Bridal Mask E1

This sort of made the long wait worth it huh? It’s almost a sin to look this good in uniform. I wonder if all the action scenes tonight are typical or if they just did it to get people excited. Part of me found recapping this pretty easy, but I hope they werent starting off easy just to get harder later. I knew JW would have lots of action scenes, but I was surprised the girl did as well. I guess since the budget for this drama was around $9 million, they are getting their money’s worth. Good thing I am not screencapping this or else it will be 1n2d redux – 99% only JW – mostly in that white uniform.

Thank you semi-fly for your fast torrents. 🙂

Now I get why he got injured so much during the filming. But boy does he look good in action.

Why do these characters have such hard names? Gatsuyama Jun. Goiso Tadanobu. you try spelling them under a second or even remembering it – it aint easy.  was tempted to write mean old guy from Moon who played B’s dad. the bad president from city hunter. etc. 🙂

This list will get longer by tm night:

List of Characters – everyone else is going to be so and so’s mom or dad cuz my brain can’t handle keeping track of anymore since I have to memorize some more characters for Big next week.

Bolded names are the ones I am using on the recap cuz it needs to go quickly

Joo Won as Lee Kang-to (K)

Jin Sae-yeon as Mok Dan (D)

Park Ki-woong as Kimura Shunji (S)

Han Chae-ah as Chae Hong-joo (Japanese identity: Ueno Rie. (H)

Shin Hyun Jun  as Lee Kang-san, Kang-to’s older brother who is the original Gaksital.  (KS)

Yoon Bong – kil as Abe Shinji (the chubby guy with the hat that is with K all the time)

Jeon No Min as Dam Sa Ri (D’s dad and leader of the independence movement )

Kimura Taro (the actor who played the president on city hunter- dont know his real name)

Kimura Kenji (that scowling guy with the mustache who is out to kill K. Kenj is Taro’s son)

Konno Goji (the old actor from Moon who played minister yoon and B’s dad)

For detailed main character descriptions, please read Dramabeans post on Gaksital’s cast.

I haven’t watched the long 5 min trailer since it intimidated the heck out of me the first time so here is my practice run – going to recap the long preview replete with screencaps and everything. Turns out I understood most of it, but words like revolutionary or independence movement, Imperial Japanese Empire, official titles, etc are going to leave me wondering what the heck they said just like everyone else.

Someone significant passes away (lee gong), but the people don’t seem all that upset about it. Gaksital comes and interrupts the funeral proceedings. K says to a woman he danced with: if you have talent/potential, this is a world where (someone in a low position) can rise to a (high position-maybe leader/ruler). Just watch how high up I get. (*I didn’t know the exact words so I put them in parentheses)

Some people destroy K’s mom’s stand so K’s older brother fights with them. K arrives and protects his older brother saying what are you punk and why are you hitting my hyung. His mom says to K: is it anything to brag about for you to earn money working for the children of our enemies who made your hyung this way?  K: then what do you want me to do? Father is dead and hyung is in this state so what do you want me to do. As his brother chases after him, K drives off leaving him behind.

Some girl asks D: you really didn’t see Gaksital’s face? D says he dropped me off at home and left without a word. Girl says: there were so many policemen but he is the person who saved you. D seems to have formed a crush and says: that’s true. I didn’t get to say even a word of thanks.  K reads the report and says she is the woman Gaksital saved twice? if we catch her then he will jump in again. The police catch D.

K asks her: where is Gaksital. She says I don’t know. all I did was take that knife. K: are you playing around …. suddenly he recognizes the knife.

K starts to cry and asks: why do you have this? I gave this to B (D had a different name when she was younger). flashback to when they were kids running away from danger. Young K said to her – let’s meet again. Make sure.  B: you mean it right? you are really going to find me again right? K hugs her tightly. K talks to his brother’s back (his brother is lying down with his back to K)  K: I promised back then – told her not to die and I would be sure to find her. while he speaks, there is a scene of D about to be executed and Gaksital rescuing her. K what do I do? I have to kill her. I don’t want to live like this either. Aside from this I don’t know what the right way is. Hyung – say something. his brother doesn’t face K and stifles his own tears.

