Tempting Fate
I have a confession to make. I became so engrossed watching Extraordinary You, I managed to blitz through two and a half episodes before I realized I hadn’t written up recap notes for this drama, hence the gap between episode reviews on the site. Between the dazzling effects, drama and light comedy, Extraordinary You has evolved into one of the better Korean dramas of the year and certainly one of my favourites of 2019. We begin with Ha-Roo questioning his existence. As he paces in the library he finds the magical book that depicts Dan-O as a character. From here we see him jump across to standing opposite the strange glowing portal on the bridge we saw from Dan-O’s perspective early in the season. As he questions his feelings for her, we cut back to the end of the last episode, with Ha-Roo telling her to follow him after hitting Kyung in the jaw. With Dan-O aware of his knowledge of the scene changing, she asks when he became aware of this before they talk about the noises and experiences of this occurring. Speaking of scene-changing experience, Do-Hwa laments his luck as he speaks to Jimmiche about his feelings for Joo-Da. Meanwhile, Kyung begins to lose control, leading to Ha-Roo stopping him punching a wall. Dan-O has issues of her own as she grapples with her own feelings about Ha-Roo. At school he offers his shirt and looks set to strip off again until she talks him out of it. As the shadow turns back into the main scene again, Ha-Roo and Dan-Oh discuss the writer’s cliched tropes with Joo-Da as they watch from afar. Throughout the episode Ha-Roo continues to check the scar on his hand but as the scene changes to shadow, Kyung confronts him about the truth before walking away, confused over just what’s happening at the school. As Kyung begins to become more self-aware of the scene changing, Nam-Joo’s Mum arrives with sparkles around her head as Dan-O feigns excitement with the screaming kids. The scene changes once again as Joo-Da and Do-Hwa share a nice moment on the roof until Nam-Joo arrives and confronts them. As they talk, we jump forward again as Nam Joo’s birthday party arrives and Do-Hwa realizes that Joo-Da’s stage has been altered. Desperate for help, she pleads with the others but they refuse to join in. However, Kyung arrives soon after and confronts her until Ha-Roo grabs his wrist and stops him. The familiar sound of the page turning sees Ha-Roo and Kyung playing tennis. After he beats Ha-Roo by a pretty big margin, he tells him they need to play tennis together from now on. After more confusing discussions with Do-Hwa about the shadow and scene, Jimmiche worries about the story changing as he looks on with a fearful expression in the library. Nam-Joo’s party begins and although Dan-O is confident they can change things, Ha-Roo is refused entry as Do-Hwa wonders what his role is in all this. As he gets dressed, he contemplates telling Joo-Da how he feels. With Kyung pre-occupied with a few girls outside, Ha-Roo manages to sneak his way in dressed as a waiter before hurrying after Do-Hwa, aware he’s about to drastically alter the story. As Dan-O has another flash, Do-Hwa reveals his true feelings to Joo-Da. With Nam-Joo missing from proceedings, the actual events of the night are changed as Kyung publicly announces he likes Dan-O instead of Joo-Da. Uh-oh! Out of all the characters in the show, Dan-O and Kyung are the ones who really stand out here for very different reasons. Dan-O is a lovable bubble of energy and her exaggerated mannerisms and dialogue make her an absolute pleasure to watch as she bounces between plot issues. Kyung, on the other hand, plays out as a typical antagonist with little in the way of redeeming features but with every episode he appears to be more self-aware of what’s happening. What is up with Ha-Roo’s scar too? There’s plenty of questions left unanswered with this one and quite where this is likely to go next remains to be seen. For now though, the show bows out with another very good episode.
