Cheer Up: Episodes 10-11
by Dramaddictally
We go easy on the mystery this week and fill our time with kissing, confessions, and crossed lines in love — making these some of the most enjoyable episodes yet. If the love triangle was starting to remind you of day-old convenience store kimbap, rest assured this week injects some needed freshness back into the story. And if you hate triangles altogether, the Yonhee campus is now buzzing with potential romantic duos to keep your interest.
EPISODES 10-11 WEECAP
Is it just me or is this show getting better? No, there’s no cheering this week, which is a disappointment, but there’s also almost no mystery, prophecy, or death talk either. And when you take those things out of the equation I realized just how good of a drama this could be. We are left with college kids dealing with the dilemmas of their families, their hearts, and their growth toward adulthood, with a few alcohol blackouts along the way. These episodes left me smiling and wanting to see more of these characters, which hasn’t always been the case.
First, nothing comes of the observatory meeting that we ended Episode 9 with. Jung-woo leaves without ever coming face to face with the culprit. We don’t learn anything new about the motives of this creepy sunbae in these episodes either. But in lieu of all that, we get moments that are heartfelt and downright hilarious, like when Jin-hee and Chun-yang come to campus and finally realize who each other’s kids are.
After the festival, Jin-hee saunters up to the team and offers to buy them dinner. What she really wants is to find out who this girl is that her son is rumored to be dating. Hae-yi raises her hand but says that she and Sun-ho are not dating. To clarify, Sun-ho admits that he’s the one with the crush on Hae-yi, not the other way around. Jin-hee can’t believe it and begins to protest when Chun-yang walks up and defends Hae-yi. Of course Sun-ho is the one with the crush on her daughter — and he’s not the only one! The two moms bicker and Sun-ho feels embarrassed, but Hae-yi is clearly proud.
While I loved this scene because of the moms showing off, it also serves to let Jung-woo know that Hae-yi does not have feelings for Sun-ho. Sun-ho’s confession — in front of the whole team — leads to teasing when they all go to Cheers for celebratory drinks. There, the team has about ten drinks too many and wakes up in Busan unsure of how they arrived.
It turns out they’re all at Jung-woo’s mom’s house. They took a taxi from Seoul when Jung-woo started drunkenly crying about how he treated his mom the day before. They got the idea for all of them to go apologize to her together — which they did, in total mayhem — and now here they are, hungover and broke. Even worse is that Jung-woo’s mom wants payment for room and board since she allowed them to stay in the middle of the night and fed them breakfast. With no money, she sends them down to the street market to work of their debt (and I have no clue whose flower-print clothes they’re all wearing as they do it).
Hae-yi is no stranger to hard work so she gets down to business. But as she does, memories of the night before start creeping back into her blacked out brain. Somewhere in the drunkenness, there was a kiss! But with who? She tries to sneakily ask Sun-ho and Jung-woo who both deny anything out of the ordinary happened.
Later, Jung-woo and Hae-yi are sitting on the beach after dark, bonding over what it was like to wait for their working mothers to come home when they were kids. Hae-yi at least had her little brother, but she imagines that Jung-woo must have been lonely. We learned earlier that Jung-woo’s father was a singer (and not a successful one) and that is why his mom was wary of him focusing on cheering rather than studying. In the end, she tells him to keep doing what he loves because he shines so bright doing it.
In high spirits after the talk with his mom, and with Hae-yi right beside him as fireworks go off above the water, Jung-woo confesses to Hae-yi. Just at that moment, Hae-yi remembers the face of the person she kissed last night — and it’s Sun-ho. Ahhhh! Not only did she kiss him, she then puked all over him. Ugh, that’s rough (and gross). With this new information, she begins to avoid both boys as they vie hard for her attention.
