43

Trot Lovers: Episode 9

Joon-hyun tries his best to keep his distance from Chun-hee, kidding himself that it’s in her best interest… but when outside forces conspire to harm her, he just can’t stop himself from worrying. As another suitor steps up to fill the gap he left behind, and enemies come out of the woodwork to sabotage Chun-hee’s musical success, Joon-hyun can’t keep up the uncaring act for long. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to be the Noble Idiot, it just backfires on you.

EPISODE 9 RECAP

Chun-hee finishes her radio appearance and rushes out to find Joon-hyun, but he’s not there. She runs home to an empty house, where his clothes and all of his belongings are gone. It doesn’t seem to sink in, and she keeps looking for him frantically, only realizing that he’s truly moved out when she sees that his toothbrush is no longer in its place next to hers and Byul’s. Oh, that’s so sad.

Joon-hyun stays with Tae-song, but forgets at dinnertime and sets out three spoons instead of two. Tae-song eats enthusiastically, but Joon-hyun just stares at the extra sad spoon.

Chun-hee makes dinner and Byul asks where Ahjussi is, because she wants to tell him she got a perfect score on her plant observation diary. Chun-hee says that he won’t be coming back to stay with them, but doesn’t want to answer any more questions. She goes to her room and finally finds the hair clip that Joon-hyun slipped onto her bag before he left, remembering how he teased her that it wasn’t pretty.

Mom tells Soo-in that she had planned to take down Chun-hee by exposing her living arrangements with Joon-hyun, but Geon-woo blocked her and forced Joon-hyun to quit as her manager. This is news to Soo-in, and Mom says it’s better since Joon-hyun was after Chun-hee anyway.

Joon-hyun spends the day wandering aimlessly around Tae-song’s apartment, and Soo-in calls him to meet up. She asks him to write the songs for her next album, knowing he no longer has the excuse of managing Chun-hee to use to decline. She lets it slip that she knows he’s been living with Chun-hee, and she frames it like helping her will keep him out of reach of a scandal, though it comes across more like a threat.

Pil-nyeo and Coach Bang have tea while they wait for Tae-song to come to work. Coach assumes that Pil-nyeo is Tae-song’s girlfriend, saying that she must be why he’s always smiling and laughing, and Pil-nyeo preens at this. Tae-song arrives and Coach Bang gives him a wink, meaning to encourage him with Pil-nyeo, but it only makes him even more smitten with her.

Tae-song and Pil-nyeo go shopping for makeup, which he intends as a gift for Coach, but Pil-nyeo hilariously assumes it’s for her. He giggles to himself, describing his “Goddess,” and Pil-nyeo thinks to herself that of course she’s a goddess. Ha.

Chun-hee has coffee with the KBC director, who jokes that coffee is responsible for her broadcasting ban being lifted. He tells her how Joon-hyun stalked him relentlessly, until he finally spilled coffee on him and was convinced to lift the ban. He thinks Joon-hyun planned to get hurt to manipulate him, though he’s not angry about it. Chun-hee didn’t know any of this, and it’s sobering to hear that Joon-hyun was even willing to be burned in order to help her career.

She finds out where to find Joon-hyun from Tae-song and waits for him, and he lets a tiny smile cross his face before forcing himself to look stern and approaching her. Aw, that just kills me. She grins brightly and asks how he could just leave like that, like it’s no big deal. She fusses at him for not saying goodbye and for not calling since.

Joon-hyun’s voice goes cold and he asks why he should call, and Chun-hee responds that they’re friends. He corrects her — they aren’t friends, they’re just coworkers. Ouch.

He says that he’s busy with his comeback album and tries to get Chun-hee to leave, but she tells him that she heard he got hurt for her. He denies that it had anything to do with her. He tells her not to look for him again, and shoves her into her car and slams the door.

She gets out again but he just bellows at her to go. Hurt and confused, Chun-hee drives away, and not a moment too soon as Joon-hyun’s eyes fill up with tears. He hears a clicking sound, and finds the man who’s been taking pictures of him and Chun-hee. He takes the memory card out of the camera and threatens to kill the man if he sees him taking pictures of them one more time.

Joon-hyun broods over the situation, and next day he approaches Soo-in and agrees to produce her album. They run into Chun-hee, and Soo-in takes the opportunity to rub it in that Joon-hyun is working for her now. She says they must feel uncomfortable, but Joon-hyun denies it with a stony glare at Chun-hee that it’s not like that between professionals. I know what he’s trying to do, but that’s so hurtful.

