Drunken to Love You Episode 9 Recap

Episode 9 of Drunken to Love You harkens back to the tone and mood of episode 1. A combination of farcical slap stick moments mixed in with emotional angst in a now trademark DTLY way. The drama broke 5 in ratings for this episode, so this means we’re about to get Joseph Chang and Tom Price jumping into a pool. Good gracious, you can’t pay me enough money not to report on that earth-tilting news and bring you pictures. Heh.

It’s so weird how this drama is a bona fide success, though it’s got half the ratings of Fated to Love You, but I feel like it’s still so under the radar. While I appreciated the stark look at the anatomy of a marital infidelity in The Fierce Wife, which became a hot topic of conversation in Taiwan when it aired earlier this year, I personally prefer the dramas that celebrate love because it feels just so whimsically charming to watch. Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru feel so fun and real, I can imagine having a dinner party with these two and it would be the best time ever.

Cup 9 recap:

Jie Xiu tries to listen through the door at what Meng Jun and Xiao Ru are talking about inside her room. Xiao Ru mentions about “wanting to protect the baby” but Meng Jung shushes her and tells her not to mention the word “pregnant”. Jie Xiu goes back to his room to ponder. Meng Jun suggests taking Xiao Ru to a nearby temple that is extra lucky when it comes time to praying for such things.

Jie Xiu lays down in bed and thinks out loud about whether it’s possible Xiao Ru is pregnant. She doesn’t look like it, but her personality seems to quite suspicious lately. The next morning, Jie Xiu walks out and puts his ear against Xiao Ru’s door. He can hear her making a retching sound inside her bathroom. She comes out, and he asks her if something is going on? He tells her not to keep anything from him. Xiao Ru goes to work and Jie Xiu gets a call from Tony about doing a magazine interview.

Avril is filming a rape scene with Rickie and she freaks out. The director tries to get Avril to calm down and finish the scene. Rickie tries to approach Avril and finds her genuinely distraught. Avril’s reliving her almost-rape from college. She goes outside and Rickie tries to ask if he can help her in any way.

The director has them do the scene again, and when Rickie and Avril veer off script the director allows the scene to continue. Afterwards, Avril thanks Rickie for helping for change the scene and allowing it to be successfully filmed. Rickie suggests to go to dinner if she wants to thank him, but Avril declines because she somewhere to go. She makes up an excuse that she has a favorite watch she wants to get fixed. Rickie says that if the watch is broken, she should just let it go. Avril says she can’t let it go unless she tries, she thinks the watch can stay with her for the rest of her life.

Avril leaves the set and an over-eager staffer comes up to her giving her coffee and a snack. She declines and leaves, but it’s clear that he’s a little mentally unbalanced by her rejection.

Avril drives to Jie Xiu’s house and sees him leaving for work. She wants to approach him but she thinks there is someone weird following her so she calls him to try and get his attention. She asks him to get rid of the weirdo. Jie Xiu thinks this is her ploy, and he confronts her about lying that she was the one who spent the night with him at the resort. Avril thinks Xiao Ru told Jie Xiu, but he tells her that he’s exhausted with her lies and stories. Jie Xiu hangs up and drives off. Avril follows him, and we see the movie staffer following her. He vows to give her the food he made for her.

Jie Xiu follows Xiao Ru to a market and sees that she’s buying all sorts of supplements and supplies for expecting mothers. Meng Jun and Xiao Ru go to the temple and prays to the Goddess. Meng Jun gets really into praying, but Xiao Ru teases her for being so fake pious. Jie Xiu sneaks up behind the ladies and peeks at them. Suddenly the resort worker that counseled Jie Xiu back in episode 6 shows up, and she pretends to be sweeping next to Jie Xiu.

She asks Jie Xiu if he recognizes her, explaining that her main job is working at the temple and her side job is working at the resort. She tells him that her job is to allow babies to be born and continue the cycle of life. Jie Xiu imagines that he’s suddenly in period attire and he is called up as the prize-winner at temple. His prize is a baby, and he comes up collect the baby. But when he sees the baby, he just shakes his head and backs away.

The temple lady tells Jie Xiu that he’s here because he clearly took her words to heart from that night. She congratulates him on becoming a dad, but Jie Xiu is not sure if he’s about to become a dad. She tells him to calm down, and take his time to figure out what the woman in his life wants. She tells him to be a good dad and show her how he feels, then his wife will tell him the truth.

