Official Synopsis: A prince from the Chosun era, Yi Gak (JYJ's Yoochun), along with his entourage, which includes Song Man Bo (Lee Min Ho), Do Chi San (Choi Woo Shik) and Woo Young Sul (Jung Seok Won), are catapulted 300 years into the future. As he attempts to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the princess he loved, he unexpectedly finds himself in the city of Seoul in the year 2012, where he comes across a woman who looks exactly like his beloved crown princess…

Ratings: MBC's 'The King 2 Hearts' dipped slightly to a 13.5% rating, although it still retained its first place position. KBS's 'Equator Man' was able to break into the double digits with the official beginning of its "adult arc" as it achieved a 10.2% rating. Meanwhile, SBS' 'Rooftop Prince' dropped slightly in its rating with 11.2%. Although the drama battle was previously between MBC and SBS, the playing field seems to be leveling between all three dramas, leaving the top position up in the air.



Recap of Ep. 5: Shocking everyone in the hospital room, Prince Yi Gak tells his grandmother that he is Tae Young. Although Tae Mu (Lee Tae Sung) protests against Yi Gak, telling his grandmother that he is only a fake, Grandmother is happy to fill Tae Young's vacant spot with Yi Gak. While Grandmother hastily takes Yi Gak back "home", Park Ha (Han Ji Min) returns to Yi Gak's servants to reveal that Yi Gak moved to a rich family and the three men need to find their own way.

Meanwhile, Yi Gak makes a deal with Grandmother. Yi Gak will give up his precious hair in exchange for Grandmother buying Park Ha's rooftop room, preserving the only avenue he has to the Joseon era. Yi Gak returns to the rooftop room, where Park Ha returns ancient garbs to all the three men, ultimately freeing them from any obligations. Park Ha also returns the handkerchief Yi Gak thought Bu Young (Joseon double of Park Ha) had created but Hwa Young had given to Yi Gak as her own. Shocked, Yi Gak realizes the butterfly that flew away when he began to cry had reappeared on the handkerchief. Unnerved at his tears, Park Ha looks at Tae Young's portrait of her with the butterfly that Tae Young had drawn.

Tae Mu attempts to prove Yi Gak is impersonating Tae Young, bringing in a geneticist for a DNA test. As Yi Gak attempts to escape the situation, Tae Young's cellphone drops out of his pocket, revealing a photo of Tae Young and his grandmother as the background, seemingly confirming his identity as Tae Young. The family hopes that the cellphone might be the key to finding out what exactly happened in America two years ago, sending an alarmed Tae Mu and Yi Gak on a mission to crack the password. However, Yi Gak drops his cellphone in the car ride, giving Tae Mu the opportunity to destroy the cellphone with a rock. However, when Se Na enters the room, he quickly drops it into a shopping bag that Se Na's mother takes away.

After Yi Gak brings his entourage to Grandmother's home, he announces his theory that he is the reincarnation of the supposedly dead Tae Young and must thus uncover the relationships among the dead Tae Young, the dead princess, and her lookalike. While the three servants prepare a ceremony for Man Bo's dead mother, causing havoc in the house with women and men fainting everywhere, Yi Gak goes to Park Ha's house with whipped cream and soju where Park Ha reveals her forgotten past and lost memories. The next day, Yi Gak and his courtiers go to Park Ha's for a commemorative photo, making Park Ha slightly disappointed that they are letting her go so easily.



After going through the sacrilegious process of cutting his hair, Yi Gak rushes to the rooftop room only to find it empty. He catches sight of Park Ha in a bus and rushes toward it, almost getting killed by a truck. Taking note of the beach billboard because Park Ha had told Yi Gak that an image of the beach is her fantasy image, he rides in the truck and yells out for Park Ha. Going into the bus, he tells a surprised Park Ha that she doesn't have to go anywhere far now that he has a "beach" for her.

The two sit together, watching the "beach" peacefully when a truck interrupts the moment by honking, causing Park Ha to jump into Yi Gak's embrace.

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kdramacrazy's Thoughts:

[Note : This post reflects the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of allkpop.]

Such an excellent synthesis of hilarity with the tense and exciting development of the main conflict plot line. The conflict of the chaebol family with the grandmother, Tae Mu, and Tae Young is moving forward effectively, becoming more entertaining rather than stagnant during moments of frustration with the characters. The swerves and unpredictable turns in the conflict, starting from the DNA test to the cellphone, employ the potential of the ultimate conflict and pose a new question: When will Yi Gak be revealed as an impersonator?

In addition, I love how the script is utilizing little details and integrating them all together to create a thread connecting two different times, the Joseon era and 2012. The butterfly and the cellphone sneak back in as clues to the enigmatic conflict. Throwing in my speculation, Tae Young's character is not yet thrown in the trash bin or flung in with the dead. Although Yi Gak believes that he is the reincarnation of Tae Young, revealing the biggest secret of the relationship between Tae Young-Yi Gak and possibly Hwa Young-Se Na this easily and early on in the drama leads me to think that the writers are hiding the true secret. Whether Tae Young is biding his time somewhere, or there's a more convoluted mystery up the writers' sleeves, the puzzle only becomes more intriguing. (Speaking of miniscule details being merged into the plot: it's cute that Lady Mimi is using the comic book images of the entourage and Park Ha for her webtoon.)

When Yi Gak dragged Park Ha out of the bus, I responded with applause and a smile of happiness. It was a nice development of the loveline. Seeing how Park Ha truly missed the men, and how they were the ones who could stop her from leaving to America also revealed the growing relationship between Park Ha and her "children". I cannot wait to watch the love blossom between the two, since sparks are flying already, and I hope the writers will continue to integrate the funny anachronistic moments of Park Ha being introduced to modern dating customs.

And yay! Sexy Yoochun is back with a haircut (along with the three handsomely transformed men)!