Let’s Eat 2 Episode 3 recap

Episode Recap

Soo Ji is staring at cake, deciding whether to make it her one meal of the day, when Dae Young arrives. He has come to collect information in order to help Soo Ji marry her crush, civil servant, Sang Woo. Soo Ji first met Sang Woo three months ago, and she has been exercising, detoxing and eating one meal a day ever since.

Unfortunately, Sang Woo still does not remember her full name, and the only connection they have is through Instagram. Dae Young proves how useless this is by demonstrating that Sang Woo does not screen his followers.

Dae Young takes Soo Ji to see the attractive convenience store worker in action. She manipulates men into volunteering to do her job for her simply by smiling and complimenting. Dae Young also teaches Soo Ji to plant an appealing fragrance on Sang Woo via hand cream then initiate skinship. Dae Young and Soo Ji have their own skinship moment while fighting under an umbrella all the way home.

Dae Young’s insurance colleague, Taek Soo is stumbling while intoxicated in the rain when he spots the alter ego of Season 1’s Barassi barking at someone on the roof of Dae Young’s apartment. He spots a creepy masked stranger, but dismisses what he saw as the product of beer goggles.

Taek Soo makes enough of a racket to force his way into Dae Young’s apartment. Like a jealous girlfriend, he peevishly grills Dae Young on why he never answered his phone calls then starts stripping.  After whining about being lonely, Taek Soo falls asleep in Dae Young’s bed. As a result, only Dae Young hears a disturbing noise coming from above.

The next morning, Dae Young runs into eldery neighbour, Jeom Yi looking for the Barassi 2.0. When Dae Young offers to look for the dog on the third floor and roof, she frantically dissuades him then distracts him by claiming their landlady, Mi Ran wishes to speak with him. After he leaves, Jeom Yi quickly calls Mi Ran to warn her, and the landlady comes up with an excuse.

Dae Young meets Taek Soo for spicy pork neck stew, a cure for hangovers. Taek Soo mentions seeing a mystery person on the roof, but Dae Young turns the moment into a joke about Taek Soo’s drunken behaviour. Then, it is time to eat orgasmically.

Meanwhile, Soo Ji is in a work meeting with Sang Woo when she decides to put Dae Young’s seduction lessons into action. Her pointed smiling causes Sang Woo to ask if she wants to say something. Her request for help with removing staples makes things awkward. When she runs to the washroom for cover, Sang Woo and co-worker, In Na speculate that Soo Ji may be suffering from Bell’s palsy.

Soo Ji gives herself a pep talk in the washroom then returns to fail at the compliment strategy and the lotion trick in rapid succession. Sang Woo ends up halting the meeting so that Soo Ji can go to the hospital, and tops it off by addressing Soo Ji with the wrong name, again.

Dae Young finds out that the convenience store employee is constantly taking selfies, because she is a beauty blogger. Dae Young reveals that he is the writer behind the Let’s Eat blog, and the beauty blogger butters him up with compliments before asking him to move some bottles for her. Thankfully, Dae Young is immune to her methods.

Dae Young runs into Soo Ji who grabs him by the lapels and angrily shakes him over the failure of his seduction strategies. He promises to find out more about Sang Woo before giving any more advice.

The next day, Soo Ji eagerly greets Dae Young when she, Sang Woo and In Na come out for lunch. After Sang Woo expresses a preference for convenience over flavour, they end up having lunch at a nearby restaurant where Soo Ji orders for everyone, and steps away to get water.

Things are looking dire when Dae Young learns that Sang Woo is already fully booked with blind dates. Upon returning, a clueless Soo Ji undermines Dae Young’s attempt to set her up on a movie date with Sang Woo. Dae Young then watches in disbelief as Soo Ji shows off her ability to open a bottle with a spoon. He reprimands her outside the restaurant for being her own worst enemy.

It becomes apparent to Dae Young that Soo Ji is absolutely incompetent at dating, and he directs her to bring him along to every meeting with Sang Woo. And, leave saboteur, In Na out.

