The was the best episode of Marry Him If You Dare (Mirae’s Choice) to date, followed by the wonderful subway fire episode that brought the OTP past one hurdle only to later come up against a wall. This one showed us that the wall might really be there for a valid reason, but then also confirms that our four leads are thoughtful, strong, and complicated individuals that might have a chance to buck the odds. This episode should have happened about 4-episodes ago but I’ll take what I can get and pray that the writer knows how to resolve everything. There is still almost zero romance to be seen, and I say romance meaning the spine-tingling falling in love feeling that so many K-dramas deliver even in nonsensical ways. What the drama has settled on is a feeling of caring, and suddenly we have people that care about others and not just deliver statements such as “I like you” or “Can’t you see me?” Shin learns the whole truth and nothing but the truth from future Mi Rae, which includes the death of their son and something even more devastating than that. It finally shapes future Mi Rae’s journey as one not framed around marrying rich or negating the birth of their son by preventing the marriage. We don’t know what it is, but it must be a doozy by the way it affected Shin even more than learning he had a son with Mi Rae that both of their lapses in judgment resulted in his early demise.
We also finally learn what’s up with Oppa’s hot-and-cold attitude, which turns out to be a secret illness in the present that even future Mi Rae never knew about until now. This clarifies his harsh behavior with Mi Rae in forcing her to become independent and self-sufficient if he’s not going to be around to take care of her much longer. It further colors why Oppa is as invested as future Mi Rae is in making sure Mi Rae’s future is a happy one, rather than a risky one with Kim Shin. All of this actually delivers on the stakes and angst, too bad I’ve been waiting for so long I’m still barely caring. But this episode had so many lovely quiet moments from Se Joo’s Jeju walk on the beach to his fireworks Christmas wish for Mi Rae all the way to how everyone saw the first snow of Winter and felt the cold blanket over them in a moment when each felt so hurt inside. This drama has been a struggle to slog through but episode 12 raised the bar and managed to make me love all four leads equally. The slow and inconsistent character development all came together and now I’m settled in for the final stretch of the ride no matter where it goes. I pray it goes somewhere extraordinarily satisfying. Come on drama, you can do it! You took a giant step forward today, don’t take two steps back next week.
Episode 12 recap:
Future Mi Rae decides to keep outing her identity, especially now that things look dire since present Mi Rae is totally falling for Shin in earnest. Oppa arranges the dinner and tells future Mi Rae to say everything she needs to say. He goes outside and tosses Shin the envelope with the DNA test. Shin reads it in shock and future Mi Rae says she’s the Mi Rae who came from the future. She drops the bombshell news that in 2014, she married Kim Shin.
Cut to the other tete-a-tete where Se Joo continues with his feelings for Mi Rae and pulls her aside to talk after she can’t get into the house. He confesses he overheard what she said earlier. Does she not see him? Can’t he be more to her? He said they could be friends but he only did it so she wouldn’t run away from him. Mi Rae keeps saying sorry. She is sorry she didn’t say no when he asked to be friends. She knows he’s a good guy so she pretended not to see what he was really feeling. Se Joo asks why she likes Kim Shin? Because that ahjumma said she was future Mi Rae and she married Kim Shin? Mi Rae says no, it’s not that ahjumma, she was always liking Kim Shin from the beginning. Se Joo says fate let him meet her first and he liked her from the very beginning.
Back to the dinner of dire reveals where Future Mi Rae is finally have a honest convo with Shin for once. She tells Shin that he is always being scouted, now and in the future. Soon YBS rival MTN network will scout Shin and give him a huge signing bonus and make him head news anchor. They were so happy and thought they would be set for life. Shin went to work at MTN but because of his stubborn personality he got in a fight with management and quit before he even got to be MC once. They were left with a broken contract penalty and a mountain of debt. Shin confirms this was the event that future Mi Rae said to him on air at the studio.
Future Mi Rae continues and says they were very happy still. They had a son named Gun, but their relationship with Oppa worsened. He wanted Shin to go to and MC at events but it was Mi Rae who didn’t want him to since he used to be a famous MC and she didn’t want to see his pride so harmed. But real life intruded and she started to resent him. In the end they would fight and she was so tired.
But they were happy because they had a son together, a little boy who learned to talk very early on just like his father. One night they were fighting on the street and Shin saw Gun wander away. Shin remembers future Mi Rae accusing him of letting “that person” die when they first met. Future Mi Rae cries and admits that she was just as much to blame because she also saw Gun wander away as well and did nothing because she was too preoccupied with arguing with Shin. As a mother how could she just focus on her own problems. As parents how could they be so self-absorbed. Future Mi Rae sobs and Shin looks so stricken. He reaches his hand out towards her but stops himself as she cries.
