Now drama, you are way past the halfway mark so you’d better do something about the pace of your plot!

I don’t get it why the show is dragging its feet revealing its backstory. I feel like there’s loads we don’t know and there’s enough to last us all around, but this isn’t at all how the Bride of the Water God is turning out.

Continuing from our kiss last episode, the couple breaks apart and reels from the feels. Unfortunately, Habaek receives a call from Moo Ra, telling him that Joo Dong has woken up. So Ah drives him back to the apartment, which is really harsh for the girl since she knows what this means – Habaek’s leaving soon. On a side note, I didn’t know that the cure for gods’ amnesia is as simple as waving your hands cryptically over someone’s head and putting them into an induced sleep..

In any case, that seems to do the trick because Joo Dong does indeed recover all his memories and fills in the rest on his whereabouts. More importantly, he produces the third stone. While Moo Ra drives Habaek, Soo Ri and Joo Dong to So Ah’s house, Joo Dong jokes that Bi Ryeom is Moo Ra’s husband and makes mention of the Fight 13 (?) years ago. Apparently Bi Ryeom said something like how they were engaged but hadn’t yet consummated, which triggers Moo Ra into a piercing screech for Joo Dong to stop talking.

When they return home, Habaek once again turns on the porch lights and refrains from knocking on the door when he sees the lights gone out. Joo Dong finally talks about the deities’ servants and how Habaek must have tried his best to forget. Habaek cuts him off by saying that he has indeed forgotten. After all, the moon has waxed and waned 1200 times. Hold on, I thought the waxing and waning of the moon takes 28 days, not 1 year…That aside, I do wonder what emotional hurt Habaek had gone through in the past and in that 1200th year mark to be exact.

In the morning, Habaek turns off the porch lights and So Ah almost stumbles into him when she opens the door. She treats him coldly and goes off for work early. Now that she has to pay off the cancellation fee, she has decided to extend opening hours. We then have some product placement for the usual ginseng red sucking packets thing. I do wonder if Sang Yoo is going to end up dying soon or if something is up with him because So Ah keeps recalling Yeom Mi’s words about Sang Yoo worrying more about her than himself.

Jin Geon orders a coffee with written instructions while Bi Ryeom looks pissed off as usual because of Hoo Ye’s words that deities can’t do anything to him. I’m curious as hell to know how Bi Ryeom understands Jin Geon’s calls if that guy can’t talk. 

For some strange reason, I find Ja Ya’s stalking of Hoo Ye quite amusing. She hasn’t been sleeping well because she has been fretting over way Hoo Ye back-hugged her. Her eyebags stun Secretary Min, which amuses me even further. Much as I dislike Ja Ya’s yah-yah-ness, I do appreciate the banters between the two.

In the meantime, Hoo Ye meets with So Ah and informs her that the contract has been successfully terminated. As for the fees, she can pay off half of it by offering sessions with his stressed employees. 30% will be offset by her work at his farm and the last 20%, “You can pay by treating me. I’m still suffering from insomnia.”

Ja Ya sees Hoo Ye with So Ah and learns that the Block World project has been cancelled. Her grandfather is similarly enraged to hear that, especially since they don’t have land in the site which CEO Shin is moving the project to. The grandfather-granddaughter pair is even more pissed off that So Ah apparently terminated the contract due to leopard poop. HAHA, I never knew that the whole fiasco over poop was to provide a ludicrous reason for So Ah’s backing out of the contract.

Ja Ya thus visits So Ah’s clinic and insults So Ah for being so stuck-up as usual. She even calls Sang Yoo a beggar. Thankfully, Yeom Mi arrives and scares Ja Ya off with stories of how there’s a woman on Ja Ya’s shoulder, a child by her legs and an old woman staring at her.

So Ah is bewildered as to Ja Ya’s distaste of her because the latter thinks that she always pretends to be innocent. The seemingly light-hearted conversation between her and Yeom Mi turns cryptic, as So Ah confides that she’s trying to solve a math problem. The answer is there, but she needs a creative solution. She walks home and that night, Habaek is there! Waiting for her! Ah, this show makes me kinda anticipate having a water god waiting for me every night just to walk me home for that last 20m stretch.

So Ah breaks it gently to Habaek that her solution is that they should stop there, instead of beginning anything new. OMG, I love this scene as Habaek’s eyes well up in tears.

There’s just something boyish about Nam Joo Hyuk that accentuates such scenes. He makes Habaek look so vulnerable. Habaek asks So Ah what she wants him to do and she replies that he should return to normal, i.e before the kiss.

The next morning, the couple talks jovially and So Ah jibes that he should go earn some money. Joo Dong watches the couple and tells Habaek that he’s always on his side. Habaek always makes the right decisions, even if they end in tragedies. The core difference between humans and gods is that humans lead short lives, and this makes them pardonable to criticisms when they break the rules especially out of love. He asks Habaek if he’s feeling like this now out of sympathy or love. Habaek doesn’t answer but Joo Dong notes that that was how Habaek had started back then. Habaek crumples the newspaper, “And the end of it was nothing but disgrace.”

Bi Ryeom takes out his anger on a punching bag while Hoo Yee seems to be thrown around by an invisible man. The clever editing makes you think that Bi Ryeom is the one throwing the punches at Hoo Ye, until the camera shows us that it’s actually the minor gods. Hoo Ye sees them and almost launches himself at them, black smoke and all, but Joo Geol Rin appears and holds him down. Bi Ryeom calls – this was done under his orders. Sure, the deities can’t do anything to Hoo Ye, but these minor gods are at the bottom of the barrel and don’t care about going back to the Realm of Gods. “If you forget your place and threaten me one more time, don’t ever dream that I’ll let it slide.”  Turns out Jin Geon doesn’t approve of Bi Ryeom’s decision either. Moo Ra sees Jin Geon and asks Bi Ryeom about his twin brother, which causes Bi Ryeom’s eyes to well up in anger. Hmmmm.

