THURSDAY ON COLOR OF PASSION EPISODE 78/79

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At the fábrica, the moment of truth has finally arrived. At long last! After much dilly-dallying, soul-searching and going round to Nazario’s house for Lala Milk and self-serving advice, Marcelo looks Alonso straight in the eyes and delivers his confession. The truth gushes out of him like word-vomit: Sudden, brusque, nauseating and in a copious flow. Marcelo declares that he relocated to Puebla with the sole purpose of revenge-boinking Alonso’s cheating wife because he deems her responsible of causing the suicide of her toyboy lover, his late lamented kid brother, Federico. Marcelo also admits that he took Rebeca to bed and nearly danced the mattress mambo with her, but he changed his mind at the last minute because he is in luuurve with Lucía! Oh and Lucía knows about all this and was his accomplice in concealing the truth from Alonso! So, to sum up: I infiltrated your life under false pretenses, betrayed your trust, enamored all the women in your family, turned your house into an asylum and made your darling daughter, my fiancée, cover up all my lies! You can go ahead and clutch your chest now!

Alonso is shocked and wounded by these revelations. He can’t believe Marcelo turned out to be such a shameless rascal (un cínico) who outdouched Puebla’s favorite douche: Rodrigo Zúñiga. Alonso accuses Marcelo of coldly devising his devious revenge plan by gradually getting closer to the Gaxiola family, gaining employment at their fábrica and earning Alonso’s full trust, only to seduce his wife and his daughter! Amador Zúñiga was so right to warn Alonso about Marcelo’s nefarious intentions! Moreover, Alonso can’t believe that Lucía has accepted Marcelo’s proposal in spite of knowing all this. He vows to personally ensure (de mi cuenta corre) that Marcelo’s marriage to Lucía never takes place. Before getting chucked out of Talavera Gaxiola forever, Marcelo has one last knife to twist into Alonso’s weak ticker: Rebeca used a false identity when she was involved with Marcelo’s brother. The late lamented Federico knew her as Adriana Murillo and died thinking Adriana was the married woman he fell in love with. Alonso’s heart audibly shatters into a million pieces upon hearing this. He physically throws Marcelo out of his office, screaming his head off and ordering Normita to alert security that Mr. Escalante can no longer set foot in the fábrica. Normita gives Marcelo a «Duuude, what did you do?» look.

Marcelo phones Lucía at the hospital to inform her that her daddy has survived the truth bomb explosion but he gets a busy tone. He asks a nurse to check his fiancée’s hospital room landline. Why isn't there ever a cellphone within a 3 mile radius of this girl?

At Marcelo’s apartment, Mother Terror cradles Federico’s photo and cries. Her head is full of questions about the Plot Gun and Marcelo's insistence on concealing the identity of her dead son’s lover.

Alonso roars into Lucía’s hospital room like a freight train. A hopping mad, heartbroken and sorely disappointed freight train. He insists on taking her home right away but Nazario stops him. She can’t leave without her doctor’s authorization because that would jeopardize her health. Fine! Alonso agrees to wait for Lucía’s doc to officially discharge her. In the meantime, he’s going to the house to settle scores with Rebeca (ajustar cuentas). He’ll come back later to take Lucía home. And she had better say her goodbyes to that jerk Marcelo ‘cause she will never see him again, let alone marry him! Over my dead body! (¡Sobre mi cadaver!). Lucía tearfully pleads with her father to listen to her but he storms out. Nazario catches up to him and tries to defend Marcelo. The young man committed a mistake but he luuurves Lucía above and beyond everything else in this world. Alonso is disappointed that Nazario knew the truth all along and covered up Marcelo’s lies. Alonso doesn’t know if he can ever forgive Nazario for this betrayal.

Marcelo finally gets ahold of a devastated Lucía. She wants to see him before her dad takes her away. However, Marcelo must swing by the Ministerio Público to show them the Plot Gun’s permit. He asks his ladylove to try and calm down. « Don’t forget that I love you and that soon we will be together again. Please don’t forget this!» Nazario comes back and announces that Alonso is so infuriated, he can’t be reasoned with right now. «Hay que esperar a que se amansen las aguas. We must wait for the [troubled] waters to calm down.» «What am I going to do if he doesn’t change his mind, padrino?» Nazario reassures her that her father’s ire will eventually subside and he will change his mind about her wedding plans. Alonso won’t risk losing his daughter’s affection over this.

At Casa Gaxiola, Rebeca flashbacks to the moment she asked her daughter what she can do for her to be happy again and Nora replied: « I want you to stay away from me!» She checks on her spawn and finds her fast asleep. Nora looks so peaceful, like a sweet and innocent baby demon. On her way out of the house, Rebeca bumps into Tere, who is looking all spruced up and ready for her date with Lalo. Rebeca seems to have forgotten that her housekeeper gets a half-day off on Saturdays, so she asks her to stay a wee while longer until she comes back or until her husband returns from seeing Lucía at the hospital. Nora can’t stay all alone in the house. Her level of crazy requires constant supervision. Tere reluctantly agrees.

Comandante Juárez verifies the Plot Gun’s permit and asks Marcelo to please «refrain from lending it to others to avoid further problems!» Marcelo acquiesces but it’s safe to assume that the Plot Gun will continue to do the rounds and cause mayhem in Colorlandia for the forseeable future. Juárez enquires about Marcelo’s relationship with the Gaxiolas. Marcelo replies that he works at the fábrica of Don Alonso and that, very soon, he will be marrying his boss’s daughter. Not after today, you won’t! Juárez is particularly interested in Marcelo’s opinion of Mrs. Rebeca Murillo de Gaxiola. Marcelo ponders his answer and opts for this cryptic description: Rebeca is «una mujer muy particular, a very special woman», the kind he wouldn’t be able to get along with. Juárez prompts him to elaborate but Marcelo wonders if he is being interrogated. Juárez assures him that this isn’t an interrogation. The detective is merely trying to enlist his help as a friend of the Gaxiola family to decipher (descifrar) Rebeca’s character, so to speak. He asks Marcelo if he knows Ricardo Márquez. Through hearsay (de oídas) only. Why the question? Because of a few incidents that Ricardo has had with Rebeca and for which Juárez is trying to gather (recopilar) some information, that’s all. Marcelo is intrigued by this golden nugget of dirt on his archnemesis.

