There is sooooo much to digest in episode 5 of Marry Him If You Dare. This drama is not a light watch in the slightest, and the dialogue is so important that I even caution folks not to watch without subs because it’s crucial to understand what is being said. What happened in the future (which may or may not be averted this time around) plays such an integral part in understanding how people interact in the present, especially with the growing realization that future Mi Rae’s meddling is causing damage to Shin in this time line. You know what makes Shin and Mi Rae my OTP forever and forever, beyond the gaspworthy chemistry between leads Yoon Eun Hye and Lee Dong Gun? It was cemented in this episode when I saw that Mi Rae and Shin are fundamentally the same type of person deep down. They live knowing that who they are (the principled Shin and the dreamy Mi Rae) cannot exist comfortably in this world where he needs to be more facetious and she more pragmatic. When they meet each other, both are in a moment of flux where he is faced with being true to his beliefs even if it means flushing his career down the toilet, while she’s chosen a harder life for one last chance to live her dream.

I actually don’t see future Mi Rae influencing them at all, other than being an impetus but never the deciding factor. Much as future Mi Rae has laid out for Mi Rae that marrying Shin means a lifetime of suffering (I don’t believe her, by the way), present Mi Rae is instead hurt for Shin and not running away from him. Present Mi Rae wants to make her own choices even with the knowledge future Mi Rae gave her, and for that I’m totally on her side again. Yes, she tries to give Se Joo a chance, and she’s not a total robot who can be around such a nice good looking young man and remain unaffected, but her heart knows that it’ Shin who makes her confused and worried for him. The ever multi-faceted Shin plays ball with her and teases her even when he’s having the worst day ever, showing us and her that he’s much more than a hot-tempered perfectionist news anchor. I’m glad that present Mi Rae is cluing in that future Mi Rae may be the only responsible for ruining Shin, but then again, she might also be able to reverse the mess she created. Here’s to hoping, because Shin and Mi Rae need to work together and keep building upon their delightful thrumming attraction to each other. You all do realize what their combined first names mean, right? Shin Mi Rae = New Future.

Episode 5 recap:

Future Mi Rae dramatically announces that Kim Shin’s future is all downhill from here. His staff titters while Shin asks what she means by it? Future Mi Rae says Shin should know his own personality. Shin doesn’t intend to be wealthy but he doesn’t think he’s going to starve. Future Mi Rae says Shin will be fired from the station but is too proud to work menial jobs so that leaves his wife to support the family. But due to his contract violation, there is a penalty that keeps increasing so their debt also keeps increasing. All that leads to his wife having to work two jobs.

Time cop dude is watching this interview and locks in his phone tracker on future Mi Rae. Future Mi Rae finishes by calling Kim Shin a useless guy who will only eat and do nothing. Mi Rae shuts her eyes in pain. Shin hears future Mi Rae call him no better than an animal and he takes it as an MC with professionalism and then ends the broadcast.

Shin tears his ear piece off when they go off air and future Mi Rae runs off. Mi Rae finds her and asks for more details. Future Mi Rae says if Mi Rae ends up with Shin, her life will be over. Shin runs into Se Joo and asks why he’s here on his day off. Se Joo says he has someone to see. Se Joo wants to say something but stops himself. Shin walks out one entrance to the studio and checks his watch. Se Joo walks out another door.

Mi Rae gets a call from Shin who asks who that ahjumma was? Mi Rae says it’s her weird relative. Shin reminds her that he’s outside waiting for her to show her the ropes of the network. Mi Rae hangs up and future Mi Rae says that breaking up with a loved one involves only tears, but without money one can’t even cry because one is too tired from working.

Se Joo calls Mi Rae to meet and future Mi Rae tells her to make the choice herself. She trusts Mi Rae will make the right choice. Future Mi Rae walks out and clutches her chest in pain. She’s leaning by the side of the bus stop and Miranda recognizes her as being on Kim Shin’s show this morning and then takes her away when future Mi Rae collapses.

