Big: Episode 11
by javabeans
On the heels of one big confusing realization comes another one, and our girl is left reeling with her head turned upside-down and around and totally unsure of what’s what. For the first time, I felt some sympathy for what it must feel like to be Da-ran, caught in the emotional in-between along with Kyung-joon and not having a clear answer on what the “right” thing to do is. We’ve been with Kyung-joon from pretty much Day 1 so she’s 11 steps behind him, but I’m glad I’m finally with her at all, since I wasn’t sure we’d get there.
SONG OF THE DAY
Bo Kyung & Shayne – “내게 무슨짓을 한 거야” (What Have You Done To Me)
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EPISODE 11 RECAP
Thinking Da-ran is overwhelmed with the burden of taking care of him, Kyung-joon offers to disappear from her side for good, not knowing that’s the exact opposite of how she feels. He kneels down to tie her loose shoelace, telling her to make sure they’re tight so she can run far away without sparing him a backward glance. So till the day comes for them to part ways, he suggests, “Let’s get along well.”
She agrees, using his shoelace metaphor to remind herself to tie her “mental strings” tight as well (i.e., keep my head on straight).
At home, he asks why she feels so “burdened”—a word we’ll be hearing a lot, I think, used in every possible way. He assures her that he’s good-looking, rich, and smart, so he’ll be fine no matter what. Ergo, no need to feel burdened with worry.
Da-ran points out that he’s still all alone in the world. He tells her he’s going to find his father and holds up a brochure for an art exhibition, featuring the art professor who may be Dad. We know that Professor Park was actually teacher to his father and (surrogate) mom, but for now the kids are going off him as their sole clue.
Mari does recon work on the professor in paparazzo mode, which is familiar territory for her given her Kyung-joon stalkerism. The prof is with a man Mari doesn’t recognize (it’s Yoon-jae and Kyung-joon’s father), and for the time being she’ll have to wonder because she’s out of earshot of this very telling conversation: Dad asks the professor for whatever he can remember about the man Hee-soo almost married. That’s his only link to finding Kyung-joon. Or, you know, you could talk real loud and have Mari solve the mystery in two seconds flat. Especially since the professor knows the almost-husband had a daughter named Mari.
Yoon-jae’s parents call the newlyweds for dinner, and Da-ran describes Dad as quiet, difficult to know, and a doctor. I guess we know whom Yoon-jae took after. Now I’m starting to see why Mom likes Se-young so much, since they’re similar in a few key ways… which ew, makes it seem like Mom’s just trying to marry her son. Which actually makes sense from a personality standpoint, since Mom’s basically in love with Yoon-jae to the exclusion of everyone else.
Annnyway, Dad tells Mom of his hunch that Kyung-joon is in Korea. Mention of him brings Mom’s guard way up, and she declares that he’s not her son. Dad reminds her that she was the one who approached Hee-soo to be the surrogate. Mom retorts, “I didn’t need that child, I needed his umbilical cord to save Yoon-jae.” Oh, that. How annoying that umbilical cords come with such unnecessary byproducts like people.
Kyung-joon tells Da-ran that he’s not necessarily dying to meet his father, but since the man loved his mother, he wants to see him. His father must have wanted to meet him too, if he left the Miracle drawing for him.
Mom reminds Dad forcefully that he’d been on the same page—what does he care to find that boy now? “He wasn’t born out of love, he was made out of necessity!”
Oof, her statements make Kyung-joon’s assumptions harder to take, because he thinks he was born out of a love affair, even if Dad didn’t stick around. Da-ran wonders if the presence of another baby in the picture means he has a sibling, and Kyung-joon muses that maybe he does.
They head upstairs so Dad can give them his wedding gift, and Dad seems disappointed when his son doesn’t remember anything about the brother he’d been looking for. Kyung-joon spots a familiar art brochure and confirms that Dad knows Professor Park, and barely misses seeing the photo Dad keeps of Hee-soo.
Mom is very cordial over dinner, offering to bring Da-ran to a doctors’ wives’ gathering and also shopping. But it’s the backhanded sort of nice, slipping in barbs like how she wants to buy Da-ran a car for the sake of “Yoon-jae’s face” (i.e., reputation), and how if Da-ran had been thoughtful, Mom wouldn’t need to step in.
So Kyung-joon asks Mom for her credit card. No need to go through all that trouble of shopping with them; he’ll make sure to pick something to suit his “face.” I love how Kyung-joon turns her words right back around on Mom, and when he says them in his plain-spoken way, her elegant euphemisms come out sounding just as crass as she probably thinks Da-ran is. To wit: He asks point-blank just how expensive Mom thinks his face is, so he can buy accordingly.
Shocked at her son’s rudeness, Mom balks, especially since the gathering is for wives of important hospital directors and not for “just anybody.” Kyung-joon: “Then neither Mother nor Da-ran can go, since you’re just anybodies.”
Mom chides that Father may not be a director but he’s quite a famous doctor. Kyung-joon suggests Dad set up his own hospital quickly, since Yoon-jae can barely hold his head up in public without it. Haha. He’s no doctor, but he’s perfected the art of giving people a taste of their own medicine.
Off they go to car-shop. Da-ran protests, but Kyung-joon tells her his parents meant to buy her a car, so he’s taking them at their word. Ha, Kyung-joon kills me. He’s forced Mom to put her money where her mouth is, rather than lording her snooty superiority complex over everyone. Trapped by her own hubris.
Then they shop, Pretty Woman style, and he tells her to buy everything. He decrees everything “Not bad. Buy it.” He even decides, “That one’s bad. Buy it.”
Da-ran chides that Yoon-jae’s parents were shocked at the change in their nice son, but Kyung-joon replies that a nice son just means more hardship for Da-ran. So wise for one so young; so many marriages would be stronger if the husband made that realization early on.
Da-ran sighs at home, though, saying that being caught up in Kyung-joon’s whirlwind makes her feel sorry to Yoon-jae. Kyung-joon offers to remedy that by pretending his soul has swapped back with Yoon-jae, and talks to her in Yoon-jae’s voice, complimenting her on her beauty and warming his hands for her.
She laughs at his aegyo “puing-puing” and says she’s gotten more childish after spending lots of her time with a kid. He offers her more childish entertainment (learned from Bear and Rabbit at the hospital, aka his two kiddie companions) and picks up a griddle pan as his faux guitar to sing the Pororo song. Adorable.
They sing it together laughing, but then she remembers that she’s laughing thanks to Kyung-joon, not Yoon-jae. I love that it’s completely reversed now, that she sees him for Kyung-joon—but that freaks her out more and reminds her to retie her mental strings tightly.
He asks for a song in return, but she hides her face behind the frying pan and seeks refuge in her room, while oblivious Kyung-joon wonders if she’s feeling down because of mom-in-law.
Da-ran scolds herself for forgetting her circumstances, then bangs her head with the pan. Ow. She can’t tear out her heart, and this is driving her crazy.
Da-ran decides she’ll have to find a way to empty her mind and pass the time until Yoon-jae returns, and seeks safety in… a sewing kit? Imagining herself in Joseon-era hanbok, she declares that waiting wives of yore sought comfort in the concentration of needlework. So she will too.
But hark! Just outside her door a young man distracts her with his flute, and Da-ran firmly warns herself not to open her heart to him. Back to her needle. Stab!
