The episode ended with tough life lessons for our foursome. I can't wait to see how they will grow from this. I like that Yi Chan was most affected by our missing Chung Ah than anything else. Our poor Chung Ah is devastated when Se Kyeong said she will choose Yi Chan. I want to see our girl smile again so I hope she find out soon that SK did not choose YC. What decision will Yi Chan make after that setback on his budding relationship with sweet Chung Ah.

I hope that Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu would confess that they are both time travelers so they can move past the fake-28- year-age-gap-thing. Plus it would be nice if Eun Yu get to spend time with her real grandpa.

Watermelon Sugar killed it at the festival! They are amazing. All their hard work paid off and I am very happy for them. Their merch was in demand and I would also buy one too if given a chance.

If not for the fact that this drama focuses on the fun of being youth and has zero murder, I would have long dropped it because both Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu's logic are a big miss. I am really not into their romance because why they need to go back to 1995 to find it? What is preventing them from finding happiness in 2023?

Yi Chan is adorable not because he is a jovial and caring character, but he puts in efforts to show his earnestness. Him referring to the sign book in between his conversation with Chung Ah was so cute ❤ He is the only person apart from Eun Gyeol, repeatedly trying to communicate with Chung Ah.

I loved how they made Eun Yu realize that her mom and dad were truely in love. That was a good twist. I was also moved by Eun Gyeol's confession to Yi Chan at the cliff, but I was also annoyed by him still not learning that his parents life is not what is affecting his own life.

I am pretty sure, the end goal is for Eun Yu and Eun Gyeol to learn that that their current happiness is in their hands and not directly tied to her parents' hapoiness.

I like the actor who play Oh Ma Joo. I think he is full of potential as an actor and I’m eager to see him in more projects with bigger roles in the future.

I was so anxious for the entire ep. 11 because of the foretold accident. Even when they were survived from those fallen lighting, I couldn’t rest easy because the supposedly disaster day wasn’t end yet. Like Eun Gyeol, the sigh of relief came after the clock point out the day was over. I hope the writer won’t do us dirty by setting another accident and insist on making Yi Chan deaf. I wish I can see a lot more of Chung Ah with Yi Chan. Their stories, especially Chung Ah is underdeveloped. I think they shown us Se Gyeong a bit too much they could have cutted it and fill it with Chung Ah instead. Put that aside, this probably the best drama of 2023 and the best time slip drama for me. I’ll watch the last 4 episodes marathon I crossed my finger the writer and director could wrap up this drama beautifully.

I don't know how I feel about this week episodes.

1. I feel like a cold witch for saying this but I couldn't care less about Eun Yu's storyline in episode 12.

I think I didn't care about Eun Yu because I already knew Se Kyeong's first love was her dad. When she finally made the math I was like "yeap, Sherlock".
That wasn't some big reveal or plot twist. We have known that for ages. So the only sad thing about that situation was how long it took her to finally realize the truth.

2. Cheong Ha went from lying to Eun Yu to lashing out at Yi Chan? I'm pretty sure she NEVER saw Se Kyeong with Eun Gyeol, but what? Before going to the US Se Kyeong liked Eun Chan better?
And what? One second you're giving Yi Chan a Viva la vida necklace and later you're asking him why he wants you to go to the festival? He's playing with you cause you're deaf??
I guess people can't be honest and straightforward all the time but dang, that really made me uncomfortable.
Idk, maybe it's just my problem.

3. Eun Gyeol ruining everyone's fun because of his obsession with his dad's accident wasn't easy to watch either.

I kinda felt emotional when he started yelling his problems and frustrations at Yi Chan, but it felt kinda off. He was talking with the wrong person. Yi Chan is just a 18 yo kid that wanted to go to his band's rehearsal. There wasn't one thing he could do for Eun Gyeol in that exact moment, there wasn't anything he could say either.

