Early Access: Our Unwritten Seoul Episodes 1-2 – The Fangirl Verdict
Hi everyone!
I hope you enjoyed my recent episode 1-4 notes on The Prisoner of Beauty (here!).
Today I’m sharing my episode 1-2 notes on Our Unwritten Seoul, because I am enjoying it way more than I’d thought I would, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗
These are my episode 1-2 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).
I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️
Episode notes:
E1-2. Good news, my friends. I really like this one, right away! 🥲
Sometimes, I’m drawn to a drama because of the premise and cast, but feel ultimately underwhelmed by the execution, and having been disappointed fairly often of late (like with Tastefully Yours), I was a little wary, coming into this one.
I needn’t have worried, honestly.
I felt drawn into this story world, and to our characters, just about right away. I LOVE when that happens. ❤️
First of all, yes, this is a twin story, and therefore we get double the Park Bo Young goodness.
At the same time, I instinctively find myself thinking of this as being more of Mi Ji’s story, because she’s the one narrating this story, from the beginning.
Second of all, I feel like there’s a lot to look forward to, in this show, because there are so many narrative possibilities, and they all feel potentially rich and worthwhile.
I feel like we’re going to explore the question of self and identity, with both Mi Ji and Mi Rae needing to figure out who they really are, as individuals, and not just as the other person’s twin sister.
I also feel like we’re going to explore the relationship between Mi Ji and Mi Rae, because while they look identical, they are very different in terms of personalities and sensibilities, and there’s clearly a bit of angst in the mix, even though it’s not difficult to see that they do love each other.
I look forward to Show exploring that relationship in a meaningful and heartwarming way – and our first step, is certainly the way our twins switch places, by the end of episode 1.
They’re literally going to walk in each other’s shoes and live each other’s lives, and I think that that’s going to go a long way towards increasing their understanding of and empathy for each other.
I love the idea of that, already.
And of course, there are lovelines – I believe, one for each twin – and I am here for that, too. 😁
Before I get into any of that, I’d like to say that I think Park Bo Young’s doing a great job of the dual roles; I feel that her delivery of each twin is unique and distinct, and I find it easy to tell the twins apart, not just because of their different styling, but because of the different aura she gives each twin.
I never had any doubt that Park Bo Young would do well, but it’s still thrilling to see that she’s killing it, right from the get go. 🥲
I don’t know if this is a frivolous thing to say, but I like the fact that we get a good amount of screen time with our twins in the same frame.
Like, yes, a lot of the time is spent with each individual twin in her specific location and situation, but there are enough scenes with them interacting face to face, and sharing the same screen, to make me happy.
Comparing that to something like School 2015, where Kim So Hyun played twins, and we only had a very small handful of scenes with them in the same scene, I feel much more satisfied with the effort that went into creating the illusion that there are actually two Park Bo Youngs on my screen. 😁
I think it’s a pretty clever set-up, to tell us upfront, that Mi Rae and Mi Ji look so alike, that even their own mother can’t tell them apart.
Not only does this pave the way for Park Bo Young to play both twins, it also sets it up so that it’s extra, extra special, when anyone is able to tell them apart. More on that later.
I also thought it was pretty clever to tell us upfront, how different they are in personality, and also, how they’d fallen into the habit of doing things in place of each other, so that life would be happier and easier for the both of them.
It’s a big contrast, how they’d been so tight when little, and how they’re distant from each other in the present, not just terms of physical location, but in terms of how little they talk, and how much they tell each other, when they do talk.
I also found it especially poignant, to see that Mom regularly pretends that she only has one daughter – and it’s not Mi Ji, who lives with her at home, but Mi Rae, who’s got a coveted civil service job in Seoul.
I think I saw some comments by viewers, who stated that they didn’t like Mi Ji so much, and preferred Mi Rae, and hoped that the loveline with Jinyoung would be with Mi Rae.
I don’t feel the same way at all, to be honest.
I find Mi Ji immediately likable, from the moment she starts her matter-of-fact narration of her life story, where she’s the less accomplished twin who got her rightful name taken from her, because her sickly sister had needed it more (because Mi Rae means “future”).
And then there’s the way she gets along with everyone, from the farmers she passes on her way to work, to the kids who secretly use the teachers’ restroom, to the way she declines to take on the cleaning job at the school because she doesn’t want to steal someone else’s job.
That strikes me as very decent and upstanding, and I like her already. 🥲
The next character we meet is Ho Su, played by Park Jin Young, and I like him too.
It took me a while to clue in, but thanks to contextual clues and, later, a helpful flashback, we learn that Ho Su’s actually deaf in one ear.
