Boys Over Flowers Series Review

I literally wrote this review in my head while coming to work. I couldn’t stop thinking about the series ‘Boys over flowers’, I started watching it last week for the third time and it feels like the first time, I have the same excitement and overdose of emotions. Now I am even more excited because I already know what is going to happen so I can’t wait to get to the climax of the series.

About six years ago a good friend of mine introduced me to this series, she said her boyfriend made her watch it but she didn’t finish it. I finished the first time, the second time and I will make sure I will finish it now. I am obsessed! Never show me anything you like, I will start loving it more than you and I won’t shut up about it. I was surprised to know that her boyfriend was the one who showed her the series because it’s so cheesy, especially the title of the series…well, I guess we are all hopeless romantics.

I always take time with my introductions because I am secretly buying time to organize my thoughts. I like to believe that I am a good thinker, not a good writer. Writing is just a medium to express my thoughts. I am currently in the office writing this, I am supposed to write a report and my colleagues probably think that’s what I am doing. I am surprised I have the motivation to write, since I have been so lazy lately.

 Last night I watched a few YouTube reviews about the series and I told myself I wish I was them, they just talk, they don’t sit here and torture their fingers. Then again, writing connects with readers on a deeper level. I am actually glad I am not doing an oral review because I can’t pronounce their names. I watched a few Youtubers pronouncing their names and it was painful. Try it ‘Geum Jan-d’. I wanted to check their reviews just to have an idea on what I should focus on but I decided to focus on everything, every detail that crossed my mind while watching it will be poured out here.

I loved the beginning, it takes a lot of imagination and intelligence to come up with something like that. A low class dry cleaner goes to a school to deliver clothes to a student and saves him from committing suicide. Wow! Who would ever think of that? So random… I liked how they showcased bullying, suicide and depression right from the start, it made the series relatable. The series was first aired in 2009 and ten years after, our generation still suffers from the same epidemic issues.

Jan Di saving the student resulted in massive media coverage and the school receiving major backlash. The school PR team decides to give her a scholarship to attend the school. I wish I watched this series back in 2009 when I finished high school, before I majored in Public Relations, it would have given me a better understanding of the profession. I had no clue why I choose that degree but it turned out right. She starts attending the prestigious Shinhwa High School, a typical elite highshool with the cool boys and mean girls. It reminds me of the high school I attended. I hated it…every single day I hated! Same cruel souls in spoiled brats' bodies.

She struggles to adapt, especially after witnessing the popular group of students harassing everyone. To be honest, it was just Jun Pyo, the others just went along, you can tell that Ji Hoo doesn’t approve of Jun Pyo’s childish acts and Yi Jung and Song Woo-bin just find it entertaining. It’s going to be so hard to constantly write those names throughout the review. Together, they are called the F4, I think I missed the part on why they are called F4, I don’t get it.

After seeing Jun Pyo embarrassing a student, Jan Di tries to confront him but her attempt is useless. It was so funny how he ignored her and those silly and comic background sounds didn’t help. Their expressions are everything! Just like anime/manga, showing exactly how they are feeling through their faces.

You have a sense of Jan Di’s character from the beginning, she is brave and outspoken. In some instance, she defended her friend and humiliates Jun Pyo, which infuriates him and makes her a target of the whole school by giving her a red card. When you receive such card every student in school is allowed to bully and make your life a living hell. I have watched a lot of bullying documentaries and I also had my fair share of aggression and intimidation in this life but that was pure evil. Do people really behave like that? How can a 16 -18 year old have that much hate in them? It completely ruined my perspective on Asians, I know you can’t perceive a whole continent as one but I always thought Asians were so innocent and pure. And I feel like the series really failed in sending the message that those bully acts were wrong. Indeed, Jun Pyo or Ji Hoo would always come to save her but the classmates never got a proper punishment.

They do all kinds of evil things to Jan Di, even an attempted rape but thank God she was saved by Ji Hoo. I have said it before, Koreans and Japaneses have this way of making rape something light. It is always present in their productions, which is good, but the after math could be better, the rapist never gets a proper judgement. Indeed, we need to show it to society but in order to teach the audience, a harsher sentence should be impose. There is this scene where Jun Pyo calls out his ‘followers’ for doing that but it wasn’t enough. I asked myself how could Jan Di would eventually fall for this man but I get it... they made his character the “love to hate type” that I even fell for him.

Let’s talk about Jun Pyo’s character…I don’t remember him being this skinny. He was a loner, he looked like he resented the world, always looking sad and annoyed about something. It’s funny how a friend once described me exactly like that. That’s what I like about films, you see yourself through other lenses. Jun Pyo was mean because he was suffering, he lacked love from his parents. He is an actual representation of a lot of people going through pain, the arrogant walk, the tantrums, screaming like crazy every five minutes and treating everyone poorly. It’s the third time I am watching this series and the more I watch the better I understand him.

It took me time to understand how people could not like someone because of how they walk, I thought it was jealousy or any negative fictional feeling to hide and run away from the real problem. When you are suffering inside, you are like a balloon about to burst and when you do, you blow up, spreading all your sorrow around others, being despicable to everyone that crosses path with you. 

On my last review, a friend told me that I let my emotions take over which according to him is bad, since I should focus on the review. I disagree. A movie or a series are reviewed by thousands of people, what makes them different is the reviewer - how different people see different things and how a scene can evoke completely different feelings and deductions.

