LET’S WATCH (SEASON 1, EPISODE 3): CAFE MINAMDANG
GUYS. I’M ALIVE, TIME IS CONTINUING, THE YEARS ARE CHANGING. I MISSED Y’ALL. I MISSED THIS SHOW. I MISSED WRITING. LET’S JUST GET BACK INTO IT.
Now. Obviously, it’s been QUITE the time since I last picked this show up. I am going to be interested to see how easy it is to come back to, though!
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD – READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Content Warning: there is violence in this episode.
Okay! Without cheating (I PROMISE), I can already remember where I left off in episode 2. Which was Jae-hui breaking into the house. And there was a closet. Send help.
So, at the start of episode 3, we get to rewind a little way and see what our favorite group of misfits was doing while Jae-hui was breaking in. I do really enjoy the “Sherlockness” of it all, but it’s somehow done in a smarter, more thoughtful way. I think it’s because they include the audience in the plan the whole time instead of the typical Sherlock-esque hero that just arrives at the conclusion at the end with his outlandish stream-of-conscious thought journey. Even if Han-jun had some hints of that earlier, much like the supernatural vibes I got from episode 1, he hasn’t displayed them since. Since episode 2 (and now continuing at least into episode 3), he’s just an intelligent man using his brain and his resources to connect point A to point F in a way that is logical and makes sense.
OOP, not the Dispatch pap taking pictures of their exchange. We can never have nice things. AND NOW WE’RE BACK AT THE CLOSET. NOTHING IN THIS LIFE IS EASY. FOR US OR HAN-JUN, WHO GOT KNOCKED CLEAN OUT.
You really have to love and appreciate actors who aren’t afraid to make hideous faces AND smell feet to get the shot. My face and reactions are always disgusting, but feet in my vicinity? Goodbye.
Prosecutor Cha is so sweet, but it definitely feels like he and Jae-hui have a history. Did they discuss this in episode 2 and I forgot? Yikes to me, if that’s the case.
But this does lead me to another MAJOR thing this drama does SO well. They take a serious moment or an important plot point, serve it up perfectly, and then soften it with humor and light-heartedness. I love it so much; it’s one of my favorite characteristics of a drama. LIKE DETECTIVE NA PUSHING JAE-HUI INTO HAN-JUN AND HIM CATCHING HER SO DRAMATICALLY BEFORE DROPPING HER ASS ON THE GROUND OF THE CAFE IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. DFJNSUAHNDFUASDFASFAF
And then RECOGNIZING HER as the young girl from his past? I fell on the ground harder than Jae-hui, I think.
Seo In Guk as the Shaman? PURE GOLD. He plays empathetic and pitying and wise, all wrapped up in a humorous and whimsical box. Plus, his touch of assertiveness when he’s exerting his own form of justice is so necessary.
Jae-hui calling out Han-jun for being a profiler and not a shaman is great. I just wish that she understood that he was set up. I KNOW, I KNOW, we need conflict to make this interesting, but still. It’s not a good drama if you aren’t wanting to shake a character at some point, right?
I AM CACKLING AT HAN-JUN FLIRTING WITH HYE-JOON WHEN SHE WENT TO PICK HIM UP WHEN HE GOT OUT OF JAIL, THOUGH. AND THE REUNION OF HAN-JUN AND SU-CHEOL IS HYSTERICAL, PLEASE. SOFT PRECIOUS BABIES. Screaming in caps aside, I do absolutely love this opportunity to discover the development of the cafe and to see how Han-jun became a “shaman”. The literal shift from Han-jun to Shaman, specifically the creation of this shift, was so fun to see. It was also fun to see Han-jun and Su-cheol show some assholes what it’s like to meet someone their own size.
I hate them (respectfully). Han-jun hiring the new baby sibling because he’s handsome and it fits his new brand. And in typical story greatness for this drama, in the midst of the cheer and the jokes and laughs, we get some real confirmation about Su-cheol and Han-jun’s history as well as some information about the murder. ALSO. I love the confirmation that the best gang of misfits has been cute and adorable and hilarious with each other since inception.