Speaking of Tricky Ricky, he is at home receiving an earful from his landlady for getting behind on his rent yet again! Daniela bumps into her at the door and wonders why she looks so cross. Ricardo claims that he hasn’t paid his rent yet because his money is tied up in long-term investments and he is experiencing some cashflow problems at the moment. Daniela falls for this because she isn’t fluent in deadbeat. She offers to lend him the rent money. He acts all proud but says he’ll think about it.

Alonso goes to Casa Gaxiola, looking to square off with Rebeca. Tere informs him that his wife has gone out. He tells Tere she can leave; he’ll take care of Nora himself. He doesn’t look good and Tere offers to stay and help out but he curtly orders her to leave. He checks on Nora who asks how Lucía is doing. She seems worried about her sister in her usual Not-sorry-I-did-it-but-terribly-sorry-I-got-caught way. She perceives that something is wrong with her dad and he confides to her that some changes are coming to this house. What changes? He’ll tell her all about it  when he’s done gouging her mother’s eyes out when the time comes. Until then, he needs her to be relaxed and to stay in her room. She tearfully asks him to forgiver her for not being a good daughter. You can say that again! In the immortal words of Fred Sanford: «Everytime I look at you, it makes me wish that birth control was retroactive!» Alonso gives her a look brimming with fatherly love: «Mi amor, you are an incredible daughter! A marvelous one! And let me be clear here, I love you with all of my soul!» «As much as you love Lucía?» «Exactly as much!» This seems to soothe her anxiety a bit. Before leaving, Alonso gives his daughter a sweet smile and blows her a kiss.

Back at Puebla’s favorite hospital, Lucía is a distressed and hysterical crying mess. Nazario is worried about her. He goes looking for Dr. Sara Ezquerra or some horse tranquilizer, whichever he encounters first. Enter Dr. Román Andrade in all his indecent yumminess. He is here to check on Lucía and inform her that he won’t issue the doctor’s note attesting to Nora’s cuckooness without Lucía's prior consent. Lucía has bigger problems right now. She breaks into sobs and Dr. Andrade gives her a comforting hug, perfectly timed to coincide with Marcelo’s arrival. The jealous galán displays his best sourpuss face in response. Dr. Andrade takes his leave and asks Lucía to contact him if she needs anything. Marcelo interjects that she won’t be needing anything, thanks a lot, you can pish aff now. As soon as Dr. Andrade steps out, Marcelo turns to his tearful ladylove : « What’s this guy doing here and why were you glued to him and crying ? (¿porqué estabas colgada de él llorando?)». Really, Marcelo? Really? That’s too many strikes, buddy. Fetching Papasito card revoked. Lucía replies that this is no time to be jealous. Marcelo reluctantly concurs but let the record show that the headshrinker has the hots for Lucía. Nazario brings Dr. Ezquerra who tells Lucía that she is free to go home. She also offers to prescribe medication to calm the young woman’s exalted sensibility.

At Casa Gaxiola, Alonso is getting restless and Rebeca is still a no-show. He starts throwing Rebe’s clothes on the bed, while breathing heavily like an amped up bull ready to charge. Or a bull ready to have a heart attack.

Gloria goes to Casa Ezquerra to tell Lety TMZ all the gossip from Mario’s wedding but she’s really there to find out whether her frenemy is interested in Sergio. Lety dismisses her and calls Rodrigo to meet up for coffee and a chinwag. Sergio overhears Rodrigo making plans with his beloved chismosita and gets jealous.

Dr. Andrade goes back to his practice and finds Rebeca waiting for him. She wants to know if he can really help her daughter get out of her funk. He asks her if she is prepared to be in therapy. She retorts that she is prepared to sell her soul to the devil for her daughter's sake.

Lucía is still wailing on her hospital bed. Poor thing must be dehydrated by now. Nazario and Marcelo try to contain the waterworks: We need to wait, your daddy is a sensible man (un hombre sensato), he’ll come to his senses eventually. Yada yada yada. Marcelo tells Lucía that the thing that affected her father the most was finding out that Rebe used Adriana’s name in her sexcapades. Nazario wonders what's taking Alonso so long. He must be battling it out with the old battleaxe.

Rebeca is at church and the walls are not bleeding. She prays to God by way of challenge: If you really exist then help me get my daughter back, since you're all powerful and whatnot. Milagros encounters her there and remarks that she never pictured her as a devout woman. In other words, what are you doing here, you heathen vitch? I can ask the same of you, Mother Terror! I'm here to visit Federico's ashes. After Milagros leaves, Rebeca goes down to the crypt to say "What's shaking?" to her toyboy lover's ashes. Padre Samuel spots her and introduces himself. He asks if he can be of any help but Rebe replies "No, thanks" and scurries away.

It’s evening time. Alonso fell asleep on the pile of Rebe’s clothes. Lucía calls him to ask him to come get her at the hospital. She knows he is disappointed in her but wonders if this changes his love for her. Absolutely not! He assures her that his love for her will never change even if he is disappointed in the man she chose to marry. He insists that she should never doubt her father's love. After she hangs up, Marcelo says goodbye for the seventeenth time and finally leaves. Lucía cries in her godfather’s arms. Everything will be fine, child.

