Can We Love? - Episode 16

Can We Love? - Episode 16

Overall, this is a satisfactory episode. People get their power back and important decisions are made. The absolute highlight  was the exposure of the MILDragon as the monster she actually is - and the whole getting-her-power-back thing for Ji-hyun. Glad she got the character development she deserved we had to wait for it for too long!

Episode 16

Sun-mi, Yoon-Seok, and a bit of Jung-wan

We're back to the baby-confrontation in front of Sun-mi's house: Puppy Yoon-seok wants a genetic test, but Sun-mi lies to Puppy that it's definitely not his. He is not convinced, but what can he do? When she's inside and alone, tears well up in her eyes. The drama does indeed aim for rehabilitation of this dreadful character, but like me, others in the drama are not quite ready to forgive yet. Sun-mi meets Jung-wan, several times. In one instance, she is deeply troubled about what lies ahead of her and she has nobody else but Jung-wan to talk to. She doesn't know whether to keep the baby or not - this is most likely her last chance to be a mother, but she also has no confidence to raise this baby by herself. Jung-wan doesn't offer any help or consolation, but just leaves the car without a word.

Puppy . He is a smart one and calls Sun-mi out, by telling her that he has also called Oh Kyung-soo out to clarify things. Look who's there in a nanosecond! He has his suspicion confirmed she has been lying to him. And finally, she admits that the baby is his. But she also adds that she wants nothing to do with him. Isn't his girlfriend Hana? Come on, woman. What are you doing. He is the father - so he has a goddamn right to be involved! Well, Puppy acts pretty quickly on what she just told him - he breaks up with Hana. In my opinion, he should never have gotten involved with her, but that's another story. He waits in front of Sun-mi's house again and tells her that he has broken up with Hana. He wants to marry her (he even wants to give her all his money)! And he is convinced he will be a good husband and father. Don't know whether to laugh or to cry  he is so earnest and . Not saying young people cannot be husbands and fathers, but he really is on a different planet than her. 

Sun-mi keeps treating him badly, though dismissed him in the most brutal of ways, even though he cares for her all the time, bringing her food etc. And then, Sun-mi gets abdominal pains After it has happened several times, she goes to the hospital. The next day, she calls Puppy (who is there again, waiting for her) into her car and she tells him that she had a miscarriage. And she says evil things like it's a good thing that happened, because they could never have been together anyway. He is immediately concerned for her again  and it breaks my heart a little, because I'm pretty sure she is lying.

If this drama wanted to make this woman more likable, it has failed! She meets Jung-wan in a café and she tells her that she will have the baby. Alone. She went to the hospital because of some bleeding, but the baby is fine. But she realized there that grabbing a man with the baby is wrong - so it's not marriage that will usher in her "second" life, but the baby.

Ji-hye, Gyu-sik, the MILDragon, and a bit of Ahn Do-young

In this episode, he is again part horrible, part really pitiful. He presses ahead with the paternity case, now trying to get what he wants without his wife, who isn't signing the necessary documents. Of course, he frequently freaks out. Ji-hyun on the other hand ... YES, she finally takes things into her own hand! She goes to Sun-mi to talk about opening up a small shop - in which she wants to sell snack for kids. Sun-mi doesn't really understand why the wife of a rich household would want to do something like this, but she promises her friend to help.

Ji-hyun is also taking baking classes and the things she bakes (i.e. a walnut tart) is loved by everyone (including Ahn Do-young who gets a piece through their daughter). With Sera, she has a candid discussion about the divorce and how it could get ugly. She promises her daughter that both her parents will be there for her. Smart Sera asks what will happen if Gyu-shik never consents to the divorce? Oh ... Ji-hyun says she has a plan!! And indeed, a plan she has. It involves the awful MILDragon and she sets it in action as soon as that terrible woman returns from her trip. She goes to see her and tells her all about "her past". MILDragon thinks she can threaten Ji-hyun with the fact that she said she would walk out on her own two feet if anything bad happened due to her again. Yes, says Ji-hyun (pretending to be sad about it), she said that and she is willing to go ... but her husband doesn't want to LET her go! He says he wants to forgive her. MILDragon almost has a heart attack. 

