Capital Scandal: if you watch only one kdrama, make it this one. The mother of all drama posts...
Home!!!!!!!!!! I promise to reply to everyone by tomorrow.
To celebrate it, I want to talk about what is probably the most underrated drama I have come across, Capital Scandal. It is, arguably, better than My Girl. Yes, I said it. Maybe better than MG. And if you know me, you know what a big statement it is to make, as MG is my favorite kdrama of all time.
What is Capital Scandal? It is a 16-episode Korean drama set in the 1930s occupied Korea. The story, complete with fabulous costumes and swing music, starts out light-heartedly, but develops into a lot more: look at love, and patriotism, and sacrifice. The plot is as follows: our protagonist, the dapper Sun Woo Wan, known as Wan to his friends, is studiedly apolitical, and arguably the Capital's biggest flirt. Wan can always find a willing woman and his life seems remarkably trouble-free for such troubling times (note the 'seems' part though) until his paths cross with the idealistic, old-fashioned book-seller/teacher Yeo Kyong, nicknamed Ma Ja. Ma Ja is someone who wants to join the rebel underground, someone unswerving and as involved in the world as Wan is not. But after a series of chance, hilarious, unlucky encounters with her, Wan makes a bet when drunk with his friends: he will transform the unfashionable Ma Ja into a 'proper' girl. Or will he be transformed instead? Or maybe no transformation is necessary and things dormant in him need to be brought out? There are two other main characters. The charismatic, taciturn Su Hyun, a now working for the Japanese Korean, who has a tragic history with Wan. And Sang Joo, the capital's most popular courtesan, and Wan's best friend. It starts out funny, and romper, even, but develops into one of the most romantic, complicated, emotional, and clever dramas I've seen. It made me bawl, it made me laugh like mad.
Publicity still of Wan and Ma Ja:
Wan:
Ma Ja:
Su Hyun and Sang Joo:
The tough, awesome courtesan Sang Joo:
Wan and Sang Joo:
Wan:
GUUUUH:
Ma Ja:
Eeee!
Notice the height difference!
*meep*
Different meep:
Sang Joo:
Oh my secondary OTP:
Sheer sweetness:
The best. General MV:
Another general one:
Fluffy Wan/Ma Ja one:
Ma Ja admits her feelings and there is kissing:
I don't think that many people on my flist watched it, though those who have seem to have uniformly loved it. It probably fell through the cracks: it's not a modern drama with spiffy computers and workplace hijinks. Nor is it one of those beloved period dramas with swords and funny hats. It is set in the 1930s, which is an unusual period for a drama, to say the least (most of them tend to be either in the hyper-now, or in the shrouded-by-mist past). If you think about it, Korea under Japanese occupation seems like a recipe for no drama except one miserable even by kdrama's high angst standards. And yet, the trailers, the theme music, the summary all made it seem like a screwball (apolitical playboy has to win idealistic rebel teacher on a bet) which is even a bigger recipe for disaster in the time period.
And yet...and yet...and yet. CS was this incredibly rare kdrama which I never forwarded. Which was pitch perfect. It was a screwball, screamingly funny at times, but it was a screwball which made me bawl more than once. In a way, CS was like a Bollywood movie: it lured you in with the funny and then punched you in the gut. And, biggest miracle, made you laugh after that.
This is a kdrama for people who never want to watch a kdrama, or even drama. All the typical problems with kdramas are either entirely absent or subverted: the pace never lags (it is not slow in the beginning, saggy in the middle, or screeches to a halt near the end). There are no love triangles or evil parents or terminal illnesses or dewy love at first sight (what love is in CS it is hard-fought for and earned, and Wan/Ma Ja are definitely in my Top 10 drama OTPs of all time, and I love the secondary OTP of Su Hyun and Sang Joo even as it rips my heart out). Every character, lovable or loathsome, is interesting. Not to mention the production values and the costumes. They were movie quality!
As the rest is very spoilery, not to mention long, it is behind cut.
And did I mention the relationships? I have never really seen before in any drama a true portrayal of male-female friendship, a really strong one, but in this drama, all relationships are important, not just romantic ones. And the friendship between Wan and Sang Joo is just that: a really strong, long-lasting friendship, with no hint or promise of more. They are friends, the end. They talk and help and are there for each other but there is no romantic love. You have no idea how shocking it was to me. In fact, probably one of the emotionally strongest Wan moments for me wasn't anything with Wan and Ma Ja, but Wan after scattering Sang Joo's ashes, breaking down and collapsing on his knees and just screaming and all Ma Ja can do is trying to hold him, crying herself.
