Playful Kiss Episode 11 Recap

I found episode 11 of Playful Kiss (Mischievous Kiss) to be yet another good episode. Riding on the wave where episode 10 left off, it pulls the viewers back into the ebbs and flows of Ha Ni and Seung Jo’s indefinable relationship. This episode had interesting plot developments, some laugh out loud moments, and the arrival of kiss #2.

It’s funny how most viewers tend to mark the development of the lead couple in a drama by the amount of kissing that has taken place. I find the kissing in PK rather like inert milestones. What touches me more are the little interactions between Ha Ni and Seung Jo.

It’s becoming clearer and clearer to anyone with half a brain and functional corneas that Seung Jo likes Ha Ni. I don’t mean he notices her, or pays attention to her, or even tolerates her. No, it’s becoming clear that he has very concrete feelings for her, but he’s not ready to consider what that means or what he’s going to do about it.

Unlike Ha Ni, (1) Seung Jo doesn’t live or die by the person he loves, and (2) he is actively thinking about how to map out the rest of his life. As such, Seung Jo continues to do his own thing in this episode, popping up here and there to tease Ha Ni or to stake his claim.

Episode 11 Recap:

We rejoin the tableau in the apartment. Ha Ni and Seung Jo are in bed, and it’s still the middle of the night. Ha Ni is not the most pleasant of bed mates – what with her flinging her arms on Seung Jo, hogging all the covers, tossing her leg over him, and throwing her entire body on Seung Jo. She eventually falls off the bed, covers included.

Seung Jo tries valiantly to sleep, and to counter all of Ha Ni’s unconscious night time attacks of discomfort. But he is no match for content and sleeping Ha Ni. Chivalry points to him for NOT kicking Ha Ni off the bed. An additional bonus point for carting her back on the bed when she fell off, since there is no way in hell she woke up and crawled back into bed by herself. Seung Jo sits up with a disgruntled “everything, she really does do everything” with respect to Ha Ni’s non-sexual bed Olympics.

Throughout this ordeal, Ha Ni slumbers blissfully. When she awakens the next morning, she immediately remembers where she is (at Seung Jo’s apartment), what she’s on (Seung Jo’s bed) and who she’s with (Seung Jo!). As her fingers creep across the sheets to feel for her bedmate, with the cutest little “Seung Jo-ya” chirp in her mind, she encounters empty space.

Seung Jo is awake and out of bed, reading a newspaper on the couch. He does not look well-rested in the least. She asks whether he slept well, and he tells her that he was defeated by her terrible sleeping habits. Ha Ni demurs, saying that she sleeps very ladylike. Seung Jo replies that she’s gotta be kidding.

They have breakfast, of course prepared by Seung Jo, and settle into a routine I foresee for this couple for the next fifty years – Seung Jo reads a newspaper and eats, oblivious to Ha Ni, who eats and stares at him in contentment. After breakfast, Ha Ni picks out a shirt for Seung Jo, who shoots down her selection of a red and white checked shirt and grabs his preference. Ha Ni immediately turns towards Seung Jo as he prepares to change, and he has to remind her that she’s staring. She turns around and misses his little grin. You sly monkey, would it kill you to let me the girl get one good look!

As they prepare to leave their little non-love nest, Ha Ni turns Seung Jo’s shoes around, and almost made me want to slap her upside the head. Yo, girlfriend, you can stalk the guy and stare love daggers at him all you want. But you DO NOT act like his personal slave/valet/housemaid. You hear me? Have an iota of pride, will you? (Plus, I really hate the shoe turning gesture, reminds of……sobs, Dae Gil-ahhhh).

At least Seung Jo notices and stares a tad incredulously at Ha Ni for turning his shoes around. She thinks his stare means she turned the wrong shoes around so she grabs another pair for him. He tells her that she’s treating this like her own home, isn’t she?

They leave and go to school together, leading Ha Ni to feel like she’s living together with Seung Jo. When they arrive at school, both of them find they are once again the center of all attention. A sign has been posted, replete with cute facsimiles of Seung Jo and Ha Ni snuggling, announcing that they spent a blissful night together.

The crowd reading the sign is atwitter, especially upon seeing Ha Ni and Seung Jo walk into their midst. Need anyone even ask whose handiwork this sign was? Mom has donned a disguise and is hiding in the crowd, fanning the flames of the rumor. She shouts out for Seung Jo to tell everyone all the details. If Seung Jo didn’t want to play into his Mom’s hands, he sorely underestimated Mom. So. Awesome.

Seung Jo’s eagle eye spots the perpetrator, and drags his Mom off in a huff, lecturing her to stop with this nonsense. He leaves with a trail of annoyance in his wake, but Mom is not to be deterred. She excitedly asks Ha Ni for the low down on what happened. When told by Ha Ni that nothing happened that is worth reporting, Mom is sorely disappointed at her son for not jumping Ha Ni’s bones under such ideal circumstances. Mom’s exact words are “what kind of man is he?” If Mom keeps this up she’ll be a grandmother in 10 months.

