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OCN Drama "SAVE ME" Ok Taecyeon, Seo Ye-Ji, Woo Do-Hwan etc. *Thanks for watching, Saviors!*


Bella D'Amour

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  • Rescue Me: Episode 13rescueme13-11726-1.jpg

 

Father Baek’s shady history is starting to catch up to him as the boys continue their relentless investigation into Guseonwon. They’re rewarded with bits and pieces of crucial information, but their prying doesn’t go unnoticed by their watchful target—an organization that will use any and all means to maintain their power. Unfortunately, Guseonwon’s sinister reach surrounds our heroes no matter where they go, putting them in more danger than they realize.

 

 

EPISODE 13 RECAP

We rewind a bit to find Father Baek threatening Sang-mi in the sanctuary after he explains why he selected her to be his Spiritual Mother: She reminds him of Yu-ra, his previous Spiritual Mother trainee and Disciple Kang’s daughter—the one he pushed too hard, resulting in her suicide.

“Why don’t you try shouting for help,†he says menacingly as he steps closer, “because the only person here to rescue you is me.†He strokes her cheek before Sang-mi slaps it away, snarling, “Do you mean you chose me and my family because I reminded you of that girl you killed?â€

 

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At that remark, Father Baek swiftly throws her down on the ground before pinning her arms above her head. Sang-mi looks up in terror as Father Baek darkly states that Sang-mi gives him no choice but to change his approach, before he yanks up the hem of her skirt.

But before he can go further, Sang-mi frantically begs him to stop with tears streaming down her face: “I understand now that you can do whatever you want to me. I won’t run away anymore. If this is really my fate, please give me a little time to accept you.†Father Baek relents and confirms that he can trust Sang-mi before agreeing to wait until “the fruit fully ripens.â€

 

=== Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/09/rescue-me-episode-13/

 

 

COMMENTS

Continuing on from last episode, this episode continues to act as a turning point of the story. Until now, Father Baek never failed to disguise his lust for Sang-mi; however, as he grew impatient towards Sang-mi’s hostile attitude against him, he revealed his true desire for the first time.

This display of lust lowers Father Baek from the untouchable holy stature that he assigned to himself to as the “messenger of the New Heaven’s God†to the level of an ordinary person because he isn’t immune to worldly desires, and his humanization has the effect of stripping away his image of invincibility. Consequently, while Father Baek still has a menacing presence, Sang-mi has learned how to provoke and manipulate him to respond in the way that she needs. This, combined with new awareness about his dark past, reveals an Achilles heel that the protagonists can take advantage of to take him down.

This episode showed us the havoc Guseonwon wreaks on not only our protagonists’ lives, but also on the lives of other ordinary townspeople. Ironically, it also provides viewers with more hope for the malicious organization’s takedown, because Sang-mi has gained allies: a reporter working alongside her on the inside as well as a skeptical but determined detective. Guseonwon may seem to have a hold on all sectors of the town, but maintaining its grasp is becoming increasingly difficult as the boys turn to external sources for help. This has the positive effect of making the show less frustrating to watch.

 

 

It’s interesting that the two people who’ve shown willingness to help them—So-rin and Detective Lee—are both from Seoul and seem to be in Muji unwillingly. This is likely no coincidence, however, because their indifference to maintaining power in Muji makes them less susceptible to Guseonwon’s bribes and threats; the two have no interest in securing their future in Muji when they’ve found an opportunity to return to Seoul.

 

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I’m so relieved that Mom now knows not to swallow the red pill. I was worried that we would be back to square one in terms of her progress after the last episode, but instead, it’s looking like Sang-mi is gaining back one of her parents. Mom’s look of horror when she was talking to Sang-mi’s dad makes me confident that she’s fully in possession of her mental faculties, and her show of insanity in front of Disciple Kang reassures me that nobody suspects her yet. The longer everyone believes Mom to be insane, the safer she’ll be.

 

Speaking of moms, Disciple Kang seems to be less affected by her flashbacks of her daughter. Although she’s frozen for a moment, she’s been shaking them off more readily. I used to think that she could help Sang-mi, but now I’m starting to think that she’ll be one of the last to let go of her faith. The moment she admits that Guseonwon is a lie, she’ll have to come to terms with the fact that she’s sacrificed her only daughter and a great deal of her life for a mere con. Perhaps she’s aware of that on some level, and this awareness feeds her desperate need to hold on to Guseonwon’s lies. I’m curious to see what the last straw will be for Disciple Kang, because it’s going to take a lot for her to truly snap out of her reverie.

