Lee Soon-shin is the Best: Episode 36 Recap

by: Raine

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There is no payoff to watching this show. Every time something good happens, Mi-ryeong or Yeon-ah blast the warm, fuzzy, glowing feeling to smithereens.

AGB Nielson Nationwide had this episode coming in at 29.9%.

episode 36 recap

Jung-ae goes to Mi-ryeong’s to drop off tea for Soon-shin. She watches Soon-shin sing Chang-hoon’s favorite song, heartbroken. Then Mi-ryeong walks over to gloat and I see all sorts of family understandings lining up. I’m sick of contrived problems that would be fixed by listening and talking rather than assuming.

Anyway, Mi-ryeong invites Jung-ae in and acts disgustingly thankful, but Jung-ae refuses. She leaves before Soon-shin can get a good look at her. She goes after who she thinks is Jung-ae and Mi-ryeong stops her.

Jung-ae trudges away and is seen by Joon-ho who is coming to the party. She tells him not to tell Soon-shin that she was there. WHAT?! Why are you being so passive?

Mi-ryeong brags about Soon-shin and sweet talks the director who does not enjoy it. Soon-shin is disgusted by is and walks away. Chan-mi accosts her and asks to be shown her room. At least it allows Soon-shin a short escape from Mi-ryeong’s disgusting schmoozing.

Chan-mi fawns over her room and Soon-shin accepts it as usual oblivious Chan-mi behavior. Then Chan-mi tells her about Yoo-shin’s marriage issues and about all that’s going on at home. They’re probably too busy to acknowledge the audition. Great, so much interference that both sides think the other doesn’t care. Communication, people. Assumptions are bad.

Mi-ryeong is working on the director and writer and trying to get Soon-shin’s character beefed up. Finally, they leave and the other people follow, annoyed by Mi-ryeong. Yeon-ah pretends to try and stop them, but loves that Mi-ryeong’s ridiculous efforts are backfiring. On their way out, the director bumps into Joon-ho and tells him that he wouldn’t have come if he’d known Mi-ryeong would ask favors.

HA! Mi-ryeong’s actions are backfiring! Joon-ho scolds her and Mi-ryeong says my least favorite line, “What did I do?” Seriously? You’re back to that? You can’t see what’s right in front of your face? In any case, Yeon-ah pretends to be on Mi-ryeong’s side as Joon-ho tries to set the idiot straight. But the idiot is worried about her pride and the fact that HER daughter is playing a small role.

Uh…so what? Anyway, Mi-ryeong tries to get Soon-shin to read lines with Yeon-ah and neither girl wants to. Soon-shin begs her leave and then Joon-ho mentions Jung-ae’s visit. Mi-ryeong, of course, denies knowing about it.

Then Yeon-ah, playing nice, goes to see Soon-shin in her room. Soon-shin is unfriendly and asks why Yeon-ah came. She offers to read the script and Soon-shin turns her down. Then Yeon-ah turns on her, saying that she only got the role because of Mi-ryeong. She needs to stop using Mi-ryeong to get work.

Grr, you jealous fucking bitch. Grow up and stop fighting her when you already have your own career.

Yeon-ah goes downstairs and assures Mi-ryeong that Soon-shin will be fine. You fake. You fake. Mi-ryeong asks Yeon-ah to continue to take care of Soon-shin. Oh she will…

Jung-ae returns home and the family is mad she didn’t show up. After dinner, Yoo-shin asks Jung-ae what she would think about her living with her in-laws. Of course, Jung-ae looks surprised and Yoo-shin denies that it will happen. She heads upstairs to brood over Gil-ja’s contract.

Soon-shin heads to work and Mi-ryeong picks on her outfit, saying that Soon-shin will humiliate her. She leaves before Mi-ryeong can say anything else. In-sung arrives to drive her to the first reading and they get stuck in traffic. She’s late for the first reading, which makes Yeon-ah smirk. The older actresses scold her for making them wait and Yeon-ah defends her. The older actresses then say that the director never used to fall for lobbying. They hold high expectations of her. Yeon-ah smirks again like she thinks Soon-shin will fail.

Boo. Hiss.

They start reading and Soon-shin does very, very well. She shocks the hell out of the actresses and the director smirks, happy to show that he didn’t cave to Mi-ryeong, but chose based on talent. Yeon-ah scowls. Heh. Scowl away.

After the reading, Soon-shin speaks with the director who is pleased with her performance. The older actresses who approve of Soon-shin and tell her when to arrive and not to be late.

Yeon-ah glares and approaches Soon-shin who is now chatting with In-sung. She warns Soon-shin not to rely on her connections and to depend on her skill. Also, she shouldn’t embarrass Mi-ryeong or her.

Why are you so two-faced? This is purely spiteful and annoying. This is not what I want to watch. The bad stuff in this show far outweighs the good. We had two seconds of Soon-shin kicking ass and then we get…this?

Yoo-shin walks home and runs into Chan-mi who sympathizes with her. Then she brings up Soon-shin’s audition and the congratulatory party. Yoo-shin is furious and storms home to ask Jung-ae if she knew about the party at Mi-ryeong’s. Hye-shin is shocked and Jung-ae merely says things like that happen. Part of this is Jung-ae’s fault for not following up. But it doesn’t matter. The family has now turned on Soon-shin.

Soon-shin heads home after the reading, but doesn’t want to go in. Instead, she heads to her real home…but she can’t make herself go in either. She leaves and Jung-ae watches her go without chasing her, feeling betrayed.

RAWR.

Mi-ryeong is checking her next script when Soon-shin comes home. She’s immediately assaulted with questions, but Soon-shin doesn’t answer. Hwang finds the mother/daughter fight amusing.

Soon-shin can’t stop thinking about Yeon-ah’s threats, but luckily cutie pie Joon-ho VIDEO calls her to make her feel better. D’aw! He jokes that he’s doing a camera test on her and says that he’s glad that he didn’t make her get plastic surgery. They tease each other and then she admits that she was nervous because he wasn’t there. AWWW! More of this. MOAR.

After the conversation, he jumps happily onto his bed, grinning. She happily gets to studying her script, memorizing a line about “this person” she always thinks about. Just get married already, you two.

Hye-shin goes to meet the Harpy who is immediately evil. She wants an apology for the humiliation she suffered. And she wants Hye-shin to reconcile with her ex-husband who broke up with his girlfriend. He’s coming back to Korea. The Harpy doesn’t want Hye-shin back with him, but she can’t believe Hye-shin raised Woo-joo so badly.

O_O

As the Harpy yaps, Hye-shin remembers Jin-wook’s advice: she needs to fight back. So, finally, Hye-shin fights back. She will not get back together with ex. The Harpy should not use Woo-joo as an excuse. She should just leave. Hye-shin thought a lot before divorcing and doesn’t want the Harpy to say she raised Woo-joo wrong. Woo-joo is fine without a father to raise her and is happier than when she was living with her dad. The Harpy is shocked and Hye-shin tells her not to call anymore.

Although I’m proud, I think the Harpy isn’t through. Why? ‘Cause this show is all about the annoying.

On Hye-shin’s way home, she encounters Jin-wook who has rented out the room. She tells him not to move and admits that she told off the Harpy. She wants to remain good friends with him, like before. Ooooh, okay. Friends. I see…because just friends works…

She tells him not to skip class and to study; she needs to give back to him. They joke a bit and are generally cute.

Chan-mi brags about Soon-shin’s great fortune and apparently has been doing so since the party. Gil-ja says money is so good that Soon-shin is clinging to Mi-ryeong and making Jung-ae pitiful. Bok-man calls her on her crap, asking why Gil-ja would make the marriage issue so difficult if she pitied Jung-ae.

SCORE!

Gil-ja admits she agreed to the marriage if Yoo-shin promised to live with them. The family watches as she pitches a fit and then Chan-woo decides to do something about Gil-ja’s ridiculousness. He meets Yoo-shin and she agrees to live with him. He quietly assures her things will be fine – he’ll take care of it. Oooh, does he have a plan?

He gets Yoo-shin to sign the contract and brings it to his mother who is shocked and silenced. Then he says they should have a family marriage meeting. HA! Yoo-shin tells her family about it and they’re surprised that Yoo-shin would agree to moving in with Gil-ja. Well, Jung-ae says that Yoo-shin did well because no other man would want to marry her. They make plans for the family meeting. Hye-shin thinks Soon-shin should come, too, but Granny is against it. She’s pissed about Soon-shin ditching them and not calling to apologize. If they invite Soon-shin to the meeting, Granny won’t go.

Will she just keel over already?

Soo-jung sets out breakfast for her family and then decides to put it all away, angry at her cheating husband. Good. For. You! The family walks in and she tells them to make their own food. Joon-ho guesses that the parents fought. He follows his father out of the kitchen as they both munch on oranges. It’s actually a cute parallel to the last father/son scene.

Joon-ho tells Dong-hyuk to be nice to his wife and then wonders if Dong-hyuk is seeing another woman. Of course, Dong-hyuk denies it and turns it back on Joon-ho: you’re smiling an awful lot. But, it’s a crime for Dong-hyuk to see a new woman, not when Joon-ho does it.

Soo-jung follows Dong-hyuk and finds him playing racquetball with Mi-ryeong. nothing romantic is happening, but they’re laughing and having fun. Yeah, he’s a cheating McCheaterson.

Soon-shin takes cooking lessons from Young-hoon. He gets handsy and Joon-ho catches them. He gets jealous and starts mouthing off as per usual. Young-hoon asks if Soon-shin is the only actress in his agency – why is a CEO following her? I love the teasing. The lessons  continue and Soon-shin’s hands hurt. Young-hoon brings her some water and a smaller knife. Aw, so cute.

And it’s time for the family meeting, which is as awkward as I imagined it would be. It’s also Soon-shinless. Gil-ja finally apologizes for being rude. Granny wonders what is wrong with Yoo-shin. Chan-woo admits to chasing Yoo-shin for 20 years. Aw, that last one is cute. Bok-man is the only one who genuinely seems happy, and Granny notices. Gil-ja brings up Yoo-shin living with them because they couldn’t afford to buy the new couple a house. Bok-man admits to being opposed to the idea.

Then Chan-woo presents a contract he prepared for Jung-ae. He presents it to her and says that it’s only fair that he make a contract with Jung-ae to live with them because Gil-ja made Yoo-shin sign a contract. That’s news to Yoo-shin’s family and Gil-ja is shamed into silence.  He wants the marriage to be equal and would like to live in both houses, three months at a time.

I love Chan-woo. Points for him.

Soon-shin is running her lines when Chan-mi comes to visit. Why didn’t she come to the meeting for Yoo-shin’s marriage? Soon-shin is shocked and hurt by the exclusion. Chan-mi explains the happenings of the meeting and cruelly asks if Soon-shin is not their family anymore.

What kinda friend is she?

Soon-shin calls her Jung-ae about the meeting. Jung-ae assures her it wasn’t a big deal, but both sides are hurt and the conversation is stilted.

Joon-ho watches Soon-shin practice guitar. she’s struggling because her fingers hurt. He sees a huge cut on her finger that she got from cooking. She says she’s fine and he angrily asks why she always says she’s fine when she’s not. Awwww. He takes her to get ointment and Pororo band-aids. He won’t let her put them on herself and it makes her smile. She remembers him putting beef on her forehead. It makes him remind her, again, about appreciating him and taking better care of herself. She watches him talk and I can see realization come over her: she likes him and she knows it. Her smile looks like his when he looks at her. YES!

When he glances up, she looks away quickly. She teases him about the childish bandaids he chose. She pauses to sigh and tells him about the family having the marriage meeting without her. She thinks she’s being childish and he agrees; when will she grow up? It’s cute how he’s trying to make her feel better by focusing on something outside the problem. She turns it on him and teases him about his height. She wants him to stand with her to see who is taller. She tries to drag him up and when she falls back to the bench, he stands. When she stands he sits back down. SO CUTE! Keep being cute.

But no, then we have Yeon-ah sabotoging Soon-shin by telling In-sung the wrong time and place for the shoot tomorrow. You know why she does it? Because Joon-ho is skipping rehearsal with Soon-shin.

Now, why would In-sung, a supposedly awesome manager, listen to an actress over the filming schedule he should’ve been given?

That night, Soon-shin puts on her Pororo band-aid and smiles thinking about Joon-ho. She shakes herself out of her reverie and worries what’s wrong with her. The next day she and Chan-mi and In-sung head to the shooting location, but the whole team is at a different location. The director is furious and Yeon-ah smirks. Soon-shin bursts into an empty room, realizing too late that it’s the wrong location.

Comments:

Why would Yeon-ah make Soon-shin go to the wrong location? Doesn’t that actually hurt HER career? Why hurt yourself to punish your supposed enemy? I hate this rivalry. I hate this show except for Soon-shin, Joon-ho, Young-hoon and the baker. It’s tedious and unclever and I can only focus on the complete nonsensical plotline.

Another thing, why wouldn’t Lee Soon-shin put a password on her phone if she knows that Mi-ryeong is a devious lying bitch? And why does her family assume she betrayed them instead of giving her the benefit of the doubt. It’s too much hate for me. I hate it. I hate the hate.

Do I care what happens next in the story? No. Just let me see cute. That’s all I care about. That, and I hope Mi-ryeong stops being a total blockhead.

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Character introductions.