My gosh that dancing scene was so so beautiful. The way it was shot, (the different angels showing Dan and the director), the music (the OSTs for this drama are pure love) and the acting (SHS is an absolute genius). I watched it like 10 times on repeat.

Thanks @sailorjumun i have the same assessment for L, sadly. He was brilliant as the comedic relief in the earlier eps, and he broke my heart at the scene where he watched yeon so dance from afar in the cabin, but i felt like he wasn't the best in these last two eps. SHS honestly outshines all her costars. Im hoping L will get better.

I really liked the Giselle scene also. As a non-dancer, I can't tell if Shin Hyesun is dancing well or not, but it looks dang good to me. Also, does someone know, in ballet, can you just make up your own choreography like these dancers are doing? I thought there was a set choreography for each ballet.

I agree with you about L. He's actually one of my favorites, but when he does his characteristic flailing in a serious scene, it distracts me (for comic scenes, it's fine). When he can keep his body quiet, I think he's quite good.

I felt the same about L.. L'c character kinda reminded me of Son oh gong played by lee seung gi.. and ive seen how a mischievous character can be serious and heartbroken in the right actors hand ... sadly.. while i love his scenes particularly when the grandma died.. he is not up to THAT level.. the whole scene with him rejecting LYS just lacked.. that something.. still lets see what happens..
I think the preview dialogue " what do u mean he died" is about the young kim dan and not angel kim dan..
This episode was just heartbreaking an i am just HATING the director.. seriously does he think he owns her just cuz she looks like his dead lover? the way he is being too frank with her like he knows her..its so frustrating ugh..
KD is being a noble idiot.. and just to realize that KD has completely accepted that he will die and he ran away from her cuz she will sad when he does.. such a contrast from the earlier episodes when he just wanted to live
I think there is more to his mission.. cuz angel Ho was pretty shaken when he realized that Director is different from humans.. there is something else going on here and im just dyiiing of curiosity..
Just CANNOT wait for the next episode

Angel's stuff is kind of confusing for me. Hoo couldn't recognize an angel in human body at the first sight? He has a lot of power like go back in time several times in a row, take the body he wants to, etc. So how did he know for Noel? And where Noel took his body? Kang Woo and Kim Dan's bodies were given for their mission : muse for human and cupidon but for Noel he didn't need a human body to guide the old woman to Heaven.

I miss so much their bickering, it was the best part.

i know childhood tropes is sooo overused, but i really think it works for this drama! it reminds me a lot of 49 days and our grim reaper and his past life haha.

i still cant believe we're only half way in the drama? a little part of me is worried the 2nd half is going to be draggy as hell lol

I'm glad someone finally brought up L's "acting." I started this drama but dropped it part way through because I really did not want to watch another drama where L overacted so many scenes. I hated it in the historical drama he was in and did not want to see it again. Maybe if he were an actor on the stage where it was okay to dramatically throw yourself into a scene it might be okay. But with television, people don't need or want to see that. It is much better to have the actor come across as natural and authentic in how they behave and how they move and perceive others. Their body language and facial expressions should fall within the limits of what we are expecting from people in that situation. But when I see L exaggerating his movement or his expression, it just feels embarrassing and makes me wish that Korea would stop using ordinary young people as actors. Young people that they have tried to turn into money making idols by teaching them to sing and dance and trying to teach them to become actors when they just aren't. Just because there is a large fan base for a person doesn't mean the talent to act is there. Singing and dancing in a group is one thing, but being a talented actor is something else entirely.

I really loved the opening scene where they took photos growing old together. It was sweet and sad and a little unreal, which is why she had to wake up before the kiss.

I cheered for YS when she cut Dan off during his rant in the park -- not only did she see right through him, but she also understood that it was time for him to see how it felt to be left behind. Dan has always come to this relationship from a point of superiority, and he has to come down to a human level if he wants to go one being with YS.

I thought the dance was amazing not just for the reasons that @sailorjumun mentioned, but also because KW for sure was seeing her as Seol-hee and struggling mightily to keep his composure. He saw her as someone else, and she saw him as someone else. This is a dead end for you, KW.

Last, it was moving to see Dan recover his sad memories and recover his gift from YS. The fact that it was still in that jar suggests two things: Dan died right after hiding it, and his abusive father died too.

The only big disconnect for me was Dan racing down to the dock after finding the box. It felt like he was running for his life or running to save someone -- what was that about? Show, why can't Dan take a thoughtful walk now and then? Even an impulsive young angel doesn't have to rush everywhere all the time.