 

 

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  • Rescue Me: Episode 14rescueme14-00543-1.jpg

 

Cracks begin to form in Guseonwon’s foundation as more past secrets are brought to light, causing our heroes to find strength in each other as our villains start to fight amongst themselves. The plans that our heroes have set in motion start to bear fruit, and despite the setbacks they encounter, you know what they say about enemies: The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

 

EPISODE 14 RECAP

We return to the service hall’s tense confrontation, with Dae-shik wielding canisters of gasoline and a lighter, ready to burn Guseonwon to the ground. Dad tells Sang-mi to stay back, but Dong-chul is the first one to take action as he barrels forward and holds Dae-shik back. As he struggles with Dae-shik, he yells at Dad to get Sang-mi out of the room.

“Why are you here? Are you one of them?†Dae-shik asks angrily when he realizes who it is, but that doesn’t stop him from punching Dong-chul in the face.

Dong-chul pins Dae-shik to the wall and waits for Sang-mi and Dad to exit the hall before he tells Dae-shik, “I’m not one of them!â€

 

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“Why are you stopping me then?†Dae-shik roars. Dong-chul reminds him that he’d wanted to live well with his mother, which stills Dae-shik’s rage. “I will destroy this place no matter what. Could you please trust me and go back?†Dong-chul asks imploringly.

At this, Dae-shik stops struggling and staggers against the wall. But when they hear voices from outside the hall approaching, Dong-chul thinks fast, asking desperately for Dae-shik to punch him. When the congregants reach the door, Dae-shik does as Dong-chul asks before sprinting out the side door.

The congregants help Dong-chul up to his feet, and Disciple Jo remarks that Dong-chul is actually quite manly after all. Dong-chul just meekly says that he wanted to be able to protect Spiritual Mother. “You have such a pure soul,†Father Baek remarks. “New Heaven’s God will make great use of you.â€

 

=== Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/09/rescue-me-episode-14/

 

 

 

 

COMMENTS

So, very interesting. Family has definitely always been a focus of this show, but it seems like mothers in particular are now coming to the forefront. Sang-mi and Sang-hwan’s moms are both waking up, albeit in slightly different ways. Hopefully, neither husband is forgiven for their breaches of trust and their willingness to keep their wives in the dark.

At first glance, it seems like our protagonists’ plans were not well-coordinated, but they’re actually meshing nicely to form a cohesive master plan in their effort to take down Guseonwon. In fact, it’s clever that they have multiple ways to take down Guseonwon, in case one plan goes awry or Guseonwon tries to figure out and stop one of their plans.

Dong-chul acts as insider support for the other plans and greases the wheels of their operations, while Sang-mi’s role is both to make Guseonwon believe that she’s going along with their salvation plan and act as the central unit for the group inside of Guseonwon. Sang-hwan is our primary agent outside of Guseonwon, and he gives the group the legal, political, and media clout that’s necessary to fully destroy Guseonwon. There’s a lot of moving parts involved, and our heroes are doing a good job of juggling them all.

It’s really heartening to see how Sang-hwan in particular has matured. It isn’t that he’s put his connections to his past behind him—far from it—but he’s been able to turn those memories and regrets into stepping stones for his current actions, and he is very clearly learning from his past mistakes. In addition, even though he’s cut off his connections with his father, he knows that his father plays a huge role in his life and the town, and he is able to use that relationship to leverage his own purposes for the greater good.

 

The continuity with Jung-hoon’s livestream is also a well done and useful part of the story. The livestream is a plot device that not only gave the heroes some information about the cult’s past in another city, but it also created believable conflict when Disciple Jo used it to lure and capture Jung-hoon.

 

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In that vein, it would be really easy for our heroes to feel continually outmaneuvered by Guseonwon, but I’m really impressed with how they’ve managed to stay ahead of the game through a combination of quick thinking, lucky breaks, and a well-timed punch here and there.

I also enjoy the setup of the villains getting impaled on their own swords, so to speak. It’s clearly meant to be ironic that Disciple Kang was injected with her own drug, with poison being a key part of her character. As for Disciple Jo, it’s been shown over and over again that he’s so greedy for money that he keeps attracting trouble and attention to Guseonwon. And the fact that he and Wan-duk keep killing people left and right and burying them in the woods is surely going to come around and bite them back.

Father Baek, of course, is caught by vices of his own. He feeds off of people’s desires and religious beliefs, preying on various women along the way, and now he’s about to pay the price. Finding out one by one that each of our major enemies have these weak spots to strike at is pretty delicious, considering that they made themselves out to be the ultimate judges of sin and goodness.

There’s some plot threads that I don’t see being pulled into the resolution, like Dong-chul’s mentor’s grudge, or Sang-hwan’s dad’s power play with the other Muji political officials. I’m actually glad that they haven’t become big issues at this point, especially since we’re near the end, because I didn’t find those parts of the show nearly as captivating as the struggles of the show’s younger generation. It’s good that the show is sticking to what it does best, which is the action from our core group of friends and allies.

Meanwhile, the pieces of their plan are still falling into place, and I’m sure that our heroes can make a comeback despite the recapture of So-rin. This may be the toughest night of their lives yet: There are still two episodes to see how it all shakes out, but I’ll buckle in for the ride and hope that I don’t run into a Guseonwon van on the way.

 

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Episode 15

 

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There are not enough middle fingers in the world to express how I feel about Guseonwon and this marks a job well done by "Save Me". Every open end comes together and clashes into a smörgÃ¥sbord of final week thrills as things finally veer out of control for heroes and villains alike. Death, disillusionment, camaraderie and hope form the final battle for our heroes' future.

 

Taunting one's enemies never comes without a good deal of grief and Hong So-rin (Jeon Yeo-bin) is sadly the victim this time around. The episode holds nothing back as we rush to the finish line and so a lot of the things which have been left unaddressed until now happen all at once. Muji is disillusionment central at the moment and this includes the revelations our good, neutral and evil characters get.

 

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Things are falling almost too neatly into place for our heroes as far as revealing Guseonwon's true face goes and under different circumstances, I would call that contrived. The reason these expedited events make sense here, however, is the narcissism of our villain. Baek Jeong-ki (Jo Sung-ha) has been dealing with what he no doubt sees as sheep for too long and his belief that he is invincible has already been established. The man is alienating his allies and sometimes that is all it takes to fall.

 

Disillusionment comes from the good side as well and it is very rewarding in certain aspects. Officer Choi (Park Soo-yeon) finally steps up and Sergeant Woo (Kim Kwang-gyoo) chooses to face the consequences of his actions. I cannot help but lament what these characters could have been, however. The episode makes it clear that many supporting characters had or should have had bigger roles here. From Joon-goo's (Go Joon) late entrance into Guseonwon to our tavern "noona's", too much feels rushed to justify their existence in the story.

 

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The episode reveals this lack of purpose for them, but there are also issues with the editing which are a telltale sign of the final week's hasty nature. The sequence up to where Officer Choi barges into Guseonwon is particularly messy and events in it are hard to keep track of, but the rest of the episode has issues with its pacing as well. I appreciate fast closure over no closure, however.

 

 

I do not know if more deaths on the good side will come, if everything will be solved or if the series will go for small victories against evil, but I sincerely hope that at least Sang-mi's (Seo Ye-ji) story and by extension that of our heroes will be concluded. Rushed as it may be, the episode indicates a desire to wrap everything up for our characters.

 

 

=====

 

 

Episode 16 Final

 

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The Boat to Salvation is a slippery devil and the time has come for a solid shake on its not-so-divine structure. All of our characters choose their alliances and enact their final wishes as our heroine marches to her salvation and our heroes steel themselves to help end this once and for all. There are no ideal endings in this world, but perhaps small victories are enough.

 

I already expressed my thoughts on the obvious rush to the finish line in my previous piece and the drama's finale is the only reasonable extension of it. We never did find out who tried to kill Dong-cheol (Woo Do-hwan) in jail, why the political part of the series mattered, whether Guseonwon's water was drugged and more. There are many threads which I wish we had seen developed and which we did not.

