Best Love: Episode 10

311 June 2, 2011January 24, 2016

by girlfriday

It’s just the way I like it: Superheroes Over Flowers, as the boys step up their game and leave us all spun around in the process. Will Iron Man get a new heart? Will Spiderman sell his friend up the river for pastries? Will this drama ever stop being awesome?

Best Love hit a series ratings high with today’s episode at 18.4%, followed by City Hunter 12.8% and Romance Town 10.3%.

EPISODE 10 RECAP

Ae-jung takes Pil-joo’s hand and the fireworks go off, to the great dismay of Se-ri and Jin, who both watch with long faces. Jin clutches his heart in pain and Se-ri can’t hide her disappointment, though she has to continue her MC duties for the happy couple.

Ae-jung quietly tells Pil-joo that it must be awkward to continue holding her hand like this, and tells him to try and pretend like no one else is here. Pil-joo: “I already am. Because that’s how I made up my mind from the beginning. I told you that this was real for me. What I’m holding now is Gu Ae-jung’s heart, who came to me.” Oh, swoon. How can a guy be this perfect? It’s downright unnatural.

She tells him that she’s sorry for making him jump into such a crazy mess, and he tells her, “Now that I’ve jumped in and grabbed hold, I’m not going to let go easily.”

The shoot ends and everyone starts packing it up, but Pil-joo and Ae-jung stand off to the side, still holding hands. Ae-jung tells him that the shoot’s done, so he can let go now, so he does… only to switch to interlocking fingers as he holds on tighter. Omo!

Pil-joo: “I don’t think it’s a shoot. I think it’s for real. So I’m just going to keep holding.” Eeeeeeeeeee! He says it with this totally dry look, and then breaks into his trademark dorky smile. Seriously, I think I love him.

Ae-hwan purposely ditches her at the shoot so that she’ll have to get a ride from Pil-joo, and calls to lie that the whole family is out, so she can take her precious time getting home. She’s embarrassed by the blatant lie, but Pil-joo feels bolstered by the Gu family being P-line (as in, Pil-joo Line, aka Team Pil-joo).

He tells her that she ought to get onboard too, and she asks what the benefits of P-line are. He names: “Safety, comfort, and knowing you won’t be shaken.” Oh, honey. I already want to give you a consolation hug. Those things are all true, but damn are they unsexy.

Jin sits outside Ae-jung’s house, wondering what he could possibly say, and cursing at his heart rate monitor (as if it’s the inanimate object’s fault for not correctly deducing human emotion, heh).

Hyung-kyu finds him there, having run out of Jenny’s, and when Jin tells him that he’s hurting, Ding Dong invites him in. It just occurred to me that this grown man’s only friend is Ding Dong. I would say that’s sad, except they seem to be on par, maturity-wise, so… match made in heaven?

Ae-jung comes home to find Jin sitting in her living room, sipping tea out of a Pororo mug. That visual is just so wrong. He totally overplays the heart trouble to gain sympathy, which doesn’t work, so then Hyung-kyu plays the “He’s MY guest” angle. Ae-jung treats him like a playdate then, and tells Hyung-kyu that his friend can play till his bedtime.

Hyung-kyu asks why Jin’s always getting scolded by his aunt, and he explains that he’s wronged her, but doesn’t know how to apologize. Ding Dong thinks it’s easy—you just say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” But Jin says that what’s easy for a seven-year old to say is not so easy for a thirty-seven-year old.

That’s when Ding Dong passes over his notebook, which has a box at the bottom of the page: “The Things I Did Wrong Today.” Jin scoffs, “You want me to write an apology in a children’s notebook? … … … Ding Dong, you’re a genius!” Heh.

He makes a bunch of false starts, clearly very new at this apology thing. Ae-jung makes kimbap for Hyung-kyu’s class picnic tomorrow, and tells him to pick out what to wear. He shows up in his Spiderman costume, and Jin can’t contain his laughter, making Hyung-kyu self-conscious.

Ae-jung scolds him, so he turns to Hyung-kyu and says as Dokko Jin the Fashionista, that confidence makes the outfit. He tells him that he always wanted to be Iron Man when he was little (because of the man-made heart), which is Totally. Adorable.

Jin keeps trying to stall Hyung-kyu from falling asleep because he hasn’t found his window of opportunity yet, but he’s run out of time. As a last ditch effort, he tells Ae-jung that he never got to go on picnics when he was a kid, and asks her to go on a picnic with him tomorrow. “Pleeeee-aaaaaase?”

Ae-jung: “No. Dream on. I will never go on a picnic with you, because between us, there will always be rain.” Jin: “Then I’ll wait, until the rain clears. Then there’ll be a rainbow. THIS BIG.” Hahaha.

The next morning, it actually does rain, and Ae-jung comforts a totally deflated Hyung-kyu. The doorbell rings, and she grumbles thinking that it’s Jin, and opens the door at the height of her annoyance.

Only it’s Pil-joo, here with the digital camera, as a gift to thank her for showing up last night. Hyung-kyu asks if Pil-joo liked superheroes when he was a kid, and he says that he liked detective comics more. He sees the kimbap that Ae-jung made for his picnic, and offers him a trade—anything he wants in exchange for his lunchbox.

