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Grandpas Over Flowers in Greece: Episode 3

javabeans: We pick up at bedtime, and there’s an extended beat showing Soon-jae halbae in bed, reading, and falling asleep in the middle of it. I swear, grandpas yawning is like animals yawning — just inexplicably cute.

girlfriday: I know, so cute. And then Seo-jinnie comes in to tuck Soon-jae halbae into bed, and it’s sweet on top of cute. Ji-woo goes to sleep with a face mask on, which looks kinda scary on camera.

javabeans: Then we jump to the morning as everyone wakes up and gets ready. I recall reading an interview with Na PD where he described his variety style as finding the little funny moments in life, which is so the opposite of most variety programs, where you have so much structuring and concept building that leaves me mostly confused. (Running Man always does this to me, where there are such elaborate setups and then they all end in nametag-ripping.)

girlfriday: Yeah it’s what I love about all of Na PD’s shows no matter what the concept is, because it’s really just about human interest — little moments found through editing that appeal to all viewers alike.

javabeans: It’s what makes his shows so entertaining, but also, it makes them inimitable. Nobody else could pull it off the same way because there’s no format — just narratives gently gathered together from mountains of footage.

girlfriday: Yes it’s all in the writing and editing in post-production. It’s the morning of Lunar New Year when they wake up, and while Gu halbae tries to call home, Ji-woo sighs to the PDs that they have to make traditional rice cake soup. She starts setting out all of the ingredients with Seo-jin nearby, and the captions turn creepy: “They couldn’t know it then… that this place would become a rice cake soup battlefield!”

javabeans: Ji-woo is so adorable. Also, it’s like she’s Seojinnie v.2.0 — Seojinnie made do with what he had on hand, but she came armed with STUFF. So much stuff. We see her in her kitchen before the trip preparing recipes, and I love that little bit where her hand is miming cooking motions as she studies. She is being hardcore about this!

girlfriday: Ha, she starts barking orders at Seo-jinnie like, “Cut the seaweed 2cm long and 0.3mm wide!” Is she gonna be a Seung-gi with his timer?

javabeans: But we know she can actually cook, so she’s already got a leg up on Seung-gi. I’m thinking she might just be Seo-jin’s opposite, where he just eyeballs and figures it out, and she has to cut and measure everything because it has to be perfect.

girlfriday: She asks Seo-jin to separate the eggs and beat the whites and yolks separately, and already he’s arguing with her on the first task. This is going to be a dinner-as-breakfast, isn’t it?

javabeans: Seo-jin starts to gripe to Na PD about Ji-woo’s incomprehensible instructions, which is a mistake because Na PD just fuels the flames by siding with Ji-woo, asking innocently, “Who doesn’t even know what that is?”

girlfriday: Seo-jin heads down to the hotel’s kitchen to borrow a bowl, and somehow ends up with an entire tray full of dishware to set an entire table. You can just see the lady’s expression darken with every, “And… Can I also have… Um, and also….”

javabeans: She was so nice about that one spoon, and by the end it’s like a sketch comedy gag.

girlfriday: He then starts in on the egg whites, and promptly burns the first one, and Ji-woo looks like she might cry.

javabeans: OH MY GOD is Ji-woo really doing all this just to make those slivers of egg you use to garnish rice cake soup?

girlfriday: Wait, seriously?? That’s like mostly decorative!

javabeans: She is! Look, she’s making those flat pancakey egg things that you slice into ribbons! Also, that means she’s planning to prepare slivers of meat, and seaweed, and everything else too doesn’t it?

girlfriday: She’s trying to do artful gourmet on a hot plate in a hotel room. No wonder this ends in tears.

javabeans: She’s a total rice cake soup perfectionist! Like the soup nazi. She is SO disappointed and I find it hilarious, because how on earth did she expect this to turn out perfectly? She’s making egg pancake in a hot pot without a spatula!

girlfriday: I don’t know. It’s so comical though. She then orders Seo-jin to cut the seaweed to exact proportions, and he asks, “Can’t we just crumble it with our hands?” Yunno, like normal people. But no, she must have them cut perfectly, so he heads back downstairs to the angry kitchen lady with a sigh. Na PD trails after him like a little kid, all, “Why don’t you just tell her you’ll crumble it by hand?” Troublemaker.

javabeans: Don’t you feel like he’s on thin ice with Ji-woo (because of the eggs), which is the only reason he’s bothering with all this?

