Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

The episode starts off with Young-joon responding to Mi-so’s query on why he hired her. In a typical bait and switch, he appears to say that there was something specific about her name that led to her hiring, and then backtracks by saying that her lack of qualifications was the deciding factor as it meant that she had the most incentive to stay, no matter how hard the job. Disappointing for both Mi-so and the audience. But a later flashback puts the lie to his statement, showing that he specifically requested her. He also seems to not only know her but expect her to know him beyond his persona as the heir to the company. Hmmm… further indicators that he is in fact the boy from her childhood memories? Since this isn’t really a show of intrigue and mystery, I’m going to go all in and say a definite yes!

The episode then has Mi-so spending more time with Sung-yeon, much to Young-joon’s displeasure. Sung-yeon claims that it will help him recover his lost memories, but it feels like an excuse to spend more time with Mi-so and win her over. It’s not clear why he is so fixated on her though the ‘destiny’ aspect of it seems to appeal to his writer’s side. And I’m sure the idea of putting one over his brother also appeals to him. He appears confident most of the time, but the fact that his younger brother is managing the family business clearly rankles.

Young-joon’s friend, Yoo-sik, is the true driving force behind his and Mi-so’s relationship. At every critical juncture, he has been by Young-joon’s side, prodding him to take action. Here too he motivates Young-joon to channel his jealousy into more productive actions. This leads to Young-joon finally declaring his feelings to Mi-so, and in true Young-joon fashion, also declaring her feelings for him! He then proposes to her again – a proposal only marginally better than his first one and redeemed only by him explaining how this proposal is different due to his actual feelings for her. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mi-so rejects him again, refusing to start a relationship driven by jealousy and competitiveness.

The episode then moves over to the secretary’s ‘workshop’ (plus Gwi-nam for… plot reasons), supposedly for corporate planning but actually an unofficial retreat. We see the team chilling until they are rudely interrupted by the Vice-Chairman’s appearance. I haven’t been a huge fan of the over-the-top style of comedy on the show but I quite enjoyed the scenes of the team freaking out over having their boss attend their offsite. They force themselves to work, but even Young-joon is uninterested since his primary purpose is to woo Mi-so, and they soon abandon work and go back to their planned ribbon hunt.

While the others are fighting it out for the ribbons, Young-joon and Mi-so have a heart to heart where Young-joon explains why he doesn’t want Mi-so to dig into her past and how it is not just motivated by jealousy but a concern for the impact recovering her memories will have on her. However, in a significant moment of personal growth, he acknowledges her need to know and tells her he is ok with it and will just deal with his conflicted emotions. To me, all of this contributes to levelling out the power imbalance in their relationship – he is used to having all his commands obeyed without question, but now he is learning to listen and accept her point of view and to deal with his own personal discomfort in order to not stand in the way of what she needs to do.

Stray Musings

• Gwi-nam has serious pyscho eyes every time he motions to Ji-a to keep his secret
• Manager Bong finally sees beyond Gwi-nam and notices Secretary Yang. Thank goodness as it was getting almost embarrassing seeing her throw herself at someone completely uninterested in her