Pil-joo takes him to the doughnut shop, and tells him to get whatever he wants. Hyung-kyu hesitates, and then blurts, “Iron Man, I’m sorry!” Pwahahaha! I love that this kid is old enough to know that he’s selling his friend out for a bucket of doughnuts. Love it.

And then? Pil-joo pitches a tent in the middle of their living room, and they have a picnic anyway, which is just the sweetest thing on earth. I love that both men know that getting in good with Hyung-kyu is the way to Ae-jung’s heart, and that they’re both so blatant about it.

Jin calls, his number saved today as “Proper [or Perfectly Mannered],” and he happily announces that he’s prepared something for Hyung-kyu’s picnic because of the rain. He’s outside her house, with an RV parked behind him. Aw. It’s just kind of perfect that Pil-joo shows up with low-rent tent and Jin shows up with flashy RV.

She tells him that there’s someone already here, and he heartbreakingly guesses that it’s Pil-joo. She mentions what he told her last night—that people always forgave him when he behaved badly because he was sick, and adds, “But even if you’re sick enough to die, it won’t matter to me.” Oooof. He just sits outside her house in the rain like that, still stinging from her words.

The proposal episode of Couple Making airs, and Jin watches it for a while, finally turning it off angrily. He clutches his heart in pain, deducing that with CG and background music, it’s extra heartbreaking. HA.

I’m beginning to suspect that just as he had confused rapid heartbeat as causing love, he’s confusing real heart pain for heartbreak. Stop clutching your heart. It’s worrisome!

The new segment of Couple Making is a big hit, and Se-ri whines at her MC role now reduced to useless opening/closing and commentary on the happy couple, which is secondary to the real rub—losing the man she wants to Ae-jung. She whines that it’s just like their KBSN days, playing fourth fiddle and losing everything to Ae-jung.

Pil-joo finds her and asks why she said that she liked him the other night, and she gets defensive, saying that if he thinks she was joking, he can take it however he pleases. He tells her that she must’ve been joking, to say something like that, at a time like that.

She says that it’s because she doesn’t like Ae-jung, which is neither true nor false. That’s part of it, sure, but I do think that she really likes him, on his own merits, outside of the fact that she always wants what Ae-jung has, or doesn’t want her to have him.

He tells her that she’s a bad person, almost scolding her like a little girl. He obtusely just tells her not to play pranks like that anymore. Se-ri cries in the bathroom, amazed at Pil-joo’s complete obliviousness toward her feelings.

She overhears a girl group member (the one managed by her old KBSN manager) sneaking in a phone call to her boyfriend in the next stall over, and muses that idol stars are still dating secretly, same as ever. She flashes back to her idol days, when she was busy crushing on an idol boy (cameo by Brian Joo).

Ae-jung had helped her try to sneak him a secret love note, but when they were almost caught by their manager, Ae-jung had run over and chewed it up, to cover for her. She got an ink-stained tongue in the process, and they had a good laugh over it.

She thinks of it fondly now, wondering if she had offered to help Ae-jung date Dokko Jin secretly like the old days, then she might have had a chance with Pil-joo. She finds Manager Jang scolding the idol star as expected, and he complains to her that managing idol stars’ love lives is the hardest part of his job.

He compliments her for never giving him that kind of trouble, and she just smoothly says that she never got CAUGHT is all. Heh. He says that Mina was the real trouble back then, ’cause she was dating the hottest idol boy of the day, and their agency was basically at war with his agency, to manage the situation.

He recalls that Ae-jung played a big part in all that, and Se-ri wonders if Ae-jung helped Mina date secretly too. Hm. Interesting.

Pil-joo’s mom decides to visit Ae-jung’s house to see how she lives for herself, and meets her family, discovering that Ae-jung basically supports her father, brother, and nephew. Mother is so not pleased.

Jin’s agent tells him that Jerry Heimer (Pfft. As in Bruckheimer?) is doing a new superhero movie and wants to cast him. Looks like he might be going to Hollywood after all. Jae-seok tells Ae-jung and Jenny the news, that he’ll be meeting the director and making his decision soon. Ae-jung muses to herself, “He’ll really get to be like Iron Man.”

Hyung-kyu goes over to offer Jin some doughnuts, apologizing for accepting them in a moment of weakness. Ha. Jin sweetly tells him that he’s only seven, and therefore needn’t feel such guilt over snack foods.

He tells Ding Dong to eat up, and then exercise, and then wonders how much he’ll grow while he’s away. Hyung-kyu asks if he’s going somewhere, and he says, “I’m going to be a superhero.”

Ae-jung cleans up Hyung-kyu’s room, and discovers Jin’s apology, written under “The Things I Did Wrong Today”:

Saying that I made the mistake of thinking that my heart beating caused me to like you… was a mistake. I’m sorry. –Dokko Jin ♥

She sighs, and begs him (aloud, to herself) to leave her alone and go to Hollywood and protect the earth. Aw.

Jin picks up his potato plant, tears welling up in his eyes. “If I leave you here like this, I suppose you’ll naturally wither and die…”

Jae-seok comes to pick him up the next day for his meeting with Jerry Heimer, except his heart starts racing and he clutches it in pain. “Jae-seok… Hospital…” Finally! Gah, does it take a full-on heart attack for you to go see a doctor?

