Let’s Eat 2 Episode 18 recap – Finale!

Episode Recap

Back at the amusement park, writer Soo Ji stares into her neighbour, Dae Young’s eyes as he demands to know what her wish is. In her mind, she tells him not to move away. Out loud, she tells him to leave his “Slam Dunk” comic books behind when he goes. Upset at losing his favourite comic books, Dae Young proposes another bet, at the punching bag for the same stakes. As he walks away to the punching bag, Soo Ji stares wistfully after him, and in voiceover apologizes for burdening him, then thanks him for letting her learn how to love herself. She resolves to let their short reunion be enough for her. He impatiently tells her to hurry up, and she runs after him. When Soo Ji beats Dae Young at the punching bag, the two of them play fight, and I have to admit it’s pretty cute.

At the bus station, Hye Rim shows up to pick up Jeom Yi to help her get back to the apartment. Jeom Yi is in good spirits since she recovered, and Hye Rim hands off her bags to her new beau (a cameo by musician, Hong Dae Kwang). Jeom Yi insists that they first go visit Chan Soo (the former Joo Seung). At the jail, Hye Rim is still angry at Chan Soo’s deception, but Jeom Yi has nothing but kind words, tears, and advice for him to go straight once he gets out of jail. Chan Soo cries as Jeom Yi holds his hand, and even Hye Rim tears up.

Back at the government office, Sang Woo takes a call from one of his soccer buddies. He’s his usual casual self, but when In Na walks in, he changes tone, and quickly hangs up. In Na is only there to call him downstairs to talk to Dae Young. When Sang Woo wonders why Dae Young would come all the way to the office, she tells him that Dae Young came to say goodbye to all of his clients in the building since he’s changing companies. Sang Woo looks stricken, then goes downstairs.

It’s pretty awkward as Dae Young says his goodbyes, and informs Sang Woo that he won’t get in the middle of his relationship with Soo Ji again, since he liked hanging out with him. Sang Woo liked Dae Young, too, but hated him in equal measure. He resolves not to tell Dae Young the truth about his breakup with Soo Ji. Sang Woo tells Dae Young to live well in Seoul, and that he’ll call when he feels better about things, and they part on a handshake.

Landlady Mi Ran is showing new tenant, Taek Soo to the apartment. When she tries to list off her rules for living there, Taek Soo shuts her up by pointing out that her use of the master key to go into tenants’ apartments is illegal, as is the container on the roof. Before Taek Soo can make it into the building, he spots Soo Ji petting Barassi 2.0. She’s happy to see him and runs forward for a hug, but as he gets ready to hug back, she shoves him out of the way so she can get to Jeom Yi, who is walking up behind him. Jeom Yi and Soo Ji joke around a bit, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Dae Young, who gives Jeom Yi a hug. Jeom Yi takes advantage of the situation to cop a feel from Dae Young, who proposes that they have a welcome home party for Jeom Yi. Everyone agrees, and they add on a welcome party for Taek Soo, and a goodbye for Dae Young on top of it.

Up on the roof, Hye Rim, Jeom Yi, Taek Soo, Mi Ran, Joo Won (Mi Ran’s son), Dae Young and Soo Ji all chip in to a potluck party. Jeom Yi is surprised that Mi Ran’s soybean paste stew tastes the same as hers, and appalled at Soo Ji’s lack of rice-cooking skills, but Dae Young is more surprised that Taek Soo is only contributing the newspapers serving as a table cloth to the party effort. Taek Soo gives a lecture worthy of Dae Young to defend his contribution, but is caught out when Soo Ji realizes that he’s using her newspaper. They stop arguing long enough to stuff their faces with pork belly barbecue, and end off with a shot of soju.

When Jeom Yi comments on the festive atmosphere, Dae Young points out that there’s no music. Joo Won, Mi Ran’s son, volunteers to dance to impress Hye Rim, and puts on a credible performance of EXO’s “Call Me Baby” to everyone’s amusement (why not Beast, though?).