Or the fact that there is actually a *gasp* female friendship in the drama: between Ma Ja and Sang Joo. They are such different women: the broken in so many ways yet tough as nails Sang Joo, who has to sell her body to men she doesn't love. And the 'healing angel' Ma Ja, who is such an adorable, stubborn, somehow pure and idealistic darling (you can so see why Wan falls for her, why Su Hyun treats her as his surrogate little sister). And yet, they end up really meshing well, and at Sang Joo's death Ma Ja is devastated because she never got to call her 'unni' (older sister).
Or the relationship between Su Hyun (who wins the 'broken' competition hands down. Btw, meganbmoore, if you are reading, he is so your type) and Ma Ja. She is his surrogate little sister, whom he lost in all the turmoil of the times. He is so tenderly amused by her and it's not a love triangle or anything silly, but a desire for connection and protectiveness for the woman his best friend cares for.
And then there are Wan and Su Hyun. I love that in drama men are allowed to show importance of friendship bonds to each other. The loss of Su Hyun, the thought that he was a traitor and caused Wan's older brother's death is almost as much a psychic wound to Wan as his brother's death was. The scene where he begs Su Hyun for any explanation, telling him he will accept it, even if it's a lie...waaaaah. Or the scene where he tells his father the 'explanation' so his father would feel better. Or Su Hyun trying, and unable to get drunk, and telling him that sometimes he misses him. And then of course the revelation, when Wan (and we) find out the truth about Su Hyun, and how it wasn't his fault, and how he's been living in self-made hell ever since, and oh, that scene where they have it out, and there is punching, and manly crying, and...OK. *sniff*
And I was giddy at the end, with Wan and Su Hyun fighting together, guns blazing, adrenaline and crazy grins, and Wan asking Su Hyun to take care of Ma Ja if he won't make it and Su Hyun telling him to take care of her himself :) (I love how earlier Wan told Su Hyun he won't be alone, he will replace Min (the older brother) eeeee)
It's wonderful how character-consistent this drama is, btw. Because Wan is not Su Hyun, who in a lot of ways is an ideological idealist. For Wan, this is ultimately personal, his involvement in the revolution, his being drawn in from his life of studied apathy, an apolitical smartness (which was itself a form of rebellion, denial of meaning of life, as those who he thought were worth emulating turned out (he believed) to be dead or traitors. No wonder he doesn't join the rebels or the Japanese), but yes, his being drawn in, while it is based in the fact that he is Korean, is ultimately because of his love of people involved, just as he viewed the world from childhood: his love and rage for Sang Joo. His friendship with and desire to end the loneliness of Su Hyun. Above all, his unswerving desire to protect Ma Ja. He volunteers for that dangerous mission to Japan even though he has little interest in revolt at the time, because otherwise Ma Ja wants to go, and he won't let her.
The interesting thing is, how feminist this drama is. Not only does the story not look down on Sang Joo, who is both a courtesan and a professional assassin (the drama shows us her hard choices and inescapable path), it allows women strength and participation. It is Ma Ja who 'reforms' Wan and drags him out of his apathy (but how much do I love that he doesn't become a stern idealist. He is still the tongue-in-cheek flirt in a lot of ways, even if he is idealistic and in love and a fighter, now). It is Sang Joo who performs a lot of operations. She is the one who saves Su Hyun by sacrificing herself. OMG, that scene killed me dead and then danced a dance on my remains. Because they had loved each other for years, and his words prevented her from suicide when she was sold into a brothel and was raped (and he couldn't buy her or help her, because he was a student). I love the scene when he is with her, and he is drunk and so his iron self-control breaks and he keeps asking her why she had to be a courtesan and she thinks he means she is unworthy but he continues that he hates to see her with other men, and he is crying and then he falls asleep and she just puts her head on his back. OMG. And later, Wan pushes (sort of repaying the favor Sang Joo did for him and Ma Ja) and Su Hyun can't hold it in any more and admits his feelings to her, and they spend the night together, probably the first time she slept with someone she loves, and they are so hopeful the next morning, but then of course they are betrayed and ambushed and the only way for him to survive (he is undercover as a Japanese cop) is for her and co-conspirator to pretend to take him hostage, and Su Hyun has to shoot the co-conspirator, and the already wounded Sang Joo is shot in front of him, and OMG, I was bawling, and he collapses to his knees and everything on screen goes silent. And I love how he is suicidal after this, and is only continuing because Sang Joo wills it. I think, in a way, it was almost better for him to have died: he feels such shame and responsibility for Min dying because of him and now this is even worse. OMG.
