Thank you for the recap, DaebakGrits. 💚

Warning: tabong being tabong

1. Ye Na says she owes Ji Hwan her life, but why is she acting like he's the one that owes her a date or something only because she saw him once during his gangster era?

Yes, he helped you once like a decade ago. If you're that desperate about repaying him, what about letting him be? I think he would be grateful for that. Being obsessive isn't cute.

And the way she speaks to Eun Ha as if our mama deer had to ask for her permission before doing anything with her career. Also, talking about how much she understands Ji Hwan or wtv, like, am I watching the wrong show? What in the lobsters does she know about Ji Hwan? Did I ff too much? Because I don't remember them having one single decent conversation.

At this point, she's just sad.
And I definitely don't want her with Hong Gi because I don't understand what's Hong Gi supposed to find attractive of her sasaeng behavior. If her character had been better explore and develop, maybe, but at this point? No, thanks.

2. And Hyun Woo... Dude, if you used half of the time you spent commenting on Eun Ha's video, actually doing your job, maybe you would've solved the case ages ago.

And why call Eun Ha if you're not even going to bother telling her what's going on?

Why are you still in this drama, bro?

3. I didn't like Ji Hwan that much this week.

I'm surprised that during the work dinner no one went to the restroom to ask Eun Ha if she needed help, because what Ji Hwan was crazy.

The silence after he pulled her chair felt so real. That scene made me extremely uncomfortable. And poor waitress. Dude was just trying to make a living (I don't think he gets paid enough for having to deal with psycho boyfriends).

I also felt weird when Ji Hwan asked Eun Ha "where are you?" and two seconds later he appeared next to her. Wasn't the tracking app for "emergencies"????

And then telling her to quit her job because it's dangerous, but he won't tell her about Cat boss or his dad...?

Eun Ha does what she can. She tells him what she doesn't like, she tries to go at his pace and she waits for him to open up, y ajá, but she can't carry the whole relationship. Ji Hwan needs to grow up ASAP.

4. Is it me or did the show just go "she should give the sad boy a family" when we haven't heard Mi Ho say ONE thing about that pregnancy to anyone (not even herself)? Are they really trying to make her pregnancy about him being an orphan? Like???

And what's with Il Yeong saying that he wants Mi Ho to discuss things with him? 😂
He called their one night of passion a mistake, then found out she's pregnant so he asked her to date him (without a proper apology) out of nowhere, she rejected him, so he went drunk to her house, ran away, and came back after he decided that he's gonna stalk her until she accepts him?
Is that supposed to make him look like a good catch? A confidant? The...

MSM keeps topping my expectations each week.

This week: oh the cheese! the ham! the glorious wind machine! We are having a sandwich.

Not to mention the levels of sweetness has skyrocketed to dangerously high diabetic levels. So good!

Special mention: our bulldog on a banjo in the Like & Subscribe vignette. And floating heart emojis following him as he scampers back to the house ❤❤❤

I thought our OTP was really sweet this week in the most adorable way. Next week's angst is not something I am looking forward to.

I must admit the writers made an unnecessary mess of our second couple's potential relationship. If it was not bad enough from last week's episodes having the Marketing Deerling show up in front of Mi-ho to discuss things he shouldn't sealed the deal. The drama they created around them doesn't fit and seems out of place with the rest of the series.

Great recap this week. Thanks. TBH I am getting a little tired of this show. But, the montages are the best. Every time I was getting tired of the show, the montage brought me back in. I think the pacing and the filming are really good. They really set a mood with a clear aesthetic vision and intention. I really wish the narrative plot matched these 10 second moments of greatness.

Uhm Tae-goo in oversized knitwear should be its own genre of television.