Chun-hee talks with Tae-song and Coach Bang at the restaurant, telling them that Joon-hyun had told her he was working on his own album. Tae-song figures he’s not over Soo-in yet, saying that Soo-in was his first love. Outside, Coach asks Chun-hee if she likes Joon-hyun, and Chun-hee’s denial is so transparent, Coach ain’t buying it. She says this isn’t her area so she can’t train her, but points out that usually other people see these things first.

Chun-hee walks home and runs into Geon-woo, who’s brought groceries and wants to cook dinner for her this time. He cutely says that really it’s for Byul, because Byul likes him soooo much. Cute. They make dinner together, Geon-woo treating it like surgery and barking orders for Chun-hee to hand him things like a nurse. He notices that the broken cabinet is fixed, and Byul pipes up that “our Ahjussi” fixed it, and Chun-hee sends her a stern look.

They have steak, and Byul slips up again when she mentions that Ahjussi told her steak is best when it’s bleeding a little. Things get even more uncomfortable when Geon-woo pours some water into Joon-hyun’s red heart cup, and Chun-hee takes it from him with the excuse that it’s cracked.

Later Geon-woo sits in his car making grumpy faces at Chun-hee’s front door, where President Jo finds him and scares him half to death. They sit on the bench and ask each other why they’re here. Geon-woo says he had dinner with Chun-hee with the cutest mopey voice and expression, and Dad says it makes him feel refreshed to see Geon-woo miserable. Geon-woo: “Are you really my dad?” Ha.

President Jo knows his son likes Chun-hee, and guesses that it must be hard since he’s never had to wait for anyone before. He tells him to wait patiently, and not cling, and his chance will come. Geon-woo just collapses in frustration.

The next day, Director Wang finds Geon-woo to have him sign some papers approving Joon-hyun as Soo-in’s producer. He tells Geon-woo that he thinks they need to shut down or block the Shine Star online forums. He’s concerned about the rumors of Shine Star producing trot singers since Chun-hee’s album is gaining popularity, and their forums are flooded with people uploading videos of themselves singing trot.

He complains that everyone thinks they’re going to be “the next Choi Chun-hee” as if that’s a bad thing, but an inspired look crosses Geon-woo’s face. He hilariously demands a hug from Wang, and tells him to start on that project immediately. Wang says that most of the videos are pretty bad, but Geon-woo points out that they only need to find one gem among them.

At the KBC building, Chun-hee overhears Pil-nyeo being fired by a PD for fighting with another singer. She interrupts and greets Pil-nyeo as her sunbae, which impresses the PD enough that he gives Pil-nyeo another chance. But Pil-nyeo is still angry that Chun-hee got her kicked out of Shine Star (I would argue that that was all your doing, honey) and tells her not to talk to her anymore.

Geon-woo calls Chun-hee to meet, and asks her to judge a new contest to find another trot singer for Shine Star to produce. He’s all big innocent doe eyes as he says that she’s their only trot singer, and the company neeeeds her. She agrees to do it, and Geon-woo looks adorably happy to have a project to work on with her.

Loan shark Chul-man goes to see Coach Bang alone, suspiciously on his very best polite behavior. He gives her a huge fancy box as a thanks for all the meals. We don’t see what’s inside, but Coach gasps over how expensive whatever-it-is must be and tries to decline. Yoo-shik runs in yelling about Chul-man’s betrayal in coming by himself, and Chul-man quickly ushers him out of there.

Tae-song watches them through the window, looking dejected with his teeny little gift bag for Coach. He slumps away, tossing his gift to Pil-nyeo who assumes it was for her. She gushes at him, not even noticing that’s he’s pathetically staring at Coach.

Geon-woo takes Chun-hee to the provinces to meet a girl who is supposedly a trot prodigy, and back at Shine Star Soo-in notes that she thought there were trot auditions today but the place is deserted. Wang says that Geon-woo and Chun-hee went together to the provinces to scout, which gets Joon-hyun’s attention.