Before he leaves, Jie Xiu is told that his face has the look of a bad omen. She gives him a bowl of water with a burned seal inside. Jie Xiu gulps it down in one chug, but is told that the water was intended for him to take home and splash around the four corners of the house. LOL. I’ve done that before. Meng Jun and Xiao Ru leave the temple, and Jie Xiu quickly runs off. The temple lady watches Xiao Ru leave and she goes inside to pray.

Jie Xiu follows Xiao Ru to another place, and he walks inside to discover that he is at an OB/GYN. He’s too nervous to go in by himself since other guys go in with their wives in tow. Xiao Ru is inside asking about how Peggy is doing, and is told that her near miscarriage has been stabilized and she’s doing fine. Xiao Ru asks the nurse to to give her some supplements, but the nurse asks Xiao Ru to speak with Peggy directly, and we see that Peggy is right there.

Xiao Ru flashes back to when she met with Yi Xian ton discuss the menu for their wedding banquet. Yi Xian asks Xiao Ru to prepare a shrimp dish, because Peggy likes shrimp. Peggy sees Yi Xian sitting close to Xiao Ru and immediately reaches the wrong conclusion. Yi Xian tries to explain but Peggy refuses to listen. She runs off and then doubles over in pain, and we see her bleeding. Xiao Ru wants to leave now, but Peggy asks her if she’s willing to stay and keep her company.

Peggy tells Xiao Ru that she’s afraid of her, Xiao Ru is like a landmine in her life. But now she realizes that Xiao Ru has no intention of ever taking Yi Xian away from her. Peggy thanks Xiao Ru for everything, explaining how she’s never been this happy before. Xiao Ru tells her that Yi Xian changed because of Peggy and how much she loves their baby. Xiao Ru gives Peggy a necklace with she got from the temple, asking Peggy to wear it to protect the baby.

Jie Xiu is still lurking outside the OB/GYN and he finally sees Xiao Ru walk outside. She’s behind a post with another expectant mother who’s last name also happens to be Lin, so when the nurse runs outside to give Ms. Lin her mommy book, Jie Xiu naturally draws the conclusion that Xiao Ru is pregnant. He goes to work and is in a stupor. When his boss asks him to pick a crib, Jie Xiu screams that it’s too early. But his boss is asking him to do it for a client. Tony asks why Jie Xiu suddenly has a headache.

Jie Xiu gives Tony some money for coffee and accidentally hands him a paper from the temple. Tony immediately asks if Xiao Ru is pregnant? Jie Xiu says no and walks away. Tony picks up Jie Xiu’s phone and it’s Jie Xiu’s mom calling from Hawaii. Tony lets slip that she’s about to become a grandmother, and Jie Xiu’s mom immediately says she’s calling off her own wedding and coming back to Taipei right away.

Jie Xiu is getting some coffee. He watches a dad talking with his daughter and imagines that it’s him and his daughter. Okay, raise if hand if you think Jie Xiu will make the worlds BEST daddy? He runs off without getting his coffee.

At the hotel, the manager receives a call that the new restaurant manager has just arrived from the US. We see Daniel (played by Xiao Gui) run into a bakery asking to buy the small criossant. He’s told another customer just bought the last bag, so he follows the man who is walking his dog through the park. The man sits down to eat his croissant and read a newspaper, and he sneaks up and steals the box of croissants, splitting his pants down the middle. As he’s walking away, a nice lady wants to tell him that his pants is split in the back. He thinks she’s trying to steal his croissant and insults her as a dinosaur girl who ought to go back to the Jurassic period. She tells him his pants is split and huffs away.

Tony finds Jie Xiu browsing in the bookstore for baby books. Tony teases Jie Xiu for working so hard to welcome a new family member. Tony says that Jie Xiu clearly hasn’t done enough. He tells Jie Xiu to take expectant mother classes. Jie Xiu immediately drags Tony with him, and Tony laughs that he can’t go because he’s not an expectant mother.

Jie Xiu walks into the expectant mother class with Tony dresses like a woman. Jie Xiu treats him very roughly and all the other couples stare at them. Jie Xiu uses the lure that he wanted to allow Tony to start designing some small spaces next month to get Tony to agree to stay and accompany him. Tony immediately pretends to be a woman, but he freaks out the instructor. She hilariously says that society needs to welcome alternative parenting in the future.

