Surplus Princess - Episode 10 Final (A SongJaeRimJob)
Surplus Princess ends as crazily as it started. Although not as pervy, which makes our kokos sad. You know what else makes our kokos sad? No?
JoAnne: I can only speak for my own koko, Mary. Although I really prefer not to even do that.
becca: I have very mixed feelings about this ending. But yes, most of them are sad. And if they're not sad, they're cranky.
kakashi: It's finally Oooooooooover! *does happyhappy dance*
EPISODE 10 Love Like You've Never Been Hurt (By A Drama)
Hyun-myung hug-gratulates Hani while Shi-kyung watches from the sidelines. When Jin-ah calls him away for some JH matters, he walks off in a daze. Ji-yong and Big run out of the contest area too. They don't see The Hug. They're just adorkably noisy and proud about how Hani saved the shaking box. They also don't notice the awkward staring between HornDog and Hani.
JoAnne: Is everyone selectively blind? Is Shi Kyung a metaphor for the human condition?
becca: The human condition isn't as hot as he is.
kakashi: But I think the human condition has a better haircut.
It's awarding time!!! The first place (and $10,000) goes to.... *dugeun dugeun dugeun* SHAKING BOX TEAM!!! (what an excellet surprise!!! ... not) Shi-kyung looks proud but he seems like he's trying to tamp down some sad feels (my poor Shep). Jin-ah and the Elite Shits are devastated. Especially since CEO Hong announces that the winners are invited to be JH Food interns with a possibility of being hired on full-time.
JoAnne: PLUS JH Foods wants to buy the idea off them. Take THAT, you shitters.
becca: *singing and dancing* Heundeureo Chuseyo! (shake shake shake shake shake shake)
Hani narrates (remember she was telling us "her story" since Episode 1? nope I do but tvN didn't until now) that up to that point, things were going well. But there were huge problems about to come. One of them being Hyun-myung. (Me: How huge, exactly? For it to be a problem?)
JoAnne: It would have to be pretty huge to be a problem. I mean, think about babies. We manage them ok. I wonder if men ever look at us and think about how we give birth and say 'wow, that is some crazy shit.' Personally, I think it's a design flaw.
becca: But babies HURT. You wouldn't want that kind of pain ALL the time.
kakashi: I agree with JoAnne. Laying eggs would be much better.
Her current problem is drinking in the Surplus yard with the other boys, telling Sun-kyu about the contest. They reenact Hyun-myung fainting and Hani dancing with the shaking box. They also thank Sun-kyu for "indirectly" helping them out by taking them on a trip and feeding them in those lunch tins. They also joke that maybe he's the Contest King and he did the trip + lunch tin on purpose. Sun-kyu only smiles at their "jokes".
JoAnne: Ha ha ha funny. Stop poking me in the ribs, show. You aren't getting off my shit list that easily.
becca: The thought that he did that intentionally actually bothers me. Because then it's not really their idea, is it? I mean, it is. But it isn't. He thought of it first.
kakashi: It may be because I haven't watched the latter half of this show with subs, but I seriously don't get Sun-kyu as a character. Why? How? But because? The good thing about this: it doesn't matter. This is oooooooover! *continues happy dance*
But where is Hani? The woman of the hour?
Hani is upstairs in her room, calling herself all kinds of crazy. Here she managed to get close to Shi-kyung and maybe get him to like her, and her kokoro starts pounding for Hyun-myung. Hye-young agrees and calls her a fish-brain. It was just the proximity and the excitement of the moment that made her heart pound! She tells her to focus on her true love and not be distracted by hormones. Her life is at stake! She needs to fulfill her true love quest with Shi-kyung. Otherwise she's dead.
JoAnne: Funny... very often in horror movies the kids who have sex are the ones who die and it's often said that in the end these are morality tales. And yet, here we have a show that posits (indirectly) that she has to have sex to LIVE. I mean, let's not beat around the bush. (ha, pun) True love includes sex, right? Unless you're really, really unlucky...
becca: It is referred to as consummation for a reason, yes. True love can exist before that, but since we don't really know how this show is defining true love - but then we don't know a LOT about what this show is trying to do, so... yeah. Most stories like this need some kind of act of true love to prove it. Sex seems the most likely in this case.
kakashi: Hyun-myung doesn't get that true love=hormones. Yes, I'm romantic like that.
That last part was heard by HornDog who came upstairs to fetch them for the chukka-party. He pretends not to hear, of course, and just calls them down.
kakashi: All he can think of is consummation.
Big takes his Hye-young noona aside again. Now that they've won the contest and are JH interns, he's come to inquire about the promise. He asks if his noona likes him too? Hye-young says yes. Big's face lights up so much I wanna climb him (hahahahah) and cover his ears for what's to come (oh, different reason than I expected). "Really?!" he asks. Hye-young nods. Of course. She likes him. As a dongsaeng.
becca: BULL. SHIT. Give it up, girl, you KNOW you want him!!
