You’re All Surrounded: Episode 17
by girlfriday
There are big revelations for our hero, but by and large it’s an episode spent circling the wagons, which isn’t terribly exciting since we’re chomping at the bit for results, not strategizing sessions. Obviously we can’t get there until our characters have caught up to the truth, but could we maybe get there an eensy bit faster? On the upside, two weeks spent with our couple actually being a couple is a pleasant distraction, so that’s something.
SONG OF THE DAY
EZ Hyoung – “잠이 오질 않아” (I Can’t Sleep) [ Download ]
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EPISODE 17: “Uncomfortable truth”
The team waits on pins and needles by Tae-il’s bedside, relieved to know that his stab wound wasn’t fatal. Gook wonders where this leaves their case, and Dae-gu practically has steam coming out of his ears as he says he’s going to catch Madam Yoo and make sure she spends half her remaining life rotting in prison.
Everyone lets out a collective breath of relief when Tae-il opens his eyes. He winces from the pain but smiles and reassures them that he’s fine. Gook yells at Tae-il for being stupidly persistent and not just handing over the pendant when the thugs threatened him, and trying to stop them even after he was stabbed. But then he realizes he’s being a nagging mom and just tells Tae-il that he did a good job. Eung-do echoes the sentiment, calling him a true detective.
But of course through it all, Tae-il is only worried about Dae-gu and feels terrible about losing the pendant. Dae-gu snaps at him not to ever talk like that again, and everyone else chimes in to take Dae-gu’s side. Their concern for each other is so sweet.
As they leave the hospital, Eung-do asks Pan-seok what happened by the river—did Chief Kang show? Pan-seok just heaves this sigh that makes his shoulders droop, and Eung-do chases after him wondering what happened.
Dae-gu walks Soo-sun to her new gosiwon, and she takes his hand as she tells him not to think about anything tonight and just get a good night’s sleep. He reminds her that that’s actually really difficult for him, but she insists he try.
He smiles down at their hands and agrees to do his best. He turns to go, and she lingers there to watch him walk away.
In the morning, Chief Toad is on a fresh tirade, and this time he’s actually got a bag full of supposedly enchanted red beans, which he ordered specially for the breaking of evil curses. O…kay?
He stands in the middle of Team 3’s section of the precinct and chucks beans at them repeatedly, calling them the makjang team and chanting for the evil curse to be lifted. Well if it works to keep the plot from going makjang, I’ll buy my own bag o’ beans and join you.
Pan-seok asks Chief Kang who took the pendant, and she just counters that he should’ve handed it over to the prosecutor’s office. He asks what Ji-yong would think if he knew the truth, but she’s confident that Ji-yong would believe her over Pan-seok’s word any day. He doesn’t intend to tell anyone the truth, but warns her that if she interferes with the case in any way, he’ll do everything he can to out her publicly.
Pan-seok takes over Madam Yoo stalking duties, and shows up at her gym to ask what she’s doing with two identical pendants. He tells her to come down to the station voluntarily, or a warrant for her arrest will be issued.
She ignores him, so he just encourages her to work out to keep herself in shape for the long interrogation ahead: “Keep running… until you throw up.”
Soo-sun presents her with the request to come in for questioning, and Madam Yoo rips it up and stalks off. Soo-sun picks up the crumpled pieces of paper and tells her not to waste hard-earned taxpayer money. “You may have hidden the pendants away in your house, but there’s nowhere left for you to hide.” She urges her to take this last chance to save face and walk into the station of her own accord. What, and save us the joy of watching her haughty ass dragged there in cuffs?
Dae-gu goes to meet Mom’s longtime friend and colleague who’s now back from her work trip. She unfortunately has no idea who Madam Yoo is, but speaks of Mom fondly and tells Dae-gu how much she was loved by all their colleagues who did volunteer work together.
She digs around for old photos from that time—27 years ago—and hands him a few of Mom with the volunteer team. He flips through them and then stops cold when he gets to one of Mom with Madam Yoo’s husband, Shin Ji-il.
Mom’s friend confirms that they liked each other, but one day Mom quit the hospital unexpectedly and left Seoul. Soon after, she heard about Shin Ji-il’s engagement to the daughter of a wealthy family, and just assumed that was the reason Mom left Seoul.
Dae-gu sits by the river staring at the picture, thinking back to the rumors he hated when he was a kid, that his mother was a married man’s mistress. Now he starts to see Mom’s evasiveness whenever he asked about Dad in a new light.
He goes to see Mom and asks if she lied to him all this time, and if Dad is actually still alive. But then he decides that it doesn’t matter: “I’m going to catch the people who did this to you. I’m sorry Mom… for not protecting you.”
When Dae-gu joins the others in the hospital, he finds Tae-il already sitting up and flipping through mugshots. Dae-gu nags him to rest, arguing that he’s been stabbed too so he knows how much it hurts. Tae-il just argues right back that he ought to know how much he wants to catch the bad guy who did the stabbing then.
Dae-gu realizes he won’t be convinced, so then he just takes Tae-il’s hand and slides the magical bracelet of protection that Eung-do gave him, onto his wrist. Aw. Gook jokes that Dae-gu’s concern is worth getting stabbed for.
The kids stand back when a team of doctors walks in, and they’re shocked when the head doctor asks Tae-il if this is his idea of rebelling against his father. Dad asks if he’s going to return to the hospital, but Tae-il apologizes and says no. Dad declares that he’s just like Tae-soo, and from now on they’re both children he never had.
