Han-Su and Eun-Hui 2
Episode 2 of Our Blues starts with an introduction to Sun-A, a carefree soul who plays on the beach with her friend, Dong-Seok. Unfortunately he gets mixed signals and leans over to kiss her. Sun-A is not happy and the mood is instantly killed. She asks him to drive her back to Seoul. On the way Dong-Seok tries to defend himself, pointing out they have feelings for each other. Sun-A scoffs, telling him she does not. This flashback paves way nicely for the present, where Dong-Seok sells items out the back of his truck for the old ladies in town. When he finds out they’ve been buying from another tuck, he’s unhappy and eventually packs his things up and leaves. We then cut back to Eun-Hui who’s on the verge of a big reunion and humming happily. That is, until she receives a call from her son, who winds her up and asks for money to move into an apartment. The poor lady at the hairdressers is forced to watch all of this unfold as Eun-Hui phones him back several times and leave a message, telling him to lower his expectations away from the expensive property he’s suggesting. The night of the reunion finally gets underway, after a fair amount of drama involving several of the bank workers. Han-Su arrives after messaging his own sister, asking for 200 million won, and notices Eun-Hui singing karaoke. Naturally, he joins in too and the pair end up signing a duet. When the party drunkenly spills outside, we learn that all of this was unfortunately put on Han-Su’s tab, who winds up blind drunk and vomiting constantly in the bathroom. Eun-Hui is there to help him out while In-Gwon fights with Ho-Sik in the street. As the drunks all head home (minus Eun-Hui who stayed sober), we cut across to Yeong-Ok who flirts a little with the boat captain, Jeong-Jun. He admits it’s up to him if he likes her but she scoffs at that, telling Jeong-Jun he’ll only get hurt. Interestingly, she receives a message from someone telling her they miss them like crazy. Back with Han-Su, he receives a reply from his sister who scathingly calls out the cheek of him asking for money. Han-Su sobers up enough and decides to go with Eun-Hui to the auction house, unwilling to go home and wallow in his own self-pity. In doing so, he eventually finds himself by the beach, where he reflects back on old moments from his childhood; carefree and splashing around with his friends. Han-Su needs to feel something and as he begins despairing, he eventually calls out and asks Eun-Hui to go to Mokpo jut like they did in the past. In the morning, when Han-Su has shaken off the dizzying effects of alcohol, the pair discuss their changing fates in life. Han-Su is separated from his partner since Bo-Ram went abroad and as we know, things are tense between them. For Eun-Hui, she’s worked hard and made sure her siblings can have what they need (even if it comes at the expense of a shout or two when they misbehave or cheekily ask for a lot of money!) Han-Su is clearly jealous of that but when they talk, he suggests once more that they go to Mokpo, just like they did in the past. Eun-Hui is way too busy with her day to day grind but still, that doesn’t stop her from deliberating over the offer all day. Eventually she agrees, suggesting they go as friends. When Han-Su returns to the bank, he learns that Eun-Hui has deposited 90 million won into his account. When Kim Myeong-Bo finds out, he immediately starts investigating this further, wondering if Han-Su has money problems. This is left unresolved for the time being though, as Han-Su and Eun-Hui go on their trip together, listening to music as the beautiful sun starts to set. Interestingly, Han-Su looks on the verge of bursting into tears during this moment, as we fade to black.
The Episode Review
Our Blues slows down a little this time around as we dive into the ties Eun-Hui and Han-Su have together. The pair have been on very different paths in life, and that much is clear to see with the way we’re presented Eun-Hui and Han-Su’s journeys. Eun-Hui obviously still has issues but she’s done what she can for her siblings and has doubled down on working hard and enjoying life. For Han-Su, he’s put all of his eggs in one proverbial basket, deciding that he should live his dreams through Bo-Ram. In doing so he’s lost a lot of money and he yearns for those carefree days of youth where he’s not burdened by this any longer. It’s a nice juxtaposition of fates, and Our Blues does quite a good job of depicting that here. Interestingly, we also see some of the other character who I guess will become more important as the season progresses. Dong-Seok and Sun-A are another couple (of friends!) who I’m sure will have an expansive storyline as the episodes progress.