Mi Rae asks Se Joo to stop now. He confirms she wants him to stop liking her but he can’t do it. Mi Rae doesn’t want to see him so tired but he’s tired seeing her not be happy. If he could see Kim Shin liking her as much as she likes him, then Se Joo will give up. He congratulates her on becoming an official writer and hands her a present. Mi Rae hesitates to take it so Se Joo sets it on the bench and walks away.
Mi Rae waits outside the house with the present and sees Oppa pull up with future Mi Rae. They all go inside, with future Mi Rae going up to her room to rest. Mi Rae is worried and asks what happened? Oppa pulls Mi Rae close for a hug and says she has to be happy.
The Morning Team is at a meeting about their upcoming Christmas program and the topic is about how a single person can spend Christmas together because there are lots of single people in Korea. PD Lee says everyone here other than Writer Bae is single. Writer Bae says one doesn’t know what will happen in the future and looks around at the love triangle. PD Lee asks if Shin has someone and he says no. The mood is awkward and everyone breaks to go brainstorm ideas. Shin gets a text from Mi Rae asking to have lunch together.
Shin walks to the restaurant and sees Mi Rae sitting inside checking her hair and waiting for him. Mi Rae sees him standing outside and waves him in. Mi Rae tells him to eat well because its her treat for becoming an official employee. She asks if he’s not going to congratulate her and Shin asks if he hasn’t done it yet? Mi Rae says they haven’t seen each other since the program ended. He congratulates her and she asks why he’s always just saying things like congratulations and I like you, as opposed to doing something. Her hands move as if she wants to reach for him but she doesn’t. He asks what she wants and she laughs that he can’t ask her. He needs to think about what she likes and make her feel like he put thought into it. Shin laughs and says he’ll do that.
Oppa and Se Joo are walking to lunch and he sees Shin and Mi Rae sitting at the restaurant eating.
Mi Rae brings up what Shin said at the camping trip and she knows it must have been hard for him to say it. She apologizes for getting mad at him and from now on she will do what she wants. Right now Oppa is really upset because he’s her only family member. But when time passes things will get better. She brings up their first meeting and laughs at how they could meet like that. She thanks him for all he said to push her and help her. Even if he doesn’t say it, she knows he’s always helping her. Mi Rae says its so magical to think that all their interactions, little by little it’s led to them being together like this. She doesn’t seem to notice that Shin has been very quiet this entire time. Mi Rae asks if he’ll watch their Christmas program with her and Shin nods.
A little boy trips next to their table and Mi Rae goes to help the child. She’s so tender towards him and Shin remembers future Mi Rae crying about how they could be parents and yet more focused on fighting than on their son? Shin gets a call at that moment from MTN network asking to speak with him and he realizes that future Mi Rae said is coming true.
Mi Rae is working with Writer Bae on their upcoming Christmas program. She asks Writer Bae for the name of the famous restaurant where they did a program before. Writer Bae teasingly asks if she’s going with Kim Shin? Mi Rae makes a reservation there for Christmas dinner.
Yoo Kyung meets up with Se Joo at the bar and she says this is the first time he’s called her out. Se Joo says this is the last time he’ll meet with her as a VJ. He wants to buy her a drink to thank her for all that she’s done for him all this time. Yoo Kyung wonders why so sudden and Se Joo says it’s been in the works but got sidetracked because of Mi Rae. It’s not happening right away but he’s taking a few days off to go to the family vacation home in Jeju.
Yoo Kyung brings up how she was supposed to go to Jeju in the Summer as well. She then finds out Se Joo was in Jeju the same weekend she was going but ended up getting into a car accident with Shin. Yoo Kyung asks Se Joo if he met someone at Jeju that weekend and Se Joo just smiles but doesn’t answer. Se Joo tells Yoo Kyung that he will always be her good friend no matter what position in life he holds. Yoo Kyung says “friend” and Yoo Kyung smiles and accepts it. She then reminds Se Joo that she doesn’t like being his friend before leaving with a smile. God I love them together.
Shin stands in the office late at night by himself and answers the call from MTN. Mi Rae comes home and finds future Mi Rae sleeping in her room. She sits down at the edge of the bed and wonders if future Mi Rae is sick? The fact that her hair is turning silver overnight apparently doesn’t alarm Mi Rae. She lays down next to future Mi Rae and apologizes for not following her suggestion. But she will work hard and not be unfortunate. She will do her best so that future Mi Rae doesn’t have to ever come back again.
The Morning Team holds a meeting and everyone teases why Oppa and Mi Rae doesn’t come to work together since everyone knows they are siblings. Oppa seems tired and Mi Rae mutters that he needs to drink less coffee. Oppa gets back-to-back calls from Shin and Se Joo saying they are taking time off.
Shin meets with the NTN person who offers Shin a position as their main anchor. He asks Shin to meet with their Vice President lady to discuss the offer. Shin closes his eyes, upset that future Mi Rae’s words are coming true.