Alonso knocks on Nora’s door to let her know that he’s going to bring Lucía back home from the hospital but Nora is not in her room. She went to see Lucía at the hospital. Nora tells her sister she is sorry about shooting her and it was not her intention to harm her. She also lets her know that their dad seems angry and is acting strange. He was asleep when Nora left the house. He said that things will change. Lucía asks whether he spoke with Rebeca. No, he didn't. What’s going on? Lucía replies that they’ll all talk when they are at home.

Rebeca finally makes it back to Casa Gaxiola. Alonso orders her to pack her crap and get the heck out. «I warned you that if you ever besmirch Adriana’s name, I would kill you!» He confronts her about everything that he has discovered about her today. And don’t try to deny it, I have a Plot Earring to prove it! AHA! He displays the Plot Earring and Rebeca tries to take it away from him but ends up knocking it out of his hands. The Plot Earring lands under the bed, ready to be discovered and to expose Rebeca when the time comes. Whora Major admits her guilt: Yes, I did it! I cheated on you with Federico and I slept my way through the 32 states of our glorious Mexican Republic because I needed to feel like a woman, which is something that you could never give me! Alonso doesn’t care about her whoring ways. What hurts him the most is that she used Adriana’s name. Why did she sully his wife’s name? Because she bloody well felt like it, that’s why! This is the last straw for Alonso, who can no longer contain his utter disdain: «I can’t wait until the divorce is finalized! You get the heck out of here right now and I’ll send you your $hite later! Out!» He forcefully drags her all the way to the vestibule. «Get out! I’ll tell your daughter what you truly are!» «This is my house too!» she protests. « No, it isn’t! This is Adriana’s house! I built it for her, for the only woman I have ever loved and will ever love in this life!» Rebeca flies off the handle and screams repeatedly: «Adriana is dead! Dead! Dead! And you know why she is dead? ¡Porqué yo misma la aventé de ese barandal! Because I personally threw her over that balustrade!» Alonso looks up at the spot Rebeca is pointing at, totally flabbergasted. Rebe continues to spew out her venom: «And I didn't do it because she discovered my fling with Ricardo but because she found out that I was in love with you. She wanted to separate me from you and I wasn’t gonna allow it. That’s why I killed her!» «The one who’s gonna die is you!» yells Alonso as he starts to choke her at the bottom of the staircase. Alas, an inopportune heart attack stops him from finishing his good deed. Clutching his chest, he stumbles towards his study and Rebe follows him viciously saying: «You married her without even looking at me, without even realizing that I loved you. I was in love with you and I couldn’t stand the idea that the two of you were so happy together and that you were about to have a daughter that I hate! That’s why! That’s why I killed her!» He fumbles in his desk drawers for his pills. When he finally finds them, Rebeca snatches the bottle away from him. «I’m not going to leave even if I have to kill you!» He collapses to the ground then looks up at her, his pleading gaze begging her to reconsider, his extended hand waiting for her to give him back his pills. Her eyes fill up with tears as she witnesses the love of her life take his last breath. Sweet, loving, soft-spoken Alonso lived most of his adult life an unhappy and deceived man and died a disappointed and betrayed man.

THURSDAY ON KILL ME HEAL ME - EPISODE 20 ON JOY PRIME @ 6: AM

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FINAL EPISODE RECA


Ri-jin shows Dr. SeCCTV footage of the new alter, “Mr. X,” which shows a caped figure enter her room. She tells him how Perry Park left for good, and Dr. Seok replies that it’s possible the new alter arose in response. He says that Mr. X could either be a helper personality who will facilitate the treatment, or the opposite.

Do-hyun stops short when he finds his office occupied. In a magician’s cape and top hat, the new alter invites Do-hyun to open a briefcase. Do-hyun looks away in confusion, but when he looks back, the room is empty. Do-hyun, eyes wide, tells Chief Ahn that he thinks he saw Mr. X, in a bout of co-consciousness. His head rings sharply, and the chief anxiously takes him home.



Now recovered, Do-hyun works from home, and his diligence surprises Chief Ahn. The chief has other news for Do-hyun. He reveals that Min Seo-yeon’s driver, who was new that day, got the job under the auspices of Do-hyun’s dad.

The shock of the news brings on the telltale ringing. Fighting the pain, Do-hyun tells the chief to secure the driver’s testimony immediately — he needs to know the truth.

Alone, he remembers little Ri-jin showing him her locket. The pain, insistent, takes him again.



Ri-jin catches “Princess Yo-na” sneaking out to Oppa, decked in her new pink headband. They scuffle and Yo-na calls out, “Mr X!” which gets Ri-jin’s attention quick. Just for lols, Yo-na hawks a gobbet of gum right into Ri-jin’s face. Laughing her head off, she refuses to divulge the secret for free…

Ri-jin bursts into Ri-on’s room and rattles off a profuse apology, promising to spend her whole life atoning. Horrified understanding dawns on him when Yo-na bounds in. Ri-jin shuts the door (“I’m sorry Oh Ri-on, forgive me Oh Ri-on, I love you Oh Ri-on”) but Yo-na locks them in. Oh my days.



She tackles him onto the bed. Trapped, he wails and flails while she toys with him, a cat preying on a mouse. Poor molested Ri-on, I’m (not) sorry you’re suffering for my lols!

She makes him sit still, and sings him “Oppa, Cheer up,” the Yo-na version (based on children’s song “Cheer Up, Dad“) but HAHAHA, “Oppa, cheer up! Yo-na’s going to… give you a kiss~!” Ri-on desperately blurts that he’s leaving for army service. She sobs — for about two seconds, and threateningly holds up a copy of his 2010 discharge papers, the evidence of his lie.

