Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! What a rollercoaster pair of episodes this turned out to be – and how precious is the sight of these two, just being together like this? ❤️ ALSO. Can you believe we’ve only got one more week of this show? 🥲
SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:
ZERO SPOILER POLICY
1. We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.
The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD.
ANY AND ALL SPOILERS WILL BE REDACTED to protect first-time viewers in our midst (although, I’d appreciate it if you would save me the trouble of having to redact spoilers, heh 😅).
This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.
We need to protect the innocent! 😉
SPOILER ZONE
2. HOWEVER!! If you’d like to discuss spoilers from a rewatcher’s point of view, I’ve created a SPOILER ZONE for you, where you can discuss all the spoilers you’d like, without the need for spoiler warnings. You can find it here!
Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️
My thoughts
Episode 13
This episode, it feels like Yoon Wol’s dire warning about misuse of the talisman bringing about disaster comes true, but.. I tend to think that it’s less about Boong Do wanting to fulfill his selfish desires, and more about Lord Min Am being quite clever, in scheming against Boong Do.
I mean, when I think about it, that’s what the trouble boils down to, right?
It’s all because Lord Min Am starts to understand the mechanics of the talisman, and hatches a plan to injure Boong Do in broad daylight (which incapacitates him in 2012), that the historical records show that everything goes awry.
If Lord Min Am hadn’t figured out how the talisman works, this wouldn’t have happened.
Of course, it’s arguable, that if Boong Do hadn’t been hopping over to 2012 so often, to see Hee Jin, then perhaps Lord Min Am wouldn’t have had the opportunity to figure things out. Hrm. That kinda makes sense too.
I suppose, as with most things, it’s a combination of factors, rather than just one thing.
The important thing is, Boong Do is placed in a really difficult position, as a result of Lord Min Am’s scheme.
And, by extension, that puts our OTP loveline in what feels like a precarious situation as well, boo.
I would like to say, though, that Boong Do is grace under fire, as always.
For example, when Yoon Wol first tells him about how his selfish desires would cause the talisman to bring about great misfortune, he remains so calm.
The way he is able to empathize with Yoon Wol’s upset state, then quickly break down what she says, and tells her – gently! – that he needs to process everything she’s just said, and to please explain what she means when she says the talisman will become a curse, is so appealing to me.
No flying into a panic; just calm analysis and gentle listening. Gosh, this is one of my favorite things about Boong Do.
We see it again, at the end of the episode, when Hee Jin gets upset and tells him not to go back to his Joseon timeline.
Again, I love how he doesn’t get all panicky or upset, especially when she claims that she’d burned the talisman.
Instead, he talks to her gently, and explains how he’d made a promise to Queen In-hyun, to protect her with his life, and how, if he doesn’t fix this, he won’t be able to live with himself.
The fact that he manages to remain so calm and empathetic in a literal life and death situation, just impresses me so much, and it makes me want to believe his promise, that he’ll take responsibility for everything, and come back.
I do feel bad for Hee Jin, though.
At the top of the episode, she’s adorably happy about getting things ready for Boong Do to move to 2012, as he’d requested, so much so that it doesn’t even faze her one bit, that she’s having to suffer at work, and has lost all her commercial deals.
And then, without warning, she finds Boong Do in emergency care, having been shot by arrows. Plus, with the updated alarming events reflected in the historical records, what’s a girl to do, really?
I don’t blame her for trying to lie to Boong Do, in a bid to keep him in 2012, and away from possible death, back in the Joseon timeline.
I mean, from her point of view, yes, it sucks that Queen In-hyun got decapitated in a freak twist of history, but if she can keep Boong Do from probable death by preventing him from going back to Joseon, why not, right?
I can understand that her priority is Boong Do’s safety, rather than Queen In-hyun’s reputation.
I’m glad, though, that despite her misgivings, it appears that Hee Jin understands why it’s important to Boong Do, that he return to Joseon and set things right, and why he wouldn’t be able to live with himself otherwise.
It’s just.. scary, for Hee Jin (and for me too!), to let him go like that.
Boong Do’s going to be ok, I hope..? 😬
Episode 14
Omigosh, you guys. WHAT. A. ROLLERCOASTER.
This episode had both my head AND my heart, doing somersaults and all sorts of gymnastics, as I tried to keep track of whether Boong Do was ok (which, really, is the only thing I care about, at this point).
And what a great job Show does of it all, eh? I’m sincerely impressed, as I type this.
When Boong Do first returns to Joseon, I’d had no clue how he planned to set things right again. After all, all fingers are pointing at him, there are witnesses, and the King is royally angry with him, and not about to be easily appeased.
And Show really has us going for a while there, too. Or at least, Show had ME going for a while there, at least.
Because, even though I’ve watched this drama before, that was a looonng time ago, and I had zero recollection of how writer-nim gets Boong Do out of this mess. And, while watching, I couldn’t figure it out, either.