Mom further asks Ha Ni about the chocolates, which reminds Ha Ni that she has no clue where the darn chocolates are. Joon Gu goes to see Ha Ni’s beauty salon friend and leaves disappointed, still unable to find out the whereabouts of his Ha Ni. Back in the smarty class, all of Seung Jo’s classmates are gossiping about him as he remains impervious to their stares. Hye Ra meets up with Seung Jo in class, and her spirits are revived upon hearing from Seung Jo that nothing happened.

Joon Gu is still feeling down about not finding Ha Ni last time. He feels further dejected when he finds Ha Ni’s friend and she says that clearly Ha Ni and Seung Jo have progressed from first kiss to first night together. Joon Gu walks away demoralized. Ha Ni is studying for the upcoming exams, and clearly it’s too much for her little brain to handle. She decides to focus all her studying on the English test, since that is her only class with Seung Jo. If she can’t pass that exam, then she’s hopeless.

Joon Gu is waiting by the tennis club, and tennis sunbae comes by. When asked why he seems so glum, Joon Gu says that he is considering letting go of his pursuit of love, because it feels like his heart is being ripped to pieces. Tennis sunbae, from one ardent admirer to another, tells him he cannot give up. Joon Gu bemoans that he has loved her for years and they haven’t even gone out on a date yet. Tennis sunbae teaches Joon Gu the method Ha Ni taught him (as originated from Seung Jo) on how to express his feelings to a girl. That kiss against the wall method sure is getting a lot of use.

At home, Ha Ni studies as diligently as she can. Seung Jo finds her box of chocolates, and smiles upon reading the note and seeing the contents of the box. He takes a bit of a thing that resembles a chocolate and immediately spits it out. It is clearly an inedible disaster. He stares at it and smiles again.

Ha Ni tiredly walks into class. Seung Jo asks her why she doesn’t look so well, and Ha Ni dejectedly notes that both Hye Ra and Seung Jo still look quite hale and hearty even during exam period. Hye Ra does her nice bitch routine, and saying that exams are to test one’s normal learning ability and to cram for an exam is no indicator of achievement.

Hye Ra throws in an additional dig that this English exam is rumored to be extraordinarily hard. Ha Ni should just retake the course. She can be classmates with the high school student Seung Jo and Hye Ra are tutoring, who plans to attend Parang University next year. During the exam, Ha Ni stares at Seung Jo, marveling at how cute he looks solving exam problems and giddy over the opportunity to take the same exam as Seung Jo.

Ha Ni imagines Seung Jo handing her his completed exam, to bail her out of her sticky situation. Too bad it’s just another of her daydreams, and Seung Jo and Hye Ra both finish and walk out with record time to spare. After the exam, Joon Gu is waiting for Ha Ni, and asks to speak to her. He tells her that he almost gave up on his love for her, but it’s too difficult for him. In the middle of this ardent speech, Ha Ni falls asleep from all her efforts to study for the exam catching up to her.

Oblivious to a sleeping Ha Ni, Joon Gu tells her that he doesn’t care about what happened that night between her and Seung Jo, he wants to continue to love her. At that moment, Ha Ni’s friends show up to clear the air, letting Joon Gu know that nothing happened between those two. Joon Gu is ecstatic, remarking that Baek Seung Jo is indeed a gentleman. He is so excited he carries Ha Ni out of there.

Ha Ni is picking up loose balls at tennis practice when a tall handsome guy blocks her path. The first thing this guy says to her is “Oh Ha Ni, will you go out with me?” He’s also an older student at Parang and a friend of tennis sunbae’s. His name is Kim Ki Tae, and he tells Ha Ni that he will be attending school with her next semester. Tennis sunbae tells Ki Tae not to joke around, that Ha Ni already belongs to someone else.

Ki Tae admits that he’s probably being too forward with Ha Ni, and asks her out on a weekend date so that she can get to know him better. Ki Tae leaves, but gives her one lingering look. This boy is cuuuuute. Between Joon Gu with his heart wider than the ocean, and Ki Tae with his pretty boy features and direct approach, Seung Jo has got major competition. Tennis sunbae tells Ha Ni that when he and Ki Tae started school together, all the female sunbaes were gaga over them – Ki Tae because of his good looks, tennis sunbae because of his charisma. Heh.

Her friends tell her to go for it, since this is the first time in Ha Ni’s life where a man is pursuing him instead of the other way around. [What?!? Yet again, poor Joon Gu is forgotten.] They promptly tell Seung Jo about this latest development, and Seung Jo replies that it doesn’t worry him and he could care less. Ha Ni tells the family, and Mom is worried that her worst nightmare has come true – another man has swooped in to snatch away the adorable prize that is her Ha Ni.

She laments Seung Jo’s lack of effort. When hearing that the interloper is a male sunbae, she decrees that male sunbaes are the most dangerous things on earth. Ha Ni’s dad worries that his daughter has become a consummate flirt, smiling at all the guys around her to lure them. Ha Ni shoots down that suggestion, but Mom is already on defcon 1 status.