Geon-woo and Chun-hee find some schoolgirls who know the girl they’re looking for, and they find her singing a cappella (“Invocation” by Jang Yoon-jung). Damn, she’s really good, and they know it immediately. The girl, Yoo-mi, says that she wants to sing but her father won’t allow it. He’s embarrassed because she has a large scar on her right cheek. They approach Yoo-mi’s father but he’s adamant about never allowing her to perform in front of people. Chun-hee asks if it’s because of her scar, and this infuriates him and he stalks off.

Chun-hee stops him one more time and asks him to just watch her video and see how happy Yoo-mi is when she sings. He knocks the phone out of her hands and threatens to call the police if they don’t leave him alone. Geon-woo reminds Chun-hee that she never gives up, praising her for trying her best.

They start to head back to Seoul but their car has been towed and it’s after business hours. They head to the train station where Geon-woo says that the last train leaves in less than a minute, just to watch Chun-hee panic. Goofball.

A trio of ahjummas recognize Chun-hee and ask for her autograph, and assume Geon-woo is her boyfriend, which he thinks is just great. He asks them to keep it a secret, and everyone ignores Chun-hee’s denials that they’re dating. Hee.

They rest and munch on the snacks the ahjummas gave them, and Chun-hee teaches Geon-woo how to drink yogurt drinks from the bottom of the bottle. A lost little boy starts to cry for his mother, and Geon-woo hilariously freezes with fright and suggests that they run. HA, is he scared of crying children?

Chun-hee takes the boy to security, and they start to leave to catch their train but the boy latches onto Chun-hee’s purse and begs her not to leave. She sings kids’ songs to cheer the boy up, and Geon-woo even swoons a little at how cute she is with the kid.

The boy’s mother finally arrives to claim him and Chun-hee and Geon-woo run, but they miss their train by seconds. The next train isn’t until morning, but Geon-woo looks like he’s pleased as punch to get to spend all night with Chun-hee.

Joon-hyun looks for Chun-hee at the restaurant, and Coach tells him what happened and that she won’t be back until morning. He paces outside Chun-hee’s apartment, where President Jo finds him. Joon-hyun tells him to call Geon-woo and find out where he is, but Jo isn’t that concerned. Joon-hyun says that he should be worried about Chun-hee out all night with an evil guy with evil thoughts, only belatedly remembering that “evil guy” is President Jo’s son. Whoops.

Joon-hyun is too worked up to apologize and just gripes that they should have taken a taxi back or something. He turns on President Jo, wondering how he raised his son, and President Jo is just all, “Yeah I know right?” Hee.

Joon-hyun waits outside Chun-hee’s place all night and hides when Geon-woo delivers her safely home. He comes out once Chun-hee is inside and confronts Geon-woo — he made Joon-hyun leave Chun-hee to avoid trouble, then spent all night with her alone in the provinces. What will he do if there’s a scandal? Geon-woo just casually says that he doesn’t mind if there’s a scandal, since he has the power to block it.

Later at Shine Star, a suspiciously friendly Soo-in asks Chun-hee to lunch, offering to treat in apology for being mean before. When they get to the restaurant, Joon-hyun is there already waiting for Soo-in, and it becomes obvious that Soo-in arranged this to hurt Chun-hee.

Joon-hyun is surprised too, but sees an opportunity to push Chun-hee away. He plays the part of the doting oppa to Soo-in, solicitously cutting her noodles and pouring her broth, and making it obvious that he already knows her preferences. His face shows that this is hard for him too, but Chun-hee is hurting too much to notice.

Just to twist the knife a little deeper, Soo-in mentions that Joon-hyun is also writing her songs. She wonders why he never wrote any for Chun-hee, and he looks Chun-hee right in the eye as he says, “I don’t write songs for just anyone.” Ouch. Once she’s out of there, Chun-hee mutters that she guesses he’s just a bad guy now, and even changes his name in her phone to “Bad Guy.”

Byul loiters outside Coach’s restaurant, and when Joon-hyun shows up to get the house key from Tae-song, she lights up and gives him a big hug. And awww, he looks every bit as thrilled to see her, too. He sees her holding a notice about her school’s family cooking competition, but she’s sad because her sister is too busy to participate.

At school the day of the competition, all of Byul’s classmates and their mothers are there, while Byul sits alone. Her teacher offers to cook with her, but as she stands up sadly, an apron drops over her head from behind. It’s Joon-hyun to the rescue! He announces that Byul’s family is here, earning himself the adoring smile of one happy little girl.