She proceeds to take a million selcas of herself with Oppa, and you can’t blame him if his smile is more of a grimace. No fight left in him, he submits to her kisses.

Ri-jin still has her ear to the door when Yo-na whips it open, waving a prize photo of Oppa. Ri-jin gasps at her brother’s kiss-covered face while he flails and sobs even more, convinced he’s ruined for life. Ri-jin, are you laughing at Oppa?

Ri-jin comes to collect on her promise from Yo-na: What does she know about Mr. X? Yo-na cryptically tells her to smile brightly: “Mr. X disappears when you become happy.” But that’s all she’ll say.

Yo-na claims the bed for the night, and this time Ri-jin lets her. They settle down to sleep. In her tough-girl way, Yo-na speaks: “For treating me like a friend, thank you. And for treating me like a sister, thank you. For granting my wish today, thank you. Just… thanks for everything.”



Ri-jin sits up, recognizing it’s a goodbye. Eyes full, Yo-na tells her she was the first girl she met who could fight. She tells Ri-jin to be well, and closes her eyes. Ri-jin watches over her.

Yo-sub calls Yo-na to him. Ri-jin noona is at Do-hyun hyung’s side now, he tells her. They have to go so the couple can be at ease. Yo-na runs past him crying, and dissolves in a spray of pink. There’s something in my eye.

Yo-sub quotes French poet Paul Valéry: “The wind is rising. We must try to live.” He adds, “Goodbye, noona. Thank you.”



Then he, too, dissolves into the breeze.

Do-hyun wakes up with Yo-na’s headband in his hand. He knows what it means, and carefully folds away her pink blazer for the last time.

Ri-jin sniffles in front of her mirror, hands over her face. She tells him Yo-na left, “After doing this” — and shows him her face. HAHA. Yo-na gets the last penultimate laugh after all, because across Ri-jin’s forehead, thoroughly misspelled, she’s scribbled “vicious chick.”



Ri-jin bawls that she fell asleep for just a moment, and that’s when Yo-na left. Do-hyun consoles her by calling her “unni” in Yo-na’s voice, telling her she’ll mess up her makeup.

In the hospital, Do-hyun’s dad opens his eyes. Do-hyun gets the news from Chief Ahn, who adds that Dad wants to atone for the past, and so wants to see Ri-jin and his son together. Do-hyun hurries from Ri-jin’s house, saying he’ll see her at his house later.

While he drives, he clutches his ringing head, roiling with suspicions of Dad’s involvement in Min Seo-yeon’s death.

At Do-hyun’s house, Ri-jin finds a lump hiding under the covers in her room. She peels the cover back and is greeted by Se-gi’s giant teddy bear. From behind it, Do-hyun peeks out. He gazes at her with limpid eyes, and waves the bear’s paw. Realization dawns, and Ri-jin tentatively asks, “Nana?”

She says the bear’s name is Nana, and Ri-jin finishes — her name is Cha Do-hyun, isn’t it? We see the little girl now, and Ri-jin tells her she knows, “Because you… are me.” She explains that she’s little Do-hyun’s adult self, and little Do-hyun is her child-self. She lovingly tells her younger self how happy and loved she is now, “So much that it overflows.”

She wants to say one more thing: Back then, when that ajusshi was angry, it wasn’t because she did anything wrong. Telling her not to be scared or hurt anymore, she reassures the little girl that it’s okay for her to go now. She’ll look after Cha-gun.



But little Do-hyun can’t go alone because she doesn’t know the way. She asks Ri-jin to call Mr. X. But who is Mr. X? “My daddy,” the little girl replies.

A memory. The two children draw pictures on the basement floor, and little Ri-jin looks longingly towards the door. If her dad were there, she says, they could get out. Do-hyun tells her he heard her dad was dead, which makes her cry. Do-hyun, you heartbreaker. He quickly takes it back — of course he’ll come. He paints a comforting promise of her father watching over her from the heavens.

Do-hyun jolts awake, bear in hand, while Ri-jin watches over him. He asks if Nana was there, and she wordlessly pulls him into a hug. “For your mind splintering again because of me, I’m sorry, and sorry again. But thank you,” she says. At last, she grasps the extent of his pain, she tells him, and how much hope he gave her — he really did save her. She cries into his shoulder, grateful that they got to meet again, so she could say those words.



Do-hyun is still tortured by the fear that his father killed Ri-jin’s mother. In his bathroom, co-consciousness strikes once again as Mr. X appears in the mirror. Once again, he invites Do-hyun to open the box. This time, Do-hyun steels himself and opens it.

There’s only a teddy bear inside, and it’s not frightening at all (unless you’re the bear). Mr. X proves his point that until Do-hyun looks for himself, he won’t know whether what’s inside is gold or a bomb.

“The extent of my imagination decides the size of my fear,” says Mr. X. Do-hyun realizes that means he has to go check the facts himself. Mr. X encourages Do-hyun to confront his past, and spend his imagination on his future.



From Nana’s memories, he now knows who Mr. X is. Mr. X says he took on this form because that’s how Do-hyun made him. As for why he looks like a magician, Mr. X says that must be how a kid imagines a dad. He quips that Do-hyun has no idea how glad he is that he’s not Superman.

Eyes full of conviction, Do-hyun tells Mr. X that he will protect Ri-jin from now on, and get stronger. Do-hyun tells him he can rest easy now, and Mr. X agrees. A moment later, Do-hyun is alone — surprised, but content.

Do-hyun stands by his father’s bedside. Dad sits up and asks if he’s Joon-young. He marvels that he’s completely grown up, and wants to see him better. Wasting no words, Do-hyun tells Dad that being in a coma for so long didn’t erase his sins and turn him into a victim. He’s only here to find out if Dad was responsible for Grandpa’s and Min Seo-yeon’s deaths.