Ki Tae finds Ha Ni at school and immediately gets right up next to her. The boy clearly has no fear of crossing any invisible boundaries. He tells Ha Ni he wants to make sure she doesn’t forget his face. When asked why he likes her, Ki Tae tells Ha Ni that he paid attention to Seung Jo because here was this junior guy who is better than him at everything, so he was curious and a tad upset.

By paying attention to Seung Jo, he noticed that Ha Ni followed him everywhere. Pretty soon, Ki Tae was paying more attention to Ha Ni than to Seung Jo. He especially was moved by how Ha Ni constantly gets rejected or dismissed, but she never lets that stop her. He tells Ha Ni that she shouldn’t waste her youth on Seung Jo, and should just date Ki Tae now and enjoy life together. Hye Ra sees Ki Tae with his arm around Ha Ni and excitedly assumes they are dating, and that Ha Ni has given up on Seung Jo.

Mom goes on her own stalking outing, taking pictures and making notes about Ki Tae. She rates him an 85 points on looks, finds he has an outgoing personality, and with a major in law is likely to become a lawyer or politician. Ha Ni reassures Mom that she has only eyes for Seung Jo, and that she will go reject Ki Tae sunbae promptly. Mom then tells Ha Ni not to reject the suitor, and use this opportunity to make Seung Jo jealous.

At tennis practice, Hye Ra tells Ha Ni that she should go for it with Ki Tae, who is handsome and smart, with an added barb that he must have a unique taste to like someone like Ha Ni. Seung Jo remarks that a piece of trash thrown away by one person is another person’s treasure. Ouch, Seung Jo, you really are a piece of work sometimes. Ha Ni tells Seung Jo that she is actually quite popular.

In Seung Jo’s estimate, she’s dumb and got a silly personality. Ha Ni retorts that the guy who likes her is as smart and good looking as Seung Jo. Plus, he’s got something Seung Jo doesn’t have, a genuine heart and treats a woman right. Ki Tae overhears this compliment, and he tells Seung Jo to just give him Ha Ni. Seung Jo realizes the guy who likes Ha Ni is Ki Tae (whom he played tennis against during high school), and tells Ki Tae that he is welcome to Ha Ni since she doesn’t belong to him.

Ha Ni agrees to go on a date with Ki Tae, who calls her princess and tells her he’ll take her anywhere she wants to go. Seung Jo walks away without a backward glance, and Ha Ni resolves to go ahead and “cheat” on Seung Jo, consequences be damned.

They got to the restaurant where Seung Jo is working for their date. Ha Ni shows up first and Seung Jo comes over to take her order. He assumes she is there for her usual stalking session, but she tells him she has made other plans. Ki Tae comes running over, and Seung Jo appears slightly taken aback that Ha Ni is really here on a bona fide date.

Ha Ni remembers her date with Seung Jo, the running from thugs, the boat ride. Ki Tae promises to take her more places in the future. Ki Tae puts his arm around Ha Ni and asks her what she wants to do for their date. Ha Ni attempts to move away until she sees Seung Jo coming, at which point she scoots nearer and allows Ki Tae to keep his arms around her. Seung Jo comes over and looks none too happy.

Ki Tae takes Ha Ni to the park, and he is solicitous of her. He moves her out of the way of oncoming bikes, and puts down his handkerchief before she sits. They ride a tandem bike and hang out at the park. You know who this boy reminds me of: a cross-hybrid of Seung Jo’s perfect specimen exterior and smarts, combined with Joon Gu’s attention and affection for Ha Ni. It’s like the best of both worlds.

Ki Tae asks how long Ha Ni has liked Seung Jo. When he’s told that it’s been four years, his answer is beyond sincere and sensible. He tells Ha Ni that he’s prepared to do the long haul as well. He doesn’t expect that his presence will change things in Ha Ni’s heart anytime soon. As long as Ha Ni thinks of him on occasion and hangs out with him, that’s all he wants for now. Ha Ni acknowledges how different Ki Tae’s personality is from Seung Jo, and is resigned to the fact that Seung Jo isn’t going to show up her date.

Ha Ni is in the library, peering through the stacks at a studying Seung Jo. Ki Tae comes over and tells her to stop thinking about Seung Jo. He leans down to kiss her, when Joon Gu comes barreling into the mix. The boys get into a fight, and Seung Jo comes over to inquire as to what the fuss is all about. He tells them that they may be fighting over Ha Ni, but that is all pointless since Ha Ni likes ONLY him. He then grabs her shoulders and hugs her tight, announcing that Mom told them both to go home for dinner tonight. Ha Ni just experienced three men fighting over her, quite a feat to pull off.

As they are walking home, Ha Ni tells Seung Jo that he has such an ego, saying things like “Ha Ni likes only me.” She wonders whether he ever considered that her feelings for him may change. The thought has never crossed Seung Jo’s mind. Ha Ni wonders whether he wasn’t just a teeny bit jealous back there, but Seung Jo deflates her balloon by saying he’s seen through the jealousy trap set by Mom and Ha Ni. He’s not falling for it.

