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The Producers: Episode 4

The lovelines really get going today, but this show has them going in every direction—and curiously, the more it becomes uncertain which way they’re meant to go, the more I’m invested in all of them. Or maybe that’s not curious and we a little mystery is sometimes just what we want, rather than knowing from Day 1 where this thing will end up. I have a feeling the show’s going to play with all the different pairings all the way through, and because I see arguments for all of them working, I figure the best thing to do is to just sit back and see how it all unfolds.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Yeon-woo – “To Be With You” from the Producers OST [ Download ]

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EPISODE 4: “Acting that way, unintentionally”

Totally drunk, Seung-chan falls on top of Ye-jin and is out like a light. She manages to wake him back up… and it’s like Seung-chan has flipped a switch because suddenly he’s barking curtly in banmal (with sarcasm! He knows sarcasm!), “Is this Dongtan?” (The neighborhood she said she was moving to.)

He continues in banmal as he pinches her cheeks and asks why she lied. (I’m cringing for Future Seung-chan but it’s so funny, stoppit! No, keep going!) He falls asleep on her again, so she deposits him on the couch wondering how he knew she lived here.

The door beeps, and she opens the door on a drunk Joon-mo who’s trying (and failing) to punch in the correct access code. He sees Seung-chan sprawled out on the couch and rouses him to order him home, and Seung-chan stirs awake enough to mumble at him, “Two-timer.” Omg. He’s your boss!

He takes Joon-mo to task, chiding, “You can’t do that to our Ye-jin!” Joon-mo counters, “Why is she your ‘our Ye-jin’? She’s my ‘our Ye-jin’!”

Hilariously, Seung-chan starts to mumble a defense of Ye-jin that begins, “Our Ye-jin may be old, have a bad personality, and doesn’t repay debts…” Joon-mo hears that as an insult and leaps to her defense with: “Like you said, even if our Ye-jin is old, has a terrible personality, and is a penniless beggar, are you looking down at her for that?!”

In the morning, Seung-chan is back to his meek self, mortified to hear that he’d called Ye-jin a liar and pinched her cheeks last night. Asked how he knew where they lived, Seung-chan explains that he lives nearby and saw them coming home together. Ye-jin realizes that looks bad and tries to clarify the situation, which ends with the explanation, “I know it looks like we’re living together, but really, we’re just living together!”

She launches into a whole monologue about the problems with Korea’s real estate system and how she ended up here for a few months, not living together but “just sharing addresses.”

Seung-chan says he understands, and it cracks me up how important it is to Ye-jin that he actually understand rather than simplifying it in his mind as cohabitation. She whines that he still has the wrong idea, though it hardly makes her feel better when Joon-mo says that they’re just two humans who’d neeeeeever feel anything romantic for each other: “We’re totally Just Friends.”

Ye-jin continues to worry after Seung-chan leaves, wondering if he’d use that information against them somehow, while Joon-mo waves it off.

Meanwhile, Seung-chan runs into his mother and sister in the parking lot, and they find his explanation of sleeping at a sunbae’s apartment suspect when his home is right here. Noona asks Seung-chan for a favor, since her husband’s medical practice is struggling and could use a boost—could he get him a TV appearance on the health variety program Vitamin?

He’s hardly in a position to be pulling strings for family, and tells them he’s on shaky ground. He explains nervously to the docu crew that he’s made two mistakes already and might get fired. Aw, he’s worried about Ye-jin’s three-strikes warning, poor boy.

At the KBS offices, Joon-mo and CP Kim worry about their empty slot—the director is under the impression that they’re going to score either Suzy or Cindy, but they’ve heard no word about Suzy (and Cindy isn’t even a consideration, given Joon-mo’s bad blood with her agency prez). Joon-mo wonders, “Should I beg on my knees?” CP Kim: “You mean you haven’t already?!”

JYP calls, and Joon-mo lights up to hear that he’s consented to giving “the biggest get at JYP,” assuming that’s Suzy. Only to have JYP announce, oh-so-generously, that he’s giving himself. LOL.

Little do they know that at that very moment, Cindy is announcing to CEO Byun that she’ll do 1N2D. (Turns out CEO Byun isn’t her actual mother, as I’d wondered, but she has been “just like your mother” ever since taking Cindy on at thirteen.) The CEO is horrified, but Cindy repeats Seung-chan’s own words about how variety changed images and boosted the careers of top stars in the past. It’s a good enough argument to get CEO Byun to relent to variety—but it can’t be 1N2D. Anything but.

Cindy reminds her that for ten years, she’s done everything asked of her: “So this time, let’s do as I say.”

Cindy’s manager-oppa tries to talk her out of it, since 1N2D is a tough program for people as picky and short-tempered as her. Cindy says she’s a pro who can suck it up for work, and points to her fingerprint-smudged mirror (that she’s totally not even fussing about) as proof of how laid-back she’s being. HA. Oh, this’ll be fun.

Ye-jin spots Seung-chan chatting with his fellow rookie PDs and pulls him aside, wanting to make sure he wasn’t flapping on about her living situation. He assures her that he wasn’t, and that they were only startled because she looked so scary. Wide-eyed, she says she’s not scary at all, while he gulps and tries to excuse himself for lunch.

Instead, Ye-jin takes him to lunch, where she references the plot of Oldboy and how the main character was locked up for fifteen years, eating only dumplings, because he knew a secret. “Eat, eat,” she says, holding a bite up to his mouth. “The dumplings here are delicious.”

He promises to be careful not to accidentally spill anything, and she warns him off SNS and liquor too. If the rumor leaks, she’ll know it was him, and she won’t pay the remaining 700,000 of her debt (taking a bit off for housing him last night). She hands over another installment, and he thanks her profusely, then interviews how receiving money makes him feel so grateful, “Even though it was my money to begin with.”

Seung-chan hesitantly broaches the question of whether his noona Hae-joo knows about the whole “address-sharing arrangement” too, since it feels only right that she does. Ye-jin now understands his comment about two-timing and assures him that the couple is kaput, with brings a huge doofy smile to Seung-chan’s face. Both of them exclaim how great this is, and then Ye-jin asks why exactly he thinks so. He ekes out an explanation about how it’s good not to have a misunderstanding in play, then is alarmed to hear that Hae-joo is on leave, having tired of PD work.

In an interview clip, Hae-joo explains (with a perfectly straight face) how she chose this profession because she thought it would get her wedding emceed and guest-hosted by famous people like Yoo Jae-suk. But she found the only people it put her in contact with were other PDs, so she picked the best one, and then end up like this. Um, boo hoo for you? So now she’s through dating PDs (and, I guess, also being a PD. Priorities!).

Ye-jin giggles to the docu camera that it’s clear Seung-chan liked his noona, and how no matter how hard he tries not to let it show, it’s not something you can hide. Which is doubly funny since she’s pretty much talking about herself, too, unintentionally.

Ye-jin receives her summons from the standards commission for Cindy’s wardrobe rebellion. She calls in Cindy’s manager and complains about CEO Byun clearly avoiding her because she’s afraid of getting in a tangle with her, only to be told that the CEO doesn’t even know about the incident. So she comes out even more strongly, saying that Cindy should sit this week’s show out, to the shock of both the manager and her staff.

Her team warns that Music Bank will be the bigger loser if No. 1 is kept off the show, and she assures them that Cindy’s management will scramble a bit and come crawling back. She insists she’s not doing this just for an apology, saying that a PD’s most important skill isn’t editing or connections or ratings, but follow-through.

They surreptitiously watch Cindy’s manager frantically making calls, assured of victory. And then he just… leaves. Uh, this can’t be good.

CEO Byun arrives at the KBS building to meet with the director and CP Kim, announcing to their shock that Cindy will do 1N2D after all. She has conditions written into the contract for what Cindy will and won’t do, and anyone who’s watched 1N2D will know how preposterous it is to basically contradict the whole purpose of the show. No spontaneous games, no dunking in water, no shooting post-midnight, veto power on footage usage? What is this, America?

Joon-mo balks at the conditions, and the executives play mediator between him and Byun CEO, getting her to concede on a few points. The back-and-forth is hilariously petty, with Cindy agreeing to dunking in water only up to the ankles (CP Kim: “I’ll try to let them agree on mid-thigh”) and eating stew but not soup.

The 1N2D team pumps Seung-chan for tips on how he got Cindy to agree. His explanation: “I just told her, ‘It would be nice if you did 1N2D.'” The women laugh that it was his face that did it, and that sending the other PD would have backfired on them for sure. He bashfully says that isn’t it, but totally lights up to be called good-looking. He even adopts a few cool poses for kicks, checking himself out in the mirror.

Then Cindy calls him out to meet her, and he makes his way to her van in the parking lot, peering in through the dark glass when she doesn’t answer right away.

Cindy butters him up by telling him that she’s doing the program because of him. She gets him to promise he’ll treat her well, then prods for details on how he’ll do that, saying “Since I’m doing the program because of you, you have to think only of me. Completely on my side. Got it? I’ll only be looking at you while we film.”

Then she meets with Joon-mo and gives him the same flirty speech about how he has to help her. But Joon-mo tells her if she doesn’t know what to do, do nothing. That’s what “real variety” is: “Don’t try to do anything. All you have to do is be there as yourself.” She mulls over those words: “Just as I am…”

Ye-jin waits all day for a call from Cindy’s reps groveling to be let back on Music Bank, but it never comes, and she snaps at her staff that it’s the other side who’s feeling nervous. She, Joon-mo, and Seung-chan meet in front of their building on their way home, and Joon-mo takes a call with his mother as she chats with Seung-chan. But she’s listening more to Joon-mo’s call, and it’s obvious even to Seung-chan that she likes Joon-mo. He uses the same words she’d used about him, that she’s trying not to let it show.

He carries a delivery box up for Ye-jin, and she asks if he likes Hae-joo and whether he’s confessed. Joon-mo joins them a moment later and grumbles about Seung-chan’s constant presence and Ye-jin using him for errands. Seung-chan actually stands up for Ye-jin and her injured wrist, which Joon-mo scoffs at as minor, though he feels bad enough to check on her later about it.

Joon-mo’s seems to be feeling some pangs of jealousy and warns her about Seung-chan always being around. When she points out that he’s always around, he says he’s not a man to her, which sinks her spirits.

But in the morning, he makes her smile by setting out a breakfast for her, twisting off all the caps because of her injury.

At the station, the 1N2D team gets busy planning their first show with the new cast, using Seung-chan as the guinea pig for all the game challenges. Ha, having seen all the games play out in the show itself, it’s funny watching the crew simulate the games beforehand to work out the kinks. (Although the kinks are often the best part.)

Joon-mo interviews using intellectual language about scientific experimentation while his crew beats each other over the head with a plastic mallet in the background. Then a writer breaks chopsticks using his butt and Seung-chan gapes at him in admiration. LOL.

Floor director Joon-bae gives Seung-chan tips as he’s packing for his first one-night, two-day shooting trip. Why pack a toothbrush when you won’t get a chance to eat? A book to read before falling asleep at night is unnecessary, because that assumes that you’ll be getting any sleep. Instead, Joon-bae gives him the list of essentials: chocolate, cup ramyun, and random game materials.

Ye-jin shows up to add her two cents, and takes him shopping for everything Joon-mo needs to function. Seung-chan says Joon-mo’s got a great girl-who-is-a-friend in her, and that he’s envious. It makes her feel good and she ruffles his hair, which goes slo-mo for a second from his perspective. More romance afoot?

Cindy’s manager-oppa fields a call from the producers and promises not to tell Cindy what time they’re coming to get her, since “real” is the concept. Cindy says that people only believe what they want, and that she can treat this like a drama where she plays herself like a character. She’s out to change her cold, hard image into something more approachable: “All I have to do is act it like it’s real.”

She wants oppa’s input in finding a pithy nickname to assign to her variety persona. She rejects Smile Angel Cindy “because that’s true—there’s no fun in calling me that!” She suggests the opposite, so he suggests a saint who never gets angry… which makes her bark, “When have I ever gotten angry with you?!”

Early in the morning, the crew huddles outside Cindy’s door, ready to catch her reaction when Seung-chan sprays her with water to wake her up, then offers her an iced coffee that’s actually fish sauce. Inside, Cindy primps and “sleeps” prettily, “waking” with a startled gasp and refusing the coffee, totally killing the fun vibe.

Joon-mo interviews that Cindy’s reaction seemed totally genuine and believable… but it wasn’t funny. Wah wahhhh.

And then, the rest of the 1N2D idol cast makes their appearance, with cameos from Sandara Park of 2NE1, Kim Min-jae (Persevere, Gu Hae-ra), Kim Ji-soo, Minwoo of Boyfriend, and Kang Seung-yoon (from Superstar K 2 and the group Winner).

Shooting begins, and the two other girls look sidelong at Cindy. Ji-soo’s the rookie so she thinks she’ll benefit from being near Cindy, but hilariously, Dara is the insecure colleague who’s worried they’ll be overshadowed by Cindy. She instructs Ji-soo not to react to Cindy in any way, glaring at anyone who calls her unni or noona (it highlights how much older she is, ha), and tries to form an alliance with Seung-yoon.

Pffft, the whole idol cast is busy strategizing this show off-camera, with Ji-soo and Minwoo also pairing up, while Min-jae tries his luck by flattering the writer.

Shooting begins, and Joon-mo fills the idols in on today’s plans. The guys will pick partners today, and if a pairing fails to happen, those left partnerless will get left behind to make their way with the rookie PD. They’ll have to spend the night at a separate location before joining the basecamp in the morning.

The boys line up behind their preferred partner, and Cindy has to slap on a face when she sees that she’s partnerless. Word gets to CEO Byun, who’s appalled that her top star got left behind, though Cindy takes it in stride, telling her oppa (and herself) that being the straggler gives her a chance to stir sympathy and show her cute side.

Then she takes out her umbrella and twirls it at Seung-chan, who lights up and comes running like the one-track-minded doof he is. She says that it’s more surprising for her to have chemistry with a PD rather than a celebrity. Oppa points out that this only works when the PD likes her back, and she scoffs that she can make anybody on the show fall for her if she tried. Seung-chan? “He’s easy.”

The car ride with Seung-chan tests her patience, as it turns out he doesn’t know any of her songs or her dramas. He just promises earnestly to look out for them, and she interviews with a bright smile that it’s totally not upsetting, it’s just a reminder for her to work harder and not get arrogant. We see the cracks in her sunny facade as she forces a laugh, then asks, “Are we there yet?”

The rest of the cast and crew have set up at the basecamp, and the producers tense when CEO Byun comes charging up to the filming site. Joon-mo braces for the confrontation, only to have her storm right by on her way to the idol table.

She asks why the boys didn’t choose Cindy: “Are you playing games? Who’s your agency?” She assumes that Yang Hyun-seok (head of YG) instructed his idols to band together, and orders Joon-mo to edit out all the footage of Cindy being left behind and to reshoot.

Cindy, Seung-chan, and their lone cameraman trek through the woods with three kilometers left to go. She suggests a game to liven things up, with the loser carrying the winner’s bags, and then loses promptly. He feels bad and offers to take his stuff, but she’s been trapped by her own deal and insists it’s okay.