Gook can’t believe Tae-il never told them he had a brother, and Dae-gu says everyone has secrets they’d rather not share. But Tae-il says he wants to tell them now. A flashback takes us to Dr. Tae-il answering a call from Mom, urging him to be on time for family dinner because his hyung is bringing home the woman he’s going to marry.
Just as Tae-il arrives at the door, he hears a loud crash inside and hurries into the living room, where he finds Dad wielding a golf club in fury, and Hyung kneeling next to the man he wants to marry. Ah, so Hyung was gay.
He begs for Dad to accept them, and if he can’t, they’ll just live quietly somewhere away from the family. Unsurprisingly, Dad flips his lid and decides he’d rather his son die by his own hand than run off with another man.
Meanwhile Tae-il is just standing there in the background trying to process it all, and when Hyung calls out to him, he runs out of there. Hyung chases him out into the street, but Tae-il refuses to look back and weaves through oncoming traffic just to get away.
A horrible thud stops him in his tracks, and he turns around to see his hyung lying in a broken heap in the street. Ugh.
Back in the present, Tae-il tells them that he couldn’t be a doctor anymore after that, and then one day he suddenly wanted to be a detective. “I thought that if I became a detective, I could be forgiven just a little by Hyung. That was his dream—to be a detective.”
He puts on a cheery face, and they all make an effort to just move on as if he were talking about the weather, and Tae-il looks at his friends gratefully.
Dae-gu sits outside by himself, the question of his parentage hanging over him like a cloud. Soo-sun finds him there and he motions for her to sit next to him, and then he lies down with his head in her lap.
He teases her for having more cushion than he expected, and asks if he can take a nap here. She says yes, and tries not to breathe.
He asks what kind of man her father was, and she smiles as she describes him as a hapless, warm, funny man: “He was the best to me, and the more time passes, the more I want to see him.”
She wonders why he asked, and he says just because, and falls asleep. She notices the lamplight in his eyes, and raises her hand to shield his eyes from the light, the same way he did for her in the sunlight.
In the morning, Dae-gu goes straight to Chasung Group’s offices and meets with Maybe-Dad Director Shin himself. He shows him the picture of Mom and admits he’s her son. Yay for not beating about the bush.
Director Shin has never heard of the Masan murder case, and never even knew that Mom died—he looks genuinely shocked and saddened when Dae-gu tells him that part.
Dae-gu goes on to tell him that a pendant was found at the scene of Mom’s murder, and that pendant belongs to his wife Madam Yoo. He asks if Director Shin can offer an explanation.
He starts to panic and makes excuses about a meeting, but asks for Dae-gu’s card so that he can call him. He looks into Dae-gu’s eyes, and then asks haltingly how old he is. Dae-gu: “I’m 26 this year.” It doesn’t seem lost on either of them—the increasing likelihood that this is his bio-dad. As they part ways, Director Shin’s son Ki-jae arrives and sees them together.
Dae-gu goes to prison to visit Boots, and judging from his expression, Dae-gu must’ve gotten the visit approved under a false name. He shows Boots the picture of Mom with Director Shin and doesn’t mince words: Did Madam Yoo kill his mother because he’s Director Shin’s son?
But Boots refuses to confirm his story, and sticks to his line and tells Dae-gu not to dig any deeper. “If you do this, you’ll die, and I’ll die.”
Dae-gu asks if he really thinks that’ll stop him, and demands answers. His eyes fill with angry tears as he screams, “You killed my mother, but in this god forsaken situation, I have no one else to go to for answers!” He pleads for the truth, but Boots turns away without another word.
Boots looks conflicted as he walks back to his cell, and the inmate across the hall from him watches him with an evil twinkle in his eye.
Madam Yoo drinks her guilt away, and picks an angry fight with her husband when he ignores her yet again. She asks if he doesn’t even see her as a person anymore, and says he’s the one who walked into this hell with his own two feet. He finally erupts and yells at her to stop, wondering how she isn’t tired of it all.
At the breakfast table, Ki-jae asks Dad if he met with that detective yesterday, and Dad says they ran into each other by coincidence. Madam Yoo doesn’t buy it, and worries that he’s figured everything out.
We go back to 11 years ago from her point of view, when she discovered her husband’s coincidental run-in with Dae-gu’s mom. They greet each other awkwardly, and Mom walks away when she spots Madam Yoo rounding the corner.
Soon afterward, Madam Yoo comes to the house to confront Mom, and scoffs bitterly to see the photo of her with Ji-yong. She can’t believe she’d dare to have a child with her husband, and slaps her repeatedly. Mom says he isn’t Ji-yong’s father, though the statement leaves room for interpretation—we don’t know whether she’s being literal or just insisting that she’s Ji-yong’s only parent and will never ask him to be a father.
She swears that she’s kept up her end of the promise they made 15 years ago—she’s never made contact and doesn’t ever intend to—and asks Madam Yoo to keep her promise not to come looking for her anymore. She repeats adamantly that Ji-yong isn’t her husband’s son and asks her to leave.
That’s when Madam Yoo grabs the flower vase and whacks Mom in the head with it… twice. When she doesn’t get up, Madam Yoo panics and calls her father. So Boots arrives to fix it, by wiping down the house for prints and thrashing the place so that it looks like a burglary gone wrong.
Director Shin invites Dae-gu to his office, and explains that he did volunteer work with his mother and she was warm and kind. He’s sorry to hear about her murder, but says that they were simply colleagues and nothing more.