They look too precious for words in their matching sheep aprons and scarves, and whip up a delicious-looking omelette. Byul even gives Joon-hyun a “good job” pat on the butt, hee. They’re declared the winners, until one sour-grapes brat accuses them of cheating since she knows that Byul doesn’t have a brother, and he’s not her father either. Byul insists that Joon-hyun IS family… aw, kid, you’re breaking my heart.

The brat’s mom sneers that if he isn’t her family then they shouldn’t win, and the teacher asks if he’s maybe her uncle. Joon-hyun says that he’s not her uncle, but he most definitely is her family, and my heart cracks a little further. The teacher says that she’ll talk with the mothers and declare a winner later.

They sit outside on the steps, and it’s adorable that Byul is the one cheering up Joon-hyun, saying she’s just glad he came. She asks why he came, and he says again that it’s because they’re family, but asks her not to tell Chun-hee.

Except it doesn’t stay secret for long, because Chun-hee goes through Byul’s school bag that evening and finds the cooking competition flyer. She asks why Byul didn’t tell her about it, but they’re interrupted by a call from Byul’s teacher. She lets them know that it was decided that Byul’s family won fairly, so Chun-hee asks Byul who participated with her and Byul fesses up.

Chun-hee goes to the Shine Star studio and finds some sheet music for a new song written by Joon-hyun, with a note dedicating it to “MJ.” She can’t think of anyone at Shine Star with the initials MJ, and it’s certainly not Soo-in. Joon-hyun suddenly appears and snatches the music from her, telling her angrily not to touch his things anymore.

Chun-hee apologizes and flees, just as Geon-woo enters the room. He tells Joon-hyun that it’s good that he’s keeping his distance, but warns him not to go too far and be hurtful. Joon-hyun reminds him to watch his own behavior because a scandal can ruin a female singer, but Geon-woo says he’ll take care of it.

Soo-in overhears their conversation about scandal, and goes looking through Geon-woo’s office. She finds the photos of Joon-hyun and Chun-hee sleeping snuggled up in the living room and immediately takes them to Chun-hee.

She tells Chun-hee honestly that these photos are why Joon-hyun quit being her manager and moved out of her house to protect her. Soo-in claims that she’s telling her this because she doesn’t want to watch Joon-hyun have a hard time anymore, but something in her expression doesn’t sit right with me.

Chun-hee looks for Joon-hyun all throughout the Shine Star building, trying to call him but getting no answer. She finally finds him in a recording studio, and she sees his phone ringing while she calls — she’s saved in his phone as MJ (for crazy medal girl).

Joon-hyun sings the song he wrote for “MJ”, and the lyrics are reminiscent of things we know he feels for Chun-hee:

Her eyes aren’t pretty, neither is her nose
How did I fall in love with you?
Did my heart melt because of your smile?
I like you as you are

When I’m in your arms,
all my hardships go away, like a lie
I miss your comforting warmth
So much that I think only of you all day

I think of only you,
Compared to anyone else in this world
you and I fit better
So I can stay by your side
Please hold onto me

Chun-hee listens to him sing, and finally gets up the courage to enter the room. When Joon-hyun sees her, there’s a moment of pure vulnerability on his face, then you can see his cold facade slam back into place. Chun-hee says that she knows why he left her house, but Joon-hyun denies that he did it for her. He says he did it for himself, so that he could make his comeback without having to worry about annoying rumors.

She asks if that’s really the reason, and Joon-hyun says that she’s obviously misunderstood something — she’s nothing to him. Worse than that, he wants to erase every memory of her. She takes the clip he gave her from her hair and asks if he can look at it and still say that, but he just scoffs at her for crying over a cheap hairpin.

He hammers his point home by saying that his time as her manager was the worst time of his life, and tells her to leave. She’s frozen, so he jabs her shoulder over and over, yelling at her to get out. Finally he leaves himself, leaving Chun-hee crying alone.

Joon-hyun barely makes it to his studio before the tears start to fall, only able to utter the tiniest “I’m sorry” before he can’t hold in the sobs anymore.

Back at Tae-song’s place, Joon-hyun tries to distract himself by playing guitar, but has to stop often to thump his aching heart. He takes a call from Yoo-shik, who says that Chun-hee has been acting strangely and now she’s disappeared. Joon-hyun yells that it was his job as her new manager to watch her.

