I’m happy to say that after watching these next two episodes, I’m just as much in love with this drama as I was after watching the first two. There’s just something about this drama, the way it’s written and the way the characters are portrayed, that makes it all so very relate-able. It’s makes the whole viewing experience so much fun, which is probably why I’m so ridiculously hooked.
Watching Bok Joo sit down in front of Dr. Jung Jae Yi and immediately ask him if he liked Messi made me laugh and cry as my heart went out to this poor, innocent girl who’s experiencing her first real, grown-up crush. Bok Joo is such an adorably innocent soul, it’s obvious she has absolutely no idea what to do with herself or her developing feelings for Dr. Jung. Watching her swoon and sigh her way through these two episodes was so much fun but at the same time, it was also pretty painful.
My heart was torn in several different way, over the course of these next two episodes. Mostly because Bok Joo is beginning to believe that she has to pretend to be someone she’s not, if she’s ever going to get a guy to notice her. While it may not seem like wearing a hair clip is such a big deal, the fact that Bok Joo feels like she needs to alter her appearance, even if only a little bit, to get Jae Yi to notice her is actually quite sad. No girl should ever have to feel like she’s unworthy of someone’s attention, just because she isn’t pretty enough, or feminine enough, or whatever. I know that a part of Bok Joo believes she’s perfect, just the way she is, and there’s a part of her who wants to wear that bow in her hair simply because she likes it and it makes her feel pretty. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s an even bigger part of her that feels she’s inadequate as a woman, which is very sad, because it means she’s bought into the lies of those around her. Everywhere Bok Joo goes, someone is always reminding her that she doesn’t measure up to cultural beauty standards; the girls from the RG club are constantly teasing her, Jung Joon Hyung calls her “Fatty” (and yes, I want to slap him every time that word comes out of his mouth), society in general puts such stock in beauty and looks that there’s no way a girl of Bok Joo’s build could ever feel normal and “pretty.” All of this is so sad because Bok Joo is really an incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out.
Despite the entire world doing its best to make Bok Joo feel bad about herself, I do have to give props to the girl for standing up for herself. She’s confident enough in who she is to know she doesn’t have to take crap from anyone. Though there may be times when she lets her temper get the better of her, for the most part, Bok Joo does a pretty good job of putting people in their place whenever they step out of line. Of course there are times when Bok Joo’s temper wins out over reason and she ends up in ugly pub fights but honestly, those jerks had it coming so I’m not going to hold this moment of weakness against her. There really is only so much abuse a person can take and after all Bok Joo had been through, she’d reached her limit. While I can’t say getting into a public brawl is the best way to release all that pent-up frustration, it did help to open Joon Hyung’s eyes a little and help him see into Bok Joo’s world.
Of course ignoring Bok Joo and her friends as they fought the idiots at the bar doesn’t win Joon Hyung any points and neither does stepping in afterwards to beat the crap out of those guys. I’m sorry but playing the hero won’t cut it. Not after all the torture he’s put Bok Joo through. No, if Joon Hyung wants to get on both my and Bok Joo’s good side, he’s going to have to seriously mend his ways and stop being such an *ahem* jerk. I’m sure the writers of this drama are trying to portray Joon Hyung as the cocky brat with a hidden heart of gold, and to some extent I can buy that, but the way he treats Bok Joo is totally unacceptable. Being the old classmates that they are, Joon Hyung knows what life was like for Bok Joo as a child. He knows she was picked on all of the time, he knows that she hates being called “fatty” and he also knows first-hand what it’s like to be constantly picked on because he too was bullied as a child. With all of that knowledge to build on, Joon Hyung should know better than to torment a soul as sweet and innocent as Bok Joo.
In all honesty, I think that deep down, Joon Hyung knows that Bok Joo is actually the last person in the world who should ever be picked on. He knows that she’s a good person with a good heart. He knows that she suffers at the hands of those around her. He knows that she deserves better and he knows that when he really stops to reflect on his own actions, he’s been a rather terrible person. There have been moments already when Joon Hyung has been forced to recall his past actions with more than a little regret. There have been moments when he’s wished he could take back actions or words and there have been times when he’s wanted to apologize but as of yet, he’s been unable to bring himself to ask for forgiveness. While I’ve been highly disappointed in Joon Hyung up to this point, there have been brief moments when he’s shown he actually has a heart and those rare moments are enough to give me hope. I have no doubt that the more he hangs around Bok Joo, the more he’ll begin to change for the better. He just may have to suffer a few more head-butts along the way.
