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allkpop TV Guide: 'To the Beautiful You' (Episode 11)

Posted by contagion1 pt Tuesday, October 2, 2012


Official Synopsis:
This drama draws on Hisaya Nakajo's manga series "Hana Kimi" that was published by Hakusensha from 1996 to 2004. The Korean interpretation centers on Goo Jae Hee (Sulli), a Korean girl who live in the States, but transfers to an all-boys school in Korea.

Jae Hee decides on the transfer after watching a track and field competition on TV, and becomes inspired by high-jump athlete, Kang Tae Joon (Minho). She begins to idolize the young athlete and eventually transfers to Korea to go to the same school after he experiences an injury that may potentially end his athletic career.

However, as Tae Joon attends an all-boys high school, Jae Hee must disguise herself as a boy to enter.

Ratings:

MBC's 'Arang and the Magistrate' (starring Lee Jun Ki and Shin Min Ah) dropped in ratings from last week's high of 14.5% to 13.8%.

Meanwhile, KBS's 'Nice Guy' (starring Song Joong Ki, Moon Chae Won, and Park Si Yeon) saw a significant increase in ratings from last week's 9.9%, taking in 13.8% and tying with Arang.

SBS's 'To the Beautiful You' (starring SHINee's Minho and f(x)'s Sulli) dropped from 5.8% to 4.2%, taking last place once more.  It's a shame they can't count online views into account for these ratings, since this drama seems to be popular with overseas fans.

Recap of Ep. 11:

In this episode, everyone is saying "I have something to tell you" to each other. While most of the messages get delivered... eventually... two very important ones just miss the boat.

Episode 10 ends with Han Na going public with her and Tae Joon's "relationship", and nobody, except Han Na, is happy about this - least of all Tae Joon and Director Jang. Jae Hee wants to tell Tae Joon that she's a girl, and Tae Joon wants to tell Jae Hee that he knows, but Han Na, who knows both sides, uses her dirt on them to keep them from talking.

Eventually, Tae Joon decides he's not going to deal with it anymore, and is about to end things with her and tell Jae Hee everything, but he gets a call that Han Na is in the hospital and immediately goes to her before he can say anything to Jae Hee. Director Jang explains that the injury may be permanent and may probably end Han Na's career. They decide to keep it from her until her parents can come in a few days.

Unfortunately, they're not able to come in time- the hospital needs to start treatment. Tae Joon delivers the news, and Han Na falls apart. She gets him to take her to the gym, where she kisses the mat goodbye. Back at the hospital, despite days of insisting that she needs him, she dumps him. She says she's not impressed with him anymore, but it's pretty obvious she's realized she can't compete with Jae Hee.

Meanwhile, Eun Gyeol is having his own problems. After seeing Jae Hee wash Tae Joon's clothes for him, he flat out asks if she likes Tae Joon- she denies it, but Eun Gyeol doesn't seem convinced. After learning about Tae Joon and Han Na's "relationship", and realizing that when he'd run into a crying Jae Hee the night before that it must have been in response to that news, he approaches Tae Joon:
Eun Gyeol: Do you like Jae Hee? If not, say it clearly here.
Tae Joon: I don't know why you're asking me stuff like that.
Eun Gyeol: I hear you and Seol Han Na are dating. Why can't you talk? You're not dating her?
Tae Joon: It's not your business to worry about.
Eun Gyeol: From now on, no matter what the reason, don't make Goo Jae Hee cry again.
Tae Joon: What?
Eun Gyeol: The person I like, crying because of you- I don't want to see that again. I like Goo Jae Hee. So get your act straight from now on. Don't go stir up someone who's just there quietly.

Tae Joon is surprised by both the crying and the liking.



Eun Gyeol disappears from school for a few days. It turns out he went home to visit his parents and no one's heard from him since. Jae Hee goes to his house to find out what's up- and it turns out he didn't make the national soccer team and is too embarrassed to face the school and Jae Hee, whom he thought he could confess his true feelings to after making the team. During her visit, he decides he will definitely confess to her.

Eun Gyeol and Jae Hee go back to school. Jae Hee leaves him at his room, but he calls after her, running to her door. Just as he catches up, Tae Joon enters the hallway, smiling now that he can explain everything to Jae Hee. He sees them down the hall.
Eun Gyeol: I know that you are a guy, but... Goo Jae Hee, I like you.

_________________

contagion's Thoughts:

[ Note : This post reflects the opinions of the author, not necessarily those of allkpop ]

So Eun Gyeol and Han Na get to say what they mean to Tae Joon and Jae Hee. Jae Hee says what she means to Eun Gyeol and Han Na. But Tae Joon and Jae Hee still haven't said what they mean to say to each other... ahhh!!! Other than the gags where Tae Joon and Jae Hee awkwardly ran into Seung Ri in the hospital and the scene where Jae Hee has to ask Dr. Jang for pads, this episode was pretty dark, lacking in the cute, lighthearted moments that most of us expected going into this show. While I love the subversion of expectations and the acting was really good, this episode was definitely a drag to watch, and left me weighed down with everyone's pain.

I really have a problem with what they did with Han Na in this episode, and how it turns out that she started doing gymnastics because she thought it would make Tae Joon like her. It was one thing when she said she'd have nothing left if he left her (since she genuinely doesn't seem to have many friends, and it's hard to develop other hobbies and interests when you're an elite athlete and always training), but the fact that this all comes back to him, especially when the protagonist also became an athlete because of something he said... I don't like it. Too many girls building their whole lives around Tae Joon.

And then there's poor Eun Gyeol. I mean, he's basically a rehash of every boy-who-falls-in-love-with-a-girl-dressed-as-a-boy character we've seen a million times before, but he's such a sweetie that it's hard not to feel bad for him. I'm still sad that he ended things with Da Hae- yeah, I know, he did the right thing by not leading her on, but if he had all the necessary information they would still be together. It looks like they're trying to set him and Han Na up to end up together in some parts, which... eh.  I'm not a fan of consolation relationships, so they're going to have to sell me on that one.

Jae Hee's slump is so hard to watch- she's been so cheerful and optimistic since the beginning of the show- now we're getting to see what she must have been like before she started running. Ugh, I just want to give her a hug and tell her everything is going to be okay.

This episode kicked off the third act of the drama with a couple of big game changers- Han Na has officially given up on Tae Joon, and Eun Gyeol beat Tae Joon to confessing to Jae Hee. Tae Joon's athletic drama has been put on the back burner, but don't forget that he hasn't yet fixed his high jump, and we still don't know what Reporter Yang and Hyeon Jae are up to. And if that doesn't pique your curiosity, you can always wonder about what kind of chapstick Jong Min will apply next.

  1. MINHO
  2. SULLI
  3. LEE HYUN WOO
  4. ALLKPOP TV GUIDE
  5. TO THE BEAUTIFUL YOU
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