Jang Bori Is Here! - Episode 18 (KimJiCap)
A lot in this episode could be considered "filler", but I really don't want to use that word for anything related to Kim Ji-hoon. No, my Kim Ji-hoon is never just a filler! Also, people, the time jump is here (at which point things cease to be a filler)! And with it comes the new hair! It's a new world and I will not lie, I'm very excited to get to know more about it. Other people are excited too, Jang Bori now reaches 16.9% viewers in Seoul (TNmS), which puts it at 2nd place on Sunday (or 3rd, if we were to go by AGB Nielsen). The crazier the better. Keep it rockin!
JoAnne: It's still a very weird show, Kakashi.
kakashi: It is?
Episode 18
Bori sees the banner with her painting at the airport entrance, clutches her head in pain and comments that it's really similar to the one she used to paint when she was young. Bingo! Her head hurts so bad though she is driven to her knees and now, even Veggie is concerned for her, comes back and even hesitates to leave her alone. Wow- Look at that. In fact, they walk, slowly, together and pass the Lee family who is just boarding a taxi after sending Ga-eul off. Jae-hwa sees her and calls out to her, but she doesn't hear. Migraines, dear Jae-hwa. Many women have them. And some men, too.
JoAnne: I was surprised that Veggie Ahjumma was so concerned but I guess I shouldn't have been. She's that proverbial parent/partner who mistreats the other half and then learns only too late how much they actually cared. You know that's coming. I don't care, let her suffer.
He wonders why she looks so down and where the kid might be, but Bori has already walked into the building and Second Wife is urging him to get into the car. He hesitates again, even though he tells himself this has nothing to do with him anymore, but he doesn't go after her in the end.
JoAnne: He's certainly lovely, isn't he? All concerned and cute and stuff.
Inside, Min-jung, who is ready to go through the security check, hears her mother's voice, looks around ... but nobody is there. Maybe she has a brain tumor??! She seems sad about that (to not see her mother, not the brain tumor). Well, her mother IS there, not far, but sitting on the floor, rubbing her knee. She fell in her cheap shoes and almost broke her foot. Min-jung passes the gates and disappears from view. We hear she might never come back (I wish, but know different). When Veggie Ahjumma is able to get up again there's no Min-jung to be found - of course, she blames Bori's head for it (though it's of course unmyeong that's to blame). She throws one of her shoes in anger and hits ... Ga-eul! Wait ... she's not on the plane?! No, she is talking to that scout-person on the phone ... she is going into idol-training! Seriously, show?!
JoAnne: HAHAHAHAAHAHAH and I was JUST wondering why they even put that in there. But do you mean to tell me that for FIVE YEARS she's going to hide in the very same town from her family and make them think she's in the USA? How do you even do that?
Jae-hwa sees the Eun-bi-search banner from the car on their way back to the city and is a bit shocked about himself ... Bori made him forget his Eun-bi! Yeah.... Well. Jae-hwa, there is something we need to tell you ... but hey, that's for another time. In 30 more episodes, maybe? And anyway, you have to comfort your heartbroken father, who cries over the "loss" of his Ga-eul. I guess it's a bit funny. The bit where Bori imagines catching "Scraps", ripping him apart and blowing him to the wind for what he has done to Young-sook (who already has a new man), while he tosses and turns in his bed (bad dreams, dear?) is also to be mentioned, just so that I can make some gifs. A sleeping Kim Ji-hoon is always a pleasure.
JoAnne: I prefer the post-shower, bottoms only, robe open, abs glorifying shot we got that one time in GoM.
Ga-eul needs to bring a guardian to the studio if she wants to continue training there because she is underage! And who better to call than her sweet oppa? He does sign for her, but he is quite concerned, too: what if she fails? Everybody around her will fail too (i.e. the whole family)! I don't know why, but I guess we'll just go with it. But she has not a care in the world (as always) and just lists what he is responsible for now: allowance, covering for her lies, etc. etc. Poor Jae-hwa. The women in your family ... well.
