I’ve been thinking a lot about our characters’ relationship to music since the show started, and I think I’ve come to the following conclusions:
Joon-young plays music not for himself, but for everyone else. This is totally in line with his M.O. where he has to please everyone at his own expense. I think it’s interesting then, that he is choosing to enter another competition despite the fact that he hates competing so much. We know why he’s doing it – and I don’t fault him for his reasons. The thing is, the one thing you can say about Joon-young is that he is confident in his music, even if his popularity has fallen.
Then there’s Song-ah who plays music for herself. She gave up a life to start over and play, and she knows it’s a foolish endeavor, and she knows that she’s not as gifted as many of her peers, but she also knows that music and playing music is what makes her happy. And again, I don’t fault her for this. Song-ah took a chance at music, and I think that is the block that holds her back – she feels so much self-consciousness at being different that she can’t let go. She is constantly being told to have confidence and conviction in her playing, and I think it is impossible for her to do this until she can do it with herself as well.
Both Song-ah and Joon-young make themselves small to allow others to be comfortable. It makes sense that they work so well together as a couple because together, they are both able to fully expand and express themselves when they are together. They are confident with each other – with their feelings, with the way they express themselves and with how they support one another. I love how with Joon-young – Song-ah has been the one to come back and sit down, to confess, to say it’s hard for her, to say she’s losing confidence. And the way that Joon-young was there for Song-ah when she was hurting over Min-seong was so lovely. He was supportive and gave her the space she needed to assess her feelings and never imposed himself on her. Just like she had been there as he was moving on from Jung-kyung.
And the fact that Joon-young took this heartbreak of hers and went to Hyun-ho himself to apologize – that takes courage. It must have killed him to have that conversation because he knew it wouldn’t end well. But he did it anyway. And it was so heartbreaking to watch. Honestly, losing a close friendship is one of the most painful things anyone can experience. There’s no remedy for filling that hole in your heart.
That’s why neither Song-ah nor Joon-young said anything in their respective friendships. It’s so clear that both of them valued the friendship more than any romantic feelings they had – and that says a lot about who they are. But at the same time I don’t fault Hyun-ho to Min-seong for being mad at them either; while it’s irrational to expect them to just stop having feelings, it’s also rational for them to be mad that not only did their best friend keep a huge secret, but that secret is directly tied to the thing that is giving them the most unhappiness at this time. They were both blindsided when the scars of their breakups were still too raw. I don’t think either of these friendships are totally lost (though, Hyun-ho has my full permission to remain mad forever, because that cute little puppy did not deserve to get his heart smashed into pieces by both his girlfriend and best friend). No one was right or wrong here.
Finally, there is Jung-kyung who plays music because I think she needs to in order to feel connection. She clearly loves music – it’s in her blood and but she also just loves being a part of the musical process. She doesn’t want to merely be an observer and patron – she’ll do what it takes to be a part of it, even if it just means teaching. Now, I’m mad at her for saying what she did to Song-ah; it was manipulative and coldhearted (but then again, that’s her M.O.), but I don’t fault her for thinking that if she’s patient, Joon-young will come back to her. So far, that is how he’s acted. But she doesn’t see how much Joon-young and Song-ah have started to change each other. Joon-young has always gone out of his way to make people happy, and she was always one of his priorities; that’s not the case anymore and this is going to be more of a hard lesson for Jung-kyung than for anyone else.
The end scene in episode 10 brought these three elements together of music and personality together. We saw Jung-kyung playing her heart out, and Joon-young matching her well. But we also saw the coldness and the distance between them. But Song-ah, in her self-consciousness misread the situation (or at least, the drama wants us to think she did until next week). She saw them performing together, and while of course they are on another level all together, they also have been performing together for years. They know one another’s habits. You don’t forget those things even when your friendship fades. The air in that practice room was practically frozen before they started playing, and if Song-ah had seen that, I think she would have better understood. (But also, has she seen Joon-young’s smile when he’s with her? He could power a sun with that smile it’s so bright.)
