PRODUCER - EPISODES 7-8

"I'll get that fly yet!"

Having ditched the mockumentary style that gained this show its fanbase, it had to raise the bar for its comedic moments and give the show more of a narrative:

Cindy hides from her job and ends up at Joon Mo's house since she has nowhere else to go. It's funny how easily she comes to the conclusion that Ye Jin lives there too. Of course, the rumors are flying about Cindy's disappearance, and CEO Byun is beside herself and tries to spin some damage control. At the office, Ye Jin and Seung Chan keep Cindy's new digs hush-hush from everyone, including Joon Mo, who's not happy about it when he comes home and finds out. After another couple days of Cindy in the house, Seung Chan takes her out to a park and gets a kiss for listening to her. At that moment, Ye Jin gets a call about her lights being on. When she goes out to check, she sees someone there, following her, and drops the phone...

Turns out it's Cindy's manager. And he gets his comeuppance when Joon Mo attacks him with a traffic cone (no, that wasn't a typo). All of our PDs -- Seung Chan, Ye Jin, and Joon Mo -- reunite and watch  the fireworks show at the park along with Cindy. They all head out to the noraebang and sing, celebrating Cindy's birthday. The next day Cindy goes back to work. To reassure her sasaengs she was in no danger from Ye Jin, she uploads a selca with her and the senior PD. At the office, co-worker Hong Soon sets Ye Jin up on a blind date. Seung Chan and Joon Mo offer reasons for her not to go, and she relents. Cindy, meanwhile, is glum that Seung Chan hasn't called her. The PDs gather for Athletic Day with rousing games of dodgeball and soccer. After the game, Ye Jin tells Seung Chan to choose a reward, and he opts to see a movie with her. Cindy calls Seung Chan as he's on his way to his date-that's-not-a-date, saying she has something important to tell him. He calls Ye Jin, but her phone is dead...


Cindy tries out the Jedi Mind Trick

The love tangles in this show are really what keeps me watching. Now that we've kind of settled into who likes who, now comes the long process of getting the right people together. Of course, since we only have a few episodes left, they don't have that long to do it.  

I love how Seung Chan follows an oblivious Ye Jin around like a puppy dog. But I feel bad for him, even as I feel that shipping them would be a mistake. He is the young, naive hoobae, while she's sort of the jaded sunbae. It could work, but not likely. But I'm not sure Cindy is exactly right for Seung Chan, either. So where does that leave him?


"Once more, with feeling..."

Cindy has had a pretty messed up life, and from a small child she was raised by CEO Byung, the woman that groomed her to be a star. She claims she's never been able to do what she wants to do. That actually rings true from what I've heard about idols, and IU seems to be speaking from the heart. No longer the spoiled starlet, the writers have made Cindy into a sympathetic character.  Also, she has a rather productive form of OCD, where she is a whiz at organizing things. Who knew?  

Joon Mo just annoys me. He likes Ye Jin, yet he says insensitive things to her and seems unwilling to move forward in their relationship. Seung Chan has called him a coward more than once, and I have to agree. He has a woman that's more than happy to be with him, and yet he pushes her away. He pretends to be unconcerned when Ye Jin goes out on a blind date. He needs to step up, man up, and say, "I like you, I want to be with you. Let's be together." There's almost no chance of rejection here, so I'm not sure what the problem is.


"You've got something right...there! Got ya!"

There was a scene in this mishmash that really had me in stitches, and my jaw dropped at the same time. It's rare when a show does that to me, so I have to share:

Hanging at Joon Mo's place, they play a game of "Of Course," where you have to answer each question asked of you with "Of course." If you can't, you drink. *Of course* each question is designed to rattle the recipient. They think Cindy is too young to know what they're talking about. She responds "Of course."  When she's asked if she's just messing with them, she also replies "of course." Ye Jin to Cindy: "You're here because you have no friends, aren't you?" After the obligatory "Of course," Cindy rejoins: "You're here because you're broke, aren't you?" A laughing Seung Chan is drawn into the game, and he exchanges compliments with Ye Jin instead of zingers, much to the consternation of Joon Mo and Cindy, who down their drinks during the exchange. I haven't been floored like that in a while!

Man these episodes are getting long, though. The last two were feature film length (80 and 90 mins respectively). What do you need that kind of running time for? Anyhoo, this show just keeps getting better. Hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

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