He heard that the culprit was already caught, and asks Dae-gu to stop coming here about this matter from now on. Ouch. I really hope for Dae-gu’s sake that despite the odds, he isn’t bio-dad.
Dae-gu goes to the river for a good scream, because what else can you do when you find out that your father is probably a spineless weasel who’s going to cover up his psychotic wife’s murderous tendencies?
He then marches into the precinct and announces that he’s found a way to catch Madam Yoo. He tells the team they’re going to go after a confession by poking at her until she digs her own grave. They wonder if it’s possible, but Sa-kyung tells them that their suspect’s psychology lends them an advantage—she’s emotional and easily agitated, which means their chances are higher than with someone who’s more rational and careful.
The team gets to work in trying to profile Madam Yoo down to every last detail, following her from spa to salon and filing away all the things that make her angry.
Tae-il sends videos of her public appearances from his hospital bed, and Pan-seok grouses when he sees Sa-kyung showing concern for Tae-il in their group chat. He tells Tae-il to rest up because he’s nothing but skin and bones, and Sa-kyung snickers at his childishness.
Pan-seok goes to see Assemblyman Yoo and offers to keep his name out of it if he can get his daughter to turn herself in, otherwise he’s going to prepare to lose his job in order to bring the whole house down.
Assemblyman Yoo thinks he’s challenging Pan-seok by asking if he has nothing to lose, but Pan-seok surprises him by agreeing—he lost his son eleven years ago because of this case, so no, he has nothing left to lose.
It’s enough to rattle Assemblyman Yoo, who blames Chief Kang for not getting a handle on her own department. She argues that it’s actually his fault for not handling his own family, and that she wouldn’t have done all this if she had known what it was for.
Assemblyman Yoo points out that the minute she gave him Ji-yong’s location that night eleven years ago, she knew he’d be killed. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and she doesn’t answer. She simply counters that there’s no longer any way to protect his daughter—they have to give her up, otherwise they could all die with her.
The team practices their mode of attack for the interrogation, and Sa-kyung decides that using freshly sharpened pencils will agitate Madam Yoo most since she seems afraid of sharp objects. She coaches Dae-gu on his attitude and posture because they want to act as dismissive as possible to get a rise out of her.
Dae-gu then tells the team that he thinks he has the motive for murder, and finally tells them about his parentage. After getting that off his chest, he assures them that he’s okay and Gook and Soo-sun follow him out to lift his spirits.
Pan-seok watches him go with a heavy heart, and Eung-do sighs that he often thinks Dae-gu will sink right into the ground, he’s got so much to carry on his shoulders.
Madam Yoo fumes when her father tells her to comply with the police investigation after all. He tells her that the lawyer will be there the whole time and all she has to do is sit there without saying a word. But she can’t believe he’d make her stoop to this when he promised he’d take care of things. Why, because people with rich daddies deserve to kill people? I honestly think she believes that.
She thinks they should’ve just killed Dae-gu in the first place, but he reminds her that it’s too late—he’s gone to her husband, so now she’ll be the prime suspect if anything happens to him. Assemblyman Yoo is as self-serving as expected, and in the end he tells her to go into the police station, and they’ll have to take care of Dae-gu later.
She waltzes into the precinct like it’s an affront to her wealth to even breathe civil service air, and the team leaves her sitting in the interrogation room with her lawyer on purpose, just to annoy her for making her wait.
They watch from the other side of the glass, and Sa-kyung tells Dae-gu to wait longer. It takes less than five minutes of waiting for Madam Yoo to have an outburst already, and then Sa-kyung gives him the cue to go in.
He reaches for Soo-sun’s hand as he passes by her, and she holds on to give it a supportive squeeze.
Dae-gu enters the room and starts off by having her remove her sunglasses, and then proceeds to fiddle with the sharpened pencils. He skips the basic questions since she’s not likely to answer anyway, and says he’ll just ask stuff he’s most curious about.
He asks how she knows his mother, and when she doesn’t answer, he reminds her that she asked him once whom he resembles. He takes out the picture of her husband with his mom and slides it across the table. “Let’s see, whom do I resemble most, between them?”
COMMENTS
That’s it, that’s the end? Tomorrow’s episode had better be more eventful, because if I had to spend an hour for them to figure out that she’s afraid of friggin’ pencils with nothing to show for it in the interrogation, I’m going to poke someone’s eye out with a No. 2. The hour might not have felt like such a waste if Possibly Bio-Dad were even slightly useful or proactive, but he’s as much of a lame duck as he’s always been. I suppose expecting the man who married the psychotic lady to suddenly grow a spine is foolish, but I still expected something to come out of it other than poor Dae-gu feeling even more abandoned than he already does. Must we kick a guppy while he’s down? Must we?
I really wish the villains were better in this drama, because their idiocy actually brings down the level of the team, and I find myself thinking that if they couldn’t manage to get a confession out of her without the Pointy Pencil Plan, they don’t really deserve to be detectives in the first place. I mean, now you have motive and an eyewitness, and you say you have nothing to lose, so why are we going about this the safe way? I’m just annoyed whenever screen time is wasted on that family, because it’s all one note and nothing ever changes with them. We geddit, you think you’re above the law. Now can we get back to the cute?
