Pairings and miscellaneous whatnot

Pairings

YNxGD

- Very strong bond, almost 100% certain that they’re the ones to be together in the end. Enok and Gil Dong are both the first friends the other has ever had, and though the two go on to make other acquaintances, their bond to each other is so strong that a year of separation made it even stronger. He cares for her in an understated way, and she always has him (and food) on the brain. They would clearly do anything for the other.

GDxEH

- Pretty much one-sided at this point. Gil Dong sees her as a noble lady who’s just dallying around and needs to stay that way. Eun Hye wants her bad boy to recognize her as a person, not just a moneybag. Currently their meetings are on hiatus, but Eun Hye is a determined and smart girl.

YNxCH

- One-sided in terms of love, but Enok does care for Chang Hui. However, the intensity of emotion she is capable of is currently reserved for Gil Dong and shows absolutely no sign of budging. As we see these two together more and more, we realize that their dynamic is very much tilted towards Enok, in that Chang Hui gathers strength and compassion from her. She is pretty much his only weak point, and as Choi (may he rot in hell) astutely points out, “When such a cold person is protecting someone with his life, you risk certain death to harm her.” Right now, she is Chang Hui’s anchor to life, liberty in mind and the pursuit of happiness.

CH x Chisu

- Gosh. Purely here for goofy reasons, but look at Chisu’s eyes whenever Chang Hui’s on screen. Devotion and cuteness, plus he’s good at karate. And he’s always so earnest about making Chang Hui happy. It’s also clear how much Chang Hui relies on Chisu for backup whenever things to awry, or even when he’s just going over his day.

EHxCH

- Purely hypothetical alternate pairing - the second leads getting together. Personally, Chang Hui is more likely to get together with Gil Dong, since he actually knows the guy exists. Plus, her father will probably be killed in the takeover, since he supported the current king’s rise. Chances of her actually remaining alive after that? Nada.

EHxIH

- Strong-willed intellectual beauty with weak under-performing idiot. Huh. They’re engaged and all, but something tells me they won’t be happy together. He loves her, he bores her… eeeeeeeh.

Things that make me go ‘Wha?’

- Lord Hong’s absolute utter devotion to the king. For this guy (who is a delightful banquet of insane), he’s killed a best friend and his family, sacrificed his own son, twice, and killed lots of poor peasants. In someone portrayed as somewhat sympathetic and upright in his duties, that’s just seven different kinds of confusing. Of course, he could be staunchly doing what’s best for the country - or he’s relieving his guilt at depriving his own illegitimate son a chance at proper life.

- Why don’t they just melt the damn sword down? That’ll make everyone happy.

- Also, if Chang Hui has a claim to the throne as the official heir, why not claim it somewhere public and have done with it? Admittedly then we’d have no drama, but it seems less bothersome than all this detouring with explosives and wmd.

- I want Enok’s metabolism. Really. It’s amazing, what that girl can put away.

- Chang Hui’s insistence on flowery silk. And guyliner. Honestly, whenever I introduce friends to Hong Gil Dong, they think he’s a girl. *headdesk* I get that he has to look rich, but something less girly, like he had on in the beginning. I am fond of silver and dark blue. They are understated and nice. Sidenote: he has very nice hands.

Timeline

We’ll set the time of episode one’s beginning as zero.

~25 years ago: King dies, a whole chain of events that precipitate the series happen.

~5 years ago: Gil Dong’s vagabond days.

~4 years ago: Episodes 9-present

So GD, YN and CH are all definitely in their 20s. I’d say Gil Dong’s 28/9, Chang Hui’s 27/8, and Enok is 25/6. Lovely, and so Chang Hui definitely doesn’t have an excuse to be woodenly teenaged angst at the beginning.

Tralala, hope this’ll keep you folks occupied until the next recap.

Sevenses

Hong Gil Dong Episode 13, recap

Gosh, the speed of the Chinese subbers astonish me. Less than 24 hours! Big thanks to them!