And yes, the men want to protect the women they love, but that is the thing. It's not because they are women, but because they want those they love to be safe. Su Hyun wants to protect Sang Joo because he loves her. And Wan will do anything to protect Ma Ja, but not because she is a weak woman, but because she is the woman he loves, and he wants to keep her protected and 'unsullied' (I love his anger at her learning to shoot, and I love that she still does it). He wants to pet her and spoil her (he is so adorable trying to drag her to a store to buy her cute clothes and perfume) and he needs her safe because she is what he is fighting her. I love that before the final battle he begs her to stay out, because he's already lost so many people, and he couldn't live if he lost her (I also love that the drama acknowledges that in part he sees something of his brother in her), and I love that she won't do it, until Su Hyun gives her another assignment instead (and in part it is because they need Wan to have piece of mind, but in part because Ma Ja would suck as a shooter). And her assignment is just as important.
And if the men protect the women, the women protect the men. In addition to the whole Sang Joo thing above, when Wan is tortured by that Japanese cop (blanking on the name, but I loved that even he was a complex character, even though I was delighted when he killed himself), it is Ma Ja who finally gets through to the cop to stop, and it is Ma Ja who grabs the gun to go after the cop later, only with great difficulty talked out of it by Su Hyun. The tiny, petite Ma Ja (she barely reaches to Wan's shoulder, which is the cutest thing in the world. She is so dainty and petite and stubbornly adorable. She portrays shining goodness without being boring. I am in love with her myself and I need to see this actress in something else. And OMG, the guy who played Wan? Where has he been all my life? He is so tall, and broad-shouldered, and irresistably masculine. OMG). Ma Ja who has never killed anyone, and is a bad shooter, has no hesitation about it. Or about severely wounding the cop later.
I love the parallels in the actions of Wan and Ma Ja, really. Because just as Wan went berserk after the cop (and the rickshaw spy, later), after the cop tortured Ma Ja, regardless of consequences to himself, Ma Ja wants to do the same for Wan. Just as Wan was the one who rescued Ma Ja from that torture and hell-hole, so does Ma Ja rescue Wan.
Btw, that scene with Ma Ja being tortured? I couldn't stand it. It was so horrific. I am used to manpain, they are guys and can take it. But Ma Ja is so fragile and tiny and totally terrified. Especially after that earlier scene when she was drunk with Wan in that abandoned building and her inhibitions came down and she told him all the things she was afraid of: to be caught and interrogated (and thunder, how adorable. And she said since the death of her father she knows she has to spend the thunder alone, she can't shelter in her father's arms, but she woke up in Wan's arms, AWWWWW, and he was so sweet and protective. I love that whole bit, and when they went on a bycicle ride later and he was teasing her. She is so solemn, she needs to be teased. If she gives him purpose, he gives her fun. And he told her not to drink in front of other men, hee. OK, this was the biggest digression ever.)
But the drama was so evil! How could they do this to me? With Ma Ja being tortured, and Wan going berserk trying to ger her out, even going down on his knees to his hated stepmother, and then running there. And Ma Ja all delirious, and thinking Su Hyun is Wan and after this awesome little halting feverish explanation of why she likes him, telling him she does, and Wan overhearing it and of course misunderstanding. Dammit, drama! The whole point is, once she got hurt so badly, and he loves her so much, I wanted him to help heal her. Especially when she was home and wanted him so badly, she even thought she saw him. But instead he was falling apart at the mike etc. But it made it all better by his finally going to her house, even though at that point he thinks she likes Su Hyun (and he doesn't know she knows he is the one who rescued her) and his being the one to drag her out of the house and to heal her, psychically. And I love that he takes her to all the places where she yelled at him or kicked him or whatever. And it works :)
And at that point he wants to be near her, even if just to take care of her and if she doesn't want him.
Oh, my OTP.
