Summer Strike: Episodes 7-8
by Unit
Time might slow down in a small town, but that doesn’t stop romance from speeding up. And this week, we get a double serving of romance, alongside bits of our librarian’s traumatic past on the side.
EPISODES 7-8 WEECAP
Bom’s hospital discharge party at Yeo-reum’s last week had one guest missing: Dae-beom. And though he tried his best to catch up, the party already ended before his arrival — not that it’d have made a difference anyway, since he’s still very much traumatised by his sister’s murder in the billiard-hall-turned-house. But not being able to enter Yeo-reum’s house doesn’t stop Dae-beom from making plans and hanging out with her everywhere else.
The duo make such an adorable pair, and I don’t know if they’ve realized that they have moved past friendship into the talking stage. Yeo-reum takes the initiative with the “What’s your favorite fruit?” and “What’s your favorite season?” questions, and Dae-beom is very quick to say he likes summer (Yeo-reum) — and even quicker to clarify that he meant the season and not Yeo-reum herself. Lol. I believe you, dude.
Dae-beom and Yeo-reum’s cute not-date is rudely cut short when they see another graffiti on Yeo-reum’s building, and this time, it’s a message for Dae-beom. He’s shaken to see his sister SUN-AH’s name sprayed on the wall, and he runs off without looking back — almost getting hit by a car in the process. He collapses in a panic attack at home, and lies in the dark with hallucinations of his childhood self, as well as flashbacks of being questioned by the police on his testimony about seeing his dad exiting the building after Sun-ah’s death.
You’d think that the police would know better than to interrogate a minor without a guardian present. But not only did they try to force more answers out of him, they also taunted him for being happy that Sun-ah died because he supposedly hated her. And while I don’t agree with the police, I see why they thought that way — adult Dae-beom even admitted to always being yelled at by their father because of Sun-ah. But that’s definitely on the father, and I don’t think Dae-beom hated his sister because of it.
Dae-beom’s return to worse than his default withdrawn state, serves to twist the knife of jealousy that is already in Ji-young’s guts. Rather than be happy that her recluse of a friend is making new friends, Ji-young is jealous that Dae-beom spends more time with Yeo-reum than he does with her, and she wants to gatekeep his attention because she has feelings for him. Jealousy plus hurt equals tears, and her one source of consolation is from Sung-min — who likes her — and this whole triangle is just messed up.
But not as messed up as Ji-young blaming Yeo-reum for renting the billiard hall and dredging up Dae-beom’s traumatic memories. But how is that Yeo-reum’s fault? Ji-young also drops the bombshell that Dae-beom (yes, he’s Anon) got the money for Bom’s hospital bill by selling his research to his professor (whoa!) — and an ethics committee hearing has been set to investigate the case. And with all the blame Ji-young heaps on Yeo-reum, you’d think Dae-beom was not adult enough to make decisions for himself. Pfft. Ji-young’s final request is for Yeo-reum to convince Dae-beom to attend the hearing in Seoul, and a noble idiot’s mask advertises itself on Yeo-reum’s face.
Summer break arrives at school, and Bom’s grandmother suggests she goes on a trip with Yeo-reum. Jae-hoon invites himself along, and to everyone’s pleasant surprise, Dae-beom leaves his panic and trauma at home to go with them on the fun trip. Yeo-reum starts to sample the idiocy mask by blaming her arrival in Angok for all Dae-beom’s woes, but he stops her short: he enjoyed every encounter they shared since then, and he’s happy she came to Angok. In your face, Jo Ji-young! *Mwahahaha*
Meanwhile, Bom and Jae-hoon engage in a conversation of their own, and we learn that after Jae-hoon moved to the U.S. in the sixth grade, he was teased for his English accent and then kicked out of school after finally punching one of his teasing classmates. According to him, his parents were only too happy to ship him back to Korea since he “embarrassed” them by not being smart enough, and it’s quite ironic that two psychology professors couldn’t understand how their own son feels.
It starts to rain, and while Bom and Jae-hoon share a kiss underneath the shower, Ji-young and Sung-min part ways after a meal (a date on his part, and a cheer up dinner on hers) where she interrupted his confession to her with an admittance that she likes Dae-beom. Then she asks Sung-min to kick Yeo-reum out of the house, and I officially dislike her now. Just because they are friends doesn’t give her the right to be entitled to Dae-beom’s feelings. Jeez!! Imagine the tables were turned and Sung-min went around harassing Dae-beom because he liked Ji-young? I’d like to know how she’d feel about that.
