Can We Love? - Episode 12 (Recap)
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it’s here! The shoe! It’s dropped! And it was THAT shoe! The one we all feared and the one we didn't want. But as much as I HATE it, it’s still fairly well done in terms of dramatic tension. This view might be unpopular, but I’ve always had issues with too much happiness on TV: it tends to bore me after a while. Things are shaken up big time in this episode, and, as I find, in an interesting way. Let's see where the new lies will take us. Not far, I'm sure. I am fairly confident that this drama will continue to deliver what it has delivered so far: human beings who are like you and me. Human beings that struggle with things, but also overcome them.
Episode 12
Gyu-shik is losing it: he demands to know, screaming, why the three of them are together at this late hour (certainly a good question), but before things can escalate further, Ji-hyun gets him to come home with her. At home, she finally tells her husband the truth (cause she really doesn’t have a choice anymore!). She is incredibly sorry (we’ve heard that before), she says she was “too happy with him”, all she ever wanted was to make him happy (out of guilt, yeah). He doesn’t want to hear any of this, even when she begs him to understand that she was in pain, too. He finds her utterly disgusting – but divorce is not an option. Shame, you know. Better be in a living hell than lose face. It's Goddess of Marriage all over!
Sun-mi is lying in bed, quite unwell … Oh Kyung-soo calls. It’s very late and he apologizes for it – but he is calling to arrange a meeting about the accessories, which he loved. She sounds weak and listless, and talking to him affects her a great deal. He tells her to go see a doctor if she’s ill. That’s what she wanted to do anyway, she says, and they end the conversation with assertions that it is good to have friends. That just makes her cry. At the doctors the next day, she gets prescribed antibiotics, and the male doctor cheerily asks: is there any chance she is pregnant? No, she says … but then, she thinks again.
And here we go, shit! It is confirmed: she is pregnant! She is three weeks in. She thinks back to her tussle with Puppy and her we-don’t-exactly-know-what with Oh Kyung-soo. Apparently, it’s forbidden to do a DNA test on an embryo in Korea. She thinks about that in the car on her way back. This can mean two things: either that makes her safe to do whatever she wants, because nobody can check who the father is – or she really isn’t sure who the father is. If it’s the second, I’m kinda glad, cause I never wanted to hate her.
The pressure on Ji-hyun is mounting and mounting. She is taking pills (for the nerves?), but that doesn’t save her from the massive abuse she gets from the MILDragon. How is she still nice to this terrible woman?! After a check-up at the hospital, MILDragon taunts her about how healthy she is and how she must hate that (she doesn’t stop!). When Ji-hyun brings her porridge, she throws it in her face, complaining about the taste. Dripping porridge, Ji-hyun runs right into Sun-mi in the living room, who is here to talk about the renovation. This is just terrible. I feel very sorry for Ji-hyun (maybe for the first time), because this? Much too much. In the conversation afterwards, Ji-hyun learns that Sun-mi is no longer seeing Mr. Sweet (will she use that information for something good?) and she also learns that her hellish MIL will stay with them during the renovation.
Oh-boy, who is still staying at home, is pining after Jung-wan, but she is at the mart. He says he is in pain and he wanted her to come over. Not much later, she does – and brings him food. Oh no, she used her short break to rush over in a taxi, but he has already started cooking a soup for himself. It becomes clear that he kinda lied to her, because he missed her and wanted to see her, and she is mock-angry about it. He on the other hand is super sorry that she came – it’s impossible to joke with her, he says, mortified. Hm. Fissures. Small ones, but here we go.
Oh Kyung-soo is continuing his advances towards Tae-geuk: he takes him to the bath house. The boy (he is quite awesome) is quite frank about going to the bath house with his father, often, and also tells Oh that his father scrubs his back much better. Oh-boy confesses that he is both jealous and proud of him when he defends his dad: His parents were also divorced and he hated them for it. So he never went to the bath house with his father – and now, he deeply regrets it. Tae-geuk feels a bit uncomfortable after that confession, but he scrubs Oh Kyung-soo’s back as well. He is thawing. Nobody can withstand the Oh-charm for long …
Ahn Do-young is agonizing over calling Ji-hyun. But who does call her is her husband: He takes her to have dinner at her brother’s. Oh shit. He suggest to send Yoo-kyung abroad, to study: he will take care of everything. How very generous, you bastard! This is really mean, cause OF COURSE, you would want your bright kid to get an opportunity like this. That he wants the kid out of the way cause seeing her hurts his pride therefore becomes secondary.
And now it comes. Foul language on! Sun-mi, the BITCH, wants to meet Jung-wan. She plays coy for a while, not telling her what this is about, and poor Jung-wan gets quite excited, because she thinks that Sun-mi is getting married to Mr. Sweet. But then, finally, Sun-mi tells Jung-wan that she is pregnant … and she claims that Oh Kyung-soo is the father. She thought about this long, wondering whether she should take care of it herself (i.e. abort?), seeing how good the relationship between Oh-boy and Jung-wan is, but … this baby is quite clearly her last chance, weak uterus and all. So she just couldn’t. She really wants to marry Oh. What the fuck!!!! Okay, I’m cursing her now, loudly. In a language most of you wouldn't understand.
Jung-wan is so shocked, she just leaves. She staggers home, reeling from this news. When he calls her, he doesn’t pick up. A bit later, she has collected herself a bit and goes to see Sun-mi at her place. What is it that Sun-mi wants her to do? End it with Director Oh, the answer is. But will that do the trick, her bowing out? Jung-wan asks. But Sun-mi has it all covered, the devil. She knows that telling Oh now would mean he would hate her, because she would break him and Jung-wan apart forcefully. Therefore, she demands of Jung-wan to break up with him, without telling him why. This way, Sun-mi thinks she’ll have a chance of getting closer to him, and once he is over Jung-wan, she will tell him about the pregnancy and hook him up for good. She is confident in captivating him?? WTF woman??!?!!?!? You’re talking to the woman who is in love with him!!!! Jung-wan cries silently and I curse loudly again. This doesn’t make any sense, either. Are you even listening to this bullshit, Jung-wan?!
Oh Kyung-soo is getting worried. Why isn’t Jung-wan answering his calls? Something is up, he is sure. At a script-meeting, he tells her he wants to spend time with her, and invites her to dinner at his house, he will cook for her. She can barely look at him. You are going to do something stupid woman, right? Sun-mi, the snake, plays dumb when Oh-boy asks her what’s going on with Jung-wan not much later. I know wish a lot of pain upon her. She is the worst kind of woman.
And she even has the gall to make snide remarks about Puppy and Hana (and more meanness towards Moon). She asks him – baby daddy! – whether he has real feelings for Hana. Would he date someone he doesn’t even like, like someone he knows? He retorts. He is fine and happy in his new relationship: he didn’t even know how nice it is if two people like each other back. She clearly isn’t okay with it. Just get lost, Sun-mi. Not much later, Puppy finds out through Moon that Sun-mi is pregnant: Moon saw a pregnancy booklet when Sun-mi dropped her purse in front of her. Good. Cause Sun-mi’s scheming just got quite a bit harder.
Jung-wan, the poor woman, is called by her ex-SIL: they are worried about Mr. Mope, who is AWOL. But Jung-wan knows exactly where he is: it’s the same spot he always went to when he didn’t get a professorship. It’s a place full of very good memories for him, memories of him and her. Jung-wan, who always helps people around her, the good soul, tells him do not despair! To try a bit harder. He can overcome this! Yeah, he can, but I hope not with you by his side! Get away from this black hole of negativity and weakness!
Oh-boy has cooked for her, but she is running late … then he discovers a text from her on his mobile: she cannot come, something urgent has come up. Awwwww …. He wants to go out, to search for her, but suddenly, Ahn appears at his door. He is in need of company (and liquor) – and he finally tells his cousin everything: About his daughter, about how she should be sent abroad. About how the girl came to him, worried, thinking of her birth mother and how hard it must be for her, ready to leave the country just for her, even though she doesn’t want to. Ahn even asked her to live with him! Oh Kyung-soo is quite worried about it all – what a difficult situation! If you do something, someone will get hurt - and if you don’t to something, someone will get hurt.
But things are getting more complicated in his life, too … Jung-wan is called by Snotty, who is drinking/drunk in a bar. Snotty doesn’t understand what’s going on, but she is certain that all things will be good if Jung-wan just marries Oh Kyung-soo already. She has known her oppa for all her life and she has never seen him as smitten with any other woman. Upon hearing this, Jung-wan bursts into tears … which leaves Snotty even more confused. She is growing on me, that little lady … she isn’t completely rotten, that one. Jung-wan drinks herself into a stupor, and Snotty calls Oh-boy for help. He drives Jung-wan home, casting worried glances at her in the rear mirror. After depositing her on her bed, seeing how troubled she is in her sleep, he mutters to himself that he has to tie this woman to himself as quickly as possible.
Things at Ji-hyun’s are deteriorating quickly. First, her and her husband run into Ahn at a wedding (sometimes, Seoul is so small …) and Guy-shik tells Ahn how much he hates him. At home, their daughter tried to make a run for the US, but her father can stop her at the airport. He drags her back home and grounds her. Things get really ugly between them. When he is out, Sera dolls up and wants to go out, which causes her mother to have a panic attack or something. She cannot take any more of this. Sera stays and shows concern for her mother. I think these two should really stick together. But Ji-hyun doesn’t catch a break yet: Ahn goes to see her brother; and he tells him to hand over Yoo-kyung to him. If he doesn’t, he will file for parental custody. Ji-hyun, who is called there for help, can only wail and scream in frustration. She has no power over things, and definitely no power over her own life. When she gets back home, MILDragon is already there. Ji-hyun’s life just got 100% worse. Yeah, I didn't know that was possible, but it totally was.
Oh-boy is waiting for Jung-wan in front of her apartment: he once again demands to know what is up with her. She is evasive, even prickly with him. Fine. He is not one to be rattled by such behavior and tells her to open the glove department… there’s a ring. And red roses. Ouf. He tells her that he has had it for a while already, but he wasn’t sure when the right moment was. He just knows that he cannot let this woman go: he would regret it forever. And because he is feeling that she is slowly but surely withdrawing from him, he is making his move now. Maybe his parents are at fault for him never thinking about marriage before: But after seeing her and Tae-geuk, things have changed. He wants to have a family now. “Let’s live together”, he says. “I want to drink beer with you in the evenings. I want to talk about dumb things and laugh about them. I want to live the rest of his life like this”.
Let’s all take a deep breath, because now it comes … noble idiocy. It has infected this drama like so many before it. She also takes a deep breath, and her voice is pained when she says that this makes everything clear for her. Finally. After a long time of confusion due to him, she now knows: they cannot be. She always thought it isn’t right: They are too different. Of course, they are different, he interjects, and that is exactly why they go together so well! But nothing can get through to her: She has made up her mind. She wants to end things here. Yeah, it sounds totally stupid, and he also says that she is being ridiculous. He cannot break up for a reason like that. He will pretend not to have heard it. He gives her the ring and says take it, do with it whatever. But … she gives it back. And runs out. Of course, he follows: He cannot understand what she is saying. What is going on? That, she says, it exactly what is wrong: he is always like this. He never listens to her. And he always does what he wants.
Jung-wan is at the mart. She is very sad. Oh Kyung-soo is in the meeting room. He is very confused (and sad). Suddenly, Snotty calls, telling him once again that it wasn’t her fault that Jung-wan cried and drank too much. But she now thinks she understands what’s going on: she went out to see her Ex before that. That gets Oh-boy moving: He waits for Jung-wan in front of her house. He tries to joke about things, as he always does, but it isn’t working this time. She doesn’t even want to talk to him. He thinks he finally understands what’s going on: he knows he was stood up because of her Ex, who is also having a hard time… and he is willing to help her overcome her difficulties.
This? She says, this is exactly why she wants to break up. He makes her say sorry and thank you all the time. He is always trying to accommodate her and understand her. It makes her feel guilty and grateful ... and pathetic at the same time. She never knew just how pathetic she was until she met him. Shouldn’t she feel she is a better person thanks to him? But the more she sees him, the more miserable and pathetic she feels. She is tired of saying sorry and thank you: let’s end this now. She walks away, as he stands there, struggling to retain his composure.
Comments
Liar, liar, pants on fire, and a stupid one on top of that! Lies don't get you far in the Can We Love universe, we know that, and this is so stupid it will not go on for long, that I'm certain of. To be honest, I think it's good that Jung-wan has to suffer a bit due to her own stupidity. I was wondering before where her insecurity went, and now that it's back, I think it's time she truly overcame it, once and for all. She knows Kyung-soo well enough by now to know what she has to say to make him waver, but she also shows by doing that what her biggest problem is: She doesn't believe in herself. She lives her life for others, constantly making sacrifices. She calls herself an egoist, but she is about the furthest from that as humanly possible. However, until she can accept good things that are there just for her, she doesn't deserve them. At this moment, she doesn't deserve to be with Oh Kyung-soo. He has only given her love, the truest, deepest, and most devoted kind and if she is unable to see what kind of man she is, tough luck, you've had your chance and you've missed it. That she believes the bullshit that Sun-mi is sprouting ("I really want to marry Director Oh" - "I am convinced I can entice him") is just a sign of that insecurity that makes her life so difficult. That she thinks not telling him anything is the right thing to do, that she believes that he will just accept her weird reasoning and break-up with her over simply nothing, just proves my point. Time for some character growth here, I think!
