Let’s Go to the Mall
Crash Landing On You is finally back after a short break and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the return of this one, as I’m sure many others have too. The episode concentrates mainly on South Korea, given most of our characters are there now, which is a really nice contrast from the first half of the season. The show continues its strong storytelling hjere, with excellent acting from the cast to back that up with plenty of humour, suspense and, of course, romance. Episode 11 of Crash Landing begins with Se-Ri coming face to face with Jeong-Hyeok, thinking that she’s dreaming. He promises her that she’s not and quickly hugs her. We then cut back in time and see how he arrived in the South through long, narrow tunnels. However, he barely made it as part of it collapsed. After their emotional reunion, Se-Ri is full of questions. Jeong tells her the reason he’s there is because Cho has escaped prison and is after her. As soon as he catches him, he will then go back home. Se-Ri seems a little disappointed so she uses the opportunity to get him to stay with her at all times, especially given she’s Cho’s first target. We then see some funny scenes as Se-Ri takes him back home and they discuss her eating habits. As he asks about her family, she lies and tells him they were happy to see her. Suddenly, Se-Hyeong and his wife decide to pay her a visit. After hiding Jeong-Hyeok in her room, they reveal that they know she was in North Korea. Playing a phone recording from her time there, they threaten to go public with it, which would damage her company. However, she defends herself in the face of this reveal. After they leave, Jeong-Hyeok comes out and hugs her, telling Se-Ri to only keep the people she likes in her heart. While the four soldiers spend the evening in a spa, we see the women in the North Korean village dressed up and heading to see a fortune teller. She predicts that Man Bok will have trouble getting back from his travels and that there will be a blood-bath in the village. We then see a number of higher-ups in the military being taken away and thrown in prison while Cheon visits Seung-Jun’s room in a panic after finding out Cho has escaped. He urges him to leave but as they both quickly pack and leave their room, Cheon is caught by the soldiers. Meanwhile, Jeong-Hyeok’s father finds a letter his son wrote to him explaining the situation and where he has gone. He burns the letter before relaying to his wife what he found out, prompting her to cry as she worries about her son’s safety. Back in Seoul, Se-Ri is feeling sad, knowing that her time with Jeong is going to be over soon. In order to help him blend in, they head to the shopping centre to get him some new clothes. Despite his protests, she makes him try on multiple suits and insists on buying them for him. We then see his sweet side again as he holds the door for everyone as they head out. In Pyongyang, Dan meets with her three friends as they gossip about their own lives. They ask her if her marriage has been called off while Seung-Jung tries to figure out a way to hide. He then joins Dan as she leaves and shocks her friends when she gets in a car with him. Dan brings Seung-Jung back in her house where they eat instant noodles together and Seung-Jung later wonders if Dan has feelings for him. In Seoul, Se-Jun and his wife reveal to his mother that Se-Ri was in North Korea when she disappeared. They tell her that Se-Hyeong knew and probably wanted Se-Ri to stay there. In her office, Se-Ri shows Jeong-Hyeok an online video of him keeping the door open for strangers and as they read the comments, we see Cho lurking in the hallway. Jeong-Hyeok then receives a call that Cho has made an appointment with a broker so he decides to head to their location in the evening. He tells Se-Ri that if he catches him, he’ll have to leave right away, so she puts her number and an app with her location in his phone just in case. Unfortunately when he arrives it turns out to be a trap as he’s quickly cornered by several man trying to kill him. A fight ensues between them but Jeong-Hyeok quickly disposes of them. Returning to her car, Se-Ri sees Cho waiting in the back seat. She starts running off but drops her phone in the process. She manages to hide though while Jeong-Hyeok desperately tries to reach her. Cho picks up the phone and lies that he has Se-Ri. He rushes to the car park but as he gets there, Se-Ri quickly shouts that she’s okay but Cho has a gun. The episode ends as Jeong-Hyeok finds her and quickly puts his hands over her mouth, In the epilogue, we see Se-Ri in Switzerland again and meeting Dan in a shop while looking at Kit-Kats. She tells her that they’re great to eat when feeling depressed. We then cut forward to the day she took a picture of Jeong-Hyeok and Dan as she thinks to herself that he could do better. Recognising her, Dan angrily bites into her Kit-Kat and leaves. Crash Landing On You really has the full package; a great story, humour, suspense, romance and great chemistry between its characters. The show has transitioned quite smoothly too as we’re now in Seoul and it’s Jeong-Hyeok and the four soldiers’ turn to adjust to a different culture. This has been a really interesting juxtaposition for our characters to deal with and the eventual goodbyes will almost certainly prove to be another emotional moment. Dan and Seung-Jung are also getting closer to each other, which is another interesting twist to this show. The last scene was quite tense too as Cho is getting close to catching Se-Ri but thankfully Jeong-Hyeok arrived just in time. The epilogues are always a nice addition and shows just how connected our main characters have been with each other all along. All these different ideas combine to make this K-Drama a strong contender for one of the best shows so far this year.