Oddly, the kiss seems to confuse Hae-yi. Where she was once clear about her lack of feelings for Sun-ho, she now feels like she can’t decide who she likes and is stressed trying to figure it out. At home, she hears Jae-yi on the phone saying I love you to his girlfriend and suddenly the tables are turned. For once, Jae-yi is the one giving advice, and it’s adorable. He tells his noona that it’s simple, at some point she’ll just know who she likes.
Hae-yi gets a chance to test this advice when — thanks to a class assignment — she must go on a $10 date with both Sun-ho and Jung-woo. (Why didn’t I get any assignments like this in college?!)
Because of Hae-yi’s crazy work schedule, she sets up her dates with both guys on the same day. Sun-ho is first and when he realizes that she remembers the kiss, he says to pretend it never happened so they can feel comfortable around each other. With the $10 limit, Sun-ho borrows the apartment of a friend, where he and Hae-yi have river views, video games, and pasta making.
When Sun-ho burns the pasta, Hae-yi looks at his phone for the recipe but finds instead his well-researched notes on how to win her heart. He had everything planned for their date, including all the lines he would say to her (which she had thought sounded a little inauthentic, and now she understands why). As he’s trying to reclaim his phone, the two fall on the couch, face to face, but after an awkward pause it’s clear there will be no sober kissing for these two.
Hae-yi rushes off to her date with Jung-woo (waiting at a bus stop where the ad space reads, “Follow your heart”). While Sun-ho had everything planned and perfected, nothing goes right on the date with Jung-woo. The noodle shop has a two-hour wait, so they skip their meal only to find out the library he wanted to show her is closed. He drags her all over town, boring her, until they end up at the main event. Jung-woo is an astrophysics major, and so, he’s reserved time on the telescope at the observatory.
When Hae-yi sees Jung-woo in his element with the telescope, there’s no hiding her attraction. Looking up at the stars, she gets sentimental, asking if people turn to stars when they die. He answers her like a total nerd, giving a scientific explanation of matter. (She seems annoyed but I think I just fell for him.) She says she was thinking of her dad and wondering if he was up there. The intimacy between these two is unmistakable, as they always go back to discussing topics they hold close. Even if the beginning of the date was a failure, looking at the night sky moves her in a way that Sun-ho’s date plans couldn’t.
When Jung-woo and Hae-yi are walking home from their date in the rain, sharing an umbrella, Hae-yi takes the initiative she knows Jung-woo won’t. She grabs his wrist and leaves him wide-eyed with a kiss. The umbrella falls and we get lots of slow motion kissing. Before the episode ends, we see Hae-yi meet with Sun-ho and definitively dump him. She then goes to Jung-woo for more umbrella kissing and the two seem sealed in coupledom. Of course this leaves the question: what about the team’s no dating rule?
I know I haven’t been favorable to Jung-woo, but he really grew on me in these episodes. After he confessed to Hae-yi, he was instantly softer. His demeanor became looser and his face brighter. Sure, it’s probably in big part thanks to the makeup team, but he was literally glowing. When he put on that pink shirt and started showing off his brains, Sun-ho never stood a chance.
RELATED POSTS
Tags: Bae In-hyuk, Cheer Up, Han Ji-hyun, Jang Gyuri, Kim Hyun-jin, Lee Eun-saem, Yang Dong-geun
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
1 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
November 16, 2022 at 3:23 PM
@dramaddictally Thanks for the weecap these were indeed episodes from the drama I wanted to watch from the start. I love that all trips to the seaside work duties have these print Ajumma trousers. It was perfect that one of the team had to sell them at one of the stalls.
The team song and combo cheerleading was superb. I was happy the way things went into dating love scenes all over with the boy in love with the wrong twin and the dad checking out his suspicions about Minjae’s intentions for his daughter.
Looking forward to someone setting the dodgy bloke up for a fall so we can get rid of him asap. I am beginning to wonder if he is in love with Jungwoo as his fending off all potential love interests is suspicious.
