I have no idea how the rest of you fared as you watched these two episodes of Pinocchio but I, for one, bawled my eyes out and how could I not? The story of Dal Po and Jae Myeong has me feeling as if my heart has been ripped right out of my chest and all I’m currently hoping for is a chance for these brothers to find a way to live “happily ever after.”
Of course what I hope for and what I get are usually two very different things but I refuse to give up on these brothers. Considering all they’ve been through and all they have yet to face, Dal Po and Jae Myeong are both in desperate need of some happy and I want that for them more than anything, especially now that they’ve been reunited. Please tell me I wasn’t the only one sobbing when Dal Po revealed his true identity to Jae Myeong! There was just something in the way Dal Po confessed, the way he was trying to juggle feelings of elation and anger and resentment and fear, as he looked his brother in the eye and called him a liar. And the way Jae Myeong responded…ugh. I couldn’t fight the tears any more than Dal Po at that moment and it only got worse as Jae Myeong confessed to being a murderer only moments later. Poor Dal Po! My heart broke for him as he sat there and listened to his long-lost brother confirm all his worst fears. Can you even imagine what Dal Po must have been feeling at that moment, hearing his own brother confess to murder? The pain must have been unbearable, yet Dal Po sat there and took it all in as he died on the inside.
I think what’s even more painful than knowing your brother is a murder is being forced to accept the fact that your actions are going to keep you from the one thing you’ve always wanted…your family. Sadly this is exactly what Jae Myeong is faced with and the moment this harsh truth hit him, you could see the regret on his face and of course, I was bawling like a baby the whole time. Poor Jae Myeong! You know the past thirteen years have been a living hell for him, they had to have been, to drive him to such drastic measures in his plot to exact revenge but all of that faded into a distant memory the moment he got his little brother back. Unfortunately that brief moment of happiness was overshadowed by the reality of his circumstances and again I bawled as Jae Myeong tried to push Dal Po away in a desperate attempt to give Dal Po a chance to live the life Jae Myeong knows he’ll never have a chance to live.
I suppose it was Jae Myeong’s attempt to push Dal Po away that forced Dal Po to, in turn, push his adopted family away. I just wish Dal Po hadn’t decided to take such drastic measures. I understand Dal Po’s need to separate himself from the Choi family as he tries to deal with everything life’s thrown him at the moment but I think asking Choi Gong Pil to revoke his adoption was going a bit too far. After all, if it hadn’t been for Gong Pil, Dal Po would have drowned all those years ago and Dal Po knows this. He’s also aware that he’s spent the past 13 years living a rather happy life, surrounded by people who love him and he knows he owes them a lot. Unfortunately he also feels a tremendous amount of guilt for living happily while his brother has suffered, so he’s choosing to exile himself as a sort of self-imposed penance. What makes this even worse is the fact that Dal Po is also taking on a lot of responsibility for his brother’s actions and he feels that because of this he has no right to be happy. What right does a murderer have to be happy when he’s brought other people so much pain?
I wish Dal Po could realize that none of Jae Myeong’s actions are his fault. I mean there’s no guarantee Jae Myeong would have chosen a different path, had he reunited with Dal Po sooner. Jae Myeong strikes me as the type of person who gets an idea in his head and has to see it through, no matter what. After all, that’s what he did 13 years ago when he met with Song Cha Ok for that interview. At the time, he was fully aware that Cha Ok was the one responsible for twisting the truth surrounding his father’s story, yet he went to her convinced she would let his voice be heard. That mistake cost him dearly yet he never learned. Instead, here we are, 13 years later, and Jae Myeong was so convinced he would never find justice through any honorable means that he chose to take matters into his own hands. Look where that’s gotten him. Once again both brothers are forced to suffer as a result of Jae Myeong’s rash actions and the only consolation I can find in this is knowing that this time around, Song Cha Ok is finally going to get what’s coming to her.
After all the pain and suffering Song Cha Ok inflicted on who knows how many people, all for the sake of a story, this woman deserves to be taken down a peg or two and I’m convinced there’s no one better for the job than Dal Po and Jae Myeong. I honestly love watching these two brothers plot their revenge on the woman who ruined their family and I’m really hoping this woman’s life falls spectacularly to pieces before the end. I know, I know, I’m terrible but really, have you ever met a woman as horrible as Song Cha Ok? She’s shameless and ruthless and cold-hearted to the point that her own daughter wants to watch her burn and I’m perfectly okay with cheering for In Ha as she seeks her own sort of revenge. I’m perfectly aware that a lot of In Ha’s rage, when it comes to her mother, stems from her feelings for Dal Po but she’s suffered enough at the hands of her mother to be justified in her actions.
Actually, I found myself cheering for In Ha a lot in these two episodes. In Ha has shown a lot of strength this time around and I’m exceedingly proud of the way she’s decided to step up and be the woman of action she needs to be for Dal Po’s sake. I know that her decision to push Dal Po away wasn’t an easy one but it’s what needed to be done. Her strong determination to keep Dal Po away is exactly what he needs at the moment. I know it may sound weird to say that but I see this as one of those “iron sharpening iron” moments and in this case, In Ha’s strength is sharpening Dal Po for whatever lies ahead. As she said herself, she doesn’t want to see Dal Po crumble which is why she’s keeping her distance as she watches him suffer alone. It’s not because she wants to be apart but because she understands this is what he needs most at the moment and I applaud In Ha for sticking with this, despite the inevitable pain.
I wish I could say I see brighter days on the horizon but I’m afraid we’ve still got a long way to go before those days come. As desperate as things seem to be for Song Cha Ok, I have a feeling she’s going to have a chance to exact a little revenge of her own before the end and that’s not going to be pretty. There’s also the fact that Dal Po is going to have to watch his brother suffer as he accepts the penalty for his crimes which is undoubtedly going to be painful and we’re going to have to watch Dal Po deal with all of this on his own as he continues his self-imposed exile from the Choi family. I have a feeling my tears are far from over but I still hold on to hope that eventually those deserving will find some sort of “happily ever after.”
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