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Link – Eat Love Kill: Episodes 3-4

Our leads become increasingly entangled in each other’s lives this week. Or, more accurately, our chef gets drawn further into his new neighbor’s hectic (and hazardous) life. Adding to the intrigue, there’s a suspicious new arrival in town with connections to a certain stalker and a local blackmailer who’s looking to put out a hit on someone. This neighborhood is a lot.

 
EPISODES 3-4 WEECAP

Caught red-handed peeking in Gye-hoon’s (empty) fridge, Da-hyun stammers out an obvious lie. Gye-hoon calls her out but lets her leave after telling her he may just be an ally. Now that the body is gone, Da-hyun’s family has an even bigger problem. Who took it? Or could the stalker still be alive?

Da-hyun and her family are extra jumpy, afraid to open fridges and scattering whenever a police car drives by. Of course, their squirrely behavior just makes Min-jo more determined to figure out what they’re hiding. Unfortunately for them, she’s also taken an interest in the recent murder case that seems related to the stalker.

An older neighborhood cop is convinced that the primary suspect in Gye-young’s disappearance is responsible for this recent murder. The suspect was turned in by his young son who saw him covered in blood the day Gye-young went missing, but they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. The man is now homeless, still living in the neighborhood. When Gye-hoon comes face to face with him, he vows to kill him if he finds evidence that the man killed Gye-young.

Meanwhile, Gye-hoon’s link with Da-hyun is getting more disruptive. She has nightmares every night about the trauma, and Gye-hoon experiences them along with her. After they meet on the street coincidentally, both getting drinks, it becomes a nightly tradition.

Gye-hoon cooks and they share drinks, becoming more comfortable with each other. She’s curious about his surprising care toward her, so he shares that he owed someone five meals – he might be using Da-hyun as a substitute.

In a flashback, we learn that Gye-young had written Gye-hoon a letter right before she went missing; he didn’t receive it until after she was gone. She’d had a few requests, including five meals, as repayment for Gye-hoon ratting her out in typical sibling fashion.

Worried that Da-hyun will misinterpret his actions, he makes her promise not to like him no matter how well he treats her. So, of course, she starts liking him. Da-hyun gets a little too comfortable and proves just how unsuited to criminality she is: she confesses to Gye-hoon that she murdered someone.

Gye-hoon is flabbergasted, more at her complete lack of secrecy than the murder. Da-hyun quickly realizes how bad of an idea confessing was and decides the best way to ensure his silence is to threaten to kill him if he talks. HA.

Despite how much of a disaster she is, Gye-hoon still lets her work at his restaurant. Da-hyun had been studying for the civil service exam to make her mom happy, but she knows she’s not cut out for it. She has a huge fight with her mom about wanting to live her own life and for now, that means working at Gye-hoon’s restaurant.

Da-hyun isn’t the only new hire at the restaurant, though. A sketchy young woman comes to town and is hired on as a chef. LEE EUN-JUNG (Lee Bom) is looking for her little brother, the stalker. She assumes Da-hyun is his girlfriend from the social media posts and cozies up to her for information, thinking she has something to do with his disappearance.

Eun-jung even showed a photo of her brother to Bok-hee and halmeoni, but they didn’t recognize him. Da-hyun’s coworker alerts her to the fact that a family member is looking for the stalker, but Da-hyun doesn’t realize it’s Eun-jung.

While Da-hyun frets about this latest development, Bok-hee and halmeoni have a new problem of their own. A neighbor saw them stuff the stalker’s body in the fridge and is now blackmailing them to keep silent. The kicker? In return, she wants them to off her abusive husband.

But that might not be necessary. I haven’t yet introduced another newcomer to town who arrived when Gye-hoon did. JI WON-TAK (Song Deok-ho) is a cop who has been stationed in Jihwa. He and Min-jo are exes and, awkwardly, now partners.

Won-tak is also sketchy (who isn’t here?), and there’s this anger under the surface that’s concerning. He’s very protective of Min-jo, despite her constant warnings to him not to interfere. They cross paths with the abuser a couple times, and he’s always disrespectful to Min-jo. Each time, Min-jo has to stop Won-tak from becoming physical.

One night, Won-tak goes out dressed in the universal stealth suit (all black with a baseball cap, naturally). He gives the abuser a vicious beatdown in an alley and leaves him looking almost dead. Yeesh. Gye-hoon happens by and greets Won-tak as he tries to sneak off. Gye-hoon takes in the stealth suit and the blood on Won-tak’s hand.

As luck would have it, Da-hyun and family end up finding the abuser unconscious. And that’s when the cops show up. To make matters worse, they each happen to be holding a utensil that also doubles as a weapon: a shovel, a rolling pin, and a hammer. So off to the station they go. Thankfully, the still-alive abuser confirms that his attacker was male, so the women are released.