Required fields are marked *
jillian
November 16, 2022 at 10:17 PM
I would love the plot twist that the dodgy guy had feelings for Jung Woo. That would certainly explain a lot of things. But I think Jung Woo or Yoo Min had done something that pissed him off. Maybe Jung Woo got in Theia instead of him so he wants to make Jung Woo miserable.
I love the boy in love with the wrong twin bit. I would love if Woon Chan will start paying attention to So Yoon soon. The sweet girl deserves a lot of love too.
Required fields are marked *
2 FormAnOrderlyQueue
November 16, 2022 at 4:11 PM
These episodes were a bucket of cuteness. I'm with you @dramaddictally, there is something beautiful about a nerd being an enthusiastic nerd, and Jungwoo's had my heart for a while. When Haeyi responded to his, "Can you give me a chance" with, "Too late", although my brain was going, "Why too late??" my heart was going, "Noooooooo, don't crush him now, drama!!!" His getting upset about the broken shell was spot on and that must have been the moment Haeyi made her mind up. I found Haeyi's wobble about whether she liked Sunho unconvincing, but that annoyance only lasted an episode, so I can forgive. The no-dating-within-Theia rule is going to have to change to only-dating-within-Theia, but I'm anticipating good hijinks as all these couples try to pretend nothing's going on. Bring it on!
Required fields are marked *
Kafiyah Bello
November 16, 2022 at 6:00 PM
The broken shell is legit one of the sweetest kdrama gifts ever. It was thoughtful, not random jewelry, really put Hae Yi first. Honestly, just perfect.
Required fields are marked *
pliplipli
November 16, 2022 at 6:57 PM
and I also think it was really in character with what the drama has built for jungwoo. he has always said that money is not everything for romance and he's clearly a thoughtful guy, who pays attention to those around him. of course his present would be something really meaningful, based on something that they talked about and stuck with him.
Required fields are marked *
3 kadota
November 16, 2022 at 4:30 PM
Comment was deleted
Required fields are marked *
4 Jingbee
November 16, 2022 at 5:05 PM
I almost dropped this after ep 9 as I am getting annoyed with the triangle. At least they already ended it. Definitely no SLS here as Sunho had been a red flag from day 1, and kissing a drunk girl? - no, boy, even if you have a back story with your daddy issues - this is a deal breaker. Now, if only they resolve this stalker-killer issue next episode, then at least it will be a better watch until the end.
Required fields are marked *
Hot Hot Rice
November 16, 2022 at 6:15 PM
I actually had to google whether a sober person kissing drunk person is an assault, and when I learned that it is, I got mad and I just can't pardon him anymore
Required fields are marked *
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
November 16, 2022 at 8:21 PM
I know it was so bad and it’s the kind of behaviour that you would think she would have called him out on when she remembered. One it’s out of order how could you do that to me and two don’t do that again as it’s just more of the same behaviour in that you have previously used girls on a whim to meet your needs.
Required fields are marked *
Jingbee
November 16, 2022 at 9:50 PM
Yes, this is what annoyed me most. That, she, who was written as a strong and independent character would even think that it was her mistake(the kiss) and that she would even be swayed by it.
Required fields are marked *
pliplipli
November 16, 2022 at 6:55 PM
I left out a "no f**** way" at the end of episode 9 and it irked me to no end that he kissed her when she was clearly so drunk. I was disappointed with the drama taking the cheap love triangle route when it never really build a proper setup to even make sense. good thing it only lasted one episode
Required fields are marked *
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
November 16, 2022 at 8:24 PM
Yes the killer needs to go. I also think they need to make some kind of message about Sunho dealing with his issues by treating girls badly but then has a tantrum when he get’s rejected. He needs to connect the dots re getting hurt and causing the same level of hurt to others.
Required fields are marked *
jillian
November 17, 2022 at 6:34 PM
I hated that SunHo took advantage of the situation too. So I didnt feel sorry for him when HaeYi puked all over him. He deserved all that and more.