I really wonder how he is going to explain that drawing. Is he going to admit to being that boy? Is he going to admit to having died?

I didn't think I could stomach another childhood connection story, but since this one has me intrigued I will give it a pass (just this once though, lol!)

This was a tear jerking episode. Hopefully we will get a little relief from the sorrow next week.

I still can't believe that heaven punishes like it has been shown. There has to be something we are missing or that they are purposefully not sharing with the audience.

Great review!! So far, I like where the drama is going. The soundtrack is also awesome, btw. It's going to be interesting to see if the writers will follow a similar ending as the original Giselle story. Now that we know a little more about Dan, I am curious about Angel Hoo and if he had any past human experience, particularly with Kim Dan. Like, who was Dan's abusive father? Hummmmmm....

Thanks for the recap! I too am glad the aunt finally has a nuance—‘not a serial killer’ isn’t much of one, but ‘corporate shark freaked out by actual shark daughter’ is the most interesting we have got.

Love that Yeon Seo was waiting for Dan! ‘My beautiful timorous flower,’ she thought. ‘He is intimidated by the difference in our social status. HE PINES FROM AFAR. This is great news. I must trust him to overcome that so I may proceed to gift him with my hand in marriage and much luxury.’

L’s old white wig is like the sparkly gun of the angels, best forgotten!

I like that the angels find love with the elderly too sometimes! Noel got a year... it’s not nothing but it ain’t much. But I guess Dan wouldn’t even get a year with Hu right there giving him the beady eye.

Yeon Seo’s pining face when she danced for Dan! JW, finally doing the right thing pushing her away. Shin Hye Sun is SO GOOD. L I like—the only scene that stood out to me as awkward was the scene he had attacking that tree. But SHS I LOVE. She likes him sooo much and I can’t wait to see her huffily deny it.

I'm just ignoring the Angel stuff for now. As SHS, she is a masterclass in acting and she is carrying this drama. Although, her dance wasn't particularly good the way she used her body and face to emote was exceptional. As for L, I will echo everyone else, he just was not up to par, unfortunately SHS makes it more glaring how amateur he is. That being said although I still roll my eyes at the childhood connection, in this drama it makes sense to use it as a loophole.

I find it interesting how some people on this site seem to hate Myungsoo’s acting while Korean netizens are praising his acting. Is he at the level of Shin Hyesun? No. Is he a terrible actor? I really don’t think so. I think he’s been doing a really good job with this role. I personally love him as Dan so much. People have different opinions though. I’m just glad the majority seem to be admiring and praising his acting, especially the Korean public.

Anyways, Dan is really breaking my heart. I knew he was being abused but I hate that I was right. I’m nervous about how learning about his life as a human is going to change him in upcoming episodes... ;-;

Ok, first off, that dancing scene was fantastic. I loved the way it was used to engage all the main characters emotions. So far I really appreciate the way dance is used in this show.

I usually hate childhood connection stories, but I'm not minding it here. I think because it's not an afterthought or used just to cement the fact that the OTP is "destined." Here, it's clearly playing into the greater picture and is weaved into the story nicely. Now that Dan is aware of his past, I'm curious how that will affect his view of both himself and his faith.

As for L's acting...it's nothing stellar, but I'm not bothered by it for the most part. Even though he comes off as still green, I do think he fits this role well enough that I can overlook it. The only time I couldn't was when he tried to act angry or cold, like @sailorjumun mentioned, but that goes against Dan's nature anyway, so I can tell myself it's that Dan's acting is bad 😉.

Lastly, I kinda love that Evil Aunt is scared of Evil Cousin. Karma.

The dancing scene was incredible (can't say enough about how amazing Shin Hye Sun is and that whole scene played out so beautifully), and I love how Yeon Seo totally shut down Kang Woo's complaining when she didn't go with the vengeful Giselle portrayal he wanted. I'm not familiar with the ballet, but sadness and forgiveness aren't weaknesses and the way she empathized with the character was more powerful than anything he had in mind.

I really love the development of the childhood backstory too. Most dramas just tack that kind of thing on as an afterthought, but here it's actually meaningful. I'm glad Dan figured things out so quickly too.

One thing that made me bust out laughing though is that scene with Choi and her husband. His somewhat pearl-clutching shock that his wife wasn't a monster who would murder her niece and Mr. Jo was silly and like, he just kind of goes about his day accepting that like it's a minor flaw.