 

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On the other hand, certain things seem like decisions made for a happy ending when it comes to our heroes. Everyone gets a parent back, including Dong-cheol and this particular outcome feels like audience pandering more than a decision deeply rooted into the narrative. At the same time "Save Me" never had an idealistic approach. Spiritual Mother Kang (Park Ji-yeong) and the ever pathetic Joo-ho (Jung Hae-kyun) march forward along with every other lost soul that will never escape.

 

There is character consistency here. The ones who would sacrifice their children to an invisible god built by a depraved narcissist will not face their actions , because faith is such a strong tool of denial, even for the non mentally disturbed. We never find out the true past behind our villains, but their actions are ultimately what makes them. The adults of Muji have plenty to be ashamed of, but I am glad that many decided to do the right thing, even if Sergeant Woo (Kim Kwang-gyoo) is the only one willing to pay for his corruption.

 

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Faith comes in another form and Sang-mi (Seo Ye-ji) can express it better than anyone; the hope and strength to go on come from the knowledge that there are people out there who will reach out and pull you out of a fiery pit. Whether sent by a deity or not, the world remains hopeful because of them. This is a great message to wrap the series up with and an appropriate one given its themes.

 

Few regretful issues aside, "Save Me" has been an overwhelmingly great adventure. It has taken viewers to the edge of despair and repulsion and then delivered much needed relief quite masterfully. It is a story which I feel will stick for a long time and I hope Korean drama produces more of its kind and quality in the future.

Our wishes will be fulfilled. I believe it. LOOL laugh.png 

 

cr

Edited by FranCella
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Rescue Me: Episode 15

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Our heroes’ hard work is finally paying off as their plans to take Guseonwon down begin to fall into place. But they’re not out of danger yet, as Sang-mi, Dong-chul, and Sang-hwan each make choices that show just how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to accomplish their common goal.

 

 

EPISODE 15 RECAP 

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We rewind a bit to the end of the last episode, where a drugged and beaten So-rin stumbles to the river to meet Sang-hwan. Seeing headlights ahead, she waves to the vehicle to stop, but instead of Sang-hwan, Disciple Jo stops the van and gets out, commenting on his good luck in finding her.

So-rin tries to flee, but Disciple Jo grabs her by the hair and drags her into the nearby river as she screams and tries desperately to break free, losing one of her shoes in the process.

 

Disciple Jo forces her head under the water and keeps it there until she stops struggling. “I hope you go to paradise and gain salvation,†he says to her lifeless body, still face down in the water.

Sang-hwan arrives on the scene, but when he can’t find So-rin, he texts Dong-chul, concerned that something might have happened to her.

Walking back to his scooter, Sang-hwan’s phone rings. On the other end, a voice struggles to say his name. “Mom?†he asks, his eyes going wide.

Meanwhile, Disciple Jo carries So-rin’s corpse over his shoulder as he makes his way down the road and into the woods, keeping a lookout for possible witnesses.

 

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Back at Guseonwon and dressed in her all-black Spiritual Mother attire, Sang-mi meets with Dong-chul in the hall. He whispers that So-rin escaped, but he’s worried because she hasn’t met up with Sang-hwan yet. “For now, let’s wait until he calls us,†she responds.

After Dong-chul leaves, Sang-mi takes a breath, tidies her hair, and enters the sanctuary, where the congregants are already seated. One of them asks if Sang-mi has seen Disciple Kang, who is supposed to lead the day’s vigil, but Sang-mi replies that she will be leading the service today.

 

 

====Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/09/rescue-me-episode-15/

 

 

 

COMMENTS

My head is still spinning from everything that happened in this episode. It was gratifying to see so many players working together to fool Disciple Jo into incriminating himself for So-rin’s murder, even though he seems to be on the loose again. It’s this kind of teamwork that has gotten our heroes this far, and the different roles that each of them play will be essential to bringing about Guseonwon’s destruction.

Sang-hwan has learned from his mistakes over the years and draws strength from his desire for justice. He is now adept at thinking ahead and outsmarting his enemies, and is still by far the most demonstrably emotional of our heroes. When he lost his temper with Father Baek after the failed search for captives in the Guseonwon, Sang-hwan exposed the fine line he walks between his emotions moving him to action or getting him into hot water.

