Beethoven Virus: Episode 10

by Sevenses

Finally, ze weekend is here! I’d like to just take a moment to say to all you eligible Canucks out there – take some time this weekend to inform yourselves, then vote on the 14th. (That’s Tuesday, btw.) Go, because it’s important that democratic rights should be exercised, or else why bother? At the current participation rates we could just let Michaëlle Jean dictate foreign policy and no one would CARE.

Do it for yourself, even if democracy often doesn’t work out to be that great, it’s still better than the alternatives.

Also, happy Thanksgiving, folks. Try not to eat too much turkey. (ETA: The Canadian Thanksgiving. Sorry for the confusion. :P)

On to the recap!!

For he is an awesome conductor, though we need to work on the communication skills a bit.

SONG OF THE DAY

Beethoven Virus OST – “한 사람 때문에” (because of one person) by Jin Sung [ Download ]

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Episode 10

So we have that three way stand-off of awkwardness after Ru Mi’s confession. Kang makes an abrupt declaration that Ru Mi has switched her affection, though Gun Woo isn’t really taking it in. There are other things to worry about at the moment, for example, the fact that the choir is no longer able to come.

Outside in the rain somewhere, the mayor is going for photo-ops in the guise of doing flood relief (filling sand bags). Both he and his political rival are rather cynically portrayed as arranging an entire set for their own publicity purposes – and both leave off right away as soon as the photographers are done.

When leaving, the mayor happens to see that his rival has been gathering personal information on different members of the orchestra.

Gun Woo and Kang try to contact the choir leader, but his phone is off. (Something about his pride being hurt?)

RIght outside the music hall, flood refugees are blocking the unloading of instruments. They’re all very angry, as their own homes are being flooded while the city is still organizing concerts and the such. On the other hand, the musicians are worried for their precious instruments, and the argument gets a little out of hand.

Hoi. Ru Mi waits outside of the men’s changing rooms for Gun Woo. Kang calls just as Junior comes out of the room – he tells her to control herself and direct all of her affection towards Gun Woo, also, he doesn’t like her. (I’d tell him emotions don’t work like that, but I think he knows).

The mayor hurries towards the music hall, all ready to listen to classical music, but the music hall is practically empty. (Also, little kids run around. I think I see a theme here. Probably they’ll end up inviting the flood refugees in for the concert and all will be peachy. Sort of.) Anyhoo, it turns out that the mayor’s rival used his company heading to buy almost all the tickets and is probably sitting at home cackling right now.

Basically, problems all over the place, and no one is in top form.

A panicked worker calls Kang over to stop the growing fight over the instruments. Errr, but Kang’s nasty mouth doesn’t really make things better, and his sarcastic offer for free seats in the concert hall doesn’t go over very well with the leader of the refugees, who punches the poor conductor. (But seriously, the man needs to learn when his cutting wit is not needed.)

Under the threat of being sued and thrown in jail, the leader backs down and lets the musicians unload their instruments. (Hope they’re not soaked.)

Inside, Gun Woo is still trying to contact the choir, while Ru Mi stands listlessly nearby, thinking of Kang’s words to her. (Also, symbolic that they’re facing different directions and standing like, 5 meters apart?) Gun Woo asks her about what’s making her so gloomy, and she makes up something about being scolded by Kang – Junior doesn’t buy this, and even asks her if she’s lying. (Um, because she will tell you if she’s trying to lie to you, dear boy.)

Back at the conductor’s resting room, Kang looks at the screen showing a more than half-empty hall, and feels insulted on Beethoven’s behalf. Halfway through his rant, he notices a flash of movement in the bathroom. It’s one of the refugee kids, who is munching on Kang’s sandwich.

The kid’s got some serious grievances with the people participating in the concert. When Kang gets the father (he who punches people), surprisingly, the father yells at his son for having no pride and stealing bread. Poor Kang tries to calm him down, to absolutely no avail.