In a private meeting between the family execs, Ki-joon begins a speech to Grandma about Do-hyun’s job capability. Unfazed, Do-hyun interrupts to ask if it’s about his DID. Uncle and son look smug, but Do-hyun counters with his own concerns about Uncle.

His father revealed that Uncle had bribed the driver to delay the two from leaving the country that day. The accident that killed them was pure misfortune. Dad admits that he covered up his findings at the time because he coveted the chairman’s seat. Do-hyun tells his uncle that Dad kept a recording of an incriminating conversation between the two of them. The transcript Grandma has in front of her is that conversation, he says. She looks at Uncle with horror.

Uncle scoffs that that won’t stop Do-hyun’s secret coming out. But Do-hyun has more dirt on him — reams of documents prove he embezzled company money, as well as laundering money via his wife’s gallery. Even Ki-joon looks shocked now.



Do-hyun rejects Uncle’s offer to compromise by hiding each other’s flaws. His secret won’t land him in jail, whereas Uncle’s definitely will. Ki-joon is stricken and Grandma steps in. To protect the company, she offers to cede Seungjin to Do-hyun. Uncle sweeps out, defeated and indignant, and Ki-joon follows.

Grandma says that Do-hyun was right — he’s not a monster. The monsters were other people. She almost smiles at him, in what must be the first time in 21 years. She urges him to get treatment and recover: She’ll protect Seungjin for him until he comes back.

Chief Ahn tells Do-hyun that Ri-jin went to see his father. As he’s about to run out, he’s struck by the pain in his head again.

Ri-jin steps into the room, and Dad is affected by her resemblance to her mother. He kneels at her feet. Eyes brimming, he thanks her for being alive. He knows his sins against her were too great to carelessly ask forgiveness, but he woke up, he says, out of his earnest wish to atone to her.

Do-hyun bursts in, except he’s Se-gi, and he’s livid. Does Dad want forgiveness? Crouching to be eye-level with him, Se-gi grabs Dad in a choke and spits at him to die — to disappear from the world as quickly as possible.

Looking into Se-gi’s face, Dad’s mind goes back to the fire, and the memory of little Joon-young/Se-gi’s face then. He seems to realize something.



Ri-jin urges Se-gi to stop, and finally pulls him away. Standing between father and son, she tells Dad that his forgiveness will have to wait. If she tries to forgive him, it will be for the sake of this person, she says, indicating Se-gi. This person, who, instead of Dad, spent his whole life protecting her and being in apology to her.

To Se-gi, she says the words he last said to her, to run away anywhere — away from their scary memories. She tugs him out with her. Alone, Dad is racked with sobs.

Se-gi and Ri-jin ride away on a motorbike, and in a voiceover, she asks him what present she can get him. His answer is simple: “You.”



They light sparklers together in the twilight. Full of sad bravado, Se-gi tells her he’s thinking about how he can make time stop, or somehow stay with her forever. Eyeing her suspiciously, he turns away, convinced she wants him to disappear.

She coaxes him to look at her. With a steady gaze, she tells him that he was the first person to say her word was law. He hangs on the word “person,” noting that she finally came to see him as his own person, not just an alter. But until she sees him as a man, he doesn’t think he can go.

He asks for his present. She steps up to him, and kisses him. For everything he did for her, this was the only present she could think of, she says. Gruff, he tells her it was a good choice — unsurpassable. He pulls her in again for a deeper kiss.

We get a montage of Se-gi’s memories with Ri-jin: There’s their first kiss in the pumpkin-carriage; then, when he asked Ri-jin to run away with him, and just now, when Ri-jin asks him to run away with her. Entreating Ri-jin not to kill him is overlapped by the memory of her taking his hand.

Face to face in their mental ether, Do-hyun asks Se-gi why he’s leaving if he doesn’t want to. Se-gi shrugs that he isn’t needed anymore. He calls him “Cha-gun,” and threatens to come back and take over Do-hyun’s body and time if he becomes a weakling again, “So it would be good if you lived well.”

They share crooked half-smiles, although Do-hyun is sniffing back tears. He extends his fist to Se-gi for a bump, and for a second, Se-gi flexes his fingers and you think he’s going to leave him hanging. Oh Se-gi, you make me laugh at the same time as you make me cry. They touch knuckles, and Se-gi charges him again to live well.



But Do-hyun has one more thing to say: “Shin-gun. You’re… me.”

“I’m… you,” he replies, “So live with style.” They hold each other’s eyes, and the tattoo fades.

Do-hyun releases Ri-jin. Tears stream down her face, and Do-hyun smiles at her through his own tears. Holding her face between his hands, he wipes her cheeks. This time as himself, he kisses her again, wrapping his arms around her.

One year later.

Ri-jin takes a break from work in the hospital staffroom. She reads an ad for Omega’s new bestseller, “Kill Me, Heal Me.” Her eyes widen at the tagline, “A romance between a DID chaebol and a female doctor.”

She remembers when Ri-on asked her if he seemed like the type to profit from another’s misfortune. “Yes! That’s exactly what it looks like,” she growls, cursing out her absent brother. Haha!

Ri-on’s busy scoping out how his book is doing — incognito, of course. Another customer (cameo by SNSD’s Yuri) snatches up the copy he was reaching for, and cajoles Ri-on to let her have it — it’s a copy with a hidden message from the author inside.

He perks up at her fangirling, and offers her a pen dug out from his pocket. It was a gift from Writer Omega, he says, and claims to be a distant relative. She immediately asks him out for coffee, and he introduces himself as “Oh Hui” (his ladies’ man persona).

“I’m Yo-na,” she says. “Ahn Yo-na.” HAHAHA. Horrified Ri-on can’t run away fast enough. The girl gives chase, calling for Oppa.