His brother’s voice says: Kang to – my dongsang (younger brother) Lee Kang to.

Some man says something about the government and bloodline so H’s voice narrates: I heard a sword also has a bloodline. (something about a sword that loves Joseon’s children and Joseon’s women)  S finds the knife and remembers as a kid watching B hold onto it. K holds a man hostage as a voice says: Do you know you have a knife to my father ‘s throat and mine right now? S defend K saying how K has been the best at supporting their cause –  so how could he be on the same side as Gaksital. H decides to find out all about “K’s family, girl, friends, and get in his head. Is something like this fate.”

H warns someone to be careful –  that Gaksital can no longer be (something like a hope) for Joseon citizens. Got that?

Gaksital fights some guy and says I came for you to pay for your crimes

Some official gets mad at the police and says Gakistal disrupted the funeral and is playing with the best police so why haven’t you caught gaksital when he killed Choi. K announces this is the last chance to catch Gakistal. Someone shoots and Gaksital gets hit on the leg. A voice says: Just as expected – just wait till gaksital shows up. K spots him and yells for him to stop. K follows the blood trail I guess which leads to his own home. He discovers his brother just as he changed out of his bloody clothes. K is shocked and asks: Is it you hyung? Was it you hyung?

Korean movie previews are just like this – they give EVERYTHING away – spoilers, endings, and all. The Gaksital D is referring to is K’s brother so at that point, she has a crush on him (not K). Wonder if that means Gaksital like her since he rescues her 3 times now. Please let him be rescuing her for his younger brother’s sake. Now I am curious if KS has been pretending to be an imbecile this whole time just so he can pose as Gaksital. Also S is friends with K, but S has liked D since they were young too which is going to cause rifts in his friendship with K. I wonder if K is going to find out early on about D’s real identity. Hope this preview was misleading and he won’t find out till much later – like waaaayyyyyyy later on E10 or something. Plus I hope there is only pecking and no real kisses in this drama. forehead kisses would be perfect.

Ask me how long I lingered on this photo – it’s sort of hard to move on to other tasks when you see him in his white uniform. We thought he looked great in his OB police uniform photo, but you have to admit, he looks way more dashing in white. *wipes drool*

When I first saw this bts photo, I thought – awwwwww – look how hard he is training. wait – why does he have to wear so much clothes to train? does he intentionally want to sweat a lot in that outfit? woahhhhhh – look at which direction his right foot is pointing. dang…boy is flexible.

Based on the preview, this actress doesn’t annoy me too much. The one that sort of bugs me just cuz she looks too old for K is H (the spy). She is going to need some skills to get him to fall for her if he finds out early on about D’s real identity. I know OB fans are worried about JSY and JW’s onscreen chemistry, but if they actually do their jobs well (and we all know how convincing JW is as an actor), we might believe in it. That’s good for the show and for its ratings so we should support that. My sole comfort is that when they are behind the scenes, they look and act like siblings so I don’t think we need to fear them liking each other for real. Plus I doubt these two will be doing any CFs together as a couple after this drama ends. Like I said before, Uee has 58 episodes worth of shared experiences and great times with JW and an action filled 24 ep drama can’t even come close to that.

Fanderay will be joining me for these recaps so look forward to her screencaps and comments later on tonight. 🙂

JW’s mountia CF came out then his movie trailer for “Click” -if his coffee and Noodle CFs come out too-it will be total daebak. 🙂

E1

Starts from a news narration about a death and a funeral procession goes through the main street.  ahead of it,  the police start breaking up the stands and carting people away. the officers are clearing a path for the king’s last path. Some old man grabs the police and say this is all we have- how are we supposed to make a living if you do this. the officer beats him and says how this funeral is for someone important. others comment about the persecution they are enduring and that the king sold off the country (to the Japanese). the old man calls out to his grandson and kenji lashes his whip at the kid. Kenji says the funeral procession is coming so clear everything.