Then she trips and he catches her, and the moment winds down in slow motion as she recovers her breath. He points out her untied shoelace and bends down to tie it for her, and the camera’s on hand to witness her reaction.

Joon-mo’s mother asks Ye-jin for information about her son, suspecting that Joon-mo’s got a girlfriend he’s hiding from the family, which suggests that she’s not quite acceptable. He’s always telling her not to come by his place, and his door passcode recently changed. She asks Ye-jin to set Joon-mo up with a nice woman—someone younger, in her twenties.

Ye-jin’s little brother gets riled up in his noona’s defense (aw), complaining that ajumma got her all upset, and that she should marry Joon-mo to get their old house back as revenge. He stirs her hopes with the comment that a guy keeping a woman close by, even just as friends, could indicate ulterior motives—because if he was absolutely uninterested, he wouldn’t be friends with her. She considers this.

Later that night, Ye-jin tucks away the milk bottle cap she’d saved from breakfast. Joon-mo films his show at basecamp, with the idols playing games and having fun. And in the forest, Seung-chan and Cindy are still wandering, puzzling over a map in the dark.

A glance at CP Kim’s manual gives us another lesson for Chapter 4, about Understanding Real Variety: “Sometimes the setup becomes poison.”

Cindy urges Seung-chan to call for help, just as the VJ pauses to change batteries in his camera. Immediately her on-camera persona drops and she complains about the day, refusing to let him take the bags because it’ll just make her look worse. To make matters worse, it starts to rain. Her head drops and she heaves a sigh.

Seung-chan steps forward and shields her head with his hand, as time slows down again. He draws the umbrella from her pack and opens it, as Cindy looks up at him with wide eyes.

 
EPILOGUE

We’re back in Cindy’s van, seeing things from her point of view as she catches a glimpse of Seung-chan in her mirror reflection. Smiling to herself, she watches as he knocks on the car door, pressing his face close to the glass when she doesn’t answer. Then she opens up to ask, “Are you looking for me?”

 
COMMENTS

Unclear lovelines are sometimes a recipe for frustration, but I’m really enjoying the way The Producers is handling them, because they all feel plausible, given a little nudge in the right direction. I’m sure we’ll have our favorites in due time (or already), but I like that I can see things unfolding in more than one way, and it wouldn’t kill me (at least, not yet) if my favorite pairing didn’t pan out.

There’s been some behind-the-scenes talk of the drama not quite registering its quirkier format with the mainstream viewership (although ratings are doing just fine, with this episode logging a high at 11.0%) and shifting more toward the rom-com drama style, with drama PD Pyo Min-soo stepping forward and variety CP Seo Soo-min stepping back a bit. It seems the netizen reaction mostly favors this approach, although I’m disappointed because the first week’s mockumentary style and dry humor were what got me excited. On the other hand, now that I’ve seen the “new” direction and still like the show, I feel reassured that it’ll still be an entertaining, funny drama with characters I root for.

It does mean that I’m finding the documentary interview intercuts less relevant than they seemed earlier—I find myself wanting either much more of that, or much less. Okay, maybe I just want more. I like the dissonance they create when what is said is different from what we see—like when Ye-jin laughs at Seung-chan for his transparent feelings when she’s in exactly the same position. The docu clips add that extra comic bite when intercut into a scene, like Hae-joo’s tearful admission of why she doesn’t want to be a PD anymore, told in all earnestness without hearing how absurd she sounds. It makes me want to see the story of the docu crew editor and what he thinks of the narrative he’s cobbling together out of real real footage. And of course, if we got to see that, I’d want to see the PD behind that, proving that really, the truth has a gravitation pull all its own.

I like this idea that the feelings between Joon-mo and Ye-jin are evident to everyone but themselves, and the fact that perennially clueless Seung-chan cottons on readily is practically a siren blaring how obvious it is. I’m not sure whether Joon-mo is willfully ignoring things or if he’s that dense, because we saw signs of his jealousy with Seung-chan leaping to “our Ye-jin’s” defense. Even if he then hastened to insist, multiple times, that they were just friends and completely unromantic.

My hunch at this point is that this is one of our final pairings, though don’t quote me on that. But even if that’s how things end up, I like the idea of them breaking off to explore lovelines with the other two, if only to get a kick in the pants that’ll maybe prompt them to straighten out things in their own relationship. And Ye-jin’s misunderstanding of Seung-chan’s motivations seems like perfect fodder for comedy between them (especially since Seung-chan seems to be speaking a different language half the time and is so unable to read what people really mean behind what they’re saying), but there’s always the chance that it’ll lead to real feelings—we’ve already seen Seung-chan reacting a few times to Ye-jin’s friendly gestures.

That kind of confusion is a perfect motif to carry into this story that’s all about reality-versus-acting, onscreen-versus-offscreen ambiguity. It’s the thing that’ll trip up Cindy, too, after she all but declared she’d try a loveline with the PD as a calculated step to building a certain image. Of course, I doubt she would’ve put herself in this situation in the first place if she weren’t amenable to flirting with the PD, but it’s all the better that she’s getting all confused right from the start. I’m looking forward to the show-within-the-show prompting her to fight both facades at once: her determination to maintain this Nice Cindy persona, and her attempt to direct her romantic inclinations, as though she could control them. Good luck with that? I’ll just be sitting here, with my popcorn.

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Love this drama so much!!

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I liked it better before the changes :( The mockumentary format is what gave it the "real" behind the fake... and not just the "real" behind the show/industry, but the "real" person behind their public facade.

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Love this drama alot too, even with the less mockumentary format that they are going for now and I kinda miss the dry humor of the first 2 episodes. And I have to say that this is the best of KSH I have seen, I've never got why everybody was raving about him so much, but he is so great here !!!!! And that Cindy- Seung Chan pairing is the most adorable pairing I've seen in a while in drama land, that car scene epilogue was just marvelous !!!!!! *clap, clap, clap* BRAVO!!! And I'm loving every bit of appearances of the Floor director Joon-bae, brilliant !!

ThankU for the recap. :)

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this is a fast recap! thankyou!

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I felt headache watching this drama. The plot jumps from here to there and suddenly move to here again. Not to mention the shaking camera all the time and sometimes the casts seem realize the cameraman when they supposed to not realized it. I don't mind with interview parts, but the cameraman keep moving makes me felt uncomfortable watching it. When I just feel relax to enjoy the sunbae-hoobae relationship between Gong Hyo Jin and Kim So Hyun, or how Chae Tae Hyun or Gong Hyo Jin 'bullied' Kim So Hyun, the plot suddenly change to another set without smooth editing. What actually the producer of The Producer wants. I really don't get it. Until finish 4 episodes, there is no character development or solid storyline. Not to mention most of guests (cameos) are awkward (Sandara Park, Winner member, and so on). IU continue makes me sleepy all the time with her tones/ voices.

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Thank you for mentioning ' the shaking camera'. I was wondering whether to watch this one or not. It seems every one either hate it or love it. Anyway, I can't watch a drama with the shaking camera. Even three minutes home video can make me throw up. I guess I am not gonna watch this one.

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I think the shaky camera got so much better as compared to the first 2 episodes. You should really give it a try! :)

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Yeap. Mooooost decent decision made in a thousand years. I stopped on Ep 3. I was practically dragging myself to survive Eps 1 and 2. Ep 3 I did NOT watch at all. I am here at the recaps to see if it is worth seeing the MOVING thing. I am not alone thank God. (And now rewatching GIANT. 60 episodes but feels A WHOLE LOT SHORTER than Producer Ep 1) meh. What a mess. And I campaigned this drama everywhere. Sigh.