Jae-seok rushes him to the hospital in a panic, Jin clutching his heart in pain the whole way. The doctor examines him and the verdict is in: “You’re broken.” Why does everyone speak of him like he’s the Dokko-Bot?

The doc tells him that he’s rejecting the pacemaker, and Jin asks if he’s back to square one health-wise, like he was ten years ago. The doc confirms that he is, and that it’s a good thing he’s been monitoring his heart rate as closely as he’s been lately (thanks to the KBSN song)—otherwise he could’ve gotten much worse and just collapsed out of nowhere.

He needs surgery, and soon. Jin asks what his chance of survival is. Doc says 50-50. At home, the potato plant withers, as if magically linked to his heart. Jin sits in a daze, musing, “My heart really WAS breaking.” He struggles to hold back his tears.

People start recognizing him in the hospital lobby, and as he hears their whispers, “It’s Dokko Jin!” He takes a deep breath and puts his star persona back on, which sort of breaks my heart. He puts his sunglasses on like armor, and greets the growing crowd with smiles and signs autographs.

Ae-jung goes to Pil-joo’s house to shoot a housewarming date, and as they cook dinner together, she encounters a potato with a frown. Pil-joo asks if she likes them, and she says she “Really really really doesn’t,” so he puts it aside. Aw, poor potato.

Jin accepts the movie deal, and tells his agent that he’ll go to Hollywood after the MBS Daesangs, where he’s up for a Best Actor award. He declares, “I will remain at the height of coolness.” Implication being that he’d like to die leaving behind the best version of himself. Gah, now I’M broken!

His agent then meets with the Couple Making PDs, who tell her that they managed to get Ae-jung onto the Daesangs as a presenter, to bolster their show and improve her image. They ask for the agency’s help in glamming her up for the event.

They also add that they’d like her to switch cell phones to a new brand so that she and Pil-joo have matching couple phones, and President Moon notes that it’s the same one that Dokko does the CF for, while pointing out its features, and the meta-on-meta product placement in this show just about kills me. It’s smart to hang a lantern on it because it’s so blatant (and best to acknowledge that you’re selling your airtime rather than pretending that we’re dumb and don’t notice, like most shows) but damn, it’s getting ridiculous.

It’s time to pick out awards show couture, and Ae-jung runs into Jin, literally gobsmacked by his be-tuxed hotness. He chases after her and notes that she cleans up nicely too, though gotta say, nothing beats Cha Seung-won in a tux. Siiiigh.

He tells her that he heard she was presenting at the awards, and asks if it isn’t the Best Actor category. Ae-jung: “No, as if. Best Child Actor. You’re not… going to win in that category, are you?” HA.

She worries about tripping on the red carpet, and he takes her by the shoulders and raises her chin. Jin: “You walk the red carpet by confidence.” Aw. He tells her to think of herself as the best in all the world as she walks.

She says that she doesn’t look cheap today, so she’ll have to pretend to be all that, and he looks at her sincerely, “You didn’t when you were wearing the frog either. Of all the frogs I’ve ever seen, you were the most luxurious. Keep running hard.”

He stops to ask how he looks, since he’s got to look the best, today of all days. She looks him up and down and says that he looks handsome, adding that even when he was petty and clingy Butthole Jin, he was still handsome.

Jin: “Remember me that way.”

Waaaaah. No dying! No remembering, no leaving, and no dying!

It’s awards show time, and Jin walks the red carpet with flair. He joins Se-ri in her dressing room and tells her that he’ll be announcing his Hollywood movie as he accepts his award.

Ae-jung arrives and Pil-joo stops in to cheer her on and calm down her nerves. She and Jenny run into Manager Jang with his idol girls, and when she offers up a nice greeting for them to perform well today, he sneers that she’s telling the girl who got booted off of Couple Making because of her, to do well.

He belittles her for overstepping, and says that she’s not at the level where she can do anything and be forgiven for it. Ae-jung takes Jin’s advice to heart, and says, “Today, I won’t hang my head for no reason,” and walks away, head held high.

But Manager Jang is a petty rat bastard, so he decides that he’s going to get his revenge. He purposely spills his coffee all over her white dress, and chides her for being dirty, and playing dress-up.

A PD scrambles into Se-ri’s dressing room to ask her to fill in and present the Child Actor award, and Jin perks up at that, realizing that something’s wrong with Ae-jung. He sees Jenny arguing with Manager Jang, and then finds Ae-jung sitting at the bottom of the stairs, alone.

He looks at her tenderly and sees that her arm is burnt from the spill. She just puts up a brave front, saying that dressing up like this doesn’t suit her, and that she should just stick to frogs. That just kills me even more, when she’s all stiff-upper-lippy that way.

The awards show gets underway (with footage from the actual Korea Film Awards, with Song Yoon-ah as MC, and the likes of Won Bin, Kim Tae-hee, and Song Ye-jin giving unwitting cameos).

Jin walks out and discovers Manager Jang laughing about his evil petty victory over the phone, and follows him into the stairwell with a determined look. Once no one else is around, he socks him with a punch, and Manager Jang goes down. Damn, that’s satisfying.