I find it quite mean and self-centered of Min-sung and Hyeon-ho to tell the them that they should have stopped liking from the beginning. It’s difficult to stop one’s feelings and them keeping it in was in consideration of their friendship. Though I understand that it’s the anger and pain that’s speaking, I do wish that MS&HH would see that SA&JY wanted to keep the friendship that’s why they kept quiet.
And yes, that smile could power a sun and it’s giving me life.
Agreed – that was unreasonable of them. But I also think that it was said in the moment and they were both still raw and hurting. I think time will allow them to think more rationally, though of the two, Hyun-ho has more a reason to be angry and an actual reason not to forgive, because both of them actively deceived him – even if Joon-young did it with the best of intentions. That’s a lot harder to come back from. I think Min-seong was more humiliated than anything else, and there is nothing that feels worse than being humiliated by or in front of the people you are closest to.
Really? This may be my bias dislike towards Jung-kyung that I’m blaming it all on her. Joon-young did not correct Hyun-ho when he assumed that JK couldn’t come to the NY recital because he wanted it buried to keep the friendship and avoid hurting both HH&JK. Hyun-ho can’t possibly blame it on JK because his inlove with the girl, so Joon-young got the end of the stick. Poor Joon-young, more reason for him to stay with Song-ah!
Oh, it’s definitely mostly on her, but I don’t think you can totally absolve Joon-young. He put himself in this situation. By not correcting Hyun-ho’s assumption he created the lie. Even if it was to protect Hyun-ho from being hurt, it was still a lie. And moreover, in retrospect it looked like he was trying to cover his feelings too (which maybe he was). Like, Hyun-ho is wrong to tell him to just stop having feelings – that not how that works – but he is totally right to be mad. And of course Jung-kuyng made it so much worse by doubling down and then really lying about everything.
But that’s the point right? Joon-young is always willing to sacrifice himself for everyone else’s happiness. He doesn’t realize that sometimes you can’t make everyone happy, and you do just need to look out for yourself. He has clearly learned from this – it’s why he can be so open with Song-ah, and how he is growing as a character.
Agreed on 100% what you said!! You really put all my thoughts into words!! haha.
It may be unfair of them, but it’s not unreasonable as in, it’s understandable that they would feel the way they feel at this moment. And time will tell them that they had made a mistake for also hurting the friends who have best intentions and they are hard to come by.
You’ve always have such great insights! I do really hope that JK will learn that she is no longer JY’s priority soon, cause that scene with the suitcase is giving me anxiety.
Mostly I do agree with you, but I have to disagree on HH. I would have somewhat agree if HH was mad at both JK and JY, but noooo, he’s dealing with this with the mindset that it’s all JY’s faults and it pissed me off. May be I’m saying this because I’m heavily JY biased, but while people were singing praises about and sympathizing with HH, all I could think of was him clearly not valuing JY as a good friend, at least not as much as JY valuing him.
As you have said, both JY and SA cared way more about friendship than love, but as this episode has demonstrated, that was not the case for HH and MS. That’s why it pained me to see them two so desperate to mend the friendships when the other parties probably didn’t care as much.
At least, with MS and SA, I could see them bouncing back from this, cause they did seem to have a solid bond, as we’ve seen from the past 9 eps. But JY and HH? Ever since the beginning, I’ve always felt it was one-sided, JY seemed to be the only one invested in their friendship and HH’s like /whatever/. Remember the scene in ep 2? When HH was mumbling “I love you”, JY at first totally thought that HH was speaking to him! That scene hit me hard, cause I immediately got that their relationship was unbalanced and all of JY efforts trying to preserve it might not actually worth it.
And then what did we have? HH telling JY to his face that he would drop him like a hot potato if he had known JY’s feelings! And JY was the one hanging his head and apologizing! I’m like?!?! What did JY do to deserve this? Living in pain over 10 years, exiling himself for 10 years, and THIS was what he got???
Honestly, I agree with you in some parts that HH could stay mad forever, not because he has the rights to be mad (he doesn’t), but because this friendship, at the end, probably just isn’t worth it. Watching JY and HH is like watching a lost puppy following this one dude around begging for love while the dude only looking back with complete disdain and resentment. It’s so unfair and painful.
