Let’s Eat 2 Episode 15 recap

Episode Recap

While insurance salesman, Dae Young is chugging soju by himself, his neighbour, Soo Ji is sitting alone in the park. She is blowing her nose when her boyfriend, Sang Woo returns with coffee. Sang Woo asks the reason for her earlier break down, and Soo Ji claims not to know. It is not clear if Soo Ji is as clueless as she claims to be or if she is hiding the fact that Dae Young was the reason for her tears.

Soo Ji notices a cut on Sang Woo’s chin, and he attributes it to soccer. She then wonders if Dae Young also got his injuries from the same soccer match. Sang Woo distracts Soo Ji by pointing to a bruise on his shoulder, then hugs her, and says that he likes when she worries about him.

Beauty blogger, Hye Rim is waiting for roof dweller, Joo Seung to return, unaware that he is hiding in his apartment after leaving elderly neighbour, Jeom Yi unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. Hye Rim calls Joo Seung, and he stammers about Jeom Yi being dead. Hye Rim cries out in alarm.

After Sang Woo drops Soo Ji off, she dissuades him from walking her to her door. Outside her apartment building, Soo Ji spots an ambulance. She watches Jeom Yi being loaded into the back, and Dae Young jump in to serve as Jeom Yi’s guardian. Hye Rim cannot explain what happened except that Joo Seung found Jeom Yi collapsed. Meanwhile, Joo Seung is crying in his room, but the tears suddenly stop when he realizes the trouble he is in if Jeom Yi wakes up.

The next morning, Hye Rim finds Joo Seung’s apartment empty, and assumes he has gone to see Jeom Yi. She is about to go for a visit, too, when the appearance of land lady, Mi Ran forces her to postpone her visit.

At the hospital, Jeom Yi’s daughter is crying over her unconscious mother, and blaming herself for not paying more attention to her. This prompts Mi Ran to give her own mother a call, and complain about being mistaken for her older sister, then about her mother’s insistence on working in the field. Soo Ji calls her mother to give an update on how well she is doing. Dae Young calls his father who is so busy watching baseball that he hangs up on his son.

Joo Seung appears to be on his way to retrieving his buried stash of cash when he receives a text from Hye Rim asking where he is. This prompts him to remember all their special moments.

Joo Seung agrees to meet up with Hye Rim, and when they do, he produces a train ticket for her to Yeosu. Hye Rim is outraged by his disregard for Jeom Yi’s status. As she walks away in disgust, Joo Seung wrist grabs her, perplexed that Hye Rim does not want to go on the trip that they had agreed to. Joo Seung only lets go when Hye Rim reveals that Jeom Yi might never regain consciousness. Hye Rim scolds Joo Seung for his immaturity and urges him to visit Jeom Yi.

Taking leave from the hospital, Soo Ji offers to buy Dae Young a meal to reward him for staying with Jeom Yi all night. A detached Dae Young turns her down, and Soo Ji is left looking disappointed.

Soo Ji is so distracted by Dae Young’s snub that she is barely aware of Sang Woo convincing their co-worker, In Na to turn lunch at a famous restaurant into a business expense. In Na asks Soo Ji for Dae Young’s contact information in order to get medical insurance. Soo Ji is so overjoyed to help Dae Young acquire a new customer that In Na suspects Soo Ji of receiving a commission.

In the back seat of Sang Woo’s car, In Na proposes setting Dae Young up on a blind date, but Soo Ji claims that Dae Young already has a girlfriend. After Soo Ji speculates at length about the girlfriend, In Na bluntly asks her if she is interested in Dae Young. Soo Ji protests while In Na teases her about being jealous, and a fuming Sang Woo almost crashes the car.

Dae Young arrives at the office to find his colleague, Taek Soo looking through a glut of porn spam in his Inbox for the email containing a file on Joo Seung. He asks Taek Soo for his help in finding a way for Jeom Yi to receive insurance money after she failed to sign the insurance papers. Since Jeom Yi treated him so well, Taek Soo surrenders to the task.