Also, I’ve realized that I’m playing fast and loose with spelling and grammar in some of the other posts, sorry. With the word count reaching 3000+ words, catching errors becomes a little difficult. Excuse me, and do correct me if you spot something. Moving swiftly onwards to…

Episode 13

THEY MEET! (*hyperventilates*) So, Gil Dong and Enok have their moment, my heartstrings are tugged.

Gil Dong reaches up to hold Enok back, but hesitates before settling on a half-hearted pat. Oh Gil Dong. Why play that game?

It cuts to Chisu detailing the day’s events - the girls are safe home, everything is okay. Chang Hui, meanwhile, is reviewing his day and recalls Enok’s goofy imitation of Chisu’s sapsaree dog look. He looks at his own brushes and smiles. Chisu is alarmed, but he’s almost getting used to Chang Hui’s frequent mooning when Chang Hui pats him on the back. His head goes up in a shocked gesture calculated to resemble dog-like alarm.

(Sidenote: Chang Hui’s expression at the end of this shot is very playful and mischievously teenaged. So, he’s not just a broody, manipulative king candidate - at this point, I don’t know what to think, cause he goes on to do and suggest some pretty awful things. But here? Here I just want to pat him.)

Hong Gil Dong episode 12, recap

This series is so content heavy and good! Not blasé at all. On the other hand, it means I get to write 3000+ words per episode recap. I don’t think my fingers have recovered from yesterday’s megathon typing yet… o.O

Btw, this episode contains a lot of significant dialogue, so … here goes.

Episode 12, folks!

The beginning of the episode is from Enok’s perspective, as she walks down the smoke-filled roads, and she is at the crossroads. Behind her, we see Gil Dong furtively faking everyone else’s coughing and waving antics, while in front Chang Hui panics, unseen. Enok turns around towards Gil Dong, then to Chang Hui, then Gil Dong again, just as Gramps’ voiceover says, “That way death lies.” She turns 180 degrees and we see Chang Hui, struggling to find Enok in the smoke. (Overt symbolism, I’ll leave it to you to decipher.)

Hong Gil Dong episode 11, recap

My heart, it palpitates. Finally subbed!

On to the recap, people:

Episode 11

Choi leads his men through the darkened streets, looking for ‘Magenta Girl’. Fortunately for Gil Dong and Enok, they walk right by their hiding place. (So no one’s heard of grill search patterns. What sheltered lives.) Gil Dong is still blocking her eyes with his hands and unconsciously remembers the last time he held her - knocked out to prevent her from going into danger with him. (Insert stirring music) He unconsciously holds her in the same way. (Audience: They’re gonna meet! *excited*)

After the last noises have died away, Enok begins asking who her mysterious rescuer is, but Gil Dong’s being stubborn, much to everyone’s distress, and runs away with his hand comically stretching his face. Enok, also a stubborn person, chases him in the maze-like streets. (All this action in the dark, woah.)

Half Boy aka Suk Geun heads out to see if Gil Dong’s alright. They both hide in another abandoned warehouse. (Goodness, Seoul is just littered with abandoned warehouses.) However, SG accidentally kicks a barrel loose, so GD naturally leaps on it to stop it from rolling away and revealing their position only to have YN walk in. Now stuck in this awkward pose, Gil Dong is truly and well trapped. The Hong sisters demonstrate their great abilities with comedy as a side-splitting sequence of events follow.

Entitlement Boy, or Chang Hui

Still obsessed. Damn.

Okay, so people are going bash-happy all over our favourite Broody Man. He doesn’t save the slave girls, he lets Gil Dong sacrifice himself to stop the executions, he hides in the shadows, he can’t emote, and most importantly, he looks to steal Enok away from our intrepid hero!

Chill, people.

The point of this drama was to portray Hong Gil Dong as he really ‘was’, and not as a saintly dude on a pedestal. Therefore, that would go double for any negative characters. If my guess is correct, CH has probably grown up with the best of feudal traditions reiterated in his ear over and over again. This means that he subscribes to the belief that the King has a direct line to the gods, that he has supreme rights to do whatever he wants, and that his people are just so many more ants under his foot - they live for him.

