3 Years
We start out our episode by marking the 3rd anniversary of Soon Ae's death. She's preparing to ascend Heavenward and is saying her goodbyes. Her father is preparing her offering when he gets a phone call to come down to the police station. At the station, he learns the truth of what happened to his daughter those three years ago, that she was murdered and didn't actually commit suicide. As he thinks about how he had shown so much kindness to his daughter's murderer, feeding him and everything, the pain overwhelms him and he collapses. Seems that someone with his condition doesn't handle stress well and his life is in danger.
Dad's Near Death Experience
Soon Ae has come by her father's shop, assuming that she's there to say goodbye since that's kind of what she's been doing, to find that he's collapsed and at the hospital. Now, kind of at this point, I was thinking that they may well kill him off so that daughter and father could be reunited. Well, I was sort of right. He does die, as Soon Ae is by his side crying and screaming for her father to live. He's walking towards the light when Soon Ae runs up to him and stops him, begging him to turn around and live. She promises that they will someday be together again for 1000 or 10000 years, but for now he needs to live and be with Kyung Mo and see his grandchildren born. Luckily, he listens and turns around and comes to, now with quite the story to tell.
The Final Possession
Once Dad is safely out of danger, it's time for Soon Ae to resume her goodbyes. This time it is Bong Sun's turn. The two sit there, thanking the other and remarking on what they accomplished together. Bong Sun tells Soon Ae that she needs to say goodbye to Chef, which Soon Ae hesitates to do. She tries to use the excuse that he can't see her, but Bong Sun offers up her body one last time. Soon Ae refuses, but Bong Sun reaches out and pulls the ghost towards her herself.
The Virgin Ghost Gets to Ascend
Okay, I admit it, I bawled like a baby in this part. Even now trying to write about it, my eyes are welling up. After saying her farewells, a light appears and our ghost goes into it. Oh my goodness, you can't see me right now (thank goodness), but tears are streaming down my face at this very moment. Imagine what a wreck I was while watching it. Such a bittersweet moment for a bittersweet character. Such a beautiful person and such a tragic loss of a precious life. But, she's at peace now and life goes on.
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| Yup, pretty much what I looked like during this part, except a little more snot. It was lovely. |
Life Goes On and the Living Keep on Living
Things have returned to normal, or at least their new normal, after all the craziness of late. Bong Sun returns to the kitchen. Everyone is jovial and happy to be back together again (the restaurant had been closed for a week, what with a psycho killer stealing the chef's girlfriend and all that related stuff and all). Bong Sun is given a chance to make a dish and it is well received by customers, earning her a thumbs-up from her coworkers and Sun Woo. The two are openly dating and the kitchen is buzzing. Sun Woo gifts her with her own chef's knife with her initials and a heart inscribed on it. Aww! He also enrolls her in a cooking competition.
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| He's so weird! |
Competition
The day of the cooking competition arrives and Sun Woo is infinitely more nervous than the actual competitor, Bong Sun. He's so crazy adorable I can't stand it as he nervously flutters about, all flustered and beside himself. Turns out that he had no reason to be so nervous, for when the winners are announced, our lovely Bong Sun proudly takes third place!
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| I think these two are some of the huggiest in all of Kdramadom |
Strings
Well, unbeknownst to Bong Sun, this third place title comes with a special prize - a scholarship to study abroad. Agh! Drama! Why you do this to me?! I hate the whole "study abroad" separation thing! I wanna cry! Good thing I'm not alone - Sun Woo is crying too at the thought of her leaving. These two! They're so darn cute! How about when he put her couple ring necklace back on her? Hot!
So much hugging, snuggling and nuzzling! The skinship is strong with these two. And I am loving every single sweet second of it all.