The family has dinner together that night, and it feels just like old times. Everyone notices that Seung Jo’s dad is not looking so well, and is told he’s just been busier than usual at work. Seung Jo’s dad asks him to consider his future, and tells Seung Jo that he would really like to pass the family business on to him. Seung Jo declines, and leaves. In the subsequent days, Seung Jo doesn’t show up at tennis practice and quits his job at the restaurant.

It turns out Seung Jo is working at an outdoor retreat type of resort, and tennis sunbae also works there. Of course, he might has well be a broadcast network, as Seung Jo remarks, because he tells Ha Ni and Hye Ra, who both show up. Ha Ni brings Eun Jo but the parents stay behind because of work. Tennis sunbae decides to use this opportunity to confess his feelings to Hye Ra. Good luck with that dude, hope you brought your tennis racket along.

Tennis sunbae sets up a couples competition between the resort guests. Each team has to go to seven spots designated on a map, and get a stamp from each location. The first time to get all seven stamps and returns wins. Seung Jo doesn’t show up, and tennis sunbae uses a convoluted method to select the partners which pairs him with Hye Ra and Ha Ni with Eun Jo. Joon Gu is stumbling through the woods on his way to the resort.

Tennis sunbae and Hye Ra stumble around, as he pretends to not know where to find the stamps, and then promptly injures himself. Hye Ra remarks that it’s impossible for her to like a guy like that. Ha Ni tries to get Eun Jo to cheer up and enjoy the game, but Eun Jo remains a too-cool-for-this-game. She falls down a small gulch and loses her knit cap. When Joon Gu sees the cap, tries to get to and tumbles into a ditch himself.

Hye Ra helps tennis sunbae back to the resort, and finds Seung Jo tidying the grounds. It’s clear the surrounding area is quite treacherous, which leads Seung Jo to worry about where Ha Ni and Eun Jo are. Ha Ni and Eun Jo are, no big surprise here, lost and waiting for help. Eun Jo has come prepared with a blanket and drapes it over Ha Ni, leading her to remark on how mature he is. Just like spending time with a mini-Seung Jo.

Eun Jo suggests they try to find their way back to a spot on the map and follow the designated routes back to the resort. Ha Ni wants to wait for Seung Jo to come rescue her, and Eun Jo dispels her of that notion. Seung Jo doesn’t even know where they are.

Seung Jo does come looking for them, but he finds a stranded Joon Gu and pulls him to safety. Seung Jo tells Joon Gu that Ha Ni is already safely back at the resort. Seung Jo assists Joon Gu back to the resort, and is told not to let anyone see this humbled and injured version of Joon Gu, tough guy extraordinaire. Joon Gu tells Seung Jo that he owes him one for saving him.

Ha Ni walks through the camp grounds the next morning. She sits down and Seung Jo comes over. He asks her why she doesn’t know how he feels if she professes to like him so much. Then Seung Jo leans down to kiss her. The kiss cuts away to Ha Ni seemingly waking up from nodding off. She laughs at herself for thinking it was real, but she touches her lips and wonders why the feeling is still there. The camera pans over, to a shocked and affected Eun Jo, hidden behind a tree.

Thoughts of Mine:

For such a fluffy drama, PK is getting increasingly convoluted and the feelings are growing more tangled. Ha Ni alone now has two admirers plus a reluctant beau. It’s really too bad we can’t clone Ha Ni, because the number of awesome guy characters just increased by one, and I would now like to clone a Ha Ni for Joon Gu and a Ha Ni for Ki Tae.

Girlfriend has got some serious eye candy loving her! I love how this episode does ignite Seung Jo’s jealousy again. Sadly it was all stuff we’ve seen before. Seung Jo shows a moment of jealousy, and then it passes because he knows Ha Ni still likes only him and the other guy is not a threat.

The time is coming when Seung Jo has to make a stand, to decide between keeping Ha Ni for himself or letting her go. That is the emotional heavyweight moment I am looking forward to. For now, I content myself with enjoying the continued cuteness of this drama.

Hye Ra is really one of the most enjoyable second female leads I’ve seen in a long long time. She is zero threat to Ha Ni, and it’s like even she knows it. She never does anything to sabotage her, merely throwing out verbal jabs here and there. She also doesn’t cling to Seung Jo anymore than Ha Ni does. I am enjoying Lee Shi Young’s performance immensely, she’s a wickedly great comedic actress, and a treat to watch torment our Ha Ni with her little cat claws that barely graze the surface.

While I enjoy every minute of PK, I do feel my impatience creeping in. I want Seung Jo to finally confront his feelings. I want Ha Ni to finally tell Joon Gu it cannot be so that he may move on. I want more from PK than it is giving me at this point. But that is just my sensibility calling out for more emotional drama that doesn’t fit the essence of the story. To be fair, PK does deliver in each episode, making us smile, laugh, and rail at the screen. And it never fails to leave with me with a warm sweetness in my heart.

 

The title of episode 11 should be: When a snail is coveted and a genius finds that he has serious competition.

