There were so many OTP (one true pairing) moments that just took my breath away in this episode. Sadly, there were an equal number of scenes that had side characters that I could really care less about. Come join me as I give my six plot points and discuss if everything equaled out in the end?
#6 The girl on the closet door
The writer has decided to really focus on the painting in the closet. A plot point that I absolutely love. The symbolism of Min Hyuk guarding his secret room with the picture of someone who represents strength and the correlation of him finding the same girl (not sure if he knows that yet) and has her guarding him in person, is perfect. It is one of those fated youthful meetings that really works for me.
#5 It’s in his eyes
It is official. I have fallen in love with Park Hyung Sik being in love. I was mostly there during Hwarang (the only real reason to watch) but watching his character in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon…I am officially, 100%, in love with Park Hyung Sik’s style of acting. I dare you to watch this collection of screencaps and not believe that he is head over heals for our leading lady.
It is rare that I don’t have Ji Soo 2nd Lead Syndrome, but this time it isn’t even close. Min Hyuk (Hyung Sik) has me Fangirl mind, heart, and soul.
#4 Poorly done cliffhangers
Am I the only one that was expecting…. more after the ending of episode 3? Did Bong Soon witness anything? Did she hear a scream? What made her drop the umbrella and beer? We are left with no answers as we jump into ep 4 with no explanation. Then we have the current cliffhanger where she “hears” the serial killer’s voice once again while crossing the street. To be perfectly honest, I halfway expect her to brush off the incident without a thought just like we did in the previous cliffhanger. It is a good thing that there are other reasons for me to anticipate what comes next because the episode endings would not be enough to make me tune in.
#3 Why are you on my screen?
I am going to reiterate what Drama Geek mentioned in the last recap. There is a HUGE disconnect between what is going on with our OTP and the rest of the characters. Specifically the mom/ahjumma gang and dumb and dumber thugs.
I find it weird that there are sections where I find these character’s amusing but then the scenes just go on way too long and those flashes of humor are lost. For example, the mom discussing how the guy would probably be the one being abused with the shaman was humorous… and then it went on and I was completely “meh” about the rest of the dialogue.
The same thing happened with the D&D Thugs. I laughed out loud when they had the UFO moment. But then they have issues eating pie and it was just dumb….and dumber. And don’t even get me started on the snoozefest that is Gook Doo’s girlfriend. ZZZZZZzzzzzzz.
Thankfully, they are not all boring. So far I really enjoy Bong Soon’s dad. His squirreling away money in his cuff link was adorable. I also have really enjoyed the scenes with the High School Thugs. I have this vision of the HSTs following Bong Soon around like little ducklings. Please, writers, make it happen!
#2 Love triangle
Let us now take a moment to discuss our romantic triangle and all its interesting twists and turns.
**At this point I am not going to discuss their use of the “gay misunderstanding” concept of the show. There is a definite line for me and so far they have not crossed the line, despite coming close to it once or twice. For the most part, I agree with Drama Geek’s opinions.**
I am really enjoying the twist they did in the romantic triangle. It is fun that for once the girl is the one jealous of a possible romance between the two guys. Not that it makes any sense since Gook Doo is oblivious to the possibility… and the whole Min Hyuk isn’t actually gay thing. But the fact that for once we don’t have the pining 2nd lead issue is a breath of fresh air. Not to mention we get amusing nightmare moments like these.
There are some interesting moments we get this episode that seem to indicate that there is a bit more to the Gook Doo and Bong Soon’s past then we know. Just Gook Doo’s reaction to Bong Soon being upset at him made me think “hmmmmm.” Heaven knows I would rather him pining for Bong Soon than having such a sexy man be stuck with a snoozefest of a girlfriend.
#1 OTP! OTP! OTP!
I love everything about our adorable OTP from their bickering, to Min Hyuk finding everything about her personality sexy, to Bong Soon being oblivious to his interest despite all Min Hyuk’s pining gazes. GAH! I am just so happy. Which brings me to the moments that we have to Fangirl about since this is the main reason I am watching the drama.
First up is my new favorite scene to date. Not only because Bong Soon gets to save the day (kinda) but because it perfectly shows the couple dynamic which totally works. Yup, you guessed it… it is The Bodyguard scene.
Min Hyuk’s stalker ups his game by assaulting our chaebol with a pellet gun (is that the right term? Not sure what you would call this type of a gun?) Min Hyuk, to his credit, runs to grab Bong Soon before hiding behind a tree. Unfortunately, the tree is not big enough to totally hide his frame and Min Hyuk is shot in the arm, falling to the ground. Which means it is Bong Soon to the rescue.
Bong Soon scoops Min Hyuk into her arms and dramatically carries him away from danger while Whitney Housten sings “I Will Always Love You” blasts in the background. What made the scene was when the camera pans to Min Hyuk who is obviously faking being unconscious. Bwhahaha. These two are so perfect for each other.
Add in the night club scene and the way that Min Hyuk gazes at Bong Soon and you should be 100% on their ship.
Especially when our rich playboy makes sure Bong Soon gets home safe and sound and doesn’t even object to her drunken bad habits of telling everyone he is gay and pinching his cheeks.
Finally, the day after the drunken hijinks, Bong Soon slowly seems to be seeing her boss’s finer personality points. Sure, it might be because Min Hyuk doesn’t fire her, but I will take any movement towards love on her part that we can get. I am starting to get impatient to see our leading lady feeling a little bit of interest back.
My Thoughts:
As you might have already guessed, I am LOVING the OTP. The rest……meh. I really hope that the writer manages to connect all the various storyline into a more OTP focused story and stops shifting the focus to characters that are not the main three.
In this type of drama where the side characters should be highlighting the best qualities of the leads all while adding a little bit of humor here and there. They shouldn’t have minutes just focused on their stupid side stories. I don’t care about the Mom’s plight to keep some building from being built. I don’t care about the brother and boring girl’s possible relationship. So far, I don’t even care about the serial killer, at least until his story starts to impacting our leads directly. At this point I always just shake my head anytime he shows up on screen with his prison of women. That was just weird.
If they are not involved with our three leads being on screen, I don’t want to see it. Hopefully, everything will work out in the end or the side character’s screentime will decrease. Because if there is one thing I am sure of, it is that the OTP and the romantic triangle is what this drama is all about.
Til next time,
Kmuse
I ship them from the start, coz I really think he does like her from the get go. Nothing serious yet then but an instant connection. Was it in ep. 2 when she took her hand on her first day as his bodyguard. My heart already skipped a beat and I knew that was it. Hee. 😍 And when he ran his finger across JiSoo’s chest, I’m a goner. I don’t know if I should even entertain such thoughts of what if betweeb Gook Doo and Min hyuk.
Park Hyung Sik is such a flirt and I luv it!
Mm, girl, you nailed it. Nailed. It. Yes to the side plots being boring. That becomes even more annoying in episode 5 honestly. I was like your grumpy cat. I bore. You bore. No more bore.
But despite the iffy side stuff…*toot toot* all aboard the Min Hyuk, Bong Soon ship! But I also kinda shipped Min Hyuk and Gook Doo a few times? My heart got confused with the finger on the chest and the butt grab. I dunno.
But yeah, I’m loving this drama so far. I think they are holding back and stuffing these OTP scenes with filler until the main plot really takes off. The faceless bad guy, and the one threatening Min Hyuk, and the obviously evil “nice” brother–that crap is all going to hit the fan at some point. So, as a writer, I would say that these writers are currently building an OTP base on which to rest the pile of crap they will later on deal with. There will be a reason that our OTP needs an established rapport, so I see a lot of this as set up. I hope they don’t let me down when things really take off!