And of course, the parallel bit with Wan being hurt. Because Ma Ja has been taken by the evil cop, and Wan gets there to rescue her but is hit on the head and the things go from bad to worse, and basically the cop is just beating him to death, and Ma Ja makes the cop stop. And that scene just made me bawl and grin at the same time, because they are in the abandoned building God knows where, and she can't even get him to get up, and then his eyes slightly focus and he points out, with delirious logic, that she told him she wouldn't untie her shirt for him until Korea is free (it was such a funny scene, earlier. She was in his bedroom and admitted ILY because she thought he was asleep but he heard her, and there was a kissing scene to die for, and he told her to smile, but then she was all 'no sex until the liberation even if we marry' Heh. Poor guy), but now her shirt is untied (in all the scuffle and her trying to take care of him, I guess :D) and I loooooove Ma Ja, because she sort of smiles through her tears and tells him she will untie it for him any time he wants, only if he doesn't die. So adorable. OMG, my OTP.
And Su Hyun finds them, and I love that Wan makes her go home because he can't complain how much it hurts if she is in the car (men!) and just...GUUUH. And when she is talked out of killing the cop, I love her going to the hospital and I love how Wan wants to tell her how he feels because he was worried he wouldn't get the chance if he died and he is totally inarticulate and is all 'can we share a blanket later, when Korea is free?' heeeeeeee and OMG, she kisses him and he is so taken aback and is all 'what are you doing?' and she kisses him again. *sigh* I love the hospital scenes in the drama (just as I love the scene after when she is wounded, and he faces down the whole room of Japanese cops for her and tells Su Hyun, because at that point he doesn't yet know the truth, to get out of the way because if Ma Ja dies, Su Hyun will die too), and he gets the shell-shocked Ma Ja to the hospital, and I love the way he touches her eyes).
I love love LOVE that they save each other.
Seriously, Wan and Ma Ja are such an OTP. I love their date at the picnic. I love when he teaches her to dance. I love that it started as a bet but became real, and he acknowledged it to her (only to be rejected because she thinks she has to keep him away to protect him, and because she's been assigned a mission to get close to Su Hyun). I love the scene where he, with such a look in his eyes, basically says that the only girl in the world dumped him.
I love when he asks her to teach him how to fight, and he will teach her how to love. I think I sort of swooned like mad there.
Or the bit when she is so worried because his trip to Japan to procure gun drawings is taking very long, and then she sees him playing baseball with the kids she teaches (such a little flashback to earlier, when he was teaching them soccer, and got her to play, too), and she tells the kids to leave and marches determintedly towards him and he is trying to defend himself because he thinks she is about to find fault and is all stammery and she just hugs him, and he is so taken aback. Oh, glee!
I also love the ending, such an echo of their first meeting. Only so different, now.
I do wonder what will happen to them. I am so glad they survived (and I love that she says that, 'Thank you for surviving.' And there is hugging!) and I know they are on a mission to Manchuria, but what happens afterwards? I mean, Japan will be in Korea for years afterwards! I want to make sure they survive and marry (or practice free love, I don't care) and have adorable, opinionated babies and...yes, I've gone insane. Heck, I want to write fic. And I want to know what happens to Su Hyun (why do I get the bad feeling that if he survives, he will move to North Korea. He is a socialist after all) and the journalists, and Ma Ja's Mom, and the courtesans, and Wan's family.
I have never ever EVER seen a kdrama this awesome.
Tortured Ma Ja:
Wan about to find out Ma Ja was taken:
HATE:
Wan begging for Ma Ja's life:
Ma Ja, psychically still under the influence of torture:
Wan finds out about the secret cell:
He asks her to teach him to fight, and asks to teach her to love. *dies*
Yes, I posted it before. Whatever :)
Friends reconcile:
Confession of love:
*thud*
Oh God, I love them:
And them. When she whispers that she is glad she is a courtesan because that is the only way she got to see him again:
Wan wants to spoil Ma Ja:
This show loves its h/c. Ma Ja trying to keep Wan awake and alive:
I sort of died, when she kissed him first!
And his arms went around her:
Oh, finally, my darling secondary OTP!
Oh God:
Seriously tore out my heart:
Wan trying to prevent Su Hyun from suicidal action:
Sang Joo's funeral made me bawl:
Not wanting her to fight:
Bidding farewell to his father:
And stepmom:
Glee:
There is something wrong with me, but hot men with guns? Extra hot:
Farewells:
The fighting out of the trap scene which turned me into an even more incoherent fangirl:
Su Hyun 'sees' Sang Joo:
The end which made me melt and scream:
Ae Mul Dan:
Please tell me someone read this :) This is probably the longst drama post I've ever made.