girlfriday: Yes, and the fact that she’s the perfect combination of bossy and pretty.

javabeans: Also, it kind of feels to me like Seo-jin knows why Ji-woo’s upset, like 20 percent, but the remaining 80 percent is a mystery, and he just wants to make it go away so she’s happy with him again. She’s so anal about that seaweed, it’s cracking me up.

girlfriday: The exactness (and ensuing stress) is on her, but I feel like in general the effort of making the rice cake soup will be worth it, because when we cut away to the halbaes, they’re all talking to their families and sighing about not being home for the holidays. They start to file in one by one, and they light up to hear that they’ll be having a traditional new year’s breakfast.

javabeans: They all sit down to eat and ask for seconds, and everyone seems super happy about it. Not only that it’s tasty, but that it’s New Year’s and they’re celebrating properly.

girlfriday: It does look delicious, and even Seo-jin is shocked at how good it tastes. After breakfast, the halbaes rest while they clean up, and suddenly Il-sub halbae comes out with a backpack on and says that he’s going to get a head start to Acropolis today. Huh? It confuses everyone, but he just smiles and says that because he’s slower than everyone else, he’s going to start walking now.

javabeans: Aw, that’s sweet and sad. He feels bad about dragging everyone else down!

girlfriday: I hadn’t realized that it stresses him out, or that he feels bad about it. But they show him looking outside his window in the morning, contemplating how he’s going to make the climb and not be a burden on the others.

javabeans: We got a hint about it earlier when he said he’d been working hard to lose weight for one of their earlier trips because he has such bad knees and it would help with the pain. It must be something he’s embarrassed about but tries to cover up with his gruffness, and maybe he sits out trips more because he doesn’t want to be the slow one than because he doesn’t want to go on the trip.

girlfriday: He is such a typical Korean dad in that way. Geun-hyung halbae walks him out to the tram and decides to hike on ahead too, to spend some time looking at the amphitheater. He certainly knows a lot about the history of theater, not that I’m surprised.

javabeans: Il-sub halbae’s tram takes him to the base of Acropolis, which fortunately cuts out a lot of the trek for him. He’ll still have to walk some, though, and he looks a little concerned at how far up he’ll have to climb.

girlfriday: A little while later, Seo-jinnie and the rest of the crew head out and follow Il-sub halbae’s path on the tram. But as soon as they get on, Seo-jin’s face darkens as he realizes that they’re going in the opposite direction. Oh no! And what the hell kind of tram is this? It seems to go in circles with no rhyme or reason.

javabeans: I do enjoy how everyone pretends not to notice that they’re going in the wrong direction, although they all totally look worried. But if you say it out loud, you have to do something about it! Let’s just be quiet and maybe it will fix itself.

girlfriday: And Seo-jin totally starts coming up with rational explanations for why they’d be taking the long way, as if he stopped to ask someone, even though he’s just making shit up. Thankfully, they get dropped off where Il-sub halbae is waiting. I was worried about them finding each other. They make their way inside, and it cracks me up when Seo-jin offers to give Soon-jae halbae a guide brochure, only to have Soon-jae halbae start in on a detailed history of the theater that they’re looking at.

javabeans: These halbaes know their stuff. Their approach to studying theater is as their craft and passion, and it comes across. Doesn’t it make you think of youngsters these days just jumping into acting without any study about it? Get off my lawn and all that.

girlfriday: Totally. I mean, everyone knows that these halbaes are good actors, but they’re serious about Acting and Theater in a way that makes most TV and film actors seem so juvenile, and not just because of age. And then on the totally opposite end of the spectrum, you have Seo-jinnie yawning as he asks, “So, this the Parthenon?”

javabeans: You know he’s worrying about dinner.

girlfriday: I do enjoy the little history lessons from Na PD, like about why the Parthenon is so amazing (it has to do with math, and fancy architectural design, and other stuff I don’t really know much about).

javabeans: Everyone pauses to look around and take selcas, and Ji-woo laments (repeatedly) leaving the selca pole back at the hotel. It’s so funny, ’cause you do have a full film crew on hand shooting you, y’know.

girlfriday: Is Na PD photo-bombing Il-sub halbae’s selca?

javabeans: It’s the best thing ever. I just think of him as an imp now. Or Rumplestiltskin.

girlfriday: After a leisurely tour, they start to make their way down the long hill, and it’s pretty nice to have two luggage people, since Ji-woo can walk ahead with the larger group while Seo-jin brings in the rear with Il-sub halbae. Geun-hyung halbae suggests a rest while they wait for Il-sub halbae to catch up, and when Soon-jae halbae busts out cookies, they get so excited, you’d think they were five.