Cut to: Da-ran’s exhausted eyes and bandaged fingers. Ae-kyung thinks she’s being too obvious about her exhausting nighttime newlywed activities (snerk), but uses this as a segue to announce her own blind date plans. She states the exact address and time for the benefit of Na Teacher, hoping he’ll pull a Samshik, but he just ignores her.
Mari shows Kyung-joon her paparazzi photos, and they decide that even if Professor Park isn’t his father, there’s a good chance he’ll know who is. Kyung-joon recognizes Yoon-jae’s father with him, but isn’t thrilled at the idea of asking him for information.
Mari and Kyung-joon both look forward to his approaching, though for different reasons. She wants to celebrate, but he’s got his eye on a bigger prize, having busily made preparations “for me to live on my own.”
To that end he meets with lawyers, who explain that once Kyung-joon turns 18, Yoon-jae will become the sole trustee to his assets. Ah, so Kyung-joon had drawn up a power of attorney for Yoon-jae, which explains his other reason for the “filling the gap” year. Basically, Big Kyung-joon has handled the legalities so that as long as he’s in this shell body, he’ll have access to Little Kyung-joon’s money and properties, which amount to $4.5 million. Smart.
Kyung-joon takes Da-ran out to a fancy dinner, telling her it’s a bribe in exchange for her help in tracking down that art professor. Seeing that she doesn’t know how to eat the dish properly, he wraps it up for her and feeds her—which gets her all confused and flustered again.
She overcompensates by shoveling in hot food, so he fans her with the brochure playfully, which gets her heart pounding even more. Adorably, he fans her alternating between “Kang wind” and “Seo wind,” which are plays on the words for strong wind and west wind. When he requests Gil wind in return, she hides her face and seeks more refuge in domesticity.
It’s ironing this time, to straighten out her crooked heart. Her Joseon counterpart does the same, determined to wait out the winds (and the young man) rattling her door. She warns herself not to give in and focuses on the ironing, telling Kyung-joon in sageuk-speak to leave her be.
He guesses she’s uncomfortable around him, though not for the real reason, which has him feeling annoyed. But Da-ran knocks the iron over and burns her leg, and he rushes back to treat the injury.
As he runs water over her leg, he asks, “Does it hurt?” She replies, “Yes.” He asks, “Should we keep doing this?” By now we’re not talking about the leg anymore, and she agrees, “Yes, stay here.”
Ae-kyung sits through her terrible blind date, but lights up when Na Teacher walks in the door. He came after all! Thrilled and puffing up with love, she runs toward him and asks if he came to stop her date, and hugs him tight.
…and then hears a bunch of buddies calling out to Na Teacher. Who is here to meet them. Not her. She dies of mortification and runs off with her face buried in her hands, which causes her to trip in front of him. The day just gets better and better.
Outside, Ae-kyung sobs her heart out in humiliation. Na Teacher brings over her lost shoe, saying he’d been worried—although for the life of him, he can’t figure out why she acted that way. He scratches his head cluelessly, and Ae-kyung delivers a swift kick in pique… and when he doubles over in pain, she grabs him for a kiss. Haha. That’s what we call a twofer.
Choong-shik has his own mental struggle as he accompanies Mari shopping and wonders how everything—stalking the art professor, dressing like Da-ran—is for Kyung-joon’s benefit when there appears to be no connection. Mari taps Choong-shik’s head with two fingers and instructs, “Empty your brain. Just look with your eyes.” Heh, somehow that doesn’t seem like a big stretch for him.
Choong-shik complies, and finds that the world is so much nicer and simpler when he doesn’t try to think so hard. But his smile fades when she decides this shirt will look good with Kyung-joon, because, uh, what does that mean?
Mari had meant to go with Kyung-joon to the art exhibit, but she gets a text informing her that he’ll be going with Da-ran. Bummer. Still, she decides that since she wasn’t instructed not to go, there’s no reason to stay away.
Just then she gets a call from her father, who has some shocking news to tell her. Mari: “WHO did you say was looking for Kyung-joon?!”
While Kyung-joon and Da-ran look around the exhibit for Professor Park, Da-ran gets a call from her mother-in-law about that doctors’ wives’ meeting. But when Da-ran explains that she’s out right now at the art exhibit, Mom freaks out and insists that she and Yoon-jae leave right away.
Kyung-joon can tell it’s the usual demands from Mom and takes over the call, telling her curtly that they can’t talk now, and hangs up. Then it’s on to meet the professor, who recognizes him from a prior meeting and greets him warmly.
Kyung-joon asks about Hee-soo and her son. The professor has heard of the accident and accepts that as explanation for why Yoon-jae doesn’t recall meeting him last year, and asks why he is interested in Hee-soo.
Kyung-joon asks Professor Park to confirm whether he drew a particular drawing, and takes out his wallet… just as Mom runs in and interrupts. She reminds the professor of his conversation with Dad, and takes her son aside for a talk. So Professor Park just tells Da-ran that he has nothing to say, having already been asked to keep mum on the matter.
Kyung-joon explains to Mom that wants to locate the father of the boy in the hospital. Seeing that Mom is acquainted with the professor, he asks whether she knows Hee-soo as well. Mom says this is the first time she’s hearing that name.
Mari gets Kyung-joon’s attention from across the gallery and motions him over frantically. She has great news, courtesy of her dad: The professor isn’t Kyung-joon’s father, but now they know that his father is trying to locate him.
Meanwhile, Professor Park chuckles to Da-ran that she owes her wedding to him. After all, when Yoon-jae ran into her at the wedding, he’d been rushing out to meet the professor. Aha! One more clue in the Not Cheating column (since Da-ran presumed that he was reacting to Se-young being newly single).
Suddenly confused, Da-ran excuses herself to confirm something, leaving Mari and Kyung-joon at the gallery. Mari wants to make a date of it but he’s distracted and decides to go home instead. Mari: “You don’t want to go to the hospital? Is Gil Da-ran more important than finding your father?” Kyung-joon: “Yeah. Gil Teacher is more important than the father I’ve never met even once.”
Before he leaves, he stops an employee from throwing out the flower decorations, remembering that Da-ran particularly liked the sunflowers. He has them wrapped and takes them home, where he scuttles around trying to put the bouquet in the most conspicuous place possible. Aw. He even practices his best version of a careless, “They were throwing it away. Take ’em.”
Da-ran meets with Se-young to confirm that the day of their meeting, Yoon-jae wasn’t hurrying to see Se-young.
Se-young does a We’re-back-to-this? eyeroll I can sort of understand, but grudgingly admits that it’s possible. She’d assumed that Yoon-jae’s pre-wedding troubles were all because of her, but now she thinks there was something else bothering him. Se-young doesn’t know what it is, but she concedes now that Yoon-jae didn’t have cold feet after all, that she wasn’t the reason.
Da-ran asks about the house key, and Se-young admits that he never came over. She expected him to, but he didn’t.
Da-ran walks home all a-muddle in confused feelings, thinking back to the Yoon-jae she knew. Was it all real, then, the way she remembered it first? Before the doubts and second-guessing?
Kyung-joon waits all day for Da-ran to come home, then puts on his nonchalant attitude. But Da-ran walks in with a heavy heart, telling him that it was all a misunderstanding. She starts to break down: “He liked me the whole time, and didn’t change his mind about wanting to take responsibility for me.”
Kyung-joon congratulates her, saying it was a good thing she’d decided to wait for Yoon-jae after all. He’s doing his best to put on a supportive face, which totally kills me, and asks, “Do you like him that much?”
He tells her he’ll make sure to step aside and not interfere with her waiting. Da-ran cries into her flowers.