To celebrate it, I want to talk about what is probably the most underrated drama I have come across, Capital Scandal. It is, arguably, better than My Girl. Yes, I said it. Maybe better than MG. And if you know me, you know what a big statement it is to make, as MG is my favorite kdrama of all time.
What is Capital Scandal? It is a 16-episode Korean drama set in the 1930s occupied Korea. The story, complete with fabulous costumes and swing music, starts out light-heartedly, but develops into a lot more: look at love, and patriotism, and sacrifice. The plot is as follows: our protagonist, the dapper Sun Woo Wan, known as Wan to his friends, is studiedly apolitical, and arguably the Capital's biggest flirt. Wan can always find a willing woman and his life seems remarkably trouble-free for such troubling times (note the 'seems' part though) until his paths cross with the idealistic, old-fashioned book-seller/teacher Yeo Kyong, nicknamed Ma Ja. Ma Ja is someone who wants to join the rebel underground, someone unswerving and as involved in the world as Wan is not. But after a series of chance, hilarious, unlucky encounters with her, Wan makes a bet when drunk with his friends: he will transform the unfashionable Ma Ja into a 'proper' girl. Or will he be transformed instead? Or maybe no transformation is necessary and things dormant in him need to be brought out? There are two other main characters. The charismatic, taciturn Su Hyun, a now working for the Japanese Korean, who has a tragic history with Wan. And Sang Joo, the capital's most popular courtesan, and Wan's best friend. It starts out funny, and romper, even, but develops into one of the most romantic, complicated, emotional, and clever dramas I've seen. It made me bawl, it made me laugh like mad.
Publicity still of Wan and Ma Ja:
Wan:
Ma Ja:
Su Hyun and Sang Joo:
The tough, awesome courtesan Sang Joo:
Wan and Sang Joo:
Wan:
GUUUUH:
Ma Ja:
Eeee!
Notice the height difference!
*meep*
Different meep:
Sang Joo:
Oh my secondary OTP:
Sheer sweetness:
The best. General MV:
Click to viewAnother general one:
Fluffy Wan/Ma Ja one:
Ma Ja admits her feelings and there is kissing:
I don't think that many people on my flist watched it, though those who have seem to have uniformly loved it. It probably fell through the cracks: it's not a modern drama with spiffy computers and workplace hijinks. Nor is it one of those beloved period dramas with swords and funny hats. It is set in the 1930s, which is an unusual period for a drama, to say the least (most of them tend to be either in the hyper-now, or in the shrouded-by-mist past). If you think about it, Korea under Japanese occupation seems like a recipe for no drama except one miserable even by kdrama's high angst standards. And yet, the trailers, the theme music, the summary all made it seem like a screwball (apolitical playboy has to win idealistic rebel teacher on a bet) which is even a bigger recipe for disaster in the time period.
And yet...and yet...and yet. CS was this incredibly rare kdrama which I never forwarded. Which was pitch perfect. It was a screwball, screamingly funny at times, but it was a screwball which made me bawl more than once. In a way, CS was like a Bollywood movie: it lured you in with the funny and then punched you in the gut. And, biggest miracle, made you laugh after that.
This is a kdrama for people who never want to watch a kdrama, or even drama. All the typical problems with kdramas are either entirely absent or subverted: the pace never lags (it is not slow in the beginning, saggy in the middle, or screeches to a halt near the end). There are no love triangles or evil parents or terminal illnesses or dewy love at first sight (what love is in CS it is hard-fought for and earned, and Wan/Ma Ja are definitely in my Top 10 drama OTPs of all time, and I love the secondary OTP of Su Hyun and Sang Joo even as it rips my heart out). Every character, lovable or loathsome, is interesting. Not to mention the production values and the costumes. They were movie quality!
As the rest is very spoilery, not to mention long, it is behind cut.
And did I mention the relationships? I have never really seen before in any drama a true portrayal of male-female friendship, a really strong one, but in this drama, all relationships are important, not just romantic ones. And the friendship between Wan and Sang Joo is just that: a really strong, long-lasting friendship, with no hint or promise of more. They are friends, the end. They talk and help and are there for each other but there is no romantic love. You have no idea how shocking it was to me. In fact, probably one of the emotionally strongest Wan moments for me wasn't anything with Wan and Ma Ja, but Wan after scattering Sang Joo's ashes, breaking down and collapsing on his knees and just screaming and all Ma Ja can do is trying to hold him, crying herself.