I did appreciate Tae-il’s backstory, though I have no idea why they felt it was necessary to wait this long to give it to us. I would’ve preferred to get it earlier to motivate some more character development for him, since feeling responsible for his brother’s death and trying to fulfill his dreams to earn forgiveness is interesting, not to mention how sad it is that his father still can’t come to terms with his son’s sexuality after losing him so tragically, or that he pushes Tae-il away on top of it all. That’s one element of this show I really like—that there are no easy solutions when it comes to family, and that our characters find more acceptance and understanding from their friends than their blood relatives. Obviously I hope for Dae-gu’s sake that he isn’t related to that horrible family in any way shape or form, but even if he were, I trust that his found family of detectives will be most important.
Now that feelings have been confirmed, it’s really nice to see Dae-gu and Soo-sun subtly acting like a couple and being sweetly supportive without a lot of fanfare. Of course I’m still waiting for them to be outed and embarrassed, but it’s also nice to get all the little handholds and comfortable moments where they get to be there for each other when it matters. But… with three episodes left, we’re going to kick it up a notch, right? We’ve known who the bad guys are for weeks. Let’s throw the book at them and get a move on with the romance and team bonding, shall we?
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Tags: Cha Seung-won, featured, Go Ara, Lee Seung-gi, You're All Surrounded
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1 memyselfandi
July 9, 2014 at 8:16 PM
I have to say I like all the individual character and actors and the various pairings, but somehow it doesn't all add up to a compelling drama. I had to go back and watch an episode of The King 2 Hearts to get a bit of that grab at your heart action.
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memyselfandi
July 9, 2014 at 8:18 PM
BTW, I really appreciate the recaps. They add so much to my understanding. Thank you.
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Mo
July 9, 2014 at 8:31 PM
John Mayer was a better "bad guy" than the whole family of " bag madame" combined...there are parts of King 2Heart which I couldn't watch since I was scared of that villain...this show lacks this....
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Monique
July 9, 2014 at 10:29 PM
@memyselfandi I feel the exact same way! I actually just rewatched the King 2 Hearts series because I missed LSG kicking more asses as well as its heart-tugging romance. The romance and plot of K2H is really a whole level superior to YAAS. It's like we're running a horse race in K2H, a lot of different serious things happening at the same time and we're all struggling to catch up with one problem piling upon the next. And despite these different branches in the plot (WOC, death of the king, Hang-A getting kidnapped, and many more) They still cohesively linked them to an overarching and thought-provoking plot. K2H is much more amazing because the drama specifically goes out its way to make it harder for the protagonists to win, but Jae-Ha and the good guys still succeed in the end. For a drama to even be able to pull that off is commendable. But in K2H, they were able to pull that off many times. In comparison, YAAS only has one shallow plot which is also not as complicated as the drama attempts to portray it to be.
Unlike running a horse race in K2H, it's like we're watching turtles crawl in YAAS. We just lean forward and look very closely at the turtles. And because we can't do anything about it since we like LSG, we are just reduced to feeling happy just seeing the turtles walking ever so slowly. Sad reality but true.
I really miss LSG kicking more asses and being much more stunning. I hope he'll get a new drama that outshines his role in K2H and that YAAS can end off with a bang. My fingers are still crossed that they will be able to surprise and impress us in the last three episodes. PLEASE! For LSG!
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Pony
July 10, 2014 at 3:37 AM
I've known that someone are trying to compare YAAS with K2H because of they're of LSG. But how can you try to do that when each writer has their different starting-off of their dramas. YAAS seems not to give impression on the background plot of a crime case to make audience to be surprised at the length of it. With 17 episodes so far, I guess we at least get a hold of its meaning through depiction of characters and their interaction. While K2H aims to bring up the strategic plot, YAAS even categorised in crime genre but it goes another way where the warmth of our beloved characters as well as the value of lessons they're getting on the ways of growing up as officials to their work, and friends to their colleagues, and children to their families.
I love acting of all main characters, especially of LSG. The plot isn't necessarily wise, he still makes it specially.
Thanks girlfriday for your recap. Just let you know that I love your writing so much.
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Dr. Hwata
July 10, 2014 at 8:20 AM
Yes, they can, if the comparison is about LSG in two very different characters and how he is in each. I would add that the comparison should extend to the original nine-tailed fox drama.
He was the best in that fox drama - funny, immature, etc. He was serviceable as a reluctant king - not impressive but not shabby either. (In the second fox drama, he was upstaged by Choi Jin Hyuk. But that is a story for another time.)
But, as a vengeful morose taciturn police rookie, he just couldn't make it work here. He needs to gab and yak constantly to seem alive. He needs to be in perpetual motion. But, shown next to Taeil, LSG now looks dated, like a blackberry to Taeil's iPhone.
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meme
July 10, 2014 at 8:26 AM
L.O.L
memyselfandi
July 10, 2014 at 2:03 PM
I didn't really mean to compare You Are All Surrounded and K2H directly. I try to experience Kdramas on an emotional level, and that's what I was reacting to. I actually like serious LSG. The contrast with when he smiles packs a punch for me. I want to see the joyous spontaneous boy he was in the first few episodes (I am so bad with names) come out, combined with a serious grown up man.
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KDaddict
July 10, 2014 at 4:48 AM
Remember how many comments there were for each ep of K2H on DB during its run? Everyone went berserk.
How many are there for this show? Big difference in nos. n in mood.