It’s a miracle the whole neighborhood doesn’t know what they did yet. Da-hyun especially is a terrible liar and can’t keep her story straight. At one point, in Gye-hoon’s restaurant, Jin-hoo notices that one of their expensive knives went missing (which is oddly in one of the neighborhood ajumma’s possession). Gye-hoon’s eyes cut over to Da-hyun who blurts out, in front of Jin-hoo and Eun-jung, that she didn’t do it with a knife. HA. She’s going to give Gye-hoon a heart attack from the stress of watching her flail.

Meanwhile, Jin-hoo is worried about Gye-hoon and decides to get some answers. He collects hair samples from Da-hyun and Gye-hoon (by ripping it from their heads) and sends them off for DNA testing. As expected, the results are negative.

Jin-hoo shows Gye-hoon who admits he already knew but was lying to himself. He wanted his family to be whole and happy again, even though he knows that’s just an unrealistic dream.

He and Da-hyun do, however, have a past connection. She also grew up in the neighborhood and had a crush on him after he saved her from bullies, which led her to believe he liked her too. She didn’t realize he was actually protecting Gye-young who was standing beside her.

Now, Gye-hoon has decided it’s time to come back to reality. He can feel Da-hyun’s feelings for him through the link and confronts her about it, saying he only acted out of sympathy and no longer plans to be so involved.

Still, he can’t help but warn her when he makes a startling realization. Gye-hoon had seen the wrapped body in the fridge (not knowing it was a body) before it disappeared. At the same time, one of his knives went missing. He concludes the stalker wasn’t dead – he escaped.

Da-hyun is skeptical, wondering why he didn’t come after her. In voiceover, Gye-hoon says they’d later discover the stalker was hit by a taxi on his way to her family’s restaurant. At the end of the episode, as they stand in the street, the stalker suddenly lunges from the shadows and grabs Da-hyun by the throat.

So… that was jarring. I’m half wondering if this is in Da-hyun’s imagination. The camera angles throughout the episodes did suggest someone spying on Da-hyun and Gye-hoon, but still. Given how shady this neighborhood is, it really could’ve been anyone.

Won-tak is almost as concerning as the stalker and may himself be a stalker. Did he come to town for Min-jo? Or is he also connected to the past? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the son who turned his father in for Gye-young’s disappearance.

I think Gye-hoon is going to have his hands full in this neighborhood, what with solving his sister’s disappearance and trying to make sure Da-hyun doesn’t accidentally give herself up. Although at least now she’s not facing a murder charge. Silver lining, I guess?

 
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I didn't like Da-hyun's mother in these episodes. She's loud, not subtile at all, put her daughter in this situation instead to call an ambulance, always hit her daughter, doesn't know when to shut up...

At the opposite, I loved Da-hyun and Gye-Young's interactions. They were so funny. She's so obvious with the murder and he's so dumbfounded that she can speak about it so openly when she shouldn't :D

I don't care so much about the different mysteries. I'm pretty sure that every neighborhood resident will be a suspect before we know the real one.

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Da Hyun's mom hitting her daughter is a bit too excessive to be funny, but apart from that the mom's character is not portrayed to be clever. Infact they highlighted the IQ of the grandma-mom-daughter when granma diffused the quarrel between the mom and Da Hyun by saying " Even if we all collectively put our brains together we still can't efficiently cover up the murder, so do you keep wanting to fight?". So she is loud, not subtle, doesn't call the ambulance or shut up.

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Being not very smart is not my issue, the grandma is not and she knows it, it makes her funny. The mother is not very smart and acts like she is. But my issue is how she acts with her daughter, she belittled her a lot for me.

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I love the grandma-mom-daughter trio. Them acting like pros in murder but at the same time being clueless and dumb is a hoot to watch! I neither expected the domestic abuse victim to threaten and hire the trio after witnessing them hide the body nor the quick reveal of the possible blood relation between the leads; the stalker mystery; Da Hyun's confession of murder to Gye Hoon. The drama is actually progressing at a quick phase but it actually doesn't seem so because of Da Hyun and Gye Hoon's slow bonding over their impromptu late night rendezvous. That was just relaxing to watch❤ I am looking forward to more episodes.

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I'm glad we know how he made it out of the fridge. I don't think it was a dream, I do think he made it out. The weird angles make me think it is his sister, but who knows.

Also I rolled my eyes at the childhood connection, but at least it makes sense because they moved back to the old neighborhood.

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Now that I knew I was in for a comparatively dark drama, I was able to enjoy the next two episodes unreservedly. I love the sudden twists and abstruse events. I wouldn't even miss the love story if it didn't exist, because I find the rest just exciting enough.

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The moment shown in the lead photo on this recap was very funny. No, no, nothing suspicious going on at all.

