…I had a grand time playing Name That Filming Location. About 70% of the episode was filmed in the Philippines, so…

But first: what is up with that last scene from Episode 13 which was spilled over at the beginning Episode 14? It was like a scene straight out of a Pinoy action movie. I won’t go into too many details for the benefit of those who haven’t seen it and do not want to be spoiled, but basically, Kai (Daniel Henney) got stabbed in the stomach by the assassin hired by Chairman Yang, and then later on he was given the rattlesnake poison that killed Master Jang. But despite that, he opted to chit-chat with Jinny (Lee Na Young) instead of going straight to the hospital. Or Sophie calling for an ambulance while they’re chatting, for that matter. Although yes, Jinny hit the fire alarm, but the whole dramatic scene has ended and still, no rescuers. I guess Korean firefighters aren’t that quick to respond? No wonder Kevin (Oh Ji Ho) died in a fire. Sure, Jinny sucked the poison out of him so it’s not like he’s still going to die within seconds like Master Jang, but remember, he also has a stab wound in the stomach on top of the poison. And sucking the poison out is just first aid; he would still need to seek immediate medical attention. But no, we still need to see some dramatic moments here, so yeah, Kai can delay the ill-effects of his injuries while his whole dialog with Jinny isn’t over yet.

And what’s funnier is, after all that, he was able to converse with Sophie in straight Korean when prior to that, all of their exchanges were in English. So I guess, in the face of imminent death, Korean-Americans would suddenly know how to speak Korean fluently?

I really shouldn’t be nitpicking this much because we’re talking about a drama where people’s clothes don’t seem to become dirty or ruined even if the person wearing them were running several kilometers and duking it out with gangsters. Or a drama where people could jump off buildings without suffering from at least a bruise, or getting their heads busted open with steel pipes yet still survive without seeking any medical treatment. But the scene I mentioned above was rendered in typical Pinoy action movie fashion that I started to wonder if PD Kwak saw one of those Robin Padilla or Bong Revilla (or worse, Mark Lapid – “saging lang ang may puso!”) movies when he was here.

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Things that ran through my head while watching the Manila scenes in Episode 14:

1. I never knew that we could travel from Seoul to Manila via sea vessel. I wonder how many days it took Do Soo to reach Manila?

2. When the scenes were set in Japan, Shanghai, Beijing and Macau, we feasted our eyes on the modern designs of hotel rooms (which, actually, were all filmed at City of Dreams in Macau). In Manila, we got Manila Hotel. No further comments.

3. When Do Soo was drinking coffee at his hotel suite: “Do Soo, that coffee costs php200 per cup (plus tax). Sip slowly.” Bonus: Do Soo was sipping coffee wearing only a bathrobe. Start hyperventilating now.

4. Apparently, the ‘car chase scene’ which was said to be filmed in Roxas Boulevard isn’t a chase scene. It’s a date scene with Do Soo and Officer Yoon aboard a motorcycle. That made more sense, because there’s no way anyone could car-chase with someone in Roxas Boulevard because of the traffic.

5. BTS Trivia: According to my sources, after that scene of Do Soo and Officer Yoon shopping at Greenbelt 5 was filmed, Lee Jung Jin took a cab back to Manila Hotel. Reason? His service vehicle wasn’t available yet but he wanted to go back to the hotel, so instead of imposing on the Philippine production crew, he just opted to take a cab. Cool, ‘no?

6. I thought the Fugitive staff said there will be no bed scenes??

7. I knew that kiss between Jiwoo and Jinny wouldn’t happen…

8. Can’t say the same thing about Do Soo and Officer Yoon, though.

9. Let’s look for ‘Mariela’ and ask for an autograph! What the hey, let’s ask for a photo op; she’s not Korean, she wouldn’t refuse us.

10. It feels good to hear Rain say, “Pilipin ka ja” (let’s go to the Philippines) even if it’s scripted and he’s just acting. Edit: WTH, the less-than-5-seconds that my streaming lagged was the part where Rain said, “I love Manila!” I would’ve loved seeing that, even if, again, it’s scripted and he’s just acting.