Even though this does lead to inconveniences in his regular life, like not hearing when other people speak to him on the side of his hearing-impaired ear, he seems to be leading a successful life as a lawyer who’s valued by his boss.
Speaking of whom, I’m quite thrilled to see Im Chul Soo playing said boss, mostly because writer-nim has thought to give his character, Chung Gu, some interesting nuances.
For example, I found it interesting that Chung Gu’s in a wheelchair a good amount of the time – but still manages to cut a dapper figure, in his sharp suits and his smart looking cane.
And, for some reason, I’d imagined that Chung Gu, being a person with a disability, would be a good and compassionate character (possibly from having suffered because of said disability), but in fact, we see that he’s actually more amoral and ambitious instead.
I found that combination of qualities, combined with Im Chul Soo’s cute face, quite trippy, in a good way.
I also appreciate that Ho Su’s discomfort at some of the aspects of his job, are visible quite early; it’s just that he’s not quite cognizant of it just yet.
It also doesn’t take long for us to establish that there might be some feelings running undercurrent, when it comes to Mi Ji and Ho Su.
Like that beat where Ho Su’s mom Bun Hong (Kim Sun Young! 🤩) asks Mi Ji if Mi Rae’s seeing anyone – coz Ho Su’s still single; you can totally tell that Mi Ji feels very awkward about the question, as she tries to joke the question away.
Obviously, Bun Hong’s more interested in Mi Rae as a potential daughter-in-law, since Mi Rae’s the more successful twin.
But, as we see from the high school flashbacks, the bond that Ho Su had shared, had been with Mi Ji.
The rough start to their connection was hard to watch, since Ho Su had been inadvertently hurt over and over again, by Mi Ji’s unknowingly insensitive words, but then, that scene in the library, where we see that he’d stayed “checking his answers,” had clearly been an excuse to spend more time with Mi Ji, who was waiting for him to be done – when, in fact, he’d achieved a perfect score, and had no answers to check.
Ahhh! I kinda love the idea that Ho Su kinda had a crush on Mi Ji from early on, and in spite of the rough start that they’d had, with her asking him if he was deaf (without knowing that he was, indeed, deaf in one ear).
I also love the idea that even in the present, he seems to still have a bit of a crush on Mi Ji; after all, the reason he wears that pink tie, is because his mom had once asked Mi Ji to pick out a tie for Ho Su, and this was the tie that she’d picked – likely out of petty spite, since Mom had mentioned that he needed a tie to wear to blind dates. 🤭
I also love that detail that we eventually get, that when he’d brought that basket of apples over for Mi Ji (to apologize, I believe), and both twin had had their wet hair wrapped in towels (and so there was no easy way to tell who was whom), he was able to identify Mi Ji, while barely missing a beat.
I love the idea that he would know her with such clarity, beyond the physical similarities that she shares with her sister. 🥰
Which, honestly, would mean a lot to Mi Ji, I think, because from what we can see, everyone just mostly sees her as her sister’s spokesperson, and asks her about Mi Rae, and not herself.
These episodes, we do get some hints of backstory, as to why Mi Ji lives day to day as a casual odd jobs worker, instead of looking for something more permanent and sustainable; it’s everything to do with making herself available to help care for her grandmother.
Aw. That is very sacrificial and loving, and endears Mi Ji to me even more, especially when we see how casually loving she is towards Gran, like caring for her is the most natural thing in the world. 🥲
And then, it’s very poignant to see that, when she’s alone, she does struggle with questions about her future, like when she kicks that ball against the wall in frustration, after yet another bickering session with Mom.
There’s a kind of wistful angst there, where she knows that she’s stuck; that it’s hard for her to live a “proper life” like other people, after the choices she’s made. 🥹
Given all of this contextual angst, I find it very sweet, that Ho Su is the one who thinks to ask Mi Ji how she’s doing.
And, it’s also Ho Su who reminds Mi Ji, that Mi Rae doesn’t like to appear weak in front of other people – but is willing to cry in front of her.
I do think that that bolsters Mi Ji’s willingness to see Mi Rae, and also, helps to give her a bit of focus, when meeting Mi Rae, so that she’s able to pick up on the clues that Mi Rae’s not ok.
Honestly, that thing that Mi Rae says, that she’s figured out that falling from a height, after throwing down a blanket, is the best way to get out of going to work, is a big red flag, and I’m glad that Mi Ji puts the pieces together, and manages to get to Mi Rae in time to break her fall.
And then I found it so poignant, to see Mi Ji bawling away, at Mi Rae’s remark, that Mi Ji should have let go of her hand and let her fall.