The next day, Choong-shik finds her at school and notices her worn face, wondering if something’s up. He also clocks her reluctance to take a call from her mother-in-law, and asks if she’s mean to her. Da-ran denies it, but she’s not convincing.
At the kiddie room in the hospital, Kyung-joon sits with the usual suspects in the playroom, his outstretched foot getting in the way of a railroad building. The Bear boy complains that he’s “interfering” and needs to “move out of the way”—which makes Kyung-joon bristle. Et tu, Little Bear?
Little Bear actually whines at him to go back with all the other grown-ups and work, but Kyung-joon retorts that he’s still at an age where he should be studying and playing, not working. The boy asks how old he is, and he just says, “Older than you.” Which is when Rabbit girl calls him “oppa” (not “doctor” or “teacher”), which means she’s on to him. Sort of, in her little-kid way. He makes her promise not to say anything.
A hospital ajumma informs Kyung-joon that Little Kyung-joon has a new visitor today—a man, this time, not the elegant lady. It’s his father, of course, who takes Little Kyung-joon’s hand and apologizes.
Big Kyung-joon hurries to the room, which is empty by the time he gets there. He’s quick enough to see the man’s retreating back in the hallway and follows curiously, but loses him when Mari and Choong-shik arrive.
Choong-shik asks if mother-in-law is giving noona trouble, because she seemed pretty miserable at the idea of meeting her today. Uh-oh.
Mom presents Da-ran with an elegant wedding gift, nice today and admitting she wasn’t the nicest and suggesting that they get along better now. Da-ran’s near tears as she says she can’t accept—she doesn’t have the right to. She calls herself the worst; she’s rock bottom: “Even when Yoon-jae was with me, I always lacked confidence and felt uneasy. On top of that, I doubted him, let go him, and erased him. I’m a truly bad person.”
Mom doesn’t even miss a beat. “If you know you’re inadequate, step back now. Because he’s not normal right now, I approved of you just because he wanted it. But you—I won’t miss you a bit.”
Da-ran says she can’t step aside now because she needs him. Mom asks if she’ll be able to once Yoon-jae returns to himself, and Da-ran nods: “If he returns to how he was before, I’ll tell him what a bad person I was and let go of him.”
Kyung-joon arrives as Da-ran’s leaving. Seeing her teary face, he assumes Mom was terrible to her and starts to pull her back to face Mom, declaring that he’ll have to claim the price for those tears.
Dad arrives home and tells Mom that he saw Kyung-joon: “You and Yoon-jae both have to see that boy. If you don’t want to, I will make sure Yoon-jae does.”
Da-ran shakes off Kyung-joon’s hold on her wrist, refusing to go along.
Da-ran: “I can’t do it!”
Kyung-joon: “Why not? You decided you’d wait. You get hurt and dejected and cry—why do you make the people watching you feel suffocated?”
Da-ran: “If you feel suffocated and frustrated, you can just not look. I’m doing what I can to endure like an adult, so why are you creeping in and interfering?”
Kyung-joon: “Is stupidly enduring what an adult does?”
Da-ran: “An adult endures when something can’t be. If you know it’s bad, an adult doesn’t do it. If you know it’s wrong but still follow your heart and do it anyway, that’s what a child does!”
Kyung-joon: “Then since I’m a child, can I do as I please? Don’t you dare cry again. Because I don’t care who you’re waiting for, I’ll just take you and run away!”
COMMENTS
Woohoo for honesty, finally! I totally understand why both Kyung-joon and Da-ran have been keeping their feelings hidden from each other, and it makes sense given the twistedness of their lives at the moment. But it kills me when two people are dancing around the issue of their attraction, assuming they’re the only ones feeling this way, rather than hashing it out together.
The worst offenders are when we’re talking about the garden-variety romantic plot where the extent of the conflict is that each person is afraid of being rejected. Realistic, yes, but drives me batty in dramas where one honest conversation can basically clear up the Big Misunderstanding. In this drama, I’m totally there with the Da-ran self-recriminations and the Kyung-joon self-protection. I’d be a little happier if it were Da-ran making the big confession, but I suspect that kind of drama’s strictly Even-Numbered Episode material (*shakes fist at dramaland, fate, and girlfriday*) so for today I’m appeased.
As I said, I’ve been previously unable to feel anything for Da-ran, mostly because I just don’t get her. I understand her motivations on paper and in broad strokes—I can see what kind of character she was supposed to be—but she hasn’t felt fully formed, like a real person with complexity and depth. This was the first time I felt an inkling of sympathy for her frustration, because she’s JUST admitted to herself that she feels something for Kyung-joon, and she’s barely hanging on to her restraint and common sense by her fingertips, and then comes along this revelation that she was wrong all along about Yoon-jae.
Okay, admittedly I thought she was kind of dumb for jumping to the He Didn’t Love Me conclusion in the first place, because I don’t think that was ever clear. At worst, the situation seemed full of mixed messages, but it wasn’t a definitive “I was wrong about his love” conclusion. But I can see how she’d need to move on with her life, and the very fact that she didn’t know, one way or the other, was a pretty significant red flag.
So given that she fled to self-preservation mode (which I understand), it’s mighty confusing to have her axis tilted again. What I find most telling is that the timing is so very in-convenient—just as she’s owning up to her feelings for Kyung-joon (even if she can’t act on them)—when in fact they should be very convenient. This should clear up all her gray skies and point the way to a hopeful happily ever after… except her notion of who happily ever after requires has changed. Oof.
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Tags: Baek Sung-hyun, Big, featured, Gong Yoo, Lee Min-jung, Shin, Suzy
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51 saranga
July 9, 2012 at 11:56 PM
ugh. this drama.
gong yoo is doing a fantastic job, but lee min-jung as da-ran? maybe it's partly due to the way her character is written, but i find her so frustratingly slow. i suspect it's not really the character so much as the actress herself. i've noticed it in her interviews (like healing camp) and her other projects- she talks about half a beat slower than most people. whenever i see her onscreen i feel in need of some fresh air.
and the storyline is just dragging. i appreciated the slower pace of storytelling from the hong sisters initially, but i'm so bored sometimes... not to mention, i can't stand the two teachers, especially the female one. her face annoys me. sigh the gong yoo and mari scenes are probably the only highlights, and da-ran's family...
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52 Kwhat?!
July 10, 2012 at 12:02 AM
~Mom retorts, “I didn’t need that child, I needed his umbilical cord to save Yoon-jae.” Oh, that. How annoying that umbilical cords come with such unnecessary byproducts like people.~ Loved this!
I must be in the minority with this drama, too, because I love it. One of the things I love about this drama is that it is character driven. Which means that it has a slower plot development, but the characters get their own time to grow this way. Especially Da Ran, who has a lot of issues to deal with.
Also, I love Gong Yoo as Kyung Joon. I haven't really had a hard time seeing Kyung Joon for Yoon Jae's face, because Gong Yoo nails it. Especially when he does Yoon Jae impersonations. His attitude and reactions are great as Kyung Joon, and I totally buy the premise of this drama because of it.
I kinda disliked Da Ran at first, but she's definitely not the Hong Sisters' dumbest heroine. In fact, she's much more likable than most other "dumb" kdrama heroines I've seen (and not nearly as dumb). It's a trope I've come to dislike, but I still like her. I like that through Kyung Joon's influence she is standing up for herself more and more.
