Oh My Ghostess episodes 1 and 2: Let the Haunting Begin!

Welcome to the first installment of weekly recaps of new drama, Oh My Ghostess. I am Dongsaeng and will be your spiritual guide along this journey into the afterlife of one horny virgin ghost. First, I'd like to apologize for the late start I'm getting. I've had a week of wifi woes plaguing me and making things difficult. But you don't need my cyber sob story, so on with the ghosties!

I Remember You Episode 1 - The Monster Among Us

Mystery, comedy, and horror collide in the first episode as we meet our OTP (one true pairing) and learn some disturbing background info on our leading man.  Which of the genre's will come out on top and will Seo In Guk deliver in his highly anticipated comeback?  Come find out the answers to those as well as other questions as Kmuse jumps right in and fangirls discusses episode 1

The Producer Ep 1: Lights, Camera, Action!

And.....we're off! After much hype and anticipation, episode 1 of The Producer has finally aired! Welcome to the first installment of our recaps here on TCA. Kmuse and I will once again be co-capping. So, how much did you miss us? ;) I, for those of us that haven't "met" yet, am Dongsaeng, and I will be the odd one this time around, taking on the odd numbered episodes while my partner in blogging takes the more even-keeled route.

Ouroboros Episode 1 - Revenge is Best Served Cold

I am a huge Shun Oguri fan, and being a fan, I personally have loved his workaholic ways this past year.  So when subs were available for episode 1 of his newest Ouroboros, I was ecstatic.  But little did I know that I would like it so much that I have been inspired to recap it each week. 

Jekyll, Hyde, & Me Episode 1 - We Have A Biter

YAY! So excited for our new recapping project!  I know we have only been gone for a week after completing "Pinocchio", but for some reason it has felt like much longer.  

Pinocchio Episode 1 - Quiz Shows, Bad Wigs, and Quirky Characters - I love it!

The Crazy Ahjummas are back to recapping!!!  Did you miss us?  Sorry for the hiatus but we put some serious thought into picking out the next drama for our co-cap.  Heaven knows we want to enjoy it more than "My Secret Hotel" and we both have to be interested in not only watching, but also blogging about the show.  Needless to say this eliminated a lot of dramas. So with much thought/discussion we decided upon the new Lee Jong Suk/Park Shin Hye drama "Pinocchio".  Luckily our patience proved fruitful since we both loved the first episode of the drama (but more about that later).

Bad Guys Episode 1 - Initial Thoughts

Can't believe I am here blogging about this when I really should be getting my booty in gear blogging about episode 7 of Blade Man (I promise, it will be coming ASAP!)  As soon as  I am done raving about my new favorite testosterone driven drama "Bad Guys".  That is right, this drama is AWESOME!!!!  Those of you that have been following my blogging for a while, you might recall a little show called "Gap Dong" that we all suffered through together.  Anticipation was high, Lee Joon was sexy and scary, and then the writing tanked hard.  What could have been a clever murder mystery became a psychological chatfest which bored even the most avid MBLAQ fan.  So when I first heard about the plot for Bad Guys ( Ahjussi Cop uses three scary felons to catch a serial killer), you can understand why I was a bit hesitant.  However, I would like to declare that this drama is everything I was hoping for in Gap Dong.  Dark, edgy, and extremely clever, every minute was entertaining and kept me wanting more.

I am not promising recaps of this drama.  The difficulty finding subs (there are English subs on Darksmurfsubs) and my already busy blogging schedule would make that difficult.  However I was thinking of doing a series of posts on my initial thoughts about new dramas, even if I can't commit to a full recap.  So with that said, here are my favorite moments (without going into much spoiler detail) from episode 1 of Bad Guys.

The Plot

 A serial killer is roaming the streets, slicing up woman and making the police look bad.  Which usually would not result in anything other then your usual task force.  Except for the fact that a very diligent policeman is murdered while confronting the killer.  A policeman who's father is the head of the department, which puts this serial killer priority on a whole different level of importance.  He brings in disgraced ex-cop Oh Goo-Tak back onto the force and gives him carte blanche to capture the killer any way possible.  Goo Tak goes outside of the box and decides to create a team made up of the smartest, strongest, and scariest criminals in the prisons.  What could go wrong?