K rides in on horseback. He orders the officers to attention and to face the crowd. He looks around and tells the soldiers to draw their swords. K announces who just passed away and orders the people to bow their heads. So the people obey. JW gets off his horse and bows as the procession passes. A girl makes a fist and throws a rock. It hits the photo of the dead king. K looks and sees the girl. It’s D. he orders the guards to chase after her.

The police officers pursue her and K catches her, but she gets away from him and runs. She is cornered. Suddenly she jumps up to the balcony above but Kenji on horseback lashes his whip at her and makes her fall. K goes up to her and says bingo. do you know how much I looked for you. he asks where is Dan Sa ri (her dad’s name) she asks who is Dam Sa ri. he slaps her. someone calls out Gaksital.

Gaksital rides in on horseback and people cheer for him. He throws notices written in red attached to a knife – he throws them near the family members of the deceased. (hey that’s the actor who played Taemu’s dad from rooftop prince crying like a girl in the buggy and overacting again)  Officers shoot but misses so people cheer as Gaksital fights off more guards. He flies thru the air and slashes the red banner. K pulls D over to the street and Gaksital sees her. Gaksital strikes K and picks up D and they ride off together. K shoots after them, but misses. K yells out Gaksital.

a month ago, it’s promotion day for K. K gets pinned and receives an award. Kenji looks jealous. flashback to a terrorist attack. D’s father is caught by kenji but escapes. Goji says how K was able to capture a terrorist – someone 5000 officers couldnt catch for 3 yrs (cuz D’s dad always got away). It shows K fighting D’s dad (and capturing him).

Goji says from here on, these officers will use their talent/skills and be judged for them. he holds K up as a model for them to follow.  K calls the officers to attention and yells at them to do banzai. Only the chubby guy Abe claps loudly

Night club and people are dancing. K and others are cheering and drinking. the guy says I should have seen kimura’s face (he means kenji) the guy points out how K has moved up and is right below Kenji now so knock him out of his position. so K says he will step on kenji and get above him and step on him to stand. is there a law that says only a Japanese cant be in charge of the police. girl says she feels full just hearing that. K says even s slave can rise to a prime minister if you have talent in this world. Just see how high up I get. the guy says let’s make a bet how far up K makes it.even though he has the best ability in joseon but he is still a korean so I bet 10 cents he will become the chief of police. girls say the amount is too little. the other girl says cuz of K’s looks he wont have a problem getting rich wives. she bets a dollar on him to become some high position. the other girl Mary bets $10 on K becoming something even higher so he says bingo.  K leans in and says: this is why I like you Mary. he propositions Mary for tonight – the word erotic literature came out. she says I am ready anytime. K says let’s all go out (on the dance floor) *JW almost tripped going down those curved stairs

They all go down and K and Mary dances in front of the crowd

At a market, some woman says she came again (talking about K’s mom) the woman and her son knock over K’s mom’s ricecake stand. Her son asks K’s mom do you want to die.  how many times do we have to tell you only joseon people are allowed to sell here. (they resent K’s mom cuz of what K is doing. Working for the other side) his mom strangles K’s mom bringing up what K does to these people and saying how can you sell here when you can afford to live and eat even without selling these (meaning K can afford to feed his family). KS comes running over calling for his mother and trips. KS says something pushed me. his mom asks why did you come here. he points to the ground and says that is our rice cakes. that angry woman yells that if you take away a dog’s bowl, he will bark and bite back. The son warns K’s mom -he insults her son K for being on the other side – dont try to come out again.  KS asks the guy did you just insult my K. he pretends to shoot him with a toy gun made of wood and jumps the guy and calls him a dummy. KS gets beaten

K gives some kids candy asking if they ever had any, but they run off when they see his face. they flee saying it’s Lee Kang to. He hears his mom call out KS. So K takes off running and sees that guy beating up his hyung so K punches him. K: What are you – why are you hitting my hyung. The guy runs off after calling K bad names. K tells him to come back here. the guys mom tells her son to run away. K yells at the people for just standing and watching while a person was beaten like that. his mom asks him – so what are you going to do? are you going to catch them all and kill them? K says mother but she says I never had a son like you. dont worry about it and just go on your own way. KS is sitting there crying.