(It’s like they’re living in different worlds, though the gruff daddy seems to share Kang’s stubborn pride. Oi.)

Kang offers, once again, to have everyone who’s currently huddling in the halls to come and watch the performance, but the leader of the refugees absolutely refuses. The conductor chides him for his excessive pride and points out its detrimental effect on his son, though the other refuses to take advice from a man who’s never done a hard day’s work in his life. Well, he’s wrong. As it happens, Kang came from a rather impoverished background, and lost his house while he was still a student.

Before we see the two men bond, however, we switch to the changing rooms, where everyone is commiserating with Park for the state of his poor bass (soaked, or at least damp enough to sound off). Yi Deun darkly drags Gun Woo into a corner, where she shows him a relapsed Kim. He doesn’t recognize either of them.

Gun Woo gives Kim a very touching speech about being strong, and walks off, finally decided about something.

Kang comes out of a meeting with the mayor, mere minutes before the concert is due to start, with no Gun Woo, no choir, and only a little bit of an audience. On the plus side, Bae is now wearing Gun Woo’s tux. (I think I may die of laughing at his pose.)

Junior has gone off in the car, ignoring all incoming calls.

In the changing room, Ru Mi notices that Kang’s arm is swollen (probably injured from that punch earlier) and he winces every time he moves it or touches it. However, the conductor orders her out, in the face of very obvious evidence that he shouldn’t be conducting. She pretends to exit, and hears Kang groaning in pain.

Nearby, Yi Deun closely watches Kim’s every move, despite all of his reassurances. She notices him hobbling and wrenches his shoe off, to discover that he’s given himself wounds on his heel to keep himself ‘awake’. (Um. Hygiene issues, but I admire his fortitude, indeed.) Aww. Yi Deun forces him to lean on her.

The mayor enters, with his rival at his side, and a respected musical reporter too (who has been reporting unfavourably about Kang for a while now).

Before entering, Kang drops his baton, and there’s a moment of chagrin as he realizes just how badly his arm is faring. As they get ready, Ru Mi can tell that Kang’s struggling with his arm. He tries to smile, but it’s more a grimace of pain than anything else.

Throughout the piece, Ru Mi shoots him concerned looks.

Somewhere far away, Gun Woo arrives to beg the choirmaster to reconsider (since there’s still an hour before the second movement, which is when the choir is supposed to join in). Junior actually gets down on his knees and begs the choirmaster to cooperate just this once (very touching speech about how Kang yanked him away from indifference and how he can’t afford to let his teacher’s concert not do well because of his own incompetence). However, all the members of the choir have already gone.

In the audience, the reporter keeps making untoward comments about the performance.

During the interlude, Kang almost staggers to his room, physically drained at keeping up appearances. (This is, without fail, his worst concert ever.) Fresh from the rain, Gun Woo comes in defeatedly. He apologizes for failing Kang.

Having no choir during a piece designed for a choir is just… It’s horrible, to say the least. However, Kang rallies his orchestra, and tells them to do well in the face of all this difficulty anyway. Gun Woo grabs him right before they go onstage, and forces bandages on the man. (Bandages courtesy of emergency effort by Ru Mi.)

The flood refugees are watching from another part of the building. The leader effectively lets them go to watch if they wanted to. He remembers Kang’s words to him, about his own childhood living in the tents with his sick mother, and also trying to be proud despite all that. He blamed his mother for bringing him to earth, and wanted to die with her – and it was shockingly easy, because she was paralyzed and needed constant caretaking. All he had to do was withhold care.

As his mother was choking to death, he heard music from next door, and walked out to see a concert in full progress. It gave him enough strength to go on and become a conductor.

Happily for everyone, the choir makes a surprise appearance in the nick of time. (Political rival is disconcerted – take that, you schemer!) Their arrival energizes Kang, who mouths the words along with the choir and directs the musicians extra well, despite his arm. Aww, Yi Deun’s parents are here in the audience too, clutching at each other in obvious pride.