Ae-jung comes home and Pil-joo tends to her wound, wrapping it in a bandage. They come out to see breaking news, that Dokko Jin did not attend the awards, and now speculation over bad blood between him and the director of Fighter is blowing up.

Jae-seok gets bombarded at the agency, and President Moon tells him to fend them off, while she takes care of the real problem…

She’s at the hospital, where Manager Jang is being treated in the emergency room. Holy crap. He beat the bloody hell out of him. Oh, dear. This is bad. Bad, bad, bad. I thought it was just one punch, but it looks like he went to town in a rage, and we all know how Manager Jang is going to twist this whole thing around. Eek!

Jin is holed up at home but unreachable, so the agency asks Ae-hwan to sneak him out while he can. He tells Ae-jung that Jin hit somebody, and worries if he’ll listen to him, if he goes over there. Ae-jung offers to go instead, because there’s something she needs to confirm.

She heads over to his house, and finds the lock code the same. He comes out, weary but looking perfectly fine (looks like he did all the hitting, which is kind of worse, if you think about how the press is going to spin this).

She asks what happened, but he tells her that he has no interest in having a press conference with her, and says he’s tired. She chastises him for messing up, reminding him that he’s supposed to go to Hollywood and fulfill his lifelong dream to be a superhero and protect the earth.

Jin: I’m not going. Instead of the earth, which spins fine without my protection, the thing I have to protect, while looking totally cool and awesome, is right here.

SPLAT. *jumps ship, hangs head for being so wishy-washy.*

He takes a step closer to her and adds, “I was so severely awesome today, that I’m tired.” Ha.

He leans into her for a hug, almost propping up his tired body on hers. She asks what he’s doing, and he holds on, “Stay still. So I can keep being awesome.” HA. He sighs with his chin resting on her shoulder, “I need strength. Rechaaaaarge.”

COMMENTS

Oh, I ADORE the superhero metaphor for this episode. It’s so fitting, not only in the hero-protects-the-heroine way, but because the grown men in this drama really are like seven-year old boys, playing Spidey and Iron Man, thinking that the world spins because of them.

This is a heroine who doesn’t need protecting, but I love what it means for him to TRY. He’s finally putting something on the line, not to win her, but for her benefit alone.

I like that something’s finally putting Jin’s stardom in jeopardy because I actually want to see him lose something to love her. Otherwise it’s too easy and it’s just a Cinderella tale with nothing at stake for him. Now he’s actively putting his career on the line to be by her side, not just losing popularity, but in a real, all-in, rock-bottom kind of way.

In fiercely protecting her pride, he’s about to lose everything that makes him… Dokko Jin, and that, to him is everything. I love watching a character grow up in the course of a drama, and though Jin’s got miles to go before he sheds the bedspread cape and superhero underoos, he’s definitely winning my heart in the process.

311

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101 katz

June 3, 2011 at 11:35 AM

I can't decide between the two men! If only I had such a dilemma in real life!

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102 Banu

June 3, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Aww. Pil-Joo is so cute that I can't hate him.. Jin is awesome even he is jerk XD can't decide which one she should be with.

OMG!! WON BIN >>>XD WON BIN!!! that's all

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103 th em

June 3, 2011 at 1:33 PM

This show is virtuoso (virtuosa?) performance of setups and payoffs on so many levels.

The lost purple sneaker goes from minor, completely un-commented upon detail in one episode to the battery that powers the plot in the next episode.

A quick, sideways shot of the muscle pain reliever Ae Jung uses after the chicken fight ( http://tinypic.com/r/algg0j/7 ) becomes the setup for a joke episodes later about how Jin has to be healthy given his performance in the pain reliever CF.

Skeevy Manager slaps Ae Jung, and Jin retaliates by taking away all the good dresses for Ae Jung's exclusive use. Skeevy Manager takes things to the next level by hurting Ae Jung while simultaneously ruining her dress, and Jin finally wallops him.

The cardiologist's apparent one-liner about Iron Man way back turns into the awesome superhero motif used in this episode.

It's beautiful.

And a little dangerous, because it's tempting to guess what other clues they've dropped even though it would've been impossible to predict the way any of the above would have played out.

If I wade into those dangerous waters for a minute, though, here's two of my current guesses:

1) Is it now time for the Representative Moon hammer to fall on Jin and Ae Jung? They didn't even have to be subtle in the way they set this one up-- Representative Moon said exactly what she would do if someone like Ae Jung got in the way of Jin's career. And now Jin has pretty clearly put his image on the line for Ae Jung's sake, but they've got us all so distracted worrying about the press reaction that we don't even realize oh my god, the call is coming from the giant foam cellphone inside the house!

2) Ae Jung's album is all set to be produced, and they keep mentioning it often enough to keep it in our minds without actually having her work on it yet. Is there any chance Ae Jung will have it done in time for her new song to be played during Jin's second open-heart surgery? (I will weep, I'm telling you. WEEP.)