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crazyahjummafan
July 10, 2014 at 5:22 AM
TK2H was to me an epic drama. I enjoyed not only watching it, but also commenting on DB. It was a doubly exciting, enjoyable and memorable experience for me. It also brought me new friends (Hearties) who I still keep in contact and meet up. (My only sadness was that the ratings were not as high as it should be.) But I have to be realistic. I really don't think that I'll experience this again in another Lee Seunggi drama. So to compare like for like is not fair to him or the drama.
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iamdeb
July 10, 2014 at 4:42 PM
holy crap, over 2,000 comments for episodes?!!! Did YFAS even get that much for any single post?? The drama was truly epic and for some reason I didn't finish it. I wish I could go back in time to watch it live and comment with everyone...wow...
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2 crazyahjummafan
July 9, 2014 at 8:33 PM
I know that there was not much development in the area of plot, but it was a tensed episode for me because of Daegu's feelings. I think Lee Seunggi did a really good job of making us frustrated and anguished along with Daegu.. especially since we already suspected that he is Director Shin's son.
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KDaddict
July 10, 2014 at 4:46 AM
But Director Shin doesn't seem to know or even suspect a thing!
It looks like he just dropped Daegu's mom when he met the horrible Bag Bitch, chose wealth over love, and never looked back! He never bothered to check if she was ok, if she got married, if she lived or died. That's pretty heartless, in which case, I'm thinking that he deserves his marriage hell. Like his lovely wife says, it was his choice to join that family.
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Megumi
July 25, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Well according to Dae Gu's mom before she was killed she said there was an agreement that they will never see each other again, they made a promise or something and looks like DG's mom was already over him and focusing on raising DG alone, in that case I don't blame DG's supposed father did any wrong, I don't think he even knew that his new rich wife would kill DG's mom. If anything he kept his promise by not looking for her, it also doesn't look good when you're married but you still have some kind of relationship with your previous lover, look if I happen to marry someone whether for money or whatever after breaking up with my boyfriend I certainly don't want to be involved with him in any way, I would tell him that I'm starting a new life and it's best that we don't see each other from now on, I think that was what happened here. The only thing I can blame him for is not knowing what his crazy wife was up to, if he would have known that she was digging up the past he would have done something I guess, but the guy looks totally clueless.
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3 m
July 9, 2014 at 8:33 PM
thanks for the recap. :)
the story has been hinting at a birth secret for a wail now and has even made outright jokes about it but i was still really hoping it wouldn't go that direction. but damn it! dae-gu really does look like he could be related to shin ji-il. the casting of family member has been really good in this show.
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4 Mandy
July 9, 2014 at 8:36 PM
I'll just put it out there: I think the only reason I'm still kind-of/maybe into this is because of its cast members. Or mostly because of Seung-gi. I know for a fact that if this drama casted someone I didn't absolutely love, I'd have dropped it around 8 episodes ago because its so darn slow.
Everything about it is snail-paced: the romance, the mystery, the plot development, the revelations. Its so frustrating that we got off the boring weekly cases just to get to this 'huge' mystery that everyone figured out the moment it started. They had great cast members who has fantastic chemistry with each other. The only thing the writer had to do was not screw up: of course she did. *Groans*
Now that I'm over the rant, back to the episode. Firstly, I love Dae-gu and Soo-sun and would rather just have them be an ordinary couple and hold hands all day instead of watching this stupid case. What I love most about them is how simple and realistic they are. They were partners who never saw eye to eye. Eventually, they started respecting each other's work ethics and became reluctant friends. They share a past and have gone through some similar pains. They're each other's rock and support and now they're in love. It's so ridiculously ordinary without manufactured drama; that's rare in kdramas and just SO darn refreshing. It's been a while since I saw a drama without a legitimate triangle so kuddos to this one for avoiding that cliche.
The past turned out to be a birth secret we've suspected for so long it doesn't even bug me anymore. I just wish the writer were smarter than us. Or that she didn't take us for idiots. Either one works. I just hope this ends tomorrow already so we can get to rom-com mode for the finale week.
Tae-il's back story moved me to tears. It was so sad and I was pretty surprised to find out his brother was gay. He and Dae-gu actually shares the painful past of watching their family die in front of them. It's so sad that his father still has so much anger and resentment even after his older son died. I just hope he eventually respects his decision and let him mourn for his hyung in a way that contents him. I'm sure that's also what his hyung would've wanted.
This drama frustrates me more than any in years because it just had so much potential with its cast members. This could've been/should've been/would've been great if it wasn't for the person writing the script. So unfortunate since I actually loved Ojakgyo Brothers and the love story of Uee-Joowon.
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KDaddict
July 10, 2014 at 4:50 AM
Tae-il's story was a bit much. I felt they laid it on thick, way thick, n melo-like.
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Mandy
July 10, 2014 at 8:47 AM
Nah, I felt they played that in an understated way. He was slightly at fault for his brother's death which led him to being a detective. But even so; no overdramatic reactions, everyone just sorta moved on and let their support show quietly.
If someone's past is melo, then that's Dae-gu's. Which is cool since it's the main story. But Tae-il's - I thought was executed to perfection.
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Airyn
July 14, 2014 at 12:13 AM
I liked the way Tae-il's story was handled as well, although it should've come out much earlier. I wonder why Gook doesn't have a deeper backstory?
Also, they never did explain what's behind the rumours that Tae-il frequents gay bars. I wonder if he was looking for his brother's boyfriend to make amends?
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5 travel-jar
July 9, 2014 at 8:39 PM
So does this mean that the case that Mom was a witness to (and was asked to testify for) has absolutely no connection to her actual murder? Except maybe to make JY misguidedly plot his revenge vs PS?