They start la maze classes, and she reminds everyone to pay attention. Tony and Jie Xiu hold hands and face each other. Jie Xiu immediately daydreams that he’s holding hands with Xiao Ru. She asks to rest because she’s tired. He tells her to hang in there, and she asks him if he wants a girl or a boy. Jie Xiu says either is fine. Tony is suffering but Jie Xiu is totally into it. Jie Xiu immediately enrolls today, telling Tony that he needs to take good care of Xiao Ru because it’s the only thing he can do for her right now. The intructor comes back and tortures Tony some more with yoga poses that have him screeching in pain.

At the movie set, Avril has her assistant confirm that the weird staffer won’t be around today. But the guy is lurking and hears Avril dismissing him. When Avril is practicing with Rickie for a scene, he walks up to Avril and stabs her. The assailant is subdued and Rickie picks up Avril and rushes her to the hospital.

Xiao Ru is at work and checking on a pot of stewed chicken feet she is cooking. Daniel arrives and immediately checks Xiao Ru’s locker. He opens it up and laughs when all her belongs fall out. He remembers back when they were at the orphanage together, and he opened up her locker to give her a croissant because she was hungry. Daniel peeks at Xiao Ru inside the kitchen, telling himself that he will make her pay for her mistake.

Avril is making a fuss trying to check out of the hospital. Everyone wants her to stay, but Rickie confronts her on why she needs to leave right away. When they are alone, he tells her not to use her life as a joke and go running off to Jie Xiu. He tells Avril that he will help her once she gets better.

Xiao Ru comes home and finds Jie Xiu having bought so many things. He asks why she’s home so late, and she apologizes. She likes to stay in the kitchen when she’s bothered by something and needs to think. She tells Jie Xiu that she’s confronted by the biggest problem of her life. She doesn’t know if she should keep it or get rid of it?

Jie Xiu tells her to keep it, he’ll be by her side through it all. She laughs and tells him that he doesn’t understand these things, but she’s touched by his gesture. She asks him what he bought, and he says everything is for her. They go inside and Jie Xiu first proffers Xiao Ru a cup of herbal tea that has healing properties. He urges Xiao Ru to drink, but she’s not terribly loving it and has to pretend it works like magic. Jie Xiu says he had to wait in line for two hours to buy the tea.

He then whips out a leg massage machine that he wants Xiao Ru to use everyday. Xiao Ru thinks the machine might be good for losing weight. Once Jie Xiu turns it on, Xiao Ru wiggles because she’s so ticklish, spilling the tea on his pristine carpet. Jie Xiu’s OCD almost flares up but he restrains himself. He decides to give Xiao Ru a hand massage of her legs, and she writhes in comfort because it feels so good. Jie Xiu confesses that he’s been too mean to her in the past. He thinks it’s comfortable living with her, and has decided to treat her better from now on. Xiao Ru thinks her temper is worse than him.

Xiao Ru asks what’s gotten into Jie Xiu recently since he’s behaving oddly? Jie Xiu asks Xiao Ru to be brave like he is right now. He tells her to be candid with him, and he will accept whatever he says and undertake any challenges with her. Xiao Ru whips out some stewed chicken feet and munches on it, confessing that she does have something to say. Xiao Ru stammers until she finally tells Jie Xiu that she was deciding whether to use star anise in her stewed chicken feet recipe for Yi Xian and Peggy’s wedding banquet. But star anise causes constipation for pregnant women. So today she made the dish without the star anise, but it just didn’t taste right.

Xiao Ru says her biggest challenge today is whether to take the stewed chicken dish off the menu. Jie Xiu gets upset and yells at Xiao Ru for claiming that her big issue involves chicken feet. He calms down and asks her if there is something else bothering her and might affect their relationship. Xiao Ru thinks Jie Xiu suspects they slept together that night at the resort. Jie Xiu takes her hand and tells her that he’s thought everything through and he can accept whatever decision she makes. Xiao Ru says that he’s overthinking things and the only problem she is facing right now concerns this chicken feet. She then hilariously runs upstairs like her ass is on fire. Jie Xiu watches her run away with a look of frustration.