It may be my imagination, but I feel like the pace of this episode was a little off, and the cuts between scenes especially abrupt and jarring. In addition, there was a palpable lethargy in the air, which I think can be attributed to the cast being tired with the around-the-clock live shooting schedule. Both Jung So Min and Kim Hyun Joong appeared especially worn down. Both were lacking their usual spark and crispness in the performance.

All in all, this always happens when a live shoot drama hits the tail end of its filming. I am really looking forward to the next few episodes though, because Ha Ni and Seung Jo’s ephemeral relationship really starts to weigh on both their emotional states, and create the mental and emotional exhaustion that these two actors can definitely pull off. Plus, more angst equals more squee-worthy moments for all of us.

And finally, the ratings are out. Today’s episode garnered a 5.6%.

[Credit: screencaps from soompi.com, official MBC stills, and various online news outlets]


Comments

Playful Kiss Episode 11 Recap — 49 Comments

  1. Thanks for the recap! ^^

    Yay second kiss! XD I also feel a little impatient now waiting for Seung Jo to finally admit the truth to himself: that he loves her already. We only have like 5 episodes left and from the looks of it, I think we won’t be seeing any of the after-wedding part. 🙁

  2. Many thanks for the recap!! Really enjoy your recaps and insights (i’m glad that i found this site). I’ve also refreshed this page I don’t know how many times tonight =P Although I don’t understand Korean at all (except for a couple of words), I can make good guesses of what they are saying. But somehow, I crave for confirmation, and reading about what exactly happened (with side notes) in your recaps makes it just more real and exciting =D

    Btw, although Seung Jo initially turns down Ha Ni’s choice of clothing for him…. he did wear the shirt a few days later… maybe he’s a little considerate after all, hehehe I love his sneaky I-actually-do-like-Ha-Ni-a-lot character!

    LOVE PK@!!

    • I don’t think it’s the same red checked shirt in ep 11. He’s going to wear it in ep 12 from the pics i saw online. This one is thicker, furrier, like a jacket. That pink shirt she picked for him is thin and smooth; he’s going to wear it with a white jacket.

      • He wore it earlier underneath a white jacket when Ha Ni’s friends told him he’s got a rival 🙂

  3. I really enjoyed the episode. It had too many cute moments for me not to enjoy it. I did feel this episode was rushed a little. One thing after another kept happening without me having time to digest what just happened. I will watch it again and I am sure I will catch everything the second time around.

    Loved the bed scene! Made me laugh out loud several times. Sadly I didn’t really “feel” the other rival scenario. The only scenes I liked out of that were the restaurant and library scene. Well thinking about it that was pretty much all there was to that scenario. Lol! So I guess I did enjoy it. Just if I blinked I would have missed it!

    Loved the entire set of at the resort scenes. Of course especially the last scene. Can’t wait for tonight’s episode to see how BEJ handles the situation. Poor thing looked traumatized!

    I agree about the actors and actresses looking a bit worn in this episode. Not in every scene but in several of them. This is the first time I thought Jung So Min actually looked tired. In my opinion she looked more tired than Hyun Joong in this episode. The only episode I thought Hyun Joong might actually not make it through was episode 9. He looked like he was about to drop in that one. They are still doing a great job and are still working hard to give their best performances (and I think successfully doing so) but hopefully they will get some much needed rest soon.

  4. thank you for the recap…we have the same thoughts not only for this episode but for the whole drama as well…till your next recap 🙂

  5. thanks thank thanks for the recap…
    have got to say that somehow i felt something was “off” with this episode but nevertheless I loved the entire episode. my No.1 favorite part would have to be the eating the chocolate: his expression from disgust to smiling was just so funny and quite telling. I was really happy about the chocolates part (as far as i know, in Japan the giving of chocolate by a girl to a boy is like an event, and korea is the same right, they seem to have a special day where the Girl gives the guy they like chocolates)
    its the same BoF. but in Bof i kinda felt bad for HJL when he handed the chocolates GJD made and gave them to GJP, I so wanted jihoo sunbae to receive some also.
    IN PK my wish finally came true, okay given that what Hani made wasnt as like that of Jandi or well let admit it Hani’s chocolate were BADLY made but then again it was really made out of Hani’s Labor of love…
    and as all chocolates, there is nothing sweeter that that, albeit Hani’s was not edible. the smile in SJ face after the disgust was telling that chocolates out of LABOR of LOVE is really the sweetest… love love love SeungJo’s expression after eating the chocolates…..

    • yes I consider that scene is one of my fav in yesterday’s epi too , loved how he smiled even afterbeing disgusted by the bad taste of the chocolate , he loved OHN’s gift and that’s enough for me 🙂
      PS can someone temme what was written in that little paper OHN put with the chocolate Box ; BSJ was smiling when he read it so I’m curious to know what was written .

      • I read somewhere that she wrote that those chocs were made by her for thinking about him and hope he likes it.
        Something like that.

  6. Thanks for the recap, had to log into your blog 1st thing morning. This will satisfy my PK appetite for now, had to wait till I get off work before I watch this episode. Arrgh what a long day this will be………..