With two eligible bachelors waiting for her, Mi Rae chooses to go meet Se Joo, leaving Shin waiting for her. She ignores Shin’s call though Se Joo can tell she looks upset. Mi Rae and Se Joo sit at the bus stop and he offers to drive her. The bus comes and Mi Rae suddenly asks Se Joo if they can hang out at the amusement park tomorrow. He agrees and she leaves on the bus.

Miranda gets the diagnoses from the doctor that future Mi Rae is aging rapidly, which is why she’s having trouble breathing and her heart hurts. Miranda is massaging future Mi Rae when she wakes up and thanks Miranda. Miranda can tell that future Mi Rae is not a real fortune teller and is in fact a cleaning lady at YBS. Future Mi Rae says she is just starting out that is why she is not very stable yet at predicting the future. Miranda doesn’t believe her and asks why future Mi Rae is approaching Miranda?

Mi Rae calls Shin from the bus and reschedules their meeting for Monday night and he agrees. Mi Rae hangs up and says she’s allowed to see both guys.

Future Mi Rae says that she can dream about the future but it’s not always clear. In one dream, she saw Miranda’s grandson doing not so well. He’s just a lowly VJ at a network and is suffering. He likes someone as well. Future Mi Rae says Kim Shin can’t be allowed to stay otherwise the network will go bankrupt. Miranda asks if she should fire Shin?

Future Mi Rae says to send him somewhere, suggesting New York. Miranda asks why she should send him somewhere if he’s someone who will ruin the network? Future Mi Rae says he can go accomplish his dreams and help the network that way. Miranda wonders why future Mi Rae dreams of people unrelated to her.

Miranda says she must see her own future then, and grabs future Mi Rae’s hand and asks if she will drop it or keep holding on. Future Mi Rae pushes Miranda away and says there are other options, and in her dream she slapped Miranda. She moves to hit her and Miranda ducks. Future Mi Rae says a person’s future can go in many different directions. For example, the company’s hotel could be bankrupt in ten years. Before future Mi Rae leaves, she tells Miranda to look out the window at 10 pm on the 10th, she’ll see an awesome sight.

Future Mi Rae walks home and wonders why Miranda is so suspicious about a future she knows nothing about. In a few days future Mi Rae will be older than Miranda, and will she have to spend her 70th birthday here? Future Mi Rae runs into Oppa coming home. He blames her for causing him to work late since her segment causing great public reaction. Future Mi Rae says Oppa doesn’t like Kim Shin so why does he care? Oppa wonders how she knows but says he works in the same group as Shin so he cares.

Future Mi Rae goes up to her attic room to see Mi Rae staring at the window of pictures and arrows. She asks if Mi Rae saw either guy and she says she saw neither but she made plans to see both. Mi Rae doesn’t know how she feels right now. Future Mi Rae says going with Kim Shin means it’s over, but Mi Rae just feels sad and hurting for him. Mi Rae acknowledges that she’s not sure if she will continue to like Shin or if she can grow to like Se Joo?

Future Mi Rae tells her to just make Se Joo fall for her. Mi Rae asks if she’s such a seductress that can make a man fall for her? If so then why is she still single? Mi Rae just wants to hang out with both guys to figure out how they feel, and how she feels towards them. Future Mi Rae asks which guy she’s meeting first?

Se Joo and Mi Rae drive to the amusement park but its raining. Se Joo says he watched a mini movie he recorded himself which impresses Mi Rae. He explains that it was back in college but now he can’t watch it because it feels so superficial. Mi Rae asks to see it.

Shin goes to see Miranda and asks what his punishment will be? A salary decrease or a sabbatical? Miranda suggests going to New York as their correspondent as suggested by the fortune telling ahjumma. Shin asks if Miranda is still running the network based on what the fortune teller says? Miranda says no, she won’t do exactly as the fortune teller said, instead she will send him as a correspondent to the Korean countryside. Ouch. Once he learns some humility then he can come back,

Shin tells her to just fire him. She refuses because he’s one of the most famous faces at the network. She laughs that the countryside is famous for cock fights and he can do a segment on that. Shin bows and leaves without saying a word.