javabeans: Ji-woo gets so excited to remember her snack, and then got so bummed when she can’t find them in her bag, and even though Soon-jae halbae had snacks, you can see her just disappointment over her perfectly laid plans to have perfectly prepared snacks being thwarted by fate. She is so Type A about this, it’s both really funny and a little sobering, because let’s just say it feels familiar.

girlfriday: Like I said before, Ji-woo on this trip is just like traveling with you.

javabeans: You mock now, but nobody’s laughing when we all have hot coffee in the morning and tea at night, are they? So they head down to the city to have lunch at one of the outdoor cafes.

girlfriday: After lunch Il-sub halbae declares that he suddenly needs new shoes, and explains his coffee-spilling incident early this morning, which turned one white shoe brown. Seo-jin has to go get a rental car, so he sends Ji-woo off to lead the rest of the halbaes to the Olympic stadium on her own, and she immediately panics, “But how will I get there?!”

javabeans: Don’t you love how he calms her with the assurance, “They’ll show you the way,” without specifying who “they” is?

girlfriday: I hope she isn’t relying on the staff to be helpful, because have you not seen the show?

javabeans: Can’t you picture Na PD’s orientation training session? “If they ask you anything, just say ‘I don’t know’ to everything! You know nothing!”

girlfriday: Case in point: Na PD follows Il-sub halbae on his shoe-shopping mission, and just hangs back watching Il-sub halbae navigate his way around a train ticket machine. He fiddles around for a while and manages to buy his own metro ticket, and Na PD happily let him buy the crew’s tickets too.

javabeans: He’s so proud of himself: “For the first time doing Grandpas Over Flowers, I bought subway tickets with my own money!” He makes it safely on the subway, and we resume with the other group as they tour with Ji-woo and Seo-jin heads off for car rental.

girlfriday: Seo-jin seems half-worried about her and half-excited about having the afternoon to himself, doesn’t he?

javabeans: Ji-woo looks progressively worried as she leads the halbaes down the street with her eyes fixated on her phone, and I feel like finally she’s getting a taste of luggage girl stress, juggling the anxiety of finding a place correctly with the mounting panic of leading halbaes in circles.

girlfriday: Finally Gu halbae steps in to explain where the stadium is in relation to the mountains (since he got a good bird’s-eye view from Acropolis earlier), and Ji-woo seems to get her bearings. I hope.

javabeans: They make it inside the stadium, and Ji-woo suggests a run around the track. Why are they so cute running together?

girlfriday: Kekeke, Soon-jae halbae’s a cheater! He totally took a step first! This is so adorable, I don’t know why.

javabeans: Then Ji-woo charges into the lead, and they all laugh at her for getting so into it. She pretends she totally didn’t care but they call her on it, and she admits, “I wanted to stand in first place!”

girlfriday: She’s such an unabashed little girl sometimes. I love her.

javabeans: “It really felt like I was winning the gold medal!” They pose in VIP seats (made for the emperor and royalty) and tour the rest of the facilities.

girlfriday: Then we catch up with Il-sub halbae, who goes to the city’s center which is bustling with people and shops. He makes his way to a shoe store and finds a sneaker he likes, but then the trouble starts when he asks for his size (using Korean sizes), and the salesperson just repeats things in Europe sizes, and they go in circles.

javabeans: I’m surprised Na PD steps in to help by checking the shoe Il-sub halbae is wearing to get the corresponding size, but maybe he can tell this kind of confusion is fun for nobody.

girlfriday: This is a whole day of firsts for Il-sub halbae, who tells Na PD that he’s never bought his own shoes before either. His wife buys all of his clothes and shoes, so buying something like this for himself is a new experience. He looks so pleased.

javabeans: Next we join Seo-jin for car rental, and he finds a minivan to reserve for tomorrow, and decides on 11am as the pickup time. Just the way the show picks that out and repeats it makes me nervous already… And sure enough, we get hints of tomorrow’s chaos with the car not being ready and Seo-jin hearing that its arrival time depends on traffic.

girlfriday: Ack, the flash-forward is so stressful. The halbaes are all packed up and waiting, like two hours earlier than the car pickup time. Seo-jin looks like he’s going to bite his bottom lip clean off. Back in the present, Ji-woo and the halbaes walk back and she arrives to find Seo-jin researching their next hotel. For once they don’t argue at all, and agree on a place with a kitchen right away.