K yells at the crowd to get lost. K throws money at her and says here -it’s here so don’t sell your ricecakes outside anymore. KS collects the money but his mom says put that down right now. K asks what is wrong with my money. she tells K – I already said I wont take your money. after I die how can I face your dad if I take that money. K: even though i am not educated and ignorant, with my ability i earn more money than these koreans.   she says is it something to brag about to earn money from our enemies who made your hyung this way. K says what do I do then. dad is dead. hyung is in this state so what should I do. I have to act like a (he used the insult the other guy used. dong gae which means a dog who is a stray, but it means K will do anything for the hand that feeds him implying he is under the thumb of the Japanese) so she slaps K. KS says “mom do that – don’t hit our K. dont hit my dongsang.” KS hugs K. K storms off in anger.

He goes home and throws his stuff at a picture.  he mutters how she wasnt able to congratulate him. how was I able to come all this way.  (meaning he had to do bad things to get here) should I join hands with the independence movement. should I end up a fool like my hyung? His mom and brother come home to hear him yelling –what is joseon. what’s so great about it. did it ever buy me a meal even once? did it ever buy me a pencil.  All I am trying to do is live. He packs his stuff. He picks up his award and goes out. his brother asks him are you going somewhere. Are you going on a trip. Are you going to meet a girl. K tells his mom how he will disappear for her so live well with hyung. KS chases after him and says are you angry cuz of hyung. Let’s go together. Hyung was wrong. his mom remembers how K used to be

Flashback to when they were younger. KS is studying while K watches him. Their mom brings in some snacks and tells him to eat some. K had his brothers shoes tucked under his arms to help them dry faster. KS asks are you still doing that. give them to me, but K says they will dry faster if I do this. the mom says doesnt those belong to your hyung. K says we have to save money and buy hyung new sneakers first cuz the soles are worn off and got wet. K says dont worry about me and buy your shoes first cuz the soles are falling apart.  but K says dont worry, I have strong shoes –this. he holds out his foot. KS says they stink. The brothers tussle lovingly. The mom says stop you will get hurt. she cries remembering that

KS chases after K’s car calling out for K. hyung was wrong. Kang to. He falls down. K keeps driving away

At a school, kids are singing as S plays the organ and sings with them. He says it’s the end of class today. After the kids leave K shows up. S asks what brings him here. K asks for a bout.

Both guys are dressed for kumdo practice but they use sticks instead. K is dressed in black and S in white. They seem like equals. Afterwards, they both lie down side by side. S: do you feel better now? How many times is this when you suddenly left with your packed bags. K says I got a promotion and a raise. If I suffer just a year longer I can buy mom a new place to replace the dilapidated one. and also get my hyung treated at the best hospital in Tokyo. If only I could fix/cure my hyung –what’s so bad about hearing being called a (person who supports the Japanese). S says you are nice. it makes me feel bad for being mean to my dad. come here. S tickles K so K says what are you doing. stop it, it’s hot. S’s ajumma comes (the one who raised him cuz she called him young master) so S runs off happy to see her. K laughs and says: you like her that much? are you going to breast feed? punk.

D looks out at the crowd and other girl asks who are you waiting for. who is it? D holds the knife and says some day he will come. girl says you know i cant endure when I am curious. it’s not just a day or two but everytime we perform – who are you waiting for like that. D puts it around her neck so girl asks are you going to hang that around your neck again. (the knife). The girl asks  “it’s a guy that has to do with this knife huh?who is it?