Yoo Kyung is called in to see Miranda who wants to talk about the ahjumma Na Mi Rae. Yoo Kyung says that Mi Rae is the young Mi Rae’s future self, back from 25-years in the future. She wants to change the past and get Se Joo and Mi Rae together. Miranda doesn’t care who future Mi Rae is, whether she is a fortune teller or someone from the future. She just cares if someone can aid her. So even if Mi Rae isn’t in the position next to Se Joo, it’s not a position that Yoo Kyung can ever hope to sit in. Yoo Kyung laughs and says she is just friends with Se Joo.
Se Joo drives in Jeju and goes to walk on the beach. He remembers his first sighting of Mi Rae in the ocean and then putting her to bed. He stands at the edge of the water and looks very sad.
Mi Rae tries calling Shin but he’s turned his phone off. She texts him and asks him to call back. Shin reads the text and he’s sitting across from future Mi Rae.
Shin reveals that NTN has come calling just like she said would happen. What she said was too much for him to process all at once but now he’s finally digested it. He asks why she doesn’t go just back to the time of the accident to save their son? There must be more, there must be something that needs her to come back to this time to prevent their marriage. Future Mi Rae nods and Shin asks what it is.
Mi Rae is walking with her friend who is so impressed with all her successful programs. The friend asks about Announcer Kim and she heard he was dating the 3rd daughter of a chaebol group or a famous actress. She calls Kim Shin a playboy and Mi Rae says no way. They see Shin walk back to the network and Mi Rae goes up to ask him if anything is going on. Shin looks dazed, clearly whatever future Mi Rae said to him was devastating. He says he’s been busy and when Mi Rae tries to introduce her friend, he just walks off.
Mi Rae is at the office and when she walks out, Se Joo walks inside and looks around. He sits down at Mi Rae’s desk and touches her items on the desk. He texts her about the filming tomorrow for the single person Christmas event program. She texts back and asks if he’s feeling better. Se Joo texts back yes and then leaves his resignation letter on Oppa’s desk.
Mi Rae and Se Joo meet up the next day for the filming. Both of them are awkward when they first meet but Se Joo breaks the mood by smiling which gets Mi Rae to smile as well. They go to the movie theater which is the first option for singles to spend on Christmas day. Mi Rae buys four tickets and plans to watch multiple showings. Next they go to the amusement park. Finally she goes shopping to buy herself a present.
Mi Rae and Se Joo are filming outside where she jogs to stay warm. They then walk by the Han River and Mi Rae thinks they are done filming. Se Joo says there is one more activity, he saved the best one for last. Se Joo turns and wishes Mi Rae a Merry Christmas. He’s saying it earlier because he doesn’t think he can say it to her that day. She asks if he’s going somewhere. Se Joo hugs Mi Rae warmly just as the fireworks are going off over the Han River. He laughs that he had to hold it in until this very moment. He pulls back and tells her to take care of herself before walking off. Mi Rae looks up at the exploding fireworks as Se Joo gets into a chauffeured car.
The Morning Team gathers to complain about how Se Joo quit so abruptly. Oppa asks Yoo Kyung and Mi Rae if they knew anything and both say they didn’t know. Mi Rae goes outside to answer a call from the restaurant to confirm her dinner reservations for Christmas. She texts Shin about meeting earlier at dinner before they can watch the Christmas program together.
Christmas Eve arrives and the entire city is blanketed in Christmas cheer. The Morning Team is putting up a Christmas Tree and someone calls for Se Joo only to remember he quit already. Mi Rae narrates that Christmas makes one think of a miracle, like an old friend coming back or a lover calling after a long absence. Mi Rae tries calling Shin but gets no answer still. Even if Christmas doesn’t bring a miracle, she still has hope. She hopes this is the best Christmas of her life so far. Mi Rae sits with Writer Bae who compliments her on a well written script for this program. She tells Mi Rae that Shin has extended his vacation probably because so much has happened in his life lately. Mi Rae finally gets a confirmation from Shin that he will meet her at the restaurant and it makes her so happy.
Mi Rae happily gets dolled up for her date with Shin and heads out. She walks into the restaurant and is led to her seat. She spots Shin sitting already and smiles, only to suddenly see a woman sit down across from him. She sits down at her own table where she has a view of him dining with that woman. God this must hurt.
Se Joo is working and gets a call from his chaebol buddies to come out drinking. Yoo Kyung walks outside and sees all the couples spending the holiday together. She gets a call from the YBS department head who calls her to join them at a gathering. She tries to decline but he hangs up.
Yoo Kyung goes to the bar and sees a bunch of old dudes sitting at the table. She turns to leave and runs into Se Joo. He asks if she’s still meeting with those chaebol guys? Yoo Kyung is so upset and is about to storm off. She turns around and lies that she still comes here all the time and there isn’t anything wrong with that. The department head goes to get her and brings her to the table. Se Joo watches as she’s introduced as the prettiest reporter at YBS and then sits down where the guys pour her a drink and start getting close to her.