Do-hyun splits wood and Ri-jin’s dad complains he’s making tinder of it. Dad grumbles to Mom, but she’s firmly on Do-hyun’s side — he’s so handsome, the (female) customers just come rolling in. She wonders if it’s time to matchmake “Perry” and their daughter, but Dad protests — that guy’s been unemployed for a year!

That unemployed guy is on the phone right now, talking shop with Executive Director Ahn (ha, what is your hair?). The director tells him Grandma is waiting for him to come back, but Do-hyun is satisfied with his present life. “Here, each day is new and happy,” he tells him.

Do-hyun lies in the sun, eyes closed, when Ri-jin’s shadow falls across him — the opposite of the shadow that haunted their childhood memories. She joins him, and they lie side by side. She playfully scolds him for being carefree by himself when it’s his girlfriend’s day off.

He produces a box, and shows her a pair of couple rings. Although she plays hard to get (again, lol), she happily submits when Do-hyun puts one on her. She does the same for him, and they hold up their hands to admire them.

“Couple rings are the sweetest handcuffs in the world!” Ri-jin squees. The rings glint in the sun, and they twine their pinkies together in a wordless promise.

Do-hyun narrates in voiceover: “Within each person’s heart is a dark basement. If you look away or stand by, that darkness thickens. You must summon your courage to go down and turn on the light. If you’re scared to go alone, you can hold someone’s hand.”

Little Do-hyun and Ri-jin hold hands. Laughing and smiling, the children walk together into a brightly lit room, as adult Do-hyun’s narration continues: “If I’m with you, I’m not afraid.”

The couple lie together on the grass, hands entwined and eyes closed, smiling.

THURSDAY ON REBEL - EPISODE 23 ON JOY PRIME @ 8: AM

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We see the conflicting ideals of Yeonsangun and Gil-dong as we watch a montage of their actions. Yeonsangun claims to be a politician who doesn’t trust people and believes that people can only be tamed with violence. Gil-dong, on the other hand, admits that he’s no longer angry but sad when he sees the tears of the people, because they remind him of the tears of Eorini, Ga-ryung, and Soboori.

In his cell, Gil-dong stands up, his tall frame illuminated by the moonlight. He looks up to the sky and asks his father if instead of being a general who received the king’s sword, he became the one to take away the sword.



The newly recruited music troupe performs a song for the king under the watch of Nok-soo, but the song is interrupted when one woman coughs and runs out gagging. Nok-soo explains that in the rush of recruitment, some of the musicians happened to be pregnant. She tries to ameliorate the situation by praising their sound, but the king says that he asked for musicians, not children. He orders for the musician’s children to be killed, inciting shock amongst the troupe (and even Nok-soo).

Mori facilitates the raid of the musician’s quarters to kidnap the children under the king’s orders. He takes them out to the field to be killed while the mothers scream at the outskirts for their babies. Then, suddenly a cloud of smoke overcomes the field, and Mori takes out his sword in defense. We hear a few punches, and after the smoke clears, we see some of Mori’s men down with no babies in sight.

Mori reports to the king that he got rid of the children in accordance to his orders, and the king doesn’t blink an eye as he polishes his sword. Eunuch Kim looks disturbed and tries to speak with the king, but they’re interrupted by the news that the prison has been broken into by intruders at dawn. Enraged, the king decides that he’ll capture these intruders himself.

The king rides into the woods with his entourage, and as he takes the lead, his guards are captured by masked enemies. Only when he climbs up the hill does he realize that he’s alone. He hears an echoing laugh and looks around to find Gil-dong staring down at him from higher ground. Gil-dong calls out to the king by his birth name, Lee Yung, and threateningly inches a boulder on top of the hill. He warns the king to watch out for his future if he continues to hurt his citizens.



Gil-dong rocks the boulder back and forth, about to launch one forceful final push. The king cowers in fear and falls to the ground, but Gil-dong doesn’t push the boulder. He smirks and tells the king that they’ll meet again, and the pathetic king looks more irritated than ever.

Back at the palace, Eunuch Kim falls to his knees asking that the king forgive his incompetent servant. The king suspects that Eunuch Kim may still be communicating with Gil-dong, but Eunuch Kim takes out a knife in response, swearing that he will kill himself to prove his loyalty. He reminds the king that he faithfully devoted his life to serving him. Nok-soo enters the king’s quarters worried about the king’s injury (a mere scratch on his face) and looks shocked at the sight of knife pointed at Eunuch Kim’s face.



Gil-dong walks up the hill with a smile, but he’s suddenly hit with something and falls to the ground. He opens his eyes and finds himself sitting against a tree and looks up to find Ga-ryung looking sweetly at him. She reaches her hands out to touch his face, and he holds them tenderly, admitting that he missed her.

But when he opens his eyes, he’s out of his reverie, and the shaman looks down at him from Ga-ryung’s place. She tells him not to worry about Ga-ryung, since they will reunite when the time comes. She says that his father had asked how Gil-dong would survive, but she hadn’t answered because he had been asking the wrong question. So Gil-dong asks the question differently: “How am I supposed to die?” She tells him to find the tree with the big root.



Gil-dong searches for the tree with his Hong bandits behind him. They enter a hidden cavern, and they’re met with a group of people led by the shaman. She tells the people that this is the Great One that they were waiting for, and they all bow to him. While the Hong bandits entertain the underground people with their tales, Gil-dong marvels at the size of the cavern and asks the shaman if he can bring some of his own citizens to this place. She notes that he says “citizens” instead of “people,” and readily agrees.

Nok-soo tends to the scratch on the king’s face and asks about Gil-dong’s escape. He’s nervous at the possibility that Gil-dong may be the Mighty Child, but Nok-soo takes his hand before he spirals into despair. She reminds him that he has thousands upon thousands of soldiers at his disposal — surely the Mighty Child cannot defeat them all.