Anyway, Ji-young doesn’t need to try so hard to separate them, because Yeo-reum finally convinces Dae-beom to go to Seoul for the ethics committee hearing. She’s all fake smiles even though she doesn’t really want him to leave, and this can never be my Bom and Jae-hoon. Those two remain stuck with each other despite his aunt’s attempt to come in between their friendship. Bom doesn’t cower or back down, and I love it for her.
As we wrap up the week’s episodes, Yeo-reum — who’s on the lookout for intruders after the graffiti incident — sees a man on her rooftop. She sneaks up behind him to make a recording with her phone, and is startled when she sees his full face in frame. It’s Geun-ho! Well, sneaking up on suspicious people is almost never a good idea as it can lead to falling off the stairs (and fracturing a few bones or worse). What was she thinking?
Geun-ho is behind the graffiti, and from the looks of it, he saw something on the day Sun-ah was murdered. All Geun-ho wants to do now is to “protect Sun-ah” but since he appears to be on the spectrum, he’s unable to properly articulate whatever it was that he saw. Besides, for some reason, his parents are very wary of the police. (And I would be too, seeing how the police treated Dae-beom). Anyway, the two weeks left in the show is plenty of time to unravel the mystery surrounding Sun-ah’s death, and I can’t wait to find out who’s behind it — is it Dae-beom’s dad, or any of the other suspicious people in Angok?
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Tags: Im Shi-wan, Seolhyun, Shin Eun-soo, Summer Strike
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1 DancingEmma
December 14, 2022 at 6:22 PM
Seom (썸) is a great Korean word which means a fling but also used to accurately describe that phase between being friends and lovers eg our main leads now but not for long.
And, Jiyoung was written to be nail draggingly awful and the actor has really made that stick. She is unbearable. I don’t care what bloody trauma she may have had, She is grating, toxic and oblivious to that one person who digs her.
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2 FormAnOrderlyQueue
December 14, 2022 at 6:37 PM
Bom for the win! She and Jaehoon are a delight, and she is the only likeable female character here. I've had it with Yeoreum - she officially is the naivest person on the planet and highly irritating - and Jiyoung is pathetic. Even Grandma lost major points in asking Bom to cover up her father's crimes last week. But Bom knows what she wants, where she's going and has a heart of gold. Finishing the drama just for her.
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DancingEmma
December 14, 2022 at 8:13 PM
@kate88hammond: Totes agree. I just feel sad that gran is illiterate and has had such a difficult life but your point remains valid.
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tabong
December 15, 2022 at 7:20 AM
I dislike the grandma even more than Ji Young, since halmol is responsible for two kids but only cares about her own.
I bet her son could've killed Bom and she still would've asked Bom's spirit to forgive him so he doesn't go to prison.
Ji Young is toxic but at least people can just tell her to get a life, piss of, shut up, or something. That halmol has way too much influence in her grandchildren's life and can manipulate them easily (just like she did with Bom last week).
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3 Kafiyah Bello
December 14, 2022 at 7:15 PM
The people in this show are disturbingly unlikable. How can almost everyone suck. I don't think I've ever watched a show like this, it is wild. I like Dae Bom and Yeo Rum though, I like their sweet introverted and awkward courtship. I love Bom and Jae hoon, those two are adorable. Everyone else is just terrible, very strange.
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DancingEmma
December 14, 2022 at 8:00 PM
@kafiyah-bello: You know as the universe of this drama is relatively small, the awful people seem to have a disproportionately large footprint but Bom and Jaehoon are wonderful for sure. And, I like Im Siwan’s screen presence even though his role is just too angelic and not worthy of an actor of his calibre.
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nerdy
December 15, 2022 at 3:13 AM
I was so excited when I thought Dae Bom was actually mute. I thought that Im Shi Wan would actually have something to do here.
I was even ready to tolerate all the insufferable people in this show for him alone.
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4 Linarrick
December 14, 2022 at 8:48 PM
I haven’t caught the latest episodes yet but did Im Si-wan develop a knack for running after his role from Run On 😂
I don’t mind one bit tho, watching him run is mesmerising
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DancingEmma
December 14, 2022 at 9:08 PM
I agree. He has a graceful and indeed mesmerising running stride.