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antonia

June 4, 2011 at 9:32 AM

2) Ae Jung’s album is all set to be produced, and they keep mentioning it often enough to keep it in our minds without actually having her work on it yet. Is there any chance Ae Jung will have it done in time for her new song to be played during Jin’s second open-heart surgery? (I will weep, I’m telling you. WEEP.)

it would be great. the second surgery is for sure (cause either he would die) so itf AJ song saves him again ohhh i love it

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104 Sonia

June 3, 2011 at 1:52 PM

GF- My favorite thing about reading your recaps is that your takes and comments on the actual events are so witty, funny and insightful! The recaps make me laugh almost as much as the episode- thanks!

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105 Mia

June 3, 2011 at 2:32 PM

really really love it!!! Dokkojin hero!

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106 Biankoy

June 3, 2011 at 3:10 PM

Omo.. For a split second I thought I was in the wrong show... I had Athena flashbacks when Dokko Jin was stalking that effing manager...I half-expected him to bring out an AK-47 or something.. Hahaha!

but Cha Seungwon in a Tux=MESMIRIZING

Sigh!

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107 bd

June 3, 2011 at 3:15 PM

BSG, despite her rather minor role, has impressed me w/ her acting ability.

She's cuter, has more screen presence and is a better actress than than YI.

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108 Jana

June 3, 2011 at 6:10 PM

I love the last part.... RECHARGE!!!!!!!!

Loving this drama much! Thanks for the recap.

Mwuah!

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109 Jinsight

June 3, 2011 at 6:25 PM

It's cute, but I'm getting bored to death by this series for some reason. Officially going to stop watching now.

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110 ellewu

June 3, 2011 at 7:48 PM

Hong Sisters ftw!!! what an awesome episode :) ... even though Pil Joo is sweet and everything I was always on Dokko Jin's team, and this episode cemented my LOVE for him. Like GF said, DJ is a man-child. To me, his immaturity is more like innocence since he just doesn't know any better... Iron Man don't die on us please :'(

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111 bubbleyum

June 3, 2011 at 9:28 PM

love this show, love this episode, love every episode as each week goes by.

in my book, gong hyo-jin can do no wrong, but she has the good luck of meeting writers that know how to enfuse a drama with sweet wit and charm, and she is able to really shine in this series. can't imagine any other actress giving goo ae-jung's character the lovability that she does! and she delivers all her lines so naturally and believably, i can totally get why these two "perfect" men are drawn to her.

poor yoon pil-joo, he is so close to my own ideal type of guy in real life, hahah. but he is on such a losing battle because dokko jin has such a big presence and he is able to swoop in and do things for goo ae-jung on a much grander scale... he just can't win. aigh...

love cha seung-won also. i know he had been mostly known for his comic acting chops, but the reason why he makes his character work so well is because he is also able to balance it out with the sincerity and weight he is able to give his serious scenes. he was great in city hall, but in this drama you can really tell he is having a good 'ol time acting.

"best love" and "can you hear my heart" are the two dramas that make my weeks go by faster these days. love!

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112 bubbleyum

June 3, 2011 at 9:33 PM

wanted to add, dding-ddong is so cute. makes a good combo with dokko jin!

also, what the heck is wrong with that jerk manager jang?? i would really like to know his deal and why he has such an axe to grind with goo ae-jung. hopefully bae seul-gi will come out of the woodwork when all this stuff goes down about manager jang being an innocent victim of violence etc etc, and shed some light onto their past. it can't just be this much hatred just because the group broke up.

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113 Mandelbrotr

June 3, 2011 at 9:58 PM

While Hyung-kyu sits by himself at Jenny's the music in the background is Sting's "Shape of my Heart".

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114 Higala

June 4, 2011 at 12:05 AM

I surely hope that "the hug" at the end doesn't mean he's actually collapsing... :'(

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115 Kim Yoonmi

June 4, 2011 at 1:35 AM

Safe guesses for this:
- No one is going to die--but they are going to make you think he is going to and the actors will damn sell it to you so bad that even if you know it's not going to happen, you start convincing yourself it will. Welcome to Hong Sister land.

- Hong Sisters are going into the melo phase of their rom com. Expect a separation in there. Heart surgery? Yes.

- For those who said, "But, but his heart was beating at the beginning of episode 1" The doctor had just started the surgery... and just opened up. Because in heart surgery, you know that you have to *cough* turn off the person's heart, put it through a machine to be able to do anything... but the heart, though broken, was still beating.

- Adult romance thread? Pil Joo's mother and Ae Jung's father.

- The whole Jenny thing. They are setting that up to eventually resolve too.

- They are also setting up Seri and Pil Joo quite a bit--the approval of his mother (expect that to reverse after the scandal breaks), and the ramyeon scene.

- Expect the manager to fall in a pile of his own crap.

- Expect to see the potato motif continued. The potato motif--it reminds me very much of the goldfish motif in Pasta--anyone realize the meta on that one?

- The rest of the Treasure Girls' history will be revealed.

- Ae Jung will hold her own in the relationship.

Unsafe guesses
- Donation scheme: that's not a Hong Sister thing. It's too petty, but they'll spend time making you think whatever they feel like. 'cause they are good at that.

- This will turn 100% melodrama with Noble Idiot are the fore doing stupid things like donating eyes and endless hospital scenes, because face it, the production ran out of money to shoot anything else.