Or the fact that there is actually a *gasp* female friendship in the drama: between Ma Ja and Sang Joo. They are such different women: the broken in so many ways yet tough as nails Sang Joo, who has to sell her body to men she doesn't love. And the 'healing angel' Ma Ja, who is such an adorable, stubborn, somehow pure and idealistic darling (you can so see why Wan falls for her, why Su Hyun treats her as his surrogate little sister). And yet, they end up really meshing well, and at Sang Joo's death Ma Ja is devastated because she never got to call her 'unni' (older sister).
Or the relationship between Su Hyun (who wins the 'broken' competition hands down. Btw, meganbmoore, if you are reading, he is so your type) and Ma Ja. She is his surrogate little sister, whom he lost in all the turmoil of the times. He is so tenderly amused by her and it's not a love triangle or anything silly, but a desire for connection and protectiveness for the woman his best friend cares for.
And then there are Wan and Su Hyun. I love that in drama men are allowed to show importance of friendship bonds to each other. The loss of Su Hyun, the thought that he was a traitor and caused Wan's older brother's death is almost as much a psychic wound to Wan as his brother's death was. The scene where he begs Su Hyun for any explanation, telling him he will accept it, even if it's a lie...waaaaah. Or the scene where he tells his father the 'explanation' so his father would feel better. Or Su Hyun trying, and unable to get drunk, and telling him that sometimes he misses him. And then of course the revelation, when Wan (and we) find out the truth about Su Hyun, and how it wasn't his fault, and how he's been living in self-made hell ever since, and oh, that scene where they have it out, and there is punching, and manly crying, and...OK. *sniff*
And I was giddy at the end, with Wan and Su Hyun fighting together, guns blazing, adrenaline and crazy grins, and Wan asking Su Hyun to take care of Ma Ja if he won't make it and Su Hyun telling him to take care of her himself :) (I love how earlier Wan told Su Hyun he won't be alone, he will replace Min (the older brother) eeeee)
It's wonderful how character-consistent this drama is, btw. Because Wan is not Su Hyun, who in a lot of ways is an ideological idealist. For Wan, this is ultimately personal, his involvement in the revolution, his being drawn in from his life of studied apathy, an apolitical smartness (which was itself a form of rebellion, denial of meaning of life, as those who he thought were worth emulating turned out (he believed) to be dead or traitors. No wonder he doesn't join the rebels or the Japanese), but yes, his being drawn in, while it is based in the fact that he is Korean, is ultimately because of his love of people involved, just as he viewed the world from childhood: his love and rage for Sang Joo. His friendship with and desire to end the loneliness of Su Hyun. Above all, his unswerving desire to protect Ma Ja. He volunteers for that dangerous mission to Japan even though he has little interest in revolt at the time, because otherwise Ma Ja wants to go, and he won't let her.
The interesting thing is, how feminist this drama is. Not only does the story not look down on Sang Joo, who is both a courtesan and a professional assassin (the drama shows us her hard choices and inescapable path), it allows women strength and participation. It is Ma Ja who 'reforms' Wan and drags him out of his apathy (but how much do I love that he doesn't become a stern idealist. He is still the tongue-in-cheek flirt in a lot of ways, even if he is idealistic and in love and a fighter, now). It is Sang Joo who performs a lot of operations. She is the one who saves Su Hyun by sacrificing herself. OMG, that scene killed me dead and then danced a dance on my remains. Because they had loved each other for years, and his words prevented her from suicide when she was sold into a brothel and was raped (and he couldn't buy her or help her, because he was a student). I love the scene when he is with her, and he is drunk and so his iron self-control breaks and he keeps asking her why she had to be a courtesan and she thinks he means she is unworthy but he continues that he hates to see her with other men, and he is crying and then he falls asleep and she just puts her head on his back. OMG. And later, Wan pushes (sort of repaying the favor Sang Joo did for him and Ma Ja) and Su Hyun can't hold it in any more and admits his feelings to her, and they spend the night together, probably the first time she slept with someone she loves, and they are so hopeful the next morning, but then of course they are betrayed and ambushed and the only way for him to survive (he is undercover as a Japanese cop) is for her and co-conspirator to pretend to take him hostage, and Su Hyun has to shoot the co-conspirator, and the already wounded Sang Joo is shot in front of him, and OMG, I was bawling, and he collapses to his knees and everything on screen goes silent. And I love how he is suicidal after this, and is only continuing because Sang Joo wills it. I think, in a way, it was almost better for him to have died: he feels such shame and responsibility for Min dying because of him and now this is even worse. OMG.