Anyway, the gods have a lunch together. Bi Ryeom fills them in on the latest Block World development aka Hoo Ye pisses off board members by pulling the plug. He wonders how So Ah got him to do it, especially since Hoo Ye didn’t look so willing to let go of the land. Yeah dude, because you were the one talking to Hoo Ye?? Also, I don’t know what the director was THINKING when he decides to film a good 5 minutes in a circular moving motion. I genuinely got dizzy watching the camera go round and round.

Habaek doesn’t like what Bi Ryeom is insinuating and leaves the lunch. He remembers Hoo Ye’s declaration of war/love. In the meantime, Moo Ra rages at Bi Ryeom for being so rude to Habaek. He pushes Moo Ra to the wall and shouts that she should just ask him for help. He will always choose Moo Ra over So Ah and he can do many things. Thankfully, Moo Ra doesn’t sink to the -get rid of the girl for me!- trope and instead asks whether Bi Ryeom has become so insecure because of Hoo Ye’s appearance. I know, I know that Bi Ryeom must have a back story with Hoo Ye, but I’m also genuinely tired of watching how he’s so tortured and rude and pissed off and ill-mannered. Just give us the back story already! Otherwise, no one else is going to care even if you tell us that Hoo Ye killed Bi Ryeom’s mother or something.

Habaek chances upon an old man collecting old cardboard boxes and struggling to pull the cart. He hesitantly offers help by pushing the cart with his finger. His finger! HAHA but he soon pushes from the back with both hands and ends up pulling the cart himself altogether. After a while, he even rolls up his sleeves and collects cardboard with the man. The old man tips him at the end of it, knowing that it is his first time working for anything, and encourages him to make use of any opportunity that comes along his way.

Habaek then sees some girls selling handmade cups by the road and recalls So Ah’s chipped mugs back in the clinic. He tries to pay with whatever he earned but that isn’t enough, so our male lead smartly offers to take some promotional instant films for the girls.  Which of course, works, like come on, Nam Joo Hyuk/Habaek’s face for your mugs??

It seems like So Ah’s clinic is picking up finally, since one of her old clients recommended her to his friends. Habaek calls So Ah and waits in a cafe, all the while twisting and turning his head watching people. So Ah sees this from outside and knows he must be curious about something. The fact that she can tell this just by looking at him strikes both us and her, for her face falls. Habaek spots her so she enters the cafe and orders coffee for the both of them. Habaek is intrigued by the colour of coffee, asking why it must be black. Hahaha.

He proudly presents his gift of the two handmade mugs – one has a drawing of an animal and the other has a boy. “It’s to help you know your place.” So one’s a servant and one’s the master! Hahaha. So Ah turns the mugs around and starts laughing. Turns out that on the other side of the mugs, there’s a corresponding blue animal and a girl. She laughs at Habaek, “Yong-yong ah, yong-yong ah”. Habaek reveals that he has been doing part-time work which tickles So Ah so much. She returns to her clinic for work, instructing him to bring the cups home.

Sang Yoo leaves for his night life while So Ah waits for Hoo Ye since he’s supposed to come in for a session. Hoo Ye at this moment is drinking away, brooding over Bi Ryeom’s taunts. He finally notices his missed calls, albeit through the clumsy device of a woman who tries to hit on him then so nicely informs him that his phone has been ringing. Habaek realises from Soo Ri’s words that So Ah isn’t home yet so he calls her, but at that moment Hoo Ye stumbles into the clinic so So Ah hangs up. Nonetheless, her last words, “Mr Shin!” hangs in Habaek’s mind and he demands for some cab money from Soo Ri.

In the meantime, Hoo Ye is burning a fever but So Ah can’t give him any medicine because he drank. She takes off his coat and tries to cool him down with towels but it isn’t really working. As lightning flashes outside, Hoo Ye dreams of his encounter with Habaek in the farm. So Ah attempts to unbutton his shirt, just as Hoo Ye dreams of Habaek ripping opening his shirt, so Hoo Ye suddenly wakes up and pushes So Ah onto the seat with startling speed. He sobers up quickly but not before So Ah notices the scratch on his arm healing right before her eyes.

And just at that point in time, Habaek opens the door to the clinic.

-the end-

I’m not exactly sure as to the reason behind Habaek’s anger. While I hope that it is because he thinks Hoo Ye is placing So Ah in some kind of danger, I can’t help but think that maybe he misunderstands the situation, especially since Hoo Ye is perched on top of So Ah in such a position.

You know, it’s usual for dramas to develop and change form by the mid-way point and sometimes, you look back in surprise like omg I don’t even recall that happening. That is kinda how I’m feeling right now because I do so want to see Habaek in his water-dragon form again. I know they haven’t forgotten about his lack of powers plot element since they do mention it in every episode, whether by him wanting to heal So Ah or by others’ reminders.  Hoo Ye as the conflicted, suffering rival is interesting and does serve a punch when you think about how Habaek has to return to his godly duties while Hoo Ye doesn’t. However, sometimes I do wish that the plot moving this drama long isn’t the love triangle, but something darker. It seems from the preview that we are just going to run along with this romance line for a bit longer, or maybe that’s just what they are showing to us because they think we are the most interested in that. Well not me. I certainly am very interested to know how this awkward situation will pan out in the next episode, but I will also very much appreciate it if I can know some answers to long-existing questions, like why Habaek lost his powers!

<3thoughtsramble