King’s Family Episode 49

Even when the end is near, there must still be some new conflict amidst all the tying of loose ends. Is that really necessary? I guess the ratings will tell you it’s not really so, because it’s a massive drop from the past few episodes (it’s in the 40ish from episode 42-48, steadily increasing as the weeks past, but clocked a 39% or so for this episode).

Recap

Aunt wallows in her sorrow/uncertainties/fear/worries on her own by the Han River, and proceeds to confide in Daddy Choi at his office. He prods her to tell Min Joong about Miho’s parentage, and she argues that she doesn’t want to use her child as an excuse for tying Min Joong to her. Uhm, then when do you plan to tell him the truth, Aunt? Anyway, at least she’s different from the Wang ladies, and I applaud her for that. She continues to say that she doesn’t want to lose Min Joong, and Daddy Choi says she’ll be stupid if she lets him go. Agreed.

Aunt heads back to Min Joong’s, and sees Miho enjoying herself with Min Joong over a pot of ramyun. Miho takes her leave (heading for tuition), and Min Joong pulls Aunt into a hug. Aunt still looks detached and forlorn, while Min Joong apologizes for not understanding her better, and also tells her to give him some time.

I’m fairly certain not much time has passed, but apparently Mom is all recovered and resuming her household duties. She declares to Soo-bak she’s heading to where Dad now works at. She hides at a corner, and sees Dad being berated by the nasty ahjumma owner. The wife of his ex-student (they appeared 1 or 2 episodes previously) also joins in belittling Dad, and Mom emerges from her corner, no longer able to take it anymore. She reprimands the horrid ahjummas for looking down at Dad, who’s been a teacher all his life. She quits his job for him, and declares that she’s going to earn money instead. Ha.

Se Dal prepares a sumptuous breakfast (?) for Ho-bak, and ignores Mdm Park’s request to have a chat. And he never tells her Ho-bak had a miscarriage. Anyway, Ho-bak is touched, and tells Se Dal to try for another child again, formally. As in, ya know, not drunk and stuff. He’s touched, and they hug.

Daddy Choi thinks back to the events the previous night, and Uncle Joo asks if he’s thinking of how to torture his daughter-in-law, seeing him deep in thoughts. Daddy Choi rebutts that he’s the one being tortured (!). He goes home and Gwang-bak begs for forgiveness profusely, and all he did was to take out 10 shot glasses and a bottle of whisky (?), and he suggests having a drinking competition. They agree that the winner will have a wish granted by the loser, and starts drinking. The both of them get increasingly drunk, and even have a love shot (!), before Daddy Choi concuss from all the drinking. Gwang-bak is so happy that she won, and she faints promptly too.

There’s an interlude of Mom and Dad, which is nothing important narratively, only to show that the old couple is still supportive of each other, injuries and retrenchment and all.

We go back to the Chois, and Daddy Choi wakes up in his bed in the morning, remembering what happened the previous night. He enters the kitchen to see Gwang-bak in high spirits, and she tells him she’s cooking soup for nursing hangovers. She also happily tells him that she won the drinking competition, which he promtply denies (“What drinking competition? This is the first time I’ve heard something so ridiculous as a drinking competition between father and daughter-in-laws!”). Gwang-bak is then forced to show him the photo she took of him passed out on the floor (good thinking!). At breakfast, Daddy Choi asks where/who did she learn from to hold her liquor so well, and proceeds to hand her a big envelope, and it’s a contract for an ownership of a cafe (so Gwang-bak is becoming like Chewing Gum, a coffee shop lady!). He tells her grudgingly that because it’s her wish to become a writer, he wants her to devote herself into writing (“like the person who wrote Harry Potter!”), and so running a cafe would be the best option for her while she hones her writing. Gwang-bak is beyond ecstatic and hugs Daddy Choi. Aww. I know you’re a big softie,but is there really a need to wait until the second last episode for a recouncilation between them?

Daddy Choi then heads to Mdm Park’s shop later in the day, bearing a bouquet, but she’s too upset over Se Dal’s disapproval and literally pushes Daddy Choi out of her store, even though he offers to meet and talk to Se Dal sincerely. Young Dal drops by not long after he left, and is upset to see her Mom upset. She storms over to Ho-bak’s place, and gives a piece of her mind to Se Dal. But that crazy dude is adamant in keeping Mdm Park single due to his childhood trauma, and barks at Young Dal to leave. I don’t get the people in this drama.