Another thing I like about this drama is the fact that Yoon Jae is almost a complete nonentity. I let go of the notion that this was his story pretty early on, so I'm okay with what we've been given there. I actually find it really interesting that such a major character has had such a huge impact on the story without actually being involved with the action itself. It's also fascinating to see how almost all we know about him is from others' points of view, but not from any personal explanation of himself. At first, we saw the hesitating version of him that was created by Da Ran's own doubts, then the possibly unfaithful version of him created by Se Young and circumstantial evidence, then some of how his mother perceives him, and now we're seeing more of who he probably really is. This is a unique take on the exploration of character, IMO.
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kitchy
July 10, 2012 at 4:26 AM
Kwhat?! - I absolutely agree with you!
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gretac
July 11, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Me too! Agree w/ your paragraphs 1 and 3 especially, and absolutely love the insight in your last paragraph!
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gretac
July 11, 2012 at 10:34 AM
(para 1 and 3 being: loved the jb umbilical cord quote, and can totally see Kyung Joon through Yoon Jae)
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53 Ireokeee
July 10, 2012 at 12:10 AM
I really really really want her to be w/ KKJ in the end, I mean, it was perfectly fine in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, that student-teacher relationship, so why not here
I want her w/ him, even if its the younger version LOL.
This episode was really draggy, hoping for more for tomorrow's episode!
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Kwhat?!
July 10, 2012 at 4:39 PM
It's funny, because I love this dynamic in Big, but I hated FBRS with a passion. I tried to like it, but it just didn't feel believable to me. But Big pulls it off.
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gretac
July 11, 2012 at 10:35 AM
Agree again!
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54 zodd
July 10, 2012 at 12:21 AM
The show's mistake was not waking up KyungJoon 2 eps ago during the airport scene when they were teasing about he's body possibly had woken, but nope he's still in a coma. The Hong sister's have teased us not just once but twice about KyungJoon body waking up. Big mistake as now were stuck with the plotline going nowhere.
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Kim Yoonmi
July 10, 2012 at 9:31 AM
We still needed DR to realize that she liked KJ, not YJ, so that plot thread would have been lost if they switched then. (From a writer's perspective). She could have lied to herself and then the story is over. And the count of teasing is up to three times--once when KJ as YJ faked DR out for laughs.
It's called foreshadowing and can be annoying to the viewer, but that's the whole point.
I'm guessing sometime next week they might do the switch. This week is about DR as a character. Though the original Big movie had it at the very end--I'm not sure how religious they are going to be.
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zodd
July 10, 2012 at 6:55 PM
I understand but they've taken too long with him not waking up yet.
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55 jules
July 10, 2012 at 12:26 AM
I haven't watched the episode just yet, but I have to ask: how in the world did 'Yoon-jae' get Power of Attorney over Kyung-joon? Some random (but really, really rich) kid he's never met and, as far as 'Yoon-jae' knows, has no connection to?
Surely that would bring up all kinds of red lights and warning signals? Perhaps he would have no access to the trust other than submitting to the trustees/solicitor/investment manager Kyung-joon's medical expenses for payment, but still, it seems dodgy.
(yes, I know it's a small detail, but it bugs me.)
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mita
July 10, 2012 at 4:54 AM
That's also my question. Does it mean that his power of attorney is fake? And also, acoording to the conversation, KJ is just turning 18 on his coming birthday so that means he'll just be 19 in korean age? Is it already a legal age in Korea?
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Kim Yoonmi
July 10, 2012 at 9:33 AM
US legal age is 18. In Korean age he is 19. It doesn't matter if he's Korean, since the age is 18 in the US.
YJ might have produced proof, but I have a feeling those script pages were cut for time.
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shiku
July 10, 2012 at 7:36 AM
I was wondering the same thing.
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floyd
July 10, 2012 at 11:18 AM
Yes, I was also wondering how did KJ in YJ's body manage to get POA over KJ lying in a coma?? When KJ himself doesn't know of their blood connection, how did he prove that YJ has the right to POA when they are practically strangers?
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gretac
July 11, 2012 at 10:37 AM
I thought since he is KJ, he still has his own, KJ's, signature, so could still draw up the POA with his signature, and then KJ-as- YJ being adult could accept it
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56 Wynn
July 10, 2012 at 12:27 AM
I love this show! Thank you for recapping.
Ok, so I don't know how everyone's going to end up. The thing is the pairing is obvious but we like Gong Yoo so much we want him to be satisfied too. And that's what makes the ending ambiguous.
Still, I enjoyed this episode just like every episode I've seen recently. Maybe it's because I love Gong Yoo's acting but I think it also has to do with the fact that I enjoy the interaction between the two. I might expect resolutions with each new episode but I enjoy the delicate moments between the two meanwhile.
I like that comment about liking this show to a play. I'm satisfied knowing that the truth will come out soon, resolutions will be made, and it will be rewarding.
DR has difficult choices ahead of her. She's not the strongest female character; she's like the young love-sick girl and gentle woman at the same time. Yet she's still different from other 'gentle/cinderella/innocent' female leads. I would think she'd be more relatable because she's somewhat normal and un-remarkable compared to other heroines. The one time she presumes something, she ends up with a one-sided marriage...
So many complications, ambiguities that people are thrown off. I'm usually more frustrated by these things but I can't help being addicted even so.
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57 oren-ji
July 10, 2012 at 12:27 AM
I think it would be better for me to root for Daran and Kyungjoon if they showed the real Kyungjoon and Gong Yoo simultaneously. I expect when Daran finally realized her feelings,she would see Kyungjoon as in 19-years old Kyungjoon (Shin Wonho) not Gong Yoo.That would make so much easier for me to believe in this couple.Like she's really falling in love with him.I hope for real Kyungjoon/Yoonjae will wake up in the next episode.Doesn't matter wake up as Kyungjoon or Yoonjae because i just want to know Yoonjae side of story and also i want Daran and Kyugjoon to start their relationship in the right way.
Mari~so disappointed with her.She's so awesome in the beginning but until now her character has no development.It's the same with Choongsik.I wish the Hong Sisters would focus on this pair a little bit seeing how good they were developing Daran and Kyungjoon's characters. :(
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zodd
July 10, 2012 at 6:56 PM
The Hong sister's have never been good at developing their secondary characters, there just there for time wasting.
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Kim Yoonmi
July 10, 2012 at 8:18 PM
Disagree. YAB secondary characters. I felt bad for *cough* the bus/bus driver and the Pig Rabbit (Was surgery hard?). ^^;; And other band members. Yes, I know, other band members should come first.
Also I felt really, really bad for the potato in Greatest Love. TT Poor Potato. Did it survive surgery? I also felt bad for the watch... I know... I should feel it towards people, but they both were made into characters through the drama.
Hong Gil Dong had a lot of interesting second leads. Choi Ran was in that too.
And Fantasy Couple, I really liked the flaky/air-headed girl that kept insisting there would be snow and ate the Popsicles. She was entertaining and I admit to watching out for her.
Also the family characters in Hong Sister dramas of the main lead often catch my heart. The family in Chun Hyang, My Girl, Pseudo Family in Hong Gil Dong, Gil Teacher's family in this drama, and big time for the Fantasy Couple family. <-- I really, really loved that family, but I'm partial to cute kids and cobbled together families.
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58 bunny
July 10, 2012 at 1:31 AM
Thank you for the recap!
As most people said, I'm so tired with this drama. Once the plot stuck (for me it was marriage), the storyline filled up with full of conflicts and meaningless scenes...