Is it possible that Hoo Sunbae is actually Dan’s father in the past life? We didn’t see Dan’s father face... and the ajumma told Dan that the father and son suddenly disappeared one day....

Question about Hu and KW scenes at the church. Why does Hu doesn't seem to realize that KW is not exactly a human being? Not sure what kind of being he is since it hasn't been revealed that part but seriously Hu? I thought he at least better than Dan since he is his superior.
So, I guess my theory about Hu actually the one who called all the shot aka the god himself can be thrown out the window~

I dont think KW can even muster an ounce of facade about his motive which is..not interesting... The way he acted, I feel like he'll snap even before he can achieve whether he wanted to do. I'm still not clear about that too tbh.

Luna suddenly becomes somewhat interesting but what exactly is her motivation? And can the villain duo coordinate with each other though?

So I’m not the only one who notices that we are moving on from real life imitating “Swan Lake”, to now, real life imitating “Giselle”, right?? 😅😅
I’m glad that DN is able to begin to find out about his past life, despite the childhood friends/lovers trope, and I’m excited to go deeper into finding out about how Dan’s past life, Yeon Seo’s childhood, the rain, and rainbows have an impact on Dan now as an angel.
Speaking of, I still feel that the most weak, cringe worthy—but mostly— the most off putting aspect of this show is, in fact, Hoo and the whole deity/God-but-not-really aspect..... Maybe it’s the writing, maybe it’s all the holes, maybe it’s the portrayal of it all, or maybe it’s just might be me being too sensitive being that I am a Christian, but this is actually the part of the show that just doesn’t have me invested 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I hate to admit it but yeah. You're quite right about Myungsoo's acting here.. Idk why but in Miss Hammurabi he was amazing in heavy emotional scenes with Go Ara, even when showing anger and pain. Here.. I noticed it right away in the first episode. I don't know but he was over acting at times in funny scenes. He reminds me of Lee Jun Ki in his earlier roles like in Iljimae. Lol.
Nonetheless, I'm still going to be here for this drama. I knew that Giselle performance was going to blow their (dancers) minds away. She remained true to her words "I'll make you love me" lol. Slay girl, slay.

It pains me so much to know that Dan did indeed suffer from abuse as a child... 😭 did he die as a child though? If so, I wonder why he’s not a child now. He had wished to be a grownup so that he could protect Yeonseo. Maybe the deity changed him into an adult because of that? As for childhood connections in Dramas, I’m someone who doesn’t mind it at all even though I know it’s been overdone. I’m really enjoying it in this Drama because it has genuine importance to the plot and stuff. It’s not only for the romance between Dan and Yeonseo. There’s more meaning to it. Again, I don’t mind if it’s just for the romance of a story either though lol I’m such a sucker for romance. Absolutely loving Hyesun and Myungsoo’s portrayals of their characters as well. Obviously Hyesun is a fantastic actress but I do also think Myungsoo is doing a great job. His facial expressions and mannerisms and just the look in his eyes whenever he has to act out an emotional scene really tugs at my heartstrings. I know his acting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea on here but he’s definitely my cup of tea and has managed to make me tear up a couple times already in this Drama due to his performance. He keeps getting better and better with every Drama that he stars in in my opinion and I’m very proud of him.

Thanks @sailorjumun
My thoughts on the rain, rainbows and names - re-posting my comments from another blog.

I’ve a theory that the rain is connected to significant times, to times of negative emotions or memories, including KW’s anger, negative vibes or whatever, and also in conjunction with Yeon Seo. In at least 2 instances, the 3 of them were near each other, or 2 of them were at loggerheads about Yeon Seo.

The first rain we saw when Dan was not yet assigned to YS was a rain that did not seem to wet both YS and Dan who sat on the same bench. Perhaps it was the advantage of being tuned towards heaven, and being more angel-like that kept Dan dry, and YS enjoyed that same privilege by being near him, but once he was given his assignment and made to become more human, he kept getting drenched.

As he becomes more human, the rain starts to bother him more, and from his memory, rainy days were when he was terrorized as a child. He said he never got out after the rain (maybe because he was so badly bruised!?) and so never got to see a rainbow, until that time YS danced for him on the beach.

The rainbow, as many probably know, has a lot of significance in the Bible. Not only is it beautiful, but it stands for the making of a covenant, (a promise that’s more than just a promise), the sign of a very close relationship.