- Ae Jung will get both men--only if Pil Joo and DJ become brothers and they move to Tibet. Not likely to happen.

- Dokgo Jin will not get surgery at some point. Oh, c'mon, you gotta milk that one. First you get the refusal, then you get the "I'm going to be Noble Idiot for you" and then you can milk it for the risk, don't die stuff.

- Dokgo Jin falling from grace? I don't think this is a 100% safe bet, it's not a bad bet, but I feel a twist coming up in my gut given their history of just screwing with their viewers in their awesome way.

- Wedding--no. I don't think it'll happen. It hasn't been brought up, it's not discussed and the Hong Sisters set up stuff episodes in advance. They did pull a fast one with the Miho thing...

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116 annieee

June 4, 2011 at 6:32 AM

OMGGG as if this drama wasn't awesome enough already!! dokko, you make my heart break!! i was actually shedding tears just reading about him going to the hospital. and oh dear, the last part about protecting ae-jung? swoon!!! this new turn of events makes me really anxious, b/c now everything's at stake! gahhh this is so exciting!
but it also seems like after MGIAG, the hong sisters really want to test the melodramatic waters! seriously, if they let anything happen to pantyman, im gonna threaten break-up with Show. cause that is just UNFAIR.

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117 deeps

June 4, 2011 at 9:32 AM

oh darn, i really thought that it was impossible even for the hong sis to top the sheer awesome of ep 9, and most of their dramas start to flag around this point.. but this time they outdid themselves and every ep is better than the last...
i'm now just going along for the ride completely trusting them to deliver...
NO dying though.. no no... death in general affects me deeply, but i think DJ's grim acceptance of his fate just did a number on me :-(
i was squeeing and laughing at the first half and then, bam... just totally surprised myself by sobbing my eyes out at the hospital scene... like the crying i did for last ep of MGIAG or 49 days last 2 eps...
why am i being so sad only at ep 10.???

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118 veronica

June 5, 2011 at 1:10 AM

We don't have to go that far to prove that celebrity scandals can last a lifetime. There's still.people blaming/gossiping/making headlines out of Angelina Jolie for breaking Brad Pity and Jennifer Aniston's marriage, and that was a decade ago...

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119 soojin08

June 5, 2011 at 3:31 AM

SOMEBODYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY MAKE A GIF OF BRIAN JOO'S WIIIIIIIIIIIIINK

OH MY GOD I'M DYING HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

♥______________________________♥

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120 Hana

June 5, 2011 at 4:11 AM

at first I didn't like how badly Dokko Jin beat up the manager, and putting his carear in jeopardy for a stupid reason, but then I understood why he did it, Because if he might die he might as well give the manager all he deserves for what he did to AJ. If his career is going to end when he dies anyway, DK has got nothing to lose when he defends AJ honor.
*sigh* DON'T DIE DOKKO JIN! i don't need another 49 days T_T

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121 Yoori

June 5, 2011 at 9:12 AM

"Ding Dong" has got to be the cutest child actor ever! Gosh, Dramaland sure has a handful of these little cute and talented kids!

As for Ae-jung's award dress, while it's probably the most awkward-maid-ahjumma-like dress, it totally fits Gong Hyo Jin's real style. Only she can pull it off!

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122 samgetang

June 5, 2011 at 9:13 AM

How can this show get better and better after each episode? Truly unprecedented.

It's clever. It's fun. It's just so darn exquisite.

Amazing!

I love all the meta references.

Dok Go Jin and Ding-Dong is also so much fun to watch.

Even Ae Jung's plain jane fashion suits her character to a T. In real life, the actress is an elegant and sophisticated dresser so we know that her particular style here from her hair down to her shoes is as deliberate as the need for it to contrast with the awesomeness of Jin's fashion sense. We are so invested in her plight because her overall visual packaging does not allow us to forget that. When she was already doing the Couple Making show, she could've easily taken on the same chic fashion as the other girls in the show but they chose to dress her in a toned down manner. Even in the awards night, her dress is not exactly oozing with Wow! factor. She was not meant to wow anyone at all but she was meant to tug at our heartstrings more than anything else and what was to transpire then required that she maintain that air of unobtrusiveness to align with her lack of self-confidence, and not put up a fight when the manager spill her with hot coffee. It was the necessary backdrop for our hero Jin to come out and save the reluctant damsel in distress. In the end, she remains to be that same very green frog at heart which Jin scooped up to help out in the turnstile. Her clothes changed but her circumstances did not.

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123 favoree

June 5, 2011 at 10:47 AM

Probably, I am the only one here, but I must say that Best Love is a huge flop. Dear Hong Sisters, what happened to your great talent ? The story is boring at most.
Cha Seung Won, do you play this role to pay off some debts? It coud suite a 20 years old young starlet, but you who who played in City Hall, what exactly are you doing on the set of this drama?
It's horrible, guys, don't you see? I just couldn't stand it anymore so I had to write these words.
Thank you Dramabeans for letting me do so. By the way, The recaps are more interesting to read than to watch this drama.

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124 bd

June 5, 2011 at 12:52 PM

Don't know what the few people who don't like "BL" are thinking (probably the type who went all gaga over "Secret Garden").

"BL" has the best all around writing, characters and character development for a rom-com since "Coffee Prince."