  7. Don’t know how many times I checked here for the recap. Finally decided a watched pot never boils and waited awhile before checking. It worked because here is the recap and I liked it again. Don’t really agree with the lethargic opinion but I do agree some of the scenes did kind of jump too quick from one to the other. All in all it was a great episode if for nothing other than the very beginning and the ending!

  8. Your recaps are like the morning coffee to start the day! On the way to work, I was so unsettled, couldn’t wait to read your recap and start the day right. I did check at 6am but it wasn’t up yet. Thanks for feeding my PK needs. Can’t wait for epi 12 – need to see more of BSJ’s revelations of his feelings for Ha Ni.

  9. I agree about the pacing. It seemed odd. And damn BSJ for being too smart to be jealous for long.

    My fave moment was when he stared a bit right when she sat up in bed. What I like about his looks, is that it’s totally believable that Ha Ni might miss them.

    and ooh ooh, was that just a slight puckering of the lips on Ha Ni’s part. Holy crap. I’m new to this stuff, what is up with the lame kissing in youth dramas? And I have to admit I was a bit disappointed it happened in dream world. I’d much rather have seen real BSJ succumbing to the sleeping beauty.

  10. I’ve never seen the TW version or read the mangas so everything that happens in PK is unexpected and new to me. However, I was actually kind of confused a couple of times throughout this episode. The directing was a bit jarring and almost schizophrenic to me. This episode didn’t go so smoothly for me and it was pretty obvious that the whole live-in shooting is taking a toll on the production team. Editing was pretty poor too. Hmm, as far as excitement goes, despite more love triangles, squares, pentagons or whatever you call it forming in this wee drama, I don’t feel any tension or that dramatic angst between the other love interests. All my attention is focused upon SJ and HN, so I can’t really help but yawn a teeny bit (I swear, my mouth is just dry and thirsty) when the other characters come onto the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I love the family and I love the little side conversations, but there’s only 5 more episodes to go and I want more SJ & HN interactions! I’m kind of tired of being teased here and there. I want things to get a little spicy. Please, drama gods, I beg you to satisfy my little request!

    ….Or not.

    Then, at least gimme more of those cute, lovely scenes with HN & SJ. Okay? You guys can do that…can’t you?

    • Aha! I felt the same way!
      I care for the family and thought it was cute and stuff and BJG is funny but i was just waiting for them to get together really!

      Ugh it was a hasel getting through the teasing and the Almost marriage between YHR and BSJ killed me in side…. slowly.
      Honestly that was evil!
      But im glad they got together in the end

  11. I’ve been waiting all day for the recap!!

    I’ve been a fan of the show eversince I’ve heard about it. So I started watching and then escalated to stalking blogs for recaps even before I get to watch the english subbed episodes!!

    The recaps are heaven sent for somebody like me who needs to wait a few days before I get to watch it. It doesn’t spoil the episodes! Not at all!!

    Love the sweet story..and the actors too!!

  12. yay! thank you for the recap!! i’ve just woken up and it’s already night here… my sleeping schedule is all messed up thanks to PK. thankfully, i don’t have class today…
    anyways, i agree that there was something a bit off in today’s episode. as always, there’s some serious problems with the editing ever since ep 1 and JSM seemed a tad too tired. however, when she delivered, it was awesome so at the end of the day, i still loved this episode. the appeal of PK are all those small moments that makes your heart squeal from the sweetness.
    the new guy is hot… too bad BSJ is too confident to be jealous for long. and i thought joongu was seriously hot when he first came into the friend’s barber shop… he looked seriously dashing. if i was almighty, i would have cloned hani…
    anyways, i heard a lot of complaints about the lack of passion in the kiss and usually, im the first one to get frustrated at k-drama typical lame kisses. however, i was actually satisfied with this one… i actually thought it was more than their first kiss, a feat considering that the girl was sleeping… you can’t expect the ever sneaky seungjo to do major lip motion in that situation.
    overall, even though the ep was far from perfect, i actually came out of this episode more satisfied than i expected and i’m majorly anticipating ep 12.

  13. hi morning! I stayed up late last night, watching episode 8, which totally cemented my love for this version of Itakiss over all others (manga, anime and two other live-action versions combined!) if for nothing else but my love for the relationship between Hani-Mom-Seungjo and how they’ve tied it in altogether! It’s just great how Hani might not have much along the lines of brains, but when she told Seungjo that he must use his brains to help people, it just shows that she has heart enough for ten… sigh, so sweet. And episode 8 has finally illuminated for me WHY Seungjo’s mom has such a liking for Hani! The bit where she was talking with Hani’s dad about how in her home, she was the only one talking and making mistakes, but when Hani was there, she was not alone in her imperfection and alone in her family, and how Hani made her home so happy! And of course, also when she said that she thought Hani might make her son happy, ahhh… it was just such a moment of maternal affection! Her love with Hani is all entangled with her love of her son, and the chance for her son to be happy…. but enough ranting about the past!

    cuz it’s all about episode 11!!!!!!!!!!! now… is not that Ki Tae boy cute?! but does he remind anyone else of some chinese actor? I can’t place it! it’s been irritating me since the preview…..

    but for some odd reason, because I’ve seen so many permutations of this story, I know exactly what I want and what I wish was that rather than creating this love square story (which I didn’t enjoy in the second season of the Taiwanese version either), that they’d settle the Joongu-Hani-Seungjo triangle, cuz we’re pretty invested in Joongu having a happy ending too, the sweetum that he is! although I did have a laugh at how Hani’s friends commented that there’s a man finally competing with Seungjo for Hani’s affections. I don’t think they’d forgotten Joongu, but that they didn’t really consider him a MAN!