The king updates Gil-hyun about Gil-dong’s escape, and Gil-hyun hides his smile of relief. The king orders for Gil-hyun to capture Gil-dong secretly, since the people may indulge in rumors of the Mighty Child if his survival is disclosed. Gil-hyun agrees to these orders in front of the king, though we know he’s got other plans.

The citizens are notified of Gil-dong’ death, and Choongwongoon and Madam Jo rejoice at the news. Choongwongoon looks vindicated by justice and commends the long-standing pillar of Joseon. Meanwhile, Ga-ryung looks shell-shocked by this news and cries at the news of her husband’s death.



The king paces back and forth, worried about capturing Gil-dong. But Eunuch Kim eases his worries by reminding him that Gil-dong also has a trail of people who he took with him in his escape, which should make him much easier to find than they initially thought.

The Hong bandits bring groups of people to the secret cavern, and they are overjoyed to have a safe place to live. Gil-dong asks the shaman if she really waited for him, and she responds that she knew that the Great One would find his way. He scoffs that the Great One merely has extreme strength, but the shaman clarifies that strength is only a single mark of the Great One — not the key to its existence. But that key is something that Gil-dong will come to know.

Soboori tells Gil-dong to bring Ga-ryung to their safe spot, and Gil-dong agrees. Gil-dong arrives at his home looking for Ga-ryung, but a neighbor notifies him that she recently packed her things and left. Assuming that she was captured, Gil-dong tracks down Mori and holds him in a chokehold, accusing him of taking Ga-ryung. Mori asks if he really lost his wife, and Gil-dong drops his fist, realizing that Mori isn’t behind Ga-ryung’s disappearance.

Gil-dong walks away limply and thinks to himself, “I always thought that you would be waiting for me. I never thought that I would be waiting for me. I’m a foolish husband. Ga-ryung, you’re waiting for me, right? You trust me?” He walks away, and Mori lets him go.

Ga-ryung walks to the outskirts of the village and finds a rock marking the forbidden territory, warning that an encroachment of the law will lead to severe punishment. Ga-ryung asks a passerby if she could meet the king if she entered the forbidden area, since the king frequently hunts there. The woman thinks Ga-ryung’s words are nonsense, since she’ll surely die if she enters that area.

The king decorates Nok-soo’s hair with embellishments and expresses relief in the absence of any commotion from Gil-dong. She affirms his relief by saying that Gil-dong probably went into hiding in fear of the king. Feeling powerful again, the king commits to continuing his long quest to change customs in his rule, which he thinks will take at least another ten years. Nok-soo looks unsettled.

The king announces to the ministers that he must change the customs of disdain for the higher class. He proposes a crueler punishment and wants to allow for citizens to accuse each other of this crime. A minister asks what to do with children, and the king decides that excluding babies and infants, all will be punished. He proposes the same rule for ministers — if they find another showing scorn for the king, they must impeach each other. The chaos begins right away, as the ministers begin to accuse each other of crimes, and the king sits back to watch his power manifest.

He then orders for all children found in the forbidden area to be whipped and for their parents to be beheaded and hung on display. When asked about a citizen criticizing the king, Yeonsangun decides that the citizen will be dismembered and put on display, along with a banner explaining the person’s crime.

Ga-ryung narrates and writes in her book about the king’s growing cruelty and the citizens’ growing despair. Especially with the death of the rumored Mighty Child, the people were left hopeless and in painful tears. Gil-dong hears the cries of the people in his sleep and wakes up suddenly, panting from the intensity. The king also squirms in his sleep from a nightmare about his near-death boulder experience, and he wakes up suddenly as well.

Scholar Song and Choongwongoon visit the king to congratulate him on his victory against Gil-dong and for establishing customs that forbid contempt for the higher class. The king proposes an idea: a prompt for the ministers to write a poem. Before Choongwongoon can servilely praise such an idea, Scholar Song suggests that the prompt of the poem be about the greatness and purity of the new rule, and the king is pleased by the suggestion.



Back in his home, Choongwongoon complains to Madam Jo about Scholar Song taking all the credit for their efforts. He credits Mori and Madam Jo for their successes against Gil-dong, yet Scholar Song is the only one recognized by the king. He urges her to take some action before her son is stuck behind Scholar Song’s shadow.

At the palace, Jeong-hak suspiciously asks Gil-hyun about the announcement of Gil-dong’s death. He asks if Gil-hyun actually saw the dead body, since he seems to believe that Gil-dong is still alive. Gil-hyun threatens to report Jeong-hak’s suspicions to the king, which stops Jeong-hak for now. But he later orders for someone to trail Gil-hyun and search for his grandfather’s house in the woods. He can sense that there’s a connection that Park Ha-sun (Gil-hyun’s code name) has with Gil-dong.



Provoked by his dream, the king practices archery in the forbidden area, disregarding his bleeding fingers. When he thinks about Gil-dong’s laughter, he’s unable to shoot the arrow, and one of musicians approaches him to with a cloth to wipe his blood. He takes offense to her actions and chokes her, asking if she doubts his archery skills. He eventually lets go, and Nok-soo comes to his side to clean his bloody finger.

They’re interrupted by a singing voice, and it’s not one of the young musicians. The guards drag the owner of the voice from the forbidden territory and bring her in front of the king. It’s Ga-ryung, and she begs for the king to avenge her husband’s death, even if that means she’ll die. Nok-soo approaches this familiar voice, and when Ga-ryung raises her head, they look at each other in shock.



Nok-soo brings Ga-ryung back to her room, and Wolhamae greets her as well. Ga-ryung says that her husband died a cruel and painful death, and Nok-soo promises to relay her request to the king.