Big asks Hye-young to take the question and his feelings seriously. "Stop trying to build boundaries... or I'll be tempted to break them" says Big. But noona denies having kokoro-like feelings for him, so he stomps away, leaving Hye-young to guiltily mutter that he's trying to be cool. The little shit.
JoAnne: Girl, he ain't trying. He IS.
With Big drinking beer after beer and Hye-young sitting quietly on the side, their garden chukka-party isn't as lively as expected. Still, Ji-yong and Hyun-myung dream of buying an expensive steak for dinner with their first JH paycheck. They revise it to grilling samgyupsal at home instead (so they can eat more meat). Aww... I dreamed of buying a whole pizza to myself with my first scholarship stipend too... Anyway, Shi-kyung calls Hani to invite her on a date tomorrow. Which of course HornDog hears and becomes sad about.
JoAnne: Where's the KDrama where she gets them BOTH, huh? (that was WTFParis!!!) Or wait... since lots of times we're not crazy about the girl, but love both guys - where's the KDrama where they ditch the bitch and go for a real bromance?
becca: Yep, sometimes there's better chemistry between the guys. It'll probably never happen, though.
Next morning, the boys do a dress rehearsal for their first day of work. (Aww) Hani comes downstairs all dressed and they ask her if she's also trying out her "First Day of Work" clothes. Nope! Says Hye-young. Hani is going on a date with their company boss. Today. (LOL) Hye-young also loudly compliments Big's model look, but Big is still mad at noona and stomps off to his room.
JoAnne: It's ok, Big. Come find Noona.
becca: Mad at Hye-young right now. She's being obnoxious about it.
Hani says goodbye to everyone, hesitating in front of HornDog. But she trots off to her date anyway. Hye-young goes back to her room. Ji-yong casually remarks about people scheduling dates when the forecast says it's gonna be rainy. And of course HornDog worriedly looks outside...
JoAnne: And it's never rained at all ever in the entire time she's been on dry land? Do you not think that checking the weather is the FIRST thing a person who should never get wet in public ought to do? Honestly. She has a brain the size of a goldfish.
becca: PANTS. Just sayin'.
Hani is walking to the meeting place and thinking of her two loves Hyun-myung and Shi-kyung. But her thoughts are interrupted by Rain with IU's cute Raindrops Song. (Oups. Sorry Jo, I meant rain. Without the capital R.)
JoAnne: It's okay. I am never bothered by reminders of My Beloved. Plus I never get tired of the joke about rain making things wet.
Hani shelters under a tree which isn't enough to keep her dry. And just like magic, *POOF* comes an umbrella with a hot namja attached. Sadly, this hot namja is not My Hot Namja. But it will do. What it lacks in Rim, it makes up for in cuteness and puppy eyes sincerity. And when it smiled such a sweet sad smile, took out its handkerchief, and wiped Hani's feet, koko started leaping at the screen, asking to be introduced.
JoAnne: And now I think of your koko like a pokemon. This is not an improvement, because - this may surprise you - I don't really want to think about your koko at all.
becca: Why does Hyun-myung have to be so sweet? I mean, he is PERFECT. And yet... I honestly feel that it's too late for me to get fully onboard this ship. It's like I'm just crossing gangway and the ship's already pulling out to sea.
I swiped koko away because I have to recap how HornDog (because we all know it's HornDog, right?) pretends to be going the same place as Hani, just so she'll have an excuse to borrow his umbrella. When Hani still hesitates to leave the shade, HornDog tells her to climb him. I mean, his back, for some classic kdrama piggybacking.
JoAnne: He's such a love.
becca: He is, but her legs are still gonna get wet that way.
Then, because this drama wants to wreck me, we switch to Shi-kyung waiting in the rain too. He's all smiles and very excited about his date with Hani. (I crey.) Through my tears, I notice that they matched the men's clothes with their umbuhrella-ella-ellas.
JoAnne: So... everyone knows that umbrellas don't actually do anything but keep your HAIR from getting wet, and maybe your shoulders, right? Why is he just standing around outside? Why is he not inside waiting?
becca: Exactly! Her legs should be soaked! *can't let it go*
So our Horny Pair (sadly not that horny, these days) are talking about that other time when she got drunk and he piggybacked her too. Hyun-myung pretends to drop her because she's too heavy. Hani protests loudly... which Shi-kyung hears. He turns around and sees the two being chummy and OTP-ish. He looks away like he doesn't want to see... but he looks back anyway. If it were you, you can't help but look too. (I crey. They're all so good... I didn't crey like this during WTFParis. There are advantages to having an Alexithymia Alex, it seems.)
JoAnne: And then he just continues to stand there watching? No saying anything, no running up and saying thanks, bro, I got this little piece of cutie sushi now?
becca: Because he is what we have suspected all along: the True Second. Yeah. I'm just gonna go ahead and start crying now, okay?
Hyun-myung puts Hani down near her meeting place with Shi-kyung. Then he walks away, insisting she keep the umbrella. Shi-kyung puts on a brave smile and calls out to Hani. She walks over to him but she keeps looking back at HornDog, worried that he's getting wet. *giggle giggle while creying*
JoAnne: Meanwhile porn POOR HornDog walks away without the girl OR an umbrella? Also, I left that because I didn't type it on purpose and it made me laugh.
Shi-kyung takes her to a fancy steak place for lunch. She tells him how all of her friends would be delighted to eat in such a place. Shi-kyung grins and tells her to bring her friends and he'll treat them. But that smile falters when Hani excitedly says her friend Hyun-myung has a huge appetite. It's sad that Hani is trying her best to keep liking Shi-kyung and Shi-kyung can see it too. But you can see that he can see that Hani's mind is elsewhere...
JoAnne: I blame the abrupt nature of her U-turn on the shortening of the drama. I do think she was always meant for Hyun-Mung, but we didn't get to see it happen properly.
becca: Oh, definitely. He was always end-game. For the integrity of the story, though, I feel like it would have been better to abandon that once they were cut. I completely understand why they DIDN'T. But I'm still sad about it. As a writer, I think I'd rather tell a good, sensical story, then try to cram in what I wanted where it didn't fit anymore. They must have been really attached to the original ending.
Meanwhile at Surplus House, Ji-yong sucks up to Hye-young during dinner. He wants to be hooked up with her pretty friends. Hehe. He says that now that they're no longer jobhunters, their "market value" has increased. He points to Big who already has lots of blind dates lined up. Hye-young chokes on her food while Ji-yong describes how Big and him are sooooo gonna get a girlfriend now. Big looks defiantly at noona and puts on an exaggerated show of being excited about "girls". Haha.
JoAnne: He is SO angry.
becca: And I'm enjoying it. Yes, I am.
After dinner, Hye-young practices her lines "I don't want our relationship to be serious". She overhears Big in the yard, talking to someone about blind dates. (He's actually turning down the friend's offer, saying he needs to focus on work.) But Hye-young only hears the "blind date" part and scoffs at his shallowness. Then she remembers their kiss during acting "practice"...
She repeats her I-don't-want-a-serious-relationship line but tacks on an "I don't want to lose you" after. Next thing we see, she's walking up to Big outside. She grabs his hand and tells him not to answer the call. "Ahn Hye-young has a question for Park Dae-bak. Do I... like you?" as Lee Hongki's 말이야 starts playing in the background. HAHAHAHA~ Even the camera work is so Heirs, with Big just wide-eyed for a long time and the camera doing repetitive panning shots of them just standing there. LOL.
JoAnne: Well that sure didn't take long! Oh wait... they don't have long. Well, I wanted them together - so I guess there's not much point in complaining about how it happens.
kakashi: Hoooray for Park Shin-hye like kisses.
becca: And it's not like it has the same whiplash effect as some plot-lines.
Hye-young forcefully tells Big that they should date in secret, because she's shyyyyyy. Big blink-blinks. Then the music stops abruptly as he says he doesn't want to. He's already over his noona. He leaves Hye-young looking stunned. But it was just a fake out. He comes back and back-hugs her, shouting that noona is his girlfriend now. She hits him for being too noisy so Big turns her around and kisses her. They hug again and Hye-young squeals into his chest (stomach?) Anyway, they're cute. Kim Seulgi is cute. She needs her own show. ^_____^
JoAnne: They are adorable together. *squees*
becca: *squeeee* I love the way she buries her face in his chest! And how HAPPY he is! And how adorable theY are! In short, I love THEM! ^____^
Shi-kyung walks Hani home. They promise to go on another date when the weather is nice. He wishes her luck on her first day of work and tells her to be careful, he's a strict boss. Why are they so cute? *sigh* Once Hani goes in, Shi-kyung looks sad and thoughtful again.
JoAnne: Where's Shuk? Is this guy related to Leo?
Shuk: According to Google Fu, he is Leo's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.
becca: No. He is better. He is actually worthy of our sympathy. He has a personality. And he DOESN'T have a weird mustache. *remembers WTFParis* He can rock one, though, if he wants to.
Hyun-myung is surprised that Hani is back early. She says something about getting ready for work tomorrow and asks if he didn't get soaked or something. He assures her it's okay and they stand there just smiling a little at each other. It's awkward. There's a bit of awareness on both sides but no one wants to act on it. Maybe they're trying to spare my koko, but for the record, koko will suffer whatever happens, so there's no use prolonging its agony.
JoAnne: Both guys are sweethearts, actually. Maybe she gets them both.
becca: I would like two endings, please.
kakashi: Yes, go have both, Hani. It's a bit stressful, but it can be pulled off.
Now for some cute! The four interns each get their awesome entrance to the company. Complete with mugging for the camera and mermaid doodles. Cute, all of them! Like a box of puppies!
The cuteness is cut abruptly when we switch to someone from HR looking for Team Leader Kim. There's a problem with Hani's bio. But TL Kim is in a meeting and it's Jin-ah who gets the copy of the REAL Kim Hani's bio. Which looks exactly like Hani's: address, educational background, birthdate, name, etc. Except the pic is of a different girl. (Shit.)
JoAnne: And how exactly did we not expect this? We are slacking.
becca: So many other things have been dropped in this show, it's actually surprising when they remember something.
Clueless Hani is having fun on her first day at work after being scared by Team Leader Kim who tells them to stop focusing on appearance and start proving they have the energy to keep up at JH. Ji-yong who is now crushing on ParisGirl after seeing her cleavage, tries to impress her with his "energy" by lifting a stack of food. He ends up farting instead and blaming it on Hyun-myung to save face.
JoAnne: The little graphic was kind of funny. Marginally.
It's this chatty atmosphere that Jin-ah walks in on as she orders Hani to follow her somewhere. She takes her to one of the deserted practice kitchens and confronts her about the duplicate CVs. Hani thinks quickly and admits that yes, she had some surgery done. So what? Didn't PoopWorm lie about finding Shi-kyung's phone too?
JoAnne: Love that excuse!
becca: Quick on her feet! She's not a total fish-brain. :)
PoopWorm isn't buying the surgery excuse. She gets all up in Hani's face and threatens to get her kicked out of JH. Hani shoves her away, causing her to crash into one of the display cakes. Something seems to snap inside PoopWorm and she grabs the damaged cake and smashes it into Mermaid's face. All the while screaming at her to reveal where she came from.
JoAnne: Wow, someone gets cranky if she doesn't eat breakfast!
becca: That cake is green. Gross.
Then a sexy voice shouts, "JIN-AH SHIT!!!" (I swear that's what I heard Shi-kyung say.) He finally saw the cake-smashing cray-cray side of Jin-ah. (It's about time!) Hani wipes her face and leaves quietly. Shi-kyung takes a moment to tell Jin-ah what a pooping scumfaced dirtdouche bugfucker she is before walking out too. (Well, his exact words were "Don't talk to me." I was just paraphrasing a little bit.)
JoAnne: ...dirtdouche bugfucker... *giggles quietly*
Hani hides in the JH shower room and tries to contact Ahn Ma-nyeo, but he's not picking up because the plot says so. Hani doesn't seem to be familiar with how showers work. She ends up soaking her body instead of just washing her hair+face. Needless to say, her legs turn to a fishtail again. PoopWorm who's looking for her ends up seeing her tail. She connects the dots: how excited Hani was about "her legs" near the Han River, how she found Shi-kyung's phone underwater... etc.
JoAnne: Yes because 'oh shit that acid I did in college is having a delayed reaction' is totally not the response you'd expect right? It's not the response I'd have at all, no, why do you ask?*
I was hoping PoopWorm's redemption will come via reluctant womance, where she swoops in and dries Hani's tail. But no dice. She just gets a really evil smirk on her face and doesn't go in and help our flopping cute Hani.
JoAnne: She looks possessed.
becca: Cartoon villain mode has been turned on! All she needs is a mustache to twirl. I wonder if we would have gotten a reluctant womance if they hadn't been cut. They could have at least been frenemies, I think.
Hani somehow finds a way to dry herself and go back to work in their outdoor cooking class shoot. Jin-ah watches her closely and notices her being careful around water. She orders her to wash the utensils. Hyun-myung clocks Jin-ah's evil look of Evility, so when Jin-ah walks toward Hani and pushes a five gallon-jug of water towards her, Hyun-myung tackles Hani to safety. They tumble in the grass which is quite safe (hehe) except he tripped on a giant lighting setup on the way down. It falls on them. He shields Hani from that too and it ends up crushing him, complete with smokey smoke effects.
JoAnne: No, he's just so hot he smokes.
becca: Truth.
Hani waits outside the operating room and remembers all the times HornDog saved her. She realizes HornDog knew about the Mermaid thing. Ahn Ma-nyeo talks to gongju-nim, saying sacrifice is a sign of true love. (Me: Can I, like, sacrifice PoopWorm's blood to prove my love for Shi-kyung then?) Ahn Ma-nyeo asks her if she really loves Shi-kyung? Is it her mind speaking, or her heart?
JoAnne: gongju-nim? Gongju is the name of one of FX Amber's chihuahuas...
In the yellow corner to hear the last bit: Shi-kyung. Looking DAMN good. Preach it, unni!
He waits for Hani in the hospital rooftop(?) Anyway, there's a random Mama Mary statue in this scene, as pointed out by Anonymous in Episode 8 jeob.) Which could be a sign that Baek PD is somehow monitoring our activities. Well, it would certainly explain a lot of the butt-grabbing and Rim-worshipping of the first few episodes. Wouldn't it?
JoAnne: There's also a chance that's all for Baek PD himself.
Shi-kyung gives Hani a canned coffee, which is now too cold/hot. Then he says that timing is one of the important aspects of cooking. You need timing in mixing the food at the right moment to make the perfect dish. He was really good at timing... Except when it came to Hani. He was always a step too late. Rim starts crying. He apologizes to Hani for realizing his feelings too late. He also thanks her for teaching him how to laugh again.
JoAnne: Come ON. He realized his feeling so fast it broke landspeed records for KDramas. How much faster could he have been? Was he supposed to pop out of the water saying OMG I LOVE YOU?
becca: Mary, I don't like where this is going!! Make it stop!! *wipes at tears*
kakashi: I'll send him a Swiss Watch for his timing.
He keeps trying to smile through his tears. He wipes Hani's tears too and tells her not to be sorry. And to do well... and to follow her kokoro towards Lee Hyun-myung.
JoAnne: It's ok, Shi Kyung-ah. You will meet a woman with a white cat some day, and she will make you laugh and do stupid things, and you will be happy about it. She likes to drink and she thinks you're embarrassing but she doesn't even try to hide that she kind of likes that, actually. Go forth, and cause cringing again.
becca: Thinking of that, this hurts a little less. But it still hurts.
Hani walks away. When she turns back, Shi-kyung tries to smile again. (But he's crying. He's so sad. I'm so sad. Fuck this.) Then after Hani leaves, he takes out the scale. He seems to know. BUT SINCE WHEN??? DON'T ASK ME. I'M CRYING. I'M CRYING. GO AWAY, KOKO. I KNOW HE LOOKS BEAUTIFUL AND GOD-LIKE FRAMED AGAINST A STARRY SKY, BUT I DON'T FIND YOUR ANTICS COMFORTING RIGHT NOW. GO AWAY. T_________T
JoAnne: See, I think that, although this was VERY badly done, what he's confessing to realizing is not his feelings, but the fact that she was the one in the water.
becca: Ah, that would make more sense. Because he's known that he liked her for a long time already. And yes, I'm still sad. *locks self in the supply cabinet to cry*
Hyun-myung finally wakes up from the surgery. Jin-ah is the one watching over him, but his first words are "Hani? Is Hani ok?" Jin-ah says she was worried he was really hurt. He takes her hand and tells her to go back to the old Jin-ah. The one who didn't worry about social status and stuff. (The one who loved his big family jewels, maybe?)
JoAnne: I do not think he is saying to go back to the time when she loved him.
becca: No, he wanted her to go back to the Jin-ah who was kind and cared about others and not just herself. (And yes, I do believe she was once like that and could be again.)
She brushes him off, claiming that that part of her life was just full of suffering in trying to get a job. But when she exits his room, she creys a little bit at the monster she's become. Hani finds her in this 0.00001% redeemed state, which increases to 0.00002% when Jin-ah takes out the fake and original CVs. She gives both to Hani to do whatever she wants.
JoAnne: Hani grins wickedly and shoves them in Jin Ah's mouth, then sets them on fire. 'Oh, dear,' she says to the frantic Jin Ah. 'There's no water to this floor. I had to turn it off because I can't trust you. If you hadn't been a bitch before, you would have had a chance to survive, now. So sad, too bad.'
becca: I think of all the characters, she was hurt the most by the cut. Which is why I'm not as outraged by her as I would normally be.
Hani enters Hyun-myung's room and finds him already up. She cries again in concern for him. Hyun-myung smiles at her worry and wipes her tears. She hugs him, apologizing. Hyun-myung repeats that he's fine. Ohn Joo-wan looks so tender and his eyes are always on the verge of crying. Why are both men so nice and good? It makes me cry. T______T
JoAnne: I think that's koko whimpering and you're just trying to keep me from being creeped out.
becca: I agree with Mary - he does a wonderful job of conveying his love for her without saying a single word. It's beautiful.
Hani narrates that she spent the rest of her 100 days bickering and laughing and eating nice food with Hyun-myung. She was worried about the future, but also very happy. (No, koko, they didn't mention anything about sex. Now go away.)
kakashi: That's a ffward love story. Wow.
