Early Access: Mad For Each Other E9 (Patreon)

E9. Ahh. This was such an excellent episode. I love it, so much.

First of all, kudos to Oh Yeon Seo, who knocks it out of the park this episode, portraying Min Kyung's vulnerability so well. There's a distinct sense of fragility about her, whether she's quietly trying to process what other people are saying to her, or whether she's attempting to speak up for herself. I felt for her, so much, through this entire episode. Really well done, I say.

I'm really glad that Min Kyung has Hwi Oh in her corner now, and I'm so pleased that it's such an instinctive thing that it's in force, even before they talk about it later in the episode. He's just automatically on her side now, and I love the idea of that.

I love that even though Min Kyung's slow to acknowledge that she has any kind of attachment to Hwi Oh - and therefore, he's part of the reason she decided not to move - Hwi Oh's not even that fussed about it, and just keeps sort of smiling little smiles to himself, because (I think) he instinctively knows how she feels, and knows that she's just too proud &/or awkward to talk about it, and he's rather amused by that.

I just like that fact that Hwi Oh seems generally rather amused by Min Kyung as a general rule now, when he'd started out being aggravated by her, at the beginning of our story. It makes me smile to realize how far these two have come, together.

Plus, I really like how deeply invested Hwi Oh is, in Min Kyung's problems. The way he gets so upset, when he hears that Terrible Ex's mom had come to see Min Kyung, is so.. comforting, really. He's all bug-eyed bluster, but because that bug-eyed bluster is in defense of Min Kyung, and he's getting all up in a twist on her behalf, it's really quite sweet.

Also, I'm proud of Min Kyung, for being able to say, even after all she's gone through, that she's done nothing wrong and therefore has nothing to be afraid of. That's the hardest thing to do, when you've been bullied and worn down the way Min Kyung has. Considering that she'd only recently been unable to trust herself on little things like whether she'd turned off the gas valve or closed the windows, this is huge, and I'm glad that Hwi Oh's right there to affirm her, as she articulates it.

The whole malicious article thing, where it even starts spreading among the neighbors, is awful, and I have to admit, I did feel perplexed that the ahjummas would decide to gang up on Min Kyung, to tell her to move out. Worse, they witness Terrible Ex's mom's horribly insincere act, where she makes herself out to be the victim, and Min Kyung the gold-digging perpetrator. It was hard to watch the ahjummas take all that at face value, and confront Min Kyung like that.

I'm glad that Hwi Oh sets them straight the first chance he gets, and the vehement manner in which he does it, gives me a sense of vicarious vindication, somehow.

I'm also really glad that Hwi Oh manages to find Min Kyung pretty quickly, and sits down to talk with her about it. Most importantly, I'm glad that he's quick to pledge himself as her ally, because that's exactly what Min Kyung needs. She needs to feel like she has someone in her corner, unconditionally. It's so perfect, that Hwi Oh tells Min Kyung to take photos of their handshake as evidence; he really does understand her so well. It's weird, but it's also clear that this act of taking photos as evidence, gives her a sense of assurance and comfort.

The little detail, that Hwi Oh doesn't let go of Min Kyung's hand immediately, and even rubs her knuckles gently, with his thumb, feels so cozy and intimate. Augh. I need these two to figure out their relationship with each other, sooner than later, mostly so that I can see them being a cute couple on my screen.

I love that this episode, Su Hyun gets a chance to shine. Yes, it sucks that her ex-boyfriend acts all condescending at the convenience store, with his new girlfriend in tow, but it's cool that Samantha shows up, and partners so well with Su Hyun, in their spontaneous fake relationship act. I got a kick outta that.

How kind of Samantha, to wait for Su Hyun outside the store, until she'd finished work, because he figured that she could use a Neighborhood Unni right then. Aw.

Also, I thought it was great that Su Hyun had a chance to flex her singing chops; she sounded great. 🤩 I only very recently realized that Su Hyun's half of singing duo AKMU, so it was a treat to see her in action. I hope that Su Hyun the character, gets a big singing break, since there were so many people recording her impromptu performance, there on the street.

I know it's a small thing, but I do love that the ahjummas call out to Samantha in such a familiar manner. And, I find it endearing somehow, that they address him as Samantha, even though that's not his real name. I do like that they earnestly want to investigate the malicious article, more to clear Min Kyung's name than anything else.

And, how great, that Samantha's able to trace the IP address of poster of the malicious article, to conclude that the article, and all the comments, were all created by the same person. UGH. How horrible. And what an excellent coincidence, that Su Hyun's multiple part-time jobs actually afforded her the opportunity to witness what went down between Min Kyung and Ex's Mom, so that she's able to set the record straight for Min Kyung, right away. I feel like Samantha and Su Hyun are both MVPs, this episode.

I'm very pleased that the ahjummas make it a point to apologize to Min Kyung, and do so with sincerity. It's so bonus, that from being the ones attacking her, they're now the ones pledging to protect and defend her. Truly, context is everything, isn't it?

How great, that Min Kyung now has multiple people in her corner, when all she'd yearned for, earlier this episode, was just one person in her corner. I love that she received more than she'd even dared to ask for.

I also love the detail, that when Hwi Oh goes to see his psychiatrist, he still thinks about Min Kyung when talking about his anger issues, but this time, instead of being angry because of stuff she's said or done to him, he's now angry on her behalf, for all that she's gone through. Ahhh! That change in perspective gives me so much gratification, seriously!

Although we don't get a confirmation of whether Hwi Oh and Min Kyung actually start dating, I do love the little detail that we get in that highlight reel, where we see Hwi Oh and Min Kyung dressed similarly, as they take Howhi out for a walk together. That's such a cool grunge-chic sort of couple look, and I love how Hwi Oh's wearing sunglasses, just like how Min Kyung's always wearing sunglasses. I got so much delight from that little flash of a scene, honestly.

Next, I'm really curious to see how our ahjummas work together on Min Kyung's behalf, against the two-faced, evil mom of Terrible Ex.

Next episode notes will be out on: Monday, 23 August 2021!