Flashback to two kids hiding in the tall grass. It’s young K and young D.he gave her that knife.   he tells her to stay alive no matter what happens. you cant die no matter what. she calls him young master. what are you doing to do.  K: B. Let’s be sure to meet again. He leaves so she asks where he is going. He says just stay alive and I will be sure to find you. young D holds it and asks: you mean it right? you really are going to find me right? They hug and he runs off to distract the men following them and lead them away from D

D holds that knife and looks at it before she goes on stage. The leader of the circus troupe performs and so do others.  D goes out and performs.

K and S are about to sleep. S tells K about the girl he met when he was young. her name was Esther. K asks why her name was like that. S says it was her baptism name (like all catholics have) and that he doesnt know her joseon name (meaning korean name) K: you still cant forget a girl you met when you were 13.   S says how he got reprimanded by esther. K: you got in trouble? what does that mean? S: thanks to her I became a person. K tells him to talk slowly from the start. S jokes: dont try to know too much- you will get hurt.  K: are you saying it’s something you want to keep to yourself. like a secret. if you were going to be like that, you shouldn’t have brought it up. S wonders if she met that guy by now.

Flashback to young D praying at church. She prays: dear lord, please help me quickly meet my father again and for the young man who gave me this knife to be safe and as promised, please help the two of us meet.  young S watched that. S: I wonder if she found out who that kid was and if the two of them met up. but K is snoring already and didnt hear.

D sees a news leaflet about some man – it’s her father. K buys a new hat and comes out of the shop. abe says how good he looks -he could come out in movies. K says I will be in the papers so I should dress this much. he gets in the car and drives by and passes D, but didn’t see her.

There is some kind of trial. D’s dad and some other men are on trial for their part in the independence movement. The judge gives the men on trial a chance to talk but another guy cuts him off. D’s dad keeps talking about how they will keep rebelling- even if their life is cut – even after death. he keeps going on about how he will rebel against the japanese rule but the judge says to be quiet. D’s dad starts their song about koreans -they yell for the japanese to leave. the judge orders the court cleared of the public and makes this private – closed to outside viewing. K watches and smiles.

D arrives in the courthouse and asks the men to just let her watch,  it’s my father, but they wont let her through saying he already told her she couldnt get in without a pass. she explains she didnt know the sentencing would be today. I just saw him in the paper today so how would i prepare one ahead of time. he says that’s her problem. D: he is the father I was separated from when I was 7 and I didnt get to see him even once. please. he tells her to be quiet.  They drag her away but a commotion occurs and she manages to sneak away.

She goes in just as the judge (choi) gives the sentencing. he lists all their crimes like escaping a lot, rebelling, ets and sentences all of them to death. K mutters “bingo” and seems happy. Abe takes pics of K with her dad. D calls out a bad name to K. K asks what is that. she jumps down to the floor from the balcony. She fights the officers and goes after K. She calls him a killer. She goes after K with her knife but K easily holds her wrist and bends it and makes her drop her knife. officers grab her. she spits on K.

K was just about to hit her when Gaksital shows up. K: how dare he come here. he orders the officers to capture him, Gaksital flies down and fights off the officers. K orders D’s dad and the men to be taken away. K goes after Gaksital. They fight and G pushes K. they fight some more while D fights her away free and rescues her dad. she says father it’s me Boon. He says you are my daughter Boon. She tells him to hurry and run away. He takes her with him. Abe was about to shoot Gaksital but one of D’s men stops him. Gaksital gets away from K.