Required fields are marked *
5 Kafiyah Bello
November 16, 2022 at 5:57 PM
I am so glad we are past that stupid pretend love triangle, the reply series this isn't, there was never a question that it was Jung Woo. I also really love JW's utter joy at astrology, it was fun watching him be excited about it.
Required fields are marked *
6 Hot Hot Rice
November 16, 2022 at 6:25 PM
I feel like this weeks' episodes are the most fun so far. I really like the change from watching them doing the same stuff in campus to them working in the village. It feels really fresh. And although it's not much, we finally learn about jungwoo's past and I'm glad both haeyi and him can emotionally connect about that. And I'm so glad he didn't give her some random jewelry as a gift, instead he gave her something that has a sentimental value to both of them.
As for sunho, I just can't with him anymore. I hope the writers will do something about him for the future episodes by making him grow up mentally instead of turning him into a sulky boy. Watching the scene where haeyi dumps him makes me mad because it looks like he despises haeyi so much for that, implying that he only accepts yes for an answer. Hopefully his mom sustaining his credit card allows him to learn that he can't have everything that he wants.
Required fields are marked *
7 Blue (@mayhemf)
November 16, 2022 at 6:48 PM
I haven’t watched this weeks episodes yet, but skimming the recap and comments I am hopeful. Glad they brought back the youth fun drama!!
Required fields are marked *
8 pliplipli
November 16, 2022 at 6:52 PM
I was annoyed at the idea of a love triangle at this point, but it only lasted one episode so it's good. and to be honest, it added a little bit of tension to the final moment for our end game. I always knew it would happend bcs they're the main leads, after all. but I was afraid the writers would just mess everything trying to make a love triangle possible. I still think her having conflicted feelings to the point of being divided was a bit out of character/too much considering the other 8 episodes, but at least the end was amazing.
if a guy went the extra work to show me the stars in a freaking observatory room all by myself, I would also fall for him. can't blame her lol
Required fields are marked *
9 mk
November 16, 2022 at 6:58 PM
The idea that Haeyi would be swayed by Sun Ho in any way is laughable. She's never connected with him and all of his attempts to woo her are so shallow. Jung Woo isn't always great at communication but he's always sincere, and the shell gift sums up everything we need to know about where this boy's priorities are. It boggles my mind that Sun Ho is treated by the narrative like he's a legitimate contender for Haeyi's affections.
Required fields are marked *
pliplipli
November 16, 2022 at 7:10 PM
it's such an odd experience. the writing clearly wants him to be a strong second lead, but at the same time they never really did anything to make him a real contender. tbh I could even accept her rejecting both and deciding to be by herself more than her actually picking sunho.
sometimes it feels like two writers with different ideas writing the same show, at the same time.
Required fields are marked *
10 Jess29
November 16, 2022 at 8:58 PM
It was about time the writers gave some love to Jung Woo, I feel that these last two episodes gave his character a level of depth that was lacking, it was so nice to see him having fun and feeling shy because of his mom. Im glad he and Hae Yi got to talk things out, even though during the first few eps his character got lost because of the drama surrounding the prophecy (why is that still a thing?) I feel that he always put Hae Yi first and did what he thought was best for her unlike Sun Ho who wouldn’t take no for an answer and dismissed Hae Yis multiple direct or indirect rejection. As for the kiss, I believe it wasn’t the best way to make the love triangle suspenseful since Hae Yi never really showed any romantic interest in him so her being confused because of the situation kinda annoyed me, i guess she was probably hurt because of Jung Woo so her confused feelings towards Sun Ho were probably rooted from that. I’m glad the triangle is over, I hope that from now on, they focus on Jung Woo and Hae Yis relationship.
Required fields are marked *
Gremlich
November 17, 2022 at 11:04 AM
I'm glad she barfed on Sun Ho, that's what his action, an unbidden kiss to a drunk Hae Yi, deserved. I always considered him to be a privileged, insincere, wanker, thinking that he can have whatever he wanted. That's just me, though.
