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

‘If at First You Don’t Succeed…‘

I appreciate the pacing of this series so far. Only 3 episodes in and already I have answers to some of my questions, an emotional backstory with a few plot twists, and of course plenty of time with our lead pair. You have to hand it to Ye-jin – she sure is determined to get the job done. She’s trying everything she can to meet the farm owner. And props to the show for coming up with a multitude of reasons for her to be at the village, rather than just showing her incessantly badgering Mathew. Whether it’s personally delivering an order for HIT, customer service to address a complaint about the product not working, or even volunteering on the mushroom farm, Ye-jin seizes every opportunity to get in front of Mathew, and through him the farm owner. But at the same time, despite her drive and ambition, she is a fundamentally kind person. We saw that previously when she helped the old ladies with their fallen groceries, and we see it again here when she chases after the runaway chickens for Matthew’s old neighbour. Of course she is hoping to secure an intro to the farm owner through her, but she genuinely puts her back into the work. 

All these interactions also help them warm up towards each other in a natural way. Sure, Mathew is dead-set against engaging with L’Étoile, but as he sees more of Ye-jin, you can see him start to thaw a bit and respect her commitment and work ethic. And by seeing him in the environment of the farm and with the old lady Sang-geum, Ye-jin gets a glimpse at his softer side.

At the same time, I also still have so many questions! What did L’Étoile do to piss off Matthew? What sad story lurks in Matthew’s past that led him to this village? Why does Myeong-hwa, the actress co-host who was also implicated in the old face cream scandal, seem to blame Ye-jin for it and have it in for her?

The last question in particular gains even more significance when we find out more about Ye-jin’s backstory. Turns out Myeong-hwa isn’t just an ex-actress or co-host, but actually Ye-jin’s mother! But it’s a secret from the world since it could (presumably) derail her mother’s career. Growing up, Ye-jin seemed to have some sort of relationship with her mother (even if it was limited in time and kept secret) but when faced with the prospect of her secret coming out, Myeong-hwa publicly denies Ye-jin and cuts off all contact. Brutal! Ye-jin is crushed and even in present day calls her mother’s old number in her sleep to apologize. Myeong-hwa of course disconnected that number at the time, but who should that number have got reassigned to? In true romcom fashion, none other than Mathew, naturally! Another link to connect them and get him to see a more vulnerable side of her.

Meanwhile, in second lead world, Eric is still mooning over Ye-jin while being completely ineffectual at his job. Turns out, he isn’t a long-forgotten classmate. Rather, they had accidentally met on a previous trip of his where she had charmed him before subsequently ghosting him on a planned date. I don’t know about anyone else, but it felt a bit creepy to me that he is that head over heels for her if that was the extent of their interaction. Although, I can almost imagine an alternate romcom where he is the charming male lead blown away at first sight by the female lead. Think John Cusack in Serendipity or Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle. Interesting how our perspectives can shift so much just depending on the centrality of the character to the story.

We also meet village shop owner Ji-yin, who seems to have a crush on Mathew, as well as strong feelings against Ye-jin (likely harking back to the face cream scandal and its effects on schoolgirl Som-yi), and is furious to see her gallivanting about the village. It remains to be seen how much of an obstacle she will be to our main couple.

Stray Musings

• For viewers who prefer a more fashionably outfitted male lead, that whole sequence of Mathew trying on suits for the meeting with L’Étoile is pure fan service. 
• Ye-jin’s dad confessed years back that after Myeong-hwa’s denial of her, he was the one who asked her to break contact in an effort to spare Ye-jin. Ye-jin was furious and her relationship with her father is still strained. Why do I feel though that this might have been a kindhearted lie by her father to spare her further rejection?
• Ye-jin reveals to Eric that she does recognize him from their previous encounter but felt it would be kinder to feign ignorance. Not sure if that’s the smartest strategy when he’s literally staring into your eyes and wistfully asking if he looks familiar.
• I was way off with most of my predictions from last episode…but on the plus side at least that means I can better enjoy seeing how the story unfolds.