Madame Antoine episode 9 recap

Episode Recap

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Hye Rim (Han Ye Seul) and Soo Hyun (Sung Joon) are cuddling on a couch, asking each other when they first started liking each other. After kissing, they realize that it is already dawn. Hye Rim does not want to separate from Soo Hyun, yet. Unfortunately, Soo Hyun must attend a funeral, and Hye Rim is forced to accept that they will not see each other again for a couple of days.

Soo Hyun and his mentor, Mi Ran (Jang Mi Hee) attend the funeral of a fellow academic who died of cancer. Soo Hyun warns Mi Ran to get tested for cancer, and Mi Ran stays silent about her diagnosis. A child disrupts the service with her singing, and her parents are helpless to stop her. Later in the car, Mi Ran asks a reluctant Soo Hyun to consider treating the child.

Six year old So Dam breaks out into song as soon as a room becomes silent. Soo Hyun questions the parents, and finds out that So Dam has a whole host of other behavioural problems in spite of exhibiting exceptional learning abilities.

Soo Hyun enlists Hye Rim to help him observe So Dam, because he is no good with children. They meet So Dam after school and the child immediately has an accident in her pants. Soo Hyun explores the family’s home until Hye Rim has finished cleaning So Dam up.

Hye Rim goes to clean up the bathroom, and when she returns, she finds So Dam latched onto Soo Hyun’s leg, proclaiming her love for him. An impressed Hye Rim is questioning Soo Hyun about his methodology, when So Dam sneaks away to set a fire. Later, Soo Hyun notes that So Dam’s sister So Yul competes in beauty contests of her own accord, and that the mother was once a pageant queen.

The Chairman (Byun Hee Bong) and his men are frantically looking for his daughter when she is found by some hikers. They convince the hikers not to call the police, and pay them for their silence. The Chairman shakes his head in frustration as his daughter refuses to get up from base of a tree.

The Chairman meets with Hye Rim who immediately apologizes for her inaccurate readings of his daughter at their previous meeting. He fluffs it off and asks for business advice, instead. The Chairman is so pleased with Hye Rim’s ideas that he gifts her with a bag full of cosmetic samples.

Soo Hyun enlists Hye Rim to help him again, but it turns out to simply be an excuse to take her out. His robotic student, Ji Ho (Lee Joo Hyung) is suspicious about Soo Hyun’s supposed visit with a client. His doubts are confirmed when he sadly watches Hye Rim get into Soo Hyun’s car.

Ji Ho is moping in the library over Hye Rim while her sister, Yoo Rim (Hwang Seung Eon) is filming him for her documentary. She finally steps into frame to ask him to keep his personal life separate from her work. Ji Ho claims to be worried about Hye Rim dating a bad guy, and Yoo Rim is surprised to learn that her sister is dating at all. She pesters him until he reveals that it is Soo Hyun, and that Soo Hyun is still conducting an experiment on Hye Rim. 

Hye Rim and Soo Hyun have dinner in the same private dining room where she confronted him about his cryptic seduction strategy. Hye Rim reveals that Ji Ho confessed having feelings for her, and she knows he took the rejection badly. Soo Hyun advises her to be clear with Ji Ho so that there  is no false hope, and Hye Rim playfully accuses him of being jealous.

When Yoo Rim gets home, she immediately asks Hye Rim if she is dating Soo Hyun, and if she knew she was part of an ongoing  experiment. However, Hye Rim is too busy chatting on the phone with Soo Hyun, and eventually barks at her sister to get lost. Yoo Rim gives up pursuing the matter.

Soo Hyun and Hye Rim are chatting with each other over the phone while lying in bed. Soo Hyun reveals that his first love was a girl in school who was only interested in him, because he appeared indifferent towards her. It lead to Soo Hyun’s current field of research. Hye Rim forces Soo Hyun to sing to her, and Soo Hyun reluctantly does so as Hye Rim reminisces about their special moments (= a montage of flashbacks). Soo Hyun’s voice lulls her to sleep and Hye Rim ends up dreaming of being warned by own self not to trust Soo Hyun. She wakes up with a start. 

When Hye Rim meets Soo Hyun’s brother, Seung Chan (Jinwoon) at a café, she get right to the point. She informs him that she and Soo Hyun are dating, and that she has liked Soo Hyun for a while. Seung Chan tells her not to trust his brother, but Hye Rim won’t listen. Her confidence comes from her belief that the experiment on her is over. 

Seung Chan immediately goes to confront Soo Hyun, and Soo Hyun confirms that he really has ceased the experiment. Seung Chan does not believe Soo Hyun, yet he is surprised to learn that Soo Hyun intends to proceed with a final fMRI in order to truly end the experiment.

Seung Chan expresses doubt that Hye Rim will agree to the fMRI, but Soo Hyun seems confident. Over dinner, he petulantly brings up his low score on the first fMRI, until Hye Rim agrees to do the fMRI again in order to prove her feelings for him.

Soo Hyun, Seung Chan and Ji Ho are all present to view the second fMRI. Ji Ho’s rating goes up a disappointing one percent. Seung Chan’s rating goes up twice as high, which irritates Soo Hyun considerably. Finally, it comes time for Soo Hyun’s photo, and he gets a 98%. He smiles with satisfaction as Seung Chan looks dumbfounded.