Rickie is still at the hospital keeping Avril company, but his manager convinces him to go home and rest. During the night, Avril sneaks out of the hospital once her manager has fallen asleep. Jie Xiu is making a pot of chinese medicinal soup for Xiao Ru when he gets a call from Tony who is going to put their pictures through a computer program to determine what their future baby looks like. Jie Xiu hangs up and turns around to find Avril lurking outside his window. He freaks out but opens the window, asking her if she’s gotten into the habit of randoming popping up in his life.

Avril asks for his forgiveness as long as he’s willing to let her stay by his side. Jie Xiu says that is all in the past. Back then, everytime Avril saw something nice, she wants to share it with Jie Xiu. But he can’t accept that anymore. The only thing she can do for him now is just to stay by his side as a friend. Jie Xiu is about to confess to Avril that he has feelings for Xiao Ru when she walks downstairs and asks Jie Xiu why he’s talking to himself. Jie Xiu tries to explain but they find Avril collapsed outside with her wound bleeding.

Jie Xiu puts Avril in his bed to rest, asking why she’s not at the hospital and is here? Avril looks up and sees that her picture is gone from where it used to hang over Jie Xiu’s desk. Xiao Ru walks out to get some water. Jie Xiu says he’ll take Avril back to the hospital or her place. Avril grabs Jie Xie’s hand and asks him to stay by her side. Only if he is by her side will she not feel afraid. Avril tells him that she was hurt by the strange man who was following her before, who turned out to be a staffer on the movie set. Jie Xiu apologizes and says that he should have believed her.

Avril says she doesn’t want his apology, she just needs him. She came here because this place has him, and only here can she rest in peace. Xiao Ru walks in to hear this conversation. She brings water over and sees that Avril is still holding Jie Xiu’s hand. Xiao Ru offers to take turns tending to Avril during the night but Jie Xiu tells her to go to sleep.

Thoughts of Mine:

Let’s get the bad but necessary plot diversion out of the way. Yi Xian and Peggy – I wished they just moved to another hotel or another planet and left the show. I was happy that Xiao Ru got her candid closure with Yi Xian last week, but I do not for a second buy that Xiao Ru is immediately cool with doing their wedding banquet and is all sad and happy for Peggy’s almost miscarriage and save. I’m sorry, but speaking from personal experience, there is no way that Xiao Ru, who loved Yi Xian to the core and was betrayed by him from left field, could be that emotionally fine with it in such a short period of time.

I can accept Xiao Ru falling in love with Jie Xiu (my God, which woman wouldn’t!), but the writer is forcing Xiao Ru to be too cool with Yi Xian and Peggy at the expense of more relatable emotional logic. I’d be still curled up in a ball of pain if I were Xiao Ru, and occasionally emerging to make out with Jie Xiu.

I find the Avril storyline just puttering along. She really doesn’t annoy me too much as a clingy second lead because all her tactics have thus far been epic fails with Jie Xiu. The button switcheroo was immediately sussed out, and her attempts at emotional guilt trip continues to just get no response from Jie Xiu. I wish she could move on, because I don’t see how she loves him in an unselfish way. Everything she says is about how much SHE needs him, how much SHE wants him. She doesn’t care that he wants someone else now, and that she is the interloper. She is the text book definition of selfish love, and even Rickie can see it and keeps counseling her to wake up and smell the roses.

While it’s clear as a cloudless day that Jie Xiu is falling in love with Xiao Ru, I love how the drama refuses to make it so convenient that she is falling in love with him as well. I think he affects her, she can see how amazing he is, but she’s neither ready to start a new relationship nor is she allowing herself to start it with Jie Xiu because of Avril. So Xiao Ru is in a statis, and I think the drama needs to push that storyline along. I love how decent she is, but I also wish she would show her decency to someone other than me-first Avril. I think Xiao Ru owes Avril nothing, and she ought to open her heart to Jie Xiu and see where it takes her.

I found the Tony and Jie Xiu go to maternity classes segment just adorably wacky fun, nothing to be taken seriously except to showcase how much Jie Xiu is emotionally and mentally readying himself for welcoming a baby with Xiao Ru. But am I glad Xiao Ru isn’t really pregnant, because that would be skirting way to close to the Sunny Happiness storyline for my taste. DTLY is livelier and sillier than SH, and has it’s own flavor and flair. Watching an episode a week every Sunday is like curling up with my favorite book and a glass of scotch. The OTP is like the finest aged whiskey, developing a love story that the viewer can feel in our gut is going to last them a lifetime.