Se Joo goes to join his chaebol friends in the private room. Yoo Kyung goes up on the stage and sings and dances for the guys as their entertainment. She ends on one final song since she has a 5 am broadcast tomorrow. Se Joo comes out and sees Yoo Kyung singing as entertainment for those old guys. Yoo Kyung finishes and grabs her things and walks out right past Se Joo.
Se Joo follows her outside to see her crying by the side of the building. She knows she’s pathetic but he apologizes for misunderstanding her back there and offers to take her home. Yoo Kyung says he can misunderstand because she doesn’t care anymore what he thinks of her. Yoo Kyung walks away and Se Joo lets out a big sigh.
Mi Rae dines all alone while watching Shin eating with that girl. She finally can’t take it anymore and calls him. She looks over and he clearly sees his phone ringing but he doesn’t answer it and turns it around. This hurts me so much, for both of them. Mi Rae walks out just as Shin and the girl are toasting. Shin sees her leaving and the looks forlorn but resolute. Turns out the girl is the Vice President of NTN and tells him to relax, she’s not here to meet with him in her official capacity but just as a fan.
Mi Rae goes home and finds the house all empty, with two glasses left on the table. She goes to Oppa and future Mi Rae’s rooms and finds no one there. She sits down on this lonely Christmas Eve and takes out her phone to call Oppa only to find that he’s left his phone on the sofa. Oppa is in the hospital with future Mi Rae beside him. He asks if she learned about his illness and turns out she never knew until now. She asks why he’s been keeping his illness a secret? She tells him to do a full check up at the hospital but he just wants her to keep this from Mi Rae.
Mi Rae settles into the sofa and watches the Pandora’s Box Christmas program all alone. Shin ends the dinner with the VP and sends her off. He looks up at the night sky when the first snowflake falls. This is just so lovely. He reaches his hand out and the first snow starts to come down in earnest.
Se Joo is being driven home and he notices the snow as well, lowering his window to stick his hand out. Yoo Kyung is standing outside as well and she also puts her hand out to catch a snowflake. Future Mi Rae tells Oppa that it is snowing and they both look out the window.
Shin arrives at work and Mi Rae is waiting for him outside the studio. They go up to the roof to talk and she asks him what happened yesterday? Why was he with someone else at the same restaurant when they already made plans? Shin asks why she can’t read his clear signs and just leave? Mi Rae asks what is going on, especially after he said that he likes her. Shin says it was a spur of the moment thing and he’s sorry for it. Mi Rae thought they felt the same way but Shin says that is not true. Mi Rae asks if something happened but Shin just says he doesn’t like her. Mi Rae is totally devastated and walks away crying. Shin stands there looking at her as she leaves.
Shin gets into the elevator and goes to the top floor of the network where a YBS management meeting is about to take place and he’s the MC. Shin reads the script and realizes what is happening. Miranda comes in and everyone sits down.
Shin starts to read from the script and this is a meeting where Chairman Miranda is about to introduce to the directors the next Chairman Park Se Joo. The door opens and Se Joo walks in. Shin and Se Joo stare at each other.
Thoughts of Mine:
If this drama wants to keep its slow pace, this episode at least delivered some emotional resonance with how all the characters processed so many harsh realities. I still wished future Mi Rae came out and told the major players the truth from the beginning, her early stage antics still come across as wholly incongruous to the truth she holds inside of her. I appreciate that the future isn’t all bad, and that Mi Rae played a part in how life with Shin unfolded. They are both flawed and made bad choices, but their love was real and their marriage was happy at times. It was Mi Rae who didn’t want Shin to do other menial gigs, that was a shocker to discover, and I appreciate that future Mi Rae owns up to her own failings. That includes her culpability in the death of Gun, a horrible judgment choice on both their parts. But if Gun died so young, Mi Rae and Shin spent another 20 years married before she hopped on the time machine for the travel back. What happened during the time? Is the other shocker future Mi Rae revealed to Shin, and the real reason for why she is trying to prevent Mi Rae from marrying Shin, occur during that time? It has to be, because Gun’s death would at most make Mi Rae divorce Shin and go start afresh. There is no reason for her to stay with him unless they do love each other and chose to stay in the marriage. I’m glad future Mi Rae isn’t ridiculous enough to negate the existence of their son solely because he later died which is just nonsensical. Since future Mi Rae hasn’t talked to Oppa in 20 years and didn’t know present day Oppa is sick, I’m guessing it has nothing to do with Oppa either. My guess is once again that Mi Rae is trying to save Shin, and that its her love for him that is the driver for this whole trip.