MILDragon does talk to her son afterwards and indeed, she realizes that he doesn't want to let Ji-hyun go. As always, MILDragon pretends to be that nice and caring person, but as soon as he has left, she turns into a monster again. At home, Gyu-shik is furious that Ji-hyun went to see his mother. Why did she do that? But Ji-hyun has this well planned out. She never wanted to tell him, but now she has no other choice but to tell him what kind of two-faced monster his mother is. And she tells him about the constant abuse she got. Of course, Gyu-shik doesn't believe her ... but there is some doubt there at least. 

They are called to MILDragon's house together afterwards. Two-faced as always, she says that she agrees with Gyu-shik, the past is the past, and it makes no sense to break up because of it. They should indeed forget the past and start anew. She then takes Ji-hyun to the kitchen and tells her to pack her things immediately and leave - there is no need to go through the divorce. But then ... oh yes. Finally, Ji-hyun gives back what this Dragon deserves. She tells her how she is inferior herself (in many more words, quite enjoyable) and ends up likening her to a mackerel who wants to be a whale. MILDragon gets more and more furious ... so furious she can no longer contain herself. Even though Gyu-shik is standing right next to them, she blows a fuse (when Ji-hyun says she will cook her mackerel) and starts throwing stuff at her, calling her names. Finally, Gyu-shik sees it with his own eyes ... Victory!   

There's this incredibly sweet scene with Ahn Do-young after one of her baking classes, too. He leads her into an apartment that he has rented for her. It's just for her - he will never show up there again. She can use it to practice baking and have time for herself... of course, she refuses, but he just walks out ... and on the way, he tells her the pass code is her birthday. He is doing exactly what he should be doing: he doesn't pressure her. He is just there for her, supporting her. 

After the MILDragon incident, Gyu-shik comes homes, staggering drunk. She leads him into the room and helps him onto the bed. He is so, so sorry ... he never knew about his mother. Why didn't she tell him before? But Ji-hyun, always the martyr, says she considered it a price to pay for being with him. He cries ,she wouldn't know how much he loves her. He can't let her go because he loves her so much. The next day, however, he comes home with the divorce papers. Let's do this, he says. Oh man this is just like Goddess of Marriage! Only that Gyu-shik dude is definitely no Kim Ji-hoon 

Jung-wan, Oh Kyung-soo and the Rest 

Jung-wan is incredibly down because of what her son said. She isn't telling Kyung-soo though (why? she never does ...), who is still very pushy, organizes a wedding planner and really wants to do this as quickly as possible. Jeez. At breakfast though, she does speak her mind ... to her son and to her mother. Of course, her son is quite burdened by it all ... and he calls Oh Kyung-soo. Oh immediately calls Jung-wan out (in the meantime, she tried to get her Ex to talk to Tae-geuk, but quite understandably, he refuses to do so), and they have a sweet moment in the car, where he tells her not to worry ... even if he is dumped right before the wedding, it's better than her running away AT the wedding. He says let's postpone ... the important thing is that they love each other. And he would never, ever want to separate her from her son. But he is quite glad he already told everybody they would get married! Because that means she cannot run away easily. Hahaha. 

Oh Kyung-soo isn't anyone to sit still, though. He has a plan ... and that plan involves Tae-geuk. He goes to Jung-wan's place to "bring her some documents" ... only that the documents he brings are the complete wrong ones. He conveniently stays for dinner but then eats so much he gets a stomach ache. He keeps behaving rather childishly until Tae-geuk says he has something to say ... the has rethought the whole thing and wants to stay with his mother now. 

He then gets Oh to come into his room, and then starts lecturing him. Why is he so careless? He actually though he would be able to take good care of his mother, but now he sees that that's not the case ... he is worried. Haha, but shortly after, he let's Kyung-soo know that he totally KNEW he was doing it on purpose, it was far too clumsy. He changed his mind not because of him but because of his mom ... he would worry about her if she was unhappy.  

Not happy about all of this is, of course, hapless Han Joon-Mo. He gets piss-drunk and calls Oh-boy there, because he wants a drinking buddy. The two men drink together and it becomes clear that even though he is very sad, Joon-mo fully understands why Tae-geuk did what he did. They get more and more drunk , ending up telling Kyung-soo 15 times how he met Jung-wan and 22 times how happy he was when Tae-geuk was born. He then passes out on the table. Oh takes him home. puts him on couch, puts blanket over him. Dude ... you're a saint! 

