Reign "Snakes in the Garden" (Part 1)

In the beginning of this episode Mary is unsure of whole is plotting to get rid of her and her crown. Of course she knows that the English want her crown and her country, but from information Collin has told Lola it's someone in the French Court that wants her gone.

In the main hall, Queen Catherine is informing her middle son, Charles, about his young engagement to little Madelyn, who is nervous to meet him. Mary offers the King and Queen that she will also accompany Francis and Charles on their way to meet Madelyn. After Mary offers to accompany them, Catherine begins to make up reasons that she shouldn't go and that it wouldn't be a safe journey for her, but Mary tells her that she should go because she was in a similar situation as a young child so she could reassure Madelyn of their marriage.
                                                                                    
They soon depart for the coast and finally meet Lady Madelyn. But all of a sudden they realized they weren't greeted by a French ship, but rather an English warship. Francis begins to freak out and calls for the guards to get Mary out of the area so that she could be safe. Bash arrives in just the nick of time and tells Francis to halt what he's doing and reassures that the English ship isn't bad because Madelyn's French ship took on water and the English were there to help her continue on to her destination.

Fortunately there's a party held in the castle for Prince Charles and Lady Madelyn and it took Mary's mind off things for awhile, at least until she met the English convoy, Simon. He questioned Mary about her engagement and bond between Francis and basically said that he didn't think that Francis would marry her at the end. He also tells her that the English tried to poison her at the convent and threatened her if she doesn't end her engagement with France, England would soon take over Scotland. Luckily, Francis came to the rescue and got Mary out of the conversation. He told her that she was shaking and that she was showing fear in front of the English. He asks her if she could be strong and show the kingdom that she was going to be a strong ruler.
                                     
The next day Catherine tells Mary that Collin was alive and that he was going to sabotage her once he got out of jail. Mary doesn't care because she knew that Collin was being framed for what he did but just requested that Catherine and Henry bring him safely back so that he may question him herself and that he could be a witness/evidence. Meanwhile outside Mary and Francis were watching Charles and Madelyn play a game. Francis is insulted because he has a feeling that Mary was accusing Catherine for putting Collin into jail. After playing a few rounds of the game, Charles leaves and goes over to a narrow, darkened, doorway. Mary finds him speaking into the doorway and asked him who he was talking to. Charles avoids the question but later told her that it was his friend named, Clarissa. Mary tells him that Clarissa might have visited her and helped her before.


Check out this site! There are some funny pictures of what happens throughout the episode and gives out details of what could be revealed in the next episode.
                                           
Word Count: 566

Reign "Pilot" (Part 2)

                                   
Meanwhile Lola is bathing in her room, Collin, her suitor from Scotland surprises her. They ask to meet with the queen a little later about some news and Mary goes back into her room. When she was getting ready for the wedding she notices a hand and a voice telling her that whatever happens at the banquet to not drink the wine. This is a very crucial part that happens next when at the ceremony Collin says that they should all celebrate and hands Mary the cup of wine. She almost drinks it but suddenly remembers that warning, so she kindly rejects. Lola looks in their direction and sees Collin kiss Mary's hand and automatically becomes jealous. Mary can sense her jealously and tells Aylee to come and gather the others so that they can dance. They take off their shoes and begin dancing and other quickly join in. Mary dances happily and sees Bash smiling at her while she's dancing, Francis then catches Bash smiling at her and looks back at Mary.
                                 
 Then a flashback of Mary and Francis' childhood come back and then feathers start falling from the ceiling. Just when everything was getting so heated up Elizabeth and her husband begin heading to their room for the consummation. Kenna tells them that they should go watch and says that this would benefit Mary so that she'll know what she will have to do when she gets to her marriage.
                                     
They watch the consummation and Aylee is like "We shouldn't watch the rest of it." They all decide to split up and everyone runs to a different part of the castle. Mary goes back into the main hall and finds Francis chatting with some other diplomats. Francis then apologizes for his words and actions said earlier and then he also says that an alliance with Scotland will ruin France and that they shouldn't get married, Mary then replies with, "You're not the only one who has a country to think about." I'm just like You Go MARY!

Later that night Collin sneaks inside Mary's room and attempts to rape her but fails. The next day Mary is questioned by Francis about what Collin was doing in her bed. Francis thinks that Mary was trying to get back at him and almost ruined her reputation. Then Catherine demands the execution of Collin, but little does Mary know that it was Catherine was the one that wanted her dead. Somehow someone saves Collin and he escapes. Later Mary is outside on the castle ledge by herself and thanks the unknown person for saving her life and when she turns around the unknown person is nowhere to be seen.
                                 
Be sure to check out this site in case you get confused on what's happening, trust me I was really confused at first but once I checked this site out it was like a brief summary of important events.