Biggest problem for me is DR. Every time she cry I get annoyed...I mean whatever the situation was she always listened to the person she shouldn't and she didn't believe the person she should. She was influenced too easily with all kind of people (I don't call it kindness) and she didn't think/act with deep consideration. So all the mess she get now is mostly her own fault, and I can't feel sorry for her at all.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not against LMJ (the character and the actors is total difference subject). Actually the biggest reason I start watch this show was LMJ (I like all actors though), and that why I get extra frustration with DR character....I just hope next time she play different character (thinking about that she always play "naive women" character and for that I'm start losing interest on her), and if I may say...I don't think Gong Yoo is playing as great as all people say (I liked "Coffee Prince" very much though). Only Baek Sung Hyun and Suzy were good surprise to me....sigh.
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59 pandasaurus
July 10, 2012 at 2:14 AM
I'm hoping she'll finally make a decision in the next episode. Team Kyung-joon or Team Yoon-jae? IMO, I think she'll end up w/ Kyung-joon.
One, he's of age now. An adult. He and Da-ran can sooo date now!
Two, I think the reason why Yoon-jae was so m.i.a before the wedding was because he found out he's dying again - just guessing here. So that's why he's searching for his little bro, Kyung-joon. Right? He needs whatever tissue Kyung-joon's got to help him survive.
BUT!!
Three, Kyung-joon saved Yoon-jae's life once already. And like that cherub picture, I think it's Yoon-jae's turn to save Kyung-joon's life. It's only fitting, what with all the crap the little guy's had to put up with now.
I can't think of any other reasons for D and KJ staying together. But I obviously ship them, even though I've fallen in love with YJ's adorable face. Ugh! Frustration!!
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Nina
July 10, 2012 at 4:22 AM
If what you said is what is going to be like, I feel like I'm wasting my time watching this crappy show.
team Yoon Jae
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eslene
July 10, 2012 at 7:41 AM
Same here..
Team YJ
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eunchan
July 10, 2012 at 11:47 AM
YJ already saved KJ's life in the accident...
Team YJ
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Kim Yoonmi
July 10, 2012 at 8:20 PM
Team By Herself. I'll take Gong Yoo. Mari can take Shin... and you can resolve the ending by trying to chase after me after I take Gong Yoo~~~
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60 mjfan
July 10, 2012 at 2:20 AM
I like this drama very much and wait for mondays just to see the new episode .... Gong yoo is AWESOME and he has a great chemistry with lee min jung .... that last scene was so powerful that my heart skipped a beat just reading the recap !!! am looking forward tonight episode ....
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61 Nina
July 10, 2012 at 3:53 AM
I stopped watching this drama since episode 9.. it's torturing when every time i watched the preview, yoon jae still doesn't wake up. I figured he should wake up at least on episode 10 or his character could be pronounced clearly by the writers as dead.
I feel so betrayed to see Kyung-Joon in Yoon Jae's body be around Gil Da Ran.
Dear writers, if you want to have young male character to play around with adult woman, just do so without having to put Gong Yoo or any adult actor as shield to that idea. Just write a drama that have Lee Min Jung and Shin Won Ho as two lovers that can't be separated so that the viewers don't have to waste time to imagine Gong Yoo as 19 years-old kid.
And please don't turn Gil Da Ran into a cougar. I like Gil Da Ran because she is really sweet and caring and Yoon Jae is a perfect match for her (if he is not a bitch)
It is very disturbing to imagine the ending of this drama, the probabilities events may occurred are
a) they switched their bodies and souls forever and Gil Da Ran has happy ending with Kyung Joon in Yoon Jae's body or
b) they did switched back to their own-selves but Gil Da Ran still choose to be with Kyung Joon (this time Lee Min Jung with Shin Min Ho. Gong Yoo gone to hell) or
c) they did switched back to their own-selves but Kyung Joon suddenly died and Gill Da Ran end up with Yoon Jae or
c) Gil Da Ran choose teacher Na or any other guy or doesn't get married at all.
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62 Jenny
July 10, 2012 at 4:23 AM
I'm telling you, that's some good advertising in this episode: a RED DSLR, I want it! And oh! how ever so appropriately they've even set the carry-band so that we can see where to get it from: Nikon *laughs*
I really want it. I wonder if they'd have it in pink? Possibly not, otherwise I'm sure they would have shown Mari with pink :P
J.
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oren-ji
July 10, 2012 at 5:47 AM
I swear Jang Mari is the walking advertisement in this drama. From head to toe. :)
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namcha
July 10, 2012 at 7:57 AM
This whole show is a walking advertisement. Vitamin water Everywhere. Coke must be shelling big bucks!
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daniela
July 10, 2012 at 9:01 AM
Olivia L... too :)))
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63 Mel
July 10, 2012 at 5:35 AM
Gong Yoo & Min Jong & Suzy ang li'l bro Jong Shik are awesome actors---I want to love this show but the migraine I get just not only in my head but has radiated to my heart I want to love this but it's toxic!!
Gong Yoo is awesome as he portrays a young man who is more mature than the adults and so conflicted in his love for DR!!!
It's terrible to always second guess how the story will end. We are so invested in DR and KJ yet in the back of our minds it's 'taboo' yet it happens... Truly age shouldn't matter but it does in addition there's the huge migraine of being on someone else's body so our investment in watching the show is truly worthless because in any way the possible conclusions are difficult to swallow... The body swap is the most difficult part of this drama because that alone is preventing us from accepting that anything here is permanent.. Not that anything ever is!!!
I'm so conflicted, I love how Gong Yoo portrays a young man in love with his older teacher and the teacher who is slowly falling in love with the young man... It's because in our society, age does matter in the vast majority but if these two had no scruples they would just jump in the sack.. End of story!!! Identity crises be damned!!!
.. since our characters have conscience we get pulled into watching a drama with awesome actors headed to nowhere and I so want this drama to go somewhere... I'm doing my best to get rid of this total body migraine!!! Ohhh weekend come now I want me some Gentlemen's Dignity light fare.... or my heads gonna blow up! Yes I can stop watching but I'm so curious how this will end..
Thanks JB
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Ariane
July 10, 2012 at 10:42 AM
DR is still attracted to YJ's body. Not sure she'd be so quick to jump in the sack with KJ's real body.
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64 kewbie
July 10, 2012 at 5:50 AM
Thanks for the recap! Based on the previous comments I'm definitely in the minority of liking this show. I guess I'm not looking into it as deeply as everyone else. I do agree they could have woken up Kyung Joon's body earlier so Da Ran doesn't have to be confused about what the real Yoon Jae was actually doing before the wedding. (They probably wouldn't have had to do that if Da Ran felt surer about herself about who she loved for real, probably.) Being that this is my first Hong Sisters drama (heard a lot about them but haven't watched anything they've written before "Big") I didn't know what to expect, but now that I'm fully into it I realize that I'm watching because of the interaction between Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung. I find I wait every week to see what's happening between them vs. watching for the big picture. I'm going to continue watching because I'm so curious to see how this ends.
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65 crazykel
July 10, 2012 at 6:15 AM
I haven't watched this episode yet, but I just have one thing to say.
Why has it been necessary to keep Little Kyung-Joon in a coma with Yeon Jae's soul? They could have raised him episodes ago. It would have brought more excitement to the plot and probably more humor.
I like this show, but recently I've been teetering on the edge of like/dislike too much.
