Hi everyone!

Today I’m sharing my episode 1-2 notes on Dynamite Kiss, because I’m enjoying it really quite well, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗

These are my episode 1-2 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️

Episode notes:

E1-2. I have to say, Show is off to a pretty fun, slurpy start so far! 🤩

And, I feel that I have reason to harbor pretty positive expectations, that Show will work out to be decently satisfying (at least), on the OTP front (which is the thing that I’ve been underwhelmed by recently, in “Would You Marry Me?”).

I’ll come back to this idea in a quick bit (and will likely revisit it more than once, during these notes), but for now, let me say that I am having a good time with this one; it’s tropey-slurpy in much the same way I’d found “Would You Marry Me?” tropey-slurpy, in its earlier episodes.

Like, yes, it’s true that we can spot the tropes from a mile away, and yes, there are quite a few of them, but it feels fun instead of tired, and it also feels like Show is self-aware, and having fun too, which definitely helps.

So what’s this idea that’s giving me hope, you ask?

Well, it seems to me that Show knows how to lead with the promise of what’s possible, and I love that, because it gives us a bit of quick gratification, while also giving us something to look forward to.

Like the way we open with the scene of Ahn Eun Jin’s character, Da Rim, all beautiful and polished in a sharp corporate suit and killer heels, looking effortlessly confident and self-assured, before we cut to her actual much more schleppy sort of state, because that had all been a dream.

To my mind, how this works, is now we know for a fact that Da Rim cleans up beautifully, and looks like a legit goddess, and therefore, we don’t mind so much, when our story opens with her a little uglified, with the big glasses, messy hair and sweatpants being her daily uniform, almost.

It does feel rather excessive, that the people around Da Rim have such a low opinion of her abilities, but I get that Show’s trying to make a point, and is being a little hyperbolic about it.

Coz, look at the point that Show works to make about Jang Ki Yong’s character, Ji Hyeok, with our introduction to him being that scene where he’s looking all handsome and sexy in that crisp white shirt and vest combo, with the rolled up sleeves 🔥, and demonstrating that he’s uber competent, with that multi-screen conference call where he speaks in several different languages.

Yes, if you’re wearing your regular logical lens, you might feel like Show’s hitting you on the head with the idea that Ji Hyeok’s Extremely Successful, and top-tier desirable husband material, in terms of his specs, but I like to approach it with the belief that Show is very self-aware and is being cheeky about it, which then makes this whole thing land as quite funny to me, actually.

Of course the main thing Show gets busy with, aside from introducing us to our characters, is, find a reason for them to both be on Jeju Island at the same time, naturally. 😁

As with traditional rom-coms, the road to getting the setup complete can be full of coincidences and logic stretches, but I’m not mad at it; it reminds me of the good ol’ days, when I slurped up silliness with a spoon, while anticipating all the OTP hijinks and goodness that promised to follow.

So yes, it is a jerk move for little sister Da Jeong to ask Da Rim to hide away in Jeju during her wedding, because she’s lied to her in-laws, that her sister works in the US, and yes, it is a bit martyre-esque of Da Rim to pretend that she’s sooo happy to be going to Jeju and missing the wedding, but I don’t really mind or care.

And yes, it is super convenient, that the person Ji Hyeok needs to scout, in order for his big business deal to go through, happens to be Da Rim’s Jerk Ex, who also happens to be spending time in Jeju, at the same time Da Rim will be there, and again, I don’t mind or care. Do we see a trend here? 😁

Show does lean into the almost-meet moments quite a bit, which is sooo classic kdrama 🤭, and then the requisite meet-cute isn’t very cute from either of their perspectives, with Da Rim drunkenly mistaking Ji Hyeok’s jubilant hollering at the ocean as an indication that he’s suicidal, and then tackling him with a backhug; a chaotic situation that lands them both in the hospital, ha.

..Which turns out to be the key event that seals this first part of the setup in place, since Da Rim’s indignant that Ji Hyeok’s left her with his hospital bill, in return for “saving” him, and approaches him at breakfast to settle the score.

This is exactly when they run into Jerk Ex and his girlfriend (who happens to be Da Rim’s ex-schoolmate), so Da Rim does what any rom-com female lead worth her salt would do – she grabs onto Ji Hyeok and announces that he’s her new boyfriend, pfft.

It’s all blithely running purely on drama logic (ie, real world logic need not apply), and I find that I’m enjoying it all quite nicely. 😁

Honestly, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that Ji Hyeok suddenly finds himself falling for Da Rim when he witnesses her being kind to that lady, but HEY, Ji Hyeok henceforth wears a mix of smitten puppy eyes and smolder in Da Rim’s direction, and I LOVE IT. 😍🥰

This certainly adds a tantalizing additional layer of fun to the fake relationship hijinks, and I found Ji Hyeok’s soft spot for Da Rim leaking out all over the place, very delicious indeed.

It injects an unexpected thread of sincerity into the proceedings, like the way Ji Hyeok rephrases his earlier pronouncement that her clothes are dingy, saying, “I don’t want the person I love to feel even slightly pitiful in front of her ex. Tonight, I want you to be the most beautiful. It seems that my greed led me to make such a rude comment.”

