Let’s Eat Episode 16 recap – finale!

Episode Recap

On the rooftop of her dad’s building, cheerful former rich girl is being driven towards the edge by delivery boy turned threatening stalker, Kwang Suk. Kwang Suk blames Jin Yi’s father’s unscrupulous business tactics for his own father’s suicide, which Jin Yi denies as he advances on her.

Back at the officetel, it’s clear some time has passed, as nervous legal secretary, Soo Kyung passes in front of Jin Yi’s door to find several unopened milk cartons sitting outside. Just as Soo Kyung rings the doorbell to no response, her boyfriend, fast talking insurance salesman, Dae Young appears. He has no explanation for Jin Yi’s sudden disappearance either.

At work, Soo Kyung discovers that Jin Yi has sent a text to her boss, Attorney Kim, instructing him to drop her father’s case. Soo Kyung’s co-workers, Kyu Sik and Attorney Oh speculate at Jin Yi’s reasons, since her father was so close to getting probation.

In the meantime, Dae Young spots a delivery truck from Kwang Suk’s company, and tricks them into giving him Kwang Suk’s phone number and address. But, when he calls, Kwang Suk hangs up on him.

When he goes to Kwang Suk’s address, Dae Young catches Kwang Suk about to flee, and overpowers him after a tussle. Later, at a café, Kwang Suk tells Soo Kyung and Dae Young what happened that night on the rooftop. When their tense standoff was interrupted by a security guard, Jin Yi took off and Kwang Suk assumed that she just went home. Kwang Suk explains that he had no ill intentions towards Jin Yi, but when he discovered that Jin Yi’s father could be released, he flew into a rage. Soo Kyung instructs him not to leave Seoul, and to take their calls until Jin Yi reappears.

Back at the office, Attorney Kim and the gang receive a fax, indicating that Jin Yi’s father is abandoning his appeal altogether. Surprised, Attorney Kim goes tearing out to find Soo Kyung, and runs into her and Dae Young in the building lobby. Faced with Attorney Kim’s sad face, Soo Kyung tries to let go of Dae Young’s hand, but Dae Young refuses. Attorney Kim, instead, shows them the fax. When they realize that Jin Yi must have visited her father, they decide to do the same to find out her whereabouts.

In the end, they discover that Jin Yi’s father has no idea that Jin Yi is missing. After speculating that Jin Yi might have gone to the US to visit her mother, Attorney Kim invites Soo Kyung to dinner for the last time.

It’s horribly awkward as they eat, and when Attorney Kim lays into her for dating Dae Young instead of him, Soo Kyung tries to run for it. Luckily, Attorney Kim wants to make a cool exit from her life, and convinces her to finish her meal. He struggles sadly not to cry as they eat.

Back at the officetel, both Dae Young and Soo Kyung mistake each other for Jin Yi, then realize that they have no idea how to find her, because they know so little about her. Soo Kyung admits that she can’t date Dae Young with the situation as it is. Lucky for her, that night, Jin Yi returns to her apartment. When Soo Kyung finds her sitting in the dark, Jin Yi cries all over Soo Kyung about her father.

The next day, Jin Yi helps the woman in apartment 905 move, and ends up ordering black bean noodles and sweet and sour pork for the movers. Soo Kyung is happy to finally learn what the restaurant from the first episode is.

Dae Young, meanwhile, gets his cast removed, then comes over to give the piece with writing on it to Soo Kyung, Just when they’re about to get romantic and share a kiss, Soo Kyung’s friend Kyung Mi bursts in, complaining about her husband, Kyu Sik. Kyung Mi gives Dae Young the third degree, but the minute he leaves, she congratulates Soo Kyung on snagging such a cool guy. Then, remembering her original purpose, Kyung Mi puts Soo Kyung in a headlock to punish her for taking such a cool guy for herself, and leaving her with Kyu Sik.

At the office, Kyu Sik, Attorney Kim and Soo Kyung are discussing Attorney Oh’s TV appearance, which garnered a lot of negative commentary on her appearance. Just as Attorney Kim instructs them not to mention it, Attorney Oh sails into the room like a celebrity, basking in the attention. Kyu Sik’s efforts to suck up to her result in Attorney Kim kicking him out to find them cases. Kyu Sik makes a few calls, then ends up at a coffee shop to kill time. There, he runs into a woman haranguing her employee (cameos by Kim Hyun Sook and Ra Mi Ran of “Rude Miss Young-Ae”), who takes revenge by spitting in her drink.

Back at the officetel, Jin Yi and Kyung Mi take pictures of Soo Kyung’s Pomeranian, Barassi, in various outfits she intends to sell online. When Kyung Mi’s son gets jealous of the attention that Barassi gets from Jin Yi, he also tries to compete for her affections, but fails miserably.

Back at the office, Attorney Kim attempts to take everyone out for an office dinner, but ends up at a restaurant with just Kyu Sik. They’re not there long when a lone woman walks in and starts to eat orgasmically, à la Soo Kyung. Instead of beating around the bush, Attorney Kim sends over a plate of food. He vows to Kyu Sik that he’ll aggressively show his feelings from now on.

Having won the title of “King of Insurance”, Dae Young flirts with Soo Kyung in the awards show lobby. Of course, they’re both hungry, and when Jin Yi arrives, they decide to go to a famous restaurant that she knows.

When they arrive at the restaurant, it turns out to be Kwang Suk’s family restaurant. Kwang Suk’s mother (a cameo from Lee Il Hwa, playing the diametric opposite of her bitchy mother in “You Who Came from the Stars”) sits them down, and feeds them boiled rice with beef. When Dae Young correctly speculates that she made the rice using the “to-rhyum” method (i.e. repeatedly pouring hot soup over cold rice), she’s impressed by his knowledge. They all proceed to orgasmically stuff their faces.

Afterwards, Kwang Suk’s mother comes and introduces them to a poem called “Rice” by Chun Yang Hee, which she has posted on the wall.

To you who eat a lot of rice, because you are lonely
To you who sleep a lot, because you are bored
To you who cry a lot, because you are sad
I write this down
Chew on your feelings that are cornered like you would chew on rice
Anyway life is something that you need to digest

Comments

I’m glad “Let’s Eat” ended on such a nice note, without random last minute drama or creepiness to see us out. Instead, we just get the sense that we’re leaving our characters a little happier than when we found them, having made themselves a family of sorts.

Anyway, I got the warm fuzzies over that last poem, so if you need more of my thoughts, go check out our series review. “Let’s Eat 2” starts next week, and of course, we will be recapping it. In the meantime, I’ll be busy stuffing my face and dabbing at my eyes if you need me.

Ox Bone Soup with rice (설렁탕)

Okay, full disclosure, again: This is my best guess as to what they’re eating, because I can’t decipher what Kwang Suk’s mom is saying. Whatever! It’s the last episode and it all looks delicious.

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Let’s Eat (식샤를 합시다)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 || series review || “Let’s Eat” checklist and food gallery