Word Count: 448

Reign "Pilot" (Part 1)

Some may call me a historical geek, but let's be honest, I kind of am. I recently just started watching this show called "Reign" on the CW channel because my friend suggested that since I've been so into historical fiction lately I should probably check it out. So I watch the episode the first time and keep in mind I honestly have no clue on what's going on. The first thing I did was check out some sites that had information on the series and this first site gave me a pretty good overview of how the episode was going to play out.

Danger and intrigue lurk around every dark castle corner in this story of a young, Mary Queen of Scots. Thus begins the story of  Mary's adventures, obstacles, romance, and history in French Court

After spending a childhood of being safely hidden away in a convent, a teenage Mary Stuart arrives in France where she has been sent to Secure Scotland's strategic alliance by formalizing her arranged engagement to the King Henry Valois' dashing son, Prince Francis. While Mary stays at the convent hoping that it will safely keep her away from the English from wanting her crown she witnesses one of the nuns dying from eating the porridge that she suspects the English tried to poison her with. After realizing that she was of age to be married and that the convent was no longer a safe place for her to stay the nuns send her back to French court.
                                     
Upon arriving at French court, Mary reunites with her best friends, Kenna, Greer, Lola, and Aylee. She feels relieved because she doesn't have to deal with the French all by herself. While Mary and Francis get acquainted, Catherine asks Nostradamus about what he saw in his vision and he tells her, "It's all clear now, Francis' union with Mary will cost him his life."Later that day Mary and her ladies in waiting prepare for Elizabeth, Francis' sister's wedding. The girls explore the castle because they haven't been back since they were children so Mary goes back to rooms she remembered being in and just so happened to stumble in on Francis while he was sharpening his swords. She was feeling very unpleasant when she knew that he wasn't the only one in his room and about the phrase he said, "Husbands are not under the obligation to answer to their wives." She leaves his room unhappily and goes over by the lake with her dog. Her dog is scared by a noise and runs towards the woods. Bash just so happens to stop Mary from going into the woods in just the nick of time or else she would have been made a sacrifice to the pagan gods.

                                    

Word Count 453

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (Korean Drama)

Cha Dae-Woong is a normal college student with ambitions of becoming a rising action star. Accidentally one day he releases a gumiho, which is a legendary fox with nine tails who was selaed inside a painting by the Samshin grandmother. Trying to flee the scene he has caused, Dae-Woong tries to run out but the he suffers a life threatening fall and is saved by the gumiho who gives him her fox bead. Apparantly if a gumiho gave a mortal their fox bead something miraculous would happen. 

When Dae-Woong finally awakens and meets the mysterious girl, he first treats her as a mentally ill, before finding out that she is a gumiho in a mortal form. According to legends he's heard he believes that gumihos eat men's livers, so Dae-Woong is freaking out and the gumiho takes this chance to take advantage of his fear by sticking to his side. He names her "Mi-Ho," and keeps her happy by always buying her beef and hiding her true identity from society, because people would go hysterical knowing that a legendary nine tailed fox was let loose. 

One of Mi-Ho's dreams is to become human so she makes a deal with Dae-Woong. She says she'll lend him her fox bead to increase his strength and speed, so he could do difficult stunts and with exchange he will have to help her become human. As time passes, they get to know each other better and Dae-Woong is charmed by hoe Mi-Ho looks at the world with childlike wonder. 

And then enters Park Dong-Joo, a half human, and a half supernatural being, whose cover identity is working as a veterinarian. Dong-Joo tells Mi-Ho that she'll be able to turn human if she follows these instructions carefully: must drink Dong-Joo's blood then place a fox bead inside a human's body for 100 days. Once she does this, her supernatural gumiho self with die slowly. Her gumiho energy slowly empties away while her bead will live in the human life for up to 100 days and take in Dae-Wong's energy. When she reclaims the bead, she will become fully human. Mi-Ho happily aggrees and Dae-Woong accepts her bead. 

However, Dong-joo deliberately withheld the information that this process will result in the human's death. Mi-ho and Dae-woong thus fall in love without knowing the consequences of fulfilling her goal: in 100 days, Dae-woong will die if Mi-ho becomes fully human, but Mi-ho will die if the bead isn't returned. (412 words)

The Classic Part 2 (Korean Movie)

As the movie switches back to talking about the past, Joon-Ha is guilt-driven over his friend's attempt suicide and Joo-Hee's own guilt. When determined to stop causing Joo-Hee anymore trouble and hurt, Joon-Ha joins the army and goes Vietnam. While he's fighting in Vietnam, he looses his vision while trying to retrieve the necklace Joo-Hee had given him so many years before. Upon returning to Korea, Joon-Ha and Joo-Hee meet. While trying to hide his blindness, he tries to convince her that he has married and that she should move on with her life without him.