javabeans: They sit down to have dinner, and the show points out that Soon-jae halbae hasn’t drunk any liquor in all of the Grandpas shows, but tonight he agrees to have a glass when Gu halbae suggests it.

girlfriday: Omo, it’s just a teeny tiny pour of soju in a shot glass, but Seo-jin and Gu halbae both do double takes. He makes a face when he drinks it, but he interviews later that he was feeling good and wanted to match the others’ mood. They ask who pushes him to drink the most, and without hesitation he replies, “Shin Gu!”

javabeans: It’s such a momentous occasion that we totally see it multiple times, and interviewed about later too. Then they walk home with linked arms, talking about the olden days, and it’s so cute. They’ve been dressed similarly all day with their berets and jackets, and now they seem like twins of a sort. We even get a montage of all their BFF moments through the various seasons.

girlfriday: I love their friendship so. A preview to next week shows the return of Frazzled Seo-jinnie, who seems to be at permanent war with rental cars, if memory serves. This road trip looks no different, with malfunctioning navigation, car trouble, and a chase scene with the staff car.

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Next trip I want the maknae halbae Il Sub to take the responsibility at least on the first day . he must be the only maknae who doesn’t do the menial tasks for his seniors but rather is babied or spoiled by them.
I have never liked Choi Ji Woo before in her dramas but her in variety is thumbs up from me. Another 1N2D recruit =)

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he must be the only maknae who doesn't do menial stuff for his seniors...

Not sure if you are interested in Kpop, but may I introduce you to Exhibit A: Kyuhyun of Kpop group Super Junior.

Or Exhibit B: Changmin of TVXQ. ?

Spoiling maknaes is not an unheard of thing in South Korea.

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I've been waiting for the recap from u guys... thank u so much... that's how pd na works.. there will be more human interest.. less scripted... as usual the halbaes are cute... trying to compete with Jiwoo... LOL... they are enjoying their vacation.. don't they?

Jiwoo is such a perfectionist! But i think i undrstand her.. she's trying her best because the halbaes are just like her father... and of course, being away with the love one during special occasion, there must be something special to treat the halbaes.. no wonder she's kinda upset when her 'jidan' (i guess??) Is not working..

Luggage couple!! Omg.. what can i say... just like a married couple... Jiwoo upset with the burnt egg... seems like she's upset with her husband not doing a very good job.. LOL..

Going to see another ep this week.. can't wait!!

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Was watching Furious 7 and for some reason I imagine the halbaes in Abu Dhabi...

Seo-genie just has no luck with rental cars. And Jiwoo really wanted and tried to make a perfect new year's meal in a hotel room which is pretty amazing.

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Thanks for the recap. As always .. it's fun reading it. The rice soup cake battlefield is priceless. The cooking, the pouting and ordering etc.... add more flavors to the show. The knowledge of the halbaes' is impressive. The very good piece of work that Na PD put together. A+ to everyone !!

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Yay! Been waiting for this! CJW and LSJ are so so so cute together it makes me weep. I personally loved the part where she asked him, whispering if the soup tasted good while he was sitting across the table. Hee.

I probably laughed more than I should during the part where Il-sub halbae misunderstood US 8 to mean USA. lmao

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How did Seo Jinnie do it with 1 person when it requires 2 of them to help the halbaes?

Also I am scared of living with someone like Ji Woo. Are we sure Korea is still shipping those 2?

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Lovely... i still ship them.

Anyway JB you're spot on about Running Man, i never really get it..

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Running Man is my favorite variety show...it's helpful winning the smaller games because you get clues or advantages to help you win the big game at the end.

One example of an advantage could be extra time to complete the end challenge or after winning a game in the beginning you might get to exchange you normal-sized name tag for a smaller one that's harder to rip off while someone you choose gets to exchange theirs for a bigger one that's easier to rip off!

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Does anybody know where can i watch this show with english subtitle? I've tried all over the place looking for this show since season 1 but can't find it.. ㅠㅠ

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Season 1 and 2 are on hulu.com

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are there any sites aside from hulu? it's not available here on asia.

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thanks for the recaps so i can just love those dimples on seo jin!!!

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Thanks for the recaps! I look forward to reading your recaps and commentary more than the actual show itself! In fact, your recaps are the daily bread when I have simply no time to finish a show. That's how awesome you guys are and I just wanted to let you know.