And yes, the men want to protect the women they love, but that is the thing. It's not because they are women, but because they want those they love to be safe. Su Hyun wants to protect Sang Joo because he loves her. And Wan will do anything to protect Ma Ja, but not because she is a weak woman, but because she is the woman he loves, and he wants to keep her protected and 'unsullied' (I love his anger at her learning to shoot, and I love that she still does it). He wants to pet her and spoil her (he is so adorable trying to drag her to a store to buy her cute clothes and perfume) and he needs her safe because she is what he is fighting her. I love that before the final battle he begs her to stay out, because he's already lost so many people, and he couldn't live if he lost her (I also love that the drama acknowledges that in part he sees something of his brother in her), and I love that she won't do it, until Su Hyun gives her another assignment instead (and in part it is because they need Wan to have piece of mind, but in part because Ma Ja would suck as a shooter). And her assignment is just as important.
And if the men protect the women, the women protect the men. In addition to the whole Sang Joo thing above, when Wan is tortured by that Japanese cop (blanking on the name, but I loved that even he was a complex character, even though I was delighted when he killed himself), it is Ma Ja who finally gets through to the cop to stop, and it is Ma Ja who grabs the gun to go after the cop later, only with great difficulty talked out of it by Su Hyun. The tiny, petite Ma Ja (she barely reaches to Wan's shoulder, which is the cutest thing in the world. She is so dainty and petite and stubbornly adorable. She portrays shining goodness without being boring. I am in love with her myself and I need to see this actress in something else. And OMG, the guy who played Wan? Where has he been all my life? He is so tall, and broad-shouldered, and irresistably masculine. OMG). Ma Ja who has never killed anyone, and is a bad shooter, has no hesitation about it. Or about severely wounding the cop later.
I love the parallels in the actions of Wan and Ma Ja, really. Because just as Wan went berserk after the cop (and the rickshaw spy, later), after the cop tortured Ma Ja, regardless of consequences to himself, Ma Ja wants to do the same for Wan. Just as Wan was the one who rescued Ma Ja from that torture and hell-hole, so does Ma Ja rescue Wan.
Btw, that scene with Ma Ja being tortured? I couldn't stand it. It was so horrific. I am used to manpain, they are guys and can take it. But Ma Ja is so fragile and tiny and totally terrified. Especially after that earlier scene when she was drunk with Wan in that abandoned building and her inhibitions came down and she told him all the things she was afraid of: to be caught and interrogated (and thunder, how adorable. And she said since the death of her father she knows she has to spend the thunder alone, she can't shelter in her father's arms, but she woke up in Wan's arms, AWWWWW, and he was so sweet and protective. I love that whole bit, and when they went on a bycicle ride later and he was teasing her. She is so solemn, she needs to be teased. If she gives him purpose, he gives her fun. And he told her not to drink in front of other men, hee. OK, this was the biggest digression ever.)
But the drama was so evil! How could they do this to me? With Ma Ja being tortured, and Wan going berserk trying to ger her out, even going down on his knees to his hated stepmother, and then running there. And Ma Ja all delirious, and thinking Su Hyun is Wan and after this awesome little halting feverish explanation of why she likes him, telling him she does, and Wan overhearing it and of course misunderstanding. Dammit, drama! The whole point is, once she got hurt so badly, and he loves her so much, I wanted him to help heal her. Especially when she was home and wanted him so badly, she even thought she saw him. But instead he was falling apart at the mike etc. But it made it all better by his finally going to her house, even though at that point he thinks she likes Su Hyun (and he doesn't know she knows he is the one who rescued her) and his being the one to drag her out of the house and to heal her, psychically. And I love that he takes her to all the places where she yelled at him or kicked him or whatever. And it works :)
And at that point he wants to be near her, even if just to take care of her and if she doesn't want him.
Oh, my OTP.