I think HH was responding out of anger today – I don’t think he meant what he said about leaving JY behind if he knew about his feelings for JK. I think more than anything he was angry at JK for everything, but it was so much easier to blame JY. I also don’t think we have enough information to say that HH doesn’t care for JY as much as JY cares for HH. I mean, literally the first person HH wanted to see when he came back was JY, and he was the first person he wanted to spend time with, before even his family. I think the problem is that HH was so normal until this happened that he just reacts and doesn’t think. He hasn’t been told to be a performing monkey his whole life and he hasn’t had to live up to others’ expectations. He was just allowed to be – so compared to his friends his reactions are going to be different. (I wrote a lot about this last week, if you want to see – it’s a few posts down on my wall.) I don’t think the friendship is unbalanced so much as just outgrown or in need of some serious repair.
I think my problem with HH is that we never got to see much of their friendship, I would love for more scenes of them just being pure friends. But from what I’ve seen from their scenes, I can only get the idea that while JY really cares about this friendship and HH, may be he does care to some extend, has always prioritized JK over JY. For the past weeks, I’ve holding off my opinion of HH, but this week, with the way he reacted to JY’s dating news, and when he told JY that he would stop being friends if he knew JY’s feelings, it was the last straw. I get that he’s angry, but the fact that he acted like JY was the sole person to blame really bothers me, it’s so unfair! Like I said, if he was mad at both JK and JY, I wouldn’t be this triggered.
JY really loves HH so I wouldn’t mind if they get to repair their friendship somehow, but I would prefer if JY doesn’t have to apologize anymore, cause he has done that more than enough.
Love reading your insight of Ep 10! The ep title Sotto voce (/ˈsɒtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃi, -tʃeɪ/, Italian: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe]; literally “under the voice”) means intentionally lowering the volume of one’s voice for emphasis. is so apt in describing how SA and JY express their hearts. They’re quiet types, they’re gentle and always get their point across not by shouting nor being aggressive. And that’s what i love about them.
And i Agree that JY is slowly replacing JK’s meaning in his life, from Truemerie, the birthdate passcode, the handkerchief, and I hope that SA will realize that. The 15 years of Friendship between JY and JK is just that now, friendship. She is already a part of JY’s life, where JK does not matter at all.
So, OK, I agree with what you’re saying – but I won’t say JK doesn’t matter at all. Rather, I see JK as his past self and a different kind of love, while SA represents his future and his growth and a newer, healthier love. It feels disingenuous to disregard the effect and impact that JK had on his life – whether or not we as an audience like her or not, she clearly is important to his character’s development. And I don’t think she’s all bad either (I wrote a lot about her last week, it’s a few posts down on my wall).
I think it’s really important to acknowledge the past when moving on, and I think that was what JY was doing when he put the handkerchief in the suitcase along with the music and phone. He was closing one era of his life to make room for the next. Starting fresh doesn’t mean you lose your past – you build on it and make a newer, better version of yourself.
Oh, sorry. What I mean by that was, the space that SA now occupies in JY’s life is a space that does not involve JK. SA did not have to come in between their 15 years of Friendship, but that JY carved a space for SA alone.
I honestly don’t mind JK, I never discount her presence in JY’s life, and its true that 15 years is long and has impact in JY’s growth. They were part of his identity and his youth. I interpret the part when he was looking at the old phone’s picture as longing for those years of friendship and not of lost love anymore, compared to the first time we’ve seen him open that phone.
Though I love the habits he has in connection to JK is slowly being replaced by SA, and for me that’s a sign that he is moving on.
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SnarkyJellyfish
September 29, 2020 at 5:41 PM
OK beanfriends, it’s another long one on Brahms:
I’ve been thinking a lot about our characters’ relationship to music since the show started, and I think I’ve come to the following conclusions:
Joon-young plays music not for himself, but for everyone else. This is totally in line with his M.O. where he has to please everyone at his own expense. I think it’s interesting then, that he is choosing to enter another competition despite the fact that he hates competing so much. We know why he’s doing it – and I don’t fault him for his reasons. The thing is, the one thing you can say about Joon-young is that he is confident in his music, even if his popularity has fallen.