The Cast

This is an absolutely stellar cast for a crime drama.  They are not huge names (although Park Hae Jin is on his way up), instead they were obviously cast for their acting ability.  This dramafan is thankful. Nothing against idol actors, but sometimes I just really enjoy an actor that can slip fully into character.  

The Handler - Oh Goo Tak
Kim Sang Joon (City Hunter, A New Leaf), also known as my favorite ahjussi actor with the sexy voice, plays the leader of our little social experiment Oh Goo Tak.  He once was a stellar cop until his daughter was murdered after which he hit the soju bottle and became a cranky drunkard.  From the little bits of foreshadowing throughout the episode, I suspect that his choices of criminals for the task force, are not random.

Park Woong Cheol (Ma Dong Seok - Kundo: Age of the Rampant) 
An incarcerated Mafia Boss, he has a strong sense of justice as we watch him protecting younger inmates from being beaten by the guards. Bursting through opponents like a tank going through a brick wall, Woong Cheol is a bit simple in thought, but very destructive and surprisingly funny.  

Sexy assassin - Jung Tae Soo (Jo Dong Hyeok - Inspiring Generation)
I was not expecting Park Hae Jin's character to have any competition as my bias for this drama, but consider me wrong.  Tae Soo is so wonderfully charismatic, you can't help but catch your breath when he comes on screen.  A hired assassin who turned himself into the police out of the blue, he was known to be the best in the business and is now serving a 28 year sentence.  Watching him fight is seriously one of the true joys in my drama life.  I loved him in "Inspiring Generation" and he is actually looking even better now.

Genius Serial Killer - Lee Jung Moon (Park Hae Jin - My Love From Another Star)
Beating out Tae Soo (but only by a smidge) is Lee Jung Moon.  Youngest Mensa member, with a genius IQ, he is also the youngest serial killer.  Jung Moon killed 15 people, leaving no clues or any evidence in which to convict him.  He was caught due to the testimony of his girlfriend and was thought to be about to kill her upon his arrest.  He spends the episode proving his superior intellect (and the stupidity of the guards) by escaping, going on the run to find his ex-girlfriend, and demanding answers to why she accused him.  It seems that the hottie killer doesn't actually have any memories of murdering anyone.  Is he actually innocent (there are some serious indicators that he is) or does he black out and turn into a psycho?  Only time with tell.

Token Girl - Yoo Mi Young (Gang Ye Won - The Huntresses)
Mi Young is pretty forgettable when compared to all the hard hitting men surrounding her.  She supposedly is the straight arrow cop who is there to keep this group under control and report back to the head boss.  Somehow I think that she will be of little consequence in upcoming episodes.

I like that they are making the catching of criminals into a competition.  Instead of for altruistic reasons, the inmates get years off of their sentence if they catch their prey.  Only the one who actually "catches" the perp gets the reduced sentence so it keeps them on their toes and keeps them from teaming up.  It also provides a lot of humor for the drama.  Tae Soo and Woong Cheol fighting over who is going to win, is just hilarious.  But I notice that our resident serial killer seems to have a deeper reason for his involvement.  Will be interesting to see what develops between him and Sang Joon since they have some serious secret vibes going off whenever they are together.

So far the writers have not been afraid to let the characters get violent and dark.  The action sequences are wonderfully complex, well filmed, and makes the characters feel real rather then just a concept.  Again, it is the use of talented actors that is setting this drama above its predecessors and the writers are not backing off from making the characters deeply damaged.  There are times where Sang Joon is actually scarier then the criminals and I doubt that he is involved for the good of the town.  I look forward to watching episode 2 and hope that it continues down its dark rabbit hole.

