I'm reserving my energy.
Instead of writing a long commentary, I'll repost the observations of some of our regulars and add my thoughts. I'll let them express why we're unhappy with Episode 7. Although to all intents and purposes, we were proven correct when we said the Winter Gardeners and IkSongers were prematurely rejoicing over the prospects of a marriage proposal and a camping trip, we still think this Episode 7 leaves much to be desired.
Let's begin with @Sasa13's post. She said:
I agree with everyone's point here about the weird writing of s2. This ep is a filler that basically confirmed all that we already suspected:
-iksong is not going anywhere
-WG is physical and aren't open with each other (what the hell was that message Jang said? It's as if JW didn't save her number lol). I don't think anyone is buying his proposal. They aren't at that stage yet.
-the patients stories do not even carry this ep. Everything was too rushed for us to feel anything.
– Isn't it odd they placed Jang's "lucky charm scene" before songhwa gave a bad news? I find Jang's way of conveying the good news is like songhwa's sad news. I thought the family said she exudes positive energy in a sarcastic way
What i find intriguing is how Songhwa said what JW said to IJ in the first season. Kids do not lie. I hope this means something, like songhwa pov soon?
They need to clean up the stories nicely soon and stop giving bigger ships "fan service scenes" that actually goes nowhere. If the writers intended for WG and Iksong to be endgame, they would not only be sharing the scenes together but have meaningful conversations and get to know each other better. That's why i am still paddling on FG, because they're the only dynamics that grew deeper in s2 (other than gomgom and junwan jaehak lol)
Yes, as it stands now, the script shows that Songhwa does NOT like IkJun as a husband/lover. She likes him as a twin brother/friend
However, now that we know how fickle this writer and director duo can be, who knows if they'll turn Songhwa into a ditzy 41-year-old woman who doesn't know her own mind.
/sarcasm
IJ: Cho Jung Hyun.
Songhwa: Right, Cho Jung Hyun.
IJ: It was my nickname back in school.
Songhwa: You practiced "Sad Sea" with your guitar all through our freshman year. Why did you want to play a piano song with the guitar?
This is interesting. It tells me that she noticed his little quirks about him before but she was never curious enough to ask him about them. This was probably the time when IJ found out that SH confessed to her and got rejected because she liked somebody else. He ditched the ring after that.
IJ: You have such a good memory. How do you remember that? Shall we listen to "Sad Sea"? I brought my Bluetooth speaker.
Songhwa: No.
IJ: Why not?
Songhwa: It's bad manners to play music on a campground.
Huh? What is she talking about? Is this a special rule in that area? We always bring our guitar and sing songs around the campfire. And there was nobody around them who'll be disturbed by their music-playing.
Seems to me that Songhwa told a white lie.
She lied because she didn't want to have a sentimental moment with him. lol. If you're a realistic like me, then this is proof that she friend-zoned him. But who knows? ShinLee/Iksongers could twist this around and say that she just didn't know her own mind.
IJ: Then, what do we do?
Songhwa: We'll listen to it another time. And it's time.
IJ: Time for what?
Songhwa: Sleep. I'm about to fall asleep.
IJ: Hey, it's still early. Why are you already sleepy? My gosh. It's past 1 am.
Songhwa: Cho JungHyun-ssi.
IJ: Alright.
Songhwa: (stands up and enters tent)
IJ: Good night, Chae Songhwa-ssi.
So this was a troll.
And mental note to myself:
the neuralizer moment occurred here.
More notes about the camping:
1. Cho Jung Hung sang "Sad Sea." I found an MV that was recently uploaded on Youtube. I don't think we have somebody here who can translate Portuguese to English.
2. The theme of lying was introduced by IJ.
IJ: (speaking of Uju) He skipped kindergarten today because of a stomachache. But he's fine now. He's singing and dancing. Hold on. Was it a lie?
Songhwa: Kids don't lie. Sick or not, they always tell it like it is.
IJ: I lied a lot when I was his age. I really hope he only got my good traits.
3. IJ really had NO plans to go camping with Uju. He could have pushed off preparing for his conference and gone camping with Uju that weekend had he wanted to. But he really wasn't into camping.
Songhwa: What are you doing this weekend?
IJ: No plans, but I'm studying for a conference.
Songhwa: Too bad, forget it then.
IJ: What is it?
Songhwa: I'm going camping tomorrow and was wondering if you wanted to come. My favorite campsite is always fully booked. But I checked their website earlier just in case and saw that they had a cancelation. I totally lucked out. I booked it right away.
And then, IJ immediately called up Uju.
I don't think Uju was expecting Songhwa to come along. He thought it was just going to be him and his dad.
IJ: We're going camping tomorrow, Uju.
Uju: (excitedly talking) Are you serious, Dad? Are we really going camping? Hold on, the cicadas haven't started molting yet.
IJ: There was an impatient cicada who couldn't wait. I got a text from a cicada just now.
Uju: But we have no campfire tools or camping dishes. Let alone a tent. What should we do.
IJ: Right, we have nothing.
Songhwa: (nudging him) I have everything.
IJ: Don't worry, Uju. My friend has everything. She's a camping expert. She has everything. What do you want to do the most when we go camping?