Though brokenhearted that their relationship cannot continue, she does move on and ends up marrying Tae-Soo, Joon-Ha's friend.  After they have been married for several years, Joo-Hee has a young daughter, Ji-Hye. Joo-Hee is then approached by the friends of Joon-Ha who relate Joon-Ha's last wish. He last wish is to have his ashes scattered by Joo-Hee in the river, where they first met. She later finds out that he was never married or at least not until he confirmed that Joo-Hee married Tae-Soo. She was then notified that Joon-Ha had a son, and she's heartbroken and cries.

Back in the present, Ji-Hye's story unfolds itself. Sang-Min reveals the feelings he has for her and those are the same feelings she has for him. Also the movie reveals that them taking shelter together was no accident. Sang-Min purposely left his umbrella behind so that he could join her under the tree during the storm. She tells Sang-Min her mother's similar story and tears stream down his face. Why do tears stream down his face? It's because he lifts the necklace from his neck and places it around hers. It's the necklace that Ji-Hye's mother had given to Sang-Min's father when they first met by the river. So then the circle is completed. Joo-Hee's daughter and Joon-Ha's son completed the love story which their parent's had failed to complete!  (366 words)

The Classic Part 1 (Korean Movie)

The movie begins with telling parallel love stories between a mother and daughter. The part of the story with the mother is told in multiple flashbacks. 

That classic starts with present day, the daughter, Ji-hye, cleaning up her house and she finds a box full of old letters and a detailed diary that told the story of her mother, Joo-Hee. Ji-Hye reads one of the letters and then it starts the flashback to her mother. The flashbacks are then interwined with her own story in which she falls in love with one of her fellow classmates, Sang-Min, who is involved with the school production.


Then the movie flashes back into the past with the mother visiting the countryside as a student and meets Joon-Ha. They both go exploring in the countryside, playing near a river. The river then became their special place. One day when a storm approaches Joo-Hee twists her ankle and they struggle to find a shelter place under a tree. After the storm passes, Joon-Ha then carries her on his back and they struggle home. When coming back home they encounter angry parents. Before they're forced to separate, Joon-Hee gives him a necklace, which he keeps close to him as a precious reminder of their time spent together.

Unfortunately, a third party prevents the deepening of their relationship. Joon-Hee has been promised to be a bride to bee to Tae-Soo, Joon-Ha's friend. But Tae-Soo finds out their attraction towards one another and helps them communicate in secret by using his name in place of Joon-Ha's in their letters back and forth. When Tae-Soo's father finds out, however he beats Tae-Soo. Tae-Soo tries to commit suicide so that will allow Joon-Hee and Joon-Ha to be together.


Back in the present, Ji-Hye falls for Sang-Min in which her best friend Soo-Kyeong is also interested in, but Sang-Min doesn't seem to notice. I remember in a cute scene that was similar to her mother's was that it begins to downpour and Sang-Min uses his coat to coverr both of them and escorts her to where she needs to go. Though the moment is precious she only believes that he helped her was only out of his generosity and not that he had any feelings for her on his part. (398 words)

Heirs (Personal Review)

At the beginning of 2014 last year, I was so pumped up and excited for this new drama  many of my friends were mentioning to me about called, "Heirs." I was like okay it has two of my favorite actors/actresses acting in the drama so why not take a chance and have a stab at watching it right? So began to watch it and Heirs talked about friendships, love triangles, and enemies, just like other Korean dramas would right?!

In the beginning of the drama it introduces 18 year old, Cha Eun-Sang who lives with her deaf mother. Her mother works as a part time house maid for a rich family. Eun-Sang's mother communicates with the family by writing what she wants and needs on a notepad with a pen. So life's all good right?! It is all good until one day they receive a letter from her sister who lives in the U.S informing Eun-Sang and he mother that she's getting married and that she need money sent over there. Eun-Sang's mother tells her to take money out of her own saving account and as a result Eun-Sang is enraged with the decision that her mother has made because of her sister.

So pretty much she arrives in America and knows nothing about it's culture and everything, but she does try to find out where her sister lives and when she goes up and knocks on the door her sister lives in and finds out she's living in a dirty house with a violent boyfriend and it turns out that her sister lied to her about getting married and she dropped out of school and works at a restaurant. She finds the place her sister works at and takes the money Eun-Sang brought for her wedding and leaves without saying good-bye to her sister. 

After that I was just like oh the plot was kind of interesting, but after reading the synopsis and all I decided that it was going to be a waste of time, I knew the story was going to have some cheesy ending. But as I continued to watch a little longer I just couldn't stand the plot cause it just got so much more worse and a lot of different characters kept coming in. So if you're fairly interested in this drama go for it and watch it, don't let my opinion drive you away from watching a drama you might like. (408 words)