I love u Cha Tae-hyun. Always will. Your presence alone makes me melt... ♥

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love your usernameee hahahaha

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It's the concept of THE OFFICE BY RICKY GERVAIS. It's a mockery inside a real world in a real word ( drama wise)
Maybe watch INBETWEENERS and THE OFFICE and you'll get what I'm rearing at.

The drama is good. Wouldn't complain at all about the shaky camera, it's meant to be like that.

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I thought the characters were supposed to notice the camera man because it's supposed to be like a documentary. This drama appears to be a little different from the Office and House of Cards, which has the main character talking directly to the audience. I don't really mind the shaking camera and didn't even really realize it until you mentioned it.

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It was mentioned in the first episode that KBS is following everyone with a camera to show the inner-workings of the company.

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Meh. I lost interest after the first episode. The casting seems like a miss. I don't like the shaking camera either. There are better shows out there namely School 2015 - Who Are You and Hwajung (Splendid Politics).

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At first, I had been hoping for the kim soo hyun-gong hyo jin pairing. This episode left me torn! kim soo hyun and iu are very cute, as well as gong hyo jin-cha tae hyun pairing. I think that Korean viewers are simply not used to the mockumentary-style setup that this drama was aiming for originally, but I also think that Producer will be quick to set off a trend for future dramas.

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Dare I say this is the best I’ve ever seen from KSH. It’s a little premature to make that statement and he’s had various stellar outings in the past, but I just can’t believe how great he’s been in here. Subtle acting and small gestures aside, he has managed to invoke a lot of emotions from me and I find myself reacting to everything Seung-chan does. Whether it's the silliness or the sincerity, I just care so much for his journey and success.

The kiddo is learning fast and I feel his straight-arrow-ness is what will gain him relationships and contacts that will help him become a great PD in the future. He’s very frank about most things and he has no social antenna but because he’s like an open book, the sincerity and honestly is all the more obvious. I’m happy to see Ye Jin treated him better and the way he expresses sympathy for her predicament shows how pure his heart is. Despite the crap she fed him, he’s still worrying about her wrist (and emotions) I suppose Ye Jin can finally earn a friend who is not named Joon Mo. But for that, she’ll have to not treat him like trash. Yesterday was definitely a start.

The romance is on full force and Cindy-Seung Chan are the most adorable pairing I’ve seen in so long. I think Cindy likes him already and he’s not unaffected by her. Its just that Seung Chan is a little slow with people and relationships so its going to take a while before he realizes. I’m thrilled that their love story has started and can’t wait to see where it leads us to. I do see an argument for other couplings but I'm really not keen on cross wires. Its useless and something we see in most dramas. It would be nice to have straight-up love stories once in a while.

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I think Cindy will realize first and confess first too: SC has not even told Hye Joo he likes her. I might be getting ahead of myself but I'm really wishing for SC-Cindy to be endgame. The only other option is SC-YJ but I don't feel the /swoon/ factor in their scenes unlike when SC-Cindy interact. Plus YJ was too bitchy to SC earlier; I wouldn't want him to like her romantically anyway.

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Cindy and SC are too cute. I'm such a sucker for "Notting Hill" type of couples!

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The umbrella couple really makes my heart flutters. I reallyyyy hope that cindy and seung chan end up together. I love the moment when seung chan continud to stare at cindy while he opened the umbrella.cindy has fallen to him so hard n i hope bsc will feel the same too.but one thing i get worry is when bsc is too caring to yejin, im scared the umbrella couple will not end up together. Huwaa ksh n iu really has a great chemistry. I think it is the time for iu to forget youngbae n move on w ksh hee

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I am also shipping SC and cindy but if you see the ep 4 personal interviews of SC and YJ , its like a message that they will end up together... Still I like Cindy and SC together

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I can't wait to see Cindy's plan at making Seung Chan fall in love with her backfire! It seems she's the one falling fast hahaha but I'm kinda hoping for Seung Chan to have a little crush on Ye Jin just to keep the lovelines interesting ;)

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Hehe not gonna lie, I'm already all for Ye Jin and Joon Mo and surprisingly, Cindy and Seung Chan have me super curious as well. This show and its dry humor mixed with all the real world within a fake world references and the romance have me excited. I'm genuinely hyped to see where Producer goes. Fighting, Awkward Seung Chan! Who knows, maybe he'll turn on some of that charisma we all know he has as we progress further into the story :)

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nice recap.. thank you girlfriend..

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After watching 4 episodes, I realize that, no matter how unlikable she is, women like Ye Jin exist. One who pretends to be though, does anything she wants, plays hard to get and at the same time is clueless to some things.
And there is Cindy. I'm warming up to her and she gives more layer for her character. I actually have feeling that IU's actually like that behind her cute image because her acting's believable.
For Joon Mo, he's really like the female version of Ye Jin. They can be siblings in another life. In dramaland, I just want to swoon over their push and pull relationship. So cute!
I think it's time for KSH to be called 'oppa'. I'm kind of tired if to see him in noona romance though I won't complain if there won't be any couple at the end.

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"..In dramaland, I just want to swoon over their push and pull relationship"

I think Seung Chan will do that on your behalf! :D

Amazing...even naïve Seung Chan could see that Ye Jin likes Joon Mo... hahahaa.... :D

and remember the scene when Seung Chan helped carry the box up to the apt for Ye Jin, ironically she told Seung Chan to confess his feelings to Hae Jin noona (but she herself couldn't do it to Joon Mo.... hahahaa...)

I felt touched when Joon Mo said to Ye Jin, "...but you don't see me as a man." Oooh.... I guess that is their problem, each misunderstanding each other. But the saddest part is to hear Joon Mo's mother asked Ye Jin to find a twenty something for her son...ooh... I can't imagine Ye Jin's feelings at that time.

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KSH was already an Oppa to Suzy on Dream High..

As for me... I am on train Cindy-Seung Chan. I think Cindy needs someone caring in her life. She needs nurturing, and for that, Seung Chan is much better suited than Joon Mo, who is too self-absorbed, to even notice the crush Ye Jin has on him.

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True.

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Lol, I dont think Joon Mo and Cindy were ever an option. They have zero chemistry (romantic or otherwise) in the little scenes they had. Even when Cindy found out Joon Mo gave her the kimbap, she didn't dwell on it and fell for Seung Chan anyway.

I think for the romance, the show mostly revolves around who will end up with Seung Chan. If he and Ye Jin are end game, then there is a huge possibility that the other two will not have a partner at all. I'm hoping against that ofcourse.

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OMG Seung-chan and Cindy are sooooooooo CUTE!! <3

I am fully invested in them and their very weird relationship start. Its funny that Cindy believes she can easily make Seung-chan fall in love with her, but in reality, she’s the one falling for him. It’s my kind of relationship and I’m so excited to see their dynamic once they start feeling more aware of their growing fondness. I think I pissed myself laughing at Seung-chan’s toilet antics. He’s just way too adorable. I can totally imagine many people doing such poses, but KSH acts it out with so much gusto and attitude that it turns out even more hilarious.

I can’t possibly say enough on how fabulous KSH has been throughout the first four episodes. He’s hilariously deadpanned, but when he’s required to let himself go – like in the impersonation scenes or the toilet scenes – he shines just as bright. I really could build a planet with the amount of love I have for Seung-chan but I should stop haha.

Very happy with where the drama is going and apart from probable relationship misunderstandings, I think its somewhat clear what the pairings will shape out to be. I hope they quit the thought of love triangles because everything is perfect right now. Tbh, I don’t care for Joon-mo and Ye-jin but I don’t want the Seung-chan and Cindy to get messed up. I’m still meh on Ye-jin and fast-forwarded all her scenes not involving Seung-chan. I don’t hate her character but I’m completely indifferent; she’s just so uninteresting right now. I hope they can do something about that because the other three leads are so much better.