The piece finishes, and pretty much everyone is super glad. Ru Mi is sobbing and Gun Woo grins nonstop. There is a standing ovation in the works. 😀 The little kid from earlier sits in the back and refuses to clap, trying to follow his dad’s example – his awed gaze is so cute.

Kang makes his way back to the rest room, and lays his head back on the couch. He loses consciousness, and doesn’t get to see the critic’s full approval and the mayor’s jubilance.

When Gun Woo is given the task of getting the conductor, he finds the man laid out on the couch, dead to the world.

Our beloved conductor wakes up in hospital, with the choirmaster offering his apologies and commending him on a very valuable student. (Who is currently sleeping on the couch, having had carried his teacher all the way to the hospital piggyback style.) Kang walks out of his room and sees Ru Mi pestering the nurse in charge about medication – she’s worried about his 36 hour long nap.

Kang no longer remembers the last parts of the concert, having been blocking pain for most of that time. Ru Mi hands him the newspaper articles written on the concert, and leaves quietly.

At a late night party, everyone’s celebrating their successful concert and glories in the favourable news report (for once). Gun Woo and Ru Mi joke around, outside appearance of happy couple restored, though Ru Mi’s still a bit too obsessed about Kang for my taste.

Hee Yun calls Gun Woo over for a clandestine meeting with the two violin sisters, who proceed to give the exceedingly shocked Gun Woo tips about how to keep Ru Mi happy. He refuses to do whatever it is they’re suggesting (from the hints I’m guessing a kiss in public). Hee. He caves when he hears that the girls really like it.

Meanwhile, Kang is being his reclusive self inside, and gives a call to the reporter. It’s not out of thanks or anything, and the other man brings up the many iffy issues that surround his orchestra members (Kim’s dementia, Bae’s other job, etc). The most serious of all is Ru Mi’s loss of 300 million (Korean currency). The reporter insinuates that people may assume she took the money, and other Very Bad Things. Kang doesn’t care, but it could prove ruinous for Ru Mi should the rival dude get it into his head to investigate.

(Also, the political rival is determined to get at the mayor through his pet project.)

Ironically, the reporter suggests firing whoever it is, though we all know Ru Mi’s operating on a time limit anyway. Kang decides that it’s for the best (for her and also for himself, but mostly for her) and sends her off, with very ugly accusations of being a shameless flirt.

The girl goes outside and wallows. (Inner fortitude, woman.) Kang tortures himself and watches Ru Mi crying outside. Hee Yun invites the conductor outside, with hints of merry happenings between Junior and Ru Mi. Kang refuses.

Bae lures the crying Ru Mi back to the party while others drag a protesting Gun Woo forward. Romantic music? Check. Fireworks? Sort of check. Boy in love? Definitely check.

(Lol, Kim grumbles about his dementia being used as an excuse to bring Ru Mi here.)

Poor Gun Woo is so awkward at this – especially in front of an audience. He tries so hard, and apologizes for forgetting their 100 day anniversary. There is a rose involved. Ru Mi tries to be touched, but she’s crying, and Gun Woo can so tell that it’s not out of happiness.

Junior looks up at Kang, who just arrived, with some hint of knowing what is making her cry.

End episode.

Commentary/Rambling:

– The first half is just so dire. I caught myself wishing all through this episode that Lee Jia would be a stronger actress, because, seriously, having her act with Kim Myung Min shows up a lot of deficiencies. (In addition, she has the same problem Jang Geun Suk had in HGD – the palpable lack of nuance in her expressions. I suppose I should be nicer and wait for her to get better.)

– Also, matricide issues? Not touching that one with a ten foot pole until I know what’s going on.

– Oooh political intrigue! Not very subtle, but still better than the other kind of plot device. 😀

– Also, due to a soccer match next Wednesday, only one episode will be aired. (Which nicely rounds out the 19 episode timeline.)

Sevenses

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