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urbangirl
July 9, 2014 at 10:34 PM
jsr. Thank you for this comment. I have only been reading the recaps since Ep 5 and when the story line began re Birkin bitch is Mom's murderer, I was confused because I thought his Mom was murdered to prevent her testimony. Either JS has mistakenly hated PS for years (and PS has also mistakenly thought he caused her murder) or the writer forgot the original story line. LOL
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travel-jar
July 10, 2014 at 3:16 AM
IKR! I even thought that Chief Kang was the one who struck Mom with the vase (because of the short haired lady that was partially shown at the beginning).
It felt like the BirkinBitch-is-the-murderer-because-of-secret-birth plotline was a bit of an afterthought and was probably not included in the original story line. They just couldn't find another motive for the murder or didn't want to pursue the revenge-witness story because that would have been a dead-end after finding the culprit.
It would have been great had they brought the story far from the cliche.
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6 crazyahjummafan
July 9, 2014 at 8:42 PM
So Daegu's mum was really not someone's mistress - if Director Shin is Daegu's father, then she left him or they broke up so that he could marry Birkin Bitch. And as far as she is concerned, he is dead and Daegu is not his son.
If he knew that she was pregnant, and still went on to marry BB, then he really should be 'dead'. But I suspect that she did not tell him that she was pregnant. In any case, it looks like a deal was struck - for her not to have any contact with him again. I wonder if he was in on the deal, or whether it was just between Daegu's mum and BB.
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lemondoodle
July 9, 2014 at 8:50 PM
I'd guess he didn't know anything about Dae Gu. Seems likely given his spineless nature. I get the feeling that he wasn't supposed to actually be born according to the original agreement. That's why she was so pissed off when she saw that she had him.
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7 lemondoodle
July 9, 2014 at 8:46 PM
I'm kind of glad dad is a spineless douchebag. I didn't want the woman to be portrayed as someone who caught the poor innocent guy and he had no choice. No, he's just a jerk. Denying not only his son, but also that he was ever romantically involved with Ji Yong's mom is just a crappy thing to do. I'll be happy if Dae Gu has nothing to do with that family after they catch her and throw her in jail forever.
I'm still enjoying this drama, though the writer asked for too many episodes honestly. Though I'm happy to see Seunggi for 20 episodes and CSW are the main reason anyone is watching, but I feel it could have been better if it were shorter. That and she seems to have issues using the strengths (the cast chemistry, the bromance and romance) and instead relies weekly on the weakness (the laaame mystery).
Anyway, I love Soo Sun and Dae Gu and how they support each other. He was totally hinting he wanted to get invited to her apartment right?
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8 Akira
July 9, 2014 at 8:55 PM
Ah this drama. I enjoy it, yet I can't help but pain a little at how much better it could have been.
I actually enjoyed a lot of the character interactions/moments in this episode, like finally getting TI's story and having him trust the team enough to share with them. SK was finally put to good use by becoming part of the team and training them, and I liked seeing them going about scooping up dirt on evil bag lady... ya know, actually doing some detecting, however loosely that term is employed. In the interrogation-training scene, SPS and SK really looked like surrogate parents of this makeshift family, and I found that sweet. And of course, love that DG is opening up more to the team (and especially SS), from admitting his sleeping problem, asking about SS's dad, to telling the team his suspicions about his parentage, which the old DG would never have. I just wish all this could have happened, say, 5 episodes ago, as GF noted.
My heart aches at how much more story the drama could have had. How much I wish it had had. The 'detective' part of the premise really fell by the wayside after the first couple episodes, and I wish we could have seen more of P4's professional and personal growth through that. TI finally got to shine, but Gookie doesn't really have a backstory or even that much growth, and ED is just plain undeveloped. Meanwhile, whatever happened to SPS-SK's whole death-of-child trauma? Or even the oddly coy why-did-we divorce thing? Like the Show just forgot about that whole plotline. Instead, we spent all these episodes dancing around the central mystery, which is not all that compelling. Seeing as there are 3 more episodes, I am hoping against hope that there is more to the birth secret. And that there won't be a random time-jump so that DG can bury the weight of his pain alone or whatever.
Finally... I can't resist... I loved, absolutely loved, DG and SS's two hand scenes. They were subtle, yet so intimate and so powerful in their ability to convey warmth, support, and encouragement without words. If we can get more of these moments in the final episodes, much can be forgiven.
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Mandy
July 9, 2014 at 9:28 PM
Totally agree with the hand scenes. The second one has to be the best scene of the episode; possibly even the drama. It was SO good! I just love how he hold hers for support and she just tightens her grip the moment he lets go. There's so much emotion in those 30 seconds.
Dae-gu and Soo-sun are such equals as individuals and detectives. I just love how realistic they are. I too hope we get tons of that in the final week; or tomorrow if we're feeling lucky.
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lemondoodle
July 9, 2014 at 9:37 PM
The hand scene was oozing chemistry and said more than words could. Just lovely. Seunggi has really nice looking hands too. :D
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crazyahjummafan
July 9, 2014 at 11:13 PM
That was for me the most romantic scene in the whole drama so far! I liked that it was done behind everybody's back, quietly, subtilely. I liked that Daegu first reached out and touched her fingers and she responded by grasping it and then they held hands reassuringly for a second. It said sooo much.
There's just something about Seunggi's hands that gets me every time! Haha! So glad that I got to shake it 3 times and grasp it once!
