Like Flowers in Sand: Episodes 3-4
by missvictrix
The second week of our drama retains rolling with its lovely tone and storytelling strengths — there are such a lot of strengths right here, however the one which stands out to me is the interaction between subtlety and divulges, and between humor and pathos. I really like this drama.
EPISODES 3-4
When final we left Baek-du all shocked that Yoo-kyung seems to be married. Fortunate for us, we be taught fairly shortly that Yoo-kyung and her “husband” MIN HYUN-WOOK (Yoon Jong-seok) are solely performing married. They lock elbows once they depart the health club, and it’s fairly hilarious and unconvincing.
Certain sufficient, at house Hyun-wook switches from “yeobo” to “sunbae” when he addresses Yoo-kyung, signaling a extra skilled relationship the place she’s received seniority. Between that and talks of this “investigation” they’re there for, it’s tremendous enjoyable and likewise delightfully pure once we be taught that they’re each cops, there undercover to research the reservoir homicide.
I really like Yoo-kyung for lots of causes, however her scrappiness is certainly up there on the checklist, and there’s one thing about her that makes her convincing as a cop or a wrestling professional or the rest they may provide you with. She and Baek-du are sometimes in these hilarious interactions the place she’s nonetheless rejecting her identification as Doo-shik whereas concurrently performing precisely like her and never even making an attempt to cover it. They act completely aware of one another — but in addition preserve interjecting requisite politeness into their conversations to maintain up the ruse neither of them consider.
Yoo-kyung ropes Baek-du into practising with cute fellow wrestler KIM BEOM-SU (Kim Kim-seok) since he’s heading right into a match with their coach abruptly MIA. It’s a two-fold plan as a result of whereas Beom-su wants the coaching, and Baek-du wants to stick with ssireum, Yoo-kyung additionally wants the information that Beom-su (and the workforce at giant) is protecting from her. She’s been slowly piecing collectively what may be happening with COACH YEON (Heo Dong-won) — or fairly, what had been happening with him, since he simply dedicated suicide underneath some unusual circumstances.
Right here we circle again to the opening championship match, once we have been principally too busy specializing in Baek-du’s closing struggle to fret about the truth that he noticed his coach arguing with somebody close by. Now, that argument is coming into the foreground, and Yoo-kyung and Hyun-wook try to attach it to CHOI CHIL-SUNG, the match-rigger and conman whose dying remains to be underneath wraps — and underneath investigation.
Within the midst of all this, Yoo-kyung remains to be reeling over Baek-du’s “retirement,” and she or he’s received a intelligent ploy at hand to deliver him again because the workforce’s new coach. In an important scene between the 2 (properly, they’re all nice tbh), Yoo-kyung confronts him over desirous to retire saying: “You may be capable to idiot others, however not me. As a result of I’m Doo-shik.” Lastly! It’s a splendidly satisfying second, nevertheless it actually doesn’t change something between them, since they’ve been working on muscle reminiscence since they re-met.
However the scene additionally serves to spotlight our hero and his completely harmless coronary heart. When Yoo-kyung tells him that the workforce wants him and she or he wants him, he simply stands there dumbfounded. Then he manages to say, “Perhaps you shouldn’t say stuff like that to me now that you simply’re married.” Aww, he’s completely studying into her ~want~ and it’s so treasured I kinda wish to cry. However not Yoo-kyung. She slaps him they usually’re each flustered after this.
As a result of Baek-du is Baek-du, he’s deeply conflicted over the teaching job provide — principally as a result of it was first supplied to ex-friend/rival Jin-su, who already swung into city able to go. Baek-du feels dangerous for Jin-su since Yoo-kyung (as workforce supervisor) is rejecting him in favor and Baek-du, and it’s right here that Baek-du’s hyungs legit steal the present for a minute. OMG they’re hilarious! Oldest bro KIM GEUN-GANG (Yang Ki-won) and live-streaming center bro KIM HAN-RA (Lee Yoo-joon) are all “take a look at you nervous a few four-time champion” and “his automotive prices greater than your wage” and “you’re undoubtedly going to heaven for being so good.” LOL!