On Hani's last night, she interrupts Hye-young's mok-bang to say goodbye. Just in case. Hye-young tries to be tough... she refuses to consider the possibility that Hani will vanish. She assures Hani that Hyun-myung is her true love. And if she vanishes into bubbles, Hye-young swears to personally kill Hyun-myung. Haha!
becca: Aw, that's a true friend, right there.
Still, Hani hugs her bestfriend and thanks her for all her help. (And isn't it cute that Kim Seul-gi is everyone's unni/noona but she's the tiniest of the lot?) Even the womance in this show is making me cry. Well, that's one thing this finale is doing well. Lots of gut-wrenching goodbyes all around.
JoAnne: We didn't have time to get sick of their shit, which is probably a blessing.
The Pervy OTP wait in the place where they first met. Hyun-myung puts a ring on Hani's finger, saying it's true love... right? Hani says she's sure it's true love. And if ever she vanishes, it's because Hyun-myung isn't over Jin-ah yet. He says he's sure of his heart, and it's Hani who could be not over Shi-kyung. They bicker for a bit. Then he promises to never let go of her hand and they kissssssssssss...
JoAnne: What the fuck.
becca: I've seen this done before and better, show. Multiple times.
TIME JUMP, ONE YEAR LATER
Reporters swarm the entrance of JH, waiting for its "largest shareholder" who turns out to be Sun-kyu. He declares that he'll sell his shares and help other surplus humans.
JoAnne: Whatever. Let's go back to the bubbles.
becca: I got SO. CRANKY. when they did the time-jump. I am still cranky.
Watching this from his handphone/tv is Hyun-myung who now owns a pottery shop. Jin-ah comes in bringing a huge order of plates. Looks like Hyun-myung is making it big in this business.
JoAnne: So in one year he goes from penniless intern who has never done pottery to having a large, sunny, well-equipped studio with an established customer base. Yes. Good. Fine. Now, back to the bubbles. (Oh by the way that bitch called him HONEY. Yeah.)
He mentions how Hani helped him discover his aptitude for pottery when they made the pot insulator product. It isn't lost on Jin-ah how Hyun-myung tries to bravely say Hani's name. She wonders if Hani really disappeared, and Hyun-myung says yes. He's sure. *sad*
JoAnne: Yes. About that. I have some QUESTIONS, show.
becca: For example, how did they explain it to everyone else who WASN'T in on the secret?? Did they tell them the truth or make something up?? Do they think she's studying abroad or some shit? *shakes Show by the shoulders* Why are we even doing this dumb time-jump thing??
Jin-ah gets a call from someone asking to meet, and she takes out her Laneige face powder to PPL the stuff. Hyun-myung teases her about finding a man and compliments her makeup which made her look "5 years younger" LOLOLOL I can't even. She leaves for her appointment after promising Hyun-myung to attend "tonight's party". Hyun-myung then takes out his necklace which has Hani's ring hanging on it.
JoAnne: Fine, good, they're not together. GET TO THE BUBBLES.
becca: *grumbling*
Ji-yong was watching Sun-kyu's press conference on his tv/phone too. That's why he's getting a scolding from Team Leader Kim for behaving lazily just because he's now a full-time employee. She also chastises office sunbae, ParisGirl, for not teaching Ji-yong properly. ParisGirl orders Ji-yong to the pantry. When they're alone, instead of scolding him, she kisses him. Looks like they're a secret couple?
JoAnne: Gives not ONE fuck. Bubbles.
becca: BAH.
Shi-kyung talks to CEO Hong about opening a restaurant in New York. She asks if it's okay, given his prosopagnosia. (Which is the show's way of telling us that he's stopped hiding it since.) Shi-kyung says it's no problem, he knows of a helpful assistant. He'll inform the CEO if said assistant accepts the new assignment.
JoAnne: RELIEF. It will be Hani, right? That's how they're doing this? BravOH, show.
becca: You're so optimistic.
CEO Hong still sees random takoyakis everywhere. She's late for her next meeting, and what with the heavy traffic, she calls for an "express service". Which turns out to be a motorcycle ride. Don't ask me to explain. Just laugh that it's another of Ahn Ma-nyeo's hundred part-time jeobs. CEO Hong is thrilled to see that her driver is AMN. She holds on tight and asks him if he believes in fate? (AMN: No.) She says she does.
JoAnne: We all say 'who gives a shit? Go away.' BUBBLES.
(That seems to be a parody but I don't know where from!) (I feel like I know it, too, but I can't remember.)
Shi-kyung sits in the office lobby still staring at Hani's scale. Aww... but it's Jin-ah he's meeting with. Boo. He says she looks prettier (and the point of his prosopagnosia was ...?) and informs her of the offer to be part of the team going to New York. She says yes, of course. He wants to eat somewhere while discussing the details, but Jin-ah says she has a better idea.
JoAnne: If I don't get my BUBFUCKINGBLES explanation SOON...
becca: *sulking*
She ends up taking him to the party at Surplus House. A party for what, you say? Well, a lot of things... First is Sun-kyu being revealed as the top JH shareholder and legendary Contest King. (Does the party include his new hairstyle?) Then there's Jin-ah being recommended to work in the New York expansion. Shi-kyung seems to be close to the Surplus Family and even jokes that they should come visit in New York... and to pay their own airfare. kekekeke
JoAnne: Because that makes all the sense in the world when you're trying to avoid explaining about the thing you did that you set out rules and conditions for and then just ignored because you're fucking SHIT, Show, right?
becca: >_<
Hye-young and Big also arrive wearing couple bonnets. So here's to celebrating their couple-dom. And also being mok-bang king and queen who just came home after touring South America.
JoAnne: Oh is that how they afforded it? He was jobless too. I thought perhaps it was a miracle, appearing like BUBBLES.
becca: Oh look! The ONE. TIIIINY. part of the the epilogue that I kinda liked. And it was only - what? Three seconds, tops?
They clink their beers together, and the mood immediately becomes somber when Hye-young says somehow the party feels incomplete. Ji-yong is the first to admit he misses Hani. Everyone looks sad because they all thinks she's dead, or because some of them think she's dead and some think she moved? What, Show, WHAT??), but it's Ahn Ma-nyeo, our big gruff bear, who puckers up and almost cries.
becca: Aww, poor sweet ajusshi. I take it back: that moment was good, too. Six seconds.
JoAnne: You can't blow smoke up my ass, Show. Explain yourself.
Indeed everyone recognizes her and is glad that she's back. (OMG SHI-KYUNG'S SMILE, DID YOU SEE?!) Hyun-myung calls Hani's name, and she faces them and smiles. Then a doodle of a tail pops up on the screen with a message "I'll be back".
JoAnne: No, you won't.
becca: Nice try, Arnold. Not happenin'.
The End.
COMMENTS
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--?
JoAnne: Fucking shit. Bite me.
becca: I want this show to go sit in a corner and think about what it's done.
kakashi: And I'm kicking it in its ass.
First of all, to those SP fans who enjoyed the whole journey (??? who ????) and are fervently wishing for a sequel, I'm sorry to say that the chances of that happening are close to me marrying Song Jae-rim. Meaning, a lot of people may be wishing it, but it's next to impossible.
JoAnne: You don't cancel a show for bad ratings and then do a sequel. Unless you're FireFly... wait... a Mermaid movie? A drama special?
becca: I thought of this, too, but SP doesn't have the fanbase that Firefly did. Or creators and actors who could and would come back and give us something worthwhile.
I think kakashi was correct (about what? Oh wait ... I'm always correct about everything, so you're definitely right). And that the "I'll be back" was a simple reference to Terminator. Or, at worst, that "I'll be back" was another lip service to the fans of the show. In the same way that tvN said they were "planning a season 2" for Basketball when they abruptly cut down its episode count.
JoAnne: Oh yeah, what was that? 'What we have planned is so awesome that we can't do it correctly in this amount of time. So we're going to go with less time now, get the basics out of the way, then come back with the SUPER DUPER part.'
becca: "PSYCH! Not really! We really got you that time, didn't we? You should've seen your face! Sooo funny!"
I wish they didn't cut Surplus too. I wish they gave the Hyun-Han ship some time to grow. If only to give justice to the "True love isn't with your Prince, but with your Blue Bird" story. *giggling at the idea of Hyun-myung's Blue Bird*
JoAnne: Is that anything like blue balls?
kakashi: I loved to suck blue balls! Oups. I mean ... there were these blue balls with lots of layers, some of them very spicey and there was a chewing gum in the middle.
That being said, here is the closest interpretation I can make from the ending: Hani didn't vanish into pink bubbles like Prilly. She vanished into glowing lights. Maybe the Mermaid Gods themselves weren't sure if Hani's love was a true love. After all, she only found Hyun-myung with 50 days left. Both of them just came from being in love/lust with someone else. (Her with Shi-kyung and him with Jin-ah.) So she was taken away while waiting for some sort of judgement.
JoAnne: FINE BUT SHOW THAT.
becca: Oh, so like in Arang and the Magistrate, show? Yeah.... No.
kakashi: My take: the writers suddenly remembered the pink bubbles from episode 1 and grudingly had to come back to them in the final episode. Hence: it means nothing.
One year after she vanished, when it's obvious that Hyun-myung still loves her, she got the green light to live Pervily Ever After. Heck, if we're being all sappy and world peace and stuff, it could be the combined love of the Surplus Family that brought her back. Who says true love has to be romantic, right? She even broke through Ahn Ma-nyeo's tough facade. Enough to make him cry about missing her. Surely that should earn some True Love brownie points from the Mermaid Gods too?