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Woaaa fast recap! The new ep still not available for download at dramania yet! Thanks javabeans!

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try dramayou.com

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I too am disappointed that they've toned down the mockumentary aspect of this show, but it is still funny and enjoyable. Loved seeing Dara being insecure about her age, especially since she looks just as young as IU and Jisoo.

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+1000. It's funnier with the mockumentary... I also hate those stupid blurred edges they're using when they talk directly to the camera.

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Yes! Hate the blurring, and it makes no sense! What documentary would blur the edges like that? It's like they're assuming the audience is too stupid to differentiate drama from interview without it.

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I was all over the place with Seung Chan and Cindy's scenes in this episode, they really made my heart flutter. Both the umbrella and car scenes, to me it seemed new and unique. Loved the script there. Ye Jin and Seung Chan's scenes made me feel things too, just that I like to feel more of Seung Chan as a dependable man despite his innocence than a lovely puppy. And certainly I want Joon Mo and Ye Jin to do something with their real feelings. Don't really like to see anything with regret. They've missed each other for so long.

I'm also torn between wanting to see more of the lovelines and the BTS talks. Currently I'm contented with how it is though. They're giving me the right dose of mixture. Everything seems to come in the right amount and nicely blend together, it keeps my interest going. Or actually, increasing. I find myself invested a lot in this drama already.

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+100000

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SC + Cindy is just [LOVE]

I found myself smiling like a lunatic every time they interacted. I’m really not into IU’s performance when she’s acting sleepy/bored. But because she lit up in this episode she’s a lot better and her chemistry with KSH is no joke. There are hints of SC – YJ too but I hope its not headed there. I like the younger couple so much more and it would be a pity to have KSH in yet another noona romance. His chemistry with GHJ is good, but it is just as great with IU. The two puppies need to end up together!!!

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KSH is so wonderful in this show and a pairing of him and IU would be awesome! I really hope it turns out that way.

I really don't understand why people think this show is boring. I think it's hilarious and love all of the interactions between the 4.

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? this show is so funny

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Wouldn't it be surreal if Jun Ji Hyun took the role of Yee Jin?

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oooohh i see what u did there

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The moment where SC carried the parcel into the apt, and JM gives a hint of jealousy, I can't help but think 'my sassy girl' meet 'my love from another star' .

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Lol! 'My sassy girl' meet 'my love from the star'.

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OMG! U so brilliant! I just realised these 2 actors are both played w/ Jun Ji Hyun mega hits MOVIE and DRAMA. LOL.
They like the alpha and omega hits for JJH

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At this point in the drama, I really don't get the people who still keep saying that IU's doing a horrible job with Cindy. This episode alone she had me caring for Cindy's character more than anyone else's. You can feel her vulnerability and loneliness even during the times that she's haughtily tilting her chin up at the mirror to preen at herself. I can even say that those moments especially are when you can tell that Cindy just really wants to be seen as more than the idol she was manufactured to be. I agree with the commenter from the past episode recaps who said that people expected a Cheon Songyi 2.0 and became disappointed when IU didn't play Cindy as such when really, Cindy was never supposed to be Cheon Songyi 2.0 anyways.

Can I also just say that the BSC-Cindy pairing already has me so enamoured? I love the contrast of jaded Cindy and earnest Seung Chan and how just seeing his stupid eager face can make her light up with a glowing smile when not much else can. Which, to mention, THE WAY SHE LOOKS AT HIM JEEEEEZZZ. When he held the umbrella over her, and during the car scene epilogue in her POV, the way she gazed at him with hearts and stars in her eyes absolutely did me in. I really wish the writers of the show (and all writers in general tbh) would stop banking on love triangles to make the drama interesting. They already have two solid dynamics in Joon-mo/Yejin and Seung Chan/Cindy; all that really needs to be done is to flesh out the development of both their relationships and they'd probably have most viewers endeared.

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I agree with you--it's the way she looks at him that does me in. She looks like the heart eye emoji in human form and it kills me (in the best way)

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You said everything I wanted to say about IU! I think she's great in this role and I'm really enjoying watching her.

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By now I think I'm already fully invested with a Joonmo-Yejin and Seungchan-Cindy pairing. Both pairings are just too adorable and have tons of potential. I kinda hope they'll keep it this way and not switch it out. But I guess if they really want to make it a Seungchan-Yejin pairing, I wouldn't mind much? Because they've got chemistry too.

But I don't know. Because Seungchan is this really innocent and naive character and if he's paired up with Yejin, it would be obvious that she'll be the one dominating the relationship. Whereas with Cindy, he's able to show his manly and dependable side which is a great change from his usual naive and foolish side. That way his character has the potential to grow.

& also I ship Joonmo and Yejin so hard. It's just obvious that they have more than 'friendship' feelings for each other. But of course they're oblivious to it. Especially Joonmo. Yejin, on the other hand, I think has already to realize a bit of those feelings she has for Joonmo but is too prideful to admit it. I need these two to open up and admit that they like each other already! lol

But anyways, whichever pairing it is, I'm open to it as I'm liking all the characters. Well except for Joonmo-Cindy pairing because they don't have much of a connection as of right now. But in the future...who knows. We'll see.

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& also Seungchan and Cindy scenes from this episode made my heart flutter. It kinda cemented my shipping for them. haha. And Kim Soohyun's and IU's height difference made the ending umbrella scene all the more cuter.

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I hate that this drama only have 8 episode left... T.T

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i WISH THIS WOULD BE A 16 EPISODE DRAMA :(

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yeah..... me too.... :( :(

I think I'm already experiencing Seung Chan deficiency syndrome.. huhuhu.... don't know what to do after 12th episode.... huhuhu.....

Can't wait for tomorrow night to come...

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i feel that joon mo likes ye jin.

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Not sure about anyone else here but I am living for Yejin's slightly 90s style. I always look forward to her work outfits!

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Yes!! I am seriously digging her outfits on this show, she rocks this style.

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Both OTPs are shaping up nicely. Cindy's epilogue made me giddy, and Joon Mo opening all the lids and caps for Ye Jin because of her wrist injury made me aww. There is just something so romantic about Seung Chan and Cindy's relationship revolving around rain and umbrellas. Still, as a PD, he should have taken care of his VJ to prevent their filming equipment from getting wet. Seung Chan admiring himself in the mirror after being complimented and apologizing to Cindy after spraying her with water was adorable. Ye Jin's incessant shirking at paying for the car damages annoys me to no end, so I will never get behind a loveline between her and Seung Chan. During their dumplings lunch, I just wanted to warn him, "Every time she pays you back, expect her to make you buy something like chips and pancakes," so I was shocked she did not make him pay for lunch with his own money.

I love how Cindy represents multiple real-life idols: Suzy (breadwinner of Pinky4), Big Bang (MuBank ban despite being first place). As expected, YG Family sticks together. I hate matchmaking shows for this exact reason: someone always ends up not being picked, like G.NA on The Romantic & Idol. Since when was Kim Min Jae an idol? My favorite meta bits in this episode were JYP bragging about his "Who's Your Mama?" beating miss A's "Only You" on the charts and Joon Mo wanting to copy Infinity Challenge's Sixth Man Project. I can't get used to this new camerawork: the blurring out of the background and the unnecessarily close zooming in of their faces. Thanks for the recap, javabeans!

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Omo I didn't realize Joon Mo opens the lids because Ye Jin has wrist injury. It's so sweeet!

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Yeah I just found that out by reading the above comment. It was really sweet of him.

