Am I the only one feeling a deep Park Bo Gum size hole in my life?  Sadly, we do not have any Moonlight Drawn by Clouds episodes to recap.  But at least there is still a ton of drama going on in Scarlet Heart?  We are getting towards the end and need to find out if Su and So will have a happy ending.  Or will fate and historical accuracy pull them apart forever?

It’s All Out of Order

CLKYTTA: Seriously, where are we and what is going on?

Drama Geek: I usually watch the version aired in Korea and don’t bother with the international one, but for episode 17 I had to watch the DF version. Then later I watched the other version because I heard So’s crazy pants madness made more sense in the other version. (It didn’t by the way.) What the manes was going on? I really have no idea what happened in episode 17. It’s so jumbled. Both version had mostly the same scenes but they were in completely different order. Didn’t someone have a copy of the script to know the actual intended timeline? No? You actually played eeny, meeny,  miny, mo to figure out which scene to place where. Okay.

KMUSE: Ditto on what my co-bloggers said.

The Death Of A King…AGAIN.  Long Live King So.

KMUSE: I can’t believe that they actually made me feel bad for eyeliner prince.  He has no support, totally losing his mind, and has the worst mother EVER.  His pain when Evil Queen Mom begins to dump him to the curb made me feel so bad for him.

CLKYTTA: I was shocked that I felt sorry for him too.  His mother tossed him aside right to his face!  She’s all focused on the throne and her precious baby boy she has fought and schemed for isn’t even dead yet.  Now we all love Ji Soo, but does Evil Queen Mom have NO clue that she’s putting a huge target on him?

Drama Geek: I’m a tiny bit annoyed that the bad guy got a Mommy Issue pass. Was this Queen really the only one motivating these men? Yeah, she was evil but for most of the show so was Evil Eyeliner. Bad men do not always have a conniving witch pushing them to be bad. Also, what exactly happened to him so fast? I think they need to check the throne because if my suspicious are correct, it’s laced with crazy making poison.

KMUSE: And the fact that Guyliner Prince didn’t leave any name in his will at the end made me happy.  Good for him, going out with a huge screw you all felt just perfect for his character.  Let them fight for the throne like he had to.

CLKYTTA: I kind of figured Evil Eyeliner Prince would bend to his mom in the end, so I was doing a fist pump when there was no name on there.  Yes, this causes problems, but it means that in the end he wasn’t a total tool.

Drama Geek: I agree with KMUSE that it was his way to make them fight for the throne like he did.

KMUSE: Let’s be sure to cover our faces, because you would never know it was us otherwise.  Makes me want to create a game called “Name that Mane of Glory.”  Admit it, you want to play don’t you?

CLKYTTA: Let’s talk about how totally ridiculous this was, after all, So’s been wearing a mask almost the entire drama.  I really think the writers could have done better here. I’m happy to play “Name the Mane of Glory” though!

Drama Geek: I’ll play! This is a scene that wasn’t in one of the versions and now I’m all confused as to when this happened.

KMUSE: It didn’t really make sense where it was in the version I saw either.  Are they sneaking into the palace?  Out of the palace? Where they faking as ghosts to make the king even more insane?  This made no sense.  But at least they look hot.

KMUSE: Was I the only one that felt a tiny bit of fear when So asked Su if she had read the will?  Logically, I can say that there is no way So would hurt her.  But emotionally, there was that little bit of “oh crap” coming through.

CLKYTTA: I felt a lot of trepidation here.  So isn’t the same So we fell in love with and I’m not getting happily ever after vibes.

Drama Geek: Am I the only one who thinks it’s hilarious that the will is strewn about the floor and the Queen didn’t see it. She just gave him the paper to write it on. LOL.

Romance Can be so Fleeting

KMUSE: It is scenes like this that make me so sad that the show is so short.  The whole drama feels so rushed right now and I don’t think we get to have that epic OTP feel that we could have had if there were not as many time jumps and shifts in personality with no setup.

CLKYTTA: I have whiplash because things have moved so fast.

Drama Geek: One minute he’s ordering them to kill everyone that was related to the last king and the next he’s writing poems with his lover. I guess this was the life of a king.

The Incest Queen-to-be

KMUSE: It is no wonder that we have so many screwed up kids when people like the queens and concubines raised them.

CLKYTTA: Clan Wook has totally failed me.  I really liked his mom in the beginning, but she’s just as bad as So’s mom.

Drama Geek: This made me sad. I thought she was above a lot of this and just wanted her kids to both live.

KMUSE: I know I have said this before, but it is specifically this actress playing this character that makes me hate incest princess so much.  Usually I wouldn’t have issues with the political shifting that happens with nobles.  But I loath this girl’s personality so much that I just can’t handle her winning.  She is truly toxic.

CLKYTTA: This actress is killing it with her chilling portrayal of Incest Princess.  She makes my skin crawl and I swear she slithers instead of walks.

Drama Geek: She is totally killing it. I can’t wait to see her in something else. Hopefully with less incest.

Hard Facts

KMUSE: We learn that Su’s future is becoming a cripple due to her torture wounds not healing right.  And that is if Su manages to keep herself from having a heart attack first.  Yup, she has a serious heart condition that makes her longevity (especially in a stressful place like the palace) unlikely.  They are definitely foreshadowing the end this week.  And it doesn’t look like we will have a happy ever after.

CLKYTTA: Let’s overburden our poor suffering heroine with not one, but two major health issues.  This poor girl has suffered so much and it’s heartbreaking that they keep adding more problems in her life.

Drama Geek: This is just sad, but I think an early death might beat living in the palace with Crazy So and  Evil Queen Sister. I’m still hoping once she dies here that she’ll wake up in her own time. Hopefully not crippled with a healthy heart.