JoAnne: I like the aunt, kind of. His father's little sister. And we know this little bimbo-in-the-making will be redeemed by life lessons and the steady influence (someday) of Little Kang.
After the stint with Ga-eul, Jae-hwa sneaks into the house in the dark (why?!), but is caught by his brother. (His sister called him out fairly late at night, he didn't want to get caught coming back in after hours. He was brought home due to 'women troubles' so it would be suspicious.) Jae-hee is very suspicious of him and Jae-hwa, who knows that well, takes advantage right away, taunting him as always. Jae-hee (who is about the most humor-free person I've ever seen) warns him to be more serious since their company is among the top 12 of the country (chaebol alert!!!!). He calls him pathetic - didn't they communicate well when they were young? Why did Jae-hwa change that much? Oh, that one is easy: Because of him and his mother, of course. The reason he became a prosecutor? Because he didn't want to become like Jae-hee, because he didn't want a life depending on his father. And he wanted Jae-hee to be uneasy: hence the prosecutor. Jae-hee on the other hand thinks Jae-hwa ran away because he didn't have enough confidence, but Jae-hwa just smirks at that. Wait and see, little brother: he will quit being a prosecutor and he will come and "help" Jae-hee at the company.
Now in all honesty, if this was supposed to be an explanation for how these two brothers who were such good friends turned into enemies, you failed, drama.
JoAnne: Big time. And I find the whole thing very disappointing in general because I LOVED that we didn't get the expected rivalry, and instead got two lonely boys who genuinely liked each other. We still don't have a 'rivalry' per se...but that's because Jae Hwa completely abdicated his position. And there's no brotherly hi-jinks (sad face.)
The next day, Jae-hwa looks STUNNING in a new aubergine suit. So YUM. His mother is all excited, is he going somewhere nice, meeting friends perhaps? Nope, he says. He's just on his way to the kitchen to get some food. Hahahaha. He did that to vex his mother, of course, and it's working really well. I approve! His father joins them and says he should go on blind dates - time to get married. What kind of woman does he want? Well, he knows exactly what woman he does NOT want - and he starts to list all the things Bori: Perm, country dialect, makes clothes, delivers rice soup, pretends to be innocent but is an ahjumma with baby.
JoAnne: I have to give him credit, Jae Hwa IS amusing.
Bori finds out that GooDIL knew the girl that drew that painting on the banners and that that girl is her niece. She also hear about the accident. Let's hope this is important later, because this bit is ... booooooooring. Some more meanery by Veggie Ahjumma follow and when Bori leaves running to do some work for Veggie, she mutters something about her "real mother" in front of GooDIL, who perks up, but as always, some lie follows and I guess GooDIL just files that stuff away under "weird things about Bori and her relatives".
The Hanbokers go to Jangheung Elementary School, because one of the teachers gives them a tip that there used to be a kid there that drew similar pictures. They look at all the yearbooks, but don't find her - she is the only one that does not have a photo (Well, if that is no hint then I don't know what else is). Bori comes in to pick up the tray with rice soup stuff on it, but she recognizes the Hanbokkers before they can see her and hides. But Bori hears that they are looking for that Eun-bi - and she realizes that they must be related to her teacher. Is that a step towards the solving of at least one of the secrets? I bet you it is. By the end of this episode, Bori has figured out that GooDIL is a daughter of that family. WOW - not so fast, drama!
JoAnne: Pace yourself, show. You still have 9,975 episodes to go. Don't go getting your hanboks in a twist over solving the mystery too fast.
Bad Dad goes and has lunch with his first son, to a place they used to come with his mother. Jae-hwa says he cannot remember - how could he, he hardly remembers his mother's face. Awwwwwww. It's delicious looking Bibimbap (I want!) and Jae-hwa immediately has a flashback to that time he had bibimbap with Bori. Of course he would. He even loses his appetite over it. Just go back to Jangheung if you miss her so much, you handsome fool!
JoAnne: He could serve rice soup with her and then at night they could have tickle fights.
At the supermarket (is that PPL? thy go there all the time lately!), Bori finds a drawing from Jae-hwa in her purse (why only now??! Ah, forget I asked), it's her, with her eyes closed and her tongue hanging out. She wonders what that could be - and we see another flashback.
JoAnne: Jae Hwa demonstrates an heretofore unknown talent for caricature. In later episodes, he and Bori will hit the road with her travelling hanbok tailoring business, and he will draw sketches to show people how they will look in her designs.
It's Jae-hwa remembering this: she fell asleep on that bus on their way back from Seoul, her head lolling all over the place. He went over and positioned her head on his shoulder, smiling happily. And he took a picture of them together. A picture he now looks at, no longer happy. He deletes the picture, telling himself to forget, just forget ... she never even liked him anyway. There's no reason to be upset.
JoAnne: I won't lie. That tugged at my heartstrings a little bit.
Jae-hee tells his mother to learn how to sew hanbok - and promises to make her a "trustee" in one of the departments. What's that, JoAnne? And would you look at that, Second Wife - can I call her Dumb Wife please? - is starting sewing lessons at Bi Sool Chae, under the Matron. Let's just say she isn't quite of the right mind. And quite a lot of things are wrong with her heart, too. But maybe Matron will tame her? Reform her? Turn her into a decent human being? There is always hope!
JoAnne: I dunno, Matron is no great shakes herself. I was surprised to see the term trustee used here since the business (Olive Hassler) is for profit. A trustee holds a position of responsibility regarding property or money or something along those lines (like a financial trust, or a non-profit organization) and makes decisions on behalf of another (like a trust beneficiary, or persons who are affected by that non-profit in some way.) It's a legal term, and I've never seen it applied to a commercial venture although I guess it could be... I wonder if perhaps they meant that she'd join the board of directors? Perhaps one of the commenters will have more information.
Bad Dad tells Little Kang to get a house to live in. It's actually for GooDIL, but he thinks she'll refuse if it's from him, but will not if it's Little Kang's. Oh - and it seems he knows Ga-eul is not in the US, too? How does GooDIL know Little Kang and why would she agree to live in that house? Did I miss something? Am I asking too much? Probably.
JoAnne: I have no idea how he would make that work unless he just plans to tell her hey, I know this place, you could talk to that guy about sharing maybe.
Bori works hard, hardest, the friggin hardest to save money for the ear surgery (there's not even money for the perm! Yay!) and then ... it's 5 years later!!! We meet Bi-Dan, now 5 (or rather the 5 that KDrama imagines 5-year old kids are like, which is definitely not like this), and sassy as hell. It's instant like between me and her. She collects a frog in the grass (which goes down Veggie's shirt later, bravo!), shows us her hearing aid, gets presents from a boy who likes her and wants to marry her, and turns him down. She then goes back to her mother (New HAIR!) and they're really cute together.
JoAnne: yep, Bi Dan is a thumbs up. Have you ever seen her before? I haven't.
And just like that, Bori says it's time to go and live in Seoul. She has saved all the money they need to the surgery. Assa! Bori is cute as a mother. And maybe grown up a bit? And off to Seoul they go! They are met by GooDIL (New HAIR!), they've been apart for half a year, and it's one happy hello. About 30 seconds upon her arrival, GooDIL Sends Bori straight to Bi Sool Chae. Good, good. Progress.
JoAnne: But it's all happening so faaaaaaast.
But before we see that, we get to see Ga-eul who meets her sweet oppa (New HAIR!)!!! He looks about 5 years younger, which puts him at about 18? Barely legal.
JoAnne: I didn't think there was anything wrong with his old hair. Hmpgh.
He gives her money - he says he is giving her almost all of his paycheck. Ouch (is he still a prosecutor or not? We do not know). She still hasn't debuted! But at least, she has now graduated from high school. Well. And poor Jae-hwa still is doing the senseu-thing. He is not over his Jangheung-experience. Awwwwwww.
JoAnne: I am so over the 'senseu' thing. I never thought it was cute to begin with.