Joon-hyun looks for Chun-hee at home and at Coach Bang’s restaurant but can’t find her anywhere. Suddenly he remembers the hair clip he bought for her, and he knows where she is. He drives to the Sound Experience Museum where they spent that happy day together.

Chun-hee is there, sadly doing alone all the things they did together that day, but she leaves each room just before he enters it. Defeated, Joon-hyun starts to head home, but then he remembers the special spot on the hill that he told Chun-hee was a good place to go when you’re sad and want someone to comfort you.

When he gets there, Chun-hee is sitting on the stones and listening to music through earbuds. She sits with her eyes closed and sings along with the sad, lonely lyrics of “I Only Know Love.” Silently, Joon-hyun stands in front of her and watches her sing.

He crouches down until their faces are level, and when she finishes her song with her eyes still closed, he leans forward and gives her a tender kiss.

COMMENTS

Once again, I’m thankful that this show doesn’t drag conflicts out to ridiculous lengths, and handles issues quickly and efficiently. Nobody really enjoys watching a Noble Idiot go against his instincts and be mean to the person he loves most, so I’m glad we got past that necessary stage and now we can move on to bigger (and cuter) things. Watching Joon-hyun deliberately hurt Chun-hee to push her away, then have to hide away to cry, was heartbreaking. I’m glad he quickly realized that it doesn’t matter what he does, she knows he cares for her and she returns his feelings, and he’s willing to concede defeat. And an “I’m sorry” kiss is infinitely better than an angry possessive kiss no matter how you look at it. I’m happy to see that Joon-hyun is finally realizing that Chun-hee’s feelings are every bit as important as his own.

I haven’t talked much about Soo-in up until now, and that’s mostly because she really hasn’t done that much. So far she’s been a pretty static character, who’s shown flashes of jealousy but mostly lets her mother and Director Wang do the hard work while she sits back and pretends innocence. But now she’s taking an active role in sabotaging Chun-hee and Joon-hyun, on both a personal and a professional level, and I’m finding her simultaneously infuriating and strangely interesting.

I honestly don’t blame her for being upset that her hard work and talent are being overlooked in favor of Chun-hee. Show business is a ridiculously hard business to try to make a living in. It’s true that you can work for years, and be wildly talented, and the smallest misstep can bring it all crashing down around you. Add in an unknown newcomer, whose talent is in an area that’s been considered old-fashioned for quite some time now, and I can completely understand Soo-in’s growing sense of desperation that she’s about to lose it all to someone that she doesn’t consider has earned success.

Soo-in has worked hard for nearly a decade, dedicated her entire life to music, and just as she’s about to realize her dream, someone swoops in and steals all her thunder. That’s got to be an extremely infuriating and helpless feeling, and I don’t blame her for being bitter and angry. But all that aside, the correct response isn’t to attack that person and try to destroy their career and personal life all in one fell swoop. It’s something that always leaves me scratching my head when I see drama villains act this way – do they really think that taking away something from someone else, will mean it comes to them? Life doesn’t work that way. Especially not when you become the villain of your own free will.

And as much as I love him, I’m starting to feel the same way about Geon-woo. I feel for the guy, because he’s obviously lonely and socially awkward. He’s also sweet and thoughtful and attentive to Chun-hee, and he has no bad intentions towards her either professionally or personally. But I’m not following his logic, that getting Joon-hyun out of Chun-hee’s house will make her stop liking Joon-hyun and start liking Geon-woo. Again, that’s just not how life works. Not to mention, if a dating scandal with her manager would be bad for Chun-hee’s reputation, wouldn’t a dating scandal with the president of her company be even worse?? It seems to me that dating the company president is even more fraught with peril when it comes to attracting rumors of favoritism and casting couches, than dating your manager. Especially when, at least in the favoritism arena, it’s already true. Soo-in has continually been pulled from appearances and professional opportunities to put Chun-hee in her place instead, so any rumors that Geon-woo is pulling strings because he likes her are, to be frank, entirely accurate. And Geon-woo’s comment that he’ll just block any rumors that pop up? Yeah, he could have done that for Chun-hee and Joon-hyun too, if what he really wanted was her happiness. Besides, if it were truly that easy, there would never be any dating scandals.