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5 Kurama
December 14, 2022 at 9:22 PM
To watch those 2 introvert falling in love is so cute! The way they naturally understand each other is really nice to see because it's new for them.
Yeorum is not in an easy situation. She cares a lot about people. Ji-Hyun's words made her doubt. But, at the end, she didn't back off. She said she will wait for his return and didn't renouncer to their movie date.
Jae-hoon is so lonely too. Why people have kids if they can't take care of them... I'm happy he got Bom. But with her best friend, he will have to learn to give her space :p
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6 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
December 14, 2022 at 10:55 PM
‘ and a noble idiot’s mask advertises itself on Yeo-reum’s face’ 👈thanks @unit for that great image 🤣
This is a drama I had to walk away from at the preview discussion stage due to the genre mix. The weecaps are proving I did the right thing, as the side story of horrific abuse plus cover up alone would have resulted in shouting at the screen volume levels that could have been heard in space. Each week sounds more frustrating. The ‘annoying/jealous second female lead character’ needs to be banned as a tool to add tension surely there are more imaginative ways to add tension.
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7 tabong
December 15, 2022 at 7:36 AM
I'm so grateful this week we had my 4 favorite charactes together. That made way too easy for me to FF all the useless/annoying stuff.
When Yeo Reum told him to go to Seoul I literally rolled my eyes. "They're not even a thing but we're living the noble idiocy already?". Good thing it only lasted like ten minutes.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the trip. The show should be about those 4 and that it. I don't need more characters stealing their screentime.
I'm happy watching my kids happy. Esp Bom and Jae Hoon. I love them and I want the best for them. It's too sad 99% of the adults around them suck.
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vienibenmio
December 15, 2022 at 7:45 AM
Honestly the people in this town are so toxic that I think Dae-beom should just move to Seoul.
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tabong
December 15, 2022 at 7:50 AM
You got a point.
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8 vienibenmio
December 15, 2022 at 7:38 AM
I can't get over this town. They're blaming a 10 year old (or something around that) for his sister's murder??
I also can't stand JY. Why is it Yeo-reum's fault that Dae-beom is experiencing these symptoms? She's not the one who convinced him that he's at fault for what happened. She just rented out the freaking building, which at some point was probably going to happen.
Also, as someone who specializes in treating PTSD, that intervention was not within clinical practice guidelines. Benzodiazepines (assuming that's what that "sedative" they injected was) are contraindicated for PTSD. Avoidance long-term is not helpful and will only maintain his symptoms. Dude needs to process his trauma in therapy, including working on his guilt cognitions.
Between this and May I Help You, even going back to Love is for Suckers, I'm honestly tired of these romance dramas always including such heavy traumatic themes. Can't we just have a comforting, laid back romance for once?
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DancingEmma
December 15, 2022 at 11:00 AM
@vienibenmio: Thanks for pointing out that egregious deviation from the guidelines. Have these been in existence and used globally for some years/decades? If they were at the time of Daebeom’s childhood horror and trauma, a drama should be responsible and ethical enough not to use pseudoscience and mislead viewers. And, Daebeom sure needs therapy. i hope they don’t try and portray love as a magical cure all. It will suck.
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vienibenmio
December 15, 2022 at 11:57 AM
Hrmm, I would say that the guidelines are newer, but we've had studies since at least the 1990s showing the lack of effectiveness. I'm not sure about global use since I practice in the United States, but generally psychotherapy is considered the frontline treatment for PTSD as opposed to medication. And, yeah, dramas aren't great at showing PTSD treatment, although at least some of them mention the existence of exposure therapy (I believe Secretary Kim did) which is an improvement from western popular media.
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DancingEmma
December 15, 2022 at 12:04 PM
@vienibenmio: Thank you kindly. You have such an important and socially useful occupation. I hope you look after yourself well as second hand trauma is a professional hazard in your line of work.
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vienibenmio
December 16, 2022 at 6:48 AM
Thank you! Part of the reason I wish romances dramas would lighten up a bit, I get enough exposure to trauma stories at work.
9 vienibenmio
December 15, 2022 at 7:40 AM
Also, is anyone else who watched Love is for Suckers kind of amused that this drama also has a Yeo-reum and a Jae-hoon?
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Kafiyah Bello
December 15, 2022 at 9:05 AM
I didn't even realize, lol. Hopefully this turns out better.
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