I was as much along for the ride as anyone else, who was watching for the first time.
It was properly nerve-racking to watch, as Boong Do gets arrested and interrogated, and then it was legit horrifying to watch, as the royal guards carry out the King’s order, to shoot Boong Do with arrows.
ESPECIALLY after we hear Boong Do inform Lord Min Am, that the talisman that he’s provided the King, is a fake one.
Like, ACK. How is Boong Do going to survive, right, if the talisman that’s on him is a fake one?
And so, as the story continues to tell of Boong Do’s death, and as Hee Jin finds out about it in 2012 and falls into a dead faint, my brain’s racing in futile circles, wondering how on earth Boong Do could have escaped death, because he just HAD TO, right??
GUH. Like I said, Show really had me going. 😅
And, Hee Jin’s heartbroken sobbing on that hospital bed, all beside herself, was so well done (kudos to Yoo In Na), that I vicariously felt hopeless and heartbroken too, even as my brain insisted (in a pretty small, plaintive voice) that there must be SOME way, for Boong Do to survive this terrible turn of events.
AND THENNNN. Show gives us that “One Month Ago” flashback, and shows us exactly what Boong Do did, in order to have a fighting chance to survive.
And my goodness, the fact that Boong Do literally does risk his life, in order to take responsibility on all fronts, AND survive, does gives me chills.
Because, with this plan, there was always a chance that he wouldn’t make it. And those increased stakes make me kind of breathless, to be honest.
Like, what if Boong Do hadn’t made it, right? Gurgle. What a horrifying thought! 😱
Still, what a shrewd risk Boong Do takes, in having himself brought to the exact spot where he’d end up outside the ER, once the talisman does its teleporting thing. It’s so true, that this is his best chance of surviving those arrow wounds.
Although, by this time, I’m so worried for Boong Do, because he’s suffered a total of 5 arrow wounds, within the space of a few short days.
That can’t be good for his body, particularly since he seems to have a habit of hopping out of his hospital bed and running around, long before his wounds have healed. 😬
However, I do appreciate Boong Do’s sense of responsibility towards the people who work in his household, that he would take care to make sure everyone’s livelihood is taken care of, and no one is left high and dry, after his supposed death.
And, I’m glad that at least Boong Do’s servant Han Dong and Yoon Wol get to know the truth, that Boong Do isn’t dead. I feel that that would provide an important layer of comfort, particularly for Yoon Wol, who’s held such a torch for Boong Do, for so long.
I find it so fitting, really, that when Hee Jin comes upon Boong Do outside her apartment, he’s tearful from the emotion of it all.
It’s no small deal, to leave behind one’s entire life, and Boong Do’s done just that.
In the flurry of all that survival stuff, it might be easy to forget that, but it is a momentous milestone for Boong Do, and one that he shouldn’t attempt to bottle up or sweep under the carpet.
I’m actually really glad that he’s allowing himself to feel all the feelings, and process the emotions. The way he tells Hee Jin that he feels like an orphan, now that he doesn’t have anywhere to return to, is so poignant.
I’m glad that Hee Jin’s right there, to comfort him, and tell him that he’ll always have her by his side.
The way Boong Do draws close to Hee Jin and sinks into her embrace feels so needful, and so comforting.
It feels like such a relief, after everything that he’s been through.
And then, after he assures Hee Jin that everything’s over, we hear his gentle, heartfelt confession:
“There are many words that I don’t understand, and words that I am hearing for the first time. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed.
I love you.”
Melt. Puddle. Swoon.
This all feels so earnest and hard-won. Our OTP is finally together again, in the same space, and in each other’s embrace.
Can they just stay like this for our final two episodes..?
no question, these were a few nerve-racking episodes, but i am thankful it ended good… yet, especially the ending left me with some questions (should i call it questions?…) or may be thoughts. i am not talking about the kiss (always welcome, especially when it comes to these two), but rather boong do’s situation.
he was hit with 2 arrows the first time, but was fixed by the doctors in his “future life”. he hardly wakes up, jumps out of bed and runs. ok, that’s a bit fast, but i’ll accept it. the problem i have is the second time. he’s shot with multiple arrows -by his own design (courage can sometimes border with stupidity), although i do understand his predicament.
so here are my questions, misunderstandings or whatever one can call it:
as we saw he switched his life-saving talisman to a fake talisman, (the real one stayed at his house in a book) to avoid to disappear from the execution site and thus show everybody that he will die and thus implicate the evil minister.
so let’s say his servant quickly (how quick can it be on a horse??? and wouldn’t he need CPR?), but the most troubling question for me is this: from what i understood, the talisman (the real one) has to be on him at the moment he’s struck/injured or almost injured, close to death. but here, the talisman was NOT on him, at the moment the arrows entered his body. so how did he survive?
then, he’s back in his “future life” in modern korea, bloodied, unconscious, almost dead lying in front of the same hospital as the one that treated him before.
and here i feel the writer/director simply rushed or lost his patience, or lost a part if his musa… we do not see anything like he’s being treated, saved, where was our beloved hee jin – that should have been a whole scene with them in the hospital. and how did he just escaped from the hospital with quite a few holes in his body, after being shot twice and having serious surgeries, and he’s just at her house, all good, but how did it come to this moment? that is the problem i have with this episode. seems like it was rushed and not thought through. or some scenes were taken out…
of course, is am still a faithful fan of this drama and our couple especially.
