In this Episode…
The kiss works! It’s just 2 lovebirds out for a boat ride on a fishing trawler, right? Se-ri’s not happy to be stuck for an indefinite period of time, so Jung-hyuk does what he can to make her comfortable (coffee) and well-guarded. Se-ri takes it into her head to try and escape via her paraglider, but is discovered by Jung-hyuk and he whisks her away to safety to escape SS Lt. Jo; her radio was on, causing an alert. She can’t make it across the border w/o detection, but apparently they can take to the hills! The spy (Man-bok) comes further into their circle via a market theft and Jung-hyuk taking on the crooks, and his listening in seems more sympathetic. Turns out his wife is the one kind-hearted village lady too. The boys of Company 5 do their best to give tips for helping Jung-hyuk escape trouble, like making nice to the bossy senior-most woman in the village, and Se-ri jumps in with both feet. Back in Seoul, the family backbiting continues, with a successor chosen, and some news for us: Se-ri was illegitimate! Real fiancée Dan and tool Seung-joon continue to cross paths; she’s on her way to visit Jung-hyuk!
Impressions…
Yolette: She wants coffee she gets coffee. She wants scented candle, she gets scented candle, even if it takes a few days. What is this mania he has of doing whatever she wants? It’s sexy as hell!! LOL!!
Robin: Drama World’s feeding us these amazing men lately, like Ryan Gold in Her Private Life. Men who go that extra mile to keep the woman safe, pamper her with her heart’s desires, and kiss like a dream.
Yolette: At least now we know our hero did indeed cross words with her in Switzerland and saved her life even back then. I’d be curious whether he took a picture of her at the time or not. He had his camera on her for a while. But if, as I’m suspecting, he did fall in love with her a bit back then, and then felt as if it were fate when she was literally delivered to him out of the sky in North Korea, his ridiculous inner monologue about “Should I just kill her?” seems even more ludicrous. If it weren’t for that scene it would totally explain his uncontrollable urge to please her even when she’s being a brat.
Robin: Well, it could be a “just kill her” like the way we might say in frustration, “I could just wring his/her neck” and not “killing her would save a lot of trouble.” But these little snippets at the end post-credit are kind of annoying me because they might easily be overlooked if you don’t stick through the credits for them (as I originally did). They add the potential backstory to their story. Obviously he remembers her from back then, but her memory of him is dim (oh, I know! …it’s the popular SK amnesia! …maybe she got a little too close to her suicide wish. Guess we’ll have to wait for a few more after the episode backstory moments to fill in those gaps.
But at least we also now know why she might want to be off somewhere looking for euthanasia for her mental grief and bone-crushing despair, and contemplating suicide. I would suppose she’s found out at that point that she’s illegitimate. We only had to wait until episode 4 to learn that part of the story. Imagine being the victim of an apparent abandonment as a child (as we’ve seen in any number of dramas), being lost is traumatic and her brave, “can-do” attitude might just be her version of “whistle when you’re afraid”. How nice that it’s Jung-hyuk with the scented candle who comes to her rescue!
Yolette: Once again I am rolling my eyes at these people, well, the fiancee… who stays in Russia for TEN YEARS apparently without a single word to her bethrothed –no calls, no letters, no meetings during trips home, and yet somehow expects him to still be there waiting for their nuptuals? And is excited about reuniting with him, as if she’s in love? Bizarre.
Robin: That’s an awfully long time for someone to put their career first, even in dramalandia. If they were ‘engaged’ when they were children and had to wait until they were adults, okay maybe I could see it (as if that would make it any better!) With the post-clip we know that they have at least traveled together on a get-to-know you trip (during which she got very used to looking at him, because Hyun Bin, okay), but there’s no heat in the arrangement for him. Why?
Yolette: I am really enjoying the tsundere character of Chi Soo, though, I think he’s my favorite character, lol! I live for that look of disgust on his face hahahaha he’s so hilarious. His sparring matches with our heroine are the best! The pinch-faced neighborhood watch enforcer is my second-favorite. An A+ WTF expression!! Hahahaha!
Robin: You know who those two groups remind me of? Male and female versions of the ‘cuartel de las feas’! They are there to amuse us and enlighten us, kind of the modern-day Greek chorus, just as the feas were in Yo soy Betty, la fea. Chi-soo is hilarious; not gonna return that shampoo, no thank you! Once you’ve seen the light of good products you’re not going back to coal tar or lye soap, no sir! Also, I want to try those soju-cooked clams, don’t you?
Kim Sun-young is always such a scene stealer! I loved her in Answer Me 1988 in particular, but she’s up to her sly old ways once again. The key for these scenes is to give us a feel for the village life without overdoing it and for me, right now they’re just enough.
Yolette: So, the wiretapper at his post listening must know what’s up by now. They’re not being sly at all in the conversations at the house. Though clearly he is soft on the Captain, since he feels guilty for aiding in the killing of his brother and then grateful for having his wallet recovered, too. Maybe he’ll be an ally and not a spineless worm.
Robin: I’m glad that wiretapper Man-bok is troubled enough by guilt and gratitude (plus, woot! action Bin time!) to be thinking about his role in all this and maybe becoming if not an ally, than at least not an impediment/squealer. I am happy that it’s his wife (played by Jang So-yeon who I also always really like) who is the one who’s kind about Se-ri, realistic about Jung-hyuk, and rescued by Se-ri at the party. BTW, raise your hand if you wished that Se-ri had introduced herself as Sam-soon.
We Talk Dramas All Day 