Then there’s Song-ah who plays music for herself. She gave up a life to start over and play, and she knows it’s a foolish endeavor, and she knows that she’s not as gifted as many of her peers, but she also knows that music and playing music is what makes her happy. And again, I don’t fault her for this. Song-ah took a chance at music, and I think that is the block that holds her back – she feels so much self-consciousness at being different that she can’t let go. She is constantly being told to have confidence and conviction in her playing, and I think it is impossible for her to do this until she can do it with herself as well.
Both Song-ah and Joon-young make themselves small to allow others to be comfortable. It makes sense that they work so well together as a couple because together, they are both able to fully expand and express themselves when they are together. They are confident with each other – with their feelings, with the way they express themselves and with how they support one another. I love how with Joon-young – Song-ah has been the one to come back and sit down, to confess, to say it’s hard for her, to say she’s losing confidence. And the way that Joon-young was there for Song-ah when she was hurting over Min-seong was so lovely. He was supportive and gave her the space she needed to assess her feelings and never imposed himself on her. Just like she had been there as he was moving on from Jung-kyung.
And the fact that Joon-young took this heartbreak of hers and went to Hyun-ho himself to apologize – that takes courage. It must have killed him to have that conversation because he knew it wouldn’t end well. But he did it anyway. And it was so heartbreaking to watch. Honestly, losing a close friendship is one of the most painful things anyone can experience. There’s no remedy for filling that hole in your heart.
That’s why neither Song-ah nor Joon-young said anything in their respective friendships. It’s so clear that both of them valued the friendship more than any romantic feelings they had – and that says a lot about who they are. But at the same time I don’t fault Hyun-ho to Min-seong for being mad at them either; while it’s irrational to expect them to just stop having feelings, it’s also rational for them to be mad that not only did their best friend keep a huge secret, but that secret is directly tied to the thing that is giving them the most unhappiness at this time. They were both blindsided when the scars of their breakups were still too raw. I don’t think either of these friendships are totally lost (though, Hyun-ho has my full permission to remain mad forever, because that cute little puppy did not deserve to get his heart smashed into pieces by both his girlfriend and best friend). No one was right or wrong here.
Finally, there is Jung-kyung who plays music because I think she needs to in order to feel connection. She clearly loves music – it’s in her blood and but she also just loves being a part of the musical process. She doesn’t want to merely be an observer and patron – she’ll do what it takes to be a part of it, even if it just means teaching. Now, I’m mad at her for saying what she did to Song-ah; it was manipulative and coldhearted (but then again, that’s her M.O.), but I don’t fault her for thinking that if she’s patient, Joon-young will come back to her. So far, that is how he’s acted. But she doesn’t see how much Joon-young and Song-ah have started to change each other. Joon-young has always gone out of his way to make people happy, and she was always one of his priorities; that’s not the case anymore and this is going to be more of a hard lesson for Jung-kyung than for anyone else.
The end scene in episode 10 brought these three elements together of music and personality together. We saw Jung-kyung playing her heart out, and Joon-young matching her well. But we also saw the coldness and the distance between them. But Song-ah, in her self-consciousness misread the situation (or at least, the drama wants us to think she did until next week). She saw them performing together, and while of course they are on another level all together, they also have been performing together for years. They know one another’s habits. You don’t forget those things even when your friendship fades. The air in that practice room was practically frozen before they started playing, and if Song-ah had seen that, I think she would have better understood. (But also, has she seen Joon-young’s smile when he’s with her? He could power a sun with that smile it’s so bright.)
neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
September 29, 2020 at 5:58 PM
Lovely input as always snarky!
I find it quite mean and self-centered of Min-sung and Hyeon-ho to tell the them that they should have stopped liking from the beginning. It’s difficult to stop one’s feelings and them keeping it in was in consideration of their friendship. Though I understand that it’s the anger and pain that’s speaking, I do wish that MS&HH would see that SA&JY wanted to keep the friendship that’s why they kept quiet.
And yes, that smile could power a sun and it’s giving me life.
