Let’s Eat 2 Episode 12 recap

Episode Recap

Writer Soo Ji returns to her apartment after kissing her boyfriend, Sang Woo for the first time. She’s dazed and lovestruck to begin with, but ends up drowning in her insecurities about her looks instead.

Meanwhile, her neighbour, fast-talking insurance salesman Dae Young, gets a text from Sang Woo inviting him to play soccer the next day. Given that soccer is rained out, Sang Woo and Dae Young discuss Dae Young’s developing feelings for Soo Ji instead. Dae Young is not sure if he likes her yet, but is willing to put his feelings aside. Sang Woo warns him to get over her, then points out that he doesn’t want to lose a friend, either. They bond as Sang Woo puts Dae Young in a head lock, but Dae Young interrupts to point out that Sang Woo should occasionally take Soo Ji to eat on their dates.

When Dae Young gets back to the villa, he’s instantly cornered by Soo Ji, who demands to be taken out to eat pork cutlet for breakfast (I like her style, I have to admit). Dae Young avoids her by telling her he’s in a relationship, then tells her to back off when she wants details about his new girlfriend. Hurt, Soo Ji goes into her apartment.

Dae Young has no time to brood, since he finally remembers that he left roof-dweller Joo Seung out in the open after drinking last night. When Dae Young runs to the roof to check on him, he finds Joo Seung feverish and unconscious. He drags him downstairs, where they’re waylaid by Jeom Yi, who beats Dae Young for being irresponsible, which gives Joo Seung the opportunity to run for the roof, since he doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Instead, Joo Seung ends up getting a wipe-down from his crush, Hye Rim. Sadly, this turns out to be a fantasy; Jeom Yi is the one taking care of him.

At a work meeting, Sang Woo and Soo Ji flirt surreptitiously, while their colleague In Na is too distracted to notice. Later, they go out for a coffee, where Soo Ji complains to Sang Woo about Dae Young’s new girlfriend. Sang Woo wonders if she’s bothered by Dae Young dating, but she quickly says she is not. In the end, he tells her that they can make Dae Young jealous by becoming real lovers, and then leans in for a kiss. Soo Ji closes her eyes in anticipation… Psych! He’s just leaning in to get a gift for her out of the glove compartment; it turns out to be a necklace.

Back at the office, Taek Soo is waffling over whether to call In Na or not when Dae Young bursts in, wanting to go for a drink. When Taek Soo wonders whether Dae Young will ever marry, Dae Young reminds him of his bad financial situation. Taek Soo wonders why lack of money trumps feelings for Dae Young.

Back at home, Soo Ji looks at her necklace, thinking how expensive it looks. She wonders if she should get him something, too, then looks up the price of robot vacuum cleaners. She’s shocked to find out how expensive they are, then recalls that she has monthly payments and rent due soon. She calls the landlady to meet the next day.

In the meantime, Dae Young and Taek Soo are enjoying the glummest drinking session ever. When Dae Young goes to the washroom, Taek Soo gets a phone call and leaves. Dae Young isn’t lonely for too long, since he gets a call from Hye Rim to go help her close up the restaurant, and walk her home.

Their walk back to the villa is interrupted by the arrival of a jealous Joo Seung, who inserts himself between them.

Taek Soo, meanwhile, meets In Na at a bar, where they both agree that their divorce is bad and their families are very important to them. They decide never to speak again, until, that is, the next morning, when they both sneak out of a love hotel.

Soo Ji meets with Mi Ran to ask her to take money out of the security deposit. Mi Ran agrees, but sends the money directly to her bank account instead of giving her cash. Since Soo Ji has bills to pay, the bills start coming out of her account immediately. She runs like a madwoman to the bank, but can’t get to the teller in time to take any money out.

Meanwhile, back at the villa, Joo Seung pretends to be well when Hye Rim shows up with a tray of food for him, since he wants to make sure that she calls him to pick her up from the restaurant. When she goes to get his forgotten medicine, he reads the messages on her phone, only to discover that Dae Young is texting her. In a jealous rage, he throws the phone against the wall, then hides it in his pocket when he discovers that it’s broken.