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Initial Thoughts On Blade Man Episode 1 & 2 - Unexpected and Entertaining

Oh, "Blade Man" (previously known by the title "Iron Man") how you entertain me.  So much to say, (some of it actually complimentary which is unexpected) so much to mock and question "what the fudge?"  I am not sure if I will actually be recapping this drama (Rain's big comeback starts next week, so there is stiff competition for my recapping attention), but I at least wanted to put some of the many thoughts I had while watching this drama, to paper (or whatever the online equivalent of paper is).  Who knows, this show might engage my creative juices, even though I am still predicting an epic crash and burn situation.  But just imagine the literary bonfire it could create.  It might even provide a better mocking recap than Gap Dong, and Gap Dong was pretty epically mocked. 

I will admit that I started watching Blade Man simply to see how bad it was.  How can I pass up the opportunity to watch a drama where the man literally has blades growing from his body.  Simply consider all of the questions this abnormal feature brings forward.  Where do the blades come from?  Is this a hereditary problem (judging from his father and the actions of his butler I would not be surprised) or just a special one time thing?  How does he not know that he is having fits of rage that result in the springing forth of swords?  And most importantly, Why is he so angry? 

 Let's start off with a recap of our characters.

Joo Hong-Bin (Lee Dong Wook - Hotel King) is our leading man and VERY VERY VERY angry.  "Why is he angry" you might ask?  Hmmmm I am not sure if we get a really good reason for his anger issues.  He does have a cold, controlling, jerk of a father (but so do 90% of all kdrama leading men).  His girlfriend was poor and left him because of his father, but really I was expecting at least a murder/accidental death of so said girlfriend, to be the reason for his anger. Nope, she was alive and having his child in America (since the child is now alone in Korea, I can only assume that she is now dead) so that can't really be the reason.  From what I can tell so far, the only reason for his extreme anger is a jerk father and a feeling of entitlement.  You might be asking again "Kmuse, what makes him different from every other jerk Chaebol in a kdrama?"  The extremeness of his anger is what makes him different.  He not only is angry, but literally beats, destroys, decimates, anything or anyone in his way when he loses his temper.  It was at such a level of abuse that I winced when he was chucking computers and other office items at his two employees when they did not meet his standards.  It went way past the line of funny to very uncomfortable. 

Let's take a break from the unfortunate subject of his abuse and focus instead on all the quirks the writers decided to give him.  I have this image of a bunch of writers trying to figure out what super powers to bestow upon our hero?  Then when they got to the end of the day and were still debating, they just said screw it... lets put them in a bowl and whatever we pull out is what we will go with.  Seriously, I am pretty sure that is how it went.  Either that or they were really really drunk.  

Let's tick them off.  Most obvious of course are the bounteous swords that come out of his body when he gets angry (or more importantly, when he tries to control his anger and not physically beat anything).  Second is the ability to create rainstorms and cause electrical power outages.  Why?   How does this at all relate to the swords and how does he not notice that this happens every time he loses his temper.  Finally we come to the oddest ability of all, Hong Bin has a super sniffer.  Yup, he can smell everything even if it is far away and this of course causes him massive anger.  Anger at the maids for using the wrong detergent, anger at his staff for using too much cologne, anger at the housekeeper for having spoiled marmalade in the fridge. How can a poor man focus when he has to get angry about so many things. 

Luckily there is one person who does not send his super sniffer into a tizzy.   Our poor plucky heroine (of course she must be poor and plucky, for what good kdrama superhero story would write it otherwise.) has the magical scent (maybe her shampoo) that does not make our angry hero, well, angry.  Son Se Dong (Shin Se Kyung - Fashion King) is the catnip to Hong Bin's cat and it cracks me up when he goes into a kind of serene trance anytime she  is nearby (check out the below picture and understand that Hong Bin is standing there sniffing her essence.  Se Dong of course thinks he is some kind of sniffing pervert.  

Se Dong is not just any random good smelling female.  She is also part of a team which designed a game that was bought/stolen by Hong Bin's company.  One of the co-creators of the game sold it out from under the rest of his group and ran off to America with the money.  Se Dong being the leader of the remaining geek brigade goes to Hong Bin's workplace to demand that he hire them to finish up the game.  Lots of cute arguing happens between the two, but the issue about the game remains unresolved.  Unfortunately for Se Dong, the Geek Brigade got drunk and decided to take justice into their own hands.  Spray painting a clever design and the words thief on Hong Bin's imported stone wall, they were all arrested and it is up to Se Dong to come up with the money to pay restitution.  This forces Se Dong to get a job caring for a little boy (Chang) which leads us to the next character in our lineup.