SnarkyJellyfish
September 29, 2020 at 6:08 PM
Agreed – that was unreasonable of them. But I also think that it was said in the moment and they were both still raw and hurting. I think time will allow them to think more rationally, though of the two, Hyun-ho has more a reason to be angry and an actual reason not to forgive, because both of them actively deceived him – even if Joon-young did it with the best of intentions. That’s a lot harder to come back from. I think Min-seong was more humiliated than anything else, and there is nothing that feels worse than being humiliated by or in front of the people you are closest to.
neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
September 29, 2020 at 6:23 PM
Really? This may be my bias dislike towards Jung-kyung that I’m blaming it all on her. Joon-young did not correct Hyun-ho when he assumed that JK couldn’t come to the NY recital because he wanted it buried to keep the friendship and avoid hurting both HH&JK. Hyun-ho can’t possibly blame it on JK because his inlove with the girl, so Joon-young got the end of the stick. Poor Joon-young, more reason for him to stay with Song-ah!
SnarkyJellyfish
September 29, 2020 at 6:41 PM
Oh, it’s definitely mostly on her, but I don’t think you can totally absolve Joon-young. He put himself in this situation. By not correcting Hyun-ho’s assumption he created the lie. Even if it was to protect Hyun-ho from being hurt, it was still a lie. And moreover, in retrospect it looked like he was trying to cover his feelings too (which maybe he was). Like, Hyun-ho is wrong to tell him to just stop having feelings – that not how that works – but he is totally right to be mad. And of course Jung-kuyng made it so much worse by doubling down and then really lying about everything.
But that’s the point right? Joon-young is always willing to sacrifice himself for everyone else’s happiness. He doesn’t realize that sometimes you can’t make everyone happy, and you do just need to look out for yourself. He has clearly learned from this – it’s why he can be so open with Song-ah, and how he is growing as a character.
neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
September 29, 2020 at 6:47 PM
Yes, Hyun-ho sounded done with Joon-young so I guess, time will tell if he wants Joon-young back in his life.
We’re seeing his growth through his interactions with Song-ah, which makes their relationships so endearing to me 😉
peachietime
September 30, 2020 at 1:49 AM
Agreed on 100% what you said!! You really put all my thoughts into words!! haha.
It may be unfair of them, but it’s not unreasonable as in, it’s understandable that they would feel the way they feel at this moment. And time will tell them that they had made a mistake for also hurting the friends who have best intentions and they are hard to come by.
stberry
September 29, 2020 at 7:44 PM
You’ve always have such great insights! I do really hope that JK will learn that she is no longer JY’s priority soon, cause that scene with the suitcase is giving me anxiety.
Mostly I do agree with you, but I have to disagree on HH. I would have somewhat agree if HH was mad at both JK and JY, but noooo, he’s dealing with this with the mindset that it’s all JY’s faults and it pissed me off. May be I’m saying this because I’m heavily JY biased, but while people were singing praises about and sympathizing with HH, all I could think of was him clearly not valuing JY as a good friend, at least not as much as JY valuing him.
As you have said, both JY and SA cared way more about friendship than love, but as this episode has demonstrated, that was not the case for HH and MS. That’s why it pained me to see them two so desperate to mend the friendships when the other parties probably didn’t care as much.
At least, with MS and SA, I could see them bouncing back from this, cause they did seem to have a solid bond, as we’ve seen from the past 9 eps. But JY and HH? Ever since the beginning, I’ve always felt it was one-sided, JY seemed to be the only one invested in their friendship and HH’s like /whatever/. Remember the scene in ep 2? When HH was mumbling “I love you”, JY at first totally thought that HH was speaking to him! That scene hit me hard, cause I immediately got that their relationship was unbalanced and all of JY efforts trying to preserve it might not actually worth it.
And then what did we have? HH telling JY to his face that he would drop him like a hot potato if he had known JY’s feelings! And JY was the one hanging his head and apologizing! I’m like?!?! What did JY do to deserve this? Living in pain over 10 years, exiling himself for 10 years, and THIS was what he got???