Bori is at Bi Sool Chae now and is met by the Shady Servant at the door. She is let in, despite not having an appointment - and is stricken by the beauty of the colorful yard. She also almost blacks out, but doesn't even notice herself - what she does realize though is that this is the place in that picture! When she's in front of Matron, she immediately recognizes her as the woman she briefly met on the subway (unmyeong!). She hands over the package she got from GooDIL - there's socks in it. You know, those old Joseon socks (Boseon). Matron immediately recognizes who made it and demands to know whether there is no message? There is, a letter. In it, GooDIL tells her she is sending her a person that will be of help. If she teaches her hanbok, she will come to Matron too, later.
JoAnne: Much like fingerprints, the stitches used to sew anything Hanbok-related are unique to the individual. If a really good doctor, like a spectacularly good one, one that has genius skills, laid their MagicHands on a HanbokSok, they would not only be able to identify the SokSewer but also confirm where they were in their menstrual cycle and whether they had any vitamin deficiencies.
Matron is very agitated, but Bori tells her nothing of where GooDIL is - Matron checks the stitches and sees that GooDIL must be hurt. It makes her cry. Oh, and here comes Dumb Mother. She of course looks down on Bori (hair, clothes, you name it), but Bori is just so polite and greets her as sunbae. How can you not like her? (side eye to JoAnne). In any case, Dumb Mother and Bori will be taught together and this will be fun.
JoAnne: I don't DISlike her. I found the overacting irritating, mostly because I dislike loud screechy women. This Bori is much better.
After leaving Bi Soo Chae, Bori waits at the bus station and unmyeong wants it that Jae-hwa drives by. He recognizes her and stops. But there's no Bori when he checks in the rear-view mirror. He thinks he is seeing things. He also thinks he has dark circles under his eyes, but no, Jae-hwa, you do not. As soon as he has left, Bori steps forward - she was just hidden behind another man waiting at the bus stop. Not yet, says unmyeong, not yet.
JoAnne: Such a tease, that one.
AppaNotOppa (NEW HAIR!) is at the company with Jae-hee (New Hair, I guess?) and Little Kang (New HAIR!) and it seems AnO's mother passed away, too. Yes, AnO started a job as Jae-hee's close assistant waaaaaay back before the time jump. Wow. We learn that Min-jung does really well as a designer (she is still in New York though) and that Jae-hee is the new director (of it all?). AnO almost finds out about Min-jung, but not yet, says unmyeong. Oups, she will likely be AnO's boss later?! Nooooo! I want revenge!!! Or wait ... does he actually KNOW Min-jung works there and Jae-hee has the hots for her? Hm. I can't remember whether he has ever seen them together?
JoAnne: I don't think he does.
Big Kang is out of prison! He severs ties with his gangster buddies (nooooo, they're heartbroken) and eats his brother's tofu instead. It's all good! He will no longer be a gangster! Little Kang takes him to his house and there is ... Bi-dan! Who calls him Appa. Apparently, she calls all the men Appa that come to the house, hahaha, at least for a while. And there's Bori! They're all living together, I love this! Little Bi-dan tries to set her mother up with Big Kang, but this man is not Bori's type. What is your type, lady, pray say?
JoAnne: She's crazy, who cares. Oh wait, it's Ji Hoon, though. Whatever ever, I like Big Kang. And Big Kang with Bi Dan made my ovaries roll over and play dead, then sit up and beg for snacks.
Bori goes back to Bi Sool Chae ... where she meets the Hanbokkers. Big shocked faces. Yes! It's THAT woman! Again and again - that woman. Arriving right that moment at the airport? Ming-jung (New HAIR!). Dun dun dun?
JoAnne: REALLY BAD HAIR. She will be kicked out of Bi Sool Chae for having hair that is not worthy of appearing before impressionable young hanboks-to-be.
Comments
I like this new set-up! I'm particularly happy about the living arrangements with the Kangs. They're great characters and this will be fun! The new Bori also seems a lot more confident and, dare I say it, adult now. Having a kid changed her - it seems to the better. The kid herself is great, at least so far and I expect her to be the source of much fun in the future. And of course, I can't wait for Bori and Jae-hwa to meet again - I hope we don't need to wait for too long!