Truly a rollercoaster, think I didn’t breathe for some parts of it. How can they top that for an ending?! But this show has been so good so far so I trust our writer!
I know, right?? They could’ve ended it right there, at the end of E14, and it would’ve felt like a solid happy ending. 🥲
Fangurl – I just love this little gem!
I love your Melt. Puddle. Swoon. I felt the same at that moment. Ah, these two are perfect together.
Poor Yoon Wol. Anyone who has ever lost the one they love will understand how she feels. It is heart wrenching.
I also forgot the back story of the three arrow scenario. Sheesh – this was like a brand new watch.
We have two episodes left and I almost could not stop binging ahead. I think we all want to see a happy ending.
Yoo In Na is one of the best criers in KDramaworld.
Phl – I was the same. I started on ep 15 without thinking, then quickly had to find something else to watch. It will be interesting to see if the ending is as I remember it or what I have imagined it to be.
Here’s a nice interview with Yoo In Na that appeared in Soompi from early last year: https://www.soompi.com/article/1451334wpp/yoo-in-na-talks-about-her-upcoming-drama-newfound-happiness-friendship-with-iu-and-more
Sean – I enjoyed reading that. I did not know she and IU were besties.
phl, i just wanted to remind you about your “commitment” to us. you said there was a last scene that was not aired, but you seemed exited about it and promised to find it and post it , (when we get to the end of this drama – and the end is around the corner) so we can enjoy it too! REMEMBER?
@Eda – I have not forgotten. I will post it! 😉
thanks!!! can’t wait!!!
The great aspect re this show – it oozes incredulity and we ultimately buy into it because it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. The power of love transcends everything.
The roller coaster ride in episodes 13 and 14 is done to perfection. We laugh, we cry, we cheer and then settle into an awesome gooey melting moment that says “all is as it should be.”
Show is a romantic fairytale and I’m up for that every day of the week 😊😊😊
Sean – well said sir!
Thank you, phl 😊😊😊
Eep! I totally bought the King was crazy-mad and was therefore really annoyed that he’d choose to believe Lord Min’s unlikely (although true) assertion of sorcery over his loyal friend’s defence (although not strictly true…) of being setting up by Lord Min. I was like, woah, this King is baaaaad. However, I did have a feeling the charm was phony. I’m suspicious like that – and also I didn’t think our clever, pragmatic Boong-do would put himself so easily at death’s door.
Oh, wait, but he did really. His plan was actually ridiculous! I mean, the fact he found the exact spot (and I mean PRECISELY) of grass in the past that would send him to the side of the ambulance in the present (and not crushed beneath it 😅) is a fetch rather far for me – and his faith that 2012 medicine could fix three deadly-aimed arrows seems really quite a risk. I guess he felt he had nothing to lose. But with such a plan, he really should have said goodbye to Hee-jin properly and not over the phone, however calm and gently done.
Oh, but like you, kfangurl, I love his gentleness 😍 I also loved that he cried to be back in 2012 but now without the means to ever return. It makes sense he’d feel adrift. Ah, but the most beautiful girl in the world is there to anchor him. I was all over the ending 🥰
BUT… What do mean there’s another two episodes to go??!! What. Is. Going. To. Happen… I’m afraid the happy ending is going to get all complicated and sad. It will end happily, right? Right?!!!! 😨
My exact thoughts when finishing these episodes! How can there be two episodes left? This show is definitely a roller coaster of a ride!
I thought, Aw, what a perfect ending… But wait! There’s more! Hope Writer-nim sticks the landing, after already having landed it perfectly. 😉
It’s just a minor note for a relatively minor part, and I know she never had a chance, but I’ve low-key felt bad for Yun Wol throughout the show, as I usually do for torch-bearers whose love remains unrequited… Alas, find peace, fair Yun Wol!
Aw that’s true, poor Yoon Wol! 😭
Yes, I agree, Trent! She has the air of our Seol-hwa and makes my heart sore for hers 💔
Ooh, good catch! I hadn’t thought of that, but she does have a bit of that Seol-hwa vibe (although she’s older and seems to have more gravity than Seol-hwa). Same tragic unrequited love thing going, though.