Honestly, I agree with you in some parts that HH could stay mad forever, not because he has the rights to be mad (he doesn’t), but because this friendship, at the end, probably just isn’t worth it. Watching JY and HH is like watching a lost puppy following this one dude around begging for love while the dude only looking back with complete disdain and resentment. It’s so unfair and painful.
SnarkyJellyfish
September 29, 2020 at 10:28 PM
I think HH was responding out of anger today – I don’t think he meant what he said about leaving JY behind if he knew about his feelings for JK. I think more than anything he was angry at JK for everything, but it was so much easier to blame JY. I also don’t think we have enough information to say that HH doesn’t care for JY as much as JY cares for HH. I mean, literally the first person HH wanted to see when he came back was JY, and he was the first person he wanted to spend time with, before even his family. I think the problem is that HH was so normal until this happened that he just reacts and doesn’t think. He hasn’t been told to be a performing monkey his whole life and he hasn’t had to live up to others’ expectations. He was just allowed to be – so compared to his friends his reactions are going to be different. (I wrote a lot about this last week, if you want to see – it’s a few posts down on my wall.) I don’t think the friendship is unbalanced so much as just outgrown or in need of some serious repair.
stberry
September 29, 2020 at 10:46 PM
I think my problem with HH is that we never got to see much of their friendship, I would love for more scenes of them just being pure friends. But from what I’ve seen from their scenes, I can only get the idea that while JY really cares about this friendship and HH, may be he does care to some extend, has always prioritized JK over JY. For the past weeks, I’ve holding off my opinion of HH, but this week, with the way he reacted to JY’s dating news, and when he told JY that he would stop being friends if he knew JY’s feelings, it was the last straw. I get that he’s angry, but the fact that he acted like JY was the sole person to blame really bothers me, it’s so unfair! Like I said, if he was mad at both JK and JY, I wouldn’t be this triggered.
JY really loves HH so I wouldn’t mind if they get to repair their friendship somehow, but I would prefer if JY doesn’t have to apologize anymore, cause he has done that more than enough.
Briiaaann
September 29, 2020 at 9:54 PM
Love reading your insight of Ep 10! The ep title Sotto voce (/ˈsɒtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃi, -tʃeɪ/, Italian: [ˈsotto ˈvoːtʃe]; literally “under the voice”) means intentionally lowering the volume of one’s voice for emphasis. is so apt in describing how SA and JY express their hearts. They’re quiet types, they’re gentle and always get their point across not by shouting nor being aggressive. And that’s what i love about them.
And i Agree that JY is slowly replacing JK’s meaning in his life, from Truemerie, the birthdate passcode, the handkerchief, and I hope that SA will realize that. The 15 years of Friendship between JY and JK is just that now, friendship. She is already a part of JY’s life, where JK does not matter at all.
SnarkyJellyfish
September 29, 2020 at 10:29 PM
So, OK, I agree with what you’re saying – but I won’t say JK doesn’t matter at all. Rather, I see JK as his past self and a different kind of love, while SA represents his future and his growth and a newer, healthier love. It feels disingenuous to disregard the effect and impact that JK had on his life – whether or not we as an audience like her or not, she clearly is important to his character’s development. And I don’t think she’s all bad either (I wrote a lot about her last week, it’s a few posts down on my wall).
I think it’s really important to acknowledge the past when moving on, and I think that was what JY was doing when he put the handkerchief in the suitcase along with the music and phone. He was closing one era of his life to make room for the next. Starting fresh doesn’t mean you lose your past – you build on it and make a newer, better version of yourself.
Briiaaann
September 30, 2020 at 12:07 AM
Oh, sorry. What I mean by that was, the space that SA now occupies in JY’s life is a space that does not involve JK. SA did not have to come in between their 15 years of Friendship, but that JY carved a space for SA alone.
I honestly don’t mind JK, I never discount her presence in JY’s life, and its true that 15 years is long and has impact in JY’s growth. They were part of his identity and his youth. I interpret the part when he was looking at the old phone’s picture as longing for those years of friendship and not of lost love anymore, compared to the first time we’ve seen him open that phone.
Though I love the habits he has in connection to JK is slowly being replaced by SA, and for me that’s a sign that he is moving on.