When Nok-soo arrives at the king’s quarters, she tells the story of her connection with Ga-ryung, but she stops when she sees that the king is drawing Ga-ryung. He’s mesmerized by her beauty and wonders if it was her voice or her lasting impression that captured him. While she did break the law, he finds her too young and beautiful to kill and suggests that she come into the palace as a gisaeng.



After dressing up in the musicians’ garments, Ga-ryung enters Nok-soo’s room. Nok-soo wonders about Ga-ryung’s motivations for singing in the forbidden area and asks if she wanted to leave a strong impression on the king. She implies that Ga-ryung has other motivations than avenging her husband’s death, but she doesn’t seem to mind if she does. She acknowledges that men, especially the king, have many loves, and she wouldn’t mind sharing her spot with Ga-ryung.

Gil-hyun reunites with Gil-dong at a village eatery, and he apologizes for putting his brother through so much pain. Gil-dong tells his brother that he saw Eorini as a part of the musician troupe at the palace, so Gil-hyun rushes back to the palace to find her. The guards don’t allow him — or any men, for that matter — into the musicians’ quarters, and Gil-hyun looks inside longingly. Then, he sees a group of the troupe walk past and through the gates. Both our Eorinis pass by him, and when Gil-hyun calls out Eorini’s name, both of them turn back. Neither one show any recognition and continue on their way.



Gil-hyun meets up with Gil-dong again and reports that Eorini did not recognize him. He suggests that they plot to kidnap her from the palace, but Gil-dong is more cautious about this. He shows Gil-hyun Eorini’s name in the Hengrok, listed under the elite Sugwidan’s enemy group, the Geoin. If this is the same Eorini, that means that she may be purposefully planted in the palace. He warns that they could hurt her and the rest of the hidden people if they act too rashly.

Playing double agent, Gil-hyun reports to Scholar Song with his proud account of Gil-dong’s capture. He asks if he’s a part of the Sugwidan now, and Scholar Song confirms this. With that said, Gil-hyun asks about the Geoin who used to pull carts for the Sugwidan. He asks if he can also obtain some Geoin for himself, but Scholar Song says that he’ll need to prove himself a bit more before that happens.

Nok-soo announces their showcase for the king and reminds all the musicians to show off their best talents in front of their ruler. She also tells the Eorinis (named Hong-ran and Sang-hwa) to show Ga-ryung around. Doe-eyed Eorini obediently answers but Ambitious Eorini is a little hesitant, perhaps feeling a sense of competition with Ga-ryung.

As they walk around the palace, Doe-eyed Eorini thoroughly explains the ranking among the musician troupe. They’re all currently in the lowest status, which means that they remain very distant from the king. When they’re promoted, they are able to have closer relations with the king. They point to the next building, where the musicians are sent for punishment, and when Ga-ryung asks about why they’re punished, Ambitious Eorini tells her to wait and find out.

At the showcase for the king, the musicians sing and dance to the best of their ability, but they don’t seem to suffice. A girl sings with too sad of a face for the king’s taste, and another girl isn’t sharp enough in her dance, so they’re both sent away for punishment. The king leaves the room in anger, and Ga-ryung tells herself that this is the king who mercilessly killed her husband.

Tired of the king’s cruelty, the people begin to start their own rebellion. They go around the village posting anonymous letters exposing the king’s malicious actions and murders, only to end up chased down by the palace guards and severely beaten in front of the king.

Gil-dong and the Hong bandits hear of the rebellion, known as the Descendants of the Hong Hero. They’ve posted accusatory letters against the king, which has resulted in the punishment of their whole families. Gil-dong ponders the issue seriously, and the shaman watches him with a knowing look.



The descendants are asked who was behind the letters by the king’s thugs, and they truthfully claim that this was their own idea. The king’s thugs don’t believe this and continue to beat the traitors until the king stops them. He then questions the ministers, since these letters were posted on the doors of the minsters’ homes. Upon the accusation, the ministers lie prostrate in front of the king and insist that they had no relation to such treason. But the king remains suspicious and makes all the ministers write out the exact words of the accusatory letter so that he can compare the handwriting.

Gil-hyun visits a village eatery and pulls a secret letter from Gil-dong out of a crevice. Gil-dong writes to his brother about the guilt he feels in regards to the Hong Hero Descendants and how he feels compelled to save them. Gil-dong visits this eatery next and takes out a letter written from Gil-hyun, who discourages Gil-dong from pursuing such dangerous deeds. He says that it’s too dangerous to challenge the king with his current numbers. He writes that it’s the walls of the people’s hearts — not the walls of the palace — that are too high.



The king orders the ministers to find the instigator of the accusatory letters quickly, threatening bloodshed if he finds the culprit first. The ministers murmur nervously, and Gil-hyun continues to explain the power dynamics: The people are too scared to cross over the palace walls because of the dangerous king, but the king isn’t the only one enjoying the power in the danger. The ministers also benefit from the king’s power, and as long as the ministers cower behind the king, there can be no change — the king remains safe.

Gil-dong writes to his brother that he realizes that the walls of the people’s hearts are the most frightening. He writes that he will not be sneaking the people out of the palace at night; rather, he’ll do it in the light of day. He figures that if word spreads of him saving people in the light of day, the walls of the people’s hearts may lower a little.

Gil-dong tells the underground people that sudden hail or snow can ruin crops, but this is not something that humans can resolve. But he claims that the king is not hail or snow — they can change things if they commit to it. The people murmur doubtfully about this claim, but Gil-dong continues his rallying cry. He says that the people are inundating the prison and calls upon them to bring these people out: “Let’s steal the people from the king.”

From the back, the shaman watches with resolve, repeating her prediction that the Great One will learn and know his calling. She adds that the Great One not only has great strength, but also is born with a rebellious spirit to threaten the king. This is why the king fears him.

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