Trial Recap/Reaction - I Miss You episode 4
I took your excellent advice, flist, and tried to do a recap for ep 4 of I Miss You to see how it goes. It is very time-consuming (my hat is off to Koala and the Dramabeans ladies) but it was a ton of fun. This is not a pure recap post but a combination recap and reaction post because that is what I enjoy, with about eight million caps. Basically like the highlights posts I used to do only covering the entire ep instead.
(Recap, caps and reactions on ep 4 of I Miss You)
We open with Jung Woo staring silently into space, crying, and his adorable stepsister (who must be the only human member of the family) adorably worried about him.
A specialist meanwhile is advising Jung Woo's father and stepmother that they are horrible people and should drown themselves. Kidding! He tells him Jung Woo needs psychiatric treatment and also has a cracked rib and should be taken to the hospital. The parents continue to work hard at earning their 'worst parents of the year. Any year' award and disregard all that.
Meanwhile, Jung Woo snaps out of his semi-comatose state hearing Soo Yeon's mother calling for him, outside. It's horrible to watch him hide under a blanket, repeating "I did wrong" over and over and over.
Daddy's thugs kick her out, though and Eun Joo manages to sneak through into the house in the commotion. She finds Jung Woo hiding under a desk in his room and just shaking as she asks questions about Soo Yeon, every question making him feel worse and worse. My heart=broken. If he doesn't find a way to cope with his guilt, it's going to eat him alive, won't it?
Eun Joo gets out Soo Yeon's diary and almost shoves it into Jung Woo's face, saying that Soo Yeon loved him so much. She gets dragged out before she gets a word out of him, though.
Meanwhile, Detective Kim is trampling through the woods, and finds the car the kidnappers used. Elsewhere, Jung Woo's father has his flunkies beat the crap out of the kidnapper (prompting my approval the first time in this drama) as he keeps asking where "she" is. Lest you think JW's Daddy is hiding a heart, the 'she' refers to the nurse who orchestrated the kidnapping plan.
Jung Woo picks up the diary Eun Joo left behind and starts reading it, as it flashbacks into Soo Yeon writing it - it is clear just how much she likes him, as she catalogues every mundane little thing Jung Woo does, from biting his pen to not being able to drink hot drinks, in a loving fashion. And the diary keeps saying "I like you" over and over. And the contrast of what is reflected in that journal - a happy boy, a girl beginning to feel - with the present, is just awful. Jung Woo clutches it to his chest and sobs (side note - WTF awful family is that where they leave the kid who went through what he went through alone for hours?! I want to feed these people to the wolves).
Detective Kim (who is being helped by Eun Joo, who is clearly awesome) gets a call where the forensics people inform him that from the evidence of Soo Yeon's shoe, they can tell that there was more than violence involved and they are looking through the sex offenders registry. I knew it all happened, I watched ep 3, but every time they bring it up, it kills me all over again. Detective Kim takes it as well as you can expect. And next morning, he goes a little insane and gets a warrant. I love him, being a better Dad than Soo Yeon ever had. He forces his way into Jung Woo's house with a warrant to arrest Jung Woo for kidnapping and rape...ummm, whut?! He thinks Jung Woo kidnapped and raped Soo Yeon?! How?! Why?! It's clear something shady and cover-up-like is going in JW's house and his fingerprints were in the kidnapper car but that is still quite a leap.
The tense standoff between the cops and JW's family (who I think are defending him only because they don't want scandal) is interrupted when Jung Woo shows up, looking like death, and limps down the stairs. He had his one moment of cowardice in the shed (and I can't blame him - I went into detail why before so I won't rehash) but that moment is going to define him, isn't it? It's going to drive him to never give in to fear or weakness again - to take his punishment and anything else like a man, to never back away or hide or take the easy way out. (How a monster like Daddy spawned a kid like that is a miracle of biology).