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August
July 10, 2014 at 7:19 PM
You're right, Kim Sa-Kyung's character has been under-developed and utilized. It's a pity that in YAS Oh Yoon-Ah's talents for balancing comedy and drama have been squandered.
I really enjoyed Oh Yoon-Ah as Eun Bi-Ryung (and her infamous Oh s**t moments) in Incarnation of Money.
Learning of her casting in YAS and her character's initial description (as a strong-willed detective focused on paving the way for other female cops), I was looking forward to seeing her in this type of role with the added bonus of playing the love interest for Cha Seung-Won's character.
Just imagine if Oh Yoon-Ah could played a character with the reputation of a Closer - like Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson in The Closer. If only the writer Lee Jung-Sun had written the character of Kim Sa-Kyung that way for all 20 episodes. Once the P4 solved the cases, she would be the interrogator obtaining confessions (sometimes using deceit and intimidation to persuade a suspect to confess) thereby leading to convictions...hence "closing" the case.
Seo Yi-Sook struck gold with her character Chief Kang Seok-Soon. Chief Kang's moral dilemma, greyness, and commanding presence continues to be one of the highlights for YAS.
Regrettably in certain industries and career fields, where men dominate in positions of power, it can be extremely difficult for female employees to work their way up the career ladder. For all her faults, no one can accuse Chief Kang of earning her position as Chief of Police because she slept with her superiors/bosses on her way up to the top.
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9 slfowie
July 9, 2014 at 9:22 PM
just a thought , but maybe mom was the one who was raped all those years ago and Dae-gu is the product of it. It would fit why mom kept insisting why Madame Yoo's husband is not Dae-gu's father, and also why Cheif Kang is all so protective of Dae-gu. She could not get justice for his mom and now he is a way for her redemption.
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10 tolong tepi sikit
July 9, 2014 at 9:24 PM
I really really like daegu n soo sun..so sweettttt...their in love....the best is no triangle love...i like this drama,so much!
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11 Aigoooo
July 9, 2014 at 9:35 PM
With all these new/good romcoms in my radar (HSK of Savvy, TL and FTLY), this show has started as a "must-watch" and ended as a "I forgot it was on today". I feel like they need to spill the beans already as far as the mystery goes and just go full romcom hijinks to finish the show. Epic cast, so-so everything else. That's about the gist of it. 8(
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12 Funny
July 9, 2014 at 9:39 PM
Girlfriday, this statment cracked me up BIG TIME!!!! :) :) :)
Tomorrow’s episode had better be more eventful, because if I had to spend an hour for them to figure out that she’s afraid of friggin’ pencils with nothing to show for it in the interrogation, I’m going to poke someone’s eye out with a No. 2
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13 cd
July 9, 2014 at 9:43 PM
Dae Gu ya..let me hug you, dear.
PS. @ Pollywood, if you read this, you must be happy with this episode because of LSG hand porn. ;-)
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Pollywood
July 9, 2014 at 10:15 PM
Oh, abso-fucking-lutely! Now just give me glasses, show, and I will be yours forever :D
(I also admit to rewatching K2H and GFB in the past couple of weeks, which both used his hands way better - especially since it was the part with the wristband in GFB.)
Did I come off too stong? That you already remember me after a couple of comments? :D Or have I found a similar soul, who understand my need for hand porn?
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cd
July 10, 2014 at 9:07 AM
I have the same wish with you, that's why..;-)
Maybe we're soulmates, or long lost sisters? Lol
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14 Pollywood
July 9, 2014 at 9:52 PM
This episode sure was full of "well, we guessed that already" "but we hoped the show wouldn't go there".
However, I am still curious how everything is going to pan out, and also what role DGs half brother is going to play in the end.
I'm very very glad DG and SS got comfortable in their relationship already, because I like seeing those organic, family-like interactions between them, and also P4 fot that matter.
Is it too early to state that I now have an undying love for dramas with an ensemble cast? Because I do. So much better than Leading man/woman VS Second lead!
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15 redfox
July 9, 2014 at 10:24 PM
with such a madam, yelling and ignoring you, stretch out you arm very straight, grab their nose and twist it. I do it with drunks who approach me on the street. it practically paralyzes them and somehow they cant even use their hands
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16 Nana
July 9, 2014 at 10:47 PM
Thanks for the recap, GF!!! I'm still loving this drama and I'm really gonna miss it when it's over, TBH!
Did you guys know that there's a YAS comic online? It's actually a fan-made comic. I was on an art site called Deviantart. It is like Facebook, but for artists and someone created a comicbook based on the show, but with Lego figures. It's DAEBAK!
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17 Osi
July 9, 2014 at 11:16 PM
That bag lady must get helps from experts, specialists, psychologists, counselors, or any practitioners asap, she is so mentally unstable.
I hope show will give us a twist. Please show, if you go as what we already expected and suspected, it will be less interesting.
I love this episode because of Seung Gi's portrayal. He did really well.
Thanks GF.
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18 tari
July 10, 2014 at 12:09 AM
So, JI-YONG = JI-il + hwa-YONG ? Really drama? REALLY? *sigh*
But, Chief Kang won't die right?
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19 cayl
July 10, 2014 at 1:37 AM
wishing for a more #chaseungwon scene.