I also didn't like how he kept annoying Eun Yu about the bet. He kept telling her who to choose without any valid reasons or explanation. Of course she was going to feel offended. The boys haven't show the minimum real interest in her and her feelings. Both guys seem to be way more interested in their relationship with each other. Even when Eun Gyeol has a few nice moments with her, those moments are mostly the results of him trying to separate her from Yi Chan. Nothing 100% sincere.
So why should she take them seriously? Why should she do what they want?

This was the first time in the entire show that I liked Eun Yu's "doing exactly the opposite of what Eun Gyeol wants" attitude. I didn't care about Eun Gyeol, Yi Chan, Cheong Ha or the timeline, I just wanted Eun Yu to do wtv she wanted.

4. Fun fact: my favorite scenes this week aren't the ones WITH Cheong Ha but the ones with people TALKING about her.
Yi Chan talking about her with the band members, the Chairman/Haraboji and Eun Gyeol talking about her and her smile.

And I completely adore when Yi Chan talks to her in sign language. I love watching him trying his best to help her understand when he doesn't know the correct signs for what he's trying to say. And I love how he goes around with the book!!! It's obvious how much he has practiced and it's obvious how sincere he is about their relationship. We can see that he really wants to communicate with her and that he cares about their friendship.

Maybe it's a bit late, and we seriously have too little time with them, but I like watching this couple and their blooming romance. I'm just glad the festival's over. Yi Chan's focus now on Cheong Ha.

Since the kids have to come back to 2023, I'm guessing we only have 3 episodes left on 1995, or maybe 2 and a half? So PLEASE, more Chan-Ha couple moments. I BEG YOU.

Yay, Ajumma-Ajushi ship is ready to sail! 🎉❤
Most people seem to be frustated by the fact that they still don't know that both of them are from future, but I'm not, maybe I just get used to this prolonging secret trope after watching hundreds of kdramas 😁. I think next week they will find it out because in order to keep his promise, EunGyeol has to know first where EunYu wants to go back to. Ah, I can't wait to see their date, from the preview they look so cute, also hope it won't get interrupted this time. It's time for them to enjoying thing for themself and less focused on their parents.
Contrary to the kids, the parents ship took a step back but I think it's needed so Yichan can have time to reexamine his feeling. We can see from his behavior that his heart already goes to CheongAh but he hasn't realized it yet.
Dad and son continue to make me laugh then cry then laugh again. That scene on the cliff had me sobbing. I kinda want YiChan to keep calling EunGyeol "Adeul", it's sweet.
No matter how good this drama, it wouldn't be able to satisfy everyone in the end because I see some people want the future to be changed while the others hope it remains the same. Personally, I will accept whatever the ending as long as it keeps the fun and the heart of the drama.

I am still looking forward to every new episode. But I really wish they would hurry up the reveal about Eun Yu being a time travel. I am still not invested in Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu's romance and I want more of Yi Chan and Chung Ah. I think one reason why I can't connect to Eun Yu is that she was later introduced and at that point I was already all in for Eun Gyeol, Yi Chan and Chung Ah. That's why whenever they spend too much time on Eun Yu, I want to see more of the others.

Figure it out, time travelers! I squealed when Eun-yoo said "Squid Game," but Eun-gyeol just blew it off like a dolt. Then I squealed again when she called Sang-ah "an assa trying to be an inssa" (burn!), but he wasn't around to hear it. Ask her how she knows sign language, Eun-gyeol! The next episode better start with him taking Se-kyung's luggage and seeing "On Eun-yoo from Incheon" on her luggage tag.

While Eun-gyeol was relieved when the clock struck twelve, I was still worried about his fear of Yi-chan not being able to escape fate would come true. Final Destination-style. These boys need to go to the hospital -- not sweeping the gym with bleeding heads. Did the band members even tell Yi-chan about the falling stage lights because he'd only realized that Eun-gyeol was telling the truth after being clubbed in the head? I was scared that the gang would jump Yi-chan when Halmeoni made him deliver dumplings. Even though Eun-gyeol walked back his revelation of Yi-chan being his dad, it was cute when Yi-chan called him "son." Our son who was taking Eun-yoo's suicide route by jumping off cliffs and getting hit by cars.