Given that his ‘gods-given right to kingship’ has been stolen by his own brother, and to add insult to injury, his mother has been killed and his supporters scattered, he would be justified (to himself and his supporters) in taking whatever steps necessary to regain what was stolen. That he is beginning to recognize he cannot just step over others’ bodies, that the lives of the people around him are actually worth something- it’s a tribute to Enok’s powers of fluff and doom. To change 20 something years worth of worldview isn’t easy, and I’m glad he’s beginning to try. Now, if the writers just put kdrama causality out of the way for a bit and let him develop? That’d be great.

Now we come to the issue of scapegoating. Let me ask you- what sane president lets himself take the blame? (Sane, I didn’t say honest.) It’s always someone else’s fault, always a lower-ranking minister who takes the flack. The man on top of the pyramid is He Who Must Not Be Blamed.

I’m not saying he’s a saint. No one is (not yet, at any rate). But he’s making progress (same as EH, who I’m going to come back to, along with that long overdue pairing discussion), so please. Let the writers work their magic.

Love,

Sevenses

Not utterly obsessed, I swear

Sorry, had to do it. I love this picture of Enok doing her Ninja thing. (Credit soompi)

Anyway, just to show I’m not completely obsessed by HGD, not really:

Latecomer’s post, but Hwang Jin-yi looks really interesting. (If I had to be honest, I’d say I started because I wanted to see what JGS’s acting is like in other shows, but having seen Song Hye Kyo’s movie, I wanted more on the character. *sigh*)

The promise of angst doesn’t really tempt me, but into every life some rain must fall…

A very impressive kisaeng troop gets ready to entertain a lord, but the lord shows displeasure at the fact that one of the musical kisaengs is missing. Later, the troupe director scolds the performer for being unrealistic (it is hinted that she is waiting for an unfaithful lover) and warns her not to skip anymore performances, nor to resign.

Then, in a Buddhist temple, a little girl repeatedly bows while her classmates cheer her on. She’s obviously tired but she keeps going. Nearby, a temple master berates an underling for making a stupid promise - 3000 bows in return for a visit in town. He says of the little girl, named Jin-yi: “She is the sort to make 10000 bows if it will give her what she wants. How could you not know that?”

Teaser teaser. I’m too committed to Hong Gil Dong at the moment, but this is definitely on my to-watch list.

Love,

Sevenses

*wails*

[Edit: That's it, I'm off to watch the raws.]

I want my HGD now!! (Spoiler cookie below

Everthing’s up in the air now - the only person who doesn’t know he’s still alive is his half-bro, his dad suspects Yongmun, Lady Noh and Lord Seo want him dead, CH wants him alive but away from YN, YN does her happy hug thing, Gramps remembers that Lord Hong was behind YN’s mother/parents’ death, the king, oddly, doesn’t show. Eun Hye’s agreed to leave GD alone, SG gets his ‘little sister’ back, while YN and CH, could it be??!

(Oh, and Chisoo shows off his badass skillz by killing Choi - CH still not mad at Noh for being cold presumptuous bitch - what’s it gonna take?)

Dying. I want to see it!! Oh subbers, please finish your dumplings and come back to work, please.

Love,

Sevenses

Happy Chinese New Year!

[Edit: Since it is the New Year, the Chinese subbers are delaying their releases, which in turn cascades down - my HGD recaps will be delayed too. Sorry, but there it is. 11 and 12 raws do look terribly interesting.]

Hey guys, so it’s finally here, the long-awaited New Year! We’ve got armies of dumplings and dishes of (almost) every description, waiting for tomorrow…

Public Health Notice (lol):

Sevenses hereby wishes all her readers a happy Chinese New Year, and may your wishes come true!