At a Korean restaurant, Soo Ji turns the other cheek when In Na belittles her food knowledge, but launches into a food tirade after In Na disparages the mallow porridge. In Na points out Soo Ji’s similarity to Dae Young, and rather than comment, Sang Woo encourages them to eat.

After they have eaten orgasmically, the chef (a cameo by Canadian chef/celebrity Raymon Kim) shows up at their table, and reveals that Dae Young has dined there, and photographed his empty dishes for his blog. Soo Ji gets all excited, and In Na reiterates her belief that Soo Ji likes Dae Young. Unable to take In Na’s wild speculation any more, Sang Woo suddenly reveals that he and Soo Ji are dating. In Na visibly pales.

Behind Soo Ji’s back, In Na is outraged that Sang Woo chose Soo Ji over her younger sister. To Soo Ji’s face, In Na claims to respect her for her determination to hang on to a man who was indifferent towards her, and for keeping her charms so well hidden from everyone.

Soo Ji comes to regret having In Na know about their relationship status after the older woman cannot stop making innuendos about the couple at work. When Soo Ji brings up the possibility that In Na will feed the office rumour mill about them, Sang Woo appears unconcerned.

Joo Seung comes out of his shed to find Hye Rim has taken over care of Jeom Yi’s fermentation jars and garden. Joo Seung speculates that Jeom Yi might not return, then shrugs off Hye Rim’s suggestion to visit her in the hospital.

Taek Soo reports to Dae Young that their hands are tied when it comes to getting Jeom Yi her insurance money. It is just the nature of their line of work to butter up the customer for a sale then make any claims difficult. Dae Young leaves frustrated, and Taek Soo returns to wading through his inbox full of porn spam.

Instead of looking at Joo Seung’s file, Taek Soo decides to click on a link to porn, and the blue screen of death appears on his monitor. When the IT guy arrives, Taek Soo bitches about the company providing old computers, but the IT guy knows exactly what Taek Soo was watching despite his protests.

While receiving insurance papers from Dae Young, In Na attempts to pry into Soo Ji and Sang Woo’s relationship. When Dae Young asks In Na for her discretion, In Na denies that it is necessary since Sang Woo broke the news. At that moment, the couple walk by hand in hand, and Dae Young looks forlorn.

Both Sang Woo and Soo Ji actually feel uncomfortable parading their relationship status at the office. However, Sang Woo is happy to be able to lay claim on her, and now, they can date openly. Soo Ji appears uneasy, and asks to be taken home instead. Rather than get cross, Sang Woo marvels at how much Soo Ji has changed recently, and hopes it means that she is becoming more comfortable around him.

Joo Seung stands at the threshold of the intensive care unit. Rather than enter to see Jeom Yi, he decides to drink soju and remember all the kind things his elderly neighbour did for him. Dae Young spots him, and sits down at his table. That is when a drunken Joo Seung states that he no longer wants to hide before he passes out.

In Jeom Yi’s absence, both Hye Rim and Mi Ran have taken over care of Barassi 2.0. Mi Ran thinks of bringing undergarments to Jeom Yi, and walks in on Hye Rim cleaning the floor. Mi Ran quickly realizes that Hye Rim is secretly living with Jeom Yi, and her rage compels Hye Rim to volunteer to leave. However, a teary Mi Ran tells Hye Rim to stay and take care of Jeom Yi’s home until she returns. A grateful Hye Rim turns on her aegyo charm.

Barassi 2.0 enjoys a third dinner courtesy of Soo Ji. As he eats, Soo Ji wonders aloud why she is so unhappy and uncomfortable. At that moment, Dae Young returns carrying Joo Seung. When Soo Ji offers help, Dae Young brushes right by.