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20 minathens
July 10, 2014 at 4:35 AM
Wow--- the Heteronormative Truck of Destiny got to Poor Gay Brother in record time. He literally gets run over 30 sec. after coming out. Well, at least he escaped, if but for a moment, from the Photo of Regret. I like to think he's frolicking with rainbow unicorns in minor gay character heaven right now. Better luck next time, Gay Brother. And remember, look both ways before you cross, especially in times of emotional distress and narrative intensity.
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Aigoooo
July 10, 2014 at 6:02 AM
I always wondered why they used the white truck as the killer of choice for drama characters. I was watching a Yong-Seo WGM episode and it looks like Korea uses white trucks for their driver's license driving exam. Maybe subconsciously, most Koreans have a fear of white trucks since taking a driving exam can be pretty traumatic at times.
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minathens
July 10, 2014 at 6:29 AM
Dramaland definitely needs some pedestrian education outreach. People, don't run out into traffic when you're upset! Don't have super melo bro-offs in the crosswalk! And yes, stay away from white trucks at all costs!
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Kilmenythrace
July 10, 2014 at 7:10 PM
Ooo I love this. Lol at Heteronormative Truck of Destiny! As a gay girl, I get wayyy too excited at any queer storyline. So even this little is quite good - for a KDrama.
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21 klmeri
July 10, 2014 at 4:47 AM
Well, I was right and wrong here!
Tae-il's brother being kicked out of the family for being gay - SCORE! But is his brother dead? That upsets me a little. Then I have to wonder if the guy he was meeting at the gay bar wasn't his brother but his brother's lover.
Dae Gu being the son of Bag Lady's brother - not so much. But I guess if it had to be someone still living, her husband is the better choice. I couldn't stand the thought of DG as Bag Lady's son, and at least in this way he has no direct blood ties to the Yoo family. That's a big relief!
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22 Jenna
July 10, 2014 at 6:00 AM
Thanks for the recap. it seems to me the writer forgot that
ji yong was hiding under the bed and saw boots strangle his
mother. the flashback makes it seem that madam birkin actually killed jong's mother with those two vase hits and boots just cleaned up the fingerprints and made it look like a robbery.
is anyone else confused about this?
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Mandy
July 10, 2014 at 8:51 AM
Boots didn't know Ji-yong was under the bed. The initial plan was to make it seem like someone broke in the house, stole something and killed the owner. He only found out there was a witness through Pan-seok which is when he tried to kill Ji-yong in the school.
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shaynanigans
July 10, 2014 at 9:08 AM
I think Boots came BACK later to find the pendant and "cleaned up" mom after finding out she was still alive.
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momosa
July 10, 2014 at 5:38 PM
I thought there was another intruder after BB, there was one who cleaned up & Boots came later to look for pendant. I must have missed something..
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23 Wag_a_Muffin
July 10, 2014 at 10:50 AM
I think Tae-il’s back story was given to us at this time because it reinforces the "your bio fathers aren't always 'parental.'" Sometimes your closet "family" are unrelated to you.
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24 logan5
July 10, 2014 at 1:21 PM
the only romance in this show that gets my attention is Dokko Jin's.
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25 CattyEve
July 11, 2014 at 4:26 AM
I'm so disappointed with the secret-then-not-so-secret birth ending. Duh, it is indeed a makjang after all. And then, again, if I'm not head over heels with Seung Gi ssi probably I'll spend my time on funnier dramas that actually sells topsy-turvy plots.
Also, I made a habit of chanting "kiss him, Go ara, for God's sake, just kiss him already" everytime those lovebirds get close. I think they need to get physical soon or else I'll be bald with exasperation!
I really hope that this drama will have the kind of storyline the BBC series of Sherlock had, but I have to settle with this kind of detective story. Comparing will get me nowhere, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, so I just hope that next time the scripwriter(s) create a drama, they make it as complex as Chief Kang's character.
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26 Nina
July 11, 2014 at 10:22 AM
Seung gi is really jang in this drama. I'm just disappointed that he didn't get to sing an it's this time.
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27 watashiwachiaki
July 12, 2014 at 3:29 AM
I know this drama has tons of misses more than hits. but to me it feels like I'm watching a local gag show. Every cliche & disappointing points of this show just makes me laugh as if those are intentionally included in the show's joke. do I make any sense? Anyway, my love for the casts just makes me uber bias towards this show. hahaha. And that doesn't happen very often!
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28 ja3 hyun
July 13, 2014 at 12:50 PM
Aw it's really sad that Tae-il's brother died after he tried to run after Tae-il, to explain. But it's even more sad that their father doesn't like either of them just because he didn't get what he wanted from his sons.
On a happier note, Tae-il looks so cute in those glasses
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29 parsheeee
August 7, 2014 at 4:03 AM
What is the theme music of you're all surrounded episode 18 (Korean drama) ( in 0:18 minute) ?
when Tae-il says his story about your brother, this music plays
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30 snowwhite
March 27, 2015 at 7:10 PM
can someone tell me who's tae-soo(tae-il's brother)?
what's his name? i cant find it anywhere :(
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31 K-T-C-DramaAddict
May 30, 2015 at 9:33 PM
I love your Recaps on all these dramas and wanted to tell you also how very much I enjoy your comments at the end of each episode's synopsis... you're so amusing. Thank you!! :)
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32 apostle
April 11, 2016 at 4:56 PM
Eun daugu is not hating his dad or forgiving
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33 Sohpar
January 30, 2018 at 8:25 AM
I think it was a pretty good show. Not the best, but better than many others at least. Hey I've got a question, does any one know who has played Taeil's older brother? I'm curious to know his name.
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