I really appreciate Jin-hoo. His questions and reactions always bring a normal and sometimes hilarious perspective to this totally weird environment.

@quirkycase, I also won't be surprised if Won-tak is the boy who turned in his father for Gye-young's disappearance. But where did all that anger come from? Is he avenging the victim(s) he could not help when he was a frightened boy?

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More good times were had! I'm still really liking the chemistry between our leads. The tone definitely shifts on a dime, and I think a little more care could be payed to the transition between heavier stuff to comedy but I'm down for more so...keep it coming!

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Started dying of laughter at Dahyun’s botched confession, terrible patch up, admitting it anyway to Gye Hoon’s dismay, and then finishing it by threatening him vaguely and without remorse,
kept laughing through her second accidental confession about the knife, wept at the Three Musketeers traipsing through the streets all holding accidental weapons, in such a brilliant use of prop comedy, only to end up at the Police Station, yet again, and reached peak catharsis by the time Gye Hoon was sobbing over cleaning the wine glasses.

I love that everyone is weird and implicated somehow. I love that that very much includes not only Gye Hoon and his Chef friend, despite them being the “new” kids in town, but also Miss Shady Chef herself who commented thus.

I love the relationship between our 3 generational female family unit. I love their similarities, their arguments, their laughter, their tears, the new found phobia of fridges, Halmoni’s sudden bursts of determinism that lead to utter Chaos, and their single shared braincell between them (that they are all acutely aware of.)

Would also love it if Eun Jung and Ji Eun were also twins but like the evil opposite of Gye Hoon and Gye Young, idk I think that’d be fun.

The fridge, the knife, the missing body (or man), the cop with … anger management issues, the homeless ex piano teacher who is probably the aforementioned cop’s father, the taxi driver and his wife, the domestic abuse case, the contracted hit, payment: blackmail, two vengeful siblings- I can only hope that more and more layers to this story keep unfolding and being revealed, because I would be DELIGHTED if the Taxi Driver of Doom was not the last or even second last piece of this puzzle at all~
(and even more so hope that the drama deals with all said layers satisfactorily… 👀)
And over the top of it all! Food! And blooming crushes! And supernatural ties!

Link: Eat, Love, Kill --- *QUITE* the apt title. It did not come to play, now did it.

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Ahhh you summed up all my thoughts perfectly. The makeshift 'Three Musketeers' as you say are HILARIOUS, the nonchalant way they approach things like being contracted for murder genuinely had me in stitches. I think you said it somewhere below and you're so right - the dark & absurdist comedy is everything, working double time to provide the laughs while also really lending the 'thriller' side of things that really creepy and unnerving undertone.

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I'm loving this drama- it feels fresh and different, mysterious, funny and serious all at once. It's like a lighter version of Beyond Evil, with romance and humor thrown in. I'm also happy that I can access it with my Disney+ account via VPN to DisneyPlus Korea, haha.
There are so many hilarious scenes and the cast play them out perfectly- I always thought Moon Ga Young had great comedic timing and she uses it well in her confession/not confessions to Gyehoon. The trio of grandma/mom/daughter getting in trouble and landing in the police station all the time is a riot. I'm also really impressed at how well Yeo Jin Goo has become at delivering comedy, he doesn't overdo the delivery like I sometime felt he did in HDL and his scenes with his junior chef are pure gold (why is everyone in the town starting at us? It's because we're walking like this- pan to junior chef clutching Gyehoon's arm in a lover-like death embrace).
There's also a very serious thread of assault and violence against women woven into the plot that I'm appreciating. It seems so many women in this small town are victims. The montage scene of Dahyun being "unlucky" with men who are perverts, stalkers, and cheaters, is both funny and sad, as is the wife blackmailing Dahyun's mom and grandma into killing her husband in the middle of a bopping town aerobics dance class. And the mom understanding the wife blackmailing her because she was abused herself.
I'm glad they cleared up that Dahyun is not Gyehoon's sister- a lot of people didn't like that storyline but in some ways it was necessary because Gyehoon wouldn't have allowed himself to get close to Dahyun if he hadn't hoped she was his long-lost sister. That being said, he tells Dahyun he's not going to be concerned with her anymore, but moments later runs out to find her, concerned after realizing the man in the fridge may still be alive. He's hooked whether he knows it or not and I'm looking forward to seeing how his self-discovery plays out *(slow burn romance, anyone?)
That last scene gave me the shivers- the stalker is alive and Gyehoon sees it (either as a foreshadowing or through telepathy). The stalker took Gyehoon's knife then was run over by the taxi driver, who took the knife back home where his wife put it in their kitchen drawer (why?)- but where's the stalker now? And the stalker's sister just gives me the creeps.
The plot so far is likely a finely constructed puzzle with interlocking pieces- can't wait to see how it plays out.