Soo Ji is waiting outside Dae Young’s apartment when he returns, and blurts out a request for her first aid kit. After returning the kit to her, Dae Young is about to shut the door in Soo Ji’s face when Soo Ji finds the courage to ask what she did wrong. Dae Young stares at her without saying a word. As Soo Ji turns to leave, Dae Young abruptly invites her to join him for dinner. Soo Ji happily accepts, claiming not to have eaten yet.

At the restaurant, Dae Young is rearing for another argument about the correct way to eat seolleongtang when Soo Ji simply accepts his advice. Dae Young is shocked, but still manages to catch Soo Ji in a lie about not having eaten that day. Soo Ji hurriedly gives an excuse before she and Dae Young eat orgasmically.

After the meal, Dae Young and Soo Ji knock back beers. She mentions a place Dae Young covered in his blog, and invites him to go with her. Dae Young suggests that she go with Sang Woo since their dating status is now out in the open. Soo Ji spits out her beer in surprise over Dae Young knowing about their open dating status. Dae Young predicts that Sang Woo would only publicly acknowledge their relationship if he had marriage in mind. Soo Ji looks less than thrilled by the prospect, and starts chugging beer. Dae Young glumly proposes a toast to them both achieving their goals.

Joo Seung wakes up after dreaming of Jeom Yi providing him with a drink of water. He immediately goes to visit her in the hospital, and confesses to Jeom Yi’s unconscious body that he does not want to run away again. He cries as he begs her not to wake up.

Joo Seung is walking through the lobby of the hospital when he recognizes a man who has lost his memory. In flashback, it is revealed that the homeless man is the real Lee Joo Seung (a cameo by Tae In Ho, aka Assistant Manager Sung from “Misaeng”) who used to work construction alongside the Lee Joo Seung imposter, whose actual name is Chan Soo. Chan Soo runs back home to pack his belongings, muttering about the real Joo Seung finding him. When he goes to retrieve his stash of money, he finds police investigators swarming the site. Chan Soo is like a deer in the headlights as a flashlight is trained on him.

Comments

The episode was dominated by characters doing reprehensible things that we are supposed to forgive them for, because of their pitiful lot in life.

I do pity In Na during her interactions with her douchebag of a husband, but when she can’t stop giving backhanded compliments to Soo Ji, I just want to slap her. In Na’s unhappy marriage does not excuse the nasty way she repeatedly belittles and humiliates Soo Ji.

Joo Seung, aka Chan Soo, is another character we’re supposed to view charitably. By the end of the episode, it is revealed that Chan Soo does have a conscience, and is grateful to Jeom Yi for her care. However, I fear that his psychopathic tendencies have already been too firmly established. His single minded decision to run away with Hye Rim without any regard for the status of Jeom Yi was chilling. And, in the end, he would still rather have someone else suffer in order to allow him to enjoy his false identity.

Poor Sang Woo continues to try staking his claim on Soo Ji, this time by breaking his own code and making their relationship public. This does nothing to alleviate the discomfort that Soo Ji already feels, and his inability to directly address the fear that he is losing her to Dae Young is only making the situation worse. It is no wonder that Soo Ji and Dae Young are starting to give in to their feelings and spend time alone together again. I wasn’t convinced about them as a couple, but Dae Young and Soo Ji’s miserable faces have worn me down, and I am ready to wish them the best as a couple. Just stop making Sang Woo into this jealous, manipulative pressure cooker.

The only person I can readily forgive for his transgressions is Taek Soo and his ill advised porn viewing at work. His attempt to blame the computer meltdown on sub par equipment was hilarious.

There was a lot of delicious food in this episode, but not enough exposition or even, identification. I suppose the show assumes that viewers would be familiar with these classic Korean dishes, and therefore, the obvious did not need to be stated. I need the obvious stated, “Let’s Eat 2”, if I am to order these at the restaurant!

Namul (나물)

Mallow porridge (아욱죽)

Salmon

Shrimp

Pan fried zucchini (호박전)

Seolleongtang (설렁탕)

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Let’s Eat 2 (식샤를 합시다 2)

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