I think Ye jin stopped asking Seung Chan to buy her food with the money she was paying him back because he remarked about how cheap Ye jin was being infront of Joon mo. It didn't matter that both Seung Chan and Joon mo were both drunk at the time, she got the point that her behavior was unacceptable.

I wish I could sympathize with Ye jin about her relationship/friendship with Joon mo, but I can't shake off the feeling that she wormed her way into Joon mo's apartment and is using it to keep tabs on his love life, scope out the competition, so to speak, and she always gets upset when he shows interest in other women. I wonder when she'll just come out with it that she's in love with him. They should stoptip toeing around each other. Someone has to make the first move!

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omg me too ! i thought that Ye Jin would make Seung Chan pay for their lunchh ! haha i got confused too with the new documentary camera work , why are they blurring the sidess? ...

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Is sc like yj? Why he always runs to her house? And what kind of feel he has toward cindy? I feel why he nice to cindy is because he wants to be a professional PD

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its because he live across YJ&JM apartment ... so they just happen to run into each other a lot ! yeah for the time being i think that he hasnt developed any feelings yet for cindy , but i believe he willl uuuuu

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Cindy has fallen for Seung Chan. Really hard.

I hope the pairings defined in this episode will stay until the end of the show, as they're both great.

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It's really funny how most of Cindy and Baek PD's interactions are related to that KBS Umbrella. First, the hilarious banter between them about returning the umbrella, Baek PD running to Cindy with that happy look after she brought the umbrella, and the last scene in the rain... Should we call them Umbrella couple? Haha

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the umbrella is like their motif :) hoping that the writer will bring that up until the end coz that will be really sweet! and yes they're called the UMBRELLA COUPLE now.

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Exactly! They are being called the umbrella couple already by netizens, and it's soooo cute!

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i ship Umbrella Couple

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Love!

Is it just me OR did the documentary portions of this episode become grainier in style than the last few episodes?

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I think it's so that the audience can differentiate between when the fourth wall is bring broken (aka interview time), and when they are supposed to be in their real lives without anyone "filming" them.

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Does anyone know the song that plays right when Baek Seung-Chan holds Cindy and ties her shoes?

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I would like to know this as well! Thanks in advance!

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If I'm not mistaken it's Track 5 from the VA OST that was released yday -http://hulkpop.com/album-various-artists-the-producers-ost/

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This is the most hilarious episode so far for me... LOL so hard, right from the get go!

Joon Mo being drunk trying to punch in the access code to his own apt (even when the door was already open, he still tried to punch in the numbers... in the air! LOL..!!!)

Seung Chan running towards Cindy when he saw her standing under that KBS umbrella... ooh gosh..! the look on his face as he ran, he was like a kid who has finally found his long lost favourite toy.. hahahaa....

'Umbrella' seems to be a symbol in Cindy-Seung Chan relationship; symbolizing the security, the love and the affection that Cindy longs for all her life and Seung Chan may be the one who can give that to her... aaahh...

(dreaming.... sighing.... :) :) :) )

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oh yeah him with that smile whilst running to IU was hilarious! Oh, this boyyyyy...

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Ohhh I love your insight on the possible symbolism of the umbrella!

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I was already giddy about this episode and now your comment has my heart fluttering for our umbrella couple lol

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my heart too.... :)

aah....they way their eyes met as Seung Chan's hand slowly went for the umbrella behind her back.... Ooh...I felt my face hot (blushing...?)... Can't wait how the scene will continue in the next episode.

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funnier when Joon Mo entered, he saw Seung Chan, he immediately thought he entered the wrong house, and walked back to the door before Ye Jin stopped him, LOL

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Same here

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I feel that Joon Mo-Ye Jin and Seung Chan-Cindy will be the ultimate pairings..
They fit to each other.. but at this point I won't deny that the four leads have good chemistry with each other, SC-YJ is also cute, though I can't see Joon Mo-Cindy to be anything than PD-celeb relationships..

I actually prefer dry humor in ep 1-2 but ep 3-4 delivers more in storyline and concept.

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i agree! also with javabeans, that although it seems clear which pairings will stay in the end, that it'll be fun seeing the possible combinations along the way. i like sc & yejin together too^^ and yeah, so far, they've not done much between joon mo and cindy and i kind of doubt anything will happen there, but who knows? i love this drama so much.

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this drama is getting better.

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Cindy is so into BSC. She can say all she wants that its for her image, the show, etc. but she's so into BSC lol. Its so cute and I really want him to like her back soon. They'll make the most adorable couple <3

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omigoshhhhhh!! Seung-chan and IU are SO adorable together - she lights up whenever he's around!! *_*

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Jeez KSH and IU’s chemistry is undeniable. The way Cindy looks at Seung-chan when he peeps in the window, when he ties her shoelaces and when he opens up the umbrella… its obvious they have something going on. Even if Seung-chan acts like he’s from a different star (heh) with his obliviousness and heodang-ness, I don’t think he can deny they had lots of spark. I predict he’ll think he has a crush on Ye Jin (he’s into noonas) but eventually will realize that Cindy is who he really loves. Atleast that’s what I’m hoping for.
Since Seung Chan is the heart and center of this drama, I am sure the writer will properly develop whatever feelings he’ll develop for Cindy and Ye Jin. #excited

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he's an alien after all ! lol reading your comment making me thinking like what if this is like the sequel of MLFTS , when CSY has died , and he tries another job , etc etc haha ..

sorry too delulu over heereeee loll

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KSH is hitting it out of the park, scene after scene after scene. He's wonderful - sometimes restrained, sometimes letting himself go and always so aware of his character. I haven't seen MLFTS yet, but I think I might because of him and the writer. What a great combination they are.

Also, I'm TeamUmbrella. C+SC are the definition of adorable. I'm not really interested in the older couple, but these kids are just the recipe for cuteness. But I'm also liking YJ+SC so if they are endgame I'll be just as pleased.

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Did you notice that even the way Seung Chan run, I think, is creatively developed by Kim Soo Hyun because in real life the way Kim Soo Hyun runs is totally different (see Running Man episode 147).

KSH has REALLY given life to BSC.

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OHH YEPPPPP ! he gives trait to his characterrss ! he has grown so much since MLFTS , but maybe because in there his character is surpressed by Jun Ji Hyun's character

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His MLFTS character was surpressed. He previously delivered superb performance as a king in Moon Embracing The Sun.

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You're right!

In 'Moon Embracing The Sun', he was like....soooo manly... his powerful voice... the square shoulder . Aah... I love the way he looks in the purple warrior outfit..
(in Running Man episode 102, they made fun of him as he was panicky and indecisive unlike him as the King.. hahahaaa...)

But as Seung Chan.... he's sooo nerdie, so cute and adorable...! :D :D

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Seungchan running is funny. XD I love the way KSH gives nuances to the characters that he plays. He's hardworking and he does homework for his roles before filming the drama. ^^

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Kim Soo Hyun you are the ever best.

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Seung chan is sooo adorable in this episode! His scene in the restroom and when he's running towards Cindy. Here's rooting for the Umbrella couple.

And even if Ye jin is insufferable at times, I still like her probably because GHJ is playing her.

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All i can i say is I LOVE THIS DRAMA!

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In the last scene, I could practically see and feel Cindy falling in love with Seung-chan. The way they look at each other in the end was so intense and yet sweet. I ship them so hard tho I was initially shipping Seung-chan with Ye-jin. Kim Soo-hyun has great chemistry with both ladies, but Cindy wins for now.

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I love this drama, still. I loved the first week and while I was worried I still love it.

I might be in the minority but I love Cindy. I think she's the most intriguing character and frankly I want to get inside her head more. I've got the other three pretty much pegged but I'm not 100% sure about her yet.