I’m having a sinking feeling that though we’re almost certainly about to have a period of cuteness and happiness, it’s merely the calm before the storm. This show does a great job of not dwelling on any one thing for too long, and I’m sure that’s going to hold true for the honeymoon phase of Chun-hee and Joon-hyun’s relationship too. We still have seven episodes to go and our OTP is already together. I’m glad because that means there’s lots of story left, but I’m hesitant to relax while our leads enjoy their new relationship, since having so much time left also means danger of the story going off the rails.

We’re not going to be jumping any sharks, are we? Please promise me there won’t be any sharks.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , ,

43

Required fields are marked *

All the feels in the world when JJH said, "I'm sorry," the moment the door closed behind him. Sweet and sad. Maybe it's that time of the month, but I was crying. Or maybe the ninjas were chopping onions near me again.

And the second lead? Remember when we all wanted to kill him as Lee Jae Kyung from MLFAS? It's a testament to how great of an actor he is that in this drama as Jo Geun-Woo, I just want to give him a BIG hug.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

True, but where is the spacey kleptomaniac in full 4D glory of the 1st 2 eps? I miss him.
Did he get a personality transplant, n all of a sudden morph into this CEO overnight, who only has CH's wellbeing at heart?

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Wouldn't it be funny (well, not really) if he suddenly gels his hair back and starts plotting JJH's demise? LOLOLOL.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sadly, I think we're jumping the shark at the end of episode 10.

Sigh, writers, are we really going there?

0
15
reply

Required fields are marked *

Say it ain't so!!!!

Still crossing my fingers the show would be better than jumping the shark halfway through.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

But I'm skeered of sharks :(

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ha! Me too.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

At the end of that episode, i was laughing.

"Really? Are we really going there? Come on, don't pull THAT card."

If that does indeed happen, i can already predict the next 2-3 episodes.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yeah, after Ep. 10 I am wondering if I dare continue watching this show lest the writers completely disappoint me. So far, TL has been so freaking cute and light.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I liked this show for the first 5 episodes or so, but now it is on my "watch if I get bored" list. It just seems that it has slowed down a lot, and has gotten infested with all the far too common clichés, like so many other shows.

Perhaps because there are a couple of really good shows running right now my standards got boosted.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Ep 9 is a problem for me:
OK, he can move out and likely should, given the potential for scandal. But does he have to quit being her manager as well? I don't see the logic of it, do you?

I mean she'll need a manager anyway, why turn her over to a gangster who knows nothing of the business?

I have a problem with shows that glorify gangsterhood, making gangster out to be just adorable, misunderstood teddy bears who are only hungry for love! That's an erroneous not to mention dangerous message to give. Is that also a PPL, from Gangsters-Organized of Korea?

Why give his new song to her competition? Why is that nece to prevent a scandal? Does it make sense that he goes from sleeping on the same futon with her to being a hurtful bastard, to prevent a scandal? Just move out and not be lovey-dovey in public!

However cute a couple is, if the writing can't be swallowed w/o gagging, it takes away fr the viewing pleasure.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I thought part of it was that the photos existed at all. If he was just getting nervous about scandal, then maybe moving out and being a very careful manager would work. But this isn't an opportunistic paparazzi, it's a funded vendetta from her label, which I think changes things. He's got concrete proof that someone's not just trying to take CCH down, but they're using him and his past as an opening to ruin her.

JJH realizes he's being used as a tool to hurt CCH, and it's specifically his presence that Evil Mom tried to leverage. Even if he acted like a saint from here on, who knows how many copies of those photos are wafting around? Its not like anyone would look for the time stamp on a scandalous photo of a singer sleeping with her manager - they'd just assume it was recent, since the two currently work together.

It's a drastic measure to totally sever relations, but he's quarantining himself and trying to keep her clean, and I think he's right to believe that the most drastic course of action is the one likeliest to keep her safe from his scandal. That includes not being her manager.

I actually appreciated that for once a lead didn't got straight into bastard mode. His noble idiocy was all done kindly, right up until SI started conniving. And then he lost me a bit.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

That is exactly what I said to myself as I yelled at the TV and threw a cushion at it. LOL. I make fun of my grandma for talking to the TV when she watches shows.. I am turning into her :-o

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

And this is why I haven't watch #10 yet. The previews on 9 are making me dread it. I might wait until 11 and/or 12 come out so I can just watch straight through to something hopefully happier and cuter.

(Ok, I watched the first 5 minutes just to complete the happy first scene!)