Back to the review. So we ask ourselves ‘what pain was Jun Pyo going through?’ He had everything. He was an heir to a billion-dollar company, he had expensive cars, could travel anytime he wanted; he had people who would do anything he wanted; he had the looks and so on… I am very far from having the financial conditions Jun Pyo was blessed to have but I can tell you that those things are tiring, everything gets tiring. You feel like that there’s more to life and whatever that is, even all the money in world can’t buy it. 

I always wanted to understand Asians perception of beauty. My understanding is that women need to have pale skin and light features, be tall and slim, and have big boobs. I guess that’s an accurate description of a Victoria secret model. I think it’s a bit disturbing how shamelessly and constantly they say what beauty is, talking about looks all the time. This series was painfully shallow but you are able to navigate through all that and get the main message – Your inner beauty is what matters.

I am about to go to a meeting and I am not even half of this review. After Jan Di surviving every prank and still never bowing down…she has a lot of pride, geez! But I like her. She had this thing of always saying “Do more!”, completely facing her enemies. Jun Pyo assumes that she likes him, based on her behavior - a common narcissistic conclusion lol. He decides to give her a full makeover, in order to make her girlfriend material, thinking he is doing her favor. He then tries to make a move on her but she dismisses him, screaming like crazy. One thing they have in common - they both scream all the time.

This whole high school scenario of students wearing school uniforms shorter than Halloween costumes and the forbidden love reminded me of Spanish soapies, the narratives are very similar but Koreans are more dramatic. 

 

Jun Pyo tries everything to win her over. But she really despises him, its actually sad when he notices that. It was cringe worthy to see him telling her all the self-proclaimed good things about himself and she telling him that’s exactly what she dislikes about him. I have a lot of respect for Jun Pyo for not fighting the feeling, he realized he liked her but never tried to fight it just because she wasn’t rich or beautiful, he didn’t care. He liked what he liked and he was never grossed out by her.

Ji Hoo and Jan Di grow closer and Jun Pyo notices that she actually likes Ji Hoo. At some instance, Jun Pyo saves her from making a fool of herself spying on Ji Hoo and his girlfriend, a wannabe princess Meghan Markle. Ji Hoo leaves to Paris with his girlfriend and Jun Pyo tries to win Jan Di over. He asks her to meet him somewhere at 4 o’clock. I like his attitude, how he acts when he wants something, like nothing can stop him. After waiting for 4 hours, Jan Di arrives and he is still there. On my first time watching this series, that’s when I realized that he is definitely Jan Di’s guy, he won me over since then and keeps winning me over every time. No matter how you root for Ji Hoo in the beginning, Jun Pyo is definitely her prince charming. I enjoy narratives where the main character is the bad guy, they are more believable. Also, Ji Hoo was so boring, sleeping all the time, speaking so slowly like he doesn’t want to speak and always figuratively, without being able to have a proper conversation. I have to admit that he had the best lines/quotes but he was a pure boredom.

I heard that Lee Min-Ho (the actor who portrays Jun Pyo) doesn’t like watching the series because he can’t stand the character he was portraying. But he was so good acting as a total spoiled brat, getting his way and complaining like a baby. What about how he held Jan Di like no one else mattered, how he carried her around like a school bag, how he took her everywhere and how he did everything to make her smile.

Jun Pyo announces to the whole school that they are dating but the happy ending is no way near because we are only at episode 7. Jan Di’s bestfriend (in school) who secretly is in love with Jun Pyo, schemes against her and makes everyone believe Jan Di was cheating on Jun Pyo. When Jun Pyo confronts Jan Di, she tells him “I don’t care if you believe it or not…”, you call tell how proud she is and that she knows exactly who she is. You can tell by his face that he is destroyed, especially that day when he finally decided to wear the school uniform, since Jan Di told him that she couldn’t stand that about him. I guess Jun Pyo not wearing the uniform it was another statement that he felt better than everyone else.

It is later revealed that Jan Di’s fake friend attended Shinhwa elementary school with Jun Pyo and the rest of F4. Since then she was in love with Jun Pyo, who dismissed her, calling her ugly. This resulted on her being depressed, moving to another country and seeking plastic surgery. Apparently it’s a thing in Korea to do plastic surgeries. I watched this other Korean movie about a girl who went through hell to change her whole image. Sometimes I ask myself, does it hurt? Because I don’t get it how can you go under the knife to change your appearance, sometimes I cry just to get an injection for health purposes. The thought of someone opening my body just to change something that is going to look good in clothes, it’s just crazy. In Angola, girls constantly get her boobs and butts done just to be a “bad bitch” and they are perceived as someone with high self-esteem, and someone who doesn’t care and is not obsessed with their body is seen as having low self-esteem, like really? You put your life on risk to change physical traits and someone who doesn’t give a damn about those things and rocks any outfit with a big belly and no ass is the person who lacks self-esteem?…Nah.

Jun Pyo tells the girl that he doesn’t remember calling her ugly and that she was a better person then. I love how they always give the best life lessons, through their cruelties and shallowness they still teach people how to be better human beings. In those scenes it annoys me how Jun Pyo can get away with anything and never gets punished but it doesn’t make me like him any less. I guess that when he starts suffering because of Jan Di, he finally gets what he deserves.