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You don't seem to be in the minority, considering the comments for the show here on DB.

I don't really get the adoration for her though. I've seen much more endearing portrayals of self-pitying, self-absorbed bitches, to be honest.

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My favourite part so far is BSC looking at himself in the mirror! OMG, I died laughing so hard. KSH is doing such a great job in this drama. I am now on board with the umbrella couple!!!

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Okay, so they finally gave up the mockumentary idea completely and just have the interviews once in a while (like YFAS did), and they added a visual effect to signalise them. I guess there was a lot of irritation about their muddled format.

It also dropped much of the aspects of slice-of-life for a more conventional story. Problem is, now that this is an almost straight forward K-drama, it's really slow. A lot of little plot device ideas are dragged and stretched out.

The writer had trouble to connect the many different subplots in YFAS to something that looked like one coherent show, and it is much worse in this case. But maybe that deliberate, as reverence to variety as a whole.

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Hey, now. YFAS had an eeevil serial killer (body count: 1) who served cheese and massive logic fails like a boss, an alien who had no life beyond his earthling gf (literally), a reincarnation subplot dropped halfway through...Well, at least YFAS had JJH being fabulous.

I'm kind of glad they scaled back because I'd had enough of a beautiful tradition of comedy getting butchered by people who obviously just don't get it. Though now that they've kind of given up, it feels more like a gimmick than ever.

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First of all: This has to be the most concise and accurate synopsis of YFAS I have read so far.

It's difficult to struggle with finding the format (let alone the genre!) of a 12-episode show when you are already at episode 4. Now they try to tell a classic K-drama story in a very short format, and all the gimmicky stuff from the first episodes becomes a heavy baggage. (It also renders some of the supporting roles and half of the leading roles something of a miss-cast.)

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This show really makes the case for preproduction, though, doesn't it? I'm not saying this writer is the Korean Ricky Gervais waiting to happen, but I can't help but think they would have sorted some of these kinks out if they had the time to edit and figure out the long game, instead of resorting to their native patterns to keep the thing going. At least the premise wouldn't have completely derailed.

Though I agree it's the same old show, now (and kind of always was). I am surprised that the person who came up with a character as winning as Cheon Song-yi has saddled us (and this cast!) with these charmers. IU's character is the worst-- she reminds me so much of all the bitches I went to high school with.

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Umbrella team <3

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83,000won team <3

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830,000won team <3

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What's awesome about this episode:
1. Sandara Park
2. JYP making fun of himself.
3. Umbrella scene
4. The lovelines are finally on it's way.
5. SC and his bathroom poses. SC hilariously sprawled on Ye Jin's couch. For some reason, I laughed my ass off seeing him lying on the couch like that.

Not so awesome:
The very unsubtle product placements. I swear, they only did that scene with Ye Jin and Joon Mo's mom so that Dal.komm Coffee can be seen smack in the middle of that scene. lol And what is up with that stuff Cindy was eating. They cut to the manager's fingers just to get a closeup of whatever product that is. They should make PPL as a gag in the drama ala Kings of Drama.

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Awwww...warms my heart that Sandara's cameo captured a lot of positive attention. We (her fans) have been clamoring for her to be given acting opportunity because the girl can act. I guess she also want to take it slow and earn her spot rightfully. Dara-yah fighting!!!!

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Blackjack? Daraling?
Though I'm not a huge fan of 2ne1 music, I did catch up Dara's Dr. Ian, even if the the web drama was not spectacular she was really good in it!
I'm looking forward to Dara and Seungyoon's web drama!

On a side note at first I didn't get who Ji soo was but I suddenly got it that she must be a YG trainee right!

What's up with all the YG and KBS love after years of dispute! Don't any of you see the similarity of the dispute between CEO Byun and Tak Ye Jin as similar to that Bigbang vs Music Bank years ago?
But recently with Nam Joo Hyun appearing in School, three YG idols cameo in Producer, Jinusean perform on KBS and Bigbang winning in Music Bank and coming on happy together. I believe they are all chummy these days!

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Hahaha I am a plain Dara fan. I don't like labels (so dramatic haha). Anyway, I feel like YG realized that promoting/appearing in SBS won't cut it anymore. KBS has proven with the last couple of years their worth in the drama and variety area. YG has a lot of artists now, he needs more venue to promote them, relying on SBS and MNET alone is not enough. Just my two cents.

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but i hear that its KBS that cut their ties off first? probably i heard it wrong tho haha

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@killugon

I do not know how to reply to you so I am going to reply in my own post. Found a comprehensive post in allkpop forum and this is true because I remember it:

"It started in 2010 when 2NE1 started promoting several songs at a time. This wasn't as much of an issue then because they would pick two of the three at a time to perform. However, later on, it did become an issue when they tried to perform 3 songs and Big Bang also wanted to perform many songs at a time with their later comebacks. If you think about it, it is difficult to air three songs for one artist when there's so many artists performing on one show and some only get one song. Can you imagine letting all the artists who usually perform two songs (although it would be the more successful ones) perform three songs on a music show? Big Bang got around it with shows like that one MTV Korea one where they were the only ones on it and could perform all their songs.

There's also the issue of how expensive their stages are, but YG was the one paying. They did have some demands for the broadcasting station, but that's expected. KBS probably could have complied but I think it was the above issue with the songs that was mostly the problem. It was basically how much KBS would accommodate for YG artists in comparison to other artists."

Credit: http://www.allkpop.com/forums/discussion/83720/so-what-is-yg-s-feud-with-kbs

After that, it leads to YG not allowing his artist to appear in Music Bank which pisses off KBS. In retaliation (allegedly), KBS did a smear campaign on Daesung hit and run case which made YG even more mad.

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Thanks for the recap, JB!

I'm enjoying this series more and more. Surprised that it's got such opposite reactions from viewers who either seem to love it or hate it.

KSH just makes me laugh so hard as BSC!!! He's totally stealing the show. His drunken behaviour, being giddy when he found out Haejoo and Joonmo are no longer dating, feeling happy to get paid back by Yejin, getting bashful at being called good-looking and posing in the restroom, being the guinea pig for the games and in awe of the sunbae who broke the sticks, bounding to Cindy like an excited puppy when he spotted the umbrella, etc. Love love love his facial expressions and subtle acting. He's really bringing this show to life and his interviews are funny as well. Also love his sincerity and earnestness. XD

Cindy has totally fallen for SC and it's probably because no one has treated her in this way since her debut 10 years ago. He just warms her heart and makes her smile. Can't wait to see their relationship develop. Really like their scenes when SC caught her when she was about to fall, tying the shoelaces, and shielding the rain with hand plus getting the umbrella. Cindy can enjoy filming 1N2D with the rookie PD instead of fellow idols. =P

I hope YJ-JM can realize their feelings soon. Love how JM opened the caps and lids for YJ after finding out she hurt her wrist.

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I'm enjoying this drama through and through.

I think I've warmed up to all for characters now (including Cindy, even if IU's performance still lags behind those of the others). Have to say that I find KSH is carrying the show for me, he is just utterly compelling as BSC. But loving the others as well – I am anticipating the bromance between Seung-chan and Joon-mo (because I can see the latter has a puppy heart and is already warming to SC).

I have no problems at all with GHJ's character. I find her like her last character in It's Okay It's Love that so many people complained about: yes, she's outspoken and self-centred, but I don't find her mean. She keeps harping on about the money, but I find that makes her character consistent – she gets hung up about something really small (something that others would normally just pay off and be done with, esp. someone in her position), it reflects something about how others see her (this strong, highly capable, intimidating, infallible person) and who she is. Also, her keeping on harping on about the money obviously is part of comedy of the show (it's a joke specifically about her character and Seung-chan, who is of course dead serious about the whole thing reming her about every 50,000 won she tries knock off). I bet you even when she will have paid off the money, she'll still go on about it.