KMUSE: Su’s only possibly out is escaping the palace life with Prince Ji Soo who is sharing his long time romantic feelings (although it almost feels like a friendship with benefits) in a roundabout way.  He declares that if Su needs to escape, all she has to do is say “I want it.” and he will take her away from everything and live in a life of hiding.

CLKYTTA: In the very beginning I was Team Ji Soo, but I never thought his character would be a real contender.  I should have known better, when Ji Soo is in a drama, always root for his character.  I knew he was plotting something, he was distancing himself from the palace and acting way too prince like.  I should have guessed he was hatching an escape plan.

Drama Geek: I want it! Oh wait, get rid of the man burns and we can talk. LOL. I know he had puppy love for her when she saved him at the beginning but his more serious affection for her seem a little out of nowhere. Is he married? I can’t remember.

Damn Those Scars

KMUSE: Wook can be such a jerk.  Sadly, he isn’t wrong that So doesn’t have the political support to hold the throne or that Su isn’t fit to be the Queen because of that stupid scar rule.  Sucks to be the OTP right about now.

CLKYTTA: Wook is as toxic as his sister.  He’s still as sexy as all get out, but he’s vicious as a viper.  He is nothing like the man we met in episode 1.

Drama Geek: Kang Ha Nuel I will be waiting for you to get a lead role where I can happily listen to your lovely deep voice and be happy when you finally get your girl. And what has So been doing all this time? You’d think he would have formed some type of political alliance so marrying Su was a non issue.

Marriage…. That Sacred Union (GAG)

Before we discuss the wedding of So and his sister (ick), let’s take a moment and chat about the last happy scene with Su and So.

KMUSE: Thank goodness it was Su that informed So she couldn’t marry him.  I would have felt so upset if it was So deserting her after everything.  At least this way she is the one that made the decision and allowed him to become a stronger king.  I was also thankful that they got this last cute date before So had to wed the she-beast.

CLKYTTA: This still broke my heart.  I want my freaking happily ever after!

Drama Geek: Why can no one ever be happier longer than a scene? I want more candles blowing out!!

KMUSE: I also thought the marriage proposal was beautiful, even though So didn’t get the answer he was expecting.  You could actually visually see the “what could have been” emotions crossing both of their faces.

CLKYTTA: It was a beautiful and heartfelt proposal.  I know it was hopeless, but I hoped he could avoid his fate.

CLKYTTA: I want her to live a miserable life.  I know she won’t because I’m pretty sure she’s not even human.  This woman has no heart, only ambition.

Drama Geek: The wedding was as cheap looking as his coronation.

KMUSE: At least I had some satisfaction that she didn’t get the epic romantic wedding night she was obviously expecting.

Wang So’s Revenge

CLKYTTA: I really wanted her to go out in a blaze of glory.  Literally, a blaze like tied to a post and on fire.  I think he should have left her to die alone, she didn’t deserve anything he did for her. Even at the end she was scheming to get Jung, not because she loved him, but to tell him to go for the throne.

Drama Geek: And the Queen just dies… At least it was filled with great emotional tension and a reminder to what So has been through in his past and how evil his mom really was.

KMUSE: I thought this was perfect.  The scene showed how broken So really is despite his attempts at acting normal.  In the end he has never moved past that angry little boy that wanted his mother to love him.  And he got a pretty epic revenge.  The karma lover inside me approves of this scene.

A Friend/Traitor’s Death

KMUSE: To be honest, I was just glad that the girl’s death was less gruesome than in the Chinese version.  In that version she is burned to death slowly in the middle of a courtyard in a giant oven.  Also, I didn’t feel that bad since she really did poison King Moo.  Poor King Moo.  His death still haunts me.

Drama Geek: I do wish we’d actually seen glimpses of her and Won so we could understand this character. She betrayed Su and we only saw tiny scenes of why.

CLKYTTA: I knew she killed King Moo, but I thought she was paid to do it.  I had no clue that she was in love with Easily Forgettable Evil Prince. It’s a really weak connect the dots to throw what would have been a major plot point in there at the end.  Seriously, I thought Wook was behind all of it.

“I Want It”

Drama Geek: Again. I want it too. LOL.

CLKYTTA: Pushes Drama Geek aside.  I want it too!

KMUSE: I am kind of sad that when she says “I want it” it isn’t referring to some hot make-out action with Prince Ji Soo.  She already has gotten it on with two of his brothers.  Why not go for a third?

Our Thoughts:

Drama Geek: Only sadness, bloodshed and lots of craziness remains. I know Su leaving the palace will drop kick So into the same crazyland his brother’s entered as king. I doubt we will get a So that is happy for the final two hours. I know Jun Ki will ring my heart completely empty by the end. And hopefully the time travel aspect will come into play before it’s over. Because once Su dies there might be a new beginning. Who knows. There has to be some man in 2016 who can’t keep it in his pants and has 13 or 14 sons who all want to date Su, or whatever her real name is.

CLKYTTA: The future looks pretty bleak from here because I’m pretty sure that throne is cursed with a capital C.  I’m hoping for a time travel happy ending too.  Maybe fate will be kind and she will run into a modern So and have her happily ever after.  I need there to be a happy ever after, my heart has been ripped to shreds by Incest Princess taking Su’s spot.

KMUSE: HAHAHAHA I suddenly want to see that modern story of the man with 13 sons all wanting to date the same girl.  I am sure it would drive me crazy, but the image of a tortured So dressed all in leather and guyliner would make me tune in.

I can’t believe we only have one week left of our glorious hotties and their sexy hair.  What are we going to do when it ends?  Probably wait for the next batch to come along since as we know, Koreans love their Manes of Glory

Til next week,

The Fangirls