Outside of Sang Woo’s place, Soo Ji stands with a robot vacuum, and calculates how her extra $1000 disappeared so quickly. When Sang Woo comes out, he tells her to return the vacuum since he found his old one, but the passing security guard adds that it was broken. Soo Ji asks him to accept the vacuum regardless, but forgets all about it when he invites her to Seoul for the weekend, so they can date in comfort. Upstairs, it turns out that Sang Woo already has a replacement vacuum.

Back at the villa, Joo Seung puts Hye Rim’s broken phone into Barassi 2.0’s food bowl, then accuses Barassi 2.0 of running off with the phone. Barassi 2.0 is sad to be falsely accused.

On the way to Seoul, Soo Ji and Sang Woo stop off at a mall so that Soo Ji can go to the washroom. Walking through the food court, Soo Ji loses her mind, and buys some roasted potatoes, which she attempts to eat on the sly. Instead, she drops them all over the place when Sang Woo calls to find out where she is.

Dae Young is at the market, chatting up the vendors when he runs into Mi Ran and her son. Mi Ran’s son asks for a donut, prompting Dae Young’s food lecture on the subject of marketplace food. It’s not long before they end up at a market stall, stuffing their faces.

Soo Ji and Sang Woo are at the opera. When Sang Woo has to take a phone call, Soo Ji goes to the seats by herself and discovers that the seats they’re in are worth $400 each. Later, Sang Woo takes her to a restaurant where they sample some molecular gastronomy. At the end, Soo Ji attempts to pay, since Sang Woo paid for the opera tickets, but steps back when the bill turns out to be $560. Instead, she pays for gas on the way home, which ends up completely depleting the money she took out of her deposit. When Sang Woo gets out of the car to use the bathroom, she checks Dae Young’s blog, to find the remnants of his marketplace meal. On Sang Woo’s return, Soo Ji lies about checking Dae Young’s blog.

Back in Sejong, Joo Seung acts shady while buying himself and Hye Rim a phone. He’s just in time for Hye Rim, who is having active phone withdrawal at work. When he goes to give her the new phone, she thanks him with a kiss on the cheek.

Sang Woo drops Soo Ji off in front of the villa. Soo Ji watches him drive away, then sneaks out to get a meal. She spots Dae Young at a market stall, then attacks his meal of spicy rice cakes. Dae Young is shocked, since she told him she could no longer eat spicy rice cakes, because of the trauma he inflicted on her. Soo Ji protests weakly as Dae Young calls her a con artist.

Back at the villa, Joo Seung comes back to this rooftop container to find Jeom Yi cleaning his room. He’s taken aback when she asks him about the pile of money hidden under his mattress.

Comments

I really enjoyed this episode, though it’s crazy frustrating watching Soo Ji with Sang Woo. I feel bad for them both, in that Soo Ji is not good at expressing her needs and wants, and Sang Woo is not good at asking, despite how blunt he is. It’s not surprising that, given a hint from Dae Young about feeding Soo Ji, Sang Woo screws up by taking her to a restaurant serving molecular cuisine. Given how much effort Sang Woo must have put into the date, it’s almost a shame how little of it Soo Ji was able to enjoy, since she was stressing about money and wondering what Dae Young was eating.

But, we had some progress, however slow and strange it appeared. While Dae Young’s feelings are pretty clear by now, this is the first time we’ve had any inkling that Soo Ji is at all interested in Dae Young. On the other hand, these are some pretty tiny inklings.

Lucky for me, I had the amusement of Taek Soo and In Na to keep me occupied, a random pairing if ever there was one. The two of them sneaking out of a love hotel was as priceless as it was unexpected.

The food this episode looked tasty, but, aside from the marketplace food, felt rushed.

Grilled pork rinds (돼 지껍데기)

Marketplace food, including mung bean pancakes (빈대떡), corn dogs, spicy rice cakes (떡볶이), fried dishes (튀김)

Remind me to go stuff my face at a market when I finally make it to Korea.

Molecular gastronomy

Not sure what Soo Ji’s problem was; this looks like a pretty tasty meal.

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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