JoAnne: Somehow I think we won't, but what I'm excited about is the awesome revenge subplot I hope to see with AnO against MinJung.
And finally, the most important question: who wins the hair contest? I have two favorites, and no, it's not Kim Ji-hoon. He looks good, of course, he always does. But no, I'm particularly glad to see GooDIL all pretty again; the Jangheung hairdo didn't suit her at all. And my second vote goes to Bori - I find Oh Yeon Seo (whom I see act for the first time) very pretty, in fact much prettier than Ming-jung/Lee Yoo Ri (who is 8 years older than Yeon-seo in real life, wow!). Yes, JoAnne! Swallow that! She looks so natural, I like that. Especially her eyes.
JoAnne: I like the new Bori hair and I like Big Kang's hair. We still need to see new hair for Bad Stupid Second Wife and Dumb Auntie, though. Holy crap, how old are those girls? Eight years? Really?
JoAnne: It's still a very weird show, Kakashi.
kakashi: It is?
Bori sees the banner with her painting at the airport entrance, clutches her head in pain and comments that it's really similar to the one she used to paint when she was young. Bingo! Her head hurts so bad though she is driven to her knees and now, even Veggie is concerned for her, comes back and even hesitates to leave her alone. Wow- Look at that. In fact, they walk, slowly, together and pass the Lee family who is just boarding a taxi after sending Ga-eul off. Jae-hwa sees her and calls out to her, but she doesn't hear. Migraines, dear Jae-hwa. Many women have them. And some men, too.
JoAnne: I was surprised that Veggie Ahjumma was so concerned but I guess I shouldn't have been. She's that proverbial parent/partner who mistreats the other half and then learns only too late how much they actually cared. You know that's coming. I don't care, let her suffer.
JoAnne: He's certainly lovely, isn't he? All concerned and cute and stuff.
JoAnne: HAHAHAHAAHAHAH and I was JUST wondering why they even put that in there. But do you mean to tell me that for FIVE YEARS she's going to hide in the very same town from her family and make them think she's in the USA? How do you even do that?
JoAnne: I prefer the post-shower, bottoms only, robe open, abs glorifying shot we got that one time in GoM.
JoAnne: I like the aunt, kind of. His father's little sister. And we know this little bimbo-in-the-making will be redeemed by life lessons and the steady influence (someday) of Little Kang.
JoAnne: Big time. And I find the whole thing very disappointing in general because I LOVED that we didn't get the expected rivalry, and instead got two lonely boys who genuinely liked each other. We still don't have a 'rivalry' per se...but that's because Jae Hwa completely abdicated his position. And there's no brotherly hi-jinks (sad face.)
The next day, Jae-hwa looks STUNNING in a new aubergine suit. So YUM. His mother is all excited, is he going somewhere nice, meeting friends perhaps? Nope, he says. He's just on his way to the kitchen to get some food. Hahahaha. He did that to vex his mother, of course, and it's working really well. I approve! His father joins them and says he should go on blind dates - time to get married. What kind of woman does he want? Well, he knows exactly what woman he does NOT want - and he starts to list all the things Bori: Perm, country dialect, makes clothes, delivers rice soup, pretends to be innocent but is an ahjumma with baby.
JoAnne: I have to give him credit, Jae Hwa IS amusing.
The Hanbokers go to Jangheung Elementary School, because one of the teachers gives them a tip that there used to be a kid there that drew similar pictures. They look at all the yearbooks, but don't find her - she is the only one that does not have a photo (Well, if that is no hint then I don't know what else is). Bori comes in to pick up the tray with rice soup stuff on it, but she recognizes the Hanbokkers before they can see her and hides. But Bori hears that they are looking for that Eun-bi - and she realizes that they must be related to her teacher. Is that a step towards the solving of at least one of the secrets? I bet you it is. By the end of this episode, Bori has figured out that GooDIL is a daughter of that family. WOW - not so fast, drama!
JoAnne: Pace yourself, show. You still have 9,975 episodes to go. Don't go getting your hanboks in a twist over solving the mystery too fast.
JoAnne: He could serve rice soup with her and then at night they could have tickle fights.