On one level it is a sign of joy and clear skies again, but on a deeper level, it is a sign of the bond between YS and Dan.

When they were children, YS knew Dan by his real name, Yoo Seong Woo. It was a name that he no longer knew or remembered as an angel. He was given a new name, as he was called to a new role (also a Biblical thing). Now that he’s been allowed to remember and find his real name, I’m thinking the way is being opened for him to return to his human life. The advice given by the angel Noel seems to be giving him the way to go.

So back in childhood, the children knew each other by their real names and had a real bond, and the sky was clear and beautiful. By contrast, when matters are not clear or good between them, or with Kang Woo, the rain often pops up, or down, rather! This episode's last instance was when returned to his old home of frightening memories.

And I note that the photo had both Dan and YS in it with the rainbow overhead. Which begs the question, who else was there present, who took the photo?

@sailorjumun

Dan finds Mi-ok outside in a field, trying to call her hubby on her voice-activated app (aww). When Dan approaches her, she asks him to lead her to that spot in the field.

Over this scene, I feel that an important thing to also mention is not that Mi Ok merely asked Dan, but that she pretended to see Dan as Noel/her dead husband and because he too is softhearted and kind like Noel, he played along with her ... in that way, she got him to bring her to the reed field. Noel had done this for a year, and see where that got him!

My thoughts on understudys and substitutes ...

I was thinking that instead of having a picky artist that upset the muse that KW was, KW is now the picky muse, insisting that Yeon Seo should be the dancer inspired by him to dance his version of Giselle.

Definitely we can see that he’s aiming to groom Giselle to be Seol Hee’s understudy, but I rather think that he will fail, because YS is not about to just listen and obey, or play along the way Noel and Dan did.

Substitute husband - The old lady clung to Angel Noel, insisting on treating him as if he were her husband for a whole year, but after he was dissolved into the air, she does the same thing to Dan, deliberately speaking to him as if he were her husband. She gets him to play along being husband’s substitute so that he brings her to where she wants to go. Once he has served her purpose, she switches back to her coherent, rational self, showing that she knew full well who Dan was and who Noel was as well.

In other words, she was never demented or confused. It’s terrible, this disease of ruthlessly lying and deceiving, of using others as a substitute, and focusing obsessively on the substitute to attain certain ends. Then, without remorse or apology that her deliberate deception caused untold harm to the substitute, (Noel) she continues on her selfish way.

A foreshadowing of what YS will be in for if she dances to KW’s tune.

Ni Na no longer wants to be YS’ understudy or shadow. It is better that she has initiated gaining greater competence and confidence in dance to beat YS, rather than just crying over her lack of confidence, but it’s also concerning that she has chosen Teacher Elena to be her guide. Elena’s methods from hearsay sounded pretty extreme. Practically drowning Ni Na in a tub of water to get her to experience what she was to dance, might not be the most healthy sort of training.

(Hmm side note: So not only was YS and Dan almost drowned at some time but Ni Na was too?)

Show has not made it clear what KW’s ultimate aim is. Does he want to become mortal and die, or act like god in creating his own Seol Hee to live with on earth or what? If the long dark tunnel he was in for 15 years was life on earth without Seol Hee, then by saying that he sees the exit in YS, it sounds like the latter goal may be his intent.

His ballet, Giselle, will take revenge on Albrecht instead of redeeming...

I also think that this role was tailor made just for L, cause I can't imagine anyone else acting this role. And yeah I have been also reading about netizen praising Myung Soo's acting so it comes as a surprise to see that at least the critical ones are favoring him this time lol.
I'm with you on this. I love his performance and to me all the scenes of him seemed convincing and integrated to the story, may be cause I'm too invested in the story to think otherwise. But anyhow I won't go that far to call him lacking or 'acting' his scenes , he's way better than that IMO. It's the opposite for me. I was pleasantly surprised by his performance in this show, from the start. ( And I love the leads L-shin hye sun together, way more than the pairing from her last drama, where I thought the chemistry was lacking). I just think some people does show their expression/sorrow in a reserved way and I thought he is one of them. I especially like him in the silent mute scenes so I have no complain at least lol. Although the drama is going through the heratbreak phases now, since I'm a sucker for these type of scenes, I'm enjoying it as it lasts. ;)

"The “Giselle” ballet was an interesting choice on Kang-woo’s (and the writer’s) part since our characters are pretty much acting it out in their real lives. "@sailorjumun

There's this director Carlos Saura and his Tango is a beautiful movie where there's the real life so entangled with that one on stage that when you know the meaning of the play or type of dance you can understand better the actual plot. He made the same with Ravel's opera Bolero and called it simply Carmen. I love these gems with beautiful music and it looks like that the writer might know this spanish director.