Later, Dae Young says his goodbyes to Taek Soo, and asks him to take care of the women in the apartment building, and to check in on Soo Ji when the newspapers pile up. Taek Soo wonders why he keeps worrying about Soo Ji, but doesn’t ask anything further. Taek Soo goes out to put the last of his bags in the car, as Dae Young goes out to the hallway to hand over the promised comic books to Soo Ji. Downstairs, everyone has turned out to say goodbye, including Jeom Yi with some homemade food. As Dae Young drives away, Soo Ji runs after his car, but of course, he’s gone. Instead, we get a montage of their happy moments together (the ones that weren’t used in previous montages, that is), as she goes back to her apartment, and he drives to Seoul.

Soo Ji is reading “Slam Dunk” in her apartment, when she calls out to Hye Rim about what to make for lunch. When Hye Rim wonders why Soo Ji doesn’t make soup of stew like Jeom Yi used to, Soo Ji insists that she do the dishes. Hye Rim readily agrees, then throws off her robe so she can wash her hair. Soo Ji protests this nude display, and wonders why she agreed to room with Hye Rim.

Dae Young, meanwhile, is driving through Seoul and talking to himself. He notes the number of restaurants that allow single diners, then goes back to his tiny apartment, and complains about the high rent for such a small space.

Back in Sejong, Mi Ran and Jeom Yi are dancing around her office, when Mi Ran’s husband calls for his dinner. Jeom Yi points out that she doesn’t need to make anyone dinner since she lives alone. Mi Ran is not impressed, since Jeom Yi makes dinner for Taek Soo every night. But, since Taek Soo is out for the night, Jeom Yi is free to dance. Taek Soo, meanwhile, drunkenly gets into a taxi.

Back at the villa, Soo Ji is creeping on Dae Young’s blog instead of writing her novel. When Hye Rim reminds her to keep writing, Soo Ji complains about her nagging, then drops everything when she realizes it’s time for her favourite TV show. She turns on the TV to find Mexican food being featured, and, super-excited, she asks Hye Rim to go eat it with her. Hye Rim points out that the restaurant is obviously in Itaewon, but Soo Ji is not put off. She watches, drooling, as Hye Rim ineffectually reminds her to write her novel. Meanwhile, in Seoul, Dae Young is watching the same program, bemoaning his lack of time to visit famous restaurants.

In Sejong, Sang Woo cuddles up to a naked person in his bed, until he realizes that it’s actually a guy. He freaks out and curses, shoving the guy out of bed. When he gets up to go to the living room, the floor is littered with unconscious guys. He wakes them all up, and forces them to clean up. Sang Woo is about to take a swig of milk from the bottle, then stops himself and pours it into a mug. After he takes a drink, he goes back to beating up his hungover friends.

Back at the villa, Soo Ji is about to go out, but needs Hye Rim’s help to get the door open. The reason becomes apparent immediately, when they spot the unconscious Taek Soo on the floor of their stairwell, with Barassi 2.0 next to him. Soo Ji wakes him up and yells at him, but it’s Hye Rim who notices that he’s peed himself. Disgusted, the two women leave him to clean up, and then we’re treating to a flashback showing us that it was Barassi 2.0 who peed on him.

Soo Ji’s outing turns out to be meeting with In Na at a coffee shop. In Na shows her some guys on her phone, asking which one is the best, but Soo Ji is not ready to date. In Na doesn’t care, of course, because the guys are for herself. In Na wants to be friends, and proposes getting massages together the next week. Soo Ji is reluctant, because of money problems, but then In Na mentions the real reason for calling her: to offer Soo Ji a part-time job. Soo Ji is reluctant again, but In Na points out that the job has nothing to do with Sang Woo. Instead, it’s the president of a company in Yeouido. Soo Ji agrees to go there the same day.

Mi Ran is interviewing prospective tenants for the villa, who are put off by her excessive demands and leave. Mi Ran is about to complain about what she went through with Chan Soo, but is put off by Jeom Yi’s glare. Instead, Mi Ran proposes they play a round of go-stop to decide who pays for lunch. Taek Soo arrives just in time to join the game, and they start to play.

Sang Woo is driving to Seoul for the weekend with his mother nagging on the phone, when he pulls up next to a bus at the stoplight. He looks up and spots Soo Ji reading in the window. As Sang Woo continues to watch, he figures out that rather than reading, Soo Ji is using a book as cover while she stuffs her face. He’s shocked, then bursts out laughing as he drives away.