    I did adore how this episode and the ones leading up to them, gradually showed Seungjo’s adoration of Hani, muted as it maybe, hidden as it maybe. There was this dialogue in the Taiwanese version that I loved – how the Zishu described his love for Xiangqin – his love for her was like a simmering pot, he was not and never would be like boiling water, where the water came to a roiling boil and the fire would go out soon enough, instead he’d watch over his pot and make sure that the fire would last a long time and never go out. (i’m waxing lyrical today aren’t I? and being really long-winded..)

    like you, I think that Lee Si Young is quite a likeable other-woman. most adorable second leads are like So-eun in BOF, where they’re NOT in the relationship. but Hyera is so upfront about her intentions and actions here that… she kinda reminds me of myself (except the smarty-pants bit. and the long skinny legs bit. and the plays tennis bit.) i think that earlier on she spills her own beans when she said to Hani that her chasing Seungjo is a bit like taking candy from a baby. She regards Hani as this defenceless babe who’s like as not gonna face lots of problems and obstacles even without someone like her in the way, and it doesn’t jibe with her own view of herself that she’s a nice person (or maybe I’m just projecting…). but oh if only i could add a screencap in the comments… her doleful look as she glared at the tennis sunbae after he and Hani interrupted her confession in episode 8. so funny! Plsplspls everyone go watch the descendants of Hong Gil Dong where Lee Shi Young is so cute and funny and adorable! extra incentive to Ockoala – the male lead in HGD is Lee Bum Soo, who has surprising rapport with Lee Shi Young, despite the 12year age gap~ and the whole cast appeared in Happy Together for a really hilarious episode! if i find the link, i’ll share it here!

    but what is with that kiss right at the end? what brought that about? how could they end there!!!!!

    ps… what is with that G-Dragon look that Seungjo is imitating in that screencap above, where he wears a green polo??????

    pps. thanks for continuing the title renaming! you should just start with it rather than saving it for the end!

  14. Love you all to bits, thanks for reading and squeeing with me over PK Love!

    @ Carol – the actor who plays Ki Tae reminds me a lot like…..Chen Kun. One of my obsessions, of course. Painted Skin, rawr.

    Completely random, but Jung So Min in the morning after scene look sooooo much like Keiko Kitagawa. And since Kim Hyun Joong already looks like my Pi, even more so after he got the perm, he’s rocking the Pi in Buzzer Beat look. I seriously did a double take, wondering why Naoki and Riko were suddenly on my screen. Total woah moment for me there.

    • i haven’t seen buzzer beat….. i totally intended to, cause i used to find Pi cute, but it got old cuz there wasn’t any show by him that i loved, as in capital L-O-V-E. he was adorable in Lunch Queen, but I somehow didn’t get the Nobuta virus. so i dunno the Pi look, but i found an example of the GD look that I likened him to, headband and all @ . And although I couldn’t find a screencap, you might try the Bigbang MV for Haru Haru. I distinctly remember a headband look too.

      • its just hit me who that boy reminds me of!! it looks like that guy from goong – the one who was shin’s best friend in school!! right right??

        he looks like a younger version of Chen Kun, rather than Chen Kun personally, I think….

    • haha that’s what I thought too! Somehow they really looked alike I had to double check it…but the similarity didn’t hurt as I love Buzzer Beat and Pi and Keiko…so cute.
      Back to Playful Kiss: I loved this episode but somehow the editing & cutting was a bit distracting. It feels like they are trying to put in as much story as possible in the episodes to come. Spoiler: At this pace with Dad collapsing in Ep 12 and Seung Jo working at the firm it’s possible that THE Kissing in Rain scene is going to show up in Ep 13 or 14.

  15. Thanks for the recap. I’ve been stalking this site all day.

    I agree with you that some of the editing was a bit off in this episode. One particular scene that I was confused was how BJG arrived at the resort in the first place. How did he found out that OHN was going to be there?

    But overall, I really enjoyed it this episode especially the continuation of the bed scene. That was so hilarious.

