At the beginning of Episode 21 our writer-nim found a final dramatic use for Gold Pro: Planting the idea that our leads could be dating. How ridiculous! Yet once an idea is planted in the mind things can happen, just as I suspect the idea planted in Bom’s mind by Silla Mom that Bom could marry Maknae will grow in yet another example of dramatic symmetry.

Is it OK for me to quibble over how Gyeol was dressed when he went to see Seri? I think that they had his uniform wrong. Maybe someone who knows can advise me? He is in full dress blues (we used to call that our war suit) and has three full gold rings around the sleeve. That does not fit his referring to himself as a Captain. Also, the pin that he is wearing above his ribbons indicates that he is a Surface Warfare Officer rather than a Doctor. I doubt that he was qualified to stand watches on the bridge of destroyer. Someone in the wardrobe department really screwed up. That being said it is beyond past time that Gyeol be clued into the situation- Professor Brother should not have been the first to be told.

It would help if Seri actually knew her own mind about the situation. She clearly does not think that she is in love with Professor Brother and says that at one time she even thought that Gyeol “was a good option for her” (even if she was not enamored of her best friend’s Oppa). She was literally in tears over what is happening

Hani’s Baby Mama got to hold Hani for a while. She repeated her offer to skip her wedding and live with Professor Brother and Hani. He correctly noted that she would never be satisfied with that life which is the absolute truth. No matter how distraught she is that does not cancel the facts but I do not think she even sees things as they are. She still has no idea of the hurt that she inflicted on Professor Brother nor the extent to which her ties with him were completely shattered. She is so irrational that it is frightening- we have a scary situation here.

Maknae’s pride got in the way over Bom’s job offer: Did writer-nim really have to do that? Or maybe the producers did not have the budget to staff Bom’s office? In any case Silla Mom took the opportunity to put in another plug for Maknae. This is a shame though because that love train has once again been derailed.

The Right Woman fixing dinner for Eagle Brother number 2 was nice.

Our leads have a sort of first date at the hospital. It was cute but the ML catching the FL coming back from her shower scene was way too watered down for me.

EAGLE BROS (Ep 21-22) What hospital gives patients enough IV fluids to fill an Olympic size swimming pool? Writer/Director have not run out of clever ways to create “coincidences” for Han and Gwang-Sook to share time and space. Han’s son badgering him to get full hospital check up and distracted Gwang-Sook hit by a hotel bus to corral them at the same hospital was a chef’s kiss of fate. Prior to, Han’s friend correctly diagnoses Han’s ailments as fated love. And that disturbs our logical and prim Hedgehog. But there is an outward change in Han: he wants to keep thinking and seeing Gwang-Sook. Meanwhile, Gwang-Sook told GolfPro to go to hell. Whether that sticks is another question, but the only good to come of it was Gwang-Sook being asked if she is dating Han. That plants the seed in her mind even though she clearly denies any emotional connection with him to her prying mother.

Boem-Soo comes to his senses and allows Young-Eun to see Ha Ni. YE is still too emotional to think clearly as she claims she will ditch her wedding to re-start a life with Beom-Soo and Ha Ni. But even though there is a lingering affection entombed in his heart, Beom-Soo fires back YE’s reason for leaving: to find the wealth and status Boem-Soo could never give her. Whether this short meeting will make her more emotional and demand formal custody is the key question. Boem-Soo is still too bitter to consider having a “bad” mother in Ha Ni’s life. But having Seri in a mother role would be worse. Seri does not know her feelings (it is still only tied to Ha Ni’s cuteness) but she does admit she has no intention to marry Gyul. But she is a coward not to tell him. At least Gang-Soo was honest in rejecting Bom’s employment offer even though it could hurt her feelings. But his reason and independence won her over after being fortified by her brother and father’s take on the situation.

The starter’s pistol for Mi-Soon and Chul-Soo’s race to an official relationship has started in earnest. Ah, a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I think we can engrave Mi-Sook’s name as the nicest person on the Eagle cast trophy.

Heung-Soo continues to be a mess making him the most loathsome character, slightly more than Ok-Boon. On the evil side of the ledger, Silla CEO planted an industrial spy to get “dirt” on Eagle Brewery for a news expose. However, the film of mothy nuruk cannot be confirmed to even be from Eagle. Besides, Nuruk (누룩) is a traditional fermentation starter that's meant to saccharify the rice. In other words, nuruk contains enzymes that help break down the starches in rice and transform them into fermentable sugars. These sugars are eventually consumed by the yeasts, also present in the nuruk, to create alcohol. I would assume even if there are biological material in the nuruk, it would be eliminated in the distilling process such as in the US, there are food and safety standards for de minimis pest contaminates in processed foods. A 2013 UN food study...

Episode 22 continued our leads hospital date. More cuteness.

“Extortion under pretense of Marriage”? For a gift? (and what extortion- maybe it was a bad translation) I have heard many ridiculous legal theories while watching Kdramas but I have to say that this one may very well win The Grand Prize for Legal Fantasy. Our Golf Pro looked and sounded ridiculous to the very end and about as far from a true Macho Man as one can get. It did give Baldy a chance to financially rescue our FL’s mom, so it worked as a plot device.

