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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


<EPISODE 10>

I loved watching this in one sitting! It almost felt like a full-length film, not just because of how long the episode was, but also because of the plot, the cinematography, and the overall feel of the episode. One of the better 'New Years' specials we've seen, especially because of all the familiar faces.

Wherever Ms. Politician goes, trouble arises! I didn't think she could become more snobbish and haughty since we last saw her, but I guess I was wrong. Can you imagine if she became the Prime Minister? Sheesh. She just reeks of corruptness. I couldn't believe my ear when she kept referring to Kai-Dad by his new title (reflective of his demotion) - Deputy-Secretariat. It was as if she couldn't hide her glee at being able to rub it in his face that he was no longer an elite - on paper, at least.

Mr. New World Order was another corrupt guy. Anyone who teams up with Ms. Politician seems like the type who is just in it for the power. Well, he got what was coming to him at the end. What a way to go - you think you're safe after being stabbed but then you get the snake poison right on your wound!

I was surprised that Kaburagi knew Ms. Politician and was involved in all the shenanigans with changing Mr. Red Canary's identity from five years ago. Well, in a way, it is sort of a relief. I was afraid that Kaburagi was involved in something more sinister and had been sent to spy on Ukyo. I didn't doubt his loyalty to Ukyo even once during this episode. My favorite moment was when Ukyo asked Kaburagi if part of the reason he had been sent to Special Missions was to keep an eye on Ukyo on behalf of Ms. Politician. Kaburagi replied smugly that it was party true, but that he would take Ukyo over "that woman" any day. LOL! I thought it was a genuine Kaburagi answer.

In fact, after this episode, I get the feeling that Kaburagi has truly been accepted by Ukyo as his partner. I wonder what Ukyo was going to tell Kaburagi at the end, after Kaburagi invited him to try his favorite coffee place? It seemed like he wanted to say something, but hesitated and simply told Kaburagi that he would see him the following year, after New Year's. I wonder if he was going to thank Kaburagi for his loyalty, thus symbolically accepting him as his partner rather than simply being a "roommate"? Hmm.

The coffee v. tea rivalry between Ukyo and Kaburagi never gets old, either.

I had to chuckle when we saw Ukyo break out the fine china not once but twice this episode! LOL. Especially when he was drinking his tea with that cup on the train. Our Ukyo doesn't drink from a thermos - he will carry his fine cup on the train and into hotel rooms with him if he has to!

It also never gets tiring watching Ukyo get physically violent with someone when he is attacked. I bet everyone thinks Ukyo is a weakling, but he always takes them down very skillfully. He is even graceful when he fights!

What a surprise to see Miura, Itami's former partner. He seems to have a certain respect for Ukyo, and the feeling is mutual on Ukyo's part, as well.

I had almost forgotten about Onoda until his name was brought up. So many characters have come and gone on Partners over the years. Then again, it has been 14 seasons - over a decade!

Excellent episode. Thanks to UTB for airing it in one slot - I enjoyed it so much more than I would otherwise. (Hmm, is UTB reading the board? LOL!)

Episode 11 airs next week.
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suicunesol Profile
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Well! Because of the 2-hour special, the whole airing schedule changed and I only was able to watch the second half. Total bummer. Can anyone clue me in on what happened during the first half? I came in when Sugishita dramatically walked in and decided to "talk" to the terrorists.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


Sorry to hear you missed the episode, Suicunesol. I am very disappointed with the way UTB has been keeping us updated (or not) about their schedule changes lately. After they revamped their website last year, their method of updating the schedules has been somewhat haphazard and last-minute.

I will send you a PM on alternative viewing options.

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Thanks for that! It was very helpful. Hopefully UTB will rerun the season over again so I can get another chance to watch the special with subs.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


No problem at all! Yes, UTB will most likely be rerunning Season 14 on Tuesday nights eventually, so you can see the episode with e-subs at that time. Also, someone might be uploading the e-subs online at some point, so you can keep looking around, too.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


<EPISODE 11>

Good episode, and excellent acting, but I'm a little confused...

So, from what we got, Kanae (the younger actress) made up the story about her sister's daughter being her illegitimate child from a relationship with another man in order to get the older actress, Mariko, to feel sorry for her. After all, Mariko was also the mother of a daughter from an affair she had with another acotr, and due to her position in the limelight, she couldn't reveal anything about this child - who was now deceased. So, Kanae got Mariko to sympathize with her and commit the murder of her older sister, so that Kanae could finally be freed from this toxic relationship.