When Joon-mo awakes on Oh-boy's couch, has no clue where he is... But there is Oh-boy, telling him to come to the kitchen ... he has made him a hangover soup. Poor Joon-mo is quite embarrassed  He tells Oh-boy that he is relieved but bitter. He is relieved that he is such a good person - and he now know that it is fine to leave his son and his ex-wife with him. But he is also bitter because he loses these two people to him. When he meets Jung-wan afterwards, he tells her that it is better for Tae-geuk to be with her. And one more thing live well with the Director. He is cool. 

And Jung-wan runs ... runs to her love. He is currently in a meeting, but he has "5 minutes". That's enough for what she wants to do. She drags him outside and kisses him. For being so awesome. That gets him to call Park PD to tell him that the next meetings needs to be pushed back he needs 30 minutes. And he starts kissing back 

Comments

Do I want Sun-mi together with Puppy? Not really. She is awful and even though she keeps thinking of him in odd moments, I don't think she should be lucky enough to be with such a sweet guy. I'd rather have them share some childcare responsibilities, on friendly terms, but without being together. A modern family.

Do I want Ji-hyun to divorce? Not really. I don't like the portrayal of divorce as something easy and as solution as soon as something goes wrong in a marriage. We just need to MILDragon out of the way and things will be much better. Gyu-sik has always been very good to her  and I believe him when he says he loves her very much. She is at fault for lying to him for all these years - but I think they can overcome these issues. Where does that leave Ahn Do-young? Well, he has a daughter now - and I do hope he and her non-birth parents and him can work something out that works for everyone. Another modern family. 

Can We Love Episode 16 : http://dramanice.com/can-we-love-korean-drama/watch-can-we-love-korean-drama-episode-16-online

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Can We Love? - Episode 15

Can We Love? - Episode 15 

This episode is a total winner! Finally, we're over that annoying noble-idiocy vs. bitch-deluxe bit and Oh-boy can steam ahead with his love-bulldozer powers. The cute is back!!! Sure, sure, there's a few road blocks left ... mainly in the form of ex-husband Han Joon-mo (I knew he wasn't entirely gone, this guy is like an annoying chewing gum that sticks to your shoe), that weakling? No big deal for Oh kyung-soo aka The Bulldozer of Love. As for the rest  some things are moving. Slowly.

Episode 15

Ji-hyun, Gyu-shik and Ahn Do-young


In this episode, Gyu-shik alternates between terrible-abusive and pensive-sad. There are glimpses of his old self underneath the new monster personality. Not wanting the divorce is not only related to his pride, it seems, but also to his genuine love for his wife. This view may be unpopular, but I actually understand why her bringing up the divorce again and again is incredibly hurtful to him, and makes him lash out, again and again. Which doesn't mean I condone his behavior

These are some of the things he does in his desperation and rage: first, he calls her father and "tells on her". When Ji-hyun - who does no longer share a room with him but sleeps in her son's room - goes to see them later, they are of course very angry at her for thinking about a divorce from her angelic and good husband. These two? The worst. They don't even listen to her. She tells them about the incredible abuse she has gotten from the terrible mild dragon ever since the day she got married. She tells them about how much Gyu-shik has changed and why he is trying to send her daughter away abroad. But rather than taking her side, they defend him and downplay the abuse. I'd say bye bye to a family like this. What a bunch of dick.

Gyu-sik also gets into a rage because he suddenly suspects she wants the divorce to be with Ahn Do-young. Honestly? That's not very far-fetched, even though it is not true, or not really true. His distrust gets the better of him and he orders a paternity test for the kids that are "supposedly" his. Of course, they really are his. Recognizing the deep hurt all of this is causing him, Ji-hyun suggests they have a drink together ... She tells him she lied about the alcohol just to look good in front of him. She tells him how she first met him and was so happy, because her life had been shit. Just the thought of a life with him was enough to make her happy - it was a ticket out of the misery she was in. Thus, when he said he didn't fit liberal girls, she pretended she was someone else.

.

He laughs, saddened, a bit nostalgic: So she acted like his ideal woman, and he fell for it. But he is mollified, he is sad about where they are like now and he suggests that he wants to go on an excursion with her: a long weekend. Stupid, stupid Ji-hyun doesn't see that he is offering her his hand, that he is hoping to get over this together ... she asks why would they go on a trip when they are getting divorced? Out. That is too brutal of her. He explodes and slaps her. Not cool, dude. 

He also goes to Ahn's office again and the fighting escalates quite a bit more this time (Park PD intervenes and rumors spread). He accuses Ahn of being behind his wife's wishes for a divorce. I also see how you could come to that conclusion. Knowing that Ji-hyun wants to divorce also sets Ahn Do-young into action again: He texts her (several times), asking whether it is because of him. There we go, other people also think she wants the divorce because she has other man-options. The truth is that she is not at all thinking about that. She goes to see Jung-wan at the mart and carefully asks about her divorce and how difficult it was. She hears just HOW difficult. But Jung-wan doesn't regret her decision. Her mom told her something important: the mother has to be happy for the kids to be happy.
Later, Ji-hyun meets Ahn somewhere outside the city, to tell him off for still bothering her. He is a bit pushy as well, yes. That may be running in the larger family both Ahn and Oh come from? Ahn, on the other hand, says he couldn't sit still upon hearing about her divorce. She assured him that it has nothing to do with him: she still loves Gyu-shik a lot and that is WHY she wants the divorce; because all of this is turning him into a terrible human being and she doesn't want that. She tells him again that she wants nothing more to do with him ... upon which he pulls her towards him and hugs her tight. If a woman says no, she means no! He doesn't believe she has no feelings for him anymore, but she repeats that she'll never come to him even if she gets the divorce. After she has driven off, she has to stop at the side of the road. Is she wavering? Or is it just so hard on her, generally?

 

Sun-mi and Choi Yoon-seok (aka Puppy)

We see that Sun-mi is having a hard time. I must admit, I don't care too much. If she were my friend, I would probably not be able to forgive her. At least not in a very long time. And if I seemingly did forgive, I would certainly never be able to forget... Jung-wan seems to have similar issues, because when Sun-mi comes to visit her at home, she is as frosty as can be. Good. Not frosty enough in my opinion is Oh Kyung-soo. Sun-mi, who is kinda forced to work with him and behave as if nothing has happened, semi-apologizes to him for being so shameless. But she has nothing but work now and to work she wants - hence the shamelessness. He? Says that overall, he is to blame for being so awesome. And he even understands her. 

Sun-mi's morning sickness starts (or in her case, it's all-day sickness) and she keeps throwing up whenever she smells something strong. That's no fun. She also keeps getting calls and texts from (friendly to rude) men that saw her profile on the internet and somebody prank-orders masses of pizza in her name. Now, I join Sun-mi in suspecting that Moon Eun-Joo is behind this, but apparently, that's too immature, even for her. No, it is in fact Hana! Who is jealous.

Earlier, she met Puppy at a cafe and caught him reminiscing over pictures of him and Sun-mi on his phone. When he goes to get her a latte, she quickly grabs his phone. But I guess she is right to ask whether he has any lingering feelings for her it's kinda obvious. Why else would you look at pictures of another woman on your phone? But instead of explaining he just leaves and that enrages the kiddo. Puppy gets her to promise to stop pestering Sun-mi, but this issue isn't over.  

Despite of what Puppy told Sun-mi in episode 14, he starts being nice to her again, getting her to eat (though she has to go throw up) etc. All of that even though he doesn't even know she is no longer "together" with Oh-boy! That he finds out only by chance, through Hana, who is totally "shocked" that Oh Kyung-soo is getting married. Puppy thinks he knows all about it ... but when he hears that the one he is getting married to is Jung-wan, something clicks in his head. He goes to confront Sun-mi about his new knowledge - and asks her flat out whether the kid she is carrying is his. He cannot imagine that Oh Kyung-soo would not take care of her if the baby was truly his, but Sun-mi lies, lies, and lies again. 

Oh Kyung-soo and Yoon Jung-wan

Oh Kyung-soo picks his "wifey" up from the mart ,just like that, the crisis is over and there are no more hard feelings! They're just so happy to be together, it's a joy to watch! Oh-boy hears in the car that Tae-geuk isn't at home  he went to his dad. And her mother is at the sauna with her friends - she'll be back tomorrow.

Later, she is at home alone but look who is coming for a visit! It's Oh-boy! After dropping her off, he went and bought sweet potatoes. For her son and mother. Who aren't here. He pretends to have forgotten, haha, seriously. That's the worst excuse . Alright, he says, then they just have to eat them themselves! Why not in her room? When she yawns shortly after, he offers to give her a massage ... in her room. But she keeps playing coy and a bit stupid. She claims she has to work a bit now. He is totally eager and wants "a meeting" .. in her room. Fine, she says, let's have a meeting ... but not in her room! She wants to get a pen (in her room), he wants to come help her find it

Finally annoyed by her constant lust-blocking, he wants to know how much longer he has to wait. She claims not to be ready yet. Fine, he says, he has his pride too he will leave now. And he does. She seems a little tiny bit disappointed. Ah, but of course he is back 30 seconds later. He grabs her and carries her to the room and throws her onto the bed. Yeah, he's always been a bulldozer. I don't know what this thing is in KDrama where forceful men are considered something good? Didn't she just say she wasn't ready? Well, she takes it with a dose of humor and giggles when he says "Be prepared, I haven't even started yet". I giggle too, because it really doesn't sound very sexy. 

When they hear the door. Uh-oh. It's her mother! It seems it's morning now. Rather frantic rubbing of clothes etc. ensues and it's quite comical.

Oh-boy hides in the friggin closet. Classic! Of course, Comma isn't fooled - she rips the doors open ... and asks what he is doing there. Afterwards, it's evil glaring time by future. This is very funny. Oh-boy wants to know (cheerfully) how she knew he was hiding in the closet? Because of his shoes in the foyer, she says. Oops: beginner's mistake. But rather than playing more of this "I caught you in my daughter's room and now you will be punished" game, Oh-boy comes right on out and says he wants to marry Jung-wan. Quickly. 

Jung-wan is quite shocked about that bomb and I don't think I can blame her too much. It is rather sudden. Outside in the parking lot, he tells her he will not be able to see her often when he starts filming soon - so he wants to at least see her sleep at night. She and Tae-geuk and her mother should move in with him. Her old issues are making her hesitant: she still feels inferior to and with him all the time - she wants to do something for him, too ... she wants to be his equal. She thinks it's too early for her, and he kinda says alright, but only kinda

But at least, Jung-wan thinks about the issue of marriage now, because at the company the next day, she tells him that she cannot think comfortably about marriage, because she has failed once before and because there's the kid. He takes her hand and tells her not to worry ... her "failure" is her strength. She tells him to let go of her hand, what if someone comes in? Nobody will come in, he says ... when Park PD does. They jump apart, guiltily and Park PD asks what they were doing? She denies everything, but Oh-boy blurts out that he likes her so much he held her hand: and that they will get married. Whomever they meet at the company he tells this.  

Oh-boy's Tae-geuk offensive starts: He cooks delicious Italian food with him and is just the sweetest person ever. Clearly, Tae-geuk likes him more and more ... who wouldn't. It's the Oh-force. Nobody can resist it.
Jung-wan's mother is quite happy about this new development. But ... she also calls the ex-husband. At first, I was terribly angry with her for shit-stirring again, but I think he tells him because a) she still likes him (that's alright) and therefore feels sorry for him that he is NOT Jung-wan's 2nd husband and b) she wants this to be good for her daughter. That's also why she asks him to give his blessing to the couple. And he actually does! Even though he still isn't over her, he congratulates her. But he also repeats what he said before: if Tae-geuk doesn't want to live with Oh, he will take him.




Jung- wan asks her son how he would feel about her and the Director. After a short pause, he says Director Oh is very nice and he likes his mom a lot - so he approves of the marriage. But ... when he was with his father the other day, he pittied his dad so all alone. She will have the Director soon to make her happy. If she marries Oh Kyung-soo, he, her son, will go live with his dad.

 

Comments

A wonderful episode, overall. Sun-mi is (a bit) punished for her horribleness, though not too much. Puppy is very suspicious about the baby, which is good. Ji-hyun seems to be taking her life into her own hands, without wanting to be dependent on another man. Good as well. I think Ahn needs to give her some space for the time being. Gyu-shik ... he is probably the most pitiful character right now, because he is indeed thoroughly cheated. But if he doesn't stop his abuse, he does no longer deserve his wife. Let her go.

As for Oh-boy ... I do like his determination, but he doesn't learn, does he? He is too pushy. Sometimes, a little pushiness is needed to get what you want, but if you do NOT listen to anyone and just bulldoze ahead, you risk killing tender plants and cute little animals. Do not push Jung-wan. She will come to you. Live with her, if you cannot be without her, but why getting married immediately? Yeah, yeah, propriety, but I am pretty sure you don't care about that much.

Can We Love Episode 15 : http://dramanice.com/can-we-love-korean-drama/watch-can-we-love-korean-drama-episode-15-online

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