D and her dad hide in an office. They hear a man being called who was just about to go back into his office where they are hiding. A  woman – someone’s wife comes over. Choi asks when she got here cuz he heard she went to tokyo. she says thanks to a successful husband, I cant be just going around. she asks why it’s so loud here at the courthouse. K comes so choi asks what is going on. K says that D’s dad and his cohorts escaped and asks to check Choi’s room for a second. Choi says there is no need cuz why would those criminals dare hide in my room. K asks to check anyway for safety’s sake anyway since choi was the one who sentenced them to death so choi steps aside. K and Abe go and check the room. K looks out the window and spots D running off with her dad

Choi is fooling around with that wife and asks do you want to see me go crazy- it’s been over ten days. she tells him how someone is visiting her home tm. so choi asks so do you want me to your husband right away? she says she cant tell the visitor not to come -should she tell him how her husband drove drunk and killed someone.  choi says still I cant do it now. she tells him about some land -how they are going to clear the tomato field and build something there. if you buy that land you will get ten or 20 times in return. aside from my husband who can take care of this.  choi starts to talk about the law but she says she already paid off the victim’s family for them not to talk and she brought choi those snacks so pass them around.

K shoots someone dressed as D’s dad but he already changed so K shoots the wrong guy.

Choi looks at all the money and puts in the call to release her husband. choi says how her husband Lee made a mistake while driving and choi looked into it and the victim had some blame too. also the victim’s family was compensated so free him right now.  Gaksital shows up and calls choi by his real name kwon SJ. choi asks how he knows that name. gaksital asks how choi can call himself a judge. you call yourself a judge after killing people through the law- it wasnt enough you are a traitor now you kill with the law? you are going to pay for your crimes. I came to make sure of that.

K says they were going to be executed anyway so kill them (the insurgents). Suddenly choi’s body flies out through his window and K runs in to see gaksital fleeing the crime scene. K tells him to stop and chases after him but he is gone.

When K goes out, he sees some officers and his brother is behind them. KS sees his brother and says lee kang to my dongsang. K asks what he is doing. KS says  I have to capture bad guys. K tells him just stay at home and be good. go. I said go. KS says go with me. I have to play with you to have fun. I am bored. let’s go together. K drags him away

D remembers her dad saying dont worry about me and live safely. she asked her dad to go with him – i can do anything. it’s ok if i die. I dont want to live apart anymore. but he says later I will find you. where should I go? she cries and says father. he reminds her whose daughter she is-the leader of the independence movement.  (meaning cuz he is wanted she wont be safe with him). D says she works with the circus. He knew the leader cho so she asks do you know him. he says stick with the circus cuz he knows cho so there is no need for him to worry. I will find you.

D looks at her dad’s pic and says I didn’t get to tell you father but mom died. I will live well so you have to be safe and be sure to come back for me. I will wait for you dad.

K tells Taro that gaksital was the criminal. kenji tells him that Gaksital wears a mask and helps the movement. Taro slaps kenji for not telling him about Gaksital sooner. kenji says he didnt think Taro needed to know cuz he didnt know Gaksital would kill choi. i’m sorry. They go and look at choi’s wound. There is a specific design in the cut. K apologizes and says they didnt catch D’s dad but caught the rest.  some guy comes in and says choi is dead? he is starled to see that mark and so was Taro and Kenji. Taro orders kenji to capture gaksital so K asks to be the one to do it. but Taro doesn’t listen to K and orders K to capture D’s dad

Back to present time. K looks at the banner and sees the design the banner was cut and it’s the same as the one on choi’s body. He goes back to choi’s office and looks around. He stares at the Japanese flag portrait and looks behind the frame. There is a photo of choi and Taro.