Chang, cute little six year old ball of adorableness.  He is the son of Hong Bin and ex-girlfriend who fled to America.  Abandoned under unknown circumstances and brought to Korea by a shady neighbor Ahjumma.  He was then abandoned again in the airport by Shady Ahjumma and picked up by Se Dong who had been tracking down her game stealing coworker.  Chang took a shining to Se Dong and when he would not stop crying the police agreed to let her take him home (and later agreed to pay Se Dong if she became his caregiver while they searched for Chang's guardians).  Only in Korea will they let some random stranger off the street take home a perfectly good little kid with no background checks.  I am totally having a face palm moment at this plot twist.  I foresee this being the driving force between Se Dong and Hong Bin's relationship.  Not only will Se Dong have to cure Hong Bin's "anger issues" but will also  forge a bond between father and son, support the Geek Brigade, battle Hong Bin's evil father, and manage to not stab herself on her future boyfriend's swordy back during any back hugs that may occur.  That is going to be one busy heroine. 

I saved my favorite character for last!  The super talented, ever sexy, khottie of all khotties, Secretary Ko!  Or as I will call him in the future (if I actually end up recapping this of course) Secretary Studly.  He is AWESOME!  Not only does Secretary Studly handle Hong Bin and his anger related rampages with a delicate touch, he is efficient (ordering new equipment to replace everything his boss breaks), has the reflexes of a ninja (seriously he is either a ninja or an alien with superpowers of his own.....I am not putting anything past these writers), and somehow hides his boss's sword sprouting secret from everyone........including his boss.  How Secretary Studly manages to keep that secret a secret is beyond me.  I about died laughing when he hefted Hong Bin over his shoulders, running away from a father induced fight, to avoid sword sprouting consequences.  Secretary Ko truly puts all other secretaries to shame. 

Overall Thoughts:
In all its crazy, I actually was highly entertained.  I compare it to a more Manga/Japanese style of drama due to its topic and over the top style.  It was a total shock since, after seeing the trailers and posters, I was expecting a train wreck of epic proportions. But the extreme overacting worked in the context of the story and for once Lee Dong Wook's crazy angry eyes fit the characters storyline.  The extreme expressions actually made me buy  his character more then if they had tried to play this off in a more realistic manor.  

The same can be said of Shin Se Kyung's performance.  Is it overacted to the nth degree?  Yes, but considering I hate Shin Se Kyung's usual acting style, this was a wonderful surprise.  I have hated her past work so much she was even in my top 5 least favorite actress list, one to be avoided if at all possible.  So you can imagine how much better she would have to be for me to praise her.  Is Se Kyung suddenly a great actress?  No, but she is tolerable and works within the premise of the story. 

I loved how innovative the director was in using the fast switches between camera angles and odd framing of characters in the shots.  Their bodies are all falling off the edge of the shots.  It made the show seem fresh and caught my attention.  It was nice to see something different then the boring back and forth between two characters.

That said, I am still kind of expecting things to go down in a ball of flames.  I just don't think that this type of pace can be kept throughout the whole drama and if it sinks into the melo-zone, then all the things I like about it now are going to disappear. So I am hesitant to commit to weekly recaps.  What do you think? Should I go for it and chance a possible disaster, or go with a more safe drama like Rain's upcoming romantic melo?  I am torn.

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My Secret Hotel Episode 1 - A Murder and A Wedding

Hello my readers!  Kmuse here ready to recap yet another TvN drama (seriously I just can't say no to them) and this time you are lucky to get two Crazy Ahjummas for the price of one.  Yes, that is right, I will be co-recapping this drama with my favorite red headed ahjumma Dongsaeng!  Since my blogger schedule is so full, and Dongsaeng's real life is so busy, we decided to split up the work so we could fit this drama in (because it really is that fun of a drama).  Now for my quick introduction for any new readers that might come across our blog for the first time!

For those of you just discovering our awesome blog, I am Kmuse, one of the three main bloggers in The Crazy Ahjummas.   I am a mother of three and an avid kdrama watcher, in that I love to watch literally everything.  There are very few currently airing dramas that I am not watching so if you have any questions about them (or really any drama since I have seen an insane amount) feel free to ask me in the comments.  Or better yet come like our facebook page and ask me there. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts For those of you who have not read my past recaps, I am one of those bloggers that really likes to just discuss my opinions on certain scenes or concepts of the drama.  I don't go step by step through the whole thing.  So if you are looking for a more complete recap you might have to look elsewhere (and then come back and read mine of course).  But enough about me, lets get to what you are really waiting for and discuss episode 1 of  "My Secret Romance".

Where to start?  So many little details that seem ominous yet so little blogging time.  I guess I will start where the drama begins.  It is obviously right before an event and wedding planner, Nam Sang-Hyo (Yoo In Na - My Love From Another Star, Secret Garden), is confidently ticking off items on her wedding checklist.  Everything is perfect except for a missing ice sculpture and its maker, her 2nd in command (IS THIS A CLUE???  I swear I am already seeing clues in every glance, random comment, and missing assistant).   Sang Hyo hears that the Groom is having issues and goes into fix-it mode.  She brings the groom, Koo Hae Young (Lee Jin Han- Empress Ki, A New Leaf), some tea which seems to piss him off.  He claims that it is not nerves upsetting him, but the after affects of the alcohol from the night before.  Phttt.   The two stare at each other and the tension becomes apparent.  

As Hae Young takes his place for his wedding, Sang Hyo walks the opposite direction saying that everything is finally over between them.  However the wedding is brought to a sudden halt as a dead body falls from the skylight right in front of the groom.  DUN DUN DUNNN......

We flash back to two weeks previous and we see the beginning of all the events that lead to the murder (at this point I am really curious as to who the victim was).  Sang Hyo is introduced as the new wedding director at The Secret Hotel, and is in trouble for a released article which inplied that couples who get married at her hotel are divorced within three months of their marriage.  It turned out that only 27% from the previous year had gotten divorced but bad press is pretty important in such a superstitious culture.  Her boss, Jo Sung Gyeom (Namgung Min - I Need Romance 3), reprimands her and tells her to figure out how to fix things ASAP.  But later on when they are alone he apologizes for his gruff demeanor in the meeting and asks her on a work "date" (Take a shot - reference the random thoughts section).

Just taking a break to comment that I really have not enjoyed Namgung Min in his last several roles.  I know that he has his fans, but I am just not one of them.  His chemistry with the ladies is always mediocre and my only positive comment is that at least I will not have a problem with 2nd lead syndrome if he is in that part.

Note that second lead syndrome would ever even be an option with Tal Tal as the lead (I know he has another name, but really he will always be Tal Tal to me. I am sure Empress Ki fans can relate.) Lee Jin Han is one of those actors that has skated under the radar until his character burst into the public's conscious in the 2nd half of EK, he received a 2nd lead role immediately following EK's end in the legal drama A New Leaf, but was greatly underused (really the whole cast was underused so it was not just him).  Lucky for us he accepted a new role almost before the previous drama had ended, and this time for a leading man!  And from what I have seen in episode 1, he has finally found a vehicle to drive his talent to the masses.

They even make his extreme sexiness a part of the plot as a woman comes rushing into Hae Young architecture firm, waving his wedding invitation, and declares that Hae Young needs to take responsibility for her.  His employees shamelessly eavesdrop and wonder if the stranger is pregnant, but wince when instead of being pregnant, she claims that Hae Young ruined her with his sexy looks and smooth voice. Let as all just admit that we fangirls have had similar thoughts every once in a while and can relate. I totally laughed when Hae Young just tells the crazy lady to sue him then.

 Sang Hyo decides to fix her PR woes by focusing on an upcoming wedding and having the couples "epic love" be the focus on a campaign to show how romantic the hotel is.  This plan is foiled when the bride's groom turns out to be Hae Young, who just so happens to be Sang Hyo's ex-husband.  It seems that the couple had married, unknown to anyone else, in Vegas.  We viewers just get small hints into the marriage and we find out that they divorced soon after their wedding and are surprised to see the other.  Needless to say, neither wants to be involved in this comedy of errors, although there is obvious feelings left over on both sides.

Depressed and upset after meeting her ex, Sang Hyo goes on a bender and manages to get very very drunk.  So drunk that when her boss is taking her to one of the hotel rooms to sleep it off (and take a shot - even with another person present it still looks suspicious when he brings her into the hotel) Sang Hyo proceeds to sit down in the lobby and refuse to move until Sung Gyeom agrees to marry her.  HAHAHA, this is making it into my next top 5 countdown - the drunk edition, as one of my new favorite drunken kdrama scenes.  There is just something so cute when Sang Hyo demands her boss wed her and I laughed at everyone's reactions when he said "yes".  The next day Sang Hyo is forced to do the walk of shame when she goes to work (which was just downstairs....laugh) and is shocked to learn of her horrible behavior in front of her boss and coworkers.  She fakes drunken amnesia when she apologizes to Sung Gyeom about her actions, he just smiles and says he is disappointed since he had wanted to marry her (and take a shot) as he walked off, much to Sang Hyo's befuddlement.

All of the hotel's employees were abuzz about Sung Gyeom and Sang Hyo's "engagement" the next morning. Hae Young, who is on his way to break the wedding hall contract, hears the rumors and in a fit of pip rips up the cancellation demanding that Sang Hyo does her best on planning his wedding.

There are obviously a lot of leftover unresolved feelings between our OTP (One True Pairing) and I for one am thrilled with the tension between them. Yoo In Na is one of those actresses that is hit and miss (mostly due to the writing of her 2nd lead characters).  And as far as I can recall, this is only her second drama where she is the lead and so far she is doing a stellar job.  Sang Hyo is cute, funny, and endearing and obviously has some sizzling chemistry with both men.  This bodes well for the future of the drama as long as the writing stays tight.  We also have a lot of ominous moments throughout the show.  I am excited to see all these "secrets" that everyone seems to have revealed and hope that it will enhance the comedy and romance within the drama.

Random Thoughts:

Whoever styled workplace nemesis, Eun Joo's hair, should be shot.  It truly is horrible and makes me think of a toddler cutting her own hair.   

Does anyone else think that boss Jo Sung Gyeom, is walking a fine line when it comes to workplace sexual harassment?  I know it is easy to ignore since he is attractive and single, but if the boss was fat and older his actions would be looked at in a totally different light.  This may be a possible drinking game?  Every time that Sung Gyeom says something that could be misconstrued, then take a shot.

Thanks for joining us for the first of many recaps!  I can't wait to find out some answers. Who died?  How are all these employees connected?  What the heck happened in Vegas?  Hopefully these questions as well as ones that I have yet to think of will be answered ASAP.  Be sure to check back for Daesong's recap of ep 2!

Kmuse

Surplus Princess Episode 1 – A Fanfic Made Real

Ever wonder what a good fanfic story would look like if it were ever made into a drama?  Oh boy it would look very much like the first episode of this drama.  My daughter, Panda, and I settled in to watch this show and I don’t think she’s recovered as there’s so much to squee and laugh over.  There are a lot of references to pop-culture from Western and Eastern media so I’m sure I didn’t catch it all.  Feel free to point out the ones I missed as I would definitely like to know.  Ok… On with the show!

The Ending is the Beginning:

We start with a lone woman on a beach barefoot at sunset.  She is reminiscing about her last 100 days, the happy memories and friends.  In a somber voice over she asks us if we are curious about why she’s standing there.  She says she’ll tell us as we see her hand clasp that of a man’s as she slowly dissolves into bubbles {fade out with Goodbye and some sad strings}.  Did I also mention that this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid Tale?  No?  Oh! My bad! OOPS!

 {Queue peppy music and animated title screen to the Han River}

Our main character is swimming and narrating that there are lots of creatures in the sea unknown to mankind but there’s one important thing missing.  A male human for her to fall in love with. She introduces herself as Aileen, the 18^th mermaid (played by Jo Bo Ah).  She’s into human smartphones (you know they are waterproof these days and she’s got a sweet one on a lanyard around her neck), celebrities, online shopping, fashion, dramas, movies, food, etc. [she’s a fangirl like me.  I like her already].

Turns out she’s a stalker and she’s been checking out this guy for six months now.  “The hottest guy on earth”, “Perfect Face”, “Perfect Body”, and an apple bottom that she wants to bite [me too, I seem to have a craving for an apple right now]. 

Her ogling of him is interrupted by the slow-mo entrance of a staffer calling out to Mr. Apple Butt who is the celebrity chef Kwon Shi Kyung (played by Song Jae Rim).  Queue back to back scenes of him preparing and cooking a very tasty looking fish as a film crew records him.  It seems to go well until he notices a missing table mat and halts filming.  He’s about ready to call it quits for the day until said staffer tears off a piece of her lace skirt to make an impromptu piece for him.  He calls for everything to be reset and he goes out onto the boat to take a break while they set up for the next shoot. 

Aileen is fine with this as he’s now closer and she can get a better look at his butt [girl after my own heart]. This sets the scene for her to duck into the water when he almost spots her. He does catch her tail breaking the water when she dives a second time.  He thinks it’s a tuna and goes to snap a picture with his phone only to lose his balance and he slips, knocking his head before falling into the water unconscious.

She goes to rescue him but not before snagging his cell and stuffing it down her top.  She proceeds to kiss him and, thanks to this being a cable drama, it’s not the press your lips variety but with tongue action.  Her reaction is priceless! "Oh yeeees!" complete with hand grab to that yummy apple butt. 

But all good things come to an end and this steamy kiss is interrupted as Shi Kyung is “rescued” by the staffer.  Aileen looks up with longing as he is pulled away to “safety”.

We move scenes to a house with the sign Surplus House posted out front (clue in on how the show’s title comes into play) which turns out to be a share house. [SIDE NOTE:  For those unfamiliar with the term, a share house is basically a house in which you live with roommates and you share the main facilities.  Sort of like a boarding house.]

We pan through a room with motivational notes posted all over the place like “Let’s get a job, Lee Hyun Myung!”, “Annual income of 60,000!”, “Don’t give up”, etc.  The room’s occupant is typing out his story.  Meet Lee Hyun Myung (played by Ohn Joo Wan).  He is a three-year veteran of job hunting who can write 70 cover letters in one sitting. During this whole scene he is “composing” [he’s typing on the keyboard like it’s a piano and can I say I was giggling through it all] his latest work as classical music is playing in the background.  Aileen, in voiceover, introduces him as an "Expert Autobiography Fabricator" and someone she was meant to meet [dun dun dun]. As he finishes we hear slow clapping and Aileen introduces her at “that witch from earlier”, Yoon Jin Ah (played by Park Ji Soo).  She’s the staffer from the previous scene.

Apparently she is Hyun Myung’s girlfriend.  He tries unsuccessfully to initiate skinship but she fends him off with the excuse that she’s got to pack as the movers are coming in the morning.  They are interrupted by the other share house roommates when she is called downstairs and presented with a cake made of Choco Pies and a congratulatory song about her leaving the house. Aileen continues her introduction of the other occupants of the house.

First up are the three etceteras. Do Ji Yong (played by Kim Min Kyo) who is an Ivy League School graduate but ruined his life with playing video games.  Next is Big (played by Nam Joo Hyuk) and Aileen says his real name is a secret.

Then there is the owner, Lee Sun Kyu (the actor has the same name as his character?).  She introduces the final roommate (played by Kim Seul Gi) with “I. Won’t. Tell. You.” It’s plain that this roommate does not like Jin Ah at all as she passes by and gives her the cold shoulder bump.

Afterwards the three male roommates are taking bets on Hyun Myung and Jin Ah breaking up which looks like a sure fire deal after we see her shrug him off to take a call from Shi Kyung.  Hyun Myung muses that it seems like they are separating even though she is just moving across the river.

