Pinocchio Episode 7 - Idealism Falters Against Reality

Hey all!  Did you survive the holidays?  I am happy to say that I did indeed survive, although the # of episodes I am now behind is a bit staggering.  You might have noticed that we had a small jump in episode recaps.  Don't worry, Dongsaeng is still planning on releasing 6, just her Thanksgiving week was much busier than mine (or maybe she just ate to much turkey and had a super intense turkey coma) so blogging was not able to be part of her schedule.  That saying, she will get ep 6 out ASAP but we did not want to get behind so we are blogging on!

In episode 7 we find out that even genius's can sometimes get it wrong.  We also start asking the hard questions such as what kind of responsibility do news reporters have and what happens when they get it wrong?  How do you make amends and go forward when anything you say could have a horrific domino effect?  Let's jump into my top 7 moments and hopefully some of these questions can be answered. 

#1 Confronting Oneself

Remember last week we left off with both sets of newbie journalists phoning in their exclusive story about a woman who diet/worked out to death.  Dal Po and yawning girl are wily and trick the gym owner into getting the CCTV of the woman's death.  Beaten to the punch, In Ha and texting hottie prepare to give a description, minus video, when In Ha's inner voice alerts her that something was not adding up (It is quite convenient that the hiccups can even show up subconsciously.)  Taking another look into the family situation, In Ha learns that the mother was actually desperate to lose weight so she could donate her kidney to her terminally ill child.  A very different story than the dieting because of a younger woman/remarriage story which is what Dal Po's group reports. Just before the story airs, Dal Po's radar is pinging that something is wrong and discovers the truth just as the report airs in front of the poor victims daughter.  His devastation upon realizing that he caused the same pain to another, that he himself had felt during his fathers death, was beyond intense.  It also resulted in my favorite scene of the episode, and possibly the whole drama.

Dal Po realizes the truth of the above quote when he himself fails because of his ego and confidence.  Ending up in the news conference room (the same room used for the debate upon his entrance) he sits down, an expression of pure heartache etched upon his face.  He looks up and sees himself from the debate yelling his ideals about journalism, not at In Ha, but at himself.  Each sentence is as a bullet finding its way to his heart as he truly begins to understand what it means to be a journalist.  When one's words are thrown back at them, especially when it is from an imaginary past version of yourself, it can be a painful life lesson. Kudos on Dal Po for realizing his mistakes and truly understanding the harm he did by becoming complacent in his superiority,  I won't go into more detail upon the wording and cadence of the scene since it truly is one that you should watch for yourself (Watch it even if you don't watch the drama......it was pure gold.)  However I will note that Lee Jong Suk has crazy chemistry with every character in the drama from his family, In Ha, his cop friend, work bosses, and now even himself.  It is obvious the guy could act a scene opposite a garden gnome and still have me crying.

2.  The Power of A Helicopter Parent
Bum Jo's favorite woman comes to see him at the police station.  Unfortunately for all of us, and probably for him in the long run, his favorite woman is his over the top coddling mother.  Seriously, could you even imagine the stress if you had that woman as a mother in law?

Worried about her poor pumpkieboo (Don't you think she is the type to call her son pumpkieboo and pat his bottom?) Bum Jo's mother arrives at the stations and is aghast at the conditions her son is suffering in.  Poor thing is living like an regular intern schmuck which is just not acceptable.  Mommy's protective nature also bleeds over to her son's lady love.  Finding out that In Ha is sick she brings her secretary to clean the reporters room as well as provide In Ha with some comforts to help her feel better.  The usual independent In Ha practically starts making out with the warmers, clean blankets, and snacks.  Hahaha A sick In Ha is a very funny In Ha.

3. Helicopter Mom Takes A Field Trip to Jail
Enabling mommy loves her son so much that she agrees (very generously) to take care of In Ha's rounds to the various police stations so that In Ha can rest and try to recover.  This included having to harass policeman, drunks, and anyone else she could fine, looking for a story.  It is so cute when Enabling Mommy goes around in her furs and fancy hats trying to bribe everyone for a "scoop".  I am pretty sure she has earned her fir bedecked self a place on my "favorite parent of the year" list. 

4. Some Fatherly Advice
After his traumatic talk with "himself", Dal Po goes awol, running away from the pain and consequences of his actions.  Ignoring phone calls from his partner, In Ha, and his bosses, he instead takes a cute bath with grandpa.  I just have to make a quick comment that there is probably no chance that this poor American Ahjumma will ever get used to watching grown men and woman get naked and scrub each other down.  Yup, out of my comfort zone.  