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Wow, this is exactly what I was thinking about the show but you managed to put it into words! Thank you so much. I totally agree! It feels very fresh. So many dramas add in the random stalker or killer plot lines but this manages to do it effectively because it’s intertwined with the overall premise of the show, and it does it in the most hilarious way. I love it.

It’s black comedy done right. In some ways, with the restaurant settings and the quirky comedy/mystery/fantasy vibes with the whimsical score, it reminds me of Pushing Daisies? And I LOVE that show!

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I have not watched Pushing Daisies- I’ll have to add it to my list! This kind of storyline is right up my alley….

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Thanks for the kind words by the way but I’m just noticing now so many typos in my comments- I’ll have to review more carefully before I post next time!

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Don't like the mom, love the grandma. Everyone is shady as he** including that officer Ahn, who figured out who Gye-hoon is. But the main couple is absolutely wonderful. I haven't enjoyed a main couple this much in a long time. Da-hyun is such a nut and Gye-hoon is so logical; they complement each other and balance each other out. And Yeo Jin-gu just keeps getting more and more delicious.

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yes! delicious!

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This show is so bizarre in their reaction display. Everyone is so cool about the murder. They made a fuss over smallest thing or less despicable acts, but when they talk about the murder, it as if they were talking about “how to hide the fact that you broke mommy’s vase”. The only fitting emotion potrayed is about the missing case of Gyeyoung. But, I do like this oddball of drama. Weird.

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I believe, that that is actually, the entire point haha.
That's what gives it that dark absurdist comedic edge. And I also love it for it. 😅

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I’m really enjoying the drama - it wasn’t what I was expecting but it’s so fresh and funny! Kudos to the actors. I was slightly let down to find out the stalker’s still alive, but then again I don’t want to end with lots of jail time for our heroes!
I know the mother isn’t a great role model, but you can see they all love each other and would do anything for each other…? They make such an awesome team!

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Gye Hoon continues to be very funny in his own way! If I'm Da Hyun, I too would fall for Gye Hoon. Between him and Da Hyun's mom & grandma, he's the only one asking about if she's really ok to the point he brought her to the hospital to do check ups.

I love the bickering between mom & Da Hyun, her & Gye Hoon, Jin Hoo & Gye Hoon (and its hilarious watching him secretly do the DNA test)

I'm suspicious with Won Tak & Eun Jung the sister.

Overall this show felt fresh! It's hilarious and dark but everything is perfectly blended!

Currently rewatching previous episodes because I want some giggles. Haha.

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In one of the earlier episodes when the camera was being put up after Gye-hoon's window was broken and one woman said it was a day too late, one of the men got so upset with her and demanded to know what she meant. I thought he was her abusive husband and was worried that she was going to tell (turns out they aren't even married). But after seeing the end of episode 4, I think he was worried because
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-he hit the stalker with his car and was worried that she had seen that. We've seen the knife the stalker took in his house and he hit the stalker, so what did he do with the stalker and/or the body?

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I had to scroll back to find that scene where they talk about installing the security camera and finally found it episode 2…the woman is the abused wife but you’re right the man is the taxi driver, I had assumed he was her husband and potentially the abuser as well at the time. So that means the stalker got out the fridge a few days before the others realized in episode 4? The writers really plotted this all out in advance, can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the next episodes…

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I'm actually happy I started this, it's such a twist compared to what I was expecting which was a simple rom-com but boy was I wrong!

Despite the heavy dark themes of abuse & violence, the drama is doing great in addressing it and not just brushing it aside. MGY is phenomenal at portraying a traumatized individual to the point where I feel so bad for Da-hyun. No one should suffer like this. It's sickening to think there are individuals like stalker guy who actually exist.
But the light humor to the show keeps it bearable too (please the part where she said "I made you both become contract killers")

I completely agree with y'all here when mentioned that they aren't subtle. Their actions around the police are a major ??? and makes them look more suspicious (I mean, who scatters like that??) then they already are. (but then again the police themselves are already suspicious and one of them is going around beating individuals up so)

YJG as EGH is really good. But when he failed to answer simple questions about his restaurant, that made me shiver (I once studied hospitality and had experiencing coming up with a restaurant) that he did not plan any basics at all.

All in all, gotta hand it to both YJG & MGY for portraying their characters, it must not be easy having to coordinate their emotions esp for YJG.

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The most absurd part of this all is that rather than be concerned about the psycho stalker, the whole twin sister mystery, the townspeople being so weird or literally anything else that the show wants me to be preoccupied with, my thoughts keep going to how on earth DH's family restaurant is going to survive this economy when they get like ONE customer a day, even if that 😭

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And that one customer never actually enjoys the food 😂

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