Ramble of the day:

I love snow. (People say it’s a good thing since I live in a northern country prone to snowstorms, but they’re missing the point.) I love the feeling of stepping through snow - there’s no replacement for the ‘floomph’ feeling you get when your foot lands on a soft pile of fresh snow (provided, of course, that you have good boots). Then there’s the nice tingle you get when snowflakes land and melt gently on your face. The air is fresher, the world is less noisy.

Maybe I love snow so much because I’m always walking around in it. It’s great for alone time, and really, time off with yourself is so underrated.

So get out there and get back in touch with your inner snow enthusiast.

~~~~

In the spirit of the season, here’s a recipe for HGD dumplings:

- 15+ years of political tension
- 1 krazee king
- 1 prince-in-hiding
- 1 Crazed avenger
- 1 Lay-about
- 1 Happy-go-lucky girl
- 3 Mysterious pasts
- 3 pints Hero Sauce
- 18 ounces of Wacky
- 1 pint of angst
- 6 cups Korean history
- 2 pounds Plot
- 1 gallon of ice water

Instructions:

Dumpling skin:
- Finely dice krazee king, then mix with the political tension and 1 mysterious past.
- Make sure to knead the dough evenly, spread the flavour.
- Add 4 ounces of wacky and 3 cups of Korean History to even out the taste.
- Allow the dough to sit for a few days, then follow regular skin-making procedures: take care to keep it away from alcohol to prevent explosions.

Filling:
- Mince the plot with 10 ounces of Wacky.
- If too dry, add Korean history as you see fit.
- Flavour according to taste.

Sauce:
- Mix 4 ounces of wacky with 2 pints of hero sauce, then steep layabout and happy-go-lucky girl in it for a day.
- The prince is tricky: take care to pickle with crazed avenger in mysterious past but for no longer than 2 hours, then separate the two.
- Leave the crazed avenger in ice water until time of consumption.
- The prince is to be soaked in angst then rinsed with the rest of the hero sauce.

Mix and serve. Enjoy!

Caution/Disclaimer: may be addictive and form side product of love. The parent company is not responsible for any anormal symptoms after consumption.

Love,

Sevenses

Wang Leehom and my really subjective ear

Have you ever gotten an album (Let’s just pretend we’ve had that ‘downloading off the internet is illegal’ talk, okay?) and shucked it away in disgust, only to pick it up a few months later and wonder how you thought it was bad?

Well, anyway, I really like four of his songs: Luo Ye Gui Gen (Falling Leaves), Bu Wan Zheng De Xuan Lu (Incomplete Melody), Gai Bian Zi Zi (Change Me) and Ni Shi Wo Xin Li De Yi Shou Ge (You Are a Song in My Heart). His voice takes some getting used to, but his ‘new’ album has some really nice ballady sounds to it. “You Are a Song in My Heart” also reminds me of older songs - ah, nostalgia.

All in all, a surprising discovery. Mayhaps I’ll go root some more in my 7 GBs of forgotten Chinese music.

Here’s the video for Falling Leaves:

Change Me:

Incomplete Melody

A Song in My Heart

If anyone wants one of them, request away.

Have a nice day, folks.

Sevenses

Hong Gil Dong Episode 10, recap

ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER? ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL US???

Episode 10

After that really effective cliffhanger, we see that Enok has climbed up to a window and sees the poor captive women in the warehouse. She is at present unaware of the danger she is in (at night, in an abandoned part of the city with a soon-to-arrive Choi). Choi arrives and Enok recognizes him.

Choi, noticing that many of the women are weakened or sick, has decided to kill the ones who are unlikely to make the voyage. Shim Chung begs him to let her back home, promising to return the 30 sacks of rice they owe. However, he mocks her for her filial piety and tells her that her debt of 300 sacks will never be returned. (Evil interest rates.)

Enok lets out a gasp which is heard (classic cause and effect here.) and leads to Choi’s men chasing her down. There is a dramatic chase and fight, with Enok beating Choi’s men like drums. For a moment our heroine looks poised to escape, but Choi’s iron stick incapacitates her.

He muses that Enok is pretty, but alas for her face, she must be killed.