Shin runs into future Mi Rae as he gets out of the elevator and asks if she’s become Miranda’s personal fortune teller? Future Mi Rae thinks Shin should thank her since he gets to go to New York. Shin grimaces and say nothing. He does ask why she cares so much about him? Future Mi Rae mutters that they were probably ill-fated from a past life. Shin walks over and press future Mi Rae against the wall and asks if she likes him? Ahahaha, even better is that future Mi Rae stares at him. Shin notes that his popularity hasn’t decreased a bit. After he walks away, future Mi Rae holds her heart and looks sad.

Se Joo and Mi Rae arrive at the closed amusement park and she suggests going back to watch his mini movie. Se Joo makes a call to a minion to find a dingy apartment in the next 30 minutes and to put his film school stuff in there. Se Joo takes Mi Rae to the apartment and she looks around. Mi Rae opens the fridge and Se Joo quickly closes it and says he ate all the food inside already.

Mi Rae asks to use the bathroom and Se Joo has to think where it is, and inside the bathroom they find his belongings. Mi Rae comes out carrying Se Joo’s clothes that was all tossed inside. Se Joo quickly suggests they start watching the movie.

Mi Rae is watching raptly why Se Joo keeps trying to explain it’s an amateurish work. Se Joo is trying to explain the concept but Mi Rae is totally absorbed and pushes his hand away. She can feel the sadness of the actor in the scene and Se Joo stares at her watching his movie. Se Joo reaches over to wipe some popcorn off her lips and Mi Rae pauses. The mood turns awkward and they both lean back.

Yoo Kyung is filming a segment about the Fall season and the PD keeps telling her to sex up the scene and lift her skirt higher. Yoo Kyung suggests sexy and the falling leaves doesn’t go well and the PD wants to take her off the show so she quickly says she’ll do it exactly as he wrote it. They re-film the scene and poor Yoo Kyung has to intentionally sex it up with the camera filming her from below. Ugh, poor Yoo Kyung.

The team goes to have lunch and Yoo Kyung arranges the utensils for everyone as usual, but she remembers what Se Joo said to her the other day. The PD keeps saying that showing leg and sexiness is art.

After Yoo Kyung sends off the team, she looks so sad and lets out a big sigh. She goes back to the bar and looks around but Se Joo isn’t there. She asks the bartender and hears that he isn’t here today. Yoo Kyung finds out he’s a regular and asks what he drinks when he comes. She hears he drinks brandy and she asks for the same.

Se Joo asks Mi Rae if she wanted to stay for dinner? Mi Rae says eating at a single guy’s place at night isn’t proper. Se Joo is pleased she sees him as a guy and Mi Rae stutters that of course he’s a guy and fans her face. She thanks him for today and turns to leave. He asks when they can hang out again outside of work and she says the next day off or holiday they can make plans.

Mi Rae leaves and Se Joo calls his secretary to thank him and ask if he can arrange for the Morning Show team to have one day off a week from broadcasting. Se Joo then heads to the bar where Yoo Kyung has already downed a glass of brandy while waiting for him. She wants to call but worries that she’ll be seen as too flighty if she does. She ends up calling but his phone is turned off. Yoo Kyung is about to leave when Se Joo walks in. She adorably flies back to her seat and acts all surprised to see him.

Yoo Kyung says it’s a coincidence they ran into each other this time, but what if they keep running into each other? Se Joo says there is something called fate, but he doesn’t believe in it. Yoo Kyung asks what he did today on his day off and Se Joo says he hung out with Mi Rae. Yoo Kyung says Mi Rae is cute but Se Joo sees a freedom and independence in her.