We’re about halfway through so you know what that means!
STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUS BULLET POINT TIME, LET'S GO:
Yes! YES. WITH THE BREAKING OF THE FOURTH WALL. The Deadpool of it all.
Oh SHIT. We’re back in real-time with a confrontation between Jae-hui and Han-jun regarding his “crimes”. PLEASE TELL HER YOU WERE SET UP. Or, y’know. Just roast her instead, goodness. He really went all in to explain why she shouldn’t be a detective because she’s narrow-minded and sticks to the conclusions she jumps to. And he isn’t even a little wrong. Romantic connection aside, I feel like this has to sting considering he was also someone she looked up to as a police officer. Ice cold in his delivery, too.
She, on the other hand, is narrow-minded in this avenue because she feels he’s guilty of her brother’s death. So the betrayal has layers here. But there is no doubt at all that Jae-hui is completely consumed with the idea that Han-jun is responsible for the circumstances that led to her brother’s death. Han-jun flat-out told her he made no mistake, despite what she thinks, and she still tells him to watch his back. For the first time, I do not like where her character arc is going. 🙁
WHY IS HAN-JUN ME AFTER TALKING TO ANY HUMAN EVER? Another BEAUTIFUL example of softening the stage after a heated scene.
Jae-hui says she’ll reveal she’s the sister after she catches him and such but I think her blow-up was kind of a dead giveaway? No?
OHHHHH, INTERESTING THOUGHT. WHAT IF THE REAL KILLER IS PROSECUTOR CHA? I’m not sure why, but the way he reacted when Jae-hui said she located him was odd. Again, I could be missing context since it’s been so long since I watched episode 2, but still.
I’m glad that Shin Gyeong-ho acknowledges he’s entirely batshit.
Why are Hye-joon and Na-dan some of the funniest characters to ever be written?
Update: Jae-hui is also batshit.
SU-CHEOL HAPPILY FARTING IN THE CAR IS JUST. FJUSHFIOSAFA. “I’M ABOUT TO POOP MY PANTS.” THIS DRAMA CANNOT BE REAL.
NOT THE WAVING GOODBYE AND THE FINGER HEARTS AS SU-CHEOL GETS INTO A FIGHT WITH THE SECURITY GUARDS.
THE BABY HELPING FIGHT BACK, I’M SOFT.
Okay, so we have fun action and scary action. I guess we’re about to get back into sca— ah yes, there it is. I can’t watch this part due to my own triggers SAUR I’m skipping ahead a tiny bit!
ALRIGHTY, Chief is still alive, but roughed up and bagged so. Let’s continue and see if the idiot squad can save him. GOD, I love them so much. I laugh out loud SO often in this drama. The chemistry of this cast is fantastic.
Enter one Min Yu-seon, who was the woman with Shin Gyeong-ho when he committed his (most recent) murder. She, in a hilarious fashion, comes to give a statement against Gyeong-ho. I suddenly love her?
GOOD IDEA TO GET A WARRANT FIRST BEFORE LETTING HER MOVE, CHA.
Oh my god, the look Han-jun gives Jae-hui.
Hye-joon was right about the burn scar!
EPISODE 3 IS DOWN! Let’s discuss this so far!
To be quite honest, I feel like the main point of this episode (and the highlight for me, really) was the flashback into the development of Minamdang and “the Shaman” personality. The confrontation between Jae-hui and Han-jun was also important, I think, since it leads to us finding out that even Han-jun isn’t sure of who the killer is.
I love the rhythm and the style of this drama. I love the way it develops, the way it tells its stories, and the way it emphasizes doing the right thing and family. I hope it just continues to get better.
Episode 4 is going to get wild, it looks like. I’m a little intimidated, but also super excited to get into it. FRIDAY IS ONLY A FEW DAYS AWAY.
Until then, y’all!
Ash✨