Dong-chul, unlike Sang-hwan, is better at keeping his emotions hidden, and has so far successfully convinced the Guseonwon members that he is a true believer. His acting skills have allowed him to stay at Guseonwon and serve as the vital communication link between Sang-mi and Sang-hwan.

I find it amusing that although Dong-chul and Disciple Jo are different in almost every way, they both have the habit of putting on goofy smiles in order to fool others, only to turn back into scowling badasses as soon as no one is looking. I am curious and nervous to see how Father Baek and Disciple Jo will react when they find out Dong-chul’s true identity.

 

 

Sang-mi has proven to be the most enigmatic of the group, because in her quest to destroy Guseonwon, she has all but completely taken on the role of Spiritual Mother. We know her true feelings, but when she appears before the congregation, she is chillingly convincing.

Even so, Sang-mi had remained steadfastly defiant of Father Baek and the other leaders of Guseonwon until recently, so it would be surprising to me if they have been completely taken in by Sang-mi, despite her convincing performances. Perhaps Father Baek is so sure of his own power that he believes that has convinced her to change, whether through faith or intimidation.

On the other hand, Disciple Kang’s desperate belief in the Spiritual Mother bringing about salvation for her and her daughter has been steadfast, and she so far seems satisfied with Sang-mi as long as she does what she is told to do. But now that Disciple Kang realizes that Father Baek used the same lines on Sang-mi’s father that he had used to convince her to let him wed her daughter, this gives some hope that she may have a change of heart. Plus, now that she knows Dong-chul is an imposter and has heard what he has to say, it will be interesting to see what she will choose to do.

As we approach the final episode, Sang-mi and her friends are ready to give everything they have to take Guseonwon down for good. We will have to wait to see exactly how, and if, they can accomplish what they set out to do.

 

 

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Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching??!!

 

 

javabeans

  • Rescue Me: The show was so heart-pounding through its whole run that the ending was almost anti-climactic for me, although I can’t say I minded notfeeling tied up in knots for once, since all I wanted was to see that cult to go down in flames and to save the people I cared about. I appreciated that I got closure in the ways I wanted, even though the story didn’t tie up everything neatly and deliver a bow-wrapped ending for everyone, like the fragments of the cult left behind. I wished for a tiny bit more closure between Sang-mi and her saviors, but the ending felt realistic and true to the characters. And now we’ll all look up Woo Do-hwan to see what he’s doing next, yes? (Hint: It’s Mad Dog.)

 

girlfriday

  • Rescue Me: I’m a little disappointed in the ending, just because the entire season was a tense, amazing buildup to this one climactic rescue, and I wanted more by the time it was done. Maybe no finale can live up to that kind of buildup? I just thought that if they had taken this long to plan their rescue, the moves would be more complex and twisty, and less smash-grab-run! But I’m satisfied with where our characters end up, and in my mind Sang-mi bakes Dong-chul a cake, because that’s the least you can do for a guy who joins a cult to save you, and then he asks her out to jajangmyun and the rest is history.

 

 

chickachunga

  • Rescue Me: I started Rescue Me (my first OCN show!) to see who this rising talent Woo Do-hwan is, and I am so, so, so smitten! I can’t wait to see him in Mad Dog alongside Yoo Ji-tae whom I’ve missed since his steamy turn in The Good Wife. I binged Rescue Me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. It was steadily paced with very little fat, and the story felt complete. Sang-mi is one of the most compelling heroines I’ve seen in a K-drama, and it was so refreshing to see not a damsel in distress, but a total badass of ironclad will and determination. The Muji bumpkin boys may have been instrumental in her escape, but she was the one who made it happen. Looks like I’ll be paying more attention to OCN’s shows from now on!

 

mary

  • Rescue Me: I believe this show made us suffer for a reason. I believe we have seen hell so we can meet Sang-mi and Dong-chul and the rest of the gang who will show us the light and the way to paradise. I believe that this show is a gift from the Drama Gods! I believe that this team will make more shows of this quality in the future! Samalamalamala shalallellolelelalalalalalala~

cr

Edited by FranCella
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  • love changed the title to OCN Drama "SAVE ME" Ok Taecyeon, Seo Ye-Ji, Woo Do-Hwan etc. *Thanks for watching, Saviors!*

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