Se Joo says he’s very straightlaced and doesn’t like taking chances. Whereas Mi Rae has a strong life force and willingness to take chances. He first saw her not in the studio but elsewhere, and then she showed up in the studio. Yoo Kyung’s face falls to hear him talk about Mi Rae.

Mi Rae sits in the bus and touches her lips, smiling that she’s must be more attractive than she thought. Mi Rae gets a text from Shin to meet him at the park near the network before 8 pm. This isn’t the night they planned to meet so she worries she did something wrong and he wants to yell at her. Mi Rae gets off the bus and runs to the park where Shin tosses a basketball at her.

Shin says today is endurance practice, she needs endurance to work at the network. Loser has to treat, though Mi Rae balks since he’s a tall guy and she’s a girl. He gives her stacked deck, she just needs to make three baskets before he makes twenty. They start to play and clearly this scene was written because Lee Dong Gun plays basketball in real life.

Shin totally schools Mi Rae until he starts to just let her win. Mi Rae gets more and more into the game and she ends up winning.

Shin agrees that he lost and will treat. He tells Mi Rae that he won’t be around for much longer, he’s been sent somewhere and will be leaving next week. Mi Rae’s formerly beaming face falls.

They sit down for a drink and Shin says it’s been difficult for her working at the network when he’s around, now she can have it easier because he’s leaving. Mi Rae looks devastated. Shin takes a drink and tells her to use her expressions more, she can smile now because the thorn in her side is leaving. Mi Rae asks if Shin can smile and he says he can’t cry about it.

Shin sees his sunbaes who are now over forty, and he thinks people’s hearts split into two with one side being safe and tentative and the other side choosing success. For Shin, that choice has simply arrived earlier. Mi Rae worriedly asks if Miranda is making him choose?

Shin shakes his head, it’s two sides within him that is warring. One side tells him to keep his head down and pander then he’ll succeed easier. The other side tells him to stay true to who he is, what’s most important is being happy with himself. What should he do? Mi Rae asks if Shin wavers as well? Shin smiles wryly and says it’s difficult living in this world, isn’t it?

Mi Rae storms home and confronts future Mi Rae, yelling that it’s her fault that Kim Shin’s life is a failure later on. You yell at her, sister! Mi Rae says someone as strong as Shin is wavering, how could future Mi Rae be so mean to him, he’s already hurting so much. Future Mi Rae is good with Shin wavering, he needs to wake up sooner rather than later. She knows Shin is leaving the morning show and going somewhere better.

Mi Rae asks if the Korean boondock countryside is better! Future Mi Rae is shocked since she thought Shin was headed to New York. Oppa comes out all sleepy and tells them not to argue. Mi Rae tells Oppa that Shin is being sent away from the morning show.

Shin sits with his Morning Team staff and everyone is sad he’s being sent away because of sticking up for them. He says at least he’s not being fired, he’ll go and come back. The senior writer calls him an idiot for sticking up for everyone. Mi Rae says he’s not an idiot, he knew what could happen if he did it. The senior writer asks Mi Rae if she’s going to start crying soon.

Oppa drags Shin out to talk and then pushes him against the wall and gets really close. Shin tells him he’s not interested in guys. Oppa demands to know why Shin saw Mi Rae and told her that he was being sent away. Awwwww, Oppa is being all oppa protective towards guys who likes his sister. Shin asks if he likes Mi Rae as well? Oppa can’t explain he’s Mi Rae’s real oppa but demands to know if Shin likes Mi Rae. Shin says no, he meant Se Joo likes Mi Rae.

Suddenly there is a bell ringing and everyone gathers around the TV for an internal broadcast. Miranda gets in front of the camera and says Kim Shin used the Morning Show to hold her hostage and caused great distress to the network. The management will not let it slide and will kill one to warn 100. Starting today, Kim Shin’s Morning Show will be on hiatus after two weeks and every staff member on that team will be sent away back to their hometown to be a special correspondent.

