“Fated to Love You” Episode 20 recap – Finale!

Cute, but dangerous

Side dish: When we have weddings, my thoughts immediately to whole roast pig, which makes me think of food from the Philippines. If you’re in the downtown Toronto area, hit up Kanto by Tita Flips, in Market 707. It’s summer, so you can take your Sisig Fries over to a nearby park and enjoy the taste explosion.

Episode Recap

Back at the wedding, Secretary Tak (Choi Dae Chul) asks the guests to go home, only to be interrupted by the entrance of Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk) and Kim Mi Young (Jang Na Ra). The wedding is finally about to get underway, when Mi Young’s mom comes flying in as well. With everyone in place, the ceremony starts. Gun and Mi Young recite their vows, exchange rings, and the whole room explodes into hearts and flowers, as they kiss and Secretary Tak weeps.

Their honeymoon is on Jeju Island, a short one since Mi Young has to go back to work the next week. She heads off Gun’s complaints about her prioritizing work over him, and then steals the car key when they stop at a light house. As Mi Young drives, Gun takes the opportunity to repeatedly kiss her, while I fear for their safety.

At the resort, Lee Yong (Choi Woo Shik) and Secretary Tak are in full secret agent mode as they prepare for Gun and Mi Young’s arrival with Operation Revival Macau, Gun’s grandmother’s plan to get them pregnant as soon as possible. In Room 2006, Gun attempts to seduce Mi Young again, but she objects on the basis of daylight (Really? Come on, Snail, live a little), and they end up slow-dancing next to the pool.

Later, at dinner, Yong and Secretary Tak spike Gun and Mi Young’s cocktails with the drug that started this show. After an argument, Mi Young and Gun down their cocktails, and she leaves in a huff. Obviously drugged, Mi Young makes her way back to the room and collapses onto the bed. When Gun follows shortly thereafter, he drunkenly aims for the wrong room, but Secretary Tak and Yong step in to send him to Room 2006.

Gun and Mi Young end up in bed together, drugged, but feeling romantic, while Grandma and Yong’s mom send them pregnancy vibes from back home. The inevitable happens, and the newlyweds play pinochle all night. Just kidding! It’s another dream sequence, where they play a game which is obviously a euphemism for hot monkey love. The next morning, they wake up naked, with no memories of their second night together. Unsurprisingly, they’re upset, and when they put two and two together, they confront Yong and Secretary Tak. After they hear their half-assed excuses, Gun has to hold Mi Young back from attacking the secret agents as they make their escape.

Daniel (Choi Jin Hyuk) meets with Se Ra’s (Wang Ji Won) mother, who confirms that the girl in his childhood photo is Se Ra. Se Ra catches this part of the conversation, prompting her mother to explain to Se Ra that she’s adopted, but that she’s still her daughter. That’s sweet, if a bit belated.

Gun and Mi Young hold hands by the poolside, and talk about fate and love. Back in their hotel room, they finally have a chemical free romantic interlude.

They must be super fertile, because they end up pregnant with twins. Grandma congratulates herself on the success of her scheming, and it only then occurs to Gun to be mad at her for drugging them. Lucky for her, he’s so overwhelmed by his happiness at the news that he forgives her immediately.

Meanwhile, Daniel invites Se Ra out for an ice cream, and they finally discuss their relationship as brother and sister. It’s a sweet moment, as they walk to get ice cream hand in hand.

It’s three years later, and Gun is back at Dr. Octopus’s office, getting a clean bill of health. Instead of celebrating, Dr. Octopus kicks Gun out of his office so he can go courting with Mi Young’s mom. At Mi Young’s mom’s restaurant, Dr. Octopus works up the nerve to ask her out, and they make a date, much to the consternation of Mi Young’s family, who is watching from the window. Mi Young’s sister wonders where Secretary Tak could be, only to be informed that he’s busy.

Busy with ballroom dancing, it turns out! We’re treated to the sight of Secretary Tak owning the dance floor in a sparkly, see-through shirt. The dance teacher (one of the reappearing triplets) invites him to take a lesson with their most legendary dancer, Charles, who turns out to be Lawyer Hong in a fantastic frilly pink shirt, bell bottoms, and a rose clutched in his teeth.

Daniel goes to meet Se Ra at her school, and chases away one of her amorous students. They rib each other about not dating other people, but it seems they’re fated to love each other and no one else.

Yong and his disapproving mom wait in a restaurant for Ji Yeon and her family. When her father arrives, it becomes obvious that Ji Yeon is from a rich family. Grandma arrives shortly thereafter, and Yong’s mom is all smiles when she acknowledges Yong as her grandson. Yong’s mom generously urges the couple to marry quickly.

Another happy pairing complete, we’re back to Gun and Mi Young having a picnic with their twins. Gun reads them a story, about a princess who thought she was a maid and couldn’t refuse requests from anyone. She met a rude prince who called her “Snail”. But he got a strange illness where he couldn’t bear to live without her, and they lived happily ever after.

The two of them thank each other for their love and togetherness. Hearts explode all over the screen as they kiss and even the children come in for a hug. The End!

Comments

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: While watching Episode 20, I thought to myself, “This is just delightful”, and then, “It is just my luck that I got stuck recapping Episode 19.”

Only 만: Yes, it was a fun episode, with some caveats.

Junggugeo Kaenada: Okay, let’s start with the positives. I really enjoyed watching Mi Young and Gun be a sexy, happy couple. The scene where they finally become intimate without chemical assistance was more intense that I expect from a K-drama.

Only: It was a lovely scene, though I found the music a bit mismatched.

I enjoyed the random, bizarre flirtation between Dr. Octopus and Mi Young’s mom, who was rocking the red lipstick. I also enjoyed Secretary Tak’s dancing, and I even liked Daniel and Se Ra’s interactions, which were emotional, but mellow. It was a feel-good episode, especially for Gun and Mi Young.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I thought you would mention Secretary Tak and Yong’s secret agent act. I especially enjoyed when Gun tore Secretary Tak’s sunglasses off, so Yong placed his sunglasses on Secretary Tak to prevent him from being recognized, before realizing that he was now exposed, and grabbing Secretary Tak’s sunglasses back from Gun.

Only: I can’t believe I forgot to mention that! Yes, their secret agent act was pretty hilarious, and Secretary Tak looked surprisingly cute in the getup. I even laughed aloud when Gun called them mountain hikers. Sadly, my enjoyment of that scene was tempered by my discomfort over the fact that they were drugging Gun and Mi Young.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I guess we should start easing into our critiques. I was surprised that there was no hesitation about having children other than Gun and Mi Young’s wish to enjoy being carefree newlyweds. Given Gun’s genetic disease, and the rather traumatic way Mi Young miscarried previously, you would think these concerns might give them pause.

Only: That was a sticking point for me. It seemed like they glossed over the issue of having children when there’s a good chance of inheriting Gun’s mysterious, but devastating genetic disease. I’m not suggesting that Gun and Mi Young’s decision was wrong, or whatever, but you would think they would consider it first? Consult the doctor? At the very least, you would think it would give Grandma pause before she proceeded with her completely insane plan to drug the two of them into producing an heir.

Which would be my other sticking point with this episode. I can’t believe that Grandma would drug them. I can’t even believe how forgiving they were about it. I can’t believe this show played it for laughs, for the second time.

Junggugeo Kaenada: I guess they wanted to bookend the series with roofies? What did you think about the resolution for Daniel and Se Ra? Considering how overjoyed Daniel was when he was reunited with his fake sister, I found his reaction to Se Ra rather muted.

Only: I assumed that was the result of finding out that sister was fake. I did find it odd that he backed off for a month after finding her, but I liked the mellow tone of their reunion. They were kind of sweet together, too.

Junggugeo Kaenada: They make a good looking couple, except that would be incestuous.

Only: Well, we have “Heirs” for that, I guess. How did you feel about Ji Yeon and Yong’s resolution?

Junggugeo Kaenada: I found it a bit of a cop out when it turns out that Ji Yeon is the daughter of the Chairman from “Secret Love Affair”; I guess rich, old guy is that actor’s forte. So, making Ji Yeon rich was more plausible than Yong’s mother accepting a poor, older woman as a daughter-in-law.

Only: Which was a little harsh, I thought. Ji Yeon was one of my favourite characters, so it would have been nice if she’d been able to win Yong’s mother over on her own.

Junggugeo Kaenada: Finally, the presentation of the happy, nuclear family shown at the end was a little too saccharine and predictable.

Only: Predictable is the word for it. Though, I found it kind of funny that those kids looked so uninterested in being there. Aside from that, the overly happy ending was overkill for me; I would have been happier with less.

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Fated to Love You (운명처럼 널 사랑해)

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