Silla Mom is moving for an early wedding between Gyeol and Seri but there may be a new fly in the ointment: Gyeol has gone to work in the clinic of his pretty female friend (who actually bears some resemblance to his sister Bom). So let us count the potential performers in what could turn into a three-ring romance circus: Gyeol, His pretty friend, Professor Brother, Han’s Baby Mama and Seri with Silla Mom attempting to be the Ringmaster. Is there such a thing as a love pentagon?

But maybe not as Professor Brother proceeds to get angry with Seri for presuming to stay and take care of Hani and clean up his place when he was asleep with a fever. Seri tries to explain why she cares but doesn’t really understand herself. Only now it has him thinking. The situation is becoming complicated.

Bom will be so disappointed when she learns that Maknae has landed a job with a defense company. I am too. Did I mention that Maknae’s birth secret may not be what we thought- or maybe it is what we thought, and Silla Dad has been misled.

As nice as the hospital date was the most poignant moment belonged to Mi Sun and Chulsoo. Her divorce was final, and she is crying. Chulsoo finds her and takes her for a walk under the blossoming cherry trees. He congratulated her on her new beginning with cherry blossoms raining all around them. What a wonderful foreshadowing of their happiness to come.

Note: It actually is cherry blossom time over there- right now my sister in law is visiting my nephew who teaches English in Japan (in Kyoto- how lucky is that)- taking his brother along with her- and they have been sending back some spectacular pictures.

It looks like the real makjang returns next week. I am not looking forward to it. But I do not forget what Silla Chairman chooses to ignore- sooner or later his wife will find out what he has been trying to do to the Eagle Brewery. That is when the real explosion will happen.

Episode 22 puts forth the theme of new beginnings. CEO Han finally realizes that his two-day hospital stay with Gwang-Sook was the perfect vacation. He realizes he can find happiness after his wife’s passing. His “quasi” dates (breakfast, Go-Stop, reading comic books) helped reinforce his attraction to a woman outside his normal circle of associates. For a micro-manager, Han not doing any work for two days is out-of-character to be a concern to his senior employees, right? His remark that he is a “friend” with Gwang-Sook to Mi-Ae was a turning point, more so than Mi-Ae pushing Han to commit to marriage date (conditional). Mi-Ae does not know Gwang-Sook by sight? We did get insight into Mi-Ae Eagle stay . . she raised Gang-Soo when both Jang-Soo’s parents were alive . . . as their youngest child. We knew Mi-Ae had a child out of wedlock and assumed it was an affair child with Eagle owner, but since the stigma of illegitimate children makes me suspect that Gang-Soo is not an Eagle brother by blood but by the kindness of Jang-Soo’s father’s cover-up for Mi-Ae's society stigma.

Gang-Soo getting a job at a defense contractor makes perfect sense. Why didn’t we think about that possibility? It will be disappointing for Bom, but now that her father needs “excuses” to continue to see Gwang-Sook, I suspect they will be invited over often for dinner or brand events.

What made no sense was Ok-Boon’s explanation of why she kept Piano Lady’s horrible secrets from Heung-Soo. Is physical gang punishment better than a broken heart? When the landlady came to see him, I thought it was to evict him so he would return to Eagle (to take Gang-Soo’s place), but the return of the intact ring was a clear reference to Chul-Soo’s return of his broken wedding ring. Piano Lady may have let her fantasy escape feelings with Heung-Soo cloud her judgment and her reality.

Seri’s fantasy and judgment about her professor and Ha Ni is out-of-control. She got to be a housewife for a day. She seemed to enjoy it. But Boem-Soo was within his right to snap back at Seri’s inappropriate intrusion into his private life. Being nice or caring does not give one a license to overstep professional and personal boundaries. Her carelessness puts Boem-Soo in danger of losing his academic position and his daughter if either Young-Eun or Mi-Ae twist the facts to paint to destroy his reputation. I think this may be where the writer is heading.

Every woman needs her champion, and Mr. Go stands up to GolfStalker in a way that Joo-Sil cannot ignore. Chul-Soo consoling Mi-Soon’s emotional divorce decree finalization day had a similar impact on her. These couples have acknowledged new beginnings.

As for the cliffhanger ending, there are problems with news report in content and preparation. The allegation that the organic rice as stale and insect ridden not only defames Eagle but all their suppliers. South Korea’s defamation laws are very strict. Defamation is both a civil and criminal...

Grumpy hedgehog with a crush is the cutest grumpy hedgehog.

Eagle family's hospital rotation:
Eldest Bro ✓ 🕊️
Maknae ✓
Second Bro ✓
Gwang-sook ✓

Who will be next?

Together with Mr Hedgehog I thoroughly enjoyed his two happiest days in his life since passing away of his wife. 😊 Their hospital date was so cute,😍 including comic book reading, listening to music together and playing Go Stop cards. Uri Chairman Han was all smiles! 🙂 Gwangsuk really became the light of his life and I think he is now fully aware of that.

The other couple which made me happy were Vice President Brother and Right Woman - supporting each other and enjoying little things like home made dinner or cherry blossom petals. They are so lovely and peaceful together.

And then we have Mr. Go silently observing and then saving Gwangsuk's Mom from Calculating Golfer Nam.