My Deerlings listicle of favourite ROM standout beats (+ random bits and bobs):

Squee Chart:
1. When JH is fawns over her hands refusing to let go, earning her playful smacks on his hands. AND it went on for an HOUR (thank you Jae-soo, for your ever-trusty cockblocking)

2. When JH shows up to do boyfriend shopping carrier duty AND says: "Don't mind me, just continue your shopping and I will hold your bags." (Like, where can I buy this limited edition of a dream boyfriend?) #actsofserviceFTW

3. When he is dressing her lacerated fingers and knuckles, and she teases, cajoles, then finally appeases him in his "I lost the battle-for-affection" sulk. This scene is not only swoon-worthy, it is also a masterclass in how to resolve relational conflicts and emerge as joint-winners (or in their case, emperor and empress) 🐧🐧❤❤

4. The apology kitchen scene: Firstly, the pandemic may be over but this is single-handedly the *best* use of WFH I have seen in a drama 🤣 our CEO has his priorities right! If the missus is unhappy, you will have no peace in your household anyway.

Again, swift resolution, open authentic comms, BUT the melt-into-a-puddle moment is in that self-defense back-hug ("Eun-ah sshi, isn't that just a hug?") 🤣🤣 It tops even the penguin huddle back-hug.

5. Whenever he pulls her in for an embrace, cradling the back of her head -- it is heartfelt and tender. So quiet. So good.

It's actually the domestic bliss, the mundane joys of everyday life they share that really sear into my memory, not the ostentatious PDA really

This week's episodes were a miss for me.
There were some good things. First, the cutest things were Empress Penguin moves and Ji Hwan's smile during the backhug post apology. Also, I did like Ji Hwan affirmatively standing up for Eun Ha to YeNa both at lunch and in their meeting when weirdly YeNa tried to present her case why she deserved and got him better than Eun Ha.
But the show fell flat in many ways. First, Ji Hwan's possessiveness and jealously when he pulled Eun Ha's chair AND took away her ability to choose her own meal was all kinds of awfulness. I for one hate the trope of ML's physically yanking women by wrist or here by chair. Also, this kind of anger and attempt to control the woman is often a step towards larger abusive dynamics. He never apologized for that--I wish he would have. I understood more when he was jealous of seeing her with Hyun Woo, a man who had declared that he like Eun Ha. Here, it was a waiter doing his job and she was merely trying to order. I know dramas like to put in petty jealousness as a sign of affection, but this just was awful and was left unreflected or called out.
I also was puzzled by the backtracking to weird chasteness by both Ji Hwan and Eun Ha after their confession and kiss. It just seemed to be put in for laughs, but it just seemed sad and unfunny at this point in the story.
Finally, I realized I didn't like what the writers are doing to Eun Ha and MiHo. Supposedly, both are strong and sensible women; however, the writers are just having things happen to them by the men and their role is just to be the wise one in the relationship. The men are getting more backstory and "growth." We are learning more about Ji Hwan and Il Yeong. However, is the only formative thing in Eun Ha's life seems to be that she met a boy who was nice when she was 6? What about her parents--are the dead or alive? What happened after she moved away? Other than Hyun Woo oppa, what happened to her? Is going to be her full arc? It's starting feel unequal, and I don't love it. Similarly, with MiHo, the pregnancy arc undermines the relationship. Il Yeong's drunken appearances and confessions do nothing to make this relationship seem to be one to root for when Il Yeong only came to his senses after learning she was pregnant. I don't know how the writers are going to resolve this at this point without it being sad or icky or trite. Why did they do this?
Finally, it seems like they are going to pair YeNa with Hong Gi. Make it quick if you are because YeNa's constant presence around Ji Hwan and Eun Ha does nothing for their story or the drama.
Overall, I still like this show a lot, but this week just seemed self-indulgent and even a bit cringey with the aegyo, especially when paired with the weird chasteness. I hope the show gets back on track next week.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the sweetest of the sweet recap!! 🍭🙏

If we thought Aegia KHAAJA was the epitome of Ji-hwan's charm we got another 10 sweet thinks coming. Gosh all those lovey-dovey looks, preening, King's robe flapping style entrance, display of his forearms flexed to show veins popping and then fainting away at the mere sight of an exposed nape at a hair flip. Yes sweet dreams are made of these. 😊❤🥰💃

But the really real sweetness was the apology conversation and attempted back flip turned back hug in the kitchen. 🫰😂

