama people would have just let a less than stellar ending go, but because expectations and anticipation was built so high anything less than what people expected was a let down. I mean the sheer number of people actual angry and upset over it was amazing! I am one that thought the ending was perfect and wonderful. I'm just a little upset that because of all the controversy, people are overlooking how gorgously done the whole last episode was. From the pacing to the lighting, the sound of the rain contrasting with Hee Jin's cries, the way their kissing shadows projected on a screen displaying their history... The whole ending scene was so gorgously thought out and filmed it enamored me. I don't think I've watched a more satisfying reunion between 2 people. Not only did I get a long, believable, emotion kissing scene, I got two!!! And on top of that I got a bit of humor thrown in at the last minute. How awesome was it that BD got interogated yet again! Briliant writing, just brilliant. Have you ever seen a drama that has had the word "perfect" thrown around as much as this one? This would be my first.

That is my favorite ending in any drama from any country over 7+ years of obsessive and copious drama watching. I couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

It is just so fascinating how divided people are about the ending to this drama. It's largely a testament to the quality and overall briliance of this drama that people are so passionate about it. If it was just another good drama people would have just let a less than stellar ending go, but because expectations and anticipation was built so high anything less than what people expected was a let down. I mean the sheer number of people who actually got angry and upset over it was amazing! I am one that thought the ending was perfect and wonderful. I'm just a little upset that because of all the controversy, people are overlooking how gorgously done the whole last episode was. From the pacing to the lighting, how they laid out the story of BD's letter and his speculation of being Queen In Hyun's Man, to the audio/visual details such as the sound of the rain contrasting with Hee Jin's cries, the way their kissing shadows projected on a screen displaying their history... The whole ending scene was so gorgously thought out and filmed it enamored me. I don't think I've watched a more satisfying reunion between 2 people. Most dramas given the leads sweet reunion dialogue and segways into a nice kiss and then "the end". The whole thing usually doesn't last nearly long enough for me. Not only did I get a long, believable, emotional kissing scene, I got two!!! And on top of that I got a bit of humor thrown in at the last minute. How awesome was it that BD got interogated yet again! Briliant writing, just brilliant. Have you ever seen a drama that has had the word "perfect" thrown around as much as this one? This would be my first. Thank you drama for taking me into the beautiful world of HJ and BD. Will I ever love an OTP as much as this one again? Maybe, but it will have to be something insanely magical to top this one. =)

That is my favorite ending in any drama from any country over 7+ years of obsessive and copious drama watching. I couldn't imagine anything more perfect - it was passionate, heartfelt, poetic, gorgeously shot and just so emotionally true I have no words. I've rewatched it so many times already.

A lot of their reunions were believably (and still sweetly and romantically) low-key because of who they are, but that last one just ratcheted the tension 1000x while still not being makjang.

LOL. I'm glad I'm not the only who watched that last part a bazillion times. I rewatched and rewatched and rewatched to the point I felt a bit pervy staring at them kissing over and over again. But it was just soooo satisfying. The ending touched every nook and cranny of my heart and this might sound weird, but I almost felt honored to be able to watch their love/reunion unfold. It just felt so special and intimate. Everything about their moments felt so real and genuine. This drama blurred the lines between reality and make believe for me. Their off screen reality probably had a lot to do with it, but I believe I saw honest and true feelings being shared and that is something special and rare to behold.

Oh, I rewatched it too many times to admit in public :)

That's true, it was something rare.

I have seen a few REALLY good drama series this year. The KBS Drama Specials have been good, loved Bokhee Noona, am thoroughly enjoying Lights and Shadows. However, the best written, directed, acted, etc., drama I have seen in the last four years is Queen Inhyun's Man. The writer(s) is (are) brilliant! There is just enough 'magic' to cover the plot, just enough pathos to draw one in, and plenty of light-heartedness to keep the viewer amused and empathizing with the characters.

Yes, the writers, directing, cinematography and acting all combined into perfection.

i love the ending.
when episode 14 ended like that im not satisfied thinking that ja-su is still alive.
and the relevance of the talisman being wiped out between hee jin and boong-do was amazingly portrayed by the writer.
as if ms.song knows what to put into the ending.
i want to believe that she and her team planned the ending. she knows how to joggle the realism of this fantasy drama. it was poignant. no cliches. no piggy back or bickering. pure innocence from the in-gwa couple all through out.
im glad there are no reincarnations. or boong-do died and he will become another person , a descendant maybe in the future. LOL.
im glad there are no connection of hee jin to the late wife(some speculate the reason why she was shown blurry was because she resembles hee jin) or a descendant of the queen. with that their love is more organic and genuine.
im glad there are no deux ex machina. (though some would say the phone or tie was BUT then again can i reference them to your post LOL )

it was love transcending thru time and space.

so glad director kim BS accepted ms.song's offer.
two brilliant minds married their thoughts and their offspring is Queen in Hyun's Man.

p.s. i love your scaps. the one with the red-blue-violet projector lights dancing on their faces in particular. lovely.
and the Kim boong-do holding his phone and the talisman . it went to my tumblr.. for some fangirling reasons >:DD

Thank you, you can take any and all caps you want!

Yes, if it ended up 14, it would have been a very good drama. By ending in 16, it became perfect.

Also, I don't understand the insistence that it's only the monk who could make things possible - I agree with

timescout below that it was never the monk, it was YW's feelings (and at the end, HJ's). I don't see why it's less plausible that someone's feeling can make someone time-travel than some old guy writing it could - it's fantasy either way.