I blame Eun-yoo for walking out of their performance and robbing me of Yi-chan's "Magic Castle." I love "Magic Castle" by The Classic. Of course, "Sunset Glow" by Lee Moon-sae is always welcome. (Their first two songs were "As Much as the Love Scattered in the World" by Lee Seung-hwan and "So Soon" by Sanulrim.) I didn't expect Eun-yoo's dad to be Se-kyung's first love after all. I was bewildered at how Yi-chan was still going to confess to Se-kyung when he knows that he likes Chung-ah. I wish that Chairman Yoon had sent Eun-gyeol back to class with Chung-ah. I couldn't bear to see our girl crying alone in art class. I'm so happy our Ma-joo has merch too.

A big thanks for your weecap, @Dramaddictally!

Whenever I watch a time travel drama I have always the same problem: I love time travel but it has rules! And dramaland just avoids them 😑

I understand Eun Gyeol is a kid and he wants to prevent the accident that ultimately will turn him deaf, but the fact that he can’t see that by preventing it he may be drafting away his parents is something that shocks me, because he is putting in danger his own existence.

Anyway, enjoying the drama so far, even if I know I will have to roll my eyes at the resolution as it won’t be solved “the way it should be” according to my “time travel rules” 😂

More Chung-ah!

Less everything else.

"But I’m ready to go wherever this drama takes me — the journey is just too much fun."
Exactly my thoughts. I just love the vibe of the show so much. This week's episodes were tearjerker (damn, that boy Ryeoun can cry! )

Aside from the leads, I kinda liked the bassist Kang Hyun-Yool's character. He seems cold & tough on the outside but deep down he cares a lot for his bandmates & among the other members, he is the most passionate one for music.

This seems to be the only k drama of 2023 that i could continue till episode 12 without feeling frustrated or disappointed. Hope it continues to be this way.

💯 Loving the Cheong-ah Yi-Chan moments but there's simply not enough of them. Cheong-ah's character in particular has been robbed of screentime in this series. Hopefully her storyline ramps up over the coming weeks, and obviously the romance with Yi-Chan. I've never cared for the Eun-gyeol & Se-kyung 2.0 relationship, would have preferred to have seen more storyline development of the Cheong-ah and Yi-Chan romance.

My poor Chung Ah. I only want joy and happiness for her. Eun Gyeol lazer focus on his dad leads him to ignore his mother. So I need for the next 4 episodes to be focused on Chung Ah. I think it is fairly obvious Yi Chan has a true crush on Chung Ah, but the boy is a little slow, so it seems like he will be catching up soon.

Where can I buy that Watermelon Sugar shirt?

I'm ignoring all the problems because this drama has so much heart and I can forgive it practically everything. It is joyous from start to finish. A bunch of teens being a bunch of teens - throwing logic to the wind. CHW absolutely shines - what a talent! Everything crossed that it lands well...

I have enjoyed these two episodes so much.
I only wish we had had more scenes of Cheong-ah and Yi Chan, who still are my favorite couple (those brief but precious scenes we get are not enough for me).

This show is beautiful, so well acted and directed, and makes me feel so many things... that it doesn't matter it's not perfect.

Btw, I was so happy when Eun-yu mentioned Squid Game!! I thought that was going to be more important for the plot, but unfortunately Eun-gyeol didn't pay too much attention. I can't wait for them to know both come from the future.

Thanks for the recaps!!

I had the same reaction as most beanies:
I want to see more Chung-Ah.
I dunno why exactly but I empathize with her the most🥲. I think we all want to give her a virtual voice and a virtual hug.

Choi Hyun-Wook is in a lot of high school dramas (watermelon, weak class hero, 25-21, Racket Boys) but I can’t help but think he’s exactly the same character he plays in Twenty Five Twenty One
evidence?
He play in a band
He’s the lead singer
He serenades a girl at a concert
He’s a horrible student
He’s chaotic emotional energy
He adjusts his hair with his hand in exactly the same way right before he tries to do something he thinks is “cool”
He rides a skateboard
He wears a hidden meaningful Tee-Shirt underneath his button up school shirt

Ko Yu-Rim!!! I’ve got your back. Your boy is here!

I know this drama is about eungyeol journey so everything that happens to him will be center, but thats a price you pay when you have a charismatic actor like choi hyunwoook making me want to see him and everything related to HIM more. I know I'm asking for a different drama what can I do, I need more yichan and chungah

I'm going to be contrarian and disagree with everyone here, and say that I like the focus Eun-gyeol and Eun-yun's story and relationship. We already know Yi-chan and Chung-ah get together and have a happy marriage, so really right now the only question is Yi-chan fully realizing his feelings, and overcoming Chung-ah's reticence.

Of course, Yi-chan and Chung-ah are more likeable than the two other leads, but I agree with @dramaddictally that the interesting part of the show is Eun-gyeol's attempt to reconcile his responsibility to his family with how else he wants to live his life. And I like Eun-yoo's journey to understanding her Mom. So for me, what makes this show more than a light time travel fantasy is the story of Eun-gyeol and Eun-yoo.

If the major theme had been how deaf people navigated in a world that discriminates against them, then sure, I'd be upset at the focus. But that has always only been a side issue--from the beginning, for better or worse (and I think its better) the theme has been the story of Eun-gyeol as a hearing child of deaf parents. The reason I think its better is that I think one of the lessons for Eun-gyeol will be that the deafness of his parents that he feels is such a burden of responsibility for him is in fact an attribute that has helped enrich his family's life. And, as far as Eun-yoo, I think her journey will enable to understand her Mom's pain, and come to terms with her parents failed marriage.

That said, the one thing I didn't like about these episodes was the introduction of the gang. I'm sure it will come back to play an additional narrative role in the last 4 episodes, but it really was extraneous, involving a secondary character and unnecessary explanations. Much better to just have the avoided accidents "natural" or truly accidental ones.

Thanks @dramaddictally I loved these episodes, the photo shoots, the fun playing. The bullying was such a dark cloud and two head injuries for Yichan so close together is not good. Especially with no hospital check up.

I loved the deja vu moment of Eungyeol on the bench outside the music shop listening to that song. It’s a shame he has not registered it as the same Ahjussi that taught him to play even though someone else had pointed out the similarity in their style of playing.

Loved the scene of the annoying shop owner watching their interactions on a tv screen. But he really doesn’t help them with his cryptic clues.

I love this show and the premise of shining (or twinkling) in the youthful moment. Let's leave this one as is.
What I'm helplessly hoping for is a Twinkling Watermelon Season 2

No need for the magical time travel.
It just needs to be a coming of age story told from Chung-Ah's perspective. I want to see her shine.

We have the childhood trauma and the untold story on how her mother was removed.

We have the father story, on how he wants his daughter to be happy, but doesn't have the emotional tools necessary to make her happy.

We have the frustrating and uphill battle romance with Yi-Chan

And we have the flashback/flashforward scenes with her future happy family.

I'm already in love with this alternative plot synopsis. I think this would be even better than the excellent understated Jdrama Silent or the anime A Silent Voice

How do I pitch this to studios?

As I've said before Eun Yu is the weakest part of the story. I don't even know what to say about her story's reveals. It's just more curious that not once during her life did her parents mention their history to the point she didn't know her dad was in a band or her mother's first love.

In my head, I know children of divorce have alot of mixed feelings and it's complicated but ah, her plot doesn't make me care even a little. People keep saying Eun Gyeol just needed to talk with his parents, NO! Eun Yu just needed to talk with her parents. It's wholly possible her parents wouldn't even get it or listen but that definitely needed to be a step. She's so much better as a chaotic foil to Eun Gyeol.

And what is going on with Se Kyeong's bio dad?