Everyone is in shock while Se Joo storms off to see Miranda but she’s not taking his calls and is refusing to see him. The team members are all upset because some have just got married, signed a new lease, have kids going to school – they don’t know how long they will be away. Shin says he will go talk to Miranda and say he will take the punishment alone. PD Lee is pissed but Shin says they still have two weeks and can do a mind blowing news program.

Mi Rae wants to stand up for Shin but the senior writer pulls her back. PD Lee is upset because he worked so hard to leave his hometown to come to Seoul, why did Shin have to embroil all of them in his mess. Oppa comes over and calms everyone down and tells Shin to leave now and let everyone calm down. Shin thinks it’s most important to find a headline story to report but Oppa says how can a story pop up in the next two weeks?

Shin looks devastated and turns and walks out of the room. Mi Rae stands up and wants to follow him but Oppa warns her to sit down.

Future Mi Rae reads on the bulletin board about the personnel movement at the network. Shin walks up and asks future Mi Rae if she didn’t say he was being sent to New York? She tells him to go lower his head in front of Miranda. Shin is good at everything and so principled, but sometimes society can’t accept his principles. She asks him to consider begging.

Shin thought about that, but what happens afterwards? Miranda lets him back, but what if he puts other unreasonable requests before him, like he’s prohibited from reporting anything negative related to her company’s hotel and other enterprises. All he does is cheerlead for Miranda, that is not what a news anchor should do. Future Mi Rae asks what will happen to others around him because of his stubbornness. Shin says this is who he is, he’s used to it now.

Shin turns to leave and future Mi Rae says his heart still hurts when he’s being cursed at and being isolated. Didn’t he say he never wanted something like this to happen again? Shin asks if he ever said that to her? Future Mi Rae says she thinks he must feel that way. Shin says that if another country has a war or a president gets sick, a big breaking news story comes along, he’ll be there and that is the news anchor he will be. He tells future Mi Rae that she may claim to know his future, but she needn’t worry about him. He’s not interested in older women.

Se Joo goes back to the little fake apartment that was rented for his date with Mi Rae since he can’t go home because Miranda won’t see him. He calls Mi Rae and apologizes, she worked so hard to become a maknae screenwriter and now the show is over. Mi Rae says not to worry, there are other places she can go. Se Joo says he’ll wait for her to come back.

Future Mi Rae is shopping at the market for items for their dad’s death anniversary. She is recognized from being on the show and everyone asks her if its true that Shin just sits around all day watching TV and expects his wife to provide for him. If so then his life is definitely over. Future Mi Rae looks upset and runs out of there. Damn, look at what you’ve done, woman! Future Mi Rae goes back to her attic room and grabs her journal and heads out.

Oppa and Mi Rae cook for their dad’s anniversary. Mi Rae asks Oppa what a news anchor can do elsewhere? Oppa says be a news anchor. Mi Rae thinks he will need a script writer and Oppa asks if Mi Rae wants to go with Kim Shin? Mi Rae says no way, it’s not like Kim Shin is the only news anchor in the country. Oppa tells her to stop dreaming and go get married, but Mi Rae says Oppa needs a wife first. They wonder where future Mi Rae went.

Future Mi Rae meets with Shin at the banks of the Han River. She asks why he’s giving up on his life so easily? What happened to the Kim Shin that vowed to return to the prime time anchor spot? Future Mi Rae says she will help him, and then hands him an umbrella. Shin holds out his hand and then it starts to rain.

Mi Rae gets a text from future Mi Rae that she gave them the best present ever. She tells Mi Rae to take Oppa to the highest point in the neighborhood before 10:30 pm. It starts to rain and thunder outside. Mi Rae asks Oppa to go out with him. Miranda sits in her house and hears it raining outside. She remembers future Mi Rae telling her there is an awesome sight to be seen tonight around this time.

Future Mi Rae and Oppa huddle on a playground set and hear thunder and see lightening all around them. Suddenly lightening strikes Namsan Tower and Shin sees this.