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

It's adorable for a long time. You can safely watch almost all the episode.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh good!! And I've spoiled myself for the ending now...it's going to annoy me to no end if that's true, but I can enjoy most of t now at least :)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Jumping the shark was exactly what I said last night when i watched it. JUST TOO MUCH. I'll still watch it, though.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I get the dreaded feeling that we are jumping the shark at the end of episode 10 too and that Soo In is going to be all Master's Sun second lead about it.

I think the problem is that this show doesn't know that it's strength lies in hilarity. Quirk is what it does best and angst is just not its forte. Every time it takes the melo route it induces boredom and yawns (from me) and I really hope it goes back to its cute and funny roots.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I know right? I seriously groaned out loud. The drama has been GREAT definitely high on my list of favorites, but if it's really going to go in one of the worst trope directions ever....ugh. I will do my best to trust the writers since the show has been great, perhaps it's not what it seems.

I guess I forgot how many eps were left because I was totally (not complaining at all though) duped by all the awesome lovey dovey stuff. It really solidified them as a couple to me where before I was still kinda on the fence.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The recap was great. I agree with you when it comes to Soo In and Geon Woo. They just don't know how to do things work, even though they try so hard.
About the quick calm before the storm, you couldn't be so right. Already watched episode 10... it hurts so bad.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh brief moments of cuteness!! I do hate noble idiocy so at least this one didn't last too long. And I loved the cooking scenes with Byul. I think the real strength ad you've said before in these two leads is their sense of family. And they do think about the other. As much as I enjoyed Heon Woo's quirkiness in the beginning this episode showed that it's mostly about him continuing with what he likes and wants but not necessarily thinking about what's best for Chun Hee.

My big issue with Soo In is that they almost tried to set it up like she eac a good person and all this has sort of twisted her but....does nobody remember her breakup with JH at the very beginning?!? She was so calculating and cold. She was that way from the get go.

And Tae Song....I really don't get him with either girl/woman. I find him adorable and the two women interesting in their own ways but I have no strong feelings for him being with either if them. I dunno, the chemistry isn't there for me - neither makes sense in my brain.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I can't wait until the ep 10 recap because ughhhhh. I need some sassy commentary for that asap.

Anyways, ep 10 aside, the whole Noble Idiot thing was concerning. For me, even though Trot Lovers offers nothing particularly new, it has a really good feel to it (not to mention I lub Eunji's singing). But the melo stuff, even though it was settled rather quickly for a kdrama, makes me worried. I seriously hope that the drama will keep its atmosphere, because that's the one thing that makes it really enjoyable. Sigh.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I see this drama falling into the "would anyone ever actually DO or SAY that?" cliché region. Nobody is acting like real people act, and it shows.

In some ways this reminds me of "Feast of the Gods", where the naïve dumb clueless girl kept surviving all kinds of attempted murder and sabotage, but she never freaking caught on. If not for Eun Ji's singing I would probably drop this show 100%.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yes, please... I loved the show up till now eventhough it doesn´t bring anything new to the table (somebody here mentioned before that "Trot Lovers" feels like it took a bunch of dramas and stapled it together), but I found it refreshing and fun to watch. But now... after watching episode 10 today, we all know what´s coming now. *sigh* I´m close to crying in frustration with the writers, I might just skip the next episodes and just come back for the final. If I still care by then about the ending... :(

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

As much as they've been short-term problems and "misunderstandings" so far, the plot tends to hinge on one of two things happening:
1. Someone - I'm looking straight at you Joon-hyun - doesn't understand the concept of shutting a door. Soon-in and the director have learned so many weaknesses simply by lurking by doors left gaping open by a certain someone as he and Chun-hee have serious conversations. (Among other things, see the "Chun-hee can't read music" conversation) Yes, eavesdropping is a great way to create drama, but going to that well so many times?

2. The well-worn problem of "I'll be right back!" leaving one of them mysteriously, completely alone, so that by the time The Leaver comes back from what was apparently a Gap Year, Something Bad has happened. (See the bizarro photo threat of the back of someone who might be her father standing 300 yards from the camera. Just where did Joon-hyun go for so long, and since it was a live broadcast, where did anyone associated with the show go? She was all alone! See also the Goat Song accident, when Chun-hee sent him for water, which was apparently only available at the headwaters of the Amazon River. See also ep. 10, Spoiler No Spoiling)

I like your take on Soo-in, as she's begun to remind me of Moon Chae-won's character from Brilliant Legacy/Shining Inheritance: someone who, when presented with two choices would invariably pick the most morally wrong one. You don't actually root for her, but she's really interesting.