Yup, the last 2 episodes brought both pain and happiness. There were so many moments that made my heart ache but I think it was that darned letter that made me cry like a baby.

I'm happy how it ended. Like you I always saw the talisman paper as a conduit rather than something magical in itself. I think it would have worked just as well had it been written by YW herself. The magic was in her love for BD and sincire wish to keep him safe (the monk just added his wish in with hers). The phone was no different, it was HJ and her love that gave the phone it's magical power. Without her it would have been just a useless piece of plastic and wiring. So in a sence the real talismans were YW and HJ. :)

QIHM will remain one of my all time favourite dramas.

I agree, I thought the monk drawing the talisman was immaterial (and honestly, in a world where someone can travel through time to save one's life, is it really more probable that it works due to a monk than due to someone's wishes? We are not really in reality-land here).

It's definitely going into my all time faves.

What a perfect drama! Loved everything in it!
I don't understand why some people have a problem with the phone but not the paper talisman??? Oh, well! Poor them!

Emma

I know, I wouldn't change a word!

I've been a silent reader of your blog (well, in fact, of all the blogs about QIHM out there! It is the first time ever that I tried to search desperately for all the reviews and recaps of a K-drama. I really loved reading everyone's comment about the show, because everyone is loving it! And listening to everyone's thoughts on the show just made me love it more, more and more)

Btw, I've just encountered this post in thundie's prattle about 10 rules in the Kdramaverse. (I guess that you already saw it?)
http://thundiesprattle.com/2011/12/08/ten-laws-of-the-kdramaverse-a-survival-guide-for-heroines/comment-page-2/#comment-20192

When I read it, all I could think of is KBD and QIHM. This show really breaks all the rule of Kdramaverse! In away, KBD ruins all the K-drama hero, and QIHM ruins all the rom-com miniseries, at least in my view! <3

Oooh, I didn't see it, off to read :)

Yes, this show is very much its own thing.

Dear dangermousie,

I was one of those who thought the phone thing was a WTF moment. I've read a lot of discussion on it on the forums, on javabeans, on blogs. And I have remained unconvinced because if one had to rationalize THIS MUCH (see dramabeans, the sheer amount of explanation is staggering) then to me it's a failed narrative. I've tried to forget the first 40 minutes, but of course one can't un-see anything. Some have said that this is a drama that we can't just watch on the surface and that analysis is necessary. Yes, for the first 15 episodes. However for an episode like a finale, I think what the audience needs is emotional satisfaction. The reason why the phone was such a problem was that it felt too implausible in the world writer Song created. This world didn't feel like magic from the get go. She made everything including time travelling and the talisman real, so real that an inclusion like the phone stuck out like a sore thumb. It just felt like it happened out of nowhere. Explaining the phone away as a form of "magic" just felt like the easy way out.

But. BUT. I think you single-handedly brought me from “unconvinced” to readily agreeing with what you have said about the phone in this very articulate post of yours. I love your writing. :D And also, I feel that Hee Jin's last voiceover actually is the best answer out of every kind of rationalization I've read online:

This meeting that started in the gap of time, is a meeting that ended a year ago. We are now not together because of a talisman, but because of our collective memories.

Just gorgeous. The finale was eye candy. The ending scene was brilliantly and creatively lit (the projector was zzang!). The kissing was epic. The show is (near) perfection and it's too hard to watch other shows now. I find myself wondering why the female lead is so dumb why the male is such a jerk why the characters are so immature. Oh, QIHM. You have ruined me.

(Boong Do's letter in ep 15 made me lose it >.< I've tried re-watching the episodes randomly, but I've come to realise episode 15 isn't one that should be rewatched again in the wee hours. >.<)

Oh wow, thank you! And a great point about the voiceover!

Every second of that ending was gorgeous.

I don't think I can rewatch second haf od ep 15 any time soon.

But I feel like even on Dramabeans, people had said repeatedly that the phone was a mere conduit. In which case, it's dangermousie's articulation that must have made the difference here for you.

And you're absolutely right about the voice-over. That voice-over and other elements in the drama (Heejin's very visceral connection to Boongdo) made me think of both the talisman and the phone as the embodiment of the two women's memory/love/spirit.

I can't wait for the DVD to come out. Dangermousie, I'm so glad that you wrote about Ep 15 and 16. My experience of QIHM would have felt somehow incomplete, had you not shared your experience. It's a delight to enjoy it with you. Thanks as always.

Oh, wow, thank you!

I love your ideas of talismans as embodiments of love.

:)
I know it's a good one, isn't it? I came to think of it while I was following Joonni's recaps and discussing the finale. (I'm "echo" on wordpress):

Thanks!

I have no idea what is with LJ's bizarre new spam filters.

Why does LJ think any reply with a link in it is spam? So annoying...

I added you to my flist. If you are on my flist, your links won't show as spam.

Aw, thanks.

unsurprisingly, i was bawling throughout boongdo's letter .the rest of the drama moments are so low-key, partly due to the hero's disposition, that he dealt with life-and-death situations like they were a walk in the park. But in the finale, the situation really hit me in the gut; and I happily joined the crying bandwagon.

personally, i loved the cellphone-converted-into-conduit twist in the last part. Bad thing is, Boongdo would always have to keep something of Heejin's onto his person at all times, lest he disappears to where he belongs..

Yeah, I was crying too!

Something of hers on: they can solve that problem with her giving him a wedding ring :)

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Queen In Hyun's Man - eps 15-16 thoughts and caps

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