Thoughts of Mine:

As more information is revealed in this drama, the more my head spins with what is happening and all the implications in this time line. I said before that I don’t trust future Mi Rae’s motives and anything coming out of her mouth, and lo and behold neither does anyone else. Mi Rae doesn’t take what she said and immediately swan dives into Se Joo’s arms, I love present Mi Rae more and more for being her own person and having the courage to make her own choices irrespective of what future Mi Rae says. What if all of future Mi Rae’s pissy attitude towards Shin is of her own making, because she went into the marriage thinking he would be a rich and famous anchor and she would be all set up. And then she ends up supporting the family. I still don’t buy what she said Shin turned into, a recalcitrant house husband with more pride than common sense, because that is not the Shin we see. The Shin we see is thoughtful and well aware of what his pride and principles come at the cost of. If Mi Rae chooses Shin again in this time line, then I’m confident already that she will be well aware of his personality traits and the difficulties they could face together. Similarly, Shin hears her dire warnings about his future and takes it with a grain of salt, even if it’s true at least he’s not selling out in order to buy a more comfortable career at the expense of his soul.

I could not have hated both Miranda and future Mi Rae any more in this episode. The former is just completely abhorrent, a woman who rules by dictatorial whim and without any managerial insight or understanding. She’s not an iron-fisted manager who does what is needed for the good of the network, she is someone who makes decisions to satisfy her own sense of warped ego. I feel bad that she’s Se Joo’s grandmother. Se Joo was also particularly toothless in this episode, unable to do anything other than be a voiceless member of the Morning Team and watching Miranda slice and dice to her heart’s content. But I like that he struggles with his ordained role in life, that he admires Mi Rae for her independence and ability to choose to make a startling decision for one in her life. Of all the four leads, he got screwed the most by future Mi Rae’s meddling. Shin and Mi Rae are almost unaffected by the shifted time line, falling in love in different and likely better ways. Yoo Kyung is also falling for Se Joo on cue, attracted to the first guy who treats her as a friend and not as an object. But Se Joo is falling for Mi Rae and she’s not reciprocating in anywhere near the same level of fascination, and in fact it’s Shin that is always on her mind. But thankfully right now Se Joo is just liking Mi Rae so I don’t worry that he’ll get his heart stomped on later down the road. If he can keep spending more time with Yoo Kyung, then he can maybe discover that admiring Mi Rae isn’t always the same thing as falling in love.

As much as this drama has been called Mi Rae’s Choice (Korean title, and even the English title suggests that it’s a heroine’s story), so far the narrative has been centered around Shin. Not that I’m complaining, and truth be told Lee Dong Gun is shining brighter here than I’ve seen even in his last dramas before he enlisted. There is this steadiness about him, with a playful teasing side that comes out around Mi Rae. His future as a news anchor has come to dominate the storyline so far, and I wonder if it’s not much ado about nothing. A news anchor of his caliber, how could he not get picked up by the other networks? Unless he’s been blackballed, at which point imma go burn down Miranda’s mansion for being such a thorough destroyer of all things good and decent. Shin is such a lonely character – both in being rather friendless at work and alone in the world without any family, as well as how his personality and convictions set him apart from others just trying to scrape by in life in any way possible. Take Yoo Kyung, who I’m liking more and more, who can blame her for being the aegyo serving wench to all the men in power around herm, even worse because it wears her down. Shin doesn’t want to be worn down, so his conviction comes complete with awareness of its costs, but a choice because he doesn’t want the alternative consequences. When Shin learned Miranda was sending him into exile, the way he refused to beg on the spot, and then later how he called Mi Rae out to play ball so matter-of-factly. He doesn’t play games with anyone whether at work or in his personal life, and when he wants to see her, he makes a date with her. In front of her, he can joke about his fallen fate because he has someone to confide in. This is one OTP that is taking huge strides every episode in seeing more and more into each other’s heart and soul, so who can possibly try to keep them apart aside from future Mi Rae and her insistence on thwarting fate.