Time Jump
We fast forward to two years into the future. Things have changed fairly significantly. Stalker, the dog, has had puppies. Suhbingo, the Ghost Whisperer Ahjumma, is raking in the clients and cash and even stars in her own TV show. PD Lee has a new boyfriend that is the spitting image of the one who died. Eun Hee and her mother were sent off to the US to seek treatment for her condition in the hopes that some improvements could be made (but it looks like they have since returned). Sous Chef is now Chef Chef at Sun Restaurant after Chef Sun Woo went to open another place along with Soon Ae's brother, Kyung Mo. (Just a guess here, but I think he intentionally opened his second restaurant so that he could train Kyung Mo one-on-one as a special favor to Soon Ae. That is never said exactly, but it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case and makes the most sense as to why he would leave Sun Restaurant). Bong Sun is still studying abroad and, despite what he goes around telling people, Sun Woo hasn't heard from her in months and he's going crazy because of it.
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| "Bingo Bingo Suhbingo!" I may or may not have gone around all day chanting that in my head, off and on. |
The Cameo
Normally, I wouldn't really spend much time talking about a cameo, but this one was special. I of course speak of the much anticipated appearance of one Seo In Guk as sous chef. As mentioned previously, the former sous chef, Huh Min Soo, is now the executive chef at Sun Restaurant, so a new sous is needed. Enter SIG. And enter he did! He just strolls in and I swear you could hear the fangirls around the world scream in delight. Oh wait, maybe that was me I heard squealing. I had been so wrapped up in the story that I had forgotten about his cameo, so it was an extra exciting moment for me. And oh my goodness! We were not disappointed! The character that he played was so horribly awesome! I loved it!!!! He was a cocky bastard that paraded around like a world-class cross between a Cassanova and a total douche. One of those guys that you love to hate and hate to love. He was like another Huh Min Soo strutting around and running his mouth. He even managed to take Min Soo down a few notches and went as far as to order him around! Absolutely hilarious performance of the very best kind. I give him an A++. Good gravy, but I love that boy!
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| I love the poster on the wall. Humble much there Chef Huh? |
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| Burn! Oh yeah, this is going to be fun! |
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| "We aren't going to do one of those awkward introductions where we say 'take care of me' and all that, are we? This isn't 1988." ahahahahahahahahaha!!!! |
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| The man can cook, and looks mighty fine doing it! |
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| Oh no he didn't! Comes into the kitchen and starts ordering the head chef around? Taking him down a peg or two, fine, but this is pushing it. Love it! Thankfully Joon is there to knock the new guy down a little, which Sous SIG actually responds well to. Loved when Joon wouldn't tell new guy his name. Lol! Guess who actually has the power around that place? It would seem as if our little Cordon Joon is a bit of a man of vitality himself. Rawr! |
WTF...udge Ripple Ice Cream?
So things were going way too well in this episode. I was way too happy with how it was all turning out, even with the study abroad and 2 year leap forward in time (two tropes that don't always make me the happiest ahjumma on the block) and all. All of our forward momentum came to a screeching halt with this next part and I was left shaking my head in dumbfoundedness. Uh, yeah. Guess who didn't die?
UGH!!! Why did they keep him alive?! I was so annoyed when I saw him sitting there. Sure, fine, the evil spirit is gone (we assume), but really?! Him?! Still?! His devoted wife is paying him a visit. She awkwardly drags her lifeless legs along as she brings flowers to the man that took those legs from her and then killed some people and tried to kill another, namely, her brother's girlfriend. Oh, and it gets even better. Guess who has no memories? UGH! Amnesia?! Seriously?! Last episode and they drop amnesia on me? I hate amnesia. Hate it! Now, it is unclear whether this amnesia be from the fall and the bleeding, broken head (now artfully covered in a hospital beanie) or from the fact that through all those times he was possessed by an evil spirit and therefore can't remember anything. We don't get that answered. We also don't know exactly where he is or how long he's been there or anything, just that his wife regularly visits him and he has no memories of her or their life together.
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| Ha! Not me. I liked you better when I thought you were dead. You were my favorite then. |
Do you see me rolling my eyes right now? Because rolling they are. Rolling so much I'm getting dizzy. Time to stop talking about it - I'm only getting more worked up. Suffice to say, I wish that he had just died and that they didn't bother with this defy-death business. Oh well. Obnoxious yes, but not a game ender for me. Luckily, this one was good enough to withstand the one moment of ridiculous in an otherwise pretty spot-free finale.