There's not much to say about Sun-mi's behavior that hasn't been said already. It's the lowest of the low and she truly deserves to be deserted by anyone she has ever cared about. SHE is the egoist and she seems to have become so desperate in the course of her life that she goes batshit insane when it comes to this man she is attracted to. Seriously. Her plan? That's about the most stupid thing I've ever heard! You break up with him, my friend who he loves like he has never loved before, and after that, there will be room for me???! No, I don't think so. He would never, ever marry her just because she was pregnant with his baby - which she isn't, of course. He would definitely be there and help her with all his might, but he is the most upright, most honest person I've ever "encountered". He would not be untrue to his feelings. I am also pretty sure that Puppy will put a spoke into her unholy wheel. Puppy, you have my full support. Take the bitch down!
As for the rest ... yes, Gyu-shik is becoming abusive, and that's not a big surprise, seeing the kind of mother he has. Still, I am not entirely put-off by him, because I also understand part of his rage. Imagine being married to somebody for so long, then finding out they have lied to you every single day? Only a saint wouldn't react with violence. The way he treats his daughter, well ... that was a very, very bad call, but he seems to love her, still. Seeing your teenage daughter pregnant, knowing that it will most likely destroy her life must be damn difficult - I don't know what I would do in a situation like that. As for Ji-hyun, this episode turned her into the most pitiful creature on earth and I hope for her that she runs away, far, and never comes back. Alone. Ahn is occupied with his own demons. Good luck to the two of you!
Episode 12
Gyu-shik is losing it: he demands to know, screaming, why the three of them are together at this late hour (certainly a good question), but before things can escalate further, Ji-hyun gets him to come home with her. At home, she finally tells her husband the truth (cause she really doesn’t have a choice anymore!). She is incredibly sorry (we’ve heard that before), she says she was “too happy with him”, all she ever wanted was to make him happy (out of guilt, yeah). He doesn’t want to hear any of this, even when she begs him to understand that she was in pain, too. He finds her utterly disgusting – but divorce is not an option. Shame, you know. Better be in a living hell than lose face. It's Goddess of Marriage all over!
Liar, liar, pants on fire, and a stupid one on top of that! Lies don't get you far in the Can We Love universe, we know that, and this is so stupid it will not go on for long, that I'm certain of. To be honest, I think it's good that Jung-wan has to suffer a bit due to her own stupidity. I was wondering before where her insecurity went, and now that it's back, I think it's time she truly overcame it, once and for all. She knows Kyung-soo well enough by now to know what she has to say to make him waver, but she also shows by doing that what her biggest problem is: She doesn't believe in herself. She lives her life for others, constantly making sacrifices. She calls herself an egoist, but she is about the furthest from that as humanly possible. However, until she can accept good things that are there just for her, she doesn't deserve them. At this moment, she doesn't deserve to be with Oh Kyung-soo. He has only given her love, the truest, deepest, and most devoted kind and if she is unable to see what kind of man she is, tough luck, you've had your chance and you've missed it. That she believes the bullshit that Sun-mi is sprouting ("I really want to marry Director Oh" - "I am convinced I can entice him") is just a sign of that insecurity that makes her life so difficult. That she thinks not telling him anything is the right thing to do, that she believes that he will just accept her weird reasoning and break-up with her over simply nothing, just proves my point. Time for some character growth here, I think!
There's not much to say about Sun-mi's behavior that hasn't been said already. It's the lowest of the low and she truly deserves to be deserted by anyone she has ever cared about. SHE is the egoist and she seems to have become so desperate in the course of her life that she goes batshit insane when it comes to this man she is attracted to. Seriously. Her plan? That's about the most stupid thing I've ever heard! You break up with him, my friend who he loves like he has never loved before, and after that, there will be room for me???! No, I don't think so. He would never, ever marry her just because she was pregnant with his baby - which she isn't, of course. He would definitely be there and help her with all his might, but he is the most upright, most honest person I've ever "encountered". He would not be untrue to his feelings. I am also pretty sure that Puppy will put a spoke into her unholy wheel. Puppy, you have my full support. Take the bitch down!
As for the rest ... yes, Gyu-shik is becoming abusive, and that's not a big surprise, seeing the kind of mother he has. Still, I am not entirely put-off by him, because I also understand part of his rage. Imagine being married to somebody for so long, then finding out they have lied to you every single day? Only a saint wouldn't react with violence. The way he treats his daughter, well ... that was a very, very bad call, but he seems to love her, still. Seeing your teenage daughter pregnant, knowing that it will most likely destroy her life must be damn difficult - I don't know what I would do in a situation like that. As for Ji-hyun, this episode turned her into the most pitiful creature on earth and I hope for her that she runs away, far, and never comes back. Alone. Ahn is occupied with his own demons. Good luck to the two of you!