Thanks for the recap, LollyPip! And come on, show: I want to like you!

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

This! So much this!! I am on edge every time someone leaves for 2 mins..

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

LOL :P .. Headwaters of the Amazon..

So true. They can get across Seoul in 5 minutes, but it take 30 minutes to find water.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

That kiss! Omo. It was just so sweet and perfect. Honestly, it was one of the best kisses that I've watched in dramas, at least for me. The lead up with all of Joon Hyun's denial and then he just let himself cave in to his emotions... Just. Sign. I couldn't stop smiling over that moment and rewatching it.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree, loved the kiss! At least on his end it was perfect for the moment - both an apology and a release of everything he'd been holding in. It made me super happy.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

No matter what happens I'm going to watch and enjoy the whole drama, because watching Jung Eun-ji act just genuinely makes me happy. Which is weird as I am neither a teenager, I'll be 30 in a year which just makes me feel old, nor her father. Besides a completely cliche ridden drama isn't so bad every now and then is it?

If she could just get away from A-Pink and go solo with an indie label taking an acting class or two and having perhaps some say in her musical career she could be something truly special.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I spent so much time trying to figure out where I saw that other trot singer before because she looked super familiar. And then I remembered she (Hong Jung-hee) was a finalist on Kpop Star 3 and was actually a professional trot singer as a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdQutDC36k

She's so awesome.

Oh, and I was bawling towards the end of this episode. It made my heart hurt so bad.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

I recognized her, too. She did a special with Yoo Hui Yeol playing the piano. She must be thrilled!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

i recognized her too! I thought about her when I started watching the drama. So glad she got a part in it!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Not wanting to do a spoiler and trying SO hard not to do a spoiler. But if Joon Hyun says anything even close to "who are you?" I am gonna throw my body at the tv.

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

I know, me too. I really really really hope the show won't give us that, but is the ending song supposed to give us a clue? Agh!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

OH MY GOD. I didn't even realize the song lyrics. *starts praying*

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was thinking the same thing!

Is it just me or does this drama seem to take plot devices from almost every other drama? I'm seeing bits of Dream High, Feast of the Gods, Boys before Flowers, Brilliant Legacy etc...It's sadly starting to get predictable.

I think the biggest issue is the lack of chemistry between the two leads. They're both great actors, but I just don't see or feel it.

CCH & JJH's affection towards each other, has always seemed familial rather than carnal.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was so thinking the same thing!!
This drama has been so good so far. I may have to bail if they go down that road.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This kdrama is easy fun to watch. Still like first and second leads equally for Choon-hee, which - usually by this point in the drama - I've settled in on a clear shipping. Of course I realize where it has always been headed, but I like that Geon-woo continues to fight for his chance.

My fan kdrama art of Choon-hee at http://www.cimiart.wordpress.com

Thanks for the recap, LollyPip ~

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh man. Geon-woo is so adorbs when he's not being evil and killing people.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Haha, I have to admit I found him a little bit adorable even when he was evil and killing people.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'll take the show for what it is.. Something to watch on Viki while I wait for High School King of Savvy to be uploaded on kdrama.com. lol

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Pretty much the same here. I like both leads a lot. Have enjoyed Ji Hyun Woo's work for a few years, particularly in Queen In Hyun's Man. Jung Eun-ji is very natural on screen, and given the right script she really shines. I loved her in the Reply series--great job for a rookie actress and she only has room to grow.

It's not that I don't buy the chemistry here. I just think both leads are really hampered by weak scriptwriting. While there's cute and funny here, the screenplay is emerging as a compendium of rom com tropes--the Noble Idiot, the scheming second lead and her posse, the "A" word (what we all think is coming) all jump to mind.

It's interesting when you think about Eun-ji's and Seo in Guk's current projects. Both actors were very green in Answer Me 1997 but were able to shine through great writing and wonderful ensemble casting. But while her singing is great and the chemistry with her sister is really nice, she is really hampered with the script and pretty jumpy editing and transitions...there's no contest when you compare it with High School King, where Seo In Guk has great scripting, casting and editing and is killing it. Hopefully she'll have that advantage in her next drama.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *