“Soulmate” episode 16 recap

A couple that weeps together, stays together.

Side dish: My significant other spontaneously made Portuguese pork with clams, and it turned out to be the best thing ever. In case you don’t eat pork or clams, try this recipe for strawberry daifuku from Cooking with Dog, in honour of Ryohei’s fabulous pink pants.

Episode Recap

Phillip (Phillip Choi) drunk dials Soo Kyung (Lee Soo Kyung), and ends up saying nothing, but leaving her upset regardless. She seeks comfort from her co-workers, Yu Jin (Sa Kang) and Mi Jin (Kim Mi Jin), who explain that Phillip has likely not moved on entirely. They advise her to stand strong and not take him back, which Soo Kyung wasn’t inclined to do anyway.

Yu Jin and Joo Hee (Ha Joo Hee) have a drink. Annoyed that Yu Jin already knows all of her best dating tactics, Joo Hee pulls out the Black Diary, the ultimate book of dating advice. Joo Hee uses it to tempt Yu Jin into coughing up some information about Min Ae’s (Jang Min Ae) boyfriend, Ryohei (Otani Ryohei). Yu Jin gives in easily and tells Joo Hee that she can find Ryohei at the gym.

Joo Hee walks in to the gym where Ryohei, Hwan (Jung Hwan), and Dong Wook (Shin Dong Wook) are working out. She makes a beeline for Ryohei, only to be rejected for using the same tactics as Min Ae. Ryohei takes off, while Hwan tries and fails to get Joo Hee’s attention.

Soo Kyung takes her brother Joo Ho (Joo Ho) shopping, to sound out his opinions on why Phillip called her. Unfortunately, she spots Phillip walking with Min Ae, and dives behind Joo Ho to hide. Joo Ho, instead, drags her out, and makes Phillip uncomfortable by obliquely insulting Min Ae, then dragging Soo Kyung away.

It turns out that Lee Min Ho’s groundbreaking pink pants in “City Hunter” were inspired by another of Ryohei’s awful outfits. Joo Hee continues to use her tactics on him, and fails miserably. She challenges Min Ae directly, but Min Ae is unperturbed.

Soo Kyung, meanwhile, cyber stalks Min Ae, then actually stalks her by going to her classroom in a face mask. In the process of defacing her photo, Soo Kyung is confronted by Min Ae, who apologizes to her. Upset, Soo Kyung goes to a batting cage to work off her anger that Min Ae pities her, and Phillip is doing better than she is.

Joo Hee’s stalking crusade continues, and she tries to use the ultimate tactic of smiling at Ryohei, only to be foiled by Ryohei smiling back. Ryohei’s outfit is yet another combination of cowboy and children’s entertainer, but I’ve come around to thinking that maybe his style is too avant garde for me to understand. Joo Hee must think so, because she hurts herself, then weeps all over him to get his attention. It finally works, to the consternation of Min Ae, who is watching with Yu Jin.

We’re back at the scene from the last episode where Dong Wook hears Soo Kyung’s thought that Dong Wook has never loved anyone. Soo Kyung walks away. but doesn’t get very far, because she spots Phillip and Min Ae walking into the same restaurant. In her effort to escape them, she trips over a conveniently placed cart, and winds up on the ground, covered in food. Dong Wook hears her pitiful thoughts as she lies there, and comes to her rescue, pretending to be her boyfriend. They walk away, but only get as far as outside the restaurant, when Soo Kyung gets a call from Phillip congratulating her on finding a nice guy. Watching her pain, Dong Wook is moved to tears. He hangs up the phone for her, then stares into her eyes.

Comments

If I didn’t know that Dong Wook professed his love to Yu Jin shortly thereafter, I would probably find the scene where he helps Soo Kyung and holds her hand more moving. That said, I’m not sure why the writers chose to make Soo Kyung’s every encounter with Phillip or Min Ae so spectacularly embarrassing. The second hand embarrassment from watching Soo Kyung humiliate herself almost crossed my watchability threshold, especially in the scene where she lies unmoving on the floor, covered in food.

If you’ve ever been through such a breakup, I’d imagine that just running into that person with their new beau is enough, without adding in a pratfall and plate of spaghetti. The overkill diminished the impact of the scene, as did Soo Kyung’s piteous inner voice, as heard by Dong Wook. Did he really need to be a mind reader to figure out she felt bad in that situation?

Anyway, here’s Joo Hee stalking Ryohei’s pink pants. Move over, Lee Min Ho!

Soulmate (소울메이트)

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