JoAnne: Jae Hwa demonstrates an heretofore unknown talent for caricature. In later episodes, he and Bori will hit the road with her travelling hanbok tailoring business, and he will draw sketches to show people how they will look in her designs.
JoAnne: I won't lie. That tugged at my heartstrings a little bit.
JoAnne: I dunno, Matron is no great shakes herself. I was surprised to see the term trustee used here since the business (Olive Hassler) is for profit. A trustee holds a position of responsibility regarding property or money or something along those lines (like a financial trust, or a non-profit organization) and makes decisions on behalf of another (like a trust beneficiary, or persons who are affected by that non-profit in some way.) It's a legal term, and I've never seen it applied to a commercial venture although I guess it could be... I wonder if perhaps they meant that she'd join the board of directors? Perhaps one of the commenters will have more information.
JoAnne: I have no idea how he would make that work unless he just plans to tell her hey, I know this place, you could talk to that guy about sharing maybe.
Bori works hard, hardest, the friggin hardest to save money for the ear surgery (there's not even money for the perm! Yay!) and then ... it's 5 years later!!! We meet Bi-Dan, now 5 (or rather the 5 that KDrama imagines 5-year old kids are like, which is definitely not like this), and sassy as hell. It's instant like between me and her. She collects a frog in the grass (which goes down Veggie's shirt later, bravo!), shows us her hearing aid, gets presents from a boy who likes her and wants to marry her, and turns him down. She then goes back to her mother (New HAIR!) and they're really cute together.
JoAnne: yep, Bi Dan is a thumbs up. Have you ever seen her before? I haven't.
JoAnne: But it's all happening so faaaaaaast.
JoAnne: I didn't think there was anything wrong with his old hair. Hmpgh.
JoAnne: I am so over the 'senseu' thing. I never thought it was cute to begin with.
JoAnne: Much like fingerprints, the stitches used to sew anything Hanbok-related are unique to the individual. If a really good doctor, like a spectacularly good one, one that has genius skills, laid their MagicHands on a HanbokSok, they would not only be able to identify the SokSewer but also confirm where they were in their menstrual cycle and whether they had any vitamin deficiencies.
JoAnne: I don't DISlike her. I found the overacting irritating, mostly because I dislike loud screechy women. This Bori is much better.
JoAnne: Such a tease, that one.
JoAnne: I don't think he does.
JoAnne: She's crazy, who cares. Oh wait, it's Ji Hoon, though. Whatever ever, I like Big Kang. And Big Kang with Bi Dan made my ovaries roll over and play dead, then sit up and beg for snacks.
JoAnne: REALLY BAD HAIR. She will be kicked out of Bi Sool Chae for having hair that is not worthy of appearing before impressionable young hanboks-to-be.
Comments
I like this new set-up! I'm particularly happy about the living arrangements with the Kangs. They're great characters and this will be fun! The new Bori also seems a lot more confident and, dare I say it, adult now. Having a kid changed her - it seems to the better. The kid herself is great, at least so far and I expect her to be the source of much fun in the future. And of course, I can't wait for Bori and Jae-hwa to meet again - I hope we don't need to wait for too long!
JoAnne: Somehow I think we won't, but what I'm excited about is the awesome revenge subplot I hope to see with AnO against MinJung.
And finally, the most important question: who wins the hair contest? I have two favorites, and no, it's not Kim Ji-hoon. He looks good, of course, he always does. But no, I'm particularly glad to see GooDIL all pretty again; the Jangheung hairdo didn't suit her at all. And my second vote goes to Bori - I find Oh Yeon Seo (whom I see act for the first time) very pretty, in fact much prettier than Ming-jung/Lee Yoo Ri (who is 8 years older than Yeon-seo in real life, wow!). Yes, JoAnne! Swallow that! She looks so natural, I like that. Especially her eyes.
JoAnne: I like the new Bori hair and I like Big Kang's hair. We still need to see new hair for Bad Stupid Second Wife and Dumb Auntie, though. Holy crap, how old are those girls? Eight years? Really?