Taek Soo calls Dae Young asking to be let into his apartment. After Dae Young refuses to give him his door pass code, Taek Soo fails to get the master key off Mi Ran. Suspiciously, she goes so far as to talk him out of renting the 3rd floor apartment when she discovers that he used to be a detective. While waiting for Dae Young to return, Taek Soo hears the same noise Dae Young had heard coming from the roof. Taek Soo is investigating the noise when he is challenged by Jeom Yi holding a knife. Jeom Yi ends up dragging him back to her apartment where she forcibly washes his clothing. Taek Soo reveals that his sad state is the result of living without his wife and son.

Sang Woo is working after hours when In Na approaches to pry into his dating status and gossip about co-workers. He rebuffs her, but after running into a group of people socializing in his elevator then being met by his robotic vacuum cleaner in his empty apartment, he leaves home immediately.

Dae Young informs Soo Ji that he’s found Sang Woo via his Instagram, and proposes “accidentally” running into him. They find him listening to headphones at a café, and when he turns down dinner, Dae Young persuades him to join them for drinks, instead.

At the restaurant, Soo Ji is too busy arguing with Dae Young over the correct way to eat raw fish to pay Sang Woo any attention. When Dae Young asks Sang Woo for his ideal girl, Sang Woo lists healthy, bright, and pudgy as his criteria. A pleased Soo Ji celebrates by stuffing her face, despite having had her one meal of the day. Soo Ji ends up choking on her food when Sang Woo reveals that his idea of pudgy is Minah of Girl’s Day.

While a frustrated Soo Ji is throwing punches at the air in the washroom, Dae Young inadvertently reveals her derogatory nickname in grade school. An incensed Soo Ji arrives at that moment, and Sang Woo beats a hasty retreat, accidentally calling her ‘Pig Baek’ before, finally, remembering her name. Dae Young is ready for a thrashing, but an oblivious Soo Ji is just thrilled by the minor triumph of Sang Woo getting her name right.

After dinner, Soo Ji is doing sit ups and questioning Dae Young about his dating status. When she tries guessing the reason Dae Young is no longer with his girlfriend (yes, tell us why you are no longer with Soo Kyung!), her list betrays her own sad dating history of men who borrowed money without paying back, hid from her, and cheated on her. However, Soo Ji has already preemptively measured the risk of Sang Woo hurting her in those ways. Dae Young is exasperated by Soo Ji’s low standards, but Soo Ji remains optimistic about her future with Sang Woo.

Epilogue: Mi Ran and Jeom Yi are checking the lock to the roof gate. Mi Ran stresses the importance of not being discovered, then sends Jeom Yi downstairs so as not to look suspicious.

Comments

Soo Ji is still coming across as a complete nut. She instantly descends into a rage where Dae Young is concerned, and is unbelievably dense when it comes to social interaction. Who rejects the chance to go out for a movie, with either Sang Woo or Dae Young? I am not sure if I find her annoying or amusing. Fortunately, the object of her affections, Sang Woo is just as incompetent. Kudos to Kwon Yool for conveying such palpable unease when Sang Woo is faced with a happy group of adults socializing in the elevator.

What ever happened to Dae Young’s food lectures from season 1? They served as a fantastic introduction to the food porn. Sadly, my enthusiasm for the delicious looking Haejangguk was dampened by extended scenes featuring Taek Soo eating, because I find the character just repulsive. So, apparently, I find a man who can’t stop barging in on Dae Young’s apartment more objectionable than Kyu Sik from Season 1, who could not stop picking his nose.

This episode was less scattered than previous ones, so I think “Let’s Eat 2” is getting on track.

Haejangguk (해장국)

Haejangguk with rice mixed in

Fish hweh (생선회)

The is essentially Korean sashimi. You can choose to dip it in red pepper sauce with vingar, as Dae Young prefers, or use wasabi and soy sauce, as Soo Ji and the Japanese do, then wrap in lettuce.

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Let’s Eat 2 (식샤를 합시다 2)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 || series review