“Fated to Love You” Episode 2 recap

The second episode manages to be even more charming than the first.

Who doesn’t like a good pounding?

Side dish: In case the show didn’t make it clear, pounding the rice cakes is a euphemism for sex in Korean. I’m going to take it literally, and recommend that you eat some rice cakes (to give you energy to pound some rice cakes later). Maangchi has a recipe for Royal Court tteokbokki, or you can go out and have them in spicy seafood or pork belly sauce at Miss Korea in Toronto.

Episode Recap

A bunch of seemingly random events and some inept scheming on the part of two saboteurs conspire to put Gun and Mi Young in bed together, where under the influence of the stimulant, they pound some rice cakes. The morning after is a disaster, with the saboteurs’ plan in tatters, along with Mi Young’s dignity. Accusations fly, but when everyone’s innocence is confirmed, the morning gets worse. Gun discovers that Se Ra isn’t coming to Macau because she’s going back to ballet, and Mi Young finds her beloved Lawyer Min in bed with another woman.

Gun rescues Mi Young from being humiliated by Lawyer Min, and treats her to a whirlwind makeover. They go to the casino, where Gun spectacularly defeats Lawyer Min and forces him to apologize to Mi Young. Mi Young elects to walk away and ditch her makeover, not wishing to soil her own feelings. Gun and Mi Young part on a lovely note, both believing they will never see each other again. Lucky for them, there’s 14 episodes left.

Comments

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: Watching episode 2, I laughed, I cried, I cheered. I sound like a commercial for “Fated to Love You”.

Only 만: It’s impossible not to. The second episode was even better than the first.

중국어 캐나다: I definitely agree with that. The first episode showed promise, but the second episode really delivered. Though, the show is going so fast, that I don’t know what they’re going to do with the rest of the series. It is only the second episode, and she’s had the makeover, and they are already seeing each other in a different light.

만: I think the upcoming source of conflict, that she’s going to get pregnant, is common knowledge. I’m glad they took the time to flesh out the characters and make them human before we got down to it. Plus, this episode actually had me laughing out loud more than once.

중국어 캐나다: Yes, the comedy was good. What impressed me was how much heart the characters showed, especially Jang Hyuk’s over-the-top chaebol, Lee Gun. How did he go from raging weirdo to a heart throb so seamlessly?!

만: I was going to say that! He really did mesh the two aspects of his character well, that he was a total weirdo, and a gentleman at the same time. It’s a surprising amount of depth, just two episodes in.

중국어 캐나다: I guess, everyone who saw Jang Hyuk and Jang Na Ra 12 years ago in “Successful Story of a Bright Girl” knew that they would have great chemistry. Hence, the excitement over this drama.

만: I’m not really feeling any romantic chemistry between them yet, which I appreciate. It would have been ridiculous given that they’re both supposed to be in love with other people.

중국어 캐나다: That is true; not much romantic chemistry. But, that sex scene was so tender that it was hot. Then, it switched to cute when they had to use innuendo to indicate intercourse between them.

만: “Pounding the rice cake”, indeed. That scene was hilarious. It’s funny that I didn’t find it jarring coming on the heels of their more tender moment. But, that speaks to the quality of the show, I think. It commits fully to the comedy as well as the more serious moments, and somehow makes them both work.

중국어 캐나다: As an aside, I would like to point out to “Secret Love Affair” fans that this is how you do a sex scene without being lurid.

만: Oh Hye Won and Lee Sun Jae pounding the rice cake?

중국어 캐나다: I am not referring to the comedy bit. When Gun drew Mi Young closer, it was so intimate, but not intrusive. No action was shown, but it still conveyed heat. Granted, this show featured an explicit reference to an erection, which was probably only the second or third time in my K-drama watching experience.

만: I did laugh when they referred to his erection with awe.

중국어 캐나다: Anyway, I enjoyed the way they approached the sex scene, because when two K-drama characters usually fall into bed together, it is usually wacky, not tender and intimate.

만: Wacky, or oblique enough that we can’t even confirm what happened. The morning after was substantially less funny, but also well-handled, when Mi Young returned to her room to find Lawyer Min in bed with another woman.

중국어 캐나다: Oh yes, the scene where Lawyer Min cruelly laughs at the idea of him dating Mi Young. I actually cried during that scene. When I realized that Gun had watched the whole thing, then swept in to rescue her, I was probably even more grateful than she was. Then, Gun rebukes Mi Young for taking abuse, which is frequently what we feel like doing to the female lead, so he is pretty close to perfect at this point.

만: He is, but so was she. She really did regain her dignity by the end of the episode, and only part of the credit can go to him.

중국어 캐나다: It is true, she is a pushover, but one who is conscious of how terrible other people can be. She is kind, not naive.

만: Yes. I appreciated that in her, that she was self-aware, and not just stubbornly optimistic.

중국어 캐나다: Also, I still do not hate the second female lead, Nam Se Ra (Wang Ji Won). Her decision to abandon Gun for a career opportunity was not made easily, and she is doing it under the assumption that she will return to Gun when she is done.

만: It’s pretty hard to hate her for it; I would even go so far as to agree with her decision. But, speaking of second leads, it was pretty funny that Daniel’s pick up line/sob story about his missing sister from the first episode turned out to be true.

중국어 캐나다: That was fantastic. I will quickly mention that I did not find the two saboteurs, President Park and Mi Young’s brother-in-law as annoying as I thought I would when they were introduced. It was a nice touch that they decided to starve themselves in solidarity with Mi Young, who they assumed was suffering at the hands of Gun. Plus, President Park and his accomplice served to spotlight Gun’s unsavoury and ruthless side.

만: That’s what the first two episodes have done consistently well, even with these two: Inject some humanity into slapstick characters.

중국어 캐나다: Can you even predict what might happen next week?

만: Morning sickness?

중국어 캐나다: You think it will show up that fast? Maybe. This is a fast paced show. The funny thing is that the baby will be welcomed right away due to the eagerness of the family to have an heir.

만: But, he’ll have to marry her, if I remember correctly.

중국어 캐나다: Yes, I suppose in a K-drama, there is no question that pregnancy will prompt a quickie wedding.

만: I can’t wait; nothing says hilarity like a shotgun wedding.

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Fated to Love You (운명처럼 널 사랑해)

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