We already knew the city took their ssireum very significantly, and now Baek-du versus Jin-su as coach has develop into a legit turf warfare. The 2 standoff (unintentionally) on the town with their respective supporting members behind them. Their bestie-moms are presently giving one another the silent therapy. The ajusshis are divided. Baek-du seems like he’s about to give up, however when he turns round and sees Yoo-kyung behind him, he locks eyes together with her, and one thing inside him stirs. He agrees to the proposed match between him and Jin-su to determine who will get the coach place.
We waste no time getting proper to the match, and this scene is gold. It’s the right instance of how this drama mixes a lot pathos into its plot (the ache in my coronary heart for Baek-du’s self-concept and success!) with these pockets of humor (the quips of the hyungs!). The match is off to a rollicking begin, and although Baek-du loses the primary spherical, he wins the second, and it’s clear he’s introduced one thing to the ring your complete city hasn’t seen from him in years. His bro even feedback, “Why are you exhibiting your expertise now at unofficial match?!” Yoo-kyung is off within the stands making an attempt to maintain it cool, however we all know that her presence is what’s making the distinction. GAH!
Simply when the third spherical is about to start, the police are available with a request to take Baek-du in. It’s alarming, it jars the circulation of the scene completely, and once more, only a nice second for Baek-du’s characterization: he seems down at himself in his shorts and satba and asks if he has to go like this to the station.
On the precinct, it’s just a little scary. Baek-du was caught on the CCTV, and once more now we have a callback to a minor second in our first episode that didn’t actually stick out. However now, we return and it’s a matter of maximum significance. What was Baek-du doing having a scuffle on the street in the midst of the night time with Choi? No, claiming to lose all reminiscences when he’s drunk gained’t work as an excuse (despite the fact that the drama has established for us fairly naturally that it’s true).
It’s right here that Mi-ran saves the day with a witness assertion. Once more, it’s a extremely well-woven second as a result of we already know she’d heard him raving drunk that night time shouting “Doo-shik!” and her assertion is ready to deliver sufficient information to the desk. Baek-du then makes his confession: he stole the $40 the person had left as change, and he was making an attempt to provide it again to him that night time. Baek-du is so utterly distraught, completely satisfied that pocketing $40 was his crime. He insists he tried to provide it again to the ajumma however she’s by no means on the retailer (haha!). The police let him go, cleared of any costs. And for just a little plot arc that in one other drama would/might have ended with him being wrongfully charged, or his life ruined in a roundabout way, this twist was one of the vital pleasant issues the drama has finished but. *Kudos*
Whereas he’s on the station, although, he sees CHU MI-SOOK (Website positioning Jung-yeon, all the time a pleasure!). She’s beforehand been seen squabbling with Yoo-kyung and Hyun-wook, so Yoo-kyung lied that she was her mother-in-law. On the time, Baek-du was upset that her husband didn’t defend her in opposition to her pugilistic mother-in-law (aww, he’s so pure), however when he sees her within the station, one thing clicks. Once they have been youngsters, Yoo-kyung/Doo-shik was obsessive about a criminal offense present on the time, and the exact same Mi-sook was her childhood hero…
After Baek-du is collected from the police station by (silent) dad, live-streaming Han-ra, and tofu-bearing Geun-gang (I simply can’t with these three!), he truly goes off to confront Yoo-kyung. He drags her all the way in which to the jetty the place they used to speak, after which asks her fairly abruptly: “Are you a cop?” WHAT A MOMENT!
Intercut with this scene is Hyun-wook saying how he’s received a sense Baek-du and Yoo-kyung knew one another up to now. He says that individuals like Baek-du may look easy from the surface, however they’re deeply intuitive. This was such a satisfying second for me as a result of we’ve simply spent 4 episodes with Baek-du seeing that precise instinct at play. He knew she was Doo-shik. He knew she was a cop. And for his third second of intuitive glory he says: “You’re not married in spite of everything, are you.”
This writing! Between the fantastic characters and the eye to element on this drama (sparring mothers laughing over Baek-du, the videotape hidden underneath the mattress, the hyungs typically), I don’t assume there’s a factor it should do this I gained’t take pleasure in. First they quieted my preliminary fear that Yoo-kyung was a sufferer/perpetrator within the Choi case, they usually’ve set the precedent for a way they’ll take care of high-stakes melo moments once we watched Baek-du go from prime suspect to neighborhood bro in underneath 5 minutes. I’m unsure the place we’re headed from right here, however I’ll observe uri Baek-du anyplace.
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