Every time I see the music scenes, I think that's the type of stuff that was missing from The Heavenly Idol. I don't know if any of the songs are original but still, it's what comes to mind.

Even though I already knew that Eun Gyeol felt lonely which is why he's trying to prevent his dad's injury (which I think is gonna happen anyway. He's been hit on the head twice leading to ringing in the ears) but I still liked that he actually said it. Though it's interesting that Yi Chan said the words Eun Gyeol needs to hear to Cheong Ah about not needing to *hear* music to appreciate it.

Speaking of Cheong Ah. Poor girl. And oh my heart when Yi Chan pulled out his sign language book.

Cheong Ah's stepsister just shows her ignorance (or ignorance of the time) when she said people would think Eun Yu was disabled just because she was using sign language.

It might be because I'm completely smitten with Cheong-ah, but I genuinely think Yi-Chan dedicated that song to Cheong-Ah, not Se-kyung. "I'm going to dedicate this song to a girl. I'm going to sing this song for the girl that made our band possible." Struggling to see how Se-kyung made the band possible. Surely he didn't mean the bet? Cheong-ah definitely did by saving Yi-Chan's life. Plus Yi-Chan only felt Cheong-Ah's absence, only contacted Cheong-ah, only visited Cheong-ah, only sought out Cheong-ah's feelings. Yi-Chan: "I waited for you." That's my hopeful take on the song dedication. And if it was for Se-Kyung, Yi-Chan's actions following the concert make zero sense to me.

I love asian drama school festivals!! I wouldn't have liked to undergo the stressful south korean education system, I would have loved to be a part of and attend those festivals. As much as I loved how Watermelon Sugar brought the house down with their performance, I commend all those students working in the background to put on the festival. I've worked on the planning committees for various events/performances in high school and college, but they were like maybe 3-4 hours events and it was a ton of work.

I spend so much time worrying about Yi-chan getting hurt. I think his deafness is an inevitability, but I just don't want to see it happen. Even though he still ends up happy, I'm sure those initial days, weeks, months, and even years were hard.

I was half-expecting Chung-ha to realize that Eun-yoo's handwriting was different from Se-kyung's. I think it'll be funny for her to be the first one to find out Se-kyung isn't Se-kyung. I don't have much confidence in the brains of either boy. I really like all the Chung-ha and Eun-yoo moments since Chung-ha doesn't really have any girls to interact with in a non-toxic way and the boys get to have so many friends.

Loving this show.That's it. That's the comment.

First of all, I never really expected the band mates to actually grow into a close knit group of friends, not with their messy start and al kind of drama that happened in between. But apparently, it was those exact dramas that made this journey towards a deeper and more meaningful friendship possible. No one is more surprised than me by how much I love every single one of them with all their lovable quirk and antic.

It's honestly a relief to watch Eun-gyeol letting go of his tight lid over his emotion around Yi-chan. That cry looks like a relieving one, and personally, it was refreshing to hear him admitted a more selfish reason for wanting to prevent his dad's accident that made him lost his hearing. He never got the chance to tell his family about feeling lonely before, and it was cathartic to have him finally said it out loud even if Yi-chan didn't know the whole story nor did he believed in what Eun-gyeol claimed as his shocking truth.

As for Eun-yu, that realization about her parents hit the hardest, even though I've called it from a few eps back already. I feel for that girl. She was so laser-focused in her own made-up mission that the reality of her parents' real regret in life slaps her painfully. She would need time to digest it, and to find out the real reason she was sent to the 1995 Seoul where none of her parents lived in during that period.

I think I spent all my tears for our quartet this week, but given how perfectly the drama captured the very essence of teenage first love, I have no complaint whatsoever. It was an immersive journey of happiness, heart fluttering moment, confusion, hope, and heart break in all its explosive glory. And I'm here for all the tangled relationship and pain that went on, while hopefully waiting for someone (anyone, really) to finally make the right move to untangle everything into their respective happy-ending lane.