Required fields are marked *
11 Kurama
November 16, 2022 at 9:34 PM
I'm really not convinced by the writing.
First, the stalker? Jung-Woo always was the only one who wanted to find him. But it was weird how he suddenly gave up. Both of them were at the same place, but he just left.
College in Korea is very different, how students from very different department get the same class and an experience about dating? Jung-Woo must be very busy with his own studies and being the Captain, but he has the time to take a class unrelated to his studies? The same for Hae-Yi.
I like both male leads. Jung-Wo being the first male lead, I wasn't surprised he was her final choice. But who chose the music for the kiss scene? It threw completely me off, it didn't feel connected to the scene.
Required fields are marked *
Gremlich
November 17, 2022 at 11:07 AM
"but he has the time to take a class unrelated to his studies?"
electives?
Required fields are marked *
Kurama
November 17, 2022 at 11:13 AM
The electives classes in any cursus? It's weird. For me, we got compulsory course and the elective ones were still in our domain... not completely unrelated. They're not in the same year neither.
Required fields are marked *
pliplipli
November 18, 2022 at 8:02 AM
maybe its similar in korea, but in my univeristy and major, I had to take a certain number of mandatory classes, elective from my course and a number of classes from any other major, in any field. we would usually pick something closer to what we do (like another humanities major, in my case), but you could basically pick any class in any field. its up to you if you will be able to follow the content and pass the course. it wasnt as many hours as the course electives, but we still had to do a couple to graduate.
Required fields are marked *
12 jillian
November 16, 2022 at 10:08 PM
Thanks for the recap!
Honestly, SunHo never stood a chance. The stolen kiss only confused her for a second but she realized, with JaeYi's help, how to listen to her heart. Throughout the failure of a start to her date with Jung Woo, Hae Yi was being very patient with him. Any girl would've left early on if it happened with a guy they don't have deep feelings for. Good thing Jung Woo made up for it when he started loosening up and being himself. HaeYi always had her heart set for JungWoo, she was just being cautious since he has hurt and disappointed her more than once already.
I agree that the drama is best when it focused on the cheer squad members. The mystery is less interesting for me. It has not made me care much for it except for it to go away. I wish this was only 12 - 14 episodes so we have one or three episodes to deal with the no dating rule of the squad and to tie up other potential pairing in the team. But I guess we have to suffer through the mystery part soon. I am not looking forward to that. I just want to see more progress on my favorite love lines. Also to see our leads on their dates and how they will hide their relationship from the squad members.
Required fields are marked *
Gremlich
November 22, 2022 at 3:59 PM
Comment was deleted
Required fields are marked *
Gremlich
November 22, 2022 at 4:00 PM
IMHO, Jung Woo was the obvious choice from jump. In contrast to Sun Ho, who only really thought of his own needs first and her secondly (he was attracted to her because she didn't fawn over him like other girls), Jung Woo first considered Hae Yi's needs and desires first (especially his idea of giving her the shell to place at her fathers urn so he could hear the ocean) and secondly, thinking of them as a couple, part of which was sharing his love of astronomy and Cheering and his obvious respect and admiration for her as she is. But that's just me.
Required fields are marked *
jillian
November 22, 2022 at 4:43 PM
I agree with you. Jung Woo is thoughtful and considerate of Hae Yi. SunHo sometimes strikes me as an out of touch and sheltered rich kid so he does not relate to what Hae Yi goes through. HY needs someone who understands her and cares for her deeply.
Required fields are marked *
books7time
November 23, 2022 at 11:32 PM
Yes! This is the difference between the boys. I think Sunho will grow from this and be a good partner for someone, but he obviously cares about Hae Yi because of her effect on HIM. Whereas, Junho puts Hae Yi first and cares about her.
