[Drama Review] 'The Legend of The Blue Sea' - Episode 9

Finally, 'The Legend of The Blue Sea' doesn't waste any time in creating some new suspense and interesting scenarios in episode 9 that will have Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho) falling into some climactic situations - especially regarding his family.

After fighting off Mae Da Young, Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho) meets with Shim Cheong (Jun Ji Hyun) and begs her not to leave. However, once Heo Joon Jae suddenly faints, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I was still intrigued by the fact that he met with his past self in the trance-like state. It seems he will encounter him more than once in this episode and future ones to come - especially since he is seen warning Heo Joon Jae more than once.

Yet things are getting more heated as Mae Da Young is making more and more appearances. He stands as a threat to Heo Joon Jae now that he is after Shim Cheong. However, he isn't doing anything half as crazy as he did in episode 8. I'm expecting more trouble from him and hopefully soon in order to pick up the plot.

The only thing I can't make any great guesses on is Heo Joon Jae's stepbrother. He is shrouded in more mystery than Mae Da Young! One moment he seems to despise Heo Joon Jae and meddle in his life and in the next, he is defending him from his evil stepmother. I think he may have his own underlying intentions that go way above his mother and Heo Joon Jae.

However, the evil stepmother has some tricks up her sleeve and doesn't leave everything up to Mae Da Young - which I think is more exciting. The fact that this crazy woman even tried poisoning Heo Joon Jae's father is just going one step too far.

It is a shame that from the start he appeared to have given up on his family only to suffer this ill fate from such a dastardly woman. It is revealed that Heo Joon Jae's father is going blind and I believe it has something to do with the medicine the stepmother is giving to him.

Aside from the backstabbing, I will say this drama is keen on highlighting all the "types" of love out there. As stated in the past, the secondary characters offer a lot of lessons to Shim Cheong. The beggar in Gangnam illustrates the 3 types of love in this world, "romantic love, hot love, and dirty love," letting Shim Cheong know which love she is looking for and which she can't handle. Once again, K-Drama viewers should get out their pen and papers because there is always a lesson to learn.

I, like Shim Cheong, am a stubborn claw machine game player!

But love isn't the only hardship we have to learn! I love the lesson with the pink octopus. Once again, the show projects deep meanings with simple, sweet comparisons. Just like how families are like red bean fish bread (warm, sweet and all look the same), the pink octopus in the grab machine representing that in life sometimes things seem like they will work out and suddenly a problem may get in the way (falling out of the claw's grasp). But just because you are stuck in place doesn't mean you give up. Life is simply that way.

While I enjoy the lessons learned, viewers are wondering what lesson Kim Dam Ryeong is trying to teach Heo Joon Hae exactly. It doesn't even seem like Heo Joon Jae and Kim Dam Ryeong are two separate characters living as one! Instead of jumping back and forth between the past, the plot shows that their time and fate is all connected, making it more parallel rather than divided. Because of this, the storyline is getting stranger and stranger.

The real suspense in episode 9 is the fact that Heo Joon Jae is leading himself into a trap that will do more damage than he expects. Not only will he encounter his mother during his con artist scheme against Ahn Joo Jin but he will also be exposed to Shim Cheong as a con artist, who according to her are "people who always lie." This will definitely put a bruise in the relationship. I just wonder if the drama will really let him suffer or help him find a way out of it.

Even the puppy doesn't want to be around her.

Something I happened to notice is that the music selection this time around wasn't so dramatic and distracting. I am getting tired of hearing the same love song every five minutes just because Shim Cheong even looks at Heo Joon Jae funny. I appreciate silence here and there in order to maintain the crucial feelings in certain scenes.

For example, the scene where Shim Cheong comes into Heo Joon Jae's room to care for him is just so genuine and sincere, it really had a sense of realism to it - portraying the will to care for someone no matter what. Jun Ji Hyun excelled well with her acting in this moment but Lee Min Ho really put on quite the performance in portraying Heo Joon Jae's hurt and heavy heart. His weeping didn't seem forced or awkward at all. His tears and stumbling over his words felt so natural that it almost moved me to tears. However, his prideful character shined as he insisted that he was "close to shedding a tear" rather than crying and insisted on not to telling his fellow con men about it. Too cute!

The non-climactic kiss scene.

The only thing that threw me off was the kiss that suddenly came right after! I know they were going for something unexpected but I barely noticed or felt any romantic buildup in the scenes that led to the kiss unlike other times in the drama.

Either way, it was cute to finally see them lock lips. However, I was freaking out wondering if Heo Joon Jae would suddenly lose his memory again! But I guess not, since he woke up the next morning extra bubbly and charming as he prepared pasta for Shim Cheong.

A man who can cook is a man in my book!

'The Legend of The Blue Sea' is about to reach the double digit episode and I still find the plot inconsistent by slowing down then suddenly speeding up. Hopefully, episode 10 will keep to one pace and the show will continue to go up from there.

In the end, episode 9 offered a bit more excitement compared to previous episodes now that Heo Joon Jae is becoming more involved with his family. As expected, the present day story is much more enjoyable than the past one, but I expect something crucial from the past to occur in the present, as suggested in Heo Joon Jae's dream.

SCORE:

Plot................8
Performance......8
Pacing...........8