JoAnne: I'm done caring.
becca: Tears of true love saving you? 49 Days. Seriously, though - that is a beautiful interpretation, Mary.
kakashi: I have another. Hani herself wasn't sure who her true love was and had to come back. She'll now go out and do pervy stuff with both of them. In fact, she doesn't decide. She just takes them both.
Jin-ah... I don't know. I don't like that they gave her an ounce of chance with Shi-kyung. I'm a very vindictive person and I think what she did to Hani and Shi-kyung was unforgivable. It's why Shi-kyung's apology for "not realizing his feelings earlier" cut my kokoro. Because it wasn't his fault at all. He liked her as early as he possibly could. He never wavered in his feelings. It was Jin-ah's fault for manipulating and lying so much that he didn't get to meet Hani sooner.
JoAnne: She looks possessed. Like a possessed EEL. Eel face.
How sad was that letting go scene with Shi-kyung? (The one with the Mary statue hovering around.) When I watched without subs, I got the feeling that he knew she was a mermaid too and was letting her go to give her the best chance of survival. In this matter, he's similar to Hyun-myung. Both left the choice to her and tried their best to not burden her about her decision. It's an overused scene in other dramas. But here it sounds right because her life hangs in the balance. Choosing the wrong guy can actually kill her.
JoAnne: Oooh, excellent POINT. But it means that since she DID disappear... she chose wrongly.
becca: By the way, Shi-kyung letting her go was a sacrifice, too. What does your true love say to that, Mermaid-Afterlife-Powers-That-Be, HUH? Is HIS love for what actually brought her back? We don't know! *throws hands up in defeat*
Hani is very lucky to find two great guys. But then, she's a great girl and friend too. Aside from the occasional fish-brained-ness (which irked me to no end but was actually normal for a mermaid-out-of-water character), her heart was in the right place. It can never be said enough, but MAJOR HEART BEAMS to Jo Boa for pulling this character off. She was alternately lovely, snooty, simple-minded, annoying, cute, and pervy when the story required.
JoAnne: Yep, putting her up on my shelf of cuteness.
becca: I liked her well enough in Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, but here, I think she really moved to the next level. I love her, and I want her to be in more pervy rom-coms. Hopefully ones that can give us satisfactory endings because they don't get cut.
And since we're handing out awards, let's give one to Ohn Joo-wan too. This yummy, puppy-eyed beefcake who can fight toe-to-toe with Rim in a drama and still escape my wrath. (It doesn't hurt that I can focus my hate beam on Jin-ah and tvN.) I wish to see him in a separate drama where I can appreciate his skills without having to play shipping-pong with koko. (She cheats, too.)
JoAnne: Second is a First, for sure.
becca: Yep. Another actor added to the "love" list. He did well!
As for the rest of the Surplus Family, I'm gonna miss Ahn Ma-nyeo and his crabby reactions to his gongju-nim. And Ji-yong's parodies (though not his character). And the quiet Sun-kyu. And Kim Seul-gi (jjang!). And Big... well, I'll let Jo do the farewell for Big.
JoAnne: We'll be gone for a while, folks. (No but seriously, how cute was he? We need to see him again soon!)
becca: I will also miss Ahn Ma-nyeo and Sun-kyu's oddball friendship. They were one of the stranger pairs of besties I've seen, but they always made me smile.
And Rim! Song Jae-rim! Why do you make me recap such crazy dramas?! WHYYYYY?
JoAnne: Listen, you could be Kakashi.
becca: True. Let's pray Rim never drags us into the weekend-drama black hole, shall we?
I blame you and your loveliness. You made Baek PD love you so much, he couldn't bear to destroy your Swoon Shi-kyung character. So now we got a steadfast second lead that was never clingy or scheme-y or meddlesome. My wish for you is to never star in a rom-com again. Because it hurts me and koko so much.
JoAnne: But you begged for him to be IN a rom-com, Mary.
becca: Should've specified that he get the girl. Those pesky details will always get you.
You already french-kissed and moaned and got butt-grabbed in a cable drama. And you have We Got Married to keep you adorkable. I wish for you to stick to badass dramas and go punchy punchy, knifey-knifey on people. No more romance or melos, y'hear?! (What is this I hear about Cheese in the Trap?) what the heck?
becca: I saw Park Hae-jin and Song Jae-rim in the same sentence. I am suddenly VERY interested.
How about a cameo in Bad Guys next? No? No. Well, maybe. PARK. HAE. JIN. *explodes*
Annyeong Rim-squeeglets! Thanks for watching with us! See you all later (in an awesome drama, I hope).
*Addendum: I did not do acid in college. Or ever.