Songhwa: (listening in) What did he say?
IJ: A campfire. Sit by the fire and relax.
Songhwa: (laughing) He sure is your son.
IJ: I know.
The following day, Uju wasn't in the mood for camping. According to IJ, he and Mone had a fight.
Now, I suspect that Uju was telling a "white lie." He might -- or might not have a fight -- with Mone, but the camping trip was something he'd been looking forward to for over a year. My experience with children at this age is that they're easily distracted and amused.
If Songhwa hadn't been there, Uju would have found an activity to do with his dad and distracted from his blue funk. But since Songhwa was there, he didn't get the opportunity to talk to his dad in private about his "heartbreak" and the time he needed bond with him.
As it was, IJ left Uju to brood him by himself because he had Songhwa with him to keep company, Uju had nobody to talk to.
Two's company, three's a crowd.
Do you get what I mean?
Uju could have been sad about Mone but camping with his dad was a once-in-a-lifetime event for him. His dad's attention on him would have been enough to distract him. But since IJ was otherwise preoccupied with Songhwa, Uju ended up being by himself again.
The camping trip was a dud for both father and son.
4. I found this camping trip disturbing because IJ wasn't shown interacting with his own child.
Think about this for a minute. IJ stopped to chat with everybody in the hospital.
Director Shin painstakingly filmed IJ flitting from one person to another in the hospital. Director Shin made sure we saw IJ as this happy-go-lucky, well-loved, and benevolent character. He had a fun remark to say to everyone.
To his hair stylist: What? Your son is getting married already? He graduated from college this year....Send me the wedding invitation.
To the optometrist: This is a new model. It looks very light....I love the shape. Aren't there different colors for the bridge?
To the custodian: What? Have you fully recovered from your disc surgery? Why are you already back at work?...No, don't say bye. Take good care of yourself.
To the gardener: Ahjussi....Have you eaten?...What are you planting now?
To the EMS helicopter pilot: We should have dinner together soon. My gosh, it's been too long....My goodness. I'll call you soon. Let's have dinner together.
But to his own child?
Nada.
During the camping trip, the director filmed not a single word exchanged between father and son. In fact, IJ told Songhwa to leave Uju alone.
See that contrast?
The difference in how IJ pays attention to acquaintances vs family and friends wasn't accidental. That was Director's point in that long stroll from Songhwa's office to the cafeteria.
It also dawned upon me that the way IJ treated Uju during the camping trip wasn't much different from the way he treated Songhwa on their walk to the cafeteria. He ignored them both when somebody new and exciting came within his sight.
IJ was very rude to leave Songhwa behind like that to chase after people in "his" circle group. Just like it was insensitive (not to mention, heartless) of him to leave his Uju alone when the trip was supposedly a father-and-son time.
So yeahhhhhhh... Ikjun+Songhwa is just #relationshipgoals.
5. The theme of lying was carried on by Jang. While Songhwa was lying about music in the campground, Jang talked about lying to her coworkers.
Jang: But you know I can't keep lying to everyone. All the professors keep grilling me, "How's your boyfriend? What does he do? When are you guys getting married?" I'm not a good liar.
She'd been lying to her colleagues for a year now, and she hadn't been caught yet. I'd say she's a darn pretty good liar.
Jang: Maybe...I should just tell them we broke up. That'd be easier. They'll at least stop grilling me, you know?
JW: Well... I don't know how I feel about that. I mean that's also lying.
Jang: It's a white lie.
Then, the following day, she again bragged that she wasn't the kind to lie.
Jang: What's that white stuff under your eyes? It looks like a pile of snow.
Minha: I accentuated my under-eye fat with makeup to look younger.
Jang: Unni, you already look so young. You don't look like you're in your mid-thirties.
Minha: Really?
Jang: You know that I can't lie.
Minha: Right, I sure do. You always tell the truth.
Ha! We'll discover in the end that she hadn't been telling the whole truth to JW all along. She was good at lying, too.
As for the text that Jang sent JW, @nrllee kindly jotted it down for us because Netflix conveniently skipped Jang's "term of endearment" for JW. hahaha. I like @nrllee's alternative text better.
"gyosunim (professor), this is GU. I have to go to gwangju all of a sudden. I will tell you the detailed story later. It's hard to talk on the phone right now… I will tell you everything later. I am really sorry."
Why not "Hey babe. Something came up. My mom is sick and I have to be by her side. Can't talk now. Will tell you everything later."
What gf still calls her bf Professor? Especially since he actually expressed that he didn't like her calling him that? Why would she have to say, "this is GU"? What? Wouldn't he have her as GU on his phone? Or some term of endearment? Why would she need to even say that? As if he didn't have her contact on his phone or something so she had to tell him who it was? . Their whole relationship makes zero sense. How can they be even thinking about a wedding? Unless it's a marriage of convenience. . What's in it for her? For him she satisfies all his lust (repressed priest blah blah blah…).
To me, it was critical to include the "gyosunim" in the translation because JW professed his dislike for that term THREE episodes ago.
Moreover, how could he possibly think of sharing his life with this woman when he only had a rudimentary knowledge of her?
Okay, let me look for the next poster to highlight.
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