He stretches his bandaged hands for handcuffs, telling Detective Kim "arrest me" and I start bawling. Ugly ugly sobs. I love the look on Detective Kim's face as he realizes his proposed scenario of Jung Woo as a fiendish kidnapper and rapist is probably not the truth.
He apologizes but cuffs him anyway. OK, I am officially crying nonstop. And Jung Woo looks on, unflinching. That kid. Kills me.
Detective Kim tells Jung Woo, as they are in the car, that this was the only way to bring Jung Woo out of that house. Aha! This was a plot. Yay!
Meanwhile Daddy's flunkies find the rapist kidnapper. I want them to beat the crap out of him, but sadly that doesn't happen, they just dump Soo Yeon's bloody sweater by him.
By the river, Jung Woo admits to Detective Kim that he ran away, leaving Soo Yeon, even though she came to save him. I know I keep saying it, but - my heart! They are kids, they should not be dealing with that. Especially not surrounded by the piranhas that are most of the adults in this drama. And Detective Kim admits to Jung Woo that Soo Yeon's Dad is not a murderer and he arrested the wrong guy. I wonder if he can admit it to him because he and JW both are bound by the fact that they wronged Soo Yeon?
The scene of Soo Yeon's mother stroking Soo Yeon's uniform then proves that this drama is trying to kill me.
Meanwhile, Jung Woo must have a heck of a memory because he describes the kidnappers and surroundings to Detective Kim in great detail. I bet it's a skill that will be useful when he is a detective.
Can we have a petition to have Jung Woo removed from his family and given to Detective Kim to raise? Pretty please?
Meanwhile at the station, a witness appears with what I am sure is a lying story paid for by Jung Woo's Daddy, to whom henceforth I will refer to as Daddy Satan. This results in cops scouring the riverbank. Sure enough, they find the white sweater Daddy Satan's men had. Oh God, is there no end to Daddy Satan's evil? This scene is intercut with Jung Woo playing Soo Yeon's old "will she come/won't she come" game (interesting, now he is the one waiting), looking hopeful for the first time in ages. Poor kid.
Jung Woo gets home and asks his father about the fire at the place where he was held when he was kidnapped only to have Daddy Satan snap at the secretary to have Jung Woo sent back to America or the madhouse, he doesn't care which as long as JW is out of his face. Buuuuurn! Die!!!!
Detective Kim (I actually typed "Soo Yeon's Dad" because he totally is) finds the kidnappers and beats the rapist one almost to death, and I don't care what it makes me, I cheered. Kidnapper does say he killed Soo Yeon, as instructed by Daddy Satan and seriously - will someone kill kidnapper and Daddy Satan please? Just - raaaaage.
TV report announces that Soo Yeon was killed by being dumped into a river. What kills me is the utter blankness of Jung Woo's face as he watches the report, as if nothing is sinking in (Daddy Satan told him in ep 3 that if Soo Yeon died it's his fault, and then he paid flunkies to claim Soo Yeon is dead. Thus ensuring his son wallows in guilt for the rest of his life, just so Daddy Satan could protect a potential bank account). There is sick and there is this. I always thought the worst kdrama father ever was Jo In Sung's father in Something Happened in Bali but I was wrong.
Soo Yeon's mother confronts the kidnapper, asking him why he killed Soo Yeon, trying to find some reason in madness. Oh.
Instead of getting on his scheduled flight, Jung Woo walks out and runs to his and Soo Yeon's playground, as if hoping behind hope she is hiding under the slide...I pray he does find her one day, even though I know it will be many years in the future.
He tells the Soo Yeon in his mind that he will come to the playground every day. It might look a little weird when you are an adult, just sayin'! I laugh so I won't cry again. I am dangerously low on tissues by now.
Jung Woo storms home, suspecting his father's role, to be greeted by stepmom who informs him Daddy Satan will put him in a mental institution if Jung Woo ever goes against him again. Ahhh, family love.
In his father's cabinet, digging like a madman, he finds proof positive of his father's involvement in the fire that burned down evidence.