Pretty much everything has already been stated by previous posters, but 2 "quiet" scenes btwn DJ and AJ were the 2 most powerful scenes in the ep. (more so than the scene where DJ is giving the manager what was coming to him).

Also, the scenes btwn DJ and Ding-Dong are great; the kid who plays DD is a better actor than Yoo Inna.

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favoree

June 6, 2011 at 12:39 AM

I wonder what's really going on in the kdrama world, because I didn't like Secret Garden neither.
I've been watching dramas since 2005, and I can now definitely say there is a generational shift right now. The dramas are changing a lot recently. They tend to be more comics-like.The same has happened in the japanese dramas since 2003.
More classical asian dramas like My nam is Kim Sam Soon, What happened in Bali, The time between wolf and dog,City hall, Hong Gil dong ( which is transitional , though, but still enjoyable) are more appealing to me.
Am I finally growing up? What a shame...

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samgetang

June 6, 2011 at 6:14 AM

i also like CH, MNIKSS, Goong, My Girl and CP and now YAB, MP, BL and BFB ...what does that make me? :-)

but i also like Jewel in the Palace, Jumong, Shingejong and Sungkyunkwan Scandal...

SG is fun but was just okay for me though.

I tried to watch Autumn Tale/Winter Sonata/Summer Scent/Spring Waltz but had a hard time with all the melo-drama.

But I loved Baker King, so....

I do love Nodame Cantabile (if we're talking about manga-like effect) so maybe Im an old soul trapped in a Peter Pan's body who never wants to grow old? Haha!

Interesting theory you got there, favoree... :-)

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Shery

June 7, 2011 at 4:38 AM

Keke... this is happening to me too... I've loved YAB, it was the second drama that I watched(after My Girl) and the first drama I watched while it was airing in Korea... But after that, I've watched tons of old and new dramas... But now, this type of dramas doesn't appeal to me as much as it had in the past...

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Kim Yoonmi

June 8, 2011 at 11:07 PM

Do you need someone whose been keeping track of Asian dramas and half of a Cultural Anthro degree to tell you?

1. Industrialization of China, Japan, Korean and Japan are shifting values causing upheaval in K-drama and the neighboring lands.

You can find evidence of this by the shift in vocabulary, the importation of the words, "Monster Parent", and the diversification of the genres in K-dramas in the last few years. Also there is a general trend in all three languages for them to have less Confucius structure and heirarchy--in Korean terms more banmal is being used and fewer and fewer people know deferential (the one that ends in sumnida most of the time.) This is the case in Japan and China too.

2. It used to be K-dramas were either Melo or rom-com. There were no other genres. Fushion dramas became the rage after Choon Hyang and Goong. (Choon Hyang came before Goong, for the record.) The Hong Sisters have, in fact, set many of the trends for K-dramas. Fushion present, K-drama... which set off a place for Goong and later My Princess. Then there was a streak after YAB. They stopped the run over by a car when crossing the street... (Those black cars.) And they set off Fantasy historical fusion as well. (Hong Gil Dong.)

3. Since Korea is rapidly changing, the values of Korea are also changing, thus the media tries to keep ahead of this idealistic tide.

So following from the earlier formatted dramas, such as My Love Patji, which is really kicking it Old School before you got My Name is Kim Sam Soon, which was middle of the road since it dealt with a Modern social issue, you eventually needed other genres to cover the diversification in the society. This lead to more blending and fusion and then you got Secret Garden.

It's not your imagination. The values of K-dramas are trying to keep up with the country that changes so much that my friend who left for three months couldn't recognize the city she grew up in (The money changed too), assuage fears of a rapidly changing nation, yet keep up with the rest of the world.

I loathe melos. Just can't stand them after my personal life reads like a melo without my intention. (Seriously, me and my friend were making fun of it and I said, I should make this into a 16 episode drama.) I check out if I smell melo most of the time, and usually I'm right. (Mostly the sad for the sake of it being sad, rather than sad just because of the circumstances that can't be changed without manufacturing [*cough* cancer *cough*] or Noble Idiot Syndrome. [*sob* I donated my eyes for you *sob*])

Mostly Koreans are borrowing format from the Japanese, but inserting more politics into their dramas and more melo moments, which fits with the current state of the country being full of upheaval.

On a more non-intellectual level... I love Sageuk and rom-com a whole ton. Dong Yi was a brilliant piece of writing. And the Hong Sisters--when they really hit their stride make me cry into my pages of novels and want to tear it apart. They never have failed to make me tear at my hair with frustration that I couldn't do *that* part as good as they do.

Besides that, I love pure silliness in rom com like Best Love, but then I do love me some really great funny and thoughtful like My Princess, which had layers you had to search for. I also like the ajumma dramas, Dalja's Sring (though enough with the MNKSS ending--I'm crossing my fingers that they won't do that with the Baby-faced Beauty and the writer will be brave enough to defeat it.) And I'm a huge fan of Meta in K-dramas. Shows not only love in the writers for other dramas, but it lets those dedicated fans in on the joke. (The jackets, for example).