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66 Jade M. Wong
July 10, 2012 at 6:19 AM
As always, another exceptionally done recap! I honestly can't watch an ep of any drama now without reading one of your recaps at the same time. It's just the full experience, you know? xD
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67 LilianJ
July 10, 2012 at 6:42 AM
Let me be straight out shallow and objectifying here and say that I am only watching Big for the magnificent male specimen that is Gong Yoo.
Given up on anything else the drama has to offer ages ago. I loved Mari at the beginning and Suzy is gorgeous, of course, but her character is just so very grating nowadays.
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zodd
July 10, 2012 at 7:01 PM
Sucks for Suzy, it's obvious she's trying but she nothing much to work with i.e. the script for her sucks. Wish the Hong Sister's did a better job with their secondary characters.
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68 Skwonto
July 10, 2012 at 7:16 AM
I'm a little late to this party. A few things, thanks Javabeans! Your posts are the best! Pure Hilarity.
I feel the negs and pos that everyone has about the show. (btw, Hi Sora, I'm a Sora too) but there are moments of genius from the whole cast. I agree. Gong Yoo is doing some serious heavy lifting. He's awesome. Where's the rock solid female lead that I'm used to seeing in the Hong Sister's work? Greatest Love? Gumiho? The ladies were not perfect and had their issues. Is it the acting or lame character? I actually like Lee Min Jung, esp. from Boys over Flowers. I'm so disappointed how lame she is in this show. I LOVED the dynamic between Kyung Joo and Mari earlier in the show. It's regressed. But for me Mari is still a def bright spot. Unlike Daran.
I have no idea how this show will wrap up - Curiosity from bewilderment versus curiosity from totally hooked. Please get better...
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69 shepo
July 10, 2012 at 7:16 AM
am i the only one who thinks that the first picture of Gil Da Ran really looks like Lee Jang Woo who stars in I DO I DO?
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70 Soyb
July 10, 2012 at 7:31 AM
Even with the assurance that YJ didn't cheat on her, I do have to wonder what kind of a relationship he with her and how he truly felt. It seems like based on GDR's memory, it was all one-sided, i.e. she seems to have always been "waiting" for him and he never shows up. On dates, for his birthday bicycle ride, for house buying, etc. So, while jumping to conclusion that he cheated may have been premature, the relationship certainly didn't have a firm foundation.
On a different note, does any one else find LMJ looks really pretty in hanbok wear and would now like to watch her in a fusion/saeguk drama?
Oh and I about swooned and died during the last scene when KJ basically declared his love for her. ACK! Can't wait for ep. 12.
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71 applemonster
July 10, 2012 at 7:34 AM
This is my first time to comment as a beanie, and first I would like to express my gratitude for javabeans, girlfriday and all the contributors for making me a true fan of korean dramas in less than a year time!
I understand why the heroine of Big seems annoying and outright dumb, but I don't mind that, cause slow girls do exist and the dilemmas Gil Da Ran has to deal with in her mind and hart would be way too complicated for anyone. She may not be smart and quick as a character, but at least she is honest in trying to make responsible decisions and I like her for that.
I also like the pace of the show. I am more focused on the controversy of feelings Da Ran and Kyung Joon is going through than the actual events. Throughout this whole 11th episode I kept wondering what if JY never wakes up, and dies in the body of KJ. What if this is the price JY is paying in return for the sacrifice of baby KJ to save his life in return. Da Ran loves KJ in the body of JY and they stuck together right now, but what if this will last forever? How would Da Ran deal with that, knowing that JY loved her, and KJ has to construct a life of his own in JY's body? because all being awake and back in their own shell seems like the most easy solution for KJ and YJ, but still a rocky road to DR, but what if any other possible outcome will be realised? The sacrifice thing is still there hanging above YJ's soul and body, he may lose one or the other to pay back for KJ.
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72 fatraspberry
July 10, 2012 at 7:35 AM
I feel like I'm the only person here who loves this drama. D:
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namcha
July 10, 2012 at 7:59 AM
I like it. Loads of laughs and the leads have so much chemistry. I'm not going to analyze it anymore. My head hurts.
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73 hana
July 10, 2012 at 7:59 AM
I dont think this drama is boring.. I found that amusing. I knew the story line is a little bit slow pace and would be very much better if the soul turn back. Then we can see how both guys go for Daran and how Daran take care of her feelings..
Nonetheless, i still love Big..what Hong Sister made so far not makes me dissapointed..i enjoy watch BIG...i can wait every monday and Tuesday to watch this...
*btw, there will be a kissing scene in eps 12?is it true??Kyaaaaaaaa...
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74 Frustrated Viewer
July 10, 2012 at 9:31 AM
Gil Da Ran, please stop rolling your giant daffy eyes at the ceiling and get some grit... please make up your mind, like an adult. (Why are the teenage kids in this show the only ones who seem to have a clue what they want?? I almost want to say that Kyung Joon is too mature for her, rather than the other way around!)
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75 jellyfish
July 10, 2012 at 10:07 AM
But hark! Just outside her door a young man distracts her with his flute, and Da-ran firmly warns herself not to open her heart to him.
I loved how the young man was playing Pororo on the flute, rofl. And fanning rigorously the second time, after the Strong Wind vs West Wind episode.
I am quite sick of the big plot that doesn't seem to be progressing, and sometimes catch myself wishing that this drama is just about a woman and a very childish and adorable man. God, i want to replay Gong Yoo singing Pororo with a frying pan ten more times.
But yup i'm convinced by the preview that we'd finally be getting some progress. And heartache, probably. Looks like Gil Teacher has made up her mind --> Big Kyung Joon hears and rushes to her in joy --> The Switch-Back happen. :|
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76 kdot
July 10, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Am I the only one here thats in it for Baek Sung-hyun's acting as well as Gong Yoo's? TT^TT
Team Choong-shik~ HWAITING :3
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77 limegreenglo
July 10, 2012 at 10:53 AM
I dunno, I forgot about this episode airing until last night. Just shows how very much I've been anticipating it...
I've been watching Biscuit Teacher Star Candy this week, which, despite the cringe-worthy second male lead scenes, was incredibly adorable and entertaining throughout. Gong Yoo had a marvelous character, and even whatshername that plays Seyoung in Big had a likeable personality. I think it's definitely the second female lead evil hairstyle that makes her look so unlikeable here...oh and her role of course.
But BTSC was a teacher-student drama that made me feel bad for Big. Because every episode had significance, every minor character's storyline was heartwarming, and the romance was perfectly paced and fulfilled. Gong Yoo enhanced it of course (funny how he's older than the characters he's supposed to be 6 and 11 years younger than), but it was already written with satisfaction in mind. I really hope Big becomes a drama I can treasure in the long run, and I hope it's not too late for that.
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78 jomo143
July 10, 2012 at 11:02 AM
Thanks for the recap!
I am confused on something.
her statements make Kyung-joon’s assumptions harder to take, because he thinks he was born out of a love affair, even if Dad didn’t stick around
So there was no love affair? His surrogate mom was just someone who agreed to it? That's horrible! Meaning, I would rather the his dad cared for his surrogate mom.
Was this answered already?
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ilikemangos
July 10, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Yeah. in a previous episode it mentioned that the mom who gave birth to kyung joon was a surrogate.
that means that through artificial insemination, an egg from yoon jae's mom, and sperm from yoon jae's dad, was injected into kyung joons mom. Therefore, she has no genetic make up with kyung joon.
So yeah, she just agreed to it, and there was a love affair between the two, but they didn't have sex to make kyung joon. his mother is 100% the same as yoon jae's.