Aunt heads home (I realise it’s very confusing because characters keep moving about and home is never permanent) and finds Dad waiting at the entrance. They adjourn to the only cafe in Seoul, and Dad admits that it was difficult to send Min Joong away, because he’s just like a son to them even though he was just a son-in-law. He then tells Aunt to take good care of Min Joong, and Soo-bak’s children, and Aunt is touched at Dad’s kind words and decision. She tells Min Joong about her meeting with Dad, and they’re both relieved at the turn of events. Over at the Wangs, Mom is unhappy about it, but she can’t do much anyway, and Soo-bak still stubbornly insists she’ll raise her own children. Well, good luck to you. She then leaves the house in tears, and wallow in her sorrow at the top of some hill.

It’s moving day for Aunt and Miho, and they go to their newly rented apartment with the movers. Min Joong is too busy at work, so it’s just Aunt and Miho doing the moving. He promises to have a home party to celebrate their moving, and Aunt tells Miho to dress up because she’s the star of the day. I feel bad jeebees about this party. And I’m right because over at the Wangs, the world’s kdramaland’s most difficult-to-look-after baby aka Joong Ji is running a high fever, and Mom insists on getting Min Joong to send Joong Ji to hospital. It’s so repetitive I can’t even. And so Soo-bak tries calling Min Joong to no avail, because he left his phone in the office while he inspects the factory. Soo-bak then phones Aunt and screams at her to get Min Joong. And Aunt actually physically goes to Min Joong’s factory/office to inform him. This drama I swear, makes everyone looks like they can teleport.

Aunt and Miho waits and waits for Min Joong to be back, but he’s staying in the hospital because Joong Ji supposedly has some intestinal inflammation which requires him to be hospitalised. Aunt finally tucks Miho to bed, and Miho comments that Aunt used to look happy when she started seeing Min Joong, but since they started living together, Aunt doesn’t look happy anymore. Nothing truer than this.

Joong Ji gets the green light to be discharged, and Min Joong accompanies Soo-bak and Joong Ji back to the Wangs. And Soo-bak hands Joong Ji over to him, telling him to raise Joong Ji up properly. I *love* how characters can just change their mind over an hour/a night/whatever the writer dictates just because the drama is ending soon. /end sacarsm

Soo-bak informs Mom she’s decided to send both her children to Min Joong, and it is a tearful goodbye for Ae Ji and Soo-bak. Young Dal declares that she’ll never part with her child. With this, we begin Ae Ji’s terrorising regime over Miho and Aunt. At the new apartment of Min Joong and Aunt, Ae Ji demands to have the bed, which Miho graciously accepts and says she’s fine with sleeping on the floor; she throws a huge tantrum when Miho calls Min Joong Dad (and Miho already asks for Aunt’s permission to do so), and screams “is Ae Ji’s Dad! Not your Dad! Is Ae Ji’s!”

Soo-bak lands herself a new job at some handbag company, and accepts the mandatory training the company has for all new staff, while Ho-bak is awarded best employee, and Uncle Don wins the first prize in some pizza competition, which he created a new pumpkin and chicken pizza, because Grandma loves pumpkin (or something like that). So are the Wangs heading up from their slump now?

Se Dal can’t sleep at night, thinking back to Young Dal’s words that Mdm Park is depressed since Se Dal openly objects to her new relationship, and he finds Mdm Park missing from her room when he looks for her to have a chat. Turns out that Mdm Park sneaked out to meet Daddy Choi, telling him it’s the last time she’ll see him, and thanks him for all the wonderful memories, palpitating heart, and reminding her that she’s a woman. Se Dal sees their farewell, and looks angry. He meets Daddy Choi the next day, and scoffs when Daddy Choi hands over his namecard. He doesn’t believe it’s for real, and warns Daddy Choi against meeting his Mom again. He does acknowledge that Daddy Choi looks a tad familiar when he’s alone.