Ye-na and her toxicity have no place in uri Deer Family but please make Mi-ho part of the family pali, pali. Hope Il-young mans up soon to have a real conversation with Mi-ho. Uri Mi-ho deserves better. Or else I'd ship her with Marketing Deerling who needs to stay away from his model and providing her with free band-aid. Andwae, don't go there drama. 🙈

In a sure case of delusional overthinking I'm loving ALL the Lobster jokes the drama is teasing us with. 🙃 🦞 Surely the writers team is on DB. 😊❤

I love the beautifully clear-sighted recap. Thank you @DaebakGrits. You have not lost sight of the plot like us squee-ing Beanies. 👏👏👏
While we all know things are going to get darker and evil dad is surely going to make a move, we hope that uri Deer Family will overcome all obstacles and challenges. Hopefully no one will get kidnapped or killed. 🫣 It would be nice to have fake Hyun-woo part of the Deer Family too. Basically anyone but she who should not-be-named. She's just been endlessly toxic and rude to uri Eun-ha. Heck even uri Yang-hee would be a welcome addition to the Deer Family.

Till then more fluffy, cuteness overload please. Preening in front of the mirror, making grand dramatic entrances at breakfast, throwing finger hearts and blowing kisses - hopefully translating to actual, real kisses. Hwaiting!! ❤😊❤

Whilst understanding the frustrations of Beanies, I actually have a slightly different take on the Miho-Il Young love plot-line.

I just want it resolved WELL, I don't actually need it to be resolved FAST. (I may have very different things to say if this is Episode 16)

So I guess I am more tolerant of his fumbling missteps (I don't think it's a scripting oversight; I think it's intentional). There is a disparity in their ages and emotional maturity levels and it is playing out believably.
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ON IN-LAWS:
P.S. Some have a gripe about why Il-Young seems to bypass Mi-Ho for her parents. As an East Asian myself, I would like to shed some light for cultural context:

We have this idiom loosely translated as: "Attack stratagem of the in-laws / Go the route of the in-laws." Basically it means buttering up to, or ingratiating yourself to your future in-laws, to better secure their approval for the marriage.

You can call it a power move, deplore it as Machiavellian, or just confess it is the plain desperation of a lovelorn suitor, but it has worked for centuries and will continue to do so -- both in drama-land and IRL.

We also have another common saying amongst East Asians: "You don't marry a person; you marry their whole family."

So Il-Young, who is after all the Thirsty Deer's resident business strategist, is doing the most astutely long-range macro-planning if his end-game is a lifetime happy together with Mi-Ho.

Touching base with the elders of the family is one of the strongest signals of commitment you can give as a marriage prospect.

True story: My nearly in-laws (yes, the IRL ex-mobster) had a similar love story. He was on his way to an arranged blind date, walked past a football field (very Mi-ho here...) and saw a girl kicking a soccer ball. It was love at her sight. He never showed up at the blind date. Instead, he pointed at her and asked which family she was from, marched up to their house and immediately asked her parents if he could date her, with marriage in mind. Prologue of how my ex was born ❤

I haven't finished ep 11 yet but wanna join in the discussion

- I do not find Ji-hwan's jealousy cute at ALL
- I love how extra the cat mob boss I'd. Velour suit and cat balloon? So theatrical
- The FL was giving Dorothy vibes with her outfit in that one scene. She even had a basket!
- I wouldn't have expected it but I'm rooting for Ye-na and redhead guy to be a secondary couple

i am here just to share how much i love this show. The dork Ji Hwan the Deerlings and Eun Ha being the Hwanghu Penguine... and everything else just makes me happy everytime i watch (everytime means on many many rewatch)
The physucal acting power UTG has is class...i never seen anyone do this great comedy with physical actions and not making it look loud or cringe or OTT.
and him getting flustered in kitchen and on the couch.. that guy is dorkest among all the dorks 🤣 ❤️
Yes i agree this weeks episodes were low on comedy (like first 10 epi) still it gave a lot of information abt JH and what life he lived and how he became what he was once and wanting that side away from him in future.
What i love... Eun Ha knows n understands JH in out and how he is taking her lead, opening up to her one step at a time and its not far when he will finally able to speak to her about him being Hyun Woo.
and that reunion gonna be emotional and will surely make me cry...