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125 bd

June 5, 2011 at 1:00 PM

Gotta love that Ding Dong is the only one not on "Team Pil-joo", but still almost sold out Iron-man for a bucket of donut holes. lol

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126 bd

June 5, 2011 at 1:11 PM

Also, DJ could have just used his clout in the entertainment business to cripple that a-hole manager's career, but such a paypack wouldn't be "in the moment" and wouldn't be nearly as satisfying to a guy who sees someone he cares deeply getting hurt.

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127 tegami

June 6, 2011 at 2:08 PM

Gahh! I'm in love!

Best Drama so far in 2011!

Dokko Jin FTW!!!!

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128 jubilantia

June 6, 2011 at 2:54 PM

So I generally watch dramas on streaming sites, so I’ll watch one section, and then read the recap of that section while the next one loads. I didn’t get the “Will Spider-man sell his friend up the river for pastries” line until after I watched the first third, but now I can’t. stop. Laughing. Anyway, my thoughts as I watched were as follows:

OHHHHH MY HEART. Our good doctor has such a lovely soul. Mind you, Jin the Nut still has her heart, methinks, but the doctor is just so sweet. It says something for Whatshername that she likes the adorable Pil Ju; there may be hope for her yet.

How awesome is Ae Jung’s brother? He sounds way too happy to be at a funeral. And Ae Jung has his number, too- I love their sibling relationship.

HAH. Butthole Jin can communicate with kids better than adults- and uses this strategy to get into the house. Oh, the innocence of children- actual AND adult ones. Including Ae Jung with her flying cucumbers. Oh, he did NOT just diss the Spider-Man costume! IT’S ON.

Aaaaahhh Pil-joo! Doughnuts are below the belt! How hilarious. And Hyung-kyu’s regret afterwards is even better.

I hope that Se-ri shapes up soon. She seems like she could be likeable if she’d just stop being so selfish. I think she’s better than the previous villainesses- more devious and effectual, and slightly more reasonable. I like that she’s fighting with Ae-jung over Pil-joo rather than Jin- and the actress is doing a bang-up job bringing pathos to a potentially annoying character.

Jerry Heimer! * Pfffffffft* Also, awwwwwwwww potato plant! Now MY heart is breaking.

… GASP and so is Jin’s! God, his manager is too adorable to be allowed, I just want to huggle him. ARMAGEDDON DOCTOOOOOORS

Aw man, the Jin actor is so amazing. He does so well in those still moments- the waiting room is killing me, people. Killing me. And you can see that he’s actually being graceful and signing autographs rather than doing it for PR.

Back at the Couple Making shoot- potatoooooo oh I will never look at them the same way again!

Kekeke- Ae-jung looks suitably hot-and-bothered upon seeing Jin in a suit, huh? HOOO baby…. Omahgah he’s being so mournful and adorable and sweet! Girl, you better pick up on those vibes fast. Man, how horribly beautiful would that be as a last memory? Not that I think they’ll go there. OH GOD please don’t let them go there

Oooooo that manager better watch. Out. Jin is out for blood.

Media firestorm! Uh oh, she’s either going to find him unconscious or get caught in another media whirlpool of horribleness.

mmmmmm. Half-tuxedoed Jin is even better than fully-tuxedoed Jin, if that’s even possible. This drama is too awesome for words.

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129 Kelly

June 6, 2011 at 11:36 PM

Did anyone notice that at certain times during this episode Sting's song Shape of My Heart was played in the background? That song was remade into the song Saranghaeyo and played in Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, which was coincidentally also by the Hong Sisters.

Hooray for throwbacks! HAHA.

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130 Shery

June 7, 2011 at 4:34 AM

I don't know if anyone recalls Kan min youn's scandal with H.O.T.'s Moon Hee Jun, when the press said she was secretly dating him, so she got razors from fans, and death threats... this story is similar to what the manager is saying about MiNA...

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131 Shery

June 7, 2011 at 5:54 AM

I bet Dok Go Jin's management will get to an accord with manager Jang... And I bet the manager will ask them to drop Ae-jung or something...

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132 JLemonade

June 7, 2011 at 6:57 AM

The writing and storyline maybe good but the male and female leads are rather plain and boring. That's why they do not have good ratings from international viewers. The pull to watch is not there.

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Heather

June 7, 2011 at 5:55 PM

Wow--- "plain" & "boring" are not the descriptors that come to mind when I think of the leads (especially the oh-so-special Dokko Jin).

Personally, I think that one of the reasons why it isn't as popular amongst international viewers is due to the fact that the actors are less familiar to them, therefore making the drama less appealing.

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133 vanillasalt

June 8, 2011 at 6:02 PM

Does anyone else find Cha Seung Won's tattoos sexy? I reall hope i'm not the only one. sexxy!!

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134 Retta

June 13, 2011 at 11:20 PM

OH! CHASEUNGWON ain't you the S(&T!!!!
I LOVE this man, he (IMO) always delivers and man he is delivering!!

Oh! I love Jin! I loved how he was so cool when he decked that rag. I am hoping that the real reason for AJ's bad rep is cracked wide open and Jin is indeed her superhero!
I hope his popularity soars and not takes a dive and that along with the rag, little miss thang gets her clocked clean...in a matter of speaking..

ahhhh I mega heart The Greatest Love!!!!