This was the episode where I fully connected with Se Joo and now love him as much as I do the other three leads. His character has finally matured a bit while still remaining true to himself. Everything he said and did in this episode with Mi Rae was something I approved of and enjoyed watching. I liked how he told her that he is allowed to still like her, and he would be able to let go if he knew she picked someone who was going to make her happy. He didn’t impose on her and also stopped trying to use being friends to stay close to her. Mi Rae was also pretty awesome in this episode, being direct with both Se Joo and Shin and allowing her attitude to remain unwavering and sincere. Her character growth has been subsumed by the mystery of the time-travel but we can finally see that she has come into her own and is a completely different person now than at the beginning of the drama. I’m upset that Shin is hurting Mi Rae but at least this isn’t noble idiocy at work. Whatever he learned about the future is clearly that devastating that a man who believes that he can make his own destiny is for the first time letting destiny control him. At least the drama let Mi Rae and Shin have a wonderfully low key lunch date, one where he clearly tries to stay distant but can’t help himself and be pulled towards her. This drama fails in showing us the romance but does explain why the OTP is meant to be – with Mi Rae saying that she is just pulled towards Shin and everything he does she sees has helped her and made her better, while Shin is disarmed by a Mi Rae that pierces his rude and aloof shell and questions his attitude in life. If only the romance was dialed up then this OTP had a chance to be so much more memorable.
Yoo Kyung really shined as well and its such a shame some viewers have already written her off early. She’s such heartbreaking character, with hard working ethos but no proper stage for her to showcase herself other than being a ditzy reporter to win some chances. Her entire emotional arc with Se Joo is just brilliantly done, without any manufactured selfless niceties but instead a fierce desire to protect Se Joo while at the same time hoping he would notice her. I get why she’s trying to get to the bottom of the time-travel mystery because it matters to her that her fate with Se Joo may have been stolen from her. In the same way, we applaud Mi Rae for fighting for her right to pick Kim Shin. These two women know who is the man each loves and won’t quit easily. What makes episode 12 so heartbreaking is that the whole fate thing seems to have finally worn them down. When Yoo Kyung told Se Joo that she didn’t care anymore that he misunderstood her, I wanted to applaud her for being such a proud woman in front of him. I think by giving up she might actually make him realize the totality of Yoo Kyung and also what she means to him. With Mi Rae, Shin’s Christmas Eve dinner dagger was a devastating blow indeed but she knows future Mi Rae has been interfering and I hope she goes to confront her to find out what exactly she did to make Shin so cold to her. I want all four characters to stay smart and thoughtful, trying to win their happiness but not at the expense of being strung along by future Mi Rae’s dire tales of future woe.
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You know, I watched the episode without sub and didn’t understand much from the dialogue, just guess what the character said based on their action/interaction but there’s a scene that brought me to tears, which is exactly the one in the first photo in your recap. It makes me feel that life/happiness is so simple yet so vulnerable. Shin & Mi-rae’s happy time feels so raw, when you love each other enough, just simply spending time beside your loved ones is happiness. But one moment things turn wrong, you may lose this happiness forever. I’m still crying now 🙁
well said…..I agree. I need to the recaps and subs to understand it but the actors are so good you can feel the emotion. I am a bit raw now myself.
This has been my favorite episode at least, mostly because of Future Mirae’s motives coming out. I’ve always suspected that Future Mi Rae always wanted to save Shin from his future self because if it was solely for their son, she could have went back to the time when he died.
For all its shortcomings, I actually still really like this show. I think this is mostly because I like all 4 leads. Mi Rae has great chemistry with both male leads though I will always prefer Shin. After Future Mi Rae outing her motives, the ball is definitely in Shin’s court and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do with all that information Future Mi Rae gave him.
I am so in agreeance with you on the true reasons Mi Rae came back. I think she not only loses their son but she loses Shin as well. Then to add insult to her ongoing miseries her Oppa will meet his demise because of his battle with cancer. Hell! I’d come back too to try and save the people I love most. I think that’s too much for someone to bear alone. If this is the case I now have sympathy for future Mi Rae; before she got on my nerves. I’m really impressed with this drama, I hope the writers can really bring it home.
As always.. Thanks for the recap! 🙂
Yes..she’ll lose both (son n husband)..but still, marrying SJ isn’t a solution..it’s marriage problem, where only MR + KS knew their faults..so only for MR + KS can make it up, talk it out, both, n arrange a new path together, solve it together, or find a marriage consultant..still what FMR did was totally wrong, dragging SJ + YK into their personal problem..it’s same as murdering SJ + YK’s dream n happiness..for me FMR is still a crazy parasite, all that talks about saving her love ones n tears, was crap, camouflage to get “money”..so pls writer, don’t let it end with nonsense cinderella story n lost its meaning!!!
If it’s not the death of the kid, not their own fate, it must be like a national crisis or something? Why else would Shin freak out like he’s doing now?
Did future Mi Rae contract a terminal illness and future Shin didn’t care. And still left her?
By the way, this has been one of the most contemplative, melancholy drama episode I’ve ever read. Even the screen caps are just gorgeous. The photography editor is so good.
Thank you Koala for the recap. I’m also glad Yoo Kyung finally gives up on Se Joo. I believe she’s a strong person who can change herself without Se Joo.