While I can see hope for Joon Hyung’s character as the story progresses, I’m afraid the exact opposite can be said for Song Shi Ho. I’m afraid that as the story progresses, her already awful character will degrade even further, making her the most deplorable person in this story. (Can you tell I don’t like her?) My problem with Shi Ho stems from the fact that the writers are trying to justify her awful character by giving her a difficult life. As if living through hardship was an automatic excuse for nastiness. I’m sorry but that’s just not how life goes. If you live long enough you’ll find that we all have struggles, we all have to endure hardships, we all have to deal with crap because that’s just how life is. But enduring that hardship doesn’t give anyone the right to become a selfish, evil witch who lives to make everyone else’s life as crappy as their own. I get that Shi Ho’s life hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbow ponies but neither has anyone else’s. Every character in this story has had to deal with some pretty awful stuff but that hasn’t turned them into selfish brats. Well, okay, Joon Hyung really is a cocky brat but even he has a heart tender enough to occasionally feel other people’s pain. Shi Ho can’t bother to see past the end of her own nose and you know she’s going to make everyone else’s life miserable as a result. Just that one awkward lunch room scene is enough to prove that. I’m afraid that both Joon Hyung and Bok Joo are going to suffer a lot because of Shi Ho’s selfishness and it’s not going to be fun to watch. Of course she’s sure to see the error of her ways before this drama ends but you know things are going to be pretty awful between now and then. *sigh*
As awful as Shi Ho might make things, there will always be a ray of sunshine around to make things better and his name is Jung Jae Yi. I can’t tell you how much I love the fact that Joon Hyung’s older brother is the one who makes Bok Joo’s heart flutter. I know that this is going to cause a lot of uncomfortable sibling rivalry in the future, but for now I’m just having fun watching Jae Yi smile every time he thinks of Bok Joo. He’s so cute, talking to his brother about his cello playing patient whom he could never fall for because of the scandal it would cause. *insert eye roll here* I’ll never understand why so many things are considered scandalous in Korea but whatever. It’s not like Jae Yi has any exceptionally strong feelings for Bok Joo at this point, she simply makes him smile. That seems pretty innocent to me. Of course that doesn’t mean that things will stay as innocent as the story progresses. I’m sure there’s a possibility that Bok Joo will start to creep her way into Jae Yi’s heart but honestly, I don’t think their relationship will ever progress beyond friendship. There’s too much in this story to tie Joon Hyung and Bok Joo together for Jae Yi to come between them. Besides, Jae Yi seems to be the type of brother who’s willing to back down once he realizes his little brother is interested in the same girl. That being said, that doesn’t mean there can’t be some healthy competition between the two, just to keep the story interesting… But honestly, I don’t see this brotherly love rival becoming a major thing. (Watch me be completely wrong about this! lol)
I do have to admit that it makes me very sad, watching Bok Joo scrape together enough money to enroll in Jae Yi’s weight loss clinic. I’m sad in part because Bok Joo knows she’s a perfectly healthy weight and in very good physical condition and therefore has absolutely no need to be at Jae Yi’s clinic and because Jae Yi, being the doctor that he is, knows that Bok Joo is in prime physical condition and yet he’s still encouraging her to lose weight. It’s actually very frustrating, watching this doctor encourage a young and impressionable girl to lose weight when every test available tells him that she’s perfectly healthy, just as she is. Again, it’s this whole idea that being stick-thin is what’s normal and beautiful when in reality, the girls who fit that ideal are causing themselves irreparable harm to be so. Just look at the girls in the RG club. They’re being forced to starve and over-work themselves on a daily basis and for what? To live up to unrealistic beauty standards placed on them by a society obsessed with being thin!?! I’m sorry but telling people they have to become anorexic to be beautiful is wrong. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and colors and to make someone feel ugly and/or less than human because they don’t measure up is completely unacceptable. But enough of my soap-box preaching.
Despite its flaws, I’m still very much enjoying this drama. Bok Joo is exactly the type of heroine I can get behind. She’s strong and smart and kind and so very human, I can’t help but love her and wish her all the best. I have to admit, I’m a little worried about how she’s going to handle her coach’s proposal. Entering into a different weight class is going to be hard on her, both emotionally and physically. She already struggles so much with her weight, it’s going to be hard for her to accept this proposal and yet it could work to her advantage, as far as competitions go. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what she decides to do and how her decision will affect her relationship with both Jae Yi and Joon Hyung. You know eventually she’s going to have to tell Jae Yi the truth and you also know that Joon Hyung is going to eventually have to acknowledge her skill as an athlete. Both of these moments could have a direct correlation to Bok Joo’s decision here which means there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming episodes. But enough of my rambling. I’ve said far more than I thought I would so I’m going to shut up now and give you a chance to say what you will about these next two episodes. You know I always love hearing from you so be sure to leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, etc. in the comments below!
You can catch up on all of my Weightlifting Fairy Bok Joo reviews here: