The Boy, or the Girl, We Liked Then
In the final episode of Our Beloved Summer, Yeon-Su and Choi Ung disagree about who liked whom first. One thing’s for sure, the final day of the shoot is where everything changed. Yeon-Su insists that she likes Choi Ung more than anyone else on set, but Choi Ung doesn’t believe her and insists that he likes Yeon-Su more than anyone else too. The two argue until it seems like they might not be able to continue filming the scene at all.
Ji-Ung heads off to get new batteries for the camera while Ung and Yeon-Su are left alone. Ung starts to worry about Yeon-Su, realizing she’s cold. He wraps his t-shirt around her shoulders, making it seem like a really romantic gesture. But Yeon-Su sees it as clumsy and makes a big fuss about it, holding onto his arms as he gets cold. ..
Ji-Ung and Yeon-Su arrive to see each other for the first time in the documentary. Ji-Ung has a term for the documentary, which is handed over to her for her to read. Yeon-Su intends to film at her workplace while Ji-Ung will set up a static camera up at home.
The filming begins and the stark differences between the two are plain to see. While Ung naps and then works alone, Yeon-Su collaborates with her team. Still, it doesn’t stop one of her colleagues, Bang Yi-Hoon, walking past with a work plaque.
Ji-Ung starts to feel the pressure. These two are almost intentionally sabotaging the project. There’s absolutely no salvageable material and the lack of conflict between the pair is bound to irritate viewers. Ji-Ung knows this and tries to come up with a solution.
As Choi Ung heads home and takes a nap, he believes he’s dreaming when Yeon-Su shows up. As he reaches out and touches her face tenderly, he realizes that this is real and wakes up with a start. Awkwardness obviously ensues, until Choi Ung invites her down to his basement to see his drawings. One of those drawings is his painting for the school, a beautiful painting that Yeon-Su accidentally ruined by jogging his pen across the page. ..
Yeon-Su felt bad when she saw the picture of her and her ex-boyfriend. She tried to save the picture, but he kept it all this time. Unfortunately, this sparks another fallout between the two, which sees them have second thoughts about continuing on with the documentary.
The next day, during filming, allegations of plagiarism are made against the show’s main character, Ung. Ji-Ung and Eun-Ho discuss how to address the situation and Yeon-Su begins to collect evidence to support Ko-o’s claim that Ung is plagiarizing his work. ..
In the morning, Mr Jang immediately asks about the plagiarism and brings it up. With Yeon-Su there too, he vehemently declines the allegations and stands by that his work is original. With this sorted out, he immediately brings up Soen’s party and confirms Yeon-Su will be there too, which seems to sweeten the deal.
This is a big deal too and despite agreeing to it, Ung relies on NJ for help, given her longstanding relationship with fashion. Of course, she interprets this as an opportunity for the pair to grow closer together. ..
Choi Ung and NJ share a meal together and Choi Ung is surprised by her taste in food. She admits that fame comes at a cost, but she is grateful for the opportunity to experience new foods.
People have clearly misinterpreted her, but we’ve seen NJ has a heart of gold deep down, despite a pretty bad first impression. She believes that Choi Ung is truthful with his art too. Yeon-Su also believes him but struggles to send a text message over to confirm as much.
The Yeon-Su and Choi Ung relationship is a bit of a mystery to most people. They seem to be on good terms, but they don’t talk much. However, when they lock eyes, they seem to be both awkward and taken aback by how well they’ve sharpened up. Ji-un is there too, making sure everything is filmed.
Nu-A and Choi Ung meet at the buffet table and Nu-A reveals that she invited him. They argue and Choi Ung leaves the party. ..
In the epilogue, we see more of the rainy moment from school. The pair smile and get along well, with Choi Ung admitting at that moment that he doesn’t dislike her. In fact, he admits that he likes her! As the pair look at one another, everything slows down as Ji-Ung happens to watch from afar.
The Episode Review
The episode was another strong one for the show, with great chemistry between the leads and a simple but effective story. The back and forth timelines to the present and past help to give this a bit more depth.
Including New Jersey in the cast of “The Crown” is a smart move that allows this angle to play into the hands of not judging a book by its cover. It’s also another example of how one can be different Infront of and behind the camera. It’s very deliberately chosen to showcase this, and I’d imagine we’ll see a triangle with Yeon-Su involved in some way in the coming chapters. Then again, that could also be the case with Mr Jang too, whom Yeon-Su’s colleagues are convinced she’s secretly dating. ..
The show has a lot of moving parts, but the execution is ultimately what makes it so enjoyable. The story is simple but the execution is ultimately what makes it such an enjoyable watch. There are some great jokes in here, although the comedy is never overbearing to the main plotline, which nests itself nicely in that grey area between romance and drama.
Our beloved summer is definitely one to watch, and it’ll be interesting to see how this one develops over the coming weeks.