Woah. That sure lands differently, and I’d argue that it’s not just the words that he chooses, but it’s the way he comes across as sincere, that makes Da Rim’s heart (and mine!) wobble.

The makeover scene is played for comedy, and we even get Ji Hyeok declaring that he’s her fairy godfather, but that doesn’t take away from the dazed, slack-jawed reaction that we first see from Ji Hyeok, as he takes in the sight of Da Rim, all glammed up for the party.

That definitely feels genuine to me, and that’s the stuff I’m here for. Slurp. 😋

And of course, I did get a stab of satisfaction from Jerk Ex getting all jealous, because it’s only now that he realizes what a mistake he’d made, breaking up with Da Rim like that.

Afterwards, it’s entirely tropey that Da Rim would kiss Ji Hyeok out of desperation, to keep Jerk Ex, who’s very suspicious, from finding them out, and I wasn’t a fan of the frozen bug-eyed stunned response that we get from Ji Hyeok, but I’m choosing to see this as Show playing around with the trope where most female leads from kdrama’s rom-com era would respond with bug eyes and fish lips, whenever the male lead would plant a kiss on them.

That lens makes it much more amusing, to be honest. 🤭

AND THEN. We get our dynamite kiss, and again I say, Show is verrry smart, to let us know upfront, that our OTP are fully capable of kissing like they mean it. 🔥😉

Given that it’s become fairly common for dramas to tease a good amount of spark between an OTP, only to give the spicy crackle a wide berth when it actually comes to OTP skinship and kissytimes (lookin’ at you, Love Scout 😏), this feels like an upfront assurance from Show.

Like, trust and belieeeeve, this OTP will surely crackle and spark, even when we eventually get to skinship (again).

I love this, and am suitably assured (and amused 😁).

PLUS. How could I not flail, at the way Ji Hyeok looks at Da Rim, completely breathless and entranced, as he asks, “Should we.. do that again?”

Spazz. 🫠 Yes, please do that again. 🫠

But of course, Jerk Ex goes and proves what a jerk he is, by propositioning Da Rim, AND making it sound like she’d gone to allll this trouble, just to get to him. Blech. 🤮

The fact that Ji Hyeok comes to Da Rim’s defense, and doesn’t care two hoots that this will tank any chance he might have had, of scouting Jerk Ex, definitely endears him to me. 🥲

And then, the fact that he would ask to spend more time with Da Rim, and clarify that it’s not for work, but for personal reasons, endears him to me even more.

Yay for a male lead who acts on his emotions, and is honest about it, to boot. 🤩

I thought their date was suitably pretty and idyllic, until things take a dramatic turn, with that water rescue pivoting them quite sharply into kissytimes, which then start translating, quite quickly, into sexytimes – until Da Rim gets the news that Mom has collapsed, and runs off while Ji Hyeok’s in the shower.

On that note, I have to say, Da Rim’s family situation suddenly becoming so dire overnight, is kinda-sorta giving me Full House vibes (coz Song Hye Kyo’s so-called best friends sold her house while she was away and thus she became homeless overnight), but again, I’m buying it in the name of Classic Rom-com Happenings.

Though I will say that Da Jeong’s husband-to-be is pretty darn awful, for not seeming at all sorry for causing Mom’s heart attack, and for asking Da Jeong to give him Mom’s savings AND take out a loan with her family home as collateral in the first place.

I’m also giving Da Jeong the side-eye, because she should have said “no,” but did not, so she’s not getting a pass from me, just because she listens to Da Rim’s voice recording on repeat and cries a few tears. 😒

I can understand why Da Rim would feel pretty desperate, given the situation, which includes the fact that Mom’s hospital bills are nothing to be sniffed at.

And thus begins the second wave of setup, where Show nudges things into place, so that our leads will end up in the same orbit again.

Speaking of which, I will say that Ji Hyeok’s family backstory does feel a bit heavy when stacked up against the rom-com lightness which we’ve been treated to thus far.

Poor Mom’s in a mental health establishment, after suffering deeply in her marriage; Dad’s cheerfully putting on a front and forcing Mom to play along; Noona’s playing the dutiful daughter and sister while actively trying to sabotage Ji Hyeok.

It ain’t a pretty picture, but then, if not for this family background, Ji Hyeok wouldn’t end up working for the family business, Natural BeBe, and Natural BeBe wouldn’t be offering someone like Da Rim, with no specs nor experience, a job.

The only catch, is now Da Rim has to pretend to be a mom, oops.

As we close out episode 2, the work setup is pretty much done, and I’m actively anticipating the hijinks to come, as they both grapple with their already burgeoning feelings for each other, in this new context where Da Rim is suddenly not only Ji Hyeok’s employee, but (according to the previews) married to someone else. 😳

Poor Ji Hyeok. And after all he’s been through, to try to find Da Rim too. 😅

All in all, this was a fun opening set of episodes, and like I said, I have positive expectations, that Show will manage to deliver on the OTP front – because it’s already given us a foretaste. 😁

*This show is being covered on the VVIP Early Access (US$20) Tier on Patreon*

To view episode 1-2 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!

You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here.

Episodes 3-4 notes will be out today! I hope you’ll consider joining us!

It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️

PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for November, which you can find here!