When he announces the end of the experiment, Soo Hyun appears to be the only one who is happy. Ji Ho asks if he intends to move onto Part 2 of the experiment in which they measure how much the subject loves her chosen man. Seung Chan is outraged, and threatens to reveal this to Hye Rim. Soo Hyun begs for time to think about whether to end the experiment, and Seung Chan gives him three days. However, Seung Chan does not trust his brother, and plots with Ji Ho to break into Soo Hyun’s safe and destroy the experiment blueprints.

Hye Rim is nervously driving Soo Hyun’s car when he reveals that the destination is a friend’s vacation home. She gets excited at the prospect of staying overnight. Back at the clinic, Seung Chan and Soo Hyun become dejected when they come to the same conclusion about the couple’s outing.

Hye Rim is excitedly exploring the vacation home when Seung Chan calls Soo Hyun to remind him that his three days are up, and he must choose between giving up the experiment and telling her the truth. Soo Hyun simply hangs up on him, and Seung Chan decides to send a text to Hye Rim revealing Soo Hyun’s role as one of the experiment’s suitors. Unfortunately, Soo Hyun repeatedly prevents Hye Rim from reading any text or answering any call from Seung Chan until her battery dies.

While cooking dinner, Hye Rim wonders why Soo Hyun’s relationship with his brother is so strained. Soo Hyun believes that everyone has been too indulgent with Seung Chan. Though his stepmother was kind to him, he always felt like she and Seung Chan teamed up against him. Hye Rim tentatively brings up his biological mother, and Soo Hyun refuses to discuss the topic.

Seung Chan is doing his daily workout with Mi Ran, but continues to anxiously check his phone. He reveals to Mi Ran that he has texted Hye Rim the truth about the experiment, and he does not care if his own relationship with Hye Rim suffers as a result.

Sadly, now Seung Chan has no one to go skating with. Mi Ran claims his skating tickets then manages to get Seung Chan to volunteer to teach her. As they skate, Seung Chan asks how to live with unrequited love, and Mi Ran is impressed that he is not looking to escape the relationship. Mi Ran slyly indicates that she lives with unrequited love, too, and she simply enjoys the feelings that the object of her affections provokes. Though, when Mi Ran suddenly falls against Seung Chan, she acknowledges that there are unexpected rewards, too. Later, Mi Ran is back to practicing the piano in earnest for Seung Chan.

Soo Hyun and Hye Rim lie in each other’s arms in bed (fully clothed), and it feels unreal to them. She promises to love him with all her heart, and instead of returning the words, he instigates a kiss, which continues until the screen fades to black.

Hye Rim finally gets Seung Chan’s text the next morning in which he tells her to check the safe in Soo Hyun’s office. Hye Rim sets out to do just that as soon as she returns, but cannot figure out the combination. When Seung Chan finds her eating breakfast, and asks if she read his text, she is dismissive about its contents.

However, Hye Rim has a plan. She plants the idea in Soo Hyun’s head of using her birthday as a password. Later that night, she purposely triggers the alarm in Soo Hyun’s office so that he is forced to reset his safe’s password as a security measure.

Ji Ho is drowning his sorrows in beer with Yoo Rim. She thinks he is drinking, because her sister rejected him. Ji Ho corrects her, claiming that he feels guilty about the experiment. He reveals the truth to Yoo Rim, hoping that she will serve as the messenger and tell Hye Rim. Yoo Rim throws her beer in Ji Ho’s face then runs out while attempting to reach Hye Rim on the phone.

Meanwhile, at the next opportunity, Hye Rim sneaks into Soo Hyun’s office again. Her plan is successful, and she gains access to the Madame Antoine Project Blueprint. To her horror, she sees all her personal experiences laid out on paper as an experiment. You can practically see the steam coming out of Hye Rim’s ears.

Comments

Trust continues to be an issue in episode 9 with the lead couple going through all the motions of being in love, but persisting in being dishonest with each other.

Hye Rim appears to throw herself wholeheartedly into a relationship with Soo Hyun, and even tells him that she loves him without any hesitation. Yet, she also does not hesitate to take Seung Chan’s suggestion to break into Soo Hyun’s safe in order to learn the truth about the experiment. Though, I must admit that I was impressed with her sneaky plan to break into the safe, and amused that it worked.

Of course, whatever pillar of fury is headed towards Soo Hyun is just desserts. The man does not know how to keep his professional and personal lives separate. It will be satisfying to see Soo Hyun finally humbled, because he continues to be overly confident about his questionable decisions.

Admittedly, the moments when Hye Rim and Soo Hyun were acting like a couple were very cozy and believable. I just wish they did not skip the sexual tension entirely; how can a newly minted couple be so lethargic when snuggling with each other? Well, at least the interactions between Soo Hyun and Seung Chan continue to be peppy and entertaining. So, instead of sexy repartee, I will have to get my kicks from bitchy sibling rivalry.

Madame Antoine (마담 앙트완)

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