Early Access: Do You Like Brahms? E2 (Patreon)

E2. Well, I needn't have worried; it looks like I like this one, and very well, too. Woot! I don't love it to pieces yet, but it's still early days, so it's still a possibility?

As others before me have said, there is a lot of subtext in this drama that tells us more about what our characters are feeling, beyond the dialogue in a scene. The awkward shifting of a gaze; a nervous pause; a twitch or fidget; the self-conscious meeting of eyes; these all serve as signposts that tell us more about what's really going on with our characters beyond the surface, and it all feels detailed and true to life. I like it.

Song Ah definitely has feelings for Dong Yoon, as we become increasingly sure of, and the clincher is the way she responds when he tells her to say "I love you" three times to her violin. She complies, but her shy shifting gaze, which flicks in his direction every so often, tells us that she's really saying it to him.

And, it seems that Dong Yoon might have feelings for her too, since she's the one that he calls, and the one that he asks, to meet him at the airport upon his return. And, the fact that they feel the need to keep their private meeting as secret from everyone else, tells me that they do place special meaning on their interactions. Why else pretend that Song Ah is late to the dinner gathering, when she'd actually already been with Dong Yoon at his workshop, when Min Seong called?

I can see, though, that neither of them would act on these feelings, out of consideration to Min Seong, whom Dong Yoon used to date. Plus, there's the thing where Min Seong has said that she still harbors feelings for him. All the more that Song Ah wouldn't allow herself to act on her feelings for Dong Yoon.

And then there's the whole Brahms parallel, with Joon Young. He's clearly uncomfortable about the fact that Jung Kyung is back in Korea with Hyun Ho, but he doesn't say anything about it. His silent stretches and his slight hesitations, when answering questions, say so much, though, about how difficult this is, for him.

So Joon Young basically loved Jung Kyung for years, but never became properly cognizant of it, until it was too late because she was dating Hyun Ho. I can see how that might happen. But Jung Kyung seems to like Joon Young too, given that she kissed him just a month ago after his New York recital, and now, tests the waters by asking Joon Young if she should marry Hyun Ho. This, I don't quite get, because if Jung Kyung likes Joon Young instead of Hyun Ho, why would she date Hyun Ho for years, while testing the waters with Joon Young? If she believed that Joon Young liked her, she could have approached him directly instead of breaking his heart by dating someone else?

I must agree with other viewers that Show does a very nice job setting up Joon Young to be a sensitive soul. His sensitivity to caffeine; the way he has difficulty eating before and after a performance; that quick shot of the sleeping aids that he keeps in his hotel room; these all add up quickly to show us the kind of sensitive soul that he is.

The more I learn about his superstar life, the more I feel sorry for Joon Young. He's really been working himself like a machine, taking part in competitions and performing, focusing only on winning prize money to support his family, and living up to the expectations placed on him, for winning the scholarship that was awarded in memory of Jung Kyung's mother. I find it so sad, really, that he's traveled so much that he doesn't really have a place to call home.

The fact that he's never learned to enjoy his own music, and judges whether a performance is good based on other people's reactions to it, says a lot about how he's operated all this time. His own pleasure and enjoyment has never crossed his mind; it's only mattered to him that other people approved of his music. I find that a very lonely and sad existence, and I like that Song Ah solidifies what the female maestro had told Joon Young, that he should learn to play in a way that satisfies his heart.

I do enjoy the connection that's starting to take shape, between Joon Young and Song Ah. For a start, he seems very considerate of her, which I find very sweet. It's in the small things, like the way he accepts the coffee from her even though he doesn't really drink coffee because it makes his heart race, and then, the way he notices that her coffee is kind of bashed up and partially spilled, and quickly switches coffees with her, taking a sip out of it so that she doesn't have a chance to switch it back. It feels very gentlemanly of him, and his consideration for Song Ah certainly doesn't escape Jung Kyung's notice.

I also like how Song Ah gets what he means, when he tells her that it helps the page turner to watch the pianist's breath. It sounds very obtuse, but Song Ah grasps it and does a good job turning the pages for him during his performance. I just like the idea that they connect in a way that not everyone can.

The way the two of them wait for each other's taxis, even though neither of them is actually waiting for a taxi, is cute. They are both such polite, considerate people.

I really like the fact that Song Ah chooses to turn back at the train station, and go back to the restaurant, so that she can sit and talk with Joon Young. She's such a shy and reserved person, that this feels like a big thing for her. I could be wrong, but I feel like this is driven more by compassion for him, from what she can see of his struggles, than an actual liking for him. And I like that idea, that these two people will connect as friends first, before any romance enters the picture.