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jomo143
July 10, 2012 at 1:17 PM
I knew she was a surrogate, but I wasn't sure if she just answered an ad, or if they already knew her.
It sounds bad, but I am happy as long as there was a love affair. That makes KJ's surrogate mom a hero in my eyes.
And, it makes sense that she would love and cherish KJ as much as if it were her a son with her own genes because she loved the father.
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79 down4u
July 10, 2012 at 11:31 AM
After watching this episode I've decided to call it quits. I grew VERY annoyed after episode 4 but back then I had made the decision that I would stick it out for the story line. What a waste of time because between then and now, there hasn't been any real change in Gil Da Ran that makes me root for her or at least be on her side. I don't blame the actress playing her I know, but I blame the Hong Sister's for making her such a weak and un-confident person. I would have thought at least once through the story line she would have became stronger. But it's the same ol' same ol'.
The story line...ughhhh talk about slow. Even when I was watching Rooftop Prince, the story line moved faster then this drama. How many times are we going to see Kyung Joon switch back and forth between his body? Like really....even in the preview for ep 12 it show's Kyung Joon body twitching his eyes (I'm sure he's not going to wake up) but I'm not going to sit here and watch another 60 minutes of Kyung Joon not waking up.
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80 theicecrumbs
July 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM
I watched this episode with the hope of something, JUST SOMETHING, to happen but this seemed like a total repeat of the previous one. They're repeating the same scenes over and over again just with different lines! I thought every scene in a drama should help in moving along the plot, but man, if I see another conversation between Se Young and Da Ran about that same topic again and if I hear Yoon Jae's mother say she changed her mind again about going back to the US, I'm going to think the Hong sisters are into something-- and it's not good.
I had hoped that because Da Ran struggled about her feelings basically in the entirety of Episode 10, then I would get to see her acting on it now. But man, I can't believe we're still not over the discovering-why-YoonJae-was-so-busy phase. We were on this story line since God knows when. Come on, we get it already, Yoon Jae was just busy with his brother savior thing, now let's move on, shall we? Next, please. I feel like even Goong Yoo and Lee Min Jung are so bored repeating such similar scenes in that house!
I never intended to watch this because apart from MGIAG, none of Hong sisters' dramas were memorable to me. *hides from angry Hong sisters' fans* But when I read from the recaps that there's a marked difference from their previous dramas, I immediately jumped in.
I love this change because I just recently watched Best Love (which, by the way, I couldn't finish), and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of over-the-top characters. The lead hero in Best Love was funny but so unrealistically made into a man child that I felt sorry and quite grossed out with his quirks (sorry). Here, the characters are toned down and even Goong Yoo whom I expected/feared to act like a manic teenager is pretty realistic. Lee Min Jung as Da Ran has also toned down her acting from previous eps and is now more realistic compared to other Kdrama heroines who do aegyo which each line.
But the moment it started to go into all these typical Kdrama elements, sigh. Not again. The evil mother in law, the long lost secret sibling, the short-haired other girl who's more competent than the heroine, the side characters with comedic love stories. This drama is jam-packed with everything typical in a Kdrama (typical-bad not typical-good, okay).
But still, fine, I can let all that go because the H sisters tried to change their ways and change is always good, right? But with this episode... I don't know anymore. :(
I will stick with this until the end but I really hope the H sisters are brewing up a good ending because right now, all the possible endings I can think of are either sloppy or just downright ridiculous.
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bd
July 10, 2012 at 8:02 PM
Dokko Jin was a bit over-the-top but CSW carried it off - and DJ as the infantile grown megastar made sense (a grown man who never had to grow up or deal seriously w/ his emotions or the wants of another person - which is why he got along so well w/ the the kid "Ding Dong").
Mari is even more over-the-top than DJ and while I like Suzy, she doesn't have the acting chops to make her character appear other than a caricature.
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81 tiger bite
July 10, 2012 at 1:24 PM
Now the Hong sisters are jut messing with us all. Cause now I am a jerk for calling YJ a cheating bastard the whole time. I mean he couldn't defend himself but still all the clues were not in his favor.
And the heartbreak DR is going to suffer when she figures out they are brothers and why KJ was born. I foresee her running away to seek solitude.
I need a little redemption in ep 12 tonight.
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82 icednoodles
July 10, 2012 at 1:52 PM
After watching Lie To Me, the first drama I read more than nine episodes worth of recaps for without watching the actual episodes, I've been waiting for a major disappointment with Big. Which, like Lie To Me, started out strong but eventually fizzled into meaningless, recycled, senseless drama, hollow characters, and an ending you saw coming half way through the drama.
But, thankfully, I don't see that happening with Big.
And yes, I have to admit, episode 11 was a little on the slow side and yes, there were certain elements that brought back, washed, and used again, but there are clear reasons for it.
I have been wondering for a while now what the heck was going on with YJ, and I got a couple of my answers in this episode. I had questions about what KJ was used for (in terms of which organ/body part he gave to YJ), and I got my answers as well. The romance between the two teachers, which some might not care for, I found interesting and I like that the Hong Sisters are actually drawing this out so it's not a sudden "Oh, I like you but you don't like me--" "No, I suddenly like you for no apparent reason." situation just because they aren't the leads.
And there are several other lines that were pushed forward in the episode. But I think that they were so subtle or not pointed out with flashing lights and signs, and not really about DR/KJ/YJ love triangle, that it just flew over a couple of people's heads. Loose ends being tied up, pieces of a puzzle being put into place for certain major events to take place, and all that good stuff a couple of other dramas I've watched have been lacking.
Overall, the train's still moving forward, smaller characters aren't just being ditched in the gutter (yay for the under dogs~!), the drama aspects have't taken away from the hilarity and cuteness and awesome that is CS and Gong Yoo as KJ, and there is the promise of more on the horizon, and I'm anxiously waiting for episode 12 tonight.
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83 Eternal
July 10, 2012 at 2:34 PM
Wow a lot of negative comments on Big. A little dishearteningly, but doesn't really ruin my love for this drama.
I think these are the primary issues people have with this drama:
1) They don't like Gil Da-ran. To be honest, I didn't like her at first either because she was kind of stupid and kind of naive. But it's not like she's not without character growth either. She learned to defend herself and challenge people (like Se Young) head on. She's also a lot calmer a year later, willing to take time to sort out her feelings rather than reacting in an extreme manner (as we see in the first few episodes)
I can also sort of understand why she struggles so much with her feelings for Kyung-joon (rather than moving forward quickly) because the decision to abandon Yoon-jae isn't that easy to make. The reason why she becomes fixated on the real reason why Yoon-jae was in such a rush to leave the wedding is because she feels guilty to Yoon-jae because she's strayed when after all this time, he really (supposedly) did love her. It means that she's trying to be responsible, which I can get behind.
As for blaming her for cheating -- well Yoon-jae wasn't all that honest at the start, and it's not like she immediately jumps Kyung-joon. No one can stop how they feel, and Da-ran has shown that she's struggled over this.
2) The slow pace. Ok, Episode 11 was a liitttle slow, but I felt like each episode had its purpose. Every episode kind of tackled a different "hurdle" (I like how they have some sort of setup close to the beginning of the episode and create a conflict around it). Of course, the reveals regarding the birth secret and whatnot is coming in at a pretty slow rate, and that's my only criticism (but I understand it allows them to give us more Kyung-joon + Da-ran time)
Big is slow, but I think it allows me to treasure each moment between the OTP more. The interactions feel more organic. In fact, the problem I had with previous Hong sister's dramas was that they were too fast and zippy, and it never allowed me to get into the characters. Sure, they were funny, but they never stuck (with the exception of Delightful Girl Choon-hyang)
3) Yoon-jae not waking up. For those of you still rooting for Yoon-jae, I think it's best to let go of the drama because it was obvious from the start that the drama was not going to focus of Yoon-jae. The conflict the drama is trying to establish is soul-versus-body, not man versus man (or boy) in this case.