Missing Her
This scene with Sun Woo sitting around pining for Bong Sun was epic in its cuteness. It's been months since he has heard from her and he's not handling it too well. No Mr Cool Calm and Collected here. Thank goodness.
Guess Who's Baa-ack?!
Well, well, well...lookie who comes strolling back into town after two long years. Fresh from her studies abroad, Bong Sun walks into the restaurant. She visits with her former kitchen mates and then goes to pay Soon Ae's father a visit, landing a part-time job working there in the process. The last person she bumps into is Sun Woo. They talk shop for a bit (ie he puts her skills to the test and has her try a dish and evaluate it) and then he wants to know why she didn't contact him. The reason? Because she knew if she talked to him that she would come running home. Aww! So sweet! This appeases him and thrills him. He hugs her, lifts her up and then she kisses him. Again and again. These two are giving me a toothache with all their sweetness! What a happy, wonderful reunion!
D-Day
The two lovers are sitting around on the rooftop like old times when Bong Sun suddenly starts to get frisky. Sun Woo panics for a moment thinking that Soon Ae is back, but she assures him that it is all her. YES! He squirms and wriggles away like the old days, accusing her of picking up dirty habits in Europe and pulls her off of him and stands up as if to run away. Except, this time, this time he doesn't run. Nope. This time he playfully picks her up and declares, with the most adorable, devilish little grin on the entire freaking planet, that today is "D-Day" and takes her inside. We get audio of their activities right up until the lights go off. Oh my! Fanning myself here! I love D-Day!
We end the episode with our couple riding bikes through the park and a voice-over talking about how, because of Soon Ae, they learned how to love. Bong Sun learned to love herself and continues to do so as she also continues to love him. Everyone is living so happily and the world is brighter, all because of one special young ghost.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Really, I can't say enough good things about this one. It is one that I wish I could get all my non-Kdrama friends and family to watch. I can't say that about all of them, even the ones I myself love. You know the ones - the ones that are just absolutely wonderful but a bit much for the uninitiated. But not this one. This one falls into the short category of dramas I would recommend for a newbie. Light without being too silly, emotional without being anywhere near heavy makjang, and with a dash of naughty to bring it all together. And this OTP! Oh. My. Goodness. This OTP. I don't know what it is about them, but they are way up there in my list of all-time favorite OTPs. We're talking top tier here, and it isn't easy to get top tier. I adored - ADORED - our awkwadorable chef with his cocky attitude covering up his very insecure side. I loved watching him be befuddled and thrown for a loop by both the amorous ghost as well as the church mouse girl. Jo Jeong Seok was absolutely, perfectly amazing in his first drama lead role. He is for sure leading man material. I figured he would be, but I'm even more impressed than I expected to be. We can certainly look forward to more great performances from him in the future. Park Bo Young did an outstanding job of playing two different people. I am very impressed by her performance. Kim Seul Gi was incredibly amazing as our ghost. The whole cast just was fabulous, the writing solid, the pace just right.... Just everything - everything about this drama was spot-on. Funny and heartwarming with touches of suspense and intrigue. A real winner!
I hope that you enjoyed this journey along with me. Thanks for reading and sharing in the fun! Until next time, may all your dramas be entertaining.
Back hugs and fish kisses to you all,
Dongsaeng
100% agreement. The study abroad trope? gack. The back from dead with amnesia? gack.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writings Dongseng so much, I was like grinning and laughing out loud - with total agreement - while reading it. These are my thoughts and feelings about this drama too. On the same wave, and it feels good. I will read from you more. :-)
ReplyDeleteI really want to know. What song that they sing to calm the nervouse chef when bong sun has the first cooking competition. Could you find that song plis. That song also sung by bong sun when she s on the street crying. Thank you.
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