Required fields are marked *
13 panshel
November 16, 2022 at 11:41 PM
Sun-ja's crush on Jae-yi is so relatable. Her stupefied "What!?" when Hae-yi revealed that he has a girlfriend was hilarious, and even her parents know that she wants to marry him. How precious is a Jae-yi in love? Like Hae-yi pinched his cheeks, "Gosh, you're so adorable." I still don't like Min-jae.
Didn't all of them black out? Not just Hae-yi? Besides So-yoon, no one, including Young-woong and Ji-young, could even remember how they ended up in Busan. White Knight Yong-il wasn't doing his job if he let Hae-yi and Sun-ho drunken kiss. That noise Hae-yi made when Yong-il took away her drink was cute, and when she squealed over the Nintendo Switch in a pitch that only dogs can hear.
The two moms bickering in front of the squad was the highlight of this week. The scene would've been even better if Sun-ho's mom and Hae-yi had remembered each other. Then they made up as soon as Hae-yi's mom offered to have a drink. I love how they linked arms.
What is with this random queerbaiting between Cho-hee and Yoo-min? Thank God Yoo-min is going to study abroad because she's annoying and doesn't deserve Cho-hee. Jung-woo can just find another shell the next time he goes home. Thank you, @Dramaddictally, for your weecap!
Required fields are marked *
Dramaddictally
November 18, 2022 at 6:48 AM
I wanted so badly to write about Sun-ja and Jae-yi, I just ran out of time! I found it so relatable and believable too. Jae-yi is adorable. It makes total sense his sister’s best friend would have a crush on him.
And I was also very confused about that scene with Cho-hee and Yoo-min. I’m not sure what to make of it at all.
Required fields are marked *
14 Nefret
November 17, 2022 at 2:27 AM
These two episodes were lots of fun, even though I wasn't thrilled with the ending of episode 10, as I was afraid that the love triangle would be dragged out even more. Fortunately, the issue seems to have been settled with the end of episode 11.
By the way, I found it very satisfying to see Hae-yi puke on Sun-ho's shirt after the kiss.
For the next episodes, I wish that Sun-ho's mother's alcoholism would be addressed for what it is, namely a disease that needs to be treated, and not just used for comedy.
Required fields are marked *
15 Bunny Sonaki
November 17, 2022 at 2:31 AM
I have always thought that the prophecy arc seemed forced on the plot and those episodes made me believe it more. Campus life with budding romance between the characters without dragging out a love triangle would suit the drama the best.
Required fields are marked *
16 Toodlepip
November 17, 2022 at 3:40 AM
Possibly the most enjoyable episodes for me to date. I'm glad JH finally got his chance to shine, you'd want a heart of stone not to have melted at that gift. The FL still annoys me, I think it's just her personality, and I found myself thinking both MLs could do better!
Loved the scene with the mums and HYs pride at her mum sticking up for her. I also loved how easily her mum figured out the love triangle.
As mentioned, I presume we'll have to trudge through some mystery episodes next week. I'd prefer to continue with the college life side of things.
Finally, I've never heard of such a ridiculous college assignment. Or possibly I'm just jealous it didn't happen when I was there...😄
Required fields are marked *
17 Blue (@mayhemf)
November 18, 2022 at 6:09 PM
screeeeeeeeee!!!
Uri Jung-Woo! The ship has sailed.
what a bunch of adorable episodes. Loved seeing Jung-Woo.. omg, he was so adorable. And the Busan trip.. lol.
Cant wait for their dating scenes!!
And can we have more of Jae-Yi and Sun-Ja! Here is a couple I didn't know I needed! gimme moreeeee!
Required fields are marked *
18 hyun_beanie
November 18, 2022 at 7:43 PM
Is there any kdrama where the second lead manages to successfully become the first lead by the end/middle? I just want to watch an attempt to destroy this trope!
Required fields are marked *
Gremlich
November 19, 2022 at 10:32 AM
Nope, that's why he's the "second lead"
Required fields are marked *
hyun_beanie
November 27, 2022 at 8:18 PM
Ooo just remembered Reply 1988?
Required fields are marked *