Yesterday I was ready to hate them all, today I’m back on board. Why didn’t this episode happened before? >.<
Beautiful episode, so nostalgic; I'm intrigued again..
This episode was so stong emotionally…even reading the recap it striked me again. I wish the writer would have wrote his 4 episodes o even 2 episodes ago, i would have matter even more than now. The scenes with the KS and Future Mirae were really good, awesome job from both actors. SeJu, the boy made me cry and actully feel his heartbreak, his scenes were beautifully done. I may love Yonghwa to pieces but i acknowledge he was lacking in the acting department but he has proved me that he can improve so much when he is guided by awesome senior actors. Also, Yookyung, her character is really great! I could feel her heartbreak, HCA is awesome.
The scene with the snow was also so beatiful, it was a really emotional episode. It makes me sad to see all the potencial this drama had, this could have been awesome if the script was better…i mean, the actors are so on point but writer just doesnt deliver what this could have been. /sighs/
I wish this drama had better cliffhangers than a stare down between Kim Shin and Se Joo. The pacing is still slow even though we found out who died.
Thanks for the recap Koala. All the above comments pretty much described everything I was feeling as I watched this episode. It’s compelling. It managed to make me feel sad;sad for Yoo Kyung, sad for Se Joo, sad for Shin and Mirae, yet there’s a ray of hope that they will grow from their experience and gain strength from it. Like you I hope the drama continues to be on this thread of awesomeness in the next episode.
This is what Mirae’s Choice should have been from day one. Mature, contemplative, with a touch of whimsy. I’m still not too happy with some of MC’s elements (like pacing), but thank goodness the show finally found its footing. I’m really happy with this episode, despite claiming to jump ship entirely yesterday XD
This was a really good episode, a bit too late, but still good. For once in the show I’m curious instead of annoyed about the final mystery as well. The accident could happen to anyone, even happily married people who got distracted so whatever it is it must be devastating. I do wonder what’s going to give to make things work out. Mirae still doesn’t know, so I hope the last 4 episodes will really be her time to shine.
I’m glad Oppa wasn’t the jerk I thought he was, though I’m a sad he’s dying. FMR I finally feel I understand her. A lot of her actions and malice towards Shin were coming from a place of guilt for her part in the whole thing.
Besides the death of their son, maybe Shin died also? and Mirae is trying to save Shin from dying? This time-travelling storyline is so confusing. Thanks for the recap. You gave good insights into this drama!
I said before the drama aired that it better be something for the sake of Shin that she’s changing their destiny. But the drama tried to throw all sorts of feints in the picture saying someone else died and Shin was a future loser and future Mi Rae wanted to marry rich.
I went back to watch episode 2 and now I’m more certain that ever that Shin died in the future. FMR did not need to divorce him or leave him after the death of Gun because he’s also dead or something akin to leaving her all alone for the last 20 years. She is trying to change all their destinies, but mostly because he is not around anymore.
I think a big clue is FMR’s first reaction to meeting Shin in episode 2. Her shock was intense, and she yelled at him all sorts of angry words that felt like she kept bottled up inside. If Gun died when he was a baby then she would have 20 years to work through her anger at Shin. Yet when FMR saw present Shin, she unloaded on him about Gun, an incident that should have been a long time ago in her mind.
I think the only reason Shin is letting Mi Rae go isn’t that he doesn’t believe he can’t change their future, other than the fact that he’s dead in the future. If he dies, then he cannot protect Mi Rae. That might be the only shocking reveal that could get Shin, a man always in control of his own life and destiny, to actually be swayed by what FMR said. How can he change the future if he’s not in it?
Yeah.. I also rewatched all episodes up to know to get a better feel/understanding of the drama. If you were to watch the opening scene of the second car accident between Kim an Na, you’d see it says: “You kill the person I love..” This leads me to believe Shin was distraught with his failures as a man, husband and father and he in turn harmed himself.
This made me cry, cause it really hurts to let down those you love. This can happen to anyone; makes you wonder what WOULD you do if you had a chance to change things? To love or not love?
Yes, Shin can’t help her coz he’s also died..but still, FMR knew what’s comin’..so why should she bothered SJ’s life?..if she’s angry with Shin, say so, admit it to him..so he can get back on his feet, n guide him through..don’t jump into somebody else’s lap, that’s lame!!..she’s running away from reality, n make an idiot reaction..hope MR can be different from FMR
Hi Ms. Koala. I am happy that you agree with my speculation. What irritates me is the delivery of the story. FMR has so much anger and tears without reason (or reasons not yet revealed) that really turn the audience off. The acting is good, but writing & directing sucks… Thanks.