We move onto one of K-Drama’s prerequisite scenes.  The brooding in the shower with the half-nekkid man and as Aileen put it earlier, Oh yeeees!  Shi Kyung is thinking about that underwater kiss and is wondering if he dreamt it up.  When a delivery man shows up with his newly cleaned clothes, he’s given a shiny bit of something that looks valuable they found while cleaning it.  Flash over to Aileen and it turns out that said shiny bit was one of her scales that came loose.  It’s really cute that she uses a starfish as a band-aide. [He he he]

Aileen is attempting to get into his phone and when she does she goes gaga all over the pictures on it.  She insists to herself that this is not an invasion of privacy as she is just attempting to get information to return the phone to its owner [riiiiiiiiiiiight].  She gets a Tweet alert and it’s Mr. Apple Butt stating "It was love. I want to find her and my cell." [OMO]

When she intercepts an invite on Mr. Apple Butt’s phone for a swanky party (O M G the ad for it is über cheesy) she decides she needs a pair of legs to attend.  Can’t dance on a tail ya know! 

We next see her swimming towards a multicolored cove and someone is humming Disney’s “Part of Your World”.  There are a bazillion wine bottles floating around and here we meet Aileen’s unnie, Sevelyn the 17th mermaid who apparently is a huge lush.  Apparently Sevelyn as she had let slip that her friend Prilly had managed to become human after finding out how to do so from her and Aileen tries to begs for unnie to tell her how.  With much begging and the promise of a purchase of Ballantine's 30 Year Old she’s told the secret.  Aileen must look for Ahn Ma Nyeo who turns out to be a creepy looking man in a hooded trench coat.  Ma Nyeo denies having any potion that would turn her human (as he clutches his belt conspicuously) and sends her away as he exits in a cheesy way [sooo cheesy].

The next morning finds us in Jin Ah’s new apartment as Hyun Myung stops by to help.  In the midst of their horseplay her mom pops in and she stuffs him in a closet [boy oh boy is he ‘flexible’].  Ms. Mom lectures Jin Ah to drop her loser of a boyfriend and hook up with one of the men in the building since they have six figure salaries here.  It’s why she got the place for her to begin with.  Hyun Myung topples out, excuses himself and leaves [aww].

Later that night he’s fielding one rejection text after another as his roommates are pestering him when he gets a text for a second interview.  Celebrations all around!

Meanwhile, Jin Ah “coincidentally” runs into Shi Kyung while she’s out running.  He ignores her for the most part until they share an elevator at the apartment building.  He apologizes to her since he tends not to notice people when he’s concentrating on something.  He even offers her thanks for the save and quick thinking that day.  Jin Ah tells him she just moved into the building (flash back to her seeing him while she and her mom were out looking for a place and she insists on moving in here…)  [Uh Oh. That scheming little wench!]  After she exits on her floor we see him look at his reflection and there’s this ominous vibe I’m getting [shudders].

Switch to the etceteras giving Hyun Myung interview tips to help him get the job.  It’s adorbs but he ends up having a nightmare involving his heart bursting at the interview [ewww].  He spends the rest of the night practicing.  As he’s walking to his interview the next morning he calls Jin Ah and cheerly tells her all of the things he’ll buy but she hangs up on him when she spots Shi Kyung missing the bit about a proposal from Hyun Myung.  He greets her this time and even mentions that he prefers her previous perfume to the one she’s wearing now.  As Jin Ah and another co-worker are gabbing about the encounter {queue in the opening song to the anime Attack on Titan} their supervisor peers over the cubical partition (like one of the colossal titans from that anime) to scold them. [This is when my daughter, Panda, fell out of her chair laughing so hard]

Meanwhile, Aileen has been camping out at Ma Nyeo’s stopping grounds waiting to bribe him with an antique vase and a crude ton of pearls.  She ends up mugging him and near drowning him for the ‘potion’ when he proves uncooperative. 

Ma Nyeo begs her not to drink it as he cries that it’s not the potion.  Of course she ignores him completely and  proceeds to down said pilfered potion and we queue in the transformation from mermaid to human à la Sailor Moon style.

She then plummets to earth like a comet and we pan to her crouched like a terminator.

...  [bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha]

  

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