K shows it to Goji. Goji says choi and taro had this kind of relationship. K says how that design looks the same as the one on the sliced banner and on choi’s body so-for Gaksital to leave this mark on purpose. it means for sure there is some kind of connection with choi, lee gong, and taro. Goji figures out Taro was afraid they would find that out and left the investigation to Kenj his son.  Some other men – Taro, kenj, show up so Goji  hides the photo. Goji yells at the officers for not capturing gaksital for killing choi.  cuz it’s been past a month. kenji says sorry and I will do my best to hurry and …but Gohi gives the order for K to take over the case and capture gaksital. Taro says K should chase after Dam (D’s dad) but Goji asks K: can you capture him (gaksital)within a week. K says of course. I will do my best and capture gaksital.

kenji says they have to kill K first before he finds out about our plans and organization. taro says they have to take care of that without Goji suspecting, Kenj says dont worry I have a way to kill him

K gets some paperwork about choi’s murder case.Kenji in the other office makes a phone call while looking at K sitting outside. Kenji says into the phone: It’s tonight. You have confidence right?

K walks to his car and puts the box in the back seat. Suddenly a fake Gaksital smirks and holds a gun to the back of K’s head.

end

preview

a voice says: I saw clearly with my own two eyes. it for certain he is on the same side as K

someone says the group is dying off one by one

D asks S: how did you know it was me. he says you always prayed with the knife in your hand- to make God let you meet that guy. who is it?

K says to a beaten up D: Gaksital cant act like he doesnt know you. are you two in a loving relationship?

D asks Gaksital: why do you keep helping me? couldnt you tell me your name at least

someone says K is working with/on the same side as gaksital

Fanderay’s comment

I can’t say that this drama has sunk its claws into me yet, but if it heads in the right direction it has the potential to. I like the cast so far (I’m not previously familiar with the two females) and the interplay between all of them should be quite interesting since they each have completely different back-stories and goals. Even the supporting cast includes some of my favorites (like K’s mom). The premise and the setting are great set-up for an intriguing story, so it’s just up to the writers to pull it off.

I think the reason I found the first episode a bit lackluster was that it tried to establish too many characters and their pasts at the same time, so it ended up feeling rushed but slow paced at the same time. I think that some of the flashbacks would have been more touching if I already felt invested in the people involved, but instead the story jumped around too much for me to get attached to any one person.

Fortunately, this sort of thing happens with most TV shows and it doesn’t scare me off. Once the real story gets going, I hope that it mixes in a fair bit of intrigue and surprises us with some good twists and turns. It’s fairly obvious that poor Joo Won is no expert martial artist, so I won’t be tuning in for the action, but will happily watch for the story and characters (if they’re as good as I hope). Based on her character description I actually think that Hong Joo sounds like she could be extremely interesting, so I hope she isn’t just a typical detestable second lead, and has motivations that we can all empathize with. I love stories that are full of moral shades of grey (instead of just good vs evil) and Gaksital is perfectly set up to be such a story.

I’m sure that most people here are die-hard Joo Won fans, but as much as I like him, I’m a bit worried that I’ll end up rooting for the second lead. I have a soft spot for Park Ki Woong to begin with (he’s a great artist btw) but it doesn’t help that his character is  a martial artist samurai’s son turned empathetic teacher. It’s like they’re already setting him up to be the perfect man who won’t get the girl because he is too selfless and has bad timing. So far K is sort of a jerk (Joo Won is great at being villainous) although I did enjoy seeing his softer side when he was with S, and I’m confident we’ll see a lot more of that later and grow to love him. It seems like we have the makings of a great bromance, and I’m already fearful that the two boys will turn against each other later and make me cry bucket-loads (will that be before or after I cry about S not getting the girl?)

I haven’t read up at all on the manhwa, so I have no idea how the story is supposed to play out and whether it ends happily or with tear-inducing death and tragedy, but I always think it’s promising when a story is compelling enough to be adapted to TV in the first place.

I think I’ll have a much better feel for this drama (and more to say) after tomorrow’s episode, which will hopefully finish up all the introductory storyline and leave us with some major momentum going into next week. I didn’t even watch the long preview, but just skimming over the details revealed a lot, and I hope that all those scenes air as soon as possible so I can thereafter wait to see what happens with the proper amount of suspense. I really want this show to be fantastic, so my fingers are crossed that it reaches its full potential.