I started writing this on Tuesday then I had to stop to go to a meeting with a Chinese delegation. The whole meeting instead of taking notes to later write the minutes, I was day dreaming, thinking about the series and what to write next. Later that day, we were invited to go to a dinner with them. I sat next to this gentleman and he was extremely nice. I don’t want to generalize but there is something about Asians that is so innocent and sweet - the way they talk and how incredibly kind they are. Sometimes you get mesmerized by their soft voices, and they give you so much attention that you are not sure if they are flirting with you or not but you kinda like it in a way. They were all probably older than 40 but their approach was so warm that it made them look like kids.

For a few minutes I felt like I was in an episode of the series, the food, they constantly asking if I wanted to eat more and they humbly nodding (like greeting) their heads every five minutes.  Have you ever seen an arrogant Asian? LOL. All that food made me transport my imaginative self to every time Jun Pyo took Jand Di out on dates, and every time Jan Di would think about her family. I loved how she cared about her family, specially that scene where he takes her to some island and she suddenly looks sad, telling him “I wish my family was here”. Her family was hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing every time they gave screen time to her cute little brother, her understanding dad and her ‘completely nuts’ mother. Asians have a very distinct sense of humour, it’s a bit awkward, self-deprecating, surreal and wit but so relatable. Seeing them laughing and goofing around made me miss my family.

Ji Hoo is back from trying to be with his lover. I don’t understand something, so his girlfriend was older than him? Like old? Because I know F4 are around 17-19 because they are seniors in high school, and that girl is currently attending Law school so she is like 22, right? 

 

Back to what matters, they are all enjoying themselves at some island when Jun Pyo finds Ji Hoo and Jan Di kissing. The whole weekend he was noticing signs, Jan Di lost her bracelet and then Ji Hoo shows up with the bracelet. Everything was telling him they were having secret meetings but then again, Jun Pyo decided to ignore Jan Di’s feelings for Ji Hoo and still pursue her. She never said she wanted to date him, he just grabbed her hand and took her everywhere with him.

The kiss was so stupid, I can’t even describe it. It looked like he was kissing someone sick, like no chemistry, nothing. Is that how Koreans kiss in real life, like for real? Jun Pyo loses it, he was already going crazy the whole weekend because he knew the tension between Jan Di and Ji Hoo. I admire how Jun Pyo expresses his emotion, he really can’t control them. In Portuguese/Angolan slang there is this expression called “panco”, there is no direct translation, maybe “fan”, Jun Pyo is 100% panco of Jan Di. It was so cute how he helped the chefs prepare a dinner for her and how he made sure she ate.

I guess all that love is surpassed by his anger. He announces at the school that Jan Di and Ji Hoo will be expelled from school. I like how he just shows up at the top of those stairs and announces anything he wants. Where are the teachers? Deans? Anyone above Jun Pyo? Jun Pyo’s sisters shows up, I don’t remember her name, let’s call her 'Unnie'. Unnie takes over and demands a competition between Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo. Finally, someone who can control Jun Pyo!

 

The first match was horse riding, Jun Pyo wins after taking a dangerous shortcut and injuring the horse. The horse’s care taker (I don’t know what to call him) even said that the horses were not made for race, especially an ‘ego race’. There is a scene that shows that Jun Pyo truthfully learned the lesson. The second match was car racing which everyone assumed Jun Pyo was going to win because he is the best at it since Ji Hoo doesn’t drive because of a childhood trauma – he lost his parents in a car accident. Money is definitely not everything. All that money but all these kids had so much pain and hurt.

Ji Hoo wins the car racing. The final match is swimming which Yi Jung and Song Woo-bin volunteer to participate against Ji Hoo and Jan Di. Bear in mind that Jun Pyo can’t swim once again because of a childhood trauma. Yi Jung assures Jun Pyo that he won’t take it light just because Jan Di is a girl. If you didn’t observe their characters or understood them you would think that Yi Jung wanted Jan Di expelled. However, Yi Jung can’t stand cheating because of experiencing his parents arguing and constantly seeing his dad being unfaithful. Is this series trying to tells us that rich people have deeper issues or that every man is psychologically damaged?

Yi Jung warned Ga Eul (Jan Di’s bestfriend) about Jun Pyo and Jan Di’s relationship. He predicted that it wouldn’t end well. There is this scene that he lectured someone about relationships and commitments in their world - the rich world and it is clear that everyone sees Jan Di and Jun Pyo’s relationship as forbidden.

Wait, at some point during the competition, Jun Pyo puts his pride aside and meets Jan Di, asking her to tell him she loves him, and if she does he will forget about the competition. On one hand, Jan Di has too much pride. This guy is determined to be with her no matter what, still she never backs down. On the other hand, I understand her. Jun Pyo always felt like he could get his way but you can’t force anyone to like you.

At the swimming match, there was an almost tie and we were about to see who was going to win when Jun Pyo turned the lights off. He realized what he was doing and decided to end the competition. Jan Di and Ji Hoo are not expelled and go on a date, and it is obvious that now she likes Jun Pyo. The whole time Jun Pyo is spying on them, Ji Hoo notices it and decides to let Jan Di go.

Yi Jung and Song Woo-bin pretend Jun Pyo is involved in a car accident which leads to Jan Di finally confessing that she likes him, actually she never says it and throughout the series she avoids saying it multiple times which later makes her regret it big time. They finally start dating…but the happy ending is still far. To be honest, I am not a big fan of series because they keep adding stuff, coming with twists and turns, just to buy time. At some point you forget the true dilemma and you just move on. The only series I finished every season was Prison break but Boys over flowers is just one season and it was well done. Every episode mattered, it made sense; every special guest was actually worth watching, except that fruity friend of Ji Hoo who showed up on the Macau’s episodes. He was obsessed with Ji Hoo and stole his wallet but there was no purpose, did I miss something?

Jun Pyo’s mother aka the witch (I enjoyed when he called her that, such a spoiled brat with a filthy mouth and I love it) finds out that they are dating and does everything she can to stop them. She offers money to Jan Di’s family, they decline it. Still, she uses her power to make them struggle financially. Jan Di is forced to get several jobs including one as a model. She becomes friends with this famous model and he starts developing feelings for her. Now I understand why the mean girls in school envy Jan Di so much. Every guy liked her, she reminds me of Anastacia from Fifty Shades of Grey, the narrator describes her as such an unattractive woman but her love interest falls head over heels for her. 

Jun Pyo finds out that she is hanging around with this guy and does what he knows best, beats him up. I have never seen anyone who beats up people like this. Does everyone in Korea know how to fight? Even Jan Di knows how to do an impressive “K.O”. There is this scene where she beats up a guy who ghosted Ga Eul. Ga Eul was dating this guy, who actually didn’t care about her. One day as they are on a double date with Jan Di and Jun Pyo, he secretly tells Jun Pyo he wanted to dismiss them and go meet better looking girls. Jun Pyo gets furious and beats him up. When I saw how mad he got, I thought about how his sister taught him how to treat girls, she even said that the type of men she despised the most was the egocentric and the unforgiving men.

It turns out the model guy is the little brother of the student who tried to commit suicide, the one Jan Di saved. He schemes this whole thing trying to separate Jan Di from Jun Pyo, by creating fake red cards and putting her in dangerous situations. He sets them up and then pretends to save her. He takes her home and when she refuses to kiss him and to tell him that she doesn’t care about Jun Pyo anymore, he kidnaps her. He sends a note to Jun Pyo telling him to come alone, while he waits for him with the bad guys. Korean bad guys are so funny, I swear I can’t take them seriously.

He goes to save Jan Di, they start beating him up so much, I think he got back all the punches he threw around the series. So how is this going to make them stop seeing each other? Are you going to kill him? Allegedly Jun Pyo’s mother was the one who ordered them to do such. While beating him up, the a.k.a ‘I am seeking revenge for my brother’ asked him to stop seeing Jan Di otherwise they will continue to beat him up. When Jun Pyo refuses, he prepares to toss a wood chair on him. And then the unexpected happens… Jan Di throws herself to save Jun Pyo, injuring her back. That scene was priceless, it was better than Jack saving the selfish Rose…that was the peak of the series. Whoever wrote this script deserves a Grammy. This scene, their long waiting first kiss scene and Jun Pyo saving her from the bullies were all breathtaking. They are saved by the remaining of F4. I love seeing Woo Bin in action (fighting) because he doesn’t get enough screen time.

They go on a field trip to somewhere where there is snow lol. Jan Di loses the necklace Jun Pyo gave to her, which has a symbolic meaning – a moon protecting a star, meaning they would always be together or something like that. I thought about Sailor Moon, a Japanese manga series. Actually, every scene makes me think about Sailor Moon, how they express they emotions, how they scream like crazy, how they jump all the time. 

While trying to recover the necklace, she gets stranded in a deadly storm. Jun Pyo once again comes to rescue her and they find themselves at some wood house. I love those clichés…wood house, cold weather, she is desperately in need of warmth. I think it is implied that they finally have sex in this scene. I don’t understand why they made sex something so obscene. Working for TV, I learned that most productions do it to make the content favorable for all ages but it’s get so boring, sex is part of life for God sake. It’s not like I want to see them doing the deeds but I wanted to see how she would describe it after. Asians are the best at describing what they feel! My favorite Japanese movie ‘Koisora’, the protagonist described the sex scene as ‘gentle pain’.

Jun Pyo is rushed to Macau because of the passing of his dad. I think I missed the part that explains why his dad stays in Macau. Jan Di has not heard from him since he left, approximately three months. F4 help her gather the money to go see him. They all go to Macau and meet Jun Pyo, Jun Pyo appears to be older but colder, telling them that he has nothing to say to Jan Di, which enrages Yi Jung. Throughout the series, you realize that he is the most sensitive of them all. It’s rare for a TV production to successfully show in depth the supporting actors’ characters, here you are able to get a glimpse of their flaws and you really feel like you know them.

From F4 looks, Jan Di realizes that they don’t have good news, she adds that she knew he didn’t want to see her, she just wanted to hear it from him. While playing hide and seek (they always come up with activities to amuse us), she breaks down, it actually makes you wonder if they were in love in real life. We got used to seeing her always smiling with her bubbly personality, seeing her emotionally collapsing for a guy she avoided the whole first 10 episodes was fictional orgasmic. I hate being the person who takes longer to start loving, it never ends well for us. The late lover bloomer…

Ji Hoo arranges for her and Jun Pyo to meet. Jun Pyo was inevitably the best at being mean but in this scene wow! He even jokes saying “you doing well”, making fun of the fact that she was able to come to Macau to see him. What the fuck do you mean? How can you say that? Are you making fun of her financial situation? When you watch a series that you don’t understand the language, you carefully pay attention to everything they say through the subtitles. When I saw that line, I wanted to beat him up. The K.O. – knockout was when he said “you were a stain and I had to remove you”. 

In those two minutes you really believe that’s how he feels about her but right after you see him spying on her and Ji Hoo; and then watching the video she made for him. His caretaker (the guy who follows Jun Pyo everywhere) lets him know they are leaving and manages to get him out of a meeting. He gets to the airport and finds Ji Hoo giving her the same shoes he bought for her. Like the old Jun Pyo, he punches Ji Hoo. I kinda like their relationship, they never really get mad or hold grudges against each other. They are always in good terms no matter what.

This was definitely the best episode, so full of juicy dramatic scenes. Jun Pyo breaks down…what is he crying about? Is he crying because Jan Di will finally be with her original/former lover Ji Hoo or because his mother is the reason he can’t be with his love? I remember on the first episodes, Jun Pyo said “what’s so hard about love? You just grab the person hand’s and you never let them go…” And he succeeded on doing that every time but why is it so hard for him to fight his own mother. Jun Pyo is crying like the true baby he is, and Mr. Jung comforts him. You can tell he knows how much Jun Pyo loves Jan Di by the way he held him and how he acted as their Godfather. I think it’s common knowledge that rich kids’s bestfriend are their nannies, caretakers and so on. I am pretty sure Mr. Jung saw so much pain in that household that he never envied their richness.

They are all back in Seoul…Jan Di gets her tenth job lol, helping out at some clinic. The witch invites Jan Di to Jun Pyo’s birthday. At the dinner, she calls her to the stage to present something to Jun Pyo. Jan Di accepts it by saying “I need to pay for my dinner tonight”. I am impressed by Jan Di’s willingness and bravery, how she never let people step over her. There is this saying that says that you can never underestimate poor people’s pride. She plays the piano, singing a song with a very powerful lyric. I am not sure if Jan Di can sing or play the piano but I don’t think she was bad. The witch still tries to embarrass Jan Di by saying that it was inopportune for her to do that and uses the opportunity to announce Jun Pyo’s engagement. This woman is on another level of wicked.

On attempting to confront Jan Di’s for coming to his birthday, Jun Pyo mistakenly holds his fiancé’s hand instead of Jan Di’s. It felt like he had choose her over Jan Di…but not yet. Ji Hoo takes Jan Di back home and tells her the killer line that no matter how many years go by I will never forget “ Some things cannot be seen by sight but through faith.” meaning that not everything she saw at Jun Pyo’s birthday was true. It reminded me of the movie “The Book of Eli”, where Eli is a blind man fighting to protect the bible, heading to a certain destination that only he knows, claiming that “he walks by faith, not by sight”.

F4 decide to help Jan and Jun Pyo get back together. Please allow me to call them F4, it's very annoying writing those complicated names several times. They distract Jun Pyo’s fiancé and arrange for them to be together by pretending that Ga Eul and Yi Jung are going on a date. While spying on them at the hotel, the witch comes and assumes that Jan Di offered herself (sexually) to Jun Pyo (I wish!). She tries to hit her and I am here thinking how can you touch someone’s daughter like this? Jun Pyo stops her and defends his love.

The witch strikes again, making Jan Di’s family go through hell. Jan Di’s mother falls sick and Jan Di is forced to work on their behalf. She then collapses from overdoing it and fatigue. Ji Hoo takes her home and Jun Pyo once again witnesses his love being saved by his bestfriend. Therefore, he decides to take the engagement with Ha Jae-kyung seriously. As Jun Pyo and Ha (let’s just call her that) become close, Ha and Jan Di also become friends.

The new couple, Jan Di and Ji Hoo go on a double date/trip to some kind of resort. While having dinner, Jun Pyo is literally dying inside watching Ji Hoo and Jan Di. Whenever Jun Pyo expresses his feelings you tell yourself you want to be loved like that but seeing how Ji Hoo treats Jan Di, you tell yourself 'I want to be understood like this, I want to be protected like this…' There was this scene that Ji Hoo tells Jan Di that ‘what they had wasn’t a dream because if it was it wouldn’t be so painful’.  Ji Hoo for a dull person he is surprisingly deep.

For the thousand time, Jan Di loses something precious that Jun Pyo gave her and for the million time the whole scene is around her trying to recover it. She tries to swim forgetting that after being hit by the chair she damaged her arm and is not able to swim anymore. Unfailingly, they did it again – a swimmer not being able to do what she loves because of love. The fact that the whole season they put Jan Di in a pool and then managed to make her love for Jun Pyo be the reason behind she to not being able to swim anymore…it was the cherry on the top. Well played.

Jun Pyo comes and saves her from drowning, he then tells her that he learned to swim because of her, to protect her. I am sorry Ji Hoo, Jun Pyo will always win! Jun Pyo goes back to the water, looking all sad…that man is so beautiful, his perfect skin, his cheeks… Ha comes and hugs him from behind. I stopped watching at that scene. It’s painful to see that she is starting to fall in love with someone who is completely obsessed by a commoner (they threw this word around so many times). The worst thing in this life is being with someone who loves someone else, you feel like a clown trying to entertain them.

We finally get to see more from Woo Bin’s storyline - he is the son of some mafia leader. He was very intriguing, chill and supportive of his friends. He also had a very warming smile and I think they mentioned at some point that he likes older women. I watched this youtube video, some kind of “where are they now”, allegedly the actor is married after being in a relationship for nine years, and they have a son now. He was the one I wanted to know more about because the series didn’t do him justice.

Ga eul confesses her love for Yi Jung by asking him on a date. She is encouraged by her new friend, a pottery teacher who is actually  Yi Jung former lover. Yi Jung cruelly tells Ga eul he doesn’t date good and idiotic girls and girls that are related to his friends, and adds that she represents all of that. He was so cold, like he spent so much time with Jun Pyo that he inherited his mean ways. It reminded me of him saying in the beginning that Jan Di’s nosiness was contagious, meaning Ga Eul was starting to be nosy. 

It was obvious that he was going through a lot after injuring his precious hands. There was this scene where his brother tells him that he wanted to have his hands and then you see his brother working in a restaurant. Was his brother disowned because he couldn’t do pottery?

 

Jun Pyo shows up and Yi Jung tells him “a swimmer can’t swim just like a potter can’t make potter”. Jun Pyo annoyed tells him “tell me straight”. The whole season I kept screaming to the screen the same thing because they are never clear, always using quotes to back up their Asian wisdom.

Jun Pyo breaks down. He goes to the pool to mourn his lover’s loss. He then decides to rent or buy (I am not sure…these people have so much money that everything is possible) a place next door to Jan Di. It’s funny how his mother tries everything to stop him from seeing Jan Di but nothing works, it’s like a magnet that attracts him to Jan Di. It was so cute seeing them bonding with Jan Di’s brother and how he is always willing to do anything to make Jan Di and her family happy.

F4 and Ga Eul reshuffle Jan Di’s new apartment. Jun Pyo and Ha come with groceries. Ha treats Jan Di exactly how Jun Pyo used to treat her, taking her to nice places and spoiling her with an overdose of stuff. They are all in Jan Di’s flat having a good time, playing truth or dare, Ji Hoo askes Jun Pyo “would you let go the person you love if they are suffering because of you?” Jun Pyo without blinking says “I won’t let go…never”. His fiancé is standing right next to him but he doesn’t care. According to Ha, that’s what attracted her to Jun Pyo, how determined he is.

The witch strikes again…Jan Di’s house is demolished. Jan Di is forced to send her brother to her parents. Does it mean her brother will stop attending school? Jan Di is homeless, walking around looking for shelter. She passes out and is saved by Jun Pyo's sister. I forgot to acknowledge how ravishing she is and how she actually resembles Jun Pyo. She looks like a fighter straight from the Tekken game. All the women were extremely beautiful and well presented, nice clothes and hair on point, on the other hand, the men looked like they cared more about their hair than the girls. 

She asks Jan Di to move in to their house. Like really? Why everyone takes lightly the things the witch does? This lady is capable of everything and you want Jan Di to stay under her roof? Jun Pyo can’t believe Jan Di is in his house and he is enjoying every minute. The witch finds out and tries to get rid of her. The grandmother, the elder lady butler who has worked for the house for years, defends Jan Di and tells her she is under her care. Finally someone to put this witch in her place.

Of course she had to react by speeding the wedding. Ha askes Jan Di to be her bridesmaid, already aware of her feelings for Jun Pyo and vice versa. Jan Di loves the pity talk and the pity acting, Jun Pyo even said “I don’t know what’s more crazy, the fact that Ha asked or the fact that Jan Di accepted”. Ji Hoo had this energy that translated that he believed that Jun Pyo could avoid all this or could let Jan Di go. Ji Hoo always challenges Jun Pyo, trying to make him understand how selfish he is. It seemed as if he just wanted to protect Jan Di, he didn’t care about Ju Pyo’s feelings anymore.

How can this wedding be serious if they were playing football right before the wedding? Watching Jun Pyo’s temper leashing out is always entertaining. Even though Ha ignored Jun Pyo’s pleading, she finally comes to her senses and calls the wedding off. I saw a YouTube comment on one of the reviews that they didn’t like the fact that Ha was the one calling the wedding off instead of Jun Pyo. Jun Pyo was not able to do it because his mother ordered her people to kidnap Jan Di while the wedding was taking place.

Ha arranges for a gateway for Jan Di and Jun Pyo. It was so nice seeing them together without any drama. I love those scenes when they play the background music and they speak to each other like narrators, like they are speaking through their thoughts. Jan Di once again talking about her looks, I hate the looks conversation! Who told this girl she is not pretty? So when production hired her, they said ‘we are looking for an unattractive actress’, like for real? Stop with the victim talk, you had every man in this sitcom at your feet, treating you like Beyoncé.

Obviously, the witch is not pleased, she goes to meet Jan Di and insults her like default. This time even Ga Eul defends her and Jan Di is just there looking like a fool. Grandpa comes throwing all the shades, trying to insinuate the witch used to be poor or came from some shady past. He made sure she understood she can’t talk to Jan Di like that. The whole time she treated Jan Di like she had no family. I love how seniors have so much power, Asians really respect they elders. You probably asking who is the grandpa? I can’t explain everything, this review is already too long. Before all this, Jan Di managed to move Ji Hoo’s grandpa to his house for their reconciliation. Jan Di’s was definitely everyone’s mascot, always bringing blessings to everyone. 

On a particular episode, a wise man told Jan Di that she would give a family to Ji Hoo, trying to trick us into believing that they would end up together but he meant that she would be able to bring his grandpa back to his life. They loved to play with our emotions just like when they scripted a wedding photo shoot between Ji Hoo and Jan Di.  When I saw the teaser for the next episode I almost died, the thought of Jan Di and Jun Pyo not ending together after so much crying made me cry even more. Ji Hoo and Jan Di are soulmates, I get it. The same heart, warmth, healthy pride and wisdom; just like Ha and Jun Pyo, having wealth, treating people like hobbies by giving them everything and taking them everywhere like they could be easily bought, being surrounded by many staff but being lonely and having a beautiful hidden heart.

Talking about soulmates, Ga Eul once told Yi Jung that she was looking for her soulmate and he made fun of her, claiming it was nonsense. One day, she states that she knows he believes in soulmates but he is just scared. I really enjoy watching these girls who look naïve telling this “know-it-all” guys who they really are. Why do damaged people always say ‘don’t act like you know me’, trying to intimidate people who love them? 

 

 

Ji Hun’s parents’ marriage really affected him and his perception of love. His dad told him that a soulmate can only be found once in a lifetime and he let his go, meaning he was never in love with this mother. He finally takes Ga eul on a date and like every date they have been on, it was all fake. He was so mean, how can someone with such a baby face be so cruel. These kids treat their lovers like shit then get scared as soon as they get hurt, even the smallest thing, like hurting a finger. After torturing her the whole night, he decides to take her to meet his Dad, and then offering her to his dad in a sexual way. I don’t really get his Dad’s hair. She throws water on his face and respectfully leaves.

'Long story short '- Yi Jung is afraid of love, he holds back because he knows the power of love. People who fear love always want to show the worst of them to the people who love them just to see how they handle it, sometimes they end up pushing these people away and other times, it makes their lovers fall even harder and try to understand them.

He was once in love with Ga Eul’s teacher, he then saw her with his brother. I have so many questions, was she cheating on him with his brother or what? They left so many things unsaid. I concluded that the reason she met his brother was to ask for his help planning the romantic thing she was about to do. The ‘teacher’ wrote a message to Yi Jung telling him to go to a specific place at a specific time but he didn’t go. At some roof top in Seoul when the sun is rising, looking at two billboards next to each other it creates the phrase “I love Yi Jung". Koreans win! What kind of love-oriented people are these? This series taught me so much, I was always a 'fairy tale' kind of girl, someone who believes in love and silly things like these but this series gave me the courage to express my feelings in so many ways.

I used to date this guy that was in love with another girl and he lost her because he was afraid of taking her seriously. They dated but he never introduced her to his friends because of the fear of one day being cheated on and his friends finding out, so lame right? So he refrained from fully committing himself, that behavior made her slowly leave him. His attitude towards her resulted on what he feared the most. 

 

You treat a girl poorly because you can’t stand being betrayed by her but while doing that you are betraying her heart. It’s funny how you do everything to not be taking as a fool and you still end up like a fool. Ga Eul told Yi Jung “Because you are like this, no one can’t stay by your side”.

Yi Jung and the teacher both tell Ga Eul different versions of their love story. She takes up on herself to understand what happened and finds the place where Yi Jung was supposed to go. He loses it…I cried every time Jun Pyo broke down but Yi Jung was in another level, seeing the self pro claimed love guru and casanova cry like this was worthy. Does people really suffer like this? So he never knew the teacher liked him? And unfortunately the girl has moved on, she said she thought he was like air, meaning she couldn’t live without him but it turned out he was just a breeze. Whenever I hear them bringing their Asian spiritual wisdom, I want to go to a temple and talk to an old Asian man about life. LOL

Yi Jung meets with Ga Eul and tells her he wants to talk about them. I like how he looks at her, like he knows exactly what kind of person she is. To be honest, he always liked her, he was constantly all over her. Before he could even speak, she went straight to the point “I tried my best…now I have no regrets.” Watching her leaving him standing there, the sound of her steps, the background music, it was translating that he lost his second soulmate.

You know when you want to rush home because you want to write something, that’s exactly how I felt these past days. The witch resurrects, this time she made Ga Eul’s dad lose his job and grandpa almost losing his foundation, is she that powerful? Of course, the wonder woman Jan Di saves the people she cares about by leaving town. She goes on her last date with Jun Pyo…everything about it was sad. You could tell that there was something going on, like the whole time she looked like she was hiding a secret from him. But she finally told him how she felt about him. 

Seeing how Jan Di made him so happy, like being around her was everything. Throughout the series, Jan Di has proven to be the mature one because she was more exposed in life but the way she choose to break up with him was very disappointing. When he said “you said you liked me” it really felt like a lonely kid who lacked love. He then added something along the lines “is your love so easily (…)”, meaning how can you let go so easily.  I understood where he was coming from, she really played with his feelings. However, Jan Di went through hell because of him and she never complained, she accepted everything his mother did to her, and for someone who had so much pride she took every humiliation very well - having multiple jobs to save her family; being kidnapped and beaten; protecting her little brother; almost sleeping in the streets; giving her phone to her family so she could contact them; etc …

Ji Hoo finds out where she is and goes look for her. No matter how slow this human being was, he had the perfect timing. He is always showing up when she needs him. He calmly solves Jan Di’s family problems/debts. I like how he walks like royalty. He asks Jan Di to come back and uses the opportunity to confess his love. I was a bit confused by her answer but I think she told him that she was in love with Jun Pyo. Ji Hoo's expressions kinda seem upset, which is rare because he never shows emotions.

Jun Pyo is secretly watching them but doesn’t dare to go talk to her. Earlier, he told Woo Bin that he doesn’t see the point of asking her back because he can’t protect her and the fact that he is the son of someone who faked his own husband’s death to protect her company, he realized that Jan Di should be away from everything he is a part of. Money is indeed the root of all the wicked…

A random man who was wronged by Shiwana group overhears that Shiwana group’s heir is in town and decides to take revenge. He tries to run over Ji Hoo but he is saved by Jun Pyo. If you went through this whole series not understanding what Jan Di saw in Jun Pyo or thinking that the reason she fell for him was because of the expensive dates, food and so on. Think again. The reason this stubborn girl surrendered herself to love this obnoxious guy was because behind all those stylish clothes, Jun Pyo had a beautiful heart.

I still can’t believe Jun Pyo saved Ji hoo…They all go to the hospital, the witch comes but leaves instantly after hearing the words she deserved by Unnie/noona. She leaves to go to a business meeting in Hong Kong. While walking out, she breaks down. This whole series was about feelings and seeing cold hearted souls not being able to control their emotions. Jan Di follows her and shares with her things she learned about Jun Pyo. I was amazed by Jan Di’s forgiving strength, the fact that she was willing to forgive someone who called her ‘an worthless thing’ and who constantly hurt her family it made sense why everyone wanted to be around her.

I am so afraid no one will read this because it is too long. I just felt like I had to mention everything that impacted me. This is my second review about this show, the first one I didn’t express in depth how I felt and I forgot to mention so many things: how they really invested in the quality of this production; how stylish the characters were, always looking sharp; their baby faces, these people look like they don’t age; how at some point Ji hoo grew his hair and Yi Jung gained weight; how Jan Di got prettier episode by episode; how I broke the misconception in my head that they looked the same, I started noticing details about their appearance, the format of their faces, the texture of their hair - their hair is not completely silk, it’s a bit thick; how they worked on differentiating their personalities through their clothes, how Jan Di was always wearing pants showing how carefree she was while Ga Eul would always be seen wearing cute dresses and hair pieces showing her childlike personality; how the soundtrack made me cry, especially listening to Jisun song 'What should I do'; how the almighty lunchboxes became a thing for me; their clever coincidences and the perfect way of recreating and remembering scenes; and how I became obsessed about Korean Culture.

One thing that still bothers me is the fact that they don’t kiss. Sometimes I felt like pushing their mouths into each other's faces. ‘Sex sales…’ You see so much love and romance and no expression of that through sexual actions? But I kind get it now. It makes me look at the profession in a more serious manner. No offense to Brazilians but I if you goggle them and you see their dating history and number of the divorces, you realize they all marry each other in the showbiz. Because you can’t really fake a kiss or a touch, feelings come eventually and the scenes they shoot make them kinda believe it’s a real love story. Actors have a life outside the cameras and I am not sure how their partners handle them kissing different people every day so I must bow down to Koreans and other Asians productions for respecting people and protecting their affection.

Jun Pyo wakes up from a short coma I guess and he doesn’t remember Jan Di. The memory loss card, so cheesy right? And I loved it. The doctor said that usually patients in his condition forget their most stressful memories. He has no clue who she is and all the good she did by changing him into a better person is also gone. There were so many times that Jan Di disciplined Jun Pyo and now all her efforts were erased.

Lee min is a very good actor, even his expression changed when he woke up, his “bitch resting face”, all that arrogance and ego was back. And guess what? He thinks Jan Di is Ji Hoo’s girl. The whole time the writers have been playing with our emotions, with this Jan Di, Jun Pyo and Ji Hoo triangle. They threw Jan Di around like she was this precious porcelain doll that should end up with only one of these guys. Jun Pyo gave Jan Di to Ji Hoo then Ji Hoo gave her to Jun Pyo a couple of times. Even when Jun Pyo was almost dying he thought about her and said “If not you, no one else”. I liked that they only showed that part later, when Ji Hoo was breaking down…Yeah, Ji hoo also broke down just like everyone in this series. Imagine your best friend saving your life and now the odds are telling you to be with this his girl because he doesn’t remember her.

They brought another girl, we are almost at the end why? What kind of connection can you create with just one episode left and why bring so many guest/love interest but no action (sex)? The new girl looks like someone who could be Jan Di’s sister, same looks and outspoken personality. From the begging, she puts Jun Pyo in his place, saying that he shouldn’t get any special treatment at the hospital just because he is in the VIP room. However, Ji Hoo senses who she is, he has been the best judge of character so far and later you see she is just another imposter.

The ‘pool scene’…. this scene has been what draws me to this series over and over again. Every detail of the script mattered, the fact she loved to swim and Jun Pyo didn’t know how to swim was a crucial detail. Jan Di decides to throw herself in the pool, hoping Jun Pyo will remember how to swim and eventually save her. They tried to make him remember her through recreating dramatic events that led to him fall for her. Before she threw herself, she described him and tells him to say her name. He finally recovers his memory and jumps to the pool to saver her. Jan Di once said that she didn’t have to say that she liked him because she showed it through her actions. When she drowned herself, her feelings emerged. I wondered if she secretly tried to kill herself, as if he didn’t save her there was no purpose for her to live anymore. They (probably Netflix) changed the soundtrack for this scene, the original song played in this scene the lyrics said “Even when I tell my heart to not go, it keeps going towards you” and it clearly summarizes their love.

Jun Pyo proposes to Jan Di after spending four years studying in USA. Yi Jung follows the promise he made to Ga Eul before leaving to Sweden, he comes back and reaches out to her. Ji Hoo and Jan Di are studying Medicine, Woo Bin continues being the F4 backbone and they live happily ever after. They say Hana Yori Dango (the original series) is the better than BOF but BOF will forever be my guide on how to love. It was more than just another Cinderella story, it was about witnessing miracles through friendship, true love and family love.