Early Access: Breakup Probation, A Week E9 (Patreon)

E9. This turned out to be a really poignant penultimate episode.

The fact that Seon Jae knows what Ga Ram is dealing with, and realizes why she wants to break up with him, makes all the difference.

From his acquiescence to her request to break up, to asking her for one final day together,  to bringing her flowers on their last date, everything that Seon Jae does this episode, feels so bittersweet. Given that we see Seon Jae visiting the store that he'd first managed, and thanking the manager there, for everything, it does feel as if Seon Jae's getting ready to leave, so I wasn't that surprised by the reveal, that Seon Jae's plan all along, had been to take Ga Ram's place, that she might live.

It feels like a bit of a gamble on Seon Jae's part, really, because he doesn't know how these supernatural rules work (and neither do we, actually). He has no assurance (that we know of) that if he takes Ga Ram's place, that that will change her fate in any way. And yet, he chooses to die in her place, for the hope - not the assurance - that he might save her, with his death. Ack. That's moving, honestly.

That burgeoning sense of impending tragedy, during their last date, colors everything in bittersweet hues. On the surface, we have an impending break-up, and underneath that, we have a layer of impending death, too.

There's so much wistfulness in the way Seon Jae talks to Ga Ram about why he'd chosen that tree as the place where he'd wait for her, and how he'd wanted to take care of her for a long time, and there's also a similar yearning, in Ga Ram's voiceovers, as she drinks in the sight of Seon Jae, and says that she's thankful that her last look at him, is of his smiling face.

These two love each other so much, and the more time we see them spend together, the more I'm convinced that they would be able to solve all the issues in their relationship, if given the chance. In fact, in our current context where death is about to separate them, all of their misunderstandings in the past now seem trivial in comparison. If only they could have had that insight and perspective, before death had come into the picture. That's pretty thought-provoking, isn't it?

I'm really interested to see how Show wraps up this story, now that Seon Jae's jumped in and taken Ga Ram's place; something that the contract hasn't taken into account.

Final review will be up on the blog on: Friday, 22 Oct 2021!