Friday, September 28, 2012

K-Drama Review: Faith, Episodes 13-14

 


















Read Episode reviews for:

Faith--Episodes 1-2
Faith--Episodes 3-4
Faith--Episodes 5-6
Faith--Episodes 7-8
Faith--Episodes 9-10
Faith--Episodes 11-12
Faith--Episodes 13-14
Faith--Episodes 15-16
Faith--Episodes 17-18


Contains Spoilers for Episodes 13-14

Deok-heung, a new guy who I think is a villain, offers Eunsoo her magical purple diary from the future(past?), but says she has to come with him to visit Gicheol. Deok-heung is the King's illegitimate uncle, so he's in a position of power but we don't yet know what he'll do with it. She doesn't jump at the bait though, and just walks away from him.

Doesn't Need Your Magical Trinkets.

Eunsoo hangs out with the Wodalchi warriors under a pavilion, then their captain Choi Young comes back from killing a baker's dozen of bad guys. He's miffed that his warriors are hanging around, being charmed by Eunsoo and just shooting the breeze. The boys clear out and Eunsoo demands to check Choi Young's wounds, so she can tend to him. He reluctantly complies.
 
Heroic Courtship Ritual: Sewing Up Wounds Without Anesthetic.
 
 
Choi Young lets Eunsoo know that he has stationed a warrior at the heaven's gate time portal, and this guy is under orders to tell Choi Young when the portal opens again. He's letting her know that he hasn't forgotten his promise to take her home to her own time. Eunsoo is fine, though. She goes outside, breathes the fresh air, and starts to really enjoy her life in Goryeo for the first time.
 
In the palace, the King is so relieved that Choi Young returned unscathed, since he's really the King's best bud in addition to being his best warrior. But even after slaughtering more enemies, we still have to worry about the villain Gicheol scheming to get Eunsoo back as a fulltime doctor/fortuneteller.
 
 
Stay Strong, Your Majesty!
 
Gicheol is plotting to get Deok-heung to win Eunsoo's "heart" for him. Not yet sure how he plans to do that when Gicheol himself failed at it.
 
As Choi Young is in town on business, one of his warriors informs him that Eunsoo is in town, too--buying herbs in the market with her warrior-maiden guards in tow. He stomps off to see what crazy shenanigans the doctor is getting herself into this time. Choi Young is stunned to find that she's gathering ingredients to make lotions and make-up for herself and also--get this--so she can sell cosmetics to others.
 
Girl Has a New Money-Making Scheme Every Week.
 
In the market, they run into Deok-heung, the King's uncle, who kind of roundaboutly insults Choi Young by saying, "Oh. So you're the man who protects Eunsoo?" Reinforcing that Choi Young is not Eunsoo's social equal and that his relationship to her is only that of a paid caretaker. All in one sentence! Ouch. Choi Young bristles and asks who this man is, and Eunsoo lets him know Deok-heung's an uncle to the King, which means we've got to be polite to him. Deok-heung offers to escort Eunsoo around while she shops; she wisely declines.
 
At the palace, Choi Young is quite upset that Eunsoo didn't mention meeting this guy before, as it means that a relative of the King's is in league with Gicheol. But I don't know if he's evil, exactly. More like he's in that gray area between good and bad.
 
Even So, This Alliance Is Scary.
 
 King Gongmin works through some governmental shake-ups, replacing useless puppets who serve Gicheol with honest men who will enact their government jobs properly.
 
We now see Eunsoo having nightmares of all the violence she has witnessed. Choi Young is walking by her room and hears her crying in her sleep, emphasizing that no matter how chipper she might seem, she has been traumatized by the world he brought her to.
 
Sorry, Sugar, But It Really IS All Your Fault.
 
Choi Young doesn't stay down in the dumps, though. He sets up an ingenious kidnapping of Deok-heung, then talks strategy with the man. Choi Young wants Deok-heung to bring Eunsoo's notebook to her, so we have this entire complicated kidnapping, just to have one conversation. Choi Young concludes the convo by warning Deok-heung to watch himself around Eunsoo because Eunsoo is a dangerous swordswoman with a quick temper. Ha!

Choi Young then goes on to teach Eunsoo how to use a knife. She's horrible at it, but the knife-fighting lessons make them both laugh. He asks her if she wants to go back home and is just enduring her life in Goryeo? She doesn't answer.

And drama increases again when Choi Young is accused of accepting weapons from an arms dealer and taking a bribe to betray the King, who of course doesn't believe the trumped-up charge.

It's Like King Darius, Forced to Throw Daniel in the Lion's Den.

Young is just tired to the point of exhaustion from all this drama, so he tells the King, "I didn't receive a bribe. If you think I did, throw me in jail or dismiss me from my position." Then he marches out, and I don't blame our boy for his ire.

Meanwhile, Deok-heung brings the diary to Eunsoo, and she is in the process of deciphering it--it's not latitude and longitude, it's dates and times when the heaven's gate opens. Deok-heung goes back to Gicheol and says that to really win Eunsoo's heart like Gicheol wants, he'll have to make her queen. *gulp* So Deok-heung is angling for the throne, which is Gongmin's, and for Eunsoo. who is essentially Choi Young's. Gicheol is going to try to give him both.

Don't Ask For Much, Do You?

Choi Young finds Eunsoo and tells her to pack a small bag because they're about to travel. The new court officials think Eunsoo can tell them valuable things about the future, so he thinks they might just decide to torture her for info.

At court, Choi Young confesses to the bribery crime he didn't commit and is sentenced to longterm house arrest. But anyhow, Choi Young busts out of prison that night so he can meet Eunsoo and take her to the heaven's gate. When she sees him, Eunsoo runs toward Choi Young and embraces him, like she finally sees how easy it would be to lose him and how much he means to her.

Perfect Moment.

They continue travelling, but soon find that the roads are all blocked by Gicheol's men. He decides to hide her with some of his trusted friends for a few days. And gyah, Eunsoo is so cute while she's madly trying to figure out the codes and math formulas that future-her wrote in the diary. Choi Young tries to sound genuine as her encourages her to decode the formulas so she can go home sooner.

They stay at the secret house. Night falls and Choi Young sits outside the door while Eunsoo studies. She asks him if he wants to play Truth or Dare--they'll ask each other questions, like at a team-building exercise or a slumber party, and the other person must answer truthfully. Through the door, she asks, "If I go through the heaven's gate, will you miss me? There will be no one around to sew you up if you get wounded while I'm gone." He answers that he will miss her.

Her Suspicions Are Confirmed.

She goes on to say that she won't be okay with leaving, either. She will miss everyone if she returns home. Eunsoo will miss the King, the Queen, Dr. Janbin, the Wodalchi warriors...and Choi Young. She then wonders if he wants to ask her anything? He declines, whispering to himself that he knows too much about her already.

At the palace, Deok-heung tells Choi Young's aunt that he, Deok-heung, managed to give Eunsoo a weird sort of poison that will soon start working on her. Only he has the antidote, so shouldn't Auntie tell him where Choi Young and Eunsoo are hiding before the good doctor dies? At the secret house, we see Choi Young walk into the room to find Eunsoo sick and unresponsive. Nooo...

Things I Loved:

1. Deok-heung as Ambiguous Villain. Yeah, he's working for Gicheol, but you can tell he's got layers. As the son of a king and a concubine, the King's uncle has never had an easy life and has survived by staying hidden from public view. Now he's scheming a bit, but I totally understand that because in his position, I would scheme, too. At this point, he has to become king or somebody will kill him just because he's inconvenient.

Pawn of Fate.

2. King/Queen Progress! They're falling in loooove again! And I couldn't be happier about it. The King even admits that he gave his heart to the Queen a long time ago.

It's About Time Our Smart Queen Had Something to Smile About.

3. Knife-Fighting Lessons. The fact that our two leads can laugh and cut up even at this moment says so much.

Always a Cause for Mirth.
 

Complaints:

1. None. I'm happy.

Watch Faith on DramaFever.

Episode Evaluations: After two boring episodes, we're back in strong territory. Thank goodness for all the great development with the King and Queen, plus little comedic moments and the heavy emphasis on Choi Young/Eunsoo!

2 comments:

  1. I'm crushing on Choi Young.

    How much longer does this series last for? I'm getting impatient lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'll have to share Choi Young, because I've got it bad, too!

      This is one of the longest shows I've ever seen--24 episodes! It's great that we get more show, but not so great that it's episode 14 and there hasn't even been one kiss. *taps foot* *waits*

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