My Beautiful Bride: on episode 13~14

“My parents died when i was in high school. They were murdered. There was a detective who caught that murderer. He was so cool. He looked like a hero fighting against all the evils of the world. Sunbae, please go back to then.”

Ouch. THAT should hit home. The more when it’s said by Detective Park’s dearest someone. At first i thought it should serve as a wake-up call before realizing it’s actually said late in the game — he has started, albeit struggling, to get out of Seo Jin-ki’s grasp and money and to put an end to The Shadows. It’s not Yoon-mi’s fault that she isn’t in the know; like how Joo-young keeps Do-hyung in the dark regarding her past, Detective Park does the same to Yoon-mi regarding his secret deals with The Shadows.

Too bad she misses out the detail that the cool detective not only impressed her but also inspired her to become one. Because then it would have been a keen reminder of the great things he could/can achieve by being an honest and principled police officer. His integrity alone managed to touch heart and change other for the better when he was (presumably) a low-rank officer; it’s a shame that he disappoints that very person when he’s now higher in ranks.

That said, the penultimate week is his (and Jin-sook’s) week, not because they get to shine but because most of the development takes place based on the cards they show and the information they let on. Nothing major yet significant enough to keep the ball rolling. As far as identifying the rat goes, i still don’t fully understand why Yoon-mi singles Park out when she has two other candidates — it seems to be more of instinct than a smoking gun — also what caused Park to join hands with The Shadows, or rather with Son Hae-jung (Seo Jin-ki’s lady).

Is it purely for monetary gains or are there other push factors? He always looked conflicted whenever he had to betray his comrades, as if he sold his soul against his will. Did he have to get helped from loan sharks because he had bad experience with banks? There gotta be more to his bitter spiteful diatribe against banks and rich people when he was chasing Do-hyung the other day.

Also, why did he have a change of heart from warning Seo Jin-ki of the possible danger Do-hyung may cause him to determined to shoot him down in half an episode? Being police officers who go after the worst kind of criminals come with life-threatening risks, so i am wondering whether his turnaround was to spare Yoon-mi or to prevent her from learning his ugly truths. Here’s hoping Show will shed light on these burning questions, ideally done by the man in question himself, because i want to understand him.

Another character whose motive remains largely unknown is Lee Jin-sook. We only see her in bits and pieces so far, not knowing the extent of her power and the exact role she’s holding in this loan sharking/trafficking business. Seo Jin-ki is familiar with her but she doesn’t seem to know him personally or by name, which is rather surprising. I expected her to know the big guns, but looks like she only learns about them through Glove (Seo’s underling). Maybe Seo hears about her from Hae-jung, who used to be under her?

At least she comes clean about her grounds for saving and recruiting Joo-young, which isn’t to help her but instead to use her to rise to power, and therefore asks Joo-young to do the same with her: watch and learn from her, as well as use her to gain some power so as not to be toyed by anyone anymore. Hmm, does she aim to dethrone Seo and Chairman Kang so she can be the new leader? If so, how is Joo-young useful to her, when she’s pretty much weak and isn’t that knowledgeable about The Shadows’ doings… unless she’s keeping her as some sort of trump card.

Nevertheless, i’m digging her character — commanding yet not controlling, intimidating yet levelheaded, sinister yet not in-your-face scary. Unlike Chairman Kang who makes your skin crawl by force or violence, she does it through presence and aura. You look up to her not out of fear but of respect.

I like this scene where she’s about to hammer a nail into Glove’s forehead because she totally made me shrivel and laugh concurrently. Her words inherently should scare the shit out of you while also coming off as somewhat funny, no kidding. I also like her scenes with Joo-young where she always seem to appeal and knock some sense into her head by repeatedly bringing Do-hyung up, filling her in on what he’s up to, and relentlessly asking if she’s going to keep this up (hiding from/not contacting him etc), which sounds more like why the heck you still keep this up to my ear, even though the response has stayed the same thus far. Sigh.

Jin-sook literally sighes at her stubbornness and unearned tears. I feel ya. I thought talking to Do-hyung was exasperating since he sounds like a broken record, reiterating that he met Joo-young for the first time three years ago and his only desire is to find her, but now ohmygosh listening to her nonsense denial and noble idiocy is even worse. You don’t want him to know about your past, that’s why he pretends not to; then you know that he knows, and you hear him accepting you despite that; you push him away, he chases after you still; you say sorry, he says “I miss you”; now you fake death, he not only goes along with it but also works on creating a safe world for you to live in! Argh!! You just lost the last bit of my sympathy there. You watch him literally go through fire and water and are acutely aware of the things he’s doing for you and still friggin’ refuse to go back to him? Then don’t! Until the last second of the finale, you’d better not change your mind. Do-hyung deserves someone who loves him, wants to be with him, and fights the world to be reunited with him. And she isn’t The One.

In episode 13~14 we are watching the good guys trying their damndest to save the bad guys — Glove from being killed by Seo Jin-ki, and the latter from dying from the gunshot wound. Seo survives for now, though it may not be for much longer since Secretary Kim is also out to get him despite Chairman Kang’s order to protect him. It’s amazing that debilitated Seo still has the energy to stab Detective Park and point a gun at Hae-jung, who rescued him from the super loose security the police put around him. Well, no one is loyal in the underground world, but if he shoots his own lady, that would be a real twist.

Objectively, these two episodes offer more gripping sequence than the middle third despite the obvious abatement in the writing department. I know where the show is heading, but i don’t know. We’re into the finale this weekend with Seo Jin-ki on the loose and Chairman Kang pretty much untouched. We also have yet to learn what’s the deal with Secretary Kim, Yoon-mi in helping Do-hyung, not to mention Do-hyung’s mom and her position in the whole equation. At this rate, i’m not surprised if we get a rushed ending, and while i’m no longer expecting a happy ending, a decent closure for every party would be much appreciated.

I have to restrain myself from bashing the ending scene. Again. I mean, of course we’ll cut there, ‘cuz it works every time (NOT). I even lost count on how many times such slow-mo wide-eyed frames appear. If i can say one thing, it’s for Do-hyung to jump into the car already — it’s not like he hasn’t reckoned she’s alive anyway.