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Thank you guys sooooo much for these recaps! Your enjoyment of this show really shines through and it's such a treat to read! I was curious about this show before, now I'm definitely going to check it out!

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Went to Athens as a stopover for Santorini but it wasn't the best experience. It was supposed to be a graduation trip before I leave UK for good, but I was pickpocketed before arriving at my hostel. I lost my passport, card and some cash. I spent most of my time contacting the student unit in the UK to help me take care of the matter because there was no embassy in Athens. They sent an officer with my temporary passport to bring me home on Day 3, so I had to cut my trip short (no Santorini!!! & also Barcelona), buy new expensive ticket.

It was so sad, but everyone was nice to me. My friends that helped me phoned the airport, accompanied me to the police station, lent me her credit card and the random woman who gave me tissues. I also met two other people who were in the same situation as me at the hostel.

Looking back, i still have regrets over my carelessness. But the experience led me to think how awesome and understanding my friends were during my trip; which I guess is a good goodbye gift.

p.s. did manage to go to Acropolis. There, I was able to forget about the incident and to enjoy what was left of my trip.

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Oh dear! That must have been a very memorable grad trip, just not in the way you expected. >< Luckily you managed to get your passport/student visa thing sorted out.

I've just been there for a grad trip as well (annoyingly exactly 1 month after the halbaes went there)...and safety-wise, it's just like any major european city where one has to take precautions to keep their belongings safe. Especially at major bus/train stations and when transferring lines on the metro/subway.

That said, Santorini was AWESOME and you should really try going there again. Just next time, maybe try flying there straight from Athens airport instead of going through downtown Athens to (presumably) take the boat. ^^

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Choi Ji Woo is so funny telling Seo Jinnie to cut up seaweed into 2 cm X 0.3mm wide! I know she means to give him the measurements as guidelines, but it also means she actually measured them beforehand! That's a girl who's serious about presentation of food, but then we already know that from the way she packed her tableware incl. tablecloth! Who brings tablecloth on a trip that doesn't involve an RV?

Ruins definitely look more attractive on tv. In RL, they are just some columns often in the middle of a city block. On tv, they use a lot of ariel shots, which make them so much more impressive. While travelling, you've to suffer the inconvenience of flights, etc. to get there. Athens and Greek ruins and islands are on everyone's bucket list. So I dutifully checked them off, and I'm ok if I don't see them again.

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Many thanks for the recap. For us who badly need Subtitle , you guys recaps are really precious. Thank you very much. I really enjoy watching the show. Jiwoo SeoJinnie and The H4 are extremely cute in here even now I watching without Sub still super fun. Looking forward for next ep.

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Someone need to sub this show, please :D

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My impression of Il Sub halbae got much better during this trip, especially when he said he wanted to set off first for Acropolis. I always thought he didn't care about slowing the others down during treks, but it seems like it's been bothering him all this while. I know he got a lot of flake from some netizens ( myself included) for appearing disinterested in the travels during previous seasons of the show, but seeing his changed attitude now feels so much better.

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Agree completely

Thx for the recap ladies!

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I want Choi Ji Woo to come every trip seriously. Its much better than Seo Jin stressing alone!

The halbaes still make me so happy and I agree, I really couldn't stand Il Sub halbaes attitude before and though he's still not as interested in travelling and culture as the others, it was sad to see how much his leg really slows him down and how he was worried about dragging down the others which I thought he did because they had to cut down on seeing things for him. I really wish he wasn't in so much pain and could enjoy himself more and be more presence and immersed that always having to worry about the pain. Really happy he's made an effort because he loves his hyungs so much and if these trips encourage him to lose weight and exercise more to become healthier than I can't complain. Him doing all the stuff by himself was so cute :)

Shin Gu and Soon Jae halbaes arm linking gives me life :)

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I didn't like Choi Ji Woo in any of her dramas...i find her acting skills lacking...anyhow, I absolutely love her in variety, when she's just herself and doesn't have to play a role..she's funny with a mix of child-like innocence...super enjoy watching this season of GOF in greece!

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is there any subbed link??im dying to watch for the subbed..

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I love seo jin for taking care of the halbaes! It's the lil things that count.

I have always love grandpa il sub..he's like an adorable teddy bear! Eventho he can't enjoy sightseeing as much as the others....he still does his own way of tourism. But what i find cute is that he still wears the green jacket that seo-jin gave the halbaes.

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Isnt she so adorable!! Uhu I want to bearhug her *

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