Anyhow, love all the meta (please keep the alternative format! I find it really refreshing!), all the humour. Very much hope Producers will continue to be as good.

P.S. I do understand if this sort of show isn't for everyone. It's a little different, different pace, format and humour.

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I think the whole money thing is a good plot device so that Ye Jin and BSC have a reason to have scenes together since he is not part of her team.

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I see it more as a running gag! ;-)

Actually, I do think they would run into each other – they are in the same department after all – though perhaps not quite as often.

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Umbrella couple all the way. I think JM and YJ coupling is pretty obvious and to be honest they suit each other, they understand one another and are very self centered. Whereas we hardly know little to nothing about Cindy and BSC, and that's why their coupling excites me more. I feel like they can help each other grow to step out of their comfort zones. Cindy is desperate for genuine love and BSC is desperate to give love.

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i love this post. seung chan and cindy team up is still full of mystery & they're the type of characters who can complete each other! :)

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Funny how some say that YeJin & Seung Chan belong together because they're the same (not able to confess to the one they like) and SeungChan does some stuffs that no other man has done for her and he was there to see the Cherry Blossoms with her. I'm thinking that those elements were written to confuse us. I don't think they wrote that to give away the idea that "hey, SeungChan is softer than JoonMo, JoonMo sees YeJin as a friend only. YeJin & SeungChan will be endgame" IT'S NOT LIKE THAT.

Did JoonMo already say his real feelings about YeJin? No. NOT YET. CAUSE WE'RE GETTING THERE (right, writer-nim?) SeungChan & YeJin maybe click well together but it doesn't mean that JoonMo will be out of the picture & Cindy will be left behind again. This is drama, guys. I used to consider before that maybe they'll have KSH and GHJ characters end up together but after seeing the past 4 episodes, I started to think that their characters aren't exactly made as the drama's main couple. CTH had scenes with GHJ that were really SOMETHING. They care for each other, we're just waiting for their ultimate "I love you all along" confession. and IU? Oh Cindy's relationship with SeungChan started so well and now we've seen episode4 it seems like we need more of them! :) Producers showed us TYJ & RJM questionable relationship not for us to compare RJM with BSC but to make us realize that YeJin won't just shoo JoonMo out of her life easily because she met a softer or caring SeungChan. Too early to declare the endgame couples but if the writer will shake it all up and Cindy-BSC & TYJ-RJM won't end up together a lot will be disappointed. :)

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A Ye Jin/BSC pairing seems like a pipe dream to me just because, right now, I see them more as having a master/pet relationship. The writer might keep that possible pairing open just to mine some misunderstanding comedy or go for the making Joon Mo jealous angle. Long time friends living together who secretly love each other (reminds me so much of 9 end 2 outs) pairing and Ice Princess' heart melted by Earnest Boy pairing seems more plausible.

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"Did JoonMo already say his real feelings about YeJin?"

I think he has.

Remember in the flashback scenes when Joon Mo carried TYJ (piggyback?), TYJ was crying saying she made people sick of her (that's why her boyfriend dumped her) and then Joon Mo said "I stick with you for 25 years, how can you say you make people sick of you."

Then during the drunk (when SC said TYJ is old, has bad personality etc and used "my Ye Jin") episode, Joon Mo said, "only I can say 'my Ye Jin'".

Joon Mo was jealous seeing SC in his apt. He said to Ye Jin, "he is a man."

There are already many hints dropped in these 4 episodes. Just need to wait for the final confession... XD

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Perhaps it is just me, but IU's portrayal of Cindy seems different this time round. She is brattier than usual, not the tired/bored celebrity depicted in the first two episodes. The change is quite jarring, but I prefer this new Cindy.

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I think it's mostly because for the first time she's doing something because she suggested it? The last few episodes she was tired/bored because she was doing whatever the agency wanted of her and she had no real interest in any of it, but this episode she demanded to be on the show, and she's actively trying to do things (change her image, wanting BSC to fall for her) etc., so her more natural personality is coming through. Also because you can tell her life was very predictable before this, so she had a set reaction to everything, but now with BSC and the variety programme itself, she's just making up things as she goes along ("it's good that I didn't get chosen, I'm totally okay with it, it totally relates to my grand plan").

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@Zoe +1

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+1

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Kim Soohyun is at his best in this show. He has this image as Kim Soohyun and looking cool and handsome in all the dramas I've seen him in. But here, I don't see that image at all. I see Seung Chan completely. Cha Taehyun, in a different case, is also an awesome actor. He plays his character so naturally and so genuine. He doesn't even look like he's acting. He's just the character. And he is so endearing. I love him!

What Seung Chan told Cindy about going into variety is really true. Most of the time, I start to love celebs after I've seen them in variety shows. This is not completely variety but seeing IU in this drama makes me like her a little more. For some reasons I don't like IU and I rejected all the dramas she was in before but couldn't resist Producer. Maybe if I'll watch her in variety shows, I might come to like her more.

I actually didn't like the change. The blurred backgrounds bother me so much plus it's less funny. I'm enjoying the cameos though. Now, if only Jeon Ji Hyun can cameo as Cheon Song Yi, that would be perfect. Thanks for the recaps, javabeans!

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You should see KSH in "Secretly, Greatly" movie. He acts like a bumbling idiot there as an undercover disguise. Definitely very different from his usual cool and handsome self. =P Yet, it's also distinct from his BSC role here. He's a versatile actor. ^^

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oh , i saw that ! but even there i still see KSH as KSH and not his character till this showw ! <3

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He's pure love in this show!! Heehee~ <3

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I've seen that movie too! But the idiot side of him is just a disguise and he's still a badass North Korean soldier. In Producer though, he's just Seung Chan. lol

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Haha, yes! He's completely embraced this role as Seungchan and definitely outshining everyone.

Actually, I just remembered that he also had a bit of a bumbling role before his transformation in "Dream High." XD

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The blurring of the sides to signify that the scene is an interview does look kind of weird. They should have stuck to the classic way they do that. Have a small red recording sign at the corner.

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Yeah! That would be so much better! I don't get why they have to blur backgrounds

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Agree with you. I was confused when I saw the blurring at first. I thought something was not right with my screen ... :D

Maybe the production team thought the reason why people couldn't understand the format because they couldn't differentiate when the characters were on camera and when they were off camera.

I think they should stick to the original format. Those who do not understand are just people who do not want to embrace a new format. No matter what you do, they will not budge.

I read in some forums, some are commenting about the many advertisements displayed in the scenes and they are fed-up with it. I wonder why they are angry about it. To me, as long as the characters do not literally mention the brands in the lines, I don't mind. I'm not bothered at all. Besides, we all know that to produce an expensive drama (with many A-list stars), the production would need a lot of sponsors.

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Jeon Ji Hyun can cameo as Cheon Song Yi, from your hand written to GOD finger

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I have to agree that it's sad they have to dial back the interview bits. Those were funny and added a lot to the laugh factor.

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Wouldn't the ultimate meta joke be Yoon Eun Hye cameoing?

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Kim Jong Kook as a PD trying to get Yoon Eun Hye to be on his variety show would be the most epic meta scene in the history of Kdramas.

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+1

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^ omg this. please make it happen, drama gods! (since it didn't work on variety gods.)

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HAH! Cindy proves she can do manipulative as well as YJ, though in a more subtle manner. While JM is impervious to her manipulation by telling her to be herself in the variety show, SC is not. I can't wait to see how the relationships will pan out.

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