It was such an exciting AND frustrating episode this time.

It’s going to be a short recap, but enough for you to get the gist of the episode.

Through a turn of events (which I did not foresee), it was revealed that the so-called “witness” was actually planted by Yoo Jin herself.

It’s so clever and manipulative that I am pretty impressed! By snaring Anna and her uncle and tricking them into starting this rumour, it sets the platform for Yoo Jin to pretend to “confess” about Ume Hye Rin and Anna, and that Anna is Jang’s illegitimate daughter. Jang similarly “confesses” during a press conference with a convincing story that Hye Rin left him when he was arrested years ago and came back to blackmail him with Anna. In his story, it wasn’t an affair but a relationship which broke his heart before he got married to Yoo Jin. At the end of this act, Yoo Jin gets to play the role of a true victim – someone who has to suffer because of an illegitimate daughter and who has embraced Anna as her daughter. Jang Se Joon plays the character of a man who has been abandoned at his lowest period of political career and who suffers at the hand of a greedy actress. No wonder JSS’ Boss laments that this couple is really scary and Chief Joo looks so appalled.

Ultimately, who loses? Anna, Hye Rin and Chairman Choi.

Chairmain Choi backs SO off because now he knows how scary and clever Yoo Jin is. Je Ha sets a recording device in Yoo Jin’s room and is shocked to hear that Yoo Jin wants her brother to take care of Mi Ran, the other bodyguard and the housekeeper “without leaving a trace”.

Yoo Jin sits in her room and we are shown a flashback of Hye Rin pleading with Yoo Jin to spare Anna’s life. In the flashback, Yoo Jin stopped at the doors and gritted her teeth. In reality, Yoo Jin cries and it seems like it’s in regret. On my first watch, I thought that it’s possible Yoo Jin lied to Je Ha (just a teeny possibility), especially since she said in the flashback, “Love isn’t meant to be a group activity.” However, on my second watch, I feel that it’s just misleading – the flashback started when Hye Rin fell off the bed and stopped when Yoo Jin cried at the door. We don’t know whether Yoo Jin actually went back and did something to help Hye Rin, or if she was the one who even killed Hye Rin.

Je Ha consoles Anna, Jang comes back and apologies to Anna for being a liar, Anna finally understands that Jang might just be scared of letting go of politics and not because he cares for her. JE HA RUSHES TO MIRROR AND ASKS HER TONS OF QUESTIONS. I can’t believe you are using Mirror against Yoo Jin, Je Ha.

Anyway, the political couple wins it all and it seems like everyone loves them too. Anna cries at her mother’s grave and Yoo Jin pops by, just oh so casually, to let Anna know that she will become her legal stepdaughter. How ironic!

I also find it slightly annoying that Anna is being so self-righteous about the fact that her father threw her and her mother away, and the fact that she leverages this against Yoo Jin. Sure, if Yoo Jin is a killer then she’s horrible and cruel too, but that doesn’t hide the fact that Anna just basically has no recognition of the affair. I’m not saying that pure love cannot exist in an affair, but I think a better level of awareness that an affair is an affair should be present, and that this could have been handled in a more mature manner (in terms of scripting). I know that my point of view may not be popular; after all, I know people in reality who approve of cheating and don’t see anything wrong with it. For me, well it’s clear where I stand.

When Anna insists on staying till she finds out who killed her mother, Yoo Jin breaks her heart by asking her one question after another about Je Ha – revealing just how much Anna does NOT know about Je Ha. This is exactly how I felt! She doesn’t know anything about him; she just likes him because he has been there saving her. He’s the first guy that appears when she’s in need.

But there’s one thing that Yoo Jin reveals, which even we didn’t know – Je Ha was on the wanted list not because he was framed for Raniya’s murder, but because he was a war criminal for having slaughtered civilians. Is that true?? That would make SO much sense because I’ve never gotten why he has PTSD from Raniya’s murder!

Anyway, Yoo Jin intentionally allowed Je Ha access to Mirror because for someone to look into the mirror, you will have to reveal yourself first to the mirror. This is exactly what happens – Je Ha reveals himself and his thoughts to Mirror, by asking Mirror questions. I am mindblown by that rationale!

Je Ha finds out the biggest corruption scandal (named “Kumar-Gate”) and makes a deal with Jang – Je Ha will get him to be the president, and he will have the power to take down Yoo Jin.

Oh no!! Why is he betraying Yoo Jin!! I don’t really get what the point of this drama is. Je Ha isn’t being particularly appealing right now when he appears to have noble goals like “getting Yoo Jin and Park Kwan Soo to face justice”, but only because it is “for Anna’s sake”. I can’t identify with this reason at all! I mean this is a huge corruption scandal we are talking about here. Is your only motivation really just for a girl? So, if you weren’t interested in Anna, would you have had the same desire to expose this scandal? I suspect the answer is no, and I don’t like that in my main male lead.

Yoo Jin is happy that Je Ha didn’t ask the Mirror about her (“he’s such a gentleman!”), leading Secretary Kim to reveal the nth revelation of the night – Mirror will not answer any questions regarding Yoo Jin. By going through what Je Ha has relentlessly asked Mirror, Yoo Jin finds out herself that the key to Kumar-Gate lies in the doctor, Kim Suk Ha, who is the president’s son.

Je Ha rolls forward a plan. He meets Park Kwan Soo, lets him know that he knows about Kumar-Gate, causing Park to meet Kim. He then instructs all the JSS agents to tail Kim in the most obvious fashion so that he will feel uncomfortable enough to move the secret “evidence” that will kill everyone in a swoop.

In a very dark (literally, dark) meeting, we find out that Chairman Choi and his father-in-law are also embroiled in this. A bunch of people conclude that whoever gets the evidence (Jang or Park) will win the presidential elections. If Jang does, then they will be at the mercy of Jang and Yoo Jin, so it’s obvious who they should support and who would win the elections.

Oh this is getting exciting! Is this going to be a death threat for Yoo Jin? (And all because of Je Ha) Also, it’s interesting because these people assumed that the person behind all this is Yoo Jin, when it’s actually Je Ha. It’s Je Ha’s plan. Although it’s supported by Yoo Jin, Yoo Jin is not the main manipulator in this play and it’s refreshing. Everyone automatically assumes that once again, the one holding the power is Yoo Jin, but nope, it’s our main agent.

Anyway, by some clever manipulation, K2 manages to trick Kim into revealing the location of the evidence, which is a thumbdrive hidden in the hospital’s chapel.

K2 is pretending to be held back by Kim’s bodyguards, but who bets that in the next episode, he’s going to throw them all off and runs off with the thumbdrive? I already know what he’s going to do with it, but it doesn’t make me feel better.

It’s also very interesting because today I talked to two different people about this show. One was neutral and could understand why I liked Yoo Jin so much. The other was slightly incredulous. I think it does make a difference why you start watching a certain drama. For me, I came into this because of Ji Chang Wook. For some people, it could be Im Yoon Ah. That difference makes such a change in how you perceive the show and the different leads. Well, but for me at least, I don’t think Je Ha is my favourite main character any way. I only like him when he’s in the same frame as Yoo Jin haha.

So at the end of this bizarre episode, I’ve concluded that I’m here for Yoo Jin and Sung Yoon Ah. What a strange twist yeah!

<3thoughtsramble