Oof. The sisterly love, which had been repressed and forgotten for a while, is now instinctively out in full force, and I find that quite affecting. 😭
It’s very poignant to see the two sisters holding each other and just sobbing together like that; it feels like all the walls that had grown between them, have been shattered in an instant. 🥲
And so, it actually feels very natural, both in terms of Mi Ji’s character, as well as our story logic, that Mi Ji would offer to swap places with Mi Rae, just like they’d used to do.
Honestly, I feel very intrigued by this premise, because there are so many possibilities to mine, with Mi Ji and Mi Rae switching places; I love it. 🤩
Already, in episode 2, we see each of them experience moments of clarity, after spending a couple of days in the other person’s shoes, and as they start to realize that it’s not that easy being the other sister, after all.
It’s a tiny bit of a stretch at points, because, like, if everyone in their home town knows that Mi Ji and Mi Rae are twins, wouldn’t someone think to wonder whether it was Mi Rae in front of them, considering that “Mi Ji” suddenly doesn’t seem to recognize people, nor seems able to ride a bicycle well, etc?
But ok, it is a bit far-fetched, so I’ll buy that folks would first arrive at other conclusions first, like how that guy assumes that Mi Ji must have been riding drunk. 🤭
It’s a different story at Mi Rae’s office, however, since they don’t know about Mi Rae having a twin, so it makes sense that they would simply think that Mi Rae’s acting out of character.
We don’t yet have the full story of why Mi Rae’s being ostracized at work, I think.
At first, I’d thought that the whistleblowing thing had been the entirety of it, but by the end of episode 2, from what Ho Su says, there seems to have been a sexual harassment element to it, which, ugh. Poor Mi Rae.
Given how oppressive the environment worked out to be, and the kind of quiet personality that she has, it’s no wonder she’s tried to put up with it all, and just endure it, and it’s also no wonder that she’s gotten so suffocated that she’s thought about jumping off a building.
I kind of love that Mi Ji just lets all the bad vibes and stares slide off her back, which is great, at first, but even Mi Ji gets worn down by it all, poor thing.
I can believe that a restless, carefree spirit like Mi Ji would jump at the chance to be given something to do, which is how she ends up being tricked into taking on the sale of that restaurant, and gets showered in salt on the regular. 😅
In the meantime, I do love that she bumps into Ho Su, and gets persuaded to meet up to talk, even though Mi Rae puts her foot down and tells Mi Ji to nip it in the bud.
Mi Ji does do a pretty good job of imitating Mi Rae’s clipped, more distant sort of tone, but I love that when her guard is down, like when she gets that call from the old lady running the restaurant, and gets all excited, she can’t help but be herself – which is when Ho Su asks with certainty, if she isn’t Mi Ji.
Ahhhh!! I loved that moment, because I just LOVE the idea that he knows her, even when she’s pretending to be someone else. 🥰
I can’t wait to see how the dynamic between them evolves in our next episodes, because I’m pretty sure there’s no way Mi Ji would be able to throw Ho Su off the scent now. 🤭
As for our strawberry farmer Se Jin, I kind of enjoy the fact that he’s eccentric and idealistic, in his desire to grow organic strawberries, despite the poor harvest from the year before.
Clearly, he’s not in need of money, since he’s able to take such a laidback, relaxed attitude about this year’s strawberry planting, even though he certainly didn’t make money from the previous year’s harvest.
AND, he’s offering such a high daily rate, in hiring a worker for his strawberry farm as well.
I love that Mi Rae puts him in his place with her outburst, once she realizes that he’s testing her, by paying her a high daily wage, but not actually giving her anything to do.
That is her daily nightmare back in the office, so of course she would be completely triggered by Se Jin’s smug experiment.
I do love that Mi Rae has the moment with Gran, where Gran recognizes her, despite her best attempts to act like Mi Ji.
There’s just something very special about being known, particularly by someone you love, I think. 🥲
I also love that Gran tells Mi Rae that she did well, by running away, when things got too hard.
That kind of loving acceptance and encouragement is just too precious, and something that Mi Rae desperately needs, and I love that she’s able to receive that, from Gran. 🥲
It feels so important, that Mi Rae gets to cry those cathartic tears, in front of Gran.
It’s only when we’re not running on empty that we have anything to give, and I do believe that that moment of restoration with Gran, gave Mi Rae the fuel that she needed, to be able to come up with that plan for the strawberry farm.
Overall, I really loved these two episodes, and didn’t even feel the length of the almost 80 minutes per episode; they just seemed to float by.
THAT’s when you know a drama’s got you good – and I hope you guys will join me! ❤️
*This show is being covered on the Early Access Plus (US$10) Tier on Patreon*
To view episode 1-2 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!
You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here.
Episodes 3-4 notes will be out soon! I hope you’ll consider joining us!
It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️
PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for June, which you can find here!