The phone (JW's old phone that was left in the warehouse and his father's goons picked up) rings and when JW picks it up, it's Soo Yeon. !!!!!!!
Too bad Nurse yanks the phone out of her hands and hangs it up. It's official, I hate every adult in this story except for Detective Kim and possibly Soo Yeon's mother.
We see that Soo Yeon is all bandaged up (from when the Nurse, who clearly has never heard of the Hippocratic Oath tried to run her over I bet), and Hyung Joon is protecting her. I kinda love the messed-up, fierce, borderline-feral yet protective kid version of Hyung Joon already.
On the other end of the phone line, things aren't going much better - Daddy Satan shows up and insists Soo Yeon is dead, slapping Jung Woo when he dares to argue.
Jung Woo pleads with his father - if Soo Yeon is dead, it means he, Jung Woo killed her. And he pleads, his heart in his eyes, his voice trembling, does his father think he is really mad? In case you think Daddy Satan is moved, he barks at his wife to have Jung Woo hospitalized. I hope a pack of wild dogs attacks and eats you, Daddy Satan!
And finally the last vestiges of illusion about his father are stripped from Jung Woo as he realizes his father never meant to look for Soo Yeon. He reminds his father of the conversation in which Daddy Satan has said he only trusts Jung Woo (interesting definition of trust you got there, buddy) and tells him not to trust him because he, Jung Woo, does not trust his father.
Detective Kim quits in a spectacular fashion. Good, it makes two men who aren't buying fully Soo Yeon is dead. And this is proven by Jung Woo rushing into the station, saying Soo Yeon is alive and Detective Kim saying "I know." But what gets me is Jung Woo telling Detective Kim "I trust you," such a stark contrast to what he told his father. And then Jung Woo kneels and begs the cops to find Soo Yeon because he has something to tell her and because he misses her. Every time I think this drama can't stick a knife in any deeper, it does.
Hyung Joon refuses to ditch Soo Yeon, so the Nurse yanks the key to the money off his neck and declares she is ditching them both. But Hyung Joon tells her she can't get the money without him being present and over 18. In your face, witch!
Not that Hyung Joon is the best mental influence to have as he insists JW dumped her and didn't care about her. Even if it was true, not the time to mention it, but these kids have to parent themselves, so what do you expect?
Please don't tell me that this brutalized girl is now going to think Jung Woo abandoned her because she is soiled and unworthy now. Please.
And we cut to the flashforward about which I posted yesterday so see no need to repeat talking about, except that the brief glimpses of the adult versions of our leads reassured me that they are more than up to the job.
IMY is a very polarizing drama. Even this early in the run, it has both rabid supporters (among which I include myself) and those who truly dislike it. It is significantly darker than your average Korean drama in any genre, melodrama included. I am a fan of melodramas, I confess, and much prefer them to romcoms, so I am probably the target audience to start with, but what elevates IMY from the usual forgettable makjang melo (not that I am not fond of those), are the gorgeous cinematography, the heartbreaking acting by the kid leads and the able supporting adult cast, and the writing - it remains delicate and understated while tackling some truly horrifying issues. Even the horrifying kidnapping and rape sequence was never gratuitous - not only did it set up the character arcs for all the major characters, it has finally given me a scenario where I can buy the leads being irrevocably bound together by brief childhood love - because they are not really bound by accidental kisses or the swings or even the fact that he was her first friend ever. No, they are forever bound by the nightmare night of their kidnapping and her rape and his witnessing of that rape. And his not being able to save her. And his running away, and being prevented from returning, making her believe she was abandoned. Sure, they are bound by love and the echoes of the time before their lives were destroyed. But more bindingly and lastingly, they are bound by the crime against them, against her. They are bound by trauma and loss and shame and guilt.
So, is this recap/reaction monster entertaining and someone anyone will read? Because while it's fun, it takes a ton of time (4 flipping hours), and if people would rather just read highlights, I have no problem going back to that...it would take a hell of a lot less time.