Ae Ji continues to be a little terror, riding on Miho’s back, forcing Miho to pretend to be a horse, and when she slips off Miho’s back on her own, Min Joong rushes out from another room upon hearing her cries, and asks Miho why she made Ae Ji cry. Ae Ji then demands to have meat for dinner, and Min Joong agrees to it even though Aunt has already prepared dinner. Min Joong then buys the two older girls soft toys, which Ae Ji insists on snatching Miho’s when they play together, and hurts herself in the process. Min Joong reprimands Miho, and Aunt cannot stand it anymore. She tries to reason with Min Joong to leave the girls alone when they fight, and not take anybody’s side, but Min Joong is not having any of it and insists that Ae Ji is just upset about separating from her Mom, thus needing someone to console her.

The next morning, Aunt prepares breakfast to a pouty Ae Ji, and leaves her alone at home while she brings Joong Ji to checkup. The next thing we see is Ae Ji leaving the apartment on her own, brawling as she walks back to the Wangs (and sustaining some abrasions and wounds on the long trek home).

Meanwhile, Gwang-bak is at the airport waiting for Sang Nam’s arrival. She’s prepared a big sketchbook of writings, and imagines herself flipping the sketchbook in front of Sang Nam, and they makeup after that. The reality could not be vastly different, as Sang Nam appears aloof and even shushes her when she tries to call out to him, and she mistakes him for behaving like this because of a sexy lady walking in front of him. Why did she marry him if she can’t trust him? It turns out that Sang Nam has seen Suspicious Ex (remember him?), and is tailing him, while informing Se Dal and Min Joong.

Meanwhile, Soo-bak finds Ae Ji still trekking her way home, and when they reach the Wangs, apparently Ae Ji tells her Mom that Aunt mistreated/abused her (!) and Mom is all worked up. Soo-bak stops Mom from going to Aunt, and she goes instead, slapping Aunt so hard on the face that she falls to the ground. Soo-bak then proceeds to shout at Aunt, while Aunt doesn’t even tell her that the nasty little terror of a girl is a blatant liar. Miho comes home from school just then, and hugs her Mom, while crying for Soo-bak to stop. After Soo-bak has left with Joong Ji, Miho asks Aunt tearfully why doesn’t she defend herself. I’d like to know why too.

The son-in-laws catch up with Suspicious Ex, and Sang Nam gives him a good thrashing (while Se Dal is really the one toothless tiger like his wife), and Min Joong receives a call from Soo-bak telling him she’s gotten their children back for good. He rushes back home to find the place in a mess (Soo-bak threw things around during her rampage) and a short letter from Aunt, telling him not to look for them. Aunt brings Miho to board some bus meant for some other provinces, while Min Joong meets with Daddy Choi, hoping he has some inkling where Aunt would be. Daddy Choi finally tells him the truth about Miho’s parentage (“how could you be so retarded dumb? Had you never once guessed that Miho IS your child? Don’t you understand why Soon Jung never tells you the truth?”)

Comment

I guess it’s evident from my recent recaps that I’m growing increasingly frustrated at the noble idiots in this drama, as well as the impossibly selfish or stupid twarts. While I applaud Aunt for insisting not to stoop as low as Mom and Soo-bak, in using the children as a mean to tie down Min Joong, she is at the same time denying Miho the right to acknowledge her father. And I really headdesked when Aunt just stood there with tears streaming down her face as Soo-bak lauched her tirade on her. If you can tear at your sister’s head, why can’t you exert your right at Soo-bak? If you can deny Mom’s repeated requests to meet previously, why can’t you stand up for yourself when Soo-bak accuses you of abusing Ae Ji?

I’ve once read another blogger (I think it’s Ockoala if I’m not wrong) wrote that the worst conflict is one where it’s resolved when one party changes his/her mind without much rhyme or reason, and I keep seeing this in King’s Family. It’s extrememly annoying to have such conflicts because it negates the purpose of the conflict, and it removes the viewing enjoyment.

Lastly, I’d really really like to apologize for the delay in the last two episodes recaps, because work’s really crazy, and I’ve been OT-ing for several days consecutively, and even working on weekends. I wouldn’t be doing recaps for Wonderful Season, because a break is needed from recapping looooong series.