However the cute bath scene (kind of a sweet change from the usual angsty shower) gave Dal Po time to calm down and Grandpa time to give his adopted son some sage advice.  Dal Po realized that he was not upset at his career choice, but instead scared of how his actions from succeeding at his career could hurt others.  As grandpa says: “A person who doesn’t know to be afraid is a problem; knowing what to be afraid of and fighting is okay.” This realization gives Dal Po the push he needed to face his fears and go back to work.  Yay for awesome grandpa moments.

5.Found: One Mentor
Is anyone else having a small crush on Dal Po's boss turned mentor?  Gyo Dong is just so sage-like and full of awesome insights that it is impossible not to like him.  I really love Lee Pil Mo in these mentor type roles. He made the drama "Emergency Couple" bearable for me, and he is exceeding my expectations as Gyo Dong in "Pinocchio.

Dal Po is surprised when Gyo Dong just accepts his apology when he finally goes back to work.  Dal Po questions Gyo Dong's lack of yelling but his boss replies that he knows how Dal Po feels.  Thirteen years earlier Gyo Dong had also run away (becoming a PD) because of how his actions affected Dal Po's family. Later Gyo Dong met an angry youth at a quiz show who showed him the lack of truth in the journalist field and he realized that he was running away from his problems.  WOW, who knew that Dal Po would have effected his boss's life so much unknowingly.  Is it wrong to hope that we get some bromance moments between these two? 

6.We Have Back Hug
In Ha continues to struggle with her feelings for her uncle.  Her current favorite game is avoiding him whenever there is something she does not want to confess.  This stops working when she ends up passing out and going to the hospital and Dal Po nurses her to health (Was so cute!  So many cute OTP warm fuzzy moments). Upon being caught fondling  Dal Po's hair while he sleeps (come on..... just admit you wanted to do the same) In Ha falls out of bed and rushes out, minus shoes and coat, anxious to avoid any more embarrassment.  Dal Po does not let her escape, instead chasing her down, he ends up admitting to all of In Ha's accusations about being wrong, which deflates her indignation.  She begins to hiccup once again when she says she was not worried about him, which just makes her frustrated about her lack of hiding her feelings.  She turns to leave when Dal Po grabs her in a tight back hug (SQUEEEE).  In Ha is shocked, but Dal Po just blames his insanity on the cold, and continues to hold her tightly.

7. Reunited
Hottie Hyung (also might have to start calling him Terrifying Hyung) learns about In Ah being the Pinocchio daughter of his most hated advisory.  I have a very bad feeling (which is intensified by the ominous music and Hottie Hyung's demeanor) that he has decided on who the next victim will be.  Dal Po sees the phone number of the bumper incident guy, on a list of the container fire suspects cell phone call list.  Recognizing it as the man he had previously given money to, Dal Po called it up and asked to meet.  Dal Po waits and hypothesizes that this person might be an accomplice in the murders which is when he sees his brother standing across from him.  I swear time stood still for me as I saw the wheels work in Dal Po's brain.  His face becomes stricken as he realizes that it is Hottie Hyung's number on the suspects phone list and when his brother introduces himself, instead of his real name he introduces himself as "Dal Po".  WOW, I can't wait to see the next episode to find out what happens since things are heating up fast.

My Thoughts
Rarely do you see a drama where every single interaction seems both simple, yet so profound at the same time.  Dal Po continues to grow and develop as everyone around him helps make him a better version of himself.  And again we see the opposite side of the coin in his Hyung who continues to walk down his dark path alone, devoid of any stability to guide him in a better direction.  It is truly breaking my heart over and over seeing the lives of these two brothers.  I also love that at the bottom of this stylish drama is a deep well full of heartfelt moments.  We get a very full idea of every characters development and reasoning.  Through this we the viewers become more invested in the story of the characters (including side characters which are often overlooked for the flashier OTP (one true pairing) storyline).  The writers don't gloss over the problems, but instead delves deeply into the cause and effect of the media, family, and justice. 

Am wondering if Dal Po has just given up on his efforts to stay apart from In Ha.  Not sure if it is just that the writers felt they need to speed up the romance, or that Dal Po just crumbled from having In Ha's feelings constantly in front of his face, but I foresee that we will have an official couple soon.  Looking forward to how they deal with Dad's lack of support as well as the whole rival work situation while dating.  I think it would be hard to keep it a secret with In Ha's inability to lie. I also am looking forward to the kiss in the next episode (am dying from all the photos posted all over twitter and Facebook) and am crossing my fingers that this will finally be the kiss that kills the Park Shin Hye skinship curse.  Be sure to check back when my co-blogger Dongsaeng tackles this important topic!

~

Follow The Crazy Ahjummas on Facebook or Twitter for info on all our newest recaps, posts, and to join in our kdrama discussions. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts