Temptations
Graceful Friends returns this week with an episode that deepens the ties between Jung-Hae and Goong-Cheol. The big theme this week is temptation and we see this play out late on across two contrasting scenes. Hae-Sook, as we saw from last week’s confrontation, will do everything she can to get Goong Cheol back. She even pretends to be ill to tap into Goong-Cheol’s caring side. By comparison, Jae-Hoon’s jealousy spills over in the worst possible way as a big plot twist at the end leaves things on a shocking conclusion. The second half of this drama is really starting to heat up now. We begin episode 11 of Graceful Friends in the past as Goong-Cheol shows the others his wedding invitation. Jae-Hoon however, feigns happiness given he’s marrying Jung-Hae. Left alone Jung-Hae screws up the paper and throws it to the ground in frustration. Back in the present, the group discuss Choon-Bok revealing he has dementia. While the girls celebrate Jung-Hae’s big promotion, Jung-Hae winds up drunk and asks Goong-Cheol to come and pick her up. As he sits with her and drinks, Jae-Hoon also shows up as the two exchange nervous glances to one another. Goong-Cheol figures out what’s going on and confronts Jae-Hoon about him playing golf. The evening is awkward but it ends with Goong-CHeol eventually driving his wife home and congratulating her on the big promotion. Jung-Hae has a seminar coming up too, which she’ll need to attend for two days. Suspicously, she tells Goong-Cheol that she doesn’t want him driving her there. Back home, Mo-Ran tries to romantically engage with Jae-Hoon but he’s having none of it. After slapping her hand, she repays the favour by dumping red wine in the bath. In the morning, Goong-Cheol cooks for Jung-Hae and wishes her well for the seminar. Only, Jung-Hae also happens to be there too. This inevitably causes problems with Goong-Cheol when he finds out. He immediately suspects the worst and believes his friend is having an affair. Given Hae-Sook is desperate to get Goong-Cheol back, he phones the man and asks him to bring medicine. Unsure what to do, he winds up heading to Hae-Sook’s. On the way though he receives a call from Jung-Hae who checks in and tells him she’s going to bed early. Only, Jae-Hoon is relentless and shows up at her door. Despite initially rejecting him, she has second thoughts and lets him in. At the same time, Hae-Sook receives the medicine and lets Goong-Cheol in. What follows is an interesting juxtaposition as the scene skips between Goong-Cheol and Jung-Hae as they find themselves tempted by their respective love interests. Hae-Sook manages to have her way and the pair wind up kissing in her bed. Only, he pulls away until she starts crying, telling him how lonely she is. Instead, he embraces her as a friend and admits he should have defended her all those years back. By contrast, Jung-Hae hears about Jae-Hoon’s pain and apologises to him that he feels that way. After he forces himself on her, Jung-Hae pulls away and tells him, in no uncertain terms, to leave. The next day, Jung-Hae returns and Goong-Cheol invites her over to Jae-Hoon’s for dinner. With Mo-Ran back, Jae-Hoon heads home to a big surprise as everyone celebrates his divorce. As they all sit and eat together, they discuss the incident at the beach. Kyung-Woo immediately puts his foot in it and tells them all that Chon-Book is the one whose most miserable. However, a knock at the door immediately changes the subject as Hae-Sook arrives. Oof, honestly you can cut the tension with a knife. Meanwhile, Ju-Won finds himself conflicted over what to do with the police. As he sits with Ae-Ra, they go over his story before he heads to the station. There he talks to investigators about Kang-San. He gave Ju-Won 30 million won to make a fresh start in Jeju. As we soon find out, Kang-San was hired by someone else to blackmail Jung-Hae and the others. That someone happens to be Jae-Hoon.
The Episode Review
Jae-Hoon’s true colours come out and wow, what a nasty guy he is. His bitterness obviously stems from being the black sheep of the family but the way this has manifested is pretty despicable. This also puts Jae-Hoon in the firing line as the one responsible for murdering Kang-San as this could be a convenient way of tying up loose ends. It’s definitely a big shocker though and I definitely cursed at the TV when this was revealed! While not responsible for Kang-San, Hae-Sook certainly isn’t much better. She’s manipulated Goong-Cheol all this time and is doing everything she can to break up their marriage. While the past continues to be a hot topic, we don’t see an awful lot of it this week meaning it may be saved for a later date. For now though, Graceful Friends bows out with another strong episode as this mystery is really starting to heat up now.