Soo Ji comes out of a big office tower, and celebrates getting her contract fee ahead of time. Since she’s in Seoul, she decides to go for Mexican food, and call up Dae Young while she’s at it. She hesitates before calling, and when he’s interrupted by his colleagues, she loses her nerve altogether, and hangs up. Dae Young is annoyed at the guys who interrupted him, but can’t get up the nerve to call her back. Instead, he decides to go out to eat.

Dae Young ends up at the Mexican restaurant featured in the broadcast, and puts in his order. Meanwhile, Soo Ji is lost on the streets of Seoul, but finally finds the restaurant. When she walks in, she’s surprised, but it turns out to be because of a board of autographs, one of which is Beast’s Yoon Doo Joon (ha ha). She’s impressed that she’s come to a celebrity hangout. She finds herself a seat, with what looks like Dae Young’s empty plates in front of her. She orders exactly the same thing, and the frames overlap to make it seem like they’re eating together, even though they just missed each other.

Dae Young’s next stop is a bar to deliver the insurance contract to the owner. While he’s there, he runs into Sang Woo out with his friends, and the two of them stop to have a chat. Dae Young wonders why Sang Woo is out with his friends in Seoul, and not on a date with Soo Ji. Sang Woo realizes that Soo Ji hasn’t yet told Dae Young the truth. Sang Woo finally spills the beans that he and Soo Ji have broken up, and that Soo Ji likes Dae Young. Before Dae Young can even digest this, Sang Woo expresses his relief at getting this off his chest by putting Dae Young in a headlock. Since I’m saying this for the last time, let me add that Sang Woo looks super cute as he grins at Dae Young.

Back at Sejong, Soo Ji has brought back Mexican takeout for Jeom Yi and Hye Rim. Jeom Yi is impressed with Mexican food, and chows down. Hye Rim, meanwhile, wonders if Soo Ji ate with Dae Young, since Dae Young posted about the same restaurant in his blog. Soo Ji denies meeting him, and then goes out to exercise. Of course, the first thing she does is check on Dae Young’s blog, and gets annoyed since he seems to be enjoying himself without her. She starts running (in normal clothes, no less) to burn off her giant Mexican meal.

It’s not long before Dae Young shows up, startling Soo Ji, and starts berating her for violating the terms of their contract by not marrying Sang Woo. Soo Ji is utterly confused, as he tells her that he looks like an idiot for leaving Sejong so as not to violate the contract, so Dae Young kisses her. She stares at him hopefully, and he tells her that they should date.

Soo Ji is so happy that she kisses Dae Young on the spot, and it looks set to be a super romantic moment when her stomach rumbles loudly. He bursts out laughing as she cringes, then offers to go out to eat. She suggests tteokbeokki, and they walk into the night, hand in hand.

Comments

Awwwww. The last ten minutes of this episode were super cute, and there were a couple of good scenes throughout, but frankly, the episode mostly served to remind me why I hate extensions. Yes, I’m happy that the production is successful and making money, but if they can’t stretch a story to two extra episodes, it’s almost like punishing the viewers to make them watch so much filler.

Case in point, this episode was taken up with long-winded unnecessary scenes, and packed to the brim with montages of flashbacks. Did we need to watch Jeom Yi and Mi Ran argue about dancing? Did we need the scene where Taek Soo gets peed on by Barassi 2.0? Did we need more extended flashback sequences to remind us of the rest of the show? And, how long was that potluck barbecue on the roof? Sure, I enjoyed watching Joo Won dance to “Call Me Baby”, but that scene felt like it went on forever.

Speaking of things that went on forever, I was glad to see how efficient Dae Young was, once Sang Woo cleared up the misunderstanding about Soo Ji’s feelings. Having taken most of 18 episodes to get here, it was gratifying to finally see Dae Young and Soo Ji do something other than stare longingly at each other or argue over the correct way to eat something. Is it petty of me to wish we’d gotten here sooner? Regardless, however long it took to get here, I’m glad we did.

Anyway, I have more to say, but I’ll save it for our series review, which is soon to follow.

Pork belly barbecue (삼겹살)

What can you say about pork belly barbecue? Looks delicious.

Mexican feast with nachos, quesadilla, tortilla soup, tacos, and Corona cocktail

I’m a little skeptical about how good this tastes, though it did make me crave Mexican food. More importantly, what the hell is with that cocktail?

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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