I am just here to read your comments as a fan girl:) I loved them all, including all their faults :) I assume next week episodes will not be as good as this week!

Someone give Kwon Yul a happy role please. He was just so cute taunting in thumbnails.

Wonderful and fair recap as always, @daebakgrits 💛 Thank you.

I adore this show, but this week, I spent more time cringing than enjoying it. There were some lovely little moments, yes, but also some very unlovely behaviours from our characters that raised some questions which have already been beautifully summarised in the recap and comments. I'm not a fan of physical comedy especially in a rom-com 🙈 so I recognise that's an added barrier for me. This might sound weird but...I MISS this show. It had a shine to it that has felt absent in the last four episodes.

In the writers we trust? I don't know anymore. But I shall persevere. The cast have been working so hard and I will support them to the end. Fighting 🥰💗

I'm willing to take this show as it is--which for me is an occasionally comic, but not very romantic rom-com portraying a really attractive couple where the male lead, and all the men, are behaving child-like in ways that are only occasionally funny. (Having experienced male immaturity all my adult life, in and out of the workplace, and of course, being an immature male myself, I do get tired of it as a rom-com trope.)

But the one thing about the male female dynamic in this show is that the women are actually correctly calling out the men for their behavior, so clearly, the writers know how they are portraying the male characters, and yet they aren't having the male characters respond in ways that show they are learning their lessons!

A prime example of this is Ji-hwan not letting Eun-ha know about the specific danger she is in, when she told him that he had to be honest with her and tell her what was going on. He recognized she was right, but he just told her things she already pretty much knew, that he had a criminal past. While it was noble and upright of him to take full responsibility, he really should have said exactly why he reacted so strongly when he saw the Kitty Gang leader smirking at her and offering her balloons, that she was in real danger.

Of course, its even less forgiveable for the prosecutor to not tell her that she was under direct threat, although since he is as immature as the male lead, it just fits with the show's general portrayal of men.

So what's the message here? In the early episodes I thought the show had a simple but appealing lesson--circumstances and people are not always what they seem, whether on the Internet or in real life, and people, especially ex-cons, should be given second chances if they show they are trying to overcome past mistakes. I guess this latter theme of forgiving past mistakes will reappear, even with the relationship behavior of both Ji-hwan and Il-hwan, but overall, to me, the message of these last 4 episodes is that women are usually the only adults in the room. I can certainly agree, but, as I said, its not a rom-com theme I particularly enjoy!

I enjoyed watching the deerlings and the lead couple deal with their new relationship. Ji Hwan and Eun Ha were cute to a degree.
I glossed over some of the scenes. Il Young needs to be more honest and him bribing her parents is unnecessary. They already like him but he doesnt know that. Ye Na is annoying but I liked that Hong Ki was nice to her.
I liked Yang Hee's tweed jackets. Just saying. 😊

Yup I am pretty disappointed with the 2nd couple coz I used to look forward to their appearance together. Now I can't watch their scenes anymore and if I did, Im just mad at them and the writer who brought out the pregnancy issue.

*Oh yes please adopt Hyun-woo too, feelings! 😂

I don't mind the fluff and cuteness but I wish they done it after they developed a more in depth relationship between the leads. It's still surface level for me unlike in doctor slump the leads were doing fluff after solving every conflict between them and best understanding of each other. I do like the second leads storyline a lot. I don't mind the pregnancy plot and these two episodes they seemed they'll be good parents and they can handle it.

I appreciate the maturity in writing that despite the overdose of sweetness after becoming an official couple, Eun-ha took a firm stand at being exluded in the guise of being protected. Ji-hwan not only recognizing his mistake but also genuinely apologizing and the OTP not only acknowledging these issues but also that they needed to work on them instead of just glossing it over was commendable.

I'm sad the writing which had built up Mi-ho is now letting her down bad. Her being literally arm-twisted into accepting Il-young is making me *smh* in dismay and disapproval. I liked their love story and rooted for them. A little more honesty and frank discussion much like the OTP would have been appreciated. This bribing of parents is such an unwanted and unwelcome gesture.

The main female actress has found her role. Never liked her before. But I was very much surprised with her acting here. A complete Transformation.