And of course, the parallel bit with Wan being hurt. Because Ma Ja has been taken by the evil cop, and Wan gets there to rescue her but is hit on the head and the things go from bad to worse, and basically the cop is just beating him to death, and Ma Ja makes the cop stop. And that scene just made me bawl and grin at the same time, because they are in the abandoned building God knows where, and she can't even get him to get up, and then his eyes slightly focus and he points out, with delirious logic, that she told him she wouldn't untie her shirt for him until Korea is free (it was such a funny scene, earlier. She was in his bedroom and admitted ILY because she thought he was asleep but he heard her, and there was a kissing scene to die for, and he told her to smile, but then she was all 'no sex until the liberation even if we marry' Heh. Poor guy), but now her shirt is untied (in all the scuffle and her trying to take care of him, I guess :D) and I loooooove Ma Ja, because she sort of smiles through her tears and tells him she will untie it for him any time he wants, only if he doesn't die. So adorable. OMG, my OTP.
And Su Hyun finds them, and I love that Wan makes her go home because he can't complain how much it hurts if she is in the car (men!) and just...GUUUH. And when she is talked out of killing the cop, I love her going to the hospital and I love how Wan wants to tell her how he feels because he was worried he wouldn't get the chance if he died and he is totally inarticulate and is all 'can we share a blanket later, when Korea is free?' heeeeeeee and OMG, she kisses him and he is so taken aback and is all 'what are you doing?' and she kisses him again. *sigh* I love the hospital scenes in the drama (just as I love the scene after when she is wounded, and he faces down the whole room of Japanese cops for her and tells Su Hyun, because at that point he doesn't yet know the truth, to get out of the way because if Ma Ja dies, Su Hyun will die too), and he gets the shell-shocked Ma Ja to the hospital, and I love the way he touches her eyes).
I love love LOVE that they save each other.
Seriously, Wan and Ma Ja are such an OTP. I love their date at the picnic. I love when he teaches her to dance. I love that it started as a bet but became real, and he acknowledged it to her (only to be rejected because she thinks she has to keep him away to protect him, and because she's been assigned a mission to get close to Su Hyun). I love the scene where he, with such a look in his eyes, basically says that the only girl in the world dumped him.
I love when he asks her to teach him how to fight, and he will teach her how to love. I think I sort of swooned like mad there.
Or the bit when she is so worried because his trip to Japan to procure gun drawings is taking very long, and then she sees him playing baseball with the kids she teaches (such a little flashback to earlier, when he was teaching them soccer, and got her to play, too), and she tells the kids to leave and marches determintedly towards him and he is trying to defend himself because he thinks she is about to find fault and is all stammery and she just hugs him, and he is so taken aback. Oh, glee!
I also love the ending, such an echo of their first meeting. Only so different, now.
I do wonder what will happen to them. I am so glad they survived (and I love that she says that, 'Thank you for surviving.' And there is hugging!) and I know they are on a mission to Manchuria, but what happens afterwards? I mean, Japan will be in Korea for years afterwards! I want to make sure they survive and marry (or practice free love, I don't care) and have adorable, opinionated babies and...yes, I've gone insane. Heck, I want to write fic. And I want to know what happens to Su Hyun (why do I get the bad feeling that if he survives, he will move to North Korea. He is a socialist after all) and the journalists, and Ma Ja's Mom, and the courtesans, and Wan's family.
I have never ever EVER seen a kdrama this awesome.
Tortured Ma Ja:
Wan about to find out Ma Ja was taken:
HATE:
Wan begging for Ma Ja's life:
Ma Ja, psychically still under the influence of torture:
Wan finds out about the secret cell:
He asks her to teach him to fight, and asks to teach her to love. *dies*
Yes, I posted it before. Whatever :)
Friends reconcile:
Confession of love:
*thud*
Oh God, I love them:
And them. When she whispers that she is glad she is a courtesan because that is the only way she got to see him again:
Wan wants to spoil Ma Ja:
This show loves its h/c. Ma Ja trying to keep Wan awake and alive:
I sort of died, when she kissed him first!
And his arms went around her:
Oh, finally, my darling secondary OTP!
Oh God:
Seriously tore out my heart:
Wan trying to prevent Su Hyun from suicidal action:
Sang Joo's funeral made me bawl:
Not wanting her to fight:
Bidding farewell to his father:
And stepmom:
Glee:
There is something wrong with me, but hot men with guns? Extra hot:
Farewells:
The fighting out of the trap scene which turned me into an even more incoherent fangirl:
Su Hyun 'sees' Sang Joo:
The end which made me melt and scream:
Ae Mul Dan:
Please tell me someone read this :) This is probably the longst drama post I've ever made.