Recap:

Episode 1 left off with Hye Mi on the floor, begging for admittance to Kirin Art School. Ha Myoung refuses and Hye Mi is wary of the consequences. Luckily however, with aid from Jin Gook she is able to flee the school while the loan sharks aren’t paying attention. However, this is only temporary for after they realize, well into the night, that even though Hye Mi has not returned, the auditions are long over. They find her and force her to become the lead loan shark’s personal songstress. However, in the midst of this, Oh Hyeok comes to her rescue, declaring that she has been recruited by Kirin Arts School. Oh Hyeok then brings Hye Mi and her sister Hye Sun to his house at which a hilarious scene with his violently furious sister (Thanks for clarification, “blah”) ensues. It is here that Hye Mi overhears Ha Myoung‘s test for Oh Hyeok: He must find three students he has recruited for Kirin Art School, one of them being Hye Mi. Hye Mi then takes it upon herself to find one student: Song Sam-Dong (Kim Soo-Hyun).

Sam Dong is a country boy with an interest in music and singing that he hides from his mother. A local celebrity, he enters a national singing competition where he meets Hye Mi and is immediately enchanted by her and even brings her onto the stage of his singing competition.

Baek Hee after facing a huge reality check, diligently thanks the judges at the audition and vows to work hard. Returning to her residence, she throws old clothes and photos away and even cuts her hair. At her first dance class, we see a different Baek Hee with short hair, contacts, and a comfortable style.

At the audition, after his friend is stuck in the bathroom, Jin Gook reluctantly agrees to cause a distraction by flouncing around like a maniac. He is escorted out of the building just as his friend exists the bathroom and succeeds the audition process. Before being thrown out however, Ha Myoung asks Jin Gook to dance, to which Jin Gook becomes startled. But as he leaves the complex, he catches Jason dancing and is amazed. He helps Hye Mi escape only to later find her and Hye Sun in his break dancing lair. He sees some bottles of yogurt which triggers a flashback to his younger days, when he and a younger Hye Mi met for the first time and fought over a package of yogurt. He leaves to buy some groceries but when he returns, he discovers that Hye Mi has been taken away by the loan sharks and rushes after to save her. However, having already been saved by Oh Hyeok, he only succeeds in being violently thrashed by the loan sharks. When Oh Hyeok ventures to the break dancing lair to recruit Jin Gook, he finds him bleeding from his wounds.

Ha Myoung is making some changes to Kirin Art School. First, he allows Kim Pil-Suk (Lee Ji-Eun) to pass the audition, regardless of the criticism she receives for her unattractive appearance. Then, he decides to give Oh Hyeok another chance by finding three recruits: Hye Mi, Sam Dong, and Jin Gook. He also recruits a new English teacher (Park Jin-Young). His actions begin incurring the wrath of Si Bum-Soo (Lee Byung-Joon), the principal of the school who is convinced he is going to ruin Kirin Art School.

Review:

Things I Liked:

  • There are quite a few gems amongst the secondary characters here and since they do not receive much screen time in the drama, I’m going to mention them here. Oh Hyeok’s sister is hilarious. Her angry tirade was not only priceless, but actually put some fear in Hye Mi’s eyes. Also, Hye Sun. This girl needs her own drama. Not only is she young and adorable, but she is also the voice of reason and when you have to deal with Hye Mi’s constant stubborn stupidity, I find her little sister quite precocious but wonderfully so. Park Jin-Young, I found surprising. There are some people out there, including myself, who wishes he would go away and stop being a shameless self-plugger but he’s actually a pretty good actor. Not to mention that the scene where he shook Ha Myoung’s hand with the same hand he used to scratch his butt, was quite hilarious. Last, but certainly not least, though he is a main player in this drama, he got like 5 minutes of screen time so I’m going to mention him. Sam Dong is going to be my favorite character; I can tell already. I like his look. But when I say that, I’m not necessarily talking about how attractive he is but I like the look in his eye. There’s just something about it. And though there is not a whole lot to know about his character as of yet, he seems like a country bumpkin with plenty of surprises up his sleeve. I can’t wait to see more of him!
  • I know in my last R&R, I gave Hye Mi a lot of smack and you know what? I still don’t like her. BUT, I liked it when Ha Myoung refused her admission. I thought he was going to give in and one point, but he didin’t. But that moment, I think, is the beginning of a very rough road for Hye Mi where she learns the difference between being proud and strong and being stubborn and ultimately, your own undoing.
  • I’m still liking the whole fate concept. It’s very subtle and could be developed a bit more, but I enjoy the topic.
  • I don’t know what it is about this episode, but I find myself genuinely curious to discover the answers to some questions I have. What Bum Soo‘s deal? What’s the story with Jin Gook‘s parents? How will Baek Hee’s transformation continue?

Things I Didn’t Like:

  • Suzy’s still kind of bad at acting. Still crossing my fingers for her though and hoping she grows!
  • Some of the characters and some of the scenes lack common sense. If Jin Gook has to create a distraction, was running around the audition space like the road runner really the way to do it? Is Hye Mi supposed to remember the yogurt incident? Because it’s beyond me why Jin Gook does remember. Also, why is Jason dancing in the middle of nowhere? And why is it that when he catches Jin Gook, Jin Gook just walks away and Jason walks away as well? It was funny, but it was so only because that’s how AWKWARD it was.
  • The production is better on this episode, but still, a little sloppy. For example, I thought Baek Hee’s transformation scene was poorly done. I felt like it should have been a pretty dramatic moment. But it fell flat. And then when we saw her again, instead of emphasizing the change, more flatness. Shaking my head, Lee Eung-Bok, shaking my head.

Final Verdict: Better than the last one because part of me is actually looking forward to the next episode.