But on the other hand, if Shin avoids MR now to prevent disaster from happening… Can’t he treat MR better and Keep an eye on the son to prevent him to wander away as FMR had warned him? Wouldn’t this make him a coward for avoiding his own death by sacrificing MR’s love for him now? Oh… I am thinking too much… All I can say is the script sucks…
future’s choice park se joo fever~ ~ ~
I feel like this week’s episode is highlighting PSJ and Mirae!! I really like their scenes. It is always awesome and well filmed. :))
Thanks for the recap. This was NOT an easy episode to watch, but you are right, all four characters shone.
First star goes to Yoo Kyung who doesn’t deserve any of the changes to her life, but is not letting anything get her down.
And fohgodssakes, Shin! Did you have to be so cruel? If I were Mirae, I would have slugged him, pour water over his head, then slugged him again.
Sheesh! Watching her unable to call someone for comfort broke my heart. I almost wished she could get Se Joo to hang out with her, but that wouldn’t have been very nice.
I actually do not want to know the horrible thing. I could live a happy and fulfilled life never knowing it, preferably so. I hate horrible things in my life or anybody’s life. Don’t tell me.
Shin.I just don’t know what to do with him now. He loves her so much he is putting her happiness before his. Why can’t anyone come up with a plan to avoid the horrible thing instead?!!
That’s why..FMR knew what will come, why can’t she guide MR + KS through..so they can start better..not to go around bugging stinging others life..FMR is super idiot, coz she never admit defeat n why did she have to push Shin to the edge..If FMR want to save him, then whatta hell are FMR doing??
By the way, JYH is good. No buts about it. He doesn’t have too much to do, but I believe him and I even forgot he isn’t an actor.
(Call me selfish, but I do with his wonderful wonderful voice would show up on the OST at some point.)
I love so much Yoo Kyung! She’s the only things I’m sticking through the show. Mi Rae sometimes irritates me. Shin is so fickle and Se Joo obsession with Mi Rae bores me.
I don’t know why people hate Yoo Kyung when she’s not even bad, normally they complain the female has no pride and when she does they bash her. My hopes are lost 4 ep. For the romance between Se Joo and Yoo Kyung to bloom is nothing, but still going through it ’cause I wanna see her.
I agree with almost all your recap, EXCEPT for your statement that KS’s actions are “not noble idiocy at work”. To me, his behaviour reeks of noble idiocy. He’s pushing her away to avoid some ghastly fate that she’s not aware of – isn’t that the very definition of noble idiocy? He clearly has strong feelings for her, but his sacrificing their future for her sake, to me that plays like every instance of noble idiocy I’ve ever seen.
I am genuinely interested in knowing what it is about his actions that differentiates it from noble idiocy in your view, I’d love to understand the difference you see.
The problem is that no one knows what the ghastly fate is. He’s not necessarily sacrificing their future for /her/ sake—it could be his, or someone else’s, or possibly something even more dire. In that case, it wouldn’t be noble idiocy. Still, it could be noble idiocy, but I have a hard time believing that FMR is ready to put herself over her child, so I assume that her reason for returning has some other reason.
Noble Idiocy is pushing someone you love away for a perceived problem which isn’t even an unsolvable problem, or a problem that hasn’t happened yet and might not happen.
The time-travel bit in this drama allows FMR to actually tell Kim Shin something bad DID happen if he marries MR. Maybe she is wrong because she’s already altered their future together, but Shin will need a leap of faith to accept that. But it’s not an unknown to him and it’s not possibility he can brush off that easily when she has lived it. When weighing his love for MR versus preventing something horrible from repeating itself, then it’s not noble idiocy. It is, however, a very Catch-22 choice.
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain the difference you see, I really appreciate it.
My reason for still seeing it as such is that we’ve already seen the timeline change in this drama, right from the beginning, with their new “first meeting”. So I think that KS should have dared to be different, instead of passively believing Evil Hag Ahjumma’s assertion that everything she remembers is cast in stone and unalterable.
He did something noble, but not idiotic under the circumstances, with the facts he was forced to acknowledge, and also a complete reversal of his personality to do so. It hurt them both like the dickens, but Shin put a lot of thought into it. After he heard FMR’s first shocking truth, he let it sink in rather than erupting to do anything. He has changed so much since meeting MR. His decision at the end to put an end to any possibility with her was brave not idiotic. Normally he would dare to be different, it’s the love of MR that makes him fearful of giving the middle finger to FMR’s version of the future and daring to make a different one with MR.
Today’s episode really touched me , imagenot long ago cried and felt so sad to see a drama , the last time was watching IMY , watching the episode I can see the great growth of the four tracks and sympathize with everyone without exception even Oppa ajumma and , in a way I really feel sorry for them , everyone is suffering but still are not letting collapse and are still strong despite the great pain they carry, this episode was really strong emotionally yet beautifully nostalgic , now I want to shine a ray of hope that allows them to fight for their happiness , now really love the four drivers and certainly all mercen be happy.
MYHD really indeed has a cast of first , his performances have been masterful , all everyone has been really wonderful in transmistir wrenching emotions , really got to me and now I’m with a broken heart for all of them ,
really shone in this episode all
I hope your optimistic read of his actions is correct, I really, really do. But it also sounds rather ominously final, as if the writer really intends for them NOT to intend up together. That would be totally unsurprising given what she’s done so far, but still very disappointing to me.
HMMM what? Future Shin not getting any work and having loads of money, and seeing both MR and He are suffering in this marriage, divorces her, and he then still having loads of debt, get money from loan sharks that will kill him, MR will find out Shin loved her all the time, not being able to accept misunderstandings happened and that she judged him wrong and how much he loved her and she lvoed him, she decides to go back and make them never marry, and be happy in their own path ? hmmm…
**having loads of debt, not money.
Now im dying to know the reason why FMR come back. I’m probably one of the minority because I love Yoo Kyung. Im so glad her characters didnt become senseless and idiotic.
While a lot of people lament over the lack of romance, I see lots of romance in the ways Mi Rae and Shin tip-toeing around each other. While i wish they have more cute scenes but im happy with the amount we were given too.
Lee Dong Gun is such a great natural actor. He never over-acted and delivers that quite restraints in his eyes so well.
Annie, I totally agree with you on LDG’s fabulous acting ability. Looking forward to his next project. I also wish MR and KS have more cute scenes (my favs are the hospital-dream scenes) but I’m NOT happy with the amount we were given! Yep, call me greedy ;P
Annie, I don’t think you’re that much of a minority – YK is my favourite character by far and although I’ve only watched 50 dramas, she’s my favourite second lead ever. So far, for me, she’s the only character that has been consistently drawn throughout, and even now, of all the characters who know the truth about Evil Hag Ahjumma, YK is the ONLY one actively resisting her deceitful, selfish manipulations. I totally LOVE her and really want her to get a happy ending, but imho it seems that the concept of happy is toxic anathema to this writer.
I think maybe Shin blamed himself so much for their son’s death that he comitted suicide. Mirae had to live the next through to the next 20 years of course because thats when they developed time traveling technology.
Still, just like Shin said, Ahjumma Mi Rae could just have returned to the time the kid died and save him, therefore no need for such drastic actions by Shin.
I’m puzzled what made him panic this much, but it has to be disconneted from the child’s death.
i think it may b because of his brother illness..she may want him to be treated as soon as possible to make him stay alive. besides, i remember voguely in the earlier episode when oppa knew that ahjumma is the future mirae he asked whether they already found cur for cancer in future..poor oppa.
i am so happy to see many comments here, that means this drama is not that bad like its rating. haha i love MHIYD. it gives me such a deep characters development, complicated story, so we should think and digest it well to get what the writer wants us to know. sometimes i want to give up watch MHIYD, but i still curious about the whole storyline.
i agree with you all. that is something that haven’t been told yet. why everybody became freaking panic after they knew about the future.
i am tired of guessing what it is. so let it flow. lol.
i am also agree that all actors act really great. i love LDG’s eyes movement. it already tells us everything that he felt.
i hope for the best. i believe that in the end we will be satisfied after our long waiting. and this drama will become one of our best drama in our life, haha.
MHIYD fighting!
I really like the episodes for this week. Full of emotions and a lot of things to think about ourselves as well. The casts did well in expressing the emotions. I was hoping that those scenes were shown 2 to 3 episodes earlier and dig deeper. I fully understood how the characters reacted to the situation because if I am who knows my future and it will be ruined, it will be very difficult for me to decide especially in involves not only yourself but also those people that you love. So I really understand why KS decided to distant from mirae. Huhuhu I don’t know how this drama will end but whatever these 4 leads will choose, I will definitely accept and will be happy for them. Good job to MHIYD team!! Fighting.
I’d like a happy ending for this drama, shim and mirae finally live happy together in the future with 2 child , oppa , sejoo and yk happy too, but this kind of drama could end badly .this drama is more like a thriller than a romance, and comedy never watched. I have a bad feeling about the end ,this could be worse that “fashion king “. If this happen I’ll cry like a baby this drama had a great potencial and despite the fact that there were some very frustrating episodes , and I need like a viewer more romance between the otp I really enjoy this drama. Wonderful actors.
I also think that the most probable is that kim shim has died in the future . Mirae felt abandoned and devastated that the reason she wants avoid her marriage with shim.
They should promoted this as heavy drama instead of romcom, i was expecting to have so much laughter instead i should prepared myself from crying. My heart breaks for all the casts here. They are so good in protraying the emotions
well, didnt i say the writer knows her story? 🙂
I like this episode.
I keep replaying the “snow falls” scene, it so beautiful.
Thanks to 4 leads, they delivered broken-heart feel so well.
My heart goes to yoo kyung,uugghh.. hope in the next 4 ep, se joo will love you too. and for writer bae character, she’s so likeable. I realize the girls power in this production.
hope MHIYD get a bigger rating for next episode, I’m still hoping it will give a good ending.