  16. thanks for the recaps! you are sure fast!
    i watched the episode raw so i might miss a thing or two so reading recaps helped to understand the episode more.

    ki-tae is a cutie and a good rival for seung jo in hani’s heart so i wished they used his character more coz even though we know hani is so loyal to seung jo it would be fun to see if hani could have a slight change of heart or seung jo would be more jealous perhaps.
    the editing for this episode is off key. somes of the scenes looks choppy. and the actors seem tired from shooting the drama.

    joon gu, *sigh what should i do to you? you are so nice and caring and stuff but you know for a fact that in the end you will not get the girl.
    eun jo! you little seung jo! you are like your big bro! you like hani to be your noona yet like your big bro your not gonna admit that! but your so adorable in this episode by the fact you act so chivalrous to hani when you got lost in the forest. awww so cute of you!

    and the kiss? others who dont read/watched the other version or the manga may not know if its a dream or not so i will leave you guessing. but to those you did its a big yay!

    based on the preview of ep. 12 excited for the back hug scene of hani to seung jo!
    cant wait for more complexities in the next episodes!
    see you later in episode 12!

    PK AJA! FIGHTING!

    • choi sung joon… in goong, he was prince shin’s friend, the one in love with hyo rin (i think that was her name… she was the 2nd female lead)
      he was also in can we refill the love where KHJ also was in it

  17. Thanks for the great funny update 🙂
    I’m not able to decide if I feel happy or disappointed about this epi , like u already said the editing took the sharm of many scenes and also the non-developpment of kim ki hae-OHN-BSJ love story made feel disappointed a bit but still many cute scenes were there too : the cutest one is OHN-ESJ while lost in the jungle and how ESJ was so caring to his Noona ( was so happy when he called her noona , that was so cute ) , then the chocolate Box scene , I think one of the most adorable things in BSJ/KHJ is his cute smile and he was smiling all the way during that scene and eventhough the chocolates were awfull but he enjoyed the whole gesture and the meaning of it .
    Loved also how he smiled when he told OHN that she’s staring @ him when he is about to change his clothes 🙂
    and the last scene is that arm aound OHN’s shoulders and declaring that she only loves him so no need to fight over her to the other two rivales , that was very revealling and eventhough he told OHN that he knows that his mum and her did that to make him jealous but he wasn’t , he surely was jealous and didn’t want anyone to even think that he can take his OHN from him ( especially with the new comer who is , in addition of being hot and intelligent , he has a good heart and he really loves OHN and is able to show her his love which is not the case of the Cold Robot BSJ )
    eagerly waiting for today’s epi to see the hug and some other cute moments maybe , what I’m really waiting for is when BSJ decides to get married to that banker’s ( or dad’s buisness partner ) daughter , even though I hate watching OHN crying and sad but I know ( if the editing crew make some effort to give us a good editing ) we will enjoy this whole track I’m sure 🙂

  18. I am so waiting for ep 12 recap later… Enjoy this recaps better than the other website… Keep up the good work!

  19. As I’ve wondered on why people kept calling PK a high school romance drama.. I’ve also wondered why people keep insisting that it’s full of teh fluffy. It was high school romance when it was in high school and it’s fluffy when they’re all so young and Hani + Seung Jo can play cat and mice all day long. Now that they’re adults, Seung Jo will have to decide a lot of grown-up stuff and I doubt there’d be much fluff in the coming episodes. If you insist on expecting it, you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment.. 😛

    About the editing problems, once I’ve realized that focusing on them deprives me of the enjoyment of my favourite story (I’m an INK anime fan), I just zoom out whenever any of them happen.

    The pacing, according to the anime, is actually quite even.. not too slow, not too fast. In fact, I was pretty disappointed they don’t go any faster coz with the way it’s moving, I’m pretty convinced now that we’ll never get to the (SPOILER SPOILER) post-marriage stage. *pouts* ..hmmm, maybe they’ll explore it in the youtube episodes?? One can hope.

    Thanks so much for your recap! Your blog is the first place I go to right after every episode. Love eeet ~

  20. Do you know the song that played when Ki Tae & Ha Ni dating? What’s that song called? I love that song so so much! <333

  21. is it true that after this khj will have a new drama straight away? with 2 other idols?
    JYJ’s JaeJoong and CNBlue’s Jung YongHwa ? the drama’s title is ‘Cinderella’?
    any information on this?

  22. agree the editing in episode 11 is bad, i thought BSJ answers the test paper of Hani and only by reading the recap that i found out that is only an imagination

    and the immediate cut on the 2nd kiss, that almost look like Eun Jo is the one who kissed Hani

    thank God, episode 12 is better and well edited

    and thanks for the recap

  23. Hi! Recently, I’ve gotten completely addicted to Korean dramas (It started with Personal Taste, moved through the deliciously over-the-top Boys Before Flowers, and now onto Playful Kiss) and stumbled onto your blog after searching for this episode. You write good recaps! Thanks for feeding my addiction 😀

  24. HELLO! Please can someone tell me what is the name of the 2nd shose that oh ha ni gave him? is black with brown with wedge . Please let me know whats the name of it . THANKS

  25. HELLO! Please can someone tell me what is the name of the 2nd shose that oh ha ni gave him? is black with brown with wedge IN EPISODE 11 . Please let me know whats the name of it . THANKS

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