When Ukyo and Kaburagi revealed the fact that Kanae's niece was indeed her niece, and not her biological daughter as she had lead on, Mariko lost it because she realized she had been duped. Right..?

Also, why was Kanae arrested at the end? Even if she had lead Mariko on with false information and led her to commit the murder of her sister, how can this be proven in a court of law? Mariko committed the murder and made this decision on her own - it's not like Kanae forced her do it. Now, it doesn't justify Kanae's behavior - she did a horrible thing and is morally corrupt - but can she be arrested for this? It's not like she forced Mariko to do anything, other than appeal to her emotions. So, it was odd watching her get arrested for something like this. Unless I'm missing something?

I find that the writers (or the one writer who works on episodes like this one) skips/rushes over some parts that confuse me. It's not the subtitles, since the original Japanese dialogue also seems equally rushed and somewhat vague. Maybe it's just me, but they don't spend too much time on the resolution and just rush over certain parts while ignoring/forgetting about other clues that were a part of the episode. For instance, the husband of the sister witnessing a car that left the alley behind the villa around the time of the murder. Who did it belong to? What did that have to do with the episode? Was it Mariko?

A little confused, but I guess I got the gist of the whole episode. The bottom line is, both actresses were playing each other and this was all one major performance. Especially Kanae, who completely duped and manipulated Mariko. What a nasty person.

The award for most funny character in this episode goes to Itami! We don't see him let his guard down or reveal private information about himself too much, but it was hilarious watching him obsess over Kanae. LOL! The best part was watching Itami go "undercover", with his scarf and sunglasses. He did look suspicious, didn't he? No wonder the local policemen mistook him for the murderer. I also enjoyed watching Itami in his final scene before he left for Tokyo. The way he threw the scarf over his shoulder and walked off was hilarious!

I will never get tired of Itami. This actor is so funny and knows how to balance "Itami" well. Sometimes we get the intimidating detective, and sometimes we get the funny, ridiculous Itami. This time, it was mostly the latter!

I also got a kick out of watching the "fanboy" side of Ukyo, as he was gushing to Mariko, the older actress about how much he loved her films. We never see Ukyo lose his cool like that unless he is doing it on purpose to get close to someone he finds to be suspicious or a possible suspect. His plan worked! All that gushing landed him a chance to have drinks with the actress. Every one of Ukyo's moves are calculated, as was this one. He knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish from the get-go.

Not much else to add about this episode, other than the fact that Itami was hilarious and the acting in general was excellent. They cast two excellent actresses to portray the characters of the day.

Episode 12 airs next week!
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Greg, the two planned the murder of the older sister. As to who is the "mastermind"--that will be up to who is the better actress in front of the court, though it's my impression that Kanae duped the older actress into solely confessing for the crime initially.

---
Currently a Clinical Laboratory Scientist at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center's Transfusion Medicine (Blood Bank) department
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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


From what I got, and I could be wrong, the two had agreed upon Mariko taking the blame for the murder so that Kanae could look after her "daughter" - who, on officially on paper, was supposed to be the daughter of her late older sister. Kanae had duped Mariko into thinking that the little girl was actually her biological daughter. So, Mariko took the blame so that Kanae could stay with her "daughter." That might be why she got so upset when Ukyo and Kaburagi notified her that the little girl was really the daughter of the sister and not Kanae's biological daughter. After all, that was the only reason why Mariko agreed to take the blame - so that Kanae wouldn't be separated from her daughter.

Still, I don't know how Kanae could have gotten arrested without any proof that she was an accomplice. It's just Mariko's word against Kanae's, unless some proof (a recording or some kind of other evidence) had been found proving that Kanae was indeed in on the whole thing and discussed/plotted the murder with Mariko.

It is starting to make more sense!
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The ending was a little confusing to me for the reasons everyone has mentioned. I don't know how much influence the director had on the conclusion, but I noticed it wasn't either of the 2 long-time directors, Hajime Hashimoto nor Seiji Izumi.
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Re: J-Drama: 相棒 14 (Partners 14)


Glad I wasn't the only one, Dunedan. I agree, perhaps the director has something to do with it, too. The earlier seasons (probably directed by the two directors you mentioned above) took great lengths to outline the resolutions of each case in detail, but some of the new directors like to take the "vague" approach and conclude things up very quickly - at the expense of leaving loose ends or creating some confusion with the turn of events.

Luckily, the two original directors are still involved in the production and so we get some good episodes more often than not!
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