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

This show is so frustrating to watch. Just when you think that things are finally moving forward and the show is settling into a nice, solid rom-com rhythm, it suddenly switches genres and turns into a psychological drama instead. Let’s get into it shall we?

We pick up where we left last time with Ho-jin and Mu-hee getting closer as they spend time together around the shoot. Mu-hee being Mu-hee engineers some time alone and seizes the opportunity to act on her crush and kiss him, which left me shaking my head in despair. She had been doing such a good job till then of not letting her crush interfere with their blossoming friendship, and I fully expected him to take a huge step back in reaction to the kiss and put distance between them again. Refreshingly (at least until further events unfolded), he actually paused to self-reflect and acknowledged his feelings for Mu-hee to himself. Fittingly, he was upfront with her about wanting to clear the air with Ji-sun first before taking things forward with Mu-hee. However Mu-hee jumps to the wrong conclusion when she finds out about Ji-sun’s broken engagement and rushes to break up with Ho-jin before he can do it to her (without realising he had no intention of doing so). Frustrating as hell? Yes! But in character for Mu-hee given their history and her insecurities. A problem that could have been solved with 2 minutes of open conversation? Also yes but par for the course for any rom-com. 

This somewhat artificial drama predictably separates our lead pair and prolongs the point where they inevitably get together. Mildly frustrating but at least it leads to some cute moments where Ho-Jin’s professor friend tries to play matchmaker and get them to patch up. Almost works too, until Mu-hee’s despicable relatives pop up and spoil the mood. After basically washing their hands of her when she was in a coma, it’s not clear why they suddenly reach out now. Or why she even goes with them especially when things finally seem to be working out with Ho-jin.  It does create a somewhat logical basis for her trauma (personified by Do-rami) to reemerge. But then the show takes it a step too far by having Do-rami take over Mu-hee completely. And we suddenly veer from mildly concerning, stress-induced hallucinations to a full-on split personality. The change in tone is just jarring. 

To be clear, I am not against Do-rami as a plot device. Who amongst us has not had moments where an inner voice whispers to us and feeds our insecurities? Having that inner voice personified through hallucinations of Mu-hee’s breakout character is quite a clever way to show it. It is an obstacle to her romance with Ho-jin but not an insurmountable one. A split personality on the other hand feels like a much bigger issue to manage. Ho-Jin does seem to have a bit of a saviour complex but they have not even truly started their relationship so it’s difficult to understand why he continues to stick around. It’s also inexplicable why at this point he doesn’t try to bring in any more help (professional or otherwise). Yes, it would impact her career if it got out but it’s way more concerning that she’s being ‘taken over’ by her alternate personality for hours or even days at a time. 

I truly hope this is a short lived storyline (though I doubt it) because it detracts from the romance vibe of the show. There is a different show somewhere in there which has the potential to be an intriguing watch, but that hypothetical show does not gel with what this show has been so far. 

Stray Musings

• Poor Hiro, he may have been a bit of an ass at first but the guy is slowly falling for Mu-hee without even realizing that he’s in a love triangle. And Do-rami stringing him along just makes the whole situation even more pitiful.
• In other couple news Mu-hee’s manager, Yong-u and Ji-sun hook up. I kinda ship it, rebound or not. Yong-u seems like a sweet guy, the opposite of Ji-sun’s toxic ex. 
• Did Mu-hee’s mom actually poison her dad and herself? That’s what the flashback seems to indicate and would explain a lot of her childhood trauma and her relatives’ reactions towards her. But I wonder if there is more to the story.