Just my two cents :)
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Rachel
July 10, 2012 at 3:03 PM
I agree with everything Eternal said. I feel like a lot of complaints about the drama have more to do with the viewers' expectations than the drama itself. If you think it's all about the body switching, or you expected her to end up with YJ, I can see how that would be frustrating. I think it's a bit unfair, though. You have to take what the writers have given you on its own terms, and at this point in the drama, it's pretty clear that the OTP is DR and KJ. I think the slow build works. If she had instantly fallen for KJ, it would have been a little weird, given her heartbreak and the age difference.
One thing I really like about this drama is how sweet KJ is to her. He's not the typically cold and aloof Kdrama hero. DR is kind of ditsy but not nearly as annoying as many Kdrama heroines I've seen on other shows.
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christy
July 10, 2012 at 8:14 PM
ditto above :)
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gretac
July 11, 2012 at 11:02 AM
agree
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Kim Yoonmi
July 10, 2012 at 8:27 PM
She sure beats the usual Japanese shoujo manga heroine who says in a sighy voice, "He kissed me, but I didn't resist... I must like him." crap. So I don't mind GDR... probbly because she could be worse. She's slow, she's naive, but I don't think she's "stupid". She just lacks worldly skills and is catching up the best she can.
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84 Tarani
July 10, 2012 at 3:10 PM
Thank you for the recap.... I cannot seem to accept the young boy's soul in a man's body .... i am sure that is how Gil Da Ran sees as well... but spending lots of time with him and finding out his charm and attractive and caring personality... no wonder she is confused... i would be as well... but still when you come to think of it - it is actually a young boy.... I love looking at Gong Yoo's face and acting so I cannot stop watching this drama.... I will be sticking by it until the end eventhough the roundabout storyline kind of annoys me a bit.
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85 Keke
July 10, 2012 at 3:58 PM
Oft, loved the ending. Please take her and run away with her! Can't wait to see Da ran's reaction!!
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86 Marchioness
July 10, 2012 at 4:32 PM
Thank you. Really grateful for the recap. You do an excellent job of it... hope the pleasure you get from this beautiful effort compensates all the trouble and inconvenience that writing this detailed brings along.
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87 Skwonto
July 10, 2012 at 5:55 PM
Just finished ep 11. Will someone do something about Lee Min Jung's character? Javabeans was too nice in this recap. Da Ran is just lame. The character, the actress... Lee Min Jung has become less pretty from this role and that is her thing. She's a pretty lady. Well not anymore. Dopey is just unattractive.
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88 Chichi
July 10, 2012 at 6:38 PM
All this Gil Da Ran bullshit aside...
Has anyone seen the BTS scene with Gong Yoo and Mari's smack/kiss scene?
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89 christy
July 10, 2012 at 8:10 PM
love the recap! they always add a great extra dimension for me :)
my thoughts while watching were just lots of "eeeee! gong yoo! why so cuuuuute?!"
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90 ayan
July 11, 2012 at 10:31 AM
I find myself beating around the bush when it comes to my feelings for this show, each week I hope it'll get better.
I just don't think there's enough Seo Young Jae in the plot and we don't know who he is. I liked the early gil da ran and seo young jae flashbacks but I really feel now he's drifted and kyung-joon in seo young jae's body has become someone I can't even see in the kang kyung joon body. Its all just .... frustratingly bad
I don't think I'm enjoying the show tbh
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91 gretac
July 11, 2012 at 11:01 AM
What I find annoying about GDR in this episode:
She is definitely messed up: when she thought YJ had been (at least mentally) cheating on her, she was bound and determined to be faithful and wait for him; and now that she's found out that he really did love her, she's agreed to let him go!! What kind of sense does that make???? She must be borderline personality disorder (if you like me, I'll push you away; if you don't, I'll pull you in).
re: threads 4 and 22 and others
I don't have as much Gong Yoo in my head as some of you fans, so I have had no problem seeing Kyung Joon through Yoon Jae, and in fact have repeatedly thought Gong Yoo was doing a phenomenal job of letting Kyung Joon/Shin Won Ho show through him, given that they look so different. I also happen to think SWH is way cuter than GY, so have no problem with wanting GDR to end up with KJ in his own body!
I also have no problem with GDR ending up with KJ in YJ's body. That might be the perfect solution, in fact, that YJ give up his life for KJ, in return for KJ saving his life: there's the whole theme of 2 brothers saving each other, and the professors comment that salvation requires love and sacrifice. Turn about. (yes, he saved him from drowning, but KJ has lived his whole life without his family, treated in a totally utilitarian way as a medical object-source - I think that deserves a bit more recompense!!)
I'm also glad they haven't waked up YJ-KJ earlier - that's the whole core of the drama!
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92 Lilian
July 12, 2012 at 8:29 AM
I like how the drama is progressing. so far, the Hong sisters have not disappointed me yet.
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93 Lilian
July 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM
I like how the drama is progressing. so far, the Hong sisters have not disappointed me yet. It did not really pull me in at first but I am definitely enjoying this drama now.
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94 princesspabo
July 12, 2012 at 6:20 PM
In the beginning I actually liked Big quite a lot. I didn't exactly love the main character, but I didn't hate her either. She was just acceptable for me. But after watching this episode, I really truly dislike Da Ran's character.
How can she have so little self-respect? She's just sitting up there, crying her eyes out, saying how a bad person she is because she doubted Yoon Jae, and thus she is just not worthy of him. I am so mad at her. Yeah, sure you wrongly misjudged Yoon Jae, but it's not like he's blameless. He was the one who always stood you up on dates and was not being interested in the wedding. Even if he didn't go to Se Young he should have just gave the key right back to her, what's he hanging on to it for?
I do think that Yoon Jae is a nice guy and has always liked her, but seriously Da Ran currently has the self-confidence of a slug. Even if she feels bad about her feelings changing, she needs to suck it up and do something about it. Just blaming yourself and crying every 5 minutes is not going to help.
On a happier note, I really like the two teacher's love story. Sometimes I even think that they're cuter than the main couple.
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95 pandasaurus
July 13, 2012 at 5:53 AM
I have a confession: the only reason I started watching BIG was because of Baek Sung-Hyun!! After "White Christmas" and "Blades of Blood", I've been completely enamored by this actor. And I was sooo looking forward to him having great scenes in this drama. But kaput! It's ok, I still love him. I just wish wish wish there were more of him. End Rant.
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96 Bobby
July 17, 2012 at 3:29 PM
great recap guys, just one quick question, does anyone know the song / instrumental playing while KJ is fanning Da Ran in the restaurant? thanks
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97 Beezus
March 10, 2015 at 5:38 PM
As usual, I'm late to the party but am looking for an answer - the "American" attorneys say "once KG turns 18...". Now I realize American age is one year younger than Korean age but, KG was 18/17 at the time of the accident. One year passed and he is now waiting on his 20th Korean birthday, which would be his 19th American birthday. So why are the attorneys talking as if KG is not yet 18 American years old yet?
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98 Happy
February 1, 2017 at 2:57 AM
I like this series. Thanks
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