I don't mind the mythological and religious cocktail because there's only one main God at the end with different names. There's a huge difference between Old Testament and the New one, at least the new one doesn't call for bloody revenge and I will just enjoy it and see where writer's imagination can go.

SHS's acting is just sooo powerful. Like for all or any fallouts of this show simply goes under the rug because of SHS. You can truly feel the longing, the grief, the happiness and literally every emotion she feels. She nails every scene. Hope she gets recognized for the work she's putting in. AND THAT DANCE.

Luna was and is really creepy as hell ! Please KdramaGod make her pays for what she did if she is the real responsible of the sabotage which lead to Mr Jo death and every Yeon-seo accidents. I don't want the writer to forget that she is a murderer. The strange voice when she appears ... Is she possessed by some evils ?
I love this show but I am a bit frustrated because we don't see the main lead together a lot ...
Shin Hye Sun is marvelous *.*

I really got annoyed this episode. As if company politics is not enough I thought the ballet troupe’s treatment of the owner of the company was too over the top and unrealistic pettiness and this started to ruin the show for me. I hope it won’t last long. Giving her the cold shoulder and making her unwanted is okay but do it subtly, there’s no need for the childish pushing and shoving.

The bait and switch from aunt to cousin as the main villain didn’t work for me either. It would have worked better if they made her ambiguous or sympathetic in the beginning.

At some point I got he impression that Kang Woo may have the same mission with Dan of making Yeon Seo love.

The female in a ballet is always the lead, the superstar, the center. The male is there to support. I found that ironic in this drama as well. SHS is the lead and L is there to support. The show shines because of SHS.
It's the first time I watch these two in a drama and I would say this - I would go back and watch other performance of SHS. I can't imagine how hard she trained to play this role. I assume they use body double in some of the dance scene but there are scenes that SHS did her own (such as the ones in the studio).

Right when I thought I had this figured out the writer changed the story of Mi-ok and angel Noel. Frankly, I am disappointed. We were led to believe in the previous episode that Noel and Mi-ok were together for a long time- it turns out it was only a year.

At the beginning many of us wondered if one of the inspirations for this story might be the (very good) movie BLACK SWAN. Not so much, even if Yeon-seo’s cousin is named Ni-na. Now we are wondering if perhaps this is a twisted retelling of GISELLE, with a female Duke Albrecht (Yeon-seo). Whatever this is it is clear that the writer is having real difficulty melding a story about ballet, love, corporate and family struggles plus God and Angels into a cohesive whole.

I am left wondering at just how much the writer understands ballet. Supposedly Kang-woo is a genius artistic director. So why would he try to turn GISELLE into a story about vengeance? That is not a stroke of genius- it is the mark of a pretentious incompetent: It simply does not work because now the story no longer fits the music. Ballet choreographers have a lot of freedom and leeway- one SWAN LAKE can be very different from another SWAN LAKE, but whatever innovation or variation the director may want to make there is one absolutely inflexible rule that he or she must follow: The dance must be true to the music. What Kang-woo says that he wants to do violates that simple principle and would be a total disaster on stage, no matter how good the dancers are or how well they practiced.

The actual dancing in this show has been wonderful. Clearly the director has been assisted by someone who truly does know ballet. Watching Yeon-seo’s dance on the beach was a real delight. So was her demonstration to Kang-woo of what Giselle’s real feelings and motivation were. Ballet can be absolutely wonderful- and we are getting a taste of that. Perhaps some Beanies who have never seen a live performance will be inspired to go to one. I saw my first live performance when I was eight years old (it was SWAN LAKE) and I can still remember it.

With all of its flaws this continues to be my favorite drama. And with each episode I become an even bigger fan of Shin Hye-sun.

i think, Runa want to kill Yeonseo because she want her sister Nina to still be main balerina?

Does anyone know a website where I can get the background music? I'm not talking about the OSTs now... I mean those melodic instrument only music played when a special event is about to take place....

I think you said it all but WOW Shin Hyesun's dance! Her crush on Dan had been cute so far but it's only then I realize how much he really means to her. The pain in her eyes was intense. im not liking Kangwoo but i felt bad for him there too. Amazing scene.