ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo Episodes 7-8

In my last review, I wondered just how long Bok Joo was going to be able to keep her trips to the weight-loss clinic a secret. It would seem that in these next two episodes, that questions got answered and boy, do things get ugly!

I guess I should have known Shi Ho’s insane jealously would eventually drive her to do something awful but I was really trying to give her the chance to prove me wrong. I guess I should have just assumed the worst and saved myself the trouble of thinking about Shi Ho at all. At the same time, it was pretty hard to ignore Shi Ho in these next two episodes, and not just because she proved herself to be a jealous rage monster who’s completely out of control. I guess it was inevitable, really, being forced to dive into Shi Ho’s world for a bit and as much as I don’t like her, I have to admit that her life is no picnic. Living with the guilt that comes from knowing your success has come at the expense of your entire family’s well-being has to be incredibly difficult.  Of course her parents’ decision to support Shi Ho to the point of bankruptcy and divorce is their decision alone, but that doesn’t change the way Shi Ho feels. Of course she’s going to feel responsible for the state of her family because she knows that her devotion to her sport does play some part in the way things have turned out. To make matters worse, she’s not really in a position where she can walk away from it all because it would ultimately mean her family suffered all these years for nothing. Being stuck in such a difficult place, it makes sense for Shi Ho’s performance at school and her health to drop but even then, none of this gives her the right to become an awful person and it certainly doesn’t give her the right to lash out at Bok Joo the way she did!

Bok Joo suffered a whole lot more than a little humiliation when her weight-loss diary was found and Shi Ho had to know that would happen. To know Shi Ho did such a cruel thing, simply out of jealousy, makes it impossible for me to support her. I don’t care how sad and difficult her life is, the fact that she’s willing to take all of her personal rage and frustration out on innocent bystanders means she’s not worth my time. Sure, there may be a chance for her to find redemption before the end and I really hope that if there is, she finds it, but I certainly feel no inclination to cheer for her along the way. I’d much rather direct my attention towards those characters who actually know how to be decent human beings. Namely Bok Joo, Joon Hyung and their trio of adorable friends.

I really love the way these friends are coming into play within the context of the story. Not only do they provide our main characters with the constant support that’s needed in such a demanding school environment but they also provide us, as viewers, with a lot of lighthearted comic relief. Joon Hyung’s friend, Jo Tae Kwon, has been all sorts of hilarious up to this point and I’m glad that he’s finally starting to become a part of the circle of friends surrounding Bok Joo. Especially now that Joon Hyung is starting to exhibt more obvious signs of liking Bok Joo. If any sort of healthy relationship is going to develop between Joon Hyung and Bok Joo, their friends are going to have a be a part of it somewhere. No, that doesn’t mean I expect them to all be together as a big group all the time. I just think it’s important that Tae Kwon, Nan Hee and Sun Ok all support their relationship. After all, we’ve already seen what keeping secrets among friends can do and we certainly don’t need any of that nonsense in the future! If our adorable trio of friends can start to become friends as our OTP starts to develop feelings for each other, it’ll make the entire story progress a whole lot smoother and be a lot more fun to watch. After all, what would be more entertaining than watching Tae Kwon fall for either Sun Ok or Nan Hee as Joon Hyung falls for Bok Joo? Oh gosh! Just thinking about it makes me giddy!

But before we can even begin to entertain a thought like that, we first have to get Bok Joo to a place where she can actually consider falling in love again. At the moment things are still too complicated for her and really, as much as she says she’s over Jae Yi, we all know she’s not. Still being in love with the doctor means she’s not going to be falling for Joon Hyung anytime soon. Dang it! I know I shouldn’t wish for Bok Joo’s feeling to change so quickly (because that would make her a terribly shallow person and totally ruin her image as an adorably innocent leading lady) but I really do wish she’d start to realize her own feelings for Joon Hyung. I mean you don’t confide that heavily in a guy unless you trust him to be around for a very long time. I know that Bok Joo, being the innocent sweetheart that she is, doesn’t really understand this yet but I have a feeling she will eventually. It’s just going to take some time. I’m sure that once she realizes Joon Hyung has become the person she’s come to rely upon the most, she’ll be quick to return his growing feelings. But I’m getting way ahead of myself here. Before Bok Joo can fall for the younger brother, she first has to get over the older brother and that’s gonna suck. A lot.

As much as I hate the way Bok Joo’s secret was exposed, in the long-run, it was probably good that all of this came out now. Life would have become infinitely harder for Bok Joo, had she continued going to the clinic while simultaneously working towards increasing her weight class. The stress she would have had to live under, combined with the increasing guilt she felt for constantly lying to Jae Yi, would have eventually caused her to crack and who knows how awful that would have been. As painful as it was to have things come out this way, at least everything is out in the open now and Bok Joo can start to make her way out of that noxious cloud of lies and guilt. Of course first she has to suffer some pretty painful consequences from her actions but she does so with as much grace as anyone could in her situation and I applaud her for that. It’s not easy to own up to your mistakes and even harder to own up to your feelings of unrequited love but Bok Joo manages to do both. Now that she’s been able to unload all of these pent-up thoughts and feelings onto her friends, and even her coach, she can start the process of healing. Sure, it’s going to take some time but I have every confidence in Bok Joo’s ability to learn, heal and move on.

While we wait for Bok Joo to recover from this most recent and rather serious blow, we get to enjoy an increasing number of adorable Joon Hyung being adorable moments. *siiiiggghhhh* There’s nothing I love more than watching a smart-mouthed punk slowly come to realize that all of annoying teasing is really a sign of growing affection and that’s exactly what Joon Hyung is doing. The constant worrying about her… The not-so-subtle invitation to the movies… The trip to the club… The long conversations at their special spot overlooking the city… The cherishing that funny paper toad… That moment, in the bunk bed on the roof… *squeeeeee* Every moment, of every day, Joon Hyung is falling harder for Bok Joo and the best part about it is, that when this relationship actually becomes something more, it’ll be a strong, healthy, wonderful thing because it’s been built on a solid foundation of friendship which means this relationship is gonna last for a long, long time. *does happy dance of joy*

I suppose before I let my squealy fangirly side run wild, I should wrap this up. Needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to the next two episodes as I have a feeling they’ll have no shortage of adorable Joon Hyung/Bok Joo moments. At least I’m hoping that’s what they’ll bring. I’m also hoping they’ll bring closure to Bok Joo as she gets over her unrequited love. She really doesn’t need to be clinging onto feelings for a man who’s obviously got enough woman troubles of his own, especially not when she’s in the middle of her own rigorous training. But enough of my rambling. It’s time for me to ask you what you thought of these next two episodes. Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

You can catch up on all of my Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo reviews here:

Episodes 1-2

Episodes 3-4

Episodes 5-6